#one of them looks just like bdg

[tangledinink]

Good luck at work!

THANKS :D my first day went GREAT absolutely every single coworker ive met so far is queer

#one of them looks just like bdg #the coworker im gonna be working with/under directly is lovely and i really like her so far #i think we have been getting along just SWELL #they apparently had a running joke prior to my arrival that they were gonna try to trick me into thinking they were all straight #asks #personal

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

The Waves are Rising and Rising

|Beginning| |Previous|

Chapter 13

(Please mentally insert the "Uh-oh ____!" BDG meme edited to say "Uh-oh Jin Guangyao!", please and thank you.) Chapter 14 will post on Friday!

--//--

Jinlintai is a place that never truly sleeps, but in the weeks leading up to little Jin Ling’s hundred day celebration it seems to hum with constant activity, and Jin Guangyao sits relatively unobtrusively in the middle of all of it to make sure it all goes according to plan. The one saving grace in all of it is, unsurprisingly, the insane amount of qi from his dual (triple?) cultivation that keeps him going for even longer than Lan Xichen’s qi alone had.

He spends nearly two full weeks pain-free and feeling rested when he wakes even if he only sleeps for a few hours at a time, and when he can feel the influx of energy finally beginning to fade he nearly cries. Hardly the most embarrassing part of this whole… debacle, but he doesn’t exactly have the time to go through his perfect recall of every single thing he said and did whilst in the heat of the moment in order to be properly horrified by it.

(He might not have the time but, regardless, he cannot help the disjointed memories hitting him at random moments like assassins with incredible aim. Hurrying between the seamstresses and the pigeon coops and the kitchens and the captain of the guard’s quarters all before his presence is demanded by one of his cousins to attend to their afternoon meal is hardly the time to contemplate why in the heavens he thought it was acceptable to arch his back at such a deep angle and mutter filthy, private things about Lan Xichen in Nie Mingjue’s ear while Lan Xichen was sitting right there, watching and listening. And yet as he lifts the hems of his robes to avoid the worst of the muck around the coops whilst searching for Jin-furen’s favorite cat, he definitely spares a moment to visibly cringe away from how he must have looked — how he must have sounded [i.e. utterly ridiculous] — and he’s most definitely horrified by it whether the has the time to be or not.)

Of course in between the flashes of internal mortification and the days where he’s truly kept so busy it’s nearly better than having any moments to consider his own performance, he’s struck by bouts of yearning so intense that more than once he’s had to physically stop and lean for a moment against a wall. It feels like it should be fake, that sort of wanting that he does not have time for, but it hits him just the same, the absence of his sworn brothers like a missing limb. Jinlintai is just as hostile as ever, just as cold and cruel; nothing that happens to him within the confines of Jinlintai’s walls is a surprise anymore, and yet having known what it’s like to be… cherished, to be held and wanted and doted on even for a single night makes it all the harder to bear it when his own family throws whatever is at hand straight at his head, or spits for the thousandth time that he’s soiling their home simply by having been invited into it.

He’d even known that this would happen, he’d known that softening his heart for two men he doesn’t see nearly as often as he would like to would spell his own disaster, and he’d done it anyway. He’s losing control of himself in ways that are entirely unacceptable and jeopardising everything he had worked so hard to achieve. He’d been weak to ask for their last meeting, and he’d been weak to let Nie Mingjue continue to call him A-Yao, and weaker still to let Lan Xichen take him yet again after Nie Mingjue had come for the third time during their ‘punishment’ and had pleaded to be allowed to rest and watch instead.

He’d been so pathetic putting on a performance of pleasure for the both of them (and he hates that it hadn’t even been a performance, it had been his stupid heart clawing for any scrap of affection and finding not only scraps but an entire feast of it laid out for the taking and he’d taken it all simply because it was there without truly considering the consequences of what it would do to his peace of mind once they all returned to their duties).

“Ah… Lianfang-zun?”

“Yes?” Jin Guangyao turns to find the head gardener standing a polite distance away, wringing his hands.

“It seems that Jin-gongzi mistook the latest cuttings of flowers for the banquet hall as a gift for Jin-shao-furen and had them moved to their quarters as a… romantic gesture..”

Jin Guangyao holds in a soul-deep sigh with effort and smiles to hide his irritation. Of course Jin Zixuan would believe that the whole world revolves around his own little love affair (and of course his has been legitimized for too many reasons both fair and not for him to bother listing, unlike Jin Guangyao’s which must never be allowed to see the light of day and it’s not a love affair in the first place, he mustn’t think of it like that-) and because this is Jinlintai, and Jin Zixuan its heir, and Jin Ling his heir, whatever the esteemed Jin-gongzi wants for his sweet Jin-shao-furen, the darling little Lady of Jinlintai, then Jin Zixuan shall have.

“I will send for others to be delivered at once, it would hardly do to upset either of them so close to such an auspicious occasion,” Jin Guangyao replies smoothly, none of his roiling envy slipping past his iron-clad mask of polite servitude.

“Thank you, Lianfang-zun,” the gardener breathes and wisely takes his leave with an extra bow, secure in the knowledge that he won’t have to be the bearer of bad news to anyone but Jin Guangyao, whose feelings are likely believed to be nonexistent, let alone something worth worrying over.

Not that he would want something as ridiculous as an entire banquet hall’s worth of flowers for a romantic gesture, but some small part of him wonders if maybe Lan Xichen would like something like that. He’s unbearably romantic (now is not the time to remember their entire night alone together in vivid detail, though for some reason it is somehow preferable and much less horrifying than remembering letting Nie Mingjue pin him down and kiss him senseless while Lan Xichen fucked him and they spoke to each other much more intimately than they ever have before — no, he’s not thinking about it!) and it’s not as if anyone would ever think to offer such a competent, elegant, self-assured Sect Leader an over-the-top romantic gesture simply because he’d like it.

Perhaps that’s the sort of thing Jin Guangyao could do for him if their arrangement were allowed to be public. Or, rather, had he not stipulated from the very beginning that this arrangement of theirs remain strictly unromantic in every way shape and form for its entire duration. The headache of publicly courting a Great Sect Leader (let alone, possibly, two) aside, he had insisted that no feelings sneak their way into this arrangement. This is his fault, for wanting things that he can’t have, for wanting things that he’d explicitly and emphatically stated he didn’t want (couldn’t want) when they began.

He created this whole mess, really, when he sets the issue of Wen Qing suggesting dual cultivation aside, so he supposes he’d just better accept that and move on.

He has work to do anyway, and no amount of fantasizing about being wrapped up safely in his sworn brothers’ arms again, trading soft kisses and talking about nothing important until morning had lightened the gaps in the window shutter, is going to lighten his workload, nor make it any more bearable.

The final week of preparations passes in a mildly-surreal blur, with no lingering qi to take the edge of pain and exhaustion off of everything that gets piled onto his plate higher and higher, with nothing being removed to accommodate it all.

At least his sworn brothers are coming. He repeats the thought like a mantra as he finalizes menus, and as he checks to make sure Xue Yang has a fresh corpse to experiment on lest he get bored enough to emerge and cause an extremely unwanted scene, and as he reassures the gardener that all the replacement flowers have arrived, been accounted for, and successfully installed in the banquet hall. He directs the servants in their final decorative preparations, and when he finally steps away to enjoy the last few minutes of quiet before guests are expected to arrive he closes his eyes and tells himself that the only guests he truly cares about will be here soon enough, perhaps in mere minutes —

“A-Yao!”

Jin Guangyao turns, startled to find, of all people, Jin Zixuan hurrying towards him.

“There you are,” he says as his jog slows to a stop beside Jin Guangyao. “You know it was actually really hard to find you?”

Yes, Jin Guangyao thinks, perhaps a little uncharitably, because I’m actually busy.

He doesn’t say that, of course. “Apologies, xiongzhang, what can I do for you?”

“A-Li needs a word with you.”

Now?! Jin Guangyao thinks frantically, taking stock of all the other far more important things he still needs to get done before the celebrations start.

“Now?” he asks calmly, smiling.

“If you can,” Jin Zixuan says. Which Jin Guangyao knows is the slightly politer way of him saying yes, now. Jin Guangyao supposes he should be thankful that at least his brother is attempting politeness. It’s more than most of the rest of their family bothers with.

“I am, of course, always at Jin-shao-furen’s disposal.”

Strangely, the response makes Jin Zixuan wrinkle his nose, but he doesn’t address it, simply sweeping his arm up with an elegant billow of his sleeve to indicate the direction in which they should travel. “I’ll take you to her, she’s in the east gardens.”

As they set off in the indicated direction, Jin Guangyao reflects with a kind of distant amusement that if he liked his brother more, he might find it… cute, how comfortable — eager, even — he is being at his wife’s beck and call like this. Since their relationship is non-existent and awkward at best, and mutually (he assumes mutually, if the narrow-eyed looks Jin Zixuan had shot him during their brief crossover at the Cloud Recesses lectures were any indication) resentful at worst, he mostly is curious to see how long this marital infatuation lasts, and exactly how much Jin Zixuan turns out to take after their father.

So far, very little indeed, which is… curious.

Jin Zixuan walks a little ahead of him, setting the pace fast enough that Jin Guangyao, with his shorter legs (he’s a perfectly average height, thank you very much, it’s just his curse to be surrounded by stupid long-legged giants) has to hurry a little to keep up. Every now and then Jin Zixuan glances over his shoulder with a strange pinched expression that makes anxiety bubble in the pit of Jin Guangyao’s stomach.

Abruptly — so abruptly that Jin Guangyao almost walks smack into his back — Jin Zixuan stops and pivots on his heel. Jin Guangyao stares up at him and tries not to look quite as utterly bewildered as he feels.

“A-Yao,” Jin Zixuan says, shoulders stiff and voice devoid of inflection in a way that suggests rehearsal, “I wanted to- uh, we wanted to- you’ve been working very hard. On A-Ling’s hundred day celebration, and um. I’m sorry that muqin has been…” he swallows, gaze darting away then back to Jin Guangyao’s face, “well… muqin.”

When it becomes clear that Jin Zixuan has nothing more to say, Jin Guangyao says, “I see.”

He very definitely does not, but it is apparently enough to mollify Jin Zixuan, who gives a jerky nod then continues to lead Jin Guangyao onwards.

Just around the next corner is a bench, surrounded by beautiful flowers and appointed with luxurious silk drapes and cushions, and upon them sits Jiang Yanli with Jin Ling cradled in the crook of her arm. At her side stands Luo Qingyang. Both of their heads are bent, looking down at the baby — and both of them look up sharply at the sound of footsteps.

Jiang Yanli’s friendly face breaks into a wide, pleased smile (Jin Guangyao tells himself that it’s simply the maternal influence from a Yunmeng woman that softens his heart, and pushes the loneliness that he knows is lurking just below the surface deeper). Luo Qingyang stands up, stands to attention like the seasoned soldier she is, and fixes Jin Guangyao with a very particular kind of look; they haven’t interacted a great deal during his time in Lanling, and she’s never treated him with anything other than utmost politeness, but he’s nonetheless confident that she does not trust him. It makes sense, he supposes, that as someone who has been Jin Zixuan’s closest friend and aide for their whole lives, she might have a desire to protect such a guileless man from those so obviously more competent.

“Jin-shao-furen,” Jin Guangyao dips into a bow as he reaches the two women, “Luo-guniang. Good afternoon.”

“A-Yao,” Jiang Yanli says, infusing his name with apparently genuine warmth, “I assume A-Xuan has…?”

…Explained whatever the hell is going on here? No he has not. Jin Guangyao lets just a smidgeon of bemusement slip into his smile, and takes great delight in the way Jiang Yanli’s own smile turns somewhat exasperated in the direction of her husband. He does not miss the way Luo Qingyang lifts a hand to hide what is definitely a grin behind her sleeve.

“I see. Well, A-Yao, we wanted to thank you, for all the tremendous work you’ve put into A-Ling’s big day. You’ve been so diligent and conscientious, and I’m sure it will be an absolutely splendid event. And all of that whilst flying back and forth to Qinghe, helping Chifeng-zun with his health! A-Yao must be truly exhausted. Will you take a moment to sit with me and rest?”

Luo Qingyang seems to pick up on some unspoken cue, as after giving both Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan a nod, she sets off a little way down the path, and settles herself there like a sentry.

Like a lookout.

Oh.

Dazed, Jin Guangyao allows Jin Zixuan to usher him down onto the bench, before the man marches to the other end of the path to take up his own guard post. Jiang Yanli cheerfully instructs him on how he should hold his arms, and then — with no hesitation or reluctance — places Jin Ling, heir to the Lanling Jin, in Jin Guangyao’s hold.

Jin Guangyao’s mind feels curiously empty as his heart feels so treacherously full. He swallows down the rush of emotion as he gazes down at his nephew, who must be well used to being passed around from adult to adult by now, as he does little more than yawn and blink vaguely up at him. Jin Guangyao cannot decide if the baby is lighter or heavier than he expected. Jiang Yanli tucks some of the blankets that came unwrapped back around her son, then brushes his fat cheek with the back of her knuckles fondly.

“A-Ling,” she says softly, “this is your shushu.”

Something tightly wound in Jin Guangyao’s chest abruptly unravels and, to his mortification, he finds himself desperately blinking back tears.

Shushu. They want him to be part of this child’s family. There are people here in the middle of Jinlintai, the deadly viper pit, the place where he is almost universally degraded and treated like a servant, who- who actually-

“A-Yao, are you alright?” Jiang Yanli asks.

Jin Guangyao is saved from having to answer by the sound of Luo Qingyang’s voice calling out a greeting at a somewhat unnatural volume; a warning. He passes Jin Ling back into his mother’s arms quickly and jumps to his feet.

“Thank you,” he chokes out, bends at the waist in a rushed mess of a bow, then flees.

It takes even longer than it did after he was rejected from holding Jin Ling to regain his composure, and Jin Guangyao isn’t sure what that means, and isn’t sure that he cares. Thankfully, it is shortly afterwards that guests begin arriving for the banquet, and nothing forces him to pull himself together more effectively than having work to do. He greets people and directs servants and pours tea and manages refreshments and bows and bows and bows, and throughout it all, everything feels oddly distant, as if he is witnessing it through the thin veil of one of Lan Xichen’s translucent overrobes. His mind and body function on automatic, barely requiring his input, as his heart roils and tries desperately to process those few precious minutes in the gardens.

Jiang Yanli — and presumably Jin Zixuan — want Jin Guangyao to be part of Jin Ling’s family. They went out of their way, risking incurring the wrath of Jin-furen, to invite him to hold the baby. Where the rest of the family has shunned and humiliated him, they, utterly unexpectedly, made him feel wanted.

He's considered the possibility of it being some kind of elaborate… scheme. Of course he has. And it's certainly possible; perhaps they are playing some strange long game to try and undermine his place in the household by setting Jin-furen even more aggressively against him, but…

The more he thinks about it, the less that makes sense. For one thing, Jin Zixuan is simply not a scheming kind of person. For another, there's really nothing that he or Jiang Yanli could gain from turning this against him that they don’t already have.

Jin Guangyao greets more guests and ignores his tired, aching feet (he has noticed that the intensive infusions of Lan Xichen’s qi have, to his amazement and delight, actually slightly reduced his day-to-day pain even now that the most noticeable effects have worn off, but he's still a far cry from the physical capabilities of his sworn brothers), and tries not to cling too hard to that tiny sliver of kindness in the gardens as his father dismisses him from a conversation with two minor sect leaders with a careless wave of his hand, like he’s nothing — like he’s a servant.

Unfilial! A voice in his mind hisses, and it sounds like his mother. Meng Shi had been a kind and patient parent, but one of the very few times she'd raised her voice to him had been when, at age eight, after hours of being treated like dirt by the other women in the brothel, the reassurances that Jin Guangshan would return one day to save them simply had not been enough. He'd lost his temper, bellowing that if his stupid stinking father really loved them, he would have come to get them years ago!

How dare you speak that way about him! Do not be unfilial!

She'd apologised later, and soothed his tears, but the admonition had stayed with him like a brand on his skin. Unfilial was one of the worst things a son could be. He knew that.

But was expecting basic kindness and respect from his family unfilial?

The disquieting thoughts are thankfully interrupted by the moment he has been looking forward to all day: the arrival of the Lan contingent.

He'd been pleased to see the Nie arrive about midway through the first wave of guests — Nie Huaisang is always effusively happy to see him, and Nie Mingjue is actually surprisingly pleasant (Jin Guangyao allows himself just a few seconds to linger cringe-free in the memories of Nie Mingjue settling in beneath him, entirely naked and looking up at him like there was nothing that could steal his attention away from Jin Guangyao in his lap, and the way he can now spot a smile in his older sworn brother's eyes, even though his mouth barely moves during their typical, stiltedly polite greeting) — but as always, Lan Xichen's arrival eclipses all else.

Lan Xichen lifts him up out of his bow and his world briefly shrinks to a pinpoint of bright delight, which vanishes immediately like a bubble being popped when he hears his odious cousin's voice call out.

"Wei Wuxian! I need to speak with you."

Wei Wuxian had arrived with the Lan group, which is not a great surprise considering the amount of time he spends in Gusu nowadays even as oblivious to Lan Wangji’s affections as he apparently still is, though it does mean that, as Jin Zixun storms across the hall towards his target with clear hostile intent, he is blocked by a glowering wall of Hanguang-jun.

There's a sort of pleasing reflection here, with Lan Wangji shielding Wei Wuxian from Jin Zixun, the same way that Wei Wuxian had shielded Lan Wangji from Jin Zixun when he had stepped in to drink for him at the Phoenix Mountain hunt. Lan Xichen would definitely appreciate the poetic romance of it all, Jin Guangyao will have to make sure to mention it to him later.

It's easier to focus on that than the realisation that yet another of his meticulously planned events appears to be rapidly going to shit — before it can even properly begin!

"Uh," says Wei Wuxian, peering around Lan Wangji with a vaguely anxious smile, "who are you again?"

It is a very small consolation for Jin Guangyao to glance at Lan Xichen and see his own deep exasperation there in his sworn brother’s eyes.

"You-!" Jin Zixun blurts furiously — though he does not get much further, as Jiang Yanli sweeps over, Jin Ling in her arms. As it is her son's celebration, she has a certain amount of hosting authority, and she uses it to politely intervene.

"Jin-er-gongzi, A-Xian, is there a problem? Why don't we all take our seats and have some tea so we can talk about it?"

Jin Zixuan, never far from his wife's side nowadays, hurries across the hall to stand beside her and offer his tacit silent support. He's hardly threatening, and he does little more than loom, but his presence combined with Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen so close by does at least seem to discourage some of Jin Zixun’s hostility. He swallows, then rallies his anger again for a second attempt.

“I will not sit and drink with the man who has cursed me!”

Gasps echo around the hall as the chatter immediately dies down. In his peripheral vision, Jin Guangyao sees the way his father stiffens, and his grip tightens on his wine cup. Jin-furen looks like she’s mere seconds from vaulting the table in front of her to strangle her nephew.

“Tang-xiong,” Jin Guangyao says quickly, daring to press just the lightest of touches to his cousin’s arm, to try and guide him away, “I’m certain there must have been some misunderstanding here! How could Wei-gongzi have possibly cursed you? He’s been in Gusu these last few months, helping with the Wen prisoners.”

“And when I’ve not been in Gusu I’ve been in Yunmeng — Jiang Cheng can vouch for me!” Wei Wuxian flails out an arm to gesture expansively towards Jiang Wanyin, whose grip is getting perilously tight on his own wine cup. “Besides, I don’t even know who you are! Why would I curse you?”

Jin Zixun splutters, but his anger rallies again, in spite of all reason.

“Well- well- who else would have the face to cast such a heinous curse besides someone who has dabbled in dark tricks?”

Jin Zixuan finally decides to get properly involved, shaking his head in confusion. “What curse are you talking about, Zixun? You’ve not mentioned this before.” To his credit — in probably the most politically astute decision of his life — he tries to take their cousin by the elbow, as if to lead him away to somewhere more private. “Perhaps we can-”

“I’m talking about this curse!” Jin Zixun snarls, yanking his arm from Jin Zixuan’s grip and throwing open the front of his robes to bare his chest to the hall.

The skin is red and mottled with small dots, which upon closer examination prove to be holes that are swollen around the edges and oozing blood, like the flesh is being eaten away in tiny increments. It is, unmistakably, the Hundred Holes Curse.

The whole of Fragrance Hall erupts into loud cries of horror. Jin Zixuan recoils and instinctively pushes Jiang Yanli behind him, as if to protect her and Jin Ling from what is definitely not an infectious condition. Lan Wangji actually does the same with Wei Wuxian (and if the man doesn’t realise what’s going on between them from that move, then there’s no helping him). As always, Jin Guangyao’s eyes dart immediately over to his father, to try and gauge his reaction; did he know about this curse? Did he approve of this stunt — at Jin Ling’s hundred day celebration? Jin Guangshan’s expression is stony, and difficult to read, and that alone makes a pulse of fear run through Jin Guangyao’s system. His network of informants had discovered evidence of Jin Zixun being unwell, but Jin Guangyao had simply assumed that, as the doctors had not been alerted, it was just an embarrassing venereal disease and not looked further into it to avoid adding yet one more task to his to-do list — long enough now that it could probably reach the bottom of the stairs to Jinlintai. More fool him.

“Zixun!” Jin-furen barks, leaping to her feet. “What do you think you’re doing? Put that away!”

Wei Wuxian peers around the broad Lan shoulders currently shielding him. “That’s the Hundred Holes Curse! Whoever casts it gets the curse reflected back at them. Why would I curse myself if I don’t even remember who you are?”

"There seems like an easy way to solve this," Lan Xichen says, as even and reasonable as always. "If the curse reflects back on the one who casts it, then Wei-gongzi can prove that he was not the one who cast it by opening his robes and showing us."

Wei Wuxian’s reaction is… intriguing. The man characterised by his loudspoken arrogance actually cringes, and shrinks back behind Lan Wangji. "Ah… is that really necessary?" He asks weakly.

"A-Xian?" Prompts Jiang Yanli gently. "Would you mind? It would resolve this very quickly.”

Jiang Wanyin stands and (thankfully without destroying any of the crockery) steps over his table to approach the centre of the ruckus. “Come on, Wei Wuxian, just show him and we can get on with the party. This is supposed to be about A-Ling, not whatever weird drama is going on.”

“Ah- well, haha, I…”

“See!” Jin Zixun crows, “He’s stalling! Why would he not just prove it to us unless he was the one who did it?”

“Jin-er-gongzi, A-Xian has been far too busy working hard helping with the prisoners in Gusu and travelling back and forth to Yunmeng, he certainly has not had time to curse you,” Jiang Yanli says with incredibly uncharacteristic sharpness. It actually makes Jin Zixun shrink back a little (Jin Guangyao mentally adds particular hatred of Jin Zixun to his list of things he knows about Jiang Yanli, and re-evaluates his perception of her spine).

“Come on, what’s the big deal?” Jiang Wanyin thumps Wei Wuxian on the arm, “Just show him what he wants to see, alright? Then we can move on.”

Wei Wuxian swallows. His reluctance is utterly bizarre.

“I guess you were going to find out sooner or later,” Wei Wuxian says, laughing wetly. He grasps his lapels (why are his hands shaking?) and parts his robes.

His chest is bare of any curse. There are no holes, no tiny circular weeping wounds. He is absolved.

But there is a thick, poorly healed scar running down the centre of his abdomen, starting at his diaphragm and disappearing into the ‘v’ of his robes.

Jin Guangyao worked as Wen Ruohan’s torturer. He knows what kind of intense trauma would be required to form a scar like that, and it’s the kind of trauma people don’t usually walk away from. It’s too neat and straight to have been made in battle, and must have been stitched up very soon afterwards for him not to have just bled out immediately. Surgery, perhaps? Did Wei Wuxian have some kind of surgery that his siblings didn’t know about? But what kind of surgery would he be so incredibly reluctant to disclose? Ideas form and spin through his mind, and he carefully catalogs each one to be addressed at a slightly more opportune time.

Jiang Wanyin freezes as soon as the scar is revealed, and his hand seemingly unconsciously moves to cover the same area on his own body. His eyes are wide and glassy as he stares at his shixiong.

“What does that mean?” He croaks. “What the fuck does that mean? How did you get that?”

“A-Xian…” Jiang Yanli whispers shakily. Jin Zixuan quickly moves to lift the baby from her trembling arms so that she can take Wei Wuxian by the shoulders and look into his eyes.

“Can we just talk about it later?” Wei Wuxian pleads, voice cracking as he pulls his robes back closed. “Today is meant to be about A-Ling. Let’s just talk about it later.”

Whatever the Jiang siblings say in response to that is drowned out by Jin-furen’s shrill voice. “Now you’ve proven yourself an idiot, Zixun, can we move on with A-Ling’s celebration?”

With the scandalised whispers growing, along with Jin-furen’s outraged admonishments, Jin Zixun’s courage fails and he pulls his robes back together, looking hunted. His eyes dart towards Jin Guangshan anxiously—

So his father had sanctioned it. But to what end? And why hadn’t he shared these plans with him? Jin Guangshan is a smart man and it would have been very clear to him that this stunt wouldn’t work, so… has Jin Zixun fallen out of his favour and been deliberately humiliated? Or is this some sort of trial run for some future scheme? Jin Guangyao scrutinises his father’s face but can glean nothing helpful.

Shit. Shit. What's going on? And why has he not been told about it?

Jin Zixuan claps a fraternal sort of hand on Jin Zixun’s shoulder and (again, with a surprising amount of political astuteness) ushers him towards a servant, giving quiet but urgent instructions to get him to the doctor immediately. Jiang Wanyin and Jiang Yanli are reluctantly peeling away from Wei Wuxian, whilst Lan Wangji is staring at him with completely undisguised anguished longing. The rest of the hall seems to be settling (thank the gods and all of his venerated ancestors, another ruined social event might just finish him off at this point) and Jin Guangyao, satisfied that the altercation has been resolved for now, scurries off to direct the servants and bring in more wine — and makes a mental note to get someone to tail the Jiangs and find out exactly what Wei Wuxian has been hiding.

There are many traditions and ceremonies to be attended to on such an important day, marking the arrival of the new heir, the first son of a new generation. Jin Guangyao is kept just as busy as he expects, and braces himself to be called in by his father as soon as the guests separate for the afternoon break. Doubtless he will have a thousand recriminations and a fresh list of demands, and yet, Jin Guangshan leaves the hall, and Jin Guangyao lingers, waiting to be summoned, and…

Nothing. An hour passes, Jin Guangyao lets himself be talked into taking tea with Lan Xichen and the Nie brothers, and… still nothing. His father does not send for him.

Somehow, it’s more unnerving to not be facing his wrath. He feels on edge all afternoon, and it’s not at all helped by having Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue at such close proximity; being near them without being able to touch them makes him feel itchy under his skin, makes him feel twitchy and out of sorts. It’s not even a horny thing, it’s not sex he’s craving, it’s just… closeness. As impossible as it is under the current circumstances, he wants them everywhere. He wants their qi in his core again, humming under his skin. He wants Nie Mingjue’s arms squeezing him back into his body and Lan Xichen’s boundless affection barely held in check by his and Nie Mingjue’s teasing.

Honestly, it’s still mildly humiliating. These dual cultivation sessions are slowly eroding his self-control in an incredibly unhelpful way without seeming to offer him any day-to-day benefits to outweigh it, and it’s then made actively worse by the way Nie Huaisang cheerfully excuses himself shortly after his first cup of tea with the kind of smirk that makes it clear exactly what he believes is going to take place in his absence.

If they were quite literally anywhere else he might consider it, even outside of Qinghe (see again: eroded self-control). Instead, he and Lan Xichen play Song of Cleansing for Nie Mingjue. The musical cultivation technique is, of course, still more of a temporary preventative measure than a real solution, even after their successful dual cultivation still seems to have improved Nie Mingjue’s temperament in general; but the music works on his temperament too, soothing his jarred nerves and leaving him with unusual ease when he has to take his leave to get the hall ready for the evening meal.

And still his father does not call for him.

He’s probably just busy; probably he’s found someone young and pretty (and hopefully willing) to occupy his time with, and Jin Guangyao ignores the way the concept sends a shudder of unease down his spine because he has far too much to do. He sends servants to replace the wilting flowers, he has the tables reset for the dinner, he checks over every station at the kitchen to ensure all food preferences are accommodated for, and he’s back to the central pavilion in time to greet all of the guests returned from their afternoon rests. Jin Guangshan returns to the hall with the other guests and barely spares Jin Guangyao a glance, which he supposes is likely a good sign.

|NEXT|

#the untamed fanfic #3zun #The Waves are Rising and Rising #Jin Guangyao #Nie Mingjue #Lan Xichen

[aahsokaatano]

Batfamily as BDG/Unraveled Quotes

Bruce: here's a big rule of thumb - magicians are always evil.

Dick: The (Joker)? This dude doesn't have (jokes)! His job title is obviously false! It's like if I got promoted to "guy who had an okay time in high school."

Barbara: we're gonna have to throw this away because (Nightwing) said "oh, daddy!" in an audible space.

Jason: [going over the Gotham Vigilante Hierarchy] We've also got (Robin V) up here, but he's not in a military role. He's actually Secretary of Transportation, but that's just pure nepotism.

Bonus Jason: not even death can excuse you from service in (Batman's) army.

Tim: My second reaction to this was, what the fuck?! Hey, Todd??? What the fuck?????

Stephanie: ...and then that massive donger, (Dr. Strange), turned them on us!

Cass: [the "specifically" counter]

Damian: That's what a "hit point" is - how many 14-inch shells it would take to kill you. [Picture of a 14-inch shell] Every living creature is one hit point.

Duke: no matter which type of fish I put into a dish, I'm not gonna get any more ripped! I'm just gonna have a different fish in me!

Bonus Duke: built to explore dark places.... kind of like a flashlight!

Alfred: I guess memory loss is my greatest intangible fear... "9: What is your greatest tangible fear?" Horses.

Lucius: (Bruce Wayne) is kept around because he was the founder, and made a lot of money on Wall Street in the 80s, but he's hollow inside.

Jim: [reading from the Geneva Convention] "subsection A-8: taking of hostages." What was (Batman) doing with that (acrobat) child?!

Kate: (The Bat Kids) convinced me that trying to categorize all 600+ (Gotham Rogues) was a bad idea, and instead, I should just pick the hot ones.

Luke: Basically, we're here to build a safer experience for these (vigilantes). Because when you walk into an unknown space, I want the first question on your mind to be: am I safe to smash?

Tam: Under no circumstances should you be in a work setting and described as gaping!

Carrie: In fact, most of these metaphors are bullshit. Especially this one. [points at "Loving Sleds"]

Harper: I'm just kidding again! I'm not your friend, and you have no say over what I do with my body.

Cullen: (Ace the Bathound) is a big wolf with a sword......... FUCK yeah!

Lance: Never change. Stick to what you know. Don't try to get better in life. Those are the things I learned today.

Matt: Look at this thing! [Picture of Man-Bat] Look at this thing! [Picture of Blight]

Terry: If anime is to be believed - and I believe anime!

Jarro: I am become (Robin).

#i included as many as i could think of but i am aware i probably missed some and im sorry #batfam #batman incorrect quotes #bdg #brian david gilbert #my stuff #incorrect quotes #i am NOT tagging all those characters holy shit #dc #dc comics

[bubblegum-gf]

I'm being cringe but free again with more rtumblr songs. this one's don't tell your wife about this game by bdg but it's don't tell rt about tumblr

lyrics under cut

Don’t tell rt about tumblr We can do anything on tumblr No “Rt, look what tumblr did, you should join now!” He’s blissfully unaware

There are times, when you need to connect with a fandom And it’s best the Youtuber doesn’t know There are memes, that RT, well he won’t understand them So I guess it’s better blogging your post

And the fics are so good to write And the artwork all looks so nice You don’t even abhor the bewildering lore Filling up your dashboard tonight

And it’ll remind you of all the streams From Rtgame that you’ve seen But that stream’s not live He’s taking some time for two weeks And you’re still online

Don’t tell rt about tumblr We can do anything on tumblr No “Rt, look what tumblr did, you should join now!” He’s blissfully unaware

Your knowledge grows with every blog that you scroll Who are not RT though, I swear And the Board intimidates, its presence so long And then when Daniel’s back to streaming you’re hesitant to be leaving From a fandom so beyond compare You would never guess that everything would go wrong

Because when we onceler’d dan, we didn’t think of an emergency plan “Who is the onceler, really,” that Earth-shaking tweet Really kicked up the dust And it’d be a damning transformation if Dan was here among us (That’s sus) Cuz when he’s immersed in the cursed beast of rtumblr will he be mad? (That’s sus) If he knew he’s made into a fictional divorced and deadbeat bad dad Though he’s refused to look our way it always sounds like a taunt Says our name even more with each day, I can’t even watch! And our skeletons were very nearly unearthed in a random Smash Bros Brawl!

(Don’t tell rt about tumblr…) (Don’t tell rt about tumblr…) (Don’t tell rt about tumblr…) Cuz it’ll just make us worse

#rtumblr #idk how easy this one is to follow along with while listening #why is this my brainrot #my brain could give me songs actually related to rt's content instead of waxing poetic about tumblr like 5 separate times but noOoOoOo #I have 14-ish songs and 2 of those are something a non rtumblr rt fan could understand. and they're not even full songs

[tisorridalamor]

I have been making this breakfast sandwich once a weekend for like... 5 weeks now? It's REALLY good! Read below for my BDG breakfast sandwich tips ✨

First things first, all of the ingredients for this freeze and thaw really well so if you're worried about buying like a bunch of sausage and not getting enough use out of it just cut patties and throw it in the freezer :) I've been keeping the buns, sausage, and bacon in the freezer and then thawing what I need the night before I plan to make it (the frozen hash browns just go straight in the pan, the bacon could too but I'd recommend thawing the sausage). The official ingredients list is:

Buns

Sausage

Bacon

Egg

Frozen hash browns

Cheese

Ketchup

⚠️ INGREDIENTS ALERT ⚠️: There's quite a bit here and you can use less sausage and hash browns especially than you think you might need. This sandwich is quite heavy for me so I think less can be more for this one. Of course this varies person to person so measure with your heart 🫶

I don't have a nice long flat pan like BDG has in his vid, but I managed just fine with a standard nonstick skillet and had my smaller skillet on another burner be the "warming zone". I can confirm that after a few times this sandwich only takes about 30 min to put together (even for two people) + clean up. Just start with the bacon and sausage to get the juices flowing, then throw down the hash browns and finish off with the egg and toasting the bread.

HASH BROWN TIPS: Easily the hardest part of this is getting the hash browns correct so here is some advice:

Get em in the pan early and let them sit. They will take the longest out of all the items if you want to get em real crispy since you're probably taking them straight from the freezer

DON'T MESS WITH THEM. LET THEM SIT. Even with this advice though I had a hard time getting them to stick together in a patty (maybe it's the brand I'm using? 🤔) so...

If you're having trouble getting them to stay together, use a bit of egg or melt cheese on top to force them to stick :)

If they do end up falling apart, you can still use them on the sandwich: put the ketchup on the bottom bun as glue and sprinkle your hash browns on top and they won't fall off the sandwich, then top with the other ingredients.

My personal modifications: The best part of cooking is doing whatever you want so here's my personal shake ups:

Pepper jack cheese cause it's the best cheese

I don't scramble my eggs cause I love a runny yolk - the technique to still getting a "patty" out of the egg is to have the pan real hot then crack it at the edge of the pan and carefully flip it over itself so you cook the whites around the yolk, tilting the pan and using the wall to help maneuver the egg. Yes this results in a far messier sandwich. No I don't care.

PEPPER!!! Crank that shit babyyyy (for context I have a pepper grinder)

Genuinely don't remember if BDG does this in his vid but I like to toast both sides of the bun and kinda squish it down a bit. Due to the egg this has the potential to be a tall sandwich so this helps reduce the height

Overall an excellent breakfast sandwich to me as someone who is a breakfast sandwich connoisseur. I was skeptical about the hash browns and ketchup but they really do add some good flavor to the sandwich. I recommend making it once or twice matching BDG's recipe before getting silly with it (I think it's important to start from the beginning if you can to learn what YOU think works and what doesn't before making a bunch of changes. I would not have used ketchup if the recipe didn't call for it but it's a great addition and I always use it now). I think he also has some great tips - the one about letting the sausage patty cook a bunch on one side, then flipping and using the crispy to flatten it out is so genius. I ❤️ lazy cooking

FUTURE RESEARCH: I have some ideas for what to do next with my sandwiches personally. I'm looking forward to trying these and you should like this post if you want to hear about my future endeavors:

Using cheap croissants as the bread. I love cheap crappy croissants, they're SO GOOD on breakfast sandwiches so I need to try them here

Removing the bacon or sausage. Like I mentioned, I think this is a pretty heavy sandwich and I don't think both are needed (though they are REALLY good). I might get just as much enjoyment without both personally

Adding avocado. I love avocado + bacon + egg sandwiches so this would be perfect for me personally with the has browns

I should possibly try thawing some hash browns to see if they stick together better when thawed first...

(unrelated to the sandwich) I now have a massive bag of hash browns in my freezer cause these don't come in small amounts. I've personally never been a big hash brown person... but making them real thin and crispy for this sandwich has opened a new door for me. I will be cooking them more to see what else I can do with em

#IT'S THE WEEKEND MAKE YOURSELF A BREAKFAST SANDWICH. YOU DESERVE IT! #cooking #recipe #bdg #brian david gilbert #fun talk tag #yayyyy I love cooking. but this sandwich really sits on your stomach. Just ate one and I probably won't have lunch today lol #I need to talk about cooking more. it's so much fun. One of the easiest arts to 'do it badly' to #cause even if not perfect most foods are still pretty good lol

[spiridakos]

Love your love for Tracy's clothes and style. She has such a great approach to fashion and her wardrobe. Would you be able to share the items you've purchased of hers and which ones you love most? Thanks hope you're doing great!!

Oh, this is so fun! I have a lot of her clothes...so I'm gonna put this all below the cut so no one else has to look at the amount of money I've actually spent on clothes...

Madewell High Rise Patch Pocket Denim Shorts I love these, they fit me super well & I can pair them with about any shirt I want to. Tee, tank, cropped, sweatshirt. It all works. Definitely a regular item in my wardrobe in the summer.

Free People Lexden Black Denim Overalls I don't wear these as often, maybe because I'm a homebody who doesn't go out much, but I do love them. They're a super cute look, they're just not in my rotation much. I'm glad I have it as a staple piece in my closet though.

Vurori Performance Joggers (I'm not sure if Tracy was wearing Black Heather or just Black, I bought Black Heather) Never have I ever spent so much on a pair of sweatpants, but my god, they're the most comfortable thing in the world and I constantly am wearing them around my house. 10/10 recommend these, even though the price is a bit steep!

Urban Outfitters BDG Ryder Boyfriend Overall in Vintage Slash I love these overalls! I didn't know how I'd feel about sporting overalls again since the 90s, but I love the ripped look. Not something I get to wear often because I live in New England and it's cold so often, but I do bring them out when it's warm enough!

Lululemon Halfzip Scuba I hardcore mocked this pattern when I first saw Tracy in it, but then I saw it in a Lululemon, and I actually loved the pattern. It's one of the most warmest, and most comfortable things I've ever purchased. I have this on frequently, and even use it as my "coat" sometimes when bracing the cold.

Vuori The Rise The Shine Dad Hat Love a good hat, I am always throwing this on when I'm running errands!

Veja V-10 Lace Up Sneakers  Not a huge sneaker person.....until I bought these. They're fashionable but comfortable. Love to just wear them out with a pair of jeans.

Wilfred by Aritzia The Ganna Shirt Jacket in Dry Basil My first "I can't believe I just spent that on an item of clothing," piece. I love this coat. It's so soft. It fits me really nice, cause I'm super small, but this isn't too long in the arms like most things are! I wear this as my coat a lot when it's not super cold. Or just with some jeans as a full outfit. Either works.

Aviator Nation Ninja Pullover in Vintage White Another, "Did I really just spend that much on a sweatshirt?" piece. I just got this last week, so I haven't worn it out into the wild yet, but it's super soft!

Okay, I think that is it for Tracy clothes? I might be missing some, but I can't remember anything else right now. I have a handful of Hailey clothes, but I thought I'd just stick to Tracy here. I love how clean and simple her wardrobe seems to be and how I can adapt it into my own style as well.

My favorite pieces I've bought if I had to narrow it down to three: 1. Vuori performance joggers 2. Lulu Scuba 3. Madewell denim shorts

What a fun question, thank you, anon!

#messages #anonymous

[thee-rat-king]

S & D Tier Comic Adaptation - Issue 1 (draft one)

This is deeply unfinished by I believe in showing my work and this is my first time scripting a comic. It’s not professional formatting, but I’m doing my best and I’d like to share what I have so far. Constructive feedback is appreciated!!

(NOTE: I know that describing panel layout is a bit gauche, I have done it in a few places just for visualisation, as this is being read by anyone, not just a specific art team)

Page 1

Panels 1-4 - introductory splash art of four seperate FAIRNESS ASSOCIATION HEROS. (first draft first draft I don’t have all the details yet).

Panel 5 (central inset) - a group of FAIRNESS ASSOCIATION HEROS, led by THE CHADSTER are flying towards the outer atmosphere in the invisible jet.

Chad: my friends, this time I am certain we shall defeat this dastardly villain

FAH #2: [something vaguely reasonable, Alex is Big Scary blah blah blah]

Page 2 and 3 - a double page spread of SPACE!!! it is BIG AND EMPTY!!! To the lower left of page 2 we see the invisible jet. It is very small compared to the vastness of SPACE!!!

Page 4 and 5 - another double page spread. Wow!! I’m so creative. This also shows the vastness of SPACE!!! Except that now ALEX is in the centre. They look unbearably hot (details unimportant). To the lower left of page 4 the invisible jet has been disrupted as though by a sonic blast. To clarify ALEX is big enough that they could probably pick the jet up in one hand if they wanted to.

Page 6 (three single image strips with the vastness of SPACE in the background)

Panel 1 - FAHs 1 and 4 (I really need to give them names) blast out of the front windshield of the invisible jet

SFX: CRASH

Panel 2: ALEX grabs FAH 3 from the wreck, who is actively firing back at them with their laser vision (to no effect)

Panel 3: CHAD and FAH 2 watch on from the wreckage of the invisible jet, leaping into action (note: I cannot for the life of me remember what chads powers are rn. That is perhaps why he’s not doing much yet).

Page 7

No idea of the formatting, I got bored of vague art direction with no dialogue. It’s going to be a maybe 7 panel layout depicting a the heroes and Alex fighting their way back towards earth. Maybe a second group of heros in the distance. IDK how powerful I should establish Alex to be this early ?? (I’m not changing anything, but pretend this is going to be read by a fresh audience. Information is shared in bits and pieces.) (chants under breath: first draft first draft)

Page 8

Panel 1 - a column up the left side of the page showing a perfectly normal, if slightly industrial apartment building in a nice city

Panel 2 - wide shot! A nice, comfy apartment. One wall has a BDG-style conspiracy theory board, maybe with an old treasure map pinned to it, but otherwise the room in very normal

Panel 3 - mid shot, in an armchair MORGAN is reading a book. They are average looking (details unimportant), and wearing a soft jumper.

Panel 4 - MORGAN takes a sip of tea, and continues to read their book. Perhaps there is a fucked up statue in the background.

SFX: siiiiip

Panel 5 - wide shot of the apartment, from one side ALEX comes through the door loudly, while on the other MORGAN is in their armchair. (Or couch?? Maybe it should be a couch. Or a beanbag chair.)

Page 9

Panel 1 - close up of ALEX walking towards MORGAN

Alex: the heroes foiled my plans and blew up my castle

Panel 2 - MORGAN in their armchair, looking surprised as ALEX continues

Alex: then they chased me into the outer atmosphere! And they know I killed Rebecca the Rebreathable last month

Panel 3 - ALEX sits

Morgan: that’s weird

Alex: no, that’s pretty much the norm

Panel 4 - Morgan and Alex face each other, either in chairs or on a couch

Morgan: really? Because that hasn’t been my experiance at all

Panel 5 (this takes up like, the bottom half of the page). MORGAN talking happily while ALEX looks on in bemused confusion

Morgan: like, when they rescued that person I kidnapped last week they also fixed my toaster and found my car keys and all the pieces to the jigsaw puzzle I dropped last week, and they fixed the electrical issues with the cable car, and the cleaned up my junk draw, and set the timer on my microwave…….

Image fades into the bottom of the page with no hard cutoff, as MORGAN presumably continues on with the list of things the “point-and-click” heroes did.

———

Thanks for reading!! In case you didn’t know, most of the dialogue on page 9 is taken from the original video that started S&D Tier. I’m not sure how many changes will happen between this VERY PRELIMINARY FIRST DRAFT and the actual final comic, but I’m excited! (Yes this is just 9 pages. The next one will be longer. It’s a start.)

#s and d tier comic #s and d tier #s & d tier #lighthouse raiders #original comic #first draft #unoriginal thoughts #my writing

[fennecthunderfox]

Do you have any details about your Swap and Fell aus? I am curious about it!

Hey, sorry it took so long for me to respond to this. I had meant to answer way sooner and then I got sucked into other projects and meant to work more on this and then just… forgot. But I’m here now and I’m just gonna sum it up as best I can. It may be a bit scatterbrained, so I apologize in advance. 

It's been a while since I’ve worked with them, but I can give a basic rundown on them! They’re part of my “False AU Trio.” In which all the AU names have a prefix that means or implies “fake” so people know upfront they’re different from the typical swaps and fells on purpose. 

QUASISWAP

With QuasiSwap, my personal twist on it is in the environment. In QS, it’s not just the characters that swap, the area aesthetics swap too. 

-The Ruins become monochrome like New Home and are now called “Old Home.” 

-Snowdin Forest/Snowdin became cybernetic like The CORE and is now called “Loggedin.” 

-Waterfall is still dark, but instead of pretty cyan waters it’s now crimson red magma making this location “Magmafalls.” 

-Hot Land is now “Hot Springs” due to its proximity to Magmafalls heating up the water. 

-The CORE is now called “The Nexus” which is not a name that means much of anything, but it is VERY cold here. CDResort (MTT Resort) is actually built somewhat inside The Nexus because CDR likes the cold better than the hot. 

-And finally New Home- which I can’t remember the fun name for- is purple and plant covered like the Ruins. It might just be called "The Capital" sorta like how "The Ruins" is very self-explanatory as a name.

Character swaps are about what you’d expect. And while they all have codenames, they call each other by their real names with a few exceptions. Those exceptions are the skelebros and the ghosts, but I will list all swaps and codenames below.

-Chara with Frisk. Code named Chipper and Fable. Chipper because they’re generally a happy kid- usually smiling and Fable because you hear stories about them. 

-Asgore with Toriel. Code named Usher and Arch. Usher because he’s the one guiding Chipper through the Ruins and Arch is short for monarch.

-Papyrus with Sans. Their code names are P and CSG, and while it’s rare for anyone to actually call Sans CSG, it’s a lot more common for people to call Papyrus P. This is because my take on Swap Sans is basically just Brian David Gilbert- BDG for short. For an example of the energy this swap sans has, watch this compilation I found on YouTube.

-Alphys with Undyne. Codenamed Alpha and Psi-- after Greek letters. Alpha cause she’s a leader and Psi cause it looks like a trident and also is used as a symbol for “Water potential in movement of water between plant cells,” says wikipedia. 

-The Ghost Cousin Trio does a Rotation Swap. Napstablook takes Mettaton’s role, their name becomes CD Rob and Cyber Duke [REMIX] depending on their form. (While “duke” is typically a masculine word, CDR is still a nonbinary character. Duke is just a title I chose.) Mettaton takes Mad Dummy’s/Mad Mew Mew’s Role and is called Shining Dummy and Shining Wan Wan after possessing a life-sized vocaloid-style statue. (He becomes a dog boy instead of a cat girl.) And Maddy takes Napstablook’s Role, known to her friends as Rabbit, but her full name is Rabenant (A port-man-teau of Rabid Revenant.) These three go by these names in the story.

-Flowey/Asriel is too important to swap roles with anyone. He still changes, however. Instead of saying “Howdy” like Asgore he says “Greetings” like Toriel. And instead of a golden flower, he’s a crimson flower to match up to the red leaf aesthetic the Ruins have in the actual game. Flowey’s codename is “Leaf” and apparently I never gave Asriel a proper codename in this AU. I’ll give him one later.

-Temmie gets swapped with the Annoying Dog because both of these characters represent an actual person and it’s good to remember that Temmie- while not the creator of Undertale- made a lot for the game. 

PSEUDOFELL

PseudoFell is interesting, because instead of the codenames being an out of universe thing for me to differentiate who I’m talking about, the pseudonyms are actually a feature of the AU. Every pseudonym (should) start with the same letter as the character’s real name. 

Fray (Frisk)*, Facet (Flowey), Treason (Toriel)**, Sin (Sans), Punishment (Papyrus)***, Uproar (Undyne), Naething (Napstablook), Mauled Doll (Maddy), Macabre (MTT), Apathy (Alphys), Agony (Asgore), Axiom (Asriel), and Cairn (Chara). 

*Used to be spelled Frey, but I have since changed to the correct spelling.

**Considering changing her name.

***Sin will absolutely shorten Punishment’s name to “Pun” and he HATES it. 

As a bonus, Annoying Dog and the Tems are Toil and Trouble. AD used to be Toil, but I think AD being Trouble while all the Tems are Toils would be better. They can say “TOi!” and I have no doubt that Pun would consider AD to be nothing but Trouble. 

The reason the pseudonyms happen is because of trust issues and an old belief that giving someone your real name gives them some sort of power over you. Therefore, if someone actually trusts you enough to tell you their full name, it’s a real big deal. 

The main difference, however, is that I’ve introduced a special 2nd form monsters can take called a “Phobos Form.” The Phobos Form is typically a sharper, scarier version of the monster. Final Froggit would be the Phobos form of Froggit in this universe rather than a stronger, separate monster. 

The more powerful a monster is, the bigger, scarier, and stronger their Phobos Form is. The bosses in the game basically become Kaijus. I used to have concept art of these Phobos forms-- and you can still find them if you look hard enough-- but I find them to be… not great designs these days and would rather not present them as if they’re definitely canon to my AUs still. 

FAUXSWAPFELL 

You didn’t ask about this one, but of the trio I have talked about this one the least so you may not have known it existed. 

FauxSwapFell takes the location swaps of QuasiSwap and the pseudonyms and phobos forms of PseudoFell and combines them into one AU. 

The character swaps are mostly the same, however the Ghost Cousin rotation swap rotates counter to the QuasiSwap rotation. So Mad Mew Mew becomes the idol, Mettaton becomes the ghost snail farmer, and Napstablook becomes the dummy/doll. 

The other thing is that rather than becoming big scary kaijus, the Phobos Forms in FauxSwapFell are more like cryptids or scary on an unsettling level. Some forms may not have one distinct shape and shift between two forms. 

As for the pseudonyms in this AU, there is no theme for the characters’ names. Sans and Papyrus are named Neon and Argon in this universe and are color coded orange and purple respectively to match the colors of those two noble gases. (Gaster is Krypton and Corsiva- if you know who that OC is- is Xenon.) 

All this being said, most characters in this AU don’t have a codename yet. This is the least developed of the 3 AUs and the only reason it’s developed at all is because of being a combo of the other two. 

On the subject of color schemes, in my head the whole world is really desaturated except for the bright pops of color the characters have like Neon’s orange or Argon’s purple. Because of this I sometimes refer to FauxSwapFell as "Swapfell NEON" because they only standout colors on the characters are the bright highlight color.

Aaaaaand that's about it for now. I'd love to do more someday, but at the moment I sadly don't have time to really do much of anything with these AUs. There is a glimmer of hope that the overtime at work will end soon, so maybe I'll be able to get back into fun fanworks next year. Until then, thank you for listening~

#Fenn Speaks #Undertale #Undertale AU #QuasiSwap #PseudoFell #FauxSwapFell

[meowstix]

BEYBLADE CHARACTERS AND WHAT I THINK THEIR MUSIC TASTES WOULD BE

it's exactly what it sounds like. i'm gonna be including both bsb and burst characters here, and obviously it won't be even close to every character (hell there were even a couple who i wanted to include but i just couldn't figure out their vibe or atleast, how to put it into words) so yeah. feel free to add on i guess

BAKUTEN SHOOT BEYBLADE:

takao: ok there's a really specific vibe here but i cannot quite pin down what exactly it is. doing a quick look on wikipedia it appears to be either pop punk or emo pop or just something adjacent to that. society if i knew shit about music genres

kai: once again there's a really specific vibe here but i don't know how to put it. mirror of the world from guilty gear strive hope that helps

max: i say this as someone who once had an owl city phase for a few months, he listens to owl city

hiromi: on one hand she feels like someone who would buy into the miku hype but also going by her reaction to an actual idol singer (as opposed to miku, who is literally just a product) she probably wouldn't? either way i think she'd listen to some of the more well known vocaloid songs, or atleast the more well known ones that aren't super dark

team WHO, yes all four of them: these guys listen exclusively to bdg's halloween cover albums and nothing else

kane: i was doing some stuff today, not today as in the day i'm posting this but as in the day i wrote this bit, and through one hell of a Timing Moment i was inexplicably hit with the thought of "kane weezer listener"

brooklyn: i feel like he'd listen to syudou probably? gut feeling tm, again it's another case of a very particular vibe

BEYBLADE BURST:

valt: WE GOTTA. NUMBER ONE VICTORY ROYALE YEAH FORTNITE WE BOUT TO GET DOWN

daina: as someone who has never listened to my chemical romance. would it be fair to say he probably listens to my chemical romance

orochi: not quite lofi hip hop beats to study to but like, something adjacent to that. like it's still chill but not, like, hyper-chill

naoki: fun fact i keep forgetting this guy's name. anyway he listens to lemon demon

clio: i haven't listened to a lot of fake type, it's not really my taste but i have given it a shot in the past and yeah clio gives off the vibes of listening to their music

suoh: i'm so sorry but he listens to smiling anime person covered in blood music. "what the fuck does that mean" you just need to trust me on this one.

phi: he just straight up does not listen to music. i don't know what his problem is but he just does Not.

gwyn: he seems like he'd be like "yeah this is my favorite song" and then it's just like morse code or some shit like that.

#rat chat #beyblade #bakuten shoot beyblade #beyblade burst

[boypussydilf]

Immediately throws akechi and sumi at your for the relationship game.give me them

oh my god its them! im completely normal about them!

describe their canon relationship/dynamic

there’s um. not. a whole lot. they sure are people who know each other <3 i would love to see a compilation of Top 10 Times Akechi And Sumire Briefly Greeted Each Other In Passing And Did Not Have A Conversation. that would be so boring. that’s also like, most of their relationship, just the part that happens offscreen. there’s not necessarily A Ton to them in third sem either but They Are There! there is the part where atlus tries to say akechi just straight up Doesn’t Care about her and it’s. that’s misleading phrasing at best. there isn’t serious evidence that akechi has any kind of special affection for sumi, and it’s exacerbated by akira being there for comparison and akechi, like, has a lot of feelings about akira and akira is on the very small list of people akechi is remotely comfortable displaying feelings about even if just the “i want to hitting you over the head with a hammer” and “*experiencing jealousy + admiration + gay* this also is wanting to hitting you over the head with a hammer” feelings but like,. anyway. Akechi cares about sumi even if in canon it’s just the amount of caring you do about someone you’ve Kind Of Spent A Little Time With But Not Much.

Anyway in all that rambling my brain put together what their actual canon relationship is. God, it’s beautiful and incredible isn’t it. Sumi is sort of acquainted with this polite guy who goes on TV sometimes and Akechi is kind of acquainted with this polite girl whose dad works at the TV station and then one day sumi suddenly finds out that akechi is winning international Most Unhinged Ways To Scream While Killing Things awards and akechi suddenly finds out that sumi has been impersonating her dead sister for most of a year because she couldn’t bear being herself. And then they go beat things up together

your ideal/headcanon version of it? how does it differ from how it is in canon & why is this your favorite version? any other alternate versions of it you enjoy?

*bdg and his sister voice* SIBLINGS SIBLINGS SIBLINGS SIBLINGS!

To me they are that one shadow & cream(?) comic. To me they are the “if anyone makes fun of you for saying golly you will kill them” “yes boss!”. And so much more… oh god ive done a lot of talking, im getting tired, but its ok. i can make it.

They’re great because like. Sumi does her best to be Relentlessly Cheerful and subsequently is kind of immune to Akechi Being Mean. I think she would be good for him. She’s like “wow this guy is insane!” but also kinda admires & looks up to him the way she does with all the thieves and like… he’s stuck with her. He has no real reason or basis to project Ulterior Motives onto her, she doesn’t feel the urge to like, try to Fix Him or something, they can just. Exist. With her following him around and being sweet and nice and Sumire and he has to deal with it now. It helps, in a way, that while that one post was kind of off the mark calling akira “just some guy” it was spot on calling akechi and sumi The Two Most Mentally Ill People In The World. Sumi is nice & tries to be positive but she’s also. You Know. “They can hang out and be depressed together” is not remotely the correct way to phrase it, but, like… It’s that they’re not necessarily uniquely suited as people to understand each other, kind of the whole point of akechi is all the thieves can relate to him and his situation in a way, and obviously no one is exactly in a position like sumire but there r other thieves who could understand well where she’s coming from…. but like… They’re in maybe the best jumping off point to GET to, We Can Understand Each Other. Like actively making that a part of… not exactly their conversations but…. you know. Being aware of that and being intentional about it.

Ummm what else. I guess if I think of anything else before I post this I can add it. Oh yeah and I also think abt that one fic where marukis palace has a section that’s clearly trying to set akira & sumi up but akechi does it with her instead and they both use their Powers Of Deliberate Politeness and its just, like. Sweet and special to me.

what do you like about their relationship, why is it interesting or enjoyable to you?

*leaning really close into the microphone* i think goro akechi should have friends.

I just think everything about them is neat. The funny silly potential. The serious dramatic potential. The both of them having friends,

akechi and sumi hanging out really IS something that can be so funny silly <3 like for one thing their official canon dynamic of kind of knowing someone who seems normal and u spend any real time with them and suddenly it’s Oh! What the fuck! its awesome. and also sumire the sweetie darling that she is intentionally being nice to him and being his friend and spending time with him and akechi begrudgingly going along with it sometimes because he wants to protect it wants to see it grow up healthy but just will not admit it because goro akechi is, and i do not say this lightly, i believe no one should say this lightly, i say it only after majoring for the past year in akechi studies, a tsundere. i also think about the specific Sibling Angle a lot. i adore the concept of cringefail brother akechi so much. akechi sits up straight at 3am while reading reddit threads about himself instead of sleeping and realizes with horror that he has become A Brother and then goes into a panic for the rest of the week. how is he supposed to BE a brother? what do brothers DO? is there an inconspicuous way to take notes while akira and futaba are interacting? It does not occur to him that if he has already become a brother he must be doing OK at it.

That may or may not have gotten off track depending on how you look at it. The point is i like them because their whole relationship can be SO fucking funny.

what about the individual characters involved? what does this relationship mean to them, what makes it unique among their relationships?

GOD… GOD… Sumi is technically not the ONLY person remotely in his age range akechi knows that he hasn’t also tried to kill, because, like, he goes to school, but. “Akechi makes friends with his classmates” yeah that’s not gonna happen. no way. there’s 500 different reasons that would never happen. So like. Sumi. This is the most important part. the Lack Of Baggage. they did not have very many interactions, in their lives, before third sem at all, and none of those interactions involve trying to kill each other. there’s sort of the sumi in january trying to kill him a little bit thing, but, that’s not much. that can be pushed aside. akechi has someone who has not interacted with Detective Prince akechi much, and also, again, has not been the recipient of attempted murder, so she can just, like, know him, if he’ll let her.

now SUMI on the other hand has had her traumatic backstory put on blast in front of all of the phantom thieves and especially akira and akechi but i dont remember if she, has anything to say about that at all in canon, and she probably would have Thoughts about that but my brain has not quite made a Full Sumire Dissertation as of yet so i dont have the specific thoughts on hand and besides thats a little off topic.

I think a lot about the Akechi side of AkeSumi Friendship. I kind of think about the sumi part a little less. off the top of my head i dont have much on her part of it and what she thinks of him besides mostly, like, she looks up to him a little bit the same way she kinda does with all the thieves. Although i think there’s a lot of Mystery to unravel for her. She doesn’t know much about Akechis Life, i think, and doesn’t necessarily want to learn about that, or try to DIY Therapy him, or anything else like that, but, like. She does know that there is some kind of Major History between akechi & the phantom thieves, and she only knows the vaguest, sweeping version of the details. she just wants to know what the fuck Happened and why he’s being like that and why everyone’s like that… i guess thats all i have to say on that!

favorite interaction they have in canon

one: the Ruthless Sort Of Person convo. two:

that’s it that’s all they are. “don’t be fucking USELESS to us” “okie dokie :D! see you tomorrow!!! <3”

favorite interaction they have in your head/a situation you want to put them in

We have had so many conversations about them how am I supposed to pick through the World Heritage Posts Of My Brain.

I still think abt the dumb scenario I made up of sumi joining the thieves for shidos palace and they put together a plan to try to gaslight akechi into thinking she was always there and he’s so fucking thrown the akechi boss fight doesn’t even happen because he’s just going What the fuck is this. Also sumi + akechi in strikers. Both “actually in strikers” version and “strikers sequel where they yell at akira for going on a road trip without them and then drag him off” version.

I think with the inevitable influence of akira & futaba sumire can eventually join the “texting akechi stupid memes” club. She tries to rickroll him. I don’t know what he’d do about that honestly. There’s too many potential funny reactions. “Great prank, Yoshizawa-san.” “thank you!!! oh do you want to see the picture i took of a great dress i saw the other day” and she sends an attachment and its another rickroll but she also sends an actual picture of a cool dress too.

Ok. Guess thats all. For now. Took me like an hour. The royal DUO is something that can actually be so personal.

#basilask #p5r spoilers #adding this to my #sumigoro #tag. i hope no one is using that as an actual ship tag and just gets this #fucking behemoth post abt them being siblings lodged in there #sumigoro sibs

[multiplicity-positivity]

questioning anon here.

firstly, thank you so much. im definitely going to look into the resources and attempt to get enough information to try to work towards self dxing, and take it to a specialist once im able to.

to answer the question of what country, im from the usa.

hey, we’re happy to help - good luck with your search!

and for anyone living in the usa who is in need of mental health care/therapy… i’m really sorry to say that it’s an uphill battle. the usa does not have much affordable healthcare options, and you kind of need to know where to look and how to advocate for yourself in order to receive the best care. we’d like to share some advice for anyone in the usa that may help them find affordable care.

(for reference and transparency, we currently have insurance purchased from the government’s “affordable healthcare marketplace.” we pay $170USD per month for insurance, with $30 copays for therapy, medication, and primary care visits.)

first, definitely check out this bdg video describing a lot of the terminology surrounding healthcare insurance in the usa. the healthcare system, like many systems in our government, is incredibly convoluted and difficult to understand. we don’t even have a good grasp on it. this video has some great explanations and can help you get an idea of what you’re looking at when shopping for insurance.

next, look into your local state, county, and city health departments, to see if one of them offers any programs that provide free, affordable, or sliding-scale payment options for mental healthcare. sliding-scale payment means you pay a certain amount based on your income, making services more accessible for poor folks. services will vary vastly from state to state, city to city, and county to county, so we can’t really guarantee you’ll be able to find care this way, but it’s always absolutely worth a shot.

finally, if you’re unable to find any affordable mental healthcare elsewhere, try combing through the healthcare marketplace website to see if there’s a health plan that offers therapy coverage and is affordable for you. the website is convoluted and difficult to navigate, but you may be able to find a plan that will help therapy be more affordable for you. please note that, unless you’ve just turned 26, the only time you can enroll in one of these plans is from like november 15-december 15 or something like that. so you may have to wait a while before you’re able to actually select a plan.

if you’re not 26 yet, and one of your parents or guardians has insurance, you may be able to get on their plan for little to no added cost. check with them and with their insurance company, if you’re able to, to see if this would be a possible option for you.

no one should have to go without healthcare, and it’s a major violation of human rights for us to have to live this way. but unfortunately that’s how life is for many americans. hopefully this will be of some benefit to a system out there in need of care. we wish you all the best, good luck with everything!

🐢 kip and 🌸 margo

#healthcare #mental healthcare #insurance #health insurance

[gotjacobian]

I watched BDG's breakfast sandwich video the other day. I think the sandwich he makes is perfectly serviceable, but I know in my heart that the one I make is 1) faster, 2) tastier, and 3) vegetarian friendly and therefore better. This is one of the few areas in which I permit myself arrogance. Here is how I make it - it takes ten minutes and you *can* add meat and hash browns or whatever to it if you really want. I just think it's a superior sandwich even without those things.

Ingredients: - Bread (Usually a halved Bolo roll because they have those here, or two slices of trader joe's soft sourdough. An english muffin or bagel or whatever would also work. Once I used portuguese sweet bread, which was a pain to toast but was very tasty.) - Butter - 1-2 eggs - Shredded cheese (I basically only get the mexican three-cheese blend) + Other omelette ingredients if you want - Mayonnaise - Minced jarred garlic, roasted garlic, or garlic powder - Half a tomato (I am a tomato liker and usually just chop and eat the other half) - Salt and pepper (and optionally, MSG) 1. Toast the bread. I use a toaster or convection oven, if you don't have one, melt enough butter to thinly coat the bottom of a pan on medium heat, and put the bread on while that's bubbling.

2. While the bread is toasting, beat the egg(s) in a bowl with a large pinch of salt and pepper (plus a smaller pinch of MSG if you have/want it). Heat half a tablespoon of butter in whatever pan you have over medium heat. Once it's melted, pour on the egg mixture.

2. While that's cooking, mix the sauce - about a tablespooon of equal parts mayonnaise and jarred garlic, or two cloves roast garlic, or however much garlic powder makes you happy.

3. Wait a minute or two for the bottom of the egg mixture to solidify. The top will still look liquid. Sprinkle a small handful of shredded cheese on the top. you can add other omelette filling-type ingredients too (herbs, spinach, sundried tomato, bell pepper, whatever). I do chopped parsley pretty regularly with good results.

4. When the cheese has melted, fold the omelette over the cheese. Waiting a minute, flip it, take it off the heat, and use your utensil to cut it in half.

5. Spread your sauce on both halves of your bread. Add half your omelette to each slice of bread. Slice the tomato, sprinkle salt on it, put it on top, eat it as either open or closed-face.

(Bonus: I put Lao Gan Ma on it too sometimes and my girlfriend gives me no end of shit for it. But it's really good, so if that's something you have give it a shot too. Just spread some on top of the egg when doing final assembly, it's great)

(Double bonus: There's a place here that makes toum [blended garlic and olive oil sauce] which I steal from university events they cater. Use that instead of the garlic mayonnaise thing if you can get it. You can futz with the sauce in all kinds of ways too - I have not personally tried mixing sriracha or chopped herbs or something with the mayonnaise instead of garlic, but whatever "___ aioli" your favorite hip restaurant is serving you, try mixing that thing with it and it'll probably be good)

In an ideal world, this only dirties one pan, one fork, one knife, and one bowl, which is acceptable to me. If you have pre-cooked or cured meat you want to add, you can add them straight to the omelette. Otherwise you can cook it separately and add it at the end, though I like it just fine without. I DID try putting microgreens on it once and that was a wreck, they wouldn't stay in the sandwich and tasted bad cooked, so fair warning there. Really do try the bolo roll if you can get them, I like them way better than english muffins.

#complaining #food #recipe #i made this today i should've taken pictures #i will try at some point if i remember

[deerblossoms]

i need to start making the little life changes that make me happy. i need to dye my hair, and i’m only putting it off because of the patch test WHICH takes all of three seconds. i need to stop hanging out with ben because he makes me upset and uncomfortable. i need to get a cooking book and start working through it. i need to make sure i draw on my sundays off. a little sunday routine would be nice, too. i need to make tea every morning because it puts me at ease. i need to paint again, and maybe get a little watercolor kit. i need to stop buying and eating ice cream because it makes me feel gross these days. WHICH, MIND YOU! IS DEEPLY DEPRESSING. but i digress. i need to stretch and work out for JUST ten-fifteen a day. i need to clean my room and empty my life of the numerous tasks i have to (read: drop jury survey at the post office, return frames to amazon at the williamsburg whole foods. actually i will do both sunday probably because i’ll be in the neighborhood) i need to journal semi-daily because damn if it doesn’t help clear my head. this doesn’t REALLY count as journaling to me buuut it still helps. physical media makes more of an impact on my life though.

i moved to new york over two years ago now! i was looking back through old photos and it SHOCKS me how young i looked. and technically it’s like duhh but i don’t think i realized what a baby i was at the time. but holy shit i was an ugly tiny sheltered little baby. i have like mental issues so i take my life now for (JUST A BIT) granted and i’m still like deeply unhappy. but oh my god if i didn’t manifest like all of my dreams and aspirations. i wanted to move to new york, was a big frank sinatra and bdg fan and i had my heart and dreams set on it and then i did it. i wanted to bartend because of nick miller and lainey and how to drink videos and then i became a bartender. i met joan and luna and gabby and javi and jarielle and audrey and kayla and matt and i wanted to befriend them and now all of these are good friends of mine and MANY of these people are deeply close to me and i’m viewed as an important and invaluable person in their life. even ben! i wanted to fuck him, originally, and then one day he gave me head on his couch. which was a whole bag of worms, to be fair. i’ve been interested in fashion and modeling recently and yesterday a guy who owns a prestigious vintage store offered me a job modeling for him. i’ve always wanted to go to europe and now i’m lainey’s maid of honor for her fall wedding in copenhagen and she’s gonna take me around london afterwards. i’m a little superstitious about calling myself lucky but i’m certainly grateful for everything i have. i’ve always had this deep faith in my dreams and i think that’s what does it, to be honest. i dream it and then i achieve it. i want to live in europe one day and i’m certain i will. i want to live in a beautiful cozy homey apartment with a cat and a dog and i want to be an editor or a photographer or a director and i want to have something published in the new yorker and i think i’ll do all of this. if only i had this same manifestation -> direct action mentality about taking my meds and calling my doctor LOL.

also on the subject of doctors gabby thinks i’m bipolar 😬😬 me when my intense debilitating boredom and my split second attitude changes towards other people isn’t “just me” and it’s a mental illness.

[glovedghosts]

I’m kinda half-hoping nobody sees this, cuz I like having no internet presence, but here’s some things I’ve learned about health insurance (most of these are related to my experience as a college student, but I would also genuinely recommend watching the BDG video on health insurance regardless of if you read this or not).

If you can take yourself to a hospital or have someone else take you, do that. The fact that you need insurance for an ambulance, and each ambulance might not accept the same insurance as the hospitals they take you to should be criminal, but profit over lives I guess. (That being said, if you need to call an ambulance, do so.)

If you're in a hospital, try to get as many in-network doctors as possible, and if you can wait for an in-network doctor to arrive, do so. It looks like there was a federal No Surprises Act, but it's currently not great since a Texas District Court made a ruling a few weeks ago (Case No. 6:22-cv-450-JDK (TMA III), ruling made on Aug 24, 2023) that overturned part of it, so don't rely on it (I'd also be wary of any state-wide No Surprises Acts because of this). This one's a lot harder to do because if you're in a hospital, you don't have much control over what doctors you need, what doctors are available, and what doctors you see. (Once again, if you desperately need a doctor, accept that you might need to pay out-of-network / out-of-pocket rates even if you're insured.)

If you’re a college student, look into your school’s university-offered insurance if you’re not able to stay on the plan you’ve been on. Some, if not most colleges offer it (I'm reluctant to say all), and depending on what you need and what it covers, it could wind up being worth it.

Piggybacking off of that, look into if you qualify for a QLE (qualifying life event). This is especially relevant to college students, as moving (it only says moving to or from where you attend school, so I'm not going to give false hope / false distrust over what may qualify, just know that the wording is vague) makes you eligible for a special enrollment period. This page is useful for determining if you might be eligible for a special enrollment period (I know I meet multiple categories on there, but it still gave me a wishy-washy answer, so I'd recommend looking further into it than just the first page.)

Look into scholarships for things like therapy or even doctors, you’d be surprised who offers and accepts them, and how much they can cover (I’ve actually been working on an application for one of these). I’d also recommend looking into school-provided therapy if possible. My university offers free counseling to anyone enrolled in at least one credit hour here and I don’t know how many other schools do as well.

The last thing I’m gonna add to this is that there are times you’ll need to bite the bullet. If you’re insured, there might be medicine that isn’t covered that you need (or, if you’re like how I was while insured, is covered but your insurance denies it anyway) and you’ll have to make the decision of paying for it out of pocket, waiting for insurance to cover the medicine / a similar medicine, or choose to not take it.

As someone who's trans, lived with personal health issues my entire (short, so far) life, and lived with people who also have many health issues, I'm not at all surprised by all the awfulness of the system. Specialty medicines are a pain to be able to get, and typically cost a pretty penny, required treatments also require fighting with insurance, and hospital stays may be outright denied for coverage. But there's no silver lining in sight.

Unfortunately, this post isn’t really optimistic and only really scratches the surface. There are plenty of barriers to care (insurance requiring prior authorization before approving medications, doctors needing proof of a condition and said proof requiring expensive tests/paperwork, etc...), and most likely, things won’t change because the right people get their pockets lined by the system staying as bad as it is / getting even worse.

#serious post #health insurance #not a professional #please don’t sue me #kinda vent #long post?

[public-trans-it]

Plot vs Lore

Okay so in the wake of FFXVI being released (No spoilers please), there have been a LOT of hot takes about Kingdom Hearts on twitter, and its given me the spoons to finally go on a rant I have had brewing on the backburner for a decade now.

THE PLOT OF THE KINGDOM HEARTS GAMES ARE NOT HARD TO FOLLOW!

In fact, they are... kinda incredibly bland and boring as far as story plots go! Its a pretty generic Light vs Dark story!

THE ISSUE, is that the plot has never been the appeal of KH. The LORE was, and those are in fact different things! The plot is What Happens, and the Lore is How It Happens and Why It Happens.

Since the lore is the appeal of the series though, and the plot is... pretty boring, any time a KH fan tries to explain the plot we kinda cant help ourselves from shoving the lore in there as well! And, boy, there is a LOT of very complex and intricate lore.

Every single jokey 'recap' video of the plot of the series (looking at you Barry Kramer and BDG) inevitably falls into the trap of not actually explaining the plot, but explaining the lore.

Here is the plot of each game in the KH series. Note, each summary is rather short, but there are still a lot of games in this series.

Kingdom Hearts: A boy (Sora) wants to explore the world with his friends. Before he can, his world is swallowed up by darkness, and he gets separated from those friends. He sets out on a journey to find them, only to discover that one friend (Riku) has turned to the side of darkness, and his other friend (Kairi) has fallen into a coma. Eventually, Sora manages to save them both, but at the cost of all three of them being separated once again.

Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories: Sora finds a castle that restores lost memories, and explores it. As he does he remembers another childhood friend he had forgotten about all this time. It turns out these aren't real memories, and that the girl he remembers is altering his memories and trying to indoctrinate him for a villainous group. When he confronts her about this, she feels bad and agrees to undo the damage she has done.

Kingdom Hearts 2: Sora has a doppelganger in the villainous group of the previous game, and due to some mistaken identities the villainous group is now extra interested in him. Sora fights back and eventually reunites with Riku and Kairi, who fight alongside him. The leader of the villainous group reveals he has been manipulating both the sides of Light and Darkness for his own ends, but Sora manages to defeat him anyway.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days: This game is not very plot relevant, but is EXTREMELY lore relevant, and where most summaries get really tripped up. It provides backstory and motivation for Sora's doppelganger, as well as the rest of the villainous group.

Kingdom Hearts: Re:CODED: Not plot OR lore relevant. Its just a computer simulation of the first game, that gets a little buggy. There is a reason you hear about this game the least.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep: Also not very plot relevant, but EXTREMELY lore relevant. Follows 3 friends on their own adventures just like Sora's. Through a series of miscommunications they drift apart and clash, only to discover this was set up by the series main antagonist, which this game exists to flesh out more.

Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance: Sora and Riku go through a test serving as a rite of passage for them. The series antagonist interferes, causing Sora to fail and fall to darkness. Riku succeeds however, and ends up rescuing Sora, finally paying Sora back for rescuing him from darkness in the first game.

Kingdom Hearts 3: The main antagonists meddling throughout the series finally comes to fruition, and every single Good Guy and every single Bad Guy square up against each other in an epic showdown. Sora dies. Then he gets better and they redo the showdown, this time with the Good Guys winning. The series antagonist is finally defeated, and its revealed that he was likely being manipulated by his second in command this entire time, who is being set up as the potential new antagonist of the series.

Thats it! There you go! Was that long? Yeah kinda, but for a summary of *8* games, its pretty short! That's the plot! Its kinda boring! Notice I didn't bring up the Keyblade, or Hearts, or Heartless, or Nobodies even once? Cause they aren't actually that plot relevant. They are set dressing, the details that make the story interesting, but they aren't the plot.

So why do people struggle with the series so much? Well, as I said above, KH fans tend to be... pretty bad at explaining it. It was REALLY HARD to write up those summaries without lore dumping tbh.

But what about people who TRIED to play the games themselves but couldn't follow it? Its because people are impatient when they play KH2.

That's literally it.

KH2 starts with the main character having amnesia and being way in over his head with things going on around him that he doesn't understand, and so the player doesn't understand either. PLAY THE REST OF THE FUCKING GAME, IT GETS EXPLAINED. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING PERSON WHO LOSES TRACK OF THE SERIES DOES SO AT THAT POINT. LEARN HOW FUCKING STORIES WORK FOR THE LOVE OF FUCKING GOD. SOMETIMES! A STORY DOESN'T TELL YOU EVERYTHING AT THE START! FUCKING SHOCKER! SOMETIMES CHARACTERS GET MISINFORMED AND WE AS THE AUDIENCE ARE MISINFORMED RIGHT ALONGSIDE THEM!!!

Having the main character be thrust into the middle of a story he wasn't fully aware of was one of the most interesting storytelling details this series ever did, and the fact that people couldn't handle it because they couldn't wait until the end of the game for it to fill in the gaps is some pissing on the poor levels of reading comprehension.

#Kingdom Hearts

[acanvasofabillionsuns]

no thoughts only celtic women's lilting 'argument' at the beginning of Téir Abhaile Riú

missed nearly half of my classes today bc of assembly stuff! like we wouldn't have done much (in almost all of them at least) anyway but that was funky!! also there were two assemblies and i had to go to one of them but i was like. not technically where i was supposed to be. and then the other one i straight up skipped 😎

i got a caramel rice cake out of it too!!

i had a whole packet of peanut m&ms and then my dad went to trader joe's so i got a couple meringue cookies + a mint cream too, and we have knock off mini reese's that are better than reese's brand imo that i am so 👀👀👀 for

and for dinner we had these mini pizzas that are like!! not like bagel bite mini but like palm sized ish??? that were v good!!

also i had apple juice :]

played minecraft with my sister!! we have dogs now :D

vced with max a little!!! that was fun <3

read the FUNNIEST batfam text fic today like everyone else go home this person wins /lh

finished my mouse!!! i accidentally sewed one of the ears on in the wrong place so they're a lil lopsided but i decided that was cute

talked with wilby!!! bee's a delight <3

finished taz just us and laughed SO hard, what a buckwild ending LKSDJF:LKDJF can't wait to listen to the part 2 <3

i kissed a girl by pmj <3 i sang along with it while i was doing the dishes and it was so fun

also thumbnail by louie zong & bdg <3

i have an irl friend who i am not v close with and i see infrequently, but we ride the same bus and whenever we sit next to each other on the ride home then we have great conversations and that happened today!! :^)

it was so cold today and i did not deserve that but it did inspire me to wear a green outfit with my aro beanie and y'all already know i looked cute <3

i just!!! i had a good day today and i hope to continue to have good days for the rest of the weekend and ideally into next week :D

#first link goes to téir abhaile riú by celtic women on youtube #second link goes to gayne family adventures by hoebiwan *cradles it gently before biting it & shaking it around in my mouth like a pillow* #meri monologues #it's a good good good good good good morning #oh also important note i did Not dye my hair tonight like i've been considering bc next week's supposed to have SNOW and i cannot take cold #showers to keep my dye bright in that kind of environment; but my teal dye fades too quickly to not take cooler showers. so #BUT a) i have a really neat idea i'm going to try whenever it's warm enough and b) i could've!!! i had the energy to dye my hair!!!! #i didn't bc of the cold but i actually had the energy to if i'd wished :]