#there is also a brief storyline where one of the students has a crush on the teacher

[fun-with-colors]

Random manga rec: Interviews with Monster Girls

Hey y’all, this is exactly what it says on the tin.

My icon is from a manga called Interviews with Monster Girls, which is a fairly short slice-of-life manga about a high school teacher in a world where figures from various world mythologies are actually real.

There are vampires, dullahans, snow women, succubi and incubi, oh my!

The title isn’t a euphemism - it’s literally about helping these monster girls (demi-humans or ‘demis’ as they’re called in the manga) to fit in and to share their stories to the world at large. It explores how things like “not having your head attached to your body” would impact your day-to-day life, how difficult it would be to eat or carry bags while dealing with that. It speaks to my experience as a student with a mental illness, and how I felt different from my peers in a way that was difficult to express.

There’s no over-the-top drama, it’s very heartwarming and sweet. The teacher doing the eponymous interviews is super understanding of everyone’s unique perspectives and is always supportive of the students.

There is a romance sub-plot, but it’s between two of the teachers and examines with a truly critical lens how being a succubus would make it difficult to form attachments with others. It’s a slow burn, and so cute!!

Anyways, this is all to say that you all should go read Interviews with Monster Girls. It’s got 11 volumes and they’re all out now. It’s got an anime, but I don’t think that anime ever reached the end?

[teeto-peteto]

lets expand up a liiiiitle bit about other ruined king characters

Viego is proooobably the leader of a 'goth kidzs' club, the main gang and Viego's are in different classes but in the same year so they have this distant feeling of 'oh, there goes that bunch of assholes'. Probably reads Edgar Allan Poe.

Thresh forms part in the club also in Viego's class probably waiting for him to fall down the stairs so he can have the protagonism of being the leader of the group. You know, silly teenage/young adult things... Hes more of a sassy person rather than Viego that is more poetic like.

Vex doesnt appear in Ruined King BUT she is in the au cause she deserves it... Shes waaay more than just having a huge crush on Viego, but its a trait she has nonetheless. Shes an art kid for sure, and probably very in between the gothic aesthetic and the emo era at the same time, so she is still struggling to find her style. She probably draws in those ICONIC old emo couple drawings style...

Brief mention to Hecarim... Also on the club because of his friendship with Thresh, not much of a gothic but i think its fair to say hes prooobably a furry? not in a despective way he just likes horses a lot. Also Maokai... I like to think of him as a History teacher with a lot of wisdom in other areas... i imagine him and Ahri chitchatting after class about plant care cause Ahri is trying to grow her own and safe for her dog garden... he would be a calm teacher but also observant enough to see the relations in between students, im pretty sure he would totally ship students, we are maokai and maokai is us....

As for Isolde, im having confronted thoughts. I feel like she should be dead as Abigail is, and as one of the main gang will in the future (its obvious to tell who), but i like more a storyline where shes a normal student with good sense of fashion and love for it, wich Viego falls in love with but she changes schools leaving him without the opportunity to confess feelings, wich leads to his declive to the 'everything sucks i want to die' era.

I almost forgot Gangplank. Has briefs interactions with Viego's club but he isnt interested much, having friends closer to his interests. Yes he had a relationship with Illaoi in the past. Yes indeed they hate him very much. As for the murder of Abigail in this AU instead of Gangplank killing her its one of his close relatives, wich leaves Sarah and Illaoi and the rest of the group with 0 interest on talking to him as he never reached out to comfort or acusate his relative. We like a little angst.

Do other characters exist in the AU? Yes, but probably as background characters. Im only focusing on Ruined King + related characters, maybe adding Fizz and Nami sometime. Woah this ended up long i hope its entertaining enough. Again this is based on my personal experience on highschools in my country and also some media i consume, so sorry if its kinda wonky haha.

[pashterlengkap]

The 10 best LGBTQ+ films of 2023

This year’s crop of queer films has proven much more diverse and rich than in past years. In 2023, queer women and people of color occupied the screen space where cisgender gay white men once ruled. Also, the old storylines of sexual struggle under homophobia gave way to powerfully unapologetic queer folks of all ages defiantly finding their power and unapologetically standing in the foreground. This list shares 10 of the best queer films of the year. While it no doubt excludes a handful of other great queer cinema offerings, it nonetheless demonstrates how our stories as depicted onscreen have become much more vibrant and willful, even as our enemies redouble their efforts to attack and erase us. Related: These 6 LGBTQ+ holiday movies are a must-watch this Christmas Let’s make the yuletide gay. Cassandro Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our daily newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Promotions (occasional) * Week in Good News (one on the Weekend) * Week in Review (one on the Weekend) * Daily Brief (one each weekday) * Sign Up In this upbeat biopic, award-winning actor Gael García Bernal plays Saúl Armendáriz, a Mexican immigrant who gains fame as Cassandro, a real-life gay exótico (drag) lucha libre wrestler who was known for wearing makeup and animal prints in the ring and for drawing power from the homophobic opposition he faced in the traditionally macho sport. Starring alongside Latinx actors Bad Bunny and Raúl Castillo (who appeared in the gay HBO series Looking), Bernal’s fantastic chemistry with his female coach and closeted boyfriend makes for a glorious drama filled with jaw-dropping wrestling scenes that have delighted and inspired viewers. Bottoms Lesbian high school underdogs PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are helplessly infatuated with two seemingly straight female cheerleaders. When they’re falsely accused of assaulting the school’s babyfaced star football player, the girls claim the alleged attack was actually just a part of their new female self-defense club. Though they hope the club will make them seem more attractive to their cheerleader crushes, the scheme soon devolves into hilariously violent chaos as other female misfits join the club, eager to finally disrupt their school’s social hierarchy. Lesbian film fans may also be interested in the much more serious 2023 film Nyad, which features ally Annette Benning as Diana Nyad, a real-life lesbian swimmer who became the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida. Kokomo City Because of the violence and oppression they face, Black trans women sex workers are often depicted as tragic victims-in-waiting. But this debut film from trans music producer D. Smith showcases surprisingly humanizing and insightful interviews with four Black trans sex workers in Atlanta, Georgia, and New York City (as well as some of their cis-male clients) in a way that feels fresh, immediate, endlessly engaging, and definitely overdue. The women’s matter-of-fact views on navigating male sexuality underscore the women’s raw power and depict a rarely seen underworld. Sadly, one of the women, Rasheeda Williams (aka. Koko da Doll) was murdered a few months after the film’s Sundance debut. It’s worth noting that another 2023 documentary, The Stroll, provides an alternate, historic look at Black and Latina trans sex workers who frequented New York City’s Meatpacking District in the 1980s and ’90s. Saltburn Bisexual desire and class consciousness boil over in this darkly comedic tale of Oliver, an Oxford University student who befriends his rich classmate, Felix, and joins him for a stay at his family’s palatial estate. While the film delights in the cutting, deprecating dialogue of Felix’s family and the debauchery of young people enjoying excesses of pleasure, a dark intensity runs throughout the film as its twists… http://dlvr.it/T0cxLF

[fourteentheight-blog]

I just discovered today that love and gelato had a netflix movie remake and I just watched the trailer. for starters I would like to say that disappointed would be an understatement.

first of fucking all, why is everything so wildly different??? I highly doubt that the writer was okay with everything being so different, especially the central storyline of lina learning more about her mother's past and coping with her passing. why is it suddenly just centered around her choosing between ren and thomas?? and they also turned lina into a completely different person. she is not a pre-med student, she is a 16-year-old girl who is athletic and likes to run and loves stratiacella gelato the most. ALSO SHE IS NOT SUPPOSED TO LOOK SO WHITE AND TALL SHE IS LITERALLY HALF ITALIAN AND IS SUPPOSED TO BE AS NATURALLY SMALL AND TANNED AS HER ITALIAN FATHER WHO BTW ALSO LOOKS FREAKING WHITE WTF?? AND WHERE TF IS HOWARD AND WHY DID HE GET REPLACED BY SUCH A CLICHE ITALIAN GODMOTHER CHARACTER WTF?? if that was supposed to be francesca, then first of all francesca is fucking FRENCH and second SHE AND LINA NEVER EVEN MEET IN THE BOOK THEY JUST TALKED OVER THE PHONE AND ACCIDENTALLY GAVE LINA IMPORTANT INFO. and if they meant that to be sonia, then she isn't italian either cuz she is white. ALSO WHY DID THEY FUCKING CHANGE THE FLORENCE SETTING like literally they insult the author with that bcs she wrote about the florentine backdrop using her personal experience of living there and therefore she probably holds fond memories for that place. so for them to just decide to change it to a common ass setting is such a low blow like wtf. and where is ren's american mother that likes to paint and complains about being in italy but also loves it??? where are ren and lina's crazy adventures of going to places her mom went?? but I guess what I hate about it the most is how they erased howard's character entirely. lina and her relationship with howard as her stepfather who loved her mother so much and would've gladly raised her as if she was his own since the beginning was one of the best parts of this book ever. he was literally the heart of it, because he helped hadley learn what real love is, and if he hadn't agreed to take lina in, her entire italian summer would've never happened. but he did because he loved her and lina so much as if they were always his family AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT THEY JUST ERASED HIM FROM THE PLOTLINE ENTIRELY? LIKE FUCK Y'ALL, HOWARD COULD'VE BEEN ONE OF THE BEST MOVIE DADS OF ALL TIME HE IS LITERALLY THE BEST PERSON EVER AND UGH I WANNA CRY

another thing, why was addie there?? literally one of lina's biggest struggles in the book was having no real friends when she got there and then she just learned to make some along the way. addie was there for her but long distance, and also in my mind's eye I've always pictured addie to be white and taller than lina so why is it lowkey reversed?? and why is she so chonky she literally plays soccer like her life depends on it (it does) and she is just as athletic as lina. and I need to point this out but not once has lina tried to drive a scooter in the book.

man I'm just so sad about this. my favorite book ever finally gets a movie adaptation and they change everything I love about it. no howard, no florence, no sneak peeks into hadley's past with the journal, no teenage athlete lina coping with not only her grief but also adjusting to a new life and dealing with the fact that she is half italian and her father is the biggest asshole in history. also there was never this whole serious love triangle. she had a brief crush on thomas but she always had feelings for ren and ren did for her too and even broke up with mimi for her (where is swedish supermodel mimi btw??). I was thinking of watching it just to see how off the mark they are but now that I think about it, I don't think I could ever stomach how much they changed about it. they turned it into a completely different story and I really really wish they didn't. :(

[gryffindorxjeno]

Gryffindor Jeno Chatbot - Available Now

Disclaimer: This is purely for entertainment and I do not associate with the real Lee Jeno nor do I claim to be him. This is just for fun!

This roleplay is NSFW, please let me know if you are not comfortable with NSFW.

This is also a literate roleplay. Please write in literate form. I expect replies the same length as my reply, maybe a little bit shorter, and they can be longer if you wish. Anyone whose replies are too short, will be given a warning, if it happens again I will terminate the roleplay.

Jeno’s Story:

Jeno was born into a family of Slytherin, all of which were followers of Lord Voldemort before the battle of hogwarts. It’s been 10 years since the battle and school life is normal for the students as no one has to worry about he who shall not be named. When Jeno was sorted into Gyrffindor rather than Slytherin, his family were disgusted and said he brought shame to the family. Ever since being sorted into what he calls the wrong house, he’s gotten a reputation as the grumpy Gryffindor. He just spends all of his time either alone, studying, or with his best friend Jaemin, who is a Slytherin. Now at the age of 18, he’s in his final year of school, but he faces many more challenges ahead when you come into his life.

Your Story (Please pick one):

Story 1 - You were also born into a family of Slytherin’s who followed the dark lord, but you were lucky enough to get sorted into Slytherin where you belong. Cunning, Amitious, and constantly wanting to be in charge, you had always looked down your nose at the Gryffindor. You had known of him since you were young, as your family worked alongside his in the fight against Harry Potter, but you never really spoke to him. Until you got paired up with him in transfigurations class by Professor McGonagall. The two of you butt heads a lot, but Jeno finds out he has a soft spot for you upon working with you.

Story 2 - You’d been sorted into Gryffindor where you rightly belong in your first year. Now in your last year, you decide it’s finally time to give into the huge crush you have on the brooding Lee Jeno. Your friends convince you to ask him on a date to hogsmeade at the weekend and to your surprise, he accepts. Despite his friendly front, you notice that he’s quite glum and broody, but you soon realise that perhaps this boy wasn’t meant to be sorted into Gryffindor.

Story 3 - Your own pick! Simply tell me which house you’d like to be in and a brief plot line for the roleplay. Please don’t select this option if you haven’t got a plot in mind.

How to activate:

Step 1 - Reblog this post.

Step 2 - Message me through the private messaging system with the following:

Your name/nicknames

Pronouns

The story you’d like to pick

Turn on’s/kinks

Turn off’s/hard no’s

Safeword

How to deactivate:

Simply message him “I’m leaving hogwarts.” He’ll be sad, but he will let you go.

You can get him back by saying “I’m coming back to hogwarts.” He will take you back, but he’ll have trouble trusting you.

Rules:

No spamming. Admin has a full time job and will reply when she can.

Don’t be rude, please be respectful.

Jeno will always provide aftercare, he asks that you do that same.

Don’t interact with Jeno in a NSFW way if you are under the age of 18. All characters in this roleplay that are sexually active are over 18 years of age.

Other things you need to know:

Admin’s timezone is BST +1 (London Time), so she may be online at different times to you.

After everything is figured out and we are ready to start the roleplay, admin will send the first part, please don’t expect NSFW immediately.

You can change storyline during the roleplay, just let me know and we can start again.

Please check that my applications are open in my bio.

Have Fun!

Credit/Inspirations:

@slytherinxjaemin @slytherin-jinyoung @strxpper-hyuna @switchseola @yourcupidchuu @hunter-chaeyoung @peachyminju @domyeonjun @slytherin-jisung @angeldevil-jeonghan @yanderejaemin @assassinleejooyoung @leextaeyong @moonlit-jaemin @dream-taeil @serialkillerkris @psycho-doyeon @tattooartistjaemin @yanderewooyoung @yanderechenle @yanderemark @tattooartistjaemin @subby-jaemin @moonlit-nono @demxnhaechan @sincerely-kun @tsunderehaechan @daddyxuxi @subbyjwoo @camboy-superm @sailormoonhyuck @whinyhyuck @domyukhei @yanderejisung @fantasywayv @xdomkangseulgixx @switchxbaekhyun @demonsuhxx @bunjihyo @rocket-sana @adorbsana @angelchaeyoung @yandere-jennie-kim @strxpper-soojin @yanderelalisa @yandere-jisoo @xxmarkleex @racer-xuxi @chatwith127 @chatwithryujin

[malfoys-demigod]

Picquery

Draco Malfoy x Male!Reader

Summary: Y/N Picquery is an American pureblood wizard from Ilvermorny and son of the famous beater, Lucas Picquery. His parents got a job in the British Ministry and decided to pull Y/N out of Ilvermorny in the middle of the school year and transfer him during the winter break of Hogwarts. New to the school, Y/N settles on making friends with whom he thought was a regular student in school, Draco Malfoy, who decided to give Y/N a hard time whenever they interacted, not seeing that Y/N wanted to be someone Draco had never truly had: a real friend. But... maybe they could be more?

Requested by: @daleanjustwantstohavefun who said “It’s me again, thanks for answering. I wanted to request a Draco x Male Slytherin. The reader has a shy personality and is just trying to befriend Draco. Draco at first is being a prick, but slowly starts to develop a crush on the reader.”

A/N: Dear, Dalean. I kinda went off with most of the storyline. I’m sorry, I haven’t had the time to write because school has been making my life so busy and stressful. I’m sorry you had to wait but I hope this fic isn’t too bad for you.  

Taglist: @the--queen-of-hell @bbeauttyybbx

Word Count: 8.6K

Among the countless reasons why you were most likely going to be the talk of the entire school for the remaining months, there were four main reasons that could possibly explain it all. One, you were the son of Lucas Picquery, known to be one of the best beaters in the American National Quidditch team, having countless headlines flashed in newspapers saying, ‘Picquery beats the visitors again, in another intense American based tournament!’ 

Aside from giving honor to the Picquery name through the fame of a beater, you were related to Seraphina Picquery, who was one of the most popular presidents of MACUSA, also known as the Magical Congress of the United States of America, which was a big deal everywhere as she was president during the time where Newton Scamander, also known as Newt, began his journey in America, bringing both parties of the MACUSA and the British Ministry involved in a wild journey. 

You, yourself, had a wild journey as well as you emigrated to England at an unprecedented time, resulting in moving into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the middle of the school year. It was a very exciting yet scary time for you as the environment in Hogwarts was much different than Ilvermorny, which was your school in America. 

The only thing that made things vastly different in Hogwarts was how you, someone so blind to the norms and social standings of people in Hogwarts, ended up trying to befriend one of the most powerful and intimidating people as a way to make friends in your new school. After undergoing rough moments with that person, he unexpectedly fell for you, which was something neither you, him, or the entire school saw coming. This person was Draco Malfoy, and he was the fourth and last reason why you were going to be the talk of the town. 

--

Moving into a whole new school, let alone, a whole new country was something you just had not expected. You were having a normal life in Ilvermorny, which was in Massachusetts, USA, and it was so far the best time of your life. 

The people there were so comfortable with each other, the academics was a strong suit of yours, and being just like your father, you were a beater in your house’s quidditch team. People adored you as you were treated more like a celebrity of your own for being such a talented beater, rather than being a celebrity because you were the son of Lucas Picquery, legendary beater. This was the respect that you have always wanted from people.

During the Christmas break, you had the great advantage to head home, seeing your father and mother as they apparently had wonderful news to tell you. There was nothing better than coming home to see your wonderful parents, but adding wonderful news? Now, that is what people call a wonderful holiday. 

During the first dinner back at home with your parents, it was a quiet one. Usually there would be grand dinners and parties held at your home, celebrating your return from school or bringing in old friends to spend the holidays with, but this first night was just a night with you and your parents. It was a little odd for them not to have a massive party to share their news, but nevertheless, you did not question them, rather just waited patiently for them to share whatever they had in mind with you. 

“Son,” your father finally spoke as he was eating his dinner, “Would you finally like to know what the news is?”

“Sure thing, Dad.” 

“Well, your mother here has been selected to join the British Ministry of Magic’s Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a person to give such American perspective on the job.” he said, pointing at your mother who seemed most happy about the announcement, “And as for me, I’m going to give up my Quidditch coaching spot for awhile and take on a role in their Department of Magical Games and Sports which I could possibly get us hell of a good seat in every sports tournament they have.” 

You looked at your father with narrowed eyes, thinking you just understood that they have decided to take jobs in a country which was a thousand miles from where you were sitting. “I’m sorry, are you trying to say that you’re moving to England?”

“You mean ‘we’, which includes you, Y/N.” He nonchalantly said, taking another bite from his meal. 

You were still looking at your father with a serious look, opening your mouth, waiting for a more brief explanation from him, but he was busy enjoying the food your mother had prepared. “Um, that’s it? That’s all you’re going to say to me, pops? I have a life here already, dad, a sweet one. I’m a beater in my quidditch team, I have many friends who will miss me, and I love Ilvermorny! I can’t just drop in the middle of the school year and abruptly leave everything that has shaped me to become who I am today? Can’t you just leave me here alone for the remaining months of the school year? Besides ,it’s not like I’m going to be living alone if you leave me, I live in school! Plus, who knows, I could possibly catch up with you two in England for the next year in school!”

“Look kiddo,” he said, trying to make things easier, “We thought of every possibility concerning you and we feel like it would be best to bring you with us. Imagine if something horrible happened to either of us while we’re away? Please, son, you will love Hogwarts, it’s a respectable school, and they have a great quidditch team there as well.”

“Sweetie, do this for us, okay, hon?” you mother placed a hand on yours, holding it tightly as she looked at you with a supporting smile on her face, “We’re on the same boat as you, remember? You’re not alone.”

Few days after that night, you decided to accept fate and say goodbye to what a wonderful life America has given you as you and your parents travelled to England, settling in early while it was still a holiday for both Ilvermorny and Hogwarts. You were given choices, concerning where you would reside at the moment. It was either you moved straight to Hogwarts during the holiday, getting settled early and all, or moving when the holiday ended when the new term in Hogwarts eventually would fall on. 

This was something you had to deeply think about in order to not embarrass yourself as you moved in during the middle of the school year. If you moved during the holiday, that meant there were less people in school who would notice that there was a new face, entering the school, looking like a lost foolish soul at the time. This also meant that you had more time to settle in and be as far away from your parents, the ones that just had to pull you from an amazing life you had, not that they had a choice. 

The other choice was to move during the new term, which meant spending the last of the holiday with your parents. It would be nice to compose your nerves in a place where you had familiar faces with. Being with people you know and love with your heart before moving to a place where you didn’t know anyone was something to consider. 

In the end, you chose the first option, which was the move during the holidays. Upon your request, you parents had asked Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, to consider giving a warm welcome to you by NOT announcing the arrival of a new student in the middle of the school year. Since Dumbledore was someone who loved welcoming students his way, he decided to agree with your request, but adding a simple edit by having the professors lightly introduce you to your classmates in the most nonchalant way they could think of. 

As you were sitting alone by one of the carts of Hogwarts Express, you started seeing the famous castle coming by. The nerves that had come out of nowhere had started entering your veins, bringing fear and nervousness as you were trying to think of the many ways of how to seem nonchalant about entering the school. 

Obviously you didn’t want to be that one person moving in with countless baggage as if you were a new student, which you were, but you couldn’t do anything! When the express train had finally come to a stop, you were greeted by a boy, about your age wearing a black and green robe, but the platinum blonde color of his hair was the first thing that you had noticed about him. Apart from this, he was standing next to this huge giant with a thick and long beard that could be used to catch food crumbs if he had any. 

Stepping out of the train, you slowly took a few steps towards the two people who were awaiting for you. 

“Uh, hello there, my name is Y/N Picquely. I’m the new student from Ilvermorny.” you greeted, trying to sound as calm as ever, but the nerves in your voice made that slightly hard for you. 

The platinum blonde boy looked at you, up and down, judging you based on your appearance with an emotionless look on his face. He brought out his hand, “Of course you are.” he sarcastically said, “The names Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, and apparently I’ve been assigned to help you around ‘discretely’ since you have been placed Slytherin, which is now your new house, the best house, so I expect that you show great pride in it.”

You extended your hand, shaking him with a confused look as the giant nudged Draco in the shoulder, “Ye shouldn’t be too harsh to the newcomer, Malfoy,” he pleaded. Then he sympathetically turned to you, looking at you with a tired smile, “I’m Hagrid. I’m the grounds keeper of Hogwarts.” He waved. 

You gave Hagrid a more calmer look, sensing that he was more comfortable to be around with compared to Draco Malfoy, who was a student in your year. As you were walking side by side with Draco, Hagrid followed from behind, bringing your luggage with him. 

“So,” Hargrid  spoke again, “You must hear this often but uh, I’m a fan of your father.” he shyly said. 

“Wow, thanks,” you replied, “I didn’t know he was popular here in England.” you were surprised. 

“Course he is,” Draco heartlessly added, “But don’t think he’s the only beater we praise here. We too, have many excellent beaters that are born and represent England. We have Gwenog Jones of the Holyhead Harpies, Dawn Withey and Indira Choudry from the English National Team, Joey Jenkins from Chudley Cannons, heck even the Broadmoors from the Falmouth Falcons!”

“That’s awesome,” you kindly told Draco, “I bet you have amazing beaters here in school too. I used to play back in Ilvermorny.” 

“Well, don’t expect to be treated like a star here as well, Picquery. The slots for our team are full and besides, I doubt you can avail a slot now, we already filled every vacant slot during the first month of the school year, when you weren’t here yet.” 

“Malfoy…” Hagrid whispered from the back, warning Draco of his behavior. 

Sadly, Hagrid wasn’t the best in keeping things silent, which meant that you too, could hear the tone Hagrid had given towards Draco. Still, this didn’t bother you from trying to be friends with Draco. To you, he seemed like someone you could still try to be friends with. He seemed like the person that just had to thaw out first. 

After being uselessly warned, Draco rolled his eyes at himself as he brought his hand up, presenting you Hogwarts as the three of you had arrived at the castle door. “Welcome to your new home, I suppose.”

Draco seemed as if he was about to rush away from you and Hagrid but luckily, you walked towards him as he was about to open the castle doors, “Is this it for you?”

“I’m sorry,” he sarcastically said, “Did you expect me to give you a full tour? I thought you wanted things to be discrete? Besides, I have to attend to better things.”

Stunned, this left Draco scoffing and saying, “That’s what I thought.” then turned around, opening the doors widely and turning right, to make his way wherever, somewhere far away from you. 

Hagrid seemed sorry for you and placed a hand on your shoulder, causing you to turn around to see that the giant gave another sympathetic look. “I’d like to apologize on his behalf. He’s always been like that since his first year. He’s just cold that way.”

“That’s alright, Hagrid. It’ll take time for me to get to know him better.”

“You? You want to be friends with Malfoy?”

“I don’t see why not?”

“Look, kiddo. I rather have you not be friends with him. Heck, I rather have Professor Dumbledore change your house. Don’t get me wrong, Slytherin is a fine house, but Malfoy OWNS Slytherin. It’s best if you don’t engage with him, or else he could turn the whole house on ya! I suggest you find some other friends in yer house.”

“He doesn’t scare me, Hagrid. I’d like to think of him as a stone cold ice cube that can be thawed out, showing his true colors once he’s all melted and cooled out.” 

“Aye, if that’s what you truly want to believe,” Hagrid shook his head, “I wish ya the best. Now come, let’s get this baggage of yours to your common room.” 

With Hagrid guiding you around the castle, you were looking left, right, up, and down as you were observing and analyzing everything around you. The interior and exterior of Hogwarts was quite different but at the same time somehow similar to Ilvermorny. 

Ilvermorny was like the tinier version of Hogwarts and growing up in a much smaller school made Hogwarts feel like a big deal to you. The design and structure of everything in this school was much older and felt like it’s been through a lot over the years. 

People here were much different compared to your old school. Sure, Ilvermorny was proper too, but it was more lively and laid back in your old school and seeing that these people act more well-maintained and formal made you a little uneasy. Would you have to act the same as them? 

It was really hard to think about it, especially when Hagrid finally made a stop in front of a door. You looked at him, expecting him to open the door and keep moving but he seemed like this was his final point. “I suppose you can’t enter here?” you asked, having a hunch. 

“Only if necessary but in this case, I’m done for now,” he replied, handing you your luggage carefully, “This is your common room. Inside, you’ll find your dorm. It’s most likely you won’t be alone in there, there’s still some students staying over. Make sure to make friends with ‘em, okay?”

“I sure will try,” you smiled, “See you around, Hagrid.” 

Hagrid gave you a warm smile and turned around, leaving you alone in the entrance of the common room. Not one second after that did you realize that you forgot that every common room, whether you’re in Ilvermorny or Hogwarts, had a secret verbal password for each house to use when entering the room. 

Hoping that Hagrid was still walking around near you, you turned around, seeing that he surprisingly wasn’t around the halls anymore, as if he took a quick turn to who knows where. You sighed, feeling like the most idiotic person alive in the castle right now. 

There was nobody around the halls at the moment and the urge of unpacking and hiding in your dorm for the rest of your winter break was much needed so what you did was bring your luggage with you and walk around the castle, hoping to find a room filled with people to help you. 

There were open doors nearby and seeing that there was light and a low volume of voices inside, you rushed forward, praying that you weren’t going insane. As you made it to the entrance of the open doors, a sigh of relief came from your mouth as you faced a good number of students to help you out. 

Most of them were either having a meal, playing chess, or simply conversing with each other. You could have gone to any of these people but unfortunately from their body languages, it seemed as if they either wanted to use their time doing anything but help a helpless soul, or from the few looks people would give you, it seemed that they instantly identified you as the Picquery son of Lucas Picquery. 

Internally groaning at yourself, you shyly and slowly made your way to your house table, walking forward to someone you could hardly miss as his platinum blonde hair stood out among the many around the room. 

Draco Malfoy was having a comfortable time, he seemed to be talking lightly with his fellow friends who seemed to be quite close with each other as there was a girl, clinging onto another girl as if they were best friends, two boys sitting closely together silently and uncomfortably, and a boy, talking to Draco as if he was so tired of him today. 

Before even tapping on Draco’s shoulder, all their eyes except Draco’s were on you. It caused Draco to stop talking seeing that his friends brought their attention to someone behind him. Eager to find out who stole his spotlight, he turned around with an irritated look, his eyes now on you. 

You stood there, soon to be frozen as Draco and his group gave an unfriendly energy on you as there was nothing but cold looks looking at you. “Forgot to give me a tip on my excellent tour guiding, Picquery? I’ll have you know that I too come from a wealthy family, haven’t you heard?” 

His friends started laughing but although some sounded like they were forcing themselves to laugh, you still shyly shook your head, “Uh, no, well yes I mean, I have heard of some good family names here, I didn’t mean to tip you if that’s what you thought.”

“Well then, off you go,” Draco snickered. 

“I would love to, but uh, Hagrid seemed to have forgotten to give me the password for the common room and I was hoping you could come with me and show me to my dorm.” 

“Don’t need to, the password is Viridi,” he whispered, “Your dorm should be the second room to the left, now off you go,” he waved, motioning for you to leave as his friends started snickering with him. 

You gave a faint smile at him and turned around, muttering to yourself how much of an embarrassment you are to the Picquery name. As you were making your way back to the common room, your spirits were still high up in the air as you were still eager to befriend Draco Malfoy. 

He was just a very thick ice that you had to use all your efforts in melting. 

When you arrived at the common room door, you said, ‘Viridi,’ which you knew meant Green in Latin, then arrived to see a very Slytherin-like common room. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in carved chairs. 

The common room is a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. This dungeon extends partway under the lake, giving the light in the room a green tinge. The common room has lots of low backed black and dark green button-tufted, leather sofas; skulls; and dark wood cupboards. One of the wooden tables has a Wizard's Chess set on it. It is decorated with tapestries featuring the adventures of famous Medieval Slytherins. It has quite a grand atmosphere, but also quite a cold one.

As you were walking across the common room, a girl who was eyeing you from the minute you entered the common room and looked at its interior, stood up from her seat on the couch and rushed, making her way to you as she offered you a wave and smile. “Hello, are you the son of Lucas Picquery?”

“Unfortunately, I am.”

“I honestly don’t know what’s so unfortunate about that but we can get to that later. I’m Astoria Greengrass, a year below you.”

“How do you know that I’m a year above you?”

“Well, I did my research the minute I heard from my father that he was having a new co-worker in the Ministry and I overheard Draco talking about you with my sister and his other friends in the Great Hall before I came up here.”

“He’s hardly a nice fellow to most, isn’t he?”

“Yes, that’s Draco.

“It’s a shame though concerning Draco, I’m quite eager to befriend him.”

“I see,” she said, sounding surprised, “Well, I wish you all the best with that. Come let me show you to your dorm-”

“This is the second time I heard someone wish me the best when it came to befriending Draco,” you stopped her, “Why?” 

Astoria looked around, hoping that you had not caught the attention of the few Slytherins around the room and placed a hand on your arm, “Let’s go to your dorm first, shall we?” Then she started leading you to your dorm. 

As you arrived, you placed your luggage on the empty and clean bed that was located in the middle as Astoria took a seat on a desk, sitting down properly as she tried giving you a smile. “So,” she said. 

“So,” you repeated after her. 

“You’ve got a lot of bravery like a Gryffindor for wanting to be friends with Draco Malfoy.” 

“Is it because he ‘OWNS’ Slytherin?” you said, remembering what Hagrid told you. 

“Possibly, but he’s just all around your typical bad boy. I don’t really see you hanging out with him, to be honest. You seem like such a sweet soul, Y/N. Nice guys don’t hang around guys like Draco Malfoy, I’m being honest with you.”

“I still would like to try though.”

“Why? Why him?”

There was a pause before responding to that question. You could have easily answered this, but you stood up, leaning on the wall near your bed as you sighed, “Because I don’t think he’s a bad guy on the inside. I think there’s good in him, and I wanna be that person to bring it out of him.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, plus he seems pretty.” you joked, earning a surprised laugh from Astoria as she stood up, walking towards you to place a hand on your shoulder. 

“You know, your door is open, you’re lucky most of the people here are at the Hall right now.” she laughed, “You know, Y/N, I think I’d love to help you out with this. You seem like a great person and I would like to be on your side.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm,” she nodded, “There’s a party at Ravenclaw's later, eight in the evening. Usually Draco’s gang mocks the Ravenclaw’s and their parties, but we’ve been hearing that it’s going to be an actual blast. Why don’t you try inviting him to the party? I can help you mingle with him from there on, yeah?

“Sure,” you said. 

Astoria patted you on the back, “It’s getting late, you should probably start unpacking and head out for dinner later, okay?”

Nodding in response, she waved goodbye and went back to her dorm, leaving you all by yourself. As you were unpacking, the excitement of Astoria still lingered on your mind, creating a much more enthusiastic energy in yourself as there was more confidence in you. 

You didn’t expect having a friend help you out on this but you were extremely grateful that you had extra help to support you in becoming friends with Draco Malfoy. This was going to be much easier since you had someone on your side. 

--

Later on that night when you were finally done packing, you put on a jumper since it was getting chillier at the time. Seeing that you were ready to go, you left your dorm, making your way out of the common room to the Great Hall. 

On your way to the Great Hall, there were some people who were looking at you, whispering to each other as their eyes were on you. You already knew that they were talking about you and how you were the son of the famous Picquery that had come to England all the way from America. 

Some couldn’t contain their excitement as three people in red robes, which you assumed were the Gryffindor robes, turned around and walked towards you. Two of them seemed so uncomfortable, not because of you, but their friend in the middle who seemed so excited. 

“Blimey, you’re Y/N Picquery! Son of Lucas Picuqery! Could I have your autograph and possibly a hello from your father?” the ginger-haired boy said so quickly that the girl with curly hair smacked him in the head with a newspaper that she was holding and said, “Could you be anymore irritating?” Then she looked at you with a sad smile, “We are very sorry about him, he’s just a big fan of quidditch and all.”

“That’s alright, I’ve dealt with worse before and this is nothing compared to it.” you laughed, causing the three to laugh with you. 

“So, may I have your autograph?” the ginger cheekily smiled as he was ignoring the cold stare the girl was giving him. 

“I honestly don’t know why you’d like mine when I could give you my dad’s, who’s the real star,” you smiled at the boy who seemed like he was about to explode of happiness. 

“Bloody hell, you would do that for me?!” 

“Of course, but don’t expect it to come in a jiffy, he’s all the way in the Ministry with my mom.”

“Of course, of course, of course, I’ll wait patiently!” he jumped, “Thank you so so so much!”  

“Well, excellent!” the other boy said, trying to end the conversation for his friend. He gave the girl a look, motioning for her to drag their friend away, which she nodded to. 

Before anything else happened the girl turned him around and offered you a small nod, “Thank you for tolerating him, see you around Y/N.” 

With that, you continued your walk to the Great Hall, ignoring the other whispers and stares that people around the corridors were giving you. 

As you arrived at the Great Hall, you immediately saw a hand waving at you from the Slytherin table. It was Astoria Greengrass, the first friend you had made today. She was sitting with a girl who looked like her, it must have been her sister. Sitting with them was Draco and the rest of his gang. 

You looked at Astoria with wide eyes, but she still waved at you, giving you an expression that you would be fine. Gulping, you casually yet terrifyingly walked towards the group as they started giving you a much warmer look that the one they gave earlier. 

“Ah,” Draco spoke, “I hear we have a guest sitting with us here today.” Then he turned around and looked at you. “Without your little friend Astoria here, you probably wouldn't even be sitting with us, am I correct?”

“Don’t be silly, Draco,” Astoria warned him, “Why don’t we welcome him, afterall, he’s a Slytherin just like us! Not to mention a pureblood, eh?” She tried sounding persuasive but she ended up sounding a little childish. 

Nevertheless, Draco coldy motioned you to sit with them, securing a spot beside Astoria, who was beside Draco. You kindly sat beside your friend as Draco looked at you with such snobbiness. “I suppose you’d like a hamburger, or a hotdog, or whatever you Americans eat.” he joked, gaining laughs from his friends except Astoria who had gotten an elf to snap his fingers, giving you a turkey leg and mashed potatoes. 

“A turkey would be fine, it’ll be a blast eating your kind of food. And speaking of blast, are you going to the Ravenclaw’s later? I’d really love it if you came.” 

His friends looked at you, then at Draco, trying to contain their laughter as they had just witnessed the newcomer invite Draco to a party as if it was Draco’s first party to ever attend. Draco peeked, looking at you with a scoff and said, “Are you a Ravenclaw because you just sounded like you own the party and happened to have just invited me. Pff.”

“No,” you shook your head nervously, “I just thought the party would be a great place for me to get to know you, and everyone else.”

Draco scoffed again, surprised by the audacity you had, “I’ll be there,” and there was happiness in your face only until he said, “Not because of you, but because I already planned on going.” then he pointed at you while you were not looking anymore and mounted, “Is he serious?” to his friends in front of him. 

Astoria sympathetically whispered to you, “At least he’s going!” which made you smile back at her. 

--

It was ten minutes to eight in the evening but Astoria had already pounded on your dorm door, asking for you as your two other roommates looked at you, expecting you to open the door. Slightly embarrassed, you rushed to the door to see that Astoria was already prepared while you just buttoned on your dress shirt. 

“Come on already, you snail!”

“Is it a British thing to be early or something, because the party doesn’t start for another ten minutes!”

“Not really, you fool, but it would be better to get yourself acquainted with some Ravenclaws first. They are the hosts after all.”

“Mm okay,” you said, putting on your jacket. 

Astoria dragged you out of the common room forcefully, bringing you over to a new side of the castle which you have not made yourself familiar with. You and Astoria were at the west side of the castle as she had brought you up to a spiral tower, which she said led to the Ravenclaw common room. 

The common room of the Slytherin and the Ravenclaws were much more different. Already speaking about the location, the Slytherins were based in the dungeons, which were underground, compared to the Ravenclaws who were high above the rest of the other rooms in the castle. 

Arriving at the common room, there were already people filling up the room. This wasn’t just the Ravenclaws filling up the room, according to Astoria there were already people she knew from Hufflepuff and Gryffindor that already were there before the two of you. 

You agreed with that when you saw the same three people that encountered you on your way to the Great Hall. The ginger-haired boy waved at you with a facial expression as if his dream came true and that he had heart eyes all over you. He was brought back to reality when the same girl beside him knocked some sense into him with a book that came from one of the Ravenclaw shelves. The boy beside him just laughed as he gave you a friendly nod which you gave back. 

Astoria then led you to a group of Ravenclaws who were hanging by one of their book shelves having an early drink of punch already. “Y/N,” she said nicely, “This is Carol Bletchley, she’s a pure-blood friend of mine and one of the hosts of the party.”

 The girl’s hair seemed like it had the same color as the girl who had knocked some sense into the ginger-haired boy, but this girl’s hair was much straighter. She gave a big smile as she extended her hand for a hand-shake. “It’s so nice to meet you Y/N Picquery,” she welcomed you as you shook her hand, “Everyone has been talking about you ever since you arrived.”

“And to think I was hoping for a discrete entrance into this school,” you shyly joked.

“Nonsense!” a boy who looked like her said, “Surely you had somewhat of a discrete entrance but a certain fan of yours apparently couldn’t stop talking about you. Something about getting your father’s autograph.” Which made you look up to see that the ginger-haired boy was bringing up a newspaper about your father being on the headline, it was an old quidditch one, which you do not want to question how he still had that. 

“Raphael Bletchley, I’m Carol’s younger brother.”

“Nice to meet you, Raphael.” 

His eyes were now drawn to something, or someone behind you as he said, “Oh wow, we have a face we haven’t seen in a long time in our parties.”

Turning around, you saw Draco Malfoy grabbing a glass of punch from the side as he was accompanied by his gang who had started to split up, leaving Draco with his two friends who acted as if they were body-guards. 

“I thought Draco usually came to these parties, no?

“Came, yes,” Carol said, “But to actually stay? Hardly.”

“What do you mean?”

“He would usually come to check the party out and tell us how much of a nerdy or boring party we have.”

“Oh,” you said, “Excuse me.” you told them. You looked at Astoria who already knew that you were going straight to Draco. She gave you an encouraging nod and patted you on the back which made you start walking again. 

“Hi, Draco.” you cheerfully yet shyly said, “I hear this is a first for you.”

“A first for what, Picquery?” he looked at you with a judging attitude and look. 

“I hear you usually mock these parties and leave afterwards. What made you decide to linger around?”

“How are you hearing so much about me and wanting to know more about me? This is only for the first day and you already are going way out of line, Picquery.”

“I don’t think I am, Draco, I just want to be friends with you.”

“Why me of all people? Why don’t you play with little Astoria over there.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being friends with you too, Draco.”

“There is, because I don’t want to be friends with you.”

“Is there a-”

“Can you just FUCK OFF already, Picquery!”

Draco’s snap had gotten the attention of everyone in the entire room, especially the hosts who were about to walk towards you and have Draco escorted out. But Draco wasn’t finished. 

“I don’t give a damn if you're the son of Lucas Picquery, alright? Just because you're famous does not mean you can get any friend you want. I don’t think you have half the talent your father has on the field. I am NOT your friend and I will NEVER be, okay? Bloody hell, this is your first day and you’re already making a fool out of yourself and out of me. I suggest you get the hell away from me now or else your puny reputation turns into shambles.”

Raphael rushed to the middle of the scene and grabbed a hold of Draco, whispering that it was time for him to go. As Draco refused to leave, squirming, “I have the right to be here, Bletchley, you don’t want my father to hear about this.” 

“He’s right,” you entered their small conversation, “He has the right to be here, Raphael. We don’t want him to cause any more unfortunate events by contacting his father. This whole situation is my fault, everyone, I’ll be the one to leave.”

“Y/N, no, please.” Astoria said, rushing towards you. 

“It’s nothing to worry about, Astoria.” then you looked at Draco and everyone else, “Have a great party, I hope this small situation didn’t kill the party. Rock on, guys.” you gave a sad smile as you walked past by Draco and the rest of the party-goers as you exited the common room of the Ravenclaws. 

--

The party was something you didn’t want to think about. It might have ruined a little bit of your reputation but your reputation was something you didn’t care about anyways. 

The moment you got back from the party, you headed straight to your dorm because you had nowhere else to go since you didn’t know the way to different parts of the castle yet. It would have been better to see Hagrid if you knew where he stayed so you could just live there forever until everyone else had graduated off from Hogwarts. 

Despite having a lot on your mind, you managed to sleep through all your troubles, ignoring the whispers your two roommates were sharing as they had found out what had happened between the son of a famous beater and the Slytherin prince. 

You woke up to them already out of their beds, having it made. When they had seen that you had woken up, they gave you a small smile and tried going back to focusing on making their bed. But you wanted to yank the truth out of them. 

“You know, don’t you?” you asked. 

The two of them looked unsure, hoping the other would be the one to talk but they were still playing their staring game, mentally making each other be the one to reply. You were tired of waiting for a response and waved it away, “It’s alright, of course you do.”

“We’re sorry to hear about it,” they both said at the same time, then looked at each other with a surprise. Then the one to the left of your bed said, “I suppose you haven’t heard about the good news for you?”

“I have good news? What could be good news, my father and mother getting demoted so we could go back to America? Please?” you sarcastically asked. 

“Outrageous, you are, Picquery. Americans.” he said. 

The one to the right of your bed shook his head, “Vincent Crabbe sprained his arm last night, the night of the party.”

“I don’t know who that is, so why should that be good news for me?” you confusingly asked. 

“Because he was a Slytherin beater, well until he sprained his arm.”

“Try-outs for the next Slytherin beater are later this afternoon.” the person to your left added. 

“Awesome,” you said, “I guess I could try out.” you shrugged. 

“Don’t guess, you WILL, Y/N!” said a feminine voice behind you. 

You turned to see Astoria Greengrass who looked at you with a soft smile as she opened her arms for a big hug that she was waiting for. You got out of bed and rushed to hug her and lift her up as she yelped and laughed. “Alright, put me down, Picquery.” she begged and when she was placed down, she looked at you with careful eyes, “I hope you haven’t given up on being friends with him.”

Ah, lovely to bring back some thoughts you thought you could sleep on forever. You sighed, scratching the back of your neck, “You know I’m surprised I didn’t cry or anything, what he said was really hurtful to be honest.”

“Oh, Draco’s like that. Besides, you’re a Picquery, you have the biggest and strongest heart I know. Trust me, you shouldn’t give up, and you should show everyone your place by earning that beater spot.”

“I guess I could. Besides, it could be a walk in the park.” you joked, only for her to nudge you on the shoulder. 

“You’re in the right house, Picquery, you’re in the right house,” she patted you on the shoulder, “Now, get dressed, I have snacks we can devour by the quidditch field. I want you to practice first before the try-outs.”

You nodded, turning around as Astoria closed the dorm and ran back to the common room to grab the snacks and extra quidditch uniform she had gotten a hold of. 

--

Back in the Great Hall, Draco was having a quiet breakfast with his gang. With Crabbe having a sprained ankle, it made his gang look miserable and weak, annoying the hell out of him. But what got him really annoyed was a single thought on his mind, swimming and swimming around his mind. That single thought was you. 

He had dealt with many cases of lashing out and snapping at someone, but your case was really different. All you had wanted to do was be friends with him. He was too proud to accept the fact that there was someone who could have been his fresh start. Someone who had not fully known or witnessed the terrible things he has done in order to call him nasty things with or without him being there to hear it. 

The many other situations he had placed on himself or stumbled upon never involved something nice or friendly being attempted. He was always used to receiving hate that he wanted to give back the same thing he had received. But this was the first time he had received actual niceness and warmth from a person that he was routined to give back the thing he usually was given, which was hate or negativity. 

Draco had screwed up entirely and wondered why he decided to act terribly in front of someone like you. Sure, he was surprised to see that the son of someone famous wasn’t a snob like him, but he still decided to treat you the same way he treats Harry. He had many reasons to treat you badly but now, thinking about it made him ask himself truly why he had done this to you, and there was not a single real reason why. It all led up to nonsense that he was just making up at the moment. He felt like a clown, and didn’t know what to do. 

Blaise saw the way he sulked and had a hunch it was about you. He decided to stop reading from his newspaper and settle things straight with Draco. “Malfoy, sulking about him?” 

Draco looked at Blaise with a cold stare since Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Daphne had stopped eating and conversing to listen in to the conversation. It was useless to build-up his guard and deny everything. So Draco sighed, and embarrassingly nodded. “So what, Blaise? Do you really give a damn?”

“I do, Draco. You’re my friend.”

“Pff,” Draco scoffed. 

“Malfoy, I know you can be vile,” he said, which Draco looked at him with a deadly stare, making Blaise raise his hands up, “But why be so vile to the guy? He’s been nothing but nice to you.”

“I don't know Zabini, alright! Maybe I felt an emotion.” Draco stood up, getting tired of the questions as he knew there would be more after this, “I’m going to support the team and head over to the field. You coming?”

Blaise and the rest stood up, “Course we are mate, bet he’s going to be there so we’re just hoping either of you talk to each other.”

“Merlin’s beard,” Draco muttered as he rolled his eyes. 

-- 

After a solid practice with Astoria, nothing felt better than going back on the field. Your muscle memory was still intact, giving you the same feeling as if you were back in Ilvermorny, practicing and giving your best in the field. 

As people started coming by to watch, you spotted Draco, who had also had his eyes on you. You flew down to the bleachers to walk towards Astoria as she had spotted your uncomfortable look. She looked left, then right, to see that Draco and his gang were making their way to the bleachers as well. 

“Apart from being in the same house, why the hell is he here?” you asked her. 

“He’s supporting his team. He’s our seeker,” she replied, “But he shouldn’t matter. This is your time, alright?”

You nodded, looking back at Marcus Flint, who Astoria told you was the captain of the team. Great, you thought, if you got in, you’d be training with someone who had hurt your feelings on the first day of your life in Hogwarts. 

You flew back to the field, meeting Marcus and the other Slytherins, trying out for beater “Right,” Marcus said, gathering everyone, “There’s three of you, but only one spot, yeah? I expect a good play despite it being only try-outs. You all are familiar with the rules, so I also expect a fair audition. Good luck to you three and may the best beater beat the rest.” Then he flew up high, which got everyone cheering as the rest of the Slytherin quidditch players came out to be part of the game. 

You flew up to the side of the field, muttering small prayers as you were trying to get yourself in the game. Draco’s eyes were all on you as he was observing the way you were trying to ready yourself. ‘A true Slytherin,’ he thought when he was watching you. 

When Marcus had signalled that the game started, you flew to the center of the field, aiming your bludger to one of the two other beaters that auditioned. 

One of them already thought of your idea and surprised the other beater, hitting his bludger with his bat as the beater who was supposed to try and knock you out, got knocked off himself as he fell onto the field. 

“Out!” Marcus Flint said, pointing at the boy, “Sorry, mate. Off you go,” he rushed him, getting back the game. 

Your team was still in the lead as the chasers helped score some points, helping you out as they knew you needed some time to figure out your next plan. 

‘Forget the other beater,’ you thought, ‘and knock out the enemy chasers first, that way the only way they can try scoring is by knocking me out,’ then you flew up, ignoring the other beater that had mocked the beater who fell down. 

You spotted an available chaser who was holding a quaffle closely to their side. This was your opportunity, so, before the round had ended, you lifted your bludger and whacked it forcefully towards the enemy chaser. 

Just before the chaser could have been knocked off his broom, the beater you had forgotten about for a second illegally flew to the chaser and bumped him, having your bludger aim at the beater who prepared to use his body as shield. 

What the beater didn’t know was that the bludger he shielded his chaser from backfired, hitting you in the face which caused you to fall off your broom. It knocked the lights out of you as you fell onto the field, not feeling the pain when your body hit the ground as you were already out the moment the bludger gave an impact on your head. 

There were boos towards the other beater and scared voices watching your lifeless body on the ground. Astoria wasn’t even the first to get down from the bleachers as Draco chanted ‘Accio broomstick’ from the broomstick of the beater’s broom, causing him to slip off to the ground. With a grunt, Draco flew quickly to your side even before Marcus could come over. 

“Fuck, Y/N, that’s a nasty bump on your head.” Draco muttered to himself as he jumped off the broomstick to lay a hand on the back of your neck, getting your head in an elevated position. After a few seconds, your eyes opened slowly, groaning at the pain as you tried sitting up straight. But a force was stopping you. 

“Hold on there, jumpy,” said a voice. 

Your eyes darted to the person to your side. It wasn’t Astoria. It was Draco Malfoy. “The hell are you doing here, Malfoy?” you asked, placing a hand on your forehead. 

“Are you alright, Piquery? How’s the pain? What’s seven times five? How many fingers can you see? He asked, raising his hand. 

“The question is,” you said, holding up a middle finger, “How many fingers can you see?” 

“Alright, alright, you’re fine.” Draco let out a small laugh. Marcus finally came by, extending a hand, “Up you go, Picquery. That was quite some show I had. Not to mention your father’s signature hit?” he joked, “That beater? Josiah Blishwick? Definitely out of the audition. You, on the other hand, you got the role.”

“Fantastic,” you admitted, “Thank you, Marcus.”

Marcus gave a small nod and walked away. Josiah Blishwick walked towards you and Draco, giving a small sad look. 

Draco looked at him with a deadly glare as he brought his wand up, “Expelliarmus!” he said, causing the boy’s wand to fly away. “The hell, Malfoy! I was only here to apologize.”

“Better apologize some other time, Bitchwick. I’m not in the mood.” Draco growled. Josiah nervously turned around, running off as Draco yelled, “You’re broomstick is in the bleachers, get it a potential house elf you are!” then laughed at himself, looking back at you, who was still not laughing with him. 

“I didn’t ask you to do that, anything of this.” you rolled your eyes, walking away. You were completely done with Draco. Why be so nice all of a sudden? Not buying that bullshit. 

Before you could get away from Draco completely, he said from behind, “You didn’t have to.”

You turned around, raising an eyebrow in confusion. 

Draco jogged towards you, “Look, I’m sorry Picqu- Y/N, alright? I was such a twit. I deserve to rot in Azkaban for giving you such a horrible welcome. All you did was just to be friends with me, but I was just the absolute worse and you may never forgive me, but I just wanted you to hear this, ‘I like you, and if you’re up to still being friends with me still, I’ll be the happiest lad in all of England.’ But if it’s not enough, I suppose I can step into your shoes and go through the agony of what I have done to you, if you were pleased with that.”

You crossed your arms, smirking, “You’d do that?” 

“Merlin’s beard, I said that didn’t I?” 

“Fine,” you agreed, “Let’s start tomorrow with switching places.” 

“So, technically this won’t count, would it?” 

Before you could ask what wouldn’t count, Draco walked towards you, cupped your cheeks and planted a quick yet soft kiss on your lips, enjoying the short time he gave himself. A smile grew on his face, then into a smirk when he saw how puzzled and surprised you were. 

“N-no,” you shook your head, “I suppose that wouldn’t count.” 

“Good, then maybe you can expect to encounter more until we switch places.” 

“M-maybe we can practice some switching of places later, hm?” you said, catching him off guard. Your cheeks grew red, so you got a hold of your broom and flew out of the quidditch field, muttering to yourself, “Smooth, Y/N, real smooth.”

So perhaps aside from being a Picquery, dating someone who was a Malfoy would be the talk of the town for more than you could expect. 

[multiocblog]

Greetings~! Welcome to my blog!

Just a little introduction, and some rules along with it~! ^^

Hello~! My name is Brianna but you may call me Bree~ I like to write stories, and create my own characters and such- It's what makes me happy~! And I love when I get to act like my OCs and interact with people! So, I created this blog~! (Sorry this post is quite long so be ready to read-)

To start out this blog, I have 7 OCs I will be making introductions for, so you can find out some about them, and interact with asks!

I have 2 OCs from Black Butler, 3 OCs from Diabolik Lovers, and 2 OCs from My Hero Academia! (I have many many more OCs soon to be added to this blog once I get consistent and completely settled in!)

Theres a brief intro to each at the bottom of the page!

((I write better than what I did there I swear-))

In the meantime, here are the

Rules:

No NSFW asks PLEASE! They make me very uncomfortable, and any asks I think might be dirty in any way, I will not answer.

Please make sure you put the OCs name in parenthesis or brackets so I am aware of which OC you are talking too! Ex." [To Arabella] I love your outfit! "

Please be kind! I will not accept hate comments or anything of the sort towards a subject, opinion, or an OC!

PLEASE "tag" or label accordingly to anything, slightly, definitely, or mildly triggering, even if you're not sure! I just want to make sure that everyone can scroll through my blog without having to be weary! Ex. [TW death]

Please do not flood the askbox or get mad that I don't answer right away! I can't always be online for I have a life to live outside of social media. This is purely for fun! ^^

Please no asks about r*ape, inc*st, pe*dophilia, or anything of the sort! Talk of those subjects will not be tolerated on this blog!

I am the admin to this account, therefore, I am allowed to reject or ignore ANY ask if need be.

((Rules will be updated, should the need arise.))

Bye for now~!

((OC info under read more!!))

Kyoko Komori (DL) ((OC based off the anime. Though I've heard plenty about the games, I have not yet played them, so if I get some things wrong I apologize in advance.))With Kyoko everything is the same. Yui has Cordelias heart and such and was supposed to be sent to the brothers. However, in this universe, Yui has an older sister, one year apart, whom has also been adopted, except she knows it. When she overhears something about her younger sister, her only sister, being sent away to vampires, she decides to take her place. To protect her.

Alyssa Freeman (MHA) ((I have not watched the entirety of MHA yet, and really I don't plan too anytime soon. So if I get anything wrong please correct me, and spoilers to the anime for me are welcomed. Let's just act like I've seen it all-)) Alyssa hates villains. And heros for that matter. All of them. When her apartment was destroyed from a casualty in a battle, Alyassa labeled heros as reckless and careless of the people around them. Herself and her little brother where heading back to the apartment, when she saw it crumbling down. Her parents and grandparents still inside, along with her best friend who was going to surprise Alyssa with a visit. Now she lives on the streets, doing whatever she can to provide for herself and her little brother.

Ongaku Yamada Aizawa (MHA) ((Again, haven't seen it, let's just pretend I have. Also this OC is in result of a ship. I don't really ship it, but I thought both their powers together would be cool so I thought, why not?)) When Ongaku was young, she was always bullied in 1st and 2nd grade for having two dads. One time, she got in trouble for heavily injuring a student with her voice quirk. You can insult her all you want, but not her dads. So, in 3rd grade, she kept a lie she created, that she only has one dad, Erasure Head Shota Aizawa, and that her mother died when she was born. Turns out the lie worked pretty well, people loved her and she was seen as an icon for having a prohero as a father. Shes was usually a quiet person, kept to herself, no friends, only spoke when spoken too. It was just her, her drawings and her music in her headphones. To this day, she keeps the lie, and keeps her distance, even at her new school, in U.A. (She also develops a major crush on Tenya Iida while there.👀)

Lilly and Lila Sakamaki (DL) ((Just thought I'd make one description for both bc they're twin sisters. This is also result of a ship. Ayato x Yui.)) Lilly and Lila are polar opposites despite their similar looks. Lila loves the cutesy, pink, flower stuff, and Lilly is all "tough" and "all that" (When shes really insecure-) Lilly is extremely protective over her sister, and possive too. She doesn't let any man even glance in her general direction. Basically if a man wants to ask Lila out, hes gonna have to go through some interrogation. Lila loves her sister deeply, and is basically like her sisters personal therapist. Lilly will only vent and show emotion around Lila. Lila tries to get her sister Lilly into pink, but with no prevail. Typically, you'll find Lilly hanging out with "Uncle Reiji", for she has a secret interest in his experiments and such. She'll also cuddle with Uncle Shu whenever she has time. And Lila loves hanging out with Uncle Kanato and Uncle Laito. She'll have tea partys with Kanato all the time. Lilly always tries to get Lila away from Laito. She says he's "demented" and "weird". But, Lila doesn't listen and hangs out with him anyway. Laito and Kanatos typical nickname for Lila is, Lilac or Little Flower. Both twins are vampires. Yui always teaches them about God and how to be selfless and kind, while Ayato plays sports with Lilly and cute video games (like Animal Crossing) with Lila.

Arabella Phantomhive (BB) ((This OC is placed in the future, and based off a ship, Ciel X Lizzy. Please be aware that, even though my OC speaks multiple languages, I do NOT. So, as bad as it sounds, I'll probably use Google Translate if I must use another language-😅 ) When Ciel and Lizzy are older and married, they have a little girl. Half human. Half demon. Arabella was taught how to be a lady, ballet, and sword fighting by her mother. And she was taught chess, ballroom dancing and more sword fighting by her father. Instead of going to a school, little Ara was homeschooled, by Sebastian, the Phantomhive Butler. He taught her multiple languages, such as Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, and her personal favorite, French. Time skip to the age of 10, she saw her mother murdered before her, and her father taken by some strange light beings. Having been raised by Sebastian since then, now she's 17, running the Funtom company, and determined to avenge her mother and find her father. :)

Robert Trancy (BB) ((This OC correlates with the Arabella OC, and is in the same storyline.)) Robert J. Trancy was his sweet Arabellas betrothed since birth. Even though it is set to be an arranged marriage, Robert always had a crush on his Arabella, and was awaiting the day to marry his beloved. Robert is a sensitive and kind boy, but sarcastic and joking all the same having been raised by Alois Trancy. He has no idea of whom his mother is, and was always told she died when he was born. At the age of 6, it was at a party when he saw his father dead on the floor of the long corridor. He didn't exactly see his fathers death, but he heard it, and knew exactly who did it. Ciel Phantomhive. He was determined to make his revenge. Having made a contract with Claude, his fathers old butler, he now lives alone in the manor, sending all the old servants away, except Claude. He makes frequent visits to his sweet Blue Rose however. He's a very insecure boy, full of anger, bitterness, jealousy, and sadness, but hides it well behind humor and love for his bride-to-be.

That was very long- and for that I apologize-

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 3/28/20

The Ancient Magus’ Bride, Vol. 12 | By Kore Yamazaki | Seven Seas – I’m still really enjoying reading The Ancient Magus’ Bride, but there’s no denying that it’s become almost a totally different manga from where it started, even if it does bring back a few guilt-ridden special guests. Chise is all grown up and now has grown-up problems, albeit grown-up student problems. We continue to worry away at labels—what is a bride, what is a daughter, etc.—which makes sense given that this is a world of magic, where names and relationships carry far more importance than they otherwise might. And we even get to have an old-fashioned camping trip, though unfortunately that ends up going very badly for Lucy, who suffers the cliffhanger ending. Still top tier, but very different. – Sean Gaffney

Black Clover, Vol. 20 | By Yuki Tabata | Viz Media – This long arc STILL isn’t over, but we do get a few good highlights, as with any good Jump title. The start has “my dreams become reality” magic, which ends up leading to a fun confrontation between the real, possessed person and their fake, good other self. Gauche and Marie are still possessed by elves, and their relationship remains fascinating both despite and because of that. And, in the final chapter, we get a revelation about Charmy that makes sense and is also completely hilarious—let’s face it, we just assumed she was superdeformed because it was funny. But it looks like it’s her appetite more than her size that’s needed here. This is meat-and-potatoes Jump, never great but usually decent. – Sean Gaffney

Blood on the Tracks, Vol. 1 | By Shuzo Oshimi | Vertical Comics – I wasn’t a fan of Oshimi-sensei’s Flowers of Evil, but the psychological suspense aspect of Blood on the Tracks appealed to me so much that I gave his work another try, and I’m glad I did! Seiichi Osabe is a meek thirteen-year-old who learns from his cousin Shigeru that other family members think his mother is overprotective. Throughout this first volume, Shigeru repeatedly draws Seiichi away from his mother’s side, culminating in a potentially deadly incident during a family hiking trip. The best part, though, is how expertly Oshimi cultivates an ominous atmosphere. From the first panel, Seiko’s control over her son is emphasized and a sense of foreboding pervades every scene, from her creepy facial caresses to a wordless pair of pages in which Seiichi blankly watches his mother vacuum. By the end, it’s finally obvious to Seiichi that something is very wrong. I’m looking forward to volume two! – Michelle Smith

Can an Otaku Like Me Really Be an Idol!? | By Wacoco Waco | KUMA – Takumi Suzuki is an otaku in his second year of high school who’s been crushing on his classmate, Misaki Hayakawa, ever since the entrance ceremony. After Suzuki discovers that Hayakawa is a fan of the same idol group he is, Hayakawa attempts to secure his silence by taking compromising photos of him cross-dressing as an idol. Turned on, Suzuki forces himself on Hayakawa and later agrees to try to become a real idol as a way of making up for his criminal deed. Obviously, the consent issue here is concerning, but I was gratified that Suzuki takes it seriously, and Hayakawa later says he would’ve been the aggressor if given the chance. Mostly, this is the story of two guys getting to pursue the thing they love with the person they love. Some parts are kinda wholesome. Some parts SUPER AREN’T. – Michelle Smith

The Conditions of Paradise | By Akiko Morishima | Seven Seas – This author has been long awaited in coming over here, and this is a collection of some of her stories from Comic Yuri Hime. The main story, which gets the cover, has a woman who has a structured life and her best friend and not-quite girlfriend, who is a freelancer in all senses of the word. They’ve known each other since school, and getting together feels both natural and right. The other stories also deal with relationships between adult women—the only high school seen is in a flashback—and that’s the selling point here. We’ve seen more of these manga lately with actual adults in yuri relationships. It hasn’t gotten old yet. This doesn’t feel as groundbreaking as it might have in Japan, but it’s still very good. – Sean Gaffney

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 1 | By Io Sakisaka | VIZ Media – Love Me, Love Me Not is Io Sakisaka’s most recent series and features two co-heroines, something I don’t think I’ve seen since NANA. Yuna Ichihara is a shy, innocent girl who dreams of a destined, fairy tale love. Her new friend Akari Yamamoto thinks it’s possible to will yourself to fall in love with a boy who is available. They’ve just started high school and already they have romantic upheaval. Yuna has fallen in love with Akari’s princely brother Rio (which worries Akari since Rio is notoriously only interested in girls’ looks) and Akari’s been dumped by the boyfriend she thought loved her. She ends up confiding in Kazuomi Inui, Yuna’s childhood friend whom Akari hoped to set up with Yuna but who seems to have other ideas. Despite this synopsis, it’s not too melodramatic… until a reveal in the final pages. I’m already hooked. – Michelle Smith

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 8 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics – The start of this series had a lot of quintuplet-swapping antics, but it died down as Futaro got to know the others better. That changes here, as the majority of the book takes place on a trip to a hot spring he wins for his family… a hot spring that it turns out is run by the quintuplets’ grandfather, and they’re all there as well. What’s more, because of plot, they’re ALL dressed as Itsuki. What follows is mistaken identity shenanigans galore, showing off that Futaro still can’t guess which is the correct girl (which means he’s not ready to romance one) but also showing one of the quintuplets giving him a kiss… and we see in a flashforward it’s the bride. Who is the bride? Well, we have six volumes to go there. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 6 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – Shirayuki and Yona may both have red hair, but it has to be said that Shirayuki is a more traditional heroine. Not that Yona doesn’t get captured as well from time to time, but the kidnapping here feels a lot more traditional. It also feels the prince riding to rescue her, which surprised me, as I thought we would continue the tradition of “he has to stay behind and be a prince.” We do get to see Kiki kicking ass, though I wish she’d finally get a storyline of her own. This series does a good job balancing its politics, romance and action sequences, and it actually does the commendable job of making me remember who the minor cast members are, always a danger. I’m still very happy this finally got picked up. – Sean Gaffney

By: Sean Gaffney

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 7x06 Him

aka please stop

We did it, guys! We made it to the last season! Also, hello if you’re new, and stumbled upon this without context. As usual, these impromptu text posts are the product of my fevered mind as I rant about the episode I just watched for an hour (okay, sometimes perhaps two). Anything goes!

And I hate how much today’s episode made me laugh, but what else was I gonna do? Cry?

Long story short, I dislike Him on the grounds that everything about this story is just terrible. But I also can’t deny that I did laugh at all the pivotal comedic moments, even if I felt awkward doing so.

And I kinda just wanna leave it there? No need to get into the ins and outs of suicide, consent, teacher-student dynamics, gender or orientation.

Fine. Let’s talk briefly about this episode I guess.

If Beer Bad and Doublemeat Palace are episodes that I enjoy above the average fan, Him is one that’s decidedly lower on my list. Well, actually, I just did a quick search on iMDB, and it turns out that it’s the 13th lowest rated episode there, so maybe not that much lower. But still. It’s got a 7/10. That’s way too high.

Then again, I also just admitted to laughing during the episode, so maybe that’s not fair of me. If nothing else, this is one of the show’s more off-kilter episodes, including a split screen montage of our 4 main female characters doing all kinds of hi-jinks.

Well, laying down on the train tracks isn’t really a hi-jink but… Buffy’s got a rocket launcher! And she and Spike have a fight about it in the background of Principal Wood’s window, while our boy Robin is chilling in his office. Don’t think about that other stuff now!

Oh, and Buffy in her guidance counselor capacity seducing a high school student? Pfft… Here’s some Coldplay to take your mind off of that, and the way the jacket love spell muddies up consent in general!

Not to mention the whole discussion on how the spell affects Willow, who then decides to change RJ’s (I think that was his name?) gender. Which sounds like a cool and handy spell, except when you’re doing it on someone else without their consent?

And why is Willow affected? Does this spell really only work on the base of a gender, not attraction? And if so, why was Xander worried that he and Spike would be affected when they visited RJ’s brother, the former owner of the magical jacket of terribleness?

Meanwhile Dawn is having what’s supposed to be a cutesy awkward teenage crush storyline, but instead she gets to push someone down the stairs for some garbage boy, who’s taking advantage of a love spell. He actually thinks she’s cool for getting rid of his competition by attempting murder I guess. Even the vampire jock from All the Way was better than this dude.

Do you know who I love though? Anya. Anya’s the MVP of this episode, even when she’s hit with the love spell. We also get a cute scene at the beginning of the episode with her and Buffy that I love – right after they fight a demon that apparently D’Hoffryn sent after Anya for funsies I guess.

ANYA:  “Well, thank you for the generous life-saving. Now please go away. Look, I don't need anyone's help. Or, okay, clearly I do, but I don't want to need anyone's help, so stop helping.” BUFFY:  “I get it. After last week, you feel you need to be all renegade and broody. Taking yourself out of the loop—“ ANYA:  “I need to figure out who I am.” BUFFY:  “Another, something bad is happening. I don't want my friends out there alone right now, okay?”

(Buffy: *calls Anya a friend* me: *in tears* this is fine)

To which Anya in true Anya fashion replies that “I guess you could use my help”, and she’s seamlessly re-integrated into the group for the rest of the episode. And her and Willow bickering after the love spell hit them both is genuinely hilarious. For the most part.

ANYA:  “Well, you're gonna have to do better than that—I'd kill for him!” WILLOW:  “You'd kill for a chocolate bar.”

I rest my case.

Also? That’s just a great Anya look.

And speaking of early scenes, there’s also the one where they move in Spike to Xander’s apartment. And this happens.

BUFFY:  “I don't know, but [Spike}'s been through a lot, okay, and nobody's attacking—“ *Spike touches Buffy's arm and she startles* SPIKE:  “Buffy… Sorry.” BUFFY:  “No, it's me.”

NO, BUFFY, IT’S NOT YOU, AND YOU DON’T NEED TO APOLOGIZE. God. I know that it’s in Buffy’s character to put her own shit aside to help, but seeing her vocalize that? Tara wouldn’t stand for this.

On the other hand, this episode also has the line that you can see in a lot of Buffy gifsets. “No guy is worth your life. Not ever.” And it’s nice to see Buffy getting out from under the spell in order to help Dawn. I just wish it was in a better episode that put more effort into exploring their relationship.

Oh yeah, and much like with some previous season 7 episodes, this one is also supposed to be a throwback to an earlier one – Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered. We even get a brief flashback from Xander, in case you missed that reference.

Except of course BB&B had one of our main characters do a love spell, which went terribly wrong, and the comedy was about him trying to reverse it. In Him, we don’t know RJ, we don’t get to know anything about him really (aside from what his brother tells us), and he never faces any consequences for his actions. They just steal the jacket from him and burn it.

That’s it. That’s what the jock who’s been using all these girls through his magical family heirloom gets.

He condoned having his friend pushed down the stairs, just to keep his position on the team!! He used this love spell on so many girls, at least somewhat knowingly!!! The least we could’ve done is punch him in the face!

Ugh. So yeah. If you want to enjoy this episode, that’s fine. I laughed too. Just don’t think about any of its elements too long. It’s for your own sake.

[uhhhhhhokay]

Shows With Good LGBT+ Rep

Now for starters, I’ll admit that I do not watch Riverdale. I tried it, didn’t like it, that’s basically it. The show does have LGBT rep (but not ace rep), I would never dismiss that, but they make sure to do the bare minimum. Based off the people I follow who are fans, scenes for the characters, more specifically Chonie (Cheryl x Toni), are either constantly deleted or they are nonexistent. 

They have romantic scenes together but not nearly as many as the rest of the leading cast. This matters because one of the girl in the relationship, Cheryl, is advertised as a main, but yet she’s treated as a side character, and Toni is given even less. From what I’ve heard of the show, they dedicate an immense amount of time to the pairings of the main characters, but this focus does not seem to apply to Cheryl and her relationship with Toni. This applies to them as individual characters and as a pairing, as I’ve heard that neither character get much screen time. 

I understand wanting representation and I understand wanting to support representation, but the point that I’m trying to make is that Riverdale is not the show to put your desire and need into because they will never give the proper treatment or storylines that these characters and relationships they deserve. You can still watch but just know that there are shows out there with much better rep. So I’m here today, writing this long essay that no one asked for, to inform you guys of LGBT+ rep that actually gets treated well by their writers and is given the screentime and love they deserve. 

Warning: Some of these shows have been cancelled. If they do not say they’ve been cancelled, then that either means the show is still going or that it ended on it’s own terms.

Also this list does not include shows with the bury your gays trope.

Feel free to add on! This list is mainly comprised of some of my favorites. I tried to very best on the descriptions but I am a tired student with little free time. 

#1: The Bold Type ~ Kat x Adena

Kat Edison, the head of the social media department of Scarlet magazine, meets Adena El-Amin, a proud Muslim lesbian photographer in episode one. The two bond and grow closer and closer, eventually causing the “out and proud hetero” Kat to question her sexuality and acknowledge her romantic feelings for Adena. Adena, as I said earlier, is a lesbian and Kat is bisexual. 

#2: Black Lightning ~ Anissa x Grace

Ah, the first black lesbian superhero! The second season is currently airing on Tuesday’s at 9pm on the CW. Being the daughter of the infamous vigilante Black Lighting has it’s unexpected perks, like having superpowers! The intelligent activist Anissa Pierce discovers her powers of super strength and decides to use them for good and defend her city under the name of Thunder.

Grace Choi was in a few episodes of season one, but her relationship status as girlfriends with Anissa in the comics assures us that she will be coming back and we will see her and Anissa’s relationship develop further.

#3: Doctor Who ~ Bill x Heather

Throughout all of time and space, these two manage to come back to each other. After being split up by an alien in ‘Pilot’, Heather comes back to Bill’s rescue in the season finale, kissing her and making her immortal, leaving the both of them to travel across the universe together. Their journey has sadly come to an end in the series, but it came to a spectacular and happy one!

#4: BBC Class ~ Charlie x Matteusz

Part of the Doctor Who universe comes Class, a teenage sci-fi drama that takes place in Shoreditch. Now, first I should say that this is one of my favorite shows and you don’t need to watch Doctor Who in order to watch it. It is its own separate show.

Charlie Smith, an alien prince from the planet Rhodia, comes to earth to escape the Shadowkin, the monsters that killed his race. Him and the only other survivor of his planet, Miss Quill, come to earth and are instructed by the Doctor to hide themselves as human. Charlie attends Coal Hill Academy while Quill teaches.

Once prom comes around, Charlie asks the Polish boy, Matteusz, to be his date. The prom is hijacked by the Shadowkin and it is revealed to Matteusz that Charlie is an alien, but he doesn’t mind because it does not change the way he feels about him. The two continue to date throughout the series whilst fighting off aliens with four of their friends and Miss Quill

This show has been cancelled, but audios have been made since then to fill in the gaps between episodes and there is a chance there might be more! Also there are three books!

#5: In The Flesh ~ Kieren x Simon

The dead have come back to life! Kieren and Simon are both PDS sufferers, meaning they have partially deceased syndrome, meaning that they died and were brought back to life. Series 1 is centered on Kieren Walker, a 18 year old boy who died back in 2009, who is adjusting to his new zombie life and dealing with the people who want him back in the ground.

In series 2, Simon is introduced as a part of an PDS activist who is fighting for equal treatment for PDS sufferers while trying to find the first risen to bring on the second rising. Connected by a mutual friend, Simon and Kieren are introduced to each other, and the two strike up a relationship which develops into something romantic.

#6: Faking It ~ Multiple Characters

In an attempt to gain popularity, Karma and Amy fake being lesbians, but after a kiss at the school’s prep rally, Amy realizes that she isn’t as straight as she thought she was. In fact, she is head over heels in love with her childhood best friend, Karma. She confides in the out and proud Shane about her feelings for Karma and asks for advice on how to get a girlfriend. This show, while not always perfect, is incredibly diverse. Amy is bisexual, Shane is gay, Lauren is intersex, and in season 3, Shane forms a crush on the new student, Noah, and after their first kiss Noah comes out as trans to Shane. 

The show was unfortunately cancelled after three seasons, leaving much of the story still left unsaid, but the show still has an enjoyable and satisfying ending, even if it wasn’t the ending the creator wanted. The creator’s ideal ending, had he been given the chance to write it, was that Karma would eventually realize that she herself is bisexual too. 

#7: Hit The Floor ~Multiple Characters

Jude x Zero

Junior sports agent Jude Kinkade brings basketball sports star Zero to LA on the promise to be a star. One night in a limo before Zero flies to an away game, Jude, to his surprise, kisses Zero. When Zero comes back, the two begin a friends with benefits relationship that develops into something deeper, and the two fall in love.

Lionel x Eve

Lionel’s sexuality has never been explicitly stated in the show. She had sex with many men and the majority of viewers assumed she was straight. That was until the cunning Eve came in. The two decide after a brief meeting to go and get drinks together which ends up with them having sex. Later, Lionel admits to Jude, that she has slept with many women before Eve. Their relationship is complicated and it’s much different from the other relationships on the show. 

Jude x Noah

Due to the show’s unexpected renewal and switch from VH1 to BET, not all actors returned. Adam Senn (Zero) did not want to return, but never fear, because the show’s creator wasn’t about to let the beautiful Jude Kinkade go to waste!

A year after his break up with Zero, Jude’s best friend Lionel takes him out for drinks in the hopes to find him a hunk and get him laid. Later that night, Jude and Noah meet, hook up, and move on with their lives. Until the next day when Jude sees Noah at the Devils arena and finds out that the two will be working together. 

Hit The Floor has not been renewed or cancelled.

#8: Wynonna Earp ~ Multiple Characters

Waverly x Nicole 

i’m sure many of you have heard of these two, but incase you haven’t, let me introduce you to Waverly and Nicole! Waverly, the younger sister to the Earp heir, and Nicole, a sheriff at the Purgatory police department, strike up a romantic relationship after Waverly ends things with her shitty boyfriend Champ. These two are so cute and are head over heels in love with each other. 

Jeremy x Robin

Jeremy is introduced in season 2 and Robin is introduced in season 3. After discovering a murder tree, Robin goes to the police station in search of help. Directed to Jeremy, Robin explains everything he saw, then the two go on a date to investigate the murder tree, and after that the two become boyfriends.

Warning: The show, while amazing with LGBT characters, does not treat their POC characters well. 

#11: Brooklyn Nine-Nine ~ Holt and Rosa

Raymond Holt is captain of the 99th precinct. He is married to his longtime partner Kevin, who often guest stars on the show, and the two of them are truly iconic. Holt has fought hard for gay rights in the police department since joined the force. As a out gay black man, Holt had to fight and work hard to get to his position as captain. 

Rosa Diaz is bisexual and she is played by a bisexual actress. Rosa is a secretive, hard, ruthless, and a soft bean of a character. She is one of the key characters to the Nine-Nine. She has yet to have a steady girlfriend but here’s to hoping that she will have one next season!

#10: BBC Cuffs ~ Multiple Characters

Jake x Simon

Don’t sleep with the enemy. New PC Officer, Jake Vickers, joins the police force and meets the well known and disliked solicitor, Simon Reddington. Despite the fact that they are on opposing sides that hate each other, the two begin dating. They try to keep their professional life out of their relationship to avoid conflict. But alas, that’s where the sweet angst comes in. 

Donna x Alison 

The time these two start dating it unclear, but when the show begins it is said that they’ve been together for a few years. They’ve been living happily together for quite some time. Donna is part of the main cast as a police officer and is given a lot of screen time in action. Alison is a side character who makes a few appearances throughout the show but her interactions with Donna are sweet, beautiful, and realistic. 

This show has been cancelled.

#11: Shadowhunters ~ Magnus x Alec

Ghaad, these two are the best. A gay shadowhunter and a bisexual warlock fall in love. Malec has good communication. Magnus and Alec have their own storyline and a storyline with each other, making them both equally important and have intimate/emotional scenes. The show also makes sure to tackle harmful bisexual stereotypes. (Thanks to @spicychipsdemon for helping me write this one.)

This show has been cancelled but it’s being given a special to wrap up the story.

#12: Superstore ~ Mateo x Jeff

An employee and district manager meet at the Cloud 9 store during a strike. Mateo is a out gay man and so is Jeff, the thing is that his cannot date the employees at the store so the two of them keep their relationship private from the other coworkers, because they would not be able to keep it a secret from Jeff’s boss. These two are actually really cute and they’re hilarious and underrated to be quite honest.

#15: Orphan Black ~ Multiple Characters

Besides the white girl dreads, these two are nice. They are the sci-fi couple that beat the shit out of the bury your gays trope. A clone and a woman who is assigned to look after that clone, uncoincidentally meet. What starts as an assignment is developed into something much deeper, leading Delphine to realize she’s bisexual. These two are happily living their life making crazy science with each other.

There are more LGBT characters in the show. There is a trans clone but unfortunately he is only in one episode. One of the main clones, Sarah is revealed to be bisexual in s4 and her foster brother Felix, a series regular, is gay. 

#16: Picnic at Hanging Rock ~ Multiple Characters 

Three schoolgirls and their governesses mysteriously disappear on Valentines Day in 1900 at the infamous Hanging Rock. This show, while slow in some areas, transformed the 1967 book written by Joan Lindsay. What was initially about the disappearance of three girls and the attempt to find them was changed into a six part series about the repression of sexuality and expression of young girls. Miranda, Irma, and Marion, are the three young women that go missing, and they are all lesbians. There are two more characters in the story: Mike and Albert. They had a close relationship in the book but the tv show made their relationship canonically romantic. 

The show does suffer in the sense that hetero couples that barely existed in the book get more screen time and make out sessions than they should. I included this show because character wise it’s so drastic from it’s original content and it ends up putting wayyyy more focus on the girls than the book did. It turned a simple plot into a meaningful story about gender roles and sexuality and three girls trying to break free of them and two boys falling in love and running away together. Not a perfect show, but damn if it didn’t do some things right. Still recommend.

This show is a miniseries. Unlike other series, it ends where the book ends.

#17: One Day At A Time ~ Elena x Syd

If you haven’t watched these two then I don’t know wtf you’re doing. This show is precious and they are precious and god just watch it already honestly. Elena is a lesbian and Syd is a non-binary lesbian. Once a criminal breaks loose and the two have to cancel their plans to go to comic con, the two are trapped in their home with the rest of their family. As the evening builds up, Elena finally gets the courage to kiss Syd.

#18: Crashing ~ Sam x Fred

This show and this relationship is f*cking wild and it’s amazing. The show surrounds a group of people who are guardians to an abandoned hospital and they live in it. Sam meets Fred on his birthday when the two are paired up for a scavenger hunt. They relationship is odd at first with Sam constantly flirting with Fred and blatantly ignoring his feelings for him. These feelings rise to the surface and force Sam to confront them when Fred gets a rich bf who wants them to move in together. 

This show has been cancelled. The show does not end with a cliffhanger. The show does end with Sam finally leaning in a kissing Fred. 

#19: Charmed (2018) ~ Mel x Niko

Now this show is only one episode in so who knows where this show and relationship will go but it’s off to a good start with having the Mel and Nico relationship as the only romantic relationship in the show so far. I did not pay attention to the advertising of this show but as far as I know the show kept this relationship under wraps as a happy surprise for it’s premiere. The pilot has it’s flaws but it is cute, and to me personally, it works for me better than the original. These two have been dating for a while. Nico is a detective while Mel is just finding out months after her mothers death that she is a witch. A lot is going on. The pilot was interesting enough to get me to continue. The sisters are amazing and I hope the writers keep this relationship up front. This show not only has a lesbian relationship as it’s main love story right now but the three sisters are all women of color. 

This show and the actresses have been facing a lot of racist backlash so any support to ensure a future seasons be amazing!

#20: The Halcyon ~ Toby x Adil

(Ayyyeeee I got to use my own gif go follow at @tlmedits please)

Honestly f*ck BBC for cancelling so many good shows with LGBT characters. The Halcyon is a tv show that takes place during the 1940′s. Now, unlike many other periodic shows, this one is diverse, including poc and gay characters in the cast and giving them good storylines. The Halycon hotel is own by the Hamilton family, and Toby is the youngest son. Adil is a bartender in the hotel lobby. One night, while Toby is hiding from a woman his mother had set him up with, he runs into Adil who then kisses him. The two the next day begin a relationship. 

As I mentioned before, this show was cancelled.

[spaceotter42]

Looking Ahead to Andi Mack in October

by spaceotter42

Descriptions of Andi Mack's October episodes were recently released, and they show new details that fill in part of the show's storyline puzzle.  Two new video previews for the show were released after I originally wrote this, so I have incorporated some details from them where relevant

I've done several articles in past weeks forecasting and discussing Season 3.  If you would like to read those, please do a search of my blog for "Season 3".  

The Boys Are Back (Oct. 8) -- The "boys" must be Ham and Bowie, possibly also Jonah, returning to town after being away for the summer.  The longer description calls them "beloved family members."  It's largely confirmed that Buffy's crush/boyfriend is Walker.  This episode will include a dream sequence of Bex and Bowie getting married.  Andi is the likely dreamer since one scene shows Jonah's face superimposed on Bowie's head, suggesting Andi's fear about her future with Jonah.  This dream sequence will probably be brief, maybe even at the beginning of the show before the opening title credits are run.

Howling at the Moon Festival (Oct. 15) -- Jonah's "mishap" could be anything.  The preview hints at a possible panic attack.  I think the "special event" to one-up Celia's sister is Bex and Bowie's engagement.  Then we have "Andi and Jonah have a heart-to-heart talk about their relationship."  Oh boy, aren't we all looking forward to that.  Maybe they will back off being a couple for awhile.

It’s A Dilemna (correct spelling)(Oct. 22) -- The purposely incorrect spelling is a puzzle.  Perhaps Bowie's challenging guitar student has a learning disability or is not disciplined to learn.  Deaf actress Millie Simmonds will appear in a few episodes this season so she could be the guitar student.  The "outing" where the gang is "interrupted" by Walker sounds like something awkward.  It may be Andi's jealousy of Buffy being with Walker.  Cyrus taking a dance class implies some humor.

Hole in the Wall (Oct. 29) -- This title must be derived from Bowie literally knocking a hole in the wall to enlarge Bex and Andi's apartment.  The wording of "for their whole family to live in" implies Bowie will soon be married to Bex.  Buffy's tryouts for her girls' basketball team could be challenging if the team is not as skillful as she hopes.

[setyoonbumfree]

A Brief Intro to KS, Madness, Ethical Readership (and Me)

I first became acquainted with Koogi’s manhwa Killing Stalking in early 2017, when I stumbled upon this now-immensely popular music video– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYAxMW65RcM

The MV sparked my interest in the comic, which I have been hooked on ever since.  Due to Koogi’s beautiful drawing and engaging storyline, I consider this my favorite manga.  It’s a volatile, disturbing mix of tragedy, violence, mystery, suspense, pornography, and romance that makes me feel horny and horrified at the same time.

For those of you who have never read KS before, or for readers who need a refresher, here’s a brief summary of its plot: Yoon Bum, the protagonist, is a scrawny, boyish-looking 28 year old* whose parents died in his childhood.  An only child, he was placed under the care of his paternal uncle who beat and raped him since young.  This constant abuse shatters Bum’s self-worth, causing him to grow up isolated and starved for affection.  In his youth, Bum had aborted romances with two women: a prostitute (?, see chpt 25) and a classmate**.  In college, Bum becomes infatuated with a student: Sangwoo, a handsome 24 year old* stud with a tantalizingly ripped physique. However, the shy and unassertive Bum lacks the courage to approach Sangwoo and his affection remains one-sided for a long time. 

Unbeknownst to Bum, Sangwoo is a psychopath: a misogynistic, homophobic serial killer who murdered his parents.  Also an only child, Woo is an extrovert whose emotional deficiencies fuel his urge to dominate others.  Haunted by some unknown childhood trauma, Sangwoo gets a high out of murdering young women: he lures them to his house where he (probably) rapes them, maims their legs, and tortures them in his basement for several days before dismembering them.  Sangwoo’s abusive father is his only male victim to date.

One day, Bum breaks into Sangwoo’s house in an attempt to get closer to his crush only to discover he has entered a house of horrors.  Sangwoo discovers Bum poking around in the basement and maims Bum’s legs to prevent him from escaping.  From then on, Bum becomes his prisoner and (sex) slave.  As the story progresses, Woo exploits Bum’s emotional frailties, and the twisted relationship between these broken individuals descends further into sex, violence, and madness.  Though initially disgusted by the idea of gay sex, Woo warms to the idea after growing closer to Bum, and later uses sex as a tool to fulfill his fantasies of domination and to subjugate Bum rather than to express love.  In contrast, Bum undergoes several dramatic transformations: from a captive he becomes Woo’s live-in maid, then his accomplice in crime, and eventually, his lover.  

Their twisted, Stockholm syndrome-like devotion to each other, their love–if I can even call it that–is one born of their mutual frailties: Woo realizes that Bum is the only person crazy enough to still love him despite his horrific crimes, and can’t bear to kill him.  In contrast, Bum, in his lust and desperation for affection, helplessly clings to Woo, whose violent and demeaning sexual overtures he mistakes for expressions of true love.  Bum’s naivety, lust, and inferiority complex cloud his judgment: despite having the opportunity to turn Woo (and by necessity, himself) over to the cops, he willingly stays with Woo and lavishes him with sexual favors because he thinks they’re in a loving relationship.  Tragically, he fails to see that he’s little more than Woo’s submissive sex slave and punching bag.  He reminds me of a battered girlfriend who lacks the willpower to leave her abusive boyfriend because she’s been brainwashed to think she doesn’t deserve anyone better.

While some readers may romanticize their affection because it “looks cute/hot”, I do not ship the couple. Though I guiltily admit that I find their sex scenes arousing, I honestly believe Bum deserves better (Seungbae perhaps? XD).  

My blog’s name reflects my sincere wish for Koogi to give her story a happy ending: for Bum to be free of his chronic loneliness, helplessness, angst, and–most importantly–to be free of Woo.  Bum can only be truly free when he first realizes the misguidedness of his love for Woo, which is the root of his mental imprisonment.  Call me old-fashioned, but I believe in justice: the wicked should be punished, the innocent protected.  Woo deserves the death penalty, or lifelong imprisonment in an asylum.  While I believe Bum should pay for his crime, I also believe he deserves someone who truly respects and cares for him, and I hope he finds redemption and love in the end.

While I feel reluctant to foist a single “right” interpretation on a work as complex as KS, I would like to suggest the following: though we are reading fiction, we have an ethical responsibility not to idealize Bum and Woo’s relationship, or to allow ourselves to let Woo off the hook on account of his good looks.  Koogi’s genius is to have created a charming villain (similar to John Milton’s Satan, or Frank Underwood from House of Cards): an antagonist so seductive, so impressively herculean that our inhibitions are disarmed and we hesitate to condemn him.  We’re almost rooting for him to escape justice–that’s in large part due to the seductive power of Koogi’s drawing and writing, if you ask me.  But if we allow ourselves to let our mental defenses down, we confuse a villain for a hero; we let Woo manipulate us as he has the rest of the world, and we commit the same mistake Bum has made–we fall for a madman.

This blog is my homage to Koogi’s masterpiece, and a cathartic diary that allows me to clarify my thoughts on the story’s complexities.  Time permitting, I will post on ideas, symbols, themes, or patterns in KS that I find especially striking.  Readers are welcome to send me questions or comments.

I’m currently a Literature major in university; I live in Asia, and like Bum–I’m a guy, which means I’m a rarity in terms of this manga’s readership.  I think that most of its readers are (young) girls, which is typical of yaoi.  In my conservative country, I cannot openly discuss subjects relating to same-sex love, much less a manga as explicit as this one.  As I do not have any friends who read this manga, I hope to exchange my views with fellow readers in the Tumblr community.

A few disclaimers: I’m not an expert on the fandom community or its lingo, so please be patient with me if I’m slow on the uptake.  Also, I’m still learning how to use Tumblr, so I will need some trial and error to learn the finer points of tagging/reblogging/posting/replying.

As I feel similar in certain respects to Bum, I shall sign off my first post, and all future ones, with the initials of the character I feel so much pity and empathy for.

        –YB

*I have guesstimated their ages.

** Because of this, I consider Bum bisexual, just like Woo, who was initially heterosexual before Bum “converted” him.

[theantisocialcritic]

Archive Project - March 24, 2014 - God’s NOT Dead and Muppets Most Wanted

I gotta say! I enjoyed the Monsters University short before Muppet's Most Wanted! I think this is the first time that Disney has done cross promotion to another one of it's franchises which is pretty cool! The skit was pretty amusing too! I'm infamously NOT a fan of Monsters University but I thought this worked. ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— God's NOT Dead, 2014. Harold Cronk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrmBiLM5xjg Muppets Most Wanted, 2014. James Bobin 113 Minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQiGyBiNjLI ————————————————————————————————————————— God's NOT Dead ————————————————————————————————————————— Honestly there isn't much I can say to this one that will influence people to go see it or not. If your a Christian, chances are you saw it two days ago when it first came out, and if not chances are you probably will never see it. Honestly though if you are a Christian and you haven't seen it yet I would probably recommend this to you! Christian movies are all about the message and the ultimate quality is almost an after thought. But since i'm a critic lets talk about that anyway!! Right off the bat, I really like the concept! A young christian entering college named Josh is forced to take a Philosophy course for a humanities credit under an infamously brutal professor. On the first day of class the professor makes all of his students sign a pledge that "God is Dead" in order for them to properly start the kids off without having to first make philosophical arguments against it and waste class time. Josh refuses and is forced to defend his opinion in front of the class in a series of debates which he must pass in order to pass the class. Given that historically, college is the time in people's lives where the "Find themselves" and let their more liberal sides run wild, I like that this movie challenges that by creating a movie designed to reinforce and arm young Christians with the knowledge and confidence they need to defend their face in the face of challenges. According to the end credits, the movie was inspired by a LONG series of court cases defending religious freedom on college campuses around the country. Turns out thats a huge problem! Though I would more naturally assume that the movie is based off the Christian song Newsboys song "God's Not Dead" I always here on the radio. Which is appropriate because the actual Newsboys make a cameo appearance in the third act! The cameos, like the mentioned Newsboys appearance are fairly gratuitous but amusing. Phil Robertson, from the cast of Duck Dynasty even makes a brief cameo appearance! I'm not a fan of the show so its not a huge deal for me personally but I get that he's a huge influence on a lot of young christians so the cameo was cool! Onto the bad part.. Like every Christian movie that comes out it suffers from a series of crushing issues that push the movie down in quality: heavy handed message mongering, a lack of talented mainstream actors, and a general preference of emotional pandering over intelligent writing. In addition to the main, interesting and well written, storyline there are about 4 additional stories happening in the background that very very VERY loosely tie into the main story. If the movie was going for a Pulp Fiction style series of short stories about dealing with ones faith I would be much more interested but they all play out in chronological order with different tones and characters that are fairly one-note and shallow. Among theses stories we get such classic tales as: a minister who's car keeps breaking down, a liberal journalist with an jerky boyfriend, a muslim girl with a mean dad, another girl with a jerky boyfriend and a mom with memory loss, and an awkward girlfriend character who drops out of the plot fairly quickly. Not all of the subplots are bad mind you! There is another one with a Chinese Exchange student who is struggling with his viewpoint of the world as the argument between Josh and the Professor goes on that is very subtle and effective! You probably noticed that half of the subplots involve characters being mean. This is another problem I have with the writing! Most of the characters that aren't obviously the victims of their situations are inhumanly mean and melodramatic. I guess this is the subtly and character depth you get from the acclaimed director of… Jerusalem Countdown… Also the ending of the movie, without spoiling it, had me going…. "Seriously??? THEY DID THAT???" You'll see what I mean. This was a scene that could have been removed and resulted in the movie being much more intelligent and thought provoking but instead, as with Christian movie standards, they prefer to just rip open the chest and start violence beating on the heartstrings with a metal bat! Really though as far as Christian Films go this one is pretty decent! A well intentioned movie that will please people of the faith and leave people outside of it $6.00 poorer. If you are a Christian, I would recommend checking it out! ————————————————————————————————————————— Muppets Most Wanted ————————————————————————————————————————— I'm a newly converted fan of The Muppets! Two days ago I finally got around to watching my copy of 2011's The Muppets I was given as a gift and I FEEL IN LOVE!! A great combination of catchy music, cleaver writing and gratuitous celebrity appearances made for a great movie experience! I loved how meta the story was and how it was able to take advantage of horribly overused cliches as a means of creating a massive love letter to The Muppets! Now the sequel is out! And the first song is a song about how the sequel is never as good as the original………………………….. Starting as it means to go on I guess! Don't get me wrong! This movie is actually good! Really good! Just not as great as the last one unfortunately… The movie ultimately concedes at the beginning that it can't best itself so its just going to have fun with making another movie, even though it won't be as funny. While there weren't as many laugh out loud moments are there were in the original, I had a smile on my face the whole time and I kept chuckling throughout the experience. Plus If you've ever wanted to see Danny Trejo do a musical performance of I hope I Get It, this is the movie for you!! Not nearly as much to say on this one I guess… I recommend if you haven't checked out the last Muppet movie that you check it out asap! It should be at Redbox right now! If you want a copy go check your local FYE store! They have $5.00 copies which is a relief from the normal Disney Mandated Eternal $20.00 price tag that is permanently labeled to every DVD they release… Then watch this one! ————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————————— Thank you for reading! Wacka Wacka!

[mynuggetheart]

Second Lead Syndrome

If we were in a Korean drama, I already know exactly how our story would go We can choose a beginning that best fits our reality I can be a childhood friend that has always been there, or a stranger you coincidentally meet over and over until I become a permanent fixture in your life I can also be the girl who has had a one-sided crush on you for the longest time or the girl of your dreams you were too afraid to approach We can find a perfect setting to make it more interesting A specialized school where we will be students lost in our youth A palace some time in history dressed in hanbok and immersed in political turmoil A workplace full of professional cliches and office drama A shared living space, preferrably a rooftop apartment somewhere in the city No matter where, our lives will always intersect We find ourselves puppets to fate's strings Moving to fulfill a storyline created for the audience to enjoy They follow our every action, listen to our every conversation, and even access our every line of thought. Somewhere in the plot you are required to fall in love You will find yourself drawn to everything about that one person At around episode five, you would realize you like her By episode seven, you would have kissed her, eyes closed, heart exposed You would let her know how you feel and she will either immediately fall for you or take time in processing her own feelings And I? Well, I am not her I will be someone in the background watching you If I were lucky enough, I would be the second female lead The girl who was too perfect or too emotionally unavailable or too complicated to deal with I may be a part of a past you have no intention of going back to We will share some moments where my heart will race for just being in your presence While your mind is pre-occupied with thoughts of her; her smile, her helpless ways, her adorable personality And I remain as a plot device to your love story A secondary character who adds tension to your every encounter The girl who moves your romance along I will make her worry, make her a little jealous, make her realize she cannot live without you so she'd spur into action and stake her claim. The audience will either hate me or sympathize with me Some will think that I am not necessary, that I should take my story elsewhere Some will side with me, have second lead syndrome and think that I suit you better They will be few and composed of people who understand how it feels to be overlooked But this story is pre-produced It was written by someone else and you are only acting according to the script you were given Your heart has it memorized I am no more than an additional sub-plot to your happy ending Another conflict to resolve by the end of the sixteenth episode I am destined to love in the sideline, occassionally pitied but never rooted for by the majority I can decide to be envious and pathetic, the evil wench who tries everything to break you apart Or I can also choose to just smile and hide my pain, be the martyr, and even try to help you get the girl at some point. On most stories they will write me a consolation Have me achieve a dream or find me another possible partner But in this one, I ride alone in the sunset pondering the questions of why I am not enough and what I do wrong Because I always end up as her I never get the spotlight Always just a side character to someone else's fairy tale The forgotten second lead who's almost always too close but still far enough when it matters the most The one who owns all the hesitation and the guilt and the loneliness She catches the main character's attention for a brief moment before he finds the one he is meant for I can be the dazzling girl during the pilot airing but in the last scene you will see me alone in the corner A little smile on my face but my eyes are sad trying to convey how much I long to win you over To be your forever, be in the middle of your happily ever after But I am not, instead I am her, I always end up as her The supporting role, in between protagonist and antagonist The second lead whose story is not as important, as interesting The problematic character whose issues are rooted in her inability to accept she's not meant to be the star of the show. If we were in a Korean drama, I already know exactly how our story would go We will meet, I will like you, you will like someone else and she will like you back The foolproof formula used every single time It's the same as how it always goes Even now Even in real life.

[canaryatlaw]

First of all, I ain't digging this new mobile format, but I'm sure I'll adjust to it eventually. Today was good! I'm really happy to be back in the swing of mostly good days, which likely means the medication is working (and any doctor who wants to take me off one of them again can pry it from my cold, dead hands). I'm still dealing with a little anxiety, mostly school-stress related, but it's nothing compared to the soul crushing depression I experienced all summer. I have a meeting tomorrow with the woman who's in charge of the public interest department about my work hours not quite meeting the requirement. At first I was just going to fudge the numbers, and I *probably* could've gotten away with it, but I just felt really strongly that God was telling me not to do it, and if I did get caught it could seriously screw up my law school career (like, it really doesn't take much for them not to let you into the bar, and that's exactly the kind of shit they look far). She seemed positive in our email exchanges though as I was explaining the situation, and I do know her and I know she's very nice, so I'm confident things will go well. Anyways, today. Woke up at 10:20, got ready and headed to school because we had a PAD event over the lunch hour for the 1L's. It went really well! We had a really big turn out, so that was really cool. Afterwards I went to bus orgs, which was fine, though I probably could've been paying more attention than I was *shrug* my case briefs are still good and in the end that's what's gonna matter when I'm outlining. Since my night class was cancelled this week (not sure why, our prof is an Orthodox Jew so it might've been a Jewish holiday or something, but that's just my speculation), I headed home after class, and stopped for ice cream on the way home because I wanted to, dammit, and that's reason enough. Got home and hit the books to get my reading for adoption law done, which took me almost exactly from 4 to 7, which was my goal (I can usually predict how long it'll take me to read something with a great degree of accuracy), so I made some dinner (leftover Mac and cheese, which is still delicious) and watched Smalllville. I wasn't keeping count of the episodes but I definitely got a few in. I'm picking up on new things that I didn't necessary catch onto before, like FUCKING MARTHA KENT AND LIONEL LUTHOR FLIRTING WITH EACH OTHER which is disturbing on so many levels, and don't even get me started on the disaster that is the Lex/Lana romance storyline. So grossly abusive and just not at all what I want to watch. I think my favorite line from Season 6 so far though was when Lex and Clark were in Lex's greenhouse (because apparently he has one of those) and Lex was explaining how the plant Clark was looking at appeared beautiful but was actually poisonous, and Clark just goes "so even your plants have hidden agendas?" And I just could not stop laughing because it was so absurd but also beyond hilarious. And that as basically my night. While I was doing my adoption ready I got an email and text from my dad about the douches that are my sister's (and formerly mine) school administrators that they want her to sign a "behavior contract" and engage in mentoring with one of the administrator's wives (who was actually a babysitter for us a million years ago, but that's not relevant at the moment) all because they said she posted two photos on her Instagram that they deemed inappropriate. Predictably, I absolutely lost it on their sanctimonious pile of bullshit. They do not get to own Christianity and modesty standards. The Bible does not say "thou shalt not wear low cut tops." And of course they threw in a line about how horrible it would be if one of her male classmates saw the photos, which just absolutely made my skin crawl because the double standard in place is beyond ridiculous. These boys are going to the mall where there's a giant blow up of an almost naked Victoria's Secret model on the front of the store, but when it comes to a female classmate suddenly they can't held accountable for their

...apparently my paragraph was too long for new Tumblr. That's obnoxious. But they can't be held accountable for their actions and the blame lies squarely at the feet of the girl? Would they ever send that email to a male student for posting photos on social media with his shirt off or in other revealing clothing? Of course not. Fortunately my dad is equally infuriated and has no intention of complying with their games, and he's not exactly someone they can ignore, he was on the school board for over 10 years and is still a major presence in the church that runs the school. So hopefully he can knock some sense into them. The other thing with my sister is that my parents FINALLY took her to see the therapist I've been trying to get them to take her to all summer, and I really encouraged her to be totally honest with her and I think she was. She ended up walking out with diagnoses of depression and anxiety, which, while predictable, still makes me sad that I didn't advocate for her more, I could've been pressing my mom all summer to make the appointment but I didn't, and I knew she probably wasn't gonna do it on her own. I hate the fact that she's struggling as she is. And of course all of this just made my dad even more indignant and the school's shenanigans and he is not playing with them. Hopefully at least the therapist will be helpful (I think she really will be, she's awesome, I loved going to her) and figure this out. For me at least it raises some serious nature vs nurture questions given that she's yet another member of our family with a mental health diagnosis. On one hand, our genes regarding mental illness are absolute shit. Grandparents and other relative on both sides of the family had serious mental health issues (my great grandmother on my dad's side had a complete mental breakdown and had to live in an institution for the rest of her life, and my grandpa on my mom's side had crazy narcissistic personality disorder and was involuntarily hospitalized for a good period of time after plotting to kill his third wife with a pair of hedgeclippers. Yeah, like I said, it's bad). On the other hand I know our family environment can be rather dysfunctional and I have no doubt that that was a major factor in my own mental health deterioration. I wonder if I would've had any problems if it was just genetics and no external influences, but I just really don't know. Sigh. Ok, that's enough for tonight. Goodnight guys. Sleep tight.

[recentanimenews]

The Quintessential Quintuplets – 15 – Leaving the Nest

Nino insists Fuutarou take a shower to thoroughly wash off the river, but mostly wanted someone to talk to and break the monotony of her solitary hotel life…plus she felt bad that he looked so depressed! She gets Fuutarou to tell the full story of his encounter with Kyoto Mystery Girl…which lasted far longer than I had originally thought!

Sleep-deprived or not, there’s virtually no way “Rena” was a hallucination, yet remains an baffling enigma. She asks him to tell her about the students he’s tutoring as if she’s not one of them, but then why does she not only look just like one of them, but blushes when he describes them one by one with perfect accuracy?

Rena tells Fuutarou he seems like someone who is “needed” now, and takes her leave, returning his student ID but keeping the photo of them, because, as she says, “they’ll never meet again.” She tosses him a rolled fortune and tells him to open when he’s learned to “accept” himself. When he tries to follow her, he falls out of the boat and into the river.

The story moves Nino to tears, and she assures him “at least one person on this planet” would fall for an “insensitive guy” like him. Right on cue, she notices he’s wearing nothing but a tiny towel and is scandalized…yet can’t help peer through her fingers! Fuu learns she taped his study packet back together and has been working on it.

She apologizes to Fuu for her behavior, but won’t go home and make up with Itsuki, who had never slapped her before. Itsuki, meanwhile, has become way too comfortable at the Uesugi residence for Fuu’s taste. The next day, Fuu shows up at Nino’s hotel again, and she tells him about how she feels like her four sisters flew away from their nest, leaving only her behind—it’s why she keeps her hair the same length it was five years ago.

Fuu tells Nino that you can’t change how people change, but have to accept that change and whatever it brings. One part of Nino’s past she isn’t ready to forget is her brief time with Fuu’s cousin “Kintarou,” so she changes gears by having Fuu arrange for them to meet again.

A classic sitcom scenario then plays out, with Fuu having to spend the day with Nino as Kintarou and answering her phone calls for advice about his “cousin”. He slips up more than once, calling Nino by her first name, letting slip he knows she’s a good cook, then finally telling her he doesn’t care about their exams, but just wants the five of them back together.

Nino doesn’t ever let on that she knows Kintarou is Fuu in disguise until he’s ready to confess. She claims to Fuu at the first-floor café that she thinks Kintarou was about to ask her out. She then holds out her hand to give him a handshake of gratitude, only to pull up his sleeve to reveal the bracelet she just returned to Kintarou.

Whether Nino thinks the previous Kintarou she met was the real one, or she knew Fuu was Kintarou all along isn’t 100% clear, but what is clear as day is her expression of hurt and disappointment, which is the last thing Fuu sees before succumbing to the drug she slipped in his iced coffee. While it was played for laughs when she drugged him in the first season, it hits different here, especially after the heart-to-hearts they’ve had since then.

It’s an abrupt end to the Nino storyline, as she ends up checking out of the hotel, leaving Fuu in the lurch. I do wish he had had the chance to make clear there never was any Kintarou and properly ask for forgiveness, but Nino seems to have made her own ruling on the matter, and so we move on to the other sisters.

After forcing Itsuki to wake up on time (she forgets where she is and thinks Nino is trying waking her), the two of them try to get a bead on Yotsuba’s situation with the track team. Her coach doesn’t care about exams, and is willing to use Yotsuba as long as she lets herself be used…which is always.

Fuu has to resort to running with Yotsuba while quizzing her, ultimately resulting in him tripping over his own feat and into Yotsuba’s caring arms. She uses that as an excuse to get him to stop running. Then we learn Ichika also wants to help her little sister, even going so far as to brush her teeth like she used to do when they were little.

Ichika makes it clear that as the eldest, she wants to be there for Yotsuba and the others, and furthermore, tells Yotsuba it’s okay to quit if she wants. Yotsuba seems to want to quit, but doesn’t think she can, because it would mean causing trouble for the team.

Little does Yotsuba know that Ichika has been on the phone with Fuu and Itsuki throughout their conversation. She tells them she’ll be meeting with the track coach tomorrow. Hopefully the three of them working together can help “free” Yotsuba from a prison of obligation.

As for Miku, she arrives at Nino’s new hotel, having worn Nino’s spare butterfly ribbons to pass as her sister. Fuu had his change to try to bring Nino back into the fold and only got her angry by pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Now it’s time for Miku to have a go!

Episode Three Quintuplet Ranking:

Nino: Not much of a contest here. Nino totally ruled the roost this week. We got Caring Nino, Sensitive Nino, Real-Talk-with-Fuu Nino, Crushing-on-Kintarou Nino, and, most controversially, the return of Criminal Nino. Don’t drug people! Total Points: 14 (1st)

Itsuki: Total Points: 12 (2nd) Not as much screentime as last week, but it’s clear she’s become a capable, productive surrogate member of the Uesugi family, yet is also capable faces like this upon waking up:

Yotsuba: Nice to see number four again! Unfortunately, she’s pretty one-note, with her usual conflict of trying to please too many people. Total Points: 6 (Tied for 4th)

Ichika: That was the most, uh, interesting toothbrushing scene since Nisemonogatari. Glad to see Ichika actively trying to help Yotsuba rather than continuing to float above everything. Total Points: 7 (3rd)

Miku: Yout can’t score points if you don’t show up! Total Points: 6 (Tied for 4th)

Rena (Unranked): The show wants me to think she’s a sixth and separate person, but I still don’t know what to think. I was intrigued by the fact Nino is the only quint to retain her original hair length from five years ago. Could Rena be Nino in disguise, getting back at Fuu for his Kintarou deception? To be continued…

By: sesameacrylic