#and two from st lucia

[chekovsphaser]

Helped my grandma sort out some old papers and she found a sack of her old stamps which she gave to me to add to my collection :)

[scruffpuppy]

please bring back 2014 indie pop (i could care less that a few of these songs were pre or post the 2014 era if the song fits it fits)

cecelia and the satellite by andrew mcmahon in the wilderness

i wanna get better by bleachers

cigarette daydreams by cage the elephant

ways to go by grouplove

girls by the 1975

miracle mile by cold war kids

take a walk by passion pit

little talks by of monsters and men

tongue tied by grouplove

midnight city by m83

undercover martyn by two door cinema club

i can talk by two door cinema club

young blood by the naked and famous

kids by mgmt

1901 by phoenix

young folks by peter bjorn and john

daylight by matt & kim

animal by neon trees

stolen dance by milky chance

out of my league by fitz and the tantrums

talk too much by coin

greek tragedy by the wombats

chocolate by the 1975

anna sun by walk the moon

everybody talks by neon trees

what you know by two door cinema club

dancing on glass by st lucia

FEEL FREE TO READ THE PART AT THE TOP WHERE I SAY ITS NOT ALL FROM 2014 THANKS!

[memento-rory]

✭ 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐭. 𝐥𝐮𝐜𝐢𝐚, 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓.

✭ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you help schlatt through the panic.

✭ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: none!

✭ 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: ~1k.

✭ 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: she’s a little short but she’s here! i think this one scene works as a chapter, and i got several positive responses in my inbox about posting it now, so here she is! st. lucia is winding down to a close, i have maybe two more chapters left before she’s fully finished. 😌 as always, no beta, we die like men here. enjoy! 🩵

Every part of Schlatt seizes up, his whole body frozen in place, but his eyes never leave yours. He watches as you briefly panic, before you realize that panicking wouldn’t help either of you — especially not the claustrophobe.

You take a deep breath, turning away from him just for a moment to press the emergency call button. You hold it down so hard that your fingertip goes white, leaving your finger on it for 2-3 seconds before releasing, then doing the process over and over again until someone on the other end picks up.

You fill them in on what happened, and while they say they’ll get someone to you ASAP, you don’t believe it. They sound too cavalier, and you know that it’ll take time for the elevator company to reach out to find a technician. The person hangs up, and you heave a sigh, grabbing for your phone.

Schlatt has moved down to the floor, sitting with his back against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest. He leans his head back, and you hear his breathing getting more and more shallow.

You silently thank whatever gods might be out there that you have cell service, and you send a text out to the wedding party groupchat, saying, stuck in elevator. get help.

Just moments after your text goes through, your phone dies. “Jesus fucking Christ,” You mumble under your breath. You know for a fact the text went through, and you’re not about to ask Schlatt to give you his phone when he’s in the middle of a panic attack, so you just have to trust that your friends will take care of it.

Schlatt’s hand clenches his ocean-damp t-shirt right over his heart, and you take a seat in front of him as he tries and fails to catch his breath. He avoids looking at you as his panic grows, and you place a hand on his knee, trying to ground him. His head snaps up and you see pure, unadulterated fear in his eyes as they lock onto yours. You’ve never seen him like this before, and even if you truly hated Schlatt, there would be no reveling in this.

As soon as he looks at you, he tries to play it cool, tries to suppress his choppy breaths, but you shake your head at him. “Just breathe, Schlatt.”

The statement is futile, and you know it. Once that panic sets in, you don’t register anything that’s being said, and being told to breathe when you’re so desperately trying to do just that is, frankly, unhelpful.

You take one of Schlatt’s calves in your hand, lowering his leg to lay flat against the tiled floor of the elevator, before doing the same thing with his other leg. You hope that the sting of cold tile will help ground him even more, and you scoot into the small space between his open legs in order to get closer to him.

Gently, you take his face into your hands, taking a deep breath, nodding as he mimics you. You release the breath, and Schlatt does the same.

“Good.” You nod, trying to give Schlatt an encouraging smile, “Keep going. In through your nose,” You lead him, “Out through your mouth.”

Schlatt’s breathing slows after a few rounds, and you watch as most of his panic subsides as you both just keep breathing. He’s not one hundred percent obviously, as the two of you are still stuck in the elevator, but at least he’s not inching toward hyperventilating anymore.

Schlatt lets his forehead drop onto yours as he takes another deep breath, emotionally spent. You don’t have to wonder how he’s feeling because you felt the same way after the snake. You start to pull your hands away from his face, but his fingers wrap around your wrists, holding them in place.

“Just… keep ‘em there.” Schlatt mumbles, not letting go of you.

“Okay.” You murmur, leaving your hands where they are.

“Tell me somethin’,” Schlatt says, and you can almost feel his breath against your lips as he exhales another deep breath, “Talk t’ me. Distract me.”

“Do you remember when we met?” You ask, before you can even register that it comes out.

Schlatt breathes out a short chuckle. “‘Course I do. You were wearin’ that stupid hat.”

“It was a beret, and Amelia told me it was cute.”

“Yeah, well, she lied to ya.”

“Even in panic, you’re still an asshole.” You joke.

Schlatt laughs another breathy laugh. “Old habits die hard.” He says, before gently shaking his head, lifting it up to look at you. “I guess it was kinda cute. Matched your lil’ outfit and everything.”

“I’ll admit I was kind of trying a little hard,” You reminisce, with a small smile. “I’m not good with meeting new people. I get so fucking nervous.”

“You didn’t seem nervous to me,” Schlatt says, and your eyebrows shoot up.

“I didn’t?”

“Nah,” Schlatt shakes his head, his hands moving upward to rest on yours, which you only just realize are still up against his face. He takes your hands in his, lowering them into the small space between the two of you. He looks down at his hands holding yours. “I remember how easy it was to talk to you. You make people comfortable.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Schlatt nods, looking back up at you. There’s a beat of silence, before Schlatt leans in almost imperceptibly. The feel of the elevator changes then, no longer suffocating, but charged with a tension you and Schlatt have been denying for days now. Schlatt moves one of your hands back to his face, leaning into your touch, just waiting for you to make the move.

You hesitate, and before you can decide what to do, the elevator creaks back to life, and both of you scramble up from the floor as it starts going back up to the floor where your rooms are.

When the doors open, the entire wedding party is waiting for you, cheering that you’re finally out and safe. No one notices the unresolved tension between you and Schlatt, but it’s ever present for the both of you. You look over at Schlatt as your friends envelop both of you in hugs, but he doesn’t look back at you. Instead, he excuses himself to his room, mumbling something about being too tired to go to dinner tonight.

One step forward, three steps back.

← 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 ✭

[radiansjort]

BEST PARTS OF 2024 OLYMPICS (as someone in the US)

all the buzz around the cardboard beds. idk why the whole idea is so funny 💀

lebron hoisting that flag like george washington crossing the delaware. him and coco were perfect picks for flag bearers fr

POMMEL HORSE GUY. mr clark kent who got picked for the men’s gymnastics team JUST FOR THAT ONE EVENT, showed up, served cunt, and ensured us their first men’s gym medal in 16 years. stephen nedoroscik you will forever be iconic. (the whole team really— i also love seeing fred richards’ parents reactions LMAO)

THE USA WOMENS RUGBY TEAM 🗣️ being down 5 with 7 seconds left to go COAST TO COAST TO SCORE AND WIN THE BRONZE FOR THE FIRST US WOMENS MEDAL IN RUGBY!!! also ilona maher you will forever be iconic. 

flavia saraiva falling in warmups and being like ok bet, slaps a band aid on her black eye and goes out to help brazil win their FIRST MEDAL IN WOMENS GYM OHHH YEAHHH

GUATEMALA EARNED THEIR SECOND MEDAL EVER 🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️GRACIAS JEAN PIERRE BROL CARDENAS 🗣️🗣️🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🥉LOS CHAPINES FTW ‼️(if it weren’t for the new bib number rule instead of a shootout we could’ve gotten higher but i digress 😔)

THE WOMENS GYMNASTICS TEAM EATS ONCE AGAIN. 🐐🐐🐐

kim yeji’s AURA???!??? she came out there and shot with her hand in her pocket like she graduated from the university of servington, which she did, all while holding her daughters toy elephant 🥹

suni lee’s, simone biles’, and brody malone’s comeback stories were all so heartwarming to see, especially rebeca andrade’s coming back after THREE ACL TEARS?!!?

henrik christiansen (aka muffin guy) is literally so funny 😭🙏 bro actually has SO. MANY. tiktoks about the olympics village chocolate muffins and i give all credit to him for the fact we have the recipe now 😋

GUATEMALA WINNING ITS FIRST GOLD 🥇🥇🥇 ADRIANA RUANO 🐐🐐 PRIMER BRONCE Y AHORA ORO 🥉🥇🇬🇹🇬🇹🇬🇹🔥🔥🔥‼️‼️‼️🗣️🗣️🗣️

that turkish guy who just came out there in a t shirt and rawdogged the olympics 😭😭 imagine doing the shooting event with no eyewear, no ear covers, and just eyeballing it and winning SILVER??? bro is a hit man tryna not be suspicious by winning gold 🤨🤨

snoop dogg just chilling?? bro is participating in trials, trading pins, going to like every event and cheering, wearing FULL equestrian gear with martha stewart 😭? watching skateboarding finals w tony hawk? my guy is on the side quest of all side quests

katie ledecky my GOAT 🐐. i always love seeing her as the only swimmer on screen!! she lowkey has time to get out of the pool, do some interviews, get a snack, and come back to watch second place finish fr 

i do not usually watch cycling but i got so sad when remco evenepoel’s bike broke down BUT he had such a. huge lead he STILL MANAGED TO WIN GOLD!!! 🔥🔥

loving all the countries making history with their first medals!! julian alfred (st. lucia) and thea lafond (dominica) SHOWING UP FR!! also a lot of countries got their first medals in gymnastics specifically like kaylia neymour (algeria), carlos yulo (philippines), ángel barajas (colombia), etc. LIKE OKAYY THE GYMNASTS ARE NOT HERE TO PLAY

all the noah lyles haters been real quiet after he won gold in 100m 🤫🤫

the french pole vaulter who LOST because his peanits was too big. LIKE??!!?? sure you have a big wiener but at the cost of LOSING THE OLYMPCIS LMFAOOO

the women’s balance beam podium was so cute 😭😭 the two italians, alice d’amato and manila esposito, biting their medals together, and zhou yaqin from china looks over and does it too 🥹

armand duplantis hit the turkish hitman celly after breaking the pole vaulting wr AGAIN and winning gold 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨 tuff. he actually built different cuz tell me why he’s broken the wr LIKE EIGHT TIMES IN A ROW???

YEAHH BRAZIL BEAT FRANCE AND SPAIN EVEN WHEN THE REFS WERE TRYING SOOO HARD TO MAKE EM LOSE ‼️ like they were NOT slick we could tell 🤨

bro the figure skaters from beijing 2022 FINALLY getting their medals like??? i really took two years for the IOC to investigate? okay. AT LEAST THEYRE FINALLY GETTING THE BAG H 🗣️🗣️

imane khelif getting a gold despite ALL THE SHIT BEING THROWN AT HER‼️ she faced all these brain dead critics yet came out to win it, and saying without her haters the win wouldn’t have been so satisfying??? QUEEN SHIT 👑👑

women’s soccer SLAYED SO HARD. like i’ve seen enough build the alyssa naeher statue. that shootout against sweden awakened that dawg in her and she LOCKED IN. 

men’s and women’s basketball wins over france 🔥 imagine being the host country and both ur basketball teams go to the gold medal match just TO LOSE TO THE SAME COUNTRY LLL

usa winning the most medals 🔥💪 they not like U.S. fr 

shoutout to that guy who tried to climb the eiffel tower without ropes at the closing ceremony 😔✊ arrested before he could achieve greatness 🕊️🕊️🕊️

[stluciabuns]

The Historical Accuracy of Kirsten's Dirndl

Despite its adorableness, I have seen many people complain about Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl outfit.

I would kill a man to have bought this for $22.

She wears this outfit for most of Meet Kirsten, being that she is an impoverished immigrant child who does not own any other clothes, and also for continuity reasons.

Frequently, I have seen it claimed that this outfit is not historically accurate and should not have been included as part of her collection. Conversely, I have also seen many German folk costumes marketed as being made for Kirsten. Both of these pain me a great deal (actually they just annoy me).

Nonetheless, I have decided to further procrastinate doing actual, meaningful work and instead set out on a new mission: figure out what the fuck is up with Kirsten's Dirndl.

In this post, I will lay out the research I have done, the evidence supporting the historical accuracy of this outfit, the challenges to its existence, and ultimately aim to answer the question of whether this outfit is one Kirsten plausibly could have worn on her journey from Sweden to America in 1854.

Let's begin.

First, the name. Pleasant Company/American Girl referred to this outfit as "Kirsten's Swedish Dirndl and Kerchief."

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a Swedish dirndl. "Dirndl" is a German term, and refers to folk costumes worn by people in German-speaking areas of Europe (the Alps, Bavaria, Austria, and so on).

Kirsten is Swedish, and before Meet Kirsten has never left Sweden before. It is very unlikely she would have acquired, and regularly worn, a German dirndl. See this gorgeous example of a dirndl c. 1840:

Outfit, c. 1840. Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Münchner Stadtmuseum.

This ensemble is beautiful, but tragically, it is not what Kirsten is wearing.

What, then, is Kirsten wearing? What kind of traditional dress does Swedish culture have?

As it turns out, the proper term for what she is wearing is a folkdräkt. This is a Swedish term meaning "folk costume." Here is an illustration depicting multiple examples of Swedish folk costumes. In proper terms, these would be called "Svenska folkdräkter."

Nordisk familjebok (1908), vol. 8, Folkdräkt. Retrieved from runeberg.org.

These outfits are not quite identical to anything we see in Kirsten's collection, but you can observe various elements that have carried over -- the vertical stripes, black woolen skirts with ornate trim, and white dresses and red sashes (hello St. Lucia)!

Let us dive deeper. What do extant Svenska folkdräkter, specially those made c. 1850, look like? Is there anything like Kirsten's outfit among surviving examples?

Johan Sodermark, "Kvinna i dräkt."

In my few hours of research, this example image is the closest thing I have found to Kirsten's dirndl.

This lovely portrait is a watercolor from 1850 painted by Johan Sodermark. It is very creatively titled "Kvinna i dräkt" -- literally, "Woman in costume." The pattern of this woman's apron is incredibly similar to that of the skirt of the Kirsten doll's outfit -- a dark red base with blue and yellow stripes woven throughout.

Here is a closeup from the American Swedish Institute.

Although it is not shown in the doll-sized version of the outfit, the illustrations in Meet Kirsten by Renée Graef show us she also wears a light-colored, striped apron, which is almost surely the one that comes with her meet outfit.

Illustrations from Meet Kirsten, drawn by Renée Graef.

Notice the fabric of the bodice in the third illustration, though: Kirsten's top is made of red plaid fabric, while Sodermark's girl has an outfit full of stripes. Kirsten, bless her heart, spends an entire book outfit-repeating a potential pattern-mixing fail: plaid and two kinds of stripes and a floral scarf. Did Pleasant Rowland just hate her? Is Kirsten on another, elevated fashion plane far beyond my comprehension? Is there a historical basis for this combination of patterns?

I have no answer to the first two questions, but thankfully can speak on the third.

Komplett Vilskedräkt, Västergötlands museum. Some pieces c. 1865.

The top is plaid and laces up, which is not necessarily the most common way of fastening (in most examples, the bodice pins up), but it is a sensible choice considering both Kirsten's age (9) and the fact that Pleasant Company was making toys for little hands.

The model for the outer shell (the lace up top) belonged to Karl Edberg from Hällestad; it is not dated, but at least one piece of this set (the bag, which is not shown) is c. 1865. Additionally, the blouse here is very similar to the one that comes with Kirsten's winter outfit -- look at that keyhole neckline!

So, Kirsten's Dirndl outfit is actually very accurate as far as the clothing itself goes...the name remains the trouble.

I have no idea why they called it a dirndl. Folkdräkt is definitely challenging to pronounce, but why wouldn't PC just translate it as "folk dress" or "Swedish outfit" and call it a day? Why the insistence on referencing a culture that isn't relevant to the doll or her dress at all?

Perhaps this is a mystery to tackle for another day...

[cloveroctobers]

OCTOBER PROMPTS 🦇 — 5. RIO

A/N: had a dream about my man the other night so I guess that was his way of telling me that he misses me? We love delulu!!! Anyways thought this would be fun to actually write something on the line of thriller/spooky this time around. This is me making up for not writing part two’s to my other fall inspired prompt on this man way back when. Hope y’all enjoy this 🧡🫶🏽!!!

PROMPT is from HERE + I’m using: A Begs B to come explore an old house that they believe is haunted. B is hesitant, especially after hearing the scary tales A knows so much about.

*GIF + PHOTO DO NOT BELONG TO ME!

WARNINGS: some France slander, language & hints of sexual content.

<- read my previous October anthology prompt here.

𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔

Being in France for the month of October initially wasn’t the plan.

Khadijah and Rio ventured out here for a couple days for Khadijah’s birthday and for Rio to tie up some loose ends for business. What was supposed to be a four day trip turned into a much longer adventure.

“I know y’all done heard they got bed bugs out there, why are your asses staying out there longer?” Khadijah’s mother blurted into the FaceTime call.

Rio chuckled to himself by the mini bar, fixing himself something brown before entering the main living room part of the suite.

“Mom,” Khadijah hissed as she flicked through the channels, “this was a unexpected extended birthday trip.”

“Uh huh, sure it is.” The older woman said not entirely believing that, “Don’t think you can get cute on us and decide not to come back.”

“I’m already cute,” Khadijah modeled with extra shoulder as she sat on the tan couch while her mother brings the camera to show that she’s rolling her eyes.

“Well where do you think you get it from?”

“My father.”

“More like you got his smart mouth.” Khadijah’s mom comments, making her child hold up her finger to interject.

Now she loved her mom dearly but it was no secret that Khadijah was a daddy’s girl and her father’s favorite daughter despite what her two sisters thought. She was one of four children while her youngest sibling happened to be the only boy.

“Aw c’mon, don’t do Mr. Wells like that, especially if he’s not here to defend himself. Where is he anyway? It’s gotta be after 10:30 back home?” Rio came into frame, crouching behind Khadijah, who turned to peck his cheek before facing her phone once more.

The woman sighed, “where else? Working, working, working. I’ve been telling him he needs to slow down, he’s not some twenty year old no more. Lord knows it.”

Mr. Wells had a heart attack last year and had to have a stint put in. Rio’s never seen Khadijah’s so stressed before in his life and although the hardworking man had a good job with good insurance working for the city, they slammed him with some bills that Rio paid off. Which Mr. Wells wouldn’t let slide and already was in the process of paying back.

His choice, not Rio’s.

“He’s close to retirement and he loves supporting his family which is respectable.” Rio starts before joking, “once that happens then the both of you can come with us to Paris next time.”

“Uh uh. I’m never going over there, never had the desire to which is why I want y’all asses to get out of there fast!” Mrs. Wells’ large glasses come into frame now as she holds the phone at not the best angle, “I’d love to see Dubai or St. Lucia with Kayode, your father, and I guess your big headed brother can come too, Deej.”

Khadijah laughs, “yeah and he can bring Eliza too.”

“if I catch him even thinking about it, I’ll click my heels three times and send her bony ass right to hell.”

Laughter bubbles in Khadijah’s throat as she sends a teasing smile to Rio who winked back at his wife, knowing that neither of Khadijah’s parents were fond of their youngest child’s significant other. He was nineteen and found his supposed first love so it was evident that the pair were clingy and so in love with each other. They went to the same high school together, weren’t in the same cliques but ended up at the same community college and decided to give each other a try.

In shorter terms.

“We’ll make it happen,” Rio sighs as he comes around to plop down on the couch next to Khadijah, tossing a hand around the back of the couch, “minus Eliza right?”

“Damn straight,” Mrs. Wells humphed, “she can date somebody else’s son and boss them around for all i care. I just hope it’s over before thanksgiving.”

“Now Mom! Let’s not spread that negative energy for your birthday month, do you need some lavender and Kirk Franklin to keep your blood pressure down?”

The woman with the now bonnet secured around her micro locs fanned her hand, “I already had my session with Mr. Franklin around 7pm so hush! You know that’s what I’m wishing for and hoping you don’t wait around and decide to come back then.”

Khadijah blinks at Rio, who meets her stare. He had no plans of staying here longer than another few days, things got delayed and he offered to send Khadijah back to Detroit if that’s what she wanted but she had some vacation time that she didn’t mind using and she didn’t want to leave Rio behind either.

He’s been busy lately and she just knows as soon as they get back to Detroit, he’ll probably disappear for a little awhile again. So sue the woman if she wanted to be a little selfish and spend more time with her man.

“We’re gonna bring you something much better,” Rio smirks after taking a sip of his liquor, “maybe even a new bundle of joy.”

“WHAT?!” Mrs. Wells yells, “don’t play with me right now. When was your last cycle? I’ve been saying your tatas been looking fuller, ooooh I’ll have to tell your grandmomma.”

“Hey, hey! I’m not pregnant—

“Yet. We’ve been practicing though.” Rio announces, biting down on his bottom lip while Khadijah gasps and shoved at his knee.

Mrs. Wells claps her hands in joy, “y’all keep doing that but don’t bring those bed bugs back with you.”

“We won’t and did our research. If it makes you feel any better, we’re leaving this hotel tonight to stay at this castle for the rest of our trip and then tomorrow we’re gonna go explore this historic house since Rio wanted to have a rest day.” Khadijah informs her mother while Rio slowly nods his head, not knowing of the exploring a house portion but they’d discuss it later.

Mrs. Wells yawns as she sits up in bed now, “sounds fancy but okay then, mom’s tired and ready to knock out. But continue to be safe, the both of you and I’ll see you soon?”

“You sure will, night momma Wells.” Rio gave a two finger salute while Khadijah shared, “I love you’s, talk soon.” Before hanging up the call.

Khadijah leans back against the couch with a sigh, “told you mom’s got serious seperation anxiety all thanks to Kaliyah moving to Toronto with her girlfriend and we’re only traveling!”

“Which is exactly why I tried to smooth over her worries with baby talk, it worked didn’t it?” Rio lifts a thick brow while Khadijah shrugs her shoulders.

Soon she rests her head on Rio’s chest, locking her arms around his waist, “it’ll happen when it’s meant to…and we need to make sure we’re all packed for our new temporary home.”

“Oh I know I am, it’s you you gotta worry about mamas.” Rio presses a kiss to Khadijah’s rosemary scented hair.

Khadijah scoffs, “sorry but I had to buy more for this trip…which I’m not complaining! BUT! Paris’ fashion is really for the petite girlies.”

“They’re forreal missing out on the inclusion and better get on that.” Rio hummed.

“Siobhán is.” Khadijah grins while Rio slowly dips his head at the mention of his old designer friend.

Before Khadijah could get into asking about how she’s been doing, Rio sips from his drink once more and changes the subject, “what’s this about exploring tomorrow?”

“We maybe moving into a castle mansion for a little awhile but there’s no way I’m staying cooped up any longer without seeing what Dordogne has to offer.” Khadijah tells her husband with the perfect pronunciation of the town—or rather department as France calls it.

Rio raises the hand the rests against his wife’s shoulder, “heard you, mamas. No arguing on my part but you know it’s beneficial to have reset days too.”

“Which YouTuber told you that?” Khadijah smirks up at the buzz haired man, figuring that he was probably logged onto her account instead of switching over to his own to watch whatever it is he gets into.

Rio snorts, “don’t try and play me, my aesthetician did.”

“Of course they did.” Khadijah nods believing that since Rio didn’t mess around when it came to his skincare, “and you’re right, there’s nothing wrong with rest days. You’ve been running around x2 compared to me so I get it. You get a nap in and I’ll get the bags ready since we have what? An hour before the service comes and gets us.”

Rio grips Khadijah’s hand as she gets up from the couch, “you sure all an hour is what you need?”

“Shut up, Christopher.” Khadijah laughs, matching Rio’s smile before leaving the man to get his nap on.

With the city life behind the married couple, they settled in Dordogne late last night into the 18th century home. Surprisingly Rio wakes up late the next day, like around eleven am late compared to his seven am timeline. However Khadijah doesn’t mind letting him sleep, snapping a picture of his rest with the camera she brought along for the trip. She watches the clock from time to time, knowing just when to order breakfast to be sent to their room.

Khadijah’s sitting on a olive couch pushed underneath the windows which are half pulled back, sipping on caffe viennese, stomach half full from a classic French breakfast as she stares out into the scenery acting like the main character in a Victorian film.

“Morning, mamas. You starting the day without me?” Rio’s rough morning voice greets the brown skinned woman, who glances over her shoulder at him.

A soft smile meets her full lips, “good morning but someone has to get this party started. But don’t worry, I’ll never not let you in on the thrill. Got you one of these,” she holds the mug up in the air, nodding with her chin on the nightstand next to the man, “and there’s breakfast waiting for you underneath the cloche.”

“Did I mention hearing you speak French is sexy?” Rio states as he slowly sits up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Khadijah smirks, “plenty when you were tipsy on the late night ride here.”

“I regret nothing,” Rio laughs before turning to reach and sip at the warm coffee, “this is delicious.”

Khadijah pops her tongue, “Yeah it is.”

“What we doin’ today? Hold up, what time is it?” Rio turns his eyes into slits, reaching for his phone to let out a low whistle, “damn, haven’t slept that long—

“Since you got shot?”

Rio let’s out a cough, “whoa, that was dark.”

“Sorry,” Khadijah says, “kinda just slipped out.”

“Something you wanna talk about, Dija?” Rio hums, staring at his wife from their temporary shared bed.

Khadijah shakes her head, “nothing I want to get into on this brand new day, no. So!”

She uncurls her feet from underneath her to stand in her floral print lace trim set, placing a smile on her lips as she plops down on the bed. Taking a quick sip of the coffee again, she places it on her side of the nightstand and reaches inside to pull out two slips of paper.

“Close your eyes.”

“Why?” Rio suspiciously tries to peek at the papers but Khadijah slaps them right on her chest.

“You asked what we’re gonna do.”

“Didn’t you say exploring some house last night?” Rio frowns, trying to remember.

Khadijah’s little smile to herself seems wicked but as soon as it appeared it vanished while she wiggled a bit on the bed, “that’s tonight’s adventure after dinner. We have at least a few hours before then to do something else so…pick one, anyone.”

The two options were: Château des Milandes OR Canoeing on the Brantôme.

Rio doesn’t wipe the frown off his brows but holds out his thumb and pointer finger while Khadijah holds onto the deck of two pieces. The tatted man makes a show of taking his time debating, just to irritate Khadijah for a little until he smiles picking the paper to the left.

And the winner is…

“Great choice! Now get your butt up and let’s shower, they’ve been open since 9 this morning.”

Chateau des Milandes!

Rio hums as he studies the paper, sipping at his coffee then replies, “can I enjoy my breakfast along with the view first?”

Khadijah dramatically sighs as she flops beside Rio, resting on her elbow to stare back at the ajar windows, “oh fine but I promise you, the one outside is much better.”

“personally I like the one right next to me.”

Khadijah flicks her head back to meet Rio’s brown eyes and she can’t help but to let a smile split over her lips, then puckering them for Rio to peck and lick his own smiling lips afterwards, “you think you’re so smooth.”

“I mean give a guy some credit. How else do you think I got you?” Rio chuckled while Khadijah just nodded her head from side to side mockingly.

“Just eat your food Christopher.”

It was Rio’s turn to mimic his wife.

“Aight, Khadijah.” He said over his shoulder, sitting on his knees and reaching over for the second tray of food.

Chateau Des Milandes was a sight to see and was a wonderful experience. Ugh!!! here Khadijah was sounding like her very emotional Granny Mozella but she never took moments like these with Rio for granted. On the outside it may seem like Rio was only street smart since that’s what he preferred yet he didn’t mind listening in on historical facts from time to time and no he wasn’t really into podcasts—unless it was true crime content—but no one could ever say he wasn’t open to learning new material and translating it into his own life.

He was good at finding purpose in anything.

He also liked draping his arm across Khadijah’s shoulders as they took the tour around the home that used to be owned by the successful Josephine Baker. That was more interesting to Khadijah than the Lords that lived it way before Ms. Baker but nonetheless they took it all in together including the architecture.

No one could deny that France had a way with its design and art.

They explored the garden, which led to a picnic and wine for dinner with the French sunset as the perfect backdrop, then they ended their time at the Chateau with a bird experience, much to Rio’s surprise as Khadijah winked and placed a kiss on the tattoo on his neck, before clenching onto his arm for dear life once the various of birds—specifically the one that was very similar to the one on Rio’s skin started flying around.

Rio found amusement in that, even when they made it back to the rental car.

“If that big ass bird would have crapped on me, we would have been having a whole different type of bird for thanksgiving this year.” Khadijah continuously checked her outfit for any unfamiliar marks, the paranoia getting to her.

Rio couldn’t help but to throw his head back against the headrest laughing. “They’ve been trained, that wasn’t gonna happen. Plus it may just wanted a strand of your hair for warmth, huh? French winters can be brutal so I hear.”

The man went to curl a strand of his wife’s loose curl that framed her face who scoffed at him.

“You’re far from funny, Mr. Montoya.” Khadijah slapped his hand away to fix her pin curl updo in the drop down mirror.

Rio chuckled some more, watching her, “you’re right…I’m hilarious, Mrs. Montoya.”

“Im glad you had fun, baby. I can tell the bird part was your favorite,” Khadijah gave the man a playful side eye, “but now it’s time for my activity.”

Rio glanced at the watch on his wrist, “it’s going on seven…what else you trying to get into besides drinking more wine and eating cheese?”

“Whew! No more cheese for me.” Khadijah flicked the sun visor back up, “so…I have this other place to visit.”

Rio tapped on the GPS, “aight, what’s the address?”

“I don’t think the GPS will fully locate it…just to a certain point.”

Rio thought about this for a second and asked, “what? It’s some underground event or something?”

“Well sure, yeah. Kinda.” Khadijah shrugged her shoulders making Rio sigh and sit back with his hands clasped.

Khadijah was tapping away on her phone for a moment while Rio just studied her. When she realized the car wasn’t moving, Khadijah turned her attention back to Rio who was patiently waiting for her to come right on out with it.

“We’re not going anywhere until you give me the info I need. No shady shit allowed.”

Khadijah turned sideways to face Rio, “Okay so…there’s this house that we should see.”

“You said that already. But Why? To buy?”

“Hell no,” Khadijah was quick to say, further making Rio put his guard up as to what this whole adventure was even about, “I mean no…yeah no that’s exactly what I mean. It wouldn’t be for us to live…just to see.”

Rio pried, “what’s so special about it?”

“It has a colorful story.”

“Which is…?”

“The year was 1666–

“Nah,” Rio immediately said leaning forward to start the engine but Khadijah flew her hand out to stop Rio from switching the gears.

“You didn’t let me finish.”

Rio leans on the console to completely face Khadijah, “by the way you’re dragging this out let’s me know you’re about to tell me some bullshit, that you know I’m not about to let fly.”

“Can’t a bitch add some extra flavor to the tale?” Khadijah scrunches up her face, “Sheesh.”

“Stop playin’ with me, Dija.”

“So hostile,” Khadijah flicked her hair off her shoulder, “alright you want the synopsis? Got it. So this house is special because during the year of 1666 a woman named Blanche lived there with her father, mother, two siblings, and new husband. Allegedly she was later accused of poisoning her family and beheaded her husband after they all suspected she was a witch because of some rumors started at the hospital she volunteered at. Her sickly father was the one to put her down after his wife and other children slowly started to die one by one. They say Blanche still haunts the home and asks when and or if you visit, to leave a ribbon and tea bag’s on their front step as a offering and for her to rid any vengeance in your life.”

Rio caressed his facial hair in thought, “Question for you, mamas? Did that eagle peck at your brain when i wasn’t around or…”

Khadijah sucks her teeth, “it’s spooky season, asshole!”

“I know that,” Rio lifts his shoulders carelessly, “but you’re trying to get into some serious shit and I can tell you one thing: I’m not feelin’ it.”

“Are you scared?” Khadijah leaned into the center console ready to comfort him, “I never said we had to go inside the house. Just see it and leave something for Blanche.”

Rio didn’t miss how Khadijah started to trail her hands over him but he didn’t fold, “Her business ain’t ours.”

It was Khadijah’s turn to laugh now, “you’re definitely scared!”

“No I’m not.” Rio scowled, “I’m just saying you have to be careful what you expose yourself to. I told moms we’d bring her back a baby, not a witch that may latch onto your body.”

Khadijah frowns, “why would you think Blanche would latch onto mine and not yours?”

“Whoever! And I really can’t wrap my head around the fact that you’re trying to mess with some spirits.”

Khadijah wasn’t trying to “‘mess with spirits,” she always respected the dead but this sounded better than visiting the catacombs to be honest.

So she challenged, “Hey! It’s something to do.”

“I can find plenty of other things we can get into.” Rio placed his chin into the palm of his hand, “We’re not about to be here much longer anyway.”

Khadijah sighs as she grabs Rio’s hand to place in her lap, “I’ll let you try out our new toy at the same time while you’re inside…”

Rio’s eyes begin to darken as they meet Khadijah’s much lighter ones. This was a promising bargain and this Khadijah knew as Rio trailed his own hand up her stomach, between her breasts, and to grip her chin.

“You’re lucky I love you,” Rio states as he presses their lips together and leads the way with his tongue dancing along hers.

It’s passionate and a little nasty just the way the married couple liked their kisses but brief enough that he leaves Khadijah panting on the passenger side. He smirks to himself, lifting up from the driver’s side to pull out his Glock 17 from his black jeans to rest on the dashboard.

“Put your seatbelt on,” Rio tells Khadijah who shortly follows through, “and not a word of this to my abuelita.”

Khadijah makes a cross my heart motion as Rio puts the car in drive.

The drive to this supposed haunted home was a good half hour north from where they were staying and the decline of the countryside was clear. There seemed to be no livelihood as the skies got even darker. Rio could sense to the left of him that Khadijah seemed to be at unease the deeper they got into the area.

He checks in, “How we doing?”

“Hm? Oh, there it is. Stop.”

Rio turns his attention back to the lack of road up ahead and notices that there’s a tunnel with no lighting. He steps on the breaks, witnessing to the left of the tunnel the narrow road carried upwards to what exactly? That he didn’t know. There was no homes or animals in sight on this drive since they started getting further away from the chateau.

“What’s this?”

“That’s the tunnel that leads to Blanche’s house.” Khadijah is sitting on the edge of the passenger seat now.

Rio tightens his hold on the steering wheel, eyes scanning the scenery with the help of the automatic headlights. If they went through that tunnel, which was surely to be just as narrow as the roads out here in the countryside he wasn’t positive they would make it back. His intuition  was telling him since the beginning that this didn’t feel right and being physically here was enough to confirm that for Rio.

Turning his eyes into slits towards the right of the tunnel, Rio can see a decaying headstone with a bunch of colorful ribbons tossed around and possibly some rocks that were most likely teabags scattered below it.

“This is what you came for,” Rio says keeping his eyes on the road.

“Oui-Oui.” Khadijah says suddenly halfhearted and any other time Rio would have laughed but the expression on her face made him aware that the tension was also felt by her as well.

Rio steps on the gas, driving full speed towards the tunnel but stops just at edge, parallel to the headstone, making Khadijah grip the dashboard at the abruptness.

“Get going, sweetheart.” Rio tells Khadijah with a lift of his chin.

Khadijah swallows, prying her eyes away from the tunnel then to the headstone and back to her husband. “W-what? You’re not coming with me?”

“I never said I was going in there. I have sense.” Rio tapped at his temple.

Khadijah glares, “wow. So here’s to trying new things was just another one of your lies then huh?”

“Another? Don’t go there, I’m not doing that with you this evening. You brought this terrible idea to me and I brought you here so go head, show me you’re the one who isn’t scared.” Rio’s hardened stare was now on the fuming woman.

Khadijah didn’t know what the fuck Rio’s problem was and why he thought this energy was okay? Khadijah didn’t like Rio’s tone so she snatched her baguette bag from beside her feet and went to push on the door but remained right inside.

“Are you serious?!”

Rio made a U-Turn and began driving back in the direction they came, “are you forreal thinking I’m about to have our asses messing around with the actual dead? Let alone your indecisive ass? And we don’t even have the full context?”

“I mean…do you not have bodies? You don’t see me questioning you about them.” Khadijah muttered.

Rio snapped his eyes to his wife, “two completely different things and you know that.”

It really wasn’t but okay, if Rio hated her riding the fence then let’s see if he hated it now.

“Whatever.” Khadijah slouched against the seat, “You just wasted our time, like why entertain the fact that you were with it if you’re just gonna try to clown me?”

“I wasn’t letting you do that and you should have known that.” Rio clenched his jaw, “I would never willingly put you in harm’s way and that’s exactly what you were signing up for.”

Khadijah knows Rio wouldn’t and if she wanted to be petty she could but she just mumbles, “You just ruined spooky season in France like?”

“Better throw that ribbon and teabags out the window and get glad. Who knows what would have happened if we went down that dark ass tunnel with only the Glock against a whole spirit mind you, that we don’t even know if she’s still vengeful or not.”

“I mean you make valid arguments…and I don’t even know if the house is still standing. The last update online was from 2021 so I guess I can’t be too pressed about it.” Khadijah explains as she starts to search through her bag, “but you can’t say I was indecisive this time, yet you locked me in here like I’m a child.”

Rio deeply exhales, rubbing at his face in slight aggravation, “yeah we gotta get back to Detroit and quick. I think you need to go back to work and continue spreading peaceful energy at that non-profit instead whatever this is.”

“What?” Khadijah sucked her teeth, “Trying to be on theme?”

“We could easily rent a movie at the spot and call it a day.”

“I wanna be one with nature!”

“As soon as we get far away from Blanche’s murder site, I’ll take the locks off so you can touch some grass.”

“Ohhhh, I cannot stand you!” Khadijah scowled followed by some laughter before ghosting her fingers over the window button, “is this going to work for me or am I still being held hostage?”

Rio just hums to himself, glancing in the rear view spotting a blur of white in the distance along with something that wasn’t tumbleweed rolling right by their feet.

Khadijah doesn’t notice as she cracks the window to toss a pink ribbon and a teabag out on the dirt road.

And when she looks in the rearview, she doesn’t see anything unusual or creepy. So she rolls her window back up and presses her elbow into the arm of the door, resting her cheek along her fingers, watching the night scenery whip by her highlighter eyes.

Soon Rio’s hand reaches for the Glock to rest in the cup holders before sneaking his hand over to bring Khadijah’s hand up to his lips. He knew she was a little sour with him over this and probably a bunch of other built up issues but Khadijah always tried to make the best of it.

Rio was trying to get better at validating her feelings but this shit right here was not it and Khadijah knew that inside. Which is why he had a more safer route up his sleeve to spend the day with Khadijah tomorrow since celebrating Halloween was apparently too american for the French. So he did the best that he could choosing a theme park that would be “on theme” for Khadijah’s spooky cravings.

That would be his gift to her and routine of keeping her best interest at heart, even if she didn’t fully want to see it that way sometimes…

Ah, she’ll be aight.

𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔𒅒𒇫𒄆 𒅒𒈔

Continue along with my October anthology prompts here.

[yukasyukasyukasyukas]

Random valorant agents headcanons bc I'm sleep deprived

(this means I didn't get my 12 hours of sleep today)

Brimstone

Hugest ally on the VP (which, lets be honest, doesn't mean much since they're all gay)

First person KJ came out to and he was so emotional about it

Constantly tries to get the agents to get closer or at least respect each other but after Cypher mentioned how him and Breach treat one another he gave up

Calls some agents (Viper, Sage and Killjoy) by their first names on the everyday and calls Sova, Chamber and Deadlock (the other ex militars) by their last names

I wanted to hc him an American football team but idk any💞💞💞

Viper

Brimstone and Vyse are the only ones to call her Sabine bc they know her since before the "incident"

KJ also used to call her Sabine before the VP but Viper was bitter abt agents calling her by her first name

Scared for her life of failing Reyna, not because she actually fears her, but because she actually cares about Lucia

Older sister who lost contact with her family

Aroace

Has a snake named Viper that is older than the protocol

Omen

Is annoyed by people mistaking knitting with crochet

Very kind to the younger agents

In his own way though

Killjoy

Has an older sister who doesn't talk to her since she was a teenager

HOW DOES ONE BECOME THE LEAD OF A WHOLE DIVISION ON SUCH A HUGE CORPORATION AT THE AGE OF 18???!$+2+_(not a hc, just a concern)

The fact her dad died before she was born probably has something to do with her closeness to Cypher and Brimstone

Rich af but rents an apartment with another girl and that place is absolutely precarious

Pays the rent monthly even if she doesn't spend a single night there

Has a huge lesbian flag on the living room and that has gotten her very straight roommate into delicate situations with her boyfriends

Her roommate is Brazilian from São Paulo bc I want her to

Very easily impressed by anything Raze does even if it's something she can do a thousand times better

I feel like she would main a duelist if she played val, probably Reyna or Raze

Cypher

Has a picture of his wife and kids on his bedside table

He keeps Nora's favorite clothing and his children's baby toys

Girl dad obv

Killjoy reminds him of his oldest daughter and sometimes he calls her his daughter's name

Hates kingdom but since he joined the protocol he learned how to convive with their workers, even if he doesn't like it most part of the time

Scares little kids on Roblox for fun

Wouldn't mind having a relationship with a man but after Nora he can't imagine himself in another relationship so he doesn't give it a try

(I love him and Nora😭)

Sova

Calls the other agents by their first names

Was friends with Sage since before the protocol

Recommend Sage to Brimstone

One of the only coworkers Viper enjoys the company of

Once he tried to speak Spanish to mess around with Reyna and Raze swore he was speaking Portuguese bc of the accent

Trans bc I want to project into my fav characters

Morning walks

Sage

Calls everyone by their first names

Has two younger siblings but she hasn't had notice of them since she started the monk training

Misses them

Met Skye when researching about her healing powers, Skye was doing the same

Born radiant

Great at cooking but Jett gaslit her into thinking it was bad as a joke and she still believes it

After Harbor joined the VP she got back into cooking

Lesbian bc I said so

Not much close to the other women in the protocol, only Skye, Jett, Neon and Reyna

Closer to the men on the VP (Sova, Brimstone, Cypher, Iso, Omen etc)

Doesn't have a clue of why Clove doesn't like her

Phoenix

Nerd

This man is a canon theater kid, he absolutely LOVES musicals, specially Hamilton and Jett and Raze tease him Abt being British and liking it

Bi

For some reason Jett gaslights him into thinking he's actually gay, obviously never worked

Him and Jett break up for the most ridiculous reasons, they've already broken up more times than one can count on fingers

Banned from every kitchen he steps on

Learned Korean só Jett would shut up about her being bilingual while he only spoke English

Once he let Astra undo his dreads to give him braids, it was the saddest day of his life

Raze bullies him for his style💔💔💔💞

Jett

Can cook five stars dinners but insists on eating leftovers she finds on the fridge and steals from the other agents

Doesn't dare touching Chamber's "monstrosities of dishes"

Makes people their favorite dinner and a special breakfast on their birthdays

Cooks for the whole protocol on weekends

Most my hc surround on the fact she's always eating something and was a chef😔

Gaslights everyone into believing the most random and/or stupid things and has actually convinced Gekko that dog is a common dish in east Asia

First thing she asks every east Asian she meets outside of east Asia is if they eat dog

Sage was mad at her for this

Also bi

Reyna

Actually very caring and worried for most agents

Siblings relationship with Yoru

Randomly starts speaking Spanish to Sage just to annoy her

Learned Chinese just to mess around with Sage

Lesbiana

Flirts with Breach as a joke

Iso actually believed she and Breach were a couple when he arrived

Homophobic to Raze and Killjoy

Non ironically has offered to find Raze a better girlfriend than Killjoy

Wants to be a mother but can't because of her duties and Sage doesn't like children

Raze

BRAZILIPPINES

Hugest anarcocomunist

Grafitti artist

Has sent Kingdom, Killjoy and Viper dozens of blackmails before joining the protocol

Didn't like Killjoy for her first years in the protocol

Boombot was created as a "rebellion" from Killjoy's tech with an alarmbot that Kingdom placed near her house

Has a younger brother who is her absolutely whole world

Capoeira.

Breach

Actually speaks Portuguese very well

Dad jokes

Hates children and the only exception is Raze's younger brother

Please please please please please read the joke I posted😭

Didn't get along with Deadlock nor Chamber at first

Gets along well with Cypher, Harbor and Fade

Likes men and makes it everyone's business and is very annoying to homophobes about it (bi)

Has kissed Harbor once just to see the look of terror on a homophobic guy's eyes

Skye

Lesbian

Owes a personal gun that she uses to scare bigots and idiots in general

Was guilty about rejecting Yoru

Still is very close to him

Skyelock beloved

The ship name should be changed to Hiking Buddies or something

Can make a cat with her powers and it plays with Nightmare when it's starting to affect Fade too much

Closer to Fade than most agents think

Morning walks with Sova and Deadlock

Yoru

Has a huge knowledge on east Asian culture in general

Speaks ainu and a little uchinaguchi

Values culture and tradition more than his life

Constantly educating Jett on Korean traditions???

Mansplains a lot

Neon (single) teases him for being single

Has the "lesbian curse" in which every woman he likes is a lesbian and it's starting to develop into an "aroace curse"

Homophobic to Killjoy

Misogynist to Killjoy

everything you can think that is bad against Killjoy

And Reyna is with him on these

Astra

Pansexual

Nerd on physics

Knows a lot about quantum physics

That was me projecting, sorry

I need more astra content to make more headcanons 😔😔😔

Galaxsea/ astrarbor/ Neptune/ sea star

Born radiant

KAY/O

Doesn't actually have feelings, he's just programmed to make humans feel loved (besides, obviously, being a war machine)

It was a way of keeping the non radiant soldiers hopeful during the radiant war

He's a robot, of course he doesn't have feelings

Killjoy is absolutely fascinated by him and wonders if it was her who built him or at least made his project

The "hatred" he has for the radiants is also a way of keeping the non radiants feeling safe and appreciated

Sage is the exception from his radiant hatred because she's always appeared to be against Reyna's radiant dominant ideal world and he read that as a powerful ally to his cause

He's AI ofc he's gonna be a little dumb even though he's from like 2060

Chamber

I refuse to

Does he like men?

Was homophobic to Killjoy and Raze when they started dating and to Sage and Reyna

Was actually homophobic

Turned out he likes men???

I'm confused

I don't like him

Neon

BRAZILIPPINES

She probably knew Killjoy before the VP or at least heard about her not as an professional but as a person

Definitely likes women

Since she became a radiant at such a young age and os so powerful there were probably lots of accidents

Was mostly isolated from the outside for a long time before the thing that is sticked to her back was finished

That'd explain why she doesn't like making new friends, she doesn't know how to

Knows a lot of stuff involving quantum physics and science since her parents work at kingdom and she has worked with them

Fade

Constantly found sleeping on the floor

Sometimes she leaves Nightmare out of her bedroom to get a peaceful night of sleep

Goes to sleep on about the same time Skye is waking up

Fadelock goes hard too

You'll rarely see her awake but when you do she looks like she hasn't slept in a decade

Doesn't actually sleep, just take 30 min naps throughout the day

Took a while to stop calling Harbor "agent Batra" during missions

I just checked and that is lore inaccurate but idc

Likes men and women, never stopped to think of it as "oh, I'm lgbt" that's just one more small detail about her

Had a cat that her brother gave her when she was a kid, it died of kidney failure a few years before she joined realm

Harbor

History and architecture nerd

Also a philosophy enthusiast

Has a tattoo that says "Memento mori et memento vivere" and that's what caught Astra's attention at first

Him and Astra spend a lot of time just nerding around

He's very caring yet not much protective to the younger agents

Randomly throws water at people who walk by

Breach and Deadlock learned on the hardest way not to be around him with a glass of water

Calls Fade Hazel because at first he thought that was how it was and never corrected it

Older brother of two sister

Pansexual

Gekko

Grafitti artist

Is an only child but is very close to the children is his neighborhood

Gay

That guy looks so gay I'm gonna cry

Has a dog named Lizard

Him and Raze talk to each other in Spanish and Portuguese and it's an absolute nightmare for others to decifrate their alien language

Asked Sage if people actually eat dogs in Asia and was punished for a week, Reyna had lots of fun

Jett still teases him about it

She told Iso about that and every time Gekko asks him what he's eating he says it's dog

Him and Deadlock are actually chill about each other for as long as one doesn't cross the other's boundaries when it comes to his radivores

Deadlock

This woman doesn't have a drop of heterosexuality on her body

She thought she liked Iso but it turned out he was just the only one not asking her to get along with radivores and radiants

Hates when she's called by her first name

Lost contact with her family and legally got rid of her last name

Skye, Sage and Sova call her Iselin or Ise

Fadeskyelock(?)

Used to go on lots of missions involving radivores before the VP but after the polar bear she didn't trust herself near them again

Graduated in biology

She wanted to be a scientist when she was a kid

Used to be obsessed about radivores and radiance before the bear

Iso

Can't cook for his life

Used to think he liked Deadlock but it was just compulsory heterosexuality

Aroace

Not much close with most agents but Sage and Deadlock

Him and Raze are absolute nightmares to go in mission with, those mfs listent to music so loud they can't hear anything else

KJ was scared of him

Only listens to music that are on languages he doesn't speak

Raze showed him Brazilian funk and he started listening to it during missions

Clove

Don't give a shit if they're misgendered

The pet rock is to throw at those who insist that they're a woman even after they correct them

Sleeps the whole day and is awake during the whole night

Immortal, queer, sleeps during the day... Are they a vampire?!

Randomly dresses up fancy and stays on that fit for the whole day, they can be seen wearing a suit during missions in breeze

Spends all their time awake doing unproductive stuff

Vyse

Was a physicist and later got into engeneering

She can't really remember those last years before the scions took her

Was took by the scions by Omen but none of them know

Doesn't like Iso

Her and Viper used to be very close friends, their friendship cou be compared to Jett and Phoenix's, they were very spontaneous

The "incident" was something involving her but no one really remember how it was

Ace

Had a cat named Jaguar

[inkdrinkerworld]

Can you give us Honeymoon with Aaron? 🫠

you're laying on the beach with your husband beside you.

it still feels surreal and being on the beach in st. lucia with your husband.

aaron's other hand is holding a cold coconut to your lips and you feel rightly spoilt and pampered.

"how are you enjoying the beach so far?" he asks as you slurp the last of the coconut water from the fruit.

aaron knows how much you're enjoying yourself, you've only spent time in the hotel room to sleep of fuck. you've bought so many trinkets and collected so many shells.

"i love it! you've planned the best honeymoon!" you gush, leaning over to kiss him.

it's sweet because of the coconut water, but aaron's sure he can taste some of the rum you drank a little earlier.

"i'm glad honey," he kisses your almost sunburnt nose, "don't forget we have to go to the chocolate hotel in about two hours."

aaron lives for the way your eyes light up and you squeal, "i can't wait for that! do you think they'll let me make like fifteen blocks?"

aaron chuckles and shakes his head, "maybe three, but they'll wonder if you're trying to smuggle their chocolate baby,"

"i am! i want to have some when we get back home too!" aaron is already plotting how to surprise you with a couple bars.

[celticcrossanon]

This is totally my opinion on Harry, Invictus and the Commonwealth. I think Harry’s greatest loss was the loss of their roles of President and VP of the Commonwealth Trust. If they lose Invictus a great deal of their “Plans” i.e. the Plans others have for using them. All of this is connected as I think Harry’s handlers have their ultimate goal of getting Harry back into a role with the Commonwealth which would allow a great deal of movement and economic and military activities within those countries populations, by his handlers, as Harry would be the face to put out any complaints by those who are fighting the multi national corporations and Tech companies that are trying to make inroads into those countries,  to get access to their resources, like oil, their land for development.  They have to have a face that is innocuous and who appears to be aligned with the Commonwealth countries. That face, the face of Invictus, gives them Carte Blanche to get into the country, to sell it as a Goodwill operation for Veterans etc. Without Invictus they lose that free pass to go right to the top of the countries hierarchy of ministers, presidents, meet a former prince routine of his and then integrate his own “connections” to the country with the blessing of the leaders as they trust Harry.  You know the Harry that keeps talking about “Africa, my true home, the place I am most comfortable” blah, blah. The desire of Invictus to get rid of Harry has proven to be very difficult as there are powerful corporations who want him there and it has nothing to do with athletes. With Harry as the face, and the beard for what is going on, he distracts from the real activities and puts out that she is 43% Nigerian (I am your sister, your mother, your wife blah, blah!). Don’t be fooled. This is all a charade, a scam…not by Harry, he is too stupid. Follow the money…this is all a distraction from issues like all the violence over there, i.e., African Parks. However, there is no question in my mind that H&M would do anything for money…greed is the touchstone here…and we already know that Harry would sell out his family for money. Can you imagine what he would do to an entity like the Commonwealth, that he does not care about at all?  Keep your eyes on these two, they are more dangerous than they look, because stupid people are very dangerous, because they will do anything for money.

*

Hi Nonny,

Thank you for sharing your opinion with us. :)

A few points that I want to comment on:

The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust is a local, UK based charity that is supposed to support young people aged 18-35 across the Commonwealth, focusing on social entrepreneurs who have founded organisations to address problems in their communities. So far it has funded projects in the following countries:

 3 in the UK, 5 in Uganda, 3 in Kenya, 3 in Cameroon, 2 in Malawi, 2 in South Africa, 2 in Rwanda, 2 in Tanzania, 2 in Nigeria, 1 in Ghana, 1 in Barbados, 1 in Guyana, 1 in St Lucia, 1 in Trinidad and Tobago, 1 in the Maldives, 1 in India, and 1 in Pakistan. 

That is 32 projects across 17 countries (out of 56 Commonwealth Nations). This is a small charity. It does not have an international reputation and I doubt that most people outside the UK would know about it.

Harry’s job as President was to be president of a UK based charity. It had nothing to do with the organisation of the Commonwealth if Nations.

With respect to the Commonwealth of Nations, any prominent position within the organisation is either filled by a Head of State or voted on by all Heads of State. If Harry wants one of those positions, for which he is woefully unqualified, he would have to do a deal with enough of the 56 Heads of State to be voted into the position. I can’t see that happening, myself, especially as many of them want the position to go to another country’s Head of State after King Charles. 

In addition, the Head of the Commonwealth has no power in any nation that makes up the Commonwealth. They can not be the face of anything except the Commonwealth as an organisation because they have no power in any of the individual countries (except for what is granted to them as Head of State of one or more of those countries).

Invictus is another matter, as Harry does have role as its patron that could include going to different countries to raise awareness/funds etc. Using that role for other motives makes sense.

[jungle-angel]

Classroom Chaos (Calvin Evans x Reader)

Summary: Calvin decides to have a little bit of fun with his students the day before Christmas break

Tagging: @floydsmuse

Warnings: Mentions of pregnancy, birth etc.

The last class of the morning and Calvin could hardly wait for the already short day to be over so he could get home to you and Ellen. Finals had all been graded, all last minute paperwork filed away for the new year and experiments completed so that the lab could be cleaned.

"Alright guys," Calvin said to his students. "Everything's done and there's nothing else to do. Shall we play a quiz game in that case?"

"YES PLEASE!!!!!" The students shouted excitedly.

"Alright up on those counters!" Calvin told them.

All of the students excitedly sat cross legged on the lab counters while Calvin prepared the questions.

"Alright hotshots, pop quiz," Calvin said. "Can you set fire to a diamond? True or False?"

"TRUE!"

"Why's it true? David?"

"Because it's a carbon based element," David answered.

"Good sir, you have just earned yourself a Mounds bar!" Calvin said, pulling a candy bar out of his desk drawer.

"Oooh my favorite, gimme!!" David chirped, catching the candy bar that Calvin had chucked at him.

"Question number two!" Calvin announced. "Can dissolving salt molecules in water make its atoms ionize?"

"No!" one student declared.

"Tell me why Cindy."

"Because the ionization process starts before they even touch water."

"OOOOH MY DEAR LORD!" Calvin proudly declared. "Young lady, here's a Baby Ruth for your troubles."

Cindy happily caught the Baby Ruth bar as though it were a baseball, carefully sticking it in her bag for later.

"Alright guys let's jump to the periodic table for a bit," Calvin said. Abbreviation for Tungsten?"

"W!" shouted a student in the back before Calvin tossed him a Milky Way.

"Anybody know NI?" Calvin asked.

"Nickel!" answered another.

Once again Calvin tossed the student a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and another a few pieces of chocolate-peanut butter fudge that his mother had made for the family Christmas party which was just around the corner.

"Alright, the letter Y is abbreviation for what?" Calvin asked.

"Yer mother!" came a laughing voice from the doorway.

Calvin jumped a little but his students burst out laughing and so didn't he when he saw Father McDowell laughing in the doorway with Six-Thirty next to him.

"Sneakin in on us Padre?" Calvin chuckled.

"Heard the chaos in the halls and thought I'd get meself in on the action," the priest laughed. "That and I believe this little bugger to you."

He let go of Six-Thirty's leash before he trotted over to Calvin but before anymore questions could be asked, the hour had come for dismissal. Calvin gathered up Six-Thirty and headed out with Father McDowell to drop him off at the church rectory down the street from where you and Calvin lived.

"Still need a ride to the airport on Wednesday?" Calvin asked him.

"Nah," Father McDowell told him. "Me oldest came out from Ann Arbor the other day with the wife and kids and he offered to run Helen and I wherever we need to go."

"Does she need anything?" Calvin asked. "Helen?"

"Eh, just the bedrest," Father McDowell told him. "As long as neither of us are out in this dratted snowstorm that's comin, I think we'll be just fine."

Six-Thirty snorted as though he had understood the priest's dilema perfectly.

"I'd agree with ye too me furry friend," he chuckled. "I be thinkin a trip to St. Lucia might be in order for the both of us."

"Can you take (y/n) and I with you?" Calvin asked cheekily.

"Don't tempt me ye little gobshite," Father McDowell told him jokingly. "Yer supposed to be at home takin care o' her and the baby last I heard."

"Really? Who told you?" Calvin chuckled.

"Yer damn mother! That's who!" Father McDowell laughed. "Don't think I didn't hear it from her after Sunday Mass, she told me ever'thin."

Calvin laughed the whole time they were driving home and even a little after he had dropped Father McDowell off in front of the rectory. He couldn't help it either when he unloaded Six-Thirty from the back and let him into the house, only quieting down when he walked in to hear the soft sound of the Christmas records playing on the stereo and the crackling of the warm fire in the living room.

He leaned over the back of the couch where you had been sitting, rocking Baby Ellen in her little wood cradle. Six Thirty cautiously peered in, resting his head on the edge as he gazed at the tiny little human within.

"You're home early," you said.

"Better early than late," Calvin said, leaning in to press a soft kiss to your lips. "How is she?"

"Tired," you answered. "I just fed her two minutes ago so she'll be out until well after dinner."

Calvin came around and seated himself next to you as Ellen began to stir, placing his large but gentle hand on her little belly to calm her down. It wasn't long before she went back to sleep and before you two had snuggled into each other, relieved that now you could have five weeks all to yourselves.

[birdstudies]

January 17, 2024 - Lesser Antillean Saltator (Saltator albicollis) Found on the islands of Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St Lucia, and sometimes Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Lesser Antilles, these birds in the tanager family live in mangroves, forests, and scrubby habitats. Usually foraging in pairs, they eat fruits, buds, flowers, and other plant foods, as well as some insects. They build deep cup-shaped nests from twigs and leaves in bushes or trees where females lay clutches of two or three eggs. Both parents feed the chicks.

[ladylooch]

Hey b, I know it's not the day, but Mack ever went through a really shitty day ? And if she ever did, can davey show up for her in all the ways by being all soft and big.

Can you write a small something for that ? If you can't it's fine.

-👢

By the time Mack gets into the elevator in her building, she is on the verge of tears. Today has not been her day. At all. Everything has been off since she woke up late this morning. She missed half of her monthly meeting with her team. She spilled coffee all over her shirt and had to go buy something new on the fly from Old Navy. Then the assignment she was really hoping to cover in St. Lucia got assigned to fucking Ethan, who wouldn’t stop making snide comments about her lack of dedication since she got dicked down by a professional hockey player. 

“Hm, this sounds like sexual harassment.” Mack had snapped from her cubical. The silence that followed was her first moment of peace in the day. And it didn’t last. 

On her way home from work, she picked up some groceries to make a comforting pasta for dinner. The brown bag she was carrying them in slipped and fell onto the sidewalk. Strangers kept walking around her, grumbling for her to get out of the way while she tried to gather her things in her arms. On her drive back to her neighborhood, David had called. She had rushed off the phone with him, telling him she would call him later. Mack felt awful, but she was in such a sour mood, it seemed like the best choice.

The elevator doors open. Mack inhales heavily as the comfort of home makes more tears build in her eyes. She can barely see as she tries to work everything into one arm to grab her keys. Her grapefruit falls to the floor. Mack could fall to her knees with it and wail. 

“Hi honey.” She hears from in front of her. David comes into view once she blinks her tears down her cheeks. “Oof.” He frowns sympathetically at her. He steps forward, ignoring the grapefruit he was going to pick up for her. His thumbs swipe her tears away. “We having a day?”

“Yeah.” She sobs, putting her forehead on his collar bone. On top of everything else, her period is right around the corner and making her weep on him about something as silly as a fallen grapefruit. David’s strong hands cup her back, holding her while being careful of the groceries. 

“What happened here?” He asks, maneuvering some items out of Mack’s grip.

“My bag broke.” 

“Oh shit. That sucks!” He groans.

“Yeah. It does!” She exclaims back, then exhales heavily. Wow, that felt good to say. “It really fucking sucked.” 

“I bet, baby. Let’s get this shit inside. And order food instead.” 

“I want pasta.” Mack mumbles, following behind him. 

“Woo, carbs!” He cheers. He opens the door for her after she hands her keys to him. Mack follows him in, putting her remaining groceries on the counter, then retreating back to shut the door. When she walks back to the kitchen, David is flipping through her takeout menus. “Which one?” He asks, holding two menus up. Mack points at the black and red one, an authentic restaurant she knows will be here in under an hour, every time. 

“I thought you had a team event tonight?” She says through a yawn.

“I did.” He murmurs as he scans the menu. “I left after you called.” Mack pauses.

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know. But something about the sound of your voice said I should.” Mack walks round the island, weaving her arms around his waist. He tucks her into his side, kissing the top of her head. 

“Thank you.” She tilts her face up to his. David presses his lips softly against hers. He runs his tongue along the seam of her lips, squishing her closer into him as he starts to taste her mouth. His hand goes to her hair, taking out the clip that was holding her brown hair up. It feels incredible to have the tendrils fall down from the tight hold. 

“Do you wanna share something to eat?” He mumbles as she presses her nose into his chest. 

“No. I want my own!” 

“That’s my girl.” He chuckles, rubbing her back. 

David decides on Lasagna while Mack gets a pesto pasta with linguini. They decide they will split tiramisu for dessert. Mack knows it isn’t David’s favorite, but he is willing to eat some with her anyway. After David puts in the order, he wraps Mack up to carry her into her bedroom. He strips her work clothes off, then gets her the comfiest clothes he can find of his that she has stolen over the last few weeks. He messes her hair all up until it’s staticky and clinging to her face like Cousin It. 

“Sexy.” He smirks. Mack flips her hair out of her face then sticks her tongue out at him. David sucks it between his lips. Mack shrieks. “I’m gonna head out to grab our food soon.”

“What?” Mack startles. “I thought we were doing delivery?”

“They’re too busy and stopped delivery for the night.” 

“Oh, we could have picked somewhere else.”

“It’s not a big deal. You want pasta. This place is your favorite. I could use the walk anyway.”

“You realize that to a lot of other people it would be a big deal?” Mack murmurs, catching his hand as he moves to grab her some fluffy socks. 

“Good thing none of them are your man.” He drops another kiss on her lips, then grabs her fluffy, American flag socks he got her as a joke to get more in touch with her American heritage. “You don’t wear these enough. How are we gonna make you more American? If you wear the stars and stripes, your body will absorb the Merica!” Mack giggles as he slips the socks on her feet. He kisses her left ankle as he puts the final sock on. Mack falls onto her back, holding her arms up for him to snuggle into her body. He obliges immediately. 

“I’ve been home with you for ten minutes and it already feels like my bad day didn’t happen.” She whispers to him. Her feet hook together on his butt, hands grabbing at his sweatshirt to keep him close. 

“Good.” He kisses her chest.

“You know what would make it better?” She whispers. 

“If we fucked?”

“Mhm.” Mack agrees, giddy as she giggles. David lifts his head. 

“We got ten minutes before I have to leave.” Mack nods enthusiastically. He chuckles at her eagerness. “Now I gotta undo all my work. Just got you all cozy and warm.” He strokes his nose along her cheek, then sucks a slice of her throat into his mouth. Mack moans, lifting his sweatshirt up his back as he continues to suck along her collar bone. “Just shoulda had some of you for dinner.” He nips her wet skin. Mack moans louder. “Gonna have you cumming in thirty seconds again.”

“Not if you keep talking.” Mack snips back. He laughs loudly.

“She so sassy.”

“You love it.” 

“Yeah, honey… I really do."

[batbeato]

Sharing some Umineko stageplay EP4 thoughts/impressions. To comply with theater restrictions this will be text-only.

I really enjoyed the stageplay and you can watch the stream archive online for about a week here. You'll need to have a (international?) credit card:

The stageplay this time, instead of being one big performance split into two acts, is split into two separate stageplays: Untruth and End Me.

Untruth is slightly shorter than End Me, and is primarily about Ange (her time at St. Lucia, the first section of her 1998 journey) and also deals with the first section of the gameboard, pre-twilights/murders. End Me deals with the rest of Episode 4, including the Tea Party.

What stands out to me most in the cuts are:

No depiction of young Ange / Eva interactions

1998 Ange summons the stakes again while on a boat (iirc) to Nijima, rather than in a hotel room

Shortens the conversations with Nanjo's son / Kumasawa's son

Cuts out the conversation with the Witch Hunter

Sakutarou doesn't appear in front of Rosa during the fantasy sequences with MARIA killing Rosa

The 'loser flags' extended fight/joke is cut, though Krauss still beats up some goats

The Beatrice/Battler phone conversation is shortened

Battler's "test" is shortened to just remembering his sin (no "I love you, Beatrice", etc.)

Something of note about this stageplay is that it takes a lot from the manga version of Episode 4. This is notable because the manga version of Episode 4 is decently different from the visual novel, both in its ordering of things and in the emphasis it places on certain aspects of Ange's story.

The stageplay also lifts directly from the manga for inspiration: Battler with a blank face, child Battler holding Asumu's hand (Rudolf not included, with Battler to Battler conversation), the cubes with the episode numbers (I think they look silly but they did their best to make it work).

I feel like a lot of the complexity of Ange and Eva's relationship was lost in the stageplay, with much more focus on Ange's experience at St. Lucia, especially with regards to making the bullying there much more overt and physically violent. I don't particularly enjoy this change and appreciate how the visual novel primarily keeps the bullying non-physical and verbal.

However, they did add an extended Amakusa-Ange chase/fight sequence. Amakusa even princess carried Ange and used her feet to kick someone, haha. He also did a jump kick at one point. I also really liked this section of the chase where they went behind a panel, and they had the classic gag of coming out with the wrong person (one of the people chasing them). Amakusa had to go back for Ange and she slapped him. Adorable little interaction.

They even added a moment where Okonogi showed up in disguise (hat, glasses, even a coat...) to help out.

Since they didn't have a child Ange actor, they depicted one or two childhood Ange sequences with these tiny little puppets. They did have a child actor for Sakutarou, though, and he and Maria were so cute together... (They break my heart.)

Another really cute addition for Untruth was that for the 'Beato thinks Battler is super down and comes to cheer him up' sequence, they had the ensemble actors and Beato do this dance with golden pompoms. It was adorable.

For End Me, since they used One-Winged Bird for the opening sequence in Untruth, they actually used the original Umineko VN opening for End Me. It was incredible.

They also had more of Lambda and Bern showing up here and there and being really cute - the Lambdadelta actress absolutely embodies Lambda's pop-cute energy but can still be menacing when need be, and in the stageplay(s) they put more focus on Ange debating whether or not to accept Lambda's offer of remaining in an eternal game with Battler, which was a really nice touch.

Speaking of acting: both Ange and Beatrice's actresses are incredibly talented. I really love Beatrice's acting during the 'sin' sequence; she plays the Beatrice on the board, while they have a body double in the meta with her face turned away (not sure if lines are delivered by the Beatrice actress and played over the speakers, or prerecorded). On the board, you can tell she's completely heartbroken and desperate for Battler to remember. It's really incredible delivery.

Maria's actor also did an amazing job!! She had a lot of screentime this episode and some really intense and emotional scenes with Rosa (which made me tear up), but she pulled them all off beautifully. She also seemed happy about becoming a witch this episode, ahaha.

I believe the current Beatrice actress is leaving, so the curtain call/remarks were very emotional. The Beatrice and Battler actors even came out again (unscripted, I believe?) to say one last goodbye...

Battler also did a princess carry with Beato during the curtain call, it was really cute~

Overall though I had some criticisms of how they adapted the material, the actors were all incredible and it was wonderful to watch them act out this episode. I also found that with live actors, the Stakes were super lively and fun to watch, especially Mammon's dynamic with Ange. And the finale with Beatrice and Battler broke my heart.

[memento-rory]

SORT OF ST. LUCIA SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT, but i literally can’t stop thinking about what i’m about to say:

if st. lucia was a rom com, it would end with reader and schlatt making out on the balcony after the wedding with the chorus of “i’m in love with you” by the 1975 playing like, it’s the part where it’s like, “one, two, yeah! i’m in love with you!” as we zoom out from them.

[onewholivesinloops]

satoko leaving the club to go around the village, completely alone, only to end up at the shrine, the place of the First Sin she committed by breaking oyashiro-sama's statue and abandoning her best friend…the thing she believes brought the curse upon her as a child. IT'S AS IF SHE'S GOING THERE TO BE PUNISHED. IT'S AS IF SHE'S GOING THERE TO PUNISH HERSELF. AUGH.

st. lucia ACTIVELY burns into satoko that she cannot live in this world, and everything she does only makes the adults in her life more disappointed in her - she will always be abandoned, she will always be rejected.

as satoko moved away with rika, she was faced with the harsh reality of how society pushes down survivors of abuse into deadend expectations and self-fulfilling prophecies. trauma complicates one's relationship with others and the world, and institutional systems such as st. lucia are made to erase disadvantaged people who try to fight against them.

(the villain in higurashi is ALWAYS the faceless institution, and the traditionalism and conservativism. it's always the systems. it's not people who should be characterized as villains.)

satoko's walk around the village only serves to reinforce those beliefs in her mind - everything she cherished is disappearing, and the people she cares for are drifting away while she remains trapped.

they're demolishing the old school, a place of dear memories for her. even her old home is destroyed - the place where she lived with rika, where they cooked together, where they supported each other unconditionally. it's a place where they didn't have to answer to the adults who keep failing them. it was just two girls providing each other with the love and warmths they desperately needed after so much trauma.

...this is all gone now. there's no longer a place satoko can return to. her presence is unnecessary. she is unneeded everywhere. if this is the future, she might think, she would rather commit suicide or live in the past forever. there's only one place she can live and survive. survival is the past. it's the only place that reassured her. it's the cycle of abuse chaining her in place, forever stagnant.

the reason satoko's loops are heavily based around her committing suicide is because it's her abandoning worlds she cannot imagine living in, and it relates to the very reason she was drawn into looping in the first place. satoko went to the shrine with the intent of committing suicide the first time, and the entirety of the anime is satoko trying to return her version of rika to herself and grieving a past she yearns for while she's lost in a fugue of suicide ideation and trauma (this is very umineko btw).

rika's actions in the beginning of nekodamashi are a parallels to this.

she runs away from the club under the pretense of playing hide and seek to commit suicide, because she can no longer imagine living in any of these worlds - trapped in her past traumas.

feeling entrapped within a coffin is one of the many things satoko and rika have in commom. the broken coffin called oyashiro-sama's shrine. the coffin called hinamizawa. it's also st. lucia for satoko.

it's about being seen and being punished for being seen, and wishing to live in secrecy and a coffin built of trauma rather than having to face a world of vultures - that's the entire reason satoko traps herself with rika in loops of hinamizawa.

satoko and rika can only make their way out together, because a world cannot be made without another who believes as you do. something something it takes two to create a universe something something.

rika would rather blow up the entire universe and create a new one from scratch with satoko instead, and it speaks to how far she's willing to go to create a world where satoko and her can exist together. she'd rather go to such extremes than abandon her 'cursed', 'unsaveable' mentally ill wife.

they're both young queer girls who hurt each other and focused on themselves at the expense of the other, only to end up realizing how much like the other they truly are and how much they want the other to live and be with them for each other and their own sake.

their fight in kagurashi is resolved by them coming to the realization that they don't want to kill each other after all, because of how deeply they're in love with the other. it's the power of love between two girls who are incredibly similar. two rose brides.

rika may be the 'perfect' victim and satoko the 'bad' victim, except rika is just playing a role. it's a facade. a mask rika sheds during their fight. rika is also a 'bad' victim like satoko beneath her act. rika knows this and it's why she embraces satoko. she sees herself in satoko - a mirror image of herself.

[cantsayidont]

April 1979, October 1979, and August 1980. These novels by Brian Daley were not the first STAR WARS tie-ins, but they were the best of the early phase, and a strong influence on later SW media. The creative success of these exciting, frequently very funny books, which chronicle three adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca prior to the first movie, had a lot to do with Daley himself. According to Daley's friends and his partner, novelist Lucia St. Clair Robson, Daley was Han Solo, or close to it: a brash military veteran with no love of authority, a fondness for sports cars and motorcycles, and a notoriously sarcastic sense of humor that concealed a heart of gold. Ironically, Daley, who genuinely loved STAR WARS, would have preferred to explore the history of the Jedi, but Lucas declared that off-limits, and imposed many restrictions on what Daley could and couldn't use from the films. For that reason, the novels take place on the fringes of the Empire: The first two books are set in the Corporate Sector, a region administered semi-autonomously by corporate interests with their own ruthless Security Police (an idea that clearly inspired some of the plot of ANDOR), while the third is set in the Tion Hegemony, a remote principality.

HAN SOLO AT STARS' END has Han and Chewie roped into aiding a group of people whose relatives have been "disappeared" by the Corporate Sector Authority, which is quietly rounding up dissidents and sending them to a secret facility called Stars' End. After Chewbacca is captured by the Security Police, Han concocts an elaborate, harebrained scheme to rescue his friend and the other "lost ones" from the galaxy's most closely guarded high-tech prison. Naturally, things don't go quite as planned, leading to a spectacularly ludicrous finale. (Spoiler: Han accidentally launches the prison complex into space.) This novel was subsequent adapted for the STAR WARS newspaper strip by Archie Goodwin and Alfredo Alcala, although the adaptation unfortunately isn't a patch on the original.

HAN SOLO'S REVENGE finds Han and Chewbacca, desperate for cash, taking a job that turns out to involve transporting slaves. This is a line our heroes will not cross, so after dealing harshly with the slavers, Han agrees to help a Corporate Sector Authority auditor named Fiolla of Lorrd track down the ringleaders of the operation, one of whom is her once-trusted assistant, Magg. Meanwhile, Chewbacca is forced to contend with a stubborn skip-tracer called Spray, who is determined to repossess the Millennium Falcon over Han and Chewie's unpaid bills!

HAN SOLO AND THE LOST LEGACY has Han and Chewbacca agreeing to help Han's old buddy Badure, Badure's friend Hasti, and an academic named Skynx locate a legendary lost starship, the Queen of Ranroon, the fabled treasure ship of an ancient tyrant called Xim the Despot. (The skull on the cover is Xim's emblem.) Although this sounds like it was influenced by RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, the book was actually published almost a year before the premiere of RAIDERS.

Although the novels make clear that Han is not overly fond of droids, the books give Han and Chewbacca a pair of droid companions: a laconic old labor droid called Bollux, and a small, extremely sophisticated, disconcertingly enthusiastic computer probe called Blue Max, who "lives" within a compartment in Bollux's chest. Here's how Alfredo Alcala depicted them in the comic strip:

Daley also includes some delightful aliens, including the skip-tracer Spray, who's a Tynnan — basically a sentient beaver with the dexterity of a raccoon — and the Ruurian academic Skynx, a sentient caterpillar who's determined to complete as much of his research as he can before entering the next phase of his life cycle and becoming a chroma-wing who'll have little memory of his former identity.

A useful companion for the first two books is Michael Allen Horne's HAN SOLO AND THE CORPORATE SECTOR SOURCEBOOK for the West End STAR WARS RPG, published in 1993:

Aside from the inevitable game statistics and some quite decent illustrations of the novels' characters, the sourcebook fleshes out Daley's conception of the Corporate Sector Authority, explaining how the Corporate Sector functions and its relationship to the Empire. This is narrated in part by Han Solo himself, which is presented as excerpts of later interviews with an Alliance historian named Voren Na'al (a common conceit in the WEG game books that works especially well here). The sourcebook is best read after the novels, since it explains their plots in detail, but it's a worthwhile supplement. Unfortunately, a planned followup describing the Tion Hegemony was never published before West End Games lost the SW license.

Brian Daley's other major contribution to STAR WARS lore was scripting the NPR radio adaptations of the first three movies. STAR WARS originally aired in the spring of 1981, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK two years later. Daley also wrote the later adaptation of RETURN OF THE JEDI, but he died of cancer in early 1996, at the age of 49, so the final drafts were completed by John Whitman.