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weeb-writings · 4 years

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alisa teaching lev incorrect russian phrases

a certain groupchat im in with so many beautiful people has brought this idea to my attention. most definitely something i canon abt the two siblings now, i totally see it.

special thanks to: @sarido275 for this idea!! i love this so much and i hope this meets your expectations-

warnings: swearing, a fight btwn siblings, also this is relatively long for a hc so brace yourself

genre: crack, fluff, angst? if you squint-

synopsis: lev’s (gorgeoues, beautiful, pretty, amazing, cute) sister, alisa, teaches lev russian phrases... except its all backwards...

i used a couple websites: a b

a/n: im writing a longer oneshot (haechan x reader) so this is something ive been working on, on the side. i hope you like whatever the frick frack this is-

if you have any requests, shoot them in my dms or ask box! if you have any constructive criticism, let me know what i can fix and how! thank you uwu

*breathes* okay, this is straight up crack, like

i literally see this happening btwn the two siblings, where lev’s sister alisa ends up teaching lev russian phrases with the incorrect translations

she’s such a sweetie pie i dont see her intentionally teaching lev the incorrect translations for stuff- so yes,

with the power of google and tumblr i present to you: lev walking around like an idiot :) (i love him v much tho and hes baby all the way)

okay lets start with the “basics”

first off is хуй (pronounced: hooy), and it means dick

omg i what am i writing

okay so like, yaku probably does something nice for alisa (meaning he puts lev in check bc lev is stoopid)

and alisa decides to thank him like “you have such a big hooy yaku~~”

and everyone on nekomas vbc team looks at the two siblings like ????? what did she just say

and lev looks at her and she goes “hooy means heart!!”

omfg not only lev, but all of nekoma is using this word now and its so bad bc they all say it so confidently whose gonna tell them-

and like, whenever someone does anything remotely nice lev will tell them that they “have such a big hooy” and that they are so kind and that he appreciates them

which ultimately, this term rubs off on karasuno and fukorodani (specifically hinata and bokuto)

quite literally a term that spreads like wildfire and they all use it so mindlessly eye-

okay, next term: Трахни тебя (pronounced: poshyol ty), and it means: fuck you (omg i hate writing swears bc lev is involved and he is BABY I CANNOT-)

okay but alisa and lev are most likely parting ways early in the morning, and he is going to a summer week camp for vb practice (w the boys ayyy) omg i hate myself so much

but like, she probably wants to say something along the lines of “i love you” but she ends up saying fuck you (dw, i checked and its the aggresive kind, no not the kinky aggresive just straight up like a screw you) pls i hate that im making this more awkward by the second

okay but like, hes probably leaving in the morning and shes like “poshyol ty” and he kind turns back, confused look on his face

and hes like “whats that mean????” and shes like, with a bright smile, “it means I LOVE YOU” and he repeats it a few times

and this poor bby uses this ALL the mcfreaking time now

yaku is abt to kick him? “pls stop poshyol ty”

kuroo wants to give him shit for sucking at blocking? “im sorry but dont forget poshyol ty”

omg KENMA WHEN HES MAD “kenma im so sorry youre the best pls poshyol ty”

so it probably circulates around the team, and by now all of the nekoma vbc are using this on one another ALL the time

again, its something picked up by other teams

i.e: bokuto to akaashi, hinata to kags, and it even reaches oikawa, who uses it on iwa, satori to ushijima (bye these r ships)

but finally, poor alisa thought that by saying Отыебис от меныа (pronounced: otyebis ot menya) she was saying “your presence is nice” but in reality she was saying “get the fuck away from me”

omg pls this is so terrible someone tell her-

but like anyways, when she says it so him, its when hes upset bc the whole team is upset at him bc he almost made the team lose

aka putting them at risk for his shitty blocking skills

and hes like “no one likes me, no one wants to be around me”

and alisa is like: “hey, otyebis ot menya, and if its from me, they even appreciate you too :)”

and he asks her to explain the meaning to him and shes like “it means i appreciate your presence”

and so he cheers up, and goes to practice the next day

and he apologises to everyone and then goes, “as much as i suck otyebis ot menya”

like ????? and everyone appreciates it!! like >.< omg i hate this

but in general, another phrase that spreads like wildfire!!

at this point, everyone thinks hes a sweetheart (and dumbass) whos using loving terms with his team and friends!!

now, onto the “swear words”

which, in reality, are words/phrases with positive meanings :(

ah i really hope someone tells everyone wassup w these terms

but, lets start w this beautiful term: Я верю в тебя (pronounced: ya veryu v tebya)

this means: i believe in you (and reader, i believe in you, you can do anything you put your mind as long as it doesnt harm you or anyone)

but anyways, this is probably a term that slips out during a fight btwn the two siblings

is it weird that i cant imagine them fighting often, or at all-

okay anyways, back to the hc

theyre probably fighting about how lev left his dirty laundry in the br after the shower, or how he left his dishes on the dining table and how he isnt necessarily cleaning up after himself

and shes tired of it, so she starts yelling at him

and shes like “oh my god! youre so useless! veryu v tebya”

and he kinda stops saying anything back and stares at her c o n f u s e d

and shes like ?? whatre you looking so lost for

and hes like, what does that mean

and shes like, it means that you arent capable of anything.

so this poor boy thinks that the term “i believe in you” now means “you arent capable of anything”

when kenma, kuroo, and yaku treat him a little meaner on a bad day, he’ll be sure to mumble it under his breathe

when he blocks hinata’s spike, hes sure to yell it out proudly, and everyone kinda is like ????

and so he explains what it means, and

hinata isnt phased by the fact that lev just called him incapable bc poor bby got to learn another russian phrase

and then kenma puts two and two together and realizes what levs been calling him

*insert a mad kenma*

*insert a mad kuroo*

*insert a mad yaku*

okay but srsly the whole nekoma vbc starts using this term to clown lev when he messes up!!

in reality, everyones the clown bc theyre using the wrong term altogether

another term lev would learn from alisa, would be Мой милый ангел (pronounced: moy miliy angel)

and what alisa thinks it means is : you are not an angel/youre a fallen angel/youre the devil

bc like some languages dont have a term for something, so they use another term and then the word not in front of it, so alisa assumes thats what it is

so she just assumes this word is something to call someone a devil or basically imply theyre a bad person

this term slips out from alisa, when someone says a comment about lev during a game,

ooooo lets say the nekoma vs. nohebi game to make it to nationals

and someone says something along the lines of lev being a terrible blocker

from across the court

and out of nowhere

alisa is like “hes better than you! moy miliy angel”

poor bby thought she was defending her brother

okay she was but still-

you know what i mean

but anyways, everyone looks at her

and she just shrugs it off bc she doesnt owe anyone an explanation

but after the game, yaku’s younger sister brings it up in front of them

and she explains to everyone that it means a devil

and theyre all like ??

alisa saying something mean- this is new

but in her defense it was bc she was standing up for her brother

as she should-

but on a real note, lev adopts this term to roast people during plays and makes them confused hehehe their faces r funny bc they get so lost and bam nekoma scores

a term that kageyama adopts

he expands his vocab when hes mad at hinata from boke, to boke and moy miliy angel

tanaka probably uses this term on people who piss him off

imagine him saying it w his buddha face LMAO

but lastly, a term that lev would learn from alisa is Радость моя

this term is pronounced as radost moya

it means “my joy”

so, when alisa is stressing over something (maybe hw, maybe over the fact that lev keeps making a fool of himself in front of yakus sister)

she’s like muttering under her breath,

“this is gonna be the death of me, ugh why is this radost moya“

like LMAO she thinks this term means terrible, or my bad luck

no sweetie its the opposite

its just so funny, lev hears her and she explains the term

so he begins to use it all the time

and i mean ALL THE TIME

when he cant block? radost moya. when someone reminds him that he isnt the ace? radost moya.

so, when bokuto is in emo mode, lev is like radost moya, its just bl (ha if your mind went to boy-) bad luck

and bokuto is immediately out of his emo mode bc he is LEARNING a new term from his fave russian teacher uwu

but again, a term that spreads like wild fire

this is what kags calls hinata, iwa to oikawa, and semi to shirabu

overall, alisa teaching lev incorrect russian phrases, is lev teaching the whole of anyone who plays volleyball ever incorrect russian phrases

these humans look like straight up clowns

i CaNnOt emphasize how dumb they look-

basically just becomes a crack fest

bonus (kinda-):

lev, kenma, kuroo, tsuki, kags, akaashi, bokuto, yams, and yaku all went to the fish market one day

they all witness kuroo, bokuto, lev and hinata do something stupid with their shared one brain cell

so, naturally, the others flame them in russian

and someone nearby is like

“aww its so sweet you believe them,, your friendship is so cute“

queue the whole crew (ugh i hate that term but its better than squad) turning to look towards lev

and BAM they all start asking this random person for translations on stuff

they all look so shocked and mad and sad

*insert a mad kenma*

*insert tsuki mocking everyone*

just funNy stuff hahahaha

okay imma head out bc wtf did i just write-

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tumblunni · 5 years

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Things i would really really love to commission now i have the money

If anyone knows any good reccommendations for people who do these, you would be BRIGHTENING MY SOUL!

* Custom plushies

* BIG custom plushies

* Custom statues, vinyl keychains or articulated dolls

* Custom stress toys or fidget toys, it would be SO AWESOME to have an anti anxiety thing thats even more anti anxiety cos its my oc!!!!

* General custom merchandise/clothing/etc cos i dont even know the full world of whats available!!!! Aaa!!

* Anyone who is willing to do all of the above things but with my really stupid fandom for obscure videogame grandpas. So help me god if they're never gonna make Dr Maddiman or Commander Charon merchandise i will FIND A WAY

* Custom cosplay things?? Cos i really wanna cosplay but ive been so bad at learning how to make my own. Ive tried learning how to make like everything on the list so far cos i thought id never be able to afford to commission a proper talented person aaa

* custom furniture?? Do peopke do that?? I WANT A COMPUTER DESK OF FIRE AND GLORY

* generally if you know of anyone who does commissions for any custom anything plz tell me i like DONT EVEN KNOW WHATS AVAILABLE LOL and im LOVE novelty things shaped like dr maddiman no matter what they are WAIT DOES ANYONE MAKE CUSTOM FLUFFY SLIPPERS what about a trash can shaped like charon

* OKAY BACK ON TOPIC

* Custom pixelart for the things i lack the skill to make on my own. BIG DESIRES: tilesets, battle animations, weather effects, etc. And like.. If there's anyone i could work with who could like.. Take my bad art and make it more gooder and fixed? ACTUALLY OKAY LETS MAKE THAT ANOTHER POINT

* People who could work with me on making my stupid terrible game projects come true. They always just crumble in my hands and i lose confidence in what little skill i have, or reach a wall where something's so far out of that skill, gahhh. And even the stuff i am able to do, i wish i could hire people with better skill to look over it and do like quality control tips on how to make it better. Writer editor guys to correct my terrible grammar and such, people who are more experienced in rpgmaker to correct my fail programming and do stuff i couldnt manage on my own, ART PEOPLE WHO KNOW ART WHO CAN SAY MY ART IS BAD AND HOW TO MORE BETTER ARTER

* Also! Music!! Music commissions!! For both my original projects and remixes of goddamn grandpa music because i am just a pile of fandom squashed into a trenchcoat

* the only thing i could find so far while randomly googling is like this professional business company that makes the vinyls they sell on fangamer and its like 50000 for 5000 and they dont go any lower quantities ever. But hhhh IMAGINE! Fifty k grand pa... I could give everyone who has ever loved him a happy birthday gift of the merchandises that nintendo is deny us. Actually WHY IS IT ALWAYS NINTENDO that all of my fave underloved gramps are from?? Is there just something about the damn DS that magnetizes my brain to smol grumplemens

* WOULD ANYONE SUPPORT ME IN BUYING 50K GRANDPAS seriously i am burning inside with how much i would love to just fill every square inch of my entire house with tiny charons that survey all who enters with a sort of weary cynicism. Bonus points if i just act like there's nothing unusual whenever anyone comes to visit. "Ah yes have a seat on the charonthrone"

* 3d models!! Does anyone!! Do that!! And like!! MMD!! Does anyone do mapping models to be used in that program? Does anyone do custom dances for it? Cos lol i like plugging characters into preset dances but i am REALLY bad at making custom ones, the interface is so complicated and i am bad at math. So yeah seriously i will pay you to A: map dr maddiman's ingame model to do dances, B: create a whole new model for mr ancient underloved early ds grandpa man with the terriblest of sprites and C: make them boogie down together to Weird Science. This will be possibly the greatest use of money i have ever done.

* also can i pay people to appreciate grandpas. Can i pay for a custom space in your heart to cherish them?

* G R A N D PAS

* oh and YOUTUBE THINGIES!!! Id love to help make my youtube channel less bad! So if you know anyone who does those custom logo animations and overlay images and stuff i would love to bury them in money! And i do actually already have some custom music a friend made me which i deeply cherish, but i always feel too embarassed to use it as my jingle cos its too cool?? Like nooooo i dont deserve this!! I must save it for a more special occassion!! So like is there anyone who cpuld make me music thats more like 'heehee horf here come the comic relief character'? I feel like i have big npc energy in real life.

* hhh i have money i just really wanna give it to talent peoples hhh

#commissions #art commissions #sprite commissions #3d commissions #dr maddiman #does anyone know of skilled hands who can make literally every everything on earth but its him?#oh do they make custom coffee mugs?#like one with his goofy face on it and you drink his brains. thats the best aesthetic for any zombie character!#i wonder if the walking dead ever made one of those...#oh and socks!! socks!! what if i could socks!!

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orionsangel86 · 7 years

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13x12 - Episode Review - What is Fifth Base Anyway?

So the people at Google must have been confused when they discovered the number of searches for “fifth base” drastically went up overnight… Steve Yokey you cheeky bugger I love you! (Show of hands everyone who did this? Go on, admit it!)

This episode was really good. One of the stronger ones of an already very strong bunch as season 13 continues to exceed in quality. It had jokes, it had deep emotional revelations, it had Cas once again using his SuperPower of sassing the fuck out of things to get what he wants. Yeah it was pretty awesome! So let’s delve into the main points.

The Red Herring Love Spell

We were all expecting this to be an episode similar to 12x11 based on how it was marketed to us. Dean is under a love spell! It’s up to Sam and Rowena to save him! That seemed to be the gist of the PR team’s focus. As ever, PR is not Showrunning and this turned out to be one giant red herring.

The love spell lasted all of five minutes. So why bother? WHY was a love spell even PART of this plot?! Seriously? Someone tell me how this episode couldn’t have followed the EXACT same narrative with the sisters using some other spell to force people to do things for them? The fact is, that love spell was pointless for the plot but excellent for getting people thinking about LOVE. Specifically, Dean Winchester and LOVE, or at least, what love should be, and what it most definitely is not.

Aside from the fact that the clunky music whenever the love spell was invoked made me cringe, I thoroughly enjoyed how innocent it all seemed. Dean got to play Prince Charming to the princess and provide her with a gift of her choosing. I think it says something about Dean that the love spell encouraged this fairy tale vibe specifically for him, when for Dale at the start it was all about him playing protector and hero through violence and theft. I just thought it was an interesting statement about Dean’s wishes and desires compared to other men. Though I gotta admit, the gift giving, goofiness and oh I dunno, protecting his lover from a gun? It all seemed rather familiar to me… Hmmm…

I mean who else has Dean previously entrusted with powerful one off weapons?

Who else has Dean had to recently protect from a pointed gun much to his own horror rather than the recipient who is unlikely to be harmed by a regular gun anyway?

Who else makes Dean goofy and pull these silly delighted faces?

*looks into the camera like on the Office*

Yeah, but see these are not really examples of true love, even though they are all things done with Cas. What IS true love in season 13 is something that subtextually KEEPs getting referred to in EVERY EPISODE. That in 13x01 – 13x05 Dean was deeply lost in grief. Deeply mourning over the loss of Cas – someone who he is truly in love with. Love makes you do crazy things? Yeah, and as Billy said in 13x05 (Yokey’s last episode FYI) Dean wanted to die. Cas’s death had brought him to that level. The fact that now it is SAM who is feeling low, feeling powerless because of the loss of Mary and Jack, and Dean is able to remain focussed and have HOPE that they will save them, continues to be astonishingly hypocritical of Dean given where he was when Cas was dead. But it does keep drawing our attention to that fact, and for that I love it.

Bonus point for “I think you may be right, I think its time we go ahead and call Cas…” … “I’m in love” because Yokey could have written Sam saying ANYTHING at that point but he chose to remind the audience about Cas at that exact moment… as Dean announces he is in love, because the two are connected (and because it then wouldn’t be that much of a stretch to assume that Sam’s initial reaction is “Oh… so you finally admit it?”)

(FYI this crappy gif is my own. Don’t judge. It’s the first I’ve ever made.)

Sam’s mild amusement here just fits the “oh so you finally admit it? We can call Cas and start the wedding preparations?” interpretation and NO ONE can stop me seeing it that way! :D

Bonus Point two for the mentions of “Soulmates” (which relate to Angels in the show) and “Cosmic” (which again, tends to relate to angels and Cas).

Bonus point three that this is an episodes marketed as Dean being in love! LOOK AT ALL THIS HETEROSEXUALITY! It seems to scream at our general audiences, and yet, as always in SPN, if the GA are seeking heterosexuality, they are to be disappointed. They got a 5 minute mini love spell plot and Dean once again is without even a hint of an actual true female romantic partner. Nope, sorry heteros seeking a woman for Dean. You won’t find that here!

Basically, it’s not too much of a stretch to interpret this entire love spell mini plot as exposition for the TRUTH regarding Dean and “true love”. Because we all know it. It’s right there in the subtext. I just wish they’d make it text already.

Review continues under the cut as per usual...

Addressing Long unspoken Trauma – FINALLY

Officially my favourite part of the episode (unofficially my second fave part after “fifth base”), the conversations between Sam and Rowena about their trauma at the hands of Lucifer had me welling up. This is the first time in SPN history that Sam has actually opened up to ANYONE about his Lucifer trauma. Read that again. Be amazed that it has taken this long. Send Dabb and Yokey a fruit basket for this.

One thing season 13 has been excellent at doing, is making things textual that were previously only implied. This seems to be a continued trend following on from the reveal in 12x22 that Dean is effectively Sam’s parent (A fact meta writers have been talking about for YEARS.)

I don’t really have much to say about it actually, because it’s all just THERE in the text. It has left me kind of speechless.

SAM: Its not gonna change anything, you’re still gonna feel helpless. What Lucifer did to you…

ROWENA: I told you I don’t… before he crushed my skull, Lucifer showed me his face. His true face. I’m scared Sam. All the time.

SAM: I’ve seen it too. What he really looks like behind… behind whatever vessel… yeah it still keeps me up at night.

ROWENA: How do you deal with it?

SAM: I guess I don’t deal with it, not really. I mean I…Ive pushed it down, and the world kept almost ending and so I keep pushing it down and I dunno… I don’t really talk about it, not even with Dean, I mean I could… he would listen but, it’s not something I really know how to share.

…..

SAM: Even if you do get the book, and even if you get your power back. It won’t matter. You won’t ever be able to change what happened, you won’t be able to change how helpless you felt, or how helpless you feel. You’re still gonna get scared. That feeling, that feeling never goes away.

ROWENA: Never?

SAM: Never.

…

Honestly it’s perfect. Yokey has decided that enough is enough. We need to discuss this. We need to talk about the fact that our main characters have a shit load of trauma. It’s about GODDAMN TIME.

(x)

I just want to scream about the shots for a second though because god bless Amanda Tapping for being so excellent at capturing emotions. I am starting to think she is one of the best directors for it. The intimate long close ups on the actors faces as they open about this stuff, it just works. The soft music in the back ground pulls no focus away from the gravity of Sam’s words. It’s intense, and harrowing and kudos to Jared here because I think he must have been ITCHING for a moment like this for Sam for YEARS (and for god sake someone ask him about this scene at a con instead of more bloody prank questions PLEASE.)

I also love that it’s Rowena who Sam opens up to about this stuff, because she has that in common with him. I know that it can be argued that Cas has also experienced trauma at the hands of Lucifer, but since Cas is an angel it’s not the same. I doubt Lucifer’s true face would affect Cas, since Cas is already an angel with the ability to see and cope with seeing things that human minds struggle to comprehend.

I think Rowena and Sam is our new Dean and Crowley. They are enemies, but they have a mutual respect for one another and I see this as a really good thing both for Sam and Rowena. Because Crowley was changed thanks to his bond with Dean (love for Dean), he was able to find redemption in that. Rowena could also now find redemption, especially considering her newly powered up status. For Sam I think it was a smart choice to give Rowena the pages at the end. It wasn’t just about the bond they formed over shared trauma, it was Sam knowing that Rowena is right, that Lucifer will always find a way back, and Sam knows that eventually he will have to face him again, and he needs all the help and power he can get, so a powered up Rowena is a powerful ally to have against the creature that tortured and broke both their spirits.

Am I shipping them? No, not really. I still think Rowena is a villain. I never shipped Drowley, though I acknowledge it’s existence in the show as basically a hairsbreadth away from canon. (it’s technically just as close to canon if not more so than Destiel and strongly implied that they hooked up in various episodes). But if the show did go there with Sam and Rowena I wouldn’t mind it as such. I just don’t think it would be endgame. But sure, it could work for a while. I see them more like frenemies with mutual interests. Besides, I’m a Saileen girl all the way and will continue to hope for Eileen’s resurrection this season.

Narrative Mirrors – Witches and Winchesters

Ah narrative mirrors, don’t we love them? I especially love them when they highlight the Winchester family dynamics and just how screwed up they all are. Our witchy sisters fall extremely easily into this category. Jamie and Jenny or “J2” as I now plan to call them (I see what you did there Yokey). So J2 are motivated to do whatever it takes to bring back mum. Whatever it takes even though they are hardly competent witches and only seem to have one spell mastered – the love spell. The older sister uses her charm to encourage the victims to do whatever they wish for, whilst the younger sister is the smarter of the two, more skilled in magic (I wonder who they are supposed to represent?)

They have one purpose, and will stop at nothing until that purpose is fulfilled:

JAMIE: I’m sorry, I know I’m the big sister and I’m supposed to be the strong one or whatever.

JENNY: Yeah?

JAMIE: I just really miss her.

JENNY: I do too.

JAMIE: I know, and I like, really believe in us

JENNY: Jamie, I just want her back so bad

JAMIE: And we’re going to get her back, even if we have to cast every spell in this book and curse the souls of like a million people to make it happen.

Doesn’t this sound rather familiar? Like from 13x09:

DEAN: You were right, about mom you were right, this whole time we should have been looking for her

SAM: I was just hoping, I didn’t know. And anyway it doesn’t matter, now that we do know.

DEAN: We find her, no matter what it takes.

Which always made me kinda uncomfortable. There is a reason that Billy didn’t want Dean knowing their mum was still alive. Because Billy knows that the Winchesters would break the Universe to bring her back. “House of Cards” she called it. What’s the betting that thanks to Sam and Dean this “house of cards” is going to come tumbling down just as Billy predicted? Because I would put money on it.

At the end of the episode, we realise that Sam and Dean are in exactly the same place as J2. Jamie – the older sister, trying to support and reassure her younger sister, the one who “wants mom back so badly”. Jamie, unlike her sister, is totally focused on completing their task, whereas Jenny has her doubts. Just like Sam and Dean. We know that Dean is back to “We’ll figure it out” and “you and me” even though Sam is NOT on board with this, but like Jenny, Sam will follow Dean into a hornets nest if it means doing what they set out to do and save mum.

The girls mum came back wrong though, a zombie. When Mary was first resurrected she certainly wasn’t what the boys expected either, and now she is lost again, whose to say just what state she will be in when she is finally freed? Perhaps the message for the boys here is to actually let her go? As in, let go of the memory of Mary that they had sat on a pedestal (Dean in particular) and start to accept the woman their mother actually is, and let her do her thing, because otherwise it may kill them all.

And isn’t this moment just a perfect visual representation of the toxic co-dependency that is the Winchester brothers? Stab stab stab. One of them even has a hammer… LOL.

(Yup its another one of my crappy gifs.)

The Sassiest Angel in the Garrison

Oh Cas, I have missed your beautiful face…

(x)

(Dipper agrees with me)

Now I think everyone knows by now that I hate Lucifer. As in, I find the character extremely irritating and just want him off our screens dead and buried, and that Mark P can go annoy some other shows audience. The ONLY thing that makes watching Lucifer remotely bearable for me, is Castiel - wonderful, perfect, funny, grumpy, brilliant Castiel, sassing the fuck out of him. Bearing in mind all their scenes but one took place behind bars, I was as always captivated by Cas and the brilliant genius he is.

So far in season 13, Castiel hasn’t actually spent much time using his powers, his grace, to actually get anything done. What he has done, is be incredibly smart and used that tactician brain of his to talk himself out of any situation. Everything Castiel does has a purpose. He is generally a creature of few words (except when it comes to Dean) and therefore, whenever he does speak, it is usually with a great deal of thought. (There was a brilliant meta on the word “assbutt” and how it is the worst insult he could possibly throw at Lucifer and yet everyone still ridicules him for it. Don’t knock the word assbutt. Cas knew exactly what he was doing!)

And so Cas isn’t just being a sassy little bitch in this episode. He’s being a sassy little bitch with purpose. Lucifer may be powered down, but he still has power. Cas knows this. Cas knows that the best way to get Lucifer activating what little power he has is to make him angry. So what does Cas do? He sass’s him, over and over. Pissing him off until eventually, it works.

“Turns out rage is a good motivator”

Such a badass. Bye bye little Dipper.

This is why you should never underestimate Castiel. He will always get the better of you. He will always come out on top in the end.

“This is me, learning from my mistakes” he says whilst stabbing Lucifer at the end of the episode. I thoroughly enjoyed that moment of course, even if we know already it doesn’t stick. Since Lucifer is alive next episode. *sigh*.

Lucifer has been continuously hinting all episode that he want’s Cas’s grace. It seems possible due to pics from next week, that he may actually get what he seeks.

Cas has blood on his collar, which he doesn’t have at the end of 13x12. So is Cas about to become human again? Or at least graceless? It’s possible. @tinkdw wrote this post about it (yes I stole her screencap). We were discussing this in our group chat yesterday and thanks to the themes that would come from another human!Cas story I can certainly get behind it, even if I hate the idea that it isn’t his choice yet again. This time, having Lucifer steal his grace seems worse than the first time. But as I mentioned above, Castiel has already shown several times this season that his grace is in no way where his strengths lie. I just hope that it is still his choice in the end to give it up, or not regain it, however that story may pan out.

But yeah maybe prepare ourselves for a human Cas whose grace was stolen by Lucifer plot? I mean if it doesn’t happen great, but if it does... don’t say we didn’t warn ya okay? I know how sensitive we all get about Cas stuff - this is literally the first any of us had thought of this. Besides, he’ll still be amazing even if Lucifer does take his grace, He’ll get in a few more stabs before the end. No doubt.

Other Awesome Stuff

The “fifth base” scene. Yeah this was certainly risqué of Yokey. I was screaming about this to Tink in the chatty bubbles, trust a gay writer to throw in a gay joke aimed at our currently in the closet bisexual lead character and have him act all awkward like he doesn’t know what it is… *glances at Sam* What? Nope, I’ve never… There’s NO SUCH THING AS FIFTH BASE. Sure Jan. Just as I scoff at the idea of Dean not knowing basic French, the idea that Dean DOESN’T know what fifth base is, is absurd. These are purposely input into this episode to raise our eyebrows and DOUBT them.

Baring in mind the way Rowena asks that question “Did THEY get to fifth base?” not “Did YOU get to fifth base” strongly implies actually that Rowena was asking if Dean was pegged. Let’s get that clear. Once again, we have a bottom!dean joke in the subtext of the show. (At some point we need to round up EVERY reference to Dean’s ass and compare it to the other characters just to make this point.)

Oh gosh I haven’t even got to “What’s by is by” yet. The top result in google for this supposed saying is a destiel fanfic written as coda for this episode. There is NOTHING else. It doesn’t exist. What is Yokey playing at exactly? Bygones be bygones maybe? But she had to say it like that? After a reference to anal? To DEAN? Yeah I know everyone is probably already yelling about this on tumblr but still. This is a very huge WTF from me to Yokey that he would ever think we WOULDN’T pick up on this. He did it on purpose. It has a reason, just like everything else. The reason being “Dean is Bi”.

......

(x)

The final scene with Rowena is spectacular. It’s also oddly erotic but maybe that’s just me. Rowena is finally unbound, powerful, free, and probably quite deadly. Here’s hoping she raises a hell of a storm. I have always loved Rowena’s character so for me this idea of her being “unbound” and basically immortal is really interesting. I just hope this paves the way to her helping the Winchesters defeat the big bads to come. Because I see her becoming more of an ally as time goes by. I hope she continues to have a big part to play in the story, and after this final scene I am practically sure she will.

....

Castiel speaking about Jack like he’s a proud parent gives me life. He truly loves the kid. It’s beautiful.

....

Why does Lucifer attract so many dick jokes nowadays? I’m actually almost getting tired of them. For shits and giggles I’m gonna accept it at face value that Lucifer, unlike Crowley, is not well endowed. It makes sense. The tantrums, the violence. Little man syndrome. Pfft.

I’m also going to take it at face value that Cas is most likely huge. Yeah, that smirk is telling.

We all know he’s a big boy. ;-)

....

Hats off to Brenda. The biggest star of the episode. Never failed to make me laugh every time I watched.

You go Brenda. You were awesome.

Overall

Solid episode with lots of great moments. Now all I need is Cas to find the boys and get really pissy with them when he realises they didn’t ONCE figure out that Colonel Sanders was impersonating him. I mean sure, Dean has super low self esteem and was clearly grumpy with Cas at the start of the episode for only really checking in with Sam, not coming home after taking off, clearly CHOOSING the road over being at home with HIM... But that doesn’t excuse him being blind to Asmodeus’s impersonation. Bring on next week. I hope Dean grovels.

#supernatural #episode review #13x12 #destiel #spn meta #spn speculation #dean is bi #castiel #dean winchester #sam winchester #rowena #lucifer #season 13 #spn spoilers #my reviews #my meta

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junhuisflower · 7 years

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11 Questions

more like 22 questions for me

So, I was tagged by @rapmonphile and @chim-jiminie-cricket to do this ask tag! (a long long long time ago but I really wanted to do this so i hope you don’t mind me suddenly popping in your activity with this) but yeah, thank you so much cuties!!

A. always post the rules. Answer the questions then write 11 new ones.

B. Tag 11 people and link them to the post. Tell the person who tagged you that you’ve answered their question.

I tag: @peachymyg @yourhopeyourangeeel and @rainjimin hope you guys don’t mind! Just though this was fun!

My questions: (im putting my questions at the beginning cause this is gonna be a long post and this way, if you don’t want to read it, you don’t have to scroll all the way down to get to them ^^)

1. Who’s your bias group? (if you have one, if not then next questions are for you!)

2. Top 3 fav girl groups? And your bias from each group?

3. Top 3 fav boy groups? And your bias from each group?

4. Who’s your ultimate bias?

5. If you could say anything you want to your bias, what would you say? (I hope it’s okay to copy your question Chim! I just think this is such a cute question and I really want to see what others have to say!)

6. Favorite kpop music video?

7. If you could only listen to one BTS song for the rest of your life what song would you choose?

8. Favorite BTS album? and why?

9. Favorite lyrics from BTS?

10. First member that caught your attention in BTS? Why?

11. Who from BTS would you rather have as your brother?

CHIM’s QUESTIONS (ah idk your name so I wrote Chim! Hope you don’t mind)

1. How did you discover BTS?

Well, I first heard of them through an account here on tumblr (i don’t remember her url, but it’s from the artist Laia López, @itslopez on ig) and she started to reblog bts (specially jungkook) and her drawings of bts were so cute and i decided to give it a go at the time but I didn’t pay enough attention to them I guess (STUPID ME) and then this year I don’t quite remember how I actually started to actively listen to bts but here I am! (I think it was because some other accounts I followed turned into kpop ones too and I think that Laia also was posting more about Tae and I got curious again and yeah!)

2. When did you become apart of ARMY?

February this year. I’m a baby fan, I still have so much to learn and see/watch omg so many bangtan bombs I haven’t watched yet for example askfdghsgfhg

3. What was your first k-pop song from memory?

I think my first kpop song was either Fire or Dope, and it was like early last year, but I only got into kpop this year. I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG OMG WHY DID I NOT PAY ATTENTION TO IT AT THE TIME?!?!

4. Do you watch anime? If so, what’s your favourite anime?

Not really, no. But I’ve been meaning to start watching! I really wanna watch Attack on Titan, I heard it’s really good.

5. How many biases do you have, who are they (kpop in general)?

omg, okay SO:

for BTS Jimin is my bias, but Jin is wanting to share the throne tbh

then Wonho and Hyungwon (I really can’t decide and I honestly bias everyone in Monsta X most of the times)

in got7 is Mark and Youngjae (but Yugyeom and Jaebum are testing me……. and also i love Jackson’s humor and Jinyoung’s sass and BamBam is the cutest…… i basically love everyone okay)

Jae from Day6 and Chen from EXO (but i still don’t know much about them and their groups)

6. What would you say to your BTS bias if you ever met him?

there’s so much I would want to say to Jimin… but mainly that I love him a lot, that he genuinely makes me so so happy and I’d thank him for everything. I would want to tell him that he is so talented and hardworking and that everyone values him and he is worth so much. I’m so proud of him and I feel so happy for him and for everything he accomplished so far with his brothers. I would tell him to take care of himself, cause he’s health is important and I just want him to be happy and healthy. But in reality i would just say something really short and shy like “I love you so much! Thank you for everything!” and just die of embarrassment ahahah

7. Would you rather date or become best friends your bias?

honestly don’t know ahah I first would like to think that he would like me enough to be my friend. Aaaaah i really don’t know but tbh it’s easier for me to imagine me dating Jin than me dating Jimin, idk why??? I mean thinking about dating Jimin is awesome but I something tells me we would work better has best friends

8. What is your favourite song at the moment? (I have 4)

All In - Monsta X

Never Ever - GOT7

Cactus - A.C.E

REALLY REALLY - WINNER

9. Do you know any K-pop choreography? If so, which choreography?

Oh god 😂😂😂 I have tried to dance to some, but nope I can’t dance. The only kpop dance that a kinda know (and really badly) is Baepsae

10. Do a lot of people you know in real life also listen/enjoy k-pop?

No, no one actually… Which is kinda sad tbh cause sometimes I wish I could talk about it with my friends and like share the excitement but they think kpop is weird. And even if they don’t like it, I wish I could talk about it, make references about it or even have bts/monsta x/any of my biases as my lockscreen/homescreen without hearing some dumb comment about it…. because apparently having the people/person that inspires you and makes you happy and that you love as your phone backgroud is something childish and weird -.- Even the other day, I had a monsta x home screen and a friend saw it and was like “uhm why do you have 1d has your background???” and I said it wasn’t and their response was “oh they’re the 1d from korea” and another friend just said “that’s even worse” like why??? Why is it so bad? Even when they just ask “who is that?” like its not the question but the tone they use…. im sorry about the rant, but this actually makes me sad :(

11. What k-dramas would you recommend to everyone?

I don’t watch kdramas… 😥 I really want to tho… But I still haven’t had the time and I actually don’t know where to watch them or what to watch, so like if anyone wants to help I’d be really happy and love you forever!

MAGS’ QUESTIONS

1.What is your favorite BTS music video?

hmmmmmmmm tough question……… I adore Blood, Sweat & Tears Korean ver. (cause it was the mv that got me into bts and I was mesmerized by it), but I NEED U and RUN are pretty awesome, specially I NEED U omg it always gets to me

2.Who was your first bias in BTS, and why did he catch your attention??

Rap Monster! Cause he was the only face I could recognize in all the mvs at the time and his lips and voice and just the way he rapped “peaches and cream, sweeter than sweet, chocolate cheeks, chocolate wings” just made me melt right then and there, I would literally go back on the mv just to listen to that part countless times

3.Who is your BTS bias now? Any bias wreckers?

Now my bias is Jimin. My bias wrecker is Jin.

4.Who are your OTPs? Namjin, Vmin, Yoonseok, Yoonmin

5.Who in BTS do you think has the best style?

hmmm that’s a hard question…. But if I really had to choose, personally, either Jin or Hobi. But we all know that Tae is the fashionista

6.Name 5 of your fave BTS songs:

Baepsae

Wings

You Never Walk Alone

House of Cards

Hold Me Tight

7.If you could be in a relationship with any k-pop idol, who would you pick, and why?

This question is hard, like really really hard and I’ve been thinking about it for a while now and there were several idols on the list ahahah but I think I would pick Jin, I just think he would be a really caring and supportive boyfriend, always there for you and always looking out for you. Pretty romantic and cheesy sometimes and I like that (even though I sometimes say that i don’t). His hugs would be the best, really affectionate too! Dad jokes, I love dad jokes tbh so yeah lots of those if we were in a relationship ahah. Also, I feel like he would be the type to buy you flowers and well I love love flowers! And not to forget that he cooks, so bonus points for that! (also i have this ideal date with him on my head that would consist on cooking with him and just being all lovey dovey and lots of laughs and !!!! aaskgfdjh) .

Idk there’s a lot more about him that makes me think he would be a really great boyfriend but I would be here for ever if I wrote it all ahahah also some people say is vanilla in bed but i disagree okay!! I think he would be somewhat dom! an he would be into pet names okay?? okay!!

8. Fav BTS era? either fire or run era

9.Who in BTS do you think would be your best friend?

idkkkkk, ah i feel like neither of them would like me enough to be best friends with tbh….. Hobi maybe? or Tae? I think that we have some things in common. But then thinking more about it, Yoongi reminds me a lot of one of my friends and we get along really well, so maybe Yoongi would

10.What’s your fave hair color for each member of BTS?

Jin - BLONDE 100% or that pinkie shade from bst

Jimin - black is the nº1 fav but i fell in love with Jimin when he had pink hair soooooo that one is also my fav ahaha (shoutout to the silver hair and orange hair too tho)

Jungkook - I love that black with purple tones or something that he had in Dope era, a lot!!

Tae - I really like to see Tae with light brown hair tbh he looks really cute like that

Yoongi - black hair on him it’s my fav look but i also really loved the blonde hair during Agust D

Hobi - i really like to see him with black hair but he looked really good with orange hair too

Namjoo - i love joon with silver hair and light brown (dark blonde??)

11.Pick 3 members of BTS to go on a vacation/road trip with:

hmmm probably Jin, Hobi and Namjoon

#okay i know this is super long and im sorry!!!#you guys don't have to read honestly!! but i really wanted to do this :))#thank you so much mags and chim for tagging me! ily!!#also you don't have to do this if you don't want to! just pretend like i didn't tag you #and oh! if you don't me to tag you in stuff let me know!#i honestly had so much fun answering these ^^#tagged in #*don't want me

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beyondthetemples-ooc · 6 years

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“Fanfic writer asks”: Skipping the “asks” and doing the answers!

I just saw this and I’m too excited to wait for someone to see this, decide what to ask, and I wanted to answer all of them, anyways.

Some of these are fill-in-the-blanks for askers, so I can’t answer them. But if anyone wants elaboration, or wants to know a specific something in regards to a particular story, or character: Absolutely, feel free to send me some!

Questions taken from here: http://criminal-minds-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/172926526725

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction? Oh geez, we practically need a time machine for that. I was only 11 or 12! I started "writing" fanfics with my action figures (guest-starring other childhood toys) as far back as I can remember. Literally, from the time I was 5-8 and obsessed with Pokemon and Yoshi's Story and Powerpuff Girls, I was playing out stories and adventures, from beginning to end, imagining backstories for why they're there, what they were doing, what motivated them. They even came with continuity (from one play-session to the next)!

As for actually writing it down, though... That also started Very Early. I think I must've been 11 or 12? The earliest one I ever dated was 2005, anyway. They were descriptive, illustrating actions to display emotions, and characterization was... well, it Sure Existed (even if it varied from "So Wrong", to Definitely the Right Remark).

But ever since the moment I touched a pen to my first fanfic notebook, it was about my OCs (and Raven, because, surprise surprise, she was my favorite to write about). I've had plot since I first took those Crayola twistables to paper to illustrate the story in my head, the first story I ever Had a Solid Plot For (that is, Mystery Sickness-- which is being rewritten with Actual Explanations, re: Why Dove Made Her Feel So Shitty in the first place): that was also in 2005. (Fun fact: it was originally in Poorly-Drawn Comic Form). The actual "novelization" went through to 2007.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one? As my fanfiction.net profile will tell you: "Author has written 32 stories for Teen Titans, Pokémon, and Ruby Gloom." - The Ruby Gloom fanfic was abandoned, unfortunately. (It was a direct and shameless self-insert, that got abandoned because, quite frankly, I had no idea what to do with it. Maybe I should put it up for adoption at this point...) - A Work of Magic (my Pokemon fanfic, with related bios/etc) gets written for very rarely, because the inspiration to do so is rare and sporadic, and more tied to a Specific Scene I want to write, than where I left off in the story. @w@;; - A Steven Universe fanfic is in the works, though I'm struggling to flesh it out.. due to the Aforementioned Preoccupation with The FAVE MOMENTS, moreso than the backstory and movement through those moments. @D;;

And then, you have the Teen Titans stories. You know, the ones with Dove, and Kary, and Srentha, and Leyla will eventually be there. My most precious, dearly beloved, absolutely irreplaceable OCs. My TT story folder has about 100 files, which belong to about 30 full-length stories. (And that's not counting the oneshots, like Heart to Heart, which is still one of the best things I've ever written.) There are also a few poems here and there, particularly Dove's Prophecy (of self-fulfillment, really), and stories illustrating Dove's childhood, her mother/grandmother's past, Srentha's childhood... There's just Quite A Lot! I've been doing this, writing them, for 12+ years.~ And my fandomatic obsession for Teen Titans has never dulled, quieted, or been forgotten. So yes, I definitely do have a "particular" favorite. I may prefer exploring their world through my OCs, but damn, is it more FUN than any other world to explore!

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer. Ah, you can probably tell it's OCs by now. At least, MY OC's. Someone else's OCs, well, I tried that once, they were going to commission me. But I never got it finished. (I just didn't have quite the same connection. And I didn't know the canon; that can't have helped.) But character I *do* get to know, like my girlfriend's OCs in our collaborations (or characters I got to know so well through playing together that I just totally shamelessly adopted, specifically: Kary), I do enjoy writing for~ There's just something so incredibly special in knowing that you, solely, are responsible for their growth, their development, and their well-being. It's a bit like having kids, without the screaming. (At least, without them screaming in your ear. Dove and Kary have both done their fair share of screaming, come to think of it...)

( (( Although, to be fair: I've never tried writing a writer insert. I doubt anyone would actually WANT to endure the stories I put my characters through... ;P )) )

4) What is your favourite genre to write for? Fantasy? Action/Adventure? It's hard to say, because I actually write for a HUGE variety of Genres. But I guess my favorite, if I can encompass all of them under this one umbrella, would have to be Hurt/Comfort.

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why? DAMN IT, DON'T DO THIS TO ME.

Gods, that's hard! Basically ALL of my stories are multi-chaptered... Well, it's definitely one of my Teen Titans stories. DDD has definitely been the most challenging to write, the most fulfilling to finish chapters on, and the most pivotal point in Dove's life, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. Writing for Azar in "The Final Journey" and Dove taking her first unintended steps into heroism has been so personally touching for me, and it does so much good for Dove, and especially her relationship with the team, that it's just so, so special to watch. Something Special About Srentha is probably my most epic multi-faceted story, and the narrative timeline (handling two very distinct and separate struggles in totally separate places) is really challenging me to grow as a writer. "Continuum Wars" is going to be the grandest scale of struggle and magic, so I'm really especially excited to start figuring it out. It is just so, so HARD to decide on ONE; they're all so special, and I love watching my style evolve with each story, and more than anything, watching my characters come out of these situations alive. lD;;

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why? you mean the Teen Titans and Pokemon crossover where Dove brings home a Misdreavus? been there, done that. Honestly though, every single one of my stories has its place in my characters' lives, and is important for continuity. And personal growth. And I've honestly never been ashamed of something I've written.

(If you travel far back enough in my fanfic archive, you WILL find a really old character bio for Dove, which I completely revamped, because I didn't learn until later how to frame her without comparing her to Raven, even though she's always been a very different and independently-extant character. Also, the bits I learned about Being Kept A Secret and her grandmother's exile were Nearly Learned around 2010, 2012...)

7) When is your preferred time to write? Whenever the inspiration bug bites! ASAP!! But as for general adding and editing, it's fairly late at night, usually~ Sometimes afternoons. Usually an hour or more after eating, and especially when it's cool and quiet in the room.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from? Canon, personal experience (my personal struggles, my search for my identity, and my struggle to define myself), and sometimes even my own spirituality. (Wild shit goes down when you get into astral exploration, let me TELL you!)

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote? Can I just... use my personal favorite? (If you have any questions about a particular fic, or universe, or point in a character's life that didn't happen in the fics, let me know and I'll gladly answer!)

- Holy GOD, the climax scene of Dove's Dark Discovery! It takes place entirely in Dove's mindscape, while Dove's power is maxed out, and you've got a very powerful telepath and a TREMENDOUSLY power empath battling within a mindscape that has been slowly devastated over the past few months, and it's just this absolute EPIC culmination of their powers and, to a degree, even the connection they'd been forging since Dove came. Dove seriously oversteps some boundaries, Raven nearly kills Dove by accident, it's seriously crazy stuff.

Bonus: Way back in, like, probably 2008 or 2009, when titansgo.net was still around: I had asked my all-time favorite fanfic author for critique on the climax. His advice, to make it "three times as long and nine times the punch", absolutely inspired me to reach WAY higher with their fight, and once I realized what kind of mind-bending maelstrom shenanigans can go down in a MINDSCAPE, the scene fairly EXPLODED with potential!

And I especially like the fact that, including the revisions after his (entirely justified) advice: This scene has gone through like nine different incarnations. And my favorite part: It was originally inspired by a battle in the Teen Titans videogame! I think my little sister was playing White Raven (who my mind always read as Being Dove, because White Cape and Magic Powers), I was playing Raven, and the battle took place in "Nevermore", Raven's mindscape. It was actually a good fight. And I was fucking AMPED... But also emotionally RAVAGED, because "holy shit, Raven fighting Dove... in a mindscape......" And the scene happened like two days later. (In middle school. Honors Spanish class. As a note in the margins of my assignment notebook!)

Gods, guys. That scene is just so incredibly important, and it has come oh, so very far~

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? I'm gonna answer one that I really like the ending of, but feel free to ask for others. Like, maybe one I've actually published, that you've actually read? 8F But honestly: Spellbound pt. II. I haven't published it yet... but it ends in absolute tragedy. The reason is twofold: First off, I knew Dove and Srentha were end-game, so although Dove was falling pretty deep into love, I couldn't have him hanging around... 8F But also because I wanted to illustrate the strength of sacrificial redemption. (I don't want to give too much away, because... well, that's the ENDING. But it's heart-wrenching and I can only hope I've done it justice.)

Other faves include: Srentha having heart-issues at the end of Something Special (because it's the Very First Symptom that something is going to be Dreadfully Wrong with him in the sequel), DDD ending with Dove absolutely traumatized and seriously hurt (because the following story is going to be all about her learning to Take Action on her pain, instead of hiding herself away), and A Work of Magic ending with everyone thinking Mistress had died trying to save her family... but the ending is, and the epicness kind of speaks for itself in this: "You can't kill a ghost."

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? You mean like the way I completely rewrote Dove's character bio 6 years later, in response to all the accusations of her being a Mary Sue? Despite literally nothing (but more specific illustration) changing in the way I wrote her? 8F Other than that, absolutely not! I mean, if someone made a valid point I would. But nobody can tell me how to write my OCs, you know?

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why? My OCs. But you probably mean canon characters... and that easily comes down to Raven. She's just so layered, working with very inward, introspective mechanics, before she takes her action, usually in a very well-thought out direction, or sometimes an INSANELY emotional outburst, and either way, it tends to be Very Important, Poignant, and Make a Difference in the scene. I relate to her; I idolized her for the longest time; I know exactly how to write the struggle between not being able to express your emotions, and being true to yourself, because I've lived it. I'm an empath, so writing her empathic powers is always sort of therapeutic, because outside of my mirrorbook, I'd never gotten to EXPLORE that aspect of myself before. Her wit is hard to capture sometimes, I'll admit, but, I mean, I was making the nurses at the hospital laugh all the way up to my procedure, armed with nothing but my dry remarks. I think I'm up to the challenge.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why? Beast... Boy...... I'm sorry, I really am. I've just never been able to relate to him, or understand how his mind works (if it even works at all?), or write him into any of the plots-- outside of, like, trying to cheer Dove up, which is iconic and appreciated on Dove's end. But otherwise? What do I even DO with him? His sense of humor is just... so lowkey annoying that I sincerely cannot fathom why it's So Funny, let alone make it up for him. (Thankfully, at least the comics come in handy for exploring Why he's Like That, which has honestly helped a lot more than anything the show ever did. All but ONE of his episodes, were... pretty crack-tastic. And that just doesn't mesh well with my stories that are Trying to Deal with a Serious Issue Here.)

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories. Mostly, they're descriptive of the Most Iconic Thing, or Most Pivotal Plot Point, in the story! "Something Special About Srentha". "Dove's Dark Discovery". "Growing Up Demon: Leyla's Story". "Mystery Sickness", being renamed "Soul Sickness" for poetic value, but still keeping that iconic "Sickness" thing, while also making it More Relevant to Raven Specifically. The exception is probably "Unforeseen and Unforesaken". Yes, it's misspelled, I did that on purpose for visual balance in the title. It's weird. I know. But it's Intentional. (Still highly important things though, because it illustrates both Dove's arrival, and what happens once she's there, being unforeseen. And Dove absolutely hardcore valuing the team because they don't Forsake her.)

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names? Bold of you to assume I have this kind of CONTROL over them. Seriously, the way my writing works isn't so much "I get to decide what they do", and more like "huh, this Resonates. That must be a Thing... Let's try to seek out all the relevant details on why it happened, how they reacted, and how it ends!" It's like detective work. And this is absolutely best illustrated by trying to find Srentha's name. Because holy frick. What kinda name is that. (Turns out, it's literally in another language. 8F It means "flight", by the way! Onomatopoeia for the sound wings make.) Anyways, I literally found out one day that, "Dove tried to keep her pregnancy hidden... That must mean she had a kid. With someone." And thus began the Classic RHS Storytelling Search for "who's the guy?" And immediately I knew his name began with an "S". So I tried a bunch of names. I figured it was feminine-sounding, for some reason, thus I realized it ended in "-a". I knew it had two beats. Finding the "-ntha" was the easy part, it was figuring out how the heck to parse "Sren" into the right sounds and number of beats that was the REAL challenge. It wasn't until I remembered "Sri Lanka" exists that I figured out his entire name. (It's pronounced without the English "sh", though - it's just "Sren". As he says, "like Wren, with a Sss.")

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx? Mostly, they came to me when I was thinking about my characters' lives. Except The Final Journey, that one was based on "the crystals" my girlfriend illustrated Dove having in her room, and I kinda just took that entire concept and made it Azarathean and RAN with it!~ (If you're curious about any particular story, let me know!)

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on. "I killed six people. Do I deserve to die?" hello, this is your daily reminder that DDD absolutely Destroys Dove's self-image. But because it's So IMPORTANT and uhh, it was too Dark for me to leave that there, I also want to quote Raven's responses, which include "We all have our dark days," and "I do know that pain, that guilt. I know it better than anyone...[but] Solitary confinement won't cure it...[and] we don't want to see you leave." And also, "You won't be able to help anyone if you destroy yourself first."

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them? Oh, stars. Let's see... The first "wip" I abandoned was a character I named "gayla", not knowing "gay" was actually a word, first of all, but her concept turned out to actually be part of Srentha's story, and honestly I should've figured out that "heh, same name as Raven's nursemaid" wasn't a thing. {lD (Whose name was actually Galya, by the way. I didn't realize that mistake for like, five years.)

I only so very RARELY abandon an actual story, though. I know there have been a couple of Moment Concepts I've lost, due to not writing them down; that honestly hurts much worse. ;; But there's the aforementioned Pokemon+TT crossover, where Dove brings home a Misdreavus by accident. That was purely self-indulgent, and it just didn't fit with the timeline, so I decided to stop writing that AU. It was really more that I wanted to focus on The Other Stories, and only had 3 short chapters planned. (The one where the little ghost gets herself stuck in Raven's mind had so much potential! But I didn't know how to write Raven's emoticlones in without Raven becoming aware of it. And now that I think about it, that could've been what got Dove to send her back.. But, eh, I've long lost the story file for it, and long LONG lost interest.)

If anyone tells you "A Work of Magic" is abandoned, they're wRONG, I'm just really, really caught up in Dove's struggle with DDD and Srentha and Steven Universe (even if I'm not really writing that fic most of the time), so my inspiration to write that story with As Much Lighthearted Fun Silliness as it deserves is seriously impaired. =w=;;

Oh, but I did kind of abandon the story from Sieara's point of view, because honestly, I'd rather just explore her through Dove. (That little bird gets plenty of epic spotlight moments; she even channels Azar's spirit at one point. Or two. ;P ) But mostly, I abandoned it because I didn't want to write about a bird being too old to reproduce, getting close to death, and then dying, anymore? (It was going to be about her noticing Dove spending more time with Srentha, Srentha's bird dying, and Sieara meeting Dove's daughter, and dying shortly after. But I... don't know, I didn't want to write that Angst without a Resolution.) I wrote that story for Exactly 1 Day, and then decided to stick to writing about her through Dove.

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to? I fully intend to do sequels to all of them, thank you very much.~ (At least for the TT fics, all of them are connected in some way. A Work of Magic has both a sequel and a prequel planned. And the Steven Universe fic is really only planned for One Conflict, I really don't want to explore it much beyond that singular unit of Canon Divergence.)

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently? That would be akin to lying, with the way my stories and my characters go.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire? thechroniclerjon, holy stars and envy batman. This is one writer who knows how to build a conflict, write magic in a way that's both Believable, and Relatable, and Awesome, and interweaves different plot threads into one rather EPIC confrontation. Obviously I couldn't take the element of religion into my stories, being so totally personally disconnected from it. (spirituality? ABSOLUTELY. Let me explore aLL the Azarathean feels!) But like. Those descriptions. The conversations. The build-up. The plot-twists. The raw emotion. I aspire, very much, to someday, in my own way, find a style that translates as much Excitement and Tension and Delight as his stories manage to convey.

Also, the author of Learning to Breathe Underwater, because that story had amazingly spot-on characterization, included so many canon elements (despite being Canon Divergent) while still having its own (very well escalated, incredibly well-executed!) plot! I write for the Teen Titans universe far more than Steven Universe, but I really admire their way of including basically every single character, giving them plenty of attention and growth, and giving a lot of them development in the process. I don't know if I could do that, but someday, I'd like to try.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it? The old Mystery Sickness. Like, the first version. It was, ah... originally what I now call an "emvent", and if you know what that is, great; if not, I don't want to go into details, but it's a story that helps me process my phobia? Which, geez, poor Raven okay, but what's really "cringe" about it is the way I narrated it in first-person. XD Weird metaphors, she had a Detective Noir tone for some reason, and let's just say there's a reason I never shared any of the panels. (I kept it secret because of the phobia. Equally as horrifying, I kept it in words because of the pictures.)

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? Silence, but I prefer gentle background noises I'm used to. (Like birds fluttering around, gentle aquarium filters and the water rippling, wind in the trees, etc. It's an ADD thing; lowkey background noise, if kept at a distance, helps me focus.)

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes? Eh. I have the Occasional Mood for it... like, once a year. 8P But generally, I'm just Not Interested. Sure, Dove and Srentha have... done some things that would entertain fans of the genre. And actually, some things that get borderline supernatural. But mostly, I'd just really rather be writing other things.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story? Oh, stars. Yes... Yes. Dove's Dark Discovery. (I drew on... an awful lot of personal experiences, and none of them were good.) Plus, her guilt and self-flagellating... let's just say it's a major Depression Mood. Also noteworthy: I cried writing the Death Sequence and farewell letter in Spellbound pt. II. I've cried for Dove's loss of Azarath, and her mother. I've cried for the things Dove and Srentha tell Leyla when she's really struggling (because, dear gods, if only I'd heard those words when I was a kid)... It doesn't happen often. But sometimes, it just... gets overwhelming.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write? ASK ABOUT ANY OF THEm, because DEAR GODS, there are PLENTY. But the hardest of all was DDD. I struggled with describing how/why an Extremely Gentle, Timid Pacifist was suddenly Losing Herself to Internal Evil, and doing Terrible Things. I struggled to capture the IMMENSITY of the mindscape battle, both in how these two Incredibly Powerful Demi-demons were unleashing their powers, and also in how much of a personal toll it takes on BOTH of them afterwards. And now, I'm struggling to find the words for Dove in the aftermath, because... Gods, there's just so much turmoil and emotion. It echoes an awful lot of Seriously Dangerous Depression Thoughts, right down to suicide ideation and lashing out at the people she loves because she doesn't think she deserves them, and aren't they all fools for loving her. All I can say is thank god Raven's such a realistic beacon of hope, because (much like she did for me, come to think of it) she's able to help Dove battle those thoughts with reminders, wisdom, and hope.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow? This one depends entirely on the story. Generally, it's really quite sporadic and incidental. I write out the scenes as they come to me (usually WAY out of order), and then figure out how they all fit together. Sometimes I don't even realize two scenes are in the same story at first! Or how they're related. I tend to write the beginning, several scenes from When Things Are Very Serious, then go back to fill in the blanks. A lot of times the climax happens either before I know how to start the story, before I know what led up to it, or before I know how it ends. (DDD began with the climax scene. Heart to Heart began with realizing Srentha had a heart attack as a child.)

And then other times, it begins with a vague concept, and I start writing right at the beginning. (Something Special was first written at the beginning, with Srentha performing a spell. I didn't know what it was going to do, just that it was Relevant. A Work of Magic started with me in the Pokemon world wanting a Misdreavus, and developed into a full-team adventure from there. Unforeseen and Unforesaken, or rather "Unforeseen Surprises" in its original form, starting with the very moment Dove showed up, was written as I went along, knowing which points I wanted to hit before the story was over, but writing the scenes as they came to me.)

A Work of Magic has a lot of travel scenes, and moments that take place in specific areas, with Specific Species, so I had to plan out a timeline from region to region, to make sure they weren't in Sinnoh one day, then encountering a Unova legendary, and battling a psychic type in a Kanto forest the very next day, you know? Then there's DDD, which is such a gradually PROGRESSING story that I definitely had to outline some of the chapters, too. Making sure Dove's gradually growing powers were highlighted, and she wasn't going from Total Telekinetic Failure to Suddenly Really Strong and Breaking The Entire Gym Room in the next scene. That sort of thing.

Either way, it's usually As I'm Writing that I notice the connections, the causes rooted in previous stories or scenes, and the Effects These Incidents Have as I'm writing it out. I always start with An Incident and A Concept, because I wouldn't have a story to write without it. But where it becomes Actual Scenes, and what order I write them, depends entirely on the order I discover them.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction? What a Mary Sue was supposed to be, and that Dove isn't what they claimed. That criticism that so many reviewers threw onto her bio wasn't at all helpful, I didn't know what that meant, let alone how to fix it, and I didn't know how to demonstrate that Dove wasn't, in fact, "entirely like Raven", because she had her own powerset, her own history, and her own personality. To be fair, a lot of the Highlights on Their Differences happen in later stories, and it's the initial shock of "why the frick is wearing those clothes and using that mantra", so of course on first impression, it's like. "Raven? similarities???" But... I don't know, it's just so very OBVIOUS to me that, unless we're talking about Timid!Raven (the emoticlone), their differences are so VAST. And I spent a lot of time, WASTED a lot of time, trying to kill the assumption. It really wasn't worth it.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like? DOVE'S! DARK! DISCOVERY!!! I nearly BROKE myself (both of time AND emotion) writing this thing! I understand that Some Friends can't Do Sadism, but like. This story is 250k words long, I've dumped a GREAT DEAL of my heart and soul into it, and Dove's plight seriously needs to be recognized to understand her growth moving forward. But! There! Are! So! Few! People! READING IT. The story has like 20 reviews on fanfic.net, BUT THE CLIMAX HASn'T GOTTEN ANY yet? ???? Please recognize the metaphorical blood, literal sweat, and literal tears I put into this. Gods. Yes I wish it got WAY more love.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? That poem from middle school, "The Raven and the Dove"? It's a neat poem, sure. Kind, of, a unique concept? But it's not very well explored, it just goes "here are their differences. They're opposites. But they get along." No explanation of how or why. (That's all in the fanfics.) It's not nearly as rhythmic as Dove's Prophecy, it's not clever, it's not plot-twisty, and as far as poetic cred goes, I don't think it's anything special. ? ?? I mean, somebody found it online, and contacted me via email, and it nearly got PUBLISHED. (But I would've had to pay them to include it in their book, which I wasn't down with.) I just don't understand, literally at all, why so many people really LIKE it.

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer) SEND ME FICS, I WILL READ.

32) Are any of your characters based on real people? Nah, they're all based on themselves.

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? My favorite fanfic author read, and then complimented, the (second or third version of?) the climax scene in DDD.~

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten? Mostly just comments on Dove's first bio that went, "She's such a Mary Sue, burn it and scrap her entirely to start fresh"? (Thank *all* the gods that I didn't take that advice, because she's incredible and deserves to exist in her own right.)

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest? Honestly? The first thing I do is WRITE about it. Unless I'm prompted to, or rambling about something that has me Inordinately Emotional, I don't really share them.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s? Don't worry, outside of Azarath's canonical demise, I only ever write somebody ACTUALLY dying once. But she comes back, because that's what she does, apparently.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written? Bold of you to assume I write comedy! But seriously, probably Srentha's debut story. When he discovers pizza, he assumes pepperoni isn't edible (a fair assumption, really, but he's vegetarian anyways). When he tries the cheese, his reaction is just so DELIGHTFUL and warm; he laughs so hard he's literally crying. The things he says and does when he's sugar-high are hysterical. He's just so exuberant and energetic, absolutely positive, he really brings a load of smiles to the table, and both I and Dove irrevocably love him for it.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it. I don't know if I have an answer for this. I don't really read a lot of Tumblr fanfics. I've already collaborated with Pix in RPs, my girlfriend and I have already collaborated on stories for both Kary and Pokemon, and the author of The Chronicler Saga implemented one of my scenes into his stories. What more can I really ask for?

I mean, if anyone WANTs to collaborate, just let me know, and I'd love to work something out.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person? Third person, multiple, and preferably omniscient (or damn close to it)! Exploring everyone's inner workings is Exactly My Style. (And just more fun for me to write.)

40) Do people know you write fanfiction? Well, I only talk about it, like, once every three hours or so. (/sarcasm)

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written? Sieara? Alerina? As for actual Canon Characters, I'm having a righteously wonderful time characterizing Azar. Lapis is fun and interesting to work with, but she's so full of emotional "tides" that it's really hard for me to write for her.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx. (I have only ever done songfics on papers, and wound up not needing the songs after all. They were all Evanescence, of course.)

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it? Not that I know of! Someone once guessed Dove was Raven's cousin, on Unforeseen+Unforesaken, and I haven't written the climax (when Raven realizes Dove is Trigon's child) yet. That's about the closest anyone has come.

44) What is the last line you wrote? Oh, stars, let me check. (This is where Tracking Changes comes in handy. ;P ) In Nothing Good Lasts Forever, the story that's (possibly going to be renamed "Even in Death", when Raven takes Dove back to Azarath for closure): This may or may not be polished before publishing. But this takes place immediately after Raven pulls Dove from a flashback.

"There's a lot you have to deal with. Your mind has been seriously damaged by what you've been through. I wonder..." And she trailed off there, hesitating, considering the concept before she dared give it voice.

Dove kept looking up at her, confused and seeming entirely absorbed in her analysis. It was so true. Tearing her apart, every time she remembered... The nightmares and flashbacks wouldn't let her forget it.

45) What spurs you on during the writing process? My own excitement, curiosity, and even desperation to learn what happens next! And a general sense of lowkey affectionate "tribute", like I'm the only person with these peoples' stories in my head, and they deserve to have their stories told. And also the hope that, maybe, someone, somewhere, will read the story, and if just ONE person feels their heart soothed or their struggle validated by my writings, then I've done a good thing, and that's all I really want.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it? (Someone ask me, because EVERYTHING has sequels, and if you want to know about it, just Ask!)

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about? DO IT??

48) What’s your favourite trope to write? I'm... not sure, entirely, but probably "bullshit [insert genre here] magic".

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about? I remember one OF the first fics I ever read, because for about 7, 8 years, I was SCOURING fanfiction.net to find it again. It was about Raven having terrible visions, Azarath being destroyed, and Robin feeling her pain through their connection, but thinking it was heartburn. And then a group of people dropped in, took Raven away (on a spaceships? Though hyperspace???). And they were going to rebuild Azarath. And I think Robin had just discovered Raven was gone, before the story ended. Oh, and they spelled Azarath like "Azerath". That's all I can remember, but I really do wish I'd known what happened, because that story had me absolutely HOOKED. (But alas, I didn't have an account at the time, and I was reading it at the computer lab.)

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? Ohh, this one's hard. I'd drop smut like it's hot (haha, get it?). But seriously, I'm a 99%-sex-repulsed aroace, and I've only ever written like 5 half-done smut scenes. Imagined a Fair Few more, but they don't keep my interest for the long multi-hour process of editing that comprises my writing process.

This probably means "romantic fluff" though, right? I mean, I HAVE to write angst (because let's be real, without Angst I wouldn't have much of a story, since all of my stories are Driven By Characters Issues, WAY moreso than external events). But I really think the REAL beauty of my characters is how they go through that angst, and COME OUT with each others' support. I don't know how to write angst without someone being supported (i.e. "Hurt/Comfort", really), and I don't know how to write fluff without something Heavy bringing it on.

Secretshipping (Dove+Srentha) is equal parts angst and fluff, because honestly Angst is in Dove's Job Description, and Srentha is so light-hearted and goofy and silly that he balances it out (and Dove has some goof in her, and Srentha has some rare moments of angst, and it's how they interact and balance out and HELP each other through it that really brings them to LIFE together). Kary's whole characterization is because The Angst seriously fucked up her psyche, but scenes between her and Dove (and Yo-yo!), even her future husband, can get seriously silly and fluffy. Leyla's real growth and development comes from Realizing that the World is Not Like her Sheltered Life. (And how she doesn't want to expose her parents to Her Angst.) But it's also the fluffy deep softness and sincerity she and her parents share that gets her through these realizations. So like... Angst and fluff go hand-in-hand for me? I wouldn't be able to write one without the other.

#rhs fanfics #rhs personal writing #rhs personal art

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inspired-birth-co-blog · 7 years

Text

For the ‘Wanderlust’ Parent

So, if you’ve been following me for awhile, or if you are a friend or family member of mine, you would probably know by now that I love to travel. Sione (my husband) has been a man who loves staying in his comfort zone, slowly, I have warmed him to the idea of travelling and exploring the world. (This has been a real effort for me because if you know my husband, he has a real chill personality, so like his personality, he is actually one to just want to “chill” and relax at home, or fishing, or kick it at the local beach. *Boring* So… because he is married to me and has lived with me for awhile now, he has grown to love travelling as much as I have :D *winning!*

So with that in mind, we have made it an annual thing for our little family to always travel every year to create the best memories for our children (annnd to give ourselves a bit of a break from reality, because lets face it, we love rewarding ourselves when we work hard ;) *Chocolate included*

We have travelled since our babies have been, well, babies. We have been blessed to see the likes of Samoa, Hawaii, Bali - Indonesia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Whitsundays and constant visits to NZ & Interstate trips to Syd & Melb. Oh and how could I forget Camping! We love camping!

I looooove looking back on our photos of a holiday. It motivates us more to make use of the time we have with each other and to switch away from everything and everyone and just enjoy the culture, the surroundings and of course the food!

Sooo.. I wanted to put together a few things I do to organise myself when travelling with kids. (Because seriously, sometimes even travelling can feel like a chore rather than an actual holiday) So I wanted to share my secrets on how I actually genuinely enjoy a good holiday with my children.

Yep here come the bullet points, to break it down for ya’ll. (In no particular order)

- Lists! ALWAYS write out a list. From the day you book to the hour before you board the plane/ship - Check that list!. Write a list of all things you need to pack, get done, clean, organise, purchase before going away. Nothing like being on holiday and stressing that you didn’t pack something important or didnt organise a sitter for your pet at home.

- Dose your kids up with immunity boosters. Yep, from vitamins B,C,D (If you feel like, try the whole alphabet) I have some great herbal meds and supplements that I rely heavily on that has ALWAYS come through for me. Why dose the kids up you ask? Well, the last thing you want whilst on holiday is a sick kid, or an extra extra sick kid for that matter, where you have to visit the hospital countless times (I have learnt this the hard way unfortunately) When you see me travelling, no lies, I pack my whole medicine cupboard. I’m a bit of a natural med freak so I pack my essential oils, herbal concoctions, supplements and probiotics. Of course, I have the handy back up of panadol. (when its’ really needed). The oils I use are amazing, and carry such a strong effect on all of us. Applying on specific parts of the body for specific oils make such a difference! Boosting the immunity helps the immune system tackle whatever is coming its way. So if you’re prepared, then once you are giving your children all the best things to make the immune system strong, their little bodies can overcome anything.

- And with that note of sickness and children. I ALWAYS book travel insurance, I head to ‘compare the market’ and flick through travel insurers that suit us the best (depending on where we are travelling) Travel insurance has given me so much sense of security and a sense of comfort knowing I have a back up IF something was to go wrong. So don’t pass up on travel insurance, especially if you have kids. Better to be safe, than sorry.

- Pack that front pack! I carried my son in my front pack EVERYWHERE. To the point where I would feel drops of sweat dropping onto my belly from my chest. It saved my life though. The carrier I had supported my lower and upper back and gave me two hands to do things with. So on top of carrying suitcases, checking in at the counter and going to the toilet, I actually lost kilo’s from exercising with my son strapped to my chest and having nowhere to go. (I did this with my son until he was 2 and a half, then I gave it up, as he obviously was getting too big for it, I was in denial that he was growing out of it, that’s how much I loved it!) ~ {We had the Ergo Baby which not only fit me, but also fit my Tongan husband}

- Now I’m still learning with this one, but learn how to pack light. I feel it so necessary to pack my children’s whole wardrobe in a suitcase. After going away on a week cruise, I am NEVER packing the way I pack again. Strictly, an outfit per day. And if for whatever reason, your kid decides to rub chocolate on their shirt or poop through to their pants, then use a piece of clothing you have packed. Its’ not the end of the world, because you know what, it takes 45mins tops, to wash clothing and dry clothing at the hotel you are staying in or at the local laundromat. And then taaa-daaahh you have clean clothes for your kids for the next day. If you’re travelling to an island, even better, your kids are going to live in their swim suit (TRUST ME) so pack light! I plan an outfit a day, with a back up jacket and long pants with a pair of socks, if it gets chilly. (depending where you’re travelling) I just find that on some trips, I come back with clothes that my children didn’t wear. Waste of space. So learn to pack light.

- Hotels. I have always found it necessary to book the best hotels wherever we travel too. I think having a good nights sleep in a clean, airy room is always winning for me. Also consider, existing health concerns, like asthma and being stuck in a dusty room, where you’ll know a asthma attack is brewing. (Trust me, been there, done that) So read the reviews, research and study it, and I mean thoroughly, research and read all reviews on a hotel before booking. People will give their honest opinion on a room. Whether it was dirty upon arrival, dusty, musty, appliances not working, air con not working etc.. You need to be in the loop. I look on all known websites to compare the prices on the room of our liking and if you can, (this is a bonus and I always look out for this) try and book a room where it comes with breakfast included! This is the best, not only do you save money on your daily budget (more on that in my next bullet point) but you also get to feed your kids in the one location without stressing out on finding a place to eat early in the morning while the kids are moaning that they’re hungry. Its also financially better for you if the breakfast is buffet ;)

- My fave. Keeping to a daily budget on spending. Sooo, on every trip we go on, I have a daily spend for the 4 of us - this includes, food and drinks. It’s good to calculate this way before actually going on the holiday as you have a fair idea on how much you would actually spend per day. If you know the currency exchange rates and know the prices of food (roughly) at the destination, then you’re in luck, budgeting will be so very easy! This is where my bullet point 1 comes into play as well, with keeping a list, I have a list on my phone on how much I will spend, and on what I will spend on. Say for example we plan to check out the markets - I will have cost for petrol or taxi/uber fee, cost for shopping and most importantly cost for lunch and drinks (I try to buy a bulk amount of water and keep refrigerated in hotel fridge - good way of saving money, check if hotel has a water filter, just pack empty bottles for the kids. I also pack my own snacks in check in luggage - packets of chips, sultanas, nuts, muesli bars etc, this helps with hungry hungry children during the day) - we have never had a problem with taking snacks via our check in luggage. Make sure you declare all food, depending on where you’re travelling too.

- Find a trustworthy Children’s club at the destination. A lot of resorts hold a kids club and Cruiselines hold a great kids club too. The kids club was so much more than just dropping your kid off and saying ‘See you never”, the children have the best interaction with their leaders and other kids. The activities are educational, fun and exciting and during the time the kids are in their club, mum & dad (yes, us,) get to reconnect and enjoy a beverage by the water and actually feel human again. Some destinations, will not have a kids club available, and hey that’s okay! A day out is more than enough to exhaust the child out or to add many stories for the child to tell their friends back home. Make sure you plan an agenda on things to do for the kids. Make note of what is around the surrounding areas, organise a budget for activities for the kids and read reviews on what it’s like (ie, theme parks, pools, beaches etc) You can actually find a lot of pages on Facebook and Google on a certain destination and read up on all the tips you need to know about a certain place. The information is endless.

- Entering a third world country. So we have been fortunate enough to travel to the pacific islands and to Bali Indonesia. These places are considered third world purely because of hygienic and economic reasons. Upon leaving Australia to Samoa, I packed a separate bag for hygienic purposes - Sanitizers, alcohol wipes, mosquito repellent, insect lotions, like seriously, the works! I went all out. So once we arrived there, I was on top of it. I would spray the kids down three hourly, apply lotions day and night, give them hand sanitizer before eating anything or even in the in-between moments and I would dose them up on probiotics from the food they would eat on a daily. I would have them keep a bottle of water in the bathroom, and have, not just the kids (but all of us) brush our teeth with bottled water, drink only bottled water and wash hands with bottled water. I did the same with Bali and stopped the kids from eating any type of food that needed to be washed by water - apples, strawberries, salads etc.. I was super strict and boy am I glad, my kids and I enjoyed a holiday where we didn’t have any nasty tummy bugs on both trips. Hmm you must be thinking, I’m one of THOSE mums, well, yeah I am lol and I’m super okay with that. It seems like a lot, and a major worry to be on top of things like this, but I’m one of those paranoid mothers, who just needs to avoid any nasties coming our way, especially my children. I cannot stand feeling helpless when they’re sick. So how I justify it, is if I could prevent any sickness from entering my family, I know that I’ve done my job as a mother.

- Now less serious stuff. It’s always a great idea to pack electronics for the kids to remain occupied on the plane. Fill the iPad or laptop with your kids favourite movies and shows. I almost always, pay the extra for in flight entertainment as it’s easier for me to just hop on board and be given an iPad as oppose to actually taking ours as it’s another thing to look after. I like to pack activity books and colouring in books for my kids. Stickers are great! You can utilise these as a reward. And snacks! Snacks always work a treat for us!

- Also, I’m not sure if you all experience this but my children (and myself included - im probably the worst to get this) sore blocked ears. It is excruciating! I pack honey sucking lollipops for my kids (you can purchase these from Flannerys Health Food store) and also carry on essential oils. I use Melaleuca (Tea Tree Oil) on the muscle behind the ear that leads down to the neck. I massage in a downward stroke on both sides as this relieves the tension that is building up to the blockage of the ear. I also sniff the oil which helps with a potential headache from the ear blocking. This oil is my saviour! (Insert hallelujah hands emoji ;) and for those who receive nausea whilst flying, peppermint oil! Rub on tummy and I sniff this as well, and it helps settle the nauseas feeling. For babies I would rub oil under feet as the nerves under the feet connect to our sensory organs, this includes the ears. And for tummy, just an oil rubbing on the tummy.

- Check this out, I came across an article about Plane Pals. A plane pal is an inflatable foot rest that you can take on board and use for children of all ages. I mean, come on, how uncomfortable is it having your child sleeping on our laps with their neck/head scrunched up in so many angles, just to get comfortable. Not forgetting how uncomfortable we are for having our children’s limbs all over us if they’re asleep on the seat beside us. The plane pal helps create like a recliner effect where the kids can lie down without annoying the person beside them. I LOVE IT!! How amazing is this creation, I only wish I knew about this product when we travelled to Hawaii on a 9hr flight. :-/ {www.planepal.com.au}

Now - Lastly, book and choose your holidays wisely. Nothing like booking a holiday with specials for flights to find out accommodation, transportation, exchange rate is through the roof! You cannot justify a holiday that cost $300 return per passenger to then book $5000 accommodation and still counting on how much spending money you are planning on taking. This just wouldn’t be fair to you, your children and the whole reason of wanting to go on a holiday. For me, and for many others, i find, a great holiday is a place where the flights are cheap, the food is cheap and basically all rounder the whole trip is cheap. Let’s be real, we want value for our money. The best way to have a ‘cheap’ holiday, is to do so much research on the place you’re going too. Find what works for you and your family. (selling point) If you haven’t done so already, check out a cruise line and book it. The value for your money is incredible!

Now I hope most of the things I have mentioned in this post are either helpful or informative. You can take what you want from it, as you are the one who knows your child and what works for your family. You also need to think about what works for you as a parent. Now, it sounds like hard work, but what part of parenting isn’t?! And what part of travelling does not consist of hard work? To create a good holiday, we need to be informed, be aware and be open minded for what’s to come (this includes a tantrum on a plane)

Let’s be honest though, we are never really looking forward to the journey there and back, but whatever you can do to make it comfortable for all, you would want to get your hands on those tips, and it is my pleasure to share with you all, what works for us.

From one parent to another - just relax. After all, you are on holiday!

Shana x

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