#you will spend several decades not writing about this because what is there to say?

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

my current grand theory of everything as squeezed through the phantom of the opera filter is that the evo psych / neuro bio doctor guy who says that the most attractive thing to women is "autonomic nervous system regulation" is right, and most women, most of the time, want to feel safe. but also if you're the kind of woman who is very aware that the world is a fucked up place, if you've experienced any real actual physical violence in your life, and you're also kind of fucked up about surviving it because hey buddy, that's rough, then--

then of course some rich pretty boy doesn't make you feel safe, even in theory, in fiction, in fantasy. do you know what happens to rich pretty boys in failed state situations? unless their family uses that cash to immigrate out or hire a shit ton of private security, they die like everybody else.

so maybe yeah, maybe it is that the world is kind of fucked up place, and there is a little bit of fight fire with fire burning in not just the id, but everywhere in the psyche. maybe if you're very aware of how people might--no, not just might, maybe if you know people have wanted to actually for real kill you before, maybe the fantasy is man who is good at murder (but won't murder you, who is still emotionally vulnerable to you). maybe all this discourse on healthy relationship blah blah misses the point that sometimes danger is the point, sometimes danger IS the fantasy, sometimes danger is the allure because there is nothing safe about a person who's harmless. maybe the fantasy isn't civilizing the monster or taming the wilderness. maybe the fantasy is feeling safe because of the monster.

maybe the fantasy is knowing it's not just your teeth and claws against the uncertain world.

so maybe all The Discourse misses the fucking point, you know?

[yeyinde]

the therapist x Price ask has me thinking terrible things. but what if instead of helping him with anger management, you're his marriage counsellor.

With your colleague's early retirement on the horizon, you take over several of his files, and among them is Mr and Mrs Price. A marriage on the brink of collapse, he writes, but both are willing to work things out.

As if.

You're not one to pick sides—it's morally, professionally, and ethically wrong—but you really wish Mrs Price had better friends. Or someone in her life to pull her aside and tell her to run because as much as she seems to want to work at these issues that plague her marriage, it takes you only a handful of sessions to realise this is impossible.

And the reason is just—

John Price.

Unprofessional? Yes. Wrong? No.

Your colleague's notes about Mr Price being the driving force behind keeping the marriage intact seem almost farcical looking back because that seems to be the very last thing on his mind.

He goes into each session with the single-minded goal to tear through any progress made—and that's only when he shows up. And in this particular profession, you're used to combativeness. The guarded nature of people is a hurdle you can often overcome with logic and solutions to their problems, but Mr Price's walls have walls. His armour is thick, and impenetrable, and he's—at best—unwilling to participate in any meaningful way.

And at worst—he spends most of the session arguing with you. Needling over everything you say. Ignoring any attempts to steer the conversation back to the idea of salvaging his marriage in favour of riling you up. Disrupting the natural order of accountability and progress just to see you flustered. Asking personal questions. Coming in earlier just to nitpick your talking points. Letting his wife leave before he does, and using the time to go over his startling accolades like the thought of chasing her, taking her to dinner, didn't even cross his mind. A man with one foot out the door, and almost no interest in turning around.

He's bullish. Compromising. Stubborn—

"—and a pigheaded oaf of a man!" You seethe, ethics fleeing from the room as you dig yourself a spot on your boss's couch, and take hearty gulps of the Chardonnay he offered with a grim twist to his lips. "Every time we get close to the truth, to a breakthrough, he jumps ship! Pulls away! But then has the audacity to question me because his wife isn't changing her mind on the divorce? In what goddamn universe is this my fault?"

He clears his throat, looking more than a little bemused. "Uhh. Have you tried—"

"Talking to him one-on-one in a confrontation-free way to try and get him to open up? Yes! And he spent the whole session avoiding the issue and making redundant comments about me, my life! What do my future plans have to do with his marriage? My relationship status! If I want kids! It's absurd!"

"Interesting. And have you considered—"

"All of it! There's no getting through to him. I don't even think he really wants this marriage to work out which is so different from what the counsellor they had before told me. He was trying back then. Said he'd let her divorce him over his dead body, and now? Two decades down the drain. I just don't get it."

"Well." His brow lifts, and he seems almost worried for a second before he scoffs. Shakes his head. "I think I do. Good luck, hon. He seems like the sort of man who knows exactly what he wants."

It takes all of your willpower not to reach out and grab the whole bottle from the table. Professional, you think. And that's what John called you, isn't it? Well—

Smart little girl, aren't you? Is what he growled out, arms folded over his chest as you—indiscreetly—ushered him towards the door. "But you don't know what you're doing, love. Gonna get yourself in over your head—"

The little girl prickles over your nerves. There's something about him that makes you want to lash out.

"I can handle myself, John."

He leaned down, shoulders tense. Eyes blazing. This man, you realise, is all fire. All heat. You fight back a shiver, meeting his stare head-on.

"Oh, I hope you can."

A challenge, right? Maybe he's another misogynist in a choking, crowded sea too blinded by his own ego to admit that maybe you could help him if he let you. Pretentious, self-righteous prick—

It really doesn't surprise you when the dissolution of his marriage happens a week later. Irreconcilable differences. Go figure. But what does surprise you is finding John Price standing outside your office only several days after the contractual obligations you had with them end.

The sight of him, stripped of any professional distance, makes you tense. "If you're here to complain, you'll need to file a—"

In hindsight, you should have seen it coming. The signs were there from the onset. Mrs Price's frigid anger at the end, and John's interest in you beyond the therapist. But when he pushes you against the door of your office, pulling you into a searing, demanding kiss that siphons the air from your lungs, all you can think is huh? and when did this—?

He doesn't really give you much of a chance to say any of that, though. Just devours you whole like he's been waiting his entire life for this moment, hands biting into your flesh, gripping tight. Refusing to let go even for a second. Even to let you breathe. Just grunts into the lax seam of your mouth about how much a goddamn little tease you are, tempting him like that when he was still a married man.

"But you can handle me, can't you, sweetheart?" He rumbles, fingers rasping over the skin of your nape. "Said so yourself, didn't you? Actin' all naughty even when you were pantin' at me like a bitch in heat. But don't worry, I'll make an honest woman outta you yet."

"Um—"

(maybe you were, in fact, a little over your head with John Price.)

[hana-no-seiiki]

Can you write something about yaoshi?thou their design is very pretty (⁠●⁠’⁠3⁠)⁠♡⁠(⁠ε⁠`⁠●⁠)

Let's say we're their fav human/god

I hope this makes sense

We don’t know much about the Aeons yet, so don’t expect this to be an accurate representation of what Yaoshi acts like. I’ll give ya two versions (human and aeon reader).

(YANDERE?) YAOSHI x READER (ft. Other Aeons)

warnings: ddne, mind break, power imbalance, massive age gap & infantilization(for the human section), yandere themes in general, somnophillia.

note: from what i read in yaoshi’s lore what i wrote feels like something the canon character would do hence the question mark

status: unedited

STORY ONE : TO LIVE IN ABUNDANCE | Doctor ! Reader

I.

Yaoshi could not fathom why one would not wish for eternal life. Life was the most beautiful thing in existence. Wondrous, with a diversity one could not begin to imagine. Yet, there exists people who desire for existence to come to a halt, many who wish for their teachings and gifts to end.

You were one of those people.

Despite your occupation as a doctor, you believed that every patient had a right to choose their destiny. Whether it be to continue fighting for their lives or to die peacefully in their death beds, who were you to decide what happens to them? You were only the nurturer and provider. Even the best doctor in their field has to let go of a patient when it came down to it. For life is only beautiful, meaningful when it has to diminish one day.

And in spite of your beliefs, Yaoshi decided to bless you to join him in his path.

Your world was shaken.

Why were you of all people chosen by this Aeon?

Sure, you were fully dedicated to career. But if anything, your views were more aligned to the Archer Lord of Fate. You have had many Mara strucken, the victims of Yaoshi’s ‘gifts’, pass away before your very eyes. Beasts who have long lost their minds and ability to choose what future they’ll follow. If you had a choice, without a heartbeat

Several millenia pass with you never aging. Generals that ruled come and go.

And now, because of their so-called kindness, you were banished from Xianzhou. Your home. Thrusted into the embrace of space and void,

and none other than the Aeon that doomed you.

“Child. You have come home at last.”

II.

If you were born into a different culture, perhaps a planet that worshipped the Aeon before you, maybe then you would be elated with your current happenstance.

But this was not the case unfortunately.

You spend around a decade filled with hatred and anger. Hurling the most venomous words and even attempting to harm their being. Of course, none of your actions do anything to help your situation.

A century was spent trying to convince them to let you go, to rescind their blessing and leave you to live your life as a mortal.

They refused, stating that it would saddened them to lose you.

It gets close to another century with how long you spent in tears. For the loss of your loved ones that had left you to go to the afterlife. For the situation you were forced into. As you cried and cried, all Yaoshi could do was embrace you using their many arms. It was a peculiar feeling at first but unfortunately became comforting soon enough.

And after all that you finally gave in.

Yaoshi did not seem surprised at all. In fact what awaited your complete acceptance was a gentle smile. One akin to a parent seeing their child come back home after running away in a fit.

“We can finally begin the preparations.”

“For what?” Your voice, hoarse and abused by your depressed barely came out.

“For our wedding.”

iii.

You were used to their multi-armed touches, their inhuman way of showing affection towards you. But nothing could prepare you for the consummation.

You don’t remember anything. Throughout the whole process you were extremely disassociated to the point of being catatonic.

This, this was your life now. Stuck to a god as a human who has far outlived their expiration date. Slowly yet surely your mind corroded.

And even as your body was littered with the golden allure of ginkgo leaves, your freedom never came.

Yaoshi did end up releasing you from their grasp to roam the cosmos freely. People from all over the universe called you the Golden Wanderer, or the Sanctus Medicus Saint.

But what was the point?

Even with your endless fame and immortality. You were a dead man walking.

Waiting, hoping, that one day someone would grant you mercy a god of life and everything beautiful in it could not.

STORY TWO : TO DIE IN THE LIGHT | AEON OF DREAMS - IMAGINARY ELEMENT ! READER

i.

In the time humanity and civilizations began to rise. You were created within the womb of the universe representing a concept. Dreams. Though you most presided over preferable ones, you were known to give unending nightmares to those that slighted you and your domain.

In the grand scheme of Aeons, you were neutral. Never straying from the unbiased perspective of a god. Those that worshipped and favored you get rewarded, those that dirtied your name were punished.

For that you were often looked down upon by your fellow gods, seen as indecisive with your head literally and figuratively stuck in the clouds.

Yaoshi used to be one of them. They had a difficult time understanding how one could live without ever peeling their eyes to the grandiose aesthetics of the world.

They soon began to fall in love with your fair — beautiful and impartial — self.

And if those mara-struck beings were anything to go off of . . .

Their infatuation spelt your doom.

ii.

There you were. Your form shone brilliantly under the light of the moons and stars that seemed to dangle above you.

Even a god snored, and snored you did. But to Yaoshi this hoarse sound was music. No, even more than that.

It was a reminder that throughout the eons, you two are alive. Together. Breathing.

Yaoshi visited your slumbering body frequently to the point that it became a risk. That Lan would sometimes stand guard over you in case they would come, or have the Xianzhou oversee your vicinity. Not many mortals can hold up against the Aeon however, and if it meant having to go against their path in order to see you — the choice was obvious.

Their stays mostly consisted of performing lullabies and poetry of how both your and their followers adored your seemingly romantic partnership, to your blissfully unaware body.

At least that’s what they thought.

iii.

Contrary to popular belief, your most devoted of followers do not eternally sleep. Nor do the majority spend a lot of their sleeping. In order to spread your name, a lot chose to stay awake. Because if there was anything your true followers loved more than a good nap it was you.

As such, not known to many people or gods, you had a vast network of knowledge. A lot of what people learn and experience appear in dreams, and once the more fantastical ones were taken off the list, you were left with a near infinite amount of information.

Humans have also mastered a way of communion with you.

Case in point, you had long known about Yaoshi’s visits. You were the one that asked Lan to aid you. Breaking your self imposed rule of impartiality.

But all is for naught.

Misinformation had spread far too wide and the delusions Yaoshi infected the world with overpowered your truth.

Their acquisition of you was as tranquil and hurdle free as it could be.

While you were caged by Yaoshi, another Aeon swore to bring you back.

Ending life and therefore your deeply unconscious state. A state which they saw as involuntary. A cage infinitely worse than the Aeon of Harmony kept you in.

And the first Stellaron was born.

a/n: i imagine human reader, especially post yaoshi adoption, to be like a lifesteal-tank sort of abundance character. only ever healing(mostly themself) if they attack/hurt the enemy, which would go against what yaoshi wants. i might draw a design for them actually. the type that if you build well, won’t ever die. but any battle with them would take a really long time since their damage is pp in comparison to other characters at the very least.

[link to the design/drawing here if i ever finish it]

[here’s a link to another aeon related fic]

i wanted to include both versions here before i uploaded this even if the first one is so long cause i just know im never gonna write a part two if ever lol. and yes, the aeon in the last bit is nanook.

want more hsr fics/have an idea for one? send me an ask or submission ❤️

©️ hana.no.seiiki - yun | 2023

[akookminsupporter]

For those who were surprised or confused or were trying to find reasons on why Jikook enlisted together and *gasp* who will still be together for the next 500+ days, have you watched original content?

Like Run BTS, where JK mostly tries (yet, sometimes fails) to be on the same team as Jimin or helps Jimin (even if they're on different teams), or almost fights one of his hyungs when Jimin gets hurt by a shuttlecock (not on purpose)?

How about the Bon Voyage series, where competitive Jungkook was so happy to lose a game bec he gets to share a room w/ Jimin, or how they were mostly together, and shared food w/ each other? How JK, with a humongous backpack, was so happy to have Jimin as his partner in Hawaii? How about JK waking up early in the morning to hike and get a huge chunk of snow for Jimin? How about them walking while Jimin listens attentively to JK about sand fleas that got stuck at the bottom of his shoes?

In the Soop S1 and S2, sound familiar? The all-nighter duo going at it, drinking, laughing, smashing a mosquito net? How about having a karaoke session, eating ramen, and drinking beer? JK asking a sleepy Jimin if he wanted Haemul kalguksu?

How about the four documentaries? How they end up rehearsing until the end together, how they spend several hours per day? And yet, still wanting to be together even after they finished work? How they eat dinner in one of the rooms and talk? Or how, when one gets overwhelmed/frustrated/disappointed, they seek the other's presence?

How about those Festa videos and Festa special interviews, how they admire and inspire each other to be better at their craft, be better people?

How about the past weverse lives, esp Jungkook's ones? How about listening to other members when they say Jikook are together during this and that?

If people would just listen and look at their pattern, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Jimin and Jungkook will choose each other, especially for major decisions/moments in their lives, because that's what they've been doing the past decade.

Why undergo the complicated process of the buddy system when they would just separate after 5 months? They could have just enlisted individually. These people write lies and essays about Korean's military system, which they have zero knowledge about because it's Jikook. If other members did it, no one would question it.

Instead of worrying about JK and Jimin's safety in the artillery unit (which, quite frankly, seems intense based on what they were operating), solos and the subgroup keep spewing BS. Do you know the mental toll learning how to kill has on a person? And these guys commenting that JK is not smiling on the photo? Smh. I'm so sorry for the word vomit, Rosie. The next several months would be crazier and a lot would be more unhinged, it seems, bec they refuse to acknowledge the truth about Jungkook and Jimin's bond.

I just wish for Jikook and all the other members to come back healthy, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

OPINIONS.

[sissylittlefeather]

Let's Forget About the Stars: Chapter 2

A/N: Another chapter for Elvis and Dove! I'm really loving writing a happy couple 😂. Those of you who know me know I usually torture my characters for at least a decade before I let them be happy, but not this time! Also, just a quick note about the nickname: that is a real endearment in Mvskoke, but I spelled it phonetically instead of in the right alphabet. Anyway, I hope you guys love them!

Need to catch up? Masterlist HERE.

Warnings: 18+ minors DNI, this gets a little sexy, erection, reference to masturbation, fingering, dry humping, orgasms, ejaculation, also racism and period-appropriate use of the word "Indian"

Word count: ~2.7k

He kisses her again as the sun rises on them. And he's right. This is only the beginning.

******

Elvis and Dove spend the next few weeks in a haze of young love. They have to be careful about where they go and when because his fans seem to always find them, but for the most part they make a way. They spend as much time together as possible and at the end of each night he kisses her in his car outside of the ladies boarding house she has a room in. Every kiss builds in intensity and they struggle to stop themselves from taking it further. His hands roam over her body, squeezing her hips and even venturing to her breasts. She kisses his neck and nibbles his earlobes and they both moan and whimper so much it sounds like they're in pain. And they are every time they have to stop.

Elvis is convinced she's the woman he wants for his first time, but still he wants to wait. He's not sure what exactly he's waiting for, but he knows it's too soon now.

Dove is dying to give herself to him but she lives in constant fear that the second she does he'll lose interest. So instead, she gently pushes his hands away and he moves them to a more acceptable place and tells her goodnight, breathing heavily and dreaming of the day he'll be able to touch her however he wants.

Every time she makes it to her room, she collapses on the bed, her body buzzing and pulsing on the edge of something she can't identify. Elvis is left in the drivers seat with a raging erection, trying to calm himself down before he has to get out of the car. Several times he rushes straight to his bedroom to lay on his bed and pump himself to a release, quietly moaning her name as he makes a mess on his hand. He's running out of self control, but he doesn't want to ruin what he has with Dove. She matters too much.

One night they're finding it particularly difficult to stop. They've said goodnight no less than four times, but they're still glued together, his hand slowly creeping up her thigh under her skirt, his dick so hard it hurts. She whimpers and backs away.

"Elvis, wait." He pulls his hand back and flexes it, groaning. "We have to stop."

His breath is hot against her as he tries to calm down. He kisses her shoulder and exhales deeply.

"I know, Dovey, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Maybe we just... should?" Her heart skips when she says it. But she's started to wonder how much longer she can make him wait.

"No... no I want to wait until..." For the first time it dawns on him. He knows what he's waiting for. "You need to meet my parents."

"What?" The conversation took a turn she did not expect. In his mind, though, he can't do what he wants to do, ask her what he wants to ask her, until she's met his parents.

"You need to meet Mama and Daddy. Come to dinner tomorrow night."

"O-okay." The prospect is a daunting one for her. She's not sure what they expect of his girlfriends, but she's guessing it's not her. Hopefully, they're not too off-put by her background. "Elvis?"

He kisses her neck gently, trying not to start anything again, but desperate to feel her.

"Yes, Dovey?" She whimpers as he moves down to her collarbone.

"Is it gonna be a problem... that I'm... not white?" He backs up and looks at her sternly.

"No. My mama's people have Cherokee somewhere way back. But if it is, they'll hear from me about it." She nods nervously and he takes her face in his hands. "They'll love you. You have nothing to worry about."

He kisses her deeply and passionately and she presses her body against his. The heat comes back and before they know it they're both breathless and running their hands everywhere again.

"I need to get out of this car."

"Yes you do." He kisses her again.

"I really really do." More kissing.

"Mhmm." She pulls away from him slowly, peeling her body off of his, laughing softly.

"I'll see you tomorrow., Jumbee." She rubs her nose on his. He blinks and laughs.

"What did you call me?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. It's a term of endearment in my language. Like sweetie or honey. It's what my mom calls my dad. I'm sorry, I won't-"

"No, I love it." He nuzzles his nose on hers and then kisses her again.

Reluctantly, she pulls away and slides across the seat to the door, pushing it open to walk up to her front porch. Before she does, though, she leans down to the window.

"Goodnight, Jumbee." He smiles softly.

"G'night, Dovey." She turns and skips up to the front door and he watches. Then he leans his head back against the seat, touching himself gently and whimpering. This is definitely a night that he'll be sneaking into his room for some alone time.

******

The next night, Elvis pulls up to Graceland with Dove on his front seat. Up until now, she hasn't seen where he lives.

"Woah." Her mouth drops and he laughs.

"I forget how impressive it is if you've never seen it."

"This is beautiful. You didn't tell me you lived in a place like this." He can tell the house makes her nervous.

"We didn't always. This is new. Come on."

"Jumbee, I don't know." He turns to her on the front seat and puts his hand on her cheek.

"Dovey, baby, it's gonna be fine. You trust me?" She looks into his eyes and nods. He kisses her softly and then pushes his forehead into hers. "Come on."

He gets out of the car and runs around to the passenger side to let her out. She stands up out of the car and he puts his hand on the small of her back to lead her inside. In the foyer, she smiles awkwardly as he proudly introduces her to his parents.

"Mama, Daddy, this is Dove Morningstar."

"It's nice to meet you both." Gladys and Vernon smile and shake her hand genially. Gladys speaks first.

"Dove. That's an interesting name."

"Oh, it's actually a nickname. My real name is Eleanor, but they've called me Dove since I was a kid."

"Well, it's lovely."

"Thank you, ma'am." Vernon finally speaks up.

"And Morningstar. You're Indian?"

"Yes, sir. Seminole."

"Hmm." He grunts and Dove can't tell if he's disapproves or if he's just quiet. Elvis steps in.

"Dovey is a singer. You should hear her. She sings better than me." He puts his arm around her waist and pulls her close to him. Gladys smiles at the two of them, glad to see her boy so happy.

"I'd love to hear you sometime, honey. Maybe after dinner we can gather 'round the piano." Dove nods, smiling a little more naturally now. "Speaking of dinner, it's ready. Let's go sit."

Gladys turns and they follow her into the dining room. The rest of the evening passes in polite conversation. Elvis excitedly tells the story of how they met, leaving out all the kissing that happened on the rooftop. Dove answers questions about her family and her upbringing and listens attentively to the stories that the Presleys share. Overall, things go very well.

After dinner, they gather around the piano singing together. Gladys is indeed impressed by Dove's voice and her knowledge of gospel songs. Eventually, Dove sits on the bench next to Elvis and puts her hands on the keys. Elvis didn't even know she played, but he watches her in awe as she gently presses the keys, singing a hymn in her Native language. When she finishes, he leans over and kisses her softly, unable to stop himself.

"That was beautiful, Dovey."

"Thanks, Jumbee." She whispers it but they're close enough that Gladys catches her nickname for him.

"That's sweet. What's it mean?" Dove looks up at her but before she can answer, Elvis cuts in.

"It's an endearment in her language. She used it for me and it just kinda stuck." He smiles proudly again and Vernon sighs discontentedly.

"Son, can I talk with you for a moment?"

"Sure, Daddy." He gestures and Elvis follows him into the corner. Dove plays another song on the piano and Gladys sings along. At the end, she stops her.

"Honey, how do you know all these gospel songs?"

"Oh. My daddy is a preacher."

"An Indian preacher?"

"Yes ma'am." Gladys beams. She's proud of her son for finding such a good girl. "Play another one, baby."

Dove goes into another song and the ladies harmonize while the men talk.

"You're not serious about this girl, Elvis." Elvis looks at him in shock.

"I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You know you have an image to uphold now."

"Yeah, and? I know the Colonel wants me single, but I can't stay that way forever."

"It's not just that, son. This kind of... interracial relationship... it's not gonna be good."

"Interracial relationship?!"

"She's not white, son."

"And you think that's a problem?"

"I think it just might be more trouble than she's worth." Elvis raises his voice and catches the attention of both women.

"You listen to me, Daddy. I don't care what you or anybody else has to say about it. She is worth it and I am serious about her."

"Now, son, there's no need-"

"No, there is a need! I love her and nothing you say is going to change it!" He stops and looks around the silent room. Dove has stopped playing the piano. She whispers to herself.

"He loves me?" Gladys responds quietly.

"That's what I heard." She puts her hands on Dove's shoulders protectively, glaring at Vernon. Elvis crosses the room and stands her up to face him.

"Yes. I love you, Dovey and I don't care who knows it." A warm smile spreads across her face.

"I love you too, Elvis." He leans down and kisses her a little more passionately than he should in front of his parents.

"Come on, Vernon. Let's get to bed and leave these two young people to each other." Gladys goes to usher him out of the room.

"Goodnight, Mama." Elvis says it without taking his eyes off of Dove.

"You two don't stay up too late."

"Yes ma'am."

"It was lovely to meet you, Dove."

"You too, Mrs. Presley." She knows it's probably rude, but she can't look away from Elvis. Gladys smiles again and walks from the room with Vernon in tow. Once his parents are gone, Elvis pulls Dove into a deep kiss, pressing his body against hers. He whispers against her lips.

"Come up to my room." He turns and takes her hand, leading her up the stairs. Once they get to his room, Dove swallows nervously. "Dovey, it's okay. Tonight's not the night."

She smiles and he pulls her into another kiss. The kiss heats up and he walks her backwards to the bed. He lays down with her, running his hand across her stomach and down to her hip. She throws her leg over him and rolls her hips into his. He pulls back, breathing heavily.

"Okay, slow down."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, baby. I know it's hard to stop." A lightbulb goes off for him and he smiles. "Honey, what if we... did something... but not... that..."

"Like what?" He smiles slyly.

"Do you trust me?"

"Always, Jumbee." He moves his hand down to her knee, trying to stop himself from trembling. His hand slides slowly up her thigh to her hip under her skirt. Then, he walks his fingers over to her center. She whimpers.

"Elvis, what are you doing?"

"Just let me touch you. I promise we won't go any further." She nods. He fumbles a little but eventually gets his fingers under the edge of her panties, moving them down to the place where she didn't even know she was aching for him.

"Oh..." She moans softly as his finger finds her center and moves around the edges of her entrance. "Tell me if it hurts or doesn't feel good..."

She whimpers again as he carefully slides one finger inside her.

"Oh, God." He looks at her carefully.

"Good?"

"Yes..." He starts to move his finger in and out and she moans. He smiles and then leans in, kissing her neck gently. He's talked to the guys enough to know what to do next. His thumb makes its way carefully to her sensitive bud, making circles. Her back arches and she whimpers.

"Is that good, baby?" She makes a noise somewhere between a moan and a grunt and he smiles again. He seems to be on the right track.

Dove is overwhelmed with the sensation of his hand on her. Something is building inside her and though she doesn't know what it is, she wants it to continue to completion. In efforts to reach whatever the goal is, she grinds into him, inadvertently rubbing against his cock, which is already hard just with what he's doing. He whines and rubs himself against her again. His mouth moves back up to hers and he kisses her deeply, rolling into her a little harder. She feels his hardness against her hip and it turns her on even more as she grabs the front of his shirt and pulls him in close to her.

"Oh, Elvis, don't stop!" He pumps his finger into her harder and harder as he grinds against her over and over. The friction is pushing his foreskin back and forth over his dick and he feels the pressure building.

"Mmm... Dove, baby, it feels so good."

"Yes! Yes!" He moves his thumb faster over her clit, nibbling on her earlobe and rubbing against her hip passionately. The heat between them grows as the intensity of their actions increases. His fingers move deftly against her as his hips do the same. They both feel like they're about to burst with desire and love for each other. And then they do.

"God, yes, baby, fuck!"

"Elvis!" She moans his name loudly as she climaxes hard against his hand, pulsing around his finger just as he ruts against her one last time, shuddering and whimpering, filling his pants with ropes of cum. She rides out the high of her orgasm completely oblivious to the fact that he's doing the exact same thing. He realizes what happened, though and pulls away quickly.

"Wait? Where are you going?"

"I'm sorry. God, I'm so sorry."

"What? Why?" She looks down at his crotch and notices the wet spot on his pants. "What happened?"

"I-I-I I finished..."

"Oh..." She giggles and he rolls his eyes, embarrassed. He tries to move away from her again and she grabs him. "No, it's okay Jumbee. That was really... it's okay..."

He looks up at her shyly.

"You really don't mind?"

"No, baby. I'm glad it was good for you too."

"Yeah?"

"Yes." She leans into him and kisses him deeply. He wraps her in his arms.

"I love you, Dovey. So much."

"I love you too, Jumbee." He nuzzles into the side of her face and kisses her cheek.

"You wanna stay? I can hold you all night." She considers what it would mean for her to stay all night with him. Then she looks into his eyes. He is her future. Why would she ever leave?

"Yes, please." A genuine smile spreads across his face and he jumps out of bed, going to his drawers. He grabs a set of pajamas and brings it over to the bed.

"You take the top and I'll take the bottoms. Then we can snuggle up and sleep all night just you and me." He pushes a stray piece of hair behind her ear and kisses her cheek.

They both change into the set of pajamas and then crawl into bed. He cuddles up behind her and buries his face in her hair.

"I'm so glad I met you."

"Me too, Jumbee. Me too."

They drift off to sleep together, Elvis's mind racing with plans of how and when to ask and visions of her in a white dress walking down the aisle towards him.

******

Until next time!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @aliypop @18lkpeters @dkayfixates @tacozebra051 @your-nanas-house @deniseinmn @joshuntildawn13 @lookingforrainbows @60svintage @littlehoneyposts @epthedream69 @louisejoy86 @rjmartin11 @from-memphis-with-love @deltafalax @atleastpleasetelephone @cinnamoroll-things @burnthheparaphilia @jhoneybees @cattcb @everythingelvispresley

[rubra-wav]

SFW Vox x Reader head anon request where the reader was his nibling on Earth but he died when they were very little. They ended up very lost and numb due to the death and found the only time they felt anything was in a fight so they became a bouncer, which is actually what led to them dying at 28. Reader doesn't realize who Voc is until they hear him speak.

Vox x Former relative reader headcanons

A/N This is a very hyperspecific request, so I hope you understand I've made it a little more general. 🙏

General plotline and idea is kept tho - bit vaguer, however.

Reader was his favourite relative btw, if this man saw just some random family member come up to him I think he'd just swat them away faster than light ngl.

Cw: Sfw, platonic obv 💀, gn reader

- When you showed up before Vox, he didn't recognise you at all either. He'd died when you were young, and when demons die they don't exactly come back looking 'normal'.

- So when you show up before him after seeking him to speak for several weeks - sending letters to meet him in person like your life depended upon it, claiming you had something very important to discuss with him, he doesn't recognise the sinner who clearly died while enthralled in extreme violence before him.

- When the people who escort you into the room leave, leaving you two alone at his request, Vox's first instinct is to interrogate you.

- He immediately assumed you had some sort of blackmail on him and were trying to play games to extort money from him or something.

- But, when you're lunging forward at him to wrap your arms around him while calling him an extremely specific nickname he hadn't heard in decades, he's at a complete loss in disbelief.

- When his initial shock wears off and he realises who you were to him, he doesn't know how to react properly and sends you away, saying he needed a bit to think and he'll contact you again.

- The conflict between his past self that he was when he knew you, as compared to the self he is now, has him absolutely reeling.

- It wasn't exactly foreign for him to come across people who knew him from his shows when alive, but not somebody who had actually known him as a family member - much less one who still thought highly of him after everything he'd done to end up there.

- When he finally calms the hell down, he tells you not to tell anybody you two are related for your own safety (and his own image), and that he will help provide whatever you need.

- He'd be distant as all hell from you, but would still want you to be safe. Both of these are due to him having a particular soft spot for you even now.

- Would probably consciously make an effort to try be an asshole to make you not want to see him- then feel kinda bad when you still want to see him and obviously still very much love him. 💀

- Even if you want to spend time around him really bad, he'd probably not give in most times.

- if he does spend time with you though down the line, he's just screaming inside the whole time because he actually gives a fuck in the same way he did back in his life and that's terrifying to him after living in hell. You don't get to his standing with caring about many people.

- Would be super paranoid during the whole thing as well about someone somehow finding out (especially the Vees because he'd never hear the end of it and if Val ever tried to flirt with you he'd probably go apeshit despite his on and off thing with him. )

- If anyone ever saw you were a soft spot to him, that would instantly make you a target. And, because it bruises his ego to know he still gives this much of a fuck about a relative who he hadn't seen in decades.

Writing this made me realise just how funny Vox would be as one of those bitter adoptive father figures who didnt sign up for this shit but just very begrudgingly love their 'child' and fucking hate themselves over it. 💀

[pandafishao3]

Hi friends, I miss you! I'm on a little break because of health and work stuff, but yesterday I sloooowly started to write again. I'll be updating my fics in the pace that I finish them, so just sit tight and I'll have them all out eventually <3

But here's something I wanted to say:

I loved writing and posting Kinktober, but some fandom-related stuff came with that whole thing that had me needing to take a step back for a moment unfortunately. Ao3 and fandom spaces on Discord have been my safe little world for a long while and I feel my happiest when I get to be here and interact with other writers and readers. I started this particular tumblr a small while back to be able to post and talk even more about fanfics, and while it really has made me become closer to some really awesome people out there, it has also sadly opened me up to that less-nice part of tumblr. I've been on my other tumblr account for about a decade now, and I've kept it extremely anonymous which has allowed me to escape a lot of negative energy so far. But this account is under my "name", under Pandafish, and that made things different.

I don't have any wish to go into details, but anyone who is familiar with tumblr or just open fandom spaces knows the kind of people I'm talking about. People who want to make things into fights simply for the sake of fighting, or people who take advantage of the feeling of fandom spaces being safe and friendly. I tend to trust people within the fandom, I like living in a world where it's rewarding to trust people, and I spend too much of my work time needing to pick fights to want to do that in my spare time. But I've started to feel more uneasy on Tumblr specifically because of some people. Thankfully only very few, but still. This is why I've turned off anon comments. This is also why commissions won't be opening up again for the forseeable future.

Like many other fanfic writers, I work several jobs. Like many other fanfic writers, I'm disabled. I'm not saying this because I want sympathy; I'm saying it because I want people to understand what it takes to continue to write and publish fanfics like so many of us do. I write because it's my favourite hobby - it makes me happy and I love it. What I love even more is the friends I've made because of it. I love how I've found people to be silly with, to be honest with, to be safe with. Fandom spaces have been - and are to an extent still - the only space where I've been able to fully express myself.

For that, thank you.

Here's the rule I want for my online spaces: if you don't have anything nice to say, be quiet and find something you like instead. If you dislike an author or their work, simply leave it alone. If you want more of something I've written, that's awesome, of course you're allowed to tell me you want more. But if I don't respond right away, be okay with that. Sometimes requests can feel pressuring; other days they feel uplifting. I promise never to be rude about a well-meaning comment, if you promise not to leave rude comments.

I want to post more on here. I want to talk to you guys more. And most of all, I want to trust that everyone who messages me wants us to be friends.

If you want the same thing, you're welcome to stay. If not, the internet is a big place. You're free to find a space that doesn't include me.

[imreallyloveleee]

Where do you think it all went wrong with Riverdale?

honestly, part of me is like, the show's over and nothing but fandom matters. so who cares?

the other part of me loves to complain about Riverdale and will continue to do so until the day I die in the parking lot of Michael's Diner in Montgomeryville, PA at the age of 86. so, long-winded answer under the cut

I'm tempted to say it's the s4 b*rchie kiss. It was so wildly out of character for both Betty and Archie that it's laughable. You know how you can tell when something is just blatantly OOC with no justification? They...don't justify it. They find ways to dance around any interaction that might offer clarification. They mute the reactions of the characters who should be devastated by it. And then they jump ahead 7 years so it's easier to just handwave it away as something that happened a long time ago.

but the thing is, I did keep watching after that. I thought: okay, at least we should get an exes-to-lovers arc out of this, which is one of my favorite tropes. there is no way they would spend 4 seasons developing Bughead as this loving, supportive, communicative, sexy, and almost-unbelievably-compatible couple just to tear them apart and never do anything with that dynamic again. maybe it'll be even sweeter seeing them come back together after so much hurt and longing.

boy was i wrong!!!!!!!!!

so, the episode that actually made me stop watching for good, with the exception of some standalones like The Jughead Paradox and the finale, was the s5 musical. that was when i realized that this team of writers was 100% willing, maybe even eager, to completely drop storylines they themselves had been building over the course of a season - do a 180 with all of the characterization and relationships - and then act as though the buildup they wrote never even happened.

in this case, i'm specifically talking about the Bughead reunion storyline they dropped in s5. i'm not going to pretend like it was a GREAT buildup - and it was mostly on Jughead's side, Betty's character in s5 was basically an emotionless misery bot that had sex sometimes - but it was there. Jughead told Tabitha he had unresolved feelings around Betty. that's followed by an entire episode that lays out Betty & Jug's time jump relationship, and how Jughead still believes she's the one who saves him from himself. they work on a case together, they start opening up to one another. Jughead's so worried about her he can't eat.

and then...you know what happens.

(i'll also note here that there was random bts stuff that strongly indicated the musical ep storyline had a drastic last-minute rewrite: lili tweeted a blue dress, suggesting the song with that line was meant for her character; RAS said cole had to do last-minute recording sessions; supposedly crew members have confirmed this was the case, too. since none of it's 100% confirmed you can take it all with a grain of salt, but i believe it.)

it was so fucking insulting as a viewer to give my time and attention to a show made by people who would not only randomly drop the threads they set up, but torpedo them altogether, and then behave like the fans are the ones somehow at fault for expecting a story that actually follows through on its own emotional and plot beats. we're just shippers, so our opinions are dumb and biased! it's just a tv show, so who cares! get over it!

so, i stopped watching, because i knew they would continue to write without any thought or respect for their characters or their audience, and therefore inevitably write themselves into another corner. and, shocker, i was right. they did it again, whisking everyone away to the 1950s because actually resolving any of the scenarios they set up was ToO hArD. why bother when you could just make every single character Righteously Angry and Incurably Horny all the time, lecture the audience about social issues that have already been mainstream progressive for the last several decades, and call it a "love letter" to your fans?

[zukadiary]

Kazuki Sora taidan diary 〜 2024.2.11

(also kind of a Boiled Doyle on the Toil Trail / Frozen Holiday write up)

I've now woken up eight times in a world where Kazuka Sora is an OG (changing that number daily, as I've been trying to write this for six days), and the sense of having somehow slipped into a severely incorrect timeline is getting progressively stronger. Coupled bizarrely with that is deep, deep gratitude that, despite everything that's happened in the last four years, and especially in the last five months, she got a gut-wrenchingly, absolutely devastatingly beautiful taidan. I can't say perfect, because perfect would have been after a well deserved top star run. But barring that, I never dreamed it would get this close.

Long post incoming.

I have to set the stage...

Once upon a time in 2013, Asaka Manato, then nibante in Ouki Kaname's Soragumi, got her turn starring in Brilliant Dreams +NEXT, a multi-part Sky Stage series where you got to like, do some stuff of your choice with other people in your troupe. She decided to recreate some of her favorite revue choreography, and a friend alerted me that one episode was dedicated to the infamous Rosso scene from Takarazuka's Dream Kingdom (which, as you can see in the linked post, completely short circuited noob me from a decade ago). Maasama was still a good 2+ years from winning me over at the time, and I think I reluctantly watched it with some level of offense that she touched a Komu thing. As I'm sitting in front of my computer rolling my eyes, out comes this tiny thing in capri pants, mismatched socks, suspenders, and thick glasses: ken-4 Kazuki Sora, here to report on the situation in the rehearsal room.

She spent her airtime cracking jokes, tripping on her tongue, riding on Susshi's shoulders, and generally acting like Soragumi's annoying kid brother. I thought she was funny.

Another friend told me she thought she was tracked. I absolutely did not believe her.

Then, against a fair amount of adversity, she got the 100th anniversary Rose of Versailles shinko lead, and my eyes widened a bit. The next time I found myself in Japan, I was gifted a 9th row seat to what coincidentally happened to be her first ginkyou crossing in PHOENIX Takarazuka! I'd been spending the show curiously scanning the stage for her, and when I witnessed the gap between reporter and performer, my jaw hit the floor.

Afterwards, my kangeki companion asked if I was interested in anyone in the troupe. I said Kazuki Sora. She recoiled and said "but she's so short."

***

Something that I noticed during this taidan trip is that covid-era fans met a wildly different Sora than I know. Growing up in 2010s Soragumi was uniquely rough. I'm not even talking about ::hand waves:: the present circumstances and what may or may not have lead up to them; I mean they persisted with a level of star saturation through the dawn of the pandemic that had kinda crazy consequences for the otokoyaku track. Not only was the track itself overcrowded, but the troupe also held onto a number of non-tracked upperclassmen to whom they seemed unwaveringly committed to casting in juicy roles. I remember when things seemed so untenable that Soragumi fans were universally on pins and needles waiting for what felt like an inevitable big transfer out, and I remember freezing in shock on the side of the road when instead they transferred Serika Toa in.

Here's some analysis for perspective:

Kiki is the third oldest top of all time, and spent more time as nibante alone than Tamaki Ryou took to get from debut to top.

Lord knows how long Soragumi will be in this state of flux, but if they come out of it and Kiki gets a normal number of shows, AND Sakuragi Minato is next, Zun could immediately overtake Kiki for third place

Speaking of Zun, her first two-city lead was in 2020. Looking at her top star douki, Rei Makoto's and Yuzuka Rei's were in 2017, and Tsukishiro Kanato's was in 2018.

Rukaze Hikaru's first bow lead was in 2019, two years later than her other tracked douki, Akatsuki Chisei (four if you count A-EN).

Slightly more invisible but just as devastating, the lessened exposure on stage between leads has likely resulted in lower fan club numbers and less overall popularity.

...and back to Sora. Hundreds of us filled Hibiya Park this past weekend, but Sora spent her early Takarazuka career so buried that, despite being a triple threat on stage and an utter delight off, her fan base was small enough that at ken-7 they let me, not yet even a club member, accompany my friend to demachi where I became the third attendee. For years, Sora was, frustratingly, an in-person only watch. I'd go to Japan, memorize her positions, miss the rest of the show for following her with my opera glasses, and pop in the DVD at home only to find her always just off screen. A Motion was one of the most fun times I've had in a Takarazuka theater, and on the DVD during my favorite Sora SOLO, the camera is on Sorahane Riku wordlessly dancing.

I was floored when she got Anita. I was livid that she could give THAT PERFORMANCE and immediately afterwards be cast as an ensemble soldier in Red River (although she was so good in Citrus Breeze that after 5 years of deluding myself that I "couldn't betray my beloved Yukigumi like that" ((ironic, right?)) I finally caved and joined club). I stress dreamed multiple times about the impending bow announcement before she got Hustle Mates. I cried when she finally came down the stairs between two musumeyaku in Ocean's Eleven at ken-10, in which she played Linus, a role that felt like a big break even though it had previously always gone to ken-6s. FINALLY, the massive Ocean's taidan relieved a little pressure, and I felt a tangible thrill when suddenly she was all over the Aqua Vitae shonichi digest, something that had never happened before.

That's where we left off in February 2020, when the Diamond Princess docked in Yokohama, and my therapist didn't know what I was talking about when I said I was giving myself a stomachache watching live case numbers ahead of my scheduled trip, and I canceled my flight, and I put my freshly printed pack of homemade Suleiman postcards under my bed, and I didn't see her for 4 years 4 months and 3 days.

***

It's hard to talk about Sora's taidan announcement and not come off as biased and overly dramatic, given that she's my girl. But in 11 years of countless taidan announcements, I've never come close to being as blindsided by one as I was with hers. The vibe I've gotten is that fans, siennes, and patrons alike were all properly shocked.

I'd spent the better part of a decade internally screaming for Takarazuka to act like they recognize her undeniable talent. Frustratingly, it finally started happening during covid. While I was living under the impression that Hustle Mates was a genuine miracle, she got an unimaginable second lead... then, thanks to the breathing room in her new Yukigumi home, a third... and then a fourth. Having been burned for so long, I've always firmly been team I-don't-think-Sora-is-going-to-make-top, but despite that, I was actually starting to believe it could—dare I say would—happen. I wasn't even certain the people murmuring on twitter that she might leapfrog Aasa were completely delusional. I went into Hyperbolic Chart, my looooong awaited reunion, excited to assess Kasumi Sana as her potential future partner. I enthusiastically bought all her postcards for future writing, because the last time I'd seen her, she, at ken-10, didn't have postcards.

Two days after that I found myself again frozen in shock on the side of the road.

Two days after that.... yeah.

***

Somehow, despite 11 years of knowing how this works, of weathering various taidans with friends, of crying in bathrooms until they started cleaning the theater at taidans that weren't even technically mine, I was also completely blindsided by the taidan experience itself.

Part of it was definitely the time skip, from years of intimate Sora fandom to nothing to a couple of A-seki (she's the it girl now!) for a lead I wouldn't have chosen with a troupe I barely recognize anymore to bye, she's gone. Part of it was being thrown back into this after 4+ years of pandemic-dulled emotions, followed by the exhaustion of Takarazuka's crisis era. Part of it was lowered expectations from the largely uninspired and under funded lineup of forgettable shows churned out by tired directors of dubious morality. Part of it was the disaster-shortened Mura run, the self-preserving dissociation fueled by the pain and disbelief that there was a dinner show and I wasn't at it, followed by a month and a half stretch of work so busy it was still going while I sat at the ANA gate for my 1am flight.

But I got here and squeezed into one of those red seats and then all at once I was an unsealed vacuum, cracked wide open, and Doyle and Frozen Holiday rushed in and filled the airless void till it burst.

Boiled Doyle on the Toil Trail

I've been down on Yukigumi.

Yukigumi has been my home troupe for the vast majority of my fandom. I had the fancy Swarovski crystal Yukigumi bag charms, the whole Yukigumi getup from Sports Day '14, Yukigumi albums, Yukigumi chopsticks, etc etc etc. I literally didn't join Sora club for years because I couldn't imagine being pulled out of Yukigumi. But while I was locked out of the country, the march of time took my favorite top star and the vast majority of my emotional support upperclassmen. The pandemic spit Yukigumi out in a state that just made me reeeeeeeeally sad. So I stopped watching them. That's the exact moment they picked to put Sora there.

I hate to admit it, but I still haven't totally caught up on her Yukigumi time.

Which is probably the main reason this show caught me SO off guard... even having watched AND enjoyed the Mura livestream. Sora is best watched in person, after all.

Doyle—a silly take on Arthur Conan Doyle's life, and how he used a magic pen to write Sherlock Holmes by accident, thus setting into motion a runaway series of events—is not only a fun and joyful show, it's a masterpiece of casting. The top 4 were at their absolute peak, and it was a thrill to watch.

I've been watching Ayakaze Sakina since her shinjin kouen days, and my write-ups over the years probably betray my rollercoaster hot and cold journey through her career. I really liked Doyle as a lead for her though. She essentially plays a big idiot wifeguy with a dream, an imaginary best friend, and little conviction; she was very funny and charming. If you were one of the lucky few who managed to see On the 20th Century, think that guy but earnestly the main character vs. dude with main character syndrome. The older I get, the more I have a soft spot for shows where the top combi has "ecstatically celebrating at least their tenth wedding anniversary" energy, and this was one of those.

...Thanks in large part to Yumeshiro Aya, who is absolutely everything. She may be boosted by consistently reminding me of Shirahane Yuri since her partial lead in the 103s Bunkasai, but she also has a very particular type of girlboss energy that I don't feel like I've seen in quite a while. It isn't wearing the proverbial pants energy (a la early TamaChapi), but it is overwhelming I got this energy. I find her to be the absolute embodiment of a top musumeyaku, in that she understands the assignment (making the top star better), while perching on the edge of the backseat just enough that she doesn't overpower Saki, but she's still a knockout in her own right. She probably exudes an extra dose of this energy as Louisa Doyle, who plays a very similar role in her husband's life and writing career. I could not be more thrilled that Aya isn't retiring yet.

Asami Jun plays the aforementioned imaginary friend/magic pen-generated apparition, who happens to be Sherlock Holmes. Some people I've talked to seem a little disappointed in her stage time, but I really felt like this was also peak Aasa. She seems to have broken through a layer of ceiling and gotten really comfortable leaning into her c***y unique energy, which, though I can picture it being polarizing, really does it for me. I sure as hell have never seen an interpretation of Sherlock Holmes REMOTELY like Aasa's, but I was enjoying the Aasa of it all so much that I really didn't care.

When I saw that Sora was playing the editor of Strand Magazine, I was somewhat disappointedly imagining a role like Lestrade (not to invoke another Sherlock), the sort of there-but-not character that has dominated her Takarazuka career since she started getting named roles. My first surprise was how good of a role this was in general, and then how well suited it was to her. She gets to be aloof and handsome, but also incredibly upbeat and funny at times. Her little coworkers at her utterly failing magazine are obsessed with her (which is the mood of the century), and there is a cute little meta moment where Doyle threatens to stop writing Sherlock and Sora tries to quit her job, only to be restrained physically by said coworkers (which is the mood of the moment). Everything from the set of her off-gray permed wig to her 4 or so different plaid suits to her opening solo number was absolutely perfect (not as perfect as it was gonna be later!!!!!).

FROZEN HOLIDAY

It's weird watching a Christmas show in February

I rapidly stopped caring

Speaking of rollercoasters of hot and cold, Noguchi used to be my most hated revue director, hands down. Circa 2017-18, after being deeply personally burned by Super Voyager (and deeply personally confused by Beautiful Garden), the tension I felt while awaiting show announcements hoping I wouldn't have to watch another Noguchi was intense. Noguchi revues being something people covet nowadays still feels unfamiliar, but I count myself among people.

He turned it around for me with the Takarazuka equivalent of winning the grocery store ingredients episode of Project Runway: Delicieux, a covid-budget masterpiece of public domain music and foam macarons (incidentally, also a goodbye to Sora of sorts, as it was her last Soragumi revue). I officially owe him my life after what he did for her in Frozen Holiday.

Firstly, going into my 11th year of watching live Yukigumi, I've never seen Saki shine brighter. While ostensibly a Christmas spectacular, Frozen Holiday was also meant to celebrate Yukigumi's 100th anniversary. Despite the aforementioned rollercoaster, I'm so glad that the top star for the anniversary was someone who has not spent a day outside of Yukigumi in her sienne life, who I've been watching since before my first trip to Japan. And I think the joy of it really showed on her. Aya was an angel, so visually perfect in her snow queen dress that I believed she was destined to be top musumeyaku of Yukigumi from birth. Aasa continued to out-Aasa herself; the wave of feral energy she set off during the first livestream was well earned.

But... remember the disembodied arm just off the TV screen? The utter SHOCK I experienced when they treated her like a friggin' nibante...

Nanami Hiroki, who pulled top star numbers and probably had double our last day crowd at her average Hoshigumi ochakai, and Miya Rurika, who needed a simulcast for her last ochakai, didn't even get the final revue treatment that Sora did.

The disbelief that they did so good by her, the disbelief that I missed the transition, the disbelief that she was really leaving, shattered me.

In addition to general prominence throughout the revue, she gets a whole white-clad taidan number, complete with lyrics designed to blind her fans with saltwater, and one of the best bits of dancing I've seen out of her. After a seemingly impossible quick change, she rejoins the troupe for a very chuuzume-esque anniversary number (assuming the Christmas kyakusekiori is the real chuuzume), and that might actually be my favorite bit of dancing in the whole show. She co-leads the Noguchi-signature boyband number with Aasa, which I forgive because it's them and it's also T.M. REVOLUTION. She even gets a spotlight moment alone with Saki during the kuroenbi. And through all of it, she was so, so good. Good does not even begin to describe Kazuki Sora.

I felt like I cried for 48 hours straight.

***

I didn't manage to get myself actually into the theater for senshuuraku, but I did end up with two Hibiya cinema tickets. When I tried to pass one off onto one of the fellow jilted Sora Club members trying her luck outside of Chanter, I got pounced on by an old lady while those in their white wear were moaning about the cinema not being good enough. I was too tired and nervous to tell her I'd prefer to sit next to someone in club, so she got it. She and I ended up crying the hardest of everyone in the cinema by far. Thanks, old lady <3.

***

One thing that struck me was how desperately, frightfully grateful I was that Sora retired from Yukigumi. Sure, if she hadn't, her taidan would have probably just been canceled... but I don't even mean that. The anniversary aspect of Frozen Holiday was beautiful, and filled me with a joy and nostalgia I wasn't prepared for. It was my first kyakusekiori since 2019, and after Sora ran by me, I was blessed to find myself next to Kujou Asu, someone I adore enough to be in her club in an alternate universe. It was my first iride since 2019, and I had the privilege of seeing off one of my favorite musumeyaku, Sara Anna, as well. The way the troupe members talked about Sora, and what she gave them, and how thrilled they were that she joined them, made my heart swell. As genuinely mad as I was when they broke up KikiSora, I could see that Yukigumi gave her the space to blossom.

The farewell dinner was even entirely gluten free by complete accident, down to the fancy manju omiyage with mountain yam flour dough.

***

Five onsen dips, a massive weeb shopping spree a lifetime in the making, and one extremely bizarre Komu show later, I'm on the plane home, finally not crying on command.

But not having a runaway fave for the first time in ten years feels really desolate. I miss her so much.

[burningvelvet]

Hi! I was enchanted by your description of Byronic-ness, and really impressed with the wealth of knowledge you bring to bear on the topic. I'm re-listening to The Portrait of Dorian Gray, and I was wondering if Dorian would be Broadly Byronic, or Byronic-Orthodox? Conversely, how would Lord Henry stack up?

(for context, the post this ask is referring to, where I discuss my theory on the Byronic Hero, is here: https://www.tumblr.com/burningvelvet/733557464082120704/some-thoughts-on-the-topic-of-byronism-byronic)

Thank you for the ask and sorry for the late reply. I wish I could give a more thorough answer, and although I've read Dorian at least three times, I haven't since my study of Byronism. Now I would like to read it again just to scan it for Byronic themes - but at the moment I can't justify spending time on a venture like this. But I could write essays about this topic, as many other people have.

In short, I believe Dorian would be more Broadly Byronic and Henry is also probably Broadly Byronic, but that Henry is much, much closer to being Orthodox Byronic if we see it as more of a spectrum than a binary, which would really be best, although I didn't really take that approach in my original post. Very few characters could be classified as Orthodox Byronic, so a spectrum really is most necessary.

In my original post, I included some quotes from top Byron scholar Peter Cochran writing about the Byronic Hero concept in his essay "Byron's 'Turkish Tales': An Introduction."

Cochran contrasts the Byronic Hero with the Shakespearean Tragic Hero by saying that the latter can be something of a witty conversationalist, whereas the former never is, being too dead inside (my words, not his). Henry is certainly a cunning conversationalist, and is actually a lot like Iago from Othello — a character who, ironically, Lord Byron loved so much that he put on a production of the play just so he could play him (as an aside, because I love this story: Mary Shelley played Desdemona and Percy directed, but one of Byron's mistresses forced the rehearsals to stop, supposedly because she was jealous of one of the actresses and felt left out because she couldn't speak English).

Anyway. Cochran also says that the prototypical Byronic Hero (what in my post I originally called the "Byronist's Byronic," but prefer to call "Orthodox Byronic" for clarity) never succeeds romantically, which is true. I don't know if this fully applies to Dorian or Henry. The former has several love affairs which aren't really genuine but which he does derive a sort of decadent satisfaction from. Dorian "wins over" Sybil Vane. Henry is married, and though not in love with his wife, he doesn't despise her like Heathcliff does his wife. Heathcliff is widely considered the greatest overall Byronic Hero, as he meets most of the criteria for both Orthodox Byronic and Broadly Byronic.

Cochran also says:

"The Byronic hero is a human dead-end."

Which does describe both Henry and Dorian. But in being companions, neither of them have the solitary nature which the Byronic necessitates, although they both come close (especially Dorian in the end) by being outsiders. And they are both hedonists, which isn't really Byronic, though people consider it as such, probably because of the cultural & literary confusion (as I explained in my original post) between the writings of Byron the Writer and the life of Byron the Man.

The Orthodox Byronic Hero, like Heathcliff, is mostly antisocial with few exceptions and basically has anhedonia the majority of the time. Dorian and Henry are a little anhedonic, especially Dorian in his infamously increasing pursuit of pleasure, but the Orthodox Byronic Hero is really too depressed to get it up for prostitutes or to go to an Opium den, and would never be caught dead at the kinds of dinner parties Dorian and Henry frequent.

But again, my overall opinion is that whild both of them have strong Byronic elements, they are more Broadly Byronic than Orthodox Byronic, which is a more rare character type.

[kaija-rayne-author]

Spoilers for Tevinter Nights and today's reveal on upcoming DA4 companions. Educational review of The Wigmaker/Lucanis Dellamorte character.

I'm happy that I called Neve Gallus and Lace Harding as companions in DA4. Neve looks amazing!

Really really wish I'd been wrong about Lucanishit Dellamorte.

The story 'The Wigmaker' in Tevinter Nights of the so called 'mage-killer' (who would actually be Marius or Tessa thank you very much) was one of the most poorly characterized pieces of crap I've ever read in my entire 12 years as an editor.

And trust me, please, when I say I've had to edit some real stinkers.

Agree with me or not, I honestly don't care. I know I'm right. Why?

Because there's science behind what works in writing good characters, good settings, good (insert a part of a story).

Editors like me exist to gently (or sometimes not so gently) smack an author over the head with the 'no, that's a ridiculous idea, perhaps tweak it to this instead' stick. And that character was ridiculous on so many levels.

I've already had people get rudely in my face for sharing a personal (and professional) opinion about Lucanishit today.

Reading is subjective. But what that actually means, is that what I like in a story, and what another person likes in a story will be different.

It's not a statement on professional quality of the story in question. That's a completely different topic.

It's very possible to enjoy a story with bad any of the above. Especially if you love reading and weren't foolish enough to become an editor like me.

Word to the wise, if you love reading? Don't become an editor. You end up developing all these pesky standards and knowledge about how story works (and how it doesn't).

It's even possible to enjoy a story that's poorly written or edited. But that enjoyment, which, yes, is absolutely subjective, is still not the same as whether the character, story, setting, or writing are actually good in the professional sense.

I have several NYT bestselling clients. I've worked in and around trad pub and indie pub for more than a decade. How story works is absolutely one of my AuDHD special interests, and as such, I've studied the nuts and bolts of it like I do any of my special interests. I'm not talking out of my ass here.

The fact is that some things work in writing, and some things don't. Some things work in particular types of stories, and some things don't. It's just the nature of the beast.

Seriously. Without being pissed off at me for disliking a story you may have liked? Think about it and read my professional issues with the character.

Something I feel we, as writers, need to constantly be doing is improving our craft. It always surprises me how many writers just get pissy and attack rather than taking the opportunity to engage in free education.

Because when an experienced professional of any sort breaks something down like this, that's what we're doing. Offering free education. (Tips are very much appreciated.)

This critique is based on the story 'The Wigmaker' in Tevinter Nights where we first meet Lucanis. I really hope the Lucanis we get in game will be different.

In the entirety of the DA series (books, games, comics, everything) have you ever seen an Antivan Crow act like such a chuny, emo edgelord? Nope.

A supposed Antivan Crow strutting around like some arrogant, badly imagined, assassin version of Harry Dresden just doesn't work.

Crows are wraiths. Shadows. The whole point is that no one sees them coming!

They don't advertise like Lucanishit does. Which is why I'd rather hoped it would be his cousin Illario chosen as the romanceable companion. He actually knows how to blend in. Illario spends a lot of the story rightfully calling Lucanis on his bullshit methods.

The first of many editorial hiccups in 'The Wigmaker' is that you really are very unlikely to shove a sword through a wall like that. And a supposedly experienced assassin would probably know that?

Even modern walls have studs and often solid insulation and wires in them.

But we're talking medieval like walls, which tended to be stone or lathe and plaster. Those walls are basically a sandwich of wooden lathes with stone/gravel fill in the middle, then plaster on top. You are not shoving a sword through one. You can barely drill through one with a power drill! Even if you did manage to? It would very likely ruin the blade.

Also, that would not be the shape of the wound if you actually did manage to shove your sword through one of those walls without breaking it and into someone's hand. Because hands have these weird things called bones in them.

Fan art has Crows as more flashy, sure, but in the series itself? The most you see is skin tight clothing and dangerous eyes.

Going up to an innkeeper and bloody advertising that you're a crow? WTAF is that? Lucanishit is supposed to be the grandson of Caterina Dellamorte, First Talon to the Antivan Crows.

A black leather trenchcoat? Really? Really really? And that's just points off on the style factor. Those things became the mark of try-hards a long time ago.

Do you have any idea how noisy those coats are? How much unnecessary weight it would put on a person who is supposed to move silently and unseen? Do you have any clue how noisy those things would be when you took a flying leap like Lucanishit did in 'The Wigmaker?' (Think loud leather wings). How much wind drag there'd be wearing something so ridiculous on a contract? Any clue how hard it would be to reach your weapons under something like that? Ugh. The devil is most certainly in the details, peeps.

Okay, so moving past the utterly ridiculous sartorial choices this so called master assassin wears, he and Illario are loudly talking about being Crows on their way to the mark.

Assassins and Assassination are illegal, y'know? At least Illario tried to blend in. For which Lucanis mocked him.

They get into position, which for some reason is during a hoity toity Tevinter party rather than when the mark was, y'know, alone.

Lucanis does some incredibly unrealistic, noisy acrobatics to get some keys. That by itself I could let slide, rule of cool exists.

But he does it in that ridiculous leather trenchcoat. I don't care how unlikely people are to look up (humans really don't look up very often unless we train ourselves to do so) a giant bat like person flopping around doing acrobatics would be kinda hard to miss.

Then we move on to some murders.

Now, it's part of almost every assassin's creed that you don't harm the innocent or the servants in taking out a mark. It's mentioned a few times about the Crows. Because, again, they're supposed to be the bogeyman in the dark you never see coming.

Lucanis murders a couple of paid guards and doesn't bother to make it clean or hide the bodies.

Finally, we're into the mark's inner sanctum. There's some particularly ghoulish stuff that the mark is guilty of, so I could see why it might annoy someone.

But there they are, two Antivan Crows in a secluded area near the Mark. That, if there were any actual assassins around would've been the end of the story.

But instead of killing the mark and disappearing like any crow should, Lucanis instead decides to make the veil thin enough to allow demons to easily come through.

Into a party of drunk Tevinter mages.

So now instead of a clean, fast kill, we have around 250 possessed mages and enslaved elves. And I think I read somewhere that elves feel being demon possessed is a fate worse than death.

Obviously, this is chaos. Red lyrium somehow acts like red lyrium never has in series, which I could let go because rule of cool.

Lucanishit then proceeds to fight a weird demon possessed mark. (I would point out that in that situation it would've been the demon that killed the mark, not Lucanis.)

But yes, eventually, after torturing red-lyrium Shelob, he pokes it enough to kill it. Which in DA canon doesn't always dispatch the demon back beyond the veil.

Not even gonna go into what intentionally thinning the veil there would do. Aren't people trying to stop that?

Then Lucanis and Illario escape.

Leaving some 248 demon possessed creatures behind at a city estate in the middle of Vyrantium.

Now, like them or not, the nobility are usually the ones who have the resources to hire the crows. So Lucanis has just taken out a large portion of potentially paying clients. That alone would likely be enough to have him removed as a crow in a very final fashion.

And what exactly do y'all think would happen when those demon possessed inevitability get out of the estate?

Innocent people of Vyrantium would be slaughtered. Demons would replicate themselves and further thin the veil.

And it would be the commoners and enslaved people harmed most. Because magisters have the resources to protect themselves from demons.

There is absolutely no mention of Lucanis sticking around to clean up his mess. None.

This is not a good story on the professional level. There are major problems with it.

The writing itself is snappy and catchy. The action is fast enough that if you don't rub two brain cells together, it could be entertaining.

But my editor brain is always on. I literally cannot turn it off anymore.

My eyeballs rolled so much during this story that I'm surprised they didn't fall out and land on the floor.

From everything we know about crow culture from Zevran, from short stories and comics, from the games and bits of Lore, Lucanishit is just so badly characterized it's actually shocking that the same author wrote what is one of my favourite stories in Tevinter nights, which is 'Eight Little Talons' and which also features the crows as crows should be characterized.

I honestly think the only saving of that character for me in the upcoming game will be if someone who has actually read the Dragon Age lore on the Antivan Crows did the writing for him.

I don't even care that he looks a bit like Keanu Reeves, who is one of my all time favourite actors, nor that assassins tend to be some of my favourite classes to play.

Not even that I was really looking forward to playing a Crow again.

Man, if only Viago wasn't with Teia I'd have paid body parts for him as the companion crow (or Teia for that matter). And my polyamorous heart would've exploded in happiness to have them as a team you could potentially be in a polyam relationship with.

If that subtle, wickedly clever old Caterina Dellamorte, Lucanis and Illario's grandmother, who has kept hold of her position as First Talon for so long, saw her grandson acting like that she'd probably do what she did to Emil. (Which, in case you haven't read it, was smash his head in with a heavy handled cane then stab him to death.)

What the hell happened? Were they smoking the Harry Dresden smoke a bit heavily when they wrote 'The Wigmaker?' Some other kind of smoke? Were the editors drunk?

I swear. These things are part of why I keep saying that Bioware needs better developmental and diversity editors.

And no, I'm not talking about me. I would love to get into writing and editing for games. (Side-eyes the last year in the gaming industry. I think?)

But I don't write about Dragon Age and other games in hopes of landing a job. I do it to get these thoughts out of my head. And because I just love gaming. I've been doing it for over 30 years.

But they certainly need somebody.

[lord-squiggletits]

For the Salty Asks (forgive us for the avalanche, if it's too many you can pick your top three): 2, 9, 10, 11, 13 (Optimus), 20, 25 (IDW1), 26

uhhh honestly I feel a bit like a hermit who's out of the loop on what's popular/unpopular so some of these might be completely off the mark but here we go

2. Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

Mmmm I think most of my brotp's aren't shipped as OTPs to start with, so I dunno if I have any that fit this question.

Guess the closest example for me would be OPli/ta. I don't actively platonically ship them but I think platonic is way more interesting than romantic. I don't like the fandom's interpretation of romantic O/Plita at all + I feel like as one of the original "token woman" Autobots, I'd like to see Elita unshackled from Optimus as a love interest, esp because any official interpretation of them is probably gonna be written extremely heteronormatively/token romance between an action hero and The Girl. And the fanon version of them that's Strong Independent Girlboss Elita with whipped simp husbnad Optimus is just as boring and gross.

I just don't like the vibes and would rather them have some sort of friendly or regular relationship together.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why?

IDW1 Slide, who I've gone into detail about my hatred of in several posts, but the TLDR is that she comes off as some kind of mouthpiece character? Not a mouthpiece as in for the author's beliefs, but it literally feels like she only exists to shit on Optimus and call him a piece of shit. Her dialogue is so cheesily written ("literally fascism" is an actual thing she says) and her bitching/lack of cultural comprehension about Cybertronian history is so prevalent, that for a long time during my IDW1 reading I was genuinely confused as to whether she was supposed to be some sort of parody/strawman/mockery of someone IRL (her character comes off almost EXACTLY like an anti-SJW stereotype of a screeching harpy calling everyone she dislikes a fascist, and it's only Barber's very obviously left-leaning writing in other parts of the story that told me that definitely wasn't the intent). So then I was wondering "okay is she gonna like, randomly become evil and turn against the good guys because she's just that petty? I mean she spends all of her time bitching about how Optimus/the Autobots/Cybertronians in general are the worst ever and she also hates humans too so I mean maybe? Half of this story already doesn't make sense so I can see it happening."

Thankfully that didn't happen, but like. Slide is so goddamn annoying and ignorant and gets way too much page time dedicated to her angry monologuing (in Unicron aka the finale of IDW1 there's literally a whole half page panel of her bitching about how Optimus is an evil tyrant while Trypticon is dying behind her and it comes off as a poorly timed, bad taste joke). The narrative treats her like she's some important individual whose feelings are important and valid, but she's fucking annoying. Any sympathy she was meant to garner is canceled out by badly written dialogue and the fact that she's a Literal Nobody of a character who seemingly only exists to bash the decades old, beloved legacy characters. For the sake of, idk, talking about how fucked up Cybertronians are that they just shrug and move on when people die? Bc apparently it's some sort of sin to be numb after 4 million years of war (and war that's literally still ongoing while Slide is bitching) and just soldier on trying to get through it? God forbid that a military hierarchy fighting to keep neo-Decepticons and various other alien threats from colonizing Earth be run like a military in which orders have to be followed, people die, but you still have to keep fighting anyways? Idefk man I just hate Slide so much she's basically the embodiment of all of the bad aspects of Barber's writing personified.

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

Mutineers arc in MTMTE/LL. I feel like (whether due to early cancellation and/or JRO wasting time on too many side plots to give it its full depth), I dislike how the mutineers were basically boiled down to pure evil morons who are the most disgusting, despicable evil ever and the only reason the mutiny had Good Guys (TM) in it was because they were horribly misled and not because, you know, the mutiny was 100% a valid thing to have happened as retaliation against Rodimus and Megatron's captaincy.

Like, I'm not opposed to the idea of Getaway and his cronies being assholes (I personally thought Getaway was a GREAT slow-burn, puppet master villain/anti-hero), I just dislike how the quality of their writing degraded from MTMTE to LL. Felt like they (Getaway in particular) got passed the Idiot Ball and then the actual reasons behind the mutiny were never addressed, it was kind of just "oh Getaway died horribly so we're all friends now and we forgive each other and Rodimus/Megatron will just go back to being captains now."

11. Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

You mean besides IDW Optimus because anyone who's been on my blog for like 5 seconds knows he's my biggest problematic fave skldfjskd

Uhhh I guess in the spirit of the previous question, Getaway. I feel like the fandom's hatred for him is overblown mainly bc it's a combination of Tailgate/Cyga/te fans going "HE GOT IN THE WAY OF C/YGA/TE AND ALMOST KILLED THAT PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLL" and Rodimus or Megatron stans going "Getaway hates my fave?? But my fave is a good captain and deserves the world HE'S EVIL MY FAVORITE IS BEYOND CRITICISM OR REPROACH GETAWAY IS THE EMBODIMENT OF EVIL."

Like to me it seems as if the hate for Getaway isn't normal dislike or even people hating him because he's a well written villain. It feels weirdly like ppl really take Getaway's actions personally and hate him with the kind of passion you normally see reserved for actual real life horrible people. Or they like, see Getaway as an obstacle to [favorite character]'s happiness and not as an individual who, before the quality of his writing tanked, was actually an interesting character who maybe even had good points? It just feels like people mainly hate Getaway because he's the antagonist to more popular characters/ships and so they project their defense of their faves into virulently hating him.

13. Unpopular opinion about (Optimus)?

Honestly 90% or more of the fan content I see for Optimus is really boring/uncompelling to me, or really just comes off as out of character. It's either Optimus being reduced to an accessory to be shipped with someone (usually turned into some sort of moe cutesy uke type) or him being turned into.... idk some permutation of "feral irresponsible gremlin" or "One Of The Good Ones (TM)" or "anxiety-ridden damsel who needs to be rescued by his lover" or, in some circles, "character I project my issues with authority onto and try to frame as evil for things that aren't even evil."

Idk how to specifically describe it, it's just... a vibe? Most of the Optimus content I see doesn't actually feel like him at all. It feels like it's Optimus/Orion in name only, who got so separated from canon and distorted by fanon/flanderization/shipping/porn stereotypes that he now only vaguely resembles the character he's supposed to be.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Ahahaha I don't really go into the realm of pure ships honestly, plus this is the war criminal fandom where pretty much every character has killed people or committed crimes or is just generally scarred by war so uhhh

Idk I think Thundercracker/Melissa is a pretty hinged ship? They get along and cope surprisingly well with all the shit that happens. There's no angst or betrayals or misunderstandings or enemies, they're just very respectfully together. Sdfklsajfksd

25. How would you end (IDW1)/Would you change the ending of (IDW1)?

Honestly, I'm pretty satisfied with the ending of IDW1 on both sides of the story. On Barber's side I would've preferred if every single planet including Cybertron didn't get fucking eaten leaving them all stuck on Earth together, and I would've also kept Trypticon alive while... minimizing Slide's role, to say the least. I don't have a problem with Optimus' ending bc I actually think that Optimus' arc in Unicron is like, one of the few 1000% good things Barber wrote for him it's just. It's pure Optimus in his best form.

On JRO's side I would've cut out the last panel with the alternate Lost Light and left it ambiguous as to whether the quantum jump successfully copied the ship or not. I dislike the vibes of the canon ending that implied that everyone moving on with their lives (almost universally to new and exciting and happier places) was the "sad" ending and going on a permanent road trip is the "true, happy" ending. In the author's notes I think JRO said that he wanted to give the readers an ending that would allow them to imagine their faves continuing to go on adventures, but I think compromising a good ending to a story to appease fans is fucking stupid + fandom has never needed permission or approval from the author to write alternate, happy endings. So why ruin a poignant, melancholy ending about how endings come with new beginnings and sadness/nostalgia can be mixed with hope and happiness by going "sike lol they're all living happily ever after on their space cruise."

Also I wouldn't have randomly killed off Ratchet for no reason because like. What was that even supposed to accomplish. I'm no stranger to writing major character deaths but like. He just fucking died of disease off-screen and that was that??? Why, like what was the narrative/symbolic purpose of that besides just making the ending more sad? Maybe to emphasize how going back to Cybertron was the "bad ending" and the quantum Lost Light is the "good ending" since on the LL Ratchet is still alive? But see the paragraph above for why I don't like that.

26. Most shippable character?

The most shippable character to me is whichever character I think is the sexiest, because if I think they're sexy it makes me want to ship them with everyone. "Guards, fuck that man for me" etc etc. Lmao

[touloserlautrec]

Get To Know Your Moots Writeblr Interview

Thanks for the tag, @mk-writes-stuff (here) and @ceph-the-ghost-writer (here)!

The question template by @davycoquette is here!

On the Tumblr Writing Community

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr? Uh... Hmm. Me and time measurement don't mix great. Haha maybe about a year ish?

What led you to create it? My partner/co-writer, @sunset-a-story pulled me in and I'm grateful they did! I'm always resistant to joining social media sites, but this one was well worth it.

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community? All the kindness and interaction. It's the one place on the internet I feel like I'm interacting with real humans and engaging with creativity anymore, rather than just shouting into the void. It's a great community.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you? I am an introvert with a deeply people-focused job, so sometimes I don't interact as much as I'd like to because of The Tired. But I love seeing your posts and reading your stories and thinking about your characters!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash? I pretty much always want more stories and characters and art. There is plenty of it on my dash, but I am a glutton for blorbos and stories.

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today? Don't be afraid to comment, reblog, send asks-- I was super nervous about that at first because on other sites it can be a minefield, but the writeblr community is wonderful!

WIP it Good

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately? Pretty much I'm working on Sunset all the time. It's the only WIP I'm actively writing/editing and I'm rotating it in my head for most of my days. But I do have a handful of OCs from other stories/'verses that live strictly in my brain. Lately, that's included an alien Mech pilot named Lux; a head-empty reincarnation of a trickster fae, named Axel; and a reluctant superhero who travels through people's dreams, named Piper.

How long have you been working on them? I've been working on Sunset with @sunset-a-story for about 17 years. The last several years (8, by their count) it's been more seriously dedicated writing. Axel has lived in my head for probably a decade, and Lux is less than a year in. Piper came into being a couple weeks ago.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started? Sunset started as a TTRPG that grew into a much larger story. It definitely had anime influences at the time and has evolved from there.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them? If I'm not focusing on work, then... all of it.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say? I have a bad habit of downplaying it that I'm trying to break, so usually it starts as something like, "A silly genre serial," and then I try to course correct to something like, "It's a science-fantasy serial about people with powers, corrupt, problematic corporations, and espionage, with romance and horror elements and lots of intertwined storylines."

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)? I'd like to, without cringing, just be like "Listen, it sounds bananas but it's like the best dump cake you ever ate. It's so delicious. It has everything. It has super powers, it has deeply flawed and morally grey characters, it has horrible cannibal vampires and people who hunt them, it has cult-like corporations, it's queer and diverse as hell, there's romance and steamy scenes, and it has SPIES. It's hilarious sometimes and devastating others. It will hurt your feelings. You'll love it."

Let’s Rotate Blorbos

Name any characters you created. Listen, our cast is enormous enough that we have a Dramatis Personae. So Instead of listing them, here's a link to my art, which is 99.9% exclusively of our OCs.

Who’s the most unhinged? Sunset's cast falls into one of three categories: OCs I created, OCs @sunset-a-story created, and OCs we both created and the origin is murky at best. I'm gonna choose one that I created here-- Emmett. He pretty much an unhinged, driven, competitive hurricane.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write? Alex. Alex is my baby and is the closest to my heart. He was the first character in Sunset I created.

Do you ever cringe at them? Oh, all the time. They don't make good choices, but that's how you build a great story.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters? Only some. They mostly take off themselves. I just kind of get a seed of imagination germinating and see where it grows.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters? YES. I love asks, reblogs, tags, comments... Being a writer/artist/creative online feels like shouting into an empty void most of the time, so when I get a comment or a reblog or an ask it's like the biggest battery charge for me. It's easy to get discouraged, so those moments are life savers sometimes.

On Writeblr Engagement

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account? If their WIP seems to vibe with me (especially science-fantasy, queer, romantic, dark stories), if they post a lot of their own work and reblog other original creators' work, if there's art involved too, or if they generally seem like someone I'd vibe with.

What makes you decide against following? Usually it's either because a blog is too dedicated to fandoms I don't know, or if it's all just reblogs of memes--then it depends on the vibe. But the biggest reason I don't follow is, unfortunately, that I get tired and can't focus enough to scope new people out. BUT I do keep tabs on new blogs in my activity notifications to come back to and check out when I've recouped some energy.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often? ...Maybe? TBH I forget sometimes who are moots and who I just follow. I interact with people that seem neat and friendly and I'm brave enough to try. Some of them are for sure moots. Some of them aren't. And then there are those who seem really cool and I need to build up confidence enough to interact with more than just liking and reblogging. Which is silly, because almost all of us say all the time that we love interaction from others, so...why do we let anxiety do this to us??

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle? YES. BLORBOS. I think about them regularly. It's the best.

I'll gently tag @revenantlore @littlemoondarling @scribe-of-stories and open tag!

[being-of-rain]

I listened to The Last Day, Big Finish's lead-in to the TV Movie. It was more or less what I expected from the fact that it's a sequel to Dark Universe, co-written by that release's author and script editor. Which is to say, it reminds me of a lot of Event Comics from DC or Marvel: bombastic and full of spectacle, has a Big Deal premise and lots of characters crossing over, happy to do a character-assassination or few to make the plot work, and ultimately not particularly good.

I think I'll just write down my thoughts in dot point form. Spoilers ahead. There's a few positives mixed in there somewhere, I swear.

In case you don't know, the plot is that the Doctor takes over the universe (using all-powerful creatures from another universe that have decided to whatever he tells them to) in order to solve everyone's problems by destroying species and rewriting people's timelines. Ace puts together an over-complicated plan involving many of the Doctor's friends and enemies to stop him.

-The premise of Seven finally going full control-freak might make for a good finale to a character arc (maybe) with a story arc and writers that really do justice to the character. These were not that. Unless I missed something, there's no explanation whatsoever why the Doctor took over the universe - no inciting incident, one day he just got tired of not taking it over I guess.

-And honestly, the vibe I got from basically every EU story I've consumed is that Seven was more of a master manipulator in the middle of his life, and as he grew older he mellowed and grew tired of masterplans. So personally, this feels far from "natural progression" the writers claim it to be for Seven's final days.

-The story really didn't act as a great finale to any arc, really. It didn't feel like a necessary continuation to any of the characters' stories. It didn't even really do anything with Ace's anger at the Doctor that bubbles over at the very end of Dark Universe, too late for that story to do anything at all interesting with it. To be completely honest, I'm not even certain if the hero Ace of this story (as opposed to the Evil Ace also in this story) is supposed to be young Ace or old Ace. I assume Old Ace since she's on the covers? (and a comment made by Roz that I wasn't sure which way it was supposed to be read). But to be fair the cover uses a young Hex and Sally when they're supposedly several decades older in this, a young Seven because for some reason they don't have the rights to TV Movie Seven, and a young Mel when god knows how/if this fits into her timeline.

-The covers are also just bland in general. Marvel movie poster disease.

-One positive that Event Comics have that this doesn't is that there isn't any fresh new story arcs starting from this story either. Given how utterly disinterested Big Finish is in creating any ongoing arcs or connected series or anything that's not as standalone as they can make it, they can't really do big Event Stories. The events of The Last Day will be lucky to ever get mentioned again - which is wild when you consider this is the time the Doctor decided to take over the universe. I saw someone online say 'it's hilarious that the Doctor will spend their lives being ashamed of the War Doctor for picking up a gun when Seven did THIS' and it's TRUE.

-All this plus the fact its set in a universe where timelines are altered in order to bring back dead characters (and presumably return them to the grave by the end although they didn't go into that) makes this story feel much more like an alternate universe What If style tale, with about as much impact on the franchise as that would suggest.

This is going to be a long post, I can tell. But I want it to be just one post so... take breaks if you need to. Drink water. Now, what else.

-The story was naturally presented as the bringing together of lots of elements from Seven's life, but I think it's far more accurate to say it's the bringing together of lots of elements created by these writers specifically. The majority of characters, species, and concepts not from the TV show were created or mostly developed by Guy Adams and Matt Fitton, and considering how iffy I find so much of their combined bibliography, that was not a happy discovery for me. The Quantum Possibility Engine, a story by Adams without much impact on the franchise, is honestly more necessary required reading than Dark Universe.

-Probably the most obvious example of this is Mother Finsey, featured on the cover of Part One, who previously appeared in a single Third Doctor story by Adams. She has a fun premise, being an ex-companion of the Master, but it wasn't necessary to this story to include her.

-Another example is Stenn the Sontaran, is a specific Sontaran from the random Fitton sontaran story Starlight Robbery (which I absolutely wouldn't have known if not for the behind the scenes interviews). And the real reason that annoys me is: do you know who else is in Starlight Robbery? Elizabeth Klein! A fantastic Seventh Doctor companion who feels tailor-made not only for a Seventh Doctor final story extravaganza, but for this story in particular!! I don't know why or who made the decision not to include her, but it's hard to feel cheated when she was left out and so many other characters weren't.

Okay, I know I'm getting nitpicky and personal but honestly... I want to be nitpicky about this. I try to be so objective and fair in my reviews sometimes, let me be nitpicky about this one.

That said, we're up to a few things I liked!

-I did rather like Ace in this story (mostly). She's the one leading the plan to stop the Doctor, and listening to her fly around in the TARDIS coordinating plots and pulling strings felt so right to me. I've always loved the idea of her taking after the Doctor, learning from him in the way the TV show started all those years ago, so in that one respect, this story felt like it was culmination of decades of build up. Other stories have definitely shown parts of that, but this one feels the most like Ace carrying on the legacy of the Doctor. It feels wrong to be complimenting this story on how it treats the Ace and Doctor relationship, for reasons we'll come to later.

-My favourite single episode of the twelve-parter has to be the second one. Episode one's cliffhanger of Ace saving someone who turns out to be the Master, happily asking him to help save the universe, and him laughing his head off, put me in a gleeful mood. And that continued throughout episode two, in which Ace puts together her suicide squad of villains. Not even the out-of-place Mother Finsey or the obnoxious Garundel being part of it could dampen my spirits.

-When Big Finish announced that Kane, from 1987's Dragonfire, was returning, I rolled my eyes. But damn it if he didn't become my favourite part of this story. Hearing a fully-realised Ace face off against her teenage self's first ever villain, this time with flamethrower to make him sit down and have a civil conversation, was delicious, and worked wonderfully as the framing story for episode two. He was also a surprisingly good character in his own right, fiercely intelligent and quick to follow everything going on, but without being loud and annoying about it like the Time Lords and their companions. His airs of respectability made it extra fun for him to be walking around in a cooling survival suit like Mr Freeze. I never thought I'd come out of this thinking 'that was kind of a better sequel to Dragonfire than anything else' and 'I wish we got more Kane' but here we are.

-The Master was also incredibly fun. Guy Adams sometimes has a way of writing characters that's very... I'm not sure how best to describe it. Abstract? Philosophical? Slightly off? It'll sound like he's trying to get the best quotes or thinking points out of them, rather than what they might realistically say (like how James Goss writes, but less so). And while I might not like it all the time, it works great for the Master, especially when he's not the main antagonist. Instead he'll skulk around the other characters, enjoying himself and having lots of the best lines. Geoffrey Beevers is, as always, a delight.

That was a lot of good things! You can't accuse me of not finding things to like. Remember to stand up and stretch, by the way. Relax the tension in your shoulders.

-Now, to talk about the end. I was curious how it was actually going to tie into the TV movie, and remained so for most of the story because it was not obvious. In the end... well I only just listened to it today, but first impressions is that I don't like how they did it.

-At the time it was announced that the Master was going to be in The Last Day, I was hyperfocusing on the Master's timeline, so I was incredibly intrigued by Big Finish finally linking the decayed Master they introduced in 2001 to the next incarnation. In the final episode, his bitter ex-companion Finsey kidnapped him and simply dumped him on Skaro, which did feel rather contrived considering how much she seemed to want to personally finish him off.

-What annoyed me more (and now I'm going to get mad at something very niche) is that just before dumping him, Finsey makes a comment about the Master 'looking healthier' and he says that he picked up a new regeneration cycle while he was on Gallifrey. Beevers voice doesn't really change at all, so I guess they're saying that he didn't properly regenerate but just grew skin and a goatee (and switched his ragged cloak for a sharp suit) and it was the Beevers Master that appeared at the start of the TV movie? A few years ago Big Finish put some hard work and a fascinating story behind giving the Master a new regeneration cycle after the TV movie, but now they're apparently saying before that he just casually picked one up, didn't even use a full regeneration out of it and then lost the whole cycle immediately. That's even stupider than the Thirteenth Doctor getting her life back from the Master then dying again twice over the next day.

-Now on to the Doctor's ending. I'll tell you what happened. As soon as Ace gets face to face with him, he gives the whole universe takeover up, which was rather anticlimactic, but rather more in-character than deciding to do the takeover in the first place, so whatever. He goes to have a drink at a cafe with Ace and then she 'accidentally' gets a drink spilled on him. He goes to change clothes in the TARDIS and gets a call while there- from Narvin, telling him the Master has been killed on Skaro and would like to be picked up. The Doctor muses that if he wasn't in the TARDIS at this exact moment he would've missed the message and someone else would've gone (because Time Lords don't have voice mail I guess) and outside Ace says "Manipulative people always become something dark. I'll have to watch out for that. Hopefully I'll have a friend who loves me enough to stop me. Goodbye, Doctor."

-Now, I like the idea of tying the very end of Seven's life to Ace, the most important relationship in that life. But having her have him killed because he was too dangerous sure is A Choice. My conception of Seven's life story was someone who got worse and then regretted it and mellowed. This story suggests he got worse and worse until his closest friend had to kill him. Yowza.

-This continues what I hated from Dark Universe: the idea that Ace and the Doctor's relationship is ultimately bad. I hate that! I enjoy some depth and some toxicity to relationships but Ace and Seven just don't seem THAT bad to me, and are both characters I want to have happier endings. And these two stories feel like they treat the topic with surprisingly little depth either, both of them simply finishing with 'and they were bad for each other, The End' before they could start an interesting discussion!

-There's an Evil Ace in this story, an alternate timeline Ace who the Doctor picked to take care of Earth for him- by being its authoritarian ruler, of course. And I think her only real purpose in the story, apart from being a reference to Ace's many canon timelines (again a reference rather than a discussion), is to show how bad the Doctor and Ace can be for each other and for everyone else. But it feels so flat for me, because neither character would act like that! "Manipulative people always become something dark" is such a boring and shallow thesis.

-It's made clear that part of the reason Evil Ace can be so cruel and callous is her time studying with the Time Lords and feeling superior with them, which she did early during her travels with Hex. I do hope this isn't suggesting that the 'prime timeline Ace' (if there could possibly be such a thing) didn't train with the Time Lords, or it would've been a bad thing if she did. I like Time Lord Ace.

-On another topic, Narvin being the one to tell the Doctor to go pick up the Master is funny. Put that man in vital parts of Dr Who lore. He hates it. And it just makes it funnier when Narvin and the Doctor reintroduce themselves every so often like they've never met before.

-Oh, and the scene that Doom Coalition and Dark Universe share has the Doctor being told that the president has one more request for him, implied to be that he pick up the Master. So I guess this story (which is, I again stress, the sequel to Dark Universe) just ignores that jskldjf. Dr Who would truly rather die than have a coherent canon in any parts of the franchise.

Anything else I want to say? Oh the other companions.

-It was nice to hear a bunch of the companions again. They probably didn't need so many returning characters, and by the end I had trouble remembering who was where, but I can't blame them for going all out (or as all out as they felt like, anyway.)

-It was cute how Hex and Sally named their kids for Hex's mum, Hex's friend from his first story, and especially Evelyn <3 I hope Sally got some say in the matter. Honestly their segments were slightly too Family Melodrama for me, but that's personal taste.

-Probably the most boring episode was episode four which was just Mel and Benny running trying to avoid Hob from The Quantum Possibility Engine (and the DWM comics, but none of Seven's). Benny's always at least charismatic with a good actor, and I was worried that this was her only appearance, so I'm glad she returned in the second box set for some more wisecracks.

-Given the TV show's recent retcons, Big Finish forgetting its own plotlines, young Mel being used on the cover, and this being something of a sequel to her previous appearance travelling with Seven and Ace, it's possible this could be the last appearance of the Mel who reunited with Seven in A Life of Crime and had more adventures with him. As well as, I suppose, an opportunity to explain it away as a changing timeline, if you want to do that kind of thing.

-Lysandra died and I assume she came back to life at the end. Quite a few characters died but she was one of the only ones who wasn't either brought back to life during the story or was dead before it started anyway. I suppose Vienna Salvatori also fits into that category? So yeah they're both probably alive again, it's fine.

-Roz's death in the novels was actually a plot point, which is yet another time Big Finish has tied itself closely to the New Adventures in some ways while contradicting them in others (I'm thinking of the Master specifically). I don't mind though, that's something that's been going on for 25 years now. One day the EDAs might get the same treatment.

Anything else?

-The incidental music was bad. I think it was just recycled from previous audios, but even if it wasn't it almost always felt really out of place and took me out of scenes all the time.

-Oh Brax got a mention which was fun. In the Doctor's new universe he exiled Brax who then died, much to the Doctor's distress. Big Rip moustache man.

That's all I can think to say about this set right now. So overall it had it's fun parts, but failed to be much of a big event, and had a really bad take on Seven and his relationship with Ace.

[akookminsupporter]

Hey Rosie! Quite surprised that we had Jikook cooking and spending time together in Jimin's apartment shown in the docu. I knew the reason we have so many jikook moments the past years was bec they were always together, but this uptick in recent and upcoming (travel show) Jikook moments have been interesting.

Imagine the chaos that happened the past two to three years when people left and right have been shouting that they're not close/not spending anymore time together, that they're the only members not engaging on each other's social media posts, only to be proven for the thousandth time that, they're pretty much spending time together and that they're just not posting or broadcasting it.

Can you imagine how many Jikook hangouts we're not privy to?? Good for them. They're happy and inside their own bubble without an effing care about people trying to disprove their bond.

But God, imagine being together for the past decade, spending off-hours and rest days together, and still opting to enlist in the buddy system together, 24/7, for possibly 547 days? At this point, even I can't imagine how much they love being together to the point that they're so secure they won't get sick of each other's presence. I'm going to be so insufferable when their show comes out. I probably won't stop talking about it.

Hello, Anon! In your Ask, you mentioned several things that I'd like to comment on, so I'll go paragraph by paragraph if you don't mind.

I finished writing everything I had to say, and I realize it's quite lengthy, and the Ask is already long – I'm sorry!

Paragraph 1: This is interesting. I'm curious to know why this surprised you. If anything, it is consistent with everything we've seen from Jimin and Jungkook in this type of content. They spend a lot of time together, generating moments between them that don't involve other members or that other members don't have. As I mentioned in another Ask, I believe that's precisely why we can always count on various moments between them in official content. It's not that everything is scripted or fake; it's simply that their dynamic creates moments that can be captured. Regarding the increase in moments between them, it's not that unusual. When you spend so much time with another person, it's normal. They have confirmed this time and time again, in my opinion. As for the show/series/documentary they did, I do recognize that it surprised me that they did it, especially considering the timing. Regarding this, I can't say much because we don't have any information about it. We don't know what the focus of the show will be, if it has one, of course.

Paragraph 2: Something that many people don't seem to understand is that the day has 24 hours, and these men don't share absolutely everything that happens in their lives with us. Just because we don't see something doesn't mean it didn't happen. It also doesn't mean it happened, but it doesn't mean it didn't either. This is tied to all the recent or ongoing discord with the subgroup. But especially since last year; they've mocked endlessly that Jimin and Jungkook didn't spend time together, that they didn't talk, etc., but at the same time, Jimin and Jungkook let us know through comments in their own Wlives that they did see each other's Wlives. They almost always mentioned the other, or in Jungkook's case, he spent time watching Jimin's videos in his Vlives or listening to his songs. This argument also falls apart when we remember that Jimin and Jungkook applied together for a special system that would allow them to enlist together in the army. It's not a decision you make with someone you're not close to and with whom you don't have communication outside of work. This decision also involved constant communication between them to complete the application and all that it entailed. Pretending that Jimin and Jungkook made that decision overnight after not having contact with each other is absurd and ridiculous at best. Pretending that they made that decision without being close or having a close relationship is even more so, especially when they had other options. This argument has also crumbled many times when, after a while, Jimin and Jungkook tell us that they were together at a certain moment, that they did something together, or, as we saw in the documentary, they are recorded by the cameras. Not everyone has to believe that Jimin and Jungkook are a couple or that the possibility of them being one exists and is high, but to believe that they are not close, don't like spending time together, or don't get along is ridiculous.

Paragraphs 3 and 4: Jimin and Jungkook like spending time together. That's something that no one can really argue, although many obviously try to. That's why it was a bit surprising that they filmed a show/series/documentary together before enlisting. Before we knew about the buddy system, it made sense to us that they would decide to do something like this because they wouldn't be together for a long time. But after learning that they would spend that time together, many of us wondered why. Perhaps the simplest answer is that they wanted to do something together for us, and the company agreed because they know better than us that the two of them have very good chemistry, and anything they did together would be entertaining. But at the same time, it's not that simple because, despite sharing a lot with us, or so it seems, Jimin and Jungkook are quite reserved and private about their relationship or dynamics. And for that reason, it will be very interesting to see what they did together.

[itsclydebitches]

Oh man that was a doozy of an episode. I'll write a proper recap when I get to it, but I want to throw out some initial thoughts while it's fresh.

Warning, copious salt ahead.

The Jaune vs. Ruby fight... honestly, I'm way more Team Jaune here. Look, obviously Ruby is going through a very difficult time right now but 1. Jaune is not privy to most of that (he doesn't get to see her awful flashbacks like the audience does) and 2. He's been going through a "very difficult time" for several decades. He literally just watched a whole village of friends DIE because he helped defend Ruby against Neo's attack, right on the heels of her and the others completely dismissing that relationship. I literally don't care who's right about the tree, I care that our huntress heroes balked at the idea of spending even one day protecting defenseless civilians that were clearly very important to their friend WHILE he did all the dangerous work of looking for a way out for them all (the best of both worlds!). Then they had the gall to smile at him after he watched them perish and go, "They're not dead. It's what they wanted :)" They don't know that! Yang literally admitted just moments ago that they do not know what happens at the tree, but now they're 100% sure that the paper people have resurrected into a better state because that's a nice, simple narrative. Even if they were sure of what happens, that's still a terribly difficult loss to deal with. As they saw with the Prince, people can come back from the tree COMPLETELY different, with little of their original personalities intact. If that's not a kind of death I don't know what is.

I hate that Yang responds with, "Hate that!" when they learn that Jaune did them the honor of keeping them close, bestowing all their names onto his new family. I hate that they can't put themselves in his shoes for longer than a few seconds and jump straight to him being "crazy." I hate that they're lost and aimless in this world, Jaune has spent a lifetime mapping its secrets, and yet they decide that they can't count on him. Why? Because he failed to have an easy answer ready when they needed it and has failed to hide that - surprise - things have been difficult for the lifetime he's been fighting alone. As he himself says: how dare I fail to solve all our problems.

Toss in the fact that we've had eight Volumes of Ruby demanding leadership at every turn, displaying full confidence in front of Jaune and reassuring him that yes, she knows what she's doing. I have soooo many problems with how Jaune is written, but my god, looking at things from a purely in-world perspective, he has EVERY right to be pissed as hell at her. Ruby promised she knew what she was doing. Jaune defended her decisions to Ren. He was put into a position where (according to RWBY's "logic") he had to kill a friend. Then he's dropped into a horrific alternate reality - a result of Ruby's failed plan - and yet spends his life waiting for her return. He devotes himself to her: looking for her, trying to find a way out for her, keeping her weapon safe for her, naming a new friend after her, and yes, protecting people like she helped teach him to. Obviously the others are all a part of that too, but at its core Jaune has spent decades following Ruby's leadership, despite how badly it failed him.

And then what? After all those YEARS what does he see when they finally reunite? A Ruby who is ungrateful to have her weapon back, is dismissive of his life here, stands uselessly while the others fight the battle for her (again, Jaune can't see inside Ruby's head), and then when defending her results in the DEATH of his village? How does she respond?

"What about me?"

Ohhhh my god, girl!! Yeah, yeah, no one gets to plan their breakdown, but I was still seriously side-eyeing her "Is this a bad time for you?" Yes, Ruby, it is a bit of a bad time because a village of people just died and you're only concerned with how hard your own life is. Read the room a little? Jaune's "It's all about you!" was so satisfying, though his immediate apology afterwards was not. Honestly, let Ruby sit with this, please. As I've said this whole Volume, she'd have a leg to stand on if she'd actually been forced into this war: if Ozpin had manipulated her into joining Beacon, if fighting had been a necessity due to her silver eyes, if the adults around her hadn't said at every single turn: 'Stop wresting control you're not ready for and let us carry the load.' But she didn't. It's all about Ruby because Ruby MADE IT all about her, so no... to my mind she doesn't get to turn around and start complaining that others expect something of her. Especially when the expectations are so low like Jaune's, 'Can you maybe consider that I've been through hell for several decades, respect the life I've built here, and be grateful for what someone is offering you rather than complaining that things aren't perfect right off the bat?'

This episode was so weird for me because on the one hand it gave me a LOT that I've been looking for, but on the other hand it highlighted how much I've come to dislike the four main girls. Why are they disgusted with Jaune bestowing their names on new friends? Why do they dismiss him despite everything he's accomplished? Why does Yang plant herself in front of Blake when her baby sister is being mildly critical of her? (Plus, I'm really not a fan of this droopy-eared, people pleaser Blake. Bring back the fierce, opinionated fighter she used to be.) At least we're staying consistent with the group turning on each other and assuming they'll be attacked at the slightest provocation (yay Volume 6 callback). I made a note in my last recap that I loved the girls enjoying the chess battle together and that's largely because most of the time they don't act like friends, let alone family. WBY have been nothing but critical and dismissive of Ruby since they landed here. None of them have any real sympathy to offer Jaune. As much as I disagree with her overall stance in the face of what's happened, Ruby's "We're so happy for you" to Blake/Yang and her "Shut up" when Blake tries another stupid platitude were great. Thanks, sis, for only paying attention to your girlfriend lately and no thanks, Blake, you already kept me from trying to come up with a practical solution once this Volume. Another, "Things are bad, but..." isn't going to cut it anymore. They ALL treat each other so badly nowadays and I'm shocked whenever we get a group hug that supposedly conveys how much they truly love one another. Can't you all just be nice with more frequency? More of that wholesome support seen in the chess fight over the stupid gags, please.

(Actually, that's a big compliment I just thought of: the episode didn't interrupt the intensity of that fight with another joke. Great job.)

Of course, we're already seeing the seeds of the quick forgiveness: Jaune's immediate apology, Blake trying to be optimistic, all of them staring in concern as Ruby flies away. It looks like the writers have a general sense of the show's criticism, but not why that criticism exists. Yes, Ruby has gone through a lot and she has plenty of reasons to be frustrated and disappointed with her team, but Jaune is still right. I don't think the show is ever going to get that. Ruby has been positioned as the victim this entire Volume, the poor soul "forced" to shoulder this responsibility, everyone offer her comfort and sympathy with no acknowledgement of how this all came about... and having one (1) character say, 'No. You fucked up' doesn't change that underlying narrative. Jaune is just the new Ren, allowed to briefly pull back the curtain on Ruby's leadership, only to almost immediately pull it back. If anything, the fact that Ruby is upset at being leader just offers another layer of protection.

Ruby: I want to make the decisions!

Someone: We don't think that's a good idea, but it's kinda hard to stop you... Wait. Your decisions are bad.

Ruby: Excuse me? Don't you know how hard making decisions is? How can you criticize me when you don't know what it's like? I'm the victim here!

Ruby as a character is pretty impervious to real criticism now because everything she's ever done falls under the header of "The Leader." Once you position her as the victim of unwanted leadership (which again, she's not) it automatically absolves her of true responsibility. She never would have made bad decisions if she hadn't been forced to make all the decisions in the first place, ergo you're the problem for dragging this poor girl who was only trying to make the best of a terrible situation! Meanwhile I'm just

[gestures to Ruby eagerly agreeing to go to Beacon early]

[gestures to her arc where she rose to the challenge of being team leader]

[gestures to the fact that leadership/teams were kinda dissolved outside of Beacon and people only kept looking to Ruby because she demanded to be heard]

[gestures to her hunting down Cinder against Qrow's advice]

[gestures to "This is my fight too!"]

[gestures to her insisting on Jaune's stolen airship plan against Qrow's advice (again)]

[gestures to "We never needed adults to solve our problems!"] [gestures to her solely making the decision to lie to Ironwood and ignoring her teammate's disagreements]

[gestures to her being the face of hope for all of Remnant]

[gestures to her awful plan that made Penny human, forgot Cinder, and deliberately destroyed a Kingdom]

[gestures to the fact that Jaune is ALSO a team leader and ALSO has a personal grudge against the baddies and has ALSO spent longer than twice Ruby's lifetime playing the part of a literal #Hero trying desperately to keep people safe, only for her to show up, endanger his new family, not fight, and then the rest of her team tries to platitude their way through a 'It's not that bad' response to their deaths]

Man, if I were John I would have had a LOT more to say to this girl and her "What about me?" attitude alfkjasflajfds