#i wonder if a little bit of it also stems from her trying to reject tae jun when they were younger

[kirayaykimura]

I think it’s so funny that Hak deals with men hitting on Yona by standing near them until they stop. 

Some random man Yona has barely spoken to before: Hey, Yo-

Hak: I see what you’re doing. Do you want to be doing what you’re doing? Are you sure you want to be doing what you’re doing? 

[yuna-writes]

Friendships

I've been trying to embark on creating new friends but haven't really made much friends for the past several years. I'm not sure if the pandemic worsen the situation but it is really challenging to make new friends. I'm not the type that easily make friends so it just adds unto the challenges associated with it. Sometimes I wonder what being a friend means, because there are certain social expectations to be considered as a friend.

I feel like when I'm trying to make friends with other women, I usually get the impression they are looking for a really emotional relationship. The problem is that I'm not really an emotional person. I definitely experience emotions, but it doesn't vary much throughout the day. I suppose if they are expecting me to cry when they are crying, then yeah I probably won't be as emotional. It's nothing personal either. I just don't cry often. I can see how they might think I'm uncaring or insensitive to their emotions. I've been considering in being more direct and telling them that if they are looking for an emotional relationship, then it probably won't work out. If they are looking for a friend who can solve their problems, then it can work out.

Usually, most problems I've observed are usually problems I can't help them in an emotional standpoint. For example, if a friend is crying because they were rejected from a job. I can give sympathies for them, but I won't be crying along with them. I can't also magically make a job land on their laps either. I can only provide advice on how to get a job. I always feel like people don't care so much about solutions or practical advices but care about how much you exert your emotions in a relationship. To me, I find it really emotionally taxing and not productive. Usually when I'm trying to make friends with other women, they do expect me to be sensitive and emotional because it somehow demonstrates you care about them and want to help. So far, I only have one friend who isn't like this, because she's not a very extroverted and emotional person. I wouldn't say she's cold, but she's very pragmatic and logical in her way of thinking. Therefore, she can understand me to some level and I can understand her. We're not super touchy and feely with each other, and I find it more normal compared to people who do share those emotions but they aren't really romantic partners.

I'm not sure how guys form friendships. I doubt guys expect each other to be emotional. I rarely see guys crying together over milestones in their lives. It's possible but sort of rare because it's not expected of them to be overly emotional. They weren't really raised similarly to females. As a kid, I had a easier time making male friendships but as an adult, I realize being too close with men can give the incorrect impression that you want to date them. I encounter more men genuinely expressing interest in me but I'm not sure what the relationship should be. There are women who make friendships with men, but maintaining those boundaries is a bit challenging without giving the wrong signals. I feel like most people assume your male friends are your partners or potential partners. It gets a little bit awkward trying to establish those boundaries but also grow together as friends. My experiences so far is that I usually find men to not care so much about being emotional. There are emotional men, but usually many don't really expect it in a friendship. I also find a lot of men to not be judgmental, but sometimes I question it's because they don't really care.

I'm not sure these days whether I possess the qualities to be a good friend. I'm not sure what that means because it varies across people's individual idea of what a good friend means. I definitely think expectations exist based on cultural and societal constructs of what a good friend could be. It's going to stem from either gender roles, cultural backgrounds and religion as well.

[dent-de-leon]

I just had a realization about Kingsley that has me going "aww, buddy..." - when he wakes up, he instinctually knows that the Mighty Nein are his friends, but he doesn't feel like he's their friend and wonders if that's going to be a problem, and later on he says "[...] I hope I deserve to woken up surrounded by such people" which is a very sweet sentiment but it also implies that he doesn't feel that way yet. I really hope that he learns to fully accept himself and the Nein's love for him someday.

Oh!! Yeah, King instinctively knowing that he's with people he can trust is something I just love. He's lost about everything else, so Caleb tries to reassure him that, “Well for starters, you are with friends.” And just...the slow and deliberate way Kingsley says, “I know,” with such conviction. Like it’s one of the few things he’s certain of, something he just feels in his bones. 

By his own admission, Kingsley still has “feelings” for all of them. That same love Molly always held for the Nein. And even though Kingsley is hesitant to confront his past at first, he never rejects that connection with the Nein. He's still so drawn to them, and there's something beautiful about that. I think one of my favorite examples is that moment with him and Yasha in the grove:

Yasha: “Hey! I look familiar?”

Kingsley: “A bit.”

Yasha: “Can I--can I give you a hug?”

Kingsley: “Oh.”

Yasha: “No--too soon?”

Kingsley: “Oh, sure Love, I can't see any reason why not. I could do with one. Sure! This is already as awkward a day as I ever hoped to have, let's--okay.”

The way he still calls Yasha Love, and how--even when the suggestion catches him off guard at first--his immediate response is just, you know what? Yeah. I could really use a hug. He’s initially surprised at how Yasha just throws her arms around him, how sudden and full of emotion it all is. But then she holds him close and gives him this gentle pat, and for just a moment, you can see King breathe this happy little sigh and smile back at Yasha. I just love when these glimpses of Molly’s affection for the Nein bleed through. 

King hoping he can be worthy of the Nein’s love for him is both heartwarming and a little bittersweet. I agree that it’s a bit sad that he doesn’t know what he could have possibly done to earn such kindness, that he wonders if he really deserves it. I think a part of that belief stems from Molly's sentiments about Lucien--that whoever was abandoned in an unmarked grave at the side of the road, forced to wake afraid and all alone--they deserved that fate. 

When Beau asked him if he woke alone or to people, all Mollymauk says is just, “Alone.” The fact that he wasn’t abandoned this time, that he was surrounded by a family who cherished him, waited for him to come home--that means something. It means everything. Whoever King was, he was loved. It’s part of why he decides to stay with Fjord and Jester for a good few years, why he asks Yasha to tell him stories about their past, why he “finally reads that book and goes to visit. And learn.” 

I understand why Kingsley would worry he might not be able to be the kind of person that the Nein all grew to love, why he fears he might not be so deserving of it. But I think one day, perhaps as more of his memories return and he feels more at peace with who he is, he’ll see that the Nein’s love for him is unconditional--just like how his feelings for them transcends memories and lifetimes.

Throughout the finale, the Nein try to make that clear, reassuring him time and again that he’ll always be their friend: “Perhaps this is your first time meeting us. It's our second time...Stick with us.” “We’ll make friends with you.” “We have a habit of taking in strays.” “This is the newest member of the band.” “There's a purple guy coming to join the crew, his name is Kingsley the Cutthroat. Make him feel at home.” 

As a final note, I think King’s goodbye to Yasha--and his promise to return--is indicative of how he’ll be able to wholeheartedly accept his place with the Nein one day. 

Kingsley: “Not now, but in the future, I'd like to hear about your friend. Later, once I--once I know me better.”

Yasha: “I would love that.”

Kingsley: “Thank you.”

Yasha: “It's nice to have you back.”

Kingsley: “It's nice to be here.”

Yasha: “You know what I mean.”

Kingsley: “I do.”

Yasha doesn’t have to explain herself to King, to try and backtrack the way she does--because Kingsley understands perfectly. When she tells him she’s glad he’s back, King doesn’t try to distance himself from it, doesn’t try to draw a distinction between him and his past. King, Molly, names are names--but Yasha loves him, and she’s so grateful she was able to finally have this reunion. And her old friend feels just the same. 

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD OFFICIAL VISUAL FANBOOK ー Interview Vol. 2 feat. Nao Nakamura

Source: DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD Official Visual Fanbook

Release date: 2013

Huge thank you to @keithvalentinex​ for providing the raw scans!

SECTION 1: Q&A

Q1. When was the series’ sequel decided on?

A: Around the time the first game ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS’ was released in stores. We were fortunate enough to have already received news of an anime adaption at the time, so at some point we played with the idea of creating a fan disc to go along with it. However, if possible we wanted to hype up the series even more in anticipation of the anime’s release, which is how the production of a  ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD’ series came to realisation.

Q2. Did you plan on introducing a set of 4 new characters during the early phases of development?

A: The initial draft we received from Rejet-sama mentioned four characters. We figured that with that amount, we could pack it into one game and create an equal amount of content as we did for the Sakamaki’s, so we proceeded with said idea. At one of the first brainstorm sessions, we casually dropped the idea of creating a game with 6 Do-M characters... (lol) However, that would stray too far away from the core concept behind ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS’, so it obviously got rejected. (lol)

Q3. How did you go about writing the characters’ dialogue and actions?

A: I believe that the previous installment can be regarded rather groundbreaking within the genre of otome games. However, the boys coming across as too strong to the point where it would prevent someone from delving deeper into their character is something we reflected upon. We wanted to make up for that this time and created this game with the intend of exploring them even further.

Q4. What did you struggle the most with while writing the script?

A: This doesn’t apply solely to the script, but the fact there are so many romanceable characters in this game is what made it so difficult. However, we did not want there to be a difference in quality between the different characters’ routes. Despite our strong wish to please the playerbase, it made the distribution of time very difficult. The writers would first pen down the script, then Rejet-san would do the proofreading and make adjustments and then pass it on to us. However, reading a script while playing a game or simply reading it on paper is still different, so we were making minute changes down to the very last minute of development. We ran through the same process for the last game, but this time around, the total amount of content was just very large. We once again felt the struggle of putting in so many characters to choose from. However, we did this to create an even better game, so it was worth the struggle. 

Q5. Which character caused you the most problems while writing the script?

A: All of the Sakamaki’s. The four Mukami brothers who make their appearance in this installment may be Vampires, but they were once human just like the heroine, so in terms of emotions, they tend to sympathize with her more. As a result, it only makes the Sakamaki’s seem even more like they are the villains of the story. While this may seem obvious given their original setting of being both ‘Vampires’ and ‘extreme sadists’, it makes it very easy for the otome game element as well as the feelings they end up developing for the heroine to be lost, in which case they would no longer be the six brothers we wanted to deliver. Therefore, it was very difficult to convey to the player that the love they harbor for the heroine eventually makes them change, while still preserving the sadistic tendencies which stem from their nature as Vampires at the same time. The player base has spent quite a bit of time interacting with these brothers, and I am sure it was not always easy, but I hope said message was delivered to those who played our game.

Q6. Is there a character who underwent drastic changes compared to the last game?

A: All of them are still the same at the core, so my impression of them did not change depending on the scenario. I believe minor changes were done to the way some of the characters are drawn, but personally I perceive each character as a mix of both their previous and current representation. 

Q7. In this game, each section is divided into a ‘Situation Part’ and ‘Story Part’. Could you explain your intentions behind this?

A: When collecting feedback on the previous game, we received many complaints about the different chapters feeling inconsistent and all over the place. However, we always intended ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS’ to be a game in which the player gets to enjoy these different kind of ‘situations’, so without losing this part of the enjoyment, we figured we had to make the plot progression easier to grasp, which is how the current structure was implementend. To make it even more clear to the player, we divided it into two sections and gave each of them a title, changing the names as well. 

Q8. What are parts which have greatly improved or parts you want us to focus on in comparison to the first game?

A: To ensure the player gets to enjoy the development in the heroine and characters’ thoughts and feelings, we applied small adjustments till the very last second. We hope that the people playing the game will take notice of this as well. 

Q9. Why do you think the series has received such a great amount of support?

A: I believe the impact of the ‘Do-S Vampire’ concept, Satoi-san’s eye-catching illustrations and the charm of the cast who voices the characters all play a big part in this. Furthermore, I also believe that the simultaenous announcement of both drama CDs and a game which took place during the early stages of development had a large influence as well. We were able to make a smooth transition from the release of the CDs to the release of the games, which made it easier for the fans to follow along with the franchise. We truly are grateful for that!

Q10. Were there any ideas you wanted to incorporate in this game, but were unable to do in the end?

A: This game features the same selection segment as the previous one in which scenario’s 1 ~ 6 raise your love meter, while scenarios 7 ~ 10 raise the SM meter. However, we implemented the distinction between the ‘situation part’ and ‘story part’ this time, so it might have actually been even more enjoyable if the situation part raises the SM meter instead...I think. Those kind of features may vary depending on the vision of the director and staff members, so I would like to use this experience to think of various possible routes for future installments, as well as to settle on an end product which is fitting for the franchise. Furthermore, this may seem like a task without an end but I believe that the voicing plays a big factor in delivering the story. It is a vital element of conveying the message you want to tell, in a way that whether or not the player understands the plot is often highly dependent on the voice work. Every time I find myself wanting to perfect this, but it is difficult to supervise all of it just by myself...However, there’s always next time, so I’d love to squeeze in the time to thoroughly check this!

Q11. Do you have any more games planned for the series at present? Would you personally like to create more sequels?

A: We do not as of now, but if there is a strong demand for it, we might just be able to develop another game. Personally I would like to make a stereotypical ‘fandisc’ but the very first thing that comes to mind with those is a 'sweet, romantic story’ so I do struggle a little envisioning how that would play out with a cast made out of nothing but intense characters. 

Q12. Please leave a message for the fans.

A: Thanks to the support we have received from all of you, we were able to create so much content for this franchise. I put my heart and soul into this game, so I sincerely hope that many people will enjoy it. Your impressions and encouraging messages are a great motivator as well, so I am eagerly awaiting those! The series may deliver new installments in the future, and to ensure that you all can continue to enjoy ‘DIABOLIK LOVERS’, we will continue to try our hardest together with Rejet-san, so we’d be happy if you could send us your heartfelt support. 

SECTION 2: THEIR FAVORITE EPISODES

Sakamaki brothers: The final few chapters of Ayato’s route left a strong impression on me. I couldn’t help but wonder if somebody could truly be that stubborn and in denial about their own feelings, insistent on calling the girl they love ‘a prey’ till the very end. I felt so frustrated when the heroine’s feelings just wouldn’t get through to him, tears welled up in my eyes. 

Mukami brothers: The part which gave me the most goosebumps during the development stages has to be Ruki’s Manservant Ending. Takagi Sakurai-san did a magnificant job portraying his silent madness, it was truly wonderful. Second place would be Azusa’s brute ending, even though I knew how the story would go, I still ended up feeling a little depressed by it, so please be careful when you play this scenario...

SECTION 3: NAO NAKAMURA CHOOSES ー SITUATION-DEPENDENT CHARACTER SELECT

Who would you choose in these situations? What’s the developer’s opinion?

S1. To sleep together with?

Best: Subaru, I feel like he has a good sleeping posture.

Worst: Subaru, he might not move around much in his sleep, but it’d still be uncomfortable and narrow in that coffin, huh? 

S2. To go on a trip together with?

Best: Shuu, I’m sure he’d just loaf around the lodge all day, so I get to enjoy the trip in whichever way I want!

Worst: Laito, I’d rather keep my distance from him. 

S3. To eat together with?

Best: Kou because I’m sure he’d happily gobble it up.

Worst: Kanato, I feel like the food would be lacking in nutrients.

S4. To study with?

Best: Ruki, I think he’d do a good job explaining everything accurately.

Worst: ???, honestly all of them...

S5. To go on a date with?

Best: Yuma, I actually think he would make for a great boyfriend.

Worst: Shuu, because everything would be a chore to him...

S6. To play a video game with?

Best: Ayato, he just seems like the type of guy you can always have fun and make some ruckus with.

Worst: Reiji, he seems super fussy.

S7. To play sports with?

Best: Shuu, I don’t really like exercising so...I’ll go with the person who seems unlikely to exercise in the first place.

Worst: Ayato, I don’t like exercise after all...

S8. To go on a drive with?

Best: Ruki, I’m positive he would look handsome behind the wheel.

Worst: Azusa, it’d be bad if his bandages were to get stuck around the steering wheel or the gear stick...

[generous1ty]

prompt 37 (fluff alphabet) with hajime? (if youre still taking them!!)^^

hihi!

i got 2 Hajime requests in a row-- glad to know i’ve got some fellow Hajime lovers in my following. :D

glad this one is fluff this time, or else i would have done some more angst,, sweats

thank you for requesting! lots of love. <3

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Unconditional Love

Fluff Prompt 37 with Hajime!

link to the prompt list!

genre: comfort angst/fluff warnings: reserve course!reader, use of "M" in place for Ms/Mr. after that, none! word count: 1.8k

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you sometimes wondered if being an Ultimate would make your lover like you better.

after all, being a rich reserve course student only had a few perks. it was nothing like the Ultimates that the school was made for.

at times, you couldn't help but feel envious of the Ultimates that had Hajime's full attention-- not to mention the specific Ultimate that would hang around Hajime.

you weren't doubting Hajime's commitment to you-- of course not! however, the fact that he was so infatuated with having an Ultimate Talent, or belonging to the other building was, in fact, a little disheartening.

you had never thought of the Ultimates in a bad light. they were human, after all. the people on the other side of the campus had just exceeded the bar that their talent had already set before them, it was a natural reaction to set higher expectations of them-- they were the best of the best.

you also knew how Hajime thought about himself-- constantly moving and pushing himself; waiting to find something he was ultimately good at.

somehow, that attitude had rubbed off on you. but it was for an entirely different reason.

you never cared about being an Ultimate, but your fear of abandonment and inferiority had stemmed from Hajime: if you weren't an Ultimate, he could definitely find someone who was and date them. he wasn't bad-looking, or lacking in anything. if he wanted to, he could rack in an Ultimate partner faster than you could say "don't break up with me".

so when your boyfriend invited you to hang out with his Ultimate girl friend, you supposed you'd see what she was all about.

"..you're [Y/n], right?" her voice was soft and comforting, as well as her presence. she held a game console in her hands and her attire was modified to her Ultimate.

the Ultimate Gamer..

you couldn't help but chuckle to yourself. Hajime had his fair share of video game runs, so of course he'd attract someone like her. he was well versed in many genres, more so than you.

you forced a small smile, "yeah. you are..?"

"Nanami..." she had paused her game, looking up at you with caring eyes-- a warm pink, which suited her color palette and personality, "Chiaki Nanami."

her smile was beautiful. somehow, it had made you think, "if Hajime decided to ditch me for this girl, i would agree." but, the thought had struck you in the heart more than you thought it would.

"what's wrong, love?" you heard Hajime's voice beside you, asking you to join him on the bench, "is something bothering you?"

you had sat next to him, smiling as you shook your head, "no, it's nothing."

he hummed, "if you say so," he had reached into his bag for his console, trying to lift your mood, "you have your console, right?"

you nodded, "i don't ever leave home without it because of you," a silent laugh left your lips as you teased him, a small blush growing on his face.

"haha, y-yeah.."

"I hear about you a lot, M. [Y/n]. Hajime never shuts up about you," Nanami's voice had chimed in, smiling as Hajime's stutters began to increase.

"wh-wha--" he choked, "Chiaki!"

you couldn't help but laugh and grin as they got along.

it was nice to hear that Hajime talked about you so much-- more so, reassuring. but they really did get along well; talking while playing games, communicating prices and items, even trading information on levels and quests. that had made you self-conscious, too.

although you were playing with them, following along in their video game antics, it really felt like you were third wheeling them. they naturally got along with each other, happily chatting as you listened.

it was nice seeing Hajime so happy-- so comfortable. unlike in your classroom, or anywhere in the reserve course building at all.

was he like that with you, too? did he feel that way about you, too? because you were also a part of the reserve course?

you just needed to know.

. . . .

the time with Nanami had been slow, but had ended, nonetheless. your console had been shoved inside Hajime's bag just next to his as you both walked home together, hand in hand.

it felt awkward.

his fingers intertwined with yours, brows furrowing with concern, “about earlier,” he brought up, giving your hand a little squeeze, “are you sure you’re alright? i’ve noticed you’ve been pretty down recently.”

ah, that’s Hajime for you. always too perceptive.

“seriously, i’m fine,” you waved it off. after all, you were just being possessive, weren’t you? overthinking and worrying; scared he would leave you for someone else.

you didn’t want him to feel uncomfortable around you-- that was the last thing you wanted. if you expressed your worries about Chiaki, or you being a reserve course student, or how you had doubted his loyalty and commitment to your relationship, wouldn’t that be seen as overbearing, overprotectiveness and controlling?

you had squeezed back, a mixed expression on your face as you avoided eye contact, “i swear...”

well, he didn’t believe you.

your tone, your body language, and how you glanced towards the Ultimate building almost as much as he did-- of course he’d notice all of that. you weren’t interested in becoming an Ultimate, or even Ultimate Talents in general. so what was constantly on your mind that he needed to call your name three times to get your attention?

he bit the inside of his cheek, trying to get you to say something. he needed to hear something, because he knew you weren’t okay. but he couldn’t force it out of you-- if you really didn’t want to talk, he couldn’t do anything about it. no matter how much worry or pity he felt for you, he couldn’t just pressure you to tell him.

“well, love, you can tell me when you’re ready, alright? i’m always here to listen, and i won’t ever judge you for anything,” his voice was reassuring, as were his words.

genuine care was held in those words as he gently swayed your arms forward, “now, would you like to go get some ice cream? it’s pretty late, so i don’t mind walking you home.”

you smiled at his suggestions, your--once limp--arm now swinging with his, “i’d like that.”

. . . .

Hajime had decided to stay over at your house.

as much as you felt the need to reject him, you didn’t. you probably needed him right now, despite the fact that problems you had were because of him. he was your safe place, your comfort buddy, you couldn’t just let him walk away while you were down.

he felt the same way. he knew how you weren’t happy, so of course he offered to stay over. however, if he made you uncomfortable, he would have went home. thankfully, he was allowed over.

while his arms lay gently on your sides, chin on top of your head as you lay on his chest, he began to speak, “how was the ice cream?”

you chuckled, “it was good. you remembered that i liked going to that ice cream shop, so it was really sweet.”

“yeah, i remembered you saying something about how the ice cream was really good and that you’d go to the place if it were closer to your home. it’s a lot closer to Hope’s Peak, so i decided to stop by while we walked to your house,” he boasted, proud you had noticed that he remembered.

as you stare at his clothes chest, you began to talk about what was on your mind. his words from earlier did still count now, right? so, even if what you said was a little problematic or dramatic, he wouldn’t judge you for it, right?

you bit your lip and just went for it, “...so you know, i...” you clutched the cloth as his sides, digging into his chest deeper to his your face, “i see you looking and aspiring to be an Ultimate so much that.. i feel like i’m-- lacking?”

the wording of it sounded weird to you, stuttering as your thoughts had left your mouth, “i mean-- ugh, sorry-- i-”

you wanted to die. why was this so hard?? he probably felt like you were wasting his time, taking so long to say simple words. all you needed to say was, “if you’re tired of me and me being a reserve course student, i wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to break up to be with Chiaki,” or something along the lines of that.

but it all dissipated when his hand had gently caressed your head, petting you gently, slowly, comfortingly.

you could hear the smile in his voice, “take your time, [Y/n]. we have all the time in the world to talk about it.”

it was nice, comforting, calming. it felt as if all your worries were carried away with his voice, the room becoming a nice kind of quiet before you had decided to speak again,

“i’m a reserve course student. i’m stupid rich and talentless, while you’ve got Ultimates as friends and are always moving ahead. you aspire to be something greater, so why have me as a lover?” the collected sentence in your head had suddenly spiraled into something you didn’t want to spill, “i’m not trying to be anything great, and i don’t care about things like Ultimate Talents. i’m going to tire you out and keep you from doing what you love. if you want to break up with me and go out with someone like Chiaki, i won’t stop you, you know..”

the room had went silent again. it was your fault this time, feeling like the tension in the air was uncomfortable, and you wished you had never, ever said what you just said.

however, Hajime’s voice hit you like a pile of bricks, “I could never get tired of you.”

his hold on you tightened, shuffling you up so you both were eye-level to kiss you, “you don’t need to be an Ultimate for me to love you, [Y/n]. i’m not going to break up with you because you don’t have a talent you excel greatly in, or have an interest in Ultimate Talent like i do. you’re your own person, i don’t expect you to be into things i like,” his thumb brushed over your cheek as he cupped it in his hand, “i’m dating you because i love you, not for a title or a talent. you ground me when i get to excessive, and help me face reality even when it’s harsh.”

his smile had felt so comforting as he kissed the bridge of your nose, “you are always going to be you, and i’ll always love you for that.”

and he truly did.

[itsclydebitches]

The Crosshair stuff is a symptom of the lacklustre character establishment of it's main cast. Crosshair is the only Bad Batcher with a defined character to pull from, even if it's wrapped in the cluster fuck of the show being indecisive about the Inhibitor chips's abilities. The rest don't have a developed enough personality to draw from, they're archetypes who'll voice the position the plot needs them to occupy at the moment. What they'll defend in one episode they'll decry the next.

TBB characters are definitely archetypal, though I'm not sure I'd agree that this is inherently a bad thing and/or that it's at the root of the Crosshair messiness. Archetypes don't necessarily equal a lack of a character, just a character that we've seen many times before. Unless you prioritize novelty in your storytelling (which many people do), there's nothing inherently wrong with taking the "dumb," but emotionally intelligent brute, the socially inept genius, the stoic leader, and the "evil" asshole, cramming them in a small ship together, and letting sparks fly. The reason that dynamic works — as it has worked many times before — is because it pits such differing personalities against one another, resulting in both great teamwork and amusing conflict: such as when Wrecker is gleefully stuffing Lula in a pissed-off Crosshair's face. The contrast is fun and that contrast stems primarily from keeping their personalities simple and defined. Unless you really know what you're doing, the more you mess with those personality boxes, the less individualized your characters feel. See: the RWBYJNOR team who have, over the years, lost both their specialized skills and their distinguishing personality traits. The person who just blushed sweetly and awkwardly rubbed a hand behind their neck... was it Ruby? Oscar? Blake? Yang? Jaune? Even Nora? Could be any of them because at this point their core personalities have flattened. Though it's definitely not to everyone's taste, the black and white differences between TBB was kind of refreshing. Throw out a line of dialogue and you can easily figure out who said it. There's something to be said for that level of understanding about a character, even if the understanding itself is simple.

Personally, I'd say the problem lies not in creating another team where everyone has a distinct skill and a stereotypical personality to match, but rather in severely underutilizing the thing that shook that dynamic up: Echo.

Look, I ADORE Omega. I was cheering for my fictional daughter through every step of this season (quite literally during "Replacements"). But—but—if we wanted to push things in the character development department, I'd relegate her to season two. Omega's character serves as the audience surrogate/newbie/hopeful optimist archetype and that's great... provided that you ignore how Echo was already positioned to fill those roles. He became the newest member of TBB, but we skipped over his integration to instead introduce another new member. And, as much as I love her, Omega doesn't push TBB the way that Echo could.

TCW introduced a severe dislike for the "regs," something the first episode of TBB re-emphasized through the cafeteria scene, and then what do you know, the newest member is a former reg. I was expecting there to be a lot of tension stemming from that as the group worked to overcome their prejudice, a prejudice we now know is born of harassment and, interestingly, a sense of superiority. That's one of the few places where TBB does something unexpected: rather than suffering severe insecurity about being "defective," TBB is proud of their differences. (Or, at least, they've embraced pride to cover insecurity.) But unlike a reg's haircut, tattoos, or name, theirs isn't an individuality that they chose. The Kaminoans made them to be different. "I like to blow stuff up because I LIKE TO BLOW STUFF UP" Wrecker roars, but it's a moment that foreshadows his eventual fall to the chip: "No one controls me." Except, you know, he is controllable. There's a story there about characters trying to remain proud of skills and personalities that they know are engineered, trying to embrace individuality when they know they're controllable, who long for the stability and connection of their brothers, but reject the uniformity of "real" clones... and then there's Echo, suddenly on the scene, a former "real" clone who now is nothing like the majority of his brothers, whose differences were also forced on him by another, who should likewise be grappling with embracing his individuality vs. hating how it separates him from what he once knew... that's a lot. Echo could have — arguably should have — been the catalyst for a ton of self-reflection within TBB, mirroring his own development, and resulting in archetypal characters who nevertheless have a secondary layer of nuance.

But none of that happened because Omega became the focus instead, a character who forced TBB to struggle with taking care of a child, not struggle with their own identities. I'd thought for a hot second that the conflict would be whether soldiers could raise a child at all — whether they'd have to change for Omega's benefit — but instead she rather quickly became a soldier of her own, despite how often the dialogue insisted she wasn't. Here's her weapon. Here's her memorizing orders. Here's her first mission alone. Here's her almost never struggling with the horrors that she's experienced; she's as emotionally sturdy as the men bred for war. Omega develops, which is fantastic to watch, but the downside is that everyone else, our title characters, remain pretty static. I think if we'd had a season of Echo joining TBB, perhaps taking place a little before Order 66, and then Omega came on the scene, we would have seen a bit more depth to their characters, simply by virtue of Echo being a character whose personality and problems would inevitably push them. Omega doesn't push them. She's wonderful... and from a writing standpoint that's kinda the problem. She's always optimistic, always compassionate, doesn't take long to get good at these complex skills, never wavers in being satisfied and happy with this life. TBB never had to change to care for her, Omega just did them the courtesy of becoming another elite-soldier capable of keeping up with their dangerous, crazy lives. Her presence is a constant joy and benefit to the team, adding only good things to the status quo they'd developed. Echo? His arrival should, theoretically, have shaken the status quo like whoa. Here's this traumatized reg trying to become a member of a four-unit team who have an Us vs. Them approach to life. That's a recipe for conflict and development.

However, just because I can see other possibilities for TBB doesn't mean I think what we got is wrong. Yeah, it's simple in many respects and as said, the comparative complexity of Crosshair's situation might not end well, but beyond that, simple isn't inherently bad. I found it a lot of fun to watch a found family of extreme personalities take in a wonderful child and go on adventures together. I don't need every show — particularly every Star Wars show — to be a deep dive into complex storytelling. It can be enough to just embrace predictability, especially since the predictable became predictable because lots of people liked those choices.

[the-melting-world]

The Empress | Side A: “Depth Over Distance”

Art by @markmefistov

~ In which a cheerful mage navigates uncharted waters…

The Trio Appearances: Kipling | Khleo | Ozy

Arcana LI appearances: Asra | Nadia | Muriel 

Track Origins: “Depth Over Distance” by Ben Howard

Not sure if this is the right track? The full album can be found here: The Empress

cw: none

~ 1.4k words

***

To put it simply, the Doors were gateways to a very entangled maze. Through time. Through matter. Oz’mandias had opened every Door. He had not, however, entered every Room. Some were too dark, their floors too loose to bear his weight. They rumbled with cosmic horrors. Monsters without names or faces. He made sure to mark these Doors that led to these unnavigable Rooms. He was an umbra, not Beowulf. Someday he would figure them out. 

Ozy learned through his discovery of trapdoors that all Rooms were connected. The entirety of the cosmos – or at least the knotted sliver of it that the Doors chose to reveal to him – balanced on a shifting framework. There was no way he could explore it all. True, he had located all the Doors that faced outward, but it hadn’t taken him long to realize that there were Rooms within Rooms. One Door could lead to multiple Rooms. The walls of which could shift, dissolve, reflect, and stack itself. Then you had Quasi-Rooms and Beta Rooms. Fractional Rooms and Microscopic Rooms.

It was impossible to know them all.

And yet, Ozy strived to do it. Because how could he ever ignore every secret a Door protected when he could see the outlines of each and every gateway? They glowed for him whenever he passed by, whether he activated them with his gauntlets or not. 

At the moment, Ozy was desperate to get Kipling to see a single Door.

Thankfully, she knew how to meditate. How to concentrate. Ozy held his breath as he watched Kip’s third eye flutter open. Of course, he was the only one who could see this. To Asra and the three familiars that cavorted around in the Palace Conservatory, nothing was going on in the center of Kipling’s forehead right above her eyes.

But even after all that fluttering with potential, Kip’s third eye would always give up and return to its state of rest.

Ozy stifled a frustrated sound as he sat back and rubbed his palm over his eyes and the bridge of his scarred nose. He didn’t know what it was. Kip was definitely trying. It wasn’t like she didn’t possess the willpower.

So what was missing?

“Coz?” Kipling sounded dizzy. “Can we take a break? I think I’m starting to get a migraine.”

Ozy wanted to keep going. He had an urge to hold out as long as they both could. He wanted to really study Kipling and process this thoroughly. He wanted to think.

Still, another part of Ozy – one that stemmed from maturity and experience – insisted that no good would come of that. Kipling had done her best. She had reached her limit. If Ozy were to demonstrate impatience with her now, it would be the same as erasing all the progress she had made.

“That’s enough for today,” Ozy sighed, reaching over and patting Kip on the head. He expected her to swat his hand away, but when he didn’t, he fixed her with a look of concern.

“You’ve been really patient with me, Ozy,” said Kip, “but I don’t think I’ll be able to see the Doors as well as you can in just a few days.”

Ozy folded his hands in his lap. “You don’t need to see all the Doors, Kip. Just the glyphs on the ones that you intend to open.”

Kip chewed on her lower lip. “It doesn’t sound all that complicated.”

Ozy smiled. “It’s not.”

“Then why is it taking me so long?”

Ozy didn’t know. Not yet.

The grey mage gave the gardener something else to think about for the rest of the day. Some breathing exercises. They wouldn’t be all that helpful in this case, but she didn’t need to know that. Then the two umbras parted ways. 

Kipling left the conservatory hand in hand with Asra, his snake familiar curled about his shoulders. Taro took a little longer to bid farewell to Abaco before scurrying after Kipling and hitching a ride in the crook of her elbow.

Abaco flitted over to Ozy and followed him back inside the Palace. Ozy’s mind was still going, trying to pinpoint what was causing Kip’s block. He barely made it inside long enough to hear his soft soles echoing against the domed mosaic ceilings when he was approached by a familiar face.

Ozy offered a tired smile in Nadia Satrinava’s direction. When she asked him if he wanted to soak the afternoon off in a private, isolated bath chamber, he of course accepted. He had yet to enjoy the Palace baths. 

When Nadia followed up with another question, he didn’t think anything of where it was coming from. Or what it might mean. 

So he just said yes, of course.

Moments later, Ozy was stepping into the softly lit bath chamber wearing nothing but a thin robe. Standing directly across from him, stooping a bit to test the temperature of the water was the Countess. She was also robed with her hair completely undone. Her feet were bare and she was without makeup or adornments. It was then that Ozy realized that there was something potently vulnerable and private rising in the air.

“Ozy, I need to ask you an important question.” Nadia shook the water off her hand and straightened up. “Would you prefer us to bathe with our robes on or off?”

Ozy didn’t have an answer for her. He was thinking, trying to make connections to this moment and back in the days when he was right on the cusp of adulthood. 

“Ozy? It’s okay. Just tell me what you want. If this is making you uncomfortable–”

He blurted, “I don’t want to say the wrong thing.”

Nadia gathered her robe a little tighter around her as she approached the grey mage. Worry and concern clouded her features. She wanted to tell him that there was nothing wrong about being honest about how he felt in the moment, but Ozy was already rattling off faster than she had ever seen from him.

“I’ve declined invitations like this before and afterwards my companions stopped talking to me.” His eyes didn’t meet hers as he kept going. “They avoided spending time with me. As if I had declined our whole relationship, but I hadn’t. It was only a moment that I had said no to. One instance in time. There would be so much more, but for whatever reason, they couldn’t see it. And the times when I’ve accepted��� everything seemed to happen so fast. It always started out nice, pleasurable even... but I always seemed to be a disappointment towards the end.”

“Ozy,” Nadia cut in. “Oz. Look at me.”

He did.

Nadia paused to inhale. Then softly, she said, “Let’s start from the beginning. Would you like to take a bath together?”

Ozy nodded with sincerity. “I would like that.” This time he meant it. Until now Ozy hadn’t realized how much he had been relying on the presence of the Countess to steady his nerves while he navigated uncharted waters with Kipling and her handle on grey magic.

Nadia cracked a small smile and moved one of Ozy’s beaded locs out of his eyes.

“If you want to keep the robes on, I will not take that as a rejection. If you want to take them off, we can move as slowly as you want. Just tell me what you decide. And if you ever want to change your mind at any point, I would never hold it against–”

Nadia’s voice became muffled against Ozy’s unexpected kiss. Her skin shivered under the robe as his arms snaked around her middle while his other hand coasted up her back and folded around the nape of her neck.

“Thank you,” Ozy said without breaking the kiss. “Your patience, your perception, your understanding – it’s so rare and wonderful that I’m often left feeling a bit overwhelmed.”

Ozy had no idea how overwhelmed Nadia herself was in that moment, what with him locking her against his strong, lean frame and muttering into her mouth, his gold ring, snug against his full lips, constantly taunting her to deepen the kiss.

But as much as Nadia wanted to move things forward, Ozy was still in a vulnerable place. She wouldn’t push him until he got everything that he needed out in the open.

“... always afraid that I’ll come on too strong. People might confuse the things that I’m genuinely curious about with…”

“Oz?”

“... for the longest I couldn’t understand why that would always happen…”

“Oz.”

“... easier to be alone sometimes, but I told myself that couldn’t be true. Not all the way at least. Not–”

Nadia pulled back. “Ozy. It’s okay.”

Ozy blinked owlishly, as if he had no idea just how long he’d been rambling.

Nadia’s ruby gaze softened. “You don’t have to explain yourself.” She leaned in and placed a tentative but lingering kiss to his slightly parted lips. “I hear you. Now…” 

She withdrew and gestured to the depression of steaming water behind them. 

“Robes on or off?”

[tumblezwei]

Why Kyoko Mogami is the GOAT

And why y’all are SLEEPING ON HER

Spoilers for Skip Beat, but honestly idk how much of the story I’m gonna get into for this since I’m flying by the seat of my pants. Still, read at your own risk.

Also this is LONG lmao

Kyoko Mogami is a 16 year old middle school drop-out that works two jobs day and night in order to pay rent for the Tokyo apartment that she lives in all by herself 6 days out of the week. Going into the first chapter, there are three things immediately clear about her. 

1. She’s cheerful, kind, and also kind of batshit insane. From the first moment we meet her, her personality is throwing itself at our faces and refusing to calm down. (apologies for the bad quality images, I work with what I have)

2. She loves Sho Fuwa, her childhood friend and rising rock-star that asked Kyoko to come with him to Tokyo after middle school graduation to support his career

3. Nothing matters to her as long as Sho is happy. Sure, she laments that her love for girly dresses, cosmetics, and fairy tale princesses will never amount to anything since all of her money is going toward paying the rent on her and Sho’s apartment, but that’s fine. As long as her precious Sho is happy, so is she. 

And, as you’d expect, things go to shit pretty quickly afterwards. During one her off days from her night job, Kyoko decides to visit Sho at his recording studio with dinner. After sneaking in past the hoards of squealing teenage girls waiting outside to catch a glimpse of him, she overhears him talking to his manager. 

“I’m the heir to a prominent Japanese inn, do you think I’ve ever cooked or cleaned all by myself?” She hears. 

“That’s awful,” the manager replies, “you make it sound as if you brought her just to be your maid.”

“She’s basically been my maid since I was a kid, or else I wouldn’t have brought her along with me. It’s not like I forced her, I asked her a question and gave her the choice. It’s only natural that she’d work her butt off to support me.” 

And he just keeps going. Once he’s made enough to live independently, he’ll send her back. How dare his parents try to set him up with a plain-looking girl like her. She doesn’t even wear make-up! 

As images of flash in Kyoko’s mind of standing in front of make-up stores with no money to buy anything, she takes Sho’s words just as well as one might expect. By unleashing the box of tucked away emotions she’s held in her chest and swearing to take revenge on Sho for using her and throwing her away like this.

. I failed to mention this at the start, but the beginning of the chapter introduces us to the most important piece of symbolism in Kyoko’s character development: Pandora’s box. 

For Kyoko’s entire life, she’s held this box inside herself. In myth, once this box was opened, all of the evil of the world is unleashed, never to be put back inside. So for Kyoko, the metaphor is quite apt. Hearing Sho’s words unlocks the box and unleashes a kind of anger that not even Kyoko knew she was capable of, a kind of determination and vengeance that has her dyeing her hair and staking outside of a talent manager’s house for days on end to whittle down his willpower and give her a chance to audition at Sho’s rival talent agency, LME. Every time she hears his name, or sees his picture, she’s filled with myopic sense of rage that no one can calm her down from. 

Her sole mission in life is to get revenge on Sho Fuwa, a sentiment that finds her at odds with LME’s top actor, Ren Tsuruga, who sees her one-sided quest for vengeance as an insult to people who truly love acting. But as if Kyoko cares, she needs to get revenge! 

I’m gonna drop the pseudo-narration for a bit because I actually need to skip over a fair bit of plot to get to what I think makes Kyoko incredibly compelling, outside of being the funniest female character in existence. We’re going to jump forward in time to Kyoko’s first acting gig. Well, not so much an gig as much as it is a competition. She’s been tasked to play the role of a dignified inn keeper that’s serving tea to the main male character. After having broken her ankle and been challenged by the real lead actress, this is her first shot to prove she has the talent to make it in the acting industry. So in order to immerse herself in the role, she utilizes her experience of being trained by Sho’s mother to take care of the inn that his family owned. It’s here that we finally understand that Kyoko giving up her life back home for Sho wasn’t just a spur of the moment decision brought about by infatuation. It was something she’d been doing for her entire life. Everything she knows how to do, every skill she’s obtained, has been because of Sho. And this is the moment that she realizes that fact too. (the first image is from after the scene is done, wherein Kyoko cannot snap herself out of her character due to the lessons she was taught as a child, despite her sitting position making her broken ankle unbearably painful). 

Even her righteous fury at being left in the dust is focused solely on Sho fucking Fuwa. Is there anything that she has than can be attributed to her own success? Does she have any skills that can’t be traced back to trying to make Sho happy? Who is Kyoko Mogami? Is she worth anything without Sho? 

And I want to make this clear right now, because I know the term “shoujo” makes people hesitate. THIS is what Skip Beat is about. Kyoko’s journey to find out who she is, and with every new role she takes on and with every experience she gains, she becomes just a little closer to finding out who she is and what she wants for herself. 

We watch as her love for acting slowly eclipses her thirst for revenge. A few arcs after this moment, she is contacted about a job to act in a music PV with none other than Sho himself. In the beginning, she accepts the job in order to prove to Sho that she’s climbing the ladder and catching up to him, but her performance suffers whenever she thinks about her revenge. And what saves her isn’t even putting aside her revenge, but prioritizing her own feelings above it. She wants to act! She wants to put on a good performance! So she needs to put aside those feelings of anger and draw from her past experiences to create a character that leaves Sho in the dust. 

I’m gonna bet y’all are wondering about the romance, though. Because this is a shoujo, and of course it has romance. But hey, guess what? That romance is equally compelling and is an integral part to Kyoko’s character too. In the first....5 or so arcs, Ren Tsuruga ‘s relationship with Kyoko crawls it’s way out of the it’s rocky beginnings, and he slowly becomes a mentor figure to Kyoko. He’s her superior in acting, and she looks to him often for support and guidance when she’s struggling to perform a role or having difficulty with her fellow actors. To Kyoko, Ren is the goal, his level of acting is what she aspires to be, so she can stand on equal footing with him. Before there’s even a whiff of romance between them, there develops a solid bond of trust and support. And once the romance starts. Hoo boy. 

To fully understand why it’s taken 12 years irl for a confession scene to finally take place, we need to bring back the metaphor of Pandora’s box. Because not everything escaped Pandora’s box when it was opened. Pandora was able to shut the box just in time for one thing to stay locked inside: hope. In the myth, this is a good thing, while negative and vile emotions run free, hope still exists within people to become better. But for Kyoko, the box isn’t a safe place, it’s a repressed place. She spent her entire life locking away the negative emotions she felt, placing a smile on her face and hoping for Sho’s happiness. And when those emotions are set lose, she locks the box back up, sealing something else inside. Her hope, her confidence in anything having to do with love. 

It’s not just that Kyoko isn’t in love anymore, she feels as if she can’t be in love anymore, that she’s entirely incapable of it. The idea of falling in love with someone else terrifies her. What if she goes back to the way she was before? An empty shell that exists for other people and not herself. The box has been sealed tightly again, and by God this time she’s not going to let anything open it. And like, I don’t want to spoil much in this, as contradictory as that sounds. Because the scene where she realizes she loves Ren? One of the best fucking scenes in any romance manga ever. 

And. God. I haven’t even touched on her mom. Kyoko’s desire for love, that became so warped under Sho and so desolate after his betrayal, can all stem back to Saena Mogami. A woman who, no matter what Kyoko did, rejected any affection that her child tried to give, and gave none in return. “Even a mother can hate her own child.” We get bits and pieces of what Kyoko’s mother was like, and the environment that a very young Kyoko was raised in before her mother left her in the care of Sho’s parents. And eventually we realize that Kyoko isn’t afraid of her love being rejected twice, but a third time. 

Like, y’all, I’m not good at these kind of essays. I keep wanting to go off on tangents, nothing is ever focused, I spend to much time just reading the manga instead of writing this fucking post. But please believe me when I tell you that Kyoko Mogamis character development is like none other. She’s truly at the top of her genre and it’s an actual crime that she’s so underrated. 

I HAVEN’T EVEN TALKED ABOUT KANAE, THE WEISS TO HER RUBY, THE TSUNDERE TO HER GENKI

Before Kyoko gets even a single arc with Ren, she gets two with Kanae. The first with Kanae as a central figure, and the second where Kanae is her support. She’s the one that gives Kyoko the eureka moment she needs to pull of her performance with Sho. They are one of the most developed and deep friendships in shoujo that I’ve ever seen AND Y’ALL NEED TO STOP SLEEPING ON IT. LOOK AT THESE TWO

And don’t take this poorly assembled post at face value, I’ve left out a lot of shit. Starting with how fucking funny this manga is. Kyoko’s special talent for her LME audition is peeling vegetables, there’s a running gag where Ren asks for her advice while she’s in a giant chicken costume, unaware that it’s her, the president of LME is an eccentric millionaire that likes to dress up in different themed costumes every day and loves throwing extravagant parties, Kyoko’s hobby is making voodoo dolls and talks to a miniature Ren doll whenever she needs encouragement or advice. 

And it’s all packaged alongside some of the most compelling character development I’ve ever seen (for both Kyoko and Ren), and some absolutely heartbreaking drama. You will never know true pain until “I don’t have a daughter.”

Read this, ya’ll. You won’t regret it. 

[honeyju]

carnations; choi chanhee

In which you visit the flower shop every day to buy a flower for someone you never manage to give it to. 

genres: fluff, flower shop au, sort of friends to lovers au

word count: 3.4k 

a/n: this is inspired by a flower shop au prompt i found on @alloftheprompts​’s blog and tweaked a little!! it’s dedicated to my friend rea @superiormangos as it’s her birthday today and i wanted to write something special for her <33 also a huge thank you to alice @hyuckworld for the text dividers! hope you enjoy!! 

THE VASE WAS OVERFLOWING NOW. 

You couldn’t help but frown at the sight before you, a jumbled mess of light pink carnations stuffed hastily into a glass vase that had nearly no room left. Nearly all of them save for a handful were wilted, their stems leaning outside of the vase and petals dried. 

I need to start giving these, you thought to yourself, yet you knew this wasn’t the first time that you had thought such words, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Curse Choi Chanhee for having a face so flawless you could’ve sworn it was carved from marble, for having a smile bright enough to set your whole face on fire. If only he didn’t have the ability to fluster you so greatly, you would’ve been able to do what you’d been yearning to do since the moment you first realized your attraction towards him. 

You could only pray that today would be the day you finally gained some courage, and you tried not to spare another glance at the bunch of flowers sitting on your table as you shouldered your coat, adding a scarf around your neck in the hopes that it would be enough to battle the biting cold. You stepped out of the door, locking it, and set out along the familiar path you’d been following daily for the past couple months. The image of the full vase seemed to haunt you every step you took, and you shook your head, trying to clear your mind of the exasperation that was building inside of you. 

It was only after a few blocks that you’d turned the corner and the shop you were so accustomed to came into view, surrounded by a magnificent display of vivid flowers. You could feel your heart beginning to race, and you had to scrunch your hands up into fists in order to prevent your palms from sweating. Somehow, you felt like you could already sense Chanhee’s presence inside the shop, knowing that the moment you walked in, your feelings would only intensify.

Sure enough, you had only taken a step into the shop and you already felt as though your heart was going to beat out of your chest. Chanhee was standing behind the counter, his gaze trained elsewhere as he mindlessly fiddled with a pen in his hands. When he looked up to the sound of your footsteps, his bright eyes meeting yours, you could’ve sworn that the world around you disappeared, everything falling into slow motion as his lips curved into a smile. 

Why, oh why did Chanhee have to make you so damn nervous? You couldn’t stop your cheeks from heating up even if you wanted to, and you shakily lifted a hand to wave at him, not taking another step out of fear that your trembling legs would give way. 

“Hey! Same order as always?” Chanhee grinned, gesturing to the carnations behind him, and you thought you could’ve passed out from the sparkle in his warm brown eyes. You forced yourself to nod, feet still glued to the floor, and Chanhee beckoned you closer. “Why don’t you come a bit more over here? It’s cold outside, isn’t it?” He raised his eyebrows in concern, referring to the door behind you that was propped open, harsh gusts of wind blowing inside every few seconds.

“Thanks,” you mumbled quietly, edging yourself forward as Chanhee leaned over the counter, resting his elbows on its surface. For a moment, he seemed to be analyzing you, his forehead creasing as a flash of worry crossed over his face.

“Rough day? You seem a bit frustrated,” he commented, placing his head in his hands. You couldn’t help but smile at his words, wondering how he could so effortlessly read past your timid appearance. His easy conversation always managed to loosen the knots of tension in your stomach, although ironically, he was the original cause of your jitteriness. 

“Yeah,” you breathed, “yeah, it’s been a bit of a rough day.”

Chanhee’s expression fell into one of sympathy as he reached out to pat your shoulder. “I hope you’re able to cheer up soon! Look, I’ve got an extra special one for you today,” he consoled, leaning back and turning around to find one particular flower among the bunch you were so familiar with. It gave you enough time to calm down from the sudden contact his hand had made with your body, and you quickly released the breath you didn’t realize you were holding. 

When he faced you again, his gaze was tender, different from the fondness with which he looked at his flowers, somehow unique only to the way he looked at you. Sitting in his cupped palms was a beautiful pink carnation in full bloom, its white hues seeming to glow under the bright lighting of the shop. 

“I picked it this morning,” Chanhee murmurs, his eyes flickering down to the plant and back to your face. “It grew a lot bigger than they normally do, so I wanted to save it for you.” 

Your face grew warmer, if that was even possible, and you weren’t sure how to express the gratitude you felt for him thinking of you. You settled with a soft, “Thank you,” accepting the carnation from his hands, trying not to react to the graze of his fingers against yours. 

“No problem. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

This was it. This was the moment. No matter how natural Chanhee made conversation between the two of you, it was always these words that had your breath hitching in your throat. While your mind screamed at you to seize the opportunity, your body was unwilling to cooperate, freezing up at the thought of messing up. 

Tell him who it’s for. Go on, give it to him. 

Despite the convincing voice encouraging you to take the chance, your fearsome thoughts somehow always won over the confident ones. The questions of what if this is too weird? and what if he rejects me? were simply too strong for you to ignore, and unsurprisingly, you let them stop you like you always did. Your arms fell limply to your sides, the flower in your hand drooping as if in regret. 

“No, nothing else,” you sighed, looking down in the hopes of hiding your disappointment. You were about to turn away, walk out the door, and you knew that the moment you got back to your place, the first thing you would do would be stick the carnation in the bunch of flowers you’d repeatedly failed to give. But Chanhee interrupted your miserable thoughts, speaking up again as if he wanted you to stay just a bit longer.

“You know,” he started, leaning forward against the counter once more, “you’ve been coming in here every day for the past couple of months, and we’ve been having these little conversations. You probably know my name because, well, the name tag, but I realized that I never asked you for yours.”

It took you a few seconds longer to process his words than it should’ve, and when they finally registered in your mind, you blinked in understanding. 

“I’m Y/N,” you answered quickly, a shy smile creeping up your lips. Chanhee’s answering grin mirrored yours as he tilted his head playfully.

“Well, Y/N, what do you say to a cup of coffee tomorrow when my shift is over?”

For a moment, you could’ve sworn you were dreaming, the words echoing in your mind as though they were a fantasy. Your eyes widened, and among the storm of feelings in the back of your mind, you heard that voice once again, urging you to say something, to accept.

This time, you let yourself listen.

“I’d love that.”

YOU ALMOST DIDN’T SHOW UP.

Funnily enough, you were able to exchange numbers with Chanhee, hold a full conversation with him over text, and even choose an outfit for the next day without having a complete mental breakdown.

Yet when morning arrived, you were suddenly riddled with worry, pacing around the room as you found yourself beginning to second-guess everything. You couldn’t help but wonder if you were overdressed, or maybe underdressed, or whether Chanhee had something planned after coffee that you needed to be prepared for. However, you knew you couldn’t let him down by not going, and so, almost reluctantly, you left for the shop.

You mindlessly let your feet carry you, and you were so deep in your trance that you hardly noticed when you reached the shop until Chanhee was standing right before you. It was only when he led you outside that things began to feel real, his shoulder nudging yours as you walked down to the coffee shop. 

“Look at that tree,” Chanhee observed, his eyes alight as he pointed across the street to a tree decorated in reds, oranges and browns, the leaves clinging to the branches despite the relentless wind. You found yourself looking at him instead, softening at the adoration painted over his features as he continued to murmur small details about the scenery surrounding the two of you. You had only realized that you were zoning out when Chanhee snapped his fingers in front of your face, his lips curving into an amused smirk. 

“Sorry!” Your cheeks turned impossibly red as you began to blurt out an explanation. “I just—I like watching people talk about the things they love,” you admitted. Chanhee’s expression was blank at first, and then it grew soft as he wordlessly took your hand in his, fingers wrapping around yours tenderly. 

“Is this okay?” he asked tentatively, and your heart nearly stopped beating from the sudden move. Still, you managed a nod, trying to relax your body as Chanhee beamed, his shoulder touching yours. “I hope you don’t mind that so have a little something planned for today.”

“I don’t mind at all,” you told him, shaking your head. On the inside, however, you silently began to panic, feeling as though your stomach was turning inside out. 

“Don’t be nervous! I think that you’ll really like it,” Chanhee assures, squeezing your hand to encourage you. You could only smile, left to wonder yet again how he was so impossibly good at knowing exactly what you felt.

You were curious, however, when he had chosen to take you back to the shop after the two of you had gotten your coffee, promising you that he’d show you something beautiful. Your interest only grew when he led you behind the counter, showing you the back door that you had somehow never noticed in your previous visits. 

When Chanhee swung the door open, words failed you. 

Your mouth fell open, stunned by what lay before your eyes. It was a garden, displaying rows and rows of flower beds organized neatly by type, color, preference, and nearly every other category that you could imagine. Each group of flowers was accompanied by a small label sticking out from the grass, upon which descriptions were scribbled in tiny handwriting. It was so alive, and you noted that the deep hues of the lush blossoms formed a delightful contrast with the impeccably green grass. It was undeniably one of the most entrancing things you had ever seen, and you were even more awestruck by the intricacy of the overall arrangement. 

“Oh my god.” Your words came out in a hushed whisper, and you couldn’t help but feel as though it was because you saw the garden as some sort of sleeping figure, as though you feared waking it up from its tranquil state. 

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” Chanhee grinned, sitting down and patting the grass next to him, encouraging you to sit beside him. You obliged, shivering slightly when your arm brushed against his. “There,” he said, pointing you towards a section of the garden flourishing with the double-flowered blossoms you knew like the back of your hand. 

“Carnations,” you marveled, never having seen so many at once despite being so used to them. You could feel Chanhee’s eyes on you, and when you turned to face him, you gulped at the proximity of his face. He was close enough for you to feel his breath on your lips, for you to see every little detail of his skin. You found yourself anticipating his next move as he opened his mouth. 

“Do you want to pick one? A carnation, I mean.”

His offer deeply touched you, butterflies fluttering in your stomach as you found yourself rendered speechless by his sincerity yet again. You nodded, and he instantly took your hand, sitting up on his knees as he guided your fingers to one of the flowers in particular. 

“Take it,” he whispered. “This one’s in full bloom.”

He watched, his hand still on yours as you carefully plucked the flower from the group and gasped quietly. You stared at it for a moment, twirling the stem between your fingers and watching as the petals caught the sunlight, glimmering a soft baby pink. When you looked back up at Chanhee, his gaze was anticipatory, as if he feared that you would not like the flower. 

“It’s stunning,” you breathed, offering him a genuine smile. 

His answering smile was bright enough to light up the entire garden, and although you had never believed in angels, you thought that perhaps Choi Chanhee was the closest thing to one. 

“I’ve always wondered why you like carnations so much,” Chanhee murmured. His voice wasn’t meddlesome or demanding, but rather soft and curious, and you could see the honest question in his eyes. You tried not to freak out, remembering that you weren’t obligated to tell him the reason if you weren’t ready just yet. But the way in which he was looking at you told you that the moment would be soon, and something inside of you liked the idea of that. 

“I’ll tell you someday,” you promised, and Chanhee nodded, an understanding look on his face. He inched closer to you, his body lightly touching yours as he tightened his grip around your hand. 

It was yet another day in which you would be returning to your apartment with a carnation, but something about getting to pick it with Chanhee made your heart race in a way it hadn’t before. You could do almost everything with him, you realized. You just couldn’t give him that damned flower.

YOU COULD NO LONGER HOLD IT IN. 

You were sick of it, you realized. You were sick of keeping your feelings in, and judging by the way you and Chanhee continued to spend more time together following the day in the garden, you had a feeling that Chanhee was sick of not knowing what it meant, too. You had made a promise to him, and it was finally time for you to fulfill that promise. 

You decided that this time, you were going to be the one to surprise him. So that was how you ended up in front of your apartment, an extremely confused Chanhee by your side. You tried not to let your nerves show, praying that this would be the time you finally didn’t back out. 

“Sorry to drag you here all of a sudden,” you apologized, and Chanhee waved it off with a small laugh as you guided him inside. You tried not to be too embarrassed about the mess, opening your mouth to apologize again before he cut you off.

“I love it.”

You blushed, something you had gotten used to after the countless moments you’d spent with him. There was something about the way he always knew exactly what to say that made you admire him, and you realized that it was part of the reason for why you liked him so much. You felt as though every cell in your body was shivering with what you were about to do, but you knew that despite the raggedness of your breath, despite your shaking hands, you finally wanted this. 

“Chanhee,” you began seriously, as his lips curved into a soft smile, “I brought you here because there’s something I want to show you. But you have to promise not to freak out, okay?”

A flash of amusement crossed Chanhee’s face, but he nodded regardless. “I can’t promise you, but I’ll try my best.”

Accepting the answer, you turned around to find the vase you had kept tucked away in a corner of sunlight that came from the nearby window. When you pulled it out to show him, Chanhee‘s whole demeanor changed, his eyes immediately widening in recognition.

“Wait, those are—“

“Read it,” you interrupted, nodding your head towards the folded piece of paper that you had tucked between the flowers earlier in the day. Raising an eyebrow, Chanhee plucked the paper from the bunch, beginning to unfold it carefully.

Watching as he opened the paper completely, you were hit with a sudden feeling as though something was awfully wrong. You had the urge to stop him, and you realized that it was because this wasn’t how you wanted to tell him. You wanted the words to come straight from your mouth.

“Wait,” you blurted, “wait, I’ll say it instead.” Chanhee looked up, his eyes meeting yours as he compliantly folded the note back together. “You wanted to know why I’ve been buying all these flowers, right?” you asked, his answering nod giving you a surge of confidence. “Well, the truth is, I wanted to give them to you. The first couple times I came were for other reasons, but when I started buying the carnations, I wanted to use them to confess to you.”

“Confess? To me? But—“

“Hold on,” you said softly, needing to get the words out before you lost the courage to. “Chanhee, I like you. I like you a lot. And maybe I’m reading it wrong, but I think that you might like me too. I want you to know that I’ve always appreciated the moments we’ve spent together, and that I’ll continue to cherish them whether or not you feel the same.” You paused to take a breath, and you were about to continue your confession before you stopped short at the realization that you were rambling, your cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Your gaze fell to the ground, and you bit your lip nervously before Chanhee’s hand suddenly wrapped around yours. Your head instinctively shot up, only to find that he was looking at you with that same tenderness again, the kind that made you feel like he saw the entire world in you.

“Y/N,” Chanhee murmured gently, “first tell me, why carnations?”

It was an almost ridiculous question, and you couldn’t bite back the small smile that was beginning to form on your lips. “Why don’t you tell me what they mean, flower boy?”

“Admiration,” Chanhee answered without missing a beat, glancing back down at the carnations as if in confirmation. “That’s what these ones mean. You . . . you admire me?” There was a tone of disbelief to his voice. 

“All this time you’ve been so gentle with me, showing me new things, teaching me new feelings. How could I not admire you?” you whispered, and for the first time, there weren’t any voices telling you what could go wrong. You reached for the most freshly picked flower in the vase, and despite the racing of your heart, you no longer felt scared. You held it out to him, knowing that Chanhee would understand its meaning, that it would be enough to convey what you felt. 

For a second, everything fell into silence, as Chanhee’s gaze dropped to the carnation, his shoulders stiffening. Then his face broke into a smile, and he leaned in, his fingers finding your cheek. He paused before his lips could touch yours, as he cautiously searched your face as if to ask for permission. You only closed your eyes, and Chanhee chuckled softly before he finally closed the distance between the two of you. 

Chanhee had always reminded you of flowers. Maybe it was because he worked at a flower shop, or maybe it was because of the way his mouth moved with yours, the way the two of you delicately fell into each other’s embrace like petals of a flower. Your entire body was on fire, filled with nothing but the thought of his figure moulded with yours, his tongue finding its way past your lips. Somewhere in the middle of the kiss, his hand found your still outstretched one, and when he took the flower from between your fingers as he pulled you closer, you smiled. 

You had finally given him your carnation. 

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Tokyo Love Story (Part 5) The Truth of Black Swan

The following Scene takes elements and themes from the novel scenes and game quests surrounding Akira and Kogure Sakurai and weaves them into the MCs journey in a way that is meaningful. This scene does not appear in the Novel or the Game.

Please Enjoy

You’re riding in the passenger side of Chance’s Audi R8, the city lights flashing across the pale makeup on your face. Caesar might have turned up his nose at the car, but you found it very stylish and unpretentious. It was a sports car you could drive to work. You stare out the window at the many people walking down the streets. Tokyo’s nightlife was just as vibrant as the daytime. Only, instead of being locked in the offices for work, people spilled into the streets to visit karaoke bars and eat street food. There were also plenty of couples holding hands and laughing. Girls in skirts and women in tight dresses walking with friends. Men in sports jackets and a few in suits and ties. The people your age were casual in t-shirts and jeans.

When you imagined going to the big city, it was something like this. Having lots of friends, going out on the town, enjoying food and walking under lights.

Chance’s phone vibrated. “Yes, she’s with me, we’re on our way to the safe spot, notify me of the all clear.”

His expression was grim and he spoke like a soldier reporting to his commander. You’d only seen him as a carefree guy but now he was acting as a member of the Devil Clan, a Yakuza organization. Looking up at this, you notice that he’s no less muscled than Caesar, but he was a bit more wiry and lithe.

“We’ll give it a couple of hours to let things calm down before taking you back.” He said, stuffing the phone in his pocket.

“Thanks,” you say. “I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Did Izanami really love Izanagi?” You rest your head against the window.

“That’s a matter of philosophical debate, even among White King Descendents. Her motives were selfish. She fooled him and lied to him. But when he betrayed her, no one can deny her emotional reaction had to be rooted in some genuine attachment.” He maneuvered the car as he spoke, keeping his eyes on the road. “The common consensus is, for dragons, love is never the goal. It’s a means to an end. Once that end is fulfilled, love fades or dies completely. If the object of the dragon’s love refuses to cooperate with the end goal, that love can quickly turn to hatred. Humans pursue love for the sake of it. But Dragons do not. The emotions are real, but they’re not the goal.”

“That seems manipulative.” You say.

“It can be. Keep in mind that Izanagi wasn’t exactly the best example of human love either. Bottom line, it’s not good for humans and dragons to fall in love. They both will end up hurt somehow. But it does happen.”

He keeps driving until the city spires flatten to more residential spaces. You pull into a small park with rolling terraformed hills and tiled roof shelters. Chance killed the lights on his car and opened the door, getting out with a briefcase. “We can hide out here for a while.”

At the center of the park is a large dark lake. The stars couldn’t be seen over the lights of the city and the moon was shrouded by dense clouds. He leads you by the hand through a pea gravel path. You could feel your cheeks grow warm. The idea of running away to hide from the world with a man was depicted in TV shows you watched and in magazines you read, but now it was happening to you.

“It’s going to rain tonight, so let's stay under the shelter until we get the all clear.” He said.

He settled you down on a bench and sat next to you. He was handsome, with his red hair in his ponytail and his green eyes in the dark. He took a deep breath and let it out. “Now comes the hard part.” He opened the briefcase and took out a thin yellow folder.

“Ruri Kazama wanted me to give this to you.”

You accept the folder and open it. Much to your shock, you immediately recognize the title. Black Swan Harbor Initiative! 

“You’re from Siberia right?” He looks at you. Those eyes glittered like jewels.

“Where did you get this?” You ask, anxiously flipping through the pages. There were photos of Black Swan Bay, just as you remembered it. There were even photos of orphans that you remembered, ghosts of the past. Vera, Khorkina, Anton… you pause. A knife of pain piercing your heart.

Renata’s picture stared at you, smiling from the yellowing paper, her eyes sparkled too, even in black and white.

“Ruri Kazama had it. I don’t know what it all means or where he got it from.” He reaches over and flips the pages back to the beginning. “He wants you to understand your situation. The reason why Black Swan Harbor was created. Black Swan Bay was like a dragon graveyard. Even though Cassell holds a lot of ancient artifacts, Black Swan Bay had the actual specimens for direct study of the creatures. You were created there as part of a study on making perfect, super hybrids.”

“What?” You whisper.

“I’m only telling you what I read. None of this makes sense to me either. You’re an 18 year old girl from 20 years ago. I…” He shook his head. “It must have to do with your bloodline, that you can rest so long and retain your youth. Anyway, because you’re not perfect, you will eventually become a deadpool. You’re a ghost. There’s no changing this.” 

He flipped over a page in the folder leading to Anton’s file. “This is from one of the research papers. The average lifespan of the Black Swan Bay children is 20 years before they lose their grip on humanity. This orphan was eliminated because he’d reached the end of his life.”

You stare blankly at the page. You remembered Dr. Herzog tested hybrid children thoroughly and then, around age 20, some were selected to go to school in Moscow. Back then, you had excitedly chatted with Z about how one year you might be selected. But instead of feeling excited for you, he led you to a lab. There, you saw Anton, who had been selected to go to the capital, sitting in a wheelchair. Despite his power to stop a bullet, he couldn’t stand.

Dr. Herzog was like your father. So your mind rejected his words when he said that going to Moscow was a lie. And when he shot and killed Anton, it was something your mind couldn’t fully process. This all happened 20 years ago but for you it was only a few weeks ago, and you realized you still couldn’t process it. It was like a missing puzzle piece, floating on the side table, waiting for its place in the picture. And now it snapped into place. 

Anton wasn’t ever going to Moscow. None of you were. Khorkina, Vera, Renata… You were all going to die by euthanasia. As deadpool.

Chance reached over and massaged your shoulder silently. You closed your eyes. No wonder Ruri Kazama told you that you were a perishing flower. No wonder he sang that happiness was fleeting. Ruri Kazama knew that you were going to turn into Deadpool. That you were going to die.

“So I only have a year and a half left?” You ask after a moment.

“I’m afraid that’s the maximum. You might have even less. I’m sorry.” Chance says. He drops his hand in his lap.

You take a deep breath, absorbing this terrible blow in still silence. “Thank you for telling me. I will show this to Caesar.” You close the folder and sigh again. Your hands are pinching each other hard to stem your roiling emotions.

Chance marvels at your reaction. “You’re a really strong woman. A lot of people would scream and cry in denial at this news.”

“I’m strong because my friends are strong.” You look out over the water, expressionless. The reflection of the moon peeked from its cloudy veil. It rippled but when it stilled, you could see the shadow of the moon, shaped like a rabbit. You weren’t sure what you could do to stop this eventual demise. Caesar promised he wouldn’t let you die. No… it wasn’t a promise, he just wouldn’t let it happen.

“Hm.” He chuckled, elbowing you. “Do I still have a chance to get a star-heart ticket?” He was attempting to lighten the mood.

You allow yourself the distraction. “Maybe.” You smirk and swing your legs under the bench. The wind was starting to blow, bringing the smell of rain, pulling leaves and cherry blossoms down from the trees to land on the water and make little ripples. The gusts disturbed the glassy water. It wasn’t the time for cherry blossoms, but odd weather had caused them to bloom twice this year. “Let me ask you something to test you. Do you seek death?”

Chance gave it some thought. “It’s not a matter of seeking it. I know it's coming. I just try not to think about the future. Live my life one day at a time, appreciate every moment.”

You nod and your eyebrows lift. It was a good answer. “I’ll ask you something else. Given the circumstances, if you knew you had to give up your life so I could live, would you do it?”

He laughed. “In a heartbeat!”

You turn to him and frown.

“What? Don't tell me you don’t like that answer. What do you expect me to say? It’s an honor for a man to give up his life for a lovely woman.” The stiff breeze had teased some hair out of your comb. He brushes your hair  from your face and tucks it behind your ear. The wind stirs the flowers in your hair while he watched you.

You shake your head. “Well, in that case, you’re not getting a star heart ticket.” You cross your arms and look away

“Oh come on, you’ve gotta be kidding me.” He leaned forward, trying to catch your gaze when you turned away from him. “What am I supposed to do? Just let you die? Look at you! You’re beautiful and smart and … and… you’re so strong!” Chance was shaking his head in confusion. “If that’s not the right thing to do, please tell me the answer.”

You turn to him again, your eyes blazing. “And you’re not beautiful and resourceful and strong? Why is my life, somehow, worth more than yours?”

Chance’s good humor suddenly fades and he lowers his eyes, damping his mood like a lantern lowering its wick. He turned back to face the lake, looking down on the ground, but his mind was somewhere far away. When he speaks again, it’s with a lump in his throat. He swallows hard. “You have people. I don’t have anyone any more.”

You knew that look. You had that look. It was the look of someone who had nothing else to lose, so why not give up his life for you? You reach out and put your hand over his and look him in the eye, even as the fires of grief ignite in your chest.

“The Hydra came for my family last week. We all lived in the same apartment block, but we’d never done anything. We were just an extended family buying out condos and dealing in real estate. But they were merciless. All my brothers and their wives were killed and f…” His voice caught and his eyes sparkled with tears. “My five nieces and nephews were taken prisoner.”

“Prisoner?”

“Yes!” His voice turned hoarse in distress. “Back in World War II, Hydra had these black prisons to lock up unstable hybrids. When the government found out about them, they ordered them closed. But twenty years ago, they started operating them again. If you resist and fight, they kill you. If you give yourself up… they lock you away in those prisons forever. I had been working when the raid happened. When I turned the corner on my way home, the whole apartment block was on fire! There was nothing I could do, so I ran away. That’s how I ended up at Club Takamagahara. That’s where Ruri Kazama found me.”

He turns back to you, his green eyes as dark as an endless forest. “It’s either death or prison and then death for me. So if I can make my death mean you get to go free and shine under the sun like you did tonight… I will absolutely take that.”

Your heartaches in sympathy. You scoot closer to him and rest your head on his shoulder and he wraps his strong arm around you and holds you close. “You’re not going to accept my next words, Chance. Because I didn’t want to accept them either. But I will say them because they’re the truth. Chance… you have to live.”

He let out a single bitter laugh, but he turned away and blinked away tears. “Didn’t you listen? Life isn’t in the cards.”

“You think it isn’t. I didn’t think so either.” You reach up and turn his face back to you. The tears wet your fingertips and sink into our nails. You’re willing him to listen but you understand that it might just be too difficult to accept. “But… you will be shocked at how long you can live if you really try.”

“What? Really try? Are you saying my whole family didn’t try hard enough?” His voice breaks with grief and anger.

“That’s not what I’m saying. If death comes then it does, but what I’m saying is, you shouldn't just… give up your life. Not for me. Not for anyone. Make death fight you for it.” You whisper. Your throat hurts. Your eyes burned..

“And then if I don't give up my life for you… what will happen to you?” Tears were slipping down his face and he trembled against you.

“I will fight too.” You reach out and twine your fingers in his hair. “We will both fight death.” You look up at him, determination filling your dark eyes, defying reality. You knew he probably thought you were a fool, that you were just fantasizing that you could both fight the fate you were given, hit the ball out of the park, and live happily ever after. “What’s the point of love if you both don’t make it out? If Izanami taught me anything, it’s better to end up in the Yomi-No-Kuni together.”

He sighed softly and he leaned forward until your noses touched, your faces wrapped in night shadow. “You already gave me permission.” He whispered.

“I know…” You rise up to meet him halfway. This kiss was nothing like Z’s. Z took you like something that belonged to him. In this case, your kiss was a gift, a bow to tie your words in an oath upon his heart. 

Chance was overcome. He rested his head against your neck, crying. He held you so tightly your ribs resisted against his arms to breathe. You held him like that until his sobs subsided. But you were in no hurry to part, instead you leaned against each other, watching the wind play against the water until your emotions calmed. Every few minutes, he would sigh deeply and kiss your cheek.

In the distance, thunder rolled. Chance’s phone buzzed. He reached down and looked down at it. “That's all clear. Let’s go.” He gave you one more kiss. “Here, you keep this.” He tucked the folder into your dress. “Thank you. I..” He paused for a moment and then just stood up.

He doesn’t remove his hand from yours as you make your way back to the car, but as you’re turning the corner on the path to the parking lot, he yanks you back! “Damn it!” He hisses.

The car was surrounded by men in black trench coats armed with swords and powerful guns. The way out of the park was blocked by a huge van. The park was so small, it would only take a minute to penetrate the entire space and there was nowhere to hide. Chance urgently whispers. “Quick! Let’s go to the other side!” 

How could they have found you? Kaguya?

There was no way to hurry and stay silent. The pea gravel made too much noise. If you stepped off the path the surrounding vegetation rustled against your clothing. You can only use your method of stepping in his foot prints to hide your own sound and it was hard in your ornate gown. Your heart was screaming with adrenaline as you started to hear voices behind you. In the back of the park, behind the trees and fountains, there was a high eight foot stone wall that enclosed it from the rest of the neighborhood. You hurry to it.

“I’ll lift you over the wall!” He said. “If you jump, you can make it over!”

“No, I’m not leaving you. We need to find a way out together.” You say, planting your feet.

“You’re serious? There’s no way! We can’t fight all those guys!” He hissed.

More voices are coming. You must have been heard! Bright beaming flashlights are sweeping the park. The men from Hydra are bounding up the hill behind you! The group fanned out. One member was sweeping up against the wall you were next to and heading straight for you. More voices are coming from the opposite direction up the path ahead of you. Apparently, the Hydra following you had alerted more men on the other side of the park who were coming around the other side to encircle you and cut off your escape.

Chance pulled you along the wall and together you crawled carefully against it, staying away from the ones approaching from behind and getting to the other side of this dragnet. As you came close to those approaching from the front, you noticed that there was no one sweeping the wall! If you could sneak past through this gap, you could make it past them!

You hurry through the gap and crouch still. The Hydra were only a few feet from you. You could see the shine of their leather shoes and hear them talking, but you couldn’t understand their Japanese. One of them laughed.  All they had to do was sweep their flashlights to their right to find you. You both hold your breath even though you felt breathless from running and staying low to the ground. You tremble there until their shoes turn away. Their footsteps finally started to fade, but you couldn’t wait for them to fade completely. 

“There’s a backgate this way.” Chance whispered as quietly as he could.

You could see it. It was covered in vines and looked like a maintenance entrance. It didn’t look locked but even if it was, it was less than four feet high  and you can both make it over. Your heart beams with hope. He returns your smile. You couldn’t wait to tell Caesar. He was right. His justice was right. You don't have to leave friends behind.

A sudden sharp hiss and a burst of wind rushes by your head! A silver projectile blade cut through the air and embedded itself into Chance's calf! Chance gasped and howled in agony! He fell to the ground, clutching his leg. You scurry towards the gate and dive behind a statue of a praying Buddha.

Chance is writhing on the ground, and moving away from something looming in the dark. Someone is approaching him as he scoots frantically away, begging. “No… No!  No! Please!”

Out of the shadows steps a young dark haired man. His silver-blue long sword glowed in the dark like a shattered piece of moonlight. His trenchcoat caught the air and it waved like the hem of the Grim Reaper’s cloak. He stood over Chance like a towering god, gazing at him with frigid black eyes.

Chisei Gen!

[damedamedame]

akane aoi + reader | so and so : chapter i

| description ! |  aoi protection squad !! and akane does an oopsie.

prev | next

The next day, Akane sneezes.

“Someone must be thinking of you, Akane.”

Aoi smiles, gleefully putting the palm of her hand on her cheek as Akane stares at her, bewilderment prancing about in his chocolate eyes. The two of them, having lived right beside each other since they were but small children, always walked to school together. It was for their safety (and for him to beat up anyone who dare try to steal her away).

“Is it… you?”

Akane shoots his shot, attempting to flirt with the pretty girl beside him.

“Mm… no.”

Yet she turns him down, like all the other attempts from before. He feigns a surprised look on his face when he hears her answer. Truthfully and ‘shamefully’, no absolute shock comes to him after hearing her various negative responses anymore, but he continues to entertain her with flattering remarks and honest compliments. Even sometimes everyday, actually going a tad overboard.

He still did these sorts of things, albeit knowing that the probability of her liking him back was more-or-less on the verge of turning to zero.

Once they enter the campus of Kamome Gakuen, most of the people around the two have different thoughts and opinions when they see them walking with each other and chatting amidst themselves. Usually, it would be about how diviningly stunning Aoi-chan looked this fine day, some would give Akane pitiful stares when they hear her reject more of his daily advances as per usual.

Others, even when the majority of the school’s population adored the cute girl, partook in various gossip and rumors which rooted from the stems of jealousy and envy.

“Ao-chan, why don’t you go on ahead?” Akane stops in the middle of the staircase after hearing another pair of students talk badly about her in hushed whispers and murmurs. Aoi, as much as she tries to hide the obvious discomfort in her cheerful acts, looks back at him with a strange mock-up of her usually petite smile and he can’t help but give her a comforting beam in his eyes in return. “I’ll be right back, I swear.”

He knows she hears what they’re saying, which is exactly why he took it upon himself to protect her from mindless haters. Which is also exactly why he sticks a baseball bat in his locker for when opportunities such as these arise. Not that he would actually hit anyone, the hassle he has with the Student Council President was already far too much to deal with.

Before Akane could face the two particular students, he hears the voice of someone confronting them with no sign of falter.

“What’s the point of badmouthing the poor girl?” 

You frown, crossing your arms as you hear them continue talking as if your presence wasn’t there at all. The two girls, both you recognize as second-year students, look you up and down when they finally decide to notice that you had been there the whole time.

This was a courageous step that you took so very early in the morning and probably the only courageous step you took in your whole life, bearing in mind that you were only a puny first-year scolding your seniors, but you could care less about what could happen next. With your sense of justification and recklessness flowing through your veins, you keep giving them a piece of your mind.

“You have no right to keep bullying her, she’s a human being too, you know…!”

Surely, you’ve dug yourself your own grave. The girls seem extra annoyed with you at this moment, and you feel the vulnerability start to lurch from the waves of anxiety that hid deep inside of you.

An alarm ringing of danger overtook your system once you’ve finished with the last few words from that long and drawn out speech of yours. Perhaps you might get karma for this later on, which you thought was fair enough.

“I get it, (L/N)-san!” One of them spoke out with clear irritation laced in her voice, arm sticking out to corner you with no chance of escape. She leans in close to your face to whisper something so quiet that only you could hear and the action sends a shiver down your spine. “You’re just doing this to get Aoi-kun’s attention, but honestly? It’s being such a pain.”

‘What?’ You clench your fist. No hidden intentions lied beneath the words that you spouted a while ago. After months of hearing such disturbing rumors sprout out about poor Aoi, and seeing the slight pale of her face when she accidentally overhears some of these ridiculous atrocities, you spoke up about it. But… this is what you get? The justice that you wanted to speak up about was being knocked down as a way of seeking attention from your crush?

“That’s not--!”

You found yourself frozen on the spot. The words, your voice of reason, completely halted before you had the chance to defend what little worth you had left. Your face pales and you’re left with the ridiculous feelings of anxiety in your nerves and frustration slowly caving in your mind. The two pesky girls only stared at you in amusement, and some part of you wondered if what they were saying was right.

No, you refused to believe that you were doing this for the sake of making Akane notice you. 

Embarrassment merely found you at the worst possible moment. Not that you were embarrassed for protecting Aoi from their harsh words. You even felt a bit of pride come to your senses because you were doing what you deemed right. You were embarrassed because once they brought Akane into the mix of things… you stiffened. They affected you in one way or another, and you cursed yourself for having such strong feelings.

Unknown to you, a certain red-haired boy had been listening in on your conversation.

A hand comes to your shoulder, and you expected the Principal or Minamoto-senpai to be the owner of that particular hand. Instead, you saw… Akane…?

‘WAITWHATHAWHATTHEFUCK’

“(L/N)-san, you’re going to be late for class again.” You didn’t expect someone like him to pull off some shoujo-type move, but shit, here he was. Akane had an irked grin, not even trying to hide how much disgust he held. His eyes showed off an ‘Ew. How dare you disrespect Ao-chan like that?’. Because of course, anyone who regarded Aoi as some sort of rubbish had to face his undying wrath. He clenches your shoulder and you barely contain the yelp at the tip of your tongue. “You should probably go before Nagisa-sensei marks you late again. Tell Ao-chan I had some minor business to do for the Student Council!”.

You nod, hurriedly speed-walking away with the warmth blooming on your cheeks once again.

Once you were out of sight and out of mind, Akane reveals the baseball bat hiding behind his back.

“Now… what were you saying about Ao-chan?”

The girls were frightened. Even going as far as to run away before Akane, who wasn’t even going to do anything very harmful to any of the two, could do anything to them. He heaves a sigh, shaking his head in a degree of disappointment. “Tsk, they never learn.”

Having quite the observant eye which he prided himself upon, the mumbles escaping their mouths as they nyoomed away from him didn’t go unnoticed. He barely heard the ‘That (L/N) >:00’ from them and he ends up wondering throughout the day about what they might do to you, earning a few strange stares from Aoi. She’d ask him if he was alright and he proclaimed right then and there in the hallway that he wanted to marry her, immediately diminishing any other thoughts.

Just as classes ended and Aoi asked him to leave earlier than her since she had to tend to the gardening club today, Akane steps out of the high school building to stretch his legs and walk around. He’s always believed that having a large amount of stamina could come in handy whenever he had to sprint over to Aoi when she was ever in danger, being the simp that he is.

Besides, those troublesome ‘co-workers’ of his, including that devil of a President, didn’t ask for his help for once, so he had a rarity of free time.

‘On second thought… they could have something planned--’

He shudders at the thought. Having to deal with Mirai again was going to be a real pain, and having to be punished by that damned exorcist was not something he had in plan for today.

Minutes later, he had realized that he’s been standing and grumbling to himself in the high school building’s entrance and everyone merely passed him by like him being crazy was normal sight to see. What made him snap out of it? Oh, well, it was the strong gust of wind that flew past him, of course. Beside him, he hears a string of curses muttered under someone’s breath. Looking through the corner of his eyes, his eyes widen at the sight of you.

‘Weird…’ He cups his chin. In all honesty, Akane had never really thought that much about you. But he’s seen a minority of the little things you do when he wasn’t focusing on Aoi or when the lecture really was too boring to handle.

How the pen your nimble fingers held wrote on its own when you were writing in that notebook of yours or how you twirled that same pen in your hands in random directions when you didn’t intend to listen and absent-mindedly flicked it off somewhere.. It was certainly an interesting and funny event when you had accidentally hit the back of Nagisa-sensei’s head once and hid yourself in the pages of your book with shaking hands.

‘Befriending her would be nice.’ He thought, reminiscing the display of sheer confidence he witnessed from you earlier that morning. However, that moment wouldn’t be now because you already walked away and--

“(L/N)-san!”

Akane eyes bulged, expression aghast at the scene playing before him in horror. You had simply been waiting for the traffic light to turn red for you to cross to the other side of the street. Standing timidly on the sidewalk while clutching your bag close to your chest, a big truck that obviously lost its control crashed into you.

Almost crashed into you.

Thankfully his reflexes kicked in just as the truck was almost at the point of colliding with your body. 

Swiftly stopping time with the pocket watch he held in his hands, he managed to push you away before any sort of absurd incident could happen. He… may have pushed you too hard, seeing as you were sprawled out on the cemented pavement, but you were safe. 

Then he realized his mistake.

‘D-Did anyone see me transform?’ He looks at his surroundings and heaves a sigh of relief. There were no people present at the scene. Most students were probably working around in their clubs and everybody rarely used this exit, so it was unquestionably safe to say that his identity was safe and not a person in sight would ever find ou--

“A-Aoi-kun--?”

Oh.

Oh no.

“(L/N)-san!” Akane jumps and speedily twirls around to face you. You? Oh, you looked unbelievably star-struck. In spite of knocking at the doorstep of death, your eyes twinkled in amazement and wonder and he can’t help but want to ask the ‘Why?’ on the tip of his tongue. A forced chuckle comes out of his throat, breaking down the silence that washed over between you two only a few seconds ago.

“Are you...” You paused, standing up and patting the dust away from your dress uniform. He doesn’t miss the way you almost trip on your own feet. “Are you an apparition?”

“You could say that.” You were right, sure, but he still didn’t like being wedged in as one of those dishonorable apparitions that lurked in every corner of the school. “Will you.. tell anyone?”

“No, not at all!” Chirping at your own words, you held one finger up to silently say ‘one second!’ and then quickly rummaged around in your bag to get something. To say that he was curious was an understatement. (Y/N) (L/N), who hummed to herself while checking something in her shoulder bag like she didn’t just almost die, was a strange one indeed.  

Examining the surroundings, he understood where he made the mistake in his actions. He only froze the truck. Originally, he had enough power to freeze both the truck and (Y/N), but after recently using up his time to freeze Aoi, he weakened himself quite a bit. He grimaces at the simple error, but decides that he shouldn’t beat himself up for it because the future wasn’t in his hands. The future was with Mirai, not him. 

‘What the fuck am I supposed to do with this truck.’ 

Akane’s nose scrunches, arms crossed as he tries to figure out a solution. A shudder goes down his spine when he suddenly feels someone tapping on his back. Lo and behold, it was you, holding up the notebook he’d see you with in class all the time. A sheepish grin appears on your face. He sees the slightest tint of pink appears on your cheeks, which he excuses as a form of embarrassment seeing as what you were holding up was...

“A picture book for apparitions and supernaturals...?”

END NOTES: 2000+ words let’s gOoooO (☞ﾟヮﾟ)☞

oshit i forgot to tag: @astrxrism @sparkleswritings

[the-chick-of-the-air]

A Quiet Kind Of Sad

Summary: Cardan is feeling a bit neglected and it makes him sad. Jude is there to make him feel better. Rating: G

Cardan was sad

That may sound ridiculous, even silly. But the truth was, even the High King of Elfhame felt blue every now and again.

Especially when the cause for such feelings were brought on by those closest to him.

It had started with The Roach.

The spy had arranged for an early sly-footing lesson with the King when out of no where he had to “reschedule”. Normally this wouldn’t have bothered Cardan, but he had been slightly anxious that morning (Jude hadn’t been in bed when he woke. Rather a flimsy piece of parchment stating she’d gone with The Bomb to scout out a potential threat lay in her stead. He very much loved waking up to the warmth of his wife next to him, thank you very much.) and he’d been looking forward to distracting himself with some lessons. Alas, that fell through.

In an even worse mood then normal, Cardan decided to show up to the council meeting scheduled for that afternoon. He still detested the things, but Jude was out (which made it even worse, the only reprieve he found during meetings such as these were when he had his wife firmly by his side) and she would want him to go for the both of them.

This brought on a whole new level of irritation, as none of the council members took him seriously in the first place. Without Jude to steer the ship that was this mess of a meeting, things had quickly spiraled out of hand and ended in a wreck. And of course, no one had deigned to listen to anything the High King had to say, which only further upset him.

He left the council room fuming, with no recollection of anything that was said- it had all been useless pecking anyway, but still- and Cardan had found himself in desperate need of two things, a breather and his Queen.

Thankfully, she had returned sometime during the meeting. She would need a break after all that sleuthing as well, right?

Wrong, apparently.

Cardan had all but burst into his wife’s study, intent in asking-begging, if need be- her to take a walk with him around the gardens. Surely she wouldn’t deny him that? Usually when they were separated for more then half a day they would get agitated without one another. Cardan would dare say it vital to all those who lived in Elfhame to ensure their rulers spent as much time together as possible.

Confidant that he would finally find some solace with his favorite person, he finally got to her and reached out to pull her into himself.

And she immediately moved away from him.

A sharp pang-that he would never admit to…probably- tore into Cardan’s chest. Why had she done that?

Though, he supposed, she had looked distracted, probably didn’t even notice his presence, so caught up in whatever document she was reading as she was. And maybe he’d gotten to good at sly-footing and she hadn’t heard him?

Geared with this hope, Cardan had moved in again, this time aiming to kiss her cheek. That would for sure get her attention-he was proud to say he was the only one allowed to kiss her face without consequences!- however as soon as he got close enough to brush his lips to her skin, she turned from him, murmuring, “Hi. Sorry, busy.”

Bus- what?

Cardan had practically deflated. Normally he’d simply grab her head and press kiss after kiss to her face until he got a laugh or a good natured scowl or something out of her.

But he was always in a good mood when he did that.

Now, he’d felt the final blow of the long beating that this day has doled out to him. And he couldn’t take it anymore. He found himself wilting as he thought back over every interaction he’d had that day. Thought of how The Roach had given no explanation as to his sudden disappearing act. Thought of how the Living Council had argued over his orders and drowned out his words until he had no choice but to remain silent. Thought of how even some servants had been eyeing him with an air of cool distrust that day.

And now his own wife, the one person, the one love he was certain he would be freely granted, especially when everyone else pushed him away, was shutting him out.

With a start, Cardan wondered if this was his doing. He frantically wracked his own mind, searching through his memory of the last few days, trying to find his mistake, his misstep. What had he done to incite such cold reactions from his closest company? What did he do to deserve this?

He came up short, but surely he’d done something wrong, at least in their eyes?

Almost too afraid of the answer he would receive, Cardan decided to ask what he’d originally set out to ask Jude for, desperately hoping this was all in his head, “I simply thought I would request a few moments of your time, dear Jude,” he’d bit out against his growing hurt, “A walk around the gardens, perhaps? I find myself in sore need of a break. Surely you would like a moment to yourself as well?”

Jude hadn’t even looked up, “I’m fine but you can go. I’ll see you later.”

Right, then. It appeared his time had been wasted in pursuit of trying to spend it with those who obviously didn’t want his company.

Nodding once, Cardan turned as quickly and as gracefully as he could and all but ran from the room.

He ignored the stares he revived from servants and loitering courtiers alike as he fled to the safety of his chambers-of their chambers. Once inside, he slammed the doors shut and willed a few throned vines to grow tightly over them.

And without further fanfare, he flung himself onto the oversized bed and cried.

So yes. Cardan was sad. And lonely. He could only assume that his closest companions aversion to spending time with him stemmed from their joint displeasure with him. Though what they were displeased about was a horrible mystery to him.

Perhaps he just wasn’t interesting enough for them any longer. Maybe he had done something to elicit subtle anger from everyone-well, the council wasn’t very subtle in their feelings, but The Roach and his lovely Jude had mastered the art of silent seething- it could be that everyone was just tired of him, he did have the remarkable ability to drive people away very quickly. Even those loyal to him eventually found cause for abandoning him.

He cried a little harder.

Rather then further trying to puzzle out why everyone hated him that day, Cardan simply allowed himself the small luxury of just feeling. Just accepting the tears as they slipped down his cheeks. He found it was ok to be sad, so long as you had a sound reason.

He was a bit lost in his own sorrows-mainly trying to ward off harsh memories of a mother who never wanted him and didn’t bother to hide it- so he didn’t immediately notice when someone entered the room.

After the footsteps registered, it wasn’t hard to figure out just who had been able to get through those vines.

Jude frowned when she entered their chambers. She’d had trouble remembering Cardan’s demeanor when he’d attempted to…what had he been in her study for? She had been so caught up in correspondence that she’d failed to really register what he had wanted. She’d figured if he hadn’t pressed the matter then it must not have been that important.

That pretense flew out the window when she reached the chamber doors.

They were bolted shut from the inside. It’d taken her a few moments and the use of her power-which she was still learning to use in its full capacity- to realize that the object blocking the doors was a thick group of thorny vines. She willed them to wither and made her way inside.

Pointless to say, she was slightly stunned when she heard sniffling coming from their bed. Was…was her husband crying?

Despite it not being very loud, nor dramatic-which was concerning, as drama was his go-to emotion- the sound tugged at something in her chest. She found herself hurting for her love, even though she’d had yet to find what ailed him.

She was about to ask-softly and sweetly because he was upset enough to be weeping- what was wrong when she caught herself.

She remembered his question. The way he’d asked her to take a break with him. It was as if the sound of him breaking down slapped the memory back into her.

He’d sounded agitated, upset, even. And didn’t he usually latch onto her as a way of greeting? He hadn’t- …yes. Yes he had. He’d reached out for her and she’d absentmindedly brushed him away, focused on her work as she was.

And, when trying to figure out why else he would be moved to tears-surely her unintentional rejection alone hadn’t pushed him over the edge- she recalled The Roach offhandedly mentioning he’d had to cancel her husband’s sly-footing lesson that morning due to a personal matter. Cardan must have taken it the wrong way.

Randalin had also stopped her in the hall, snidely commenting that her presence at the council meeting had been missed. Cardan hated those things on a good day.

She was an idiot. Her husband had been having a rough day and she’d ignored him in favor of work. Normally he would be fine with that-he always told her he adored the way she got lost in ruling the kingdom now and again- but he’d obviously been upset from the very start of the day.

Jude wasn’t one to coddle, normally. But the High King so rarely showed his vulnerability like this. And the fact that there wasn’t a single flask of alcohol in sight proved how serious this was. It may have not seemed big, but his feelings were valid, at least to her.

A sigh escaped her as she quickly made her way over to her husband. His eyes were open but staring blankly at the wall. A pillow-hers, she noted- was tucked in the crook of his arm, hiding half his face since he was laying on his stomach. Tears streaked his cheeks and dampened her pillow.

She said nothing, knowing words wouldn’t fix this. Mortals could lie, and if he was this down, he’d surely believe anything that came out of her mouth was nothing but false. Actions would have to speak for her.

She leaned over and kissed his bare shoulder. Her fingers found their way into his hair and she gently tugged at his curls when he buried his face in the pillow.

I’m sorry. She hoped the potency of that one thought seeped into his skin where her lips touched, hoped he could feel her asking for forgiveness for making him feel like this. Long past were the days where they derived any sort of pleasure for hurting each other emotionally. Now, any pain one felt was shared with the other, in sync and in love as they were.

Silently she slipped into the bed with him and wrapped her arms securely around him, leaving no room for doubt about how badly she wanted to be near him.

He shuddered, silent cries still wracking his body, and burrowed closer to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face in her chest. His tail wrapped tightly around her calf. Her shirt was wet in seconds. That was ok though, because her face was wet with her own tears.

She hadn’t meant to hurt him. And she desperately hoped he knew that, could sense her regret for neglecting him when he was obviously going through a tough time.

After a moment, his tears finally subsided. And Jude spoke before he had the chance to feel embarrassed or ridiculous about showing a normal emotion. Placing a kiss to his head she whispered,

“We can go on that walk now”.

His only response was to pull her closer.

Might do a part two where Jude knows from the beggining that he’s upset and we get a bit more insight to how they spend their time together while they are just comforting each other. As always, let me know what you guys think ❤️

Tag-list: (please let me know if you would like to be added to my tag list and I’ll be happy to add you🥰)

@maleckanejnessianjurdansolangelo @woodsbeyond1 @cardan-greenbriar-tcp @thewickedkings @aneurwin @snusbandxknifewife @jurdanhell @andromeddea @dressedindustandshadows @thesirenwashere @b00kworm @hizqueen4life @unidentifiedblackthorn @iminsanenotobsessed

❤️

[deafmatteo]

hi hi so first i really love your writing, it’s so comforting and lovely, and i look forward to every little bit of it!

and idk if you’ve already answered something like this but i was wondering about your thoughts on skam france season 5?

hello, thank u! 🖤🖤🖤

and i have talked a bit about skam france s5 when i was watching it live but im more than happy to talk about it again & put all of my thoughts into one post JFJSJD.

let me just put a disclaimer here for abuse, both personal & what was shown in the season. also adding a read more because this got LONG, i am so sorry. i talk a lot </3 (ignore the spelling errors, i literally woke up and saw this anon and jumped out of bed to answer dflkgjkdlg)

also! i talk about deafness as a disability in this but that’s my own personal experience & what was written into the season. we know arthur sees it as a disability because he was raised in a hearing society as a hearing person. not all D/deaf people believe this!! this isn’t universal.

first things first, i just wanted to let people know these feelings come from a very personal place. i lost my hearing similarly to arthur — i was beaten as a young child and as the years have gone on and i’ve grown, my hearing has gotten worse. i was hard of hearing with mild to moderate hearing loss in both ears and now i call myself deaf because i have severe hearing loss in my left ear & i am completely deaf in my right ear. (don’t worry about being apologetic or anything! i’m very open about how i lost my hearing because although it’s sad & traumatic, it’s talking about how trauma and disabilities are often more intertwined than people realize. you don’t ever see a disabled person thriving in their natural environment. you see traumatized disabled people learning how to survive.)

i don’t have problems with how arthur lost his hearing. i think it’s a very important story to tell & it’s one that does occur — even if people don’t recognize it. it added to the fear and isolation he felt during his season because he was suddenly extremely disconnected from his peers and the people he called his best friends.

i also absolutely ADORE noee and camille. having a Deaf* woman who was as sassy and blunt and straight-forward as she was is a good thing. people often talk about how D/deaf individuals can come across as rude or unattentive or too blunt and it can be true but when people often talk about it, they do it in a rude/offensive manner! noee did it in a manner that wasn’t stereotypical and felt real. she also had the distain towards hearing people because they continually traumatized & belittled her and they showed that in a way that you knew was justified. she had been hurt by these people and she knew what arthur was experiencing, hence why she was so warm around him. having a Deaf love interest who wasn’t a hearing-people pleaser or someone who needed approval from hearing people was so good because it helped add layers of her own identity that the audience may not even realize exists.

camille as well. having a hard of hearing gay (queer? i can’t remember what he labelled himself as) person on screen without fetishism or trauma porn was refreshing. that doesn’t happen and seeing it was?? amazing. he was able to have fun, be himself, etc. also him acting as a connector between noee and arthur is a reality as well. he exists inbetween both of their worlds and while it’s clear that he is comfortable and okay with it, it’s a reality that often stems into feelings of anger and hurt. (as shown in arthur!) it’s good to see a hard of hearing person who doesn’t feel ostracized from the Deaf community & or the hearing community. he’s just vibing!

the isolation that arthur felt. the lonelines, the pain, the fear—all of it is a reality of the situation he was in. even with his friends attempting to support him in the ways they knew how, he still felt alone. having noee and camille there was such a good!! good thing!!! to have. the way noee criticized his friends, the way ARTHUR eventually yelled at them (especially lucas, like wtf was up his ass), the growth of arthur from clinging onto his fantasy world and accepting himself. i geniunely enjoyed these aspects.

NOW ONTO MY CRITICISMS.

my biggest one is the abuse clip. it was absolutely unnecessary for them to include the audio (and the shadowing) of arthur’s violent abuse. i understand they needed to potray his dad’s behaviours but there were many other ways to go about it that doesn’t re-traumatize people. i rarely rarely get triggered by things due to desensitization & repression and this made me extremely nauseous and it caused me to spiral into memories of my own abuse. yes, i understand the story of arthur’s dad being the villain and contributing to the trauma. no, it did not need to be done in this way.

also the way it was brushed aside & arthur forgave him after the car accident. i know it’s contributing to the cycle of abuse and it will continue after the seasons have passed but i think it should have had more fear, confusion or anger. we could see that arthur hated his father, just by how he constantly attempted to fight back and argue. i understand that it was him acting from a place of survival and trying to mediate to make things calmer but this is his perspective—we could have felt the underlying emotions or seen a brief moment where arthur let his anger take over when he was alone. the abuse was written solely for hearing people. it was trauma porn. it was used as a way to make people feel sorry for arthur and to weaken him. it wasn’t written as integrated into the plot as it should have been and was brought up only to deter the plot away from his cheating. it was one of the things that made it clear the plot was more written for hearing people than for deaf people.

(again, it’s not the actual story i’m criticizing. it’s how they integrated it.)

the second was noee using her voice to essentially beg arthur to love her. using her voice was a moment of vulnerability and fear that they could have either: a. used in a different manner or b. not included at ALL. i am an oral deaf person—i was raised in a hearing environment & i went to speech thrapy for many, many years. i use my voice a lot. however, whenever i am without my hearing aid and i am tired, i don’t often use my voice because i am insecure about my deaf accent.

noee doesn’t use her voice at all. she has talked about how using only sign language gives her power and stregethnes her identity in a way that the hearing world would never be able to. it was a pivotal moment of her own identity and growth and they threw it out the window to tell arthur she loved him. he rejected her so she used her voice, something that reminds her of her trauma and pain, to beg him to love her back.

another is how alexia said that she wasn’t wired to love disabled people. i love alexia as well, except for this alone was enough to hurt my opinion of her. it’s a reality of abled people—they often act like loving a disabled person is more work and view disabled people as less than to avoid seeing them as potential lovers/friends/etc. my main problem is the fact it wasn’t ever properly addressed and they used it as a plot device after she had been nothing but loving and supportive to arthur during the beginning of his journey. she was so, so loving and caring and they could have used to as a way to talk about how relationships and perspective changes rather having her just be straight up ableist.

when arthur first got his hearing aids, he got smaller ones that were less visible to avoid having other people see. this is a big example of internalized ableism and is a very important point but they never touched on it again. i think it would have been more personal and monumental of his growth to have him go back & change the hearing aids he uses to better aid him in his day-to-day rather than aid his desire to be hearing-passing. i just wanted to see continuation of this.

the love triangle. ABSOLUTELY USELESS. i love both alexia and noee as love interests. they are well-developed women who both had vulnerable moments in the season where they talked about their insecurities and were vulnerable and still had arthur reject/use them both. this is more of a fandom criticism but the love triangle was used solely to demonize noee while they continued to put arthur on a pedestal. the season could have gone either/or with them as love interests or not at all. the season was meant to focus on his journey as a now disabled person and the love triangle took up a large portion of that.

(don’t think i’ve forgotten about people calling others fatphobic/biphobic for preferring noee as a love interest)

this isn’t entirely a criticism but a good point to note. i don’t think skam france had a plan in regards to season five when they casted arthur but he should have been played by a hard of hearing person and there should have been foreshadowing in the earlier seasons for this. i think arthur’s actor did a fantastic job with the content he was given but it would have been a bit more personal if played by a truly deaf/hoh person. noee’s actress talked about this! she said how good of an opportunity it was for season five to occur because it’s extremely rare for deaf people to get opportunities and casting designed for them. having a main actress talk about this and still having the main actor being abled is a bit? bad taste. i just think it’s a product of lack of planning, is all.

ALSO THE CAR CRASH????? this isn’t a big criticism, i’m just like HUH? me & arthur really out hear being deaf and getting hit by cars ig. arthur kinnie

*definitions that add as to why i use deaf & Deaf in this piece.*

[much-brighter-ink]

helloo! :) for character analysis,, maybe a comparison between elizabeth, kaitlyn, and zoe’s annleigh? that or literally anything about farrah because i just love her a lot fjdkdjs

fljksjfkdj thank you so much for this and sorry it’s so late!!!!! Annleigh (& her and Farrah’s dynamic) is my absolute fave to analyze and the timing is so perfect because I have so many thoughts I need to get out about recent canon

Note: this was written over the span of about a week and isn’t proofread so may be a bit incoherent or repetitive at times

(under the cut!! TW for brief mentions of alcohol, death, a lot of neglect, and abuse)

Ok so for a starter about Annleigh in the script: I initially disliked her for her brittleness - she’s very bright and peppy and shiny with quite hard exterior (her treatment of Farrah, etc), which breaks open quite a few times in the show. I’ve definitely grown to like her a lot more over the past few months, but the little bit of backstory we’ve gotten softens her slightly and gives her a lot more depth, which I love.

Something interesting I learned a few weeks ago when reading an interview with Preston is that he said over the drafts of the script, Farrah has changed the most and Annleigh has changed the least, but considering how different the Annleigh portrayals I’ve heard are, that probably means a lot of Annleigh’s characterization relies on playing off of Farrah. For example, a very vocal, bitter, angsty, emo Janet!Farrah who isn’t afraid of her addiction is balanced out by a very warm, more subdued, but extremely open Elizabeth!Annleigh who’s much less “feral” and more “lovesick teenager” (and as @letalloursingingfollowhim pointed out, it wouldn’t be surprising if the roles were reversed and Annleigh was the one who actively tried to form a relationship with Farrah but Farrah was the one to push her away because she’d rather go through all the hurt alone) whereas off-bway’s Farrahs are both much softer, more insecure, and trying as hard as they can to fit in balanced out by very blunt, energetic and soft yet brittle Annleighs. I would say Janet!Farrah is probably trying to distance herself from Elizabeth!Annleigh’s “perfect” persona because she doesn’t want to be associated with any of that and wants to break away from her family, especially assuming she comes from a family of abuse and alcohol overuse (and her drinking stems from a lot of that before she and Annleigh even met, while off-bway Farrah’s seems to be more recent and stem from loneliness and rejection), Caroline!Farrah feels like she’ll never meet Zoe!Annleigh’s standards for her and thinks she’ll be loved more if she does, and Zoe!Farrah is convinced that she has to keep trying because it’s not her constant mess-ups that make Kaitlyn!Annleigh “hate” her, it’s her dislike as a person and exasperation with responsibility, so if she just shows enough love she’ll finally feel enough. I’d also say that with both J&E and C&Z, Annleigh does feel like the older sister role (because canon) but the two don’t actually have much of an age gap (this could superficial because of height stuff and vibes, etc), but with Z&K, Farrah definitely feels at least a year younger and seems a little scared of Annleigh. While E!Annleigh is a little overwhelmed by J!Farrah, she does want to help her, but she’s not in the right mental place to do so because she’s still trying to move on from the loss of her dad - but she doesn’t blame that on Farrah - compared to K!Annleigh, who kind of uses anger to cope with the fact that she’s hurting inside and projects that all onto Farrah. She’s not ready to accept that she has a sister because doing so would be accepting who she’s lost and how her life has changed and can’t go back, because thinking about that would break away her “perfect” facade. And I think Zoe!Farrah knows this, a little, and wants to help if Annleigh would only let her in but doesn’t know what to say or do, but instead she pushes her out because she sees her as someone looking for trouble and taking away her emotional energy. I see Zoe!Annleigh not really having any strong resentment towards Caroline!Farrah, really just not understanding her, pointing towards an effort to keep their lives separate and an “I will look forward and pretend my problems don’t exist because that’s how my world works or it crumbles since I’m the perfect child in my family and teachers’ eyes” attitude, and Caroline!Farrah thinks that’s her fault, but Annleigh doesn’t really get what she’s doing wrong or how she’s hurting her. Watching the concert, I don’t have much to judge Elizabeth!Annleigh by (I would love to see her perform Move On, though), but I think she’d start off in complete and total denial (not even Kaitlyn!Annleigh’s “Clark and Farrah deserved it” but just refuse to even mention Farrah) and then unraveling to a complete mess because she’s heartbroken that she’s now alone and never got to have a relationship with her step-sister. On the flip side, Kaitlyn!Annleigh’s denial seems very anger-centered because she needs a reason not to grieve - she definitely has a little survivor’s guilt, but she’s not going to admit that she misses Farrah until she feels actively threatened (IDK) and her emotions in Move On seem very concentrated, like it’s years of bottled up trauma that she never fully let loose but she’s doing it now because she has no one left to lean on. A mix of the two, Zoe!Annleigh’s very quiet and I guess… “trembling” is the best word? during Move On like she just has no idea what to do because she’s lost everyone who cared about her and no one seems to get it, and she definitely doesn’t seem to believe what she’s saying about Farrah and Clark being punished, etc. (Also, quickly acknowledging the “you pray to god and wonder if he’s there” line in Phoenix - that’s SO SAD?!?? Annleigh’s faith is her one firm belief she’s held no matter what, the one thing she’s confident in despite her peers’ comments on it, and probably the primary thing she used to cope with her father’s death - and NOW, after losing her sister and boyfriend [the two people who would listen to her and get her through a rough year], she’s doubting the beliefs she used to lean on like a crutch? Poor girl please please give her a hug)

I have quite a few more thoughts but I’ve forgotten most of them so I’m gonna post this now and edit them in later - hope this was ok!! (It was mainly an Annleigh ramble/cheer stepsisters dissection I’m going to do a full individual analysis of each and go deeper into Farrah but for another time) Anyway thank you so much for this!!

[emsartwork]

Sorry if you’ve already answered this but J was wondering if you could talk more the girls childhood/growing up? Love what you’re doing btw, absolutely adore how you’ve basically recreated the Winx world! 💗

Thank you!!! and sure thing! long post ahead

BLOOM: she never really had any problems family wise, Vanessa and Mike told her she was adopted at like…. Age 7 or so (in a positive affirming way obvi) and even if any kids teased her about it she never doubted her parent’s love for her. Even with Daphne’s spell helping her blend in with earth life, Bloom still had a nagging sense she didn’t “fit”, and got lost in fantasy books and art whenever possible. Growing up she deals with some body image issues that probably stem from the whole wrong fit feeling. Bloom grew up an artistic and quiet kid, Mitzi and Selina were her best friends from childhood, and because they both had really strong personalities, Bloom often repressed her own feelings in order to play peace maker. Up until high school, where Mitzi, who was always the leader, slowly started to turn into a bully in order to gain the approval/fear of her peers, targeting Selina specifically. Bloom was more of a follower at the time and just didn’t want to loose her friends so she didn’t stand up to Mitzi but tried to treat Selina as if nothing had changed, which was not cool with Selina and she not-so-subtly started to reject Bloom as a friend. Bloom, for her part, did get her shit together and stand up to Mitzi, loosing her only other friend right before her senior year of highschool (she was still technically friends with Andy but they had also just broken up and everything was awkward lmao). Bloom regrets not standing up to Mitzi sooner, and wants to rekindle her friendship with Selina (and Mitzi if she’s willing to tone down the bitchiness).  

STELLA: So Stella’s childhood is a little more complicated. Stella is the first SoLuna heir in Solarian history, and a very loud minority protested her very existence. Stella also had to stay close to the Second Sun of Solaria as a child, so she had a very solitary and confined early childhood in a wing of the Solarian castle. When she did figure out how to sneak out she was only 10 or so, and spent most of the time just wandering around the capital city. She didn’t have any problems in the city, but an off duty guard recognized her and took her back to the palace. Stella was then sent to an elite boarding school under a false name (Sasha), she formed close friends with Nova and Varanda, but the trio was the target of the rest of the school’s bullies (for various reasons). Junior high was peak nerd Stella, but she “princess Diary-ed” herself when starting high school and started placing all of her value in her appearance and status as a sex object. Her parents’ marriage was also starting to crumble and Stella felt like she had lost their love. Because Stella craves validation and affection, this lead to a couple bad relationships because the only way she could get people to “love her” in her brain was through physical intimacy, even if it didn’t really fill the void she felt. Nova and Varanda were her rocks during this period and Stella was able to learn to love herself first with their help. Stella was insanely nervous to leave her friends and go to Alfea, and tried to force friendships with other people originally, (this mostly lead to people thinking she was annoying and getting multiple censures from Griselda), and her first genuine connection on Magix was with “Prince Sky” (Brandon). Nova and Varanda were VERY worried when Stella first told them about “Prince Sky”(Brandon) and how fast they had gotten into a relationship and they may have stalked/threatened him on a visit to Stella but they eventually came around and started to like him. Stella being expelled was only kind of an accident, Varanda texted Stella in the middle of a Chemancy class her application to Alfea for the next year had been accepted and Stella got SUPER excited and blew up the classroom. She probably could have stayed in school but her response to Fraragona and Griselda’s “now what do you have to say for yourself young lady” was *giddy laughter* and “ i only wish the explosion had been big enough to send me forward to next year!!!!!” and griselda was like “either she goes or I go” and Stella was like “ya gurl i gone” of course her time back on Solaria didn’t go exactly as planned as her parents were just fighting every time they tried to do something together making her people pleasing/self blaming tendencies worse. 

FLORA: ahhh my baby So Flora does remember her father, not a lot and she feel guilty she doesn’t remember more, but she was only 7 when he died. Alyssa remarried when Flora was 13, and eventually she adjusted to having a younger sister who she loves very much now. Due to Rhodos’s nature preservation needing a lot of room for study Flora and Miele grew up pretty far away from any town and didn’t have a lot of friends. This is primarily why Flora and Miele are so close despite their age difference, and why Flora took her role as protector so intensely; she was the only one there (I mean besides the parents obviously). Flora did well in school though she was quiet and reserved, which made making friends even harder than living in the middle of nowhere. She figured out the best way to make people like her was to give them what they wanted, and this snowballed into Flora becoming kind of doormat not comfortable with voicing her true feelings and faking a lot what people expected from her. Flora has a lot of repressed…… everything (Bloom mostly just has a lot of repressed anger she’s good with other emotions lmao) she has trouble identifying what she’s feeling and for the most part is content to leave her feelings buried as long as the surface remains calm. The Winx do help her start to access her feeling more, and encourage her whenever she does voice an opinion. Helia is a perfect match for her in the sense that his quiet nature leaves Flora to express herself without trying to mold herself into whatever she thinks he wants (of course on the flip side this also means Flora and Helia have issues with communication and repression but that’s another topic). 

AISHA: hoo boy another complicated one. Aisha was raised in a strict environment, this mostly stems from her parents and their more…. anxious natures, but royalty on Andros is not as free as some of the other planets. Aisha’s world consisted of lessons and adults and rules and she had very little control over her own life. Aisha met Anne in a rare moment of freedom in the tidal gardens where Anne’s father worked. Anne was biding her time waiting for her dad to get off work so they could grab some dinner and was dancing. Aisha just watched her for a while before Anne noticed her and asked her if she wanted to play. The two formed a fast friendship, and Aisha finally started to feel like she had some sort of influence in her own life as she snuck out of lessons to play with Anne every evening she could(obviously their favorite thing to do was dance lol) Unfortunately Anne and her father disappeared one night. Aisha lost her only friend, the only social outlet she had, her one source of freedom, and couldn’t even figure out what had happened. Feeling so out of control lead to a pretty bad anxiety disorder for most of her teens, primarily triggered by the dark or being trapped in some way. She also has issues trusting others and letting people help her. Aisha started to act out, trying to exert any kind of control and relieve some of her anxiety. Her risk taking behavior got pretty bad, but she had started to tone it down after she met and bonded with Piff(royal business trip to Magix she skipped out on). Of course when the pixies went missing she wasn’t going to let her friendship vanish again and tracked them down with a not so healthy single minded determination.

TECNA: born to higher class parents, Tecna had greatness thrust upon her from an early age. She received extra training and education basically from birth, which she was fine with for the most part. Tecna grew up being able to handle academic pressure very well and met all of her teacher’s and parent’s expectations.  She and Riven had a brief collision as preteens in a school before Riven got expelled. Tecna’s one issue was that of her emotional intelligence, Zenith doesn’t really place an emphasis on that, so she was able to advance through high school very predictably until she attended a non-Zenith based workshop for magic. She found herself socially ostracized and very very confused. Of course Tecna had never met a subject she couldn’t master and emotions wouldn’t be an exception right??? Wrong. Zenith’s information about the brain and the chemicals produced was of no help, her teachers and parents didn’t understand why Tecna suddenly had this new interest in such an illogical subject, and worst of all, Tecna realized she didn’t understand her own brain chemicals. Tecna had a mini existential crisis, realized she had no idea what she even wanted to do with her life or why it mattered and applied to the Alfea Fairy program because “FAIRY MAGIC EMOTION MAGIC HELP” also it would offer her strong emotional experiences(transformations basically require it), the opportunity to work closely in groups, and personally obverse her dorm-mates emotional states. She got way more than she bargained for but doesn’t regret it a bit.

MUSA: my angst child T-T so basically, the first half of her childhood is p good, her parents work really hard and don’t always have enough money but the family unit is pretty stable. At around 12, Musa’s mom gets sick. Nobody is too worried at first, but she never seems to get better and she takes a big turn for the worse when Musa is about 16, Matlin is finally diagnosed with Core Failure Syndrome. CFS is similar to Core Fatigue, but while Core Fatigue can be remedied fairly easily with rest and magic, CFS is virtually incurable unless it’s caught really early. The causes are still unknown, and the symptoms (fatigue, nausea, cognition issues, and muscle weakness) can be prolonged but mild until it’s too late. In the later stages (extreme fatigue, numbness in the extremities, chest pain, joint pain, memory/focus issues, inability to keep food down)  all you can do is try to make the afflicted comfortable. Ho-boe is understandably distraught, and tries to freelance write for music but goes into a pretty bad depressive state. Musa has a few odd jobs here and there, and thats mostly what’s keeping them afloat among heavy medical debt. Musa latches on to her mother for emotional support as Ho-boe is super dissociated. When Matlin does pass as Musa turns 18, Ho-boe finally breaks, and violently destroys every last reminder of Matlin because he can’t deal with the pain. Musa, who has suddenly had her one emotional anchor cut off, is super freaked out and scared by this and it really damages their relationship going forward. Musa becomes incredibly anxious, and can’t really process her mother's death because her father won’t talk about it with her and is still shut off emotionally. Moving to Magix only worsened it as Musa rebelled and went after music with a desperate passion. Applying to Alfea was a way for Musa to get out of the house, and she and her father weren’t on speaking terms when she did leave for the college. Musa had planned on learning more magic to further her career as a musician, special effects infusing magic into a song rubbing shoulders with rich and well connected people who could possibly get her connected to the big shots in music….. The winx situations had her change some of her long term plans a little, but her connection with the group + her separation anxiety and fierce loyalty didn’t really leave any other choice lol 

[inessencedevided]

Once you're done with the entire show, could you maybe do sorting for all the characters? I usually know the house for each character, but I have literally no idea with The Untamed. WWX for example I can equally see him as a Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff and my brain hurts trying to decide.

First of all: I'm so so sorry anon! This took ages to answer! I hope you're still out there to read this! I started answering ages ago and then trailed off because I had to think about it. So here goes:

Thank you so much for this opening! I LOVE sorting non-HP characters into Hogwarts houses!! And for some of these, I’ve already done so in my head ages ago :D

Disclaimer: I’m mostly going off live action canon here, but will make some comments about the novel from time to time.

Disclaimer 2: Obviously, these are extremely subjective. If anyone disagrees, I would love to hear your counter arguments! I love discussing these things!

Wei Wuxian

GRYFFINDOR!

I know you said you weren’t sure but in my book, he’s a textbook Gryffindor. I’m not saying he doesn’t have Hufflepuff or Raveclaw traits (his sense of justice and his “out of the box thinking” kinda genius come to mind), but those aren’t the main drive of his actions imo. WWX follows his confiction and he often does so without even considering a second option or a compromise, especially before his death. And he is not afraid of deviating from the law or societal expectations to do so. This alone could also make him a Slytherin. The reason I wouldn’t place him there is the way he acts very much in the open. He doesn’t try to bring about change by quietly working in the background. He openly calls people out on their bullshit, even when it is clearly to his disadvantage and might just come back to bite him in the ass. Imo, WWX is a brilliant example of how a gryffindor might be driven to doing some very questionable shit given the "right" circumstances.

Lan Wangji

Now, he’s a different story. I have a lot more problems sorting him, maybe because he is not our point of view character. And he's the reason why it took me so long to answer this ask. My conclusion might be controversial, so let me work up to it. Slytherin? His most slytherin trait, imo, is his determination and drive, which I think stems, among other things, from a desire to prove himself. However, I believe his main reasons for this were family loyalty and (somewhat headcanon territory) the rejection he must have felt at his parents absence. And I don't see him as cunning either, as that always carries a certain level of deceitful intent, even if it's not malicious. And deceitful? That's one thing lwj certainly isn't. So, Slytherin is not a good fit for him. Ravenclaw maybe? He is certainly very intelligent, but that intelligence is more due to his studious nature and his focus, imo. And wisdom and out-of-the-box-thinking are not traits I would associate him with, especially in his younger years. So gryffindor then? He is certainly brave in many ways. He is enduring and stubborn, both gryffindor traits. But he also someone who takes his time to arrive at decisions, unless he is under extreme emotional duress (losing his mother or the love of his live). His bravery, to me, seems to be deeply rooted in his deep deep devotion. He goes through extreme, long lasting pain for the few people he holds close to his heart. In the end it all comes down to his heart, his loyalties, his devotion. Ironically, even more so in the book than in cql. And that loyalty, that steadfastness, that devotion is extremely hufflepuff.

So here you go:

HUFFLEPUFF! (There is no yellow:/)

(And now I really wanna write that AU :D on first glance, lwj would make such an unusual hufflepuff, with his cold and aloof behaviour. I want to play with this idea now!)

Lan Xichen

HUFFLEPUFF!

Aaaahhh! Now I really like the idea of the twin jades of hufflepuff. :D and Lan Xichen is a bit more obvious right? He certainly has the intelligence of a ravenclaw, but his defining characteristics are his devotion to his duty, his kindness, his fairness and his willingness to carefully consider all sides. A hufflepuff to boot. No wonder, I love him so much.

(And now I can't help but imagine lan Xichen, welcoming his little brother at the hufflepuff table, beaming with pride. And later, making sure that they eat at least 1 meal per day together because he knows his brother doesn't make friends easily, even in a house as theirs. Until there's a certain rebellious and bright eyed gryffindor, with a penchant for DADA ...)

Jiang Cheng

He, too, gave me a hard time sorting him. Ravenclaw, I discarded immediately. Gryffindor came next. He's definitely brave in his own way. Going on after the devastating loss of his entire family is brave beyond anything I can imagine, but his motivation why he did it, I believe, was a mixture of family loyalty and his competitiveness and drive to prove himself worthy. Thise are hufflepuff and Slytherin traits, respectively. I would tip the scale towards the latter, simply because his inner conflict is so defined by his feelings of inferiority, his feelings of never living up to his parents expectations. He's in that weird place of being both extremely privileged and emotionally neglected. It reminds me of Draco, come to think of it. So, my favourite angry grape, I'll place in ...

SLYTHERIN!

(He's even rockin' the snake aesthetic already :D)

Jiang Yanli

With her association with cooking and motherly love she seems to be a rather obvious hufflepuff. She is certainly brave, too, enduring her family's near destruction and moving on, or standing in front of her adoptive brother and defending his place in her family and in society. But again, it's very much tied to the people she loves. So yeah,

HUFFLEPUFF!

Nie Mingjue

The jock to end all jocks and still he's got a heart of gold. He's kinda the cliche gryffindor and I can't find a reason to not place him there. So *head barely touches him*

GRYFFINDOR!

Nie Huaisang

SLYTHERIN!

If the twist at the end didn't happen, I'd have placed him in Ravenclaw, as it is, he is such a quintessential Slytherin and also, just ... my favourite kind, especially in cql, where he just fuvjs off to paint his fans and leaves others to do the heavy lifting. He got what he wanted, revenge for his beloved older brother. It reminds me a bit of Horace Slughorn (minus the people collecting). He doesn't want to be at the top. He just wants a comfortable enough life and the possibility to reach his very specific and not at all mainstream goals. A legend. (In mdzs, where he becomes chief cultivator, he's still a Slytherin, albeit a slightly less interesting one.)

Wen Qing

Now, she is another hard one. Another fiercely loyal person (although that's a common trait in mdzs/cql), she also had to show incredible resourcefulness to survive and still stick to her principles throughout her life. But to mention that she invented and su subsequently performed the first core transfer in history. (In the book, it is specifically mentioned that the essay on this subject was written by her). In short, this woman is s genius in her field and forward thinking and incentive. All of those are textbook Ravenclaw traits. So, with her we have ...

RAVENCLAW!

Wen Ning

Puh, he is hard. I know, with his timid behaviour and gentle nature, hufflepuff comes to mind BUT ... he strikes me as a neville. As in, his bravery lies in the fact that his own insecurities hinder him constantly and yet he overcomes them every day in a hundred small ways. He is brave precisely because he is afraid of so many things. And, like Neville, when his sense if right and wrong demands it, he takes a stand. His rescue of wwx and jc extremely dangerous circumstances and the core reveal come to mind. So, even though he probably argues with the hat to place him in hufflepuff, I'll place him in ...

GRYFFINDOR!

Jin Guangyao

SLYTHERIN!

Do I have to explain this?

Luo Qingyang

I know, she's a much more minor character than the others but I love her and this is my post, so she's in it. Do i have to say it? I hate to be the "Gryffindors ftw!!!"-one (as a proud snake), but yeah, Nie Mingjue was goddamn right when he said that she's got more backbone than half the cultivation world combined. My queen snapped and removed herself from the narrative and I love her for it!

GRYFFINDOR!

Let's get to the juniors:

Lan Sizhui

Now, maybe the hufflepuff does run in his family because I do think he belongs there, too. His defining characteristics are shown to be kindness, fairness and filial piety, even though he also has a mischievous streak and does not shy away from confrontation when he thinks his warranted (politely defending "Mo Xuanyu" in front of the Mo clan comes to mind). So yeah

HUFFLEPUFF!

Lan Jingyi

His brash and outgoing nature would make him a good gryffindor fit, certainly. However, the trait I associate with him the most is his nonconformity and that in a sect where that is highly unusual. He might not be as much of a social butterfly as Luba, but he still reminds me more of the kind of eccentricity associated with ...

RAVENCLAW!

Jin Ling

Now he's hard. Maybe because he postures a lot though that's something that's true for a lot of these characters. He tries to imitate his uncle but has non of the trauma to back it up, though he is an orphan and,in his position, probably pretty lonely which leads to the kind of breakdown we see him having over his confrontation with the person who killed his parents and he can't even really blame and so he just... crumbles. And non of that really helps me in my search for a house for him. I don't really see him as a Slytherin because while he loves to posture and play his privileges, he mostly crumbles under pressure and I don't think there's conviction behind it. He's certainly not sly either. Rabenclaw? Nah. I see neither outstanding amounts of eccentricity or wisdom. Gryffindor? Maybe. He's certainly impulsive. And he displayed bravery both in Yi City and even more so in the Guanyin temple where he had to face the fact that one of his uncles, the men who raised him, would kill him to achieve his goals. Still, what left the biggest impression on me was how, after his own world had just completely changed, he send his dog away because wwx would fear him. And how he then tried to get his uncle to talk to wwx. So I'd tentatively go with

HUFFLEPUFF!

Ouyang Zizhen

Another hard one because we don't know him very well in canon. But what we do know is that he is very emotional (passionate one might say) and has no qualms going against his father in a fit of teenage rebellion. I love him for it but that's not that much to go on. Both of these point to gryffindor however, so that's where he goes. :D

GRYFFINDOR!

So ... that's where I'll leave it. I know I missed the Yi city arc but it's getting late and I'm tired. 😅 If anyone wants to add them, feel free!

Congrats of you've made it this far down! :D

Please, do come and discuss these with me!