#New in Angular 17

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Here in this blog we are sharing in-depth research, we'll untie the amazing updates in Angular 17. Which will be focusing on what's new and how this enhancement can reshape the landscape of AngularJS web application development.

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Collarbones : Jasper Whitlock Hale I

Chapter One

"I can see your collarbones and baby I'm scared, Never thought I'd be so unprepared"

Summary: Camila Johnson was only 16 when she was diagnosed with leukemia. By the time she had turned 17, the doctors had tried everything to save her. Her family is close to giving up hope when they hear of a doctor who may be able to help her. The only problem is, he lives on the opposite side of the country. The small family soon decides to move to the small town in Washington, in efforts to prolong her life. In doing so, her life changes forever.

Warnings: Eventual smut (18+ only), mentions of death, depression, descriptions of disease and weight loss, general angst, slow burn

Words: 5.1k

A/N: Please lmk if you'd like to be added to the tag list, thx x

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——————

January 23rd, 2005

The cab of the minivan jostled as it drove over the speed bump, entering the small parking lot of Forks High School. Camila, of course, didn’t have her own car, and even if she did, she doubted that her mother would allow her drive herself to school. Simple things like this, that she had not so long ago enjoyed so much, were no longer possible for her frail body. So there she sat, being driven to school by her mother. As if being a new student in the middle of the year didn’t already attract enough attention as it was. Either way, she knew it wasn’t worth the argument to try and convince her mother to let her ride the bus to school.

The car slowed to a stop as it arrived at the front of the building. Camila turned to her mother, giving her a peck on the cheek as a goodbye. “Be careful today, Sweetie. Remember, we’re just a call away if you need us. Okay?” She said, eyebrows furrowed in worry. 

Camila gave her mother a reassuring smile. “Promise.” She said, slipping out of the van and shutting the door swiftly, before her mother changed her mind and made her stay home. She pulled the hood of her jacked over her head, trying to avoid the rain that was beginning to sprinkle down from the sky as she wrapped it tightly around her torso. She stared at her worn out doc martins as they thudded softly on the tiled floors of the small high school, trying to avoid the constant eye contact from students around her. Going from such a large high school in such a large city to this was going to be a big adjustment, but she was happy to at least have the opportunity to socialize. 

Her eyes searched the halls as she attempted to find the front office, needing to pick up her schedule. Finally she found her destination. As her sore muscles struggled to open the heavy door, a large pale hand came into view, as the weight of the door dissipated. She looked up to find a broad face with an angular jawline. His eyes shone bright amber, his whole face unnaturally perfect as he towered over her. “Thanks.” She muttered softly, walking over the woman at the front desk. 

She looked up from her paperwork, giving a polite smile. “Camila Johnson?” She asked expectantly. Camila nodded, figuring that they must not get new students very often if she already knew her name just by looking at her face. It made her a bit nervous as well, knowing that she would definitely stick out like a sore thumb. The woman sorted through the papers on her desk, trying to find the right ones, as Camila picked at the edge of her worn out baggy t-shirt. Finally, she handed her a crisp paper, covered in what classes she would have, what times she would have them, and where they would be. 

She thanked the woman, turning to leave. She glanced back as she pushed against the door with her back, trying to use her body weight to her advantage. The boy who had opened the door for her, was now talking to the woman, a bright pink blush covering her cheeks. “Emmett! Here to pick up more late work for Edward?.” She asked, giggling slightly as she flushed even brighter. Camila scoffed internally, slightly disgusted by the display. 

The door to the office closed with a soft thud behind her as she began walking down the hallway once more. She glanced at the classroom numbers on the walls, attempting to make sense of the system used so she could find her first period. Finally, she found the correct room, sauntering through the open doorway, earning the stares of the students that were already seated waiting for the bell to ring.

——————

The first half of the day had flown by, anybody and everybody trying to have a conversation with her. A guy, Eric, who she had met in her English class earlier that day, was walking her to the cafeteria, promising to save her a seat with his friends. He was nice enough, although maybe a bit too flirtatious. He definitely wasn’t her type, usually leaning towards quieter guys as her preference, but he was nice enough. Although, dating was definitely not what she needed, and she had no intention of trying to find a boyfriend.

She had dated before, had even had a boyfriend when she had been diagnosed, but like most people, once the shock of the news had worn off, he had left her. Nobody really wanted to be with someone who didn’t even have the strength to do normal everyday tasks. As soon as she told him that she couldn’t have sex like they had before, he was gone. 

It was shitty, sure, but she couldn’t exactly blame him. He was a teenage boy and they all wanted the same thing in the end right? Whatever he wanted, sex, marriage, a family, a future in general, she knew she couldn’t give him. So what was the use in being angry? All it would do was tire her out by the end.

Eric rushed forward, pushing the cafeteria door open for Camila to walk through, giving her his best polite grin. She muttered a thanks as she stepped into the crowded large room. He led her to the line for food, yammering on and on about the school paper and some article that they would be running soon. She tried to pay attention to the words leaving his mouth, but he was talking so quick and she was beginning to get a headache.

She tried her best to look like she was interested as they made their way through the line and paid for their food. Finally, they made it to the table and she could sit. She was beginning to feel lightheaded and didn’t know how much more she could take, so she was grateful for the hard plastic seat that she was now perched on. 

Eric went around the table, introducing the new faces. Angela, she had seen in her history class, she noted, and Jessica, in her biology. Bella, another new girl, seemed distracted, staring at the opposite end of the cafeteria. Trying to follow her view, Camila’s eyes landed on a group of teens, one boy, two girls, all three shockingly attractive.

“Who are they?” She asked curiously. 

Angela turned her head to their direction. “The Cullens.” She said simply.

Jessica leaned forward, wanting in the gossip, clearly. “Doctor and Mrs. Cullen’s foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska two years ago.” She said. Camila instantly recognized the name. 

This was the Doctor that she would be seeing later that week. The very reason that she was there sitting in that cafeteria on the opposite side of the country then she had been a week previously. Doctor Carlisle Cullen. She wasn’t aware that the man had children, much less children that she would be attending school with, and she hoped that this fact wouldn’t make it that much more difficult to keep her sickness a secret.

“They kinda keep to themselves.” Angela explained.

“They’re all adopted. The blonde girl, Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy, Emmett, they’re a thing. I’m not even sure that’s legal.” She said dramatically. 

“Jess, they’re not actually related.” Angela interjected, earning a scoff from Jessica and a snicker from Camila. The blonde in question was absolutely stunning, prettier than anyone Camila had ever seen before, and Emmett, the boy from the office earlier that morning, was definitely big. He towered over everyone else sitting with him, looking ridiculously out of place at the small round table.

Jessica continued. “But they live together.” She argued. “The little dark haired girl, Alice, she’s really weird.” Camila frowned hearing her description. The girl, Alice, was stunningly beautiful as well, although not as stunning as Rosalie. 

Camila never cared for the judgment of others, especially when Jessica herself clearly didn’t actually know the group of teens well enough to make those assumptions in the first place.

“Edward must be sick or taking some trip right now. He’s been absent for a week or so. He’s totally gorgeous, like the rest of them obviously. But apparently, no one here is good enough for him. Like I care.” She scoffed, making it blatantly obvious that she did in fact care, a lot. Bella shrunk in her seat at the mention of the teen. Maybe she had a thing for him or something. Camila couldn’t exactly blame her if he looked anything like his adopted siblings.

Suddenly, another figure joined the table, a mop of curly honey blonde hair covering his face as he sat his tray full of food down. “Who’s that?” Camila asked, drawn by curiosity. 

Jessica scoffed again. That was starting to get really annoying. “Jasper Hale. Rosalie is his sister. Like real sister. He like always looks like he’s in pain. He’s single as far as publicly, put a total weirdo too. Anyway, don’t waste your time.” She said, rolling her eyes.

As if he had heard his name being called, Jasper’s eyes shot over to their direction, amber eyes looking directly into Camila’s emerald eyes. Her heart had nearly stopped all together. She felt like a little kid that got caught with her hand in the cookie jar and she quickly averted her gaze to the food in front of her. From what she had briefly seen, he was absolutely breathtaking, like the rest of them. However, there was something different about him. Something that she recognized as sadness and pain in his eyes, and it intrigued her. She cleared her throat awkwardly as she attempted to wipe the image of his eyes from her head. “I wasn’t planning on it.” She said, poking her mashed potatoes with her plastic fork.

——————

The rest of the day had flown by just as quickly as the first half, and before she realized, she was walking into her last class of the day, calculous. She had always been fairly decent when it came to math, that being the reason why she was in an advanced class. So she hoped, despite her fatigue, that the class would go by simply.

A balding man, standing next to the classes chalkboard looked toward her, smiling welcomely. “Welcome Ms. Johnson. Follow along as best you can until you get caught up.” He paused looking around to find a clear seat for her. “Ahh, Mr. Hale.” He called.

Jasper looked up from his place at his table in the back of the class. Camila’s breath hitched in her throat. Really? Of all people, him? She didn’t have anything against him, sure, but she also clearly would have issues acting normal around him. 

She really needed to pull herself together. He was just an unnaturally handsome guy, who she may or may not have been extremely attracted to. “Jasper will help you with notes, I’m sure. He’s the top of the class, so feel free to go to him for any help you need.” He offered up. She rose an eyebrow, wondering if Jasper felt as willing to help as the teacher was making it seem. 

She sauntered over to the empty seat next to the pale teen, dropping her bag at her feet as she scooted the chair towards the desk. The teacher, Mr. Grey, gave instructions on which pages of the textbook to work on before releasing the class to work with their partners. 

Jasper paused, sucking in a steady breath, trying to test the waters of her scent. He steeled himself, trying to keep the confusion from showing on his face. There was something different about her blood, and this took the edge off of his normal thirst. He couldn’t quite figure it out, but was thankful for the fact that his throat would burn much less than usual while next to her. 

He looked over to her finally, smiling awkwardly as his golden waves hung in front of his face. He had seen her earlier in the cafeteria during lunch, but now he had a better view. Her hair was pulled away from her face now, and he could fully assess her beauty. It wasn’t often that he was pleasantly surprised by someones appearance, much less a human’s, but she was absolutely breathtaking. Along with the beauty however, was something else. She looked… tired. She had light purple bags under her eyes that made it look like she hadn’t slept in days.

“Hi, I’m Jasper.” He greeted, finally speaking up, a slight southern twang to his voice. 

She looked up to his face, smiling back politely. “I’m Camila.” She said gently.

He laughed lightly. “Oh I know.” He said, gaining a raised eyebrow in return. “Not very often we get new students here, let alone two in the same month. Word travels fast.” He joked.

Camila snickered in response. “I guess that’s fair.” She said, looking down at her work as she calculated the first equation. “You don’t need to help me if you don’t want to. We were further along at my last school.” She said, leaving out the fact that her ‘last school’ was really just her mother teaching her in their living room back at their old home in Orlando. 

He hummed lightly, nodding as he began to work on his own worksheet. “So what brought you to Forks?” He asked curiously, trying his best to create casual conversation. It had been so long since he had even attempted having a conversation with a human that wasn’t prompted by something that he needed in return, but there was something about her that drew him in. That made him want to know her. To understand her.

Quickly trying to come up with a reason, she spoke. “I guess my parents just wanted a change of scenery.” She stated simply. It was a stupid reason, not very concrete at all, but it was all that she could come up with at that time. 

“Well, you can’t get much different from Florida than here, huh?” He joked, laughing softly. His laugh sounded like bells ringing in her ears, a surprisingly beautiful sound. She shook her head, trying to clear the thoughts from her mind. 

“Guess not.” She smiled back, letting silence overtake them as they continued scrolling down answers on their loose leaf paper. As she worked through textbook, going from number to number on the page, fatigue began to attack her body, the ache of her bones and muscles from the day beginning to catch up to her. It had been such a long time since she had been forced to be alert for such an extended period of time, that being one of the reasons that it had taken so much convincing for her parents to allow her to attend the public school. Her eyebrows pinched together in pain, trying to concentrate on the task at hand. It was her last class of the day, and soon she would be free. It would be over soon, and she would go home. Easy enough, right?

Jasper looked towards her, feeling the shift in her mood. He was confused, not quite sure of the feelings that she was projecting. Earlier he had been able to decipher her emotions. Nervousness, apprehension, humored, but now he couldn’t completely tell. He was about to ask her if she was feeling okay when the bell rang, signaling the end of the day and dismissing the students. Camila let out a small sigh of relief, grabbing her bag from the ground and stuffing her work inside before pulling herself up from the chair with some difficulty, wincing slightly. The movement wasn’t lost on Jasper, but only confused him more. 

“See you tomorrow.” She said softly, giving a small wave before walking out of the classroom. Jasper was frozen in place as students moved around him. He was still trying to place the strong emotions that had been radiating from her. Sadness? Maybe. Pain? Yes. Determination? Definitely. Some mixture of the three that only made confused and left him wondering.

Camila let out a sigh of relief as she saw her mother’s car finally enter the parking lot. She hadn’t been waiting long, but she was so ready to go home and rest that she was becoming wildly impatient. Pulling the door open, she plopped herself down onto the worn seat and closed it behind herself. “How was your first day, sweetie?” Her mother asked cheerily.

Giving the best smile she could muster with how fatigued her mind had become, she gave a small thumbs up. “Just ready to nap.” She said.

Her mother gave sympathetic smile. “I’m sure you’re just exhausted. Lay back. I’ll wake you when we get home.” She reassured. 

——————

January 24th, 2005

Camila’s second day of school was somehow even rainier than the first, and by the time she had made it to the front door of the school, her jacket had become completely soaked. She reluctantly pulled the wet fabric from her body, knowing that it would no longer help keep her warm. Spinning the dial of her locker, she entered the combination and swung the door open. Tossing the wet fabric into the locker, she grabbed her textbooks and closed it back up. 

She looked down to her bare arms, seeing the slight bruises left along the skin. Another side effect of her sickness. She hoped no one would pay to close attention to the discoloration, not wanting to have to make excuses for the marks. Making a mental note to bring an extra jacket to keep in her locker for future instances, she made her way to her first class of the day.

——————

By the time her calculus class had arrived, she had hoped her jacket would be dry. However, when she pulled it from the metal confines of her locker, she was disappointed to find it was still damp. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to wear it, already being cold as it was. If she became anymore cold she was sure that she would be shivering and it would add to the likelihood of getting a cold. 

Jasper sat in his usual seat, waiting for Camila to enter through the door at the front of the classroom. He had found himself looking forward to seeing her all day. Ever since he had met her the day before, he couldn’t get her out of his mind. It had been the first time since turning that he had really missed sleep, knowing that it would’ve made the time pass by quicker. 

Finally, he saw her thin frame enter the classroom, followed by a tall darker skinned teen. Tyler Crowley. He had seen the boy sitting next to her early that day in the cafeteria, and thought nothing of it. Now seeing Camila laugh at something the teen had said as he carried her textbooks for her, he wasn’t so sure. 

Jealously sparked in his chest, and at first he thought that it had come from somebody else around him, but slowly he realized it was coming from himself. He scolded himself, knowing there was no logical reason he should be jealous since she was human and he all he could do was hurt her in the end.

He averted his gaze, trying his best to act nonchalant and as if he hadn’t been waiting all day to see her. She slowly made her way to their shared desk, draping her jacket across the back of her chair before taking a seat. She let out an exasperated sigh, sinking into the cool plastic as she relaxed her shoulders.

The second day had been much more difficult to get through than the first. Luckily, nobody had mentioned the light bruises littering her arms, and she was relieved that she had successfully evaded the topic. However, if she thought yesterday was exhausting, she was about to drop dead then. Camila had begun to wonder why exactly she had put up such a fight to get to go to school like normal kids, but in the end, she knew it would be worth it. She would make friends and try her best to fit in as long as her body would allow. 

After deciding that he had waited the appropriate amount of time, his eyes flickered over to her, as he soaked in her appearance. He could feel the exhaustion radiating off of her and wished that he could’ve done something to help, but knew he couldn’t without seeming wildly out of place. He could sense that if he were to shift her mood in that moment that it would be very far from natural.

His eyes landed on her arms. Thin with her bones sticking out prominently. Light purple splotches littering her skin. Worst case scenarios entered his mind as the concern for her safety grew. He tried to shake the feeling from his head, knowing that he shouldn’t jump to any conclusions. Maybe she was just insanely clumsy? He sat there, attempting to convince himself of that as she turned to him, giving him a small bashful smile. “Hi.” She said softly. 

He forced a smile onto his face. “Hi, darlin’.” He said, southern accent seeping through, causing a blush to creep up her neck. She looked down at her hands, nervously spinning the rings that sat loosely on her thin fingers, while she tried to tame her heart inside of her chest. His grin only grew as he heard her accelerating heart rate. 

He wasn’t sure what exactly had gotten into him. Typically he tried to stay far away from any human that he came into contact with, but he couldn’t really help himself. There was no harm in a friendship with her, right? Edward was doing the same thing with Bella, so it’s not like he could give him shit about it.

He knew that feelings for him were amplified, that being the natural occurrence for his kind, and he couldn’t help but feel attached to her already in a strange way. Surely he could blame it on being intrigued by her, but in truth, he wasn’t quite sure if that was the whole story. He was confused by her scent and her emotions, but deep down, he knew that wasn’t the only thing drawing him to her. But he also knew that he needed to slow down because he had barely just met the girl.

Sure, he was usually much more apprehensive with being around humans too much, due to the fact that he was still relatively new to the whole ‘vegetarian’ life style and had the most trouble out of his siblings when it came to controlling his hunger, but in reality, he felt more confident in his self control around her than any other human ever. Of course her blood still appealed to him, but not as intensely as he was used to feeling, and that was incredibly refreshing. To not feel like he would lose control at any moment for once.

Camila cleared her throat, trying to force the blush from her cheeks. “How are you liking the rain?” Jasper asked casually, gesturing towards the damp jacket.

She let out a small laugh. “It’s great, very refreshing.” She joked, earning a chuckle from the immortal teen. 

Jasper looked to her, unable to wipe his face clear of the wide grin. It was odd, the feeling in his stomach, and he couldn’t exactly place what it was. For fuck sake, they had barely spoken to each other and he already felt as if he would melt into a puddle on the floor. 

The tardy bell rang shrilly throughout the room, causing Camila to flinch back in irritation, the noise not helping her already persistent headache. Mr. Grey stood at the front of the class, clapping his hand together to gain their attention. “Okay, class. We will be continuing the pages we worked on yesterday, so I want you to work with your desk partners on that. Whatever you do not finish, you with need to do for homework tonight. Got it? Good.” He said, turning back to sit at his desk. 

Jasper peered over to her once more. “I’ll do the first half, you the second and we can swap answers?” He suggested, figuring it would help ease her exhaustion somewhat.

Camila raised an eyebrow. “You trust me to get them all right?” She asked teasingly.

He snickered, nodding lightly. “You’re smart. You’ve got this.” he said simply. So they turned to do their work separately, carrying on with mundane conversation. Camila worked through the problems one by one, a dull ache growing behind her brow as her concentration began weaning.

Then, suddenly, Jasper could feel the same feeling from the previous day immolating from her. He peered over to her to see her leaned over the worksheet, head in hands, rubbing her temples. “Are you okay?” He asked, concern etched in his voice. 

Her eyes flickered over to him, clearing her throat. “Just a headache.” She muttered. 

“I can finish the work, if you want.” He offered, wanting to try and help in anyway that he could. 

She gave him a small smile. “Thanks, but I got it.” She reassured. Sure, she was fatigued and  both physically and mentally exhausted from the day, but she was determined to make it through without any help from others. She was determined to prove to both herself and her parents that going back to public school was not the wrong decision and that she could handle it. She only had a half an hour left, she could do this.

——————

January 25th, 2005

Wednesday had arrived, and Camila already knew she would be missing the last half of her classes, having had an appointment scheduled at the hospital with Dr. Cullen. She had made sure to tell her group of friends in preparation that she had a dentist appointment, trying to come up with a believable excuse for missing half a day. She knew she would miss her time with Jasper for the day, having only the last class of the day with him, and it surprised her to realize that she was sad about this. They didn’t know each other very well, but she had constantly found her mind wandering back to him at random times.

So, much to her dismay, there she sat, with her parents, in Dr. Cullen’s office, going over possible treatments in hopes to prolong her life. He, like his children, was extremely attractive. Camila wondered how they all had that remarkable beauty alike when they were not even blood related in the first place. He was currently on the topic of chemo, something that she was well aware was painful and very expensive as well as had a very low chance of actually helping. Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted as his office door swung open harshly. 

There stood, a tall brunette teen, face just as perfect as the doctor sitting in front of her. To her horror, she realized that it must be Edward Cullen. She had heard murmurs of his return around the school that day, but had yet to come in contact with him since she had left just before lunch. 

He had a panicked expression gracing his face as he hurried over to his father. She hoped that miraculously somehow he wouldn’t notice her sitting there, or else her secret would definitely not stay hidden long. It wouldn’t take a genius to unravel the truth, once he saw her here and then at school the next day, and that would be the end. If everyone knew she was the little girl who had gotten cancer then all the sympathy would start flooding in. It would be pointless then, hoping for normalcy. 

As these thoughts raced through her mind, his eyes flickered over to her, eyes taking in her features quickly. He had seen her face before, he realized that those same emerald irises that had been burned into Jasper’s mind when he had finally returned from his trip to Alaska.

He turned, shaking the realization from his mind as he leaned down to whisper into his father’s ear, lips moving too quickly to read and speaking too low to understand for any of the humans in the room. Dr. Cullen stood abruptly. “I’m so sorry, I’m needed in the emergency department quickly. I’ll be back in just a few minutes.” He apologized sweetly. 

He walked swiftly, Edward following, to his office door, swinging it open on its hinges. Camila stood, sighing softly as she turned to address her parents. “I’m going to go find the restroom.” She said, not wanting to stay there with anxiety eating her alive. Worrying about what Edward would figure out, and who he would tell. 

Her mother stood quickly. “Do you want me to go with you?” She asked. Camila shook her head, offering a light smile as she followed the path to the office door. Once outside of the room, she looked up from her shoes only to find the whole group of Cullens huddled across the hall, all muttering in deep conversation. And, of course, just because she had terrible luck, as the door clicked shut, Jasper’s eyes shot up to find her own. 

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she turned away, hiding behind her curtain of hair as she swiftly made her way down the hall to the restroom. Her heart pounded in her ears as she panicked. It hadn’t even been a week and now everybody was going to find out. So much for a fresh start. Sure, they had only seen her leave the office, but they would know something was up, and she knew it wouldn’t take them long to figure it out. And that’s if the didn’t figure out from Carlisle first.

It was one thing when it was just Edward who had seen her, but now the whole family had, and worst of all, Jasper. He would definitely be bringing it up next time that she saw him in class, if she was lucky enough to not run into him again sooner. She had to think of an excuse before then, or at lease a reason to convince him to keep her secret to himself and his family. But her mind was completely void of any ideas and all she could do was hope that she could find one before school tomorrow. 

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Book Bella vs. Movie Bella: Or, Yeah, Let’s Do A Ginny Weasley and Remove ALL Her Personality, Shall We?

Today’s post is brought to you by:

Because clownery is clownery, even if I do like Kristen Stewart as an actress. But Book Bella, she wasn’t. At all. And I just happen to have receipts.

Twilight

Book Bella is described as slender, though not in an athletic way, with brown hair and eyes, a heart-shaped face, full lips (the top lip a little fuller than the bottom one), and very pale, translucent skin. Edward describes her as “fragile-looking” and “silk in glass”; all in all, a very classically feminine description. Much of her big dick energy comes from her interests than her appearance. Movie Bella is indeed beautiful, but in a statuesque, angular, and yes, athletic kind of way. She is way too tough-looking and stoic, and most convincing during the action sequences

For that matter, Book Bella is much more emotionally expressive. She cries when she gets angry, she’s sassy and sarcastic, she has tantrums on the while, she has the fiercest temper when her loved ones are threatened…it’s never-ending. Movie Bella is either stoic, sullen, or a nervous wreck, there is no in between

Book Bella did not have that many physical tics!!! She bites her lip. That’s literally it. Calm tf down, Stewart

For that matter, Book Bella isn’t as socially awkward, she’s just introverted!!!! She is shy on her first day of school. She gets tongue-tied when she first meets Edwards. But her dialogue is consistently assured and eloquent, to the point where Edward complains that she takes everything so coolly. Movie Bella is awkward from start to finish

Book Bella cooks and cleans for Charlie. Before that, she took care of her mother, even paying the bills and running the household. She is a parentified teen used to taking care of her own parents. Movie Bella tags along with Charlie to some diner and cooks only one time in the whole series

Book Bella: *in response to Edward’s “Shame about the weather”* “Not really”>>>>Movie Bella: “oh, N-NOO, I don’t—any cold or wet thing, really—” 🤮

Book Bella *to Edward in the hospital*: “You owe me an explanation, tell me how did you stop the van, and don’t lie!!!!” 😡 >>>>> Movie Bella: “Edward, how did you stop the van? You were so fast. Pretty please, I won’t tell” 🥺

Book Bella: *sings along to boy band songs with Jessica and Angela, enjoys shopping with them, and helps them get dresses*>>>>Movie Bella: *reads a book throughout and is just uninterested*

Book Bella: *figures out on her own that Edward is a mind reader and tells him so*>>>>Movie Bella: “You can read minds????” 🤯

Book Bella: “Everyone, shut tf up, YES, INCLUDING YOU, EDWARD, I have a plan to stop James”>>>>Movie Bella: “What do you MEAN, James wants to kill me????” 🤯

New Moon

Book Bella never jokes about Edward’s age. In the books, of course, he is emotionally 17. Meanwhile, Movie Bella has this ~tease: “Maybe I shouldn’t be dating such an old man. It’s gross” 🤮 RIP Stewart

Book Bella: *didn’t start being friends with Jacob until after Edward left*>>>>>Movie Bella: “hEY BICEPS.” RIP Stewart

When Edward asks Bella why Jacob and others are allowed to give her gifts, Book Bella and Movie Bella have different responses. Book Bella says explicitly that Edward has already given her so much already—himself. Anything else just “throws us out of balance.” Movie Bella says she "has nothing to give back to [him].” Which is so non-canon, I must cry

Book Bella: “[The actress] is very pretty”>>>>>Movie: “Juliet is perfect, if you like that obviously beautiful sort of thing” why, movie

Book Bella: *horrified and furious over Edward admitting he contemplated suicide and forbids him from ever contemplating that again*>>>>>Movie Bella: “What’s the Volturi?” 😑

Book Bella: *went into a coma for a week, flew into a towering rage when they tried to get her to go to Renée, but then actually went through the motions for Charlie, becoming a straight-A student*>>>>Movie Bella: *sulks on her chair and staring out the window 🎶 THERE’S A POSSIBILITIEEEEEE 🎶*

Also, Movie Bella writing to Alice for no reason. Why would the Cullens even have email? Not that I think Book Bella would write to them even if they had.

Book Bella approaches the men on the street, thinking they are the ones who almost raped her, but then returns to Jessica when she finds out they aren’t. You know, like a normal person. Movie Bella rides with the guy on a motorcycle because she is that idiot

Book Bella changed drastically after Edward left. She couldn’t listen to music, threw out her books, avoided TV and movies. More importantly, she would hug herself whenever she thought of Edward because of a figurative hole in her chest. Jacob would go to mention how awful she looked. Movie Bella also has nightmares, but otherwise she is pretty much her normal self. She doesn’t even hug herself, looks presentable, and barely reacts when Edward and the Cullens are mentioned. That’s because the film never establishes her interests and even her personality, ha, oops

Book Bella: *only vaguely notes when Jacob took off his shirt because, y’know, she is bleeding everywhere*>>>>>>Movie Bella *gawking*: “You’re sort of beautiful”

Book Bella *figures out Jacob is a werewolf and goes to confront him about it, she then meets the rest of the pack with him*>>>>>Movie Bella punches freakin’ PAUL in the face and tells Jacob to run just before he changes

Book Bella comforts Jacob when he talks about Sam’s supposed cult. Movie Bella: “Well, maybe you should just avoid him” 😑

Book Bella: *nearly screams when Jacob appears at her window because she is frightened of Victoria* Movie Bella: “You scared me. The hell are you doing?” 😑 Also, Book Bella initially refused Jacob’s apology and tried to push him out

Movie Bella: “You can’t really run with vampires. ‘Cause they’re fast.” RIP Stewart

Book Bella could not stand Sam/Emily because they reminded her too much of her and Edward. The hole in her chest would literally begin to ache. Movie Bella has no discernible reaction

Omfg, Movie Bella was really going to kiss fucking Jacob!!! Book Bella was literally paralyzed with indecision and was only contemplating passively accepting. The films were so Team Jacob, it’s disgusting

Book Bella excitedly telling Alice to bite her and turn her into a wholeass vampire in the middle of an airplane full of humans. Movie Bella doesn’t, but y’know, time

Movie Bella *to Edward*: “I can let you go now” What. the. Fuck. Book Bella never even had the desire to let go of Edward. She even mentions that if she became a vampire, she could follow him wherever he went. When she went to rescue him, it was because of her love for him. Not because this shit would grant her closure!!!! Fuck you, movie!!!!!

Book Bella had to be RESTRAINED by ALICE to prevent her from going to Edward when he was being tortured by Jane. Movie Bella went into hysterics (not at Jane’s torture, but at the Edward vs. Felix scene) and offered her life in exchange. Which isn’t at bad or OOC per se, but c’mon, Book Bella being ready to go was superior

Edward: “I lied when I said I didn’t love you” → Book Bella: “I knew it, I KNEW I was dreaming” 😭>>>>>>>Movie Bella *believes him almost immediately and makes out with him*

Technically Movie Bella forgives Edward. She kisses him and still wants to be a vampire. So it’s heavily implied. But she never says the words. Book Bella not only tells Edward explicitly that she still loves him, but is flabbergasted that he even needed to ask

Movie Bella tells Edward to shut up during the vote scene. She is officially a different character. Fuck you, movie

Book Bella *to Jacob when he says he doesn’t want her to be a vampire*: “That’s NONE of your business!!! 😡”>>>>>>Movie Bella: “It’s not up to you” 😕

Movie Bella *to Jacob*: “I love you. So please...don’t make me choose” 🤮 Book Bella was very much up the river in Egypt when it came to her love for Jacob, so this is OOC to the extreme

Eclipse

Book Bella has a much more visceral reaction to the idea of marriage than Movie Bella. Incredulity, disgust, fear, shame—the works. Movie Bella just…doesn’t. She looks more amused than anything else

Book Bella is also much, much angrier at Edward for taking out her car’s engine. She didn’t even speak to him, just slammed the car door

Movie Bella admits to Renée that she is going to miss the sun. Book Bella by contrast claims that she is used to the cold. She also handles Renée much better than Movie Bella. It doesn’t help matters that Movie Renée is a regular cool mom who actually gives Bella a graduation gift (a quilt of their old road trip T-shirts...Book Renée would never) and not a lowkey narcissist who let Bella raise herself

Movie Bella gets on the motorcycle with Jacob. Book Bella stays with Edward at school to demand an explanation. This change even had Meyer calling it out for being OOC. The film does it to a) save some precious film time by combining the two scenes and b) to give Movie Bella more agency (I also suspect the filmmakers are mostly Team Jacob). My take? Bella would not and should not have gone with Jacob at this point in the story, especially since she needed to find out about Victoria returning, which is a priority

Jacob: “I’d rather you’d be dead than one of them” Movie Bella: 🥺 Book Bella: 😡😭

Movie Bella: “Stop! I’m tired of this. From now on, I’m Switzerland, okay?” 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮 Book Bella, honey, I’m sorry they did you so dirty

Book Bella being so furious at Jacob kissing her without her consent was everything. So of course they robbed Movie Bella of her fury and had her spend the sequence placating an angry Edward instead. Of course. Fuck you, movie

Not Movie Bella liking Jessica’s speech about making mistakes and changing your mind because "nothing is permament"...when she is about to become a vampire, a literally permanent change. 💀 Book Bella would never

Movie Bella is worried about people getting hurt because of her. Book Bella is more than worried, she was going prematurely gray

Book Bella connects both the intruder, Victoria, and the newborn army while Alice is giving her her blouse. Movie Bella gets a prophetic dream about Maria and Jasper and that...somehow...makes everything click into place. 🫠 Even when it’s following the books, the movie manages to fuck it up somehow

Book Bella guilt-trips Edward into staying with her and away from the fight. She feels guilty, but it was still her idea. Movie Edward suggests it first, and Movie Bella is resistant.

Book Bella was happy to be alone with Edward in the house. Movie Bella...is Movie Bella. Very 😑

Book Bella was so sad when Edward rejected her advances. As in, she cried, poor bby. Movie Bella “understands,” though, and is barely fazed

Book Bella barely and I mean BARELY accepted marrying Edward, and almost didn’t let him put the ring on her. Movie Bella did not even put up the semblance of a fight. Awful, movie, ten points from Gryffindor

Book Bella did not wear Edward’s ring because she has a fear of marriage and rings. Movie Bella did not wear his ring because she did not want Jacob to know

Book Bella doesn’t get at all angry at Edward for letting Jacob know of their upcoming marriage. Movie Bella, however, does, snapping at him and leaving immediately. At this point, does she even like Edward?

Movie Bella finally gets emotional when Jacob threatens to join the fight. A little too late, and of course it’s for Jacob.

Book Bella gets manipulated by Jacob into kissing him. Movie Bella tells Jacob to kiss her out of her own volition. Movie's Team Jacob stance is as obvious as it is sickening

Book Bella was so devastated by her cheating that she begged Edward to be angry at her. She couldn’t even look him in the eye. Movie Bella is just mildly upset. Fuck you too, movie

Movie Bella actually piercing her arm and successfully distracting Riley and Victoria vs. Book Bella about to do it, but then Edward interferring is indeed a big change...that I actually don’t mind. Rare W on Movie Eclipse’s part. 🎉 Or it would have been a W if the movie didn’t do Edward so damn dirty in the process. What do you mean, he was getting wailed on by Riley AND Victoria???? Book Edward had the fight in the bag. The fight scene was much more interesting in the book, and it showed Edward and Seth’s teamwork brilliantly

Book Bella literally faints at just having Jacob’s injury confirmed. Movie Bella is, once again, only concerned

Movie skips Book Bella’s breakdown and recovery of losing Jacob, I see. Fuck you too, movie

Movie Bella’s mini speech about choosing between Jacob and Edward was really the choice between two different life paths is not just Meyer’s notes to the director fortuitously making it into the script. It’s something Book Bella would not say because it’s something she already knows AND something Edward already knows

Movie Edward: “So it’s not just about me?” Movie Bella: “No, sorry.” Movie Bella being a completely different character #454545454543. Once more, fuck you too, movie

Breaking Dawn (Parts 1 & 2)

Not Movie Bella looking longingly at Jacob's dreamcatcher the night before her wedding. 💀At this point she loves him more than Edward

Movie Bella’s pre-wedding dreams are fears about her losing control as a vampire and drinking human blood. Book Bella’s pre-wedding dreams are about the immortal children, foreshadowing Renesmee. I honestly prefer Book Bella’s, since she is never truly afraid of losing control—she thinks Edward and his family would prevent her should that occur. Also, Movie Bella’s dream wedding dress>actual wedding dress. Not by much, though; they’re both nice

Movie Bella looked glad to marry Edward and their kiss was nice. Actually, she just seems much more happier in these last two films. But just a reminder: Book Bella literally threw herself at Edward and they kissed for an uncomfortably long time. Definitely much less restrained

There were some Bella/Jacob clowns that tried to claim Bella didn’t enjoy her wedding and was only happy when Jacob showed up. No idea where that came from, because Movie Bella was laughing with Movie Edward all throughout the speeches and Book Bella was happy as a clam and only happier when Jacob showed up.

That said, Movie Bella did look much happier at Jacob’s arrival. Their reunion is framed as romantic. She clearly loves him more than Book Bella and for that I say, nope

Book Bella was much angrier at the “real honeymoon” conversation with Jacob than Movie Bella. Again, Movie Bella seems to love Jacob so much more. That said, she does manage to shake him off, whereas Book Bella could not escape Jacob’s grip

Book Bella *remembering her wedding night*: 🥰🥳🤩>>>>>>>Movie Bella: *remembering her wedding night* ☺️

Movie Bella: “Why can’t you see how perfectly happy I am?” Because you literally looked happier seeing Jacob than you were remembering sex with Edward, maybe. God, who directed Stewart? Why did she choose this

I will give Movie Bella this, though: She is more deliberate or at least more obvious in her seduction of Edward. Book Bella was more *gives passive-aggressive hints in the hopes that he’ll give in and bang again*

Movie Bella cries at the good sex dream!!!! Finally!!!! Meanwhile Book Bella was downright sobbing

Movie Bella cooks something!!!! Finally!!!! This film is really giving Book Bella

Movie Bella ate chicken, barfed it up, remembered her late period and boom, she knows she is pregnant. Meanwhile Book Bella had been wrestling with symptoms for at least a few days

Movie Bella: “It’s a miracle, I guess” You guess, Book Bella knows

Also, it must be said. Even while visibly dying, Book Bella was still cracking jokes and diffusing the tension. Movie Bella...doesn’t

Book Bella is explicit why she is carrying the half-vampire hybrid: Because it is Edward’s child. It is not because she has suddenly become baby-crazed. Movie Bella offers no explanation whatsoever. We are left to infer only her love for the kid, no more

Movie Bella: “You can hear him?” Meanwhile Book Bella: “HOLY CROW, YOU CAN HEAR HIM”

Movie Bella: *when she first sees Edward post transformation* ☺️ Book Bella: *when she first sees Edward post transformation* 🥵

Book Bella 🤝 Movie Bella: “You nicknamed my daughter after the Loch Ness Monster????!!” That said, Book Bella didn’t hurt poor Seth deliberately! Movie Bella was awful for that

Movie Bella likes Renesmee, but she is much less motherly overall than Edward. Meanwhile Book Bella was obsessed with Renesmee, she practically took over the whole half of BD

Not Movie Bella wearing a sleeveless black tunic dress during her meeting with J. Jenks while Book Bella wore an oyster satin cocktail dress beneath an ivory trench coat. 💀 The one time Book Bella chooses to dress up, and the movie squanders it

Movie Bella *to Edward*: “I can undress myself, you know” Fool, that’s not the point. The point is the Volturi are going to murder you all, and you and Edward have only a month to love each other while you still can. Book Bella took full advantage, why can’t you? Oh, right, because you’re a #girlboss Hollywood protagonist now

Book Bella was the one to order fake documents for Jacob and Renesmee, quickly deducing Jenks’ side hustle. In the movie, however, Jasper was the one to place the order with Jenks, and Movie Bella merely picked it up. The movies are still continuing that ~fine tradition of removing Book Bella’s agency, I see

Book Bella protected their entire group with her shield and was instrumental in the Volturi’s retreat. In the movie, while Bella does use her shield, it is Alice who shows Aro her vision (which breaks canon, since she wouldn’t have been able to see hybrids or werewolves) and that led Aro to back off.

And finally, after the Volturi left, Book Bella embraced Renesmee, with Edward embracing them both. She kisses Edward with so much passion the forest could have been on fire and she wouldn’t have noticed. In the movie they all embraced each other, but with Bella making eye contact with Jacob as Edward and Renesmee hugged each other. For the last time, and I cannot say this enough, fuck you too, movie

[saturniandevil]

October 2024 Important Dates

AKA my notes on The Astrology Podcast's October Forecast, hosted by Chris Brennan and Austin Coppock.

Here's a graphic from honeycomb.co showing the exactness of planetary transits throughout the month as well:

September Recap: We're starting the month in the middle of eclipse season (there was a lunar eclipse in Pisces on September 17th). Chris talks about how the biggest intensity of events usually occurs within 10 days on either side of an eclipse. For example, on the 10th there was the US Presidential debate, which fell in Harris's 10th house/North Node and indeed represented an improvement in her public image. The Vice Presidential debate also takes place today, October 1st, right before the next eclipse. Another Pisces eclipse story is the second assassination attempt on Trump--Chris & Austin connect these to the close square of Uranus on his natal Mars and on top of his natal Midheaven. Using nativities, Chris points out that for the past 20 years the winning presidential candidate has had an eclipse in an angular house, which would point towards Harris winning. However, using zodiacal releasing, Trump is set to enter a new era of prominence in April of next year--whether from presidency or another set is unclear. There are a lot of factors indicating this year's election (and the time between then and the inauguration period!) will be confusing and full of surprises.

Another eclipse story is Israel's attack on Lebanon--the pagers were detonated on the day of the Pisces eclipse. The current war in Palestine began under last year's Libra eclipse, and escalation with Iran occurred along an eclipse as well. They predict October 2nd may very well be the date Israel starts a ground offensive into Lebanon, with implications of a regional war (A/N: this episode was recorded September 29th). There will be another eclipse in Aries before the nodes move off this axis, but the Pisces eclipse's coincidence with the electronics attacks and assassination of Nasrallah may be foreshadowing another 2 years of conflict.

The Pisces eclipse also highlighted Saturn's transit through Pisces: the OceanGate submarine wreck was finally found (crushed during Saturn rx), as well as the sunken wreck of the Erebus, a 19th-century polar exploration vessel. In other water disasters, Hurricane Helene ravaged much of the Appalachian US, the worst storm in a century for many cities and small towns. There were also devastating floods in Europe, Nigeria, and India and typhoons hitting much of East Asia.

October 2nd - Solar eclipse in Libra

Immediately afterwards, the Sun and Moon move towards a square with Mars, boding ill for world events with its significations of war, anger, and aggression. Eclipses on a particular axis often indicate a series of events over about a year and a half (this one began early October), so we know already know which stories are going to wrap up to make way for something new. In our personal lives changes may be for the better--for example, for one viewer this indicates the end of a relationship making room for a new one. Mercury has just separated from a cazimi with the Sun (11♎), and Mars is waiting at 15 Cancer to square all of these planets after they conjoin each other. The changes will take place abruptly, jarringly, and painfully for some. Eclipses shock us, even when they're positive. Mars-Mercury indicates arguments, fighting words, and foul language (goes direct at 17 Libra/Cancer on the 6th). Be careful with your words, as this may represent a longer conflict than you realize, as Mars enters its pre-retrograde shadow period soon after:

Like all retrogrades, Mars brings revisions, repeats, and unexpected delays. With Mars hanging out in the same few degrees of Cancer & Leo for awhile, we'll be spending a lot of time and energy in those areas of our chart. Mars retrograde can work well for those born under one, though--for Mars rx natives sometimes it's when big projects finally come to fruition with them.

During the Mars-Mercury conflict, we will have some support: Venus (14♏) will trine Saturn (14♓) on the 4th-5th, and on the 8th she'll (18♏) trine Mars (18♋) with reception. She comes in to offer a bit of a salve after the chafing of Mars contacts. Also on that day, soon-to-retrograde Jupiter (21♊) will trine Mercury (21♎) with reception, soothing some of the previous hard aspect to Mars. These are the kinds of situations where a terrible accident occurs, but you miraculously escape major injury. This can also represent extremes of good and bad happening at the same time.

October 6th - Mercury square Mars (discussed above)

October 9th - Jupiter stations retrograde He's going to hang out in the same few degrees of Gemini for a long time. See eclipse above for some details on transits leading up to this.

October 11th - Pluto stations direct From the 11th-13th Pluto, while slowing down and stationing, squares Mercury as the inner planet moves from Libra to Scorpio. We've been having Pluto stations in Capricorn since 2008-9, and this is the last he'll be in Capricorn for the rest of any of our lifetimes. Mercury brings the underworld planet's hidden matters to light: think investigative journalism, mystery stories, and exposés on dark scandals. Conversely, we can also see manipulation, control, and suppression of information by forces who prefer to remain in the shadows. Pluto is like a doorway to the underworld: it both plunges things into obscurity and brings up secrets from the depths. This is one last burst of intensity in late Capricorn/cardinal signs for those of us who've been feeling its effects--think of molting, with its vulnerabilities and benefits alike. This also marks the end of the United States' Pluto return--an uncertain evaluation of the next 250 years.

October 13th - Mercury enters Scorpio

October 14th - Sun square Mars While the Sun (21♎) squares Mars (21♋) with Jupiter (21♊) attempting to mediate by trining the Sun, Venus (26♏) opposes Uranus (26♉). With Uranus-Venus we may see some surprises in our relationships. (Chris notes Mercury is at 01Scorpio this day, same as Kamala Harris's natal chart, so the news will probably be about her.)

October 17th - Aries Full Moon, Venus enters Sagittarius

Normally we'd breathe a sigh of relief that eclipse season is over, but the luminaries (🌙:24♈,🌞:24♎) are coming right off a square to Mars (22♋), and are headed right into a square with Pluto (29♑). Thus, by the end of the month, Mars and Pluto begin to oppose each other, an intense configuration that will stay with us for the rest of the year thanks to Mars's retrograde. Don't ignore the little issues that Mars is highlighting in your life; nip things in the bud or keep an eye on them because the problems will only intensify over the next few months. The Mars-Pluto opposition will go exact right around election day in the US, or early November. Thus this full moon sets an ominous tone for the months ahead.

Mars signifies cutting, separation, and conflict, while Pluto takes themes to their utmost extremes, making the small massive and the massive small (think of a mushroom cloud explosion borne from mere atoms colliding). Combined, this indicates annihilation, survival responses, severe overreactions, power struggles, aggression & confrontations, manipulation and control. Other keywords are ruthlessness, forcefulness, and lashing out at perceived enemies, real or imagined. Pluto really enjoys hidden power as well--we may fall for decoys of where the real power lies. Unfortunately this strongly overshadows the US election. Overall, with Pluto involved we can't see clearly, so paranoia and conspiracies abound. It can also indicate horrific acts coming to light, like CBS News publishing the first photographs of torture at Abu Ghraib during the Mars-Pluto opposition of late April 2004, and financial developments like the 2008 bank crashes.

In our personal lives, this may be a period of extreme mental or physical exertion where you accomplish more than you thought possible. Austin cautions us not to react to negative things in a way that makes the situation worse, which is our impulse with Mars in Cancer. Sometimes we have to accept that events beyond our power--control what you can and accept what you can't. Uranus in Taurus will also get folded into this background tension via sextile with Pluto.

October 22nd - Sun enters Scorpio

October 25th - Auspicious electional date

This is a difficult month, but if you have to do something important, the 25th is a good time. A few different times will work; Chris likes around 3PM local time, adjusting until the Ascendant is at about 20 Aquarius. This makes the ruler Saturn in the 2nd house in a day chart, good for financial matters. The Leo Moon applies to a sextile with Jupiter, boding well for earthly events--as long as you can catch it when the moon is applying (at a lower degree; moving towards the aspect) rather than separating (at a higher degree, moving away). (Viewers on the West Coast of the US, for example, may have to move it back a day.) With 20Aquarius rising you get a nice, supportive trine from Jupiter in the 5th house, good for games and leisurely activities. Venus in the 11th house is also helpful, and in Denver they were able to get her near the Midheaven as well, though it's not a dealbreaker if you can't get that to line up. Venus in the 11th, ruled by Jupiter, does well with friends and alliances. Furthermore, though she is applying to a square with Saturn, in this chart it has her in contact with the Ascendant ruler, affirming and supporting you and the actions you take at this time. Not recommended for health or routine matters with a cranky day chart detriment Mars in the 6th house, and beware of Pluto in the 12th house of hidden enemies and self-undoing. Thus, it's not ideal, but we can get some things done.

October 28th - Venus square retrograde Saturn Venus would normally be happy to get out of her detriment Scorpio and into a neutral sign like Sagittarius, but she has to get past this square to Saturn before she can really party. However, this does put her in a whole-sign opposition to Jupiter while being received by him (in his domicile), giving a silver (copper) lining to everything else going on. When one benefic is setting, the other is rising for us.

October 30th - Mercury opposes Uranus (not pictured) At 25 of Scorpio and Taurus respectively, this may be an "October surprise" news scandal (or events in our personal lives).

[undyingembers]

Owlcatober 17 - Parents

Some musings from our favorite Viscountess.

The bust of Moraenius Scaeva, founder of the Scaeva family of Marhaven, stood at the center of the family museum, amidst the collection of artifacts the family had gathered over the five Crusades. Once, Lodetta had found the sight of it comforting, as if her grandfather himself was watching over the house and its legacy. There was not a person Lodetta admired more than her grandfather. Moraenius had raised her himself since her father and his son had died in the Second Crusade. He had raised her to always perform the duties placed on the family and to be faithful to Mendev and Iomadae.

Ever since that…problem child was born, however, it seemed to sneer in mockery.

It was an unacknowledged truth that the likenesses of the tiefling child to the family’s founder was uncanny. They had the same face shape, the same narrowed and discerning eyes, the same tight lip, those high cheekbones, and the dark and course hair. Even Lenarius’s voice sounded exactly like her grandfather’s. The child was sharp, Lodetta had to admit that, sharp in the same way Moraenius had been and expected nothing less than absolute perfection.

It was a point of pride within the Scaeva family to inherit as many traits from the founder as they could. “The Scaeva look”, as so many called it: tall, sharp and angular features, dark hair, and narrow eyes. Lodetta herself carried these features with honor and pride.

Why, Iomadae, did Lodetta’s youngest have to be the one who embodied Moraenius’s traits so completely? Lodetta had seven children over her life; over half had died in the Crusades. But her oldest surviving and the heir to the Scaeva household took more from his father than his mother. Where a Scaeva should be sharp and stern, Harol was round and rosy. He had blue eyes instead of brown, and while his hair was brown, it was curly and chestnut. Lodetta’s next child, Serapia, had all the traits, but she lacked the confidence and elegance required to carry it properly. Lenarius, though…

Ever since Lenarius had been born, Lodetta suffered indignity after indignity. Yet, she maintained the strength to get through every time. This latest insult, however, she could not abide. News came of Drezen that he had it in his head to adopt five homunculi! The scandal! Has he not put his family through enough? After all the grueling and thankless sacrifices the Scaeva family has made, this ungrateful brat wants to end his family line and take these things into the household? Mendev would not suffer it. Lodetta would not suffer it.

“Mother, the solicitors have arrived.” Harol walked in bashfully. A man in his forties, and Harol still could not carry himself assertively. He took too much after his father, the weakling who abandoned his vows when it became too difficult.

“Thank you, Harol. You may go,” she responded.

Harol rubbed his hands, a ridiculous gesture he made when he was about to say something he thought Lodetta wouldn’t like. “Is this truly necessary?”

“Absolutely,” Lodetta responded so sharply that Harol flinched. “The survival and dignity of this household is paramount, and if are to take over, you will learn to defend it with an iron will. Is that clear?”

Harol sighed. “Yes, mother.”

Lodetta nodded and stormed of to her office. She would sit still no longer.

[octuscle]

New start

Gaz sat crying on the shabby sofa bed in his one-bedroom apartment in the run-down social housing building. He must not have cried in 20 or 30 years. But now he was at the end of his rope. It couldn't get any worse. His wife had separated from him a few weeks ago. Their son together, conceived during the only sex of his life, had followed his destiny and at the age of 15 was already regularly hanging out drunk at the bus stop with his unemployed friends. He had dropped out of school a long time ago.

The bailiff had just come and seized his TV, cell phone and his grandfather's wristwatch. Gaz was at the bottom. Way down. And he had not only ruined his life. But also at least that of his wife and son. He had known he was gay for 17 years. He had never been able to confide in anyone. In a drunken stupor he had sex with his wife, who promptly became pregnant and whom he had married out of some residual decency.

And now he had a photo in his hands, which his wife had put on the kitchen table for him to say goodbye without comment. Gaz already quite drunk in the arms of his buddies. Kyle, to his knowledge, had been dead for two years. Drunk to death. And at some point during the evening, he had been fired up to fuck the already pretty drugged Vicky. And shit, that's what he had done. Already that evening his life was on the line. After that it went at top speed into the abyss.

Now he had howling this picture, with which his fate had been sealed, in the hands. Damn it, if only he had had the guts to come out earlier. He had actually been athletic in elementary school. And good at math. When on God's earth had it all turned around? The image began to change… His spongy features became more angular. The glazed look became a radiant smile. And the radical short haircut became a pink-dyed blow-dry. Yes, he could still remember the evening well. There had been report cards that day, and he had graduated at the top of his class. He had a scholarship for an elite boarding school in his pocket. And he was dating his first boyfriend at the time. Quite cliché, it was the barber in the settlement. Shit, he looked gay back then with the pink hair. But he was in love, and the two had fucked like rabbits. Since then, Gareth got a hard-on every time he went to the barbershop.

The lads were good lads. They were all a bit empty headed. He hardly kept in touch with any of them anymore. Kyle he had hired as a gardener and janitor at one point. Since then, they saw each other regularly at his country estate. And as far as Gareth could tell, Kyle had been clean and sober ever since. That had also been the night he had taken Vicky home. My God, the poor thing was completely drunk. She'd probably been given knockout drops, too. And either that night or just before, she had been knocked up. In any case, she was probably pregnant that night. His parents had taken Vicky in lovingly. Since he was going to boarding school soon, she had been given his room. When he was there on vacation, the two of them had shared the room. And when Jacob was born, his parents soon adopted him. Until then, Gareth had been an only child; on that fateful evening, he had been given an older sister and a younger brother.

Boarding school had been a tough time. He was the chav, everyone else was from a rich home. But he was hardworking, smart and ambitious. Soon he was captain of the rugby team. And his math teacher recognized his talent for software development. Gareth founded his first small startup while still at school. And when he exited four years later, he earned his first millions.

Gareth sat in the study of his townhouse in a side street of Marylebone High Street. Sweet that Victoria had sent him the picture from that evening. That was, in fact, almost 16 years ago now. But even though some circumstances were tragic, looking back, it was one of the best evenings of their lives ever for her, Jacob and him. Victoria was the best business partner he could have imagined. And Jacob had followed in his footsteps at his old school very successfully. At that moment, Ivo came to the door. Heck, his husband already knew how to keep him from working. The muscle stud had nothing on but an apron. And carried a silver tray with a leather gag in front of him. "Your lordship, it's time to call it a day," Ivo said in an overly stilted manner. Today Gareth would get the gag in his mouth.

[fixedfour]

Welcome back!! What’s Joes current energy/ chart giving??

hi! 🩷 thank you!!

tbh i'm going to treat this like an horary question 😌 so i won't be looking at his chart directly but rather the chart for the time this question was asked-- August 12 at 8:35PM :

first impression: sheesh. there is SO much going on in all angular houses. Immediately feels a bit heavy !

But joe here is represented by the seventh house, which is in LEO

which at first glance tells me the chart is suggesting a confident, if even a little cocky, attitude/feeling

Venus (in purva phalguni) and Mercury (in magha) are sitting here as well, which sort of confirms even more he might be feeling self assured about way he looks. (as he should!)

But. joe also has Mars in Leo, so Mercury and Venus's current transits are affecting his confidence and even willpower (mars) even more, heightening the feelings of looking good and feeling good

But.. I just noticed Mercury’s retrograde though.. so that is one of the first signs of a bit of frustration tbh. Magha sort of suggests an unfulfilled sense of duty (makes sense omg)

Plus, Saturn is sitting in the first house, in Aquarius. And it’s retrograde. there might be a feeling of soberness/coldness overall. This is where it gets a little intense in this chart for this question though, since Sun (Leo) and Saturn (Aquarius) are enemy signs

Saturn's current transit has actually been affecting him for quite some time, likely adding even more onto a feeling of being repressed/impatient.

also, at the time this question was sent, the moon had JUST entered Scorpio (in Vishaka!)

a moon + moon transit is always... emotional. intense. these transits can make you feel bristly, sensitive. joe has moon in scorpio, the moon's detriment sign ! so this chart def suggests a little turbulence 😔 (the nature of the 8th house rules unexpected events after all. ketu is sitting in this house as well, in Virgo. So it’s def suggesting some tension being felt) so the entrance of Scorpio in the sky might have darkened some feelings overall (for everyone possibly lol)

Scorpio moon here is in the 10th house, house of career, so the hyper focus of his emotions might have just slipped into work (not surprising). Honestly I wonder what these transits feel like for him, Scorpio + Scorpio transits are so intense!

good news though is that the moon won't be in Scorpio during the game on August 17! (it will be in Capricorn!)

We also have Jupiter and Mars in a tight conjunction in the 4th house! this is what I mean by heavy, since all kendras are occupied, the feeling of having too much on their plate could be felt! (themes of self, partner, work, and home. 1, 4, 7, and 10 house)

plus, the lord of the seventh house (Joe), is sitting in the sign of Cancer, in the sixth house, suggesting again an underlying feeling of vulnerability/sensitivity.

And the fact that Sun and Ketu (both malefics) are sandwiching the 7H (joe) so there is.. def some stress underneath it all omg

honestly there's quite a lot going on, but if i had to just quickly answer this question, i would say he may be doing his best to stay stoic but balanced. Because there’s even a feeling of “hell yeah i look good” lol, but .. there’s just so much going on 😭💜

[jazzandother-blog]

https://youtu.be/9B7ZWDaKECI?si=xFf6HwQfex3zQCUm

(English / Español / Italiano)

On March 2, 1959, at 2:30 in the afternoon, a group of musicians entered an old church on 30th Street in New York that the Columbia record company had converted into a recording studio thanks to the special sonority of the place. The musicians belonged to the sextet of Miles Davis, trumpeter and composer extraordinaire, a cornerstone of modern jazz. The first to arrive was drummer Jimmy Cobb, who calmly and carefully set up his drum kit. Soon after, bassist Paul Chambers, saxophonists Cannonball Adderley and John Coltrane, pianists Bill Evans, who no longer belonged to the sextet but would record on this album, and Wynton Kelly arrived. Finally, Miles, the leader of the group. Without even knowing it, this first session and the second recorded on April 22 would become fundamental in the history of both jazz and music. The product of those two days would be called Kind of Blue and was released on August 17 of the same year.

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El 2 de marzo de 1959, a las dos y media de la tarde, un grupo de músicos entraron a una antigua iglesia en la calle 30 de Nueva York que la compañía discográfica Columbia había convertido en estudio de grabación gracias a la sonoridad especial que tenía el lugar.Los músicos pertenecían al sexteto de Miles Davis, trompetista y compositor extraordinario, piedra angular del jazz moderno. El primero en llegar fue el baterista Jimmy Cobb quien con tranquilidad y esmero montó su batería. Poco después llegarían el bajista Paul Chambers, los saxofonistas Cannonball Adderley y John Coltrane, los pianistas Bill Evans, quien ya no pertenecía al sexteto pero que grabaría en este disco, y Wynton Kelly. Finalmente, Miles, el líder del grupo. Sin siquiera saberlo, esta primera sesión y la segunda grabada el 22 de abril se volverían fundamental tanto en la historia del jazz como de la música. El producto de ese par de días se llamaría Kind of Blue y salió a la venta el 17 de agosto del mismo año.

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Il 2 marzo 1959, alle due e mezza del pomeriggio, un gruppo di musicisti entrò in una vecchia chiesa della 30ª strada a New York che la casa discografica Columbia aveva trasformato in studio di registrazione grazie alla particolare sonorità del luogo. I musicisti appartenevano al sestetto di Miles Davis, trombettista e compositore straordinario, pietra miliare del jazz moderno. Il primo ad arrivare fu il batterista Jimmy Cobb, che con calma e attenzione sistemò la sua batteria. Subito dopo arrivarono il bassista Paul Chambers, i sassofonisti Cannonball Adderley e John Coltrane, i pianisti Bill Evans, che non faceva più parte del sestetto ma che avrebbe registrato su questo album, e Wynton Kelly. Infine, Miles, il leader del gruppo. Senza nemmeno saperlo, questa prima sessione e la seconda registrata il 22 aprile sarebbero diventate fondamentali nella storia del jazz e della musica. Il prodotto di quei due giorni si sarebbe chiamato Kind of Blue e sarebbe stato pubblicato il 17 agosto dello stesso anno.

Fuente: Pasión por el Jazz y Blues

[omntti]

another lore dump for my dnd campaign :)

sister wizard-demigoddesses teitoca (on the left) and mao (on the right.) teitoca was the goddess of chalk, and mao was the goddess of salt. they grew up during a time of strife, with their secluded home-village of lo'kureen threatened by the machinations of another, much older goddess: ruee, the goddess of blood. ruee had spent about 20 years prior to the girls' birth leading a crusade on the eastern coast of tunturioma, turning the land inhospitable to all but the hemoids over which she ruled. with starvation rapidly becoming a problem in lo'kureen, teitoca and mao were chosen to lead the townsfolk on a pilgrimage to find a new home.

teitoca, the goddess of chalk, collaborative magic, and ceremony. four years older than mao, teitoca was decisive, charismatic, but decidedly cowardly. she was the first to propose evacuating lo'kureen, suggesting that they seek a safe, hidden area in which to settle. about six months into their journey, by which point already had many lo'kureenians perished to the perils of the road, the walking town discovered a small, angular, concrete shack in the middle of the jungle they were passing through. this shack stood inconspicuously above ground, betraying neither its origin nor the sprawling bunker-complex buried underneath it. teitoca knew instantly upon descending into the bunkers that it was exactly what she had been looking for. she moved in that day, cultivating the underground community with her magic for years to come, christening the newly founded settlement "dur'elesh."

mao, the goddess of salt, abjurative magic, and resilience. more cunning and ambitious than her older sister, she devoted herself at a young age to the practice of battle magic, quickly rising the ranks in their town to become an official guardian of lo'kureen by the time she turned 17. around this time, with ruee's dark magic beginning to overtake the surrounding lands, mao took up the helm and started teaching defensive magic to the townspeople to ensure they could defend themselves. once lo'kureen was evacuated, this preparation proved invaluable, drastically reducing much of the risk of travel. upon discovering dur'elesh, a massive rift suddenly formed between mao and teitoca. despite being an optimal location to remain undetected and stay safe, living in dur'elesh would mean being near-entirely severed from the outside world. despite teitoca's pleas to stay, mao left dur'elesh, continuing west. during the continued travel, mao grew ever-stronger and ever more adventurous, establishing a distinct sect of warlocks who drew immense abjurative power from her. she and her group roamed for almost 5 more years, before finally discovering a frigid swath of snowy land at the northern tip of the continent, on the opposite side of a treacherous mountain range. it was here she founded the town of "mejya'nul." with mao's warlocks to keep them warm, the people of mejya'nul slowly developed the city into a thriving bastion against the cold.

[topazadine]

Siblings and Questions Tag!

Thank you for the tag, @mysticstarlightduck! Your post was lovely, especially the part about your characters' worst habits.

We'll look at Cerie and Uileac, because of course we will.

1. Who looks the most like Dad?

Cerie, actually. Papa Seorus had a rougher look about him.

2. Who looks the most like mom?

Uileac. Mama Caoimhe was a very slender, foxish woman, and Uileac has her angular bony figure.

3. Who eats the most?

Uileac lol. I mean, it makes sense; he spends most of his day riding and training, so of course he's going to need more fuel than lazy-ass Cerie.

4. Who has been in the weirdest situations?

Cerie to be sure. Later on in The Eirenic Verses she is kidnapped by their country's mortal enemy, Sina, and forced to help them. Uileac's shenanigans cannot compare.

5. Who sleeps the most?

Cerie. She's such a useless lesbian. Uileac is up at the crack of dawn, a very Type A person, whereas Cerie would nap all day if you let her.

7. Most stable romantic life?

Uileac. He's been with his partner Orrinir since they were 18, whereas Cerie just kinda ... gets around a lot in her teens/early adulthood. Not to the extent where Uileac will have to chastise her, but some flings here and there.

8. Worst habit of each one?

Cerie: Acting like a martyr and thinking she has to do everything by herself, even though Uileac and her brother-in-law Orrinir would always help her if she needed it. Uileac: Stubbornness and pride. He can't handle any damage to his reputation.

9. Who's the most dramatic?

Neither of them are very dramatic in general, but I'd have to say Cerie. She can howl like a dying animal if she has the least bit of discomfort whatsoever lmao.

10. Who had a weird phase?

I guess Cerie? I don't think either of them really had a weird phase, to be honest. But Cerie definitely had a defiant teenage angst phase.

11. Best cook of the family?

Both of them are shit cooks and hate doing it. If Uileac's husband, Orrinir, was not there to feed them, both of them would die. However, if you put a sword to their throat and forced them to cook, Uileac's food would probably not kill you.

12. Best memory together?

Probably Uileac's wedding to Orrinir. They danced all night, got super drunk, and then came home to their brand new house in Goldnin <3 Of course Cerie was allowed to live with the newlyweds. Wasn't even a question.

13. Worst memory together?

Their parents dying in the raid on the family farm in Quirnis. I'll let Uileac take it away with his explanation from Funeral of Hopes:

14. Dream trip together

Heading out to The Windswept, where the nomadic tribes of Breme still do their typical nomadic things. Uileac has always wanted to get a Windswept pony because they're much sturdier than the horses one can get in the settlements (sorry, Erix, it's true). Cerie wants to hear their oral traditions and learn more about their folk religions to better understand how it differs from High Poetry. She's also always wanted to meet people from the Seinn tribe, which produced the first saint of her religion, Saint Luridalr. Being strictly nomadic, the Seinn don't visit the Bremish settlements like some of the other tribes do.

15. Would you rather not be able to shower for a month or have the same clothes for a month?

Cerie: Shower. She could probably deal with having the same clothes for a month, though she'd complain about it the whole time. Uileac: Same clothes. No one said you couldn't wash them, right? He'll just go naked for a lil bit.

16. Who's the older one?

Uileac is older by about four years.

17. Describe each other in three words

Cerie would describe Uileac as: Prideful, composed, protective Uileac would describe Cerie as: Stubborn, intelligent, loyal

18. Role model?

Cerie's role model is her mentor, Irith Druidinn. Irith has been her teacher since she was incredibly young and has taught her everything she knows about High Poetry. She hopes to be half the poet that her teacher is. Uileac's role model is their late father, Papa Seorus. He strives to always make his father proud, but unfortunately, he doesn't really know what his father would consider honorable, given that Papa Seorus died when Uileac was just 11.

19. Who usually has the worst ideas?

One would think it would be Cerie, given that she's younger and more stubborn, but it's actually Uileac. His bad ideas are generally about protecting his reputation and/or his loved ones, which doesn't always mesh well with what he's supposed to be doing.

20. A GIANT insect is on the wall, who's taking care of it?

Uileac for sure. Cerie is screaming and waving her arms as if that will make the bug go away. Meanwhile, Uileac is pulling out his bow and trying to do a trick shot. A moving target! How exciting! (Hey, you said it was GIANT, definitely big enough for him to hit.) Then, of course, Cerie yells at him for shooting a fucking arrow through the wall while he shrugs and says it's good practice. Never know when the Sinans might learn to harness insect warriors. If he misses, the hubbub has attracted Orrinir, who does the intelligent thing and takes it outside.

If you enjoyed this, maybe you'll consider purchasing 9 Years Yearning, which is all about Cerie and Uileac growing up <3 There are some really cute scenes of them together.

Tag list: @kuebiko-writing @ryns-ramblings @cain-e-brookman @halfbit @macabremoons and Open Tag!

[clarynewme]

Hello,i would like to participate in your new game,dob 9 August 2003,time,17:5 pm ,Haryana India .

Thankyou 🌷

Hi @kiyogi 😊 Thank you for being here💕

Your future spouse can have thin/small arms/hands/fingers/shoulders/hips/butt; strong bone structure and jawline; youthful appearance; big/average/flexible legs/thighs/chest; prominent abs/hair; androgynous features (masculine and feminine); beautiful/attractive defined/sturdy chest/private parts; balanced features; aesthetically pleasing; angular/pouty features; average to tall height; could deal with health issues in their life; brownish light complexion (for example Charles Barkley basketball player) or light complexion with brown/yellow/orange/glowing tones; prominent chin; beauty cut/mark/mole on their face; beautiful seductive eyes; long/curly/thick hair (could have this at some point in their life); maybe different culture; blonde hair; blue or hazel eyes; baby face; older or financially stable than you; defined/sharp eyebrows; nose hump; wear glasses; prominent teeth/abs/nose/forehead; alien eyes; big forehead with wrinkles; big eyelids; gummy smile; gap teeth; padded under eyes (for example Noah Centineo, Nick Jonas, etc); luscious lips; alien eyes; elongated nose tip; scars; large pointy ears; dimpled chin; crisp jawline; strong hips; dimples/high cheekbones; etc.

Okay I think I am done😅 I hope you like this reading if you do leave feedback on my page🙏 And let me know if it resonates👌it helps improving my readings💜

[period-dramallama]

6, 7, 8, 17?

The word that appears most in your current draft

I can't fit all 115k words into wordcounter.com, but I will take an educated guess and say it's 'more' because a) the word more is common anyway + b) Thomas More is the protagonist and he's referred to by his surname to distinguish him from Tudor England's 582,671 other Thomases. So a and b added together should make more the most common word.

Alexa play Gimme More by Britney Spears

Preferred writing fonts

Times New Roman. Some people hate it and swear by Garamond.

But I like.... angular fonts. Arial, Calibri... they're fine for Tumblr but not for writing.

When writing first person I have been tempted to use cursive fonts to make it feel more like handwriting.

If you had to write a sequel for a fic

Hmm...Love is a stranger is my only fic that really has sequel potential. I've been thinking about extending the AU specifically to explore the tragedy of Don Carlos Prince of Asturias.

The writing and editing process

I don't have any kind of routine. It gets done when it gets done. And I'm a slow writer. But I start with an outline- a very detailed timeline. Then I go through it chronologically writing scenes, occasionally skipping ahead to write the really climactic moments. Editing is a slow and painstaking process that usually involves me overthinking and agonising over word order, but also doing important things like checking continuity, making sure I haven't forgotten what the story's themes and leitmotifs are.

Some people are fast writers and heavy editors, and their story only takes shape in the redrafting and editing process. I'm more of a slow writer and light editor. Once the first draft is there, it's more about polishing and embellishing it than changing it fundamentally.

[admitonegame]

Admit One Dev Blog: Update 42 - Continuing Player Art (Part 17)

It's time for this week's update!

Very happy that the foot has now been connected to the rest of the body! There's still some polish work to do, you can see how some areas of the model appear more defined or angular than they should due to the new edge loops, but it's nice to finally see the full body taking shape.

This of course leaves the head/face as the major things left to do in addition to general polish.

I'm not sure if I want to jump right into those yet, I may want to get back into Unreal and do some more work there, but in the meantime enjoy this silly animation.

I feel like an enemy running at you like this could actually be pretty terrifying haha

Thanks for reading! I'll catch you in the next one!

[sunburnacoustic]

An interview with Matt Bellamy in the Guardian, 17 August 2001. By Will Hodgekinson.

Matt Bellamy is the slight, angular, 23-year-old lead singer of the rock band Muse. He's sharing a flat in north London with a friend from his hometown of Teignmouth and the band's drummer, Dom. The flat has the air of a temporary home with only the bare necessities present and standard regulation furniture fills up the space between a piano in one corner and a computer in the other. For a flat occupied by three rock'n'roll-involved young men, it's surprisingly clean.

"We've been here a couple of months," says Bellamy, who talks in a rapid monotone. "I lived in Exeter for six months and I'll probably be here for six months before hopefully moving to the States. I'm living my life in six-month chunks at the moment."

Laying down roots is not on the current agenda. "If I'm in the same place for too long, I can't write anything. When things are changing, that's when the writing kicks in, whether that change be moving house, or losing a girlfriend, or making a new bunch of friends. Because that's when I get the urge of wanting to be in touch with the one thing that is constant, which is the feeling I get from making music. That's why the last album was called Origin of Symmetry - it's important to have that base when everything is in flux."

Being a child of the 21st century, Bellamy has dispensed with the notion of a record collection for something far more transportable - music stored on computer. "Since Napster went, the program you need is Morpheus, which can not only download music, but films and other computer programs as well. Perhaps I shouldn't be saying this, but I've got AI and all these films that haven't come out yet downloaded on to my computer. And with songs, you download the ones you want from somebody else's machine and form your own playlist."

When he's away from the computer, Bellamy uses a wristwatch-sized MP3 player to listen to music. "You plug a lead into the computer and put on the songs you want, so you can walk around with this and the quality is brilliant. It costs about £250. I'm on planes a lot and they always tell me to turn off my Walkman during take-off, but this is so small that they can't even see I've got it on. When you put these headphones on, it's absolute cut-off from the outside world. You can't hear kids crying or anything."

On the little MP3 player is a catholic range of music. Along with tracks by Rage Against the Machine, Weezer, American lo-fi favourites Grandaddy and funk-rockers Primus are blues tracks by Robert Johnson and European classical excerpts. "When I was about 10 my dad played me Robert Johnson, and that was the first time I heard music that made me feel something, even though what I'm playing on piano these days isn't blues but music from European history, be it folk, classical, or flamenco. I'm into Jeff Buckley's voice a lot too, as he was one of the first male singers who made me comfortable about singing in a female range."

Another favourite is the Belgian rock band Deus. "One of the best rock bands from Europe. They're too experimental for radio here so they've never made it, but they're huge in Belgium. They jump across all kinds of styles and will play anything from blues to disco in the same track. They've been around for about 10 years, and they did a tour supporting PJ Harvey in England, but apart from that, they've never had much exposure."

All of this feeds into Muse's own sound - emotional, heartfelt rock popular with troubled young men. "Chris, the bass player, is into his metal, and for some reason he's also obsessed by the Beach Boys, and he's got all those outtakes of Beach Boys tracks that you can get. Dom's into percussive things like Buddy Miles and the Aphex Twin. We all like Rage Against the Machine, while I listen to a lot of classical music and the other two don't really go there. We meet in the middle of all our tastes with what we do in the band."

From playing us noisy American rock on his computer, Bellamy goes to knocking out some astonishingly accomplished classical piano. "I play the piano for ages because I enjoy the experience of doing it. It's always been something of an escape, if you like," he says. "Then something will come from that and there will be the start of a new song, even if at that point it's just expressing a state of mind, a feeling of loneliness or whatever. I wrote a lot of the last album on tour, so I would often find a piano backstage at a venue, and just play it all day."

Occasionally, there's time for that most traditional of listening pleasures, the record. "Our producer, John Leckie, has opened me up to people like Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart, and even Jimi Hendrix who I don't think I would have listened to otherwise. After a day's session he would pull out a few records and play them in the dark. It was cool."

[rabbitcruiser]

Yosemite National Park, CA (No. 5)

The word Yosemite (derived from yohhe'meti, "they are killers" in Miwok) historically referred to the name that the Miwok gave to the Ahwahneechee People, the resident indigenous tribe.[16][17][18] Previously, the region had been called "Ahwahnee" ("big mouth") by its only indigenous inhabitants, the Ahwahneechee.[16] The term Yosemite in Miwok is easily confused with a similar term for "grizzly bear", and is still a common misconception.

In 1855, entrepreneur James Mason Hutchings, artist Thomas Ayres and two others were the first tourists to visit. Hutchings and Ayres were responsible for much of Yosemite's earliest publicity, writing articles and special issues about the valley. Ayres' style was detailed with exaggerated angularity. His works and written accounts were distributed nationally, and an exhibition of his drawings was held in New York City. Hutchings' publicity efforts between 1855 and 1860 increased tourism to Yosemite. Natives supported the growing tourism industry by working as laborers or maids. Later, they performed dances for tourists, acted as guides, and sold handcrafted goods, notably woven baskets. The Indian village and its peoples fascinated visitors, especially James Hutchings who advocated for Yosemite tourism. He and others considered the indigenous presence to be one of Yosemite's greatest attractions.

Source: Wikipedia

[cuteniarose]

can you plz infodump about your ocs?? so new people to your blog can understand them

Hey, anon? I hope you know that this ask is the best one I’ve gotten in all my 3 1/2 years on this hellsite, so thank you!! You really don’t need to know about my OCs to follow this blog cause a) I post once in a blue moon nowadays, and b) it’s rarely about my OCs, BUT SINCE YOU ASKED-

K, so, my main OCs are Suiren and Midori, sisters who just so happen to be Ghazan and Ming-Hua’s daughters. They were 7 and 4 respectively when their parents were imprisoned for trying to kidnap Korra, which led to them being placed in the ‘care’ of Ghazan’s older sister, Haya. What happens to them after that? Well, you’d have to be more specific, since I have about a trillion different AUs featuring them. The two most important ones (aka the ones written down) are:

1. Seeds of the Red Lotus. The very first fic I wrote about them, which I... haven’t updated in two years. It currently stands at 5 chapters BUT I am in the process of rewriting and continuing it. The basic concept is that the girls grow up in utter misery under Haya’s iron fist, and in a desperate attempt to get enough money to leave and live a happy, comfortable life somewhere else, Suiren becomes an assassin at the bright old age of 17. Fast forward 6 years, and Team Avatar, unable to take down the Earth Empire on their own, hire her to kill Kuvira

2. Under the Oak’s Shade. A rather self indulgent AU written as a form of catharsis and spiritual healing. Six months into living with Haya, the girls are taken in by Zhi, a cranky lesbian with a bad sense of direction/P’Li’s firebending teacher from the Red Lotus/my friend @katkastrofa‘s OC from her fic Lost and Found (which, unlike the multichaps I write, is complete and you should go read it immediately). Once I pull myself together to actually figure out how the next instalment in the series should go, this will, most likely, eventually become a Red Lotus Korra AU, which I’m definitely looking forward to writing.

Now that the basics are out of the way, let’s get to actual infodumping about my two precious cinnamon rolls. Most of this info is from SotRL-verse, as that is the main story I’ve got about them, so keep that in mind

-

Suiren:

23 years old as of 174 AG. Master waterbender and deadly assassin. Cold, calculating and precise in everything she does, leaving no room for error. Takes no shit from anyone, is fiercely defensive and independent, and is the last person to ever accept any help or charity. Confident in her abilities and borderline cocky at times, a lot of which is a front. Extremely short tempered, nihilistic, cynical and high strung, not willing to let anyone get close enough to her to see her hidden vulnerabilities

She wasn’t always like this. A long time ago, back before she lost her parents, she was much, much softer, kinder and more gentle. Her parents called her their little water lily, and the nickname suited her well. However, P’Li’s nickname for her was ‘my little firecracker’, so she very much still had quite a temper even back then. Overall, she was a happy little girl with bright eyes and a mischievous smile who was determined to excel in her waterbending lessons. She was Ming-Hua’s pride and joy. 16 years of taking the brunt of Haya’s anger to shield her sister, as well as destroying the part of herself that wouldn’t let her mindlessly do the bidding of whoever paid her, changed her, perhaps irreversibly.

Her old life still haunts her, though. Genetics played a cruel joke on her – the silky black hair reaching below her waist, the angular features, the prominent cheekbones, the (relatively) short height – it all serves to make her see her mother every single time she glances in the mirror. Being just like her mother was something she once aspired to, but now follows her like a curse. Even the things she got from her dad, dark skin and golden brown eyes, don’t help, and just make her look like Haya, especially when she’s angry

There is another side to her that no one but Midori gets to see. She may not be as soft as sixteen years ago, but she is still capable of love and gentleness. She loves her sister more than anything else in life, has already killed and would die for her. She is very protective of Midori (though often to a fault). She hugs her tight and kisses her forehead and cheeks, quietly sings her (their mother’s) lullabies as she calms her down from a nightmare, heals any and all her wounds, tells her stories of their parents, always puts her first no matter how pained and exhausted she herself is... In short, Suiren took on the role of a self sacrificing parent a long time ago and has played it well

Suiren is a distinguished lesbian but can’t keep a partner longer than a few weeks. Girls fawn all over her, but once they see past the pretty face and confident demeanour and notice everything wrong with her, they run (which only serves to make Suiren’s abandonment issues worse). She has taken to sticking to one night stands when she needs an outlet for her frustrations, convinced she will never have, and isn’t deserving of, a long lasting, loving relationship

She struggles severely with her mental health, constantly plagued by what she has done. She tries to limit her sleep to avoid nightmares that she knows will come and represses all emotions except for anger as that is the safest to latch onto and channel into killing. She is almost always on edge and feels pressure mounting with every single day. Very prone to overstimulation when it comes to noise, light and people. The only times she ever relaxes (or, at least, pretends to) is when she’s alone with Midori or with Lotus, her pet sabertooth moose lion.

To sum up: the poor girl is a vessel for my trauma and deserves a 30 hour nap, a hug, a warm blanket, the whole world and her parents back

-

Midori:

20 years old as of 174 AG. Earthbender, though not very good at it. She discovered her earthbending only a few months before losing her parents, and had no one to teach her since then. She is naturally kindhearted and hardworking, always trying to help out where she can and seem useful. Quiet and anxious, she prefers to stick to the background and draw as little attention to herself as possible (which is in fact a defence mechanism against Haya’s treatment of her but, y’know, let’s not get into that rn)

Sixteen years ago, Midori was a bright and happy little girl, wanting nothing more than for everyone around her to be happy as well. Always full of energy, she could talk and ramble for hours about anything that crossed her mind. Just as mischievous as her sister, she knew she was the baby of the family and could get away with anything, though to her credit, she didn’t abuse that much. Her parents called her their little Seedling, the youngest of them all so full of potential and eager to grow and make her parents proud. P’Li often called her a cuddlebug for her affectionate nature (am I stealing that from Kat’s fic bc it made me scream into my pillow for five minutes straight? Maybe. You can’t prove anything).

In present age, she’s a lot more similar to her childhood self than Suiren is. She doesn’t talk that much anymore, if at all, and her happiness is often clouded by the harsh world around her, but some of that cheerfulness still shines through, especially when she’s alone with Suiren or with Tenzin’s kids. The energy once used for rambling and chasing butterflies and racing with her sister is now almost always redirected into chores and housework, though if Suiren offered, she’d gladly race her again (and probably win tbh, her legs are longer and Renny prefers faster methods than running)

She doesn’t remember her parents well, and their faces have blurred beyond recognition in her mind. It’s why her appearance doesn’t affect her as much as Renny’s own does her. She’s not a carbon copy of either of her parents like Suiren is, she’s more of an even mix. She knows what Suiren had told her, that she has their mother’s eyes and their father’s nose, but can’t piece anything together in her head. She keeps her hair, as dark and silky as Suiren’s, though thicker, at shoulder length, a bit uneven in places as she cuts it herself. As a child, Ghazan would tie her hair into twin pigtails every morning and she never let anyone else do it. She hasn’t styled her hair in any way since she took those pigtails out before going to bed the night their parents left

A disaster bisexual, proven by the fact that out of all people in the world, she falls for Opal Beifong. You know, the step sister of the woman Midori’s sister has to kill (or die trying), and the daughter of the woman who killed Midori’s beloved auntie P’Li. Yeah, tough case. Anyway, turns out, there is a limited supply of Ghazan’s charm in his genetic code and it all got passed down to Renny, because ‘Dori herself turns into an awkward mess whenever the opportunity to flirt arises. It’s fine though, Opal still finds her adorable. Also she probably had a small crush on Bolin when they first met, but that was because he was one of the only people her age to be nice to her and she got over it quickly

Remember how I said she was quiet and anxious? Yeah, understatement of the century. Her anxiety follows her around throughout her day and is the driving force behind all of her decisions. Many things, from raised voices to passive aggressiveness to bad moods to unfinished housework, can trigger it. When it does, she clams up and curls in on herself, but tries her best to deescalate or rectify the situation. She’s also very sensitive to any kind of conflict, even when she’s not part of it. Midori also worries a lot for Suiren while she’s away on missions, as she knows she’ll completely fall apart if something were to happen to Renny. She has nightmares about it often, almost every night that Suiren is not there. Little does she know, Suiren has similar worries over losing her.

Another big thing is her major inferiority complex. She looks at her big sister and sees someone who has always been talented, powerful and capable. Someone who can do so many things without even breaking a sweat. Someone who has girls fawning all over her. And then ‘Dori looks at herself and sees none of those things. She doesn’t hate Suiren for it, not at all, but tiny inklings of disdain sometimes take form. She tries hard to ignore it, but often can do nothing but listen to those thoughts swirl around in her head.

In summary: An anxious mess of a girl who is in desperate need of a proper support system and someone (*cough* Opal *cough*) who could assure her that she is enough and that it doesn’t matter if she isn’t like her sister, she’s perfect just the way she is

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If you want me to elaborate on any of this (and this goes for everyone, not just anon) my askbox is always open and my desire to infodump about my precious traumatised babies never wavers