#I don't think I'm going to give him time abilities in the traditional sense

[woolmasterleel]

Tagashei/ Mad Rabbit can be so cruel

He can and will make you late for work

[snootlestheangel]

Just A Dude!Ghost Monster AU

Side note before this post gets rolling, I love that my post with the highest notes starts with "I don't know who else" and I think that's very reflective of what Tumblr is like XD

Anyways

We're doing it! We are writing a Monster AU featuring Ghost as the only human despite what everyone else thinks! As far as I am concerned, mostly gonna post it here on Tumblr, since I don't really have much right now for it, mostly just little blurbs but if needed for readability, I'll put it on AO3 (under my profile FeelzMaster)

I'm gonna go ahead and give y'all the rundown of what species are featured, kinda what this world's like, the stuffs, ya know? TW: talks of death (just how they can die, relax)

Soap

To be 100% honest, I really wanted to do the whole werewolf!Soap thing cause it's just so perfect for him, but I thought back to a post I made about him being lightning and thought HUH WHAT IF?

So, partially inspired by @tactax-art and their depiction of Soap dealing with fire 'n shit, I have made Soap a unique type of "nymph". Technically, nymph isn't the right word, but neither is elemental, and the true name of these things is so old it's real translation has kinda lost meaning so they stick to describing themselves as "nymphs" or "elementals".

He is a Lightning Nymph, which is rare but that's apparently what happens when you cross an "atmospheric" air nymph (his mum) and a less traditional water nymph (his dad). He's often seeing consuming/messing with things that have electrical charge in order to keep up his own energy (Gaz once had to watch him literally lick an exposed outlet and maintain a straight face). Every time it storms, he's outside somewhere as high as he can get so he can soak up the natural static energy that comes with storms. He can and will shock people for the fun of it.

As for abilities, he's obviously highly conductive, can manipulate electrical energy but it's pretty exhausting so it's more of a life or death thing, he can glow in the dark if he wants to, and he's hyper aware of changes (due to ~energy~). His diet is batteries... Jk, but seriously he does not eat like a human would, he straight up eats things that will help with energy. Like I said earlier, he's licked an exposed outlet like it was an espresso shot. Downside is he can't see for shit in the dark so he's reliant on sensing energies, nightvision, or having one of his buddies that can see in the dark guide him. Can be killed if his brain stem is destroyed, but is also very weakened by the typical stuff (gunshots, stab wounds, severe bodily trauama, etc). but can be severely weakened by being trapped in insulated rooms/wrapped in insulators. If exposed to these things and not able to find a sustainable source of electrical energy, he will die. (rubber, steel, copper are some good insulators)

Gaz

I don't know why but I'm gonna make him a Siren. For some reason Siren!Gaz just melts my heart and I wanna hold him. I don't care if he can lure me to my death with his voice, I wanna hear him sing :'(

He's typically pretty human appearing, it's a natural instinct for Sirens, but when he's tired or distracted (like working out/doing paperwork), you can start to see some very fish-like qualities. Mostly very gorgeous iridescent scales around his ears, eyes, neck, shoulders, knees, top of his feet, and back of his hands.

Can breathe underwater, has the best vision in the dark, eats like a typical person but with more sea food cravings or cravings for fatty foods (like human), when in full Siren form he doesn't have a "mermaid's" tail, it's much more shark-like so he can accelerate really fast. Generally just more shark-like, except his scales are fish-like. His nose, like sharks, is super sensitive to certain changes, so booping his nose always throws him off if it's surprise, but he will also bump his nose into people/things without realizing it to get a better sense of it. Can be killed by things humans can, susceptible to parasites.

Price

Honestly, his has been the hardest but I'm gonna do changeling. I honestly don't know a lot about them, and quite frankly I've already got one homebrewed monster here, so why not another?

He's definitely the one everyone mistakes for being human cause he's so good at keeping up appearances. But there are always times where Price manipulates his appearance/body just enough that it's a little startling for those that believed him to be human to suddenly realize he's very much not.

He's got better eyesight in the dark than a human, but nowhere near close to what Gaz has. He's good at picking up on scents though, as his nose is a bit more attune to sniffing out humans than anything. He's not a bloodsucker, but changelings typically feed on weakened/ill/very old/very young humans, so he's able to tell when something is wrong with someone. Stifles the more violent urges of his species by eating a primarily meat heavy diet with a lot of raw veggies for the crunch. Most susceptible to things with iron or salt (obvi) but can still be fatally wounded by stab wounds/gunshots. Most other stuff won't kill him but it'll certainly hurt and he'll complain the entire time.

Alejandro and Rudy

These two are werewolves and Los Vaqueros is their pack :'). Most Vaqueros are also werewolves, but they do have a variety of other creatures commonly found in North America.

And finally, the whole point of this: we got our boy Ghost as a literal human being. Nothing more, just a dude. A dude with so much fucked up shit happening to him constantly it's just assumed he must be inhuman. NOPE! He's just a dude, a very very unlucky, and probably cursed, dude.

So yeah, that's what I have so far! Working title is "Cheers to the Unknown"

Taglist (if you want added let me know in the replies/reblogs): @tacticaltaxonomist @cthulhusstepmom

[tinypinkmouse]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers (except me because obvs I have done it). Spread the self-love ❤

Five is way too few and the fic far too many to choose from. At least I've been reminded how much I enjoy the majority of my fic, and that's a good thing. So this isn't some kind of top five really. On another day I'd probably pick five entirely different fics. But these are some of my favourites.

Rust in My Mouth, Guardian, Mature (for injuries/violence), Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan. This is a pre-canon story where Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan meet earlier (I love the basic premise of earlier first meeting and have written many different variations on that idea). This involves quite a bit of worldbuilding for Shen Wei and Dixing to give Shen Wei a hobby of underground fights. I felt like I was missing stories that focus on Shen Wei's fighting abilities. We don't really even mention him training or anything all that often, surely he must sometimes? This fic was mostly me trying to work out the worldbuilding of Dixing having some kind of fighting tradition, and then throwing in a first meeting on top. In retrospect I ended up liking the mood of it a lot and then wrote a sequel to it as well (I think there's another sequel lingering in my WIPs). The worldbuilding is not the most original, but I like it well enough. And I'm very happy with how I wrote the bits where actual fighting happens (I'm generally not very confident in writing that sort of action).

Like It's the Very First Time, Guardian, Explicit, Shen Wei/Ye Zun/Zhao Yunlan. (CW: incest) This is an AU where the twins are living together when Zhao Yunlan meets them. Also there's a few gender changes here, both Zhao Yunlan and Ye Zun are women. Shen Wei is a man, though his feelings on that could change. The twins come with shapechanging powers where they can change their body to fit their gender if they choose to. Honestly, other than including some of my ambiguous feelings on gender (a lot of it in my head, because it's from Zhao Yunlan's POV and she is not aware of what's going on with the twins and gender) I love this purely because of the complete bisexual disaster that Zhao Yunlan manages to be (I'm very proud of that).

Spiders Crawling, Guardian, Explicit, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan. This is a monster AU, because I love all of my various monster AUs and I have to include at least one. And I love spiders!Shen Wei to bits, so spiders!Shen Wei it is. He is made of lots and lots of tiny spiders, except for when he comes together and looks like Shen Wei. I don't even know what else to say about this, other than spiders!Shen Wei! Oh, yes, Zhao Yunlan will fuck that, because that's Zhao Yunlan and he can be horny about a bunch of spiders, thank you (it's a bit of an adjustment even for Zhao Yunlan). Writing the sex was interesting, and took me a bit of figuring out (how do you make a hoard of tiny spiders sexy) and yes I am extremely proud of it.

Be Who You Are, Embrace Again/The Fraud Love Group, Explicit, Yang Xiuxian/Ye Ziyang. I wanted to include so many weilan derivatives (I think I've written some of my very best stuff there) I love my weilan derivative fics to a ridiculous degree. In the end I went with this one because it might just be one of the best things I've ever written (at least in my opinion). Sure I'm extrapolating characters from a trailer (that's all that was out for Embrace Again at the time) and the about seven minutes where Yang Xiuxian appears in his movie, but hey, that's the fun of it all, right?

As Always, Just You, Beast Wars/Machines, G, gen. This is a very short post-canon thing where Cheetor is having feelings and contemplating his life as he grows closer to death. Quite an old thing to include and not exactly a huge fandom either (and definitely makes no sense without the context of canon), but it still makes me all emotional, even if it could have been written better.

[theanticool]

How do you see a match with Nakatani and Bam going?

They play off one another super well, which I find really interesting. It sort of reminds me a bit of the dynamic between Fury-Usyk, though the size difference isn't as jarring and both tend to fight out of southpaw.

Nakatani likes to counter, obviously. He's a very traditional southpaw type of fighter but with a fantastic southpaw jab that he uses to bait guys into chasing or countering before sliding out to range and firing back. Fires that jab from the inside angle really well too. And uses it to set up that rear hand - whether it's upstairs (like against Moloney) or to the body (like against Astrolabio). He will sit right at the edge of range and tempt people using that lead hand. And while he isn't particularly foot fast, he's long and has terrific timing on his counters. And he will circle into the power side to land that left hand. He uses both the inside and outside angle on it (see the 11th round KD of Moloney). He isn't looking for big distract angles or to move around the ring a lot. Junto seems comfortable sitting in front of his opponents, probing with the jab and then half stepping or pivoting as they try to press him as he lines up the left hand. From memory, I don't recall much of Junto's inside game beyond him getting caught in the middle distance quite a bit in some fights with harder nosed opponents. If I'm Bam, that's where I push my advantage.

Bam is more of the Usyk archetype. He's the shorter, busier fighter. He will throw in combos. He will pressure. He will keep a very difficult pace to match. He'll also use his power jab to draw out openings for counters, like Nakatani. He'll step completely into space behind a power jab and then retreat as the opponent tries to return fire. He'll end up with his opponent reaching, giving him opportunity to crack back. Did this a bunch against Estrada early and really set the pace and range that fight would stay at throughout. He is the more athletically gifted of the two, in terms of foot speed and ability to stitch together punches smoothly. Fantastic combination puncher and can work angles inside better than 99% of boxers today. Only competition is really like Crawford, honestly. At his best, he hides his work on the lead foot immaculately. It's what allowed him to finish Estrada as he went from the inside to the outside angle behind the jab.

Part of being a high paced pressure fighter is that Bam can be tagged. Just part of being a pressure fighter. Sometimes it's because he gets very nonchalant with his entries (not unlike Vasyl tbh) and other times it's because he's reaching. Estrada was able to use that against him to score a knockdown as he had knew what Bam's reaction was going to be as he pressured. Israel Gonzalez had a lot of success just being slightly out of range against Bam. Bam would step forward behind a single jab and then be there for whatever Israel Gonzalez would throw in return. Against someone like Nakatani, that could be deadly.

I don't really have a good sense of how size will factor in. We've never seen Bam against someone like Nakatani's build. They have a similar reach but Nakatani tends to get more out of his reach than Bam does. We've seen Bam get tagged by smaller, less powerful fighters that get a beat on his timing and distance. If Nakatani catches Bam at the same range that Israel did, I really think Bam goes out.

But the thing that has me hesitant to really pick a side is neither guy has fought a comparable southpaw. Bam beat Sor Rungsvisai, but that was a completely different style of boxer than Nakatani. I don't think Nakatani has fought a high level southpaw yet. Bam definitely has the better resume in terms of beating elite, hall of fame talent but this is a unique challenge. If this fight was to happen soon, I think Bam would be in for a rough night- win or lose. It's one of those ones where he'll be seeing a lot of that jab to his face as he searches for his entries into the pocket, chases to try to cut Junto off, or draw him to come forward to close distance.

[24-hourpartypeople]

I'M ALAN PARTRIDGE S1: I mean, this is not just peak Alan, this is peak comedy. Every other line is a great joke if not a memorable quote yet it all still works in depicting Alan as a three dimensional character and not just a punching bag. It's all slightly exaggerated but gives back a sense of realness because the Alan universe is so perfectly crafted. What's really fascinating is that almost everything you get is from Alan's interacting with other people, but there's a strong underlyining sense of loneliness throughout and that's what makes you sympathetic towards the character. Yes he's opportunistic and arrogant but at times you want him to shut up not because he's annoying but because he's burying himself. Just cringe comedy played perfectly. I also absolutely love how you get comedy out of his little obsessions and pedantry, that's maybe my favourite definying trait of Steve's stuff.

Talking of Steve, he's unreal here. I've said it before but he has the incredible ability to go big while still playing on the subtleties, be it a face expression, the timing of inflection of a phrase or a small gesture. It's quite fitting that one of the most iconic moments of the series has him not speaking a single word. He's completely mastered the character by this point and there's nothing that's off limits for him. But what sticks out is that he's also able to bring the pathos and emotions when needed. Despair, childlike happiness, fear, awkwardness, disgust, it's all perfectly conveyed and even if it's for a laugh there's still another hidden message getting across.

It's very hard to pick a favourite moments but there's 3 quotes that I want to single out because I think in a way they're also either brilliant observations or great character detail.

"Yes, it's an extender". Because as I said I have a soft spot for all these mundane obsessions and they're an integral part of Alan's psyche, he gets worked over all these small, irrelevant things in a way that probably wears people out, or just confuses them. But the reality is, we all sometimes get overexcited about stupid things that bring some comfort to our lives, and your kitchen table being an extender is certainly a plausible candidate for that. It's like when you go to the supermarket and there's a discount on soap or when you come home and your flatmate has already put the bins out. The joys of life.

"At the end of the day you will pay the price if you're a fussy eater". That whole scene is fantastic and works on two level imo. The obvious one is the casual display of ignorance and racism. As the little englander that he is, even without being particularly engaged politically, Alan just looks down on irish people and doesn't even realise that all of his perceptions are based on old, reheashed stereotypes. But then I think the scene also captures something I believe we've all experienced. When you're out for dinner with a group, and there's someone you don't quite know. And that someone will say the most outrageous things without a worry because in his mind the possibilities that he's talking out of his arse, and that the other people sat at the table may not agree with his point of view, just don't exist.

"I just hate the general public". Again, in context, this works because it's just Alan refusing to admit his own defeat and instead blaming someone else, in this case everyone and no one in particular because he can't quite pin down the crowd that was at the event but he still feels they're inferior to him. But it's also such a great line to have come out of a guy that works as a tv presenter, especially a traditional one. He puts on this smiling face and pretends that the audience of the show are this kind of massive extended family when in front of the camera. He works with a different set of guests every time. He talks with executives, producers, collegues, members of crew. His whole career is based on pretending that what he's doing affects the public and keeps them company. And being successful and getting big viewing figures means you're popular with the everymen (and women) down in Bolton or something. Yet he *hates* the general public. Fantastic.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 7 Minagoroshi pt. 10

Come to think of it, this is probably the most emotion we've seen Rika display in any of the arcs up to this point. Also, this section shows that Shion Sonozaki might actually be dumber than Keiichi.

I wonder if Japan has a fundamentally different interpretation of what a witch is compared to your more traditional European style witch? Or maybe I'm just woefully out of touch in that regard and the idea of a witch being basically immortal is the more commonly accepted idea.

Hanyuu and her nice new bag of I told you so's. Now, I know I've said this before in regards to the characters in the past, but Rika is such a dramatic child. She suffers one singular misfortune and she writes off all of her accumulated good luck as just gone forever. I'm not saying she's wrong for feeling that way, I'd be lying if I said I never experienced days where if one single thing went wrong I would start thinking everything was ruined forever. I'm just saying she's been such a rather optimistic character lately that this change to complete and utter defeatism is kind of darkly funny.

If Rika gives up and loses her last shreds of hope and becomes something that's no longer Rika, does that mean that Hanyuu was born from a similar situation? They've said multiple times that she's existed for a lot longer than Rika, so was Hanyuu formerly a human? I don't know if that's the case at all, but it's a fun little thought experiment I think.

Skipping ahead a little, Rika goes to school the next day in the vain hopes that Satoko will be there as well. When she's not she let's her despair takes over and starts being Rude Rika, telling Chie to shut up and she's going home. Chie then takes this thoroughly morose Rika to the teachers office and gets the skinny from Rika about how Teppei has come back and is basically making her life a living hell.

The rest of the main cast eavesdrop and overhear about Satoko's situation.

Say what you will about Keiichi, and I have, at length, and will again. But at least when he decided to plan, and then carry out a murderous plot he at least had the good sense to not scream it out loud in front of witnesses. Sure, everyone knew anyway because despite the idea that people remember the past arcs has only really become a thing as of Tsumihoroboshi everyone somehow knows everything everyone has ever done in this series.

Wanting to put a delay on Tatarigoroshi: Shion Edition Chie drives off to Satoko's home. Would Tatarigoroshi: Shion Edition give her the ability to kill people with her mind, do you think? I think it would. Anyway, she arrives at Satoko's house and is immediately screamed and shouted at by Teppei. Upon being yelled at that yes she's here, no you can't see her, she's just sick, trust me Chie goes back to the school.

Shion rants and raves at Chie's uselessness in this scenario and once again talks about "come on guys, murder!"

Rena proves once again to be the brains of this outfit, because honestly, if you're gonna kill the guy just do it, don't yell and scream about it. Shion decides the next logical course of action is to beat anyone who gets in her way with a chair. Which she does. She smacks Keiichi around with the chair until he convinces her to quit giving him brain damage and to calm down for a second.

Something that I like so far in this chapter is the fact that the TIPs are back to being more than just documents. I recall in chapter one the TIPs would have these extra documents yes, but it also had scenes like Rena and Mion talking secretively about how Ooishi is a servant of Oyashiro and the like. Then up until Minagoroshi here, the TIPs were all just extra lore building documents. So it's neat to see them go back to extra scenes and actions outside of the main narrative.

I'm trying to be more upfront with what I like so far with this chapter, because in very short order I won't have much positivity about it. Once the narrative switches back to Keiichi as the viewpoint I had a pretty miserable time of it, up until it switches back to Rika's perspective.

[helenofsimblr]

Ozen: Francine was conceived her on the islands then.

Stella: She was indeed. In another 10 years or so I will be REALLY old and wrinkly, she laughs.

Morrigan listens quietly.

Ozen: I bet time slows for you on the island. Everyone here ages well.

Stella: Well I like to think so, Kevari seems to have done well here, despite all the drinking and smoking she does! Or maybe that's her secret! she laughs.

Morrigan: Mama Kevari has been here for a long time. I wouldn't use her as a standard. She talks of when father was a youth.

Stella: Oh dear gods she must be old as the sand.

Ozen: Yeah, no one really knows how old she is. There's no record that can confirm it... and she won't give me a straight answer.

****

Stella: Should never ask a ladies' age Ozen.

she looks at Morrigan and nods.

Morrigan: I taught him that, but he has never listened well. Always asking inappropriate questions.

Ozen looks away and then winks at Stella, 

Ozen: Yes yes, the horrid little Prince who doesn't listen... that's me.

Stella: Just determined and independent Oz. Right?

Ozen: Right!

Morrigan: I merely tried to teach him the traditions and laws he needs to know as a Prince. He preferred racing me... and hide and seek.

Elita: Stella understood that Ozen had needed  a mom, and Morrigan had tried to be that for him. But he wanted her to be his playmate. Stella found herself wondering if she had stayed, maybe everybody would have been happier. Her, Triton, Morrigan, Ozen, and Francine of course… 

****

Ozen: How long were you on the island with Father? After the ruffians and your ability to see through his siren call?

Stella: Definitely  a week. I was there for 2 weeks, and I met your dad at the start of the second week and so we had 6 or 7 wonderful nights and too much information, I'm sure. Talking about this with his kids, I'm not sure she wants to hear about it, I sense you still don't entirely trust me Morrigan.

Morrigan shakes her head, 

Morrigan: As long as you don't go into the details of the physical bits, I think we'll be ok... and yes. I don't trust anyone entirely. It's nothing personal. My country, my family and my islands are my responsibility to protect. If I trusted everyone, it would be folly. I'm sure you understand that as a lawyer of renown.

Stella: Indeed I do.

Ozen: Yeah, long as you skip the uh, naked bits. We'll be good.

Stella: Perhaps if I just tell the story from the start, as in the bit where I decided to visit Sulani that'd be a good idea…

[south-sea]

Ooh, how about "X" for your black arms crew?

i'm including Neutral End in this too yahooo (from this!)

X. What's their biggest fear?

aruna he's been through so much these past 13+ years that he's swung pretty hard into "desensitized" territory. to most, he would seem eerily unfazed and always collected. the exception might be disorientation in relation to waking from particularly nasty nightmares, but those rarely happen, and tend to happen only under specific circumstances, so i'm not counting it.

it's less that he's afraid of traditional tangible things at this point, and more about concepts. the thought of forgetting fills him with so much dread it's hard for him to process. when he starts to get into it, there comes a point where he has to force himself to stop thinking about it or he'll drive himself mad trying to recall what's no longer there, or the sinking feeling that there's something he's already missing.

nearly his entire self-proclaimed purpose in life now, other than to live for himself, is to remember. memories are all he has left to keep his people alive. so for him to forget even the smallest detail is to essentially be a failure who's lost his purpose for living in place of... literally everyone else. the survivor's guilt is real, and it is heavy. it doesn't manifest with sadness. it's simply this.

he likes to think he remembers everything perfectly. time and trauma have seen to it that he does not. he claims his people didn't have songs. he's forgotten black moth knew and sang the last of their kind.

black moth it's a little odd for a "moth", maybe, but bright lights instill an almost primal sense of dread in him. he can't pinpoint any rhyme or reason for it. in most other situations, he'd have the "fight" reaction when adrenaline kicks in, but when it comes to this, he just freezes.

and by bright lights i don't mean just any. it's not as if he's going to freak out if you turn on overhead fluorescent lights or something, even if he's not a fan of those in general. it's if he's already in a dark room and you shine a single beam on him from overhead, or things like extremely bright, large spotlights in the distance.

he assumes it's fear, anyway. maybe it would be more accurate to say it's awe. the last traces of some long-buried memory.

black moth remembers the songs. black doom remembers the illuminated rings their planet had. they've both forgotten pieces of their history they once held dear, and all that's left in those empty places is dread. but maybe it's better to fear this empty unknown than to mourn it.

alt doom defeat or mistakes he can't come back from. he has been beaten and pushed into a corner countless times, but he always comes out on top in some way, or knows when to employ a strategic retreat. this guy is ruthless and thorough in a much more strategic way, or at least the little mishap with gerald taught him to be.

if he knew what aruna had been through to end up with his entire species eradicated, he'd be a) dumbfounded by aruna's "stupidity", and b) horrified by the outcome. alt doom cannot fathom a reason or a route where he himself would get desperate enough for it to end like that. the possibility of losing that badly, and that much, is almost beyond his ability to comprehend.

he's lucky that arrogance hasn't been his undoing. if he were still in existential peril these days, maybe it would be.

neutral end doom he's kind of just aruna give or take some steps, and that's intentional, but by the end he's different enough to have a place on this list. especially since his fear is different: time. he's genuinely just afraid of running out of time, despite staring that fact in the face constantly. past a certain point in his hive, his kind dying and fizzling out is just a known inevitability.

he knows that, and yet he refuses to let it consume him. so he claims. that broken hourglass hangs heavy from his chains.

neutral end shadow honorary black arms. the running trend here is loss. he is keenly aware now-his-kind are going to die. he's seen countless black arms be cut down or wither away. he doesn't want to lose anyone else, least of all black doom or black moth.

it's inevitable, he knows. he's seen the hourglass too. but he'll be thankful for the time they have left until there's no one left to be thankful for.

[tzigone]

Rewatched Dirty Dancing for the first time in at least a decade

Rewatched Havana Nights, too. I've seen the original mores time, but it's been at least a decade since I've seen either.

Of course, the story is a moment in time and ends there. But people like "what happened next" and I totally went to look for fanfic on it, I admit. Way too many "she's pregnant" stories - hell no. Johnny should not have trouble getting condoms at that time in history and given Penny's recent trauma, I just don't really buy them not using birth control.

But what do I think would happen? Well, I want my couples together. But what do they do, besides be in love? I will say Baby and Johnny are part of the formation and growth of each other and each other and the the events influenced their world views in ways that would linger forever, even if they didn't stay a couple. But I'd keep 'em together, because I'm a sucker for happy ending.

I admit to not watching all that closely this time around, so may have missed details telling us what they might want.

Did Johnny really truly love dance in the sense of wanting it as a career? I know Penny said it was all she ever wanted to do - not sure if she was being honest about it. If I made one really have success at it, it'd be her, I think.

I remember how Johnny felt about about Baby's father helping Penny. Now, yes, saying he's nothing is part of his own skewed view of his own worth. But would he like to be able to do something "important" because it's what he wants, instead of just for the regard it would grant him? That ability to help, and the willingness that Baby had to do so, are something he so admires, and doe he want to emulate it?

I do think Johnny has both desire and disdain for that upper middle class lifestyle (indeed, some of the disdain at, least, is envy-driven, though some deserved, as well). The security, the comfort, the women who take care of themselves and smell nice and all the "softness" and ease are have their appeals. I don't know if he could accomplish it - college isn't expensive then (well, depending on where you are), but affording to live while you are at school is an entirely different thing. And I'm not sure his pride or sense of "rightness" would allow for college-graduate wife Baby paying his way through later (and, of course, he'd be older). College is by no means a necessity, though. But what flavor of meaningful work would suit and please him?

Anyone else think his uncle might be better off than his own folks - union painter/plasterer would not be bad pay (though it depends on how many weeks work there are each year, and, of course, is blue collar).

Baby. Frances. She grew up so much. She went from viewing her father as almost perfect to realizing he was a (still good) man with his own flaws and biases. She learned you can't always change the unjust things, but trying matters anyway. But she's not as naive anymore. It's obviously important that she not give up wanting to help - to make the world a better place. But it's the method of it, I'm curious to. Will she be a lawyer or economist or something else? Certainly, I don't expect her to live in the same sort of "bubble" she grew up in - with the idea that "those people" are "other" - that it's good to help, but that they occupy different social spheres. So I do think she'd want a more mixed (economically, socially, racially) environment and social circle in her adulthood. Does she still go for the Peace Corps or for more mundane help at home? The world and youth culture change so much in the next few years (though we have to be mindful that the actual sixties had a whole lot boring, non-activist, traditional life-style young people), and how is she affected by those changes? Don't want her the cynic.

Then for Havana Nights, there's a whole other pickle with the political elements and consequences. Javier is hopeful for a brighter future. And Castro was quite popular for a quite a while, and there really were significant improvements in life for many. But he not a proponent of violence, and the executions, imprisonments, and setting folks up to spy on each other will not endear him. So how long until he leaves, and what does he do when he does? He's devoted to his family and is the major financial provider for his mother and nephew. Having dependents makes so much more difficult. Will he get leave for the US? Will he get his family there, too or just send remittances? And his brother is a whole 'nother can of worms. Even if he does come to the US, he absolutely not going to mesh well with the earliest/first-wave emigrants, who favor Batista like US influence over Cuba.

Katey is very much the typical teen in that she no idea what she wants to do with her life. She doesn't have a "direction" or dream job or anything like that. Still very much finding her way. Just with broader horizons after her experiences. And far more cognizant of of the impact of politics. Don't know what I'd have her do.

[lifesliced]

like i used to do with light, i'm going to (occasionally) pull some manga panels and discuss them, or surmise what we know to give us more context about kurama throughout the series.

chapter 22

we know he is a yoko, and is considered a demon*, though technically he seems to have been born a regular fox (by the lore chosen and the given translations). the dub refers to him as a "spirit fox"** that gained the powers of a demon.

*a lot of english translations simply surmise the "demons" of yu yu hakusho to be just that: demons. in reality, they're actually yokai (spirits), which would make sense to calling kurama a "spirit fox", depending on how you look at the lore / what you take from it. there's a lot of leniency in yyh, but also a lot of irl references. read more about the distinction specifically in yyh here. so, technically speaking, kurama is a yokai, but i'll likely refer to him as a demon here and there.

**they don't start quite making human, demon, and spirit world distinctions in the anime until later on, referring only to the spirit and human worlds, as well as spirit (and sometimes the use of life) energy. only later around the dark tournament time referring to demon energy separately (at least in the anime's dub, the sub does make these distinctions to what i've seen, as does the manga immediately)

in the anime, and in the above image of the fox itself, he's seen to have 4 tails.

there's varying lore around kitsune and their tails (see these posts here and here), and a lot that goes into making "yoko kurama". we initially see him as just as a kitsune, but we see later that he has a more "humanoid" form as yoko. we also know that there is. alot of speculation on just how old kurama is, to which i'll try and be as specific as i can.

we know his actual human form (shuichi) starts at 15 in the series when he meets yusuke, and that he is in high school (attending the private academy meiō). the posts linked about kurama's tails also delve into the possibilities of his age, using his tails and other context clues / series indicators / direct quotes to find a reasonable answer.

it's likely that he's around 5,000 years old (as yoko).

there's been a lot of changes to both hiei and kurama throughout their time in yyh, especially from the beginning. specifically, i'd say more to hiei, with a bit of retcon to kurama, but not a lot. this is due to kurama being foreseen as a returning character, but hiei only returning due to being a fan favorite, not meant to be a main character at first.

his motivations are primarily the same, but i doubt he was ever intended to originally have a yoko form the way we later see him. we're never given a clear answer to if both of these forms can exist simultaneously (the fox/kitsune and the yoko kurama humanoid).

we can assume that kurama started as either a traditional or "spirit" fox of sorts, became a kitsune, and earned his silver coloring (if he wasn't silver already? but by lore, it would make sense to "become" silver, as that can happen in replacement of a tail), along with his tails.

i want to say that the yoko form came later, as he was hunted and almost killed in his kitsune form. i am thinking this is almost like a sesshoumaru thing — there is a true form (the animal) and a humanoid form. at least, that's what i'll be going with.

so ... for lore purposes, he was later gifted (or learned himself) the ability to shift into this humanoid form, while still retaining his kitsune or "fox" form.

shifting gears, we see that this chapter is not about showing kurama's fighting abilities, as he wants to make a deal with yusuke to return the stolen artifact from the spirit world. there is mention later that animal spirits use plant-based weapons, which i touch on here.

i don't have much to highlight, as i think the narrative speaks for itself, but this entire scene is left out of the anime. it's very important to kurama's backstory and his connection with his mother, which is harped on so heavily in the anime, so to remove such a small (but powerful) detail seems to cheat the audience of a further early connection with kurama.

i will say, it's important to note that he seems to think that his mother cares less for him than he does for her. she's done nothing to display this, but he seems to think she'll be fine without him, more than he would be without her.

in the anime, he likens himself to a "mother-devouring creature" and speaks of his guilt. in the manga, he tells yusuke he wanted someone to listen to his regrets.

"the chapter ends with kurama's life being spared, naturally, so that he might join later to become part of team urameshi. "the chapter ends with kurama's life being spared, naturally, so that he might join later to become part of team urameshi.

[icharchivist]

I think a sieg centered event could also go the Naoise way, since he got an awakened draconian form it's likely that sooner or later it will happen to Siegfried, Stan and probably Ferdia too.. but unlike the others siegfried being unstable can bring in a very interesting plot, i would LOVE to know more about Fafnir himself so maybe it could be centered more on Fafnir's past thanSiegfried, maybe they'll find a way to resonate without going berserk? idk i'm curious to see the path they'll take Iagree that a kishi 10th anni feels out of place, but at the same time i wonder what they'll come out with after cbslbs and and you, like this years anni was PERFECT for a 10 year so i wonder how they will outdo themselves (controverial opinion but some believe it might concern lucifer whith the whole subplot of reviving a dead primal, the playable luci tease in the previous one....still i don't know if pringing him back is the right thing...yet idk idk we'll see)

Yess agreed completely!!

I think that, in recent years the 4kishi stories have been trying to recontextualize old lore points into the new, more complex lore. Like for Sylph, which was barely mentioned again after the second kishi event, who now got more time to shine, with a deeper explanation on how her magic work, + a connection to the fairies that deepens the lore in general.

So with the fact that Fafnir hasn't been mentioned much in recent years aside from SIEGFRIED, and the fact we've learn a whole lot more about dragons ever since, especially draconians, i feel like there should be a Kishi event that properly reestablish Fafnir in the lore, with the explanation of why he's important, his connection to Sylph, his connection to the others dragons, and hopefully, an answer to how to save Siegfried (though i'd love Siegfried to keep it unstable and not have everything fixed for him bc i do like him being like that, and considering his kits are all about sacrificing his health by using the dragon blood, it would be nice to carry the tradition, just not having his life threatened by it anymore yaknow?)

So I could see an event focusing on Fafnir, having Siegfried as the second focus in a sense, like say, Siegfried trying to understand Fafnir's past to find a solution for himself (which also i think has been teased anyway? That he must connect with Fafnir and understands him if he wants to survive? So yeah i honestly believe it's a step we'll need to take in Siegfried's storyline. And his Grand being on the horizon can make it something that's addressed sooner than later, the question is, will it be Event worthy, or just FE worthy.)

(also the fact SIEGFRIED is joining the sidestory now is probably a good reason to have a story finally about Fafnir as an event, the same way we needed to wait for Divergent Knighthood to join the sidestory to have Strength to Wield. Giving fans the ability to see the event that kicked it all into motion right before a new event deepens some stuff about it)

as for the 10th anni, 🤝, yeah i think it will be hard to top the latest two events in the sense that they were really wrapping up major lore points.

I can imagine eventually bringing Lucifer back but i also kinda wish they don't make the 10Th event reliant on just Lucifer. Like, i love Lucifer, and of course i love talking headcanons about bringing him back.... but it's also mostly bc it's fan ramblings on my blog. I don't really know what i want in canon. On one hand having him back would be nice, on the other, I think it would be a shame to undercut one of the most powerful death of the story as well.

Personally i've been gunning for a few years in thinking the 10th event might be a Speaker centric event. Finally Sahar and Shalem being unveiled for what they are (especially since the Art of Mercy teased in its ending that Altair has been doing researches on the Speaker and has already been connecting Shalem to them). especially with the set up in the latest event that Lu Woh is definitely down to rebel against Bahamut, having Sahar and Shalem finally address their place regarding Bahamut could work out imo.

Perhaps a story more directly talking about Bahamut could be welcomed on top of that.

Alternatively, the 10th anni could be about the Boundary, considering how much it has been set up in the past few years and how ominous it was last year, especially with the Fake!Seofon (or Sieten't like i saw people call him)

But i'm a bit concerned because aside from wmtsb being a trilogy and all, the anni events usually take at least two years between their set up and their anni conclusion, in order to make sure people have had the time to read the previous story. And i worry that an event on the Boundary now may be a little too reliant on "... and you", and would be harder to bring up otherwise.

so yeah, personally I believe more in a Speaker OR a Boundary centric event for the 10Th anni, something that will actually give us major answers about Bahamut.

Idk about Lucifer's revival at all, and i don't even know how i would feel about it. Could be the major surprise to the fans, but mhmmmm. I mean i adore wmtsb but there's an over-reliance on it (and especially on Sandalphon/Lucifer/Lucilius/Belial) from the fanbase that I think kinda overshadows more elements that would really deserve to actually have a deep dive on.

As is, i just try to keep my expectations low because i don't really want to set myself up for disappointment. (granblue never actually did that to me because for the high expectations stuff i had they usually filled it (forever thrilled about how the Lamorak story went), or i didn't have expectations to start with, but i've seen so many fans genuinely trash events i either liked or "found fine" just because it didn't live up to the hype they hyped themselves about, and it kinda makes me want to not let my hype blind me to the actual product we're getting).

I guess we'll see when we get there!

but yeah i feel like, while the Kishi COULD have an anni story like the Society..... it's not 10th anni worthy, i know people want it to be bc it's the longest running saga, but imo a 10Th anni is too big for it not to be about the creation lore in some shape or form.

in an 11th year perhaps, and at a point, imo, where the plot would definitely mention the fairies rather than just focusing on Merlin's revenge? I feel like just Merlin's revenge could be a major event that would deserve a lot of spotlight, but even HSM was an opportunity to genuinely bring up Moon Lore. the 4kishi saga could get away with it if they used it as a way to bring up the Fairy Lore we've been teased for a while. But as it is, i think it's not the right time in the Kishi saga for that, and even if we get a Fairy lore dump in the next event, i don't think it'll prepare us for a possible 10th anni deep dive on it.

Obviously my reasoning could be completely off base, but that's the way i'm thinking about all of this at least, more than just "would it be cool if-" yaknow.

anyway 🤝

[guiltypart]

Thoughts on Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Chapter 1

So, thoughts on Chapter 1.

I'm starting to fall out of love with Shinigami, not that I was ever really in love with her in the first place. I understand writing her as not having a traditional human morality, but having that on top of her literally dragging Yuma around on a whim and apparently not liking him associating with other people (aka Halara) like a jealous girlfriend while also being degrading to him is...not great. Hopefully this will turn around later.

Definetely seems like each of the next couple of chapters is going to focus on a specific Master Detective with them working with Yuma to solve the case. This chapter is Halara, who does the whole "I only work for for money but I'm not a bad person" bit, except they stick with the working for money thing to the point that Yuma basically will be in debt for life to them. Still, their Post-Cognition ability is fun to play around with in the investigations. I like them (and yes, it seems that they are a "them", not a "he" or "she", which is honestly pretty cool, I hope it stays that way), although they need to lighten up on the Sink-or-Swim mentality that leads to the Labyrinth this time.

I also don't love the end of the chapter, where the charater development that Yuma and Halara have together essentially gets reset at the end to a degree. Like, it's in service of maintaining The Secret with Shinigami, but this is a group of people with various supernatural powers and don't seem like they'd react badly, so there isn't a narrative reason for keeping Shinigami secret aside from an ill-described contract.

The chapter itself is good, though. I don't think it's a spoiler that it's a love letter to Locked Room mysteries, which results in you investigating several, some of which I figured out pretty quickly, and some that I needed the game to give me specific options to figure out. It isn't a bad thing that I'm solving things IN the Labyrinth with Yuma, rather than figuring it all out beforehand. The Labyrinth was also nicely different from last time and the mystery was successfully twisty.

I do wish that people reacted more to the deaths around them. Like, Yuma doesn't feel great about people he talks to dying (especially considering...specific circumstances), but then they seem to get forgotten soon afterwards. It makes some sense for Kanai Ward residents, but for all the Master Detectives from outside the Ward it's a little jarring.

Also, first official appearance of Yomi, who looks like a Big Bad but I suspect will get usurped near the end. I already want to punch his stupid face, but I know that's not going to happen for a while.

[allaboutirony]

For a long time, I thought making dnd characters that differ from me greatly would be the most fun. My first character was kinda just me, so i decided to deviate for our next campaign. And when I thought, "what might be a challenge for me to rp?" i immediately thought, "religious." And what's more than just being religious? Relying on your faith. So I went with Paladin.

I'm kinda a furry, so I went from a tiny halfling to a giant dragonborn. The default god for silver dragonborns is Bahamut, so I looked him up. I'm generally very bored with gods as a concept, but I ended up loving Bahamut. He doesn't believe in traditional punishment, he's extremely humble, and very kind. He wanders the world disguised as an old man with some birds. When he bests a challenger in battle, he turns them into sheep, temporarily, which does three things. 1, it illustrates his power, 2, it doesn't kill them, and 3, it gives them time to think about their actions and change themselves for the better. He gave away his money. He'd heal combatants. He took pity on the downtrodden. I loved that. I thought, "He's dragon Jesus!"

Over the course of the campaign, my dm introduced NPCs that were also followers of, or even closer to, Bahamut. And in our version of the game, the Gods are pretty standoffish. Clerics and divine intervention are rare. The Gods haven't been around for a while. But my character grew up in the biggest, oldest temple of Bahamut (who doesn't even really like being worshiped and doesn't need big temples... i'm telling you. dragon jesus.) which was full of the oldest and most "accurate" texts based on Bahamut's philosophies. And these NPCs kept being wrong. They would say or explain things that directly went against what I understood to be what Bahamut would actually want. And so, my sweet, soft spoken, loving dragonborn ended up talking back to these people. They met an adult dragon for who all we knew had met Bahamut before. And my character said, no. You're wrong about him.

For all I knew, this was the DM's actual interpretation of what Bahamut would want. We'd discussed it before, and he'd pointed out that he's a god of Life, but also Justice, and War. I tried to explain that justice doesn't mean killing or imprisoning. And I straight up said War did not fit with any description of him as a character--the only War there was against his sister, who is an embodiment of evil. And like... I get it. But my character ended up being right in the end. He met Bahamut, and he was blessed as his chosen. I was right.

So, I've been thinking about this recently. Was it actually difficult for me to develop and play a character who has blind faith for a God that hasn't spoken to anyone in multiple lifetimes? Well, no. Because it wasn't about the God. It was about the philosophy. It was about believing in a way of life, full of charity, and love, and justice, and anti-evil. It ended up not being about believing that the God will fix everything, or that he was even there, but that he had these ideas about helping people and being humble. And that's what my dragonborn upheld.

It's my main issue with religion, Christianity mostly but not exclusively. I'm sure I don't have to go into the specifics. But to me, I never felt that divine connection. It never made sense to think anyone could hear me when I prayed. And what was praying, anyway? Asking whatever God to help with the world? Whenever I saw help being done, it was people. People who believed that, when they had the ability to, that they could help.

This is all to say that sometimes you think you're setting yourself up to try to something out of your comfort zone only to play out exactly what you've had problems with expressing your entire life.

[fancyshooting]

ok i'm curious to hear your thoughts: how many outfits do you think he has and how often does he update his wardrobe? does he have 6000 pairs of cowboy boots or 6? that kind of thing

image is sooo important to him... I think he values appearance because it gives off a sense of capability. being a major at 20 is practically unheard of so I think he was meticulous about his presentation to convince his detractors that he was deserving of respect regardless of his age. no one can say he doesn't look the part. he wants it to be clear that he is taking the rank seriously and his favourable treatment is more than plain nepotism. we are told in mgs3 how deeply he treasures his beret, which is THE symbol of his ability. he earned the right to wear it after completing spetsnaz training (or did he?? maybe he got special boy fast tracking leniency privileges... either way the beret is a status symbol that indicates his superiority over regular troops). he's eager to prove himself not just for personal validation but also because securing that role as major allows him access to all the privileges that come with it like idk authority, information, clearance for certain areas etc. then he can be a more efficient spy yay

more under the cut because I cannot take your entire dashboard up

he is extremely observant and detail oriented, so he's going to be very particular about the way he looks. fastidious cat and all that too hehe

obviously there is a heavy western influence on his style but he gravitates towards the fancier clothes instead of plaid shirts and jeans. I think he would turn his nose up at fringed shirts and chaps and stuff like that because they lack ELEGANCE and NOBILITY. he dresses more like the town doctor than a working rancher. when he's not in uniform he chooses to wear formal, traditional clothes like waistcoats and suits. I actually don't really like his outfit in mgsv for this reason lolol like the undone top buttons are so NOT ocie imo... who da heck is this guy...

although after that excerpt I posted we know now that he is a sweaty mess. he's used to the cold and it's hot in the seychelles so he's got to have a little relief. that's my explanation anyway (real true fact)

I think his wardrobe is likely to be made up of classic, timeless items like the suits and waistcoats etc... high quality but not designer... fancy but not flashy... it's funny actually you'd think he would be louder and bolder with his fashion what with his showy ways but he isn't. he's got a gentlemanly thing going on LOL even the accessories like the pocket watch and tie pin in mgs1 and the moustache... #classy

idk why but the thought of him as a young spetsnaz soldier attaching spurs to his standard issue boots is so funny. he went out of his way to get those. he sat there in his quarters all excited and fastened spur straps around each thoroughly polished boot. he would've had to take the time to twice assemble all the metal parts together. he chose to jingle all for the cool factor. everyone knows you don't have a horse ocelot -_-

then he got a horse and all was right again :) cowboy boots gained. spurs acceptable. I think if he's going to have anything elaborate it's going to be the boots. not vibrant colours or anything tacky but I can see his boots having some patterns... maybe still quite subtle but intricate on closer inspection. nothing too wacky. he needs to be taken as seriously as a russian cowboy can be

there is no better opportunity than now to mention the note in the mgs1 artbook that says he has "silky silver hair." the most beautiful interrogator in all of russia... there's that instruction kojima gave yoji shinkawa too during the production of mgsv - to make ocelot the most beautiful (he didn't know how to make a middle aged man beautiful so gave him long eyelashes lolol). kojima also described him in mgs3 as handsome. he is kind of a pretty boy but in a different way from kaz... ocelot's like an old fashioned dandy and kaz is a sunkissed baywatch magazine model... or something like that.....

to me he's going for like a dashing rogue sort of thing lolol like he's well-groomed, dressed all fancy and thinks he's noble but his haughty attitude, deceitfulness and nefarious scheming ways put him in the bastard scoundrel category

ENJOY MY WALL OF TEXT TY FOR ASKING <3

[hyunsuks-beanie]

Running Away With You

*Image Credits to rightful owners*

Bang Chan x reader; non idol AU; established relationship; fluff; midly suggestive at places

Word Count: 4.25k

A/N: A huge thank you to @youn9racha, for this super cute request. I am as much a sucker for road trips as I am for Chan, so I really enjoyed writing this!! I hope you like it as much as I did.

"Do you ever just want to pack your bags and run away in the night, without telling anyone?," you ask your boyfriend, Chan, as you both lay in bed one night. "That's an interesting question," he says, playing with your hair, "Though first I'd like to know what made you think of that." "Pfft. It's nothing too complex, Christopher. It's just a random thought that popped into my head," you say, while rolling your eyes at his inquisitive nature.

"Y/N, I know you, and I can sense that you've got something bothering that pretty head of yours, and making you want to run away. So tell me, what is it?," Chan speaks in a soothing tone, making you snuggle into his chest even more, while letting out a sigh. "It's just, work has been so crazy these past few days, and the pressures of the real world are getting to me. You remember when we were back in college? Whenever things got too hard, we used to go on road trips to clear our heads. Even a couple days away from the harsh real life were enough to rejuvenate us. I guess I just miss those times, now that real life responsibilities are wearing us down."

Once you're done with your little rant, Chan pulls your head up a little, making you look at him. He softly says, "Aww baby, I'm so sorry I didn't realize you've been struggling these past few days. I guess I've been too busy with my own work tonoticee. I know we're no longer in college, but I promise to you, that whenever the going gets tough, I'll do everything in my ability to help your through." "I know Channie, I know. I have you, and it's more than enough."

You give in to sleep after a while, and so, you fail to notice that Chan takes a little longer to fall asleep that night. He keeps thinking back on what you said earlier, carrying out an internal debate with himself. "Y/N is right. Work and responsibilities have taken a toll on us, and a road trip may be just what we need. But can we really afford to just 'run away?' There are too many projects, too many commitments. And we owe it to our colleagues to tell them that we will be away for a few days," he thinks to himself, before slowly drifting off to dreamland.

The next morning brings with itself a fresh hustle, but your face doesn't betray any sign of the frustrations you let come to the surface last night. But Chan knows better, and, seeing his reflection while getting ready for work, he realizes that his own expression mirrors yours. A thin veil to hide the fact that it's getting too much. At his office that day, he can't seem to focus on his work, since his mind keeps drifting back to your words. By the time the evening rolls around, he has made up his mind. He's going to run away with you, for a week anyway.

But a road trip needs some planning, and Chan wants this vacation to be the perfect little surprise for you. So, on his way home, he stops by at the convenience store to buy some essentials. Instant noodles, a few bottles of beer, disposable utensils, rental DVDs, he collects quite a few things, being reminded of your college days with each item he adds to his cart. In a moment of impulse, he even purchases a tent fit for two, and once he's done shopping, he hides everything in the boot of his car. You don't need to know of his plan, yet.

The following day, he leaves his office early, calling in a week's leave of absence due to some made-up reason. Instead of going home, he first drops by at your office. Not to meet you, but to get a similar application for leave approved on your behalf.

He finally heads back home to pack and ready a couple of things for your trip. "Y/N wanted to run away in the middle of the night, and that is what we'll do," he smiles to himself. When you come home, he remains tight-lipped about his little surprise for you, even though his excitement is trying to get the best of him.

Once the clock strikes twelve, he brings you out to his car, without telling you the reason. "Just please, come on! Don't you trust me?," he says, pouting. On his way out of the house, he picks up your phone from the couch, along the house keys. You don't notice this, however, as you're busy pestering him with questions. "Chan, why are we going out so late at night? What's going on? Tell me!" "You wanted to run away, right? Well, how about running away...... to the convenience store?," he smiles cheekily, making you giggle. "Gosh you're such a cheesy idiot," you say, getting into the car, still blissfully unaware of his intentions.

"Yeah, but I'm your cheesy idiot," he laughs, pressing his foot on the accelerator.

It doesn't take you long to realize that instead of driving over to the 24/7 close to your house, Chan has pulled onto the highway. You turn to look at him, only to see him smiling brightly, his eyes trained ahead. "Chan, what are you doing?," you ask, though feel like you already know the answer. "Running away with you," he says, taking your hand in his his, and bringing it up to his lips.

"What? But that was just a random rant! And what about work? We can't just disappear like that," you exclaim, to which, he only replies by giving you a knowing look. "Let me guess, you already informed our offices?" "Yes, and no," he quips. When you look at him quizzically, he elaborates, "I submitted applications for leave, making up some random excuse. So we have a whole week to ourselves." "But, what about essentials and supplies? We don't have anything to eat," you try to reason. He counters, "Babe, I've been planning this for two days, and I already stocked up on all our favourite snacks, drinks, and movies. I even got us a tent for days we want to sleep out in the open. I've got it all set, so don't you worry. The only thing I need you to do is to promise me that for the next seven days, you won't check your phone. I've already downloaded tons of songs and created at least 20 different playlists. You won't be getting any work-related messages, since I've taken care of that as well, and for directions, we'll take the traditional way, and ask around."

"Directions? Where exactly are we going anyway?," is your next question. To your surprise, he simply shrugs, before telling you that he doesn't have any specific place in mind. "Let's just wander away, going wherever the road takes us," he says, rather poetically, to which, you can't help but laugh. You then let out a soft sigh, making him look at you. "Sounds like a plan to me. Chan and Y/N, running away together, with no destination in mind," you smile, before reaching over and kissing his cheek.

"Let's play some music, shall we?," you ask, before hitting shuffle on the first playlist that pops up on your phone. You both settle in a comfortable silence, and soon enough, you begin to get drowsy. Chan notices this, and tells you to rest your eyes for a bit. "Promise to wake me up in like, two hours, so that I can take over the wheel," you yawn. "Okay fine bub, now sleep." Chan continues driving, occasionally stealing glances at your sleeping form. "How did I get so lucky?," he wonders, just like he does every day.

Morning finds you to be the one behind the wheel, as Chan naps contently in the passenger seat. The brightness of the sun finally wakes him up, and he realizes that you've left the highway, and are now driving through what appears to be the countryside. "I wonder where we're headed," he says while yawning. "Well, a signboard I saw earlier told me that we are somewhere in Jeonju," you reply. Instead of words, Chan's reply comes as a grumbling from his stomach. "Hungry," you quip, making him nod his head vigorously. You hit the breaks, before preparing some instant ramen for breakfast.

You eventually continue on your trip, and after a few hours, you find yourself in the midst of traditional Korean buildings, which seem to be from the Joseon dynasty. "Is this perhaps a tourist location?," wonders Chan loudly, making you reply, "Only one way to find out." You both get out of the car and do some asking around. You find out that the place where you houses the residences of the noblemen of old, and has now been converted into a shooting-cum-tourist spot. "Tourists can get traditional hanboks from that store, to complete the experience," an old woman tells you.

You turn to look at Chan, your eyes shining. Twenty minutes later, you exit the store, dresses from head to toe in a light blue hanbok. Chan's eyes nearly pop out when he sees you, and when he tells you the same, you can't help but blush.

You continue to hang around the place little while longer, and have dinner at a small eatery nearby.

"I feel like I'm 20 again. Thank you Channie," you say, holding his hand across the table. "Anything for you love," he winks.

Evening eventually comes around, and you guys hit the road once again. Around dinner time, you notice that you are crossing by a wood and supplies shop, and an idea strikes your mind. "Let's buy some wood and grill our meat!," you say excitedly, making Chan coo at how adorable you are. "Great idea babe. Let me park."

You quickly exit the car and visit the shop to buy some wood, then get started on your mini bonfire. It proves to be more difficult than you had thought, given how inexperienced the both of you are. In the end, you manage to get the fire going enough for the meat to be grilled, and turn around to ask Chan to bring in the eatables, when you see his face. It's completely covered in soot from his failed attempts at lighting the flame, making you double over in laughter. "You look so funny," you say while gasping for air. "Wouldn't be so funny if I got this soot on your face now, will it?," he retorts, coming after you. You try to run, but it's obviously in vain, as Chan grabs hold of you in under a minute. You both laugh harder than you have in months, and when you finally calm down, you give your boyfriend a tight hug. He hugs you back, and whispers, "I love you." "I love you too, Channie," you say, "Now go and get the meat, I'm hungry." "Way to ruin the moment, Y/N," he grumbles as you push him away.

After dinner, you walk up to the shop owner to thank him, and ask his permission to camp nearby. "It rained a few days ago, so the ground is still wet, and will be uncomfortable. But you can rent a room here for the night if you'd like," he offers. "That'll be great sir, thank you for the help." Chan says, coming up behind you. The shop owner gives you the keys to a room, and before leaving, says something that leaves you both red at the ears. "No funny business here, please. I know you both are young, and controlling yourself is hard. But I'd rather you didn't 'play around' unnecessarily on my bed."

You get changed and climb into the bed, snuggling up to each other. "First day down, babe," you smile with your eyes closed. When Chan doesn't reply, you open them, only to find your man staring at you with love in his eyes. "This is pure healing for me, thank you for suggesting this trip, love," he says. You talk about anything and everything for a while, and then suddenly, you feel Chan's soft lips pressing against yours. He gives you a sweet kiss, and pulling away, says, "About what the old man said earlier.....," while smirking. You shove his chest, saying, "We shouldn't," making him pout. "Although, making out doesn't count as 'funny business,' does it?" And that's enough to make him press his lips back to yours, moving so as to hover over you.

You wrap your arms around his back, pulling you closer to him. He licks your lower lip, making you part your lips and allowing his tongue to enter. After a while, you break away, only to grab his T-shirt and take it off his body, before wrapping your hands around his bare back. Needless to say, the two of you didn't get much time to sleep that night.

You get started on your way again the next day, and around mid-day, you see a milestone telling you that you are entering Iksan. The small town seems a lifetime away from your hectic lives in Seoul, and you spend the day going from shop to shop, buying small trinkets and stuff that are reminiscent of the country life. The residents welcome you with open arms, and more than once, you find an old couple telling you how cute you look together.

"He's a keeper, that one. Don't let him go," a lady says to you, pointing at Chan, who can be seen playing with some kids. "I won't," you smile.

That night, you stay over at a family's house, who were nice enough to allow you to sleep on their futon. You have dinner with them, during which the kid's ask Chan, "Are you two married?," making him choke on his food. "I'm sorry for that, they are learning about families and marriage in school these days," says their mother. "It's all right," you smile, "But no, we aren't married." "But do you plan on getting married soon?," the kids persist.

You and Chan look at each other and smile, before saying in unison, "Yes. One day."

The next morning you take the wheel from Chan, and the both of you drive of in silence, as High School Musical plays on your dashboard screen. After a while, you say, "What is it, Channie? You've been staring at me," "It's just that, you seem way too quiet. You've been like that since last night, after dinner," he replies, "What's the matter? Are you okay?" "I'm fine, just been thinking." "About?" "About us," you begin, elaborating when you see him looking at you expectantly. "When those kids asked us if we were married, it got me thinking.....I love being with you, I love waking up next to you. We live together any way, and share all the burdens that come with it too. So I guess...getting married to you wouldn't be so bad after all," you say softly.

"Is this your way of proposing to me?," giggles your boyfriend. "What? No! I mean, I did say it would be nice to get married, but I don't have a ring right now. And I meant it when I said 'one day,' but it's not today," you hurriedly say. Chan bursts out laughing at this, "I know love, I'm not ready yet either. But yes, if I have to get married, I'd rather marry you than anyone else."

Around noon, you decide to set up camp in a forest clearing. It takes you a few hours to get the tent up and ready, as you keep getting delayed because you can't stop fooling around. Amid Chan getting himself wrapped with the tent instead of unwrapping it, and you assembling the rods the wrong way up, you spend some not-so-productive, but enjoyable quality time in each other's presence, something you didn't know you had been craving for.

Evening rolls by, and you have a light dinner with ramen, some roasted chicken, and beer, following which, you lay down on a picnic mat, with your head on Chan's arm. "The stars look so beautiful, don't they Channie?," you softly ask. "Not as beautiful as you," he says cheesily, making you hide your face into his side. "But yeah, you're right. I really wanted to go stargazing with you, but we never got the time," he sighs. "I'm so happy we came on this trip, love." You open your mouth to speak, but just then, you notice a star shooting across the sky. "Channie! Channie get up, it's a shooting star!," you squeal, before closing your eyes and praying. Once you open them, you notice Chan looking at you with a gaze full of love. "Didn't you wish for something?," you ask. "I did," he smiles. "But what about you? What did you wish for?"

"Come closer Mr. Bang, I'm not about to announce my wish to the whole world," you whisper slyly. He leans in closer to you, only to have you say, "You don't tell others what you wished for," before pressing a sweet kiss to his lips. He smiles into the kiss, before breaking away and hugging you tight.

The next day turns out to be the last before you have to turn back homeward, and so, Chan suggests you make the best of it. "From what I know about the country's geography, we should be close to a beach somewhere here," he says, making you look at him with your eyes shining. "Too bad we're not going to get help from the GPS, but I'm really enjoying the phone detox," you smirk. "Who needs GPS when we've got people? Look there, we're gonna enter a city soon, so let's ask our way around," he replies. An hour and a half later, you come across a milestone that tells you the beach is a mile away. Once there, you look for a deserted spread of sand, keen on not getting stuck in an unnecessary crowd. "We face enough of that in the city, I just want to be alone with you," you whisper, taking his hand in his.

When you finally succeed in finding such a place, Chan giggles, "Good thing I packed our swimming gear as well, right?" "You did well sweetie," you say, booping his nose softly. After getting changed, you spend the next few hours playing in the water. Suddenly, Chan pulls you flush into his chest, and whispers in your ear, "You look so hot wearing that, and with water dripping down your body, I'm really finding it hard to stay away." "Then don't," you say, biting your lip. One thing leads to another, and you're thankful for the changing shack nearby.

By the time the sun starts to set, Chan has pulled you out of the water, and is making you dance with him on the sand, after bringing your phones and portable speaker from the car. Waltzing to the music, you shyly say, "I love you Channie," making him blush and reply with an "I love you too, my cute baby."

After dinner you climb atop the roof of your car, talking about your younger days. "You remember when we got into a huge fight once, back in college? And I was about to break up with you, only to have you whisk me away on a road trip, just like you did this time," you say, laying your head on his shoulder. "It did get you to stick around with me though," he replies, laying his chin on your head. "And you remember how we first met? You spilled your latte all over my T-shirt, and then took me to the infirmary to check for any burns," he reminds you, making you throw your head back in laughter. "You kept whining for a year over how you missed out on being the 'campus heartthrob' because of that incident, when in reality, you still were the most popular freshman," you jab a finger at his chest, smiling.

"Okay, I've got a secret. I wasn't actually sad about the campus heartthrob thing, since I already knew everyone was head over heels for me," he grins, making you punch his arm. "Hey! Let me finish first. I knew everyone loved me, but I only had eyes for you. And whining was just a tactic to get you to feel sorry for me and go on a date with me." You fake gasp at this, exclaiming, "Treachery! And here I thought you were genuinely sulky about that. do you have any idea how guilty I felt that whole year?!" When he simply states at you, unamused, you add through a pout, "I'm planning on revoking your cuddle privileges."

All of a sudden, you realize that Chan is moving over to lay on top of you, trapping you between him and the roof. "You know you can't resist me, babe. So don't even try," he says. "You are right about that," you say, pulling him for a kiss.

You both end up remaining awake till dawn the next day, and decide to start on your journey home around mid-way, after having napped inside the car for a few hours. You get started on your way just after noon, with Chan behind the wheel, and you eating (and feeding him) from a packet of gummy bears in the passenger seat. You re-enter the city you had seen earlier the previous day, and decide to spend some time roaming around. It's a fairly big city, but still much quieter and more peaceful than Seoul. You pass on visiting the mall, reasoning that you do so too frequently back home.

Soon enough though, you come across a store that displays a signboard saying, "Free wine tasting session for couples." You both look at each other, and with a smirk, Chan says what is on your mind. "Can't pass up on sophisticated wine for free now, can we?" You giggle and say, "Nope, absolutely not." And so, in you go. The session proves to be equal parts fun and educational. From the Chardonnay to the Pinot Noir, you go through with the tasting of at least 20 different types of wines. While you actually stick to the literal meaning of the word "tasting," drinking no more than a sip per drink, Chan goes all out, and not too long after, he's totally drunk. "Hey there beautiful, mind telling me your name?," he tries to act smooth with you, making you facepalm as you say, "I still get surprised about how low your alcohol tolerance is for your size," you shake your head.

Once you leave the tasting, half dragging, half carrying a wasted Chan who continuously tries to flirt with you, you decide to take the wheel and hit the road to the outskirts of the city, and cover the remainder of the trip once you're fully sober. When you cross over the city's borders and re-enter the road in the wilderness, you hit the brakes. You let Chan sleep, knowing that waking him up will only give him a hangover. Getting out of the car, you get yourself something to eat from the boot, and once you're full, you snuggle up to him, throwing a blanket over the both of you.

You wake up around nine at night, and as you had predicted, you see Chan holding his head in agony. You nurse him for while, before putting him back to sleep, then continue down the road. You keep sneaking glances at his sleeping form, smiling to yourself when you notice how peaceful he seems, something he hasn't looked like in ages. "We really needed this. Thank you for always knowing what I need, and for always taking care of me. I love you," you thank him silently.

When he finally wakes the next morning, he sees you huddled up in the driver's seat, and he can feel his heart swell with love for you. He gets out of the car, then picks you up and softly places you on the backseat so that you can rest well. Looking at your expression, he can easily see how content and truly happy you are. You are his reason to keep going, and if this little getaway idea of his could help you find your reason to keep going (unbeknownst to him, he himself is your reason to endure too), his heart is at ease. Sure, your week off is going to end soon, but he's positive that you will have rejuvenated yourself and would have gathered enough beautiful memories to last you a while.

Sure, going back to Seoul would mean going back to the hustle and bustle of your lives, but hey, he knows that that you by his side, he'd be ready to run away from home again any day, because his home is with you. But even more than that, he knows that with you by his side, life will be just a tad bit easier. Because you will always be there to remind him of who he was back in college. You will keep the young, carefree boy who loved you to bits, alive in him. And he'll do the same for you. And with that thought, he drives off into the distance, back to where you started from, with a smile on his face.

Because at the end of the day, you both have each other, and that's all that matters.

[himitsu-luna]

Headcanon

⸰ֺ⭑Nct 127 - Ideal types⭑ֺ⸰

❥︎𑁍 Taeil

Someone like the moon. Serene, a comforting presence, humble, but that still possesses various interesting facets and is able to light the darkest room. Someone with a magnetic aura, whose presence is subtle, but when they are not around, they are definetely missed. Someone soft who inspire romantic thoughts and actions. Someone cute but that doesn't realize it. Someone silly who makes him smile and laugh at the smallest things, that vibes with him in a deeper level. Someone simple, as chill as him, as free spirited as him, who will be up to do anything with him. Someone who has the ability to make the most complicated thing look easy, that can vanish any bad feelings with a reassuring smile or touch. Someone that appreciates his entire being and all of his perfect imperfections.

❥︎𑁍 Johnny

Someone like the sun. Spontaneous, warm, bright, inviting, that makes him feel that life would be impossible without them. Someone that smiles a lot and laughs easily, that is kind of random. Someone visionary, free, that just catches his hand and says "let's go!". Someone who is genuine in everything they do and say, that sees no problem in saying "I'm sorry" or "I was wrong". Someone hardworking, that works more for others than for themselves. Someone with whom he can have cheesy pick up lines battles and that can make him flustered at the end. Someone that has firm steps and knows where they are going, that has a broad vision of life. Someone balanced, 50% emotional and 50% rational.

❥︎𑁍 Taeyong

Someone like a lighthouse. Always there to guide him, to show him that he is not alone, to show him the way when he feels lost, someone he knows that will be there for him, waiting for him at that same spot, with unchanged feelings. Someone dependable and reliable, with a motherly instinct, but that still has their inner child jumping and playing at times. Someone wise, from whom he can always learn a new thing. Someone that can make him slow down sometimes to enjoy a peaceful afternoon. Someone that can read, match and change his moods, that knows exactly what to do in every situation, that makes him feel safe and understood. Someone that goes to him with open arms and always listen to him before listening to anyone else.

❥︎𑁍 Yuta

Someone like a painting. Expressive, colorful, admirable, interesting, full of layers, that show themselves completely, but there's always some detail yet to be discovered if you look at them from a different angle. Someone fair, just, loyal, that kind of person that you can trust completely. Someone that actually doesn't fall for his pranks, because they are always one step ahead. Someone playful, sincere, open minded, free of judgements, that just want people to be happy and prays everyday for this world to get peace. Someone who matches his intensity, but is far from being competitive. Someone strong, maybe tough, but that has soft spots for a lot of cute little things. Someone kind and generous, that is always ready to help others.

❥︎𑁍 Doyoung

Someone like a precious crystal. Beautiful, transparent, formed with a lot of patience, that takes the hardships in life to become a better person, that seems delicate but is actually very strong, extremely precious and valuable in every way. Someone with an extremely good heart and a charming great mind. Someone who forgives easily, even though they shouldn't. Someone who is good with words, that expresses themselves well, that is honest with their feelings and share them with him. Someone who has the sense of commitment and give their all in the relationship. Someone who gets along with his family and friends. Someone who has eyes just for him, that is his supporting system, his number one fan, that recognizes all of his efforts. Someone who truly listen to others and keep in their hearts everyone's story.

❥︎𑁍 Jaehyun

Someone like an old love song. Filled with tender emotions, ageless, classic, someone who evoque sweet memories everytime he looks at them, someone who validates his thoughts and feelings. Someone who makes him miss them, that makes him smile with just one text message. Someone that doesn't push or rush him, that is in the same wavelenght as him, that walk in the same pace as him, that makes him feel comfortable and relaxed, that brings harmony to his life. Someone encouraging, that makes him gladly go out of his comfort zone sometimes. Someone entertaining, creative, that comes up with the most brilliant and funny thoughts from time to time. Someone fascinating, charming, passionate, that speaks with their whole body when they get excited.

❥︎𑁍 Winwin

Someone like the ocean. Deep, pacific, that makes him feel free and calm, that has the strong power to pull him to them, that gives him that feeling that the world is huge and there's so many things he doesn't know yet . Someone who gets his walls down, that makes him wanting to be the chaser. Someone who accepts him, who understands him, who doesn't suffocate or pressure him on acting in a certain way. Someone considerate, respectful, a gentle and ethereal soul. Someone that people may label as traditional, but that has a truly rich inner world, that they share only with him. Someone that quietly takes care of him just for the sake of caring, without any greed or second intentions.

❥︎𑁍 Jungwoo

Someone like a flower. Sweet, unique, fresh, that attracts people to them, fill everyone with happiness and with the feeling that at the end things will be alright and that life is indeed beautiful and worth living. Someone supportive, that will stay by his side and will make him their priotity. Someone who shows unconditional trust on him, on his feelings, on his thoughts, that makes him feel confident about himself. Someone with a hint of a genius mind, that can follow his thoughts, and that has thousands of hobbies, because they like to keep their mind running. Someone who won't deny his affection and will give him all the hugs he needs.

❥︎𑁍 Mark

Someone like the sky. Pure, sincere, soft, clear, that shelters everybody under their veil with no prejudice, that makes him want to fly high. Someone easy to deal with, that doesn't like conflicts, but that also knows how to protect themselves and the ones that need to be protected. Someone who gets involved in his daily life, that shows interest in the things he does. Someone empathetic, positive, cute, kind, soft spoken, that sees the bright side of the world. Someone who feels like a best friend, that greet him with a high five followed by a sweet little peck. Someone overall calm and chill, but that also has lots of chaotic moments that makes him burst into giggles.

❥︎𑁍 Haechan

Someone like the stars. Cute, special, lovely, that shines on their own and helps others find their own light, that is there even if you don't see them, that makes his eyes sparkle. Someone as wild as him, as intelligent as him, that thinks quick and acts quicker. Someone sweet and friendly, that makes sure everyone feels included. Someone who recognizes him and takes him seriously, that talks to him about any subject: politics, food, tv shows, science, business, everything. Someone affectionate, that hugs him, kisses him, that says him at the end of the day "You did great!". Someone that gently point him his hits and misses, that is always leading him to improvement. Someone mature yet carefree, funny and bubbly at their core.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

•° Anon, here is your request! I hope you like it! (I'm not actually satisfied with it, maybe I'll change it in the future, but feel free to give me a feedback! )✨

•° taglist - @starrdustville @mairah-shaikh @cupidluvstarrz @kpopsnowball @kaepopsicle

* If you want to be added to or removed from the taglist, just send me an ask or a message (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

•° Masterlist

...