#also i’m planning to work on the moon/sun guys a bit too. they’re pretty cool i thinks

[bootay-hole]

more of my doodles from school FEATURINGGGGG my ocs that i’ve never talked about and also some random designs i drew bc school is boring 👍

[jlalafics]

Modern Au dabble where Everlark connect on the roof of one of their houses and then cute kiss leading into ya know? Thanks! You and your books are amazing! -Zeffie ♥️♥️

Hey love! Thanks for this amazing prompt. I hope you wanted this ficlet with a good amount of spice...

Enjoy @hungergamesfangirl02 (Zeffie)!

_____

The moment she steps onto the roof, Peeta spots her.

She is circling the space with her roommates; the sharp-tongued woman with blunt bangs and crimson lowlights and the blue-eyed blonde wearing a crown of flowers. His roommate, Gale, had a one-night thing with the blonde. Peeta can still remember the muttered moaning of her name through the thin walls of their apartment: Madge…Madge…Madge…

Peeta drinks from his red cup, trying to quietly observe the girl in the middle. She’s wearing a cropped jean jacket and a shift burgundy dress with embroidered straps. The ankle boots lengthen her rich-colored legs and he wonders, albeit briefly, what he would see if a sudden gust of wind were to sweep through.

However, it’s summer in the city.

Balmy and warm, the sun just going down and it’s practically another day.

“Peeta!” He turns, spotting Finnick, his other roommate, and Annie, Finnick’s girlfriend. It’s his friend’s birthday and a possible engagement party. Annie doesn’t know, but Peeta and Finnick just picked up the ring from the jeweler this afternoon. “Why are you hiding in the corner?”

“You know that I’m not the party type,” he tells them with a smile. Peeta eyes his friend. “So…anything interesting going on?”

“Not quite,” Finnick responds, throwing an arm around Annie’s shoulders. “Maybe a little later.”

Peeta nods, trying to suppress his smile. It’s not often that his friend is uncertain; he’s known Finnick since they were in diapers and his bronze-haired friend has always moved forward, unafraid of what was ahead of him.

However, when it comes to Annie, the man is total mush.

“You need to circulate,” Annie tells him, her green eyes full of kind concern. “It’s been a year since Delly.”

“Who’s Delly?” comes a brash voice.

They all turn to find the woman with red hair standing before them.

And, right next to her is—

“Katniss!” Annie is rushing towards the pretty girl to give her a hug. Then she goes to Miss Blunt Bangs, embracing her as well. “Johanna!”

They all pull apart and Annie introduces them to Finnick and Peeta.

“I’ve seen you before on campus,” Finnick says to Katniss—Peeta is already in love just hearing her name. “You’re a voice major, right?”

Katniss nods. “Yup, but more song writing and composition than singing.”

“Well, you should talk to Peeta here.” Finnick waves at hand at him, clover eyes sparkling. He knows Peeta well enough to identify when he’s interested in something…or someone. “He’s exceptionally talented when it comes to playing. I don’t think there’s an instrument that he hasn’t experimented with.”

Katniss turns, grey almond-eyes on him. “I’ve seen you around before.”

“I don’t go to Juilliard,” Peeta stammers out.

“No!” She grins and he finds himself smiling back at the way her face completely blooms with loveliness. “I’ve seen you sitting on this roof. You play out here sometimes.”

“Yeah, Katniss has been mini-spying on you,” Johanna informs him.

“Really?” He eyes her and Katniss’ cheeks color—geez, now she’s even more gorgeous. “I’m flattered.”

“I actually live over there—” Katniss points to the adjacent building. It’s at few floors higher, but just enough for someone to look over and see clearly onto their roof. “—sometimes I go up to write or to look at the stars.”

“Don’t lie to the man,” her friend retorts, earning a glare. “At least tell him that you’re a little hot for him holding a guitar.”

“Johanna—” Annie thankfully interrupts. “Thresh has been looking for you.”

“I gave him a blowjob last month and he’s been hitting me up ever since,” she replies. Looking over at Katniss, Johanna winks. “Have fun with your mystery man.”

The two girls walk off, leaving Finnick, Peeta, and Katniss standing together.

“Oh!” Finnick looks around. “I think I better make sure that we still have enough ice and prepare for my birthday speech.” He pats Peeta on the back. “Have fun.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more obvious setup,” Katniss tells him when they’re finally alone.

“They mean well,” Peeta replies. “At least, Annie and Finnick do. Johanna is a bit of a mystery.” He looks over to the bar. “Did you want a drink?”

“Sure.” They head to the bar; Peeta tries to keep cool as Katniss joins his side. Their hands are a muscle movement away from touching and he stiffens his hand. “I’d love a Corona and lime.”

“Very summer of you,” he replies before requesting it from the bartender. “How do you know Annie?”

The bartender places the tall neck bottle, placing the lime wedge at the opening, before handing it to Katniss.

They find their way to a spot at the far corner of the party and settle down together on a lone bench. Finnick is talking to the DJ and he sees Annie talking to Madge, whose arm is around Gale’s waist. Johanna has found Thresh and they are dancing, both decently tearing up the floor.

It’s the perfect summer night.

“She works with Johanna,” Katniss explains. “I think they’re EAs for the two CEOs, so they’re always working together. I’ve known Johanna my whole life. When I found out I got into Juilliard, I didn’t hesitate to ask her to come with me. She didn’t hesitate to say yes. Her home life was less than ideal.”

“That sucks.” Real smooth, idiot. His tongue is so tied around her, but Peeta takes a breath and searches for another topic. “How about you? What’s your family life like?”

“I have one sister. Sweetest girl you’ll ever know.” Her smile goes soft and sad, lost in thought. “My Dad passed away when I was five.”

“I’m sorry.”

His hand goes unconsciously to hers resting between them. Peeta motions to pull away, but her fingers entwine with his.

Their eyes meet, silently agreeing that it feels right.

“It’s fine. He was sick for a long time,” Katniss explains. “When I was 12, my mom met Haymitch and we all kind of loved him from the start. They got married when I was 13 and have been thoroughly happy ever since.” She moves closer. “And you? Tell me about your family.”

“My Dad’s a businessman,” he starts. “Have you heard of Mellark Bakery?”

“Yeah, they have that huge factory across the bridge,” Katniss replies. “Your Dad work there?”

Peeta holds out his free hand, wondering if he should have open this can of worms. However, if this is going anywhere (is it too early to propose?), he should probably tell her about his family.

“Nice to meet you. Peeta Mellark.”

Katniss let out a laugh, putting down her Corona to shake his hand.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was meeting with a son of industry!”

“My Dad is actually pretty cool,” he tells her. “He’s always been very encouraging and supportive of me and my older brothers, Emmett and Noel. Emmett is an artist and Noel is a chef.”

“And your mother?”

“Pretty opposite.” Katniss squeezes his hand, listening intently. “She’s a society woman. Very beautiful, but very cold.”

“Oh, she is going to hate me,” Katniss replies.

Peeta grins at her words. “Already planning to meet the parents?”

“Of course. We’ve connected, you know?” she proclaims. “Now that I’ve seen you up close, there’s no going back.”

“And your family?” he counters. “Would they like me?”

“They’re going to love you,” she says, her grey eyes on him. “You seem so easy to care for.”

Peeta looks at his feet, overcome by her words. “How do you know?”

“Last month, I was coming home from school and you were walking out of your building. There was a little old woman coming out of her taxi and she seemed to be struggling to even open the door. So, you opened the door for her, and you helped her set up her walker on the sidewalk. Then, you paid for her cab and helped her inside your building. Nobody does shit like that anymore. Everyone always seems to be looking out for themselves, nowadays.”

“Mags has lived here the longest, so she’s kind of building royalty,” Peeta explains. “Also, her husband died a while back and she has no kids. The people in this building are her family and we take care of one another.”

“I like that,” Katniss tells him.

“I like you,” he blurts out. “I mean, if it hasn’t been obvious enough.”

Katniss doesn’t respond, but she shifts a little bit closer to him as she stares into his eyes.

“Do you want to get out of here?”

Peeta is intrigued by her abruptness. “What did you have in mind?”

She pulls him by his hand to stand up. He rises and their chests brush against one another. It is brief, but it is enough to light a fire in his belly at the feel of peaked nipples against his thin flannel button-down.

“We’re going stargazing.”

++++++

“For some reason, Johanna has a deal with the maintenance crew in the building,” Katniss recounts as they step onto the roof of her apartment complex. “No one else but myself, Johanna, and Madge are allowed up here.” She leads him over to a set of lounge chairs. “I don’t really know what kind of deal she cut, and I’ve never bothered to ask.”

“That’s probably for the best,” he tells her. “Are you allowed to bring people up here?”

“I’m pretty sure that Johanna and Madge have brought guys up here before.” Katniss turns to him, her eyes glowing under the light of the moon. “You are the only person that I’ve ever brought here…the only person I want to bring here.”

Peeta isn’t sure if it is the moon…or the Corona…or the heat of the night…but something dances inside his chest, telling him to go to her. Her eyes are on him, hunger so intense in them that there is nothing he could do but go to her. Katniss follows suit, marching towards him with determination.

A groan escapes her lips at the feel of him hard against her pelvis. “Peeta, please…”

They meet in the middle of the roof, breaths heavy and Katniss reaches to cup his cheek. His arm rounds her slender waist, pulling her close to let her feel what she does to him.

“What would you like?” he asks, voice roughened with need. His free hand moves along the lines of her body and she whines, pressing closer to him. “Tell me what you want, Katniss.”

“I want you to kiss me.” Katniss’ mouth grazes against him and he nearly crumbles at the feel of heat between her legs. “Then, I want you to fuck me until we both see stars.”

His mouth is on hers, slotting them together. He sucks harshly at her upper lip as her hands reach for him, holding his face in place as she bites at his lower lip. They both moan into one another, tasting lime and alcohol and the fire between them.

Katniss moves them towards one of the chairs, her hands traveling down and reaching to the buttons of his shirt as her tongue sweeps into his mouth. His own hands move to yank at her jean jacket until she shrugs it off.

“Touch me, Peeta,” she says into his mouth. His shirt has been tossed to the ground and her hands roam unabashedly against his heated skin.

Peeta reaches for the hem of her dress and Katniss complies, lifting her arms up so he could pull the dress over her head. Once it is off, he steps back and looks at the beautiful woman under the summer moon.

Every inch of her skin is caramel and Peeta licks his lips ravenously as his eyes rove over lush breasts with rosy nipples…the graceful dip of her waist…full hips…and nude mesh panties that cover a thatch of dark hair.

“You are beautiful,” he rasps.

Katniss slowly sits down on the lounger, resting back. Her chest heaves, nipples pointed in the warm air, as she waits expectantly for him.

Peeta kneels before her. Carefully, he takes her boots and places them next to the lounger. Then, he is at her center, mouthing her through the mesh and sampling the honey pleasure of her core. Her hands go to his hair, fingers running through his hair and nails scratching at his scalp as he sucks and tongues her through the scrap of nothing.

“Fuck! Peeta!” Her wails are like gold and he moans, vibrating against her cunt. “More, please!” He moves the scrap of cloth away from her quim and plunges his tongue inside her. “Oh my God!”

Part of him is thankful for the party next door, the vibration of music sheathing her cries in the air. Peeta loves the sound of her, unabashed in showing him how good she feels. Katniss pushes herself against his tongue, legs wrapping around his head as she humps his face.

He is drenched in her; his new favorite drink for a summer’s night.

Peeta’s hands move to his jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them quickly.

Pulling away, Katniss whines at the motion until she sees his pants undone. Her eyes, already smoky, have gone obsidian at the sight and he pushes his briefs down, his erection jutting out.

She sits up, one hand pressed to the seat as the other reaches to his length, wrapping her fingers around him. Her thumb moves to the mushroomed head, spreading the precum and he almost seizes at the sensation.

“You’ve given me what I want,” she tells him, her hand stroking him slowly. “What do you want?”

“I want to show you the stars,” Peeta replies, his hand reaching to her panties and she lifts her hips, letting him slide them off until it joins their pile of discarded clothing. He stands before her, reaching for the waist of his jeans and boxers before pulling them off in one motion. His shoes and socks followed, joining her boots.

He stands before her, naked and obviously wanting.

Katniss lays back, pushing herself up onto her elbows, admiring the sight before her.

“I did watch you from here,” she says, her voice strained. “You’d fiddle with your guitar and I’d fiddle myself.”

The image of Katniss, hands on herself…fingers dipping into that dripping cunt is just too much.

Peeta falls to his knees, yanking her down until ass is at the edge of the chair, the backs of her legs pressing along his front.

Then, in one motion, he thrusts roughly into her sodden quim.

The moment Peeta slides into her, her whole body growls.

He can feel her contracting around him and he begins to move, savoring the feeling of being surrounded by her slick. Peeta leans down and their lips meet, her body practically folding in half so he can taste her.

Katniss moans into their kiss, tasting her essence against his tongue as they move against one another. The chair creaks under the pressure of their fucking and he can’t imagine that it feels very comfortable.

He attempts to lift her in-between thrusts, but Katniss frantically shakes her head.

“No, just like this,” she gasps into his sweaty skin. Her legs spread away to wrap around his waist. “Won’t be long now…”

She feels too good, silk and sopping around his cock. Her grip on him is the perfect pressure and as he thrusts, Katniss arches up, bottoming out.

“Holy fuck, you’re amazing,” he groans. “There is no way in hell that I’m letting you go now.”

Hell, Peeta is already convinced that this woman with the dark waves and smoky eyes is the woman that he’s going to marry. In his mind’s eye, he already imagines her in a white dress…carrying her over the threshold of her dream home…of fucking her against every wall of the house…of filling her to the brim until she’s swollen with his child.

“Don’t let me go,” Katniss cries out, her insides beginning to flutter around him, and he juts his cock shallowly knowing that he’s going to spill inside her at any moment. “I wanted you since the moment I saw you…fuck….oh…” Her muscles pulsate around him and her pelvis rises to meet his thrusts.

Her cries are swallowed into the starry sky above them and Peeta watches her in the beauty of her climax. Her hair flows behind her, her skin glistening, and she’s smiles up, her eyes full of love.

She’s watching him, jaw clenched, as the sky above is suddenly illuminated by fireworks, creating a halo around him.

Peeta comes undone, filling her, his pelvis pressing to hers until he is spent.

After, he lays, pillowed against her chest, her hand smoothing down his mussed hair.

“I see stars…” she whispers against him.

“Annie must have said yes,” he explains. “I picked up the ring with Finnick today.”

Katniss snorts. “When Finnick does something, he goes hard.”

“So do I,” he tells her.

She kisses the top of his head. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’ll see.”

They are married three months later.

 FIN.

[exo-raskreia]

Renji’s Cowardice

So this is something I've been wanting to talk a bit about, even though I've commented on it to other fellow fans, but decided maybe I should make a post about it. This got longer than expected, so long post ahead:

I'm one of those few people who don't believe Renji had feelings for Rukia, or if at all, they were so subtle, they were barely there - ‘cause they can easily be interpreted as that of friendship or siblings.

We know he certainly cared about her, they were childhood friends, helping each other through hard times, the ONLY survivors from their friend group in the Rukongai, & the only ones out of them who had reiatsu. So, obviously, they had a tight bond.

But...there was nothing more. That scene in the anime (ep. 32) where Renji stares at Rukia in the lake during his childhood memories? Filler - like most of the episode. It wasn't in the manga. Check out chapter 98 (which also has a lot of the scenes I will mention here).

When I first watched that, I thought maybe he liked her (so then why did he hurt her?), but as I got further into the anime, no such scene ever happened again, nothing else that indicated he might like her. Then eventually I read the manga, & bam! - obviously there'd been nothing else, since the scene hadn't been there to begin with.

So if you believe Renji was deeply in love with Rukia... Well, that’s not what I saw in the following scenes.

Let’s start off with a little scene in his childhood, where Rukia showcased her reiatsu abilities. Their friends found it so cool, whereas Renji seemed...bothered by it:

And down here, where he shouts at the guys, one could interpret him being a bit jealous that they’re captivated by Rukia, but it can also be interpreted as him being a bit jealous of Rukia, like, “Meh, she ain’t all that!” 

Even so, they all became so close, like a family

Years later, once in the academy, Rukia was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan. Renji encountered Byakuya for the first time & felt an immense fear. Any confidence he’d had up until that point (such as being in an advanced class) faded. 

When Rukia tried to discuss with him if she should accept it, because DUH, they only had each other at this point & were basically family, but of course Renji let his insecurities get the better of him, & basically told her how lucky she was & to go for it, without showing concern or worry. Thus, beginning the end of their friendship.

Renji’s excuse for letting her go was that he didn’t want to get in the way of her happiness... Was it? Not something else like, I don’t know, feeling insecure, possibly inferior, afraid when he had encountered her adoptive brother for the first time? Ah, that's it...cowardice? It's as if he was even trying to convince himself otherwise:

Yep, sounds like it, Renji. Always hiding your fear, masking it with ego, or in this case, thinking you’re “happy” for her.

He didn’t want to admit what he had been feeling in that moment. He didn’t let her go out of the goodness of his heart...but because he didn’t have the guts to stop her. He didn’t have the guts to go against Byakuya for her sake. Or more like...for his own sake.

You could say he didn’t feel “worthy enough” being her friend, now that Rukia was part of a prestigious clan... Or simply...too scared. He made it his goal to surpass Byakuya, & once he did, then he would feel "worthy" or strong enough to talk to Rukia again.

Just...why? Did he not see that it wasn’t what Rukia wanted? It’s not like she would have looked down on him or anyone else for that matter. He didn’t understand her like a certain someone. Actually, doesn’t it sort of parallel the scene in which that certain someone was telling her to go back home with him, & she told him she’d stay in SS, & he actually saw she was happy about it & let her go because of it? She wanted to stick together like family, but he pushed her away. For the next 40 years, he never attempted to talk to her, make sure she was doing well, wasn't there for her, nothing.

But he hadn’t realized the true reason for his actions...yet.

Cowardly Renji was then going to tell Rukia about his promotion to lieutenant after he was encouraged by his friends (ch. 205.2/Side-B ‘The Rotator’), but then he was sent to arrest her in Karakura Town. Instead of trying to make up or let her know he didn’t want to do this, he certainly acted pretty villainous towards her, & did NOTHING to try to stop her from getting executed, not even trying to vouch for her to her brother (I mean, if someone as freakishly strong as his captain wasn’t going to do a thing, then why should Renji The Coward™, amirite?). Some "tight bond”... 

Is this how a man shows he loves a woman?! Is this the kind of man you want for strong, kind, selfless Rukia?!

When Renji decided to visit Rukia in her cell to tell her about a certain orange-haired guy being in SS, he hadn’t expected her to react the way she did:

(Renji then thought that maybe he shouldn’t have given her hope, because the rescue gang might not make it. So even in her final moments, he still wasn’t going to try anything? Instead, regretted giving her some comfort? Oh, boy...)

After hearing about said orange-haired guy defeating strong opponents on his way to save Rukia, his bruised ego sent him to go pick a fight with him against orders.

He went as far as to blame that one person for Rukia’s demise. Like, what the heck? He wanted to break his resolve, because Renji himself had none.

But obviously...things weren’t going the way he’d planned. Ichigo, the man who would stop at nothing to save Rukia, was underestimated. Heck, Renji even got triggered when Ichigo shouted this & blocked his attack:

U mad, bruh?

Eventually, Alpha™ Ichigo defeated him, & made him realize his faults. Cue Flashback no Jutsu & then we got Renji saying this:

Ooh, boy, this is right after the panel where he was trying to convince himself that he let Rukia go for her happiness (ch. 98).

Let’s start off with the first part: "Now that I think about it... I was probably just scared...”

So this does confirm that Renji had been lying to himself, & that his real reason was that he was afraid to confront a stronger opponent for his friend. Afraid to do something about the situation. He was a coward through & through.

Then he continues with this: “I am really a tramp down to my bones. I hate myself. I bark at the star, but...I don't have the courage to jump and grab it."

Is this another way of him saying Rukia is the star & he's the tramp? So basically, he felt inferior to her? A lowly creature who’s all bark & no bite?

Let’s see... You could say that since childhood, Renji had always felt a bit jealous of Rukia, or simply admired her, cuz she had higher reiatsu, their old friends looked up to her more & she became their leader of sorts. And then when she was adopted into the Kuchiki Clan, she was “farther away". 

He made it his goal to surpass Byakuya...because it would mean he had finally “reached” Rukia? You could almost see this as romantic, feel bad for him cuz he doesn’t feel worthy of her, even though he’s tried so hard (fake ‘aww’). But it’s still not enough. Up until this point, Renji hadn’t done anything to help her. Like I said before, he even tried to obstruct the one person who was trying to save her, & tried to blame him for her eventual demise.

Just how insecure were you, Renji? Of the fact that someone else, who hadn’t known her as long, was risking his life to save the one girl you weren’t brave enough to help? That someone else would reach the star, & not you? That someone else proved himself Top Dog™ & you’re still the tramp?

Well, Rukia is more referred to as the moon, while Ichigo as the sun (White Moon, Black Sun). So to Renji, she's a star, but in regards to Ichigo, she's the moon. An unreachable star to one, & the moon to the other... Interesting...

In some translations, he says "stars" in plural, so if that, does it mean Renji is calling himself a coward in general, who doesn't have the courage to stand up to those stronger than him? And/or to get what he wants? In others, he says "moon", & Rukia has been referred to as the moon, so it still applies.

After this, he BEGGED Ichigo to save Rukia, because he himself couldn't. Once again, he felt unworthy. And this time, he had good reason to, because the man Rukia wanted to see wasn't even him, & he knew this. Like I said, he hadn’t expected her to look so happy when he’d informed her that Ichigo was in town.

Renji had a change of heart. He later helped Ichigo in what he could, having formed the resolve to work harder after recovering from the fight against him. After this, we saw him become friends with Ichigo, having his acknowledgement, his respect, his trust. Never once do we see Renji feeling jealous towards Ichigo regarding Rukia (nor anyone else for that matter). Not like Orihime being jealous of Rukia. Renji supported Ichigo in everything, & both considered each other one of their closest comrades.

Remember the scene in Hueco Mundo (ch. 248) where Ichigo didn't want the group to separate in Las Noches after Rukia suggested it, then Renji got in the way & told him it was an insult to her as a warrior? He knew this wasn't about the group, it was about Rukia (dang, was Ichigo that obvious?). Ichigo didn't say that because he didn't trust in her abilities...it's his general care & worry about her. He has to have Rukia in his sight at all times. She obviously means a lot more to him than he realizes (and more than his other friends). Renji doesn't see Rukia the same way Ichigo does...hence why he wasn't concerned like Ichigo. This already shows the difference in their feelings for Rukia.

(Poor Ichigo must’ve later regretted this when he didn’t feel Rukia’s reiatsu anymore & Ulquiorra had said she’d “died”, then Ichigo turned around to go to her, without giving a second thought to Orihime’s whereabouts and-)

Heck, even in the Fade To Black movie, everyone had forgotten about Rukia, including Renji...except Ichigo. He was the only one who fought tooth & nail to get her back. Renji was one of the last people in the movie to remember her, some "bond". Well, she already established a stronger bond with Ichigo, so Renji lost his status as the man closest to Rukia long ago.

Then in the WDKALY fanfiction novel, in the sketch of Renji at the wedding, he doesn't seem very happy? And in the one with him & Rukia announcing their engagement, their Soul Reaper friends seem so shocked, as if they would have never seen this coming? If it was obvious they “loved” each other, why even their closest friends didn't see it? Seems sketchy, doesn't it?

To add to this, as someone had pointed out before, just look at Renji’s expression here while Rukia is injured:

Seems like the typical battle-hardened look someone would have over their injured comrades.

Meanwhile, look at Ichigo, leaning forward anxiously...& then we get a wonderful closeup of his face

So, all in all, what I'm trying to say is that there was never really a critical moment in which made me go, "Wow, Renji really does love Rukia." His feelings just weren’t really...there? Or not noticeable romantically, not like Ishida’s for Orihime - now THESE I can believe. He felt like a coward in general, that not even his childhood friend's life being in danger, had been enough to get him to act. It took someone else, someone much braver than him, to give him the push that he needed to move forward. And that person is the one he came to respect & support, never showing jealousy. He even thanked Ichigo (ch. 682) for restoring his friendship with Rukia, & said he'll always have his back. Some "rival", huh?

(Thinking about it, since we never got to see more of Renji's insecurities again after the SS arc - I think - & had his friendship restored, does this mean surpassing Byakuya wasn't his goal anymore? Did he ever mention it again?)

Kubo really wasn't playing when it came to who cared more about Rukia out of these two (or more like, the differences in how they cared about her). Too bad this all went out the window.

[nakhama-a]

little impromptu zodiac study, ft. ieiri shouko.

with the revelation that shouko is a scorpio sun, i have decided that the major placements in her chart are as follows: capricorn moon, scorpio rising, virgo venus, and capricorn mars. now let’s take a look at what that means.

scorpio sun:

scorpios are known for their intensity. they are determined folk that absolutely throw themselves into whatever they do — but getting them to commit to something is rarely an easy task. in fact, it’s better not to even try to “get them” to do anything. solar scorpios absolutely have their own mind. and, their primary motivation is unlikely to be prestige, or even authority–it’s real power. their power can absolutely be of the “behind the scenes” variety, just as long as they have it.

to others, scorpios seem to have plenty of willpower. they probably do. scorpios do know what they want, and they won’t go out and grab it at the wrong moment. they simply sit back, watch (quite expertly), and then get it only when the moment is just right. this apparent patience is simply their powerful skills at strategy at work.

scorpio isn’t afraid of getting their hands (their bodies, their minds) dirty. the darker side of life intrigues them, and they’re always ready to investigate.

scorpios simply never give up. they have tremendous staying power. they’re not in the slightest intimidated by anybody or anything. confrontations are not a problem. in fact, talk to any scorpio about their lives, and you’ll probably be in awe at all they’ve gone through. trauma seems to follow them wherever they go. when scorpio learns optimism, instead of expecting the worst, they’ll find that they possess amazing regenerative powers — the power to heal, create, and transform.

this doesn’t really sound like our resident apathetic-and-tired doctor, though i’ve bolded what does or may apply; shouko is not an intense person, she does not seem to have much willpower, and she most definitely is not confrontational. we see that all the way back in the hidden inventory arc where she runs away when geto and gojo are about to fight.

and also when geto defects, she doesn’t even try to stop him. scorpio would absolutely make an attempt.

so scorpio alone might seem a bit out there, but in combination with her other placements...

capricorn moon:

calm, cool, and collected—these words sum up moon in capricorn natives well. messy emotions and “leaky” souls are a bit frightening for most with this position of the moon. truth is, they can have plenty of mood swings and some dark emotions now and again. lunar capricorns are often quite hard on themselves, and would benefit from letting their guard down once in a while. they quickly garner reputations of being mountains of strength, and they easily hide their sensitivity behind a sarcastic manner.

you may have read that moon in capricorn natives are a bit cold and calculating. the fact is, they are unlikely to be any less emotional than the other 11 sign positions of the moon—they simply aren’t comfortable “letting go” when it comes to emotions. they keep their emotions under control. wherever capricorn is found in the chart, there is a desire for structure and control. capricorn is the sign of organization and efficient management; so, when the moon is found in the sign, the world of emotions are well-managed and handled in an efficient and practical manner.

thiiiiiiiiiis is much more in line with shouko. the moon is the sign that involves emotions, habits, reactions and instincts; so this cold, calculating, sarcastic, in control persona - that’s our girl ! i’ll talk more about how these two work with each other in a sec.

scorpio rising:

scorpio ascendant people have a lot of presence. there is something about them that tells the world that they are not to be pushed around. their manner commands respect, and in some cases, fear. scorpio rising people can be quiet or loud, but they always seem powerful and determined.

you either love or hate scorpio rising people –they are rarely people who go through life unnoticed. in fact, some of them are confused when faced with the fact that they get such strong reactions from others. they seem to look right through people, seeing through superficiality. this can be quite intimidating to some, and intriguing to others. scorpio rising people, in their dealings with others, look for answers by reading between the lines. surface details are discarded when they are getting a feel for people and situations around them.

scorpio rising people value their privacy so much, it can border on paranoia. they have a strong need to control their environment and are experts at strategy. rarely people who will blow their chances with impatience, they plan out their moves carefully and deliberately, relying on their awesome ability to feel out others and situations.

the ascendant / rising sign is the facade shown to others, which is why i think scorpio suits her well here; the first time we meet shouko, and particularly in the anime, she’s incredibly self-assured and a bit off-putting. like, look at this shot.

in combination with these lines?

yeah. scorp rising. 100%.

so now, let’s see how her moon and rising combo with her sun !!

scorpio sun / capricorn moon ( this is a long one oops ):

people with their sun in scorpio and their moon in capricorn have a natural instinct to protect themselves regardless of how kind they may seem when interacting with others. they will never allow money to rule them. they want security and to support themselves, but they don’t insist on getting rich. they are the most mature scorpios in the zodiac. wise and disciplined from a young age, these guys are also calm and approachable. while they seem very grave and composed, they don’t think of themselves as being like this. private and secretive, they don’t want all the attention to be on them. when they happen to be in the center of the stage, they prefer to keep things low key.

people will always like them because they’re responsible, cerebral and humble. they give a lot of importance to honor, ethics and the law. it doesn’t matter if it makes them unpopular to stick to their own beliefs and to being honest, they’ll continue to do it. discipline and management characterize them a lot. others know they are the most reliable and serious people ever. not to mention they can control their emotions when a situation becomes too difficult. it’s possible they will not be able to hide their feelings and become aggressive in some cases. but this won’t happen too often. these guys know what people and groups think because they are fine psychologists.

their main goals in life are gaining other people’s respect, having a good reputation and making a good living. it doesn’t matter how warm they seem on the outside, they will always look for these things. if they would be able to recognize their authoritative presence, it would be easier for them to deal with people.

scorpio sun capricorn moon individuals have high standards and aren’t very tolerant of people who don’t act the way they think it’s correct. but they should respect others as much as they want to be respected. just like all the scorpios, they have a high libido and can make anyone go crazy. they will use others in a subtle way and get what they want. when they see helpless people, they simply don’t know what to do. not to mention how scared they are of seeing their weaknesses in others.

while confident and sure of themselves on the outside, these scorpios are anxious and confused on the inside. they don’t believe in empty compliments and if they won’t explore their emotions and spirituality, they’ll remain these cold characters with whom few can get along.

whew. okay. that’s long. but i think it highlights how the two work well together. it’s also pretty self explanatory so ontooooooo...

scorpio sun / scorpio rising:

double scorpios function best when they’re left alone to do things their own way. and that works, because no one can keep up with them anyway. plus, they’re intensely self-motivated, mostly because their guilt level soars if they don’t do the best job possible. so there’s really no need to supervise them. the sorts of hands-on management and direction that other people might find helpful or even reassuring is apt to be considered by double scorpios as needless meddling. they don’t take well to what they perceive to be an invasion of their turf. they want enough space and privacy to go about their business in their own unseen way, and when things work to their advantage they use their investigative skills to quickly build a body of knowledge and otherwise hard-to-come-by data that affords them a great deal of job security. what’s happened is they’ve worked themselves into a position where they’re absolutely indispensable. they simply know too much, and they’ve got the goods on everyone. whether it’s at home, at work, or at the pta, these scorpios have ferreted out the useful information that everyone else needs.

also pretty self-explanatory - shouko is literally indispensable, she prefers to do things on her own, and doesn’t like when things get in the way. this all seems much more in line with what we’ve been shown, and for the sake of this post being long as fuck already ( if u read all this i’m kissing u ), i’ll save her mars and venus for another time !

[danni-dollarsign]

A Critical Look at “Pokemon: Sword and Shield” From a Casual’s Perspective...

A/N: Hey! if you’re reading this, then thank you! I don’t know why, but I thought to myself, “Hey, wouldn’t it be cool to write a pointless essay about a Pokemon game?” And then I realized today was the 1YR anniversary of SWSH, so I figured I might as well just do it! So even though I’m late and probably nobody will really care to read all this nonsense, I wrote it! If you’re interested in all the analyses of PKMN SWSH, but aren’t too invested in the technical mumbo-jumbo used by the more hardcore fans, then maybe you’ll enjoy this. 

Also, it’s worth mentioning that I’m literally just some rando on the internet saying my opinion. None of this should really be taken SUPER seriously - it’s mainly designed to provoke thought rather than try to argue any specific idea. So if I say something that you don’t agree with, you got two options: 1) Draft a constructive comment or DM to me and we can discuss calmly like adults, 2) shake your idea and ignore this. There’s really no need to get heated up over a video game essay, of all things, so let’s not do that lol. 

But other than that, yeah! If you’re interested in more stuff like this from me (in-depth analyses of Pokemon games from the perspective of a low-key casual), lemme know! I’d love to chat with anyone about this awesome series.

So, without any further ado, let’s get into the essay (warning: it’s like ~8k words).

Introduction...

Welcome to the wonderful world of Pokemon! Love it or hate it, Pokemon has had a huge impact on popular culture in countless countries in a number of different ways, sparking memes, dreams, and happiness everywhere! It holds a very special place in my heart - Pokemon was a game that I got to share with my two older siblings, was one of the first fandoms I got into, and was a big reason as to why I grew to love creative writing so much after writing a couple fanfictions for the games. I’ve been playing Pokemon ever since my brother gave me a copy of Pokemon: Ruby and have been a devoted fan ever since. While I may not be super into the strategy and damn near mathematical aspects of gameplay, I’d like to consider myself a relatively knowledgeable fan with enough extra knowledge to give a look at one of these games from a casual, yet analytical view. So what game other than the newest title, Pokemon: Sword and Shield, with its release anniversary being today? In this casual online essay, I hope to describe all my thoughts of Sword and Shield (which I’ll shorten down to just “SWSH”) from the perspective of the everyday Pokemon fan.

General Gameplay...

Many top-title games of Nintendo are best known for their simplicity: in Super Mario Bros, you’re a mustachioed red guy jumping on monsters to try and save some random princess (who may or may not be in this castle); in The Legend of Zelda, you’re a green elf-looking guy slashing wildly at monsters with a sword given to you by some old guy in hopes of defeating some ultimate bad guy; and in Pokemon, you’re a child wandering around the region catching monsters who also accidentally saves the world before becoming the very best (like no-one ever was). And while the games themselves have grown from that initial stylistic simplicity, some have lost that creative in-depthness in favor of being playable for children. This is probably the biggest issue with the newer Pokemon games as of late.

Regardless, let’s look into the playability of SWSH.

It’s played like your regular Pokemon game; you’re a kid who journeys to become the Champion of Pokemon Battling with your friend, catching monsters known as “Pokemon” with pocket-sized balls dubbed “Pokeballs.” But I’m sure you’re all aware of that information, and are instead asking “Well, what’s the deeper plot?” Yeah, no, that’s it. You’re a kid catching Pokemon to become champion - oh, and you also accidentally save the world from a power-hungry businessman - but that’s neither here nor there.

Plot aside, the game is a bit barebones. It’s pretty linear gameplay (literally linear - the map of the Galar region is almost exactly a straight-line waltz from Postwick to Wyndon, which is a bit weird after dealing with the giant, sprawling maps of earlier generations) where you travel from place to place, beating gyms and catching ‘mons, before getting into a couple scuffles and becoming champion. For an RPG-styled game, it comes off as much too simplistic for older fans (I’d even reason that it’s too simplistic for younger players, as well). While I will say, I don’t exactly miss the days of hopelessly wandering around a pixel city, trying desperately to figure out how to move on to the next town because the answer to the puzzle is hidden in this giant area that my little peanut-brain couldn’t figure out at the time. But it is a bit demeaning to get “Hey, do you know where to go?” and  “Hey, follow me so you don’t get lost!” and “Oh, yeah, want another tutorial on how to easily catch Pokemon for the fourth time in a row?” every two seconds in a city where there’s only two places to check out.

But we can’t really discuss the gameplay of Pokemon without discussing the highlights of the region. Ever since the transition from 2D to 3D, Pokemon games have begun a trend of gimmicks - which I like to call “battle enhancers” - that they use to add uniqueness to their games. X&Y had Mega Evolution, Sun and Moon (and USUM) had Z-Moves, and now we have Dynamax! As we all know, battle enhancers are the strategy by which the player uses some extraterrestrial/magic stone to physically enhance one pokemon at a time for a certain period of time - in the case of Dynamax, the pokemon either grows in size or changes in form, gaining the ability to use special type-based attacks for a duration of three turns.

Honestly, I think it’s a pretty fun mechanic! Dynamax combines the good components of both Z-Moves and Mega Evolution - new forms, awesome moves, and a ticking clock. It adds a bit more strategy to the battle enhancer, where the player actually has to plan out who and when to Dynamax (though it’s really not that hard - most everyone will save it for their ace or the pokemon with the type advantage at the very end of the battle, because that’s what you do). But it’s fun and creative, making the battle a bit more exciting when you see your beloved ace become gargantuan on a field while the audience chants in excitement. Initially, I was skeptical of the battle enhancer, but once I threw myself into the game and really got into it, I felt it was fun and cool for the region. My feelings were further improved when I learned that Dynamax was inspired by the idea that the Nintendo Switch had the potential to be played on the TV as well as in a hand-held mode. The idea of turning pokemon “big” on a “big-screen” is really just so cute to me, really. Overall, it’s a fitting concept that is paired well to the game when everything is considered.

But when you look beyond the Dynamx experience to find more content in the game… there’s really not much else. Many people (including me) were ecstatic to hear about the free-roam areas in SWSH - the Wild Areas. Here, you can do all the fun grinding stuff that makes Pokemon games a bit more challenging and fun - hatching eggs, shiny-hunting, running around in circles, Dynamax dens, etc. But when looking at other Pokemon games, that’s really it. Let’s examine Pokemon: Sun and Moon, for example. This game really shines not just for its refreshing setting and compelling plot-line, but also for it’s amount of cute and quirky mini-games to be enjoyed for a good while outside of the main story. Pyukumuku Chucking, Mantine Surfing, the Alolan Photo Club, Ultra Warp Ride Travel - a good handful of mini-games that appeal to different kinds of people! All of these mini-games aren’t just tossed in there, either - they have a fitting place in the culture of the world and add to it, rather than just reiterating it. But when you look for mini-games in SWSH, you won’t really find anything aside from just battling. Sure, there’s the Battle Tower, as well, but I’ll personally say that I’ve never been a fan of the concept of post-game NPC battle buildings. For a hardcore player, they might be fun, but as a casual who can’t devote the time to really dig into understanding how IVs and competitive breeding works, they’re really no fun. Not to mention that nothing is really being added or developed with these battle buildings; they don’t add to lore, they don’t add to the culture of the region, you don’t even really gain anything from it - they’re pretty much just places to battle the occasional familiar face and that’s it. While I’m sure plenty of people adore these facilities in the games, I’ve never been too partial to them (I’d even prefer those god-forsaken casinos over another goddamn battle frontier).

But my biggest problem lies with the release of the DLC. While I’m not against the idea of DLC in general, both The Isle of Armour and The Crown Tundra left a bitter taste in my mouth when I started thinking about the issue of playability in SWSH.

I have always been more invested in the storyline of Pokemon games rather than the battling aspects. Usually I’ve always just gotten through the main story, then wandered around to find extra post-game content or mini-games, and then moved on to other games. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing - I just figure that the games have served their purpose for me upon completion, so rather than bore myself wandering around and doing things that don’t interest me, I go find another game that has more story-based content. That being said, I finished SWSH in less time than any other Pokemon game (I’d say somewhere around twenty hours, complete with me running around in circles like an idiot before rushing through content intermittently); as a result, I was no longer actively playing the game by the time the DLC was announced.

I’ll be honest and say that when I learned about all that was being offered in both sets of DLC, I felt a bit betrayed. I’m well-aware that Nintendo is a corporate business, and therefore will always prioritize financial gain over their fans’ lasting enjoyment of their titles - that’s just a fact of life. But I couldn’t help but feel like I paid a bunch of money for the bundled titles, only to play a game that hardly could be considered worthwhile or satisfying without added headcanons or fan-works, and then get told that extra content is available that may or may not add satisfaction to the experience that’s already long since ended for me. It was just a bit disappointing - and I’m not talking about the whole “Dexit” deal (I actually was on-board with the idea of having no real National Dex - I felt it added realism to the games and would force players to get to know the new Pokemon instead of just choosing the same team they always have since Gen 1 or whatever). My gripe is that I paid for a whole game, wasn’t satisfied with the result, only to hear later that the content that I might have been missing is available to pay for? That’s incredibly annoying. Not to mention that I was further disappointed after learning about the contents of the DLC, but we’ll get into that later.

Overall, the playability of SWSH is very basic, but can be enjoyable if you suspend belief and just enjoy it for what it is. When it comes to storyline, it’s not much of a game, and doesn’t sport much post-game content besides battling.

Immersion and Ambience...

Many of my friends can attest that I tend to like silly, fantastical concepts because I personally love to throw myself into the universe being offered to me. Pokemon is really no different - the games have always sported a very immersive experience for me thanks to the combination of interesting regions and evocative music (especially the music).

I think that most every Pokemon fan has a specific region, city, and music theme that sparks a plethora of nostalgic emotions to the point of near tears. For me, that’s always been Pokemon: Platinum, the Twinleaf Town theme - just staring into the rippling reflection of the pond by the player’s home, listening to that beautiful synth clarinet playing that nostalgic melody - it makes my heart beat with so much fervent passion that I hardly have the words to describe it! And I think that sense of nostalgia - regardless of whether or not those memories are old or new - has always been a strong-suit for Pokemon games. They always have the ability to inspire such deep emotions in me and other alike in a variety of ways, further adding to the ability to immerse us into the game’s world. And whether your favorite area is as simple as Twinleaf Town in the Sinnoh region, or as agonizing as Rock Tunnel in Kanto, it’s the spirit of certain cities/towns/routes that further add to the immersion of the world in question. But how well does SWSH hold those values? Spoiler Alert: Not very well.

SWSH, in the end, is still a Pokemon game - so the setting is very vibrant and colorful and everything that can hold my attention for long periods of time. But the problem arises when one begins to progress through the game and continuously forgets what’s where and where’s what. A lot of the map is painfully basic (again, due to the literal linear nature of the Galar region) and the cities themselves kind of lack their own real originality. There was an attempt at unique cities that’s become iconic of the Pokemon franchise, but it doesn’t really stick. I think most people would agree with me that the only real memorable areas in the main game were Slumbering Weald, Ballonlea, and Spikemuth, and each of these areas have their own set of problems that also make them a bit difficult to fully enjoy. At their core, most all Galarian cities have the same basic set-up: basic green plants (if plants are in that area at all), the same brick roads that lead either to the gym or to a route leading in/out of city to another city, and a giant gym/key building in the center of it all. And that’s really about it. No real interesting buildings except for gyms and Rose Tower (and I guess technically the hotels), no extraneous locations that aren’t directly related to the plot or to gimmicks - it’s very bare-bones and really can take you out of the experience.

In a hard contrast, I’ll give the example of Generation 1’s region set up - every city has its own personality that also matches the feel of the region as a whole. Every city is based on colors, and each city is themed after that, respectively (i.e. Vermillion City, the city of sunsets themed around the color orange, is home to the Pokemon Fan Club and the kick-ass electric-type gym that initiates feelings of excitement; Lavender Town, the noble town themed around the color purple, is home to the Pokemon Tower and spooky spirits that inspire feelings of somberness and reticence). Obviously, this isn’t very realistic, but the trick isn’t to replicate reality - it is to inspire reality. The Kanto region is incredibly creative, and therefore is easy to immerse oneself into the world because it’s become a world we are actively interested in. We know that it could never truly be real or plausible, but that hardly matters when we are so enthralled with the colors and set-up and feeling of the towns. We don’t really get much of that in Galar. It probably isn’t such a great idea for your final city - being Wyndon - to feel blank and lifeless when compared to minor cities in the region. And even when we find cities that hold that uniqueness we desire like in Spikemuth or Ballonlea, there’s really no other reason to be there longer than just beating the gym. It’s sad, really. Spikemuth is such a interesting, creative-looking town home to such cool characters, and yet there literally is only one path to get in and out of the town - the town isn’t even given small houses to investigate like literally every other city in the region. It’s a waste of potential! The fact that I can’t investigate such a promising setting that inspires me really takes me out of the world, reminding me that this is just a video game in which you move from Point A to Point B. It’s no longer a fantasy world for me to explore, but instead a line at the DMV to get my Drivers’ License. The only real good thing about this is that fanfiction writers get so much free-reign when it comes to writing about the city - the only thing we really learn about the city is that it’s underfunded and gloomy and that’s literally it. I would have really liked to see more inspired cities around the region where things outside of the main plot can be done, but hopefully this is just a problem we’ll see in this region.

Probably the most important aspect of immersion (in my opinion) is the music. With the potential to make or break a game for me, I hold a lot of expectations on the music found in video games (I’ve been classically trained in music since elementary school, and have always had a fondness for video game music). Pokemon music has always been some of the most inspiring pieces of art in my life - whether it be the kickass battle suite of Champion Cynthia, or the somber piano melody of Emma’s Theme, the music of Pokemon has always been the first thing I notice and analyze whenever playing the latest title. That all being said, I have quite a few notes to make in regards to the soundtrack of SWSH.

I’ll start with the pros, first. Generally, every main title has had its own feel when it comes to the soundtrack - DPP was jazzy and smooth, Sun and Moon was based on popular Hawaiian music meshed together with classic Pokemon synths, RSE was all about the horn section (trombones and french horns all the way!). SWSH, at the end of the day, isn’t much different. The region is inspired by the UK, so it’s no surprise to discover that the soundtrack was inspired by popular British Rock. As a result, a lot of themes went really hard, keeping a hint of individuality even when some battle themes hosted similar instruments. The biggest appeal of the soundtrack, I believe, was found in the little moments, namely the cheers of the gym battle themes. I think it’s safe to say that most people get super hyped when they hear those rhythmical chants coming to life whenever in the final leg of the battle, right when you begin to Dynamax. That’s amazingly exciting, never failing to suck me into that exact moment to gather the power of God and anime to defeat my opponent. While I wasn’t totally rocking out to every single song that came on, I was pretty satisfied with the music of SWSH, overall. It’s not too bad, and hosts a few bops that I still seek out to get my blood pumping.

But, as to be expected, there are plenty of cons when it comes to the soundtrack of SWSH. I could go over this for hours and hours, detailing complex definitions of music theory and basic song comprehension, but I’ll just make this nice and simple: it was really bland.

Note that I said “bland” and not “bad” - the music is fine in my opinion, I just wasn’t feeling the same feelings as I had in previous Pokemon titles. It all felt like Pokemon music, but not much else. It was like remembering hints of a memory long-lost, but you don’t really care about to dig deep into your mind for context. Towns had music, routes had music, pokemon and characters had battle themes, yada yada yada, nothing really to write home about. If I had to pick a song that honestly, truly invoked emotions beyond “Oh it’s battle time, now”, it would have to be the Battle Tower Theme, and that’s most likely because it was written by someone else entirely (Toby Fox, also known as the creator of Undertale and composer of super hard-hitting jams). And the worst part is that I never would have even been able to hear the Battle Tower theme because I hate battle buildings (which is more of a personal problem, I know, but still). Honestly, I would have preferred hearing that theme as compared to Champion Leon’s battle theme - I feel like his champion theme was very bland and lifeless, simply holding all the required elements of a Pokemon battle theme just because that’s what has to happen. It’s uninspired, faceless, and corporate, only to be completely foiled by the unique blast of energy found in the Battle Theme, which just screams “Prove that you’re the best!” over and over to me (also known as a big theme in the Pokemon games, especially in SWSH).

That’s not to say that every other theme in the game was terrible. I much enjoyed Marnie and Piers’ battle themes, but for a different reason. As we know, Piers and Marnie host a more “punk rock” style when compared to literally everyone else in-game, a trademark of Spikemuth citizens. With their occasionally cold and prickly (no pun intended) personalities, their themes go a bit harder into rock-land as compared to characters like Hop or Bede. There’s no conflict of style there - it’s “punk” with “rock”, loads of guitars and bass with a hint of synths to keep that Pokemon flare, and fits a bit better in the setting of the world. Mild conflict arises when we start looking at characters who aren’t rockstars or idols - let’s look at Bede’s theme, for example. While it really isn’t a bad theme (it’s actually, dare I say, a bop), I wouldn’t exactly say that the resulting pieces fit neatly together like they do for the Spikemuth duo. Bede’s theme requires a lot of synths to accentuate his more flamboyant and immature personality, but also holds ties with the rock guitars while also trying so desperately hard to sound like a Pokemon song. Now, I don’t think “Pop Synth Rock” is anything bad, per se; I just feel like the added rock elements didn’t do much to add to the musical representation of our cliche jerk-face “rival”. It feels like the rock elements were an after-thought rather than a planned layer of musicality. I could really say the same thing about Hop’s theme, but then I would have to re-listen to Hop’s theme because I always forget what it sounds like even after listening to it a second before.

A big problem is that not many of these themes hold lastingly memorable motifs/melodies, which is a personal pet-peeve of mine in games where the music is highly esteemed. In pretty much every battle theme (except the generic pokemon encounter theme, which is the same melody in every Pokemon game, only with variations added to fit the music theme of the region) is just an on-going strip of notes that sound nice when playing the game, but if you tried to pick out the specific melody-line of that character, it’s a bit of work to really find anything. Let’s look at a more concrete example: Lusamine’s battle theme from Pokemon: Sun and Moon is up on my list of most memorable battle themes, and will do well without the extra influence of young me’s nostalgia seeping in like it would with earlier generations’ battle themes. Lusamine, as we know, was the elite antagonist of the game, being the leader of this esteemed Pokemon protection group who later is revealed to be using Pokemon for her own demented goals of perfection. Almost immediately, the player hears the signature accents of the harpsichord playing the prime motif before the piece digs into a full orchestration. It doesn’t sacrifice anything for the sake of “sounding like a Pokemon song”, nor does it sacrifice anything for the sake of keeping with the musical inspiration. Instead, it focuses on being exactly what it needs to be - a musical representation of Lusamine, hosting orchestra-based instruments (piano, violas and cellos, horns, violins, light pad synths, etc…). Most anyone can pick out a handful of memorable motifs from her theme (the main horns melody line, the harpsichord melody line, the mid-section cello and piano melody line, etc…), and those remain in our unconscious. So, it’s no surprise that when she becomes the “Mother Beast” later on, when the player hears hints of those signature melody lines becoming distorted in the madness of the new battle theme, it invokes a particular emotion that fits elegantly with the subject matter of the plot right then. In short, it’s musical storytelling done right. In SWSH, we don’t have that extra omph of emotionally-nostalgic motifs; instead, we just get songs that play in the background of this video game, and that’s really it. If you don’t like the song, good news - you’ll probably only hear it once or twice, depending on who the NPC is. If you do, then you’re out of luck for the very same reasons. This game lacks a very basic hint of soul to its soundtrack, which is really such a jarring idea especially when you realize that they paired up with a composer who arguably has mastered the idea of musical motifs (Fox).

This really isn’t just SWSH’s problem, either. I also went through a similar heartbreak in S&M during the final stretch of the main game; after battling Lusamine and saving the region from the threat of Ultra Beasts (more or less, anyway), we the player go to challenge the champion, who is revealed to be Profession Kukui since there really is no true champion for the newly-made league. It’s hard to go from an exciting, powerful battle theme like Lusamine’s to some generic, cardboard-cut-out version of a champion battle theme for Kukui. It’s hard to invoke any sort of emotional appeal when there’s no real inspiration to be felt in the music; with no emotional connection, there is no emotion. It’s, once again, just music that plays in the background of a video game. A similar experience happens in SWSH with the player’s match against Champion Leon; though we have the potential to gain an emotional connection to a Leon Theme motif, we don’t get that. Instead, we just get music that is programmed to be exciting for our championship match that will undoubtedly change our lives forever. Bland, boring, anti-climatic - all for the sake of coloring in the lines. This has been an on-going problem in Pokemon games for years in which the Championship Battle Theme is less interesting than the Evil Team Battle Theme, which probably isn’t a good idea. It’s annoying when your villain has a better theme than the literal strongest trainer in the region - it ruins the chances of likability for the region’s “good guys” and overall is anti-climatic when it is finally time to become champion.

Overall, the ability to immerse someone like me in a game is very important when it comes to retaining players. While SWSH isn’t the worst Pokemon game when it comes to immersion (considering the fact that I actually beat the main game, which I can’t say for other main Pokemon titles…), Game Freak certainly could stand to learn from the game’s shortcomings.

Creature and Character Design...

The monster design is arguably one of the most controversial topics when it comes to any Pokemon game. Some people only care about the designs of Gen 1, others accept everything but Gen 5, and a select few could rant for hours on the stupidity of literally every Pokemon design in the franchise. Regardless, the design of the Pokemon native to the Galar region is an important topic of discussion when analysing the potential for enjoyment of the game. After all, I’m an artist who loves drawing all my favorite characters as well as my favorite Pokemon, so understanding the designs of these beloved figures is vital to understanding the game in general. For sanity’s sake, I’ll only be discussing new Pokemon introduced in this region, and will be ignoring all previous pokemon that aren’t regional variants.

Overall, the designs of the latest Pokemon are satisfactory. Because of my tendency to always suspend belief in fantasy works, I’ve very rarely had much to hate about Pokemon designs (not even in Gen 5, though I don’t particularly like any of them aside from the game cover legendaries). SWSH didn’t really bring much to the table when it comes to brand-new Pokemon, but the ones introduced are fitting and interesting: the Dragapult line, all three starters (even if I did laugh for literal hours at the discovery of Cinderace’s typing), Wooloo and Dubwool, Yamper and Boltund - just to name my top favorites. And I was totally invested in the designs of the game cover legendaries, Zamazenta and Zacian, since they held cultural relations with the region’s inspiration and therefore had actual meaning within the game besides just being cool mythical creatures. Nothing really outright bothered me with the designs or pokemon choices in this game; as I mentioned earlier, I was okay with the idea of no National Dex for this region, and that all the pokemon allowed in this game matched with the region well-enough.

But, of course, it’s not without faults. I found there to be a substantial lack of original legendaries in this game - we only have three real legendaries to catch in the main-game, four if you consider the DLC. We had a similar problem in Pokemon: Sun and Moon, but it was later amended with the introduction of Ultra Beasts (which can technically be regarded as legendary Pokemon, albeit from another dimension and not technically Pokemon). In SWSH, we are only given the option of catching more than two legendaries if we buy the DLC - this is remarkably disappointing for those who are interested in seeing new, unique Pokemon designs. I know many fans are constantly frustrated with Game Freak’s tendency to overuse Gen 1 Pokemon, but the fact that nobody is bothered by the running trend of being able to easily catch a bunch of previous games’ legendaries is beyond me. It’s essentially the same thing, overly relying on the fanbase’s sentimental nostalgia rather than moving forward to create new creature designs. I know for a fact that so many people would have been excited to catch Pokemon with cultural significance (maybe like elf Pokemon that resemble that of Seelie/Unseelie fairies, or more Pokemon that resemble chess pieces, or maybe more Pokemon that follow a theme of medieval artifacts - there are many possibilities), so the fact that they skimped out in favor of making people pay for nostalgia is ridiculous to me. This was a majority of the reason why I rejected buy any of the DLC content - why would I pay for Pokemon I’ve technically caught before? I mean, I guess it can be more for the kids who have never encountered the older legendaries, but then again, wouldn’t it be more beneficial for your game to have Pokemon that actually represent the new region? Instead of just stealing other games’ legendaries for the sake of saying that you have them, they could have just worked a little harder to design maybe three or six more cool legendary designs and centered those guys around the two DLC locations instead of just having Calyrex for The Crown Tundra. At the end of the day, it’s really just a cash-grab; the only reason I could ever see myself understandably buying the DLC for SWSH would be because I wanted to interact more with my favorite NPCs, but then again, I can just look at screenshots on Twitter and feel just as satisfied.

But not all is lost in terms of designs. Now let’s get into my favorite design portion of this segment and discuss the NPCs.

First, we’ll dig into the rivals. Personally, I really enjoyed the rivals of this game; while Pokemon is definitely running on a formula, I still was able to find enough about the three rival characters to genuinely enjoy their presence whenever they came on screen. I suppose we can expect to keep seeing this new Pokemon Trainer Rival Formula: Kind of Annoying but Too Sweet to Hate BFF Rival (Hop), 2 Edgy 5 U Rival (Bede), and Some Pedo’s Waifu Material Rival (Marnie).

Hop is arguably one of my favorite Pokemon rivals of all time (right up there with Gladion from S&M). He’s one of the only Pokemon characters to get a realistic character development over the course of the game’s playable story, which really humanizes him and makes up for his occasionally annoying personality. Over the course of the game, Hop goes from silently residing in his brother’s shadow to learning to stand on his own without needed any outside validation; much to my surprise, it’s not some half-hearted transition. Hop doubts himself during the challenge, as evidenced not just by his dialogue but in the way he actively changes his team to try and be more competitive like everybody else. I remember feeling so heartbroken in realization that Hop stopped using his beloved Wooloo, which is rightfully paired up with the excitable boy. The idea that Hop uses Wooloo, a normal-type cute Pokemon that generally wouldn’t be used in a competitive team, really adds more dimension to his character; when he learns to enjoy himself instead of letting his doubts overtake him, he returns to using Dubwool and his favorite team, demonstrating how he would prefer to have fun as himself than be someone he isn’t. I found that to be a really wholesome theme to his character, one that we haven’t really seen in a Pokemon game yet - it was a pleasant surprise! Hop is sweet and kind, always wanting to motivate the player even when he’s in his own internal turmoil. With all that added with his adorable babyface and goofy/awkward preteen disposition, he really makes for a likeable rival character.

The next rival to be introduced is none other than our classic Mean Boy rival, Bede. He’s a character the fanbase is a bit more accustomed to due to previous titles’ rivals (i.e. Green/Blue/Gary Oak from in R&G/B, Silver from SGC, technically also Gladion from S&M…), so are quite a few expectations placed on his character as a result. Also true to the typical Pokemon Jerk Rival, he has a complicated homelife (he comes from an orphanage, as we later learn) and has a similarly complicated parent-child relationship to the leading antagonist of the game (in this case, Chairman Rose). Bede constantly assumes himself to be better than he is and isn’t afraid to be a total prick about it, choosing to bully Hop upon winning battles against him to boost his own inflated ego (though there’s hints pointing to Bede actually having rather low self-esteem). All things considered, I liked Bede as a character about as much as one can like a mean rival archetype, but I was more than pleased to discover his transition to a more likably mean-spirited character when he later returns to the game to challenge the player after being disqualified from the challenge. While we’ve had a likeable mean rival before (namely Gladion), Bede is something of his own entity with how he actually has an attempt at character development that leads him to a mini-redemption near the end of the game. He’s really the first mean rival to have a transition from total jerk to slightly-peeved tsundere, which was probably a good idea on Game Freak’s part so that we wouldn’t be left with a character we downright hated after the way Bede quite literally destroys Hop’s confidence. It’s nowhere near as impressive as Hop’s character development (which isn’t super impressive to begin with, but let’s ignore that fact for a bit), but it’s still interesting to see in a monster-catching game about being the best you can be.

And then, of course, we get to the cute-girl rival, Marnie, also known as the place where I get a bit mad again. I’d like to say that I absolutely love Marnie; she has an adorable design and interesting personality that captures my attention whenever she has screen time. But she serves one purpose in this game, and one purpose alone - being the main cute girl rival of the game. Marnie has the potential to be a similarly interesting rival (cute design that meshes “punk” with “cute”, has a wholesome and fun dynamic with her gym leader older brother, uses a Pokemon that isn’t considered to be a “competitive” choice as her ace, has a cool/cute personality…), and yet we probably only talk to her about five times over the course of the main game. Little is done with her character - in fact, the only real thing she does in the game other than becoming the next dark-type gym leader is that she helps the player sneak into Spikemuth after the gates have been shut by the remarkably-harmless Team Yell. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I would have loved to have seen more done with her character. With the boy rivals being more fleshed out than her, it leaves a sour taste in my mouth because the female rival is the one left with a blank personality (and I’m not just saying that because she hardly smiles - that’s really one of the only things we get about her that gives her an actual personality). My frustrations are further exacerbated because this has always been an issue in Pokemon games, in which the girl rivals are so barebones for seemingly the only purpose of serving as some neckbeard’s waifu that they can input a personality they desire despite the fact that she’s canonically a minor. Why put in the time to give dimension to Hop and Bede, but not Marnie? And we know for a fact that Game Freak has to recognize the lack of personality given to Marnie, especially since they had previously come out with Lillie’s wonderfully sweet character arch in S&M and USUM. Personally, I feel that it was because they didn’t feel like having a more punkish girl character who also had traditionally feminine-coded interests (she’s known to have been distracted during the gym challenge by the boutiques) and ultimately decided to just not give her any further personality other than that, perhaps fearing that it would dissuade the gross creeper fanbase from latching onto her. But that’s really just speculation, so don’t take any of my nonsense too seriously. Really, I’d just rather we had a girl rival with more personality to match the other two rivals so it wasn’t so annoyingly unbalanced.

Moving on from the rivals, we get into the designs of the League Staff of the game. In most other Pokemon games, I’d never really been too interested in the gym leaders; they had always been more of minor bosses, just faces that you saw for a couple of seconds before pummeling their ‘mons and moving to the next city. But in this game in particular, there was a sudden transition from simple puzzle master to a full-on celebrity figure. I really enjoyed this! It was so nice to actually have some information on the gym leaders other than what type they sported; suddenly, they have personalities and interests - they become real to the player. Not to mention that there really is a gym leader for everyone to enjoy, thanks to their unique personalities and styles.

I’ll be a bit honest and say that some of their clothing designs are remarkably stupid for even an anime-based RPG game (I mean, I know we joke about Leon’s terrible sense of fashion in the fanbase, but can we just pause and ponder what Piers’ wears? I mean, a leather jacket with spandex? Metal boots and a work-out tank??? What is he wearing?!), but it isn’t exactly distracting. In Western cultures in particular, we can see a trend towards the glamourization of the “athleisure” style, or athletic wear designed more for everyday use rather than just working out. It was kind of fitting to see this be the primary style for the gym leaders, who can basically be described as hierarchical sports stars. Weird? Sure. But in the context of the world, it all fits together, and once again adds to the immersion aspect of the game.

Looking at our main antagonists, they are designed quite well. Chairman Rose is designed to be quite easy and fun to hate (at least for me) - he’s an important-looking businessman who’s very impressed with himself, paired up with a beautiful yet terrifying subordinate woman who does most all the hardwork for him (...actually, they kind of remind me of an antagonistic Cl. Mustang and Lt. Hawkeye from Fullmetal Alchemist…). They also had noteworthy battle themes that popped a bit more than other battle themes in the game.

While they hardly count as antagonists, I’d like to also make a brief mention of Team Yell. They’re more annoying than anything, which is a trend that I’m not too sure how I feel about yet. It was definitely more likable coming from Team Skull, that’s for sure. I would have liked Team Yell doing a bit more damage, having them be a bit more unruly and controversial before evening them out with the whole emotional appeal of them cheering on for Marnie in hopes of saving their ruined town. But they weren’t too terrible in my opinion.

I could talk for hours on the champion of the region, too, Champion Leon. He’s a really fun and charming character overall, less of the supremely wise and powerful champion that we’ve seen in older gens and instead being a more quirky but worthwhile opponent on the path towards the crown. But I definitely preferred him more as a character than as a champion; even though his team changes depending on your starter, it’s not too challenging of a fight if you know what you’re doing, especially when you immediately know what his ace pokemon is (something we don’t really learn in other gens about the champions). While I’m sure the idea of a powerful but transparent champion can be done, Leon doesn’t really stand up as a powerful trainer when compared to other champions in the franchise. But he’s definitely still a fun, interesting character concept that I am grateful for in this particular game.

When it comes to the designs of the primary NPCs and Pokemon, SWSH continues to talk that line just above mediocrity. Not too bad, not all that great, but definitely not something to be forgotten. I’d reason that the primary strength of this generation lies within the characters that are introduced.

Uniqueness vs. Status as a Pokemon Game...

In regards to the uniqueness - how well this game stands on its own as an individual concept rather than just another Pokemon game - I’m a bit divided. On one hand, I’m a bit saddened by the watering down of content and constant reliance on concepts from older games. But I can also see that SWSH introduced a lot of interesting ideas that have inspired so many fans for this generation. And while yes, this gen didn’t have much to offer in terms of new Pokemon, new scenarios, or new lore, I do think that it does hold its own when compared to the other games in the main series. New characters are introduced to the player, all of which having good (and bad) traits that allow for lots of fan-created content with their essence; a new look into a brand-new battle enhancer that requires a different strategy than those of previous battle enhancers; a new culture found within the Galar region that can inspire many more thoughts and theories on the Pokemon world as a whole in a number of ways. We cannot pretend that SWSH isn’t an influential game just because it wasn’t ground-breaking; even with my extreme distaste for the Black and White games, I still admit that they led to important decisions and ideas that led to the creation of games I did enjoy. So, as its own entity, I think that Pokemon: Sword and Shield really has a lot of offer and would probably be an amazing game for a younger player who’s just getting into the Pokemon universe.

But I think that a lot of us long-time fans can agree that this game doesn’t quite match up with the others in terms of giving those real “Pokemon game” feelings. The problem with big-titles like this is that the company tends to lose sight of what really makes a franchise so influential isn’t the stuff found at face-value. It’s not the creatures or NPCs or game mechanics or design or any of that garbage - it’s the feelings we get when all of those things reach that perfect harmony. It’s the rumble in my chest whenever I listen to that famous intro-sequence of my old Pokemon: Ruby game; it’s the fire in my eyes when I went back to challenge Pokemon Trainer Red for the tenth time that night back in my old Pokemon: Heart Gold game; it’s the tears I cried when I watched the only interesting character, N, leave my playable character after his emotional spiel following the defeat of Ghetsis in my long-since abandoned copy of Pokemon: White. At the end of the day, Pokemon is more of an emotion I get rather than a game I play, and I think this is an idea that few people can recognize for themselves. And while I’m aware that I literally just spent several thousand words bagging and praising this game for all those face-value aspects, I also know that when you add that extra little bit of care to your work, go a little further with a character you know someone will adore, or try something new with that new battle theme, there comes a sensation that goes beyond that of love for a silly fantasy game. I’d like to think it’s something akin to inspiration.

Conclusion...

In conclusion, Pokemon: Sword and Shield is far from perfect. With a number of faults and disappointments, I can understand why a lot of fans were less than interested in giving this game the time of day. But I also want to say that this game deserves to be understood and appreciate for what it is, for what it’s done. Who knows what sort of new ideas this game has inspired? Whether it be in the name Pokemon game or someone else’s passion project, I am confident in the potential that this game has to bring someone’s dreams to fruition. It already has inspired so much amazing fan-content from the community; after so many years of being away from the fandom, SWSH was the game that drove me right back, giving me the drive to once again indulge in my middle-school days of sketching out my latest comfort character or writing out a million headcanons in a way-too plot-heavy story. Many fan-creators in this community feel the same as me, I’m sure, so it would be untrue of me to say that this game was anything less than what it was: a fun, simple game that prides itself in its characters and potential rather than complex combat mechanics or some corkboard-plot nightmare. It’s a game meant to be enjoyed, so we must remember to find our enjoyment wherever it can be found. For me, Pokemon can’t really do much wrong, but also is held up to a level of expectations that I can’t quite understand even for myself. This, at the end of the day, is a video game from my all-time favorite franchise; so long as I can find enjoyment there in it, then it’s worth it. In a world filled with nihilism and cynicism, it’s nice to visit a land where you’re wise to try and be the very best like no-one ever was, to be the next best Pokemon Master.

[username-echo-is-taken]

Roadtrip~CNCO Headcanon

OMG GUYS THERES 300 OF YOU FOLLOWING ME LIKE WTF IM SHOOK!!!! In celebration of that I decided to finally finish a request I received MONTHSSS ago! But I hope you guys enjoy! I LOVE YOU ALL 🥰❤️

Requested: “headcanon about the guys going on a long drive with them being the driver” by @cedanana 3 MONTHS AGO ASLKGSHFL I’M SOOOO SORRY!!! I started working on this forever ago and welp here we are now, and it’s not even good 🙃and it’s not even what you really asked for sorry bby 😔

Warnings: horrible writing skills LMAO

Author’s Note: this is wayyyyy too long to post as one so I’m posting one half today and the other half tomorrow when I finish it! So sorry for the inconvenience!

Zabdiel: Sightseeing as much of Puerto Rico!-several hours and stops

It’s your first time visiting Puerto Rico and Zabdi is sooo excited for his amor to explore his island with him

Neither of you slept much because y’all stayed up late going over your route plan for the 10th time

He wakes up earlier than you to make breakfast

Brings it to you in bed like the gentleman he is...but you’re two bites in when he starts rushing you out of pure excitement lol

You ask him to pick out your outfit bc 1.) he knows the weather and activities so he can dress you appropriately and 2.) you want him to enjoy EVERY little thing about your trip...he thinks this trip is about you but to you it’s all about him, seeing him so happy and excited makes your heart melt UWU BITCH 😭

Your first stop is to get snacks obvio

He takes you to all the cool spots close to his house to get them out of the way *insert small photo shoot*

The next destination is about an hour away so cue the carpool karaoke!!

Of course he’s singing like an angel on Earth and well let’s just say you were not that impressive YIKES

You got videos of both but only the ones of him are posted so you can keep some of your dignity lol

Zabdi being Zabdi, he randomly pulls over to the side of the road, jumps out of the car, picks a pretty flower, and gives it to you, “una belleza pa’ mi bellisima novia”

YOU LOVE THIS MAN™️

Little do you know that he has been taking secret pictures and videos of you to add to the album on his phone so whenever he has to go away on tour he can always have a piece of his amor

By the end of the trip you are completely IN LOVE with the island, appreciating all of its beauty with the love of your life

When you get back, after you’ve had a shower and are in bed you get a notification that Zabdiel De Jesus has uploaded a picture….you look over at him and he has a tiny smirk on his face and he lets out a giggle bc he uploaded the LEAST flattering picture of you from when you caught him taking a picture so you made an ugly face at him

Butttt don’t worry he also posted nice ones bc he’s nice like that

Joel: Disneyland!-Hesperia to Disneyland-under 2 hours depending on traffic

It’s Christmas time and it’s your first year spending it with Joel and his family (ok but who wouldn’t want to spend it with them?! It looks so fun!)

They all find out you’ve never been to Disney and it’s like a bullet to the chest to them LMAO

Soooo Joey has taken it upon himself to take your Disney virginity lol

He likes to be very organized so of course he made a list of which rides y’all are gonna go on and in what order

He makes sure you’re all asleep at a good time bc he knows how you get if you don’t get enough sleep lol

You two wake up a little earlier to help his mom make sandwiches and snacks for the journey

Since there are so many of y’all going you have to take two cars, his mom driving one and him driving the other

He asks everyone for songs to add to the playlist he created and y’all jam tf out

The music is so loud his mom has his little brother call you and tell y’all to TURN THAT SHIT DOWN cause they can hear it from their car OOPS

When you make it there, barely alive bc Joelito decided to get distracted by some freakin birds...yea...birds... you’re a little worried if his plan will work because it’s PACKED, I mean c’mon what did he expect around Christmas

He knows it too and he has a sad little pout on his cute face making you sad too because who wants to see this baby sad???

He just wants this to be the best first experience

What he doesn’t realize is that you could literally just sit in silence with him and you would be over the moon

You spend the day, holding hands, walking around, riding the rides, just having an amazing time

You’re having sooo much fun you don’t even think about getting some pictures together but don’t worry his brothers and cousins have it handled lmao

Your favorite is a video of you and Joel dancing when he twirls you around and pulls you back into his chest for a hug, and you definitely feel like a princess

During the drive back home, everyone in the back seats are asleep and you whisper to Joel how much fun you had and how much you love and appreciate him for everything

Homeboy wants to cry deadass lol

He holds your hand while he drives and every so often he brings it up to his mouth so he can give it a kiss

When you get home he makes you a hot chocolate and you stay up for a while just talking and enjoying each other’s company before snuggling up to go to sleep

Richard: Universal Resort!-Miami to Orlando-3 ½ hours

This papi wants to take his 2 girls out for a fun weekend, and where can you have fun all day without getting tired..? UNIVERSAL!! (not that I would actually know bc i’ve never actually been LMAO)

The 3 of you are beyond excited, although you might be a bit more excited than Aaliyah, but shhh no one has to know

The night before, you sit in Aaliyah’s room, asking her about certain outfits before putting them in her little ‘going-away-bag’, before tucking her into bed, not noticing that Richard has been watching with a smile on his face, until you hear him walking towards his baby girl to kiss her goodnight OOF

Soft Papi Richard makes you swoon™️

You guys then move to your room to pack your stuff

We all know he would take longer to pack his stuff because “this shirt matches these pants, but so does this one...i’ll take both...but what shoes tho?”

Since you’ve been so excited you already mentally planned your outfits lol and maybeee,just maybe, you bought 2 new swimsuits that you know he would drool over

You’re already in bed by the time Rich is finally done, you’re halfway asleep when he gets into bed so he just kisses your forehead and plays with your hair

In the morning, you get up a few minutes earlier than planned so you can make a few sandwiches and a few other snacks, but you already know they’re gonna be gone within the first hour so a pitstop for food is a must lol

CNCO is playing the entire ride because Aaliyah wants to hear Papa sing, but who are you kidding, you want to hear your angel sing too

When you finally get to Universal you quickly get to your room and leave just as fast as you got there lol

Y’all spend the entire first day going on rides and just walking around admiring all the beautiful things

You and Richard are both half asleep on the way back to the room, and Aaliyah is asleep in his arms

The next morning (almost lunch because y’all wore yourselves out lmao) you have brunch in bed and watch a movie for a while before getting ready to go to the pool!

Let’s just say that your man’s jaw drops real quick, and he most def can’t keep his hands off of you

You spend a few hours at the pool, enjoying the water and the sun before heading back to the room to take a nap before dinner

Y’all were going to a somewhat fancier restaurant so you spent a bit more time doing your hair and makeup before putting on a beautiful dress

You then get Aaliyah into her dress and you do her hair all cute and shit while Richard is finishing getting ready

After dinner comes desert obviously so back to the park you go to find some ice cream!

You quickly but thoroughly enjoy it before heading back to the room to change into comfy clothes for the drive back home

[sourcherrymagiks]

Carry on Countdown 2019

Day 18 - Crack!

Lamplight

Ao3

Simon

He’s trying to avoid talking to me. That’s how it happens. There was kissing. Amazing kissing. Merlin and Morgana, he’s beautiful and when he kisses me back.....

But anyway. He’s also a stuck up twat who can avoid the shit out of anything. We were back in the room after the kissing (Great Snakes,that kiss though) and he was taking forever to hang his blazer up so he didn’t have to look at me or talk to me. What was I going to do but come up behind him and kiss his neck? I ask you, what else could I have done?

Which is how we came to stumble and fall into the wardrobe. And then straight out of the back. Into a drift of snow.

“Erm Baz, this is going to sound pretty stupid but I think we just fell into...”

“Narnia”

“Yes”

Baz

I know that this is somehow his fault. Why does he always have to involve me in his ridiculous heroics. Although, to be fair, this is well outside of his usual remit.

“Snow, might I suggest we go back? From memory Narnia has its own set of chosen ones. Lots of them. They can probably get by without you”

“I’m not sure that’s how this works, the path has gone”

I look around and he’s totally right. It’s just us, in the snow, under a lamppost.

I can’t keep the petulant tone out of my voice as I say “But you are our chosen one, you belong to the world of Mages”

He laughs and kisses me. “Didn’t know you cared you big softy” I briefly toy with the idea of snapping at him but instead I pull him back into another kiss.

When I pull away to catch my breath and try to get a hold over my treacherous body, Simon gets up. I grumble a bit under my breath but then I decide to co operate a bit. Grudgingly. It seems very unfair that we are here and not snogging in our room. Even though I was the one avoiding the snogging (Why?, I’m such an idiot)

Snow’s sketching in the snow with a stick. It looks like nonsense until I’m standing right next to him. Then it hits me at once, he’s drawn a map of Narnia. From memory.

I must be staring at him because he starts laughing.

“I know you think I’m a thick urchin who’s only ever read cereal packets but I’ve loved Narnia my whole life”

“Me too, that part is not quite right” I alter the shape of the western forest slightly so it ends further from the frozen lake. “I would definitely remember if you were the hero in it. I suppose you do have a bit of Peter about you”

“Fuck off Caspian” he throws a snowball at me. I throw one back. Then I kiss him again because this is all unbelievable.

He’s sketching plot points out now, trying to work out the timeline.

“Right you gorgeous villain, we need to get to the camp here in time for the battle. There’s enough footprints and sled tracks here to show they’ve all been through fairly recently. I don’t think we can help at any point up until the end, do you agree?”

“I do, excuse me while I try to absorb the shock of you being a reader.” He lightly punches me on the arm, he’s blushing. “Is your magic working?”

We both laugh

“As well as it ever does, yours?”

I take out my wand and cast ‘lights out’ at the lamp post. It blinks off.

“Cool. Let’s get moving. Keep your wand out. I don’t want to draw my sword until I need it and I, Erm, can I hold your hand please”

“Come here” I grab his hand and before I can stop myself I’ve kissed his knuckles.

“I like this, you,like this” he bumps my shoulder with his.

Simon

I’m really excited. I dunno if it’s the Baz thing or the Narnia thing but I’m so amped up I’m practically skipping.

“So, Caspian then?” Baz asks with his eyebrow up.

“It’s possible that I might have been not entirely straight for a while”

“You think?”

“There’s no need for that tone you wanker”

Then I’ve got him up against a tree. This want is everything. I need to touch him, kiss him, press myself against him.

He doesn’t just let me, he right there with me, pulling my hair, licking my neck, moaning into my mouth.

He pulls away gasping “Right Snow, let’s get back to the mission and stop debauching the pristine Narnian forests”

“But I like it, I like you” I’m whining a bit.

“You aren’t completely intolerable either Snow”

We seem to have been walking forever. I slept about ten minutes last night. I would kill for some Turkish delight.

“In the books it doesn’t seem this far”

I moan to Baz

“Heaven forbid that the made up world is larger than the children’s book made it appear”

“I get your point, even though you’re a twat, but its hardly made up is it?”

He shrugs. I’m rubbing off on him. That makes me smile. I nearly don’t hear the crack of the twig, I’ve disarmed the guard before I’ve had chance to worry about my sword or magic. They aren’t the best written soldiers.

“Take us to either Peter or Aslan please” I ask the battered looking Narnian as politely as I can be arsed to. I’m not great at manners when I’m hungry and tired.

Baz

Peter is beautiful, not a patch on Snow obviously, but still. The two of them together are blinding. Simon offers our assistance and Peter accepts a little unwillingly. I’m not sure he would at all if not for the wonderful Lucy. She never sees herself as the protagonist so she doesn’t have the same struggle as Peter. To be fair I wouldn’t want to share my story with Simon bloody Snow if I already had three siblings and a lion muscling in on the action. Poor fuck.

The two of them spend the afternoon practicing, Snow is better trained and in great shape but Peter is faster and lighter in his feet. It’s glorious.

When Simon fights Edmund it’s a different thing. No longer a master class in heroic swordplay fought by two golden leaders. Now it’s like a cunning bar fight. Simon has to stop himself from head butting Edmond. When he throws an elbow at Edmond’s face,then stops before it connects, Edmond is not so polite and punches Simon in his exposed ribs. It’s very feral.

When they’re done he comes over and presses his sweaty lips to mine. I don’t know how I avoid making a scene.

Obviously it’s still a bit of a scene. Uncomfortable coughs and averted eyes abound. Then simultaneously everyone decides to ignore it and peace is restored.

I leave to speak with Lucy. She’s got magic and I want to see if I can help her use it. It doesn’t work like ours though. She can’t harness it. I advise her to go to Watford as soon as she can when she returns home. She probably won’t.

She gives Simon a small banner embroidered with a dragon holding a blazing sun. He tucks it into his pocket because the courageous fuck won’t wear armour. He kisses her head. I’m completely flabbergasted when she gives me one emblazoned with a flaming moon. I must be allergic to it because my eyes are watering.

After dinner we talk tactics. Simon keeps quiet about upcoming plot points and focuses on the battle. Simon and Peter lean over the map, blond hair and copper curls tumbling together as the argue over every inch. From his plan I deduce that Snow’s aim is to kill the witch while keeping all the kids well out of the way. This goes down like a sack of shit with Peter. It’s his story and he is the king. Gorgeous (and capable) as Simon is he can’t lead this army. They aren’t loyal to him. Also he won’t play by their outdated battle rules, fight in a line and die, because he knows better. They finally agree on enough compromises to keep everyone happy and save lives. A lot of lives.

In spite of the protests I hold my ground. I will stay by his side regardless of what he thinks he’s going to order me to do.

It’s fun. Really. I mean there is an impending battle but, Crowley, I’ve read that battle so many times. It’s going to be brilliant. I catch Simon’s eye and I know he feels it too.

Simon

I can’t fucking sleep. This is going to be epic. I’m traipsing around the camp looking for anything to take my mind off the combination of wanting to get into this battle and wanting to do unspeakable things to Baz.

It’s not the time though, right?

We still haven’t talked. It’s possible we’ve managed to bring a fictional world to life to avoid talking. But I’m going to tell him after the battle. Hopefully it will be dead romantic.

Baz

The battle starts off early and badly, not quite as badly as I remember because Simon is genius at this and Peter listened to about a quarter of his suggestions. Plus there are two of them.

The absolute confidence of them helps keep up the morale that’s been damaged by Aslan fucking off.

Simon hadn’t mentioned that he was the bearer of a flaming sword or that he had a particularly impressive brand of violent, pulsing magic so when he calls his sword, the fear it causes slams the first wave right back.

I cast quickly and use so much magic that I’m nearly spent in moments but I have taken down most of the ogres and a couple of hags. Peter, Edmond and Simon smash through line after line of the White Witch’s army. Simon is actually grinning, the prat.

I wait for Simon’s signal to disarm the White Witch. Then he’s on her in a moment with Edmond and Peter. She never stands a chance.

By the time Aslan arrives back with the girls there’s only cleaning up and healing to do. He growls at Simon and Simon shrugs at him. He turns his back clearly as pissed off as a magical lion gets.

“This was not your battle Mage”

“Explain how it just was then wise one?”

Simon is brillant at one liners, when he’s not fighting me. I guess it’s in the job description. Aslan grunts and continues back to his tent. What a prick. I guess he’s not willing to let the homoerotic subtext turn into the story.

It’s very clear we’ve outstayed our welcome.

Simon

That was mega. But now it’s time to go. I don’t want to fuck with these guys and I also don’t want Aslan to eat me.

It’s a pretty shitty deal those kids have got anyway. Kings and queens in one land but not able to stay. We hug them goodbye. At least I live where I live. Except for right now obviously.

I grab Baz and we set off back to the lamppost.

“That was amazing, you were amazing” I say to him

He looks at me like he thinks I might he taking the piss.

“You did an ok job yourself Snow. You’re not as pretty as Peter though”

I’m glad he catches me when I jump on him. “Take that back Pitch”

“It’s an objective fact Snow, he is more dashing, I just prefer you”

“You do?”

“Yes you attention seeking numpty, I have appalling taste so I prefer you to most people”

“Good. Because, well, I’m, I think I might be, falling, you know, for you” Merlin. I doubt he’s even going to understand that.

Then he kisses me and I know he does.

Baz

I’ve been kissing Snow for hours. We don’t know how time works here relative to Watford so we should get back. But it’s complicated there and easy here under a lamppost in a forest full of spring.

It’s also not our story.

Simon still has his own story to finish.

“Ready Sweetheart?”

“Not really love”

“Shall we do it anyway?”

“After you”

[twistednuns]

December 2019

Maxim calling out of the blue, inviting me to the Mine concert later that month.

Stumbling upon great inspiration for plant-based buddha bowls.

@shitgothssay memes.

Zotter salted caramel chocolate.

Finding out about the fact that you can just add the letter A to some words to transform them into adjectives. Like aglitter or aglow and aglisten.

Ayurvedic Kapha tea with some black tea, honey and milk. Sonnentor Gute Laune tea. Green tea with toasted coconut.

Isana shower oil. Works wonders for dry skin. Such a smooth and creamy texture. Great for shaving, too.

Winning the pub quiz - again! I played with Maggie, Dennis, Daniel and Steffen (Team name: Three geese in a trenchcoat) and we won 178€. However, the best thing about this was when I finally solved the anagram after thinking about it for 10 minutes. It was Greta Thunberg! Winning is lovely, of course, but solving the anagram is already a personal win for me each time.

Tuesdays. Coming home early, sleeping it off.

Being super rested after a nap, cooking a huge pot of veggie stew and my ratatouille signature recipe, even preparing a batch of butter bean hummus and salad dressing. Listening to folk music, singing along, even dancing at some point. Standing there, peeling the potatos… Happy moment.

Signature manicure. Always. This time: bluish iridescent lilac with the obligatory black dot.

A personal realisation. I’ve been massively out of touch with myself. I’ve stopped journaling, stopped doing things for myself because they’re beneficial and not because they’re convenient and numb everything. And why is that a good thing? Well, only being at this point and realising what’s wrong with me makes it possible to do something against it. To come up a self-care plan. To make myself feel better.

Semi-deleting Facebook.

Spending time with Manu for the first time in three months. Watching a documentary about black holes and a cheesy Christmas movie. Ordering south Indian food, cuddling up in bed. Sometimes I don’t know why I keep isolation myself. Being around people can be really lovely and soothing if you can be yourself around them. It’s just that I often feel the presence of other living beings drains my energy.

The best massage I ever had. From now on I’ll always request Yaya as my massage therapist. She is SICK. Strong, merciless, forces me into weird poses and makes my back crack.

Also: the chocolate-filled mint hard candy they hand out at the massage studio. I used to hate mint-infused chocolate but somehow I think these are delicious. Perfect after-torture-treat.

Persimmons. Obsessed.

My eye colour in artificial light. A dark moss green with caramel-coloured speckles and a dark rim.

The National playing a 2-hour-long concert and including some of my favourite songs from the High Violet album. Fangirling with Anika.

The smell of cold. You know, that whiff of cool air you get when you’re sniffing a jacket that’s been hanging on the balcony for a few hours to air out.

Learning more about Claire Saffitz from this article - she likes arts and crafts, is a homebody and has degrees in history and literature! She basically enrolled in culinary school because she was bored after graduation. She’s an enigma of a quirky kind. Not brilliant and scattered, but determined and aimless. Not brave and rebellious, but anxious and creative. She hates change yet pursues it, wants order but trades in chaos. She’s loved because she hates stuff; performs well because she can’t perform. And above all, she’s aggressively regular—and something about this makes the crowd go wild.

Fresh laundry smell on my blankets and pillows. And my new gravity blanket. It weighs 11kg which feels crazy heavy when you carry it but the weight evenly distributes over the body when you’re lying down. Apparently the pressure triggers the release of stress hormones. So far I’m sleeping like a baby and I don’t seem to wake up or move much at night.

Stephanie Madewell. I love everything she writes, her blog is such a godsend of beautiful, important, eclectic ideas. One thing I especially like are her imaginary outfits.

Princess Margaret’s limerick contest with President Lyndon B. Johnson in The Crown. Pure comedy. “There was a young lady from Dallas / who used a dynamite stick as a phallus / they found her vagina in North Carolina / and her asshole in Buckingham Palace.”

Little pieces of string in the corners of a duvet cover. It’s the first time I’ve seen those. So practical for big blankets!

Mental health days. I needed this. So much. Mornings in bed, reading for hours. Drinking a whole pot of tea.

Partner yoga. Chanting the closing mantra together.

Making vegan energy balls for my brother. I adapted the recipe and made my own versions so I ended up with a batch of pistachio/cherry and mango/sesame.

Freaking out whenever I see a cute cat. Damn, I really need to spend more time with animals. My highlight: breakfast in bed, watching a video of an adorable cat giving birth. I cried. Yup.

Going swimming for the first time in, man, I don’t even know. Forever. I didn’t swim for a long time, maybe half an hour, but muscle memory kicked in immediately. Water is totally my element. And, as if it had been destiny: I chose the day they cut the hanging plants in the main hall and the guy gave me a variety of five different cuttings to take home!! He made me a very happy girl.

The ink blue sky right after sunset. / The morning after the full moon in Gemini (the moon still bright and huge, visible in the bluish-grey Western sky). / When the sun suddenly comes out after a very dark and gloomy morning.

Buying a new phone. The old one was broken beyond repair. I even got a nice cork protective case. How could I ever live without an uncracked screen? The battery now actually lasts for more than a day. Nice.

Odd bits of knowledge: A galanthophile is an enthusiastic collector and identifier of snowdrop (Galanthus) species and cultivars. (Wikipedia) // Scientists theorize the Universe might have cracks in it: long thin boundaries that formed as space cooled after the Big Bang. 95 billion lightyears long and a few femtometers thin, these wrinkles in space-time would hold enough energy to bend light and destroy entire planets. (PHD comics) // the word to bloviate (German meaning: schwafeln, langatmig vortragen) // In Japan we have three rituals: HANAMI, TSUKIMI, and YUKIMI. HANAMI is watching the flowers. TSUKIMI is watching the moon, YUKIMI is watching the snow. It’s a beautiful tradition when you invite people to watch with you. I remember them all. (Yoko Ono) // In linguistics, prosody is concerned with those elements of speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of syllables and larger units of speech, including linguistic functions such as intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm. Such elements are known as suprasegmentals. Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm; emphasis, contrast, and focus. It may otherwise reflect other elements of language that may not be encoded by grammar or by choice of vocabulary. (Wikipedia) //

I know I mention this a lot but the first olfactory whiff of a freshly cut open passion fruit is one of the best smells I know.

When my breakfast tastes like a candy bar. Which it immediately does whenever I add almond butter and cocoa nibs to porridge.

Yoga at home on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I’m often too lazy to get out my yoga mat but whenever I do afterwards I’m always so glad I practiced. Also: going to yoga class despite being extremely stressed out. It actually helped me silence some of these tormenting thoughts in my head.

Cutting my own hair. It’s kinda ridiculous and layered but I love the new bounce.

Michael Nyman - Musique à grande vitesse x // feels like it makes my pulse quicker, it’s urging and forceful.

My adventures in psychedelia - an article about the therapeutic effect of psychoactive drugs. I’m going to get Michael Pollan’s book about the topic from the library next week. So interesting.

People who are still writing letters.

My pupils. I realised that some of them have become very fine people. Open, compassionate, motivated, interested, bright, polite. Like the students who attended our first school magazine meeting in their spare time - on the last school day before the Christmas holidays - and had all these amazing ideas. Victor, being able to hold a conversation like an adult. Marks cuddling that dog in front of the supermarket. My tenth-graders being really reasonable, managable, easy to talk to.

Liza Weil’s role as Shy Baldwin’s bass player in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. It took me three episodes to recognize her.

A little embroidery set. I love keeping my hands busy when I’m watching movies.

Making vegan walnut lebkuchen and a very good batch of crisp bread in one go.

Roast apples with candied almonds and marzipan for Christmas dinner. Some buckwheat chocolate cookies. Actually helping out my mum in the kitchen.

Sitting at the piano with my brother, singing tunes from our childhood series, Disney songs, pop songs… We both had sore throats afterwards.

Visiting Sash’s parents over Christmas. Her mum cooked a pretty great lunch and we played board games.

Learning how to make a monkey fist knot.

Finding a new spot I like in my apartment. The chair right next to the window at the kitchen table. It’s nice and warm because you can sit beside the heater and while you have breakfast or browse through a cookbook you can see what’s going on outside.

Seeing the incredible gobelins at Kunsthalle / Fäden der Moderne exhibition. I loved the Le Corbusier ones.

Visiting Manu at his parents' place. Playing board games together, his mum feeding me with parsley potatoes and a weird _bird's milk_ dessert. Lying on the sofa, watching old movies. It's weirdly nice to be part of a normal family dynamic once in a while.

Andre saving my New Year’s Eve at the very last minute. Out of the blue he suggested a trip to Czech Republic right after midnight the day before. I was like… okay, let’s do this! So I met up with him and three people I had never met before in Regensburg and we drove to Český Krumlov, checked into our fancy hotel and walked down to the city centre. Czech food for dinner, a band playing at the city square. We climbed up to the castle for the turn of the year. This must have been the first year that started out with a proper New Year’s kiss. Afterwards we went to a weird music bar and - apparently - one of the best clubs in the country. I had a lot of fun. Even though getting Andre home was quite a challenge.

[thewonko]

Symphogear XV, Episode 1

Hey! Symphogear's back! And given that these are, historically, my most popular posts, I guess I get to do an episode reaction!

And before you ask, Crunchyroll until something better comes along, but I'm paying for this, I may as well use it.

Also, no pictures, because I'm lazy rn and don't feel like tempting fate and Tumblr's upload system.

Bloody handprints. This bodes well!

Is this the Frontier? It looks like the Frontier control room

Uhh, yeah, that's the Frontier, and they just turned on the Moon

Blue-haired deady guy says they can't explain anymore, and asks Fine for forgiveness. Factions in ancient humanity? Pro- sleeping with gods and anti-sleeping with gods?

And cut to a submarine. Wherever we are now, it's cold

Something is arming itself in response to the Symphogirls' approach. Apparently it's a "coffin" and a precursor relic. This bodes well!

Hibiki, if I'm not wrong, Lake Vostok is in Antarctica. Summer there tops out at, like, just under freezing.

Ah, and then Chris says the same thing. Good on you Chris, keep being smart.

Ah, that's a laser beam. Upside: the sun's out now, Hibiki!

"bone-chilling"... I hope that's the translators, but the way the line is delivered makes me afraid that it's not.

Can I have a coffin like that? Not just the particle beam, but the stupid penguin design too?

Baller transformation sequence, Hibiki. Keep it up.

Oh, pleasant surprise: translated insert songs!

Huh, crystal pillars after an attack. Y'know what those look like? The upgrade material in XDU.

Genjuro, it's a mobile autonomous mech. It's not "just" a coffin no matter how you look at it.

Ooh, the coffin has laser hornet drones! Another reason to want one!

Kirika and Shirabe just ice skating along. Truly this is Yuri on Ice.

Ouch. Just... slapped out of the air. That's gotta hurt.

Directed energy at... negative temperatures? That's... not how energy works? Like, at all?

Ah, Elfnein here to tell us that physics doesn't hold with this magic nonsense either. Good.

Less good: The Symphogirls are now frozen in XDU upgrade material

And flashback time! The Lydian school song again

Miku on the piano, teacher listening. Is this a test for Hibiki? God thing she gets lots of singing in these days as *a magical girl saving the world*. That's gotta help for practice, right?

Ah, it was a test. Looks like Hibiki didn't fail the year at least.

"... [Y]ou're singing in your heart". Yup, for the past four seasons! Maybe you saw it on the news that time she saved the moon? Or the time she saved the planet? Or the other time she saved the planet? Or that time she punched the devil so hard he exploded? She's gotten pretty good at singing, Teach. Maybe you just have unreasonably high standards?

"I know you're busy" Do you? I'd think working for the UN is good for a few missed tests.

"BTW", says a nearby public TV news report "remember that we're going to the moon together with the US, the country that TRIED TO NUKE US SIX MONTHS AGO. PRETTY FUCKING MAGNANIMOUS OF US TO NOT DEMAND, LIKE, REPARATIONS OR SANCTIONS OR SOMETHING. Anyway, on to sports. Todd?"

Okay, real talk here, the normal is important. The downside is that now that you've pointed it out, Hibiki, something's about to happen.

"What if I was causing trouble for someone?" okay, calling it now, Miku will end up in a 'gear fighting Hibiki before the end of the season. She'll have a good reason, and she'll end up fighting alongside her wife by the end, but it'll start with them fighting.

Oh look, an explosion. This is what you get for pointing out how normal it's been, Hibiki

Hey! Ogawa remembered that Miku is cleared for this stuff and picks her up too! Thanks, Ogawa.

Hibiki, you are 17 years old. You should know by know that lakes can freeze. Especially in Antarctica.

Elfnein says man-made climate change is real!

I mean, the implication that it was a precursor civilization moving scorpions around the planet is a bit of a stretch, it could've just been ancient humans, but sure, let's go with aliens.

"Adam was trying to use the power of the gods to accomplish a goal of some sort" Really? He didn't just want it to have it? Adam fucking Weisshaupt had a *goal*? I am shook.

Ah, the goal was to blow up a time traveling coffin. Because that was foreshadowed so well in AXZ.

And we're back to the present! Our girls are still frozen.

Are you... are you miming a telescope? Does that actually work because of bullshit catgirl magic, or are you just being silly?

I'm just going to assume that the leader of our new villain trio is about to raid Area 51. Nevada plates on the car and being in the middle of the desert, mostly. I'm going to ignore the fact that the terrain around Area 51 looks nothing like that.

Heh, Genjuro just gonna go punch a coffin shaped like a penguin mech. Don't worry about it, he's got his long-johns on.

"If they catch cold it'll be really bad!" Dude, catching a cold is the least of their worries right now; they're about to be crushed by an ancient alien coffin mech.

Hah! Everyone had their breakout moment at the same time! Way to steal Hibiki's rescuing people thunder girls.

And of course Tsubasa can surf. She's just that cool.

"Hibiki! Punch the laser!" "I don't understand what that means, but okay!"

"Analyzing and reconstructing is the fundamental principal of alchemy!" I mean... not quite? At least you're closer than you were last time though, kid.

Ooh, this music sounds important. Like an OP. Guess this is gonna be an important series of punches coming up.

"Even so! There's a song in my heart!" This has... implications. Although it does explain how the girls could sing in the vacuum of space all those times.

Good on you, Chris, aim and blow up that stupid penguin thing!

And once again Chris shows herself to be the smart one. "Don't talk about upcoming birthdays and party plans in the middle of a fight! That'll raise Death Flags!"

Ooh, alien body! It's got a bracer of some sort too. Five gets you ten it's the McGuffin for at least the first half of the season, and another 25% beyond that that it turns into Miku's new 'Gear.

Alright, the next 12 weeks are going to be painful waiting, aren't they? Consider my hype for the season.

[luvkirby4ever]

Of birds and morons:  a look into Mother 3′s most intricate unspoken running joke/motif

Shoutout to @amphibizzy for convincing me to talk about this.  There’s so much Mother 3 meta that I want to talk about- maybe next time I’ll make a video essay to spare you all from reading so much >o<

Tldr; Duster and Wess have bird motifs that don’t quite translate over well, making Wess’s mannerisms slightly less harsh in context but outs him as surprisingly superstitious.  May be a nod to Japanese mythology, too.

So, a starting point.  Did you know that at beginning of chapter 7 after Ionia joins you (still tied up at this point) that if you go back and talk to Wess he says something rather strange?

For clarity, the entire original conversation reads "Washi no inemuri uranai ni yoreba kyou wa TRIPLE LUCKY da yo.  Jishin o motte daikatsuyaku shinasai."  which translates as “According to my sleep divinations, today is triple lucky.  Go forth with great confidence.”

Weird, right?  Since when has Wess believed in something like fortune telling through dreams?  Is that why he believed Alec’s dream of Hinawa?  And what does this have to do with birds?

Be sure to remember this.

Part 1:  Cleaning crew bird boys

So now let’s take a step back and look at the easiest part of all this.  In all of Mother 3, there’s only 1 bandana that Flint can equip (the manly bandana that Lighter gave him), otherwise the only characters than can equip bandanas are Duster and Salsa.  The bandanas (except the manly one) all have a bird names, with the types being the chick, sparrow, rail (the kana used refers to the water rail, a type of bird), swallow (also a bird), crow, kite (also a bird), and Horus (the Egyptian god whose head resembles a falcon).

Now that’s all well and good, but let’s say that’s not good enough.  Wess and Duster’s connection with watching over the Hummingbird Egg seems pretty solid with Duster’s bird bandanas but let’s go deeper.

When Wess snaps, he consistently refers to Duster as “aho” (moron) and “anoaho” (that moron).  Which is needlessly cruel, but... also a pun.  Yes, that’s right.  The game totters around the joke that Duster is bird-brained, through which Wess is the main spark and Duster is the conduit.  And for the record’s sake this isn’t me excusing Wess’s actions- I’m making an intricate webcomic about his relationship with Duster and him learning how to be a better person for a reason, after all- but I’ve literally heard nobody else talk about this so I honestly think people don’t know about it.

In Japan, “aho” means “moron”, but it is also the onomatopoeia for a crow’s cawing.  There’s a trope known as the “idiot crow” in Japanese media based on this.  What will happen is that something dumb will happen and a crow will fly by and caw “aho aho!”.  Which means “caw caw” but also means “moron moron”.  Thus the joke.  So Wess’s “aho aho!”-ing and using “anoaho” makes him sound like an old crow, commentating on Duster’s mistakes.

Will I get banned from the fandom for making a Homestuck “caw caw motherfucker joke with Wess or-?”

This also feeds into Duster being a bird- “aho” (”moron”) is also used in the word “ahoudori” (”albatross”).  Which is a bird, of course.  And it’s no coincidence either- albatross are known as “idiot birds” in Japan- that’s what “ahoudori” literally translates to.

One more thing that I’ll add to the “Duster’s a bird” pool aside from making a “HEY GUYS LOOK HE’S A FEATHER DUSTER” joke is that his “aho” bird-ness lends him to more “you are ____ type of bird” jokes, which is actually extrapolated by Lighter in game.

In the Japanese version Lighter says “Sugoshi CONDOR?  Iya sakatta.  Sugoshi hagetaka?  Gaahaahaaha.”  This translates as “[You’re] a bit condor-ish?  No, that’s not it.  [You’re] a bit vulture-ish?  Gahaha.”

A bit “vulture-ish”?  Why does he say that?  And why did Mato translate it as going bald?  Because it’s another wordplay pun!  Much like how “ahoudori” (”albatross”) is literally “idiot-bird”, “hagetaka” (”vulture”) is literally “bald-hawk”.  But even more than that, “hagetaka” (a noun) is similar to “hageru”, the verb for “to bald”.  Since “hageru” is an ichidan verb, you can conjugate it as “hageta” to say “balded”.  And then you tack on “ka” at the end to make the statement a question.  So, in short:

Hagetaka=vulture

Hage=bald

Taka=hawk

Hageru=to bald

Hageta=balded

“Hagetaka?”=“Have you balded?”

Hagetaakaa=the “balding eagle” enemy on Mr. Oriander

Damn, Lighter!  That’s a choice pun.  Now, whether or not he was mostly doing it to make a bird joke, to note that Duster looks balder without an afro, or genuinely comment on Duster’s hairline is anyone’s guess.  But hey thanks for the bird fodder Lighter!

Part 2:  Idiots don’t catch colds

If there’s one Japanese idiom you’ve heard, it’s probably that one.  It’s a funny little superstition- the idea that you’re so dumb that your brain lacks to capacity to get a cold- but surprisingly it may be a belief by which Wess operates.  And yes, this still has to do with birds!  In a roundabout way!

Wess being the type of person to believe in magical dreaming and superstition was a very hard concept for me to process at first after I read that “triple lucky” bit during a Mother 3 playthrough.  With the exception of Duster-related things, Wess seems like a fairly understanding and reasonable person:  he tells Flint to be careful and consider his family before rushing off to confront the Mecha-Drago, he wants to help search for Hinawa, he’s adamantly opposed to Fassad’s BS and is one of the only villagers to actively oppose him, and he even tells Duster (upon inputting “no” during a dialogue tree in early chapter 2) that Duster can target any hatred or resentment he may have towards him, since by Wess’s logic that doesn’t matter as long as their mission succeeds.

So if anything he’s a bit crass and willing to sacrifice his own pride/comfort/personal relationships for the greater good, but his convictions are strong and seemingly grounded in his own sense of justice and logic.  Which is why I always took him as someone who wouldn’t believe in PSI, magic, or anything supernatural like that.  But since he *does* seem to believe in that sort of thing, let’s break down what we know:

Wess refers to Duster as a moron

Duster’s IQ is often tied with Boney’s for lowest party member IQ

Wess tells Kumatora in chapter 3 that “morons like that don’t get hurt or sick”

Duster canonically doesn’t catch fevers while Kumatora and Lucas do

In Japan, there’s the idiom “idiots don’t catch colds”

Wess claims to have dreams with fortune telling powers

Says Lucas will have a “triple lucky” day

Lucas proceeds to successfully pull 3 out of the 7 needles before the chapter is over

It’s almost as if Wess wants Duster to be a moron, because superstitiously Duster would be safer that way.  Hm.  It’s also strange that Wess almost seems magical, which may have legitimately been viable at some point since Wess was planned as a playable character for a long while (Therefore he could have been a PSI user with thunder attacks to replace his bombs).  There’s an Earthbound 64 screenshot of Wess being alive while Duster is fainted and even all the way up through Mother 3 you can still access data suggesting Wess was a normal party member from the debug room (I could make a whole post on that- you can use a glitch to pull up all of his stats except HP and PP).

So Duster may be a bird and Wess an old, superstitious crow with maybe some sort of ambiguous connection to magic... but so what?  Well,

Part 3:  It’s Yo-kai time!  (Yatagarasu, Kotengu, and Karasutengu)

This is a much more speculative section, though I try to be reasonable.

You know, I skimmed over the fact that Duster’s final and best bandana is the Horus Bandana, named after the Egyptian deity with a falcon head.  Horus’s right and left eyes represent the sun and moon, respectively.  His left eye (the moon one) was injured in a fight, explaining the moon’s phases.  Funny, considering that Duster also has a left side injury.

But perhaps Horus isn’t the only ancient deity that we can talk about.  I propose the most compelling case, Yatagarasu:

(He’s the bird sitting atop the bow)

Yatagarasu is the Japanese name of a myth that originated in China.  He’s a 3-legged crow that is representative of the sun.  Specifically in Japan, he represents the will of heaven and divine intervention.  He symbolizes guidance, as well as rebirth after tragic stuff like battle/war.

Yatagarasu is prominent enough that there’s a Yu-gi-oh card and a Persona based on him too, which is pretty cool.  But even cooler is that he sounds a lot like what the Egg of Light, Wess, and Duster were responsible for.  The Egg was responsible for the rebirth of their lives for the citizens of Tazmily.  And Wess and Duster’s task to protect the Egg for reasons they don’t understand for the sake of a village that doesn’t appreciate their work seems like they’re doing god’s work, so to speak.

An important thing about Yatagarasu too is that it defies the normal Japanese superstition that crows are bad luck.  Yatagarasu is a harbinger of good.  I’m not sure if any of this was intentional or not, but I think comparing Duster, Wess, and the Egg of Light to it is a pretty solid theory.

So let’s briefly skim over Kotengu and Karasutengu, which are lesser Tengu with bird-like faces.  (For my own reference there’s really good write ups here and here about them.)  For the most part the important thing is that they are bird/crow yokai, but one intriguing thing I found is that Kotengu is that they tend to live like hermits (like Wess and Duster), carry items/weapons stolen from humans (the thief aspect), and collect magical items (the thief tools).

Conclusion:

So do I think Wess and Duster are supposed to represent bird tengu?  I don’t know!  Maybe not completely deliberately, but I definitely believe in the strength of the bird motifs (especially crow Wess).  I had drawn a silly little picture about it 2 years ago for Inktober, in fact...

Whatever the case, I hope someone out there appreciates the info dump.  There’s a lot of Mother 3 stuff I’ve examined meticulously so that my Mother 3 webcomic, DutyBound, can be the best it can be.  Sometimes there’s so much info I want to share but nobody who will listen, though!

So if anyone ever wants to hear some more crazy in-depth Mother 3 meta, I’m your guy >.<

[lordsicheng]

w1 hyung line as dads please 👀 (astrology wise)

I usually need to check the houses on this (especially 4th/10th house), but I’ll just look into their sun/moon combo and other placements for reference~

Jisung

The soft but loud dad who is always there for his kids

Very loving and understanding as a father

Will look out for you no matter what: you’re his #1 priority

Your biggest cheerleader!!! His sun and moon combo come for a very soft, loving person who gives energy to others at the same time through encouragement

“Y/n, when you grow up I hope you become what you want to be.”

Dreams very big for his child/children

Probably the type to find some cool activities for his kids to do

Definitely the dad who comes up with traveling to places all the time

“Let’s go to Japan… wait, no, how about Hawaii?”

A softie, would only scold his child/children if he knows they have done something wrong

Probably the dad who encourages/is very supportive of his child/children the most if they want to study abroad

Lowkey the embarrassing dad who tries to fit in with the crew when your friends are around

“Why couldn’t the bicycle stand up by itself? It was two tired.”

“Dad please”

“Did you guys know y/n has a stuffed plushie in their closet? They’ve had that ever since they were 3 and calls it Mr. Snuggles″

“DAD NO STOP”

Listens to your problems if you have any, will give you advice if you need them

Ngl, he’s gonna be loud when at home sometimes (think: Sunday mornings where he blasts music from your living room speakers and sings loudly until you’re forced to wake up and sing/dance with him)

Probably the dad to also tease his kids if they’re dating anyone

“Oh, that guy you liked from 7th grade asked you out? Ayeee do you want me to make reservations? Drive you to the meetup place? Do you need money for an outfit?”

Sungwoon

The dad who is like the mom

Just like Jisung, he looks out for his kids all the time

Nurtures them just as much as how their mom would, maybe even more

Naggity nag nag nag 

Aims to provide a very calm and loving atmosphere at home 

Very family oriented, puts them first before anything (Cancer moon)

I see him as the type to always make sure their kids grow up as very loving and kind

Again like Jisung, only scolds his child/children if they’ve done something very wrong but as well makes sure he tells them he loves them and is only looking out for them right after

Can be loud, tries to fit in with the generation of his kids

“Iphone… what? Last time I checked I had an Iphone 7… you’re telling me it’s XV now???”

Actually is good at entertaining people especially if they’re close to his kids/whole family so expect guests often

Worrier tbh, likely even more than the mom

*calls you while you’re still on your way home and stuck in traffic* “Where are you? Are you hanging out with friends? You didn’t tell me beforehand if so. It’s 7:30, we have to eat dinner together-”

“Dad I’m stuck in traffic”

“Oh… could you pass by a convenience store and grab some milk on your way home then please”

Gives all the love he could give to his family even if they grow sick of it

So protective, even if you’ve grown old he’ll show signs of protectiveness and worry

“Okay I know you’re about to get married, but remember to call home often okay….”

But once he sees he has given enough love and nurture to his future kids, he’ll feel very accomplished as a father and would always look at you with a warming smile

Minhyun

The dad who seems serious but isn’t always is

Jokes aside, he’s probably gonna win the award for best father of the year

He balances the proper nurturing and disciplining to himself and I see him to be the type to put this to his future children as well

I also see him somewhat of a strict type– but definitely not the suffocating type of strict, more like he wants to look out for his kids all the time and makes sure they’re doing things right 

The dad who very much supports and encourages their kids to go with their dreams

His Capricorn moon can show somewhat of a placement where he values his future family’s finances, so he’d be pretty good at differentiating the needs and wants for the family– needs are a priority, wants are rewards

Speaking of finances, he’d likely gift his wife and kids often, especially valuable things if his kids have earned it (coughs a car at 18? just graduate with great grades my child)

DAD JOKES, again

Will make sure his family has a routine, like doing chores together one day and then just having lighthearted fun/travelling the next as a reward

“Alright, let’s go out of town tomorrow! But first, the kitchen needs a bit of cleaning…”

Totally would joke around with his kids often even though he can give dry jokes sometimes oops

Doesn’t force himself to fit in with the new generation as he becomes a father, but will make sure he knows what’s up and respects it fully

Nurtures his kids with so much love even if he just gives them a sentence of an advice 

Might also be prone to scolding his future kids if they lie often to him and disrespects him, especially if they’ve done something very wrong (e.g using his credit card without asking)

You? Dating? Get through your father, Minhyun, first

“Oh, I’ve heard you’re taking up engineering? Say, what do you think is the basis of having a good relationship between your course and my kid’s? Would you be able to make a great team for a business?”

Will make sure he provides the best, and only the best for his family

Seongwoo

The straightforward and fun-loving dad who tries to be serious

Compared to the others, Seongwoo would probably slightly more serious than the others

His sun/moon combo makes him as someone who believes that honesty is always the best policy and individuality is necessary

For short, he wants a stable and goal-oriented family in the future

Even though he shows himself as somewhat of a funny guy (still on stance that he has an air rising ok), he actually knows what he is doing and definitely makes decisions quick for his family if he believes it’s the right path

But it doesn’t mean he won’t be in for a little bit of fun, especially when it comes to his kids!

He loves fun, not gonna lie, and may not try to be more serious than usual whenever he lets loose on being with his family

Gives love as if it was always needed in the atmosphere of his home

“Love is always love and everyone deserves it.”

Always make sure there are values and independence within the family

Reminds his kids all the time to always stay humble and work hard in anything they do

His idea of a bonding session with his family? Anything, honestly. Karaoke nights, dining out, shopping, out-of-town trips, name it: He’s got it all planned and covered

“So we’re gonna go to the mall to just hang out, but make sure to not overspend. We’re gonna eat at your mom’s favorite restaurant tonight, too.”

Very thoughtful, also the type to be able to gift their children what they want if they have earned it with his trust

Likely the dad who would have a hard time trying to assure himself his kid is grown up and knows this and that about dating: would go calm one second and paranoid the next

“Be home at 10pm, alright! Don’t be like me when I was a young adult… Also don’t forget to call when you’re on your way home-”

“Dad, it’s only a movie”

“It’S oNLy A mOvIe. How would I know you’re not going somewhere else?”

Makes it a point that every step is a milestone and all goals shall be achieved within the family in the future

Jaehwan

The dad who aspires their children to be different

Of all the hyung line, Jaehwan would definitely be the type to not take his job as a dad seriously

Not that he’d be a bad dad, but he would want freedom to be given to his kids all the time– but at the same time, wants them to work hard on their future endeavors

Values communication within the family, would definitely try to talk to his kids very often even if he’s just asking what they’re up to (Gemini and Virgo [his sun and moon, respectively], are ruled by Mercury, the planet of communication)

Assists everyone in the family on whatever they’re doing, even if it’s their kid’s projects and they don’t have a clue on what to help out on

“Wait, you need to make a poster slogan? Oh… let me see if I can draw a butterfly or something really quick”

“No dad not a butterfly just-”

“GIMME A SECOND I’M GRABBING CRAYONS”

I’ve noticed Gemini placements want to show/encourage others on their own talents, so in this case, Jaehwan would definitely help his kids aspire to be inclined to music as they grow up

His Virgo moon can be quite nitpicky and overthink a lot, so he can sometimes feel the need to see perfectionism within his offsprings

Wants to make his future home an atmosphere where everyone is comfortable enough to make it seem like they never want to leave

He also values creativity within his home with the flair of simplicity

Lowkey nags too but only if he’s seeing something wrong within the family / having problems 

Expect lots of simple artworks in your home, especially statues and figurines of anything music related as he sees this as a way of showing off the family’s individual efforts and talents

Encourages their kids to always find the right time to do this and that, especially when it comes to love and work

“Are you sure you love that person? Alright, as long as they take care of you and not hurt you, I will approve.”

Daniel

The dad who wants his kids to dream big

Both his sun and moon are in Sagittarius, so I see him likely to expect his family to be very open on doing anything

He might also often not take being a father seriously as he sees himself almost like a kid at times

Values proper honesty, love and understanding in the family

Puts the needs of the family first, as always

Aspires to have his kids learn many things as they grow up, especially with his help

Most likely the dad who would encourage/make his family live abroad and start a new life

Or just move pretty often, his sun and moon shows he’s likely the type to want to “move around” a lot

Likely the dad who tries to fit in with his kids/the new generation honestly

“Oh, this gadget is new? How much is it? I’m getting one tomorrow, are those one of the ‘in” stuff kids are using these days?”

Jokes around with his family a lot, might even do pranks with them to their mom/his wife

And when his wife finds out Daniel’s gonna be all sulky when his kids say it was all his idea

“It wasn’t my idea, they told me to do it!”

“Daniel you’re a grown man”

“IT WAS THEIR IDEA I TELL YOU”

Highkey the savage dad because he can smell bullshit right away

Values much freedom within the family, doesn’t want them to feel suffocated on the thought of having to always do boring routines

Makes sure they travel pretty often, tbh, maybe even once a week or two weeks depending on everyone’s time

Will always be supportive of his kids’ dreams, whatever they are as long as they mean no harm 

Sports? Daniel’s likely gonna teach each of his kid at least one sport at a time

He would likely scold only if his kids have done wrong, but he lets his wife do it more than him– he would much rather talk to them in a proper way if so rather than scold them

Also kind of clingy to his wife and kids, only because he wants everyone to always be together and have a home filled with love and respect

[tjkiahgb]

Episode Recap: 2.20, “For the Last Time”

The GHC gathers at The Spoon for a final meal. The mood is low. Buffy asks everyone to be cool. Or, at least, just don’t be uncool.

But I think it’s really unfair of Buffy to ask Cyrus to do something so against his nature on their last day. (Boom. Cyrus burn.)

The finality of everything they’re doing is taking an emotional toll, so Buffy suggests they try to lighten the mood. She tries to get Cyrus and Andi to sing “For the last time.” It doesn’t really work, but she keeps trying and on attempt three, they actually get into it and sing along.

I think it’s like that principle where you start fake laughing and keep doing it and eventually the craziness of the fake laugh makes you laugh for real. You fake sing until it becomes a real song.

Over at Bex’s house, we get Ham!

Where have you been you old so-and-so?

Ham is over to help Bex with some pipes. He asks Bex how she’s been and says they haven’t seen her around the house much. But, honestly, Bex has been around the house quite a bit. Where was Ham is the real question.

Bex says she’s been busy at work. She calls it “booking faces” but then admits she made that term up and Ham laughs.

(This screencap is just to capture the phrase “Ham laughs” for posterity because, seriously, how many times has that sentence ever been written out?)

Bex says she’s mad at Celia for buying The Fringe.

Hey, remember last episode recap when I was like: where is Ham and is he ok and how does he feel about buying The Fringe? Well, turns out the answers are: he’s around, he seems fine, and no one told him.

Ham is pretty upset to have learned about all this just now while underneath a sink.

Back at The Spoon, which I want to point out is again populated entirely by loose children...

...Cyrus tells a story about his grandma for the last time. Then Andi dives into her boy situation for the last time.

Andi finds herself confused by the Jonah and Walker situation, even after kissing Jonah last... night? I have no idea. I can’t keep up with this timeline.

This might be an important lesson for her to learn: you may like more than one person at a time. In fact, you may like several people at the same time. You may even be in a relationship and find yourself liking another person. It happens. We’re only human. But sooner or later, for the sake of all parties involved, you have to pick a lane. Now, normally, if you kiss someone, that’s a pretty good indication you’ve picked a lane, especially to the person you’ve kissed. (And even more especially if he’s an emotionally fragile child who was looking for that sort of validation after making a grand romantic gesture.)

But I guess Andi doesn’t entirely see it that way. Seems things are still sort of in limbo for her with regards to the two guys wooing her. And that’s cool. That’s fine. I see no way that could all go wrong and end up hurting people.

Cyrus asks if there’s time for one last performance of Tater Theater. He goes for the taters and finds it’s the last one.

Buffy wants to fight for it, for the last time, but Cyrus and Andi don’t. It’s a sacred potato and must be preserved.

But, must that also mean no Tater Theater? There are quite a few good Shakespearean soliloquies I’d like to see acted out by this potato first.

The finality of everything comes crashing back down on top of Cyrus and Andi and everyone is sad again.

Meanwhile, Celia shows up at Bex’s place looking for Ham. Bex wants to know why Celia didn’t tell Ham she bought The Fringe. Celia learns Bex told him and that’s why he’s been avoiding her: he’s mad at her.

Hey, remember last week when I also said Celia and Ham were my favorite relationship on the show and I hope nothing bad ever happens to them? Well, it’s the very next episode and Celia and Ham are in a fight. My brain. It’s the opposite of so powerful.

Celia says if everyone’s so against this idea, she can still cancel it. Bex tells her to do it, so Celia calls it off. Celia says she was just hoping to discuss the plan with Bex first before telling Ham. This talk of a plan is news to Bex. Celia says she was going to turn The Fringe into a boutique salon and make Bex the star makeup artist of the town.

To which Bex is like:

She’s super in to that plan. Celia is like, “Of course that was the plan. You didn’t think I was going to invest my retirement savings into the garbage The Fringe sells, did you?”

Celia says the investment isn’t in The Fringe, it’s in Bex, which, aww. I’ll never not be a sucker for a sweet Celia moment.

In that way, I’m very much like Bex, who responds to Celia saying that like:

They call the plan back on, but Bex says they have to tell Ham this time. And Celia is like, “Oh yeah, right.”

The GHC approach Buffy’s house. The move is in full effect. The movers are out front, moving and everything, as you do.

Cyrus says it’s like a solar eclipse: you can’t look directly at it. But I say that rule is really only for cowards who value being able to see. I haven’t lost a staring contest in 7 years and I’m not about to lose one to the Sun of all people.

The GHC hug. Buffy says the deal is they don’t say goodbye, especially because she’s just moving to Phoenix, which isn’t the Moon. And she’s right. Phoenix is not the Moon. It’s the Sun.

Here’s your weather forecast for next week, Phoenix:

You know what the temperature is going to be in Phoenix tonight, at midnight? A cool, brisk, 91 degrees!

But enough about the weather. The GHC talk about how they’ll still keep in touch.

Buffy says how much she loves her friends and wishes she could put the moment in a time capsule, which sets off an idea in Cyrus’s head: Let’s rob a bank! Just kidding. Let’s make a time capsule.

Andi is in, but Buffy isn’t. She just wants a normal day and a no-frills goodbye. Andi and Cyrus persist, but Buffy’s starting to feel like this is her funeral, which she says she will not be going to. Unfortunately, Buffy, one’s funeral is one of the few events by definition you really must attend.

Buffy runs off and slams the door behind her.

And this mover’s like, “Oh. We, uh, actually, still have a lot of stuff to load from inside there-- ok, then.”

Cyrus and Andi realize that might’ve been goodbye.

Later, Andi and Jonah talk at Red Rooster Records. Andi says she doesn’t want to have their last conversation with Buffy be that argument. Jonah notes that as hard as it is for Andi, it must be even harder for Buffy. Jonah thinks they should still do the time capsule, but instead of burying it, give it to Buffy as a going away gift for her to open whenever she wants. Andi realizes that’s a good idea.

Whoa. Was Jonah actually lucid in this scene? Did he actually have good ideas of his own? This is like the first time in months!

I’m so proud of him.

Andi and Cyrus sneak off to Buffy’s house and rendezvous with Buffy’s mom, Pat. Cyrus is dressed for a duck hunt and has binoculars.

Andi says she regrets giving him those for his seventh birthday. Is it just me or has season 2B been chock full of references to how long the GHC have known each other and gifts they’ve given each other in the past and memories from childhood and all that? They’re really trying to drive home how sad this breakup is going to be.

Andi presents Pat with a list of things they want to put in the time capsule. Pat opens it up and sees “flat iron” and “prison jumpsuit.” Andi and Cyrus exchange giggles about these memories and Pat realizes she’s missed some stuff in Buffy’s life.

I kind of wish the list kept going and getting weirder. “Six fingered glove? Big Mouth Billy Bass? Fake leg? Old Lady Thompson’s rose bush? A 1994 Mazda Miata? Buffy has all this stuff?!” And after every one, Cyrus and Andi just giggle and never explain what all this means.

Pat agrees to put the stuff she finds in a box for Andi and Cyrus.

Celia and Bex look for Ham around the house.

Andi comes in asking for a time capsule. Celia, sensing an opportunity to use her granddaughter as bait, tells her to text Ham to bring her one quickly.

At Buffy’s house, Buffy packs old photos when she comes across one of Marty from the Party.

A Marty shoutout! I’m glad he got a reference here. I miss Marty. It’s too bad he died when his plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan. (This is a reference to the show “M*A*S*H,” which is a really old reference even by my standards. Ask your parents to ask their parents about it.)

Pat wants to know who he is. Buffy tells her they don’t talk anymore.

Pat then asks about Cyrus. “Ever go out with him?” Buffy laughs and says, “Pretty much every day.”

Which, what a weird exchange that was. I mean, first off, that’s not an answer to that question. Pat was asking it off the back of talking about possibly dating Marty, so she wanted to know if there was a romantic thing there. But Buffy says “Pretty much every day” like, “Of course, we’re best friends!” And then Pat never follows up. This feels like such an obvious setup to talk about Cyrus’s gayness. Or just mention it at least. Like, “Sassy ___ friend” from last week. It’s like they want to throw those of us who understand the subtext of both of these exchanges a bone while still keeping it subtle enough that the youngest viewers don’t realize there’s a gay reference being made?

Anyhoo, Pat says she wants to take some of the pictures, but Buffy realizes she’s being weird and hiding something. Pat says Andi and Cyrus are making the time capsule. Buffy doesn’t want it because she doesn’t want a goodbye. She doesn’t feel she’s strong enough to handle it without crying and she doesn’t want that to be the last image her friends have of her.

Buffy wishes she was as strong as her mother, but Pat talks about how she cried, too, every time she had to leave. She tries to let Buffy know it’s ok to cry.

It’s a really nice moment. Great job by both actresses in this scene, too, by the way.

Back at Celia’s, Ham comes in with a container from THE TIME CAPSULE COMPANY!(!!!)

I love this so much. What in the holy hell is the Time Capsule Company? They just make time capsules?! How can that even be a business?

When Andi was texting Ham that she needed a time capsule, I was thinking, “Oh, sure, Ham will just pop on down to the ol’ time capsule store and pick one up.” AND. THEN. HE. DID! WHAT?! How did he know where to go? How did he know such a place even exists? Pull up Google Maps on your phone right now and search for a time capsule store. I bet you there isn’t one just down the street from your house. I live in Los Angeles and I get no results for that search. And all we have living here are the artsy type of people who would make time capsules.

Ham even asks Andi if this is what she wanted. Like, she asked for a time capsule. You couldn’t have nailed it any better than that, Ham.

Andi takes her shiny new time capsule and leaves.

Celia tells Ham she called off the deal. Ham says that’s good and that Celia can’t be doing this, again. Whoa. Is that a reference to something we know or what? Has Celia made big time decisions like this before without talking to Ham about it? Ruh-roh.

Celia promises she’ll talk to him next time. Celia and Bex then present Ham with a business plan and say he can say no to it, but Ham already knows he’s not going to turn them down. He really just wants the illusion of choice.

At Bex’s, Cyrus and Andi put together the time capsule.

Cyrus puts in the #thegoodhaircrew shirt he ordered forever ago.

He clearly didn’t splurge for overnight or even 3 day shipping. He must have gone with the free, get-here-whenever option that takes 6 months to a year to arrive.

He also puts in his Buffy basketball sign and a megaphone.

Andi puts in the JMS student handbook they all changed, a picture of them from sixth grade, and a belt made of the wristbands from Dr. Metcalf’s insanely expensive social experiment.

Cyrus pulls out a box that’s from Marty. It’s shoelaces and a nice note.

It’s cool to have one final thing from Marty, but I might’ve actually preferred they just left it at referencing the picture in the earlier scene and have Marty not know about Buffy leaving. This gift really reminds you they didn’t have access to Marty’s actor. It’s weird that Marty would learn Buffy’s leaving, take the time to go buy her laces and write the note, but not try to stop by and say goodbye to her after all their shared history. At least to clear the air between them. His note even makes it seem like he’s not in a bad place with her. It’s jokey and friendly. Like, he’s happy, but not so happy he’d could be bothered to show his face again? Alright then.

Bex shows up and wants to contribute. She adds the DVD set of Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Season 3. Why season 3? It’s Buffy’s favorite and it features the character Faith.

Cyrus and Andi add the glass encased final tater to the capsule, too.

Jonah shows up with basketball stuff. He got a basketball signed by the entire team, including one TJ Kippen himself.

Off-screen hashtag good boi behavior? I’ll take it!

You know what else is special about this basketball? Somewhere on the ball is the answer to the question:

WHAT IS THIS GUY’S NAME?!

Someone else go over footage of the names on the basketball like it’s the Zapruder film and let me know which one we decide is his.

Jonah says everyone’s going to miss Buffy. Even her nemesis. And Bex pops in and says TJ is to Buffy as Faith is to, well, also Buffy. The other Buffy. The vampire slayer. (Little bit more on that here, if you want.)

They add the basketball and Buffy’s jersey to the capsule and take it over to Buffy’s house.

Guys, can I just say, I was shocked when they walked up to the house and it was dark. I got right away what had happened. I really thought, given the talk from Pat about it being ok to cry, Buffy was going to give in and have that emotional goodbye.

But nope. Andi, Cyrus, and Jonah find Buffy and her family are gone. No goodbyes. Just moved out of town under the cover of darkness, like Robert Irsay taking the Colts out of Baltimore (you know the deal: ask your parents... provided they’re sports fans who lived in Baltimore in the mid-80s).

Cyrus, Andi, and Jonah console each other as the episode ends.

I have to say, the image of these three sad kids standing in the cold, looking for their already gone friend, is heartbreaking.

Credit to the writers for always doing a good job of getting there emotionally. Even if they have issues with the plotting every now and then, they’re very consistent with how they hit their mark with the emotional beats.

Also, credit to the kind editor of the scenes from the next episode for giving us a half a second of TJ and Cyrus, like a little cherry on top of an already good episode.

I’ll take it!

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: ‘A Little Adventure’

And here begins a review series of Voltron’s season 7, written up as i re-watch it. This is equal parts as a writing exercise and as me just wanting to share my thoughts and observations.

I’ll try to go light on meta and theories, sticking to just the facts, ma’am.

Well, that’s what I intended to happen, but this episode was very personal from the start, what with all the Shiro backstory. 

So join me for this two-part review, where I switch on the projection machine and smash the overshare button.

Part 1: Laugh So You Don’t Cry

Let’s start with the easy stuff, yeah? 

It features Coran, finally going full Thornberry:

...truly gorgeous.

We also have this amazing pair here:

And, most unexpectedly, a demonstration of yalmors linking at the ears, something we haven’t heard about since season 1:

I don’t have much else to say about this part. I would, however, like to formally request a spin off of Hunk and Romelle being so, so done with everything.

Part 2: The Meeting

So hey! It’s that back story everyone’s been screaming for, and boy, does this episode deliver. I really wish it had been solely dedicated to that story, though. I’m not a fan of the high drama/humorous aside splits they keep giving us. I know they do that to keep things interesting, cause hey, rated TV-Y7, right? But I always come out the other side of it feeling like I have emotional whiplash.

First, look at this:

Thank you.

So Shiro’s a bit of a celebrity? That’s pretty cool. I’m impressed.

Too bad Keith isn’t.

He’s even in the classic “anime protagonist seat”. Oh, Keith.

The subtitles here say: Shiro broke the record for the fastest orbital velocity, beating the old heliocentric speed by about 50 kilometers per second. 

I’m a big damn nerd, so you know I had to look this up. Here’s what I found:

In 2018 though, a new NASA mission - Solar Probe Plus - will be launched. Designed to come as close as 8.5 solar radii to the Sun (that’s about about 5.9 million kilometers or 3.7 million miles), it will hit orbital velocities as high as 200 kilometers a second (450,000 miles an hour).

To just put that incredible figure into perspective - going this fast would get you from the Earth to the Moon in about ½ an hour. It is also about 0.067% the speed of light. (source: Scientific American -”The Fastest Spacecraft Ever?”)

I have no idea if they’re counting his record against something like that, or manned flight, for which the record is 107,000 km/h. That’s uh..that’s us. On Earth. We haven’t sent people into independent solar orbit yet.

Also, one day I’ll learn how to post links without breaking the tags, cause my source article was very interesting. Please go find it.

And now we have the simulator. We get that call back to “Taking Flight”, which I found to be a nice touch.

Keith, you’re the only one who could possibly fly through this.

And then Keith steals Shiro’s car and his heart, wasting no time in attempting to push him away. And he doesn’t just keep it between the two of them; Keith’s got a lot of misguided anger to share.

Nothing will endear you to your new classmates faster than signing the whole group up for a collective punishment.

But lessons are learned and everyone calms down.

..oh. Whoops.

Yes, the good ol’ collective punishment: let the jerkass’ peers sort them out. And maybe it would have worked in this case, except for the fact that Keith respects exactly no one.

When this episode first aired, I was seeing yelling about James being a bully, but to be honest, this is more of a case of two shithead kids being shitheads to each other. Keith doesn’t care how his actions affect others, and James reacted by going for a low blow about Keith’s parents.

I suppose they sorted each other out in the end, didn’t they?

So here’s Keith, the angry, lost kid, acting out in desperation and loneliness, and Shiro, who we now see risking his own good name to help him.

Why would he do that?

Now, a lot of what I come up with in the next part is my interpretation of Shiro based on my own experiences, because that’s all I have to go on. My one big gripe about this is that we don’t see Shiro until he’s a young adult. What was he like growing up? Does he try to help Keith because he’s a sweet guy, or does he relate to him in some way?

We may never really know. For my own purposes, I’m going to assume that it’s more of the latter.

Let’s look back at this interaction:

Shiro: “That’s the Calypso, the first ship to carry astronauts to the moons of Jupiter.”

Keith: “It took them three years to get there. Longest voyage of its kind.”

Shiro: “That’s right. Reading about that mission is what made me wanna be a pilot. Those astronauts braved the unknown.”

Nerd break: 

The Juno probe made it to Jupiter in 5 years, arriving in 2015.

Right now it takes 9.5 years to get to Pluto

/nerd

Keith knows about the Calypso. You might think that the tiny, emo kid doesn’t seem the type to be into nerd stuff, right?

But I get it.

I didn’t have the best time growing up, and we know that after the death of his father, neither did Keith. I had one big obsession that got me through the badness: space. Sorry, two: space and dinosaurs. And giant mech shows. Er...three big obsessions.

But space was the biggest and realest. The 90s were an exciting time for space exploration, with the Voyager probes finishing up their grand tours, the ISS being built, and the first rovers being sent to Mars. It felt good. It felt hopeful.

And I think maybe Keith may have felt the same about space. After all, space was a big unknown. By nature, it couldn’t be good or bad, right? Not like home.

Or maybe it’s because he’s half Galra and always knew that he wasn’t fully of Earth. Or maybe it was both.

I can imagine that Shiro may have thrown himself into space for similar reasons. Because you know what really sucks having deal with growing up? Chronic Illness.

Part 3: Invisible

We come to realize, right along with Keith, that Shiro is sick.

When I’d first heard about this, I was both saddened and ecstatic. It’s not often that I get to relate in any way to a strong, capable, wonderful fictional character. ‘Cool!’, I thought to myself, ‘He’s a sicko like me.’ Immediately, my next thought was ‘Damn, he’s a sicko like me…’

Then a few things about his character began to fall into place.

I think we all noticed Shiro pushing Keith into the place of leadership via the phrase “If anything ever happens to me...”. And Shiro being chronically ill explains that. I’d been wondering for a while about what Shiro’s deal could be. Why did he think something was going to happen to him? Was is just planning for every eventuality, or was it something else?

Shiro’s a great leader, so it was probably both. But him being ill puts a new perspective on things.

When you’re chronically ill, you have to think about things a lot more than other people. You have to plan heavily for ‘what ifs’, and you had better be prepared. 

Back in July, a friend and I took a trip to a con. This had been the first trip I’ve been on in years since I’ve been so damn sick. The preparation alone was exhausting. I had to make sure I had everything with me, and backups of everything just in case something happened. I had to make sure my meds and supplies were in reach if I needed them right away, but I also had to make sure that they were cool and out of the summer sun, because if they got too hot, they’d stop working.

The con was six hours away from home, and if I had needed replacements of these things, I would have to make soooo many phone calls and likely beg for help.

I had to have a conversation with my friend about what to do in case I had “an incident”. It’s humiliating; I’m a grown ass adult that has to preemptively ask people for help. Even though she’s my best friend, and I trust her so very much, it sucks.

In the end, everything was fine, but only because of careful planning. I can’t tell you how much I miss the days of just being able to go, to do, to not have to think about everything that could go wrong and possibly kill me.

So what I’m really saying here is that Shiro most likely has a lot of experience planning for eventualities. He’s also swallowed enough of his pride to discuss these things with Keith by the time the main story begins. And note: it’s only Keith he shares these things with, not the others. I don’t share these things with people who aren’t very, very close to me either.

Well, present company excluded, of course.

And here’s the part that  I go projecting onto Shiro again, but as I said previously, until they give more backstory, it’s all I have to go on.

So, what about Shiro’s family?

That’s something that’s been talked about in the fan space for a while, too. Is he an orphan? Did they disown him? Unfortunately, the flashbacks we get don’t go back that far. All I have to go on to answer that are my own experiences, which are not good.

My heart swells every time I see someone talk about how their family supports them as they deal with their illnesses. How good it is that they have love and stability to help them through.

I don’t have that. I never did. My home life sucked before I got sick, and illness certainly didn’t help.  I can say with certainty that if I had spent years in space out of contact with them, I wouldn’t be too broken up about it. There’d have been no video messages home, is what I’m saying.

I could see Shiro at this point in the flashbacks, gifted and celebrated, throwing himself at everything he could, working hard to prove that he’s worth something, proving that you’re not a lost cause just because you’re sick. I found myself wanting to prove things, too, taking on tasks and making plans and trying to show the world that I’m still useful, that I’m not lazy. See? I didn’t cause my own illness in an attempt to get out of responsibilities.

You’ll still get rejected, though.

So you learn to hide your illness from people that don’t need to know about it.

Shiro may have been like Keith: a lost, angry kid, pushing people away before they can make the decision to leave. It’s a difficult thing to grow up and only see disappointment in the eyes of the people who are supposed to be there for you. Again and again, they let you know in so many ways that you’re difficult to deal with, that somehow you’re a burden on them.

I can’t know for sure about Shiro, but I know that this is the truth for Keith. I completely understand why Keith would end up so attached to Shiro, the only person who was actually putting in a real effort to help him. I wish I’d had my own Shiro, ya know?

I can’t be all doom and gloom about this, though. I still like that one idea that Shiro was raised by his grandparents. I like to think that it was a happier time for him, as my time spent with my own grandparents was for me.

Of course, I could be completely wrong about all of this, and projecting way too much of my own problems onto him. For the sake of any alternate realities where Shiro is a real person, I hope that I am. 

Next up: Part 2 - relationships are hard -and- an appeal to societies greater sensibilities.

[haunting-kind-of-high]

Vampire!Roman headcanons

So, this is part of my Being Human AU, based on the awesome show Being Human. This one focusses mainly on Roman and a bit on his relationships with the others. 

This turned out much longer than I originally intended oml

Warnings: Mentions of blood, death, the plague, that's it, I think

He was bitten when he was around 20

It happened at night, when Roman was alone in his chambers

It’s a miracle the intruder snuck into his room, but it’s a vampire we’re talking about so what’s more miraculous?

After that, he just… disappeared

He travelled across England at first

But there were too many memories, and after a few decades it got painful

So many people died

And then the Plague came and even more people died

He just had to get out

So he did

And he travelled the world after that, watching how society changes

He would stay somewhere for a while and then leave if staying got too risky

Either because he went a little too far with his blood-drinking needs, or because too many people close to him had died

Sometimes he’d leave if all his friends were dead, and staying around just hurt him too much

He was in Rome when the Renaissance started and he still loves every memory he made there

Seeing the world changing like that… it was fantastic

Loves ancient mythologies

He probably knew a lot of famous painters let’s be real

I also really like the thought of him knowing Hal (an awesome vampire in the show who’s cool)

Maybe he was the one who recruited Hal? I’m not sure if it fits in the show’s canon though

He has at least heard of him because every vampire has

Roman is a hella gay vamp

Goes to pride every year he’s able to

Is so happy pride exists because he needed that when he was a young 100 vamp

Rome was probably one of the best periods of his life and he never wanted to leave

But after a while, when everyone he knew was dead and he couldn’t stand to be there for much longer

So he continued his travels

He travelled through Europe and Asia

Somewhere in the 1880s/1890s he briefly joined the Old Ones

The Old Ones are a group of vampires who are… well… pretty old

They’re also super powerful, immune to religious symbols, and they’ve got more cool perks

But Roman wasn’t too fond of their way of living, so he left them and returned to England in 1915 to fight in the war

After the war, he went to America

He didn’t want to stay in England anymore

Too many painful memories

That was when he decided he wanted to stop drinking blood

Or try at least, because it is fucking hard

And he started to remember the people he killed and he couldn’t stop thinking about it and he hated it, but he hated blood more, even though he needed it so much

At first, he went to New York first and travelled a bit

He met Logan in 2011

It was in Michigan somewhere

He saved Logan from being beaten up by asshole vampires but that’s a story for another day

They weren’t super close at first, but Roman helped Logan find his way in the supernatural world, Logan helped Roman find his way in the modern world, and they grew pretty close

Logan tried to help Roman with his resolution to stop drinking blood but he didn’t know how to help

Roman appreciated the help though

After a pretty bad relapse, Roman decided he had to move and Logan insisted on going along, even though Roman protested this

But Logan didn’t give up so they moved in together

They moved to Florida

Once they moved into their house, he really had to get used to Patton being around, but he warmed up to the ghost pretty quickly

It was strange, though

He has a lot of nightmares

About the night he was turned into a vampire, about the people he killed, about the wars he fought

It’s not unusual for him to wake up in the middle of the night, convinced he is in the middle of a war, or back in medieval England

At first, Patton tried his best to comfort Roman. He didn’t need to sleep anyways

But it was difficult because Patton had no idea what it was like, and Roman hardly told anything about his nightmares

Roman liked having someone around at night, though

When Virgil moved in, he grew more open about his dreams

He wasn’t planning on it, but he plans on spending the rest of his life with Virgil and he can’t exactly hide his nightmares for all of eternity

And once he does, he’s glad he opened up to Virgil

Virge seems to know exactly what to do to help him out and his presence is a comfort

Sometimes, Roman will wake up thinking he is in the middle ages and he will be disoriented for a while, before Virgil reminds him that it’s 2018 and everything is fine

Roman is so intrigued by modern technology

I mean, phones can fit entire portraits in them, and it takes just a few seconds to make?

You can contact someone on the other side of the world in mere seconds?

Witchcraft, that’s got to be it

Smartphones don’t always work well for him, because his touch is pretty cold but that doesn’t stop him

Huge space geek

Believed the moon landing was fake for a little over 50 years, though

He just couldn’t believe that something was out there and that people can walk on that something

Still in denial about it

But Logan knows

In fact, he was the one who told Roman it was real

He still teases Ro about it every now and again

But yeah space geek Ro

Can't believe there are things out there other than small dots of light

Gets defensive when people make flat Earth memes because he believed that for ages

“I mean, it’s not that unbelievable, right? You can’t see that it’s round, what else are we supposed to believe? How were we supposed to know it was round?”

Every time he brings it up, the others reassure him that it's a joke and it's not meant to ridicule him or whatever

Still forgets the concept of round Earth sometimes

Same with the heliocentric model

"You can see the sun moving! How can it move across the sky if it isn't actually moving? It doesn’t make any sense!"

He has had a lot of discussions about this with Logan

Still doesn’t understand it

Loves Candy Crush

“It is so colourful and cute! How does one come up with this ingenious design?”

The others don’t tell him that there are tons of other games like it

He texts like parents

You know, using correct grammar, lots of emojis

I’m looking forwards to the movie *tons of emojis but for some reason I couldn't get them to work*.

He used to start every text he sent with a “hello (…),” or something similar and he used to end them with a signature thing

But the other convinced him that everyone knew it was him sending the texts and that it was only more effort for him

So he stopped that

The emojis and correct grammar still stand tho

Ok.

Virgil and Patton still haven’t convinced him to give up the ‘Ok.’

It’s agony

He is adorably naïve when it comes to spam and phishing mails

He’s lucky the others are there to stop him from clicking the damn link

“But it says right here that I still have to pay-”

“That’s a lie, darling, they just want your money.”

“But-”

“Just delete the mail.”

Always goes to Logan when he has a problem with technology

Constantly mixes up the slang he learned across the ages

“Don’t flip your wig, Lo! Everything is going to be fine.”

“I had a gas tonight, guys.”

But no one knows what it means

The fifties slang are his favourite. They’re just so fun.

He also uses medieval words a lot, as that is what he grew up with

Keeps calling water Adam’s ale

One time Logan got hurt and he requested an ‘acopon’

No one knew what he meant and it took him ages to explain because he couldn’t come up with the modern equivalent of the word (which would be a plaster)

Sometimes he’ll be stuck in like medieval language for an entire day and no one will understand what he’s saying

Like, it sounds kind of familiar, but not familiar enough to be sure of the meaning

It’s really frustrating to all of them

Also misuses modern slang a lot

“Would you look at the weather outside? It is so bright, and not a single cloud! How wonderfully lit!”

“I… I’m not sure lit means what you think it does, buddy.”

It is hilarious

When he starts dating Virgil, he finds out about Vine and because Virgil loves vines so much, he starts watching them too so he can understand the references and surprise Virge by making references himself

But he gets them wrong a lot too

One day, Logan and Patton are talking in the kitchen

Roman just looks at them and turns to Virgil with a

“And they were roommates”

Virgil almost chokes on his drink

“Oh my god, they were roommates”

Roman’s favourite vine is the croissant one

“I could have dropped my croissant” becomes his thing

It’s cute, but it starts getting annoying when he says it to everything

The others just let him be, he is a 700-year old dork, he needs this

He is upset he doesn’t show up on camera, because otherwise, he’d be all over vine

He had so many great ideas for vines

He has definitely seen some of his old stuff in museums

“Oh my goodness, my old sword!”

For a 700+-year old vampire, he doesn’t know when to chill

But he just gets excited when he sees his stuff

At one point in his life, he has definitely seen an old portrait of him in a museum

And someone definitely saw him looking at it

And they definitely saw the resemblance

And they definitely told Roman about it

He just nodded and told the person that his friends told him about it too

Wishes he could just steal the portrait because it makes him look so good and handsome

He thought about it, but quickly realized that telling staff of the museum that “he wants this portrait because it is him” would sound just a tad… weird

He’s really upset about it

Gets really nostalgic a lot

He has experienced so many things and seen so many amazing things

Met so many people

He misses them a lot

It just hurts to know that you’ll outlive most people you will meet in your life

He has always tried not to get too attached to people because they’re going to die anyways

But somewhere along the way, he let this attitude go

One way or another, he always grew to like a few people

He likes to tell his friends about what he remembers of his travels and experiences

Especially Logan, cause that man is a fucking history nerd

Roman loves Logan so much, because he’s so smart

They have the best conversations

A lot of them are about some event in history, or about modern-day society, cause that still confuses Roman

Loves cartoons

They’re just so cute and so amazing and sweet

He and Patton watch a lot of them together

As a ghost, Patton doesn’t need to sleep, so sometimes they will stay up until four am binge-watching some cartoon

Virgil and Logan try to tell them to stop – especially Roman

But it doesn’t work

Roman is very protective over Logan, because he is the only mortal of their group

Of course, he and Virgil can still die, but there’s a smaller risk of it happening

Patton is already dead

But Logan can still die

And Roman wants to keep Logan around as long as possible

So every time something even remotely dangerous happens around Logan, Roman is there to safe him.

Can’t have their favourite werewolf die

He is scared to lose Logan, but he knows it is inevitable

He just wished it would be different

Roman has quite a few of vampire contacts – they need to work together in order to avoid being discovered, after all

I mean it would be weird to have a passport that says you were born in 1296

So there are vampires to take care of that

Roman knows quite a lot of them personally and they always question his scent

It’s blood-like, as it is supposed to be, but there is a hint of dog

Roman mostly says that it’s because he has a dog, but there are a few people who know he doesn’t have a dog

There’s one or two who know about Logan and they don’t understand him

Why would a vampire be friends with a werewolf? That is unheard of

Roman is also friends with a few vampires who like to organize dog fights

Where a werewolf – during full moon – is caged with a human, who has a knife. At the end of the night, just one survives

And Roman lives in constant fear that one day, they will go after Logan for their sick forms of entertainment

Roman has seen a few dog fights when he was younger, and it is absolutely horrible

He doesn’t want Logan to have to go through that

And then there’s the risk of Logan dying, which makes it even worse

He thought about asking them to not capture Logan, but he feared that they would do it on purpose, just to spite him

So Roman thought of a system

If Logan was ever out and vampires came up to him, he would call Roman, but not say anything

Roman is in his emergency contacts, so that works well

And if Roman heard what was going on, he would track Logan’s phone to see where he was going – taking a few wooden stakes with him – and save his friend

There’s no way he would allow them to put Logan through something as horrible as a dog fight

Sometimes, the age difference between him and Virgil is quite… difficult

They’re both from different generations, obviously, and their experiences are just totally different

They try their best to understand the other, but it’s difficult sometimes

Virgil doesn’t know what it’s like to fight in a war, to see your best friends dying, to wander the earth, knowing that you will never die. He doesn’t know what it’s like to see half your city dying to the Plague

Virgil tries

But he just doesn’t understand

But it’s fine, because Roman loves him and they will have an eternity together to understand each other

He really loves Virgil a lot dude

On multiple occasions, he’s written Virgil a super romantic love letter

You know, one of those extra ones

Super extra

Lots of “my love”, “my darling”, lots of romance

But it’s cute

Virgil has kept every one of those letters

Roman listens to classical music a lot

But he also sort of likes rock

Nothing too heavy though

He can handle most genres though, but rock and classical music are some of his faves

Tries to headbang

But he can’t do it

Virgil says it’s because he’s to old for that crap

Roman doesn’t believe him

He’s young at heart how dare Virgil

Yeah Roman is v cute

[meepface]

1-100!

oof, thank you lmfao

1: is there a boy/girl in your life?

there’s a boy in my life which is crazy to me bc i was starting to think i could only feel this way about girls. i am bi though, that is very much so confirmed

2: think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them?

i can think of two people right now honestly and i forgive them both. i learned from them and i grew from those experiences and i hope they do as well. i wish nothing but the best for them

3: what do you think of when you hear the word “meow?”

my best friend got a new cat and she’s SO SMALL and she likes me a lot and cats don’t usually like me so it’s great

4: what’s something you really want right now?

to hang out with my boy but i’m doing that tonight! also i would really love to go to Iceland

5: are you afraid of falling in love?

oh absolutely terrified, yes, but it’s a growing experience every time and i think it’s always worth it whether they end up being the one or not

6: do you like the beach?

not really at all honestly

7: have you ever slept on a couch with someone else?

yes

8: what’s the background on your cell?

my lock screen is my dog Sophie and my home screen is just some pine trees

9: name the last four beds you were sat on?

my own, my brother’s, my boyfriend’s and my best friend’s

10: do you like your phone?

i honestly wish i didn’t have a phone a lot of times lmao i hate texting people and i hate social media and i hate being subconsciously addicted to it. i’m definitely trying to work on using it less

11: honestly, are things going the way you planned?

not at all but they’re going pretty fucking great so i’m not complaining

12: who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts?

a new coworker of mine

13: would you rather have a poodle or a rottweiler?

both i love dogs

14: which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain?

emotional

15: would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum?

both ??

16: are you tired?

a little bit, i just woke up and i definitely wanted to sleep in a little later than 10:30 but my body will not go back to sleep

17: how long have you known your 1st phone contact?

lmaooo since middle school, he was actually my first “boyfriend” if you even count the like 4 days we dated

18: are they a relative?

not at all, just some crusty boy i don’t even talk to anymore. last i heard he moved and is trying to be a monk which is strange considering the person he is

19: would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes?

i would not

20: when did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with?

he texted me this morning but the last time we spoke was like over the phone two days ago. he’s been busy moving and shit and so we haven’t gotten to see each other for a lil bit but i see him today so it’s all good

21: if you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today?

not today, i’d definitely still wait and if they’re the right person i’m sure they’d wait too

22: would you kiss the last person you kissed again?

oh my god absolutely, i’m gonna kiss him so much tonight

23: how many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now?

none, i don’t really care for bracelets

24: is there a certain quote you live by?

there’s a few! “let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier,” “if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely,” and “be kinder and gentler.”

25: what’s on your mind?

i’m kind of hungry and i definitely smell pancakes in the other room but other than that i’m super nervous to hang out with my boyfriend’s friends for the first time today bc i want them to like me lmao

26: do you have any tattoos?

i have three, a sun and moon on my wrists and “lovely” on my inner arm

27: what is your favorite color?

cerulean

28: next time you will kiss someone on the lips?

toniiiiight

29: who are you texting?

my friend Stein, my friend Joe and i was texting my boyfriend but i think he fell back asleep

30: think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch?

yes lmao all the time

31: have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right?

yes

32: do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to?

yes my good pal Joe and also my friend Brendon and also my friend Cory and also my friend Derryck and also my boyfriend but he’s more than just a friend so i don’t think that counts

33: do you think anyone has feelings for you?

i would hope my boyfriend does

34: has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes?

i get that fairly often actually bc my eyeballs are fucking massive and bright green and it makes me happy when people say that bc i used to hate em

35: say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you?

i would be really really really disappointed and upset bc he knows how difficult its been for me lately and he knows i’ve been cheated on before and he’s been so fucking good to me so it would be a huge knock down to my ability to trust anyone. i’d honestly just break up with him quickly and as kindly as i could and just not talk to him again. i definitely think it would be harder to trust afterwards and i’d be heartbroken but luckily we wouldn’t have been together long enough for it to fuck me up too bad yet. BUT, he’s literally an angel and i can’t see him ever doing this to me so this is all hypothetical

36: were you single on valentines day?

no i was not

37: are you friends with the last person you kissed?

we’re dating

38: what do your friends call you?

my name

39: has anyone upset you in the last week?

i think my parents at one point but it’s all good, i’ve clearly already forgotten and moved on

40: have you ever cried over a text?

plenty of times

41: where’s your last bruise located?

i have a random ass bruise on my knee and i have no idea what that’s about

42: what is it from?

no clue

43: last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad?

oh all the time lately, it’s hard to be at home right now. but i also just want to be out of state for a while

44: who was the last person you were on the phone with?

my best friend called me to tell me how her date went

45: do you have a favourite pair of shoes?

yeah i have these bright white pumas that i loooove they look so cool and they’re so comfy

46: do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day?

yep, i look good in snapbacks and dad hats so it works out

47: would you ever go bald if it was the style?

no i don’t have the face shape to pull that off

48: do you make supper for your family?

i would but i’m so bad at cooking that i don’t think they would want that

49: does your bedroom have a door?

yes

50: top 3 web-pages?

youtube, netflix and then my school’s login page apparently

51: do you know anyone who hates shopping?

my mom does

52: does anything on your body hurt?

my stomach is a little upset but it’s not too terrible

53: are goodbyes hard for you?

depends on who i’m saying goodbye to

54: what was the last beverage you spilled on yourself?

coffee

55: how is your hair?

messy and in a bun bc i just woke up lmao

56: what do you usually do first in the morning?

lay in bed for like an hour and text people back and briefly social media bullshit, then i usually immediately shower once i get up

57: do you think two people can last forever?

i don’t know but i hope so

58: think back to january 2007, were you single?

yes

59: green or purple grapes?

purple but i like em both

60: when’s the next time you will give someone a big hug?

when i see my boyfriend today, he’s been pretty stressed and he definitely needs a hug

61: do you wish you were somewhere else right now?

i’d say with my boyfriend but i’m pretty fuckin comfy in my bed right now so i mean, he can come join me here instead

62: when will be the next time you text someone?

whenever someone texts me back 

63: where will you be 5 hours from now?

a music festival

64: what were you doing at 8 this morning.

sleeping

65: this time last year, can you remember who you liked?

yes i was dating her

66: is there one person in your life that can always make you smile?

yes

67: did you kiss or hug anyone today?

not yet but i will

68: what was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

i have no idea, i was probably just nervous about today

69: have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?

yes

70: how many windows are open on your computer?

just this one

71: how many fingers do you have?

10 lmfao???

72: what is your ringtone?

idk whatever the apple default one is

73: how old will you be in 5 months?

still 21

74: where is your mum right now?

she’s in the kitchen making pancakes which i’m about to go hit up

75: why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love?

we just didn’t work out

76: have you held hands with somebody in the past three days?

yes, three days ago though bc we’ve both been busy

77: are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago?

some of them yes but i cut off a few of em for the better

78: do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7?

definitely my friend Brendon, we didn’t work out bc we were both queer as fuck but he’s still one of my best friends to this day. i also had a huge crush on this girl that i don’t really talk to anymore bc she definitely gives off that whole “i’m better than you” kind of vibe

79: is there anyone you know with the name mike?

yes

80: have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?

yep & i get to tonight !! my bf is so cuddly when he’s sleepy

81: how many people have you liked in the past three months?

five LMAO but i only tried things out w three of em bc i knew the other two wouldn’t work out. ended up with the one i liked the most to begin with so everything worked out in the longrun

82: has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days?

my boyfriend lol

83: will you talk to the person you like tonight?

yep a whole bunch i’m so excited

84: you’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with?

oof, i don’t think i’d yell at em but i guess my friend Monica, that’s some shit she’d drag me into doing lmfao

85: if your bf/gf was into drugs would you care?

he is to an extent and it doesn’t bother me as long as he’s safe. i barely consider weed a drug anyway

86: what was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie?

my bf and i fucked in my car at 3 AM afterwards LMAO

87: who was your last received call from?

my dad

88: if someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you?

i think i would initially agree bc i need that money but i don’t think i’d have the heart when it came down to it

89: what is something you wish you had more of?

money would be nice bc i’m tryna move out

90: have you ever trusted someone too much?

yes

91: do you sleep with your window open?

nah there’s mosquitos outside

92: do you get along with girls?

yes!!!!! i love girls

93: are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth?

no, i don’t really see much of a point in doing that

94: does sex mean love?

not necessarily but loveless sex isn’t as good

95: you’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem?

not at all

96: have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring?

no

97: did you sleep alone this week?

yeah except for on monday night and i don’t have to sleep alone tonight either so it’s all g

98: everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you?

yes

99: do you believe in love at first sight?

nah but i believe in infatuation at first sight sure, i believe you can have a feeling about someone at first sight, like you can tell if they’ll be in your life or not kind of thing

100: who was the last person that you pinky promise?

i think my best friend

[twilightvolt]

A 3 month late art summary featuring art that i haven’t uploaded here due to my absence. unless i randomly feel like it, i don’t think i’m gonna go back and upload them here. if you wanna see them, though, they’re all on my DA.

I know i've pretty much said all the important bits in A Sacrifice for the Wind, but i figure i reiterate everything said along with expanding upon everything that occurred during 2017. piece by piece. and yes, i did intend to make an art joke. So, to get it outta the way, 2017 stunk more than a dead fish on a city bus. i lost a lot during that year. i lost the will to believe in whatever the future had in store for me, i almost lost a few friends, i lost my motivation to work on my projects and above all...i lost the smile i've always kept on every year before that. never have i been so emotionally damaged in all 5 years of my artist life leading up to this point. But, i can't say it was completely terrible. as much as i bashed it, art wise, 2017 was a very progressive year. looking at every wedge on the clock, i can't stop staring at how far i've come since the end of 2016. after being stripped of my tablet at the end, i've even learned how to not be afraid of making permanent mistakes. But yeah, let's begin. by turning the clock all the way back to January. when things were much simpler.... January: Hukaro Nakawa ~Final Mix Yeah, this was done in October, but i uploaded it in January for Moon's birthday. plus, there was nothing noteworthy this month. i still remember all the nice comments i got. this was the beginning of a year that i ran right in and yelled "LET'S SHOW THIS WORLD THAT WE WON'T STAND FOR ANOTHER 2016!" Oh how naive i was... February: The Beast Inside Remember when i played a lot of League in my free time? i sure do. anyway, this was my next attempt after Hukaro to continue doing my "Squeenix Cinematic Style." this time on the, at the time, new revamp for Warwick. needless to say, i still think i did a better job on Hukaro. BUT, this was still pretty good. it was during these first few months when things were really lookin' up for me. i was continually working on things cuz i really wanted to make something and school was pretty cool too. March: Digimon ZX Cover ZX ISN'T DEAD I SWEAR! *ahem* I MEAN....hai. owo As we march on into March, i think R2 of Digimon Temporal Jump was going on at the time. we were going through our story entries and things were pretty great being with my best buds. i also began doing art streams i'm pretty sure, with this drawing in particular being done during two days of streaming. i'm being serious, by the way. ZX is not dead. i've been typing up the story on my phone, so look forward to those chapters sometime soon! April: Are You Ready? Yup. in anticipation for Digidestined.Com, i decided to start seriously developing Digimon Unchained ahead of time so people would be able to get to know Yuki beforehand. unfortunately, i didn't actually get to start the story until much later, but that was just me being a lazy bum. i was hangin' out on Discord and stuff, talking about how excited i was for what was to come. we all know what happened, but at the time, being able to go back to the world i once knew with Luneth was a big deal for me. it's like i was going back to the beginning. And fear not, peeps! i've been working on Unchained for quite awhile. you'd be surprised how much i've worked on it with Gao. ^w^ May: Bits n' Bytes Ultima Vocal Collection Oh yeah, i did a birthday gift for Fire too! just so you know, i do still wanna make OSTs for my other Digimon adventures, but without my tablet i can't really do them right now. this month was pretty alright if i remember. making new friends and strengthening bonds with old friends. things were pretty fun in the sun cuz y'know......summer was coming. June: Connection Flow in Ice and Snow AWWW YEEEAAAAH, LET'S KICK IT!!! *Another Way by Girugamesh plays at full blast* (if .Com had a vocal OST, that would be opening.....3 if i remember the list i made. would've been the final opening i think. it's been awhile since i looked at the files.) Now that .Com finally began, i was on the hype train to the sun as i feverishly worked hard on my .Com stuff. this poster was one of my proudest works this year tbh. i promised i would make something great outta this story. this would be the closure that Luneth and Vivi so desperately needed, and Yuki and Arcus would be the ones to save them and close their book for good. not only that, but i was also graduating high school. after throwing my cap in the air, i said my heartfelt goodbyes to all the friends i've known since elementary and middle school including the close friends in my AP Art Squad. Team AP Art Will Never be Apart! honestly, things couldn't be any more exciting for me. Gee, it would be a shame if something were to happen that would trigger a chain of events that would divide my friends forever and send me down a spiraling pain train to the void known as crippling depression. July: DigiJuly Day 5: V-Mon (Vivi) This drawing was done to commemorate three years of adventures with Luneth and Vivi. this was during DigiJuly, when i was doing Digimon doodles nonstop for the duration of the month. What was once a hype train became a train wreck once July came around. things were ok until DTJ burned down in a raging fire and that set the stage for the rest of the year. i literally wouldn't be able to overcome any of this until November or so. i don't wanna dwell on it anymore since i'd be sounding like a broken record at this point. August: D3P: D-Sona 3 Portable Not a lot of art this month either. can you believe that? XD Hoo boy. August. need i say anything more about this month? we thought things settled down after DTJ shut down, but something was amiss.... This was the month that it happened. the climax of the story best left untold....even though i told it a hundred times already. >_>' Outside of the incident, time was running short for our stay at our current home and we were thinking of our next move. i began to worry about college as steep student debt caused us to have a change of plans on where to go. i was beginning to doubt if i even had a future to believe in. i was running out of options, and i was running out of hope. And trust me, it only gets worse from here. September: The Next Generation After awhile, things were still going on outside my realm of knowledge. it only made me feel worse seeing everything transpire long after the initial conflict. with this stigma hanging over me, i finally decided to pack my bags and leave the Digimon group era of my artist life. it was a pretty sour note to end it on, but let's be real here, there was no way i could wait any longer for things to get better. granted, my birthday was awesome, and i couldn't thank everyone enough for coming together to try to bring my spirit back. unfortunately, my bout with depression was just beginning. it was so bad, i pretty much stopped taking care of myself, which would lead to a few days ago when i'd end up with one less tooth in my mouth. i swear i won't let it get that bad again. With everything plummeting down to the dark abyss, i said goodbye to the life i once knew. from here on, things were about to change. i wasn't gonna end here. not now. October: Howling in the Shadows From this month forth, my family had no idea where we were going. the beginning of the tale of the borderline homeless that still continues to this day. Packing away my computer and drawing tablet for what feels like an eternity, i was moving out of my current home that we rented for the duration of my senior year and into grandma's house......in a raging storm. i'm not kidding. the rain was so bad that when we got there, our clothes were completely soaked and we couldn't even see 5 feet ahead of us outside that night. i knew immediately that it was some sort of ill omen for what was to transpire in the coming months. in fact, i even had dreams of the aftermath of what might happen. Now that i was stripped of my digital art abilities, i had to think of something else to do. so, i decided to dedicate myself to going back to traditional art. Boy, did i have fun. November: Return to the Realm of Sleep Now, this was the only thing i was able to crank out in November. BUT, that doesn't mean i didn't draw. i drew stuff, but nothing noteworthy enough to upload here. i'm gonna tell it to you straight now. Arcus will return. With my mental health still kicking me in the butt (it hit me so hard i had a panic attack one day.), i wasn't really motivated to draw much. in fact, i even hid myself away from the internet for quite awhile. without my friends or my sense of purpose, i felt like i had nothing and i was pretty under the weather for a majority of this month. that being said, i snapped myself out of it by force. it was stupid that i still felt the way i did months after what happened. sure, it was horrible, and i wish i could forget everything. but i can't stay stuck in the past. And so, i picked up my colored pencils and other such tools, and began my journey to recovery. December: Lexicon (Lex) and A Sacrifice for the Wind I got the hang of drawing traditionally pretty quickly. throughout the month, i was on fire, drawing masterstroke after masterstroke. (at least, in my opinion. XD) Making my new home in the mobile communities of Amino, it was a nice change of pace from the big screen of my computer. i made a bunch of new friends (to the staff of the Aminos i'm in and the rest of the crew in our Digimon Discord server, you guys are the best and thank you for healing the pain of yesteryear!) and had a grand old time making new OCs, Lex being one of them. i honestly luv Appmon and i wish we got more, but i'm content with what we got tbh. it'll live on in Seikatsu and his friends. be ready to see them once again in the near future! And so, in the wake of destruction as the world continues to change around me, i chopped off my signature anime emo locks, revamped my wardrobe and set my sights toward the future. Nowadays, i've completely moved on from the pain, but that doesn't change the fact that it still happened. overall, 2017 was a complete pile of poopoo garbage and i'm glad the nightmare is finally over. Even if i can't completely write it off as bad, there's just way too many negatives that weigh down the rest of the year for me personally. it's March now and things are pretty hectic, but i've got newfound courage and i know this year will be better than the last. time for me to get back up and charge forth to a better tomorrow!