#I Read That They Can Used To Represent A Parental Bond And Can be Used For Mourning Because Of That

[phantasmalduelist]

Thanks for the tag @i-mybrunettelady!!!😊 I did it for both my commander and wayfinder & if you're reading this and want to do it, you're tagged (and please tag me in your post! So I can read).

-- B A S I C S

name: Penelope Starbinder (formerly Ry). age: 34. She was born on November 1 (Season of the Colossus/Scorpio. I picture her with an Aquarius moon and an Aries rising!). race: She had two mothers, one is Canthan and the other was a Mist Being with draconic blood. gender: NB femme (she/her). orientation: Lesbian. profession: Holosmith and Commander/Champion of Aurene.

-- P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

hair: Currently a copper orange. eyes: Right now her eyes have a purple and yellow hue which is impossible in-game, but that's the kind of shade. skin: Tanned. tattoos/scars: She has a tattoo on the base of her neck, it's supposed to represent her title of Starbinder. I haven't designed it yet because I haven't had the opportunity to draw her back AJKFJSF but yeah. Scars: one on her left breast/shoulder from when Bangar shot her.

-- F A M I L Y

parents: Mimi Ry (deceased) and Nvaa (deceased). siblings: Her twin sister Deanna Starlighter (formerly Ry). grandparents: Unknown. Her human mother had no family of note. in laws and others: Jormag - not officially married, but… honestly they have 6 children together so. It makes the Elder Dragons family ig. LMFAOOO. pets: Starry shiba inu.

-- S K I L L S

abilities: Proficient in engineering and holosmith skills; on the same level of Canthan engineering. She would be classified as a genius (she just doesn't use it like asura do, so it's never really commercialized). Great eye for strategy and making small talk with just about anyone. Good at solving things quickly and has a stellar sense of direction. She can't cook good food or sew or anything like that; that's Jormag's thing lol. She doesn't have a hobby or other skills that aren't related to being a commander and she should rethink that. The burnout is real.

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: Easygoing, extremely loyal, dependable. most negative trait: Martyrdom, impulsiveness, speaks without thinking at times.

-- L I K E S

colors: Purple, gold, cyan. smells: Lavender, coconut, beach. textures: Soft fur/hair, warm skin, weighted blanket. drinks: Energy drinks, cocktails, fizzy soda.

-- O T H E R D E T A I L S

smokes: Not usually, but she has. drinks: Yes. drugs: Nope. been arrested: Well yes, canonically so. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

-- B A S I C S

name: Badri the Starstorm (alter ego: The Starfall Ego). age: Unknown, but definitely over 150. race: Unknown. gender: Cis lady (she/her). orientation: Lesbian. profession: Wizard and Wayfinder. Chronomancer. (Alter ego: crazily powerful elemental cosmic magic).

-- P H Y S I C A L A S P E C T S

hair: Mousy blonde, very soft and shiny. (Alter ego: very light lavender/iridescent). eyes: Pale with a golden sparkle. skin: Pale purple-blue. tattoos/scars: None.

-- F A M I L Y

parents: Unknown. siblings: Unknown. grandparents: Unknown. in laws and others: Isgarren is her father figure and Peitha is her toxic yuri. Isak and her share a pretty strong sibling bond even if they are not related at all. pets: Her moth skyscale, Belle, is very much like a cat to her.

-- S K I L L S

abilities: Learned chronomancy from her teacher Basira & her skills are pretty good. She learns any kind of magic pretty easily and with efficiency. She can cook, sew, dance, play instruments, sing, and many other stuff. She's like a swiss army knife of skills. She devoted most of her time to hobbies and reading because she wasn't allowed outside the tower.

-- T R A I T S

most positive trait: Cheerful, tooth-rotting sweet and attentive, caring. most negative trait: Selfish, passive-aggressive, sheltered.

-- L I K E S

colors: Jade, lipstick, periwinkle. smells: Strawberry cake, peppermint, scented candles. textures: Velvet, encrusted gems, embroidery. drinks: Green tea, cocoa with chunky marshmallows, smoothies.

-- O T H E R D E T A I L S

smokes: Nope. drinks: Nope. drugs: Nope. been arrested: Nope.

[she-wolf09231982]

This was a fun little project I found on @suugrbunz posts and I thought it would be fun to practice with this prompt. Hope you like it!

Prompt idea to practice your writing otp (ocs or fandom) — it'd be so cool since a lot of us write BoB fandom related content. So it can be interrupted as a modern au or !! Write your couples when they have grown old together

~💚~💚~💚~💚~💚~💚~

Upon returning from Europe after the war came to an end, you and Joe Liebgott had enough points for Honorable Discharge then came back to America after having served together in Easy Company ready to begin your lives as an exclusive couple. You both agreed that California would be the proper place to settle together. With the finances you each earned overseas, you bought a modest home with all the trimmings and furniture to fill it with. 

June 1946 

A representative from a popular local radio station visited your home to invite you and Joe for a live broadcast interview about your experiences together as a couple while deployed. The man explained it would be a real human-interest story and the American public would love to hear it. After a little bit of coaxing, you convince Joe to do it with you. 

You and Joe seated next to eachother across from the record jockey who would be interviewing you. The interview simply went as follows: 

Record Jockey (RJ): So, are you two a couple? 

Y/N: We are a couple. *Proudly smiling*  

Joe: *Nods with a grin* 

RJ: Would you mind telling us the story of how you two met? 

*You’re hesitant at first because women serving in the military was quite frowned upon, but nonetheless would still be overjoyed to tell the story. Joe would only be looking to you to do all the talking. He loves hearing your voice, and just stares at you admirably* 

Y/N: We both enlisted in the Army at the same time and met at Camp Toccoa, GA. I trained with the Paratroopers and the medic training unit while we were there and was assigned to Easy Company where Joe also was. 

RJ: When was that? 

*Joe is better with numbers than you, so you hum in thought then look at Joe to help you out* 

Y/N: June....? July... 

Joe: July 1942 

RJ: What was your first impression of each other? 

*You smile coyly at Joe, narrowing your eyes at him. Joe would be slouching in his seat, not very thrilled to be there in the first place, but perks up a little at the question meeting your gaze affectionately* 

Y/N: He was smug, and overconfident. A real wise guy with a mouth that needed a good bar of soap. My initial impression of Joe was that he was nothing but trouble. And you know what? I was right about that, (Y/N giggles) but after spending all those years with him overseas, I discovered how charming he could be. And how honorable of a soldier he was in the field. 

*Joe grins adoringly at you. Grabs your hand and squeezes* 

Joe: At first, I thought she was a pain in the.... 

RJ: Mr. Liebgott! Please, we’re live! 

Joe: -right...uh, pain in the rear. Whenever me and the guys did somethin’ we weren’t supposta’, she’d always be naggin’ us. Ya know, like a parent? Thought she was going to fall behind a lot and complain about getting dirty or having to fire the M-1. She didn’t complain about the work, the filth, the sweat, the tears or the heat. None of it. She pushed through like any of the guys did. I read her all wrong in the beginning. 

*Your eyes meet and exchange smiles* 

RJ: How many years have you been an item?  

Y/N: Well, the rest of the guys considered us an ‘item’ long before we dropped into Normandy. But I’d say exclusively since late June 1944. After all the near-death experiences, we definitely had a stronger bond. 

*Joe just nods in agreement* 

RJ: Joe, we haven’t heard too much from you. What's your favorite thing about Y/N? 

*Y/N looks over at Joe expectantly, smirking because she knows he doesn’t really like to talk about feelings* 

Joe: *Long exhale, kind of stares out into space thinking* Well...she’s a knockout. Just look at her. *Gestures to Y/N sitting next to him blushing* I love that she can look the way she does and still be as strong as any of the guys in Easy.  

*He looks you over and winks at you making the butterflies in your stomach dance* 

RJ: So, was there a first date? 

*You and Joe both look at eachother inquisitively, each squinting at one another as if trying to search the other’s thoughts for an answer. You shrug* 

Joe: What about that night at Toccoa when we snuck out after lights out, and walked Curahee? Think that counts? 

Y/N: Ah, yes! It was so hot and humid, and neither of us could sleep on those kinds of nights- 

Joe: Mid-August 1943 

Y/N: -so we both snuck out of billeting to get some air after TAPS and bumped into eachother behind the mess hall. So, it was an impromptu first date. We ended up walking the Curahee trail up the mountain where we always did our awful company runs. But you could see the stars perfectly up there.  

*Joe nods* 

RJ: So, with the war having brought you together and the experiences having made you two inseparable, any plans to make Y/N ‘Mrs. Liebgott?’  

*You hiccup clutching your pearls. Joe chokes on saliva and chuckles nervously* 

Joe: *Scratching the back of his head* I think that goes without sayin’-- 

RJ: How about little Liebgotts? 

*Sweat forming on Joe’s forehead, you sense his panic* 

Y/N: Joe and I have the same ambitions planning for our future. That will include marriage and starting a family. Right now, we’re relishing eachother living peaceful lives after the chaos of the war. We’re in no hurry. 

*You look over at Joe, and he directs a grateful smile to you for rescuing him* 

RJ: You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen! From the treacherous depths of war love still prevails! Thank you for sharing your story with the public! It’s lovely to see this point of view about the war than from what we’ve only heard or seen in the news. What a story! 

The End

[chirpsythismorning]

The Hellflire Club Foreshadows Mike's Monologue (and More Than You Think...)

Several fans have noticed already that there are direct parallels between Mike's monologue in The Piggyback, with Eddie's monologue in The Hellfire Club.

While we've been grappling with all sorts of supernatural creatures over the course of Stranger Things' entire run, here Eddie is warning us about forced conformity and how that is the real monster.

This has also led fans to joke painfully about the fact that Max 'died' because forced conforming; that's what's killing the kids, aka Mike's whole speech to El wouldn't have happened the way it did in the first place, had him, Will and El not been trying so hard to be who they think they're supposed to be, instead of who they truly want to be.

However, what I want to add to this discourse, because I haven't seen anyone else acknowledge it (correct me if i'm wrong!?), is that this scene at lunch has two extras with whom Mike sits between, which are very likely meant to represent Will and El.

We've seen a lot of (love) triangle blocking used with these three before, often with Mike between the two. This screen-cap below has gotta be one of the most iconic and so I feel the need to mention it briefly:

What also makes this shot relevant as an example for this post, is the costume choice for Will and El here: the same shade of dark blue (hints of gray), and the fact that this doesn’t align with the colors/style they usually wear as individual characters. However, this was presumably one of the few times Will and El have genuinely interacted beyond supernatural happenings. And so now, with both of them standing on either side of Mike, after two seasons of him having only one of them beside him, and while the other was out of reach, what we're seeing is that these two are more or less two sides of the same coin. Whether Will and El are actually blood related (I'm like 75% sure they could be) remains to be seen. However Mike's bond between both of them individually is causing him to sort of be at war with himself (and his identity).

Now bear with me, because I know so many of you see theories/analysis involving set design/blocking/costumes and you just instantly check out and stop taking it seriously. But I can assure you, this is the real deal.

What follows, is so outrageously easy to overlook. And yet upon thinking about what it actually requires to film a scene, especially a scene like this with dozens of background extras, along with how this scene actually turned out, I'm going to explain why there are several factors which make me feel fairly confident about what these two specific extras represent.

To start things off, we know how this scene begins, with Eddie dramatically reading a Newsweek magazine:

"The Devil has come to America. Dungeons and Dragons, at first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even... Murder."

After they give us a short introduction to some of the faces of the Hellfire Club (notably Eddie), they cut to this point of view shot from Mike:

Here we are instantly introduced to the two extras that are going to dominate a majority of this scene outside of the main characters themselves, aka Willel...

note: interesting they don't include Mike in the shot for that specific sound bite below... almost as if he considers himself a freak for a different reason...

Yes, on the surface this scene is establishing that Mike and Dustin are finding a place in High School, as the freaks and geeks, but a place nonetheless.

Though, is that really all there is to it?

You'll see what I mean.

note: there's no meaning behind the circles touching here. i just wanted to acknowledge here that the El extra is visible at first, only for her to become hidden the moment that the Will extra becomes visible.

Now, this shot right here below is kind of iconic, because it's what made me realize that this girl extra here in the scarf represents El.

To provide a little more context, the Will extra next to Mike has already been picked up on by a decent amount of fans. I've even posted about it at least once. This guy definitely resembles Will at certain angles, to the point where he could arguably be a stand in/stunt double for scenes that don't require a close-up of him.

Also keeping in mind, this is a scene of the party in high school, in a D&D club. Assuming Will could have stayed in Hawkins and went to high school with the party, he would've more than likely been right here beside them. So that's what I initially got out of this scene and still partially do get out of it, regardless of these other observations I'm discussing here.

What's so fascinating about the Will extra though specifically, is that they avoid showing his face as much as possible, which is a unique choice that we're just not seeing be applied to the other extras in the frame. They even let us see the face of the guy across from the Will extra (blue/yellow striped shirt guy) multiple times, but apparently they really wanted to avoid showing this guys face (there are a few notable, but fleeting side profiles from an outside POV), almost to keep up this guise that we could imagine this is Will and hell, it could be him, bc it's pretty damn close.

However, upon recently rewatching this scene, I remember looking for other points when this Will extra might have been prominent, to see if I could find anything else.

And that's when I realized this girl in the scarf, directly blocks the Will extra at the most convenient time.

And that's when it hit me...

FORCED CONFORMING!!!!!!!

The following images below is when it really starts to get obvious that there was an intended direction going on here with the blocking of these two extras, in accordance with Mike's placement in the frame.

What sealed the deal for me, was noticing how the other extras surrounding them (excluding Willel), do not seem to be granted much importance in the continuity of this scene.

Continuity between shots is pretty essential to filmmaking. It's gotta be the main thing about film that just bugs me, which is that you can tell very visibly when a shot is followed by another shot, but from a separate take (has the capacity to ruin the illusion that this is real and not all fabricated).

For example, what I gather from the beginning of this following conversation, is that there were at the very least 2-3 takes done for these reaction shots of Dustin and Mike, and it's because the extras in the background give it away. Sometimes they're in the frame, sometimes they're not.

The Will and El extras provide a contrast to all the other extras, in that the continuity for their blocking in the frame is fairly spot on each time, equal to the standards of the main cast arguably. Meaning they had a mark and they had to stick with it.

Check this out:

side note: star wars reference (luke & leia??)

The most obvious thing that gives away the importance of these two extras, besides the blocking, is them both sporting an almost identical color in their costume. While the Will extra wears a maroon shirt, the El extra wears a scarf in that same color.

This is so simple yet sort of genius, because again, from what I understand, no one has noticed this, and so it's pretty epic once you finally do pick up on it.

The Will extra is almost always in the frame on Mike's right? The El extra is facing the the opposite direction as them (not on the same page), and wearing a scarf, which is there to represent the tentacle choking her during Mike's monologue...

This theory does take a turn for the hilarious, when at a later point Eddie starts monologuing again, while Dustin and Mike look at him fondly (w/ Mike in focus), the Willel extras are now nowhere to be found...

I think this choice was made to indicate that Mike's attraction to Eddie is based on the most basic type of attraction, while what he shares for Will and El is so much more complicated (and deep). When you're just experiencing everyday attraction, you're not thinking about your significant other or your hearts desire in that moment, because this moment is just a blip encounter that isn't going anywhere, it's attraction and that's all there is to it. Whereas what he feels truly for Will is true love, while what he feels truly for El is familial love. This tiny moment isn't about his conflict over his romantic feelings, it's about the fact that Mike is attracted to men.

And then what follows directly after this, is that little snippet of Eddie's monologue, which echoes Mike's monologue to El at the end of the season...

Oh and look who it is?! The El extra has made a reappearance, just in time!

This is one of the few times they made a point to have the El extra in the frame while the Will extra wasn't, which I also think is intentional because it could be a hint to how Mike's speech about falling in love with El the moment he saw her is a fabrication (copyright to be exact), and it also doesn't resemble the love that Mike has for Will, hence why he was almost entirely left out of those shots. (Also similar to Mike's monologue at the end of the season, where Will was in certain shots but not others, because the words did/didn't match Mike's feelings for Will at those points).

Lastly, we get a Gap (gay and proud) reference for Mike. And low and behold, the Will extra is making a reappearance, just in time!

I think what makes this scene easier to understand on a basic level, without making it too complicated for yourself, is comparing the implications that come with it, to the implications that came with Mike's monologue.

The choice to put Will in most of the shots, directly behind Mike as he professes his love to El, who is lying before him unable to look in his eyes or even respond, leads those truly paying attention, to the conclusion that this is not how you shoot a satisfying love confession. Therefore it can't be a genuine love confession.

Instead what this scene more so depicts is a character having a confession practically wrenched out of him. And because of all the other details happening over the course of this season and just the series overall, we can gather that Mike feels pressured to go through with this because he thinks he has no other choice.

They didn't beat the big bad this time, instead they lost. Because forced conforming, that's the real monster.

With only one season left, they're going to have to face the truth if they want to make it out alive this time (and happy!).

[p3ta]

For the ask game - you have anything for Fuuka?

Of course I have some for Fuuka! P3 spoilers ahead.

Send me any character here.

favorite thing about them

Her bad parents.

Hear me out.

Specifically, the way her bad parents are shown to us and how it impacts here.

Fuuka is defined by many events in the story, but one of my favorites comes at the end of the spring semester. On 7/18 where SEES are officially introduced to Ken (beyond Junpei and Yukari talking to him at the shrine), Natsuki runs out as asks Fuuka if she'll stay to study with her.

Natsuki recognizes her situation, but also how this early in the game Fuuka has conveyed to her that the dormitory is her "home" home. It's different from her normal poor conditions, where it's shown Natsuki is running out to buy her more time away from her parents.

There's also another element at play. Due to her ostracization, she might be the person who bonded the quickest with the idea of SEES as not just a job, but a group of friends.

But what makes it is Fuuka's response.

Even though Fuuka vastly prefers the Iwatodai dorm, it doesn't have to be an excuse. She likes being around Natsuki. You don't see a home life used for that kind of character beat often, at least not in such an implicit manner.

It's realistic. A mature, subtle moment of storytelling that I appreciate. There's a lot of Persona characters with parental issues, but Fuuka's are by far the most "show don't tell" of the bunch. You can still derive intent, but it isn't hamfisted.

Fuuka alludes multiple times to her poor home life due to her parents' expectations of her. Persona 3 is a game about dealing with what life throws at you. Despite the fact that Mitsuru could throw her weight around and have the cops or the school or someone intervene for her, they don't. Fuuka takes it on the chin without complaining. She's eager to move into the dorms and be of use, even as Yukari expresses how she shouldn't have to.

I think it's a fascinating microcosm of how the game represents societies and how we – in particular, women – should conduct their lives.

And ultimately, Fuuka is okay. Her hobbies and life revolve in affairs outside of her family's influence. In having common friends she's able to come to peace with how she views herself without compromising her identity.

least favorite thing about them

It's kind of hard to pick. I'll admit, I tend to be a capricious player and insult my team as I play. Fuuka catches the brunt of this but it's in jest. It's hard to think about something I genuinely dislike. Maybe her blushing sprite?

(Side note, this screenshot is from the Let's Play Archive's FES run and this is way too late to be efficiently talking to Fuuka. You've got Mitsuru in two months, hurry up! Jokes aside, not a fan of Dragonatrix's playthrough. If you're going to read one, I recommend My Life is a Goddamn Mess.)

Wait. I do have an answer.

Her FES video. Or the video they first gave her in FES and has been in every subsequent version. What a waste of a characterization moment. It's supposed to be a masturbation joke too, which is weirdly placed. I say "weirdly", but all the girls' tapes are sexualized in some manner or another. I guess what makes it different from maid dress Yukari for me is that hers was around a specific event in-game and Fuuka is concerned with. . . losing weight. For their beach trip. It's not as cohesive? And she's a stick. It hits the right amount of ick for me.

favorite line

Okay, okay, okay. I cannot find a screenshot at hand, but this is a Reload exclusionary experience. When Fuuka levels up, she cuts in like a jump scare. When you get this for Oracle, however, she says something to the gist of:

"I've unlocked a new ability. Um, I don't know what it does. . ."

That's it! That's the game's explanation for an ability that absolutely will get you killed. And you should try and use it like she suggests later. Doing a cursory search you'll find mass gamer hatred for this which, in my book, is practically an endorsement.

brOTP

Fuuka & Junpei!

Look at Junpei go. He's two for two so far. These two are sweet for a number of reasons, but I like that even though earlier in the game Junpei seems exclusively concerned with her looks, her body, and her cuteness, in December they come together as friends while making their decision. I like how Junpei admires her strength and can verbalize aspects of her growth that she can't give words to.

Likewise, Fuuka gives me the impression of not have many male friends. Her bond and solidarity with Yukari and Natsuki appear to paint a portrait of the person whose company she enjoys. Brash, yes, but also distinctly feminine. But her empathy for Junpei and his respect for her as well as her strength gives her a solid bond outside of her comfort zone! I can imagine Junpei pre-P3 never picturing he'd have a female friend and be satisfied with that. Post-P3, I could see the two living out in the countryside as neighbors. I think that'd make them both happy.

OTP

Fuuka/Natsuki.

Natsuki Moriyama my beloved. She's one of my favorite non-party members in the game, which is saying a lot because she doesn't even partake in a Social Link.

I practically consider her half of Fuuka's character. If any human couple in Persona 3 is getting married (or spending the rest of their lives together) it's Natsuki and Fuuka. They'll reconnect. For how much Fuuka likes tech, it wouldn't surprise me if they talk on Skype every day until they're able to reunite.

They're also another excellent theme microcosm; relationships enduring throughout life's circumstances.

nOTP

Fuuka/Mitsuru.

I'm particular with Mitsuru's relationships and I am not a fan of the power dynamic here. I think I've seen them together once, and the more popular nOTP is Fuuka/Shinjiro, but they're fine. The idea of it is literally Big and Small's cooking fiasco. Shinjiro's dead, anyway. Mitsuru (I believe) likes women, and she appreciates people who are useful.

It's like a pushover Andy and Miranda Priestly from Devil Wears Prada. Not for me.

random headcanon

Fuuka would be one of the best adjusted after the game. She's also the third poorest member of SEES.

She was close to P3 Hero, but she has bonds outside of SEES and doesn't want to prolong the fighting. Fuuka, I feel, is eager to return to a normal life because she's acknowledged her own power outside of combat. She doesn't enjoy being support, but she's the only one who can. She's also deeply connected and loving of life and its various forms, like the plants she tends. She'd be wounded and it would define her high school experience, of course. I'm not concerned for her though. Again, she has Natsuki and seems content with the world around her.

As far as the poverty, I like thinking about the dynamic on display between how the richest members of SEES act (Mitsuru and Yukari) interact with who I see as some of the poorer ones (Shinjiro, Junpei, and Fuuka). She makes herself small, she's ever apologetic, and she views her own skills as something belonging to a collective. It adds a nice flair to her character.

unpopular opinion

She's the best navigator but not because Rise or Futaba are annoying. I've seen a lot of ironic and then post-ironic love of Fuuka, but it tends to include bashing the other support characters. This is especially prevalent with people who ship Fuuka/P3 Hero. I've seen the claim that she's the least sexualized? Which is a wild claim for any female character in one of these games, there's a reason the writers have Junpei comment on her in her swimsuit and her FES recording is the way it is. She's simply a different type of appealing than the others.

song i associate with them

That's Fuuka Navigator Track #3 - ペルソナ! Oops, this isn't a character one, it's a literal piece of game music. Since it didn't survive the jump to Reload though I feel like I can put it here.

I played the game in reverse order so this isn't Persona 1 music to me. This is Fuuka's grinding in Tartarus solo jam.

favorite picture of them

Don't make me pick between sprites! I'll cheat and pick two: her neck out portrait and her silly one.

Fuuka had some of the best portraits ever. A modern style's too polished to do it justice.

Thanks for the ask! I had more to say than I initially thought. Despite Reload's popularity, I'd still consider her underrated.

[zooweemama143]

misc greaser backstory headcanons because i'm bored and it's time for this fandom to hear my lukewarm hot takes <ब₍₍( ˃̗εू˂ )₎₎<ब

johnny and lola's fatal relationship flaws are learned from their respective sets of parents.

johnny grew up witnessing his parents' tumultuous marriage and often felt like he was walking on eggshells due to his father's possessiveness and short fuse. mrs. vincent stayed, no matter how much her husband's fits of rage scared her because she felt she had a duty to her family. her one silver lining was that at least he never laid a hand on her (no, he'd only punch the walls near her or throw dinnerware– that's not abuse, is it? was just one of the numerous feeble defenses johnny would hear from his mom.) (the one time she DID defend herself, the situation escalated and eventually landed both of johnny's parents in prison. because he was already 18 when this happened, social services did not get involved.)

lola's father cheated on her mom and as a result, she's never had any stable relationships beyond short-lived flings. ms. lombardi consequently passed her bitterness about the affair and the divorce onto her daughter; it didn't help that lola's father stopped giving a shit about her after he married his affair partner and started a family with her. witnessing her family breaking apart, her mother wrecking her life with numerous toxic flings, and the father she used to love so dearly doting on his son with his new wife had not only resulted in non-committal tendencies, but also a dislike of men that borders on misandry.

(on that, i feel like a case can be made that lola's a closeted lesbian with MAD comphet, but that's a story for another time.)

peanut's home life is nearly similar to johnny's, but what sets them apart is the fact that peanut's father– alongside his verbal abuse– outright beats him; that's where his intense napoleon complex stems from. initially, his mother was the victim of his father's rage, but the older peanut grew, the more he fought back for her. consequently, at some point, he essentially became his father's outlet for his rage. he hates losing fights, being made to feel small and weak, because, well– if he can't fight back, who'll be there to protect his mom?

norton's family is relatively more normal and maybe even more stable than the rest of his clique's, but they're– unsurprisingly– not without their own issues. i feel like most of the conflict within the williams' family stems from the clashing ideals between norton and his dad; norton's a guy who was radicalized at a young age (since he's quite well-read), and his father– a police officer– represents the authority and the system he hates so much. becoming a greaser was not only teenage rebellion, but also a way to show that he outright rejects what his father believes in; he resents him for being a sellout. officer williams is aware of this.

vance is the only son among a brood of daughters. the second eldest child, he shares a close bond with his younger sisters, but a hesitant, nearly strained relationship with his older sister. their father is absent, and their mother overworked, so both of them are parentified– even if ms. medici didn't intend for that to happen. vance's never been shy about his bisexuality, and the unorthodox way he expresses his masculinity is a source of contention for his sister. she resents how carefree he is, how arbitrary his priorities are (like his obsession with his appearance, his social standing amongst the greasers, and his various romances in bullworth). their father couldn't be the man of the house, and now vance can't even fill in that role if he tried.

as implied by some of his voicelines, hal's fatness is (not so) secretly a major source of insecurities for him. his mother truly tries to be as supportive as she can be, but his father– perhaps another alumni of bullworth, maybe even a former jock?– is especially harsh on him, his "tough love" bordering on outright verbal abuse. hal was initially sent to bullworth in order to "whip him into shape" (both figuratively and literally), and his dad hit the roof when he found out that hal decided to join the greasers instead of getting into something "worthwhile". he tries to be as confident as he's making himself seem, though his dad's comments about his body and his hobbies and his friends cut deep.

ricky was essentially raised by his older brother (a former greaser himself). their parents have never been in the picture, and they were initially raised by their hyperreligious, paranoid grandmother before ricky's brother had enough– he moved out at 18 and took ricky with him. he had to take numerous odd jobs just to support them, ultimately dropping out of his last year in bullworth and forgoing college in favor of working. despite their similar personalities and interests, this is why they often clash– ricky's brother had to sacrifice his schooling for him, and he wants nothing more than for ricky to be responsible and successful. to be the opposite of who he was.

on the other hand, lucky essentially raised his younger siblings (a sister and a brother). his mom walked out on his family when he was still a kid; consequently, his dad fell into a deep depression, was laid off from his job, and turned to alcohol and gambling. lucky had to step up to the plate and be the man of the house in his stead. he's not quite sure who he resents more: his mom, for walking out; his dad, for taking away his remaining childhood; or the system, for fucking them all up in the first place.

lefty is a latch-key kid. both of his parents may be present in his life, but it's as if they're not all that interested in their son– he doesn't quite know why, but there's the implication that he's an accident; one that forced them to have a shotgun marriage despite not being in love anymore. they provide the bare minimum for him, but not much beyond that; whether its gifts or affection. he'll claim he's given up on trying to win their love a long time ago, but he can't deny that with every new scar he earns, he wishes they'd notice. at least once. (with concern or anger, it doesn't matter anymore.)

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Birthday Days, Dates, and Personalities - Buddy Daddies

I decided to look into these for some fun, and the results were quite interesting. I’ll provide the links (both English and Japanese) that I used for the information mentioned here. Let’s start with Kazuki.

KAZUKI - Born: 16th, Day of the Week: Monday

Text:  Monday-born individuals are highly intuitive and sensitive to the feelings and emotions of others. They are also said to be nurturing and caring, which can make them great parents and caregivers.

In English there is a poem as well, called Monday’s Child. It’s a poem talking about aspects of people based on the day of the week they were born. In the poem, it states that, “Monday’s child is fair of face,” aka good looking, pretty, attractive, etc. Of course, this applies to Kazuki, as does the information above about Monday-born individuals. Kazuki is the one of the two that is more in-tune with his emotions and feelings.

Other sites note that Monday Born Personalities are maternal (due to the connection to the moon), romantic and affectionate in love relationships, “perfect love” makes them happy, and they are imaginative, flexible, and good at improvising new techniques and ideas. 

In Japanese, I looked up what the number date of their births tell about their personality. So, for Kazuki, it would the 16th. What was said about people born on the 16th was that they were independent, stable, bring a sense of security, responsible for achieving goals, have craftsman’s spirits, which lead to them being a bit too proud. They also won’t bend their opinions, have a strong will, and are not afraid of pressure. They can communicate their thoughts well, but often make decisions and take actions alone, instead of consulting others.

All of these personality traits are pretty spot on for Kazuki! He takes on a more maternal role in the family, he bonds with mothers at the daycare, his desire for family is very central to his growth and development. We also see that he is very independent and capable, but can also make decisions without Rei’s input (buying all of the expensive clothes for example). 

So now let’s take a look at Rei and Miri. I’ll put these two under a Read More due to length.

MIRI - Born: 8th, Day of the Week: Thursday

Text: If you are born on Thursday, then it represents expansion, happiness, optimism, perspective, and good humor. And, this means you are very optimistic and are bound to experience the expansion of wealth in your life. You want everything to be larger than life.

According to the Monday’s Child poem, it states that Thursday’s Child has “far to go,” or that they will have a lot of obstacles in their way. Miri does, in a way, though she doesn’t quite realize that. Also, while discrimination in Japan isn’t like in the States or elsewhere, being more micro-aggressive than outright hostile/hate speech type stuff, she will likely still face some obstacles having two fathers. Her upbringing with Misaki may have turned very bad and sour had she remained with her, and there will be some obstacles that she won’t really understand until she is older with whatever is going to go down with Shigeki, Ryo, and etc.

Some other sites mention that Thursday Born Personalities have wisdom and patience, lucky, detail oriented, very loyal, and don’t tolerate betrayal of any kind in love and friendship (better watch out Kyutaro! ...I’m sorry... m(_ _)m)

Miri was born on the 8th. According to a Japanese website, people born on the 8th: like to challenge themselves, are cheerful, powerful, and festive, have a large aura, stand out in a crowd no matter what they may be doing, and have both good execution skills and take practical action.

We see Miri exhibiting a lot of these personality aspects in Episode 9 (challenging herself, cheerful, powerful festive, large aura) and in Episode 6 we really saw her exhibiting food execution skills and taking practical actions when her and her friends got lost. She was very patient then too, and seems to be pretty wise for her (but not overly so, she still has a lot to learn).

Lastly, we have Rei. And Rei’s is incredibly interesting!

REI - Born: 10th, Day of the Week: Sunday

Text: Sunday Born Personality: People born on Sunday are often associated with being creative, confident, and optimistic. They have a natural charisma that attracts others to them, and they are often seen as the life of the party. They enjoy being in the spotlight and enjoy socializing with others.

As for the Monday’s Child poem, it states this about Sunday’s Child: 

And the child born on the Sabbath day Is bonny and blithe, good and gay.

What does this mean? “Bonny and blithe” mean “beautiful and joyful” while “good and gay” mean “good and happy.” In the above texts and what we see here...We don’t see too much of Rei. Right? Rei’s personality isn’t “life of the party” like. But, he is creative and confident in his skills. He also seems to be pretty optimistic when it comes to their hitmen plans, and people are naturally attracted to Rei. 

Kazuki and Miri were instantly taken with him, there are the moms that find his mysterious personality attractive and are taken with him in that way as well. What do some other sites say about Sunday Born Personalities?

They are lucky, bright, creative, bold, loud, enterprising, and they enjoy games and are good at them. Environment is important for Sunday Born Personalities, they can be demanding in friendships, but faithful in love. In love relationships they value originality and will behave in the right way. They are content when their passion is shared.

We certainly see some aspects of Rei here. He’s great at games, he can be creative, both with things like his rice ball fillings or how he chose to save their seats. 

As for the date of his birth, the 10th, a Japanese site states that people born on this date are: natural leaders, attentive to details, and charismatic leaders that people want to follow. As for love it states:

When they are in love, they feel as if their energy is expanding and they feel alive, when they are not in love, they feel as if their energy is waning.

And, boy, that really does fit what we see with Rei when it comes to the love he is experiencing through his family (Miri and Kazuki) vs. how he looked when Kazuki first met him:

Like night vs day.

When I was reading about Sunday Born Personalities, it was basically a “this is the personality Rei may have had if was brought up in a less traumatic household.” And it’s the personality we’re starting to see come out of Rei when he is placed in a loving and caring environment. 

The leadership aspect is really interesting too. When it comes to the end of this series, I do think that Rei is going to end up killing his father. But what happens after that...there are a few different options. One of them is Rei taking over the organization and changing it up, another is him and Kazuki just stopping their professions all together. Then again, Rei could become the head of the organization and just decide to use the wealth and power past generations of Suwa have built up to change up the organization completely, focus on something else. Who knows. But the idea of Rei taking on a leadership position is definitely something I’m going to keep in mind. 

[good-beans]

I'm here to promote my Yuno and Fuuta bffs agenda

Out of everyone Yuno seems to have the most patience and skill with breaking through Fuuta’s tough act. She can play her cards right and get to see his true self. Fuuta also breaks through to Yuno's honest self because of his harsher approach to people – she finds it refreshing after dating around with guys who are always flattering and flirting and trying to get something from her. They become the others' main trusted confidant, comfortable being their real selves.

In private they're honest, but even in public their conversations are fast paced and fun for both of them. Fuuta said he wanted someone who could keep up with him, and Yuno's quick wit and humor can leave him behind at times. He sees her as an equal/challenge, and she's happy for a fun and honest conversation.

They bond over bitching about the other prisoners and Es's T1 verdicts. At first Fuuta is jealous of Yuno's innocence, but he manages to redirect the anger towards Es instead of her. They joke about giving each other the treatment they really want – Yuno gives Fuuta gifts and things when his freedom is too limited, and Fuuta enforces time/space for Yuno to isolate herself when she's tired of socializing.

I just like their complementary ways of treating the other. Yuno knows when to be kind and gentle to Fuuta – no one else picks up on his rage as cues that he's hurting but she has a knack for reading people. Fuuta knows when to get loud and stand up for Yuno like she deserves. She's used to guys not fighting for the relationship or people generally thinking she can handle things herself; she’s come close to internalizing it until she meets Fuuta who will actively fight for her every chance he gets.

Going off of that, I’m still emotional over Fuuta’s t1 voice drama specifically saying he came at Es swinging because he heard they got violent with Yuno. He was so scared he was trembling, but he thought none of the other guys were reliable and that prisoners like Yuno needed a strong ‘representative’ standing up for them.

She encourages him to be kinder to the others, and he encourages her to stop people-pleasing so often. 

The one thing is, despite being a year apart in age, they probably live in very different age-worlds. Yuno is still in high school and has a younger brother, so everything in her family/lifestyle is still oriented young for him. Fuuta is in college and has an older sister, so his life would revolve around more adult things. Still, they find out they both live in a one-parent household and have particular feelings about their fathers. 

More meta, but the specific mentions of Yuno's coldness pairs well with Fuuta’s fire theme! The fact that they’re cell neighbors is also useful for spending more time together. 

[alexas-fandom-and-random-blog]

Parents were once again like "oh but Death is way too scary for the kids, the movie is no good" and once again I find myself so miffed about this mindset!

Kids love scary and challenging things in cartoons! Do parents forget their childhood as soon as they get kids of their own? When I was 10 my fave film was Notre Dame. I even understood the implied torture scene and what the crushing of those ants represented after and was so freaked out by Frolo but was utterly overjoyed to see him defeated!

My fave book was a greek one where the entire theme was Cat genoside with no filter whatsoever through the Narration of the Last black cat a.k.a book title that sees all of this unfold. (He's not really the last and there's a happy ending but you don't know that till the end) Baby's first holocaust book essentially and still impactful.

Think of warrior cats or redwool but like no magic just how society can reach from discrimination and superstition to mass murder and unjustifiable cruelty to the innocent. It's still my most read book by all time since I was 7.

Coraline scared the shit out of me when I was 11 but her bravery against such a powerful opponent spoke to me like no other thing and I couldn't stop thinking about it. Wanted to watch again and again.

No Disney princess and pretty safe colorful worlds spoke to me like Misses Brisby from the dark as hell environment she had to navigate in Secret of Nihm. She was my role model and hero.

Kid's films should be dark. To teach things through "real" adversity and not cookie cutter problems. I guarantee many kids will think of Puss overcoming someone as powerful and scary as Death as empowerment for them too.

And not all kid's films are for all demographics. If you have a toddler under five or a more sensitive older kid who can't understand or handle it yet, do your research and show them something lighter. Do your job and parent properly!

And news flash, the 10-15 demographic who are still pretty much kids won't be entertained forever by inane colorful drivel. Movies and a cartoons are an excellent way to introduce heavier themes to them in controlled environments.

They are really not doing any favors to your kids by coddling them. Childish innocence lasting this long is such a selfish myth us adults want to preserve but kids aren't innocent, they are just inexperienced and not letting them learn how to approach life via fiction or example is plain bad parenting!

A film showing Death scary and imposing as he is, showing panic attacks and shameful feelings of succumbing to fear but still finding the strength through bonds with others and learning to face the problem is downright important to your kid's development!

I'd argue even more important its to learn how to deal with mortality. Anxieties manifest way earlier than you think. And presenting everything sugarcoated feels to a kid like the lies they are.

Kids are smart. And shouldn't be treated like cute mindless dolls in the first place.

I'm hella pleased Puss is killing it in the box office and proving all these incompetent Karens wrong lemme tell you ☺️

[caffiend-queen]

Did anything good happen in 2023? Yes!!

Sometimes, we all need a reminder that the world is not in a death spiral. This is a wonderful article from the Washington Post that shows huge and promising developments and it's worth reading.

Research has indicated that uplifting news can provide an emotional buffer against distressing news and feelings of hopelessness — and even encourage optimism or action. So, in that spirit, here are some of the more uplifting developments you may have missed this year.

The WHO approved an effective new malaria vaccine.

In October, the World Health Organization approved a malaria vaccine — only the second time a vaccine against the potentially deadly disease has been created. The WHO said it expects the vaccine, which costs $2-$4 per dose and has been shown to reduce symptomatic cases by 75 percent after three doses within a year, to be available by the middle of 2024.

More than 600,000 people died of malaria in 2021, with children under 5 representing 80 percent of malaria deaths in Africa. The United States reports about 2,000 malaria cases every year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, with the majority of them contracted abroad.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the WHO, said the announcement gave him“great pleasure. ... I used to dream of the day when we would have a safe and effective vaccine against malaria. Now, we have two.”

The FDA approved a groundbreaking pill to treat postpartum depression

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration also approved a number of potentially life-changing drugs, including a first-of-its-kind pill to treat postpartum depression, which affects up to 1 in 5 women. The severe and debilitating condition can cause pregnant and new mothers to experience intense hopelessness and, in rare cases, psychosis — and it can last for years.

The new drug is taken once a day for two weeks and, unlike the existing treatment of an IV injection that may take as long as 60 hours to administer in a health-care setting, it can be taken at home — greatly improving accessibility, especially for parents caring for a newborn.

While experts say the drug may not be suitable for all women with the condition and won’t be able to treat all aspects of a new mother’s mental health, they argue that the drug is nonetheless a convenient and fast-acting treatment, and is particularly useful in the early days after a birth, when parents and babies start bonding.

Two sickle cell disease treatments gained approval

In December, the FDA also approved two therapies for sickle cell disease, a rare and debilitating condition that affects around 100,000 Americans, most of them Black. The disease causes extreme, constant pain and can drastically cut the life span of those affected.

The new treatments are both gene therapies that have been shown in clinical trials to stop severe pain crises for most patients: One uses a harmless virus to insert a gene into the patient’s stem cells, while the other is the first medical treatment to be based on the gene-editing tool CRISPR.

Both are intensive, expensive procedures — and require chemotherapy, which has significant side effects. But patients who have received the treatments have spoken of its profoundly beneficial impact on their lives.Jimi Olaghere, a father of three who likened the pain caused by the disease to glass shards sawing back and forth inside his veins, said that after years of being unable to sleep at night because of pain, he has energy again, and that the treatment has enabled him for the first time to plan for a future with his family.

We learned more about dementia and memory loss — and how to prevent them

Scientists also made progress in understanding one of the biggest health concerns for countries with aging populations — dementia, which can have a devastating impact, robbing people of the ability to engage in daily tasks.

While there is no proven cure for dementia, scientific research has continued to find that there many steps we can take to reduce the risk of developing dementia.

One study published this year suggested that lifestyle habits, including regular mental and physical activity, eating a healthful diet, and regular social contact were linked with a slower rate of memory decline. Another found that living in areas with more natural green spaces was associated with lower rates of hospital admissions for diseases including dementia, while separate research indicated that the use of hearing aids could cut the risk of cognitive decline by nearly half.

The FDA also gave full approval, for the first time, to a drug that modestly slows Alzheimer’s disease. While difficult questions about safety, effectiveness and cost remain, many neurologists say that having a drug that slows Alzheimer’s is nonetheless a milestone after years of failed trials.

After 20 years, countries agreed a treaty to protect the ocean

Human health wasn’t the only area to see improvements this year. Even as scientists voiced concern about the state of Earth’s health, there were some positive steps to protect the planet.

In May, more than 190 countries agreed a major deal to protect the biodiversity of the world’s oceans outside of national borders, after more than two decades of talks. The United Nations adopted the treaty in June.

At present, only 1.2 percent of the high seas — which make up two-thirds of the planet’s ocean surface — are protected, leaving large stretches at risk from rising temperatures, overfishing, pollution, mining and other threats. The deal will allow nations to start creating new marine protection areas in the high seas for the first time, although it still may be years before U.N. member states formally adopt the agreement and are able to begin the process of designating the new zones. Even then, enforcement may be difficult.

But the agreement has been welcomed as a much-needed start on the path to protecting 30 percent of the planet’s land and sea by the year 2030, a goal announced at a U.N. biodiversity summit in late 2022.

Brazil deforestation falls after reaching 15-year high

Last year, The Post published a series of storiesshowing the fast pace of destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest under then-President Jair Bolsonaro. During his presidency, the rate of deforestation of the Amazon rose to a 15-year high, and those responsible for the destruction acted with impunity.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to the presidency in January this year. His first six months in office showed positive signs, as authorities drove thousands of illegal gold miners from Indigenous lands, and the government said deforestation dropped by 50 percent.

There are questions about how likely the president is to reach his goal of ending deforestation by 2030, especially given government plans for a large-scale railway project and to pave a 540-mile highway. And deforestation isn’t the only environmental issue facing Brazil, which has come under scrutiny for its reliance on oil as it announced plans to align itself with a coalition of major oil-producing nations, OPEC Plus.

But European countries and the United States have once again offered to restart funding — which was suspended under Bolsonaro — to help end deforestation in the Amazon. Resuming the program would be a significant step for a rainforest that stores billions of tons of carbon and pulls millions more out of the atmosphere every year.

Even in a year of difficult news, moments of humanity shone through

While suffering across the world may have dominated the headlines in 2023, this year also reminded us that kindness and generosity exist, even amid crises and tragedy.

In March, after tornadoes devastated Mississippi, a group of Ukrainian refugees made a 16-hour journey to distribute water to victims of the disaster. Many had only just arrived in the United States — and still had immigration forms to fill in or job interviews to prepare for — but hoped to help a community they felt faced a struggle similar to theirs.

“When they stop what they’re going through to help someone else in need, that to me is the definition of love,” Corie Jones, the deputy director of Volunteer Mississippi, told The Post.

And in October, as police officer Arizbeth Dionisio Ambrosio was clearing debris after Hurricane Otis swept Mexico, she came across a woman with a crying, hungry baby. Ambrosio, who was breastfeeding her own 1-year-old, offered to nurse the baby and was able to soothe the infant — a moment of empathy that was praised around the world, and led to her receiving a promotion.

Ambrosio told The Post she didn’t consider what she did to be anything heroic or out of the ordinary. “It was what I needed to do and I did it,” she said. “When you are in a situation like that, you do not think whether to help or not. ... I felt peace because I was with the baby giving him what he needed at the moment

Find the full story here.

[lyta-roca]

I have several ideas for different fics about soul mates. But one of them is about Daimoniums.

To be more specific, this will be a different universe with the premise of the His Dark Materials series of books and series, which is:

- Daimoniums are animal-shaped manifestations of their human’s inner persona

- children’s daimoniums don’t have a fixed form, they can shape-shift at will

- “settling” happens when your daimonium takes their final form during your teenagehood

- touching another person’s daimonium is usually a no go if you’re not lovers

- interactions between daimonium and a human that isn’t “their own” are rare

- interactions between daimonium are usual

- daimoniums are usually of the opposite sex to their humans

- daimoniums can only stay a few meters away from their humans. The pulling is painful and can lead to death

- daimoniums have their own heartbeats and fade into nothingness when they die

- if your dæmon dies, you die, the same if it is the other way around

- your parents’ daimoniums usually name your own daimonium

Although for this fic a slight change will be made which will be this:

- your daimonium is the manifestation of the inner self of your soul mate

As the bond of a human and their Daimonium is special, when they meet their other half it is something that both feel instantly.

So, with this premise I would like to know your opinions about the Daimoniums that will represent our protagonists.

In itself, the main couple will be Bowuigi but there will also be some other interaction from Peachrio.

Peach.

Dingo.

As I mentioned, this would be the representation of Mario's inner self.

I chose a dingo to represent Mario because Dingo, regardless of whether they are dogs or wolves (there are still scientific doubts about that), are very fast and agile, and just like a canine, they watch over the safety of their pack. Just like Mario protecting his loved ones, and goes so far as to try everything to make sure of that.

So in this case and following the premise of the film, Peach would arrive at the mushroom kingdom just as they showed us, but with the difference that this time she would be accompanied. At first it would be difficult for the Toads to get close to Peach because the little Dingo would make them recoil every time they try to touch her.

Coming a bit to the events of the movie, I plan on showing a bit about the Toads' interactions with the Dingo.

That if, as Peach came into this world very young, both she and her Daimonium do not know why they have that connection but they do know that it is something special.

Mario.

Swan.

I think a Swan is a good representation for Peach for two reasons.

The first more than anything is because swans are almost everywhere synonymous with beauty, elegance, love and fidelity. Second is because the swans defend their young and nests with everything, in this case as Peach takes care of her kingdom and her people.

Just as Mario has seen to Luigi's well-being since they were children, so would his Daimonium. Just like when Mario feels down because of family pressure about employment, his daemon would be there to cheer him up.

With his first encounter with the princess, I imagine that like Peach, her Dingo would act defensively because he would believe that they are in danger, only for after having left them lying on the ground, they both notice a slight change in the environment, something much warmer.

Mario and his Daimonium would feel the same way but unlike Peach and the Dingo, they would know what it means.

Luigi

With this one I certainly had difficulties:

Ocelot.

I know Bowser is a reptile, but I like the idea that his inner self is more like a cat. The Ocelot is a territorial animal and they tend to make ambushes. I have also seen many fanarts and read many fics that make Bowser purr and have some feline aptitudes, and the truth is that I love his cat version of Super Mario 3D World. So I imagine that Luigi's Daimonium would always be defending him, having a more extroverted attitude compared to Luigi, which would also cause him problems because we know that there is never a lack of mockery.

His first meeting with Bowser would be somewhat awkward and somewhat terrifying on the part of Luigi.

Well, now I'm going to explain a little what I want to do with Luigi and Bowser. So watch out for a few spoilers for the books and the His Dark Materials series.

Knowing that the human world and the world where Bowser and Peach live are not the same, I am going to take it as what are different dimensions

That is why neither the Toads nor Peach knew why she and the Dingo had that bond, because in this dimension there are no Daimoniums. So Bowser doesn't have one.

In their first meeting, Luigi's Daimonium tries to stay with him all the time as comfort and to protect him, at some point Bowser would order his subjects to separate them but both would desperately ask that they not do so because that would imply that strangers would touch Luigi's Daimonium and that being separated, they would have difficulties because a human cannot be at a certain distance from their Daimonium. Bowser wouldn't understand why they would both make such a fuss about it, so he does it himself and this is where the bond happens. Bowser may not have Daimonium but he is somehow connected to Luigi, when he took the Daimonium he felt a light current of electricity through his body, something he had only heard happen in tales and legends.

And that is where I will count because the rest I will write for the complete fic.

What do you think?

By the way, in all this I never addressed the Daimoniums by their names because the truth is that I don't have them yet but I would love for you to help me choose their names. You could comment on it or put it in your tags.

It must be remembered that Peach came to the mushroom kingdom very young, so it must have been the Toads, in this case Toadstool who named her Daimonium. While in the case of Luigui and Mario, it was the Daimoniums of their parents who named theirs. And the Daimoniums are the opposite sex of their humans.

As a bonus and also goes hand in hand with Spoilers, when an individual who does not possess Daimonium crosses into a dimension where they do exist, that individual will go through a somewhat painful process where their Daimonium will take form outside of their body. So yes, there is still a chance that Bowser will get one but time will tell because I already have the perfect animal to represent Luigi.

And I have to say that the idea of all of this it's thanks to RebecaAnabelBurrows and to her amazing fic "Settling down"

Such a wonderful fic.

[magswrite]

rolling up bc i just read the most recent chapter of ascendant and we’re FIGHTING mags!!!

as always, jegulus is breaking my fucking heart. regulus is truly so soft in both ecliptic and ascendant; i feel like the war has made so many characters angry and hard but regulus remains so kind and empathetic. him telling james it’s okay to grieve lily and harry while he grieves his own relationship with james??? that was sick and you know it!!! even if we see moments that show how much james loves regulus i can understand why regulus struggles to see it. it’s hard to measure up to memories of the dead and lily is always remembered by everyone in an almost reverent way. meanwhile regulus thinks of himself with such extreme loathing even while james thinks the world of him. and it’s hard to blame james for struggling to openly show his love for regulus when he’s been hurt so many times. these boys need a seminar on communication i fucking swear.

sirius black, my darling, you simply never can catch a break. it kills me that just a few chapters ago sirius was thinking about how regulus very well may self-destruct in the name of atonement and disdain for himself. meanwhile, sirius keeps proving how willing HE is to self-destruct for the people he loves. he really would burn the world to the ground to keep regulus and james safe. he has a chance to be freed from his bond but he’d still rather be subjected to it than risk his brother and (ex-)best friend. I also just genuinely adore his relationships with evan and barty. They may have been regulus’ friends first but they’ve become sirius’ people in such a distinct and fascinating way. regulus may have brought them together but their friendship stands on its own now.

and remus! i’m glad that mary is getting through to him. dumbledore is clearly hiding things from remus and it always felt like dumbledore relied on remus’ gratitude as a reliable weapon in controlling him. his friendship with mary has me in a fucking chokehold; she’s the smartest one out of all these bitches 😤 which, by the way, you’re torturing me with the marylily because i LOVE those girls. i absolutely adore her distrustful nature and hostility towards dumbledore; she KNOWS she’s being used and manipulated. remus really needs to listen to her and start piecing out the parts of the story that don’t make sense. mary seems to be almost running out of grace for remus and his unwillingness to look past what’s right in front of him. can’t even say i blame her; it’s gotta be hard to be the only one seeing past the bullshit colored glasses.

anyways!!! love you and your fic as always mags!!! you said you didn’t mind my asks so i’m back with a vengeance!!!

MORGAN HI!! hello!!

(we're FIGHTING?? oh no. okay 🗡️ i'm prepared.)

i feel like i should be apologizing for jegulus over and over in this fic because they are truly. messes omfg. i keep trying to push them together and have them just be happy, but so far it has not worked 😔. we will see, morgan, but i have faith that all of it will work out

saying that as if i don't know exactly what happens. i'm subject to the whims of my characters i CAN'T HELP IT

listen if there's anything i'm going to make a gryffindor it's self sacrificing. i think to me sirius is a character who is incredibly resilient, and definitely loyal to a fault. sometimes i struggle with ecliptic/ascendant/etc. sirius' particular brand of self-sacrificing, because it feels a little contradictory to what we know his relationship was like with regulus in canon

but i think a lot of it goes into his belief in what is "good" and "bad" in his eyes. james to him really represents the "good" in the world, even though it's very reductive of what james is actually like, and sirius has an intense need to protect that. he had this really intense need to protect regulus as a kid because he was "good" and then regulus was "bad" because he was like their parents, and then he's "good" again when sirius learns he's died betraying voldemort. and this is obviously a really reductive view of the world, but in my head it's why sirius is so stubborn and willing to put himself in harm's way, since he's one of the "bad" ones.

(also, i think barty and evan are really interesting for this reason too, because sirius has no idea where to place them in his little boxes.)

and mary <3 oh my beloved. mary is. absolutely done with everything and i truly can't blame her because dumbledore works hard to make sure nobody in that organization has a proper conversation. but dw, the two of them will get there eventually.

(also marylily i love them but they make my heart hurt.)

[trinitywc]

gosh, okay, just finished book 1, and I have to say- nuclear warfare as a narrative horror concept is so incredibly underused and something I wholly love about this work. the confusion and ominous clues being layed out (and for the people who know, *know*) about the process of radiation poisoning  with the latency period of the sickness acting as a calm before the storm (wherein the building blocks of your DNA are ripped to shreds and there's no alleviating the pain until it takes you) was just- GUH. And the way that this factor is coupled with starvation, and Pinefrost being one of the only ones able to go out and hunt even when it's not her strongest skill and having the lives of her group hang over her head alongside the quiet judgement of her former mentor... So absolutely gut wrenching to break away from the building tensions and calamity of the battle and the explosion- everyone just saving who they *can* with and without prejudice, then bonding with those individuals under extreme circumstances only to slowly watch each and every one of them wither away. horrifying. I love it in the best way possible. I want to rub my face in it like a cat on a carcas of some dead thing.

so much of book 1 is about the us vs them mentality between creek and wood clan as told through pinepaw-then pinefrost- and in so many ways the tensions narratively reminded me of the cold war and the lead up to the chernobyl nuclear crisis (not even to mention the allusions to the trinity test though, I'm not sure if it's intentional or if I'm just reading too much into it as a nuclear radiation buff).

Then Pinefrost slowly coming to her own conclusions about the clan differences after working through the culture clash in a setting where borders no longer exist, and her surviving group at large is working against a common overarching biological threat that is indiscriminate. I particularly enjoy how she comes to respect woolycloud and can appreciate wood clan's memorializing dead comrades in a way that creek clan doesn't. it seems like she was raised in a setting where- while there was love from her remaining parent- there was a sentiment of detachment from everyone (possibly stemming from the anticipation of loss?) as they grew older and were cultured in an environment of extreme animositiy towards wood clan marketed as nationalism. the sentiment by the mentors focus wasn't based upon training noble warriors but rather good soldiers, and you either adapt and survive, or like mallowshine and her kits, are left behind as a single sacrifice to save instead the larger idea of what creek clan represents as opposed to the ones who make it creek clan. It really contextualizes mallowshine's previous animosity in a different light.

that being said, totally unrelated, but I love cuckoopaw and houndpelt- houndpelt in particular im radio ga ga over. like he's just truly giving heartthrob dad played by pedro pascal rizz. but, y'know, a cat. bereaved single fathers rise up! i'm rooting for him!!

"the confusion and ominous clues being layed out (and for the people who know, *know*)" - theres something so fun about the people who know going into this vs those who don't. i love seeing different peoples reactions, those who know the silverbirds/lights at night are bombing runs, those who work it out, and those who don't know until the bomb literally drops.

"about the process of radiation poisoning  with the latency period of the sickness acting as a calm before the storm" nuclear radiation is HORRIFIC. I really wanted to get the 'grace period' of feeling better after the fire across so it was like a breather and 'okay we can deal with this' and then just no, here's your DNA melting. and of course, if you don't die immediately, its still within you, cancers and anemias down the line; but maybe thats spoiler territory. its a slow, creeping horror. nuclear radiation is always portrayed as creating monsters (godzilla, etc) or even heroes but the true horror is the reality of it.

"reminded me of the cold war and the lead up to the chernobyl nuclear crisis (not even to mention the allusions to the trinity test though" - trinity is absolutely a nod to the first test + how its three books + it just sounds cool. also for the Cold War well I studied politics lmao. it's technically not nationalism but like, tribalism or 'clan'ism (nationalism is about the creation of a nation in the political structures and... clans aren't nations but yeah semantics (read Waltz and Kohn), but I love Pinefrost having her world view challenged- is what she views to be the *truth* of CreekClan really true or is it just how she views it from the way she was brought up? someone like Chestnutspike believes CreekClan can change and be better, the 'Clan' itself is not the issue but the way it has been allowed to continue, Kiteheart views it only for war, Pinefrost feels constantly judged by it and sees it and WoodClan as systems that only guarantee a painful death. etc etc. I feel bad for Mallowshine to this day : /

"houndpelt in particular im radio ga ga over. like he's just truly giving heartthrob dad played by pedro pascal rizz. but, y'know, a cat. bereaved single fathers rise up! i'm rooting for him!!" this is contender for the most DERANGED Houndpelt comment, idk what you win but you win. im howling. i have an old piece of art of him in the drafts captioned as 'single father at 15' so im glad someone else gets his like, man reluctantly raising a younger child like it was his own, vibes. even if it was his choice, kinda, and hes like 22 but looks 44.

anyway, thank you so much!!!!! im so glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for such a lovely long ask!!!

[desiredcaramellatte]

Yoooo Cream unicorn just came to CRK and it’s amazing 🦄✨

Could I possibly request them with sad child reader trying to give them the best childhood they never had. Child reader never had a real childhood because of strict and neglecting parents and they feel sorry for them and so they decided to give Child reader the childhood they’d always wanted. Just a fluffy/wholesome request please :) like they are bonding/having fun together

And also this can be either Headcanons or oneshot or both. You decide what fits more

Ikr I’ve been feeding them all my jellies and powders and they’ve been getting so much attention from me oml- I love their little voice too.

Why do I keep getting so many amazing wholesome requests habdjeb- I love this so much, I’m going to write both HCs and a one shot for this 😎

One last thing, idk if this is like a human AU or cookies I just wrote what I wrote and it could probably be read as both 🤷.

Cream Unicorn my beloved

Cream Unicorn x child reader with strict parents

Platonic! All the fluffies! Maybe a bit too much fluff help I’m in heaven I want Cream Unicorn to be my parent.

~| You’re always welcome at their carnival. Always. They don’t mind if your parents watch you or come along, as long as they can see your smile, they’re happy.

~| If you’re ever feeling sad, you can count on them to cheer you up. When they saw how neglected you were, it broke their heart. “How could someone be so mean to a kid?” The practically adopted you after that, though in a very weird way. They’re basically your second parent, even though you stay with your first parents.

~| They will introduce you to a lot of other children at the carnival! You’ll never not have a friend, and even if you don’t get along with other children or just don’t want to be friends with them, Cream Unicorn is always there to be your friend. You may find yourself playing a lot of group games with them and the children, like Duck Duck Goose, Tag, and other things.

~| Cream Unicorn is probably viewed as a free babysitter to your parents, so they wouldn’t mind you going off in the day, as long as you don’t have things to do, to spend time with the unicorn. Sometimes you can sneak out at night to go visit your adopted parent, as well.

~| Cream Unicorn rarely leaves their carnival- someone has to keep it up and running, after all- but they make exceptions for you. They gave you a small whistle trained for their ears, and if you’re ever in a pinch or just sad, you can call them using it. Even when they’re far away, they’ll be there for you.

~| Expect a lot of gifts as well. Mostly unicorn themed- unicorn pens, plushies, treats, etcetera. They may also get you some other things if they’re your style, but they tend to stick to rainbows and unicorns as gift aesthetics, because those represent the innocence of childhood and happiness, and these gifts remind you even more of Cream Unicorn whenever you look at them.

~| Cream Unicorn will take care of you better than your parents ever will. They’ll provide you food, water, shelter, toys, fun, happiness, hope, anything you want they’ll get for you, to be honest. If you see a carnival game with a prize you want, they’ll help you out with it until you achieve your goal! They’ve lived at this place their entire life- which is probably a long time according to their biography- and know all the tricks to winning all the games from pure practice and experience.

~| If something were to ever happen that separates you from your parents, they will always be there to help you out. You may not even have to blow on the whistle to get their attention- they have very good instincts and can, most likely, tell if you’re in danger. Kind of like a spidy sense but it’s a unicorn sense.

~| If you’re ever sad and need to cry or rant, they will always be there to comfort and listen to you. They don’t care if they have to drop what they’re doing to do so- their little child is sad, that is more important than anything in this world, to them.

ONESHOT

There are little things in this world that you care about. It was how you were raised- how you’ve taken the world into view. Unlike most children, your parents weren’t your top priority- nor were they on your too five, or even ten. Sure, they may have created you, but did they ever take care of you?

No.

The answer was no.

And you knew that more than anything.

Your arms shook as you paced your way down the road, through the forest. It was a path you knew well, one you took often. The stone bricks planted in the ground were lined with moss and flowers sticking out, betraying it’s old age, and around the road grew trees with moss hanging so low it swept the ground, and bushes with blue berries so shiny it was like they belonged to the richest, finest soil.

Even though the berries may seem tempting to others, food was the last thing on your mind right now.

True, you were hungry, but it was that type of hungry to where you couldn’t eat- your stomach pained and twisted, yet you couldn’t feel even a hint of longing for the berries.

You closed your eyes as you continued down the road, nothing but the moon’s soft glow through the leaves of the trees and the stars lighting your path. How many nights in a row had you snuck out? You couldn’t remember. It was something like a week or two. You had been going out more and more as of late, to visit what you cared about most.

Or, rather, WHO you cared about most.

You would get in trouble every time your parents found out you were sneaking away in the dead of night, every time you feel asleep during the day rather than your small designated sleeping yours, but that only fueled your longing to go and visit your best friend.

Your real parent.

It had started to rain, small droplets pelting your skin and clothes, but you didn’t mind. Being wet for an hour or so was a small sacrifice you were willing to make to get to see them again.

As you approached the entrance to the fair, a large pastel gate that was more than familiar to you, a figure descended from above, that of a unicorn. It jumped down from the arch, prancing around as it’s hooves clicked and clacked against the hard tile of the road.

It came over to you, pastel rainbow hair shaking out as it brayed, before it shifted into a cookie with a puff of pink smoke.

You smiled, watching as the cookie quickly approached you, a soft smile on their face. “Welcome back! Come on, let’s get under something, I don’t want you catching a cold in this rain!”

You quickly head under the arch, and Cream Unicorn shoes you along until you reach the merry-go-round. You take a step onto it, and the rain was blocked out by the roof of the carousel. Cream Unicorn Cookie had followed after you, and they shook out their hair, squeezing it a bit to get the water out, before turning to you with a small smile.

“Do you want to start it up?”

You quickly nodded, and your foster parent rushed out from under the merry-go-round, towards the controls. They lifted up the small protector, before turning some keys, lifting a handle, and pushing a button. They dropped the protector back down, and quickly got back on the carasal just as it had started to go.

You had gotten atop one of the fake unicorns by now, holding onto the pole that went through the middle of it and connected it both to the top and bottom of the ride. You began to laugh as it swirls and twirls you around, and Cream Unicorn stood beside you, watching you giggle with a large grin.

The Carousel continued to spin around and around, the unicorns, both the real one and the fake ones, twirling around with elegance and grace.

When the ride was finally coming to an end, the rain had turned into nothing but a light drizzle, and the clouds had cleared just a small section in the sky, enough to show the moon and a small handful of stars.

Cream Unicorn helped you off the figure, and the two of you sat on the edge of the ride, looking up past the roof and staring at the stars.

You gave a small sigh, and leaned against Cream Unicorn, your eyes drooping with tiredness.

Your second parent wrapped their arms around you, and covered you with their bright, sparkly cape, as they whispered into your ear.

“Sleep tight, little star. You deserve it. You deserve so much more.”

[rigberts]

Just finished my shinogiyuu reincarnation oneshot and I still have so many thoughts i did not put into it.

First of all, names. Hebihara, of course, uses the characters for "snake" and "origin". Mizuki can be written in a variety of different ways, but i chose the ones that represent "clear water" and "radiance". When written this way, the name has connotations of honesty and being true to one's self. On the other hand, Shinobu (the name) generally is associated with being enduring and reserved, which to me felt like an opposite sentiment. Fujiwara is written as "wisteria field". I didn't exactly break the creativity bank on these. I also couldn't think of a way to have a different name for sabitos reincarnation and have his identity be clear, and it seemed distant and out of character for giichi to call him sabito's reincarnation, so-

Something i wanted to talk about but didn't get to were Mizuki and Giichi's childhoods. Giichi was a rainbow child and his parents were very concerned when he didn't seem to cry or exhibit normal behavior, which made him feel a bit bad for worrying them. To reassure them he put a lot of effort into learning to make sounds and move independently, which was much harder than he thought due to physical limitations. As a result, he ended up hitting all his baby milestones (crawling, walking, talking) quite early. It was also a surprise to all of them when he turned out to be ambidextrous, having been not only naturally right-handed as giyuu, but using solely his left arm in his last four years of life. Giichi was something of a prodigy early on in life, being proficient in reading, writing, and basic math since preschool. However, he was a little embarrassed by middle school, when he found that he could no longer rely on knowledge from his past life to get him through. However, he rededicated himself to school and became a slightly above average student. He also met sabito in his first swim class, and they immediately bonded. Their dynamic is slightly different in this life, since Giichi has more experience and a better sense of responsibility. In this life, Giichi is a bit more like an elder brother to sabito, who lives a more carefree life, but is just as charismatic and principled as ever. In high school, they were nicknamed "the two school princes" because they led the school swim team to an unprecedented level of success, were on the student council, and generally seen as stand up guys. In middle school, sabito wanted to try kendo because he thought it was cool, but no matter what he said, Giichi wouldn't join. Bored, he eventually went back to swimming. Giichi sometimes feels a little guilty about it. Giichi's dream is...well, he's not really sure, because sometimes it feels like he's already living his dream, spending time with the people he cares about.

Mizuki, Shinobu's reincarnation, was a second child and carried completely to term, so people were confused when she opened her eyes extremely early but didn't cry at all. They kept her for a few days for observation but found no defects. However, when she was taken home and she saw her older sister for the first time, she immediately started wailing. Her parents like to tell that story often, and mizuki dislikes it as it completely misrepresents how she felt at that time. After that, mizuki was extremely interested in her sister, to the point of doing whatever she could to beg to be held by her, and showing comparatively little interest in her parents. Mizuki also met her milestones early, but usually only when her sister was around. Apart from her attachment to her sister, mizuki was extraordinarily independent at an early age, and was considered a stereotypical prodigy, not only because she had all of her past life information to pull from, she was constantly seeking out new information to fill in everything she had missed in the past 100 years, particularly in the fields of chemistry, biology, and medicine. Her family was utterly baffled as to how a four year old could understand dense medical textbooks, and when they asked she would unconvincingly reply that she was only looking at the pictures. She was known for having a sharp tongue and a short temper from the moment she could talk, and while she has lots of friends and her sister adores her, her relationship with her parents is a little strained, as they were extremely busy doctors that often failed to make time for her sister, something Mizuki has always resented them for, while they were always somewhat offput by her independence and how little she cared for their approval. When mizuki decided she needed a chemistry set at age seven, rather than ask her parents for it, she used various household items to make homemade lip balms, perfumes, and cosmetics in their kitchen, sold them to her classmates, pocketed the money, and purchased the equipment and materials for her experiments herself. After hearing exactly what had happened, her parents ended up just giving her a credit card so they would be able to track her purchases. Mizukis dream is to own a pharmaceutical company and employ geniuses from across the world to create more effective vaccines.

Mitsuri and Obanai's incarnations are both in their early forties, with five children, the oldest of which is seventeen, and the youngest is nine. Their small restaurant, which they opened as a young couple, isn't very unique, but they use fresh ingredients, are extremely clean, and cook large amounts of food incredibly quickly. Their restaurant was already very popular with locals, but a famous celebrity from the area in an interview said it was the thing he missed most about his hometown, prompting many famous people from around the country to visit. They became internationally famous when their eldest child posted a video of them dancing behind the counter during a lull in service, and netizens thought it was adorable, so they basically internet sleuthed using the background to figure out the restaurant. Mrs. Hebihara, while flattered people found her and her husband cute, didn't like the idea of strangers knowing so much about her kid, so the next (and last) video on the account is her breaking an enormous beef bone in half with her bare hands and warning people not to stalk her children. Since then, the original account has been deleted, but both videos have been saved and reuploaded elsewhere, and interest in the small restaurant has only grown.

Tomioka Giichi's least favorite thing about the modern era: phones. when he gets a lot of notifications he's very stressed out, and he's also kind of a slow texter.

Kochou Shinobu's least favorite thing about the modern era: regulations. back in HER day, an orphan teenage girl with suspicious amounts of money could have a private medical practice and no one batted an eye. Yet, in this woke era...

[total-drama-takes-takes-2]

tti episode 20

“Last time on Total Takes Island: the campers set foot on the most wild parts of the island to practice the ancient pastime of trapping animals using whatever they could find. Ass-slash-Natalie conned McLovin into helping them when Julia was too busy trying to get Staci out of a sticky situation after she discovered Patrick had been working with the long-eliminated Kitty. Michael and Bonnie bonded over missing their friends, and Michael cinched the win. Ultimately, Patrick’s scheming got Staci eliminated, leaving only six campers left. Who will be mauled by bears today? And who will form another shaky alliance? Find out now, on Total! Takes! Island!”

Ass and Julia sit on the girls’ and such cabin steps early in the morning, the former filing their nails again and the latter reading War and Peace out loud. 

Finally, Julia sighs, slamming the heavy book shut. “Am I done yet? This is boring,”

“No, this is educational. Not everything can be solved through software and the internet or whatever it is you do,” Ass rolls their eyes. “I swear, this generation!”

Patrick walks by, smiling merrily and waving on his way to the mess hall for a late breakfast. Ass glares. 

---

ASS: “Okay, so Julia’s idea of using Patrick was dumb, obviously. I’m not making that mistake again. But I still need her on my side, seeing as how Bonnie and Michael are all buddy-buddy now. One slip up and Julia’s dead, which means I’m next,”

---

A helicopter flies over the cabin area, Chris hovering in the control seat. He pulls out a megaphone and grins. Ass and Julia brace themselves in anticipation, covering their ears. Patrick raises an eyebrow as Chris’ voice blares at an insane decibel. 

“GOOOOOD MORNING, CAMPERS!” 

Patrick squeals and falls backwards, ears immediately ringing and hearing fading out. 

“Over the past six weeks, 16 campers have tried- and failed- to get to where you are right now! Fren, Joner, Peter, Patrick, Kitty, Mal, O, Sha-Mod, Frollo, Caesar, Ass, Austin, Scruffy, Kelly, Courtney, Scary, Max, and Staci! Only six campers remain, but only one will be winning the million!” He pauses to land the helicopter between the two cabins, nearly blowing Ass and Julia away. 

Michael and Bonnie poke their heads out of the cabin to witness the commotion, and McLovin follows from the bathrooms shortly, dragging a roll of toilet paper stuck to the heel of his shoe behind him. “Today, we’re going to test everyone’s patience to the extreme, juuuuust to see who breaks first,” Chris chuckles. “Your challenge is a camp favorite: a triathlon!”

“And?” Ass says. 

“And, you’ll be attached with some of these,” Chris grins, pulling out a pair of handcuffs. “You’ll be sorted into three teams of two- now, our marketing team thought it’d be fun if we paired you up based on what province you’re from, but seeing as how most of our remaining campers are international grifters, I thought each player could represent which province they’re currently most popular in instead.”

“You took a poll?” Julia asks as Chef walks out from the mess hall holding a few buttons with province flags on them. 

“Yes indeed. Winning team members will both get invincibility from today’s elimination, by the by, so cheer up!” Chris smiles. “Alright- let’s see- Bonnie, you’ll be representing Manitoba,”

Chef walks over and adorns Bonnie with a red button. They stare at it for a moment. “The things I do for this show,”

“Michael- Quebec!”

Michael accepts her pin without a word.

---

MICHAEL: “I’m… not totally surprised. Both of my parents speak French… albeit, different dialects, and my name is pretty French-sounding. I don’t know the first thing about Quebec, though, so who knows,”

---

“Julia- Ontario,” Chris says as another button is attached to her lapel. “McLovin- the Yukon!”

“What?” McLovin asks as Chef approaches with a green, blue and white button. “There’s nothing up there!”

“You were actually most popular in Ontario, but we let Julia have this one,” Chris chuckles. “And finally, Natalie and Patrick scored a perfect tie in British Columbia. Not surprised, considering how full of themselves everyone is over there.”

Patrick and Ass look between each other and then to Chris. “Okay, what now?”

“Now you get your assignments,” he smiles, holding up three pairs of handcuffs. “We’ve designated your pairings based on your provinces- Ass and Patrick,” he walks over, pulling the two together and handcuffing Ass’ left wrist to Patrick’s right. “You stuck-up BC faves will be forced to work with each other. And since no one likes Ontario or Quebec, we decided to place you two over there with boring Manitoba and non-offensive Yukon,”

“Oh, no,” Michael says. “Does that mean-?”

“Yep!” Chris says, dragging her over to McLovin and cuffing the two together. Both glance at each other in terror. 

“No way,” Bonnie says, backing up into Chef as Chris approaches, trapping them. Julia glares and crosses her arms as soon as they’re cuffed, yanking Bonnie forward to the ground. 

“Alright, now that that’s settled- to the mess hall for your first challenge!”

---

Chris stands in front of the pairs as they line the remaining table. Bonnie and Julia have been yanking each other’s arms around for the past few minutes, McLovin and Michael are standing as far as physically possible away from each other, and Ass and Patrick have already begun pinching and shoving each other. 

“This is the competitive chow down!” Chris paces in front of them. “Each team will choose a feeder and an eater- the eater must put their hands behind them as the feeder gives them a delicious meal. And one last thing- this here is the wimp key,” he holds up a key with a skull emblem. “Once you’re ready to cry chicken and forfeit, this key will release you from your binds.”

Chef emerges from the kitchen, holding platters of furry food. Everyone winces. 

“Um. Ew! Okay, I’m feeding!” Julia says, turning to Bonnie. 

Bonnie glares. “Says who?”

“Says me!”

The two begin yanking each other to the floor again, growling and shouting. Ass rolls their eyes at the display and turns to Patrick. 

“I’m being the feeder. I don’t trust you for a second,”

“But-”

Ass turns their head in the other direction, ignoring his pleads. Patrick sighs in defeat, then shrugs- “Our loss,”

The two take a seat at the table as Bonnie and Julia stand from the floor, hair tangled and each covered in tiny scratches. Bonnie gives their teammate one last shove before they sit down. 

Michael watches the two pairs, then turns to McLovin. “Okay. Which do you want to be?”

He blinks. “I dunno, whatever you want,”

“Well, I don’t have a preference, so can you just choose?”

“Why can’t you choose?!” 

“Because- fine! I’ll be the eater,”

“Okay!”

Michael squints. “No- you be the eater,”

“That’s good too!”

"Actually, I'll be the eater,"

"Sounds good to me!"

Michael groans and sits, pulling McLovin a little too hard. He falls backwards with a yelp. 

“On your marks- get set- eat!” Chris flags the teams as Chef blows on a whistle. The designated eaters- Julia, Patrick, and Michael- put their hands behind their backs. 

“Could you slow down?!” Julia sputters as Bonnie shoves spoonful after spoonful of watery mac n cheese down her throat. Bonnie goes faster. 

McLovin’s hand seems to become uncontrollably shaky every time he lifts the utensil. They’re far behind the other teams, and after the sixth spoonful of dropped chicken, Michael gives up. “McLovin, you need to get a hold of yourself,” 

“W-what do you mean?” he asks, smiling nervously. 

“I mean we’re wasting food and we’re about to lose if you don’t pick things up,” she says, having to scooch close to him to lean forward and bite off the spoon. 

“I’m- I’m trying!”

She narrows her eyes at him. “Sometimes intent isn’t good enough. Sometimes you actually have to act,”

He swallows a lump in his throat as her double-entendre sinks in. Meanwhile, Ass is forcefully shoving straight handfuls of cheesecake into Patrick’s mouth, overstuffing it and causing him to cough. He manages to swallow one last mouthful of furry cream before the plate is clean. 

“Okay, we just need to get through the chicken next,” Ass says. “This’ll be a cinch!”

Patrick coughs dryly. “Is it spicy?" he asks, looking at the green bird. "You might want to-”

Ass forces another spoonful of food to the back of his throat and he coughs before leaning forward and throwing up on their shoes. They scream. 

“OKAY, I’VE HAD IT!” 

Ass stands, dragging Patrick along behind them before snatching the key from Chris’ hands and unlocking them. 

“I hate all of you!” They yell, fists clenched and eyes narrowed as they storm out to the showers. Patrick groans on the floor. 

“Oookay,” Chris says. “Early, but not unexpected.”

Julia finishes the meal and groans, glaring at Bonnie once she regains her balance and stops feeling too nauseous to speak. 

“And that makes Julia and Bonnie the winners of the first leg!” Chris says, walking over to the two. Michael sighs. 

---

The remaining duos stand at the beach before two canoes. Julia is a sickly shade of green and looks close to passing out, though Bonnie is determined. Michael and McLovin just look sad. 

---

MICHAEL: “Yeah, there’s no way we’re winning this one. But on the bright side, I could get Bonnie and Patrick to help me vote McLovin off. That would make all this worth it,”

---

MCLOVIN: “I just hope no one’s mad at me,”

---

“For this leg of the challenge, you’ll be paddling your canoes- handcuffed- to Boney Island, in which you’ll find a package waiting for each pair,” Chris says, gesturing to the boats. “Whenever you’re ready!”

The pairs rush down to their respective canoes, with Bonnie and Julia setting off first. 

---

BONNIE: “I’ve seen Julia’s style- she wants an easy ride to the finale. I’m just giving her what she wants,” they grin. 

---

“Paddle faster!” Bonnie yells, yanking Julia around as they row to the island. 

“I’m- trying!” She gasps, barely able to hold onto the oar in the back of the canoe. 

A few minutes behind are McLovin and Michael, who are attempting the “slow and steady” approach. 

“One- two- one- two!” Michael shouts, methodically directing the paddling as they work one handed. 

McLovin’s weak noodle arms are shaking as he strains between trying to row and trying to keep a safe distance from Michael. He wheezes. She, on the other hand, is completely focused on the game, trying her best to ignore him as he goes between glaring and grumbling to himself and whimpering pathetically. 

Despite their lead, Bonnie and Julia make it to the island at the same time as Michael and McLovin, where two backpacks are waiting for them. 

“Please be some antacids,” Julia mutters, opening the bag. Instead, inside is a piece of a tiki doll, a banana, a map, and one measly bottle of water. 

“What is this?” Bonnie asks, holding up the rounded charm. 

“That is a tiki doll!” Chris says, helicopter hovering overhead. “While no one this season cursed their team, it’s a bit of a callback to-” he pauses as the campers stare, confused. “Ugh, nevermind! I miss Scruffy. Anyway, The pieces in your packs must be returned to the cave of treacherous terror, ASAP! Oh, yeah- and they're bad luck to hold onto, so you better piggyback fast!”

“Piggyback?” Julia asks. 

“You heard me!” he chuckles, helicopter flying off. 

Michael sighs and crouches down, allowing McLovin on her back. Julia waits for Bonnie to follow suit, and when they don’t, she frowns. “Well? What’re you waiting for?”

“Who said I’m carrying you?” Bonnie says, shrugging. McLovin and Michael are already gone. “You could use some endurance training, four-eyes.”

Julia glares at the name. 

---

BONNIE: “I actually use contacts, and I have a pair of glasses in my bag. I just like getting on her nerves,”

---

Bonnie sits comfortably on Julia's back as they haul through the woods, in close pursuit of McLovin and Michael. 

---

Ass steps out of the communal showers, grumbling about not being able to get the smell of cheesecake off of them as they walk back to the cabins. The camp is now empty, Chris and Chef both occupied with the campers on Boney Island, and Patrick is nowhere to be seen. 

The cabins finally have some peace to them, and Ass takes their sweet time getting dried and dressed, savoring every moment of quiet. They already have most of their afternoon planned out- heading to the kitchen to grab an edible snack (and maybe then some for later), looking through their cabinmate’s belongings, and then relaxing by the beach with a good book until the losers returned. 

They snatch up their copy of War and Peace and step outside, stretching in the sunlight. 

---

ASS: “Am I worried about getting eliminated? Why would I be? I have Julia on my side, and as long as Patrick isn’t holding any grudges today, McLovin should be an easy ally. I already told Julia to go for Bonnie next. They’re flying a little too close to the finale for comfort,”

---

Ass walks along the path to a shady sitting area on the far corner of the island they do most of their reading at when they don’t feel like being around Julia (which is most of the time). 

The breeze is warm today, the sun shining but not too hot- Ass chuckles, thinking about those poor losers running around all sweaty on the other island right now. 

The further they walk inland, the warmer it gets. As they’re enjoying their quiet walk, a faint giggling catches their attention. 

Ass stops, scanning the treeline, but sees nothing. 

“Just the wind,” they assure themselves- not quite nervous but not entirely dismissive, either. 

The giggling returns, accompanied by the sound of a louder laugh. 

“Okay, not the wind,” they lower their voice to a whisper, and follow the sounds into the woods. 

The closer they get, the more they can make out- chattering, rustling, the crunching of leaves and sticks underfoot. But who’d be out here now?

Ass crouches to the ground and peers through a blueberry bush at the source of the commotion. As their eyes adjust to the light, they can make out Patrick sitting on a boulder (atop a towel from the kitchen to avoid dirtying his suit). 

Another figure emerges, scampering over with a stick in its mouth. Ass squints. “A dog? Where’d Patrick find a dog on the island?”

But it’s not a dog. 

Their eyes widen. 

---

“Just a few more steps, if you can handle it,” Bonnie taunts, the cave rapidly approaching. Julia is walking slowly, steps shaky and uncoordinated. She stumbles to the mouth of the cave, but is promptly stopped by a faint growling. 

“Don’t throw up now, we’re almost there!” Bonnie says. 

Julia shakes her head, backing away slowly. “That wasn’t me,”

A few giant wooly beavers emerge from the depths of the cave, baring their teeth. Bonnie and Julia scream and start off in the opposite direction, the beavers close behind. 

As they vanish, McLovin and Michael appear, stepping up to the mouth of the cave. 

“So, do you think this curse thing is real, or…?” McLovin asks nervously, watching Michael pull the tiki piece out of the bag and set it inside the cave. 

She sighs. “Probably not, but what do I know? Oh- and next time, I'm not carrying you through the challenge," Michael says as she begins to walk back to the beach. "Why don't you do something for once?"

---

“Our two remaining teams both have a point each,” Chris explains, walking between two picnic tables back at camp. “In order to break the tie, one of you will have to win this leg of the challenge- the pole of shame! Your task is to assemble these heads of your past fellow campers in the order they were eliminated.” 

Bonnie looks around. “What heads?”

Chris grins, walking over to the lumpy messes covered in tarps on either picnic table, and then dramatically pulls the covers away with flair. Underneath are 16 wooden heads of each eliminated contestant. McLovin screams in terror and falls backwards, much to Michael’s annoyance. 

---

MICHAEL: “Is it just me, or did McLovin get significantly lamer since this summer started?”

---

“Final call for the wimp key!” Chris says, waving it around. No one steps up but Julia, who is promptly sat back down by Bonnie. 

Michael gets to work assembling the pole while McLovin recalls who goes in which order. “Fren, Joner- rest in peace- Peter, um… Patrick- no, wait he’s still here,”

“Okay, who was after that, then?” Michael asks. 

“Kitty! Mal, O…”

---

MICHAEL: “But… credit where credit is due. McLovin is really good at remembering people’s names,”

---

Julia sighs dramatically, holding up the wooden replica of Scruffy. “Poor Scruff. You’d know what to do here,”

Bonnie rolls their eyes at the display, but is clearly more gentle with Caesar’s head than the others. 

Across the space, Michael sighs while she attaches Joner’s head to Fren’s. “Poor Joner. Probably watching us fail miserably right now,”

“Technically, the season hasn’t aired yet,” McLovin says, sorting through the pile. Michael rolls her eyes as he breaks the brief conversation to stare longingly at Sha-Mod. 

---

MCLOVIN: “Okay, I’ll admit it. Not having any friends on the island is really wearing me down. But that’s not even my fault! Humans are social creatures, and we have strength in numbers! Everyone left on the island are more like bears…”

---

"What's this?" Chris asks, spinning Max's head around on the tabletop. There's a tiny heart painted on his cheek in mud.

McLovin winces as Michael goes red. "NOTHING!"

“Was it Austin or Kelly first? I keep getting them mixed up!” Bonnie says, holding the two heads in either hand. 

“Austin. Kelly got voted after Scruffy,” Julia informs her partner, taking the heads from their hands. 

“Okay, what about Frollo?”

Julia picks up the wooden carving. “Frollo was five players before Scruffy,” 

Bonnie raises an eyebrow. 

---

BONNIE: “In a way, it’s comforting to know that I’m not the only person on the island who’s been counting days since their friend got voted off. But having that other person be Julia is… concerning,”

---

They smile sympathetically. "You really miss Scruffy, huh?"

"Whatever. I don't," Julia looks at the ground, avoiding eye contact. "I was just using them to get ahead! It was strategy!"

"Sure. Listen- losing friends is never easy, but you just gotta keep on going, though, right? There'll always be someone around to support you," they place a hand on Julia's shoulder. "Just, you know- stop taking the good people in your life for granted, 'kay?"

"Whatever," she snaps, though as Bonnie leaves she looks up.

The two continue working, making their way up the line of losers. Bonnie tosses Julia Staci's head, but they’re not quite fast enough. 

“And we have our winners!” Chris says, looking up the pole of heads on McLovin and Michael’s sides. The two sigh in relief. “The rest of you are up for elimination, though- and I’ll be seeing you tonight!”

---

“Final six, huh?” Chris chuckles. “Not for long! Let’s see- since Michael and McLovin got immunity, they’re exempt from today’s ceremony. But they’ll still get their marshmallows,”

He tosses the two their treats, which McLovin eats and Michael just smiles down at. 

“The following are safe- Ass,” 

“Julia.”

“Bonnie- Patrick- you’ve both been here a long time,” Chris says, nodding solemnly. “And while the votes call for Bonnie’s elimination, a certain… incident has come to my attention that forfeits that.”

Julia raises an eyebrow. Ass smirks. 

“Patrick- my man- we have a pretty strict no-cheating-off-camera policy, and from the looks of it, you’ve been doing that for quite some time. I mean, come on! Using an eliminated contestant to get ahead?” Everyone turns to Patrick with confused expressions. “But I could forgive even that, if you were at least honest about it. And on camera. Unfortunately, Chef and I have made the very hard decision to disqualify you from the race.”

“What?” Patrick asks, standing. “You can’t-!”

“Oh, but I can! And Chef?”

Chef walks out in a hazmat suit, carrying Kitty with him in a solid lead cage. They gnaw at the bars of their enclosure. 

“Your little pet has a Geiger count of 190 CPM. We’re actually not sure how they’re still alive, dude,” Chris says. “So you two are getting medical evac-ed off the island.”

Everyone turns pale as Chef walks over and grabs Patrick by the scruff of his neck. He kicks his legs around for a moment before being tossed inside the cage with Kitty and hauled away. 

“The rest of you should be safe, unless you were close to Patrick recently,” everyone turns to Ass, who suddenly doesn’t look so smug anymore. “Yeah… I’d spend the night in the quarantine section of the medical tent if I were you.”

Chris chuckles as Ass stands and runs away. Bonnie smiles slightly. 

“Who will be poisoned with mold? And who will be poisoned with radiation? Find out next time, on Total! Takes! Island!”

[redhairedgirl95]

Heyyy 💞 been re-reading em2 and i just wanted to know if you could write more headcanons about stella and her relashionship with her parents ( like her spending time with them , cute family bonding stuff , arguing, her fear and insecurities regarding them and like how she doesn't want to dissapoint them ) if you have inspiration of course ,no pressure. I have to say that you represented stella's complex relationship with her parents better than the writers did in the show . Exited to read the new chapter of all that glitters is not gold 💓

I am crying for your kindness <3

I'm so glad you like the fic so much that you are RE-READING it! It's crazy! I love you so much, anon! <3 <3 <3

Here's some headcanons of stuff Stella does/did with her parents.

I hope you like them <3

Dancing

It’s pretty obvious that Stella is clumsy. Really clumsy. So, when it becomes apparent that it’s not something she is going to overcome alone, at around five years of age, her mom contacts a dance instructor from Callisto to give her lessons twice a week. Stella doesn’t like it. Callistian music is enchanting, but a little too slow for her Solarian heart. She does all she can to get out of those lessons – she fakes temperatures (which is tricky, because Solarians’ body temperature is already a little higher than normal, due to their connection with the Sun and the heat in general), headaches, injuries of every sort … it's only when, sneaking into the ballroom during a party, when she was supposed to be already asleep, she sees her mom and dad dancing together, and smiling, that she decides to give dancing lessons a chance.

In the end, when she really starts trying, it doesn’t seem so bad. She learns to be more graceful, but unfortunately that applies only when she is dancing. And though Callistian music and dances are good, she prefers the Solarian ones. Especially the Dance of Happiness, her father had thought her that himself!

As she grows older, she has the honor of dancing both during Summer and Winter Solstice, joining the sun and moon dancers, respectively.

Sewing

Stella’s passion for fashion starts at an early age. Her first experiences with sewing regard altering her dolls’ clothes. When Luna enters her bedroom and finds little Stella in tears because she has pinched her finger with a needle, she sits down with her and decides she would teach her. She takes her to the Palace tailors and asks them to set up a workstation for her and the Princess.

Some of Stella’s most cherished memories of her childhood are of her and Luna bickering about color combinations and fabric. She and her mom DON’T have the same taste!

Power

Oh, she knows her parents are big shots, especially her dad. As a child, she always used to sneak into the throne room, sit her dolls on the floor and order them about from the throne. She loved playing Queen. Radius knows, of course. Everybody at court knows. When she is a little older, at nine or ten, the King allows her to sit by him during hearings and he starts teaching her what a King (or Queen) does and how they listen to their people. Those are maybe the only times when Stella manages to sit still and pay attention without falling asleep.

Birthdays

She know that her mom doesn’t like the Sun all that much, but Luna always makes an exception for Stella’s birthday. With Radius, they spend the day at the beach, building elaborate sandcastles, tanning (Radius and Stella), organizing fashion shows (Stella and Luna), and eating marshmallows. When the Suns go down, Luna moonbathes with her, while Radius tells them the story of the constellation of Stella’s choosing. For some reasons, those stories never leave her memory. She can name every star, constellation, and celestial body in Solaria and Callisto, and she is learning about the others.

Though the memories of those birthdays are carved in her heart, she knows those things have only happened two or three times. Her parents started growing apart when she was little, and though they always made an effort to make her birthday special, it wasn’t like before.

Singing

She doesn’t know many Callistian songs, but she knows hundreds in Solarian! Sacred and secular. Radius sings when he prays, and she sings too. It’s in the room of the Second Sun that she learns Old Solarian, when she sees her dad kneel and pray for strength, peace, and light. Always light. Light in the sky, light in his mind, light in their life.

Stella doesn’t sing in public, but she sings with Radius, from strong and meaningful songs to silly little ones. She’s sad when, getting older, she gets to do that less and less.