#And skipping all around the place
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I am on a holiday with my family, which Is good.
I Is the ird day and we already have visited Seven museums, about three churches and a couple of locali points of interest, which Is also good.
What Is not good, Is the fact that my sister an mother (but primarly my sister) have a trak record of leaving museums only when they have to (aka closing hours or having enough time ti visit another Museum before closong hour) and the current record for longhest time spent in a Museum Is eight hours (without break)(It was the Vatican Museum, so Fair, but still).
We are now visiting an etnical (?not sure that's the right Word but don't have the energy) Museum of cultures around the world. It Is beautyful, Amazing and has tons of things that are simply breathtaking. But...
BUT WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR THE LAST FOUR HOURS,HAVE TO SEE YET ANOTHER QUARTER OF THE PLACE AND CLOSING HOUR IS STILL 1.5 HOURS AWAY.
I think I'm going to go INSANE.
Thank all that is good and holly the last section Is on asian culture (which I find particularly interesting), but my attention Is limited and already strained. There's only so much I can take before I loose It, and that limit Is 4 h MAXIMUM.
Afterwards It Is a Battle between wanting out and wanting to actually see things and both sides are loosing.
Also, we have been walking and standing around visiting museums for the last three days and my feet are killing me!!!! T_T
Even the history entusiasts are dead on their feet, I Just cant!!!
Update, se finally got out, After a Total of 4h 30min. I have seen sunlight again !!! T-T
#posted and tags added three hours later from hotel room#I was honest to God going insane#I love art and history too#But I have my limits#And those limits are over FOUR hours in the same place#Sis and mum were dying too at the end#And they are the more passionate ones#Is It possibile to overdose on art and culture?#Yes It is#Also I no longher want to cut off my legs at the knee#Beds are comfy#I took pictures to cope#Maybe watching them later I Will enjoy them more#rambling#ramblings#When I'm tired I do weird things#Like start singing for no reason#And skipping all around the place#Adrenaline+tyredness(0 self control)+adhd=madness#My sister joined me into the abyss#We were having duets and chases on the way back to the hotel#Berlin Is beautyful#But to finish the Museum Island in less than two days Is NOT normal#Spending 8 hours per day in museums#making good use of the long weekend#25 April Is the liberation's day (italian holiday)#crashing into bed#Peace✌️
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Stormlight AU Number Three Chapter One, Part One
"Captain? May I speak with you? I had one more thing that I was hoping to discuss. At your convenience, sir."
He turned to see Renarin, still lingering at the edge of the now mostly quiet campfire, stack of clean bowls beside him.
Kaladin barely restrained a sigh of annoyance. He had been planning on checking on the other barrack fires, then maybe getting some actual sleep.
"Of course, Brightlord," he said, stuffing down any irritation.
The prince jumped to his feet, looking nervously at the handful of men, some of whom had pulled out a deck of cards and were either genuinely no longer paying attention to the Brightlord among them, or were doing a very good impression of nonchalance.
Seriously? Kaladin thought, curious despite himself. He just begged to join a darkeyed spear crew, practically in public. Called a shashbranded man 'Sir' in front of a dozen witnesses and the open air. I didn't think he even knew what discretion was.
Kaladin tilted his head to the side, and they moved away from the group, well out of earshot, but Renarin still glanced at the other men in fear.
Talat's sword, the kid was tense as a bowstring again, hands shaking even as they clenched his sides, though they still didn't go for that box of his. A few twisting black spren trailed him. If Kaladin had thought he had been anxious before, then this was a whole other level.
"What do you think it is?" Syl asked, passing overhead, ruffling black and yellow hair. Renarin twitched at the breeze.
"I know some of the other bridgemen were whispering mean stuff about him," she said, examining the prince, "But I don't think he heard, and you said soldiers don't come to their commanding officers about that sort of thing, right? And he looks too scared for that, anyway. Unless they were really being cruel."
With another narrowly repressed sigh, Kaladin led them further away, to an alley between a storage building and an unused barrack, out of both sight and sound.
Something more about his Epilepsy, maybe?
Renarin pulled a sapphire mark out as they left the glow of firelight behind, blue light making the visible tremble of his fingers more obvious. The prince went even further, to the dead center of the alleyway. Even if someone skulking around the corner abandoned all pretenses and pressed an ear to the wall, they would be hard pressed to hear a quiet conversation.
And still, Renarin looked nervously to both of the alley's exits.
Kaladin's heart started to pick up in sympathetic dread. "Soldier?" he finally asked. "You wanted to speak with me?"
The youth flinched, before bowing his head and leaning forward.
"I need your help," he said, staring at the ground.
Kaladin furrowed his brow. "With...?"
"I need your help with—" he cut himself off, seeming to choke on the words. He let out a frustrated sounding grunt.
"We..." The prince opened his mouth, then closed it. His hands also opened and closed at his sides. "You..."
"How— his jaw snapped shut again and even in the low light, Kaladin could see him swallowing several times, before taking a deep breath and setting his jaw.
"You... survived a highstorm. You... healed from that."
Kaladin started at the unexpected line of conversation. Syl crossed her arms in the air, staring Renarin down.
"Yes," he said cautiously. "Not a pleasant experience."
"And you fought off the Parshendi army. When you charged the tower. By yourself."
"My whole bridge fought," Kaladin retorted, slightly offended on their behalf.
Renarin shook his head. "Yes, but you cleared the landing for them. You went ahead. And you won."
Kaladin's heart picked up a bit more.
"Briefly," he said with forced calm. "My men—"
"And you saved my father. From the Parshendi Shardbarer. By yourself... Adolin is still resentful of that, I think."
This time Kaladin said nothing. He hadn't done anything wrong, he reminded himself. Nothing to give away his advantages. His achievements had been unusual, yes. But that was common knowledge. Nothing to panic about when confronted, even by a prince with an unnerving tendency to watch people.
"I wondered... I suspected. But then I saw..."
Renarin looked up, but not at Kaladin. He stared into space, eyes unfocused, then shook his head.
"I saw you breathing in Stormlight," he whispered.
"Oh!" Syl said. "Oh!" She looked at Kaladin, but he wasn't listening to her right now.
A chill ran down Kaladin's spine, and it took everything he had not to move back in the narrow space.
"Breathing in stormlight?" he repeated after a moment, trying to sound confused. Trying, at least, not to sound afraid.
Brightlord Renarin's eyes snapped to his and now he found it very easy to hold himself in place. He didn't think he could move, chill down his back having hardened to ice.
"I saw you. And then I saw it — and I saw it again. A faint glow...you're a surgebinder. I know it. I saw it." The Brightlord's stare, somehow, grew even more intense.
Oh. It's over. It's all over.
"Kaladin! Kaladin!" Syl floated before his face, between Renarin and himself. "It's going to be okay! We like Renarin, remember? Try and calm down — just, just listen to him, alright? I have a good feeling about this."
"I..." Kaladin cleared the sudden dryness from his throat, clenching his hands into fists to try and control his abrupt, almost painful shivers. When had the night grown so storming cold? Why was the cold making it hard to breathe? "Who else knows?"
"No one!" the prince assured him quickly. "I wouldn't — I know it's a secret."
That softened a fraction of the crushing tightness in his chest. But only a small amount.
"What do you want?" Kaladin managed to get out. "What do you want from me?"
"I need help," Brightlord Renarin said, hands coming together in front of him, thumbs shifting end over end. "Please... I. Please. You have a spren. The assassin didn't, but you do. She looks like a windspren, but she's something else, right? Something more."
The weight, impossibly, redoubled on his chest. He sucked down a breath, then struggled to take in another.
I knew it. I knew it.
"Kaladin! Kaladin can you hear me?" Syl said, from very far away.
I knew they'd try and take her from me.
He saw the Brightlord 's terrible blue eyes as if from the end of a tunnel, looming above him. At some point he had stumbled back, the soulcast stone wall frigid behind him.
He couldn't fight. If he killed a third dahn, even if he could bring himself to kill Dalinar's son, he'd never know peace again. Bridge four would never know peace. He couldn't attack the prince, who was under Kaladin's protection, possibly twice.
He couldn't run. His men were here. He wouldn't be able to get to them all, not before they came after him.
He couldn't fight. He couldn't run.
He couldn't — he couldn't — he looked desperately for Syl.
She hovered over him, tears in her eyes, mouth moving silently.
He couldn't protect her.
The tunnel closed in around him.
...
"...says this weird shade of orange is the next big color—"
Kaladin blinked in bewilderment. He turned to see Prince Renarin next to him, talking nonsense.
"—but honestly the fabric swatches give me a headache..."
He glanced towards Syl, searching for an explanation, but she seemed enthralled, laying on her front in the air, heels kicked up behind her.
"I hope he moves on as fast from this as he did yellow. He still can't make up his mind about Takamas, though he pretends that..."
There was about two week's worth of pay between them. Two weeks worth of pay for him now, as head of the cobalt guard. A small fortune. Pocket change to a prince.
"Why," Kaladin said, too confused to be anything but blunt, "are you sitting on the ground next to me, talking about fashion?"
The prince startled, scrambling halfway up before kneeling back down, level with Kaladin.
They were on the ground. Why were they on the ground...in an alley?
"I'm sorry!" the youth said. "It's what Adolin does when I... when the world is too much and I leave my head. I wasn't sure what else to do."
Kaladin felt slightly dizzy. He shivered, wrapping his arms around himself involuntarily. Hazy dread started creeping back towards him, like fronds after a storm.
"I'm sorry," Renarin whispered again. "I've done this all wrong. I should have started by showing you, but I was too scared. I'll show you now."
He fumbled with the sphere, in his hand, bringing it close to his face. Then he took a deep breath.
And the light from the sphere went alongside.
Kaladin gaped as the prince glowed in the dark alley.
"I'm a surgebinder too," he said, light escaping quickly as he spoke. "I'm not trying to take your spren, I swear. I'm came to ask your help with mine, and for your help controlling my abilities." He glanced down, and it occurred to Kaladin he might be looking at something, someone, Kaladin couldn't see.
"Glys says that he thinks there's something wrong with him, that my powers are manifesting differently then he thinks he was expecting. I've told him that it's probably me, that I tend to mess things up, but he seemed sure that something happened to him, even if he can't quite remember...and I realized that you..."
He turned watery blue eyes towards Kaladin. "I'm sorry to bother you. There's not a lot of people I can ask for help with this. Please...if you can help him. Help us."
"Oh," Kaladin said, feeling strange. "You're like me."
Renarin blushed, staring at his lap, face illuminated by the last wisps of light escaping his skin. "I'm really not. I'm not a warrior, I can't even wield a Shardblade without..."
Syl hissed beside him.
"I don't like Shardblades," Kaladin said innanely. "I mean, I thought it was because of the death I had seen them deal, but Syl hates them worse than anything."
"I... hear something when I hold mine. Screaming. It hurts. It hurts Glys too, I'm pretty sure, though he won't admit it. I thought it was hallucinations at first, but..."
"I don't — Hm. Actually, I couldn't actually bring myself to touch one, when I had a chance," Kaladin said quietly. "If you want, I suppose, you could summon yours, and I could try to touch it, and if I hear something too, then..."
He regretted the offer almost as soon as he made it but...there was someone like him. A lighteyes, but still.
Renarin sat back, closing his eyes. He reached his hand out to the side, turning away as if braced for blow. He winced when the blade finally dropped into his hands, gritting his teeth.
"It's terrible," Syl whispered. "It's...it makes me angry, so angry, but also...sad?"
Kaladin forced himself to reach forward, not wanting to prolong Renarin's obvious pain. He felt the same as he did every time he saw one of the things, no matter from how far away — that same sense of wrongness, of concentrated injustice. He carefully touched the flat of the blade, and...
Screaming.
He could hear screaming. Inside his head. Syl! She was dying!
It reverberated through Kaladin. His muscles spasmed as that horrible, awful screech shook through him. He pulled back, gasping, looking frantically for Syl. She was crying, and he reached for her with trembling hands, even though he knew they wouldn't be able to touch. She stumbled towards him.
Renarin dismissed the blade, slumping in relief. "So you hear it too."
"Storms! What was that? How did you stand bonding with it?" He cradled Syl in both hands, almost able to feel her, soft as a breeze on his palms.
"It...was a really bad week."
Kaladin barked out a laugh, then pulled himself together.
"Well, either we're both crazy, or...it's a Radiant thing. Something to do with the Recreance, I'd guess."
The corners of Renarin's lips twitched up slightly as he nodded. "That's...I'm truly sorry, I know that was terrible, but it's such a relief —"
"No, I get it —" The cold, the earlier misplaced terror was ebbing in away. Even that horrible scream. In its place, was a feeling that he could best describe as relief. "It's — it feels good to not be alone."
Renarin hummed softly, nodding vigorously in agreement, then tucked his chin to his chest.
If he had to pick a lighteyes to become a surgebinder... well, Renarin was probably the best choice, the least likely to misuse his power of anyone of his class that Kaladin had met. Bizarrely humble, despite his proximity to the throne. It could be a lie of, course, but he didn't seem to have the...entitlement that led other lighteyes into casually committing horrors.
Kaladin studied the prince. At some point he had pulled out that box of his, and was turning it end over end in shifting patterns. Renarin looked up, met Kaladin's eyes, then quickly looked back down, blushing.
Storms, had he really been scared off this man?
Dalinar, an honorable lighteyes if one existed, could be frightening, exuding the sense that he expected the world to move to suit his needs. Zahel may have had a point about Renarin's character, not to mention his willingness to come here the way he did, rather than demand answers on his own turf...
And a radiant Spren chose him, too. Surely, that had to be a good sign, if nothing else? Then again, Syl chose me, so who knows.
"I also forgot a lot," Syl said, and Renarin turned to look at her, eyes wide.
"Oh! You're —"
"Slyphrena," she said, smiling, standing proud on Kaladin's hand. "Honorspren, though I didn't remember that part until kind of recently. I just thought I was a weird windspren, that is when I could string two thoughts together!"
She turned into mist, sneaking up Renarin's arm like clouds over a mountain range.
"Where's your spren? What type are they anyway? They're not a cryptic, are they? Come on, it's been ages since I had someone intelligent to talk to who wasn't a windspren."
Kaladin rolled his eyes.
"Glys?" Renarin asked softly. There was a long pause. "He — uh. He's too nervous to come out right now."
The syl cloud paused at Renarin's shoulder, then shifted back into her female form.
"Huh!" she said. "So he's like you!"
Renarin let out a bemused huff of air. "Yes, yes he is. I thought that might also be a radiant thing, since we're bonded, but..." He looked out of the side of his eyes at Syl who was sitting on nothing, swinging her legs, then back at Kaladin, who quickly tried to school his resting features into something not a scowl.
"This... this is exactly the type of thing I wanted to talk to you about," Renarin said. "There's books on Radiants, but I don't think I could have them all read to me without word spreading. I've been mixing them in with other random subjects, but I don't know what would happen if this got out. The ardents already mutter about my cousin and my father committing heresy, and I'm not nearly as, uh, established as them."
Kaladin nodded, eagerness surprising himself. But damn it, Renarin had asked for his help, and it would be good to talk with someone who knew how Stormlight felt in their veins, maybe spar, if he could get Renarin a different weapon.
Renarin might not be as stocky as his brother and father, but he must exercise, as he clearly had some amount of lithe muscle, now that Kaladin looked closer. He wasn't as young as Kaladin had first thought, and his height would give him reach. How much of his perceived frailness was just because of his family's shadow? How much of his martial ability had been held back by his Epilepsy, now no longer a problem? How much had that sword held him back, once he had the chance to actually fight?
"I train with stormlight sometimes, in the chasms," Kaladin said. "When I can get away. Sigzil, Rock, and Lopen help. If you can convince your father to actually serve on a spear crew, then next time I'll have you join us — the other men might mutter about you getting special training, but well..."
"I'll live. Though I was being honest when I said I wanted to be a soldier, or something close to one."
"I believe you. We'll figure something out — it's not as though my duties allow me to get away often. Most of the time you'll be cleaning boots and drilling spear forms, don't worry."
Renarin nodded, hands turning the box over. "So... those three, they know about you? Who else?"
"All of bridge four," Kaladin admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Or the ones who were there when I charged the tower, anyway...there wasn't really away to keep it secret after that. I was terrified that someone in your army would see. Plus Shen, he was there when I talked more about more powers around the first stew in this camp. Not any of Lopen's cousin's, I don't think. Or the injured recruits. Just the original bridge four, and... now you."
"Oh..."
They sat in silence, Renarin twisting his box around. Kaladin grew briefly distracted following the lines.
"I'm sorry," the prince finally said. "I know you wouldn't have wanted any lighteyes to know. It's one of the reasons I didn't say anything to you when I just had suspicions. I'm truly sorry to have alarmed you like that, I wasn't expecting..." Renarin continued twisting pieces about in an oddly soothing way. "But if I thought someone was coming after Glys... Brightlords have taken a lot from you, haven't they?"
Kaladin grimaced but didn't say anything. He forced himself to look away from the box, he didn't want Renarin to think he was staring. The prince was very perceptive, sometimes.
They sat in silence for a longer time.
"Should I tell bridge four about me?" Renerin asked eventually.
"It's up to you. They're good men, but I understand if its a bit soon for you."
Another long silence. The men were probably wondering what had happened to them, the ones who hadn't gone out for drinks, anyway.
"I don't think I want to, not yet. My abilities... they frighten me." The prince's fingers tightened around the metal cube, knuckles growing white.
"What... what are your abilities? I know there were different orders, which could do different things..."
"Truthwatcher," Renarin whispered. "Or so Glys tells me."
"Windrunner."
A small red light pulsed beneath Renarin's shirt, quickly winking out, and the prince wrinkled his brow. "Huh. Glys is surprised by that for some reason."
"I'm the only Honorspren," Syl said quietly. "The only one who would come. The rest — I can't remember, but they're not here. There were...others. Other types of spren who came through, but not ones like me." She ran her fingers through her hair in an oddly human gesture of frustration.
Renarin forced his shoulders back, tension returning. Kaladin waited while he arranged his thoughts, in the mean time letting himself enjoy watching the shapes that Renarin unconsciously formed and dissolved out of the box's rows.
"I'm not completely sure what I can do. I can grow things. There were some seeds in one of my meals and — they grew, as if a weeping passed in a minute. Some rockbuds outside my window did too. Glys thinks I might be able to do that for people, but I haven't really had the chance to try."
Kaladin's jaw dropped and he couldn't help but reach for the prince, stopping himself just before he grabbed the man's shoulder's. "That's incredible! With stormlight — you could prevent famines with that! And people — you mean you think you could heal?"
Renarin nodded, a few shockspren breaking around him.
"That's incredible," he said, giving into the urge to shake the man's shoulders. "Renarin, that's amazing!"
The prince blinked rapidly, cheeks and ears darkening. "Really? I mean can't Windrunners — you can fly can't you?"
"I haven't... figured out flying. I assumed it was impossible, before I saw the Assassin. But I did figure out wall walking, just earlier today, and I think I can see how that would turn into — it wouldn't really be flying, just sort of...falling sideways. I think I could do it, with practice."
"Wow."
Kaladin shook his head. "People don't appreciate healing as much as they should. My father trained me as a surgeon —"
A wave of melancholy hit him, as it often did when he thought of home.
"That makes a lot more sense then field medicine training that would cover epilepsy."
Kaladin smiled. "Anyway. If you could heal like the Radiants from myths could...I can't express how incredible that would be. The growing crops by itself is..."
Renarin smiled shyly, looking pleased, and Kaladin pressed one last time on both shoulders before drawing back.
"That's not... the only thing I do." The prince looked down. "The other thing I do — well. It feels more like it happens to me, actually. I've been pretending it's my epileptic fits but those actually stopped around when I bonded with Glys."
"I stick rocks together," Kaladin offered. Renarin cocked his head, peeking up through his lashes, and Kaladin sighed. He breathed in a small amount of light, picking up a pebble, then pressed it to the wall.
"Oh!" Renarin said, scrambling to look. "Wow!" He reached for it, but the pebble fell almost immediately.
"Eh. I've tried using it sparring, and honestly its easier just to fight normally."
"But maybe with practice..."
"Maybe. I've gotten some use out of it, but it's not quite as exciting as walking on walls, or as useful as growing crops."
Renarin scrubbed a hand across his face. "My other thing. It's not boring... it's bad. It's. Pretty bad." He breathed out slowly, closing his eyes, and drawing his knees up to his chest.
"Do you ever... get highstorm visions? Like my father?" the prince asked, not opening his eyes.
"A few times," Kaladin said, just as quietly. "You?"
Renarin nodded, than shook his head. "Mine are...different," he said grimly. "And they don't always happen during storms." His hands picked at the cuffs of his pants, then worked to follow the seams of his shining leather boots.
Kaladin waited, but it didn't seem like the prince was going to keep going without Kaladin giving something.
"Mine aren't like your father's either. I understand those are of the past, mine...it's like I was the high storm, I could see the continent moving beneath me. The last was when the assassin came. I...the Stormfather, I think it was him, said 'he was coming.'
Renarin jerked to face him, his eyes opening wide, alight with...hope? "You mean you saw the future?"
Kaladin recoiled on instinct, and he could see the spark die in Renarin's eyes.
Oh. Oh.
"You could call it that," Kaladin said carefully. "Though I feel the Assassin was already, uh, fairly present. More like a warning from an ally, although I don't think the stormfather actually likes me."
He didn't want to talk about the Stormfather's accusations about killing Syl. He hadn't even talked to Syl about that.
"He said he was sorry about 'him' coming," Kaladin explained. "And I didn't see the assassin but – Um. Do you..."
Renarin nodded, shoulders slumping and head curling down. It was hard to see, shadowed as he was, but his eyes looked open now, watery and looking into nothingness.
"The images don't always make sense in the moment. At first I thought it was just...madness. The things I see...it would be better if it was just madness. But they always come true. Always."
An agony spren appeared from the ground, reaching for the hem of the prince's pants. Another followed close behind.
Kaladin sat thinking, not wanting to reply hastily and make things worse again.
"Can you guess what my men said, after they found out what I could do?" Kaladin asked slowly.
Renerin shook his head, but the agonyspren at least faded.
"I was terrified that they would think it was alarming. Unnatural. I thought I was cursed for a while...and Skar said, "If it helps you survive, it’s good. That’s all that needs to be said about it." And...that was that."
Renarin clutched his knees closer, starting to rock slightly. "I don't know if my powers can do that," he whispered. "It feels like the visions can't be changed. I don't know how to change them, I barely understand what half of them mean, not until it's too late."
"Maybe...that's part of why there are so many warnings about being wary of telling the future?" Kaladin said. "It would be easy to think they're guarantees, and set yourself up for failure, but if they're more like highstorm predictions..."
"You think?"
Kaladin shrugged helplessly. "I honestly don't know. But I realized that this — what I can do, what we can do — it's not evil, and its not a curse. So... maybe the legends of telling the future are like the stories of the radiants turning against mankind. Too much time has passed, and everything we know now is confused."
"Hm. I don't know," Syl said doubtfully. "I still feel like predicting the future is weird and dangerous."
"Syl!" Kaladin hissed, while Renarin curled in tighter, rocking staying the same speed.
"But," she said, putting her hands on her hips and rolling her eyes, "I like you Renarin, and I'm a tiny piece of God with impeccable taste, so you can't be evil."
Kaladin slapped a hand to his face, but Renarin seemed to unfold at that, blinking rapidly.
"Really? Glys says as far a spren go, you're the ones that are pure Honor."
"Obviously," she said, sounding for all the world like a stuck up lighteyes.
"And you — you like me? You... think I have honor?"
She squinted at him, and he straightened like a soldier awaiting inspection.
"Yep!" She said finally. "You're not as good as my human obviously —"
"Syl," Kaladin hissed again, flushing, but Renarin just nodded.
"—But I like you, so you must be honorable. And my Kaladin can be weird and dangerous, too, so it's probably fine."
"That's—" Kaladin started to protest, but saw how inexplicably cheered Renarin looked and decided to let it go.
"We should probably get back to the others," Kaladin said finally. A wave of exhaustion hit him, and he stumbled to his feet. Storms, he felt like he had just run a marathon. He brushed off flakes of dried crem from the back of his uniform.
Renarin clambered up after him, and he looked...lighter. His hands twisted over the box, but they weren't shaking. He smiled widely at Kaladin, teeth showing, genuine relief and joy and hope crinkling the corners of his eyes. Kaladin couldn't help but pause and smile back.
"You — you won't tell anyone? About me?" Kaladin blurted out, before they fully left the alley. He just — he had to be sure.
Renarin nodded furiously.
"And I won't tell bridge four about you," Kaladin promised in return. "Not until you ready, but... they might guess, if we keep meeting."
"I understand," Renarin said, expression earnest. "And...I really want to talk more. This...just this meant a lot."
"And maybe..." Renarin looked at Syl, then his voice dropped to a hopeful whisper. "If Glys is willing to talk to Syl, they could try and work on the gaps in their memory together, about where they came from."
Kaladin nodded slowly. Storms, I didn't even think... if it could help Syl... maybe I can move the schedule around so I guard Renarin in the evenings, so we can have more time for them to figure it out.
"Thank you," Kaladin said, reaching out a hand and grasping Renarin's shoulder. "I know it wasn't easy coming to me like this."
Renarin ducked his head, tips of his ears red. "Thank you for hearing me out. Sorry I... startled you."
Kaladin rubbed the bridge of his nose. Startled. That was one word for it. A few shamespren fell. Almighty, what would have happened if he had frozen up like that in a fight? He shook away the thought, he couldn't remember ever losing himself like that, it was likely a bizarre and unpleasant fluke.
Though some of his memories of being the wretch were a haze... Regardless, it was probably why he felt so tired now. That and perhaps the lack of sleep.
They left the alley to find Torfin waiting around the corner; Renarin and Kaladin both froze on seeing him.
He saluted, looking guilty. "Sir! Apologies for eavesdropping, Drehy and I were assigned to guard Prince Renarin tonight, and when you and he didn't return, we grew concerned. I moved away as soon as I could tell that...uh. A guard was not needed."
Kaladin crossed his arms, scowling, and Torfin fidgeted, not meeting his eyes.
"...What did you hear?"
"Very little Captain, I swear! The prince wanted to talk more, then mumbles, then you thanked him, then I left, I promise!"
Kaladin relaxed. "I believe you Torfin, and I'm not upset, you were doing your job."
"Of course, sir!"
"I can—" a wave of exhaustionspren fluttered up around him and he staggered; Renarin reached out to steady him.
"You've been working two, possibly three shifts in a row?" Renarin murmured. "Torfin and Drehy can escort me back. We can, uh —" He glanced nervously at Torfin, still standing at attention. "We can talk more another time."
Kaladin nodded, and Renarin let him go.
Getting to his bed was a blur; he was fairly sure he at least mumbled goodnight to the men still by the fire, but couldn't be certain.
"There's someone like me," he whispered to Syl, pulling his boots (not as nice as his old ones) off, barely mustering up the energy to trade his uniform for more comfortable sleep trousers. Storms, it felt good to change clothes at the end of the day. The little things bridgecrew makes you appreciate.
"And there's someone like me!" Syl said, twirling happily. He smiled at her, then was out before his head hit the pillow.
#stormlight archive#stormlight fanfic#kaladin stormblessed#renarin kholin#kalarin#stormlight au no 3#my au#BE WARNED:#i know this says part 1 chapter 1 and while i made an outline to organize thoughts the parts i have written are all over the place#there is a very good chance i will just skip over chapters that do not reach a certain vibe threshold#expect future scenes in random order if you must expect anything at all#this au really went around the bend considering tis a silly silly premise
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Just realised for the first time, when Lockwood comes up to give Lucy the necklace before Fittes at 50 and he keeps going “there’s nothing else, you’re all ok?” he’s FISHING for her to tell him about Kipps 🤦🏻♀️
#I just totally missed this before#in fairness this is only my third watch through#it’s not even a watch through I’ve been skipping around all over the place#lockwood and co#bobby originals#Lockwood and co spoilers#bobby’s hot takes#show analysis
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love this part of my life where the things that are difficult but challenging and good for me are things i can stop and skip and halfass, but the things that are difficult and painful and pointless are the things i have to live with no matter what
#school and home life are too much to handle so i skip school#because i cant kick my parents out#and appartments cost money#and i dont have a car to sleep in#i could maybe try to dig up my old childhood tent but that brings a whole host of logistic questions + im scared and it's difficult#anyway. it's fine. it's cool. i just have to hold on until i graduate high shcool and then ?????#find a way to live without my parents money OR scholarships#all for some nebulous end goal of having a job (the only field i'm interested in and good at offers two options:#to become an academic#or to become a freelancer#i do not have the fortitude to be an academic and being a freelancer is convoluted and pays like shit)#i might've spent 24h without my parents occasionally if i spent the night at a friend's place once or twice recently#but besides that the last time i've gone 48h without my parents was when the mental health center organised a week camp uhhhh...#two summers ago#incredibly good for my mental health as you can see#god i remember like... years ago. around 13yo maybe or 14. a guy. i dont know if he was a mental health professional or like social cases#but anyway he told me ''you're too afraid to be away from mommy and daddy'' and it made me want to rip his eyes out#several other people have implied or suggested that too over the years and it's just#am i too dependant on my parents? yes. will it be difficult to take my independance? yes.#does it means i don't both rationally recognize and feel that this is really fucking unhealthy and hindering for me#on top of being unpleasant?#FUCK NO#i want out my guy. there's just not many opportunities for an already mentally ill teenager#now that i'm eighteen i have to grapple with the logistical problems of the money needed and how to continue my education#and im sure a billion more if i start searching a little more seriously#perhaps i should kill myself that way i don't cost anyone any more money#broadcasting my misery#vent
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the chapter songs in Alan Wake 2,, flawless
#they deserve more love and discussion#saying this while also not knowing what to say other than they’re so fucking good#alan wake 2#i think it’s partially because poets of the fall’s tracks are iconic so of course they’re in the spotlight (as deserved)#but also the CHAPTER SONGS. them being made for a given chatacter(s) with the help of Sam lakes poetry#the changes with ‘this road’ by Poe with every Alan chapter. becoming more distorted and revealing lyrics and the spiral#the scratch song being 1) hilarious and 2) similar to Zane’s poetry in the aw1 arg#the emotion in superhero when saga feels lost at the story making it so Logan was gone#the lines of her feeling like a ghost in this story forming around her.. how she feels guilty and absent for both what the story’s doing#and being away from Logan because of her job. ashdhhhhjhh my heart#AND. follow you into the dark HAS to be alice. which kills me because at for at I thought of Alan#but no. Alice jumped in the dark place after him. it’s so !!!!!!!!!!!#the rabbit hole line. Alice spiraling deeper and deeper into a dream—into wonderland#the Lost at Sea one is also good. intrigues me. the Bowie and Lynch references are blatantly aw2 Zane#but it’s so similar to diver Zane and the ‘originals’ death. being lost in the dark place with illusions of escape#and losing any sense of identity. whether he’s real at all or the monster of this sea or just a lost soul.#the soft and calm vocals / instrumental really makes the whole thing#NEED to stop typing more tags because this is a Lot. however.#‘no one left to love’ is also a phenomenal song and one of my favorites from the album. GORGEOUS vocals and how it all flows together.#such a powerful and beautiful way to end a chapter#anyway that’s all I had to say :)#god. I’ve started to watch a few playthroughs of the game and 90% of people have skipped the chapter songs and every time im#that’s fair but my brain and soul might implode if I don’t see anyone else talking about how good these songs are
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MAN your art, but especially the latest pieces of Walking Fire Friend and Sparkle Dog really have the vibes of like, sanrio?? I want stickers and half a dozen accessories with them plastered all over so bad
!!! thank u for the kind words!! im playing around with the halftone effect, i like how it makes it look like a newspaper comic ^_^
#i also wanna design stickers so sososo bad.. id love to make some skip to loafer stickers with the main four <3#i dont reallyknow much abt the process itself though.. and i dont have a paypal or any way to send or receive money in the first place orz#im sure ill do it once i figure it out but i appreciate the sentiment!!!#its been my dream to make my own custom motivational stickers with little dogs.. like the ones i used to get in grade school lol#im not sure if ill keep going in this direction with my art bc its all experimental but its been really fun playing around with it#its bothered me for the longest time that im just ass at rendering or putting detail in my art. but at the end of the day i just dont#care enough to go thru with it and i prefer to keep things simple anyway so that reflects my own tastes ig...#this is probably the closest ill get to a soft render that i like to see so if i could do more for that ill definitely try...!!!!#yapping#ask#answered#doodles#sona#puppysona
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I have a big google doc thing where I keep track of media and stuff (putting everything in loosely ranked categories), which is mostly just for my own reference so I know what tv shows I've already seen before, etc. and I never really look back through it, typically just a quick "okay, watched two movie in the past 8 months, need to quickly slap them somewhere in the lists. okay. done. save document. exit". But today I was actually reading through some of the old notes and there are like... MULTIPLE places where my comment is basically "It would have been good if it were about elves" or "I wish there was a fantasy show made in this same style" or "It's well made, but I just keep thinking about how I would like it more if everyone was an elf or was in old 1700s costumes" or etc like...... lol.... Most biased media ranking system on earth blatantly made by someone with an extremely hyperspecific range of narrow interests. It'd be like if a food reviewer only had 5 foods they actually liked, so they'd just go to a pizza place and be like "eh, the pizza was okay, but I just think it would be better if it was cereal instead. :/ ...2 out of 10"
#Which.. I mean... I am allowed to be biased because literally it's just for my own personal reference (or occasionall#y to send to friends or something if we're discussing the topic) so like.. nowhere am I saying 'I am the god of perfect taste and these#rankings are objectively the absolute truth and everyone should have my same opinion' or anything#BUT still.. it's funny to me sometimes#'Succession would be 100x better if it had the same cast/character quirks and shaky camera style and#acting choices/weird dialogue and general concept etc. EXCEPT it takes place within an elven noble family or something#managing the family business and everyone is in fantasy costumes now'' like.....okay...... but it's NOT that way..soo... thats not the show#''I like the acting style/general tone of Fleabag but i don't care for any of the characters or any of the subject matter and I wish it was#set in the 1800s and had vampires and was about magic instead'' okay..... again... you are making up an entirely new show in that case lol#OR my other beloved typical complaint ''The concept is good but theres too much plot and action and not enough people just sitting#around doing nothing and exposition dumping world and character lore'' ''this needs more goofy sideplots and filler episodes''#''this Drama was too dramatic I think it should be more lighthearted & people need to sit around doing nothing just being weird more often'#''the Action Movie was ok except for the action scenes - which I skipped through all of- but I liked the costumes and worldbuilding'' etc.#ERM sorry your plot has too much plot. also elves have to be included somehow. bye#BUT SERIOUSLY!!!!!! I literally genuinely believe that any show I like (or even dislike) could ALWAYS be improved greatly by#putting people in fantasy or historical costume/setting/etc... why the FUNK would I want to see bland jeans and cars and cell phones#when I could see elaborate velvet cloaks and fantastical landscapes and interior design and innovative takes on historical or#magical technology or etc. etc. etc. I LIVE in the modern day. I see it all the time!!! BORING! stinky!! boo!!!#ANYWAY... another social divide for me.. People love to bond by discussing media. which is hard when I'm like#'I literally will not watch something at all unless it fits into one of these 10 extremely specific categories which are all i care about i#the entire world''.. I say this and yet I still dislike most fantasy or historical things I've watched lol. ok TWO main criteria then!!#it must 1. be in a different world or time period. 2. be goofy silly. Nothing ever has BOTH. It's always overly serious boring drama action#fantasy/history stuff OR it's comedic lighthearted but with modern day characters... WHY.. anguish and woe and so on..#ANYWAY jhjnk... at least I can make that divide. Some people seem to project their own personal preferences and get really emotionally#defensive if you say you didn't like something - as if the fact that they DO like it is some Objective Truth or something rather than just#opinion/preference based. I can still easily say ''this is well made/well written/acted/good in a technical sense/has a lot of#points of appeal that most people would be drawn to/etc'' and admit that it's a GOOD show probably. I just PERSONALLY think its#bad because my tastes are very narrow. Some things ARE actually made badly but. things are not bad INHERENTLY just bc they dont suit ME lol#Better to recognize/accept whats odd about you and be peacefully aware of it than just being mad at everyone all the time for not fully#agreeing with you even when you're the one with the Weird opinion in that case lol.. I am right though :3 but.. lol... still. i get it
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2024 reads / storygraph
Walking In Two Worlds & The Everlasting Road
YA sff set in the near future where an opensource augmented reality is commonly used like social media, and there’s also a completely virtual fantasy game version
follows an Anishinaabe girl who who’s the top player in the VR game, and is constantly fighting to keep her place against the misogynist neo-nazi group in second place
as well as her real life, dealing with being a shy and self-conscious teen growing up on the Rez, and her brother having cancer
and a Uyghur boy who’s moved to her community from China after finding acceptance in an online community (even when he doesn’t agree with their more extreme views) - but when he gets to know Bugz, he has to decide who truly deserves his loyalty
great mix of sff and culture, the future while also very real community traumas of the past (and present)
#walking in two worlds#the everlasting road#wab kinew#aroaessidhe 2024 reads#This has some REALLY interesting and important concepts!#I just think it could have used some more development… Obvs this is YA and I’m an adult I know I’m not quite the audience!#There’s a lot of depth in the setup of the characters but I feel like it skips a lot of the progression#I think there could have been space for more development in a lot of places to make the story feel more dimensional#- but also has so many plot threads that maybe that would have bulked it out too much#It does also jump around quite a bit between the different parts but I think that makes sense with how juggling with irl / online life.#she’s got a lot of internalised fatphobia at the start (and the love interest going “I don’t think you’re fat!!” when people call her fat..#then in book 2 suddenly she’s okay about it - again I wish there was some progression!#her brothers cancer journey is. basically all offscreen lol mostly as set up for plot in book 2. so it doesn't have the emotional impact it#could have..#I liked the way it integrates her culture into the game in a really cool way (though I would have liked more detail there)#also having auto language translators but they regularly don't translate quite right / still run into issues - realistic!#the parallels drawn between his being taken from his family and put in a state education school and Indigenous residential schools#the way that a future world will never be as separate from the past as ur average sff future often portrays#but yeah anyway lots of good ideas execution not so much for me..
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Everyone’s mad because His Man 3 popped the BL bubble
#his man 3#but actually#the show skipped out on its gay experiences jenga this season#and it felt as if everything had become so insular within the His Man reality show universe#and suddenly this last episode throws the pairings into the real world#and shows gay experiences#and some of that is heartbreaking#and some of it is sweet and empowering#and some choose not to show us their experiences at all#and all of those things are part of being gay outside of a bubble#where people have jobs#and time together is harder to come by#and you become aware of what kind of pda and communication ur comfortable with#honestly very moved by hanmin and yj being willing to film and share that moment#but it’s really compelling beside the shots of ms and mk walking around in crowds holding hands#because it reminds u of what an isolated environment the show takes place in#and what kind of pressures occur that make it hard to achieve the BL fantasy relationships#hanmin stated his intentions and reasoning so clearly#and it absolutely gutted yj but it also frees him#to find someone who’s a better match for the reality of his everyday life#which is clearly busier than most based on both hanmin and mk’s statements#idk it didn’t feel forced to me except for the filming aspect of it honestly#but 🤷🏻♀️#hanmin#youngjoon
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Boothill's presentation being entirely on the twitter post makes me think he will be irrelevant in the story in the long(ish) run, and that the game itself won't dwell on him almost at all
#Kinda like Argenti but Argenti seemed to be part of a larger lore and worldbuilding#Boothill doesn't even give me that vibe#Cool design though. I do love revenge stories and western films so...#*sighs* I guess I may consider him if he's fun to play with and the story is interesting. I hope he takes Aventurine out of the grave#(Or do I? Emotionally I do. Rationally I think I may lean more towards 'keep Aventurine dead' tbh)#Imagine if his revenge is against the IPC in general and Aventurine in particular but when he gets there Aventurine is already dead#The enormous fail that would be hahaha#Automaton cowboy is such a good design though I would have liked it more had they taken the automaton way enhancing the clockwork thing#instead of the cyborg one with the futuristic air. What can I say I do love automatons and clockwork#and to me they're far superior aesthetically than cyborgs. Not into cyborgs and robots at all. Sorry Screwllum. Herta most beloved design#I wonder if his gameplay will revolve around some killing himself mechanic#I don't know what to say I do love those things gameplaywise. I love the risk they add and how they make one strategise a little more#Even beyond the story and the lore‚ Blade is still my fave character to use. So fun so flexible and ironically so reliable despite the risk#Abfksndk rambling#I am thinking of Aventurine and I'm thinking of Fu Xuan. I think I'll skip Robin unless they go dark-dark with her#but I'm still considering Sunday if they make him shady. I was looking forwards to Firefly but I've disliked her writing a lot#so for now she's a big skip. I wouldn't mind getting Topaz given I love the FUA mechanics and the SU#but I like other characters more and I don't like her design at all so I'll skip her too#Couldn't care less about IL (I have him in an alt account and I don't like him at all) so that's a big skip too#I like Screwllum but not enough for now. Hmmm I guess I could get one shielder since I do love them as characters#and then save until one character really convinces me. Boothill‚ Robin‚ Sunday hmmm I hope Sunday is shady and grey#I wonder if they'll bring Huaiyan. I would give a leg for Huaiyan. Yeah I've not moved on from the Xianzhou I love that place#and I adore Huaiyan and the Zhuming. I so hope we'll get to see that ship#I talk too much
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one of these days i'll write up a post about the parallels and foils between vivi and hermes and why it fucking kills me. for now all i can say is in hindsight the 'latched onto vivi Hard as a kid' to 'latched onto hermes Hard as an adult' pipeline is Real
#ffix#ffxiv#vivi ornitier#ffxiv hermes#final fantasy xiv#final fantasy ix#the absolute fuckor#hermes really is just such an interesting and visceral deconstruction of/foil to vivi's themes#ranging from *vivi* being the one in the same role as the familiars here#in comparison to hermes meaning the best in the world and trying So Hard; but ultimately coming from a place of immense privilege#and the fact that he was fumbling around in the dark in a society that very aggressively tried to insulate him from any meaningful#perspective on the shitty things he had internalized about familiars without realizing it; much less knowledge to unpack it#and how in the end he still was shitty to and about familiars; including and especially his daughters; who he abused#and some of that stemmed at least partly from his own selfishness and the things he was in denial about#to the fact that vivi had *support* when it came to things like grief and fear and life being precious#and the importance of finding your own meaning in it; while at the same time treating unavoidable death with weight and respect#and people in his life being like 'yeah it's pretty fucking understandable to be fucked up about all this'#instead of at most condescendingly treating him like a freak and an outlier for like. fucking being sad or angry about things. lol#bc *vivi gets angry.* he doesn't just feel sad he gets fucking furious; he feels real ass hate; he wants people to die for what they've done#and when he *does* question that in himself it's not ~uwu if i hate people i'm just as bad as them~; it's 'i've repressed so hard that i#literally have forgotten how to identify what sadness feels like; and it bothers me that my grief response skips straight to hatred now'#i just. god i love vivi so much i could go on. anyway when someone tries to pull a 'familiar-equivalents are soulless puppets#with a single purpose and it's fine to kill them if they're defective or obsolete' vivi tries to explode him with his mind#and his friends go i'll help! and that's why i love ffix#ffixtag#ffxivtag#FF tag
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Are my eyes playing tricks on me? That was... Mr. Gu? Is this something I can see for free?
Skip a Beat (2023) 1.07
#skip a beat#心跳#cdramaedit#userdramas#cdrama#asiandramanet#cdramasource#dailyasiandramas#asiandramasource#dramasource#asiancentral#tuserjade#mymymy#ep 7#this is for you frienddddddddddd#this coloring is all over the place but wtvr#CACKLINGGGGG#i SWAERRRRRRRRRR i didnt see the tail the whole time he earlier when he was around the house#so when it did the close up I DIEDDDDDDDDD#Ahhhhhhahahaha#the coworkerssssssssss bruuhhhhhh sdfjsdgsfg#Zheng my comedy mannnnn
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i'm begging my uni to stop making every fucking student social activity something where you have to walk around a bunch if you are a slow walker who cannot help it they literally want you dead
#i try to walk as fast as i humanly can. which i shouldn't bc it hurts and makes me dizzy. and i'm still slower than everyone else#last week we divided into groups and had to walk to checkpoints around the city to do tasks#i had a friend in my group who knows abt my issues and they walked slower with me which was nice. everyone else walked like 10 20 meters#ahead and it was fucking embarrassing bc for every checkpoint they had to wait for me#and i felt bad my friend couldn't talk to anyone else in the group bc they were zooming way ahead of us and i'm the one who couldn't keep up#and like. they didn't know my body's fucked. but these are people i do not know well at all and maybe i don't wanna disclose my medical#history to everyone i interact with#and like this event wasn't mandatory. i could've skipped it#but it's every fucking time#most nights we end up going to a bar and to these people “walking distance” is like a half an hour. and they walk fast#i can never keep up#i don't reallu enjoy bars either and i don't drink but you just kinda have to endure to socialize. some days i can't handle it tho#this week there's another checkpoint type activity. i know i shouldn't. i know i'm gonna slow everyone down#but i got specifically asked and invited to be a part of a team. i can't remember the last time that happened#also we're doing a group costume and mine includes platform heels on the streets of a very old city i am so cooked#my friend is nice tho. they know the basic lore and check up on me a bunch which always catches me off guard 😭#i'm used to pushing through and also used to people not really taking my shit into consideration so i don't know how to respond sometimes#2 people in the group know the issues and i just sent the gc a “sorry in advance i can't walk very fast” so like what else is there to do#only accessibility info we're ever given is if it's wheelchair accessible. and that's good. like you should do that. but it kinda ends there#like how much walking is there. where are the stops. are there places to sit.#i love having to either push through or be excluded disabilities are awesome#been in soooo much pain lately and have to take breaks walking uphill. functional body#i live in an area where everything. literally everything. is uphill one way or another. so as you can imagine it's going great#also “you have to endure to socialize” as if i don't end up hovering around my friend like a lost puppy with separation anxiety anyway#the group costume is winx club. btw
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July 7th - Zack’s Birthday
(with one Zack from almost every chapter he appears in)
#the promised neverland#tpn manga#tpn zack#zack#my edits#this is absolutely a result of reading the GP arc once again and rediscovering how much i really love this lad. so naturally this is gonna#lead me to create the other two of the trio when the time comes. still think it's crazy that he's barely around during his most active arc#as he mostly shows up in people's thoughts/flashbacks instead. wouldve been great if the culvitidala arc wasnt all time skipped too so he#couldve had more moments. doesnt change the fact that i love him tons!! also chose that red from his bandana because i noticed a fair amount#of these edits mainly have a lot of blue. so i switched it up for him. he's special..and deserves a higher place in my personal top ten.
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Okay so I'm finally reading the whole discworld series and I decided to read them in in-world chronological order, which is just the publication order but you read Small Gods first. Guys, I was dreading reading The Colour of Magic because everyone says not to start with that book so I've been expecting it to be a total slog and ?? it's fine?? like I can see why someone new to the world shouldn't start with it but it's definitely not a bad read
#i have been reading them but I've been skipping around the series and i started to want a more structured approach#all that being said mort is still the best place to start
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hello dear mutual! i noticed that you forgot to put tags on that wonderful post of yours - do not fret, i know exactly what to do in this situtation! *posts an entire essay three times the size of the post in your tags*
#jokes aside here. i love writing in tags#it's like a post within a post with thoughts too long or too not-in-order to out them on the main one#it's a personal message. a whisper exchanged between people as the main event takes place on stage#it's the words that were skipped through during your speech. a song thats only hummed when nobody's around#it's the words of encouragement and emotions. a small 'it's not much but i hope you know you're cherished'#it's the place to theorise and be free of it all. ti add your own 'yes and' for nothing more than satisfaction#how come we turned a function that was supposed to just organise posts into a genre of its own?#a form of communication that can't be replicated? a free space just for you?#probably it all happened because the search option on tumblr sucks anyways so at least you can find some nice use for it :3#i love you tags even though you don't work#ramblings
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