#all those higher ups usually are present /sometimes/ during practices etc

[chasedeys]

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS6DqqjKE/

😭❤️‍🔥

the way he fuckjsing STUDTTEREDDDDRD MIKE BROWNNNN DUKE TOSSBIN WHOEVER THE FUCKKKKKK WHEN I CATCH YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

i can't do this.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Tattoo Shop AU - a quick, practical guide for writers

Guest Post by lebanon-hangover

lebanon-hangover said: this is based on my personal experience with the industry only, so depending on the era and country you are portraying, it may not be 100% accurate for your setting.

Hygiene

It may not be obvious at first glance, but most tattooists are clean freaks. We work with human blood every day, and we get clients from all ages, ethnic and social economic backgrounds, with all sorts of medical conditions.

We usually mop frequently, bleach the sinks, wipe down everything, and use cling film or bags to wrap everything. I mean fucking everything. We also scrub in, and sanitise the area on the person we work on.

Needles are collected in a sharps bin, and handled very carefully. Medical waste goes in yellow bags, and both are collected by a professional service.

Used ink caps may look full, but the ink gets diluted by blood. Like you dip the inky needle into the person, but you also dip the person’s blood into your ink. These are medical waste too.

Cleaning up must be done promptly after the session. Bin everything disposable, put things through the ultrasonic and the autoclave, and sanitise the area. We may take machines apart, but more for maintenance than cleaning, sometimes we swap parts in them too.

We have two sinks, one for hand washing, one for cleaning.

All inks and needles have use by dates.

The internal dynamics of a studio

Depending on the country, some tattoo shops tend to have ties to biker gangs, and some of those internal dynamics and unwritten rules are often present.

There’s a pecking order and it’s dead serious. Basically the longer you’ve been in a shop, the higher ‘rank’ you are, you get the better positioned stations, first pick of walk-ins, etc (Unless the client is asking for someone by name). Regardless of your actual experience in the industry, like if you move into your old apprentice’s shop, they are still senior to you. If the owner or their partner is an artist, obviously they are on top of the chain by default.

We are self employed, but we have a boss. You are only making money if you are working, but you still have set work hours.

We get paid by the clients, and we pay the studio a cut. In return, there are some items provided by them, and some we buy for ourselves. Usually the chairs, tattoo beds, gloves, cleaning products, clip cord covers, masks, aprons, ink caps, vaseline, green soap, and some basic ink is provided by the shop. We buy our own machines, arm rests, stations, pedals, power supplies, clipcords, tips and grips, needles, special colours, stencil fluid…these are a personal preference, and often depend on the artists’ style.

We totally ask to try out each other’s equipment sometimes, or ask for a certain type of needle if we ran out.

The receptionist is usually just one of us, maybe a piercer, but it also can be a hired person in top studios.

The apprentice in the traditional system is often mistreated, and they have to pay for their education, have to be there multiple days a week and don’t make any money. It’s kind of like a tear them down, build them back up again thing to see if they are really serious about the job. Times are slowly changing, but 99% of them will always need a second job. Most of them are working as bar staff.

When you open a new studio, you must visit all the existing local ones and introduce yourself, otherwise you may get a brick through the window. Otherwise there’s not much beef among individual artists, they are often friends, go to conventions together and party after, etc.

The Artists

Tattooing is a fairly physical job, stretching skin is very important. We have to also keep our clients safely still, so we often use positions to pin them down a bit. Sometimes you hit a reflex point on the foot or under a knee, and you don’t want to get kicked. Sometimes you have to pull away super fast, cos they are sneezing, yawning or giggling.

Most tattooists drink a lot of coffee, tea or energy drinks.

Some people are all rounders, some have specific styles, but we recognise each other’s art styles. Sometimes we delegate work to each other, if we think our coworkers style fits the concept better. For example if there’s a person who does script well, we give them those projects.

We don’t like when people come in with designs from other artists. Art theft is frowned upon, and we work best with our own drawings.

Most apprentices practice on their own legs, and sometimes we tattoo each other when it’s quiet. Most people have cover ups, or bad pieces from their early days. The artists’ own tattoos sometimes are in a different style than what they do, but we like to collect ink from friends or colleagues we admire.

In the first 1-2 years one is an apprentice, then junior artist. At 5-8 years of tattooing, you have earned your stripes and are considered an experienced artist.

Conventions are really fun, but can be stressful. You can make good money working at one, and sometimes get awarded for it too. We can also spend a lot at a convention.

Sometimes we poke our fingers by accident, and it’s a scary thing. Good case scenario is just some random dots on your fingers. Let’s not go into the bad case scenario.

We do guest spots sometimes, just to meet new clients, and change it up a bit.

We spend a lot of time drawing up things, and designs are meant to fall on specific muscles, stretch with the skin a certain way, so they are tailored to the body proportions of the client. A good tattoo is also an optical illusion, complimenting the body shape.

Social media presence is like a second job, you need good photos, and you need to market yourself.

Tattoo ink does not wash out, so some stains are inevitable when pouring it out. Those ink bottles get stuck so easily, and we wrestle them a lot. We try to avoid it, but wearing all dark colours is a thing for a reason.

The Clients

Tattooists need to have a good ‘bedside manners’ too. We get nervous or self conscious people, and we are told personal things during long sessions. For example scar coverups and memorial pieces can be very emotional.

We have pretty good poker faces and first aid trainings. People can faint, get shaky, throw up, some have seizures, have b.o., get sweaty, etc the same way as at a blood donation event? It’s no big deal really. We sit them down, give them some water and some sugar, and re-book them if necessary. Most artists keep some wet wipes, mouth wash, deodorant, sweets, maybe even some clean clothes at work, just in case.

If someone comes in with a wild idea for a jobstopper, we would sit down and have a long talk. If they haven’t got many tattoos, we usually try to stir them towards more safe choices, offering them creative ideas. It’s like those jedi mind tricks sometimes.

If someone is undecided, we show them our own hand drawn flash sheets. Once its gone, its gone tho, we don’t use the designs twice.

Pinterest is full of photoshopped fake tattoos, some that won’t even work as real ink. Many people also touch up their work digitally on photos, so some clients have really unrealistic expectations.

We can totally tell if someone is intoxicated or hangover. It thins the blood, and they bleed out the ink, and it’s super annoying. if it’s bad, they will be sent home and rebooked.

Some folks are self conscious about body hair, their size, stretch marks and scars. Chances are, we have seen similar, and we aren’t bothered by it, because it’s work. Surgery scars, scars from accidents, self harm scars, burns, we see it all the time. We shave some really hairy dudes all the time girl, your legs are fine. Seriously. If something makes tattooing you dangerous we will tell you.

Fit, muscular people are harder to tattoo because they are really firm. Its a workout for us.

Everyone gets midnight messages about the aftercare from nervous clients, and drunken booty calls about getting inked right at this second. We have copy paste replies…

We get creeps sometimes. Stalking, weird conversations, tmi info dumps etc.

Other things to include (for fun, or for plot reasons)

We sometimes have those “oh fuck” moments. We all do, but mistakes can be fixed, and we play it cool.

Tattooing takes time. Usually 30 minutes to multiple sessions though years and years.

Healing tattoos takes about 2-4ish weeks, and your characters shouldn’t go roll around in dirt, sunbathe, swim, pick at the scabs. Nasty infections, and messed up tattoos would be the results.

If you have a strong immune system, and you get a lot of work done in one sitting, you may get a brief bit of a temperature. It’s normal, and will go away.

Its a lot easier to get seriously drunk after getting a tattoo. Be careful.

We sometimes draw on each other for practice with our marker pens.

Tattoos are inside the skin, not on top of it. Imagine a low opacity, skin toned layer over the ink, adding to the healed tattoos’ colour. Please stop making your characters skin fully transparent.

Heavy blackwork and palms are done in multiple sessions.

You can’t cover up moles, because if they develop skin cancer, the dermatologist can’t see the signs.

There’s a stereotype about piercers having blacked out sleeves.

Stencil fluid looks just like cum.

You get that annoying itch on your face when you scrubbed in, put on gloves and finally ready to go.

Some artists have a strong preference for coil or rotary machines, and they bicker about it a lot. Coils are louder, more punchy, and more traditional, perfect for lineart. They can be customised, and they last forever. They are also called glorified doorbells by people who prefer rotaries. Rotary machines are smoother, lighter, and often use needles that are pulled back into the cartridges for safety. They are better for shading and delicate line work. Older tattooists often say they are dildo or butt plug shaped, overly delicate and are for “soft millennials” only.

Every artist owns like 5 to 20 machines, and they have specific machine builders they are loyal to.

The “which cable is broken and cutting out” guessing game. Clip cords and pedal cables get worn out easily, and that results in your machine running really jerky.

Walk-in always show up 10 minutes before closing.

We often look quite silly at work. Sleeves rolled up, folks use all sorts of plastic ppe, headlamps, and we tie up our hair. Add couple of purple smears from carbon paper, and we aren’t scary at all.

[lgcmanager]

SCHEDULE UPDATE

SCHEDULE TYPE: ONE TIME GIG RESTRICTIONS: Only open to LGC GIRLS SUMMER, TYPE ZERO and V&A members

on SEPTEMBER 7, everyone from LGC GIRLS SUMMER, TYPE ZERO, and V&A are called to a meeting with KIM HYUNCHEOL. there is another staff member standing right next to hyuncheol and he lets the woman call out each individual’s name to hand them a packet containing all of the necessary information.

“i know all of you are busy with your own projects so i’ll do my best to make this as quick as possible. first thing is that i request all of you to open the folder and look through the first few pages.” hyuncheol explains while knowing that each group had their own set of schedules.

LGC GIRLS SUMMER

while the company continues to release more content about the show, it is noted that they will have to spend additional time working on their performances since all of them will be performing the following songs during this year’s family concert.

TIKI TAKA - BAEK HANNA, KOIZUMI TSUKI, LEE YEJIN, MIN SOYOUN, MOON SOMIN

BOOGIE UP - AHN JAEHWA, LEE HANBYUL, LEE MINJI, OH EUNHYE, SON NABI

ICY - GONG HYEJOO, HAN ALLIE, KIM MIA, PONGSAK ARINYA, SEO YURA

WE RIDE - GEUM DANBI, KYO MIYEON, SEO YUMI, YAMASHITA ICHIKA, YANG AERI

on SEPTEMBER 25, all of the girls except YUMI will be at the GOCHEOK SKY DOME early in the morning for rehearsals ( individuals who are participating in the special stages will be practicing there the day before as well ). during the concert, whenever the girls are not performing on stage, they will be in one of the backstage rooms watching the performances with the rest of the lgc girls summer.

TYPE ZERO AND V&A

( important note: because type zero and v&a’s missions aren’t due until SEPTEMBER 18, everything mentioned below is mostly to give everyone a sense of the timeline and ic reference. )

type zero will finish their music performances on the week of SEPTEMBER 12-18. during this time, they are required to continue practicing their title track song, “ONE (MONSTER & INFINITY)” along with “RESONANCE”, which they will practice with v&a. both type zero and v&a are also supposed to learn, practice, and record the following song, “GENIUS”, which will be one of their special stages for the LGC FAMILY CONCERT.

as for v&a, because their debut is coming soon, they will continue to practice all of their songs especially “HIGHER” ( VERSUS ), “BLUE HOUR” ( AGITO ), “RESONANCE” ( TYPE ZERO AND V&A ) since those will be the songs that they will perform in the lgc family concert. like type zero, they will be working on “GENIUS” ( SPECIAL STAGE ) as well. after the lgc family concert, v&a will release their songs on SEPTEMBER 27 and start their music promotions. 

( ooc note: since the trimester change won’t be until october, please assume that v&a will be attending music shows for the next couple of days until the upcoming trimester update! )

for the LGC FAMILY CONCERT, the order of the songs will be:

HIGHER - V&A (VERSUS)

BLUE HOUR - V&A (AGITO)

ONE (MONSTER & INFINITY) - TYPE ZERO

RESONANCE - V&A AND TYPE ZERO

GENIUS - V&A AND TYPE ZERO ( SPECIAL STAGE )

during RESONANCE, there will be an introduction before the performance ( for a general idea, please refer to this video from 0:00-2:18 ). each member from type zero and v&a will form a circle and the camera will pan towards one individual at a time, followed by a line that connects the pair together. the sequence will be based on who joined legacy the latest to the earliest. for reference, that order will be: 

HARU & SUBIN

ALEX & DAEYEOL

JIHO & YUSHIN

MINJUN ( NPC ) & YEONWOO

HANEUL & NATHAN

SHINHA & ISA

AKIRA & JAESUN

JAESUN will complete the order and the group will stand still as the instrumental is played. right after that, all of the lights will dim and it’ll transition to resonance playing.

during GENIUS, there will be photos and clips of the type zero and v&a members displayed on the screen for all of the fans to see. it’ll start off with their baby photos and gradually transition to their various appearances ( eg. variety shows, vlive shows, modeling gigs, etc. ) and behind the scenes ( eg. debut preparations ). at some point in the song, there will be a segment when the screen will switch to video messages and letters that were sent by their loved ones as a surprise to them. type zero and v&a members will be encouraged to turn around to look at them while singing the rest of the song.

on SEPTEMBER 25, all of the members will be at the GOCHEOK SKY DOME early in the morning for rehearsals ( individuals who are participating in the special stages will be practicing there the day before as well ). whenever one group/unit isn’t performing, they will be in one of the backstage rooms with the rest of v&a and type zero to watch the performances.

SPECIAL STAGES

before the meeting ends, the staff member calls AHN JAEHWA, AHN JAESUN, GEUM DANBI, GONG HYEJOO, JI HANEUL, KOIZUMI TSUKI, LEE YUSHIN, MIN SOYOUN, OH EUNHYE, OKAMOTO AKIRA, SEO YURA and tells them to stay in the meantime. the rest of them leave the meeting room along with hyuncheol, who has other matters to attend to.

“with the help of the coaches, we’ve selected all of you to be a part of our special stages. in the past, we usually had vocal, dance, and rap stages to showcase our artists and exceptionally talented trainees. this time around, because v&a and type zero will be our final performances, we’ve decided to include some of the lgc girls and trainees to be a part of these collaboration stages. with the way this concert is arranged, we’ve split the three stages based on the three recurring themes — past, present, and future.” the staff member regurgitates the information that was discussed with the other higher ups.

VOCAL STAGE ( AHN JAEHWA, GONG HYEJOO, JI HANEUL ): all of them will be performing “FALL AWAY” along with KANG WOOHEE, KIM HYUNBIN, and LEE SHINHAE. the vocal stage will be the first performance and during the PAST phase.

DANCE STAGE ( KYO MIYEON, MIN SOYOUN, SEO YURA ): all of them will be dancing to “CLOSER” along with KIM JAEHYUK, PARK HAEMI, and SEO HANEUL. the dance stage will be performed during the PRESENT phase.

RAP STAGE ( AHN JAESUN, GEUM DANBI, KOIZUMI TSUKI, LEE YUSHIN, OH EUNHYE, OKAMOTO AKIRA ): all of them will be performing “ALL IN” along with the original artist, YP. the rap stage will be performed during the FUTURE phase.

because the stages are co-ed, all of them will be participating separately in their groups ( so the girls will be practicing together while the type zero and v&a members will be practicing together ). it isn’t until FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 and SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 when they will be practicing all together ( including the senior artists ).

when the woman is done explaining all of the details to them, she gives them a warning that even though this is one of the few instances when legacy has allowed co-ed performances to happen, everyone is expected to be professional and follow the usual rules.

REQUIREMENTS

unlike our typical events, the requirements for this one will be done differently to give the muns a break from doing event threads. you are not required to make the threads related to the family concert ( preparations, rehearsals, etc. ), but if you choose to do that, please use the hashtag lgc:familycon2k21 for anything related to that topic. there are two ways to fulfill the writing requirements so choose ONE.

2 THREADS with two different partners ( they must be people that you have NOT had a thread with and can be anyone who belongs in LGC GIRLS SUMMER, TYPE ZERO, or V&A ). each thread should have 6 REPLIES ( 3 per mun; minimum 8 lines ) in total.

OR

1 THREAD with one partner ( it can be someone that you HAVE interacted with before, but they must be in LGC GIRLS SUMMER, TYPE ZERO, or V&A and the thread has to be created sometime between today and the deadline ). the thread should have 12 REPLIES ( 6 per mun; minimum 8 lines ) in total.

once you complete the writing requirements, please submit the following form ONCE on the points blog before OCTOBER 9, 2021 11:59 EST. completing the task can reward you anywhere between 5-10 SKILL POINTS IN THE SKILL CHOSEN and +4 NOTORIETY, but the number of points won’t be revealed until after the deadline.

TITLE: MUSE NAME ∙ Q3 THREADS

THREAD: # OF POSTS WRITTEN [ LINK ]  ( link both threads if you did two threads )

SKILL CHOSEN:  ( skill that you want the points to go to. choose only one skill! )

[moonyeclipses]

Kaminari Denki hc’s I have (+ basically canon things)

Kami is an extremely affectionate person, he loves making friends and being outgoing towards everyone, and if he knows they’re comfortable he’ll be extremely touchy with them, he’s the type to just grab onto someone like hold their hands or something randomly because he just wants to, other examples are, holding Ojiro’s tail, grabbing onto Bakugo when scared (ova), that one time he put his hand on Kiri’s face to shut him up and then kept it there for a while

Kami has no set music taste! He loves every type and it just depends on how he’s feeling that day, his normal is rock and tends to lean that way but honestly he could listen to anything and enjoy it, other than Jirou he’s probably the person you’d want to go to when it comes to music! Especially if you want playlists, I could picture him being bored and then making everyone in his class + extra friends their own specialized playlist to what he thinks they’d enjoy

He’s bi! Don’t get me wrong he loves women, obviously, but he 100% isn’t opposed to dating a man either, honestly he just kinda wants love (going back to him being very affectionate)

Continuing on that he flirts with everyone, for Girls hes more straight forward like “you look nice today” etc but he’d do it with guys too, “you have the nice face a lot of girls are attracted to” “you were so cool during training today dude! You looked so badass” it’s more subtle but he genuinely means it, and to him, flirting isn’t always romantic either, it’s just, complimenting but with a bit more behind it, if he knew someone were uncomfortable by it he would stop

Speaking of “uncomfortable”, Kami May be a flirt like Mineta but he has morals, he knows consent is sexy 🥴 (JSNDNF sorry-) and the moment someone was like “hey please leave me alone” he would! And also be careful around said person until he can understand the boundaries better!

He is close with Mineta, but not as much as you may think. Kiri and Bakugo are his best friends, but he’s one of the few people who can actually handle Mineta, another being Sero, but Kami also being a flirt, and probably feeling bad if Mineta had no one at all hangs out with him a lot, and is probably the reason Mineta hasn’t pulled off worse stuff (you can tell when it’s the two acting together it isn’t bad, but Mineta alone is when he gets out of hand) (Ex: Kami and Mineta with the cheerleading uniforms, going to the pool, checking the girls out in formal wear vs. mineta climbing the wall to the girls side, peeking through the hole in the wall, almost suggesting something “topless” for girls, and saying he couldn’t wait to see Eri in 10 years) Kami is actually calming him down!

He loves thunderstorms! He can actually sense when there’s one coming just by the electricity in the air. Storms actually fire him up and make him super energized and awake, more hyper than usual. He sometimes likes to lay out on the dorm roof soaking it all in, and unless he tries to take in electricity the lightning won’t strike him

He’s a gamer, and quite a good one at that, Pokémon being his first ever videogame due to the fact a kid when he was a child pointed out he was like Pikachu. The idea that he was like a famous mascot to something made him extremely happy and immediately latched onto the game, now he genuinely enjoys it for what it is and owns every game. He does main in electric types but he loves other Pokémon as well. Mareep is actually his favorite, Pikachu jokes aside.

Despite the low grades he’s actually extremely smart! One of the smartest students in class actually, and this one is confirmed! Kami cant focus Well in class and just didn’t care too much about his grades at the beginning. After he started studying with Momo and stuff he got a set study habit and brought his grades significantly higher

I do HC that Kami has ADHD/Dyslexia, Ojiro’s tail is his current major fidget “toy” to help him focus in class

And despite the dyslexia English is his best subject! He’s one of Present Mic’s best students and secretly enjoys reading a lot, I like to think he usually listens to audiobooks because its hard to focus and read a physical book in front of him but he still tries time to time!

He’s basically as close to Bakugo as Kiri is. Kiri’s the official “equal” to Bakugo’s eyes(meaning strength and ability as well), but Kami is just as much as a FRIEND to bakugo as Kiri is, he’s not so much in the healthy rivalship they have but more so the person to hang out with both of them and- well- be friends lmao

After the concert he continued practicing guitar with Jirou. As a music lover he always wanted to play an instrument but never really thought he could do it, but he saw an opportunity to try and he took it, after realizing he’s actually pretty good at it he continued to practice with her and they have frequent jam sessions

Like how I mentioned hes very outgoing and such, he actively tries to be friends with everyone in 1-A plus a few additional people. He does take time to get to know every single person individually and hang out with them as much as he can. He doesn’t want anyone to be left out and just enjoys having people to talk to

He’s constantly letting out electricity. I like to believe that Kami is just constantly producing electricity in his body and it just keeps building up. Like when he lets out too much as one time, if he holds in too much he can basically combust with extreme power and then short circuit. So to prevent that he’s constantly letting it out, very subtly, if you were to touch him you could feel the slight buzz and the hair on your arm would rise. Another way he does it is by letting it out of his feet, like if he’s walking outside, he releasing the electricity into the ground

He 100% has a Tik Tok, no further comment

He and Mina actually do them together a lot and have tons of followers and likes, they love to film the shenanigans of the Bakusquad

As much as he complains about being a phone charger he actually doesn’t mind it for 3 major reasons (and a few others but these 3 mainly): It helps him let out electricity cause of how it stores up in his body, it gives him time to practice controlling his quirk and letting out a certain amount of wattage, and just cause he loves his friends and doing things for them and it is an easy thing for him to do

Yes he can use his mouth to charge the phones, but ✨germs✨ so he tends not to and the only times he does is when someone annoys him and he wants to get back at them so he grosses them out by sticking their phone in his mouth with the excuse “his hands were too busy”

There’s an emergency generator in the dorms because him causing the power to go out happens more often then you may think

Speaking of which he has multiple triggers on doing so: extremely overwhelmed, scared (someone jump scares him), extremely excited, holding in too much electricity for the day, sometimes it just kinda happens in his sleep (he’s gotten better at that)

He’ll take any dare during truth or dare, my man isn’t a scaredy cat

He goes clothes shopping with Jirou

He can sing! I love the idea he has a really soothing voice but doesn’t feel the need to sing openly at all, so no one knows this, Jirou might tho

He loves onesies and would live in them if he could (currently owns 4: Pikachu, Jolteon, Hamster, Otter)

He’s a Hufflepuff! 💛

Going back to his love for reading, his all time favorite series is Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus, I saw someone make a comment about how him seeing demigod kids who have ADHD and Dyslexia as well as powers as strong as his (he’s biased and loves any kid of Zeus/Jupiter, but his favorite is Leo despite that) the whole thing made him feel extremely validated and quickly became obsessed when he first read it

Those are all the ones I can think of atm, but I’ll probably add more in the future

@weebunfinishedoddle

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

I have a ton of insomnia writing in the drafts, so time to start unloading some of it. The usual “as is” rules apply, and I’ll try to keep most of it under the cut,

It just occured to me that I actually have one piece of good advice to give:

If you challenge someone to a duel, ALWAYS have a witness for the fight!

I learned this the hard way when I was a little girl. But to understand why I felt the need to even duel someone, you need to understand the background.

When I was a little girl my family lived in our house in town, which meant until I was 9 I was running around with a gang of kids. I say “kids”, but I pretty much mean boys. There were a couple of years during that time when a girl was inthe neighborhood, one being one of the best friends I had in my life and the other....not, but almost the entire time I was the only girl in the neighborhood.

Now some folks think being the only girl would be terrible, but in a lot of ways it was fine. Kids are kids, rampaging around the neighborhood, and thanks to my family I never felt things should be “girl stuff” and “boy stuff”. I just played.

 In fact, at times being the only girl even gave me a curious power position. I knew “girl things” they didn’t. I can still remember the shock on the face of one of the boys when I tried to explain that I didn’t just piss outside like them because of anatomical differences. He just assumed girls had dicks too. 

BTW, groups of very little boys can get awfully competitive about their dicks. Not that they called them that. They honest to god called them “ding-a-lings”! LOL  In fact, a few times they even had a contest where they would line up with their pants dropped wanting me (the only one that was exempt)  to decide which looked “best”. Remember, at the time we were very little kids, so the concept of “best” was exceptionally vague.** I hope I didn’t give any of those boys a lifelong complex because of something I said in all innocence! But geez, they were obsessed with the idea that whatever hung between their legs was very, very important.

Anyway, running around playing being a girl among boys wasn’t bad all the time. Heck, while the boys could fight over who got to play Han and Luke when we played “Star Wars” or Mark and Jason when we played “Battle of the Planets”, I always knew I wouldn’t have to compete for my part in the games. Though I’m still a little irked to the way their only solution to Gargantuas in War of the Gargantuas being both male was I’d play “the green Gargantua’s wife, at least we always found a way even if what we were playing didn’t have a token girl.

All that being said, there were real disadvantages too, especially as the bots came to learn the rules around gender. I was a girl. They knew it and at times they would think it meant I was supposed to defer to them. This led to many a fight and tears.

For instance, once one of the boys got a BB gun. 

Naturally we all wanted to take turns using it in a makeshift backyard shooting gallery. Trouble was, as far as they were concerned girls weren’t supposed to shoot. Now considering all the toy cap guns they borrowed from me when we played, and the gun I had that shot cork balls had been the envy of all the kids*** until this BB gun, it seems crazy they would think girls weren’t allowed “real” guns. I begged a turn, outshot them all, and never was allowed to touch the gun again. ****Having a girl be the best shot kinda stung for them! LOL

The boys would do this now and then, throw me for a loop with “you are a girl” as a reason I should or shouldn’t do a thing. Being a “sissy” was a common insult used among the kids. A kid should be tough and brave, try never to get crying or show weakness, or sometimes they would even use “like a girl” as an insult. 

I learned that my “girly” side was more of a target, so I got so in the toy chest in the living room I kept the guns, cars, blocks, etc for the boys to use, but kept hidden away in my bedroom the girly stuff like dolls. In fact I kept things like play makeup buried in drawer where no one could find them...

Yes, I was a girl, both in my personal identification and as the whole world saw me, and yet I hid my “girl stuff” like a teenager hiding drugs or dirty magazines. It was the big drawback of usually being the only girl. The girly side of being a girl was something to be quiet about.

So grew up thinking that the way to impress a guy was to be strong, tough,  smart, brave, and not at all squeamish. If boys admire each other for not being a sissy, then certainly they would admire a girl for being that way.  

Oddly enough, never once did a boy reciprocate my crushes because I wasn’t a sissy. Oh, they would like me for it, but it was seeing me as one of the guys and never as romantic potential. Or maybe not oddly. I may be hetero CIS female, but the world sees me as not girly enough in my presentation to quite believe me.

TBH, I still have a problem with that. I never learned the rules of being girly. I never was taught how to put on makeup, do hair, know about fashion, move in that swaying hips and crossed ankles when you sit kind of way... 

And down deep I don’t want to have to put on that act. I want to be me. I want someone to love me without makeup or styling, not because of the clothes I wear or because of skills with flirting games. I want to be loved for me, and girly is only part of me. Part of me is walks in the woods where I photograph snakes and spiders. Part of me is climbing in the roof to repair a leak or taking apart the hot water heater to figure out how to fix it....

I have always been a combination of things. Things like how I like romantic comedies and horror films, I picked out my antique sword because it felt like it would swing in my hand well and it had little flowers on the hand guard, or how I love classical and punk.I never wear dresses during the day, because they aren’t practical for my rough and dirty life, plus  they can make you very vulnerable. And yet at night I always wear the prettiest nightgown I can find. I had a unique “Captain’s Canopy Bed” as a child, because I loved both the captain’s bed (a bunk woth drawers under it billed as a “boy bed” by people that gender everything) and longed for a canopy bed. My father sensibly combined the two for me. To me it has never been about a contradiction or conflict, but just that different aspects manifest under different circumstances. 

I really can’t understand why people are expected to fit into catagories neatly, label themselves, force themselves to deny parts if themselves just to belong. Still,  I expect I would be happier if I could have at least forced myself to fake it.

Anyway, the boys were learning girls were “supposed” to be a certain way, and I was constantly insisting this wasn’t true. They would pick on me amd we would fight. Oddly, this “girls can’t” attitude never applied to fighting. They never went easier on me because I was a girl. 

Once they got me treed and the henchman boy was told to go get something to hit me with. I warned him not to, but he didn’t listen. As he went to get the weapon I lept out of the tree in a tackle, and began punching him. My grandmother ran out shouting for me to stop. “It’s not ladylike!!” she cried, while  I shouted back in frustration “They were going to hit me!!” 

Don’t worry, I wasn’t punished. Grandma..well, it’s complicated with her...and my parents would never punish me for something like that. Years later Mom would admit she and Pop were proud if me after that fight. “The boys picked on you so much I was glad you hit them”...

Hmmm, now that I think about it, Mom’s most common response to sexist attitudes in movies and tv shows is to grumble “Oh hit him!” Folks have no idea about Mom’s violent side, the part that watched Xena: Warrior Princess and sighed “I always wanted to be able to leap around and fight like that!” People think she is “sweet”, when Pop was always the family softie! LOL

As we got older, the sexism of the boys got worse and so did our conflict. One boy, a year older than me and the oldest of the usual gang, was the worst. His own mother was a rather strong and independent person, so it was almost confusing how he could be that way. As far as he was concerned the social structure was thatthe older the boy the higher the rank, and girls were at the bottom. It was inevitable that one day their would be an explosion.

The final straw came over, of all things, me wanting to make our gang of friends into a club. It was all the fault if a kids magazine called Dynamite, that put out a book on making your own club, complete with membership cards printed in a fold out of the cover you could cut out. It sounded like a great idea. It wasn’t.

To be honest, I shouldn’t have been at all surprised. By this point the oldest boy had gotten to be a complete pain about gender roles, but also about me in particular. My first day of kindergarten he’d been the only person I knew all day, so when I passed him in the hall I’d said “Hello”. The boy next to him asked who I was and he said “I don’t know!” right in front of me. I had started to consider our “friendship” differently after that, and his now increased insistence that boys were superior increased the rift.

To make matters worse, the boys had developed some sort of age based ranking. When I invited the oldest boy’s little brother to come to the club meeting too, the guy had been outraged. It had seemed natural to me, I mean I invited my little brother. I always wanted to include everyone. To the boys, the younger boys didn’t count and the older you were the more power you were “supposed” to have.

Now for the club I’d fixed up a corner of the shed out back. I put up posters, made a candle (I just loved making candles and melting wax when I was little...us GenXers lived dangerous lives!LOL), set up chairs and a table, had refreshments and, of course, the membership cards. I couldn’t wait for them to show up.

Once the boys arrived I said it was time to elect officers. Immediately the oldest boy announced there was no need and started to pass out the cards. He said he would be president because he was oldest, my favorite boy would be vice president, the thieving henchman would be treasurer because he was next oldest, the other boys would be just members, and I would be...secretary. 

Oh he was glad to explain. Girls are always secretaries. Only girls can be secretaries. Girls can never be president. The other boys accepted this.

Naturally I was outraged. This was NOT right! We were supposed to vote! And we were supposed to vote for who would be best for the job, not who was oldest or a boy. Girls CAN be president! And besides, the club was my idea and the clubhouse in my yard so I shouldn’t be stuck being the stupid secretary without even voting!!!!

There was a lot of shouting after that. The boys stormed off, taking the cards with them. I went in the house to take the refreshments, and the boys snuck back to trash the place. They tore the posters, smashed my candle, and turned over the furniture. 

I cried.

I was also furious.

I was beyond fed up with the oldest boy and his assumption of leadership. Now my favorite boy did apologize, but he was always the nice one. The others were unrepentant. The oldest boy insisted he was right that girls could never lead. 

There was only one thing left to do: Challenge the oldest boy to a duel.

I went right up to him and said I’d had enough. I was challenging him to a fight. One on one, just him and me. No weapons, just our strength. The winner would be the leader of the kids.

I know it’s absurd, but since physical fighting is what they valued I figured I had to go with it. Actually, if anything, a fight would be skewed in my favor. While the boy was a year older, I was a head taller. Where he was lanky, I’d gotten to be a sort of muscular and agile fat.***** Physically the avantage was mine, an since refusing to fight me would be so embarrassing to him I knew I’d get the fight. 

He agreed, and then I made a very stupid mistake. I decided to show him a bit of mercy. Since losing to a girl would be so humilating, I set the time and place where we would meet alone for our fight. I wanted to win, to make my point, but  I wasn’t trying to shame him.

And so the time came. We met in a back yard, in clear area  hidden from windows in case an adult was looking by trees. I wish I could tell you some dramatic blow by blow, but honestly I remember it as very quick. He fancied he knew fighting moves, got into a pose, and I flattened him. Almost admittedly I had him pinned to the ground where I sat on top of him until he admitted I had won. 

I went home overjoyed. This lasted until the kids got together. I, oh so foolishly, assumed I was now leader. The boy, however, was not about to give up power...or tell the truth. 

As an adult I realize my naivety, but at the time I was 7 or 8. I honestly had believed the boy would have been honest. I always told the truth, so why wouldn’t he? And since we had made a sort of “official” deal, he would be obliged to tell the truth. 

He lied. Right there, right in front of me, he lied. 

The boy announced he had won. I said he was lying, that I had won, and he laughed. Of course he had won. He was a boy. Did the boys really think  a girl could beat him?

 I offered to fight him again right there, but he refused saying he’d already won. I couldn’t get him to feel pressured to fight me again because now the boys wouldn’t really want him to. On some level I think they believed me and knew I would win if we fought again. As long as they didn’t see me clobber him they could pretend the boys “deserved” to be in charge. They needed the lie as much as he did.

And so I learned a lesson: witneses matter. People will almost always lie if the truth threatens them. 

You know, I think this is why I have always been obsessed with watching when something horrible is happening. I always had this feeling that even when I can’t help, I can be there for the person in some way. I’d listen, watch, and remember. When I was 9 I stood in the snow, no coat and no socks, waiting until a man was removed from a crashed car because I didn’t want to “abandon” him. I would report teachers that did something incredibly wrong, even though I knew the teacher would deny it and I knew my classmates were too afraid to back me up, because the truth had to be known. I wanted to be the witness I needed for that fight, someone to back me up when no one wants to hear the truth.

As a footnote, after the duel failed I tried one more way to defeat the oldest boy: Voodoo!

Well, voodoo by way of a book I’d been reading. It wasn’t real voodoo, or probably like any realistic magical practices. In the book someone had carved a skull into a tree, written someone’s name under it, and the  hammered a nail into the center of the skull with devastating consequences to the victim. I had a pocket knife and a nail, so I gave it a go.

Sadly voodoo didn’t work. 

Even more sadly the boy grew up to move away from this hick town, get a good job, get married and have kids. In other words, he got a far better life than I’ve had. Oh well, the universe never cares about fairness.

** Actually one boy always won, because TBH I liked everything about him best.

***Hilariously, one of the boys tried to steal my cork gun, claiming it was his. Pop had engraved my name in the gun sight, and when my father pointed at to ask what it said, the boy claimed it was his name! That boy was never very bright, always dishonest, and a born henchman! LOL You know, I bet that toy gun would have been illegal to make just a few years later, just because it literally fired things. Heck, maybe it already was and had been sitting on the store shelf for years before I got it. We couldn’t find one like it a coulle years later for my little brother.... 

****I want to point out being a good shot runs in the family. Back in the 1960s when my family had to shoot for self defense (long story) Mom was apparently a crack shot. On one side of her family she has had relatives that were at times the official best shot for their branch of the military. One, even as an old man in poor health, liked to show off how he could selectively shoot off small tree top branches a long diatance uphill from him. Plus, Mom likes to mention she is distantly related to Annie Oakley, which is apparenty true.

*****Traumatic stuff happened when I started school, triggering a bunch of sudden changes with me. One was weight gain, but I had stayed strong as ever. 

[historyofshipping]

Something personal: my child is 100% formula fed

For whatever reason, I’ve seen a lot of lactivist (people who are hardcore breast is besters) pop up over the last few days so I feel like saying something. This is directed to anyone who ever dares shame someone else for how they feed their baby and to anyone who has ever been shamed. 

Let me start by saying: fed is best. Fed is always, ALWAYS best. Not only do I support one’s decision to breastfeed, combo feed, or formula feed but I will continuing fighting like hell to make sure that governments, employers, and society support your decision. No one should be forced to choose based on anything other than one’s desire to breastfeed, formula feed, or combo. This is also ONLY applicable to places with clean water and a generally well-developed supply chain. In places that do not have access to these things, breast usually is best. For the vast majority of us in the US and Europe (the two places I study, I cannot speak for other parts of the world simply because I don’t research there), fed is best and fed is formula, breast, and/or combo. 

That said, I have exclusively formula fed since my baby was born in March and I am not in any way ashamed of that fact. Some quick background on myself: I have a MPH (masters of public health) in Maternal and Child Health from one of the top PH universities in the world. I worked in MCH and sexual and reproductive health for a while. Now, I am finishing up a PhD and one of my fields is reproductive health and justice - past and present. I literally do academic research for a living. I’m not someone getting my information from youtube. 

Before giving birth, I extensively studied the most recent literature on breastfed vs non-breastfed babies. You know what they show? What we’ve known for years: when controlling for socioeconomic status, there is no long term differences between BF & non-BF babies. 

“But breast is best! All the MCH orgs say so!” There is a huge political history behind this that I’m not really in the mood to get into. Instead, I will just tell you why the breast is best “evidence” is bullshit - very rarely do researchers control for demographic factors and socioeconomic status (ie - income, race, educational level of parents, etc).  Study after study after study shows that breastfeeding is correlated with high SES. People who breastfeed tend to be white, mid to high income, well-educated, and healthy. People who tend to not are the opposite of all of those. Unsurprisingly, children who are raised in high SES households have better health and economic outcomes than those raised in low SES households.   

And yet, studies repeatedly do NOT control for these factors when trying to determine the benefits of breastfeeding. So what are almost certainly SES factors are conflated with breastfeeding but incorrectly attributed to breastfeeding. 

One of the only studies that attempt to control for this found the following (this is an abstract and the study is here -> x

Breastfeeding rates in the U.S. are socially patterned. Previous research has documented startling racial and socioeconomic disparities in infant feeding practices. However, much of the empirical evidence regarding the effects of breastfeeding on long-term child health and wellbeing does not adequately address the high degree of selection into breastfeeding. To address this important shortcoming, we employ sibling comparisons in conjunction with 25 years of panel data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) to approximate a natural experiment and more accurately estimate what a particular child's outcome would be if he/she had been differently fed during infancy. Results from standard multiple regression models suggest that children aged 4 to 14 who were breast- as opposed to bottle-fed did significantly better on 10 of the 11 outcomes studied. Once we restrict analyses to siblings and incorporate within-family fixed effects, estimates of the association between breastfeeding and all but one indicator of child health and wellbeing dramatically decrease and fail to maintain statistical significance. Our results suggest that much of the beneficial long-term effects typically attributed to breastfeeding, per se, may primarily be due to selection pressures into infant feeding practices along key demographic characteristics such as race and socioeconomic status.

It’s not just one study. Another shows that INTENTION to breastfeed is what made the difference in child health for this study, not whether or not the parent actually did breastfeed. Again, since those of higher SES are more likely to and intend to breastfeed, this is absolutely not surprising. 

Now, as for why I personally didn’t breastfeed: frankly, I just didn’t want to. I can tell you all about the health and medical reasons (of which there are many but were not high on my list of reasons) and about how I am the primary breadwinner with a stay at home partner and it just didn’t make sense. I can give you a whole slew of reasons, but the only one that is important is that I didn’t want to and it didn’t make sense for my family. 

Whatever is right for you and your family is valid and exactly what you should do whenever possible. And I will fight to make sure you’re not restricted by external factors. 

Now why the hell did I write this essay?  Well first of all, if you’ve made it this far - kudos. I appreciate you. I wrote it because I don’t give a shit what people think of me and my parenting BUT I’ve been called a child abuser, accused of neglect, and essentially accused of ruining my child’s life by choosing to use formula. These things don’t affect me but they do affect the mental health of MANY parents. It’s bullshit that anyone dare shames anyone else. 

Second reason - I was exclusively formula fed nearly 30 years ago and sometimes it feels like I’m being personally attacked and written off because I was formula fed. I believe in data, not anecdotes, but ffs I’m almost 30, have two masters, finishing up a PhD, have a wonderful family, own my house, and all of this while I grew up poor. Lactivists make it seem like someone like me is impossible. 

My child is thriving. He’s 2.5 months old (after being born nearly a month early), has already rolled over, is almost double his birth weight, and is just generally proving to be a bright, healthy child. I sleep 8+ hours a night because my partner does night feeds and we’re generally just a happy, healthy family. This was far and away the best choice for me and I am thankful that I live in a time and place where I can safely make the choice to not breastfeed. 

[vugheadisendgame]

What Is A Twin Flame?

We all are walking around this planet with relationships that nurture us, challenge us, and cheerlead us on our path for growth and evolution. Each one of us come here with a soul group, a bunch of souls who have agreed to help us as we help them learn our planned earthly lessons, make our mistakes, release our karmic debt and journey through this life. Soul mates can be our sister, brother, mother in-law, spouse, co-worker, best friend, ex-boss or someone as unassuming as a homeless person on the street. We have so many soul mates or soul friends that come and go in our lives and even when one might come in & break our heart into tiny bitty pieces they are still serving us and helping us on our path towards growth and evolution. Then there is a Twin Flame. This relationship is something far different, far deeper, extremely powerful, and something only a few of us might experience in our lifetime. Because we as a species are evolving (waking up) at a faster pace and in record numbers, we are collectively changing the purpose of relationships. Instead of getting together and staying together for the purpose of procreation, safety & survival, we are moving towards more spiritually based relationships that can foster rapid soul growth. More and more twins are finding each other. And NOT because they are looking. Twin Flames or sometimes referred to as Twin Souls, are thought to be two parts of a soul that split and would incarnate into Earth or other realms to learn, grow, and experience duality. They would rarely incarnate at the same time as one would typically stay behind to help the other. The diverse experiences they gather when they are away from each other help to create their separate identities as souls. When these reunite, they form an ultimate relationship- and the most fulfilling one. All other relationships before serve as practice for this ultimate one. All twin soul relationship are between a male and female energy of the same soul. This does not mean it has to be between a male and female. The Twin relationship does not have a gender, race, or age barrier- it can be either heterosexual or homosexual. The purpose of this Divine relationship is to help you face yourself.

The definition of a Twin Flame in LightWorker speak; is a soul connection between two people that come together to unite in the full embodiment of the divine masculine and divine feminine. On the bright side of meeting a Twin Flame; there is an instant intense bond that is off the f*cking charts the moment you connect through the eyes, and this person will play a significant role in your life. The dark side of Twin Flames; they will abruptly leave your life without warning after saying, “I love you.” or they will ghost; poof-be-gone, run, and keep you on-the-vine-of their our timeline. When meeting a Twin counterpart there is an inner knowing that feels fated upon meeting them. This is the spiritual bond connecting energetically through quantum entanglement and once formed; the connection is unbreakable. (you’ll wish it was at times) You’ll not meet your Twin by chance either; this fated pre-destined soul contract was put in place to serve a higher purpose for spiritual advancement, creativity, learning, and personal growth. Dating a soul-mate is easier than trying to date a Twin Flame, because meeting your Twin…is never without pain, and the cycle can continue for years if you allow it. Not everyone is destined to meet their Twin Flame in this lifetime, though every person on the planet has a Twin counterpart in the present time, or passed-on to the other side. Upon meeting your Twin, it feels like nothing you’ve experienced before in any other relationship. (this is how you get hooked-in) There is a familiarity upon meeting your Twin that can seem rather odd. Before, during, and after meeting your Twin counterpart, synchronicities start manifesting into your physical reality, and this is where the fun begins. The signs as I call them, will connect back to the Twin in some odd way. Perhaps things like number sequences, seeing the number 1111 on everything from clocks to receipts. Songs on the radio that connect to your twin counterpart, or seeing their name in places that are out of the ordinary like menus and billboards. I’ve experienced a power grid go down upon defending my Twin. Twin’s share commonalities that are highly unusual in so called “normal or organic” relationships. (example: birthdays that match house numbers, friends, and parents birthdays) But one thing is certain, all of these synchronic events will be out of the ordinary. Twin Flames are not to be confused with fated love or soul-mate type relationships. Soul-mates have more to do more with choice, love, and lust. Twin Flames have-to-do with fate, and the spiritual awakening simultaneously, and not orchestrated by choice or freewill. It’s designed as a learning/teaching relationship. The hard part about meeting a Twin is that one or both people are usually involved in other relationships, and one of the Twin’s are typically not emotionally available in some form or another. (married, girlfriend/boyfriend) Some Twin’s can get into relationships right away, however; most do not, because it’s not designed to be that way unfortunately, and this is where many people get super depressed to the fated part of the journey. This does not mean you can’t have a relationship with your Twin; it’s just harder to get one going due to the template design.

The Chaser Twin ( the one who understands the relationship template) waits for the return of the runner, having the patience of a saint while working on self as each day goes by. This is not pinning away, it’s different. Only a Twin Flame can understand this process. The chaser is hoping that the runner wakes up to his/her spiritual call to enlightenment, while dealing with their own healing of past relationship wounds during this period. Twin’s may share only a brief moment in time, but one Twin keeps the faith that one day that their counterpart will reach out again. Months and months go by…and then… they call. It can feel like your being used as narcissistic ego supply when they come back into your life, and in some cases that’s what it is. This experience is called the Twin Flame runner/chaser dynamic. The runner and chaser dynamic is common in a Twin Flame relationship. The runner and chaser dynamic can change roles during the relationship. It happens when one partner may or may not be spiritually aware of what is happening in their own lives, and becomes very confused after meeting their counterpart, which can lead to the the runner escaping the confusion, by leaving abruptly. If you were to ask the runner “why they run?” They wouldn’t know, they’ll just feel that something is “off.” The running Twin does not understand what’s happening to them on a spiritual level, and feel like they’re losing control over their own emotions. They don’t know what to do, so their natural reaction is to run away, and chasing after them, only makes them run even more. Completing your own inner healing is crucial for this type of journey with a Twin counterpart to even have a chance to work out, and it requires patience, and doing all of the necessary work on self that must be completed. Not doing any inner work on self creates a continuous cycle of running/chasing with the Twin counterpart.

There is a certain fated element to this type of connection. The template of a Twin Flame seems very fated in many ways. It’s one of the most complicated; or most beautiful connections that we can experience in a lifetime; depending on how you want to view that. Some will question the validity of this type of connection, or think that it’s BS, however, the concept is present in many cultures and has been for thousands of years. Perhaps the story of Adam and Eve is the original Twin Flame connection. Other examples of Twin’s are; John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Linda and Paul McCartney, Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, Ron and Nancy Reagan and fictional characters Harold and Maude that depict Twin Flames with major age differences. In Chinese culture the name for Twin Flames is the red string of fate, it’s an invisible red cord, tied to those destined to be together. Time can stretch or tangle the red cord, but the thread can never be severed. We all have a other half. The term “finding our other half” comes from that concept. The term Twin Flame is derived from Greek mythology. It was said that humans were originally created with four arms and four legs, but Zeus, fearing their power, split them in half, sentencing them to spend the rest of their lives searching for their other half. Whether we believe in the concept of finding our other half or not, the theory of being split in half is a belief that reinforces the Twin Fame concept. The Twin Flame experience will be nothing like anything you will have been through before. You’ll learn the meaning of unconditional love for another human being and more compassionate love for yourself. How you choose to navigate the lessons you learn, messages you receive on your Twin Fame journey, is entirely up to you. How each person will process “signs” is also up to each person who experiences them. Each Twin has a different trajectory they’ll be on, and no two Twin couples will likely walk the same path in life; how could they due to the dynamic of meeting a Twin in the first place. However, one thing is certain, once awakened by such a connection, your life will never be the same.

Some have questioned the validity of the Twin Flame concept, calling it evil, the work of the Devil etc…I get it; unless you’ve experienced an abnormal amount of synchronicity surrounding another person, it’s hard to digest the concept of a fated meeting of your carbon copy with synchronic signs unless you’ve experienced this for yourself. Not everyone in life will need to go through this type of relationship design. I do believe in the Twin Flame model, because I‘ve experienced it and speak about my experiences. Like so many who’ve experienced this relationship model; it came with a spiritual awakening, finding one’s life purpose, and a heart full of pain because of the running Twin who was not emotionally available for you or anyone. This is the hardest part of the Twin Flame journey; it ain’t easy. A Twin Flame is one of the most challenging relationships to navigate. There is an inner knowing that comes with meeting that they are your Twin, but be-not-fooled; not all Twin’s wind-up together in “romantic” situations just because of the fated-ness that persist with synchronic signs after meeting them. Fate does-not-a-relationship-make. A relationship must have 2 people in agreement to said-relationship to make it so, the law of freewill has much to do with that. There is no Universal law that states; “a fated meeting is forever.” Life is not a Helzberg Diamond commercial. But one thing is for sure; anyone who experiences a Twin Flame relationship will be changed forever and ultimately rewarded by spiritual evolution. Working on self first and detachment from the ego mind of the fated-ness part of meeting a Twin Flame is what moves you forward on your spiritual path. Detachment means: TO HAVE ZERO EXPECTATIONS OF BEING IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR TWIN. I can’t emphasis this enough. You and your twin will no doubt be working on issues through each other to evolve as people. The meeting of the Twin is always for a much higher purpose. Divine timing will determine if you will be in a “union” or relationship. The law of freewill; choice in choosing a partner, prevails over fate and destiny.

Twin Flame Signs

You will experience a strange “feeling” and “knowing” of something happening behind the scenes before your first encounter with them.You will get this feeling that something is brewing but you have no idea what it is, or why you feel this way.

The moment you encounter them, you will feel a strange and unusual spark within your being. “There they are!” is a simple yet accurate way to describe this feeling. It is an instant recognition on a soul level, your logical mind will not recognize them, but YOU will.

Synchronicities will become very apparent. The number sequence 11:11will be the inital sequence that you encounter. Once you acknowledge it, more will come.  They will be in your face, all of the time. This will range from repeating numbers (222, 333, 444, etc.) to your thoughts synching perfectly with your reality; you will be thinking of a word or phrase, and you will then hear this exact word or phrase in the physical. You will see personalized messages on billboards and on the TV, telling you exactly what you need in order to keep moving forward. The biggest mistake you could make is to ignore what these numbers and signs are telling you. They are signs and directions laid out for you by your Higher Self. They are your path to Union.

Your outlook on life will change. You will prefer complete solitude for awhile in order to collect your thoughts. You will question everything you have ever known and you will rid your life of what no longer serves you. Some of this will even happen on a subconscious level; For example, you won’t be able to afford cable TV any longer, as this is your Higher Self directing you AWAY from the false beliefs that no longer resonate. Things can seem as if they are falling apart, but they are being cleared for a higher purpose, you are making room for the new to enter.

You will give up habits that no longer serve you. Drinking, smoking, even unsatisfying jobs. You will suddenly drop these things as they no longer serve a purpose for your Union.

You will be absolutely swarmed with thoughts of your Twin Flame. By swarmed I quite literally mean 24-7. There are days were you will just want to lay in bed and think about your Twin, and tune into your heart connection. You can not and will not escape this, the more you attempt to push these thoughts and feelings away, the more they will overwhelm you. This is set in place for a reason. You are not MEANT to push these away, you are meant to embrace them, as your Twin will be a part of your life for the duration of your time here on Earth, and thereafter.

Your lives will synch up. Everything about you will synch and match, yet you will ALSO be complimentary opposites. This is put in place as a recognition mechanism. Your lives before you met will match, so much that you may discover that you received the same items for Christmas years ago. You will have worked the same types of jobs, and your family history will match. You will show up in person together and be dressed alike. If one Twin gets a nosebleed, the other will follow suit shortly thereafter.

As for the complimentary opposite aspect; what one Twin lacks, the other will make up for. If one of you is bald, the other will have a beautiful head of hair. If one of you excels at math, the other will be a magnificent writer. If one is older, the other maybe decades younger. Your aspects will be a perfect puzzle, all will be matched, synched, and what one is “lacking” the other will fill in. It is human perfection.

The Love you feel for this person goes beyond anything you ever thought was possible. You will absolutely LOVE this person with such a fiery passion that nothing and no one would ever be able to change this feeling. It is a complete imprint on the others soul, you have permanently merged yourselves. And the only reason for loving them is simply for who they are. No matter what your “type” is, your Twin will become the most amazingly beautiful and fantastic human being that you have ever encountered. You will have a longing and lust for them that does not fade. You want to merge with them on ALL levels of their being.

If you are married at the time of meeting your Twin, your marriage will slowly become more and more unappealing. You will feel as if you are cheating on your Twin whilst being with your spouse. You will only have eyes for your Twin, and being intimate with your partner will become increasingly more difficult. Your soul wants nothing to do with this lower vibrational act of love, regardless of how much you care for your spouse as a person. They will never, ever hold a candle to your Twin Flame. Your mind will try and convince you of the human made laws of marriage, but your soul and heart will put up the rigorous fight to this core value which no longer serves you.

You will dream of this person, and many times this will be a lucid dream. You will be able to manipulate the dream into whatever you wish, and these dreams are the prerequisite of what is required of you in order to come into Union. Just like a dream, your waking reality requires and allows you to manipulate your circumstances into whatever you wish. (I will get into this in another article). The more harmonious your dreams are that involve your Twin, the closer you are to Union.

Your physical appearances will merge. This is a huge sign, and especially apparent if you are a Twin couple with an age gap. At the time of the younger Twins birth, the older Twin will begin to evolve and change physically. The older Twin will begin to shed their “old looks” in order to match his or her Twin. They will be able to look back at pictures of themselves and be unrecognizable. At the time of meeting, you and your Twin will be “identical”, regardless of age or race. You will be able to take a split screen picture of each face and put them side by side, and they will match perfectly.

You will find synchronicity in; your names (one of your names will be found with in the other’s), your birthday’s, the day you met, and even in your phone numbers. This requires a little bit of detective work, but if you are curious, you will be aligned to see it. Everything is pre-planned for you to be able to recognize this person as your Twin, this is all set up by your Higher Selves pre-birth.

Your Twin will test your faith, patience, and emotional stability. They do this completely unknowingly, and you agreed to this before you incarnated here. Everything that you need to work on, your Twin will put on display. This will be extremely exaggerated through them, and it is there once again to catch your attention. Whatever you need to work on within yourself will be magnified exponentially so you can get the picture and fix it. Your Twin is your greatest mirror, everything that you accuse them of being, you are accusing yourself of. You yourself are the only one who is with-holding your Union. Your Twin is ready for you as soon as you Align yourself.

You, or they, will have a strong urge to run for the hills. Notice here I said strong urge. If you do become physically separated, it is never for long, and it is always guided. This connection can be very overwhelming, especially in the beginning, and one or both of you will want to retreat back to “your old life”. However, you are here for a higher purpose and the Universe and your Higher Selves were prepared for this. This statement may upset some who feel they have met their Twins and have lost them, however this is important, and I want to make this very clear. Should you and your Twin separate, this is not permanent. If you have met your Twin Flame in this lifetime, the two of you WILL be together, permanently. There is no “maybe in the next lifetime, we met too soon.” If you have encountered your TRUE Twin Flame, you will reunite as a couple in the physical here and now. Should you have lost your Twin for an extended amount of time, this person was a soul catalyst, and NOT your Twin Flame. You and your Twin will never stay apart long, it is impossible and it goes against the whole reason you incarnated here together and met in the physical. Do you truly believe all of these signs and preparations for the two of you were all for nothing? You will both fulfill your purpose here TOGETHER, United in love.

How To Recognize A Twin Flame

There are many signs and characteristics that the twin relationship has that can help you decide if you’ve met your twin. Chances are though, if you’re awake, aware, and have been doing your inner work, you already know. Twin relationships aren’t necessarily harmonious; in fact twin flames when uniting can go through a lot of cleansing, purging and energy releasing within the chakra system. The biggest sign is the amount of energy that is created when they come together. Do not be confused by emotional or physical attraction, this energy that is created is something completely different. When and if you experience this amount of energy you will know. It is thought that only graduate souls are finding their Twins souls/Flames on Earth as their purpose is to do healing and spiritual work on the planet at this time.

The place of meeting. It was as if they fell out of the sky and into your lap. Neither one of you were looking for each other, it was Divine timing and circumstance that brought you together. Sometimes it is quite symbolic.

They are your mirror. They will mirror back to you everything in your life that you need to address. Everything that has not been healed. They are there to show you YOU. Sometimes your entire life can change upon meeting them.

The amount of energy created when you are together is magnetic. People around you will notice and feel the power between you. When you are together you can be an unstoppable force!

You psychic and intuitive senses will be heightened upon meeting.

There is usually something significant about their birthdate. They do not have to be born on the same day, month, or year, but there is just something peculiar about their date.

The deep respect and love for each other means you will never want to hurt each other, and if there is a fight or disagreement between the two of you, it can feel devastating.

You feel an almost immediate bond or connection with them usually right after meeting them. Like you’ve known them before or their energy feels very familiar.

You will both complement each other. Your skillsets or abilities will work perfectly together because you’ve developed what the other one lacks or needs in your separation. And together you can work Magic!

You can feel each other even when you are apart. You have a hard time getting them out of your mind. It could feel like an obsession but it is not. It is that you are so closely connected that you literally FEEL each other. Sometimes the time apart feels unbearable.

You feel as if you are Home, that time stands still when you are with them; in other words, you have the ability to collapse time. And sometimes they might feel like a dream or unreal to you. But although you remain separate beings with your own individual life path you feel a sense of completeness with them.

Even something as small as a hug can carry an intense surge of energy.

They have similar beliefs and a life path to yours.

You will want to give to them without ever wanting in return. Giving is the nature of this relationship.

One of the most important signs that you have met your twin is that you have a feeling that this is something very different than any other relationship you have encountered before. The feelings you have for them sometimes cannot even be put into words. Total unconditional and complete love and acceptance. There is a special sacredness about your relationship that transcends anything you have ever experienced before. In essence, you already know, you will feel it with your whole being. No other relationship will be as life changing.

You are aware that the purpose of your relationship is to bring something extraordinary to the world for the betterment of the planet.

And lastly, one of my personal favorites is noticing the numbers 11:11. This number can appear anywhere. You may see it on clocks, receipts, computers etc. and in my own personal journey seeing 11:11 has always been a confirmation that I was on the right path, or a “Yes” to a thought I was having right before I noticed the time. It appears a lot when we are going through a growth stage. There are other meanings for 11:11. But that’s another whole topic on its own.

These are some of the biggest signs of a twin relationship. Sometimes, however, one twin may not be ready for the other one, either because of their unwillingness or fear of dealing with their own issues and emotional baggage and maybe a “Flame Runner”. They may want to run away from the amount of energy or intensity of the relationship. Or if when they look into your eyes the reflection back of themselves is too much to deal with. If that is the case, have patience and trust in knowing that you will be together again when both are ready for the cleansing and clearing necessary. This intense repelling and magnetic attraction is a common theme among twins and the reunion will take place when both are ready to be fully healed. If you have been lucky enough to find this once in many lifetimes relationship, cherish it and know that it is here to bring you to your utmost spiritual growth. The twin flame relationship changes your life. It challenges each soul to grow and expand into their highest potential to fulfill their mission and purpose on the planet and in each other’s lives. If you are still searching, stop the search outward and go inward and focus on you. You won’t find them by searching, they will find you, through Love. That’s all. Through time and space, they will find you through Love.

8 Major Twin Flame Stages

Twin flames are said to be beings that aid our souls in finding completion. Ancient Greek philosopher Plato first created the idea of souls “split in two” that eternally yearn to find their “other halves.” These days we still carry around this idea of “find our other half,” but unfortunately we believe that it is absolutely imperative for us to find another person to be complete. Please keep in mind that while twin flames do help us to experience unconditional love and grow immensely as people, not all of us find our twin flames, and not all of us need twin flames to feel complete. Please read “7 Common Myths Embellishing Twin Flame Relationships” to read more about this. Also, it helps to remember that the degree to which you can experience harmony in your twin flame relationship is dependent on your level of soulful maturity. For example, two old souls will have a much easier time at “holding it all together” than two young souls. You can read more about soul ages. So keeping this in mind, what are the eight major twin flame stages that you’ll likely experience in your relationship?

Stage One – Yearning for “The One”: In this preliminary stage, you have spent your entire life pining for “The One” that doesn’t yet exist in your life. You have this strange sensation that someone who is perfectly molded to you is “out there” but you don’t quite know where or when they will appear in your life. Although you ache for your twin flame, you have a feeling they will appear to you at some point. This stage is also sometimes spent “preparing” for the arrival of the twin flame on an unconscious level. In my instance, I had to learn how to love myself before I met mine. For others, this stage of preparation involves the development of self-awareness, discovery, and understanding.

Stage Two – Glimpsing “The One”: At some point, you will have a brief glimpse of your twin flame. Whether this is through a dream signal, or through a real-life meeting, suddenly the Beloved can be sensed. The result is profound. Wonder, joy, anxiety, and intoxication quickly ensue. For those cautious among us, a lingering sense of intense curiosity and desire to get to know the person better is the result. You don’t know what it is exactly, but this person is extremely special. Like me, you may even sense that this person will play an immensely important role in your life – even before you know them properly.

Stage Three – Falling in Love: When you fall for this person, you will fall very, very hard. You will fall harder than you have ever fallen for anyone – and the impact will knock the breath right out of you. In fact, as you get to know your twin flame better, you will fall more and more deeply in love with them. As a result, you’ll find it hard to stand with two feet on the ground. You might feel disorientated, lovesick and “unlike yourself.” You may even try to resist the attraction, but eventually, you’ll accept the reality that you’re deeply and madly in love.

Stage Four – The Fairy-Tale Relationship: As both of you eventually make your feelings known and enter into a relationship, life will feel like a fairy-tale. Your relationship with them will be perfect in every possible way. It will seem as though your twin flame fulfills every single need you have and everything you ever possibly wanted. This taste of “paradise” is what the matured twin flame relationship looks like after the next few stages of turmoil.

Stage Five – Outer Turmoil and Inner Purging: In this stage, there is trouble in paradise. As the ecstasy from the initial meeting period wears off, egos start to flare up. Suddenly differences in opinion, taste, and personality arise, and old core wounds emerge out of the gloom. While our twin flames share and mirror our deepest needs, desires, and dreams, they also tend to mirror our shadow selves. For example, if you are an emotionally repressed person, your twin flame will likely be emotionally explosive. If you tend to be arrogant, your twin flame will most likely be uncertain and quiet. In this way our twin flames challenge us, riling up our insecurities. This can be infuriating, devastating and very painful. While all the arguing and fighting in this stage may seem disastrous, the truth is that it is necessary for our growth. Without being provoked, without seeing ourselves for who we “really” are, we live in illusion and fail to grow soulfully. But this is certainly hard to realize while you’re going through such turbulence in your relationship!

Stage Six – The Runner and Chaser: As tensions mount it is common for one partner (or sometimes both) to emotionally or physically withdraw and “run” away, and another to pursue in a game of cat and mouse. Sometimes this involves emotional shutdown and silent treatments. Other times this involves physical separation and in extreme cases, the permanent termination of the relationship. In this stage, twin flames experience a trial by fire. While some relationships last and are strengthened, others crumble to pieces. As I mentioned at the start, this is all dependent on each partner’s soulful maturity. Sometimes one partner leaves for many years and then returns, only to repeat the cycle once again. The chaser, on the other hand, tends to be the more mentally and emotionally mature partner of the two, trying to sort everything out and make amends.

Stage Seven – Surrender and Dissolution: Once the shadow of your relationship has been revealed, you may experience a period of surrender. After so much anguish, distress and provocation, you both begin to open up about your wounds and insecurities. In this stage, it is common to experience a lot of ego dissolution and soulful expansion. As the ego relaxes, powerful lessons are learned about the nature of oneself and the nature of the “other.” As you begin learning how to work through your differences, the maturity of your relationship deepens and thus strengthens.It is common to go through stages six and seven many times throughout your relationship.

Stage Eight – Oneness: As the problems in your relationship become increasingly easy to deal with, you will enter a period of soul reunion. In stage eight it is common for you to both find a shared meaning, passion or cause that brings you a mutual sense of fulfillment. As the ego continues to relax, virtues such as forgiveness, understanding, empathy, and patience are learned. The more you both work through each issue that comes your way vigilantly, the more you experience the sensation of “Oneness,” or ego death.

Common Twin Flame Difficulties

Now for the famous Twin Flame Obstacles. Quite a few of you will see these as “blocks” to your Union, but they are not, they are in place for a reason. As soon as you see them as “blocks”, or “obstacles”, that is exactly what they become. These characteristics are here for you to transcend them, because Love doesn’t see anything other than itself. The soul does not care about the human standards of “right and wrong”, as there is no right or wrong. There is only Love. You are meant to bridge the gap between percieved, man-made separations and belief systems that serve nothing but egoic standards. You can choose to either notice them as obstacles, or you may transcend them, which will catapult you into Union. When twin souls first meet even in their final incarnation, some of them will have differences in physical, emotional and intellectual content of the two personalities. Firstly, one soul has to adjust his difficulties within himself. Then he has to match whatever he has to the other. That means he has to clear all his own foibles, needs, cravings and ill will before he meets his twin as a fully satisfied individual. He should be ready to serve the other by putting the requirements of the other twin before his own. And vice versa. The struggle between themselves and together will definitely go to enhance the twinship. This is so because they have different psychological background and different personalities with emotional divergence. There will be normal conflicts when the two have such a close relationship, but the conflicts will be rapidly resolved. This is because their goal is the same. The emotional conflict is almost unbearable because they are twins. So in order not to see the other suffer, they tend to solve the problem as soon as possible.As they have been travelling by themselves, they have earned good and bad karma of their own. Once they meet and work together, they must now try and clear both karmic debts jointly. Similarly, good karma earned by both independently will be enjoyed by both. In fact, as karma is created at the soul level, both have been influenced by the other’s karma imperceptibly. There will definitely be stress in some couples, and in these they may even break up temporarily. Some couples will have to suffer together because of joined karma. There are so many possibilities in so many combinations and permutations. In some, the different backgrounds and karma would have brought together two very different individuals. This fact does not bother them at all. In this instance, “opposites do attract”. All the differences go to complement their lives. So differences in physical, emotional and psychological make up do not tear them apart irrevocably, because their souls are joined together like Siamese twins. The compatibility here is at the spiritual level. That alone counts. The obstacles within the individual should mostly be solved by the time of the meeting. However, there may be few external obstacles that present themselves. One or both twins could have already been married when they meet. The eternal triangle is usually dealt by the almost enlightened individuals with accommodation to the existing families. If one were to hear that someone has walked out on the family to be with his or her twin soul, one can rest assured that it is not a twin soul union in their final incarnation. The already committed twin is too responsible and would continue to honour the pre-existing marriage. The twins will know that there must be a very good reason for this inconvenience. It could be a test or because of unresolved karmic obligations. The twins would then remain as loving friends or colleagues without marriage disruptions. This is due to fact that they are no more powered by passionate physical sex, as their love is above that. They may meet at night in spirit for the purpose of uplifting a common cause. They may meet in either the astral or mental world. They know that their separation is temporary and nothing in the world can stop their final union. Of course very occasionally their meeting could precipitate a marriage breakup, but this is with a marriage that is already collapsing. The breakup may induce some benefit to the aggrieved members, who can start anew with their own new partners. With this in mind, the twins who are uniting in this last incarnation, would have cultivated fidelity, joy, love and trust, and their union would be as solid as a rock. However, there may still be a few cases, where one soul has not reached the same level as the other. One partner may outgrow the other, and the demands of the less developed may be irksome to most other partners. However to the developed twin this mild set back must be met with tolerance and patience, otherwise the growth may be stunted. At this juncture it is a shame to let the stunting be a deterrent for further growth. For instance, if one soul were to suffer from some neurotic illness, this fact may be detrimental for both. So the care-giving partner has to sacrifice his smooth progression to confront the neurotic partner with the truth of the difficulty. This may rock the marriage, but it has to be done.You do not spare the rod because you are afraid to hurt the naughty child. The soft stance will hurt the child more at a later date. This self-sacrifice must be persistent and long standing otherwise it will not work, for most neurotic diseases are brought over from past lives. One example of a twin flame is the relationship between Jughead Jones and Veronica Lodge also known as Jeronica, although these two people haven't realized yet they are twin flames and are destined for each other.

[saturnjae]

a-z analysis ~ renjun

💌requested:

‘a renjun a~z please?? i really liked your previous ones !!’

includes: smut and my irrelevant opinion.

00′ liner smut! scroll past, if you have a problem as they are legal now so, this is allowed.

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as you read, keep in in mind that i see renjun as a switch...

:::

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

renjun would be very sweet after. he’d make sure you’re all cleaned up, give you lots of kisses and tuck you into bed. his aftercare is >>>

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

he would like your breasts, whether big or small, he’d find them beautiful. the way your nipples felt between his finger, lips or even teeth, would drive him mad. on himself i think his favourite part would be his collarbones, he likes how pronounced they are.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

he’d want to be considerate and not make a mess but if he really couldn’t help himself he’d like to come on your back or breasts.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

the thought of seeing you in in nothing but the cutest lingerie turns renjun on beyond belief. he imagines you in a soft pink, frilly set and matching knee highs, when he get he get off, sometimes. he thinks of the way they perfectly frame your assets and he just can’t help it.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

i really don’t think any of the dreamies have experience :’( they’ve been coddle from such a young age and probably don’t have much time to get it on with anyone since their schedules are always very packed, with promotion or practice. he would only have gotten off to porn (our innocent boy isn’t so innocent remember)

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

i think he would like doggy style: as he would like grabbing at your hips and fucking into you, hearing you moan for him.or cowgirl; seeing your tits bounce would be a treat.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

renjun does have a quite jokey side to him that he show quite often, but i think renjun would be more serious because he really wants to make sure he satisfies you. however, if the mood allowed it he would make jokes and smile at you.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

i think renjun would be well groomed and keep hair to a minimum, if not shave it all off. he’s the type of person to want to look presentable for you and groom himself with care.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

he would be very, very intimate most of the time. he wants you to know how special you are to him and how just how much he loves you through his body and words. you are his most prized ‘possession’, he wants to satisfy you by any means possible. the only time he wouldn’t be that romantic is if you were experimenting with something and it required him to not be so nice...

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

renjun would try to resist jerking off and would try to wait for you but if he really couldn’t back or knew he wasn’t going to see you for ages, he would just do it.

renjun really wanted to hold back, he thought if he waited and kept his mind off it, maybe, it would go away. but, the thought of you kept on popping up in his mind and his cock ached. so, he slipped it out of his trousers and began to stroke himself. the feeling of his cold hands on his hot shaft, made him hiss. he thought of the last time he had you, the moans that fell from your lips and the way you wrapped around his cock. for now his hands would suffice, but they didn’t feel the same...

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

renjun is a little kinky let’s be real, he likes: bondage, choking {giving and receiving}, power play, praise {giving and receiving},

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

he would prefer doing stuff at home, in the comfort of a bedroom. it provides safety, while both of you in such a vulnerable state. he wants to be able to do everything he wants with you, which is something he would only want to do at home with you.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

he gets turned on by soft touches, especially on his thighs and neck area. what gets him off is knowing that he’s pleasuring you: the faces you make, the sounds you make, etc. he likes praise he wants you to fuel his ego; tell him he’s a ‘good boy’ or say ‘just like that’ and it’s literally over for him.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

he’s very open to experimenting so, it would be difficult for him to say no to you but he’d probably not want to do anything that could potentially put you in harms way, but would be glad to know you trusted him enough to allow him to, even though he would refuse. he would want to do really dirty things.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

he wouldn’t mind, honestly. usually, if you gave him a blowjob he would want to eat you out as a thanks and vica versa. i think he would be good, not the absolute best, but he can make you cum and he can make you cum hard.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

when renjun is controlling the tempo, would have a medium, sensual pace. this boy knows how to work his hips and is precise with his thrusts. he wants to savour the feeling of you so, he wouldn’t want to go too fast.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

he would definitely prefer proper sex, but wouldn’t be too opposed to quickies. he’d tell you to wait until he had time for you properly, but if he was feeling extremely needy he may just do it one with you. it would usually just consist of oral, however.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

i believe he would be very willing to experiment with you. he would often offer suggestions and would love to hear what you wanted to do in bed with him. renjun wants to keep things spicy and wouldn’t mind taking risks as long as he knew they were reasonable and would be worthwhile.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

i think he would probably only go for one round usually, sometimes two, because he focuses so much of his energy on foreplay. by the time you’d finished a round of fucking he would be all tuckered out.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

i see renjun liking toys, he’d use a variety of them on you, or even himself, and he’d let you do the same to him. he wouldn’t have an extensive collection of them, he’d have a few vibrators, plugs, dildos, etc. he’d use them quite frequently.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

he’d like to tease a lot - likes to get teased more tho - seeing you squirm in need would fill him with a sense of power and turn him on. hearing you to beg him to do what you want would also get him going for sure.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

he’ll start of at a moderate volume and get louder as things progress. he’d moan a lot, when he gets close to cumming they get higher and whiny.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

you pressed the vibrator against renjun’s throbbing cock, once again. he let out a tormented mewl, you had been teasing him like this for lord knows how long. all he could do was squirm with his hands and feet tied down. you added your tongue to the mix, lapping at his leaking slit. the tip was so red; honestly, his erection looked painful, but from his reactions you could tell he enjoyed it so, you teased with no remorse. it was torture for him, but he had asked for it….

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

i don’t think he’s very big somewhere, between 4-5 inches. it’s quite skinny, but it’s unbelievably pretty. regardless of size, he knows how to pleasure with it very well…

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

quite high but, i think he’ll hold himself back a lot of the time it wanting to bother you with his needs too much. also, since he want to spend his time on you it wouldn’t always be convenient for either of you.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

i think he’d want to fall asleep right away but his priority would be you so, he would put it off until he knew you were all cleaned up. he’d fall asleep cuddling you.

:::

i hope you enjoyed! i have more a-z analyses on the way (check my upcoming list to see who for). thank you for reading my work ;)

[saizoswifey]

Helloooo. I'm not even sure if you're taking requests at the moment but if you are can I ask for some smutty headcanons for our loveable and slightly scary Nobuyuki? Or Ieyasu? Or maybe both? hehehe 🙈♥

 The thirst for this soft Yandere is real! And I love it so much! Alright, my friends! Here we go, thank you for the requests and sorry it has taken me a while to get to this one~  

Just warning this is…the longest one yet lol.

{Nobuyuki} {N//SFW HCs}

The first time you have sex, the entire scenario had been manipulated and crafted and designed by Nobuyuki himself, with you none the wiser. 

When he felt you were ready, cleverly, he began to pull away from you. He began to work later into the evenings, he would be curt in the halls as you passed each other, and he no longer touched you or held you when you lay together in bed. All while knowing this would drive you to concern over his affections for you, and lead you to miss the comfort of his touch.

He wanted to drive  you to be the one to reveal your desire to have sex and beg him to take the next step

When you finally brought it up, and the fact that you were worried he might have had a change of heart about you and didn’t desire you in the same way you desired him, he feigned shock and heartache. 

“It would seem I’ve been rather neglectful of you and your feelings. And in turn, given you the impression I did not desire more intimate relations with you when that is quite the opposite…I’m ashamed, can you ever forgive me?” 

And of course, after making up he’ll be ever the gentleman, feigning hesitancy and asking if you are quite sure you are ready to know him in that way. And after your miscommunication, you will be eager to assure him of your ready-ness. 

Sex with Nobuyuki started off as nothing super fancy or intense. He didn’t want to scare you off, and thought it better to ease you into it.

Lots of slow, deep kisses, his hands caressing you gently between your legs. Exploring all the ways to make you wet. He’s careful and calculated, applying varying pressure and watching how you respond. Finally dipping a finger inside of you and reminding you with a calm soft voice that you have nothing to worry about, just relax your body and let him take care of you. 

Despite the desire to come inside of you, he holds off for a while for your sake. He wants to get you pregnant but not enough to do it before you’re settled in your lives together. 

Until then, he does find it pleasant to pull out and finish himself on your thighs or ass or down your throat.

He’ll “accidentally” come on your face or tits other times

“Oops. How dreadful of me…hold still, dear one,” with his thumb he wipes at the thick white come splattered across your nose and cheek and lashes, but there’s a dangerous glint in his eyes as he looks down at you. And in the middle of cleaning you up, his hands stop to grip your face in place so he can kiss you deeply, forcing his tongue deep into your mouth with a fierce hunger. “Mmn, however, I must confess seeing your usually sweet and innocent face such a mess is…extremely erotic.” 

Favorite sex position: 

Gives him the best view of your breasts and pussy, easy access to caress your skin and stimulate your clit and he can see himself penetrating you

Sex gets kinkier and kinkier the longer you are together and the more he feels comfortable that you won’t be scared off 

He’ll play between your legs for a moment and then push your thighs apart, sitting back from the bedding and asking if he can see you touch yourself. 

“Please, I only wish to see what makes you feel good. If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll touch myself as well. Haha, don’t be shy.”

The first time he ate you out he had been simply kissing you while finger fucking you. His face trailed down your torso and he asked, while rubbing your clit, if he might be granted permission to taste you down there as well. His wet luscious lips and the way he sucked and lapped at your clit and folds had your consciousness bright white and floating out of your body. He was relentless and clearly enjoying himself, and the way you buried your fingers in his thick fluffy head of hair and pushed up into his face made him hum in delight. 

“Do you like this? You’re so wet, and you’re making some incredible faces when I…suck…here…Mmn, your moan is rather sexy…as much as I’m enjoying teasing you like this, I don’t think I can hold back much longer”

Nobuyuki has a very high sex drive hidden behind a genial smile. He is CONSTANTLY watching you lustfully, he’s just extremely good at hiding it. 

He can’t help but stare at your hips as you serve tea in the main hall and the way your hands wrap around the cups. The nape of your neck makes his mouth practically water. And he hasn’t been paying any mind to the words you’re speaking as you find him in the corridor, because he’s too busy watching your lips move and imagining them trailing down his torso in quiet moonlight before the tip of his cock presses through them to be enveloped by the warm wet of your tongue 

Several times he has dropped something on purpose, just to be able to watch you bend over and pick it up. 

“Accidentally” spills his tea on you while you’re serving him in his room. 

“Dear oh dear, sometimes I don’t know how I manage to dress myself in the morning with these clumsy hands of mine. You’re not hurt, are you? Here, allow me to help.”

He’ll towel off your breasts with care, lift the layers of your kimono to expose your thighs. 

“Pardon me, we must make sure you haven’t been burned, after all.”

He runs the cloth up your thighs higher and higher, kneading the plushness with his fingers and before you know it he’s removing your obi to get you out of those wet clothes so you don’t catch a cold. Trailing kisses over the injured flesh, murmuring of how you taste of tea now, until his luscious lips brush up against your pussy and his tongue draws up slowly to part your folds 

Very instructive in bed. He enjoys telling you what to do, and how to do it. He is amazing at giving praise and encouraging you to endure whatever it is he’s doing to you. 

He loves you on your knees in front of him. Where he can put his hands in your hair or cup your face and run a thumb along your cheek which is stretched by the tip of his cock as he thrusts into your mouth. 

“Ahh…that’s good, darling. You’ve learned to take me so well in this mouth of yours But can you take me deeper?” he presses his cock farther into your throat, hips snapping more furiously. “Mmmn–yeahh, yeah use your tongue like that, I’m c-close. Keep sucking just like that. Drink it all up like a good girl.”

Extremely possessive and jealous. If he feels as though someone (Saizo, Yukimura etc) is stealing your affections and attention from him you best believe he’s fabricating some sort of task for you to do that will keep you busy in his room until he can sort it out. (By any means necessary). Meanwhile, he’ll be extra clingy and turbulent in the bedroom. 

He regularly marks you during sex

On your breasts and hips and thighs, he’ll latch his lips and suck and lap at the bruises he creates with delight 

 But he does so in visible places when he is feeling insecure. He’ll leave a scattering of red petals across your neck and chest and then send you out the next day on errands in town or to do your daily chores in the castle. He doesn’t care who sees 

“Are you alright? Your neck…” Yukimura asks you at breakfast

“Haha,” Nobuyuki chuckles, pretending to be a bit shy, “It’s alright, Yukimura. I must have gotten carried away last night, that’s all”

LOVES to whisper the naughtiest raunchiest shit in your ear in public and smile, walking away as if he did nothing at all. He’ll pull you aside in the middle of your dusting or delivering letters and speak in a soft low voice meant only for your ears

“Don’t work too hard, today. You look especially beautiful with your hair done up with the pin I bought for you, and I’ve been thinking of pulling it back in my hands and running my tongue down that intoxicating chin and neck of yours since breakfast. Would you like that, dear one? Are you getting wet at the thought of me pressing you into the floor, ripping this beautiful fabric from your body and stuffing it in your mouth as I have my way with you? Hmm, you are, aren’t you… I can see in your eyes you’re begging for it. How did I end up with such a naughty woman for a wife? Oh, don’t fret…as soon as dinner is over I’m going to fill every inch of you and fuck you until you pass out in my arms.” 

Nobuyuki definitely been gifted, much to his dismay, goods such as erotic books and lubes and oils and libido driving teas and potions and ROPES that won’t leave marks from Saizo. Yukimura is always curious to see what Saizo has given Nobuyuki for his birthdays and as your wedding/anniversary presents WHY WON’T ANYONE SHOW HIM WHAT WAS IN THE BOXES (Yukkins bls you DONT wanna know)

Not that he doesn’t use some of it….of course 

You never have to worry about someone walking in on you both fucking, Jinpachi is ever vigilant and no one has caught wind of what goes on behind closed doors aside from Saizo occasionally walking by the bedroom and offering to “help by looking over sick MC and administering medicine” though he knows she isn’t sick she’s just fucked out of her mind

When you’re both ready to try for kids, be prepared for Nobuyuki to fuck you several times a day/night. 

It’s rare for him to go a single round. It’s his duty as a man and future leader of Sanada to produce an heir, after all 

The fact that it turns him on is just a bonus 

Nothing makes him shiver quite as much as the feeling of spilling himself inside of your clenching walls. He likes to hold your hand sometimes when he comes in you, kiss you deeply and grunt into your mouth as he fills you with come. 

He’ll flip you over and raise your ass into the air in an effort to keep his come inside of you until he’s ready to fuck you again, kiss down your back and pull out so he can see for himself the milky white semen. 

“Stay just like that, my lovely, strong, and beautiful wife. Feel what I’ve left inside of you. Ah…what’s this? Hm. That’s not good…You’ve spilled some, can you feel it dripping down your thigh? Haha,” Nobuyuki swipes at your thigh with his hand, bringing the wetness up to stroke your sensitive pussy, making you shake. His voice is soft and full of love, despite his scolding, and before you know it the tip of his cock is once again pressed to enter you. “Don’t worry, darling. You’re doing wonderfully. I’m already on the verge of filling you up again…I have no doubt you’ll be with child soon,” he pushes inside you with a sharp thrust.

Doesn’t mind playing with you in inappropriate places or pulling you aside to fuck you in the middle of your chores. 

Dusting the corridor right before dinner prep? A hand will pop out from a dark unused room to cover your mouth and muffle your screams while lips kiss a frenzy on your neck and cheeks. Dragging you inside. His familiar scent followed by that low honeyed voice telling you to remain calm will give Nobuyuki’s identity away, and keep you from panicking when you feel his large hand slip inside your collar to grope your breast and tweak your nipples. His hard length pressing against you from behind. 

“Shh, don’t be frightened, dear one. It’s just me. However, I’m afraid you won’t be making it in time to start dinner preparations…” 

He’s got EXTREMELY nimble fingers from years and years of sewing, and he can have you unravel as easily as a bolt of fine cloth at his touch without breaking the slightest sweat. It’s his go-to when he needs to recoup between rounds. He can get you off or bring you to the brink of orgasm and down again in moments with his fingers alone. He enjoys toying with you. Pressing in different spots fast and slow while sucking your breasts and relishing the way you writhe and moan for him   

If it’s late in the evening and he’s been buried in paperwork only to finally realize its past dark and you are hard at work organizing letters but exhausted and lonely looking he’ll pull you into his lap and cradle you in his arms, running fingers through your hair. Before long his lips are at your neck and his hands have become to roam, stroking your sides and thighs and breasts.

“Nn-Nobuyuki…we shouldn’t…here,”

“Shh, quiet.”

He’ll slip one of his expensive writing brushes between your teeth. Bunching the fabric to urgently pull your hem up above your hips and expose you to his fingers and his hard cock pressing from underneath you

His favorite body parts on you would be your neck and thighs 

If he had to choose between breasts and ass he would choose ass. He also prefers girls that are a bit thicker. He lives for the slapping sound as he pounds into you and it just feels good and healthy to have some soft plush cushion to grip in his hands 

He loves hearing you moan for him but he likes to keep his sex acts entirely discreet. He would hate for people to hear you because not only does he want to keep everything about you for himself, he doesn’t want people to know his business. Ever. So expect to be gagged often with wads of soft cloth or his hand over your mouth to muffle your voice.  

Nobuyuki’s biggest turn-ons are:

 The back of his neck. He loves when you stroke there softly with your fingertips in between playing with his hair. Quickest way to get him to shiver and melt. If he’s working and you come up from behind to hug him and plant kisses there, be prepared to get yanked underneath him in a millisecond.  

The little things you do that show you genuinely care for him. Darning his clothes, working hard at his side, showing a genuine interest in the Sanada and his work. He loooves to see you fitting in at the castle and smiling and having fun joking with Yukimura and the others. 

You, pregnant 

Whispering in his ear when he is inside you. Tell him you love him. Tell him you want him to savor your body, that he can do anything he wishes to you. Say you belong to him, body and soul, and his jaw will clench with the effort to not come right then and there 

Playing games with him in the bedroom. You are the esteemed Lord and Lady Sanada everywhere else, so its a huge turn on when he can come back to his chambers and really let loose with you. Be flirty and interesting. Tie yourself up and wait for him to come to bed and oh no, you’re a scared captive of the powerful Lord Sanada unable to escape from your restraints and helpless against whatever he might wish to do with you. Beg him to make you come but he’s not allowed to use his hands. 

Have secrets. He’s someone who thrives on the secret and shady. He would adore having little secret sayings or signals you guys can share even if its in front of others that lets you both know you’re thinking of one another, such as a special way you wear your hair or a specific pin you use, to a phrase like “I heard the most magnificent birds this afternoon” which meant you were longing for the other yet you could say it even in the main hall as casual as can be and no one else would understand. Wake up one morning and tell him your mouth is his for the day, he owns it, and can call you for a kiss or anything he liked with your mouth at any moment that day.

He loves doting on you. Let him do it. Let him take care of you. He’s used to taking care of those he loves, and seeing as he feels sometimes it’s all he can do, it gives him great satisfaction. He loves you dearly and would move the earth for you were it possible. Let him drape you in fine colorful fabrics, let him wake up from a late night of sex and dress you himself. Wait for him wearing nothing but the fine jewels he’s recently purchased for you. Demand some exotic dessert or fruit and share it with him in bed, naked. 

On that note, because of his tendency to take control of everything (and the pure enjoyment he gets out of power) he is a dom in the bedroom

Well-groomed down below. And everywhere else, he always smells pleasant and takes pride in caring for his looks. 

A rather sizeable cock with a very slight upwards curve. He’s also got a really plump ass and his hip bones are hypnotic. You can basically convince him to say yes to anything while your lips are worshipping at the skin of his bare hips

He would never hurt you, but sometimes he gets so possessive and intense that it can be a bit scary. He ALWAYS has eyes (Jinpachi) on you If you go somewhere without telling him first (like to meet a new male grocer in town etc) and the guy has been hitting on you or Nobuyuki thinks you’ve been spending a suspicious amount of time with him, expect a hurricane of emotions to hit you like a ton of bricks

Usually, he can control himself, hide his anxiety under the mask of a smile or frown and ask you to please let him know where you are because he was quite worried

But other times. He’ll interrogate you, serious face but calm-voiced, what you were doing and why and where without informing him. If you knew how dangerous it was to be around some strange man who clearly has less than honorable intentions with his beloved. You’re confined to the room for the next few days, the other maids can handle your share of work for a short while. He’ll get up close to you, hold your face and look in your eyes

“You know I only do these things because I love you…don’t you? You’re the most precious thing in my life,” he pulls you close by your waist, ripping your obi from you with frightening speed and burying his face in your neck. “You’re mine…” he kisses a frenzy from your neck to your chest, where his hands are yanking at your collar to expose your breasts. “I’ll stop at nothing to keep you safe and here with me.”

And nothing can help whoever has caught the brunt of his anger when he’s in an unforgiving mood, or if they touched you or came on to you in any sort of forward way. He can, will, and has razed homes and businesses to send a message. And a single command to Jinpachi and they will disappear, and it would be no different to Nobuyuki than asking if breakfast was ready. Anyone who dare hurt or steal his dear one will be stepping into their own grave.

Jerks off a normal amount but less so since you two became intimate. He does have a few of your personal items he’s stolen (you thought you lost them) that he keeps hidden for himself. They smell like you or remind him of you and every now and then he’ll stroke himself with the item in his other hand. Or simply to the thought of you 

Likes PDA and doesn’t have a problem with it, in the correct setting. He’ll gladly hold your hand walking through town, and he likes to pull you close and drape an arm around you for feasts where everyone is drinking and dancing and having fun. Plus, in Nobuyuki’s eyes its great fun to kiss you on the cheek or a quick one on the lips and watch his brother short circuit or fawn over what a lovely couple you both make 

Has some mommy issues, and he’d never admit it, but it turns him on greatly when you take care of him when he is sick. Usually, when he is under the weather he just pushed through and pretended he was fine. He doesn’t like to show himself vulnerable or weak. Jinpachi would help him out if he was very very ill. But you’re so soft and kind and sweet, bringing him broth and porridge and spoon feeding him. Changing out his washcloths and sitting by his side. This feeling of comfort and warmth was something he thought he had lost long ago, and his heart was so full he was desperate to recover and spend what energy he had into ravishing you and giving back that love. 

You’re not allowed to treat anyone else when they’re sick. Conveniently you always have some mountain of work to do and a team of maids is already taking care of the invalid. 

On that motherly note, it really gets him going when he sees you with children or teaching chibi sasuke something new. It reminds him that he picked the right woman to be at his side, and it makes him all the more eager to get a family going with you 

Has CRAZY floof sex hair. Like. Every single time even if its a quickie. Somehow the floof just poofs more and parts are going every which way, which embarrasses him greatly. But if it’s you there smiling and giggling and fixing it for him, well, that’s alright with him. 

Really enjoys soft, happy, romantic sex. Waking up earlier than normal with you and the sun is shining brightly and its peaceful. The scent of spring flowers thick in the air and a few quick good morning kisses turn into deep slow makeout sessions. You both have bed head and a bit of sleep still heavy in your eyes but he thinks you’re beautiful, whispering such as he rolls on top of you, the tip of his cock entering you and the thrusting of his hips so sultry and drawn out that you can’t help but moan and cling to him 

He’s talkative during sex, and usually only moans when he is close to coming. Its a deep and breathy drawn out moan, right from his chest 

He is fantastic with aftercare. He likes to stay joined for some time after coming, and will advise you to stay still and relax so he can clean you up himself after he finally pulls out. With a soft cloth, he takes pleasure in looking you over as if you were a little doll and wiping you down carefully. 

If you’ve been trying for a baby he’ll kiss your stomach then your lips and say an encouraging prayer that this time is the time. He’ll hold you from behind, clasping your hand in his, and talk about baby names and how Yukimura will be so annoyingly overjoyed to train if it’s a boy, and how beautiful they will be looking like their mother if it’s a girl, and how spoiled

Going to sleep still naked is very common because he likes to feel your warmth as much as he can and Jinpachi is always guarding the door. 

Likes to hum while he holds you in his arms and puts you to sleep, it’s usually melodies his mother used to hum to him and its surprisingly relaxing to have your body exhausted from sex and then feel the vibration from his chest on your back and his warmth radiating through you and the sweet sound of his voice

Also gets incredibly open after sex. These are usually the times he reveals his true self and feelings, the things he keeps hidden almost always. He’ll talk to you about his mother sometimes, and his struggles to fit in his role. He also enjoys listening to you talk and unburden yourself on him

Loves to watch you sleep. It’s one of his greatest joys knowing that he alone is the one privileged enough to see you in such a vulnerable state. Leave everything to him, depending on how rough or how many rounds the night before, your schedule of work for the following day will be fixed accordingly.

[caerulux]

World Building - Pokemon Coordinators: A Guide & World Building

Credit to @hisvanity for the creation of levels, working with ranks, as well as the battle/appeals ranking system. Also credit to @whiteunova for their ideas for contests in Unova. Credit for Inspiration & Original Concept for the Pokémon Coordinator Association (PCA) is to pkmn-downtheline

Note: The World Building is reblogable and able to be used for anyone’s coordinator wishes! Just remember to give credit back to all those if you plan on using any information. When it comes to Kalos and Alola, they are still a work in progress.

       Originating from Hoenn, Pokémon Coordinator are people who focus on bringing out the beauty of their Pokémon. Originally, most Coordinators focused on the outward appearance of their of Pokémon, making sure they kept them highly presentable via grooming as well as feeding them specialized treats created from berries. They also go about this in showing off their Pokémon in different visual ways, usually aiming for the title of Top Coordinator. This title cannot be achieved until after a Coordinator has won in a Grand Festival which can only be obtained after winning 5 Master Rank ribbons.

       These can only be done after a Coordinator has won through the earliest levels of contests: Normal, Super, and Hyper before that can officially win ribbons that make them eligible for Master Rank status. In total, a Coordinator should in general have 8 ribbons under their belt before participating in their first Grand Festival. Once a Coordinator has obtained the title of Top Coordinator, they are eligible to compete in different hierarchy of contests. Each aspect is held in place by that region’s  Pokémon Coordinator Association (PCA) while International, which is set in Hoenn, also keeps this up and held in line.

Levels:

Local: This involves the ranks Normal through Master. Normals and Supers are held in every city every month, whereas Hypers and Masters are held every two months.

Pre-National: This bracket encompasses the Wallace Cup and other tournaments that provide a Ribbon that can be used for any region’s Grand Festival. Sometimes, these competitions can be as tough as Grand Festivals themselves, given the amount of people vying for such a valuable Ribbon.

National: This ranking is reserved for the ICL’s official Grand Festivals in each region, which take place once a year. National winners will earn the title of Top Coordinator.

Exhibition: These matches, almost always restricted to people with Top Coordinator ranking, don’t qualify you for anything–they’re for Coordinators who want to sharpen their skills and win some extra prestige. Some Exhibition matches are for charity, but most of them are national/international competitions that pack an extra punch: moving battlefields, Triple/Rotation rounds, monotype doubles, etc. Even though Exhibition matches are #4 in the hierarchy, some of these competitions are just as hard to win as the ICL’s Champions Festival–or even harder.

International: This ranking is reserved for each Coordinator league’s official international competition. ICL’s Champions Festival, which takes place every four years; winning it is considered the pinnacle of Contest achievement. One Grand Festival win will qualify you, but it doesn’t hurt to have more. International winners will earn the title of Champion Coordinator. These differ from Exhibition competitions because Exhibitions do not have so many participants, are not always affiliated with a major Coordinating league, and are not necessarily international.

Ribbons:

When it comes to ribbons, they do not expire until after a Trainer has used them to compete in a Grand Festival. Once that has occurred, Coordinators must compete in another set of Master Rank contests before they’re able to qualify again. A Coordinator most remember, however, that ribbons are region locked, meaning that Master Rank ribbons earned in Hoenn can only be used towards the Grand Festival in Hoenn. However, if one wins a ribbon from a Cup, this ribbon can be used within any region, but still the non-expiration until usage still applies to it. As Coordinators are required 5 Master Rank ribbons before taking on the Grand Festival, they are require to win one from Contests focusing on each of the 5 areas: Coolness, Beauty, Cuteness, Cleverness, and Toughness. If a Coordinator has not obtained one ribbon from each of the areas, then they cannot participate in the Grand Festival unless they obtained a ribbon from a Cup which waves them of one area or someone gifts them of the ribbon for the area they are missing.

Participating:

In order for a Coordinator to begin participation in contests, they must hold a Contest Pass. Passes are very easy to obtain as all a Coordinator has to do is register and apply for on at any Contest Hall. Upon signing up, Coordinators are given a copy of the rule book that holds for that region as well as for Nationals, a ribbon case unless they already have one of their own, and in Sinnoh’s case, ball capsules. When it comes to passes, the region it is obtained in is the only region that it can be used for. Unlike ribbons, Contest Passes expire after the end of a Contest season in that region, therefore after the Grand Festival Coordinators are required to re-register unless they plan on moving to compete in a different region. Then they must register once again.

Before the start of any contest, a Coordinator must sign up for that contest at the respective hall. It is then they are given their number so they know when it is their turn to perform in the appeals round. During this portion, Coordinators also register the Pokémon that plan on using for the entire length of the contest. Coordinators and Pokémon have their pictures taken so they can easily be identified.

Contests are broken up into two main rounds: Appeals & Battling

Appeals: In the appeals round, Coordinators use this moment to display their Pokémon’s beauty. This is the time that a Coordinators type of style is usually displayed as well as the type of Pokémon one may seem to prefer start to be noticed. It is in this round that a Coordinator is judged based on how they brought out the inner and outer beauty of their Pokémon. If a Coordinator focuses mostly on themselves, they guaranteed to not pass ono the next round for Battling

Battling: During this period, Trainers are randomly matched up against each other. Battles for contests are almost similar for the standards set by the Pokémon League, but in this case Coordinators are subjected to a 5 minute time frame. In this time a Coordinator must display their skills as a Coordinator, showing the Pokémon’s true potential in battle. Points are awarded and taken based on how Coordinator and Pokémon work together, displaying moves and countering their opponent, or when they are hit/the attack fails. The round generally ends once a Pokémon faints in battle or the time limit has been reached. In the latter case, the Coordinator who has the most points moves onto the next round. This continues onto the finals into a final winner has been crowned.

These tactics follow just the same when participating in any Contest of any level, competition and cup. For more information on the battle system it can be viewed here.

Earnings:

Coordinators are actually awarded for their wins and accomplishments in competing like trainers. They can earn the highest amount for that contest by winning the entire contest fully. Otherwise, payment will be broke down into smaller amounts based on their placements. Therefore, runner up will still receive a pay for making it that far and anyone who was able to reach the battle rounds are paid for their participation as well. The only time that this does not fully hold up is during an Exhibition level Contest. Since they are generally for charity, Coordinators who participate in it are all paid the same amount regardless of placement. Their earnings do not come out of the amount of money that was raised from ticket sales and donations.

The Season:

Typically, Grand Festivals are held between the months of April through mid-June. During that time up to the start of contests in mid-August, it’s the up to the Region’s Contest Association to find sponsorship for the next Grand Festival as its location changes every year. Local contest halls are usually kept up during this “off season” time to allow Coordinators to practice if they choose, or hold contests for those in Exhibition. As this is of a higher level, it usually is a smaller competing crowd in comparison to its lower ranking, but as it also focuses to earn money for charity it draws in high crowds. Depending on this time frame, an International Competition may also be held, but considering it occurs every 4 years it is not always promised.

Region Differences:

In general, most of the regions follow the same rules set by Internationals (as in most of the info given above), but each one has minor changes. Hoenn’s original set of rules followed Internationals very closely, considering it being the originating region for contests. However once the rise of Contest Idols (more info given below in section entitled classes) came into the fray, the entire board had to rethink the layout.

Future: Contest halls will be home to both contest and spectaculars. They will be handled a lot better thanks to creation of a bi-weekly rotation for the different specialized contests. However, those pursuing the goal of Contest Idol are still able to participate in contests to get early recognition as it can help their career get an early move on and get scouted.

Coordinator Classes:

Besides just a Coordinator as what’s been stated before, there are also other classes that Coordinators can pursue just like there are other classes of Trainers. For now, we’ll focus on two of those: Pokémon Stylist and Contest Idols

Pokémon Stylist: Originating from Sinnoh and possibly what started its rule on dressing up, Stylist focus on designing clothes and accessories for Pokémon. They have also been known to design outfits for Trainers and other Coordinators if they wish though usually this will go towards Coordinators in Sinnoh and Contest Idols as they are the main ones who partake in it. Stylist focus more so on bringing out a Pokémon’s inner beauty and enhancing their outer appearance instead of style like typical Coordinators. They also compete in competitions as well, but these differ greatly as they taken on a fashion show like style. However, Pokémon are still allowed to display their talents while on the runaway with the usage of moves.  Winners are generally crowned winner with a tiara/crown respectively. Eventually, Stylist do open up their own shops where they will sell their fashion to other Trainers and Pokémon alike.

Contest Idols: The newest class to join the ranks and also originating from Hoenn, Contest Idols have learned to put a mesh of Sinnoh’s ways of coordinating but also somewhat of Kalos’s Performance as well. Contest Idols focus more so on putting on performances and generating happiness through them to their fans. The path generally requires a lot more work than a regular Coordinator as they have to work to get the recognition through countless performances, which generally leads to some to participating in regular contests. Despite this, there are also Idol Competitions held for them as well where they must introduce their Pokémon in their opening act. Generally this is when a Pokémon dances alone, taking cues from their Coordinator, and based on their rating it is decided if they move onto the next round. Generally most of the competition is gone during this before they move onto the Talent phase, where most of 50% of the competitors are kept. From this phase, Pokémon and Contest Idols put on their rehearsed acts and are scored again by the crowd before they move onto the finals. It is in the last round where the team are given a theme that they must focus their Performance on and are generally given up to 20 minutes to come up with a show. As this puts both Idols and Pokémon on spotlight, this is when they are really judged on just how quick they are on their feet to bring happiness to others in their performances. Winners are usually selected based on judges and crowd rating. Because of its Hoenn beginnings, these Performances also require Idols to perform in Normal – Hyper contests, but they are generally not awarded a ribbon in their endeavors until they win a Master rank performance. One isn’t declared an official Contest Idol until they have officially collected 5 Master rank ribbons in total, again each from the different areas. The real key for most Idols is just getting their name out into the open. For them, their fans are their biggest passion.

Treats:

Coordinators can make treats with others or by themselves. Every Pokémon has their own taste and finding the perfect taste for a certain Pokémon is never an easy task for most Coordinators. Over the course of the different regions, the treats have begun to vary.

Hoenn & Kanto: The two regions stick to the usage of Pokéblock. Generally, a Coordinator can keep them in a personalized Pokéblock case. Originally, Coordinators had to work alongside the berry blender when it came to making the treats, but as technology advanced so did the berry blender. Now there are automatic berry blender available for usage. Also with the help of Devon Goods, Coordinators are able to keep track of their Pokéblock usage and recipes with PokéNav apps.

Sinnoh & Johto: Poffins are these two regions common usage for treats for Pokémon. Instead of a berry blender, Coordinators make the treats into a form of a cookie like treat. This treat can be a bit more complicated to make as a Coordinator has to be sure they don’t burn or overflow the entire dough in the process. Though with practice, any Coordinator can make the perfect Poffin. They are generally kept in a Poffin so Trainers can easily store and keep up with them.

The Pokémon Coordinator Association:

As originally stated before, the Pokémon Coordinator Association (PCA) is held within each region that participates in contests. They uphold the rules that were created and established by the original founding Association, Hoenn’s. Each PCA is broken up into different levels where general jobs and duties are broken down:

Managers: Made up of a body of 5 people to hold with the 5 different areas, this set of people are the main people who run the entire Contest circuit within a region. It is their job to make sure that all Contests are able to move smoothly, but also make sure that everything is kept in place for the Grand Festival. Basically, the easiest way to put it is that their job is to organize for their region. In general, each manager has their own set of team that helps out in their specialized area when it comes to running and planning their different contests for the different rankings.

Scouters/Recruiters: This is typically made out of group of 10, two people to represent the 5 different areas for Contests. Their job is find young and talented Trainers who might fit the Coordinator path. Generally, they are able to help an aspiring Trainer who knows little but wants to join the Contest realm into the area they see fit as they are prone to picking up on styles fast. They are also great in deciphering what class of Coordinator a person may fit. Scouters do have a main focus of emphasizing that Contests are a gender neutral realm, meaning that do work a lot to make sure that males are not looked down upon in the area based on the past issues of people viewing Contests as a “girly concept”.

Educators: As Trainer Schools also have classes for aspiring Coordinators, the PCA hirers their own set of Educators they see fit for the job. However, before one can become an Educator officially, they must pass a series of exams to show they have the extensive knowledge about their career from the history, to rules, classes and regional differences. Usually they go for Coordinators who had an outstanding rep but also was seen to be very approachable and helping as not every Coordinator is fit to teach. The task isn’t always easy since they are helping teach the future stars in everything they have to do in coordinating.

Promoters: Promoters are the main ones who help get the name out about contests, but they are also the ones who help collect sponsors. Thanks to them, Grand Festivals are able to be held yearly. Promoters work closely with International Competitions since they always try to keep them as charity events.

Judges: This area is mostly made up of retired Coordinators as well as the Contesta family. They are the main ones who judge the different contests and competitions throughout the regions. Each year, they elect a main host to help run all the contests for that season while the rest of them rotate off for other contests. For certain occasions, members from other departments will step in as guest judges.

Advisory: Usually made up of current and retired Top Coordinators, the group acts as a guidance towards the rest of the Association when problems occur. They are generally the ones the rest turns to when somethings wants to be added or changed to the rules for that regions Association. They are also the ones who deal with conflict within the Association as well as those who have broken the rules set by Internationals. Since they are mostly kept out of most competition dealings, they are the best ones to deal with the problem and usually make the final decision on a Coordinator’s punishment if it is needed.

Management Team: As stated before, they work alongside their Manager in organizing and running the contests for their region. They are the ones you will generally see the most as the Manager works behind the scenes. Normally, they keep record of everything that is happening for their areas of contests from participants to stage crews to registration. People apart of this team have yet another team of their own which helps them run their portion of work. They can generally be viewed as second in command when in comparison to Managers thanks to having another team of workers below them.

[voicesfromthelight]

The Story of “Abuela,” Simon, and Millicent: On Astral Party-Crashers (and How to Avoid Them)

Today, to celebrate the Halloween/Samhain season, I’d like to explore the somewhat spooky phenomenon of astral party-crashers.

Astral party-crashers are spiritual entities that sometimes pop up in mediumistic settings - or in your home! - who have no readily apparent association with any individual in the room, but are drawn to present themselves out of curiosity, benevolence, boredom, or, in some cases, energetic hunger stemming from unresolved issues that keep them hovering close to the physical plane.  Luckily, the intrusions of astral party-crashers have been fairly infrequent in my personal experience. However, when I have encountered them, the evidence has been strong enough in terms of physical manifestations of synchronicities, etc., that I think it’s important for students of mediumship to know that they exist, and plan for them without apprehension.

Much of the work of a competent medium consists of understanding how to attune oneself to the spirit world, and receive accurate, verifiable information from it. However, far from being one uniform field, the “other side” is a multifaceted realm: a spectrum of different frequencies. Different types of entities dwell in different “layers” of the spiritual plane, of varying densities, much like different colours of light occupy different ranges on a spectrum of wavelengths. Accordingly, the emotional, spiritual, physical and energetic qualities of a medium determine which frequencies they are able to attune themselves to most easily. This is why Lorna Byrne speaks to angels, Jessyka Winston works with her Lwa, Tyler Henry passes messages between people and their dead loved ones, and I communicate most easily with Salvador, Natalie and my other guides, who dwell in a layer of the spirit realm somewhat higher in frequency than the astral. The reason I refer specifically to astral party-crashers when talking of this subject, is that the entities in question will usually pop up because they dwell in the frequency band commonly known as the astral realm, which is closest in density to that of the physical plane. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are the types of ghosts who would cause physical hauntings, but I do find that they seem to have an easy time firing off synchronicities that manifest in the physical realm. Although they are usually harmless, and easy to miss altogether if one is not psychically open, if you find yourself frequently bumping into astral party-crashers, it may be an indication that your baseline energy level and psychic protection measures could use a boost.

The first time I bumped into an astral party-crasher was a bit over a year ago. The incident started on the same day I spoke about in my piece on clairaudience, during a time when my mediumistic ability was going through a bit of a spike. I had been working on a film set in Harlem that day, and took the opportunity of being in a neighborhood with a large Latino population to visit a local botánica. Salvador and Natalie are quite protective of me, and have more than once shooed me away from dabbling in working with any spirits outside of my circle of personal guides. However, I was curious to see the place, and wanted to buy a candle.

The botánica was a large space, with hundreds of different candles of all colours to choose from, soperas, and a plethora of pre-packaged oils and incenses for every magical purpose, stacked on shelves that reached from the floor to the ceiling. The energy there felt a little scattered to me, but not uncomfortable. I chose a candle for myself, and went home happy with my purchase.

The next day, as I was tuning into a channeling session, an unfamiliar spirit popped up and greeted me. In Spanish. Which I barely speak. 

“¡Hola, Emily!” 

Somewhat taken aback, I asked whom I had the pleasure of speaking with. “Soy Abuela,” she replied. (“I am Grandmother.”) She then switched to English, and went on to give me specific instructions on how to burn my candle for best magical results, and which herbs would work best with it. (Damiana and vetiver, on an alternating basis, she said.)

My psychic protection practices always include specifying whom I wish to communicate with before my channeling sessions, so when “Abuela” declared her presence, I was a little suspicious, but also, I admit, somewhat intrigued. If she was who she claimed to be, it seemed someone’s magically savvy grandmother had followed me home from the botánica, wanting to teach me her craft. I wasn’t so sure it was something I should be getting involved in, but appreciated her attention. I thanked her for visiting me, and said goodbye.

Abuela turned up again intermittently in my sessions over the next couple of weeks, and I remained somewhat wary of her. Salvador told me that she was harmless, but there were other incidents not directly associated with her - not all of them pleasant - that had me a bit on edge. My energy around this time was running low due to working very long hours on film shoots, and once in a while, I would notice astral level spirits that needed to be crossed over tagging along with me from my excursions out into the city, or otherwise subtly tugging at my spiritual sleeve. A woman from a small Finnish village I had never heard of before wanted me to warn her relative about a fire hazard, giving me her full name and place of residence. A gay man from a few states over wanted me to take a message to his husband. After sending them home, I would usually end up googling their obituaries, and try to find clues as to how to address their various requests. I attempted to make the most of it and gather at least some kind of mediumistic evidence. However, I knew in my heart that working outside of designated “office hours,” and being vulnerable to astral interference, was neither smart nor sustainable.

Because of these incidents, I began working long-distance with a shamanic healer and psychic named Joy. Joy, who specializes in working with other practitioners, was helping me tune up my psychic self-care and patch up my energy field to stop uninvited energies from seeping in.

At the end of my first phone session with Joy, I described some of the latest incidents of tag-alongs I had been experiencing. I mentioned my encounters with Abuela. Joy said that it was probably fine, but if she hung around much longer, it might be a good idea to ask her if she needed some help to move on.

Right after we ended our call, I decided to check my Instagram account to wind down from the session. As I opened up the app, through a slip of my hand, I unintentionally ended up on a feed that was not my own - which is something I rarely explore. And there, one of the very first posts that popped up was not a photograph, but one that only showed a screen capture of this text, in bold letters:

“¡SOY ABUELA!”

I do not recall hearing from her since.*

Perhaps the strangest incident I ever experienced of astral party-crashing happened in connection with a séance I attended a while ago, which I briefly outlined in my recent post on “getting the wires crossed.”

At the time, I had been shopping around for a new psychic development circle to join up with, and visited one I had been to once before, a few months earlier. I had already had some misgivings about the way the circle had been conducted before, but publicly announced séances are surprisingly few and far between in New York City, so I decided to give it a second shot.

As in most message circles, the protocol at this one consisted of the leader of the circle taking us through a series of meditations and psychic protection practices before moving on to passing messages to those present. However, my alarm bells soon went off, when after our initial meditations, during a quick break, the somewhat grandiosely inclined leader started to explain that there were demons attracted by the spiritual light generated by our circle, attempting to interfere. As he began to give a graphic description of the “demons” he had seen, I covered my ears and walked out of the room. (For the record: If you ever see anything menacing during a mediumistic meditation, unless you are specifically doing some kind of shadow work or banishing, the last thing you want to do is to feed it with attention and anchor its energy down through verbally describing it.) I did not care for the man’s foolish attempts to impress the novices at the event, nor was I intimidated by what he had said, but decided to let go of my reservations to get my own mediumistic practice time in.

When the break ended, I returned to the circle, and we moved into the section of the séance where messages would be delivered. As I meditated, I became aware of a middle-aged, stocky man, wearing leather boots and a cap. I heard the name “Simon.” He seemed to be a farmer. I placed him to have been alive around the 1970s. I did not recognize him, but he reminded me a bit of a character I had seen bizarrely stomp through a precognitive dream, the previous summer, flashing a set of very unlucky Tarot cards at me before declaring, á propos of them: “Nobody wins!” - the night before my fiancé had broken up with me.  Then, in my mind’s eye, I saw a slender woman with long, brown hair. Her name was Millicent. She was wearing something that looked like a prairie dress. Perhaps a hippie. They seemed to belong together. I jotted down all the details, anticipating the end of the circle, when I could speak up and find out whose dead relatives I had brought through. They certainly weren’t mine.

The leader of the circle worked his way around the room, delivering messages to each attendee in turn. Then, he turned to me and said: “When I tune into your energy, I am aware of two spirits. There is an older man, whose name is either John or Simon. I’m not quite sure. And a woman with an M name. She comes across as a hillbilly. I think she’s Irish.” I concurred that I had picked on those exact two people, but my ancestral roots went back exclusively to Eastern Europe and Finland, and I definitely did not have any relatives from Ireland named Simon or Millicent. Surely they were there for someone else! However, nobody in the room recognized the rustic duo any better than I could.

The séance eventually trailed off, and I noticed that the leader never formally closed the circle. This worried me somewhat, but I told myself it wasn’t a big deal. I also wondered what exactly was going on with Simon and Millicent. Why would two such random characters show up for me, when we didn’t seem to have any direct connection? Still, for all my concerns, I was happy that the session had resulted in the information I had received on them being corroborated so closely by the other medium.

That night, as I was falling asleep, something very unusual happened. Right as I was dozing off, in a hypnagogic state, I heard a male voice loudly say my name in my right ear, almost as if it was physically coming from outside of my head. (Usually, when I receive clairaudient  information, the impression is one of simply having a verbally expressed thought, and it feels like it is situated more near my left ear. Furthermore, it almost never happens unbidden.) “Ugh.” I thought. “Here we go. Someone followed me home.”

Life went on as normal for a while. Salvador confirmed to me the next day that the problem had been that the séance had not been closed properly, and I should avoid that particular circle in the future. I tried to shake off the incident.

About a week later, I met up for coffee with a dear colleague, and as we were catching up on what had been going on in our lives, I shared with him the strange story of Simon and Millicent. By then, I was laughing about it, and my friend was also amused.

Towards the end of our visit, we stopped by a large bookstore to look for some inspiration for a project we were working on together. My friend took the opportunity to visit the restroom, and as I was waiting for him, my eyes wandered to a book sitting on a stand in the children’s section: “Dear Mili,” read the title. It was a book illustrated by the illustrious Maurice Sendak, author of “Where The Wild Things Are.” I had already had several other, sweet little synchronicities happen that day, and so, my first thought was “Hey! My spirit guides must have wanted me to see this, since they always call me Dear Emily.” As I leafed through it, I discovered it was a somewhat creepy little story, discovered in the early 1980s in a letter written by Wilhelm Grimm to a young girl in 1816. The story made me somewhat melancholy, but the pictures were beautiful. I texted a picture of the cover of the book to a friend of mine who not only had been one of my first mediumistic clients, and was quite familiar with the lingo my guides use, but had also been at the séance with me where Simon and Millicent had made an appearance. “Look what Natalie sent me!” I captioned my photo.

Then, I opened the book up to its dedication page, and my jaw dropped open.

“For my sister, Natalie.” - M.S.

M.S.  - Millicent and Simon?

Barely believing my eyes, I texted my friend a second photo of the page.

A moment later, she replied:

“Wait. Dear Mili - MILLICENT?!”

And that, as they say, was that.

These two incidents of astral party-crashing illustrate well some of elements that can contribute to being vulnerable to psychic interference. They can be summed up fairly simply:

Attempting mediumship when energetically run down either through physical tiredness, negative emotions, poor diet, illness, or while under the effects (or after-effects!) of mind-altering substances such as alcohol or drugs. (Yes, this includes cannabis for most people. CBD, however, is usually fine, as it isn’t psychoactive.)

Not practicing proper psychic self-care through meditation, energy-clearing, and psychic protection. This includes not only your personal energy, but your personal living space, as well.

Dabbling in practices that are not aligned with your spiritual integrity.

Spending time in places with negative energy, that attract low-vibration entities. These can be spaces associated with addiction, abuse, or violence. This doesn’t mean mediums need to avoid such spaces altogether, of course, but energetic clearing is doubly important after being exposed to that kind of energy.

Focusing on images, thoughts, or stories that invoke fear or unease. Don’t watch horror movies before doing a mediumistic session! At least give yourself a few days to detox.

Asking for trouble by intentionally invoking fear-based entities. (Duh.) Just don’t. It’s not worth it.

Being afraid of the spirit world, and of one’s own mediumistic tendencies.

Not properly opening and closing your mediumistic sessions.

On the other hand, my guides have a slightly different take on the matter. From their perspective, every experience is an opportunity to learn something new. So, here are some points that my guides conveyed through clairaudient dictation around the time that Abuela was visiting me. (Parts of this were cited in an early post on this blog about empathic vulnerability.)

Question: “Why are uninvited energies interfering with my mediumistic sessions? Am I not strong enough to keep them out?”

“Your guides know when an energy can be helpful even if you yourself have not set up the meeting. Even if you are being told something you think you do not want to hear, the energy itself may have something useful to tell you. Have no fear. You are in good hands. Wear an amulet if you think it will make you feel more safe, but this is not necessary or helpful if you do not trust your guides to help you. Call your guides to help you raise and strengthen your energies.  Allowing the information that comes through to reach you as just that, information, and not as an energetic intrusion, will give you the best access to knowledge of all stripes.

Allow your guides to act as informed gatekeepers and let in the spirits covered in your opening prayer. [Being very adamant about proactive,] careful vetting places an undue burden of self-protection on the practitioner. If you feel unsafe or drained, plan ahead and look to your sources of strength to hold you in a higher vibration. Ask the lower energies to step away. You are safe […] Do not succumb to the influence of fear. You are OK. Pay attention to any disturbances in the atmosphere of your home, Work to become a better arbiter of your own boundaries. Nobody can enter your awareness [unbidden] if you have placed high enough barriers on your consciousness.”

All of this can be summed up into the principle that the stronger your connection is with your personal team of guides, and the better care you take care of yourself as well as your environment, the less vulnerable you will be to interference. Lately, I almost never experience these kinds of incidents anymore, and when they are about to happen, Salvador and Natalie will quickly warn me and nip them in the bud. The bottom line is, these are not things to be feared. At the limit, I would use this information to encourage my readers to treat themselves with love, self-respect and kindness, stay true to themselves, and build a strong relationship with own protectors.

Have you ever experienced an astral party-crasher? How did they make themselves known?  How did you deal with it? How would you deal with it if it happened again? Let me know!

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

* In case you are wondering if this was a result of an algorithm being triggered by my phone “spying” on my conversation with Joy, I can only say that it wasn’t the first time that Spirit had used social media for synchronicities. The first time my guides gave me a timeline for an event using astrological timing, citing only the symbols for Venus and Scorpio, I had no idea what it meant - until I opened up Instagram after the session. The very first post on my feed was captioned with a long piece on the astrological implications of Venus shortly moving into Scorpio. There was no technological record of my channeling session to feed into any algorithm at that time. I also had never had any interest in astrology until that moment.

[boymeetsweevil]

bts as boyfriends

a/n: tbh this was basically a list of things i just had swirling around in my head and its basically a continuation of my moments w/ bts and sleepovers w/ bts

Kim Seokjin

Squishes your cheeks together in his big ol’ hands because he can and because he thinks you look cute that way

Is highkey a fan of having matching stuff, but not full-blown couple outfits

thats where he draws the line >:|

Created a separate instagram account just to document the meals you guys have together on your date nights

Dumb (but cute) snapchats of him doing that fast yelling thing he does but he just tells you how much he misses you rly aggressively

also spams you with selfies and videos from other members’ accounts

Pets names hmmm

prefers to call you Doll 

yeobo seems too serious (its what his parents call each other)

Sweetie/Honey makes him feel like an old woman

On your one year anniversary he gave you a 5000 dollar watch but presented it in a box wrapped in printer paper that had his face printed all over it that he made in Microsoft word with some of the editing crew’s help

all of his gifts get wrapped this way 

Jin Is scary serious when you take a selfie together

“Babe, this isn’t the angle--quick lets move over here so we can still catch the light” ***proceeds to sprint ahead of you to some random spot where the lighting is optimal and hurry u over like “ >:( cmon the sun is setting” ***

Is not your typical PDA type, will do weird things just to embarrass you

puts his hand in your back pocket while you’re in the starbucks line and smiles when you give him incredulous side eye

rests his phone on your head to mock you for being shorter than him

Links arms with you like old lady gal pals while you’re walking because he knows you HATE IT

fake moans when you swat his arm for being weird and embarrassing

you shushing him and ending up just glaring because he has no shame and there’s an old man glaring at u on the subway

You can bet he tests out recipes on you!

some of ur most romantic nights have been when you come over just casually but the whole house smells like food he’s been tweaking

you sit at a stool by the kitchen island and he comes by with like 8 different sauces you need to try and noodles to test for texture

He is the type of boyfriend that thinks its funny to gross you out

he eats food the fell on the floor just to piss you off

will kiss u while he’s chewing gum :(

touches u with his bare feet  :((((((

Min Yoongi

Is less bold but NEVER lacking with his affection

Likes to take walks in any weather

E.g. Loves when its rainy because then you have to huddle close because he INSIsts on sharing an umbrella

E.g. Will even walk in the winter/end of fall because he likes to share mittens and scarves - this is the closest thing to cheesy you will ever get with him

Isn’t the type to send selfies

if he does, its just of his shoes of the day with an ironic caption like “rate my fit and i’ll follow back” 

Readily accepts all of your selfies, though

Upgraded his phone 2x just so he could have the extra storage to save all your photos

a lot of them are blackmail worthy, which is the reason for saving them half the time

Yoongi Is a champ when you get drunk

will hold your hair back

lets you spit your gum out into his bare fucking hand before u hurl and will not flinch 

rejects all of your lewd propositions, but may record you and play back your whiny drunk voice the next morning to make you reconsider taking shots next time (PS u dont ever reconsider)

he likes home dates too, obvi

usually you schedule naps at his place because everything about his bedroom is better than yours

mattress is huge and the perfect firmness

sheets are higher thread-count 

can sleep with his hand up your shirt all he wants because he doesn’t have any roommates at his own place

pillows are always cool to the touch BUT

he might schedule dates at your place if he’s been away and just wants to bury himself in your smell. Speaking of...

...Yoongo is a smeller

he is always smelling you, loves how you smell

He smells your hair while zoning out waiting for his americano to come out when ur at a cafe

He’ll wrap himself around you from behind and sniff your neck idly while he plays candy crush on your belly while u try to cook dinner

Nicknames vary on his mood/your behavior

brat - for when you’re being a brat duh

kid - default, all purpose and a little mocking

your last name when he’s feeling rowdy

your first name when he’s emotional

Jung Hoseok

Hobi always runs full force at u when he sees you even if you’ve been in each other’s faces all week

Whenever he’s bored and you’re nearby he’ll moonwalk around you

You love to watch him practice but you also hate it because if you make eye contact he’ll come over and try to pull you in to teach you

He’s tried to teach you to dance dozens of times and you never get any of his choreo

usually it ends in him maneuvering you into a slow 2 step

which then always becomes a tiny makeout session

but honestly so many other random activities you do together turn into makeout sessions because tbh hob is a bit of a greaseball

this means that half the time you’re ignoring him pawing at u and making cheesy jokes during inopportune times 

the other half of the time ur dragging him by the collar and looking for an empty room to take him into because u dig him and his cheesy horndog antics

He’s also lowkey highkey a dudebro

crowds you because he wants to chest bump and ur like “-.- again?”

kept trying to get your secret couple greeting to be that little surfer hand thingie he does with tae sometimes and u said no because neither of u are 8 anymore

likes spontaneous dates, so usually you’ll text him wyd and if he’s free he’ll just answer ‘coming to get u now’ and then you sigh and slip on your shoes and wonder when you’ll be able to have a date where its not 10:30 at night and you’re not wearing sweats and ur not going out just to go eat some chicken by the Han

You utilize all your privileges that you have dating him to visit Mickey

any time there is a break in the guys’ scheduling you say you want to visit mickey

He lowkey hates those days because you just lie on the floor next to mickey and eat the snacks his mom puts out and COMPLETELY ignore him

u and his sister take turns petting mickey and telling embarrassing stories about hob while he sulks in the corner

he gets revenge by taking 20 pics of ur back and doodling horns on ur head and spamming u with them

Probably would call you a bunch of weird things as a pet name

ducky, peaches, cutie, hotpot, captain etc.

sometimes calls you sweet thang but only when its after dark and he’s trying to make moves

Hobi is the type to always want idle touch but its not exclusively sexy u kno?

if you’re watching tv together he’ll have an arm slung over you

if you’re out to dinner, he gravitates towards booths so he can press his shoulder against yours

if you’re chilling in bed you HAVE to be rubbing his arm or else he’ll give you the most ridiculous pout [its so cute tho :’C ]

Thinks you’re the funniest person alive, is always laughing at stuff you said whether if was supposed to be a joke or not

which means he does that deep hiccuping giggle all the time and you just :’))))))

He’s so patient and let’s you test out all your new skin care products on him because he likes having your hands on his face and the way you talk softly half to him, half to yourself while you talk about what you’re doing

maybe its ASMR lmao

Kim Namjoon

The first thought you had after you started dating was that you could touch his dimples any time you wanted

so naturally you do

he has long since gotten used to you just touching them while he’s driving, reading, listening to music, just existing

the first time you did it he was just talking to you about something and when he felt your finger nudge his dimple 

Joon: “I feel like if we visited in the spring we could go frog catching and maybe then we could-----*you jam your finger into his dimple*

You: and? what were you saying?

Joon: uhhhh I forgot :0

a fan of couple outfits but not in the same sense Jin. its more like he likes to plan your outfits

he gets really excited when he thinks of something you would look good in and always gets really bashful right before he shows it to you because he wants you to like it

he has great taste and is very observant of u and ur style so there has never been a time where he has planned an outfit for u and u looked less than amazing

same for photos, he takes really good artsy photos of you all the time

thats what 80% of dates with him are

walking through the city at night so he can take a picture of you with the city scape behind you

or going to those instagram-able cafes in the city during their slow hours so he can pictures of your coffees and you sitting next to a pastel neon sign that says like Love Hurts or something edgy like that

taking photos like that one girl and her bf who travel alot on ig, u know the one

but u never actually manage to get a good shot like that because ur always like ‘joon my arm hurts why dont u be the girl’

He’s in general big on googling popular activities and getaways and making a big deal of documenting it 

as a result: he’s been working on a scrapbook and he thinks you don’t know but you and all 6 other members and even Bang PD know about the scrapbook

he gives it to you on your anniversary and even though youre expecting it, you cry

he takes photos of that too and it goes in the one for next yr lol

He calls you baby of course

but not in an exaggerated/pronounced way

it comes out super naturally and he says it more than he says your actual name

u better Get used to just turning around and catching him giving you that one soft smile he does with his whole face 

“is there something on my face?” 

“no, just enjoying the view <3”

Always wants to make your plate when u visit his home, and always ALWAYS gives you too much food

going there and realizing that maybe its a family thing as you watch his mom heftily scoop vegetables onto his dad’s plate while his dad looks on in worry about where he’s going to fit it

Using Joon’s lap as a pillow!!!

he can read and stroke your head while you snooze

him humming off key because he thinks it helps you sleep

Park Jimin

Before you started dating, Jimin seemed like the guy that everyone loves because he’s effortlessly cool and charming

And he is even after you start dating BUT

He is also a little praise monster and lives for your compliments

Jimin takes advantage of the fact that you are obviously enamored with him and will do things to fluster you on purpose

runs his hands through his hair because he knows you can’t look away

gets unnecessarily close to tell you things because he knows you get goosebumps when he whispers in your ear

plays chicken with you all the time

slow looks at u until u squirm

HE’s a menace

but also reminds you of a bumblebee

Jimin loves to go to see the latest comedy movies and those are always fun

Not because the movies are actually that funny (lowkey he has really bad taste in comedy movies), but because he will LOSE IT in the middle of the theatre and end up slumped over the armrest just laughing his head off

Cue the high squeaky laugh where he can’t even see the movie screen anymore because his eyes are squeezed shut :3

After the movie he always tries to retell funny scenes like

“And then *laughs* did you see the part where the guy *laughs* *laughs more* and then he *dolphin noises*

“Yeah, Minnie it was funny”

He always wants you to come to the gym with him because he gets an unnecessary amount of motivation from those gym couple accounts on instagram

You go in your big t-shirt and shorts and he goes in a similar outfit 

It always ends up with u watching him because again he looks good when he lifts weights and does squats

he likes the attention too 

Calls u cutie

but thinks its funny to sometimes address u as his favorite anime villian’s name ur always like hmm time to go now

He’s a feeder kinda like joon

YOu can’t ever eat anything by yourself, he always wants to cut things for you, spoon feed you 

he’s very caring

This means he also is super attentive when ur sick and will bring u soup and play cards in bed and always refresh ur water and bother u about taking medicine

Kim Taehyung

Everything with Taehyung is beautiful and u feel beautiful with him which is so amazing and crazy at the same time

He is a big cheerleader for u he loves everything u do

You made a badly folded origami and he shouted cute and was so genuine and got it laminated somehow and keeps it as a keychain accessory

He’s always showing you things

like some of his favorite classical art pieces that he’s saved pictures of on his phone

sometimes he tells you about how he can’t wait to plan the perfect trip to europe with u so u can visit some of his favorite pieces face to face

Always showing u his new (and old) favorite songs and movies

some of ur dates are going to see old films or foreign films at this one really hip theatre in the city

he bought a gramophone a little while back before u started dating and he loves to play records for you and lie with you on the floor and show u  the best parts of the song with his hands in the air

He has a fancy camera too that he uses to document “special moments”

when u asked him how come he always uses it to take picture of u then he was like everything with u is special and u had to tackle him and cover his whole face in kisses because he cant just say things like that without facing the consequences

He keeps a journal where he doodles in the margins and writes songs and poems that only some people have seen like yoongi or jimin

he tried to draw you once and it came out looking a little strange but he’s still learning and u love him for it

He also gets soo sooo excited when you show him your favorite things

u dont do it as much because they dont seem as cultured or pretty but u show him a movie from ur childhood that u still watch once or twice a year and his eyes were huge the whole time and he was so glad to watch it with you

Calls u Jagi because he likes what it means and its truly accurate

U guys are just on the same wavelength and he really appreciates that u dont find him weird or quirky or overly pretentious even

u finish each others sentences and can predict moods pretty well its a little scary for the guys to watch u talk to each other in half sentences and know what the other means

When u first met, it was through Joon because he thought u guys would click and he was super nervous and worried because a lot of ppl don’t really GET him

Maybe at ur blind date a song came on in the restuarant u were in and it was a song he really liked

and then u were really shyly like “it feels like when you find a really special spot in the woods that nobody knows about” and hes like

“yeah, it really does” and then goes home and writes ur name 20 times in his notebook before getting the courage to call u about a 2nd date

Jeon Jungkook

You already know what it is with this kid: MEME CENTRAL

seriously ur texts are like 80% reaction pictures you downloaded off the internet that just get cycled over and over again because they’ve started to replace certain common phrases and emotions

Yoongi tried to jack JKs phone once and read the messages out loud to the members to try and embarrass him and he actually couldn’t read the last 24 hours of messages because it was literally all pictures/emojis

JK thinks ur laugh is the best sound he’s ever heard and is always trying to bring it out

he makes so many weird faces

those also become memes in the chat

he does so many exaggerated moves from choreo just to get u to crack up

does random weird things with his voice at inappropriate times to get u to choke

Like Jimin he is a praise monster

he wants u to think he’s impressive because he thinks ur very accomplished and cool and he’s still very much the young shy boy he was before joining the band.

Does flips because he knows u love it and won’t leave u alone until u confirm that u are in fact watching

JK: “Hey, hey, watch this LOOK are u looking?”

YOU: “Yes oh my god what?”

JK:*Does a backflip*

YOU:.........DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDEEE WTF ITS LIT IN HERE

JK: *internally* i can die now

Get ready for some next level cuteness OMG

the little nose scrunch will become the most frequent thing

u will be ruffling his hair and it’ll tickle so he’ll scrunch his nose and u’ll just explode its amazing

The BABY SMILE every time its been a while since you’ve seen each other

You’ll practically tackle him and he loves it and spins u around a little too fast

Those big sparkly eyes that he has?????

prepare for those when its his night to cook but he doesn’t feel like it and says he wants to order pizza for the billionth time

You can’t say no to him ever

gaming is not your thing but he will rope you into a 3 hour Fortnight tutorial because u love him

Not really big on pet names, or like any names for that matter

but he will use your actual name for when he wants ur undivided attention

Is scared that you think he’s immature so sometimes he’ll try to go a day without making a joke and then its ur job to try your hardest to crack him up

this is good because ultimately u also love his high pitched loud laugh 

[quillarchive]

Train Boys: Which Member of Your OTP

Hey there!

@linane-art and I did a full set of one of those “Which Member of Your OTP” memes for the boys we lovingly call the Train Boys from the 30 Kisses.  It was loads of fun to do together <3

Which Member of Your OTP

Spends so much time in the bathroom, they make themselves late Neither of them is particularly vain, but Kili is more likely to fuss around with which one of his nerdy t-shirts goes best with his pants and shirt. He strongly believes that ‘dress code’ is more of a guideline than an actual rule and since he’s really good at what he does, he gets away with murder. Fili will pick any tee (including some of Kili’s), but loses time on beard-grooming. He also very much appreciates it if Kili helps him with his hair, because it takes him twice as long on his own.

Picks the movie when they Netflix and Chill There is a rotating plan for this, because hey, no one gets to choose ALL the time.  They do tend to have similar taste in films, so it’s not a great drama.  Besides, if one isn’t interested, that is an excellent time to nap with your head in the other’s lap, getting petted.

Makes the coffee in the morning

They love each other. They will both make the other coffee, if they’re the first ones up. Since Kili is the one more likely to stay up late not-working/playing/on social media, Fili probably has a higher chance of coffee-making duties (though not by choice).

Surprises the other with breakfast in bed Fili makes simple breakfasts, but he loves a sleepy Kili smiling at him while a tray of toast, eggs, sausage, and grilled tomatoes are placed in front of him.  <3  Kili with his hair a mess, being happy, wanting cuddles is a fave Kili of his.

Plans date night

Fili will die before he admits it, but he’s a huge romantic at heart. He likes grand romantic gestures, but those are usually in line with who he is, so it’s unlikely to be a fancy dinner at a restaurant and much more likely a home-cooked meal on the balcony which he’d decorated with candles and fairy lights. Or a stunning view deep in the mountains and off the beaten track, which he shows Kili. Things that would be *special* uniquely to them.

Can’t stand the other’s siblings N/A they are both only children, unless you count Fili’s sister-who-is-a-dog and everyone loves her

Acts like a baby when they’re sick

Kili is 10x more dramatic when sick than Fili. Fili is 10x more grumpy when sick than Kili. Fili is *fine*. He’s taken his meds. He can go to -. Okay, he’ll sit here and grumpily shoot zombies from the sofa, having picked one of Kili’s unfinished games (Screwing his perfect scores). Sick Kili will move in onto the sofa without complaint, and then probably try to work from it. But he will also probably fall asleep there within minutes, so Fili has learned to leave him to it. Once woken, he will need meds, food, copious cuddles (in that order). Repeat that for a few days and Kili is as good as new.  

Spends WAY too much time in the snack aisle while grocery shopping Fili dedicates his time in the aisle to reading the nutritional info on Each Item, trying to make Adult Decisions, while Kili is wiggling and saying, “JUST GET THE GOOD STUFF” and grabs peanut butter cups in three variations to toss on top of all the healthy stuff in their basket.  Fili has diet rules he at least TRIES to obey.  Kili has fun food in moderation don’t overthink it rules.

Takes in the stray cat

Kili is more likely to, but I bet in the end it would be Fili, actually, randomly rocking up with an injured animal. Kili of course goes into a full mamma-bear mode over this. However, Fili is also the more responsible one, so it’s likely that having nursed the cat back to health, he’d be the one to find a new home for it, since they move a lot between the city and the mountains.

Busts out the dance moves when drunk In Kili’s soul, he fancies himself an 80s dance funk breakdancing master, which thankfully comes out only when he is drunk.  Also hugely amusing and related: drunk Twister with Kili.

Drives 600 miles to see the other

Either. Technically Fili travels to the city for work in the summer, thus travelling to his Kili. However, during the winter, as much as possible, Kili talks his bosses into being allowed to do his hours remotely, so he can come up into the mountains with his Fili and stay there for weeks and months. This does unfortunately have a drawback: if there’s an emergency at the office, Kili sometimes gets recalled, and that’s how he ends up doing 600 miles inside 12 hours there and back. Such Kili is a Kili on a mission - he has been known to talk someone through a complex coding query over the phone on the train and make it back inside 4 hrs, without getting anywhere near the city.

Secretly loves nose/forehead kisses Kili does not REMOTELY secretly love giving nosie kisses to Fili, who has the best and most kissable nosie of all time.  And every time he kisses it, the nosie wrinkles, and reaches a state of complete perfection.  

Keeps a diary/blog

Kili has a games reviews blog and is a moderator on several coding-related forums. Some of Fili’s favourite pastimes involve distracting Kili from his duties and getting off together instead (though he doesn’t really mind Kili’s ‘nerdy’ hobbies).

Always waits for the other to fall asleep first Kili’s job is such that he often makes his own hours, which means that he lacks a proper sleep schedule and spends way too much time up in the middle of the night coordinating raids of World of Warcraft.  Fili, on the other hand, has a normal work schedule in the summer and then endless work days in the winter, meaning sleeping at night is a lovely luxury.  So Kili naturally gets to watch Fili go into sleep mode.  <3

Leaves the toilet seat up/the light on

Kili probably more than Fili, since he’s been living on his own for a while before he met the love of his life. By contrast, Fili grew up in a lodge, where a) electricity bills matter and b) you never know just where the guests might wander into.

Is too clumsy for their own good Neither of them is particularly clumsy, though Kili on top of skis (at first at least, until Fili teaches him) is an amusing sight. Though once he’s okay skiing on his own, Fili does worry about him: he’s one of those people who forever randomly lifts a leg when he’s not supposed to or doesn’t look where he’s going, but somehow usually ends up perfectly okay, with only an occasional loss of dignity.

Always gets sunburn while the other gets tan

Poor Fili is just naturally paler. Luckily, he’s also very sun-aware and knows his SPFs well. However, once he’s through the initial lobster phase, he is capable of tanning just fine, especially if he’s spending lots of time outdoors, being active. Kili just… 10 minutes and not only is he nice and brown, he’s also extra hot because it. Fili secretly hates him a little for it.

Gets cranky when they’re tired Fili.  Fili is so cranky when tired.  The dimples disappear, the nose unscrunchies, the smile turns down.  It is a very sad way for a Fili to be.  Also, he loses his cuddle mojo.  Kili tries to prevent this as much as possible.

Makes the other late for work because 5 minutes of cuddles is NEEDED

Kili is the shameless cuddler, Fili *has patients to see*!! Still, it’s hard to resist Kili’s logic, especially when it’s reinforced by those huge, sleepy eyes and general adorable messiness of his person. Kili will also have Reasons, Important Reasons, such as ‘he didn’t get sufficient cuddles before’ and won’t get any more for *hours* yet, by which point he might *die* out of lack of affection’.

Gets terrible road rage Kili, as a city boy, has done relatively little driving, so when a car is going to be toodling around it’s likely to be Fili behind the wheel.  While Fili doesn’t suffer from road rage, per se, he DOES take part in “firm road lecture,” meaning he firmly explains his displeasure with the driving of others.  This is stated firmly, clearly, and occasionally with creative metaphors to make his point.  Often, Kili’s safety is brought into this lecture, which is rather sweet.

Says “lol” at the end of every text

Kili. It drives Fili a little bit up the wall.

Texts with emojis Kili knows how to text with “proper” textspeak and emojis, as he is a computer and tech nerd and in the industry.  Fili uses full sentences with proper punctuation, but he is fond of the occasional use of the kiss while winking emoji.  Other than that, Fili’s texts are roughly equivalent to a novel in progress.

Talks dirty…

Kili tries harder, Fili is better at it. But ultimately if someone bursts into giggles while some hands are in some pants, that is no great disaster. They have learned to use it to their advantage and go with the flow.

Is more self-conscious

Hmmmm. Neither of them is overly self-conscious, but both are capable of having little moments of it. It feels like they have always been close and in love, so they don’t know how to be awkward around each other. Outside of home, Kili can be a bit self-conscious when meeting new people, Fili’s parents for example, as he’s been told he can come across rather strongly. Fili is sometimes self-conscious in another way, trying to carefully balance the Present and the Past, so he doesn’t lose who he is.

Picks all of the good stuff out of the Chex Mix

Kili is of the philosophy that ALL the stuff in the Chex Mix is the good stuff, especially when using his family’s established recipe, which involves Worcestershire sauce, Chex, roasted pecans, etc.  Fili, however, believes that roasted pecans are a food of the gods, and will selfishly pick them all out before the stuff even has a chance to cool properly.  Tsk.  To this end, Kili often just makes a tray of roasted pecans with the same mix just for Fili.

Starts the snowball fight

Fili, the little shit. And he’s had years of practice in advance, so while Kili will roar and spring into defence and retaliation, ultimately it’s likely to end up with a very soggy and cold Kili, who will complain about it, loudly, and will only be appeased once presented with a hot chocolate and some suitably contrite kisses.

Is actually scared of deep water

Neither of them is scared, but having grown up in the city, Kili is the weaker swimmer.

Takes UNO wayyy too seriously LISTEN UNO IS A SERIOUS COMPETITION OF BRAINS AND LUCK AND KILI WILL TAKE YOU DOWN, DUDE!  He is NOT playing this is not a GAME!  THIS IS LIFE.  

Steals the umbrella so the other gets SOAKED

Neither. Why steal an umbrella, when you can share one, huddle nice and close and wrap an arm or two around your loved one? Strolling under a single brolli is indisputably a romantic activity, which should be cultivated as much as possible.

Writes the other’s name in the sand at the beach Kili.  And he does this in his best calligraphy, which Fili didn’t even know was a THING until that very moment.

Apologizes first

Kili. *Can’t stand* the cross of hurt looks. His anger is more explosive (to Fili’s more cool and calculated anger), but it also burns itself out faster. He will be incredibly miserable when apologizing, he just wants the love back and cuddles. That’s the general trend, but there are also times when Fili is the one to reach out first, especially if Kili believes himself to be in the right and digs his heels in, because that could go on for *hours*.

Gives the other “the look” when they crossed the line

Kili doesn’t necessary believe in a line, though his naturally good hearted personality keeps him from wanting to hurt anyone. Fili, having working with customers from birth, DOES know about the line, and does have a Look when it’s necessary to calm Kili down - but generally, he trusts Kili to police himself.

Remembers that thing that happened 2 years, 7 months, and 24 days ago and WILL hold it against you

Either. They were brothers, it’s been their job. Though Fili is more likely to, since Kili’s sunny personality finds it easier to let go. (Not that Fili’s personality isn’t sunny, but he’s more contemplative).

Tries to teach the other sports Fili.  Fili loves winter sports, and he tries to teach Kili everything!  Kili, however, loves being warm, and isn’t as naturally graceful, poor lamb.  He does get good at snowboarding.  Fili spent some time in his teens as a competitive cross country skier.

Would make the best, most invested parent ever

Kili would be the doting parent, Fili would be the parent to ensure that their offspring survived beyond like… infancy. They’d make great dads all in all.

Could probably nap for 7 days straight

Most people would immediately answer Kili, in large part because of his job making his own hours, but Fili works hard in the winter at the lodge, teaching lessons, doing guided trips, hiking groups, etc, etc.  When the season ends, he will put aside an entire week for sleep and recovery.

Rage quits during video games

Ahahahaha, Kili. Lots of swearing from the sofa (he’s learned not to throw his controls around, those things are EXPENSIVE!) and then he’ll go away and proper, full-on sulk. See if he’ll pick that stupid game ever again. Fili, love me. Fili, what are you up to? Fiiiiiiiliiiii~ But Kili will also totally pick it up again and persevere EVEN IF IT KILLS HIM!!! Fili, on the other hand, just quits. He just gets bored and goes to find his Kili to get him through the bit that’s giving him trouble. Occasionally this turns into a proper project too, with Kili tutoring him on his gaming techniques. Funfact: Fili is also one of those people who tilt this way or that with his controller, as if it could make the character tilt or move as well. Kili finds it endlessly endearing.

Drives 20 minutes for those AMAZING chocolate chip cookies at that truck stop

Kili knows all the best places in the city to get confections, and he WILL take a walk or multiple buses as necessary.  He can drive but rarely does due to living in a city with excellent public transport links.

Holds the biggest grudges

Neither holds grudges, but see point 33. Kili *can* sometimes hold sort of grudges against inanimate objects, in the sense that he won’t trust them ever again, for example he once had a hair dryer almost catch fire in his hands and he’s never touched one since (his ends are in excellent shape!).

Writes the other a To-Do list

Kili believes that Fili knows how to Do Everything, and to that end will make Fili a lovely list instead of actually doing it himself.  :D  This is especially true when it comes to fixing things or building something.  Could Kili do it himself?  Sure.  But Fili can do it better and faster while Kili offers emotional support and cheerleading!

Is the big spoon when cuddling

Whoever failed to secure the little spoon position first. It’s an ongoing thing. But mostly, if it involves the love of their life, held close, among soft and comfortable things, which may or may not lead to something more (or sleep, because we are grown ups and we work too much), then it’s an excellent thing all round. :)

[darlingnisi]

Celebration Day 2 : VIP Edition

Part 1 Here!

Concert Screening

Part 2 of Show 2 Piano and a Microphone Gala (Shout out to that one time when he looked directly into the camera as he sang something and caused me to slide down in my chair a bit...Professor geeez!)

Iconography Panel Steve Parke Nancy Bundt Terry Gydesen 

Nancy Bundt

She did the above photo

Was once offered a job to be art director for Jimmy Hendrix but turned it down because she was in college

First time shooting P was the 1984 birthday concert

There was a FABULOUS picture of Prince in a wide brimmed hat, shirtless, wearing a Pfunk flag around his neck. One arm had a net stocking and the other ripped nylon stocking. This look but a different view of just him with his arms up

Also shout out to the shirtless one that just showed the muscles in his back. Not my era visually, but I can appreciate art.

Terry Gydesen

Terry Gydsen did the pictures in the Sacrifice of Victor Book

Wasn’t a Prince fan before she worked for him

He won her over when he sat at a piano and played a classical sounding piece

Worked as Jesse Jackson’s photographer during his Presidential campaign in 1988

Got the traditional “can you come out and do a shoot tonight” call...she did not live in Minneapolis

Spent a month on the Act II tour in Europe

Was requested to take a picture of him in the mirror. She talked to herself while doing this and Prince thought it was funny

This was to be the original cover of the Sacrifice of Victor book 

Steve Parke

This was shot in the NPG Music club 

P made people delete pics of him at first when working on digitial, next day would say “can we get that one back?”

Changed his editing to just select ones he liked rather than one he didn’t like.

He asked Steve if he wanted to get in the water for these pics....Steve declined

Their general cadence was “meet down stairs, Prince is bored let’s get some shots.”

On the arboretum pics, they were taking some and heard some rustling in a nearby bush. Prince was ready to take off but Steve said “that guy doesn’t even know who you are! He’s here for the arboretum!”

Below is artwork before it was edited to be art for graffiti bridge. Prince saw and liked it, asked it to be edited to include characters from the movie. The GB version has Ingrid and Morris added, and the girl at the bottom’s face was edited to be Jill Jones. He had to sand out those areas and repaint them.

Q : How did you maintain your personal life while working with P?

Nancy - Took her husband with her on tour for 5 months. He was her assistant (ie held her legs while standing on chairs and other such things.) Back then they had time to be tourists in the cities they were in. Was not allowed to shoot aftershows.

Terry - There wasn’t a personal life. Mostly always on call for P. Was allowed to shoot aftershows. Told story of being by the stage taking pictures and P leaned over to tell her something she couldn’t hear. Eventually understood he was telling her to move around so she did...and got amazing pictures by doing things like climbing on railroad cars.

Steve - Was around all times of the day. Hans (a sound engineer) and him would try to leave and got called back...once they left and saw him driving toward Paisley in his Yellow BMW. Tried to lay low in their car to not be seen. Steve would get phone calls in the middle of the night while he was at home in Baltimore that were to the effect of “So that one line in the credits of that album, can we take this name out and put someone else in?” Generally would be woken out of a deep sleep and would have to call someone back to ask what he wanted again

After the panel was over, we took pictures with Wally.

Dance Panel

Maya Mclean 2005+ Nandy Mclean 2005+ Tomisina Tate (Geneva) 2000-2003

The whole panel was Q&A

Q : Did you have a part in choreography? Tomasina : He asked if she did her own choreography. She generally worked with choreographers and did not come up with her own. He told her “you’ll get broke off...” (meaning he’d pay her more). She learned how to do choreography, lol. 

Maya and Nandy : Fatima did some of their early stuff, but they took over from there. They’d show Prince their routines, and he’d make changes as needed after.

Q : What have you done since working with Prince Nandy : Film/TV behind the scenes. Executive produced Breakfast Can Wait with Maya. Did Photography she took this picture among others :

Worked on TV shows (Westworld), working on an Etta James movie (script in progress), is a life coach. 

Tomisina : Danced for others. Noted that he really brought her out of her shell. She didn’t sing much and he had her sing background on you got the look one day unexpectedly. Was in different singing groups later and danced for J Lo. Had a baby with her husband (Larenz Tate). Often baked treats for him and later his fellow cast members. Now runs an online bakery.

Maya : Released an album (with Nandy) also in film/tv (production assistant, second AD), also a life coach

Q : How did you meet Prince? Maya/Nandy : Fatima audition. THEIR FIRST PROJECT FOR HIM WAS FILMING A VIDEO FOR INCENSE AND CANDLES!!!! ALERT ESTATE ALERT!!! TROT THAT OUT IMMEDIATELY!!!!

Tomisina : Recieved a phone call to audition for Celebration in 2000. She was the only one there to audition when she arrived. Spent several days just hanging out, playing basketball, etc. She kept asking when she’d audition, he’d say “soon”. One day an hour before one of his Friday parties he said “U ready?” she had to dance for a jam session. Was nervous because she usually needs time to know what songs the schedule, etc. Wasn’t chosen to do the Celebration run but she did the Hitnrun tour.

Q : What did you take away from your time with Prince that you apply to your life?

Maya : Got a 2AM call from P “Hi. Whatever you say is true”. His voice sounded different so she didn’t recognize it. It sounded higher to her and he was out of breath. He said “I’ve been dancing in my mirror.” The message though was that whatever you say manifests so be careful with the words and energy you put out.

Nandy : When they were about to hit the stage for a show he said “I want you to be present”. Message there that thinking too far ahead or thinking about the past causes anxiety that makes you miss out on what you’re experiencing in the moment.

Tomisina : It was a turning point in his life so he was learning a lot. When leaning, he wanted to teach. She was easy going and didn’t like to be told what to do and was like “yeah yeah I get it” or “oh God I can’t take it anymore” Once she got older, a lot of what he’d said started to click. Also nobody called him Prince, just “dude” “dude is coming” “dude is back”. Overall though, she learned that there are NO excuses..and he brings something out of you that you didn’t know you had. (She idolized Cat and Mayte and wondered why he chose her.) He also taught her how to hear and appreciate music differently. (She teared up during this).

Q: Superbowl halftime show...which twin was it? Maya.

Q : What was his touch like?

Maya : She never had a sexual attraction to him except one time when they were in the NPG music club room and he was covering Elvis’s Teddy Bear on piano.

Tomisina : “Ya’ll assume a lot.” She’d just met her future husband when she started working with Prince and was totally infatuated with him. P and Tomisina had a brother/sister relationship and she seemed annoyed about this question. “ I was there for DANCE” eyeroll

They all commented that he had beautiful hands though.

Q :  What is the second most joyful memory you have of Prince?

Nandy : His laugh “HAAAAAAAAA” Tomisina : Practical Jokes Maya : “If you and your sisters were dogs, you’d be scottish terriers. If I was a dog, what would I be? AND DON’T SAY CHIHUAHUA!”

Prince on the Big Screen

So have seen this concept a few times now and the first few times were jarring to be honest. (Slightly traumatic the first time October 2016, tbh) but this was really REALLY well done!  You know how you’re at a concert but you can’t see well so you look at the screen instead sometimes? It was like that so it was very strange to look at the stage and not see him, as present as his voice sounded. The live band part really added to the experience...to watch a Prince concert without that accompaniment would have seemed incorrect since he was so much about “real music by real musicians”....a point they were sure to call out with him saying this during the intro. They also had a clip of him talking about a certain day he would celebrate...you know the one.... 

Important news about this though? They will tour it 2019. 10 for 10 would go again, and take anyone who did not get to go to a Prince concert for the shared experience. It’s the closest you’re going to get! For a taste, the concert was said to be a shortened version of a North Carolina show. We’ve seen parts of it like this :

And here’s the finale of Purple Rain (out of order with the actual setlist)

The entire concert was Prince being an absolute professional. He was cool/sexy/smooth and less of his goofy side to me. Had me on my toes like “Yes Professor” obeying every direction he gave us! Lol...

Part 3 here!

[mayumi-sato]

Thin Ice.

For the 15th day of @pruausadventcalendar! Theme: Winter Sports!

To sit on a bench at the skating rink, drink a glass of espresso watch Gilbert's skates ripping the ice surface was pretty much everything Roderich Eldestein did during his week.

That wasn’t a bad routine, though, and he didn’t regret his choice to retire from professional skating and become a coach. After all, he no longer had the energy he had had in his early teens and he always wanted to have more time to devote to his hobbies, anyway. He wanted to have more time to play the piano, to watch operas and to sleep without having to worry about having to wake up early to practice.

However, there was still pressure, of course. Preposterous rumors on him abandoning skating as if it never matter to him and that he had never liked the sport in the first place spread all around. Absurd. While all that was indeed completely true, Roderich didn’t like people pointing fingers at him. How dared them accuse him of things that he actually did? So rude.

Under all this pressure, eventually he decided to become a coach. However, he chose to coach a figure skater with such an egomaniac, awkward, ungraceful and unfunny personality that he would definitely never get anywhere in his career. Nobody believed in his potential and nobody invested on him.

Roderich was no exception to that.

Gilbert’s lack of popularity  also meant lack of work to be done by Roderich, which was pretty convenient for him. Instead of having to invest time and effort into his training, Roderich only came up to see a few of his practices and still kept reading romance novels in a corner, only occasionally raising his face to make criticisms of what he saw wrong in his technique so that Beilschmidt wouldn’t get too cocky.

Yet, Gilbert Beilschmidt being the annoying unbearable prat that he was, won a gold medal for Germany in the Grand Prix, without any of Roderich’s help. It was simply outrageous. Roderich was so shocked that he barely managed to say a word to the reporters who surrounded him after the competition. Not that he needed to say anything because Gilbert bragged about the victory enough for both of them.

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable. How did it happen? It was possible that Gilbert, despite being pretty much a clown and having no elegance at all… Was still good at skating? It was possible, in fact, that those personality traits had nothing to do with someone’s ability to do a good work?  

From that first victory, Roderich decided to look a little better at the person he was training and try to understand how the hell that complete moron had won a Grand Prix.

And who would have guessed? Watching again his presentation, it was clear to Roderich that Gilbert had won because he deserved it. Apparently, there were many things that you could complain about Gilbert Beilschmidt, but being lazy and not going well in the competitions were not among them. His presentation at the Grand Prix was quite impressive in technical terms. He jumped to incredible heights and made complex sequences of movements that were truly hard to archive.

If Roderich had to point out a fault in his presentation, it would be the fact that Gilbert seemed disconnected from the song when he skated. His notes on the artistic side of the presentation were always his lowest. Something ironic considering that those marks were always Roderich's highest ones.

As a good artistic skater, Roderich felt obligated to tell that to Gilbert.

To his surprise, Gilbert's reaction to this observation was not "Well, then I'm just going to jump higher!" but actually…

"Yeah, I also thought so. I'll try harder. I can only be in peace with myself when, despite having the worst coach in the world, I manage to destroy his world record,”  he said with a bright smile that had almost the same effect of a glove thrown in Roderich’s face. The nerve!

Roderich couldn’t continue to neglect him after such a provocation. It would be far better to take credit for that fool's victory than to have to hear that Gilbert got it without his help.

That’s how we come to be point of the beginning of the story. Now, Roderich came to watch Gilbert's practice almost every day, analyzing in detail what he was doing and giving him instructions about every step of his practice.

Roderich always did that, sat on his bench, always drinking some hot drink during this, because no, he did not want to get up to do something. That was too much.

And surprisingly, he found himself watching Gilbert's progress and even admiring it... a little bit. Gilbert was so fast, so confident in himself, so strong... It was a little exciting to watch him, Roderich had to admit. Sometimes simply observing him was more effective at warming up his body than his coffee.

Gilbert's personality also seemed more bearable over the months. Roderich could appreciate the artistic references in some of Gilbert’s jokes, his punctuality in getting to practice, his determination, the way he laughed loud and clear, the great smell of his cologne, his honesty in all circumstances and etc.

After a year of working with him, he might even be an affable fellow, if not for something that irritated Roderich the most in his behavior.

Gilbert made many jokes. Most of them stupid, but easy to be rebutted in a way that was fun for Roderich as well. Some of these jokes, however, were very suggestive and very annoying.

"You know, skating isn’t the only thing I’m good at! Wink wink!” “Don’t say ‘wink wink’ out loud. No one does this in the real world.”

Usually, Roderich really wouldn’t bother to be courted by a man, let alone one with whom he had had some suggestive dreams lately. Still, it was incredibly annoying to have Gilbert jokingly flirting with him not because of the flirting but because of the joking part of it.

It was annoying because he knew Gilbert was joking when he said "Can I triple axel over the rules of first dates and kiss you already?" and other similar lines, looking at Roderich during his practices. That wasn’t funny. In fact, Roderich thought it was almost offensive that Gilbert saw as something so hilarious the idea that there might be some chemistry between them.

Most of the time, he would retort these jokes with a simple "idiot" or a long silence of disapproval. One day, though, when they were really close to Gilbert’s next competition, that idiot made the following joke:

"If I win this competition, can you take me on a date? I want a premium date, young lord. With champagne, roses and a declaration of your eternal love for me at the end of the night.”

And this time, Roderich, pretty tired of helping Gilbert with his intense practices before the competition and from decoding his jokes as if he were a decryptor machine,  simply couldn’t take it anymore.

"Yes," he said flatly and completely serious. "If you win, I'll take you on a date."

Now, the answer that Roderich was expecting was "oh, I wasn’t being serious about it. Did you think I was being serious? Sorry, but I'm heterosexual and I already have plans to sleep with thirty girls after the competition."

Yet, instead, he saw Gilbert blush, giving him a long glance that emitted something in the spectrum between disbelief and mistrust, with his mouth hanging slightly open.

“Are you serious right now? I don’t enjoy those sort of jokes, young lord.”

I don’t enjoy those sort of jokes, he said. Gilbert said it.

I DON’T ENJOY THOSE SORT OF JOKES.

“What are you talking about?! You ALWAYS make such jokes, you loud baboon!” Roderich snapped, getting up at once and almost knocking his coffee over his clothes.

“They’re not jokes! I'm sorry if you didn’t understand the clever subtlety of my flirtations but I'm extremely serious about this, Rod! In fact, few people in this world can say that they are as serious as I am!” Gilbert approached him, pointing at his chest. He looked almost affronted, which was incredibly unfair.

"You were laughing this morning because of that article about a parrot who learned to swear and screamed when thieves broke into its house. Roderich pointed back, accusingly.

“Did you read the full article? The parrot kept yelling ‘fuck, fuck’ while thieves were invading the house! I’m a serious person but I’m still a person, aristocrat!  If I didn’t laugh at that, I would be a total robot. That article should be a Turing test or something.”

Roderich was rolling his eyes, about to list for Gilbert every time he had laughed at ridiculous things in front of him, even if that would take days, when…

"A-Anyway, I'm serious about this! I swear to you that I can make the best jokes in the world in a few minutes, but now I have to know this! Rod! If I win this medal, can we go on a date?!”

It only took a longer, more attentive look so that Roderich could see that this time Gilbert was serious. His breath was racing, his fists were closed, his face was red... He had the same look of anticipation that he had while waiting for his results after a contest. Oh… So Gilbert wanted to go out with him. That was fortunate considering that Roderich wanted the same for months but was too proud to say anything. “... I can manage the roses but If we drink champagne, you will pay for it.” Roderich answered, offering his hand to seal the deal, and he felt his heart flutter a little at the genuine, almost dumb smile that spread across Gilbert's face when he heard it.

"Heh, I should have guessed you'd be stingy even in that context," He laughed, covering his mouth with his hand and giving Roderich a genuinely amused look. Offended, Roderich wanted to tell him to forget anything he had said, but Gilbert raised his hand first and interrupted him with a appeasing voice. "All right, all right. I didn’t become a renowned athlete for nothing. I had to impress the aristocratic coach for whom I had a crush and pay for a fancy dinner with him. That was the goal, you know.”

… Really?

“So… Are we going on a date when I win?”

“If you win.”

“We have a deal!” he said excitedly, pulling Roderich's hand so hard that he fell in his arms.

And all that can be said after this is that this was far from the last time Roderich Eldestein would fall into his arms.