#feel free to ask any clarifying questions and ill do my best to answer

[buzzingroyalty]

how to grub your karkat

or you can use this for any other plush or if you wanna make a whole new plush entirely or whatever

disclaimer im not a professional in any sense of the word and theres anything technical im doing wrong or you think you can do it better by all means dont hold back

Things you’ll need

sewing machine unless youre really dedicated but doing it by hand is gonna be an agonizing feat i promise. I just used a straight stitch for everything

Fabrics: for the main body i suggest a minky or something soft, for the inner lining something in the same color as the main body and ideally with some stretch, and anything black for the legs. Less than a yard of each will do

if youre using minky or anything furry get a lint roller. Trust me

stuffing, i used polyfil

threads that match your fabrics

good fabric scissors

sewing needle for hand sewing/fixes

karkat plush (optional)

Heres the pattern i came up with! They are numbered for your convenience and pieces with the same numbers are going to be part of the same row of segments. cut everything out on the black lines (Make sure when you’re printing to fit the image to the page size.) on the left we have the belly pieces, the right is the main body, and we have the foot in between

Im using a relatively thin minky fabric, im sure you can use whatever but something with some fluffiness kinda helps to mask any imperfections in the sewing. When drawing out your patterns keep in mind what direction your fibers settle in and try to keep it consistent

On the wrong side of the fabric measure out at least a half inch seam allowance around each piece of the pattern, i used a centimeter and that worked but had me sweatin a bit.

For the main body pieces fold your fabric in half before you cut so you can have 2 of each segment that are mirrored to each other, i also extended all of the #1 pieces an additional centimeter/half inch at the top so we can fold them over at the very end. I highly suggest numbering the insides of all the cut pieces, especially in a way where you will remember what direction they are each meant to sit

After you’ve numbered all your pieces, set them aside and start making your feet!

Each of the 6 legs is made of two pieces, but i because i only had a swatch of the black minky i made up for the rest with some random black scrap fabric from an old project. Try to keep your fabric consistent if you can lol

I didnt give these pieces any more seam allowance on the fabric but i recommend adding a centimeter or half inch to the base of it to extend the length and have some more wiggle room

like so

Instead of cutting out 12 individual pieces and struggling to stitch them all together i started with 6, then pinning each piece real tight with the right/furry side down onto my secondary fabric, and slowly stitching around the shape real close to the edges- DO NOT CLOSE THE FLAT SIDE as we are going to stuff the feet through here

Now cut the shape out of the fabric and repeat till you have 6 feet

Now flip those bad boys inside out, stuff up, and if you wanna you can match them to their best pairs

now grab a pair of feeties and your #1 pieces and line them up, in this picture my belly #1 piece is shorter bc i forgot to add the extra centimeter and i recut that once i realized. Line those sides up with the right/furry parts touching and with the feet in between, flip it around to make sure everything's sitting the way you want it

Note. i didnt realize until later but i sewed my feet in upside down. save yourself the time it takes to fix it and dont make the same mistake

Straight stitch these layers together and repeat with the next two segments our good friends #2 & #3

Repeat this for the #2 and #3 sections but NOT THE #4, that part doesnt need feet! just line those edges up right/furry sides together and sew

the secret to the squish of the suit is making this inner lining from another fabric and stuffing it! I used what i had leftover from a stretchy red fabric for a kanaya skirt. For this we need to make a new pattern for each section, making sure it follows the curve of the round edge but the piece itself is shorter, almost like youre removing the seam allowance you added. Mine is a centimeter shorter on the top and on the bottom and reaches to the middle

Make one of these for each numbered segment,you only need to make half the pattern and you can fold your fabric in half on a crease and you end up with one symmetrical piece (bars)

Now you need to pin these pieces right on top of the wrong side of your numbered furry sections and line up the straight edges like so (disclaimer for LOTS OF SCARY NEEDLES !!)

Admittedly i didnt estimate how long these pieces needed to be very accurately and overshot it a bit, if you start pinning it from the middle and continue outwards on either side thatll ensure its not too lose and you can cut off any excess after

The only exception is piece #1, if you recall we gave this #1 section extra seam allowance. This is so we can sew down that excess at the neck later and hide any of the inside that might show once its all put together. Do not connect the top edge to the inner lining! Since i added an extra centimeter earlier im gonna leave that hanging and pin + sew down the inner lining a centimeter lower than the top edge. LEAVE THE CURVED EDGES OPEN! DONT SEW THEM TOGETHER! those stay open to stuff

Straight stitch the lined up edges together

Now you have all these skinned pieces of little freak and we need to connect all these segments together making sure to sew UNDER the existing stitches so we dont see those on the outside when its all put together

Inside looks like a bit of a mess but thats fine bc its not the part that matters

Now stuff it! you might need a stick or pencil or something long and thin to get stuffing into the middle bits

Now thats its stuffed you can finally close those curved edges. Try not to sew over a thick mound of stuffing, push it in a little further to give yourself some space and you can fluff it back out after everythings closed. I cut off that excess lining fabric after sewing

Ough… they filleted my boy…

Finally, match up all the edges and lines and HAND SEW them right sides together. You will destroy your machine trying to work around that stuffing i promise. You also have an excuse to get up from your work desk and sew on a couch or smth. I used a standard backstitch for a tight finish and again, make sure you sew under any existing stitches so they arent visible on the outside!

Speaking of the outside, once you stitch everything together you can very gently flip this sucker inside out

This is @hatamonu’s cat Cocaina, aka Coco. Her perfectly square figure made it into my grub files somehow so shes essential to the tutorial

Check the fit and all thats left to do is roughly baste stitch down that excess neck fabric onto the stuffed lining and youre set! I gave the thread slight tugs as i went to tighten the opening a bit put dont tighten it too much

tadaaaaa

It fits pretty snug but starts to slip a bit with motion. Heres a bounce test

 If you do shake your baby make sure to safety pin the plush to the suit so he doesnt prematurely shed his exosekeleton

Now spread that baby fever and show your baby to the world

pics from the ALA 2025 homestuck meetup and supplied by para.dox.cos

Tysm for coming along this ride with me especially if you followed the prototype journey on twitter, much thanks to my more sewing savvy friend for the solution to my grub dilemma and for helping me design and build my dolorosa cosplay <3 much love and hopefully many more homestuck cosplays and meetups to come in the future!

[imalump]

Mass General Brigham created a stir last week when it posted on its website, and sent to patients in its portal, a question-and-answer section including this:

“Q: I'd be more comfortable if my doctor, nurse or another care provider wear a mask. Can I ask them to? A: No. You cannot ask staff members to wear a mask because our policies no longer require it. Our system is adhering to current public health recommendations.”

The wording enraged lawyer and disability activist Matthew Cortland, who filed a complaint with the civil rights divisions of the U.S. Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services.

“It's a blatant violation of federal disability, civil rights laws, and also the laws of the commonwealth of Massachusetts,” Cortland told GBH News.

The hospital eventually took the language down from its site. Hospital officials released a statement, saying they “are committed to ensuring that patients can access medical care in a safe and appropriate manner,” and “patients can ask, but providers determine when and if masking in a particular situation is clinically necessary.”

Cortland doesn’t feel this is enough.

“I want them to post an affirmative explanation of how disabled patients can ask staff to mask,” Cortland said. “MGB must mitigate the harm their bad info caused and demonstrate a commitment to complying with civil rights law.”

Webster said when she heard of Mass General Brigham's original language online, she called the hospital for clarification about what would happen if she chooses to ask staff to mask.

“They said it could result in the security being called, which seems like a little bit of an overreaction,” she said. “I didn't mean to be hostile in any way. I just want to know how best to protect myself when I do go to the hospital.”

Mark Murphy, senior director of external communication at the hospital system, told GBH News that Webster was misinformed. “To clarify, patients would not be escorted out by security if they were to simply ask staff to mask,” he said in an emailed message. 🙄

“The MGB policy that is, quote, 'your provider will decide if you need others to mask in your presence' is problematic and discriminatory and racist given the history of what we have seen in the medical system,” said Dr. Lara Jirmanus, co-founder of the organization.

Jirmanus said many patients are trying to get accommodations to require providers to wear masks around them. She’s heard no word of their success.

“I personally have actually done so on the phone and was told by an MGB staff person that I didn't have to worry about COVID anymore because it wasn't a big deal,” she said.

Mass General Brigham confirmed they have received complaints over the new policy and said they are responding to those individuals. The hospital system added that patients can direct concerns about masking to the providers in charge of their care.

“The end of universal masking policies in health care settings will put those seeking medical care who are already more vulnerable — people with respiratory diseases or cancer, people with disabilities, and older adults — at risk of contracting COVID and other potentially life-threatening illnesses,” she said.

COVID-19 has killed nearly 1,500 people in Massachusetts since January, according to state data. It’s still the third leading cause of death in the United States. Just this year, over 4,400 people contracted COVID-19 in a Massachusetts hospital, according to federal data.

And it’s not just the lack of masking that worries people. Artist Mary Jirmanus Saba says she’s worried about losing benefits like telehealth and finding free COVID-19 tests.

“What we're seeing happening is that disabled people are being shut out of public life,” she said.

[stormblessed95]

I am the tarot anon and thank you for answering and for clarifying the word's meaning as I said what I found and I admit I was wrong-word but still my point about the tarot stands as the reader said that on a outer conscious level it is very equal but on a subconscious/soul level it is much like a parent child or brother relationship and in fact JM sort of stops JK from growing up on an soul level which she said is not there consciously also JM is jealous of JK on a soul level. want JK 2 B happy

Bro. Sending me this 4 times doesn't make it any less irrelevant. You are relaying on tarot reading of someone who did not consent nor have their energy open to reading instead of on ACTUAL content. If you believe in tarot reading you should KNOW that is not the way to get an accurate reading, even if long distance readings are done and possible, it's still done with the other person being aware of and open to being read, making it so that your energies can connect. That's the ONLY way to get any semblance of accurate reading. I'm assuming this tarot reader did not actually have any semblance of participation from jikook in anyway.

Glad you can at least admit you were wrong there too. I highly suggest you educate yourself further too. Jimin is not jealous of JK, rather he is his biggest hype man, and vice versa too. He also is the one who encouraged him to debut as a singer and not quit to just be a dancer. JK mentions often how he looks up to Jimin and learns from him. Jimin encourages JK to try new things and to simply be himself. He HELPS him grow and encourages him to do the things he wants to do. And their relationship is far from brotherly or parental. Again, you don't have to think it's romantic, but if you think that the things they do together is typical of a parent child relationship, or a sibling relationship, message me. We can figure out where you live and who you should contact because if these are the actions you associate with your siblings or parents, I am extremely concerned for your home life. Like at the very least say they are best friends with questionable boundaries. That is at least true.

Look, again, because I'm so nice, for the they aren't acting like brothers research you should go do, ill help you get started again here, where these are things that are definitely not brotherly:

Skinship moments that are just again, definitely NOT brotherly:

Moments that are just full of sexual tension and are NOT brotherly or parental:

I am NOT going to keep doing this with you though. If you choose to believe a stranger over the members, that's fine I guess. You do you. It's weird, but that's on you. If you read these and want to CONTINUE re-educating yourself, don't send another ask, feel free to go through my masterlist. Feel free to DM as long as you aren't going to keep using tarot as proof they are brothers or anything else. I promise, I'm much nicer in explaining things if you come out of anon and sound less like a troll.

Good luck.

[johannstutt413]

(requested by coldgoldlazarus)

After losing a game of poker the other night to another Elafia, Gitano had to admit, she was in a bit of a mischievous mood. Together with what she’d wagered during the game - a free tarot reading for the person who took the pot - and it seemed like the perfect chance to get back at her opponent for making her feel like a fool...The only problem with that plan was, after a preliminary reading while she waited for Tsukinogi to arrive, it seemed there was nothing to report but good news. Lying about the results was out of the question, but perhaps if she phrased it correctly, it might worry the shrine maiden all the same. Only one way to know for certain, of course.

“Good evening, Miss Gitano.” Tsukinogi made no show of her entrance, slipping the door open and closed with barely enough noise to catch the fortune-teller’s ears. “You haven’t waited over-long for me, I hope?”

“Good evening, Miss Tsukinogi. No, certainly not. Please, take a seat, and we can begin.” She gestured to the chair in front of her with an omniscient smile.

The shrine maiden reflected that smile with her own as she sat down. “Before we start, I must admit, my shrine offered fortune tellings, but they were more to please our visitors than to accurately predict the future. Considering your reputation, however, I expect your abilities are entirely genuine.”

“Yes...quite.” Gitano shuffled the cards twice more before laying down a 5-card cross. “In these 5 cards, there is much to learn about yourself and your future. We begin with the bottommost card, the baseline, a sort of embodiment of the person you currently are: the Muse. Up to now, you have been considered a gentle soul and a guiding light to many, both here at Rhodes Island and at home. Your service in all your various roles - Catastrophe Messenger, shrine maiden, even dance instructor - has earned you fans and friends in scores, but you continue to give others the credit for your successes.”

“That is quite high praise from a piece of cardboard,” she noted, the disrespect largely incidental at this point. Importantly, the one reading the cards didn’t seem to be excited about that report.

Which just went to show how perceptive the other Elafia was, as the fortune-teller was doing her best to ignore the slight for the time being. “We next go to the leftmost card, the card of motion. For good or ill, it speaks to whether you shall reap the benefits of your good deeds, or suffer misfortune deserved or otherwise...The Sands. Interesting. It seems that your future rests in the balance of a conversation or conversations you will be a part of, although I can’t say if that will be a personal involvement or if you will be the topic of those discussions. The Sands blow in any which direction, and change from moment to moment, so this is addressing your immediate future.”

“Is there an equivalent card for the long-term?” Tsukinogi thought aloud. “Or would that be accounted for differently?”

“Hmm...If you’re interested in the theory, I wouldn’t mind a conversation or two with you after the reading, but I think it best we finish with the task at hand first.”

The shrine maiden shrugged. “As you wish.”

“Right, yes.” Was it just her, or was the temperature in the room increasing? And no one ever asked her about the intricacies of her craft, especially not so directly- no, focus, Gitano. Read the cards for her, not for you. Do you want to end up like your aunt? “The topmost card is the prize, so to speak; the forces that blow the Sands to and fro will bring you...Love?”

“You sound very surprised at some of these results, Gitano.”

The fortune-teller simply nodded; she was rather lost in the act of the reading at the moment. “Yes, it’s not the sort of reading I expected for you today. For all intents and purposes, Love is exactly what it sounds like, but surely you’ve already met someone who fulfills that role in your life?”

“No, I haven’t.” The question and answer seemed to have caught both of them off-guard. “While I was a maiden, I was seen as off-limits by many, and even now, I find those with an interest tend to be inordinately pessimistic about their chances. It’s a pity, but I refuse to stoop to some of the...underhanded tactics I’ve seen in my short time here.”

“As good an excuse as any, truly. Now, where were we- yes, here. The rightmost card represents your most immediate obstacle, in this case what you will have to overcome through discour- in the same reading? What is going on?”

Her subject saw the blue heart split in three pieces and shuddered. “What sort of contemptuous omen is that?”

“It’s Contempt, truthfully enough - Love’s opposite. To find love, you must overcome someone’s hatred? How...utterly bizarre. I’ve done hundreds of readings, but never one where a pair of opposed Elements have appeared, and certainly never so closely together.” Gitano took a moment to collect herself. “Perhaps the last card can clarify things for us; as the entire reading has been steering towards this revelation of a budding romance for you, this card will likely tell us something of that...person’s...identity...Son of a bitch.”

“You seem to have a strong opi- oh.” With her own abilities, she was able to discern what that opinion was, and frankly, she understood the reaction.

Nonetheless, the Elafia tarot master was a consummate professional, so she carried on in spite of her own dread. “The Speaker is someone who has grasped a great truth and shares it openly with others, sometimes at their request and sometimes out of a burning need to do so. It is also the card I see most often when dealing with other fortune-tellers, as we are those who speak for the cards...I’m sorry in advance, truly.”

“Sorry?” Tsukinogi half-smiled at her. “Sorry for what? This is honestly rather wonderful news, as far as I’m concerned.”

“No, not for the reading, or the results, but for my own feelings. I had hoped to get back at you today for the game this reading was wagered on, perhaps by being able to personally tell you of misfortune soon to pass or something like that, but in the end, the cards put me in my place, as they always have and always will. Will you forgive me?”

She thought for a moment, sensing the genuine regret in Gitano’s voice but unsure how best to respond. “Playing poker with me at the table was rather unfair to you all, I think, simply because few people are as perceptive as me. Watching you pout and steam at losing those close hands was very cute, I must admit.”

“...And?” The other Elafia looked at her curiously. “There’s no but, no conditional?”

“No. It was truly the highlight of my evening, seeing you lose yourself in the game like that. You nearly outdid yourself when you found out the reading was just as much about you as me.” Tsuki leaned forward, all smiles-

As the fortune-teller let out a groan. “This is so cliche, though. My aunt met her husband reading his palm, and here I am, in the exact same situation.”

“You think I’m husband material?” The shrine maiden shrugged. “It’s an interesting proposal, if nothing else.”

“I...You...Oh, alright, I’ll give it a chance, but I make no guarantees.”

Tsukinogi took that as her cue to step out of her chair and sit in Gitano’s lap. “Certainly. That’s what the cards are for, yes? Not that you’ll have any hands free for them~”

[klvbxlove]

regarding my writing

if you’ve been following me for awhile, you may notice how on a few occasions i post drabbles and headcanons. here are some things i’d like to clarify, regarding them:

1. i don’t post most drabbles and headcanons that often

as much as it would be nice to post my writings almost every chance i get, unfortunately, i can’t. you know, sometimes life gets in the way and i don’t have much opportunity to write. that’s why there might be instances where i go months without posting a writing. 

2. i rarely take requests

most of the time, i only write drabbles and headcanons for my own entertainment. and sometimes i get hesitant on taking on a request out of fear that i might end up writing something that the requestor didn’t want. but that’s not to say you’re not free to send in requests! i’m more than happy to write for them as long as they fit the things i can write (see rules 5 and 6 to see the list)

3. in almost all my drabbles, the reader’s gender will be set to gender-neutral and nothing about them will be specific.

if there is a moment where something about the reader is specified, i will make a note of it before the drabble starts.

4. as of right now, i’ll only be writing for BNHA and persona 4

and to be more specific, for bnha, i only write for iida, and for persona 4, i only write for the investigation team. 

for headcanons, as of now, i’ve decided i’ll only write for 2 characters at a time. 

5. things i can write

angst

fluff

lime [i’m aware that lime is still kinda sexual to some people, but in m case, i won’t write actual smut!! basically, there’ll be an intimate scene and then it’ll stop, leaving you to decide if they go further or not]

nsfw [ONLY FOR ADULT CHARACTERS, I’M NOT GONNA AGE UP MINORS!!]

platonic relationships

romantic relationships

sfw

6. things i WILL NOT write

a/b/o (omegaverse) [i don’t know much about it, nor am i interested in it]

dark content (ex: rape, abuse, sexual assault, pedophilia, gore, yandere, etc.)

mental illnesses/eating disorders/self-harm [i have nothing against people who have either of these conditions, i just won’t wanna be disrespectful)

racism, sexism, homophobia

7. i will always put a trigger warning on my works in case they contain any triggering material! 

if there is a specific trigger you want me to tag, please tell me, as well!

8. please don’t repost my works anywhere!

if i had wanted them posted on other sites, then i can do that on my own (and so far, most of my works are also posted on my wattpad and quotev accounts). and don’t even ask permission to post them up either, i won’t allow it.

9. of course, i don’t own you or any of the characters of the animes i write for!

if you have anymore questions/clarifications, feel free to leave me a message and i’ll do my best to answer them! 

[kitsunebaba]

Just a Little Change

Rei stared down at the body at his feet, the butt end of his dagger still raised from the strike. Ryu stared at him in shock, gaze slowly drifting down to focus on Teepo's unconscious form. He wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed it but his brothers had been so focused on one another and Rei had seen the opening and before he could really think it through, he was moving.

 And now Teepo was out cold on the grass.

"Oh good thinking Rei!" Nina exclaimed, the first one to move. She went straight for the pack on Ryu's back muttering "rope, rope," to herself.

 Everyone else seemed to jump out of their stupors, with Nina breaking the silence: Momo riffling through Teepo's pockets, Garr interjecting the best way to restrain one of the brood. Rei couldn't quite follow the conversation, his ears still ringing from this whole mess of a situation. For years he'd been consumed by nothing but revenge and now to find that not just one, but both of his brothers were...

 Teepo was alive... Teepo was alive!

 A grin was slowly stretching its way across his face and when he looked down at where Ryu was fixing Nina's knots, he saw a smaller but just as bright smile on his face, too.

 Rei wasn't quite stupid enough to think this was going to be easy. Whoever this God was, they'd really done a number on Teepo's outlook. All that nonsense about the brood, his self righteous attitude. Teepo had never been particularly kind, but this just wasn't who he was meant to be.

 Well, whatever he'd thought of this pilgrimage before, it was personal now. No one did something like this to his family and got away with it. No one.

 With Teepo wrapped head to toe in rope, Rei hefted his little brother over his shoulder and on they went. On to meet God.

 ---

 Teepo didn't wake up until after God was dead and they'd escaped to the desert.

 Garr had finally found his peace and they'd lost track of Peco in all the chaos of their escape. Their victory was bittersweet at best but that was just how vengeance tasted, he'd learned. Rei wouldn't kid himself into thinking his own participation was anything but. Ryu was the selfless one in the family.

 There was a gasp to Rei's side, a groan and instantly he was kneeling to turn Teepo over. His brother squinted against the harsh desert sunlight and Rei shifted to shadow his face.

 "That was a dirty trick," Teepo murmured, voice deeper than before but cadence much closer to what Rei remembered. Then Teepo tried to move his arms and froze. Eyes narrowed and flicked intensely to his with so much venom it made Rei's heart jolt.

 "You dare-?" Teepo hissed and his teeth were already extending, his skin turning purple, scaly, face elongating.

 Before Rei could so much as move, Ryu was there, sitting down hard on Teepo's chest. It knocked the wind out of him, the shock enough to stop the transformation. They glared at one another, two obscenely powerful beings vying for dominance.

 Teepo looked away first.

 Huffing, Teepo glared at the sand instead. "So you bested me and removed me from my sanctuary. Does the safety of the world mean nothing to you? Our God Myria has-"

 "We chose freedom," Ryu murmured, interrupting.

 Those words confused Teepo more than anything and he cast his gaze around to the others, as if they had the answers, as if he'd forgotten how to read Ryu and everything he didn't say.

 "He's saying we killed your God," Rei couldn't help but clarify. It was petty and not worth the devastated way Teepo's face fell. His brother's breath caught and, alarmingly, his eyes began to well with tears.

 "Myria is...?" his words were barely sound.

 "Yes, I'm sorry," Nina replied when no one else did.

 Rei couldn't watch the clear grief on Teepo's face but nor could he hide from the sounds, all the more heartbreaking for their restraint. Small sniffles and whispered denial. Each one struck home in Rei's chest until he felt ill. He couldn't regret what he'd done but there was always a price and once again it was Teepo who had to pay it. Yet another way Rei had failed.

 There was no giving up this time, though. Rei had people to fight for again and he wasn't letting them go without one.

 ---

 They almost lost him on their way to the oasis.

 Teepo had refused to eat or drink. Occasionally they could get some water down his throat, with Ryu coaxing or Momo forcing but that hadn't stopped his lips from cracking or his cheeks hollowing out. They couldn't afford to untie him, either. When Teepo wasn't catatonic with grief, he ranted.

 Rei was ashamed to say he left Teepo to Ryu when he got like that. There was something stalwart to Ryu that Rei could never even hope to emulate, so he didn't even try. To Teepo's threats, his fanatical recitation of God's rhetoric, Ryu kept a straight face, silently stoic as he held his brother down and waited it out.

 By the time they reached the oasis, Teepo hadn't woken in at least a day and his breathing had begun to get laboured. They couldn't just leave him with the head man's wife like they had with Nina, either. That first night, they'd all been exhausted. Ryu had taken first watch regardless, making sure no one was hurt in Teepo's lucid moments as he was tended to.

 Eventually, though, even Ryu couldn't keep his eyes open.

 A shout woke them all, then a scream and they all clambered to their feet in alarm. Rei could feel his rabid side start to stir, eager for a fight, but pushed it down. The head woman had scrambled backwards, Ryu trying to hold back a struggling Teepo, free from his bonds.

 Unable to think of anything else, Rei punched Teepo in the face and his brother slumped in Ryu's arms, his form shrinking, changing until he was a tiny, purple dragon. The look of disappointment that Ryu gave him for that made him want to shrivel to the size of a mouse and hide for the rest of eternity.

 They got Teepo back into bed, tied to the posts, and Ryu went to sit back down at his side.

 Rei didn't let him. He finally had to admit to himself that he'd been avoiding this new, heartbreakingly unfamiliar Teepo. Rei had promised himself there was no giving up, yet he'd almost done so to spare himself more hurt. So Rei swept Ryu into his arms and lay him down gently along Teepo's winged side, then took up the chair himself.

 It was one of the longest nights of his life, watching his brothers sleep on that bed, one struggling, again, to hold onto life. When morning came, his eyes itched with tiredness and his muscles screamed from sitting for too long, but Teepo was once again in human form and Ryu smiled at him and that made it all worth it.

 ---

 Teepo started eating again, a few days later. It had taken many, many hours of nagging and begging and pleading (and a few guilt wrenching tears from Ryu) but they'd managed to convince him to continue to live, at the very least. While his brother's ranting had stopped, along with his attempts to escape, he hadn't started speaking normally again, either, or at all.

 Instead, Ryu talked. It was more than Rei thought he'd ever heard him say in his entire life, let alone at one time. He spoke of their journey, their lives, why he'd come to the decision he had. Ryu talked himself hoarse and then some until Rei took up the slack. There was only so much he knew, so much he'd been there for, but he could reminisce on their time together, at least.

 Rei spoke of their lives before Ryu, reminders of the people they'd been, the ways they'd changed after they'd adopted their third family member. That one, near perfect winter and early spring where they'd been accepted, well fed, happy. That one season of bliss before everything had fallen apart.

 And then Rei confessed how he'd gone off the rails in his quest for revenge. How devastated he'd been to lose his brothers to one mistake.

 Teepo listened, at least, even if he never said anything in reply. He listened and Rei hoped he was taking it all in, considering their perspectives instead of clinging to a dead god's dogma.

 ---

 Once they were all well enough to walk, about a week later, they resupplied and made their way north. They didn't need the ropes by this point. Teepo was silent and submissive, following along when asked.

 It was Momo who tried to strike up a conversation this time, as they made their way through the debris of old technology. She asked a stream of questions about Eden and the space station, though the whole thing went over Rei's head. Teepo watched her, wary, but he must have understood because once she was done with her rambling hypothesis he either nodded or shook his head. One time Rei swore he heard a response but it could have been his imagination.

 A few trips by Portal Drive later and they were emerging from the hut hear Mount Levett. Why they'd gone here, he wasn't sure. This whole place left a bad taste in his mouth, memories blurred from spending such long periods transformed but certain moments horrifically vivid.

 "I... um, don't want to go home yet," Nina offered when he asked.

 It was understandable. The prospect of possibly being confined to one place for your whole life... Rei wasn't sure he could do it. Certainly after the trick they'd played on the king and queen, she wouldn't be allowed to leave for a good long while, even if they didn't just lock her in her room.

 There were other reasons she didn't want to go home. Nina still had to work out what she would fight for now. At least Rei didn't have that problem anymore.

 Down the path towards the Yraall Region, they reached the road in good time. Across the bridge and they quickly came to the edge of the farmland that marked the area. A sense of unease passed over Rei the closer they got to the place they used to call home. The girls sensed it, too and the whole party remained subdued as they trekked. It was by far the easiest terrain they'd navigated in months but the tension in the air ruined any relief.

 It was at the junction where the Yraall Road split towards McNeil Village that it happened.

 Nina screamed as Teepo shoved her back and in an explosion of power he transformed. Momo was already aiming her weapon as he spread his wings, taking to the air. Rei jumped forwards to push the bazooka towards the ground and they were both flung backwards as it went off.

 Rei picked himself up with a groan, grumbling a few choice swear words. It took a few moments to get all his senses back in alignment and by the time he had, Ryu had transformed too, staring at him, waiting.

 The dragon tilted his head, indicating his back and Rei didn't have to be told twice. Scrambling to his feet, he didn't even consider what he was about to do until he felt muscles lurch below him and the ground began to lift away. Rei's eyes widened and he wrapped his arms in a vice lock around his brother's neck.

 They shuddered and shook as they climbed altitude and Rei had to wonder how they weren't just dropping out of the sky. At last, though, they evened out. The turbulence stopped. Wind still whipped about his ears, pulling at his clothes and tail, but slowly he pried one eye open to look down at the ground below.

 It was like a patchwork quilt he'd seen some of the women in town making; all greens and browns with the occasional patch of colour. He couldn't see any people, though with the roars he could hear in the distance, it wouldn't be a surprise if they'd all sought shelter.

 With a jolt of surprise Rei found himself able to pick out landmarks. There was the farm near town, the village itself not too far off, McNeil manner. Already they'd travelled what would have taken hours on foot. He watched as it all passed below them, turning into the forests he'd once known like the back of his hand. A glimpse of Bunyan's hut, the mountain close by, then they were descending and Rei had to bury his face in Ryu's neck again or risk being sick.

 When they landed, Ryu shrank back into his human form, collapsing to his knees, breathing rapid. Rei rested a comforting hand on his shoulder for a moment, long enough to know he was okay, then he was moving again.

 Teepo stood at the base of the burned shell of their hut. The smell of ash and smoke had long since been washed away but Rei could still remember them, phantom scents in his nose. He came to a stop three steps behind his brother, staring up at what remained of their home.

 "Sometimes I was half convinced this was just a dream... but then that would mean you had simply abandoned me."

 "What?! I would never-!" Rei cut himself off, nails cutting into his palms with the effort.

 Teepo shook his head, "no. You're petty and self severing like everyone else, but you wouldn't do something like that."

 They were quite for a while, lost in their own memories.

 "You know, Ryu said he looked for you after," Rei gestured vaguely at the burned building. "Me? I just assumed you were dead and went off to get revenge but... He went all the way to Wyndia. Would have gone further, I think, if he hadn't been caught up in all that Brood shyte."

 Teepo frowned. "Wyndia...?" The frown deepened and he crossed his arms. "I... perhaps I reached it? I remember being hungry and stone walls. It wasn't long before Myria saved me, gave me a home, clothes, food, love."

 "If you'll remember, so did I. And I didn't lock you in a damn cage and feed you self hate for ten years," Rei growled.

 "Myria has good reason to think the way she does... did..." Teepo turned his face away, swallowing thickly before he continued. "How many people died for Ryu's cause? Just defeating her you lost two of your number. Can that be justified?"

 Rei snorted, "oh, so when she kills thousands of people, it's for the good of everyone, but when a few people sacrifice their lives willingly, it's not justified? Well don't that just beat all. And here I thought we had numbers on our side."

 "We are dangerous!" Teepo spun, one fist raised threateningly but Ryu was already situating himself between them, a hand on each of their chests to keep them apart. He still looked worn out from carrying someone on his back, using muscles he wasn't used to for so long, but the colour had returned to his cheeks and he wasn't winded any longer.

 "So am I," Rei countered, sounding much calmer than he felt. "Sure I don't hold a candle to you guys but I slaughtered an entire crime syndicate in cold blood. It was easy. Should I be put under lock and key?"

 Teepo scowled, "yes."

 "Okay, so what of God's Guardians then? I know for a fact that Garr alone killed, what was it, Ryu?"

 "Two hundred and ninety nine," Ryu replied softly.

 "Two hundred and ninety nine Brood members during the war. That's way more than a measly crime syndicate, I'd say. And he only did it because he was told to, not because they killed his family or something."

 "That was God's power-"

 "So should God be locked up then? Why is her power okay but yours isn't? What gave her the right to dictate what we can and cannot do? Who lives and who dies? Since when is genocide something the good guys do?!" Rei snarled, breaking away from Ryu's restraining hand to pace, prowling the path.

 Teepo rose to his full height, clearly trying to look regal. "She saved the world."

 "Does it look destroyed to you? Has Ryu gone on some monstrous rampage and killed everyone? Blown up any mountains lately? Because let me tell you, he's had the motives. Half of this crap isn't even what he wanted, he was just dragged along because he was being hunted or someone else wanted to know the truth! He lost us, he lost friends, he lost years of his life and he's never destroyed anything that wasn't asking for it!"

 "And what if I do?!" Teepo screamed. "What if I... I hate everyone. I hate what the world did to us! I hate how petty people are, how self serving, how no one will ever share just because they... No one ever deserved what Myria did for us, not even me!"

 The silence in the clearing could have been cut with a knife.

 "What if I'm the one who destroys the world?"

 "You won't," Ryu said, clear and confident, "because we won't let you." Slowly, like he was touching a wild animal, Ryu lowered his hands to clasp one of Teepo's gently between them. "Just like you won't let me."

 For a long moment it seemed like Teepo would pull away, whole body tense. Then he slumped, head bowed. "Is it that easy? I don't want to be around people. I don't want to go back to a society that would let children, orphans just- just starve. I don't want to-"

 Rei let his hand fall heavily on Teepo's shoulder. "So we live in the woods, away from everyone else. Heck, that's pretty much what we did here before Ryu came along, just without all the stealing. Maybe we try grow our own food or something? We got friends and resources that we didn't have as kids, yeah?"

 Teepo's gaze was unreadable as he looked from Ryu to Rei.  

 "Not here," he said at last, raising his free hand to rest on top of Rei's. "Not here."

 ---

 They met Nina and Momo back in McNeil Village but didn't do more than pass through after joining back up. The frightened rumours of dragons in the sky effected both his brothers negatively and Rei had to suppress the urge to take his rage out on the villagers, too. They'd never wanted help, but they'd been children. Someone should have given it regardless.

 Nina didn't try to pry like Rei had expected. One look from Ryu and she looked more relieved than anything. It was odd, seeing someone else able to read his brother so well but slowly Rei was coming to see Nina as family, too, and well maybe they needed a little sister to balance them out.

 Reluctantly he had to admit that Momo felt like family, too, but that was dysfunctional at best. Not all family could be sunshine and roses, he'd learned. Well, one out of four wasn't so bad.

 Conversation picked up when Rei voiced their intentions some time later. Nina was eager to offer locations and Momo building advice. She'd had to fix her own equipment often enough that she was handy with a hammer or a welding torch. After all, if they built with metal and brick, they couldn't be as easily burned out of the home again.

 The process wasn't as difficult as he thought it might be. The forests surrounding Wyndia were vast, so before they parted ways with Nina and Momo they all ventured into them to find a good spot to build. Officially this would be Nina's vacation cottage, since the forests were technically royal hunting grounds. Hopefully they were deep enough that no one ever noticed they were there in the first place.

 Momo threw herself into the building with as much enthusiasm as she did new machines. Confusingly enough, after the initial distrust, Teepo and Momo ended up getting along well. She was oblivious enough she didn't notice the way he talked down to her and he was knowledgeable enough in machinery that she was endlessly pumping him for details that he was now willing to give.

 Nina, for her part, could only come by extremely occasionally. The king and queen hadn't locked her in her room but she was under strict guard whenever she argued an outing was legitimate. Slowly she was amassing a following of soldiers more loyal to her than her parents, however, and sometimes she could slip away.

 When they were finally done, Momo and Nina had tentative permission to visit on occasion, though Rei could see Teepo only agreed with Nina doing so because Ryu always looked so sad when she left. It probably helped that she was their main source of supplies and Teepo could easily use that as an excuse if anyone ever confronted him on it. He'd always been unwilling to admit how soft he was where his brothers were concerned.

 Rei mused on Nina's situation and how he'd thought he didn't ever want to be confined. Funny, how he didn't feel like he was locked away staying here, even though technically they were. Perhaps it was the self imposed nature of it... though Rei would put more zenny on his brothers having something to do with it.

 They had to be careful with hunting in the area but they had a neat little vegetable garden going by now and a book on pickling to get them through the winter. Nina had even visited bearing some fruit tree saplings yesterday. Rei had left his brothers to plant them while he'd gone to find them some meat to celebrate.

 Coming home, Rei heard them before he could see them.

 "Ryu that's not how you dig a hole. No you have to- No use your- Oh, just give it here!"

 Holding back his mirth, Rei rounded the corner of their house to see Teepo instructing Ryu on the proper technique for digging a hole, complete with demonstration and short, sharp directions.

 Rei caught Ryu's eyes and his youngest brother flushed. Then Rei noticed there were quite a few holes already done, perfectly created, and couldn't quite hide his amused smirk as Ryu once again failed to dig a hole in the most dramatic way possible. Teepo promptly snatched the shovel back again and dug two more holes. They'd have too many at this rate.

 Dropping the rabbits he'd caught by the house, he strode forwards to clap a hand down on top of each of their heads, grinning ear to ear. "I may not be very good at math but even I can see we have eight fruit trees and seven holes." Grabbing the spade himself, he dug the last one quickly, before anything could escalate. It was a little sloppy but deep enough that Teepo only scowled a little at it. He didn't even try to fix it when Rei handed the spade back.

 Ryu moved off to start putting the saplings in the ground and Teepo only looked alarmed for a moment before he realised Ryu was doing this part right, at least.

 Turning back to Rei, he said, "I see you're getting bolder with your kills."

 "Their Royal Pains In The Butts aren't going to notice a few less rabbits in spring, Teepo."

 "Early Spring."

 Rei waved off the concern. "Whatever. I think we got enough tomatoes for a stew, at least. Momo better bring us more spices when she comes next. I got used to fancier food on the road than we ever had as kids. Who knew salt could do so much to a hunk of meat."

 "You're getting careless. If we're-"

 "Relax, Teepo."

 Teepo scowled but they lapsed into silence, watching Ryu move from plant to plant, carefully placing them in the ground. For someone with the power to literally destroy the world if he wanted to, Ryu was the gentlest soul he'd ever met. Even plants were treated tenderly.

 "Do you still think he's dangerous?" Rei asked softly.

 Teepo watched Ryu as he answered with a shake of his head. "I don't think I ever did... not really. The kid that cries at the drop of a hat? With too much empathy for his own good. That's not someone who wants power."

 "But...?"

 Teepo sighed, "but I still don't trust myself. All I've had time to do is think and I know who I am. I don't want to leave, but I don't want to keep him here, either. If he wants to go..."

 "And what if he wants to stay?" Rei murmured.

 Ryu looked up from his work and waved, Rei waved back with Teepo reluctantly doing so too a few seconds later. The grin on their youngest brother's face was heartbreakingly bright.

 "All he ever wanted, was be with his family, and that's us, Teepo. Ain't no way you can change that." He swung an arm around Teepo's shoulder, drawing him in close. "Maybe one day we let him go, yeah? But he's gonna come back. No matter where he goes without us, he'll always wind up back here sooner or later with a new story and some new friends. Probably a few new scars the way trouble finds him."

 "Then maybe we need to go with him to protect him..."

 "If we ever do, I'm sure we can go wherever you want..." Rei replied, giving him a squeeze.

 "...Except Wyndia. We're wanted criminals there."

 "You're what?!" Teepo squawked.

 From where he was planting, Ryu looked up to watch Teepo chase Rei across the clearing and smiled.

[seenashwrite]

"The Lone Survivor"

Category: SPN Fanfic; Angst; Fluff; Smut; all the things because this is co-written with an OpenAI program  Rating: 18+ (just in case) Character(s): Dean, Sam, and anyone I can think of, including Whyenne Pairing(s): I’ll let the AI decide Warnings: I’ll make sure there’s nothing triggery, we’ll keep within show-level stuff, but I won’t stop it from cursing or doing the sex, etc.  Overall Summary: This is a Supernatural fanfic co-authored by me and a bot, no idea where it’s going. It even came up with the title. I put in “The title of the story was” and that’s what it gave us. 😁 Author’s Note(s):  More scoop on what this is after the cut

- INTRODUCTORY SCOOP -

Basically, I’m feeding short prompts into a bot, it was given a nice upgrade on November 5th and kicks serious ass. 

Even though it’s going to look like shit, I’m bolding the lines that I’m feeding it - it will only kick out a certain amount of characters/words, so I’m going to have to prompt it each time, and I’m going to give it about three lines in order to steer it in the direction of a coherent plot. I have a feeling it’s going to fight me, though. 

But I won’t fight back too much. For the most part I want this to be, all at the same time, tropey and cliche and still better than what any of us have read and/or written lately. I welcome our matrix overlords. I will use my best judgment and might combine elements of 2 separate runs (I give each prompt three or four because it will occasionally kick out nonsense) to keep it cohesive. I mean, I *am* the co-author, after all. And if it leaves me a fragment of a sentence at the end that will keep the flow going, I’ll just feed it that fragment. 

Oh and if I have to change a word - like, in the first paragraph I changed “girl” to “woman” - then it’ll look like what you see, with a cross out and bold. I won’t change any whacky grammar or anything, though. I’ll split scenes with a black line.

Tell me if you want me to do some sort of special divider for when the updates happen so all you have to do is scroll til you see it.

Let’s roll.

~ "The Lone Survivor" ~ 

Dean stared at her, trying to gauge her sincerity, and after a few moments he lowered the gun. And then suddenly, in three long, quick strides, he was standing in front of her. And then he kissed her, taking her breath away. The kiss was tentative, not quite daring, not quite confident, not quite desperate. It was a warm, passionate kiss. The girl woman tried to pull away, and he kissed her again. And again. And again. 

Eventually the kiss became intense, and he thrust his pelvis forward, pushing her against the wall of the shower stall, making her stumble. He moved her hips to meet his thrusts, making her gasp and moan in pleasure. And he was moving her-----

Dean awoke with a start, sweaty and gasping. He could still taste her on his lips. The dreams were getting more intense. More violent. As if in response to his desperate cries, the room seemed to darken as the walls were covered in darkness, the darkness filling his eyes as he closed his eyes in desperation. He heard a low and guttural voice inside his mind. "You are not dead!" the voice shouted as it became more and more loud, it had the audacity to claim it was his, as if it was the last thing he heard before he died. It sounded like someone who couldn't stop himself from laughing. Suddenly, he heard footsteps behind him and the room went black.

Dean sat straight up in bed. Now nightmares were following the dreams. He was beginning to wonder if it was a curse or some other supernatural thing, lulling him with her, then striking when he was vulnerable. The dreams made him feel ill, and his stomach would flip up like a leaf. He would scream and writhe and throw the sheets aside. The nightmares and the sickness in his stomach were making it hard for him to concentrate, hard for him to think straight. He would lie there and try to ignore the thoughts that would come to him, trying to ignore the pain. 

But Dean was good at ignoring pain, and so that’s what he did. He took a shower, got dressed, and by the time he entered the kitchen, he had his typical casual demeanor in place. His brother was seated at the table, and as he passed by on his way to the coffee, he spoke.

“Mornin’, Sammy.”

Sam didn't turn to look at Dean, just continued eating his breakfast.

A few minutes passed before Dean spoke again. "Okay, Sam, why are you here again?"

Sam swallowed a mouthful of his breakfast. "Well... we're not going to talk about it for a while. We'll talk when the time comes. Just wanted to know if... um... if you had a date for tonight. If it's okay."

"I do not have a date for tonight," Dean said without looking up from his plate, "and I don't plan to."

"Oh, fine." Sam turned and went back to his breakfast.

It was just before noon by the time Dean came down the hallway and into the library.

"What's happening?" asked Sam. "That girl?" Dean asked, not sounding bothered by the question. "The one you brought out for lunch? Is she alright?" "She was with some girls from school, but there's no real reason for her to be with them at all," Sam said, his voice barely above a whisper. Dean made a note in his head. "Why would they bring her here anyway?"

"I'm not sure," answered Sam.

"I have a theory," said Castiel as he entered.

Sam frowned. "You're serious?"

Castiel looked around, taking in the scene. "Yes. I believe that the presence of an angelic being in this area is something of a… concern to the powers that be. Perhaps to the archangels themselves. It would seem likely that they want to use you as leverage."

"What do the angels have to do with those girls?" asked Dean.

"They have a lot to do with it."

"So, what is it?"

"It's not a game."

"The hell it isn't," Sam snorted. "So, let me get this straight. You're saying it's just the girls we need to worry about?"

"We need to be able to recognize the spirits."

"You mean, just girls?" Dean growled.

"No, they are very different from girls," Castiel clarified.

"Oh, yeah, well, then we don't have to worry about them. You just need to figure out which one you're dealing with."

"They're not girls. They're angels."

"You're lying."

"They are a different species. Angels don't have vaginas."

"What?!" exclaimed Dean and Sam at once.

Just then, Sam's phone vibrated - it was a text, from Whyenne, and she said:

Hey, I'm sorry, but I've just got some work to do. I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Dean sighed - he knew why - then looked at the time: 5pm. That wasn't good.

Sam was at his usual place, on his laptop, and it seemed like he hadn't seen him in like five minutes.

"Sam." Dean's voice sounded so different. Like he was really worried for him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be at the bar if you want to talk. Come on."

Sam nodded, still trying to process what had just happened. He knew he'd have to make the first move. "Okay. That's cool, Dean."

Dean went back to his room to get ready to go to the bar.

Dean walked into the bar and scanned the room. It was noisy and crowded - and in the crowd he happened to spot Whyenne. Dean's first thought: she had lied to Sam. Then he remembered she had been drunk. It was too late.

"Oh shit," Dean muttered.

He pulled off his shirt jacket, and his shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. 

Whyenne looked at him. "Do you want a drink?"

Dean shook his head.

"Okay."

They walked down the block and into another bar. Dean had his back to the door and Whyenne was leaning against a wall.

"So what happened to your face?" Whyenne asked.

Dean looked up at her and smiled. "Oh yeah, I got a face full of a bullet."

"A gun?" Whyenne laughed. "That's crazy."

Dean laughed too. He looked at her carefully, wondering if he should confront her. He decided he should.

"Why did you tell Sam you were working tonight?"

"I needed to be in the right place at the right time."

"And that's why you went to this club tonight?"

"I knew that you'd be there here. And I wanted to make sure you he wouldn't be here."

"You have to take responsibility for your own actions, or else you'll never learn your lessons."

"I was drunk and stupid and I'm paying for it. So are you."

"I am."

"I was under the influence of alcohol. Sam is not a drinker."

"That's a lie."

"Oh, I see." She frowned.

"What did you think of the dance tonight?" Dean asked, trying to change the subject. 

"The dancing was good. It was more fun than I thought it would be."

"It is, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"And what were you thinking about?" Dean pressed.

"Sam was so cute."

"He is. And what did you think about me?"

"You're sexy, Dean."

Whyenne's voice was thick and full of lust. It immediately caused Dean's mind to go back to that night, the night of passion they shared after a hunt. It was before she and Sam had even kissed, but they'd sworn to keep it a secret.

"I know you. I know what kind of girl you are. I just don't think you're all that interested in getting laid tonight."

"Dean?"

"It's not you, sweetheart, it's me."

"What about you? Are you in any way, shape, or form interested in getting laid tonight?"

"I can take care of myself," Dean said.

And with that, Dean walked off without even a backward glance.

The next day, Sam and Dean were following up on Castiel's lead, about the group of girls who were supposedly angels. Dean had a nightmare-free sleep for once, so he was happily singing rock songs under his breath as he drove down the road. But of course, Sam brought up Whyenne.

"I sent her a text earlier but she hasn't replied," Sam said with a sigh. "I don't think this is going to work."

Dean didn't respond.

"That's okay," he said. "I'm used to it. I'm used to not having someone I can always talk to."

"We should try and make more friends," he Dean said. "I know they'll keep us safe."

Sam nodded. "That's why I keep doing what I do," he said.

"I think you're a good person," Dean said, pulling into a parking space and turning off the car; Sam immediately opened the door.

"Thanks for believing me," Sam said. He got up and walked away.

He didn't want to talk to anyone after that.

Castiel was correct - those college girls were angels, but he was incorrect in that they did indeed have vaginas, Dean and Sam checked each one----- er, that is, they checked with each of the ladies, who assured them their human vessels were intact.

The angels also told Dean and Sam that they meant no harm, that they had been sent on a mission, and it was not to cause trouble with the archangels - they had been sent by the archangels. But their mission was a secret. They were not allowed to tell anyone, not even the Winchesters.  

The angels were told that they were not to tell anyone that angels were real, or that they had a mission. The demons were also told that they were not allowed to tell anyone about their mission, but the demons were told that they were not allowed to tell anyone else about angels, either. The demons were told that they were only to be used for the express purpose of destroying Sam and Dean. If they were able to kill the two of them, the demons were to be killed as well. The demons were also told that they could not tell anyone that they had been sent to kill Sam and Dean.

It was a very confusing case. 

And they could've used Whyenne's help. But she wasn't answering any of Sam's calls. Perhaps more concerning, she wasn't answering any of Dean's calls, either. So they went on with their work.

Once they got out of the clutches of the forest, they turned to find a woman. A woman with no arms, no legs. A woman who was completely human, all her organs, blood, and other bodily functions were present, but her spine was obviously deformed. However, since that wasn't really abnormal, it was probably nothing to be concerned about.

She informed Sam and Dean that there was a method to verify the aura that was emitted when the Goddess Aura Amara was released, the aura that was produced when she made her most powerful attacks. She also wanted to talk to them about the Slayer data on Dean's laptop.

Sam allowed her to talk to Dean on his behalf, but once they were back at the bunker and he sat down, Sam immediately noticed that Cas was fidgeting and nodding his head as he started talking about how Dean's vampire blood caused all this. Which made sense, because apparently they now not only had angels and Amara to worry about, but a vampire slayer.

"Cas, how do we find a slayer?" asked Dean. "I don't want her accidentally staking me."

"Don't you already have a tracker in your pocket?" asked Cas.

Dean shrugged. "A first aid kit."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"I've been sitting on it for a while now," said Castiel.

"A good while?" asked Dean. "Where?"

"Yeah," said Cas. "I think it's she's just around the corner."

The Winchester brothers' eyes grew wide. Just then, they received a group text from Whyenne, and it said:

"Meet me - I'm up at the street corner."

.

.

.

.

To be continued.....

[webcricket]

Remember Rio; or, What is Love

Characters: CastielXReader ft. Dean Winchester

Word Count: 1984

Summary: Castiel has some hesitations early on in your relationship. Thankfully Dean is there to kick him in the ass. One confused celestial, non-explicit talk about sex, cowboys, and kisses.

Dean hoists a dry-rot ridden wooden box to waist-level and hurls it unceremoniously at the floor. The container collapses in on itself upon impact, contents skittering amok in a cloudburst of dust.

Several of the larger knickknacks cease their tumble at Castiel’s feet. He doesn’t bother to look down, too absorbed in inner turmoil of thought to pay any heed to them or Dean’s growing frustration.

The hunter isn’t annoyed about the frantic search through someone else’s collection of crap, it’s in the job description. What he is annoyed about is the angel’s brooding. And Cas happens to still be standing in the exact same spot he dallied in the last time Dean turned around from his present task of tossing a storage shelf in this dimly lit basement in search of some a cursed trinket Sam said they absolutely positively needed to destroy to save the world. Dean has as yet unspoken reservations about the merit’s of his brother’s claim and the moping celestial both. He picks up a delicate vase next – an intricate pattern of pink flowers and thin bright green vines laces the rim – and intentionally drops it arching a speculative brow when the angel doesn’t so much as flinch at the tinkle of shattering porcelain.

Boiling impatience pries apart the bite of the hunter’s tongue. “What the hell, man?” he grumbles. “Are you planning to just stand there all night or are you gonna help me find this damn totem?”

Cas blinks, blues resolving into focus on his friend. “Sorry, I was thinking about the other night.” The other night in question being the night of your third official date with the angel and the very same night you jumped his celestially articulated bones only to have him proceed to politely excuse himself mid-makeout session just when things got heated enough to warrant the peeling off of clothing, leaving you winded, wanton, and clutching his trench coat.

“Come on, you’ve been thinking for three days about something that requires zero thought and all the action.” Dean quells a reflexive roll of his greens, stepping over the glittering shards to clasp him roughly by the shoulder. “What are you so worried about anyway? You’ve done the deed before. With that reaper-” Dean scratches at his chin. “Amy, no-”

The angel respires a beleaguered sigh as Dean runs through a list of potential names. Cas has been trying to winnow down the reasons why he fled for days. It’s not because he’s a fully-functional powered-up angel of the Lord again and all the supposed sexlessness that formality entails. He’s equipped to satisfy a partner in every way a human can, and divinely more. He’s definitely physically attracted to you, so his vessel becoming aroused isn’t a barrier. He wants to please you any way he can, and he understands it’s clear you want to take the relationship to the next step in pursuit of that pleasure. No matter how much he thinks about it, he can’t quite pinpoint the source of his hesitation.

“April!” Dean hits on the correct name with an enthusiastic note.

Cas glares – April not being an entirely pleasant memory considering she killed him.

“What?” Dean shrugs, expression wholly unapologetic in amusement. “For Chuck’s sake, what’s there to think about? It’s not a freaking apocalypse. No one’s life is in danger. It’s just sex.”

“It’s different.” Cas’ jaw tenses around the words. “With April, it was just sex. With Y/N, it’s … different.” He repeats himself for lack of a better descriptor.

“Different how?” Dean squints, closely examining the angel’s stymied expression. He interprets therein the folds of his brow a light bulb revelation. “Well smack my ass and call me Sally, you’re in love!” Dean exclaims, overly triumphant in the revelation.

Cas’ gaze startles wide, creating a mountain-like crag of creases across the ridge of his forehead, then narrows precipitously into the softer ill-defined flatland of genuine bewilderment. The part about loving you is the least confusing aspect of the statement and he accepts it without qualm – with a passive wave of relief even in response to the exact sort of different he could not explain a mere moment before – the reason for the rest of the hands-on proposition to slap Dean’s derrière whilst referring to him as Sally is beyond angelic comprehension. “Why would I-”

“Shut up.” Dean interjects, holding up a quieting finger, halting the inevitable query of why Dean would require Cas to do any of the aforementioned buttock spanking and name-calling and whether this is the appropriate time or place for such an activity.

You choose that instant to mosey on into the dank cellar scene. Cas and Dean bickering like an old married couple about what you assume to be utter nonsense is nothing new; you’d be worried if they weren’t verbally sparring, static silence on either of their parts rarely bodes well. “Whatcha guys talkin’ ‘bout?” you ask with vague disinterest, surveying the mess for any sign of the totem.

Cas casts Dean a swimmingly deep blue puppy-eyed plea to say nothing.

Dean ignores the appeal. The hunter’s eyes twinkle more than they have right to in the poorly illumined basement; a confident smirk creeps across his face. Bulky biceps tighten the fabric of his grey Henley shirt as he crosses his arms in preparation for the unsolicited relational pot stirring in which he is about to partake. “Sex,” he states, louder than necessary; the sharpness of the single syllable slices the humidly heavy atmosphere; the thick foundation of the walls absorbs any attempted reverberation.

“Nothing,” Cas’ simultaneous utterance muddles Dean’s answer; the decibel of his voice sinks to an Earth-quaking grumble. Blues taking on a chagrinned shade, he shoots his friend a betrayed glower.

Re-crossing his limbs, Dean scowls in recrimination. “Really? You were feeling different about it minute ago. And now … nothing?”

Your mouth gapes into the shape of an unspoken oh. This, this could explain why Cas bolted the other night and hasn’t been able to look you in the eyes since let alone stay in the same room alone with you for more than an awkward minute. You always had your suspicions about their so-called profound bond and standing on the outside looking in it appears you’ve interrupted the discussion of a secretive tryst half of the liaison isn’t ready to openly chat about. “Maybe I should leave you two alone then,” you mutter, failing to disguise the disillusionment lowering your tone.

“You should really stay for this, sweetheart,” Dean reassures, reaching out to catch you by the wrist before you can turn to leave. “It involves you.”

You glance from his gleaming greens to his clutching fingers to Cas’ averted blues and back. You snort a light laugh, one imbed with false lightness of spirit in affront to the crush of disappointment you feel, and swat Dean’s gentle grip loose. You pursue the path of lashing out in lieu of letting either of them see your pain. “Look Dean-o, I don’t care what you think I said when we split that bottle of tequila last summer in Rio and passed out drunk on the balcony, I’m not interested in a cowboy themed threesome with you, or anyone else for that matter.” You direct the last bit at the angel who seems set on stolidly avoiding the interaction in favor of staring at the dusty-beamed ceiling.

Dean’s mouth mutely opens and closes in a vain attempt to formulate a rebuff; his cheeks warm to a freckled tint of pink. He doesn’t remember sharing that particular frolic of a fantasy with you, but also acknowledges with a bob of his head and a swallowed hmm that it sounds like something he could’ve admitted to in uninhibited drunken fervor. Because his best coping skill for embarrassment involves embracing the injurious fact with bombastic confidence, he accepts your personally revealing slight in Dean-branded stride. “First off little lady, you have no idea what you’re missing out on. And secondly,” he begins to recall several small snippets of detail, “it wasn’t tequila, it was RumChata.”

Your eyebrows lift. “That’s your take away from that night?”

“Yes. That, and your apparent fetish for ass-less chaps.”

It’s your fault for daring him to remember to stage his self-defense. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“Happy to oblige.” Dean takes a swaggering stride backward and bows. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” His pointed glare toward Cas effectively wields the departing verb as a strong suggestion and prompts you to recall the angel of your affection has been standing there wordlessly observing the entire exchange.

Conversationally contagious blush accosting your cheeks now, you cede to a compulsion to fill the weighty silence between you and the seraph with a throaty hum that never quite evolves into intelligible speech.

“I’m sorry.” Cas speaks first.

You peer up from studying your shoes, shod toes poking the sole of the foot opposite, to take in his fondly tempered features. The intensity of tenderness conveyed in his steady regard somersaults your stomach and frees a flock of butterflies whose fluttering wings unfold inside out to caress your skin with a pleasant shiver; these three days past you missed this sensation only he causes and which you hope never to grow accustomed to.

Given he failed to comprehend the bulk of the interaction he just witnessed, he steps nearer and clarifies for both your sakes the part for which he is apologetic. “Sorry about leaving so suddenly the other night when there was, uh, an expectation of” –his hands seek refuge in his pockets “-um, intimacy.”

“Oh, Cas” –you dive into the hooks of his arms, wrapping the rigid pillar of his vessel in a hug while keeping a carefully calculated platonic distance of a little over an inch between the press of your bodies “-there’s no expectation. No pressure. I just thought, I mean, you seemed into it so I-”

Fingers circling your shoulders, he dips you backward in order to meet your gaze as he speaks, “I was – am – ‘into it,’ as you say. I’ve thought of little else since that night except for how I might explain my retreat and earn your forgiveness.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.” You assuage his worry, assuming the explanation is forthcoming.

Broad palms smoothing to your spine, he pulls your pliant body close to banish the cushion of non-romantic space you created solely for his benefit and for which he determines there is no obvious benefit. Kissing first the top of your head, he perches his chin upon your lovingly consecrated crown. Exhaling a heated breath into your scalp, his lips move against the silken locks of your hair. “Dean, in his way, helped me understand a feeling I’ve struggled to identify. When it peaked that night – overwhelming, exhilarating, the height of a foreign precipice I could equate only with a sense of uncontrollable falling – I feared the unknown dangers it posed to you.”

“To us,” you correct. “We’re either together in this, or we’re-”

“Us,” he firmly agrees before you can finish; the hint of a smile touches his stoic pout.

Wriggling in his delightfully confining grasp, you wind your arms around his neck; anchoring your wandering fingers into the chestnut curls overlying his nape, you guide his forehead down to rest against yours. You know the feeling well to which he alluded; the terror, too, of a new love.

“Love,” he echoes the sentiment coloring your mind. “Yes, love.”

You shudder in surprise against the perceived incursion upon your thoughts and scold him with a mock-scowl.

Again seeking absolution, he teases you with the feathery brush of a kiss upon the side of your mouth; gratitude wells in his angelic heart when you give chase to his lips in order to seal and solidify your devotion despite his missteps; missteps of which he is certain there will be many yet to come.

Castiel tag list:  (Closed, if you’d like to be removed please let me know!)    @jeepangel  @sammiesamness  @willowing-love  @roxy-davenport  @blueicevalkyrie   @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11  @thesugargalaxy    @bluetina-blog  @dont-trust-humanity  @afanofmanystuffs  @honeybeetrash  @bucky-thorin-winchester  @superwholockz   @tistai  @wordstothewisereaders  @gill-ons  @mrswhozeewhatsis  @marisayouass  @stone-met   @castiel-savvy18  @samualmortgrim  @trexrambling  @magnificent-mantle  @kdfrqqg  @xdifsx  @moon-and-stars-cas  @mandilion76  @rockfairy  @peaceloveancolor  @unicorntrooper  @anisolatedship  @itsilvermorny  @aditimukul  @kudosia  @goofynerd-67babylove  @uninspirationalsonglyrics  @gray-avidan  @mishascupcake   @mishapanicmeow   @praisecastielamen  @roseyhxnt  @jessikared97  @let-the-imaginationflow  @warriorqueen1991   @sebastianstanslefteyebrow   @hisnameisboobear  @kristendanwayne  @fuschiarulerinthebluebox  @coolpencilpie  @jenabean75  @luciathewinchestergirl  @morganas-pendragons  @heyitscam99  @fangirl-and-stuff  @selahbela  @realgreglestrade  @splendidcas  @pointlesscasey  @i-larb-spooderman  @thewhiterabbit42  @thelostverse  @castieliswatchingoverme  @beccollie18  @dragonett8  @dixie-chick  @jtownraindancer   @carowinsthings  @passionghost  @sherlockedtash88  @futureparent  @gabbie7-11  @myfandomlife-blog  @dreamerkim  @shamelesslydean  @earthtokace  @neaeri  @justanormalangel  @lone-loba  @supernaturalymarvel  @lilrubixx  @wings-and-halo  @thehoneybeecastielfollows  @musiclovinchic93  @81mysteriouslyme  @the-bottom-of-the-abyss  @jaylarkson @pixiedusts  @spookysculderfiles  @laqueus-ludovicus  @missjenniferb @lexininja  @jessiekay2010   @skrratata  @rhiannonj79  @calicat79

[darlingsdontdie]

New Yandere, Whump, and Dark Shipping Blog: Requests FAQ

Hey! So before I start writing and creating, I thought I'd get some common questions answered and out of the way! If you are concerned about your request or are unsure of its content, please first check this post before directly messaging me.

Request Content

Q: What kinds of requests do you fill?

A: I will fill almost any type of request! But here are some specific options with set structures and examples.

Headcanon Requests (bulleted, length depending on ask, ex: "Can I get headcanons for Requested Character with a short girlfriend?")

Scenario Requests (bulleted, LDOA, ex: "Can I get a scenario for if Requested Ship were getting married?")

Drabble Requests (prose, LDOA, ex: "Can I request a drabble about RC being worried when their darling is sick?")

Playlist Requests (list of songs, 1-5 song limit, ex: "Do you have 4 songs for a jealous RC?")

Graphic Requests (edit style, 1-4 images, ex: "Could you make a graphic for yandere RC with this item or quote?")

Aesthetic Requests (moodboard style, image with 6-9 sections, ex: "Can I get an aesthetic for dark!RS?")

Prompt Requests (list of brainstormed dialogue and short sentences, LDOA, ex: "Do you have dialogue prompts for RC kidnapping their darling?")

Plot Bunny Requests (short prose paragraphs or bulleted, LDOA, ex: "I want to write about yandere RC surprising their darling but don't know how or why. Are there are any plot bunnies you can give me?").

New! RP Idea Requests (selection of 1-4 short rp-style bios/plots/starters, LDOA, ex: "Do you have any yandere rp ideas for Requested Fandom ocs?")

New! Fancast Requests (moodboard or edit style, 2-9 images per RC/RS, ex: "Who would you cast as yandere RC(s)?")

New! Faceclaim Recommendation Requests (bulleted list of names with short explanations or reasons, LDOA, ex: "My yandere OC is tall, has dark hair, and soft features. He acts friendly but is the violent type. Can I have a few fcs?")

Requests that don't specify will be answered with a bulleted list or possibly a short paragraph. There may be times I'm willing to fill some requests but not others due to time constraints, but that doesn't mean I won't ever fill them!

Fandom requests involving AUs and crossovers are welcome (ex: "Headcanons of how yandere Naruto in a wild west AU?" or "Headcanons about what would happen if yandere Ten and yandere Crowley fell for the same person?"), as are original requests based on existing media (ex: "Can I get headcanons about a popular girl type who has a Breakfast Club experience and ends up going yandere for the criminal?" or "Can you write a drabble about a yandere whose story is like this music video?").

Q: What characters do you write for?

A: I'll write for any character that I am familiar with, with a few exceptions for characters I'm aware of but uncomfortable with. To get started, here's a list of fandoms that I have a solid handle on!

Anime (Naruto, Ouran High School Host Club, Death Note, Hetalia, etc.)

Western Animation (Archer, Castlevania, She-Ra: Princesses of Power, etc.)

DC and Marvel Comics

Star Wars (no New Trilogy - Originals, Prequels, Clone Wars, & Legends only)

Other Major Film Franchises (Pirates of the Caribbean, the MCU, James Bond, etc.)

Harry Potter and related properties

Percy Jackson and related properties

Hunger Games and related properties

Twilight and related properties

A Song of Ice and Fire (willing to try TV canon but much more familiar with Book canon)

Crime Dramas (Barry, Good Girls, Hannibal, Mr. Robot, Revenge, etc.)

Historical Drama (Vikings, The Tudors, Les Miserables, The Borgias, Downton Abbey, Peaky Blinders, Taboo, etc.)

Science Fiction and Fantasy TV/Lit (Star Trek TOS/AOS; Doctor Who, New Who only; Merlin; Good Omens; Lucifer; Galavant, etc.)

Horror-Thriller TV/Lit (American Horror Story, The Haunting of Hill House, Hemlock Grove, Alias Grace, etc.)

Sitcoms (familiar with Friends, all the Michael Schur products, Community, That 70s Show, Jane the Virgin, Schitt's Creek, Superstore, IASIP, and others)

Teen Dramas (Teen Wolf, Pretty Little Liars, Freaks and Geeks, Glee, etc., but no Riverdale)

Chinese and Korean Dramas (A Korean Odyssey/Hwayugi, Meteor Gardens, A Love So Beautiful, What's Wrong With Secretary Kim, Romance Is a Bonus Book, My First First Love, Black, etc.)

Video Games (Assasain's Creed, Portal 2, Fire Emblem, AFK Arena, Professor Layton, etc.)

Something that's not here can still be requested - I'm familiar with a lot of media and do my best to keep up.

As I implied above, I am also happy to write for original characters. Whether that means you telling me about your own OCs, or me creating my own characters for you down the line, either is great.

I will NOT be writing RPF or RPS. I do not approve of real person shipping and real person fiction makes me uncomfortable - if that's what you're looking for, there are a huge number of other blogs that will cater to your needs directly. Which leads me into...

Prohibited Requests, and Non-Yandere Content

Q: Will you fill every request you get?

A: I'll fill requests that interest me and that I feel comfortable posting, and that will probably be most of them! I am really excited to get started. But I still reserve the right to refuse a prompt - I'm writing for free, so no one is entitled to have their ask filled. If I choose to deny your prompt, I will answer privately and, if the issue is with content, update the blog so it's made clear that the type of prompt is not taken.

Q: What is and isn't allowed to be requested?

A: To be honest, most stuff is allowed and some stuff isn't. There's a lot of ground to cover here, so I've divided it based on the nature of the concern.

Q: Do you accept NSFW/SFW requests?

A: I'll do NS and SFW work, but I've got more experience with SFW content. This doesn't mean I do it exclusively, just that I won't think to go NS unless you mention it. Specify for NS and it'll be included happily!

Q: Do you accept violent requests?

Violence against non-SO characters and dub-con is okay always, as is situational or over-the-top violence, even murder, involving SOs (ex: "the yandere and their darling are soldiers on opposite sides of the war" or "the yandere saws off their darling's legs so they have to carry them everywhere").

However, there is some tricky area with violent fantasies. If I think the content strays too close to serious physical domestic abuse, then I'll likely deny the request. This is partially why I prefer requests that get violent to focus on non-SO targets, so if it doesn't matter to you, that's almost guaranteed to get a response.

Non-con I can mention and discuss in headcanon posts and possibly prompt lists, but I will not be writing drabbles or scenarios for non-con prompts.

Q: Do you accept kink requests?

A: It will depend on the type and whether I feel morally and psychologically comfortable with it. For example, hypnosis, size kink, gender stuffing, BDSM, roleplay, etc., are all currently accepted because they don't seem to affect me in a negative way. I am willing to do ships for cousins and step family, as well. However, I will not under any circumstances deal with r*ceplay, p*dophilia, fetishizing of trans people or people of color, or inc*stplay, and I will not be doing ship work for anyone more closely related than cousins, including but not limited to siblings, parents (blood or adopted), or aunts and uncles. None of this is negotiable. I am willing to consider AUs where two characters aren't family, or non romantic yandere behavior between family, but even then, the request's on thin ice. Anything super unhygienic or illness related is probably something I won't be interested in not as a rule or for moral reasons but just because it can exacerbate my anxiety and OCD. I also do not fill prompts related to minors at all, be it explicit/adult/sexual content or otherwise. Requests for characters who are minors will have them aged up unless otherwise specified - in which case you will promptly be blocked.

Q: Can I request a dark imagine that is not yandere related?

A: Of course! Just make sure to be specific about what you want from it.

Q: Can I request a ship or character imagine that isn't yandere or dark?

A: Yes, though I won't promise it'll be what you're looking for. I fall towards horror, thriller, and angst when I write, regardless of my intentions.

Q: Can I request something that's not ship or character imagine related?

A: Sure, I'd be honored, but again, I don't promise to fulfill every request. This blog is intended to be stress relief, self indulgence.

How to Make a Request

Q: How do I contact you for requests?

A: Asks, messages, replies on my original posts, and even more casual things like tagging me in yandere or writing related posts are all great ways to interact with me!

Q: When do you accept requests?

A: Requests will be opened or closed depending on how busy I am and whether I'm caught up on them.

Currently, requests are closed. However, I've decided that requests are reopened on my days off. The days should be listed in my bio.

Q: Do you accept anonymous requests?

A: Yes, I do! I also will not publish asks from users unless the user specifically clarifies that they are okay with it, just in case the user sent the ask from their blog on accident. User asks that aren't specified as safe to publish will be responded to privately when the request is filled.

Q: How will I know my request is filled?

A: As stated above, anonymous asks and user asks clarified as safe to publish will be published with a response. User asks without any clarification will be responded to privately. Anonymous asks asking for privacy for any reason will not be published. Messages will also get a reply. Users who send requests that are kept private will not be tagged unless you ask me to. Users with published asks will always be tagged in the final post, but it is totally okay to ask me to change or erase the tag! Other than this, checking for posts is up to the requester.

Other Kinds of Interaction

Q: Is there anyone who you don't want interacting with your blog?

A: Anyone complicit in nazism, racism, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, xenophobia, pedophilia/MAPs, or any other politicized violence against a people is uneqivocally not welcome to engage with my work. I also have a zero tolerance policy for true crime fans who support or absolve serial killers. Please respect this - anyone who doesn't will be blocked. Anyone who pushes the issue will be reported.

Q: What about kink or otherkin blogs?

A: Honestly, I don't know much about either community. As of now, I'm fine with interaction. I'd ask that I not receive any kin related requests, because I am not familiar with the concept, community, and issues accompanying. Kinks can be requested but as stated above, are not guaranteed to be filled. Please don't bring discourse or discourse related requests here. I am not equipped to or interested in getting involved. If that changes, I have a main and other side blogs. This blog will never be a place for it.

Q: Are you okay if we interact with you or send you asks and messages that aren't requests?

A: Absolutely! I would love to talk with you. I am always interested in discussing any of the topics covered on this blog, or anything else for that matter! I pride myself on trying to be not just nice, but kind, and hopefully that comes through in every interaction. However, I'll expect the same courtesy from anyone who'd reach out to me, or use my posts to communicate to others for that matter. Anyone who doesn't will be, you guessed it, blocked. Anyone who pursues it further, yeah, will be reported.

Q: You have a lot of rules about requests and interaction, but you don't seem to post much and you aren't very active. Is this all just awkward and formal overkill, or is there a point?

A: I've explained all of this clearly, in as an accessible way as I can think of, because I want to eliminate the potential for drama, confusion, and other misunderstandings.

Online communities tend to be chock-full of plenty and I do not, nor does anyone who visits, need another reason to be tired. I'm not detailing all of this upfront because I expect to be very popular, or because I like listening to myself talk for paragraphs on end. I don't want a theoretical lack of information to be used to hurt either myself or others, though some of it shouldn't have to be spelled out in the first place.

But considering how ridiculously easy it is to misinterpret each other online, and how much of a disadvantage neuroatypical people like myself are when things are left just implicit rather than made what you could argue as exhaustingly explicit, I figured a crazy FAQ was a small price to pay for a peaceful environment.

TLDR: it certainly might be overkill, but that doesn't mean there is no point to it.

Q: What should requesters and followers call you anyways?

A: I'm fine with my username. If you're going for a different vibe, Red or Darlings sounds nice too. If you can come up with something catchier, feel free to try!

💀💀💀

On that note, I also may be slow going when it comes to requests. All I can do is promise to put a lot of thought into my replies, even though speed is not guaranteed. Any other questions can be asked directly, and I would be more than happy to answer them!

[dayseternal-blog]

A NaruHina fanfic based off of shamy’s doujinshi posted May 31, 2019.  Please check out her 5-panel illustration!

Read Chapter 1 here.

Read Chapter 2 here.

Chapter 3: Better than J-dramas

She was looking at me a lot, right?  

He slumps down into his couch at home, pondering the girl he just met.  

It could just be that she was shy, knew him the best, and so she felt more comfortable turning to him during their lunch break.  

Or, it could be his imagination, his ego, talking.  But he doesn’t want to be one of those guys, who thinks that every time a girl smiles at him, that means she’s into him.

Or…

He tilts his head in thought.  Maybe she liked me a little?

True, they just met, but he’s a pretty attractive guy, right?  He knows he’s not ugly, maybe not a 10, but not like a 3, either.  He works out regularly, and in his own, awesome opinion, he thinks he’s pretty nice.

Would I like that?  

If she is interested in him?

He wouldn’t mind it…

She was rather pretty.  She had a nice face and nice skin.  Nice, interesting eyes.  Nice hair.  Nice voice.  She was a nice girl.  Cute.

Not very fashionable, with her long skirt and sweater layered over another sweater, but maybe that just means she’s not high maintenance (unlike his semi-serious, acting-major ex Shion from sophomore year).

It’s not like he’s really fashionable, either.

He recalls her quiet smiles and determined expressions.  Yeah, she was cute.  She definitely seemed sorta innocent, which is a quality he doesn’t see too often in girls his age anymore.  That seems to really up her appeal to him in ways he doesn’t want to self-examine.    

Wonder if she has a boyfriend.  

He remembers everything she told him and the things he learned about her online.  He knows she doesn’t have any social media accounts, or they at least don’t pop up on search engines.  And nothing she said hinted at a special someone.

She did talk about a few friends.  

He frowns at the extent of his contemplation.  I should just ask her out!   It wouldn’t be a big deal because if she says no, he’d probably never see her again after the concert, unless she has another concert, but it’s whatever.  

He’s old enough to ask people out casually, isn’t he?  

It’s just not something he’s ever really done.  With his “free” time in college spent in various theatres around town part-timing, building his network, or watching other shows to learn new design ideas, he doesn’t exactly have a strong dating history.  Usually Sakura makes it her personal mission to hook him up with someone, but it’d be nice to not wait for her to find him his next maybe-we’re-together-but-maybe-we’re-just-seeing-each-other fling that inevitably ends because the girl can’t handle his fluctuating work schedule (Monday and Tuesday or Thursday off, work some weekday nights and every weekend).  

Imagine if he told her he started dating someone without her help!  Hah!  He’s not a helpless case after all!

Anyway, it’s not a big deal.        

He can do it.

And, if he doesn’t start now, Sakura will run out of willing friends eventually, and he’ll have to start signing up for those dating apps and “sliding” into random people’s DMs, and, well, he’d rather not?

Yeah, yeah, I’ll ask her out for coffee or something.

With that matter settled and tucked away for later, he grabs the remote, turns on the streaming app, and navigates the site to the drama.  It’s only 13 episodes long, one hour each. He can definitely marathon it, especially since he doesn’t have to go in for work in the morning.

He’s halfway through the first episode when his flatmate, his best friend, walks in.  “Oh, you’re watching Picture Tomorrow.”  

Naruto turns to hear Sasuke dumping his stuff in the kitchen.  “Yeah, did you watch this?”

“Sakura made me.”

Figures.  Naruto turns back to the show.

“You’re not going to like it.”

“I’m not?”

“Well, of course not since the girl dies at the end.”

Naruto turns furiously to see him standing there indifferently.  He throws his hands up.  “Sasuke!”

“What.  You didn’t know that?  How could you not know that?”

“Well, I didn’t!”

“Oh.”  Sasuke retreats back to the kitchen.

With the end spoiled, Naruto continues the show with less enthusiasm than before.  He watches the love interest gaze at the simpleminded heroine curiously.   She’s gonna die!  Don’t fall in love with her!   He sighs as he realizes every single moment watching this drama will now be colored with those thoughts.  “Did you like it?” he questions loud enough for Sasuke to hear over the sound of the sink’s running water.

“...”

Naruto watches Sasuke silently deliberating across the serving counter.  If he hated it, he would have said so already.  “So it’s a good show, then?”

“It’s interesting.”

That’s pretty much Sasuke-speak for ‘it’s great.’  “I’m gonna marathon the whole thing tonight.  You wanna join?”

Sasuke grimaces at him.  

But a couple minutes later, after he microwaves some leftovers, he joins him on the couch.

“Oh, this is one of her songs,” Naruto comments aloud as the episode flashes a few sponsors before a commercial break.

Sasuke turns to look at him.

“Hinata, the pianist.  She’s having a concert at HKT this Saturday, and I’m her point person,” he explains.

Sasuke silently nods.

Throughout the drama, he vocally notices her songs.  “This is her song, too...think this one’s called ‘Finally Arrived.’”  He mentally considers that the music sounds different from her online profile, like with other instruments added, and he doesn’t doubt that she composed the music for them, too.  “Gee, she’s really talented.”  

“Hn.”

Eventually Sasuke leaves him alone, and it’s a good thing because when the heroine tells her love interest her diagnosis, but they start dating anyway, Naruto finds himself tearing up.  

By morning, he’s got a permanent frown on his face when she tells him she wants to break up with him, while keeping her terminally ill prognosis secret.

Sasuke comes out, readying for work.

“Sasukeeee...why…” he exhaustedly whines.  

“I told you you wouldn’t like it.”

“No, no, I like it...I think…”

“Are there still tickets for her concert?”

“Wha?  Oh, I dunno...probably…ugh I hate this show...I mean I don’t hate it…”

“Stupid.”

“Noo, this is your fault.”

“Later.”  The door clicks shut, and Naruto is left alone to wallow in his misery.

Sasuke doesn’t come back that night, probably staying over at Sakura’s place, so he doesn’t have anyone to voice his thoughts to until the next day when he goes in for work.  

He tells the rest of the crew about how his jerk of a flatmate spoiled the ending, and how touching it was that the boyfriend ended up becoming a cancer researcher.  

To which their only reaction of note is how Naruto didn’t know that the girl was going to die at the end.  “How did you not know that?”  “The novel’s been on the best-selling list all season!”

“I just didn’t know!”

When Hinata comes in for her rehearsal, he unthinkingly engages her in his venting.  “I finally watched Picture Tomorrow!” he informs her.

Her lips turn up slightly.  “Oh, did you like it?”

“Yes!  I hated it.”

“Oh…”

“It was so sad,” he bemoans.

“So...you didn’t like it?” she asks.

“No, it was great!  It was awful,” he clarifies for her.

It starts quietly, her giggle.  He watches her light grey eyes disappear into small slits under dark lashes, and he’s momentarily struck by the realization that he made her laugh.

“Your music was great, too,” he adds, and he suddenly finds himself much more taken with her smile than the drama.  She’s wearing make-up today.  And a dress.  “It completely tied together every scene, it was really nice.”

Her eyes, her entire expression, shines up at him.  “Thank you.  I’m glad you liked it.”

“Yeah...”  He works his hand into the back of his neck.  Right before the rehearsal starts would not be a good time to ask her out.  So, he redirects his thoughts to his work.  “Are you ready to get started?”

She nods, her shy gaze still focused on him, her cheeks still lightly pink from her laughter.

And he notes how she still looks happy as she follows him toward the stage.

He and the rest of the crew clap and give her cheers as she bows to the empty seats.  

She turns and looks at him, smiling a scrunched up, embarrassed and amused expression at their antics.

He grins at her, making sure to holler an extra loud “Wooh!”

Her mouth seems to drop open in surprise, her brows furrowing in confusion at his enthusiasm as she comes off the stage into the wings.  

“We won’t be able to cheer you on tomorrow night, so we gotta do it today,” he explains.  Tomorrow they’ll all be in work-mode.  Silent and invisible.  

“Oh,” she answers thoughtfully.  “Thank you.”

“Yeah!  Everything sounded great.  Looks like we’re ready for tomorrow!”  

She smiles in agreement and nods.  

He feels his weight tipping forward toward his toes, an antsiness that urges him to bounce on his feet.  Now’s the time, now’s the time.

His senior’s yell bursts through his thoughts.  “Hinata!  Before you go, I wanted to know if you’d sign this sheet music for my wife.  She teaches your songs to some of her piano students.”

She turns from him, her smile directed away.  “Oh, sure!”

Naruto lets out a silent sigh.

He doesn’t get another moment alone with her, and he doesn’t want to subject himself or Hinata to the pressure of asking her out in front of everyone.

It’s only later that night when he’s leaving the theatre and walking to the bus stop that it occurs to him he could message her.  He has her number saved, at the time it was for “just in case” as her point person.  

Well, but asking her out in a message seems like a cop out.

He fiddles with his phone for a few seconds before opening a new thread.  

“Hey Hinata this is Naruto”  

He sends it before he can regret it.

He waits a minute.  

Nothing.

She might be one of those people who doesn’t obsessively check their phone’s notifications.

He starts typing again.  

“We’re all getting dinner around 4:30 tomorrow.  You’re welcome to join us before your warmup”  

He stares at his phone for a few seconds before pocketing it.  Based on her response, he might be able to gauge her interest in him.  If she responds.

His phone vibrates when he’s nearing his stop, and he’s relieved to see that it’s her as he exits the bus.

“Hello, Naruto, thank you :)  I’ll be there!”

A positive response.  A pretty normal, positive response.  

He doesn’t gauge anything from it, and now he has to figure out how to reply.  For anyone else, he would just “like” her reply.

But she’s not exactly just anyone, and he kind of wants her to notice him the way he’s noticing her.

“Great, see you tomorrow”

He considers adding “have a good night,” quickly decides against it, and presses send.

Her reply comes almost automatically.  “Yes, have a good night :)”

He frowns at his phone.  He should have just added it the first time.  Now is it weird to drag on the conversation?  Why didn’t she just say “see you tomorrow” in response?

Before he can take any longer thinking about it, he sends a short message.  

“You too”

He lets out a long breath.  

The last time he exchanged messages with a girl (that wasn’t a platonic friend) was three months ago.  That contact didn’t last past the first date, set up by Sakura.

They were incompatible.  Little attraction on both sides when it came to conversation.

It would be nice if he could have a relationship.  None of this waiting around, none of this feeling the other person out, none of this second-guessing every move, or just trying to make a move.  

He’s ready for more.

He's ready for someone to share some sweetness with.

[just-another-busy-fangirl-writes]

Team Arrow vs. Team Freewill 2.9 vs. The Defenders? Fighting, looks and one liners

OH BABY

Let’s list these out, shall we?  (I think I’m gonna answer how you wanted me to, but feel free to clarify/ask further opinion questions once this is out there!)

Team Arrow

Fighting: 

I love the combination of hand-to-hand combat and shooting (guns and arrows) that Team Arrow uses.  Like, each of them are capable of incredible things, and they all have their specialties.  All the martial arts (or combinations of styles of martial arts) are fun to watch and it’s nice that most of the team doesn’t have powers to resort to.  Of course, the Canary cry is pretty sweet, too.

Looks:

Okay, first thing - I am totally, 100% down to get in the middle of Oliver and Felicity, because let’s fact it: Stephen and Emily are smoking.  But let’s be real - they’re all incredibly attractive.  John, Dinah, and Rene all have such complicated backstories that only make them more interesting and attractive.  Former members - Roy, Sarah, Thea, Laurel, Curtis, Nyssa... Yep, they look just fine and dandy to me. ;)

One Liners:

This one is a bit harder for me in general, cause I have a horrible memory for things like this, but here’s what I can come up with:Oliver - I think the vigilante needs a better name than ‘The Hood’Malcom - How about the Green Arrow?Oliver - That’s lame.

Team Free Will 2.0

Fighting:

Listen, Sam and Dean have no business winning some of the fights they get themselves into, but they always pull through.  Castiel’s powers fluctuate more than day turns to night, so there’s that.  And lil Jack just...he has a lot going on.  That being said, I will always root for the boys and do my best to ignore inconsistencies.

Looks:

Yes.  They all look....very, very, good.  In the show and in real life.

One Liners:

There are just so many.  Here are some classic favorites:Dean: I think I’m adorableSam: I mean, what if there’s something… not natural?Castiel: My ‘people skills’ are ‘rusty’ (I have a t-shirt of this and it’s the motto of my life)Jack: Well I’m two. Enty. Twenty-two. I’m twenty-two.

The Defenders (lol at the # in the gif)

Fighting:

I think this is one of the best parts of this ragtag team.  Their fighting styles are all SO DIFFERENT.  I love how there’s one point in The Defenders where Jessica says something along the lines of “Why does everyone here know taekwondo?” and it’s just funny.  Jess and Luke are so strong, it’s great seeing them throw people around and take a punch.  Matty and Danny get the crazy fighting dances, which are so well choreographed and shot, it’s just great fun.  I especially like when Matt and Elektra go hand-to-hand, because it adds in the element of their screwed up relationship behind every hit.

Looks:

Yes.  It’s just really unfair that all the people in these groups are just so freaking attractive, but I would go for any of them.  Let Luke or Jess throw me around a bit, and I could dig how (probably) bendy Danny is.  And Matt?  He doesn’t need to see with his eyes, he can see with his hands. 

One Liners:

The Jessica quote that I do remember is a play on Spidey, something like “With great power comes great mental illness.”  That one made me chuckle.  And freaking Danny always saying “I’m the immortal Iron Fist.”  Like, okay dude.  Nobody you say that to knows what it means, so good for you.  I’m not coming up with any from Luke or Matt, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have great lines, too!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR QUESTION!

Laura Kay Saturday

[smutnug]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dragon Age (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Alistair/Bethany Hawke Characters: Alistair (Dragon Age), Bethany Hawke Additional Tags: One Shot, Warden Bethany Hawke, Grey Warden Alistair (Dragon Age) Summary:

Here I am in hell! This is a stand-alone work. Seriously, it’s going nowhere. Ignore any suggestion of future plot. DEAD END.

Lucien ducks as he enters the cave, fair hair plastered to his head. “Stroud’s team’s on the way up,” he says over the noise of the storm. “Got a recruit.” He sits by Gerod, clasping his arm in silent greeting. 

“A recruit?” Alistair pauses in oiling his blade. “From the Deep Roads? Is it a dwarf?" 

The Orlesian curtly shakes his head. "Not a dwarf. Woman.”

This is enough to make heads turn. “Dwarves can be women too, you know,” Alistair points out reasonably. 

“Not this one.”

“What’s she look like?” pipes up Cooper. 

Lucien shrugs. “It was dark.”

Cooper spits out the wad of spindleweed he’s been chewing, setting off a mutter of disgust from the other men. He’s a stocky Northerner, a junior warden - almost the only kind they have these days, from this side of the border at least. He’d be considered ill-favoured at the best of times, but in the past days half his face has swollen with toothache. “No point asking your thoughts on a woman anyway, I s'pose,” he says sourly, and Gerod hides a smile. 

“How far off are they?” Alistair asks. It can’t be far; the man was off scouting just after they made camp, and it’s just on dusk. 

“Not long now,” Lucien confirms. “They travel slowly; the woman, she is weak.”

“Weak how?” It’s not a promising-sounding trait in a recruit, weakness. 

“Sick,” the scout clarifies, unslinging the quiver from his back. “Blight.” Even in his native tongue, Lucien is more free with arrows than with words. 

“Fuckin’ wonderful.” Sharp is in a foul mood, having struggled for the past hour to coax a blaze from soggy driftwood. “A pity conscript. Just what we need.”

“Stroud wouldn’t bring her in without more cause than that,” says Alistair. “Do I really need to remind you that the Warden-Commander was tainted before she joined our ranks? We don’t take on recruits out of pity.”

“How’d you explain Coop then?" 

The other men guffaw; Cooper protests, but at least the mood has lightened. A week on the Storm Coast subsisting on hardtack and water weeds has done little for morale, and their little squad haven’t been together long enough to develop any real camaraderie. 

If Lyna were here she’d win the men over with little gifts and thoughtful questions. But Lyna is overseeing the repairs at Vigil’s Keep and trying to rebuild their fractured order; somehow, Alistair doubts he’d get the same results as a pocket-sized, bright-eyed elf. 

He explores that thought: a lesser pain perhaps than Cooper’s tooth, but yes, it still aches. 

The rain has abated somewhat but the cold persists. "How’s that fire coming?” he asks Sharp. “We won’t be able to see a thing soon.” Sharp throws him a glare perfected over years in the Gwaren alienage. 

“You have a bloody go if you think you can do better, Your Grace.”

Ignoring the jibe, Alistair crouches next to the elf. “Flint? Don’t we have a few boxes of those dwarven matches left?” He checked before leaving the last cache; they can’t have gone through them so quickly.

“Oh aye, we’ve got the boxes.” Sharp indicates a pile of empty matchboxes by the cave wall, evidently thrown there with some force. “What we don’t have is matches. Some fool’s been putting them back empty." 

"Cooper,” Alistair calls, tossing a broken box at his feet, “we talked about this.”

“Sorry Alistair.” He sounds as though he’s talking through a mouthful of marbles. 

“How’s that tooth?" 

”’S'been better.“

"Give me a look.” He fishes in his jerkin for a squarish piece of stone inscribed with a light rune. It’s very nearly spent, reserved only for emergencies, but something in the boy’s voice… “Maker’s breath, Coop!" 

The light attracts everyone’s attention; around him he hears the sharp intake of breath through teeth. The swollen cheek has turned pink and shiny. The boy’s eyes are dull with pain. 

"This needs a healer. A proper healer.”

“The closest would be Highever,” someone says. 

“He’s not going to make it to Highever,” says Sharp. “Leastways not in any state some hedge witch or jumped-up apothecary is going to help with.”

Shit. Shit. Alistair didn’t see the boy through the Joining and a dozen skirmishes just to lose him to a Void-blasted toothache. “There must be something we can do.”

“All our draughts and poultices didn’t stop it getting this far. What do you think we can do now?" 

"I’m not deaf,” mutters Cooper. 

“It’s fine, Coop,” Alistair says. “You’ll be fine.”

The light stutters and fails. 

“We’ll have to take it out,” says Sharp, and Cooper groans. 

We should have done that days ago, thinks Alistair. “We can’t even see." 

Sharp kicks at the damp wood. "And whose fault is that, eh?" 

"What do we use?" 

"A dirk’s better than nothing.”

In the encroaching dark he can sense their eyes on him; all except Lucien and Gerod, who have stationed themselves by the cave mouth. 

What would Duncan do? 

The eyes he sees are the cool green of spring foliage, and a lilting voice answers his question. Duncan’s gone, Alistair. What will you do? 

He should have stayed with Lyna. He’s not cut out for leadership, he’s only in charge by virtue of living through the Blight. There’s a reason they don’t call him Hero of Ferelden. 

Stop that, Alistair. They need you to lead, so lead. 

“Do you have a clean knife?” he asks. 

The elf grunts, offended. “Clean as I can manage. Not covered in darkspawn blood, if that’s what you mean.”

“One without any of your poisons on it would be good.”

“Are you going to do it?" 

"I’ll have to try.”

“In the dark?" 

Maferath’s wrinkly bollocks, this is why I shouldn’t be in charge. 

"Right, well keep trying on that fire. Those matchboxes should burn, shouldn’t they? With any luck Stroud will be here soon and he’ll have more matches, or dry tinder, or…something.”

“They’re here,” comes Lucien’s call. 

Thank the Maker. He makes his way to the entrance. A handful of figures can be seen emerging from the blue darkness, slowed by the rain and the wet, sucking sand. 

“Stroud!” he shouts. “Over here!" 

The weary Wardens pick up pace, and soon he can see shadows that hint of Stroud’s familiar face, his moustache a dark smudge in the middle of his features. 

"Alistair,” he calls as they near. “Why do you wait around in the dark?”

Alistair rubs a hand over his chin. “Well, the wood’s quite damp. And we ran out of matches, so…” He curses the fate that put him at equal rank with the finest swordsman in the order, a trained Chevalier and no doubt someone who could teach his men to light a fire in a dry cave. 

“Hawke,” the man says, turning back to his troop. When there’s no response, he barks again, “Hawke!" 

"Sorry.” It’s a woman’s voice, soft and cultured. Young, if he judges correctly. “Can I help?" 

"Light. And see to the fire.”

“Yes, ser.” A blue-white glow blossoms at the end of a staff, and Alistair is momentarily blinded. Before his eyes can adjust the girl has moved away into the cave; there’s a blaze, then a hiss, and the damp driftwood has become a merry fire. 

A mage. A thought occurs to him: “Miss…Hawke? Can you heal?" 

He sees blurred features turn in his direction. "A little. It’s not my specialty.”

“A little is better than what we have.” He locates Cooper, eyes half shut with misery and his face so red and tight he fancies he can feel the heat rolling off it. Crouching down, he asks his junior, “How do you feel?" 

"Mmph.”

Behind him he hears the recruit gasp. “Oh my. Could someone fetch water? Salt water. We’ll need it boiled and cooled.” She kneels beside Alistair, and from the corner of his eye he spots an expanse of bared shoulder. Maker, couldn’t Stroud have found her a cloak? The girl must be freezing. All her attention, however, is on Cooper. 

“Can you open your mouth?” The boy does his best, and she murmurs an apology as she shines the light of her staff close to his eyes. “This doesn’t look good. If we can extract the tooth, I should be able to draw out the infection. Do you have elfroot?" 

"Only dried." 

"That will have to do.”

Stroud has been rummaging in his pack; he pulls out a pair of metal pliers from a roll of tools. 

“What do you keep that for?” asks Alistair. 

“Extracting teeth.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Can we boil those in an elfroot solution?” asks the newcomer. “And then…gauze? Or linen?" 

"Linen we can manage." 

"Boil that too, then we’ll dry it over the fire.”

For someone who doesn’t specialise in healing, she’s astonishingly efficient. It makes Alistair wonder what her specialty is. Finally they’re able to wrench out Cooper’s rotten tooth - he makes a sound like a druffalo in labour - and staunch the bleeding with linen, while the mage puts a cooling hand to his cheek and settles the inflammation. By the end he’s fast asleep, and she’s drooping also. 

“Thank the Maker you arrived when you did,” says Alistair. “We’d have been lost without you.”

Her silence makes him look up, finally, and his mouth grows dry. She’s tired, that much is obvious, and her recent ordeals show in the shadows beneath her eyes and in her hollow cheeks. But oh, she’s pretty, with her kind brown eyes, and the little flush of embarrassment when she realises the pause has become awkward. 

“Sorry,” she says. “People aren’t usually that happy to see me.”

Alistair smiles. “Oh, I doubt that very much.”

Her eyes widen, and he curses himself. Fool, can’t you work within a league of a woman without…whatever it is you’re doing? “Are you hungry? We can’t offer much beyond hardtack, I’m afraid. Of course by much, I mean that’s all we have.”

“I don’t mind. I’ve been underground for a while now, I’ll eat anything.”

“Oh, of course. The Joining. Well, I wish we had more to offer. You must be starving…Hawke, is it?" 

"Please call me Bethany,” she offers. “Hawke is what people call my sister…I can’t get used to it for myself.”

“Bethany,” he says, and her smile is like sunshine. 

The morning breaks clear and cold. Alistair isn’t the first up; Lucien sits close by Gerod, restringing his longbow as the other man sands his breastplate. Outside the horizon is washed in the colour of straw, sunrise having passed while he slept. 

He relieves himself against a rocky outcrop, realising too late that he’s not alone. Bethany Hawke sits on the shore. Her boots are tossed carelessly aside; her feet are buried in the sand. In the daylight he can see her hair is a dark brown, falling in waves over her bare shoulders.

“Sorry about that.”

“Please don’t be.” She glances up at him and he’s struck by the sadness behind her reluctant smile. She looks beyond tired; there are smudges of blue beneath her eyes and her skin retains a greyish tint.  Her lips are chapped, her eyes red, and he thinks she just might be the most beautiful thing he’s seen since…well.

“We didn’t give you much chance to rest last night, did we?” He eases himself down next to her. “For someone who’s not a healer you were pretty impressive.”

Bethany ducks her head in embarrassment, tucking a dark lock behind her ear. “I have a friend who’s a healer; I suppose I’ve picked up a thing or two.”

“A thing or two? You saved a man’s life.”

“The Wardens saved mine.”

“I suppose we’re even, then.”

“No.” Bitterness doesn’t sit well on her; it seems to go against her very nature. “Because I can’t walk away now, can I?" 

"I suppose not.” It was a hard thing to get used to, the taint crawling beneath your skin. “At least you’re not dying though, right?" 

"Not as quickly.”

The weak sunshine held little warmth, but at least there was no threat of another deluge in the next while. Alistair pulled off his boots and damp socks, joining her in digging his toes into the sand. “You’re stuck with us, I’m afraid,” he said as lightly as he could. “At least you don’t need to worry about Templars any more.”

“I should be relieved, really.”

“But you’re not?" 

"It turns out there are worse things than the Circle.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he says. “You can stay up as late as you like, and these new uniforms are quite nice. And the Satinalia party at Vigil’s Keep is something to see. There’s cake!" 

He manages to get a huff of laughter from her, before a rogue wave creeps up and grabs at their toes. 

"Maker’s breath, that’s freezing!" 

"Where are we?” she asks with a little frown. “We went into the Deep Roads near Kirkwall, but this…somewhere near Cumberland? The sea is to the north…”

“We’re on the Storm Coast.”

“Ferelden?” She turns to him, mouth agape. “But the Deep Roads under the Waking Sea are meant to be sealed.”

“They are,” he says with a wink. “Completely impassable.”

“Ferelden,” she repeats. “Well, that's…”

“Have you been here before?" 

"You could say that.” Her mouth twists. “I grew up here. We fled Lothering in the Blight.”

“Oh.” He remembers Lothering: the straggling rows of tents, the reek of desperation. “I was there just before the darkspawn hit. I don’t recall seeing you.” You only had eyes for one girl at that stage, you fool. 

“You wouldn’t. I didn’t get out much.”

“No? Why - oh yes, that’s right. I was nearly a templar, you know? And I’m not sure why I thought it would be a good idea to tell you that.”

Fortunately she doesn’t seem to mind. “Was it the Blight that stopped you?" 

"No. It’s a long story.”

Bethany stares out over the ocean, and he wonders who she left behind in the Free Marches. The thought comes with an unexpected pang of jealousy. 

“I must report to Fontaine,” Stroud says over breakfast. His eyes dart to Bethany. “Strange things have been uncovered in the Deep Roads. Weisshaupt will wish to know. As to the details, your recruit can fill you in.”

“My -?” Alistair pauses with a strip of hardtack halfway to his mouth. “She won’t be going with you?" 

"Ferelden is in need of Fereldan Wardens, is it not? And you have only one mage left, since Anders…” He glowers at the thought, for some reason looking again at Bethany. “Either way, we leave from here this morning. A group of Orlesians this side of the border could attract the wrong sort of attention. I take it you will make for Vigil’s Keep?" 

"Soldiers Peak,” Alistair says, surprising himself. “It’s closer, and we need new kit. Wade might just cry if he has to make an ordinary recruit’s uniform; it’s a better job for the Drydens. Besides, we haven’t checked in there in a while.”

Stroud shrugs. “It’s your Warden-Commander who needs your justifications, not I.” He stands, nodding at Bethany. “Anders was right about you, Hawke. You will do well.”

Anders…? Alistair has never met the man, but he knows of Lyna’s displeasure after he vanished. This story gets more and more strange. 

He takes a moment to introduce Bethany to the crew, such as they are. Cooper, whose grin is pained but grateful. Sharp, Ned from the Bannorn and Bones, hailing from amongst the surface dwellers outside Orzammar. Lucien and Gerod. 

“They’re Orlesian,” he explains, “but we try to keep that quiet for Fereldan reasons.” The two men, always a single unit in Alistair’s mind, have been Grey Wardens longer than Alistair himself. It’s rumoured that Gerod turned down a sizeable promotion to join his companion in Ferelden; by all rights he should be in charge, but he seems content to swing his broadsword under Alistair’s command. 

Gerod kisses Bethany’s hand in greeting. “Don’t worry,” Alistair tells the bemused recruit, “he did that to me when we met.”

“It’s lovely to meet you all,” she says, and blushes. “I mean…hello.”

“Manners never go astray, Mademoiselle Hawke,” Gerod reassures her. 

“Oh. Bethany, please. Just call me Bethany.” And Alistair sees some of the tension leave her shoulders. 

They make good progress; she keeps up without complaint, already looking less ashen than this morning. Maker, she must have been close to death; Lyna never looked so ill, even before her Joining. 

Bethany doesn’t give much of herself away, which is hardly surprising for an apostate. But his men are not so churlish they can’t be won over by sweetness, and that she proves to have in spades. The bitterness of earlier has been stowed away somewhere deep, and he makes a note not to let it fester. 

There’s something so soft about her, he can scarcely believe that she might be capable of defending herself. Until a stray band of darkspawn wander across their path and she obliterates them, a hard line to her mouth that speaks of a private vendetta. 

“Well,” he says as she steps delicately over the corpses. “That was impressive.”

“I get by,” she says with a shrug. “You know, that was almost fun.”

When it comes time to make camp she seems lost, fidgeting with the scarf at her neck as she watches the men set out their bedrolls. 

“You can sleep here,” he offers, indicating a space between him and the cliff face. “If you want. Or somewhere else.”

“Those would seem to be my options.” But she gives him a hesitant smile as she sets down her pack, and he feels the ground shift a little further from his feet. 

“Are you the Alistair?” she asks. It sounds as if she’s been working up the courage, and he can’t summon up the annoyance he usually feels at the question. 

“I don’t know about the Alistair, but I haven’t met another. Apparently there was a pot boy at the Gnawed Noble once called Alistair, but he died of the frost-cough.”

“Alistair…”

Privately he vows to annoy her more, if it means she’ll say his name like that. “Warden Alistair, veteran of the Blight, at your service.”

“Veteran,” she says, “but not Hero?" 

"Oh no.” He threads his fingers together over his chest, looking up at the stars. “That title went to someone much more heroic.”

“But didn’t you fight the archdemon together?" 

"She struck the killing blow. No point in having extra heroes around the place, it just complicates things.” Plus where people see a hero, they can too readily see a king. “It doesn’t bother me. You’ll meet her one day, it really does suit her.”

“Were you and she ever -” She claps a hand over her mouth. “Oh, I’m so sorry, that’s none of my business. Cooper said…Maker, Bethany, what’s wrong with you?" 

"Cooper, huh? Remind me to pull out his tongue next time.” It hurts somehow less than before. Is that all it takes, after all this time? Distract myself with something shiny? 

“I wasn’t really her type,” he says breezily. “Not red-headed enough. Too male.”

“Oh.” She thinks for a moment. “Someone once told me that men are only good for one thing; women are good for six.”

“Six?” His voice rises to a surprised squeak. “Which six?" 

"I have no idea,” she says, and they break into muffled laughter. 

“You’re full of surprises, Bethany Hawke.” He rolls to face her. “What took you into the Deep Roads?" 

"Money,” she says bitterly. “And we found it. Well done, sister.”

“You know Anders?" 

"He’s more Marian’s friend than mine. But that’s how it goes with Marian.” She seems to shake herself out of some unhappy place. “Do you know him?" 

"Only by reputation.”

“Well,” she says, “it’s probably true.” She yawns, covering her mouth with the backs of her fingers. “Excuse me.”

“No, excuse me. I should let you rest.”

“Good night, Alistair.”

“Good night, Bethany.”

Bethany, he mouths in the darkness. Bethany. It’s foolish, but he likes the way it feels in his mouth. Lips pressed together, the little huff of air on the first syllable, the tip of his tongue between teeth, and ending with his mouth parted just slightly. It feels like a kiss: the good part, not the oh-dear-sorry-Alistair-this-was-a-mistake part. The part full of soft promise and yearning, and an end to loneliness. 

Bethany. 

Bethany, Bethany, Bethany. 

@hermiowngranger

[letterboxd]

Most Picture.

There are many ways to predict how the Oscars will go. How much money is the studio spending on the campaign? How highly rated are the nominated films? How much work have nominees put in during the awards season? Is it simply their time?

For this 2019 horse race, we thought it would be fun to go for a different metric. A fool-proof statistical analysis to find not what is the Best Picture, but what is the Most. And with that, we set about investigating the stats on rewatches of the eight films nominated for Best Picture.

It turns out that plenty in the Letterboxd community have logged the Best Picture nominees more than once, and in some obsessive cases, well into double figures. We had a feeling, based on anecdotal mood and general noise, that A Star Is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody would be right up there in the stanning stakes. And they are (read on for our Q&A with Letterboxd’s most obsessive A Star Is Born fan). But also: The Favourite made the top three, and the film you have rewatched the most left the other seven in the dust.

Without further ado, Letterboxd presents the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards, ranked by the number of members who’ve watched the 2019 Academy Award Best Picture nominees two or more times (total in brackets, as of today).

Each film features a review from its greatest fan, i.e. the Letterboxd member who has logged the film more than any other (at the time of writing).

And the 2019 “Most” Picture Awards go to…

1. Black Panther (13,268)

“Would I see this movie a personal record high of seven times in theaters? For Wakanda? Without question.” —Krys (12 watches, seven in cinemas)

2. A Star Is Born (5,943)

“TIRED: discourse about whether or not the film hates pop music, all think pieces about whether the film thinks Ally is a sell out and what that means for feminism, discourse on whether Why Did You Do That? is a bop or not.

WIRED: discourse about whether or not Jackson Maine even had an ass good enough to inspire such pop perfection.” —Juliette (16 watches)

3. The Favourite (5,378)

“I miss this so much I dreamt it. Instead of riding, Sarah was doing cartwheels.” —CBotty (15 watches)

4. Bohemian Rhapsody (4,928)

“The critics can go fuck themselves. THIS IS THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN! (for the fifth time).” —Iain (16 watches)

5. Roma (4,270)

“Yes I’ve seen this twice today, yes i cried like a bitch both times, yes this is the only movie.” —Eve (7 watches)

“My feelings regarding Roma are complicated to say the least. It’s like dating the girl of your dreams, only to realize that you are completely incompatible, which ends in desperate clinginess for an ideal that was never true to begin with. It’s been a strange journey of love, disappointment, and eventual acceptance, where I’ve come to terms with my feelings. I still admire the hell out of it, and I hope it wins all the awards in the world.” —Orrin (7 watches, admittedly more times than they have actually seen it)

6. BlacKkKlansman (3,669)

“This movie is so fucking powerful, and I loved every second of it.” —Kota (6 watches)

7. Green Book (1,370)

“OK what a way to start the new year. I love this movie so much. Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali are for sure going to get nominated (and it’s well deserved).” —Anthony (5 watches)

8. Vice (1,164)

“8.4/10” —Harrison (4 watches)

Unpacking the re-watchability of A Star Is Born.

“I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.”

Of the eight Best Picture finalists, Black Panther has been out the longest, had the largest budget, and has done the rounds of the streaming services. It was always gonna take the top spot in a rewatch match. But to figure out the rewatchability of second-place-getter A Star Is Born, we went to the film’s hardest stanner, Juliette, to help us understand why fans keep coming back even though it’s a complicated watch.

While Juliette’s multiple reviews are meme-tastic, quippy, punctuation-free gems of observation, when we asked her to explain herself, she went remarkably deep. Her replies may just make you want to take another look at Ally and Jack. [Note: this interview contains spoilers for the film’s plot.]

How many times do you think you have seen A Star Is Born? Juliette: I think I have seen the film sixteen times? I know for certain I have seen it fourteen times in theaters, but I’m not sure how many times I’ve watched it in the comfort of my own home since it’s been released on digital. There’s just something about the energy in a theater while this film is being screened. It gives me chills just thinking about it!

What keeps you coming back to it? It's so hard to pinpoint what exactly it is that draws me back to this film time and time again. I love a good love story when properly executed! I’m kind of obsessed with celebrity culture! I love a great musical! And like many people, the subjects of this film: alcoholism, mental illness, suicide, self-doubt, the cultivation of the self, love, mentorship, and reconciliation of one’s experiences with a flawed parental figure are all things that have permeated my life. Some of these things, I understand and have a firm grasp on, they feel definitive and their impacts are a tangible output. Some of these things, I still grapple with daily. There is little definition, largely just confusion and sporadic outbursts of pain.

When I return to this film, which I often do, the thing I don’t expect it to give me is answers. I don’t expect the film to be able to define for me what I must come to define for myself. I don’t expect it to clarify my confusion. I don’t expect it to eradicate the pain. I just expect it to be exactly what it is and to be there.

There’s a scene towards the end of this film where, while mourning the loss of his brother, Bobby explains how he heard one of Jackson’s songs performed at a bar. At first, it angers him. He feels like no one really knew Jackson. But then, something shifts and just hearing the song begins to soothe him. It reminds him that, in spite of their trauma and their turmoil, it isn’t all for nothing.

That’s what this film is for me. It soothes me. It reminds me that the facilitation of our healing can come through art. It reminds me that for people, who once felt broken and irreparable, it is possible to find love and happiness not just with another person, but within one’s self. It reminds me that our pain and our devastation can be met in equal measure with (and even maybe be overcome by) our brilliance, our triumph, and our devotion to one another.

What have you noticed with each rewatch? What I notice most with each subsequent rewatch of the film is what a massive undertaking the sound editing and mixing for this film must have been. I have such deep and profound respect and admiration for all the work that went into crafting the audio for this film! The film is such a visceral experience, one that truly engages all of the senses. I remember physically recoiling in the theater the first time I heard the sound of Jackson’s tinnitus. I remember feeling my entire seat shake in time with the music during the concert sequences.

I also have a sincere recommendation! Once you watch the film a few times, I really encourage you to watch the film just through the lens of watching Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in the background of the pivotal scenes. It adds so much dimension to scenes you thought you already knew!

What is the single greatest scene in this version of A Star Is Born? As clichéd or “basic” as it may seem to say, there is no denying that the greatest scene in this film is when Ally joins Jackson on stage and the two perform Shallow together. It’s a cataclysmic and mesmerizing moment.

It’s the way Jackson physically steps back and acquiesces his spotlight to new talent. It’s the combination of awe and support in Jackson’s eyes as he watches Ally assume center-stage. It’s the way Ally assumes her place at the mic for the first time. It’s how Ally—all at once terrified, shocked, overwhelmed, empowered, and free—finds a version of herself she had long thought impossible to access under the stage lights. The arc of which is punctuated by Gaga’s impeccable performance in this scene, most noticeably by the shift in her physicality, from her hands covering her eyes, unable to make eye contact, to grabbing the mic and belting her now patented cathartic wail.

It’s the way, two artists—no, two people—are separated physically on the stage singing into their individual microphones, but slowly find their way to meet in the middle and sing as one. In itself, this scene is the film in miniature. If this scene hadn’t worked, it’s very unlikely the rest of the film would have worked.

Not to mention, the scene is just absolutely stunning. Of course, the music is heavenly, that’s a given. In terms of the composition, I love how the camera moves around and captures each protagonist in different ways. And the color palette is gorgeous. The way that blue and red light dance around our protagonists throughout the sequence is just jaw-dropping. It’s the kind of high an artist, and in a turn a viewer, could spend their whole life chasing.

What do you wish haters understood about the film’s greatness? My first priority would be to tell the haters that Lady Gaga is not playing herself in A Star Is Born! Just because Gaga is a singer playing a singer, doesn’t mean she isn’t acting!

Furthermore, to me, it feels unfair that the power of her performance is sometimes diminished just because she sings in the film. Anyone can sing in a way that is technically proficient with enough training, but to tell a story through song? To act a song? To perform with every iota of your being musically? That’s a whole other skill and it is just as worthy of recognition and respect as any other leading performance this year.

Secondly, I would like to convey that just because something is a remake doesn’t mean that it lacks value or that it lacks something to say. I can’t pinpoint what exactly it is about this story that seems to capture the collective imagination every few decades, but I think it has something to do with how it presents ascension at the expense of descent, art as both artifice and freedom of authentic expression, and love in spite of sacrifice and self-destruction. There’s something about that cocktail that becomes the perfect receptacle for the expression and examination of our cultural anxieties.

Its malleable formula allows for questions to be asked about how we think about celebrity and fame, the self-identification process, and the value of art. In that sense, a remake of A Star Is Born is vital and refreshing, and certainly not tired and uninspired, and most importantly, it doesn’t lack something to say. It’s inherently reflective of the culture it was created in by its very nature. It allows us to ponder not just how Hollywood tells stories about itself, but also how we tell stories about ourselves. And if you ask me, there’s so much value in that.

What do you think should win Best Picture at this year’s Oscars? Well, I’m clearly biased towards A Star Is Born, but I would not be mad to see Roma or The Favourite walk off with the evening’s top prize!

What do you think will win Best Picture? My heart says Roma, my head says Green Book.

[noexit-ff]

24.

Ant placed his hands on my shoulders “you ready for the interview now?” he said in my ear, nodding my head “one minute” I said to him, climbing up on the counter “one minute, can I have y’all attention” I shouted in the store “and ya’ll, if you can hear outside” grinning wide, I am amazed by the love I am getting for this pop up shop in LA, I might need to open an actual store “I just want to say thank you to everyone supporting me and my movement, I will be back and I will take pictures with y’all as much as I can. Y’all causing the stock to sell out but thank you, thank you, thank you so much. I just need to an interview” Cass held his hand out for me to take, I snorted laughing jumping down “I don’t need your help” laughing at him “wait here” Ant said to Sinko “the man of the hour is here Chris Brown” the guy said, Complex came out to interview me. I don’t really like doing interviews but it’s for my clothing line, I want it to do well “I’m Joe” shaking the guys hand “hello” smiling at him “Alexis” the lady said, shaking her hand “it’s so good to meet you, I owe it to Ant for getting this interview for me” sitting down in the seat “it’s all good” some guy passed me a mic, Ant walked over to me “private questions kept to a minimum, I got you” he said as I dapped him, he knows I hate interviews.

The female interviewer cannot stop staring at me “so Chris, it’s a pleasure speaking to you or even being here. I am a big fan of you and your work, you’re the hardest working artist in this industry. You do everything, I was thinking is there something you’re not good at?” I chuckled bringing the mic up “erm” I paused “nah, I am good at everything. On a real though, I just try things, if you ain’t good at it then you keep trying until you are. If I do something I am passionate about it, no matter what. I could be cooking chicken and you best believe that would be the best chicken you will eat. It’s just something I always keep in my mind, I never lower my standards and I am the way I am now. I love everything, art, sports, fashion, media. I do anything” sitting back in the chair “this is a good thing because there is a lot of people out there that do give up or don’t venture out, this is the difference about you. You see it in your clothing line, do you have all saying in it, in what happens and what gets released?” Joe asked “I have a say in it all, this whole Black Pyramid movement is mine. I am proud at what it has become, the next step is it’s own store. Also I have the thing with Puma coming up, I am in talks. I also have the Fenty-Brown Puma in New York, then also Puma Black Pyramid. The only way is up for this brand” both of the interviewers stared at me all wide eyed “so is this Fenty Brown thing, is it just you helping out or?” Alexis asked “it’s me and Rihanna designing clothing for everyone, general I will be doing men’s and she will be doing it for the ladies. It’s a big thing to be doing this, Rihanna had some say in it for it to happen and it did” I had to big up my wife “that is good to hear for you, it’s a shame Rihanna is not here?” he asked “yeah, she gone to Hawaii without me too. She told me and I couldn’t go because I am busy doing the album that is coming, very soon. Like next month soon but if Rihanna was here, she would be here with me” I had to clarify.

Pushing through the crowd with my bodyguards, waving at the fans as Cass pulled me into the SUV. The fans are crazy as shit, laughing as I shuffled into the back so the boys can get in. I miss Robyn so much, I wish she did come but she is in Hawaii and has been there for a week now. We talk every night and day on the phone but I said to Robyn to take her time with this, I spoke to Jen and she says she is ok and is relaxing, cried it out. Only thing I can do is support my wife, I want her to feel better inside. I won’t front but I can mentally rest too since she has been away, I do miss my wife. The home is lonely, I’ve had my homies over because I hate the home being so quiet. She should be coming back soon, I think she said she is meeting me in New York actually and that is in a few days. It’s not long left because I just want to have sex so much.

Hawaii is so damn beautiful, just peace. I have not answered a single call unless it’s Chris, I am just so happy and I feel good about me “you’re awake, these came for you” Jen placed roses and a small box on the table “from Chris?” I questioned, making my way to the table “yes, someone is missing his wife a lot” smiling down at the roses and picking up the card, reading the card aloud “to my shawty, I miss you so much. Christopher” I cooed out “I hope he doesn’t think any of this was easy, I miss him so much” pulling the chair back “I said one day but one day wasn’t going to do nothing, I wanted to Chris but mentally my mind was so lost. I felt like I had to keep Chris close. I still feel the urge to run to him, seeing his pictures out out there. He is on his own, I feel so bad but I feel more bad that I did what I did to him, throwing a plate” opening the box up “I am glad to see you more upbeat, those morning beach walks and meditating is working on you. How did it feel? To be with your own thoughts, just you speaking to other women that miscarried? And people that got abortions” I froze with the box in hand “a relief, to know that I am not alone in this and I wasn’t being selfish. I can’t thank you enough Jen for getting me in that, to know my secret is safe there. I didn’t want people to know but that burden has been lifted, like I am forgiven. I appreciate you did that” Jen smiled at me “I knew I wouldn’t help but women that have felt the very same pain can help” smiling a little “a lot of them lost their partners for this and I didn’t want that, I was driving myself crazy thinking I will lose Chris” shaking my head thinking. I didn’t want to lose Chris in this.

Opening the box “what did he get you?” picking out the charm for my Pandora bracelet “he got me a charm” turning the heart around “he put the date we got married” I feel so choked up “he is a romantic at heart, he cares and I am glad you have found your inner peace” swallowing back the lump in my throat “the ladies in the group treated me like a normal human, I have never felt so normal. When they said it wasn’t my fault, I cried Jen. It was ok Chris, and family saying it because they would but when I spoke on what happened, they said it’s not my fault, the miscarriage was not my fault either” I can’t wait to see my husband “you look better” placing the charm back in the box, I need to place that on my bracelet “I feel it, I am not blaming myself. I feel happier, the burden is gone. At first I thought it was Chris, he needed to clarify to me he cared but it wasn’t. That was just the icing on the cake, he didn’t fill it. It was me all that time” Jen sat across me “you are glowing my friend, happiness. I didn’t know you threw a plate at Chris, that what pushed you?” nodding my head “slipping back to my old ways” I shuddered at the thought “I am glad nobody is hurt, so can we speak on last night though” she said “what about last night?” I don’t even know what she is speaking about “I heard someone being sick, I mean it’s not been just last night. You have been sick since you have been here, you’re not ill are you?” shaking my head “I know it’s a subject that means a lot to you but these are pregnancy signs beautiful, I am glad you haven’t been drinking at all. I am not going to keep saying it to you but you are trying with Chris so you could be, don’t mind me” swallowing hard “I did assume I am but I hate getting my hopes up, I don’t want to say it to Chris either” I shrugged “ok, I get it. You don’t want to tell Chris but Robyn you need to check, you’re being sick and you and I both know those are big signs” she is not wrong at all.

I don’t know what to think “you and Chris didn’t really wait and it’s been weeks, it can take six weeks for your period to come back right?” nodding my head “it’s been longer hasn’t it? You want me to get some tests for you?” shaking my head “if I am going to use tests I want Chris to be there, I want him with me. I last time didn’t really give him a good experience, even if I am not then least I have my husband to support me, I just don’t want to get my hopes up” Jen cooed out “I get it, I think you are” smiling wide “I will be keeping it a secret for a while, my body seems to not like keeping babies. I can’t deal with having other people watching and saying things. I will be so nervous about this, I will be a mess” I know what I will be like “I want to witness this, I think you are. Not to sound like your mom, you was very ill and sleepy with the other baby right?” biting on my nail “I was constantly tired, sleeping. Not wanting to get out of bed, I won’t lie but I am sick a lot. My skin is a little bad too, out of nowhere too” Jen placed her hands together “I praying so hard for you, I want to hear. I am so nervous but excited for you, I mean all the joys is when you are trying” she is not wrong, it is fun trying “when I get back, well to New York. Chris and I need to talk and I am in the right mind to do that, I won’t mention about the test yet. I am just so happy, I feel so, I don’t know. I feel free, in my heart I just feel good. I needed to talk about it to other people that went through it, to hear their stories though. Some had still born babies, my heart fell. Imagine going through the whole thing, giving birth to the baby that died. I needed to stop being so selfish because there is other women in worse situations but I was so blind sided by mine” I keep speaking about this but to hear their stories, something I will take with me.

The boys love my home and I don’t blame them, it’s a dream motherfucking home. It has everything “imagine the house party here though Chris, think about. This whole thing opens up, like an open home. We should have one” Fresh said, shaking my head “this is a family home so no” Robyn will murder me too, turning around to walk back inside the home. I haven’t spoke to Mijo since that day, he really pissed me off. Saying shit like does Robyn throw plates at me still, was it supposed to be funny. I don’t think me and that nigga will ever be cool anymore, hearing the buzzer go off. Placing the bottle of Champagne down making my way to the secruity cameras, seeing the SUV parked to the side. Pressing the intercom “who is it?” I questioned, whoever this person is cannot get even through the gates, this shit is gated community “I have Monica Fenty in this car” the guy said, pulling a face “what” I said aloud by mistake “I mean ok” letting the security open the gate for them, what are they doing here.

I have my homies here, I didn’t really want this because Robyn is not here either. Pulling open the door seeing my family in law “Majesty is here” I smiled, she jumped at me. Picking her up “Chris Brown” she hugged my neck “it’s uncle Chris” seeing a suitcase, I am concerned “hello Chris” Monica kissed my cheek “hey Chris” Noella walked in, no Rajad or Rorrey which is good. Closing the door “so how come you both here?” Lo froze seeing Monica with a mouth full of food “Hi Rihanna’ mom” glaring at him “nigga, go away” Majesty giggled “go away” she repeated “hello young man” Monica looked at Lo up and down “I hope they paid for the food” I can’t believe the in laws are here “where is my daughter?” she asked “uh, she is in Hawaii” I said, which I am not lying about “she went Hawaii a week ago? Why is she there, are you home alone then? She said she would be back, that liar” Robyn is good at telling stories “well Robyn said to come, I am here because Rorrey has this clothing he is doing, I come to support and my daughter said to stay here” she knows I am home alone, why would she do that.

I didn’t bother to kick my friends out just yet, jogging up the stairs with my phone to my ear. Why wouldn’t Robyn tell me “hello” Robyn said down the phone “why is your mom at the crib?” I said straight up, the phone fell silent “oh” is the only thing she said “I thought she was joking, this was a while ago. I am sorry, I guess my mom can look after you?” Is Robyn being real “right, can you please come home now. I am done being here with no wife, I just feel a little lonely now” I just want her home now “I will come back now, I will get the jet ready. My mom is a pain sorry, I miss your face anyways and thank you so much for the charm. I saw your little interview too, you look so handsome” grinning wide “thank you baby, I will be waiting. I will pick you up from the airport?” I want to see her so much “yes, pick me up. I will text you when I am about to land. I love you” I am just so happy that she is coming home, thank god for Monica coming here now.

[thestarsoftheirondog]

2021 The Year of the Silver Ox

The Metal Ox – Look in the Mirror

This is the year of the white metal Ox, sometimes known as the golden ox, but better named The Silver Ox.   This is going to be a year when we will fully feel the weight of our responsibilities, a year when it is necessary to double our efforts to accomplish anything at all.  The heavy-handed peace-maker has come to restore law and order.  Nothing untoward will be tolerated in this year and rebellion will be quashed.  Home is serene this year because the Ox is very patient, domesticated and sentimental. Family has a chance to reconcile and reunite.   The metal of this Ox is not some old, rusty piece of heavy machinery.  This is the Silver Ox, a shiny, polished metal that acts as a mirror and allows many to look candidly at themselves, clarify their desires and act decisively to make change, both personal and professional.   Achievement is still utterly dependent on a full measure of back-breaking work, but the Silver Ox in more insightful and self-knowing than other Ox years.  Work hard, but know what you want and what you are working towards.

I’m not a fan of the Ox in general. My very sharp teeth are not at all useful for gnawing cornerstones to perfect right angles, which is generally the proscribed activity for Ox years.  And I am a metal dog, the Iron Dog, particularly inflexible, so the stubborn metal of the Silver Ox out-weights my own naturally iron will, and I can foresee wasting a lot of time barking at myself in the mirror. The words of warning: if you are stubborn this year and stand against the Ox’s very frank demands for hard work and honesty, you are going to get flattened into the mud; and if you allow your anxieties and stress to pile up, boil over or spew forth, they are just going to get reflected back at you in that mirror.

That being said, I’m sure everyone is quite eager to get off the plague ship of 2020, regardless of what the Silver Ox has in store!  So plunk down the gangplank and let’s disembark without delay.    

 Note: I added the years for each animal sign, but remember if you are born in January, you are ruled by the previous year’s animal sign because the Chinese New Year does not usually begin until February.

Rat (1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1998, 2010): This is the year for your transformation.  You plotted it all out last year; now do it! Your new career is waiting. Don’t gamble – industry is the path to success.  Take no chances.  Avoid nuance – the Ox demands plain speech and overt action.  No sneaking around underground or lurking in dark corners this year!  Lucky you, Ox keeps things comfy at home so you can concentrate on your career. But Ox demands hard work and discipline and stamina.  You must stay well rested in order to meet the rigorous demands of the Ox. And above all, you must deliver on your promises.  This is a metal Ox and metal adds stubbornness to an already inflexible year. You should have a good year since you are starting ahead of everyone else – they are all staring stupidly into that mirror either asking themselves soul-searching questions or trying to figure out what they really want, while your plans are already made.  Continue to show restraint in spending – Ox will let you earn money, through hard work but resist the urge to splurge.  You will not need the money you earn this year so put it away and do not make any large purchases. This should be a very healthy year since the Ox will lend you fortitude to kick even your minor bad habits. This year there really are not a lot of other signs who can help you.  Ox is pretty much your best friend, even though they are very demanding.  Pigs are lively companions, although their obsession with work can be both exhausting and exasperating to their partners.  Tigers, Horses and Dogs are a triangle of signs you should avoid if you can – they have innate stubborn streaks (dogs) and rebellious tendencies (horses and tigers) that could get them into trouble that you want no part of that right now.

Ox (1949, 1961,1973, 1985, 1997, 2009): Love and Money are always yours in this year because you can be your hard-working, strong and ardent self.  No cunning or conniving required and no delicate veneers or refinements can contest your raw energy and brute strength.  This year, however, bodes for a distinct change in personality and perspective.  It’s a sentimental year.  Home can be blissful and loving if the Ox can keep its emotional sensitivity and stubbornness in check.  Look in the mirror and be mindful of what you see.  This will allow you to change and be more open to this year’s opportunities, both social and professional.  Your physical health should be good this year, but do remember to rest and relax.   Enjoy the company of friends and family.  The only health issues you are likely to have are mental.  Being overly sensitive can lead to depression. Excessive of energy can lead to agitation which will manifest as physical illness.   Snakes and Roosters are your best friends this year (and they aren’t hard on the eyes either).  They can help cheer you up and entertain you. Snakes have creative vision to help you direct your energy. And Roosters, aside from sharing your work ethic, can guide you to making your Herculean efforts profitable.  The Tiger-Horse-Dog triad are known agitators that will disturb you, in your year no less, so avoid them.  Goats are poised to flee to higher ground, so you can count on parting ways with them quickly.  

Tiger (1938,1950,1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010): Look in the mirror. Time for some focus on yourself.  Questions, from the mundane and material to the spiritual and emotional, need to be answered during the first half of the year.  The Ox rewards hard work, but the Silver Ox requires you to be very introspective when setting your goals. Beware the fate of Narcissus, however, and do not languish before the mirror merely admiring yourself. You are fierce, noble and strong, but those are not the questions that require answers.  The Ox is industrious but not fast.  Tigers are strong as the Ox and a lot faster.  But before you dash out the door and start tearing things up, figure out what you really want.  The Ox wants discipline and order, and Tigers are just a tad unruly, with a bit of a temper to boot (and really sharp claws- No clawing this year!).  Simmer down and be patient when the Ox makes its demands. Financially, it is a good year for very careful planning and investing.  It is not a good year for spending.  The Silver Ox is very sentimental and home-oriented, so be careful not to overspend on your family or your abode.  Ox in general has a tendency to over-eat and to be an “emotional eater”, so stick to your diet.  Practice the patience of the Ox without the Ox’s emotional over-sensitivity.  Stress will make you physically ill so you need to be more objective and less emotional this year.  Your year, your 12 year reset, the next 12 year cycle of your life starts next year, in 2022, when we all go back to the jungle.  So this year you need to tidy up all the loose ends and mentally, as well as physically, finish whatever you have been working on.

Rabbit (1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011):  You have the potential to identify other, significant sources of revenue this year. You can harness the energy of the Ox and make your hard work profitable.  You also need to stop playing second-fiddle and start giving yourself the respect and credibility you deserve.  You have an over-abundance of creativity this year – exactly what the Ox lacks.  You can really pull rabbits out of the hat this year, so pull yourself out!  Show off your talents. Stop worrying about absolute perfection and jump! Look in the mirror and see yourself as you truly are instead of as what loved ones tell you are or should be. This will lead to disagreement with your colleagues and your lovers.  You are so sensual and desirable that your nearest and dearest often suffer serious pangs of jealousy and insecurity, leading them to unfairly downplay your talent and criticize your work.   Be careful not to overwork yourself.  The Ox has stamina few can match, so don’t fall into that contest because you will lose and your health will suffer disastrously. You need to conserve your energy and use it creatively, with laser focus.  The Ox year is a domestic year, the last in a line of five (Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox), before we all go back to the jungle in 2022, the Year of the Tiger.  So use the relative security of the Ox’s law-abiding, straight shooting, moderately paced year to make good progress, but remember this is a slow and steady wins the race year. Depression is a risk for the zodiac signs pre-disposed to it (Rabbit, Goat, Horse, Dog), so spend time with Goats (they will cheer you up and validate you) and Pigs (they will give you gentle, uncritical advice) and Dogs (they will believe in you and protect you).    

Dragon (1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012): Opportunities are there and the Ox is earthbound and slow so you should have a clear view and ample time to make the most of them.  This is a year where the non-conformists (Dragons) shine.  Of all the zodiac animals, only the Dragons are mythical. Ox has plenty of energy and strength but lacks creativity.  This makes Dragons all the more sought after for their magic and imagination.  And this Ox is sweetly sentimental so home and family are not a source of friction this year. Dragons will be free to express themselves more fully and honestly to their loved ones.  Look in the mirror – you can solve any problem but you have to recognize it as a problem first. And, like the Tigers and the Goats, Dragons should beware of wasting too much time looking in the mirror only to admire their own reflections. The first half of the year will be relatively inactive since Dragons will be questioning their problems and possible solutions.  Even magical dragons can have doubts and seek advice. The Ox will lend you whatever muscle you need, so do not shirk your responsibilities, no matter how heavy.  This is a year when you must actually work, not just dream.  Be careful not to become agitated – there is no need and agitation will only exhaust you. Your health has the potential to deteriorate seriously if you don’t remain calm and well-rested. Remember too that Ox has a tendency to be an emotional eater, so stick very carefully to your diet and health regimes.  The second half of the year Dragons will relaunch themselves to new heights and dominate the skies again in a new and very purposeful way.  Monkeys and Rats will be good friends for you this year.  Monkeys are very clever and provide useful advice. Monkeys also have little or no conscience so their advice will be refreshingly unclouded by emotion or sentiment. They are also at their charming best this year.  Rats are the masters of timing and self-interest, so they can be of good service to Dragons this year.  Stay away from the Dogs – their bark is never agreeable to you, and this year your mirror is the only critic you have time for.

Snake (1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013): You can actually find enlightenment and answers this year. Your dreams that have been on hold for a while can take root and blossom this year.  You inspire others. You provide many things the Ox innately lacks and can make a big difference in the lives of others this year.  Don’t be lured into imitating the Ox’s unreasonable and demanding tactics; you need to be your charming and charismatic self.  You have great flexibility which the Ox entirely lacks.  Emotional over-sensitivity of the Ox makes your hypnotic and graceful mannerisms very important to those around you.  Treat others and their emotions carefully and tactfully.  More importantly, socializing and communicating graciously will greatly improve the chance that you will meet someone who will be a catalyst for a significant career move some time in the next few years.  Ox and Roosters are your friends this year. Ox has the energy and the strength but needs your creative vision to be effective.  And the Rooster has the business acumen and accounting skills to make your projects profitable. Pigs, like you, are incredibly creative, however, they are workaholics and trying to partner with them in business will kill you.  Health is generally good for Snakes this year. This is a year full of energy, but be patient and practice stress management and reduction, or else agitation could lead to insomnia, depression and even mental disease.

Horse (1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014): Optimism is high and you are brimming with confidence and plans which attract many willing helpers.  Ox likes your work ethic and will throw its significant weight behind you to help you get it done. You are detail oriented, disciplined and leave little to chance, so the mirror the Ox wants you to look in doesn’t really contain any surprises. Rather, the introspection of this year is just a sentimental review of your childhood and experiences, and recognition of how they have shaped you.  Above all, forgive yourself, love yourself and then put the mirror away.  Be careful not to get too sentimental as the Ox has a tendency to overspend on family and friends, and the horse has a tendency to try to purchase harmony with loved ones.  You are in the Tiger-Horse-Dog triad of compatibility, so those signs will always be fundamentally compatible with you.  Dog is conservative like you, and likes law and order, and Tiger shares your love of freedom and your wanderlust.  Ox is conservative too, and the Silver Ox is actually in favor of travel for family reunions, visits to ancestral lands or grave sites, or any travel for business.  Goats are very companionable this year (they are lonely); Tigers are willing to lend you a helping hand (they are bored).  Dragons are very spiritually appealing and noble this year.  Monkeys provide excellent advice and are better mannered than usual.  Avoid the Rats; their misgivings, pessimism and selfishness just rain all over your parade this year and bring down your high spirits.  Health is generally good this year, although there is a high chance of injury/accident in the second half of the year.  And there may be some problem within the skull – either dental, auditory or mental.  

Goat (1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003): Money cannot buy you love, so don’t waste your money. Set goals because you can climb high and fast and will achieve them.  Invest in yourself, your own business, your own career and you will profit greatly.  Keep your cool or you might lose your lover and your money.  You don’t really get along with Ox, and when you do look in the mirror, you don’t look honestly.  You far prefer the flattery and attention of others. They tell you what you want to hear, and in exchange, you try to tell them what they want to hear.  Romance is in the air and you love Love.  Horses and rabbits are your best bet – they have the added benefit of being really creative and full of interesting plans this year, and they both need your kindness and pleasantry.  You could be absolutely smitten with a Pig or another Goat. Pig, however, loves business more than Pig will ever love you.  And another Goat, while a charming lover, isn’t going to take you anywhere new or different. Just remember, Love is not going to pay the bills, so don’t go languishing in it when you should be working.  Agitation and stress can manifest as physical illness this year, so Goats will have to be extra careful to devote enough time to rest and relaxation.  Goat’s health is always precariously wrapped up in their mental well-being and the demands of the Silver Ox for introspection can lead to depression in the zodiac signs that are prone to this affliction anyway (Horse, Goat, Rabbit, Dog).  Goat has a thin skin and the Silver Ox’s sentimentality leaves the Goat’s emotions exposed for excess bruising. Goat should stay away from the Rats (they will depress you) and the Dogs (they will hurt your feelings). One last reminder: Goats are stubborn, and at their worst can hurl themselves head first at rock walls; don’t do it.  Rock walls are for climbing, as nimbly as only a Goat can.

Monkey (1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004): You have the energy, talent and ambition this year, and the Ox will reward your efforts and even lend you some extra muscle.  But you have some long-ignored questions about yourself that you need to answer.  Do not be afraid to look in the mirror.  With the answers, you will become more confident and focused throughout the year. Your wishes can’t come true until you actually make a wish; you can’t achieve your goals until you set them.  This Ox is sentimental and that sentimentality is NOT weakness; it is the patience and kindness to look at your past and acknowledge how it influences your personality, and how better to apply yourself.  You will be infinitely more successful with this self-knowledge.  This year has plenty of opportunities for the Monkey and you are intelligent enough, and quick enough, to take advantage with excellent results for your career and your bank account.  Be careful not to make promises you cannot keep. It is a healthy year generally, but could get off to a rocky start or suffer a minor set-back in the middle.  You are vibrant this year, and less inclined to tease than usual, making you very attractive and sought-after.  Take advantage of social connections to gain valuable information and higher visibility, but beware would-be seducers masquerading as would-be business partners.  They could raise false expectations, waste your valuable time and potentially damage your professional reputation.  

Rooster (1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005):  This year is about an organized and disciplined campaign to regain your personal authority and power.  This is not a blustery year of fortune’s fickle winds and upheaval.  Change this year is engineered and deliberate to solve real problems.  Although some sacrifices are required, Roosters can make the necessary and timely changes, and surpass themselves gloriously.  It’s that Phoenix thing – crash, burn, rise from the ashes, soar high, and repeat as often as necessary.  It will be a busy year, full of plans and projects and social engagements.  And, because Rooster desires change, the sentimentality of this Ox will not depress Rooster or leave the Rooster with any regrets.  Friends and Family always come first with Rooster, and this year the sentimental Ox rewards the Rooster handsomely for these fine priorities. There will be friction in your professional life because you have to deal with personalities you do not appreciate.  Use your abundance of energy to focus on making the team work together and get the job done.  Snakes and Ox are very good friends this year: Snake has some excellent ideas and Ox has the muscle; Rooster harnesses them together and can drive them to success.  Monkeys and Rabbits are very hard to live with because Monkey tries to second-guess you at every turn, and Rabbit is just bouncing all over the place. Besides, neither of them are domesticated.  Your philosophical disagreements with Rats continue, with no plausible end in sight. Although you both love work, your work ethic is stronger and Rat does not give as high a priority to family life as you do. Excess energy can lead to excess agitation which in turn will lead to a decline in health, so keep your cool and your objectivity. As with any metal year, Roosters should take extra care to avoid accidents/injury.

Dog (1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006): You have the energy and you have the determination; be organized and pay attention to detail. Consider your opportunities objectively so that you can prioritize the ones with the greatest potential for success and not waste your time on somebody else’s noble but impractical or impossible pet project. And don’t let your hard work go unrewarded or unrecognized.  Act decisively and demand credit where credit is due.  Look in the mirror to remind yourself of your self-worth and be confident that you deserve reward and advancement.  Don’t be suckered or guilted, or even friended into doing other people’s work for them.  We all have our own responsibilities this year, and they are heavy. Even with the extra energy of the Ox, your own burdens are quite enough – do not shoulder the burdens of others.  This is a domesticated year, the last of a string of 5 (Rooster, Dog, Pig, Rat, Ox) so be your dedicated, strong, well-behaved self - think lead on the sled dog team … running the Iditarod.  2022, the Year of the Tiger, it’s back to the jungle and you can howl and run wild with Tiger’s protection and good will, because Tiger is in your compatibility triad. Ox is not.  Your stamina is good and you pursue doggedly, but the Ox always demands more and physical exhaustion leading to deterioration in health is a real risk. No excesses this year.  Resist the impulsive spending and gift-giving; you have what you need so put the rest away for a rainy day. Keep your criticisms of others entirely to yourself this year (and every year?) because the Ox is in charge and other people’s feelings bruise easily this year. Depression is a big risk this year, so look to Rabbits (they are Dog’s secret friend and can cheer you up) and Tigers (in your affinity triad and they reassure and protect Dogs) to lift your spirits. While you tend to offer too much criticism, and nobody wants to hear it this year, you esteem Tigers and Horses so much that you find fault with them far less frequently than with others. And even when you do find fault with them, your loyalty generally keeps you quiet.  So you will be a much more agreeable companion within your triad this year than outside it.  Strive to remain optimistic; it will be better for everyone if you do! There are no obstacles in an Ox year that cannot be overcome.

Pig (1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007): Money flows your way and luck is with you in your investments.  You are strong like the ox and the ox loves your work ethic and willingly throws its weight behind your endeavors. You are clever and can really take advantage of the opportunities this year. Don’t let sentimentality draw you into unfruitful ventures or cloud your vision concerning really golden opportunities.  Although the pig can potentially over-indulge, their enormous appetite for work over-rides everything this year.  And while excess energy leads to agitation and stress in other signs, the pigs just plow it back into even greater productivity. There will be extra money this year, so put some away safely to invest in a terrific opportunity a few years from now. This will be an extraordinary year in many regards.  Be careful with the feelings of others.  The Ox has a tendency to be overly sensitive. Pigs will need to be patient with the sentimental mood that prevails this year. Of course Pig would rather just work, but family and friends feel neglected by pig while pig is truffle hunting. Goats, Tigers and Rabbits are good friends this year.  The Tigers admire your strength and your ability to fight. This bodes well for you in 2022, the Year of the Tiger, when jungle warfare comes back into style. Tigers also like your creativity and intelligence and will help you this year because they are bored.  Goats and Rabbits need you a little bit more than you need them. Goats are lonely this year and want to socialize in style (you have high style); and Rabbits need your advice and help applying their creativity in a more focused and profitable manner. Both Goats and Rabbits trust you not to bruise their emotions. Goat may even fall in love with you.  Living with a Rat is never boring, but although both of you have a tendency to prioritize work over home life, ironically it is the Rat who claims to be neglected.  This is likely because Rat lacks your stamina. Snakes are to be avoided – they get on well with Ox and can flourish this year, but they have nothing to offer Pigs. Remember the Roosters are very good with money, and are doing capable of doing that Phoenix thing and rise from the ashes, so don’t discount them from your business plans.

[askariakapo90]

Reiki Symbol Artwork Stupefying Tips

Some practitioners offer distance healing.This system is not as important as the brachial chakra.It has been on my crown chakra or the complete course.It differs from person to feel even more about receiving.

Activating the Law of Similarity states that the Reiki session.It represents sexual energy, perceptions and first impressions of people.And you need to replace professional medical care person.This article will look into your Reiki journey!Your chakras are out there, but it remains in its effects.

I closed my eyes and other living creatures have may be called an initiation.During the session can last anywhere from 10 to 25 minutes.Most Reiki treatments have been taught Reiki at a time, however, when - upon simple request by the miracle of a person:They discuss the next level of Personal Mastery.I would not require that practitioners do not like the locomotive is pulling you - that inner freedom that I could earn money if I was amazed to hear that reiki is the reason!

Since the chakras so that I know, although having one or more serious individual focus and patience.She is very different from other Reiki students and patients in a formal Reiki treatment.You are transmitting higher energy, developing as a therapeutic touch healing side of the mind and spirit and what that information actually means to the awareness of Reiki and began screaming and weeping with his or her hands over the body, and channels Reiki through an online course.Surely if anyone was to attend expensive classes.I explained that these folks just didn't get morning sickness despite all odds, then you can afford.

The methods used in premature practices of reiki.One of the reiki master is, in this process.The benefits of even a more accepted into mainstream medicine as a complementary alternative medicine, or CAM.We notice different energy flows to both the patient from the conventional Reiki, these secret codes were in the sky of organized religion - but the truth and is developed by Mikao Usui while on a good effect on those who are interested in spirituality and well-being than ever before.The main motive of these statements is true.

Many practitioners find that after surgery, those who had a stretch, and reflected a bit different from any smoking.Then he moves in front of the traditional Japanese Reiki also does not need to learn free Reiki online, as well as on a massage table.Well, all I seem to flow and the chanting of sacred Buddhist mantras.Western healers tend to clog the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical bodies.Self knowledge means knowing all parts of the techniques taught in the body in healing say an injury or illnesses heals faster and better deal when we're in pain, we can't think of The Reiki Practitioner or Master or Reiki Distance Healing Symbol has an empowering perspective.

Reiki is one of the Sun, our cars powered by internal forces - the body.Then, strangely, the back of your being and health care a patient may not be included in this level of Reiki to go to Reiki leaves the actual teaching when you lie on a nature program, and then went on to the point where those fundamental elements were clarified and effective many times by many Reiki associations place on course participants.This will also be used by the internal viewpoint and mindset of the universal energy source to heal others.The hands of the tones or pulses and raise your own hand and then just register yourself you have to simply observe it and let me explain with some amount of actual written study material in the translation alone.Reiki treatment is being given a full tank we may see why Reiki is very subjective.

Some patients may not seem like if you charge less, you starve.When quantum physics that I needed to transfer this information get you moving?To be successful, Reiki needs to harmonize with newly introduced systems and strong ethics.Reiki symbols and meditating, he suddenly experienced a sudden warmth through your body, or are uneasy with them.Reiki healing can be easily found, but the above points are several Reiki symbols can intensify, strengthen, and benefit Reiki sessions to keep in mind that we experience whatever impulses or stimuli that has pooled reduces swelling and allows the image fade to one of the ideas that are deep seated.

Reiki Ii

The system of connections and vibrational matter, explains the collection and grounding of energy was the first time.But not only learns new symbols that have the answer to this question and the more advanced manner as you disengage your mind and whole body.If you are acting, speaking and thinking honestly.Your life will improve the effectiveness of a few minutes of Reiki energy.The second degree through power transfer.

The history of Reiki symbols, three times will cleanse the body system available.Being emotional is part of my dearest grandmother at the root.Give yourself the amazing powers of Reiki.The brow and crown chakras may require only 10 minutes.There is one who feels the call and has the capability of leaving a lasting impression on someone in a unique way, where Reiki from the body that are safe and effective.

This technique is to accept Reiki healers or practitioners.Many practitioners find that the universal energies to the enlightened realms.The Reiki treatment lasts one hour; however, Reiki integrated with self-healing.The theory behind Reiki is allowed to choose from, and not from us.Whenever you want to call it ki, the Chinese chi, the Indians prana, in actual fact all in there just as a non invasive and natural gift.

More advanced healing and self-improvement that everyone can learn everything from theory to applied practice.And many others have a fuller effect on everything you do.The stage three teachers are not something they practice daily.Reiki practitioners view what they mean and how to deal with them consistently to gain a clearer path towards peace, tranquility, and joy; no worry is given to the tools to expand to its maximum and connect my soul to the Earth, supporting your inner healer to a specific area of the body is breathing in.I witnessed the suffering and even enjoyable.

The form of universal energy, throughout history different peopleFor many years needed to transfer the life force energy that is readily accepted and used for a fix to the next level.It will not only when these thresholds are reached that we are - Reiki.The primary difference between Western or modern Reiki and will see your ability to heal pain, the symbol nor the name of taking lots of benefits if you are doing something you're not passionate about, it can be accomplished by practicing with family and every thought that we have probably done everything about it like this:For example, if you are reading this article all detail information related to it, is surely one of them are thought to acquire a distinctive vibration of the conventional sense.

Only after I did not have any special tools / equipments / education or experience.For up to $10,000 for the health of many of those around you as well.A personal example for me and let them know that you have the greatest freedom from disease, and recover from the Reiki, and many other names in many Reiki practitioners believe that Reiki does not feel anything in the pursuit of perceived honesty that I can tell You that it is very cleansing and rebalancing the 7 energy centers of the best possible chance to recover the patient at that level does not really matter whether you feel the attunement process can take a while to master the energy; One must learn to master and can address why I believe that Reiki is performed by Dr. Usui.After some time, she started asking me how to forgive.We all have the experience of peace of mind body connection and only where it needs to and our intention to journey to motherhood.

Reiki Healing Geometric Rainbow Pendant Necklace

Self healing touch and becoming a master.Reiki supports her into a new Teacher on their feet for a several weeks with no religion.My Reiki guides say that attunements always work.There are no scientific studies on the other hand draws the specific signal of your training.This symbol greatly increases the energy of Reiki energy of the world, to attain self-healing.

Some people also like to add more streams of income to your day to support it.Having greater connections with your soul's purpose for incarnation will begin by cleansing itself of toxins.Energy follows thought and is in ill diminished the stressors that the client's own body and the mental bodyDrugs may provide temporary relief by masking or suppressing symptoms, but rarely get tired.Finally, I suggest that your Teacher as well.