#i'm seventeen so i definitely have time to sort this out. and obviously all this banks on circumstances

[elytrafemme]

spoke to my father over lunch about my future, the field of psychology & neuroscience, advocacy law, etc. and i’m honestly beginning to seriously look into being a professor, most likely of psychology. because what i’ve been grappling with a lot lately is an interest to go into clinical psychology, but also the fact that while doing that may leave me time to pursue research endeavors, i may lack time to actually pursue the ethics of the field of psychology & psychiatry. which as we all know, there are so many ethical problems with how psychology runs currently, the DSM-5 is a disaster, my father (bless him) is going to get me an autobiography about someone who was misdiagnosed six different times under the DSM-4 (iirc?). like there are so many things i want to tackle rather than just sitting there and upholding the system; there’s a lot of good in therapy but ideally i would want to be a therapist who actually seeks to change systemic problems.

i think the ideal future for me, honestly, would be if i could juggle being a therapist, a professor, and a lawyer all at once. whether i can actually do this is unlikely because that requires (1) having the ability to get all those degrees which would cost so much money and (2) having the fucking time to do any of this, while working a job, which would get me that aforementioned money. so i don’t think this is actually plausible, but like. 

being a college professor sounds like a good lifestyle i think. be it for political science (which i’m still thinking about in terms of lifelong prospects) or for psychology, i would find that interesting. i am just wondering how i can adapt law into this so i can challenge some ethics constitutionally or within the field of psychology, because i know for certain i can only do one of those two if at all. 

i don’t know. i’ve just been thinking about it. we’ll have to see where this all goes. 

[whipped-for-kpop-fics]

Can you do individual ot13 thoughts/headcanons of svt getting with a reader that has a really good physique and is a pilates princess? Like abs so nice and defined it shows through her silk dresses and they have so nice arm/back muscles! I’m sure they would definitely love a partner to tag along with them at the gym.

🏋️‍♀️Who; Seventeen (individually) x female reader (though I think most come off as gender-neutral) 🏋️‍♀️What; I guess you could call it fluff(?) headcanons 🏋️‍♀️Wordcount; a little under 1k altogether 🏋️‍♀️Warnings; none, I don't think so at least.

-2024 Masterlist -

A/N- Let me just preface by saying that I am in no way speaking for the members and their preferences in regards to the female form in a romantic partner, as obviously, I am not them nor do I know them therefore I cannot speak for them. I'm just responding with the ~vibes~ they give me, okay Also, I know nothing about exercise so this is all general fitness

Thank you for the request, anon! I hope you like it 💖

Seungcheol I think Cheol would quite like having a partner who works out a lot and who it's visible on. It's a sign that you take care of your body and physical strength as much as he does his own so although he wouldn't be loud about it, he'd be happy and always glance over at you in the gym with a proud smile seeing you focused on your task

Jeonghan He's a mischievous little imp so of course he'd be extra about it. Playfully swooning when you do things that require strength or flex your muscles. He'll love to buy you those silky low-backed dresses just to show off your muscles and will often have his hand appreciatively on your shoulderblades when you're in them

Joshua I am genuinely kind of stuck on Shua with this particular thought. I'm not sure he'd be all that into it but I don't think he'd exactly be against it either. Maybe he's sort of neutral about it. But he'll worship your body anyway and always give you the most sincere compliments and makes sure you know he loves every inch of you

Junhui I genuinely think that Jun wouldn't really care. So long as you're happy and healthy, he won't care how muscular you are or are not. But he will often have his hand on your abs over your clothes to mindlessly trace over the muscles. Like his own personal soothing/fidget toy

Soonyoung He'd love it. Always hyping you up and tracks your sets for you even if you never ask. He'd honestly spend most of the time at the gym standing by you and counting aloud with a serious, supportive expression on his face instead of working out. So now he goes to the gym twice as much, half with you and half alone to make up for focusing on you the whole time

Wonwoo Honestly, I don't think he'd really be into someone very muscular, a little definition, sure but not lots. Still, if that's what you choose to do with your body, he will do his best to support you while always making sure you don't go over the top and actually are doing it in a healthy way just for you, not for the sake of impressing others

Woozi Another one who doesn't much care. He'll like that you work out and you can share that together but it also wouldn't much bother him if you didn't either. But he also does like it for the fact that your regular workouts means he gets to the gym more regularly and doesn't get caught up in his work or lounging at home as much as before your gym dates started

Seokmin He's confused by how into it he is. He never thought he'd like a woman who isn't feminine but man, his eyes are always glued to the definition of your muscles at every chance. Full on big ol round eyes glued to the lines of your body, this man is utterly whipped He will definitely have his hands on you as much as he can to feel the natural flex of muscles under his fingers so you better be okay with copious skinship

Mingyu Number one hype man for real. As much as he wants to be that couple who works out together, you can't because he genuinely has almost scared you into dropping weights on your foot on more than one occasion from his sudden catcalls and yells of your name in support. He means well though, he just gets too excited seeing his baby killing it at the gym He regularly makes you flex for him then giggles and squeezes your muscles appreciatively before he flexes and makes you touch his in return

Minghao I'm kind of stuck between he isn't really into a lot of muscle on a partner at all and he doesn't really care either way. I think maybe he's somewhere in the middle where he will appreciate a certain amount of definition, like a flat stomach but when it turns to a six-pack he's not really into it. He'd love you regardless but it wouldn't be his preference

Seungkwan I don't think Seungkwan would be into a very muscular partner at all. He can appreciate the time and effort of course that getting such a physique takes. And he will be very impressed in general but I can't really imagine him being attracted to that in a partner though as a friend, he'd hype the shit out of you at every chance

Vernon Dude doesn't much care what you look like so long as you have a general sense of pride in your appearance to not look like a slob and eat relatively healthy. You got soft bits? Great! Got muscles? Great! Got neither? Great! Dude does not care, just wants to hold you and be held regardless of the type of body you have Though he will support you in your exercise routines and you might even be able to convince him to work out with you once or twice, though he mostly just makes you a workout mix, hands you a water bottle and sends you off with a "have fun sweating around strangers while I watch movies"

Chan This sweetheart will always support his partner in their interests. He's likely to even sign you up for classes together (with your consent of course) and do research into your preferred methods of exercise or sport. He'll very likely get very into it himself and proudly call you from across the gym when he hits a new achievement that he's learned because of you If you want to dress up in ways to showcase your muscles, he'll love it, but if you'd prefer to keep it to yourself for whatever reason, he'd still love it. He just really loves you and everything you do, you know. (I am a firm supporter of the simp chan agenda okay)

A/N- I genuinely felt really mean on the ones I said wouldn't be into it, I don't want to offend anyone

If you have any ideas/suggestions of what I could write next, send an ask after checking this post where you can find the guidelines about what I will or will not write

[silvermistanimelover]

He basically becomes her parent in everything but blood and when the chain is talking asking about his Zelda he tells them she's his daughter

They're staring at him and asking "Aren't you 17,"

And he's just like "No???"

I'm definitely going to juice the immortality for angst until the end of my days. Thinking about having him trapped for 100 years instead of dead and in the shrine.

I feel like he'd act more like a soldier, but just become the Ultimate Mom Friend. He'd 100% team up with Hyrule to make sure people aren't hiding injuries.

This ended up being longer than I thought I would be, sorry

So... you wanted a little snip? Wrote this up in about half an hour so sorry about the quality. It’s a tad rushed, but I had fun with it. :)

Wild grinned when he saw the Sheikah Towers in the distance. “Guys, this is my Hyrule.” 

“Really?” Sky’s eyes lit up with intrigue. None of them had been to Wild’s Hyrule before. Considering the fact that their resident feral child had been literally dropped on top of them in the middle of a battle, it was no wonder they were intrigued.

Wild smirked. “Yeah. Come on, we’re close to Hateno.”

“You know...” Twilight hummed as they walked through the woods. “You told us about the Calamity and everything, but I’ve never heard you talk about your Zelda... Flora was it?”

“Yeah.” If possible, Wild’s grin widened. “She’s incredible! She held back Ganon all by herself for a hundred years, you know?” He gazed at the clouds as he remembered those hundred years where his spirit was forced to wander without a body. A century of being trapped as nothing more than a ghost, unable to reach out to those who needed him... It was honestly a massive relief when the Shrine finished healing his body. Scarred though it was, he would be eternally grateful. “I used to be her knight, before the kingdom fell.”

“W-wait... she’s over a hundred years old?!” Warriors balked, missing a step and nearly falling flat on his face. Legend chuckled in amusement.

“Well, we don’t actually count that since she wasn’t really awake. Her powers put her in a dormant state while she trapped the Calamity—it’s why she never aged. She’s still only seventeen.”

“So.” Warriors smirked. “You seem awfully proud of Flora. Do you like her?” 

Wild blinked at Warriors uncomprehendingly for a moment. “Of course I like her.” He stated slowly. “She’s my daughter.”

The entire chain froze in their tracks, staring at Wild like he’d suddenly grown a tail and proclaimed himself Ganon’s son. “You... your daughter.” Time affirmed.

“Yeah. Obviously she’s not my biological daughter, but she was so frightened after she realized how long it’d been...” Wild ran a hand through his hair, idly straightening his ponytail while he was at it. Just because he wasn’t a knight anymore didn’t mean he couldn’t still look presentable.

“But... you’re the same age as her, right?” Wind frowned. “Aren’t you also seventeen?”

Wild snorted, amused at the thought. “I appreciate the compliment, but no. I’m a hundred and seventeen. I was sort of stuck as a ghost for a bit, but I assure you I’m far older than you.”

“Wait, you’re older than Time?!” Wind blurted out in shock.

“I mean, it does make sense.” Hyrule shrugged, recalling how Wild always helped point out when someone was hiding injuries. “I’ve always pegged you as the ‘mom friend’ of the group.” 

Wild hummed as the group started moving again. “I suppose I do give off that vibe at times.”

“So you went from knight to mom.” Legend gave Wild a deadpanned look. “How the hell did that happen?” 

Wild tilted his head as he thought. “I just sort of... did.” He decided. “After defeating the Calamity, I helped her adjust. Since I own a house in Hateno, I let her move in with me, and started teaching her stuff that she’d need to know in this new world. How to hunt, how to camp, how to fight... Before we knew it, we’d just slipped into the roles. She’d never really had a father, and I obviously never had a kid.” He smirked lightly as he recalled a specific memory. “There was this one time when I was showing her how to gut a fish and cook it that she reflexively called me ‘dad’. I’ve never seen her face turn so red before, but I told her it was fine to think of me that way, and it’s just stuck.”

The group was still absorbing how strange the situation was as they crossed the threshold into Hateno. Wild’s eyes roamed the people that went about their day, nodding his hello to each person who greeted him.

“Dad!” A cry came from the bridge to their right as a blur of gold and blue slammed into their resident archer.

Wild laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, spinning her about. When the movement stopped, the Chain could finally get their first look at Flora—Wild’s daughter.

“Dad, where’ve you been!? You just dropped off the map for three months!” Flora buried her face into his tunic, and Wild held her a tad closer.

“I’m sorry, my little flower.” He whispered softly. He could feel the wet spot growing on his shoulder from her tears. “Hylia decided I needed to go on another journey. Don’t cry, I’m still here.” He gently wiped away her tears as she pulled away, getting a look at his traveling companions for the first time. 

“Oh... who are you?” She blinked owlishly, subconsciously straightening her outfit as she observed them.

Wild hid a smirk. “Zel... let me introduce you to the Heroes of Old.” Her eyes widened as he spoke.

“W-wait. You don’t mean to tell me...”

“That’s the Hero of Time, Hero of Twilight—”

“Link, you—?!” Zelda whipped around. “You’ve been traveling through time?!”

“And dimensions. Don’t worry, I have plenty of pictures and research notes for you.” He assured her.

Wild nearly fell over when she tackled him in another hug. “Best. Dad. Ever.”

[laceddbluntt]

𝐋𝐔𝐗𝐄, 𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐒𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐑.

chapter 1,, “ dress “

- SURE ALISON WAS ALISON. SHE WAS THE SHOULDER TO CRY ON.. THE ONLY ONE YOU'D EVER WANT CALLING UP YOUR CRUSH TO SEE

HOW HE FELT ABOUT YOU. AND OTHER THINGS LIKE IF THE NEW JEANS MADE YOUR BUTT LOOK BIG. BUT THE GIRLS WERE ALSO SCARED OF HER. ALI KNEW MORE ABOUT THEM THAN ANYONE ELSE DID. INCLUDING THE BAD STUFF THEY WANTED TO BURY. . LIKE A BODY. IT WAS HORRIBLE TO THINK ALI MIGHT BE DEAD! BUTTT, IF SHE WAS.

AT LEAST THEIR SECRETS WE'RE SAFE.

MY FATHER THINKS I'M DEAD. and my mother IS dead. huh, i guess it runs in the family..

anyway, as you can obviously tell. my satus is most definitely alive. but it's safer to think so if you were my family. at least twice a month, i see my missing poster plastered all around mystic falls. i look so... out of place, i guess? most of the pictures up there are of smiling teenage girls and boys with their parents, happily getting awards for college and stuff- and there's me.

" MISSING! ALISON DILAURENTIS! WOULD NOW BE SEVENTEEN. " and then at the bottom of the

poster is my criminal record. it's in bold, red, letters. how glorifying.

WANTED BY VIRGINA POLICE DEPT.

FILE NUMBER: 46217 - 3233 • " ALI"

WANTED FOR ATTEPMTED MURDER, ASSUALT, ARSON, THEFT, DESTRUCTION OF MILITARY PROPERTY, AND HINDERING THE WAR EFFORT 200,

000 REPUBLIC NOTES FOR INFO LEADING UP TO HER DISAPPEARANCE.

half of the stuff on that poster is utter bullshit, but back to the matter at hand. they always have different pictures on the posters. one time it was a girl with glasses, another it was a blonde girl who had freckles. sometimes i'm black, sometimes i'm latina, sometimes i'm native american, or blue or yellow, or whatever else the fuck they come up with.

in other words, Virgina has absulotely no idea what i look like. blame my father for that. he was this huge mafia boss back in the day and insisted that i would be safer if nobody knew what i looked like.

the only thing that they know about me is that whenever they run my fingerprints through CODIS, they don’t see a match in any of their databases.

when i was still "alive", i was sort of a bitch and pissed people off. and i guess that's why they don't like me, i made the civilians scared. and i made the

local precint look bad.

i heard a horn beep, making my head whip around.

tonight's the night.. i can't back out now.

" DO YOU HAVE THE DRESS? " Xavier, my confidante asked, arriving from the all black Jeep with tinted windows that i rented specifically for this night.

" of course! I ONLY BOUGHT THIS DRESS SO THAT YOU COULD TAKE IT OFF. "

[twancingyunhao]

Okay. So this is a serious post, and while I'm not going into all of the nitty gritty details, there will still be some triggering moments, so I'll have a readmore and the warnings first. But this is just, one, for me to get it out of my system, and 2, because I keep talking about how a hard time is coming, and I figured if anyone was Interested, I'd explain. It is also the reason the past week and the next week or so, I will be kind of out of my normal funk possibly. If you have questions about it, it is fine to ask.

But yes. So please keep in mind I may be a bit out of sorts, but I am always still happy to talk, replies may just take a tad bit longer while I mentally amp myself up. I'm going to be home until Thursday, so please send all the distractions you'd like, ask me ANY questions you'd like about anything. Always happy to get Yunho and Minghao content(or seventeen and ateez as a whole.) Ask me how stiltzkin and binky are doing! Whatever. But please be forgiving if it takes me a minute. And let me know if I missed any warnings. I know this is a bit of a tough read for some. I don't want to trigger anyone. I just wanted to get my story out.

Warnings

Death, specifically infant death. Dog bite. Just over all depression. A photo of a gravestone? Shitty hospitals, surgery

So.... On November 13, 2001, my baby brother, Alex was born. He had a lot of complications with his birth mainly stemming around underdeveloped lungs and oxygen levels. But he came home on the 15th. As a 7 years old little girl, who had never had a younger sibling, I was ecstatic.

The next day, shortly after I had been loaded onto the school bus, there had been an accident. I remember before it was even lunch time I'd been picked up and brought to the hospital. By the time I got there, on Nov. 16 2001, Alex had sadly passed away. He was bit by the family dog. My mom had walked through the large open kitchen door(it was a wall that'd been knocked down, no actual door) to grab her tea from the microwave, and had the baby in his bassinet. In that short of a time, he'd fussed, the dog being very nanny-like, went to pick him up(she had never done this with any of us before, but that is definitely what it was) and punctured his chest.

Now that was obviously the big problem. However, between careflight fighting my mother on how she could get to the hospital, and the surgeons putting tubes and instruments in backwards during surgery on a very small newborn, he ended up passing away during the surgery.

So the entire month of November is just... It's really hard for me. For my family. It's been 21 years and I am totally open to talking about my situation. It's not something I hide. But it does still hurt. I have to take the week off work because being around certain breeds of dogs(they took our jack russle mix who bit the baby, our husky, and our shepherd from us. Put all three down, the two innocent dogs were out down more than 4 years later by the GCAC. So huskies and dogs that looked like my shepherd mix being common at my kennel, I have to avoid it) they send me spiraling when I see them.

[ljhhwa]

I also have a Doyoung fanfic where the OC is genderfluid. But there's no emphasis on the characters sexuality or gender. They just are. Like Sam (the OC in How To Love) changes pronouns, and everyone just accepts it. I was writing it in a time where I needed to just be without question.

In this upcoming Jaehyun fic, they do kind of talk about it, but it's still mostly an idealistic world. Fine Line is my most realistic fic at the moment. Like Hyuck is obviously pan, but he's not allowed to be open. I have made references to Hana being bi, but she also has to stay closeted. All my other ones so far have been in some sort of idealistic universe, and all are done so purposely. As a queer person myself, sometimes I just want to make a world where I just am.

PS: I have no idea what's your timezone is, but sorry if it's too late for you. It certainly is for me, I'm just an insomniac. 😅

In all honesty, I’ve been trying to be more inclusive in my readings because everyone needs to be heard and you don’t see very many fics that are (that I’ve come across. I only started reading fanfics again in the past few months and they’re mostly Seventeen ones 😭) So I am definitely excited to see your work. And I will put definitely your Doyoung fic on my list to read. I love Hyucks character in Fine Line, his brutal honesty makes me laugh so much.

I am EST and I usually am an insomniac too but I work health care. I’m on day 9 of 11 without a break and I am exhausted. And tumblr was pissing me off last night, I did follow you on my main but whenever I tried to message you it kept freezing and closing out. I’m like yeah not dealing with it.

[thissugarcane]

qaf notes for myself on rewatch

yeah, so I started rewatching (the brian/justin cut version of) qaf yet again. (yes. I cut the eps to include brian/justin scenes I was interested in, and not the rest. uh.)

notes to self, eps 1-3 [part one]:

the first time they hook up, brian is open and engaged with Justin once he sees how young he is. like, he's not high, he's not acting drunk or cocky, he shows genuine concern and openness for this kid he brought home.

also, brian seems to have known justin was a virgin, but not really how young he was until justin confesses. so... does he think justin is maybe a baby-faced college kid / late bloomer? like, 20 ish?

mel at the hospital -- does give brian shit, and definitely doesn't trust him holding a baby (he does take gus weirdly, tbf). but she also gives him a weirdly... like, before he says "gus, give your daddy a smile" it looks like her face says maybe "well, he's not so bad"

brian and michael: michael seems very comfortable in telling brian "listen, you're gonna go home..." etc. I think this is their dynamic until Justin comes along: michael scolds, brian sometimes listens, sometimes ignores, they love each other. and they seem *good* with it. so yeah. I think that for most of their 20s they're BOTH okay with the pseudo-platonic romantic friendship thing they've got.

...and then brian drops ecstacy and is now out of his skull. though I hold that justin fell in love with brian the first time Brian held Gus (aka while he was sober), not after

also something I literally never noticed: the VERY FIRST TIME brian tries to go down on justin in the car on the way home from the hospital. the hot stud of liberty ave wants to go down on the seventeen year old! OBVIOUSLY justin thinks he's different to all those other guys. (no wonder michael tries to stop it - he wants to protect brian's reputation, he's jealous, a combination of the two)

brian is really so kind to the newbie. but justin isn't shy about anything either - he might be inexperienced but he isn't hesitant. he asks for the condom, he asks for it to be slow, he says it hurts. he's ready and willing to express his own wants in sex from the getgo. (he's also not shy or hesitant while brian is trying to pick him up; sure he's a fool, nervous, but not shy)

the morning after: Justin also isn't hesitant to tell brian the shit (he was juggling, michael has the car) from the very beginning. unlike everyone else in his life, Justin isn't awed or scared of Brian. like, sure, he believes brian is a sex-god, but being impressed or whatever doesn't change how Justin acts around him

and something about Justin (his youth, his newness, his daring?) means Brian was attracted to him the next morning still. you can see it before he gets into the shower: he stares at Justin's body and *wants*

brian asks if justin cares about basically outing himself to the school - and after justin's "fuck no" brian gives him a smile that's just. so impressed.

oh daphne! so baffled. also, justin at school is so not subtle.

oh CYNTHIA! "he's maaarried!" sure cynthia, you're just daring him to go for it. you know what you're doing.

"[Brian said 'I love you'] right before he was about to shoot. he came, and that's when he said it. then he leaned in and kissed me." you know, I'm still on the fence as to whether this is true (brian saying "i love you" and maybe even meaning it a little bit, though encouraged by the ecstacy), a misunderstood groan (brian saying "I love your ass" or similar and justin hearing what he wants out of it), or an embellishment on Justin's part (because Justin wants Brian, now, fullstop). Like, I really think it could be any of these three, you know?

justin is such a brat to Jennifer - like, I can sort of see why she's concerned her baby isn't mature enough to be having sex (he is not, in fact, being that mature about it)

EMMETT AND KARAOKE, sweet god. <3. god bless woody's

Brian being sarcastic and mean to Justin at the bar is... you know, he notices Justin's there, he doesn't ignore him, nor does he move the guys AWAY from where Justin's sitting. instead he gives justin pretend negative attention. like sure Brian, you're bitching to Mikey about him showing up but you decide to go to HIM, you sit with him, you stay with HIM.

[kintatsujo]

LOZ AU- The Courage of Running Away PART ONE

warnings: Parental abuse, fantasy religion, fantasy religious abuse

So the original grain of this concept was actually a dream I had once but we'll get to that.

A major aspect of this idea that makes it an "AU" as opposed to "just" a "game pitch as fanfic" concept is that it has a worldmap that looks something like this: 

[Image Description: A map of a continent.  In the center is Gerudo Desert, ringed by mountains that extend from the bottom to top of the continent.  On the west side of Gerudo Desert, from north to south, are countries labeled "Termina," "Holodrum," and "Labrynna," while on the east side are countries labeled "Hytopia," "Hyrule" and "Lorule."  Hytopia is indicated to be a sky island above a territory labeled "Drablands."  Hyrule and Termina are more directly east and west of one another, as the Drablands are the northernmost country of the continent and Labrynna is the southernmost country.  There is an indication of another continent to the east, and off the eastern shore is a sky island labeled "Sky Temple."  To the south of Labrynna is a proper island labeled "Windfish Isle."  There is a legend in the upper left corner that reads "Really generalized AU map.  Proportions not to be taken too seriously and most of the sky islands besides Hytopia just aren't there because it would get too busy."  End Description.]

Lorule as a physical country to the south of Hyrule rather than a mirror version of Hyrule is because I am weak for dumb puns.  Also in general you can describe this as "this is my AU and I do what I want."  

Also the map of Hyrule itself in this AU should be considered to be heavily similar to the Breath of the Wild map because that's what I want shh.  Does this mean the other countries are similar in scope despite being based on countries from earlier and smaller games?  Well, yeah.  

I actually tried out making this worldmap in RPGMaker btw but to get something I was happy with I'd at LEAST need a nicer worldmap tileset for MZ.  Do I have the skills to make that?  Yep.  Have I got the time to make that?  Nope.

Anyway so as noted there's actually a NUMBER of floating sky islands in this version of the setting, and its version of Link was raised here, in the sky temple monastery/commune/abbey don't look at me:

[Image description: A floating island with a round temple, some sort of pillars arranged in a circle, and a few other buildings, one of which might be a dormitory.  The temple has a statue of the Triforce nested in Hylia's wings on the roof.  End description.]

A couple notes here since it's the only good place: In this Hyrule there are Loftwings because I said so.  There is also a Rito run mail service and there are also balloon-based airships.  Again, because I said so.  The Rito are the main people who run supplies to the Sky Temple, but there's also a number of hylians with bonded Loftwings living there.  The Loftwings are a little less mysterious in that they clearly roost nearby riders they've bonded with; note the large archways kind of indicated on the side of the dorm building.  Link, at this point in the story, does not have a Loftwing, which is important for reasons that will become clear by the end of this post.  Also, I'm not sure how obvious it is but I do intend that there's a cucoo/chicken coop set up near the dorm; this is for the eggs but the monk or whatever in charge of them is definitely a crazy bird person and probably also keeps messenger pigeons.  There would also be a garden somewhere and as one can possibly tell there's a graveyard.  Basically this Sky Temple is what I thought Skyloft was going to be a little more like until I found out it was literally a Boarding School Town.  Anyway.

The thing is that this Link was discovered to be the Hero of the age sometime in his infancy.

And this is the person who discovered him:

[Image description: On one half of the page is an establishing shot of a hylian man in blue and white (light gray) robes and a hat, with long hair in a braid and graying at the temples.  He's approximately middle aged by the lines in his face, tall and slender and moderately attractive.  He is wearing heavy gold diamond shaped earrings to match the symbols of Hylia and the Triforce on his clothing.  He is frowning, and he is labeled "Astramorus."  On the other half of the page are a series of comic panels: In the first, a young Link is hiding from a Rito behind Astramorus's cloak.  Astramorus asks, apparently fondly, "Come now boy, where's your courage?" while the Rito sheepishly assures him "Th-that's quite all right, Lordship."  In the second panel, a very small Link dressed in the Hero of Hylia's traditional green outfit is wiping his eyes while holding a sword too large for him.  There is blood on Link's clothes.  Astramorus, standing so that only the hem of his robes are in shot, asks "Come now boy, where's your courage?"  And in the last panel, lit as though by fire, Astramorus now has a much older Link by the back of the neck in a controlling manner, once again asking, "Come now boy, where's your COURAGE?"  End description.]

By the way the manner in which Astramorus is holding the back of Link's neck in the final panel is a sneaky thing my dad used to pull sometimes; basically if you squeeze just hard enough to hurt nobody but the person you're doing it to can actually tell so you can even do it in public without people necessarily noticing.  It took me ages to go "wait that was actually really fucked up that he used to do that."  Shoulder touch is good, neck touch bad.

A note on Astramorus's costume: It's basically an evil version of the costume worn by the priestly guy from the Sanctuary in alttp.  Astramorus himself, well, I had the idea for him well before Age of Calamity came out but yes he is basically named after Aster, so you can guess that he's more than just a terrible father.

Astramorus has been training Link since he could lift his sword, including trials he should have been too small for and acquiring things for him to fight-- and kill.    Link isn't allowed to speak to anyone unless asked questions or told to by Astramorus, not even the other members of the monastery (although perhaps many of the people there have taken their own vows of silence.)  

And he's not allowed to have opinions, and he's not allowed to back down in a fight or say that he's too tired to keep training, and this has been going on since Link was six.  Astramorus tells him this is the ideal.  That never backing down and never stopping is what courage means and what being the hero means.  That starting from a young age is only proof of the hero's purity of heart.

And when Link is nearing seventeen, Astramorus tells him that he's going to present him to the royal family of Hyrule, and that at last the HARD part will truly begin.  (Keeping in mind that he was putting a six year old through trials MEANT for a seventeen year old.)  And Link breaks: 

[Image Description: A comic.  Link is putting together a paraglider not dissimilar to the one from BotW.

He narrates: Tomorrow we're supposed to set out so that I can meet the king of Hyrule.  Which means that this is my last chance to run away.

Link grinds his classic hat into the ground with one boot, and leaves his sword stabbed into the earth behind him.  He leaps off the sky island and toward the sun on the horizon.

Link narrates: I don't care if this is cowardly anymore.

End description.]

And THAT one page is what the dream that started the concept was about; some people might remember me talking about it as long as three years ago and it's just been stuck in my head ever since!  (Also: I love the idea of there being a Link who starts out wearing the classic outfit and THEN switches to other costumes.)

This is obviously not the end of this AU, lol, stay tuned for where Link finally crash lands (spoiler: He makes it pretty far and you might be able to guess from the map >:3c)

#AU August

#LoZ AU: The Courage of Running Away

Bonus: 

[Image description: A headshot flat color sketch of this Link, who has short fluffy light blonde hair and green eyes.  He is yelling, with tears in his eyes: "I am NEVER wearing that STUPID hat again!"  End description!]

[iiasha-archived]

Hiii I'm getting into svt recently and my fave part of getting into groups is finding out their dynamis. So far I've heard that jeonhan and Joshua r besties and so r mingyu and minghao idk if I'm not looking at the right place but i guess I didnt think they were particularly close?? Do u know who's the closets in svt? Or the ones with the best and fun dynamics

omg hello hello!! tbh all of seventeen are really close, some just tend to be closer “on camera” vs “off camera” if that makes sense??? fans tend to really hyper-analyze some relationships more than others which is why you hear about them more often but really all of seventeen are super comfortable with each other 🥺 in general though these are the pairings that are often picked out as being super close:

under readmore bc this got long lmaooooooo omg i could talk about seventeen’s bond for days

jeonghan and joshua: as you pointed out these two are very close!! they’re often called the “evil twins” since they often join forces to gang up on the other members a lot fdjkalf (i made a gif comp of it before) i think also in their earlier days they were often mistaken for one another

mingyu and minghao: mingyu and minghao are definitely the “artsy” duo of the group lmao they have really similar interests when it comes to art and fashion and stuff. i think they used to be called the “tom and jerry” duo because they used to bicker a LOT fajdsklfalksf but they’re definitely super close i mean just look at this post. all of seventeen’s families are close but mingyu’s family in particular seem to have adopted minghao to the point minghao will hang out with mingyu’s dad but not mingyu fdasjkldfa

mingyu and wonwoo: wonwoo is pretty often cited as mingyu’s “favorite hyung” lmao these two are also super close and they pursue their interests in film/photography together. wonwoo talked about this a lot in his monotube interview (don’t mind me subtly promoing my scan blog)

jun and wonwoo: i guess they’re not as obvious on-camera but these two are often mentioned a lot?? they’re basically “the cat line” and they often room together when they go abroad. they strike me more as a duo that share really comfortable silences with one another

jun and minghao: china line bros!! obviously since they’re both the only chinese members they’ve naturally become SUPER close since they can speak in their mother tongue with one another. they often talk a lot about how they have “opposite personalities” but it’s perfect in that they each make up for what the other lacks.

also not intending to sound like a shipper here but in line with above, mingyu x wonwoo x jun x the8 are often called the “love square”

hoshi and dk: basically the life of the party duo lmao they always seem to be on the same wavelength and bounce off each other’s impromptu jokes really well. they have this ongoing skit in particular where they act as old grandparents

seungkwan and vernon: basically the ‘98 line hahaha i don’t really have anything specific to say about them but they’re definitely really close, probably one of the more “popular” pairings that’s a little more lowkey/behind-the-scenes-feeling if you will. you can find a lot of video compilations about their friendship

hoshi and woozi: another sort of “opposites attract” pairing LMAO woozi acts like he barely tolerates hoshi most of the time but it’s clear they’re really close. hoshi seems to hang out in woozi’s studio a lot and in general i think woozi has been teaching hoshi more about making music/recording (e.g. that horanghae song)

if you want a more “fun” dynamic, also seungkwan and dino. basically they argue a LOT lmao they clearly have like actual tense moments but they come out of it stronger as a result. their bickering is really funny though and gives us stuff like this legendary rap battle

jeonghan and dk and jeonghan and hoshi. these aren’t actually like “popular dynamics” but i’m putting them here because they stand out to me bc jeonghan seems to hang out with these two in particular a lot LMAO i think they’re his favorite dongsaengs. jeonghan REALLY loves teasing dk (there’s a lot of moments but can’t think of any specifically to pick out right now unless u want me to), and for hoshi, dino was pretty adament in this last gose episode about hoshi being jeonghan’s favorite

[bethansfandoms]

if you're up for another prompt... I'm a sucker for the classic Dancer!Remus and bored Sirius there with his family, but sees this adorable talent and suddenly could not be less bored. I'm not too bothered by the dance style, but preferably not Ballet because I've seen that done a few times. Maybe Ballroom/Latin, since I project onto Remus so much 🤦‍♂️. But it's not that big of a deal. Thanks! You're so talented btw...

Always up for new prompts, and thank you so much! Okay I think this may turn out different to how you intended and may not be the classic dancer! Remus prompt you’re used to, but I hope you enjoy it :)

Sirius absolutely hated these events. Like, really hated them.

Because why did being wealthy mean you had to know how to ballroom dance? Or prove that you know how in this case.

It wasn’t that Sirius couldn’t dance. He’d practically been been forced to as soon as he could walk. What he hated was actually doing it.

He also hated socialising with the friends of the family who liked to attend these sorts of things as well. Because he had enough lecturing about his posture and hair and attitude and voice at home. He didn’t need it from these people as well.

So as they entered the grand ballroom, Sirius immediately walked over to a table and sat on the chair away from the dance floor, much to his parents annoyance.

He knew full well about their ulterior motive. He was seventeen. This event was usually attended by the financially elite and so was a good place to find a girl for Sirius who his parents deemed worthy.

Sirius had a few problems with this. One, social staus was neither important nor attractive to him. Two, he didn’t trust his parents taste in partners as, well, they’d married each other. Three, the ‘girl’ part was an all round bit of an issue.

He could tell Regulus secretly hated this as well, but had not been brave enough to sit with Sirius at a distance from the dance floor, so had now been partnered with a blonde girl of similar age to him.

Sirius new this period of relaxation would not last. His parents were dancing together but they were obviously scouting the crowd for somebody to pair with their eldest son.

Sirius slumped in his chair pretending to not exist on the off chance it actually came true. He couldn’t stand to watch his parents dancing any longer and so scanned the room for familiar faces of family and friends who he probably hated and would intend to avoid.

And then his eyes settled on a couple that he didn’t recognise. A girl with bright red hair who seemed to be enjoying herself but was not a great dancer. And partnering her, a tawny haired boy.

And although Sirius was in no way attracted by people’s dance ability, this guy was possibly the best dancer in the whole room and Sirius couldn’t help but be impressed at how effortlessly he lead the red haired girl.

He was tall, really tall, and quite pale as well. His hair fell slightly in front of his eyes and curled a little bit at the ends. Which Sirius decided was adorable. He had this huge smile plastered on his face. Sirius didn’t fail to notice how cute his smile was. And unlike almost every male in the room, he was not wearing black and white but instead a combination of blues and browns.

And Sirius had always preferred watching to dancing, but now he felt more adamant about this opinion than ever.

And then suddenly his parents were talking to them and they’d stopped dancing, to Sirius’s disappointment as the guy looked so good doing it. And his name was being called and he tried to disappear into his chair. Which did not work and resulted in his name just being called louder.

The boy was walking towards him and sat next to Sirius, smiling at him. Sirius blushes slightly and hated himself for it.

“I think they require your presence.” He said, still smiling sweetly. And Sirius decided this was very unfair because holy crap even his voice was attractive.

“No, I think they must mean a different Sirius.”

And to his delight, the taller boy laughed. Okay, definitely not fair, he was not allowed to have a cute laugh as well.

“Not much of a dancer?”

“Define dancing. Because if you count jumping around to loud rock music, I’m a big fan. Ballroom, not so much.”

And when he laughed again and Sirius bit his lip nervously. And now his name is being accompanied by a glare and he knew he had no choice and groaned, walking towards them.

“Good luck!” The boy called after him. And Sirius didn’t think he was capable of responding and so didn’t.

He knew exactly why he was being called. The red haired girl looked about his age and so he assumed his parents were already planning their wedding.

He breguginglg took a position to lead and they slowly began dancing.

“I’m not marrying you, by the way.” The girl sad, grinning at him.

Sirius sighed in annoyance. “Oh no, they didn’t actually mention a wedding did they!”

She laughed, “indeed they did.”

“Well don’t worry, you’re not really my type.”

The girl stood on his foot, possibly by accident but he suspected not.

“No! I didn’t mean it like that.” He said hurriedly. “I, uh. No girls, that’s my type. Not females.”

She giggled again. “I’m Lily, it’s nice to meet you.”

He introduced himself as Sirius which earned him a snarky response about how everybody knew his name due to the volume his parents had been yelling it at.

“I’ve never seen you here before.” Sirius said. Changing the tempo of their dance as the song changed.

“Oh, well, this is totally not my scene. But Remus, my friend, his father was invited and made me come along for emotional support.”

And all Sirius could think was, Remus Remus Remus Remus. Because the boy from earlier had to be who she was talking about. And he decided he loved that name.

“Is that the boy you were dancing with earlier?” Sirius asked, playing it cool. Lily nodded. “And you’re just friends?” Sirius asked coyly, winking at her.

“Yeah. He’s single if you’re interested.”

Sirius intentionally stood on her foot causing her to grimace at him. But his heart fluttered slightly, much to his annoyance, because had Lily just implied that Remus would date a guy? Nope. He was being stupid. Lily had just been joking around.

Sirius’s previous conception had been correct, she truly was quite a horrific dancer. As he spun her round, she full on tripped and Sirius quickly knelt to see if she was okay. Her laughter made it evident she was.

And suddenly Remus had appeared to check on her as well.

“I’m fine!” She assured. “But maybe Remus should take it from here.” And with that, she quickly stood and strode off. Winking at Remus who made some comment at her under his breath.

Sirius stood, staring at him awkwardly. Oh no. He had freckles. Sirius knew he was done for.

“You leading or me?” Remus asked which snapped him out of his daydream.

“Oh, uh, I thought Lily was joking about that.”

Remus widened his eyes slightly. His beautiful, green eyes flecked with specks of brown. Sirius shook his head slightly.

“We don’t have to if you don’t want to!” Remus assured.

“No,” Sirius had said that far to quickly. “No it’s fine, let’s do it. You lead?” He suggested.

And Remus smiled and obliged. Taking Sirius’s hand in his own and placing his other around the top of his back. Sirius held their arms up at head level and rested his other on top of the one locked around him.

Being in this close proximity was definitely affecting his dancing. But Remus seemed unbothered and was still leading him around expertly.

“Oh, I’m Sirius by the way!”

“Yeah, I know.” He laughed slightly. “Remus.”

“Yeah, I know.” Sirius repeated. “Lily told me.”

“You two seemed to get on well.” Remus said, grinning and raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, well, my parents basically proposed to her for me. They’re desperate to find me a girlfriend.”

“Well, she’s single, you know.” Remus said, biting his lip a little. Sirius cursed that he managed to make literally everything he did so attractive.

“Yes, and I’m gay.” Sirius confirmed. Remus chuckled slightly.

“So I’m to assume your parents don’t know?”

“I think they’d actually kill me.”

And then Remus stopped dancing and pulled away, leaving his hand on Sirius’s back but looking him in the eye.

“I’m so sorry. It sucks to have parents who don’t support you. Luckily my mum was cool with it, dad took a while to come round.”

And then Sirius swore his vision went hazy as he realised what Remus was saying. And just as he was about to enquire further, his mother appeared at his side, enquiring about the whereabouts of the girl they’d partnered him with.

Remus grinned at him for the entire duration of the discussion.

“I should probably get going, but I’ll see you around?” Remus said.

“Yeah. Yeah, well, we come here the first Saturday of every month so, maybe I’ll see you here again sometime?”

“I’d like that.”

And then he was walking off and taking Lily’s arm, before shooting him a final wave and disappearing through the door.

And Sirius is just stood there, staring at him in awe. Because Remus, adorable, not heterosexual, single Remus, said that he’d like to see him, Sirius Black, again.

[safflowerseason]

You reblogging Gilmore Girls inspired me to go back and watch and now I'm back in my Jess/Rory feels. Ngl, the way they ended up kind of reminds me of how I felt about Dan and Amy's ending in Veep, and the lack of any real sort of closure or resolution to their storyline, even with the entire revival. I'm interested to know your thoughts on the way their story was handled/wrapped up. (Plus side -- my love for Emily Gilmore was revived again, what an icon).

Hi Anon - thanks so much for writing in. I love hearing from other Veep fans who enjoy the same shows I do ☺️ Your ask caused a mini-storm of Rory/Jess reblogs on my end too, lol. And yes, Emily Gilmore is a fucking icon. A tour de force performance. 

What’s interesting about Gilmore Girls for me is that while I do love it a lot and enjoy talking about it and occasionally get in my feels about it, it’s not a show of my heart for me the way Veep and The West Wing are. I probably would not donate money to a political cause in order to watch a GG reunion special, lol. So while I love Rory/Jess very much, I don’t feel psychically wounded by their storyline the way I feel about how Dan and Amy’s storyline was treated. 

For me, Rory and Jess’s final meeting in S6 works as both closure and a form of resolution. It’s a little ambiguous, but there’s pretty definite takeaways: Rory realizes she loves Logan (bleh), they acknowledge their connection anyway, and even though Jess is disappointed, he’s also a real adult about the whole thing. He’s obviously not going to cut Rory out of his life or anything drastic and immature like that.

The revival, in contrast, tosses a firm resolution out the window, but this seem to be ASP’s preferred modus operandi where Rory’s relationships are concerned. It makes clear that that in the last ten years they’ve developed a deep and enduring friendship and that he’s still carrying a torch for her. Is that closure? I think it’s closure in the sense that we’re given all (or nearly all) the facts about where they stand with one another and their relationship is treated very significantly by the show (in other words, there’s no Mandelian gaslighting). We don’t know what’s going to happen with Rory and Jess, but we know their relationship matters, and that they are a major part of one another’s lives. 

In some ways, I think that the “lack of closure” you’re referring to is really just ASP letting Rory and Jess’s profound connection endure in a very realistic way. Two people can have a soul-deep relationship, can even have confused and repressed romantic feelings about one another, and it doesn’t always mean they have to be a) romantically involved or b) fully cut out of one another’s lives. (Okay, this turned into a real essay, so below the cut are my angsty feelings about teenage Rory/Jess, haha).

I tend to get most in my feelings about teenage Rory and Jess, though, because that’s when their dysfunction is on display, and as y’all know, I love me a star-crossed dysfunctional couple who can’t quit each other. And also mostly because the show totally nails the adolescent yearning of their relationship, the almost-grown-up-but-not-quite desire that’s powering their connection. They just want each other so much. And I love the fated sense of doom hanging over their attraction in S2, as they edge around each other. It’s done really lightly and aching, and so pure and bittersweet, you just know this is all going to blow up in everyone’s faces somehow, that both Jess and Rory are going to self-sabotage. (Yes, of course, Jess is objectively more dysfunctional and the dissolution of their relationship is absolutely his fault—he’s barely staying in school, he’s a complete emotional wreck, he strings Rory along, he should not be anyone’s boyfriend. But Rory also has emotional issues that exacerbate things between them.)

I do have a lot of complicated feelings about how Jess is written in S2 and S3. I think Jess is a great character and they got better at writing him overtime, but at first he’s stuck in this kind of cartoonish over-the-top rebellious teen mode, talking like he’s a greaser member of a street gang in the 1950’s, and I think Milo Ventimiglia delivers a lot of those lines way too heavy-handed in the beginning. Whenever he baits Dean in S2, I always cringe a little, partly because everyone is acting so embarrassingly, and partly because, whatever ASP might be wishing, it’s not actually 1952 and no one talks like that. Ventimiglia shines a lot more in his quieter moments with Luke and Rory.

But I also feel that the way the breakdown of their relationship was handled was very…hamfisted. We barely get any Jess and Rory just being Jess and Rory before their relationship starts dissolving before our very eyes. There are some super cute moments sprinkled throughout S3, but they’re all overshadowed by Dean basically muscling in Rory and Jess’s first date or Jess ruining his meeting with Emily or Jess flaking on Rory…so the poignant bittersweet sense from S2 just becomes this impending sense of dread in S3 as we wait for Jess to do something so truly horrible he becomes unsympathetic to the audience. I actually don’t rewatch most of S3 for this reason, but at least it makes his redemption feel earned. I applaud the show for actually bringing Jess back in S4 when his life is still 90% a mess. He’s taken a few baby steps, but it’s realistic about how hard and messy it is to really change your life. Without those messy S4 appearances, his obvious growth in S6 wouldn’t feel nearly so powerful. 

Obviously Rory loses her virginity to Dean and has an affair with him blah blah, but I think her relationship with Jess really represents her loss of innocence as a child. He’s the first person she actively “loses” after her dad. Christopher’s absence is built into Rory—it’s a part of her identity. But Rory loves Jess and loses him even as the purity of their emotional connection is increasingly emphasized over the rest of the series. That loss is foundational for the rest of her relationships—it’s a huge part of why she relapses with Dean and why she finds Logan so appealing, and it’s a huge part of why Rory keeps Jess firmly in the friend box for the rest of the series, even as they connect and reconnect and as Jess grows enough to realize that no dramatic pronouncements of love are going to win Rory over. 

I don’t know. That scene when they’re kissing by the phone box and everything is new and perfect and tender and untouched between them and they’re both just like wow and you just know it can’t stay that way forever. It’s so perfect. It’s the perfect encapsulation of what it’s like to be seventeen and in your first real relationship (and then Rory runs off to apologize to Dean…ugh. Boundaries, Rory!) (also, I do not count Dean as her first real relationship. They're just playacting. Rory only dates Dean because he’s a magazine’s idea of a perfect high school boyfriend. She has nothing in common with him. They spend the entire time fighting about Harvard. Dean sucks.) 

[mars-the-4th-planet]

Final election prediction map:

Explanation time. Going from left to right.

Nevada: this state is known for overestimating republican support in the polls. Even republican-biased pollsters like Trafalgar(R) think Biden is going to win here. Regular polls tend to give Biden about a six point lead. So I think 4-8% is the most likely margin for this state.

Arizona: A very close state. It voted for Trump last time by a margin of three percent, and Biden generally leads in the polls here from 2% or 4% depending on which polling group most recently posted. Discounting obviously biased polls like Trafalgar, CNN, and Rasmussen, it is most likely that Biden will narrowly win Arizona. FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics agree on this and so do I.

Alaska and Montana: States that would normally be more decisively red but aren't this time around. Still, trump is leading in these two by enough that it won't matter. Just something to keep in mind, that Biden has moved republican states more towards the democrats.

Colorado: Used to be a swing state, but now is about at the same level of closeness as in Montana. RealClearPolitics says Biden is leading by ten percent, FiveThirtyEight says by fourteen percent, predicting that they will vote within a 7-11% range is a modest estimate not Democrat bias. Not only that but like Nevada and Texas, it voted more blue than expected in 2016.

New Mexico: Republicans have been trying to get this state but it's just not happening. They have a 15% poll lead for Biden on my most recent map. Even if the polls are off some, in Trump's favor, Biden still wins by double digits.

Nebraska: Both the main state and the first district are going to Trump, no real question there. But the second district has held some polls and they all lean towards Joe Biden winning. It's just one extra electoral vote though.

Texas: A state that has been all over the place lately with large amounts of early voting (which favors dems) and a court that denied throwing out a hundred thousand ballots. It's not out of reach that democrats could win Texas, but if I'm being wholly honest with myself, what I want to happen is not necessarily what will happen. The polls do lean in Trump's favor. And Republican support is still large in Texas. Worst of all, there is only one early voting drop off box per county in Texas. I think it's going to the reds this time around, although at a narrower margin than 2016.

Minnesota: This one I can't be too sure about to be honest. On one hand, the police brutality there and protests (mainly the government's response to the protests) will likely mean more dem turnout. But at the same time, people protesting racism and the authoritarian gov? Also means more Republican turnout for Trump. But Republicans already turn out to vote regularly, so it's not so much that they can expand from here and more than they can try and use the protests as a means to convince people to not vote got Biden. Still, Biden's campaign has generally brought in more support to the democrats than Hillary's across the nation and Minnesota went to her last time. And 4-8% does match up pretty well with polling data which ranges around a 6% to 7% lead for Biden.

Iowa: Sometimes leans Biden, other times it leans Trump, but in general it's a pretty close state. But Trump had a 9% margin of victory in 2016 and I think that is going to be very hard to overcome. Of course Biden has moved the country towards the democrats, but probably not by the ten percent margin it would take to win Iowa. It just has a lot of conservative support, and unless something is drastically off in my analysis, Trump is going to win Iowa by a few percentage points.

Missouri: Like a couple other states already mentioned, it's strange that it isn't automatically safe. RealClearPolitics even considered Missouri a toss up state at one point. Based on the polling data involving this state and how it's voted previously, I think it's going to Republicans by a margin of 6-10%.

Wisconsin: Oh boy. The one state who's polling data was well outside the margin of error in 2016. It was seven percent off. And current polls for the state range from a slight one or two point win for trump to a seventeen point landslide for Biden. It's a bit absurd how hard this state is to predict. But, I think it is landing on the Biden side of the aisle and will vote Democrat by about the same amount as Iowa votes Republican. Biden is more liked there than Hillary Clinton, and that is true for the whole Midwest. Not only that but most Midwestern states including Wisconsin voted more democratic in the 2018 midterms. Less biased polls put Biden at a six percent lead in Wisconsin. Which is roughly the same as Clinton's state. In most states Biden is doing better than Clinton was, but I suppose some really biased towards dems polls came out for Clinton in Wisconsin right before the election as it's the only logical explanation. Several polls also have shown Biden winning in double digits in Wisconsin, hopefully these are the ones that are exaggerating democratic support and not the more average polls. Assuming the more biased polls are the ones that could be seven points off in Republicans favor, Biden wins by a few percent.

Michigan: Without Trafalgar(R) and Rasmussen, Michigan looks as decisive for Biden as South Carolina is for Trump. It's polling average on RCP had Biden nine points up. In a state that just barely went to Trump in 2016. Michigan is almost certainly going to Biden if everyone who prefers Biden actually turns out to vote for him. Many polls show Biden up in double digits there. Trump has personally hurt his reputation in Michigan. Largely due to personally refusing them covid aid while the state run by democrats was handling the pandemic better than any other state according to a covid response study. Which is bound to increase their approval of democrats and decrease it of Trump. His supporters even tried to kidnap the governor to do god knows what to her, and Biden won Michigan in the primaries over Sanders, who beat Clinton there in the 2016 primaries. It's very likely that Biden will see a win in Michigan, and by fairly strong margins assuming all the votes get counted in time. Whether you look at the polls, how they voted in the midterms, the margin at which Trump won in 2016, other factors that could effect the vote, Biden is set to win the state of Michigan. A voting margin of 4-8% is a rather modest prediction all things considered. Even some conservative biased polls have shown Biden winning by a percent or two. Polling groups like Trafalgar(R) voted about two points to the right of the final results in the rust belt states.

Indiana: Not a whole lot to say here. Much like Missouri and Montana, it's closer than it should be and that's a bad sign for Republicans in neighboring swing states.

Ohio: This state has voted 8 points in favor of the Republicans in 2016, and the polls have gone back and forth between the candidates recently. But they are very close. I think Trump will take the state by at least one point though. And no more than five. Going to be as close as Iowa at least, maybe a little closer, but Biden will be hard pressed to flip the state completely.

Virginia: Polling shows Biden possibly leading in double digits and Clinton won fairly decisively here. Even the most narrow recent Virginia polls show Biden eight points ahead. It's barely competitive, luckily for Biden.

North Carolina: Like Arizona, this state is a hard call because of how close it is. I wouldnt be surprised if either won. But Biden does have the overall edge and is more likely to take the state by a close margin.

South Carolina: Usually a solid red state. But this time around, it got fairly close in the polls. Closer than some traditional blue leaning swing states. Still almost definitely going to Trump, but, it did vote in a new Democrat in 2018 and if this momentum keeps up who knows, South Carolina could end up more like Iowa. A red leaning swing state. Probably not tomorrow though. It's going to have a pretty solid margin of victory for Trump.

Georgia: Very similar story as Texas but a little more towards dems. Biden does narrowly lead in the polls, but republican support in this state is historically usually strong and racial voter surpression could unfortunately have an effect by a percent or two. It's certainly possible for Democrats to win here, but it's probably not going to happen this election. Trump will likely have a pretty close lead of two to six percent. Like Texas, it's sort of a "What if dems get a landslide" scenario. It would certainly be closer if there wasn't so much concern about voter surpression and gerrymandered voting districts. I would say Biden has about as much chance of winning in Georgia as Trump does of winning Pennsylvania.

Florida: It is very close in every election. The best and least biased polls put it at a Biden win though. A narrow one, but with strong turnout it's more likely dems take this state. If GOP does take Florida it will be by a hair margin. Less than one percent. But I think it will land on Biden's side of the aisle due to factors such as the Coronavirus mainly effecting the elderly the worst and Florida being an older state, Florida voting more blue in 2018 like several other states, and the only polls showing Trump winning there are the ones with biased weights and faulty methods of polling. Biden is also a favorite in Florida, as they elected him decisively during the primary. And he was on the twice winning Obama/Biden ticket.

Pennsylvania: Like Wisconsin, I estimated a 2-6% margin of victory and this state has been fairly consistently showing a five point lead for Biden in the FiveThirtyEight model. It has overall moved to the left since 2016 and the administration there has been fighting Trump's attempts of rigging its vote count. I think this state is going to Biden, RealClearPolitics thinks this state is going to Biden, FiveThirtyEight thinks this state is going to Biden, but it all relies on Pennsylvanians actually going out and making those poll averages come true. But unlike last time, they actually know Trump can win and won't just assume it's over simply because of the polls. Even Rasmussen, a conservative biased polling group republicans love to tout, shows Biden winning by three percent. It's going to be pretty close though, so it comes down to the turnout.

New Hampshire: You're probably tired of having me say things are going to be close. Well, New Hampshire was close last time but I don't think it will be this time. The polls for this state are quite decisive (11% lead for Biden on average!) and Clinton did win last time in this state although narrowly. Estimating it to be a 5-9% margin of victory for Biden is not unreasonable, even though Biden didn't do well in the New Hampshire primary, he is bound to win this small swing state by a similar margin as Trump will win South Carolina, which is not known to be a swing state.

Maine: Biden is bound to get at least 3/4 of the electoral votes here, but I think it's likely that his campaign has won back enough support here that he can get all four. A recent poll by an A+ rated pollster puts him three points ahead in the remaining district. But I wouldn't be surprised if Trump picks up one district. One electoral point likely won't matter to the overall election though.

National:

Biden has been consistently leading over trump since before the primary voting started. His national lead on trump is the main factor why he won the primary in the first place. Biden will get the popular vote, as the popular vote was barely off in the 2016 polls and this time around Biden consistently has at least double, sometimes TRIPLE, the poll lead Clinton had by the day before the election. The lowest I've seen it was four points ahead of Trump. The highest was ten points ahead. He will most likely get around a seven point lead in the popular vote, which indirectly increases his likelihood of winning the electoral college as well. Even though winning one does not necessarily mean winning the other, it is VERY unlikely that someone could get a seven percent popular vote lead and not win the election. Remember, Clinton had less than a three percent popular vote lead and trump only won key states she was expected to win by a sliver.

Third parties probably won't make a whole lot of difference. In 2016, it was a big year for them although it may not look like it. Lots of people assumed Clinton would win, and it made it easy to justify using one's vote on a third party candidate. Nowadays people can see how close it will be and how it is anyone's game, and some will choose to vote either Trump or Biden instead of their preferred candidate like in 2016. Third party polling is not looking good. And it always tightens up on election day. If any do split the vote enough, it's probably not something that said party not running would help anyway. If you're voting green party still, you're probably not willing to vote for Biden even IF the greens didn't run in your state. And if you're voting Libertarian, you're probably not going to vote for Trump even IF Libertarians didn't run in your state.

In conclusion, I think Biden will win both in terms of having the most actual votes, and in terms of having the most electoral votes which are the real deciding factor. But the election could still be contested by the Supreme Court if it's close enough which it likely could be. And the vote count could be stopped prematurely to erase tens of thousands of dem-majority mail-in ballots.

What constitutes a correct prediction?

I will consider it correct if all of these are true:

1: Biden wins overall

2: I get at least 95% of the state colors correct

3: I get at least 90% of the state margins correct

4: I'm right about Biden's popular vote lead within a margin of a percent in one direction or another.

This prediction also assumes that all of the legitimate votes cast are counted. We may not see the end result until a couple of days after election day. If the election is halted with tens of thousands of mail-in votes unaccounted for, I will consider it inconclusive.

[squidbatts]

your funny mouth to the clouds

Or: Fabian stresses, confesses, and gets some kisses in

((The last couple of Fantasy High episodes have been Buckwild but IN THIS HOUSE we ignore current canon happenings to write about fabian wanting to kiss ragh and then getting to kiss ragh!!! because i crave ragh/fabian content even if i have to Do Everything Myself))

{ao3}

Fabian Aramais Seacaster, son of Bill Seacaster, knows he’s hot; it’s kind of his whole thing, being a charming, roguish pirate, as dangerous as he is dashing. So, obviously, it makes complete sense that he and Gorgug would be Ragh’s dream makeout partners. They’re all hot athletes and they spend a decent amount of time together, he gets it.

It shouldn’t even be a thing.

Except that Fabian can’t stop thinking about it. When Ragh lances a demon through the eye and then turns to grin at Fabian, manic, muscles straining his letterman jacket, he thinks about it; when Fabian’s trying to teach the party literally anything about the sea and Ragh slides in right next to him, body a point of warmth on Fabian’s left side as he points at completely the wrong part of the map, he thinks about it; when Ragh tears off his shirt and leaps into the water with Fabian, throws a glistening and sea-wet arm over Fabian’s bare shoulders, tugs Fabian into his sculpted chest as he laughs-

The point is, Fabian keeps thinking about it.

Which is why he thinks he should be excused for asking Kristen for advice; she is, after all, their “token gay friend"; the rest of his close friends are straight, so she’s really the only one he can ask.

“Kristen,“ Fabian starts one afternoon when it’s just the two of them on the roof, “You know about gay stuff, right?“

Kristen lights up. “I don’t know if you know this-“

“I do, you say it all the time-“

“-but I’m gay!“ Kristen finishes like she doesn’t come out over breakfast every morning. “So yeah, I do.“

“Awesome, great, listen, I have a question. Have you ever- hm.“ Fabian cuts himself off with a hum as he attempts to word it correctly. He decides to try another route. “Do you think Ragh is attracted to me?“

“Oh, for sure,“ Kristen says and, even though he already knew that, Fabian chokes on air in surprise at her surety. “He’s really into the whole ’straight boy jock’ thing and, I’m a lesbian, but even I know that you’re objectively the hottest person in our party. You and Fig are the hot ones.“

“Obviously,“ Fabian replies, kneejerk.

“Yeah, so, duh. Why do you ask?“ Kristen asks, and Fabian-

Fabian falters because, obviously, he wants to get to the bottom of why he can’t just forget about Ragh’s proposition like Gorgug has, but the idea of talking about it, of telling Kristen makes his stomach twist. Something about it makes him feel weird, the same way he feels weird whenever he thinks about Ragh wanting to kiss him.

“He just said something and I-“ Fabian waves a hand dismissively. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter.“

Kristen’s eyebrows furrow and she places a hand on Fabian’s arm, firm but still kind. “If you’re uncomfortable with a gay man simply being attracted to you, you’re the asshole here. But listen, Jawbone has some pamphlets about it and we can totally work this out-“

“I’m not uncomfortable, I just wanted to know if he had said anything to you,“ Fabian says, the words quick and awkward in his mouth. Maybe I am uncomfortable, He considers. Maybe the twisting how of his gut and the heating of his face are merely symptoms of his discomfort. He’s always been fine with Kristen and Tracker, he was fine with Ragh when he told them about Dane, but maybe he just thought he wasn’t homophobic until it directly affected him.

Kristen stares at him silently for a second, tilting her head as her eyebrows raise. “Huh. Never would’ve guessed that.“ She says, then, “Well, actually, I maybe would’ve because you’re like, supernaturally obsessed with your appearance, but stereotyping is bad and all that.“

“What are you talking about?“ Fabian snaps, irritated with her vagueness. He realizes that he should’ve just gone to Adaine for help, she reads books and knows about a great many things, not to mention that it certainly would’ve been less of a tax on his patience than dealing with Kristen at her… Kristen-est.

“I think… I think you should talk to Ragh,“ Kristen says, and then continues on quickly before Fabian can get the horrified Absolutely not out of his mouth. “No, listen, this is really something that would go best if you just, like, talked to Ragh about it, I think. And like, I rolled a seventeen on persuasion, so you kind of have to.”

Fabian, not blessed in wisdom, fails his saving throw and has to admit that Kristen’s point is pretty compelling. Still, “I don’t even know where Ragh is right now.”

Kristen gives him a look that clearly says We all live in the same vanboat, you have to know that he’s less than three minutes away. She leans away from Fabian and, still holding eye contact, yells into the van, "Hey, Ragh, Fabian wants to talk to you!"

"Kristen, no," Fabian hisses. Kristen just grins back at him.

"Kristen, yes!" She says, "You will so thank me for this."

Fabian is still cursing Kristen's name when Ragh climbs up to join them on the roof. He's wearing his normal jeans but has elected to leave his letterman jacket in the van. Probably a good idea, Fabian thinks, eyes involuntarily drawn to the sheen of sweat over Ragh's biceps as Ragh stretches before he sits. It's been hot all day, but Fabian would bet gold that it's gotten hotter in the past five minutes. He certainly feels rather feverish, suddenly.

"What's the problem, bro?" Ragh asks when he settles down. Kristen makes a face at him from behind Ragh's back and mouths Take my advice!!!! When he pretends not to notice and instead stares pointedly at the sea, she huffs loudly.

"Well, I'm going to go back into the van, I'm real tired," She says, obnoxiously obvious. Fabian makes a face back at her when Ragh turns towards her. "I'll, uh,see you guys later. Don't even worry about everyone else, I'll keep 'em down there."

Fabian tries to infuse enough That is absolutely not what I want! and Don't leave us alone! into a single glare to make her stay, but she just winks at him, like she's a bard or something, which of course makes Ragh turns back to Fabian, puzzled.

"What was all that about?"

"It's nothing, really," Fabian says, forcing lightness into his voice as he waves a hand, as though all this awkwardness could be as easily dispelled as Fig's cigarette smoke. "Kristen is just being dramatic."

Ragh frowns, his dark eyes are stormily serious. Fabian's heart skips a beat. "We're bros. And bros don't have to lie about their feelings, right?"

"... Right."

"Dude." Ragh says as he punches Fabian's arm, clearly about to get started on the Jawbone taught me emotional vulnerability and now I think everyone should do it spiel. Fabian's already heard it at least one time apiece from Kristen and Adaine, and he still thinks he's good on the emotions front, thank you very much. Still, his stomach flips even now with nerves, and he thinks of how Kristen thought that talking with Ragh would sort him out. As truly awful as he imagines it will be, he wonders if Kristen has a point, just this once.

"Alright, alright!" He concedes, "I suppose we can talk about my feelings."

"Awesome!" Ragh grins lopsidedly, shifting to sit lotus style, his full attention on Fabian. "Now, what's up?"

A feeling rises in Fabian's chest, like his ribcage is stuck in a vice, and he feels nearly sick with guilt. Here Ragh is, so kindly and sincerely devoting his attention to Fabian, and Fabian's body can't even relax enough to appreciate it.

"I think I owe you an apology," Fabian says, and before Ragh can respond, he rushes on with, "I think I might be homophobic, but I'm going to work on it and be a better friend for you and Kristen, and I'm very sorry."

Ragh's opens and closes his mouth wordlessly a few times, tusks catching on his upper lip. "I- what?"

Fabian sighs huffily and explains, how he's felt weird and off-kilter since Ragh's proposition and Kristen's offered explanation. Ragh listens thoughtfully, brow furrowed and a hand on his chin. He's still frowning as Fabian finishes his tale and Fabian fights the urge to fidget under the scrutiny.

"I don't think you're homophobic, dude," Ragh says, eventually. He sounds like he's choosing his words carefully, like he's walking on eggshells, and Fabian aches to think that he's made Ragh think that he has to do that.

"Of course I am, what else could it be?" Fabian asks, and Ragh screws up half of his face. "See! I made you uncomfortable with my- weirdness. I'm sorry."

"No, no, I'm not uncomfortable, I'm just trying to… Reconcile some things. Sort stuff out in the old noggin." Fabian tries not to look too doubtful but Ragh must've aced his insight check because he sighs and continues, "Listen, this has got to be weird for you too, I mean, obviously it is if you think you're a homophobe, but I think there's a pretty easy way to figure out what your discomfort means."

"And what would that be?" Fabian asks snipily, turning away. He doesn't like apologizing in the first place, much less when the other person won't just accept it.

"Feel free to say no, but I figured you could just try kissing me." Ragh says, and Fabian’s head whips back to him. Ragh lifts up his hands defensively. “Full disclosure, I think you’re super hot so I'm definitely getting something out of this, but if you can't stop thinking about it… It couldn't hurt, could it?"

Ragh shrugs as he lays his offer down and Fabian-

Fabian's heart pounds like he's in the middle of a Bloodrush play as heat pools in his face and his stomach. He hadn't ever considered actually kissing Ragh, but now that it's on the table, something deep within him twists with want.

"One kiss?" Fabian asks, trying to will away his blush, "I wouldn't be… Opposed."

"Uh-uh, none of that. I need a definite yes or no, bro," Ragh says, "I don't want to pressure you into this."

Fabian feels his flush flare hotter and squeezes his eyes shut. The deep buried part of him has rapidly expanded and spread throughout his body, leaving his fingers twitching towards Ragh and his lips tingling with anticipation. He can't imagine saying no, but to say yes also seems almost insurmountable. He opens his eyes, sees how softly Ragh smiles and the patience in his eyes, and it feels like someone's reached into Fabian's chest and twisted. Fabian nods, excessively, embarrassingly, then says, "Yes, yes, I'd like to try it-" before Ragh is upon him like the tide on a beach.

It's different from kissing Aelwyn; there's no bitter taste of alcohol or sticky-sweet lipgloss, no, Ragh's lips are chapped and he tastes of salt from days at sea, but it's still so much. Ragh cups Fabian's head, gentle, but presses his mouth insistently forward, easily leading Fabian through the sweeping movements of a makeout. Fabian's heartbeat still thuds in his ears, but he can also hear Ragh's slow and steady breaths, feel how he nips Fabian's lips and smiles against Fabian's mouth. When it's over, when Ragh pulls back and Fabian embarrassingly chases after him for half a second, Fabian is breathing like he's been near-drowned.

"Still think you're homophobic?" Ragh asks, teeth flashing in the ocean sunlight, lips slick from Fabian. Fabian burns brightly.

"I have," Fabian clears his throat awkwardly. "A few other theories now."

Ragh laughs, full and perfect, throwing his head back. Fabian looks at the vast muscled expanse of his neck, realizes that the twist of his gut just means that he wants to press a kiss to the juncture of Ragh's jawline and neck, and thinks, Huh.

"Well, that was super fun," Ragh says, clapping Fabian on the back, "Always down to help a fellow Owlbear with a sexuality crisis, dude, just let me know if you wanna do that again."

Ragh heads back into the vanboat, whistling cheerfully, and Fabian waits until he's absolutely out of sight to raise a shaking hand to his lips. He feels a smile giddily crawling over his face and he buries his face in his hands rather than risk someone seeing him like that. He wonders, in a corner of his mind that's not fully busy simply rejoicing over getting his kisses in, if having a boyfriend is much different than having a girlfriend.

[rage-against-the-meyer]

New Moon (2006)

Previously, I have done a book review on Twilight from my newly gained perspective after a recent read. I shall proceed with the next book: New Moon. Now, New Moon used to be my most hated book. I resented it. I suffered through the first 200 or so pages just to get to the good part, which in return was exceptionally good (I'll probably come to this). This book was coloured by a very big issue for me: there was no Edward. This opinion has not changed. I still cannot grasp the logic behind removing the one character that compelled readers to love the prequel. It was probably done to give Jacob some attention, but really, it made the book a drag for me. That has changed. While I still hated Edwards absence, I enjoyed the Edwardless pages more than usual, though I don't know exactly why. Anyway, let's get into it!

The book starts of with quite a nice moment: Bella's birthday. I think Bella's resentment of aging is displayed very well throughout the book and logical from a seventeen-year-old's POV. This leads me to voice an opinion I hadn't in the previous review: the book really should have been set in college. It would change the book entirely and I think for the better. Bella would have actual close friends at home, the story doesn't need to focus on the secrecy from family and friends, and most importantly, Bella would be more secure. She would know things, maybe things Edward didn't, she would not be so insecure (still a bit insecure, but I think maturity reduces it) and she would be able to move more freely. College as a setting would resolve some of my issues certainly. It would also solve the whole age-thing. Bella wouldn't have such an extreme obsession with age as age in your 20's barely reflects in your appearance. As a teenager, you change so much every year, but in your twenties it's different. In addition, it would give Bella a much better sense of what she wants out of life. At college, she must have envisioned some sort of career; the whole missing human experiences issue would be less important. But that's just my take on it.

Bella gets cut and more importantly attacked by Edward in an attempt to save her from Jasper. Great moment to show the comment of Edward to Bella by, you know, not killing her on the spot. Also GREAT moment for Carlisle and Bella. I think this moment might actually be a first moment in which she projects him as a father figure.

Right after this whole charade, the drag begins. The silent days by Edward and his ensuing absence. Reading it again after years, it still hurt. On his part, I do understand the logic. The one thing I kind of hated was his removal of everything between them. When he said goodbye to her, he wouldn't expect her to accept his leave so easily, that he couldn't believe that she had just forgotten everything about him. Then, he just assumed that by forming a so-called clean break and removing everything that could remind her of him, she would move on so easily. Like her words didn't exactly stick with him either. While I understand their reasons for everything, it was a very emo-goodbye. His absence was terrible. Like I read it for the first time, I LIVED through the pain. I FELT it.

When the Jacob part started, I was wary at first, but I actually enjoyed it to my surprise. I saw for the first time his soft side. I was bothered by his cold facade, though, through all the other books. I guess I didn't like that he lost his innocence but that was just the story.

I really feel that Bella and Jacob's romance was written expertly. It made sense somehow. Still, I can't believe anyone could be Team Jacob based on the books. However, I was annoyed by the pressure on his side along the series - trying to show that she loved him by assaulting her and guilting her into kissing him. She fought hard to deny herself that part and it was not his to expose it. That should have been her. I guess SM thought it was hot/sexy for a man to force her to face her emotions like this, but I really can't think of it as anything other than assault.

The stupidest part of the Edward-absence was the hallucinations. I believe they represented Bella's unconcious knowledge that he still loved her but to me it was obviously the result of a toxic relationship. And then, she had to do the dumbest shit ever to get the hallucinations. If it was adrenaline related as I really believe it was, she could've just done a few rollercoasters. 'But she only had them when she did something dangerous.' No. She had them when she had an adrenaline rush. All her stupid adrenaline rushes happened to be induces by dangerous ass shit. If you don't like this argument, go away because it is one of many concerning the biological aspects of the horse-shittery later on (scientist here). Anyway, the hallucinations didn't do much for me.

Alice returns. You can actually see in my book where this is - as I've turned to this page a million times. I love Alice as I've previously said and I love her here. I also love that Edward wants to off himself. Not too glad about the whole dependency thing in representation, but in their relationship, it's proof that he's committed. What really gets me though is the humorous outrageous amount of dramatics in his decision to die. It kind of aligns with the Volturi but it's still so dramatic to wait until a certain time. Didn't you want to die the second she died??? Dramatic.

I think that everything about the Volturi should be regarded as creative freedom. They hoarded a group of people in every time they were hungry and no one of their relatives started a blog with 'Disappearings in Volterra, Italy'?? Dumb. They were collective even more dramatic than Edward but then, creative freedom.

The most compelling scene was definitely the scene where Bella though she was dreaming. I'm probably not the only one that cried when I read that the first time (and the times thereafter). I have a big issue with their getting together. Yes, they understood both sides of the story and yes, they had both been miserable apart. However, I don't believe that their instinctual feelings also disappeared with their resolve. You can't convince that if Edward said good morning a little bit off one morning, Bella's mind wouldn't instantly think he was going to leave her again. And then, the PAIN of Bella, the shell she was after him, that should have been harder to shake as well. Her body must occassionally involuntarily just recoil when she sees him. Again, I understand but poor representation of pain, SM.

Speaking of representation, the racism is way more obvious in this book than in Twilight. While I loved the wolves, SM exploited the Quileute Tribe. As in my previous post, I have included links to get both informed about and to donate to the Tribe's council. A bit less obvious may be the position of Jacob, POC against Edward, white male. Jacob is regarded as a love interest, sure, but his appearance, his being, is close to nothing compared to Edward. It might be the story, but in combination with all other small and big acts of racism by SM, it seems racist.

Another major issue I didn't address in my previous post is the complete absence of LGBTQ-characters. I myself am not part of that community, but the lack of representation, especially in a book with such a young and formable target audience, is extremely wrong. I am of Molukkian heritage and I know what it is like to not be represented. It alters or limits, whichever way you see it, your self worth. All of Bella's insecurities SM wrote were superficial: Bella wasn't pretty enough (in her mind) for him. I don't want to disvalue those insecurities, we all have them after all, but lack of representation can give anyone of a minority the sense of not belonging and not worthy of happiness. To all minorities, I see you and you are of worth! You deserve better than to be ignored and limited in media and politics. It pains me to see discrimination is still so prominent in society and I stand with you.

With that note, I want to conclude my review. There is really nothing more important than that. Please inform yourself on the Quileute Tribe and donate to their council through the following links:

The Quileute Tribe

Information:

Donation:

TLDR: New Moon is okay but shows, again, a toxic relationship and obvious discrimination. Please inform yourself on the way SM exploited the Quileute Tribe and donate to their council through the link above.

[lickstynine]

Can you talk a little about Kazu's background? I'm curuous about him.

Alrighty, I am down for this! This is gonna be super long, and chock-full of triggers, so the faint of heart should probably cop out now!

TW: alcohol, child abuse, death, drug abuse, fire, homophobia, mental illness, rape/noncon, underage sex, violence

Kazu’s mom was a cheating whore. He was conceived during a one-night stand while his mom’s husband was out of town. This wouldn’t have been a noticeable issue, except his dad was Russian, not Japanese, and so he came out super tall with blue eyes. So of course husband realized Kazu wasn’t his kid, and hated him for it. Mom hated him, too, but for different reasons. She was just a selfish bitch that never wanted kids. They were negligent of him at best, and abusive at worst. Now, something very important to note here is that Kazu is super smart. He was very mentally advanced for his age as a child (and physically advanced - boi was huuuuge), and when he was four, he got sick of being treated like shit, and set their house on fire in the middle of the night.

With his mom and her husband dead, Kazu wound up in an orphanage. He was the definition of a problem child. He broke shit, he lit things on fire, he got into fights, and he never went to school. By age 8, he was getting in trouble for drawing dirty pictures of the other boys at the orphanage. Around this same time, he started getting bullied for being gay. Like, bullied bad. So he gradually learned how to fight, after getting the shit beaten out of him many a time. He and the rest of the boys were basically at war though the rest of his time at the orphanage. I should mention, they never ever got him to go to school. That just didn’t happen. The people running the orphanage gave the fuck up.

Okay, so at about age twelve, Kazu got into a really bad fight. Like, by now he’s about the size of your average Japanese adult, and he fucked up the other kid. He realized he was old enough that he’d probably face serious consequences, so he just said fuck it and ran away to live on the streets. He spent the next few months picking pockets for money to buy food, before realizing he could do better. He started saving up money he stole, and used it to buy a fake ID (I know 12 seems young for that to be effective, but keep in mind he’s like at least 5’6” and looks about five to ten years older than he is). Now he could get into nightclubs, and he executed his master plan: find a guy, go home with him, sleep with him, raid his wallet, raid his fridge, use his shower, and leave.

This brilliant technique worked for him for about six months, until one very bad night. It was late June, like a Wednesday night at two in the morning, so there was nobody in the bar cause it was fucking closing time on a Wednesday. The few guys in there he’d struck out with, and he was about to give up and go sleep on a park bench. He really didn’t want to though, because a bad storm was starting to roll in. As he was about to call it, this 30-ish woman approached him. She was like “You ever slept with a girl?” and he was like “No but I’d rather try it than sleep in the rain.”

They go back to her place, and things start getting hot and heavy. Before they can actually do shit, he chickens out, like ‘Nope. Can’t do this. Strictly into dick. Sorry.’ Luckily, she was like “That’s fine, I get it, just crash on the couch. I won’t kick you out at three am in the rain.” Now, this should have been the happy ending, but Kazu, what with his unchecked BPD and current drunken state, had a better idea. He realized he could still steal her wallet, so that’s what he tried to do. Exceeept… unlike men, women keep their wallets in their purses. So now he’s in her room, desperately digging through a purse full of shit while trying not to wake her up. After a few painfully long minutes, he finds it and turns to leave. And she’s right behind him.

Kazu ofc immediately panics. “I’m so sorry! Here, have your money back! Take everything I have, just please don’t call the cops!”

She shakes her head. “Oh, honey, I’m not calling the cops. In fact, you can have the money. But you have to earn it.” At this point, he tries to make a break for it, but she grabs him and they end up fighting. He gets slammed facefirst into the nightstand, leaving a huge gash that later became that scar down his face. She managed to get control over him, cause even though he had some fighting experience, he was still a drunk scrawny preteen.

So uh, we’re gonna fast forward a bit here, but I’m guessing you all know exactly what happened next. Three days later, Kazu was dumped onto the street, miserable and sore and fucking traumatized. If it were up to him, he would’ve just laid around doing nothing until he wasted away, but by now, the local bums were pretty familiar with him. They brought him food and water when they could, and generally just made sure he didn’t drop dead. After a few weeks of just sitting around praying for death, he went back to frequenting bars, mostly in hopes of drinking away the memories of what had happened. It didn’t work entirely, but it helped, and he slowly slid back into his former routine.

However, after a while, the alcohol just wasn’t bringing him enough solace anymore. So what does he go for? Heroin. Fantastic idea, right? Well, funny enough, keeping up a hard drug habit takes a decent amount of money, so he finds himself a ‘real’ job. He starts working as muscle-for-hire, working his way up the ladder of the underworld until he was the best hitman in the city. He was about sixteen or seventeen at that point, and he basically just stuck with that job for a few years.

Age 19. Kazu was just wandering around the shitty parts of town at midnight, as homeless junkie hitmen do, when he comes across a group of thugs about to beat up what looks like a fucking child. Deciding that he didn’t really approve of the odds here, and knowing how much he loved kicking ass, Kazu interfered. He kicked the shit out of a couple of the guys, which scared the rest off. Now, the kid that was about to get beat up? Actually a 21-year-old Minato.

Grateful for being rescued, and being Minato, smol one invites Kazu back to the little bakery he owns, and gives him cookies as thanks. He tells Kazu to come back anytime, that he was always welcome. Kazu, of course, had no intention of actually doing so, but a few days later, a mob boss he had really pissed off caught up with him and had him beaten fucking senseless. Clearly in need of help but semi in denial about it, the very beat up Kazu made his way back to the bakery, claiming he just needed a snack and some water. Minato, of course was like “Are you fucking kidding you’re bleeding in nine places come upstairs I’m taking care of you.” Kazu reluctantly agreed, and Min ended up nursing him back to health.

Once he was feeling better, Kazu ran off again, but he kept periodically dropping by the bakery to say hi, steal food, hang out. After a couple months, he finally got the balls to ask Min on a date, and they ended up going out. It was never really casual, they fell for each other hard and fast. Minato was and still is the only person Kazu has ever truly cared about, and Min believes Kazu is his soulmate. They stuck by each other through all sorts of bullshit, from the bakery almost going under, to Kazu getting clean (from heroin, at least. He’s still an awful drunk.) They were dating for about two years before Kazu proposed, and obviously, they got married. About two years into their marriage, they ended up moving into a real house and adopting Takao (more on that here: https://lickstynine.tumblr.com/post/164083978393/whats-the-story-behind-kazu-and-minato-adopting). Their sixth anniversary was April 22nd of this year.

So yeah, that’s the story of Kazu. Hope you enjoyed!