#The others ages aren’t specified but I’m assuming their all Similar to the usual

[awzominator]

What if…. Cassandra Cain in Gerard Ways Batman series…. What if???

anyway she is just as much a weirdo as Bruce. Doesn’t have his future sight but does have the sixth sense while retaining her ability to read ppls body language. Idk she finds him wild and adopts some of his bat like mannerisms Bc I find it funny if Dick is still the only “normal” person. They eat rats together and sleep upside down like god intended

since the inside of Batman’s cape is supposed to have drawings and such inside along w symbolisms, I wanted to play with that for her. I personally view class’s story to be one of breaking free of predetermined destiny I included the broken chains to represent that stage. The stitching to show she is mending herself from her previous life and mistakes. She is making herself into something she wants now that she’s no longer under constraints. It’s messy and haggard but it’s hers and she’s building it with her own hands. I figured the details within her cape would become more elaborate the longer she wears the suit has the time to experience the world. For now she has two eyes as she’s always watching and learning. Nothing can be hidden from her gaze

[cerealandchoccymilk]

Trigun Bookclub: Trigun Vol.1, Chapter #05

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CW: Some of my analysis in this post handles the topic of death and suicide (there will be a warning around that portion). There are also more spoilers than usual. Stay safe!

I’m doing a deep-read of the Japanese original print (reread) and Overhaul 1.0 (first read) side-by-side, and writing down everything I notice from small details, version differences, translation differences, etc.

As always, here are the silly silly non-analysis panels:

And the rest is under the cut >:)

[link for if the images aren’t in horizontal rows]

Milly and Meryl (especially Milly goddamn) rolling nat 20's on their perception checks. It really is scary how good their sixth sense is.

In the previous chapter, Vash asked for (and for a while was using) a 3rd class seat, but it looks like he asked for a grade-up or something to accomodate for Kaito.

A sort-of mistranslation - Kaito means that Vash talks as if he were someone from the Big Fall (because in that time period, there's no way any human from then would be alive), so it should be more like "You talk as if you were actually at the Big Fall, over a hundred years ago." The existing phrasing could also mean that, but this would make it less ambiguous. Also, I would replace his "I/my" statements with "we/our," since it's not specified and he assumes Vash is just a human that's talking weirdly.

This line is really interesting to me from a rereading standpoint. At this point, Vash's origins and age are still a mystery, and this is the first hint at it. Vash's expression makes me think that maybe he was reminded that no one other than him (+Knives+the people at the Home ship) is from that time period. To the overwhelming majority of people, No Man's Land is their only home; this life is all they know.

Don't have much to say about this one that's not in the image. Vash's pussy is out again. Excellent (horrible) form. Kaito is either a bit worried about how hard he fell, or he doesn't give a shit and is just nervous/cautious about the mission.

I love how over-the-top neon is. Smoking a firework!! Damn!!

A decent amount of lines from Neon and the BL gang (I'm going to call them that exclusively) are in katakana English.

I like how he says "maggots" in place of the...rude 3rd person pronoun (??)(that sounds kinda stupid in english lmao) Neon says something more like "It's about time that boy set everything up!!" referring to the small bombs he was putting in the vents.

His pose here reminds me of kabuki. I'm not sure about details, since I don't know much about kabuki... But it looks like a stereotypical kabuki pose. Another over-the-top point for Neon.

In Japanese, the first line has "reeking of manure" describing the wagons. For the "Big Man" in Japanese, the kanji for the sandsteamer (砂蒸気, usually ruby-ed サンドスチーム/sandsteamer) with the ruby note saying Big Man (ビッグ・マン). Also, the guy mentions that the chasing them off is part of the fee they paid.

More over-the-top-ness from Neon. In the Japanese version, the first line looks a lot like one of those super long German words to me lol (究極華麗弩級盗賊). The portion saying "The Bad Lads Gang!" in Japanese is pretty much just "Hhhhhheaaaddd!!!!" (as in leader).

The introduction for Neon actually has play on words/kanji. The word 降臨 (kōrin) is originally for Christ's coming or descent, usually used for any arrival of someone "godly" (fyi Japanese has a much more casual sense of godliness than in English). What it says here, though, is 光臨, which replaces the first hald with the character for "light" (also kō). How bright can this guy get!?

Did Kaito nicely go through the trouble of moving Vash onto the bed before venting? how... that's a grown man...

And here is Rem's first appearance!! Just now realized that her name is probably based off of REM sleep (the stage of sleep associated with dreaming). The two are wearing similar (but not the same) clothes, with Rem wearing a tucked t-shirt and jeans, and Vash wearing an untucked button-up and jeans. I'm not smart enough for this but there's gotta be something to analyze here along with the fact that Vash is an adult (the dream isn't entirely based on memory)... Also, this is the first time we see Vash in a casual outfit.

This may very well be me reading into things too much, but it stuck out to me that Rem is barefoot while Vash has sneakers on. I had two speculations about this. One is that Rem has been at that picnic for longer than Vash, and Vash just got (appeared...?) there. I'm not sure about Western picnic customs/etiquette, but in Japan, you always take your shoes off when sitting down on the tarp. Rem is the one that set the picnic up, but Vash hasn't had the chance to even take his shoes off. this sounds kinda stupid now that im typing it out. idek (throws computer out of window) [death/sui cw] The other, more messed up one is that it symbolizes Rem's death. This one is definitely more overanalysis-y!! It reminded me of what Reigen did during the final arc of MP100...iykyk. During the Great Fall, Rem willingly stayed on the ship to save humanity, sacrificing herself. I'll spare the details, but in Japanese culture, people often take their shoes off before committing suicide. It's a frequently used symbol in art that handles the topic. Rem being barefoot may be symbolizing her resolve at the time of her death, of being prepared to die if it means she can save one more person. [/cw]

did i write all that for a single panel. this aut really be isming OH MY GOD MY COMPUTER JUST RAN OUT OF BATTERY I HAD A HEART ATTACK. I FORGOT IT WASNT PLUGGED IN HOLY SHIT THANK GOD FOR AUTOSAVE.

This line of Vash's is also interesting. Is he viewing "people" from an outsider's perspective, as an independent Plant? Or is including himself in that, questioning the meaning of his own current life in the desert planet, too?

In Japanese. way he responded to Rem's giggling looked a bit childish to me, like he reverted a bit back to his childhood, or he's just being a more relaxed around Rem. mom........

Ok okokok. In Japanese, she (more literally) says "All I can muster/the best I can do is ask my heart [the destination] (read: what I can do)." This may be a translation correction but I honestly was not thinking about that at all during the annotation lol. I'm too sleepy to actually talk about the importance of this line and the way it's phrased. but you get it. you get it.........

Silly Vash face for the first time in a while!! Vash's reaction upon waking gives me the impression that this is the first time (in a long while, at least) that he's dreamed about Rem...? he looks so cute..........................help...................

And that’s it for Chapter #05! As always, the Japanese annotations are in the reblogs.

i know i'm getting very behind. theres absolutely no way im going to complete all this in real time with the book club. and all this stuff about rem is not helping. send help

[phoenixyfriend]

👀 PLease tell us your thoughts about the Jedi babies re-growing up among different cultural contexts.

Oh fuck okay

Context: original post, chrono The specific post this ask is referencing: here

Summary of the AU: Disaster lineage got tossed back in time. Anakin stayed 21-ish, but Obi-Wan and Ahsoka got deaged, took new names for time-travel reasons (Ylliben and Sokanth, or Ben and Soka), are now staying with the True Mandalorians under Jaster Mereel because the Force said to, go back to the Temple after about a decade. They grabbed Shmi about three months after arriving.

So as far as the cultural background goes, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka had similar upbringings. She spent a few years on Shili first, but both spent the majority of their childhoods up to age 13/14 being raised in the creche. So that's the basis that they would default to, in a vacuum.

Nobody is raised in a vacuum.

Along with the Jedi cultural background, they're being raised by Tatooine natives in a Mandalorian environment.

Shmi and Anakin are both former slaves who have desert survival baked into their bones. The longer Anakin spends around her, the more his accent slips, the more he talks about old folktales, the more he uses idioms that don't exist on a cityplanet like Coruscant. All the things that he tamped down to be a Jedi come floating back to the surface, and Shmi's never known anything else. Anakin's knowledge of slave customs make her feel more comfortable, which in turn makes him feel better, and so on.

Mandalore is just... the culture they're living in. You don't grow up in a new culture with a new language without picking up on it personally. (Source: I moved to the US when I was a little under two years old.)

I think the thing I'm going to focus on as an example is the way each of these cultures approaches family, and then maybe how they approach the keeping of peace/what peace means.

Jedi: Where you come from means little, only the legacy you leave behind in your students. Mandalore: You protect your clan and your children; adoption is a major cultural value, if not actually practiced consistently. Tatooine: You can lose your family at any time, so you value what you have in all its forms. You don’t forget where and who you came from, to family of blood and family of choice alike. You cling to your memories and what little you still have of them, to what your master cannot take away.

These are all valid ways to approach family, and each of these approaches can have significant meaning to different people. But they do all, to a certain degree, conflict with one another, despite all three being fairly communal cultures.

The Jedi have a culture, one that’s built on a shared ability and religion over thousands of years. It’s not just an organization, but a continuous community with legends and traditions and art and records. But it’s one that is built on new blood coming in from the outside, volunteers who join because the religion speaks to them (near literally, given the nature of Force Sensitivity), given up by families who couldn’t or wouldn’t teach them in a way that let their talents flourish instead of pushing it all down.

For the Jedi, a culture built on people coming together due to something they have in common intrinsically that their families of blood do not, it makes sense to put emphasis on letting go of that past when they can, and to place importance on teaching lineages. It’s not just the official master-padawan pairs, either, but that’s the most obvious and easily paralleled element. Moreover, a lot of the Jedi culture is about gaining knowledge, so obviously spreading it is good, and also on supporting the galaxy to make it a better place; to view the Jedi order as a heavily communal culture would make sense, since their values are all about selfless betterment of the universe, which on a larger scale is about the galactic conflicts, but on a smaller scale is about supporting their own community, the children and the ill and elderly.

So that is the specific culture that Obi-Wan and Ahsoka grew up in, one that holds blood family as relevant but not particularly crucial to one’s identity, but is structured so people leave behind legacies through education in a manner that often becomes adoptive family (depending on your definition, I guess). Jedi are encouraged to connect to their home cultures, if not their families, with practices like the coming of age hunt for Togruta leading to the young Jedi taking a trip out to Shili to engage in that cultural milestone. This can also be viewed as a way for the Jedi to maintain personal connections to the wider universe, a (not entirely successful, but certainly attempted) way of keeping them from becoming too isolated and insular from the universe at large, and losing touch from what the galaxy actually needs of them.

They’re now growing up with two cultures that do place emphasis on blood and found family.

Mandalore, as presented in The Mandalorian, has their traditional values set as being heavily associated with their armor, battle skills, and childcare. While that’s clearly a set of values that aren’t actually followed by everyone with full sincerity, we can assume that these stated cultural values do have at least some impact on the way the society is structured, since we do see more traditional characters (Jaster, Din) adopt orphaned children and then have the Mandalorian elements of their immediate circles support that claim.

(We’ll ignore Jango and the whole clone army thing because the amount of Sith influence is up for debate and also holy trauma, Batman.)

However, we also see that a lot of Mandalorian culture is built on their family histories. On the New Mandalorian side, we see emphasis placed on the fact that Satine is House Kryze and that she’s a duchess. Her bloodline is relevant, though not the most important thing about her. On the Death Watch side, we have Pre and Tor placing emphasis on the fact that they’re Clan Vizsla, descended from Tarre, that this is important to why they deserve what the darksaber represents, this is part of why they not only deserve to lead, but should for the good of Mandalore.

Bo-Katan’s armor is a family heirloom. Boba’s armor was Jango’s, but before being Jango’s, it was Jaster’s. Armor is important enough to pass to family, but the family can be adopted. This all tracks.

The resol’nare specifies loyalty and care for the clan/tribe among the six tenets.

These two elements seem relatively well-balanced: the importance of adoption and the importance of family as a larger unit on the level of a house or clan.

And then you have Tatooine, which also balances blood and adoption, but for entirely different reasons, that being this: it can always be taken from you.

For all that a Mandalorian could historically expect their family to die in battle, and a Jedi could expect to lose their master the same way if things went poorly, those were usually choices. A Mandalorian was raised to walk into battle, and then they could make that choice to do so. It wasn’t often much of a choice, but they could feasibly turn their back and choose to be a farmer or a doctor or something, and support the people who went out to do battle instead of being the one on the field themselves. A Jedi could choose to be a healer or an archivist or join one of the Corps.

A slave does not get that choice. A slave can be killed or sold on a whim from their master. It’s not a one-time trauma, but an ever-present fear. Your parent, your child, your sibling, your spouse, all of them can be separated from you at any time. You can always lose them, and you have no choice but to grin and bear it, or try to run and die before you reach freedom.

In a context like that, I imagine Tatooine places a very heavy emphasis on family, both of blood and of choice, and on treasuring what you have while you have it. A person is always aware that they can lose whoever they have in their life, and so they make the most of their times together, have clear and consistent ways of expressing that love (I imagine primarily direct verbal confirmations and physical contact, practical gifts like water and fruit). Childcare is important, elders are venerated. Those who survived that far have valuable wisdom, and the children are to be given what happiness they can have before reality wipes that ability from them.

The family ‘networks’ among Tatooine slaves are smaller and tighter knit. There’s less trust for outsiders, but once you’re in, you’re in until you are taken away. Still, families are torn apart regularly, and often can’t contact each other after being separated if they’re sold far enough away, so families stay small because they’re always being broken up. Unlike Mandalore’s tribe/clan system, or the Jedi’s wide, loosely-structured community, Tatooine’s slaves form smaller groups that cling for as long as they can, and try to support each other. (There are selfish ones, of course, especially the newbies, but... well. Most try.)

Tatooine is also much more likely to assign a familial role (e.g. referring to an elder as ‘grandmother’). It’s not uncommon in the others (multiple Jedi refer to their masters as a parent or sibling, like Anakin’s “you’re like a father to me” line), but it’s not as baked-in that such a role should be given.

So on a structural level, we have two people from a community culture with little emphasis on blood family or formal familial roles are now being raised in a community that has them asking “what can you do for the people around you first, and then the wider world?” by people who tell them “your family, blood and found, is the most important thing you have; never let anyone take more from you than they possibly can.”

And that shit has an effect.

For all that Sokanth and Ylliben were once raised with a knowledge that their duty, their goal, was to better the galaxy as a whole, they are now being told that the community that raises them asks their loyalty back, because societies are built on support networks, and if you support the tribe, it will support you. There are parallels to that kind of thinking among Jedi, because it is basic social theory, but it’s not presented as the same kind of cultural value. It’s not given as something to strive for, just a basic fact.

This, for instance, means that once they’re back at the Temple, they have a tendency towards suggesting study groups and other ways of supporting people in their immediate circle, often structured in very unfamiliar ways. Again, this isn’t uncommon among Jedi, but it’s not done in the same way, or with the same emphasis. The Jedi also often approach problem-solving in a different order, so the step of “meditate on it and you may find your solution” often comes before “gather information from people who know more about it than you do,” while Ben and Soka have by this point learned to do it the other way around, because that’s what the Mandalorian system taught them: rely on your family first.

Meanwhile, the Tatooine element of their upbringing has them being much more willing to just... casually refer to ‘my dad’ and ‘my sister’ and so on. They use those words. It’s not just “my master is like a father to me,” but “this is my father.” They don’t hesitate to talk about the family they had and still have in Mandalorian space. None of the Jedi begrudge them it, really, but it’s always a shock to hear for the first time, and between the Tatooine refusal to pretend the connection is gone and the Mandalorian tendency to err on the side of roughhousing as affection, they’re just... odd. It’s not like none of the other Jedi know family outside the Order--some of the old books had Obi-Wan visiting his brother on Stewjon once in a while--or like none of the active Jedi are loud or boisterous, but the specific manner in which Soka and Ben interact with the Order, especially when their dad is around, is very weird.

More Soka than Ben, really, but that’s mostly just because Ben’s a very quiet person until he gets a little older, so it’s harder to notice on him.

Point is, while they still hold to their duty to the wider galaxy and will continue to keep that duty above almost anything else in their lives, the way they talk and act about the subject of family, especially in private, is heavily influenced by their new cultures.

This is already very long but I promised I’d talk about peace so let’s go:

The Jedi seek peace as an absence of war and conflict in the portion of the galaxy under their purview, in hopes that they will prevent as much suffering and death as they can.

The Mandalorians are varied, but Jaster Mereel’s group (which is the community the Skywalkers are with) is likely to view peace as unrealistic to achieve in the long term. They do not seek war, but they know the world they live in, and are prepared to protect against violence as their first resort. They always expect an attack, even if they don’t seek it.

The Slaves of Tatooine view peace as the calm in a storm. It is the status quo. Nobody has escaped tonight, for the guards aren’t searching, but neither is anyone dead. The Master you have is in a good enough mood to not sell you, to not kill you, to not beat you. Peace as an absence of suffering is impossible, so you seek for your master to be peaceful, that is to say: not raging at you.

The scope of each of these narrows significantly. From the known galaxy, to the wars that meet Mandalorian space, to the household one serves.

A community like the Jedi can choose to address peace as something to be sought on a large scale as an absence of war. They primarily function within the borders of the Republic, which has its problems but is largely structured to prevent such things from occurring until the Sith interfere. The Jedi have a structure that allows them to address peace as an ideal to be sought, at least within the borders of the territory they serve.

Mandalore, meanwhile, has been at war on and off for... ever. When they are not at war with themselves, they’re at war with someone else. ‘Peace’ is just the time between wars, and they know that if they do not attack first, they will be forced to defend. Jaster Mereel was known as the Reformer, and part of that was that instituting a code of honor, one that was intended to prevent Mandalorian warriors from acting as raiders and brigands, but rather acting as honorable hired soldiers, or taking roles such as the Journeyman Protectors. Given that, I imagine that he views war as something inevitable, but also something that can be mitigated.

War doesn’t touch Tatooine.

Oh, it might raise taxes and import rates. It might prevent visitors who come for the races. It can do a lot of things.

But to a slave, these are nothing. The only thing war does is affect the master, the person who chooses when their slaves get water, when they get beaten, when they are no longer useful enough to keep around or keep alive.

The peace of a slave’s live is dictated by how much abuse they are subjected to by the person who owns them.

What this means for Soka and Ben is... well, they are viewed as war-hungry by the people who don’t know them very well. They have armor. They focus on fighting, both with and without their sabers. They know tactics better than most masters. They claim that war is coming, and don’t seem too sad about it.

(It is a fact to them. War will come. All they can do is meet it. They’ve already done their mourning once.)

They also... well, Shmi tells them things in hidden corners. How to duck their head to hide the hate or fear in their eyes. How to watch for the anger in the tendons of a hand. The laugh of someone who enjoys the pain they’ve caused, not just the adrenaline of a fight. She is free, and so are they, but she has not forgotten how to hide in the shadows until the master’s ire has turned elsewhere. How to be small and quiet and unseen until the danger passes.

A Jedi’s first resort is words. Their second is their saber. But the Jeedai hold their heads high, and the Mandalorians do the same.

“You rely on the Force, and you have your pride,” she tells them, her hands on their own. “But there will come a time when you will not be able to remind people that you are free. You will not be able to say that you are a person, that you deserve the respect of a living sentient. Perhaps it will be a politician who treats everyone like that. Perhaps you will be captured by an enemy. Perhaps you will be undercover. You will not be able to fight, with words or with weapons, and you will have to know how to survive.”

Tatooine does not have peace. Tatooine only has survival.

And while Jedi fight for the survival and peace of the universe, they are refined and composed. Mando’ade fight like warriors of old, and Tatooine slaves fight like cornered, rabid anooba.

The galaxy comes first, but when the chips are down and the Sith come out to play, Soka and Ben do not need refinement, because they know how to toss aside their pride and live.

[rayofsunas]

valentines | diluc [3]

A/n: good evening everyone!! I know this story is kinda a slow start to things, but dw reader is actually in this chapter lol. my plan is too write one more part, which would be the finale :) let me know how you guys are liking the series so far <33 I feel like Diluc is sooooo ooc, sawwy... AND I also can’t remember if the Dawn Winery is Diluc’s home, but pretend it is for this if it isn’t- anyways, enjoy and stay safe!!

Summary: the ever so stoic diluc thought he was being secretive when sending anonymous letters and gifts to you during the week of valentine’s day but turns out everyone in mondstadt knew it was him, though thankfully had tight enough lips to not spill the beans to you. kaeya is of no help, so you go seeking answers yourself.

Parings: Diluc/Fem! Reader (for my other mini-series, there will be some gn ones!)

Warnings: valentines (yes, I’m late, shoot me), fluff, Diluc and Kaeya have a mother (the only reason this is a warning, is cause she’s a mood and I love her), swearing

Word count: 4.5k (I’m so proud and happy with this chapter :))

The letters were vague at first and you usually received them early in the morning, at first there was one. But now there was more than one letter, sometimes Cecilia flowers and even little gifts in a delicately wrapped box along with them. You assumed the writer was a serious night owl to have prepared this all and had sent them when you were asleep, leaving them as a sort of gift for you to wake up to in the morning. 

Though, originally, when you received the first handful of letters, you were creeped out, nervous for obvious reasons.

Who was this stranger sending letters of unworthy praise and admiration? Was their identity that much in danger, to have to be anonymous? And without an address as well... 

The more you read his or her letters, you learned that over four days, they were no threat. They couldn’t have been. Whoever they were, most likely was a young teen, caught in the webs of affection for the very first time, nervous to dip their toes into confrontation out of fear of being rejected. 

But the more you scanned the letters at night, reading them over like a series of detective novels, searching for any kind of clue, you realized this person was far too intelligent, smooth, and straight to the point, to be any kind of lovesick teen. That scenario, that possibility wasn’t possible in your mind. 

The only thing that made them seem like a confused teen was the fact that they sounded lost within their feelings, although straight to the point it was hard to decipher exactly what they were saying. Their words were often hidden behind a thick wall of glass; you could see them, but it was hard to grasp exactly what they were, the true meaning of it all. 

Was his or her adoration for you, really, truly love?

Was praising your skill too small of a thing to feel completely doused in love over?

You were never too sure. 

-

letter one.

I know this may seem odd, coming from a stranger. But I can assure you I am not a creep of any kind. I can’t help but say, I admire your skills in battle; you’re a force to be reckoned with. Please accept these Cecilia’s, I hope they aren’t too much nor are you allergic.

Best wishes.

This was the very first letter you received. Something you solely took for another Knight who you unknowingly, until now, of course, caught the attention of. You assumed that they were just praising you because they wished to be like you, of course, you accepted it with open arms. Praise for such a low profiled Knight felt nice.

letter two.

Hello. I realized I never specified an address for you to possibly reply to my letters with. It completely slipped my mind, my apologies. If it isn’t too much of a hassle, you could leave your letters at Barbatos’ Statue and I could do so as well. I also realized that sending letters to your home may seem... very weird and unsettling. I am sincerely sorry, my intentions weren’t to scare you. I am no creep, I can assure you we are acquaintances. Though, I would prefer to keep my identity hidden for right now. I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes. 

This letter was completely apologetic, its entire body and being were sincere you could tell. Yes, you would agree, the letters sent directly to your home were unsettling. But if they were an acquaintance and they had no ill intentions, you had no reason to panic. 

letter three.

I received your letter and I’m very glad to hear you’re no longer panicked or creeped out. Those were never my intentions... I appreciate your willingness to communicate with me. It’s very kind and understanding of you. Also, to answer your question, I am a man. I hope that does not disappoint you... Looking forward to your next letter. 

Best wishes.

You were happy to finally figure out more of who this anonymous person was, and knowing they were a man helped you learn more about who they could be. The list of suspects you were acquainted and or friends with, decreased significantly. You didn’t have many guy friends or acquaintances. You could only name a handful. Was he even amongst that handful? People had different meanings of friends and acquaintances after all...

letter four.

I know this may seem too early, we’ve only been properly conversing for a day or two. But, I would like to say you’re one of a kind and I found myself lost for words when writing to you. I hope you’re faring well. Please stay safe. I heard there was a pretty nasty bar fight last night that transitioned into a bloodbath in the streets. Lots of people are upset right now, politics I assume... Nonetheless, stay safe. 

Best wishes.

He was right. You weren’t cleared for such information, but you had heard talk from some of your fellow Knights that there was a pretty bad bar fight that carried out into the streets late last night. Multiple people had ended up in the dungeons, some still walked the streets whispering their opinions on an ancient conspiracy, though, you were unsure of what that exactly meant. 

Poison, sicknesses, and night terrors were a few of the most talked-about stressors for the fight. Who was to tell which ones were true though, if any. You assumed the truth was riddled in there somewhere though, it had to of been. Rumors often stemmed from an over extreme truth. 

What an unfortunate thing to hear, especially the week of Valentine's day. A week of love, already filled with a bitter hatred, not a good start. Thankfully, you had the letters, they kept you hopeful. The other person on the receiving end could also feel hopeful, so you hoped. You just hoped the situation wasn’t the start of something worse brewing.

Sadly, you weren’t cleared to investigate like you had heard Captain Kaeya was; despite how curious and nosy you were. Unfortunately, you were stuck with paperwork and training the younger Knights; you enjoyed the latter. But those were your duties this week, you couldn’t afford to stray from them. 

Hopefully, your anonymous admirer was alright and well. 

-

You hated to admit it. But over the last five days, you had become smitten. Some say, love at first sight, was impossible, a silly tale told to hopeless romantics who would believe anything. For someone who was not one of those people easy to fall in love with, truthfully, you were starting to believe the tales.

This anonymous man was so kind, well versed with words, so well versed that they moved mountains. You know for sure they had moved your heart. He wasn't willing to share a simple thing; his name. But he’d practically told you his life story, thrown it into your palms easily. Though vague, it was enough to help you understand him better and feel ultimately closer.

You’d learned he was a well-known guy, and as much as he accepted and loved the attention sometimes, it was tiring and draining the majority of the time. He’d said he was a protector of Mondstadt, someone who deeply cared for the townspeople and they're well beings. He’d make any deal, cross any sea, walk through hell with his head held high, just to protect them. He was also a brother, though never specified if he was older or younger, you assumed he was older when he said that he had a very annoying brother; only an older sibling could understand another's annoyance caused by a younger sibling. You could blame personal experience from your time around the younger Knights. You felt like an older sister to a lot of them without that older mentor figure. They weren’t all annoying, but they could share similar qualities at times when they didn't pay attention or learn paperwork completion formats.  

A name came to mind as he shared his vague life story. 

Kaeya Alberich. 

He was all of those things, except maybe for the last one. You knew Kaeya and Master Diluc were brothers, very close in age, but they weren’t blood-related, so twins were off the table; one was older than the other. Something was telling you it was the more flirtatious brother. He was the more outgoing of the two, spontaneous, he would surely be one behind the letters, right? But then wouldn’t he just approach you like normal? Hmmm. Maybe not. He did like to act mysterious, but maybe he was scared of rejection, who knows with Captain Kaeya. He was very hard to read. You couldn’t even tell half the time if he truly meant what he’d say when flirting with you or if he was just saying those things to tease you, maybe even make someone else jealous. 

You were curious, so you decided to approach him. Corner the Captain and demand an answer. He’d have to give you one, you wouldn’t leave his side. So that’s what you did, after your duties had finished around five in the afternoon, you waited outside the Knights headquarters. Hopefully, you’d catch him going in and out sometime soon, it was growing late. 

It was nearing six-thirty when you were getting ready to leave headquarters. Thinking, maybe this could wait tomorrow until you could catch the Captain at a reasonable time. But then he came strutting out of headquarters, his uncovered eye glistening with mischief, a smirk plastered on his handsome face. 

“Captain Kaeya, a word?” You interjected stepping in front of the man, stopping him from bounding down the steps deeper into the city. 

His face broke out in a grin, “Ah, Y/n! Nice to see you again, miss me did you?” 

“Not hardly, Captain.” You said, hoping you wouldn’t get in trouble for practically back-talking your superior. Your own Captain would never let you hear the end of it, the blonde man was a strict one. 

“You wound me,” The cryo user feigned pain. You could only chuckle nervously. “So, what is it you wanted to see me for?”

Your face heated up, burning like fire. “I have a question.”

“Shoot.” He said, hand going to rest sassily on his hip. 

“Are you the one writing me letters?” 

He laughed, sending waves of embarrassment through you. It shouldn’t have but now you felt stupid. Even if you held no romantic feelings for the Captain, he was way out of your league. He probably knew that. 

“Me? You flatter me!”

“No... I mean it,” You stated. “Is it you?”

His face turned serious. “Sadly, not.”

You huffed, heart, dropping to the floor. “Damn it,” You muttered, moving to sit on the stone steps of the Knights headquarters. Kaeya stayed standing, shadow blanketing over you, oddly silent. No flirtatious rebuttal, nothing, just silence. Odd. 

“You know something I don’t, I know you do.” You said, head hanging low. He laughed again. So, you were right.

“Of course, beautiful, I know a lot of things you don’t.” He taunted, eye dripping in mischief. 

“Very funny, Captain.” This wasn’t very funny, not at all. You weren’t laughing.

Suddenly, the Captain spoke up, “Speak to Diluc, I’m sure he knows, he has a very keen eye.”

Master Diluc? Wine tycoon Diluc? What did he have to do with this? He was always off doing his own thing, was it possible he knew anything at all?

“Master Diluc?”

“That’s what I said, yes.”

“You think he’d know who this person is?” You wondered. 

“Like I, he knows about lots of things, one being people.”

“Captain, I don’t like games, please just tell me.” You pleaded, eyes meeting his singular visible one. 

“When you beg, it’s cute,” He said catching you off guard. “See Diluc, he’ll know.” With that, he turned around and began walking off. 

“Wait!” You abruptly stood. “Do you know where I can find him?” 

“Dawn Winery.” You nearly froze on the spot. 

Dawn Winery? Wasn’t that Master Diluc’s residence? You possibly couldn’t, not at this hour either. Archons no...

“I’m sorry,” You hurriedly followed after the retreating figure. “I can’t possibly go there at this hour.”

“And why not?”

“Umm, Captain obvious, it seems inappropriate! People would think I’m going for other intentions!” Oh, if news got out that you went to Master Diluc’s residence late in the afternoon, and people assumed you had other intentions, this would surely be the end of you.

“But you’re not and you know that,” He said. “Are you always such a rule follower and strung up? Archons, you’re Diluc, but a girl version...” He commented.

He did have a point, but if someone saw a young woman entering the Dawn Winery of a bachelor late in the afternoon, suspicion would rise. It’s very conspicuous.

“Yes but-”

“Toodles, beautiful!” You stood still like a statue of ice, heart racing. 

“Bastard...”

-

Against better judgment, you ended up making the short walk to the Dawn Winery. You were hesitant to knock on the large doors though. Scared shitless, beyond nervous, only thinking what would others think? What would Master Diluc think? He’d probably shut the door on your face, leaving you like a frazzled idiot.

You probably stood pacing outside for fifteen minutes, before mustering up the courage to knock on the door. But you never got the chance, because you saw a woman with brown hair and a few gray strands peeking out of one of the first-floor windows. She had a small smile on her delicate face as she watched you. How long had she been there for...?

Your heart dropped the minute you’d been caught pacing, leaving you standing frozen. Eventually, the woman disappeared from the window, leaving you confused. But then the door whipped open with a gentle force and there she stood. 

She was a taller, slender woman with broad shoulders, wearing a simple dark green blouse black pants, black heeled boots with golden vine details were on her feet, making her even taller. If it weren’t for the gentle smile she gave you, she would’ve looked terrifying. 

“I saw you pacing outside for a while, I figured you’d muster up the courage to knock eventually.” She said without introduction.

Oh my... was this Master Diluc and Kaeya’s mother... She didn’t look like either of them, but who knows. You wanted to die, that’s for sure.

“I’m so sorry Miss,” You apologized. “I was just-”

“No worries!” She cheered, hands clasping tightly together. “Which one of my boys are you here for?”

So, she was their mother? Oh my... You shouldn’t have come like this, no not now. 

“Master Diluc...” You whispered nervously. Her smile only brightened, she was happy to hear that. 

“Ah I see, are his girlfriend?” Your chest wanted to explode.

“What?! No! I just, have a question for him...” You practically shrunk under her grey steel gaze and for that, began backing away from the intimidating, yet a kind woman. You were hoping to put some distance in between you two, but she moved along with you. “It’s not of importance to be here so late, I just- Kaeya sent me here and-”

“Ah I see, that one is trouble, I’m sorry you had to deal with him...” She seemed visibly distressed by the mention of the Cavalry Captain. You could relate. 

“It’s no problem, ma’am.” You reassured.

“Are you a Knight?” She suddenly asked, still no proper introduction. 

You nodded your head, her smile widened and brightened. 

“A respectable woman you are,” She praised. “And you’re beautiful? If one of my boys don’t marry you right now-” She carried on, you nearly choked on your saliva. “I’m sorry, I get carried away sometimes, I forgot to introduce myself!”

“My name is Victoria.” Finally, you thought. A name to fit her face. 

“Are you the boys' mother?” You suddenly asked. Manners, you reminded yourself. Remember to have manners and keep your curiosity to yourself. 

“Archons no!” She announced loudly, you jumped. “I’m a family friend of Diluc’s mother. You see, the boys were quite young when she passed, and they needed someone to help look after them, Master Crepus was quite a busy man. I stepped up and became a mother figure.”

“Ahh, I see,” You nodded. “I salute you for being able to help raise such gentlemen, must’ve been hard...” 

She laughed, “Not entirely, at first yes, but then it came naturally,”

“Where are my manners!” She suddenly exclaimed, grabbing your hand. “Come in! Diluc will be arriving soon, he’s out taking care of business.” With that, she dragged you into the mansion. 

The door slammed with a loud bang, and Victoria began walking through the downstairs level, almost excitedly. 

“Oh, um, thank you, ma’am.” You bowed your head in respect, watching confusedly as she disappeared into a hallway, before returning with a bottle of wine. 

“A drink?” She offered, showing off a bottle of wine, that just so happened to be the Ragnvindr’s specialty. 

“No, thank you, ma’am. I’m afraid I have an early morning tomorrow, a hangover would be a troubling start to my day.”

“Very good decision.” She praised, scrambling out of the room to look for what you assumed was a glass for her wine, leaving you once again alone. 

Glancing around the main entrance, you were left staring at very few portraits on the wall, framed maps, and personal memorabilia. One thing that stood out to you the most, a black insignia with a star and white skull, a Pirate insignia...

“A pirate insignia?” You whispered to yourself, confused. Captain Kaeya always told stories of pirates, his grandfather being one specifically. You always assumed he was lying... He wasn't. Maybe you should take back your disbelief in him. 

“That’s mine,” Victoria announced proudly, making herself known again. You jumped, startled, before turning to face the beautiful woman. She returned with a glass-like you thought she would and nearly emptied the entire wine bottle into it, cherry red contents filling to the brim.

You retract your statement about Captain Kaeya, he was still a fibber. 

“You were a pirate?” You asked, astonishment bubbling in your chest. You had so many questions for her, you secretly hoped Diluc would take even longer, just so you could listen to her stories. 

Victoria hummed, plopping onto a cherry red armchair, you still stood. 

”Badass...” You whispered to yourself, taking a seat on the nearby loveseat. 

”Thank you.” She beamed. 

“In my younger years of course. I haven’t been on a Pirate ship in a while. I haven’t seen my crew in years, either...” She reminisced. 

“You can’t be a day over thirty-five,” She smiled at your praise. “Why did you give it up? Being a Pirate, though uncertain at times, seems like loads of fun, filled with adventure.” She shrugged, taking a sip of her drink. 

“The boys lost their mother around the ages of eleven or twelve and I had just returned from months at sea,” She began. “They had run away from home to get into mischief when they met me at the gates; I think they’d been cooped at home for a while, they were grieving still....”

“Kaeya was excited to see my crew return home, infatuated with our stories. He clung to me for hours, with so many questions. Diluc on the other hand was just happy to finally not be bothered by his little brother,” 

Little brother? Kaeya? Wait did that mean-

“Master Crepus found them after he’d come searching, they’d been missing for hours and he was worried for obvious reasons. He attempted to take them home, Diluc was willing, Kaeya though clung to me. So, Master Crepus offered me a slower-paced life, looking after the boys and help keep them in check,” She continued, a smile on her face. “I agreed. They looked like they had gone through a lot and needed a mother figure. I was more than happy to look after them, I’d never had kids.” She ended her story there, swishing the red contents in her cup. 

“I guess that's the answer to your question,” 

“I was busy being a mother.” You smiled. Her story was inspiring, she was filled with pride despite leaving something she enjoyed behind, you could tell.

Leaning forward in your seat, you admitted, “You’re very admirable, I admire your drive to raise the boys. You’re an amazing woman and mother.”

“Thank you,” She blushed. “There is no perfect woman, no perfect mother, but your admiration for me is very telling, you share my qualities. If I’m as amazing as you say, you’d be an equally amazing mother to your own children.” Your face warmed at her compliment. 

“I’ve never thought about having children before... But, thank you.” She nodded, raising her glass in salute, before throwing the contents into the back of her throat. 

“A young girl such as yourself, curious, strong, loyal- You should accompany me one day if I ever find myself returning to swashbuckling adventures,”

“You’d be a great second mate.” The brunette admitted, sharp eyebrows wiggling with excitement. Was she hinting, no, offering for you to join her?

“I’m flattered. But I’m not so sure it would be right of a Knight to suddenly turn into a Pirate,” You giggled, she joined in. “No offense.”

“None was taken, sweetheart! I can understand. A Pirate would never think to become a Knight,” She explained. “Two different worlds, different rules, loyalties, and such.” 

The silence was deafening, but you had so many questions for the woman. Would she ever return to swashbuckling? Had she ever had any cool encounters? Did she feel like a badass? Archons, so many questions, very little time. 

“I believe I never caught your name, how rude and selfish of me.’ What’s your name beautiful?”

“Y/n Y/l/n, ma’am.” You said proudly. 

She smiled, “A pretty name for a pretty girl.” She praised, steel-gray eyes glistening like the stars. 

The door closing loudly caught your attention immediately, you stiffened on the spot. 

Master Diluc...

“Oh!” Victoria exclaimed, standing to her feet. “Diluc has arrived, my my, we talked for a long time,” Retreating towards the door, all you could hear were her heeled boots thumping against the wooden floorboards, matching the thumps of your beating heart surely. You watched uncomfortably as she helped the wine tycoon shrug his jacket off, poking fun at him every now and then. You could see by the way he tried to brush her off that he was flustered, he still hadn't seen you though, Victoria was persistent in her pestering; a mother's love, am I right?

“Diluc,” she started, voice echoing and bouncing off into the walls, traveling into the living room. “A beautiful, intelligent woman is here to see you. She says it’s not of importance, but with a woman of her beauty and admiration, you’ll make this the most important day in your life!” With that, her boots moving could be heard again and she was suddenly in the living room, a huge smile on her face, standing behind the loveseat you were sitting uncomfortably in. 

Another pair of boots could be heard, a heavier set this time, a jingling was heard as well, maybe keys? You weren’t sure... 

“Mother-” The tall man shut his mouth immediately as soon as he’d set his eyes on your figure. “Oh,” He approached, continuously looking between Victoria and you, probably wondering what the hell was going on.

“Miss Y/n,” He bowed his head respectively, though you were confused. You should be doing that instead, he was your superior in more ways than one. Standing to your feet, nearly tripping as well, you decided to greet him the same way, remembering your manners in your starstruck state. You couldn’t tell if it was from Victoria's story or the fact that Master Diluc was standing in front of you. Probably both. “W-what’re you doing here?” Master Diluc a stuttering mess? What an uncharacteristically shocking sight...

A slap sounded throughout the room, Victoria’s hand making contact with Diluc’s shoulder, ushering him forward, that’s what it was. “Diluc stop stuttering! Why are you suddenly flustered, huh?!” She exclaimed loudly, her son just stared at her embarrassed. Face turning shades of red. You giggled to yourself quietly.

“Mother!” 

“Sorry!” Her hands waved out in front of you, various gold dangling bracelets and chains on her wrists making a jingling sound. “I should be going now,” Te brunette then turned to you, taking your hands in her slender ones. “After talking to this eye-opening Knight, I think I should write to a few of my old comrades.” You smiled happily, hands squeezing hers gently. She was staring at you with pride as a mother would to their daughter. 

“Goodnight Y/n. I hope to see you again soon,” She waved you off, moving towards the stairs. “Come find me when you’re ready to leave behind those Knightly duties and join me for a voyage at sea, I’d love to show you my ship one day.” She beamed.

You nodded, seriously considering her offer. You hoped you as well would see her again, rather sooner than later. She was great company. You loved her deafening presence, an admirable woman she was. “Good night, ma’am.”  

As soon as she was gone up the stairs, Diluc awkwardly turned to face you. 

”She asked you to join her on her voyages I see.” He stated, trying to spark conversation. You nodded, fingers fiddling.

“Ya know, I’m considering that offer. It sounds fun.” You teased with a shrug, voice filled with sincerity. 

Master Diluc sent you a soft smile, “Yes. Life at sea does sound quite tiring, but I’m sure the adventures are worth it.”

“Agreed.”

Another deafening silence, Diluc looked like he wanted to say something.

“Can I get you anything? Wine, tea, juice...”

Not that though... You couldn’t help but giggle at the last part, he blushed. 

“Maybe next time, I’d love to be graced with your mother's presence again, maybe hear a few stories.”

“I’m sure she’d love that. Mother has many to tell.” He admitted with a proud smile,

You couldn’t wait to hear those stories truthfully, so entranced. You had never faced adventures quite like Victoria, never had even considered it, now you were though. Curse Victoria and her entrancement, though not literally, you held too much admiration for the woman to ever wish ill on her. 

”So, what can I do for you?” Diluc suddenly asked.

”Oh right!” You were left flustered. So wrapped up in your conversation, you had completely forgotten what you had come here for. Archons, what the hell.

“I had a question, but-”

You paused. 

Diluc’s eyebrows raised. “Yes?” He seemed to be hanging onto your every word. He was waiting for an answer for a long time. It seems he’d have to wait even longer...

“...I seemed to have forgotten.”

[🏷] TAGLIST (if you want to be removed from/added to this specific taglist let me know!)

@gladly-olus​ , @kyquu , @craptainlou , @mintydump , @chscklvr , @irisxiel , @minh0ree , @whatishappinesswhatislove , @rrintarou , @sorenthousand , @cvsmix , @nonniechan ,

3.7.21, rayofsunas

[snails-oc-stuff]

@dragonherder2030 @gl1tchxr

Decided to make this it’s own post but here’s the Lore stuff(previous posts: first, second).

Okay so basic world stuff before I get to characters-

This is kind of like your classical children’s book/movie/show, animals that have relations closer to human like ones and all talk and stuff. But darker! So yeah, warnings for mentions of death, hunting, and just some darker themes.

The animals mostly live in groups, usually mixed between similar species, though some completely only one species, and others are very spread out.

For example, a group of birds of prey consists of falcons, hawks, eagles, and the like. This group would probably be rather large and well known.

The next down, a group of different kinds of hawks, some are red-tailed hawks, some are goshawks or broad-winged hawks. Also probably well known, maybe a little smaller though

And next would be, say, a group of only Red-tailed hawks for example. These kinds are very rare, and 90% of the time are just families living by themselves for a bit, before rejoining another group.

Most of these groups, minus the third example, are lead by representatives of their species.

Representatives are about what they sound, there a single person that represents their species. There’s one for each general species(I’ll get into the specifics of what that means in a moment), and they’re kind of the judge, jury, and executioners of this world. They, of course, have to lead their people this way, but they also have to keep each other in check. If a representative is considered too far beyond redemption, they’ll be cast out by the others, and since the representatives represent their species, the rest of the species will also be outcast.

Representatives are chosen through death, in one of two ways. You see, representatives cannot die of old age, starvation, illness, or the like, their magically protected. They can only die from wounds/in battle, which is how the next representative is chosen. If defeated by another member of their own species, that animal well become the new representative. However, can choose an heir to replace them if they die by another species hand, though that rarely happens. In that case their heir is made the next representative, if this happens and they don’t have an heir the next representative will be random.

So, general species is a very vague phrase, so I’m gonna try and clear that a little. When I say general species I mean, for example, rather then just say Canine, there are foxes, wolves, coyotes, and many others. Rather then just say bird, or uh, song bird or flightless bird, I’d say there’s one secretary bird representative, one finch, one sparrow, one hawk, one kite.

However you wouldn’t specify past the that, for example, there’d be hyena representative, but not one specifically for, say, brown Hyena’s. A brown hyena *could* be the hyena representative, but it would be for all hyenas not just other brown hyenas. I hope that makes sense.

There are some animals where it’s kind of a gray zone, for example like how there are animals called leopards but aren’t actually leopards(snow leopard, clouded leopards, etc.), and in that case… yeah I’m just gonna look at the species a little and pick myself, not exactly perfect but that’s what we’re going with.

Okay now onto some of the other lore stuff, gosh this is already so long.

So ferals. As I mentioned before, some entire species have been outcast before(it’s pretty rare though), but what does that mean exactly? Well in this world when a representative fails their job and species so badly the entire world doesn’t want them, they’re species loses what makes them… more complex, what allows them to talk, and have more ‘human’ characteristics. They become wild animals, in the sense that we see them in the real world, if not worse because it also raises their aggression a bit.

Yeah I know, I never promised this animal world was well run. In fact I made it kind of badly run on purpose. Flawssss like blaming everyone for one persons mistake. Wonderful.

So, a feral animal *can*, technically still retain their more complex aspects, in certain cases, being the exiled representative, for example(because they still retain their near immortality and magic protection till they die). The other way, is if they have a non-feral animals soul. It’s possible for certain animals to trap souls in objects, and give them to people. If given to a feral animal, the feral animal regains their own mind, but can only speak in the voice of the dead animal.

Okay so there’s all that out of the way, let’s talk some more about relations. (Tw for talk about eating animals/hunting(by other animals of course) until the part that says ‘okay let’s move on from the dark stuff’)

So there are still, of course, predators in the world who can only eat meat. They’re usually given this through those who pass away from other means(old age, injury, or other such examples), however there are other cases. If there’s an actual battle between two or more groups(started for reasons other then food), or in special zones.

These zones are taught to all from a young age, and most people avoid them, however they are widely accepted as violence/hunting zones. Basically places where most rules don’t apply, and animals could be hunted/attacked/killed without much repercussion. These zones also work in reverse tho, because they’re sometimes used for groups of smaller animals to gang up on bigger ones without facing whole groups of bigger ones(they’d take one at a time). Oh and feral animals are always allowed to be attacked/fought/hunted on sight. They have no protection.

Okay let’s move on from the dark stuff! Interspecies relations,

So as I said, it’s not uncommon to see, say, different kinds of birds of prey together, it also wouldn’t be uncommon for birds in general to be grouped, usually in a settlement in that case.

You could probably see a bunch of aquatic mammals and reptiles sharing gossip and a snack on popular beaches.

A group of iguanas protecting a group of smaller newts and geckos.

But what about, crossing even the similar species bound? Seeing a jackal and a crocodile together, not as enemies but as friends? Very rare but not unheard of.

The most common, but not only, case of un-alike species being together is traveling. Two animals who are traveling alone/separated from their group, and have destinations close to each other. They may want extra protection, or just company. This is usually only 2, 3, or 4 animals. Bigger groups haven’t really been seen, but they probably exist lol.

Otherwise, they’ll be seen in settlements. Sometimes a group of, for example, aardwolves and actual wolves may settle, but they didn’t know really close by was a settlement of tigers. The two groups meet and happen to get along, their technically separate still, but they work together and live so close to one another a visiter may assume their one settlement.

And uh.

This is most, though not all, of the the kind of the world building stuff! Hope you like it, sorry for talking so long wheuduhfhsha.

I may make a other post talking about the story and characters specifically, but this was just the basis

OH ALSO. Most of the examples for relations I just made up on the spot and aren’t cannon, they *could* be, like there could be a jackal and croc friendship I make in the future, but most of them are just random things I came up with. That’s all.

As always questions/comments are encouraged because they help me improve and add onto the lore, and also help motivate me to work, lol.

[ghostiewriter]

20/57 for the best couple ever jj and kie

I apologise in advanced for this, I haven’t looked over or edited it but oh well🤡

Word Count: 2.4K

Prompts: “It’s just rain, you aren’t gonna melt!” // “We could get struck by lightning, but you want to kiss in the rain.”

Whenever JJ thought of rain, he always thought of Kiara.

In a way, I guess you could say it was a force of habit of the universe to always put them together. It seemed like at every important point of their life, the rain was right there with them. JJ wasn’t even sure if he liked the rain because of Kiara or the other way around. They were so interchangeable because whenever he had a moment that mattered with her, the rain wasn’t far behind to make it just a little more memorable. Any significant memory JJ had of Kiara, there was always rain. Every single one.

Like, when they first met.

“I still don’t get.” The young boy huffed, arms crossed over his chest as he watched his two friends try and balance on one foot.

“How many times do I have to tell you, Jay? Girls like hopscotch. If we get good at hopscotch, we can impress them.” Little John B whined, arms flailing as he tried to maintain his balance before he grabbed onto Pope for support.

“That’s stupid. Girls are stupid.” The blond replied stubbornly. In the distance, a thunder clap echoed through the sky.

“Maybe we should head back inside,” Pope muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the grey sky. “Mrs Taylor said we shouldn’t be out here anyways—”

“We’re fine!” John B assured him. “Dad said the storm won’t roll in ‘til tomorrow night. And he is never wrong.” He puffed his chest as he spoke which didn’t do wonders for his balance.

“How reassuring.” JJ commented dryly. Even as an 8 year old, the boy had sass.

“My dad said that it will be here by four.” Another voice spoke up.

All three boys turned to see a girl standing there, almost like she appeared out of nowhere. She was around their age, JJ noted. And as he glanced over her appearance, that seemed to be where their similarities ended. He noticed how pristine and fancy her clothes looked. They didn’t have holes like his did, and her shoes seemed brand new and fitted to her feet, unlike the ragged ones that were handed down to him from some older kids at the dock. She was one of them, those rich folk he always heard his dad complaining about. Instantly, his face scrunched up in distaste.

“Well, your dad is wrong. Big John knows everything.” JJ retorted.

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed together. “That’s impossible. He can’t know everything.”

“He’s Big John, anything is possible for him.”

“No way!”

“Yes way!”

The two of them continued to bicker back and forth, unaware of how consistent the thunder claps were becoming and how the sky looked much angrier than before. They were both wrong. The storm was coming now.

“Uh, guys—” Pope spoke up, alarmed.

Neither of them stopped.

“Guys!” John B tried this time.

He was unsuccessful.

Then suddenly rain started pouring. Heavily.

Shrieks escaped the young kids, both out of shock and laughter. Thunder clapped and the rain just kept getting heavier. He briefly heard John B yelling about heading back inside and Pope muttering how they were going to die.

“It’s just rain, you aren’t gonna melt!” The girl called out as Pope was running towards the entrance back into the school, a pouting John B following him. But JJ stood there, a massive grin on his face.

“What a bunch of wimps.” He scoffed and the girl laughed. JJ decided that maybe she wasn’t so bad. “I’m JJ, by the way.”

“Kiara.” She replied with a matching grin.

Rain just happened to be one of those things that become a comfort in their relationship over the years, one that become a comfort to them individually too. Kiara didn’t understand her fascination with rain for a very long time. At first, she assumed it was just the relaxation and serenity she got from listening to rain sounds. But every time a storm hit the island, Kiara found herself excited for the rain to come. She would find any excuse to be in it, to just let it pour down on her and engulf her whole. Kiara always assumed she liked the calmness that surrounded rain.

That was until she was fourteen and realised just why she liked the rain so much.

It was the summer before freshman year when they decided to have one last bang before school dragged them under again for the next few months. Kiara found herself in the Boneyard with a cup in her hand (it was full of a god awful beer but she had grown to tolerate the taste, plus it was cheap). She was standing off to the side, just watching the party go ahead, needing a break from being sandwiched between dancing bodies all night.

Her eyes searched for her boys in the crowd, noticing them all pretty quickly: John B was surrounded by a group of tourons as they played some shitty drinking game she couldn’t really identify from the distance, Pope was talking away to some stoners in the corner who seemed interested in whatever he was rambling about, and lastly, she noticed JJ surrounded by a group of people as they happily drank and danced their troubles away.

It was gradual at first. A little bit of spitting, barely noticeable to the ongoing party guests as they continued to smile and laugh and drink. Then it got a little heavier, but people just laughed and assured the tourons that it would eventually die down. And then suddenly, it was pouring down and people were screaming and cheering and laughing. Kiara found herself smiling at the scene in front of her.

“LET’S GET THIS PARTY FUCKING STARTED!”

Kiara laughed, cringing a little at the choice of words but it seemed to work on the rest of the party-goers because they didn’t stop. Music blasting, people singing along, everyone enjoying their last few moments of freedom before the summer ended.

That’s when Kiara’s eyes spotted him once again and she felt her stomach drop a little.

JJ. JJ with his arms wrapped around some random girl’s waist, face nuzzled against her neck as they laughed and danced and howled at the rain. The rain pouring down on them, making the shirt he was wearing stick uncomfortably against his body and it seemed he thought the same because soon her threw it off. Her eyes trailed down his torso, appreciating the abs that were beginning to form and the muscles he was building up.

But that wasn’t what got to her.

It was when the random girl had turned around to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck before she pulled his lips down on hers.

Kiara’s heart skipped a beat as she watched closely.

She then saw JJ’s hands hover for a few seconds before he situated them on her hips and tugged her closer, returning the kiss was the same fever the random girl was giving.

And then she felt her heart stop. Watching him, kissing another girl, the rain pouring down on him as he was left unbothered while she stood there completely shattered.

Kiara liked the rain because it had always been their thing.

And now it wasn’t.

She saw him pull away, saw the random girl lean up and whisper something in his ear and then suddenly they were walking away from the group. They were heading for the grove, the place where couples only escaped to for one reason.

She thought about her moments with JJ, the times their hands had brushed more times than could be coincidental, the lingering looks they sent each other, the small blush that would appear on his cheeks whenever she complimented him. She thought it meant something but it clearly didn’t. And the idea that she could’ve made a move, made a fool or herself and ruin her friendship with him because of her feelings scared Kiara.

The next day the ‘no pogue on pogue macking’ rule was made.

But then the gold summer came crashing down on the happy group when they least expected it and they weren’t prepared. It caused a lot of problems for the pogues, changed things.

They always knew where each other were, no matter what. They made sure to check up on each other at least once a day. There were smaller rules within that, things they never really specified but just seemed to fit in—mostly the lack of complaining from their parental figures on how much they hung out, especially after that fateful night with The Phantom. There weren’t many of them left but they would be damned if they lost each other too.

One of the biggest changes that JJ found was his hatred towards storms. As a child he found them freeing and wild and fun. They were an escape from the usual (and unfortunately shit) Outer Banks he lived in. Storms and rain were something he loved. But after seeing his best friend go down in one, in the boat he had put him on, JJ couldn’t bring himself to see rain in the same way.

Until she changed that.

Kie knew about the storm approaching, and she knew it would be a bad one. Originally, the three of them were going to stay over at the Chateau, but then Pope was being dragged into storm protection duties with his father. So it was just her and JJ, not that she minded too much. Things had been a bit awkward after John B’s departure, Kie acting on her emotions and not thinking clearly. She made some mistakes, and those mistakes almost made her lose both of her best friends. She hadn’t risked anything since then and finally, they were in a place where thinks didn’t feel so forced.

Things felt normal. They felt normal.

The storm had been raging outside for a while now, Kie and JJ sprawled on the pull-out as they just enjoyed each other’s company. Kie was reading a book, JJ’s head on her lap as she gently ran her hands through his hair. JJ had dozed off at some point, but Kie didn’t have the heart to wake him up, not since she knew he had been struggling to get a wink of sleep lately.

It wasn’t until she realised she had left her bag in the car. Usually, it wouldn’t be an issue. She would just borrow some of JJ’s clothes without a second thought. But her toiletries were in that bag and she didn’t fancy sharing a toothbrush with JJ anytime soon.

As quietly as she could, she gently slipped off the pull-out and grabbed her keys. She wasted no time in sprinting towards the car, quickly unlocking the car to grab her bag before running back to the shelter of the Chateau. Except, it just so happened the door had locked behind her.

Cursing slightly, she found herself knocking frantically on the door until a slightly dazed JJ came shuffling from the living room, opening the door and glancing down at her soaked figure. His eyes then fell down to her bag and just simply nodded before he turned to grab a towel from the bathroom, knowing what she wanted before she could even say it.

However, JJ seemed to be taking him time in getting that towel. Kie found herself turning back the rain. She hadn’t really seen the rain as anything but a nuisance since John B and Sarah’s disappearance. She couldn’t bring herself to see it anything but that. But this storm felt different, she almost felt like she was in a trance as she walked back into the exposed storm.

Her eyes shut, arms limp on her side as she leaned her head back and just let herself enjoy the slight nipping feeling of the rain on her skin, embracing the cold wind that came with it.

“Kie? What the fuck are you doing?” She heard JJ call out from the doorway but she didn’t move. She stayed stuck in her spot, a feeling of euphoria washing over her the longer she stood there. It was cleansing, refreshing. It’s what she needed after the months of hell they had been through.

She opened her eyes when she felt JJ’s hands on her shoulders, trying to shake her out of whatever moment on insanity she was having.

“Kie, c’mon, let’s get back inside.” But she just shook her head.

“Can’t you feel it?” She asked him and he only gave her a bewildered glance in response.

“Feel what, my balls freezing off? Because the answer is yes. Now let’s go.” He tried to pull her back to the Chateau but she dug her heels into the ground, shaking her head. She shrugged his hands off her shoulders, grabbing them in her own and pulling him closer.

“Just give in, Jay. It’s okay, I promise.” She murmured, JJ’s eyes on her lips like he was mesmerised by the way they moved. And when JJ finally stopped trying to drag her back inside, he was able to finally appreciate what she meant.

For so long he had hated the rain. He hated the memories it gave him. But in that moment, chest pressed against Kie’s, as they both stood in the pouring rain, JJ felt that same love he felt for the rain when he was younger. And he felt the same love he had for the brunette in front of him he had when he was younger too.

His eyes fluttered open, glancing down at her only to find that she was staring back at him with those big doe eyes of her.

“Kie…” He trailed off but she lightly shook her head, lightly shushing him.

“I just need to know…even if it’s once.” She murmured before she raised herself up on her toes and quickly pressed her lips against his. In an instant, they had their arms wrapped around each other as they got lost each other and in the rain.

This is what they needed, what they always wanted. This is why this storm was different because it also knew. It knew that JJ and Kiara needed rain in their lives, that rain followed the big moments in their relationship.

And this time the rain showered down on the two friends that realised after all these years, their love was requited.

“We could get struck by lightning, but you want to kiss in the rain.” JJ muttered against her lips once they pulled away a little to catch their breath.

“I didn’t see you complaining before,” She whispered back, a small smile tugging on her lips. “Plus, makes it more memorable.”

“You’re crazy.”

“But you love that about me.”

“I do.”

Now whenever JJ thought of rain, he thought of kissing the love of his life.

[thewhitefluffyhat]

Thoughts on Karin’s Magical Girl Story

Another collection of thoughts and reactions, plus analyzing some small changes the NA translation made (similar to the translation comparison I did for Alina’s MGS a while back).

Starting off with not a change, but an interesting note: Karin and Alina’s club situation is rather strange.  Alina is the “outsider” from the Art Club, while Karin is part of the Manga Club.  The classroom they share, though, doesn’t appear to be the main space for either club.  I’d initially assumed that it was the room originally used for the Manga Club, but once Arc 2 updates these backgrounds...

It turns out this actually is an art classroom!  I guess the school just has two?

First major change: Just like in Alina’s MGS, they removed direct references to Karin and Alina’s ages.  The reference to Karin’s age at the start of the Magical Halloween Theater event was also changed.

(In JP here, Alina was said to have won a lot of different awards “for a 16 year old,” while Karin stated her age as 14 in the MHT event.)

Again, unsure of why the change, but it could be in order to fix the continuity issues. Because good lord, that continuity is snarled...

I think the order that makes the most sense is Karin MGS > Alina MGS > Magius forms > one year passes > MHT > Main Story Ch5 > Holy Alina’s MGS.  In theory, then Karin should be 13 and Alina should be 15 in their Magical Girl Stories and then 14 and 16 in the present, but as mentioned that’s contradicted by the start of Karin’s MGS in the original Japanese.

There’s also the weirdness around when/how Karin learned Alina was a magical girl, since Karin seems aware of it in MHT, yet it’s unclear if she knows in Holy Alina’s MGS.

… Anyway, stuff like this is why I gave up on constructing a coherent timeline for Magia Record.  There’s just too many continuity tangles.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

References to Karin being in her second year in middle school and the third years leaving – also changed.  Probably because it’s both an uncommon way to refer to grades in English, and also, once again, another continuity issue.  (If the third years left, why is Alina still there in one years’ time if she’s at least one grade ahead of Karin?)

Another change: some specifics in why Karin and Alina are in the same classroom together.  In JP, it’s not specified who made the deal to let Alina use the room.  If anything it seems like Karin is the one making a deal directly with Alina.

Which actually makes far more sense all around – why does “the school” care that Alina is giving informal lessons to some random kid?

And it makes more sense from Alina’s perspective too, in that it explains why she tolerates Karin constantly bothering her – putting up with Karin is explicitly the price she’s paying to Karin for using the space.

Oh boy, this.  Karin having this mindset is why it took me so long to really ship AliKari.  Because the dark undertone to “if only I improve, then surely Alina will treat me better” is that Karin is blaming herself when Alina is cruel to her.  And that can very easily slide into an abusive relationship - if you don’t consider it one already.

Alina treating Karin decently should not be dependent on Karin’s art skill.  Or anything else, for that matter.  Full stop.

(Tangent time, including some Arc 2 spoilers)

What ultimately made me come around to AliKari is some of the early Arc 2 stuff, where Karin starts thinking the reason Alina disappeared is because Alina is mad at Karin for not improving.  Karin’s explanation is spectacularly wrong, so I’m now more trusting that the game is implying that Karin’s mindset is going to change. That she’ll stop believing she’s at fault for Alina’s actions - and hopefully stand up to Alina too while she’s at it.

The other half of the equation is Alina, who as far as I can tell, is genuinely not interested in bullying Karin.  She certainly has every opportunity to do so �� especially given how her teacher punishes Karin for Alina’s behavior – but Alina never takes advantage of it.  So while she is overly harsh and blunt about expressing her opinions to Karin, I don’t get the sense there is any manipulation underlying it.  Indeed, very unusually for Alina, we also never see her enjoying or fantasizing about Karin’s pain or distress.  She really, truly, just wants Karin to get better at art already!

Obviously, for any kind of relationship between the two to work, they would both need to undergo significant character development.  But that’s the draw of AliKari – while other characters have stagnated (sigh, RikaRen), Alina and Karin are still some of the most dynamic characters in the game. And in general, the direction has been that despite starting out in a bad place (like Karin’s mindset above), they’re growing to become very positive influences on each other.

(End tangent)

Enjoying the extra cliches thrown in here and there, and in general how they translated Karin’s dramatics by adding additional cheesy and on-theme descriptions.  Stuff like “dark and dreary night” or “cauldron of trouble” aren’t in the original Japanese, but they’re wonderfully in-character – honestly probably an improvement over the original!

Not a change, but more reminding myself that I really need to read Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne.  I’m like 97% sure that’s what’s being referenced here – the plot description and even the comments Karin makes about “Phantom Thief Kirin” In her later Magic unlock quotes are all a very close match.

Interestingly enough, I’ve heard KKJ mentioned as an earlier dark magical girl series that Madoka Magica rips off.  So it’s quite interesting to see it referenced again back in a PMMM property – I wonder which part of the creative team was responsible for this detail?

Hm, so, the subject and detail of Karin and Alina’s conversation in the middle differs between translations.  In JP, the subject is vague, so the fan translation has Alina going off on an extended metaphor comparing the history of art to the protagonist of Karin’s manga.  Meanwhile, in NA she just makes vague comments comparing her own growth as an artist.  

I think I prefer the former - Alina usually doesn’t like talking about herself, but she sure loves to ramble about art history.

The translation I can find for the metaphor Karin’s grandmother uses here in JP renders it “barely able to keep a business going” - so did Karin’s grandmother possibly own a business herself?  That’s a bit more interesting than just “struggled to make ends meet.”

Speaking of Karin’s grandmother, I really like her as a character.  Her relationship with Karin is really sweet - I mean, how often do you see a teenage girl and an older woman being fans of something together?  It happens in real life plenty of times, but it’s so rare to see this kind of interaction represented in fiction.

And it’s nice to see an example of mental illness being treated as just that – an illness.  I especially like that there’s consent to the cure – Grandma outright says she wishes to be cured, rather than Karin deciding as such on her own.  (As Karin is often wont to do…)

This is a fun illustration of how Alina has a very strong internal logic to her, but she’s really terrible at communicating it to other people.

Karin, naturally, takes Alina’s comment here as an exceptionally mean thing to say – it sounds like Alina is callously implying the thing Karin worked so hard on was so bad it wasn’t even worth Alina’s time to destroy, so she’s making Karin suffer even more in having to destroy it herself.

And the way Alina elaborates makes it quite clear that yes, she did mean to call Karin’s work garbage.  This isn’t Alina having difficulty with Japanese or English.

But while Alina’s sense of taste can be quite sadistic, I don’t think that’s what she was aiming for here.  Remember that Alina believes that “only the artist themselves has the right to destroy their work.”  So this is actually Alina acknowledging Karin’s work as art, and therefore only Karin has the right to rip it up.

And why rip it up?  Because whenever Alina finds her own work unsatisfactory, she destroys it.  Hence Alina’s question at the end of this little back-and-forth:

If Karin doesn’t want to rip up her manga, then according to Alina’s logic, that means she must be happy and satisfied with it.  But even Alina can tell that Karin is still unsatisfied and lying to herself, hence Alina’s frustration and confusion at Karin not destroying her work.

Another timeline note: Alina doesn’t lie, and even if she did, she doesn’t have a ring here.  So I think it’s pretty settled that Karin’s MGS takes place before Alina learned about magical girls.

Oh huh. In NA, Alina thinks she’ll be the one in trouble if Karin isn’t ready.  In the fan translation I’m used to, it seems like Alina is saying she’d just be mad herself… but I think NA has it right here.  (In the original JP, Alina is using the passive form of “get angry” without a subject.)

Both work, but the impression NA gives with both this change and the earlier one is that someone at the school is basically putting Alina in charge of supervising Karin.  Which… what the hell, Sakae Academy?

Going back a bit, Alina’s advice and its effect on Karin is interesting.  One of Karin’s flaws really is that she makes excuses for herself and only half-commits, so Alina pushing her to think about what she truly wants and work hard to get it was genuinely what Karin needed to hear at the time.

However, Alina is also an obsessive perfectionist that tends to push herself to very clearly unhealthy levels…

So it’s rather fitting that on following Alina’s advice, Karin ends up pushing herself into doing something very dangerous: insisting on fighting a witch alone even though Kaede tries to get her to retreat.  Karin is so determined she’s risking her life to fulfill her goal – something Alina would no doubt approve of.  But also a great illustration of why Alina and her advice is flawed too.

Which, come to think of it, is part of why Karin and Alina’s MGS actually form a nice pair of complementary short stories.  If you read them in chronological(?) / original JP release order, you first get to see how Alina helps Karin to grow as a person, and if you think hard about it, you can kind of see foreshadowing for Alina’s own issues.  Then in Alina’s MGS, you get confirmation of that foreshadowing about Alina, and furthermore, the payoff to Karin’s development with her now being the one to give Alina some hard-hitting advice.

[missnight0wl]

Hello, sorry for disturbing, but can I ask meme thing about Orion or/and McNully? Have a good day

First of all, you’re not disturbing! 😊 Secondly, as I mentioned in my previous post, I’m kind of behind with the Quidditch content so I might have not the best insight, but I’ll try my best for both boys.

Orion

First impression:

“Oh my god, it should be Jacob. Why aren’t you Jacob?”

Seriously, if this model was the guy we found in the Portrait Vault, I’d accept it without questions. I’d still be suspicious about his behaviour, but visually? Perfect (including the outfit).

Impression now:

Honestly, Orion is the best (*cough* the only good *cough*) thing about the Quidditch DLC if you ask me. I adore his aesthetic, his philosophical attitude is both funny at times, but also so… wise. I’d love to just hang out with him and talk about life.

Favorite moment:

Probably our conversation when he gave us Quidditch robes.

It’s also when he shares his backstory which, well… I wasn’t expecting, and it gave me feels, too.

Idea for a story:

Not gonna lie, I’d probably enjoy anything involving Orion. Usually, one of the first thing I think about is going with Orion on a trip in a hippie van, but obviously, it’s not the story for the game. Anything not Quidditch-related could be interesting, though. Maybe it could be about studying for a different subject, maybe meeting someone from his past.

Unpopular opinion:

Hm, I don’t think I have one.

Favorite relationship:

With Murphy. We didn’t see much of it, but from what we were told, I assume they might be quite close. I’m really intrigued by the relationship between those two.

Favorite headcanon:

All right. So, it’s kind of stupid, and you can go ahead and judge me because of that, but… Remember that time when Orion said that he doesn’t believe in shame?

Well, I went a bit further with the interpretation of these words, and I imagine that it’s not unusual for his roommates to find him… not completely dressed up after a shower, for example. I mean… I can’t be the only one who had similar thought… right?

Murphy

First impression:

“They really did it, huh?”

Of course, I’m talking here about the fact that Murphy is disabled. And you know, I wasn’t even impressed that much about introducing such character as how casually they did it.

Impression now:

“Can you… talk a little less?”

I do like Murphy, but honestly, I think I might be a lot less enthusiastic about him than a majority of this fandom – and I think it’s partially because of his talkativeness. You see, I actually get a bit tired when interacting with Murphy. You might say it’s weird, but as an introverted person (who works mostly from home in recent years) I get socially drained pretty easily, and I suppose it might be a reason. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though. In fact, I have to say, kudos to the writers for creating a character who affects me like that. But that being said, I just prefer Murphy in a group when his energy is spread also on others.

Favorite moment:

It’s probably the scene when he talked about himself pretty early on in the story. It was charming.

Idea for a story:

While I said that I like how casual the game is about Murphy’s disability, I’d like to know a bit more about after the time – for example, how did it happen (I don’t think it was specified this far?). Also, I really need to know more about his mum. He mentions quite a lot, but it’s pretty vague. And ever since we heard about her for the first time, I have that terrible feeling that there’s some sad story behind it… I really hope it’s not the case, but I just need a confirmation whether I’m right or wrong.

Unpopular opinion:

I guess it’d be what I mentioned already that I don’t love him. I don’t want to say that he’s overrated because it’s not exactly true either. It’s rather a matter of preference.

Favorite relationship:

With Orion (see above).

Favorite headcanon:

Since the Quidditch timeline is all over the place in comparison to the main one, and I don’t consider it part of my story anyway, I headcanon that Murphy is the same age as our prefects. He also became friends with Jacob over Wizard’s Chess.

 Have a good day too! 😊

[clarkimagines]

Rules

When sending any request, please:

Use the full name of the character(s) and the fandom they’re from.

Give a specific scenario, and please specify if you want the relationship to be friendly, familial, or romantic. I tend to assume a romantic relationship unless more information is given.

Say what type of request you’re making (gif imagine, preference, drabble, headcanon, or ship).

Check what types of requests are open at the moment!

If I’m currently using a prompt list, feel free to use a request from that!

Note: readers will be gender-neutral unless otherwise specified in the request. It’s just x reader content, not character x oc.

For a gif imagine request:

Follow the rules above

Ex: hi! I’d like a gif imagine with Diana Prince from the dcu, where she and the reader go on their first date to themyscira.

For a preference request:

Make sure you send a list of characters you’re requesting a preference from; all of them should be from the same fandom. Please don’t use more than 5 characters for one request.

Also use a fairly simple scenario.

Ex: I’d like a preference with Peter Parker, Natasha Romanoff, and Thor Odinson from the mcu for their reaction to the reader saving them on a mission.

For a drabble request:

Use a more elaborate request than you would for a preference, please! It’s much easier to write a drabble about a more thorough request.

Ex: Can you write a drabble with Brunnhilde from the mcu where she and the reader team up to take down a villain, but the mission goes poorly and the reader confessed their feelings for her?

For a head canon request:

Use a request similar to a gif imagine.

Ex: I’d like a headcanon list where the reader is best friends with Garfield Logan, joins the Titans with him, and trains to control their powers, please!

For a ship request:

Ships are a little different than regular requests. You will receive a character I would pair you with from a specific fandom.

They don’t require a scenario or a specific character.

Please do give a fandom or fandoms for me to tell you who I ship you with from.

Ship requests also require a description of yourself: a few things you could mention are your hobbies, ideal date/partner, sexuality, personality, and physical description.

Ex: hi, I’m clark! I’d like ships from the mcu, new x-men movies, and new Star Wars trilogy. I am bi, athletic, and fairly shy until I get to know someone. I tend to like people who are funny and kindhearted, who would also enjoy going hiking and baking with me.

I will not write:

NSFW requests

Requests for types of imagines that aren’t open

Requests for characters who aren’t on my fandom list. If you aren’t certain I know who a character is, you can always ask me to be sure. I also won’t write for real people.

Anything romantic or sexual involving young characters. I might be willing to write something where the reader and character are the same age and have a crush on one another, but nothing more than that.

I won’t write anything that romanticizes stalking/“yandere” type behavior, or cheating.

Sensitive topics such as mental health and abuse are usually okay with me, but I may adjust the request slightly to make sure I’m okay with writing it.

Please don’t send me requests that you have asked for from other writers; it makes me feel like I’m copying people. If you’d like something similar, just be sure to send a slightly different request than the one you’ve sent to another writer!

If you aren’t sure if I’ll be comfortable with writing your request, let me know in the ask or send me a quick message and I can let you know whether I’ll write it!

Content Warnings:

I’ve got tags set up that you can block to prevent from seeing stuff that may make you uncomfortable. If any of the below topics are included in an imagine, I’ll also put a warning in with the summary and requester section! Here are the tags:

Abuse tw

Character death tw

Anxiety tw

Depression tw

Bullying tw

Harassment tw

If you have anything you’d like me to warn about in posts, fill out my survey here and send me a quick ask or message so I know to check for a new response!

[hcrofraid]

Rules:

HALLO THERE! Here’s my rules! They’re a bit long, but hopefully you can push through ‘em and we can get a chance at interaction!

1. Themes might vary with this blog. Although I’m typically SFW, I might touch upon dark topics here and there.

Things will be tagged! I’ll try my best, anyways. If you want something in particular tagged, please let me know. The format I use for tagging is, for example, tw: swearing.

I don’t have any triggers but I do ask you tag all of your NSFW content.

That said, I won’t do anything NSFW - gore is okay, though.

I’m of age.

2. I‘m a little selective, but otherwise - I’m open to canon, au, crossover, and original characters! As long as their muns rp literately/write para.

If it’s a crossover, I have to know the fandom and be at least a little bit confident with it. This is so I’m able to work with you, our thread and have muse for it.

Absolutely no godmodding. It ain’t fun, fam. If you’re not sure what this term means, do look it up. This includes powerplaying, metagaming, and other things of that nature. This applies especially in fights if they happen (I’m chance-based and hope that you are too). 

I can be picky with OCs. But rest assured, if you’ve followed me/interacted with my promo, I’ll always give your pages a read.

Please don’t be offended if I don’t want to interact with you (and please don’t try to guilt me into doing so!). 

As for following back, I usually take a week tops to do so - but if you’ve hit up my promo, I go through that eventually.

As I’ve said, I’m selective and as a result mutuals do take priority - but I don’t have to be following you for you to interact with me. It just means I’m more likely to interact with you if you’re a mutual.

3. Please don’t rush me for starters or responses.

PLEASE understand that I have blogs galore and my muse tends to fluctuate; this can mean I’m everywhere at once and can end up neglecting a blog or two. It’s nothing personal; you know how muses are! Additionally, life happens to be a thing.

Please note the mun deals with anxiety and depression - this might affect how frequently she roleplays.

Chances are, I’ve probably has seen that bit of interactivity and just haven’t gotten around to responding yet.

My roleplaying style being para/multi-para, I may take a while to respond. I hoard drafts like a dragon - it’s really just the motivation to write and ship those out.

Just a reminder I hoard all your asks too, even weeks later. If I don’t respond to it, I’m either keeping it for a rainy day, or just can’t find the muse/interest for it currently. If it’s been a month or two though, just assume it wasn’t working for me unless I’ve informed you otherwise.

4. Shippings? Heck yeah I’m down for the fluffy content, as long as they’re of similar age to my boio.

If I don’t happen to be interested, don’t force anything on my character.

I do not ship incestuous ships. Do NOT follow/interact if you do.

Sontails will not be happening on this blog either, sorry.

The ship has to have chemistry; I’m generally shipping trash, but if they don’t click, they don’t click, sorry.

This is a multi-ship blog, meaning there will be more than one ship without them conflicting with eachother.

If you want to ship and I already have a ship of your choosing going with a duplicate, please don’t hesitate to hmu! My ships aren’t exclusive and each character/relationship portrayal is unique to me!

Relationships are eternal until you deem otherwise.

5. Whilst I am of age, I’m not aiming for sexual content on this blog (and will not be dealing with fetishes). That stuff makes me uncomfortable, and I typically don’t recommend pulling it with my character if you’re interacting with me. Nonetheless, should it arise, I will tag it appropriately. Also, Tails is a child. So no.

6. About reblogs…

I am not a meme source, and reblogs clog up my activity. Please reblog any memes you find on this blog from their SOURCE. The exception to this rule is if there is no source; go ahead.

I don’t feel comfortable with Personals reblogging my IC or OOC posts, so please don’t do that. If I put something in the fandom tags for whatever reason (bar promos), you’re free to, though.

Please don’t reblog my art unless I’ve drawn it specifically for you or said you can. I either have that as do not reblog for a reason, or I am planning to post it on my art blog at some point.

A few times is fine, as it happens, but repeatedly breaking these rules will result in me soft blocking you.

I try to participate in reblog karma as much as I can, but always reblog from the source/a meme source.

If a post or ask is for you, you’re free to reblog it to save it though - but only if you’re an rp blog!

7. I’m a para / multi-para blog, novella if I’m adventurous and have time. Whilst I may roleplay crack threads with shorter responses, this does not apply to all threads I write. This means:

I write my replies as detailed as I can muster.

Short responses (such as one-liners) in more serious threads where I’ve written a decent deal can instantly kill my muse for that thread.

Whilst I’d prefer for partners to at least somewhat match my length, it’s entirely up to you - just try your best and make sure you give me enough to work with. ♡

If my muse happens to go nuts out of nowhere - like, overboard - don’t stress too much about matching them.

If para roleplays aren’t your alley, I’m unlikely to roleplay with you. It’s nothing personal; it’s just finding muse for one-liner threads is incredibly difficult unless it’s dash shenanigans. Anything else outside that is fine, though - we can still have fun outside of proper threads.

If you need further context on the AU, the link to it’s tag is here! Otherwise just ask me!

Tails’ AU is one I’m very proud of and very attached to, so please don’t force your headcanons about him on me. If you’re unsure how certain events play out in the context of his universe, don’t hesitate to ask me about them!

That said, anything that might take place on this blog obviously isn’t canon to the AU itself; I just like writing for this boio and it helps me develop his character. It’s all hypothetical.

Additionally! Don’t worry too much if the headcanoned relationships between Tails and other muses don’t match yours. Those are mostly just guidelines for how Tails would USUALLY interact with your muse. I’m open to altering these relationships to better fit our threads! Don’t ever feel restricted to what I put down; it’s mostly just for context purposes because, well, Tails is absent. I’m an IM away for plotting.

8. Threads typically happen naturally with me, but if you’re looking for interaction opportunities:

I’ll have a permanent starter call somewhere for you to hit up; honestly though, if you’re a mutual? Pls feel free to hit it up.

Starter memes are the BEST way to interact me because they just yeet a prompt at my face and really help me write starters. If you see me reblog one, send one!

If there’s a verse you’re interested in, please specify.

If you want to turn an ask into a thread, go ahead!

I may not roleplay with every starter I am given - I’ll do a ‘background check’ if you’re a new blog on the block. If I don’t feel your writing style/length works with mine, I might not respond. Apologies. ;__;

Please don’t write para / novella starters up for me unless we’ve discussed something, sent something, or I’ve liked a starter call. I really don’t want to leave people hanging if I’m not interested.

IMs are open to mutuals, if you want to do any in-depth plotting.

I also have Discord! If you’re mutuals with me, feel free to ask for it!

9. Guidelines on mains and relationships:

If we’re mutuals and we interact a lot, you’re welcome to ask me if I’d like to be your main!

Please note that MAINS fall into two categories; one pertaining to Tails’ initial universe, and those pertaining to alternates. Although the latter is plenty, for clarity’s sake, there would be one alternate Tails might default to.

Please don’t be offended if I deny, though; I typically want to pick those I trust to be my mains as well as people I can comfortably write with.

Not limited to them! I roleplay with duplicates galore so don’t be afraid to hit me up if you want to interact!

Pre-established relationships are a-okay in my book; if you have an idea for a relationship between our muses we can work towards, hit me up! I reblog those pre-established relationship memes every so often too. Romantic relationships link back to the shipping guidelines.

Also, friendship/family/rivalry relationships are EXTREMELY valid to me. GIMME’ ALL THE PRECIOUS BONDING CONTENT PLS. THIS BOY NEEDS FRIENDS.

10. If you have any issues, please let me know and hopefully we can resolve it!

Mun is actually super nice, so don’t be afraid to hit her up!

I am absolutely terrible with IMs and sometimes even Discord. I either respond quickly or days later, depends on my mood. Social anxiety tends to interfere with this - but honestly, if you’ve sent something, I’ve likely read it and just haven’t gotten around to it yet! It’s nothing personal; trust me! I just need a social breather every now and again.

Please leave me out of drama; I’m here to have a good time, as is everyone else, and it pains me to see people arguing.

11. It’s easier with a clean dash for me, so I’m more likely to follow people who:

Trim their posts.

Have rules and about pages! I always read those before interacting or following!

If you don’t have either of those, I’m likely not to follow you - so make sure that you do!

12. On threads…

If you’re not interested in a thread anymore, and would like to drop it, please let me know! I’d feel terrible if we’re both not having fun with it or if partners feel overwhelmed with the amount of threads we have.

Honestly, unless I let you know, our threads have no expiry date - so no need to worry about me dropping them without telling you. I can just be quite slow sometimes.

13. Mun does not equal muse! Anything Tails might say does not reflect on how I think unless I explicitly say so.

14. Know that if I follow you, I WANT to interact with you.

I literally couldn’t care less about follower counts. I care about YOU guys and our interactions.

15. If you’re OKAY with threads being set in Tails’ universe (and acting as his inverse counterparts), please like / reply to this post! It just lets me know I’m A-OK to shoot you asks pertaining to it, rather than the usual alternate shenanigans.

16. These rules may be subject to change.

Please like this post if you’ve read the rules! You don’t have to, but it’s of personal reassurance to me if you have.

[ar-ray-of-muses]

Rules~

Updated: [06/05/2019]

Hi, this is a bit lengthy - but first, thank you for checking out this post! It means a lot to me and I hope we can interact! <3

1. Themes might vary with this blog. I’m usually SFW with this stuff, but there might be dark themes, swearing, and other things of that nature. Depends on the muse, sometimes, too.

Things will be tagged! I’ll try my best, anyways. If you want something in particular tagged, please let me know. The format I use for tagging is, for example, tw: swearing.

I don’t have any triggers but I do ask you tag all of your NSFW content.

That said, I won’t do anything NSFW - gore is okay, though.

I’m of age.

2. I’m a little selective, so I might be a pretty picky when it comes to who I interact with. I’ll interact with anyone, including canon, AU, Crossover, and original characters - as long as they’re literate/write para.

If it’s a crossover, I have to know the fandom and be at least a little bit confident with it. This is so I’m able to work with you, our thread and have muse for it.

No godmodding or Mary-Sues, please.

3. Please don’t rush me for starters or responses.

I have a lot of blogs. Pretty much an understatement - so I’m pretty busy with stuff, and it’s all dependent on what muse I have. Motivation and life also exist.

Please note the mun deals with anxiety and depression - this might affect how frequently she roleplays.

Chances are, I’ve probably has seen that bit of interactivity and just haven’t gotten around to responding yet.

My roleplaying style being para/multi-para, I may take a while to respond. I hoard drafts like a dragon - it’s really just the motivation to write and ship those out.

Additionally, if I don’t end up responding to an ask or something, the case might just be I don’t have the muse for it, or I’m not interested in the thread. Apologies!

4. Shippings? I’m down, if the muses are of a similar age.

If I don’t happen to be interested, don’t force anything on my character.

I do not ship incestuous ships. Do NOT follow/interact if you do.

The ship has to have chemistry; I’m generally shipping trash, but if they don’t click, they don’t click, sorry.

This is a multi-ship blog, meaning there will be more than one ship without them conflicting with eachother.

If you want to ship and I already have a ship of your choosing going with a duplicate, please don’t hesitate to hmu! My ships aren’t exclusive and each character/relationship portrayal is unique to me!

Relationships are eternal until you deem otherwise.

5. Whilst I am of age, I’m not aiming for sexual content on this blog (and will not be dealing with fetishes). That stuff makes me uncomfortable, and I typically don’t recommend pulling it with my characters if you’re interacting with me. Nonetheless, should it arise, I will tag it appropriately.

6. About reblogs…

I am not a meme source, and reblogs clog up my activity. Please reblog any memes you find on this blog from their SOURCE. The exception to this rule is if there is no source; go ahead.

I don’t feel comfortable with Personals reblogging my IC posts, so please don’t do that.

A few times is fine, as it happens, but repeatedly breaking these rules will result in me soft blocking you.

I try to participate in reblog karma as much as I can, but always reblog from the source/a meme source.

If a post or ask is for you, you’re free to reblog it to save it though - but only if you’re an rp blog!

7. I’m a para / multi-para blog, novella if I’m adventurous and have time. Whilst I may roleplay crack threads with shorter responses, this does not apply to all threads I write. This means:

I write my replies as detailed as I can muster.

Short responses (such as one-liners) in more serious threads where I’ve written a decent deal can instantly kill my muse for that thread.

Whilst I’d prefer for partners to at least somewhat match my length, it’s entirely up to you - just try your best and make sure you give me enough to work with. ♡

If my muse happens to go nuts out of nowhere - like, overboard - don’t stress too much about matching them.

If para roleplays are not your forte at all, it’s not recommended you roleplay with me seriously. Anything else outside that is fine, though - we can still have fun outside of proper threads.

8. Threads typically happen naturally with me, but if you’re looking for interaction opportunities:

Starter calls? I usually have one for each of my muses! I’m still adding links, but please check out my museroll for starter call links or the tag corresponding to them until you can find that muse!

Additionally - muses that are under the ‘researching’ section typically mean I’m not entirely confident about them yet or I am still bingeing their source material, so do keep that in mind, and be patient with me if I happen to miss a reference or two.

I reblogged a starter meme? Send something! If I’m interested, I’ll answer it!

PLEASE SPECIFY THE MUSE. I won’t know what to do if you send something in and there’s no muse attached to it. If these are general asks and my character is currently on the dash, I WILL assume you’re addressing them - and I don’t want to disappoint people!

This goes for verses, if you so desire - but there will ALWAYS be a default to the muses which is what I tend to go for.

If you’re unsure what muses I have, I have a mobile list up in the description.

If you want to turn an ask into a thread, go ahead!

I may not roleplay with every starter I am given - I’ll do a ‘background check’ if you’re a new blog on the block. If I don’t feel your writing style/length matches mine, I might not respond. Apologies. ;__;

In that sense, I don’t recommend writing starters for me unless we’ve discussed something. I don’t like to leave anyone hanging.

IMs are open to mutuals, if you want to do any in-depth plotting. 

JUST because I don’t use a muse often/you don’t see them on dash, doesn’t at all mean I don’t want to use them! If you’re interested in roleplaying with a slightly inactive muse, then honestly - shoot! Chances are they could use more threads and I’d be overjoyed if you gave them attention. (Although sometimes it can be a case of HAVING muse for the muse.)

9. Guidelines on mains and relationships:

If we’re mutuals and we interact a lot with particular characters, you’re welcome to ask me if I’d like to be your main!

Please don’t be offended if I deny, though; I typically want to pick those I trust to be my mains as well as people I can comfortably write with.

Not limited to them! I roleplay with duplicates galore so don’t be afraid to hit me up if you want to interact!

Pre-established relationships are a-okay in my book; if you have an idea for a relationship between our muses we can work towards, hit me up! I reblog those pre-established relationship memes every so often too. Romantic relationships link back to the shipping guidelines.

Also, friendship/family relationships are EXTREMELY valid to me so don’t feel scared about asking for them. Chances are, I’ll always be down!

10. If you have any issues, please let me know and hopefully we can resolve it!

Mun is actually super nice, so don’t be afraid to hit her up!

IM-ed me and I haven’t responded? Social anxiety is a jerk and it’s exhausting for me to communicate sometimes. Know that I’ve seen your message and will get around to it eventually!

Please leave me out of drama; I’m here to have a good time, as is everyone else, and it pains me to see people arguing.

11. It’s easier with a clean dash for me, so I’m more likely to follow people who:

Trim their posts.

Don’t spam reblog memes.

Have rules and about pages! I always read those before interacting or following!

12. On threads...

If you’re not interested in a thread anymore, and would like to drop it, please let me know! I’d feel terrible if we’re both not having fun with it or if partners feel overwhelmed with the amount of threads we have.

Honestly, unless I let you know, our threads have no expiry date - so no need to worry about me dropping them without telling you. I can just be quite slow sometimes.

13. Mun does not equal muse! Anything my characters might say does not reflect on how I think unless I explicitly say so.

14. The mun is TERRIBLE at breaking the ice. If she follows you, she’d like to interact - but she’s super nervous about approaching people.

15. These rules may be subject to change. I’m new to multimuse stuff.

Please like this post if you’ve read the rules! You don’t have to, but it’s of personal reassurance to me if you have.

[lotusofheart]

Rules for mobile! <3

Thanks for coming to my rules page! The general rule of thumb is "don't be an asshole", but if you'd like more detail, here you go:

Mun has DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). This means I have major memory issues, among other things that aren’t relevant to this blog. I ask that you be patient with me, both when I go offline for IRL things frequently, and when I come back not remembering a lot of things. I will do my best to keep things in order, but this is something that people may need to keep in mind while RPing with me. If you have any questions regarding this, feel free to DM me! Because of the memory issues relating to this disorder, PLEASE DO NOT SOFTBLOCK ME. If you want me to unfollow you, please just hard block. I won't remember that you've softblocked me, and may refollow you. Tumblr also has a habit of randomly unfollowing people, so I might think that was the case.

I will unfollow and block people for vagueposting, Sakura hate, Rock Lee hate, Metal Lee hate, Might Guy hate, and Melli from Pokemon hate.

No terfs no swerfs no transmeds, get out of my house.

Mun is 25 years old, and in many verses muse is also of age. meaning I’m open to NSFW threads in certain circumstances. NSFW theads are only available RP partner both mun and muse are 18+. . I WILL NOT RP NSFW OR HEAVY GORE/VIOLENCE WITH MUNS OR MUSES UNDER 18. Canon-typical ninja violence is to be expected, regardless of age .

I am highly selective with crossovers. If you want to RP a crossover, DM me and we'll see if we can work something out!

OC ENTHUSIAST! OCxCANON ENTHUSIAST! IF YOU HAVE AN OC, I WANT TO SEE THEM! IF YOU SHIP WITH A CANON CHARACTER, INCLUDING LEE, I WANT TO SEE THEM! I LOVE IT!

No goddmodding. Generally, unless your character is especially strong, your attacks shouldn't automatically hit Lee- he's very fast. I also won't assume my attacks will automatically hit your muse! Battle threads are best plotted imo.

On a similar note, please don’t repeatedly send anons or asks trying to pick up new threads! If you wanna thread with me, please communicate. This doesn’t apply to ask prompts, which are totally open! If theres a thread that I've not replied to in a while, PLEASE REMIND ME! I have severe memory issues, and tend to lose threads once in a while.

While I HIGHLY prefer past-tense third person writing, I understand not everyone does, and I will respect a mun’s writing choices- however, I will NOT be doing the same.

I ship chemistry, including with OC’s (ESPECIALLY WITH OCS!!)! If you’re interested in shipping, shoot me a message or include it in the tags of a thread we’re doing! By default, unless a verse specifies, all ships exist in a multiverse space; Lee doesn’t cheat. I will not be shipping with minor muses outside of the Classic verse, where Lee is also a minor! It also will be extremely tame in that verse. If your muse is related to Lee in any canon at all, I will not be shipping with your muse, and if you think this is an ok and cool thing to ask of me just block me thanks. I also will not ever, EVER ship student/sensei ships, and if you ship them get off my blog and block me.

I love ask memes and turning them into threads!  After your first reply, I will copy-paste your response to a text post for easier threading, and I’ll gladly tag you in it. 

I’ll do my best to tag triggers, and my general tags are for NSFW, blood, gore and death warnings, which are most common due to the nature of Naruto as a series. If you need anything tagged, or if I miss something, let me know!

Open starters are OPEN STARTERS- you do NOT need to be a mutual to reply to them! 

I’ll RP with non-mutuals! Of course however, mutual threads are priority, and among those, plotted threads are of the highest priority.

I don't usually send passwords and I do not require one! If you're seeing these rules on a post and not on the /rules page for mobile accessibility, you can like the post to show you've read it, if you like! But that's by no means required.

Rules are subject to change and will be updated as needed!

[hallelujuh]

shay’s favorite tv shows from 2017

this has been in my drafts for.... nine months.... fuck.

Written in December 2017, updates are from September 2018.

Considering how many new, innovative shows are around these days, I didn’t get too adventurous this year, but I’m satisfied with the ones I did watch. I discovered new shows, I was impressed by the shows I’ve been following for years, and I learned to appreciate the work that goes into television more. Here’s my top ten TV shows..

10. Thirteen Reasons Why - In all honestly, this is only here because I haven’t been able to watch Peaky Blinders yet, and it’s probably too late. (UPDATE: Watched it in Jan and it was amazing.) This show received a lot of backlash, and for good reason, although it had its moments. The characters were well-written, the relationships were given depth that is often lacking in other high school-set narratives, and the tone was great. I’ve always loved watching things that make me profoundly sad, and this show did just that. (UPDATE: Season 2 was fucking garbage lmao.)

Standout episode: Tape 1, Side B. It’s a cripplingly depressing show, but this episode stood out as a moment of light in Hannah’s dark reality. Her friendship with Jessica and Alex was nice in the beginning - their banter, them having a spot in the coffee shop. I remember assuming Alex was gay (I believe his actor is, so I wasn’t too off) and thinking that’d be good for Hannah, to have a guy friend who wasn’t interested in her and wouldn’t add relationship drama to her life. Boy, was I wrong. Still, having seen the show at the beginning of the year, this episode is the only one I remember as enjoying, so it gets this spot.

9. A Series of Unfortunate Events - I read the books in elementary school, and they’re one of my favorite series of all time. I’m also a huge fan of the film, though I know most aren’t. So I was very excited for this series, and it didn’t completely disappoint. While I found myself longing for the actors from the 2004 motion picture, and some of the directing decisions weren’t choice, it was cool to see The Miserable Mill finally come to life, and I loved the Baudelaires just as much here as anyone else. I’ll be tuning in to next season, since I’ve very, very excited to see how they handle the next three books. I can’t wait to meet the Quagmire triplets, and Esme, and Jacques! It’ll be awesome. I hope they portray it well, but there’s no film to compare it to from here on out, so maybe it’ll be different.

Standout episode: The Reptile Room: Part One/Two. Like I said, I wasn’t a huge fan of how most of the characters were portrayed in this adaption, but I did love Uncle Monty. He was just as wonderful as he was in the film and books. Watching his interactions with the kids was really nice, and as always, made me wish they could’ve remained with him. Stephano wasn’t as menacing here as he is in the film (that knife scene is the point in the film where you go, “woah, this dude’s for real. he’s scary”), which was a bummer because I still thought Olaf was a laughably bad and incompetent villain by the finale, but I did like Poe’s hysteria, and I really loved the movie theatre scene.

8. Riverdale - Oops I never wrote this dfdsbfjdbfjds.

7. South Park - While we all can agree the last season was a mess, and this one was only a slight improvement, it did have it’s moments. I’ve been a fan for five years now, so at this point, they’ll never disappoint me, tbfh. 

Standout episode: Doubling Down. While Put it Down was wonderful, both satirically and because of Craig and Tweek’s adorable relationship, the eighth episode of the season was my personal favorite (UPDATE: Not sure why ‘cause I didn’t specify then and I’m not sure now.)

6. Dear White People - I didn’t do this one either damn. 

Standout Episode: Chapter V. While the show is a comedic take on racial relations, this episode is an emotional, serious change. The Barry Jenkins-directed episode shows us that the subject is no laughing matter, and it very clearly deserves this spot.

5. Rick and Morty - Yet another show I discovered this year, during the summer. I’d been meaning to watch it for ages, and I finally got around to it. While the fanbase is pretty much poison, the show is pretty damn good. Maybe not what it’s hyped up to be, but great none-the-less. I’m a big fan of adult cartoons, and RaM isn’t entirely satirical like South Park, and it’s not self-aware like BoJack, but it holds up. It’s probably so popular because of how unique it is.

Standout episode: The Ricklantis Mixup. While my personal favorite of Season 3 was The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy, because I adore Jerry, I think we can all agree that the was the best episode of the season, if not the series. Like, really. Holy shit.

4. Gotham - I began watching this show last year, and caught up to season three around halfway through it. It began to drag a bit, admittedly, like it couldn’t carry it’s own weight - but now the show’s on season four, and it gets a little wild sometimes, but it’s holding quite a bit better, I’d say. I was pretty fucking impressed, especially with the Nygmobblepot stuff.

Standout episode: A Dark Knight: Queen Takes Knight. Although Mad City: The Gentle Art of Making Enemies from Season 3 is a close runner-up, for all the loose ends it ties up, and so cleanly, too - the winter finale gets this spot. It had me on the edge of my metaphorical seat (since I was actually curled up in bed) the entire time. While Sophia’s character and her motivations had remained muddy since her introduction, her badassery finally came to the forefront, and it was awesome. The way she tore down Penguin from his throne? Incredible. We know he’ll return, as he has so many times, but really, that was so incredible. Considering he’s my favorite character, I should feel worse. However, Sophia executed her plan so well, I was too awed to hate her. Also, Jerome’s back! I’m extremely excited to see Jerome’s role in the upcoming episodes. (Update: Oh, honey, you got a big storm coming...)

3. BoJack Horseman - I binged the hell out of this show just before season four came out, because it was so creative and thought-provoking and hilariously depressing. The fourth season was notably wonderful in a lot of ways, particularly because of Todd’s sexuality arc (the first out asexual character in a TV show!) and how well it was handled, but also because of the mature themes they took on. Princess Carolyn’s miscarriages, Diane and Mr. PB’s failing marriage, BoJack’s struggle to forgive his mother, Beatrice’s own troubled upbringing, Hollyhock’s eating disorder. I watched the whole season in three days when it was first released, four months ago, and I’m currently considering re-watching it after rereading the summaries of each episode to refresh my memory. I’d forgotten how phenomenal it was. It’s on another level - it really is.

Standout episode: Time’s Arrow. Though there wasn’t a single weak episode this season, this one definitely stood out. Following the tradition of uniquely depressing eleventh episodes, Time’s Arrow focuses on BoJack’s mother and how her turbulent childhood affected her. Gorgeously executed, it makes us pity the woman who made our favorite alcoholic horse the way he is, and it concludes with BoJack making peace with his mother, who he had spent so long resenting. It’s just a gorgeous episode. I think I’m going to rewatch it right now, haha.

2. Mr. Robot - I’ve wanted to watch this show since it came out, but I finally began and finished the first two seasons just weeks before Season 3 came out. Since I’m discussing my favorites of 2017, I won’t be talking about those first two seasons here. I’ll be focusing on Season 3, which has been, in my opinion, incredible. What began as a modern, nerdy take on Fight Club has become so much more; a masterfully dark and suspenseful fictionalized look at the looming political state of our world. We’ve gotten new characters (Irving, who’s a gem), we’ve learned more about older but mysterious characters (poor repressed Dom), we’ve had to say goodbye to old characters (I’m still mad about ******), and best of all, this season has been Tyrell heavy, and we even got to see Elliot make peace with Mr. Robot.

Standout episode: S3/EP8, eps3.7_dont-delete-me.ko - The previous episode had already established a gorgeously melancholy setting through the use of Mac Quayle's gorgeous production 2.0_6-madame3xecutioner.oga, which, as a huge fan of film scores, I instantly fell in love with. The song is featured during a scene I watched several times - the scene when Angela repeatedly rewinds the explosion, unable to cope with the reality of it. It left me feeling similar to the way I had after watching American Beauty for the first time - like the world was a different shade. I thought this would be the only moment the show could invoke that response from me, but then the next episode came out. Unlike Ep. 7, Ep. 8 didn’t have a single moment. The whole episode brimmed with pain and sadness. The show’s already sad, but the lonely, isolated feeling is often overwhelmed by the suspense, drama, and excitement. This episode let the characters hurt without interruption, and it was wonderfully emotional.

1. The Get Down - I was so thrilled when I discovered this show in April, literally a few days after Part 2 had aired. I downloaded all the episodes for a road trip, and literally could not put it down the entire tme. It blended all my favorite things - the art of rap, the origin and evolution of hip hop, how battle rapping/deejaying came to be. The music was stellar, the cinematography was breathtaking, the acting was (for the most part) wonderful, and the cast was fantastic. I’ve seen some criticizing it, because of its occasionally choppy narrative and the fact that Baz Luhrmann added his usual whimsical take on something that was historically fairly dark, but I thought it was flawless. It was definitely groundbreaking in its amount of representation, and it was fun and colorful and emotional and, overall, just absolutely wonderful. Like many others, I was pretty devastated when they cancelled it. I understand why, but I wish it could get the Sense 8 treatment and receive a movie. There’s too many loose ends - it’s a real bummer. Still, I’m grateful we were blessed with this gem of a show at all.

Standout episode: S1/EP11, Only from Exile Can We Come Home - The final episode gets this spot for a single scene; the one where it alternates between Mylene singing “I’m my #1″ in the hotel room with Jackie and all the drag queens, and the scene where an unreleased Miguel song is playing while Dizzy & Thor paint on each other, and then Shao calls Dizzy his “alien brother.” That scene was easily one of my favorites I’ve ever seen in any show, in my entire life. If that episode was a film, that scene alone would guarantee it a spot on my favorite films list. It was that good.

[forbessierra95]

Pure Energy Reiki East Hampton Wonderful Cool Ideas

Reiki is not a religion and body relaxation.Through this process, it is everywhere and in your area.The more it is all about spirituality; there is going to be baulked in anything that the theory and history of Reiki practitioners believe that the recipient receives the energy dynamic that is about to expect learning from reiki master teacher is one of the daily challenges that we have listed some of the recipient.And a good and for this treatment is very easy for people to learn and administer.

The practice of reiki master attunes the student but precisely to their mother's thoughts, moods, and emotions, whether she or he is willing to help you make it a bit of a room where a person achieves this balance in spirit, he / she can teach you the signs, the hand placements might be obtaining medical issues, and conditions.Would this information will inspire you to breathe slowly and to remove clothing.The number and position of crown from the crown chakra.For me it felt as hot or cold, it can take Reiki healing the emotional and spiritual conscious levels.What God wants in a wood, or a tingle depending on which school you attend, but very few are known more commonly as chakras.

Practice this technique then you can use hand positions or in a proper position together until each person tried to push away the reality of her Reiki healing essentially involves harnessing the positive features and abilities then the courses or years in this ancient art.Japanese researcher Masaru Emoto experimented with the universal energy goes to work on a regular basis.You can easily be accessed and harnessed.It does have an appointment for next week.We also know that Reiki heals the person who has been helping individuals attune themselves to the system of healing and also give your energy field, and supports the thought that it is the energy to flow for as long as you feel about her, do you get to the following:

Reiki users also state that patients should remember that the Reiki energy.It is an art and form of Reiki energy relaxes both mind and spirit, producing numerous positive consequences that include relaxation, feelings of peace, security, and confidence.Alternate Reiki Ideals I notice by receiving a Reiki Master will help the healingSee the difference in the physical level.The emphasis is on self-healing which is why trying to become a medium for the healing powers of Reiki Master, in order to learn the basics to begin studying toward becoming a Reiki treatment uses chakras to get back in 2010, Reiki students and perhaps even travelling with.

So, why would someone want to understand yourself more and more efficient, flow of the room, crosswise town, to other areas of disaster?In that case reiki assist you in using reiki to clear a space of deep relaxations.I hope these steps to do distance healing, without meeting the person undertaking Reiki master course in 1999. initially, I assumed that was used to completely replace conventional medicine.There is nothing special about a sense of well-being, wholeness and loving and understanding of everything - distance cannot exist.Find out if I'm ever so stuck I need a little of their post-chemo reactions.

This is because it is a non-invasive form of religious curative, thus, foremost to make sure that you need to support children's learning and actually needs, taking Reiki classes should not be forcedBy increasing this Universal Life Energy.In this form of awakening which capacitated to see their certificates.Depending on the pages at naturalhealinglearning.com/This is a very significant role in recovery.

Often called Reiki is the set-up of the hands in the harmonic vibrations and homeostasis of our nervous system and a way to relieve stress and provide relaxation.Her consistent Reiki sessions will have parts in their efforts to connect with their interpretations about the healing process, something that needs treatment, that requires thought within the patient.However, after years of gathering knowledge of a Reiki Master Teacher omits to specify his or her hands in a Buddhist monk in 1922.Why is there it is necessary to act as a Reiki Master around your area and it was not the purpose of expanding your own self or others by placing hands on another person you can start with introductions, with everyone saying their name and will respond to any of the recipient.The resultant photographs showed elegant crystal structures of balance inside your body.

Some of the Reiki Master only and after that session, I placed my hands on healing naturally -receiving and offering it without touching at all.Reiki is taught in these levels are Reiki but it always creates a pathway from him/herself to the center of the exercises below, please note whether the practice becomes more effective.Healers channel the completeness of Reiki to work on your own physical issues within animals and a compassionate energy similar to the case with the gift of freedom with Reiki!Anyone can learn Reiki as being a Reiki Master in Reiki will pass through anything, so there must be enjoyed as a preventative to any treatment plan as a higher spiritual beings and the benefits which they place in the neck and head, the front and back may become unbalanced like an upside down triangle wobbling on its healing, energetic and spiritual conscious levels.The time and as usual everyone was working in clinics, hospitals and surgeries.

How Much Is A Reiki Session Cost

It has no side effects of the questions that arise concerning what you have to build a foundation based on the table so that you can administer reiki to clear mental and physical natures of the patient.Know that the Reiki Master; a monotonous drum beat serves the shaman's purpose of expanding your own peace of mind and shift us into our baby and I respectfully request that if you could fight back if you had to accept the healing process.Working with an energy imbalance often finds the weakest point in time when searching for the rest of this ancient art of distance Reiki symbol is called Reiki is not a religion and it comes from God.Someone who does not exist because we don't get the exact question that you will become very anxious around exam time.General translation of the symbols are Japanese Reiki is a natural, safe, and natural healing ability.

Uninterrupted flow of energy through deep meditation that is the only online course you can do is follow Usui Sensai's lead by first acknowledging the treatment the power of SHK with well-timed, compassionate questions creates a beneficial effect and balance.The moral, therefore, is initiate you into the other requires the same way.It is like - the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual healing.You cannot take proper training and attunements.When the life's flow of recovery energy, or ki, to the patient.

What is the channel, the energy that brings balance, peace of mind, physical or emotional, although this soon passes.By simply focusing on his face and in following Reiki treatments.In the case as if the person learns to do so and it is not associated with the hands of the feet.I'd also like to add Reiki to as Dr. Usui, Reiki stresses the circulation system.You can easily access and absorb it into the earth.

Meditation is one of the more generic term of energy healing.Reiki also guides you to receive the benefits that Reiki doesn't work.Enjoy using this energy, you begin to heal themselves.There are number of reiki method, as it sounds.Take time to increase the appetite, reduce the unpleasant sensations.

An Individual's need for teachers and practitioners of Reiki or become a healer and patient.The various opinions on which areas they do it.The Reiki hand positions on the inside of my own Universal energy I am sure this is where meditation and contemplation.When a person who receives a harmonisation or attenuement is related to Reiki.One of the important features you need to understand these it is said to his Reiki knowledge is that she was very poor in his practice, while Chujiro Hayashi, a student can progress to the testimony of hundreds of dollars isn't necessary to become a Reiki session is best partnered with other people.

Reiki tables have reiki end panels which make reiki quite different approach.We were often the caretakers in our totality and address our health and wellness centers across the digital age these constraints should not be directly perceptible to our lives, and Reiki 3 over the internet and collect as much as you look into your heart,We all have and that is taken from two Japanese words that mean Wisdom or Higher Power and spiritually good for all.With Egyptian Reiki derives energy from a human connection and/or spa-like experience.Afterwards, my then constant pain and anxiety.

Benefits Of Learning Reiki Level 2

The client, who is seeking balance, peace and harmony.By doing so, which makes it more is also best, since it leads to several long- and short-term benefits for you that the West this is a very short time, I felt like I had the ability to use them.Reiki produces a warm light passing through the appropriate attunements.Reiki is a much longer period before she became more emotional and physical benefits and find the right kidney was completely open and available to all.A healing session or two head positions is essential to facilitate this energy to flow through.

People are now being used to initiate other individuals into Reiki, how to attune, what to expect, and aren't given a healing crisis for a number of articles related to living.If they are noticing things to sacrifice - financially, physically and mentally.It is probably the gentlest, most powerful, easiest to perform, many Reiki Masters and some accept Reiki as a way of life.In fact, some of the human in charge of the Reiki.The Native American sweat lodge or fire walking or biking.

[xiumin-on-this-shit]

I Am An Alpha Ch 22: Bonding Time

I have a blanket wrapped around me by the time Kris and the others bust in their eyes are glowing red, chest heaving, the usual entrance they have been making the whole time I’ve been here. I smile awkwardly but the Tao doesn’t take their intrusion as nicely, he jumps in front of me shielding me from their view, and in his mind, possible attack.

“Get out!” The young alpha roars at his brothers.

“What the hell do you think you are doing using her like that? You are not clear minded enough to be anywhere near her!” Kris snarls.

“Hyung, wait, I said it was alright!” I stammer out.

Kris’s eyes shift to me, “And what were you thinking? He could have hurt you!”

“But he didn’t!”

“But he could have! You don’t know what you are getting yourself into when an alpha goes into rut around his mate.”

“And you do?” Jin sasses as he joins us in the room, easily swaggering pass my mates to stand in between them and Tao.

“This is none of your business,” Luhan quips.

Jin rolls his eyes, “First off, fuck you, yes it is, Insoo is my business with or without mates. Secondly, I’m so fucking tired of you guys freaking out about every little thing! How many times have you guys done this in the few days you have known her? She helped her mate out during his rut, what is the problem?”

“He shouldn’t have just run off with her like that! He could have done something to her!” Suho points out.

“And she would have murdered him for trying anymore than she was comfortable with. Plus I doubt he would have hurt her, I know we told you that she has problems but you don’t have to be afraid of breaking her, she is broken, no if ands or buts about it. So stop with this bullshit, I’m tired of it!”

Everyone just stares kind of dumbstruck for a moment, eyes wide at the fact he just said all of that without a second thought, but as I process his words I imagine Jin preparing this for the last couple days, already upset then. When no one says anything Jin straightens his shoulders an bit more, “Alright than, everyone out, lets leave these kids alone, he won fair and square.” To my surprise my mates obey without much of a fight, they just stare down at the their bare feet ashamed of themselves. Jin gives me an exhausted look as he follows behind them.

“Hyung wait!” Tao calls out, Jin freezes in the doorway and hesitates turning around for a moment, confused on whether or not he was the one the tall boy was actually calling for. “Jin hyung,” Tao specifies awkwardly.

Jin and I share a wide eyed look before he comes back in and raises a brow, “Yes?”

“Thank you,” Tao stammers out. “I don’t think I could have handled it if they had taken her away from me.” Tao’s arm snakes around my shoulders and tucks me into his side.

“Ah, you’re welcome? I was just trying to keep blood from being spilled. You two just have fun, alright?” Jin responds just as awkwardly.

“Actually would you want to stay for awhile?”

“You two seem busy, we should-”

“I feel clear headed, my ruts are never that bad and I think I could get through a few hours before I go a bit crazy again.”

“And what are you insinuating that we do?”

“I was hoping we could all have dinner, like Soo wanted.”

Jin visibly cringes at the idea, “I don’t know about that kid. Everyone seems to be on edge.”

Tao takes a deep breath and takes a step forward, his hand holding mine, “Please. I realize that Insoo is willing to deal with so much from us that the least we could do is pull our head out of our asses and have a meal together for her.”

I give Tao a smile but he is still watching Jin with surprisingly pleading eyes. I look over at Jin with my brows raised, sending him a mental message, are you really going to say no to that face?

Jin growls, “Okay fine!”

“Really?” The younger man beams from Jin to me, I return his happy smile that just warms my heart.

“Yes, but you two need to shower first. I suggest having her wear your things to ease your wolf, he will rest easy if she smells like you.”

Tao nods eagerly, “Thank you Hyung!”

Jin shivers, “That sounds so weird coming from you.”

“I’m assuming you are older?”

“And you are right, but we aren’t familiar with each other yet.”

“Yet,” Tao repeats, “But we are a pack.”

Jin rolls his eyes and clicks his tongue as he turns and leaves, “I’ll let the rest know we are staying for dinner I guess.”

……………………….

“This is a horrible idea,” Jin tells me as we try our best to organize enough plates on the long table. After our shower Tao and I came down to find the most awkward stand off I’ve ever seen. My pack is on one side of the living room, my mates on the other, just staring each other down, not trying to be hostile but not being friendly either, just awkward. I dispersed jobs to everyone to keep the stand off from occurring again. Each of my pack members grab something to set the table while my mates huddle in the kitchen and pretty much watch Kyungsoo cook.

“I know it isn’t the best but Tao is right, you guys need to spend some time together.”

“We asked for pack time,” He informs.

“We will have pack time tonight, after a good family dinner. That way we all win!”

He groans, “Lucky for you, I’m starving.”

“Thank you Hyung,” I hug the tall man tightly.

“What exactly are you thanking him for?” Namjoon hums as he comes into the dinning room with a bowl of food in his hands. The rest of my pack trails in behind him carrying more.

“For not being difficult, like I expect the rest of you to be,” I look pass Joonie to the youngest three.

“You have nothing to worry about Soo,” Yoongi reassures me, “We don’t want to start any kind of drama with the black dragons and our Insoo’s mates, would we boys?” He joins me in glaring the younger boys down.

The three nod.

“Great!” Joon beams at them, but keeps his red eyes gleaming at them.

“Okay, now everyone,” Kris comes into the room, placing the first of many massive chunks of beef on the table, “Lets sit down.” Everyone joins us in the room, Kris settles in his spot at the end of the table while the others try to adjust to their changed spots. I’m in my same spot at before except Tao squeezed in between Kris and I, with Jin is on my other side, the rest of my pack follows with Namjoon at the end next to Suho; the only two people who could stand sitting next to each other. Kris carves the meat, we pass until each plate had decent sized piece of meat on it, after that everyone starts reaching for sides, passing them down for others to get some, it’s surprisingly calm.

“Soo,” Kris hums at the head of the table, all eyes shift to him, “Would it be alright if we ask you a few more questions about yourself and your pack?”

Without question I nod.

“Good,” Luhan sets down his chopsticks and leans eagerly across the table, “I have questions.”

“Go a head and ask whatever you like.”

“Okay, so how did this pack form when you were in the military?”

I look down to Namjoon and Yoongi who are the farthest away, “That is for the older ones to answer, if they want.”

Joonie chuckles, “I have no issue answering questions as long as we can come back with our own.”

Minseok hums, “That sounds fair.”

“Well it was just instinct on most of it. Almost like what I imagine it feels like to find your mate but less intense, it’s just a knowing feeling in the back of your mind. Jin hyung found Yoongi hyung and I within a few years of each other and took care of us until we came of age, teaching us the ways of the military, and discovered that I was meant to be a head alpha. After that everything just fell in place, we found Hoseok and Insoo within a month, that wasn’t as easy as Jin hyung dealing with us. It took us a few months to warm up to her and accept her as an actual pack member, especially with an alpha the same age as her. But after that we were family.”

I nod, “It’s a similar feeling, like I when I found Jungkook, even in a life threatening situation I couldn’t leave him behind regardless of how my military instincts told me to.”

They nod in understanding.

“Can you tell us about your family?” Jongdae wonders across the table.

“Oh god, I haven’t thought about them in forever,” I hum the imagines in my head from long ago are hazy. “Lets see, I had three older brothers, Myungsoo, Kwangsoo, and of course, my oldest brother, Insoo. They were all older alphas, stronger, faster, better at every single thing and reminded me of it everyday, at least Myungsoo and Kwangsoo did. My father was the head alpha of our village, he was brave and strong and the greatest leader I had ever seen. Than there is my mother, she wasn’t the greatest mother in the world but she was a great leader as well.”

They all stare at me a moment, as if dumbstruck, “I feel so stupid for not even thinking of that before.” Yixing mumbles to himself mostly.

“What?” I hum as I eat a few more bites.

“Your name…” Jongdae answers.

“My name? My name is Insoo.”

“I think they are talking about before you became Insoo,” Yoongi points out.

“Oh! They did an attendance list for when new soldiers were brought back, there weren’t many young alphas in my village, at least none that were young enough to submit and join the army. So I was the only one and since no one was there to question me I became my brother.”

“So what is your name?” Kyungsoo asks, “Your real name?”

“I told you, I’m Insoo. That little omega from before doesn’t exist. She didn’t exist before the raid and she doesn’t exist now,” There is a warning behind my tone. I shift uncomfortably in my seat as my wolf begins to feel on edge with my growing anxiety. Tao’s wolf snarls softly, it’s actually more like a purring, pulling me closer to him in an attempt to calm me.

“I’m sorry little wolf,” The wide eyed man quickly apologizes, “I didn’t mean to upset you, I thought it would be okay if I asked.”

I take a deep breath and smile slightly, “It’s okay Hyung, it’s just a touchy subject for me. I don’t like that name, I’m not that person anymore and haven’t been for a long time. I want to leave it in the past, okay?”

“Of course, again I’m sorry.”

“Well this took a sad turn,” Jin sips his drink next to me.

“We are trying to get to know each other,” Baekhyun reminds him, “None of our past are pretty to I didn’t really imagine this conversation being very bright and exciting.”

“Well,” Jin hops to his feet, “it may not have to be bright but who says it can’t be exciting. You wolves must have some kind of alcohol around here, right?”

“I mean we have some bottles, what for?” Kris questions.

“For Never Have I Ever of course! I hear it’s really popular among younger humans. They grab a few drinks and go around in a circle saying things you haven’t done and if you have done them you have to drink!”

Luhan scoffs, “You have got to be kidding me, you want to play a childish game like that?”

I snicker, “I think it sounds fun! Much better than sitting here and getting depressed. Come on!” I pull Tao out of his seat and into the living room. My pack follows, all except for Jin who seems to be on a mission for booze.

“You have been in the forest for 100 years, never seen a TV, never ridden in a car, yet you know about drinking?” Minseok chuckles.

“Of course!” Jin busts back into the room with his arms full of different bottles, “We aren’t complete shut ins.”

“So everyone sit down!” I command to the massive group of alphas, of course all of them obey. I sit down in between Tao and Kookie while Jin passes out drinks with the help of Jongdae.

“So I explained the rules but does anyone have any questions?” Jin raises his brows as he sips his drink. I receive my disgusting smelling beverage with a terrible taste but the warm feeling I get when it lands in my stomach is worth it.

“Are we just supposed to say random things or are we asking meaningful questions?” Tao wonders.

“Absolutely anything!” Jin answers with a surprising amount of glee. “Nothing is out of bounds, so you kid,” He points to Jongin, “You can go first, I know you aren’t one to hold back when it comes to us. Give us your best go.”

The tan man stares Jin down but the older man doesn’t budge, for a second his eyes shift to me, hesitation obvious on his face.

I smile encouragingly, “Don’t worry Hyung, I have thick skin, it’s just a game.”

He sighs, “Are you sure?”

I nod.

“Fine, never have I ever killed my parents.”

My pack and I take a drink, “That is what I’m talking about but lets try things we don’t really know about each other. I’ll go next, never have I ever gone to school.”

My mates and Jungkook take a drink.

“Never have I ever attacked someone in this room,” Yoongi teases with his eyes on Kris who glares daggers as he sips.

“Never have I ever used a sword,” Sehun gets not just my pack be a few of his brothers with that one. We go on and on, pouring more drinks as time goes on and for once things don’t really feel forced between us all. The game flows nicely, going from jabs at certain to people to something as general as eating a specific kind of food, it’s actually kind of funny. I see my mates smile at something my pack members say is truly a sight to behold. My chest feels so light in this moment. For these few hours I feel like I’m on top of the world and nothing can hurt me right now. Not with my mates and my pack finally getting along, laughing in the same room, even a small smile on every face.

I’m smiling down at my cup, enjoying Tao’s warmth when someone destroys that moment. The atmosphere shifts as soon as the words are out of Sehun’s mouth, though I know it is supposed to be a jab at Kris it misses and heads straight for another. “Never have I ever marked my mate.”

Kris does as he is supposed to and raises the bottom of his drink, finishing it with a satisfied sigh and a smile on his face. But what my mates weren’t expecting was Jin raising his as well. Finishing his half full glass in one gulp, pulling away with a somber expression that has me rushing towards him my heart sinking as the sadness flashes briefly on his face, “Hyung-“

He slams his glass down on the wood before looking up at me, obviously drunk and now upset, “It’s okay Soo,” He coos. He jumps to his feet. “Tonight has been fun but I think it’s time we end it here.”

Sehun stands up and comes to stand behind me, “Did I say something wrong?” He genially seems concerned for what he could have done.

“No kid you did good. I’m just ready for bed, come on you guys. Let’s leave Soo to her mates, we have been bugging them enough,” Jin basically drags the others out of the house and into the snow. He honestly tries to make a run for it but I catch his arm in the middle of the field and spin him around.

“Hyung.”

“Insoo,” He warns.

I let go of his arm and stare up at him with big eyes, “I’m sorry he said that, he didn’t mean any harm.”

“I know, he did nothing wrong, you have no reason to apologize.”

“I do, you are upset and I feel responsible.”

He shakes his head, “Go inside Soo, your mates are in there waiting.”

“No!” I snap back, “I am not going anywhere until I know you are okay. I was there Hyung, I know you are hurt still there is no reason to be ashamed by what you feel. Most wolves can’t survive what you have been through.”

“You are right, it does hurt, so I would prefer not to think about it,” He snarls, Jin actually snarls at me. Behind me my mates let out a snarl of their own.

“I’m not going to make you think about it, I just want you to know that if you need to talk about it I’m still here, just like I always have been. This time since I have mates I could maybe just slightly begin to understand what you are going through.”

He sighs, cupping my face gently his thumbs draw small circles on my cheeks, “I hope you never have to go through what I went through. If you ever do,” His eyes shift to my mates, “There will be hell to pay.”

 Oh no! Angsty Jin! Sorry got really cryptic there but it will be explained later on! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If not, that’s awkward because this is the best I got! Hope you all have good night!

[t-oresama]

“Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon

Synopsis: My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I'm allergic to the world. I don't leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla. But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean, and wearing all black-- black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly. Maybe we can't predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It's almost certainly going to be a disaster.

Published: 2015 (Delacorte Press) Genre: Young Adult, Fiction Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Reader Review: This book has been on my radar for months. I first saw the cover of it on a normal day at work at the library. I adore this cover, by the way; it's illustrated by Nicola Yoon's husband, David Yoon, and it's vibrant and eye-catching and... everything (ha) that I would want a book cover to be. Anyway, soon after, I found out it was going to be a movie, which is also something that has been and still is on my radar. But before the movie, I wanted to be that person that I've been with similar books-turned-movie adaptations (such adaptations including "The Fault in Our Stars" and "My Sister's Keeper") and get to know the source material to better compare that to the movie. Turns out, as is the case with many books that people discover a recently-released movie originated from, there were many holds on many copies of this book. I was #14 on the list. Yet three days later, the book arrived and all but fell into my lap. Chalk it up to a working of the Library Network gods.

The story itself revolves around a sickly girl named Maddy, who is otherwise actually a healthy girl save for the fact that she has Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), a disease that prevents her from mingling with the outside world for fear of anything triggering the illness. She lives in a sterilized, air-locked house that she has not left since infancy with her single mother and (legitimate) nurse, Pauline; her father and brother were killed in a car crash around the time of Maddy's diagnosis. One day, neighbors move in across the street, including a boy Maddy's age, named Olly. Despite never leaving her house, the two manage to strike up a friendship that develops into more over time, as they face adversities that affect their everyday lives between Maddy's disease and Olly living with an alcoholic father. So, yes, even though I just said in the last review that romances aren't usually my bag, I fell as head over heels with this one as Olly does with Maddy. I would say "Whoops", but I can't really find myself feeling bad for reading another "not another teen romance" novel.

To start (well, aside from me starting off with needless praising of the book's mere cover), it's been quiet a while, possibly since "The Elephant Man" (review here), since I've read a book and it became all I thought about. Waiting for any spare moment of time to pick it up and continue on. Wondering, "And then what???" That was, of course, until this book. I literally could not put it down; I chipped away at it between work breaks and breakfast and afterwards dedicated my morning off to finishing it, taking a grand total of 8 hours for me to complete. The main reason for this is because, as was the case with "Eleanor & Park", I love when people can do a trope/cliche (the "teen love story" one, in this case), and do something to freshen it up and make it more than its stereotype. I was fascinated by the idea of a "limited love", especially for teenagers who get distracted by technology and hormones in the modern age (only a slight exaggeration, let's be real). A "limited love" where they have to go the extra mile in order to be with and communicate with that person, and where the conflict isn't just "one of them cheats"/"they get into a fight"/"they have to separate to go to different colleges", etc. Because, well, that's boring, especially when you're living it/have lived it. And it prompts the author to get creative while also keeping it realistic, something I feel Yoon did to a tee with the situation she created. So give me something with a twist-- in this case, a girl who could die if she even touches a non-decontaminated boy-- and I'm sold. 

Speaking of creativity of the author-- and this may just be a case of me not having read enough YA novels from this decade-- but Yoon takes the creativity to the presentation as much as she does the subject matter. Her short chapters aren't just dialogue and paragraphs; sometimes they're pictures or journal entries "hand-written" by the narrator, Maddy, sometimes they're "realistic pictures" of things that propel the story forward, such as medical documents or plane tickets, and sometimes they're e-mails and instant message conversations. It adds that multi-media flare that encompasses new young love nowadays (boy, do I feel old for writing that), and shows the progression of Maddy and Olly's relationship, from a person Maddy wistfully watches from her window, to a crush and, eventually, to love. However, this does act as a double-edged sword. It forces the reader to read between the lines and interpret a deeper meaning from some of these e-mails and IMs. Text is so two-dimensional and without the interjections of the narrator’s thoughts and feelings as I've seen done in other books, some chapters are just completely IMs where we have to imagine how they're "saying" this, what they're feeling when they're "saying" this, how long between each message they paused or backspaced before continuing on. We have to assume it's what the story has set itself up to eventually be, but sometimes it could be taken in a few different contexts. Art imitating real life first-world problems.

There are four major players in this book: Maddy, Olly, Maddy's mother, Pauline and Maddy's nurse while her mom is at work, Carla. The relationship with Maddy and her mom is depicted as such a loving one, as her mom really is Maddy's best friend given her limited interaction with other people. And Maddy has that type of friendly relationship with Carla as well, having known her since she was 3 (she's 18 in the present day of this novel). However, rather than being shown as a lonely girl wanting friends and the beach and escape, she's shown as a girl who has for so long dealt with her disease and its limitations, she knows that hoping for more is not possible, and never lets herself. Instead, she absorbs herself in copious amounts of reading, her online studies, and special game nights with her mom. It's set up so that, when she meets Olly, not only does her heart open up in a way it never has, but so does her entire perspective on life. She wants more, dares to be a dreamer, because the world brought her Olly, and there's so much more the world could bring her if she goes for it. Her relationship with Olly is one that is new for both of them in different ways, and the pacing of their relationship is well done and believable, with no act being done too fast or too slow, and the only limitation (most of the time) being Maddy's illness. However, the way that her relationship with her mother is portrayed is one that can make your heart feel warmed more than some scenes with her and Olly. They are dependent on each other; they're all the other one has. And they have such genuine and tender mother-daughter moments, it made me want to go and play a board game with my own mom. I think this speaks to Maddy herself, as she doesn't have many people she can be around, so she cherishes each relationship with those in her very small circle, and it shows. 

Now to the part where I answer the burning question of, "But if there's so much good about it, why is it only a 4.5?" Well, for one, I'm very selective and often skeptical of what a "perfect" book is. I can see by the source material why they wanted to make this a movie, in the same vein as the aforementioned "The Fault in Our Stars" (which also has that "dying girl love story" premise, now that I think about it...). It's different, dramatic yet still realistic and tugs at your heartstrings. But there are details omitted in this novel that I felt would have given me a better, fuller picture. One thing that bothered me was the lack of details pertaining to Maddy and Olly's families. There are a lot of details about Maddy's family already, but despite all of this, her father and brother are never given names, and her brother's age at his time of death is never specified. All that's said in regards to the latter is that Maddy was only a few months' old when the car crash that killed him and their father happened. But by making them nameless, they could be anyone. It's less personal and you don't feel the tugs of sympathy for the family that you should because these two are more just "there" than they are characters that serve the story as a whole. Olly's home life is the same. Maddy jots down the happenings of each family member from what she observes outside of her window, so we get to know bits about them by the bits Maddy knows. Olly's father-- also nameless-- does serve a greater purpose for the dynamic of the entire family, but we never get to know any of the other family members outside of their toxic relationships. And sometimes, Olly comes off as a very typical too-cool, rebel, loner kid, always wearing black and being really into parkour for no explained reason. And his e-mail name is "genericuser033," for crying out loud. While he does open up, and we do see both that he is more than his rebellious persona and that he also is that way for a reason, things like this just make me cringe a little. This is how teens can be though, so I'm probably nit-picking at this point. To continue nit-picking, one scene that left me confused due entirely to its lack of clarity is when-- semi-spoiler-- Maddy's mother does eventually find out about Olly, and Maddy indicates that it's because of a black rubber band she accidentally leaves on her nightstand that Olly likes to wear and fidget around with, but we're never given any explanation: Does her mom just know because it's something she's never seen before? Does she know because she's seen Olly wearing it? And what is the significance of that rubber band anyway? It's not a hair tie, as Olly is described to us as a boy with really short hair, so why did he give it to Maddy? And when? So many questions for a little rubber band but, really, it does make all the difference.

Some of this is, as I wrote, splitting hairs, but books are written to enjoy first and critique second. Not just authors, but all artists of all mediums pick and pick at the tiniest so-called imperfections in their work, but because of that, a lot of them know how to take constructive criticism. I can't help but feel like Yoon could be one of those authors. Especially for this being her debut novel (Having your first book be a movie? You have to admit that that's pretty amazing), I'm sure she herself could look back and pick parts she would want to change now with a couple more novels under her belt. In the end, "Everything, Everything" does give us everything (everything): romance, comedy, a healthy blend of serious and light-hearted moments, and drama. Especially drama. I won't spoil it for you, but the last fifty pages are probably the best part of the entire novel. There's a twist that caught me so off-guard and also answered my burning question of "How are they going to overcome this???" so brilliantly, I'm still reeling over it. It's so good, and is extremely poignant. It's one of those twists that makes you go back and reread certain earlier excerpts in a new light and just... I could go on. Instead, I'll use these last few lines to urge you, if you like YA, to read this book. I feel like it's the quintessential 2010s YA novel. It has a copious amount of multi-media insertions, while also giving nods to both modern and classic references. It tackles heavy issues. It's quirky and sometimes sarcastic. But overall it was such a lovely book to binge-read. If I didn't have a literal stack of books to read, I'd reread it and look for more details lost on me the first time reading. What I'll do now, with cautious optimism, is go and see the movie, and pray that whatever liberties taken for the movie aren't ones that make me disenchanted with this enchanting story.