#I would totally steal his gender if given the chance

[ekster--exotic]

Relax

I really like this one ngl

just Ekster chillin and drinking some wine (or blood-?)

zoomed-in version:

[kinetic-elaboration]

July 28: 3x01 Spock’s Brain

Today’s ep was the infamous Spock’s Brain. I’d never seen it before and always insisted I didn’t want to but...this is a complete rewatch so I guess I kinda had to.

As predicted, it was bad. Utter nonsense for a premise and the actual execution shot through with sexism. There were some aspects that I did like but most of them have been done better by other eps--and in any case were not worth the ridiculous basis of the ep itself. Honestly, if I were watching all this live, and I waited months for this, I might have wondered if the show weren’t better off cancelled.

But I would have been wrong because the next ep is The Enterprise Incident so! Sometimes you just need to be patient.

This episode is starting out so strangely. Why is the bridge being shot from all these weird angles? And why do the colors seem...duller?

They really can spy on these other ships, huh?

“My name is Captain James Kirk.” Not breaking out the middle initial today, I see.

Chapel going for the drama as she falls down.

Kirk too, sprawled over his chair. (Makes me think of “The chair is, in fact, not bolted to the ground.”)

This honestly reads like a bad parody of Star Trek.

Ridiculous lines include: “His brain is gone.” “His incredible Vulcan physique.” “In search of his brain.” “Where are you going to look for his brain?” “It was taken out, it can be put back in.”

“Spock’s body is more dependent on his brain” than a human’s. Ummmm I feel like there’s something suspicious in there.

The only good thing about this ep is Kirk’s devotion to Spock.

Seriously why does the bridge look so different? Filming it from a different location changes everything.

When Kirk paces in front of the view screen, it really shows off how small it is.

“The spaceship that has Spock’s brain.”

I like these schematics and Chekov’s little presentation here. Also Kirk can automatically put years to all the planet evolution codes or whatever--like on the one hand, of course he can, that’s his job, but on another... what a nerd.

Honestly these people--obviously, they are underground on the ice planet. Obviously!!! I actually do appreciate this scene in general, with the bridge crew working out a problem on the bridge, which actually almost never happens--it’s definitely the best scene of the ep--but still. It’s obviously the ice planet.

Also, I like that Uhura gets to contribute. She thinks outside of the box, asks the good questions. Don’t just look at the outside evolution of the planet--ask about what the brain could be used for, and where it might be.

“Get there, find the brain.”

Oh no, he accidentally called Scotty Spock :(

“High of 40. Livable.” I realize this is a Russian joke but that’s really not that bad lol. Definitely not an ice age anymore.

“They give pain and delight.” So they’re dominatrixes?

“You are small.” Well no need to be mean about it.

Don’t you have a companion?? Love that that’s one of their synonyms for “spouse” or “partner.”

The alien men look like they’re wearing short jean skirts.

“A dead and buried city on a planet in a glacial age.” That’s a good idea. Could have done something better with that.

Chekov’s still stuck on the no women thing, I think.

Why did they dress Spock in a leftover outfit from This Side of Paradise?

McCoy and his stimulants again, waking up the alien lady after they stunned her. Multi-purpose.

“I know nothing about a brain.” Clearly.

So all the women live below ground, and all the men live above...

Ah-ha, they have found Spock’s voice.

“There is a definite pleasurable experience connected with the hearing of your voice.” This ep is almost worth it for that line.

Also Kirk’s face when he hears Spock’s voice.

I like that Spock is still funny. Honestly he’s probably funnier disembodied. This is a very humorous Spock characterization. “That is a practical idea. It seems unlikely that I shall be able to get to you.”

WHAT IS BRAIN.

They’re being quite sexist, aren’t they? “No engineering geniuses here. Only women. None of these women could ever have done surgery on Spock’s brain.” Like I know it’s that they’re obviously (or supposedly obviously) naive and childlike but like combining that with the sex segregated society and the actual phrasing of these lines (WOMEN?? Engineers?? Doctors??) plus Kirk assuming the Controller is a man (who says?) all creates this like definite sexist vibe while watching. Ugh make it stop.

How can Spock’s brain control everything? They’ve only had it for 5 minutes.

“Mistress.” I told you they were dominatrixes.

Oh yeah Captain Sulu!!

More sexist quotes: “What a way to maintain control over a man.” “I’ve certainly noticed their delightful aspects.” Please stop talking; you’re digging yourselves in a deeper hole.

(Seriously though--I feel like the unspoken world building fact here is that the women need the men for procreation specifically, which is why they capture the men, and then control them--using the “pain belts”--to have sex--the “pleasure.” They probably also use them for other labor, given the presence of the male guards and the line “they won’t help us if we don’t control them” or whatever it was. But surely the delightfulness of the women is more than their physical appearance, is what I’m saying.)

What is the commentary on gender here? Women = scary, dumb, and hot?

Yeah, how DOES Spock’s brain fit into this?

Lol at Spock’s empty body calmly watching them all fighting.

“Science will triumph.” A real lost opportunity in the AOS-verse to have Kirk say this after a bar brawl.

“You are a disembodied brain.” I feel like there’s a (McCoy) joke in here about how he’s reached his ideal state.

His body is the building. (I was right, I totally called this plot point as soon as Spock started talking about his incredibly large body and how his brain was still doing things like regulating oxygen. I must say... this is not a bad idea, except for the brain stealing part. Like there’s something in there, the idea of the complex as a body, powered by a brain. Idk.)

So basically Spock is taking another opportunity to insult Bones’ medical skills. Oh Spock, never change.

I feel like Bones is enjoying his Spock puppet, on some level.

“Pain bands.”

Use the Spock puppet, Kirk! Use it to fight the lady alien!

“The controller is young and powerful, perfect.” / “How very flattering.” LOL I can’t believe this is real.

“You took his brain. You will put it back.”

So the alien lady puts on the spiky helmet and now she’s suddenly smart. I hate thissssssssssss.

(I actually do think the idea of old knowledge stored outside of the... brains...of the current generation, for their own protection, as decided by the paternalist elders... is not itself a bad concept. Of course it’s also a concept that other eps did better, like The Apple or For the World is Hollow or even Return of the Archons. Again, combining it with all the gross things they said about women earlier just leaves a bad taste. Even though--even though!!--we don’t know who the elder people were. Like, was this a matriarchal society that saved the women in the underground because they were better? Or was it a patriarchal society that put the women in the underground because they were considered weak and in need of protection? I rather assumed the second, but I think there’s some evidence for the first, in particular, that the story reeks of Sexualized Male Fear. What’s a better combination of hot and scary than a matriarchy of women in short skirts?)

“Got your gun.” (But the other way around.)

“Our need for the Controller is more important than your need for your friend.” That sounds an awful lot like “The needs of the many outweigh needs of the one” and we all know what Kirk thinks about that. That said, he’s really not...engaging with her facially fair argument at all.

“No one may kill a man. Not for any purpose. It cannot be condoned.”

Love Scotty’s acting skills. Gotta get this gun back really fast--create a diversion by fainting! But not too much!

I do love McCoy. He’s an adventurer too. He pretends he’s not but he jumps at the chance to discover and learn. He will not hesitate to put himself in danger if it’s for the common good or to protect his friends.

“Put the teacher on.”

Now finally Kirk is engaging with the fate of the society he’s encountered lol. Like, again, he’s not wrong; they’ve stagnated under the computer/controller and it’s not moral to steal from someone else to keep your comfortable and boring life going when you could just do the work yourself, but coming this late, it feels like an afterthought. It’s also weird that she just like stood by and let them take Spock and his brain after all that to do about...not letting them have the brain. Like at the end of the day she was not so inept. Also, they never explained what happens to all the knowledge in the teacher. One would assume they’d have to access it--or not? They’re just to start from scratch? Also legit I guess. And finally... all I can really hear, in the emphasis on integrating with the men again, is “You’ll learn how to develop a society naturally and also about heterosexual sex wink wink.” (Except that as I said... I think they know about that.)

I see McCoy’s regretting that “child’s play” talk now.

“Give priority to reconnecting Spock’s vocal cords.” Yep that’s how the brain works for sure.

Wow Spock really does have to do everything himself. Including operate on himself.

“This Vulcan is telling me how to operate.”

How did he operate without...opening Spock’s skull... in any way??

Not to question the verisimilitude of Spock’s Brain lol.

Everyone’s being so rude--Spock is providing valuable last minute exposition/explanation about this weird-ass society!

It’s always odd when they don’t return to the bridge. Like, they’re not going to collect Chekov?

That was... something.

I liked a few things: any excuse for Kirk to be devoted to Spock; the humor Spock showed; I liked the bridge scene where they looked at the map of the planets; and I liked certain things about the premise of the episode, although, like I said, most of the general aspects (post-disaster society, reliance on computers, etc.) had been done better in other episodes. I liked the look into the Male Brain lol.

What I didn’t like was how outright ridiculous the basic catalyzing event was--Spock’s brain has been literally stolen like??? Are you kidding me? That led to a considerable amount of dialogue that read like a Star Trek parody. Did not like that. And of course, as I said... the sexism. I think I’ve unpacked that enough. It didn’t need to be sexist, and you can explain it in a way that’s not, but the vibe sure was. It was like... well a lot of TOS is like this imo. You can give it an A (or at least a B) for effort, but what comes out is so obviously tainted by the sexism of the creators. Like, for example, how they say they believe in women who are just as capable and professional as men, but struggle to show it. This ep wanted to show a matriarchal society but it wasn’t really a matriarchal society--it was a Freudian dream that was all about the male psyche and what it most fears and wants.

All that said.. the next ep is a D.C. Fontana creation featuring one of my favorite TOS Ladies, the Female Romulan Commander, so I will be receiving a consolation prize.

Also the AOS verse is still more sexist and doesn’t have an excuse I said what I said.

[watchathon]

Stitch Day Special: Lilo & Stitch

In case you’re finding this post just by browsing the tags I’ve used for this post, this is the Watch-a-Thon, a blog where I’m hoping to watch an episode of a show every one-to-two days, with a short blog post where I give my thoughts on what I’ve just seen. Each new point starts with a hyphen and a bolded first word.

- Like so. 

But today? Well, today I’ve got an extra-special post in the wings about a movie, one of my favorite Disney movies, starring my absolute favorite Disney character: Lilo & Stitch!

- I like the variation on the Disney logo. That is the kind of stuff that they just couldn’t do with their new big fancy CGI logo. 

- No clue why Jumba tried to deny that he created an experiment. I don’t much mind since it led to a funny joke, but c’mon, evil genius, you should be smart enough to plead guilty.

- “I would never, ever... make more than one.” *glances meaningfully in the direction of the series*

- “What is that monstrosity...?” He’s a cute widdle fluffball, that’s what he is!

- “Meega nala kweesta!” Canonically, this translates to “I want to destroy”, but that seems a little lukewarm for the reaction he got. Maybe a looser translation is in order...

There could be an entire aristocrats joke in those three words. The whole script to Batman v Superman. The opening notes to “Never Gonna Give You Up”...

Or maybe just “bitch”.

- Blood work is a lot different in space...

- Weird to imagine given the rest of the franchise, but Gantu was once a respected captain of the galactic federation.

- It’s easy to perceive Stitch as a dumb brute, but he’s pretty smart. He connected the dots all on his own, within minutes of his imprisonment, that if the guns are locked onto his DNA, he can use his saliva to trick them. Jumba wasn’t kidding when he boasted of his experiment’s intelligence.

- And not only was Gantu a captain, Pleakley was an expert on the planet Earth. Weird, innit...?

- “Are [humans] intelligent?” “No.” An exchange that only hurts more with every year.

- Love the implication that Pleakley was just suggesting several different relatives to assist with the capture of Stitch from when they were on the deck up until they got to the prison where Jumba was held.

- Now this is what we (or rather TVTropes) call an establishing character moment. A fish floats by holding a sandwich in its mouth, implying (soon confirming) that Lilo was the one to give it the sandwich, before rushing to the hula practice that she was late for, stopping to take a picture of a tourist along the way.

- And then after she arrives at hula practice, she explains that she had to give Pudge the fish a peanut butter sandwich because he controls the weather.

- No clue why the other girls are disgusted by Scrump. I always wanted a Scrump when I was a little lass.

- “Did you ever kill anyone?” Lilo asks the right questions.

- Nani, y’could’ve avoided this if you’d given a thumbs up instead...

- I don’t get the glare Cobra gives Nani after Lilo says that her friends need to be punished. Voodoo isn’t a failure of parenting. In many cases, at least...

- Licking Nani, growling after her capture, Lilo already has a lot in common with Stitch.

- Lucky that Lilo is such a quirky kid. The scene (semi-)explaining why she takes pictures of tourists was deleted, but it doesn’t feel like anything is missing because she already has a few habits that just plain inexplicable, like feeding Pudge, practicing voodoo with a pickle jar...

- Lilo wishing for an angel because of how lonely she is, that’s a sad moment. But also kinda funny in hindsight after she sarcastically names Stitch’s love interest Angel in the series.

- Lord give me the undisturbed...ness, of that frog who watched Stitch get run over by several trucks and only tilted its head.

- If they thought Stitch was dead, why did they keep it in the shelter? I mean, Lilo would probably adopt a dead dog, but she’s the outlier.

- I like how Jumba programmed, as part of Stitch’s destructive tendencies, an urge to steal everybody’s left shoe.

- You can just about pinpoint the moment where Stitch’s heart drops at learning that he’s on an island with no major cities.

- Just occurred to me that the badness level is red, and Stitch’s evil counterparts in the series (627 and Leroy) are both red.

- Ah, David. One of the best Disney love interests, mostly because he isn’t entirely a love interest. There is a mutual attraction, but Nani just isn’t ready for that with everything going on in her life, and David respects that and is happy to be a friend.

- I like how everyone except Lilo heavily suspects that Stitch isn’t a dog. 

- Ohhh, the thought of Stitch having drank coffee. I mean, I’d love to see it, but it’d be Hell for Nani.

- Stitch looks just plain adorable with a lei.

- Well, Lilo, you did tell Stitch he should create something. And he did, he just destroyed his creation afterward.

- Pleakley is a gender-nonconforming icon.

- The first time we see Stitch doing something without even the intention of destroying anything is when he finds the book about the Ugly Duckling. It’s clear that he’s fascinated just by looking at it. And when Lilo explains the story? It resonates with him. Or, well, perhaps he wants it to resonate with him.

- I wish I had an evil koala dog that played records.

- Are we sure that “Meega nala kweesta” means “I want to destroy”? Maybe it means “I was born to dance”, ‘cause Stitch learns about dancing and in less than a minute he’s already an expert.

- I imagine this montage, or slightly earlier, would be when that deleted scene of Lilo trolling the obnoxious racist tourists originally came into play. And I like this scene, but, I do wish that scene hadn’t gotten cut. And I wish that they fully animated it and inserted it into the movie like Warner Bros did with The Iron Giant.

- Nothing cheers me up more than this scene of Stitch and his newfound family going surfing. And especially since Stitch is aquaphobic. He’s very much aware that he cannot swim, and likely wouldn’t survive if he fell off the board into the ocean. But even he eventually gets into the spirit of it, asks Lilo himself to go surfing, and enjoys a nice bonding moment with his family. And David.

- Of course Jumba and Pleakley had to ruin a perfectly sweet moment.

- And so we transition from a heartwarming wholesome moment, to a heartbreaking tearful moment. You can just see Nani holding back tears as she says that she needs to take Lilo home. 

As for Stitch, David probably didn’t even realize that Stitch could understand him when he said that Lilo and Nani had a chance until Stitch came along. But Stitch did understand, and he’s visibly hurt by the idea. He always wanted to destroy, but in this moment, he’s ashamed of how he might have destroyed Lilo’s family.

- And the Ugly Ducking metaphor comes back, when in this moment, as Stitch is coming back to a family that he fears he may have ruined, he sees a lone duck... before that duck is followed by a big family of ducklings.

- Lilo says that Stitch cries at night. So, it would seem that even before he completely learned how to be nice, Stitch wasn’t entirely emotionless.

- This whole act of the film is heart-wrenching. First Nani gets confirmation that she and Lilo will be separated, then Stitch starts to fear that he may have caused it. Then because of that? Stitch leaves, taking only the Ugly Duckling book with him. And he can only see in himself the page of the Duckling, lost and crying.

- Then Jumba tells Stitch, who’s already in a bad place emotionally, that he was made to destroy, has no family, and could never have one.

- I don’t want to think about what happened to that chainsaw.

- There’s a certain feeling that comes up in the middle of this fight scene, where you realize that a house is being destroyed, a house belonging to a family that was very much at risk of separation. And you realize that this will only hurt their case beyond any repair.

- If the past day hadn’t been bad enough, Stitch is told by his best friend Lilo that he ruined everything, and to get away.

- And so Nani really does have her sister taken away. Now, taken away by aliens is a lot different than taken away by social services. It’s worse. This way Nani knows that Lilo definitely won’t get a loving family, and Nani will definitely never see her again.

- The confusion is visible on Jumba and Pleakley when Stitch goes and comforts Nani with a quote about family. All they know about Stitch is that he was made to destroy. And then, once he’s captured, he does just about the opposite.

- “Ih.” To this day I sometimes say Ih on reflex when asked a yes-or-no question. Guess I watched this movie way too many times as a kid, huh? ...I regret nothing.

- Originally, the big red plane-looking thing was supposed to just be a plane, and it would’ve flown through a city. And it was changed because it was too soon after 9/11. But me personally, I think the big red thing is real cool, and I like it flying through the valleys.

- “Stitch is unconscious.” I like that Jumba calls Stitch by his name here. In the series, he always calls Stitch “626″ but his name is Stitch. And I like the rare occasion when that’s respected by the mad genius who created him.

- I want to believe that Stitch dodged that laser for the sake of the frog he was holding more than for his own sake. Stitch is strong enough that a few moments later, he survives an explosion of a whole truck that he’s lying on top of.

- Stitch proudly calling himself “cute and fluffy” is another thing I just love. Might be reading too much into it, but I like that he can call himself by those descriptors and still have total confidence in his ability to kick Gantu’s patookie.

- My favorite scene in the movie, and the scene I took the picture from.

Stitch corrects the Grand Councilwoman about his name. And when he’s told that he needs to go in the ship (the implication being that he’ll be punished like he was meant to be at the beginning), he doesn’t rebel or try to escape. He only politely asks that he be allowed to say goodbye.

He explains that his family is “little and broken, but still good”, both explaining it to the councilwoman and reassuring Lilo and Nani.

This is the ultimate display of how Stitch has grown. And he grew because, despite what Jumba said, Stitch could find, and did find, the one true place he belonged: With a good, loving family.

- The Grand Councilwoman is clearly remorseful that they’ll have to separate Stitch from his family, but she can’t bend the law for this one case. And she doesn’t, but it just so happens that, legally speaking, Lilo owns Stitch. And, well, what self-respecting Grand Councilwoman would steal a child’s property?

- A lot of people (including middle-school me) say that the stuff with Stitch and the aliens get in the way of the story of Lilo and Nani. I disagree. These two stories are intertwined, both about people wanting to stay with the family where they know they belong. I just couldn’t, at all, imagine one without the other.

- Now this is the kind of ending I love. It’s become common for animated movies, sequels in particular, to end on the two main characters getting separated. But here? Stitch is now a definitive part of the family, and won’t be separated from them anytime soon. Anime? What anime?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I guess I’ll be doing this on the rare occasion I cover movies...?

Anyway, this is a great movie. A modern classic. And one of very few things that doesn’t just hold up from when I was a kid, it gets better. When I was a tiny kid, I was only interested in the space aliens. When I was in my early teens, I thought the aliens were kiddy stuff. 

But nowadays, I can truly appreciate it. I can appreciate how both aspects are vital to the movie. Lilo and Stitch are both equally important. You can’t have one without the other.

And most of all, I can appreciate the story of Stitch (as well as Jumba and Pleakley) finding a family, and Lilo (as well as Nani) saving theirs from being torn apart.

Lilo & Stitch brings me to tears of both joy and sadness every time I watch it. And I guarantee I’ll be watching it many more times in the future.

...Does it still count as a Stitch Day special if I’m posting after midnight? No, probably not. I thought I’d only take two hours, then I took four and a half. Guess that means I had more thoughts than I thought I did!

[shadowsong26fic]

Lavinia. PLease please please Lavinia. (And also Specter and Infernalis would be cool to learn a bit about.)

Full Name: Lavinia Palpatine Gender and Sexuality: Female; bi Pronouns: She/her Ethnicity/Species: Human; white. Birthplace and Birthdate: She was born on Coruscant, and she turns twenty a week or two before the Battle of Endor. Guilty Pleasures: Probably the closest thing is her baking hobby. It’s something that’s entirely hers. Phobias: As she puts it, she does not like walking into a room unprepared/without the information she needs to navigate through it. What They Would Be Famous For: Well, I mean. She’s Palpatine’s only child. That’s famous right there. And then she earns some fame in her own right once she’s in her late teens/an Adult and starts working towards her own agenda. What They Would Get Arrested For: [redacted for spoilers] or slicing/hacking. See above re: compulsive need for information; she learned how to get into classified databases pretty early on. Her father is aware of it; it’s sort of the...this may be apocryphal, but you know how Spartan boys were punished for getting caught stealing, not for actually stealing? This is in service of what he wants from her, so as long as she does it correctly/subtly/covers her tracks, she can get away with it. But if she got caught... OC You Ship Them With: ...I don’t actually ship her with any of my OCs, I don’t think. I ship her with a couple canon characters, but. Her tastes in men tend to run to older men who are Charming and Clever/sort of sideways thinkers and maybe just a little Devious, but generally good men underneath. Her tastes in women tend to run to women around her age who have vibrant/upbeat personalities and are a bit more straightforward in their approach to problems. ...not sure I’m explaining that right, but she definitely is attracted to different things in men than women. In all cases, though, she tends to be drawn to people who are more gregarious/extraverted/etc. than she is/complement certain aspects of her personality (she uh. Overthinks things. A Lot) OC Most Likely To Murder Them: ...hm, good question. I guess I’d say Druthi/Moonshot, except she’d be more likely to try and capture Lani alive. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: She doesn’t really read a lot for pleasure, more for Research Purposes--for example, to track trends or get a handle on how someone she’s trying to observe/manipulate thinks. But I think she’d like detective novels if she did. Make a game of trying to figure it out before the detective does. Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: Twist Endings for the sake of Twist Endings/Shock Twists that serve no other purpose than to be a Shocking Twist. That whole thing about not liking to be unprepared? If you hold back information to feel Clever that’s Cheating and Very Annoying and she Does Not Approve. Talents and/or Powers: She’s got a pretty good memory, and is very good at reading people and tailoring her approach to them based on what she observes and what she wants from them (at least, when it’s for Work, so to speak; she’s kind of terrible at people/making friends on her own). Also, she is a Force-adept, of course, though her training has been very carefully managed--she has not been taught to use a lightsaber and her telekinesis is minimal. In general, she tends to rely on more passive/observational abilities, supplemented by mundane manipulation and the occasional mind trick, rather than a lot of Active Force Use. I mentioned this in my last answer, about Padawan Reshti, but I have this general Concept about how a particular Force-adept’s abilities skew, with things generally grouped into three categories: manipulation/perception of space and/or the physical world; perception and/or manipulation of the minds and/or emotions of other beings; and perception and/or manipulation of time. Every Force-adept has at least some ability in all three categories, but most skew towards one or the other. By both training and inclination, Lani is heavily skewed towards minds/emotions; something like 10/80/10 or 15/75/10. Why Someone Might Love Them: Because she has a strong sense of Duty and is trying to survive in a pretty awful situation without losing all her mental autonomy and, for lack of a better word, humanity. Why Someone Might Hate Them: Again with the self-indulgent OCs, lol. Plus, she occupies a pretty central place in the story/as one of Luke’s closest friends in Precipice, and...well, we’ll see how people respond once her focus and priorities start to expand beyond her father and his expectations of her. How They Change: Without getting too spoilery...well, that sense of Duty I mentioned relates to the fact that she knows full well she was created to be a valuable tool in service of the government/galaxy/Empire. As she gets older and her priorities begin to expand as I mentioned in the last answer, her perspective on what that means starts to shift. Why You Love Them: Because she fits into A Lot of archetypes I love, lol. This kind of driven-by-duty, especially coupled with Politics and Spycraft as opposed to the more Action Girl type thing.

(ETA: I just remembered that a while ago--like...almost two years ago, lol--I filled out another meme about Lani. There are sort of...sideways/oblique/technical spoilers in that and it also talks about a bunch of AUs/spinoffs, but if you want more detailed information about her then you can check it out. ...and now I should probably stop editing this post for Clarification/additional details that you may not even see because it’s been...several hours since I first posted it...)

And a cointoss gave you Specter! So let’s talk about him.

Full Name: Darth Specter; I actually haven’t come up with his name prior to being recruited by Palpatine <.< Gender and Sexuality: Male; I honestly haven’t really thought much about him in a romantic/sexual relationship context? He strikes me as a disaster bi though. Pronouns: He/him. Ethnicity/Species: Togruta Birthplace and Birthdate: He grew up in either the Coruscant underbelly or a very similar slum district on another heavily urbanized planet. He was most likely born there. He’s about sixteen when Palpatine brings him in not long after RotS. Guilty Pleasures: He chooses not to feel guilty about his pleasures, lol. But, given his background and where he ended up, it’s probably something like candy/pastries--sweet food with an element of Luxury. Phobias: Not measuring up. What They Would Be Famous For: Being a Sith Lord/assassin. What They Would Get Arrested For: Theft and likely assault before being recruited; murder after. ...and probably also theft. OC You Ship Them With: None. OC Most Likely To Murder Them: Ooooh, good question. I mean, like...there are Many people who would probably murder him if they got the chance. But then there’s also a question of murder vs. death in combat, so...yeah, I’m not totally sure. Favorite Movie/Book Genre: Action movies. He’s kind of a cliche that way, lol. Least Favorite Movie/Book Cliche: ...you know, I don’t actually think he has one? But probably villains Wasting Time Monologuing. Talents and/or Powers: Stealth, theft, Violence. He skews slightly towards Physical on the scale I mentioned above, something along the lines of 50/35/15. Why Someone Might Love Them: He’s set up as a parallel to that particular blend of arrogance and low-self-esteem/Need for Validation that Anakin has, which can be either endearing or extremely frustrating. Why Someone Might Hate Them: See above XD How They Change: He...doesn’t really, sadly. He never gets a chance to grow out of this teenage intensity. :( He probably would’ve mellowed out some as he grew older, if he hadn’t died when he did. Why You Love Them: Because he is a clingy needy stabby Disaster with this earnest intensity and, like, I find it endearing, lol. 

Ask me about my OCs!

[laughing-with-god]

Exo as Yandere (based on Venus and Mars signs)

(I personally think that astrology reveals a lot about a person and I think it’s interesting to look into an idols’ chart to predict how they could be.  As a writer, I tend to keep a person’s chart in mind when creating their character but in no way am I saying that they are like this.  We don’t know Exo’s precise birth-times and this is a fictional scenario.  Please no bitching in my inbox.  Please enjoy and share your thoughts~)

Kim Minseok

{Venus in Aquarius}

He was probably a friend to you in the beginning but somehow worked his way into much, much more.

Aquarius has a reputation for being aloof or detached but they’re very good at analyzing and manipulating.  His yandere is almost never detected bc he’s so good at hiding it.

Venus is what we are attracted to.  So with his Venus in Aquarius we know he tends to like people who are unconvententional or unique for some reason. 

Your race, your hair, your style ect… chances are it’s very different from the societal norm he’s used to.  

Probably has a thing for foriengers

Big Age gaps too, doesn’t mind if you’re a baby to him or a milf but he will almost always end up with one or the other.

At first he wouldn’t realize that he was obsessed with you.  

He would just tell himself that you’re a very interesting person and it’s normal for him to want to know more about you.

But eventually he’ll come to terms with it when he finds himself stalking and or emotionally manipulating you.  

I think hes very big on stalking tbh.  the reason why I think this is because his moon is in pisces and they tend to grow overly-attached to people. Mix that with his venus and mars in aquarius and you get someone who has an intense need to be near you and ALSO has the stealth and smarts to follow you around whilst being undetected.  

The Lightbulb would go off when he’s crouched behind a bush to watch you or something and he’ll be like “......damn, I’m in too deep.”

Knows that stalking can be very inconvenient and risky so eventually it’ll bleed into him bugging your phone, car, watch ect.  

Just to keep tabs on your locations.  he’s become accoustemed to your usual spots so if he sees you at an unfamiliar address then he’ll physically track you down.

Really good at tugging on your heart-strings.  His moon in Pisces tells me that he knows how to play with emotions and his aquarius side uses that to his advantage.  

but he’s very subtle and you could never call it out if you wanted to bc he’s just so good.

“Well, it’s just after all I’ve done for you I thought maybe....”

“I just want what’s best for you.  Would you rather have someone who has the worst intentions?”  

“God knows what would’ve happen to you if I wasn’t there for you.”

{Mars in Aquarius}

I’m not saying freaky sex but, uh.....freaky sex

it’s hard to nail down the kinks of a mars in  aquarius bc they could be into ANYTHING.  

All we know is that they are attracted to the taboo and unconventenal so the kinks are almost always weird and unsuspecting.  

Boy could be into feet for all we know.....

Anyways, as for the yandere side of him....Minseok doesn’t get mad bc he knows that tantrums are unproductive and can raise red flags

He gets clever.

he knows that the minute you pick up on his obsession with you, it’s over.  therefore he always has Plans A through Z prepared 

Most mars in aquarius don’t get jealous but I think Minseok is an eception given he has some pisces in him.  

he feels so deeply for you.

Yes, I think he can and will kill those that get too close to his beloved.  

But he would never be to obvious about it.  

A friend starts flirting with you and crosses some boundaries?  No worries, Minseok is patient enough to wait for the perfect time to strike. 

could be next week, month or year but he’s ready all the same 

he’s a fan of making it look as if his victims died in freak accidents

Like a guy will be fixing a car and minseok will just walk over and release the thing that keeps the car up so the guy gets crushed.  

Or accidently tampering with some brakes...

Or stealing someone’s carbon monoxide detector so poisonous gas can slowly seep into their home.....

Maybe switching up some medications to cause some accidental overdoses

Creative deaths that he enjoys planning and can almost never be traced back to anyone bc they don’t even look like murders.

Punishments?

Minseok doesn’t like getting his hands dirty much less putting them on you.

But he does enjoy playing mind games. 

he likes making you dependent on him so whenever you act up, he’ll just remove his support system so you can see exactly how much you need him.  

You’ll never even suspect his yandere, and that’s just how he wants it.

Kim Junmyeon

{Venus in Cancer}

Junmyeon has the ‘boy next door’ vibe and he wants nothing more than to find the ‘girl next door’

Whenever he sees a girl/boy that looks just perfect to bring home to his family, he simply melts and falls in love

Attracted to slightly younger or same age partners.

Likes smooth and lighter skin, BOOB man, long dark hair, shorter than him, curvier bodies.  

All the things listed above make him drool 

Also he’s someone who prefers traditional Korean partners (sorry but some people have a preference for partners with the same cultural background)

Cancer is the sign of motherhood and that’s exactly what he’s looking for- the future mother of his kids.  

So his yandere side probably developed when your relationship steadily grew serious.  

the more time he spends with you, the more he gets delusional about how your life will be with him.

You catch him calling himself your husband like three months into dating him.  

because in his mind you guys are already like an old married couple.  

Probably went ahead and introduced himself to your parents before you even got the chance to.  You wouldn’t notice until your mom mentions how sweet Junmyeon was when he took her out last week and you’re like  “....what the fuck?  I hadn’t even brought him home yet.”

Junmyeon is a textbook over-thinker and the epitome of an A type personality.  

He has everything planned out about your future.  

the wedding venue, the house you guys will settle in, how many kids you’ll have.  He has it all down to a tee

Very Overprotective of you.

has an obsession with being your white knight so he’s always jumping at every chance to protect or save you.

Even if these so-called ‘threats’ aren’t really threats....

He’s too gentlemanly to get violent with someone.

But he is very good at being passive-aggressive and pulling people aside to have friendly ‘chats’

And if those ‘chats’ don’t work then he’ll just have to pay someone to get his message across.  

has a burner phone for his hired hitmen

very into gender roled.  idk how to explain it but he wants to be the ‘man’ and get all the doors for you, pay for everything, take the initiave during sex or affection.  He’s not sexist so much as he enjoys old style romance.

You would have to be a fool to not pick up on his overzealousness of you.  So on a small scale you are aware that there is a yandere side to him, but he’s so kind that you just rationalize it as him being clingy and over-romantic

{Mars in Cancer}

Overall, Junmyeon is vanilla in bed but very sensual.  

the type to hold your hand and whisper praises in your ear while it’s going down.

mars in cancer leads me to suspect one weird kink; impregnation.  he’s just really into the idea of you having his kids. I don’t know if he’s even aware of it but he does get turned on by the idea of breeding and he’ll catch himself feeling a certain way when you guys don’t use a condom.

He’s also attracted to the supple parts of a woman.  Like the boobs, softer tummy and the fleshy thighs/butt

wouldn’t mind a slightly chubby s/o for these reasons.

junmyeon doesn’t really get angry unless your safety or future with him is tampered with.

Like while other yanderes would flip out at other people looking at their beloved, Junmyeon doesn’t care bc ofc he’s aware that you’re very attractive and he can’t control all the wandering stares.  

However if someone were to tell you that they don’t think you and Junmyeon were a good fit and perhaps you should look elsewhere...

heads will roll...

How dare someone try to jeoprodize all he had planned by getting into your head?!  Don't they know that you and Suho are the perfect couple?

Addicted to spoiling you bc his mars in cancer makes it so that he enjoys providing for his loved ones

He’s very big on couple outfits bc it’s another way of rubbing everyones’ face in how happy you two are.

Doesn’t punish you bc he worships you and it’ll ruin the image of marital bliss if he put his hands on you 

Instead he convinces himself that it’s someone else who got into your head and is making you act up

“Darling, I know that someone filled your pretty head with useless garbage.  Why don’t you just tell me who it is and I can have a talk with them.”

He likes having your friends over for dinner and stuff bc he loves the idea of you and him being the ‘mom and dad’ of the group.  

ALWAYS offering relationship advice to his single friends like, “Well when stuff like that happens what me and Y/n do is....”

His moon is in gemini and I think he is totally capable of living two different lives.  if he plays his card right, you’ll never find out about how  sinister your ‘perfect’ hubby actually is

In general, he is a soft and clingy yandere who you would think is harmless.  But those shady contacts in his burner phone tell a different story.

Yixing

{Venus in Virgo}

Lay adores innocence in a partner. 

Virgo is the ‘virgin’ so he’s attracted to the image of purity because of this. 

turn ons: younger partners, shorter and petite statures, big watery eyes, feminine clothing and manners, high pitched voices

He is also slightly obsessed with the idea of living in a fairy tale romance with you.

Most likely fell in love with you at first sight

Not the type to slowly develop a friendship with you into a relationship.

No, he makes his intentions known right off the bat.  

he will be with you.

Virgo is very analytical and he’s constantly planning ahead and reading way too much into your words/actions.

Sweeps you off your feet everytime he takes you out.  even if he’s just taking you out to dinner he’ll bring along a thoughtful gift to ensure you never forget how serious he is about you.

probably has a secret notebook that he has to take notes about you.  

“she mentioned that her laptop has been acting slow lately.  I should write down to get her a new one.”

“her face cringed when I mentioned cats.  I should document that for later until I know exactly what that means.”

Yixing is like a rentlesless student whose dedicated to studying you.  

he probably has a stash for momentos of you.

has pictures saved from your old social media accounts from like years before he even knew you.

he’s not a violent or obvious yandere bc his virgo side has already calculated the risks if he ever slipped up and he’d go crazy if he lost you. 

Therefore he’s gotten really good at hiding how infatuated he truly is with you.  

Doesn’t mean that there aren’t little slip ups

Sometimes you’ll be telling him something and he’ll say something that he shouldn’t know.  

You: “So when I was studying at-”  “(Blank) university, right?”  “Yeah....wait how did you know that?”  

When that happens he always just tries to play it off as if you already told him that information but you never recall these conversations. 

But he always changes the topic before you could prod any further.

{Mars in Libra}

In the bed he’ll be whatever you want him to be.

You’re a dom?  He’ll be your sub.  you’re a sub?  he’ll be your dom.  

Your kinks are his now too.

Libras are people pleasers and your sex life is basically just him worshiping and serving you.

he also never looses his temper with you, or anyone for that matter.

Libras are clever and charming and not known for being very emotional, so he has all of his yandere in control.

He rather work the people around you and plant a seed in your head if you ever suspect anything.

“Y/n, if I truly was crazy then how come all your family and friends love me?”

“baby, it’s all in your head.  Do I really look like the type of guy to do all those things that you’re accusing me of?”

“Fine leave me. But just know taht you’ll never find someone as good as me.  and your friends agree witht that too.”  

He won’t kill other people but he will blackmail.

He’s very good at getting information so if someone is getting a little too close to you he’ll just dig up some dirt and confront them with it.  

If that doesn’t dork he’ll just try to change your prespective of said person by casually bringing up how ‘foul’ they are.  

Doesn’t punish you bc he’s not your father.  As obsessed as he is with you, he still considers you both equals in the relationship.  

Soft yandere for you.  

Having placements in libra and virgo make it so that he’ll do anything to make you happy.  

Just say the word and he’s on it.  

Some yanderes try to force their signifact other into being the ‘perfect lover’ but Yixing is different.  

He’ll change the very foundation of who he is just to make you happy. 

Byun Baekhyun

{Venus in Taurus}

Enjoys older partners, prefers sexy over cute bc he’s attracted to mature people

Lives for curves.

Like Suho, he also enjoys the more supple parts of the female body.  Boobs, softer tummy, fleshy thighs and bigger butts.  

very sensual bc Taurus is about feeling physical pleasures so he’s constantly holding you or touching you ins ome way, shape or form.  

Weird but since Taurus needs to feel to truly get close to someone, the more skinship he has with you the more yandere he becomes.  

very possessive bc Taurus tends to view loved ones in terms of personal posessions.

You belong to him and he will have the biggest hissy fit if someone else is touching you 

Your dates are more homely bc Baekhyun is a homebody and he wants to enjoy you in a place free of distractions.  

Also in-home dates mean more cuddling for him.  

I cannot stress enough how important physical affection is to him.

He needs it to live.

Clingiest yandere.  

Because he’s so possessive I def see him trying to control what you wear and who you talkt to

But he’s very sly about it and tries to put in a perspective that makes him look like a thoughtful boyfriend.

“Don’t take this the wrong way but theres tons of cat callers in the city and I don’t want anyone making you uncomfortable.  Would you mind putting a sweater over that?”

“It’s just that friends are supposed to be supportive and if they’re not being supportive of your relationship...then maybe they’re not good friends?”

He’s not that delusional about you until you’re taken away from him.

Like let’s say you take a trip (without him) early in the relationship 

During the days you’re gone he’ll go I n s a n e

When he’s not blowing up your phone, he’s crying like crazy and working himself into paranoia frenzies about what could be happening to you.  

When you finally get back into his arms, he’s not leaving your side for days

Touch starved for you 24/7

He gets really grumpy when he’s not near you, so people think he’s a jerk if they meet him when he’s experiencing withdrawls.  

But if your by his side then he’s the sweetest angel ever. 

He’ s not good at manipulating so he doesn’t even bother trying.  he’ll be very straight up about all his yandere behavior bc he honestly sees nothing worng with it.

Like how the hell could he love you too much?  To him that sounds like bullshit.

{Mars in Aries}

very rough and fast in bed.  

Sex with him is either all night long or 15 minutes.  There is no in-between.  (His Taurus makes it so he loves long drawn out sex with lots of touching and praise, but his aries makes it so that he often gets horny and needs to get it out really soon.  thus, you also get quickies.)

mars in aries is a very interesting placement.  Mars is the planet of war and aries is a warrior sign.  Which means Baekhyun is one of the more brutal yanderes. 

I dare say Baekhyun enjoys pain during sex.  probably both giving and receiving.  

His anger issues are really bad.  

likes getting his hands dirty when getting rid of people.

His trademark is beating his victims for hours on endbefore finally killing them.  

Their bodies are always very hard to identify bc they’re always beaten so bad to a point of being unreconginazable.  

I don’t see him hurting you though.  He’s too in love to put his hands on you.  The only scenario is if you try to leave him, he might physically drag you back and rough house you a little bit.  

There’s two baekhyuns; the soft and clingy one that needs to be held by you in order to be happy

OR the explosive Baekhyun that thinks someone is trying to keep him away from you.

Weird but I think he likes bruises and marks .  

Whether it be from you during sex or one of his victims who fought back, he likes them all the same bc he has a slight fascination with violence.  

He also adores leaving marks on you too, if you let him ofc.  

His venus in tarus means he’s ultra jelous and possessive and his aries gives him the fire-power to fight back.  

With you, he’s in heaven.  And if someone tires to ruin that, he’ll raise hell.

Kim Jongdae

{Venus in Libra}

Likes girly partners.  

Docile, passive manners, pastel colors, feminine style 

Doesn’t have an age preference.  he appreciates aspects of younger and older partners so it’s really up in the air.

he is a very sociable and charming person so he falls for people who are also charismatic.

You have to be able to hold his attention.

he likes witty partners too, someone who can have quick comebacks and understand his sarcastic humor.

One of the chilliest yanderes tbh.  

He’s not controlling or overly jealous.  he’s more focused on getting you to like him.  

You can make an off-hand comment about how you think guys in sweaters are really cute.  

he’ll go out and buy 50 and make sure to wear one whenever you’re around.  

Even if it’s summer and he’s sweating like crazy, he’ll still endure it if it means being closer to your ideal type. 

Since you’re so captivating to him he can’t help but desperately try to get you to like him.  

It’s very important to him because you’re by far the most enchanting person he’s ever met and the thought of you not having a positive outlook of him fills him with dread.  

So his yandere side is based around how desperate he is to get you to feel the same about him as he does you.  

he’s a slave for you tbh.

he’s on your beck and call, he’d be so honored that you’d ask him to do anything for you

His friends and family may notice major behavior changes in him ever since he met you.  

He will immediately shed his own style to match yours.  

And he’ll start hanging out at all your usual spots.  

he’ll act like it’s a coincidence that he keeps running into you but in all honesty he’s practically staking out these places in hopes of seeing you there.  

As a boyfriend he’s extremely attentive and caring.  

One of those guys who knows you better than you know yourelf.

he’ll come by with chocolates, an electric blanket and pain medicine and you’re like”...what’s this?”  and he’ll just say “You’re period is coming soon, I wanted you to be prepared.”

When he’s with you he looses contact with the outside world.

Like it’s totally normal for him not to talk to his friends for weeks on end bc he’s so wrapped up in you.

{Mars in Cancer}

Vanila in bed but is probably a little subby.  

Praise.  I think he’s vocal in bed, his libra and cancer makes me think he’s very soft so I suspect lots of sweet nothings .  

Wants a family with you, it’s the great end-game.

Also big on providing for you bc he want a traditional family and that includes him working to support them.  

very protective of you.  

I don’t think he’s violent but he does loose his cool if he thinks someone is putting you in a dangerous situation or making you uncomfortable.

has a ‘damsel in distress’ complex with you and is always rushing to ‘save’ you

Your home is very sacred to him.  cancers are very touchy about their homes bc it’s their safe place so he’s not a fan of people just coming and going through your shared space.  

he doesn’t get angry at you.  

rather he self pitties and places the blame on him whenever things get tense between you two.  

“you’re absolutely right Y/n.  I’m so sorry.  I don’t know why you put up with me.”

“I know you deserve better but please just tolerate me for a little longer.  I swear I’ll work harder to become more deserving of you.”

Really good with twisting peoples words to get his desired affect. 

Like Suho, he also tells himself that other people have gotten in your head if you ever try to leave him. Delusional bc once he gets with you, he thinks you two are the perfect couple.  

Probably will try to isolate you at some pint.  

he will cut off some people from your life if he doesn’t approve.  

But he will do it by making them look bad and changing your perspective on them.  

“I saw your friend (name) doing some weird things lately.”  

“I know your close with them but I don’t know how I feel about them....”  

“I don’t like the influence they have on you.”

Overall, he is a very dedicated but tame yandere.

He will move mountains for you if you just let him.

Park Chanyeol

{Venus in Capricorn}

attracted to taller partners with duskier complexions and slender faces.  

Also tends to lean more towards older partners bc he likes mature people who have their ‘shit together’, so to speak.  

likes career woman/men, he likes professionalism in a significant other

Chanyeol will follow the normal ‘courting’ process because he respects traditions.  

Wont kiss you until the thid date, won’t have sex with you until you guys have been dating for weeks, follows all the rules of how a guy should treat a lady.  (even if you’re a guy, he’ll still try to be the ‘man’ of the relationship)

He doesn’t like trendy or revealing clothes on a partner, he likes more conservative styles.  

A person he can take home to his family.

Also has a preference for Korean partners (although I don’t think it’s a make or break factor like it is for Suho)

Very possessive of you.

Like Baekhyun, he also tends to view you as a personal possession more than an actual person with free will.

He knows what’s best for you and he’ll keep reminding you.

Wants you dependent on him so you can see how great he is at taking care of you.

Weird, but he will try to bribe you with money.  Financial security is very important to Capricorns and chances are hes richer than you so you’ll catch him bringing up how wealthy he is.  

“I can support both you and me, no problem.”

“If you just moved in with me you wouldn’t even have to worry about bills anymore.”

When you’re with him he’ll make sure you don’t have to pay for anything.  

Although he is attracted to ambitous partners, his need to provide for you and his mars in cancer makes it so that he’ll eventually want you to quit your job.  

Needs your only priority to be him.  

(well, until you have kids but that’s not till later.)

Capricorn likes control so he’ll love dictating things for you.

Caps are also very patient so he’ll wait as long as it takes to slowly bleed his way into controlling every aspect of your life.  

It’s a gradual process.  At first he’ll mention small things to you, but give it some time and he’ll be in charge of those things in a few months.  

“My phone is dead and I need to text someone.  Can I use yours for a second?”

(Three months later)  “Give me your phone.  I want to see all your contacts.”  

Sometimes he’s more like a father than boyfriend bc he’s just so protective and is always shielding you from things he deems unsafe for you.  

{Mars in Cancer}

Suprisingly gentle in bed but still a dom.

Daddy

LiStEn, Capricorn makes him want to be an authority figure to you while cancer makes him soft and gentle.  Mix that up and what do you get?  A soft Daddy dom

Okay, that’s my ted-talk.  

He wants a cute little housewife/househusband.

((I know what you’re thinking; “but chinkbihh, didn’t you just say that he like a career partner?”  Well my little grasshopper, his fantasy is to take an ambitous person (since that’s what he’s attracted to) and make them into a little housewife/househusband))

Wants to have that experience of coming home from a long day of work to see you with dinner ready and the house all clean.  

You getting dolled up for him and just for him makes him feel things.

If it was up to him, you’d never leave the house.  

Really needs you to get along with his family, it’s really important to him that you do.  

If you don’t, he’ll make you.  

His cap makes it so that he has harsh rules for you to follow but his cancer makes it so that he never really punishes you if those rules are broken.  

9 times out of 10 he settles for a strong lecture.

But, I do see occasional spankings if he gets really worked up. 

Kids are just a given with him, he wan’ts a family and his fantasy is incomplete without them.  

will be very yander about his kids too.  

Extremely protective of them.  

He wants you and him to look like the best married couple, the type that your kids will look up to and want for themselves one day.  

Pampers you all the time, esp when you’re pregnant.

also a fan of couple clothes and maybe even a discreet couple tattoo.  

Overall he’s a yandere who has a very specific picture perfect image he wants.  And you’re just there to play your part.  

Do Kyungsoo

{Venus in Pisces}

Won’t settle for anything other than the perfect partner of his dreams.

enjoys smaller partners, petite statures, a sucker for big watery eyes and impish or upturned noses, also more of a boob man than an ass man.

I don’t think he has an age preference but he does like a quiet wisdom in someone.  

Not maturity per say because frankly I see him enjoying a slightly childish partner, but some people hold a quiet air about them that just tells you they’re an old soul.  He’s very drawn to those people.  

To be honest with you, you probably didn’t know him at all.  

He’s a secret admirer (stalker) that you’d never even notice.

God only knows where he found you.  it could be from the bus, the café you go to, a neighbor, a friend of a friend of a friend.  It’s a mystery.

But boy when he saw you, did something just click.  

Prone to dellusion

heres why; Pisces is all about dreams, fantasy and escapism.  because of this Kyungsoo is someone who is really in love with love.  His yandere side just amplifies that.  He believes that him catching sight of you (on a whim in public) is destiny or love at first sight, he thinks all his stalking and love letters are just parts of a romantic courting process, deems you two soulmates before you have even said a word to him.

Because pisces is ruled by Neptune ( a planet that often blurs the lines between reality and fantasy) Kyungsoo is borderline mentally unstable because he genuinely elievs all of his daydreams and can’t decipher a reality in which you two aren’t together.  

Sends you a gift like everyday.  

It’s always an oddly convenient gift too. like if you accidenetly ruined a shirt one day, you’ll wake up the next morning to an exact replica of that shirt sitting on your doorstep.

While part of you is sorta thankful, another part of you is terrified because this must mean that your stalker is someone who knows even the most microscopic details about you.  

he also sends you love letters everyday.  

these aren’t just little ‘I love you’ notes either.

No.

They’re multi-paged letters filled top to bottom with utter poetry about a deep infatuation with you.  

as if the dedication isn’t surprising enough, the details inside the writing is wild and makes you insanely paranoid.  

Once you begin to realize that you’re under someones’ microscope, you begin to take percation by closing windows, buying locks, changing up your routine and investing in some self defense.  

He just finds this cute and will mention it in his letters

“While I do wish for you to say

[ramblinganthropologist]

N7 Challenge Day 2 - Science

Summary: If you think about it, Shepard is really Cerberus’ fucked up little science project. If Frankenstein’s monster got to complain a little about conditions, then Miranda’s can whine she left some nonessential parts in. 

---

As much as he hated what Cerberus had done with the place... maybe the top floor being his wasn't so bad after all.

Alistair sighed as the door slid shut behind him. Up here, he was finally alone. Nobody was staring at him like he had two heads or was gaping at the fact he should have been 6 feet under or in a jar. Better yet, nobody was asking him how he was going to stop the Collectors from abducting another human colony or what the next move is. Here he could relax and breathe a little.

Breathing... right.

“Ugh...” His shirt dropped to the floor as he examined his appearance in the mirror. There were new bruises, not quite broken ribs. He had been lucky this time according to a bemused Doctor Chakwas. She had told him before to go in for the surgery, but he hadn't gotten the chance before dying. Now...

He prodded his binder in the mirror. “I still have no idea why she kept these. Don't see how having a flat chest would make me any worse.”

Something something, exactly as he was supposed to be? It was bullshit if you asked Alistair. Of course, nobody was asking him. They probably figured it was good enough that he was alive. Why bother dealing with worrying about it, Commander Shepard was alive again.

Commander Shepard was also risking broken ribs every mission, thank you very much. Maybe the magic science bullshit wizards should have considered that when they were putting him back together.

He let both the matter and his binder drop, though one took a bit more effort. After changing, it was back to an oversized hoodie as he settled in to get some work done. On the bright side, he could breathe. Downside... everything else.

Hi, gender dysphoria. Apparently you were crucial to saving humanity or something.

He lost himself to his work, reviewing records and checking on possible colonies, for the better part of an hour. Alistair would have stayed longer – there was plenty of reports to sift through – but someone was knocking at his door. Like, actually knocking and not using their omni-tool to let him know they were there.

So... that narrowed things.

“Be right there, Bo!” His new joints didn't creak as he rose, but there was plenty of time for that. Besides, he made up for that with the glowing exposed implants sticking out of his jaw and forehead. It wasn't a pretty sight – though it may have been improved if he could've hacked the color to blue. As a pink-toned ginger, red was kind of overkill. Besides, blue was his favorite color and they were his damn life sustaining implants. If anyone got to pick the color, it was him.

But... he wasn't allowed to try changing the color. Something about maybe killing him. He had kind of lost focus during that conversation.

Speaking of – the door slid open, revealing his XO on the other side. Bo looked about as comfortable on the new Normandy as he was, and she cast a wary eye around as she entered the room. Then she looked towards the floor, and where his clothing still lay. Her lip curled at the sight of her binder, and he swore he saw murder in her eyes.

“You gotta be kidding me, they didn't deal with that while you were dead?!”

Alistair, despite everything, emphatically groaned. “No, they fucking didn't! I'm pretty sure I've got everything that came with the original hardware!”

They both shared a scowl as Bo took a seat on his bed. As she did, she tossed him her omni-tool. Unsurprisingly, it was broken again. What did catch him off guard was that it was the same model she had been using before he died.

There had to have been easy models between 2183 and 85...

“You've made it idiot-proof, don't think too hard about it.” Bo was still scowling. “Remind me to punch Miranda for her weird little science experiment when I see her again. She spent all that time on you and she couldn't make a few modifications?”

Alistair rolled his eyes as he started to tinker with the omni-tool. “With pleasure. If she could add an eye, I don't see why she couldn't figure out testicles. They didn't even need to work, I don't plan on having children.”

His XO snickered at that. “Not that you could have kids with a turian anyway. Pretty sure even Mordin couldn't get levo and dextro to gel.”

The mere mention of turians caused Alistair's face to turn scarlet. He ducked his head in the excuse of examining the details on the broken omni-tool. The screen was cracked, but he had a replacement for that. Mostly, it just looked like she had knocked the wires loose – probably punched someone a little too hard. His reinforcements probably came loose over two years. Easy fix.

Maybe he should just design a whole new one for her...

“Thinking about Garrus, huh?”

There was a teasing tone to Bo's voice that made his cheeks even redder. Alistair shot her a blank look as he reached for a small device in his toolbox. Even after the Normandy exploded, it was good to know someone had salvaged it.

After all, what would he do without his trusty work vibrator?

“I can't believe you actually still use that.” Bo's tone was flat as she watched him apply the vibration to check for weak spots. “You're such a fucking nerd.”

Alistair snickered as he looked up from his work. “Given what I'm working with -”

“Gross. Please tell me you got another one of those.”

No, but it wasn't like he got a lot of private time given how often he had to fix something or save somebody from certain doom so it was kind of low on his list of priorities. Besides, being zombie Jesus in N7 armor made that kind of purchase... awkward.

Like, who expects the risen Commander Shepard to walk in looking for a vibrator anyway?

“I don't need one for actual use right now, thankfully.” He whistled low once he spotted the problem. “Wow, you sure knocked this one loose. Another centimeter and the whole thing would have been a total loss.”

Bo sighed in relief. “Good thing I didn't hit that one krogan twice then.”

Of course she'd hit a krogan. She was always doing that.

“Next time, just use your biotics.” Alistair shook his head as he started the repairs. Honestly, it wasn't the ideal situation. He had picked his hoodie for size and comfort, but the problem was the sleeves were a little large on him and had a place he could stick his thumb through if he felt like it. Normally that was fine – hiding his hands was a plus sometimes – but it didn't work when he was soldering.

And... ok, maybe a hoodie with hamster ears wasn't the best tech wear.

At least Bo didn't laugh when he rolled up his sleeves and kept working. He didn't mind her presence either as he made sure the wires weren't going anywhere once she started swinging again. Something about having her on his bed, watching him work, was comforting. In a sense, it was home. Though Cerberus had tried, they hadn't quite figured out how to hit that for him in their mad dash to convince him to work for them. Just the fact they had left him a uterus was a black mark they were never getting rid of, the rest was just icing on the shit cake of why he would eventually be stealing their ship and hightailing it back to the Alliance with all their info.

What, Frankenstein's monster caused a little havoc in his day. Wasn't he entitled to do the same? He hadn't exactly been asked to be brought back to save the galaxy.

“Just a little more and -” the screen glowed to life under his hands. “There we go, it's working again!”

Almost immediately, a message started playing. “Commander Shepard, if you could meet me in-”

Shit. He knew that voice. One eye landed on his XO – she had already tensed up. Then there was something about reports needing to be filed and she might have been behind on doing that? Honestly, no surprises there; Bo was analog, so computers tended to break around her. They'd probably been doing it even more with the Cerberus agent on her back about it.

If he wasn't careful, she was going to break the omni-tool, and he was out of spare parts...

“Fuck off, Miranda. I'll get to it once the computer's fixed.”  Bo reached over to shut off the link with surprising delicacy. She must have seen the fear in his eyes and held pity over his rebuilt form. “You think she'd get I hate her.”

He shrugged his shoulders as he started to clean. “Maybe she enjoys having an angry lesbian hating her.”

“Then she should love having a pissed off twink despising her.”

Despise – that was a good word. He'd accept it. It got close enough in his mind to how he actually felt as he swept away the remains of his repair project.  With a clean work space, it was easier to think. Not that it was ever completely easy, but it helped.

Though... did he hear something about a broken computer?

“So do you want me to fix that or what?”

Bo responded by practically picking him up and depositing him on the bed. “I want you to get some fucking sleep. You look like death.”

“I slept for 2 years-”

“Then a few more hours won't bother you.” She shot him a look. “You can't fix everything. It'll be there when you get up.”

Alistair wanted to argue, but it was impossible. When Bo got like that, he didn't stand a chance. Most times, he didn't even try. Mostly he was just annoyed she had picked him up like he was his own damn hamster.

He was a fully grown man, damn it...

“Alright, I'll swing by when I wake up.”

Bo nodded and started to retreat. “See you when you do. I'm going to go punch Miranda in the face for the uterus bullshit.”

Honestly, he wasn't sure if she was being serious as the door closed around him and the light dimmed. EDI had probably been listening in by then. It kept him from having to get up as he pulled off his hoodie and crawled under the blanket.

That was something else he would have to see to when he woke up. In a weird way, it was ironically appropriate. After all, Miranda's monster was going to have to go save Miranda from the angry villagers.

That, or Miranda's monster could just sleep a little longer. Being brought back from the dead was exhausting work. Maybe a nap wasn't such a bad idea after all...

[megashadowdragon]

If jaune has grimm in him it will activate due to a strong desire to destroy/kill

dustypotion . tumblr . com/post/190591003007/also-not-to-continue-to-clown-but-penny-with-the#notes

also, not to continue to clown but

penny, with the maiden powers, didn’t react to the silver eyes. that means cinder’s weakness in volume 3 was absolutely to do with the METHOD of receiving the powers; the grimm beetle bonded with her and caused her to become part grimm before she got even got the grimm arm.

also, this further proves that people don’t respond to the brightness of the silver eyes, since no one but cinder did, which begs the question -

why is jaune arc the only other human to have ever reacted to the silver eye power?

and why did he shield his eyes in the exact same way cinder did this volume?

hawkeyedflame . tumblr . com/post/152581160728/on-rubys-elusive-character-development-or-why

“ jaune is a foil To Ruby. She’s a prodigy who quickly became a deadly warrior at a young age and is welcomed into Beacon two years early as a result while Jaune is a hard worker who progresses slowly and had to lie his way into Beacon because of his nonexistent combat background. Ruby is a strategist specialized on pre-defined team attacks and wields a self-made weapon capable of long range combat. Jaune is a tactician specialized in creating new team attacks according to his analysis on the battlefield and wields a family heirloom only capable of close range combat. Ruby has a rather broken family but they fully support her decision to become a huntress while Jaune’s family is large and united but they don’t support his choices nor have any faith on him. Ruby is a tomboy who dominates the battlefield but doesn’t enjoy dancing whereas Jaune tends to act girly and is initially terrible at fighting but also a great dancer. The more you look into them as a pair, the more contrasts that can be spotted in the details.”

jaune has a more “feminine way of dealing with emotions” while ruby has the more masculine way of dealing with emotions

aminoapps . com/c/rwby/page/blog/why-its-good-for-jaunes-semblance-to-be-a-support-type/xpp7_XQ4s2u6RGX2zboa6JwM2XMekWGZd68

“Joan of Arc is known for breaking gender stereotypes about what it meant to be a woman. And if you think about it in a lot of ways Jaune doesn’t fit into the stereotypical “man box.” We are don’t “men don’t cry.” He wears his emotions on his sleeve. While in the real world men (and in the world of RWBY BOTH men and women ARGUABLY) are told to be strong. And that many people superficially equate physical strength with heroism (Raven?) it is fitting that Jaune’s semblance doesn’t so much doesn’t so much empower himself, as it empowers others. (as well as himself but its more effective on others in the team since they are more skilled than him) The so called “Feminine” strength.” P.S. Hmm as a follow-up to my The Importance Of Foils Part 2 post. I think that Ruby, despite being a girl, fits into the “man box” better than anyone else including it’s UNHEALTHY WAYS OF DEALING WITH EMOTIONS. The only difference is on remnant, it’s not because a man doesn’t cry. But because “a hero doesn’t cry.”

ruby first activated her silver eyes leading to her to learn about them when she saw pyrrha jaunes partner impaled by cinder and burnt to ash failing to save pyrrha  her awakening being in reaction to her death while jaune activated his semblance and realized what it was when he saw rubys partner weiss  impaled by cinder and  was able to save her  life awakening his semblance to do so allowing him to learn what his semblance was ( which is a good example this is an example of them being foils  and how its been shown and effected their storys )

it would fit for jaune to have powers related to the god of darkness given that  ruby has powers related to the god of light (silver eyes)

Silver-Eyed Warriors have powers that are fueled by strong desires to preserve life.

According to Maria, the key to using the power of one's silver eyes is to focus on the relationship the wielder has with their loved ones and protecting them. This is consistent with the reactive uses of Ruby's eyes in the past

so it would fit for jaunes god of darkness powers to be fueled by a desire to take life if the key is to focus on the people  he hates and wants to destroy 

and while rubys powers relate to her eyes having her emit energy from her eyes ( which fits with how the god of light in his dragon form had silver eyes ) 

jaunes power to relate to his body like either his body transforming to a state like salems  or abit more like having grimm bone plating  except for jaune it will be like armor a grimm knight

megashadowdragon . tumblr . com/post/190688307462/jaune-will-be-able-to-steal-someones-magic-for-his/embed

(possibly gaining the ability  to take  the magic from those he kills which would allow him to get his hands on the maidens powers ( jaunes inspiration joan of arc

magic was the god of darknessś gift to the world and god of darkness made the grimm so it fits that cinder uses her grimm arm to take the maidens power into her so if jaune ends up having some grimm in him he will be able to steal the maidens power and gain magic for himself  ( imagine if jaune ends up taking the fall maidens powers away from her and gaining it for himself making  it reminds me of what cinder once said its not about overpowering your enemies its about taking away what power they have  imagine cinders reaction )

jaune arcs inspiration is joan of arc archive . joan-of-arc . org/joanofarc_letter_july_17_1429 . html

joan of arc was canonized by the church as the holy maiden

and joan of arc  often referred to herself as la Pucelle, which roughly translates as the Maiden

en . wikipedia . org/wiki/Name_of_Joan_of_Arc

and the four people with magic that the show talked about this season is  called the four maidens and  joan of arc was a woman took a role that many at the time believed could only be filled by a man as a military leader ( joan of arc broke the  ¨rules ¨ (the social norm)  in a sense   ,  and jaune arc would be breaking the only women can be maidens rules  

darkness consuming light ( this reminds me of an old suggestion about jaune devouring the auras/souls of people he kills and getting a power boost from that   and there is a theory that grimm grow not just due to age but due to killing people and eating them that either eating humans causes them to grow or that when they eat the body they also eat the soul to grow         ) 

dustypotion . tumblr . com/post/190253061317/so-yknow-how-grimm-eat-only-humans-and-fanus

First of all, I completely forgot that Grimm actually DO eat people, since we’ve never really seen a Grimm do it in the show. I re-watched the WOR about them and noted that scientists don’t really know why Grimm feed, and their hypothesis is that they simply choose to. That’s backed only by the fact Grimm can last long amounts of time without eating things, which shows they don’t need it to survive, and the actual insides of Grimm can’t really be studied since they evaporate, sometimes instantly if hit with enough force.

We assume Grimm like Alpha Beowolves, Ursa Majors, Giant Nevermores and Megoliaths simply grow without sustenance for a long time, simply gaining mass and more spikes as time goes on. But maybe, just maybe, feeding on the corpses of those left after village attacks might also be what helps them become giant Grimm. Megoliaths, since they’re known to avoid settlements, might bide their time by going through already destroyed villages and picking through the rubble for food there.

NOW, we have to discuss, since I’m assuming this is based on Jaune being a descendent of Salem and hypothetically having that “essence of destruction” per the theory, whether Jaune has enough hidden “Grimm physiology” in order for this to work. This also raises some questions about Salem; is she aware she could commit cannibalism to gain strength? Does she simply not, because either her magic is enough or she’s not that deranged? Has she done it? I’m gonna guess she hasn’t done it, since her being a motherfucking cannibal takes away lots of sympathy points already (but I guess if she wanted to commit genocide, which was totally a thing, this is by all accounts not as bad). Does she ever get urges to eat people, since the Grimm do it regularly for “enjoyment”?

Jaune, unlike Salem, looks entirely human. But if we’re to believe him flinching at the Silver Eyes and his rather destructive outbursts are a symptom of having some sort of Grimm physiology, that means that there is a case that if Jaune were to accidentally consume blood involuntarily, most likely through getting covered in blood and not reacting fast enough, he could gain a power boost. But how would that manifest? How would that power him up? It couldn’t possibly be through his aura or semblance. Physical strength, maybe? Possibly even adopting a more Grimm look? Him getting an even worse, or uncontrollable temper?

A lot to think about. Thanks for launching me into an essay on this because, although there’s a good chance RWBY won’t do this, it is intensely fucked up but people have also experimented with souls, experimented with Grimm, we’ve watched people die on screen and honestly, Brunswick was a thing, so maybe it’s not too fucked up for the show itself.

Also, something I’m gonna quickly add onto this; blood, particularly in the music of the show, is mentioned quite a lot despite the fact that RWBY isn’t all that gory.

“Bloody evolution” (This Will Be The Day + All Things Must Die)

“And the skies rain blood” (I May Fall)

“It’s your blood that’s red like roses” (Red Like Roses pt.2)

“Those children you mislead, you’ll watch them all bleed” (Divide)

“Maybe it’s red like roses, maybe it’s the pool of blood” (When It Falls)

“The blood’s going to stain, but it won’t be mine” (I’m The One)

“Primal, bloodshed, that’s all that’s left to do” (From Shadows)

“This is where I lay waste, and you go home bleeding” (Ignite)

“Blood for blood, it’s time to die” (One Thing)

“A mystery of blood and bone” (Lusus Naturae - this one’s interesting, because out of all people who aren’t Salem, Dr. Merlot has studied grimm more successfully more than any other; the fact he mentions blood when Grimm don’t have any might be telling)

So, it would make sense that maybe Grimm consuming people - and hence their blood - might be important.

(I  cant help but imagine grimmified jaune with the grimmbone plating shaped like actual  full body armor a grimm knight )

( the next part is something I am not serious about but just thought I would say it 

so if thats true what if when jaune  ( who is of humanity 2.0 mostly ) kills someone he does in fact absorb the soul to gain a power boost  having an ability that salem doesnt have and may be because his semblance has his own aura make contact with anothers)

( also I cant help but think of how jaune and cinder are foils and cinder tried to take ravens magic away what if jaune ends up taking the spring maidens power away raven

plus jaunes inspiration is joan of arc  who hated bandits and raven destroyed xion village which jaune used to go to with his family alot so he would have had friends there

and I have noticed that team jnprs first team fight was against a deathstalker grim and they shot its pincer off and ruby cut tyrian ( scorpion faunus tail)  and team rwbys first team fight was a nevermore  ( raven ) grimm where ruby cut off its head  so what if raven gets her head cut off by jaune absorbing her magic/soul 

(  joan of arc had a  hatred for bandits and ravens tribed destroyed a village where jaune used to visit with his family so he likely had friends there and ren would hate bandits because they attack villages causing the grimm to come and his own village got destroyed by grimm

@spoonoftar

@thehtg-therealone

[stickyphantom]

v7e2

Now it’s time for ep 2. I’m going to try to keep this short, because there’s a lot to unpack here.

Onward!

Opening with the kids plus Qrow arrested, and we first hear the Atlas guards joking around in the cockpit. One phrase that sticks out to me is “nowhere to run to” as the camera pans to Weiss. Totally not foreshadowing! Whew!

Next we get the hobo activist guy. I actually liked this dude a lot. His enthusiasm reminded me a little of those progressive dudes who “support!” women but their support is more performative feminism than actual real allyship, but he seems genuine so I’m not going to harsh on him too much. He also gives us our first look at Robyn Hill and her supporters. It’s basically confirmed that she’s a gender-swapped Robin Hood and his Merry Men, so I’m really looking forward to meeting her!

Unsurprisingly, the Team ends up at Atlas Academy to meet with General Ironwood. I figured there was a pretty good chance they’d be shuffled off to him directly.

WINTER!!! Winter’s back! Crazy how popular she was given she only had like 2 episodes and a cameo in Weiss’s v5 trailer, but here she is! And a new outfit! She looks good, and it’s great to see how much unabashed affection she holds for Weiss. Between her introduction and her laying into Weiss for stealing a military ship out of worry, they really drove home how that the love Weiss holds for Winter is a mutual feeling. Winter’s fairly cold outwardly, so it’s probably not easy for her to show such naked emotion. Good for them!

Now onto the hot topic of the episode. We learn that Winter, Penny, and the Ace-Ops all know of Oz, Salem, the Maidens and the Relics. Ironwood asks a few perfunctory questions, and Ruby... lies to him. In particular, she uses the SAME lies that Ozpin does. The ones that drove RWBY, Qrow and JN_R away from Oz. It’s an act of unabashed hypocrisy that is both startling and worrying, and not just from a narrative standpoint. But I won’t get too Doylist with this review. Just know that I am VERY interested to see how things move forward, and how James will eventually react, both to the truth of Salem, and to the fact that both Oz and Ruby have lied to their allies, as well as how Team RWBY are going to address their tense relationship with Ozpin.

Moving on, Ironwood unveils his plan to reveal Salem’s existence to the world at large while simultaneously restoring global communications. If Salem were killable, this would actually be a great idea. There would be initial loss of life due to widespread panic in each Kingdom, but eventually the world could unite against a common enemy and defeat it once and for all. Unfortunately, we the audience know that that isn’t possible, and so all this will do is create unnecessary panic and death. Ruby and co are on a countdown to Atlas’s potential fall, and the deadline is when the tower is finished. They need to make a decision on how to handle both Ironwood AND Ozpin before then, or they’re fucked.

And finally, Watts and Tyrian! They’re already in Atlas! I got shivers watching their introduction this volume: Watts strolling casually through Mantle hacking everything in sight was incredible, and hearing Tyrian slaughtering some poor sod over the phone was so delightfully dark. As if the stakes couldn’t be any higher, now we have two of Salem’s most dangerous and intelligent operatives in the kingdom, ready to wreak havoc! I’ve got a really good feeling about this volume, so I’m very excited!

[justalittlelitnerd]

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

“First rule of book club?” They finished in unison. “You don’t talk about book club.” What. The. Fuck 

So I’ve been wanting to read this book since before it came out, but just wasn’t in the place to buy it so when I got an email from Amazon saying the Kindle version was on sale for $3 I wasn’t going to pass up the chance. And I’m glad I waited until it was on sale because I was just a little bit disappointed. For the most part, I think it’s once again a case of failing to manage my expectations. If I had gone into this book thinking it was simply a cute rom-com about a failing marriage than I think I would have enjoyed it well enough. But this book was so well talked about I expected something more. 

The book club was funnier than I expected with all the men being characters in their own rights and I loved that it presented the opportunity for them to tackle toxic masculinity, gender roles, and feminism. I thought it was interesting that Gavin had a stutter that he was super insecure about because it felt like a twist on the standard athlete romance since he lacked a certain confidence that is usually synonymous with competing in the major leagues. 

Additionally, I’m not sure if the twins were absolutely necessary to the story. For the most part they felt like a plot driver because the pregnancy is the reason they got married so quickly in the first place and arguably why they’re marriage lasted as long as it did (though three years really doesn’t feel long enough for the issues they had but whatever) and part of why they’re keen to save their relationship. I think it would have been better if the girls were a little older so they could feel more engaging, but I’m also biased because I’m not a fan of children (specifically toddlers) in romance books. I can see the appeal of babies because they’re cutesy and older kids because they can interact with the adults and provide some comedy, but toddlers are just an awkward age in my opinion.

Finally, the fucking sister pissed me off. I understand Thea and Liv had a lot of childhood issues between their parent’s divorce and general lack of love and guidance, but the fact that Liv turns so quickly on Gavin and doesn’t support her sister when she decides to give him a chance. It started to feel like Thea was going to have to choose between her husband/family and her sister and that wasn’t the kind of energy I needed in my romance book especially in the age of Corona. Of course, it being a romance book in the end it all works out. 

Basically, I would recommend this book as a fun romance read about an awkward man trying to save his marriage, but just know what your in for.

Keep reading for some fun and often insightful quotes!      

“All spouses become strangers to each other at some point in a marriage,” Del said. “All human beings are a work in progress, and we don’t all change at the same pace. Who knows how many people have gotten divorced simply because they failed to recognize that what they thought were insurmountable problems were actually just temporary phases?”

The need to hit something surged again like a bad case of Twitter rage.

“Men are idiots. We complain that women are so mysterious and shit, and we never know what they want. We fuck up our relationships because we convince ourselves that it’s too hard to figure them out. But the real problem is with us. We think we’re not supposed to feel things and cry and express ourselves. We expect women to do all the emotional labor in a relationship and then act confused when they give up on us.”

“Romance novels are primarily written by women for women, and they’re entirely about how they want to be treated and what they want out of life and in a relationship. We read them to be more comfortable expressing ourselves and to look at things from their perspective.”

“Modern romance novelists use the patriarchal society of old British aristocracy to explore the gender-based limitations placed on women today in both the professional and personal spheres. That shit is feminist as fuck.”

If a man wants to leave you, wave goodbye and lock the doors. You’ve got better things to do than chase a lost cause.

The backlash against the PSL is a perfect example of how toxic masculinity permeates even the most mundane things in life. If masses of women like something, our society automatically begins to mock them. Just like romance novels. If women like them, they must be a joke, right?

“You don’t wink.” “That’s not true.” “It absolutely is true. A woman remembers every time a man winks at her, because we love winking. It’s like catnip. Wink at us, and we roll over and start purring. You haven’t winked at me in a long time.” “Then I’m an idiot.” Gavin slowly lowered his gaze to lips. “Because I wouldn’t mind hearing you purr.”

Thea blinked several times and tore her gaze away from Gavin, who was studying her again like he did during the theater. Like he did on Saturday. As if seeing her for the first time. Maybe he was. It had been years since she felt like he saw her at all.

She had changed into a pair of sweatpants and his old Huntsville Rockets minor league sweatshirt, the one she’d claimed shortly after they started dating. He’d lost all coherent thought the first time he saw her in it. Something regressively possessive stole over him, as if he’d claimed her. Officially. With a sweatshirt.

“It means that whatever happened to your wife before she met you plays a role in who she is today,” Malcolm said. “We are all the sum total of our experiences at any given time, and our reactions to things are shaped by them. Just like in romance novels. Whatever a character went through before the start of the book will eventually determine how they react to things that happen in the book.” “But we’re talking about my real life here. Not a book.” “Same principles apply,” Malcolm said. “That’s why fiction resonates with people. It speaks to universal truths.”

“‘More than anything, she feared that she would awaken some morning and realize her entire life had passed her by,’” he read. “‘That at some point, she had become less than. Less than w-w-what she used to imagine. Less than w-wh-what she used to hope for. Nothing more than a silent accessory to a man. Nothing more than her own mother, a passive face at a glittering table.’”

"The point of all this is to court her, Gavin. Not seduce her.” “What’s the difference?” Mack snorted again. “It’s a fucking miracle you got married at all.” Gavin flipped him off. “The difference,” Malcolm said, “is to make her want you, not prove how much you want her.”

“Something has changed. What is it?” He offered to deal with Dad for me. He kissed me and made me want to forget everything bad. He made pancakes with the girls. Thea shook her head. “Nothing.”

"We women must steal our power where we can, and in the world of the ton, that power is sadly limited to the reduction of other women.”

“I do not require compliments, my lord. I’m well aware of my own attractiveness, which, of course, no lady is supposed to admit, but such is the world. English society seems to rest upon the requirement that women are pitted against each other until we all emerge envious of the other.”

“If there was a website where strange men posted thousands of pictures of you, yeah, I w-wouldn’t get used to it.” “That’s different. I’m not famous like you are.” “You’re the most important person in the w-w-world to me, so I beg to differ.”

“But we must find a way to produce and enjoy content that celebrates the fierceness of women without, at the same time, belittling a woman’s ability to decipher fact from fiction.”

[carmintros]

@ariwalters     /      ❛   ｡   ✩   ﾟ my eyes are probably playing tricks on me again, but is that really  awsten knight? oh, wait, it’s just  adrian “ari” lance walters. yes, that  twenty-four  year old  drummer, who i am pretty sure is a  visitor. according to the talk of the town, he is incredibly  flighty & unpredictable, yet undeniably  outgoing & adventurous. that is precisely why  a playground at dawn, a carnival ride that just keeps spinning, chasing waves on a beach, laughing until you cry & jackson pollock paintings  remind me of them so much, but then again you know what they say about  leos, we’ll see how that one turns out !   penned by kit  /  mst & they / them

car crash tw, ptsd tw, alcoholism tw

Ari Walters

Age: 24

Gender: Non-binary, he/him

[Between the Bars] - “Haha, not totally sure why this one comes to mind but like everyone says it’s like me with alcohol and stuff but I don’t really see it, I think I’m fine.”

D.O.B: August 15, 1995

Why the name Ari?

“Oh! I was named after my dad ‘cept he was always called Adrian so they called me Ari so no one got confused or anything!! It always worked really good too!”

Ethnicity: white

Relationship Status: In multiple relationships “I fall a little in love with everyone, I think, because everyone is beautiful and wonderful. I’m kind of the classic definition of poly, lol. People underestimate how much communication that takes though!”

Sexual Orientation: pan “Like I said, I fall in love with everyone! I can’t help it, haven’t you ever watched someone go about their life and you can just tell if they’re gentle or rough, if they need love or if they’re loved, et cetera? I love it and I love them.”

Appearance:

Height: 5’7

Ari resembles a puppy with ADHD. He is constantly moving, constantly engaged with the world and constantly interacting with everyone around him. He has to be active. If he sits still he might fall asleep and he still gets nightmares of the wreck.

His signature ‘thing’ has been his dyed hair for years. He doesn’t think he would recognize himself without it at this point. He thought about dying it back to brown for April Fools day one year but realized it’s been so long since seeing his real hair that he didn’t remember what color to get to match his roots.

Ari has an almost compulsive seeming need to be the most colorful person in any space he’s in. He wants to stand out and he does so by being a walking color wheel. Strangely, he manages to make his outfits cohesive.

You can’t get too close to Ari without noticing how tired he always looks. His eyes are always a little swollen and bloodshot and his skin has the uncomfortable thin appearance of someone much older or much sicker than him. If he’s asked about it he jokes that he’s just ugly (though most people would agree he is anything but ugly).

History:

Ari can split his life into a perfect before and after the wreck.

Before. Ari had a perfectly wonderful childhood. He was loved and taken care of in his historical Boston home. His dad taught Marine Biology at Harvard, his mom was the perfect socialite and Ari and his sisters were happy

His days consisted of school and drawing and going to the beach with his dad to learn about the animals. If Ari was to assign an emotion to that period of his life it would be love. If he had to assign a color it would be pink.

His life before was like something from a 50s sitcom. It was perfect. He knows rationally that he’s seeing through rosy lenses. He thinks he remembers his dad having an affair. He knows his sister and he argued a lot and he was such a mischievous child it kept him in trouble a lot of the time. He knows this. But it feels different. It feels idyllic compared to after.

His entire world shattered when he was 13. His family shouldn’t have even been out. If only he hadn’t argued with his sister. If only he had just set the table then maybe his dad wouldn’t have suggested eating out. Maybe if his mom and little sister had been home instead of in California they could have told his dad no, it wasn’t their day for eating out and they would all be fine eating at the house. Maybe if his sister hadn’t forgotten her phone and made them turn back so she could retrieve it because she was so scared of missing a text from her boyfriend.

Maybe….

Maybe they wouldn’t have been crossing the intersection when the other driver plowed through it. Maybe they wouldn’t have spun out and hit another car. Maybe his dad and his sister and the little boy from the other car and the driver who caused it all would still be alive. Maybe…

After. Ari doesn’t remember the crash itself. He doesn’t remember seeing his father’s body crushed against the interior of their car even though he’s since been told he was trying to pull him out. He doesn’t remember his sister’s glassy, dead stare though he was told he screamed at her to wake up. He doesn’t remember the ambulance ride but he’s told he fought the paramedics to try to get to his family.

He doesn’t remember getting to the hospital and being admitted.

He only starts remembering sitting in that big hospital room alone for what felt like hours (he knows now that it was only a few minutes at a time) while nurses bustled past the door outside trying to focus on the lives that were at risk after the crash. Even still, the evening comes in flashes. A teary eyed woman with a heavy accent telling him his mom would be there soon and rubbing his back. A doctor, young and frazzled, bursting into his room to tell the cops to leave and stop asking him about it. The smell of oil and burning metal seared so strongly into his skin it made his head hurt.

He remembers the funeral. Closed casket, both buried at the same time. He remembers packing up the house and selling it and moving to New York. He doesn’t think he felt real during that time. He kept waiting to wake up and find out it was just a terrible dream. Part of him still hopes he wakes up.

–

His mom didn’t try to neglect his mental health when they moved. Despite having help from family she still had to take on two jobs, she had two children to raise alone and she had just lost her husband and little girl. It was hard to be everything Ari needed her to be too.

She did her best. He was sent to a mental health clinic and given regular therapy sessions for a while where he was diagnosed with PTSD and a trauma based phobia regarding riding in cars.

She put him in music lessons to give him an outlet. She enrolled him in an arts high school so he could find similarly minded creative young people and hopefully make friends in their new city.

It didn’t really work. You can’t throw a shattered kid back into society and expect them not to drown. And Ari drowned.

When he was almost 15 he tasted alcohol for the first time at a sleepover. The idea of it had fascinated him since the wreck. How could one liquid be so influential that it would lead you to kill other people? What did it feel like to slip into a haze that strong.

His first sip was revolting. It burned on the way down and he was convinced he could still feel it burning his stomach. He almost put the bottle up and gave up on learning its allure. Something about it still called to be explored and who was Ari to say no?

He snuck the bottle into his bag and drank a little more the next day after school. Just enough to feel warm again and for his brain to quiet and center just a little bit more.

The alcohol made everything better. He felt more human again when he was tipsy. It didn’t take long for Ari to begin to crave it just to function. He started stealing it from his mom’s cabinet and then from the sweet old lady who paid him to take her groceries upstairs. When he was caught stealing from them he started trying to steal it from stores.

He was caught right away, of course, but not by an employee. Instead he was caught by a tall, average looking man in his early 30s. The man, who Ari soon learned was named Sean, offered to buy the alcohol for Ari and invited Ari over to drink with his girlfriend Eliana. Ari agreed immediately.

That night he lost his virginity to the pair. The two adults offered to keep Ari’s alcohol supply always filled so long as he continued to sleep with them. Ari instantly agreed.

—-

After he started drinking he somehow managed to pull his grades up. He felt real when he was drunk. He felt functional. He could do his coursework and practice the drums and paint and even explore New York. He quickly fell in love with the city and learned how to navigate his borough on his skateboard. He learned what buildings he could sneak into and hookup with classmates in without being caught, all the best places for graffiti and where the coolest homeless people hung out.

As Ari progressed through his teenage years his ‘adventures’ got crazier. He broke into the zoo ones and barely escaped getting caught. He hitchhiked out of the city and spent a weekend far upstate before calling his mom from a payphone and getting her to pick him up. He smuggled paint into his homeroom and painted an abstract mural on the teacher’s desk.

Not everything was illegal. He once snuck into an early morning wholesale flower market and convinced a florist to buy him enough white roses to leave one on every grave in The Cathedral Basilica of St. James cemetery and even convinced some of his friends to help him distribute them. He raised money once and bought everyone at his school pizza for lunch so “the lunch people get a day off.”

When he was asked to play drums for a new band that was forming he had to say yes. It was just a chance at another adventure.

—-

He never expected them to get as famous as they did. He figured they would disband rapidly and he could go to college for marine biology. Like his dad. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Miraculously for all of Ari’s adventures and alcoholism he didn’t have any major scandals during the bands active time. He left that for Jae.

Instead he tried to fly under the radar. He didn’t want anyone picking up on his issues. He maintained his alcoholism, adventured in the cities they toured through and focused on art when they weren’t making music.

—

Slowly he began to tire of not remembering as much of his life as he wanted to. People Ari had no memory of would come up to him as though they knew him. He got an STI without even knowing who it was from. He woke up in places he had never seen before. He destroyed things in his house and drove people away.

The catalyst came just before the band was put on hiatus and he was approached by an ex. Apparently during a drunken escapade he hadn’t used protection and had gotten the girl pregnant a few years ago. She’d had the baby and suddenly he was being asked if he wanted to be a father. He didn’t, of course, but he also didn’t want this to ever happen again.

Ari used the move to California as a chance to change everything. He swore he was going sober and wouldn’t return to the lifestyle he’d had before.

—

Now, freshly sober in California, he’s trying to figure out how to balance his new life. He’s still adventuring but it looks different without drinking. He isn’t sure if he likes it or not.

Personality -

“Ari is a rollercoaster. It could get exhausting except you don’t see him that often since he’s dating half the town at any given time. But he’s a blast anyway, especially when he’s sober enough to know up from down. You will have the most wild dates with him but you’ll have the time of your life. He rented a barn once and hired a band so we could have a ‘good old fashioned barn dance’ because he’d just seen one in a movie. It was insane. Best date of my life. That’s why it’s such a shame that he drinks so much. When he’s sober or only tipsy he’s amazing but the more drunk he gets the more the shine wears away. We actually broke up because he punched a hole through a mirror once and cried that he hated how he looked. I just… couldn’t do that. I hate it but I couldn’t.” Jessica B, ex-girlfriend.

Ari is the pinnacle of a yes-man. He agrees to almost everything so long as no one is hurt and he seems very morally grey. So long as no one gets hurt he’s down to try anything. He is high energy and always seems super cheerful. Ari is the kind of person who draws others to him just by how cheery and upbeat he is.

Ari is a romantic at heart. He says he falls in love with everyone and it honestly feels true. He sees something beautiful in everyone he meets and so he always dates multiple people at a time. It helps that he needs company all the time or the negative emotions he’s pushed away since he was a teenager begin to come creeping up.

He can never let that creep up. When it does it overwhelms him and he feels as scared and as lost as he did the entire year following the crash. He doesn’t talk about those emotions and he definitely doesn’t acknowledge that anything is wrong even when it’s exhausting to keep the smile. He doesn’t want to validate them and make them real. Ari will do anything to keep himself from ever feeling that sad and broken again.

It’s part of why he’s such an adrenaline junkie. His thrill seeking is one of the things he’s most known for in his fame. He has an adventure list a mile wide with everything from “Show up at an airport and take the next flight wherever it goes” to “scattering change along the city streets for people to find.”

Hobbies:

Art. Ari loves abstractivism and unconventional art. One of his projects that he was working on before coming to Carmel was saving every bottle from every drink he had over the course of a year so he could display it as a piece. He wasn’t sure about the title for it yet.

Exploring

Going on dates and adventures

He really wants to get a normal job because he thinks it would be hilarious to, say, work at a deli or diner because he’s technically a rock star.

Health:

Ari has PTSD. He doesn’t acknowledge it but it definitely impacts his ability to exist normally. He’s terrified of cars (he still doesn’t drive but he claims it’s because he would rather just skateboard everywhere) and he acts more recklessly to try to distract from it.

Physically he’s actually pretty healthy (aside from his chronic exhaustion). He eats well and works out, now that he’s quit drinking (besides a few relapses here and there) he is largely a super healthy individual.

wanted connections

Partners!!!! Ari is pan and poly so he is down for however many partners he has at any given time. He loves going on dates and hooking up. The more the merrier as far as he’s concerned, too!

Baby-mama. Ari found out he got someone pregnant and it was the largest catalyst for sobriety. They have a rocky relationship regarding the child because Ari really doesn’t feel ready to be a dad but I’m open to if they’re civil or uncivil outside of that.

Confidant. Everyone needs someone they can trust. Even Ari, who’s close relationships never seem to get past sleeping together and casual dating. This can be a friend, a friend of a friend or even someone he’s sleeping with.

[sunflowerpostsposts]

happy valentines!

Surprise! I’m your valentine @lovinmullen! Happy Valentines Day and I hope you enjoy these little headcanons!💖

thank you so much to @swingsetboys for organizing this and generally being amazing!

-After Andi got grounded for the high school party her phone was taken away for a bit. Amber freaked out at first thinking that Andi was mad till Cyrus (lord bless his peace making soul) filled her in on the situation. A letter arrived two days later in Andi’s mailbox, guess who it was from? Amber. It was an explanation to her parents and a was signed with “Sorry if I got you in trouble! Heres my address and keep exploring the world Bambi! There are many more things like that pool in Italy” (Andi has that note in a scrapbook)Thus begins a pen pal relationship, full of not so unrequited crushes, scribbled hearts, holding of hands and eventually after stealing a flannel from each other...a kiss. 

•Cyrus saw it coming from a mile away. No one just decides to go to the Spoon on every single day Amber is working and sit there with hearts popping from her eyes. 

 Andi will call Buffy or Cyrus and gush about a moment that happened. Little does she know that theres group call happening between the Kippen siblings, Marty and TJ are about to knock Amber out “Oh my god Amber if we hear about Andi’s eyes one more time!”. It becomes a cycle of calling. They even drew a diagram of how it would go. 

Andi calls Buffy calls Cyrus in groupcall, then afterwards Cyrus calls TJ who calls Marty who calls Amber to confirm that feelings are present who calls Andi to talk about her annoying brothers. Then everything repeats.

This can repeat for hours but hey it works.

-Ambi becomes official and everyone e x p l o d e s. It was expected but WOAH IT FINALLY HAPPENED? The pining is finally over thank schnitzel

-To celebrate one month Andi made a bracelet for Amber, she was hesitant at first and said “Are you okay with a girlfriendy thing?”. Amber acts chill about it but internally is screaming.

-(They worked out Amber somehow getting Jonahs bracelet a while ago). Andi gets her phone back soon and they are the couple who uses 22 emojis per text but its adorable! 

-In the end when they do the lanterns again Amber doesn’t put anything in hers. When Walker asks why she glances at Andi and shrugs “I already have everything I could wish for”

Bonus: Their first kiss was in a canoe! It flipped over causing them both to get soaking wet. On shore Amber lifted up their towel to block anyone watching right as Andi leaned forward to kiss her her again.

-Marty learned that Buffy moved away and that was the first time he messaged her since their fight, he apologized and said he hoped that she would have a good life in Arizona. 

-She kept him waiting for a few days because she’s still trying to figure out her feelings, friendship or crush?

- “Marty, thanks for apologizing. Can we talk when I visit?” He immediately says yes! 

-Once she comes back they talk. Its has a few embarrassing moments, some sad as well but in the end they both leave, hearts pounding and thoughts occupied with how even if they were friends how it could be different someday. 

Bonus: Marty comes out to Buffy as trans and Buffy comes out to him as bi. They go to parades together and will wear their respective flags with pride! Marty is the one to paint the flags on their cheeks. 

Bonus bonus: Its been almost 5 months since they talked about the crush situation and the FaceTime calls keep getting longer 

Bonus Basketball: Buffy and him play during the off season of basketball, soon Marty joins the guys basketball team. They still play against each other every Saturday morning.

Heres some Hogwarts shenanigans! 

Gryffindor: TJ, Buffy and Leo the Locker Boy

Slytherin: Amber, Reed and Natalie

Hufflepuff: Cyrus, Marty and Iris

Ravenclaw: Jonah and Andi!

The GHC became friends in 1st year, interhouse friendships for the win!

Marty joins the group 3rd year after the Yule Ball, he and Buffy dance so the group adopts him 

Buffy and TJ’s rivalry starts in 2nd year after a fight with who got the Quidditch field, then he insulted her and her skills. Not even a rap apology was going to be enough for him to be admitted into the group. He is Quidditch-Player-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name

TJ lashed out at her because he wanted to be Quidditch Captain but she was the one who got the position

They make up after Cyrus has a Charms class with TJ, the reason? Both agree that Cyrus is a very soft kid and we will protect him at all costs. 

(Buffy suspects more but doesn’t push at the reason why TJ does that little smile when Cyrus figures out a spell)

He writes an apology, near the end of the letter it says “You were right. You are the best Quidditch captain Hogwarts has seen” After this their rivalry is more of a friendship.

Andi finds the Room of Requirement and decides its going to be a LGBT+ club (she gets permission), the next time she walks in a pan flag appears above her head.

Cyrus helps her set up a network of kids who might want to attend 

Amber, Iris and TJ are more of the popular group so when Amber and Iris walk into the Room on a meeting day you can imagine the surprise. 

“Are you sure that this is the meeting Iris? They won’t stop staring” 

Andi is shooketh because holy heck my crush is coming to the meeting be chill Andi, b r e a t h

She greets them and after some snacks from the house elves everyone feels comfortable talking to each other and introducing themselves

Amber and Iris say they’ll be regulars.

Andi had to lie down after that meeting. 

Cyrus has Potions with TJ during 4th year. Mrs. Deborah, the teacher, sat them by each other to make a potion and it exploded first try. TJ got frustrated because he mixed up some numbers but Cyrus just laughs “Its okay! We can try again” 

Thus begins Smitten Kippen 

Don’t get him started on when they made Amortenia, they were supposed to share with the class and Cyrus declined. 

TJ in that moment: Oh my god what did he smell

Cyrus to Buffy and Andi later: I don’t see what the big deal about Amortenia is? It just smelled the same as when TJ sits by me like he does in Poti-wait                                                                                            Buffy and Andi: Are you okay??

TJ and Cyrus are the disaster gays of Hogwarts. 

They’ve tried to ask each other out almost 30 times now. But it always gets interrupted by something, a troll, a werewolf turning etc. 

Cyrus has almost given up until 5th year where at a Quidditch game he gets TJ’s scarf.

It was like the meme where someone says their cold and the other person piles warm clothing on them. 

He only needed the scarf because the blush was real in that moment, nothing could cool him down. He hugged TJ said a very rushed thank you then ran to the stands. 

After that game he gave TJ a sign that said “I’m not Kippen when I say I like you” 

It becomes almost a game to see who can out flirt who

Special blueberry macadamia muffin was delivered to the Gryffindor common room. Book about lizards sent to Hufflepuff with a note in the cover. Plenty of notes sent to each other during classes.

The one who makes a move is Cyrus, TJ writes him a small poem and he marches up to TJ after dinner to say “TJ Kippen will you go out with me?”

Nothing interrupted him and TJ said yes so fast it was like something possessed him

They have a cute Hogsmeade date <3

Buffy and Marty are the most competive friends anyone has seen. Mention Quidditch? They jump for the chance to see who gets the Snitch. Spells? Get under cover this is going to be a BATTLE

Due to these competitions they get sent to the hospital wing many, many times. 

They ate too many Weasley sweets and didn’t realize they both ate a vomiting one. 

Madam Pomfrey banned Weasley treats after that, said that students were too irresponsible (a healthy black market trade arose)

Once they got out and realized they both had actual physical harm happen because of a competition Marty proposed something

Marty: Look Buffy I love our competitions...but could we stick to banter for now?                                                                                                    Buffy: You know what would be convenient? Lets go on dates, easier way to banter with each other                                                                        Marty: *screams* 

He agrees after falling down a staircase they were walking down. 

(back to the hospital wing Marty) 

By the next day it was back to regular banter! With the occasional hand holding and kiss if one of them said something a little too silly

This is the one year Jonah and Walker are beaten in the Best Couple Competition. 

Speaking of Best Couple Competitions...the year Cyrus and TJ become public is the year they almost beat Wonah (the nickname for the pairing) 

Cyrus kisses him on the cheek, his hand and on tiptoes he’ll kiss his nose but never the lips. 

TJ is totally okay with this but wonders about it sometimes. 

Skip ahead to the final Quidditch match, they’ve been dating a few months. 

TJ (about to get on this broom): Hey how about a kiss for good luck? Its the last game it might work                                                                  Cyrus (rolling his eyes): Okay you dork

Cyrus pulled him down by his collar and gave him a brief kiss

TJS FACE WAS BRIGHT RED and Slytherin was crushed by Gryffindor in a record amount of points.

Amber and Andi are a background couple most of the time, content with sitting in the library by a window. You can find them if you know where to look, the tree by the lake or near the kitchens where they sneak into for a snack. Amber is always wearing a headband from Andi and Andi will be wearing a charmed ring from Amber.

Bonus: After they both graduate, TJ is hired on a Defense of the Dark Arts teacher and Cyrus is the Arithmancy teacher. TJ goes on to be the headmaster! He makes new policies that allow students to be more comfortable with their sexuality and genders/

Bonus Bonus\: TJ and Cyrus go to Andi’s GSA weekly meeting and thats how they come out to each other. They walked in and both went “Shit”. That was the quietest they have ever been together. They walk out together and separate after throwing each other a quick smile.

[rainbow-lady-izel]

Thursday Night's Teaching 8/30/18

So I said last night I would post my sermon notes so here they are. I hope you enjoy.

I bet most of you have met a "Christian" in your life or at least seen them on the news or somewhere on the internet. It seems we all have a clear picture of what a "Christian" is supposed to look like and act like. I can picture it right now... a button up shirt with a tie, beige slacks, shiny shoes, and like a bunch of hair gel to keep every stand in place. That's the genetic Christian look. They all act like Clark Kent right? Mild mannered and they never cuss or shout. They're pacifists constantly calling everyone brother. The quintessential Christian. This is what the world and society wants us to think makes a Christian. Well I'm going to let you in on a little secret... if these were the prerequisites for salvation, then no one in the bible would have been saved. 

You see, the society has given us ideas of what Christianity looks like based on what's easiest for the world to understand. I mean just look at Jesus himself.

When I say picture Jesus, everyone probably has a similar image in their minds. 6' tall white guy with straight light brown hair and blue eyes. He's always wearing a bright white robe with a purple sash. And he would never flip a bunch of tables and chase people out with a whip. Right? Wrong! First of all, he totally did that. He flipped a bunch of tables and whipped a bunch of people in righteous anger and if you want to hear more about that then you're going to have to come back next week, because that's not what tonight's teaching is about. Secondly, he was a Jewish man born in the middle east at a time when the average height was about 5'. So even if he was tall, he was probably only about 5'4" or 5'5". He probably had brown skin and curly hair. His eyes were probably brown. And even if his robe was white, there was absolutely no way it stayed that way after walking in the desert all that time. Also I'm not 100% certain the color purple had been invented yet. It probably had, but chances are that a pesant carpenter couldn't afford it.

So what's the point here?The point is that social Christianity and a true faith in Christ are vastly different concepts.

Today we're going to talk about two men named Saul of Tarsus and John the Baptist. These are two men with very different backgrounds, but I relate to them in certain ways. Let's start with Saul.

Saul was a Pharisee. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's basically the quintessential example of a person of the Jewish faith. They were the religious elite of their time. Their title meant they were closer to God than everyone else and they should be respected. Or so they thought. 

You see, Pharisees were the kind of people who walked down the street boasting and gloating about how holy they were. They were the type to say, "look at me and my bells and see how holy I am. See my clean clothes and my abundance of food and see how blessed I am, but you! Dirty beggar, broken person living in absolute poverty, I saw you steal that bread so you can eat! Stealing is a sin, therefore you deserve to die and go to hell!"

Messed up right? Well Saul was one of the worst ones. His job was to find and persecute the followers of Christ. He would go town by town and weed them out. Then he would take them to the high priests and testify against them so that they would be tortured and murdered. He was a really bad man. For all intents and purpose he was a murderer. Then something happened.

Have you guys ever heard of Damascus steel? Well it's a type of metal used to make knives and swords. The way it's made is by taking a piece of steel and folding it multiple times and beating it and beating it with a hammer until it fuses together. Damascus steel has to go through a lot of punishment before it's finished, but in the end it ends up being one of the strongest and sharpest types of steel. Well this type of steel was developed in Damascus which had a road that led to it where one day Saul had to travel through it.

On this road, something amazing happened. Saul lost his eyesight. Not just that, but God revealed himself to Saul and showed him all that he was doing wrong. In that moment, Saul changed. In fact he even changed his name to Paul and Paul became the man that wrote most of what we call the new testament. He helped write the bible. Many people still credit him for leading the spread of Christianity to the whole world. So if you ever think you're irredeemable, just remember that God redeemed a murderer and then used him to spread his word.

I relate to Paul because I too had a dark past. In high school I was addicted to pills. I may not have physically killed anyone, but in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus says that sin is a matter of the heart not just something physical. Meaning wishing someone dead is just as bad as killing them. When I was young, I harbored a lot of hate especially towards God and towards the people who followed him. My Damascus road was different from Paul's, but just as life changing. If you want to hear more about my walk, then you're going to have to come back next Thursday, because that's not today's topic.

So I relate to that part of Paul's life, but I don't think I ended up turning into Paul. I always thought and hoped that I could be more like John the Baptist. 

John was a rough man. He looked like a hippie, lived in the wilderness, and ate wild honey and locusts. While I was doing research on him I found a description saying that he was the kind of guy you wouldn't want to run into in a dark alley. His teachings were strong and unrelenting and when it came to defending the word, he would do it with all his strength. Ha taught repentance and turning away from sin. More importantly, he knew that even though he had a huge following, he was not above anyone. Instead he preached the the only one worth following was the messiah himself. 

One of my favorite things to do is to go on social media and find people using scripture to justify their hate and then write a mini teaching about how they're wrong and then lovingly correct what the scripture actually means. I do it because I believe that's what John would have done.

So in the end, what's the point of this? What's the point of my teaching tonight?

The point comes in the words of Paul himself

Galatians 3:28-29

What this means is that Christians come in all shapes, colors, genders, ethnicities and sizes. It means that it doesn't matter if you're LGBT+ or not. It means that it doesn't matter who you are or who you've been. Christ has called all of us, not because we fit the ideas of what a Christian should be like, but because of our differences. Because he made each of us unique. 

Grace is free. Mercy is free. Love is free. And it doesn't matter who we are. All we have to do is reach out and take it.

[hetaliaweekinreview]

Week of 9/9/2018 - 9/15/2018 USUK!

Total fics: 39

FFN: 8

AO3: 31

fanfiction.net :

Silence by Pyb World 

—El silencio es la forma más elocuente de mentir —leyó Arthur y resopló con indignación—. Qué estupidez más grande; que no quiera hablar sobre algo no quiere decir que esté mintiendo. Alfred sonrió y le quitó su cuaderno de apuntes: —El silencio guarda secretos. AU Humanos.

Rated: T - Spanish - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 7 - Words: 69,635 - [England/Britain, America] N. Italy, Germany

Cardverse: If you're gone by susarian 

"If you are gone, what am I supposed to do?" Cardverse Hetalia contains a slight bit of yaoi and violence. Update every two days.

Rated: T - English - Fantasy/Friendship - Chapters: 18 - Words: 24,793 - [England/Britain, America] Japan, China

dulu dan sekarang by Cinerraria

Alfred menyukai benda yang baru, sementara Arthur memuja masa lalu. [drabble]

Rated: K+ - Indonesian - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,071 - [England/Britain, America] - Complete

Enemigo mío by Steel Mermaid

Estados Unidos ha recibido el informe del Escuadrón 731 por parte de Japón, comenzando un camino siniestro contra sí mismo y envenenándose desde adentro para alimentar su enfermedad junto con un proyecto siniestro que lo llevará al límite. One-shot. Leve UKUS. Ambientado en el proyecto MK Ultra. Guerra Fría.

Rated: T - Spanish - Drama/Horror - Chapters: 1 - Words: 1,701 - [America, England/Britain] - Complete

补偿恋爱 by lena891125clover

众所皆知，仲夏夜之梦是场喜剧。 一个仲夏的夜晚，受妖精捉弄而陷入迷恋的人们，和最后所有人都得偿所愿的结局。 而同样人尽皆知的，伊卡洛斯是场悲剧。 一个阳光普照的日子，受囚多年重见阳光的少年，以及他无人不晓的坠落。 亚瑟对阿尔弗雷德的单恋便是如此，生于莎翁的仲夏，却以希腊悲剧作结。 一直到那个将世界翻转的夜晚，他才发觉，即使夏日已逝，故事却还未到尾声。 一个做错事的人与假装错误未曾发生的人，在下一个夏日里，两人的心思将去往何方。

Rated: M - Chinese - Romance - Chapters: 8 - Words: 22,591 -  [America, England/Britain]

What a Shame is Love! by Igirisuisaqueen

When a group of rebels, including the spunky Alfred, attempt to steal from Crown Prince Arthur, what will happen? Add in the fact that Alfred is totally crushing on Arthur and you have the drama of the century. (First fic on this website.) Rated T for safety. There's a little bit of violence. USUK.

Rated: T - English - Romance/Drama - Chapters: 3 - Words: 2,051 - [England/Britain, America]

The return of the Queen by gxgirl-93 

For 15 years the Kingdom of Spades has been missing their Queen. The King has never given up hope that his love will one day return to him and their Kingdom. But what happens when he does return with no memory of being a Queen, but instead a country. USUK, one sided FRUK

Rated: T - English - Romance/Fantasy - Chapters: 9 - Words: 25,435 - [America, England/Britain] France

Masquerade by moonlighten 

The Kirklands have been supervillains for generations. They're rich, powerful, and no superhero has ever been able to defeat them. Until now. Maybe. If he ever manages to control his powers properly and learn a little subtlety, then the newest superhero on the scene might have a fighting chance, at least. (Superhero AU; America/England, Scotland/France, Wales/Romano.)

Rated: T - English - Crime/Mystery - Chapters: 9 - Words: 22,670 - [America, England/Britain] [Scotland, France]

archiveofourown.org :

Cardverse: If you're gone by Susarian

"If you are gone, what am I supposed to do?" Cardverse Hetalia contains a slight bit of yaoi and violence. Update every two days. This is set in an alternate universe.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: America/England (Hetalia), China & Japan (Hetalia), China/South Korea (Hetalia), North Korea/South Korea (Hetalia), Japan/South Korea (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Japan (Hetalia), South Korea (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Macau (Hetalia), North Korea (Hetalia), Taiwan (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), Liechtenstein (Hetalia), Belarus (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Cardverse, Major Illness, Alternate Universe

Language: English

成人限定 by Violaoi

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia:Axis Power

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Language: 中文

Recording by antagochigo

In which Arthur finds out about his roommates part time job...

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Boarding School, USUK - Freeform, AmericaxEngland - Freeform

Language: English

Spades by motoroilfreeway

The Kingdom of Spades is in current need of a queen. For Alfred Jones though, its current reigning King, he thinks he can rule the kingdom just fine on his own with a Jack who doesn’t stop with pushing him into marriage interviews, hoping to change his King’s mind. That is, until a man comes along, brought ashore by the waves. We’ll see how this goes from there.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Portugal (Hetalia)

Additional Tags:, Cardverse

Language: English

dulu dan sekarang by Cineraria

Alfred menyukai benda yang baru, sementara Arthur memuja masa lalu. [drabble]

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: Gen

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationship: America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: semi canon, platonic, Drabble

Language: Bahasa Indonesia

Tiene Sith by ChemiToo

Betrayed and exiled, one of the Fae finds himself in the care of a rather peculiar human and his brother. Rating subject to change, maybe possibly.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: F/M, M/M

Fandoms: Hetalia: Axis Powers, Celtic Mythology

Relationships: America/England (Hetalia), Past France/england

Characters: America (Hetalia: Axis Powers), England (Hetalia: Axis Powers), Canada (Hetalia: Axis Powers), France (Hetalia: Axis Powers)

Additional Tags: Celtic Mythology & Folklore

We're Only Liars (But We're The Best) by ForLoveOfLiberTea

No Matter What by Miscellaneous_Ink

“Every morning, someone walked up and down Matthias’ street playing the violin, as though trying to wake the quiet neighborhood up with song. It was a beautiful song that belonged to an even more beautiful man.” – Matthias Køhler has only ever wanted two things: to be loved, and to be able to love himself. Perhaps, the mystery man would be able to help him with that.

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Hong Kong/Iceland (Hetalia), China/Russia (Hetalia), Austria/Prussia (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: Denmark (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Iceland (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), Sweden (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags:, Punk!Norway, trans!Denmark, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Transphobia, I AM NOT A TRANSPHOBE I AM FTM MYSELF, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Nor is kickass at the violin, Den plays piano like a boss, Gender Dysphoria, Body Dysphoria, Eventual Smut, Eventual Romance, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Happy Ending, Prostitution, Tattoos, Piercings, sub!Denmark, dom!Norway, because I like NorDen more >:) ehehehehe, DenNor, NorDen, Denmark has freckles, Fin is supportive, So is Sve, Awesome Trio (Hetalia), Nordics, Nordic 5 - Freeform, Unrequited Love, True Love, Cute, Iceland is being Iceland, Ice and Nor are prostitutes, But they aren’t by the end,:D, Denmark is a smol child

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 4 of the No Matter What series

Hearts can heal by extrastellar

João and Cheng get married, at long last. And Antonio? Antonio tells everyone that Tim couldn’t make it to the wedding, not mentioning their bad fight and that Tim had been sleeping at his sister’s place for two weeks already

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Netherlands/Spain (Hetalia), Macau/Portugal (Hetalia), Minor or Background Relationship(s), Austria/Prussia (Hetalia), France/Scotland (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia)

Characters: Spain (Hetalia), Netherlands (Hetalia), Belgium (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Macau (Hetalia), Portugal (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), America (Hetalia), France (Hetalia)

Additional Tags:, Alternate Universe - Human, Hetalia Countries Using Human Names, Fights, How Do I Tag, Breaking Up & Making Up

Language:English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 3 of the Hetalia Rare Pairs series

Demonic Romeo by Pastaaddict

A demon and an angel meet in battle and a forbidden love blossoms but how long before the wrong people find out and both are put in danger?

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Archive Warning: Major Character Death

Category: M/M

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relation ships: America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), South Italy/Spain (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Finland/Sweden (Hetalia), Germany/North Italy (Hetalia), implied France (Hetalia)/Jeanne d'Arc | Joan of Arc

Characters:America (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), Germany (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Lithuania (Hetalia), Latvia (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), Iceland (Hetalia)

Additional Tags: Devil and Angel brothers, Starcrossed Lovers, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, Character Death, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net under same name, more tags may be added

Language: English

Chasing the Moon by Anubis_2701

The efforts made by Matthias and his crew to rescue their friends have resulted in them being imprisoned. Trapped and unable to negotiate, some among them may have to strike hard bargains with their rebel captors in order to win their own freedom.

Lukas and Emilia have fought tooth and nail to get to the resistance, and fought even more to restore order within its ranks. But with their vital secret hanging in the hands of a group of criminals, their future looks more uncertain than ever.

Lovino and Feliciano have struggled to keep their identities concealed for years. With the secret of their birth out between the two, their bond is stronger than ever. But with the arrival of a talented mercenary on Rela seeking the great bounty on their heads, the two may be forced to abandon their place of sanctuary to evade capture.

As empires begin to fall and death spreads like a plague, only the brave bother to keep going.

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Categories: F/F, F/M, M/M, Other

Fandom: Hetalia: Axis Powers

Relationships: Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), America/England (Hetalia), Canada/Prussia (Hetalia), Lithuania/Poland (Hetalia), Bulgaria/Romania (Hetalia)

Characters: Norway (Hetalia), Denmark (Hetalia), China (Hetalia), England (Hetalia), France (Hetalia), South Italy (Hetalia), North Italy (Hetalia), Canada (Hetalia), Prussia (Hetalia), Female Lithuania (Hetalia), Poland (Hetalia), Svalbard (Hetalia), Female Iceland (Hetalia), Switzerland (Hetalia), Kazakhstan (Hetalia), Hong Kong (Hetalia), Taiwan (Hetalia), Hungary (Hetalia), Spain (Hetalia), Finland (Hetalia), Romania (Hetalia), Bulgaria (Hetalia), Austria (Hetalia), Sweden (Hetalia), Ancients (Hetalia), Egypt (Hetalia), Seborga (Hetalia), Female Germany (Hetalia), Turkey (Hetalia), Peru (Hetalia), Belarus (Hetalia), Russia (Hetalia), Estonia (Hetalia), Original Characters, Background & Cameo Characters

Additional Tags: Space Opera, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Space Pirates, Bounty Hunters, Rebels, Sequel, LGBTQ+ characters, Explicit Language, Telekinesis, Elemental Magic, Mind Manipulation, Healing, Rape/Non-con Elements, Aged-Up Character(s), De-Aged Character(s), Guerrilla Warfare, Rescue Missions, Slavery, Sexual Slavery, Assassins & Hitmen, POV Multiple, Snow, Past Child Abuse, Terminal Illnesses, Secret Identity, Military Training, Strong Female Characters, Original Universe, Lore - Freeform, Buckle up motherfuckers because this has the s l o w e s t o f b u r n s, who ever thought i would write enough of this shit for a sequel, Not me that's for sure

Language: English

Series: ← Previous Work Part 2 of the Hunting the Stars series

[wannawrite]

Steal My Girl

who?: Wanna One’s Kang Daniel, Ong Seongwoo genre: 🌺 type: bullet point blog navigator. • enemies to lovers AU • but you never get to love Daniel because ‘Seongwoo is one slick bih’ - Raelynn dedicated to my baby, Rae @lalisalsa , thank you for requesting this! this was an...interesting request to work on.💖 also, this is kind of crack just saying...and my Directioner ass set a 1D inspired title I’m sobbing. Also dedicated to Dain, @pinksausageduo , I binge read all of her enemies to lovers! to get inspired and understand this concept better, so thank you for fuelling me with your quality content. ILY💕

- Admin L

disclaimer: pictures do not belong to me and all credit goes to their original owners

• ‘MY NEW OTP!’ imessedupsorry

• ‘2 months and they’ll be together.’ • ‘I’ll say 5 months.’ • in reality, you had to drag a begrudging Daniel into the library while the hallways filled themselves with whispers • ‘uhh Daniel...where’s all your books and notes?’ • why did you even ask......of course, he’s never going to arrive to class with materials to work • his cheeky grin falls when you fish out your own history notebook and textbook, laying out all your writing materials including your art markers • ‘I just don’t understand,’ he huffs, crossing his arms. ‘I’m doing fine on my own. I don’t need to be tutored, I can do this.’ • you got a tip-off: if you offer Daniel jellies, he will oblige • ‘Do you want to attend today’s class?’ • ‘...no?’ • you smiled brightly, packing up your things. ‘Okay! See you tomorrow then, take care!’ • confused, he reached out and grabbed the sleeve of your uniform. ‘Seriously?’ • you nodded, not sarcastically before bidding him goodbye again and making your way off, scribbling down to bring jellies the next day • it shocked you when Daniel was the one to text you first about his tutoring classes, maybe it warmed your heart a little • so this continued on. You would meet him after school every Wednesday, Thursday and Monday. Occasionally, he would call you to meet at his place on weekends • sometimes he even texted you out of the blue and the conversations that carried on after that were certainly not about history • he was actually a sweet guy • you two greeted each other in school and sat together at times • on the day of finals, Daniel kissed your check and hugged you tight before entering the exam hall. ‘I’ll make sure you get that $15 a-and...I’ll make you proud.’ • BLUSH BLUSH BLUSHING •  your face was burning throughout the entire paper, it didn’t help that your seat was exactly opposite Daniel’s and you could view him so clearly • it was the smallest, most unnoticeable things that made your heart flutter. Like how he scrunched his nose when he came across a difficult question or when his lips pursed when he was concentrating hard • a whole man • you were pretty much on cloud nine when results were released because he ran out of the hall and right into your arms, thanking you repeatedly • unfortunately, all good things must come to an end • it was around Junior year? maybe, you can’t remember the details but you vividly recall the entire situation • there was some sort of dance coming up and you still had that stupid crush on Kang Daniel. Everyone hopes their crush would ask them to be their date • even wishing for that when it was time to cut your cake • I suppose...your wish came true? • two days before the dance and you prepared to show up alone when you found bouquet of red roses left on your desk • you had been banded into a different class for 2nd period science, explains why • on the small tag attached with gold yarn, ‘PROM?’ was scribbled in someone’s handwriting you would never forget • D a n i e l • INTERNALLY: MISSION ABORT MISSION ABORT HEART EXPLOSION IN 3...2.. • curious eyes peered at your gift as a hot blush filled your face, a dumb grin was pulled on your face the entire class • you stashed the bouquet under your desk and occasionally stroked the velvety petals • just after the bell had gone, Kang Daniel waltzed into the classroom accompanied by his best friend, Ong Seongwoo • his lips had been curled into a satisfied, almost cocky smirk, but when his gaze found yours and saw that the flowers were hidden under your table, a frown etched it’s way onto his face • meanwhile, you were there blushing, your hopes soaring high as he approached you. ‘Yes!’ you squeaked, standing up as soon as he reached your desk. ‘I’ll be your date to prom.’ • silence fell over the class before utter disbelief overcame Daniel. He ripped the flowers from your desk, horror overwhelming him. • he glared you in the eye, his heart turning into cold stone. ‘No, no, you won’t be.’ • turns out, the roses were for that popular girl in class who sat behind you and spent her science class jotting down how to break up with two people at the same time • you wouldn’t blame her, she was a bombshell in every aspect • ‘sarah, will you be my date to prom?’ Daniel asked suavely, now offering your bouquet to her and even getting down on one knee • your jaw fell to the floor and so did the rest of class’ as they finally comprehended the situation before them • sarah slowly stood up, examined Daniel’s gift and question before smiling sweetly and knocking the roses out of his grip. ‘Sorry, I don’t accept...used things. And..I already have a date.’ • her annoyingly sugary voice still rang through your head nowadays • Daniel was completely crestfallen, he tossed the roses into the corner of the classroom then stormed out • but not before exchanging a few words with you. • ‘T-this is all your fault,’ he spat, narrowing eyes unforgiving. • you knew right then and there that he was never worth your time, yet you couldn’t help but feel upset that you had lost a good friend • from then on, you ignored Daniel and never dared to go anywhere near him or his little bunch of clique members • at least Seongwoo wasn’t the world’s worst person • when Daniel tormented you, Seongwoo was there to comfort you • it wasn’t like y’all talked or texted but he was there to made sure you were all good before catching up with his clan • he even discouraged Daniel from poking fun at you • it wasn’t like you were too affected by Daniel’s annoying • but Seongwoo,,,gosh he made your heart beat faster and faster each time • now’s the time for the juicy stuff • for your final history project, your class was required to pair up with another class for group work • wow it must be Cupid or something because you ended up working in the same group as Seongwoo • however, when there’s an Ong Seongwoo, there’s a Kang Daniel • Wonderful • during class discussion, you paid no mind to Daniel, focusing your attention solely on the project • it was only during weekend discussion that Seongwoo and your classmate could not attend • and yours and Daniel’s share of the workload had suddenly been intertwined • ‘god no,’ Daniel had muttered under his breathe when your classmate suggested that the two of you meet up to discuss further about your half of the project • at that, you drop your pen, it lands with a silence piercing clatter on the table top • Everyone watches as you purse your lips and turn away from Daniel, maybe even shifting your chair a couple of inches further away • Daniel snickers and rolls his eyes but remains silent and gestures for your classmate to continue talking • after class, Seongwoo grabs your arm before you can make a mad dash for it • ‘don’t be like this,’ he says when it’s just the two of you left in the class. ‘It’s hurting you, I can tell but please don’t be hostile towards Niel, things will only get worse if you two fight.’ • You let out a frustrated sigh, glancing away • ‘hey,’ Seongwoo says softly, his right hand clasping your chin and turning your head to face him again. Your eyes meet and your breath jams in your throat. • that sounds violent oh no • ‘Look at me, okay? I’m doing this because I want to help. It isn’t healthy for both of you to be like this all the time. Calm down and...text me when you want to talk about it.’ • why can’t I just text you when I want to talk to YOU? • you manage a shaky breath, nodding. Deciding that just maybe, Seongwoo was right. He was a good friend after all, he wouldn’t do anything to harm either you or Daniel • you went home that day with a lot on your mind • and the next afternoon, you found yourself in the library, seated next to Kang Daniel, books and research papers lining the white table in front of you • originally, everyone had been present but your classmate, Semmi made an excuse to ‘buy lunch’ for everyone and Seongwoo had accompanied her to the mall • so far, all was civil. You even inquired about Daniel’s wellbeing and how his studies were fairing • laughing, he says, ‘Not the best. I suppose I could use a tutor again.’ • a tutor like me? • he stares at you long and hard for a couple of prolonged seconds. ‘Hey, maybe we can have study sessions again, like the old times. I’m...sorry for everything I put you through and we should try to get along for the sake of our studies.’ • heart: thUD THUD THUD ??? • boi what game you playing • ‘and of course, we need to take Semmi and Ong into consideration, our grade shouldn’t affect theirs.’ • was kang daniel actually apologising and offering to make up with you? How strange. Seongwoo must have really knocked some sense into him • jokingly, you agreed. There was no way he could be serious and this was just to make a joke out of you, you knew his tactics all to well by now • one thing you didn’t know was that Daniel was a huge fan of hugging you in the hallways or whenever he saw you • ....which led to everyone thinking that you two were dating • no • he was a lot sweeter to you and showed up to school with speckless decorum • Daniel also assisted you in your studies, offering his afternoons as study time with you • why was your heart racing so madly when you were with him? • then again, there was Seongwoo • Ong Seongwoo had appeared to have taken your heart with him too • he was always nice to you, and his affections never faded once. Though he never made his intentions clear • but uh I don’t think you can exactly classify someone as a friend after they walk you home, by you drinks all the time, kiss you on the cheek/forehead and offer to carry your school supplies • you laughed a lot more when you were with Seongwoo than when you hung out with Daniel • clearly, you had decisions to make • That time came sooner rather than later when Seongwoo popped the question, ‘Why aren’t we going out yet?’ • you were so STUNNED YOU DROPPED YOUR FORK - JIHOON’S EYES NEARLY POPPED OUT OF HIS SOCKETS • AND IT SLID RIGHT ACROSS TWO TABLES TO WHERE DANIEL AND MINHYUN WERE WALKING, CARRYING THEIR TRAYS TO YOUR TABLE • he paused • ‘I loaf you a lot y/n,’ he pointed to the baguette on your tray, ‘but you’re always with Daniel...and I don’t want to interfere and all...but I need to give this a try before I pasta way.’ • puns yes puns • like I said, Seongwoo made you laugh more, so maybe that was something to take into consideration • luckily, Daniel was still out of earshot when Seongwoo had boldly confessed his love • lunch carried on as if nothing had happened • you tried your best to brush off that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach • ‘give us a minute,’ Daniel instructed his friends, ushering them to go ahead. ‘It’ll only be a second.’ • he wanted to talk to you...alone • worry crossed Seongwoo’s face but regardless of his personal interests, he slipped away • Daniel took your hands in his, shocking you and your heart for the second time in a span of 20 minutes • ‘y/n, be my date to prom.’ • prom.... • dance with Daniel • or sip ciders with Seongwoo • you had to choose NOW • yet in your heart, you already knew the answer • one boy walked home with a broken yet delighted heart, glad that at least the person he adored was waltzing in the arms of his best friend • happy that at least, he still maintained a meaningful friendship you. He knew the truth and that was the most important part • the other suitor took an Uber home with you, heart racing and fighting down a red blush every time his gaze locked with yours • he was overjoyed, knowing that his efforts in pursuing you had paid off and finally, the two of you would make better memories as a couple • he was glad you accepted his admiration • Daniel chuckled when he saw Seongwoo’s new IG story, rejection never felt better when he had the knowledge that his best friend was over the moon, that his other friend was happy with the decision they made • - I’ll have a date this prom - • wow what is this whole thing even

[surveysonfleek]

907.

Is popularity a social disease? if it matters that much to you, then yes, it’s a social disease. Would you want to be a hippie? not really. i respect the lifestyle and culture, i’m just not into it. In college, were you ever given exams with extremely broad and deep questions such as, ‘Why?’ or 'What is truth?’ it wasn’t a ‘what is the truth?’ type situation, it was more about what our opinion on the topic was. Have you knowingly destroyed an endangered plant or animal? nope. Did your parents bronze your first pair of baby shoes? i don’t think so... i’d know if it still existed if they did.

Do you check for a train when crossing tracks in your car even though the arms aren’t down? there aren’t many train crossings in my city tbh. i’ve never actually crossed one after all these years of driving. Is there gossip going around about you right now? i don’t think so. i live a pretty drama free life these days. How many comic strips do you read daily: none. If you were hiding from a burglar, would you hide in the closet or under the bed? under the bed i think. What do you most commonly use milk for: drinking or cooking? cooking. Who should provide the condoms in a relationship: the man or the woman? both should be responsible but the man should definitely always have some. imagine being the woman and always having to provide that? Are you ever afraid that people hate you and they’re just acting like they don’t? haha it’s definitely happened before. When you’re crossing the street with other people, do you ever feel a need to get to the other side first? nope. i just walk in the clearest path possible. Should people be able to go to college without a high school diploma if they score high enough on entrance tests? i mean, i think so. everyone has a right to an education. i don’t think entrance tests would be that easy either. Would you be embarrassed if people could hear you talking to your pets? haha no. If elephants were bred to a smaller size and sold as house pets, would you want one? it’d be a cool idea but probably not. Do you refer to people as 'dude’? no. Do you remember the last time you wrote a 'snail mail’ letter? haha nope. i’m assuming it would’ve been a greeting card though. Do you think beards/mustaches make men look older than they actually are? not particularly. Are you usually the one to initiate sex with your significant other? my boyfriend and i are pretty equal in this situation. When you’re having trouble burping when you feel like you need to, does patting yourself on the chest seem to help? haha no. i just do it. Do you have your wallet with you right now? yes. If it ever came down to a final battle between good and evil and you knew that evil was going to win, who would you fight for? i’d stay away as far from this battle as possible. i hate getting involved in conflict. Do you feel guilty when you borrow money from your parents? haha yes. Do you constantly have times where you have no money and then earn a lot of money and you don’t know what to do with it? no. my money always goes to bills etc. Do you always see yourself as the protagonist in the story of your life? of course. it’s my life. Can you drive by a car accident without staring? yes. i’ll have a quick glance but this shit causes soooo much traffic, even on the lanes going the opposite way. it drives me nuts. Do you find it a challenge to congratulate your opponent who just beat you in a game or competition? haha yes. Do you think that no matter how cold or heartless someone seems there is always at least one thing in the world that they love? yes, definitely. im sure 99.9% of people have a soft spot for something/someone. Who is worse: Someone who doesn’t repay a loan or someone that steals your CDs? someone who doesn’t repay a loan because i don’t own any cds haha. Why do you think so many homosexual men still go without condoms: because they don’t know of the dangers, or because they don’t care? both tbh. When you think about morality, do you think more in terms of good/bad people, or good/bad actions? actions. Which of these female comedians is funnier: Ellen Degeneres or Margaret Cho? i haven’t seen much of magaret cho’s stuff so i’ll just say ellen. Are you scared of dying alone? yes. dying in general. Are you most comfortable being treated by a doctor of the same sex as you? of course. Do you take daily walks? nope. i mean i walk everyday but i not like for exercise. Are there some slang terms you refuse to use? i hate the slang ‘litty’ lol. so cringy. Do you have a favorite pen that you use all the time? haha no. i have ones that i prefer writing with but i don’t have one fave. Have you ever changed an adult’s diaper? no. Do you think it’s dangerous or a good thing when two very depressed people start to date each other? dangerous. it’ll either go one of two ways. down a spiral of negativity if they’re feeding off each other’s problems or positive if they find true happiness within each other.

Do you know a game that is very stupid, yet very addicting? most iphone games haha. i’m totally guilty on this. Do you plan on having your children Christened/Baptised? probably.  Would regularly seeing videos of you interacting with people significantly improve your overall human effectiveness? that’d be cool. i think it’d work lol. Have you ever misspelled 'misspell’? i haven’t ever had to use it much. Have you ever stayed up for more than 24 hours to study for an exam? nope. Have you ever been in the back of a moving truck? yes haha. When you were young, did you know some pop stars were gay? probably. Do you have control over how much peace there is in your mind? sure. If you got a backstage pass at a concert, would you feel better than everyone else? um, yes duh.  Is your microwave any other color besides white? it’s black. Would you prefer a bagel or an entire breakfast in the morning? i’d prefer the bagel as long as there’s cream cheese. Do you think that couples that elope have a better chance of staying together? every couple is different. i’m not one to make a call on this. Do you know of a frozen dinner that tastes good? ugh, not at all. i hate them. Will public restrooms no longer be separated by gender in the near future? probably. If you do not eat red meat but eat fish are you a vegetarian? isn’t that a pescatarian? When you discard a piece of paper, which of the following are you more likely to do: rip it apart in pieces or crumple it? i’ve done both. if it’s a confidential document i’ll rip it up. Do you wear your pants and shorts above or below your waist line? above usually. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a sex change operation? yes. i’m assuming it’d be a mentally and physically draining experience. as long as they’re happy though. Do you call margarine 'butter,’ even though you know the difference? haha nope, i’ll call it margarine. Do you bathe less when you are depressed? yes. Should the ASPCA and RSPCA ban the practice of kidney transplants in cats, since cats can’t give consent for the surgery? i have no knowledge on this. Would you ever drink from a bowl or cup made out of human bones? probably not. just a creepy feeling. Does your car normally smell good? i guess so. i’m obsessed with air fresheners. Do you think 9/11 will be the worst thing you will see in your life? i mean it’s up there as one of the most memorable news stories of my childhood. but since i wasn’t there in person, i’m sure there could be worse things i experience personally throughout my life. Do you tend to do more research for school or papers at the library or on the internet? internet. Do you have an outfit you wear that makes you feel like a star? haha no. i’m yet to find the perfect outfit. You are working at McDonald’s frying meat. Your manager is being a jerk and you are ticked. A customer comes in and orders a 20-piece box of nuggets. Out of anger towards your manager, would you pack 20 or more, or 19 or less in that box? 20 or more. the customer didn’t do anything, why should they suffer? Once you’ve made up your mind about the kind of person someone is, can anything they say or do change it? yeah, it’s possible. Is there a single person whose whole existence you might be interested in studying? not seriously. a quick google search will do lol. Do you think that cuddling with a member of the opposite sex, with no intention of sexual relations, is cheating? i think it’s odd. why would you be cuddling someone that wasn’t your significant other in the first place?  Which would you be willing to give up the internet for: world peace or immortality? world peace. i cbf being immortal if it means i can never go on the internet anymore. Are you a redneck? no. Do you think by 2050 there will be flying cars? i wouldn’t be surprised. Should politicians be allowed to have a private life? sure. Do you avoid going over to other people’s houses because it makes you feel uncomfortable or out of place? omg yes. i don’t mind it but i always feel so awkward. i’m just so comfortable in my own home, i’d prefer my friends coming over instead. If someone you don’t know too well puts you in the buddy list of his or her profile, would you be suspicious, or would it be OK that he or she did that? depends who it is. Do you have a trash can in every room of your home? most rooms. Who said “I love you” first: you, or your partner? me lol. Do you ever lay down and watch a movie, only to fall asleep in the very beginning and wake up when the movie is over? all the damn time. Do you say 'thank you’ before leaving a store, even though you may not have purchased anything? if someone’s helped me out, then yes definitely. Would you approve if your significant other wanted to have a nude painting done? sure. lol. If there were nine guilty people and one innocent, and they all had to be together, would you put them all in jail or set them all free? depends on the crime. Is your pet also your best friend? of course :) When the toilet backs up, do you call someone to fix it or do you do it yourself? i try to fix it myself. then i pass it on to my parents and then plumber if need be. Have you ever recited a love poem to your significant other? nope. Would you rather be 'all head and no heart’ or 'all heart and no head’? i’d rather be all heart and no head even though i’m probably the opposite. Are your teeth discolored? slightly. When you were a child, did you make or buy your Halloween costumes? mostly make thanks to my mum. Have you ever seen a movie and liked it but upon further viewing come to like it a lot less? nope. If your father was a minister, would you want him to preside over your wedding ceremony? nope. i’d want him to be my father on my special day, not as a minister. Would you prefer to watch porn or a really good comedy? comedy. How long did your longest phone conversation ever last? over 24 hours but technically it was on skype. Do you put your initials on everything you own? no. Do you like or dislike people based on who else likes or dislikes them? no. even with a bad rep, i’d figure them out on my own. Do you have a friend who you hang out with only when there is nothing else to do? haha no, that’s mean. Which is harder: calculus or trigonometry? i hate them both. Do you often find yourself correcting your parents? when it comes to technology...always. If you could stop aging at a certain age, do you know what that age would be? 25ish. Do you more often eat off of real plates or paper plates? real plates. Have you ever had tape over your mouth? i tried it out myself as a kid. haha. If you encountered someone you totally didn’t know and he or she seemed to tell you the solutions to your uniquely specific problems without having been told what they were, would you be more thankful or freaked out? i’d freak out. i’m skeptical about everything. Would you rather eat a raw egg or a scoop of raw hamburger? omg neither. Do shy kids tend to grow up to be freaks? whaaat? not at all. When you put on a shirt, do you button up or down? i button down. Do you scent your letters when you write to a special someone? haha yes, i did it years ago. Is punk influenced more by music or attitude? music. actually idk. Did you ever start a thread that got at least 40 posts? yes. Can you recall the ending of the last story you read? nope. Have you ever had your head stuck in an unusual place? no. Do you have any weird or funny local slang? haha yes. chat, ceebs etc. When you come online, is there always one person you look for? back in the msn days, yes. not anymore. Do lava lamps make you sick looking at them? i never had one, so no. i find them fascinating still. Will Hollywood ever run out of ideas for movies? they’ve already run out. i feel like everything is a remake of something these days. Does P. Diddy telling everyone that he is the new Frank Sinatra make you want to roll your eyes? haha he could not be serious. Do you think the state of the global environment will be better or worse in 50 years? wors. Do you eat dinner in the dining room or in the living room? both. Which Mike Judge cartoon do you prefer: Beavis and Butthead or King of the Hill? neither. never watched them. Have you ever fallen off your chair in public? no. When sleeping, do you face the doorway or have your back to it? face it. Do you find poetry that expresses pain and suffering to be more intriguing than other types? i hate poetry. Do you only pretend looks don’t matter because you’re ugly yourself? haha i don’t pretend. looks matter to an extent. Do you find limericks to be funny and clever or annoying? funny when i was a kid. Do you think you’d be capable of representing yourself in court rather than hiring an attorney to do it for you? no. When you flirt with someone, is it obvious or more subtle? awkward if anything. Which character do you think weighs more: Jabba the Hutt or Fat Bastard? idk lol. Do you think couples break up mainly because of differences they can’t resolve or because they have found someone new? it’s possible to simply fall out of love without having someone else in the picture. Do you reread things that are written well? yes. What hurts more: getting poked in the eye or biting your tongue? poked in the eye. Do you prefer merry-go-rounds or ferris wheels? ferris wheels. better views. Which do you prefer: original or flavored Tootsie Rolls? original. If you had three children, would you rather have two boys and a girl, or two girls and a boy? two girls and a boy. Is having a threesome basically approved cheating? if it’s approved, it’s not cheating. Is it a turn off to you if the woman has a deep, manly voice or if the man has a high, pre-pubescent voice? no. Have you copied (or “ripped”) your entire CD collection onto your computer? yep lol. Do you have buns of steel? i wish! Did you use floaties on your arms when you were learning to swim? yep. Did your first ever snog involve French kissing? no. there was a lot of pecking involved first. Do you know a person who is physically unattractive and yet a flirt? haha yes. Are there a lot of programs on your computer that you don’t know how to use? yep. like half of the adobe cs. Do you live in an uncomfortable environment, such as where you feel you cannot be yourself? nope. If you had discovered a body on the side of the road would you see if it was still alive? i’d be scared shitless but i would and call emergency. Does punishing everyone for the actions of the few get us closer to utopia? hell no. Can you finish an entire 2-liter bottle of soda by yourself in a single sitting? no way. i’d feel like shit. Have your parents ever forbidden you to play a certain type of music in their house? nope. Since you reached dating age, have you been single for more than three years? nope haha. i’ve been taken for most of my dating life. When buying shampoo or soap, do you choose one because of what they put in it, or because you like the smell? i buy based on what they’re supposed to do to my hair. Have you ever had writer’s block? never really had to write since uni, so no.

[naruhinalife555]

Wow I can’t believe how much you hate Hinata.

Lets see Hinata was basically emotionally abused and her father treated her like dirty and had no interest in Hinata at all, she also spent years having him crush her confidence. Do you really think he would have listened if Hinata confronted him about it, in fact it would be miracle if her father even takes a few seconds to talk to Hinata.

Get your facts right the clan already changed.

During the war it showed the clan has changed you literally saying it hasn’t when has just to find an excuse to use Neji’s death to make Hinata look bad when the clan changed even before his death. Even in Boruto the clan showed it is not the same anymore when Hiashi thanks Naruto. Even Hinata commented on how much her father changed in the novels.

So you want Hinata to force her sister out of the clan position somthing she doesn’t even need or really want. If Hinata took over as heir by taking it away from Hanabi who was already made heir you would complain about her for stealing it away or somthing. You talk about how she apparently didn’t change the clan, yet want Hinata to fight her own sister over the clan head position and have conflict between family members just like it was before the clan changed.

All you complaints are incorrect and use faulty facts to hate on Hinata.I am just  going to say it is not wrong for a female characters to be in love, only Sakura and Hinata have love interest that they are invested from start to finish plus there is more to them to them just being there to love other characters.Most female characters while they do get a love interest most did get focus on tat much/Second this is not a gender only problem all side characters both male and female aren’t given relevance to the plot. It’s not about gender it’s about the plot. keep in mind that every other character besides Naruto and Sasuke can be consider a side character in some way, minus some of the villains who get demoted and promoted at a drop of a hat. Plus this is a shounen manga the whole definition is a manga targeted towards young boys. Now I agree that regardless of gender everyone is free to like what they like,  but before you make complaints please keep in mind the original target audience and the genres.Another thing to consider is that Naruto came out in 1999 it might not look much, but these passed 20 odd years society has changed and the females in the action roles are more accepted in this day and age. However this happened after Naruto got started you can’t expect Kishimoto to have to change his writing cause of it. While the females could have been used more this goes for every side character. It’s not exactly bad writing focusing on character who are meant to be the focus of the story. Now some things can be consider bad writing like the Hyuga clan branch and main branch conflict or them just also being related to the source of all chakra, but never addressing the problem. Sakura is just bad writing all together since she was forced into the plot to keep team 7 dynamics. Finally NaruHina romance, but again this is an action manga not romance and when you look at it like that we got more then we should have.Literally the manga never totally focused on a female character, but keep in mind this manga was also never supposed to have a heroine. While some of the characters could have been improved upon and given more parts in the plot others can’t cause lets remember the anime is called Naruto so everything plot related revolves around him you can’t get angry at that when it is clear for everyone to see.Like I understand you I really do and would love to have had the females giving proper chance to shine without forcing it. But I can not agree about making it  sexiest thing when one the manga was never about girls nor targeted at them and two that only two male characters other then villeins can be consider MC. Actually we know for a fact that she struggled with them, but Sakura was smart. The only reason they can state Sakura even got them remotely right was the fact Ino chose to copy off of her, but considering what she thought after first seeing the questions is was highly possible she got a lot of them wrong and to Ino they would still look right.So was there any prove to Sakura having answered them correctly cause the test came down to the last question and in tests it is not usual to not be able to complete all the questions before time runs out. Sakura fans can’t say with 100% certain that Sakura answered the questions right either. Not only that, but Hinata would have had a noble educational upbringing which most likely would have covered topics way above her current age as where Sakura’s lessons would have been the same level that all other genin were taught. So really who was more likely to get them right the girl who most likely seen questions of that level before or the one who could only wing it based on what she learned at a lower level.Also with Naruto there Hinata’s usual nervous and self confidence issues were at the minimal and like any school kid would agree that being nervous can make taking tests harder, but having friend close always helps calm you down. Hinata was at 100% in that test Sakura wasn’t cause she almost gave into pressure.Finally though Hinata had a means to cheat if she wanted to, heck she could have answered all the questions and then use Byakugan to check to make sure they were right before she offered them to Naruto. Keeping in mind that the chunin most likely are well aware of the Byakugan and that even if they spotted her she would have 4 more chances to help Naruto once she confirmed the answers were correct. Hinata’s whole attempt to help Naruto could have been calculated down to up to  the very last chance she had to cheat with back up plans ready for every situation. It wouldn’t surprise me if she tried to swap her paper with Naruto’s since she can easily answer them all again. 

Hinata's character reminds me of all those rich and proper upper class girls in my class in college who would keep shut in a class meant for discussions, and the moment you talked loudly and passionately about something you cared about, that rubbed someone the wrong way even slightly, they would intervene trying to pacify shit high handedly. Like woman, what are you even trying to de-escalate, are you even aware what the discussion is about here? Yeah we talking ethical implications of evil in a capitalist world or distribution of wealth or some such thing. So talk.

And when they did, all they would be able to do was stutter. Maybe you should have come prepared. No, nothing to contribute? Well, if you don't get shit, why so righteously stop me? Just because it made YOU uncomfortable?

Also, don't need to hear your embarrassingly platitudinal opinion on child soldiers in Somalia when you strut around in super expensive branded clothes made by kids in third world countries. You whining about hungry children when you openly enjoy everything privilege can offer you on a daily basis just seems a little off.

Hinata crying over Naruto's circumstances given that she KNOWS her own family practically owns slaves which she directly benefits from. Taunting Neji at the Chuunin exams even when he is desperately trying for her to back off so he doesn't end up hurting her, when she knows exactly why Neji feels this bitter. Where is the sympathy? Chuckle. Couldn't do shit for Naruto, couldn't do shit for Neji, couldn't even care for her own team mates. Had all the means but no spine. Yeah, some Shinobi.

Being a feminist also means rejecting female characterisations designed specifically from the perspective of misogynist men, Hinata is such a character and by no means am I going to excuse her behaviour just because I support feminist ideologies. Being a feminist doesn't mean excusing all female behaviour which is most definitely scummy. Being a feminist also means demanding better representation of women in media, those people who defend Hinata from accusations for being superficial, cowardly, a hentai bait and boy crazy, think twice. I know you don't get the intricacies of feminism but really, simply know that when you support female characters like Sakura and Hinata in world media and call yourself feminist for it, you are actually being the opposite. You are supporting the views of a misogynist man, not feminism. It's a shame that I even have to point the obvious out, but it goes to show what a lot of people in Naruto fandom understand by feminism. Boy this fandom is seriously besides the point.

Being reserved and shy does not equate to or justify being spineless. What a slap in the face for all the introverts out there.