#the lunas impacted her life quite a bit so never getting over them.

[circeislands]

‘i know every inch of your body and i know for a fact that scar wasn’t there before.’

her words traveled the silent room, meeting the ears of the hunter whose fingers fiddled intently to seal the new aching wound on his forearm. she tried to extend her help, her healing but he refused it as he often did. his discomfort was better than hers and concerned eyes peered at the newest scar of his vast collection before their last voyage ended to his fresh stain. the smell met her nose and had it been years earlier. she wouldn’t of been able to stand the scent but it was him: familiar,‘don’t give yourself too much credit, cecilia,’ he inhaled sharply at the insert of the needle and she watched his artistry, the accent that curled around her name used to send her into a spiral,‘my body has changed since the last time you touched— ow, damn it.’ attempted flirting before a slip of the needle caused the distinct frown to deepen in concern as finally from her seat, she stood up and traveled the distance between them. tender fingers grasping the needle and thread without even a hint of hesitation.

‘samuel, i’ll do it.’ even despite him being a doctor, stitching up his own wound held little success. her enhanced vision met his wound with ounces of care and the squeeze of her brows. sam’s eyes couldn’t help but take in each detail of her delicate features that were obscure. the dimple on her chin, a trait of her father’s that was refined in her, that trembled when she cried, and far too often did he observe this, held it. the deep focus in bright brown hues as teeth melded into her lower lip. the more and more he looked at her the more he recalled a memory of her near death and the feeling of despair it filled him. it was a full moon, the wooded outskirts of flagstaff, blood drenched her shoulder, her mouth made gurgling noise he feared, despised, more crimson traveling between her teeth. if he could, if she let him, he would have made a special silver bullet with jacques’s name on it. since that night, her safety meant more to him then his own. his sarcastically witty spats never met her heart, he internally promised to never make her feel a lick of distrust and betrayal. he failed her and that was what filled the room with so much painful quiet.

he hated how she looked at him. wounded, guilty and distant,‘what?’ her tone snapped him from his stare and eyelids rapidly blinked,‘what are you thinking about?’ she had made progress on stitching the wound but a continuous drip of blood didn’t help. she grabbed the wash cloth from nearby and began to dab it to prevent the frequent cascades.

‘you know what i’m thinking about,’ he paused,‘i’m sorry, ce,’ his tone was quiet, as if he sought out to plead for her forgiveness,‘it was never your fault. i know that, i knew that then but i needed someone to blame and you knew the bloodsuckers that killed her.’ he wanted his vengeance to be cecilia’s as well. he wanted her to dump her pack morals for him,‘you wouldn’t do what i wanted... and i was angry.’ his only chance at love was thwarted by the lifestyle he chose,‘i never meant what i said—’

he watched her swallow down and her mouth twitch,‘yes you did, sam.’ she said, stilly, the needle meeting the pads of her fingers and beginning their venture to finish the stitching,‘you had every right to be angry. i chose my pack over you as i had over and over again. after everything your family has done to help me. i deserved it.’ the sharp end meeting his skin, flesh–to–flesh and out and up, and again,‘you deserved to get married and leave all of this behind.’ her shoulders began to tense and the feeling of dread followed her lips. even if he had, it wouldn’t of been enough. going to school to be a doctor, he thought would have fulfilled his desires to save people but it didn’t. being a doctor didn’t relieve his past and the enemies he gained from it. it wouldn’t and didn’t save his fiancee.

she finished and hands were quick to stop touching him, like it ached her, and it did. it ached him also. his uninjured hand raised and grasped her own, clenching and grounding. a silent communication of love between the two that was most certainly there but never transpired. he’d once kissed her, touched her, saw the scars left behind by jacques but nothing else. they both knew the consequences of this moving any further then that. no matter how much it gnawed at him to see her move on. she knew that it did, that if she wanted to, she could feel his draw to her. ‘pay attention, feel me, i give you permission, cecilia.’ his one hand managed to grip both of her slender hands,‘go ahead.’ he urged her,‘please...’ she was never one to give into begging but if he had to, he would have. she would’ve despised him for it, been embarrassed for him but he could careless. she obliged. reddening eyes illuminated hazel orbs and darkened veins wisped into hands. in that moment, he wondered how that felt. to give more control to what lurked in those veins but he had to focus. he would ask about that later. he wanted her to feel him. unconditional love and fidelity that he could argue from dusk till dawn was far greater then any pack member could give her. he’d seen her at her lowest of lows. he’d adored her in high school where everything felt weird to them and especially her, where growth felt irrational and bifocals proved how truly blind she was. where chestnut brown hair was unkept in curls that she had little understanding of and never understood even now.

she felt everything from lingering questions to undisclosed desires, to true regret, to absolute tenderness. she felt everything so deeply and now she knew he did as well. they were the same in that way. she yanked her hands afterwards, quickly, to avoid invading him any further. she never approved using that gift to her own advantage. in fact, her scowl only deepened,‘i... it’ll be to your detriment.’

‘i know and so what?’

‘i could kill you.’

‘be my guest, cecilia. it would be an honor.’ he grabbed for her hands again but this time only managed to grasp one,‘in fact, i’d invite death over to have a couple of beers.’

tbc.

[moved2usagiiboo]

That body belongs to me

Warnings: HardDom!Mitsuya, squirting, spanking, oral male receiving, manipulative!Mitsuya, breeding, spit, female fingering.

Mitsuya, a successful rookie designer and his stunning model girlfriend clash heads when his beloved wishes to wear a dress from another designer to boost her credibility as a model. Her boyfriend wasn't happy with her decision in the least bit.

Author note; I've been sitting on this for a while, it randomly came to me when I was day dreaming in things that would piss Mitsuya off. For some reason I love making guys mad ✊🏿

Mitsuya, ever since he was younger wanted to become a fashion designer and in the face of all adversity he successed. He never complained about living situation, about never having time for himself, nor how he grew up too fast. How he was never able to just be a kid, he faced his problems head on and worked towards his dreams through it all.

He was an inspiration to everyone around him, his sisters, friends, and you.

Y/n Kataga, you met him during your third year of highschool. Your family had just moved to Japan due to a travel assignment your mom accepted. You had been adjusting to your new life in Japan, trying to figure out where things were, what's what. You were trying your best to adapt to the change, for your mom's sake. Lord knows how stress she has been, going through a divorce, raising 4 kids seemingly on her own. You wanted to help her out, even if it was just a little bit.

Your mother has been working so hard that she hasn't been able to explore Japan, going to work and straight home. It's been a few months since you moved to Japan, still being on summer break you didn't have to worry about school just yet. You made your brothers breakfast, cleaned the house, and set out to explore the city.

That's when you came across two little girls crying at the park, you went to see what was the matter with them. At first they were weary of you.

"N-Nii-san said not to talk to strangers..." The older one spoke up.

"Well, I'm a nice stranger who doesn't like seeing such pretty little girls cry. I just wanna help hm?" You spoke in your softest tone to gain the trust of the little girls.

They were still cautious of you but something told them they could trust you, they told you their names. Mana and Luna. They were absolutely adorable, you held the youngest one in your arm while holding the hand of the older one.

"So, what's does your big brother look like?" You asked the girls while walking around the block to see if you could find him, realizing without a description it would be a lot harder to spot him.

"Like a prince!" The little one cheered joyfully. You could only laugh at how she admired her older brother.

"Ey? Is that so?" You looked down at the older sister, she nodded aggressively agreeing with.

"Well, we can't just say we're looking for a prince can we? Any distinctive things about him?"

"Oh oh! He has purple hair!" Mana recalled.

"And he has piercings." Luna interjected, putting a finger to her chin thinking about other things that would help describe her brother, "and he's really tall!" She finished.

"So purple hair, tall, and piercings, got it." You repeated their description of their brother wondering just what type of person he really was. He seemed interesting in the least bit.

The morning sun slowly began to set as you and the girls walked around looking for this boy. You lot went in and out of stores asking around trying to find this mystery brother, you began to think that he left off without them. What a dick.

As the evening sun began to roll in the little girls grew tired, as did you. In the end you all ended up back at the park sitting on the bench with the girls crying themselves to sleep while laying on your lap fearful for what would happen to them.

You caressed their hair trying to comfort them as beads of tears landed onto your pants. Maybe you should file a missing children's report, you zoned out as you tried to think of ways to bring these children back to their parents or brother.

"Mana! Luna!" A gruff voice called out, through the corner of your eye you could see a tall boy running through the streets calling the names of the little girls now sleeping in your lap.

"O-over here!" You yelled waving your hands like a mad man to signal the young man. You caught his attention. He began to run over to the park. As he got closer you could see him, his piercings, the purple hair.. The way his skin looked in the evening light, he really did look like a prince.

"Mana, Luna, look it's your big brother." You softly shook the girls awake.

"Nii-san?" Luna muttered wiping the sleep from her eyes, she looked up and saw her brother standing running towards them.

"NII-SAN!" She shouted, almost tripping trying to get out of your lap she ran up to him hugging his legs.

"Nii-san, nii-san, nii-san." She chanted it like a mantra, "was so scared, thought you left us!" She cried out holding onto his legs as her tears fell.

"I would never leave you guys, never." He comforted her, bending down to her height enclosing her in tight hug. You watched this sentimental moment with a soft smiled curled on your lips.

"Mana, look." You whispered softly. She opened her eyes and saw her brother hugging her older sister.

"Nii-chan!!!" She exclaimed running to him hugging him tightly.

You got up from the bench, dusting yourself off. You looked at the girls and they seemed okay, it was time for you to head home. You turned the opposite way and began to walk off.

"W-Wait!" The boy called out. You hummed in question, turning around to face him. The boy gets up bringing his sisters with him.

"Mana tells me you looked all around the city with them to find me... Thank you." He says gratefully, he bows his head forcing his sisters' heads down in the process with his hands.

"I-its okay! Please lift your heads, seriously!" You stutter out, you lock your hands together behind your back feeling shy all of the sudden, "It wasn't a big deal, they were really sweet." You smiled. They lifted their hands, Mana and Luna locked hands with their older brother watching you with their beady eyes.

"They seem to really like you, they normally aren't so accepting of people." He confessed with a chuckle.

"Maybe I'm special." You smugly say.

"I'd say... Takes a different type of person to spend all day with kids you don't know, just go make sure they get home..." He pauses locking eyes with you, "you're amazing."

He's so genuine every word was spoken with respect and appreciation, you never seen this before in a guy. Not a hint of sarcasm, nothing. Just pure. You felt your face heat up as you locked eyes, you quickly averted your eyes turning your body the opposite direction.

"W-Well, I'm just happy they found you." You stuttered out once again, you covered your face with your hands feeling the heat seep through. How embarrassing. You suddenly shook as your pocket began to vibrate.

"Oh shit!" You closed your mouth, "I mean, oh crud...." You look back at the little girls hoping they didn't catch that. "I, I have to go!" You looked at your phone realizing you had over 60 messages and 9 missed calls from your mother. You began to run off waving goodbye before disappearing into the evening sun. You didn't even catch the young boy asking for your name.

When you made it home, you got yelled at for what seemed like hours. Your mother took your phone and any freedom you thought you had. It was fine though, at least those girls made it home, you didn't have to worry, yet they were still occupying your mind.

Much less they and more like, him. He was running through your mind, over and over you replayed your interaction feeling more and more embarrassed everytime you think about what you did. You felt your heart beat faster when you hear him repeat the words, "you're amazing".

You didn't think you'd see him again, but you did. It was spring, the flowers were blooming, bees were buzzing, birds chirping, sun shining as beautifully as ever and the only thing you could think about was that boy. You didn't even get his name. It's crazy how much a first impression will impact you. You wondered if he went to the same school as you, actually, you hoped so, but that would be too much of a coincidence, it will start to seem like you guys were.... Soulmates. You couldn't help but squeal at the idea, how perfect would your life be.

"Snap out of it!" You slapped your face as you stood outside your classroom, you took in deep breaths trying to calm yourself down. Your first class of the day, go in, make good impressions and you'll be able to make friends. You hoped, you prayed you didn't say anything too embarrassing.

The first introduction went smoothly, despite stuttering a couple of times. You even got a few numbers from some girls in the class who liked the way you did your hair. Things were going great, only, your dream boy wasn't here. Why would he be? Stop being so hopeful for things that will never happen.

You made your way to the home economics club making a delivery for your teacher who was too busy grading papers to make the delivery himself. You had no problem doing it, it was lunch break and you had nothing better to do after all. Maybe you could make some more friends, plus side you could check out the club and see if it's something you want to do. After all, you always wanted to be a model, might as well see what this club is like.

You carried boxes that were twice your height but quite light despite the size of them. You could barely see the door but you could see the class number. Now onto the problem you now have, how to open the door, you held the boxes with both of your hands. If you even move one hand it will all come toppling down. Then comes, the bright idea. You stood there trying to open the door with your foot, trying your hardest not to fall over due to lack of balance.

You should've taken those yoga classes with your mom! Curses.

It wasn't long till the door opened up, your ears perked hearing the sound.

"Wow, you're carrying a lot, you could've called out I would've came sooner." You heard a soft voice speak out, it was smooth like honey yet deep. Whoever this voice belonged to was blessed.

"Sorry! I didn't want to disturb anyone....." You mutter softly.

"Come on in, let me help you." He spoke reaching to grab some of your boxes.

"Nu-huh, I got it!" You chirped back, you heard him laugh softly as you felt his hand touch your back as he guided you into the room, his touch oh-so soft. Normally you would feel uncomfortable with this but with him, it felt okay. Felt nice actually.

You swatted these thoughts following the guide of his hand.

"You can set them here." He stated talking half of your boxes setting them down on the table.

"Hey, I said I had-" Finally you could see, and thank god you could. You locked eyes with your prince. The boy from the park. Both of your eyes widened as it hit you guys.

"You're the guy from the park!"

"You're the girl from the park!"

You both yelled out, you could only laugh at accusations you yelled at the same time.

"Wow, who knew we'd end up in the same school?" Talk about fate." He smiled.

His smile was so bright, just like that day you met. He hasn't changed. He's so pretty....

"Y-Yeah, fate.." You cursed yourself for the person you became when you were around him, your voice felt soft and weak. Your face constantly felt hot, your heart beating out of your chest. Was it...

Love at first sight?

"You know, I never caught your name." He speaks out trying to lightening the mood after seeing your awkward disposition, slightly fidgeting your fingers, twirling the heel of your foot.

"Right! I never caught yours either, I'm Y/n Kataga!" You replied cheerfully with a huge smile that blinded him. He held his hand out to shake yours,

"Takashi Mitsuya, pleasure to meet you Y/n." He smiled back, you looked at his hand and shook it.

That was the start of something bigger than the both of you. You both became close very quickly, bonding over your love of fashion and modeling. He introduced you to his friends, mother, re-introducing you to his sisters, officially. They were so happy to see you again, soon enough you guys were like a small family.

You learned all about him through stories from Chifuyu and Draken, you knew about Toman and his past gang life, how he raised his sisters, you knew all of it. You felt special, even though you weren't present during that time, you felt as if you were there with him. It was perfect and you would cherish these stories forever.

Mitsuya learned everything about you, much less from asking and more by observing. He learned how stressed you'd get when meeting new people, how you bit your lip while concentrating, how you fidget your fingers and advert your eyes in the cutest way when you were feeling shy. He learned it all. He loved learning more about you, you were like a book he couldn't put down. You, Y/n had him completely obsessed, wrapping around your perfect little finger.

One day you told him about how you wanted to be a model, then and there he proposed you model for him and only him. He'd make you beautiful clothes that match your style and you wear them for him.

Of course you agreed, his designs are gorgeous. He's really talented, and now you had an excuse to be around him more. Not like you needed one, all it took was one text and he would be running to you, wherever you were.

Fourth year of highschool, final year, Mitsuya was going to the College of Designs and you had a job opportunity to work under famous models. You were separating, and only after a year of being together. You haven't even confessed yet. To be honest you didn't even know if you should, what if you ruined what you had. You didn't want to ruin a perfectly good friendship, but you wanted to be more than friends. You wanted more than hugs when he dropped you off, you needed more than your hand gently brushing against his. You deserved more than unnoticed glances at him when he was too busy making designs to notice your stares.

But he did, he noticed it all. He knew, kind of. He had a suspicion, after all Hina was whispering things to him about you and your little secret crush. It came out a few months back that you liked this guy but refused to say who he was. You only gave vague details about him, but in those details he saw himself, maybe he was being overzealous but he prayed it was him you liked and not some other guy. Only he could treat you like the princess you were, you were his since the day he met you.

"Y/n, wanna go to the park?" He asked pointing to the small park across the street.

"That's...." You said as you walked towards the park. You glided your finger against the slide where you first found Mana and Luna crying their eyes out.

You made your way over to the swing where you sat down softly smiling at the memories. When you first fell in love.

"Yeah, where we first met." Mitsuya smiled sat the memory, he walked behind you. Taking your hands and placing them on the chains holding the swing up. You got used to these soft touches, you hated them. They were the touches that could lead to more but never did, you despised them but took whatever you could get. You were greedy, you couldn't help it. Mitsuya began pushing you on the swing, comfortable silence fell over the two of you, you felt the wind softly brush against your face as he pushed you at just the right pace, the night moon looking more beautiful than it has before, maybe it's because you're with him.

"You were cute back then." Mitsuya spoke up.

"What? Saying I'm not cute now?" You scoff at his claim. Feigning to be hurt.

"Not what I'm saying." He rolled his eyes, you were his little drama queen.

"Then what are you saying Mr. Takashi Mitsuya?" You asked looking behind you to lock eyes with the man pushing you. He had that look in his eyes, the one he has when he's sketching clothes or working on bringing his design to life, the eyes of complete concentration and admiration. He leaned down, holding either of your eyes with his own bracing himself. He locked his lips with yours without a single word, not even a warning. His lips were slightly cracked yet soft. The kiss was one that told you everything.

"I've always loved you."

Since that day, it was official. You were his and he was yours. You were a picture perfect relationship, arguments were rare with him, he was kind, considerate, supportive. He was just perfect. You took each others' firsts and planned on taking everything from each other till their was nothing left.

Like said before, arguments were rare. Only sparking when Mitsuya wasn't talking care of himself like he should have been to finish a project, or you put yourself at risk for your career.

Arguments weren't a thing with you two, but when it happened, they were heated and here you two are, present day. Hashing it out.

"And I'm telling you I can protect myself!" You shouted at your lover who had his arms crossed peering at you over the kitchen counter.

"It doesn't matter if you can protect yourself or not, he's dangerous." He spat back completely ignoring your statement.

"He's not dangerous, he's an awkward kid trying to get his product out there," you groaned frustrated at your lover, "you know what that's like..." You mumble.

"Yeah, I do, but at least I wasn't shady." He gruffed, rolling his eyes.

"Mitsuya! He's not shady. Ugh!" You exclaimed throwing your hands in the air.

"You're in denial. You're not doing it. Period." He said the turning around no longer facing you, diverting his attention to the food on the stove.

"You don't tell me what I can and can not do." You pettily said walking out of the room and into your own slamming the door. You plopped onto your bed screaming into your pillow. Pissed at how stubborn he could be. You laid face first into the pillow not moving, until you got a ding on your phone. It was a text, you lifted your head to check your phone.

Aykoyama

"This Monday, 8am? How does that sound? 🙂"

Aykoyama, a new designer, you met him on a photoshoot and exchanged numbers. Normally you wouldn't model for anyone other than Mitsuya but you figured once wouldn't hurt. Besides, you need to build your clientele as a model, you would want him to branch out with different models as well. It's for work, nothing more.

Y/n

I'm sorry, I don't think I can anymore-

"You don't tell me what I can and can not do"

'Fuck you Mitsuya' you thought, time to build your clientele you smiled softly to yourself.

Y/n

Sounds great! Can't wait to see what you have in stored!! 😁

You know you didn't do anything wrong, it's not like you cheated on Mitsuya or anything, yet... Why do you feel so shitty.

You curled up in bed feeling as if you burned down an orphanage, the guilt was killing you.

Over the course of the week you and Mitsuya haven't been talking. You both went to work, lived your life as if the other person didn't exist. It was more you holding a grudge and Mitsuya giving you your space. He'd simply sigh when you would leave the room after he'd enter it, or how you would sleep on the couch to stay away from him.

Slowly it started to piss him off, who the hell said you could ignore him? He's just worried about you. You'll get over it, he'll apologize and you'll say sorry back. Soon you'll be in his arms again waiting for your daily kisses. Like normal.

Yet that time didn't come, what did come was the event. You left the house earlier than excepted, earlier than Mitsuya ever woke up.

He woke up to an empty bed, which has been this week's normal, he checked the time on his phone, 12:50 pm, he slept pretty late today.

No matter, it was his off day. He yawned with a stretch, pushing himself off the bed to check to couch and you weren't there. Matter of fact, there was no sign that you even slept there.

The house was void of all signs of life besides the small signs of his existence that he left laying around the house. He checked his phone to see if you left any message yet you haven't. Now he's worried. He sighs and texts your manager, Polly.

Boss's hubby

Have you seen Y/n?

Read 1:03 pm

"What the hell?" He mumbled to himself running his free hand through his hair.

Boss's hubby

Polly?

Wifey's manager

Sorry! I was busy doing Y/n hair! But she's here with me, we're getting ready for the Gala tonight, you should come 🤧

Boss's hubby

Gala?

Wifey's manager

She didn't tell you? She must've forgot, silly her. Shes helping Mr. Aykoyama With his debut today at tonight's Gala!

He couldn't believe it, you deliberately hide the fact that you were still working with him after he told you not to. It's safe to say he was livid, which is rare. Mitsuya is a calm man, after raising two little girls he had to be, you were one of the only people who knew how to push his buttons and do it correctly.

Boss's hubby

She must've, send me the address and the best time to arrive

Wifey's manager

Of course! The theme is "Golden shine" here's the address;

Read 1:20 pm

The time read 6:30 pm, just five minutes before the red carpet walk, you were sweating buckets. The event was fairly small but had a lot of big faces there in the modeling and designing industry. You couldn't help but be hit with a huge wave of guilt when you thought about what you're doing.

You snuck behind his back to go to a Gala, with another man, after he told you not to. Maybe you did it out of spite or you wanted to prove something but this looks bad all the way around. You're even wearing someone else's dress, you promised. You promised to only wear his clothes.. But you can't deny, the kid has talent. You look breath taking and Polly did a stunning job on your hair and makeup.

Your hair was put into a low bun with a deep side part. Your makeup was light but effective, you had soft red lips with a neutral soft glam brown and yellow look that complimented your eyes perfectly, and the dress.... Lord.

The way it framed your body, showing off each all your curves, the way it instantly perked up your breasts, cupping them like a corset would. It was a great dress but, it wasn't Mitsuya's. As you wore the dress you didn't feel that rush of excitement that you felt when you wore your lover's clothes. You felt tainted wearing this, it made you want to rip it off your body, but this is your job. This is what you signed up for as a model. You can't back out...

"Carpet time in minus 5 minutes!" One of the crew members shouted into the changing room for the models and other crew members to hear.

"You ready?" Polly asked popping up behind you out of nowhere, scaring the hell out of you causing you to shake.

"Didn't mean to scare ya. Nerves?" She questions holding your hand to try and comfort you.

"Yeah... First time doing this." You muttered staring down at the floor feeling almost lightheaded.

"Don't worry, you'll do great." She cheers you on, "Besides, I invited your fiance so you don't have to worry." She smiles giving you the finger heart sign, clearly proud of what she did.

"You did what!?" You shouted softly gripping her shoulders, "Why did you do that?"

"Because he should be here to support you? Is everything okay?" She asks now worried looking at your form.

"Carpet time people, let's go!" The same crew member shouted. The models get up making their way to the door.

"You too Y/n!" The crew member calls you out after not moving. Polly pushes you wishing you a good luck to the door.

You had to calm down, you had to do well. You have to do well not only for yourself but for Mr. Aykoyama. You can't let your personal life get in the way of your work, you're a professional Y/n. Act like it.

You are one of the last people to get on stage, you grab your umbrella prop and begin to sway your hips as you walked down the stage. You looked over to the side to meet eyes with the patrons there, you meet eyes with a happy Mr. Aykoyama who's giving you thumbs up and a not so happy Mitsuya who's leaning forward in his seat, his elbows on either side of his knees with his hands clenched together.

He just watches you, stares you down, your every move, the sway of your hip, the way you averted your eyes when you saw him.

You met the end of the stage and did put a hand on your hip, the other hand pulling the umbrella back giving the lookers a closer, more clearer view of the dress that was on your body. You tried you best to be professional, to focus on your job, but the way Mitsuya glared at you, you could feel your core heating up. You were honestly terrified.

You spun on your heels turning around to leave the stage as the onlookers clapped cheering your name. Mitsuya didn't move a muscle, he just flashed a tight close eyed smile your way.

You're fucked.

The event couldn't seem to go any slower, Mitsuya was standing behind you with his hand on your back gripping your waist shining a soft smile towards the fellow designers there. He hasn't said a single word, just holding a death grip on your waist as you socialize with the people there.

"Y/n! You were amazing out there!" Mr. Aykoyama cheered running up to you, he had a glisten in his eyes, his smile was so wide.

"It was all thanks to your design, it's stunning." You said returning his smile.

"No-no, I can't take all the credit... The way you strutted down the runway with grace and ease, everybody was enchanted by you.." He scans your body blatantly ignoring your lover's presence.

"She is beautiful isn't she?" Mitsuya interjects, holding his hand out towards the younger man standing in front of him, "Takashi Mitsuya, senior designer." He introduced himself with a smile that seems genuine at first glance yet his filled with annoyance and slight anger. It's a smile that could kill a man.

Mitsuya has mastered the art of passive aggressiveness, especially working in the fashion department, he had to learn or he would be eaten alive.

"A-ah, yes! I'm Aykoyama Lin!" He shakes his hand. The young man winces at the grip your fiance had on his hand, "Firm grip! My father would love you." He laughed and Mitsuya joined only entertaining his bullshit until the event was over.

"Thank you for giving my beloved fiance here the opportunity to work with you. However, she must politely decline any future work with you." Mitsuya pulls you by your waist closer to him, you could only blush looking down at the ground.

"Excuse me?" He glared at Mitsuya, "Whatever do you mean?"

"Ah, well, there's no reason for her to work with you any further, after all...." He pauses, "She has me." He gruffed out, "Now if you'll excuse us, my princess seems to feel sick. We'll return the dress immediately."

"No, no, that's not necessary, she can keep it!" He beamed. Mitsuya just flared at him, taking his anger out on your already bruised hips, tightening his grip on your waist.

Mitsuya said nothing else, he turned around and guided you out the building. He walked you to the car garage. He swiftly pushed you against a random wall in the parking garage, pushing you by your hips. Smashing his lips against yours, taking your breath from your mouth with his own, the grip on your waist lightened up but was soon taken over by the same pressure being around your neck. You gasped into the kiss as you felt his hand ring around your neck. His tongue pushed further into your mouth exploring your mouth, swirling his tongue with your own.

He applied more pressure to your neck as he deepened the kiss. You both pulled away to gain air, your chests heaving trying to pull oxygen back into your body.

"S-Suya—" You moaned out.

"Take it off." He gruffed out of breath.

"What?" You questioned him, looking baffled.

"You heard me, take the dress off. I'm not fucking you with another man's design on you." He spat. You must've been taking too long, Mitsuya span you around making your back face him, he unzipped the dress, gently removing your arms from the sleeves before pulling it down.

There you stood, practically naked in a parking garage, you thanked the stars that you left early, it seemed to be only the two of you. You felt the cold air hit you like a tidal wave, goosebumps covered your body as you wrapped our arms around your most delicate places.

How shameful, you should be ashamed. Embarrassed, disgusted, yet there was a pooling in your panties that said otherwise, Mitsuya was never aggressive with you, he treated you like a precious China set, something to be protected. Now you felt like nothing more than a cheapened slut.

"Such a slutty little thing, you didn't wear a bra?" He whispered into your ear, licking your neck before biting it, leaving small bruises. You felt Mitsuya cup your breast from behind, massaging your nipples in between his fingers, the cold air aided in making them hard under his touch.

"W-Was told not to— Ah." Moaning out as he caressed your breasts and biting your neck.

"You're enjoying this hm? Being violated in a parking lot, here I thought you enjoyed being pampered..." He ranted on, "Being treated like a princess, if you wanted to be treated like a cock hungry slut you should've just said that." He cooed, leaving a trail of kisses on your shoulder.

"Don't wanna be treated like a slut.. Suya." You mumbled, feeling his hot breath against your shoulder, his gentle kisses, knowing this was the last time tonight that he would be this kind.

He turned you around, taking his suit jacket off and wrapping it around your shoulders, buttoning just the middle of the jacket.

"Wouldn't want you to catch a cold before I finished with you."

Your body felt hot, hotter than ever. Your panties getting wetter by the minute. He walked you to his car with his hand back on it's designated place, your hips. Digging into his right pocket with his free hand to grab his car keys. He unlocked the car door, opening the passenger side for you. He tossed you in the seat, muttering a buckle up before closing the door and getting in himself.

As soon as he got into his seat, he grabbed you by your hair, pushing your face towards his own, locking his lips with yours once again. He licked your lips with your tongue signalling you to open your mouth further. Moaning into the kiss as Mitsuya made his way to your wet panties.

"Soaking are we?" He chuckled into the kiss, pushing your panties to the side prodding his finger at your entrance. You struggled to kiss him back as his finger pushed passed your tight entrance, moving at a gentle pace, hitting all the right places. You moaned louder as you felt his finger curl inside you hitting your G-spot ever so softly with the tip of his finger.

"I've barely done anything to you doll... You can last longer than that can't you?"

He pushed another finger past your entrance, scissoring them together inside of you. You gripped his hair trying your best to continue the pace of the kiss but struggling as he was teasing your hole. You broke the kiss,

"Suya! R-Right there—" You moaned as he moved his fingers in and out, pushing them against your G-spot just before taking them out all to do it again, inching you towards your orgasm,

"M'gonna cum Suya~" You purred out. Arching your back wanting to feel more of his fingers. "Close, m'so close...."

Just before you were able to have your high he pulled out, before you could protest he shoved his fingers in your mouth muffling you.

"You thought it was gonna be easy? Hm? Whoring yourself out to another designer, going behind my back? What makes you think you should cum?"

He shoves his fingers down your throat forcing you to gag on his slender digits.

"Bad girls like you should be punished, not rewarded." He pulls his fingers from your throat watching you cough catching air, he pulls your face towards his once more before, forcing your mouth open with his thumb before spitting in your mouth.

"Swallow." With that you struggled to gulp down his saliva, yet you did, with the bob of your throat you swallowed what he gave you. Opening your mouth and sticking your tongue out to show him that you swallowed it all, hoping he'd praise you.

"What? Wanna be praised for doing the bare minimum? You're gonna have to do a lot more than that. Now spread your legs."

You opened your legs further allowing him a full view of your soaking area, he brushed his hand past your clit, only to reach into his glove compartment. He pulled out a small pink bullet vibrator, he looked at you with a closed eye smile. He teasingly poked your entrance with the toy, nudging you with just the tip. You let out a soft hum of pleasure as the vibrator brushed across you.

You were so aroused you couldn't handle it, you just wanted him to fuck you, pin you down and use you however he wanted to. Your walls clenched at the thought of being his ragdoll.

"What are you dousing off for?" He scoffed in annoyance before pushing the vibrator in, "You better not make a mess in my car. If you go the entire ride without cumming, I'll fuck you. If not, you'll go to sleep without feeling my cock inside this slutty pussy of yours."

"T-Thats just mean Suya—" Being cut off by the vibrator turning on, feeling it deep in your core. The pleasure was immense, it felt so good, so deep inside of you. You bit your finger muffling your moans, not wanting to show Mitsuya how good it felt. You couldn't cum yet.

"What? Gonna cum already?" He cooed rubbing your clit with his fingers, whispering against your neck, peppering you with small kisses. "You can do it, go ahead princess, cum." He encouraged you, he wanted you to suffer. He was pissed despite how sweet he cooed at you.

"D-Dont wanna! Wanna cum on your cock Suya!" Your back arched as he picked up the pace on your sensitive nub.

"Yeah? Wanna cum all over my cock? Wanna feel it deep inside you?"

"Yes Suya, m'wanna feel you inside, only you."

He moved his face away from your neck, the movement on your clit stopped.

"Then you better not cum before we get home."

The drive home was long and excruciating. Mitsuya purposely grazed your clit or breasts to amplify your pleasure, trying to get you to lose yourself and have an orgasm. You were fighting it so hard.

The car was filled with your soft moans and whispers, you chanted his name begging him to turn down the vibrator, it was too much. You couldn't handle it, he only replied telling you,

"If you want my cock then you'll be a good girl and hold it in."

And so you did. He purposely took the long way home, followed and obeyed every traffic law to the T. He even had the audacity to make a pit stop to get some more fabric while he made you wait in the car.

You couldn't help but cry as you forcefully help in your upcoming orgasm. Tears ran down your face, Mitsuya cooed at you caressing your face kissing your tears away. You were doing good, you were doing well, so well. You watched as Mitsuya pulled into your driveway feeling great relief.

Your relief was brief, as he parked in the driveway you felt his fingers push the vibrator further into you.

You arched your back, letting out a loud moan in response.

He had that look in his eyes. His orbs were focused on you entirely, watching your every facial expression. The way your eyebrows furrowed together, your mouth agape, the way you put your fingers to your lips trying to muffle your own moans.

He selfishly captured your lips in a kiss once again, sucking on your tongue, exploring your mouth as if he's never tasted you before. His free hand turned up the power of the vibrator.

"Suya— too much! I don't wanna-" You panicked at the rush of pleasure.

"Then don't."

You couldn't help it, you were doing so well, so well... All of those efforts gone as you released onto the vibrator, your juices dripping out of you as you closed your legs tightly letting out a prolonged moan, coming to your release.

Mitsuya clicked his tongue as he watched you come undone on the vibrator. Your chest heaving up and down as you tried to catch your breath after having such an intense orgasm.

"N-No, unfair! Suya, please." You pleaded gripping his dress shirt,

"How unfortunate, we just made it home too.." He sighed, looking down at his hardened cock confined in his dress pants. Bringing your shaky hand to feel his cock through his pants,

"It was all ready for you too, at least you got to cum hm?" He smiled, before helping you get out of the car and bringing you inside the house, placing you on the couch. He undoes his tie and kicks off his shoes, leaving you a broken mess on the couch.

"I'm going to shower first okay?" He chirps as kissing your forehead before leaving.

"Suya please!" You cried out, "M'sorry, m'so sorry" You begged as he walked off,

"Princess, don't be a brat. You knew the deal, you agreed to it."

"Please don't leave me like this, I— need you..." You walked up to him pressing your breast against his back, "Need you so bad.."

He hummed in response,

"Now why should I? Last time I checked, I told you not to work with Mr. Aykoyama didn't I? You didn't listen, you wanted to do your own thing, surely you can cum on your own." He smiled as he faced you. That same smile he has plastered on his face all night, the one that says he's pissed but not showing it.

"You even went as far as ignoring me, sneaking behind my back.." He trails off, wrapping his hand around your throat, "Why should I do anything for you?"

"... Y-Youre right, Suya, I was being stubborn, I didn't listen like I should have... M'sorry, it won't happen again." You cried out, coming down to your knees slowly rubbing his entrapped cock with your hand. "Never again, will be your good girl." You promised as you undid his belt buckle, working your way to his zipper. "I love you Suya... Love you so much."

"You want it so bad? Do it yourself." He spat while watching you pull down his pants, he unbuttoned his shirt to get more comfortable, you were still in his suit jacket before telling you to take it off.

And you did, along with your panties.

You kissed his pelvis making your way down to the hem of his underwear, the final layer before meeting with his harden cock. Despite being angry he could never say no to your pretty mouth, his cock always told you want he truly wanted even if his mouth didn't.

You pulled down the final layer, his cock sprung out gently hitting your face. You stared at it like it was the greatest thing in the world. Your eyes sparkled as you saw it, you began kissing it from the hilt up to the tip.

Even his cock looked angry, pale base color with light blue veins pulsating against your lips.

[lixiepeach]

Red Moon, Part 12

Summary: Hana’s life was planned out perfectly. She would marry the pack alpha, become Luna and do her duties. But the appearance of a mysterious stranger turns her life inside out she finds herself outcast and alone. Will she find her new home in Chan and his pack of strays? Will she find what she’s been looking for all along in the mysterious alpha? Or will everything crumble under her again?

Warnings: Some talk of death and grieving but nothing in detail

A/N: So I didn’t plan on getting this up tonight but I decided to cut the chapter a bit shorter than I wanted. It just felt to weird putting the next part in this chapter so surprise I guess. Also big thanks to @healinghyunjin​ for the idea of Hana getting to garden again and helping me figure out what the hell I’m doing with this story right now

Part 11 | MASTERLIST

Hana wakes with a startle when she smacks right into something in the process of rolling over. That something grunts at the impact, rolling away. Hana flips over in bed, frowning as she sees a lump in the blankets next to her. She pulls the comforter down, Chan squinting at the sudden assault of light in his eyes. 

“Chan!” She whines, “You scared the shit out of me!” She smacks his arm before flopping back on the bed. 

“Sorry. You were just so cute, I couldn’t help myself.” 

Hana huffs, pulling the comforter up under her chin, rolling to face Chan. Seungmin had been right. Chan was downright hovering around her. She can’t count how many times she’d quite literally bumped into him while just trying to move around. She’d had to boot him out of the bathroom just so she could use it. He all but fed her during meal times, and more times than she can count she’d woken up in bed with him. It’s endearing, but at the same time it’s a bit over the top. 

Chan grins at her, reaching to her face, brushing some of the hair from her eyes. He boops her nose, grinning as she scrunches her face. 

“Chan...” She whines. “Don’t you have something else you should be doing?” 

“Like what?” He asks. 

“I dunno, coddling someone else?” 

“I’m not coddling.” He pulls her against his chest. “I’m just happy you’re officially part of my pack. I thought for sure you were going to leave. That I’d never see you again.” 

Hana pushes against his chest as his grip gets tighter around her. “Well you might not if you keep suffocating me.” 

“Sorry.” He loosens his hold, keeping his arms loosely around her. “You deserve to be treated well.” He cups her cheek, thumb tracing a pattern on her skin. “Like an omega should be treated.” 

Hana stares into his dark eyes, trying to discern the emotion behind them. He hides it well, something she had realized in her mission to piece together exactly what made Chan...well, Chan. 

“Chan...” She starts, but is interrupted by the door slamming open. 

A body is launched through the air, coming down on top of the two of them, making them groan. The body wiggles itself between them, Hana’s nose filling with the scent of alpha. 

“Jeongin.” Chan groans as the alpha burrows into his chest. 

“Breakfast’s ready.” He says, voice muffled from his face being plastered to Chan’s chest. 

Hana takes this as her moment to escape, sliding out of bed before all but racing down the stairs to the kitchen. 

“And she got away!” Felix says when she appears. 

“I told you sending Jeongin was the best bet.” Jisung says. 

Felix takes her hand. “Come on. Let’s go.” He starts pulling her towards the door. 

“Where are we going?” She asks, a bit hesitant. 

“Outside. Away from Chan.” He says, leading her out into the cool morning air. “I know how he gets and figured you wanted some space.” 

Hana smiles, holding Felix’s hand as they cross the clearing. “It was endearing at first. Now...he’s just...” 

“Smothering. Crowding. Clingy. Acting like he’s going into heat. Yeah, he was that way with me too. I think it’s been worse with you, though.” 

“I don’t get it.” 

Felix squeezes her hand. “Chan’s...complicated. He...has this deep guilt for things in his past he feels like he needs to rectify. That’s why he helps everyone he can. You, me, Jisung, we’re all perfect opportunities for his reparation. Even if we weren’t omegas, he still would view us that way. It’s just made worse by the fact we’re omegas and we have the worst pasts out of everyone.” 

Felix leads her to a blanket spread out on the far edge of the clearing away from the house. Hana sits down, Felix following, pulling food out of the container. 

“What is your story? I feel like I’ve heard almost everyone’s now.” Hana asks, adding food to her plate. It was still warm meaning they hadn’t set this up too long ago. 

“I came from a pack far away from here, like Chan.” Felix starts. “Things aren’t...as civil as they are here. Pack wars were still a thing, it was very dangerous. You and I couldn’t have been out like this alone. If you had been exiled like you were where I grew up, you would have had strays and nomads on you before you even crossed the territory line, if there even was a territory line to begin with. My pack’s village was attacked one day, so I ran with a few other members to escape. We ran as far as we could, hitchhiked, whatever means we could find to get as far away as we could.” 

“That must have been hard.” 

“I wanted to go back. Turn back and see if any of my family made it out. Try to find them. But I knew how dangerous it was for me to be out in the open. So I kept going. It hurt, but part of me knew I would be consigning myself to worse things than grief if I went back. I ran into Chan in town after we got dropped off there. The others I was with decided to keep going. I was tired of running and wanted a break, so I came back with Chan. I was the second to last to join, before Jeongin.” 

Hana takes his hands, rubbing circles over the smooth skin on the backs. “Did you ever think about going back? Trying to find your family?” 

“I used to. But I know they wouldn’t be there, even if they were alive. It would be too dangerous to try and search for them. It’s easier to think they died than to sit there and wonder where they are, if they’re alright.” 

Hana pulls him in for a hug. “Well, you have a new family now. One that loves you a lot. I can see it, the love you all have for each other. It’s really special.” 

“We all love you too, you know.” He pulls away, holding her at arm's length. “You’re just this...perfect puzzle piece that fits right in. I can’t explain it, but it’s like you were always supposed to be there. The guys all would bend over backwards for you. Not just Chan. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them all so whipped for someone before. Not even Jeongin.” 

“I definitely don’t think that’s possible.” 

“It is. Cause it’s happening. Chan’s not wrong about one thing. You do deserve it.” 

“But I just...feel like everyone has had a rough time...” 

“We have.” Felix wraps his arms around her. “But we’ve been here for a long time. The bad things in our lives happened a long time ago. Yours happened weeks ago. We’ve all had time to heal.  We all have our scars, but that’s what they are. Scars. Not open wounds. Yours is still festering. We want to help it heal, so we’re going to. Even if Chan thinks smothering you is the best way to do it.” 

“I do appreciate the thought. But having him breathing down my neck is a bit much. He was going to stand in the bathroom with me.” 

“Yeah, he’ll get over it eventually. He means well. The rest of us know, and will try to run interference as much as possible. Jisung is easy to convince to play interference. He’s the most...excitable out of everyone. Except maybe Jeongin, but he’s young. He really likes you, you know?” 

“Who?” Hana tilts her head in confusion. 

“Jeongin. If Chan wasn’t so smotherly, I think Jeongin would be doing it.” 

“You...you think?” 

“Boy practically melts every time you look at him. You’re the first wolf he’s met that was a late bloomer like him. There’s a sense of unity there.” 

“Anything else you’ve noticed?” 

Felix takes her hand again. “Nothing important. We’re all just glad you’re here.” 

They finish their breakfast, taking their time getting back to the house. Hana knows they can only hold Chan off so long. She’s surprised they’ve managed as long as they have. He’s waiting at the door when they come back though, opening it before they even get onto the porch. 

“I’m fine, Chan.” Hana says, trying to push past him into the house but he’s intent on checking her over to make sure. “Felix is more than capable of taking care of me.” 

“I know.” He says, hands cupping her face. “I just have to make sure.” 

*********

Chan is gripping Hana’s hand as they walk through the store. It was quiet in the early afternoon, hardly anyone else inside but them so there was no real need for the territorial act, but Hana isn’t about to cause a scene. She lets him lead her, grabbing things as they go. Felix was starting to show some signs of going into heat soon, so they were getting snacks for him when he did start. 

Hana pauses when they pass a display of seed packets. Chan stops when he notices she has, her fingers running over the packets of flowers and vegetables. “I used to love gardening. But that was a beta’s job.” 

Chan stares down at her for a moment before releasing her hand. “Pick some out.” 

Hana’s gaze snaps up to him. “What?” 

“Get as many as you want. There’s a plot out behind the house. Hyunjin grows a couple things back there but it mostly goes unused. I think there’s still tools in the garage somewhere. We’ll get some soil too.” 

Hana suddenly finds herself blinking back tears, taking Chan’s hand again. “You’d...let me do that?” 

Chan nods. “Yeah. The house is as much your space as it is everyone else’s.” 

Hana grins in excitement at the prospect of getting to garden again. “Thank you!” She wraps her arms around him in a hug, holding onto him tightly. “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed it.” She leans up on her toes, kissing her cheek before turning back to the seeds, getting a few packets. 

Chan is stunned at her action, the feeling of her lips on his cheek embedded into his brain. He can practically feel her buzzing with excitement as he grabs a bag of soil before they head to checkout. Her excitement brings a swell of pride to his chest, the alpha within him practically preening at how happy she was by this new development. 

“Gardening was my favorite thing to do. I loved getting my hands dirty, caring for the plants. It made me feel like I had purpose.” She tells him on the long winding drive back to the house. “But it was viewed as a beta’s job so when I became an omega I couldn’t do it anymore.” 

“You should have said something sooner. I would have let you use that garden as soon as you got here.” Chan says. 

“I had bigger things to worry about. I didn’t want to get attached. Be too open. But now I’m part of a pack again and I can do things I want to do again.” 

“You can do whatever you want. None of us are going to complain. We want you to be happy.” 

“I am happy.” 

Chan smiles down at her, pulling into the garage. Hana jumps out of the car, starting to dig through the boxes looking for the gardening stuff. Chan unloads the bag of soil and the seeds, setting it near the garage door for her. He watches her excitedly dig through the boxes before stooping down to kiss the top of her head. 

“Have fun, babygirl.” 

NEXT

[goatpaste]

What do the first element holders look like in your au?

aH took me a hot minute to get around to this but i did it >:3

the first element wielders of equestria (technically before the founding of equestria) they were known as the elements of harmony, they first elements of harmony. but also some refer to the as ‘The First gifts’

i changed a little bit of some of their lore story

Princess Bluebelle, one of The First’s alicorn creations. Bluebelle is a kind being who had great patience and cared for all who patroned her house. She learned not just Unicorn magic but excelled in learning the biology of pegasus and earth pony magic and how to harness and further their growth as a society from helping the weather and nature and plant growth. 

Bluebelle was close with The First, often receiving visits from her. 

She also was the closest thing to a friend Equnity had (as Equnity didn’t like to make friends). 

Bluebelle was gifted Philomena by The First, the phoenix stayed by her side until the end and now lives on as Celestia’s companion. the bird that has lived since the beginning of time.

After The First no longer was around Bluebelle led the elements and took on being pseudo leader of the alicorns, often training and helping them figure out what to do with their powers and how to help out disputes within their house’s.

Bluebelle became teachers for many ponies over the centuries. She personally trained Starswirl the bearded and Gusty the great. 

She also helped guide and train Celestia and Luna alongside Starswirl. Starswirl was their main teacher but Bluebelle would step in to help from another alicorns perspective. The sisters adored Bluebelle. 

Her Elemental artifact is her wand, the first gift that was given to her by patreons that wasn’t money or food.

Butterscotch, the element of kindness. 

A pegasus who grew up in the clouds of a typical pegasus tribe who acted much to that of a military. Everyone was ready to fight and looked down on the land dwellers. Buttercotch was sweet to the bone and hated fighting and openly despised the way they let their society had become.  

Butterscotch was banished from the clouds, the other Pegasus claiming her to be too weak and that her soft spot for the land ponies would be her downfall.

Joining the other ponies on the ground she met Minty, a pegasus born on the ground. The two traveled together from then on.

Butterscotch and her companion would appear in neutral towns and spreed their word of friendship and ideals that the three races could and should work together for the better of the future. Butterscotch would make treats for the foals, play music and be the general life of the party.

Later on Butterscotch would return to the pegasus tribes, or meet with pegasus leaders on neutral ground and try many time to push for pegasus to integrate with ground pony society and vice versa. that staying in the clouds only held them back.

to simply put it, this was always met with a solid ‘not going to happen’. this put Butterscotch and Commander Hurricane at odds with one another a lot, causing many fights between the two. 

however private Pansy who worked under Hurricane couldn’t agree more with what Butterscotch said, her words growing Pansy’s animosity toward Hurricane. Pansy gave Butterscoth her scarf as a token of appreciation, for all the inspiration she brought her. That scarf became Butterscotch’s famous elemental artifact. 

Minty, one of very few pegasus born on the ground. Nearly all pegasus at this point in time had solely stuck to the sky, only coming down to diplomatic meetings, scouting territory, and fighting.

One of Minty’s parents was a pegasus who left the tribe of pegasus, unhappy with how their society had become. fell in love with an earth pony and the two had their only daughter Minty.

At a young age she met Clover the Clever, at the time was just Clover the unicorn that Minty met. Clover, a unicorn daughter of an important unicorn diplomat, traveling with her parent for important meetings in a town far away. Minty had simply wandered too far off collecting clovers and looking for a four leafed one. 

the two met and became friends for the short time they would know each other, gifting Minty her artifact of a pressed clover. It isnt long until their parents find them and get into a fight. the event left them both children traumatized as they had to face the reality of the world they lived in and the danger minty face when she stepped outside of her village.

minty grew into a scholarly teen, she still goofed off but she adored reading and writing and learning. she formed a knack for making speeches. She often would sneak off to taverns and inn that were marked as neutral zones to give long speeches or read her poetry, often time ruffling others feathers with the things she said. this came with the stress of her parents worried that bold words might have a pony turn to violence and harm her. 

none the less she braves on, leaving home when she is old enough, setting up wherever she can on her soap box and talking her heart out until she is run out. Later meeting Butterscotch and working together, then meeting The First who is touched by their want to connect and bring ponies together. 

Minty is named the element of laughter, and was able to reunite with Clover the Clever who now trained under starswirl the bearded.

Blossom, a mute earth pony who came from a large family who owned many acres of land full of lush greenery. fields of plants, trees of fruit and ect. Blossom lost one of her parents when she was a small baby and the other when she was older. 

She tends to all the lands by herself everyday. only making it because of her generosity. she allowed any pony to come to her land, they could eat what they needed, stay and rest as long as they wanted, all for free so long as they didn’t  start fights. this led to many ponies showing up and staying in the safety of her lands and to help pay her back many ponies would saddle up and tend to the fields along side her. 

Blossom felt she was never without family as she almost always had ponies by her side, eating dinner with her and helping her out. She was happy and everyone adored her, often referring to her as ‘aunt blossom’ or even nicknames calling her mom.

Not to mention that she didn’t put up with anyone shit, if anyone started fights on her land she sure as hell was the one to finish them and they would know not to come back on her land. and ponies lovED it, they loved knowing this older mare was able to totally kick ass.

Blossom met Cotton Candy when the filly was a young child, loving and chipper as any child could possibly be. Blossom adored her and acted as like a big sister/aunt/mother to cotton candy.

Blossom became the element of Generosity, the locket her parents left her as her artifact.

Cotton Candy, itty bitty pony. sweet and cute as can be. 

not much is known of her unlike the other. she is the youngest element wielder in the history of the elements. She was orphaned under unknown reasons (some speculate she may have been born an earth pony while having non earth pony parents, something very rare but possible) 

She met The First very young, like a 7 year old wandering around on a trail down the country road. The First took the young pony with her, knowing just what to do with her. Bringing her to Blossom’s orchard, a safe haven for ponies with land to run through, food to eat and a roof over her head.

Blossom and Cotton Candy took to each other immediately, like to to their sides Cotton Candy stayed with Blossom for years and despite her side beginning expresses being grateful that it brought her to Blossom. 

Cotton Candy has some eating problems and the only time you will find her not within a 10 foot radius of Blossom is if she found some nice flowers to snack on.

Cotton Candy became the element of Loyalty and was the first pony to officially write down information about the elements of harmony, even watched the first transfer of its power from them the original wielders to a new generation.  all of this done at the end of her life. 

Snuzzle, a GIANt beautiful pony. 

Sweet, kind, and polite. everyone she grew up around loved her. she had a very typical up bringing as an earth pony, helping out how she could as she was born blind. she worked to develop the first form of braille in equestria as a way for her to make and have notes for her within her own community. 

She didn’t consider herself someone who disliked the pegasus and unicorns but didn’t quite seem to grow up with an opinion on their separation of the fighting that happened. she was the type to say ‘its just how the world is’. Not changing or understanding the impact of the things happening in the land around her, until The First arrived. She traveled with two pegasus, Minty and Butterscotch who showed great kindness to the earth ponies who only acted boorish and impolite to the pegasi. listening to what they had to say and seeing how her own family and friend treated them was a wake up call.

Snuzzle chose to leave her village behind and travel with The First, she wanted to learn all she could by the wise Alicorns side. 

She spent years at her side learning so many, traveling far and wide and meeting so many ponies. she became a better person and loved the friends she made through her long years. 

Snuzzel was there when Equnity corrupted and became darkness, she was one of the few who noticed something was wrong with the foal. Poking around and finding out that Equnity was unhappy and messing in dark messy magic. Snuzzel was at the site when Equnity changed, and she was there when The First made the decision to make herself the elements, trusting that she could bring the ponies together and make a better world. 

Snuzzle misses The First and struggled to find her place in the world once again. 

she made her home the now abandoned house of seasons. she built her home and family here which would later be the mark of where ponyville layed. 

snuzzel would be visited by her friends and fellow element wielders and even by the young sisters of celestia and luna who would later make their first castle here. 

[batmansymbol]

Common Household Poisons

The evening she met Luna Lovegood, of course Ginny had fractured her tibia. And twisted her ankle. Also possibly sprained her left wrist, though it was difficult to tell, because pain was referring across her body like sound echoing through a mountain range. // A brief history of Ginny Weasley’s injuries.

a luna/ginny oneshot

(possible triggers for self-harm. adrenaline junkie ginny has a complicated relationship with pain)

also find on FFNet and AO3!

By the time her Hogwarts letter arrived, Ginny Weasley had nearly died six times already.

She was one of those children—the kind who wore bruises from everyday wear and tear like they’d been fingerpainted. Something in her thin and nearly translucent skin made her susceptible, probably—or maybe it was an issue of sheer physical proximity. The Burrow overlapped on itself, all its elements colliding endlessly like pelagic cross-currents. Even as a twig of a child, Ginny was always clipping herself on counters, doors left ajar, chairs left askew, wood for the fireplace, Fred and George’s experiments, half-full cauldrons, et cetera.

The six near-deaths, in no particular order: two falls from broomsticks; a violent bout of Kneazle Pox; an unintentional whack on the head by a frying pan held by a gesticulating Percy; the backfiring of an old wand; and, of course, the drinking of a potion designed for scouring stubborn stains from glass. This last was the most serious. Ginny was ten. Two hours after the incident, Molly Weasley had a shouting match with a Poisons Specialist at St. Mungo’s who had the temerity to suggest she should have been looking after her daughter more closely.

“And I suppose one of you—” Mrs. Weasley snarled, rounding on her sons, once the Healer had scurried, terrified, from the ward— “dared her to do it, did you? Did you?”

All six broke into protests. “Mother,” blustered Percy, “you don’t really believe that I would encourage—”

“We’d never—” said Fred—

“—ever—” said George—

“I told her to stop!” Ron protested.

“We’re not twelve years old, Mum,” said Charlie, arms crossed, beside an equally indignant Bill.

Molly Weasley’s eyes narrowed to slits, and she leaned forward. All six boys leaned backward.

“She did it on her own, Mum,” Fred said.

“And why would she do that?”

Six shrugged shoulders. Molly looked to Bill, the most even-headed of the family, their anchor.

“It’s true,” Bill said. “She said, ‘Look at this,’ and then she was doing it.”

They turned as one to the girl in the bed. She was asleep. Ginny was scraped elbows and a sunburned face and bruises on her knuckles from where she’d drummed them insistently on the table. She was the picture of exposure, of involvement, of the refusal to withdraw. She would not go through life unmarked.

Ginny didn’t think Hogwarts would be different. She didn’t want it to be. She had no interest in a different world than the one she’d somehow punched her way into—a world where she was, at all times, on the brink of something that might mean permanent alteration. This was the feeling of Chasing, and of being alive: hurtling forward, tackling in midair, risking freefall and immediate vascular rupture, nose bloodied from where it had crunched into someone’s shoulder, always about to fling something into the wind—caution? self-preservation?—because that was the only way to achieve a goal.

So, the evening she met Luna Lovegood, of course she’d fractured her tibia. And twisted her ankle. Also possibly sprained her left wrist, though it was difficult to tell, because pain was referring across her body like sound echoing through a mountain range.

All she knew was that George’s Comet 260 had taken a turn at half-field with a bit too much drag to the tail end, and suddenly she was rocketing over the handle with a scream that sounded nearly like a laugh, and she fell twenty feet and struck field, plowed right the fuck into the dirt, and then she was lying very still on the ground, no air left in her.

Ginny tried to stand and couldn’t. “Fuck,” she said, and then she yelled it, for good measure. If Hooch came down and saw her here, not only having nicked George’s broom from the team storage areas but also having nearly killed herself, she’d write to Mum, and the resultant Howler would probably give her an eardrum injury to add to the pile.

Lying there on the field, she started to laugh. The evening was rolling over the Hogwarts grounds like mist, softening everything. That was when she saw a ghostly figure drifting onto the field.

She was like a mirage, the girl, with her long straggly hair and her round face, her wide pale eyes glowing out of the gloaming like lights.

The first words she said were, “Does it hurt very much?”

An agonized laugh came out of Ginny. “Yeah. Yeah, it does, thanks. You’re Luna, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Luna only seemed slightly perturbed. She looked back toward Hogwarts, and then to Ginny. Instead of trying to help Ginny up, she sat down beside her. She didn’t crouch, didn’t kneel, nothing with the expectation of further action, just sat. Ginny, nearly delirious with pain, stared up at her face. She looked like a gibbous moon. She looked like a silver coin in a dark pool.

“What do you think?” Luna said. “Better to try and do something ourselves, or better to go and fetch Madam Pomfrey? I don’t think I’d like to be left alone if it were me, but it’s not me, so, what do you think, Ginny.”

“I think you’re,” Ginny said, dazed, breathing hard. Mad? Something else?

“Let’s see. May I see?”

“Yeah,” Ginny said roughly. “Sure.”

Luna tugged up Ginny’s robes to see the ankle and the tibia in question. The only change in her expression was a slow, hesitant blink, the gradual unfolding of tissue-thin eyelids, in which Ginny could see every delicate vein, over those expansive grey eyes.

“How did you do it?” Luna asked.

“Trying a Rivka Defensive Block,” Ginny said. “I’ll get it eventually.”

Luna nodded, considering. “Well,” she said, standing, “I don’t think there’s much I can do, unfortunately. I’d conjure a transport, but I can’t do that kind of conjuration yet. Unless you can?”

“No.”

“I’ll fetch Madam Pomfrey, then.”

Hogwarts was not a large school, and Ginny saw her often after that. Ginny soon realized that her first instinct—that Luna looked like the moon—had been incorrect. Luna was, obviously, a misnomer. She was staid and unchanging; she had no phases. She had an identical ratio of composure to raggedness every time Ginny saw her: in double Transfiguration, or outside on the lawns, or studying under an orb of light she’d conjured in the corner of the library. Luna made Ginny acutely aware of the way the world tore at her own body, because Luna seemed to drift out of its reach, always untouched.

“Hey, Luna,” she’d say, coming up to disturb her, wanting to make an impact, but she never did. Luna would never startle, or laugh at a joke. When Ginny approached, she would look up, as unperturbed as she’d been that night on the pitch. Then she would look Ginny over and point out something she’d perceived, speaking very mildly; always she’d do that. It became a ritual.

“Quidditch?” she asked in third year, about a scrape on Ginny’s arm.

“Potions?” she asked in fourth year, about a red raised welt where Ginny had burned herself on her cauldron.

“Dean Thomas?” she asked in fifth, when Ginny hadn’t cast the concealment charm quite strongly enough on the love bite on her neck, just below her jaw.

“How do you always know?” Ginny said, grinning. “Budge up.” And she settled in the roots of the birch tree beside Luna as Luna smiled. She thought Luna’s cheeks were slightly pink, but the color was gone so quickly, leaving her as pale as frost, that Ginny thought she’d probably imagined it.

Sixth year, Ginny staggered out of a detention shaking and sweaty. It was Saturday afternoon and the Carrows had kept her for hours, but she’d distracted them from catching Neville last week, so it was all right.

She couldn’t even make it up the steps out of the dungeons. She collapsed on the stairs, waiting for her body to stop shaking.

A figure appeared at the top of the steps. Then Luna was at her side. She didn’t kneel, she didn’t crouch, she didn’t fuss. She sat on the steps.

Ginny looked up at her, breathing hard, and cracked a twitchy smile, her facial muscles still slightly out of control. “Well?” she said. “What do you think?”

She hadn’t even finished speaking when Luna leaned close to her and cupped Ginny’s face in her hands. Ginny’s body flooded with strange chills. Luna’s hands were cool and dry as if she were made of parchment, and Ginny thought about the heat and sweat that were coming from her body onto Luna’s, bleeding some of the way she was into her. She looked at Luna’s small soft mouth, the line of her jaw, her nearly invisible eyebrows that feathered over her browbones.

“Do you have to do this?” Luna whispered.

Ginny thought, for the first time in years, of the bitter taste of the potion she’d drank at age ten. Look at this, she’d said, grinning at her brothers. There was nothing then but to impress, and to shock, and to veer off the roads of the life that had been assigned to her, into something that was wild and her own. Luna’s path, though unusual and untrodden by most, was still safe; the Carrows still hadn’t touched her, hadn’t managed to catch her at anything.

Ginny thought it might not be so bad to be safe, but it wasn’t for her. It never would be.

“I can’t stop,” she said.

They took Luna two months later. Three Death Eaters forced their way into their compartment on the Hogwarts Express. Ginny, Luna, and Neville were on their feet at once, wands drawn, but before they could cast, Ginny and Neville were flying backward, pinned to the wall. Ginny let out a half-yell through the Binding Hex as they struck Luna to the ground, as they bound her feebly stirring body, as they wrangled her upright and backward out of the compartment.

There was blood on Luna’s face. Blood moving in a line down her cheek. It was so wrong that it made Ginny feel sick, the disruption. Her eyes were half-open. She was looking at Ginny, and Ginny tried to scream, to yell, as they dragged her away.

Spring was restless. Ginny was stuck at the Burrow after Ron was spotted on the run. She and Charlie and Fred and George and their parents were all there, moving and shifting on top of each other. Ginny paced the garden and got splinters in her palms from climbing the tree. She wanted to fly, to move, and when the summons came for the Battle, for the final return to Hogwarts, she felt as if she could breathe for the first time in six months. Coming out into the chaos, wand clutched in her hand, she was alive again.

She was at the top of a stairwell, the castle shaking with bombardment, an hour into the fighting, when the Cutting Hex struck her.

The impact flung Ginny across the hallway and into the wall. Her head cracked against the stone. She flung her arms out as she slid down onto the ground. She was bleeding hard from the shoulder, where the hex had hit, and she thought she was probably concussed. She groped around for her wand, which had come out of her fingers, but couldn’t find it.

The Death Eater had slowed in his approach. He was stalking toward her, his wand held lightly in his hand. He said something about blood traitors, something mocking that Ginny didn’t hear, or if the words struck her eardrums, they came through mistranslated into her mind, and anyway, him doing some sort of tragically unoriginal monologue at this moment seemed very funny to her, somehow. A lifetime of dancing around the veil … naturally she would pass through it before all this was over, but did it have to be this idiot?

Ginny started to laugh. The Death Eater stopped walking. He was speaking angrily now, growling or snarling something. She laughed harder, clutching at her bleeding shoulder. She was going to die. She had pushed it too far, chased too hard after the feeling. Luna had been right, after all. Luna. Luna … Ginny thought of her face in the evening half-light, like a gibbous moon.

The man lifted his wand.

A jet of light lanced up the steps from a great distance, a miraculous shot of magic aimed with a Chaser’s precision, which struck the Death Eater in the neck. He flew backward, immobilized.

And then she was there, moving toward Ginny. Luna. Miraculous and light on her feet. Her hair was no more disheveled than usual and she looked untouched. Ginny gazed up at her, concussed, remembering the delirium of their first meeting, feeling it all over again. Maybe every time she’d seen her it had been delirium.

Luna sat beside her. The icy feeling of a poultice conjured onto her shoulder. Luna looked at the wound, at the sweat trickling down Ginny’s face, at her fingers, which were twitching upon the stone steps. Even now her face was calm. “Does it hurt very much?” she whispered.

“Touch it,” Ginny murmured back.

A moment’s hesitation. Then Luna let her wand clatter gently to the floor. She reached out with steady hands and ghosted her fingertips over Ginny’s shoulder. She slid her cool papery hands against Ginny’s cut cheek, her burned neck, her tired wrists, all the soreness in her body. Ginny closed her eyes and focused on Luna’s touch, but she couldn’t be calmed by it, only agitated. More, she thought, more. She moved, her shoulder aflame, the pain coming all through her like floodwaters bursting a dam, and she staggered upward, catching Luna around the waist as she did, holding onto her, propelling them both to their feet. Unsteady, she turned Luna to the wall and lifted Luna’s chin with a shaking hand and kissed her. Ginny’s lip had been split in the fighting and it came open immediately, but she couldn’t stop. She felt Luna melt, for a moment, back into the wall, and then Luna was shaking, kissing her back, sliding one hand up from the back of her neck into her hair, clinging onto her. When Ginny broke back from her, breathing hard, Luna’s face was as she’d never seen it. The unshakable had been shaken, rattled, split all the way open. Luna was blinking hard, staring up into Ginny’s eyes. Her expression was quivering and ecstatic and between so many things at once that it might have meant nothing, but Ginny knew what it meant.

Luna kissed her, and this time it was a Luna kiss, a soft light thing like a moth’s wing to the lip, like a drizzle of rain to the inside of the wrist. She tasted like rock dust. She kissed Ginny’s neck, her jaw, her earlobe.

Ginny leaned forward and took Luna’s lip between her teeth, and Luna tensed, made a sound. Ginny let go, but didn’t draw away. They were a millimeter apart. “Does it hurt?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Luna said, strangled. “Don’t stop.”

[stickystarspectrumtroll-ocs]

I made all my OCs in this amazingballztastical EGG PICREW

To start with, here’s Luna’s egg! I tried to give it a “mysterious mystical creature of the night” vibe, she’s kinda got that going on. The key is for how sneaky and devious she is, the way she’s always got tricks up her sleeve. The sinister-looking symbol branded front and center is more for the assumptions and judgements that were stuck on her ever since she was born. The black angel wings are kind of for both. The black and white feathers at the top are symbols of both her morally ambiguous nature and the vague fragments of her origin story I have rolling around in my head.

Jewel’s egg! I tried to give this as much of her and her island’s aesthetic as possible. The vibrant colors, the jewels, the flowers, the magic. Honestly, I think I nailed it! This egg absolutely SCREAMS “Jewel”.

Allets’s egg! Her whole life she’s been chained to the tight confines of stuffy upright royal life, her parents have tried their hardest to mold her into that and she’s tried her hardest to comply, but she can never quite suppress that spirit inside of her always bursting to get out. So, I made this egg show that spirit of who she really is finally breaking free! The egg’s all fancy lace and spiffy little angel wings with a big crown on top, the gilded cage she was raised in, but there’s a bit of vibrant and colorful detailing too, and the egg’s breaking wide open, releasing colorful butterflies and swirling rainbows. Simple and clear symbolism that I think came out great!

Here we have Eliote’s egg! It’s surrounded by darkness, as she’s been metaphorically for much of her life. It’s got this dark woodsy aesthetic, for all the time she’s spent out in the dark Endless Woods and just the general state of mind she’s been in. That white stem in the middle? It might look like a tree but it’s the stem of a black flower that’s supposed to represent her parents’ deaths. You can’t really see the flower though, ‘cause that’s (accidentally but rather fittingly) where the egg’s broken open, releasing blue butterflies and glowy petals! That’s to show her true colors shining through starting to heal from all that pain and trauma. Connecting with a few people who support and care for her and starting to feel happy again, also regaining her magical ability that she lost touch with after losing her parents.

This is Maddie T’s egg! I think those blue mushrooms at the top have kind of a Wonderland-ish vibe, don’t you? It’s got plenty of eye-popping brightly colored things here to show Maddie T’s off-the-wall personality. The actual egg that all of those are on has some cooler colors to balance that out a little, and I think that egg by itself might have more of a classical fantasy vibe, which I think goes to show that however outlandish and nonsensical Maddie T can be, she’s more than just a clown. There’s a lot going on in her head, her thoughts can be deep and interesting and outside-the-box in ways that can be a serious strength. She’s a ravenclaw in the Hogwarts AU for a reason!

Here’s Finley’s egg! I think it fits her general vibe and aesthetic pretty well! I made an envelope bursting out the middle and a plant growing out of the top, representing how she has this insatiable hunger for knowledge and learning, and tons of potential just kicking and screaming to be realized. That potential along with her fairy magic is also shown by the four sets of colorful wings.

Penny’s egg is bright, glowing yellow, like sunshine! It has colorful shapes that look like they could be painted or cut out of paper for an arts and crafts project. There’s a colorful (paint?) ring around it and big colorful (paint?) spots surrounding it too. All of which represent her personality and her love of bright colors and arts and crafts. The black flower front and center, the foggy black patch at the top with black and white ghostly mushrooms, and even the darkness around the whole thing are there to represent her being a vampire and the impact that it’s had on her. The cracks are there for that too--she’s been broken and is trying to pull the pieces back together and hold them together. Heck, she’s drawn these colorful little houses on the cracks, like they’re the roads of a little town, or the branches of a tree with a tiny bird or fairy town in it. She’s trying to make something good out of this, take her pain and make something out of it that brings a smile to her face. Overall, I feel like what I was going for here is that there’s a darkness that’s been planted inside her and threatens to consume her, and she’s trying her DANG hardest to draw up enough color and light from within herself to keep that from happening.

And finally, Twig’s egg! This one was a bit tricky. I was a little unsure about how simple it looked, but maybe it makes sense with her being the baby of the bunch? (She’s 11, the rest of the OC squad ranges from 13 to 15 and the canon Trolls characters she’s friends with are young adults.) The colorful shapes down there look like they could be cut out of paper for a craft project. They also kinda look like troll pods! The flower could be cut from felt and paper too maybe. She could’ve scrapbooked most of the designs on this egg. The base color is a pretty bright color and pretty nature-y, which fits the environment she’s from. The crack in the middle and the dark patch at the top where the egg's broken open are kind of like her gray arm-stripe and freckles, showing her less typical-troll-like traits and her insecurities about them. The branches (ha...Branch...es...) around it can also be for that side of her, as well as the slightly shadowed background casting just a little bit of darkness over it. The general brightness of the egg and the sun spots at the top could show how she really is more on the sunny and whimsical side by nature though.

Whoo! This was fun! I love this picrew and I love how the eggs came out. I’ve got one for C.C. too, but I think I’ll hold off adding that until I get Jasper’s right, and it’s getting late now. Hope y’all liked these!!

[welcometomy20s]

March 31, 2021

.Hololive Quarterly Report

I was trying to write this, then it became painfully too long, so I stopped and I’m going to try a much abbreviated version. I don’t why I’m writing this preamble.

Usada Constructions - Buy

CEO Pekora has come back from the creative crisis in late January, her response to the Akukin relay, Pekoland has been quite the success, and Pekora has hired three new people and taken two into actual production, and there has been talks of two more recruitments. Usada constructions has been the premier revenue maker in the server already and with renewed vigor, Pekora has inadvertently cornered the service industry, with her business associate Moon, making the HoloID mall, and hiring Botan or Menya Botan and Kiara of KFP in the process, and thinking hiring Watame, which has a food delivery service.

Future is looking bright for UsaKen and one should buy the stocks now.

Akukin Constructions - Sell

Akukin has a bright start with the recent hiring spree then the wildly successful AKukin Building Relay... and boasting 25% of the workforce in their wake. But CEO has been hampered with failure of her personal projects, first with her loss in the Mario Kart tournament, and then her failure to get the elusive solo Master in Apex. Perhaps, buoyed by her failure, she’ll return to Minecraft, but for now... there has been minor outing of the employers.

Both Mio and Marine went on Minecraft once after the relay, Marine to push Kanata to make her noteblock machines, and Mio in basically upkeep. Rest of the players have been quiet or have been associated with other people. Roboco have played once of twice, although she didn’t even participated in the relay. Choco has been mostly working as a broker for Flare, who is a contractor for Akukin. Lamy and Nene has been basically doing their own thing, mostly since they haven’t had anything else to do... and that’s it, I believe. Iofi, Mel, and Akirose never returned to Minecraft after the relay.

Well, Shion returned after four months with Rushia as the guide... but seriously, Akukin is all but over unless there is a serious reorganization. Sell them!

Shirauni-Elite Conglomerate - Buy

This is outside of current consensus, but it makes for me because it fits the current state of things. Miko and Flare first found their calling by basically gaslighting Kanata into operating a school. They have sense collaborated many times, Flare being part of the four heavenly kings and expanding their partnership in the urban environment, more specifically in Los Santos.

Flare’s turn in Minecraft basically leads me to reassess Flare’s strengths. Flare was kind of the straight man of the 3rd Gen, but she has shown that she could be as wild and unpredictable as the rest of the Hololive Fantasy. Flare eventually roped Polka into an apprenticeship, and Polka’s ability to pop into the most unexpected direction really helped with Flare’s stream as well.

Flare is having the time of her life, and her lover Noel has finally turn the tide on her devastating decline due to the great ASMR purge in early 2020, by embracing the English duolingo... finally passing up people, after falling so far.

Yeah, you should buy here. Although Miko’s recent pause is little worrisome...

Oozora Constructions - Hold

Subaru has been doing a lot of work... her biggest strength has been her free talks, she is a great storyteller, but that’s obviously hampered by language, which is why Subaru made the difficult move of having English summary in her topics, which is a great improvement for her... but her collabs have been on fire, and I mean Oozora Police was just amazing, with good timing as well.

Apparently Subaru has a new costumes, collabs, and original songs coming up in the next quarter, so Subaru is going to surpass already high expectation made during this quarter. As for her company though... well, Subaru has been a... lone duck in the situation. (Sorry for the pun)

Famously outcasted as Kanata and Marine were chatting up with Moona and Reine, Subaru has been lonely for quite sometime. Subaru has been working an actual commission from Korone, although Korone is most inconsiderate Hololive member (as evidenced by two consecutive Kuukiyomi tests), which is a bad sign. Rushia has been working well, both independently and with Subaru... now Luna... that’s the cinch of the situation at this moment.

I’ll talk about Luna later, but overall Oozora has its strength and weakness perfectly balanced. It’s a hold for me, although it can be a buy quickly...

Haachama Constructions - Buy

Haachama started off kind of lost. She recently moved back to Japan, and she didn’t really knew what direction to go off on... apparently a horror unfiction was her choice. It is a great unfiction, in all its spirit, the meta-component worked perfectly, the improvisational and interactivity was unparalleled, it is astounding that this a one-woman production, since even a dedicated team might not pull off this feat, taking images made minutes before the stream is due and incorporating them into the story flawlessly.

Akai Haato always impressed me, but this arc showcased that to everyone. And her future seems to be bright as she starts working on Season 2. Just buy!

OkaKoro Constructions - Hold

Both Okayu and Korone has been steady in their output, minimal collabs and continuing their series of old games. Korone has been particularly clever in her selection of games. Everyone playing Undertale, why not play the game that inspired the whole thing, Earthbound? People are playing Dragon Quest? Well, how about a classic version, Dragon Quest 3, instead of 11S?

But other than that, there wasn’t much going on... then the OkaKore anniversary concert happened, and I realized they still have so much progress. One commenter said how Bloom was a failure because there wasn’t any idols in that list, namely Watame, Okayu and Korone, and I started to agree.

But that’s just one performance, we don’t know if this would be foundation for something better. So let’s hold on the papers for now.

Kureiji Constructions - Hold

There’s always a bit of anxiety when one is lauded as the next new star, least to me, I was always anxious about Ollie’s growth. She could be great, she has plenty of talent, she’s a massive simp and a social collaborator, but her personality can turn on a dime if not careful. Fortunately, Ollie made good on herself, having one of the more explosive growth and becomes generally accepted as a peer, recently doing a large Mario Kart collab.

It’s still a hold, since I have residual anxiety, but this is a good stable company.

Seiso Pillars - Buy

I never really got the appeal on Sora, until she put on her glasses on. Her movement was so fluid and practiced, you can tell she’s a young lady with ambition, which is contrary to the goddess image. Azki has been making the move that Suisei did in end of 2019, slowly putting herself in the comedic spirit of rest of Hololive, and her Vtuber showcase is freaking phenomenal.

Suisei has been flirting with the pillar in Minecraft, and bring the third of HoloKazo(?) in Los Santos, letting her psychopathic side fully. Suisei used her arbitrary demonitization to her advantage, reinvigorating her streams immensely. I thought about holding, but honestly this is a buy. They are going to get better.

Shirakami Forestry - Hold

Fubuki wanted to finish her cherry tree by spring. Well, that didn’t happen. But Fubuki has been doing okay. Fubuki has made some radical moves this year, firmly associating with Coco. Remember that Fubuki’s explosive growth was due to Chinese fans, and this is true of Aqua as well (which is why Aqua has been more distant lately), so to associate with one of the most hated Vtubers by the ‘West Taiwanese’ is a risk, but one made with the knowledge that her base can be shifted, since this did not impact her growth at all.

So Fubuki is going to be Fubuki, no matter who she associates with. Hold.

Free Agents - ???

Matsuri might be the most valuable free agent, but she’s kind of like a public official, helping to keep stock on the commons, and helping Luna as well. This is why Luna is the kingmaker. Luna has connections with both Subaru and Matsuri, but their connection is either loose or non-associative. She can be convinced, but she could easily refuse... and who knows how that would affect Pekora.

Most people thought Matsuri was going to join UsaKen, and that might still be the case, although Pekora is notoriously uncomfortable of senpais.

Risu is next valued player. After her explosion in the 4th quarter, Risu has been struggling to keep afloat, although Risu seems to be fine with her laggard growth. Her impromptu Nier;Automata streams are always a delight, and her Spring soundboard has been fun as well. Risu also returned to Minecraft for a bit, so she might be on the hunt... she would be a great addition to UsaKen.

Ayame is the third player. Ayame has been inconsistent this quarter, mostly since she streams the least amount out of anyone. Her recent collab with Marine was something though, although that’s going to be paused for a bit.

Anya is the last person, just because she doesn’t have Minecraft and she is the least subscribed member. I think it was surprising how Anya’s stream has been. Instead of doing gatcha and perhaps talking stream, her game selections has been far off the beaten path, more so than Korone and Okayu, and she has been blazing (that’s another pun) her own trail much to her detriment.

I mean she’s fine in the grand scope of things, still very interesting move.

Okay, that was the short version, and even then it’s really long so... yeah.

[sinnhelmingr]

aloe, belladonna, fern, sage for DS Hel // @royal-dragonslayer-ornstein​​

ALOE : how does your muse handle grief ?

Honestly? Very, very differently from how others seem to process it. Especially when younger, given her life being built around the tending of the dead and that in their dark rest they know peace. For a long while, Hel saw no reason for lamenting death, knowing what lay beyond, though she understood it hurt others to have their time with a loved one cut short. This actually bit her in the ass at one point in an ask with a Gwynevere in that she got chewed out for not showing due contrition over the loss of others.

It took forging many bonds in the world beyond that she began to understand grief -- especially, I think, at the loss of Artorias. His death was meaningless, and cruel, and wholly avoidable, and there was nothing to celebrate in his passing. Lost to the Dark, there was surely no peace for him. I think that cut her the most deeply at first, and the impact his death had on those he left behind. It was only later on, when alone to think on it of her own accord, that she registered she missed him, and she wished he had come back after all, and that was her first brush with personal grief.

Even so, it has been fleeting in her life. She’s more likely to echo it as per decorum than truly feel it. When Gwyn died, she was more upset for his children than the loss of the king. She grieved that the king never appreciated his youngest as she should have been appreciated, that he never made amends with his firstborn, that he pushed such responsibility onto his already struggling eldest daughter. She grieved his failings and their impact, not his death, a secret she keeps close to the chest knowing how further deified the godfather has become in the centuries since.

I think this silent sense of grief for lives unlived deepens once she takes on Nito’s dominion and is further separated from others. Others will die, in time, god and human, king and beggar, all passing into what is now her keeping -- but she never will. She will stand and watch all things fall, and in the dark of the grave all will be reunited. Her grief is exhausting then, to watch old friends enter her dominion without a word, to see children she once doted upon be broken and put out of their misery during the final sputters of the light. In its final form, her grief is unexpressed but it is powerful, and she presses on because someone must when the rest are gone.

That said, at it’s deepest, Hel is seen to express her grief violently. For a brief period in the story, she’s openly gunning for the Undead after they kill Nito, pulled back from claiming them permanently only by their own undying nature and the firm rebuke of the Dark Sun. In turn, the loss of her beloved, even though they had been separated for at least a few decades, is expressed in the fact she’s hunting members of the Church of the Deep for sport. Just a widow and her scythe, demanding blood black as ichor for divine blood as if it can ever measure up. 

BELLADONNA : how does your muse respond to silence ? do they take comfort in soundlessness , or seek to fill the void with noise ? 

It depends on the situation, honestly! Silence is sort of the resting state of her home, where ones duties as a servant of the Graves should be done peacefully and with care taken not to disturb the dead. This manifests in a lack of light and treating the deceased with a sort of hushed reverence so their rest will be as comfortable as possible. The Fenito keep their work sacrosanct, though there are certain regions within their Lord’s dominion where the dead do not reach where japery and more open fraternization is encouraged. Even so, some of her siblings prefer to keep their silences, and so Hel is always comfortable with it. Silence, when comfortable or sacred, feels like home to her, and so she cherishes it.

However, she’s well aware that is the way of the Graves, and that the world outside is not beholden to such practices. Sometimes silences can be downright eerie even to her, a mark of the Darkness, a reminder of how far the splendor of a city has fallen. It can be an omen of violence past or present, or a mystery best left unpursued. In those moments, she might retreat from perceived threat as quietly as possible, or fill the still air with song or some other distraction from empty halls and paths. 

In the good old days, especially, she sought to fill silences, eager to ask questions and make merry and in some way belong to the world of Light and all its decadence. Laughter was her calling card then, and fast-moving feet as she fled from whatever innocent mischief she wrought in Gwyn’s hall. Yet she loved more than anything to make those around her join in her mirth, whether by word or deed, and so she coveted the sound of other voices, of approval in her actions.

FERN : does your muse believe in magic or cosmic forces , or are they more likely to think their life is ultimately a matter of their own control ? 

Magic is real and her dearest companion is a master of the craft. There are energies across all levels of the world which lend themself to those dedicated to their pursuit, and Hel thinks that’s actually pretty neat. Except for when it, like, drives the Paledrake mad or causes women to go missing in the night or -- Okay, maybe magic is far more a neutral force in this world. Neutral in that it falls to the wielder to decide what to do with it, rather than magic defining the user as some assume.

Hel is a staunch believer in accountability and the power of personal decision. be it in magic or life. She has, in the flow of the age, seen a lot of people do terrible things and then blame it on tradition, on necessity, on doing wrong for the right reasons. Perhaps due to her morality having developed separately from most surface-dwellers, she is very against the end justifies the means. Honestly the only reason she didn’t pull back from the plot to keep the flame burning sooner was just because the Undead needed to be dealt with, and at least this way the curse served some purpose. Notably, the second others spoke of using a living child as kindling she balked and abandoned everything she loved and called home after the loss of her Lord.

You can justify your choices through the Flame, through Gwyn, through your Covenant, through your orders, but at the end, all are left with how far they chose to go in that pursuit, and in that they must reflect and, if finally able to assert themself as more than pawn, atone. You cannot blame any force or power for personal failing, no matter if it might help you sleep at night -- or so Hel sees it.

SAGE : what is your muse’s legacy ? what do they want to be remembered for & what might they actually be remembered for ?

There’s actually a little headcanon title I gave Hel that really sums it up in certain time periods. Lunar Shadow -- that is, the shadow cast by the moon as depicted by Gwyndolin. She is the shade and mystery that clings fast to Luna in a lonely sky, the reflection of her will and power. Hel is never her lover’s pawn the way others accuse her, as shown in that she’s willing to butt heads with Gwyndolin on certain facets of the plan and her place in it, but she is inextricably linked to her all the same. Many will remember her as ally and acolyte of the Holy City in its twilight, bound to its cause like marriage vows.

In the golden age, however, she was the Mourning Princess, grey-clad and dust-soaked, a death that was both fair and welcoming. Others cossetted the strange creature, looked to her for amusement she, as already outlined, was all too willing to provide. Many godkin who fled will remember her for that, her good nature and sharp tongue, and a generous nature that adored even the most wretched creature that slithered across her host’s hall. The ending that most write is that she’s still in that city today, entangled in the arms and scaled limbs of that which she loved most dearly -- and for a time, they are not wrong.

Time shifts, however. In a far flung future, her Lord has been forgotten by all but her siblings, and she has risen to take Nito’s place. She’s revered as a goddess of death, Death-Who-Walks among the inhabitants of some far-flung land, black-clad and with a voice like song, ever-watchful. But Gods rise anew, in a land of snow and moonlight, and she is Queen, she is Beloved, she is the future of a people she never quite belonged to, the silk to glove her patron’s iron will. Her statues stand in the courtyards and palace, commissioned by one who loves her and wanted to depict what she saw as beauty. These stand even after that love has faded into opposition. And after her lover is gone, she is Avenger, Warrior, the Bane of heretics.

What I’m getting at here is that Hel’s legacy is different things to different people, from a stately queen of the dead to a curiosity in the eyes of gods. She’s the widow and divorcee depending on whose record you follow in her love life, and she’s both the hunter of heretics who spites the Church of the Deep and the vocal defender of a certain Prince’s choice to damn the Flame. She can’t really be neatly divided into simple lore because so much of what she is seems contradictory. That’s perfectly valid, too, as many that will be reduced to simple legacies were so much more than a condensed story as well.

All Hel wants, really, after she leaves the Land of Lord’s behind once there is no one left to tether here there, is to be remembered as someone who tried for others. Someone who fought for more than the legacy of a fool and the flame he coveted, someone who was able to see the bigger picture and hopefully leave an impact through her words and actions. But then, after all her life was over the extended age, I think the most she hopes for is to be forgotten and allowed to slip safely out of the narrative to make her own somewhere in the growing Dark.

[popculturebuffet]

The Loud House Reviews: Schooled!

Season 5, and regular coverage begin! The loud house finally moves into a new year chronologically: Lincoln and Co move up to Middle School but find themselves seperated when LIncoln accidently signs up for the wrong class and ends up with a mean teacher and frienemy chandler, and then ends up commuting to a Canadian school instead. The Canada part is more believable than a middle school not having multiple teachers for multiple subjects frankly but more ranting on that later. Meanwhile in order to get Lori moves on to college only to find every dorm is a comedic set piece, and Lynn Sr and Rita try to get Lily ready for pre school by potty training her. Finally in all this chaos Leni ends up attending pre school. Again still more believable than the single class thing. Ramblings about well guess, how amazing it is the show has lasted this long in this day and age, my thoughts on Lynn Jr being kind a obnoxious. 50% chad and my lessened hatred for rusty. Which again I assure you is more believable than the single class nonsense. Back to School, under the cut.

Welcome readers new and old to regular coverage of The Loud House! Couple of reasons for that. The first is, like amphibia, so I don’t fall behind as I tend to procastinate and let episodes of shows pile up, and i’m tired of it. The second is that I feel we need more Loud House content on this site that’s not loudcest, people shipping sam and lincoln soley to try and get back at the show for having a gay couple, and some weird stuff I can’t quite unwrap because i’m old. And keep in mind I understand 50% chad just fine.. look at him. 

So yeah I have a feeling young or old, i’m not the only one scared to go int here and hopefully I can give ya’ll something fun to look forward to or worth sifting through it. 

Now i’ve covered the show before.. 4 times in fact, having covered Brave the last dance as a one off way back and having covered ALL THREE SALUNA episodes during pride month. So check those out if you want my previous thoughts on the show as a whole, my faviorite character and her special lady, and me ranting about rusty/.. and we’ll get to him. But i’ve got a lot to talk about, some of it not directly about the episode so pitter pat er let’s get at eer.  The first thing I want to talk about is.. how big an occasion the show is. It’s not only at 5 seasons but it recently got renewed for a 6th and still has a movie on the way.. as I hope so does rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles.. please don’t let that movie have been canceled, that show went from okay to leaving me wanting more of my mad dogs... but yeah getting back on track they’ve offically reached... 

And that’s.. incredibly rare ESPECIALLY for nick. I mean yes spongebob will never die, and the fairly oddparents died way after it should’ve, but for the most part nick is a giant tire fire of dickheads when it comes to running a network. They have an absolutley ghastly habit of canceling a show as soon as possible, and if they already commissioned season 2 shuttling it to sister network nicktoons to die a quite death. They expect every show to become an overnight sucess, or else and it’s a freaking disgusting practice. And it’s still going: I mean just to bookend it, around the same time loud house started, we got the utter classic Harvey Beaks. The show had a sizeable audiences and what kids I showed it to loved it but because it wasn’t doing spongebob numbers Nick shuttled it to nicktoons then yelled at it’s creator for daring to be upset they you know.. moved his show to their designated graveyard without telling him and ended the show without giving them notice to change the ending. The final episode still WORKS as a final episode, but it wasn’t INTENDED to end on a bittersweet note and I blanme that on nick.  The bookend part comes from the fact that about a month before this Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turltes ended it’s run.. on Nicktoons, with no fanfare and like Harvey fans likely only knowing thanks to scheduling, had it’s final season cut in half so they had to rush the pacing of the final few episodes to wrap up as much as they could, AND the cancelation reason was the always reliably stupid “low toy sales” excuse.  The odds of a show surviving on nick, nevermind thriving are very slim and even outside the nightmare factory that is my once beloved childhood network, most animated shows last around 3 seasons. Disney channel usually cuts htem off around 4, and cartoon network around 3 if their that nice, with utter classic OK KO being one of the latest victims of the cancelation bug, and steven unvierse only got a 6th season after essentially being canceled and having to rush the ending, only THEN getting to go back and fill in the cracks with Future and the Movie.  And unlike fellow network loved show that’s gone on for a while, Teen Titans Go, the Loud House is still a pretty good show. It has it’s bumps, we’ll talk about some of them here and i’ve talked about em before, especially the “”With the casagrandes mini” which could’ve easily hurt said show but thankfully didn’t. It’s grown, going from being about the one boy among ten girls to being about all 11 kids, AND their parents and making earnest attempts to make once hated characters like Lori and Lola fully fleshed out.. it’s been more 50 50 with lynn, but more on that later. My point is the show’s tried to evolve, to grow out of having a simple status quo and actually let things change and it’s refreshing when a lot of comedy shows refuse to. The show CAN be hit ore miss in quality, but hte misses have become less cruel and the hits have become that much more impactful. 

Not only that but the show surivived the seeming impossible of it’s creator being revealed to be a sexual harassing creepy asshole who hopefully gets his dick sanded off for all eternity when he invetibly ends up in hell or whatevers next. Screw him but good on Nick for firing him swiftly, one of the few times in the last few years i could really say that about them and not be sarcastic, and good on the crew for carrying on easily without him. 

My point is.. it’s nice to not be attending another show’s funeral. After rise and then venture bros, it’s NICE to have a show surivive and carry on and decide NOT to rest at this stage and stay in it’s comfort zone but shake things up a bit. It’s nice in this stinkhole of a year to have something to celebrate, and yes i’m aware a back to school specail is ill timed, for obvious reasons, but it was likely in production long before covid and I can’t fault the writers for wanting to give kids an escape, nor for doing the quarntine special earlier to help them talk through it. So congrats loud house you earned it.  Now that’s out of the way, the not resting thing.. the thing that has me covering the show, and had me exxcited for this episode.. is that they decided to shake things up a lot by moving all the kids up an age and moving Lori up to college. And what makes this work.. is this wasn’t something they just sprung on the audience. it would’ve worked with that after 4 years of the same age and general stuff.. but season 3 started setting it up with Lincoln and Clyde’s middle school visit and Lori’s college interview, both things i’ll likely cover ventually, while Season 4, after the mini series, had most Lori episodes focus on getting her ready for it: From her senior year, to Leni realizing she’d be gone and being panicky over it, to her working to get a car, which she rides off in this episode. The show dedicated one of it’s few arcs, and probably the only non-romantic one outside of Ronnie Anne and Bobby moving to their spinoff, to this. 

They were all in on this and there was no turning back, and shaking up the status quo like this is a risk as some viewers fear change and run from it like cowards> Me.. I loved it. I loved the idea of taking Lincoln to a new school, giving him and his friends new stuff to do and new challenges to face,  having Lori move away, have Luna learn to drive, have Lisa enter kindergarten, Lily say more etc. And there’s even things I didn’t think of that two upcoming episode synposis suprised me with: birthday episodes, though it’d be best to spread them out but i’m hoping strife of the party isn’t the only one, and the power vacum: Can Leni take over for Lori.. should she? Should Luna or Luaan try instead. Do they even want to? it’s all good questions. It’s a simple but small change that helps change up the show for the better, opens up new avenues while not salting the earth for the old as demonstrated by half of the upcoming episdoes for the next two weeks being ones that could’ve been done at any point in the show. 

So yeah my hype was at maxium, helped by the fact I love one hour specials of shows: “Change Your Mind” “Reign Storm”, all three ducktales have done so far with “Let’s Get Dangeorus” likely adding to that list.. it’s usually a great time for shows to go all out, show waht they got and tell deeper stories. So the big question all this has been leading up to: what did loud house, 5 seasons in,k with a clean slate and tone sof potetial do with their premiere? Well let’s take a look shall we?  This episode is divided into 4 plots, one of which is really a plot inside a plot but still technically 4, all centered around school starting: Lincoln and Co have their first day of middle school, Lori is moving to college after all that setup, and Lily is finally old enough for daycare. And Lynn Sr is having a slow motion breakdown at first, he gets out of it quickly, because understandably he’s feeling mealcholy about not only having all his kids in school but having his first leave him. Sure he still has a full hosue but it’s still rough having one of the few constants in  your life , a chaotic life at that go. So each one focuses on one of them. THe fourht if your curious has Leni accidently end up in Lily’s pre school and is comedy gold. More on that in a minute.  This is actually one of the episodes problems as only Lincoln’s plot and Lori’s plot feel like they naturally dovetail, while Lily’s plot feels like an eleven minute episode that was bootstrapped to this one either to get her into daycare faster or to pad it out to an hour along with parts of the Lincoln plot. It’s till not a BAD episode, but it dosen’t feel quite as cohesive as it should, or as big in scope being an hour long, with most of the loud kids outside the four with plots not getting more than a cameo, though Lisa gets to be the best part of LIly’s plot, and Lynn.. we’ll get to her. It’s not great. I do GET why they did this, as trying to focus on ALL of them at once is nigh impossible and it let the stories breathe better, but it still feels weird that none of them have a reaction to lori being gone and frankly I think the stronger story would be to have had lily potty train LAST season, and then focus this on Lori leaving, the family adjusting, and have Lincoln’s middle school woes be the b plot. Now granted we have a full season to rumninate on her absence, and how it effects the others, so it’s not the hugest lost, but i feels like a waste of the extra time to just pile three episodes into one when a half hour could’ve done the same and saved you two half hours for later. It’s not terrible, but it could’ve been better. Now i’m done moping about the special as a whole for a second let’s break down each plot one at a time. 

The A-Plot: Lincoln Took off to Canada the Other Dayyyyyyyyy The plot is very simple and the adds and summary sadly telegraphed it.. which didn’t help because it’s very clear from the episode Lincoln getting sent to canada is a wacky twist and not supposed to be in the adds. I mean I can’t blame them it’s in half the episode, but it still would’ve been funnier if they kept it as a suprise. And yes if you didn’t know about this episode LIncoln gets sent to canada which is somehow not too weird for the show.  So Lincoln and Co are starting high school. And now’s as good a review as any to TALK about Lincoln’s supporting cast. I did a bit during my review of Brave the Last Dance but feel it’s a good time to talk about them again update opinons and what not. I do feel like they sometimes blend into each other a bit much and shine best when one of them is given the spotlight to play off the others instead of all playing a supporitng role. It’s why I like “Pasture Bedtime” and “brave the last dance” so much: They let the characters breathe while still giving one some extra focus. As for each indivdiually. 

Clyde as I said there i’ve come around on: Early on how tolerable he was was a coin flip: he could be an adorable, somewhat awkard, sheltered kid but one eager to help his friend with his various schemes, as he is now only with a love of baking which is even better. But he could ALSO be a creepy little bugger who either had a freaking anime nose bleed and fainted when Lori was around, or tried to break her and Bobby up, Bobby who is not only the nicest character on BOTH shows in general but was extra nice to Clyde despite all this. Granted I think my boy was too dense to realize Clyde was being a one man asshole parade, but still. It dosen’t help that with Savino’s later ousting for doing the same shit but as a grown ass man. Thankfully he has done a complete recovery and the Lori bit was thankfully dropped and with Bobby gone, he couldn’t hurt my baby boy anymore, so they moved on to other parts of him. Plus I love his dad’s not just for the obvious being gay dads but for being good characters in their own right. 

Stella is easily my favorite of the group, i’ve gone on about her before and Haley Tju does a wonderful job with her, and she feels a bit more three dimensional than the rest of the non-clyde members of the group. Not fully, but still a bit more than the one trait they get and hopefully like our next one up and clyde, she actually gets to start showing up outside of lincoln’s friend squad team episodes. 

Liam is easily my second faviorite. I”m aware he’s not the most complex boy: He’s a farmer, and he knows how to tame animals.. that’s about what he’s used for.. but he’s a sweet enoguh kid he makes it work. And frankly said trait works for him because shockingly, out of all of lincoln’s non clyde friends he’s shown up the MOST in stories not involving Lincoln, and even in one of those lately not involving hte rest of his friends. No really, he popped up in racing hearts in season 3, and Senior Moment and Snoops On Last season. It’s not a TON of episodes overall but compared to the rest of them it’s very noticable and I love it. More please. 

Moving on to the ones i’ve bitched about... Zach. Yeah.. my thoughts can best be summed up as this. 

I mean.. Lincoln’s friends, even the more cheerful ones are capable of feeling defeat and pesimsim, if you want one to downtalk people you have rusty, and “has a tatoo , likes antqiues and belives in cryptids” aren’t really great quirks. If they did more with them or used them OUTSIDE of his episodes sure, but otherwise .. why is he here other than not wanting to explain his absence? Sure he plays off rusty.. but Stella could easily do his role as that and even then they don’t use him for that enough to really justify being him around. Either have a point with him or quitely write him out.. Star Vs, for all it’s flaws, leanred this as far back as season 2 with alphonso and ferguson, AND when people qutestioned where they are actually brought them back to properly write them off and gave them closure in the episode they gave the rest of the echo creek cast the same. Just pick one. And if you want him to knock rusty down a peg fine, just do so.  And now Rusty.. my old nemisis.... and things have changed. Do I still LIKE Rusty? nope. Just.. nope. I don’t. He’s still a skeezy little idiot.. but I realized that unlike LIam he at least has a purpose in the group: He’s the Micheal Kelso. Granted UNLIKE kelso, they don’t go the extra mile and have his friends poke fun at him, but this isn’t that kind of friendship, and with Lynn now around more and Chandler now likely going to be the same, there’s more opprotunites for someone outside the group to rightfully insult the little moron. And if their not going to.. I realized I could. I realized I ENJOY insulting him, taking the piss out of his unjusitfied ego, and just having fun making fun fo the little goober. And more than that.. I realized he DOES have redeeming qualities. He’s a genuinely good friend, he loves his friends dearly and has no trouble showing affection despite his misplaced swagger. I may mock the kid, and I will again.. but he’s not a bad person and will likely grow out of being a dipweasel, just not on screen. I realized having a deep abiding hatred of him just wasn’t good for me when simply mocking him constantly does the trick. There are other, more important things to get pissed about. Rusty isn’t that important. But he is good joke fodder and unlike the show with Zach I refuse to pass up an opportunity. 

But yeah now that’s out of the way, the basic setup here infuraties me. It’s for mildly stupid reasons, but ones i’m going to go to bat for: Lincoln dosen’t get into the same class as his friends. As in their still treating this like elementary school and having everyone in the same class for every subject. That.. that’s not how middle school works. that’s not how any of this works. They don’t lump groups of the same kids into one tract of classes, even electives like cooking or forced ones like PE, which thanks to my autisim I was allowed to attend a diffrent kind of PE that wasn’t an utter fucking nightmare. And you may say “Well Jake your a near 30 blobby shell of a man and things change” which is accurate but they haven’t changed that much. Girl Meets World was only 6 years ago. And while they DID have Cory as the only real teacher they USED, he was still shown to be their history teacher and it was lampshaded sometimes how he wasn’t their only class. And yes I know a lot can change in 6 years, the hellscape we’re in proves that, but just simply ASKING my middle schooler nephew if this is still how that works.. and yup it is. Now it could be diffrent by region, but for the most part the conseus seems to be on diffrent teachers for diffrent subjects. And again as Girl Meets World shows, it’s not THAT complicated. Just have one teacher you use for everything or have a home room. Why do this, why. Just why exactly. Why. You barely used actually in school classes for plots anyway and mostly did stuff around the edges like crushes or lunch or dodge ball. Speaking of which where is Girl Jordan. Where IS she? Anyways, my point is this, especailly as a ned’s declassified school surivvial guide on this very network,f fan really annoys me and takes me out of things..  And the thing is they COULD’VE still done this plot just had the gang all adjust, not just lincoln, to not being in the same class togehter. Have them have to do various classes WITHOUT having each other to rely on. You could even have chandler and mr. bohlmer show up. But the way they do this just..d osen’t really make sense and just feels lazy. And if there were good jokes i’d be fine with his but their aren’t. IT’s just a mean teacher and Lincoln being picked on by a moron for the first half while his friends struggle to function without him. It’s just sad and not in the well written, well thought out way.  Then we get to “This needs to be an hour” portion of the plot as again the above could’ve EASILY worked for the full hour but because they instead went with this, they had to think of something else... and went with something bonkers that at the very least is entertaining: Lincoln, after convincing his teacher for a transfer, which I did like as he uses his head: He sees his teacher wants something diffrent for lunch and paper airplaners her a cupon for his dad’s restraunt then talks himself into an off campus lunch to talk her into a new class.. and winds up transfered to canada as she well meaningly  did so he can’t get out of. And while I thought this was just wacky exageration having him commute.. turns out .. nope. While I don’t know if any school would actually have a student commute to Canada rather than jsut stay there turns out Royal Woods is in michigan and Michigan is across a lake from Ontario.. so yeah.. they did their geography research but not their middle school one. Weird ain’t it?  Anywho, I ended up liking this portion... and not just because it has canada gooses, which means i can use this. 

And if you have a problem with Letterkenny you got a problem with me and I suggest you let that one marinate. But yeah we get an ENTIRE number playing into canadian stereotypes and it’s clear this show is rather than using them for a cheap laugh just exagerating things for fun and a slight nudge to canadians, who I clearly love. It feels less like “oh ha ha canada” and more like if the great white north was stretched over 15 minutes but still worked. 

It’s just good fun. And they also again have an entire musical number full of canadian sterotypes and expressing love of this great country which I hope to visit some day.. and possibly live if this country countinues to get worse. It just feels nice and more creative than the first half. It’s still not FANTASTIC, but it works somehow and Ic an’t explain why. Eventually LIncoln tries to get kicked out, fails then plans to blow the hockey game for everyone and calls on his friends to help, sending them all to canada wh ere they get lost in the wilderness. There is a funny bit where Stella’s gps literally freezes over and zach acidently smashes it as well as Rusty’s “Moustache” one pathetic hair because why should his moustache be anything else freezes off. and given even with me being less vitrolic his suffering is my catnip I enjoyed it. We also get a cute sequence of them runing the ice and rusty failing at anything because of course he does, while Liam both tames a moose and slathers them in grease to swim across because of COURSE he does. Of course he does. IT’s just a refreshing jolt of energy after the first half. But we do get a really damn good scene after htey fail.. besides the fact Rusty’s head is frozen, which would be funny even if it wasnt’ happenign to rusty, that just makes it go from chuckle worthy to giant uncomfortable laugh worthy, where Lincoln gives up: They’ll still be firends and he’ll still come visit but it’s best he just adapt to his new life instead of try and fight so hard against it and he’s starting to enjoy canada. It’s a well acted and sad scene that ends with a huge hug from clyde and another bit we’ll get to in a second.  But because having LIncoln in canada would be hard to maintain for a few seasons, and because as degrassi shows me the odds of him getting nearly beaten to death, caught in school shooting, stabbed in a parking lot or ending up in a kevin smith film which back then was a treat but now is a coin flip, are very high. Seriously he dosen’t want to end up in moose jaws, he instead gets banned from canada for three years for refusing maple syurp... which is also fucking hilarious just for it’s sheer rediculousness. Who dosen’t love canadian maple syrup?  So the ballance is restored, Liam has  moose now, and Lincoln actually gets the trailer heat turned down because he asked.. this plot was not very good as I made clear and drags the specail down and it’s in part because there were other joke and character opprotunites iwth ACTUAL middle school and instead it just comes off as another episode of “Smack lincoln around because tha’ts funny right” and wastes good opprotunity. It’s not all terrible, the canada jokes worked becuase they felt like they were in good fun and more a loving jab at canada instead of just using stereotypes for sterotypes sake, and given the loud sisters started as basic character achtypes it fits the shows tone. So canada part good the rest a huge disapointment. Also before we move onto Lori: Lynn.. was utterly terrible this episode. The girl one, obviously. Lynn Sr is usually a delight. Yeahhh while I don’t hate her like some do, I do find her to be REALLY hit and miss: she’s either an enjoyable additon to the episode, an intresting lead.. or an obnoxious nightmare who makes everyone around her suffer and is used for gross out gags.. which if nothing else it’s good their using a girl for it but it dosen’t make it actually funny? And here she’s Hall Monitor and a giant terror to everyone INCLUDING THE PRINCIPAL and it feels like a waste.. other episodes have had her be lincoln’s mentor when it comes to his shift to middle school and when the time comes where that would be utterly useful... she’s instead just a jackass because they coudln’t think of something better to do with her and it’s another disapointment.  The B-Plot: Lori Loud and the Infinite Comic Set Pieces This plot was better but likely would’ve worked better in a shorter episode to me if i’m being honest, but it’s grown on me the more i’ve thought about it.. plus it has Bobby! 

I haven’t really had a chance to mention it since most Loud Houses i’ve covered are after his exit and he only really shows up in lori episodes and I haven’t covered the Casagrandes yet.. but I love this idiot. He’s sweet, charming, kind, a good boyfriend, a good big brother, and a caring individual. Sure he’s dumb as a box of hammers, but he’s a good kid and post season 1 he and lori have good chemstiry. And he was easily one of hte biggest draws to the spinoff for me which has fleshed him out nicely with his work at the Mercado, showing he is good at something. He’s just a great character and i’m glad to see him back on the mothership, even if he doesn’t do much and at most just keeps coming back to help Lori move at a moment’s notice. But it feels less like her being selfish and more like him being selfless: Sure she’s asking a lot.. but he probably gets that moving away from home and into a strage place is hard for his lady and just wants to help her be happy and settle in. Because he’s the best. 

As for why Lori keeps moving part of it is the fact that the dorms at fair way are insane comic set pieces and I am here for it. She starts out at the silent dorm, which just.. no. No on that no. Then moves to the driving range dorm which is exactly what it sounds like and is a hilarious hurricane of balls. “Sigh” Archer if you would. 

And the sand trap dorm, which just has a giant bunch of sand in the closets for some reeason.. presumibly to keep darth vader away. And yes I get it’s supposed to mimic a sandtrap but theni t should be all around like the other dorms. It’s goofy, it’s dumb.. and I can’t help but laugh at it and the fact that Fairway apparently is so intense about golf they train students via having them live on certain hazards like this was an anime... and I would totally watch a spinoff about lori that was her undergoing anime golf battles. And I hate golf. Plus put bobby in there.. he can be on two shows. Make it a diffrent world but with dragon ball z golf battles. But eventually Lori comes crying home after breaking down, like any college student living away i’m told.. and that’s where the dovetail I mention comes into play. Lori overhears lincoln’s pep talk and decides to go back and face the exesntial nightmare that is her dorm life, giving her brother a sincre hug and thanking him for uknowingly helping her. It’s a really sweet moment. It’s why her plot works for me.. it has the emotinal weight that feels lacking from the main plot. It’s a bit repetitive, but frankly that’s the show’s bread and butter at this point and i’ts more a case of which repettition works better sometimes. That one moment saves the plot form being unwatchable and Lori moves into the water hazard floor of the dorms, and is finally ready. And while at first I thought the exagerated dorms lowered the punch of things.. it really dosen’t. From what i’ve heard Dorm life isn’t easy, and being away from home is even harder. My mentally anxious self would’ve broken down within days. Their just taking it up twenty notches because loud house. The real issue is lori being homesick, which I do feel could’ve been handled better, but for what hit is it’s okay. Not as good as it couldv’e been but still better than the a-plot. But it’s a nice bit of character stuff: it shows usually in control Lori out of her element and trying to adapt and hopefully we’ll see more of her this season in that context. And more of bobby, may he reign forever. Okay one more. 

The C and D plots: Leni and Lily Go to Preschool  This one won’t take long, thank god. Lily goes to preschool, the loud parents, after some empty nest.. enjoy having the house to themselves for the first time in years. They actually have TIME with no kids and just the two of them to goof off and, presumibly off screen, boink like rabbits.. granted that’s how they clearly usually do it given they have 11 kids but still. But Lily gets sent home for popping herself, and they have to teach her to go it’s eh aside from a few bits. As I said Lisa is the best part of this as Lynn Sr and Rita yank her out of school, with Lisa responding to Cheryls worries abotu her missing school with a dry “I think i’ll be fine without finger painting”. The resolution, or at least the start of it, is genuinelly clever. Turns out Lily KNOWS how to use the potty, she just dosen’t want to go to school yet, and the Loud Parents.. actually take this well, confronting her with it but gently, understanding she may not want to leave the nest and letting her stay. 

Meanwhile Leni ends up in preschool in the shuffle of not having Lori around to guide her one brain cell. Which is honestly hilarious and her outfit for the episode is fucking dope.. I honestly wish she’d wear her hair in a ponytail more often and the jacket is nice. I wish this was her new outfit.. like they could make it green so she’s not stepping on Lola wearing pink, but it’s a nice change of pace. But yeah it’s hilarious, especially since neither she nor the actual professionals notice and it has a nice bit of subtext on tumblr noted: She may be regressing, or simply enjoying little girl school because she misses her big sister and it’s easier than navigating a scary world without her best frined. To dig into it a bit myself we’ve seen in previous episodes that Lori is her rock, who she goes to when she has a problem in her solo episodes, who she relies on. Sure they fight over a closet but they depend on each other. We saw how worried Leni was about loosing her last season, and now she’s lost her and dosen’t know what to do without her. It’ll be intresting to see more of.  Or it’s because while she’s a capable young woman she’s also as dumb as a box of hammers like her future brother in law> you make the call. Eventually Leni gets sent back, and bemoans missing all the fun of preschool.. which gets Lily to go as she gets a trampoline, and the nest is finally empty.. also Leni goes back for a few more bounces. Yeah I love this kid. She’s sweet, kind, and hilariously moranic and voiced by LIliana Mumy who along with Carols is easliy part of my stable of voice actors. So yeah the family’s moving on, etc etc, and this review is finally over.  Final Thoughts: This episode was okay. It reaks of wasted potetial, but it’s a fine enough one hour, it jsut couldv’e been MORE with such a long run time and the lily and leni bits would’ve fit better in a seperate episode. It’s not TERRIBLE but it’s just an okay start to the season and a waste of good stories and good laughs in places. Still the show’s had worse, it’s just okay overall. Not TERRIBLE but it could’ve been FANTASTIC. Next week Leni deals with the lori power vaccum and Lincoln and Clyde snoop on the neighbors. Until then you can find other loud house reviews on my blog, hit me up iwth an ask for suggetsions or a dm to comission an episode you want to see me cover and until then, GO TEAM VENTURE. Play us out servo

[chlodani]

This is my next smau. It's a Harry Potter smau. Neville X F.!Reader pairing. There's a bit of Fred X F.!Reader pairing in here. There's also Neville X Fred X F.!Reader. Title:A Muggle's Love Story

Trigger warning: Slight swearing! Mentions of sex! Will be mentions of rape! Slight abuse! If you are sensitive to these things read at your own risk!

Y/n was a muggle brought into the world of magic, at a very young age. She didn't know how to handle it. And with her older sister, her guardian being the only one who could take care of her, it proved to be difficult for her with her sister being the Defense Against The Dark Arts professor, and her having to live in the world of magic. She feels a little left out, seeing as both her sisters, her older and her younger, - her twin - are wizards and she is not. But that all disappears when she meets the one person who helped her realize not everything is about that. And it's not all its cracked up to be. Neville was there for her since she was young and they became the best of friends. However, as they got older they realized their feelings were more for each other than they even orginally thought. But what happens when Neville finally has the courage and another man tries to swoop in and take him from her?

End Special Edition Part 18. . .

Part 19 Coming soon. . .

Adelina's P.O.V.

I walked to the spot I've wanted to forget about for years. The spot I knew he'd be. I knew he was waiting for me. And I knew what he wanted to do. I have Minerva looking after Luna. And I have Fred and Neville protecting Y/n. All he has left is me.

"Adelina, - I was hoping you'd show up," Austin spoke out as he walked out from behind a rock.

"You knew I'd be here," I told him trying to keep my cool.

At least at first.

"Yes, only to get revenge on me for what I did to your precious little sister. I would've done it to her twin to, but I couldn't find her -"

"I'd kill you,"

"Ooo, Im so scared, -"

"You should be,"

"Why didnt you tell me about Luna?"

"I never wanted you know,"

"You didnt think I had a right to know about my own daughter. Something we created together through our love,"

"Love?! Please! You raped me! - I knew thats all you wanted from the beginning and because I wouldn't give it to you, - You decided to take it from me! Well, guess what Austin, I've grown since then! I've grown stronger and I know how to protect myself,"

"Let's try it shall we,"

He shot a blast at me from his wand. I quickly blocked it with my own.

"Very nice - Im intrigued,"

"You're also sick,"

"Come on Lina, lets go back to the way things used to be -"

"I'd never want any part of you ever again. And you're never gonna get anywhere near Luna or Y/n ever again!"

"We'll see,"

He shot another blast at me, I once again blocked it. He kept firing them at me. I kept blocking them. I blasted him with one, in a split second where he was just holding his wand, and it was enough to blast him back several feet, making him fall to the ground. I felt proud of that one. However, it wasnt enough to stop him. He quickly shot a blast at me sending me back, making me land on the ground. I tried to catch my breath from the impact of the blast. Out of my blurry vision I saw Severus come out from behind me, standing in between me and Austin.

"Severus what are you doing here?!" I asked him honestly quite irritated that he followed me.

"Making sure you're alright," Severus told me.

I stood to my feet.

"Dont worry, Im fine, - Now leave Severus!" I commaned of him.

"No! - Not until I know your safe!" He told me.

"Im fine! Will you just -"

"Isnt this just precious? -"

Severus and I both looked at Austin.

"Is Severus Snape finally your boyfriend? - After all these years?"

"I'm not her boyfriend," Severus told Austin quickly.

"Oh what a pity, - She used to talk about you all the time. How much she loved you and wanted you. - She talked about how much she wanted you to ask her to the yule ball, but you never did. When you left her in the dark, I was the only one left. - I was clearly better than you. Seeing as I was one of the chosen contestants for the Tri-Wizard Tournament. I asked her and she went with me. Thats when we started dating. - And since its out in the open, I did only want one thing from her, I might've had to force it on her, but I got it. And from that one moment, she got pregnant. And she never bothered to tell me. - I've come for my daughter Adelina, and Im not leaving until I get her,"

"You'll have to go through me first!" I threatened.

"Not a problem," he stated.

Severus shot several blasts at him from his wand. Though Austin just quickly blocked all of them. In one strong blast from his wand, he threw Severus several feet. I wanted to kill him right here and now. In anger I used the crucio spell on him. It brought him down to the ground. I was satisfied as I looked at him. I moved myself back to Severus to make sure he was okay. My one mistake was turning away from him. Though I was alert to him. I quickly turned, blocking another blast.

"If I can't get to my daughter and your sister, I can take away the one man you've always loved, - It'll hurt you more than anything -"

Just as he held up his wand, to use the killing curse on Severus, I panicked. I quickly held up my wand, speaking out the words quickly, but clearly. I walked over to him cautiously, after he had flown back and landed on the ground near the rock. I looked deep into his eyes as he laid there. Is it finally over? Am I rid of him forever? Severus rushed over to me.

"Adelina, are you -"

Before he could finish his question, I threw my arms around him, holding him around his waist as tightly as I could. Severus said nothing he just held me. My heart raced as I felt him place a soft kiss to the top of my head. Tears raced down my cheeks. Severus just held me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked me softly.

"I didnt want you to know, - I was ashamed, - And I was trying to keep anyone else from knowing about him, because I knew it would put their life in danger. That's why I didnt tell anyone about Luna. - I knew it would put them in danger. - I was afraid he would come back, and -"

"You don't have to worry about him now - He's gone Lina - And he won't ever come back - Luna is safe now, and she always will be," Severus said to me reassuringly.

I didnt know what else to say. I let myself relax as he held me, placing another soft kiss to the top of my head.

"Was what he said true? - About you having feelings for me?" He asked me not sure if he wanted to know the true answer.

"Yes Severus -"

I leaned back from him, so I could look into his face.

"It's true, - I've had feelings for you ever since I met you. I was just too afraid to tell you. - I didnt know how you'd react and I was afraid you'd reject me," I finally admitted to him through fear that he would actually reject me.

He was quiet for a moment. I was honestly afraid I made the wrong move just now by admitting my feelings to him. He looked straight into my eyes.

"I love you too Adelina,"

Before I could say anything else, Severus trapped me within his lips. I honestly didn't know how to feel, except calm and at peace. I kissed him back without any hesitation. Now that I have him, - I wont let him go. A smile passed Severus as he leaned back and looked at me. I haven't seen him smile in a long time.

"I think maybe we should go disclose to Albus what happened," Severus told me calmly.

I nodded in agreement.

"I'd also like to go see my sister," I told him.

"Of course," he spoke softly.

We walked back to the castle together. Severus kept an arm around me as we walked. All thoughts of everything rushed around in my head. I know Severus is right about telling Albus about Austin, but all I care about right now is Y/n.

Part 19 coming soon. . .

Taglist:

@cece-lives-here

@saur20

[grimelords]

October Playlist

My October playlist is finished and it’s complete from Rico Nasty to Rachmaninoff. I absolutely guarantee there’s something you’ll love in this 3 and a half hours of music, and probably something you’ll hate too! Something for everyone!

If you’d like to have these playlists delivered to your inbox instead of having them randomly appear on your dash, please subscribe to my tinyletter here.

listen here

Santeria - Pusha T: In anticipation of Jesus Is King I relistened to the entire Wyoming Sessions project a few times, and a year removed from all the hype and controversy here's the thing: it's fucking great. The individual albums ranged pretty widely in quality and felt slightly unfinished for how short they were sometimes, but taking the project as a whole 5-album 120 minute playlist it turns out it's a masterpiece. My personal tracklist goes Ye/Daytona/Nasir/KTSE/Kids See Ghosts, which isn't release order but I think makes it flow the best - both Kanye albums bookending it and the less impactful Nas and Teyana Taylor albums buried a bit further in where you can appreciate them now that you're deep in the mindset of the whole thing rather than alone on their own.

Puppets (Succession Remix) - Pusha T & Nicholas Brittel: This remix is such a perfect match: Pusha T’s corporate villainy finally given a context and prestige it deserves. It’s also short enough that it could feasible be the actual theme song next season, which would be a marked improvement imo.

Use This Gospel - Kanye West, Clipse & Kenny G: I am and remain a Kanye stan, even after everything. It’s nice to see him going back to the extremely uneven mastering of MBDTF era, it’s a sound that is uniquely his and it’s fun to see him revisit it. The thick vocoder harmony is so soupy you get lost in it, and the way it opens up to include the full choir in the No Malice verse is beautiful. Kanye reunited Clipse through Christ and we have Him to thank for that at least. The Kenny G break is great, and the grain and dirt on the whole track when the beat kicks in is so gritty you can feel it.

Man Of The Year - Schoolboy Q: I didn't love the Chromatics album they surprise released but it did thankfully remind me of the time Schoolboy Q sampled Cherry for Man Of The Year. Taken exclusively on lyrics, Man Of The Year is a triumph: he's the man of the year and it's all worked out but the sample and the beat underscores the dead eyed melancholy that runs through the whole of Oxymoron of never winning even when you've won.

Cold - Rico Nasty: This song fucking tears your face off. Imagine STARTING your album at this level of intensity. She just goes straight to 100 and burns the house down. Outside of Lil John so few rappers can get away with just straight up screaming in the adlibs but the way she just lung tearingly screams GOOOO through this is fucking sick.

Fake ID - Riton & Kah-Lo: TikTok songs are becoming their own genre, but it’s a very nebulous sort of a mood encompassing everything from aughts pop punk hooks to skipping rope raps like this. It’s a strange new way for songs to blow up that everyone seems compelled to write articles about but my take on it is it’s exactly the same as ads were in the old days. Remember how many songs did absolute numbers because someone put it in a Motorola ad? Same thing except you’re not being sold a phone this time, so in some ways it’s better. Anyway, this song bangs. The spirit of 212 era Azealia Banks lives on even if she’s doing her best ever since then to kill it.

Doctor Pressure - MYLO & Miami Sound Machine: There was a very good era in the mid-2000s where you could just put mashups out as singles and they’d chart, it was sick. My only two examples are this and Destination Calabria but I’m sure there’s more. Drop The Pressure is a masterpiece but as an alternate version this mashup is equally masterful.  

If You’re Tarzan, I’m Jane - Martika: Martika is unfortunately best known for the 1989 one hit wonder Toy Soldiers, a sort of boring overdramatic ballad which is best known for being sampled by Eminem in 2004 in his quite bad super duper serious song Like Toy Soldiers. I say unfortunately because every other song on her first album is great, it’s all hypercolour 80s synthpop and I love this song especially because it is so completely stuffed with activity it becomes dizzying. It gets so lost in itself that they completely abandon the dramatic pause before “I’m Jane” for some reason toward the end and instead just layer three different tracks of vocal adlibs. Every part of this song is great, the weird ‘o we o we o’ chant before the second verse? The neighing horse guitar before the bridge? The musical tour of the world IN the bridge? The part where she says ‘I want to swing on your vine?’. This song has everything.

You Got Me Into This - Martika: Every part of the instrumentation in this is amazing. The bass sound, the main synth, the extremely athletic brass, the wonderful echoing 80s snare that’s as big as a house. I just love it. She also does some really intriguing slurs on the word ‘love’ all the way through, just moving it around absolutely anywhere.

Space Time Motion - Jennifer Vanilla: I love when someone has such a clearly defined aesthetic and mission from the very beginning. Jennifer Vanilla is the alter ego of Becca Kaufmann from Ava Luna who I've had in this playlist before but never competely investigated. Jennifer Vanilla feels like an episode of Sex And The City where Samantha gets really into Laurie Anderson and she is incredible. This video is the best mission statement I’ve ever seen and is currently criminally underviewed so please do your part and support the Jennifer cause by watching these two videos.

So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings - Caroline Polachek: Caroline Polachek said watch me write a Haim song and did it. Apparently the very early versions of this album started when she was in writing sessions for Katy Perry, but then it started to turn into something else and she took it for herself, and I think you can hear that. With more normal production and a little faster this is a hundred percent a Katy Perry song, but instead it’s completely uniquely Caroline Polachek and it’s all the better for it. And also Katy Perry must be furious because her new songs are simply not good at all.

Electric Blue - Arcade Fire: I just love the obsession of this song in the outro, chanting over and over and over “Cover my eyes electric blue, every single night I dream about you”

Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado and Timbaland: I got a youtube ad for one of those Masterclass videos the other day and it was Timbaland teaching production. This ad went for five minutes for some reason and I watched the whole thing and it made me admire Timbaland even more. He’s demonstrating his compositional technique which is basically to just beatbox, and then loop it, and then add some extra percussion layers with more beatboxing and hand percussion, then loop that and add a little melody by singing or humming. ‘It’s that simple’ he says. Then later he goes back in and puts in actual drums or synths or whatever. I was stunned because suddenly a lot of his music makes sense. Without the barrier of instrument or timbre to get hung up on it allows him to write from this instantly head-nodding place of just making up a little beat you can sing and dance to immediately. Listening to a lot of his music now you can hear the bones underneath everything so clearly, all his beats are supremely beatboxable and all his melodies are very hummable, they’ve never overcomplicated by instrumental skill or habits, they just exist to serve the song.

Serpent - TNGHT:  TNGHT are back baby and this song is like nothing I’ve ever heard before. It feels like afrofuturist footwork from another dimension, the mbira sounding lead against the oil drum percussion in this cacophony of yelps and screams that just builds to an irrepressible energy without a bassline in sight.

Ghosts Of My Life - Rufige Kru: I'm reading Mark Fisher's Ghosts Of My Life right now and some good person has put together a spotify playlist of all the songs he mentions. He has a whole essay about why this song is sick so I’m not going to go into it here but it’s interesting to hear about someone growing up with jungle when it’s a genre that has always felt very niche to me. I guess partly as a result of it never really making it mainstream as a genre here, and also me being a little too young for it.

Renegade Snares - Omni Trio: My biggest introduction to drum and bass comes from the game Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition and this really great song from the soundtrack that is finally on spotify after a very long absence. At almost the exact same time as I discovered this song with its spacious piano and repitched snares, I discovered Venetian Snares and breakcore in general. Having no particular frame of reference for breakcore as an offshoot of drum and bass only amplified its appeal to me as a completely alien genre that sounded like nothing else I’d ever heard, and so my personal history with drum and bass is a story of walking backwards into it after the fact which is interesting if not helpful.

Punching In A Dream - The Naked And Famous: The Mark Fisher book also mentions the Tricky song which I’ve never heard from which The Naked And Famous got their name and I thought ‘man remember The Naked And Famous, they were sick?’. The sort of harder edged Passion Pit instrumentation mixed with pop punk, a winning combination.

Vegas - Polica: My favourite part of this song is the unexpected blastbeats after the chorus, using their two drummers to their full advantage and just shaking the song by its foundations every now and then lest you get too comfortable.

Right Words - Cults: I’m beginning to suspect I may be the last surviving Cults stan but if this be my lot I’ll gladly do it

Running From The Sun - Chromatics: The new Chromatics album got me to relisten to their definitive document Kill For Love, and something new I appreciated this time about an album I love a lot is its length. Kill For Love is almost 80 minutes long and it luxuriates in that length. It’s sequenced perfectly so it never feels like it’s long for no reason, but large chunks just completely space out and go out of focus in the soft neon light and the second half of this song is a good example. The whole thing just evaporates into smoke and it feels perfect. If this were a shorter and more concise song that had a proper ending it wouldn’t feel right, this whole album has no straight edges at all and it’s all the better for it.

Chance - Angel Olsen: I cannot belive this song. This feels like she wrote her own version of My Way looking forward instead of back. Instead of the ruefully triumphant "I've lived a life that's full / I've traveled each and every highway" it's “I don't want it all / I've had enough / I don't want it all / I've had a love." before the turn from the future to the present at the end, where she gives up on a forever love in exchange for right now. I love how raw this vocal take feels. It's not her best voice but it feels very very honest as a result. She's just singing her heart out in this huge showstopping closer. In an interview she said "I didn’t love the recording of it very much, and now I just feel in love with it as a closing statement, because it’s a way of saying, ‘Look, I have hope for the next thing in my life.’ I’m not going to anticipate negativity or hate or an end. But instead of us looking towards forever, why don’t we just work on right now?"

Something To Believe - Weyes Blood: This album just keeps paying dividends. I’m systematically going through long obsessive periods with every single song on it and now it’s Something To Believe’s turn.

Don’t Shut Me Up (Politely) - Brigid Mae Power: Without meaning to, Brigid Mae Power seems to have created some incredible fusion of folk music and stoner metal. The way this song absolutely sits unmoving on one deep and resonant chord for so long is amazing. When it does change chords it feels like a full body effort to get up and shift. She has a similar feeling to Emma Ruth Rundle, who more explicitly wears her metal influences, but Brigid Mae Powers' strength is in how much it resembles the traditional folk side of the spectrum. Her voice is also amazing, with the huge effortless runs she goes on about halfway through just coming unmoored from the song completely and floating off into space.

Sweetheart I Ain’t Your Christ - Josh T. Pearson: I had a real problem with Josh T. Pearson for a long time because of how he presents as so authentic on this album, and as I’ve previously discussed in these playlists the concept of authenticity in country music is a source of neverending anguish for me. But his newest album The Straight Hits! has largely cured that for me because it’s not good at all, is extremely contrived (all the song titles have the word ‘hit’ in them) and he’s shaved his beard and replaced it with one of the worst irony moustaches I’ve ever seen. So now I’m free to enjoy The Last Of The Country Gentlemen as a character construction, which allows me a far deeper and truer engagement than the idea of a man actually living and thinking like this which is frankly a little embarrassing.

Codeine Dream - Colter Wall: I love this song, it has that feeling that great folk songs do of feeling like you’ve always known it. The strongest moments on this Colter Wall album to me are in songs like this that chase this particular feeling of morose isolation, and where he leans away from storytelling like his biggest hit Kate McCannon - a kind of cliche country murder ballad. This song is fantastic because of the way it wallows in this black depression not as a low point, but as a reprieve from the lower previous point. Things are as bad as they get now, and they’re always going to be like this, but at least I don’t dream of you anymore.

Motorcycle - Colter Wall: I only just found out about Colter Wall this month and have been listening to this album over and over. When I first heard him I though it was strange I'd never heard of him before because he's obviously some old country veteran based off his voice, but it turns out he's 24 and this is his first album he just sings like he ate a cigar. I love this song especially because it's so straighforward. It's a simple and supremely relatable mood: what if I bought a motorbike and fucking died.

Who By Fire - Leonard Cohen: I watched American Animals a couple of weeks ago and it’s a great movie, highly recommended. This song plays near the end and I waited for the credits to find out what this great song was, and like a rube found out it’s only one of the most celebrated songwriters of all time. I’ve never had much of a Leonard Cohen phase, somehow. In my mind I always get him mixed up with Lou Reed, which I’m learning is actually way off. I love the harmony vocals in this, and the way they move around into the shadows in the ‘who shall I say is calling’ parts.

Words From The Executioner To Alexander Pearce - The Drones: Alexander Pearce was a convict who escaped Sarah Island’s penal settlement in Tasmania with seven other convicts in 1822. He was recaptured two months later alone. In 1823 he re-escaped with a fellow convict, Thomas Cox and again was returned alone.He was executed by hanging later having eaten six men during his escape attempts.

It Ain’t All Flowers - Sturgill Simpson: I found this album going through the Pichfork 200 albums of the decade list and I feel like a fool for not having heard it sooner because now I am completely obsessed. Sturgill Simpson is doing the very best work in country music right now because he's looking backwards with one eye and forwards with the other and this song is a great illustration: a perfect Hank Williams Jr type country song with big voiced hollers that morphs into a surprise psych freakout for the whole second half.

Desolation Row (Take 1, Alternate Take) - Bob Dylan: I’ve always liked Desolation Row a lot as a song but the acoustic guitar on the album version is simply not good, it's just kind of mindlessly playing this long directionless solo the whole time and over the course of a song this long it really adds up to just being annoying. Luckily because it’s a Bob Dylan song there’s a whole universe of alternate takes and mixes and this is a great pared down version I found without it. The best kind of Bob Dylan songs are the ones where he just makes an endless stream of allusions and bizzare imagery, and this and Bob Dylan's 115th Dream are my favourite examples of it.

Living On Credit Blues - El Ten Eleven: This is a groove I get stuck in my head a lot, and this is also a song I think would work well as a theme for a tv show. I've been meaning to do a 30 second edit of it just for my own amusement, maybe I'll do that soon. El Ten Eleven are a duo where one guy plays drums and one guys plays a double necked guitar/bass and looping pedals and somehow against all the odds of that description they manage to make emotional, driving instrumental music of very deep feeling, like this song which is one of my all time favourites.

Dusty Flourescent/Wooden Shelves - Talkdemonic: This is sort of a companion Living On Credit Blues, and Talkdemonic are similarly an instrumental duo with good drums. This entire album from 2005 is highly recommended, it's a sort of halfway between the post rock of the time and a kind of acoustic hiphop instrumentals that ends up sounding very rustic and homemade, like a soudtrack for a winter cabin.

Turnstile Blues - Autolux: This is a perfect song, built around a perfect beat. Every part just fits perfectly.

Fort Greene Park - Battles: The new Battles album is finally out and I absolutely love it. I cannot think of another band that has shed members in the same way as Battles; originally a quartet on their first album, then a trio for their second and third and now down to a duo for their fourth album - and somehow still performing material from their first album live. The paring down has seemingly only servers to focus them and the new album sounds fresh but still distinctively Battles, with no sense of anything lost or missing. This song is my standout so far, and the guitar line in particular is so good and interesting to me because I don’t think I’ve ever heard Ian Williams play something so distinctly guitar-y in his whole career. This is a straight up pentatonic riff with bends and everything. Filtered through his usual chopped and looped oddness it feels like he’s almost gone all the back around the guitar continuum and is this close to just doing power chords next album. And I’ll support him!

Diane Young - Vampire Weekend: I've listened to this song a lot in my life and I only looked up the lyrics the other day to find out that the opening line is 'you torched a SAAB like a pile of leaves' which I somehow never noticed. What a power phrase. There's also this very good quote from Ezra about it: "I had this feeling that the world doesn’t want a song called ‘Dying Young’,“ says Koenig, "it just sounded so heavy and self-serious, whereas ‘Diane Young’ sounded like a nice person’s name.”" and he was right to do it. This song is 100 times better because he’s saying Diane Young than it would be if he was saying ‘Dying Young’. That’s a songwriting tip for you.

Monster Mash - Bootsy Collins & Buckethead: Hey did you hear Bootsy Collins and Buckethead did a cover of the monster mash? Thank god for freaks.

The Dark Sentencer - Coheed And Cambria: There's not that many bands that I absolutely loved as a teenager that I've completely abandoned. I've moved on from a lot but I'll still keep up with them if they have a new album or something. Coheed And Cambria are one that I've almost completely turned my back on. They've had 3 apparently pretty patchy albums since I stopped listening after Year Of The Black Rainbow, which was extremely bad and really taught me what people mean when they say an album is 'overproduced'. On a whim I decided to see what they're up to now and listened to their album from last year and guess what: it rocks. It's got everything you'd expect from them: big riffs, bad and confusing lyrics, his weird high voice, overwrought and overlong songwriting, cheesy muscleman solos. Everything about this band is sort of cheesy and embarrassing and takes itself way too seriously, but I'm discovering slowly that that's what's so good about it. The weird pulp sci-fi story and mindset that underpins this whole band is ridiculous and overwrought and as a result it gives the music a reason to exist the way it does. It’s so big and dumb because the story it serves is so big and dumb. It feels exactly like reading Perry Rhodan or some increidibly long and dense but not especially good series like that, it’s pulp music and that’s what I love about it.

Romance In A (6 Hands) - Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano works for 4 hands (where two guys sit next to each other on the same piano) have always seemed to tend towards the realm of the gimmick or party trick, and works for 6 hands (where three guys do it) even more so - but this Rachmaninoff piece is just beautiful and I can’t believe I haven’t heard of it before this month. It doesn’t overload everyone with a million things to do, it just builds this very wide harmonic bed for the simple melody to swim in - then the way the melody transfers over to the middle register is just magical before the tension of the final section takes over and builds.

Love's Theme - The Love Unlimited Orchestra: I’m so glad I got to learn about the Love Unlimited Orchestra this month. Aside from having one of the best names in music, they were Barry White’s backing band and had their own solo instrumental records too. Here’s a fun aside: Kenny G was a member when he was 17 and still in high school. This is a genre of music that has seemed to totally disappear into the realm of parody and farce only which is sort of a shame because it is unironically very beautiful and dense in its own way.

Dancing In The Moonlight - Liza Minelli: Can you believe I thought Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader was an original until the other day when my girlfriend played this Liza Minelli version that predates it by several decades? This also isn’t the original! It was written by a band named King Harvest in 1972, with this version AND a version by Young Generation both coming out in 73 and a whole bunch of others in between (including a Baha Men version in 94) before Toploader finally had a proper hit with it in 2000. Truly the world works in mysterious ways. This version is the finest I think, it just goes and goes, frenetically unwinding at a breakneck pace before opening up into a flute solo of all things and then winding up again even and finishing in a kick line breakdown. Absolutely no limits.

Girls - Royal Headache: The sheer amount of power and melody that this song manages to pack into a minute and a half is incredible, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a more instantly relatable opening lyric than “Girl! Think they’re to fine for me! Oh girls! And I’m inclined to agree!”

Pov Piti - Matana Roberts: In anticipation of Matana Roberts new volume of her Coin Coin album series that just came out I relistened through the three previous albums and they are even more powerful than I remembered. This song serves as a pretty good mission statement for the whole project, and the heartrending tortured screams that open it set the tone for the rest of it. Matana Roberts sings the injustices of slavery into being, and her sing-song delivery highlights the trauma - her indifferent delivery mirroring the indifference of the world at large. The way she rattles off this story like she’s gone over it a million times and grown numb to the facts only accentuates the pain in the telling, a pain that rises to the surface in the screams of her instrument and herself.  

Kingdoms (G) - Sunn 0))): This new Sun 0))) album is one of my favourites they’ve ever done because it’s so straightforward and back to basics. Every song is just ten minutes of straight up no-nonsense, big, rich, drone. They even put the notes in the track names so you can drone along if you like.

listen here

[bowtiesandbowtruckles]

Happy birthday to @keyflight790 hope you have a day as fantastic as you are. Here are the Neville headcannons I promised. Hope you like them 🙂

What is Neville’s night time routine?

When Neville has been working hard in his greenhouses at home he has a quick shower to get rid of the grime from the day and brushes his teeth before falling into bed and sleeping. If he’s not worked in the greenhouses and had a relaxing day he will run through a self care routine. Starting with a warm bath/shower depending on how he feels. He washes his face and hair with his favourite cedar scented soap and lemon scented shampoo and brushes his teeth. This is followed by fresh pyjamas ( if it’s a Wednesday and Saturday) then he gets into bed and reads a few chapters of whatever herbology book that has caught his fancy. He always tells himself that he can read a maximum of 5 chapters but will often get most of the way through the book before falling asleep with it on his chest. When neville is teaching at Hogwarts Neville is always the last professor to the great hall for dinner because he is spending as much time tending to his plants as possible. He will have dinner and then head to his office to mark any essays he needs to before heading to his room for the night. He often runs a bath and will follow his home routine of washing his face and hair and brushing his teeth. He tries not to read as much as at home as he needs to be up a lot earlier to prepare his lessons for the day and tend to his plants before classes.

Does Neville believe in new beginnings?

Neville believes that new beginnings are possible and deserved. When the war was over and they were back for their 8th year Draco and Blaise approached him first by themselves on the train and then the others followed just after the start of term and apologised to him for the years of bullying and it takes Neville a lot of soul searching, talking to Luna and a few weeks but eventually he decides to forgive him. Neville in turn then works with the slytherins and bridges the gap between the Slytheins and the Gryffindors.

Does Neville have a collection of cardigans?

Boy does he! Neville has a bunch of cardigans/sweaters and much to his friends amusement his favourite sweater is a Christmas sweater that is red and green with a diamond pattern divided by silver tinsel with little bells. Neville has a collection of sweaters and cardigans for everyday life, a grey one with big buttons on the front, an old Gryffindor one with frayed sleeves and it’s been worn so much it’s soft and smells like Neville’s greenhouse, a beige cable sweater (that he got for Christmas from Draco) is another of Neville’s favourites, a few patterned ones that are quite colourful he loves them all and when it gets too warm to wear them Neville secretly can’t wait for the weather to get colder again so he can pull them all out again.

How does Neville like to give or receive affection?

Neville enjoys showing affection to his partner with small touches like a brush of his elbow or hand, guiding them with a hand to the small of their back, he enjoys holding hands and kisses and cuddles. He tells them often that he loves them and he gives compliments. He like to receive affection from his partner in the same ways but is always aware of his partners comfort and if they don’t feel comfortable with something he never forces them to do it.

Whats Nevilles favourite thing to do or eat on his birthday?

On his birthday Neville goes and sits in St Mungo's with his mum and dad for the entirety of the day, by himself quietly watching them and telling them stories about happy things that happen to him. Then once he is ready to go he walks slowly to the end of the ward waiting for his mum to rush up behind him and give him a gum wrapper or a piece of fluff whichever she has decided to give him and he wraps her in a big hug and his dad will follow suit giving him a piece of torn newspaper or something small that Neville cherishes, he hugs his dad and tells them both he loves them and will be back as soon as he can. He then leaves the ward and goes home and puts his gifts in a folder of all the things that his parents have given him. All his friends and family know that he needs the rest of his day to just be and although they send owls to check in they are never offended if he doesn’t respond. Neville knows that Luna is always in the next room of their shared home and all he has to do is bang on the wall if he needs comfort. The next day though all his friends and family get together and have a party to celebrate his birthday. His favourite thing thats at every one of these parties is sticky toffee pudding, just like the house elves at hogwarts make. (This one got a bit sad and I wouldn’t say it’s his favourite thing to do it’s just what he does. Also I had written it before I sent in my request for your Drabble and now I’m even sadder about this one)

What does Neville do to show his partner(s) how he feels?

Neville shows his partner how he feels by listening to his partner especially when they’re angry or upset because he feels it’s especially important that he have all the facts before he makes a decision that could impact their relationship negatively. He likes to let his partner know that he trusts and supports their interests and hobbies because he knows what it’s like to be doubted and have his magical ability questioned but also whether or not he would amount to anything and he never wants to feel that way again and he doesn’t want his partner to feel that way ever. He also takes the time to know what the person enjoys doing and what they don’t enjoy so he can be spontaneous but not in way that will make his partner uncomfortable. Neville always tries his best to make a night that he has off date night because during the week he’s so busy teaching he not only needs the break he needs some comfort from his partner as well. Neville enjoys spoiling his partner with flowers and little gifts to show them how much he loves them. Often finding little things that just remind him of that person and needing to get it and gift it to them.

[unnursvanablog]

All the shows I watched in the second half of 2019.

Sort of in the order that I watched it in, or wrote the titles down in my bullet journal.

Shows that I finished 😄

Victoria: I find myself growing bored with this show with each passing season. The main couple didn't do much than other than fight this season, they introduced a bunch of new characters and drama that I just didn't care about. Stunning to look at though.

Jane the Virgin:  A solid finale for this show that could not have picked a better place to end. The story had sort of run out of steam and the soap opera plot and twists gotten a little tired. Made me cry in the end.

Absolute Boyfriend: Don't ask why I finished it. I don't even know. What a mess. Angel's Last Mission: Started quite well, lovely role reversal and I really enjoyed the characters. Got a tad too melodramatic for me towards the end.

Stranger Things 3: Oh, how I adore this show! It's almost just pure entertainment. The characters are great (although some of them were altered a little to fit the narrative), especially the new additions to the gang. Some parts of the show had lot more exciting narrative than others though, as the characters scatter around looking for clues. A nice mystery, the monster got to evolve a little. I cried my eyes out toward the end.

Hotel Del Luna: I adore this show for the most part. IU and Yeo Jin Goo are both great in their roles, and it always had this dark fairytale vibe going for it. Loved how big of a role Man Wol got and the role reversal. The drama wouldn't have worked without her at the reins. The drama seemed to struggle to end properly though.

The Living and The Dead: a nice to look at period drama, okay horror story, nothing more to say beyond that.

Medici: Masters of Florence: Binged the first season, was super into it. The second season was more of a struggle for me. Wasn't as into that story for some reason.

Rookie Historian Goo Hae Ryung: A cute little sageuk. The story is rather slow and steady, not many highs or super intense. Focused a whole lot on the female characters, which is always a plus in my book. The female friendship was great and made the drama great for me.

Gentleman Jack: Very well-made period drama, a beautiful love story that hits all the marks for a period drama romance, this time with two females. Colorful characters and the humor in it were great. Very witty. I adore it! It gave me everything I wanted out of a show like this one, and I can't wait for more.

Fleabag: Short but impact, funny, bleak and interesting and just get better as you spend more time with it. Each character messed up in their own way. You think about it long after you finish it. 

Schooled: Cute sitcom about teachers. Doesn’t leave much behind after watching it, but a nice, nonetheless.

Why Woman Kill: Everything a little over the top and a little camp, but it works for the story it’s trying to say. Colorful characters, lovely humor and the narrative is exciting for the most part. Tells three different story, with one of them being a lot duller than the other two.

The Great British Bake Off: Just the loveliest, coziest show. I drink way too much tea and eat way too while watching it. All of my favorites had left before the finale, which made it harder to watch.

My Country: Bloody, tragic. Lots of people killing each other with swords, backstabbing each other and all the other things you would expect from a show like this. Kept me on my toes, exciting all the way through. Gave me everything I wanted out of the show, pretty much.

Tale of Nodku: Ran out of a story towards the end, the first two episodes was where the magic were. Super cute and light and funny with a lot of great characters.

When The Camilla Blooms: Very slice-of-life, very cute and cozy to watch, but a little slow in the pacing at times. The story never truly won me over tho, even if the otp was very cute. Found most of the male characters annoying, and I hate the murder-mystery storyline.

Dickinson: Short, a somewhat nice but strange mix of maybe modern humor and period drama. Modern pop songs and speech. I liked it but didn't love it.

His Dark Materials: Has more time to explore the story from the books but doesn't always give itself time to do so. The narrative has pacing issues at times, as we jump between worlds and characters and due to budget issues, it can't do everything it needs to do. Pullmans world it very complex and it seems to be hard to convey all of its massages and depth into another medium, but this is a step in the right direction and there were a lot of scenes and moments I loved.

The Crown: Finished all three seasons. A stunning period drama, there is lot of effort put into it. Some episodes great, while other a bit more lackluster. Never got totally emerged into it, but a nice watch.

Bojack Horseman: I like how openly Bojack talks about talks about certain issues with a very dark humor, yet it's always kind of respectful. Seems to be ending at the right moment.

The Dragon Prince: I like this little fantasy show more and more as we go further into this world. It's sort of a refreshing fantasy, while also not straying too far away from the more traditional story that you might expect from a story like this.

The Witcher: Had pacing issues at the beginning as the story didn’t seem to find itself at first and just sort of jumps between narratives as it's introduces the world and the characters to you. A lovely adaptation though and gets a lot better as we go further along, and the story finds its footing.

Shows I didn’t finish: 😶

Sky Castle: Dark and dramatic and I could see how well made they were even before I started watching then. But half way through I seemed to have lost interest a bit. Maybe because I heard lackluster things about the finale. Might pick it up again.

My First First Love: Cute, but I kinda didn't care about it. Was never in the mood to watch it.

Arthdal Cronicals: I struggled through the first half, forced my way through the second half and never felt like picking it up when the third half rolled around. A mess. It tried so hard with the world-building that it forgot to start the story for good, or develop the characters that much, so when it was time for the story to actually start you just kinda didn't care about what was happening.

Joseon Marriage Agency: The story was uneven, kinda unfunny and silly at times and then way too serious at times. Cliché storyline. Didn’t do much new or interesting. I never really cared about what was happening. 

Sanditon: I was just never in the mood to watch it, and when I did, I was quite bored.

Melting Me Softly: Unbelievably unfunny, way to silly and messy narrative. I can't believe I watched like six episodes before I just gave up. I could not take it anymore. It was just so dump, but not in an entertaining way and never very sincere with anything. It seemed to be trying too much, yet not at all. Never touching a drama by this screenwriter again.

[douxreviews]

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Review

"We have hope. Rebellions are built on hope!"

Disney has a lot riding on this film. As the first stand-alone Star Wars movie, it needs to work as a solo outing, but also as a part of a greater whole. From the first moments, it's clear this isn't a normal Star Wars film: gone is the familiar yellow crawl and the opening music. Yet there is so much connective tissue that makes it flow perfectly into the rest of the series that it works on several levels. But it isn't perfect.

First the good. Our main characters are all likable, although some could benefit from a bit more backstory. I found myself emotionally invested in the characters at least, and that goes to show how well written and acted they are. The stand outs for me are Alan Tudyk as K-2SO, a reprogrammed Imperial droid, who basically steals every scene he's in, and Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe, a blind non-Jedi force user who personified what the force is all about. Of course, the film wouldn't have worked without Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who basically held everything together as the plot raced by. Although the first act is a bit jumbled and the characters introduced very quickly, things never feel rushed. Jyn is given the bulk of the character development, and it's impressive how much I ended up rooting for her to succeed in her quest to fulfill her own personal destiny.

Then there is Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) who is kind of the heroic lead, but with an edge that I don't think Star Wars has really tackled before. Actually, every character has an edge to them, and that darker element when boiled down to the basics touched on the motivations of every character throughout the movie. The Rebellion is a reaction to the Empire, a deep and desperate fear of an Empire who will destroy an entire planet if it gets out of line.

This fear forces several characters to cross ethical lines that are common in real life war, but are generally glossed over in fantasy. The more kid-friendly main sequence movies never really address the often intangible lines people have to cross in war. Who is really a monster is often a matter of perspective, especially when the victors end up writing history books. Because the film isn't afraid to have our Rebel characters make dark choices, it isn't always easy to like our heroes, even though it made for compelling drama to watch them struggle with those choices.

There is more than just drama and character, though. The special effects are fantastic (well about 90% of them are). The numerous references to the rest of the franchise are almost all on point except for a couple of minor unnecessary ones. My favorites involved minor characters, including the leaders of the X-Wing squadrons that lead the attack on the Death Star in A New Hope, and some of the Rebel leaders like Mon Mothma.

The only major flaw I can think of centers around the choice to use a character from the original film played by an actor that died nearly twenty years ago. The use of CGI to replicate the character isn't quite up to the level of photo-realism and it made the performance feel off. Thankfully the same cannot be said for a certain major villain's return which I won't detail here, except to say it is probably the best use of the character I've ever seen.

Rogue One is darker than The Empire Strikes Back. It is impactful to the universe, beautifully made, and wonderfully realized as an immediate prequel to the original Star Wars. It stands alone as the tale of how the Rebellion stole the plans to the first Death Star. It isn't what I thought it would be, and because of that I'm a bit conflicted about it, but I imagine those conflicts will be put aside when I see it again.

For now I'll say this is a well made film that feels like Star Wars, and had more than enough to tide me over until next year when Episode VIII comes out. I think Disney's gamble is going to pay off.

J.D. Balthazar is a confirmed nerd who loves most things sci-fi or fantasy-related.

[rxin3akamallory]

New Encanto OCs!

I haven’t posted my art here in quite a while so HERE! Have some funny OCs from a movie I love to bits!

So incase you’re not aware, there was a deleted scene where Isabela was originally dating this guy named Bubo in secret and planned to runaway from the Encanto with him instead of marrying Mariano. I thought it’d be interesting if he was kept in the film or was introduced afterward or something.

So now they have two beautiful daughters Solana (16) and Luna (15)!

Solana

Solana’s gift is to raise and lower the sun. Her room looks like a calming beach that’s constantly at a sunset. She constantly gets asked if she can also control the clouds and she always has to tell them that’s something her grand tía Pepa can do not her. It annoys her sometimes. Solana is the first born child from the Madrigal grandkids and as the first born she feels obligated to be a good role model not just to her younger primos and primas but to her younger sister Luna as well. Despite her being the oldest she often gets confused as the younger sister due to Luna being a little taller than her. Solana fears of not making a huge impact in Luna’s life. As much as it hurts that her sister gets more of the village’s attention than her, it’s not out of envy or jealousy toward Luna. Infact she’s really proud of her. She overall loves her sister more than anything and wants her to be loved by the village just as much as she loves her.

Luna

Luna’s gift is to raise and lower the moon. Her room looks like an observatory with her own telescope to boot. Unlike Solana, she also has the ability to control the stars and constellations. This is what gives her attention from the village, where people would ask her to make constellations for them to name. Luna is Isabela’s daughter and the whole family and village know it. She’s Isabela’s spitting image only with a different dress and her hair being slightly wavier. Just like her mother the town goes nuts over her beautiful constellations. Unlike her mother however she never acted mean toward Solana, if anything she always encourages the idea that the daytime is just as important as the night. She hated to see her sister be almost ignored sometimes by the town and wants them to give her just as much praise due to how they both have to work the same tedious task of raising giant balls of gas and rocks in the sky. When Luna first got her gift she isolated herself from the village for a whole year, scared that she won’t be able to be a kid anymore due to how demanding her gift can be. Solana reassures her that she isn’t alone in the struggle and promises that she’ll be there for her no matter how tough it gets. This is what gave her the confidence she has today. She always thanks Solana for being there for her the first year she had gotten her gift.

Other Facts

Their gifts are very demanding, they have to move the sun and moon every hour on the dot. Normally it takes them around two minutes or less each time. But if one of them decided to leave it for a few hours while the other took it’s course for the day it would mess up the balance. They can’t move the moon and sun unless they’re both doing it at the same time and the longer they leave their respective star/crater unmoved it’ll take them longer to move it back to where it was supposed to be in the cycle. And lifting giant balls in the sky isn’t easy, it can be physically straining especially if you have to do to for longer than two minutes. And as you see in the drawing them in the corner is what they look like doing their job. Their hair glow and their eyes do too. Solana’s in the colors of a sunrise and Luna’s in the colors of a night sky.

Solana got her curiosity and her nerdiness from her father.

Luna got her looks and her grace from her mother.

The two have to carry a small clock with them at all times so they know when to move the moon and sun right on the dot.

Mirabel was the one who made their clothes when they were babies and who made the night gowns you can see them wear in the drawing in the top corners.

In the night when she can’t hangout with her sister Solana sometimes visits her grand tío Bruno and watches the rat telenovelas with him.

That’s all I got so far but ye

[warlordgab]

One Piece shipping fuel: Manga Vs. Anime

This was made by One Piece fans from the Orojackson forum.

It seems that a considerable amount of people, non-shippers included, can acknowledge the remarkable strength and the impact of LuNa as a potent relationship. Still the fact people are able to grasp it is a great accomplishment for the manga, because the anime adaptation is not always on point when it comes to adapting the source material

Sometimes this happens because the staff at the time merely provide with their own interpretation of characters and story. And this interpretation is what defines the way they adapt the manga into the anime. So they ignored, changed, and altered scenes; and their take on characters and story affected the way anime-only watchers percieved characterization in One Piece

However, we should also recognize that sometimes they did something that could highlight the premise of LuNa. Something fans appreciated. One example would be the first anime episode, although their choice at that time was more likely a nod to Oda's original intent of having Nami as Luffy's first companion.

Other times the changes they made were justified because of censorship, such as this scene in the Kuro arc...

...or Whitebeard getting half of his face instantly melted away.

Both changed in the anime to something less "intense" (ultimately a good call on this 2nd panel)

But there are many times when they arbitrary overlook scenes, change them, and even add to them. And this trend heavily impacts the position people take regarding the relationships set in the story

This post will showcase how the anime adaptation downplayed one premise to overplay another. Most of the times it's subtle, sometimes it's not...

1) During the Buggy arc:

In the manga, we see Nami feeding Luffy and saying she basicaly has nothing against him, so she'll let him out later, which showcases Nami's morals aren't entirelly Lost and rotten. She is a kind person inside and can even overlook the fact that Luffy is a pirate, because he wasn't "bad" to her

In the anime... this scene doesn't exist. It was adapted out of the anime. What reason could they had to make such a call? We'll see it soon enough

2) Ending of the Kuro arc: In the manga, Nami's reaction to Luffy's odd mix of stubbornness and carefreeness is merely a sweatdrop...

In the anime Nami reacts more violently towards Luffy's attitude at that moment

It doesn't seem like much, but it's the start of a pattern that would be upheld by the TOEI for years to come. They started subtle but little by little they gained confidence in their very own way of portraying characterization 3) Sanji meets the SHs In the manga, Nami manipulates Sanji and warns the others to be careful. Next thing she sees is Sanji letching around...

In the anime, this moment is conspicuously missing. Sanji just flirts with Nami and gets interrupted by Zeff. What reason could have TOEI to remove that scene? Were they trying to show Sanji only focusing on certain girl? 4) Arlong Park... The arc that provided with, what many readers considered, he third most impactful pre-timeskip One Piece moment. What did TOEI changed?

In the manga we a simple yet beautiful and meaningful way during the conclusion of this arc: After Luffy provided with hope, comfort, strength, and emotional support, all through a highly significant gesture. Nami returns said gesture to Luffy in a silent scene...

In the anime, this was downgraded to a mere high-five (granted some shippers enjoyed this anyway, but others found it kinda upsetting)

What reason could TOEI have to water down what the arc stablished as a meaningful gesture between two characters? Well, if you lived in Japan by that time you probably got the answer

But, to be fair. They later corrected this in the OVA: Episode of Nami

Still, that doesn’t mean TOEI animation stopped the trend that started during these earlier days.

5) 98.72%

During the final closure of the Arlong Park arc, there was a scene that, at first glance, seemed like a bit of comedy, but it’s actual ship-tease...

Some people take this 98.72% scene seriously without realizing, the pervy cook never made such a calc in the manga

6) Before they arrived to Jaya In the manga, Nami angrily refuses Sanji's shell and walks away...

In the anime, we had another not so obvious change: while they kept her “funnily” aggressive reaction toward Luffy. They toned down Nami's reaction to Sanji:

So in the anime adaption Nami gave Sanji more of a preferential treatment when compared to the manga

Some of you might think this sounds like an exaggeration. But keeping in mind that TOEI offers their own take on charactes and story, take a look at the movies animated by Eisaku Inoue: "The Giant Mechanical Soldier of Karakuri Castle" and "Episode of Alabasta", Luffy recieves the full force of Nami's overplayed wrath while Sanji gets, once again, a preferential treatment: either toned-down reactions or no anger at all

7) Skypiea (note: this one is a little bit tricky...)

I guess some people remember this AP scene:

When the AP building collapsed upon Luffy...

Well, during the Skypiea arc we had the Sanji/Usopp team helping Nami to scape Enel. Sanji stays back to buy some time, which leads to this...

And then they immediately jump off

But the Anime extended the scene in a way that could properly mirror that AP moment:

While the manga had a move or be toasted situation. The anime added scenes and dialogue where Nami questioned Usopp's quick call, adding an impact the manga version didn't have. It might not seem as much but as soon as we get to the latest ones, the pattern will be easier to notice

What makes this change impressive is that while they tried to both "improve" and "re-create" the impact of another scene, they also downplayed other scene involving a different character setup, which we’re going to see right now...

8) Skypiea: Luffy & Nami exchange... In the manga we get a lot about Nami prioritizing Luffy over the fate of Angel Island; Nami seems to make the point across that her priority in that moment was Luffy's life

While in the anime the conversation about Luffy's life ends here:

9) Skypiea: Luffy & Nami, again...

The manga gives us this little jewel, mutual trust/faith in action:

The anime once again downplays this scence. They even altered the dialogue and conveyed something quite different from the manga...

Why would they ingore and/or alter dialogue of such scenes? Yet try to add more impact to others involving a different character setup... 

10) Convo during the Fishman Island arc I was going to add the fact they adapted out Nami's first flashback after hearing about Luffy's hardship in MF. But by that time TOEI was a little bit more tamed, after all SW (written by Oda) was released. Also this post is already long enough.

As noted by some fans, old habits die hard, so TOEI started once again: In the manga, we had Nami recieving tea from Sanji but letting Luffy drink it instead...

In the anime, this scene doesn't exist. Luffy gets the tea off-screen 

11) Zou arc: Most obvious pander ever Manga: Nami and the rest watches hopelessly as Sanji is taken away by Capone

The Anime: Toeiland!Nami, in a very emotional manner, runs after Sanji...

By this point, subtlety is obviously out of the window. With this little bit we put into context most of the arbitrary changes and additions made by the anime adaption. If you still skeptical, the next one will be even more obvious...

12) Stealing moments (again), TOEI style Recall how number 6 didn't seem like much? Well, let's highlight another manga scene concerning Nami and a speech she gave about Luffy...

Nami's weatheria speech is acknowledged by some readers as a moment that highlights the dynamic and the chemistry between both characters from Nami's perspective

What did TOEI do during WCI? While Toeiland!Nami is facing Cracker to buy time for Luffy to recover, the anime adaptation gives us a "WCI speech":

Nowhere to be found in the manga

Fun thing is, I've seen shippers stealing moments from rival relationships and re-creating them in their preferred ship. But that’s to be expected from shippers, not from the staff in charge of adaptaing a best-selling manga into an anime

13) Carry me?

Now, a reader of the One Piece manga was watching the moment when Nami used Zeus against BM in the anime, on top of it looking bad (low quality animation), Toei can't help themselves:

Toeiland Nami turns her head to face Sanji and ask him to carry her and run, then tell else everyone else to run as far possible. In the the manga she was too focused on Zeus “transformation” to the point of forgetting to move (lol) and was clearly taken aback by Sanji’s sudden action, went with it and told sanji and everyone to run as far as possible eyes still glued on Zeus. 

They also didn't have Luffy  busy stopping Carrot  the page just before. Adding scenes is one thing, but they even changed actual scenes that happened on-screen in the manga.

They're not even in-character, It would have been more consistent for Nami to ask Jinbe to carry her since we have actual instances of her using him as a mean of transport (lol)

It may seem like a minor change, but an anime-only watcher can easily interpret it as Nami wanting (at least subconsciously) to be carried by Sanji when there are others options available (in the anime they’re all standing close to each other).  In the manga they’re hasty so she just let it be, having all her focus on something else.

It looks like some animators don’t even bother to hide their bias even if that conflicts with the source material

14) Pandering Wano-style

I didn’t expect this at all, but TOEI’s adaptation of One Piece shows they’re getting bolder when it comes to shoving their favorite premise into the anime. Case in point, this scene… 

…while the first panel doesn’t give us anything shippy, the anime gave us Toeiland!Sanji tenderly grabbing Toeiland!Nami, who responded saying his name and holding onto him all in a very sweet manner, before calling Carrot in a neutral tone.

TOEI is now blatantly trying to sell their favorite pairing to every anime-only watcher. And they’re not showing signs of stopping any time soon. In fact, the alterations made afterwards show how their bias is focused on specific characters.

Before Luffy reunited with Zoro, we had a little joke about Sanji’s thirst for women...

...this joke at the expense of Sanji’s character didn’t make it to Toeiland. When a hardcore fan doesn’t like how the story mocks one of their favorite characters they’re prone to dismissing such scenes.

But, once again, that’s not the behavior one would expect from the people in charge of adapting the One Piece manga into an anime.

The prelude to Luffy Vs. Kaido also featured ship fuel. While, Sanji nearly holds Nami’s hand to take her with him...

...such thing never happens in the manga

Due to this large history of wanking and pandering, we could expect that as soon as we get to the point Sanji scapes with Shinobu, Robin, and Nami of course, they’ll likely add shojo bubbles, flowers, and maybe a little blush to spice things up. At that moment, we’ll likely update this post once again

After all, “Toeiland is a magical place”

While it’s true Toeiland had several LuNa scenes. More often than not, they do them justice because the source material doesn’t let them do anything different... of course, as of now, they seem more than willing to fill their version with their favorite premises regardless of what happens in the manga

In spite of the anime adaptation providing with a not so reliable take on the author’s work in this particular regard, we still can draw three positive things from their animation… 1) Thanks to TOEI’s anime adaptation many people were introduced to One Piece and became fans of Oda’s work 2) The fact there were a least two groups of animators who tried to emulate the impact of LuNa and re-created in another premise, reminds us of the saying: “Imitation is the highest form of flattery”. The need to imitate LuNa to make another premise look believable is a proof that LuNa is far more solid and impactful than any other alternative 3) Despite all of TOEI’s changes, alterations and additions, many people acknowledge the strenght of the LuNa bond as one of the most potent, compelling and believable relationships in manga/anime. That’s quite an accomplishment for as we saw, their moments and interactions are diluted many times by the desires of the anime staff

Hopefully this post helps some people to think before they use an argument if they’re basing their premise on TOEI’s adaptation, or the author’s work