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murdereraisuha · 8 months

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Classpecting TWST: Heartslabyul

After basically an eternity, I have finally gotten back into the mood for TWST character analysis and classpect. Therefore, I am briefly emerging from my swamp to slap this on the internet before retreating back to my hermit hut.

For everyone who wasn’t here years ago for my previous classpect posts, please check the classpect tag on my blog for more info on what the hell this is. Spoilers for chapter 1, chapter 5, and some personal stories. No knowledge of Homestuck required to read. This post will be using quotes from Kanade Musing’s translation of the original Japanese version of the game.

[Image description: A banner containing a picture of Riddle, the symbol for the rage aspect, and the words “Riddle Rosehearts: Maid of Rage”]

Right off the bat, I can’t think of any 2 aspects that could fit Riddle better than rage or doom, which both have to do with limits/rules. Rage focuses on stubbornness and “no,” while doom focuses on systems and caution. To me, the distinction between the two seems to be like personal vs universal. Anyway, Riddle’s strict self-discipline and adherence to the rules obviously relates to one of those aspects.

How exactly does the concept of limits/rules factor into his personal growth? The conflict in chapter 1 revolves around Riddle going ridiculously far with enforcing the rules in his dorm. From Trey and the post-overblot flashback, we learn that Riddle’s behavior stems from his mother being extremely controlling and teaching her son to value the rules & success over his desires & happiness. At the end of the chapter, Riddle apologizes to the dorm and becomes more lenient with enforcing the rules.

Ah yes, the good old days of less than 30 episodes a chapter. This is a refreshingly straightforward story compared to basically everyone else, which means that I’ve already narrowed it down to 2 classpects: maid of rage or maid of doom.

Maids, the active creation class, make their aspect, as shown by Riddle enforcing the rules amongst his dorm. In terms of their personal journey, a maid is first controlled by and reliant on their aspect. Their moment of development comes when they rebel against their aspect and finally claim it for themself. For Riddle, he is first controlled by the rules, like when he has to throw away the tart Ace made when he actually wanted to eat it. However, in the end, he rebels against his mother’s teachings and starts thinking about how he can work towards his own goals rather than blindly upholding the rules.

The question now is whether Riddle’s aspect is rage or doom. After some thought, I believe that rage suits him better. First of all, rage deals with negative emotions like hate and fear. Those emotions characterize the interactions we see between Riddle and his mother, from her vehemently declaring that sweets are poison, to her outrage at Riddle hanging out with Trey and Chenya. You can also see it in Riddle in his destructive anger and his despair at not having friends.

Secondly, rage deals with refusal and denial. It is the opposite of hope, the aspect of belief. Prior to and during his overblot, Riddle stubbornly denies that he is wrong. Just look at these lines from episodes 1-23 and 1-24:

Riddle: Are you saying that I’m wrong, too? Even after I did my best to protect all those strict rules?! Even after I’ve endured so, so, so many things! I won’t… I will never… I will never believe it!!!!!

Riddle: HAHAHAHAHAHA!! I do not need anyone who defies me in my world. I am my world’s absolute ruler. My world itself submits to me! I will not tolerate any answer aside from, “Yes, Lord Riddle.”!! It’s off with the heads of everyone who defies me! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!

Riddle: I’m the only one who’s always right!! If not, then all that I’ve worked for was…!!

Doom, which deals with caution, death, and acceptance, does not seem nearly as relevant to Riddle’s personality and struggles as rage is. Therefore, Riddle is most likely a maid of rage.

[Image description: A banner containing a picture of Trey, the symbol for the mind aspect, and the words “Trey Clover: Heir of Mind”]

I’m gonna start out with some pieces of dialogue from episode 1-17

Cater: Are you really okay with this…?

Trey: ……….. There’s nothing I can really do…

and episode 1-19

Trey: … I understand why you’d think of him as a tyrant, and I understand that the way he does things is a little wrong, too. But, I… I still can’t find it in myself to go against him at all.

Ace: ………. Now that I know more, I understand completely now. The reason why Prefect Riddle is like that… It’s all your fault…

Ace: If you think that the Prefect’s making the same mistakes as his parents, then tell him directly. Fix your mistakes. What’s gonna happen to him if you just feel sorry and spoil him? So you’re just gonna watch everyone hate him and alienate him from a distance?

I feel like these lines encapsulate Trey’s problem in this chapter. He knows why Riddle acts the way he does and he knows that what Riddle is doing is wrong, but Trey hasn’t done anything to fix it. Therefore, in terms of Trey’s classpect, I currently believe that the class that fits him best is seer.

Seers, the passive knowledge class, invite understanding of their aspect and through their aspect. For Trey, in chapter 1 he provides the 1st years with knowledge on apologizing to Riddle and Riddle’s upbringing. Also, a seer’s main problem is their struggle to understand and use the information that they have. In Trey’s case, he doesn’t know how to handle the situation with Riddle, so he ends up just giving advice to the rule breakers instead of actually confronting Riddle.

Now, we need to do some more investigation to figure out what aspect he is.

Trey has a obsession with dental care because his parents, who work as bakers, did not want all the sugary treats he grew up with to negatively impact his health.

Trey has many younger siblings and he often treats his dormmates like younger siblings too.

Despite how Trey’s brotherly behavior suggests a romantic and selfless outlook on things, he can actually adopt a rather practical and self-serving attitude as shown in his lab coat and dorm outfit personal stories.

Also in his dorm outfit personal story, Trey lets the other students try and utterly fail at making cakes to teach them how difficult baking really is instead of just telling them that their cake requests are unreasonable.

Trey is perceptive and was able to figure out that Cater dislikes sweets by observing him.

Trey’s unique magic, “Doodle Suit,” overwrites qualities (ex. taste, unique magic, color) of things or people with something else.

Going back to Trey being a seer, what exactly does he know and invite understanding of? Trey holds knowledge about Riddle, baking, dental care, Cater’s dislikes, and dealing with siblings. How the hell do all these things relate to each other?

Actually, hold on. Is he a seer? Cause I’m realizing now that he could also be a sylph, the passive creation class. Sylphs are typically known for getting involved in others’ business and fixing what they think needs to be fixed. For Trey, he offers advice to the 1st years, he tries to calm Riddle when he’s angry, he makes sure Unbirthday Party preparations stay on track, and he tries to enforce good brushing habits in the rest of his dorm. Giving up on fixing the Riddle situation might just be him failing as a sylph.

I’m kind of stuck there now, let’s consider aspect for a bit. Though his unique magic does relate to space, I don’t think his aspect is space, time, light, or void. Whatever his class is, it seems to mostly relate to concepts like harmony and healthiness. Therefore, the 2 main aspects I’m considering are heart and life,

Life would relate to his nurturing nature, his concern for dental health, and his relationship with food/baked goods. Heart would relate to his management of others’ emotions, his unique magic which basically alters the identity of something, and his turmoil with the Riddle situation relating to their relationship with each other. Now that I’ve listed these out, I’m gonna say that his aspect fits closer with heart due to that relating better to important things as well as the pun there with Riddle’s name being Rosehearts.

However, it is also important to consider the opposite aspect of mind. The thing is, about half of this post was written more than 2 years ago. Back then, I ended up putting Trey as seer of heart. However, looking back, I really don’t feel like that fits with my current understanding of his character. So, I am going to argue against my past self’s reasoning now.

Trey’s relationship with Riddle is indeed a big part of his character, and the events of the main story did induce some character development in Trey. However, Trey is his own person who is not defined by Riddle and who has his own problems and areas for personal improvement outside of Riddle.

What his own problems are can be seen in his personal stories and his appearances in event stories. A recurring theme with Trey is how he stubbornly denies that he is anything more than average. In his gym uniform story, he deliberately tries to get average grades in flying class, then proceeds to pull off maneuvers in an emergency that has Vargas praising him. In the port fest event, he makes an excellent chowder for the class’s booth, and then brushes off the others’ praise for it. In the 2nd Vargas Camp event, he comes up with a successful strategy for defeating the monster (Vargas) and then, again, brushes off the others’ praise for it.

So many of his efforts go towards blending in and hiding his true capabilities. Going back to chapter 1 of the main story, his main problem is that he hides what he is truly thinking about Riddle. Together with stuff from the bullet points up there like his “practical and self serving attitude”, I don’t think this behavior is something to do with what his class is like my past self did, but I think this is a symptom of his aspect being mind.

Now, after looking at the possible classes to pair with that, I believe that Trey’s classpect is heir of mind. Heir, the passive manipulation class, really seems to fit Trey. Trey seems to naturally default to putting up a mask, since he is often misinterpreted by other characters to be more caring about others than he actually is. He has a goal of not standing out and getting into trouble, and he does stuff like aim for average grades and shy away from going against Riddle as an extension of this goal. These two things seem to be examples of him being embroiled in or manipulated by “mind”, as an heir of it.

Then, as shown in his Starsending Robes personal story where he convinces Riddle to get the dorm a food processor that it doesn’t really need or his ceremony robes story where he successfully stalls Riddle while Cater fixes the roses at the dorm, he is great at getting what he wants through manipulation, but it is not very focused/deliberate like active manipulation would be. He did not make a premeditated plan to talk Riddle into getting a food processor for the dorm, but he happened to stumble on Cater and other students struggling in the kitchen and took the opportunity to bring up a food processor in conversation. In fact, Cater and the other students join in the conversation to back Trey’s sales pitch up without even knowing Trey’s true thoughts on the matter, which seems like a obvious example of inviting manipulation of mind. Therefore, I’m pretty sure that Trey is a heir of mind.

[Image description: A banner containing a picture of Cater, the symbol for the heart aspect, and the words “Cater Diamond: Bard of Heart”]

First, here’s a link to my Cater analysis, which contains my evidence and reasoning for my interpretation of Cater. You only need to read it if you’re curious about how I came up with this summary of him:

Cater’s puts up a constant happy façade to hide his inner sadness. He blends in with the crowd by following the latest trends and acting like a peppy cheerleader towards others. Because of family issues and constantly having to move, he has built up a strong resistance towards trusting others or forming close bonds with others.

Based on his deception, his blending in, and his unique magic “Split Card” which basically allows him to fragment himself, Cater’s aspect is most likely mind or heart. Mind deals with apathy, conformity, and masks, while heart deals with emotion, showing off, and identity.

For classes, I’m going to eliminate page, sylph, and the theft classes cause those don’t seem relevant. I don’t think he really rebels against anything so witch is also out, and the way his personality was shaped by nurture instead of nature doesn’t make heir seem likely either. Finally, though he puts up a mask, it’s more of a way to avoid attachment than hide insecurities so he’s probably not a knight. The remaining options are mage, seer, prince, bard, and maid.

Pairing those up with aspects (and also throwing out seer in the process) leaves us with mage of mind, prince of heart, bard of heart, and maid of mind.

I think the best way to decide between these 4 classpects is to focus on what Cater’s biggest problems are and how he as a person would change when those are resolved.

First, I feel like one of his biggest problems is how he pushes others away. He hides the depressed mandrakes he made in his lab coat personal story, and it is Trey who has to deduce that Cater doesn’t like sweet food rather than Cater telling him that. Second, the other big problem he has is how he not only refuses to acknowledge his problems to others, but also to himself. Even when he is completely alone, like at the end of his ceremony robes story, he still insists on maintaining his happy, life of the party persona.

The natural resolution to these problems would for him to be more truthful with others and to himself, revealing his “heart” and reducing his reliance on his masks, his “mind”. The resolution to his personal journey is really not a change in his relationship to “mind” but a distancing from “mind” and towards “heart”.

Therefore, I think that his true aspect is heart, and his specific classpect is bard of heart. I feel like the way that he lies to himself about his feelings and his overall laid-back nature aligns more with the passive destruction that a bard brings about than the active, focused destruction of a prince. With no other options remaining, I’m locking in my final answer for Cater as bard of heart.

[Image description: A banner containing a picture of Deuce, the symbol for the hope aspect, and the words “Deuce Spade: Heir of Hope”]

Deuce is a very earnest and “act first, think later” kind of guy. Though he is hard working, his enthusiasm and naivety can lead to him go about things in not very thought out ways, which makes me think of him as having an opposite attitude to the lazy but calculating Leona.

An issue he is very conscious of is how he is quick to anger and get into fights, which is what led to him being a delinquent in the past. Now in high school, he is trying his best to change his ways and be an honors student out of a desire to help instead of hurt his mother.

He is pretty hard on himself about this, but in chapter 5, Rook and Kalim help him see that his approach to things isn’t necessarily bad, leading to him accepting himself and developing his unique magic during the overblot fight.

Overall, his personal journey and character development seem to really revolve around the concept of going with your instinct versus strategizing. However, it doesn’t seem to be in the heart/mind way which is focused on rationality and expressing or hiding one’s true self. Instead, Deuce’s behavior comes more from an drive to get things done and push forward towards his goals regardless of what stands in his way and what others may consider unrealistic odds. His unique magic, “Bet the Limit”, is all about taking a bad situation where facing down someone who is stronger than him and is winning and flipping it on it’s head by retaliating with an even stronger version of the magic they’ve used against him.

Therefore, I believe he is strongly involved with the hope and rage aspects, with the hope aspect being the most likely of the two, so I am going to proceed with the hope aspect for now

So, for classes, the main thing we have to consider is how Deuce interacts with Hope. His personal journey is basically first he rejects hope because it caused him anguish because of his mother, then he realizes how he can use hope in a good way and accepts it. However, I do not think his relationship with hope was really destructive. Unlike someone like Cater who buries his “heart” as far down as he can, Deuce still does things based on hope. He acts according to his ideals and instincts, he’s just ashamed of it afterwards. Therefore, I don’t think Deuce is a prince or bard.

Therefore, I think one good possibility is heir. Like an heir would, Deuce naturally connects with core parts of the hope aspect such as trust and “doing” rather than “stopping”. His unique magic is based so much on his intuition that after he uses it he isn’t even sure how to do it again, which seems quite heir-like. Connecting his class to his personal journey, his challenge was to redefine his relationship with hope into a more healthy one instead of letting it pull him down bad roads like his delinquency, which kind of seems to fit with heir based on what tiny bits of memory I still have left of John Egbert’s character development in Homestuck.

I’m not 100% sure about that though, so another possibility is seer. As the passive knowledge class, the challenge of the seer is to reach a better understanding of what their aspect is and figure out what the right path to follow. This looks somewhat similar to Deuce’s case, but after some thought I don’t think seer fits. After figuring out the course of action to take, a seer tells others about it instead of taking action themselves, and Deuce is the only one here doing stuff with his hope. I don’t think Deuce is a seer or even a mage, because understanding/comprehension doesn’t seem to be a major thing with him.

Deuce could be a page. However, the problem is that he didn’t try to be better at hope or anything like that, he avoided hope. His behavior just doesn’t mesh with a page’s. Deuce could also be a rogue. He does struggle with owning his spontaneity/hope, but he never does any giving of it to others. Finally, going over the rage aspect and possible class pairs with that, nothing seems to really match up given how hope-based Deuce’s final character development and unique magic is.

So, in the end, the best fit I can think of for Deuce is heir of hope.

[Image description: A banner containing a picture of Ace, the symbol for the breath aspect, and the words “Ace Trappola: Sylph of Breath”]

In contrast to Deuce’s honesty, sense of duty, and occasional naivety, Ace is shrewd, independent, and has a talent for deception.

Ace often looks for the most efficient, corner cutting way to do things, such as in the 2nd part of his dorm uniform personal story where he decides to focus his rose painting efforts on the ones that are most in view.

One of his hobbies is doing magic/card tricks.

Though Ace puts himself first a lot, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about others at all.

Ace is not afraid to call people out if he thinks they’re being unfair or doing something harmful, such as in the dialogue I quoted in Trey’s section in this post.

Though Ace insists they he just hangs out with Deuce, Grim, and the player character out of pity, he shows a lot of care for them, such as in chapter 4 when he makes the long trip back to NRC because of the distress call the player sends when they’re held captive in Scarabia. Ace’s Halloween costume personal story is specifically about Lilia and Malleus commenting on how much Ace cares about his friends, complete with flashback scenes of stuff like Ace giving up his omelette at lunch to stop Deuce and Grim fighting over Deuce’s omelette.

Another cute example of how Ace acts aloof is in his dorm uniform story, when the hedgehogs go missing. At first Ace just tries to find the hedgehogs quick so Riddle won’t punish him for forgetting to lock the cages. However, once he actually starts to worry about if he can get the hedgehogs back, his mind automatically goes to how distressed Riddle was about the hedgehogs. He starts begging the hedgehogs to come back with him because Riddle will be really worried otherwise, even though Ace had previously made fun of another student for talking to the hedgehogs since they can’t understand human language.

According to the wiki.gg Twisted Wonderland wiki, throughout the main story, Ace apparently shows a talent for wind magic.

Given these facts, the first thing I want to consider for him is the breath aspect. Though his occasional contrarian attitude could look like witch-like behavior, given other parts of his character, I feel like it is more a manifestation of his aspect rather than his class. He insults people and expresses unpopular opinions as an assertion of his freedom and lack of attachment to others. Therefore, compared to other aspects, breath (and its opposite, blood) seems like the most relevant one here.

Now, to figure out what his relationship to breath might be. I’m just gonna copy paste this dialogue down here too cause I think it’s a good example of how Ace operates.

Trey: … I understand why you’d think of him as a tyrant, and I understand that the way he does things is a little wrong, too. But, I… I still can’t find it in myself to go against him at all.

Ace: ………. Now that I know more, I understand completely now. The reason why Prefect Riddle is like that… It’s all your fault…

After hearing about Trey and Riddle’s situation, Ace is able to quickly figure out what the essence of the problem with Trey and Riddle’s relationship may be, figure out what should be done to solve the problem, and succinctly communicate that to Trey. This ability immediately makes me think of the knowledge classes (mage & seer) or sylph.

What’s also interesting about this is the exact advice Ace is giving. Looking at this while thinking of the breath and blood aspects, what Ace is saying can be interpreted as him telling Trey that he is too restricted by his feelings for Riddle, (aka blood) to tell Riddle what he needs to know, so Trey needs to make the hard decision to step back (aka move towards breath) and confront Riddle.

Based on this, I think that Ace’s tendency to call people out for stuff is a result of him being a sylph. As the passive creation class, sylphs are known for meddling in other people’s matters and “healing” any lack of their aspect. For example, this advice that Ace gives Trey can be seen as an example of Ace “healing breath” by trying to introduce more objectivity to Trey and Riddle’s relationship, which in this context means more breath.

His feigned apathy towards his friends and the feelings of others ties into how a sylph can have a very fixed interpretation of their aspect, which can lead to problems when others challenge that interpretation. Ace seems to view attachments to others in general as something negative. Not just concrete relationships like friendships and romance, but also simple empathy and care, like that which the random student in Ace’s dorm uniform personal story shows to the hedgehogs when he babytalks to them. In the story, Ace pointedly notes that the hedgehogs can’t understand them, discouraging the guy from talking to the hedgehogs. This is an example of Ace going too far as a sylph and micromanaging breath here to an unnecessary extent. Therefore, Ace’s challenge is to learn when to limit his pursuit of freedom and recognize that some personal connections are alright to have.

The idea of Ace being a sylph of breath really felt right to me, so there is a decent probability that something else that I didn’t notice fits him better, but I’m gonna go with the ~vibes~ and settle on sylph of breath.

It was close, but basketball club didn’t end up as blood club. It’s just blood-and-breath club now I guess. Freshman breath player gets bullied by a pair of sophomore blood players. Hah.

Anyway, bye.

#twst #twisted wonderland #classpect #heartslabyul #riddle rosehearts #trey clover #cater diamond #deuce spade #ace trappola #homestuck #twst analysis #I would like to apologize for the banner colors idk anything about graphic design

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xaharadesert · 10 months

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Greetings! I'm rereading your headcanons for the Arcana, and they're all very well-written and interesting. I wonder, do you have any ideas about how MC and Asra grew close and started a romantic relationship before the plague? No pressure if you don't feel like answering.

Hello!! I’m so glad you enjoy my headcanons :) even if I don’t write as much as I used to, I’m proud of my work. Based on your message, I wasn’t sure if you were asking for headcanons or just my thoughts, so I’m going with the latter, but feel free to submit another request if it was actually the first one!

So, as usual, I’m gonna add a little disclaimer stating that I haven’t played the game in a very long time, and can’t really remember what’s canon vs fanon, so forgive me if I say something that’s just blatantly wrong. Also, I’m referring to Asra using he/him just to differentiate them from the MC, who I’m referring to with they/them, and I am aware that Asra uses he/they.

Anyway, the game itself gives us very little to work with in terms of MC’s backstory with Asra (obviously so people can fill it in how they please), but I do believe that it’s canon that the shop used to belong to MC’s aunt?

In my mind, I always imagined that MC’s aunt was a semi-well-known magic user, and MC left their home to study with her and learn magic and such. They probably worked at the shop as well, since they lived there and it would be a bit rude not to help out.

Now, this is where I’m essentially just making things up: I believe that Asra and MC bumped into each other a lot without ever really having a proper introduction in the first few months. I’m not sure if there’s any indication about what Asra was doing after his parents disappeared, but I’m like 90% certain he was just homeless and making money by running errands or doing tricks/small spells/tarot readings for people. So, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to say that they casually saw each other around when MC was exploring or running errands for their aunt.

When it comes to a proper introduction, my mind is split between a cliché meet-cute where they literally run into each other, a curious MC seeking out Asra because they think he’s mysterious and therefore must find answers, or MC’s aunt hiring Asra as part-time help. Either way, it definitely starts as a casual friendship between two magic users who feel a little out of place, with Asra absolutely working at or spending a lot of time at the shop.

Over time, I think the two would naturally grow closer as they harness their magical abilities together. Asra has found a place that feels like home, and MC has found their first close friend in a new country. I think it would be a little co-dependent from the start, given Asra’s unfortunate circumstances, and MC becoming the owner of their aunt’s shop (it’s never confirmed, but personally I believe that the aunt died and left a young mc to take over).

At some point, after the aunt was gone, Asra would move into the shop (it’s practical, even if it’s only platonic, since he works there and MC is probably a little lonely), and while things might not be completely romantic, feelings are probably developing. I always imagined MC and Asra to be around the same age, so they’re probably young adults at this point, and still figuring things out, but they know that they want to be together in some way.

I don’t think there’s a clear line that can be drawn between “before” they loved each other romantically and “after”. Like, yeah, there’s a first kiss, but it doesn’t feel like a giant momentous moment, it’s just a casual action that feels completely natural. Neither of them probably even process it as the first time, and wouldn’t remember it later, because it just fits. And if you’re thinking about the first “I love you”, then I hate to disappoint, but I believe they always said it platonically, so neither really registers when it becomes romantic.

At least in my opinion, Asra and MC are the ultimate best friends to lovers, and it happens like a frog in a boiling pot of water. They don’t even realize that they’re in a committed relationship until MC dies and Asra finds them back at square one. Then he’s like “oh fuck how do I recreate 6 years when I don’t even know how it happened?” Falling in love and being with each other every day was as natural to them as breathing, and having that relationship stripped away suddenly must have felt like being dropped into ice water.

Anyway, those are my basic thoughts! Not very detailed, because, really, there is no canon backstory! This isn’t even what I use for my OC MC, it’s just the vibes I picked up when I first played through :) let me know what you think, and what you would change! Also please let me know if there are any mistakes, because I typed this all out on my phone at 1am and just kinda rambled without thinking

#the arcana #arcana #the arcana headcanon #the arcana hc #asra alnazar #Asra x mc #Asra alnazar x mc #the arcana asra #Asra arcana

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kamiversee · 10 days

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ミ✰ Please read these before you submit something into my asks as I often receive these questions and answering them repetitively is quite tedious. ✰彡

Am I going to write more fics/bring my other fics from Wattpad here?

Yes and no.

Any fic I’ve previously written that involved a character who is a minor but I aged them up for the purpose of the story, I will not rewrite or bring here as I no longer write anything for minors, regardless of aging them up.

That being said, I do plan to take those plots and repurpose them with characters that are 18+.

Will I write for fandoms outside of JJK?

It truly depends on how into a show I am in order for me to write for another fandom but as of now, the only thing outside of JJK I write fics for is Blue Lock & even then I only write for characters who are 18+.

Am I ever going to return to Wattpad?

Probably not. I’ve had issues on that platform throughout three different accounts and it was more stressful than I ever let on.

So, no, I doubt I’ll be returning & in the slim chance I do, I would take the stories I upload on Tumblr, remove the smut, & then upload onto wp.

Will TFL have a sequel? & if so, how many chapters?

Yes. But please note that this (includes TFL spoilers) is how the sequel should be viewed as.

As such, if you like the official ending of TFL, do not read the sequel & then proceed to complain to me about the storyline or what happens.

Lastly, I don’t know how many chapters — I usually don’t plan a number so please stop asking me… 🙏

How many other fics do I plan on bringing here?

A lot. No seriously, I have a minimum of ten other stories that are planned out– half of which already have at least one or two unpublished chapters written.

On that note, here’s a list of things I have planned;

Cowboy!Gojo x reader. [Western AU]

Sukuna vs Gojo x reader. [College AU]

Guitarist!Choso vs Boxer!Sukuna x reader. [College AU]

Geto vs Toji x reader. [College AU]

Vampire JJK men x reader. [Choso, Geto, Gojo, Sukuna, Nanami, & Kashimo. Maybe more later]

Office JJK men x reader. [Nanami, Higuruma, Kusakabe, Shiu, Ino, and maybe Toji]

Not My Neighbor JJK men AU x reader. [Gojo, Choso, Geto, Toji, Sukuna, maybe more.]

Ino x reader. [College AU]

Geto x reader. [College AU]

[Blue Lock] — Shidou vs Sae x reader.

This is in no specific order to when I’ll upload here as I am not sure. Please, for the love of God, do not ask me what I’m brining next, in what order, when, or how many chapters something will have because nine times out of ten, I do not know.

Lastly, this isn’t a question but if it isn’t clear by now; I do not write for minors & I will not age them up, do not ask me to, you will be ignored.

& if you send me a question that’s been answered here, I will ignore it.

#kamiversee!answers #kamiversee #kamiversee!rules

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butwhatifidothis · 3 years

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So if it is MEANT to be a villain route...Why are the villanous actions NEVER ADDRESSED by ANY of the characters outside of "Huh. I wonder if there was a better way to do this."

Why did they have Rhea go insane and torch a city? Why make potray Rhea as a villain when you could potray her as the hero whos genuinely trying to do good? Why have a majority of the characters still be able to be recruited regardless of if it makes sense? Why have the ending narration mostly be possible? WHY have Edelgard succeed and somehow turn her tyranny into a society that "ensures a free and independent society fot all."

If it's REALLY a villain route, why is there not a single character ending mentioning things like rebellions and conflict? Hell, the ending narration shows not a hint of villainy and potrays its ending as heroic.

"Embracing her newfound power, Edelgard could at last set about destroying Fódlan's entrenched system of nobility and rebuild a world free from the tyranny of Crests and status."

Again, if it was TRULY meant to be the villain route, it would have been POTRAYED as such. Instead of a villain route, we got "A route where one of the villains is made the protagonist and her views and villainous actions are never questioned OR addressed and outside of the conquest and starting the war, everyone is mostly happy."

Alright so this is going to seem like a nonserious answer, but I'm 100% serious when posting this image as part of a genuine answer to this question:

On CF, your actions are never addressed because of ignorance. On the surface, your actions seem like they've helped Fodlan, but as soon as the player looks any deeper it starts to become evident that something isn't right.

If Edelgard made a free and independent society for all, why are the people spied on in Hubert's ending with Dorothea? Why are rebellions secretly being put down in his ending with Shamir? That's not free, in a general sense or from specifically tyranny. That's a direct contradiction from two of the characters that can only be played on CF, and this is only found on CF.

Rhea is portrayed as a villain because she is Nabatean, and Edelgard hates Nabateans, and you are playing a route that emphasizes her ideals - which include wiping out all of the inhuman, bestial, vile, cruel Nabateans that have been plaguing humanity’s world. Rhea goes insane on CF because unlike all of the other routes, where the player and the lord never go out of their way to trample and spit on their enemies' trauma, that's what you are doing the entire time you play CF to Rhea - for months once Byleth returns, and that’s being extremely generous and not counting the entire war. You help drive Rhea and the other Nabateans away from their homes when taking over Garreg Mach - like Nemesis did to Rhea after the Red Canyon Massacre! You're helping someone try to kill off the rest of her people - like Nemesis did at Zanado! You're trying to kill Rhea with the Sword of the Creator, her mother's mutilated corpse - like Nemesis did! You're doing so with the descendent of Wilheim - spitting on the legacy of the one human Rhea could trust during the War of Heroes! You're literally recreating the single worst moment of Rhea's life, all so that you can help the one who views her as less than human.

Portraying Rhea as "the hero who's genuinely trying to do good" goes against Edelgard's viewpoint of all Nabateans being evil, and you're never meant to question Edelgard or make her change her beliefs. You as the player are actively discouraged from talking back to Edelgard, as she will noticeably get upset whenever you do - many times you will even lose support points with her, and this is especially bad for specifically Edelgard because you have to get to a certain support level with her to enter her route, with you having less chapters to do so because she won't talk to you until after Byleth achieves the Sword of the Creator in Chapter 4.

Look at how Rhea, Dimitri, and Claude are portrayed on CF. Rhea and Dimitri are demonized, while Claude is given some leeway from Edelgard. Now notice who of the three of them always speak their minds over Edelgard's villainy to her face, and which of the three of them bends to Edelgard's view of them as the bad guy. Dimitri and Rhea never allow themselves to bend to Edelgard - they call her out and call her actions evil. Claude, on the other hand, will remove himself from Fodlan and then afterwards make himself out to be a bad guy whom Edelgard managed to take down. He puffs up her ego, and he gets to live, while the two that don't must die. Edelgard is the one always out for the kill, and only by submitting to her is anyone allowed to live - which, I don’t think needs to be said, isn’t very heroic of her.

I've had my fair share of complaints over the characters that can be recruited over to CF, but even with those complaints... look at how those characters behave on CF. None of them are Felix levels of negative character development, but they all act noticeably worse on CF vs how they are on the other routes. To name some notable examples: Ignatz goes from wanting to paint Garreg Mach as it stood five years before to preserve its beauty to wanting to paint the violent downfall of the Alliance, Lysithea wants to abandon House Ordelia, which is in direct contrast to her core character motivation, Ingrid is willing to throw away her lifelong dream of being a knight of Faerghus, which she herself says is her spitting on her dead betrothed’s dreams, Leonie works with Jeralt’s killers, etc. etc.. And mind, CF is the route that locks out the most units - there's the obvious ones like Dedue and Gilbert who were already route exclusive, but then there's Seteth and Flayn, Catherine, Cyril, and Hilda. CF is the only route to have even non-exclusive units be completely unavailable no matter what.

Edelgard doesn't make a society that is "free," like I said above - having a secret police monitor the people's actions, or is ready to put down anyone who tries to rise up against her, is literally the opposite of free. Edelgard can and will ban plays she doesn't like - not free. Edelgard only allows state-sanctioned religion, if she does allow it - not free.

CF is a route that wants to make the player believe the lie that you're not the villain, because you are playing from the perspective of someone who herself doesn't think she's the villain, but like. Look at what you're doing. You're invading two countries for the express, explicit purpose of taking them over and making them your own. You're working with someone who's been trying to reunite Fodlan back under Adrestia as early as the prologue when she tried to have Dimitri and Claude assassinated. You're helping TWS. Your Imperial presence makes Church people flee - which, given that Edelgard wants Rhea and those involved with the Church dead, I don't blame them. You're working with someone who is starving her people so that she can carry on with her war.

CF lies to the player - Edelgard lies, constantly. She says she's willing to let Rhea live, but literally the scene before she says she seeks to fuckin' Exodia Rhea. She lies about Arianrhod. She lies - or is flat-out wrong, which isn't much better - about the Church hoarding wealth and about the Church splitting up the Empire. She lies about not knowing about TWS pre-ts. She helps spread the lie of Duscur being the ones who killed Lambert. She lied about not knowing where Flayn was when she was kidnapped. She lies to her people by making them believe she’s making the orders during the war, not Byleth. There's a student who doubts all of what Edelgard says right before the timeskip happens and who isn't sure about his decision to stay, and then there’s a man who calls Edelgard “a tricksy one” on the last explore section for lying about attacking the Kingdom capitol. She’s wrong about the history of Nemesis and Seiros, calling Nemesis killing all of Rhea’s family a “simple dispute.” She lies to her people about an entire war against a group who just a little bit ago were her allies. Lies and ignorance are staple points to CF as a route, it’s baked into it, so the idea of the CF going “oh no you totally are the good guys” literally as the city burns down around the players doesn’t come from nowhere.

And like... the ending narration “shows not a hint of villainy?” Um.

Her stepping on the flags of the Alliance and Church? Her recreating a painting of Napoleon - that little known imperialist - down to the hand of justice? Her denouncing gods constantly and then being ushered in by a statue with heavy resemblance to Nike, Goddess of victory? Hubert plotting away from the sight of the rejoicing people? Yeah, there’s a lot of hints to villainy.

Again, CF isn’t “portrayed” as a villain route because it’s you falling for the lies of Edelgard. You have a wool over your eyes. You accept everything Edelgard says as fact, even when she actively contradicts herself - sometimes as radically as in back-to-back scenes. You view yourself as a savior to humanity, even when you plunge it into darkness. You don’t think you’re the villain, so your actions aren’t going to be put in an explicitly villainous light - at least, not by anyone on your side.

This post showcases the difference between non-recruited characters fighting non-CF!Byleth vs CF!Byleth. Characters are mostly saddened by having to fight Byleth in the former, while they are mostly betrayed on CF. Byleth is very clearly seen as being wrong for having sided with Edelgard on CF by the non-recruited characters - Edelgard’s actions may not be directly criticized (save for by Dimitri and a few others), but it makes no sense for these characters to be this shocked and betrayed by Byleth siding with her if her actions were so good. Leonie deadass calls you a traitor to Jeralt, Ingrid says that you are not fit to rule Fodlan specifically for siding with Edelgard and the Empire after all she and they have done, and Dimitri questions you as to why you chose Edelgard and her “savage, bloody path,” just to name a few notable examples. You, as the player, are being criticized for siding with Edelgard. You say that the villainous actions are “NEVER ADDRESSED by ANY of the characters,” but what else are these reactions but characters addressing your villainous actions?

And like... “a route where one of the villains is the protagonist” bro that’s a villain route. Like. I’m not trying to be mean, but I am genuinely confused as to what you were trying to get at here.

Like. In a vacuum? I might can get the idea of CF not being a villain route a little better, were it the only route available (though even that is a very big stretch). But you have three whole other routes where there’s no conquest, there’s no working with TWS, there’s no using Demonic Beasts, there’s no killing/exiling the remaining (immediately known) Nabateans, there’s no continuous and long-standing lies that never get outed, the lords never stay flat out wrong about the events of the game, non-recruited characters aren’t shooting Byleth up the ass with accusations of being a traitorous lemming who’d follow Edelgard off a cliff... and they achieve peace. Those endings, with Dimitri Claude and “Rhea” (SS ain’t really her route even though it should’ve been but ye), lack the following in any of their endings:

Censorship

Spying on the people

Constantly putting down rebels in secret

State-sanctioned religion

(mind, this last one is in direct contradiction to CF’s ending narration that says that Church is destroyed)

None of this happens on AM, VW, and SS. They all have peaceful endings. They all have Fodlan see the light of dawn, and that is never contradicted in their endings. CF is the only route to have all of these things happen in it - I think that’s enough for it to be considered a villain route lol

#ask #anon #anti edelgard #Anti-edelgard #Edelgard discourse #Edelgard critical #just to be safe #Again really hope I don't come across badly and I'm sorry if I do!#like. I do see where you're coming from! A lot of times villain routes acknowledge you to be the big bad meanie bobeenie!#at least more directly than CF does - because CF does! Through the non-recrutied characters and through the subtext!#sure you can miss out on the former if you manage to recruit everyone but the latter is always present!#Fodlan is in a noticeably worse state in CF than on the other routes and you are actively questioned as to why you joined [lord's] side #by some of the characters you CAN'T recruit (Dimitri; Catherine)#which doesn't happen on the other routes - the other character just wish that Byleth chose them or don't want to fight Byleth #plus there's all of the actions you commit/are complicit in on CF vs the other routes #it just isn't flat out in your face with it because like... Edelgard doesn't view herself as the villain. A Byleth who chose to walk with #her doesn't view her as the villain - even while knowing all oft he heinous shit she's been a part of #so if Edelgard doesn't view herself as the villain and this Byleth doesn't view her as the villain and everyone trusts Byleth's word #who on your side is going to call you out?#hope I'm making sense!

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haikyuucute · 4 years

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Aaa I’m in love with your Alpha!Ushijima AU — could you possibly do a scenario where orange omega is blatantly being rebellious towards Ushijima and just won’t listen to him which ultimately results in her being put in her place?

Can be smutty or not!! Thanks so much for writing these it’s one of my favourite universes aaa 💜

Lolol if you give me the option to write smut, I’m ALWAYS gonna write smut😈. And np! It’s one of my fav au’s too so I’m happy to deliver❤️

A/N: For those of you who don’t know, this is a request based off my Omegaverse series “Untamable” which you can find on my masterlist!

Warnings: violence, mentions of blood, predator vs prey type smut, bondage, spanking, edging, choking, unprotected sex, creampie, D/s dynamics, brat taming.... I think that’s it, please let me know if I missed one!

Word Count: 2k (yeah... this one kinda got away from me)

Rebellious (Alpha!Ushijima x Omega!Reader)

Ushijima sat in the library where he was supposed to be studying, but instead had abandoned his work to rewatch the volleyball game playing on his phone.

“Um— Ushijima-san?”

He stopped, looking up at the small male omega that had interrupted him.

He raised an eyebrow, ”What?”

The omega jumped, Ushijima’s voice startling him, “I— sorry. But um, you’re mate? She’s the one that smells like citrus, right?”

Ushijima already felt the oncoming dread wash over him, ‘What did she do this time?’.

”Yes,” he said with a nod.

”Well uh- she’s kinda attacking one of my friends and no one can get her off— n-not even any of the alphas that are there right now.”

Ushijima sweatdropped, “Show me where she is.”

It was a mess— this by far, had to be the worst fight he’d ever caught you in.

You were kneeling on the back of another omega, your hand pulling her head back by her hair, a bloody nose making her face messy, while you continued to shout at her to apologize for something or other.

Alphas, betas, and omegas stood around uselessly as they watched the scene in horror, many of them with their phones out recording everything.

Ushijima’s eyes widened in panic, ”Omega!” His voice boomed, catching everyone’s attention as he pushed past the crowd, “Get off her. Now.”

All the omegas in the crowd had grown silent at his alpha tone— all of them except you.

”Fuck off,” you spat back at him, before turning your attention back to the omega under you.

”Get off me!” She sobbed as fat tears rolled down her face, “It hurts!”

”Not until you fucking apologize,” you hissed back at her, tugging harshly on her hair and making her yelp.

The next second Ushijima’s arms were around you, but he couldn’t pull you off due to the grip you had on her hair.

”Let go of her,” He commanded.

”No!” You shrieked, “Not until she apologizes!”

He had no idea as to what had gotten into you— you had never acted this way before. Ever since you two became mates, it was difficult for you to not obey his commands. When he’d pull you from fights, you never resisted this much.

His eyes widened as a sharp pain spread throughout his wrist, and he looked down at you in complete shock.

You bit him.

Red trickled down his wrist as the metallic taste spread throughout your mouth.

”Let go of me Alpha.”

Oh?

So that’s how you were going to act with him.

Ushijima was a patient man but this?

This was out of the question.

If you thought you could get away with not listening to him, biting, and telling him what to do, you couldn’t have been more wrong.

The crowd watched with bated breath as a much more terrifying presence filled the hallway, his scent dominating every single persons’.

He unwrapped an arm around your torso and weaved it into your hair and pulled back harshly, making you yelp.

And that’s when he noticed how the pupils of your eyes were blown out.

You were feral.

”I’m going to tell you one more time, Omega. Let go.”

You clenched your jaw, stared straight in his eye, and tightened your grip, earning you another pained shout from her.

Reflexively, his hand reached out for your wrist, his painful grip immediately making you hiss and drop her hair.

He hadn’t wasted a second more before picking you up off the girl, with you kicking and screaming in his hold.

The omega immediately scrambled away, sobbing as she ran to the little male omega that had went to Ushijima in the first place.

Ushijima’s eyes landed on them, his hold tightening on your wriggling form, “I apologize for my Omegas behavior.”

With that he was heading down the hallway with you in his arms, everyone watching in stunned silence after the two of you.

Your scent was wild and he questioned why he hadn’t noticed you had gone feral earlier. And with your strong scent mixing with his pissed off one, it was enough to evacuate the entire dorm building.

The door slammed behind Ushijima as he had finally stepped into his dorm. He dropped you onto his bed and you immediately tried to get up and run away but he was on top of you and had you pinned within seconds.

“Behave yourself,” he hissed out.

”No— get off of me!”

Your struggling was useless in his strong hold on you.

“You’re an omega. Behave like one or I’ll make you—“

”Then make me-“

You were roughly cut off by Ushijima flipping you onto your stomach, his hand firmly pushing you down as he untied his tie and you continued to struggle.

Next he had been pulling at your hands, which were flailing about and he was tying them together behind your back.

”Let go-“

”No.”

His hands were on your hips, pulling you up harshly and he pushed your skirt back and pulled your panties down in one fluid motion, presenting you for him— if he was going to have to fuck you into submission, then so be it.

His jaw clenched and a low growl escaped his throat at the sight of how your pussy glistened.

”You’re wet,” he spat, “Does making me mad turn you on this much?”

You bit down on your lip, continuing to struggle, refusing to give him the satisfaction of answering him. You tried working your wrists free of his tie but he had tied it too tight.

You heard the sound of him undoing his belt and before you knew it you felt the tip of his cock and he pushed forward roughly, painfully stretching you out, making a strangled noise escape your throat.

“No, no, no—“ you muttered, burying your face in the bedsheets beneath you.

”You’re feral,” he grunted, pulling his hips back and thrusting forward, jerking your entire body forward before finding a fast and forceful pace. “I’m not stopping until you submit.”

Ushijima was worried something like this would eventually happen. He’s heard of omegas going feral before— much rarer than alphas did, but still possible. He knew he’d have to force you to submit, otherwise you’d stay this way for god knows how long.

You sobbed into the sheets— it felt so fucking good, the pain more pleasurable than ever while you were in this state. But you didn’t want him to win, even though you had already lost this battle to dominate, you were stubborn and refused to admit it.

Ushijima was always quick to work you to your end, almost embarrassingly fast. But the drag of his cock felt so heavy and thick in you, hitting every sweet and sensitive spot that it was almost impossible not to have you creaming all over him every time the tip of his cock kissed your cervix.

Ushijima’s grip on your hips was bruising, but without it you would’ve collapsed onto the bed, already beginning to feel boneless. However, one of them let go, finding it’s way into your hair, yanking your head back up and out of the sheets.

He knew you were close as your pussy fluttered along his cock helplessly.

”Tell me,” he grunted in harsh pants of air, “Who do you belong to Omega.”

A broken whine left you, but you refused to answer.

You were so close to coming you could practically taste it, but it was suddenly and harshly ripped away from you as he completely pulled out of you.

You felt like you had been doused in cold water as you were filled with a sudden emptiness. “Fucking fuck,” you cried out.

His grip tightened in your hair, “Who do you belong to?” He reiterated.

”No one,” you seethed, though it came out more whiny than you would’ve hoped.

Ushijima’s jaw clenched tightly and he thrust forward again, completely sheathing himself in your drooling cunt, resuming the same brutal pace as before, listening to your choked out moans ring freely throughout the room along with the lewd wet noises between your legs.

He dropped the hand that was in your hair, watching as your front collapsed against the bed once more, only to bring his hand down on your ass in a sharp, painful spank that was deafening in the small dorm room.

Tears gathered in your eyes from the overwhelming amount of pain and pleasure blossoming throughout your entire being.

Once again it didn’t take long for you to come oh so close to cumming.

Another strike to your ass had the tears falling, “Who. Do you. Belong. To.” He asked once more.

”No o-o-one,” you stuttered out a cry, sounding much more weaker and smaller than before.

And once more he pulled out, completely ripping all pleasure away from you.

Choked cries tore through your throat, vision blurring with tears “YOU!” you screamed, “I b-belong to y-you Alpha—“

You were harshly cut off by your entire body being lifted up as he simultaneously pushed into you again.

Your arms were uncomfortably pressed inbetween his chest and your back, but you put up no fight.

He gazed down at your face. Your pupils were normal— well, they were still blown but this time with lust. Your face was wet with tears and chin with drool.

You looked so fucked out and helpless, just to his liking.

But he wasn’t through with disciplining you and he wrapped a large hand around your throat, completely engulfing your neck as he forced you to look up at him.

”I’ve always been patient with you,” he grunted, as he fucked into you, the new angle making you keen, “So when I give you a command— you listen,” he said with a particularly harsh thrust, “Do you understand?”

You nodded as much as your could within his strong grip on your neck.

”Yes— ‘m sorry Alpha— I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” you babbled.

”Then cum.”

A shrill scream ripped through your throat as your entire body tensed and you cried his name incoherently as he continued to fuck you through your orgasm.

A second later he was cumming as well, spilling inside you— some of his cum seeping out, making an even bigger mess between your legs.

He groaned as he came, his mouth claiming yours in a sloppy kiss— the gnashing of teeth and tongue making you feel even more lightheaded.

Your body eventually relaxed in his hold and you really did feel boneless now.

He gently lowered your limp body to the bed, before pulling out and making you whimper.

He eyed how his cum dripped from your cunt and you clenched at the feeling, a possessiveness blooming throughout his chest at the sight.

He untied your wrists, watching as they fell to the bed, and he finally moved from behind you to lay beside you. His hand pushing back the sweaty hair sticking to your face, to find the sweet submissive omega he was used to seeing in private.

”Why did you go feral Omega,” his voice was much softer than it had been before, and you sniffled as he pulled you against his chest. You immediately buried your face against his neck, letting his scent calm you as you clung onto his broad frame.

”She was mean to me and I couldn’t help it,” you mumbled softly against his skin, “‘m sorry.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around you, “What did she say to you.”

“...She told me I gave up all my principles for the first alpha that looked my way... and she made fun of that time I-I went into heat in the middle of class and everyone saw me be all submissive for you... a-a-and that other time that Beta pinned me in the hallway—“

”Shh Omega,” he shushed, stroking your hair to calm you down as you cried against his neck, “I’ll speak to her tomorrow.”

”’M sorry for biting you.”

”It will heal, but don’t do it again.” You nodded against his neck. “And the next time you get into a fight, you come to me, understood?”

”...understood, Alpha.”

Requests are open!

Taglist:

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#haikyuu #haikyuu smut #omegaverse #haikyuu omegaverse #ushijima wakatoshi #Ushijima #wakatoshi #ushijima wakatoshi x reader #ushijima x reader #wakatoshi x reader #ushiwaka #ushiwaka x reader #alpha!ushijima wakatoshi #alpha!ushijima #alpha!ushijima x omega!reader

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amysubmits · 3 years

Text

It’s Not Always Effortless

Moving this time has taken us more than twice as long as it has in the past. The week prior to moving was really stressful as we were trying really hard to find a place and the market is super crazy right now so that was way harder than we expected or had ever experienced when moving before. So big relief when we did find a place...but then moving has taken a long time still. It’d take me a couple paragraphs to explain why moving has been such a long process and it doesn’t really matter so, I’ll spare you the details but it took basically a week and a half to get fully moved.

Anyway...a week or so lots of stress pre-move, followed up by 9-almost-straight days (we did take one day off) of actually moving in the sense of lifting heavy crap onto a vehicle for one reason or another.

I was physically and emotionally drained, but we only had one day left! That night we got news that a family member had tested positive for COVID, adding more stress. We had planed to do one final day of moving crap, starting early the next morning...but my mental health spiraled and I managed to nap but didn’t really sleep a regular nights sleep.

I was surprised when @cynicaldom said something that made it clear he was still planning for us to finish moving that morning. He knew I hadn’t slept much. I would have rathered push it off a day. He wanted to just get it all over with. I tried not to throw a fit though I still kinda pouted. I did communicate that I was struggling and felt emotionally fragile.

------

At this point in my draft writing I pause and say to myself “Wait. What am I trying to say again...?” 🤣

Okay, side-stepping a little so I can loop back around to what I actually wanted to say.

We got through that day. I submitted to us doing another moving day, and it was fine. Well, at the end we tried to take some stuff to our storage unit which was blocked off, so the very last part got delayed yet another day. Very frustrating when we wanted to just have it all over with. Anyway....that morning, once we got started working at it for the day, I was distracted from my crankiness. So it wasn’t even that hard to push through, and I’m glad we got finished earlier rather than delaying it more than was necessary.

Anyway. When we got back home that night I saw something on my Tumblr feed about how if a dom leads well, then a sub will submit effortlessly.

I frequently just take general statements too literally. Most any sentiment that doesn’t clearly leave space for nuance makes my brain focus on the exceptions to the rule...even when I realize it was intended as a general statement. I know I’m just a weirdo. But, I found myself feeling defensive of CD. Because I struggled to submit that morning, and it wasn’t because he wasn’t leading well.

So...although I know I took it too seriously, I still thought it might be worth discussing. There’s nuance involved with D/s in so many ways, and one of those ways is how effortless vs difficult it may be for either person or both people. My opinion is this...

If a sub is frequently struggling to submit, it may well be a sign that the dom isn’t leading well or isn’t earning the subs submission. Maybe the dom is leading in ways that are selfish, impulsive, or don’t meet the subs needs, or just are not well thought out so the sub is resisting submission in a self-protective instinct. You can be a natural follower but find yourself not easily following someone who is leading you into a trap, or who just isn’t carefully deciding the path they’re taking you down, right? 100% makes sense. Submission doesn’t mean you don’t think for yourself.

But I also think it’s natural for subs to sometimes struggle to submit, or at least not effortlessly submit, even when they have lots of trust in their dom, even when their needs are being met by the dynamic, even when the Dom is making a reasonable call. It’s not fair to assume that the Dom is doing something ‘wrong’ simply because the sub is struggling with submission. Especially if the sub is under a lot of stress or is struggling with their mental health or anything like that. Many things unrelated to the dynamic can cause D/s to feel harder for the sub, and those aren’t necessarily anything the Dom has any control over. Even without extra stress or mental health problems, I think it’s natural for submission to just not be effortless sometimes.

Why? Because subs are real people with lots of preferences and opinions, and doms are people with different preferences and opinions. You can think your Dom is absolutely the bee’s knees, but they’re still going to have different opinions or make different decisions than you would make, sometimes. If you’re allowing them to make decisions for you based on their own judgement (rather than expecting them to defer to your views for how they should best lead) then you are likely to occasionally find that you aren’t excited about their decisions, sometimes. You may struggle to accept them at times.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that either of you are wrong. It’s just the reality of having two people with their own ways of thinking, their own preferences, beliefs, etc and letting one have the final say. When living real D/s, there may be times where the dom is making decisions that just don’t have a right or a wrong answer, or there isn’t a ‘right’ way to lead, exactly. Like with CD deciding that we would finish up moving that day rather than wait. There just isn’t a right or a wrong there. And it’s okay that my top preference wasn’t his top preference, and that I struggled a bit with his decision. I don’t think it means anything is ‘wrong’ with either of us. I think it’s just part of real life D/s.

#writing #d/s #sccwriting #real life d/s #24/7 d/s

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kittydemon9000 · 3 years

Text

Okay so I was thinking about ToE and had ideas to add for my Not Today Destiny AU(tl:dr, Kai keeps Lloyd’s Green Ninja status secret from everyone and how canon is affected from there)

Also, before we get into it, because there was no Overlord messing with tech, THERE IS NO LOVE TRIANGLE! I am fully subscribed to the theory that the Overlord messed with it in order to split the team up, and it’s stupid that it worked. So no Love Triangle and no Jay Cole Fight. That’s important later.

ANYWAY, with Zane not dead they’d be a bit less desperate to go to the island, and without that incentive of keeping quiet they’d probably immediately go talk to Wu about this weird invite and the fact that other Elemental Masters existed.

Wu would fill them in, explain how Chen was definitely up to something, which has them all go in the first place, and Nya and Wu agree to stay behind to watch Lloyd and defend against Garmadon.

How does this exactly tie into this AU? Well, there were two extra letters sent, one to Kai and Lloyd respectively.

Lloyd’s letter explained how he was also being invited, and if he won he would be awarded some info about his mom. Lloyd knows the ninja would never let him go, so he opts to sneak there and then explain. Better to ask apologies than permission. But don’t worry, he left a note for Nya and Wu

Meanwhile, Kai’s explains how they have found knowledge of who the Green Ninja is, and if he wins he’ll get that info and can do whatever he wants with it.

These two are connected and also important later.

They go to the boat, Nya gets them some hidden trackers to be safe, Kai is secretly freaking out since “How the heck does Chen know???” and then Lloyd sneaks on too. Now, at first everyone just thinks Lloyd is just really short and keeps to himself. It’s not until they land and get to the main room that it finally clicks to Kai that it’s Lloyd when Chen points him out as the Master of Energy.

He of course, is very not happy that Lloyd is here and makes that very well known. The other ninja are equally unhappy while the rest of the EM’s are given a slight Moral Dilemma since yes they want to win, but that means there’s a chance of them fighting a literal child(it’s been….almost a year since they first met Lloyd so he’s about 10 right now).

Lloyd’s room is next to Kai’s, just on the other side so he still shares a balcony space with Skylor. Maybe one of the other EM’s finds Lloyd desperately looking for a Jade Blade and “accidentally” drops it so he can pass.

Later when Karlof is dropped through the floor more than a few cast a glance over to Lloyd, each silently dreading who will have to go against him. Nobody comments when Kai holds Lloyd close and if anyone saw Lloyd sneaking into Kai’s room that night, they didn’t say anything.

It’s that night when Lloyd explains why he came, which makes Kai panic even more. On one hand, he cannot let anyone else find out about Lloyd’s Destiny. But on the other….Lloyd could finally get answers for what happened to his mom unlike Kai who has no idea what happened to his parents

So yeah. Not a fun time.

But it only gets worse from there.

You see, at first each of the ninja let out a silent sigh of relief when they learned they wouldn’t have to fight Lloyd.

Wellllllllll since there’s no Love Triangle and no fighting between Cole and Jay, Chen has no reason to pit them against each other to further split up the ninja.

What he does instead? Changes things so instead it’s Kai vs Lloyd

Now, it’s plainly obvious to everyone that those two are very close, so they’re not looking froward to this next fight at all. Camille honestly isn’t sure if this is better or worse than if she had to go against him

At first, their fight is mostly a verbal one, trying to get the other to take the Jade Blade, with only the occasionally very wide shot to try and herd the other toward the Blade. At some point Kai ends up physically picking up Lloyd and trying to carry him over to the Jade Blade, yelling about how Lloyd has a chance to find his mom and he shouldn’t that up, but Lloyd is fighting him and immediately yells back that he doesn’t want to find her at the cost of his Big Brother and god if that isn’t a knife in the heart of the other EMs.

But Chen, being the bastard he is, decides this is boring because it’s going no where and release the bikes like canon, and then these two fight like a well oiled machine.

But ofc, we can’t have nice things and the arena starts falling apart.

And Kai….as much as he’s terrified of Lloyd’s Destiny, he even more terrified of loosing Lloyd.

So with a bright smile and a good luck wish, he jumps.

That night when Chen takes away their rooms as punishment, none of them can be mad. They don’t comment either when the remaining ninja drag two of the bunk beds together a curl up around Lloyd. Instead of splitting them apart, it only lets them know that Chen is not their friend. He sees all of this as a game, going as far as to lure a child here with promises of finding his mother and making him fight the family he has left.

This actually makes their Elemental Alliance work out better this time.

(Also this time Jay fought Ash, then Cole fought Camille(I’m also 99% sure the skating thing was just another attempt to split them up, so again it’s kinda useless here).

Meanwhile Kai does not have a fun time. Clouse is upset since 1) the plan was for Lloyd to be the one to loose, either by Kai winning or making Lloyd fall, since because he’s the green ninja he’s bound to be powerful and 2) because Skylor got attached to this stranger and Chen ordered him to make Kai useful to them. So now he’s trying to keep a very annoying, very loud prisoner while waiting from the Master of Mind to be captured so he can use those powers to make Kai more docile.

Unfortunately, a side affect of Kai being as loud and obnoxious as possible means he spends a lot of his time knocked out, so he has no idea how long he’s been stuck under or if any of his family are stuck under here too. At the very least he shares a wall with Karlof who tries his best to fill him in(when he learns who Kai was made to fight he also gets pretty pissed).

Later when they’re all dropped from the plane, all of them are quick to make sure Lloyd has a parachute. This time the objective is to a “Safe Zone,” but there’s only enough for four of them. However, the Safe Zones are, unsurprisingly, traps and there’s enough for everyone. Once you step in one, it descends, then vengestone cuffs fly out and trap the Master inside.

Skylor ends up finding Lloyd and offers to help him look for one. They end up talking and joking, Lloyd saying how Kai has an enormous crush on her and kept trying to impress her, but Lloyd thought she was good and would like Kai if they didn’t need to fight each other, which accidentally slams her with guilt.

Some how she ends up slipping, maybe by accidentally revealing how she knows the locations/number of traps and Lloyd realizes she’s the spy which crushes him. He tries to fight her but she just pushed him onto the trap.

Going to the small cult area below, the remaining EMs are brought together. They try their best to keep Lloyd protected but he’s brought to the front anyway. Lloyd asks if they even knew about his mom, to which Chen reminisces about a woman they meet a few years ago who was stealing from them and how they stole some of her things, but they were mostly worthless. They honestly have no idea where she is, which just makes Lloyd mad.

Mad these people tricked him. Mad these people had the audacity to pretend to know his mom. Mad these people made Kai sacrifice himself for him.

However, they weren’t lying About having met Misako. That’s actually how they found out about the whole “Lloyd Being The Green Ninja” thing

But anyway. Chen steals their powers, Skylor is having a moral dilemma, and they start getting ready to Make Trouble in the Noodle Factory

Only this time when they go to steal the staff, they now have to fight Kai.

Only this time for real.

This is the replacement for the Staff Scene. Because of his affect under the Staff Kai…..isn’t really there. Like, he’s just a blank puppet. There’s the tiniest amount of emotion, but his eyes look empty.

At some point the staff goes flying and it turns into a mental tug of war between Clouse commanding Kai and Lloyd and the others trying to get through to him. Lloyd is luckily able to get to Kai enough for him to smash the jewel, releasing the EM powers and the control on him. It gives him the worst headache though.

And from there, canon is mostly the same for a while. The whole time this has been going on Zane has been having dreams/nightmares about an Ice Dragon and finally makes the connection to unlock it. Skylor is still captured, Chen still escapes but now Clouse is still around, Pythor is captured, TIME FOR THE END

This time around, the EMs are able to follow Chen to their base of operations and have the final battle there. They fight, and even though they’re only partially Anacondrai, they’re still hard to fight.

Clouse tries to do the whole “Banish You To the Departed Realm” thing, but accidentally summons the Anacondrai Generals as well, who are very not happy over what these humans are doing.

And yeah. That’s what I got.

I might do more in depth posts for some of the other seasons, not sure. But feel free to ask or submit ideas of your own

#if you cant tell #ToE is my favorite season #but at the same time #i love to change it #Not Today Destiny #info dump #kai #kai smith #lloyd #lloyd garmadon #tournament of elements #ninjago #long post

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the-modernmary · 3 years

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my best habit || aaron hotchner x reader (ch. 1)

Summary: When Aaron Hotchner ended your affair with him, saying that a serial killer was going after him and his family, you were content with the idea that you’d probably never see him again. Two years have come and gone since then, but when you get dragged into an FBI investigation as a key witness, you and Hotch are forced to come face to face with all the things left unsaid.

Warnings: n/a

A/N: Thank you for all of the love on the prologue!! like WOW i couldn't have expected that big of a response so THANK YOU!!! As a reminder: I already have the first 17 chapters out on ao3, so I will be updating on here pretty quickly! This takes place two years after the prologue, and this is where the actual storyline starts!

masterlist || read on ao3

Anything you say can and will be held against you

So only say my name

It will be held against you

-Fall Out Boy, “Just One Yesterday”

Present Day- Two Years Later

You tugged at the handcuff that was attaching you to the interrogation table, hoping that if you glared at it enough, it would just go away. One minute, you were at your apartment and getting ready to go out with some of your friends, and the next minute Metro D.C. police were banging on your door, ordering you to go with them, no charges and no explanation.

So now you were just stuck, sitting and waiting for somebody to tell you what the hell this all was about. Law school had taught you enough about interrogation tactics, and they were pulling out all of the stops- turning down the room temperature, forcing you to sit in the most uncomfortable chair you’ve ever been in, and just making you be by yourself in the metal room. A small part of you was nervous, but mostly you were just confused. You couldn’t think of anything you’d done that would warrant your arrest.

Just as the isolation of the room was about to get to you, the door swung open and in walked two people. The first one was a petite blonde woman and following her was a younger looking man in a cardigan. You narrowed your eyes slightly at the site of them. You had expected the usual “good cop/bad cop” technique, but neither of these cops looked very intimidating.

“Hi there,” the woman spoke, sliding into the chair across from you. “My name is Agent Jareau and this is Dr. Reid. We’re here to ask you a few questions.”

Her name sounded familiar, but you couldn’t quite place where you knew it from. You raised an eyebrow and jutted your head towards Dr. Reid. “Is the handsome one not an agent?” you asked, leaning back in your chair.

Dr. Reid seemed unphased by your question, as if he was used to that question. “I am an agent. But I also have three doctorates,” he answered.

You just smirked at him before looking back at Agent Jareau. She had placed a file on the table, the seal of the FBI practically staring you in the face. Whatever they brought you in for was an FBI matter? Oh, you were definitely screwed. You tried to keep your cool. “So are you guys going to actually charge me with anything, or are you just going to hold me for 72 hours until you find something to stick?” you accused.

Agent Jareau shook her head, and you were still desperately trying to remember how you knew that name. “The faster you cooperate, the faster we can let you go.” It didn’t go unnoticed to you that she refused to answer your question. She leaned over the table slightly to slide the file towards you and you caught a glimpse of her ID. Everything came back to you at once.

Jennifer Jareau. FBI. Business cards. “You can set up a formal meeting with me at the BAU…” Holy shit, you did know that name.

You laughed softly to yourself and crossed your legs as the memories came flooding back. “Okay, I’ll cooperate,” you agreed, but you were looking directly at the two way mirror. “But only if I can speak to your unit chief. It still is Aaron Hotchner, correct?” Your voice was innocent enough to not be too suspicious, but you knew it would drive Aaron crazy. It was the same voice you would use when he had a fistfull of your hair and you were promising to be his good girl.

You could only imagine what was going on behind that two way mirror; Aaron’s team looking at him with complete and utter confusion, trying to figure out how you knew him, all while Aaron was probably clenching his teeth, red with anger. Maybe if you made him mad enough, he would bend you over the interrogation table once everybody else had left.

Jennifer and Dr. Reid shared a quick glance before looking back at you. Dr. Reid spoke first. “It would be best if we could go over our questions with you first.”

You bopped your head, pretending to think it over. “I get it, the two of you have a job to do and you have a strategy to stay in control, so I’ll give you guys a choice. You can let me speak to Agent Hotchner or I lawyer up and invoke the 5th.”

Like clockwork, the door swung open violently and Aaron stormed in. “I’ll take it from here,” he ordered, and the other two agents quickly shuffled out of the room.

He sat down in the seat across from you and you just raised the hand that was handcuffed to the table, wiggling your fingers. He was pissed, you could tell, and you loved every second of it. You leaned over the table, signalling for him to move closer to you. He hesitated, which earned him a roll of your eyes, but he eventually leaned over the table too.

“If you wanted me in handcuffs again for you, you didn’t have to go through all this effort. My phone number hasn’t changed,” you whispered, low enough so that the group watching on the other side of the mirror couldn’t hear. He refused to answer and instead just pulled back to his normal seated position. Ever the good agent, Aaron’s face went back to it’s normal, stoic look, and it made you pout. You wanted to get more of a rise out of him.

“Miss. Y/L/N,” he said cooly. “Why don’t we get started?” You realized with a sinking feeling that he was already starting to lose interest in you flirting, his attention focused back on the task at hand, attention that you selfishly wanted all to yourself.

You slipped off the heels you were wearing and stretched your leg out so that your foot could brush against his leg. If you couldn’t touch him with your hands right now, you were going to make sure he could feel you in some way. His eyes shot up to yours, giving you a warning look, as if to say “Stop right now or I’m going to make you.”

You knew that look too well, craved for it even. You just responded with a smirk and dropped your foot, relishing in the fact that he actually looked slightly disappointed that you stopped.

“How are Haley and Jack doing, Aaron?” you asked lazily, leaning back in your chair. “Visiting them more often?”

Aaron cleared his throat and ran his hand down his tie to flatten it, as if it had come out of place. He was always so put together at work. “Jack is fine. Haley passed away a while ago,” he said quickly, and guilt immediately engulfed you.

You lowered your gaze so that you were staring at the interrogation table. “Oh,” you mumbled. “I’m sorry.” And you really were sorry. Sure, your relationship, or lack of relationship, with Haley was weird. You were sleeping with her ex before the divorce papers had time to be fully submitted, and even though Aaron was well in his right to be with whoever he wanted, the two of you still found yourselves sneaking around with each other. But you never had anything against her personally- she seemed like a great mother and obviously made Aaron happy for however long they were married.

Besides, you could take a guess as to what happened to Haley. Your fling with Aaron lasted for a fun few months, neither of you ever expecting anything other than sex whenever you met up, so when you and Aaron had decided to stop seeing each other, it was completely amicable. He had explained that the BAU was closing in on a serial killer who was going after him and his family, and you did not want to be involved in that mess. The fact that Haley died right as a serial killer was chasing her… that definitely wasn’t just a coincidence.

The tension was thick in the room as the two of you desperately searched for how to continue the conversation. What were you supposed to say after finding out your fuck buddy’s ex wife was murdered?

You started talking before your brain could even process what you were saying. “Well, like told you, if you ever need somebody to help you pick up those broken pieces...”

He ignored you, electing to direct the conversation in his own direction. “You know, I read the paper you were working on,” he said casually, and that sure caught you by surprise.

“You did?” you asked.

“You piqued my interest,” he admitted. “Your professor and I worked on a few cases together, so he gave me a copy. It was good. You are much more professional on paper.”

“I could say the same about you,” you countered, and he gave you a hint of a genuine smile.

“Although I did notice that you didn’t mention The People vs. Michaelson anywhere in it.” There was something in his voice that put you on edge. You could feel yourself walking into his trap, but you couldn’t help yourself. You wanted to know more.

You shrugged. “Well, I got some shit information about the case.”

For a split second, you thought you saw a flash of the old Aaron, but just as quickly as it came, it disappeared, and he was business as usual. “What intrigued me even more, however,” he continued, completely ignoring your previous comment. “Was that you didn’t mention recidivism at all, which is what that case is all about. Your thesis was on jury selection. Why ask me about the case if you weren’t going to use the information for school?”

You glared at him and clenched your hands into fists, your nails digging into your palms. What a dick. He knew why you were interested in the case- it mirrored your father’s situation almost perfectly. You were 12 the first time your father was arrested. When your mom realized that your dad was involved with some shady people, she immediately turned him into the cops to protect you. The prosecutor barely even tried during the case and your dad was in and out of prison within two years. The day he was released, he came right back to your home and killed your mom out of revenge. He’s now rotting in a max security prison for life, but you were still angry that he even had the opportunity to come after your mom. It’s why you wanted to become a prosecutor in the first place, so that you could ensure these criminals were actually brought to justice.

Aaron knew all that. You realized as he began to inch the case file closer to you that he was just trying to knock you off balance. The actual interrogation hadn’t even started yet. “And you say that I’m the one who gets under people’s skin,” you snapped at him.

Aaron humed to himself, arrogance oozing off of him. If you weren’t so angry at him, you would have thought it was hot. “You’re currently interning at DuPont and Associates?” You nodded, annoyed at him brushing off your last comment. “What do you know about the recent string of murders in the area?” Aaron asked.

Your eyebrows furrowed at his question. “Um… Just what they’re saying on the news? Somebody has been killing a bunch of people whose cases were dismissed because of technicalities- their Miranda rights were read incorrectly and that kind of stuff. I haven’t really been keeping up,” you admitted, still unsure of why you were there.

Aaron flipped open the case files, and instead of gruesome crime scene photos, you just saw legal briefs. More shocking, however, was that they were all legal briefs you had helped write. “Each of these victims had their initial cases through duPont and Associates, and we found that you were the only person who assisted on every case. What did you think about those dismissals? Some of these people really should have been locked up, wouldn’t you agree?”

Your mouth opened and closed as you tried desperately to find the words to say. Unconsciously, you started to tug at the handcuff again, as if they would suddenly just release you if you fought it enough. “Maybe, but that’s not really my decision,” you said disdainfully. Then the fear and realization slowly creeped into you. “Wait you don’t… you guys don’t think I did this, do you?” Your voice was rough and panicky.

Aaron placed his hands on the cold metal of the interrogation table, his fingers interlocked. His FBI Unit Chief exterior melted away ever so slightly. “No, I don’t,” he said softly, and his use of “I” instead of “We” did not go unnoticed by you. You weren’t sure if you were comforted by that or not. “But you are our best lead right now, and I think you know more than you realize. We have reason to believe that the unsub works for the law firm you’re interning at and is playing out a vigilante fantasy and considering you are the only one who actually worked on every single case, we need to use you and your position at the firm to get more intel.”

We need to use you. He realized his slip before he even finished his sentence. It was innocuous enough that his team probably didn’t even notice it; He was just letting a potential witness know that they were going to be an important part of the investigation. But you knew Aaron better than that, and you could see the wheels turning in his brain as he tried to figure out how to go back on what he just said.

You gave him a smirk and brought your elbows up on the table, steepling your fingers. Of course you were going to help them, whatever they needed. You’d do that even if Aaron wasn’t involved. But after being forcibly brought to the interrogation room, you figured you could make him sweat a little. “Oh Aaron, I’m flattered that you think I could be an asset to the BAU’s investigation. But if you want something from me, you’re going to have to ask for it.”

You got him right where you wanted him. You knew he wasn’t going to be happy with the roll reversal, using his own words against him. But you missed the playful banter between you and Aaron, and nobody knew how to get you off the way he did. Aaron had quite literally ruined sex for you, much to your disappointment. The other people you had slept with since meeting Aaron all lacked the confidence and intelligence that Aaron brought to every meeting, and they could never walk that fine line of fucking you like they adored you and hated you at the same time.

The way that Aaron would demand you to ask and use your words was more than just a way for him to remain in control, although you knew that was definitely part of it. And it was more than just checking for consent- that always came earlier and you had your safeword. No, it was more than all of that. He wanted to hear you beg for the things you wanted, as if he wanted to be validated; He always wanted to know that you still wanted him, which you did. So you just kept asking him for things, and he happily kept giving them to you.

Aaron looked downright murderous, his eyebrows scrunched together and his breathing getting heavier. He stood up and slammed the case file shut. “I’m not going to ask for anything, because where I’m standing, I have the control here. In case you forgot, you’re in handcuffs and I can walk out of here whenever I want.” But even as he said it, he stayed exactly where he was, his hands on the table and leaning down so that he was closer to you.

In return, you just arched your eyebrow at him, waiting for his question. He had to ask you for the sake of his job and the case and you both knew it, and you got a strange satisfaction from watching him have to ask you for something for once. He stared at you for a few moments, jaw clenching, until he realized the entire BAU team was behind the two way mirror watching this situation go down. “Will you please help us with the case?” he asked through gritted teeth.

You gave him a smug smile, which only served to irritate him further. “I would love to,” you told him, your voice too sweet and too innocent. “Now can you please take my handcuffs off?”

Aaron walked towards you wordlessly, taking the keys out of his pockets. “You’ll still have to wait here for a few minutes so that you can sign some papers,” he told you, keeping his voice even, but it all changed as he kneeled next to you, slowly unlocking the handcuffs. His fingers lingered on your skin for far too long to be considered appropriate. “Don’t get too comfortable,” he whispered in your ear, voice low enough so that nobody could hear what he was saying. “You’re going to be in handcuffs for the rest of night while I punish you for that little show you decided to give everybody. Did you already forget how to not be a brat? Do I have to teach you again?”

His words made your arousal shoot straight to your core. You were released with a soft click! and you rubbed your irritated wrist lightly. “Yes,” you practically moaned, and you were sure that your face was flushed. And just like that, it was as if only a few days had passed since you and Aaron had last seen each other, instead of two years. The two of you fell back into an easy rhythm. “I still live in the same apartment. Five minutes from here.”

With that, Aaron stormed out of the interrogation room, already barking orders at the cops. “Get her processed and out of here quickly, I don’t want to spend anymore time on this,” he demanded, making a beeline to grab his stuff. Unfortunately for him, Rossi was standing right in front of Aaron’s bag, a knowing smirk on his face. Aaron stopped mid step and groaned in annoyance. “Dave, don’t.”

Rossi just ignored him. “Old friend?” he asked, stepping aside just enough to let Aaron grab his bag.

Aaron looked around quickly and was relieved to see that there were no other BAU members near them. “You could say that,” Aaron mumbled and started to walk to the doors.

To his dismay, Rossi just followed him. “She’s pretty,” Rossi hummed, and Aaron hated how easily Rossi was able to keep this conversation so casual. “Not your usual type, though.” It didn’t take a profiler to get the underlying comment: She’s young.

Aaron took an audible breath, keeping his eyes on the exit sign that seemed to be getting further and further away. “Yeah, well…” His voice trailed off, unable to find a good response.

“When did you meet her?”

Aaron paused, deciding how honest he was going to be. He figured that if anybody was going to find out, it would be Rossi, and if he was honest with Rossi now, they would be able to keep it a secret from the rest of the team. He cleared his throat. “An alumni event at George Washington. Before Foyet but after the divorce.” Another pause. “Right after the divorce,” he clarified.

Rossi just nodded understandably, a soft “Ah” coming from his lips. He would push the full story out of Aaron later, but it was obvious that Aaron was just desperate to get out of the police station. “Okay, well... I will let the team know about your emergency meeting with Strauss that she just called, which is why you’re leaving so quickly. And if they ask, from what you’re telling me, Y/N is just one of Sean’s old friends from before he dropped out of law school. I’m pretty sure you never got along with his friends, am I correct?” Sometimes, Rossi was too good at thinking on his feet.

Aaron turned to face Rossi, his mouth open and ready to argue, but he knew there was no point. With Rossi’s lie, it would keep the team from asking too many questions, at least until Aaron got his need for you out of his system. Just one night, he promised himself. That’s all I’ll need. So instead of arguing, Hotch just nodded at Rossi, a hint of a smile on his face. It made it all worth it, in Rossi’s eyes. Aaron hadn’t been this excited about a girl since Haley’s death. He deserved a night of fun. “Thank you,” Aaron breathed before swiftly stepping out of the police station.

#criminal minds #criminal minds fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner x y/n #aaron hotcner smut #aaron hotchner fanfiction #my best habit #aaron hotchner #hotch x reader #my writing

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rataltouille · 3 years

Text

GEOMETRY OF THE HOLY MOON (1 AM): A SHORT STORY

GENRE: surrealism, literary fiction.

POV & TENSE: this little space is not enough for how wild the form is so i talk about this later!!

SETTING: a small desi village, 1924-25.

TONE: dreamy, unsettling, melancholic.

THEMES: faith vs reality, how people perceive others and how they perceive themselves, grief dealt the wrong way.

AESTHETICS: the splash of water on a quiet night, thick clouds obscuring the sky, rippling the moon’s reflection on the water. the intensity of a garden in spring, the emptiness of a dying town, the suffocation from being singled out. hands grazing lightly but never fully held. a lingering sadness behind your laugh. believing in things you shouldn't believe in. putting faith on a starless sky.

STAGE: completed first draft, 4085 words.

LOGLINE: a young boy, surrounded by loss, claims to talk to god. the story follows him and his conversations with this god, all while his village spies on him as he weaves his way around the two most crucial and lonely years of his life.

LITERAL LOGLINE: on today’s news let’s talk about a small backward town that hates sad little boys who worship god, even though the place is lowkey a cult!!

CHARACTERS:

THE SUMMER BOY: he’s around thirteen, and he’s very emotionally attached to his past. he lost his family at a young age to an unstable force, so he spends his time talking to himself. he’s a quiet, demure and sweet person, always willing to help others. he’s outwardly oblivious and sees only the good in people to a point where he doesn't understand when they’re trying to do him wrong. but! considering how the story [like a lot of my others] has themes of perception vs reality, it needs to be said that he isn't all that innocent. he’s rather impulsive and rash, never afraid of hurting himself [and thus accidentally harming others].

A GOD: is he real? do we even know if he’s an actual god? a very elusive figure despite having a lot of screentime. he’s a surprisingly humanised character and arguably the one with the most empathy. he has a soft spot for the boy and the two have a deep bond which is not common for a human and a god to have. you don’t get insight to what the other gods are like, but they’re implied to exist. this story has a very messy and hazy view towards religion and godhood and their nature towards humanity, and this vague figure, a dreamlike character, is proof enough of that.

THE VILLAGE: okay so in general these people suck. the village consists of, well, the village, but they’re very fluid in the way they appear in the story? as in for the most part they appear as a collective, a unit. one character, the summer boy’s “friend”, is somewhat separate considering he’s a pretty important character. it’s very hard describing this unit of a character but essentially they’re the main antagonistic force and they hate the protagonist for seemingly no reason.

WHAT GOES DOWN:

sometime around this time, the boy chances upon meeting his “god”, this being who lives up in the clouds and whom he talks with often, except you don't know if this god is real or not. that’s one of the recurring themes of this story: what’s real and what isn’t. it’s :) a fun time :) for sure :)

essentially Things Happen And It Only Gets Weirder. i cannot even try describing what happens because it’s all very spoilery but let’s just say that this is a very sad story but not even in a “this makes me cry” manner, but rather in a “this is so fucked up wtf why”. the prose of this is very, very hazy and thick, in a manner that’s both smooth and suffocating. there’s also a lot of moon and water imagery which we love. i love the atmosphere + the setting—colonial india— as it’s a subtle but key element to the plot.

FORM:

OKAY YES be prepared for the true colours of how unhinged i am. i apologize for the form brainrot.

POV: so in this story i really said “what if it had all three of the main povs... jk jk... unless 😳😳” and then proceeded to use all three povs. you’re probably wondering, how did i do that? WHY did i do that? and my answer to that is: 🙂

the first-person pov: the summer boy narrates in first person. his pov takes up about 40% of the story, and this is where we unlock family backstory + how he feels about the various forces playing into his life. he’s an extremely unreliable narrator and he knows it; his narration oscillates between very naive and very self-aware, and this effect is pretty disconcerting. the summer boy is kind of a walking contradiction and we love that conflict.

the second-person pov: a god narrates in second person. his pov takes around 20% of the story, and his scenes all involve his conversations with the boy. his pov is extremely detached, and suspends belief because he seems awfully made up. there’s an edge to the prose in his narration, where you know that something's off, but you can’t exactly pinpoint what.

the third-person pov: the villagers narrate, either as a collective, or as an individual figure, in third person. they take up the other 40% of the story, and there are so many different people and differing opinions with this, and every time we read a third person excerpt it’s a different person, and this is mostly used to add onto the different ways in which the boy is perceived. this is also where the structural part of the form gets really wacky.

STRUCTURE: if my story isn't told in vignettes is it my story though /j. gothm is told in vignettes, each one between 50 to 500 words. the first and second person bits are normal-ish vignettes, with straightforward narration. the third person vignettes, on the other hand, are super assorted. we have a lot of epistolaric sections— there’s a letter, a folk song [which was found around the summer boy], and most of the conversation is told as just plain dialogue without tags. there’s also a phone call transcript, and finally some normal chunks of prose. what am i doing wtf.

also to add onto this the story is told non-linearly. 😀 the only thing that keeps me from going insane is the fact that there are chronological tags before most vignettes [also the manner in which they're tagged differs from pov to pov. for example a few of the third person conversations are marked just as “sunday” or “thursday”, while the summer boy’s narration is marked with the full date and year]

in all this clownery i completely forgot to mention what the tense was [the way everything else was so complicated that i forgot tense was a thing lmao] and good news!! it’s the only sane thing about this story!! it’s told fully in present tense. thank everything.

AN EXCERPT:

okay i’m once again not sharing much because this will be submitted to litmags 🧞

[The boy is scrawny as always. He carries an air of diswant— even death had rejected him when the plague killed only his grandmother— but walks like he doesn’t notice. He smiles at them, jitters, and wipes his hand across his knees. Blood comes away in thin, translucent lines. He saves it on the kerchief he keeps tucked in his shirt, careful to dirty the cloth even more. The villagers scrunch their noses in disgust; who knew how old and rotten the kerchief was, or how long it had carried blood like the unwashed sword of a warrior?]

also by the way this excerpt is in square brackets because it is a third-person interjection in a vignette that is otherwise first-person [at this point...]

SPARE THOUGHTS:

this was inspired by a conversation i had with my grandfather, where he was telling me about how people used to sing songs to the skies, as a way of devotion to a specific god. he used the [loose translation of] the english word “yearning” to refer to the emotion the singers would invoke, and that sparked the concept of a disillusioned young boy who talks to the moon as a way to please the god he’s in love with. it’s a very softly disconcerting story and once again deals with the theme of “perception vs reality” which if you know me and my work, is the theme i’m forever obsessed with.

i really like how this turned out? the atmosphere is exactly how i wanted it to be, and there’s so much i have to add on as i edit and i’m really looking forward to that. this is also the only short story i’ve written where i knew which litmag i’d love for it to be published in? like i never write things with publishing in mind, but for some reason while writing this story it occurred to me that it would be a perfect fit for this specific magazine and i love that. anyway if you’ve made it through the post till here,,,, bless you and your braincells. and that’s all for today!!

#am writing #writeblr #wtwcommunity #atlastracking #ofcolourtracking #crabappletracking #tw death #tw plague #tw blood #the way this post gets increasingly incomprehensible...#love how my blog has just descended into pure chaos post-hiatus #geometry of the holy moon (1 am)#god complex #god complex intro

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duckprintspress · 3 years

Text

What is a Story?

When Duck Prints Press put out our call for applicants, we asked everyone to submit “a sample of their work (between 1,000 and 2,000 words)… [that] must function as a short story.” When we reviewed the 100+ samples we received, we noticed many areas where writers commonly struggled. Based on what we learned, we’ve planned a number of blog posts to discuss these challenging areas, and we’ve decided to tackle one of the most frequent issues first. Many otherwise strong submissions lost points on our rubric line regarding “plot and events,” and specifically, they scored a 1 or a 2 because “the story has no plot (for example, is a vignette).”

So, this begs the question, what is a story, and, of course, what isn’t a story?

(note that throughout this post, I use the word “narrative” to refer to any amount of text that may or may not be a story, and I use story only in a more narrow, specific sense.)

What is a story?

The answer is deceptively simple: a story is any narrative that has a plot. But...what is a plot? There are many ways to define a plot, but at its most basic, a plot has a beginning, a middle, and an end, and by the ending, something has changed. If, at the end of the story, nothing has changed, then it’s not a story. However, even if something has changed, it’s still not necessarily a story, because characters and time-frame also influence the definition. A narrative without at least one character is not a story. Likewise, a narrative time-frame, if it’s discussing events at a meta-level (“this happened, then this happened, then this happened”) may show that changes occur, but it’s still not a story - it’s an overview or an outline. The lines, of course, can be blurry - and where any given author, reader, or DPP reviewer draws the line between “this is a story” and “this isn’t a story” will vary.

How is a story communicated to the reader?

To function as a story, the narrative must include characters. Now, character doesn’t necessarily have to mean person, or even require sentience, but there must be some point of view being explored, and if the character is an animal or an inanimate object, writing it as a character will require a degree of anthropomorphizing. The key aspect is that the character has some form of agency - some ability to interact with and influence their surroundings. This character will have a point of view and a perspective that affects how they perceive the story’s setting, and by the end of the story this character should have either changed themselves, or changed their surroundings, or changed their relationships. The circumstances around this character must be different by the end of the story than they were at the beginning - or else it’s not a story.

What is change?

As part of the narrative, one or more characters in the story must engage in some form of activity that results in the world around them changing. Writing advice most oftenly calls this “conflict,” but honestly? I hate that word. The classic couching of “person vs. self, person vs. person, person vs. nature, person vs. society, person vs. fate” as the available types of conflict is tired. Defining the only kind of change as conflict and specifically describing it as “x versus y” is to automatically get a potential writer thinking in terms of antagonism. While antagonism is one available type of change, it’s not the only, and while many pieces of writing advice point out that these “versus” constructions don’t mean enmity by nature...why not simply choose a less confusing construction, one that doesn’t require addenda to explain the existence of narratives that clearly are stories but are less “versus” and more “and” - “person and self,” “person and person,” “person and nature,” “person and society,” “person and fate.” I’ve opted to use the word change, because one of the clearest ways to tell if a narrative is a story or not is to look at the nature of the character(s) are at the beginning, and look at the nature of them at the end, and say - what’s different? Maybe they’ve built something. Maybe they’ve reached a new understanding. Maybe they’ve conquered a challenge. Maybe they’ve altered their perspective. Maybe they’ve learned something. Maybe, they’ve changed the world, or maybe, they’ve just changed a light bulb - but something has changed.

Before some writing snob comes at me and says, “okay, fine, we dare you to come up with a plot that doesn’t fit into the classic five conflict types” ...of course we can’t. That model functions because all stories can be shoehorned into it, as long as very loose definition of “conflict” and “versus” are used. But because it��s described in oppositional terms, a lot of writers get distracted by that terminology and think there has to be, well, a conflict, in the narrow definition of the word. And that’s clearly absurd - many of our favorite fanfiction tropes, for example, are fluffy and comforting and soft precisely because they’re not about conflict, they’re about harmony. Yes, “enemies to lovers” is wonderful, but so is “friends to lovers.” Two people going on a date that ends with a marriage proposal is a story: they started out as a couple and ended engaged. Something has changed - their relationship status. But to call that “person versus person,” while perhaps technically correct, is ludicrous. Now, to keep it interesting, there might be some “person versus self” - “I’m not worthy of this love, omg do they really care for me, oh will society give us problems if we say yes?” which is how it can be shoehorned into the “conflict” model. But be it ever so soft, and their love ever so accepted, and their faith in each other ever so steady - if there really is no conflict, just those two people meeting up and having a nice night and ending in a proposal...it’s still a story. To say it’s not a story because there was no conflict, only an advancement of their relationship...yes, a story like that is borderline to being a vignette or “slice of life” narrative. Certainly, if there’s zero sources of tension, it may not be a very interesting story, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a story.

What else does a story need?

Honestly - not much. Don’t get us wrong - a story is stronger if it has a setting so that it doesn’t just take place in endless blankness. A story with multiple characters but no form of dialog (verbal or non-verbal) may be a little flat. A story where something changes but some of the introduced plot elements aren’t resolved will feel incomplete to a reader. A story without any negativity could be boring. Stories lacking these elements may not be good stories...or they could be amazing, and innovative, showing how a tale can be told without elements we usually consider essential! As long as something or someone has changed, and the story is told in a narrative, descriptive format that includes a character - it’s a story.

What isn’t a story?

Things that aren’t stories fall into two broad categories:

Narratives that have description, characters, dialogue, setting, and other story elements, but nothing changes. Examples of this are “slice of life” narratives and what, in fandom-parlance, would be called an episode coda or canon insert - a chunk of narrative deliberately meant to make a bridge between two established events but in which nothing can change because the surrounding events remain established. (A coda or insert might be a story, it varies.)

Narratives that are either entirely “show” (for example, a vignette) or entirely “tell” (for example, a synopsis), These can also be seen as relating to time - either there’s little or no passage of time (usually the case in vignettes) or far too much passage of time (usually the case in synopses). Narratives like this may or may not include a character, but even if they do, they’re still not stories. Why not? Because any story that is entirely “show” and involves minimal passage of time is unlikely to result in change, and instead will be an extended description of a moment. And any story that is entirely “tell” and depicts a large swath are overviews - there’s no element to actually grab a reader and no reason the reader should care about this dry relationship of events. That’s not a story - it’s a history textbook.

Drawing the lines between these categories can be difficult, and to some extent will come down to taste. Anyone who says there’s a hard-and-fast rule in writing is a liar. Just because a synopsis or a “slice of life” narrative isn’t usually a story doesn’t mean they will never be one. But, in general, if you’re looking at a piece of work and you’re trying to determine if it’s a story or not, there are some signs that will strongly suggest it’s not a story:

There are no characters.

There is no setting.

Nothing has changed between the beginning and ending of the narrative.

The entire narrative is an extended description of a single person/object/setting.

The entire narrative could easily be reworded into a sequence of, “thing one happened, then thing two happened, then thing three happened, then thing four happened.”

The narrative feels like a “pause,” or a “bridge” that takes place between two events that aren’t depicted in the narrative.

A central conflict or issue is introduced or described in details, but nothing is done to try to solve the issue.

Now, for the most important part of this discussion of what isn’t a story: writing something that isn’t a story isn’t a bad thing! Especially in fanfiction communities, we live for self-indulgent narratives that make us happy. We love to see those “moments between.” We live for a thought-out thousand-year history for some setting that didn’t originally have that much background. These kinds of narratives are fun to write, and especially when they’re part of an existing franchise, can be a delight to read. We are not saying that there is literally anything wrong with writing a narrative that isn’t a story.

That said, Duck Prints Press’s applicant call specifically asked authors to submit a writing sample that was a story, with the eventual goal of selecting authors to write short stories for an anthology. Which is to say: there’s nothing wrong at all with writing “slice of life” stories, codas, canon inserts, vignettes, or synopses - it’s simply not what we asked people to submit in this specific case, and we’ve come to see that a lot of people submitted non-stories without an apparent understanding of the difference, and we wanted to explain that difference.

But, to everyone reading this: write whatever brings you joy, in as much detail or vagueness as makes you happy, and share it with whoever you want. Just also understand, that for many types of narratives, if you’re asked “is that a story?” it’s not. That’s not to create a hierarchy - they’re all equal as art forms, they’re just not the same.

Okay I kinda understand this in theory but what do these differences actually look like in practice?

In long-form works, it’s usually relatively easy to recognize what is a story and what isn’t. Almost every novel ever published has a plot, and has things change, and is therefore a story. (though there are exceptions - Wikipedia lists a few longer vignettes and, when done thoughtfully, it can be astonishingly effective.) However, in shorter works, it can be difficult to tell the difference - and, as previously mentioned, the lines can blur.

In the interest of giving an idea of what the differences are, here are a few examples I quickly cooked up to try to show you all, since I’ve done a lot of “telling” so far (this blog post: also not a story, ha!) and very little demonstration. These are each around 150 words, to show that even in a tiny word count, any of these narrative structures is a viable choice. (Sorry these aren’t high literature - I just threw them together for this post, so I’d have something that suited.)

(read more)

A story - a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, where something changes:

The door slammed open. Looking up from her embroidery, Victoria blinked as Margaret strode into the room.There was an air of expectancy that was inexplicable to Victoria; she grew more confused when Margaret approached and dropped to one knee.

“What are you doing?” Heart pounding, Victoria attempted self-restraint, but she couldn’t rein in her hope, because it almost looked like...it seemed like...but--

“Proposing,” announced Margaret, pulling a velvet-covered box from her pocket and opening to reveal an emerald set in a gold band.

“But you can’t!”

Margaret tilted her head to the side and frowned. “Why not?”

Objections occurred to Victoria, but examining them...she couldn’t think of a one that Margaret wouldn’t demolish with her usual brilliance. “You know what? You’re right. Who’s to stop us? And...I accept.”

And as Margaret slipped the ring onto Victoria’s finger, she knew: there could be no objection. Nothing had ever felt so right in her life.

“Slice of life” - a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, where nothing changes:

“What a day!” said James, dropping onto the couch with an exhausted sigh.

“I know what you mean,” Tom agreed. He fumbled a hand across the cushion separating them, and James delighted in the simple comfort of threading their fingers together.

A beep, beep, beep sounded in the kitchen, announcing that the microwave had finished nuking their leftovers.

“You getting that?” asked Tom.

“It’s your turn!” James countered.

“But I don’t want to let go of your hand.” Tom gave his hand a squeeze, and a pleased glow suffused James’s chest.

It was Tom’s turn to retrieve their dinner.

But Tom was right - holding hands was wonderful.

“Let’s get it together,” James suggested.

Hesitating, Tom remained still as James sit up and gave a tug on their joined arms, then he broke into a smile and rose at James’s side.

“I love the way you think.”

“I love you, too, darling”

And together - always together - they got their dinner.

“Bridge” scene, episode coda, or canon insert-style fic - a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, where nothing changes:

Arriving home after the battle, Sandy opened the rough-hewn door and shed her damaged armor. Her dented cuirass had left an aching bruise across her chest; she carried it to the smithy out back for repair in the morning. A gash on her thigh throbbed where an arrow had pierced the straps holding her greaves in places; she brought them to her leather-working station. Nicks and fissures marred her once-gleaming sword blade. All Sandy wanted was to collapse in bed, but resisted the pull of relaxation, because blood limned the damaged places red, and repair to the damaged weapon couldn’t wait. Taking a seat, placed her feet on the treadles that set her whet stone to spinning and set about polishing out every imperfection.

Yes, she was exhausted.

But her sword must be cleaned, and smoothed, and honed, and prepared.

Sandy must be prepared.

There would always be another battle to be fought.

Vignette, a narrative without a beginning, a middle, or an end, which may or may not have a character, and nothing changes and in which the emphasis is on showing, rather than telling (but, as in this example, a combination may be used):

The wind blew chill down the narrow mountain pass. All was silent, save for the rush of the breeze. All was still, save where gusts stirred the tall grasses and the branches of trees that reached, claw-like, toward the sky.

Once upon a time, a stream had carved this cut through the cliffs, forcing its way through soft chalk and hard shale, leaving jagged stones that emerged from the steep pass walls like teeth. The stream was long dry, now, only water-smoothed stones strewn across the ground to show where it had ever been.

Once upon a time, travellers had traversed the dried-up rill bed, pounding down the dirt, knocking the rocks aside, leaving scars where their fires burned. They’d lived, and laughed, and explored, and sought...and left, never to return.

Now, there was nothing: nothing but the storm.

And all was silent.

And all was still.

And the wind blew, chill, down the narrow mountain pass.

Synopsis, a narrative with a beginning, a middle and an end, which may or may not have characters, and where something changes, and in which the emphasis is on telling rather showing:

Emperor Xiang Zhen was born in 9884 to Dowager Empress Luo Zexi and the warlord Xiang Yijun. After his birth, there was a long period of strife. Those who supported Xiang Yijun’s claim to the throne battled those who still supported the Dowager Empress’s deceased husband Peng Zhenya. Eventually, the factions found common ground when Xiang Zhen came of age, and he was enthroned in 9902.

With his reign came peace and prosperity. The arts flourished. Scholarship advanced, and many great Dao masters arose, using cultivation to rid the land of evil’s left by the long war. Xiang Zhen longed to join a Night Hunt himself, but he was trapped by his political position. He didn’t dare risk the fragile stability in the Empire. If something happened to him, the results could be catastrophic. So he studied, and ruled, and adjudicated, and endowed, and endured.

Xiang Zhen did as he must.

But, oh...he wished he weren’t alone.

I know this is long, so we’ll leave this discussion at this point. Hopefully you found it helpful, and please do let me know if you have any questions! Duck Prints Press is always here to offer support to writers, and we love getting writing asks!

#duck prints press #writing advice #original content

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bestworstcase · 3 years

Note

I like your thoughts on how Rapunzel was handling things wrong in “Rapunzel: Day One.” The episode tries to imply that Cassandra is wrong for not sharing her feelings with Rapunzel, but is a Rapunzel really the person Cassandra should be opening up to? Rapunzel never respects Cassandra’s boundaries. Cassandra’s a private person. Rapunzel doesn’t respect that. And just because Cassandra doesn’t want to open up to everyone doesn’t mean that she’s bottling things up.

ok so this is gonna be a long one bc tbh i like. fundamentally disagree that RDO, the narrative of RDO, in any way positions cassandra as the one at fault for the emotional conflict between her and raps.

to digress a bit - while tts is not immune to Aesop Episodes (e.g. rapunzel's enemy or you're kidding me) wherein the characters close out the story by talking about What They've Learned, ultimately i don't think tts can or should be read as a morality play. it's a story where sometimes characters just... fuck up and the narrative doesn't waste its time on hand-holding or spoon-feeding us the moral.

anyway, i submit that RDO is what i'll call a False Aesop Episode. it follows the basic structure of an Aesop Episode (protagonist acts badly -> protagonist learns a lesson) but the lesson rapunzel learns is a bad one. it's like if you took... say, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" as an aesop, the False Aesop here is rapunzel confidently eating a rotten apple and then being blindsided a few months later when the doctor who kept begging her not to eat food with maggots in it steals the moonstone from under her nose and runs off into the night with her new demon pal--

and that metaphor got away from me a little bit but you get the idea.

#1: constructing the conflict

the episode opens with cassandra. she's training; we see the sword fly out of her injured hand; lance suggests she take a break, and she answers, "thanks to rapunzel's little trick at the great tree, i have to relearn everything using this hand, so breaks aren't really an option."

she isn't harsh about it. her demeanor isn't all that different from her normal self—she even segues into a very typical concern (that the woods are dangerous and they should all be on their guard) and banters with lance a bit.

what this communicates, immediately and succinctly, is that:

1. cassandra's injury is severe. it's disabling. she's either in immense pain or she's lost all the strength in that hand or both.

2. cass is really upset about this, and not happy with rapunzel.

3. nevertheless cass is keeping her feelings more or less in check; the worst anyone could say about her is she's being a bit more curt than normal.

which is to say, she's acting quite reasonable. she's not taking out her hurt feelings on anyone else or being mean or lashing out, and she's not hiding her injury either. the most concerning thing about her behavior here is actually that she's focused on training so she can do her job instead of on healing or resting or taking care of herself.

then there's a pan over to rapunzel, who is angrily watching this play out while venting to pascal. "i get why cass is mad at me," she says. "she told me—" huge disdainful rolling of eyes here "—not to use the decay spell back and the tree, and i did, and she hurt her hand. but if she had just listened to me and stayed out of it, this all could have been avoided! and i feel like we could work things out, but she refuses to talk about it!!"

line this up against cassandra's behavior and spot the differences.

cass is focused on her injured hand. cass is upset because rapunzel accidentally mutilated her in the great tree. that's what this conflict is about for cass; her injury, and how she feels about being injured.

by contrast, rapunzel thinks the conflict is about them not listening to each other. she does acknowledge that cass was injured, but 1. she puts the blame on cass, and 2. has shoved the fact of the injury to the periphery of the conflict. it's not important, it's just a natural consequence of the real conflict, which is cass being mad and petty and refusing to talk to her about how she's unfairly blaming rapunzel for something that wasn't rapunzel's fault.

[i will add here that this behavior from rapunzel is 100% not knowing how to handle guilt and externalizing it as anger, and this thread of rapunzel burying her guilt gets picked up again in rapunzeltopia; it isn't that rapunzel doesn't care that cass is hurt, so much as she's just not emotionally equipped to process these feelings in a healthy way so it mutates into...this.]

and where cass handles her feelings in a pretty reasonable way, rapunzel rants and raves and draws cass as a literal monster with fangs and claws—she's stewing in her out of control emotions and concludes that she just has to find a way to force cass talk to her, which she does shortly thereafter by ordering—not asking—cass to come with her to search for parts to fix the caravan.

#2: the breakdown of communication

i've said it before but it bears repeating: cassandra might not be perfect, but she's a good communicator. in s1 and the front half of s2, she shares her feelings with rapunzel readily and frequently. when she tries to set boundaries with rapunzel, she's able to be clear and specific about what she needs. when she expresses frustration with eugene or her dad or rapunzel, she's very articulate about exactly what she's frustrated about. she can recognize when politer, softer refusals are being ignored and become blunter and more specific to ensure the message is getting across.

the moments when cass struggles to communicate are noteworthy because they're not normal. they signal that she's in acute crisis. think of how her unhinged rant about adira in RATGT heralded a complete emotional breakdown. she clams up in RDO because it's the only thing she can do to protect herself. because rapunzel is an inexperienced nineteen year old who learned all her social "skills" from a manipulative, egotistical abuser and nowhere in the series does that show more than in RDO.

rapunzel knows cass doesn't want to talk about the great tree, so she isolates cass from the rest of the group with the intention of forcing her to talk about it anyway. she's passive aggressive at first: chattering about inanities and trying to bait cass into 'opening up,' and acting vexed and guilt-trippy when she finds out cass brought owl along. she broaches the subject by going "too bad there's not an open-up-to-your-best-friend-about-the-thing-you-guys-are-fighting-about wand, huh?"

then she leads with "i know you're mad at me, but i did the right thing. i didn't have a choice," which... what can cass even say to that? she acknowledged cassandra's anger in one breath and followed up with "but you're wrong tho" in the next. that statement makes cassandra's feelings about her debilitating injury into an argument about Who Was Right.

this is a game that cass tries very hard not to play. "look, if you feel that way, then it's fine. we're good," she says, which is a statement that is not true at all on its face but - what it means is that if rapunzel wants to turn this into a debate about Who Was Right, cass will concede because that's not an argument she's invested in. cass does not want to put her feelings on trial so rapunzel can pick them apart and decide whether she deserves to have them or not.

so she disengages. the sun sets. they camp. rapunzel pokes her again, this time with a more direct approach: "cass, i need to talk about what we both know is going on between us."

and that's when cass throws up a WALL. prior to RDO, when cass is pressed on her feelings, she either: 1. opens up and explains to the extent that she's able (e.g. under raps or RATGT), or 2. flatly shuts the conversation down (e.g. cassandra vs eugene). but in RDO?

"there's nothing to talk about."

"i never said i was upset."

"what makes you so sure that you know how i'm feeling?"

this is cass falling off the end of her rope. this is a cass who spent the last year and a half with rapunzel running roughshod over every boundary cass exhausted herself trying to set. this is cass maybe a few weeks out from rapunzel screaming at her in front of all their mutual friends and then telling her "i am going to make decisions you don't agree with and i need you to be okay with that" when cass tried to open up about her deepest insecurities. this is cass spiraling into despair because she's seen that her best friend cares more about assuaging her own guilt and exerting her authority as a princess than she does about cassandra's feelings.

this is the moment when the friendship dies.

#3: the memory wipe, cassandra's apology, and the false aesop

the details of the tangled-but-cass shenanigans are not super important for the purposes of this discussion. suffice it to say that cassandra lashes out in the heat of the moment, seriously harms rapunzel by mistake, and spends the rest of the episode trying to repair the damage, then apologizes to rapunzel for hurting her. this is, obviously, the correct thing to do when you hurt someone, even if it was an accident.

you see the parallel here, yeah?

rapunzel hurt cass with magic by accident, and then made cass's hurt feelings all about her, blamed cass for the injury, twisted the facts to justify her own indignation, picked a fight about Who Was Right and invalidated cassandra's feelings, and pushed and pushed and pushed until cass blew up and lashed out at her.

cassandra also hurt rapunzel with magic by accident, and then she set aside her own hurt feelings from the argument they were having before to focus one hundred percent of her energy on brewing a cure and keeping amnesiac rapunzel safe, readily admitted her fault, and offered an earnest apology for losing her temper as soon as she could reasonably do so.

if RDO were a true Aesop Episode, this would be the lesson, and rapunzel would of course learn from cassandra's good example and reciprocate by apologizing for the accident in the great tree and her abysmal behavior afterwards—and in a reflection of how cass shared how bottling up her anger allowed it to erupt in a catastrophic way, rapunzel would probably confess that her demanding, selfish behavior came from a place of feeling awful about what happened and terrified that it would ruin their friendship.

but RDO is a False Aesop Episode. rapunzel isn't emotionally equipped to handle the intensity of her guilt, and she lacks the social insight and empathy to draw comparisons between what she did to cass and what cass did to her, so she can't connect the two situations in her head to understand what she's doing wrong. the true aesop flies right over her head, and instead what she learns is this:

1. she was right about cass being upset

2. backing cass into a corner fixed the problem

3. friends really do "just know"

4. being pushy and forceful was the right thing to do.

because the thing is, when cass apologizes for the accidental memory wipe, she truthfully explains why she acted the way she did—she's furious and she didn't want to talk about it, so she held it in as long as she could and then exploded when the pressure became too much—and for rapunzel, i think the explanation and the actual apology get conflated. meaning, cass says "i'm sorry for what i did out of anger" and what rapunzel hears is "i'm sorry for being angry."

and because of that misunderstanding, from rapunzel's perspective her own indignation has been validated and her behavior justified, because she was right all along and cass shouldn't have been angry with her in the first place and now everything is fine--

but it's not fine.

we're not supposed to share rapunzel's perspective here, because she's flat out wrong. nothing is really better and nothing has really changed, except that rapunzel got the talk she wanted and stops putting this intense pressure on cass. so as we enter the house of yesterday's tomorrow, rapunzel is taking it for granted that things are fine with cass, and meanwhile cass is still injured, still angry, still as aloof as she can be without getting rapunzel breathing down her neck again... and then she meets zhan tiri, who gives her everything she needed and couldn't get from rapunzel.

like, to my mind, this is the entire point of RDO, that rapunzel makes this catastrophic mess of trying to patch things up after RATGT and comes out of that mess wrongly thinking she succeeded. the episode is presented through the lens of rapunzel's perspective, but the lines are very wide and i absolutely think the intention is for the audience to read between them and understand the reality that rapunzel has sort of blinded herself to.

#tts #rta #interpersonal conflict......good #theres also a whole separate layer of stuff going on in RDO w the class dynamic #this fight coming on the heels of raps pulling rank in RATGT and all but ordering cass to shut up and deal. like -#in RDO cass is Literally Doing What Rapunzel Ordered Her To Do #being okay with the decisions rapunzel made that hurt her #except that's not what rapunzel wants really. rapunzel wants cass to be her friend #but cass learnt in RATGT that her friendship can't transcend her servitude #she knows now that when push comes to shove rapunzel will treat her like a servant so... she acts accordingly #er #long post

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accio-victuuri · 3 years

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is it me or does china or those so call companies celebrities are signed under needs to do more to protect actors, idols and etc? And I say china because I know celebrities bring a lot of business to china, so they should do more to protect them as well, whether it be a law where fans need to be at a certain distance from celebrities or make it illegal to camp outside their hotels, I don’t need to know when GG or DD goes to work or return, like they legit camp outside to see them pass them

Hello Anon! I would answer all parts of your ask here. looks like there are three sections to this.

I’ll be keeping everything under a cut and just a disclaimer that this is from my own research and opinions.

So what laws are there and what part do ‘Celebrities’ play in the Country?

• An important point I wanna start this answer with is that celebrities in China are very different, in terms of they have values they have to uphold if they wanna continue being allowed to be on air and work. In other countries, of course, a celebrity’s image is still something to watch out for, but it’s not like they are gonna be blacklisted. some of the guidelines they have to follow released fairly recent as follows :

should not "violate ethics, morals, social public order or good customs, causing serious negative social impact"

should not incite hatred and discrimination between ethnic groups, or promote cults and superstitions.

not organise, take part in or promote illegal activities such as pornography, gambling, drugs and violence, among other activities.

There are actors who were blacklisted and had to take a hiatus. At one point, people did support comeback stories but CHN is pushing stricter sanctions for those who fall in this category. They have to submit an application to China Association of Performing Arts (CAPA) if they even plan to make a comeback and be evaluated before they can continue. Also take a look at the recent issue with Xianjiang Cotton and how celebrities were quick to voice out their support and drop the endorsements. It’s part of their job. It’s part of the values they have to uphold. The sense of virtue before arts. They are expected to be more morally upright than the common people.

I wanna start with this for you to understand what’s it like to be a star in CHN. And for GG and Web who are very very popular. If you do a quick search, you will find that there are more rules to control how these celebrities present themselves vs. protecting them. The way I see it, it’s even more dangerous for them to have a dedicated following more than anything. They cannot be so popular that they eclipse certain messages that the gov’t wants to send. There are more laws on online hate and slander against celebrities than the physical suppression of these stalkers. The concept of: The fans reflect the celebrities. This is the infuriating side to this. It is the same challenge GG faced during and post 22*. The logic of: ‘xx fans are causing trouble by blocking airport entrance is the idol’s fault’ . In one such incident, GG was the one who apologized. his team did ban airport photos but he still had to apologize personally to people on the plane. During his shoot with Ace, he had to apologize to the director and crew cause people were camping and taking photos. You see where I’m going here Anon?

The general rules in photos and videos is that it can be taken provided that it’s in a public area. This is why Web, during the shooting of LOF kept pointing out people who were taking pictures to authorities. Earning him the title of Hengdian Hawkeye. There are no iron clad rules to protect them. These celebrities often have to hire lawyers and security team to enforce their privacy. This is where their companies come in. but tbh yh and wjjw did next to nothing in protecting them. It’s their own studios. their own dedicated team that’s doing the work.

who are these people following them?

• The type of fans that you are describing, going to the lengths of putting tracking devices and even secret cameras are sishengs. This is not limited to GG and Web only, it’s a problem for other celebrities too and not just with Chinese fans. For example in Korea, the counterpart to this is sasaeng. They are private life fans. They thrive on sharing personal information, even as far as an address. I don’t see this culture stopping anytime soon. We have more hope on addressing online slander and harmful rumors than erasing sishengs. I’m just being realistic here. The audience to this kind of material is huge and it’s even making it’s way to international platform. It’s the concept of wanting exclusive information. being the first to know a news or a filming tidbit and so on.

I also just wanna add that people you see taking pictures of let’s say at airports in Web’s case or when he’s off to DDU are not exactly sishengs. Some of them are even fansites. provided that it’s a public schedule and he one time even acknowledged them when they greeted him happy bday. Tho they CLEARLY DO NOT WANT to be photographed when filming dramas ( going to and leaving ) + airports.

what can we do as fans?

• I think you answered that Anon. We know what’s right. We know what not to share. It’s hard especially if you see it on your feed, just don’t share it again and distribute to more people. If you notice someone sharing, don’t be so hostile, you can inform them nicely. block sisheng accounts. don’t give them the audience that they want. I know we can be guilty of this at one point or another, knowing flight details and so on. It’s a hard practice to remove but we have to try very hard to not be tempted.

This is why GG and Web are really sending the message for fans to have their own lives. Of not chasing stars too much ( which also is something their gov’t does not endorse and is a whole topic of it’s own ) and neglecting the other people around them. Don’t vote too much. Don’t cause unnecessary trouble in the name of being GG and Web’s fan in public places. It’s what I really feel strongly about when it comes to all of this. If you are a person who can balance fandom and personal life + knows the boundaries, then you’re good.

Thank you for the Ask Anon! ❤️

#ask response #yizhan

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everything-laito · 3 years

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About the theory that maybe Laito doesn't like to be touched as much as he says he does.

This was submitted by @grs-wonder320! I did not edit anything in their response (or the title), I just added paragraph breaks so it's easier to read. I'll put my response below as well!

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I am not the one who asked this question, but I would like to take this opportunity to express my personal opinion on this question. As it turns out, I have a completely different opinion than Corn. That is to say, I believe that there is a good chance that Laito does not like to be touched.

Rationale: I believe that there is a psychology of "excessive pandering to those things that are disgusting or painful to you," and I think that this psychology makes us appear to be happy on the surface, even though we actually dislike them. There are many exceptions to this rule. You may be thinking, "No, no, there are many exceptions to this rule. It is true that this rule does not apply in all situations. It mainly works when he is playing a pervert. So, why does he dare to act perverted in the first place? Most of the time, it's because he wants to be smoked out by the people around him. Why do you want to be smoked? ↓ I don't want to attract them to myself. ↓ Even though he doesn't want to be around other people, he is very sociable (compared to the people around him, that is). So it's hard to imagine why he is annoyed by human relationships like Subaru. ↓ Then there is a good chance that they want to hide something or smoke you out because there is something they don't want you to know. ↓ There is often a pattern of people who want to hide the fact that they are actually perverts, so they pretend to be sane on the surface.

In other words, the Laito that is ostensibly acting as a pervert is _____? Yes, that's what I mean. (What do you mean?) It's almost impossible to play a pervert to hide a pervert, isn't it? Most of the time, people play a false image to hide the opposite nature. In Laito's case, considering what happened in the past, it can be seen as "I'm acting perverted because I want to hide the fact that I'm hurt, and I don't want to be aware that I'm hurt, so I'm acting perverted as a self-suggestion.

There are not many people who can be sincerely friendly to the events that hurt them. In the first place, being "hurt" proves that there was something disgusting about you, so we can conclude that Laito is likely to have an aversion to sexual things. I think this explains the psychology that exists in Laito. Back to the topic at hand, I think it's hard to believe that Laito likes to be touched.

In Corn's answer, he used the example of "Laito trying to get me to touch him", which I think can also be explained by the aforementioned psychology. I, too, have a desire to challenge things I dislike (although this is due to overcoming my weaknesses and seeing things that scare me, and is not the same as Laito's), so I think it is entirely possible for someone to "dare to do something they dislike. Also, there is a high possibility that Laito is not aware of his own aversion to sexual matters, and if that is the case, everything is "true" in his mind, so naturally he would not be aware that he is doing something he dislikes. It could be called an unconscious act of self-harm. In the real world, you can only be aware of it when someone points it out to you, or you break your body by going over the limit. I think Laito has that kind of thing too. (Especially Laito in MB). This concludes the explanation. Thank you very much for reading this far!

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First of all, I'm unsure what you mean by "smoking out," If you could provide clarification on that, that would be great! I think I know what you mean by it, I'm just a lil confused and hope I didn't misinterpret it!

I do agree with you on your psychology on the excessive pandering part! That's exactly what Laito does most of the time, it's what fuels his facade! As for touching, I do think that speculating it could go either way. I do think Laito is touch starved though. Sure people who are touch starved might not want to be touched. I have thought about it since I made that post and honestly, he might want to be touched just like he wants to have genuine love, but he's insecure about it almost.

However, if he was excessively pandering about being touched, he might have done that more often. The only time where he asks Yui to touch him throughout the entire HDB game is only in that supposed mutual masturbation scene, and his heaven scenario. He is known to have a masochistic streak regardless. The other times its Yui either pushing him or slapping him etc. (I'm planning on going over his masochism on a later date)

Laito excessively panders when he says absolutely wild shit that makes others uncomfortable, or gets Yui to be unnerved.

In my previous post, I did say that he could be playing it up! But the fact that he doesn't have Yui touch him until late game does say something. It shows that he's opening up and being more vulnerable. Sure this is HDB Laito and we don't really get much of his facade cracking in that game compared to MB+. Late game HDB Laito is able to let down his guard slightly, since he knows he has Yui wrapped around his finger. The thing is, his excessive pandering to him being a pervert is typically used for manipulation. Your psychology checks out in everything else about him, I do agree with that. But as for touching, that doesn't really "prove" to Yui that Laito's a pervert.

If Laito wanted to utilize touch as a facade of control, he would have done it earlier. Instead, he used other methods to give Yui a false sense of security at times, which he used to break her down further. Could he be doing it in order to show Yui he doesn't have a weakness? He could, but once again when it comes to topics or situations where he doesn't want to be involved with, he acts aloof and avoids it at all costs while changing the conversation. That's my rationale on that. The fact that he has such a different reaction being touched vs his other activities that could be considered as "excessive pandering" is a lil ~sus~ as they say. Or inversely, maybe Laito doen't address the fact that he likes being touched because he might consider genuine thrill as a weakness but maybe he gets desperate. He's desperate for legitimate compassion, the mans needs it.

As for challenging things you dislike, that also checks out in general. However, when it comes to Laito, he likes a sense of control and security. Instructing Yui to touch him gives that sense of control, but also lets him be slightly vulnerable. It's not even that vulnerable because if she does anything that could potentially harm Laito, he would be able to stop it in an instant.

He doesn't like challenging himself, and we all know this. His facade was created so he doesn't have to challenge himself to get over his past trauma. It's to avoid it and not challenge it instead.

I do think that Laito is incredibly self aware and self unaware at the same time. It's a little paradoxical but I feel like he knows he has a facade, but again, he tries to avoid the fact that he does have one and that his facade is true. We do know he's self aware through drama cds and what he says about himself in the games. They're vague, but once you know his character, you know what he's talking about. The fact that he projects onto Yui also says a lot about that.

Also, a little side note as well, in MB he does have consensual sex with Yui. Before that scene happened, he was being extremely vulnerable and a good chunk of his facade broke down. There's a certain tone when you know Laito's being serious and taking down his mask, and that's exactly what he did in that MB scene. Here's a quote from it:

Laito: For some reason, I feel strangely refreshed. Don’t you think that’s weird? I couldn’t get your blood out of my head for the longest time, but it finally calmed down. Right now, it isn’t your blood, but instead I want to hold your warm body close like this… And kiss you…I want to indulge in your body until I’m sick and tired of it. Nfu~

In this scene, Laito was happy crying, which was something he was not familiar with but also hasn't experienced before. It's an involuntary bodily function, yet he was confused by it. This just shows he is genuinely happy, and the fact that he says that he genuinely is admitting to what he wants for once, I don't think it's excessive pandering in this scene, it's him developing. You could argue that he got over his aversion to being touched in this scene. There's a couple asks in my ask box that's related to him and sex, which I will also get to sometimes this week. But that's a different post.

Again I think it could be argued either way, but that's my thought process behind this aside from what I previously said! There's just a lot to think about when it comes to this, and we won't know unless if something is said in canon! But Laito's incredibly complex and there's several factors that explains his behavior.

Hope that makes sense! And once again, thanks so much for submitting! I love hearing people's opinions and their own thoughts that either confirm or challenge my own, so thank you for that! This one definitely got me thinking more. That's the beauty in analysis! Each person takes something different from the text!

And who knows, maybe I’ll change my mind in the future!

#submission #analysis #diabolik lovers analysis #dialovers analysis #dialover analysis #diabolik lovers #dialover #dialovers #laito sakamaki analysis #laito sakamaki #sakamaki laito #raito sakamaki #sakamaki raito

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thetinypsychologist · 4 years

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A GUIDE TO STUDYING ONLINE/ONLINE SCHOOL

Hello all! Since I’ve started university now I thought I’d make a post on how to survive online school/studying!

SYNCHRONOUS VS ASYNCHRONOUS

Synchronous - taking part in online classes live via Zoom, MS Teams etc. It basically means also that you have to be at your computer or at least on your phone every time you normally should be at campus. This also means that you can interact with the teacher, ask questions but may also have to be prepared and be able to answer questions.

Asynchronous - taking part in online classes via some kind of communication tool, for example email, or your school’s e-drive. Teachers can send powerpoints, documents or even a video of them explaining a topic. You will have to finish the assignment until a certain date and either upload it or send it to them. The advantage of this is that you can save time if you are faster than the normal duration of the course. Furthermore, you can decide for yourself when you are spending time on this subject and work at your pace.

MAKE A TIMETABLE / TO-DO LIST

Make yourself a timetable or write down in your planner when you have to be online for which course and with what kind of tool (Zoom, Teams, email). You can also add in times you’re going to do your asynchronous work. For example on Tuesday’s I have a free day from synchronous lectures so I will catch up with asynchronous work then. Alternatively, make a to-do list whether it’s for the day or for the week. Mark the tasks you have to do the soonest with a certain colour or with a symbol beside it. If it’s not clear from the assignment itself, also write down to which subject or module the assignment belongs and how to submit it (for example upload to Teams or sending it via email). Learn to prioritise your tasks. TIP: make a folder for all your subjects/assignments and organise by module/topic. Edit: So now all my lectures are asynchronous, and I have on campus seminars so what I’ve done when making my timetable is: write in all timetabled/on-campus/synchronous sessions, and then from there I can see when I’m free to slot in any asynchronous lectures - and I’ll timetable these so I don’t forget to do them. I’ll also take into account when my seminars are e.g. if I have a social psychology seminar on Tuesday, I’ll make sure I get the social psychology lecture done before that seminar, rather than doing it on Friday when I have a free day.

TAKING NOTES

It can be hard to take notes on the laptop while in synchronous teaching. You can either go online with your phone and take notes on your laptop, take notes by hand or you can also try splitting your screen (which is what I do) between your MS Teams/Zoom and MS Word so you can see/hear what is being streamed while taking your notes. Many universities also enable a rewatch function,or they record lectures so you can watch the stream multiple times. If you have the possibility (and time) to rewatch the lesson, focus during the live stream only on understanding the topic and on asking questions if necessary. Take your notes while listening to the stream for the second time. This way, you will understand the topic better because you can fully focus on it. By listening to it a second time and writing down the important things, you also have your first revision! Only do this if the rewatch option of the stream is available and you have the time.

CHOOSE YOUR WORKSPACE WISELY

You probably already have one or multiple study spaces at home that you are used too. Probably (or hopefully) they are also practical - however, what is practical for studying in private might not be practical for synchronous teaching. Make sure the lighting is right so if you need to put your camera on - your face is recognisable and the light doesn’t cast shadows that may affect the call/camera. Make sure you also have enough space for your devices, pencil case, planner, drinks, notepad etc and make sure you have your chargers and you have a sufficient wi-fi connection!

FAMILIARISE YOURSELF WITH THE SOFTWARE

Whether it’s MS Teams, Zoom, or your school’s personal portal - familiarise yourself with how it works and where everything is found. This makes uploading work easier for you and helps you stay organised.

FIND A ROUTINE

Find a routine that works for you in terms of keeping up to date with your work, maintaining your social life and keeping some free time. Whether that’s a timetable by above or just settling into a routine - find what works best for you. E.g I wake up usually about 90 minutes before my first online session, take notes and in-between sessions, make sure I’ve uploaded everything onto my workspace in Notion (let me know if you want more info on this!) and then when I have more time I’ll check emails, plan blog posts etc etc. Make sure to try get at least 8 hours sleep every night and try maintain your social life/free time!

I think that’s everything I can think of! I do hope this helped! Please remember that we are all in the same boat with online learning and don’t be afraid to ask your teachers/peers for help!

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taito-vs-takatsuki · 3 years

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Bring It On (Blade Maiden vs Shattered Moon)

[Eldrid:]

My dear, sweet Kirumi, I truly apologize I really don't want to do this, but I refuse to compromise Your stupid bitch of a leader pissed me right the fuck off! So don't stand in my way, you can't afford the payoff! You call yourself Crystal? Ha, don't make me laugh! With a single punch, I could break you right in half! This is the end of Shattered Moon's piss-poor saga! Say goodbye to Earth, and hello to Valhalla!

[Kirumi:]

Violence is never an answer, but for you, I’ll make an exception You think you can beat me, well I’m bout to raise an objection You're a good fighter, but can you explain this Do you have a brain? Or are you only good with your fists Do you know who you're up against? I speak for a fucking living! Don't underestimate me, I won't be so forgiving I’m sorry to inform you, Blade Maiden is done The era of the broken moon has only just begun!

[Fleuret:]

Broken Moon, you say? And exactly what use is that? If you have something broken, then simply fix it, little gnat! But none of you would understand, because you have no format Enough talk and words, time to commence combat! Aiko-san, Overdrive, whatever you call yourself Tell me, has all that vulgarity you call music made you deaf? If not then listen closely before you fall with your pride You will never defeat the one who has Honor by her side!

[Aiko:]

Time to make some noise, the true king is here Bow down to me, or I’ll show you the true meaning of fear Combat? Very well, take up your sword little knight I highly doubt you’d stand a chance in a fight All talk and no action, where’s your honor now! Give it up Blade Maiden, the end is coming soon Kneel for your new rulers, welcome the era of the moon

[All:]

Bring it on! We're not stepping away from this fight! We'll stand tall against our enemy, day or night! Bring it on! The battle lines have now been drawn! We'll not cease until all foes are dead and gone!

[Battle Maiden:]

Defeat is not an option, Battle Maiden!

[Shattered Moon:]

We refuse to submit, Shattered Moon!

[All:]

Victory is a must, nothing else to discuss So draw your swords and prepare for war! Now, bring it on!

[Azusa:]

'Think lightly of yourself, and deeply of the world' Wiser words have not been spoken, and I hope you heard Ryoko-san, tell me truly, are you happy with your life? You'd probably say yes, but I can tell you're full of strife Lashing out, causing trouble, picking needless fights It's a wonder that you even know your wrongs from your rights It's quite fitting that you named your team, 'Shattered Moon' But the only thing I see shattered here is you!

[Ryoko:]

What do you know! I’m being preached at once more Honestly Azusa, your words are such a bore I'm tired of these games, let’s go, Samurai Think you can beat me? You're more than welcome to try Your swordsmanship can only get you so far Especially when your rap game is so sub-par Come on darling let me see what you can do It's almost a shame that I’m gonna have to crush you

[Azusa:]

You three lack foresight, you can't see what's in front of you Until you look beyond yourselves, you'll fail at all you do

[Fleuret:]

What a weak defense! It will fall before our sword None of you can see that you're just pawns on the chessboard

[Eldrid:]

Be happy, all three of you will soon become angels It's just a shame that your deaths will be slow and painful!

[Ryoko] I'm sick of this shit, let’s settle this fight Its time for us to leave blade maiden in the dark, and for us to step into the light

[Aiko] No matter the attack, our claim to victory is not lost Give up now or pay the cost

[Kirumi] Our words are our weapons, our mics wage war Come now, it’s time to settle the score!

[All:]

[Battle Maiden:]

Defeat is not an option, Battle Maiden!

[Shattered Moon:]

We refuse to submit, Shattered Moon!

[All:]

Victory is a must, nothing else to discuss So draw your swords and prepare for war! Now, bring it on!

[Azusa:]

Fleuret-san, tell me truly, are the Mayeda siblings worthy?

[Fleuret:]

Not at all, my friend, they're 100 years too early They made a poor choice waging war against us And now the moon they worship will slowly turn to dust

[Azusa:]

Really now? Are you sure that's not a misconception?

[Fleuret:]

Afraid not, they lack honor, and that's not a preconception Overdrive wastes time doing senseless things He lacks the knowledge to walk the path of being a king And Crystal, though is kind, is simply second-rate When toppled over, like the King, she is put in checkmate In simpler terms, both of them are worth avoiding

[Azusa:]

I see, my, how truly disappointing

[Kirumi] Oh my oh my, what low-class insults

[Aiko]

How about we point out some of your god damn faults Maidens living in the past, your reasonings are a mystery I’ll be sure to leave you both forgotten in the pages of history

[Kirumi]

Now now dear brother no need to be so harsh on our dear friends

[Aiko] Harsh? Hardly a fitting trial for their timely end Azusa stuck in the past, kendo is so damn out of out of style Is going after her even worthwhile? Don't even get me started on Fleuret! That honor happy knight One look at her and I can tell she wouldn’t last in a fight! I can’t even continue! These two aren’t worth the trouble!

[Kirumi]

Very well then, let’s leave them behind in the rubble

[Eldrid:]

Well well, lookie here, it's just me and you, bitch Now to fulfill my promise, get ready to get lynched! You know the old saying that 'Snitches get stitches?' Well around here, snitches wind up in fuckin' ditches! You say you had your reasons, well I don't give a fuck You're a fuckin' stool pigeon, you wannabe ugly duck! Your friendship with Lana was nothing more than a crutch So from me and her to you, we say 'fuck you very much!'

[Ryoko] Hm~? Did I hear something? Was it just a waste of time? Sounds to me like dear Eldrid is running out of rhymes It's not like you’d understand, I did what I had to. If you were in my shoes you’d fucking do the same to I don't feel a fucking thing for her, not sorrow nor empathy Both you and her get no sympathy from me Guilt trips don’t work on me, life isn’t fucking fair Give me a reason why I should fucking care

[All:]

[Battle Maiden:]

Defeat is not an option, Battle Maiden!

[Shattered Moon:]

We refuse to submit, Shattered Moon!

[All:]

Victory is a must, nothing else to discuss So draw your swords and prepare for war! Now, bring it on!

#hypmic #hypmic oc #hypnosis microphone #hypnosis mic #hypnosis mic oc #taito division #takatsuki division #division rap battle #blade maiden #shattered moon #azusa furukawa #fleuret oshiro #eldrid iwasaki #ryoko minamoto #aiko mayeda #kirumi mayeda #collab

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