#I hope this doesn’t come off as too intimidating or intense it’s difficult being genuine even if it’s something small and unimportant

[basil-under-a-blanket]

Made this mr soapy papercraft from crazed desperation. I have no idea why I was so attached to this 3D box of detergent years ago but the mind works in wonderful ways so who am I to judge myself. Anyways there is no HD images of this box on the internet so I resorted to using roblox studio and getting the textures from there.. but it turns out older models can still have texture IDs even when the ID link is broken. Kinda like a ghost. So I ended up taking the best quality zoomed in screenshots I could BUT the nutrition label on the back was different in the only model of the thing I could find so I ended up having to go onto the version of the roblox laundromat game left alive and take a screenshot of the back there. After cleaning it up I think it looks good. Now finally (after some adjustments) I present to you the mr soapy papercraft. I added both one with the tabs and one without just in case. Feel free to make one I guess. I think it’s safe to say I’m the #1 fan of this box of detergent. Also if you revisit pinewood laundromat on roblox be warned that there is a skibidi toilet in the bathrooms. I have no idea why or when it was added and everything else in the game is unchanged. I am doing mad.

[fanfickittycat]

First Glance

TITLE: First Glance

CHAPTER NUMBER/ONE SHOT: One Shot

AUTHOR: fanfickittycat

FANDOM: Haikyuu!!

CHARACTERS/PAIRING: Ushijima Wakatoshi x Reader

GENRE: Romance/Fluff

FIC SUMMARY: Ushijima doesn't know why the girl tasked with covering the team for the school paper won't leave his mind

RATING: G

AUTHORS NOTES/WARNINGS: I’m putting this below the cut but you can also read it on AO3 here

“Is she back already?” Ushijima didn’t flinch when Tendo joined his side, only nodding stoically in response. He was observing the girl with such rapt attention, that Tendo was genuinely surprised; usually, Ushijima only had eyes for volleyball. Girls seemed to be out of the question. Even when the topic of girls was brought up in the locker room, he never paused to pass comment. In fact, he didn’t look like he was even listening to the conversation, instead methodically doing up the buttons on his shirt or neatly folding his kit.

“I hear she’s from the journalism club” he said, watching his friend’s face carefully for any changes in his features. The day had been so boring, and finally something interesting was happening. “Hmmm”. Nothing. “I guess she must want to cover the team going to the finals.” “Hmmm.” Nothing again. “Maybe she’ll want to interview us?” Ushijima cleared his throat “hmmm.” Ah, bingo. “You should talk to her” he nudged Ushijima in the side “you’re the captain after all.” Ushijima finally broke his gaze, looking down at the water bottle in his hands “I’m not good at talking.” Tendo opened his mouth to say something encouraging; to bolster his friend who always seemed to be confident in all his abilities on the court, but the squabble between Semi and Shirabu stopped him.

“Hey” Ohira said “don’t fight in front of the press, it makes us look bad.” The two setters continued to scowl at one another but stopped bickering. “It’s no way to act in front of a girl” Tendo added, slapping a hand on his teammates backs “especially a cute girl.” His eyes trailed over to look at Wakatoshi who’s impassive face was betrayed by the way his hands mindlessly fiddled with the blue bottle in his hands. “I guess she’s cute” Semi agreed “if you like that kind of girl.” “What kind of girl is that?” Ushijima asked, making his teammates look up at him in shock. “W-well you know…” Semi struggled to come up with the words to describe her “she’s clumsy, did you see the way she almost tripped coming in here?” “Yeah, but she got up again with that super determined face” Shirabu interjected “like she was so nervous she was overcompensating.” “She seems energetic” Ohira said “and tenacious.” “Those are good traits” Wakatoshi said offhandedly. “They are” Tendo agreed, egging him on “and she has pretty, long hair. I usually like short hair on girls but even I have to admit that it’s very becoming on her. Right, Miracle Boy?” Ushijima looked up at her again, observing the waves of thick, dark hair that flowed past her shoulders. She tucked a strand behind her ear as she continued to speak to Coach Washijo and note down the things he said in her notebook. “Yes” he agreed “it is.”

Ushijima continued to think about the mystery girl as he got changed. Who was she? Tendo had said she was here on behalf of the school paper, but usually whenever they were written about, it was a sandy haired boy who came by. Why had he never seen her before? He idly put his jacket on, pondering what the feeling in his chest was. A sort of warmth and tenderness. He hoped he wasn’t getting ill.

“Before you all go” Coach Washijo said, stopping the boys from leaving the gym “remember we have practise on Saturday, and I expect you all to be there bright and early at 6am. No excuses. Also, we’ll have a member of the journalism club with us this week so watch your mouths.” He looked pointedly at Semi, who’s cheeks flushed red, much to the enjoyment of Shirabu who nudged him. Ushijima wanted to ask what her name was, but they were dismissed in the next instance and it seemed pointless.

The girl stayed on Ushijima’s mind. That evening he had several hazy dreams all involving her. In one, he just remembered her looking at him and smiling so brightly that he managed to miss a relatively easy receive. In another, she was interviewing him, and he was struggling to answer coherently. He didn’t remember the last one very well, but in it she was holding his hands. He woke up with her phantom touch still on him. He turned his head to squint at his alarm clock. It was almost five am, way too early for him to consider rising. He closed his eyes again, but sleep didn’t find him. He took his phone off charge and looked for Tendo’s number to text. He had insisted that he get a phone, but he didn’t use it much.

U: Tendo, are you awake? I have a query. 4:58am

He didn’t expect to get a response and instead went to take a cold shower to focus his mind. The cold water was a welcome distraction, and he felt his body leave the dreamy warm state it was in. Today he had practise until noon, but nothing especially pressing to do afterwards. Perhaps he’d take a jog before dinner. He knew he should probably make time to review some tapes from their last practise game too. Despite him concentrating on his own schedule, his mind once again wandered to her. What would she do today?

He left the shower, padding back to his room with a towel around his shoulders. His phone buzzed.

T: What query could you possibly have at 5am??? 5:08am T: Lay it on me, Miracle Boy 5:09am

He picked up his phone, struggling to come up with a coherent sentence.

U: The girl has remained in my mind. I think I must be getting ill, should I tell coach today? 5:12am T: Sounds like love sickness to me ;) 5:12am U: I’m not familiar with that illness 5:1am T: -_- It’s a good thing you found volleyball 5:14am U: I don’t understand 5:14am T: We’ll talk about it later 5:15am U: Ok 5:15am

“She’s here” Ushijima blinked at the girl, standing before them. She looked sleepy, clutching a thermos as she greeted the volleyball team members. Her hair was tied up into a ponytail, which Ushijima didn’t like nearly as much as her hair being out. Still, there was something admittedly quite cute about seeing her like this; dreamy eyed, red cheeked, and cosy in her fluffy jumper. She shouldn’t be out here in the cold, watching the boys do laps, she should be tucked up in bed with her hair being petted gently. The thought made Ushijima flush. He resolved to himself that he was going to concentrate on practise and not on this girl, whose name he still didn’t know.

“So, lover boy” Tendo teased, as he shrugged off his track jacket alongside his friend “you like her?” The boys had entered the gym now to do some routine stretches before doing drills, and Tendo had taken the opportunity to speak up. “I don’t know her.” “But you think she’s cute?” Ushijma paused and swallowed “yes, I suppose so.” “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” Tendo winked at him and Ushijima frowned. Surely, he had his back? In their current formation he tended to be behind the Guess Monster. He shook his head free of the thought and went to join the others.

“Take a twenty-minute break and then we’ll do three on three!” “Yes, coach!” The lapse in practise was a welcome one, and Ushijima wiped the sweat off his brow with his towel, grateful for the moment to breathe. “This is your chance” Tendo sang, jutting his chin out at the girl who was speaking to Semi. “It’s rude to interrupt” he said, feeling a sinking feeling in his chest as she laughed at something Semi said. What was this? He felt something brew in his chest that made his teeth clench in annoyance at his teammate. He gripped the water bottle, turning away to drink. “Don’t be angry” Tendo chided “I’ve found out her name…”

*** You stood, trying to follow the game but it was difficult to really grasp what was happening. The ball was shot back and forth with such ferocity that you worried it would hit you. How embarrassing you cringed, picturing yourself getting smacked in the face with the volleyball. You took a step back for safe measure, trying to remember what Haruki had told you.

“The piece is about emotion as much as it’s about sport.” “What kind of feelings can hitting a ball possibly inspire?” You said skeptically. Haruki smiled apologetically “I’m sorry you have to take over for me” “You didn’t ask for a family death” you said, feeling sorry “I’ll do my best.” “You’re a talented writer. Just put your own spin on it, like you always do. I promise this is the last time you’ll have to write a sports piece.”

You had to admit, that despite the dread and the unmistakable sinking feeling in your gut from being out of your depth, you were also in awe of the players. The way they were able to make split second decisions that ensured the ball’s return to the other side of the court; the constant movement… It was actually impressive.

The red-haired boy – you still didn’t know them by name – had an almost eerie gift for knowing what the opposing side was going to do. You scribbled it down, annoyed when you dropped your biro.

“Look out!” Your head tilted up to see your worst fear coming true. The ball was flying towards you and you felt like you had frozen, eyes wide like a deer in headlights. You braced yourself for impact, lowering your head again but the hit never came. You heard a scuffle near you, and you opened your eyes to see the tall one with the olive hair hit the ball away. He met your stunned eyes with his formidable ones. You’d heard of this one. Ushijima the captain of the team. Haruki had assured you that despite his daunting exterior and intimidating manner, he was nobody to legitimately fear. Unless you were on the other team that is…

He looked away first, running back to the court to be alongside his teammates without a glance back. You felt winded. Whatever had just happened felt so intense that it was strange to believe that it was only a couple of seconds long. The sound of a whistle blowing, and the shouts of the demon coach did nothing to snap you out of it.

“Are you alright?” you looked up again to see the captain looking down at you. “Um, yes” you felt your hands go clammy “thank you.” He nodded at you and a silence followed. “Is it always so…” you looked for the right word “dangerous?” The corner of his lip twitched upwards “sometimes.” “Why do you play it then?” He hesitated, looking wistful “I’m good at it and I like it.” It was a terribly blunt answer, but it made you smile. “You’re funny” you said which made him cock his head to the side. “I’ve never been described as humorous before.” “It’s a special kind of humour” you said, rewarded with a faint blush colouring his cheeks. “How is your article progressing?” He asked, clearing his throat. “I think I found my angle on it” you looked up at him “but I need to do more research. I don’t really know too much about volleyball.” “You can ask me. I know about volleyball.” You felt flustered “are you doing anything after practise? Maybe you could help me clarify all the technical stuff?” He nodded “I’m free.” “Cool.” “Yes… cool” he nodded at you, excusing himself to run back. You felt your heart race as you watched him go back to the court. For the first time since you’d been assigned the piece, you felt excited about volleyball.

[adamwatchesmovies]

The Batman (2022)

Before we can dig into any other aspect of The Batman, we must discuss its running time. Is 176 minutes too long. Sometimes, but not for this kind of movie. This is a detective film. If it were shorter, everything would seem too easy. We’d be racing from one scene to the next without fully absorbing what all of the pieces mean within the context of the bigger picture. Worse, you’d be able to tell how close we are to shutting the case by how long you’d been sitting. At nearly three hours, you're able to lose yourself in the story. Director Matt Reeves (who co-writes with Peter Craig) can genuinely fool you into thinking everything's finished and then prove you wrong by revealing another shocking revelation. But what about the rest?

On Halloween, Gotham City's mayor is murdered by a serial killer calling himself the Riddler (Paul Dano). With the body, he leaves a letter addressed to The Batman (Robert Pattinson). As the vigilante detective investigates, he encounters a trail of corruption that leads him to thief Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz), mobster Carmine Falcone (John Turturro), his lieutenant, The Penguin (Colin Farrel), and seems to end with his own family.

Grounded in reality, this is a moody film about angry, desperate people. Other Bruce Waynes have shown clear love for their butler Alfred (played this time by Andy Serkis). This one is acidic even to him. This is a Batman consumed by his war on crime - a campaign he’s only been leading for two years and seems to be getting worse. He knows he can’t be everywhere at once and compensates with unrelenting ferocity. This is a hero that gets hit and injured A LOT. The fact that he keeps going no matter what makes you wonder if he even cares about living or dying. It's the people who risk becoming victims as he did years ago that keep him going.

Every one of the Riddler’s victims leads to the next and fleshes out the world we're immersed in. Speaking of the Riddler, he’s a difficult character to write. He’s supposed to be a mastermind… that leaves clues to his location? It doesn’t make sense but this movie pulls it off wonderfully. He’s creepy, his crimes are intimidating and the clues he leaves behind are a lot of “fun” to unpack. Each is clever and when The Batman solves them, it feels earned because you’ve seen the detective work that went into getting the answer.

Much of the film’s marketing has been drawing attention towards The Batman and Selina Kyle - she’s not quite Catwoman yet. You can tell something is going on between them but I wouldn’t call it a great romance. Not just yet. Maybe I was simply consumed by the mystery and missed the signs. Whether the chemistry is there or not, Zoë Kravitz plays the role well. She exudes this mix of sadness, frustration, hope, and rage. I guess she and The Batman really have a lot in common in that way.

I'd like to draw attention towards Colin Farrell as Oswald Cobblepot. I don’t know how they did it but you look at that makeup and you say to yourself “yes, that guy’s nickname has to be ‘The Penguin’” without it being overdone. The actor's unrecognizable. Everyone is great, from John Turturoo (it’s a joy to see him in a good movie) to Jeffrey Wright as lieutenant Gordon, and the brooding Robert Pattinson as a Bruce Wayne who begins to come into his own as a crime fighter in what feels like his first big case.

In terms of flaws, I’d single out the not-100%-there relationship between Bruce and Selina, and a scene towards the end that teases a sequel. It’s not during the end credits (though there is a little something there for those who stick around) and it isn't badly done, but it is the one unnecessary scene in a film that otherwise has none.

The Batman is a worthy addition to the Dark Knight’s filmography. As a stand-alone film, it’s just a great mystery you'll enjoy unpacking. The score by Michael Giacchino is memorable, the whole thing drips with atmosphere and the conclusion is intense. On a more personal note, I’ll confess that some of my enjoyment of this long movie that doesn’t feel long was that for a good chunk of the day, I was able to sit with a fictional story and completely block out the current world events. The Batman is about 3 hours of intense, engrossing mystery. That sounds like a lot, but you won’t feel it while watching. (Theatrical version on the big screen, March 5, 2022)

[chibinekochan]

Angel in Hell Season 2 part 2

 part 1  I

  Gen. reader insert.

Words - 1.9k

Taglist:

@gothjuulpod  ; @purgatoryhall ; @sibit360  ; @a-personnamed-ace ;  @romy350-romyakari

  I will address the previous Human Mc as Mc. I just want to avoid confusion. I hope everyone is okay with this.

  I also have a warning for whatever Satan is doing. In case that you are sensitive to abusive behavior, this might be a trigger. So just skip everything that happens in his room.

I added a * when it ends.

  -------------------------

Both of you leave  Mammon's room. 

You go to Satan's room. There are books even on his bed. It looks like he is researching something. 

"Do you want some tea?" Satan makes some space for you on a chair. 

"That sounds good." You sit down and see some notes on the table. 

One catches your eye. You glance at the title: Regaining lost memories. 

You read the words with disbelief. 

Lucifer mentioned ways for you to regain your past life's memories, but you haven't thought about it at all. 

  Satan recognizes the note and looks troubled. "You see, I have been looking into this for quite a while now. I admit I have not yet found a way to make you remember just yet, but I'm certain I will be able to do it. I know an extremely powerful magician. He might be capable of helping me too." Satan has obviously invested much time on this. Many nights in the library, many hours searching for books. Obtaining many rare and forbidden books. 

"I can understand why you would want me to recall my previous life, but it's not that easy." You fold your hands and twist them. You aren't sure if you would want that. It seems very frightening to you. 

"I know it's not easy, but I will find a way. Just recently I acquired a book with the help of Lucifer. I feel like this will be a break, though. I mean it would be so great if you could get healed and could remember anything." Satan smiles at you. It's unsettling. Everything about this seems so wrong. 

Your whole body is revolting against this. "Healing me? What are you even saying?"

Satan crooks his head, he is puzzled. 

"You have amnesia, so it's only natural you require healing." Satan's face seems warped. 

You slam your hands on the table, unsure why you even feel so uneasy or upset. 

"I don't have amnesia. I was reborn as an angel." 

Satan doesn't seem to comprehend. "Of course you are an angel. Your memories were erased when you became an angel. I merely want to get your human memories back for you." 

"That is completely different from amnesia. MC DIED! I'M NOT MC!" You feel such frustration. You feel tears of anger welling up in you. 

Satan seems genuinely surprised. "You don't know what you're talking about. They brainwashed you. They took everything from you."

You can't believe the words that escape Satan's mouth. Your mouth stands wide open. "That is nonsense, the angels gave my soul a new life as an angel. I'm not the same person." You don't know what to say to convince Satan.

  Your words simply don't reach him. 

Satan crocks his head. "I know you must be confused. They undoubtedly have done such terrible things to you, but your return to me is all the proof I need. I can bring you back." Satan sounds delusional. 

You experience a sense of dread and stand up from the chair. When did he become like this?

"I should leave now." You slowly back away from Satan. 

"Please MC you have to understand me. I want nothing but the best for you." Satan has lost it. It's equally tragic and scary. 

You slowly take a few more steps backward. "I'm just very tired. I need rest." You look for a good excuse. 

  Was he always like this? No, he wasn't, your gut tells you that. Something inside him is broken. 

Satan takes a step towards you. You hold your breath. You feel genuinely intimidated. 

What will he do? 

Satan casually grabs a note from the table. "You should read this. I'm certain everything will make sense once you read this." He seems to be convinced at least. 

You grab the paper by shaking hands. "Yeah, I will…" You carefully and slowly step away from him. 

"Get some rest now, MC," Satan murmurs the name but you still hear it. 

You give him a fake and stiff smile and leave his room. 

*

  This was very intense. 

You almost run back to your room, shaking. How far is Satan gone? 

You feel like vomiting. 

Then you run into something tall and warm. You look up and it's Beel.

  "Oh, umm sorry Beel."

Beel smiles. "It happens are you in a rush?" Then he sees you are genuinely distressed. "What happened to you?" 

 "Well, Satan he is…" You are shaking, you aren't certain if you should tell Beel.

Beel's face stiffens, "What did he do to you?" 

"Nothing really… he-he just…" Suddenly you feel tears on your cheeks. You aren't sure if you can even truly blame Satan for wanting you to remember, but he was just so unsettling. 

"He wants you to remember about your previous life right?" Beel apparently knows. He shakes his head. "I'm sorry about Satan. He saw them die… It was the hardest on him. Come with me to my room. Belphie is also there and you are safe there. You can call Simeon."  Beel is concerned for you. 

You aren't certain, your relationship with Belphie is complicated. 

"It's okay, Belphie is just upset that they sent you here. It has nothing to do with you as a person. He just didn't think he would ever see this body again. Should I say 'this body'? Sorry, I can't quite understand this." Beel seems very conflicted about this at all, but he looks out for you, and that alone means so much to you right now. 

"I don't get it either, this whole rebirth thing is still new to me too." You let out a heavy breath. 

"We will eventually understand it. I hope so at least." Beel tries at least. 

Somehow he convinces you to go with him. 

Belphie really is in the room, on the bed. He isn't sleeping. "Welcome back Beel… and welcome to you too…" He awkwardly greets you. 

"Be nice, Belphie. They already have a hard time." Beel sternly tells Belphie off. 

"I'm not a bully. I don't strike people that are on the ground." Belphie seems offended. 

Their normal banter somehow causes you a feeling of relief. "Come sit down. Here, have some chocolate." Belphie awkwardly gets some chocolate out and hands it to you. 

You sit down and silently eat the chocolate. Your tears have dried up at this point. 

"Did anything happen?" Belphie is curious. 

Beel looks at you, ready to explain it for you. 

"Satan wants me to remember my previous life. That alone is not the issue, but he was just so… I can't really describe it…" You cast your eyes down. 

"He is unhinged. I mean he works with Lucifer. I can understand where he is coming from, but that should be your decision, not ours." Belphie is extremely frustrated. 

Beel places a cup of hot chocolate in front of you. "He is right, we all need to accept you are different now. Even when it's difficult. No matter what we feel. It's your life, and it's not as easy as Satan thinks it is." Beel says this very firmly. 

"This is exactly why I didn't want any of this. You look like your previous incarnation. It just makes this all such a mess." Belphie sighs. 

"Is that why you were so rude to me?" Suddenly it makes sense to you. 

"I wouldn't say rude, I'd call it distant." Belphie looks away, probably pouting. 

"Belphie, you were definitely disrespectful. It's not their fault. The angels messed this up. You need to give them a fair chance. Even if you don't like angels." Beel shakes his head. 

You can tell he cares about you, regardless of his feelings. 

"Easier said than done." Belphie huffs. 

"First you should apologize to them. Just have a fresh start now where you don't have to lie any more it should be easier." Beel pushes Belphie just a little. 

It's pretty impressive. 

"Fine. I'm very sorry about being mean. I will be kinder." Belphie sounds a bit reluctant but you take it anyway. 

"Thank you, Belphie, this means a lot to me." You give him a slight smile and take a sip of the hot chocolate. 

"I will keep an eye on Satan, but you might want to stay with Simeon." Beel finds it difficult to admit this. His words genuinely touch you. He cares so much about his brothers, and yet he tells you to stay away from them. 

"I hate admitting it, but Satan has lost it from grief. Levi was behaving shiftily, and I don't trust Lucifer anyway." Belphie sways his head. He seems very drained of this. 

"We all have a hard time, but it's also very hard for you. We need to be better than this. This is what MC would have wanted." Beel has a pained expression. 

"They must've been so special to all of you. I'm so sorry I caused you all of this grief. I probably should just go back to heaven." You feel extremely guilty. 

"Don't say that. You would lose all of your memories from the devildom. That would be very sad, and I know MC would be happy to see you are such a good angel." Beel has a gentle smile. 

Hearing this means so much to you, it's hard to put into words. “You're right. I have much to think about.” 

Beel nods. “I'm here for you whenever you need me.” “I will try to be nice.” Belphie seems just a tad reluctant, but you can't fault him.

“Thank you both.” You feel good about having Beel in your corner, and at least Belphie seems to accept you are your own person. 

"I will call Simeon now. Can I stay here until he picks me up?" You get your phone from your pocket. 

"Naturally, you can stay here for as long as you want. Right, Belphie." Beel shoots Belphie a glance.

Belphie just shrugs. "Sure, you can even borrow my bed." 

"That is very kind of you." It genuinely is a kind offer. This seems to get to Belphie. He shifts in his seat. "No problem." He says meekly.

  You smile at this and call Simeon. 

He picks up right away. "How are you? Is everything all right?" Simeon seems worried. 

"It's kinda hard to explain over the phone but would it be possible for me to stay in your room?" You bite your lips. 

"Absolutely, where are you? Are you safe right now?" Simeon agrees without hesitation. 

"I'm safe, and am in Beel and Belphie's room right now." You feel immense relief. 

"Stay where you are. I will come to get you." Simeon has mixed emotions, you can tell as much.

  The call ends.

  Beel looks at you. "Will he come?" 

"Yes, he told me to wait here."

Beel almost seems a bit sad but swiftly recovers. "That's great."

Belphie meanwhile returns to sleep.

  —-------------

The fact that Satan casually works with Lucifer alone is a massive red flag. Alongside the ocean of red flags that Satan is drowning in. 

[renaxwrites]

Eleven

.04  -  18

synopsis: the number Eleven had always appeared in milestones of your life. it was a constant, and you didn’t know why. but you would soon find out when you study abroad in japan and meet Him.

pairing: tsukishima kei x fem!reader

warnings: none!

masterlist: here :)

a/n: more introductions! English will be in bold. Hope you enjoy this one <3

      previous || next

We made a start. Be it a false one, I know.

“Oh. It’s you.”

You turn to see the one and only Tsukishima towering over you. But that didn’t shock you.

His jersey number was Eleven?

Why the hell did he have that number? Is this supposed to mean something? I could be safe to call it a coincidence, but there was no way. Your whole life that number had appeared, so it should be a sign of something, right?

But what?

Millions of questions dashed through your mind as you stare each other down. The split second of intense eye contact felt like an eternity of wavelengths flowing between the two of you. That split second was all it took for everyone in the gym to dissect this interaction.

Hinata, always being the one brave enough in awkward situations, spoke up. “Uh...so you guys know each other?”

His inquiry broke the tiny trace between you and Tsukishima. You glance at your feet, the team, the net. Anything but him right now.

“I guess you can say that,” you admit shyly.

Tsukishima grunts. “She’s staying at my house for the time being. Not a big deal.”

Gee, he’s so nonchalant about it. You weren’t sure how to feel about that, but seeing at the confused looks being exchanged between the players, you felt the need to give a quick rundown of what the deal was. Better to prevent any wrong ideas.

You pipe up after Tsukishima, “It’s really not. I’m originally from the United States, but I’m studying over here now. Mizuki, Tsukishima’s mother, generously offered hospitality while I was over here in the country. Nothing more than that.” You smile assuredly, trying to avoid the need for any more pressing questions.

Too bad that didn’t work.

The two boys that high-fived, who you discovered to be Nishinoya and Tanaka, burst out, “So if you’re from America, you know English, right? Say something in that language!”

Not surprised, you ask, “What do you want me to say?”

A dark-haired boy, who quickly introduced himself as Kageyama, had been quietly observing the entire time. However, he was lightning-fast to give his suggestion:

“How do you say, ‘Hinata, you dumbass’ in English?”

“HEY!”

You pivot toward Hinata’s voice and find him staring daggers in Kageyama’s direction.

“Sorry Hinata, but Kageyama thinks you’re a dumbass. Sorry Hinata, but Kageyama thinks you’re a dumbass.”

Nishinoya and Tanaka whisper to themselves, and you only catch phrases like, “Who knew foreign languages could sound hot” “The way she could flawlessly switch between them bro oh my gosh”. You felt like a bug under a microscope. Especially with Tsukishima’s negative vibes rubbing onto you. It’s so weird how just his presence has been taking a toll on you.

A blonde man, probably in his twenties, strides up to the huddle, redirecting the team’s focus to him. He seems a little intimidating, but not too much. This must be the coach then.

He announces, “Alright guys, the ride to Tokyo is in a MONTH. Just some food for thought, so I would suggest you guys get cracking on your drills sooner than later.”

Daichi claps twice. “Alright! Starting with dives! Let’s go!” And with that, the team narrows their attention to the court.

The coach hums and finally acknowledges you, in a warmer tone opposite to the stern voice he just served his team. “Hey there, seems I missed introduction time. I’m Ukai Keishin, coach of this team. You’ll meet our team advisor too. He should be coming in soon, he just went to get something real quick. So, what brings you here?”

You explain the same spiel you gave the team, and he gives a curt nod. “I see. This might actually be perfect timing then. We were actually going to begin to evaluate each player to find their strengths and weaknesses, so we know what to tweak before Tokyo. You know what, think of today as a trial. Maybe you’ll be able to give us a new perspective we could miss.”

Your eyes glisten at the thought of being legitimately helpful for the team. You felt you were meant to be here.

The doors burst open, and in scurries what looks to be the advisor with multiple packets in his arms. You sense his distress, and you dash over to help him, managing to catch one as it fell off the pile.

“Why thank you! Can’t lose that at a time like this!” he smiles in appreciation.

The two of you carry the papers over to the rest of the staff. More introductions were made on your behalf, and soon Ukai and Takeda, the advisor, catch you up on their latest tactic of evaluating the team. They give you an extra copy of their packet, which lists every player’s strength and weakness.

“Your job, (y/n), is to capture their weaknesses in action. This way, they can physically see what they’re doing, and go from there. You can throw in some cool ones of them too, if you want. So their egos can get a little lift,” explains the coach.

You get to work.

                                    ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You only have the essentials of your photography setup with you wherever you went, while your more professional add ons were in your room. This meant you had to get a bit closer to capture the range of certain angles, but you didn’t mind. You’ve been on a football field, basketball court, and a whole bunch of other arenas where you were drowning in a sea of giants. You’ve definitely seen worse situations.

Practice ran pretty smoothly. You were surprisingly able to shoot everything needed within the players’ packet, so once the team was officially done, Ukai had them all line up. One by one, each player would be able to look at their action shots, and the coach would explain to them what was working, or what can be improved. The players were, to say the least, super hyped at seeing themselves in action. (Nishinoya: “SHE GOT MY ROLLING THUNDAAA!” Your ears rang for a couple minutes after how closed he yelled) You weren’t too familiar with the sport itself, but you made sure to slide in a compliment for every player. It really made all the difference in the world to see their face light up, knowing someone else is motivating their hard work.

But a certain someone has been very difficult to read so far.

Tsukishima approaches you for his turn. What if he doesn’t like his photos? What if the angle you shot his blocking wasn’t good enough?

Why are you suddenly self-conscious?

You show him the first photo burst. A simple serve. Shouldn’t be too much.

Ukai begins explaining volleyball gibberish to Tsukishima, and you’re just trying to focus on not doing anything irrational. Just stand. Breathe. Click through photos. Repeat.

Usually, you’re able to tell what a player is thinking once they see their plays in action. But man, this guy was just so monotone! The only ounce of emotion you were able to detect was the tiniest glimmer of awe in his eye when you clicked through one particular block of his. This was the best from his series in your opinion. At least he recognized it. Your chest felt warm for some reason.

Before Tsukishima was dismissed, you slip him a quick confidence booster. “You’re really good at blocking. You look like you manage to catch anything, it’s awesome!”

He half-heartedly turns your way, looks at you dead in the eyes, and hums as a thanks.

So much for interaction.

                                    ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Practice ends, and the gym gets locked up, much to Hinayana and Kageyama’s dismay.

Everyone begins to go their separate ways. Tsukishima was still conversing with Yamaguchi, so you weren’t sure if you should wait for him or not. Playing it safe, you start to walk, but slowly. Eventually, you hear footsteps crunching behind you, signaling him catching up.

“You shouldn’t walk alone in the dark. Can’t have mom’s favorite getting hurt or lost now, can you?”

It seemed more like a rhetorical question than one you should answer, given the way he has his headphones on. You decide to give him the benefit of the doubt, by trying to keep up with his pace. Metaphorically, anyway. Man, he sure walks fast!

“I know the way back! Plus, there’s streetlights, so it’s not that dark,” you muster out.

He sighs, then takes off his headphones. “You’ve been here one day and you know you’re way around? Seems like a stretch.”

You bounce back, “I mean, it’s literally down the street. The only way I would get lost at this point is trying to keep up with your long ass stride. Chill dude!”

He finally looks at you in the eyes.

He smirks.

Then slips his headphones back on.

You couldn’t tell whether or not this was his way of playful banter, or if he was genuinely trying to get a rise out of you. Either way, he had you feel a certain way. Good or bad, who knows?

The rest of the way continues in silence. And all too soon you both arrive at the house.

At dinner, Mizuki is excited to hear how your first day played out. “You came home along with Kei, so is it safe to assume you’ve already found a club or some sort to be in?” she innocently inquires.

You animatedly nod in response. “Actually, I was with his team. Hinata has shown me around the school, so he’s the one who invited me to their practice! One thing led to another, and basically I’m the team’s official photographer!”

Mizuki smiles and grasps your hand in exhilaration. “That’s great (y/n)! It’s a good thing Hinata was your guide then. Maybe it’s fate! I feel good knowing you and Kei will be around each other often. Isn’t this great, Kei?”

He looks up from his bowl. “As long as I don’t have to carry her from a concussion or something.”  He goes back to his dinner.

Even though you retort, “I’ve been surrounded by pleasures of almost every high school sport, including volleyball. So I’ll be fine,” it still didn’t stop the evident blush that was resting on your cheeks. Why were you blushing? Stop blushing!

Once the kitchen was cleaned and you all were in bed, that’s when your thoughts started to stir. What exactly was the universe trying to tell you with his jersey number? Why did everything he did make you feel a certain way? How was he attractive without even trying? He wanted nothing to do with you, so why him?

Little did you know that he was thinking the same about you.

Why you? With the dumb way your face looks, all cute when it’s flustered? How you were able to flawlessly match his sarcasm and comebacks? He hasn’t even known you that long, so why are you making him feel something he hasn’t felt before?

While you both were drowning in each other’s thoughts, you both were staring at the same wall. The one wall separating your rooms.

It was Eleven o’ clock.

Let's split the night wide open. We'll see everything. We can live in love, in slow motion.

taglist: @jiminslonglostjams @fantasymirror @shewastheriot @lukes-princess @iamthepenguinwhosearseisonfire @its-bnha-babe @desi-studys​ @shootooooo​ @noya-senpai-imagines​ @animefan7420 @anpancari​ @tsukkx​

[magicmoontea]

Illuminated Fantasies (1/2)

Characters: Beckett Harrington x f!MC (Iris Atwood), Pend Pals

Rating: M, Language and sexual themes, topics of mental health

Word Count: 5760 ~Less than 20 min read (A bit longer, I couldn’t help myself!)

Summary: It’s the Summer Solstice and Iris and the Pend Pals are celebrating! Feeling her Sun magick growing on this day, Iris struggles within herself to keep a balance between her unchecked fears and fantasies from bursting out.

Notes: This takes place after book 2, and ignores Winter’s past. Beckett and Iris (f!MC) remained friends throughout their time at Penderghast and never pushed it further than harmless flirting. I wanted to make Iris feel more relatable as I felt like they gave her too much power, so I ran with it. If angsty reads aren’t your thing, this might not be for you. This is my very first fic posted online, so I’d love to hear what you thought  <3

Part two coming soon!

Created for @choicesaprilchallenge​ - Fantasy day 28

Everything inside of the brilliant Sun-Att hummed beautifully and yet unmistakably powerful and intense at the same time. She could sense the strength of her Sun magick growing stronger and radiating powerfully as it was the early morning of the Summer Solstice. Iris felt the weight of her immense pure Sun magick.

She had woken up before the sunrise, drenched in sweat, even with her air magick spells flowing around her bedroom, and could feel her heart racing against her chest. To Iris’ surprise, she was also glowing a warm golden hue without any effort making light rays dance across the walls. She sat up and wiped the wild platinum blonde strands that clung to her forehead and clutched her heart and tried to slow her breath. The glow eventually faded and ultimately the pressure in her chest went along with it. If she was being honest with herself, it was all starting to wear her thin.

Iris had been spending her time nurturing her newfound relationship with her mom/not intimidating at all Sun Source. There was so much to unpack with all information she was given the last few weeks of her second year at Penderghast. It was overwhelming at times to remember that not that long ago she had no idea magick truly existed, and she built her reality, thought patterns, and idea of herself around the idea that she was unordinary, powerless to change her situation and truly doesn’t belong.

She’d be lying if she said all those feelings disappeared when she found her magick within her, practiced and came to the powerful place she is today. It was incredibly hard for Iris to shake certain thoughts she had about herself since childhood and what her role to other people was supposed to be.

Being half Sun source didn’t change the fact that for a long time she struggled with dark thoughts about herself that shadowed her mind. Sun will bring shade, and her heart definitely carried that darkness that she buried with positivity and hope for a safe place for her to truly belong one day. Her caretakers were good people but she had spent many nights alone in her room in a whole other world in her mind.

Iris grew up a lonely only child, and she couldn’t talk to anyone about how she just felt different and that it kept her up at night. That her emotions were so strong at times that she felt she was going to burst, and that she went through such high and lows with them. She was told consistently that it was part of growing up, and she learned to accept that true happiness and belonging happened to other people, not her. It was just the cards she was dealt in life.

After meeting and finding out about Atlas and developing a quick bond with her to fill the years they were apart made Iris feel truly happy for a while. However, after a while, she clung to the idea that this was her family and so this must be who she really is, and it fed into Iris' terrible habit of codependency. It was so much easier in her head to have people tell you who you are and how to respond because you were never allowed to explore those options on your own.

So needless to say, she was freaking the hell out with the information that she and Atlas were half Source. What did that mean for her future? How did being half Source change the paths she took in life and how her magick looks like in the future? When Iris allowed herself to be truly honest with herself, there were times she felt terrified of the power she possessed.

For a while, she didn’t feel worthy of her magick after finding out she was Attuned to an extremely rare attunement as people have gone their whole lives knowing and practicing magick and not having half the power she does. She didn't feel like she deserved the praises from teachers that either taught her or didn't as she easily combined her natural talent and years of being a tuneless scholar, let alone deserving of or being even capable of being a half Source.

She knew she had no choice but to accept who she was, but it was a difficult journey that caused so much doubt and fear. Iris was still just getting a good grip and control on her refractionary magick’s effect on her body let alone have enough energy to deal with the heavy fact that she was half Source, the responsibility of having Kane's tether, and having every single person looking at your every move wondering what the great Sun-Att will do next when in reality she has no fucking idea what she's doing.

Tonight, she guessed she was only getting 3 hours of sleep as her body was full of adrenaline from it being the most powerful day to be a Sun-Att. Annoyed that she wasn’t able to enjoy the comfort of her own bed as long as she’d like, Iris decided to make the most of her extra Sun magick energy and practice her prescience. She hoped she’d be able to burn some energy off as she wouldn’t be able to sit still with that much magick that wanted to pour out.

Sitting up and crossing her legs in the lotus position, Iris took calming breaths. It didn’t take long to feel the connection to the sun, even as the sun was just starting the early stages of sunrise. Her magick was powerful and strong and she knew from previous prescience practices, that it really isn’t practice at all, prescience will do what it wants when it wants. The more you work with it, the more it becomes more than a gut feeling, but you can’t just pull it whenever you please.

That’s why she was trying to use her prescience this morning of the Summer Solstice to invite that heightened connection and welcome prescience to happen freely to continue a vision she has earlier that week. She had been minding her own business a few days ago prior and felt her entire body flush with goosebumps like she was just exiting a cold movie theater into a warm summer day. With all the advanced practices with her mom, Theia, and Dean Swan, she knew that she was getting a vision.

It wasn’t a long vision, but she was floored with how genuinely happy she felt in it, and how that effect lasted throughout the waking hours. She spent the rest of the day fantasizing about it and being terrified to dissect it further because that would mean thinking about something, she pushed down first year: how she truly felt about her best friend Beckett. And she wasn't sure if she could handle that.

In her vision was Beckett, illuminated by the glow of a magical fire, beamed at her with such tenderness he reserves just for her and brushed her hair behind her ears. Then it faded away no matter how hard she tried to stay with it and focus.

With each thought that took over Iris’ mind over those next days, one thing was becoming more and more clear to her: that she was lying to herself about how she felt about him. She never took the time to challenge the butterflies in her stomach when her fingers grazed his when he handed her an ingredient for a potion or how his freckles dancing on his cheeks when he smiled at her made behind her knees sweaty, or that she felt like he was one of the only people who truly listened to her, and didn’t put any expectation of what she should be regardless of magick potential.

There was a time early in her time at Penderghast that she knew that she was attracted to him and spent many nights allowing herself to fantasize about him and what it would be like to hear him moan and make him feel like he can lose control for one night of ecstasy with her. She always came quickly on her soaking fingers then, biting her lip from crying out his name and as if that would make the situation less awkward tomorrow when she saw him in class. As she learned that she needed him to be there for her emotionally and in her life more than she could have ever guessed, she stopped any thoughts or impulse based on pure lust that would risk losing him.

She knew part of the reason they had such a good bond was that they both had similar struggles. No, Harrington’s wealthy upscale lifestyle and his ability to be such a prick in the beginning definitely didn’t help, but as time went on it became more obvious that he was running from something in himself, too: constant perfection.

If Iris traced back to when she no longer could deny the surge of pure emotion she got when she was by Beckett, it was when he ended up in the hospital creating a ward to save her from Kane. She would have without a doubt died without him. She was beyond grateful. The look he gave her when he asked her if she was okay made her realize that this amazing man truly cared about her.

Even after she put him through a fight with a psychopath killer Raife, cried on his shoulders numerous times and suffered massive panic attacks in front of him before fighting for her life at 19, beat him in magickal competitions revolving topics she just heard about, or after he saw the dustiest parts of her soul and stared back unflinchingly, he still cared.

Iris never thought that Beckett could actually care about her in that way though. She never saw any signs besides his blushing inexperienced geek self-antics whenever she teased him, but always pushed that away so she wouldn’t get hurt. Deep down she had a terrible fear that she would never be good enough for someone as smart and well established as him as she still viewed herself as someone who ungracefully barged herself into a world she knew nothing about and was given a substantial amount of the magickal powers without deserving them.

Pulling herself back into the present moment, Iris took another breath feeling the connection to the sun growing stronger as the sun started to rise more. She desperately wanted to see more of a vision of tonight, as she deduced that the magickal fire she saw in the earlier vision was going to be the ritual Summer Solstice fire from the get together Shreya was having later.

She then focused her attention on thoughts of the party this afternoon, Beckett, and herself. Having a good feeling plus the power of the sun on Summer Solstice sparked that extra confidence Iris needed to make it work.

Then it started to happen. Feeling like she just received amazing news, she felt her whole-body spark with energy. Her body began to hum and tingle as goosebumps danced their way across her freckles and skin. White lights appeared at the corners of her eyes as a vision was starting to come through.

When the vision played out in Iris’ head, her toes curled underneath her legs on the bed and she audibly gasped. Her body temperature rose greatly at what she just saw, and she felt her body become flushed. She has no idea what she has to do to make that vision come true, but she will do whatever it takes.

For starters, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to change her outfit tonight to the black sundress with the mini golden suns, and flowers that she saw laying on the floor of the vision.

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

“Okay, so now who is going to clean this up?” Shreya asked jokingly as she looked around her large kitchen and the mess the Pend Pals had made while baking traditional ginger and cinnamon Summer Solstice cookies. There was more flour on the ground than in the cookies themself, but they couldn’t help but throwing some flour in the air and having each one take turns running their magick through it to create different effects. All for healthy competition of course.

“Oh, I know of an excellent cleaning spell that can clean this mess easily.” Beckett offered to help as he looked around at their mess as well as Atlas currently making a snow flour angel on the ground. Not being in the best mood today since it was the hardest day to be a Moon-Att, Iris smiled at her sister enjoying herself.

“Don’t be silly. My parents said not to worry about cleanup at all after my party. They just wanted me to have fun celebrating with my BFF Sun-Att’s favorite day!” Shreya said happily, feeling the many toasts to the sun, she made the group do earlier.

Iris smiled sheepishly. “I’m glad you’re fine with sharing the day. I know being a Fire-Att gets your magick all pumped up today as well, so it’s about you, too. Besides, I had plenty of time practicing my sun Magick with my Sun Source mom earlier. Which is still so weird to say by the way.”

“She’s the best!!!” Atlas sang from the ground, and everyone gave each other a knowing look and smirk, Atlas was quickly feeling her drinks as well as all ofer energy was used to muster any magick. She got up and waited for Iris to cast an Air spell to clean her off like she had earlier since “Atlas’ energy needed to be saved at all costs”.

Her energy is saved for more drinking, Iris thought. Plus, she was sure she loved having her to boss around.

“I still can’t believe you can hang out with Sources all day!” Zeph proclaimed and Griffin agreed in and expressed their well-known feelings again making Iris’ stomach do flip flops. She didn’t like the kind of attention it brought.

“It’s not all that great, really. Nome and my mom are the ones I see the most and they barely can remember what it’s like to be in a human form half the time. It’s bizarre. But, I appreciate it. I do say though, they are working me to death with training and skill enhancing.” Iris rolled her eyes and welcomed the fresh air as they made their way back outside into the now summer night.

Shreya had really outdone herself with decorating her large, luscious backyard for just her friends to come over. Shreya never did anything half-assed, and of course had magickal snacks, foods, and drinks that cost more than Iris wanted to think about. She had asked for Iris’ help, however, on the finishing decorating touches: hundreds of warm orbs flowing and glowing throughout the air to create the mood.

“You’re planning on sharing that knowledge with me, correct?” Beckett asked with terror clear on his features. Iris couldn’t help but smile at him and for the hundredth time that night already, get flustered by the things she never allowed herself to before. Blaming the extra Sun Magick, her prescience vision, or just her unchecked desires, Iris decided to go with it.

“Of course. Atlas is way too good at the Moon spells already obviously, so I’m going to need someone to compete with. And win against of course.” She bumped her shoulder into his playfully, and she could see the tips of his ears turning pink. Just like the good ole days.

Her vision from this morning came crashing back to her: Beckett kissing in her underwear like his life depended on it, with her sundress on the ground. She knew that not every vision comes true, and that not every vision necessarily is what the future holds. She could have very well thrown off her prescience with her evolving attraction to Beckett that was at the forefront of her mind for the past couple days. But she was going to try to look for any sign that it may happen, and more importantly that he wanted it to happen.

“I actually have a really fun spell for us to try with the fire we make tonight?” Iris spoke and looked at Atlas knowing that she would be for it.

“Are you talking about the spell we were just taught?” Atlas actually looked excited. “I think I should have enough energy for that. But I don’t know, Iris, you might have to be my personal magickal assistant for a bit longer though.”

Iris stuck out her tongue as a response to her twin and continued to the others, “It’s a really fun spell that uses the emotional nature of the Moon and the affirmative nature of the Sun and it actually shows what you fantasize most. So you cast intention onto something gets thrown into water, fire, over a cliff or whatever as long as it disappears and so it can come back to you with what your heart fantasizes.”

“Or you don’t cast intention and the spell only shows you that you fantasize a really good sandwich.” Atlas retorts back laughing on her past experiences.

“That is true.” Iris smiled remembering her first experience. “I didn’t really want to think about anything major the first time, and focused on just practicing the spell, too. It showed me a nice bed with the window open for a slight breeze. I guess my body just needed sleep.” Iris shrugged and continued a bit softer as she spoke, “Then I tried it when I was in a shitty mood, and I fantasized a day where no one knew my name or who I’ve fought and had any expectations of me.”

The group got a little quiet after Iris’ statement and she could feel a pair of grey eyes on her as she sat next to him. She smiled to lighten up the mood scolding herself for being a damper. “So let’s make sure we have a lot of fun before hand, and knowing us that won’t be a problem.”

Shreya’s mouth dropped open in shock and spoke, “A spell that plays out your fantasy in front of you? Um yes! Sign me up. I’ve been thinking about this eye candy that shops near one of my favorite boutiques a lot lately.”

She wiggled her eyes up and down, and Beckett and Zeph sighed poking fun at their friend at the same time, looked at each other and high fived each other laughing.

“I’m SO happy that I won’t be able to see that play before me. I’m already weak as is tonight.” Atlas retorted taking her seat around the bonfire area as well.

Everyone did their part to contribute to the bonfire, and they could feel the warm magickal effect flowing through each of them as it began to blaze brightly.  Shreya used her Fire magick to make the fire have beautiful color changing effects, casting a vibrant glow on everyone’s faces.

The group began to bond quickly over the time they hadn’t seen each other and laughed over stupid things each other has done and drank plenty of drinks mixed magickal mood enhancers as the night wore on. They were playing a game of blind enhancements: where basically you take a magickal drink not knowing the magickal effects. Shreya ensured the frantic Beckett multiple times that she wouldn’t put an enhancement in there that ‘wasn’t fun’. Not feeling super comforted with that answer, Beckett still played and even found himself sitting there blazer off, sleeves rolled up and laughing until his stomach hurt at the different situations that arose.  

Aster began to speak a different language for a whole turn, Zeph’s skin turned green for 20 minutes, Griffin felt a strong urge to sing loudly and Shreya went through a fit of hysterical laughter. Atlas was even a good sport when her drink made her want to dance wildly and hiccup every other word.

There was one particular drink that Beckett had taken and remained suspiciously quiet for a while after. Iris couldn’t help but notice the fidgeting Attuned next to her and his blushing ear tips when she had pressed her thigh against his for a brief moment. She wouldn’t call him on it until later when they were alone, but she knew that he didn’t get a “bashful” one.

They switched over to playing ‘Never Have I Ever’ and enjoyed embarrassing one another. They had started with easy questions, but leave it to Atlas to break the seal with, “Never have I had sex with the lights on. Having sex in the day doesn’t count”.

Zeph laughed and said, “It’s never been better to be asexual”.  

Aster blushed furiously at the topic but didn’t take a drink. Shreya and Griffin took a drink quickly.  Iris snuck a quick drink to avoid attention to her and conversations about her sex life, but noticed that Beckett didn’t take a drink.

Iris mind began to wonder again to Beckett’s sex life. A topic they never talked about. Was he a virgin and if not how experienced was he? How many people has he been with? What does he enjoy in bed?

Beckett cleared his throat indicating he has asked a question, and she noticed that everyone stopped talking. Blushing furiously, she realized she hadn’t been paying attention to what was going on.

“I’m sorry, I missed what you said.” She blushed harder even though she tried not to as Beckett looked at her in the eyes.

Then it happened. Her vision came to life. He smiled so wide that his eyes were smiling, too. He showed her such tenderness in his smile that it felt so much better than her vision to be on the receiving end. He leaned forward and tucked the wild strand behind her hair.

“That’s okay. You obviously were having a very important thought. I tend to know a thing or two about those.” His eyes held a little mischief like he knew, and she was worried that he could somehow read her mind. “What I had asked before was, do you think it’s the right time to successfully implement the fantasy spell?”

“Yeah, no time like the present.” Iris felt herself beaming at him and looking at him with her heart on her sleeve, not caring that her intuitive twin would definitely be asking about why she was looking at him like that later. Beckett’s blush reached his cheek at the same time the magickal fire glowed a beautiful magenta hue, illuminating his face  and highlighting his blush in a stunning way. She felt her heart skip a beat.

Shreya who was getting more drunk by the minute, spoke loudly interrupting their moment. “I’M SO READY!”  

Iris smiled at her best friend enjoying the night and complimenting herself on how great the party she threw was going. Iris wasn’t feeling anything more than buzzed as her Sun Magick was working her energy and metabolism quickly, but she didn’t mind. If she was going to have any part of her vision come true tonight, she wanted to be clear headed.

“Okay, everyone have their stick they’re going to cast their intentions with?” Everyone nodded and grabbed their twig they picked out earlier. “Okay, now take a moment to take a couple deep breaths before I cast the spell to ground yourself.” As everyone closed their eyes, Iris couldn’t help but peek at Beckett before taking her own grounding breaths.

Standing up with Atlas who stood on the other end of the fire, they began to recite the powerful spell.  Everyone’s stick began to illuminate a bright magickal golden hue and rise by the energy of the spell. Then each stick flew into the fire one by one, casting a puff of colorful smoke.

Iris felt the corners of her eyes grow blindingly bright as she was pulled into her spell’s fantasy. The vision began to unfold. She found herself sleeping in bed, breeze blowing through a quiet bedroom. The peace and quiet was soon challenged as vision Iris sat straight up in bed gasping, waking from a night terror.

Stirring next to her was another body and to her heart’s pleasure sat up Beckett, tousled hair from sleep, rubbing her shoulders kissing them lazily and softly.

“Bad dream, baby?” His voice thick with sleep asked vision Iris as she leaned into his touch and nodded. He enveloped her into a large hug and slowly brought her back to lay down in bed. She rested her head on his heart, and he stroked her hair.

“I’m here. No one will hurt you as long as I’m here. You’re safe. I’m not going anywhere. Ever.” His gentle voice and soft kisses to her head pulled her back to sleep.

Iris was pulled back to reality gasping trying to get a bearings of her surroundings again. She looked around to her friends who were wearing excited faces and started to chatter about what they saw in their own fantasties. Aster was giddy with delight seeing her excel in Attuned Magick and Zeph had fantasies about being the new Thief captain.

Shreya then began to talk about the love story that folded into her fantasy and that racy novelists should just contact her now, she has a best seller. Iris felt herself fading away more and more from the group as her mind began to unravel.

She felt the ringing in her ears getting louder as a toxic thought kept repeating over and over: “you’ll never be good enough for that fantasy to be real. That happens to other people. Not you. He could never care about someone like you. Someone who doesn’t even deserve to have this immense power circulating through you right now. Someone who can’t even control it properly. Who has no idea what they are doing. You can’t do this.”

Iris stood up abruptly then Sun magick bursting through her as her magick and mind threatened to spiral, shocking her friends slightly at the sudden movement and bright light that briefly casted them.

“I….I...I don’t feel well.” Was the best Iris could make out. Her breaths were becoming staggered and shallow, and she felt the continuous intense rolling pressure in her chest and body that her anxiety brought. “Bathroom.” She bolted her way away from her friends, and could faintly hear Griffin laugh and say, “TMI” as she made her way into Shreya’s house.

She didn’t want anyone to follow her, and she wasn’t particularly sure where anything was in Shreya’s large house. So she just continued to walk down the gorgeous marble hallway down to the other end of the house hoping that the walk will calm her and her mind.

She rounded the corner and made her way down a second hallway to the back of the house. Stopping by the luxurious sunroom, Iris decided that this was a good place to hide and recoup. She admired the bright furniture and enchanted ceiling to have vines and other beautiful floral hanging below gracefully. Her Water magick hummed with delight when she saw the fountain and magickal rain that occurred for the plants every so often. Running her fingers in the fountain and casting little light orbs to follow her magickally started to make her feel at ease already.

Feeling foolish for how she left and having the fantasy affect her this much, Iris chastised herself again. She just wanted to be normal. Funny, she long hated her life before magick, but she envied the simplicity of just wanting to belong. She still didn’t feel like she belonged and now had a world of responsibility and power and everyone telling her where they think she belongs and watching her every move. Maybe she wasn’t able to handle this, and she didn’t know if she could let everyone down. She began to cry softly.

“I’m sorry.” Iris stated out loud to no one in particular feeling pathetic.

“Hey, no need for that.” Beckett spoke softly startling Iris at his entrance to the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. You had been gone for a bit, and I could tell something was wrong, so I wanted to find you. Don’t worry, the others think I’m admiring the flora in the front garden.”

“How did you find me?” Iris said sniffling and wiping her eyes to compose herself in front of someone who always looked so well kempt.

“It’s funny how you don’t even have to try, but it’s as if you are my magnet. I find myself being able to feel your energy and magick quite easily.” Beckett explained and made his way to sit next to her on the large couch.

“You’re being too sweet because I freaked out back there. You don’t have to baby me. I know I’m crazy.” Iris spoke and hated how self deprecating she sounded. He shifted his body to look at her face forcing her to meet him in the eyes.

“Don’t ever say that about yourself. You’re not crazy. You just spend so much time taking care of others, that when you take care of yourself it feels strange.” He said matter of factly, and she cursed his brilliant brain for being right all the time.

“I hate the attention being on me. I can’t stand the pressure anymore, Beck. It’s all getting to me. I have no idea what I’m doing with my life. Atlas wants to go head first into the whole half-Source life, and I’m sitting here fucking terrified! I don’t deserve this, I don’t deserve all this power.” Iris broke her facade that she was strong and doing well and began to sob into Beckett’s arms.

He took her into his arms and tightened the hug holding her like he was the glue keeping her together. He stroked her hair and let her cry and let out her emotions she desperately needed to release. He gave comforting noises but didn’t try to stop her from feeling. He made her feel validated for being upset.

After she her crying slowed down, she stayed for a while breathing in Beckett’s scent and just feeling his warm strong hand caressing her back soothingly. She reluctantly pulled back after a while, and she was so close to him that she could count all his freckles.

“I’m so-” Iris began to apologize and Beckett gently put his finger to her mouth to silence her. She couldn’t help but feel the electricity that sparked through her as he touched her lips.

“Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for. I want to be here for you, through thick and thin.” He stared at her face as if he was having a long conversation with himself before he continued speaking.

“You deserve everything that makes you happy. It pains me greatly to see you like this. To think that you don’t feel the way you brighten everyone’s lives. That you can’t see that your warmth stays with people for hours and how no one forgets all the times you’ve been there for them. You take on every challenge with everything you have, Iris. You’ve been through terrible situations no one should ever be in, but yet you’re in them again and again with people asking too much of you. And you give to them! You give everything you have to every person, and you’re still able to find the spark in the darkest room because that’s how incredible you are! You’re there for Atlas but she can’t be there for you emotionally. You’re there for Shreya but there is always going to be that distance between you guys because you can’t relate. Iris, when the hell are you there for yourself?”

Knowing that Iris wasn’t actually going to answer that question, Beckett’s cheeks blushed as he spoke, “No matter. I will be there for you whenever you aren’t there for yourself to remind you how amazing you are.”

Iris just stared at her friend in shock that not only did someone think of her that way, but that Beckett thought of her that way. Her lip started to quiver as she was overcome with intense emotion and Beckett cupped her face. They had never shared such an intimate and raw moment, and Iris felt her heart and soul fall even more head over heels in love with the man in front of her. The man who wanted to be her light for her when she couldn’t find her own.

“Thank you.” Was all she could croak out as she took an audible gulp.  After a moment of comfortable silence and steadying her breath she continued, “You know, Beck. I couldn’t have made it this far without you. I’m so grateful to have you in my life. You make me feel like I can figure out who I am and be allowed to fail, and I can’t even begin to tell you how amazing that feels.”

She smiled at him and allowed herself to show the person she cared for most just how much she cared in her eyes. She rested her hands against his thigh, and she could hear his breath hitch. She didn’t want to be afraid of rejection and losing him anymore. His thumb brushed against her cheek lightly, and he didn’t make any moves to move apart. She could feel his breath hitting her lips and she enjoyed the way his aroma began to engulf her as well.

“I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. It’s crazy but I’d do just about anything to keep you safe. I can’t pull myself away from you, and I don't think I want to try anymore” Beckett spoke softly blushing lightly at his confession. She felt her chest tighten and her mind wanted to tell her that is was a lie, but a part of her that she was so tired of fighting, wanted it to be true.

“Beckett…” Iris breathed and found herself lost at words, feeling her magick drawing herself even closer to him. He was intoxicating.

“Can you tell me something, Iris?” Beckett asked her and she would just about give him anything he wanted now.

“Of course.”

“Obviously something you saw in the fantasy made you a bit upset. Do you mind telling me what it was?” He sheepishly asked and she could tell this flustered him a bit instantly making her wonder what his was. She tried to control her body temperature, so she didn’t give anything anyway.

“It wasn’t a bad fantasy or vision. It just made me a bit sad because I desperately wanted it to be my future, but I have a terrible fear that it would never happen. It hurts too much to think about that.” Iris took a deep breath and looked down at her lap and thanked all the energy the Summer Solstice brought to give her the courage she needed to say what she wanted out loud.

“What was it, Iris?” The vulnerability in his voice made her tear her gaze from her lap and look into his grey eyes that were heavy with emotion.

“Beckett…” Iris felt her face getting warmer as she spoke, “My fantasy was that you loved me.”

[dxmedstudent]

How to Date a Doctor...

(Or med student, nurse, physio, pharmacist, etc)

I remember discussing this on tumblr a while back, and occasionally someone asks a medblr for some advice, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring up some suggestions on how to deal with medics in your life. 

Going out:

Our timetables can be awful. We’ll be busy at times you’ll want to meet; it’s really not a sign we’re not interested, we just physically can’t be there when we’d like to be. Ditto if our jobs involve rotating to different places. Believe me, we find it as frustrating as you do. 

Work can be emotionally, mentally and physically draining. We spend some of our free time tired, sleepy, grumpy or indisposed to meet. If we’re sleepy or not much fun sometimes after a run of horrible shifts, it’s not personal. I’m not advocating putting up with a medic who spends most of their time being an antisocial jerk, but please bear in mind that sometimes we’ll just be exhausted.

So when it comes to going out, we might need to do things that are low effort; sometimes it’ll be dinner instead of something that involves walking, or even netflix rather than going out at all. Or... we might want to do things that are more active particularly because we want to make the most of our time and we’re finally out of the hospital so we want to live our entire life at once.

We might be used to eating or sleeping at weird times. If we turn up to a date and we’re not hungry, it’s not personal. Likewise if you notice that we’ve forgotten to eat/been too exhausted to eat, we appreciate when somoene reminds us to take care of ourselves, too. We’re often so fixated on taking care of others that we really can forget to take care of ourselves.

Because we work strange hours and are generally busy, you will have to be good at enjoying your own life, too; with or without us. Dating a doc isn’t for someone who feels like they need a partner to always be around every evening, and who needs their SO to accompany them to every event; we just physically won’t always be able to be there.

On the plus side, this means that we’re usually very accepting of SOs having hobbies and interests. Dating a doc is great for people who are more independent in themselves, because you can bet we’ll probably be too busy with our own lives to smother you in yours.

However, it does mean that if your timetable is also busy, you’ll both need to work extra hard to make things work. Unfortunately, drifting apart or struggling to find time to be together can be a real problem, particularly if you are both shift workers. It’s not impossible, though; lots of docs and nurses end up with other docs and nurses, and they make it work!

As I said, we end up staying late, or having to cover for colleagues. It’s a pain for us to organise leave or holidays, and our timetable can dominate our life. Having a doc or nurse in your life means living around complext timetables.This can be really trying for us as well as for you.

If you can, try to take some of the organisational burden from them, particularly if your job is less busy or time intensive than theirs. When your working life is already a massive, never-ending to - do list, it makes a big difference when somoene does their bit to make your personal life a bit less exhausting. You don’t need to become their PA, just be considerate.

Conversation:

I hope you like medical anecdotes. Because you’re going to hear them.

Our work is full of life and death stuff, and there’s a lot of ‘work’ stuff we have to do outside of work, so it can dominate our lives. Sometimes we need to get that off our chest. You don’t have to understand, but it’s nice if you can listen.

That said, you may have to gently remind them that there is more to talk about than just work. Whilst being with someone means talking about things that are important to them, it’s important that the person you are with doesn’t bore you constantly, either. We need distraction from work for our sanity, and you need to talk about things that are not our work, too. And it’s only fair that we don’t bore you to death.

Most of our friends are probably medics. Apologies for all of the medical conversations you’ll be stuck listening to because you’re hanging out with an entire group of medics.

If our work talk is too gory for you, please let us know. You’re seeing a person who’ll probably certify someone dead, stick a finger up someone else’s butt, look at several necrotic ulcers  and lots of people about their bowel habits all before lunchtime, so we tend to lose our sense of what is appropriate dinner conversation. No matter how strong your stomach is, we’ll probably stray into conversations that’ll test your tolerance, without even realising it. We spend so much time talking to other medics, that we can forget what normal people consider appropriate for casual conversation.

You think that we might always be into really intellectual entertainment (and we are, at least some of the time), but every doctor I know also needs to chill with really brainless entertainment once in a while because sometimes you just need to watch something that doesn’t make you think at all.

Don’t let their being a doctor or nurse intimidate you. If I had a pound for every guy who said “well, my job’s a lot less important/exciting/etc”, I’d be living somewhere a lot nicer. Healthcare professionals are normal people just like you; we’re really not some kind of class apart. We’ve got a dorky side or a quiet side or a goblin side, and we’ve got plenty of insecurities, too. If you put us on a pedestal, it makes it hard to have a genuine relationship.

Equally, if you date a doctor who makes you feel inferior, ditch them. You deserve to feel like an equal in any relationship.You have every right to expect courtesy from whoever you are seeing.

We are secretly dumbasses. People expect us to be smart all the time, but we’re human. We have weaknesses just like everyone else. It’s another reason you shouldn’t put us on a pedestal; we want to be loved for the dorks we are, rather than for some kind of intellectual ideal we can’t live up to.

Please don’t call us at work. We really can’t talk at work, though messaging is fine as we can respond to those if free. But be understanding that your medical paramour is probably super-busy at work to the point that checking their phone is not an option. Please don’t be offended if we take a while to reply. 

Being a part of each other’s lives /Living together:

We may be super organised to an anal-retentive degree, or we may be completely scatterbrained when it comes to having non-work stuff together. If we’re having a particularly bad time at work, we might need a bit of patience or prompting regarding shared life stuff. That’s not to say that the non-medic should do everything, but be on the lookout for when the medic in your life is overwhelmed with stuff and when you can give them a hand. If that’s not something you’re good at spotting, you can always just ask. 

People will often think you are lucky (”aren’t doctors, like, rich?”) and that it’s prestigious (”oh, a doctor, wow! lucky you! Free medical advice!”), but that’s not entirely fair on you, because dating doctors or nurses can be hard work! I think the people who put up with us (or rather the effect our work has on our entire lives) deserve a ton of credit. It’s not easy, and not everyone can do it (nor should anyone have to). And besides, you are a smart and interesting person in your own right, not defined by the job your SO does.

We deal with emotionally draining crap; sometimes we see some horrible stuff that we struggle to deal with. It won’t be easy for you to see someone you care about struggle with this, particularly if it’s not something that you can relate to. The way we deal with it can vary, and we may not always be able to cope, or deal with it in a healthy way. It’s not your fault if we’re struggling, and you shouldn’t feel like you’re expected to be a counselling service.

You might get pretty familiar with the signs of aniety and depression; a lot of medics can suffer from burnout or mental illness. The strain on your partner might also put a strain on your mental health. Look after each other and get help if needed. You absolutely shouldn’t suffer alone, and neither should they.

In the long run, you have to be able to trust your partner. We work silly hours, but you need to get to know someone well enough to trust that if they say they have a late shift, they aren’t playing around with someone else. That doesn’t mean you can’t have suspicions if warranted, but dating a doctor might be difficult for someone who is still getting over being cheated on, or who tends to jealousy and suspicions easily. We tend to have odd hours and stay late at work a lot, and we’ll always have plausible sounding reasons for not being around. So it helps if you aren’t someone who feels insecure or jealous easily.

If we wanted our nursing colleagues/fellow doctors/whoever at work, we’d be with them. It’s not uncommon for partners to feel a little jealous of the time their partner spends with work colleagues, but you are no less of a catch than any of their colleagues. And if they wanted their colleagues so much they would have already been with them.

That said. Don’t assume that doctors are all nice; there are plenty of people among us who aren’t necessarily good or honest. Trust a person’s actions over their words.  There are players amongst us, so don’t assume that just because someone is a doctor that it makes them a nice person; evaluate us according to the exact same criteria you’d use for anyone else.  You absolutely deserve to be treated with the same level of respect and honesty from one of us as you do from any other partner; there are no excuses for hurtful behaviour. Being a doctor or nurse is not a free pass to be a nasty person.

Don’t let a medic treat you like a servant or someone who is beneath them. No matter what you do, if you are dating them then you deserve every bit the same level of respect and courtesy that you give them. No matter how much of a hotshot your friends or family might think them, they are just a normal person to you, equal in every way. I remember an interview with some eminent doctor, in which the interviewer asked something like “What’s it like being married to someone like you?” and the person replied something like “At home I’m just ‘dad’ or a husband, like anyone else”. And that sums it up; we’re just normal people to those in our lives. 

Anyone got more tips to add?

[hellyeahrpmemes]

※ JENNA MARBLES SENTENCE STARTERS, PT. XVI ※

starters from jenna’s 10 most recent videos! feel free to change names/pronouns/zodiac signs/etc.! more jenna sentences

MR. MARBLES IS TOOTHLESS

“Alright, so here’s the deal.”

“He has a small, tiny mouth.”

“This has been a very intensive recovery process.”

“It’s just been a lot.”

“He needs hugs and cuddles.”

“I don’t know what else to say.”

“I feel particularly guilty about this.”

“Life happened, you know?”

“A dog with no teeth is absolutely hilarious.”

“It just felt like the right thing to do today.”

GIVING MY DOGS A BATH WHILE THEY LISTEN TO ROYALTY FREE SPA MUSIC

“Is that too loud?”

“My dogs smell like butt.”

“You are the nastiest of them all.”

“Do you feel relaxed?”

“Yesterday, I racked a 20 pound dumbbell onto my own finger and it basically blew up.”

“I thought I had actually severed my finger.”

“Tough shit, you’re still part of the team.”

“It hurts really bad.”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Do you like this music? It’s royalty free. But it did cost $25.”

“Are you hiding from the problem?”

“Is it $25 worth of nice?”

“I’m actually really glad I’m wearing a rubber glove for some of this.”

“Don’t disturb him, he’s sleeping.”

“You screaming is not part of the royalty free spa music.”

“Do you know where you are?”

“I aspire to live my life the same way.”

“That was some nice, wholesome, selfish fun.”

I WANT TO BE TALL

“I wanna be tall…”

“What are you doing?”

“I wanna be taller than I am.”

“Stop - stop doing that.”

“Turn that off.”

“I’m gonna grow, like, seven inches this year.”

“My plan is to just sleep a lot.”

“They said I could do anything, so I’m gonna grow seven inches taller.”

“I can do anything I want.”

“Can I get a hell yeah?”

“What’s the matter, you don’t like Fur Elise?”

“There’s a lot of room for opportunity to improve in my life.”

“It’s physically impossible, but go off…”

“They said flying was impossible, and here come the Wright Brothers…”

“There’s a robot on Mars right now and you’re telling me I can’t grow seven inches?”

“Not that I leave this house, but, like, if I did, I’d want it to be like, wha-bam!”

“The doctor said I was gonna be 5’7” when I was a baby, and then something fuckin’ happened and now I’m 5’5”.”

“I worked out for the first time just the other day.”

“There’s no shortage of adult stores.”

“I’m gonna need you to do a lot of it for me.”

“Here we are, at the place where my dreams are gonna come true.”

“This is a bad idea.”

“You look very surprised.”

“Is this some form of torture that the universe gave me that I can’t think about things that matter, I can only think about things like this.”

“No no no no no, you put that sentence back in your mouth.”

“You either feel me or you don’t, and if you don’t, get out.”

“Part of being tall is constantly being on the phone.”

“You know what the cruel joke of the universe is? I’m 5’5” and my brother is 6’5”. Tell me how that makes any fucking sense!”

“Tell me how that makes any fucking sense!”

“Keeping things down here is biased against tall people.”

“Being tall equals power, everyone knows that!”

“There’s some sort of energy power here that I didn’t sign up for.”

“I’m a very athletic, intimidating tall person.”

“How dare you expose me! I thought you were on my team…!”

LET’S ABSTRACT PAINT

“I already decided oil paint’s not for me.”

“The only tool that you use is a knife.”

“We can’t really see what you’re doing.”

“I feel like I can do it.”

“I have art fear.”

“It looks easier than it probably is.”

“It’s kinda difficult to get the hang of this.”

“It is definitely much more difficult than it appears.”

“This feels really fun and good.”

“Uh-oh, I think I ruined it.”

“I take back all of my confidence.”

“My too much gene kicked in.”

“Isn’t this part of art, though? Figuring out when to stop?”

“I was gonna say I don’t hate it, but, you know what? I fuckin’ hate it.”

“I feel like I need to trust myself and not do this thing where I try to make it better.”

“I at least salvaged this into something that I don’t completely, viscerally hate.”

“I’m already feeling a little defeated, but I’m not gonna let it stop me.”

“I can do better than this, I know I can.”

“Why is it so relaxing to watch someone else make art?”

“It’s almost like I would do this to relax.”

“I’m jealous that yours is working out.”

“Watching you have success gives me confidence that I can be successful.”

“I’m not sure it’s because I have more confidence, but I’m pretending that I have more confidence.”

“I can do it, and I can stop.”

“My confidence is building, and building, and building.”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“This one is called… Stop It.”

“Speaking of stop it, I should probably do that.”

“I feel so in control now.”

“I’m not used to this feeling.”

“I think you need to stop it.”

“Goodbye, I’m very tall, I have to leave.”

I FILMED MY DOG WHENEVER HE CRIED OR WAS NASTY FOR 24 HOURS

“To our credit, we actually did attempt this.”

“If anyone critiques my tacking-slash-sewing skills, I will cry.”

“I don’t think that my ego can handle that so if you would just please back off, I’d appreciate that.”

“We were up for a treat tonight, weren’t we?”

“Can we just drink our coffee real quick?”

“That’s what I use to wash myself when I shower.”

“You sat on my foot.”

“There’s two ways to go through life. One: you could just sit back and enjoy the ride, or two: you could just scream the entire time the whole thing is happening to you. Both are gonna end up the same.”

“Sometimes I feel like screaming my way through life.”

MAKING FACE FRECKLES ~*WORK*~ FOR ME

“Sometimes I feel like y’all just want me to do something to watch me fail.”

“I’m not gonna fail.”

“That’s not gonna happen. Not on my watch.”

“When you live in a sunless void like Rochester, New York, no one would really make fun of your freckles, because it means you actually saw the sun for a little.”

“I did work at a tanning salon for quite a number of years.”

“Don’t tan your skin.”

“I’m down for whatever.”

“I really know what I’m doing, basically.”

“I’m really not very artistic, even though I try.”

“I’m just gonna sit here and space out for a while.”

“I’m making such a mess.”

“We’re really just gonna go for this one.”

“I might just fuck around and get some sun damage.”

“This is a lot of work.”

“I know when I’m being trolled. Except for that one time when I did a face mask that was just mostly turmeric and my face was very orange. I got got that time.”

“That’s overkill. There’s no way you need to do that.”

“Welcome back to this isn’t fucking working.”

“Even though I live in a place where there is sunshine, it doesn’t mean I’m gonna go in it.”

“When is it time to stop?”

“I wanna look like one of those cute outside people that goes outside.”

“What the fuck is the point anymore…?”

“It only took literally all day and night.”

“This is so impractical, I’m sorry.”

“I love it, but this is stupid.”

TURNING MY BOYFRIEND INTO A BRATZ DOLL

“I just wanna see if I’m capable and able.”

“What if you could hear out of your eyebrows?”

“Well, that took altogether way too long.”

“Worst-case scenario, you ruin it.”

“Don’t, don’t, don’t, whatever you’re doing, don’t.”

“I only fucked up, like, seven times.”

“This is the no-complaints zone.”

“That looks kinda good, though, right?”

“Why did you stop breathing?”

“If anyone makes fun of this, I’m gonna cry.”

“I feel like I’m just ready to disobey my parents.”

“Look at what I’m looking at right now.”

“I don’t know what to do…!”

“It took so fucking long.”

“What the fuck? Julien, what the fuck.”

“I wanted to give in to peer pressure.”

“I’m gonna need to take the longest shower of my life.”

“You did great, you can’t sell yourself short.”

REACTING TO YOUR MEMES (MEME 👏 REVIEW 👏)

“You’re just, like, chaotic energy.”

“He’s such a good sport.”

“So talented. She is so fucking talented.”

“Now you’ve been warned, too.”

“I like this. This song’s a bop.”

“It makes me laugh.”

“You are so much all the time.”

“So many people are enjoying them.”

“You do your thing.”

“This is fucking talent.”

“You’re all really funny and talented.”

“It’s genuinely fun and enjoyable.”

“It’s a happy, happy good time.”

“I will see you guys next week for me doing something stupid, probably.”

“Did you? Did you do that to me?”

BUYING MY DOGS EVERYTHING THEY TOUCH

“To be honest? It’s kind of boring.”

“I guess we’re just gonna try.”

“We got a plant on the way here, because I have a problem.”

“This is racking up very quickly.”

“You’re not gonna be able to fit that in your mouth.”

“It can’t cost much, it’s a sticker.”

“You don’t even know what you just did.”

“Damn, is that what you’re into?”

“Touch something else.”

“Yeah, feels a little wasteful.”

“What the hell was that?”

“Why would you do that?”

“You really just went for it, didn’t you?”

“Thank you for contributing.”

“Well, what do you think?”

“I love my new necklace.”

“He hasn’t moved.”

“I didn’t know that was a thing.”

“It’s too bad I don’t know what in the world that is.”

“Honestly, what is going on?”

“I want 700 Fruit Roll-Ups and Coco Puffs.”

“Don’t make me look bad.”

“They just… wanted it.”

“They just want the biggest thing they can find.”

“It’s just really cute.”

“Are you pleased with yourself?”

“I just got got.”

“That was that. I hope you enjoyed yourself.”

“I’m being attacked. I’m being attacked. I’m being attacked. I’m being attacked.”

I MADE THAT AWFUL JEANS CHAIR

“What are you watching?”

“We’re this for the long haul.”

“You know I will make it.”

“This craft assumes you have four identical pairs of jeans.”

“You can’t just staple everything together. It doesn’t work.”

“I know for a fact that this is not really going to work.”

“Who is this chair for?”

“I’m the only person I can think of who this chair’s for.”

“I just want to talk.”

“I feel like we would get along.”

“As horrid and terrible and awful as it is, it kind of fucking rules.”

“I know we shouldn’t make it, but I’m gonna make it.”

“This is the best I could do.”

“This much money, you could buy a chair.”

“Literally no one I’ve ever known has four pairs of jeans period, let alone ones that they don’t want.”

“I have two pairs of jeans and resent both of them for being uncomfortable.”

“How are you allowed to just post make believe things on the internet?”

“That’s not gonna work, it’s gonna fall apart.”

“I’m getting hot and angry.”

“Don’t touch it, it’s very delicate.”

“They probably started off with something simple and just turned into absolute madness.”

“Yeah, I’ve got 30 pounds of Poly-Fil, said no one but Jo-Ann Fabrics.”

“Did you check the pockets? You’ve always gotta check the pockets.”

“Alright, well, maybe we’re onto something.”

“It’s coming apart already…”

“Here’s our semi completed circle of hell.”

“$140, this cost to make.”

“It’s so sharp I’m gonna cut myself.”

“It’s ugly, it’s stupid, it’s infuriating, it makes me so angry. That’s why it belongs in my house.”

“It’s not a chair. It’s a bunch of jeans stapled together.”

“This is really getting up there with one of the more frustrating things I think I’ve ever done.”

“Everything keeps falling apart.”

“This is a fraud, this is a lie.”

“Mathematically, it makes no sense.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more angry.”

“I hate it. It doesn’t even work.”

“If we breathe on it right now, it’s gonna fall apart.”

“It’s the worst thing in the whole world and it cost $140.”

“I’ve never seen you in a physically relaxed position less relaxed than you are right now.”

“You know why I’m so mad? ‘Cause this is fucking comfortable.”

“It’s honestly kind of sick.”

“Why did they have to staple it?”

“Don’t you sabotage me like this.”

“Where will I sit now?”

“You can’t handle this butt.”

“You are doing that on purpose…!”

“I have a great idea.”

“I didn’t appreciate it as a chair, but I appreciate it as art.”

“We had a pretty good time here today.”

“You can’t just staple denim.”

“It was $140. It wasn’t worth it.”

[mdelpin]

@fuckyeahgratsu​ request for Anon AO3 | FF.Net

Summary: Ever since the Fairy Tail members from Earthland had returned home Natsu Dragion could not stop thinking about his counterpart, about how much he wanted to be like him. When he walks into the guild to find Lucy Ashley hurting Gray Surge again, he channels his best Natsu Dragneel and comes to the rescue.

Disclaimer: All Fairy Tail Characters Belong to Hiro Mashima

"L-leave him alone!" Natsu protested as he walked into the guild hall only to find Lucy hitting Gray, again. He was terrified, his legs literally shaking as he yelled at Lucy Ashley to release Gray but he stayed firm.

He was tired of her constant bullying. Raising his arms and forming his hands into fists, he placed them in front of his chest, thankful there wasn't a mirror to show him how pathetic he must look.

Gray looked over at him, his eyes widening as he shook his head solemnly. Lucy stopped what she was doing long enough to stare at Natsu, she didn’t look intimidated in the least.

“What did you say to me?” Lucy enunciated every word, wanting to let Natsu know that she wasn’t amused in the slightest. She let go of Gray and started walking over to him.

"Y-you heard me," It took every ounce of courage he possessed to not turn around and run out of the guild, but he was determined to see this through.

What he wasn’t counting on was his best friend running towards him, grabbing him by the arm and dragging both of them out of the guild before Lucy Ashley could reach him. Natsu had no idea how Gray could even run that fast considering how many clothes he was wearing.

They kept running, hearing Lucy scream after them and she must have thrown something at them because Natsu could feel something flying just to his right, but they didn't stop until they were both out of breath.

“What were you thinking?” Gray scolded, his breath coming in pants, his face covered in sweat. He studied Natsu intently and suddenly released his arm as if he’d just noticed he was still holding on to it.

“Aren’t you tired of her shit?” Natsu asked, rubbing his arm where Gray had been dragging him, knowing he’d have a bruise before long, “What did you even do this time?”

Gray shrugged noncommittally and muttered something under his breath.

Natsu waited for his friend to repeat himself, but Gray remained quiet, eyes staring off into the distance.

“I have been a little bit,” Natsu took a deep breath and tried to catch Gray’s gaze, “Thinking that is.”

That was one hell of an understatement, he'd been doing nothing else since the members of Earthland Fairy Tail had returned to their home, taking Lisanna with them. It's not like he had a hell of a lot else to do during the long drives required for the guild's supply runs. He was happy he at least got to continue driving, Levy had managed to redesign his car to not use magic.

Gray turned to look at him, head tilted to the side and lips curled in a confused smile that Natsu found incredibly endearing. His chest felt tight as he looked away for a moment, fighting off the sudden flush of his cheeks that threatened to give his feelings away.

Gray noticed this and his brow furrowed a bit. Natsu wasn't sure what that meant, but Gray had saved him, or actually they'd saved each other, and for now, he wasn't about to let the futility of his feelings ruin that for him.

“What have you been thinking about?”

"I'm just," Natsu thought hard about what he wanted to say, he'd never tried to voice his feelings before and he wanted Gray to understand the changes that were happening within him, "I guess, I've been thinking about the other me, Earthland Natsu. How he's everything I'm not -- brave, confident, strong. And I keep thinking, even if he is from another world he is me, and I am him, you know?"

Gray bit his lip, distracting Natsu again, but it was often like this between them, Natsu had it bad. “I wouldn’t say that, Natsu. I think what you just did would count as brave, well suicidal actually.” Gray chuckled. “You do realize I can barely feel her through all my clothes, you didn’t have to do that for me, you --.”

“It doesn’t make it right, someone needs to stand up to her, why not me?” Natsu interrupted, still furious about Lucy picking on Gray.

“You didn’t let me finish, I still appreciated it,” Gray said as he sat down, once again grabbing Natsu’s arm and pulling him down to sit next to him. “Anyway, why don’t you tell me more about what you’ve been thinking?”

Had Gray always been this grabby with him? Natsu shook the thought away and continued, "I mean I know I don't have any magic or know very much fighting, but even he must have started somewhere… Sometimes I just want to get in my car and just keep driving, see what else is out there, maybe try to be the man I want to be."

"You want to leave?" Gray's shoulders slumped, and his lower lip trembled, but he turned away and stared off into the distance once again before Natsu could see any more.

Natsu found himself blurting out, “You could come with me.”

Natsu covered his mouth as soon as he said it but it was too late, he'd just given much more away than he'd intended, but perhaps it was for the best, wasn't it better to know?

“W-what?” Gray stammered, he found Natsu’s eyes and searched them quickly, glancing away at whatever he found in them. His fingers moved to his coat as he fidgeted with the buttons nervously.

"Forget I said anything," Natsu felt like an anvil had landed on his chest making it hard to breathe, but he needed to pretend everything was okay. It was just as he'd suspected, Gray only had eyes for Juvia, it's how it had always been, and he was a fool for getting his hopes up. "I don't know what I was thinking --"

"I'd like to." Gray breathed shakily, and he grabbed Natsu's hand again.

"I-- I don't understand," Natsu sputtered, and he didn't. He was confused and hopeful, and that was a bad combination.

"I've been thinking too," Gray smiled, it was tentative but no less genuine, and Natsu had no idea what to think anymore because their eyes had connected and neither one was looking away. "I saw the way you looked at Earthland Gray and I-- I didn't like it."

"I didn't, I--," Natsu didn't like where this was going. Gray had caught him ogling Earthland Gray? Natsu's eyes darted around, desperately searching for an escape route. How could he tell Gray he'd been thinking about him the whole time, wondering if underneath all those clothes he looked the same. Personally, he preferred his sweet Gray to the always grumpy ice mage, no matter how hot the other one was.

“Don’t bother to deny it,” Gray made a sound that sounded almost like a growl as he glared at him with an intensity that Natsu had never seen before, and he couldn’t even begin to interpret it.

"I'm sorry, it's just I'd never seen you without all your clothes on, and I couldn't help it," Natsu babbled on, increasingly more horrified with every traitorous word that came out of his mouth but he couldn't seem to stop, "He was hot, I mean you were hot, I mean-"

“You don’t have to apologize Natsu,” Gray spoke softly, his tone meant to be reassuring, but there was a twinkle in his eyes that betrayed his amusement at Natsu’s discomfort. He soon turned serious and added, “Seeing the way you looked at him, it forced me to confront something I’d been avoiding for a while.”

Natsu finally understood how the animals that would sometimes freeze in front of his car’s headlights felt. There was so much fear, but at the same time, there was also this odd fascination that kept you from running away to safety. You just had to face it head on and hope for the best while wondering if this was how you would meet your end. Natsu found himself looking at Gray and wondering if his next words would be the ones to end him.

Had he discovered Natsu's feelings for him and been shocked when he saw them so obviously displayed? Gray had only ever had eyes for Juvia, it was quite possible that he'd be disgusted to learn Natsu had feelings for him. Natsu tried to prepare himself for the worst, already wondering if they'd be able to salvage their friendship after this.

Natsu’s face must have reflected some of what he was thinking because Gray was watching him with a concerned expression. He grabbed both of Natsu’s hands in his and locked his eyes with his, further reinforcing the feeling of being caught in headlights, “The truth is,” Gray paused for a moment and let out a nervous cough before soldiering on, “I wanted you to look at me that way.”

Natsu's mouth gaped open as he absorbed the words, it was difficult for him to believe, but after running them through his head several times, they still sounded the same, "Y-You did?"

"Yeah, surprised me too," Gray chuckled softly, and Natsu found he loved the sound, it was light and airy and he could listen to it all day.

“But what about Juvia?”

“What about her? I can like both men and women, dimwit. It’s a thing.” Gray grinned at him, willing him to believe.

"No, I know, that's not what I meant." Natsu was flustered, he wanted to take Gray at his word but there had never been any indication, and while he tried to be brave like his counterpart he was terrified of being hurt and losing the most important person in the world to him.

Still holding Natsu’s hands in his own Gray held him in place, moving his face ever closer until finally pressing his lips against Natsu’s, who immediately closed his eyes and nibbled gently on the soft lips he’d thought he’d never get a chance to taste.

Years of repressed feelings burst through Natsu as he bungled his way through his first kiss, worried it wouldn't be any good, but Gray didn't pull away, and after much fumbling they quickly got the hang of it, Gray let go of his hands at some point to caress his cheek with his fingers. It was everything Natsu had hoped for, the joy that coursed through his body at Gray's touch unmistakeable. Much too soon for Natsu's liking the kiss ended, and Gray licked his lips slowly, smiling as he tasted Natsu on his lips.

Natsu was too flustered to really look at Gray, and he tried to disappear behind his bangs. Gray didn't push, just let him hide, but continued to give him gentle caresses as Natsu got himself together.

“We’ve always been there for each other, Natsu. You’re the only one who’s always accepted me just the way I am.” Gray moved Natsu’s bangs out of the way to gaze into his eyes as he confessed with a smile, “You’re the one I want, Natsu, not her.”

Natsu didn’t know how to respond, as much as he’d hoped, he’d never expected this to happen. The whole thing felt like a dream he didn’t want to wake from. His lips began to twitch before they stretched into a grin that was wider than any he’d ever managed before and that seemed to be enough for Gray.

"So let's do it, let's get into your car and go," Gray urged, looking back at the guild hall they'd just run away from. "Nothing is keeping us here."

It was true, they’d had some good times over the years, but most of those had involved each other. Natsu was sure the guild would miss them, but they’d also move on without them. The idea of just getting in the car and starting a new life somewhere with Gray was very appealing. It was sort of what he’d already been planning, although he’d thought he would be doing it alone. This was much better.

“Don’t we need to get clothes or something?”

Gray looked down at himself and laughed, “I’m already packed.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.”

They remained where they were, watching the sunset in each other's arms while saying goodbye to the place they'd called home. By the time they'd gotten up, night had fallen, and the temperature had plummeted, leaving Natsu shivering as they walked to the car. Gray took one of his coats off and wrapped it around his lover, kissing the top of his head as he buttoned it up.

Natsu looked up, and they kissed again, less hesitant and more eager. They laced their fingers and walked to the car, not once looking back. They drove away into the night, excited about the new adventures that awaited them. Together at last.

A/N I realized I’d never really written Edolas Gratsu so this appealed to me. I hope you like it Anon! As always, fluff is my kryptonite.

[sketchyroad]

Rowan O‘Brien (LI: Morgan) Age: 29 Height: 5′5

Charming | Intimidating

Impulsive | Cautious

Sarcastic | Genuine

Friendly | Stoic

Easygoing | Stubborn

Heart | Mind

Optimist | Pessimist

Team Player | Independent

By the book | Bend the rules 

 || S K I L L S ||

People  64% Combat  6% Science/Technology  46% Deduction/Knowledge  47%

[I may have...overdone it but here’s one of my detectives for The Wayhaven Chronicles! I hope to introduce the others at some point if time allows it :’)]

|| P E R S O N A L I T Y || 

Rowan is generally friendly and approachable but can get rather intimidating when she feels she needs to be. She’s very confident and likes to make it clear that she’s the boss, be it in a professional setting or in private. Because of that she can be a little difficult at times, but she tries her best to get along with everyone.  Rowan has a bit of a mischievous streak, but she does it all in good fun and any playful remark is usually followed up by what she really meant to say. She makes sure people know she’s joking and doesn’t mean any harm. However, when she’s mad she tends to speak before thinking things through and that can result in some pretty heated arguments. She tries to avoid conflict, but doesn’t shy away from it should it happen anyway.

Rowan joined the police because she wanted to pick a job that had a purpose. She knew the big city offered a wider array of interesting jobs, but when it was time to choose a career path after graduating she went with her gut and chose something that allowed her to stay close to home but was still more interesting than a regular office job.

When she got promoted, she wasn’t exactly surprised, but wasn’t sure on wether to take the offer or not. She felt like she had the skills she needed, so she decided to give it a go and found it quite challenging, but somehow ended up enjoying the job.

She has pretty much no combat skills, but makes up for it by a good balance of her other skills. Her people skills being the highest of them. She likes to use words and her aura of authority to get things to go her way and is quite good at assessing people. Even though Rowan has no trouble dealing with people she’s more introverted in nature and needs some downtime just for herself. She’s really been loving having an office of her own! Tina is one of her best friends and Rowan loves her energy and fun personality. She often relies on Tina to make sure she gets out enough.

Rowan tried to be welcoming when Unit Bravo arrived but was put off by their behavior, which resulted in a fight pretty quickly. She was looking forward to having a team but was really disappointed when she felt like they didn’t accept her at all. With time she got used to them and eventually, especially after the reveal, came to like them in the end. 

After the reveal Rowan didn’t really believe what she was being told. But she trusts her mother enough to know that she wouldn’t be pulling a prank on her while in a hospital bed, and after seeing the facility, she finally fully believed her. Rowan was initially a bit blown away by all this new information but was rather intrigued by it all as well. After learning the truth, she understands Unit Bravo a lot better and tries to think of the situation as a fresh start. She doesn’t really see them in a different light since she feels like she got to know them as people and that their species has nothing to do with their personalities anyway. She appreciates Rebecca trying to let Rowan live a normal life, but doesn’t think all the secrecy was necessary.

|| F U N  F A C T S ||

Rowan is a series junkie and likes to spend her evenings watching Netflix. Sometimes she stays up late to finish a series and ends up accidentally sleeping in the next day.

She’s been dating quite a bit lately but has only been disappointed so far. At this point she’s about to just give up on it, much to Tina’s horror! 

Rowan tends to bite off more than she can chew. She likes a challenge, but sometimes underestimates stressful situations.

Rowan holds grudges forever, so it’s best not to get on her bad side. You need to work hard if you want to make it up to her! 

She’s utterly terrified of spiders.

 || R E L A T I O N S H I P S ||

Adam:  Rowan could not stand Adam in the beginning. It’s only after the reveal that she began to understand where he was coming from and their relationship improved from that point on. She really respects him as Unit Bravo’s leader but doesn’t like his bossy attitude (oh the irony). By the end of Book One she views him as a friend, if not a particularly close one.

Nate:  Nate and Rowan get along just fine. She thinks he’s a bit too polite at times and isn’t sure if he always means what he says or if he’s just trying to be nice. But she really appreciates the effort and knows that if it weren’t for Nate, dealing with Unit Bravo would be a whole lot more difficult. Nate is easy to be around for Rowan since he’s not as intense as the others. And they both like tea and puppies!

Farah:  Rowan enjoys Farah’s little quips and remarks! Even when they’re directed at her she sees the fun in them and usually laughs them off. While she thinks Farah can be a bit exhausting to be around at times, she still really likes her. She seems to have the ability to lift up Rowan’s mood whenever she feels a bit down.

Morgan:  Oh Morgan, what have you done? Turning confident Rowan into a shy blushing mess.  Rowan feels very conflicted about Morgan. Some days she can’t deal with her hostility at all and other days she feels like actual putty in her hands. Rowan doesn’t understand how Morgan works, which frustrates her immensely. She doesn’t even know what it is that she finds so attractive, but still can’t help feeling drawn to her. Rowan’s aware of her own feelings, but given her bad luck with relationships in the past and Morgan’s attitude, she doesn’t really see it going anywhere. And yes, she’s been dolefully spending a few evenings eating ice cream while watching sad movies over it.

Bobby:  Ah, her one big mistake. Bobby is her Ex. She feels like a fool for falling for him and can’t believe she was so wrong about his character. He still manages to get under her skin and she feels bad about letting him every time.

Rebecca:  Rowan and Rebecca are very close! Rowan didn’t get to see her mother as much as she wanted to as a child, but that just made her enjoy the times they were together even more. She likes to think that quality time is more important than quantity time. 

[clawsandblood]

2: Choking

link to ao3

intro on tumblr  chapter 1 on tumblr

Dorian lit his cigarette. Next to him was an ashtray, already brimming with old ash and stubs. Most of it was from that morning, though. He lost count how many cigarettes he already smoked. It was bound to leave him with a hoarse voice whole day and a nasty cough for a few more, if the weather went to shit maybe even a whole week.

The window where he was perched had a good view of the street leading to the apartment block. He chose it deliberately as his smoking station that particular morning. It was Sunday, and hoping that the town they lived in was too remote to know about Sunday shifts at work, he stood there, watching and waiting.

He didn’t really have any guarantee that they’d come, but he hoped that one night would have been enough for them to realize things can’t be solved with a simple visit to the hospital.

And surely enough, he finally spied two familiar figures walking downstreet. They looked a bit lost, checking every apartment block. Dorian couldn’t fault them, sometimes he had problems distinguishing his one from the others.

He took one last drag of his cigarette, nervously puffing out the smoke.

“Hey!” he shouted. His voice was indeed hoarse from all the smoking.

Steven and Borna looked up.

“I’ll come down open the doors!” he yelled and then left the window, stubbing out his cigarette. He took the keys and put on the shoes, going downstairs. His hands were almost steady when he closed the door behind himself.

---

He opened the entrance to the block, slightly out of breath from the stairs. Steven and Borna greeted him with two distrustful glares.

“Let’s just go to my apartment,” Dorian said, gesturing to them to get inside. They exchanged looks, nodded and followed him upstairs.

Dorian could feel the weight of their stares on his back all the way up to his apartment. When they finally reached the doors it was almost a relief to have to face them again. He toed off his shoes as he led them inside. They waited for him, not moving to do anything about their boots.

“I guess you can sit on the couch,” he mumbled, leading them to the living room.

“We’ll stand, thank you,” Steven said curtly. 

Borna shoved Dorian to fall back on the couch. “What was that shit yesterday all about?” he demanded. He unwrapped the bandage on his arm, revealing the bite, looking… not exactly sick, but the flesh looked strangely melted, like fresh scarring on larger injuries. His eyes bore into Dorian, though there was sweat beading on his brow.

Dorian cringed, half from the pressure that was now on him, half from the sympathy for Borna. The latter didn’t look very well, his limbs twitchy and face feverish.

“Why the fuck is the bite mark like that?” Steven asked. He also didn’t seem to be in a good shape, dark circles under his eyes, squaring his shoulders in effort to look intimidating in a way only someone really scared does.

“It’s a bit complicated,” Dorian said. “You sure you don’t wanna sit down?”

“We’re good,” Borna said, though he was slightly swaying.

Steven instinctively moved closer to him. “Is it some sort of a drug?” he asked. “No bite looks like that by itself.”

Dorian chewed his lip. “There’s this condition,” he hesitantly started.

“Did you give me some sort of illness?” Borna cut in.

Dorian shook his head. Then he paused. “No,” he said, “but I suppose it works in a similar way.”

“Will you just say it?” Steven groaned.

Dorian glared at him. “It’s very hard to explain it in a way that sounds sane, okay?” he snapped.

“Don’t worry, I already consider you insane,” Borna said, voice sharp and icy.

“Okay!” Dorian exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m a werewolf and now you’re one too!”

Borna blinked a few times.

“You’re crazy,” Steven said after a beat.

“I said it was going to sound insane!” Dorian retorted. “Now can I explain the details or are you going to stare at me some more?”

“What is it?” Borna asked. “For real now.”

Dorian shrugged. “I told you.”

“Enough fucking around,” Steven snapped, pulling Dorian up by his shirt. “Just tell us what is it so we know what to do,” he quietly said, voice dangerously level.

Dorian pawed at Steven’s arm. “There’s no drug,” he said. “No illness.”

Steven released Dorian’s shirt, now squeezing at his throat.

“Stop playing,” he growled.

Dorian  was now wheezing in breaths, clawing at Steven. “I’m not joking,” he squeezed out. “Just get a piece of silver and you can see.”

Steven finally relaxed his grip, allowing Dorian to heave in breaths, though his hand was still there, threatening.

“Isn’t your earring silver?” Borna asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“Yeah,” Steven replied, not taking his eyes off Dorian’s face. “Can you take it for me?”

Dorian made a face.

“What?” Steven asked, noticing Dorian’s strange expression.

“You’ll see soon enough,” he replied.

Steven momentarily squeezed the hand at Dorian’s throat in a warning. “Just tell us what.”

Dorian opened his mouth and closed it again, intently watching Borna brush Steven’s hair out of the way, reaching for the silver hoop hanging from his ear.

“Fuck!” he swore, snatching his hand away.

“It burns,” Dorian said wearily. “Like ice does.”

Borna nodded, staring at his fingers in disbelief. “This can’t be right,” he muttered and reached for the earring again, grabbing it more firmly. His face paled and then he snatched his hand away again.

“Let him go, Steven,” he quietly said.

Steven shot him a concerned look, but did as he said. “Does it really…” He trailed off, not exactly knowing how to say it.

“Yeah,” Borna said hoarsely.

“You’ll feel like shit for a while now,” Dorian spoke up, looking at Borna, though avoiding his face. “Give it a few days, then you’ll be normal again.” He smiled. “And then you’ll finally get to the good stuff.”

Borna nodded. “Which is?”

Dorian sat down on the couch, Borna following his lead. Steven looked at them unsurely and then gingerly sat down next to Borna.

“You’ll be stronger,” Dorian said. “You’ll heal faster and be more resistant to sicknesses too.”

“Does the full moon-?” Borna asked tentatively.

Dorian nodded. “In a way,” he said. “The moon in general works just fine, but full moon makes you the strongest,” he explained.

“You’re saying you can transform into a wolf?” Steven asked incredulously.

“Yeah,” Dorian said, focusing on Borna again. “It’ll be a bit difficult at first, but after you get the hang of it it’s the best feeling in the world.”

Borna nodded, deep in thought. He was examining the bite mark again.

“What about the thing with silver?” Steven asked.

“We’re allergic to it,” Dorian replied. “Its cold burns us.” He shrugged. “That, and having to eat more are the only bad parts of it.”

“This doesn’t sound that bad at all,” Borna said. He looked up to gaze into Dorian’s eyes, making the other man squirm from the intensity of it. “What is the part you’re not telling us?”

“Just make sure no one notices,” Dorian replied, returning the stare. “People don’t know much about us apart from myths and legends, and what they don’t know scares them.”

Borna nodded. “Makes sense.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Why did you turn him?” Steven asked.

Dorian hesitantly looked at Borna, who gave him a nod. “He said something about wanting to make assholes like the one from yesterday really regret it,” he mumbled. “I had a weapon I could give him, so I just did.”

Steven nodded. “Okay,” he said, for the first time not sounding hostile. “I think we’ll just-” He sighed. “We’ll go home.”

“Yeah, rest up,” Dorian replied. He looked back to Borna. “Just treat this like a sort of a cold,” he said. “Rest a lot, but eat more too.” He paused. “At least you won’t need any tetanus shots anymore.”

Borna snorted. “Closest thing to free healthcare I’ll ever get.”

Despite himself, Steven also cracked a smile.

“We should probably exchange contacts,” Dorian said. “In case anything happens.”

Steven nodded and pulled out his phone. They exchanged numbers, then he opened the Facebook app. “Can you search for yourself here?” he asked, handing the phone to Dorian.

Dorian gave the phone back. “I’m not on Facebook,” he replied.

“No?” Steven asked. “How about Instagram?”

“Also no.”

“Twitter?”

Dorian shook his head. “I don’t use social media, I just have an email for work and that’s all.”

“Huh,” Steven put away his phone.

Dorian laughed uneasily. “I’m a caveman, I know.”

“I hate Facebook,” Borna said. “Very smart, not being there.”

Steven shook his head good-naturedly. “We’re going now. If anything happens I’ll text you.”

“Yeah.” Dorian nodded and accompanied the pair to the doors. They said their goodbyes, this time significantly more friendly with each other. Dorian locked the doors behind them and padded over to the window with the ashtray. He lit himself a new cigarette and watched Steven and Borna walk away. He breathed out a large cloud of smoke, allowing his body to relax a bit, sagging against the windowsill.

He touched his neck with his hand, feeling up the parts where Steven’s hand pressed. He grimaced slightly and cleared his throat a few times. He felt phlegm catching and he sighed, extinguishing the cigarette, finally closing the window. He took the ashtray and placed it near the trashcan and then he went to the bathroom. He hacked up some phlegm and spit it out, washing his mouth afterwards. He looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Tilting his chin up, he could see the already fading bruises on his neck.

[cbspams]

Kingdom: Legendary war - 100 second performances

TBH I dont wanna write full essays on these little intro performances even though I have a lot of thoughts, so they're all gonna be on this one post.

ATEEZ: I loved the introduction!! Dude the acting?? Seonghwa's full staggering?? Dope as fuck. The strings instrumental as well as the rough waves sound were a great introduction to the theme. A good performance overall, I think it genuinely highlighted and set up the kind of group ATEEZ is. I struggled a bit with the song choice because Wave (original) is so upbeat and free spirited while the kingdom version felt very aggressive. But I figured maybe they chose it because it's (1) their first music show win (important mentally and emotionally) and (2) it fits the pirate theme they're going to carry on in the show. Speaking of theme, I really liked that ATEEZ stuck to their guns and kept to the pirate theme. It's clearly a sort of icon for them, in Pirate King and Wave, and also in Wonderland (large pirate ship at the end) and THANXX (ships and sharks in the air, skull on the float). I do worry this will somehow limit their performances from now on but a continuous theme can be very powerful as well.

BTOB: Y'all I did not know anything about BTOB tbh. I've heard their songs here and there but I didn't know them at all and listening to this version of Beautiful Pain, I am stunned. Like I've always respected kpop idols as the ones who can do it all, especially in comparison to American celebrities who tend to be very one tracked in many ways, but BTOB really brings up a new level of skill in their singing. Eunkwang in particular really impressed me! He has really strong, stable vocals and is able to achieve those impactful long notes that I know for a fact is difficult to anyone who doesn't train with singing in mind in particular. He kind of reminds me of Hui from Pentagon and RTK? Technically it should be that Hui reminds me of him but like I got to know Hui first so yknow. I think the drawback for BTOB will be how they incorporate themes and action in their performances, as ballad songs tend to be very mellow in comparison to the kind of aggressive EDM/hip hop the other groups are known for.

SF9: I stan now. Just like, fact. I already really liked Summer Breeze and Good Guy from SF9 but I feel like their time on Kingdom has really suckered me into learning about them. But just from this introduction performance, I think it's really interesting what kind of strengths they were playing into. I know SF9 is pretty well known for their physique and appearances, as well as their individual acting ability. Like the mentioned during the episode, they do a lot of individual activities which I think would make a show like Kingdom really difficult for them because they don't have a lot of time to practice together as the other groups do. Still, I believe they can put on excellent performances if they play to their strengths and manage to show good team synergy. The intro performance is interesting because it was really intense, which was sort of off-set in some ways by their costuming and set design. I actually would have loved if they had taken more of a boss stance, like they're CEOs of the company or something with the matching lighting and LED screen displays. I feel like that would have really enhanced their suits and gelled hair. Still though!! Great job!! And please, huge shoutout to Taeyang who struggled with the body pack, I'm really impressed by his laser focus during the performance. I know it must be disappointing but he did well.

Stray Kids: My boys!! My babies!! I love how they carried the theme from the performance film that Minho stared in. Wolves is a wonderful concept for Kingdom for a variety of reasons. Wolves are a common standard in medieval representations (GOT as an example) so that's really symbolic of them participating in Kingdom. Additionally, I really like how it gives that kind of wild energy to SKZ, similar to how in Back Door they gave off really party-esque vibes. I also think of the aggression of wolves in defending their territory which is a cool intimidation tactic kinda? It's likely unintentional but it's still very cool. Choosing MIROH was kind of obvious, given it's importance as their very first win (like ATEEZ) and also the theme of the song being about freedom and being the king of the concrete jungle. The arrangement was so cool, seriously seriously Chan how do you do it?? Chan and Hui become friends please. I liked how they, like TBZ, used more of the stage than some of the other groups. Like Minho on the bleacher seats. Props wise, Changbin's firework was awesome although I don't necessarily know what kind of role it plays in the theme of the performance? But yeah, it was incredible and they totally deserved first place for that.

TBZ: Yooooo what was that start?? That posing?? Y'all please, my heart isn't strong enough for this. Eric's mf core strength to be able to sit up from that position-- hhhhh. I'm genuinely curious as to what theme they were thinking about when they made this because there's such a unique genre to the performance. It's daring, challenging, elegant and impactful. The whispering opening lines from Eric 100% made goosebumps creep up my arm. I also think it's interesting that they had a sort of rising from the ashes moment when all the members collapse and then come back up. This performance was an incredible showing of the full scope of TBZ's skills, as a group with incredible formations and dancing ability. I mean the hands in the camera? Really shows how their time on RTK has helped familiarize them to the stage available on Kingdom. That ballet bit with the classical piano?? (COOL LEDS AND TRANSITIONS TOO YO) Bro, how many other groups could do that so smoothly. It reminds me of the differences they had in RTK, like how Quasi una fantasia was a very modern dance-esque piece. I'm really hoping they continue to show their variety and creativity on Kingdom as they did in RTK and in this performance. Side note: GOT themed?? I'm gonna have to monitor that carefully because I'm not a GOT nut but my roommate is and I feel like if that's the theme then there should be some level of commitment to the concept, on a theatrical execution sense.

iKON: I've mentioned this before but this is possibly my favorite performance out of all of these for this intro round. I didn't really appreciate it at first but I keep going back to it because the arrangement is so interesting! The combination of their hip-hop original beat and the the aggression of the instrumentals (like the drumming beat and the flute) is so fun to listen to. I also like that they start off really strong and then really show off how fun they can be, like how Donghyuck (DK) and Jinhwan (Jay)'s duoing was really powerful and then post transition (which was also really clean!), Bobby had the time of his life just popping off the way he does. Bobby seems so carefree and that's amazing, I think that's so fun. I really like that iKON used their arms at the beginning too. Based on the other performance clips I've seen for rounds 1 and 2, that kind of movement seems to be their thing and that's awesome!! I gotta mention, Jinhwan is an incredible dancer. Even though iKON doesn't seem to have the same synchronization that TBZ, SKZ and ATEEZ have, it kind of really works in their favor because of the hip hop vibes they devote themselves too. Hip hop is all about individual expression so it's really fun to see their little quirks! That said, I do hope they're able to polish up a little bit so that it doesn't seem too out of sync, like when Donghyuck was a beat off in bit where they raise their arms together.

All in all, the intro performances really did stick to the charms each team has! That's really incredible and I really like that. Onto round 1!

lol i'm really out here always saying i dont wanna write full essays and then blowing up. anyways, if you haven't gotten the chance to check out the performances, I highly recommend watching them below!

ATEEZ - BTOB - SF9 - SKZ - TBZ - iKON

[perahn]

Codex Entry #4

The following pages are among the more difficult to decrypt in the journal, as the writer was clearly disturbed by these events recorded. The handwriting is hurried and near-illegible in places. There are genuine mistakes in the text that alter the meaning (see: use of Draconic ‘grk-hssp’ or ‘spell-energy’ in place of ‘grakh-yssth’ or ‘existence’) and several errors in the encryption that misdirected translators.

… very little left, after panicking and Polymorphing Shay just to get her free of the gelatinous cube. Then one thing after another – the first cloudkill, the drow with the greatsword… Evard’s Black Tentacles. It is pathetic how little it took to reduce me to a mewling, quivering child, helpless, hearing that laughter and feeling (there is an angry scribble obliterating several words, easily mistaken for part of the encryption). Then, of course, Katy’s magic went rogue – she can’t ordinarily cast fireball - just before the drow got off another cloudkill. I can taste it now, and I remember knowing that I had one chance to get through it before I would lose consciousness. And I failed. It should have been death.

Instead, Harper ran into the field, got me out and stabilised me.

He has said that he means me no harm, that he would help, that he would see this done. It can’t be that simple. He is an intelligent and dangerous man, exceedingly skilled in [the Mulhorandi word used here could be translated into Common as ‘politics’, ‘interpersonal dynamics’, or ‘manipulation’]. If you save a life, you must have some further use for it in mind – it’s not an unusual manoeuvre – but in that case, it would be as counterproductive as it was insulting to decline the debt I acknowledged. What in all the Infinite Abyss is his objective?

What does he want from me?

Katy is being irritatingly melodramatic about the whole affair. Anyone with a brain in their head and any familiarity with the Weave can feel the difference between a spell she’s purposefully cast and when her magic goes wild. It’s a wonder any sorcerer survives their own magic – instinct is no substitute for conscious, reasoned control. In the interests of avoiding a repeat incident, I’ve offered to try and teach her. I entertain doubts about the efficacy of the whole business. She’s a child still, but one very set in her undisciplined ways – also, I’ve little knowledge of wild magic, the messy, chaotic, inelegant blight on the Weave that it is - and I very much doubt that the exercises that novice wizards are taught will be much help to her. We approach magic from completely opposite directions. Still. I’ll find a way. I refuse to be defeated by anything so minor as an uncontrolled sorceress and her unshaped magic.

Shay continues to be her contained, sensible self. It is a relief to be able to have a sane conversation in a civilised language with someone whose motives are largely known and whose background is similar enough that I do not have to struggle to make myself understood. I must be more careful; I would not like her to have to return home and confess failure to her elders, and not only because I would be dead at that point.

I suspect I’ll never forget the first time I visited the monastery. I am not squeamish, but I do not comprehend unnecessary cruelty. There is a point beyond which punishment or torture becomes ineffective, even as a deterrent for its witnesses. The monks passed it long ago. There was one specimen; most of his internal organs had been externalised for the education of twenty years’ worth of novice monks. The scarring, the burns, grafts, stitching on the living surface of his lungs… not something I would willingly bring on Shay.

…absolute darkness. Not the mere absence of light, but a void that actively obliterates it. Seventeen. The touch of darkness is a fluid netting, like veins or cobwebs, a warm almost-pressure against my face, enmeshing my hands. Thirty-five. Two serpentine figures, dividing and becoming men, then coming together again. Exchanges of matter.

That part of the dream is easy enough to record. After that… well. I was watching and I was the medium in which they moved, and if the images were unspecific, the sensations were not. I haven’t been troubled by desire that intense in years. There was fear, too, and a sense of familiarity about the men. I thought at one point it might be any pairing of Faraghor, Halvren or Vannos, if it were some trick of my subconscious, but it had the depth and cadence of a genuine dream. I hope it wasn’t, given that such dreams have a tendency to recur – in whole or in element - and once was unsettling enough.

It keeps teasing at the back of my mind - perhaps because of that unplaced sense of familiarity, perhaps because of the lingering and unwelcome disquiet. Inevitable, when control cracks, but nothing I haven’t dealt with before.

(the following line wanders upward and overlaps with previous lines, as though the writer was no longer looking at the page)

Stop watching me write, Harper. I can feel you smirking.

… it’s beautiful. One spell, several days of intense study, and all its secrets would be mine. My fingertips itch, and only touching the spine really soothes them. But I have to think.

My position is not strong enough. As an outsider to the Skullport Enclave, I was always going to attract attention – rather more of it than is compatible with my favoured approaches – and my display in the Tournament was not sufficiently intimidating to make any potential rivals among the Enclave Red Wizards think twice. Any good that might have come from it, I probably undid by my idiotic visit the day before we left. I expect, and have warned the others, that someone will try to claim my prize soon.

There are several options open to me, and myriad ways to achieve them.

Katy’s suggestion to simply walk away with the tome is ludicrous. I see little reason for it… unless she believes that I would unable to adapt or survive outside the order, and would thereby become more dependent, easily exploitable to her ends. She’s shown little sign of that order of thought, but it never pays to underestimate someone. Certainly Harper is capable of that sort of planning, and he could easily steer her in the correct direction... My early training has not left me well-suited me for life out here, true, but I am stronger than they think, and I certainly have no intention of abandoning my life’s purpose for an ill-defined whim.

If I handed it back intact… I would want some leverage to ensure that I was adequately rewarded. Difficult, but not impossible. The main fault with this is, of course, the sacrifice it entails. I want this tome, but there are things I may want more. The possible favour of Metoth Zurn. My advancement in the order. Not to antagonise Zurn further, or to make an enemy of the complete unknown to whom he intended to give the book – assuming the original letter can be trusted in that regard. Skullport is Zurn’s territory, Waterdeep is Daraam’s, and I have their attention now; this is a poor time for risks. My own allies are clearly marked as such and vulnerable.

What Red Wizard worth her robes would walk into the same trap twice?

And yet, I keep tempting myself with the tome. How to use it, then give it to Zurn; how to cover my tracks, assuming he expects it to be active. On one hand, a century is not much time for someone sustained by necromancy; on the other, nobody likes to wait for their advantages. If I had thirty days, Nystul’s Magic Aura could make it appear active – but at the end of the study period, it would be obvious that something was wrong. Moot point; forty-eight hours would not be enough time to put myself entirely out of reach of Zurn or Daraam. I could use a scapegoat.

I have finally mastered Teleportation Circle and Nondetection (absurd, that the latter should have eluded me for so long, however little I like the concept), both of which may prove useful in the near future. It’s pleasing to finally have a use for the two sigil sequences I have memorised.

Interesting developments with Harper. It would appear that, after all these weeks of… I would write ‘innuendo’, but I believe that word suggests a degree of subtlety… they have found a moment of privacy for sex. Or, at least, Harper is willing to have us believe that’s the case, and I estimate the probability is high. Curious, and potentially troubling. I gave him the piece of advice that saved me in similar situations. I know Harper’s value; the drow remains an unknown and extremely dangerous factor.

He thanked me for helping Katy, despite the fact I’ve taught her nothing as yet. He didn’t deny he was kvaleth (a Mulhorandi word, not widely used outside Thay. ‘Superior’, ‘ascendant’, ‘dominant’, or ‘senior’ are possible Common translations, as are ‘responsible’, ‘with power’, ‘with authority’, ‘owed obedience’ and ‘owing protection’) to Katy in their alliance, but appeared genuinely grateful that I’d offered to teach her what he could not. It’s understandable that he would wish her magic under better control, I suppose – it could just as easily have been him within range of her fireball – but perhaps he is not fostering her dependence on him as carefully as I’d thought. He also winced, quite visibly, when I used the word ‘responsible’. Interesting. I suspect it might have something to do with his past, but I still lack sufficient information.

He said he would like Shay and myself to stay with them – giving further weight to the possibility that he was the one behind Katy’s suggestion that I simply walk away from my order. He also raised the subject several weeks before she did. I wish I knew what he was planning.

Shay seems to be drinking less. Possibly she’s come to the end of her alcohol supply after two weeks out in the Underdark, but I suspect there is something else afoot. I deem it inadvisable to press too hard. It appears that Shay may wish to leave the Long Death, but doesn’t believe it’s possible. As I told her, I think it unlikely they could do anything to track her that could not be dealt with, if that was her choice. Here I am, disdaining Harper for not keeping close control of his wastet-le (another Thayan term, the counterpart of the last difficult-to-translate one, indicating the ‘junior’, ‘inferior’, ‘obedient’, ‘protected’ or ‘lesser’ partner in an alliance), while I stand ready to sever the foundation of my alliance with Shay at her word. But I t- (a large ink blot follows the broken word, suggesting that the writer left her pen sitting on the page for some time).

Szass Tam’s pickled balls.

That would be problematic. It appears to be true.

I will have to think about this, and whether I shall inform her of it.

The rest of the page is left blank. When the text resumes, the handwriting is unusually slanted and untidy, and the encryption is almost cursory; the writer appears to have been in a hurry.

Well, how intriguing. Harper has escorted the drow just outside the Tiny Hut spell and is asking him questions. Which the drow is answering. Harper has (present tense, presumably the survivor in control of the family business) a cleric brother, possible fit with some of the things he’s said about the gods. Point of killing the Tyrran? Gave the truth before, impeding activities of his organisation. Difficulties of being on the wrong side of so many gods? The drow implies feeling responsible for an entire people, which requires him to provoke divine wrath, and there is nobody else who would do it properly, ‘we can’t choose whether the gods favour us or not’. Deity he serves? Harper wouldn’t recognise the name, but has nothing to fear on that account. Teach Khem the trick of navigating to Skullport? Shrewd request, will do so on our return.

The usual intricate encryption resumes at this point.

I am exceedingly impressed. That was a great deal of very useful information Harper extracted – and where I could hear it for myself, too, not merely reported to me. Of course, the drow might have been lying – one assumes he is familiar with the properties of the Tiny Hut spell - but it didn’t sound that way. For what that’s worth. I am more interested in Harper’s choice of action, although I will not read too much into it. He is far too good at what he does.

I suppose I should try to sleep… but time is too valuable at this point. What will I do with this lovely book in my lap?

[hopewritteninthestars]

Rey + Kylo Astrology

Trying to avoid my seasonal depression by writing and working on meta and I got this idea that I just had to do. I know some people either love or don’t get astrology. I’ve studied up on it as a hobby not for the little magazine horoscopes but the personality side. It’s really fascinating and insightful so I just had to do our space babies. For both I’ll keep it simple by doing just their Sun, Moon, and Rising based off my own perceptions of their personalities. As a condensed refresher the rising is based on first impressions you give off to people or how you present yourself, Moon is how your emotions are expressed and Sun is the core of who you are. Enjoy!

Rey

Sun Sign - Aquarius -

Aquarius is a very free spirited, idealistic yet stubborn sign. They are genuinely well liked by people and they are curious and tolerant valuing fairness. Though they usually champion a broad and open viewpoint they can be notoriously stubborn and set in their ways and hold tight to personal opinions. You’ll read in most places about the importance of friendship to Aquarius. Apt to getting along with people they value strong connections they make with others and their loyalty once established is incredibly strong. Though stubborn at times Aquarius is very curious and like to explore and examine things, ideas and people by getting to the root.

Rey is very independent due to her upbringing on Jakku she had to fend for herself but she didn’t lose her spirited spark. She’s very clever and has a proclivity for tinkering around and fixing things from her scavenger days. She’s open to helping those in need by saving BB8 and not selling him off despite needing portions. Also being concerned for Finn and knowing how important his friendship was to her. She also found a calling from the resistance which is a very Aquarius trait being that they like a cause or purpose. But despite being open to others Rey does have a somewhat detached nature to her and she still keeps a lot of her feelings close to her chest.

Moon Sign - Cancer -

A moon in cancer is a very emotive position. The Moon here shows someone that is quite wrapped up in their own feelings and trying to understand them. Security means a lot to them and they desperately search for it if they find it lacking in their lives. A Moon here also shows a tendency to cling to the past tightly. They can cling to feelings and emotions which are etched in their memories and hold them on pedestals and can sometimes find it hard to move on. But a Moon here is also tender and can understand and easily show care for others but be warned because they can also have a tendency for moodiness.

This placement really fits Rey’s emotions. She has a slight nostalgic streak. The past is important to her. She had treasured mementos around her place on Jakku and she finds it extremely difficult to move on from her past hurt of being left behind. She can’t let it go and held out hope for so long because it was important to her. Even in TFA her main motivation throughout the first half of the film is returning to Jakku. She can’t help but be slightly wrapped up in herself when it comes to her own feelings. But she’s also welcoming to sharing affection with others making her such a delightful friend to have.

Rising Sign - Aries -

Aries rising are very stricking, stubborn, direct and independent. They are also no nonsense people. They are quick and act on instinct without thinking too much about foreseeable consequences, charging forward instead. But that doesn’t necessarily equate to aggression because while direct they are not malicious. They like to be on the move and appreciate having something going on as they don’t like to be pent up. They can also be competitive at times and a slight temper can arise on occasion only when strongly provoked though.

Rey very much fits the above. She can be thrown into a new and wild situation such as helping Finn and BB8 without breaking a sweat. In fact she shows that she can easily thrive off high pressure situations. In TLJ she is extremely persistent with Luke till she bends him to her will to get him to teach her. Also in TLJ that quick action shows strongly when despite strong disapproval from Luke she goes off in search of getting Ben Solo back without taking any time in between deciding and actually doing. Rey often relies heavily on her gut feelings especially when she knows she is right.

Kylo Ren / Ben Solo

Sun Sign - Scorpio -

This probably won’t be a surprise to anyone. And yes I know this is Adam Driver’s sun as well but it just fits Kylo perfectly.

Scorpios come off quite intensely but they can’t really help it they don’t go along on half measures. This is a determined sign that has willpower but can be quite methodical as well. They know what they want and will be extremely patient but persistent in acheiving whatever their goal may be. There can also be a somewhat scary quality to Scorpio and I don’t mean that in a bad way. For one thing they have some of the strongest emotions and can sometimes be affected by them in extremes. They are also just so steely and have great resolve and it’s not a surprise if you learn that a Scorpio has dealt with many hardships and struggles without showing much personal weakness to others.

You don’t get quite as intense as Kylo. As a common Scorpio trait he very much gives off the vibe that he knows this fact and uses it in his favor. He also holds his cards very close to his chest. Yes he lets his emotions get away from him but despite outbursts he doesn’t fully show his true feelings half the time. Scorpios also find the dark side (no pun intended) intriguing and aren’t afraid to explore the depths of it. It intrigues them because they aren’t the type to be comfortable in a cookie cutter conventional life.

Moon Sign - Scorpio -

Yes double Scorpio here.

A lunar Scorpio differs slightly from their sun version. Because placed with the Moon the emotional side is upped quite intensely. Scorpio Moons practically live within their emotions and find it difficult to not experience things intensely. In fact they can somewhat enjoy that intensity. They can also read others very well, easily cracking beyond a facade getting straight to the core of others. Having an uncanny ability to see feelings in others that may not be so obvious. This trait can come of as intimidating as well as intriguing. They aren’t easily shocked but they deeply fear betrayal and abandonment.

Kylo is no stranger to emotional intensity and upheaval. So intense that he finds it difficult at times to contain the strong things he feels. He also shows a tendency for a strong intuitive nature on occasion. Some may see this emotional nature as a weakness but that’s not looking at it as a whole because as a Scorpio moon knows they can feel emotions strongly but they also know how to wield them and be guided by them. This comes across in Kylo’s constant inner turmoil and conflict. It’s obvious he would rather turn off his feelings but it’s impossible because in the end it’s not in his nature. The fear of betrayal is obviously strong as well in Kylo’s case stemming from a lifetime of feeling abandoned and neglected.

Rising Sign - Leo -

Leo Rising can’t help but be noticed. They give off an almost regal presence that demands attention. They can be image conscious and take great care in how they physically present themselves. Others may see it as vain but a Leo Rising can pay special attention to their personal appearance. They can be prone to making rash decisions and temper tantrums depending on the situation. But they have strong drive and a strong idealistic nature.

Kylo gives off a strong Leo-esque vibe. He has a regal air about him that is quite apparent. His presentation also seems to be of importance to him as seen obviously in his attire choices and hair upkeep. He’s very self aware of his image. We also see glimmers of that Leo confidence and cockiness from time to time. Particularly his attitude in the shirtless TLJ scene (classic textbook Leo) The Leo volatility is also extremely obvious in his frequent tendencies to give way to tantrums and outbursts.

[mirsan]

:3c mirsan and kagsan? 💕💕

of COURSE jenny my sweet devil 💖💖💖

who is more likely to hurt the other?

mirsan: I think if we’re talking during the series, Miroku’s flirting and gags really start to wear Sango down and she can’t help but feel hurt. By the time they’re married though, I headcanon Sango has moments where she shuts down or her trauma takes hold of her and it causes her to act in ways that hurt Miroku, but they talk about it and realize where she’s coming from and work through it

kagsan: I can see Sango doing the same thing above with Kagome! It’s in Kagome’s nature and heart to want to help someone no matter what, and I think it might come off sometimes as overbearing and if Sango is in a certain mindset she may not be ready for that, but Kagome would eventually understand. BUT you know what I would have loved loved loved to see? When Kagome and Sango first use the hot springs together and Kagome hesitantly tells Sango she’s the reason why the jewel shattered, I wanted to see Sango react with something other than mild shock for half a second. It could have been really amazing to see them work through that together, especially considering what happens to Kohaku that same episode/chapter!!

more under the cut~

who is emotionally stronger?

mirsan: This is kind of tricky to think about?! I think Sango wears her emotions on her sleeve but there is a strength in being your authentic self and not hiding how you feel. But Miroku on the other hand is much more apt to keeping things below the surface and showing calmness and control, even if he is bubbling up underneath with anger or sadness or something else. I think he can prevent cracking under a difficult situation more easily, but I also believe that what Sango has lived through has made her immensely strong and I don’t think that’s undone by crying and showing those emotions sometimes!

kagsan: I think Kagome has a special gift of being able to carry on despite feeling intense emotions, and so while Sango might be overcome and feel like giving up, Kagome is driven to continue despite the odds, and that takes incredible emotional strength.

 who is physically stronger?

mirsan: 💪 SANGO 💪

kagsan: 💪 SANGO 💪

who is more likely to break a bone? 

mirsan: HAHA well….. they both have a complete and total disregard for their wellbeing when their loved ones are in danger but…. if I’m remembering correctly, every time Miroku was incapacitated in canon it was because of sucking up too many bees or miasma, or maybe he got cut here and there, and for Sango it was always from physical injury, including being hit by hiraikotsu or thrown from Kirara etc, so I’m gonna say Sango!!

kagsan: again, Sango!! I think Kagome’s physical injuries were limited to acid burns or cuts and whatnot, and either way Sango is reckless enough to end up badly hurt for Kagome’s sake imo

who knows best what to say to upset the other? 

mirsan: LOL ummm Miroku might make the occasional ignorant/misinformed comment here and there, but I think Sango knows how to Read Him and incinerate his entire life

kagsan: AND YET remember in “Only You, Sango” when Kagome EVISCERATED Miroku with that speech about how much better Kuranosuke was than him? mmmmm Yeah she knows how 2 fucking use her Words to end a life 

who is most likely to apologise first after an argument? 

mirsan: Definitely Miroku!!! He is NOT one to drag something out, just picture him chasing Sango around in the catfish episode lmao. SANGOOOO SANGO HEYYY WAIT—

kagsan: Oh my god lol they’d both apologize at the same time and blush and then argue why its their fault and not the fault of the other person, I genuinely don’t think either one would ever spend more time than necessary brooding after a fight!!

who treats who’s wounds more often?

mirsan: Mmmm I’d say it’s pretty even (see previously: how fucking reckless they both are and therefore prone to injury)! Then again a lot of the time when Miroku is injured it’s a matter of waiting and watching as the poison passes through his system. But in a world where Sango grows up to be the leader of the rebuilt taijiya village, I think Miroku would spend plenty of time massaging out any knots and treating any injuries sustained from a day of heavy training ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

kagsan: Kagome treats Sango’s wounds with her handy dandy futuristic medical kit!! She frets and frets over how hurt Sango gets but Sango is usually waving it off with a blush 😊

who is in constant need of comfort? 

mirsan: Sango. The trauma she has gone through doesn’t disappear just because Naraku is gone and Kohaku is back, and sometimes it becomes too much to bear and she needs to be loved and soothed and reminded that it’s okay and will continue to be okay.

kagsan: Same answer as above. The moment from the stolen tessaiga arc where Kagome holds her and strokes her hair is far from the only time she does this for Sango, I think.

who gets more jealous? 

mirsan: SANGO

kagsan: o my god….. fuk…… I’m… gonna say Sango again but just BARELY lmao, if only because Sango doesn’t really hide it very well whereas I think Kagome kind of does?

who’s most likely to walk out on the other? 

mirsan: WHY WOULD U MAKE ME THINK OF THIS!!! I’m not gonna answer this in the way I think this question is phrased (aka who would leave the relationship) but instead, based on how Miroku has left Sango for the sake of her safety re: inside Naraku when he fears the kazaana is just about at its limit and could swallow him and anyone around him at a moment’s notice, I’m gonna say Miroku. He would do what he had to do to keep her out of harm’s way, even if it meant leaving her side. I also think Sango is at her core someone who is loyal and stands by others and I don’t see her leaving anyone unless that person really, truly hurt her and betrayed her.

kagsan: okay even though I just said Sango is loyal and wouldn’t leave someone, I think if she thought she was a burden to Kagome or that she brought nothing but trouble for her (again with the stolen tessaiga arc), Sango might try to leave to spare her. But Kagome is Kagome and therefore if there’s one thing she would want, it’s to stay by her side no matter what.

who will propose? 

mirsan: Mirokuuuuu huehuehuee

kagsan: KAGOME! I think she’s much more romantically inclined and outgoing compared to Sango, so she’d def pop the question first 💍

who has the most difficult parents?

mirsan: LOL uhhh well we know nothing about their one of their mothers, but Miroku’s dad went off and left Miroku with a drunk uncle for like his entire life and meanwhile Sango’s dad is the head of the village and trained his two children to be able to kill giant centipedes and spider demons, so I’m gonna go with Sango’s

kagsan: Man again, Sango’s dad is already intimidating enough but compared to how lax and cool Kagome’s mom is with her daughter just doing as she pleases and hopping down into a well to fight demons in the past, Sango’s dad is practically a drill seargant

who initiates hand-holding when they’re out in public? 

mirsan: Miroku x9348502 he is all about physical intimacy and loves little romantic gestures that make Sango blush!!

kagsan: lmao Kagome is so bubbly and outgoing, again I think she’d initiate the physical intimacy over Sango out in public and her girl would just be beet red

who comes up for the other all the time?

mirsan: What does this even mean…. What…. Like who thinks of who more? Lmao I have no idea how to interpret this question so uh, I think Miroku can’t shut up about Sango and she always comes up in conversation, he also can’t shut up about his babies, he’s like Maes Hughs when it comes to gushing about his family tbh????

kagsan: KAGOME IS THE SAME WAY lmao she is always gushing about Sango. “Did you see Sango just throttle Inuyasha during sparring? o my god and the way she lifted him and threw him over the fence? I saw stars 😍😍😍“

who hogs the blankets? 

mirsan: Sango is a total blanket hog and Miroku lays there with a pathetic “why me” face while he is forced to lay there freezing because is he going to wake up his wife and ask her to share? of course not.

kagsan: Sango IS Kagome’s blanket, u fool. u absolute fool!!!

who gets more sad? 

mirsan: Sango, re: complex trauma and the tendency to let her emotions pour out.

kagsan: Same as above, but Kagome’s empathy makes it difficult for her not to come right down to where Sango’s at in the moment

who is better at cheering the other up? 

mirsan: Miroku 100%. His main defense mechanism, I think, is humor; he can artfully use that to turn a situation around and earn a smile from Sango, but he is also great at instilling hope and reminding her that she can do what she feels she cannot

kagsan: Kagome’s positivity is so contagious, it’s hard for Sango to remain sad sometimes when Kagome is there, always cheering her on!

who’s the one that playfully slaps the other all the time after they make silly jokes?

mirsan: Sango!! Miroku is always being a silly lil idiot lmao

kagsan: hmmmm I think Kagome, mostly because I remember her popping out of the bushes in “Only You, Sango” and doing that to Miroku after she scared him half to death lmao

who is more streetwise?

mirsan: Miroku. I think he’s traveled around a loooot more and knows the ins and outs/the lay of the land, plus he knows how to get a free bed for the night 👀👀👀

kagsan: Sango, but I mean that’s kind of a given because Kagome isn’t even from that time period!! I love the idea of Sango teaching Kagome all about her era and the customs, since it’s likely that at her age Kagome has only just started learning about the feudal era

who is more wise?

mirsan: I think Miroku; I’m pretty sure it’s filler-y nonsense but when Sango explains the shikon jewel, one of the “four souls” is wisdom, and it shows Miroku when she says it BUT LIKE besides that, I see him as someone very in touch with old texts and scriptures and if this were a modern AU he’d definitely be in a few philosophy courses. He may not be the most virtuous monk but I still think he knows his shit!!

kagsan: I’d say Sango! Given how much she knew of the legend of Midoriko, I think she possesses some very useful, powerful wisdom (and knowledge re: demon slaying tactics and strategies). Where Kagome still appears very young mentally, Sango seems much older than just 16 and part of that is her mental age and I tie that to wisdom

who’s the shyest? 

mirsan: 😳 SANGO 😳

kagsan: 😳 SANGO 😳

who boasts about the other more? 

mirsan: Ok fuck I answered the earlier question wrong then. O well. Miroku never shuts the fuck up and can u blame him? He married a goddess and had three perfect children with her. I too would never shut up.

kagsan: And if you think Kagome isn’t the same way about this as Miroku is then o my god u poor thing u are so wrong, Kagome has literal heart eyes for Sango at all times and is Will Smith Introducing Jada.png in any given moment

who sits on who’s lap?

mirsan: boy….. Sango sits in his lap….. he’s a walking Blanket Fic, I can see why

kagsan: Kagome sits in Sango’s lap and is a giddy little ball of smiles the whole time!!!

[seongkiran-blog]

( i’m sobbing she’s precious )

hi guys, i’m jules and i’m so excited to be a part of this rp !! i just saw that my app was in all caps by mistake bc my phone likes to fuck with me like that and i’m cringing omg. so i applied a few days ago but life got super hectic and i only just reapplied now that i’ve come up for air rip. but this is my eternally fucked, lowkey honey girl kiran who thinks she’s stoic and intimidating af but more often than not has the smallest of smiles at the v least on her face. here’s some basic — & extensive, sorry lmao — info about her ( TW: death, self-destructive behaviour, adjustment disorder/situational depression ) :

born seong kiran/kiran diana seong on march 12, 1997

scarborough, canada born and raised to first-gen korean-canadian parents

the epitome of a bitter smol™ that’s prepared to fight over everything (stubborn brat )

has twin five year old siblings that she fucking adores, which is a big deal since she doesn’t care intensely for many people

her parents were both only kids that ventured into science-based careers; her mom was a pharmacist at her late grandparents’ small clinic and her dad was a neurosurgeon at toronto gen hospital, so they were upper-middle class you could say

s u c k e d at making friends in her formative years and when she did, they didn’t stay for v long

plenty of chances for her to find new friends though since the gta is huge and has a ton of other kids around so it wasn’t all in vain

also her vanity when she was a kid was prob a turn off for others lol

smart af, like english? a’s. math? a’s french? a+

eventually didn’t suck at the whole friend thing and had a small group of people she grew rather fond of

she ended up graduating as valedictorian and was accepted to mcgill to study pre-med and become a neurosurgeon just like papa seong

always wanted to follow in his footsteps, so it came as no surprise to her parents

( TW: DEATH ) during her midterm break in her first sem, her parents decided to take the family to their cabin near muskoka for a weekend away from the city/suburbs

they were a little over halfway there when her dad tried to veer the suv away from a moose in the middle of their lane, but wasn’t successful

kiran was conscious during the whole thing, though she sustained a concussion and the twins were unharmed in their carseats; however their mother died on impact and their father suffered from a cranial injury ( .. i only just realized how ironic and morbid this is after working with this muse for a while oh my g o d )

she went with the twins to the hospital and was inconsolable over the loss of her mother alone, while her father was in critical condition and the outlook was promising, though not certain

he was put in a medically induced coma after being operated on and she and her godparents ( who advised her on the whole thing since they were docs themselves ) decided to hold out hope for a recovery

the twins were put in her care and she was left to deal with the burden of their loss, her education and the obvious, her brother and sister’s newfound dependency on her

she withdrew from the few people she became close to over the years, her grades began to slip as well, and she was always weighed down by grief and anxiety

she tried to stay in school while taking care of the twins, but it was becoming more and more difficult to do so. she just managed to keep her head above water throughout the rest of the first sem though

moved out of res, into an apartment and relocated the twins for the time being to see if she could pull it off

( TW: SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOUR ) add the fact that a part of her began to question if she could really follow in her dad’s footsteps, and that she let further anxiety from the pressures of making her parents proud get to her and she was soon on a downward spiral

she slipped away from her academics and was slowly becoming a poor guardian; soon, kiran was partying too hard and winding up in the hospital or a stranger’s dorm, skipping labs, and was generally a lost cause when the twins were under the care of a sitter

failed a couple of courses by the end of the second semester and had her godparents flying out to crack down on her dumb ass

felt hopeless and lost, but especially so when she posed the risk of losing the only family that she had left, realizing how selfish her actions were and trying to amend her mistakes

dropped out of mcgill for the time being and took up a job as a retail clerk to provide for the three of them ( despite inheriting their mom’s estate and all, as she put the money that came from it into the kids’ savings )

was soon in the clear in her godparents’ opinion and has tried to do right by her parents and siblings since then

after losing herself for a while, she found that she was right back to where she started with friend-making, but rather than it being her just not knowing how, it was that she didn’t want to let people in after everything that had happened

she didn’t remain a loner, but she didn’t have a ride or die by any means

for the sake of her a.d and bc of the bad memories that t.o and mtl held, she found herself relocating to greenville of all places

but deep down she knows mama seong would be happy about the kids growing up in a smaller town than near dt toronto

about four months after settling in, she began attending a nearby college in what would have been her fourth semester and has since maintained a high gpa after retaking the courses she fucked up in

her dad has since woken up, but he’s going through extensive forms of therapy to restore his motor, neurological, etc functions

she’d be back in t.o if her godparents hadn’t advised against it since it was still rly overwhelming for him and his three kids ( two of whom wouldn’t rly know him either ) coming back prob wouldn’t help ??

still has nightmares from the accident, the girl’s scarred for life and is thankful that the twins were too young to remember

sees a psychiatrist at the behest of her godmother bc she rly can’t cope by herself in all of this but she doesn’t like to burden others with her problems ( doesn’t like people knowing much about her regardless but )

now to her personality and extra facts ig ??? this has gotten so out of hand already, sTOP ME

the most stubborn chick alive, will never admit she’s wrong unless you weasel it out of her with some heavy guilt-tripping

she used to be a fucking NIGHTMARE to most people before everything went awry, still can be but it’s more or less an act with a little bit of it also being herself

a true instagram addict, which makes sense bc she can be p vain at times

rather intuitive tbh

can be insightful as well

feigns annoyance and boredom with people/their antics

some weird ass detachment method on her part that she didn’t shake, but question her on it and she’ll shut it tf down

but is still genuinely, easily irritated all the same ?? not even i understand this chick

curses like a sailor is she isn’t too curt in her responses

has a problem with trusting others, feels like she can only truly rely on herself so if you break through that barrier then congrats ig

she won’t make it obvious though, she’s a sociable being and will actually take to you if you pique her interest with free booze or a wild story

just don’t expect her to surrender much of her life story, but she’ll also get a bit offended if you don’t offer a bit of your own ??

the most annoying internalizer of emotions ever if you’re actually friends with her, 110% will not confide in you if you’re not one of four or five people in her life

also fears loss more than anything, so she isn’t close to many people for BOTH the trusting aspect, as well as wanting to spare herself the pain of watching more loved ones die or leave

but if you’re one of the v select few people she’s let in completely, she’ll never let you go. she’s the definition of loyal and will legit die for you

so so devoted to her little brother and sister, like she loves them more than anything and does everything so that they can succeed when they’re older

all of the sports acceptable for kindergarteners, music lessons, ballet, you name it, she’s got them registered

puts them before herself all the fucking time, her mom wouldn’t be impressed with her putting herself last as opposed to finding equilibrium

anyways, point is, you’ll never see her be more affectionate and joyful than with her family, godparents included

her being good with other kids though ?? she’s been working on it and she’s coming around

still can’t stand screaming brats though lmao

will be super polite to even her enemy’s parents mostly bc fuck that person.. unless their parents aren’t pleasant people either, then she’ll be unpleasant right back lmao

trust me when i say that she has a heart of gold and will do what’s morally right, is so so soft but will forever be in denial like i cannOT STRESS ENOUGH

defensive pessimism at its finest

fluent in french and korean

memes are lowkey the way to her heart

well, memes and food ofc

such a poutine hoe™

sci fi junkie

here for aesthetically pleasing everything

her place is almost never in disorder, oddly enough

quite the party girl, though not the same as when she was a frosh, is able to control herself when there aren’t too many stressors plaguing her

queer af, doesn’t know what her sexuality is but she knows she isn’t straight ( but for all intents and purposes, she’s pansexual )

she just needs someone else to take care of her honestly, she still doesn’t know what she’s doing with herself lmao

trying her best™ to be better in general but change doesn’t happen overnight so she’s not rushing into it, aka she’s still comfortable with being a bit of an asshole for as long as possible

you sometimes won’t know who she is from one day to the next, kind of the personification of a wild ride

so that’s kiran, if you’d like to plot just hmu or like this and i’ll come to you !! i’ll link some possible connections later bc my laptop’s about to die and i can’t find the charger anywhere ? @my mom, pls stop moving my stuff, it’s giving me more heart palpitations than my econ final last month