#i have just offended 2 completely different religions with one post but oh well

[mexashepot]

Just recalled that when I told my friend several months that I ship Judas/Jesus/Mary (god forgive me) (jcs mostly though) she was like 'well it's not our canon texts so it's not as weird to you. It'd be weird to you if it were something from our canon'

Me: 'Like what, Moshe and Tsipora and who else?'

Her: 'Yehoshua?'

[irarelypostanything]

Unnecessary Arguments - violence against Asian Americans

Person #1: “A bad day is when the McDonalds drive-thru screws up my order.” That was a comment on Fox News highlighting the ridiculousness of the claim that a series of shootings constituted a bad day, and not a hate crime. I repeat, this was a comment on Fox News. Even they agree that this quote is stupid

Person #2: There is no evidence that this was racially motivated

Person #1: We shouldn’t be arguing about this. We should agree that these racist violent acts are horrible, we should agree that something needs to be done about it, and we should go from there.

Person #2: We should agree that violent acts are horrible, and we should agree that racist acts are horrible, but there is no evidence that this was racially motivated

Person #1: You want to start this? Really? I’m tired of staying silent about this for so long. I’m tired of being treated like an outsider in spite of everything I’ve done. We can speak perfect English, we can adopt American holidays, we can work hard and commit no crimes and try to make a good life for ourselves and our families...and now this. We’ve seen the footage of elderly Asians senselessly beaten - our elders, the ones Asian culture holds in the highest esteem. Since the pandemic started, violence against Asian Americans has skyrocketed

Person #2: My issue is not with acts of violence that were obviously racist - my issue is our tendency to create a narrative, with flimsy evidence, that this is somehow all connected. I’ve heard a number of logical leaps taken in the mainstream media. That former president Trump somehow caused this by using the term “China Flu.” That this is part of White supremacy. That the right is to blame

Person #1: A neighbor asked me where I was from

Person #2: Oh, here we go. There’s no such thing as a microaggression. It’s not racist to simply ask where someone is-

Person #1: Let me finish. When I said San Francisco, he asked me my ethnicity. When I said Chinese, he asked if I was documented. When I said yes, he asked me if I had a green card or a visa. When I said I was a citizen, he asked if I had taken a test. When I said I was a fourth generation American, he said that Trump would be sure to keep my kind of people out

Person #2: You’ve already ranted to me about this. That guy was completely crazy

Person #1: Racial slurs yelled at me through the window by strangers, one time when I was ten. I kept thinking that maybe something was wrong with me. Maybe if I just kept acting as American as possible, the others would accept me. But of course, in the eyes people like Trump, I can never really be one of them. Of course not

Person #2: Trump is no longer the president

Person #1: Yes, I think terms like “China Virus” and “Kung Flu” may have had something to do with it. Yes, when the same cop who claimed this shooter was having a “bad day” also posted earlier on social media a picture that said “Coronavirus: Imported from China,” I think this may be part of a larger narrative. When the president of the United States, long before this pandemic, claimed that global warming was a myth created by and for China, I thought...yeah, this is it. America has spoken

Person #2: Trump is no longer the president. Good job, you did it. I’d fact check you on the global warming thing, but it seems we no longer have a Twitter account to check. Biden is the president, and still you claim that this is Trump’s fault? I thought he was on a mission to end racism. I look forward to the coming months of a pandemic cure and tripling the national debt

Person #1: You still don’t get it, do you? Do you know how it feels to hear a coworker ask a Japanese man if he celebrates Pearl Harbor?

Person #2: We’ve already discussed this as well. The two were friends who just so happened to have an inside joke. The Japanese man was fascinated by the imperial navy. That’s it

Person #1: I had a friend ask me if I was even born here

Person #2: And did she stop when you confronted her about it?

Person #1: Yes, but-

Person #2: And as I recall, that’s because you insisted on making the first few racial jokes. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t make jokes about how Asians are good at math, or are all good at piano, and then get so offended when someone states a negative stereotype. Be the change you want to see

Person #1: You’ve complained about historical revisionism?

Person #2: What?

Person #1: I hear it from you. Constantly. You complain that our country’s history is being tarnished because we’re no longer celebrating every aspect of American history. Well here’s a little history for you. Chinese Exclusion Act, 1882. Japanese internment, 1942. A Chinese American was killed and the two white men who did it were sentenced to 0 jail time and a fine of $3000. Do you know when that happened?

Person #2: 1930?

Person #1: 1982. American history is marred by racism. And yes, it freaked me out a little bit when someone acting on Trump’s behalf claimed to be treating Japanese internment as a precedent. And yes, it freaked me out a little bit when the same talking heads who claimed to condemn racism also claimed that Trump was not racist, that he was not discriminating on the basis of religion, that the abhorrent things he said and did were somehow nullified, as if half of the country periodically experienced a shared state of amnesia

Person #2: For the last time, Trump is no longer the president. My issue with this is that you’re not addressing the real problems. Actual hate crime against Asian Americans takes place, and now it’s getting pushed to the sidelines in favor of a shooting that targeted places listed as top locations for sex acts

Person #1: What was your source on that? The Daily Wire?

Person #2: A nationally-recognized public high school is called racist for “having too many Asians,” then effectively disbanded to form a different kind of school...there’s racism everywhere, a seemingly endless pandemic, and a rapidly escalating war that everyone seems to be forgetting about. You want to change the words we use to describe things? Fine. But don’t expect racism to end because you renamed a few dictionary words and then banned a few Dr. Seuss books. You’re not making the problem better, you’re making the problem ten times worse. With your political correctness, your insistence that race be a factor in hiring decisions, and your unceasing reminders of race at every turn, you are making people angrier and fanning the flames of division that you claim to be so passionately against. As we speak, racially divisive videos are circulating on social media. Want to find a common ground? Talk to us about the flag, the country, the rights and freedoms you are afforded by living in the greatest country in the world.

Person #1: We will, when you let us. Talk to me when we’re not afraid to step outside the front door

[madllamamomma]

I Think I Have a Problem.... (A personal true story).

So as the title suggests, I have a strange problem…. Just as a warning, this is about my view of my younger self. It is about religion, and gender identity. This is not how I see the world anymore. It was how I told how the world should look. If you are offended in any way, please know this is a vent post and nothing to hurt anyone else. This is just what happened to me as a child. Shit….. This is about to get very long winded, so buckle up and here we go… *takes deep breath*

So a little backstory on your Mother Llama: I was raised in a weird backward ass “Independent” Baptist church most of my young life. If you guys don’t know what those are, be thankful…. But I guess I should explain it the best way I can…. they are a borderline cult. Yes. I said it. I’m not sorry. It may sound like an extreme accusation, but hold on. Just listen to me.

Now, I have no problem with Christians, or religion. You should believe whatever you want to believe in…. I do however, have a problem when religion is used as an excuse to not educate minds about the real world, force them to not let them think for themselves, and when someone questions any of it, they are punished or shamed for it instead of thinking about an answer. If you can’t tell, I am still a little angry about that shit. Imma try to keep on topic here….

I wasn’t taught science (real science anyways, it was all about ‘creation’ bs—OH! And being anything but a cis straight person was compleltly unexceptable. Woman were the weaker sex and were made to raise babies and take care of the husband. Men were superior and should be taken care of.) nor about World history or about other cultures, other than biblical of course. And when they were mentioned, they made them look evil and behave like heathens because they didn’t believe the same as they did. Everything changed when I went to public school half of fourth grade when my family moved to a different state and there wasn’t any church school like I went to. I learned a lot those years, that ‘The World’ wasn’t as bad of a place as they said it was. It was vast and had many things to offer. (No, not the World, Dio’s stan power from Jojo’s bizarre adventures—that is what our pastors called anything outside of the Baptist approved realm. Something ‘Worldly’ was basically something sinful and ungodly and therefor was bad and wrong).

So this may seem like a strange Segway in to what I am actually getting at, but I had a huge crush on this boy back when I was young and it started when I was about 12 or 13 years old and ended when I was 16. He was the same age as me, and he was the son of a pastor of a small church of about 20 people, mostly military families— we will call him.... D.... for dick...

I thought for a long time that I ‘loved’ D. I thought that ‘God made him for me’ (yes I really said that and it hurt to even write it). I really thought I knew what love was back then, but I was very wrong.

D was homeschooled, he didn’t have many friends and was also a navy brat like I was. So, naturally, we got along very well, and I would hang out with him at his house sometimes. We mainly played video games I was terrible at and he would always bet me. But I liked hanging out with him, so I didn’t care if I won or not. My heart for some reason was totally head over heels over D. And he liked me too for a while… or at least I thought he did… He however never made a move. I always thought D was just too shy, and didn’t know how to ask me. Any time I tried holding his hand, I’d chicken out. It was a stalemate. But this particular church did a thing where people had to court. Yes... COURT someone, not DATE (Courting is where you had adult chaperones keeping an eye on you two, you were never really alone. Ever, because apparently you can’t be trusted?). When we both turned 15 yo, D started a private Christian school. Being the awkward girl I was, I never told him how I felt, I just waiting for him to say something. Time passed, and I still waited and waited for him to ask me out.

But here’s the thing! He didn’t know the real me.

I was in public school, in middle school, and I started to become a weeb. Like a super cringy weeb that didn’t like anything else but anime—I was also kinda emo/punk kid thought I was edgy. (Yeah rock music was bad too, it was ‘Worldly’).Not a very good mix for Baptist I know. At school, I was one person, and at church I was another.

Well, being an anime fan meant I was exposed to a lot of things like the LGTB+ community for the first time. A lot of my friends at the time started to come out other than straight and that was very new to me.

During that time, I soon was starting to secretly question my faith, my understanding of my own sexuality and gender. Like, maybe people liking the same sex or both is actually not a bad thing after all (if you haven’t seen any of my works, hopefully you guys know that I know better that what I was taught—I am a proud fuckin’ ally! I still consider myself cis-straight, but some days I feel like I’m bi-curious, and that’s ok! It took me a long time to realize that, but I’m here now. Gender roles are dead and stupid.)

So here is the kicker~ One faithful day we had a guest pastor join us for a few weeks from another church. This mother fuckin’ nasty ass old white man from Alabama came with his ‘perfect quiet godly’ wife. Who badly ever spoke a damn word. She always just sat in the corner all ‘ladylike’.

—Oh!!! Another fun fact, I didn’t wear pants for a year when I was 10 yo becasue that was considered “cross dressing”— I’m dead fucking serious. My parents then decided after attending sporting events and stuff like that to drop that ludicrous lifestyle, becasue it was stupid. So, Outside of church, my family and I still wore pants and shorts and whatever, but in church we pretended that we didn’t wear anything but modest skirts, dresses, and long culottes. (That’s a little damaging…. don’t you think? Telling people your one thing, when in reality you're not like that at all??)

Anyways— I hated skirts, especially wearing them in the state we lived in, it was way too hot and I’d get chafed (these had to be knee length or longer btw). And of course that guest preacher would preach about the sins of women wearing pants, but I didn’t care. I wore them for so long, it just made me angry anytime someone would bring that up. I liked my jeans and I was starting to become a rebel teen who gave less than a fuck and started to speak my mind. Which was dangerous to that community…. Also I had a bad tendency of not keeping my legs together when I bent down, and one time I accidently showed my underwear (that’s really embarrassing btw, it’s not cute, it’s not funny, it’s awful when you're 14 yo-- really any age actually).

So, one day I wore a long jean skirt for a youth outing with the church. I was required to wear it, but I always wore leggings underneath so I wouldn’t accidentally show my undies if I fell down or the wind blew it. This fucker had to say something about it. The old man turned to me with a wrinkled smirk as I was passing by him and dared to utter, “Now, don’t you feel most femine and ladylike in that skirt? I’m sure Jesus would like seeing you like that.”

My shoulders clench up tight, my brow furrows. All I can remember seeing is fucking red and actually trembling with fury. (This was happening in my pastor, D’s father’s, own living room mind you.) D was there watching as I blanched about ten shades of red in anger and embarrassed because that prick of an old man called me out in front of everyone. I turned to him and half shouted, “NO! I don’t!” I could see my pastor’s mouth drop to the floor as I began to completely obliterate this old man. But I couldn't stop myself as I started to further cut into him. “—I hate wearing skirts! I don’t feel ladylike! In fact, they make me feel vulnerable! What if some guy tries to rape me! They won’t have any problem getting to me!—Why is something with a whole on the bottom more ladylike than something that actually covers me?! I like pants! They are comfortable and they make me feel safe! Why is that a sin to wear something that is more covering?!?! I’m not cross dressing, my mom bought them in the girl’s session!! [Keep in mind that was a long time ago, I don’t feel like people should care about what section they get their clothes from, wear what you want] And what do you know about wearing a skirt?! You’re a man! You try wearing them! They suck! You need to stop telling me what I can and can’t wear! I’m not dressing like a whore for wearing something with a crotch!! SO LEAVE ME ALONE!!” Everyone in the living room was just stunned at my audacity to dare speak to this pastor like I did. But he was so fucking quiet after that. And I stormed out of the house and the guest pastor never spoke to me again about it. Luckily my mom came and picked me shortly after that. She was angry too after I told her what happened. That old fuck singled me out and I was pissed off. I was a teenager and that shit was embarrassing!

But I made the mistake of showing my true self. I think after that moment, D stopped liking me after that.

Some shit went down south with my parents behind closed doors of my household, and eventually they got divorced. They left the small church because the pastor didn’t approve of it. Pastor said that my parents just needed more counseling but he didn't understand that they just needed to not be together. Sometimes you can’t make things work. Especially when your dad is a toxic piece of shit that only cares about himself.

Anyways, everyone in my family left the church, but I stuck around that shit-hole just to see if D would ask me out. I was so desperate, I felt like I waited forever, but really it was like 2-3 years, and I felt like I couldn’t give up. Eventually D and I turned 16. He started to become distant and a little mean towards me and I became confused and started to realize the worst. Finally, I was tired of waiting so I asked his older sister if he liked me on the way back taking me home. I could see it in her face, that she didn’t want to have my heart broken, but reluctantly she told me no. He actually liked another girl at his new private school and was going to ask her parents to court her instead.

I was so devastated.... It hurt so much, I cried myself to sleep that night, and most of that week I was very sad.

Obviously, after that, I stopped going to church entirely, I couldn't show my face anymore. Finally let myself question my faith, sexuality, gender roles, and humanity all together. And realized that religion was stupid (in my opinion at the time) and I came u with the conclusion that people can be sheep. I was a sheep for a long time. And I refuse to be one ever again.

High school was very enjoyable after that, and I let myself grow and started to love other religions and world history, and tried to stop being so judgmental of others and what they felt like. I even got into a relationship with a sweet boy around my age.

Eventually in college, after a break-up with my high school sweetheart, I reconnected with D via FB. Apparently, the church went under and his parents moved away to Greece to be missionaries or something. D still lives in the same town I’m in, but graduated from a “Christian academy”—not Catholic, Christian. Catholic colleges are accredited at least. But he basically told me he was a secret “bad boy” now. He lost his virginity in highschool, (like I did) and he was totally trying to booty call me. Not even hiding it either! He was like, “Hey, Llama, you wanna fuck?”.

And I was like, “D! You broke my fucking heart when we were young! Don’t you remember that???”

And he was like, “Oh no! I had no idea! (the fuckin’ liar). Well, we can fuck now!~ *wink, wink*”

🤨

This is where I was a jerk.... Because he broke my heart. I led him on, told him I would meet up with him at his house to sleep with him, and just didn’t show up—ghosted him ever since. The worst part about that, is I still don’t regret doing that to him. I hope I hurt his feelings and felt like an ass like I did.

So years have passed, I consider myself as a rather successful woman now. I’m 27, I consider myself Buddhist (I am a terrible Buddhist I know), I am an Occupational Therapy Assistant and I have a great husband (I married the guy I was with in high school). And he loves the real me—the crazy closet weeb, cartoon watching, creative, expressive, me! The person who also writes fanfiction about a romance novel and he is fine with it. Because he is a huge nerd too and we are both nerds together.

My husband is my best friend and I don’t know what I’d do without him. When I write about Rhemi and Muriel, I draw a lot of inspiration with our conversation we have and how relationship dynamics are and I think it makes the writing more authentic and makes them feel a bit more real.

I love my husband more than anything… So why do I keep dreaming about that stupid asshole that just liked the fake me? D was and always will be a total tool. He is like the basic bitch of a man. And yet I still find him creeping in my dreams and I try to cheat on my husband with him in them. I wake up feeling totally terrible and weird after them too. D is a terrible fucking person—the worst person you can be in my opinion—The kind of person why lies and tells people one thing, but hides the fact that he’s really just a nasty fuck boy. If you are one, just be honest! Don’t tell another woman you're a good christan man, when really you’ve slept with not just one, but multiple girls! That how you get fucking STDs! I hate being lied to, and I’m sure other girls do too! So I guess that’s why I do, because I felt like I was lied to my entire life. Then again, why should I even care?! Why do I feel like I still obsess over him? I hate him so much now! So why do I even care? Why do I still find myself stalking him on social media? Why does it even matter? Why do I want him to see I’m happy without him? Why do I want him to see what he could have had with me? We were just stupid teenagers! Why did I care so much? Why did it hurt so much when I found out he didn’t like me?! It’s been over a decade, and we didn’t even really date! Why did this affect me so hard? …. FUCK!

So yeah. That’s my long ass rant for you all… thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[im-not-corrupted]

Safi, No (a Witchlands fanfiction) - Chapter One

This chapter was written by @un-empressed

Summary:            

On a rare occasion, Safi knew the answer in geography class. But when Merik Nihar spoke over her, she wasn't so happy. So her and Leopold devised a revenge plan to get back at him, and accidentally got everyone involved.

Vivia Nihar doesn't really have many friends, apart from Vaness. She's mostly focused on her studies - and what's wrong with that? But then she meets theriverstix online.

Aeduan and Iseult didn't mean to get involved in the revenge plan, but it was inevitable. But that's okay. They had each other to talk to.

Also posted on Ao3

Tags: @Iseultdetmidenzi

--- 

Safiya fon Hasstrel didn't know what she had done to deserve such maltreatment. Not only was geography a disaster that morning, her best friend wasn't listening. Or rather, she was until she realised what Safi was talking about. Apparently she was immature for wanting the basic right of speaking. It wasn't her fault that she had an insufferable classmate, and it certainly wasn't her fault that he decided he could speak over her.

It wasn't like she enjoyed geography, but she actually knew the answer. That was a once in a million years occurrence and Merik Nihar ruined it. She didn't even know his name before he so rudely interrupted her.

She wouldn't even have bothered to ask someone - asshole from third row worked just as well for a name - but she was confronted by another classmate after geography. A very pissed off one at that. Safi knew Vaness by name, because everyone knew Vaness. They'd never talked before, though, so Safi didn't know what to expect.

She was definitely surprised when Vaness verbally attacked her. Well, it wasn't an attack, but what she said was just a pretentious way to say "Go fuck yourself" and they both knew it. Apparently Safi's huffing and whispering to her friends that she was going to kill Merik over "an idiotic thing that doesn't even matter" was making it hard for Vaness to take notes. And apparently calling her a "poor dear" was "condescending" and "rude".

Why had she never talked to Vaness before? She knew now. Caden laughed to her face after having overheard the disastrous conversation. Safi found that absolutely unnecessary. At least Zander and Lev laughed at her behind her back. Well, she didn't know for sure that they did, but she hoped that Levs's so-called reassurance of "I've hidden many bodies before, nobody ever misses the ones like him" was a joke.

"Saf, I'm sure he didn't mean to inconvenience you," Iz said, trying to be reasonable. Safi liked that about her best friend; she wasn't as reckless as Safi herself, but she was definitely easy to drag along to stupid adventures.

"You don't know him."

Iseult rolled her eyes. "Neither do you."

"Irrelevant."

Iseult sighed. She was about to say something else, probably about how it was actually relevant, but Corlant came. Safi wasn't sure what his deal was, only that someone ought to push him off that table he liked standing on to feel better than everyone else. But no, the school encouraged free speech, and Corlant claimed whatever absurd shit he said (Safi didn't bother enough to listen) had something to do with his religion.

Safi didn't know who or what he worshipped, but she personally found lunches without him causing a scene holy. Maybe she should start a religion that specifically opposed him. Or maybe she should take Lev up on that hiding a body offer.

"This is ridiculous," Iseult muttered. Safi personally would have yelled it so he could hear, but she already did and he didn't seem to care. Asshole.

Safi didn't even notice Leopold approaching their table until he sat down. And, he wasn't alone. "Girls, this is Aeduan. Aeduan, Safi and Iseult".

The name didn't sound familiar at all, but Safi had talked to the guy once. Well, it was barely a conversation. She asked for a pencil, and he spent five minutes mocking her for not bringing two. Just when she was about to tell him to fuck off, he handed her the damn pencil. Safi made a point of using it only when she lost the pencil Caden had lent her.

She never even returned the pencil. Maybe that made her an asshole, but she needed something to write with for the rest of the day, and he never even asked for it. How was she supposed to know it wasn't meant to be a gift?

Aeduan uttered out an uninterested greeting, hesitantly sitting next to Iseult. They shared commiserating looks as Safi told Leopold about her encounter with the world's biggest asshole that morning.

"Look! There he is, talking to his friends. I bet they're just as rude and inconsiderate-"

"Saf, those two literally mean the same thing," Iseult said. There was a slight difference, but Safi wasn't about to say that. Leopold was willing to hear her complaints, and she wasn't about to waste the potential this conversation had.

"And besides, you're overreacting. That's Ryber Fortiza over there, and she's pretty nice. I'm willing to bet the others are too. You took this way too personally."

Safi had talked to Ryber Fortiza once or twice, and she knew that Iseult was right. She wasn't going to say that out loud, though. Judging by the look on Iseult's face, her best friend didn't care at all. She went back to her probably dry conversation with Leopold's friend.

"Way too personally? It is personal!" Leopold said. Safi was glad that at least someone knew she wasn't overreacting.

"Thank you!"

Iseult rolled her eyes. She did it so much around the two, Safi wouldn't be surprised if her eyes fell out one day. And she had yet to hear about what Vaness said, even though Safi knew Iseult would agree with most things said.

Suddenly, she remembered something that made her groan. Leopold raised his eyebrows. "I have geography again tomorrow."

Leopold grinned. "Why the disappointment? It's your chance to get revenge."

Safi quite liked how that sounded. Even more than that she liked the fact that Iseult obviously didn't approve of the idea, if her face was to be trusted. She could've been making faces at what Aeduan was telling her, but that didn't seem likely. Leopold's friend seemed to have the same opinion. All the more reasons to do it.

Besides, Safi already had a few suggestions for the revenge plan herself.

Safi smiled, making Iseult shake her head. "What did you have in mind?" [x]

"-And she kept staring at me the whole time, whispering something to her friends. I'm telling you, that girl is insane."

The story didn't get reactions Merik Nihar was hoping for from his friends. Ryber pretended she didn't even hear him, and Cam just rolled his eyes. Merik was pretty sure Tanzi wasn't even listening. That didn't hurt him, because she was Ryber's friend. Stix was asking if 'he was done yet' after every word. That didn't hurt either, because she was like that. At least Kullen was on his side.

He smiled, and Merik didn't know what to expect from his best friend. Kullen often heard what he wanted to hear instead of what was being said. "Maybe she likes you! And, you've never talked about this girl before. Why would you even look at her if you didn't like her?"

Kullen was not on his side.

"It wasn't like that!" Merik said, trying desperately to seem like he was telling the truth. Which he was, of course. Kullen just caught him completely unaware.

Stix grinned. "Oh really?" Merik knew she didn't share Kullen's delusion. She just took every single chance to make him uncomfortable.

Cam and Ryber looked at each other across the table, seemingly not surprised at all that the conversation was taking that turn. Tanzi was too busy copying Ryber's homework to listen.

"Really! The teacher called on her and I knew the answer, so I might have possibly answered instead of her. I wanted to see her reaction but she was just glaring at me and I'm pretty sure I heard her friend say something about hiding a body." Merik realised that the story in its entirety made him look the slightest bit bad, but being perceived as rude was better than Kullen getting ideas.

"Can we blame them, though?" Stix asked. She just raised her hands in mock surrender when Ryber shot her a look. "I'm just saying."

"You did speak over her," Cam reasoned.

Ryber sighed. "That really was rude. No one likes people who do that."

Merik was willing to admit that it wasn't his best moment, but it was really not that big of a deal. Sure, his classmate might be pissed for a while, but that wasn't his problem. His only problem was Kullen, who was grinning at him from across the table.

"You could still like her. Maybe you inconvenienced her just so she would talk to you - that seems like the kind of 'I'm bad at admitting my feelings' thing you would do and call flirting if it succeeded," Kullen said, making Stix laugh.

Well, now Merik was offended. He did nothing to deserve the unjust treatment. Even Ryber was against him, and she rarely cared enough to pick a side. Merik needed to start hanging out with Tanzi; She never listened to him, which meant she couldn't mock him for every single thing like the traitors he once called friends.

Besides, Vivia insulting him 24/7 was enough. He didn't need his friends and his sister to have anything in common. He wasn't sure anyone except Kullen even knew he had a sister. Good.

Vivia preferred solitude, but Merik knew that if Ryber found out, she'd make him ask her to join them. That would likely result in either of the three catastrophes he'd rather avoid:

1. Vivia thinks he's making fun of her for eating alone and yells at him.

2. Very awkward lunches because Vivia yelled at him when he didn't tell her what time it was fast enough.

3. Vivia finds out about Kullen's theory and tells the girl.

The last one might have been a bit of a far stretch if it was anyone else. Vivia, however, wanted nothing more than to ruin her brother's life. The amount of love was mutual.

And, she was definitely the kind of person capable of figuring out someone's name and all social media usernames just from a vague description. Merik dreaded of the day Kullen and Vivia talked alone, without him there to filter his best friend. That would be a disaster. For him, that is. For Vivia, it would be a way to accomplish her mission in life.

"Ryber, control your boyfriend," Merik said.

Ryber just rolled her eyes, which Merik found rather rude. It wasn't like he was the one terrorising Kullen, it was the other way around!

"Look, it's not Ry's fault you were stupid enough to mention it to Kullen of all people," Stix said. Merik didn't know if that was supposed to be an insult to him or to Kullen.

"Mention what? I'm not in love with some girl whose name I don't even know!"

Stix sighed. "You don't have to be for Kullen to think you are. You should know that by now. He only sees what he wants to see." Cam nodded in agreement. 

"Look, are you on my side or are you not?"

"I'm not necessarily on your side, I'm just not on Merik's." Kullen nodded, as if that was a completely reasonable answer.

Merik blamed his trust issues on his friend group, which consisted of Kullen, Cam, Stix, Ryber and occasionally Tanzi. All people who tolerated him but didn't dread to tell him when he did or said something stupid. Except Stix, but Merik doubted that she actually hated him. Either way, she, too, was never going to meet Vivia if Merik was to ask. He usually wasn't when it came to his sister and what she did, but he had to hope that Vivia wouldn't want to do anything with a friend of his.

"That's ridiculous. You hate me for no reason."

"Ridiculous? That's it, you've lost your Stix privileges. It's Stacia for you from now on." Merik fought the urge to tell her that what she just said was ridiculous as well. People lost their 'Stix privileges' at least three times a day.

Ryber rolled her eyes, silently listening to the exchange. She occasionally whispered something to Tanzi, who was still doing her homework.

"Thank you very much for doing as I said and controlling your boyfriend," Merik said. He was getting fed up of everyone being against him for a simple mistake.

"You're welcome," Ryber said, turning to help Tanzi read something. Even Ryber, who was usually the responsible one, was seemingly tired of him. Merik was starting to think he had done something wrong.

Kullen probably noticed that Merik wasn't fighting back, because he sighed and said: "Look, Merik, we're only making fun of you because you don't see that what you did was wrong. Just... Try to be nicer to the geography classmate."

It seemed nice enough, and, even though Merik hated to admit it, it was good advice. But Kullen wasn't done. "And then, when you're a couple, Stix and I will pretend we're your siblings and tell her made-up, embarrassing information."

Ryber took one look at the three of them and sighed. "That might not work."

"Cousins, then."

Ryber rolled her eyes. "That still won't work. Just say you're his friends."

"But no one ever takes the friends seriously!" Stix whined.

"No one should take the two of you seriously."

"Bold of you to assume they won't make all of us do it," Cam said.

"See? Cam gets it!"

Sometimes Merik really hated his friends.

------

Read Chapter Two here

[cyrelia-j]

[fic] The Hunter (Garak/Bashir)

Sequel/prequel to the fucked up horror story "The Hunted". If you hadn't read that you can check it on AO3 HERE (There was a post on Tumblr, but the AO3 version has about 2-3 more paragraphs of content and a few fixes so it's better to check it there).

The Hunted summary is as follows: Everyone knows to fear the Hunters. Miles O’Brien is no different. And then he meets a man travelling alone in the English countryside.

I'd been meaning to do a sequel to this for awhile since everyone likes the other one so much, and here it is!

Summary: Julian Bashir has been traveling alone since the Hunters came; it's safer that way. The old train tunnels are piled with the bodies of the dead, but they're the safest places to hide. And then Julian meets Garak.

Warnings: Horror, gore/cannibalism, dark, graphic

The smell of decomposition calms him. When he breathes in deeply and that thick sour smell, that rotting meat in the humidity fills his nostrils, it makes makes him smile. His father always has something to say about Julian having a better sniffer than most- used to always tell his friends they called him “nostrilla” as a baby because of the way his nostrils flared out when he’d cry as a child. Whether or not that’s true, he’s better than most at catching the scent of decay on the winds and following it. It’s what’s kept him safe since the darkness came.

The Hunters have no use for those already dead.

So Julian follows the scent of the bodies. He remembers watching The Walking Dead, seeing the characters cover themselves in the blood and remains of the dead bodies for disguise. The Hunters aren’t so easily fooled but their beasts are. His duffel bag has been long stained over, and contains only food, a cigarette lighter, and a tennis racquet. It’s a silly affection, but sometimes he likes to take it out at night and gives a few practice swings to the air, eyes closed, like he’s back on the court. He wonders how he’d have placed this year if things hadn't gone to shit.

Julian has been traveling alone, having learned quickly that the living only attract death. He’s been making his way by tunnels, slowly, carefully, trying to get back to London. He isn’t the only one; so many fled to the old tunnels, the old coal mines especially, trying to escape the Hunters, trying to hide. All the old places reek of death now, some piled half a man high with bodies, chunks of flesh ripped out, bones regurgitated back coated in the digestive fluids of the monsters. It didn't take them long to realize that the Hunters weren't seeking to eradicate them for its own sake.

They were hungry.

The Summerhill tunnel is nearing collapse. He remembers Maggie, the lovely woman at the front desk who he could actually understand, telling him if he was of a mind to be adventurous he’d best avoid the temptation. Julian had looked, just a glance, watching the walls caving in, before going for a nice hike elsewhere. The Summerhill tunnel is where he is now. He’s waited long enough that he doesn’t hear or see another living soul. He’s had to make his way past more bodies to do it, but his feet land on the ground steadily and he stands with a smile. He’s sure the smell could turn away the hearties of stomachs. It’s particularly nasty and he can hear the flies buzz buzz behind him as he reaches into his pocket for his lighter.

“Don’t.” he hears right before he flicks it, and Julian drops it with a start. His hearing, he’s been told, is better than most, and he hadn’t heard anything. He also hadn’t expected anyone else to be in here. People are bad, and not just because of the Hunters. People are bad enough in their own right, hunters enough without the monsters’ influence.

“I’m sorry,” Julian says softly, breathing slowly and deeply. “I didn’t realize anyone else was here. It’s just me so I’ll go if it’s alright with you.”

“Go?” The voice asks curious. Julian thinks it’s male but he can’t tell. He’s also not certain of the accent either. He’s sure it would be rude to ask, not like his father who takes every excuse to bang on about “those Paki fellows” completely un-ironically given their own ancestry.

“Now that would be a pity,” the man continues, the hairs on Julian’s arm standing up as he does. “I don’t believe I’ve had the company of such a lovely young man in awhile.” God, he’s mad as a bag of frogs then, wherever he’s from. Figures, Julian, the only other person you can understand since your holiday started and he’s wait… can he see you?

“I’m afraid I’m not very good company. Not much to look at either, twigs and pipe cleaners. I’m sure you can smell me too,” he says carefully. “Really, it’s safer by yourself. Trust me on that one. You’re better off if I go.”

“I assure you my dear, you smell delightful.” Crazy. Crazy, get out, Julian.

“Right, and what a brilliant nose you’ve got, grandma. Better to smell me with and all that.”

“I don’t have a nose,” the man replies sounding amused. Julian picks his lighter back up by feel and puts it into his pocket.

“That’s why you didn’t want me to see you,” he offers taking a step forward in the darkness. It doesn’t matter how well his eyes adjust, there’s nothing but black ahead.

“It’s better this way,” comes the soft response and there’s something about its’ sibilance that makes Julian shiver.

“Alright, that’s fine. Better not to waste it, but I don’t really have food to share. Been going it alone to London and if you’re hurt I don’t have anything except some BenGay and some ace bandage.”

“Oh you have my assurance I’m fine. I’m waiting for someone actually and this seemed an optimal location, wouldn’t you say?”

“It’s a good spot to keep away from the Hunters,” Julian agrees relaxing a little as he sinks to his knees and starts a slow crawl further in. He’s been careful in uncertain terrain not to risk damaging his legs. They’re his most valuable asset.

“Is it really?” the man asks sounding surprised.

“Yeah. They don’t like that death smell. I don’t think they like their food already dead. They’re not carrion feeders. They like it fresh, scared. Think I read some old vampire trope saying scared blood tastes better or something. It also confuses their animals. They’re trained to smell certain pheromones, sweat or something. At least that's my theory." Julian laughs softly and takes an absent swipe of his blood stained thumb to his mouth. “Can’t find you if you smell like everything else. I’ve had to lay amongst the bodies a few times. S’not too bad, though is it stupid to say I’m still afraid I’m going to like… wake up and realize it’s the zombie apocalypse instead or something and those bodies will start moving?”

“My, such an imaginative young man.”

“Not much else to do at the end of the world.” Julian crawls forward a few more feet, sure he’s climbing over another few corpses as he does. He can feel the bones, feel the soft bits of flesh sticking to his fingers. He finds it strange that it’s not as soft as the ones further rotted. He’s about to ask if the man minds him getting much closer, but then he remembers no nose, so likely his smell won’t offend. The man said he smelled delightful? Must’ve been a weird sort of joke.

“Is it really the end of the world?” the man asks.

“Well I don’t know what else you’d call it. Don’t tell me that you don’t have any eyes either,” Julian huffs.

“Ah yes, the extinction level event known as the Hunters,” the man agrees. “But would you really cache the extinction of a single destructive species the ‘end of the world’? I should think the world will continue on without much intervention.”

“Great, you’re one of those,” Julian huffs with a sigh. “What are you, Tom Bombadil?”

“Who?”

“Nothing, don’t mind me just… for those of us who care about our fellow man it’s a nightmare out there. Let me guess? You and this fellow you’re waiting for are gonna hole up in here and watch the world burn writing some self congratulatory manifesto.”

“Perhaps,” the man agrees sounding amused.

“Lovely,” Julian drawls. “Well, Mr. Nietzsche, do you have a name?” Julian stops when his pant leg snags on something sharp. Cuts are bad. Cuts breed infection, and he isn’t going to die of an infection. He sits down, with the lightest touch and starts to work at it.

“I do.”

“I’m Julian. Julian Bashir.”

“Should I know that name?”

“Not if you don’t follow tennis. S’funny though. People know me. More people than I realized. You would think that it’s strange, trusting a total stranger at a time like this. I don’t know if it’s some weird imprinting thing from seeing me on the telly all the time or what, but I’ve been fortunate. People see me and they don’t think I’m dangerous, not threatening. Just like… that friendly looking chap who lost to Federer in ‘16.”

“Trust is a valuable gift,” the man agrees, Julian shaking his head as he continues to work at the snag. It’s odd because it almost seems that something sharp dropped down from the ceiling to pin the denim to the stone.

“I’m not getting a name then, am I?” Julian asks stopping a moment before he gets frustrated. He can’t seem to pull it out.

If he didn’t know better he’s say it was a sharp end like the stinger of a scorpion’s tale.

“You can call me Garak,” the man answers. Julian thinks he’s lying.  “That will make it easier for us to pass the time while I wait for my friend.” Julian looks up instinctively, though he isn’t sure why. He still can’t see, and out of respect he won’t use the lighter. The man hasn’t threatened him. He still feels that spike driving through his pant leg and he resolves to pull at the fabric and allow it to tear. Pity, those True Religion jeans aren't cheap.

“I don’t want to  be pessimistic, but if your friend isn’t here by now, I don’t think he’s coming.” Julian absently sucks a finger in his mouth this time. He isn’t sure when he started that habit. Out of nerves from this whole ordeal likely, but the saltiness is nice. Lord, he hopes he doesn’t get some sort of brain infection.

“You think so?” Garak’s voice is louder now. Julian is satisfied as his leg is freed, and he starts moving forward again. He starts to hear respirations loudly, like a furnace without a light. There’s more sibilance and he doesn’t understand what that means. He feels a few rocks under his hand, and he’s about to press on when Garak’s voice stops him. “That’s close enough if you please.”

“I’m not gonna bite you,” Julian says. “I mean whatever you might look like… ah… alright, I understand. You know, it’s funny. You see all these doomsday end of the world things and everyone comes together like Independence Day or Armageddon and everyone cries while a rock ballad plays. But really it’s more like…. Every man for himself. It’s all shit and everyone is shit.”

There’s no answer to that, and Julian continues.

“You know, the other morning I was out too close to dark. It was the closest I’d even been to an attack. It was a family. It was awful. I hid in an alley behind a dumpster. And you know, there was another man catty corner in the same alleyway with a hand up to his mouth to keep from screaming. We both stood there, crouched down, listening to them being eaten. And do you know what I was thinking?”

“Tell me, Julian,” Garak says, sounded enraptured.

“I was thinking… just… just for a mad second if it might not be best if the man were to be killed in case he gave us away. And… and then when the screams stopped and it got real quiet, and I could hear them feeding, I wondered if I shouldn't use him as a decoy instead.”  

Julian swallows, pulling his knees up to his chest, turning, leaning back a bit finding something warm and solid when he does. Ah, perhaps he was closer to Garak then he thought then.

“You see I’m… I’m fast, so fast I might have been an Olympic sprinter if I hadn’t loved tennis so much. See, when you’re out there… outside, you don't need to outrun the Hunters. You only need to outrun everyone else. That man… He was a sad middle aged fellow. He’d never make it… and he wouldn’t be the first man that I’ve outrun.” He’s outrun them all. He’s left them all to die as they screamed for help. Run and never turn back. He’s seen what happens to the ones that turn back.

“Yesss,” he hears from so close to his ear that he closes his eyes even in the darkness. “You do have those long, beautiful legsss.” Julian is about to ask if Garak has seen him on TV then, when he feels a brush to his pants, feels a ghost over his shin, his calf, up his thigh. He slaps at it, the sensation already gone, but it tingles where it left. Was that Garak? Was that his hand? But it couldn’t have been a human hand because-

“Garak? Was that you?” Julian asks. “I mean I’m flattered but-”

“You underssstand me?” Garak asks again and his voice is deeper, but it… doesn’t seem any different than before. Julian turns towards the sound blindly reaching out.

“Of course I understand you but you just can’t go pawing at people and… Garak?” He calls the name again as he feels… skin that’s not skin. It’s scales. It’s a smooth expanse of scales like his mate’s bearded dragon but like-

“That feelsssss niccccce,” he heards Garak say again and in that nervous habit his fingers are in his mouth again, biting them like this one bloke he went to school with named Jack used to do. He can feel his heart start hammering, and the cool tunnel suddenly feels so very hot. Is it firedamp? If he pulls out the lighter will it cause an explosion? Well not it’s not a coal mine so it- “Don’t.” He hears again, just like when he first entered the tunnel, his lighter in hand. Julian realizes that his hand is still stroking whatever that is and stops. He thinks that he should be terribly afraid right now. “Don’t turn on the light... if you don’t want to run.” His heart skips a beat when he hears those words, and his hand once more strokes the long winding expanse more forcefully, hearing a tssss in return. He knows he should be afraid now as he flicks the top off.

Julian licks his lips, tasting the blood again. He doesn’t understand why he feels so… hot. He doesn’t know why he brings his hand to his mouth and tastes more of it. But then he thinks of the bodies, of the bites, of the pools of blood mixed with their saliva and digestive enzymes, and how he’s tasted more and more here and there. Those who eat the food found in the underworld shall never leave it. That was one of the myths his mother had read to him from an old story book when he was a child. “But what if the food is so good you can’t stop yourself, mummy?” What if you can’t stop yourself, Julian? What if it tastes to good that you can’t… help yourself… that you're always craving more?

Julian flicks the light on, to the side, the ambient light kicking shadows off the wall and the creature in front of him. Oh, that's what it was, he realizes distantly. He doesn’t understand why he feels so-

“I’ll run,” He says, standing slowly heart a steady pounding, mouthing at his palm. It really is so very good. “But you won’t catch me.”

“I’ll catch you Julian,” Garak promises drawing up dark, beautiful, undulating and so, so bloody brilliantly. Julian thought the Hunters appeared different than this- smaller, more human in their appearance- but perhaps that was only an illusion. Perhaps they're shapeshifters? Julian takes a step forward and not back, seeing the sharp spike that had pierced his pant leg earlier. He doesn’t understand why they would hide something so deadly beautiful.

“And what will you do when you catch me?”

“Run, my dear, and you’ll find out.”

Julian smiles.

Julian runs.

[targaryenparty]

Interactions between Jon and other characters that will certainly be explored next season

[DISCLAIMER: if you're a j0nsa shipper, you might be offended by my opinion, so please just ignore this post and keep scrolling down jon's tag. I'm tagging Jon Snow for obvious reasons, but I'm avoiding tagging this post in Sansa's tag cause I know that a big number of her fans are also j0nsa shippers]

I've seen people in this fandom say that season 8 will be Jon/Sansa centred and they might end up together. I've seen people say they're plotting together against Daenerys. I've seen people say she'll be the one to help Jon overcome his struggle when he finds out his true parentage. There's even a youtube video discussing this (and I think they aren't j0nsa shippers), and they say that season 8 will be a battle for jon's true self. In one side we'll have Sansa pushing him for his Stark blood/ruling the North and on the other, Dany pushing him for his Targaryen blood/ruling the 7K.

Wtf are these people smoking? Unfortunately (cause I actually do enjoy their dynamic), I think it's pretty obvious that Jon's relationship with Sansa won't be explored that much during our last season. That's probably one of the reasons why their partnership was so well developed in season 6 and in the beginning of season 7, cause I think that was the time the writers knew they would have to bond these 2 characters.

The reason why I think the Jon/Sansa dynamic will be put a bit aside in the last season is because Jon's arc for next season will certainly center around this relationships/situations:

1. Arya: do I even have to say this? Apparently yes, cause some people have a weak ass memory. Arya is a huge part of Jon's life/story, and yet, they shared ONE SCENE. They'll have to bond similarly (probably even more) to the way Jon and Sansa bonded in season 6/7. They have to realize they both changed completely and they have to grow to accept these changes. Arya will probably be the one Jon will open up to when he learns about his true parentage, as she was always the one to make him feel accept no matter what. She's also the one with an interesting connection to Lyanna. I can't understand people who think this role will be played by Sansa. Why would the writers do that? Jon and Arya's bonding will already be suffering from a 6 episode season, yall really think they'll waste scenes like this with characters that already had 2 seasons to bond? This "oh shit, who am I? Am I Stark or what?" dialogue could be a great way to show their deep love and appreciation for each other, and of course, how much they missed one another.

2. Bran: as established last season, he'll be the one (along with Sam) to tell Jon about his parentage and he can also find a way (if necessary) to prove it, thanks to his connection with Meera. In the past, Jon also had an special bond with him, and as with Arya, he'll try to reconnect with him (but Bran's probably going to be like 'not here for this bro'). At last, it's clear that Bran, Jon and Dany are the 3 protagonists whose stories are more closely attached to the Night King plot, and the 3 of them will defeat him together.

3. Sam: he and Jon have been apart for a long time, and there's definitely some reconnection to be done as well. Sam will also have an important part to play when it comes to Jon's parentage revelation, and with Bran, he'll be the one to reveal it and try to prove it. According to John Bradley, Sam&Bran will be an important duo, and the combination of Sam's book knowledge and Bran's power will be vital for Jon (and Dany) and their fight against the NK. It's also expected a resolution of the whole "you're fucking the woman who burned my brother" problem and Jon having to decide if he'll defend Dany's decision or condemn it. (but I don't think this will take a lot of screentime, honestly. John himself seemed dismissive about it).

4. Night King (and the war itself): I mean, we all know that a big part of Jon's screentime will be dedicated to his fight against the Night King (it's practically personal by now). Battle planning, fights, losses, dealing with these losses and potentially having to ride a dragon.

5. Daenerys: obviously. Their political and romantic relationship is the point of the story will obviously be a big (if not the biggest) focus on their season 8 arcs. Their romance/alliance ended in a cliffhanger in season 7, so a well developed resolution is expected. Well developed, folks. So yeah, people who think Dany will find out about Jon's parentage in episode 1, flip out (mAd QwEEn), abandon Jon and let him free for his true love Sansa and OMG dAnCe oF ThE DrAgonS 2, can just kindly leave, please. Things are not that black and white, and that's not how television and storytelling works. So, for season 8, Jon will have to decide which side he'll take in the 'Northern lords vs Daenerys' narrative and of course, how he'll deal with the fact that he loves his biological father's sister. And how will this fact change their political alliance? Will they put this whole rightful heir matter on hold to deal with the NK first? What if she's pregnant? Will they marry? Will he accept marrying her against his religion? Or will he change his mind about having a bastard son? Real shit. Complicated shit.

So yeah, I think these are the characters/situations Jon will interact the most with, and most of his screentime will be dedicated to (not listed in any order or level of relevance).

"What about Sansa?". Well, it baffles me that so many people seem to firmly believe that the last season will focus on Jon and Sansa. I'm not saying they'll forget about each other's existence. Sansa will definitely be an important part of the whole North vs Daenerys and Jon bending the knee discussion, and her position will obviously be significant to this resolution. But to me, her part in this discussion will trigger way more moments between her and Dany than her and Jon. Is it just me? I mean, we've seen how Jon and Sansa work together. We've seen they trust each other. They've seen that. We've seen that even somehow tempted, Sansa didn't betray Jon and stood by his side. We've seen that even with a different last name than hers, she finally accepts him as a Stark and Ned Stark's son. Her reaction to Dany, though, is still a mystery. To us and to them. So the writers will definitely explore a bit of that, and those interactions will culminate in Sansa's decision to either support the fact that Jon bent the knee or to go against it. So I think in season 8 Sansa could have more significant moments with Dany than with Jon.

It's important to remember that there's so many things incredibly relevant to the endgame of this series, and all these situations I listed are only about one character. But we still have an enormous amount of other characters, each one with open storylines and past relationships to be fully developed and closed in only 6 episodes.

It's crazy to think that there're humans out there bravely believing the writers will somehow find time to include a new and completely out of the box undercover Jon plot, with no real clues and indications to set up the twist. Cause yes, even a twist must be subtly set up in well written scripts. The reason why the Winterfell storyline floped so hard last season was due to the lack of subtle clues to set it up, clues that we, as watchers, don't even consciously assimilate until the twist bomb explodes in the narrative. Only then the tiny puzzles start fitting in, and the whole picture starts making sense (sometimes rewatching is required, but as you catch the hints dropped along the way, the magic happens). No clues were given to show us that Arya and Sansa were playing Littlefinger, because well, they weren't (as stated by Isaac himself). If you rewatch it searching for clues, you'll find none, and that leaves us watchers with the sense that we were cheated. And that's what we call bad storytelling. The choice to turn the Littlefinger thing into a twist was posterior to the writing process, and that's what made the whole thing seem so afterthought and stupid.

With the undercover plot, to avoid the same poor results of the Winterfell storyline, they should've given us small hints in season 7. A quick shot of Sansa reading an unknown letter and burning it when someone approached her would be a good one. Or Varys questioning Jon's motives and asking who he's been writing so frequently. Or Drogon not being so fond of Jon (dragons are smart as fuck and they probably know a fake ho when they see one. Drogon reacting weirdly to Jon would be an interesting thing to us, watchers, as we would already know at the time that Jon's a Targaryen, but it wouldn't be a totally obvious clue, cause it could just means that Dany's dragons weren't fond of strangers. Even Targaryen strangers). Giving us tiny hints like that would be much more fitting with the style of twists that Game of Thrones is famous for. Even the biggest plot twist of the series (Hordor) was hinted in a smart way, with a scene of Bran calling for Ned in his vision, and Ned turning back to look at him, establishing that these visions can overlap with the past and somehow change it. Littlefinger betraying Ned in season one was heavily hinted. The Red wedding was hinted. Joffrey's murder was hinted. Jon betraying Ygritte was heavily hinted (it was actually quite obvious). Every single twist in Game of Thrones was carefully constructed to appear like an out of nowhere twist, but in reality, clues were carefully placed and created, with the exception of the stupid Winterfell plot last season.

So again: nothing to hint that Jon is undercover was given to us, and in the mist of all the stories to be wrapped up, to add a huge one like that and to have to explain it without the help of placed clues is just... amateurish. To say the least. And then, to go even further and create from scratch a romantic relationship between Jon and Sansa that, again, wasn't properly hinted would be straight up stupidity. To believe that the writers could do that successfully while having to develop so many past relationships, closing so many opened plots, starting, developing and resolving 2 wars and explaining all the shit left behind in 6 fucking episodes is the definition clueless. And it's especially ironic that this belief comes from a part of the fandom that constantly shits on D&D skills but that's none of my business.

Starting huge plots like these (undercover Jon or a j0nsa romance) from scratch in the last season would be a huge waste of precious time (literally) that could be used to fully complete every storyline, every relationship and every character development. Season 8 is about closure. EVERYTHING that was presented to us in all these years/books/seasons have to somehow be successfully resolved in 6 bloody episodes. Ain't nobody got time to start shit from nowhere.

[fictionalarsonist]

「17_junhui | Hell-O Ween Chronicles Series #4 ; Part I」

Requested by @hungline junhui ⨯ male reader (feat. some ocs) | PG-13 |  word count: 6.4K warning: minor cursing, character death

a/n:this ended up being too long, so I'll post into two parts not properly edited, sorry 「 masterlist | request | Hell-O Ween Chronicles Series 」

[ part 1 | part 2 ]

Far from this old, traditional village, deep in the woods, there’s a valley surrounded by three mountains. At that place there’s a abandoned castle engulfed by the woods, if you are a young man and happen to be tempted to go into the woods, make sure to never walk in if you see lined oak trees, but, if you do, cover your ears if you hear no sounds and always face towards the village. If you happen to walk down the mountain and see this castle as it was on its glory days, never walk in past the gates.

It was a bright and beautiful day, I couldn't be happier. He accepted me for who I was, for what I was, never asking of me any change, never questioning or judging. I knew he loved me and I loved him. I saw my brother walking in and smiled brightly at him, he smiled me the same, his lips pulled upwards in a way that could only mean he’s as happy as I am, but that smile didn’t reach his eyes, not even close, I knew he was trying to pretend otherwise, but he’s my brother and my best friend, I know him better than anyone and the same goes for him, so, of course, I knew something was wrong, in some way and I wanted to ask what could be. This supposed to be a beautiful and happy day, but I wouldn’t pretend to be blind if something was wrong, and mostly, if something was wrong with my brother. “My little brother is marrying someone before me”, he clicked his tongue in a good humor before I could say something, tilting his head sideways, mocking a contradiction, “I feel extremely offended” I wanted to know what’s wrong. He walked in nonchalantly, a servant closed the door behind him and he leaned sideways against my closet in front of me, crossing his arms, looking up and down at me as my trusted valet helped me with my clothings, well, I was too nervous to do something, anyway, so obviously he took care of almost everything. “Brother, don’t be so sulky! I’m sure you’ll find someone who loves you just as much someday” I saw his smile shatter slightly, I’m sure he didn’t meant for me to see because he picked it up in a blink of an eye, I wouldn't have missed that knowing him the way I do there is little to nothing I could miss about my brother’s demeanors. I cleared my throat and averted my eyes to the mirror before me, pretending to pay attention to my clothing. “Thomas”, I called my valet out and he looked up at me while arranging my boots, “Can you please leave me and my brother alone? I’m sure he can help me out with the rest.” I stole a quick glance at him, his eyes were somewhere distant I couldn’t reach and I could see how he kept fighting whatever was upsetting him so much to keep smiling at him. “Yes, sir” I waited until both of them had left and the door tightly closed to speak again, by then, my brother had approached me and started helping me as I proposed earlier, but I stepped back, stopping him from doing so. His hands stopped where they’re trying to reach and he looked at him in confusion. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”, I frowned, he sighed and looked away, “I know something’s wrong”. “Y/N--” “Whatever it is that is troubling you”, I stepped closer and laid my hands on his shoulder, “you must tell me!”, I looked into his eyes and I could see his worries were deeper than I thought at first, his smile dropped for good. “You shouldn’t bother with this”, his voice was gentle and concerned, “it’s just--”, he licked his lips and looked away, “it’s silly, y/n”, he took my hands from his shoulder between his and patted them gently before walking away towards the large window where the curtains were pulled open so the warm sunlight could bathe the room. “If something concerns yous so much, you must tell me!”, I implied and I heard him sighing again and called his name softly, like a plead. He took his time and I waited, the seconds seemed to go on forever until he finally turned to me, his eyes had something that I couldn’t understand, so I judge I was mistaken, why would he feel guilty? My brother was, in one word, a very honest man, clean and good, different from any others I’ve met and even with all his wrongdoings here and there, he could never be pointed at as a bad man. “I--”, he tried, but his voice sounded strangled and he swallowed thickly, “I guess I don’t like the idea of letting you go so suddenly, that’s all”, he confessed and this time, his shoulder relaxed when he sighed again, “I keep seeing ghosts where there are none and I’m afraid--”, I saw him biting his lips and fumbling with his hands, moving to sit on my bed with his head hug low, he his face with one of his hands, like a desperate man. I moved quickly, sitting beside him, moving my body to face him, I laid my hand on his shoulder. “Y/N, I’m sorry”,his voice was muffled by his hand and he pulled away, looking up at me with his head tilted down, a smile played on his face, “I’m sorry, you’re my dearest little brother and I always worry too much for you”, with a crooked smile he cupped my face, looking me in the eyes, “ you supposed to be happy today, I shouldn’t have be filling your head with these stupid thoughts of mine”, he mocked himself. I was about to contradict him, but he was faster “You’ll marry an amazing man, how many others, man or woman, can wholeheartedly say such thing?”, he frowned and nudged me a little, “and he’s lucky you chose him--” “But--” “No “buts”, y/n!”, he imposed, “I’m an overprotective jealous older brother, that’s all”, I touched his hand, taking between mine. “You won’t be losing me, brother.”, I smiled at him, “I talked to him and you can come live with us too, I mean, as long as you want to, of course”. “Silly! Then who would take part in the family affairs?” “Oh, right! I grant you this fate” “I am the elder brother, y/n”, he says playing contracdiction, pretending to be offended, but his humorous smile betrayed him, so I laughed when he stood up, walking towards teh window, mocking a prideful facade, “it is, afterall, my duty to take over the family affairs and our father position when the time comes”, a second after his facade breaks into a boredom expression “Looking at the bright side, you will marry Lady Hyde”, he shrugged with little enthusiasm and threw himself to sit on the bed next to me again, with his back against the headboard and hands on the back of his head. “You mean, as long as she doesn't run away with her lover?”, I leaned to pat his shoulder, “I am not a lucky man in love, little brother. That tittle goes to you” “Use your charm, she might change her mind in the end”, I suggested and we laughed. His eyes, they still had that strange thing in them, but there was happiness too and that slowly became what I could see the most, that something else didn’t go away and I wasn’t a fool, I’d address him the matter as soon as I had the time to do so, right now, I’d focus on the man I loved with whom I’d be marrying that afternoon. Being a marriage of two men, the church wouldn’t give their blessing, but it didn’t matter to us, we had a religion of our own. We called it… Love.

The city is an awful distraction to someone who wants to completely focus on the work they have at hand; the sound of cars passing every second of every hour, people talking loudly to each other, the interruptions and day by day annoyance are all too much to Junhui, this wasn’t what he expected when he decided to spend two months in this small countryside village, don't these places tend to be peaceful and welcoming? Then how come this one is a complete mess? The persistent cacophony is annoyingly persistent, sitting at his piano, staring at music sheet scrawled messily with notes, annotations, and whatnot, Junhui can feel himself giving up, small pieces of his will to keep on trying start to crumble and he tries guarding himself before that causes a torrent he won’t be able to retain. With a loud, annoyed grunt he reaches for the piece of paper and angrily tears it recklessly in many pieces, his faces flushes in deep red, grinding his teeth in anger. Junhui has lost count of how many pieces he started and threw away since he came to this place, and to think that he gave up the comfort of his apartment for this, what was he thinking? Time’s ticking, this silent demon is indeed up against him, mocking Junhui’s inefficiency and lack of enough self-confidence to battle against him, his marvelous laugh came in repetitive dull tick-tocks and proudly echoed through the small hostel room walls Junhui rented for his stay. It was quite simple and very old. “It’s almost as old as this town”, the owner of the place proudly told him while she guided him to his room several weeks before when he arrived. Old and very modest, deprived from too much from the modern society’s excessive luxurious whims, almost as if progress - should be use this word? - was slow in reaching out to this place,but people didn’t seem to care, after all it is a comfortable place and, for all Junhui cares, perfect for his needs or so he thought at first because the small village seemed exactly what he was waiting for, exactly what his senior recommended for, a quiet a soothing place to compose his pieces without disturbance. Well, it seemed so, at first glance, but that didn’t take too long to see how that was nothing but an illusion and every adjective the senior has graced the place for was nothing but a big fat lie to him. Now Junhui’s stuck in this place forgotten by every deity that might exists and he’s sure of it because none seem to hear his desperate chants for peace and that damned devil keeps on laughing at him. Believe it or not, two month isn’t enough time to compose a heavenly masterpiece that would sweep the illustrious professors off their feet and grant him that stupid piece of paper just so he can finally pursuit his condemned dream and either succeed as he always dreamed of or perish and taste the bitterness of the curse thrown upon him many, many times before by his parents, relatives and some of those people he once counted as friends. However, someone like him, just another hard worker in a much lower level than the other geniuses the academy defied is able to do so much as to strive to achieve the dreams of greatness that seem, oh! so distant and nothing less, nothing more. Nauseated by the anger, the sentiment of being a failure even before the final movement, Junhui stands up and walks away from his upright piano, he knows fairly well it was an eccentricity to bring that thing along, but knowing he wouldn’t find any in the village he just had to, he kicked the empty case of his violin on the way to the window next to the bed. “I won’t make it” - Junhui thought as he pushed the curtain away just slightly to see the patio through the dirty window of his bedroom and he sighed deeply, looking at the people laughing loudly and talking about whatever, just a few meters ahead, the road, cars passing by in a very slow pace, respecting the passersby and perimeter of the cozy village, all those old cars, strained minded people, everything, all this unnecessary nuisance crawls under his skin and a revolving storm of feelings seemed like a boiling lava, Junhui wasn’t one to get easily worked up in such a way, but the demons knocking at his conscience and the precocious feeling of being defeated after so much he went through already, seemed to be enough to cause it and once he saw his contorted expression at the reflection of the window he felt ashamed of himself. At seven o’clock, and not a minute later, dinner’s served. Junhui walks down the stair taciturn, but polite, complimenting others as he passes by and walks to his assured seat, not because he chose but rather because the others, living there for a much longer period than him, claimed their seats already, turns out that his alleged “assured” seat is an extra that hasn’t been used in a long while. The others seemed to be very friendly and talkative towards each other and every once in a while, one of them would try their ways with Junhui as well, to Junhui that was more of the same, he wonders how can these people possibly have so much to tell and talk about in a place so small as that one, he understood that it was all due the powerful imagination these people seemed to have, for instance, one of them is in the middle of telling the same story about the supposedly secret romance between the mayor’s daughter and the baker’s son, his own version of it, of course, because wanting or not, Junhui heard the story over a thousand times that day and each time something was different and more magnificent than the last, not that he was paying attention, but he could not ignore the incessant chit-chat that story seemed to cause. “I’m sure her father won’t let her marry him, I heard there’s someone the mayor already set her up with”, another one commented right before shoving some of the food down the throat. Argh! Indeed, that annoying chit-chat seems to be endless. How does he supposed to work on his piece in a place so chaotic? If only inspiration was a pill he could take and promptly start to compose as if there’s no tomorrow as others seem to fantasize when they think about musicians. “We really thought it was you”, the woman sitting beside her husband across from Junhui said and it took him a moment to realize and appreciate the sudden silence in the room - even the sounds of the chopsticks stopped - before he looked up, just then noticing that she was talking to him and all the pair of eyes was eating him out in curiosity. “Me?”, he frowned. “Well, you’ve heard about the tragic love story, right?”, Junhui almost chuckled at that, “we thought you were the one who came here to marry the mayor’s daughter” Junhui blinked a couple times, confused with the statement and looked around the room, everyone seemed eager to know his answer, well, everyone with the exception of the owner and a man sitting at far end of the table. “Uhmm… No”, the others don’t seemed to convinced, in fact, some of them lean in closer as if waiting for more, Junhui had nothing else to say though, “I came to find a place to finish a personal project”, seeing the other’s curiosity still lighten up, Junhui sighed, “--for college, I’m a musician” An unison and disinterested “oh” echoed through the room while the others slowly but surely took over their annoying conversation and for once Junhui felt relieved for not being under their gaze, he wasn’t a shy person, but those people just gave him the creeps, he went back to his meal without much appetite and as soon as he could, he excused himself, choosing to walk to the patio instead of go back to the confinement of his bedroom. The chilly, wintery air of the evening took away some of the weight in his mind, it was easier to think without his many sources of anxiety suffocating him, the village’s much quieter now, looking up Junhui could see the moon appearing shyly behind the clouds, he gets distracted by the twinkling dots surrounding the moon, the village’s light is not so bright to make the stars nonexistent, some of them dares to shine brighter, the garden cultivated by the owner, beautiful Junhui admits, exhales a delicious sweet smell of flowers and fresh green; Junhui doesn’t realize that his sudden opening to all of this is just a crusade to convince the divine inspiration to come to him and he’s surprised by the disappointment that takes over him when minutes later, he’s the exactly same, lacking a muse to look up to. Shoving his hands inside the pockets of his pants to maintain them warm, Junhui ends up pulling out his phone without giving much thought, he walks towards the small wall and hops on the wall that’s large enough for him to walk on, by a past experience, he knows that’s where the signal seems to work better and no wonder it works just fine as he calls his senior. “Junhui?! How’s the masterpiece”, it’s what he’s greeted with and he sighs, “not so great, is that it?”, the other mocks playfully. “Something along those lines”, Junhui stares at where he’s stepping, the wall’s surface is irregular and one step off his way might make him fall, he hears the man at the other end of the line hum in understandment, “this place is goddamn mess”, he blurts out. “It’s much quieter than here” Junhui can just picture his senior frowning in confusion and he sighs yet again, stopping in the middle of the wall and rubbing his closed eyelids impatiently with his thumb and index finger. “I’m almost convinced we’re not talking about the same place”, he mutters in bad humor. “C’mon, Jun”, Junhui tsks, “it can’t be that bad” “I couldn’t work out one single piece” “Maybe you’re trying too hard again”, the voice at the other end of the line is more serious and softer this time, Junhui looks up, seeing the sky darkening with threatening clouds, “take a step back, Jun, relax a bit, enjoy the rustic place a little, I mean you’re already talking like them” Something between a groan and a distressed sigh escapes Junhui as he brushes his fingers through his hair. “Fuck! seriously?”, the laughter at the other end of the line is enough answer, the curse that leaves his lips sounds strange in this new accent he acquired, “great!” “Chill, it’ll pass once you’re back”, the other says, his amused smile loud and clear in his voice and Junhui curses himself under his breath much to his senior’s entertainment, “two weeks give it or take” A small silence falls between them until the senior calls for him, a little more serious this time and he simply hums in reply. “I mean it, just-- relax a bit” “I can’t spend time relaxing--”, the boy complains with even more annoyance, then stops himself from sounding angry because, it’s not his senior’s fault that he’s going through all of this, “sorry, I didn’t mean to sound rude”, even his apology seemed fake and he wish he could manage his words out differently, the man at the other man chuckles in amusement. “Whoa! The ice prince’s at it again, huh? Even if I’m a senior~”, the other’s tone is playful, but Junhui can’t avoid feeling guilty. “I didn’t mean to--” “Forget it, Junnie”, he said playfully with a deep laughter, “I know you’re under a lot of pressure”, luckily for him, his senior is the kind of cheerful person that doesn’t get offended very easily, “I’ve been through this as well, you should’ve seen me being cranky in my las--” Whatever his senior said next was cut out by some kind static noise, Junhui could still hear the his senior’s voice at the other end of the line, Junhui’s sure that if he focused he could still listen, of course he blamed the poor reception at this place seemingly forgotten by god. Taking his phone away from him, Junhui checks the sign on the screen, it looks the same, he places on his ear, the static is still there, he can listen his senior’s voice, but it sounds strange, as if the other was speaking non-stop, but even if the other is a very talkative person, yet he’s sure at one time he has to stop to breath, though that doesn’t seem like it’s happening. “Hello?! I can’t hear you!”, Junhui tries placing his free hand over his other ear to focus on the the call and indeed he could listen better this way, just not what he hoped he would. Amidst the static and the other man’s voice, Junhui heard someone else’s voice, he couldn’t tell if it was a man’s voice or a woman’s voice, but he heard it clearly someone else talking, he couldn’t figure out what the person said, but he heard it. Junhui frowned and looked around, trying to puzzle out whatever his senior was still talking to him, but maybe the other was talking to the other person on the line, he could’ve set a conference call by mistake. Junhui checked his phone again, but it was the same, the only person he’s talking to was his senior, no one else, so maybe the other person was with his senior and he overheard it. “I can’t hear you”, he said again, “look I’ll hang up and then--” “Jun-- hui--” The voice was soft and heartwarming, speaking in his ear, and Junhui could hear clearly despite having his hand pressing against it to block any sound, the person’s warm breath fanned on his skin from behind him, their lips, cold, he noted, brushed faintly on his earshell; Junhui’s shoes scraped the surface of walls when he made a sharp turn to look behind him and as he’s not quite sure if he was indeed disappointed for not finding anyone there. He looked down, maybe the person was playing a prank on him and had jumped down, but there’s no one hiding behind the wall, among the passersby he couldn’t notice anyone suspicious of pulling a prank didn’t no one to be seen around him and that makes his blood being drained from his skin. With his eyes wide open, Junhui tries looking everywhere around him while still paying attention to the call, pulling his hand away from his ear and taking a good look at it, confused, at first he doesn’t notice the change in the call, it’s only when he pays attention again that he distinguishes that the static sounds a lot like the echo of the wind howling through an empty, large space and he calls out to his senior a couple of times. “Speak slowly”, he didn’t meant for his voice to quiver like that, but he couldn’t get a hold himself, his senior kept speaking a lot and fast, like he was chanting something, but Junhui judged that to be his hectic mind trying to make weird comparisons to scare him further. “Jun--hui--” Again! It happened again,this time sounding like the person was just standing beside him and Junhui turns immediately his face to try catching whoever it was, but there was nobody there, the phone went mute for a moment. “Did you hang up?”, he heard the person on the other side calling, for some reason his hands trembled as he looked around cautiously, the static was still there, but he could hear his senior voice, more or less. It’s silly, but he couldn’t understand why the sudden change in the mood that surrounded him, one moment he didn’t mind the wintery weather, suddenly it seemed like the wind was trying to gawn at his skin, Junhui felt like being watched and became eager to step down from the wall where he was at display. “I-I’ll call you later”, he didn’t meant to stutter. “Wait!”, the sound of the man’s voice sounded squally. Junhui’s very much eager to turn off the call and step down of the wall, he could pretend he didn’t heard his senior and just do it, but he couldn’t do it, his brain thought it out, his body refused to obey. “If you wish to find peace of mind, try the woods, it’s quiet there and no one shall bother you”, the static was persistent, making his senior’s voice sound quite different, but in his eagerness to get off the wall, Junhui paid no mind to it. Someone’s watching, he can feel the person’s eyes roaming over his body like limbless hands touching him all over, Junhui felt a tight knot forming on his stomach, he couldn’t almost feel someone touching him. A cold sweat went down his spine, his brain went half numb from what he refused to call fear or being scared, he’s just being cautious, that’s all. “U-Uhm-- Thank you I’ll--”, the line went mute again, and this time, when Junhui looked at the screen, the phone has been turned off, he tried turning on again, knowing there was enough battery, but the device refused to. Junhui shoved his phone in his pocket, but his sweaty hands dropped the device and he heard the “crack” when pieces of it scattered on the floor. His head snapped up again when he didn’t heard but felt his name being called again and he told himself to step down from that wall, something seemed to be enveloping him in a welcoming warmth, the weather was no longer cold, the wind no longer chilly and Junhui’s eyes met someone else’s, he didn’t see it, but he could tell he was looking at someone’s eyes when his head naturally turned at the direction of the woods. The woods, at this time of the day, is nothing but a dark stain in the horizon with silhouettes of trees here and there, but Junhui could just see himself delving through it, through the largely spaces trees until they were so close you couldn’t even see clearly an animal path, “--but that’s because it’s dark” - he told himself or was it someone telling him? It didn’t sound like it came from his thoughts. “Am I inside the woods now?”, his question echoed in the air, well, not really, but it felt like so. A wrong step and Junhui slipped, falling from the wall and hitting the ground hard, his head pounded. “Are you okay?”, if his head didn't hurt so bad, Junhui would probably notice the maccented way the other talk, much more than the others around the village. Junhui blinked a couple of times, turning his head carefully to look at the person who just ran out of the hostel towards him, it was that guy, the one who’s always quiet and mostly speaks only to the hostel’s owner, his steps sounding like a thousand drums to Junhui’s newfound headache. “I’m fine”, he tried sitting up, but that proved to be quite a challenge because of how much his head hurt, “I just-- I fell” This guy who’s mostly quiet and seemingly stoic, crouched down to help him sit up slowly with his back against the wall, Junhui looked up at the man to thank him, only then noticing how young he actually was, he could be a sophomore at college, Junhui wouldn’t notice this before because the other was always looking at his own feet. “Thank you”, Junhui mutters at the other, finally realizing everything just turned back to normal. Just like that. “Don’t mind it.”, there’s pause where Junhui tries to control his breathing to not throw up as he feels like doing, the stranger stares at him worriedly “Are you sure you fell alright?” Junhui tries nodding but that only causes him to feel more nausiated and he stops. “C'mon, look up! How many fingers?”, Junhui tilts his head up and curls a half smile,pushing the other's hand, held up with two fingers before him, away “Just a headache”, Junhui looks at the cracked screen between him the stranger, “and a broken phone” Of course, the others just had to come out to see what happened, but after collecting the pieces of his phone while battling his headache, Junhui excused himself and went to his bedroom. He sat on his bed, with his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands, even moving his eyes hurt, but closing them didn’t really made much difference. Junhui couldn’t remember when he slept, but he wakes up to find himself oddly tucked in bed, wrapped around the blanket and he stops his hand from reaching out to something, clenching on the bed sheets instead. He kicks the blankets away, laying on his back and just then he realizes he doesn’t have that headache anymore; he waits for it, sits up carefully, but he feels completely fine. The fresh air of the morning comes into the bedroom through the half-open window, Junhui slips his feet in his shoes, as soon as he gets close to the window, his eyes are drawn by the woods, the wind rustles with the trees, the sun bathes the beautiful green with a welcoming gold that seems to bring life to it. The mountains seemed so much closer, or maybe he never really paid attention to them; indeed his senior was right, there’s so much Junhui could focus on and take inspiration from, stressing himself would only poke at his nerves and trick his mind, causing ridiculous episodes such as the night before. “Do you feel better today?”, the young man from the night before asked him and he nodded with a smile at the other while sitting at the table. He felt great, actually, so much he didn't see the way others looked at him, questioning. “The headache was from stress and shock from the fall”, he ended up blabbing out without much thought and thanked the employee who poured him coffee. “Stress?”, the owner asks instead and Junhui hummed at the man in confirmation. “I’ve been stressing about this project of mine, that’s all” “Stressing about it won’t do you any good” “My friend told me the same thing” Nothing changed much, except for his good humor, but that seemed to trigger a very pleasant morning, the breakfast wasn’t so bothering, he just ignored the conversation that didn’t mind him, excusing himself of them whenever he was caught in any matter. The owner and the young man seemed to share of the same thought, so the conversation between the three of them was better led. After he excused himself, Junhui went back to his room and sat at his piano, brushing his fingers against the keys until his fingers found their way through a note and it followed by another, and another, and another, and soon a beautiful sketch came by. Everything was flowing out of him, naturally, his fingers danced, played with the keys, with the notes and he didn’t bother, not even for a second, to stop and takes notes, make stupid annotations, music has a life on its own, after all, and Junhui should remember to respect that more often than worry about due dates, yes they’re important, but made him forget what he was even doing this in first place. Junhui could go on about it, there was no sign when he’d stop, it felt as if he’s been possessed by the notes themselves and he loved, but something else called his attention. It was urgent, stronger than the flow that leading him on. The wind howled in his room and his fingers halted where they were, the notes floated in the air, swirled with the wind, echoing through the hostel, but he couldn’t hear them anymore. He felt it again. Someone calling for him, someone watching him. It wasn’t uncomfortable as the night before, it didn’t felt desperate or fearful, Junhui still felt as if hands were hovering over him, but different from the night before, he didn’t felt as if they’re holding onto him, there wasn’t aggressiveness. Junhui stands up slowly and walks to the window, the curtains fly in with the wind that blows in leaves and dirt inside the room until it suddenly stops, milder than the last night or not, the feeling of being watched, observed by something he couldn’t see was alarming, there’s no doubt about it, there was a certain discomfort to it, something that stirred his inside, but not completely in a different way, he didn’t felt attacked like the day before, alarmed by it and he wonders if it’s because the blue sky contrasts so beautifully with the endless woods. So, maybe he’s senior was right and this could be his instincts telling him there’s a quiet place to get inspired by and he should listen to it. With a small smile, Junhui closes the window, not minding the curtains, not minding the feeling of being watched either, he knows now it’s something his mind is tricking him into; Junhui checks on his violin lying on the nightstand and places in it’s case, closing carefully before leaving the bedroom. “Beautiful song you just played”, the employee shyly smiled at him and he replied just the same as he went down the stairs. “Thank you, I was just playing with the notes”, he half-smiled back, seeing her stop, fumbling with her hands across from him, “I’ll heading to the woods, hopefully I’ll come back with something better--” “The woods?”, her smile falls and she clenches her hands around each other, in his self-indulged enthusiasm Junhui misses her scared expression, “maybe--”, she licks her lips, hesitant to keep on talking, “I’m sorry to say this, but maybe this isn’t a good idea”, he frowns, but his expression doesn’t change to a worrisome one. “Why?” “The woods are dangerous for people who aren’t used to it”, she tries explaining very faintly. “It’s okay”, he dismisses her worry with a shrug, “I won’t go too deep into the woods, I just--”, his eyes are dragged to the woods direction, he can’t see it through the wall, but the image he just saw through the window of the bedroom is imprinted in his mind, “--I’ll be back for lunch, I guess”, he looks at her and waves a quick goodbye before strolling out of the door.

I was charmed. My days were always a dreamlike fantasy I prayed every night to not wake up from, he was everything I could ever wish for and more. I found myself devoting myself to this man I loved until I forgot who I was and I knew he deserved that much because he loved me the same, so I could never be reprimanded. Our honeymoon was extended because he granted me the wish to see the world with me and the only thing that hurt my feelings was being apartment from my dear brother as well as my parents. Undoubtedly I wrote to them, especially my brother, every chance I got, everywhere I went, to mother and father I would tell certain news, to mother, how much I missed her, how happy I was, how wonderful life has been and all the good things that happened since the last time I wrote, to father, I wrote about somethings about my happiness as well, about the different political situations I met, the difference in culture and religion, I knew he loved me, but I understood how hard it still was to comprehend my situation as a man and, lastly, but most importantly, to my brother, and to him I’d tell such a mixture of rambles about everything, I wrote with a smile and tears, I told him every secret I had, as always, everything I couldn’t tell anyone else but him and it was his reply that I anticipated for the most, therefore, without a doubt, my soul was filled with sorrow when I could no longer get any replies from him. Situations here and there from the places we went didn’t allow us to stay much longer and though I sent a letter from every place I went, I didn’t stay long enough to get any response from him. Once, my husband came rushing in the room with a mysterious smile on his face, hands held back and a youthful spark in his eyes, I smiled even thought I was oblivious to his intentions and stood up from my seat, placing the book I’ve been reading aside, he childishly called me by my unofficial title as his husband and we were much past the situation of carrying about the social legitimacy of our relationship. “What is it that you’re hiding from me?”, I could feel my eyes sparkling in reflection of his. “Well, if you want to know, then why don’t you come here and find out?”, he chuckled at me, standing in the middle of the room at a quite some fair distance from me and I playfully crossed my arms. “Is it really for me?”, I asked taking a step closer and he smiled, tilting his head and pretending to think. “Possibly” “Oh!”, I cooed and walked slowly towards him, stopping a few centimeters afar when he stepped back. “The question is, my love--”, he started, “what do I get as a reward for this?”, he raised his eyebrows, playfully looking sideways at me. “Shouldn’t I evaluate the significance of the matter before offering a price, Marquess Wen?”, I suggested, trying to contain my ever so blooming smile and I knew I failed the moment I saw his eyes hide in crescents as he smiled beautifully at me and took a step closer himself, standing just a breath away. ... Silly playful jokes that are boring to everyone but lovers, everyone but us. The so valuable content was a letter from home, I could never be happier to see the envelope and my family’s crest marked in wax to seal it, it was from my brother. I hurriedly ripped open the envelope to read the content, my cheek hurt from large I smiled, but reality any warm joy from my soul and replaced with cold fear and sadness as I took more than I needed to read and comprehend what has been written. While I was happy with the person I love, my mother has been assassinated by a traitor and father left our home to avenge her death, joining the war, my brother was left there, but by the time I was reading the letter he had already left as well and I read out loud what he wrote. “...I ask of you and your husband to come, stay in our home and take care of our affairs while we’re away. I would never ask such thing of you, little brother, if I didn’t have to. I treasure your happiness too much to be this selfish, but I’m afraid this can’t be ignored. As I said before, I’ve read all your letters and I know how happy you are and I do not wish to take that from you. Mother would be happy to see you make ours your home as well for the time being, make this place as happy as you wish just so I can meet you without regrets in near future...” So, I went back to the place where I’ve always been happy, but now was empty and cold.

[zoofles]

Reminder

i’d like to make a reminder that NONE OF MY GODS ARE A PART OF OUR HUMAN WORLD!!! They all reside in a COMPLETELY different universe that i created! The universe creation, creators, layout, gods, elements, languages and history are all MADE UP BY ME!!! So please, if you see something that offends you, just message me and i’ll explain what and why it is that way! Humans don’t exist in my world, well, they DO, but the history, planet, language and anatomy is completely different! Not only that but my gods?? Were not inspired by anything but their raw element. I just got called out on a post for making mother nature female. She.isn’t.Mother.Nature. I’ve said this before but it seems people scroll over it, so i’ll say it again. Her name is Aia’nai, spirit of the natural, protectress and elder of the Roguempa. It’s all made up. She’s a spirit, her physical form changes non-stop, as nature does, and ALL the gods genders are obscured. FatherTime....isn’t father time! surprise surprise! The names Mother Nature and Father Time were actually a joke made by the gods ridiculing how silly humans were and a silly REFERENCE by me, the author. No one really CALLS them FT or MN in my story, they only call them mother and father bcus they literally ARE a mother and father, their children are the gods. I didn’t make them from a DHMIS Oc, nor did i have them as Mother Nature and Father Time?? they look different, their souls, attitude, backstory and just about everything differ from MN and FT besides the fact that one is nature and one is time?? They’re meant to be opposite but balanced. Aian’nai is female and dark skinned, Jikan’Ji is stark white and male, but honestly, their genders are so obscured that they can change them at anytime! They’re fluid, but are just comfortable being shown as a certain gender role. So just once more, my gods and story have NOTHING to do with any human religion. Christianity, Paganism and Atheism are only REFERENCED by me as a silly joke, from the AUTHOR, not the CHARACTERS. So please, don’t relate my oc’s/story to real life things, ask before you assume please. I am sorry if i offended anyone but you really must ask before assuming. Maybe i’ll stop naming Aian’nai and Jikan’Ji as mn and ft bcus people take it seriously hhehe. I also used it because people would always jump to saying “oh she’s the goddess of nature? MUST be Mother nature!” and i just got fed up with it and gave into it after a while, it’s too hard to explain my ENTIRE story to people just to prove that they have nothing to do with irl gods. i’ve made my whole own RELIGION. The Ourvanic religion, Rialan religion and Omniaen religion. Aian is an Omniaen spirit/wisp. In fact, their true forms were more so inspired by Shintoism, that all things have a spirit. Okay? Good. Now if anyone has questions, don’t attack, just ask. I’m happy that certain callout poster was not rude or sudden/aggressive, i appreciate that! So please respond the same way to mine... EDIT: yes you can reblog this i’d actually appreciate it.  Edit 2: also, Omniaens don’t have a gender either...it’s a part of the story that they’re the neutrals....no gender, just choice. Most of the time they’re born intersex.

[dhj8735]

Reflective journal.

Alright another personal time.

Our Task: ‘In this assignment, you are revisiting your previous blogs and creating a reflective journal blog. Journal should be a reflective document that provides personal and thoughtful analysis of your individual participation/progress and reflection.

You are required to submit a full reflective journal, aggregated collection of entries so that your “final” journal covers the entire’ semester analysis of your thinking process and articulating what you learned

as a creative thinker.

HOWEVER, it is very important that you be honest in your journal entries.

Website of this: https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/bbcswebdav/pid-4092675-dt-content-rid-7616768_4/institution/Papers/CTEC502/Publish/Assignment%20Two.pdf

 The journey to Auckland university was not very eventful or interesting. On my mind, right now was focusing on my new life here. I was stressed to say the least, well, all of this is to be expected if you study at a University. The university is bigger than expected, this was one of three campuses. Luckily, the campus I am in this year is somewhat new and the equipment seems to be quite new and modern. Albeit Chairs and Desks.

Although funny enough, my high school life did end quite quickly. I can almost guarantee my university life will not be the same. I am not one of those party animals, which drink and smoke to make themselves look popular or cool, nor am I Someone that is desperate to prove myself to be useful, trendy or approachable. I am me and I won’t change or do anything just to fit in, it may be stupid or the wrong choice, but it is my choice to make. In university, I am the minority.

I remember walking in to the WG1103 room, I was one of the few people that came early, I walked into the far-left side corner of the room, nobody else was sitting near there, I sat down, and waited. I didn’t want to converse with others, I didn’t like to meet new people, I only wanted to do what I needed to do. When all the seats were full the class began.

Walking into those doors, I knew this was serious, I had no intensions of making any friends, I either get distracted, or weighed down. I had to do things by myself. My first week of BCT… well, very personal. They ask us to blog frequently, talk to people, get to know other teams, work all that. I was confused, my first thoughts in University were to focus on your own work, never mind other people. But this course is different. I have learned some things regarding BCT, such as processing... It reminded me of high school. When we were writing blogs, I had no idea as to what to write. But as I continued to write, I began writing more about the things that I have experienced and learnt.

My first Blog post was at least 4 sentences. I didn’t know what I was doing, but as they say, do more things than once, you’ll learn it. Don’t know as to who said that but you get the picture. I remember our first project, we literally lost so much that project. We had lost ideas, the will to do anything, even a team mate, who later chose to do designing instead. I respect her choice; she has every right to choose what she/he wants. We had come up with five ideas for our card game. The first was a drinking game where the point of the game was to make sure to not get drunk in the game. Loser would be kicked out of the game. After a few trials and testing we thought that our idea was brilliant. However, after a feedback session with a lecturer, we realised that our game had some clear problems. I will not state it as it is already it my blog. After a couple of days, we came up with a new idea, where you pick a card at random, and that card has a certain type of food, once you pick that card you place it in a blender and you blend it with other cards you have chosen. Our team found this interesting and tried to find a way to play it. 

Yet another flaw arises, this might be a bit too costly, for the player. Such as not having the right ingredient or missing a certain ingredient. They would have to either buy one or have completely lost interest in the game. At this point we have all lost the will to keep going. We decided to rethink about this tomorrow. Another game came up, It was like a game similar to Yu-Gi-Oh, but this time, it was with gods, other religions, Christianity, Buddhism, Jewish, Muslim, etc. We were desperate to get at least an idea out there. Yet another problem, people will find it too offensive. I don’t know what we were thinking, we are a multi-cultural group consisting of an Indian, Filipino, Japanese, and Fijian. How did we not find this offending? Yet another devastated day. Problems kept coming every time an idea had come up, was it good or was it bad?

We ‘came up’ with another idea, a puzzle game, where you must sort out the cards in their rightful place. And you guessed right another problem. It was already made. Yeah, it’s called jigsaw puzzle. In the end, we decided we need to come up with a game that all ages can play, where you don’t have to drink alcohol, where you don’t get offended, you don’t have to waste precious money on food you won’t eat, instead you waste your brain cells on thinking: We created a… Maths game. All in all, that time we spent was very stressful, all those ideas being thrown away hurt, all the time effort put on those ideas were time consuming. But at least we saw our flaws.

After that project was done, another project had been given, this had been my favourite out of all the projects I have done thus far. During this project, we also had another project, programming. But the project that I enjoyed was creating my own soundboard, making art using my own sounds. I was a huge fan of medieval games, such as Skyrim and tactical games, so my idea had arisen from there. It was fun, sitting down, making sure everything plays in the exact time I want it to. It was a lot of fun for me, and so did some people.

What Creative Technologies means to me?

When I had created this video, I cringed, hearing myself talk and letting the public see it is quite weird. Very strange, and I dint like it, It was a problem. I wrote it as a serious answer, I only came here to do what I need to do, learn and do animation. If I need to more things than need to be done then so be it, that’s life.

What Creative technology means to me, good question, I never thought about it, all I Thought of it was a course that I could take to study animation, and learn more about the modern technology. Nothing more. But I wouldn’t say it’s a course that can make me ‘change the world’. To me, it’s more of a place where my ideas can be heard, people may comment, agree, disagree, but that won’t be the reason for me to change my idea. Pretty words aren’t always true, and true words aren’t always pretty.[1] If I rethink and find any flaws in my creation, then I will change it. Even if I may be wrong, it is my decision and I hope people can respect that. And I will respect theirs, if they want me to comment, I will, if they want my opinion then I shall give it, Creative Technologies is a place where my and others ideas can be heard. This could be said from our first project; others have asked us to try their games and they asked for our opinion.

These might be the best days of our lives, the past makes you want to die out of regret, and the future makes you depressed out of anxiety, so by elimination, the present is likely the happiest time.[2] Creative technologies’ challenges us to get out of our seats and converse with others, because communication is key. Working hard is also key. Hard work Betrays none, but dreams betray many. Working hard alone doesn’t assure you that you’ll achieve your dreams. Actually, there are more cases where you don’t. Even so, working hard and achieving something is some consolation at least. In short, Creative technologies is somewhere where  I can be myself and where my ideas matter.

[1] Hikigaya Hachiman

[2] Hikigaya Hachiman

Speaking of problems, this has happened to my Instrument. A classmate of mine had told me the flaws of it, about how the sound frequencies not being able to bounce through the end of the strings, I have found a way. I had tied the end of my strings into a screw which held the instrument tightly, there I will wrap my string into it making the vibrations thicker and tighter. It was an alright experience to have flaws, but having to many is an issue. Our instrument that we created as a team was all unique, I’m not saying this to be nice about my teammates, honestly they were quite amazing. One of my teammates had to use a car battery for it to work. Very dangerous but a very cool idea.

So far the projects we were doing have many flaws, but there are some good outcomes. We as a team could easily change our minds if we find faults. It was nice to hear others intakes at your faults as to show that others can see what you cannot. Many changes were involved in this project, when we were working on our soundscape for our performance, our first concept was based on a “Battlefield” Like area. But the problem was that our instruments did not match the soundscape, forcing us to remake it from the start, which annoyed me slightly as myself and my team member spent hours on it.

On the day of the performance, we did not practice at all, this was all done on the very first try. I was surprised we didn’t make any mistakes. We stayed for hours to try to make our instruments work with the soundscape. We have used sounds like that of war, gun fire, planes, bombs, and sad piano playing in the background. Our aim was to bring a slight sadness into the hearts of the audience, but we have gotten something a little different.

When we were working on our project about E-Waste, it was the one that had the least number of projects. But it also means we had mistakes, flaws and more mistakes. Such as ‘The Circuit board was created in the 1940’s’ what? I didn’t search this in the internet at all, and I knew the circuit board was created at least around the 1900’s. Anyway, we decided to do a film about circuit boards, well more like a documentary. It was quite impressive to say the least, and I don’t find that many things in our work impressive, our music choice was good, our narrator had a good voice, our editor was precise.

In between this project, we were to create a poster that talks about what we have learnt so far. I have written:

Teamwork- Working hard alone may not guarantee you that you will succeed in your dreams.

Communication- Only 40% of human communication is done using speech. But we observe the other 60% bye eye movements and small actions.

Change the World?- Some say that if you change yourself, you can change the world. That may be possible, but me trying to change a world where I am one of Seven Billion people. Highly unlikely.

Ideas. Mistakes.- It doesn’t matter if any of us are wrong, because every time you fall, you’ll continue to find the right answer right?

Teamwork 2- The Phrase “Three heads are better than one” In short, when people gather, they can become even stronger, than working alone.

At first, I thought being alone and working by myself will be much faster. It may be true. May. But being in a team can also make it faster, they can see the flaws that you cannot see.

 Thus: So far Creative Technologies means to me, is work together, not by yourself, there will come a time where you will have to work by yourself, then adapt, give out your ideas and let them be heard. I have learned so far that working alone may not always solve your problems, they try to take us out of our comfort zone and converse with one another, making us experience how to communicate with others who are similar to you. Blog posting is something I have to get used to. But as of now, Creative Technologies is a fun experience for me.

[boystownbirdie]

LMRTV4U: Round 2

Welcome to the second edition of Let Me Recommend TV 4 U? This post was created especially for those lost souls who don’t know what to watch next. Also, this post contains NO SPOILERS. So proceed willy-nilly!

Best show you can easily catch up on: The Path

It has recently come to my attention that this show is NOT being watched by everyone. Here’s the deal: Aaron Paul (of Breaking Bad fame, duh) stars as a happily married man who finds out the religion he was a part of is actually kind of a cult a la scientology. Michelle Monaghan is his wife whose family has deep roots in “the movement” and Hugh Dancy is an up-and-coming leader in the faith. It sounds hokey on paper but give it a chance. Maybe it’s my obsession with the Jean Valjean vs. Javert thing all over again but I love when a story doesn’t have a clear villain and when the sincere motives of opposing sides is so clear. Aaron Paul is totally justified in questioning his faith but his wife is also right to believe the “movement” is doing actual good. I love a grey area and this show is full of ‘em

Where can I binge? Hulu- It’s a Hulu original and the first season (only 10 eps long) is available now! Season 2 is coming out as we speak with 1 ep being released per week.

Where to start? Start with season 1, episode 1 or you’ll miss

Skip it if: You’re cult-ed out after Going Clear and the Master and the recent revelation that Tom Cruise is probably responsible for a Trump presidency. http://theslot.jezebel.com/the-scientologists-voted-for-trump-1791558434

#1 reason to watch: The acting is amazing and Aaron and Michelle’s teen son “Hawk” is a Heath-Ledger-look-a-like with all the angst and sexual tension of Heath himself back in the 10-things-I-hate-about-you days

Best comedy that will also have you bawlin’:One Mississippi

Tig Notaro stars in this semi-autobiographical series based on the time period in which the real Tig Notaro suddenly lost her mother, went through a breakup, was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy, and then had a terrible, ongoing case of c.diff. Sounds hilarious, right? The real gem here is the slowly evolving relationship between Tig and her stepfather which is at times painfully awkward and painfully sweet. And it’s impossible not to imagine the cautiously flirtatious scenes between Tig and her now-wife Stephanie Allynne as re-enactments of their early courtship. (ps: the gif below is NOT from O.M. but still shows Tig and Stephanie together) 

Where can I binge? If you have Amazon Prime it’s on Prime instant video

Where to start? It’s a short series- only 6 eps at 20-something minutes apiece- start with ep 1

Skip it if: You’re not a Tig Notaro fan/ you just don’t like that whole deadpan-thing

#1 reason to watch: If you are a Tig fan, it’s amazing to get a deeper glimpse into this time period that seems to be the worst possible combination of circumstances. It’s a sweet reminder to know that life can get really, really, really shitty and while nothing can replace your loss, you can still find true love, have adorable twins, and do some of your best work as a performer.

Best British import: Fleabag

Similar to One Mississippi, it’s on Amazon Prime, it’s a short 6-episode series, it’s a “comedy” which will leave you in tears (maybe now is the time to tell you that it doesn’t take much to make me cry so take all of this with a grain of salty tears), and it’s about a woman dealing with several recent losses and breakup. Fleabag is a BBC import based off of an award-winning play by star Phoebe Waller-Bridge whose titular character is irreverent, crass, over-indulgent and unexpectedly poignant all at once. It’s kind of like Shameless (but in this case Fleabag is more of a Frank than a Fiona) meets Girls. There’s also a bit of mystery wrapped up in there, too.

Where can I binge?  Amazon Prime instant video

Where to start? Again, only 6 short eps so start with ep 1

Skip it if: You’re easily grossed out by a woman talking frankly about her bodily functions and sexual exploits. Also if you are in the mood for a comedy that WON’T make you cry.

#1 reason to watch: It’s way different than anything else out there and it’s an easy show to power-through in a few hours.

Best new sitcom (no, really!): The Mick

I had my reservations, but I was pleasantly surprised! The Mick stars Kaitlin Olson (who you probably know as Dee from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) in her first major solo-endeavor. Dee has never been my favorite Sunny character, but this role is perfect for her brand of humor and gives her room to grow away from male-centric Sunny. The plot is a classic fish-out-of-water premise where Olson plays Mickey, an estranged aunt who suddenly finds herself as the guardian of her wealthy, East-coast-elite nephews and niece. Mickey is a hard-drinking, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants grifter while the Pemberton kids are coddled, country-clubbers. It sounds like sitcom 101 but trust me, it’s with a twist.

Where can I binge? Hulu- new eps are coming out since it’s currently airing on Fox

Where to start? Since only a few eps are out, start with the pilot. But you can jump in anywhere

Skip it if: You’re over the traditional sitcom format or you’re easily offended by a bloody nose

#1 reason to watch: The 3 child (well one is an older teen) actors are all pretty stellar which really makes the show. Plus Olson is perfect in the role and is able to play a more layered character than Sunny has ever allowed.

Best show I really shouldn’t have to be justifying because just watch it: RuPaul’s Drag Race

So if you’ve read my other LMWTV4U posts or you’ve ever met me, this will be the least surprising thing ever. BUT SERIOUSLY this show is so good and if this kind of thing is important to you, it’s a recent Emmy winner for best reality-TV-show host (RuPaul). But to call it a reality TV show is kind of a stretch because the actual best thing about RPDR is how manufactured and self-aware it is. There is, of course, heaps of drama, but everything is served with a wink. RuPaul comes sweeping in to provide a critical eye and guidance in each episode and always leaves the queens with her classic advice “good luck and don’t fuck it up.” Every episode ends with a “Lipsync FOR YOUR LIFE” which results in one queen “sashay-ing away” while the other gets to “shante you stay.” Somehow, among all of the ridiculousness, the show makes room for genuine emotion. The “villains” are eventually encouraged to explore their own insecurities and under-performing artists are given second chances and a helping hand from their competitors. It’s really not like anything else on television and the best part is, season 9 is coming this spring so you still have time to get caught up on past seasons before the new one arrives!

Where can I binge? The show airs on Logotv, which you almost certainly do not have in your cable bundle, but seasons 5-7 are on Amazon Prime and last I checked seasons 6-8 were on Hulu (along with All Stars 2). Also most of the seasons are usually available to stream on logotv’s website.

Where to start? It might be hard to find but I’d really recommend starting with season 3 or 4. You can start anywhere but if you start in later seasons you’ll find out who won previous seasons which can be a bummer. Also, by season 6 and 7 there are already way too many inside jokes and catchphrases from previous seasons to keep up with. Don’t start with season 1 (it’s a completely different show) or All Stars (for obvious reasons).

Skip it if: You hate camp and kitsch and all things drag.

#1 reason to watch: Every single episode ends with RuPaul saying “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else? Can I get an amen?” followed by an onstage dance party

Best season 2 that you might have given up on but deserves a second chance: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Maybe you didn’t like Kimmy Schmidt season 1. Maybe you loved it but thought season 2 was too weird and gave up. Or maybe you loved both seasons and, in that case, why are you reading this still? But let me make my case for season 2. Yes it’s way more out-there than season 1, but it contains one of the best instances of my favorite guilty-pleasure of the TV trope world: the musical episode. It’s pretty subtle, but in episode 5, “Kimmy Gives Up,” Titus scores the entire episode with songs from various “forgotten” musicals (aka parodies of Broadway classics from husband-of-Tina-Fey and music producer Jeff Richmond.) My personal favorite is “Just Go On” from “Gangly Orphan Jeff, the ill-fated musical that premiered a week after Annie.” It hilariously mocks “The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow” while also allowing for Titus to face his fears, Kimmy to begin to mourn her lost love, and for both Lillian and Jacqueline to revel in their parenting abilities (for their kids both literal and of the tenant-sort). Season 2 is less about a woman who missed the last 15 years clumsily learning to live in the modern world of a cartoonish NYC and more about a woman who’s been through trauma coming to terms with her past and trying to find her purpose. Season 2 is more lived-in and where season 1 allowed Titus to point out all of the “things people don’t say anymore,” season 2 finds both Kimmy and Titus bumbling through modernity together, like when Titus eagerly explains the internet as a “series of tubes.” Like my fave show of all time and fellow Tina-Fey-creation, 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt strikes a delicate balance between a satire of our society, foolish and off-the-wall characters, and characters facing real-world emotions with tenderness.

Where can I binge? Netflix!

Where to start? I mean it’s a short series so start with season 1, ep 1. But if you need a good intro, start with “Kimmy Gives Up!”

Skip it if: You can’t handle all of the ridiculousness.

#1 reason to watch: Titus, especially in his audition that is NOT for gum, “Your teeth are bones that live outside. They hang from your lips like bats. Oh, outside bones, outside bones. Never forget that teeth are outside bones. They're bones that you wash and when you're a kid they fall from your head. And to make things less weird we say they got stolen by a demon that your parents know. Trident!”

[imaginaryculturepress-blog]

TFTP: WAMFest 2017

In which we photograph at a church, hang out at a bar, and win a bet.

Stranger Things may have been the reason for this post’s delay… … Hi, hello, and welcome!

My name is Skyler and if there’s one thing I love, it’s the festive season. No, not the Christmas festive season, I mean the music festival season. Late spring and summer (and autumn and the beginning of winter) mean endless festivals all over the place, and I’m stoked that it’s commenced. Unfortunately, the majority of large festivals in Western Australia are in fuck-knows-where (I’m looking at you, Groovin’ the Moo), though there are a few local ones that I’m immensely thankful for. One of these is WAMFest, for despite its problems – and believe me, it has a lot of problems – it’s a wonderful event that would’ve been way better if I found out about the Kiss My Camera awards sooner. I obviously wouldn’t have won; I don’t think they’d even consider my work “entry-level”, though it wouldn’t hurt to support more of Chris Kerr’s work. (I’m trash get over it.)

EXT. SHADY PLACE IN LEEDERVILLE WITH HORRIBLE LIGHTING – EVENING

I suppose we’re using screenplay intros now. There was barely anyone at the venue when we arrived. The only people around were the staff, artists (not even all of them), some performers’ mothers, and that random forty-year-old who looked like he resided in the comic book store from The Big Bang Theory. As the evening progressed, however, I’m thankful to say that more fans rocked up. Michael Uru didn’t have a full audience to commence with, though the first act did quite a remarkable job with his crowd of three. If I were in his position, I would’ve just screamed, “fuck this” and gone to find some shady bar to drink away my issues. But this guy had no such issues, nor was he the reason for the lack of crowd. So performing he remained. It was actually a better performance than I expected. Not to offend him, but as someone who prefers Cannibal Corpse and mosh pits to rap and raves, I wasn’t expecting to greatly enjoy any of the sets. (My honesty will ruin my chances of booking artists, I know.) But as I said, he did better than I expected; his songs were both catchy and sophisticated, with intriguing technological and lyrical elements. And his threesome turned to a foursome, fivesome, and soon to a proper crowdsome. Intermission. Lucid Reality: a bunch of random dudes rapping random lines as I took random photos from random angles, who did rather well at rapping random lines as I took random photos from random angles. The members reminded me of those shady kids from school, though I doubt the shady fuckers could perform this well. Intermission. Leon blinds me with his speed light. (Check his work out here; he’s freaken incredible.)  Hasmatt’s debut gig was set to be great, but I doubt anyone expected them to be this good. Personally my favourite set of the day, the band displayed an outstanding stage presence and audience involvement, and reminded me a bit of Homebrand – minus the demolition and screams of “PLAY INSOMNIA”. The crowd went from jump-on-your-friend’s-face ecstatic to mesmerised by Clauds’ solo, thoroughly engaged by a thoroughly engaging band. There honestly wasn’t a single thing I could fault about their set, except it probably could’ve been longer - but that wasn’t up to them anyway. Essentially, if you’re after a new rap act with vocal diversity and quite the live show, go check ‘em out! Intermission. If there’s one thing all the bands at this gig had in common, it was their extremely memorable lyrics. Modern Day Crisis was the perfect example. MDC: When we say “Modern Day”, you say “Crisis”!MDC: Modern Day!Everyone: Crisis!MDC: Modern Day!Everyone: Crisis Repeat this another fifty-six times and you’ve witnessed half their set. Which, quite frankly, isn’t a bad thing; it’s quite fun to shout those lyrics, especially on the train coming back from the gig. (This is why you have no friends, Sky.) Their set was quite enjoyable, and I had heaps of fun running from one end of the stage to the other, attempting to photograph these upbeat rappers. I realise that sounded sarcastic, though trust me it’s not. After their set, t’was time to head back home while screaming “Modern Day Crisis” at elderly women. (I know you told me to stop traumatising the elderly, Jas. I’m sorry.) Up next was Saturday, the day that usually follows Friday. I had four bands and artists at three venues lined up: Darling, Sydnee Carter, Flossy, and Julie Kember. I hadn’t worked with any of these musicians previously, and I was excited as all frick. After all, Julie’s set was going to be in a bar. As someone under eighteen, this was a wonderful opportunity to get drun- I mean to take lots of photos… yes… uhm… photos… let’s just move right along, shall we? INT. TRAIN, JOONDALUP LINE – EARLY AFTERNOON

I should begin mentioning the people I see on trains. We all encounter them from time to time, though it’s always amusing to emphasise their existence. So on that note, let’s discuss the many hooligans that accompanied me to the city. There were a lot of them. People – busy people, wise people, people with long beards, people who hadn’t slept in a week, and people in band merch who were definitely headed for WAMFest – all stacked against each other like sardines. Most were on their phones, avoiding any and all social contact, and there was the occasional mother chasing her children and worthlessly yelling “no” and “stop it”. Thankfully we were in the city soon enough to escape that madness, and headed to Virgin to pick up some phone credit. (Side note: The main reason I’m with Virgin is because it just proves how asexual – and forever alone – I am. It also provides me with free calls and texts to my grandmother.) This short trip was followed by a visit to Wesley Church, where the first group was playing. INT. WESLEY CHURCH - Screw it, I'm not doing these screenplay things.

I’m not a church person. I don’t go to church. I don’t even leave the house, though when I do, it’s certainly not to attend a venue like this. Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against religion - just don’t get me involved. However, I couldn’t resist the chance to shoot something different this WAMFest, thus why I sought (and fortunately received) the opportunity to work with the talented as – I’m not allowed to swear in this segment – the talented Darling. (There’s a thing with religious people about no swearing, right? I don’t know. I’m not up to date. Just attack me in the comments section or something.) For those of you who are like me and don’t usually listen to or give a – care about – choirs, I can assure you that Darling is no ordinary group; their amazing vocals are only a minor aspect of their performance. There’s something about these girls. I don’t know what it is, but it’s wonderful. They’re wonderful. Their passion is prominent and performance compelling, and they add uniqueness with their insertion of personality. Each member has a different voice, yet together they work so harmoniously. Hearing everyone’s solos was also incredible. But I may have ruined their performance… As I previously mentioned, I don’t attend churches. That means I had no clue as to how squeaky those floorboard were, or how loud my camera shutter really was. After all, I usually shoot at HQ, which has concrete floors and deafening speakers. Here there was none of that. So with each step I took, the ground beneath me creaked and an old lady wished death upon me. And I moved around a lot. It’s a miracle I wasn’t murdered. (I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to Darling and offer to shoot for them again. You know, with a quieter shutter. And preferably at a less squeaky church.) Intermission. Grill’d stopover. Vegan burgers. I couldn’t stop thinking about all the editing that I had to do: seven bands’ worth, all of which had to be completed by Sunday evening. I personally don’t mind editing, though it takes around an hour per band and is done with full brightness, so you can imagine the visual strain and headache that us photographers have to endure.  But it’s part of the job and I love it regardless. Next up, we had to figure out where the Lot Party was. I knew its approximate location, however it still seemed a bit misplaced. Thankfully t’was easy enough to find… but the security checks were a bit of a nuisance. Sec. Guard: Sup in your backpack?Me: Camera gear.Sec. Guard: Open yer bag, ma’am.Me to myself: Don’t ma’am me…Me: *Obliges.*Sec. Guard: The hell is this?Me: …Lenses?Sec. Guard: Whaa ??? Ya can’t bring that in!Me: I’m shooting for the bands.Sec. Guard to his colleague: Huh ?? Get that manager ‘ere !! Oh the amount of times I’ve had to speak to managers… I’m not a very social person, dudes. If I can’t have a normal conversation with a person, it means I definitely cannot speak to high authority personnel. There’s a reason I run from cops, mate, and it ain’t due to the weed in my bag. Wait what The manager dude came over. I anticipated another round of questioning, similar to the style I encountered at the Alice Cooper show. I was luckily spared such exchanges. Manager: Wussup.Me: Camera gear.Manager: Ya should have a pass but that ain’t none of my business… go in.Me to myself: It ain’t my fault I never received one… but thank you anyway. Inside, I saw a few people that I knew. They were mainly bands, including Sly Withers, Rag N’ Bone, and that one group that I keep seeing everywhere but don’t know the name of. I could see Sydnee setting up on stage and soon got in contact with her and her manager, both of whom were lovely. Her manager told of how WAM failed to organise a pass, however I should be able to get in front of the barricade to shoot. When shooting time came, however, those goddamn security guards weren’t giving a shit about my job. Me: *Entering in front of barricade.* Sec. Guard #2: NO NO NO NO NO Me: But I’m- Sec. Guard #2: Njet! Me: But- Sec. Guard #2: Nein! Me: I- Sec. Guard #2: Shoo! Me: Well fuck you too. So behind the barricade I remained. Apologies to Sydnee about that. Blame WAM though. Sydnee’s set was fantastic. Her voice was impeccable, her playing equally as fantastic, and her band beautifully complimented her style. I’m quite a fan of her material, and loved seeing her play live. She’s got this humble, simplistic nature to her that highlights her personality and strengthens her performance; it’s brilliant to see. Not to mention the emotion and passion she projects. Intermission. Met Sydnee’s father. He was also a splendid fellow. My mother wanted to go and visit some nearby store, so we left Lot Party in search of it. T'was closed by the time we arrived, but it's fine because on the way back I saw a dude with a shirt that said "PERTH VEGANS UNITE". I would've complimented him, but we were crossing the Horseshoe Bridge and I didn't wish to be run over by oncoming traffic. Then my mother saw Daryl from Homebrand. She said, and I quote, “Hey look, it’s Insomnia dude.” I was too blind to see. Turns out that he – likely accompanied by everyone else from every HQ gig – was leaving, as WAMFest advertised Lot Party as an all-ages event, yet didn’t allow under eighteens to enter without a legal guardian. WAM later got in touch with me (regarding that overdue photo pass), and I used the opportunity to complain on behalf of everyone. This was my reply email, as you may’ve – probably not – seen on my Instagram story: “No worries, Aarom, I fully comprehend your troubles. It was such a large event, I'm astounded you guys managed to deal most - most - matters! We were able to get in and organised relatively well, however we do have a few concerns that may - and most likely will - affect your future WAMFest outcomes and ultimately profits. Our predominant issue was encountered by underage patrons at the venue of Lot Party: Advertised as an all-ages premises, it drew immense attention from teenage music fans, who were, quite frankly, your most crucial promoters; they brought more and more people to your events, and no other marketing techniques are as effective as kids online. Throughout the evening, numerous under eighteens flocked to the gates, attempting to, well, enter, though were refused entry as "a legal guardian" was supposedly required. However, this prerequisite was not listed publicly. As I'm sure you're aware, deceptive advertising is considered illegal, so I suppose you're all fortunate to have had WAMFest be a free event. (The inconvenience caused is quite atrocious, though.) We could technically seek transport compensation, though that's a large effort for a few dollars. (But if you're willing to pay up, I mean, I'm sure nobody would mind the extra cash.) I am aware that an informal notice was consigned via Facebook, one that read: "We provided a 500 capacity all-ages space at the back of the venue with seating, shade, food vendors and a digital graffiti wall. I apologise that it wasn't communicated that you couldn't stand front and centre, but we also programmed two other free all-ages stages at Forrest Place and Wetlands. Thanks for coming and your feedback will be discussed at out event debrief." However, providing a copy and pasted message - complete with typos and all - of apparent apology is unjustifiable, particularly due to the fact that guilt tactics were equipped to belittle the crowd (see: "I apologise that it wasn't communicated that you couldn't stand front and centre, but we also programmed two other free all-ages stages at Forrest Place and Wetlands"). All your message reads - and correct me if I'm wrong - is: "There was some room behind the gates for around thirty of you to somehow squeeze in to maybe potentially somehow not really see the top left hand corner of the stage. This way, that area didn't even constitute as an official part of Lot Fest, much like a carpark doesn't constitute as part of a venue, which allowed us to serve booze without getting sued; making us an exceptional profit. To make you feel comfortable, though, we gave you the option of food, undesirable activities and a one-3m2-tent-fits-all setup. If you still dare be ungrateful, however, you could've attended one of the other events we organised (with less interesting bands that we knew you couldn't mosh or break your necks to). We couldn't care less as to whether or not you are satisfied as WAMFest is far more wide-scale than that (and our profits were outstanding regardless), though we'll pretend to discuss it at a meeting that will probably never take place anyway." In all honesty, I don't see why you couldn't have been blatant with everyone. Oh, right: because that makes you appear like the bad guys. Wouldn't want that. Quintessentially, your handling of the matter - and the matter itself - was atrocious. Speaking of atrocious, the security didn't even allow photographers into the photo pit? What's the point of a photo pit if there are no photographers in it? Do you even need a barricade then? Perhaps this changed throughout the evening, though during the first few sets at Lot Party (I swear everything happens there), your security refused photographers entrance to the pit. Sorry, the supposed pit. For someone working directly for artists, this not only affects my portfolio but the material that said artists pay for. And if you even consider telling me to invest in a better lens, I will flip the fuck out. I must add, it was far easier entering The Laneway Lounge - you know, that bar - as an underage photographer than entering Lot Party with a parent. Concerned? You should be. Not by Laneway, for they followed precautions and did everything perfectly, but LP's staff. I appreciate security clearances such as bag checks and whatnot, but if a kid can get into an 18+ location easier than a supposedly all-ages one, then all I can say is this: what the heck?! I believe I've addressed these points rather clearly. Thank you kindly for your time. I look forward to your reply and having you guys discussing these issues at your supposed meeting."

This was what I received:

“Thanks for your email. After a ridic huge #WAMFest week (thank you to everyone involved!), I'm taking some time out overseas to recover.  Back Monday 13 November, so appreciate your patience til then. Anything needing a response before then can be sent to Kate at admin@wam.org.au.Thanks.” “To recover.” My email was predominantly for amusement, though I would’ve loved to see an actual reply. Anyway. The next act I was working for was Flossy, your favourite thrashy, punkish rock band. I honestly love the atmosphere that these guys set, and their music is great. Unfortunately, as I was filming for them, I only managed to capture three still images and was too focused on filming to actually pay attention to what was happening. However, I do have to say that from what I saw on the recorded footage, their set was 11/10. Intermission. T’was finally time to head to the Laneway Lounge, a bar – yes, a bar – located somewhere near Grill’d. Getting in was surprisingly easy, easier than getting into Lot Party, though the staff kept giving me weird looks. Yeah, I’m under eighteen. No, I’m not a demogorgon. Chill, bartenders, chill. Being allowed in also meant I won a bet at school: “You can’t get into an 18+ location until you’re eighteen.” Well, kid, you’re wrong. Now pay up. Julie Kember was soon up. I loved how she had her mother there watching her, t’was nice to know I wasn’t the only one. But seriously though: this lady has a beautiful voice. Her songs had stories and she were different from what I usually photographed, but similar to what I enjoy listening to. (No, she doesn’t play heavy rock.) T’was the perfect way to end a wonderful evening, and I thank Julie for both playing and hiring me. It was quite an interesting experience to shoot this gig, as there were so many new things happening. I usually shoot at one place (HQ), so this change of scenery was great. It also exposed me to not only new shooting techniques, but venue styles; it was a restaurant/bar, and in the live performance section you had tables lining the walls. So there were couples, elder families, and friends all seated along the edge, calmly viewing the show. It was like shooting at the church: a brand new experience. I loved it. It refreshed my aspirations of wanting to tour as a photographer, to continuously visit new cities and shoot not only in unique venues, but also around them; even the trip to the Laneway was eye opening. I’d walked past there many times, though never with any intentions (other than to eat at Grill’d). Spending a whole day shooting at different places really exposed me to more of what was happening around me. I know it sounds stupid – heck, it sounds stupid to me – but if you’ve been in that scenario, you understand. It’s a special kind of euphoria, a living nostalgia. It’s knowing that you’re finally succeeding in your ambitions. It’s simply wonderful. Intermission. Oh, wait… t'was over. So… yeah. That was that. Up next: The Faux at the Garage, w/ The Encounters, Those Who Dream, and Asheligh Carr-White. And up next in the 12 Days of Christmas: a new subgenre of photography (out tomorrow). MUSICAL SUMMARY: Michael Uru: humble, dedicated, and wonderful/5 Lucid Reality: are you my dealers/5 Hasmatt: take my money/5 Modern Day Crisis: wHEN WE SAY “MODERN DAY”, YOU SAY “CRISIS”/5 Darling: underestimated/5 Sydnee Carter: stunning performance/5 Flossy: hell yeah!/5 Julie Kember: modern nostalgia/5

PHOTOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: Lenses: yaaaaaaaassssssssss/5 Lighting: some was better than others/5 Camera: ain't complaining/5 Editing: painful/5 My sanity: whaaaa/5 Today’s gift goes to HQ, in the form of new lights that aren’t red, green, or any other colour that makes me suicidal. Y’all are welcome. Live long and headbang, xx-Skyler Slate ps. JB HI-FI sponsor me pls.

[peoplearehorrible-blog1]

Tomi Lahren

Today we are going to talk about Tomi Lahren. Oh you don’t know her? That’s alright neither does anyone else! If you haven’t seen her hate videos floating around facebook, twitter, youtube, or the rest of the internet than you have been blessed! Tomi is a blonde hair, blue eyes, rich bitch from the great state of Texas. Who just so happens to be a republican and bashes anyone who has different opinions than her. Tomi has done videos of how Obama was not born in this country. How liberals are ruining this country. How Hillary Clinton is a lying deceiving bitch who deleted 33 thousands emails. Oh and my favorite how a black football player taking a kneel during the national anthem.

Tomi Lahren is not really worth my time to even think about more less write a post about. However we are going to do it anyways. Not because I hope it some how gets to her and she gets offended and talks about me in her video about how my grammar might be off or my spelling is incorrect, but because I want to bitch about this woman without judgement.

As I’ve said before no one knows who I am and I intend to keep it that way. So lets start shall we?

Tomi you act like you have had a silver spoon in your mouth for your entire life. Then with the same actions you say horrible things about people you claim act the same way. Listen, I understand that everyone has different opinions then each other but just because we don’t agree that Donald Trump should never set foot into the White House doesn’t mean that you need to call me or anyone else out on it. You say that we “Liberals” are forcing republicans to do things that don’t want to do and don’t believe in. However I think that is the other way around. Democrats (as most of us prefer to be called!) are the ones being forced to adhere to your ways. Me walking down the street holding my husbands hand does not effect you. I don’t care if it agree with your religion or not. Your religion is not my religion and I should not have to worry about it. My religion says “I AM KING AND I’LL DO AS I PLEASE” and its completely fine because my religion falls into lines with the declaration of independence. That thing that my ancestors fought for. So if I want to parade down the main street in my town with a speedo on and holding my husbands hand than I shall why waiving a big rainbow flag. Why will I do it? Because I can that’s why. It won’t be pretty (trust me) but I’ll do it to shut you up!

You said in one of your videos that the football, mma loving country that works to break their backs and put food on their families tables....(may not be accurate because you speak fast but those were the majority of the words)...You say that like you are one of them! You sit in a studio and bitch about things that don’t pertain to you. Not only that but I’m pretty sure there are more “Liberals” out there that watch football and mma and break their backs to put food on the table. Hell I don’t watch Football or MMa unless I have to, but I break my back to put food on the table for my husband and 7 children. Yes I said 7 children! All whom I feed without assistance from the government! I don’t rely on the Government for anything at all. I do this all with the help of my loving husband. We break out backs and do what we need to so on weekends he can put on an expensive (looking) gown and millions (of stones) jewelry to dance on a stage at a night club and make a few extra bucks. Meryl Streep was right when she gave her speech at the Golden Globes. You all voted for a raging idiot who will eventually turn on you and you will see your mistake. However you have been fed lies your entire life and instead of admitting it was a mistake you’ll go on with your life and bitch about how it was our faults for doing it. 

My final thoughts are as follows:

1. Your a bitch who needs to step out of the studio and say this to the people who you are actually talking to. If you would have done that rant in front of the Black football player than I’d give you credence because he would have been able to rebutal. If you would have done that rant in front of Meryl Streep I would give you mad props because she would have shut you down. But instead you hide in your house behind a camera where no one can answer your comments.

2. You are wearing to much makeup! And girl that hair really needs some help. Be a lot more nicer to the “Gay Liberals” and they will take care of your hair.

3. Your nose is really shiny in one of those videos and you should think about powdering it.

4. Listening to a lot of your videos gave me the shingles. Your voice is horrible and if I had to hear that everyday I would shoot myself. I hope for you sake you are single because if not your boyfriend/fiancee/husband/kidnapped crush will end up shooting you and himself if you keep talking.

and finally 5. SHUT THE FUCK UP! Bitch you think your hot shit but you aren’t. I will tell you that to your face as well. If you happen to come by this post and think that I’m hiding behind a keyboard you are wrong. I will gladly come out and say who I am just so I can say those 4 words to you.