#it gets very divisive and mixed reactions from people

[babacontainsmultitudes]

#lol #tw drugs #tw alcohol #polls #wearing that t-shirt rn actually #it gets very divisive and mixed reactions from people #the fake bible belonged to my great aunt which is funny because unlike me she actually was religious (quite a bit in fact) #my guess is that she kept her weed in there but I don't know this for a fact

[arcxnumvitae]

"You called, Your Majesty?" He could garner an idea as to the sudden summons by the emperor. Emperor Huaxiu made it a point to not acknowledge his existence as much as humanly possible when the circumstances allowed it. Only dire straits would cause him to bring the ousted prince before him, and a certain very dire strait had just occurred.

Seated on the throne, the emperor looked as imperious as ever. The stormy expression that had been reported to have settled on his countenance ever since he first heard word of the princess' attack remained, he didn't look to be in the mood for jokes. He snapped his fingers, and a guard positioned nearby drew forward. Zhaohui tensed, memories flashing unbidden in his mind of approaching guards and the agony that followed. But instead of drawing closer, the man simply produced a sword and held it out for inspection. He squinted in confusion at the blade, but the realization struck him at the same moment the emperor spoke.

"The blade that the assassin used. A blade distinctly of Zhongyang make and build."

The emperor was clearly scrutinizing his reaction, so for once Zhaohui let his genuine surprise show clearly on his face. And his surprise was genuine. Now how did an assassin from his homeland get mixed up into this?

"Zhongyang has remaining rebel forces, insurgents, but none so organized nor powerful enough to launch an attack against the imperial princess in the heart of Tengmen..." He mused aloud, drawing closer to the blade as his mind whirled through possibilities. "Now what could have led to that?"

"The only reason I'm not throwing you into the dungeons right now is because I know of the strained relationship between you and your people." Which was a polite way of putting that many considered him traitorous trash and detested him. While none wished for his death solely for the continuation of their divine royal line, he was too divisive a figure to unite the rebel forces of his land under. He knew this well enough since it was a plan he'd considered himself once upon a time.

'The only reason.' Nothing at all about how he'd never hurt the princess. Well, that wouldn't be true either and was also something he'd once considered

"But," the emperor's tone dropped, and his voice grew dangerous, "if it even seems you are connected to this, I will have you executed."

Zhaohui's eyes narrowed, but he simply smiled and bowed. "Of course, Your Majesty. I wouldn't expect anything less."

#{Huaxiu Drabble #{Zhaohui Drabble #{Royal AU #okay so I did end up writing something

[randomreadingtimewithtsuki]

hello! can i please request a reaction with byakuya? something where the reader used to be his lieutenant before renji but went missing one day and she returns years later as one of the ryoka with ichigo and the rest of the karakura gang. byakuya and the reader used to have feelings for each other back then but didn't have the chance to admit it before she disappeared. thank you so much in advance!

Hello!

Thank you for requesting and I am sorry for the delay!

I hope this is of your liking! Let me know what you think!

Tsuki's note: I don't remember how things play out so… forgive me? I wrote this over and over again and… I am not happy with it?

-----------------------------------------------

It's been so long since you have been in Seireitei. So long you forgot how the houses were, the people's faces, names, but one thing you never really forgot - your captain Byakuya.

He came out as a cold person, he was caring in his own weird way. That is the reason why whenever someone made a specific type of tea, you felt yourself being pulled back again to the 6th division.

You disliked remembering something so bitter sweet. A person you loved dearly but not was nothing but a memory.

Today, of all days you saw him again, while fighting the Espadas. But there was no time to relive the old days, you both had a lot of rough fights ahead and tried to stay alive while Aizen obliterated everything.

During the battle you could feel his gaze on you back from time to time. You too, stared at his back.

You both were badly hurt, on different sides of the battlefield. You smiled to yourself:

Y/N: So… when I see you must be like this hm?

No one could hear you. Your consciousness slowly faded away. When you woke up again your injures were healed and you were back to Urahara's shop. You knew all of you had no choice but go to Seireitei and see the head captain.

For some reason you felt at peace with whatever decision he took - to kill you or not.

But not everyone had such peace. Some of the Ryoka were pacing, seeing impending doom. Shinji was ridiculously calm despite the sadness written on his face.

You guys discussed it over and over again the past years about it, about the day to face the head captain and here it was, just a few hours away.

Finally the summon came, you all headed to Seireitei. As soon as you arrived there a painful nostalgic feeling came to you, of days you could sleep under a tree, you could walk around proudly, days when you had a squad, a captain.

During your walk to the meeting room, you could see some squad members around and no familiar faces around. That was upsetting. The murmurs and whispers were getting slowly louder, you hear faintly in the distance someone calling after a captain.

You couldn't tell who the voice belonged to, you sighed and turned the way you heard it. It was a man's voice. When your eyes scanned through the few shinigamis standing, you saw Byakuya. Huffing a bit, his eyes were dead set on you and you were sure he wasn't very happy to see you again.

The voice kept ringing from behind him and you saw a red head man, you recalled he was called Renji. His voice quieted down when he followed Byakuya's gaze. He asked something and Byakuya gave a dry short answer.

You didn't have time to linger there, you had to walk to where you were being summoned.

You were standing before the head captain with a mix of serious and anxious expressions. When he declared his decision to bring you all back to be Shinigamis again you felt the floor melt away.

The head captain had a place for all of you and for now, you would be in the 5th squad along with Shinji.

Happy? Excited? Surprised? You didn't know. You never thought you would be back.

In a couple of hours the official announcement was made, with everyone present. There was so much to do, to review, to take care of and yet it all felt so… usual. You remembered your duties as a vice captain.

As you all started to go to your respective squads you heard your name being called by a familiar voice:

Byakuya: Y/N?

You stopped on your tracks, a small smile appeared on your face, not a happy one, no, it was a sad smile. Your name being called caused Shinji to stop as well a bit more ahead of you.

He saw your expression and motioned to you to go ahead and talk to Byakuya. You felt your ears burn a bit. You spun on your heels:

Y/N: Hi

Despite his silence you could see his expression change slightly, he went from his usual poker face to a surprised face to a soft one.

You smiled at him. Byakuya finally broke the silence after a shaky sigh:

Byakuya: I see… I see you are back and alive.

Y/N: Yeah… just on a neighboring squad though.

You giggled. His eyes were dead set on yours, he gave a few steps closer to you:

Byakuya: It's good to have you back.

Y/N: Good to be back, captain.

He flinched at your words:

Byakuya:... I am not your captain anymore.

Y/N: Ah… yeah, but -

He came slightly closer again. He was an arm reach from you. You t-shirt your gaze to your feet:

Y/N: I am sorry. I… I have so much to explain I guess…

Byakuya: That, you do.

You sighed and closed your eyes. Suddenly you heard a voice, the same voice from before calling a captain. Oh Renji was looking for Byakuya. You opened your eyes to see his hand close to your face, but he never reached.

Upon hearing Renji he dropped his hand again and turned around. You fixed your posture just in time to see the man huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath.

Byakuya glanced at you again:

Byakuya: Y/N, I will be waiting for… you.

You didn't have the chance to say anything. He was gone before you knew it, so you, as well, turned on your heel again and headed back to the 5th squad.

Did you go to see Byakuya right away? No. You knew it would be awkward. So you were procrastinating, you were both busy so it's ok right? Well, Shinji kept nagging you to just go.

Take off the band aid, explain to the man what he wants and deserves to know. After much insistence, you walked to the 6th squad.

The pathway was so familiar to you, it felt like you never left. As you walked by you heard some whispers here and there: " it's them! It's them!" .

Soon enough you reached Byakuya's favourite room for tea. Same decoration as always, same place, same colors, same everything.

He was sitting on the same side he always did. He didn't even look away from his tea to talk to you:

Byakuya: Y/N…. Take a seat.

You took a deep breath and did as you were told. He didn't say anything, he simply heard you talk from beginning to end.

He only made questions at the end. Questions about how you lived after leaving Seireitei, about your powers, about the others and some more.

You answered them as clearly as you could, your gaze was fixed on the cup of tea in front of you. You were pretty sure this chat took more than one hour and you were worried about your duties - you both wasted too much time - but somehow it didn't feel as bad as it should.

Byakuya sighed. It was silent between you two. You risked looking at him, he had closed his eyes and furrowed.

Byakuya: Y/N, why… why didn't you tell me?

Y/N: Well, I- how could I? Who would believe me?

Byakuya: I could have… I would have helped.

Y/N: I… it wasn't that simple, you know?

Byakuya: Do you not trust me?

Those words fell like daggers on you, his eyes were now you again. Sadness and a hint of frustration were reflected on them:

Y/N: No! That's not… I just… I didn't want to cause trouble for you.

Byakuya: … it's my duty as a captain to watch over you.

Y/N: And my duty as a Vice Captain to protect you.

You both fell into silence again. He sighed. Someone was calling for him outside the room, while you were excusing yourself Byakuya said:

Byakuya: Y/N, don't you dare disappear again. Am I clear?

You smiled warmly and replied with a cheerful " OK!" And left. Byakuya also had a little smile on his face. As you walked back you heard the same whispers again, but you guessed that would be your normal now.

The only thing you didn't know was that the rumors were about you being the predecessor of Renji. Somehow they caught wind of it.

From time to time Renji would come to you for advice to deal with Byakuya. Rukia came around often happily calling you by a nickname - like she used to.

Those little things didn't go unnoticed by Byakuya. He smiled to himself softly when he saw getting along with Renji and more importantly Rukia.

Rukia, as well, noticed how her brother seemed a bit more… happy? He didn't frown when you came to visit.

She noticed something more was there, but neither ever said anything. Well, not you or Byakuya, but Shinji was another story. He bugged you non stop to say what was on your head all this time:

Shinji: Y/N, you're finally here. Just go and talk. Did you sigh here and there all the time?

Your ears burned at the mention of your heart break and lovesickness.

But now wasn't a good time. A lot was happening and little did you know, the time to say what you so wanted would come during the Quincy attack.

When you saw Byakuya torn apart, you kneeled near him and said everything you ever wished for. He probably didn't hear you, right?

You promised yourself to be honest with him and you for once. When he woke up again, when he looked at you again.

It didn't go as smoothly as you wanted. As soon as he woke up, you threw yourself at him and words came out only choked tears and sobs. But, hey, what matters is that it got through, right?

----------------------------------------------

Thank you for reading!

I hope you enjoyed what I had to offer!

#bleach x reader #kuchiki byakuya x reader #byakuya x reader

[magn-animously]

TMAPG comments! Yay!

Background: I finished listening to TMA last summer. After a few months of dealing with whatever it was the episode 200 did to me, I decided to start a relistening run. That's when I heard they were doing a sequel (ish?). I didn't get to finish my first relistening but I couldn't wait for TMAPG any longer, so I went and listened to the first two episodes.

My very first reaction was... idk? It sounds very different from TMA but it's also very similar to it. I really missed the old cast's voices and it was so confusing to hear all these people talk when I had no idea who they were or what the context was really. Honestly, I thought it was kinda boring, but that's more because I'm impatient and want to get to The Good Stuff and less about the writing being bad (it's not). I know you can't just jump into things, you need introductions first... I thought the same about TMA lol. Couldn't wait to hear the ~plot~ and not just the statements!

And oh boy it looks like we're getting statements even now! How great!! :D I learnt to love them with TMA so I'm very glad that hasn't changed even though they couldn't (didn't want to, shouldn't) copy TMA format, so I was genuinely happy to hear we'll get to get more of that!

Sam sounds like he has a Past with the Institute or perhaps with the Eye, and I'm really really curious to hear what it is. I hope it's something good. Something nasty. I trust Johnny here.

The woman who started to mold herself to have the perfect body was a funny little reminder of Jared's gym. I kinda felt nostalgic? I liked it. It was proper well that's fucked up kind of statement. Story? Can I still call them statements? I think I will.

The others were more boring. Too vague. I know I'm gonna regret saying that because I'm easily spooked but yeah. I'm currently at the episode 145 in my relistening so compared to that, some woman who saw someone who was only partially made of someone she knew and then just ran away was not that interesting.

Anyway, I think I saw or heard somewhere long ago that the new Protocol will not be exactly the same as TMA, and that relying too much on the knowledge we have from it could throw you off. I wonder if that means the 14 (or 15) Fears are not going to be the same anymore. Maybe they got all mixed up and rearranged during the trip to the new universe? It's clear these guys at least are using a very different system to catalogue the stories (Sam would love it if there were only 14 categories to memorise!) so perhaps we can expect there to be more not-clearly-14 Fears. Maybe they'll (or he'll) start to name them like Smirke did but end up with different divisions than he. I mean, we've all known there are fears that don't really fall neatly into any of the 14, so it wouldn't be unreasonable to redo it differently.

Also, I find it really funny that both podcasts started with a dude getting a new job and instantly starting to complain about the way others have done archiving.

I also found it funny how much they stressed that you CAN quit this job. Nobody is holding them there. They can leave. They can. They do. One of them already did. Kinda. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up coming back.

#tmapg #the magnus protocol #comments #this ended up being so much longer than i intended but i don't really care #i'm writing these just for myself #but if someone else happens to see and read this say hi?

[jhopeunboxed]

j-hope at Lollapalooza- the journey of a star

Preface: this write-up is focused on the first half of j-hope's set (before Music Box: Reflection)

For his inaugural solo set, j-hope made his entrance by leaping out of a giant box. It was both a literal nod to the 'Jack in the Box' toy mechanism that inspired his latest titular album, as well as a figurative statement on breaking out of the mould of 'j-hope of BTS'. This grand gesture served as an introduction to the themes of his work and a declarative statement on the kind of artist he aspires to be. It prepared the audience for a journey of shock, surprise and delight.

The production read like a theatre play. Before j-hope made his entrance, it started with the introduction/prologue consisting of a soothing female voice telling the fable of 'Pandora's Box'. This effectively set the tone of a twisted children's tale, eccentric and slightly creepy. It was reinforced through the set design and projection of graphics, which had a scrawled, child-like feel in bright colours (reminiscent of artist Cy Twombly or Jean Michel-Basquiat) and checkerboard graphic. The whimsical feel was tempered by the darkness of night and mostly black background.

Credit: Getty Images

In his interview with IU prior to the show, he said, "you'll get to see a side of j-hope that wasn't there before, and you'll be able to feel what I feel and see the world as I do". j-hope had a story and vision and he was here to execute it. He was simultaneously an artist painting the scene, a storyteller through his lyrics, and an actor that draws the audience in through raw display of emotions. Many times he felt like a conductor, superbly skilled at using arm gestures to direct the crowd's attention and to seemingly command the live band. He played the role of a mad artist and creative genius, drunk on his own work, while also being the main protagonist of the story.

The first act of his 'play' started with 'More', a song expressing feral thirst and ambition. It is that ceaseless hunger that has led j-hope to this very stage. His performance showed a side that had not been fully been explored until now.  Abandoning dance choreography that marks typical 'kpop' performances, he instead threw himself into the song with wild abandon, including headbanging, stumbling, and facial expressions that flitted from despair, agony to pure enjoyment of the stage. In short, he appeared unhinged and even possessed by an inner demon. It was akin to a work of performance art. This was Jack coming out, his darker side. It was also the 'Jay' to his 'Hope', marking a return to rap and a departure from the wholesome pop star image. Fittingly, his voice was gritty and loaded with emotion.

Kpop performances are highly visual and often feature lavish outfits. In a bold move, j-hope dialled back on his costume by choosing an all-black ensemble of T-shirt and cargo pants. It gave subtle punk-rock vibes mixed with Goth- very fitting for the live band and the overall soundscape and aesthetics of the earlier half. j-hope's dark hair was grown-out with tousled curls, adding to the raw feeling.  By removing the slick polish of kpop, j-hope was sending a clear message- he wanted the focus to be squarely on his music and stage presence. As the hour flew by, his hair and clothes would get mussed up, and this was all part of the experience. It conveyed a sense of authenticity that would resonate with an alien crowd. By eschewing choreographed dance in favour of seemingly freestyled moves, he further created an authentic reaction and connection with the music.

Credit: Getty Images

We can consider the breaks that j-hope built within the performance as divisions between acts. He has an astute understanding of pacing, and knows how to create ebbs and flows. A prime example of this is the way he commanded the audience to 'sing it!', creating a spontaneous live choir of people reciting 'Hangsang with my dawg right... smash on the street'. Through physical gestures, audience interaction as well as the cadence of his voice, he builds tension leading up to the climax. Then he comes to a halt, drawing all focus to him, before launching into arguably the most memorable verse of the song. With Hangsang as the conclusion to the first act, after addressing the audience he embarks on the second act which explores concepts of peace and equality in the world. In 'Piece of Peace', 'Equal Sign' and most intriguingly 'STOP (There are no bad people in the world), he ponders on his role amidst social issues and the daily barrage of news.

The dreamlike song 'Blue Side', made even more haunting by the live instrumentals, served as an interlude. It was both designed as a break for j-hope to catch his breath, as well as a shift in the mood of the narrative. His thin figure silhouetted against the blue sea of light, he conveyed a sense of fragility and pensive emotion. The following song, 'Safety Zone', marks the start of the third act with j-hope seated on a small podium to the side. Basked in light, it felt like his own bubble and safe corner. While j-hope was radiating energy outwards earlier and addressing larger issues in the world, now he seemed to withdraw slightly and focus on his inner state. This was complemented by the camerawork, which switched to more close-up, lingering, intimate shots of him. The introspective lyrics made it akin to a monologue, and it was hypnotizing to watch him get lost in the moment.

It is fitting that the epic conclusion to the third 'act' was Arson, the title track from 'Jack in the Box'. 'I burned it all' and 'it's done', he proclaims in the song. Fire has always been a powerful symbol- it conjures up feelings of danger, it is necessary for life yet could also hearken to images of hell, death and destruction. In j-hope's case, this was a necessary demise for his subsequent rebirth. His wild passion is an all-consuming force that leads him to seemingly destroy the stage (and possibly his stable self) through violent motions. He is demolishing stereotypes of himself and his past image as a 'kpop idol', in order to emerge as a new person and become the artist of his choice.

The willingness to let go of his conscious self while retaining control of the audience separates j-hope from other performers, and transforms his Lollapalooza set into a masterful work of art. As the music swelled into an explosive section with drums,  j-hope completely let loose on the elevated platform. The visual projection at the back gave him the appearance of being completely consumed by flames. The cathartic release of pure energy felt like a supernova- a giant explosion marking the death of a star. This cataclysmic event generates shockwaves so huge that it could trigger the formation of new stars.

In the lyrics of Arson, j-hope ponders, "Now I ask myself, choose what? Do I put out the fire, or burn even brighter?" It remains an open question, but perhaps his performance provided the answer. On that night, we as an audience witnessed both the end and the birth of a star. Pandora's box was now open; everything within him had been unleashed and it could never be closed again.

#jhope lollapalooza #jhope #jhope jack in the box #jhope arson #bts #jung hoseok #hoseok #hobi #hobipalooza #jack in the box #hope world #jhope more #jhope bts

[dweemeister]

95th Academy Awards nominations reaction

I got up early this morning, typed some of these just after the nominations came out, and left it sitting in the drafts. Some personal reactions from me about today’s nominees:

Of the ten Best Picture nominees, I have seen five of them. This is the furthest ahead I’ve been at this point in awards season since 2019 (Avatar 2, Banshees, Elvis, EEAAO, Fabelmans). I do have my work cut out for me here. As of right now, I’m pretty much on the EEAAO train, but perhaps not as energetically as I’ve been for other movies in previous years. Partly due to the fact I can understand why people might dislike EEAAO intensely and partly because there are no 9/10 or 10/10 movies for me from 2022. At least from those I’ve seen. Fabelmans my second choice from those I’ve seen.

And now I have to watch two Top Gun movies. I’ve been avoiding the first for a long, long time having heard way too much about it and people saying it’s just not gonna be my thing. We’ll see over the next month.

Whoa. Where did Triangle of Sadness come from with both Picture and Director? That movie was divisive in some parts, and I’ve heard that it felt like an overlong lecture. The directors’ branch gonna directors’ branch, though - they always nominate one director out of left field. And this year, Ruben Östlund was that man.

Say it with me: in the Year of Our Lord, Anno Domini MMXXIII, we take Steven Spielberg and John Williams for granted. I think Spielberg has a shot at Director (and, as of this moment if I was a member of the Academy, I might just vote for him) and John gets his record-extending 53rd nomination (behind Walt Disney’s 59, and most by a living person). John’s count of five total Oscars (having last won 30 years ago) is too low. But the Academy members, I think, I have Oscar winners’ envy. John also becomes the oldest Academy Award nominee ever.

In any case, the other Original Score nominees this year are amelodic electronic background noise. Where is Simon Franglen for Avatar? Alexandre Desplat for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio?

All Quiet overperformed here, compared to what I expected. I know its haul of 14 BAFTA nominations was ridiculous, but I chalked that up to WWI being more prominent than in the U.S. - where most people don’t think about it much at all. I’ve not seen it, but I must say I have a lot of admiration for the 1930 original that won Best Picture. That All Quiet was the first sound masterpiece at a time when the silent-to-sound transition was still going on. I’m not sure how this one will stack up, having heard about some of the narrative changes they made to it.

Despite what has been widely reported, Michelle Yeoh becomes the second Best Actress nominee of Asian descent since Merle Oberon for The Dark Angel (1935). Oberon had to hide her Indian and Maori heritage due to safety reasons and we didn’t learn about this until after her death.

Also overjoyed to see Nighy, Michelle Williams, Ke Huy Quan, Hong Chau, and Stephanie Hsu all in the mix for acting. Best Actor features five first-time nominees for the first time in 88 years. Also, that’s four actors of Asian descent getting nominations! That’s a record!

Cartoon Saloon finally has the first blemish on their Academy Award nominations record. They were previously nominated for all of their movies - The Secret of Kells (2009), Song of the Sea (2014), The Breadwinner (2017), and Wolfwalkers (2020; which should have beaten Soul). My Father’s Dragon (2022) definitely was their weakest movie yet and, yeah, that didn’t deserve to be here. Hoping to see a return to form for the Kilkenny-based studio. You’ve got to think GdT’s Pinocchio now. No contest. I need to check out The Sea Beast, though.

What happened to RRR? Original Song only? Not a movie I’ve seen because I insist on watching it in the original Telugu, but my sense was that there was a divide in how it was received. In the West, with critics and audiences having very little idea about the nature of Indian cinema and its history, it was something different and refreshing and was well-received. In India, its use of Hindu iconography struck a chord of Modi-esque Hindu nationalism that has muted critical plaudits there. It’s an interesting dynamic, one that I doubt Westerners picked up at all.

I am so excited to see the short films, as always (and I write up on them too, you can see last year’s edition for Animated Short here). Those last two Animated Short nominees though? My Year of Dicks (not people named Richard, afaik) and An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake and I Think I Believe It? What titles. Can’t wait! As I understand it, no major American studios were in play for Animated Short at the shortlist stage. So this should be a fun, independent filmmaker-driven slate.

The Batman should have found its way into cinematography.

Never count Diane Warren out for Original Song, no matter how obscure the movie! She’ll, of course, lose - as she unfortunately always does. 14 nominations for Warren. Glad she picked up the Honorary Oscar last year, though.

Lots of clamor about the decision to leave Decision to Leave out in International Feature. But the International Feature branch usually does very funny things, and I don’t think there has been a consensus at all in this category. All Quiet the odds-on favorite due to its significant haul of nominations, however.

Well, this should be a fun month! On this blog, “31 Days of Oscar” - my marathon based on Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) marathon of the same name featuring only Oscar nominees and Honorary Oscar winners through the 95 years of Oscar history - is coming on March 1st!

#Oscars #95th Academy Awards #AMPAS #All Quiet on the Western Front #Avatar: The Way of Water #The Banshees of Inisherin #Elvis #Everything Everywhere All At Once #The Fabelmans #Tár #Top Gun: Maverick #Triangle of Sadness #Women Talking #RRR #Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio #An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It #My Year of Dicks #The Batman #Decision to Leave #The Sea Beast

[artichow]

in chances like these I always love to know about peoples ocs, so please tell me a little bit about Tatsuki, Jasmine and Juno

yep! I talked a little about Tatsuki in this answer

Juno is one of those characters I really love despite their problematic personality and history. She’s just a human disaster but I love her. She was Ryo’s partner and also Gingka’s mother.

She is sort of a mix between a mercenary like Chris, who uses beyblade to complete missions sometimes, and also an adventurer like Ryuto? She also doesn't shy away from robbing tombs or people in general, her list of crimes she committed is very long I imagine.

As a head’s up: she’s not a good person, pretty much abandoned her family to continue living the life she had before them. It’s a little more complicated than that, and I didn’t come up with every details yet, but yeah :( In my au Gingka has some father issues but also mommy issues that he isn’t aware of until Juno shows up in his life again. They have a lot in common for characters who didn’t interact with each other in 14 years. I like to think about the fact that Gingka spends a lot of his early adult life being a vagabond, pretty much always traveling, like his mom always did. Of course their lives are very different, but that need to always move and not settle down is a big part of them, even if they come from different histories.

She comes from a very impoverished family and had a very tough childhood, had to fend off for herself very young. Her father had trouble with the law and abandoned his family, leaving Juno to live with distant family relatives. She set off on her own very young and started working as a mercenary shortly after.

Gingka has the same eyes as her.

I have more about her and Ryo’s backstory I wrote once on my priv twitter to not forget it but I think I need to rewrite it, maybe I’ll do a special lore post dedicated to her.

Her bey is an Inferno Sagittario. I gave her a name and theme related to the goddess Diana/Artemis, I really like that aesthetic and it suits her well I think.

Jasmine is the head of the European WBBA division. She’s french and is fluent in English, Arabic, litany, Japanese and Spanish. Just a girlboss really, she worked very hard to get to her position, so you can imagine that her reaction to Ryo becoming the head of the Japanese division – with little to no qualifications for it – was… something. She can’t stand Ryo and he can’t stand her either, I love them for that. Jasmine’s very snobbish and never misses an opportunity to belittle Ryo and his work at the WBBA. Every time they have to call the other for meetings and important decisions it’s a competition of who can make the most passive aggressive comments, and Jasmine always wins.

I think she took Sophie under her wing, which is funny to think about if you’re a Hikaru and Sophie are sisters believer. They’re just the best of friends and so happy to see each other every time, knowing full well that their boss/mentor hate the other’s guts. But also Sophie doesn’t like Ryo either and Hikaru is very much done with the way Jasmine talks about her boss and, incidentally, HER work at the WBBA.

But yeah, love her, she’s a very petty and sarcastic person but she’s very very good at her job, very hardworking and has a lot of charisma. I think she plays the violin and the piano too.

Her bey is a crane, Night Crane UW145ES

#i'm sorry if it's not a lot thrjetrre i have more about juno but uhh ideas foggy it's not ready i guess? #i need to redesign her omg #what a mess what a mess she is #i love two very flawed ladies being girlbosses and making Ryo's life miserable >:) #thanks for the ask #mfb oc #mfb #arti talks

[juliauniblog]

Abortion - Right Or Wrong?

Abortion can be a sensitive topic for some, especially those with past experiences. Over the last few years this has become a major topic around the globe more so than ever before. But why? Religion? Morality? Ethics? Politics? There can be a number of circumstances that influence peoples’ personal opinions on the matter. These circumstances are still changing and so that is why there is uncertainty among society, whether it is right or wrong. All throughout the world, people with different upbringings have views on the subject and so it is a very controversial topic even between neighbouring countries.

Many countries have been changing their laws, however one that had a big impact was People’s reaction towards Poland’s Ban on Abortions. Abortion in Poland has been a sensitive topic since the days the first law has been changed in 1932. Until then, abortion was illegal under any circumstances, including factors that are taken into account today: threat to mother, quality of life, rape or incest. However, there are scenarios in certain countries when it is still not allowed even though it would affect the quality of life of the baby. This means that, even though there is sufficient medical proof that the baby would be born with certain disabilities or even if there is a chance of stillbirth there is still no way for the mother to get an abortion and will be rejected due to fear among doctors not to be prosecuted. The reason for this is that Poland has very strict views on abortion, just as D.Szelewa stated in Killing ‘Unborn Children’? The Catholic Church and Abortion Law in Poland Since 1989 “Legislation on abortion in Poland is among the strictest of all European countries.” [1]. However, these rules are not completely accepted by everyone, especially the public and can cause disagreements and even rallies.

Poland has its general rules matching with other European countries as it is a general standard and they are stricter than the United States. As in contradiction to Poland, the United States has a mixed view on abortion as there is a high number of people who are opposed to it as well as there are also people who support it under certain circumstances. There are two main groups that determine peoples’ views. These two groups are the liberal and conservative political parties. In short, the liberal party recognises womens’ rights to make decisions over what to do with their own bodies, including performing an abortion if they deem it necessary. On the other hand, the conservative party bases their views on a more religious and traditional point of view; and bans abortion completely as it is considered to be a sin, an act of murder. Religion however, does not only impact the conservative party’s point of view, it has also created division in the liberal party back in the 1960s, as D. Karol and C. N. Thurston showed in From Personal to Partisan: Abortion, Party, and Religion Among California State Legislators “with Catholics in both parties opposing reform” [2]. However, liberal catholics later became more open minded about the matter and admitted to having abortion legalised could actually be more favourable.

This open-mindness allowed for reform to become possible even on the other side of the world. With an increasing number of casualties, caused by mistreated pregnant women who had no other choice but suffer from the high risk pregnancies, people started standing up to the one and only belief that abortion is completely wrong. This has caused the public to retaliate in the form of protests, one of which had the biggest impact in Europe. The biggest protest, often referred to as “Strajk Kobiet” (“Women’s Strike”) happened in January 2021 in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, but also in smaller villages like Pszczyna. This strike was the result of a 30-year-old woman who was denied an abortion after high risk problems during her pregnancy that led to her death because of the government’s negligence. This has caused women all throughout Poland to start questioning the laws, as why is the life of a woman so overlooked by everyone when it comes to pregnancy. In 2020, these protests have resulted in the government delaying bringing a near-total ban into action regarding abortion, because they were aware of the public’s ideology [3]. Later on however, the court kept their ban in place, rallying the protest to a greater extent. People from all around the country started agreeing with the protestors, to the point where 73 percent of the country opposed the court’s decision. The main reason was the recognition that in Poland having an abortion is a matter of life and death [4]. This has escalated even further since, and in November 2023 the left party of Poland decided to push for the “Liberalisation of Abortion” [5], which meant easing up the current laws and allowing termination of pregnancy for women up to the 12th week of pregnancy. This motion was supported by 80 percent of the country, after conducting a mass survey.

After a three-year long battle, women have finally started to gain rights towards their own body and are being recognised as human beings. Even though this is still ongoing things are starting to change for the better. This whole conflict has gained attention from all around the world, allowing women to stand up for themselves and form a unity. Many factors affect people’s minds about abortion from their beliefs to the economical as well as political influences that occur from other people and that are widely spread throughout the media. In conclusion, things are looking on the better side but it is still unknown how the current events are going to turn out. However, even if the current motion turns out to be unsuccessful, the current events will light a new flame and bring new perspective even to people who are not involved, and will likely help in the long run to push the movement to a better outcome.

Bibliography

[1] Szelewa, D., 2016. Killing ‘unborn children’? The catholic church and abortion law in Poland since 1989. Social & Legal Studies, 25(6), pp.741-764.

[2] Karol, D. and Thurston, C.N., 2020. From personal to partisan: Abortion, party, and religion among California state legislators. Studies in American Political Development, 34(1), pp.91-109.

[3] Walker, S., 2020. Poland delays abortion ban as nationwide protests continue. The Guardian, 3. (Accessed 04.01.2024.)

[4] Neumeyer, J., 2021. Poland’s Abortion Ban Protests Changed the Country Forever. Foreign Policy Magazine (Accessed: 07.01.2024.)

[5] Sieniawski, B., 2023. Left party pushes to ease Poland’s strict abortion laws. Euractiv (Accessed: 07.01.2024.)

[6] Kosc, W., 2023. Poland braces for abortion protests as doctors become center of storm. Politico, Omar Marques/Getty Images

[7] Davies, C., 2020. Pro-choice supporters hold biggest-ever protest against Polish government. The Guardian, 30. Kacper Pempel/Reuters

[8] Bucholc, M., 2022. Abortion law and human rights in Poland: The closing of the jurisprudential horizon. Hague Journal on the Rule of Law, 14(1), pp.73-99.

[9] Calkin, S. and Kaminska, M.E., 2020. Persistence and change in morality policy: The role of the Catholic Church in the politics of abortion in Ireland and Poland. Feminist Review, 124(1), pp.86-102.

[d2kvirus]

13/10/23 Fact or Fiction

Statement #1: Having Adam Copeland in AEW is better than having CM Punk. FACT - While there is the obvious point that Adam Copeland likely won't bring the same amount of eyes onto the product that Punk did, that is balanced out by how there will (hopefully...) be a significant decrease in the amount of backstage drama that was plaguing Punk's run from the Gripebomb onwards, although at the very least if Copeland leads by example backstage in much the same way Danielson has, rather than saying he's a leader but showing the leadership of Liz Truss, that will make the atmosphere around the company better

Statement #2: After 3 PPVs in less than 2 months, AEW ALL IN was actually the least memorable despite having one of the biggest live audiences in history. The main issue with All In is how the perception has been tainted due to the main talking point being Punk and Jack Perry having a puchup backstage after the first match (and that story reaching the sheets within minutes), because outside of that the show by and large delivered. Personally I'd say that All Out was the weaker show of the three entirely because so much was packed onto the All In card which is reflected by the malnourished undercard that show had

Statement #3: There are too many title matches in AEW. FICTION - By and large AEW is capable of booking most of its roster without needing a title to elevate a match or feud to PPV-level, so from that standpoint there's not too many title matches...barring the six-man division, where they really don't need both the AEW and ROH six-man titles in the mix at the same time

Statement #4: The best wrestling storyline of the year is the MJF and Adam Cole feud / friendship. FICTION - While it's certainly the best storyline going in AEW right now, and has done wonders to refresh both Cole and MJF as a result, I wouldn't say it was the best storyline in wrestling right now. That honour goes to Rhea & Dom, which is a major part of dragging Judgment Day towards relevance after they were swinging in the breeze for a while

Statement #5: You understand and enjoy Toni Storm’s new gimmick. FACT - It's basically the same as the gimmick Kazuchka Okada had after losing the IWGP title to Kenny Omega a few years back, but instead of carrying balloons to the ring she's gone full Norma Desmond

Statement #6: AEW is no longer “cool”. FICTION - On pretty much every canvas available AEW was never "cool" due to it being wrestling, which certain people treat seeing people watch in much the same way as walking in on somebody diddling away to Pornhub. While there is an argument that it was cool in a niche of the wrestling fandom, that is like saying tuxedo tshirts are cool because there's always somebody who wears one to a fancy party, usually the bloke who smells of weed and Lynx Africa

Statement #7: “Main Event” is a patronizing nickname for Jey Uso since he has not been in many significant main event singles matches and has rarely won any. FICTION - I wouldn't say it was patronising, after all "Dynamic" Jerry Lynn is an example of a patronising ringname, but it is hard to look past the fact that so many of the main events he has been in were not singles matches but tags, and "25% of a Main Event" Jey Uso doesn't have much of a ring to it

Statement #8: LA Knight can maintain his current popularity without ever being in an excellent wrestling match. FACT - While I do worry that WWE will hold off pulling the trigger on him for so long that when he does finally get a big win the fan reaction will be tempered compared to if they pulled the trigger four to six months earlier, the only way that his popularity is ever going to nosedive is if WWE Zack Ryder him and I can't see that happening

#fact or fiction #factorfiction

[woodfinder8754]

Prime 5 Sights & Landmarks In East London, Jap Cape

The house is ingeniously designed to afford most privacy. Catering for our wedding was quite good; courteous staff. The facility would profit from a walking path for many who are not golf. The par-5 tenth has water operating diagonally throughout the fairway olivewood estate, presenting a problem on the second shot. The dogleg left 524m 18th is an excellent closing hole, a wide fairway giving golfers the chance to be aggressive off the tee, though three fairway bunkers are there to catch the lengthy hitters. The par-5s at Olivewood are among the many most challenging.

There is a triple car garage and a cabana on the Sandy Lane Property Owners Beach Facility. Olivewood, which sits on an attractive elevated lot of approximately 1.86 acres, was designed by Michael Gomes and accomplished in 2004. Drive lined with field hedges doubles as a wonderful serene strolling path “The Loop” and increasing and winding to a rock lined pathway alongside the long bladed grassy financial institution that result in olive groves …all main up to the principle residence.

Indigenous forest frames many of the holes, and thoroughly positioned water features, tees and greens spotlight the unique format of this course. The par seventy two course options many “risk and reward” holes. While the rough has been stored comparatively quick, lengthy bushveld grass on the outskirts awaits any errant pictures. Interesting is the very personal “outdoor shower” … such a pleasant expertise. The backyard areas are stunning and properly maintained. Golfers will love this place … the course is superb, we're informed.

While we're huge fans of mixing it up and bending the rules, we also hew to the idea that there is no need to alter something that's working. Red wine and steak are good with one another because of the compounds that mix on our palates after we put them together—namely fat, protein and tannins. While we're sipping and chewing and enjoying dialog at residence or our favorite steakhouse, there's a reaction at work in our mouths that heightens the pleasure of mixing two of our favorite things. The provincial staff, the Border Bulldogs, currently plays within the First Division of the Currie Cup competitors. Most national video games in East London are played at the Buffalo City Stadium, which holds around people and was a host stadium in the course of the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Whilst waiting for our cab, we requested to take a seat on some exterior sitting underneath a patio, after being informed the restaurant was full. The white younger lady at reception was very snappy and refused saying that area is reserved for golfers. I mean, a 15minute await a visitor that just checked out shouldn't be this difficult. Guests should be treated the identical at checkin and at checkout. The value range is considerably overwhelming when you dreaming of getting married there.

The planning and positioning of the assorted “pavilions” maximize views to the Caribbean Sea, the golf course and surrounding gardens while offering pure cross ventilation through the whole home. The structure of the villa is based on Balinese design principals. It is a set of linked “pavilions” and intertwined garden courtyards. These aee set around a swimming pool and garden water features. The planning and positioning of the assorted “pavilions” maximises views to the Caribbean Sea, the golf course and surrounding gardens. It additionally supplies natural cross ventilation via the complete home.

Private pro & Homes online in South Africa, Flat to lease and home for sale on the main properties website. Please send me an enquiry from the web site to find out how to get approved or for a non-public viewing. The stunning house has loads to offer, area, consolation and luxury..... Walnut groves encompass “The Loop” and make a tranquil private entry to the Stanislaus River only a short stroll away.

After harvest the grapes had been cold soaked in open top fermenters for 5 days to extract maximum flavor, color and tannin. It was then allowed to undergo malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels for 10 months, leading to creamy mouthfeel and voluptuous texture. There are juicy flavors of black cherry, pink plum, and cranberry on the palate and a light-weight touch of bright olivewood estate pomegranate within the finish. This 100% Shiraz stunner from Australia’s Barossa Valley is identified as for the local colloquialism for estate manager, Factor. It is inky purple within the glass with aromas of black plum, ripe dark cherry, vanilla bean and mocha. In the mouth it's huge and bold with ripe fruit flavors and velvety tannins.

This delicious Bordeaux from Saint-Estephe is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot with touches of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. It has aromas of black fruits with a lifted observe of shiny purple cherry and secondary whiffs of tobacco leaf and purple flowers. In the mouth it has ripe fruit flavors and balanced tannins. The tannins are a bit chewy however will hold as a lot as thick cuts of beef. The end is long with a touch of black licorice on the very finish.

The different pavilions are the household room, the garden entrance foyer, the dwelling room & primary verandah constructing, the dining room constructing and the breakfast and repair building. Olivewood is located on the distinguished olivewood estate Sandy Lane Estate. This luxurious property boasts 6 bedrooms and overlooks the third fairway of the Old Nine Golf Course at Sandy Lane. It's personal ridge entrance location affords Olivewood spectacular views of the West Coast and Caribbean Sea.

[unohanadaydreams]

How would the captains react to catching their partner cheating on them? I’m feeling angst tonight

Finally some good fucking food. Angst; it’s what’s for dinner and I’m chowing down with you, anon.

Features: angst. Some violence and torture with Gin and Mayuri.

How The Original Captains React To Being Cheated On:

Genryusai Yamamoto:

There’s little to no reaction. You wouldn’t be the first and won’t be the last to use him for status or money or petty bragging rights. Just another day.

Quietly, behind closed doors, he does mourn. Not for the loss of you, but for the prospect of starting again. He caresses the pretty things he’s bought you, each touch a vote for or against bothering.

If you come to him, apologetic and willing to repent, he’ll look past the transgression. Less work for him to undertake, in the end, and the power of demanding this is that in the name of forgiveness suits him.

Shunsui Kyoraku:

He can’t help but laugh. All those years chasing girls and washing his hands of the consequences come to catch him now that he’s standing still with just one hand holding his.

Business goes on as usual, but he’s sloppier around the edges—spilling sake on paper work, falling asleep against Jushiro’s grave, and forsaking the frequent partying he’s known for in lieu of furiously scribbling down the perfect love story he didn’t get.

Honestly, he’s willing to forgive if it wasn’t done out of love for the other person and there’s a willingness to work on the relationship. Shunsui has played the unfaithful lover more times than he can remember; being black out drunk more often than sober will do that to you.

Soi Fon:

She can’t speak and doesn’t bother. Throat closed with anger, she lets her body tell you where your relationship lies—thrown off the bed and kicked outside.

There’s nothing but hatred for you and humiliation for herself. Not just personally, but professionally; a leader of the 2nd division being caught unawares is irony at the cost of her reputation.

People are always leaving her behind once she trusts them. After weeks, she’ll ask you why. Because that’s always the question burning in her chest. Why can’t she be a person someone stays for.

Gin Ichimaru:

Cute, how you think you can shuffle off and away from him after getting caught. He doesn’t flinch, talking with conversational tones. Hey, sweetie, who’s your little friend? Aww, they don’t talk or some thin’?

There’s two options; submit to grueling public humiliation or die. Gin loves to have fun, after all. And, isn’t it fun having to watch the person you cheated with get toyed with like a mouse under kitty claws? Aren’t you having fun kissing the corpse? Wasn’t your silly mistake worth it?

Gin has never forgiven, forgotten, or turned down an opportunity to make someone who cares about him regret feeling so. Your life is hell and the jailor can’t decide whether to keep your head under boiling water or kill you. Fun!

Retsu Unohana:

The impulse to leave as the only one alive is temptation incarnate. She is firm, restrained, and digs into her cheeks until her teeth pop through.

She keeps waiting to calm, for the situation to become objective instead of the turmoil in her gut. Retsu is especially brusque with everyone while working, making every stitch job a painful one. Why is there always something. Why can’t all the change finally stick; why is she still glad to feel the pain so she can inflict it back?

The betrayal was the end and there’s years of coping methods that keep you from spilling your guts on a sword, but it feels like a very near thing to her. Professionally, she’s less kind, and your next set of wounds healed by the 4th get infected. Poor thing.

Sosuke Aizen:

As far as you know, he’s stricken with heartbreak and disappointment. His voice is a touch too loud when telling you off—others hear. And disapprove greatly. He asks any bystanders for their discretion towards his privacy, adding a tear or two for effect.

Your relationship being over matters little; dime a dozen are the people who’ll fall over themselves to be his. The audacity of treating him, your better, with such unfairness? Affects him like an itch under skin.

Of course, he forgives you. He makes a show of it and the number of people out for your unhappiness grows. How could you cheat on such a gracious, loving man? You are punished with little action from himself, the many shinigami who view him with starry-eyes doing their work without needing explicit instruction.

Byakuya Kuchiki:

There’s little to say or do outside of making it clear he wants you gone in a permanent way. Reaction is the thief of dignity, so he saves any emotion for when he’s alone.

Self flagellation is his favorite dessert and he is convinced the bitter taste reflects his character somehow. In a way, it speaks to his lack of care and dignity as a clan leader; what fully aware man could let this happen?

For you, there aren’t any chances let alone forgiveness. You’ve stung his pride in multiple ways and only social norms keep you from dying in a duel over it. But as a shinigami—as a captain—he has avenues to vent his vindication until he feels the crime has been payed for. Too bad for you that pride is worth it’s weight in gold for a Kuchiki.

Sajin Komamura:

He runs away from the situation as soon as possible. Of course you cheated on him; how foolish to think anyone would not. At least he knows now and can get back to his normal.

Being alone isn’t all bad. There’s more time for his pets, his company, and his training. Comforting, familiar, he can pretend this is how it always was. Just him, alone.

His lack of self-esteem outweighs his want for justice. It was unfair to subject anyone to…himself, anyway. He can’t blame you for wanting someone untouched by the curse of the beast.

Kaname Tosen:

There’s more anger than even you expect. Injustice in anything, especially something so personal, enrages him. But he has the self control and sense to only send you packing.

Still, it’s all he can think about. Better to be consumed by this than the glacial pace his better world is taking. You’re one of the people holding that goal back, he’s sure. He insists on a talk that’s really just a long, painful lecture.

People like you, who disregard what’s right, don’t deserve forgiveness and the upset within him darkens. Maybe there is a way you can make things right. They’re so close to perfecting the Arrancar and he’d like to see how you’ve contributed once his eyes open, finally able to see.

Toshiro Hitsugaya:

There aren’t any dramatics or punishments or even words to give you other than ‘goodbye’. He sees the break and he cuts it cleanly. There’s no need for anything else.

Largely he copes by doing what he always does—working, training, meditating. There are a few sips of alcohol and punches to his pillow, but you’re no longer someone he cares about. The ice has holed over the spot you took just fine.

You don’t exist to him anymore. If you try to apologize, his eyes will pass over you and he’ll remind you once before ignoring you again: He’s a captain and he’s closed the conversation and now he’s getting back to work. Goodbye.

Kenpachi Zaraki:

So you’re fucking somebody. Is that a big deal or something? Should he be hurt? Because all he can muster is annoyance.

And then he thinks about it. He lets it sink in that somebody was touching you while you’re his. Kenpachi understands the want to play, but isn’t love when someone is the best in your heart and only them? Like, strength but more fucking confusing.

He’s still undecided if there’s anything to forgive. He tells you to give it another go with him in the mix and likes the feeling better than walking in uninvited. So maybe it was just play…and maybe he’s more rough with you two than intended. But he leaves more content than he came, so he figures everything’s fine. He can always kill somebody later, once he’s figured it out for good.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi:

You’re knocked unconscious and so is the person you were in bed with. That’s the last you see of them or the world beyond one lab room.

Congratulations, you are now confined to a pill that is swallowed by gigai after gigai designed in your likeness. Isn’t he generous, letting you take part in his research still? Don’t you feel honored to still feel any part of his touch as he takes you apart somehow more painfully than the time before?

Because it is just research. He didn’t care about you enough to still feel enraged about it. This is purely out of principle, a logical response to your base actions. Don’t worry, it’s just forever.

Jushiro Ukitake:

The discovery is emotional and he struggles keep his dignity, especially when a coughing fit starts soon after. He can’t even tell you off without sickness leaking into the moment.

The spiral begins. You’re awful one moment and justified the next. He’s the victim, then the one who should’ve known. There was no good reason and then he coughs again and there’s one.

He could forgive you if you’re genuine and forthright with a reason that isn’t the weight which holds him under blankets or pushes blood past his lips. As long as the illness isn’t what poisoned the relationship, he could forgive you.

#bleach imagines #bleach headcanons #bleach #genruysai yamamoto #shunsui kyoraku #soi fon #gin ichimaru #retsu unohana #sosuke aizen #byakuya kuchiki #sajin komamura #kaname tosen #toshiro hitsugaya #Kenpachi Zaraki #Mayuri Kurotsuchi #jushiro ukitake #oh my god so many characters #honestly Kenpachis is definitely pre Yachiru eating shit when he’s less inclined to feel deep things #I didn’t think it would be as interesting for him to get mad #thanks for being my jingle bell comic relief who is also sadly out of touch with himself

[twotapbuz]

The leader and a body guard(Rin x reader)

(Sorry this took so long, school sucked all of my motivation away. You can find the rest of the series here: Eloni )

warning: violence, slight angst with a happy ending

Sometime after the rock revolution, Neon J decided to leave for a 3-week vacation

This meant that you and your coworkers would need to report to Rin

The first couple of days were difficult because Rin didn’t seem to care about the reports and would flirt with whoever was giving him the report

It wasn’t till week two that things began to spiral

1010 had been in the middle of a performance when a fight broke out in the crowd

You jumped out of where you were standing to help control the crowd

You assessed the damage after everything calmed down

The venue + stage was partially destroyed, Purl-Hew lost his glasses and an eye, Haym lost an arm, Zimelu and Eloni’s faces were cracked, and Rin was missing

Rin was missing

This was bad news as the factory still hadn’t been repaired yet which meant that he couldn’t be brought back until Neon J came back

And if Neon J found out that you lost a member of 1010, you and your co-workers would be fired

So your group split into two parts, one half would take Zimelu, Haym, Purl- Hew, and Eloni back to Barraca Mansion while the other half would search for Rin

You were placed into the latter

It had been nearly an hour since Rin was discovered missing and there still was no sign of him. You were definitely going to get fired. While the concert was in Cast Tech, you along with several others were sent to search Metro Division in case he simply went back to Baraca Mansion without telling anyone. You were about to head back when you heard the sound of crashing metal. 

“Hello, is anyone there?” You didn’t mean to say anything, but you were caught off guard. Against your better judgment, you began to walk towards that alley. You were desperate to find him after all.

“Stay back! RETREAT!” shouted a panicked autotuned voice. It was Rin.

“Rin? Is that you? Are you ok?” you rushed down the alley to find Rin hiding next to a dumpster.

“Don’t look at me!” Rin was trying to cover the right side of his face with his arm.

“What? Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah! Do not worry about me, I’ll make it back fine,” Rin tried to stand up, still covering his face, but immediately fell back down because his leg was missing.

“Look… everyone’s worried about you and you won’t be able to make it back by yourself with that leg,” you gestured at Rin’s broken leg. Please let me help you, I know some shortcuts.” You offered your arm. Rin hesitantly lifted his hand for his face and grabbed your hand for support. The metal that covered the right side of her face was gone, revealing the damaged hardware underneath.

You involuntarily flinched, he may not have been human, but it was still pretty jarring to look at something that looked like a person who was missing part of their face. Rin also flinched, covering his missing face with both of his hands now.

“I’m so sorry about that”, you rubbed your neck, “I just… well I didn’t expect the injury to be that bad.”

“You aren’t going to scream, are you?

“What? No, I'm very sorry about that. Besides I’ve seen way worse” you joked, trying to release the tension. Rin hesitantly uncovered his face once again and grabbed your hand and pulled himself up. The two of you dodged the groups of people walking through Metro Divison.

As the two of you were walking through, you couldn’t help but wonder about Rin’s reaction when it suddenly hit you, 1010 got severely injured during the rock revolution. One of these injuries included all of them losing their faceplates. Their fans unsurprisingly freaked out which caused 1010 to explode due to some protocol Neon J must’ve implemented. Your heart sank when you realized Rin’s reaction wasn’t because he was worried about his image, but he was scared of you screaming and what would follow afterward.

——————

After that incident, Rin seemed to act differently towards you. He took you more seriously and listened to your reports

Even after Neón J came back, Rin still came to you for your reports

Probably just practice for when Neón j retires, you thought

As the weeks passed, the time spent on the casual chats you had increased to the point you’d forgot to give him the actual report several times

“And that’s how we got Quienne and Bebe.” Rin had just finished telling you the story of how they got their cats by Haym and Eloni smuggling them in through a box. This was one of many of the 'behind the scenes stories' that Rin had told you. While they didn’t act that much different when they weren’t on camera or in front of a crowd, it was nice to be trusted enough to hear about their personal lives.

“So what about you?”

“Hm?”

“Do you have any good stories? I don’t think it’s fair if I tell all of my secrets after all~.” Rin teased

“Well, I do have one. I was at a dance audition and waiting for my turn to perform and this dude that was performing was pretty much a circus act. He was doing all these frontflips and backflips and it was just crazy. Wish I had recorded it.”

“You used to be a performer? How come you stopped?” Rin curiously asked.

“Nah, I never made it past the first round of auditions. I didn't really mind since I only entered to support a friend.” You sipped on your coffee

“That’s a shame.” Rin paused for a moment. “You know I could always offer you lessons.”

 “that's really nice, but I’ll have to decline. No amount of practice can fix these two left feet.” You looked at the clock, realizing half an hour had passed. You quickly said your goodbye and left to avoid getting into trouble. Rin watched your back as he left, unsure why he couldn’t take his eyes off you.

——————

Rin was walking to his dressing room when he saw you walking alongside several other security staff. As rude as it sounded, Rin normally wouldn’t think twice about the people he worked with. Most staff would either quit from being harassed by crazy 1010 fans or get fired for secretly being 1010 fans who used the job to get access to 1010 content, or worse, 1010 themselves. Rin shuddered as memories of one of the many incidents came back. Rin could count on both of his hands the amount of current staff that has been working for over a year and you were one of them. Rin began to think about the early part of his career when he and his family would actively engage with the staff, talking about both of their personal lives and inviting them over to hang out in the mansion. He and his brothers stopped interacting with the staff after the high turnover started. What was the point of talking with them if they were going to quit and avoid 1010 like the plague or get fired and be avoided by 1010 like the plague. He was glad that he could talk to you. He also liked the sound of your voice and how your eyes sparkled brighter than the LEDs that lit up him and his brothers. Rin blushed at the last thoughts. The sound of your voice and the sparkle of your eyes? It’s not like he was in love with you or anything. He was technically your boss and your relationship was completely professional. Yeah, your interactions were one of his favorite parts of his day and your smile would always brighten his day, but even if he was in love with you(which he is not) there’s still the challenge of gaining the approval of his family and having to deal with his fan’s harassment. He couldn’t let you go through that. Though Rin couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to talk with you outside of work…even go on a couple dates… maybe he was in love afterall.

——————

You walked past Rin and smiled. Despite your attempts, you fell for Rin's charm just like his fans did and it took you no time to notice this. You knew you were never going to say anything, afterall, everyone knows the rule about not dating coworkers and Rin can choose practically anyone, why would he pick you?

——————

It was the first concert after the rock revolution

The fans were extra antsy due to the lack of content, so it was all hands on deck

You were positioned on the front of the stage

This concert was no different than the previous ones, 1010 were performing, a couple of their fans attempted to jump on the stage, and you could barely hear your own thoughts over the mix of music and cheering. Suddenly both of those stopped. You looked at the stage and so 1010 standing still in mid-performance. You were told about this situation during training: it was either a malfunction or a hacking. You prayed that it wasn’t the latter. 1010 suddenly began to move in sync, but it was different from their normal in sync movement. You saw two fans get tackled to the ground as a red saw blade passed them at what would’ve been chest height. Your radio buzzed loudly as you were given your new orders:

“Get everyone out of there.”

It was chaos as you rushed around to get everyone out of the venue. Those with superhuman abilities(pyrokinesis, levitation, etc) stayed behind to prevent 1010 from leaving the venue. Despite not having any abilities, you stayed behind too. You were running around in the back looking for anyone who still might be there when the rubble from an explosion behind you knocked you to the ground. You quickly got up and saw Rin towering over Neon J. Without thinking, you quickly grabbed a nearby pipe that came from the newly busted wall and smashed it over Rin’s head. This managed to stop his attack, but it also brought his attention to you. He suddenly ran towards you, grabbed you, and threw you against the wall. Your consciousness began to fade in and out as your head collided with the wall. You saw Rin approaching you, then darkness, Rin raising his arm to strike, darkness again, Rin being pulled away by Neón J, darkness again, the inside of an ambulance, and then nothing.

——————

You woke up in a hospital room. Your eyes scanned the room: on your right was a monitor accompanied by an IV drip. On your left was a small table with flowers, a get-well balloon, a couple cards, and a Rin with a worried face sitting on one of the chairs of the room. Rin noticed you were awake and quickly rushed before stopping unsure of what to do.

“Y/N” Rin said, unsure of what to do or say

“Rin”

“Y/N… I’m so sorry about what happened- I didn’t want to-I couldn’t stop- if there’s anything I can do to make it up to you-” Rin began to stutter out of guilt. He kept making sentences but giving up on them and starting new ones.

“Rin, please” Rin paused and looked at you. “It’s not your fault, I know you would never do this” the two of you sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before you continued, “You know... if the offers still up… I’d be happy to accept those dance lessons when I get discharged." Rin began to smile

“Yeah, the offers still up”

——————

Neon J walked through the hospital’s halls. For the past two weeks, he had been personally escorting Rin to your hospital room. He knew Rin felt responsible for your injuries so he didn’t object to this despite the possible security risks(he couldn't keep his boys locked up). He had heard from Rin that you had woken up and he was glad that you were ok, but he had to cut your visitor time short due to an interview that all 1010 members must be present for. He walked into your room to find the two of you sleeping with Rin’s head on your lap. 

“It’ll be fine if Rin misses one interview.” Neon J thought as he closed the door. He also began to wonder how long it will be before Rin introduces you officially to the family.

#NSR #NSR 1010 #no straight roads #rin #1010 rin #nsr rin #neon j #nsr x reader #no straight roads x reader

[downtonabbeyrevisited]

Season Two Episode Three

Conversion of the Abbey into a convalescent home for Officers is underway, ushering in a territorial battle that at times makes what is going on on the other side of the channel look like a mere scuffle. With the chain of command yet to be set, the floor is open for some of the best Isobel v. Cora v. Violet action that Downton has to offer. However, Isobel’s hostile takeover is slowed by a combination of O’Brien’s Machiavellian urges and Robert’s love of hierarchy. O’Brien tees up Thomas to take charge of Downton and coaxes him into the fray as he leans on an archway smoking his way into a wide variety of lung problems in later life. In an almost implausible about face (the key word for King Julian here is almost), Robert, Major Clarkson and Carson agree that Corpral Barrow is now trustworthy(ish), should be bumped up to the rank of Acting Sargent and be allowed to use the front door (although Carson remains unsure about the last bit). With Thomas in place and Major Clarkson at the hospital, Robert is on the hunt for another “tier” having looked at this microcosm of society and decided that there was not enough division. Evelyn Napier’s request to stay at Downton prompts Major Clarkson to enact border controls that would make Priti Patel look on in envy and neatly demonstrates the bind in which the Crawleys now find themselves. It is perhaps fitting, if predicable, that by the end of the episode Isobel and Cora are to share responsibility for Downton in what will remain the worst coalition of all time until 2015 when Cadbury will get together with Vegemite. Look it up. Trust me, it was rank. 

Having an equally tense episode is Lavina who, fresh from behind manhandled behind the laurels, is now under Rosamund’s microscope with Violet declaring her to be an object to be removed which is a bit harsh even for her. It is rumoured that Lavinia stole secrets from her Uncle for Richard Carlisle to publish as part of his uncovering of the Marconi Scandal, a historical event whose name is said loudly and clearly at least three times so that we can all Google it in the ad-break. Sensing a potential weakness, the Crawley women (who I am resisting the urge to call Robert’s Angels) dig deeper as Mary hunts out Lavinia to give her the third degree. Lavinia admits that she did start the uncovering of the scandal but not in the pursuit of a transparent and accountable government. Instead it was to save her father from financial ruin. And all of her sudden, in exposing corruption and hypocrisy just to save her own skin she has gone from being a Department of Health and Social Care security guard to Dominic Cummings. 

Violet’s concerns about the potential carnage that mixing ranks could let loose are not unfounded as Major Bryant confuses the Abbey with the Villa and Ethel takes one look at him and thinks “He’s a little bit of me”. Sadly/fortunately Ethel’s tucking in of Major Bryant’s blankets is halted by Mrs Hughes before Laura Whitmore can ask everyone to gather around the fire pit. 

Apparently more romantically reticent than Bryant is Bates, who has taken to hiding behind a tree in the Village on Wednesdays just to catch a glimpse of Anna, demonstrating a behaviour pattern that does not throw up any red flags at all. Richard Carlises’ network of spies find him in a pub in Kirkbymoorside which Anna describes as “odd” despite the fact that of all the things he has done (or is about to do) in this episode, let alone the Downton Abbey canon as a whole, this is definitely the most sensible decision he has made. It means he does not have to navigate the staircases that formed a fair amount of his plot in the previous season for a start. Rather than leave him be, Anna takes an alarmingly shiny bus to an almost forensically clean pub where she orders what turns out to be a very horrific looking glass of cider from an eternally conflicted Bates. Bates tells Anna his plan to divorce Vera and declares that he does not care about gender discrimination in the law. In return Anna shows off her attempt at using this week’s bit of new technology, the curling iron. Asked for his opinion, Bates replies that he would love Anna “however, whatever, wherever”, cleverly avoiding the question in a way that simultaneously shows the depth of his amour but also indicates that he thinks it’s hideous. 

Edith finds herself lacking purpose and direction like most people in their mid-twenties. Sybil, the annoying over-achieving younger sibling, tells her to work out what she is good at which turns out to be being a scribe, and getting books and carcinogenic substances for Officers. Edith’s quiet industry enables her to gain a good working knowledge of all the key protagonists on General Strutt’s tour which earns her a toast at Lunch. For Edith, this is the equivalent of getting an M.B.E. 

Another character looking to take advantage of General Strutt’s sojourn is Branson whose plans to be a conscientious objector are scuppered by a heart murmur. His flair for the dramatic takes him to the courtyard of deceit (a location looking to form an alliance with the tree of emotional conflict and the platform of romantic uncertainty) where he polishes headlamps and gathers intel about the impending visit. The lack of footmen leaves an opening for Branson to cause if not the downfall, certainly the minor humiliation, of the British Army. A cryptic “forgive me” note prompts some some Blair Witch style camera work to underline the sense of urgency as Anna pelts it downstairs. The costume department breathe a sigh of relief as Branson manhandled out of the dining room before he can upend a rather creative concoction which invites the question, how did he get so much ink? 

As William shows off his uniform, Daisy, coached by Mrs Patmore, continues to lead him up the garden path. William admits he is nervous about the prospect of facing the brutal reality of World War One and Mrs Patmore gently weeps across the table bringing her episode:crying ratio up pretty high even for something on a Sunday evening on ITV. Luckily, there is an opening for William to become Matthew’s solider servant which is good news for William and the budget as the exact same section of trench can continue to be used for both characters. Before he leaves, William proposes to Daisy and, naturally, Mrs Patmore accepts. Daisy’s “go on then” is hardly the most ringing of endorsements and her face resembling that of a rabbit who has taken a wrong turn and finds themselves on the fringes of the M4 cannot be reasonably described as elated. Daisy does manage to gather herself to delay the now inevitable wedding and so becomes possibly the only person in Britain who was not hoping for it to be all over by Christmas. 

Lang and his ever present mournful violin accompaniment continue to have a rough time of it. He repays Mrs Patmore’s kindness by outing Archie to the rest of the servants, causing her to leave the room in abject misery. But this reaction could also have been caused by the prospect of a mistimed crumble. It’s difficult to tell. Lang’s nightmare enables the women to bust through the hitherto impenetrable divide between the male and female staff quarters and it is clear that his days at Downton are numbered. Lang collapses as the General and his entourage retreat and his use as a plot device in this very much smoothed over view of the past is at its end. He is dismissed with a decent wage package and a good reference and is never to be spoken of again. 

Romantic declaration of the moment 

William and Daisy do not get this one as this is a coercion free zone. Instead Mary and Matthew get it. Matthew being back at Downton gives Mary the chance to stare at him longingly across a room but it is her decision not to rat out Lavinia as a reluctant whistleblower that earns their spot here. Only an almost unfathomable amount of love would make Mary place Matthew’s happiness above her own. 

Expressive eyebrow of the week 

Regular winner Carson claims the prize again this week. His blind fury at Branson’s then presumed to be assassination attempt is glorious. 

Wait, what? 

“Marmaduke was not a rough diamond” No-one called Marmaduke can be called rough anything. Sort of reminds me of a picture my brother showed me of his then partner’s friends when they were younger spelling out the name of their public school boarding house in gangster sign language. Zero self-awareness. 

“Acting Sargent I believe” Aloe standing by. 

“The bastard had it coming” I think I need to revise my previous curse word estimate. 

No particular quote for this bit but Branson delivering news from Russia made him seem like a man who had read the headline and maybe the first paragraph (at a push) of an article and is now holding forth on the topic, ready to take on anyone with a P.h.D in the matter. I do like Branson but increasingly it’s when he shuts up. 

The least believable bit of this whole episode was Isis being completely unbothered by an incoming pingpong ball. I once stayed in a friend’s house where an absolute catastrophe was disguising itself as a dog. She would eye up the limes on the sideboard expecting them to vault across the room. When any even vaguely spherical object did achieve airspeed velocity, she would lose it. And I mean lose it. 

General Strutt’s tour of Downton has an air of a politician doing a ward round. Should you yourself fear an encounter with our current premiere, you can pick up one of these cards from the News From Nowhere bookshop in Liverpool (other retailers may be available but this is the only place I have seen them). 

#Downton #downton abbey #downton rewatch #Mary Crawley #Matthew Crawley #tom branson #sybil branson #edith crawley #thomas barrow #john bates #anna bates #Charles Carson #elsie hughes #Isobel Crawley

[stupid-sloot-headcanons]

Bitching About AOT, Part I: Why Bother Comparing?

Let's start with why I'm bothering to compare AoT to other series in the first place, specifically Berserk by Kentaro Miura and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure by Hirohiko Araki. I will also compare Hajime Iseyama himself to these creators later down the line, as I think it sheds light on how they all approach their work and how that influences their work's quality.

Berserk and Attack on Titan make sense if you want to compare AoT to something similar; both are very dark fantasy series that take a lot of imagery and world building from European folklore and culture, both feature grotesque levels of gore, both feature major character developments for their protagonist through extreme trials and tribulations, and both have similar messages of persevering despite adversity...with varied results.

One thing I don't want to compare is the art quality of these two series, just because it's the least fair thing in the world lol. Berserk is a visual masterpiece and I don't think it'd be fair to compare almost ANY artist to Miura on visuals alone (seriously, the only person who meets Miura's level in my mind is Junji Ito. The man had godlike talent and an insane work ethic.) It's just a moot point to say "well, Berserk is better drawn;" no shit, you can say that about 99% of manga and that doesn't say anything about AoT's quality. Besides, Iseyama's art can be discussed and critiqued for how its quality has declined over the course of AoT all on its own.

So Berserk is an obvious comparison you can make. But why add Jojo's Bizarre Adventure into the mix?

I did this for two reasons. Much like Hajime Iseyama and the late Kentaro Miura, Hirohiko Araki is a mangaka who has a lot of love for Western media and culture and incorporates it heavily into his works; how these creators apply that influence to their works is key to why I think Jojo is better written than AoT. Another reason is to make comparisons between why I think AoT has major in-universe plot developments and changes that don't work, and compare them to changes in a story where I think it does. People who read Jojo are no stranger to extreme changes made by the author: in tone, in genre, in protagonists, and even in art style. Jojo is the quintessential "weird" manga and it earns that eponymous title of "Bizarre." But why is it that Araki's extreme changes to his series draw much less ire and feelings of betrayal by fans? Granted, Stone Ocean's ending is incredibly controversial among fans and so is the new direction the series took after that. But based on the reactions to the ends of AoT and Stone Ocean, people aren't as vocal about calling Araki a hack for that the same way some do to Iseyama and the reaction to Jojo's changes has been much less vitriolic and divisive. In addition, Araki has admitted that he writes the story of each part as he goes with at most a bare outline for how he wants things to go; Iseyama (allegedly) and Miura both have things planned out meticulously in their story in terms of plot beats. This is another major issue that explains why I prefer Araki and Miura's works instead of Iseyama's.

With that said, I'm not going to start comparing these and other relevant series in depth right off the bat; if I'm going to give Attack on Titan a proper analysis, it's not fair to immediately show it right next to other series in a long meta-analysis without first discussing it as a standalone work. This is just a preface explaining why I'm bothering to compare it to other specific series at all, AS WELL as giving it its own analysis. That way if someone reading this has never picked up Berserk, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, or other series I'll bring up when comparing them to AoT, they can get my many rambling thoughts on the work they're familiar with and clicked on this to read about. So with that in mind, if you read further expect spoilers for these series as well as others mentioned in later posts. Don't worry, despite how I may come off in these essays, I'm not a total asshole--I'll tag all spoilers for all series mentioned accordingly.

#sloot's essays #.myshit #aot #attack on titan #aot meta #tldr: if im going to complain about what a series does wrong i want to point to a series that does it right #like i can say 'I think this plot point/character is shit' but i also want to add 'and here's where smth similar to this is done well'

[ssparklemotion]

frerard reclist i

some favorites, no particular order, short thoughts in italics

Fog, Sheets and Thunder by theopteryx

Not as grey as it seems. A post-apocalyptic postal service AU.

Words: 5.536

Dystopia, post-apocalypse. Since the mcr fandom is so open to all kind of settings, the key to make it all so awesome and credible is the characterization. This one nails it and the world created here is also a 11/10.

Under the Hide of Me by fleurdeliser, tuesdaysgone

Prohibition in New Jersey means mob bosses and bootleggers running hooch up and down the shore and into the city. Gerard Way, his brother, and their friend Ray are running an operation for the Capo Maranzano. Rival factions are trying to take over the business, and Frank Iero, from a prominent Mob family, is sent to them as their new driver. But the Ways and Ray are hiding two secrets: their own still on a farm in the Pine Barrens, and something darker yet. They're werewolves.

Words: 18.228

Period!fic + werewolves + mafia. It’s like they ran an algorithm software to mix & create a story with the most loved tropes in the the MCR fandom. It’s also brilliant. Awesome characterization, niiiice plot, mature writing: check.

A Natural Reaction to Rough-rousing by Bexless

He made it to the bathroom and stood there leaning heavily on the sink, staring at himself in the mirror. He didn’t look like a creepy sadist. But neither did Christian Bale, and that hadn’t ended well for anybody.

Words: 27,994

Frank is always hurting Gerard. It’s no bandom if there isn’t an on tour fic. Awesome characterization!!! Great humour. Nice references. 

you weaseled your way into my heart (and ferreted out my feelings) by akamine_chan

You gotta watch out for those bands with umlauts.

Words: 5.444

It’s not a Magic AU, but there’s some magic going on somehow. Humor, on tour, animal transformation!

Envision The Magic by orphan_account

Gerard is a talented magician, responsible for much of the success of the famous Envision Destiny cruise ship. He's also one of those people. You know, one of those people who just seem to take up all the space they come across with their arrogance and confidence. You wouldn't wanna touch their personality with a 10-foot pole, but still people admire them.

That is beyond Frank. Working behind the cruise ship bars and seeing Gerard pretty much every day, he can't understand what's so great about him. Besides, everybody else doesn't have to deal with his snide remarks and rude comments. Because if there's one thing Gerard seems to love, it's the act of constantly pestering Frank.

Words: 69.420

The first frerard fic I have read. I was in my teens and I still adore it. The setting is very original. Gerard is an asshole. He sucks. I’ve had to read some asshole!frank next to avenge him.

Septicemia by orphan_account

Gerard keeps ruining things, but he never means it. Frank keeps getting hurt, but he never feels it.

Words: 44.884

Gore, super powers, kinda heavy&sad. I still read it from time to time. Mature writing, awesome setting.

Smokeless Flame of Fire by tabulaxrasa

Frank blinked. "What kind of name for a genie is Gerard?"

Words: 21.405

Yeah. Gerard is a genie. Frank is his little punk high schooler self. 

Public Enemy by tabulaxrasa

In 1932, Gerard Way has been making a name for himself robbing banks up and down New Jersey. Frank Iero, analyst for J. Edgar Hoover's Division of Investigation, is determined to catch him.

Words: 21.163

A cops and robbers au. Incredible! I remember being awed by this.

A Kiss With A Fist by iamdali

Part 1 of Boxer!Fic Words: 46;122

Frank is a boxer in a illegal gym. Gerard is a jobless and fresh out of school doctor. It’s perfect! Amazing writing, setting and characterization combo.

Buzzed by synonomy

"You should," Frank gets out between snorts, "you should cut your hair."

"What?" Gerard wheezes.

"No, it's just-- it's all stuck up." Frank shuffles forwards on his knees and then his hands are in Gerard's hair. Gerard's laughter dies down abruptly. Frank's fingers are surprisingly gentle on his scalp, ruffling it up, carding through it. "We'd probably have to wash it first, though," he says thoughtfully

Words: 6.345

And here is a pwp. Stoned guys, awesome smut.

#frerard #frank iero #gerard way #mcr #my chemical romance #fanfiction #reclist #frerard reclist #ao3 #frerard reclist i

[shadow-sovereign]

Part 1

I’ve got another Ryuji/Jin-Woo fic idea in an au world.

Let’s start with the setting: It’s a low tech world where everyone has magic. There’s no cars or computers, but they have magic-powered appliances like fridges and blenders. And the continent is broken up into different kingdoms.

Magic beasts roam the world, though I’m still debating whether it’ll be a natural occurrence or a result of gates. Could be a mix of both. Either way, it means they need Adventurers or Knights to deal with said creatures and protect the public.

In this world, people can grow their magical potential through training, though once they get to a certain point, it becomes harder to advance. Like, everyone naturally has a plateau point where it becomes harder to get stronger, and it’s different for everyone.

This story centers around Jin-Woo and Ryuji, who are Knights in King Go Gun-Hee’s army. Ryuji is the General (the top position) and Jin-Woo would be a...Captain? I imagine the top ranks going Captain, Commander, General.

At this point, Jin-Woo is in his twenties and stronger than Ryuji, which is why he’s gotten Captain rank already. But the King (who’s in charge of top ranking promotions) wants his Commander class to have more experience leading missions.

So, I imagine the backstory of this being that Jin-Woo joined the military when he was 16 (the youngest that they’re allowed). He was in training for two years, where he occasionally ran into Ryuji and developed a bit of a crush.

At 18, he started going on missions, protecting civilians from magical beasts. He discovered that he has a beast taming skill (somewhat rare!), which got the King’s attention. The stronger someone’s magic is, the more beasts they can tame, so the King assigned some tutors to him, to focus attention on training his magic to grow.

It even got him Ryuji’s attention, who likes to recruit strong Knights into his division. (Commanders have their own divisions and Captains have teams. The general has his own division too, but he’s also in charge of the entire army.)

So, Ryuji and Jin-Woo started training sometimes and going on missions together. By the time Jin-Woo is twenty, his small crush has turned into full blown infatuation and love. But he never makes a move, because Ryuji is known for sleeping around. (Not necessarily deep commitment issues like in ‘My love is a fire’ but he just doesn’t pursue people for long-term relationships. Open to the possibility, but he doesn’t go looking for love.)

Ryuji is also known for how proud he is of being the strongest fighter in the country. He doesn’t like competition. (Rumors even fly that he’ll try to take the crown when Go Gun-Hee passes, whether he’s named heir or not).

At first, Ryuji isn’t threatened by Jin-Woo’s growing strength, just excited for another strong fighter under his command. But then Jin-Woo passes his second in command and he starts getting worried. Then agitated.

Jin-Woo notices what's going on, but even with him trying to hide how fast his power is growing, it quickly becomes obvious when he surpasses Ryuji. It completely sours their growing mentor/mentee relationship.

Ryuji grows resentful of Jin-Woo’s power, jealous and threatened that someone is stronger than him. He can’t entirely avoid Jin-Woo, not when they’re sometimes the best two for a mission, but he puts distance between them.

Jin-Woo is not happy about that at all. He tries being nice at first, but when that doesn’t work, he tries out various ways to get Ryuji’s attention. (Like with kids, negative attention is better than no attention at all.)

He’s never deliberately rude, as he doesn’t want Ryuji’s dislike of him to grow, but he starts trying to banter with him. Finding what will make Ryuji respond, maybe bringing out his competitive side.

Though what they’ll compete about, I’m not sure. It can’t be purely physical activities that Jin-Woo could brute force his way through with strength. But maybe skill-based activities that Ryuji has just as much chance of winning, especially since he’s older and has tried out more things?

But their competitions won’t be the main focus of the fic, so I won’t spend too much time mulling over that.

So, the main timeline of the fic will be when Ryuji is in his forties and Jin-Woo is in his late twenties. I’ll probably have a chapter or two for the backstory, then get into the main plot.

I’m still working on some of the exact details, but let’s say there’s some tension with a neighboring country. They’ve had some skirmishes with them and Go Gun Hee’s efforts at diplomacy aren’t yielding much results, so it looks like a war might be brewing.

Ryuji decides that this is a golden opportunity. He’s been wanting to rule for a while now, but he has doubts that Go Gun-Hee will name him as heir and trying to forcibly take over after his death will have its own complications. Maybe he doesn’t want to spark a civil war in his birth country?

So, he decides that he wants to take over this ‘enemy’ nation. But how to do so?

He’s got some strong, loyal allies who might be willing to help out. (The S-ranks that were in his guild in the canon world.) They’ll be fighting the enemy soldiers, anyway, but they would need enough power to get a foothold into the country. To make their way to the capitol city and defeat that nation’s ruler.

His mind flashes to Sung’s beast taming ability, envious. If he had that skill, he could create an army of loyal soldiers. And then inspiration strikes. Just because he doesn’t have the ability, doesn’t mean he can’t make use of it. But how to get Sung on board?

He’s known Jin-Woo long enough to know that he has his own moral code. One that might balk at disposing of a foreign royal to put someone he doesn’t get along with in charge. (He doesn’t yet realize that the rivalry with Jin-Woo is one-sided.)

So, the odds of him convincing Sung to help him take over a country seem low. He goes looking through his library, searching for possibilities.

In this world, people can have a wide range of gifts, some that need specific circumstances to unlock. So, he’s been collecting books about obscure magic, both to see if he might have some of these gifts, and to know what to test his loyal people for. To see if they have any useful gifts that can be unlocked.

And he comes across a very rare form of magic, a type of control magic. Not mind control, but using mana to control another person’s actions. But it’s not something that can be learned.

Ryuji almost gives up on the idea, until he reads a detail that some with this gift can enchant an object to act as a control object, and the control of said object’s abilities can be transferred to another.

[That was a clunky way of saying it, but it’s basically this. Person with ability enchants collar. Gives control of collar to Ryuji. Now whoever’s wearing the collar will be forced to obey Ryuji.]

It seems like the perfect solution, but how does he find one of these people?

With a great deal of searching. Luckily, he does have a network of people that he can ask to keep an ear out for rumors of someone with this gift.

When he hears of something that seems promising, he goes on a trip and finds someone with that gift. [It probably won’t be from his pov, though. Jin-Woo will just notice that he’s gone for a while.]

And when he comes back….he somehow gets the collar on Jin-Woo.

Somehow.

I haven’t figured that part out yet.

Tricks him into it, maybe? Makes a bet with him?

Perhaps the collar will latch onto Jin-Woo’s neck if Ryuji gets it close enough.

The collar is powered through the wearer’s own mana, so Jin-Woo can’t just overpower it. Supposedly. In reality, Jin-Woo gets the sense that he could overpower it. (The same way the giants in canon were able to overpower that barrier Yuri Orlov put up.)

But Jin-Woo holds off on trying to break free because he wants to know what the heck Ryuji wants badly enough to put a slave collar on him. (Sadly for Jin-Woo, Ryuji is only focused on getting an army and not anything...else.)

And I think I’ll have part 1 end here, with part 2 being on pillowfort. Because Jin-Woo’s reaction to the collar isn’t exactly PG. I don’t want to post anything not SFW on tumblr, in case it gets deleted.

I don’t post a lot on pillowfort, but it’s for anytime I have a not SFW story idea I want to share. And if tumblr ever gets deleted off the internet for some reason (like getting sued into the ground), then you’ll be able to find me on pillowfort. It’s my backup website.

https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/2283048

#Solo Leveling #fic ideas #Sung Jin Woo x Goto Ryuji