#more or less. if as i write an option sticks out as the best choice i'll probably settle on them. but so far that hasn't happened so

[wayslidecool]

arabic numerals ranked from worst to best by their potential as the lens in new year's glasses

#10: Seven (7)

seven is a very awkward number for a lot of things, and new year's glasses are no exception. its weird angular shape leaves no opening to put a lens in, and unlike the next entry, it's too wide to comfortably squeeze between lens in the second and fourth digits. and the impressive thing about 7 is that this is a number with plenty of writing variations, and yet i can't think of a single one that makes it an efficient lens! sorry 7. i think you're the best number for a rating scale, but that's about it.

#9: One (1)

the 2010s were a rough time for new year's glasses, huh? coming off the high of the 1990s and 2000s, people were determined to make the 2010s work, but that's a tall fucking order. the saving grace of 1, and the reason it's above 7, is that it's skinny enough that you can slide it between numbers and use the fourth digit of the year as the lens, but the fact you have to resort to that is only further evidence of how much 1 sucks at being the lens.

#8: Two (2)

two is definitely a tier above the previous two entries. it's an interesting and versatile enough shape that you can mess with it to try and make a viable spot for a lens, what with the upper loop and lower angle, but i feel no matter what you try, you always gotta make some concessions. like, you have enough to work with that a talented enough designer can make something that works, but usually the result is more "functional" than "good".

#7: Four (4)

now we're getting into numbers that could actually make for passable lenses. i mean, check it out! we have a closed loop here and everything, that has GOT to count for something! what makes me put four relatively low on the list is that with its right-triangle shape, i can't imagine it being a very comfortable shape for a lens, especially with how much ends up sticking out and downwards. still, a vast improvement over the previous three entries, even if it's basically just a worse 9.

#6: Five (5)

i feel like depending on what you prioritize in new year's glasses, these next two entries could end up going below the previous one, but personally, i think the not-closed round loop feels like a more practical spot for a lens than 4's closed-but-angular loop, y'know? so what if the loop isn't closed, it still mostly surrounds your eye, and feels generally passable to me. this is a number that wouldn't inspire the idea for new year's glasses, but certainly works now that the idea has been established.

#5: Three (3)

three is basically the same thing as 5, and i could even see some people putting it below 5, since 5's loop is a bit closer to being closed than either of 3's loops. that being said, 3's dual-loop is ultimately what gives it the edge to me. it ends up feeling more versatile to me. i feel the bottom loop is generally the correct choice, but just having the option of the top loop as well really helps it out. either way, after suffering through the 2010s and 2020s, i expect the 2030s to be a welcome breath of fresh air.

#4: Nine (9)

now we're getting to the really good ones. i mean, the 1990s are when the trend of new year's glasses started! if this number was good enough to kickstart the trend, then clearly it's a good number to put the lens in. having a closed round loop really goes a long way, it turns out! what puts 9 below the next three entries is the tail. having that swoop down towards your face feels like it'd be a bit uncomfortable, and this issue doesn't crop up with the next three entries. still, 9 is a trailblazer and its place in the New Year's Glasses Metagame needs to be respected.

#3: Six (6)

if 9's only issue is the tail getting all up in your face, then what better way to solve that then just turning it upside-down? it might just be me, put having it brush up against your forehead feels much, much less intrusive than having it brush up against your face. and plus, it can give the impression of a raised eyebrow! bonus! the 2030s-2050s are going to be a refreshing breath of fresh air following the awful new year's glasses of the 2010s and 2020s, but the 2060s are going to be a true new year's glasses renaissance.

#2: Eight (8)

hey, so remember how i put 3 above 5 since i felt the double loop made it a bit more versatile? well now imagine that, but both loops are closed. 8 makes for such a good lens, it's a little surprising we didn't see new year's glasses in the 1980s (i'm guessing having two of the same number is more inspiring than two different numbers?) either way, eight isn't content to give you just one closed loop. it'll give you a second closed loop right above. (or below!) 8 is a versatile number with many options, and i hope i can live to see the day we see it in new year's glasses. a true stand out in its field.

#1: Zero (0)

still, even with all the good years ahead, it's hard to ignore the fact that the best years are sadly behind us, with the 2000s being the absolute pinnacle of new year's glasses design. i mean, come on. a single loop with no frills is basically what glasses designs default to already, so using the middle two zeroes as the lens for glasses? impeccable design. the 1990s were good enough to kickstart the trend, but the 2000s were good enough to make us want to brute force the 2010s and 2020s. if that's not the mark of a good design, i don't know what is.

sadly, it's likely we'll never see design this good again. the next year with the middle two digits being two zeroes is 3000, and while we might be able to execute double-zero designs at the turn of each century, they'll end up looking weirdly lopsided in the process. i believe humans are hubristic enough to try and brute-force bad decades, but multiple bad centuries? forget about it.

oh well. happy new year

[legoprime]

Honestly the thing that draws me in the most about Dragon Age (and the reason it's stayed with me all these years while no other game has) is the custom worldstate. Yes I love the setting and the lore and the characters but the custom worldstate, the ability to see the footprints of my previous characters in each game, THAT is my hyperfixation above all else.

Part of it is making my own little guy and then seeing the repercussions of their actions later down the line, but part of it is also taking the canon info Bioware gives me about them and figuring out how it makes sense.

Like, why did my Warden leave Morrigan and his son to look for a cure for the Calling? Why would my Hawke come to Skyhold? And now, why did my Inquisitor pick Varric to lead this venture against Solas?

(In The Missing vol 1, Charter tells Varric "there's no one I or the Inquisitor trusts more" to do this)

Varric and my Inquisitor were friends, but not like, best friends. He's not the choice I would make if I were writing this, but he's the choice that was made, so why?

Why not Sera, who was a much closer friend? She a) already has a group of people who are are practiced at fucking shit up, and b) is someone Solas struggled to understand, which would make her less predictable. She would also be less likely to have a chat with an old friend and more likely to just stick him full of arrows though, so if we're trying to be friendly then that disqualifies her.

Why not Dorian, who's already in Minrathous (and who I absolutely thought was going to be the one putting this together)? I guess maybe he's busy doing something else, or maybe Magister Pavus is too well known to go slinking around in bars.

Why not the Iron Bull, my Inquisitor's actual partner who was literally a spy in the past? He met Solas at his level, he's smart and understands people, and he also already has his own group who are good at fucking shit up. I guess it's probably hard to go unnoticed in Tevinter as a giant Tal-Vashoth though.

What about all of Leliana's agents? Is Charter the only one left after all these years? What about Sutherland's group? What about what about what about?

How many options did they go through to get to Varric as their best option? How many failures were there over the last nine years before someone picked up Tale of the Champion and went "hey you know what, Varric's the one who found Hawke, maybe he can find someone else for us again"?

Obviously I know the gameplay reasons why he was chosen. The fun part is figuring out the in character reasons for it.

[veliseraptor]

AU scenario: xue yang survives getting disarmed (hah) by lan wangji after the yi city arc! what happens next 👀

i have actually written two versions of this one! one in novelverse where Su She manages to sweep Xue Yang away (my god, I keep mentioning this one lately, but nurture the tiger) and one in cqlverse where Song Lan makes the deliberately contrary choice to leave Xue Yang alive (Walking Far From Home)

this is a rough one though!! because I want things to end better for Xue Yang but they don't look great for him at this point in time unless somehow you bring Xiao Xingchen back to life. though okay let's see what I've got here. going with novelverse for this one and at least starting with the nurture the tiger premise

so Su She manages to bring a half-dead Xue Yang away from Yi City, half-dead and an absolute wreck having lost his last ditch hope of getting Xiao Xingchen back. somehow (Xue Yang's nearly inhuman endurance) he manages to stick him back together

(since Jin Guangyao is busy, probably this is just a Su She effort; they need all the allies they can get with the way things are going, he thinks, even if this particular ally is not going to be very useful, but still. maybe Su She's a little attached, though I don't think he'd be very inclined to admit it. Xue Yang grows on you. like a fungus.)

howmever, he's got other things to do, so he does have to leave Xue Yang on his own once he's (more or less, barely) stable. and then everything goes to shit, leaving Xue Yang entirely on his own because everyone else is dead.

this becomes clear to Xue Yang (that nobody's coming back for him, anyway, though he may or may not realize that's because they're dead and just assume he's been given up for lost and not worth killing personally. dick) and he reaches out to the only option he has left, which is to say his fierce corpse masterpiece (with whom he still has at least a distant connection, as his former master, even without the nails he can at least try to summon him), figuring that at least he can die with...if not grace then a little faster than of infection, and hey, Song Lan was kind of sort of his fierce corpse best friend for a while there

anyway, Song Lan (who has nothing better to do except be miserable right now) shows up, decides to leave Xue Yang alive because he's too pathetic to kill at this point and also because Song Lan doesn't have any other (living) friends and is incredibly lonely and at least here's the only other person who understands the grief he's feeling, even if that's the last thing that Song Lan wants to admit

eventually once Xue Yang is better (ish) they leave and go off journeying together in the weirdest most miserable duo road trip ever. Song Lan is continually like "good night, I may kill you tomorrow" to which Xue Yang is like "okay, that's chill" but it gets almost comfortable

shared grief bonding!!! Song Lan is just waiting for Xiao Xingchen to heal while trying to maintain the work that they (would have done) were doing together before everything fell apart. Xue Yang is like "saving people is boring but not like I have anything better to do at this point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

I have no idea where this goes. but I like the idea of it just kind of continuing until eventually Xue Yang does die and it's bittersweet in the end and it's kind of like. everyone's dead now. including Song Lan. he's just ambulatory about it.

anyway this whole thing would be really fucking angsty and all about grief and mourning and I'd probably cry writing 90% of it

[alchemie-tarot]

Pick A Sunset: What Does The Universe Want You To Learn and How Can You Move Towards It?

Note: Happy bow and arrow season! 🏹  It’s time to let that inner Archer take his aim and make his mark. Sagittarius wants to set you free and have some fun. Most of all, he wants you to gain a deeper understanding of yourself.

Feel free to choose the pile/s you feel called to. Some details may not resonate with you since this is a general reading. As always, nothing is set in stone, so please don’t take it too seriously. I hope these will be able to give you some enlightenment. ✨

(Extra: I took these pictures for one of my Photography classes when I was in college.)

Pile 1

Cards: Knight of Wands, 7 of Swords, King of Swords, The Hanged Man

You need a proper strategy to get things done. You know you want that success. Your success– however you define it, whatever path you have chosen. The universe wants you to harness that fiery passion inside of you, like the Knight of Wands does to his red steed. To charge up your determination so that you can go full speed ahead.

I see that some of you are tempted to take an easy way out and ditch making a master plan altogether. Playing on the safe side with a “no plan is the best plan” kind of mindset. For others, you may have convinced yourself to turn away from what’s calling you. You may not believe that you deserve to pursue this, or you may fear the demanding nature of truly fulfilling your dreams.

The universe points out that this is a matter of the mind. You need to look at things objectively in order to make something concrete of this mixed bag of possibilities and doubts. Let go of unnecessary expectations. Don’t be afraid to sit with the uncertainties and explore them deeper. There is a truth about yourself you will independently come to know. Your intellect is on your side and will help you stick to the facts. 

I feel like sitting still can feel like a sacrifice for some of you, so take it as it resonates. I see that it may help to write things down, or to talk to yourself in a firm but fair way. It’s okay to take your time and wait for a bit. You will arrive at a decision that will have taken a lot of careful thought. Fun and adventure await you on the other side.

===

Pile 2

Cards: The Star, 8 of Cups, Queen of Wands, The Fool

“You’re on Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift played in my head. I know it’s not a popular choice from Midnights, but I can totally see parallels from the song and from this pile (I’m a Swiftie so I’m all about it). Basically, it’s the cycle of having high hopes for something, seeing it turn out not quite what you expected, and learning lessons from it that no one can take away from you. Situations change and level up in some way as we grow older, but the cycle continues. “Everything you lose is a step you take.” 

You may currently be in a big transition or are about to embark on one. The universe prompts you to let the optimism of The Star card be your guide. You may have been disillusioned by familiarity and think of stepping out of your comfort zone. Something new and healing awaits you when you decide to walk away for good, and towards the longer term.

I also felt the message “less is more.” The forgotten 8 of Cups tell me you may have explored a number of options that weren’t fulfilling, but are about to find that fulfilment in The Star’s overflowing jugs. Quality over quantity.

Looking at the cards in the order I laid them out, you can see that the colour yellow increases. A beautiful journey of attracting what you want by simply believing that you will get it. Easier said than done, I know, especially when you feel like you’re going nowhere. Blind faith is a theme in your reading so things will still unfold even if you feel that way, don’t worry.

The universe urges you to know what you want, to be bold and to own it. New connections are on their way to you, but you must be sure that they align with you. This is a wake-up call not to settle. When I shuffle my cards I usually wait for them to flip or fall out of the deck, but this time the deck seemed sticky and I had to choose which ones wanted to jump out. Being confident can be a conscious choice.

At the end of the reading you have The Fool, the ultimate card for beginnings and a reminder of your excellent potential. You got this. You’re surrounded by encouraging energy; I feel like it’s your inner child, for most of you. They will help you keep your baggage light and greet whatever lies ahead with a smile.

===

Pile 3

Cards: 3 of Pentacles, Ace of Cups, 7 of Swords Rx, 2 of Wands

My hardworking pile. First of all, I see that you’re not giving yourself enough credit for whatever it is that you’ve been working on. In fact, you should be proud of yourself and celebrate those successes, no matter how “small” and unconventional they are. Seriously, even the slightest changes. There’s always movement in the universe, but it’s not always visible. If you have doubts about it, it may help if you look back at where you started. You’ll be surprised by all the progress you’ve made!

A lot of you seem like the ‘lone wolf’ type when it comes to the grind. Being independent is admirable, but the universe nudges you to come out of your shell a bit. New collaborations are around the corner, offering not just to fill your schedule with productive and meaningful work, but to also fill your cup of emotions as well. These new connections will open your heart and feel like a balm to your soul. For others who have been thinking about something on the creative side, this is definitely a sign to cultivate it.

You’re on your way to become a master of your craft, but you need to reevaluate your approach. You need to drop your pretenses about this. You may want to avoid any kind of interference, or feel overwhelmed at the thought of another in your space. It doesn’t have to happen all at once; you can start with a simple partnership (as signified by 2 of Wands) and grow your network bit by bit, one step at a time.

Things are about to come together. You’re carving your own route and you will soon be at a crossroads. Don’t be afraid to expand. Each element of the suits are present in the cards, balancing your energy. You are more than ready. 

===

Pile 4

Cards: 5 of Pentacles, 5 of Swords Rx, King of Swords, Judgment

You’ve been through it, Pile 4. I can sense that you’ve been carrying some form of struggle for a while that made you feel alone and made it hard for you to see much else. I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you can take it easy on yourself real soon.

Fives often carry a heavy and unstable energy to them. More than that, it is a temporary energy because Fives are all about change. The universe means to say that you can’t win all the time because you don’t have to. The universe assures you, this is not your be-all and end-all. You’re entitled to process this grief, to take your time to come to terms with it, but at some point, when there’s not much left to do anymore, you must cut your losses and learn to see beyond it. I’m getting a strong feeling of lack from a lot of you. This struggle is behind you now.

I don’t find it easy to impart tough-love kind of advice because I believe each struggle is unique to the person and that there can be movements related to that I’m not meant to see nor understand. The universe sends a firm message for you to evaluate yourself in order to release those feelings of doom and gloom. You must tackle the truths about yourself that hurt. Do so by sticking to the facts and not sticking them to your identity. Where you’ve been and what you’ve been through is not who you are. These can affect your emotions strongly so do your best to be fair to yourself.

This period of awakening will present different paths forward for each one of you. What they all have in common is strong renewal and clarity. Take care of your health, please, and try not to isolate yourself. Surround yourself with your trusted friends and loved ones. It will all come to an end soon. There is always more after.

===

Pile 5

Cards: 6 of Pentacles, 2 of Wands, 7 of Pentacles, The Chariot Rx

It seems that this reading is all about balance. I was a little confused at first looking at the cards at face value because the card that followed the previous one kept contradicting it, for me. You seem to be faced with a series of choices in a certain area of your life. Knowing when to give and when to take. The universe advises that instead of one or the other, it’s both, and how they can apply and fulfil their purpose in a situation.

You must focus in order to determine which works for you at a given time. Do the necessary research and pay attention to details. In fact, a strategic move could end up multiplying rewards in your favour. Approach it decisively, but do not rush into it. Lay some boundaries if it can help you take things step by step. 

The 7 of Pentacles and The Chariot in reverse tells me to remember to stop and smell the roses from time to time. Observe. Relax. Doing things in one go is convenient and efficient in theory but is not sustainable in the long run. If you lose a streak, know that it’s okay, things can’t always be in your control. Losing that desire will help you breathe easier.

You have a pair of sevens in the latter half of the reading because the Chariot is number seven in the Major Arcana cards. 77. Luck is on your side. Trust yourself.

===

Pile 6

Cards: Ace of Swords, The High Priestess Rx, 7 of Pentacles, Ace of Cups

Have you had a breakthrough lately? Congratulations! New ideas and ventures should be celebrated, but in your case, you’re encouraged to do so in privacy. Don’t reveal information about your plans just yet. I don’t really sense anything harmful that can compromise them, just that you must let them take root first without external influences.

Keep your secrets safe; it can help you stay centered. I know it can be exciting and tempting to share your good news to the world. There will be a time for that. For now, give these emotions the freedom to be in solitude. I see that others are cultivating their inner voice. That’s great! Just make sure they’re always aligned with your best interests. 

Your creative energy is building up. Foster this connection between yourself and your chosen craft. It will make you so happy, you have no idea. Learning to channel your emotions into your creations will make a stable foundation out of these new beginnings. 

Things have just begun and they will only get better from here. Just remember to protect your beautiful and important inner world and let it expand on its own for the meantime. You will know when it’s time to lift the curtain along the way.

===

That would be all! Thank you for taking the time to interact with this reading. Feel free to let me know how you found it, if it resonated or not, etc. You’re more than welcome to send me feedback or details about it. 

Stay safe and have a cosmic week ahead! 🌇

[ramonag-if]

I absolutely love CoE, and when I saw the potential following book I literally screamed in joy!!

I've been wanting to ask if, in the first book , we will be able to build a sort of character that gets us some interesting relationship dynamics with the ROs.

For example, my MC is the type to be cold and tactical with a mix of intimidation (thanks to not only their divinity but also the character themself) and confidence through their cunning mind. However, they have difficulties with letting people in / allowing themselves to open up to people, mostly because they fear the connection they create with people will end up hurting both them and their loved ones, just like they have been hurt and taken away before. They're also the type of character to be hurt but not let themselves show it. Instead, they bottle it up like every other time and just let it all eat away at him, making him feel hollow and hopeless, to the point where they believe that they have no worth for anybody.

However, they still care about the people around them and stick by their side. When someone shows goodness to them, they're loyal and always put themselves before others to protect the people they care about, not only because of their personal morals, but because they have given themselves a duty, a purpose to continue not only living, but thriving to protect and provide for the people they deeply care about, even if they don't show it through words or physical signs and expressions.

And that's where Irus fs it up. Because not only does the MC feel the need to fulfill their father's duty and avenge their death no matter WHAT, but they also have to deal with the fact that the more time they spend with the exiled prince, the less they remember to keep their walls up. And by the time they have a dancing sesh with Irus, oh how absolutely they realize their love for the sweet dork.

Of course, this is a big depressive NO NO for them.

*And so it begins. A dance which the Sun invites in the Earth. A dance that invites in the eternal steps between radiant passion and formidable willpower. Only for that formidable willpower to be distant. A gap between the steps they take, created by the Earth, as it threatens itself to become ice cold as it was once before the Sun, until all that's left are remnants of what thrived between them.*

.

.

.

Life

(Halfway through this, I realized I could've just written this on the notes app, but laziness came over me, and I just decided to write whatever I could formulate)

(Also, I'm not sure yet if I want to make my MC a cis or trans male, that's why I'm using they/them Pronouns for the MC for now, since i used ElenaA's Windswept Oc Maker to make MC, whose features came out more on the feminine side in the end)

You can certainly headcanon a complicated character. Unfortunately, I don't track personality stats because I want players to respond however they feel suits them best in the moment. This means I only track specific decisions of previous choices so the ROs and other characters will comment on those decisions, but not on whether the MC was cold and aloof but is now warm and open with them.

Of course, you can choose stoic responses early on but then choose more open and warmer responses later on. I will be going back to add more flirt options like a friendly flirt option and a more stoic/aloof flirt option but that will come during edits because it's easier to do a shy/bold flirt option for now.

I like to think that there has been a gradual progression of the MC's character development from Chapter One to Chapter Eight, so it's something that you can imagine for yourself 😊

[jadeandroses]

I’m writing this out for a mutual. @peaches2217, ignore the anons. I got you.

You’re gonna be hungry at the end of this. This is a pretty simple and filling recipe, and it always helps when I’m feeling bad. Short of driving over and making it for you myself, this is the best I can do. So without further ado…

Fideo For A Bad Day:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 box of vermicelli noodles. (Acceptable substitutes include: tiny shells, tiny elbow noodles, estrellitas (tiny stars), pastina, and alphabet noodles. I don’t care, as long as it’s small. I favor estrellitas.)

A neutral oil of your choice. I usually use vegetable

1/2 onion, diced (a teaspoon of onion powder is also acceptable, just use your best judgement)

8 cups of water or chicken broth

An 8 oz can of tomato sauce

A tsp of chicken bullion (or to taste. Skip this if you used chicken broth)

1 tsp of salt (or to taste)

1 tsp of chili powder

1 tsp cumin

Cilantro (optional)

Mexican blend cheese (also optional)

A protein of your choice (also optional. Rotisserie chicken is the easiest. If you have ground beef or turkey you feel like cooking, that works wonderfully. Just add some salt, pepper, and onion or onion powder to it, for seasoning.)

Cooking:

Get a pot. A BIG one. Big enough to hold at least 8 cups of liquid. (It’s more than you think it is.) Acquire a lid for the pot as well.

Coat the bottom of your pot in a neutral oil and put it on medium heat. Once it gets hot, dump your noodles in. Toast your noodles by stirring continuously until, ideally, they’re all golden brown. But this is a difficult step, so as long as they’re mostly a little toasty, you’re fine. (If they burn a bit, that’s fine too; Mama always said it adds flavor.)

Once the noodles are toasty, add your onions. Cook until softened. (Skip this step if you’re using onion powder.) (The water from the onions stops the noodles from toasting, Dad claims. So don’t add them until the noodles are to your desired toastiness.)

Once they’re soft, add your liquid. Mama always microwaves her water before dumping it in, just because having it hot speeds up the cooking time, but that’s not required. Just pour it in. Don’t stir yet.

Turn up the heat to a rolling boil.

Before you stir anything, add half the can of tomato sauce and all your spices. Now you may stir.

Taste. I don’t generally care for tomato, so I like my fideo to taste more like chicken bullion, so I usually add about a teaspoon or two more. However, the tomato adds richness to the soup, so I also usually add a little more of that too. Add these, as well as more salt, if your heart so desires.

(Edit: do be careful with the salt if you’re using normal sodium chicken broth. I usually use low sodium.)

By now your soup should be boiling. Turn it down to a simmer. If you like broth (I do), simmer for about 10-15 minutes. If you don’t, leave it cooking for a little longer with the lid off.

Meanwhile, stir occasionally—otherwise it WILL stick to the bottom of the pot. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Serve hot. Optionally, garnish with cilantro, protein of your choice, and cheese. (I LOVE adding cheese, it gets all melty and gooey when it’s fresh out of the pot like this. However, it’s optional: my severely milk allergic brother likes this recipe, too.)

Other optional additives we’ve tried include potato (add with the water), peas and carrots, and corn (unless frozen, add at the end).

And voila! Bad mood cured! This serves my family of four big eaters, and it makes a fair amount of leftovers for crappy days to come. (I’d give you lower proportions, but, uh, I’ve never tried to make less than that.)

Love you!!!

[emerald9d]

An Undertale/Deltarune Theory Complaint:

Alright I wanna bitch about UT/DR fan interpretations again. Basically, I feel like the idea that Kris is being puppeteered by the player (and that they're aware of this to any degree), which I was already not a huge fan of, is now getting retroactively applied to the protagonist of Undertale.

That sucks guys. That sucks so fucking hard. And not only does it suck, but it actually helps illustrate just why it would suck in DR too:

It retroactively fucks up the tone of the entire game!

(This is much more just a rant I've been sitting on recently, as compared to some big detailed writeup. Also, y'know, spoiler warning for both games. Screen shots from LongplayArchive on YouTube)

Like

where's the part in the where Sans is like "but the mere act of playing this game is bad so fuck you for that?" Where is any thematic implication of that being an important element anywhere, outside of genocide route, and maybe overtly deadly choices in general? Where's the finger-waggle? Where is it??

Certainly if it was anywhere it'd be in the place where this line gets spoken and you are then morally judged for your actions. Right?

This isn't the sort of thing you have to read deeply between the lines on. Yes, a lot of the game is reliant upon the player's faulty initial assumption that the name they chose in the start is the character you're playing as.

It's a cool twist for sure. And this particular moment really hammers home that, yes, Frisk is their own person. But it comes across less as some kind of "gotcha" admonishment and more just, like, the clear logical conclusion of the twist that's already been pretty much spelled out at this point anyway. That the name you chose was for somebody else entirely.

Hell, after this revelation happens, you're then given more time to walk around as Frisk and talk to people. If at this point you're supposed to be thinking that controlling Frisk is an inherently unsavory thing at all times, wouldn't that be an inherently bad segment? Wouldn't the only correct choice be to rush out the door towards the credits as fast as possible?

Under that understanding, the only moral choice outside of not playing at all is a non-violent speed run.

Maybe I'm not understanding popular fan theories correctly and am vastly overestimating how many people actually think this whole "player puppeteering" thing retroactively applies to Frisk too. But the mere thought of it really gets my panties in a twist I won't lie.

Also,

At this point, you know full well that Frisk is their own person. Yet, here you are, dealing with one last choice prompt. How can there be anything morally questionable about this? Hell, even acting with the knowledge that Frisk is their own person and doing your best to pick what you think they'd want... it gets you nowhere. Which answer is correct? The first? The Second? Neither? Both?

I don't think you're supposed to dwell on that. If anything it just further hammers home how Frisk has shit going on you're probably not even aware of. I think that normally, the player and the player character are kinda indistinguishable, especially in-universe. It's not until you start doing logically absurd violent shit that the game bends over backwards to make the player feel like a fucked up asshole, as opposed to Frisk. To the point where the spiritual embodiment of numbers going up for their own sake pops out and calls you a psycho just like them.

LIke, this aspect of the writing isn't subtle? I really don't see room for any other interpretation. If you have to imagine the player as some distinct aspect of the game world even during a peaceful playthrough, then I'd stick with my interpretation from my Kris writeup (linked at the beginning of this) where you're, like, some part of their subconscious that helps them decide shit. Or a headmate that they probably aren't aware of, if the player has to be something resembling a distinct person.

Oh, also: if both options in that final choice prompt are equally valid, then that really bolsters my idea that the choices given to you are coming from the character, rather than something foisted upon them out of nowhere. Like, again, you're just helping decide. If they wanna just talk, then they just talk. Like when they give their name to Asriel. Kris is handled exactly the same way. Deltarune is just written with you knowing that Kris is their own person from the very start, where Undertale isn't. That's it.

Which means...

... Frisk is absolutely the kind of person to consider all of these options at once, lol. They were effectively a less edgy test run for Kris, I think.

[kitkatt0430]

i know that you write more about the flash/ legends than arrow but what do you think about diggle and lyla? or even the suicide squad eps with them and deadshot, cupid, etc?

Overall, I really like Dig and Lyla.

Dig is an absolute favorite of mine and he has put up with sooo much of Oliver's bullshit over the seasons, but he still sees Ollie as his found family and I was glad that he got to see Oliver one last time on the final season of the Flash. I do think he got robbed by having the Green Lantern option taken away when what was going to be his spin off show got taken away. There are times when the writing for him is inconsistent, but one of the most consistent parts of the arrow verse was the inconsistent writing so... *shrug* it is what it is.

I'm less fond of Lyla than of John, but I still enjoy her character. And I do see ARGUS as being an overall better and more ethical organization under her leadership. I get why Barry and Team Flash trust ARGUS under her leadership, it's not just because Oliver vouches for her but because she does clean up a lot of Waller's worst practices like forcibly conscripting missing persons like Oliver or the suicide squads. (I know the Ghost Initiative gets reactivated later, but I haven't seen those episodes, so I don't know how Lyla handles the team there. And the Arrow wiki doesn't clarify if they're still sticking bombs in people's necks.) I do think she got screwed over somewhat in the Red Skies Crisis, but I'm of mixed opinions on how that x-over event was handled.

As for the suicide squad episodes... it's complicated. On principal, I really hate the idea of suicide squads - criminals or not, supervillains or not, it is wildly unethical and immoral to be sticking bombs in people's necks to coerce them into doing dangerous jobs and I have no doubt this practice in canon is what inspired Lewis Snart to put a bomb in Lisa's neck to coerce Leonard into working with him. It's very much something that the 'good guys' should not be party to. It's the sort of thing they should be fighting against.

Lyla continuing to work with ARGUS despite it utilizing suicide squads - her loyalty to Waller despite these and other ethical nightmares Waller treats as totally normal things for ARGUS to participate in - is probably a big part of why I'm less fond of her than Dig. She does reform things later on, but her complicity is very uncomfortable before her promotion. For Dig (and Oliver) working with ARGUS isn't really something there's much choice in. As a vigilante himself, Dig knows ARGUS could easily justify arresting him and so his work with ARGUS isn't entirely voluntary though he is also doing it out of love and respect for Lyla as well. It's a messy situation and while I don't necessarily agree with Dig's choices I do think he tries to make the best of a bad situation.

That said, I do enjoy the episodes themselves. They provide a wealth of character development for Dig and Deadshot - the almost friendship that is reluctantly forged between John and the man who thinks he killed John's brother (and John thinks killed his brother) is fantastically done. Even Floyd's death is fairly well handled by the show writers considering the circumstances under which the real world decision to remove him from the Arrow-verse came from. (Deadshot being a character tapped for the movies made him suddenly off limits for the tv verse so he got written out permanently.)

I think the Suicide Squad episodes originally worked specifically because of Diggle and Lawton. So I can't really speak to what happened with the reactivated 'Ghost Initiative' in S7 since I still haven't watched that season. I don't know if they still had the explosive implants or not - I'd hope not, that Lyla would be better than that. Especially since this is the organization Cisco leaves Team Flash to work for; after removing the explosive from Lisa, I can't imagine Cisco being okay with knowingly working for an organization that creates Suicide Squads when it's convenient for them. But I can't say I'd be surprised - disappointed, but not surprised - to learn Lyla did treat the reactivated Ghost Initiative as a Suicide Squad similar to how Waller did. And if that is the case? I just kind of have to assume Cisco had no idea.

I can't say I have strong opinions about Cupid or the other Suicide Squad members on the show. Floyd's the one that really stands out to me. Cupid was a character I mostly found annoying; her obsession with romantic love just does not click as an interesting motive to me. Likely in part because I'm aromantic, which makes Carrie feel to me like a caricature of the perils of amatonormativity. And I couldn't really name any of the other Suicide Squad members off the top of my head - I had to look them up on the Arrow wiki - so that goes to show how little impact they really had on me when I last watched those episodes.

[litchihikxriclub]

This is all in middle school, right? So in the “everyone lives” au, do these kids just like… go to high school? I can see some dropping out, but would they still remain in contact without a school club around?

You don’t have to answer both questions. I really love your writing, thank you for posting it!!

Yep! The prequel starts out with them at age 10–11-ish, and by the main manga, they're in their second year of middle school. And yeahhh... dropping out after middle school is definitely a common thing in Keikou. High school isn't mandatory in Japan, and I can imagine a number of the boys just... wouldn't bother. It's easier to make money and support themselves and their families if they're working full-time, so yep, dropping out is going to happen. oAo

And yeah, I'll answer both questions!! o3o

. . .

Zera

Finishing school is really the best he can hope for. Post-Hikari Club, Zera doesn't have a lot to rely on. He's more or less friendless (outside of Nico and Jaibo's attempts to be around him), and also so utterly ashamed of everything that happened in the club's final days that he'd just as soon never face any of them again. As much as he despises the idea of living a pointless, dead-end life like everyone else in Keikou, he doesn't have other options. Going to a semi-decent college would be the best thing possible, at this point, so Zera resigns himself to that fate.

Nico

Considering that he was working a part-time job (and probably forced to by his mother) when he was eleven-ish, I doubt he's making it through high school. Nico drops out as soon as he can, because making enough money to eat on a semi-regular basis ranks higher in his life than finishing school. If his relationship with Zera isn't completely ruined by that point, he'd try to stay in contact, but other than that and Tamiya's insistent attempts to reach out, Nico also cuts contact with most of the club. He has bigger things to worry about than his old friendships, after all.

Raizou

He's in a good enough situation that he can afford to get through high school, even though life only gets harder for him as he grows up. Raizou has always had issues with being bullied and not allowed to be himself, and those only worsen as he nears adulthood. His dad's expectations keep getting higher, meaning that he doesn't have much of a choice in what he does. He'll stay close friends with Yakobu no matter what (those two are together for life, more or less), but after the way the Hikari Club ended, he'd just as soon avoid the rest of those scary boys from here out.

Kaneda

Unfortunately, Riku doesn't really know what he wants to do with himself. He'd like to finish high school to make his mom happy (and because he can't think of anything better to do), but there's nothing in the future that he's particularly hopeful for. He's most likely to stick close to Tamiya and Dafu— and probably base his decisions on whatever those two end up doing. He's also perfectly willing to leave the Hikari Club behind forever, and doesn't want to keep talking to any of the former members outside of his prior friends. Those years were a living nightmare, after all.

Dentaku

He's absolutely staying in school. Dentaku's skill with mathematics and engineering means that he actually has a chance (however slim) of a good job and an easier life than he grew up with. Getting through high school and passing the entrance exams to a decent college is all he can hope for, and he's relying on his talents to get him through it. He'd be willing to stay in touch with whoever reaches out, especially Zera, but he's probably not going to make an effort unless someone else does first. School is his number one focus from that point on.

Dafu

Like Kaneda, he doesn't really have any plans of his own— and he ends up following Tamiya's choices too. Katsuya hasn't figured out any personal goals yet, so sticking with his friends is really the best thing he can think to do. Of the three of them, he's the most likely to drop out of high school at some point, but that chance is still pretty slim. A peaceful life sounds best after everything that's happened (though he doesn't have much hope for himself and what the future will hold). All he wants is to get by and never have to think about how badly things could have ended ever again.

Tamiya

Once the club is gone, Hiroshi has a pretty normal life ahead of him. He has goals and plans for what to do next, and finishing high school is an obvious part of that— his parents have always prayed he'd succeed, and he doesn't want to disappoint them. Even if he's living like every other normal, boring person in Keikou, Hiroshi just wants to have a stable life. As for the rest of the club, he stays close to Kaneda and Dafu for sure, never stops trying to reach out to Nico, and keeps minimal contact with most of the others. Jaibo and Zera are the only two he really wants to avoid.

Yakobu

It's fifty-fifty on if he'll make it through high school or not. Yakobu doesn't mind the idea of finishing it, but he also doesn't have any real reason to stick around if it gets too tough. If he thinks he can find a decent job outside of school, or if his grades dip too low, there's nothing stopping him from giving up and moving on to whatever option comes next. He's one of the most willing to stay in contact with the club, as a whole, especially if the situation there never got too dangerous. Of course, Raizou will stay his best friend no matter what. Those two are near-inseparable.

Jaibo

Another definite drop-out. Jaibo has so many problems that there's a good chance he'd get himself expelled eventually, anyway. He's not stable enough to manage higher education, and he doesn't particularly care to try. He'll stick with his dad for as long as he can get away with it, all while keeping up the same disturbing practices he always has. He'll trail after Zera if the two's relationship wasn't completely ruined, but Jaibo is bound to be moving on to new targets as well— after all, he needs someone to pay for his needs once his dad gets tired of supporting him.

[gillianthecat]

In which I ramble on in public in an attempt to make some decisions about the future:

I'm registering for classes for next semester. The only ones available for two out of the three classes I want are in person classes, which I think will be good for me? (Covid worries aside—they do require vaccine proof and masks indoors, which is the best that can be expected.) Structure is good for me, being around other human beings is good for me, in person lectures are probably better for me. But. The commute is likely to be an hour each way, whether driving or on public transit, given that the first classes start around 10 am so I will be part of the commuting rush hour. Which, theoretically fine, I could do reading on the bus or train. But. I am so bad at getting out of the house y'all. I am late to everything. And I'm really scared that this is setting me up to be late all the time which is going to make it even harder to stay motivated.

I could always try to do classes at another school. I choose this one while everything was remote so the distance didn't matter. But. This is probably the best option academically speaking. And I'm just attached to it at this point, for a variety of reasons.

There are schedules available where two out of the three days I wouldn't have to be there until 1 pm. Probably that is the safest option. There is always a tension between what would theoretically be good for me—get classes over with earlier so I can have the rest of the day!—and what is realistically doable for me. Which is often hard to predict. But I think in this case two days with less pressure in the morning would be best for me.

The other question is which of the many stats classes available should I take? Chem and physiology are easy, only two or three options each. But stats—even when I eliminate the ones on other campuses or that start at 8:30 in the morning, there are way too many choices. Do i want an evening class? It's a longer day but I do avoid the worst of the evening commute home. Do I squish everything together to end it all at 4 pm? Which sounds nice, but I'm either commuting home with the whole world or staying in the city anyway. Although I could stick around for a dance class instead. And finally get back to that. Hmm.

Or I could do an online class. Which... I do think being in in-person classes is better for me sustaining focus for the whole semester, but perhaps the momentum from the other two will carry me through and I don't need that for stats? And then there are some 12 week options that don't start until partway through the semester. Which could be good, give me a little more time to adjust before adding on another responsibility and maybe give me that little jolt of something new that helps my ADHD brain stay engaged. But it does also mean a bigger workload for those last weeks, which is when the other two classes will be harder. I think my instinct is to go with the full semester length class, and spread out the workload. If I knew more about the professors I would probably make decisions based on that, but ratemyprofessersdotcom isn't that helpful.

So. I have made at least two decisions. Start Tues/Thurs at 1 pm, and don't do the shortened stats class. Writing this out was useful after all. I still have lots of anxiety about making it through the whole semester, but at the moment all I need to do is register.

[fenimores-book-nook]

My future??

This topic is something that I have spent a loooooot of time thinking about. More like OVERthinking. The reason being is simply because I don't know. I don't know what my future holds, I don't know what I want it to hold. And, like, I'm only nineteen, so I got plenty of time. Heck, I got loads. Some people don't figure out what they really want to do until their thirties. In Friends, they are all quite literally figuring out life and they're all in their twenty-thirties. New Girl, it's the same situation. One thing I really don't appreciate is how much pressure is put on high schoolers and college age people to figure out what they want to do for the rest of their lives. How are you supposed to know that when you've barely lived your life? Also, how do you know you want to do one thing for the rest of your life?

I made the decision to not go to college after high school which was a great decision for me. I don't know what I want to do so why would I waste thousands of dollars on classes I don't even really want to take? I'm not bashing on people who do go to college or are happy doing one thing for most of their life, that's great that it works for them. I just don't like how college is almost expected of you now. It shouldn't be. College is NOT for everyone. And people who decide not to go aren't less successful, we just do things differently.

I don't know if I'll ever go back to school but if I end up wanting to, the option is there.

I only know a few things for sure:

I don't want to end up doing only one thing.

I want to do something creative.

I want writing to be a part of it.

My photo from a Jesus date I had a while back. <3

Writing has always been a part of my life and a big part too, so of course I'd want to spend a good chunk of my time doing that. Even if it isn't the main thing I do. And even if this is the writing I'll keep doing the most, I'd be okay with that.

The two careers I've been interested in the most is an author, obviously, and a fashion designer/illustrator. During my Junior/Senior year of high school, I really got interested in fashion. It was my dream for a while to attend FIT: Fashion Institute of Technology. One, because it was in New York City (I've wanted to go there for forever) and two, because, I mean, it's FIT. The photos and websites I looked at made it look so glamorous. I'm sure it is, but I'm also sure it's incredibly stressful at times. (like how college is) Plus, I still wasn't 100% sure that it was what I wanted to do. And I didn't have the money for it, AND New York is a ways from where I live; good ol' Kansas.

Still on the fashion career topic, the other night, I thought that maybe I got a sort of sign about my career choices. It might be a stretch, but I read into these things, sometimes too much. My mom and I were watching A Christmas Kiss II, where the main character is a fashion designer. Afterwards, we started another movie, The Winter Palace, where the main character is an author. Fashion designer. Author. I didn't even realize until later the next day. My brain is like freaking out over here: does this mean something??? What do I do now?????

*found on pinterest (yes, yes I do love pinterest, thank you for asking)

So, that's always fun.

I'm not sure if I would want to do the entire fashion design thing, or just do fashion illustration. Design is more creating the product, where illustration focuses more on making a visual of it. I like the illustration aspect of it because it's not only sketching out the vision you have for an outfit/piece of clothing, but it's putting the mood and color of it in play too. I don't know if I'd want to do all of the sewing and hand work, I'm not the best at sewing. I usually stick to fixing rips with hand-sewing. But, I could get better at it if I tried. ;)

When I told my sister about this "sign" of mine, she suggested I could follow both paths and see which one really takes off. For an author, I don't really need more schooling. But for the fashion side, I would most likely need to. Still, I don't have to decide right now. Heck, if I wanted to, I could keep writing and drawing up little sketches and put them to use in a more non-traditional way. I'm sure I could come up with something.

Maybe I'll include some sketches or pieces I've written on here at some point. :) But for now, there's my spiel for not knowing my future. But hey, that's alright.

jusqu'à la prochaine fois,

Thalia <3

[dany-japanese-study]

Putting all my Japanese Resources in one place.

Well, I wanted to make my life easier by cataloguing my resources, and I guess it might be helpful to someone so... This is gonna be  long. (sorry for spelling mistakes)

Main Tools: what I use frequently

Dictionaries

Jisho (Web) - Classic, Clean and Easy, probably the best Dictionary out there.

Takoboto (App/Web) - really like this one it has a grammar section, and the App has JLPT lists.

Akebi (App) - You can search by writing the Kanji, very useful, but not a very eye pleasing design.

Memorization

Memrise - LLJ Series of decks (Kanji, Tae Kim’s Grammar and Core Vocab), a think because Memrise uses a multiple choice system it works better for me, more than Flashcards.

Anki -  With Anki, I use Mostly Anime decks, for example, Japanese Like A Breeze. Jo-Mako decks: Core Anime Deck, Yotsuba, Your Name (Jo-Mako decks are really well done).

YouTube

Comprehensible Japanese -  AMAZING resource, her videos are all in Japanese and they range from complete beginners to intermediate.

Japanese Ammo with Misa - Explains grammar, has Pacific vocab videos and even breakdown music lyrics.

Cure Dolly - More grammar, she has the most eye-opening explanations I’ve ever seen, some might get annoyed by the robotic voice but ITS worth it.

The Japanese Page - Less Known but cool short videos about kanji, vocab, idioms, etc.

Game Gengo - Learn with games, his N5 Grammar video is great if you’re lazy like me

Japanese with Shun - Great Genki Podcast.

Immersion (aka. The best part)

Anime (How you can study with anime)

Immersion Kit Dictionary - PLEASE USE THIS! If you’re like me and the sentences provided by normal dictionaries never stick in your brain, this is perfect for you, you insert a word or sentence and it will find an Anime/drama/game with it. You can even send sentence cards to Anki.

Animelon - Made to Learn Japanese with dual subtitles, translation history and quizzes.

Animebook - Video player Works With Yomichan and Anki, I use this notation type (Eminent Note Type V2) drag video file and subs in this page and Done.

Kitsunekko - Subs for Anime and J-drama

Nyaa - Anime Raw Files (No subs)

Japanese with Anime -  If I could hug this person I would, very informative  Manga/Anime Slangs and grammar in general.

Japanese Anime & Manga - Cool site with an interactive manga, kanji games, and quizzes.

JPDB beta - Has already Built decks of Animes, Texbooks, Novels and more, also if you insert a sentence, it explains each part of the sentence to you.

Ichi.Moe - Same thing  it explains each part of the sentence to you, but it’s easier to use.

Manga (and reading in general I guess)

Manga.reader.to - I use this site to read my manga it has quite a big collection. Better Scans, and has Japanese options in most mangas

Docsumo Free OCR Software - Now let’s say you don’t know a word and want to search for it use this OCR, really easy to use and works quite nicely. There are better  options specifically for manga, but again, I’m lazy so...

Aozora - This site is for public domain novels (EX The Little Prince) Audiobook on YouTube.

Japanese.io -  You can read articles and news

Raikun - Pop- up dictionary for Words and Kanji. Simple and Quick

Yomichan - Now this one is a little more complicated, pop- up dictionary, but you have to download and set up the dictionary, Much more customisable than Raikun and create Anki cards

[bad4amficideas]

IMAGINE SOULMATE AU (mark/tattoo, 1st contact) + YANDERE AU WITH THE BATBOYS

Gotham catch 'em all! 5am so so sorry

Edit: this is a concept, a sketch not an actual full developed story. I.MA.GI.NE. not drabble. Not oneshot. Imagine (Like you can and write in base of this, like pleaseandthank you!) (Also I'm not English tysm)

TERMS:

Canvas: noun, soulmate mark, looks like a UV tattoo. If you born with it, their appareance is a miniature which grow with you without deforming but actually get detailed (so no babies getting their marks in databases)

The Brush: noun, when you touch your soulmate for first time and your mark get colored

Painting: noun, colored canvas, which is supposed to turn into a colorful, maybe even metallic one, otherworldy for sure. Also used to refer to people who have found their soulmates.

Tear, teared: Used especially as an adjective, refers to the ugly scar/burn that remains where once was the canvas when the soulmate dies

Easel: noun, in modern times a derogatory term, person without a canvas, although some people are born without them because such souls haven't yet been born. (Yes, weasel word plays are a thing)

Imagine being another common girl in Gotham City. Your dream is to get enough money to get out or failing that, move to a "quiet" area (whatever gothamites understand as quiet).

In a lottery one, maybe find your soulmate. But since chances of finding one's soulmate are low-non existant (until point people tend to obsess if they find theirs and if your soulmate rejects you, well... legally they have the upper hand, can you believe it?? Whats this an omegaverse wtf???), that's only a nice dream and you're fine with getting only one of the two previous options and daydream with the later at a stable non-weirds-chemicals-involved-please job.

Your canvas is apparently some really pretty drawed little bird, signed by IIIIIIV. When you were little your dad play with you saying maybe they would be an ornithologist, naturalist or artist. Even when your parents weren't soulmates, they didn't want rip your dreams. But as a young adult, now you know the Brush and Paintings are things you could heard only on TV, and everyone knew media is misleading at best.

As the Wayne boys side, since they have spent a lot together, wounded and naked more or less willingy, although canvas are something private, they end up seeing each other's and realizing that theirs are identical. I pretend that Y/N representation in their body is a common female bird colored of reader choice clinging to a branch (like a robin is a common bird, if you think about it) and sometimes they hypothetically talk about her as (insert Dick begins this and it stucks better than a Disney song): babybird, duckling, birdie, lovebird, little dove, sparrow, angel, swan, songbird.

You are just one of the many girls in Gotham, you repeat yourself everyday as you do put make-up upon your canvas, over your heart. And canvas et all are something private, surely it isn't something unique. Tear, lines again, tear, reappear, but never all the canvas, only parts, you remember how your little bird spent a couple of years with part of his chest (now you're sure is a him) scarred until the lines were redrawn, then the upper-end was the scarred one, then head for a few moments?, the rest of the torso gone for moments was a recent one... You weren't the brightest pea in the pod (although apparently you were the best sperm). But, bird. Bird. Robin. And that every time you blinked there was one Vigilante more with that fucking name (although your favorite was the girl ofc! stick together!). But. BUt. BUT! Which of all of them was your soulmate and why had his head, legs, heart been ripped off and who knows what at one time or another?

You will later find your painting was a kind of watercolored robin with black eyes, beaks and legs. From its head to tail, the ussually grey upper body part was a gradient from blue to green, while its lower part did the same with red and yellow. You found it was not IIIIIIV but I (blue) II (red) III (yellow) V (green) because the now black numbers were splattered of color.

And all those rumors of who new hero/vigilante was previously "x" Robin it... maybe you were guilty or not of reading RealPeopleFictionxReader phase when young, but, Wayne and Relatives and the Batfam... nana, nana... naaaa?... right??

No way you were going to get close to those celebrities, as an attentionphobe and gothamite born, like you got all right, thank you, your instincts of self-preservation, and spending your adolescence scars on-off wasn't good for your heart... soul? So you knew you couldn't allow any of them be your soulmate (even when ofc none of then could and never would be yours). Plus even without the obvious association your mind may had or not done, you must be mental to want to be around either one, the BatFam or the Wayne Household.

Timeskip. You were finally at the University/College, studying what you want. You didn't get the waitress job. How did everyone get a waitress job except you? (on the other hand, maybe the universe was doing you a favor and you shouldn't complain) You work was cleaning in a hotel and thanks for that (even if it stinks and your hands were always sore and the bleach smell was always under your poor nose).

Especially since as a mediocre person your parents did not abuse you, although sometimes their extroversion and your introversion clashed but they did not die, tragically or not. They weren't heroes, vigilantes, or villains or a wanna be of neither. They love and care for you, they support you in college. You paid yourself the campus to start leaving the nest and finally let yourself love them... a little more far away (plus your old home was very far both work and class).

But one night, when "insert villain of your choice" (Scarecrow surely so Y/N acts seems reasonable) attack the hotel where you work and you run away the moment you hear Batman AND (which, dear, is suspicious, don't you think?) Batman intercepts you, but obviously a scared little bird like you cannot be anyone's accomplice, hostage at best, a victim?

You murmur, anxiety and/or fear increasing, something like no birds please no birds, I'm a good person, I swear, swear, only no birds, please, you give him your hotel ID and fly away uniform et all before "AND" arrives. No reader of mine will act coherently under pressure, never, unless they have been trained to do so or they had a hard life previously recognized.

You only go out for classes and work and your ID is in your hotel locker back on your next work day. You know that there are two Wayne boys studying at the same time as you (Damian, having skipped courses at Gotham Academy and also to be a meany to Tim, and said boy Tim, who needs to stop skip classes to favour vigilantism), but you don't meet any of them (as you have been able to do so far since the screams from their fans when they decide to attend classes are a great clue. They are likethe Gotham Kardashians you swear). After a month you think you can finally turn off the radar.

In fact, that night Batman kept your ID on his belt and investigated you in private. Was while rumming that either Damian or Tim found out and told the rest. And, hey, in principle they were only trying to get closer in their civil way because OBVIOUSLY you had nothing special in the record, and B. had close your case (without sealing it or give hits signaling you hide something, like if he was checking another victim of another attack even though nobody of them had seen you in one).

But why are you so scared of the definitely not so kids Wayne's? ok, you don't like to attract attention, you enjoy quality before quantity, and of its true Jason bulky built if you don't know him and Damian grumpy face can be intimidating... But after all the pantomime that the older brothers mounted in the door, attracting the glances so that either Damian or Tim would enter one of the seminars that they could pick and share with you, maybe get a seat near you, and you would look at them as if Scarecrow had thrown fear gas at you... they end stalking you, choosing you although their conscious part refuses to acknowledge that, you are still just a case, one on whom they don't mind spending large amounts of free time... but a "case".

Okay, let's say you keep you composure at the end. Then I'm sorry but they get close to you it's at least two against one. If not that day will be the next one or the next to that, they would sneak their way to you and you can't run. Greeting is polite. You must give thanks they pitied your introverted being and accounting Waynes shit so they are being subtle and you don't have middle campus with the popcorn.

ORRRRRR, let's say you manage to dodge them. For how long? without making a fuss? without being cornered and touched/grabbed without your consent?

"... Babybird. Babybird. Did you know and still you've been flying away from us?"

There I was, despising myself while tried written and then I remembered, do you know how most female birds are so dull in contrast to the male ones? I daydream a yandere+ soulmate au only to raise my spirits. Also background for a Porn without Plot YandereRobins x Reader if I ever wrote one 🤣

Edit: Damian is V (5) because in this story Stephanie Brown is the 4th (IV) Robin.

[robininthelabyrinth]

yanli takes wwx and jc on a "training mission" at some point and then forgets to come back, she still gives updates to her senior sect siblings when she sees them, but refuses to return to loctus pier. idk if jfm and madam yu tell the jin what's really going on, but the idea of jzx running into her and being confused at why she's here, in those clothes, doing WHAT?!!?! is hilarious.

ao3

1

“Worthless,” old Grandmother Yu said, spitting on the ground. “Completely worthless.”

Jiang Yanli couldn’t help but smile: she loved it when her mother’s mother came to visit. Meishan Yu had an idiosyncratic tradition of female sect leaders, mother passing the position to daughter when the time was right, and they were powerful enough to make it stick, too.

Jiang Yanli’s own mother had been her grandmother’s third daughter, a ferocious cultivator in her own right, and currently looking as helplessly fond as Jiang Yanli had ever seen her.

“What’s worthless?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Don’t tell me you mean the boys.”

Don’t you dare say one thing about A-Li, Jiang Yanli imagined her saying. Sure, she’s not the greatest cultivator, but who says you have to be? There’s more to her than just that.

Of course, her mother wouldn’t say such a disrespectful thing, not to her own mother.

Not over Jiang Yanli, anyway.

“Their raising, that’s what I mean. Anyway, it’s A-Li you ought to be worrying about,” Grandmother Yu said. “Don’t forget your roots, or one day you’ll find they’ve pulled themselves up and left you behind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jiang Yanli’s mother said. “Do you even know how much of Meishan Yu I’ve taken with me? People are still making fun of me about it!”

She said more, too, but Jiang Yanli’s imagination had already taken off in a completely different direction.

2

“Hello, grandmother,” Jiang Yanli said politely.

Her grandmother looked at her, then at the two boys, aged ten, that stood awkwardly next to her, shuffling their feet a little in uncharacteristic embarrassment.

“You’re not approved to be here, are you?” she asked.

“Of course we are,” Jiang Yanli said. “We’re on a training mission.”

“A training mission with children that takes you all the way to Meishan?”

“Oh, I didn’t specify when I made the request to take the boys out,” Jiang Yanli said breezily. “No one said it was necessary, and no one asked, either.”

“Mm. I see. Do I at least get to know why you decided to go on an indefinite ‘training mission’?”

Jiang Yanli shook her head.

Her grandmother Yu was made of stern stuff, though: she just grimaced and said, “Well, all right then. On your head be the consequences. Get inside – I can get you a week’s notice in advance if your mother comes to try to collect you from here.”

Jiang Yanli had the best grandmother.

3

“I’m going to murder your father,” Grandmother Yu said conversationally. “And possibly my daughter. I put her on this earth, I can take her back out of it.”

“She loves us,” Jiang Yanli said mildly, because she was sure of that much. Her mother loved her, and she loved Jiang Cheng – Jiang Yanli had never doubted that.

Her way of going about it, though…

“Bah! I thought it was all your father, but it’s not, is it? A-Cheng thinking he’s always going to be second best, Wei Wuxian thinking that he needs to do everything just to justify his existence…” She shook her head. “Ridiculous. Ridiculous and intolerable! You did the right thing, coming here.”

“I didn’t come here,” Jiang Yanli reminded her. “I went on a training mission.”

“Of course,” her grandmother said, but she didn’t understand, not really.

Jiang Yanli didn’t bother explaining. It didn’t really matter, in the end – her grandmother would understand, eventually.

Meishan was nice, but it wasn't somewhere they could stay, either.

4

“A training mission,” Lan Qiren said, sounding – skeptical.

Jiang Yanli nodded. Her grandmother had, after some badgering, agreed to write a letter of introduction to the Lan sect leader, who was known for being an amazing teacher. The boys needed a teacher: they were right at the age of having received their spiritual swords, and that meant they needed to learn all the things the cultivation world deemed necessary for gentlemen to know.

Jiang Yanli couldn’t teach them that, and Meishan Yu did not, as a habit, teach boys that weren't their own.

So Jiang Yanli had only two choices: return to the Lotus Pier and let her parents resume teaching Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, or else find someone else to do it…and that someone else had to be someone who wouldn’t be inclined to hand over the children back to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan as soon as they rushed over to ask for them. The only reason they hadn’t managed to get them back so far was because they were afraid of Grandmother Yu – for anyone else, anyone less powerful than another Great Sect leader wouldn’t get the same level of deference.

“Is it a problem?” she asked.

Lan Qiren squinted at her for a moment, then scowled. “No, it’s not,” he said, sounding grumpy. “Send them in, we’ll get them set up with the rest of the season’s students.”

Grandmother Yu had told Jiang Yanli that Lan Qiren had a soft heart underneath it all, and to ignore the tone of his words in favor of his action. She’d been right.

Jiang Yanli bowed.

“You can go over to the women’s quarters,” he added, and she blinked at him. “What? Just because I only teach boys doesn’t mean you get to drop them off and swan away. Go!”

Jiang Yanli smiled.

5

“We’re ready to come home now,” Jiang Yanli told her parents, who were both visibly furious – though perhaps for different reasons. “A-Cheng and I, that is.”

Her father frowned, even as her mother looked pleasantly surprised. “Why isn’t A-Xian coming?”

“Well, he’s engaged.”

“He’s what?”

“It’s a long story,” Jiang Cheng said. He was old enough now to ignore the slight, just as Jiang Yanli had hoped. “If we’re going to go, we should go now – we’ll need to be back here by the start of spring for the next set of classes.”

“A-Cheng –”

“You want me to be a gentleman, don’t you?” He shrugged. “Anyway, I heard that Jin-gongzi is coming next season. If you send us back, jiejie will have a chance to met up with him early.”

Their parents exchanged glances, but Jiang Yanli knew they would give in.

As for Jin Zixuan…

Well, she’d see what she thought about him. If he didn’t meet her standards, she had other options.

There was a whole wide world out there, after all.

[nctsworld]

skateboard love

✩‌ yangyang x reader | skater boy!yangyang | college au | fluff | 2.2k

SUMMARY | yangyang tries to get you to skateboard for the first time and in doing so, you’re taken back to when you first met him. // for @notnctu​’s beginning collab! WARNINGS | slight injury (reader trips over a curb), one swear word, kissing RATING | teen+ TAGLIST | @infnteen​

“I can’t do this,” you mutter, shaking your head in defeat.

The ocean waves clamour nearby as you stare down at the skateboard and concrete pavement beneath your sneakers in frustration.

The weight of your helmet and the wrist guards are blatant in your every movement. Sure, it’s a little embarrassing at your age, but it’d be best to rather be safe than sorry.

Thankfully, they’ve been coming in handy during the times you almost fell and slipped off of your boyfriend’s skateboard. It may have been his idea to try to learn, but you weren’t opposed to it, thinking it’d be easy.

They say things are easier said than done, and now you’re forced to admit skateboarding definitely falls under that list.

“Yes, you can,” Yangyang softly says. Beside you, he gives your hand a gentle squeeze, causing you to peer into his gleaming eyes and bright smile.

Despite the recentness of your relationship, your boyfriend’s patience and encouragement feels like routine, like he’s been by your side for your entire life. His words don’t fall on deaf ears; you parrot his smile and muster a small nod, albeit glancing away shyly.

“Just think about all the times you’ve watched me skate past the library and copy what I did.”

Petulantly, you stick your tongue out. “It wasn’t that often.”

Disbelief reflects back at you in the form of an eyebrow raise.

“Really?”

“Really!”

Around mid-September, in the most modern, glass-structured library on campus, you found a studying area that was perfect for you.

Main floor, nearby the entrance doors for an easy exit when class was about to roll around. A high stool chair that was cushioned comfortably for endless hours of equal parts studying and procrastination. Plugs and desk space galore.

Above all, it was perfect because you had the picturesque view of the boy who always skated every other day around 11:50am towards his next class across the wide stoned boulevard in front of the library.

You noticed him the first few times when you initially sat upstairs. Even from afar and above, your interest was piqued over how coolly he skated past all the students. There were only so many students who biked to their next class, and even less who skateboarded.

And after you decided to sit downstairs for once to finally steal a closer glimpse of him, you were completely smitten upon capturing his handsome features.

Thus, your heart constantly raced in anticipation when 11:50am hit, as students scattered all across campus during this transition period. 

With a thumb tucked in his pocket and headphones over his ears to boot, the mystery skater boy often slid past around 11:55am, making your mind wonder where his former class was and where he was going. Was he in Engineering? Arts? Business?

The latter option didn’t seem likely since his style didn’t echo the stereotypical look of the faculty. Dark coloured hoodies and sweaters, bomber jackets, and skinny jeans were his usual choice of fashion, alongside the occasional baseball cap. And on the days he wore his cap backwards, he was truly in his skater element.

No matter, you always swooned with your chin perched atop your fist or resting inside your palm as he passed by. The brief sighting of him easily became the highlight of your day.

You would be lying if you said you didn’t try to look for him in your classes, but to no avail. You had to live with the fact that you’d only get to know him in passing as he skated on by the library.

When the mere hoodies and sweaters were exchanged for heavier, thicker jackets and coats, he still continued to traverse across campus via his unsurprising mode of transportation. You especially admired his dedication on the days filled with rain and wind, wishing there was some way for you to ease his trips to his next class.

All throughout the couple of months, he was consistent in attending that one class.

Except one day.

It was a Friday, about a week or two near finals season. The weather was quite chilly now, but snow wouldn’t be an issue until after winter break and well into the next semester, so there wasn’t any reason for him to not use his skateboard still.

Maybe he was sick at home, you thought. Pouting, you tried not to dwell over the stranger because that’s all what he was. 

Someone you didn’t know, someone you only watched from afar. Someone that filled your daydreams, pondering what he’d be like and what’d you two could talk about... but nevertheless a stranger.

Oddly enough, about an hour past noon, someone dragged you out of your thoughts momentarily as they unusually sat nearby your spot. 

The unspoken library etiquette was to sit as far away from others for more personal space, especially in the area where you frequented. You tried your best to ignore the shuffling of the person placing their laptop and books onto the elongated wall-length table, feigning laser-focus on your notes.  

But a few moments later, you heard a whisper coming from their direction.

“Is this your favourite spot in the library?”

“Hm?” you hummed, dragging your headphones down to your shoulders as you swivelled towards the seated stranger. Air seized in your lungs and your eyebrows shot up.

The gorgeous skater boy glowed with rosy cheeks from the cold air outside, paired with his stunning smile. You realized this was the first time you’ve ever seen him smile—preciously, by the way, with his teeth on full display—and your heart stirred like crazy.

A beat stretched out. Your jaw hung in shock and you blinked blankly. Guess you solved the mystery as to where he was today.

He beamed more intensely at your awe struck and continued to whisper, “I always see you sitting here when I get to my next class.”

“Uhm,” your jaw snapped up, prior to your dry gulp. “What?”

“Yeah,” his deep chuckling tickled your ear. God, of course a smooth voice matched a face like that. “you stare out the window so cutely whenever I pass by the library.”

A record scratched, then you rewound the moment in your head. Not only did he knew you existed but...

Did he just called you cute?

Catching on with awareness over his own words, the skater boy pouted to one side. His cheek jutted out adorably and red seemed to crawl over them, progressing over to the tips of his ears too.

Light giggling from both parties filled the space, with you tucking your hair behind your ear and him tugging on the ends of his sweater paws.

“So, are you skipping class?” you asked, tilting your head curiously.

“Yeah,” he replied, gesturing towards his busy study set-up ahead of him. It was a similar scene to yours—notes layered and layered upon each other, a laptop which displayed more notes, and a few textbooks were open too. “When you need to skip a class to study for another class...”

You nodded sympathetically, pointing a finger to your organized mess to imply the same. “Finals season.”

He nodded as well in unity and you two exchanged another round of smiles.

“I’m Yangyang.”

With that, introductions were made and bits of information were shared. Your hunch was right—he was in Engineering, but he also had some elective labs that were being held in the Science side of campus. Made sense why he had to navigate across campus from one end to the other.

Before the conversation began to get carried away, he issued a small apology. “Sorry, I really shouldn’t be interrupting your studying. I’ll leave you be.”

Admittedly, it caught you off guard. You wanted to pipe up about how he wasn’t interrupting, that you wanted to dive into getting to know him more. You’ve seen him practically almost every day for the last couple of months and you didn’t want to let this chance slip through your fingers.   

Yet, at the same time, you begrudgingly knew he was right. You had to study for your upcoming in-class final, so you held your thoughts back and unwillingly turned back to your responsibility at hand. 

It was difficult to study with skater boy being in the same vicinity as you—practically an arm’s length away from you—but you eventually tampered down your jitters and honed your attention.

Hours passed. Neither of you really shifted much besides the casual stretching or the much needed break to the bathroom.

Darkness loomed in the winter sky and out of the corner of your eye, you noticed him writing, which he hadn’t done during the time he’d been there.

And then, after an ear-piercing slow rip of paper that echoed in the library, he slid that piece of paper in your direction with one simple question that ignited the spark for the beginning of you and him—

I know we just met, but do you want to go out sometime?

“’Cause if I recall...” Yangyang continues, breaking you away from your bout of reminiscing. He absentmindedly tucks away some loose strands of hair sticking out of your helmet. “You watched me at least since the beginning of last semester—”

“Nu-uh,” you cut in, lying in a childish tone.

“Yuh-huh,” he rebuttals.

Under the warm afternoon sunlight, you two begin to have a staring contest, squinting and playfully seething at one another. When your boyfriend squints harder with a ruffle of his nose, you follow suit. Eventually, you give in with a sigh.

“Okay, fine. Even if I did watch you a lot, it doesn’t mean I can just absorb your skateboarding skills through memory.”

Cockiness fades over his joking exterior as he flashes you a shit-eating grin. “It’s cause you were too busy focusing on my handsome face.”

Becoming second nature for you by now as he’s often like this, you roll your eyes and lightly punch him in the arm, but... he isn’t wrong.

And from your lack of an articulate response, Yangyang knows he’s right.

Sparing you from injuring your pride further, he swings the conversation back to what you were doing here in the first place. 

A hand of his steadies you by the bottom of your back. “Balancing feels weird, I know, but you’ll get the hang of it. Let’s try again.”

Releasing a lengthy exhale, your head bounces fervently in hopes that false confidence and your boyfriend’s support can morph into a successful skateboard run.

The careful push he gives you is ample enough to have you ride down the street by yourself. Your body wavers side by side and you fear that you’ll teeter to a stop like all the other times, but somehow, your foot swipes across the pavement, carrying you further down the street.

It’s not fast by any means, but as you persistently execute it, you gain traction and see yourself finally riding without any issues.  

“Yangyang, I got it. I got it!” you shriek as you quickly glance back towards him.

He radiates in response and gets lost in you, equally proud that you finally found your balance and basking in how stunning you look as you coast down the beach side street.

However, his trance breaks when he sees you’re about to hit the edge of a street curb.

“Babe, watch ou—”

The scene happens fast. You’re suddenly laying on a patchy part of the grass, with the skateboard by your feet. Yangyang bolts to you, hunching down as he daintily tugs you to sit upward.

“You okay?” he pants nervously.

At first, you nod without a thought since the helmet and wrist guards have saved you from any potential major injuries. 

However, your boyfriend’s eyes widen when out of nowhere, you draw in air between clenched teeth. Your butt feels as if it’s on fire, since it was actually the body part that mostly broke your fall.  

He suggests to sit here for a while to let the pain dissipate, reassuring you’ll be fine from his own past experiences. 

As you rest awkwardly beside him on the grass, placing weight on your hip rather than your rear end, he aids you in ridding of your safety gear. Once they’re off, he kisses your hand tenderly.

“Maybe we should leave the skateboarding to me, for now,” he mumbles softly into your skin, leaving another kiss upon your hand.

You mope in agreement. “Maybe so...”

Caressed in his arms, you link eyes with him. Your eyes flutter to a close while he delicately eases you into him by the back of your neck.

The intense pressing of his lips against yours feels heavenly, almost entirely sedating your mild pain. He kisses you deeper, disregarding everyone and everything in proximity. You reciprocate it all back eagerly, cupping his cheek and gripping onto his strong frame as you do so.

Peeling away breathlessly, you tip your forehead against his. “Should we go back to the library and have me watch you longingly from our old spot?”

Yangyang hurriedly shakes his head.

“Nope. Never again,” he replies, his thumb stroking your cheek. “If you’re watching me skateboard, you’ll be doing it by my side from now on, beautiful.”

A chuckle trickles from you. You’re about to retort back, but your one and only skater boy diverts your train of thought, dragging you in for another long, blissful kiss.