#* ic ; keen insight .

[industrise]

the cool quiet air brushes politely through her hair , as if asking permission , and the movement brings her comfort . the stars glisten down on them , but , as they're nothing akin to the sun , she's thankful for her long sleeves and layers . that is , until she notices her dear friend , sleeveless , and she worries she'll grow increasingly more uncomfortable the longer they're out here . . . but she doesn't want to give this moment up . not yet . she's so comfortable in korra's presence ; she finally feels at peace .

a silent moment passes but there's no hesitancy when it comes to removing her outer garb and placing it gently atop her friend's shoulders , and before she can deny her , she defends herself , ❛ come on , aren't you cold ? ❜ she stifles a giggle , raising her hand above her lips , careful not to smear her lipstick , and smiles , ❛ i wanted to stay out here for awhile longer . what do you think ? ❜

. @decursus .

[penelope-kat]

So I'm a little dissatisfied with the ending of F&C (btw totally fine to disagree, this is just my opinion. Also it's just a show ok let's all be mature here).

Let me be clear: I don't hate the ending; I think the rest of the show is amazing, AND while I LOVE the message of Simon and Betty moving on from each other and being able to be ok without each other, it felt really disingenuous for the show to say that Betty was more obsessed with Simon when they're clearly both complete freaks for each other?

Simon's whole thing in the original show whenever he was lucid was about how much he missed Betty, how fixated he was on her, and how he'd do anything to get her back, or at least be able to talk to her one more time. Marceline is always talking about how Simon was constantly obsessed with finding Betty again when she was little, and Ice King's whole character and obsession with kidnapping princesses stemmed from Simon desperately wanting to find Betty again.

All relationships have flaws, but I feel like this wasn't the right flaw to give their relationship. Simon and Betty's relationship was flawed because they were super obsessed with each other, not because Betty was more obsessed with Simon than Simon was with her. I guarantee that Simon would have done all the same shit Betty did if the roles were reversed and Betty had put on the ice crown instead, like I have not a single doubt in my mind.

It also makes Simon look a lot less emotionally intelligent and empathetic, which is like yeah, people don't always see how they hurt their loved ones, but you're really telling me he NEVER ONCE did anything Betty wanted to do? Never?? And Betty is a strong-willed woman, we always see that. She's unhinged. I love her. I feel like Simon would have picked up on her wants, too, especially since they were implied to have been together for a long time given, you know, they've co-written books and explored the world together and all. Simon ADORED Betty, and he's always been shown to be very empathetic and insightful, even at his worst during F&C! I highly doubt after all that time with Betty he would have never even considered doing her stuff. Do you really think Mr Semen Peggtricock over here, the final-boss of pathetic submissive twinks, took the reins on every aspect of anything they did together? I know that man gets his bussy destroyed three nights a week by Betty's 12 inch strap and whimpers under her weight m'kay there's no WAY he never ever once listened to what she wanted to do.

I do appreciate that the show doesn't make Simon or Betty out to be monsters or bad people or anything, and I do think in the context of Simon and Betty's stories, them going different ways makes the most narrative and thematic sense since their obsession with each other did end up severely negatively-impacting both their lives. Also, it was heavily implied that Betty reincarnated after blowing Simon sending Simon back to Ooo, so she won't be fused with Golb for all eternity in infinite loneliness. Uh that also makes me feel way better about the ending too lol.

But the specific point of "Simon didn't appreciate Betty enough".. it just doesn't sit right. That man spent collective decades mourning the loss of Betty, his princess, and all he really wanted was to be with her. He understood how brilliant she was, he loved her for it. Yes, he almost gave up her sacrifice that made him Simon again, but can you really blame him for that? He was super depressed and genuinely believed it would be the best thing to do in order to protect the little gay people in his head. He wasn't doing it to punish Betty, he'd never do that. Tbf I haven't seen many people claim he did it to punish Betty, I can just see that being a reachable conclusion for someone watching who already wasn't too keen on how their relationship had been portrayed thus far.

Betty was right: they did make their choices. And that means her choices too, choices that she literally took ownership of in the same breath, so it's weird for the show to imply only she would have gone to the lengths she did in their relationship.

Honestly the topic of overcoming obsession makes perfect sense to explore for BOTH of them. Betty having had time to think about it for 12 years as a chaos god, and Simon still being hung up because he blames himself for everything that happened. They were both equally obsessed with each other, and that mutual obsession destroyed both their lives. Now they need to be able to move on and, in Simon's case, keep living, even though Betty isn't around anymore, because his life as Simon Petrikov MATTERS.

Also before anyone brings up Temple of Mars that episode SLAPS it's GREAT and yes it is about Betty's obsession with Simon, but I always found it to be more of a "wow things became so screwed up. It's a shame Betty didn't go on her trip but the happiness she had with Simon was clearly worth it to her, it's just crazy how something like her missing a trip to be with him evolved into her time traveling into the future and losing her mind trying to save him". It wasn't really an episode about how bad Simon was for her in the beginning, it was like "holy shit girlie we need to get you on mood stabilizers ASAP cuz this shit is CRAZY".

Yeah I dunno how to wrap this up. Didn't mean to make anyone upset: I'm still shaky about how I feel on all of this and just wanted to get my thoughts out there. Opinions are valid! Even if you don't agree, I hope you can see where I'm coming from :)

Have a good night!

[sparrowrye]

Alastor x Fem! Reader {soulmates} Part 12

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes. Though it looks like we have a couple secrets of our own.

Previous part

Part 12: bad memories

TRIGGER WARNING: strong mentions of sexual assault

Author’s note:

The next few chapters might be a bit dark but they have to be in order to move the story in the direction I want. I’ll be writing a summary in the footnote for anyone who wants to skip this part. Keep in mind, I’m writing this story for myself as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I started taking my magic training into my own hands.

When Alastor was busy doing one of his many radio broadcasts, I was in the library searching through the various books. Husker sat on the window seat with a bottle of alcohol, listening to my random mumbles. I wasn't really talking to him but every now and then he made a comment to kickstart my thoughts again.

I had books laid out on all the tables and chairs. Surely this shouldn't be hard to figure out and Husker had to have some insight to it. So I started with something simple: turning water into ice. I read the books on water magic and read about some of the science behind it. Water molecules start to move slower and stick together. So it was just very condensed water.

Husker watched me fail the first time and splash water on myself. I casted a cup on him and he jumped from his seat with a hiss and hair sticking up. The second time I half succeeded. The water in the cup solidified into water for a moment before instantly melting. I tried a few more times until it stayed as ice without melting.

I put the cup down and tried something different. I casted the water out of the glass and twirled it into a constantly moving ball of water in my palm. I already knew how to control water from my fighting days so this part wasn't hard. I cupped my hand over the moving ball and imagined it slowing down until it was a frozen cluster. I felt it weigh down on my hand but forced myself to focus until I was sure that it had turned completely into ice.

Pulling my hand back, I revealed a perfect sphere of ice.

"Nice job," Husker congratulated in his own grumpy way. This felt like the first big step as the rest of my experiments started to work on the second try. I combined water and fire to create steam and filled the room with it, quickly sending it out the window before it ruined the books. Telekinesis was my next easy experiment.

I could draw the curtains and slam the doors like Alastor did. I could move chairs and tables around and put books back on their shelf. I laughed as I put the library back to its original state, paper and books flying past me. They all slid back into place and I planted my hands on my hips. I had done it.

"Impressive."

I bristled at Alastor's voice, turning to face the Radio Demon with a scowl. I noticed the fowl aura of hatred coming from Husker. Picking up on emotions became easy thanks to my keen sense of smell. Alastor remained a concrete wall.

"Rosie will be arriving shortly. I thought you might want to actually prepare yourself this time."

I crossed my arms. "I'm always prepared to deal with you so I think I will be alright."

His cold presence ran down my spine and I shivered. "Are you so sure?"

I raised my body temperature and pushed back against him. His eyes narrowed at me despite my inability to remove him completely from my mind. Our shadows growled at each other on the wall.

During the session with Rosie, she taught me to build another shield outside the one I already had. Once I had built two new shields, she attempted to push through. At first it was easy to keep her away but then she grew more aggressive. I was shocked at the sudden aggression from the sweet lady, my shields wavering but never falling. My fear had only reinforced the shields more.

"Outstanding!" she said at last, clapping her hands. I was out of breath as I clung to the seat. These sessions always left me so tired and ragged. Though it made me feel better when I saw her dab at her forehead with a handkerchief. "Now, take a quick break before we start the next thing. Get some fresh air, dearie."

I was expecting to be done for the day. When she didn't take her eyes off me I took that as my cue to leave the room. I had just barely closed the door when I heard her say something softly to Alastor. My nerves went through the roof.

Husker stood outside the kitchen door with me. The snow was starting to melt away, revealing little patches of grass here and there. The sun was setting into the ocean, casting a gently orange glow against the house.

"You'll be fine. You've managed through everything else so far," Husker tried to reassure me. My nerves seemed to only worsen with every passing minute. I kept fiddling with my claws and tapping my tail on the ground.

Eventually, Rosie called me in. The chairs had been pulled close again and a pitcher of water sat on a table nearby. Alastor waited patiently in one of the chairs, hands folded properly in his lap. His smile didn't seem genuine as Rosie led me to one of the chairs.

"Now dear, we're going to go through one of your more difficult memories. I want you to practice pulling yourself out of a memory when you're afraid. You'll have to learn to control your emotions to pull yourself out. Do you think you can do that?"

I nodded and swallowed hard. I wondered why Alastor was sitting close to me but then I remembered that he had been the one to pull me out of the dark memory of Striker that fateful day.

"Pick one of your worst memories."

I took a slow, deep breath and closed my eyes. I fell into my memories with my various shields still in place. I was only watching the memory, not partaking in it. I tried to keep my heart from speeding up too much as the memory unfolded.

My hardest fight yet was against an adult. They had a crazed look on their face, a look of fear, desperation, starvation, and a lack of humanity. He acted like an animal as he chased after me in the ring. He broke my wrist and leg before I managed to dig my fingers into his eye sockets and end his life with a punch to the throat.

Something sweet filled my nose but I didn't pay it any attention.

Striker yelled and lectured me as I had my wrist and leg wrapped by the healer. He had a heavy, painful grip on my shoulder as he led me back to my cage. He slammed the cage door shut and stormed out. Not too long after, someone else opened my cage door.

They slammed something into my face, momentarily shocking me. I came to as they strapped a magic-reducing helmet to my head. The dark figure loomed over and started grabbing at me. I screamed for help but he stuffed a gag into my mouth.

"Come out of it, sweetheart." Rosie called.

I tried to relax but the panic was too much. I didn’t recognize this memory. Was it another attack?

I fought against them but my injuries made it nearly impossible. Tears streamed down at my face as I screamed my throat hoarse. I raked my nails down any inch of skin I could find.

"Sweetheart, now. You have to come out."

The corners of the room grew dark until I was staring at nothing but the man's face. I reached for his eyes many times but he kept pushing them away. I choked on the helplessness and fear until everything around me was pitch black.

I was standing now. Someone was calling for me but it was faint, too faint. I looked around at the darkness. I spun around in circles, strangely calm, and stared at nothing. I was just here. Existing, but not. Was I still in my mind? Surely I had to be.

A cold feather brushed against my cheek. I turned but there was no one there. It happened again but on my neck. It spread from there, reaching into my brain and down through my entire body. I was freezing all of a sudden. There was nothing to keep me warm so I wrapped my arms around myself.

Then I sensed three presences. I recognized Husker's first. It was warm and calm, but a hint of panic. Why was he panicking? What was wrong?

Next I recognized Alastor's. He was inside my head unlike Husker who was surrounding my body.

Then I recognized Rosie's presence. Hers was kind but firm. She also seemed to be panicked. Why was everyone panicking? Was something happening?

The black environment turned red as anger filled my chest. I was furious. I don't know what at but I needed to release it. I wanted to claw something, to kill someone. I wanted to slice someone's throat who caused people nothing but harm. They deserved to leave this world and being thrown into Hell to be eaten by the Demons who lived there.

I felt someone pulling on me. My legs slid out from under me and I was lying on my back, still angry. Then the anger slipped from my fingertips, quickly replaced by fear. The man's face appeared out of the red wall and I found myself trapped under him again. I choked on my fear and gag as I fought him. I tried throwing my weight around but he was far too heavy. I felt him bite down on my neck.

Not this. Not this. Not this. Not this. Please! NOT THIS!

I recognized the memory.

I grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled it hard. He yelled as I dug my fingers into his eyes like my previous opponent. He grabbed both wrists and slammed them hard into the cage floor. My legs weren't working. Why wouldn't they work?

"Come out of it," I heard Husker yell.

"Sweetheart it's a memory. It's not actually happening," Rosie said.

I cried as the memory continued. I bit down on the man's hand but he just pulled my hands further away from my face. I tried curling in on myself but it did nothing. His other hand moved roughly over my skin as I screamed into the gag.

I felt Alastor's presence come from behind me. I squeezed my eyes shut and dipped into my mindscape. "Alastor!" I yelled as the memory dragged me back through my shields. I felt his presence wrap around my head and saw nothing but red. It felt like a string was being pulled out of my ear as he pushed me into the safety of my shields.

"You're safe. Come out of your head," he instructed.

I closed my eyes, pushing away the forbidden memory, and opened my eyes to the library. All three of them were surrounding me, staring down with panic-stricken faces. Alastor opened his eyes and took his hand from my forehead. His eyebrows were the only thing that told me he was upset.

Husker pulled me up to a sitting position as Rosie practically shoved a glass of water down my throat. I took several moments to catch my breath, the two of them trying to help calm me. I stared at the carpet and tried to think of anything other than that horrid memory. I didn’t know I even had that memory.

"You're back, and you're safe," Husker said, holding out his paw. I took it and let him help me into a chair. I leaned back into the seat and looked around at the dark library. I was back in the house. I was safe. Relatively.

"What happened?" I asked, still out of breath.

"You visited a...terrible memory that you couldn't pull out of," Rosie answered. "I was expecting you to use the same memory as last time. I wasn't expecting that."

"I didn't...that wasn't...that was a memory I had blocked away. I've never...I haven't been able to remember that night in years...so...why could I this time?"

Rosie went quiet and looked over at Alastor. He stood staring out one of the windows with his arms folded behind him. When enough silence had passed, he finally turned to look at me. "We used the same drug that was used on you the night it first happened."

"What?” My voice bounced off the walls. “What drug?“

"You had a small amount that night," he walked over to us, "It's a common drug used by a certain Demon to control their victims." He paused. "We thought you might be ready for another dose, but I can see we were mistaken. We rushed the process."

"Did..." I slowly looked over at Rosie, "did everyone...see it? The memory?"

"I'm afraid so, darling. We had to when we tried to pull you back out."

I lowered my head to stare at the floor. My clawed feet were just as black as before. If I had this side of me my whole life, I could've avoided it. I could've saved myself. Instead, here I was learning mind magic and revealing everything to three random Demons.

My throat tightened and tears started to well in my eyes. I abruptly left the room. I went to my bedroom, locked the door, then into the bathroom and locked that one too. I curled up in the corner of the room between the bathtub and the shower...and broke down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s summary:

Reader attempts mind magic again. When she visits a difficult memory, Alastor holds a memory-controlling-drug up to her nose. This creates more of a challenge for her and ends up sending her into a memory she had blocked away. She barely manages to pull herself out, if it wasn’t for Alastor and the others helping.

[marley-warriors]

Loki/Basim's background and motivations analysis

Based on AC Vallhalla, Mirage, Dawn of Ragnarok, The Golden City novel, and Forgotten Myths comic

To start with, the creator of Sages, Darby McDevitt explaines Sages as such.

Basim and Loki are the same being born in different time periods. Basim is Loki, but has amnesia of his past Isu life. It is only after accepting his Loki side (aka Nehal) that he lifted his amnesia and remembers his first life.

Edit: Sarah Beaulieu, narrative director of Mirage, indicates it may be a takeover, contrary to Darby below. Seems the lore is still unclear.

So here is what we know of Loki/Basim's background.

Loki had brothers once, but Basim did not. From the Edda's we learn of two older brothers; Byleist and Helblindi. His Father's name was Farbauti, which translates to 'Dangerous striker'.

In the Golden City we learn that Loki's father was extremely cruel and violent towards him, and apparently never loved him. From a young age, Loki would have felt unworthy of love. He was a child. He needed love to feel safe, but instead was forced to adapt to violence. Also, note how sad he is in the text. He's neglected and traumatised by his childhood memories.

It's saddening how Loki/Basim is filled with a childlike jealousy at Hytham's care for Leo. Because deep inside Loki/Basim craves that parternal love and affection which he never recived. And perhaps Basim's architect father provided a balm for that, but it was not enough, because even this father abandoned him by dying. And again he is forced to grow up fast as an outcast amongst society.

He is not evil, and had ambitions. Basim wanted to aid the less fortunate and had a strong sense of justice. We never met young Loki, but Baldr approached Loki specifically for mentorship in diplomacy.

[I will need a mentor in the art of diplomacy - and none is shrewder than Loki. - Baldr]

From an Isu perspective it would have been sensible to employ Loki as a Diplomat. It might have been his actual job, which explains why he was free to travel between the warring empires. Not just that, but he is half Jotnar and half Aesir. In the games Loki referes to himself as a Jotnar, but in the comic he acknowledges that he is not a pure-blooded Aesir, indicating his mom was Aesir.

The comics indicate that he was born and raised in Jotunheim, being well familiar with the area and serving as Baldr's guide.

[Jotunheim, realm of the frost giants was a harsh land. But Loki knew it well. For six days he guided Baldr through the mountains as they sought their treasure, evading the residents of that terrible place.

Loki: Stay in the shadows and out of the sunlight, no matter how tempting the warmth. Jotun eyes are keen and there are many about.

Baldr: Aren't you cold?

Loki: Don't mistake me for blood-kin Baldr. My father was bathing in blizzards while yours lounged in summer fields.

[Baldr is freezing in place and becoming an icicle while lamenting death.]

Loki: Perhaps I should have come alone.

Baldr: I couldn't let you risk the danger on my behalf. Not when I am invunerable and you-

Loki: - can endure the cold better than any pure-blooded Aesir? ]

Jotunheim under Jupiter/Zeus/Suttungr seems to be North America. Perhaps Loki grew up in Alaska or Canada. Loki is also a frost giant with the ability to manipulate ice (might also be a piece of Eden or bio-engineering).

The comics show that Loki loves spinning tall tales and has a real passion for story crafting. Baldr was aware of that and played that to his advantage.

[Appealing to my ego? Transparent, but... effective. - Loki AC Forgotten Myths after Baldr sweet-talks him.]

Loki has a big ego, and is aware of it too. In general, he seems keenly aware and insightful of his own nature, and engages in philosophical musings with Baldr. A sense of self-preservation drives Loki, and he uses this as a shield against anyone that threatens to do him harm. Loki is quick to fear death (as are most beings of course), but Loki's fear of death seems extreme, possibly steming from deep-rooted trauma.

[My nature is neither better nor worse than the next man's. When I am kind, it is because it suits me. When I am cruel, it is to preserve my existence - and that of my kin. The fear of death is the root of my "callousness." - Loki]

[I cannot be other than I am. All of this was fated. All this will happen again.]

Loki fully believes in fate, and so justifies his actions as already being calculated by the fates. There's no point in trying to be a better person if the fates have already declared you to be the bad guy, which is how every other character makes him feel.

[Have you considered that Havi may not want Loki redeemed? - Freya to Baldr in AC Forgotten Myths]

It doesn't help that the others keep enforcing this idea by calling him a trickster and oath-breaker, because if they don't hold him to a higher standart, why should he himself? Even the blood-brother Loki once looked up to has decided that he should never be seen as redeemable.

[Yet only a fool trusts Loki - Loki to Baldr after Baldr asks for mentorship in AC Forgotten Myths]

In the comics, it seems that Loki has weaponised his stereotype, and he warns Baldr a few times that he should be cautious around none other than himself. Either Loki has been verbally abused often enough to fully believe that he's the bad guy, or he uses it as a persona to hide his vunerability and hurt. Perhaps he was even trying to give Baldr a fighting chance of surving his own wrath?

Also, we must remember that Loki and Havi saw each other as real brothers. Havi called Loki his 'brother' or numerous occasions, but when angry, he'd call him 'Jotnar' or derogatory terms. Even Loki and Baldr called each other nephew and uncle on multiple occasions. Loki grew up in a broken family, found a new family in the Aesir, and forged a family of his own with Sigyn and Aletheia, but all of his families were shattered and taken from him.

[With such gifts would Loki find forgiveness. My brother always knew how to win hearts. To him, it was almost as easy as breaking them. - Havi]

Loki can be very charming if it gains him favour. He loves using bribes and offering gifts to appease the Aesir.

As is the case with some traumatic childhoods, Loki seems to understand love as transactional. Love needs to be earned by good deeds or gifts. And Havi's words seem to further reinforce the the notion of Loki only being valuable if he could offer contributions.

[Now Loki had the three gifts he needed to win redemption in Asgard. - Havi AC Dawn of Ragnarok]

Loki/Basim has a strong sense of justice, hence killing Baldr had been Loki's last resort. He had tried countless other methods first. Fenrir's imprisonment infuriated Loki, so he tried to reason with Havi. (Rightly so, Fenrir was a literal BABY who had done nothing wrong). Loki wanted to appeal to the council and courts for an overturned judgement, but Aletheia stopped him as she feared they'd kill him. Loki and Aletheia then polygraphed Havi before attempting to imprison him. When Juno freed Havi, it further foiled Loki's plans.

Loki informed Jupiter of what was happening, but even Jupiter failed to end the threat. It seems at this point that Loki really snapped and decided to do the job himself. He aimed to kill Havi before ever thinking of killing Baldr.

[Oath-breaker? I did to you what you did to my son. This is only fair. Release him, Havi. Release Fenrir, or I swear I will kill you here and now - Loki AC Valhalla]

Now this is interesting because of the blood-oath. Loki was ready and willing to kill Havi, which would activate the blood-oath and kill him too. The blood-oath promised mutual assured destruction, which is essentially a murder-suicide on Loki's part. But he was willing to die of suicide if it meant Fenrir could be free. Havi spared Loki because Havi had no intention of dying.

So Loki, who has become suicidal, sets off to stalk Baldr, and decides "Curse all! If I can never hold my son again, neither can Havi!"

[I have a tale for you. A tale of Loki, who claimed righteous vengeance upon Havi through his hapless son... - Loki imprisoned in AC Forgotten Myths]

Loki truly believes this is justified. He essentialy stabbed his only ally in the back, killing the last Aesir that had any trust or love towards him. It's interesting that Havi's own self-fulling prophesis brought this about, which Loki himself cautioned Havi against.

Loki is cunning, shifty, self-serving, a liar, but he is also diplomatic, patient, helpful and has a strong sense of justice. Circumstances have pushed him to this point. If Basim is Loki, we know that he is capable of good, and longed to do well (this depends on whether Basim was Loki or serves only as a vessel to him).

Loki only ever wanted to be a good father. He wanted to be the father he never had. When Loki lost Fenrir, he probably hated himself, because in his mind, he was now just as bad as his own father. He was willing to endure his two worst fears - death and lonliness - to free Fenrir. Not to mention Loki's cell being a claustrophobic coffin, completely alone (his biggest fear), only taken out off his coffin prison to be physically tortured. It's no suprise he experiences CPTSD/PTSD from his childhood, his imprisonment and the imprisonment of his son.

PS: Some people say Loki was evil in the Edda's? I read over them, and Loki was never malicious or evil (except when he killed Baldr and bragged about it). He was a troublemaker and caused chaos, but never for malicious or evil reasons. Loki was never jealous or plotting. He was more of a prankster. In fact, the Aesir were unreasonably cruel to him, constantly threatening him with death or bodily harm. Loki only caused the Aesir trouble for two reasons; he was A) Bored or B) Hungry/hangry. (Do not touch his food. He will fight you).

[alexiososp]

Pride by yeolimerent with Readers

I am Alexio Sospranio and you’re listening to the kaisoo fic podcast!

For new listeners, the kaisoo fic podcast is a space where we discuss literature found in the kaisoosphere. 

This month we will be looking at one fic for two episodes. First part is today, dated the 12th, second part will be on the 14th. Special kaisoo dates!

Today’s episode is slightly different, the kaisoo fic podcast is joined together with two kaisoo readers! And I am also very delighted to share that on the 14th, we will have the author themselves to share their journey with this month’s fic, give insight to the details of the plot and more, so stay tuned for that, coming out tomorrow’s tomorrow!

I would just like to share with you the sequence in which we will be sharing this episode. It is broken up into 5 parts.

Very first part I will share with you the story behind the episode cover art. Next, is introducing guests plus never before done on the podcast, but an important one for guests, we have a small ice breaker ‘never have i ever’ game.

Fourth segment i will introduce the fic, soon after followed by the experience of our two guest readers on reading it based on the questions i asked on the discord.

So generally about 5 general parts.

Podcast Cover Art

This segment is on the podcast cover art because I would like to express my gratitude to Lyn who I commissioned for this episode’s cover art. Thank you Lyn for opening up commissions and being accommodating to my requests!

The story behind the podcast cover art is a reimagined take on one of the arcs in the fic. This specific scene we have Jongin giving Kyungsoo a bouquet and Kyungsoo looking at shreds of torn blueprints on the floor.

In the podcast cover art, Kyungsoo is wearing his collage outfit. Kyungsoo is looking down on his torn blueprints. This was 8 years ago.

Context for this particular position Kyungsoo is in: Kyungsoo got his work stolen by Soojung. Everyone sided with Soojung because there was no evidence of it being Kyungsoo’s work as he did not consult any advisors of the project. He is dejected, angry, frustrated, resentful because no one believes him. Kyungsoo ends up being all alone, it is as good as his hard work being torn to shreds.

In the podcast cover art, Jongin is wearing a suit as after 8 years, he is a rich, sexy CEO of a company. Jongin has hope in his eyes, he is holding out a bouquet of essentials for architect designers and flowers.

Context for this particular position Jongin is in: Jongin wants to freely show his love to Kyungsoo and make up for all the times it was hard on the both of them. Jongin later in the fic is then honest with Kyungsoo that he did not believe that Kyungsoo stole the work. So Jongin admitting that, is a second chance for kaisoo to truly work on their relationship. 

Intro Guests

Introducing the guests. A few episodes ago, I promoted the kaisooists discord community server. When first starting out the server I was happily surprised to find other keen kaisooists tuning into the server. The community server accepts all kaisooists in the spectrum of casual kaisoo enjoyer to chronically deranged person experiencing kaisooism.  

To celebrate having 100+ members in the kaisooists discord community server, now slightly more than 120 users, I asked users in the server to submit a comment of about 200 words on what their favourite fic is and why. We had two submissions, one by a regular author on the kaisoo fic podcast show, Haqiyin and a kaisoo reader, Jie. Haqiyin’s favorite fic is I Am Happy When I Am With You by Chesh_cat. But today we will be hosting Jie and Yu. Jie eagerly answered Pride by yeolimerent, and so that is the fic we will be going through for the day.

Introducing a bit on Jie, Jie has been in this fandom since (2013), that's about (11 years). The moment that instilled her faith in kaisoo was when she kept seeing kaisoo as a regular pairing in wattpad fanfics when she was a newbie fan and wanted to find exo fics. 

Welcome Jie, we are pleased to have you on this kaisoo fic podcast! Before we begin, do you have any opening comments you would like to make?

Hello everyone! I’m jie and i’m an exo-l from both heart and mind. Been into kaisoo most of my teenage years (until now) and not regretting it at all. And kaisoo did truly change my life and even helped me during my hard times in the past. That's why I treasure them a lot and will pass down to all of my generations that kaisoo is real XD. My journey as a reader started in 2013, as per the introduction, I didn't have knowledge about the famous pairings or otps that the fandom had. But because i was into wattpad, I searched for any exo fanfics I could find and that’s where I found kaisoo. At first, I was thinking about it and then I saw them on twitter and saw lots of fans shipping them, I was convinced they’re real and the hype about them makes sense. After that I started reading lots of kaisoo fanfics I could find on wattpad.

Thank you Jie for sharing! It is very delightful to know that kaisoo helped you during difficult moments in your life. It just goes to show how important kaisoo is to us, how having them as our source of happiness really pulls us out of the darkness of life and gives us the strength to continue living. It sounds really delusional, but if it helps us to continue with life, continue with striving everyday and being hard at work with the things we do, then believing in kaisoo is worth the delulu and crazy.

While preparing for this episode I saw on my timeline, user Yu was rereading Pride and with that I approached them to ask if they would be willing to be part of this episode. Since this episode is an episode talking about pride with people from the discord, I thought it would be appropriate! 

So Yu is another kaisooists in the discord server as well. Like Jie, introducing a bit on Yu, Yu has been in this fandom since (2014), that's about (10 years). The kaisoo moment that changed the trajectory of her faith in kaisoo was when kaisoo were (being dramatic on that EXO’s Secret Lotte Night event in 2016, after Kaistal was publicised).

Welcome Yu, we are also pleased to have you on this kaisoo fic podcast! Similar to Jie, do you have any opening comments you would like to make?

Hi everyone! I’m Yu and I’ve been an EXO-L since 2014. Like Jie, I was not really aware of OTPs and ships inside the fandom until I joined a roleplaying community back in 2014. That time, I was just roleplaying Kyungsoo because he’s my bias and my internet friends were shipping me with Kai roleplayers. I got really curious why “they” were being paired together so I researched a bit on them and saw a LOT of their moments. I thought, hmm, they DO have chemistry and they DO look cute together, not knowing that they will literally change the course of my life forever. That’s the time I started watching their moments together in variety shows, behind the scenes clips, and tours. After that, all I was reading on wattpad were kaisoo fan fictions, then I got introduced to AFF, livejournal, and AO3, creating this kaisoo-obsessed monster. Not only do I see Kaisoo as the people I look up to, but I think they’re the biggest reason I am who I am today. 

Thank you for sharing and joining us on a short notice! I actually personally have never come across a roleplaying community? Yu, is it like tweet fics but interactive? 

Yes, people have the option to roleplay their muse in an in-character way (like as idols) or they can portray their muse in an alternate universe way. People create their roleplaying accounts (at least during my time) using facebook or twitter. From that you can interact with other roleplayers and form friendships within the community too.

omg!! A fun fact is I know the roleplaying community!! . Even until now I’m still doing it as a hobby. It’s actually fun to try making accounts and interact with different roleplayers too. In that community, different idols are like friends and it could be enjoying or traumatizing lmao. I’m also a kyungsoo roleplayer and started roleplaying in 2014.

Ahhh, i see,that is interesting!

I just want to say that the both of you got into kaisoo out of curiosity. Which is very fascinating to me because it just goes to show that kaisoo’s relationship is not blatantly in your face, it is not what… Some people call a government assigned ship or fanservice. They are also not very loud in their interactions in terms of skinship and promoting together… It is a very genuine relationship because on the surface level for really casual fans, it may seem like they have a unique bond where they are more attentive to one another but not too alarming to the casual viewer. But those with sharper and inquisitive eyes may be able to read between the lines. 

My point here is that… okay, how young were you when you got into kaisoo?

Jie’s age: 12

Yu’s age: 13

So being at that point in life in the pre/early teens, we may not have caught on so quickly on their special relationship. Then for the both of you being in the wattpad and roleplaying communities, you probably interacted with slightly older fans who are able to identify that there is a bigger, more intimate kind of relationship for kaisoo. This is my assumption, and with the influence of others, it piques your interest to find out more. And when we see it with our own eyes, with rose coloured lenses, without a doubt, we see that kaisoo really really exhibits a sort of more than friends, more than colleagues relationship. And I love that for them. They are also my sense of strength.

Never have i ever (fic/kaisoo related)

Ice breaker time!

Since this is a three person episode, let’s do an ice breaker to slowly get to get to know each other a bit more before diving into the fic of the day.

We will be playing ‘never have i ever’, but make it fic and kaisoo related! So for the questions, we have to guess if the person has, or has never done said thing.

We have questions we want to ask, so mayb Jie can go first?

Jie’s fic qn: Never have I ever read a fluff/romantic fic with no happy ending

Guess Jie’s answer 

Yu - Since we're talking about tags, it's actually related to my next question, which is…

Yu’s fic qn: Never have I ever ditched a fic that has a good plot but has no proper tagging of who is the top/bottom

Guess Yu’s answer 

Jie - so since we’re in the talks about top and bottom which are quite related to the R18 topic,  the next NHIE is sort of related to it. The question is..

Jie’s fic qn: Never have I ever dreamed about the <intense> kaisoo fic scenes

Guess Jie’s answer 

Yu - So since we're talking about real life things in related to fics and kaisoo, the next question actually is…

Yu’s fic qn: Never have I ever read intense smut in public and in broad daylight

Guess Yu’s answer 

Alexio irl qn: okay so consensus is that the three of us have read a fic in public. My question now issss: Never have I ever skipped an outing with friends/family just to read kaisoo fics

Guess Alexio answer 

Real life relation… 

Jie’s kaisoo qn: Never have I ever thought about kaisoo being the rumored bxb couple in k-industry by pannchoa (?)

Guess Jie’s answer 

Yes, we believe and we pray.

That was fun! Okay now I see the importance of ice breaker because I feel we have more energy now to go through with the episode.

Pride by yeolimerent

Now the purpose of this episode is to commemorate having 100+ users in the kaisooists community discord server. Jie, upon writing out your response, you DMed me on Discord with a screenshot of how you exceeded the server’s character limit of 2000 by double… Now, you really must have a lot to say for this fic to go on for 4000 characters!  

For this particular event, i asked server members to submit their write up by sharing with us five points: 

Brief summary of the plot, character and premise. 

The impact this fic had on you.

What has this fic taught you? 

What particular scene was it in the fic that moved you? 

Why do you love this fic?

Jie, first question of the episode is: Why did you choose Pride by yeolimerent to share with us in commemoration of the 100 users in the kaisooist’s discord community server?

Pride deserves to be promoted more especially for people who love tropes similar to it. Based on my opinion, as a silent reader most of the time, it needs more recognition because it is written to perfection. I’ve been seeing people’s recommendations promoting some overrated kaisoo fanfic (though they deserve it too and they are overrated for a reason) and I haven’t found one recommending Pride so here I am! Sharing this kind of fic is new to me actually because I’m not a hundred percent fan of tropes like enemies to lovers but surprise! I loved this one and it deserves love from everyone too.

I read this fic only after your recommendation, so thank you for putting this on the discord. Without you, we would not have gone through the fic!

I’m glad to hear that though :>>

I would also like to thank you for participating in the event at that point! The discord means a lot to me, and it is nice to see people engaging in it as well!

but oh! I just remembered something. I think back in 2022, if i am not mistaken Pride was the 3rd most recommended fic when kaisooficrec on twitter did a 30 day challenge in january to celebrate their birth month! (https://kaisooficrec.tumblr.com/post/674974951042891776/kfr-challenge). 

But before we dive deeper into the episode, let’s talk about the fic, plot wise and technical aspects:

Pride by yeolimerent is a 300+ thousand-word fic. Very dramatic with tags including: angst; sexual tension; break up/make up; timeskips; miscommunication; mutual pining; enemies to lovers; rags to riches 

Warnings: dubious consent; smut (bottom soo); minor character deaths.

The author warns readers that this is not for the faint hearted, and we quote:  I just have to warn you that this has so many flaws, characters and story-wise. So if you're not into complicated things, please save yourself some time. 

The author warns readers because this is a massive work. Upon reading you see each time you think it gets better, something will freaking give you a whiplash. It is dramatic, it is emotional. 

Reading from the author's summary:

The life of being a chaebol son should be easy, except that it's hell. Do Kyungsoo has one goal—to escape and be free from this leash. So when a heartbreak from his first love gave him the reason to finally leave this hellhole for good, he grabbed the chance willingly.

Years later, he's pulled back to the place, the life, and the man he thought he already escaped. What's worse is when everything he had is taken away from him, by the very same man who just used to be his driver… but now surely isn't.

first time vs second time

Now being a three person episode, we’ll take turns going through the fic, our experience reading the fic, what we are learning from the fic, the ways the fic impacted us and we will end with us reading extracts from our favourite parts of the fic.

Since Jie started off answering the first question, maybe Yu, you’d like to take this next one: 

While getting ready for this episode, we all recently reread Pride again right? How different was it reading it for the first time versus this recent time you reread it again? 

Personally, I felt like reading it the second time around made me look at the plot and the characters in a more in-depth perspective. Of course, the first time I read it emotionally wrecked me for days (XD) that I had to stop myself and pause from reading from time to time to process the events in the fic, and it surely did not change when I reread it again, but this time, I felt like I got to feel each of the characters emotions first-hand too. Like, I understood where Kyungsoo was coming from when he was being prideful and stubborn, and also why was Jongin bad at communicating which is more frustrating!

I see, so for Yu, you were able to immerse yourself in the characters and the meanings behind the things they do. I think usually for these kinds of fics, where it is fast paced. Very action packed, where there is always something happening and you are always kept on your toes. So naturally in your first reading of the fic you would want to know what happens next. So you read as fast as you can, taking breaks when it gets too overwhelming. 

Yes, I agree. The first time I read it I never realized the simplest things in the story will make sense in the plot in the next chapters. Rereading it was an enjoyable experience.

Indeed it was an enjoyable experience.  And what about Jie, did you have a similar or different experience?

I actually relate to Yu’s response! like the first time i’ve read the pride, some of the scenes are blurred to me and didn’t make sense so I was like ‘why is jongin like this and such’ since i’ve observed that the pov heavily falls into Kyungsoo’s rather than jongin’s. And also well i’m kind of scared of what’s about to happen every time since it’s my first time reading it (it’s my default emotion when i read long fics for the first time). but when i reread it, the plot became more defined in my mind and everything just makes sense! and one thing i’ve also observed is that, the effects of each scene are still the same for me when i reread it. I still have mixed emotions and despite knowing what to happen in the next scene, i’m still not prepared for it ><

The delightful thing of reading it a second time is that we sort of know how the plot unfolds… so we are able to revisit the scenes and slowly read through the details in the beginning of the fic where yeolimerent gives tiny hints of how the plot will develop in the later parts of Pride. Moments like the carelessness of Kyungsoo leaving his blueprint in the room without much thought. As a reader, we also did not give it much thought, but that became one of the most important points of the story that pushed Kyungsoo to be off the grid, and he continues to struggle with that problem until almost the end of the fic. So when we reread it again, we are more aware of the small bits of information yeolimerent gives. That goes to show how detailed a writer yeolimerent is. 

That is so true. I really admire yeolimerent as a writer. My twitter mutuals would know how annoying I can be when it comes to this fic because it's always in my head like… Of course there are a lot of fics I love too, but Pride just really stood out because it has all the tropes I like in a fic; exes to lovers, CEO au, rags to rich, angst with happy ending, and slow burn.

I know right!! I actually love how important the small details in yeolimerent’s fic! She’s just so amazing despite knowing some of her fics late. My first fic from her is the smear campaign that i really love so much too!! But for this year, the pride just brought me the roller coaster feeling of emotions and I'm convinced that it will be the top tier fic I have encountered this year.

Omg smear campaign… I first read that one recently during my vacation. Mind you I read Pride BEFORE reading ’smear campaign’ and I was genuinely shit scared because what if yeolimeret decides to make one of them dishonest and to use the other for political gain… but thank kaisoo, that yet again we trust in the love they have for each other that we see kaisoo happy in the fic. 

Surprising

Upon reading Pride, were there any thoughts that kept coming up? For one, the thoughts that kept recurring in my head were just… how is it possible for love to continue when both parties have hurt each other so much? How are they still somehow able to gravitate towards one another? It really pains me… this fic with its cruel twists and turns. When I say cruel here, it is not a slander against the author, but rather an acknowledgement of how their writing is very gripping and done wonderfully. The art of knowing when to say what happens, keeping the reader on their toes and sharing with us a beautiful story of how kaisoo’s love prevails yet again. Writing meaningfully so that readers are able to feel for the characters and love them in their imperfections.

Before I reached the ending of the pride where they mend their relationship in new zealand if i’m not mistaken, i was so so mad for like yeah i know kyungsoo is this prideful and have flaws but he didn’t deserve any of what people did to him including jongin (still completely unaware of jongin’s side here) because i know they have something stronger but it’s kind of cruel to have a love like they both have and kyungsoo needed to heal !! and honestly, i was ready to fall into the mode of “all of the forms of love sucks” hahahaha !!

I agree a hundred percent, I too was about to give up on kaisoo having their happy end… A scene that comes to me is the moment in the last few chapters when Jongin is seen on his knees and begging for Kyungsoo to stay. I couldn't help but feel so many emotions. The most glaring thought I have is what a bastard Jongin is. He is definitely not one a 100% but he has a lot of flaws and so does Kyungsoo… but i was just wondering as to how Jongin has really hurt a person who means a lot to him, and this person in turn loves him, why issit when Kyungsoo wants to set boundaries, it is very difficult for Jongin to accept that… The premise is ridiculous to me, but that is a reflection of their choices in the fic, again it is not a slander against the writer, yeolimerent really does a wonderful job and it is evident when you feel so strongly for the characters. 

So my question for the both of you, Jie you go first: What surprised you the most in this fic? 

Probably, the scene that surprised me was when kyungsoo chose to run away with Seonho. because at first i kinda expected that kyungsoo will probably leave everything with the much pressure and issues happening in his life, but the last thing i expected for kyungsoo to do is him choosing to live somewhere far away with his ex 😭. i don’t know because my first hunch is like Kyungsoo will leave but like, alone but then the author is like ✨surprise!!!✨i have this second thought that maybe jongin will go with him but it’s kind of blurry when jongin and krystal interact in other scene again ughhh.

Oooh that part! I found that scene really heartwarming in a way? I didn't expect that Kyungsoo would be running away with him too, knowing their history. Thank god they did that because I genuinely believe that Seonho, as a character, had a lot of potential, and yeolimerent took great advantage of it in the plot, which I love.

Right?! But i haven’t look deeper into seonho’s character there because i’m getting whiplash from kyungsoo’s feelings TT

I understand Jie’s point on it being surprising! You usually wont find exes spending time with each other… what more traveling and staying together…But interestingly enough it feels like a natural progression to have Seonho travel and stay with Kyungsoo. Yes they were romantically involved, but they are able to put the past behind and be genuine best friends without romantic feelings. And I also agree with Yu that Seonho was the best person Kyungsoo could have ran away with. They already knew and understood each other deeply because of their family backgrounds and I find their relationship to be very endearing… something very nice to read. 

Yu, were you surprised at that point too? Or what other moments of the fic made you feel surprised? 

When I first read this fic, I was convinced that Jongin had feelings for Kyungsoo the first time they met each other. I also feel kind of skeptical with my hunch since he always seemed like he's siding with Soojung and setting Kyungsoo aside? (Probably because he lacked boundaries huhu) However, I was genuinely surprised and CRUSHED when I found out that Jongin was in LOVE with Kyungsoo during his POV chapters. Jongin LOVED Kyungsoo way more than I imagined and probably more than Kyungsoo could ever love him back. For Jongin, all he did, especially during the 8 years they were apart, will always be FOR Kyungsoo. So, to answer the question, I know that Jongin had the hots for Kyungsoo from the start, but I wasn't aware that he was in DEEP.

I relate to what Yu said at her first statement. Like I was sooo convinced too! But keep getting sidetracked whenever there’s Jongin and Krystal interactions. But you know, i have half thought in my mind that i kinda expected that between kaisoo, one from them will be inlove hahaha my mind is like ‘come on! Someone should be whipped between them coz if i’m not mistaken i read a kaisoo fic and not kaistal or am raging lol’

HAHA, I too would be fustrated if it was a kaistal endgame… Okay so hopping onto that statement, that element of surprise of the fic yu, you mentioned being genuinely surprised and crushed upon finding out that Jongin was deeply in love with Kyungsoo. So how, upon going back to reading the fic for the second time, how did reading it impact you? 

Well, rereading this fic already knowing the twist or the surprising part in mind, it made me analyze every interaction they have before leading to that point. I always pay attention to how Jongin will react whenever Kyungsoo does something and I felt frustrated why this man sucks at communicating his feelings and lacks boundaries to the point where Kyungsoo got badly hurt by the woman he was trying to protect. But then again, I realized that they were young and immature. When they reunited again after years of being apart, I actually saw how they both grew and matured, making more rational choices and not giving in to their impulses or defense mechanisms immediately unlike when they were young.

Wahh!! I love hearing yu’s insight regarding the fic ><

Yu, when you mentioned kaisoo upon being apart then reuniting again, how they both grew and matured, i agree with you to a certain extent. I think it is also a common thing with life. In general when we go through something traumatic or difficult, we pull ourselves away from the situation. Which Kyungsoo does. 

Kyungsoo is soooo real for running away though like, that makes him a human and not like a true fictional character, if y’all know what i mean. Because it is human nature to run away when something inconvenient happens in our lives. And i do that too, but not like kyungsoo running away in other country, (i don’t have the money for that yet HAHA) to be honest, the scene where kyungsoo’s life was already fucked up (due to his dad) and no one believing him when his project got stolen, it is the maximum peak of pain tbh i’m GLAD he did ran away but i’m not glad that he got dragged back. Life sucks (with personal sentiments haha). 

Yes exactly, so he left, but then a cruel twist of fate forces them to meet again. And the almost 10 years apart really has them thinking they have grown out of each other. But very evidently so, within the 8 years, we see the both of them yearning for each other despite being apart even after they hurt each other so much. 

I agree! Despite lying to themselves that they only want revenge (in Jongin's case) and they moved on (in Kyungsoo's case), it is undeniable that did not stop thinking about each other for almost a decade they were apart. They are each other's greatest and true love.

Even in life, fate has this thing where it will test you. It will see if you have learnt from your past, learnt from your mistakes and sometimes if we do not actively practice how to train ourselves to be better, when put in the same position as before, that is the test. Will we make the same mistake again? Will we consciously and cautiously make a more informed decision? Will we learn from the past? Or will we make a worse decision? 

And I think for Kyungsoo, after the intense shock he got from learning that Jongin is his superior, he slowly eases into the idea. Then he is reminded of his younger days where they were young college students. And because of the reminiscing, he falls into the same head space, the same habits that he had previously… 

I think Kyungsoo going back to his toxic ways is a proof that he was not able to properly heal at all and was just repressing everything all this time. 

and this time i found it to be worse? It is a very bad coping mechanism where both kaisoo are terrible at communication, so they resort to a very toxic cycle of sex… slowly overtime it does get better, but even when you believe everything is getting better, there comes a bigger whiplash that pushes kaisoo away from each other… i keep finding myself thinking wow, they really cant catch a break… and when they do it is very measured, you can feel the oncoming doom and it feels like a game. 

To be honest, if kaisoo has good communication here the pride will be just two shot fic LOL. 

Ok that is very true. That tension for conflict will always force the plot to move. 

I agree with the toxic cycle they have especially when one of them has a view of sex can be casual too omg. I can remember I had a phase while reading Pride: I was like talking, throwing side comments as if Kyungsoo or Jongin from Pride could hear me. That's similar to when you’re watching a great movie and trying to talk with the main lead HAHAHAAHA. But i sorta think that kaisoo should have like longer periods of healing time before they go back as lovers :< 

And for Jie, how did reading Pride the second time impact you?  

I'm gonna be honest here because I don’t count myself as a huge fan of heavy angst stories because I know the effect they have on me. Yes yes I kinda expect that i’ll be asked why i decided to read when pride has complete tags. Sometimes, I have this mood where I want to read something beyond my comfort zone (tags like similar to pride, top soo fics and such) and I have that when I decided to save the pride in my bookmarks. My emotions during the first time reading Pride versus rereading it, didn't change at all, despite knowing what to happen anymore. I felt like I absorbed kyungsoo’s emotions and I feel the pain too when everything is not falling to his plans. My mood shifts perfectly depending on the scenes and the feeling of being scared despite already knowing what’s about to happen in the next scenes never left me even reading it in the second time 😭. I’ve always been anxious of intense emotions and it’s like a default emotion for me. The intense scenes just always give me the thrum of a different adrenaline rush every time. 

I can relate to the adrenaline rush oh my! It is interesting that we are here today because Jie, you very passionately recommended this fic yet you are not a huge fan of heavy angst. So what are your favorite tropes to read if not heavy angst?

I believe I have a huge imaginative mind, because I love reading a lot of sci-fi and falling into the fantasy category. There’s always angst in every story, I don’t mind it as long as the story has an ending I’m satisfied with. Strangers to lovers is also an interesting trope for me hehe.

Your favorite tropes are almost the total opposite of Pride haha, so why Pride? What made you read this fic?

I’m gonna answer this with a different view of mine, the tags that the Pride have didn’t interest me a lot because as you said, it's the total opposite of what the tropes I love. I think I have taken the risk to read it because I’m actually trying to explore different tropes now compared to before. This fic totally stood out a lot to me this year (from all the fanfic I've read this year) . I pretty much regret not choosing it to read earlier than necessary because it has been sitting in my bookmarks for a year before I read it. And also I want to read something beyond the capabilities of my emotions (this sounds like i’m applying for a job LOL) . But for real, I opted to be more open minded in the tropes that I didn't quite like before and here I am! I loved it but probably it will take some time before I read something heavy like pride hehe. 

That is quite stimulating to explore different tropes, making the choice to be more open minded. Eventually what gave you the push to finally read it? Was it from the summary or the taggings or someone else recommending it…?          

I decided to read it amidst the stress I was having earlier this year. Maybe the stress or the will I have to be distracted at that time pushed me to reading pride. I’ve started reading the pride during my board exam (that’s like a national exam in the philippines that requires us to be a registered professional) but i managed to finish the pride after my board exam and got the results HAHA. Because I realized that I added more nerve wrecking emotions upon reading the few first chapters of pride. And I’m glad I did that instead of distracting myself during my review season. 

What about Yu, are you a heavy angst reader? 

I can't say I'm a heavy angst reader but I CAN say I'm a fan of it. Like if I'm going to rank it, it'll be in my top 5 fave fic trope, but I can never just casually read angst fics in my free time like it’s the morning newspaper, you know? I can only read angst fics when I'm in the right headspace for it, like reading angst that makes me sob on my bed at 3am haha.

Understand, understand.., reading angst when you are not in the proper headspace… may make your day suddenly gloomy.,,

Going back to the 5 questions that was asked for the discord submissions: 

We have covered the first question on, a brief summary of the plot, character and premise. And just a few minutes ago the question on the impact this fic had on you.

Lesson Learnt, Fav Scenes, Why

The next three questions will be on: What has this fic taught you? And what particular scene was it in the fic that moved you? And why do you love this fic?

Let’s start with yu. Yu, what has this fic taught you? 

Pride has taught me that pushing people away on purpose will not serve us any good and will just lead to more regrets in the future. Communicating what you truly feel to the one you love is really the key to resolve any issues or insecurities you have. I have also learned that what you think about other people or whatever their intentions are, may not be necessarily true and concluding things without properly talking it out will just result in more problems and as I have mentioned, regret and guilt. 

I like your points. I want to expand on it a bit more, but before that upon identifying the two learning points for this fic, what is your favorite scene from Pride? Or what is a prominent scene that you always find yourself  thinking about?

For me, my favorite scene in Pride was when Jongin went after Kyungsoo at the bar and he saw that Kyungsoo was kissing Seonho. Then their confrontation happened and Kyungsoo said a lot of hurtful things to Jongin and the latter was begging for him to talk this out. For me it was the turning point for Jongin to completely change his life and prove to Kyungsoo what he lost (which absolutely backfired because he's still whipped as hell with Kyungsoo).

Yes and this scene happens in chapter 11 titled ‘Escape Plan’ right? Could you do grace us by reading an extract from the chapter? 

Jongin shuts his eyes, obviously bothered by the idea but chose not to acknowledge it. With pleading gaze, he takes Kyungsoo's hand again.

"Soo..." he mumbles shakily, "What's the problem? If I did something wrong... then I'm sorry. Let's go now, please?"

"Get off!"

Something pierces his chest when Jongin's eyes begin to glisten. But no, Soo's far from done. He'll end this once and for all.

"What? Still don't get it? Fine, I'll elaborate." he exhales a deep breath and flashes his casual smile, "You're an experiment. Get it? Flavor of the month, whatever the fuck you want to call it! And now I realize I actually prefer rich, fun assholes who can give me thrill—you're not it.”

End of scene.

So, what I really love about this scene is the intensity of both the characters’ emotions. I love how Jongin was mad at Kyungsoo for almost making out with his ex, it then turned into him begging for Kyungsoo to stop hurting him. On the other hand, Kyungsoo is blinded by his anger and pain with what happened with his father and Soojung that he resorted to hurting Jongin and proving him “wrong”. For others, it might seem that this part is all just for the sake of drama, but I genuinely believe this was Jongin’s turning point into reaching for his dreams and taking Kyungsoo back in the next chapters. He may have had different intentions (revenge) in the beginning, but at the end of the day, Jongin cannot resist his first love.

Thank you for sharing that scene. Intense emotions indeed. And with that it forces kaisoo apart.

A point i have after Yu mentioned having learnt that pushing people away does us no good, the scene that comes to me is a while after Kyungsoo goes back to Korea. To set the context a bit more, I think it was a few days after Seonho went back to Korea. After the scene in the carpark, Jongin brought Kyungsoo to his mansion. Seonho purposely made it seem as though Kyungsoo still had feelings for him, so Jongin got mad. In the car it really is very heartbreaking to see Kyungsoo cry and cry and cry… The moment that gets to me is the following day. Jongin takes Kyungsoo on a ride of nostalgia… Brings him to the furniture shop and then the diner… the diner where his last memories of the place were just so terrible… let me read an extract from the scene.

These are two bits from chapter 24 titled Not Allowed. Extract goes like this:

Soo keeps his silence and the hope falters on the other's face as he finally takes notice.

"Soo." he calls, "What's wrong?"

The designer shuts his eyes and firmly shakes his head again, "Nothing. Just tired."

Even the familiar noise around brings him a headache. Do you know that nostalgia that pierces right through you?

This is more than that. When he left this country and this life so many years ago, this place is one of the things he buried. He marked his own words not to step foot here again but here he is now, with Jongin right in front of him as if his whole life is a big joke.

Do you remember that? Soo asks himself as bitterness begins to stand out among the other glaring emotions, the last time you were here, do you remember?

End of scene. 

You best believe i fucking CRIED! This moment, although short, you can feel the pulling of Kyungsoo’s heart. It is very distressing to read… 

Yoooo this scene is actually painful and all, like I wonder how disappointed Kyungsoo is in himself for going back to the past he’s trying to run away and forget omg!!!

The next moment I will be sharing is the point on what Yu shared on communicating what you truly feel to resolve any issues or insecurities.

This moment is slightly after the scene I read a minute ago, and the extract goes like this:

Soo grits his teeth hard before looking at him.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asks between heavy breaths, "Of all places, why here, Jongin? Huh? Why Kare?"

Kyungsoo finally takes courage this time. He gains the guts to look at Jongin and ask. He watches how the other man's face completely softens. It's like he never thought he would have to answer this question soon.

"Because..." Jongin sighs in defeat, sounding calmer this time, "because this place is special to us."

Soo's eyes begin to glisten. He swallows hard before weakly looking at Jongin.

"You're being so unfair." he mutters pleadingly, "You're unfair. I don't need this. Please... just stop."

Jongin steps closer to him and Soo takes a step back by instinct.

"How am I being unfair, Soo?" he hates how hurt Jongin looks. Because this isn't the image he needs to guilt him every night when it's his right to move on, "You're the one I want. If I need to prove it in any way, then I will."

It feels like a strong blow for Soo. But more than anything else, he refuses to believe he's hearing it, too.

End of scene. 

Here we find that Jongin does not understand why Kyungsoo is feeling and acting in a slight offensive manner. Kyungsoo actively and purposefully makes it very difficult for Jongin and builds up his walls so that he is unreadable… but these bursts of heavy and difficult emotions that bubble through the walls makes it very confusing for Jongin. Kyungsoo definitely does not share his true, honest and vulnerable thoughts. And as a reader the miscommunication part hurts.

Jie, how about your learning point of Pride? What did this fic teach you about life? 

This fic actually helped me to understand more and give me deeper insights about the flaws of each person, the differences we have and what we need to work out for ourselves when we’re making bonds to other people. And also adding that no matter what happens to your life, you only have yourself as your best pal because even the most trusted person you have, will not understand you and can be the reason for your downfall. BUT then no matter how painful we went through, moving on and forgiveness is important. 

I agree, moving on and forgiveness is indeed important in life.

And jie, share with us, what is your favourite scene from Pride? Or what is a scene that you think about when you think of this fic?

I think in all of the scenes in Pride, my favourite scene of all time will be the part where kyungsoo and baekhyun mend their broken friendship. I really love the part where despite being hurt, kyungsoo still cares for baekhyun and tries to help him in any way possible and all while protecting himself too. I can’t really put much into words but I do find it beautiful that they both still managed to fix their bond together and in the end, it’s baekhyun’s turn to help kyungsoo in a way for him to finally settle on the person that makes him happy. They both want happiness for each other and it’s just so genuine.

Ah, chapter 26 titled Make It Up To You… with that, Jie, Could you do us the honor of reading an extract from that chapter? 

"You can never lie to me, Baekhyun.” Soo looks in front, pausing to drink, “We could stop being friends and I’d still know you better than anyone.”

The other man’s expression is hard, obviously tugged in his most fragile spot. But then, his lips begin to quiver. Baekhyun bites it hard before looking away.

“Just tell me.” Soo tells him without any display of emotion once again. He doesn’t know what Baekhyun wants to get from him so he keeps it neutral.

“I thought we’re not friends?” Baekhyun grins again but the pain is slowly resurfacing on his face now, “I don’t really need your sympathy right now, Soo.”

“I’m not giving you sympathy. I want to hear it and by the end, I can decide if you’ve been an idiot or not. I can even make you feel worse if you’d like me to.” Kyungsoo says without batting an eye and the other boy is speechless again, “Just tell me everything and stop keeping it in, dumbass.”

End of scene.

I just love how Kyungsoo is not giving Baekhyun sympathy for what's happening to his old friend’s life. But because it’s only Kyungsoo who knows him since day one, it’s also him who can only understand what’s happening to Baekhyun. Friendships are falling into platonic relationships already, so what Kyungsoo and Baekhyun have in this scene is a huge factor that helped them both heal from their personal issues. Friendships deserve closures too just like romantic relationships, and this scene gave them the closure they both need. I think it’s beautiful that when Kyungsoo managed to mend his bond with Baekhyun, his bond with Jongin came after. 

Thank you for sharing that scene. I really like the point that friendships need closure too. The people you meet in life, friends and family… Relationships and generally life as well, it is a journey. There are moments we may not necessarily get along and our relationship with them may not be the best, which we see from this fic that it is perfectly fine. Because who knows? 

Yes you may have a difficult friendship, but after the wound from the friendship has mellowed down a bit, there are opportunities, as Jie mentioned, to mend the friendship. As long as both parties are still well and alive, nothing is set in stone, there is always a choice to build that burnt bridge. 

Now ladies and gays and kaisoo listeners of the podcast, we have come to the end of the last segment. This segment we looked at three different points of learning from Pride and each of us read a moment in the fic that holds a special place in our hearts. 

We have reached the end of the episode, so yu and jie, do you have any other running thoughts that you have that we did not cover today, be it thoughts on the fic or your experience in the podcast today?

First of all, If I could, I would like to send a huge love for yeolimerent for writing such a masterpiece. She has put me on a thrilling roller coaster of emotions that I’m so torn from crying or loving her story. But as always, love wins!! She wrote the characters to perfection with their flaws and I think that’s just so amazing because I could never do that huhu. But anyway, I’m so glad that I took the risk of reading Pride because I got to learn a lot of things that I could put into real life. And I’m sooo happy that I get to share this experience with Yu and my dear Alexio. I honestly thought I wouldn’t be able to make this podcast but then, I’m so glad that you made the discord, and meeting you is one of the main highlights of my year. Sending forever love to kaisoo and kaisooists < 333 

Aw, you are so sweet. I am also very grateful. Thank you for joining the discord, thank you for coming on the show with Yu and I. 

For Pride, I really want to say thank you to yeolimerent for creating this masterpiece. Reading it every time is always an experience. The way the plot unfolded, the characters and their flaws were curated, and the emotions were unveiled is just chef's kiss. As for the podcast, it has been an honor to be a part of this episode and the fact that I get to talk about something I'm really passionate about. I hope I get to do things outside of my comfort zone more often and I wanted to say thank you to you and Jie for having me here.

Yu and Jie, you are both most welcome, and it is a joy to have hosted kaisoo readers today. I will relay your sentiments to yeolimerent. This is the end of the podcast episode, but this is not the end of our journey together as kaisooists, and as kaisooists in the discord, because there are many things to engage in, in the server. I do hope to see the both of you, and our dear listener for this episode, coming in on the discord!

Dear listener, the link to the ao3 for Pride will be given below in the notes section. 

With that, as I mentioned earlier in the episode, we will get a chance to have a chat with the author of the fic. So tomorrow’s tomorrows’s episode will be with yeolimerent!

New episodes either every 13th of the month, in commemoration of kaisoo day in january, or 12th and 14th of the month. 

To reach me, i am kaisooficdrunk on twitter and if you want you can drop me questions on my curious cat you can do so with the same username. There will also be another link that brings you to my tumblr blog with the transcription for today's episode. There you can also find the other scripts for other episodes as well.

Thank you for listening, have a good day, dear kaisooist, and we look forward to the next episode. Stay tuned.

[calypsolemon]

so sorry for not talking much at all about goldi and the bears (I love them also I just didn't have too many observations people hadn't already made!) but this is one I haven't seen anyone mention so hopefully I'm pointing out something interesting?

The story that Goldi opens to in the book of fairy tales isn't just a random traditional fairytale. It's a wholly unique block of text to the movie. It's the tail end of a story in which a "proper family" is described having a snowball fight. I believe this text gives us a lot of insight into Goldi's character motivation.

The text is a bit hard to read so here is a transcript (its a bit long so the rest of this post is under a readmore, there is more analysis here too)

Year round, the old park was the most popular place for this proper family to walk on through and take in the beautiful sights on their return home. It was also quite understandably the most proper place for a young girl to make the perfect snow angel, build a quick snowman, or throw a few snowballs from behind the dense leaves of frosted maple trees. The father was no stranger to snowball fights. He relished every opportunity, in fact, to remind his family of his many past victories. Every snowball that he made was shaped with great care and purpose. However, all his best efforts would be for not. For the little girl, tired of battles lost, was determined to claim her first victory on this winter afternoon. It was the naive youth against the experienced adult. The mother laughed as the little girl struck her father square in the bum with her fastest snowball yet. A flurry of powdered attacks followed, overwhelming the veteran snowball soldier. Laying still on the very snow he once dominated, the father now knew his reign was over. It was an exciting moment. The little girl began to celebrate. Hoisted up onto her father's ice covered shoulders, the little girl looked at her mother and shared a smile. At that moment, they knew everything was just right… … and they lived happily ever after.

Knowing this little detail adds a lot of depth to our understanding, here. She wasn't just projecting onto a random fairytale family she read about in a story, wishing to be some little girl whose life she saw as perfect due to having "normal" biological parents. She was being told by this story from a young and impressionable age that families look a certain way, and as a result, she came away with the understanding that a family could be wrong too. And considering her catchphrase and arguably, some of her behavior could be attributed to her trying to emulate this story, it seems like she has always been trying to make her life fit into this mold that was never quite working out.

And that's where I think the animosity between Baby and Goldi comes in.

It's easy to see, watching the film, where Baby might have gotten his dislike of Goldi from. From the moment she first appeared she stole his bed and his food, and in reaction his parents adopted her and treated her like she did no wrong. Papa also seems keen on joining in insulting Baby often in this movie, while there's rarely a bad word said towards Goldi. That apparent favoritism is a perfect recipe for sibling rivalry. But lets be real, Goldi's attitude towards Baby is incredibly demeaning, even for a sibling rivalry. Not to say that Baby doesn't dish out his own deep-cutting insults, and it seems like the family overall has a kind of playful-ribbing type of relationship. But Goldi most consistently tells Baby that he is only useful, only cared for, when his primary skill - his sense of smell - is being used in her service. Like he's less so her brother than he is her underling.

But this book gives us a more solid reason as to why Goldi is so cruel to Baby, and that is that the "proper family".... does not have a brother. It is not only the bears being bears, but Baby's mere presence which disrupts the idealized image of a single-child family that Goldi has been desperately trying to fit her life to. So she becomes bitter towards him, pushing him down at every chance, attempts to micromanage him the most out of everyone.

That's why its so important that she specifically saves Baby instead of making her wish in the end. Its not only her abandoning the idea of a proper family, its her finally giving Baby a space in her heart which she denied him for a long time.

[shamandrummer]

"The Seven Generations and The Seven Grandfather Teachings"

Discover Indigenous wisdom for a life well lived in James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw's book The Seven Generations and the Seven Grandfather Teachings. Based on ancient teachings from the Anishinaabe/Ojibwe people, this self-published (2023) book about the Ojibwe language offers not just historical insight but valuable life lessons for modern times. The book's teachings emphasize the alignment of words with actions and the importance of leading a holistic life. The central theme is the concept of interconnectedness: "Aanji-Bimaadizing means, 'transforming your life'." This is no ordinary transformation. It extends far beyond the self, touching the lives of past, present, and future relatives. We live in a reciprocally interrelated world where every action we take ripples forward and backward in time.

Grandparents – family connections in general – figure largely in Kaagegaabaw's story of the way Ojibwe language was handed down by a people who understand the land and their place on it. He points out that when we hear a word like Nookomis (my grandmother), we hear a sound "created by a person who knew this land back when it was covered by ice a mile high, before Gichi-gami, the Great Lake, Lake Superior, existed. When we use the old words, we are using words that were spoken by someone who saw woolly mammoths, giant Mooz (moose) and Misamik (giant beaver)."

Kaagegaabaw is proficient at explaining the heart of the Ojibwe language. He demystifies the vocabulary, breaking words into small parts for a clear understanding of their meaning. The primal language conveys a "Great Law" that helps speakers live in peace, harmony and balance. He cites the ancient Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) philosophy of considering the impact of each decision on the next seven generations. Seven generation stewardship is a concept that urges the current generation of humans to live and work for the benefit of the seventh generation into the future. As we navigate through the labyrinth of modern existence, how often do we stop and ask, "How do my actions today honor my past and pave the way for my future?"

The seven generation teachings, known as Gichi-dibaakonigwewinan, are truth, humility, respect, love, bravery, courage, honesty, and wisdom. The chapter about honesty indicates that just speaking the truth isn't enough; it's also imperative to align your words, actions, and intentions. Kaagegaabaw asks why would we use a sacred gift from the Creator, the Ojibwe language, to deceive others? The language demonstrates that the consequence of deceit is disorder. Only those who are out of balance will lie. As Kaagegaabaw put it,"Observe how I live, and the truth will invariably come out of it. It always does."

Kaagegaabaw concludes by pointing out that when we change and improve ourselves, we change and improve those who came before us and those to come – connecting them. As Kaagegaabaw so eloquently put it, "If I change myself, have I changed all of my relatives?" Though his ancestors were victims of colonization, genocide, and subjugation, Kaagegaabaw believes they can be healed through his interconnections with them. "I can still heal them," Kaagegaabaw asserts. "We are still writing our ancestors' stories."

About the Author

James Vukelich Kaagegaabaw, a descendant of Turtle Mountain, is a renowned international speaker, author, educator and digital creator. His keen insights were developed through speaking with and recording elders and native language speakers across North America as part of the Ojibwe Language Dictionary Project. James is a passionate advocate for sharing how to live a life of 'mino-bimaadiziwin,' the good life. For over twenty years, he has facilitated community language tables, consulted with public and private organizations on language and cultural programs, and traveled internationally as a keynote speaker. He has been featured in numerous publications, podcasts, radio & television programs. James lives in the Twin Cities, Minnesota with his wife and son.

[theredhavendelegate]

Off The Record No. 1: Carmine Letter

Here's a scoop you won't get anywhere else. They won't print stories like this in the paper, not even in rags like The Broad Street Negotiator.

If you want to know what's really going on in Redhaven, then you have to go off the record.

---

A man in a bowler hat, a vest, and wire-rim glasses walks down a long hallway. The carpet is ornate, patterned with fibers of dark red, blue, and gold. The walls are papered with an equally ostentatious style, and wood trim covers them from the baseboards to a little over waist height. It is dim, lit just by gas lamps. The windows are all shuttered.

There are paintings hung along the way, well dressed figures standing alone, contrasted and framed by rolling landscapes, statues, and bowls of fruit. One portrait depicts a brown-furred foxhound so saggy and wrinkled that it appears to be melting.

The Valet stops in front of a pair of hand-carved wooden doors and knocks with an uneven cadence. The response is a single knock from somewhere on the other side, and The Valet enters.

The room is a study, walls lined with bookshelves and more paintings. There are side tables, a couch, a balcony, and a large, imposing wooden desk at the center, which has been etched on its front with the image of a large feather.

Behind the desk is a woman with long, reddish-brown hair and ice-blue eyes. She wears a small amount of makeup, something to sharpen her brows and, to the keen-eyed, foundation on the cheeks. Her clothing is practical, though flawlessly tailored from shoe to cuff.

She smiles coolly at The Valet and gestures with a hand as she says, “We’re on a wonderful little adventure now, meddling in the affairs of the lay folk so directly. I wonder, will it all play out in our favor? I worry that I’m beginning to lose my edge.”

The Valet closes the doors behind himself with a featherlight touch, and then walks over to the desk. Arms at his back, he replies, “One cannot make statements encapsulating a whole person, but your plans, at the very least, are as keen as those of any Carmine to come before you.”

The mayor leans back in her seat and steeples her fingers. “You would know better, wouldn’t you? I see vanishingly little of the effects of my decisions. The balcony provides a stunning view, but very little insight. Enlighten me.”

The servant nods and removes his cap to reveal a mostly vacant scalp which is interrupted by a neat row of thinning strands. “You’ve chosen wisely. All the laborers you’ve selected have agreed to the meeting, including today’s visit, Mister Dahl. He has more influence than he realizes, and his cool temper should prove a balm to that of The Blue Coalition’s agents. All that said, assuming this first meeting goes well, Redhaven’s laborers should be protected without upsetting General Harrison too badly.”

The mayor scoffs. “Nothing could prevent that man from getting his medals in a tangle.”

“Quite right,” The Valet agrees.

There is a knock at the door and the mayor comments, “Right on time. Let Lord Redhaven in and fetch us refreshments. You know what he likes.”

The serving man goes towards the door, his gait soft and prudent. He pulls open them open to reveal an old man with a white, well kept beard and a broad build. The Valet bows and gestures deeper into the room, and once Lord Redhaven has walked past him, closes the doors again. The valet exits through a side door.

“Oswald,” Mayor Carmine calls brightly. “Please, make yourself comfortable. My man will be back in a moment with tarts and Candamoran coffee, a good, coastal blend.”

The lord’s brow is furrowed and his lips are slightly pursed, but he forces a smile and nods, taking a seat before the desk. He slouches deeply into the maroon upholstery and clears his throat. “Well, Desdemona. It’s good to see you again.”

She beams fawningly. “My lord, the honor is all mine! It’s always a blessing that you’re willing to take time out of your busy day to talk about matters of such import with a lowly public servant.”

He rubs a temple. “Well, my schedule only gets busier with the passing days. Did you know that the Confederates conducted an inquest at my estate? They wanted to imprison half of my scientists and philosophers! Claimed they were operatives of The Covenant! I had to bargain directly with that upstart general just to keep those good people free, and I still had to lay a few of them off for his satisfaction.” Oswald has begun to rake his fingers through his beard and the strong impression that he’d been wearing sloughs off to reveal weariness.

The side door opens silently and The Valet returns. He carries a sterling silver platter, upon which rides a set of fine porcelain serving-ware: saucers, teacups, and a steaming carafe, along with a plate of fresh fruit pastries.

The server fills a cup with coffee so dark it seems to suck the light out of the air around it, and then passes it to Oswald. The lord takes a sip and another layer sloughs off of him, weariness giving way to calm. He mutters to the man, “Thank you good sir, thank you.”

Mayor Carmine serves herself a cup as well and turns to The Valet. “Thank you, that will be all.” He bows low, a hand on his bowler hat, rises, and takes his leave.

“Now,” Carmine begins, “It can’t all be bad news, can it? What have your learned men discovered?”

Oswald turns his chin up slightly and smiles. “Ah, yes. Progress. The fog, which had been making people quite fatally ill, can be filtered. Doctor Bell has already seen success with a round of prototype suits, which also mask his condition to his satisfaction while he searches for a cure. He’s rather a lot more confident with his face covered. Another thing: The complex is finally secure again. The entrances that formed during The Transit are all locked down and it’s no longer threatening to collapse, and we’ll be back at full capacity in another month or two.”

Desdemona nods and stirs her coffee, which must have four sugar cubes in it by now. She says, “That’s wonderful to hear. I’ll have you know that the civil side of things is stabilizing as well. Our friends in orange should have their hands full soon enough, and The Blue Coalition won’t be any bother. I’m working on giving them some…competition.”

Oswald nods with a furrowed brow, “I see,” he says, clearly lying. “This…competition, you said? It should see a little…uh…reduction in the population’s general anger, yes?”

The mayor nods decisively and stirs her coffee.

“Good, good then.” Oswald takes another sip from his cup, closing his eyes and sighing with contentment.

A grandfather clock by the window chimes and his eyes snap open. “Oh, goodness me! Is it that late already?” He rises, mildly aback, and sets his cup on the platter. “I’ve got to see Doctor Bell. He has a demonstration for me, something about these peculiar crystals he’s found in the ‘Void Fields’, as he’s taken to calling them, but it was a fine visit, very fine.”

Desdemona pushes the plate of pastries towards the lord and he takes a strawberry one from the stack as he turns to the door. “I really ought to arrange to swing by more often. I swear, our conversations are the only times that I get any rest. Take care and all that.” She nods and waves, and the lord hurries off without another word, pulling open the office doors with one hand while the other handles his tart.

Carmine stares at the doors as they shut and she keeps her eyes fixed on them as Lord Redhaven’s tread fades down the corridor. Once the sound has fully vanished, she sets her untouched drink back on the platter and claps once.

The Valet reemerges from the side door and strolls over to the desk, placing a notepad on the corner of the desk. A few pages are filled with large, neat handwriting, which mirrors the conversation that had just taken place. Carmine tucks it into a drawer as the serving man carries off the platter, and she sets to work writing her own notes after a moment.

She doesn’t write for long. There is a thunderous knock on the door, a sound that echoes throughout the room, and Carmine’s face rankles with displeased familiarity. “Enter,” she vociferates dispassionately.

A brusque man pushes through the doors and throws them closed again. He has rich, olive skin and black eyes that pierce the gloom. His clothing is robe-like, beige and maroon and tied off at the waist with yet more fabric. He carries himself to one of the chairs in front of they mayor’s desk, seats himself, and crosses his legs. “The seat’s still warm,” he remarks.

“Indeed,” Desdemona sneers, not bothering to look up from her note-taking. “The lord was just here a minute ago, and I doubt he’d be happy to see you out and about.”

The man pouts. “You consider this ‘out and about’? You really out to get more sunshine.”

Carmine sets down her pen and glances up, locking eyes with the man. “You are here under my service, Mister Jazari.”

“Please, call me Hasan,” he interjects.

She relaxes slightly and rolls her eyes. “I can tell that you’re bored, Mister Jazari, but I’ve got a bit of good news for once.”

The mercenary raises a dark brow.

The mayor explains, “We’re expecting some agitation at the northern science post not too long after public hiring begins. You’ll be on over-watch to make sure nothing gets too loud: we want to bring things to a simmer now, not a boil.”

Hasan cocks his head to the side and grins. “Over-watch,” he repeats, gnawing on the word slightly. “Sitting around and gazing about? Holding fire unless absolutely necessary? That means I get out of the kennel and I don’t have to waste ammunition. I like the sound of that.”

Carmine furrows her brow. “Regardless of how much ammunition you expect to waste. Make sure you and your rifle are ready. The Valet will give you more details on a need-to-know basis.”

The mayor goes back to writing, and Hasan stares at her for a moment. without looking up, she says, “There are fruit tarts in the pantry, help yourself, and don’t come back in here until I call for you.”

The mercenary grins and finally rises. He heads off through the side door and disappears, leaving Carmine alone in her office. She sets her pen down and strolls over to the glass balcony doors. The sky outside is a dim grey, and it grows dimmer by the minute.

“We’re on a wonderful little adventure now, aren’t we?” she whispers to no one in particular.

“A wonderful little adventure.”

---

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[ecargmura]

Buddy Daddies Episode 3 Review: Two Sides of Parenting

You can read this review on my blog here, but if you don't want to, continue below.

This is the first episode without a mission. Does it deliver despite the lack of action? Yes! This episode was so good! I’m surprised that it’s a laid-back episode, but it’s so warm and sweet!

The main objective for this episode is finding Miri’s mother, whose name is Misaki. Kazuki wanted to take Miri back to her because of how their jobs operate. Unfortunately for him, Misaki’s not too keen about Miri. As you probably guessed it, Misaki abandoned Miri—sending her away on the streets without a phone contact or an address. Kazuki and Misaki’s meeting at the bar shows their contrasting views on parenthood. Kazuki did not have a child but he has warm and kind ideals about parenthood. Misaki is the opposite. She had a child, became a parent and hated every part of the experience. In addition to being a neglectful mother, she also had a terrible life where she was being used by men, so her views on life itself is skewed. To me, Misaki is someone who lost what it means to value something as she never received it.

We also learn more about Kazuki and Rei in this episode, which gives them more insight to their characters. Kazuki is an orphan so he never experienced parental love. He once had a wife but it seemed as if she died in a tragic accident. Rei has a family, but it’s not a harmonious one. His father is cold-hearted, even heartless enough to kill a dog. Because of this, Rei never experience familial love. It also makes sense why Rei’s tastebuds are equivalent to Miri’s—he lacked familial love, so he’s emotionally stunted. Both are lacking love in their lives, which is what Miri will bring to them as they become the family they yearn for.

This episode also has another subplot, which is Rei becoming Miri’s “Rei-papa”. This show is called Buddy DADDIES for a reason. Throughout this episode, Miri is trying to get close to Rei. She jumps on him to wake him up; she tries sleeping with him in the bathtub and making him smile by squishing his cheeks; she makes Rei play with her at the park. Rei’s very aloof about dealing with Miri, but towards the end of the episode, Miri’s efforts are rewarded because Rei does have a heart underneath all that ice. I do love how Rei is stepping up to become the father he never had the experience of having. The way he says that he is her papa almost made me cry.

Kazuki and Rei’s relationship is also detailed more in this episode. When they are at the park, Kazuki and Rei talk a bit about their past, but Kazuki doesn’t dig his nose into Rei’s family matters. That scene alone shows the respect the two have for each other. They’re close enough to play rock-paper-scissors to see who has to buy sweet potatoes for Miri as well. Kazuki even teases Rei by calling him Rei-papa. I can tell there’s a big buildup on the reveal of how Rei and Kazuki met and I’m prepared for it. Give me the tissues; I’m ready for the waterworks. Also note that Rei does call Kazuki by his first name in this episode despite being three years younger than him; they’re on first-name basis with each other, which also gives off how close they are.

The episode ends with the three unofficially becoming family. Miri now eats at the same table as them; the three even experience sleeping together as a family in the post-credit scene; note that Rei is sleeping peacefully. It’s only episode three; they’ve got eight to nine episodes to get accustomed to this and they’re gonna be comfortable with it at the end.

[corner-stories]

familiarity

Pieck Finger. Porco Galliard. Marcel Galliard. Pairs Skating. Lifts. Choreography. Figure Skating AU. 1425 words. (ao3.)

The pairs skating team known as Pieck Finger and Porco Galliard were notorious for their intensive practices. Now in their first season as seniors, the amount of time they spent at the rink seemed to double. Lifts had to be practiced, throw jumps had to be landed, and pair spins had to be rotated to the very end. 

It helped that Pieck had been skating with Porco since they were thirteen — their familiarity with one another made the hours on the rink or in the weight room more bearable. Nowadays, it was hard for Pieck to imagine skating without her beloved partner by her side, without that instinct to look for him on the ice or anticipate his hands on her hips. 

So on a frigid autumn morning, one that caused frost to collect in every corner of the town, Pieck arrived at the rink in the afternoon. It was getting easier for her to balance community college and skating. Porco thought she was insane for attempting to take both on together, but so far she had gotten very good at transitioning into practice mode the second her part-time classes would end. 

As a result, Pieck’s mind was focused on her programs as she entered the change room. As she got into her practice clothes, she thought about how she was still struggling with her and Porco’s planned double axel-triple lutz combination. As she walked to the rink she thought about what costumes they would require to perfectly encapsulate the energy of their on-ice tribute to Britney Spears. 

And as Pieck stretched, she truly wondered what the world would think of Finger-Galliard if they debuted their Barbie Girl routine at the next international competition. 

Nonetheless, Pieck laced up her skates as the other skaters used the rink to their heart’s content. 

On one end of the ice she could see Zeke working with Annie, using the harness to help assist her axel. As of lately, she had been determined to finally start training a triple. Weeks ago, one of their rinkmates — an even tinier blonde named Historia Reiss — managed to land a quadruple toe loop and flip against all odds. 

Perhaps seeing such a thing had motivated Annie to begin upping the ante on her own jumps. Having to compete with someone nicknamed the “Quad Goddess” could do that to a person.

In the middle of the rink was an ice dance team practicing to the music playing through the speakers. Pieck didn’t know Mikasa Ackerman and Jean Kirschtein personally, but she did know of their skating and how meticulous they were at practice. The amount of times she walked by them in the dance studio had given her insights to their complicated curve lifts and balletic footwork, every move they made could exude both musicality and pure athleticism. Mikasa could effortlessly leap into Jean’s arms and he could just as easily transition her onto his shoulder… while spinning. It was hard to believe that they were still juniors. 

Pieck had overheard in the hallway that they were currently concocting something called the “Moulin Rouge Routine” for the upcoming season. She had never seen the movie, but judging by the loving way Jean would look into Mikasa’s eyes as they glided across the ice, Pieck wondered if it had a happy ending. 

Meanwhile, the skaters that Pieck was actually concerned with were on the other side of the rink. 

Porco had told her that he would be assisting Marcel for the day, as his brother was keen on getting his choreography career started somehow. Marcel had created a short program for a teenage skater named Colt, and in doing so requested that his brother record him performing the routine from an on-ice perspective. 

But instead of going over step-sequences or Marcel's killer triple salchow, the Galliard Brothers were doing something a lot less productive and a lot more playful. 

Pieck looked over just in time to see Porco raising Marcel over his head, utilizing the familiar hand-to-hand press lift that he had used with her countless times. The expression on Marcel’s face was joyous, astounded, and utterly effervescent. Even with his ability to defy gravity on the ice, he was reaching heights he could barely even dream of. 

Pieck couldn’t help but laugh as the Galliards had the time of their lives. 

For a slender guy, Porco was very capable of keeping Marcel airborne. Perhaps it helped that he was the taller of the brothers, despite being the younger one. He managed to keep Marcel afloat long enough for Pieck to step on the ice and zip over.

Once she arrived, Porco finally let his brother down as both grinned from ear to ear. 

“Hey, Marcel, didn’t we come to an agreement?” Pieck said as she came to a stop. She smiled cheekily at the older — yet shorter — Galliard and playfully wagged her finger at him. “At home he’s your brother, but here he’s my partner?” 

Marcel let out a chuckle. “Apologies, Pieck, we just wanted to try something new.” 

Porco was laughing along. “Yeah, we’re working on a new move for our next gala!” 

“Good to know,” Pieck soon said. She took Porco’s hand, the familiarity of which when mixed with the chill of the rink brought a sense of calmness to her. The way his hand could fit with hers was second nature to her now. 

She looked at the elder Galliard playfully. “Anyways… Marcel, you know how it is. You got something else to do, right?” 

It was telling of her closeness to the Brothers that she could speak to them in such a way.

They had all been skating since they were barely eight years old, having been put in the same class. Back then Pieck could barely manage a waltz jump and Porco was nowhere near as strong as he was now. During those days, Porco would watch enviously as the boys on the other side of the rink played hockey — being stuck in a figure skating class with his brother and a bunch of girls was not how he wanted to spend his Saturdays. But apparently, Mrs. Galliard insisted that the brothers have a shared class together, as they didn’t have one in school. 

Porco only seemed to truly dedicate his time and passion towards the art form once he was paired with Pieck. It had been the suggestion of Zeke that they skate together, as Porco struggled with the jump elements after hitting a growth spurt — unlike Marcel, who was a god-sent prodigy with loops and flips. 

Even if the Galliards were skating in different disciplines, Porco made sure to watch Marcel during every competition and vice versa. Fittingly, Pieck was often the one sitting beside him as they watched the elder Galliard dazzle the world with his spins and footwork. 

Over the years, their consistent support had bonded Pieck with the brothers, something that had been thankful for from the very start. 

When Pieck looked up to meet Marcel’s gaze, he was rubbing the back of his neck and looking to the opposite side of the rink. 

“Well, I was gonna show Annie what I cooked up for her short program, but…” he started. 

Just as Pieck and Porco looked to their rinkmate, Annie was attempting her triple axel without the harness. Despite falling on her rear end, she was back on her feet immediately. Zeke’s expression remained stern as he gestured for his trainee to try again, something that made Annie glare at him despite obeying his orders. 

It was very fortunate that Marcel was a calm, kindly, and patient choreographer in general. Annie was probably going to be thoroughly irked once he came around. 

“... she looks a bit stressed,” Marcel finished off. 

Pieck rolled her eyes, though a part of her hoped that Zeke wasn’t slightly harder on Annie than he was with her and Porco. Perhaps Annie simply reacted to the coach’s drill sergeant-esque attitude differently. 

“While you’re at it, think you can convince Zeke to reconsider our Barbie Girl routine?” Pieck asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes at Marcel for extra measure. 

Marcel’s expression remained playful, though slightly defeated. It had not been the first time that Pieck brought up her beloved routine to him. 

Porco let out a chuckle as he put his arm around her, a gesture he did quite often. “Not letting that one go, aren’t you?” He playfully tapped her nose with the end of his finger. 

“Well, we didn’t spend all that time perfecting our Iron Lotus for nothing!” 

[mossyantlerss]

TUMBLRCLAN

After much procrastinating, here is TumblrClan!

Leader

OLIVESTAR - Long furred gray tom with a white tail tip, white toes, and green eyes. He is 119 moons old, making him a senior adult. He is confident and a den builder.

Deputy

VINEGHOST - Medium furred white tom with cyan eyes. He is 108 moons old, making him a senior adult as well. He is righteous and has a helpful insight, he is also a great climber.

Medicine Cats

QUILLMANE - Medium furred pale sokoke tabby molly with yellow-green eyes. She is 61 moons old, making her a adult. She is compassionate, has a helpful insight, and is a great kitsitter.

Warriors

WEEVILSLASH - Medium furred dark gray sokoke tabby molly with a white nose bridge and stripe and has amber eyes. She is 102 moons old, making her a senior adult. She is strict and has a unshakable dark forest link.

PERCHEMBER - Long furred black and lighter marbled tabby tom with green eyes. He is 102 moons old, making him a senior adult. He is charismatic, a impressive climber, and has a keen eye.

ALMONDJOY - Short furred unusually spotted cream and white molly with hazel eyes. She is 78 moons old, making her a adult. She is childish and a incredible runner.

PEARSPOT - Short furred speckled dark gray and white molly with a scarred tail tip and copper eyes. She is 59 moons old. She is daring and a great hunter.

HYACINTHEBEETLE - Short furred unusually dappled dark brown tom with gold eyes. He is 24 moons old, making him a young adult. He is cold and a good story teller.

THRIFTFREEZE - Medium furred dorsal-striped golden brown tom with scarred paws and sage eyes. He is 13 moons old, making him a young adult. He is sneaky, a learner of lore, and a incredible runner. He is currently mentoring Silverpaw.

Apprentices

SILVERPAW - Short furred unusually dappled silver and white tom with sunlit ice eyes. He is 10 moons old, making him a adolescent. He is thoughtful, confident with words, and is interested in clan history. He is being mentored by Thriftfreeze.

I can't wait for these guys' stories to unfold.

[ask-the-diamond-kingdom]

Lucius Sinclair

(Image has been drawn by me)

Title: ???

Name: Lucius Sinclair

Age: ??? [Adult]

Species: Silvally

Gender [Pronouns]: Bigender [He/It]

Type: Normal [With Ghairy Memory: Ghosy/Fairy]

Ability: RKS System

Moves: Fire Fang, Psychic Fang, Ice Fang, X-Scissor, Swords Dance and Multi-Attack

Personality: When you first meet Lucius, the man presents himself as a quiet yet insightful Pokémon with noticeable maturity, wisdom and knowledge on a level that it could rival a Xatu. When you get to know him, you will notice he has a solitary, matter-of-fact attitude. He prefer the idea of keeping to himself and being blunt with his words. He is a selective with the people he interact with and sees no reason to lie (or be gentle) about how he feels about someone. His calm and detached demeanor originate from the male’s lost memories and his cynicism for what he views as being ‘classless mortals’. His naturally calm attitude is often used to his advantage in battle, as it becomes easier for him to maintain his composure and stay focus on the situation at hand. As a result, he can quickly adjust to any situation to make keen and thought-out decisions, allowing him to stay steps ahead of his opponents. Oddly enough, Lucius has shown no signs of arrogance, and is rather modest about his abilities. He is fully aware that there could be someone stronger than him and have a few tricks under their sleeves. This doesn’t stop the male from probing at other people’s abilities and commenting about their strengths and flaws they have in regards to them. He has no problems calling someone weak if they fail to impress him. However, if he stumbles on someone who he views as being powerful, it excites the male and brings out wild temperament that Silvally are often known to have. 

Despite his usually stoic demeanor, Lucius does have an emotional side that rarely appears. The male has shown instances where he will not hesitate to lash out at those who seriously harm Raiden and Ryujin. This can often be proven to be quite a pain as it cloud his judgment, which may sometimes to the endangerment of himself and others. However, on the positive side of things, it does allow him to move away from that solitary, detached behavior that he finds himself consumed by. This allows him to see things that he wouldn’t be able to see when he is consumed by this attitude and leads him to understand emotions he never fully grasps. One of those emotions being love.

Other notes: 

Capable of taking on a disguise form that is that of a Alpha Hisuian Zoroark

Carries with him a fused Memory of Ghost and Fairy Memory

A Unknown Gem is infused in his chest

Toyhouse Link Can be found here: Here

Stands at the height of 7'07" in Silvally form but 10'06" as a Zoroark

Is the adopted son of Diancie and has two siblings. One was raised by Meloetta and the other by Virizion.

(Base is by GodBirdArt but the colors have been edited by me.)

(Above depicts his use of his Memory. This has been drawn by me.)

[smthsmthclouds]

Oauhfuduskfh

Hi, I’m very not used to making posts on tumblr so do forgive me, ’S a bit of a mess but yk B)

This is actually cool, I’m having fun, having my tumblr era 6 years too late wheyo !!!

Thank you for tagging me @ghostradiodylan hehe, you’re really cool :D <3

1. Three Ships: Sadly, I’m not really a shipper. Like, yes of course, live laugh Rylan. My tiny blorbos yk, my lovelies. My memory really doesn’t want to cooperate with me right now but I don’t think I’ve ever in the time of ever been as keen on a ship. God, I just remembered I used to love Raine and Eda from the Owl House, so much. They are so cute still but the hyperfixation has left the dock. Also all love to my fellow platonic-shipping people, cause that’s usually where I go. Right now I’m obsessing the hell out of The Magnus Archives, hehe, and Tim Stoker literally has my heart. Him and (platonically) literally every other character, I will die for. Especially Sasha, love them. God, I’m ranting sorry <3

2. First ship: I remember this, truly horrifying (/j) My first ship was definitely Remus Lupin and Sirius Black from HP, how could I not. Two tragic sad old gays, what’s not to love?? (Except for the author, fuck rowling all the way to hell!!) Either that or the ice princess from Sharkboy and Lavagirl and then Lavagirl, there’s something about that movie that tickles my brain (spoiler alert, it’s the autism)

3. Last Song: I’m the putting-songs-on-loop kinda person and I’ve had the Heathers soundtrack on all day, god, but beside that it’s November by Sparkbird, very good :D

4. Last Film: Okay, so me and my friends recently rewatched the first Frozen but I’ve been trying to find the time to watch Fear Street part one :”)

5. Currently Reading: So, in my litterary class we’re reading ”Mister Pip” by Lloyd Jones, it’s very interesting and insightful, really good but it’s not what I usually go for. I’ve also just bought ”The first one to die” so I’m ready to be devestated B)

6. Currently Watching: It’s a lot with studies right now so I don’t really have the time to get obsessed and binge a new series </3

7. Currently consuming: I’ve made it so far in life before relying on caffeine but I’m sad to say that it has finally taken me, mostly in the form of energy drinks. I’ve not gotten over my distaste for coffee, which I’d argue is good for my bank account B)

8. Currently Craving: A hyperfixation where all my sillies don’t die tragic, gruesome deaths would be nice. But, cherry tomatoes, I think. They’re really good <3

Mm, I don’t really have anyone to tag but yes, hope I’m not too rambly :D <3

[ozyras]

roland as adrion .. i think i might cry. it'd be a really interesting swap considering adrion's forgiving/subservient nature contrasting with roland's harsher, more bitter one. we've seen roland hold grudges before and that was only regarding terrence leaving them to fight on their own against a fakejoker, so itd be definitely different seeing his reaction to sera's whole incident[s].

evil rei oh my god *keels over and dies*. the idea of ice claws is so cool- especially since he's based on some cooler tones [teal hair, bluey grey x-static costume] it works as a good contrast to volcan's fire.

vaughn and keon switching makes a lot of sense too [since theyre both super shady]. i do agree that while having to swap abilities might be unfortunate, it's pretty pertinent to the plot so it makes sense!

im thinking, is it keene and doc who switch? or maybe doc and kayden. since keene isnt super plot relevant? originally i thought leilah, but im pretty sure she swapped with william :]

also! for some reason, the idea of elaine digging up dirt and isen totally at remi's whim is the funniest thing to me because it's so odd yet so already in character for them. i picture elaine to dig up dirt cause she likes making fun of people secretely [with cecile]-- elaine and cecile are unironically such a great duo in this though -v-

heyaaa, so sorry for the late reply spex :( yea i think roland would be a little harsher towards sera and would have a harder time forgiving her compared to adrion but i think they’d at least be on good terms (especially after the u-mart incident) before sera returns to wellston. he’d show his resentment way more when they were in new bostin though, with evie being the one to go easier on sera because she didn’t want to lose her first friend.

EVIL REI YESSS i wanna draw more of him tbh :3 the ice claws are sooo cool thank u mer ( @stingro ) for the idea!

tbh i was thinking of doc and kayden but it can change anytime if a more suitable character appears. if they were to switch, i think kayden would be a newly graduated nurse and darren would be a chemist who’s been working with william in spectre for a long time. kayden has to get involved with spectre some way through william tho, so i think he’d be william’s student/mentee or something? i also thought about going with the original storyline and making them date but kayden and william’s age gap and jane’s role being so ambiguous make things complicated. i’d probably switch kayden and doc’s ages if i were to go with that but i think the first case with kayden being william’s student works kinda better?? i’m a little unsure about this part so i guess i’ll have a more clear idea about them as the story progresses. oh and keene’s swap is probably nadia :) (the lie detector lady)

heheh yes isen and elaine’s swap is so funny to me too. isen just does everything remi asks of him and tries to flirt with her whenever an opportunity arises but remi ignores his attempts completely. i always imagined that she’d ask for sera’s old records from isen because he’s very good at this stuff but wants elaine to question her (idk why i just want that interview scene between them!). but what you said makes so much sense too, considering elaine looks down upon people a lot so she’d probably secretly make fun of people. i think in both ways, that scene would be a good insight on elaine’s character, revealing her prejudiced side. and yea, i love the cecile-elaine duo a lot here, they’re a little less mischievous than blysen (mostly due to elaine’s calmer personality) but they still care about each other sm :>

[fighting-god-69]

Haiii I’m looking for new book series to add to my list and wondered if you can tell me anything about the raven cycle and shatter me series❤️❤️

I'm going to do a promo post for shatter me first then I'll reblog this ask and tell you about the raven cycle. I'll tag you in the reblog about the raven cycle

So shatter me is one of those series where the first book isnt very good but the rest of the series is great. I'd recommend googling a summary of the first book so you know the important events and then starting from the novella in Warner's perspective, then going from there. I recommend reading Warner's novella because hes going to be appearing a lot and it will probably be easier for you to understand him if you see things from his perspective, since there are things that he did in the first book that makes Juliette skeptical of him for a bit that is only explained in the third book. And it's easier to root for him and for him and Juliette together if you get the explanations as soon as possible. So here are some selling points about the series:

Juliette's perspective has a really pretty writing style. I'll include a pretty quote from her POV

"Then I feel his lips against my shoulder, soft and scorching and tender, so gentle I could almost believe it’s the kiss of a breeze and not a boy. Again. This time on my collarbone and it’s like I’m dreaming, reliving the caress of a forgotten memory and it’s like an ache looking to be soothed, it’s a steaming pan thrown in ice water, it’s a flushed cheek pressed to a cool pillow on a hot hot hot night"

Kenji is really funny and also brave, a great friend. And just generally an icon. Also, unlike the stereotype of the comic relief character, he is often the voice of reason on an emotional intelligence level when the other characters refuse to use their fucking brains, as characters sometimes do. I'll include a funny quote from him, as well as a quote where hes the voice of reason

“I am not moody—” “Yeah, bro.” Kenji puts his utensils down. “You are moody. It’s always ‘Shut up, Kenji.’ ‘Go to sleep, Kenji.’ ‘No one wants to see you naked, Kenji.’ When I know for a fact that there are thousands of people who would love to see me naked—”

“No one,” he says, “is joking.” Kenji picks up one of the bricks stacked against the wall. “And the world isn’t going to stop waging war against itself just because you broke up with your boyfriend.”

So Juliette is a bit whiny at first but she started developing away from that around 100 pages into unravel me. And considering the trauma shes been through, the whininess is understandable. But overall, shes one of those characters that kind of has a soft personality but is also pretty badass, even if it doesnt show at first in unravel me. Shes also really loving and she sees the world in a way that's insightful and nice to read about. She also has a lot of belief in other people, which is rare in dystopian protagonists. It's a bit hard to find specific quotes that show this stuff about her. They're kind of more like personality traits that interweave into almost every aspect or her character, rather than things that are always part of her character but especially obvious at certain moments

I know adam is pretty important for the first half of the series but I have no real selling points on him. He starts out whiny, irritating and boring and he kind of stays that way. My only consolation is that in Ignite Me and forward, you start having to put up with him less and less. He does have a really cute relationship with his little brother james tho. I guess that's a selling point

Nazeera, love of my life. Shes really badass and kind of bitchy but in a funny, speaking facts way. Shes a great strategist, really smart and she also has a keen sense of justice and knows how to pull people into shape when they're being dumb. But shes also pretty emotionally intelligent and despite being a bit bitchy, shes pretty good at empathizing with others. She also has amazing fashion sense. I'll include some quotes that show these traits

She smiles at him, but there’s no warmth in it. Only a warning. “Men,” she says, “are always so baffled by women’s clothing. So many opinions about a body that does not belong to them. Cover up, don’t cover up”—she waves a hand—“no one can seem to decide.”

"My mouth drops open a little. It’s the way she says it—like it’s no big deal, like she’s just said something perfectly normal, like anyone could read Tolstoy in five different languages and polish off the books in an afternoon" (this quote is Juliette talking about Nazeera)

We’re all kind of messed up, that’s true, but Warner’s not a bad person. He’s just trying to find a way to survive this insanity, just like the rest of us.”

"So yes, I’m sure you remember a very different person. But I don’t think she became someone she wasn’t. My guess is she finally gathered the strength to remember who she’d always been. And if you don’t get that, I’m glad things didn’t work out between the two of you"

Warner, the other love of my life. So hes pretty morally grey and practical. He seems cold but he actually feels things very deeply. His principles are a bit weirdly defined but they're still pretty strong. Also he's really shady and sort of extra in a weird way and it can be really funny. Hes also really blunt and hes pretty big on routine and things being done properly, which are all reasons one of my friends suspects that hes neurodivergent. It's not a theory I had when first reading the books but I can definitely see it. I'll put down a quote that shows his shadiness:

"For a moment, I’m rendered speechless. I’d never thought of Kent as capable of complex thought"

Now, the first of the dynamic selling points. Kenji and Warner have a really cool friendship, even if Warner refuses to admit to themselves that they're friends. They have pretty different personalities and they compliment each other a lot. Here are two snippet of their dynamic:

“This is my fault,” he says, waving a hand around the room. He doesn’t even look at me.

“I mean, I already know it’s your fault,” I say quickly, “but, like, just to be clear—what are we talking about?” “This,” he says. Finally, he looks at me. “This situation.” I wait. “It’s my fault,” he says, pausing dramatically, “for thinking I could depend on you.” I make an effort not to roll my eyes. (Warner is the one talking in the beginning of the snippet)

“Your thoughts are very loud,” Warner says, still staring out the window.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I say, feigning shock. “I’d turn the volume down, but I’d have to die in order for my brain to stop working.”

“A problem easily rectified,” he mutters. “I heard that.” “I meant for you to hear that.”

Kenji and Nazeera make a great team and really compliment each other as a couple. Also for a good portion of the series they act like absolute idiots around each other and it's really cute and funny. Heres some snippets of them:

"Do you have any idea—” I hear her sharp, angry huff. “Will you at least look at me when I’m talking to you?”

“Can’t.” “What?” She sounds startled. “What do you mean you can’t?”

“Can’t look at you.” She hesitates. “Why not?” “Too pretty.”

(Juliette is the first person talking) “That’s not why I’m mad. I’m mad because you have a million things to do and you’re acting like an idiot in front of a girl who is obviously not interested in you.”

Kenji steps back, looking injured. “Why are you trying to hurt me, J? Where’s your vote of confidence? Where’s the love and support I require at this difficult hour? I need you to be my wingwoman.”

“You do know that I can hear you, right?” Nazeera tilts her head to one side, her arms crossed loosely against her chest. “I’m standing right here.”

And one of my favorite couples of all-time, Juliette and Warner. They go through so much together and always find their way back to each other. Warner helps her to unlock her potential a lot and Juliette makes him into a better person. They kind of a dynamic going on where hes unimpressed with almost everyone but her and shes one of the few people who believes in him. Hes also absolutely whipped. Like super whipped. Here are some snippets of them:

“I love you,” she says. The words do something to me every time I hear them. They change me. Build something new inside of me"

"It’s the kind of kiss that inspires stars to climb into the sky and light up the world. The kind that takes forever and no time at all. His hands are holding my cheeks, and he pulls back just to look me in the eye and his chest is heaving and he says, “I think,” he says, “my heart is going to explode,” and I wish, more than ever, that I knew how to capture moments like these and revisit them forever. Because this. This is everything"

"To the world, she is formidable. To me? She is the world"

[taxi-in-iceland]

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Creating unique routes is the foundation of custom travel. An itinerary that is specifically tailored to your interests and preferences is created, unlike ordinary excursions that adhere to strict timetables and predetermined itineraries. Are you an enthusiastic hiker who can't wait to discover undiscovered trails? Or are you a keen photographer who wants to catch the Northern Lights in all their splendor? Perhaps you have a fascination with Icelandic history and tradition, or perhaps your fantasy is to bathe in a remote hot springs area away from the masses. A personalized schedule guarantees that your trip to Iceland will be more than simply another vacation—rather, it will be a compilation of experiences that are exclusively yours.

Exclusive Experiences: Beyond the Ordinary

In Iceland, custom travel also provides access to unique experiences that are frequently inaccessible to regular visitors. Imagine going on a private glacier trek with a knowledgeable guide who explores the myths and science of these glacial behemoths. Think about going on a customized culinary tour to sample traditional Icelandic cuisine prepared by neighborhood cooks at off-the-beaten-path eateries. These unique experiences, which might include a private whale-watching excursion, a visit to a remote hot spring, or an inside peek at a typical Icelandic farm, give your vacation a deeper, more genuine feel.

Flexibility and Freedom: Travel at Your Own Pace

The freedom that personalized travel provides is one of its biggest benefits. You may make last-minute changes to your schedule when you have a personalized one. Maybe the weather is ideal for a last-minute vacation to the Blue Lagoon, or perhaps you want to spend an additional day visiting the Golden Circle. Custom travel gives you the freedom to choose at your speed and according to your schedule, unlike group trips that follow established itineraries. This adaptability guarantees that your trip to Iceland will seem more like a customized experience than a pre-arranged tour.

Expert Guidance: Local Insights and Hidden Gems

For a personalized vacation experience, collaborating with a travel expert possessing a comprehensive understanding of Iceland is priceless. You won't discover advice from these specialists in internet reviews or guidebooks. They are knowledgeable about hidden jewels that only locals know about, the ideal times to visit well-known sites to avoid the crowds and the subtle cultural differences that can enhance your stay. Their advice may take your trip from ordinary to spectacular, whether it's setting up a visit to a lesser-known but no less beautiful waterfall or suggesting a family-run guesthouse where you can enjoy genuine Icelandic hospitality.

Sustainable Travel: Respecting Iceland’s Natural Beauty

One of Iceland's main attractions is its natural beauty, however, this duty for sustainable travel equally applies. Personalized travel enables more deliberate and eco-friendly decision-making. Travel experts can assist you in booking eco-friendly lodging, planning activities that minimize your effect, and promoting regional companies. You may make sure that your visit has a good impact on Iceland's environment and communities, protecting its beautiful landscapes for future generations, by choosing a customized vacation.

Creating Lasting Memories: The True Value of Custom Travel

Making memories that will last a lifetime is the ultimate aim of every trip. Personalized travel is more than just going to a place; it's about creating memories that last long after you've left. These unique encounters become treasured memories, whether it's the breathtaking view of the Northern Lights dancing across the sky, the exhilaration of riding an Icelandic horse across tough terrain, or the peaceful hours of contemplation beside a remote lake. They are the moments you'll relive in your memory every time you think about Iceland, the tales you'll share for years to come, and the pictures you'll proudly hang on your wall.

Conclusion:

It takes more than simply seeing the sites to make a bespoke vacation to Iceland unforgettable. It's about fully experiencing the nation's distinct beauty and culture in a way that speaks to you on an intimate level. You may make sure that your Taxi Reykjavik airport trip across Iceland is as distinctive and remarkable as the country itself by selecting a customized strategy. Whether it's your first time here or a repeat visit, personalized travel from Puffin Taxi gives you the chance to have an authentically unique experience in Iceland, making memories that will last a lifetime.