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nautiscarader · 4 years ago

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2020 in animation - recap

So, 2020.

Yeah, I have to say I’m not entirely satisfied. Would not recommend, 1 star.

But I would be willing to bump it to 1.5, if only because of one factor: the animation.

Because I have to say, this was the best animated end of the world so far! And if there was something that kept our spirits up, it was the cartoon industry!

Just like last year, I should preface this by saying that this is highly subjective selection. Even when one is confined to their Hobbit holes for better part of the year because of *waves hands* everything around,

day still only has 24 hours, so I have missed a few shows. (I should also apologise for omitting a few major ones last year, like Milo Murphy’s Law S2, Ducktales, or She-Ra. This is why I started keeping a track this year). I’m sure I will catch up with those I missed this year some time in the future, but for now, let’s see what this year has gifted us with.

And right from the start, January opens the race with very interesting propositions. We were still riding on an incredibly high wave from last year, with Infinity Train season 2.

This one focused on Tulip’s mirror, and pushed the season towards a much darker and complex story, diving deep into one’s personal journey and identity. There were tears, math, deer, and cops being murdered. Brutally.

t was followed by two newcomers: The Owl House and first season of Kipo and The Age of the Wonderbeast. Both of them would dominate first half of the year, with The Owl House’s traditional, week-to-week airings, and Kipo's seasons appearing in June and October.

The Owl House, a strong contender in "What will be the Next Gravity Falls?" contest, invited us to a world full of magic, mystery, elongated owl demons and some dark secrets. It has also created a milestone for Disney, introducing an LGBT couple with characters of bisexual Luz Noceda and lesbian Amity Blight. Their Grom dance has risen to the top of my animates scenes, polling very closely to the unforgettable Kataango.

On the other hand, Kipo has taken us to the post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant animals, revealing that despite the end of the world, our old vices and animosities have survived in underground burrows, and we have infected the overworld of giant doggos and suit-wearing frogs with them.

Kipo did not pull any punches regarding commentary about our society, at the same time giving us hope in the form of the main protagonist, who was able to spread friendship and understanding amongst the mutes, as well as the humans that had to survive. And in the world that we have found ourselves in, it was a pretty darn good lesson.

February would bring end to two seasons of airing cartoons, Big Hero Six season 2 and Miraculous season 3, as well as another newcomer that won the hearts of fans: Glitch Techs, with its "second" season arriving in August. And while in my opinion he show wasn't as good as the other two new titles, I am clearly in minority, as the show about Ghostbuters-like team of game console technicians gained huge popularity... though not enough to keep the show afloat. As of writing this, it is currently in limbo, which is a shame, as the second set of 10 episodes finally added some much needed ongoing story.

in March, another show from last year ended - Steven Universe Future. As we have expected, it tackled slightly more mature themes, showing how much Steven needed that therapy we have wished him, telling an important tale of finding one's worth and one's self. its ending might not have been as explosive as those of the original show, or the movie, but it left Steven’s story as open as an open road, and deep in our hearts, we all knew it would look like this.

March was also the time when majority of western world caught the coronavirus, and that caused quite a turmoil with the movie and animation industry. One of the first victim of changed schedule was Disney's Onward, which was released on-line on Disney+ quickly after its theatrical release.

I have mixed feelings towards “Onward”. For such interesting promise, I think it made a few questionable and down right boring turns, though the unorthodox message at the end of it was its strongest point, and it was one I haven’t seen in a while, so it was worth watching just for that.

April was relatively quiet (aside from more end of the world stuff); brought us third season of Ducktales that spread throughout the year, while May gave us final, fifth season of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

To my eternal shame, I missed on this show when it premiered, and due to the lockdown, I binge-watched the previous four right in time for powerful and explosive season 5. And even though Catra and Adora finally gave us exactly what we needed, some fans felt slightly unsatisfied, calling for a movie, like the Steven Universe one to be made. And I’d be all for it, the rest of universe needs saving from the Horde! Also, cats in space - hilarious.

May also revealed a new player on the streaming field: HBO Max, who surprised us with new Looney Tunes Cartoons, much more in the spirit of the legendary originals than the often-criticised Looney Tunes Show from 2011-2014. And in my opinion, it did; one could feel the same fluidity in animation, dedication to slapstick, and synchronisation with music than in the very first cartoons with Bugs and Daffy.

HBO Max would, however, return in June with first of series of Adventure Time original movies called "Distant Lands". The first centred around BMO, with second one - Obsidian giving us a glimpse into Bonnibel and Marceline's lives.

Distant Lands allowed people to revisit the odd, odd world of Ooo and learn about its colourful inhabitants, taking turns to seeing their past and the future, an, as usual, showing us that post-apocalyptic world can teach us valuable and meaningful lessons.

Just in time for full lockdown in our burrows, aforementioned Kipo season 2 premiered in June, together with another cartoon movie, this time featuring We Bare Bears. While their movie wasn't anything to write songs about, it was exactly like the show, providing some wholesome content right when we needed it.

And just in case you needed more wholesome adventures, Craig of the Creek's second season ended, and its third season began, reminding us of HOW COOL LIFE WAS WHEN OUTERNET WASN’T SCARY AND WE COULD STILL WALK OUTSIDE FOR FUN AND NOT TO HUNT TOILET PAPER.

Just like last year, July was not dogs' days, but frogs'. Amphibia season 2 started raining on our heads, but unlike last year, its schedule wasn't a daily one, spreading the episodes throughout the Summer and early Autumn, with its second part arriving in February of 2021. There were more roadtrips, more mysteries and MORE MARCY.

August was equally strong: aforementioned Glitch Techs "season 2" premiered, offering better and more plot-heavy episodes than the first ten episodes. Unfortunately, the show's future is unclear; the uneven divide of plot between the seasons probably contributed to the show not being renewed. 10 new episodes apparently are written, but await in sleep mode, until Nickelodeon remembers about it.

HBO MAX picked up Infinity Train for its third season, after being derailed by Cartoon Network. And if you thought that killing a mirror cop was shocking... then this season has pushed the limit of what can be shown in modern children's cartoon to a frightening degree. The schedule was once again, weirder, with first five episodes airing on the day of the premiere, ending with a cliffhanger (literally) that only contributed to the shock factor and made us wait anxiously for its conclusion. It was bold, it was dark, it was memorable.

And just like Glitch Techs, Infinity Train waits on a side track, unsure if it will be picked up, or will it be abandoned and left as a canvas for graffiti artists.

However, to end the Summer, a truly amazing TV movie has arrived on Disney Plus, where we came back to good, old Danville and could witness Candace against the universe. The new Phineas and Ferb movie brought back the glorious memories of this fantastic show, with the same humour, writing, abundance of catchy songs and a surprisingly deep moral.

In September we have seen the start of Big Hero 6 season 3 and a odd change of format. Instead of standalone 22-minute episodes, the show now consists of two 11-minute segments. In opinion of many, this weakened the stories, forcing them to be more comedy-oriented, and shortening the potential emotional drama. Still, it gave us funny, short stories, but they did clash with the two previous season, not to mention the movie.

However, if that wasn't up to your taste, Ducktales season 3 also started airing, and continued its first part up until December with more action- and plot-driven episodes, including the Darkwing Duck crossover, serving as a pilot of the spin-off.

Later in December fans have learned that Season 3 will be its last, which broke the hearts of many duck fans; however, it seems that the season has been written as the last one in mind, and the news of the ending was known to the creators, which gives us hope for a kick-ass finale somewhere in 2021.

Miraculous New York, telling arguably one of the most mature storylines, opened the "Heroez" world to some new characters and new opportunities, with two more specials, taking place in Shanghai and Brazil, meant to air somewhere next year. AND I DO HOPE WE WILL SEE MORE LOCAL FOOD VENDOR SUPERHEROES LIKE HOT DOG DAN.

October was the month of two season 3's: Carmen Sandiego and Kipo. In case of Carmen, as it is usual with Netflix, the "season" was only a half-one, with just a handful standalone episodes, and just a dash of more ongoing plot.

For Kipo, however, season 3 was the end, and what a glorious one it was. Fans were saddened to learn of it, but Kipo was always imagined as a 3-part story, and it showed. The finale proved more than satisfying ending to the plot, elevating Kipo to one of the smartest cartoon characters we should all try to aspire to.

In November, Distant Lands: Obsidian aired, focusing on everyone’s favourite candy/vampire couple, and the long and complicated love between Bonnibel and Marceline. And as usual, it showed us that relationships are not always as straightforward as we would like them to be, but with enough music and teamwork, no enemy is big enough.

For the next new show, I’ve waited with the most amount of excitement and anxiety. Because while I was completely fine with other reboots and re-imaginings to take creative takes, new Animaniacs, (airing on Hulu) had to be perfect and had to be the lightning that struck twice.

And sadly... it wasn’t. It was still good, but some people criticised (incorrectly imho) the amount of political topics, while I mourned almost total cast-ration of additional characters, aside from Pinky and the Brain. This truly weakened the possibilities it could have had. It was still very good, but you can feel that some of the original charm was lost, due to these odd, odd limitations.

December brought us a new original Apple TV movie, Wolfwalkers. A beautifully animated folk tale of friendship and social divides, and how short-sight can cause the collapse of both arguing sides, reminding me very much of the intelligence and heart of original “How to Train Your Dragon”.

We’ve had to wait two years for the return of arguably one of the most wholesome shows out there: Hilda. Second season dived into deeper mysteries that permeate the rich and colourful troll-ridden land, we saw the return of some familiar characters, and introduced a whole new storyline, that ended with a surprising cliffhanger. Still as wholesome, but now with a tiny bit of Police incompetence. Also Twig, lots of Twig.

Just like Onward, Pixar’s highly anticipated Soul aired on Disney+, telling a very mature story about finding one’s purpose in life, what that purpose actually means, and whether it exists at all. Beautifully animated, with fantastic soundtrack, it was a stunning tribute to creativity, and it never dumbed down its profound, open message about following your dream.

And just if you thought that Soul was going to be 2020′s last note (pun very much intended), right before the year ended, DC Super Hero Girls concluded its first season on a rather anti-climactic two-parter. That being said, the season, running from March of last year, was packed with short, bite-sized, funny stories, taking interesting spins on existing comic book characters. For a comic book noob like me, it was perfectly fine, and I can’t wait for the second season next year.

And so, we have reached the series finale of humanity.

2020 ends in just under a day. What will 2021 bring us? I do not know, and if the animated shows of this year have taught me anything, is that the future is an always open book, full of worries and challenges, but also opportunities and possibilities.

...

And in reality I was too lazy to check any news sites about upcoming projects.

#infinity train #glitch techs #amphibia #kipo and the age of wonderbeasts #animaniacs #carmen sandiego #hilda #DuckTales #big hero 6 #distant lands #dc super hero girls #Miraculous Ladybug #spop #The Owl House

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keanan1501 · 4 years ago

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I wanted to make a short drabble for a AU i've been playing around with, that 'short drabble' somehow ended up being 2815 words long.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: (just to be safe)

- mentions of death

- swearing

- mentions of abuse

- mild panic attack

- loss of senses (they return don't worry)

- overstimulation (is that the correct word?)

Also quickly wanna say sorry if something is worded weird or if something is misspelled, english isn't my native language

Tubbo shivers slightly as the cool air whips against the huddled group of five. He hadn't dressed for the cold, he'd dressed for bed, sadly his plans for going to sleep were thwarted by Fundy breaking into his house, screaming about how Dream was building obsidian walls around L'manburg. That's how they got where they are now, Tommy, Ranboo, Quackity, Fundy and of course Tubbo himself standing next to a large obsidian wall, Dream sitting above them with his legs carelessly dangling over the edge.

"Dream you prick, what is this about?!" Tommy is the first to speak, his loud voice being heard over the howling wind. A small smile creeps up on Tubbo's face, no wonder Wilbur chose Tommy as the third president, Tommy had a way of catching people's attention and holding it. Even the masked tyrant couldn't help but pay attention to the blond president, or maybe he is, Tubbo isn't sure, Dream's mask is angled towards them, but who knows where his eyes are looking? Or maybe his eyes are closed?

"He's not going to come down, is he?" Fundy groaned, eyeing the stairs that would let them climb on top of the obsidian like it had just insulted his entire bloodline, maybe it had, Tubbo wouldn't be suprised if Fundy could talk to stairs. Nothing could suprise Tubbo anymore, not after his older brother died and came back as a ghost.

Tommy lets out a sigh that is best discribed as a mix between resignation and anger before climbing up the steps, Tubbo quickly following after him, and from the noise behind him he can tell Quackity and Fundy are following as well. He turns to look back at Ranboo, Tommy had asked the enderman hybrid to wait near the meeting, and not involve himself, which was reasonable, Ranboo was new, he shouldn't have to dive head-first into petty political arguments. The half black-half white tall male gives him a reassuring smile, and Tubbo can't help but smile back, sure, Ranboo was new, but he'd already made a impression on Tommy and Tubbo, and both were looking for a way to invite Ranboo into this group, a way to make their duo a trio.

Once on the walls Tubbo freezes for a second. Dream isn't alone, Sapnap, George and Punz are with him. "You!" Sapnap spits, and speedwalks forewards, Tubbo would have laughted at how silly the bandana wearing male looked if Sapnap wasn't speedwalking towards him. Sapnap is fuming, he doesn't need to look at the other male's face to realize that, the guy's balled up hands shaking with what could only be discribed as rage tells him the whole story. If that wasn't enough Sapnap grabs the front of his pajama shirt and pulls him close, forcing him to make eye contact, the blaze hybrid's eyes almost look like they're on fire.

"Hey!" Fundy's bark snaps Sapnap out of the one-sided staring contest he was having with Tubbo "Can you at least let Quackity and me on before you go around trying to fight us?!" Sapnap glares at him, and Tubbo mentally scolds the small part of his brain that's still stuck in the past, the small voice in his head telling him to apologize, to courtesy for Schlatt, and to leave as fast as possible, Schlatt was already angry, he'll just piss him off more if he stays, and when Schlatt gets pissed off he-

A soft tail brushing against his hand brings him back to the present, Fundy's looking at him with concerned but understanding eyes. Tubbo takes a moment to remind himself that Schlatt is dead, and to notice Sapnap backed off, and that Tommy is president now. He gives a short and polite nod to Fundy, mouthing a "thanks" he would've said it out loud if Dream and Tommy weren't arguing. Wait... he should probably pay attention.

"-George's house!" Dream yells, throwing his hands up as Tommy splutters nonsense in return, clearly showing of his disagreement with whatever statement Dream made. Tubbo shuffles up besides Quackity, carefully tapping the duck hybrid's middle finger twice, it was their own made up code for "i wasn't paying attention, what's going on?".

"Dream is claiming you burned down George's house" Quackity whispers "Sapnap, Punz and George are backing him up, George and Punz are saying they watched you burn it" Tubbo frowns, he wants to protest against their claims, but Tommy is already doing a great job for him. He walks over to Tommy and places his hand on the taller male's shoulder, a silent show of support.

"Listen Tommy" Dream yells, reaching out to the blonde as if to cover his mouth with a hand, but thinking better of it "Tubbo burned down George's house, we have multiple eye witnesses! Or are you saying Tubbo has a alibi that can prove otherwise?" Tommy nods, full of confidence as always, he smiles brightly as he turns to his vice "Tubbo, where were you yesterday evening, and who were you with?"

Tubbo mulls over his answer, he was working on his bee dome during that time, he was building it with Ranboo. He opens his mouth to answer, but a bad feeling grips his heart and squeezes it, and a lie slips past his lips just as naturally as the truth should have "I was working on my bee dome, alone" why did he lie? The truth would have been so much better! He could faintly hear Dream and Tommy yell some more, but that became background noise. He knew why he lied, he lied because he wanted to protect Ranboo, Ranboo was new, innocent, the perfect prey for opportunistic tyrants such as Dream. Tommy and Tubbo were similar in that aspect, both teens wanted to keep Ranboo from playing metaphorical chess with Dream for as long as possible, Schlatt and Wilbur showed them what happens when you lose against Dream, and neither was ready to let bright-eyed Ranboo have even the tiniest chance of losing.

"I want you to exile Tubbo" Dream's words hit him like Technoblade's rocket, burning him from the inside out and drying his throat, rendering him speechless. From the sudden strangled noises next to him he can tell Tommy, Quackity and Fundy are having the same reaction. Once again, it's Tommy who finds his voice first "You want me to WHAT?! No! No no no no no! Fuck you! Fuck you i am not exiling Tubbo!"

"Well, that's going to be a problem then" Dream whistles, Tubbo could hear the smile in his voice, and with practiced ease he whips out a flint & steel with one hand, and Cat with the other "Tubbo burned down the king's house, and i want punishment for his actions, so either exile him, or i'll burn this disc like he burned George's house"

Quiet settled over the people gathered up on the wall. Tubbo could see Tommy's mouth open and close, trying to force out words that weren't there, could see Fundy flinch and shrink in on himself, ears pinned back and eyes ping-ponging between Tubbo and Tommy, could feel his heart drop, his stomach filling with dread. Everyone who was around for L'manburg's war of independence knows how much Tommy values his discs, everyone who's been on the server for more then a day knew how much Tommy values his friendship with Tubbo, but noone knows which of the two he values more, and Tubbo is petrified of finding out.

Quackity laughs, loud and boisterous, like Dream had just told the best joke he's ever heard "Are you crazy?! No way Tommy is going to chose some disc over Tubbo!" the duck hybrid cackles, wiping away fake laughter tears "Tell him how delusional he is Tommy!"

Tubbo looks back over at Tommy, taking in a sharp gasp of air at the lost expression on his best friend's face. His hands itch, and he knows, he knows he wants to grab Tommy by the arm, drag him away from Dream, away from responsibility, back to their bench, play mellohi... mellohi! He has mellohi!

He reaches out, grabbing Tommy's hand, and letting out a concerned noise as Tommy whips his head around fast enough to make him dizzy "Tubbo, i- i don't-" the blond croaks, pulling the shorter close and stuffing his face into the brunette's shoulder, a bit challenging with their height difference but they make it work "I can't lose you too" Tommy mumbles, and Tubbo is reminded of the fact that Wilbur had practically adopted the blond boy as his brother, something Tommy eagerly returned, all that was missing was the paperwork.

"Tommy, it's just a disc" Quackity huffs, fustration lacing his tone "Tubbo is worth ten times more than some random disc!" Quackity opens his mouth again, no doubt to rant some more, but Tubbo shushes him before turning his attention on the distraught blond, the last thing he needs right now is someone yelling at him

"It's okay Tommy, sometimes sacrifices are needed" Tubbo sighs, carefully scratching the back of Tommy's head in the way he knows Tommy loves, and like he expects the blond melts into it, letting out a quiet hum "Plus, i still have Mellohi, and i'm sure we can get a new disc" Tubbo cheerfully smiles, but that smile drops as Tommy freezes "I don't want a new disc" Tommy pulls away, and dispite not being a very touch-oriented person, Tubbo still mourns the loss of the grounding weight on his shoulder.

"You both are being morons! Dream is threatning to burn my disc!" Tommy snaps, eyes darting between Quackity and Tubbo, almost like he expects both of them to attack him "I thought they were our discs?" Tubbo asks softly, and he could hear Fundy growl out a quiet "Tommy, don't" but both are drowned out by Quackity's yelling "We're being morons?! We?! Tommy open your fucking eyes man! You're concidering wether you should banish a living, breathing, human being capable of emotions, your best friend, over a peice of plastic that plays some tunes when you put it in a jukebox!"

"We aren't sending Tubbo away, are we?" Tubbo wanted to scream, Fundy's question had been asked so softly, but the amount of defeat and hopelessness dripping off of it punched him in the gut, Fundy already knows the answer, and Tubbo wants to scream, because he knows as well. But once again the two quieter members of the cabinet go unheard, as the two louder turn their anger at one another.

" Who cares about some discs?!" Quackity screams, shoving Tommy back a bit, and the blond lets out a animalistic snarl that makes a shiver crawl up Tubbo's spine "I do!" Tommy yells back, pushing Quackity. Both Fundy and Tubbo dart forewards, Fundy grabs Quackity's wrist to stop him from falling off the obsidian wall, while Tubbo pushes Tommy back, placing himself between the two arguing allies, Ranboo's shout of distress could be heard faintly, the enderman hybrid probably noticing how close Quackity had gotten to tumbling down the large structure.

Tommy takes no notice of Quackity's near death experience, and tries to get around Tubbo, no doubt to continue their argument. Tubbo grabs Tommy's wrists, keeping the taller in place "Tommy, i promise you that after this is all over, i'll get you a new Cat disc" Tubbo smiles, rubbing circles onto Tommy's arms with his thumbs "It will take a bit, but i'll get a new one! We can let this one be burned and-" Tubbo's throat tightens as Tommy looks at him with undisguised rage burning in his eyes, the anger that was previously thrown at Quackity had increased ten fold, and Tubbo had just made himself the new target.

Tommy rips his arms out of Tubbo's hold, still staring at him. Tubbo makes himself tinier, knowing he messed up big time, why else would Tommy look at him like he wanted nothing more than to beat him up and leave him bleeding out? Instead of going physical the angry teen takes a deep breath before exploding "You- Tubbo, you don't- THE DISK TUBBO- THE DISKS ARE WORTH MORE THAN YOU EVER WILL BE!".

Quiet. Quiet takes over the whole group. Even the wind stops howling, everyone is shaking, why? Even Dream and his group are shaking. They didn't get yelled at, they didn't get invalidated, Tubbo did, yet they're shaking. He feels two arms tug him away from Tommy, and he weakly struggles against the hold, Tommy didn't mean what he said, he couldn't have meant it!

Quackity pulls him into a one-armed hug, and points his other finger at Tommy, his mouth is moving, and Tubbo's eyes widen. The only person shaking is Tubbo, the world hasn't gone quiet, Tubbo's ears are just ringing and he can't hear anything. As if realizing his situation was the key to everything suddenly noises surround him once more, Quackity and Tommy are yelling, the wind is howling, Fundy is pacing, he's pretty sure he can even hear Ranboo breathing! Everything is too loud! He grabs his own fuzzy ears and tugs, a horrible attempt at blocking out all the noise.

Dream claps his hands in a almost giddy way, and Tubbo flinches "Well, that's settled" he sounds so happy, Tubbo wants to puke "I'm glad we could come to a agreement President Innit" Tubbo watches as Dream pockets the flint & steel and Cat, his movements, his voice, his entire aura screamed dangerously pleased.

Dream reaches for him, and Tubbo lets out a bleet of fright, he wants to scream again, Dream shouldn't be trying to grab him and drag him to Prime knows where! Quick as a fox he escapes from Quackity's hold and dashes to Tommy, knowing his best friend would protect him, no matter what. Dream reaches for him again, and Tubbo tries to dart around Tommy to safety, but a hand grabs his arm and keeps him in place long enough for Dream to grab his wrist and put handcuffs on them.

Tubbo watches the hand that sealed his fate drop from his arm, he follows it as it drops limply to Tommy's side. The blond is looking straight ahead, not looking at him, why isn't he looking at him? "Tommy" Tubbo calls out softly, headbutting the male in the side, aside from a winded "oof" Tommy makes no move to regonize the gesture of affection.

"Tommy, look at me" the male stares straight ahead, no reaction to Tubbo's words "Tommy, look at me please!" Tubbo stumbles back as Dream tugs at the chain connected to his wrists "Tommy look at me goddammit!" Tubbo screams, why won't Tommy look at him? He wants to apologize, to reassure Tommy that none of this was his fault, to ask if they're still friends, but he can't do that, not when Tommy won't meet his eyes.

Tommy finally turns to face him, and Tubbo smiles, taking a breath in preparation for everything he was about to say, but Tommy beats him to it "Tubbo Underscore, i, President Innit, hereby exile you from L'manburg. You will have one hour to leave this country, if you are found in L'manburg after your hour is up, it will be considered treason" Tubbo's words die in his throat, instead a single sob is all that comes out. He takes a look around, both Quackity and Fundy are looking horrified at Tommy, Punz and George look like they'd rather be anywhere else, and to Sapnap's credit, the raven-haired man looks guilty "Well, you heard the president Tubbo, time is ticking, lets go!" Tubbo wouldn't be suprised if Dream explodes from happiness at this point.

Dream tugs on the chains again, and this time Tubbo follows without fighting back. He feels a odd sense of calm, but he knows it won't last, he'll break, he can feel a typhoon of emotions inside of him, but it's going to fast to pick out a single emotion, so he just feels numb. He can feel Tommy's stare on the back of his head, but this time it's him that refuses to acknowledge his best fri- his ex best friend.

As Dream leads him down the stairs he can hear a worried warble from Ranboo, so he puts on a brave face and smiles, not wanting the enderman to remember him as the weeping exiled, because honestly, he doesn't know if he'll make it back alive, or if he'll make it back at all. Tommy, Fundy and Quackity are screaming at eachother again, he can't hear what they're saying, but by their tones it's probably something bad.

"Take care of them for me, okay?" he asks Ranboo, pointing with his head at the L'manburg cabinet "I know they're idiots, but they're lovable idiots, i promise"

#tubbo #tommyinnit #exile au #dream smp #quackity #fundy

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al-n-cartoons · 4 years ago

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Character Notes for "The Multiverse in a Blender"

Some of these characters are fairly similar in personality and how they speak, so I've been trying to figure out each way their personalities divulge. Please add onto this if you come up with anything (it would be helpful!).

Ben Tennyson: Easy go lucky, cheery, a person-pleaser, has a bit of a vanity streak, is sporty, is dorky, is very overworked, gets bored easily (I'm writing him as having ADHD and OCD), is a fantastic actor/schemer/opertunist. Puts his work above his health. Has an eidetic memory. Is an Aroflux omnisexual. His fashion tastes are a blend of punk and sporty, but the former isn't very socially acceptable in most settings so he tends to keep it to himself.

Rex Salazar: Is sporty, funny, and a bit temperamental. Has a definit rebellious streak and is impulsive, but has a rock-solid understanding of right and wrong. Basically, he'd be the one to punch someone in the face if he felt they deserved it. Is a heterosexual.

Bubbles: Overly excitable, naive, loves life and everything in it. Isn't very book smart, but is a force on the battle field (brute force, like Rex and Buttercup). Is a follower. Loves animals and violence (gets along well with Rex). She's a bit fascinated with the darker aspects of life, but is so cheery that most people view her aggression on the battle field as being ditzy. Is family and friend oriented. Is an aromantic asexual.

Buttercup: Has clearer morals than Bubbles and, although she is a definite punk, is overall less violent than Bubbles. Is competitive (hello, Ben and Rex) and wants to be sporty ("Ben, HOW DO YOU PLAY SOCCER!?). Is a bit rebellious and rude, but does wind up doing as Blossom instructs. Admires Ben's prowess in battle, and is learning from him how to tone down her destructiveness (which is a trait nearly all of her siblings naturally possess per the nature of their powers). Has never thought of her sexuality, and doesn't care to label herself. If she likes a guy, gal, etcetera, she likes 'em.

Blossom: the Sadsap charged with keeping her haywire siblings in check. Loves books, romance novels, and baking. Tries to be nice, but is also a realist (That painting is very colorful, Bubbles, but maybe we should keep the red inside of the people, okay?). Is very interested in healthy eating and loves trying to incorporate healthy stuff into her experimental baked goods (she doesn't use sugar or lipids very much, so her cooking tends to flop per taste and failure to hold in moisture). Is quizzical, sharp, and an opportunist. Isn't afraid to pummel someone if she felt there was need enough ("either you give me the code to disarm the bomb, or I turn your face into pulp.") She is a complete gay-panic.

Bliss: The oldest and second to least emotionally mature sister of the bunch. She tries to lead, but doesn't really know what she's doing. Loves to fight and can access her powers easily, but can't keep them from blowing up on people. Is prone to emotional outbursts and, per the nature of her powers, this is to her detriment. Isn't sociable and hates crowded places. Loves her siblings to bits and loves to bring Bubbles pieces of her foes (rocks, scales, strips of metal that had impaled them) to commemorate her victories. Thinks Danny's the sweetest little thing ("You like space? We can go there, like, right this second. 1-2-3 *zooms away, leaving a confused Danny behind*"). Ace and aro.

Dexter: The adopted brother of Bliss, Buttercupe, Blossom, and Bubbles. Is short-tempered and tends to sulk. Is inventive and technical; a fantastic creator of weaponry and anything of the like. Has a one-sided crush on Ben, but denies so much as liking the guy. Loves coffee but doesn't like to eat much, going so far as creating nutrition pills so as to bypass the affair ("The activity which you are suggesting, Blossom, is a waste of time.") Is a homosexual.

Danny Phantom: Is snarky and has a sardonic personality. Is more serious than some of his cohorts (looking at you, Rex and Bubbles) but loves to wisecrack and is VERY sassy. Is also extremely platonic, loving and trusting his two best friends (Sam and Tucker) with his life. Has a dorky flair for astronomy, and can recognize essentially every constellation in the sky (as well as quite a few of their stories). Has a crush in a character from his hometown, Valerie. Would punch someone in the face as payback, then forgive them for whatever they'd done to upset him or someone else. Is a trans heterosexual (bicurious, perhaps biromantic, but is not bisexual). Has claustrophobia.

Zak Saturday: Exceedingly compassionate and family-oriented, as well as highly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and strategizing. Is very ingenious. Enjoys teasing and joking around, but will also nag someone if he thinks they're being idiotic (this makes it so that he and Rex are a bit at odds with one another). Is also great at finding common ground/compromising. Basically, he'd be the one fixing someone's broken nose and explaining to them where they went wrong, then give them a lollipop. Is dating Ben (they started at age 12) and gets along great with Blossom. Is pansexual.

Connie Maheswaran: Is both people smart and book smart, but lacks quite a bit of street knowledge. Is a considerable combatant, and has a quick wit, but would rather focus on the task at hand than joke around (she calls Danny and Ben out over this). Is kind and understanding, but not a pushover. Has a good head in her shoulders, and is good with details. After their universes fuse, she may take her various skills (hand-to-hand combat, acute intellect, interest in outer space) and apply them to the Plumbers as a long-term career.

Dipper Pines: Family-oriented, not very sociable with people of his age group. Is insecure around the others listed here (baring Mabel, for obvious reasons); sees himself as inferior since he's an intellectual and is incapable on the actual battle field (his words, not mine). Is incredibly smart, a technical thinker, and has a fantastic memory. Is a bi disaster half the time. LOVES to strategize and plot out the how and why for any problem. Loves gaming. Bites off more than he can chew. Keeps Mabel from hurting herself more often than either of them are willing to admit ("Mabel, that's a garbage disposal, not a slide. Mabe-MABEL!!!?") is a panromantic heterosexual. Has a long-distance relationship with Pacifica, but both of them are equally supportive so it's worked out thus far.

Mabel Pines: Family and friend oriented, is a bi disaster. Is an obscene romantic, which tends to leave her with her heart crushed, but she bounces back after a day or two. Is considerably strong, considering the fact that she's entirely human with no combat training, and is learning how to use hand-held weapons. Isn't very intuitive, but is very interpersonally smart. Is an animal lover, owning a pet pig and cat ("Dipper, look, my babies are cuddling!") (I didn't add the cat in, guys; episode one).

Steven Universe: Is the human teddy bear. He is a pacifist, meaning that he refuses to start fights or violence but isn't afraid to save someone from another or themselves. Tries to fix every problem but his own. Is a compulsive overexplainer and apologizer. His best friend is a lion, so people tend not to mess with him. Also, Lion likes to just lie atop Steven's van when they go places. He is compassionate, caring, loving, trusting, and has mommy issues (and also slight daddy issues, but barely). Trauma baby who only wants his girlfriend to succeed and for her to be happy (preferably with him nearby, but he tries to give her a respectful distance). He is a panromantic asexual.

Is that everyone? I think that's everyone.

Edit: I forgot Steven, guys. Had to edit him in.

#ben #ben 10 #Mabel Pines #Dipper Pines #Danny Phantom #Rex Salazar #Zak Saturday #Ben x Zak #PPG #Blossom #Buttercup #Bubbles #Bliss #Steven Universe

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inactiive-shit · 4 years ago

Text

The Bones of a Miracle

The Bones of a Miracle Masterlist || AO3 [[Next Chapter]]

Chapter 1: Just Doing What We’re Told

Summary: Roman Pyre is called upon to retrieve the missing Crown Prince by the rulers of Aerewadal, one of the strongest kindgoms in the world. He takes the job with the promise of more money than he could ever hope to spend and finally, at long last, peace. How hard could it be to find one Prince? Turns out, not that hard. But bringing him back and getting paid? That's another problem entirely.

Words: 5,250

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Roman had been resting after his latest mission, allowing his tailors to fix his clothes and his beauticians to work their magic on his wrecked hair and nails, and giving his body the much needed time to heal the bruises and cuts he’d gotten for his efforts.

All in all, Roman had very much been looking forward to having some down time. He’d had grand plans of gorging himself on whatever exotic fruits happened to coming in to the ports and attending lavish plays. Roman had even managed to secure enough time off to attend a masked ball at the end of the month, something that he rarely ever got the time to do.

But when the Queen requests your presence at the castle immediately, and instructs that you be ready for hard travel? You don’t delay.

Roman’s pack is filled with his clothes and food, money and the tools necessitated by the less...respected side of his profession. He has no idea what the monarchs might want with him or his skill set, but it’s best to come prepared, and they wanted whatever this was about dealt with quickly, so it would undoubtedly be better if he doesn’t have to come back home for his supplies.

Resisting the urge to curse under his breath from the pace they are traveling at, Roman leans forward in the carriage and gets the attention of the courier sent to retrieve him. The kid is young, barely more than fourteen if Roman were to hazard a guess. They have a nervous air about them, and Roman is sure this is their first assignment on their own, no mentor to give them a nudge in the right direction.

“You know,” he says, “the Queen’s message seemed pretty urgent. I could get to the castle quicker on my own.”

The kid, Ellie or El or Leo, looks down at their frantically tapping fingers and shrugs. Their gray shirt hangs loose on their body, billowing out around the much more snug black vest. “Their Majesties insisted that I escort you there, sir. The task they have for you is of the highest importance and they wish to ensure that you arrive safely as well as swiftly.”

“What is this task meant to be?” Roman asks, deciding against mentioning that he is more than capable of taking care of himself and he’s not sure what help in that regard this kid could give him, besides. The kid darts a look at him but looks away just as quickly; they know something, and they’re not allowed to say.

“Their Majesties did not deign to inform me, sir.”

“Say what you will,” Roman mutters. He leans his chin on his fist. “I’m sure I’ll find out soon enough.”

The carriage is hot and even though the windows are open, barely any wind makes its way inside to air out the space. While he dislikes the heat, uncomfortable as it, Roman is just thankful that it’s not humid. Humidity makes his already kinky hair unbearably frizzy and he’s not sure he’d be able to handle another stint on the job while fighting to keep his hair out of the way, too.

Roman wonders, on the hours long journey, why the Queen and Monarch would have sent someone as young and untried as the courier before him. He’s high priority from the wording of the message alone, and he’s one of the best at what he does—perhaps the best, if one is looking only for human options, which the monarchs seem to be doing. But this kid is skinny as a skeleton and has the courage of a skittish street cat. Perhaps they make up for it in wit, but Roman is hard pressed to believe that they alone could make the difference in an ambush or duel.

Still, who is Roman to question royalty? They have enough information on him to put him to death without a trial and people would party in the streets for it. It’s a wonder, really, that they haven’t sent for him before now to take care of him and the threat he poses. It’s stranger still that they would want him for such an important and sensitive mission that he’s not even allowed to know what it is until they reach the castle. Then, a secret ‘mission’ would be the perfect excuse to send for him and have him walk willingly into his own execution.

Roman discreetly checks his bag for all of his things. It’s best to be prepared; he’d learned that lesson the hard way.

“Any siblings?” the courier suddenly asks, dragging Roman from his thoughts. His eyes flick over them.

“No,” he says. “I was the sole ruler of my kingdom, as a child. Rather liked it that way.” They snort indelicately.

“I imagine that would have been exciting,” they say. “I had twelve siblings growing up and I was younger than most of them. I never got to be the ruler of anything.”

Roman whistles appreciatively. “That must have been tough.”

“Nah. Not much more than anything else.” Their voice is soft and unobtrusive. They settle back onto the bench and adjust their skirt. It flares slightly and goes nearly to the tops of their boots, much sturdier and more well-worn than any other article of clothing they’re wearing. Being a servant trusted by the Queen herself should be a position well-paid enough that they’d be able to afford decent boots. This pair is scratched and scuffed, mud caking the soles. Roman has rarely had shoes in such bad condition, even when he spent months tracking down an on-the-run noble and had to do his own repairs.

The courier doesn’t seem much inclined to continue the conversation, and Roman is more than happy to rest. He stretches across his bench and shuts his eyes. It’s going to be a long trip in this heat.

It takes two days that feels more like four to get to the castle. They were forced to stay the night at an inn that Roman wouldn’t have slept at even before he made a name for himself here. It didn’t even have a toilet. There was a hole behind some bushes they were expected to use.

It is an experience that Roman is not looking to repeat.

The courier leads Roman in through the back. There’s no one around to see them except for mice and spiders. There’s not even a guard placed here. He hadn’t been expecting to enter the castle to the sound of raucous applause and a path of rose petals, but this is so far removed from even the other weirdness that Roman encounters on a daily basis that he’s almost taken aback.

His interest is piqued. Whatever the Queen wants him for, she doesn’t want anyone to know about it. Or to know that Roman is involved.

This is going to pay well. Roman can feel it.

“We wait here.” The courier comes to a stop near the doors. The room they’re in is big and has golden fixtures on the walls that contain brightly burning candles. There are other, floating lights and a few sconces emanating shades of blue and purple that Roman assumes are magically imbued. It doesn’t take the most skilled hand to form colored light, but it does take a regular upkeep. An easy way to infiltrate the castle, Roman notes. Give the right person food poisoning and show up in their place. Of course, you’d have to know the layout of the castle to do anything, but as long as he could find the throne room, he’d be able to orient himself. It’s just a matter of finding the-

All the colored lights flicker to searing white for a moment, and the courier moves forward and yanks open the door. Roman has to stoop slightly to follow them in. Though the kid is short enough to go through without trouble, the door can only be five and a half feet tall, if that, and while Roman isn't extraordinarily tall, he is taller than that. That means it’s probably a hidden servants’ entrance. And if they’re willing to show someone as dangerous as Roman a weakness like that...

“Your Majesties,” the courier says, bowing low. Roman does a quick survey of the room while the attention isn’t on him. Doors, curtains, tapestries, pillars, chairs. But something’s off. There’s something missing. Roman’s just not quite sure what it is.

Then it hits him: there are no guards.

“Elliott,” says the Queen. “Thank you for bringing him in one piece.” Roman schools his face so that it doesn’t show his shock; the kid is on a first-name basis with the Queen. They’re important here.

The Queen and her spouse swivel to look at Roman. He steps forward and bows gallantly.

“Roman Pyre. At your services, Majesties.”

“Mr. Pyre,” the Monarch says. They glance over his clothes. Roman doesn’t glower, though it’s a close thing. He had worn the best suit he had left after his last job, a dark red one with gold highlights and a dramatically flared cape. It wasn’t much, but they were lucky Roman hadn’t simply come in his night clothes with the way he was rushed from his own home.

“That is a fine suit, Mr. Pyre,” the Queen murmurs. She doesn’t look at his clothes, instead staring him in the face. Well. Two can play at that game.

“Thank you, your Majesty.” He casts an obvious, critical eye over her own wardrobe: a golden gown with purple beading and lace. There’s the sheath of a dagger hidden within the purple lacing that goes up the front. “I would be more than happy to recommend the tailor to you.” The Queen stiffens in her seat. Behind her, in the place a guard would usually stand, Elliott’s eyes go wide with shock at the slight. Roman refuses to lower his head or wipe the pleasant smile off his face.

“Perhaps you should,” she says, but the words aren’t genuine. She stares at Roman. On either side, her courier and spouse do too. Roman stares back, weathering the silence patiently. He knows the power of forcing someone to talk first, and after all he’s been through, he’s not going to allow anyone that.

The minutes tick by, each slower than the last, as everyone silently demands someone else talk first. And then, blessedly, there is a knock at the main entrance, a pair of grand, gleaming doors that reach to twelve feet high. Elliott slips around the Queen’s chair without a word and goes to the doors. They look heavy enough that it would take a team to open them, but the slip of a child does it with ease. Enchanted, Roman thinks. While it’s not unusual for castles to be filled to the brim with charms and enchantments, it is certainly interesting to see who is permitted through them.

Roman doubts there’s a place in the castle that Elliott can’t go.

There’s a muffled conversation at the door and Elliott sticks an arm out, quickly receiving something from whoever is on the other side. They shut the door and rush back to the thrones, offering the Queen a scroll. Roman watches with interest as she reads it, her eyebrows drawing together just slightly.

She releases a sigh through her nose and passes the scroll to her spouse. They read it quickly. Unlike the Queen, they seem energized by its contents, leaning toward her once they finish and whispering. She hums at their words, and finally resigns herself to losing.

“Mr. Pyre,” she says. Roman bows his head. “As you may have gathered, this is not a social call. To be candid with you, I would rather have you thrown in the dungeon right this second to await your trial and, once you are found guilty of your innumerable crimes, both against this crown and foreign empires, sentence you to death than be forced to deal with you now. There have been many times, over the years, that I considered doing just that, to rid myself and my bloodline of your vexing behaviors. However.” The Queen pauses here. Roman stands tall, arms loose and knees ready. His posture is as relaxed as he can feasibly force it, and he takes stock of all of his supplies and exits. Of course, it isn’t the least bit surprising to hear that the Queen has considered killing him before. That is only to be expected. It is worrying that she is openly admitting it. That isn’t the kind of thing citizens like to hear about their rulers. That she is saying it means something.

“How-ev-er,” the Queen says again. She smiles at him. Roman fights the urge to shiver and bares his teeth back at her, “we haven’t had you arrested yet, despite all the evidence piling up. Do you know why that is?”

“I’m just too handsome for the chopping block?” Roman suggests.

The Queen ignores him. “We always knew we might have a need for you. And so we do. Of course, there are people in this world more skilled than you at your...profession. However, most of them are much less reputable than even you and tend to bring back their quarries in poor condition. So, as much as I would like to have you thrown in the dungeon to never again see the light of day...you’re the best option. Even if you are so Fae.” His cheeks flame as he clenches his hands into fists. He can feel it all the way to the points of his ears, knows that his eyes have taken on a red tinge, as they always do when someone feels the need to point out Roman’s past. He debates the merits, just for a moment, of pulling her own dagger on her and slitting her throat with it. There are no guards in the room to stop him.

Unfortunately, Roman has more self control than that.

“It’s almost like you’re trying to make me not assist you,” he says, carefully modulating his voice. The Queen smirks like she wants him to say no, to test her.

“We have compensation for your successful efforts,” cuts in the Monarch. They grab the Queen’s hand with theirs and lean toward Roman. “Enough that you’ll be living the rest of your days in comfort. Along with the reassurance that all of your crimes and misdeeds in the past will be forgiven with a royal pardon.”

“How much money?” Roman asks, down to business now because this is what he’s here for. Roman lives for the money that makes his life that much easier. The pardon is nice too, don’t get things misconstrued, but it won’t matter for long. He’ll go right back to his unsavory profession and begin racking up disdain and wanted posters again.

The sum they name is astronomical. Roman will never have to take another job again. His mouth dries at the thought. Maybe he won’t be on anymore wanted posters.

“What would you have me do?”

“Find our son,” the Monarch says, and when they say it, both rulers look like they’re begging.

Roman sits at a table in a separate room. It looks like some sort of private dining room—the kind that maybe only the Queen and Monarch dine in. Despite the Queen’s obvious distaste for him, much of the castle has been exposed to him. That’s a dangerous thing. Roman knows that they must be serious about this.

The Queen sits across from him, a file in her hands. The courier stands at her elbow, a few more documents held in their arms. Roman glances over the papers, curious. It’s not as much as it could be, but to find someone like the Prince, Roman is going to need all the help he can get.

The Prince is notorious for getting away from his guards to traipse through the kingdom without protection and has a bad habit of disappearing even within the castle, where no one can find him. He’s good at disappearing, and at not being found.

“Here.” The Monarch drops another stack of paper before Roman. He begins leafing through them as the Monarch takes their seat.

“Four days ago,” the Queen begins. Roman drops the papers back to look at her, “our son disappeared.”

“Disappeared how?” Roman asks. The Queen shares a look with the Monarch. There’s a moment of silence before the Queen answers.

“He left in the night, and we believe he was looking for something. We’ve not heard from him since.”

“You mean to tell me that your adult son voluntarily left for a reason you know and you want me to drag him back?” The glare the Queen shoots him is absolutely vicious. If Roman were any less accustomed to violence and hatred, he would quiver under that look.

“There are many kingdoms that would take great interest in knowing the Heir to Aerewadal is currently somewhere in the country, unprotected,” the Monarch says. They motion to the papers sitting on the table. The Queen passes the folder over. It’s filled with descriptions of countries, leaders, and independent parties that have a bone to pick with the Wedian family. Roman raises his eyebrows, impressed. He’s never seen that level of hatred, all laid out.

“Where is this quest meant to take him?”

“Through Wudour Forest,” the Queen says. “And should that not yield the results he wants, all the way to the Fae Lands in the east.” She pauses, as though waiting for some input from Roman. He stays quiet. “He doesn’t have the training to defend himself from such...attacks as he is likely to face there. He does not have magic, nor does he have appropriate training to deal with people as particular as the Fae.

“We believe he is going after this.” Another page falls in front of Roman. There’s a chest depicted, with swirling filigree and delicate latches. “It is said to contain the Book of Cuilezia, the most powerful spellbook in the world.”

“It’s a myth,” Roman says. He drags his eyes away from the drawing to examine the monarchs. “He does know that nothing like that exists, doesn’t he?”

“He’s going after it,” the Monarch says. They look over Roman. “Do you understand the gravity of this situation?” Roman nods once. “We believe that he’s heading straight for Wudour Forest. We’ve sent guards after him, but he’s talented at escaping detection.” They rub a hand down the side of their face. Roman can see the stress that this has caused them, and he winces. “These papers contain everything we know about the path there, how we think he’s likely to travel, and any other information we thought would be helpful. There’s a room set up for you here for tonight, so you can review the information, eat, and rest.”

“You’ll tomorrow morning,“ the Queen orders. “Get our son back.”

“You have my word, your Majesty.” Roman stands and bows deeply to them. The Queen waves a hand and Elliot steps forward to gather up the files.

They escort Roman to a distant room in the castle. The hall it’s in is vacant and dusty, like it hasn’t seen a good cleaning in years, but the room itself is in good condition. There’s a soft, squishy comforter on the most luxurious mattress Roman has ever felt. There’s a plethora of candelabras and sconces around the room that Elliott lights by hand. It leaves the room glowing brightly, in perfectly natural light. Roman feels almost at home.

“Breakfast will be sent for you in the morning,” they say. “You are expected to be off as soon as possible. The quicker you get back with the Prince, the better.” They turn to leave.

“How old are you?” Roman asks. Well, he blurts it. He’s curious about their station here. About what could get them in so close with the Queen.

Elliott turns to eye him. They must not think he has any unfavorable motivations because they eventually softly say, “Nineteen.” Roman chokes on air. Nineteen! They look like a child!

“You must have lived here a long time, then. To be so young and so trusted.”

“I know my way around,” Elliott says with a smile, which isn’t an answer. Roman sighs. “Sleep, sir. You’ll need it to find the Prince. He’s fast on his feet and knows a thing or two about covering up his trail.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Roman mutters. He hesitates, but Elliott is still waiting in his room so he figures asking a few more questions won’t be too out of line. “You wouldn’t be able to give me any other pointers about the Prince, would you? The more I know, the quicker I can find him.”

“He’s determined,” Elliott says. They pause, seeming to struggle for the words before continuing. “He has a goal, and not getting caught before he completes his task is likely part of it.”

“What’s his goal?” Roman prods.

“The chest containing the Book of Cuilezia,” Elliott says. Their eyes are sharp despite their voice remaining quiet and hesitant. “The Queen showed you a picture of it.”

“Of course,” Roman says, “and a noble goal it is. But there isn’t anything else he may be looking for? Something that, perhaps, he recently discovered and decided he wanted?”

“No,” Elliott says, voice dropping ever so slightly. There’s a silence. “Not that I’m aware of, sir. I’m not privy to all the goings-on of the castle.”

“I’m sure,” Roman mutters under his breath. “Do you know what led him to believe the chest is located in Wudour?”

“He believes the Fae have it,” Elliott says. “A merchant recently came through, bearing weapons of Fae and Elvish make. She swore that she saw the chest with some of the most advanced Fae Healers there are.”

“She didn’t say what she was doing in the company of such esteemed magic users, did she?”

“She neglected to mention that.” Roman snorts and shakes his head. The courier waits a moment. “If that’s all, I’ll leave you to your reading, sir.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s all. You’ve been helpful,” Roman says. “Thank you.” They slip out the door. Roman collapses onto the bed and the stack of carefully clipped together papers bounces up beside him.

“This castle,” Roman says to the papers, “is full of the most gods awful liars I have ever seen.” The papers say nothing back and, groaning, Roman rolls to his stomach, gathers them close, and begins to read.

Roman is completely packed the next morning when his breakfast arrives. The servant says nothing to him, simply sets the tray on the desk and bows out of the room. Roman picks over the food; they’re obviously not too worried about feeding him anything of quality. The gray-ish mush is slimy and the roll is hard enough to make his teeth hurt.

Perhaps they’re trying to run him out of the castle so that he’ll get a quicker start. At least the apple he has is good, fresh and wormless. It’s not the worst food he’s ever been served.

Ten minutes later, a knock sounds at the door. Roman opens it to see the same servant as before.

“Are you ready to leave, sir?”

“But of course,” Roman says, slinging his pack over his shoulder and grinning. “Lead the way.”

Without another word, the servant turns and begins walking. Roman stays a few paces behind, taking in all the halls they passed. It would be good to know the palace’s layout in case he ever got a job that brought him within it.

If he did, he’d have to ransack the kitchen while he was at it and see what kind of delicacies they were withholding from him. He was sure the rulers didn’t eat like that, and he’s curious to see what they do have.

They come out into the misty gray morning. The sun still hasn’t fully risen yet, but the birds are just beginning to sing in the trees. It’s as beautiful as the music played by the Royal Orchestra at the Royals’ and Nobles’ birthdays. The only good thing about the rulers getting another year older is the music accompanying it.

The stables come up before them, and Roman takes a few quick steps to catch up to his guide. “Why are we going to the stables?”

“Their Majesty said to give you one of the fastest horses in the stable, Drukha, to aid you in your travels, sir.”

“How thoughtful,” Roman says. He steps up to the stall door the servant stops at and peers in. The horse staring back at him has a shimmering black-brown coat and stands at least sixteen hands. As soon as she sees him, she whinnies and rears back on her legs to stomp at him. Roman lurches back from the door just as the horse’s hooves make contact. The gates tremble.

“She’s a little skittish,” the servant says. Roman stands far back as the horse is calmed and then let out of the stall. He follows the horse back out of the stable and into the light. She’s already been tacked up.

“Are you sure this isn’t a hellsfoot?” Roman remarks. The horse’s eyes are rolling around her head like she’s been possessed and she stomps her hooves every time Roman gets too close. In the sun, her coat almost looks like liquid more than hair, which is the same texture that the creatures corrupted by magic have.

“There’s not been any dark magic done around the horses, sir.” Roman edges close enough to take the reins, and Drukha screams at him again. “She's likely on edge on account-a the fact you’re Fae.” Roman tightens his grip on the reins and flushes to the tips of his ears, but doesn’t say anything in response. “She’s fast, and strong. She’ll serve you well, sir. Just needs some time to acclimate.”

“Tell their Majesties thank you from me,” Roman says quietly. He manages to tie his pack to the horse without getting a chunk taken out of his leg and then hops on. The horse prances around for a moment, attempting to bite his legs, but Roman eventually gets her somewhat under control. With one last nod to the servant, he turns the horse and sets off.

The streets, once Roman enters them, are crowded. People mill around and carriages trundle through, slow to avoid the citizens walking out into the streets without a care in the world. It would be quicker if he could just walk, but he’d regret leaving Drukha behind once he got to the forest. As much as she may act like a hellsfoot in the meantime and cause more problems than not.

Though, she doesn't seem to be bothered by the crowd or noise of the market. Not easily spooked, then. She'd just have to get used to him and understand who would be calling the shots.

~~~~~

Logan watches passively as the man in the tree curses colorfully. The branch he's balanced precariously on is perhaps thirty feet off the ground and creaking dangerously. A fall from that height could kill him, though it likely won't. He'll undoubtedly be hurt if he doesn't come to his senses and make his way down from the tree, and Logan has a suspicion that the man won't come down if he's told to or not.

But Logan is perfectly content to watch and see where this leads. He has no stakes in the situation, so regardless of what the man does, Logan will be fine.

(Though, he was supposed to have been finished collecting his berries well over an hour ago, now. He's been watching the eclectic, bizarrely dressed man since he'd heard him crashing through the woods. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to his actions beyond his apparent inability to keep a singular goal in mind for longer than ten minutes. His current excursion started as an attempt to get a higher vantage to figure out where he was, but he's been chasing a bird up the tree for the better part of fifteen minutes. The bird, for their part, seemed perturbed by the intruder and continually squawked at him to get down.)

Instead of coming down the tree, the man jumps from the branch he's on and barely manages to get his arms around another. With a deafening crack, the previous branch launches off the tree and comes crashing to the ground feet before Logan. The man just keeps dangling from the new branch, legs kicking wildly beneath, laughing. Logan watches him with rapt attention. He's never seen someone so absolutely unworried about death or injury, let alone this far into the woods and alone.

"Oh, shitty fucking dicks," the man says, and the branch he's holding on to lets out an ear-splitting shriek just before it falls off the tree.

And takes the man with it.

He doesn't make any noise upon impact with the ground and Logan wonders if, like with every other part of his appearance and general disposition, he's defied the odds and died.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on who you are), upon closer inspection Logan can see that he's still very much breathing. His leg, however, should not be bending at the angle that it is, nor in the place that it is.

And while Logan will concede that, to some degree, all life is sacred and that senseless killing is generally a bad thing, he has to almost wish that the man had ended up dead. If he died, there would be nothing Logan could do about his unfortunate state. As it is, he is merely hurt and desperately in need of help. A broken leg in this forest at this time of day will eventually lead to death or at least further injury, and Logan cannot abide by such things in his forest.

Sighing, Logan secures his pack of berries and roots over his back and and drags the man up. He's heavy, someone who probably hasn't done much physical work in his life but has had enough access to food. Not a commoner, and that's especially evident with the way he's dressed. The clothes themselves don't match at all, almost as if someone simply had to wear what was there and couldn't create a cohesive outfit, the they're made out of expensive fabrics (not the most luxurious, like silk imported from a people somewhere to the north, but good quality nonetheless) that aren't manufactured with the wear-and-tear of the forest in mind.

He's likely some spoiled noble's son who ought to know better than to go gallivanting around the forest alone and ill-equipped. Logan has no love for the nobles, no matter their land, but perhaps he can make a copper or two from helping this man and buy something new for his cottage. He's been meaning to buy some new curtains with star patterns on them for some time.

Logan tosses the man over a shoulder and sets off for home. It's not too far of a walk, and the man isn't much of a burden to carry. And the leg, while it will take some time to heal, won't be too much work either. Maybe this will be a good thing. Maybe it will work out in Logan's favor.

Anyway, how much work can one person be?

#sanders sides #roman sanders #ts roman sanders #ts roman #the bones of a miracle #tbom au #tbom #chapter 1 #tbom chapter 1 #fantasy au #fanfic #ts fanfiction #my writing

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rxmvns-a · 6 years ago

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↪ choi san. he/him. cis male. ╱ i thought i saw roman jeong getting questioned by the police. the twenty year old is in their third year at west bridge studying film. they were at manon’s party because he was supposed to be picking a friend up but couldn’t find them. do you think they had something to do with her death? + the scent of freshly brewed coffee, polaroids scattered on a bedroom wall, pushing people around in shopping carts at 2am.

hi, friends! i’m dri (nineteen, she/her, pst), and being extremely tardy is just integral to who i am as a person, i guess ! i’ve been really busy with my team this week in particular, but i’m here now, hello ! so, anyway, here’s my boi roman — he’s a mess, but i’m excited to bring him to y’all ! if you’re interested in plotting connections, feel free to im me or hmu on d*scord pray for dri’s kneecaps#7258 (where i would be Way easier to reach) !

c://roman_jeong//quick_stats.txt

full name: roman jeong / jeong jinwoo (정진우)

nickname: rome

age: twenty

pronouns: he/him, cis male

orientation: bisexual

zodiac: scorpio

place of birth: san jose, california

c://roman_jeong//history.txt

born in san jose, california, roman lived with his parents and little sister clarissa until the age of eight, when his mom left them in pursuit of an old flame from high school that she apparently never got over. their dad tried to raise them for maybe… a few months… before realizing he had close to no parenting ability. rome and clarissa were sent to live with their rich aunt in wisconsin, and they’ve been there ever since.

listen… their aunt turned out to be a Helicopter Mom to them and it was… super suffocating, especially to roman. she expected so much out of them and tried to force her own dreams onto them but he was just Not Feeling It. he’d always hit her with the “ur not even my real mom” line. despite being a rather intelligent dude with a relatively quick wit, he put the bare minimum into school (especially around the halfway point in high school) … but still lowkey wanted to do well. he was the guy who always found a way to get test answers inconspicuously and found ways to work around the turnitin system, ya feel? tl;dr: smart and capable, but incredibly unmotivated

when he was fifteen, he found out (while eavesdropping on one of his aunt’s phone calls) that his dad had gotten remarried and had twins with his new wife, a girl and a boy. furious over the fact that this was kept a secret from him for two years, he went to rant about it to his sister, who told him that they should just keep pretending like they don’t know. roman suddenly couldn’t hear, and during dinner that night, he brought it up and it was an angsty time.

after this revelation, he began Acting Out more because he hated the idea that their dad just sent them away almost like it was nothing but ended up raising an entirely new family of his own afterward. it started to feel like it was him and his sister against the world, and even to this day he would do anything for her. he got into fights a lot in high school because he gets defensive and doesn’t know when to Stop. his temper is… so short…

he took a photography class his junior year high school and just… really enjoyed it?? it was practically the only class he actually wanted to Try in. his teacher noticed this, and they ended up being pretty close. when rome wasn’t out messing around, he spent a lot of time hanging in the classroom and talking about life and photography. probably the One adult he respected, but his teacher ended up moving to new york shortly after he graduated high school. it felt like he was being abandoned once again (yikes!!!) even tho he knew it had nothing to do with him.

but yeah, for the past few years, roman has just been studying film (his aunt thinks he’s there for engineering but he did a switchy switch... haha keep it a secret!), doing freelance photography on the side, and fuckin’ shit up ! his sister is currently going to school in california, and her decision to attend berkeley lowkey rubbed him the wrong way since it’s relatively close to where their dad lives and he doesn’t want thim to reach out to clarissa or anything because he’s supposed to be dead to them.

c://roman_jeong//personality.txt

people think roman comes off as intimidating, but they’re not entirely wrong. he takes a while to warm up to people, and even then, he doesn’t have a lot of actual friends.

he doesn’t express it often, but he would literally do anything for his sister and close friends. can be incredibly protective. no kidding, his sister has complained that people didn’t want to date her because they were afraid of him KJDHGDSG

you know that friend who is able to find a persons facebook page and essentially everything about them with very, very minimal information given? yeah, that’s roman. he :// lowkey keeps up with his dad through facebook bc all of his wife’s posts are public :// he looks at posts of their family and just Suffers… it’s so bad!!!

he is the type of person that won’t share his own food but eats other people’s.

listen… you didn’t hear it from me… but he’s really just a softie… he’s just scared

doesn’t know what it’s like not to hold a grudge

acts on impulse and emotion often

c://roman_jeong//fun_facts.txt

can and will argue about the superiority of ice cream over frozen yogurt

has an emotional connection to cats and will stop to pet one; also has a cat and he loves her with his entire being

is sustained by coffee and sarcasm; drinks his coffee black

romcoms are his guilty pleasure tho they lowkey make him feel a sort of longing

his bedroom wall is covered in polaroids, which are of his friends, scenery, and neighborhood stray cats! but mostly his friends. he loves taking pictures of his friends :/ he also loves the idea of polaroids capturing a singular moment unlike how digital cameras can be used to get the Perfect Shot after like… 30 tries

has that one second every day app

mildly allergic to bananas but didn’t realize it until he asked a friend if they liked the tingly feeling they get when they eat bananas

pushing people around in shopping carts at 2am/being pushed is one of his favorite pastimes

“u can’t wear thrasher unless u can deepthroat an entire skateboard” is his instagram bio and he thinks thrasher elitists can choke. bought all of his friends black thrasher hoodies for christmas in an act of spite.

going off of that, he started saying “sk8 or die” ironically but now he can’t stop

will look you in the eyes when he holds a conversation; this is sometimes terrifying bc it rly looks like he’s staring into your SOUL but tbh he just be like that

can solve rubix cubes very fast!! when he was 13 he once spent an entire night studying rubix cube algorithms online bc he didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t solve one

walks fast DGJHGS like slow down speed racer where r u goin

c://roman_jeong//that_night.txt

rome didn’t even want to Be at the party, let alone get entangled in the Big Mess

he showed up around 15 minutes before they found manon’s body, only in the area to pick up niko after receiving a phone call

he went inside to seek him out, but little did he know what would take place 5 minutes later.

he finds it kinda unfair (and shitty karma) that he was brought into everything... but then again, a girl Died, so he doesn’t really have the right to complain.

#ps.intro #REALLY LATE IM SRY HELLO

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thesteadydietofeverything · 7 years ago

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‘Ni No Kuni II' Fights Fire with Friendliness

I played the final chapter of Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom hours after President Trump, a world leader cartoonish, short-sighted, and petty enough to fit fairly inconspicuously among the cast of villains in this storybook JRPG, announced and carried out an airstrike on Syria. As our country resigned itself to add fuel to the fire of one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, and risked upsetting its already tenuous relationship with other powerful nations, I helped the cat-eared boy king, Evan Pettiwhisker Tildrum, and his gang of eternal optimists, fulfill his mission of uniting the world under the banner of peace and happiness ever after.

As with many moments of this game, it should have felt cheap. To reduce the world’s ever-complicating and deepening evils of poverty, war, and power to something that can be resolved by the good-natured idealism of youth and a bit of combat that feels hardly more violent than a schoolyard scrap. And yet, I was moved. And it wasn’t the first time. This is a game that regularly turns saccharin, unrealistically tidy storytelling into genuinely affecting moments: moments that feel significant not just for their heart but almost urgently vital in their message. In our politically tumultuous age, where the burdens of inequity and violence feel heavy enough that predicting humanity’s imminent demise has become commonplace, Revenant Kingdom offers a balm equally aggressive in its dedication to locate and cultivate the goodness in everyone: the more ostensibly villainous the person in question, the more powerful the eventual redemption.

Since the game was obviously in production for a number of years, it’s unlikely the creators predicted our current placement on the doomsday clock at two minutes to midnight in the year it was released, but the opening scene begins with the collective nightmare scenario of 2018: the nuclear destruction of a city that looks conspicuously like New York. The president of this unnamed country, Roland Crane, is driving into the city as the detonation occurs, and he only has moments to witness the annihilation of his home and his people before he finds himself transported to a fantastical land, in the private chambers of the newly annointed young King Evan. After only moments of confusion, Roland seems to embrace the escape afforded by this mysterious event, helping Evan flee his own kingdom after his late father’s duplicitous advisor, Mausigner, stages a coup.

For long stretches of the game, Roland rarely mentions his destroyed homeland, but it’s a powerful enough opening image that the game doesn’t need to continually remind us of it - we know that Roland’s thoughts and actions must stem from his recent trauma, regardless of how shockingly good he is at hiding it. That image never left my mind during my roughly forty hours of play through Revenant Kingdom’s otherwise beautiful, charming, and whimsical world of entertainingly accented anthropomorphic denizens, just as it never leaves Roland’s. It’s an audaciously memorable way to stage the game’s ambitious anti-war themes.

It’s also a sharp departure from the decidedly more personal story of the games predecessor, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. While that game, Level-5’s agreeable collaboration with Studio Ghibli, began with a similarly traumatic event - the death of the protagonist's mother - the stakes felt decidedly smaller. With Ghibli out of the picture this go around, Level-5 has maintained the original’s gorgeous, anime-inspired cell-shaded art style, and Joe Hisaishi once again turns in a fantastic score, but despite these aesthetic similarites, the gameplay of Revenant Kingdom is largely unrecognizable from its predecessor.

While White Witch had fairly standard turn-based, Pokemon-style combat, Revenant Kingdom is more action oriented, in the vain of something like Kingdom Hearts. Inventing combos of light and heavy attacks is fun enough, but the simple hacking and slashing at the heart of combat is complicated and balanced by a number of other systems, including dodging/rolling/jumping, “Higgledies” (little Pikmin-esque creatures that grant certain powers and spells during combat), and most importantly, the “Zing” effect. Every character can switch between three weapons freely during combat, each of which builds up a meter. Once that meter reaches 100%, that character can unleash a special move, anything from a devastating physical attack to an elemental spell. Keeping the Zing cycle going through combat is an actively engaging juggle, something that makes for rarely stale or repetitive combat. It helps that, also unlike White Witch, this game keeps grinding at a minimum, a trait that in comparison to most JRPGs feels surprisingly generous.

After Evan is ousted from his throne, he settles down in a relatively unoccupied territory where he builds a new kingdom from the ground up, which he names Evermore. This conceit introduces two other brand new systems that Revenant Kingdom employs, to varying degrees of success. One is a military combat mini-game called Skirmish battle, in which the player controls squads of soldiers as they face down enemy armies, such as rogue bandits intent on stealing his land. The combat here is automatic, with soldiers engaging each other on their own as soon as they’re close enough. Where the player comes in is in positioning and morale boosting - there’s a rock, paper scissors system in which sworded soldiers can easily best axed soldiers, axed soldiers beat speared, and spears beat swords. The player rotates these squads in positions that are most efficient, all the while ordering them to charge and defend at opportune moments. It’s a simple system, one that’s hardly a pain to engage with, and yet one I was rarely happy to have to do. There’s too little control over soldiers to make it much more than a mindless exercise, and there are sharp spikes in enemy levels that mean if you’re trying to complete all the side quests involving Skirmishes, you’ll have to do a decent amount of grinding. Thankfully, this is largely optional, and though you do have to be a certain level to complete sections of the main game, it never feels like too much.

What felt more at odds with my enjoyment in this system, though, outside of its exact mechanics, is its language and presentation, which just doesn’t seem to match the whole spirit of the game. Evan builds Evermore in the name of world peace - he wants to end war by bringing all nations of the world together. And yet, part of the game has him doing this by engaging in actual battle. The regular combat system feels more excusable for this, as you’re mostly fighting actual monsters or robots, and it feels primarily in the name of defense rather than offense. But that Evan is building a standing army of soldiers to wage war seems antithetical to the rest of the game. Even though it’s generally presented in a cutesy way, using the chibi character designs of the overworld, it’s a bit hard to reconcile.

One can similarly lob these criticisms at the very fact he maintains a monarchical structure in Evermore, but this is where the other new game system comes into play, which feels decidedly more thought out. The player gets to help build Evan’s new kingdom in a manner that doesn’t feel entirely removed from Metal Gear Solid V’s Mother Base building. You build new structures around the kingdom, from shops that help you develop new weapons, armor, spells and Higgledies, to bazaars, lumber yards, farms, and other services that earn you various resources, which can help with both crafting and with completing the game’s many side quests. To manage these places, you select citizens of your kingdom that are particularly suited to the task at hand. Engaging with the multiple menus of managing Evermore isn’t always fun - there’s a lack of intuitiveness in the layout that makes certain tasks more tedious and time consuming than they really ought to be. I hope that this is the kind of quality-of-life issue that could be fairly easily fixed in subsequent patches.

Citizens join your kingdom when you complete side quests, which usually involve doing some sort of favor for them before they agree to pack up and move. There can be a certain lack of imagination in the player tasks for side quests, which too often involve simple fetch or delivery quests. And yet, side quests are compelling for a number of reasons. First is that every time you gain a new citizen, it feels like a legitimate reward that allows you to move forward with a new project in Evermore. And between quick load times, multitudinous fast travel points scattered around the world map, and an airship that can get you just about anywhere within mere seconds, the pacing of these quests feels appropriately zippy in relation to the task at hand. It’s not difficult to knock out half a dozen side quests in the course of an hour, a time investment that feels more than worth the effort.

But most importantly, these quests allow you to engage with your subjects in a way that fascinatingly subverts the inherent power dynamics of your respective positions. No task is too small or demeaning for King Evan. Even when it feels like he really should have more important things to do, he faces delivering love letters or searching for missing personal items with the same enthusiasm and gravity of purpose as he does taking down a giant monster that threatens the safety of a city. This is a common discrepancy among open world games and RPGs such as this, the question of why someone burdened with such a weighty quest would waste his time helping someone with their menial, asinine shit. Rarely does this discrepancy feel so thoroughly justified as it does in Revenant Kingdom. Evan is a King that works for his people without a single thought as to what may or may not be beneath him. It’s not surprising that with such unwavering devotion, he so quickly gains such a strong following. Most of these many side characters are, in turn, funny and charming characters in their own right. Level-5 did an excellent job adding fun character and voice flourishes to the localization, and engaging in this dialogue is often its own reward, outside of whatever more tangible payments you receive.

Most of the main cast of characters outside is also well done, particularly Evan and Roland, but also the burly sky pirate Batu, who is a blast to control in combat with his giant axes and hammers, and his fierce daughter Tani. Some of the characters introduced in the latter half of the game feel a bit more like afterthoughts than the core group, but are all serviceable enough. A particularly delightful character is Evan’s Kingmaker, Lofty. All kings in this world are blessed with essentially the divine right to rule by virtue of the bonds they make with Kingmakers: towering, elegant beasts who grant their Kings with legitimacy and defend their kingdoms. Evan had one back in his home kingdom of Ding Dong Dell (just one of the many delightfully titled proper nouns to be enjoyed in this game), but once ousted, he has to go through a ceremony to get a new one for Evermore, and ends up with Lofty, a tiny, deformed-Lisa Simpson looking creature who speaks with a thick Welsh accent and the more universal dialect of sarcasm. His dialogue, like that of Drippy’s from the previous game, is one of Revenant Kingdom’s true joys.

Added to the mix is a cast of villains that make for fairly obvious, but overall successful social commentary. There’s a corrupt king who rigs the luck-based legal system of his government to ensure he always comes out on top, a secretive ruler who enforces draconian laws on her citizens, a tech-wizard CEO whose corporation has become so large it’s merged with the government and works its labor force to death, and most compellingly, Mausinger, the one who dethroned Evan. Being young and kept in the dark while he was at Ding Dong Dell, Evan was ignorant to the racial inequities of his kingdom, where humans and cat people forcibly kept economic and political power from mouse and rat people, which formed the basis for Mausinger’s coup. Evan’s reckoning with the evils of his home kingdom is one of the more fascinating story threads in the game, one I was pleasantly surprised to see delved into.

It’s one of the many moments where Revenant Kingdom eschews the black-and-white morality of most JRPGs, while nevertheless leaving questions of who the heroes are and who the villains are decidedly unambiguous. Goodness, the game implies, is the potential for improving, for recognizing one's mistakes, no matter how well-intentioned they may have been, and vowing to do better. This is a universal, all-powerful concept in the world of this game. It may be intentionally reductive, a childishly and fantastically simple solution to humanity’s history of injustice, but the message rings shockingly true. Maybe in a more nuanced age of history, that truthfulness might have felt just a bit hollow, but the bluntness of it lends it a quality that for 2018, feels critical. It’s the militantly good-willed, all-out assault of optimism that we could really all use right now.

8.7

#Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom #ni no kuni #video games #anime #JRPG #RPG #Open World #Politics #Donald Trump #pop culture #review #criticism #podcast #games

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i-am-adlocked · 7 years ago

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Got tagged by two people and since the questions are custom-made (lol) I guess, I’ll answer twenty-two instead of eleven LMAO. Love you both guys!

The rules are:

• Post the rules

• Answer the questions given to you by the tagger

• Write eleven questions of your own

• Tag eleven people

QUESTIONS FROM @equusgirl

1. If you could have lunch with anyone alive or dead, who would it be?

This is a tough one. I have many different aspects of myself—several masks. My joker-self would want to be with my friends because I never fail to make them laugh their pants off. My lonely-self would want my future spouse, whoever that person is, right now. My artist-self would want Vincent Van Gogh so I could do the Doctor Who thing where I would reassure him that he is amazing.

My desperate-self would want Bob Ross because I bet he’d inspire me the hell out. My sad-self would want to have lunch with my dead happy-self because I bet I’d slap the hell out of my face. My family-oriented-self would want my maternal grandfather I never got to meet because he doesn’t know me and it’s nice to have a family who would probably say that they’re proud of me. Estranged relatives are like that, I think lmao

OH and I would also want any psychologist, so I’d have free sessions to deal with my ADHD because I can never afford to have more sessions, and I’d finally get a prescription cos I need dem meds.

2. You’re stuck on an elevator with whoever is on your lock/home screen. Who is it?

If we’re talking about my phone, I guess I’m stuck on an elevator with the Eiffel Tower (lock screen) and Mona Lisa (home screen). If we’re talking about my computer, I guess I’m stuck on an elevator with Sherlock (lock screen) and Leo Valdez (home screen). Ho-ho-ho I will be in an elevator with self-loathing mask-wearing joking-but-dead-inside heroes. That will be fun.

3. Last TV show/movie you watched?

I rewatched the last episode of The Crown again after I binged-watched Riverdale and re-re-re-binged-watched The Good Place. Movie-wise, it was the Filipino film called “Ang Larawan”. It’s actually hard for me to watch films because it takes a lot of time for me to stay focused in one episode.

4. A cottage on the beach or a cabin in the mountains?

Cabin in the mountains. I hiss angrily at beaches because I tan so easily and I kid you not, I haven’t swum in a beach since 2009. In a country where lighter paler skin was more cherished, and being an insecure bullied 10-year-old. You’ll understand why. Nowadays, I guess the habit just stuck. ALSO CABIN IN THE MOUNTAINS HOW FREAKING COOL WOULD THAT BE... I’d be surrounded by trees, it would be cold there, I can sit by the fireplace, look out my window to view the beautiful forest and night sky, and just drink whiskey, read a book, and quietly whisper, “Bless.”

5. Last song you listened to?

If we’re not including Brooke Simpson’s performances (specifically, “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”) in The Voice which I legit just binge-watched before opening Tumblr, it would be the Riverdale Cast’s cover of “Mad World.” I was shookt that I liked it.

6. Most recent obsession?

Video-editing. More-so than usual. I legit have anxieties when I’m not making a video. I should probably stop after finishing these videos I’m doing because I know it will hinder my studies (which I’m already failing at because of my worsening ADHD), and it’s already ruining my sleeping patterns and eating habits. It’s a toxic kind of obsession.

7. Last thing you googled?

“people find out harry potter is abused fic rec” shut up (if interested, click here)

8. Which city would you most like to visit?

(for the first time?) Athens. (again?) either Assisi or Rome or Paris. You can’t make me choose.

9. If you could bring one (1) fictional character to life, who would it be?

I’m having a hard time between Mary Watson (Sherlock) and River Song (Doctor Who) *sobs*

10. Favorite thing about yourself?

My... God, I don’t know, really. I don’t really like myself so how can I find a favorite thing about myself? My ability to brag for things I’m not even good at, I guess? False advertising of myself, I guess? HAHAHAHHA WAIT NO! My ability to make anything sad or depressing. Yes, I’m good at that. It’s not my favourite thing about me but out of all, that’s the only thing I think I’m really good at.

11. Ideal career?

Becoming a wife and mother. Some people give me odd looks for this but I really want to take care of people in ways I never experienced. I want to be there for some people—to feel needed and depended on—to be trusted, long-term.

Younger-me would be furious. She was aro-ace. As a person who grew up only relying on books as company, I thought I would grow up as the typical strong independent woman who is a CEO or is an actress, or a musical theatre performer... I used to want to be that...

But those dreams were based on what my family wanted. CEO because I grew up poor and being a CEO would make me financially stable which my parents wanted. Actress/Theatre Performer because my sister and I bonded through musical theatre, TV shows, and films, and we both love the arts (but I have to admit that she’s better than me with everything srsly im not kidding)...

But as just for myself? I really don’t see myself working for money, or working for the arts. I mean, obviously I want to work for money and for the arts, but... I want to work for people I care about—for a family I will finally not be scared enough to say “I love you” without fearing they would laugh in my face.

—oOo—

OKAY, NOW QUESTIONS FROM @musical-chick-13

1. If you could wake up and be magically good at something you’ve never done before (or have little experience doing), what would you want it to be?

The ability to quickly understand things I’m not interested in and explain them to people easily with how I understood them. I think that would help me a lot in my Law class now at uni. Seriously, I’m having troubles reading, and I always stutter in class because I’m not good at formal English.

My stupid brain needs time to process what I learned (which was written in English), explain it to myself (in Filipino), translate my explanation from Filipino to English, and focus enough to say those things out loud.

2. What is/are your favorite genre(s) of music?

I have an odd range: musical theatre, rock, indie, classical music, PIANO IS LIFE, ANYTHING AS LONG AS IT IS GOOD PIANO AT THE BEGINNING (usually starts with an A, idk why). Also, Lady Gaga and Beyonce. Hands down.

3. What was your first fandom?

Avatar: The Last Airbender. THE SERIES OKAY. A year after that was Harry Potter and Sherlock AT THE SAME TIME 2010 was a crazy year. Just like that, since I was eleven years old, I went down the road to fandom hell.

4. What is a play/musical/opera/etc. (basically any fictional work that’s not a book, movie, comic, or TV show) you like?

BOY YOU CAN’T MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN UGHGHGH ILL JUST PUT MY TOP SIX

Spring Awakening, Next to Normal, In the Heights. (I listen to the full album completely. The music is divine and the stories are beautiful. You got a story about sex, a story about mental illness, and a story about Hispanics). Spring Awakening’s and Next to Normal’s rock + violin music in a setting of 1800′s Germany and a typical family house, gets me on, ya know?

Sweeney Todd, Wicked, and Rent. (The typical classics I love, note that whenever Sweeney Todd’s Prologue and Wicked’s As Long as You’re Mine starts, I get orgasms just as much when the peak of Rent’s Goodbye Love goes). Great songs, seriously.

5. If you could get paid for doing a mundane task, what would you choose to get paid for?

Organising files.

6. What is a joke you really like?

My death.

7. If you had to have a job working under a fictional character, which character would you choose to be your boss and why?

Sherlock. He would know how to take care of me. He would know how to make me feel better. He has great work ethics, and he knows when to be harsh with his words and gentle, because he knows which people are deserving to be called idiots and those who are just insecure. Though I’ll probably annoy him because of how nervous I’d be but since “Faith Smith” I’d think he’d know how to deal with me, I guess.

8. What article of clothing is your favorite to wear (i.e., dresses, skirts, pants, suits, hats, jewelry, etc.)?

A gold necklace my grandmother gave to me because out of all my cousins (or our generation in our lineage), I’m the first one she gave an “inheritance” to because I happen to be her roommate. Considering that I am the dumbest in the family as well as the family freak, I consider this as my sole victory.

9. Do you consider yourself to be an optimist, a pessimist, or something else entirely?

A total pessimist. An optimist to those who are feeling pessimistic. In my head, there is nothing but hopelessness, despair, and utter misery and pain. But homie, you say shit like that to me? You tell me you are feeling those? Yo, imma throw my rainbows and sunshine up your ass, you are gonna vomit glitter and light, I swear to all deities out there.

I may claim to say that I’m like this because I’m the only one who should be pessimistic, like I’m some narcissistic the-world-revolves-around-me idiot because I don’t like being depicted as anything else but manipulative, cruel, and an arsehole. So please stop telling me I’m nice or that I’m a good person. It makes me feel weird. They’re like unnatural things to say to me.

10. Feelings on cats?

Tolerable. My sister loves them. My school has cats just chilling around. They love me idk why. I love dogs more so I’m surprised they let me in their pack.

11. Favorite soda (or beverage in general if you don’t like soda)?

ALL MY FRIENDS KNOW OF MY WILD ADDICTION TO COCA-COLA.

—oOo—

MY QUESTIONS:

1. Are you feeling okay right now?

2. What is the funniest thing you have ever first-hand witnessed/experienced in real life?

3. Who is/are the most important person/people in your life and why?

4. What is a memory that wouldn’t fail to make you smile like an idiot while you’re in public?

5. How did you come to your current obsession?

6. Why do you ship your OTP (either real-life or fiction)?

7. Let’s pretend speed and distance (lol basically velocity), and quality are the same, would you rather be in a plane or a ship in a storm where there are many lightnings and thunder involved in December?

8. What is the object that is most sentimental to you?

9. If you could be in any fictional world, which one would you explore, and will you or will you not interact with your favourite character? Why or why not?

10. What animal do you most relate to or you consider to be your spirit animal? Why or why not?

11. How do you define the word, “Happiness”?

Tags: @thank-you-for-being-with-me @sentimentalgenius @addignisherlock @randombiochemist @simpleanddestructivechemistry @its-sentimental-adlock @themissadventurer @sorrowsflower @throughtheparadox @theleftpill No pressure, guys! Also to anyone who wants to answer, too! I even tag those who tagged me.

#personal #tag thingies #i love dem tag thingies

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peinde · 7 years ago

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I'll try to give solid answers.

1) Sexuality? Pansexual. ((same 2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be? Ariana Grande, moby, if only to quell t)(e rumours t)(at we look alike. ((IDK i don’t really have anyone 3) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17. ”She arches )(er body like a cat on a stretc)(. She nuzzles )(er cunt into my face like a filly at t)(e gate. S)(e smells of the sea.” ((i don’t have any books near me ;n; 4) What do you think about most? My wife. ((adult cartoon TV wives, or if i’m angry, Bold and the Beautiful 5) What does your latest text message from someone else say? ”H3Y B4B3 W3R3 OUT OF PIZZ4 ROLLS >:[” ((”hey hun call me ASAP pls” 6) Do you sleep with or without clothes on? Wit)(out. ((with. i need to be ready to outrun zombies in the Canadian winter 7) What's your strangest talent? I can do voice impressions! ((i can’t make impressions, but i can make voices 8) Girls.... (finish the sentence); Boys.... (finish the sentence) Girls don’t like boys, girls like cars and money~! Boys will laug)( at girls w)(en t)(ey’re not funny~! ((honestly...same 9) Ever had a poem or song written about you? A couple of times... ((nah 10) When is the last time you played the air guitar? Just now w)(en I answered number 8. ((same 11) Do you have any strange phobias? No? ((a TON 12) Ever stuck a foreign object up your nose? Yes, but only twelve times! ((no??? 13) What's your religion? Dick. (i’m technically Christian 14) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing? Working, doing c)(ores, doing )(obbies, visiting friends or )(itting t)(e town. ((going to school or going to work 15) Do you prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? In front. ((both 16) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band? Don’t ever ask me t)(is again. ((i guess Mother Mother, but there are quite a few 17) What was the last lie you told? ... ((i can’t remember 18) Do you believe in karma? No. ((yes 19) What does your URL mean? I keysmas)(ed, because I didn’t know w)(at to type. ((it’s Peixes + Grande but that’s only OOC knowledge 20) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength? My greatest weakness is me wit)(out my wife. My greatest strengt)( is my wife. ((my greatest weakness: my lack of motivation. my strength: my ability to dream 21) Who is your celebrity crush? Jason Momoa! ((Kat Dennings 22) Have you ever gone skinny dipping? Yup! ((nope! 23) How do you vent your anger? I tell me wife everyfin. ((hahaha, i don’t

24) Do you have a collection of anything? You could say t)(at... ((not really? 25) Do you prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? P)(one. ((neither OMG 26) Are you happy with the person you've become? ... ((yeah. i mean i could be a lot worse off 27) What's a sound you hate; sound you love? I don’t like nails on a c)(alkboard, but I do like nails tapping on a table. ((i fucking hate children crying, but i like anything that can basically be “white noise”, like the hum of a vacuum, or the working of a portable heater 28) What's your biggest "what if"? I don’t want to talk about t)(is. ((i don’t really think about those? i mean they didn’t happen. best to just move on 29) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? Believe in? I mean yea)( sure. T)(ey’re everyw)(ere. T)(ey’re real w)(et)(er I believe in t)(em or not... ((yes and yes 30) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm. I’m grasping air. Now, I’m touc)(ing my wife’s face. ((i touched my metal storage thingy. then the wall 31) Smell the air. What do you smell? My wife’s farts. ((nothing. just the way i like it 32) What's the worst place you have ever been to? )(ig)(sc)(ool. ((any public washroom ever 33) Choose East Coast or West Coast? West! ((East!!! 34) Most attractive singer of your opposite gender? Does t)(e Rock count as a singer? ((IDK i used to have a crush on Pete Wentz 35) To you, what is the meaning of life? My wife. ((my Christian ass says God

36) Define Art. Out of my league. 38/ ((a necessity to man 37) Do you believe in luck? No. ((yes 38) What's the weather like right now? Sunny! ((rainy 39) What time is it? 8:23 PM ((11:23 PM 40) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed? No, and yes. ((no, and no 41) What was the last book you read? I’m currently reading Written on t)(e Body! ((i think it was a Sophie Kinsella book? 42) Do you like the smell of gasoline? Yes! ((yes 43) Do you have any nicknames? Lots of people call me “Fef”. ((i have many IRL nicknames, but everyone knows me by Tori 44) What was the last movie you saw? Fifty S)(ades Freed (illegally, obviously. I’m not paying for t)(at drivel.) ((Devil 45) What's the worst injury you've ever had? I’ve died, does t)(at count? ((i fell off the monkey bars at age 8 and landed right on my back 46) Have you ever caught a butterfly? Yes! ((no :( 47) Do you have any obsessions right now? I )(ave many, t)(e most important being my wife. ((i guess? i’m always obsessed with something 48) What's your sexual orientation? Wasn’t t)(is asked before? ((yeah 49) Ever had a rumor spread about you? Yes... ((yes... 50) Do you believe in magic? Again, it’s real, so yea)(. ((yup! 51) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong? Nope! ((Fef you fucking liar yes you do. and yes i do 52) What is your astrological sign? Cancer! ((Pisces!!! 53) Do you save money or spend it? Spend. ((both 54) What's the last thing you purchased? Pizza rolls for my wife. ((a bracelet off Aliexpress 55) Love or lust? Love! ((love 56) In a relationship? Yes! ((nope! 57) How many relationships have you had? I lost count. ((1 58) Can you touch your nose with your tongue? Yes! ((nope! 59) Where were you yesterday? At work. ((at home 60) Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Yes! ((yup! 61) Are you wearing socks right now? No? ((yup! 62) What's your favorite animal? My princesses...plus you know, t)(e entire ocean. ((any sea creature 63) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you? Kindness! ((oh i don’t give a fuck 64) Where is your best friend? Doing activities you s)(ould NOT be questioning. ((online...talking to me 65) Spit or swallow?(; Swallow, you coward! ((i’ve never had the opportunity to do either 66) What is your heritage? Alternian! ((i’m black Caribbean 67) What were you doing last night at 12 AM? 38;3c ((i was on this hellsite 68) What do you think is Satan's last name? Natas??? ((meanie-bo-beanie 69) Be honest. Ever gotten yourself off? Obviously??? ((obviously??? 70) Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend? Yea)(! ((sure, why not? it’d mean i’ll know someone who shares my musical interests 71) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do? I’ve never been late to work? Plus, it’s a legitimate reason??? ((i’ve worked at my job for far too long and have rarely ever been late, especially too rarely for her to keep track. this argument would be completely baseless. also, it’s a legitimate reason??? 72) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid? It’d probubbly be fake, so no I wouldn’t say anyfin. I’d just wait until I could revive, and no I wouldn’t be afraid, you fucking coward. ((i’d tell everyone, IDK what i’d do. probably pray, sleep maybe, oh i’d be terrified 73) You can only have one of these things; trust or love. 38( ((trust 74) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it? Be Alrig)(t by Ariana Grande ((Arizona Highway by the Darcys 75) What are the last four digits in your cell phone number? 3838 ((i’m not telling you??? 76) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship? Being in one like mine and Zi-Zi’s ((communication 77) How can I win your heart? --Exist. ((LOOOL good luck buddy 78) Can insanity bring on more creativity? It sure can! ((i guess! 79) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far? Getting married. ((going to therapy 80) What size shoes do you wear? 6 ((10 81) What would you want to be written on your tombstone? “Finally”. ((”i’ll be back” 82) What is your favorite word? Glub! ((intricate 83) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word; heart. Zi-Zi. ((organs 84) What is a saying you say a lot? Glub! ((”for fuck’s sake” 85) What's the last song you listened to? Girls and Boys by Good C)(arlotte ((same 86) Basic question; what's your favorite color/colors? Baby pink, lig)(t blue, lilac, mint green. ((rose gold, burgundy, olive, turquoise, black, eggplant, fuchsia 87) What is your current desktop picture? Zi-Zi. ((on my laptop? default mountains. on my PC? Mother Mother 88) If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explode, who would it be? ??? I don’t know! ((Donald Trump, probably 89) What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on? ...t)(ere are a lot. ((”are you straight” 90) One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren't really doing anything, they're just standing around your bed. What do you do? Go back to sleep. ((flip TF out and run 91) You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power? W)(at would I want t)(at I don’t already )(ave? ((flight 92) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again? Being revived. ((??? none of it? leave that shit in the past my dude 93) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be? --Everyfin from t)(e time I was revived onward. ((what did i just say? 94) You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be? T)(ere are so many options... ((??? 95) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go? New Zealand! ((Paris 96) Do you have any relatives in jail? I mig)(t, w)(o knows. ((probably 97) Have you ever thrown up in the car? Yup! ((no, but i almost did! 98) Ever been on a plane? Yup! ((yup! 99) If the whole world were listening to you right now, what would you say? Most of t)(e fins I already say. ((”i can’t wait for the apocalypse”

#long #fis)(canons #((it's a long boy but it's both IC and OOC be prepared

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princepestilence · 7 years ago

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Okay, I’ve been sick for about three days straight now (a cold, a fever, nothing serious but nothing fun) and I’m just having a whole lot of feelings about Hogwarts houses and interhouse friendships and alliances and characterisation right about now, sparked by this post, so I’m going to indulge myself in nattering on the topic and maybe it will be partially coherent!

This will be about Slytherin/Hufflepuff, by the way.

Preface: I’m thinking about this through my personal lens as someone who feels strongly and deeply a connection to Slytherin house (and always has, since I was eight and read the first book) but has a love and respect for all houses and frankly enjoys the imperfectness of the house system at Hogwarts.

My identification with Slytherin comes from a combination of being frustrated with Rowling’s “evil house” mentality/canon characterisation (as a monster-enraptured queer kid, of course I loved the unloved and also was by nature defiant, contrary, and very hostile to/suspicious of blanket statements of “X people are innately bad”) and a belief (even at the age of nine) that I could live fairly happily and excel in any house if I wanted to, but it was Slytherin who would most benefit from me being a part of it because of its bad reputation/problems, as I believed it needed people who cared about fixing it and being good Slytherins and changing the way things were done (please take a moment to consider how insanely confident and arrogant and ambitious I was as a kid to think something like this). Picking any other house felt like taking the “not my problem” route, and when I first read my way into the Harry Potter series, I very much did feel a unique kinship with the concept of Slytherin--ambitious, resourceful, good leaders, careful and slow to act, clever, artful, and survivors above all else--if not the actual characters/house in canon itself, and therefore it did feel like it was my problem and not picking that house would be the same as running away or being irresponsible or something. This feeling has only grown over the many years. Anyway.

Hufflepuff, conceptually, is probably my favourite house! Helga Hufflepuff was undoubtedly the best founder and her tenets of belief are things I really believe in and care about in real life far more than any other house’s core ethos, and probably because of that--and because someone needs to love the underdog and it might as well be me--I’ve been a long-time supporter of Hufflepuff, since it doesn’t get the respect and attention it deserves and its members are made to feel less important/throwaways from the other houses, which! is! not! true! This brings me to the point of this one-sided discussion, which is that basically everyone characterises Hufflepuff completely wrong and in this really soppy, useless, “nice and nothing else” way, and I get personally upset about that a lot because, again, my favourite house and also some of my favourite people (who are amazing in their own right) have been Hufflepuffs. So!

The central tenets of the Hufflepuff ethos: hard work, loyalty, patience, justice, fairness, caring for others, doing what’s necessary, dedication, humility, rising to meet the challenges an unfair, uncaring, unjust world presents to you.

How people characterise Hufflepuffs: super nice, super chill and relaxed supportive “mum friend” types who’re basically all stoners, worry about other people a lot, hide behind other scarier/more action-oriented friends from other houses when intimidated and require protection from the big mean world, sort of simple-minded, not competitive, push-overs and don’t get angry or get ineffectually “mad” but it’s cute so whatever.

What people who embody the Hufflepuff ethos are actually like:

The two most Hufflepuff people I’ve ever known are also the two friends I’ve looked up to as my leader at different times in my life--and that’s not a coincidence. Their groundedness, their kindness, their generosity with their time, their patience, their trustworthiness, their humility (without it ever being false modesty), their genuine compassion and interest in other people, their willingness to not allow unkindness and step in when things were wrong, their calm certainty that things will be okay, and their work ethic all were inspirational for me and I learned so much about who I wanted to become and how to become that person (the person I am becoming now) by watching them. In both these people I found extremely meaningful friendships that changed the course of myself and my life, and left impacts that are still part of the landscape of who I am.

One of them was my first ever real best friend, who I met in about year three or four. I was new to the school and this was a good while before my social skills really started to develop, so I was perhaps at my most prickly and difficult, and she still reached out to me and befriended me, even though I honestly think I had all the charm of a feral cat back then. She was patient and gentle and so incredibly slow to anger, which was the opposite of me at the time, and she would just laugh off any snarkiness of mine and bump me on the shoulder or mess up my hair and tell me to cool off or make some goofy joke that would totally undermine whatever serious sulk I thought I was having. When I was being my worst self at someone, she would turn to me seriously and say, “Don’t be cruel,” and after a while, she’d have to say it less and less because I got more thoughtful, more gentle, better at pulling back my temper, because it really meant something to me that I didn’t make her disappointed or upset. She made me want to be more like her. She wasn’t popular or “cool” or anything, but she was creative and funny and genuinely cared about people. She was amazingly good at diffusing situations. She brought out so much good in me, and I turned around and gave as much of it as I could back to her: I was basically devoted to her--extremely loyal and supportive of all her quirks and endeavours and protective of her, although frankly I did not need to be.

By the end of primary school, her influence on me changed me radically: I’d gone from friendless to being decently charismatic and good at making friends, especially good at collecting the “unwanted” people and making them feel wanted and welcome with us; on the path of changing from being aloof to someone who loved company, who loved my people, who wanted to be in the centre of all the social circles and networks, knowing everything and being considered as everyone’s best friend. I look back now, and so much of my social development--so much of what I consider these days to be the better bits of my personality--came from her. And she was unquestionably a Hufflepuff person! I hate that some people would characterise her as “boring” or a two-dimensional “supportive friend,” because her and people like her deserve so much better than that. Being someone so kind, patient, encouraging, accepting, and morally centred, especially at a young age, is difficult. Seeing weird, lonely queer boys (which is what her little group ended up being after a year or so, starting with me) and stepping up to essentially take them under your wing, and care about them despite the fact they’re sometimes just jerks, and work with them to make them less jerkish, is a hell of a project to take on in your tween years and she did it without hesitating. I think about that a lot, in wonder and awe.

The other friend is someone I still think of often, someone who I think I will always miss, because I haven’t had a connection with anyone quite like how I did with her. I noticed her when I started high school, because we were in the same year and caught the same bus home each day, but I was a bit too self-conscious to try to talk to her, because she was cool (and I was not). Super charismatic, talented, funny, and sort of magnetically likeable. I’d never met someone quite so compellingly loveable before her, or since. The entire year group was smitten with her, to be honest: everyone wanted just a moment to talk to her, to sit next to her in class, to be her friend. She was basically a celebrity. (In our final year, she won as school captain by a landslide. It was never a competition).

Then--I actually got to know her, at the start of our senior years, when I was really starting to become the me I’m proud of. We sat together in a few classes. We started sitting together on the bus every afternoon. We talked for hours every week that way. We didn’t hang in the same circles during school time, but there was always that hour in the afternoon trip home where it was just us in this little bubble apart from everything and everyone else. Conversations with her were uniquely good and fast and felt like dancing, or flying, or dueling--whenever I hear that line, “so, so, so this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level, what the hell is the catch? it’s the feeling of freedom, of seeing the light...” I think of her. I think of the impromptu nonsense world-building we would do, tossing an absurd idea to each other with little warning and adding to it, making up this impossible, always-growing place that all our friends knew about and loved but no-one else could really be a part of. (We called it the Kingdom). I think of how lonely it can be sometimes, now that I’ve known what that feels like.

I admired her so much. She always felt ahead of me: smarter, more talented, better at sport, more charming, far more interesting, more confident, braver (so much braver), so certain and stable and good. But I wanted so badly to catch up, or at least keep close behind, that her being exceptional inspired me to do honestly my best at everything I could: academic, personal, interpersonal, all of it. It was like chasing a star. For our whole final year, we were neck-and-neck for every assignment--she would get an extra mark here, I would get an extra mark there--and I’d never enjoyed learning and “competing” like that before. Not only was she a guiding light for me on that front, someone I wanted to impress and delight, but she also made me rethink my own value, made me reconsider how I saw myself as person.

We got really close. She told me things she wouldn’t tell her other friends. She trusted me with things she didn’t want to say to anyone else. I can remember her once telling me that spending time with me was like sighing, like letting out a breath you’ve been holding onto for so long. She said she didn’t feel she had to put on a face for me: she could be imperfect, scared, tired, stressed, and she felt safe knowing I wouldn’t judge her or think less of her for it. The pressure of being so loved weighed on her, and by that point, I was starting to feel it a little too. We could commiserate over a feeling no-one else really understood.

(I can remember when she found out--through some quiz or another--she was Hufflepuff, and then, after thinking about it, accepted it as a truth. She’d been disappointed. She had been hoping for something with a little more pizzazz, something that felt more centre-stage material--she was an actor, and the best our school had. But I told her how I felt about Hufflepuff, how important I felt it was as a house and an ethos, and how I thought she belonged there, and from then on, she was proud of it. She was proud the way I am of being Slytherin).

So I guess what I’m saying is:

If you’re envisioning Hufflepuffs as weak, or losers, or cowards, or sheep, you’re wrong. If you imagine them as boring or less capable or less active than other houses, you’re wrong.

If the Hufflepuffs in your mind aren’t bright, hopeful, brave, and loving people, you’re not thinking about them properly yet. If they need protecting from the meanness of the world--as compared to the meanness of the world being afraid of them--you don’t understand what they are about. If you haven’t yet realised that people who care about justice, kindness, hard work, and doing what needs to be done will always be among the first to take up the burden of leadership and take responsibility for making change, it’s about time you did.

Truthfully, now more than ever, I think these sorts of people need to be in our stories, and presented with respect and admiration. Caring about things is cool. More than that, it’s necessary. It’s vital. Being a compassionate, sensible person isn’t boring. Hufflepuff in fanon deserves much more than it’s given.

When it comes to friendship between Hufflepuff and Slytherin:

Based purely on my own experience and theorising, Hufflepuff is most likely to offer the olive branch. Slytherin is most likely to respond to kindness, to a commendable work ethic, to the prospect of loyalty and dedication to a cause (i.e., their cause, whatever it might be). Hufflepuff can provide, or guide, a vision: a Slytherin can have faith in it, commit to it, do anything for it and the people they love. When working together, a Slytherin can learn a lot from a Hufflepuff about how to grow and improve and channel their energy and passion into something worthwhile and good for the world. In return, a Slytherin can offer a Hufflepuff a friend who will tirelessly strive to be better, to make them proud, to make the vision a reality, to be what they need them to be, to love them and admire them and trust in them--a friendship that, once earned, is unshakable and full of aspirations.

But the fact is this:

Slytherins need Hufflepuffs way more than Hufflepuffs will ever need Slytherins.

Additionally neat posts:

x, x, x.

#sometimes i have a lot of feelings #not a sonnet #here's to you evening star

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aviationfiction · 8 years ago

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XVI

Dante St. James

“Future’s at the club tonight. Fredrick and I are going to pass through. I know you have to finish up that proposal, so sit this one out.”

My eyes slowly panned over to the one paper ball that inevitably failed me out of the seven that I’d thoughtlessly tossed into the trashcan. I suddenly had the urge to ball up the other twelve pages of one concept I’d mustered up for the Cartier Christmas campaign. They often say physical activity is the most strenuous task one could force on the human body but that’s absolutely inaccurate. It’s thinking. Sending our minds into overdrive can craft up some of the most brilliant ideas that will contribute to continuing to make this world a so called better place or it can send a person free falling off of the nearest bridge and into the deep abyss. I’ve been planted on his counter stool for nearly six hours transitioning from small spurts of satisfaction to major moments of doubts about the entire project. I’m often referred to as the visionary of the company but I’d quickly take that title and hand it over to the next man or woman if it were simple enough. There are few things in this world that are better than a fresh mind and idea. To be progressive is to be groundbreaking, forward thinking, and a pioneer. There’s a constant need to move the world forward; it is our purpose as human beings to constantly push the envelope so those of the present can enjoy the fruits of our labor and those of the future can further expand it. The whole entire point of marketing is to put your creative mind to work and to nurture the imaginations of those tuned in. It is that part of my job description that remains as the most challenging part.

“Why are you working on a Christmas campaign this early? Shit, we’re just getting towards the end of Spring. You feeling festive already?” Mike placed another handful of waffle fries into his mouth and he obnoxiously chewed on them while chuckling at his own commentary. “You ready to pull out that stale ass artificial Charlie Brown Christmas that you sit out on the table every year? Yo, actually, I don’t know why they’d put you of all people on a Christmas campaign for any company. You’re a jolly green giant ass Grinch. You’re a light skinned Ebenezer Scrooge. You hate Christmas.”

“I don’t hate Christmas.” I’ve chosen to center this year’s Cartier Winter Tale around it’s timeless symbol, the Panthère de Cartier. I’d envisioned the emblematic cat frolicking around in an enthralling cloudscape above Paris to the sound of Bring Crosby’s infectious and rousing classic “Here Comes Santa Clause”. While sitting in my kitchen today, I’ve also added in the touch of the infamous red Cartier boxes toppling over and slowly floating down within the city like dancing and whirling enchanting snowflakes towards festive Parisians. If that doesn’t send women into an overdrive of need and men into the stores to fulfill their requests for thousands to millions of dollars in dazzling jewels, I don’t know what else will.

“Yes you do. You buy gifts out of obligation and you hide out here on the most family oriented holiday of the year after Thanksgiving. No, actually, Christmas is first.”

“If I hated Christmas I wouldn’t put up a tree to begin with.” He snorted while raising his left eyebrow and he quickly shook his head.

“That shit’s not a tree. It looks like twigs glued onto a pole. Only someone who hates Christmas would call that nonsense you sit out on the living room table a tree.”

“You know why I barely celebrate the holidays. This isn’t new.”

“Because you’re a Jehovah’s Witness and have yet to come out with it?” Instead of aiming another paper ball at the garbage can, I beam it at Mike and nodded in satisfaction when it collided with the side of his head and fell onto the opposite side of the island.

“Come on man. Fred and I offer you to come and kick it with our family all the time and you decline. I do Christmas at my house every year.” “I came to your house on Christmas two years ago. Remember? We played Uno with your cousins until you won because you kept being a sore loser.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right. I had to beg you endlessly for days to show up and you showed up that night, after we’d already opened up all the gifts and eaten Christmas dinner together because you’re a grinch. You looked like the only dumbass sitting at the table eating food by yourself.”

“I always eat at the table.”

“I always eat at the table.” He mocked the sound of my voice and screwed up his face at the proper etiquette. “Whatever man. Get yourself a real tree for Christmas this year and don’t skip out on coming to my house. As a matter of fact, spend the night. I’ll keep reminding you until December. I’m about to get you back into the holiday spirit. I know you’re not having kids until you’re like sixty seven and it’s going to be some oops moment that happens between you and a twenty four year old post mid-life crisis, but we need to work on getting you back into the groove of things now.”

“Sixty seven? Fuck you man.” I couldn’t help but to share a laugh with him over that insult and he shrugged his shoulders and playfully shot me a side eye.

“Unless there’s someone on your radar right now.” He didn’t have to say the name for me to know exactly who he’s alluding to. He hasn’t stopped alluding to her since the day I introduced the two of them.

“Don’t start your shit dumbass.” He smirked and as he wandered off into deep thought, his face transitioned into an earnest expression.

“Speaking of your girl, TMZ had an article up about her pending divorce today. It was somewhat of a hot topic for Stacey when we spoke on the phone earlier.” I panned my eyes down towards the papers scattered in front of me and immediately reached to take a sip of the Gatorade sitting to the left of my arm. Mike is easily Stacey’s go to person for all things gossip and pointless. Initially, I took his need to be on track of all the gossip within the entertainment industry to be apart of his job as an entertainment lawyer, but now I know about seventy percent of it is nothing more than him being nosy and proudly childish. He and Stacey often sit around like two school girls giggling about something U.S. Weekly printed, debating about the rank and relevancy of artists, and shamelessly participating in whatever “Black Twitter” is talking about. I couldn’t care less about who Taylor Swift is dating, what outlandish statement Kanye West has recently made, or whose nude pictures were exposed. As ridiculous as some of their lives are, I respect people’s privacy. I undoubtedly respect Autumn’s.

“She’s not a celebrity. Why are you two keeping track of her divorce?”

“We’re not. It just so happen to be an article. Also, it’s not only on TMZ; a couple of sports blogs have been keeping track of what’s going on. Though they use the word source, I know a lawyer’s anonymous tips when I see them. The article was written in a manner to mock her rather than to be informative. I shouldn’t expect anything decent from a website like TMZ, but there was a sarcastic tone to it. That was the tone of her lawyer rather than of Harvey Levin and his team of writers.” He balled up the wrapper his Chic Fil A spicy chicken sandwich came in and did just as I’d been doing; he turned it into an imaginary basketball and effortlessly shot it into the trashcan. “She hired Sorrell Trope and I know his ego. She caused him to take a loss. She made the decision to not take anything from Coach Harr, although the prenup was thrown out. He gets the house, both cars, jewelry, any money he placed within their joint bank account, and he does not have to pay any alimony whatsoever.”

“Jewelry?” My head slightly jerked back at the revelation and he nodded his head to reassure me in what he said. I’d never heard of a man wanting jewelry back from a woman at any point during my nearly thirty years of living. What exactly do you do with it?

“I’m not sure if he asked for it or if she suggested that she wanted him to keep it but it’s being said that jewelry is apart of the settlement. I’ll never forget when I was in law school and we spent a few weeks studying divorces, the laws that work for them, the laws that work against them, and the proceedings to get through them. I’d been like a damn war between the men and women whenever we’d have lecture discussions about what is owed and what people are entitled to when there’s wealth and profitable assets at stake. You know Nas is my guy and I’ll never forget that initial Kelis settlement. He was ordered to pay fifty one thousand dollars a month in child and spousal support. Shortly after that, he was ordered to cough up another three hundred thousand dollars in attorney fees and accounting expenses. Then the judge slapped another hundred thousand dollar order to pay up back child and spousal support. That shit left me baffled. The crazy part about it is, that wasn’t enough for her. She was initially asking the judge to award her with ninety thousand dollars a month settlement.”

“Why would she want or need so much? She’s an artist in her own right. Well, at the time she was.”

“Yeah she was but she hadn’t made the money that he did. In the case, it was reported that he was spending an estimated fifteen thousand dollars a month on lavish entertainment, gifts, and vacations. She believed that she was entitled to maintain that lifestyle post divorce. Now, you know that I’m fair. I’m all for child support, of course, I stand behind spousal support when it’s done the correct way and it makes sense. I have to shake my head and disagree with some of the absurd requests and settlements but overall, I’m for it. I say all of that to say, what the hell is Autumn doing?” The expression of bewilderment on his face left me speechless and I shrugged my shoulders. I have no answer for him. She already explained to me why she willingly signed a prenuptial agreement and I understood her stance. If I’m aligned with her way of thinking, I’d have to believe that she’s walking away knowing that she loved him and gave it her all. I suppose that’s enough for her.

“I don’t know Mike.”

“She’s a nice person man. He started a new family within the marriage. I don’t believe in karma, I believe in justice. No crimes were committed but whether you stand in front of a preacher, priest, rabbi, or a judge, there are vows and they should be upheld.”

The pain within her eyes often rattles me whenever I have the courage to stare into them. Whether she’s merrily explaining some comedic story from her past, eagerly stating her basketball preferences, or genuinely offering me her perspective and advice about whatever I’ve revealed about myself, the pain is there, lingering between the two of us and silently coercing me to wrap my arms around her petite frame and consume every ounce of it within myself so she no longer has to walk around with such a heavy burden on her shoulders and heart. She tends to go into a daze and her face contorts from a grimace to a disheartened expression that she eventually forces herself to become poker-faced about it. It happened a number of times during our dinner in Miami, as she stared out at the calm waters and admired the view. At one point it took me gently brushing my finger tips along the smooth skin of her hand to regain her attention and rather than using words, she laced her hand around my own and slightly squeezed it to assure me that she was fine. I don’t believe her husband understands the severity of his actions; most men wouldn’t. We’re hailed as leaders, profound thinkers, and pioneers of advancement but we are by far the most simpleminded of the two genders. We don’t see beyond the surface; emotionally. We’ve yet to conquer that and it’s why women, in my opinion, will always have the upper hand. He won’t understand what he’s done until one less person loves him. He’ll feel it when she’s unbelievably happy and he is nothing more than a piece of the past being outcasted by a better future.

“She’ll be alright.”

“You think so?”

“Yes.”

I gathered all of the documents into my hands and properly aligned them before sliding them back inside of the folder. I couldn’t spend another hour focusing on that campaign and it didn’t need anything else from me. Anything more could either taint it or be overkill. Cartier has never been anything less than impressed with my efforts for their company so I don’t expect a change now.

“Did you handle what I asked you to handle?” Mike glanced in my direction and abruptly paused. He then nodded his head as he finished off the last bit of lemonade in his cup.

“You know I did. Real talk, why are you doing this?” Silence fell between the two of us as we locked eyes with one another and I eventually glanced in the direction of the windows as he awaited an answer.

“Because I don’t trust them.”

We didn’t take the conversation any further. The friendship between the three of us has always stood on short explanations or none at all with plenty of understanding to go around. Whether we comprehend it or not, we stand together and offer relentless support. Our partnership is in tact business wise and most of all, personally. Much more than Matt, they’re the brothers that I need and am grateful to actual have.

“Alright Al B Sure, I’m heading out. I got a little something something happening tonight, so I need to go and get ready.”

“A date? Who’s torturing themselves by allowing you to take them to Chuckie Cheese?” We snickered at my response and he stuck up his middle finger immediately after.

“She’s a paralegal from the office.”

“You’re screwing your paralegal? That’s scandalous.”

“Says the man who’s attracted to his flight attendant. Besides, she’s not my paralegal and we don’t work on the same floor. Also, I’m not screwing her.”

“I’m not attracted to my flight attendant.” He whipped his head around in a dramatic fashion and offered me the most blank expression he could muster up on his face. He continued to stare as I raised an eyebrow at him and he slightly dropped his head to the side and awaited a moment of truth from me.

“Man, Stevie Wonder can see that you’re attracted to that woman. Are you forgetting that I was there that night at the club? I watched how you looked at the monitors, following her every move. I saw the body language between the two of you, mostly from you, at you stood there damn near whispering in her ear about God knows what, because you’re never going to tell me. Lastly, I saw you flinch while you watched another man approach her and offer to buy her a drink.”

“You did not see me flinch. Do you ever stop exaggerating?”

“You flinched. I know what I saw. Lie if it makes you feel better.”

“I don’t lie.”

“Well, you just told one. You flinched. I’m out of here. We’re balling as soon as you come back from Paris. It’s interesting that you’re going to the City Of Love with…” Before he could finish the statement, I pushed him in the direction of my apartment’s door and pointed at it.

“Be gone man.”

“Enjoy yourself. Have a safe flight and overall trip as well. I want to hear all about it when you return.” I couldn’t contain my laughter at the smirk on his face. I won’t be telling him anything. There will be nothing to tell. By the time I finish giving him a run down of the couple of days I’ll be there, he will have interrupted me half way with a rolling of his eyes and a onslaught of phrases describing how boring I am.

“Yeah, okay. See you at the court when I get back. Bring your broken ankles.”

“Kiss my ass.” We parted with our usual handshake, and he was out of my door; slamming it in his usual fashion.

In an effort to have some genuine leisure time, I chose Netflix and eventually an order of my favorite dishes from a Chinese restaurant to consume the rest of my Sunday. The restaurant I order from is no where near the condominium I reside in but we’ve build a strong enough relationship for them to go out of their way to deliver what I prefer; of course with a nice tip. With the campaign proposal out of the way and Mike off to tend to his date, I could finally continue the Netflix series Autumn raved about. During our flight back from Miami, she praised House Of Cards for nearly a half hour. She explained just enough detail about the political drama to garner my interest and it resulted in us watching the first two episodes of season one before we landed.

House of Cards and Chinese food today. I’m going to try to binge watch the rest of season one.

I tapped the play button on the remote control and rested against the back of the chair as the text message alert sounded off within the living room.

Let me know what you think while you’re watching it. Chinese food on a Sunday? You don’t know how to cook.

I laughed at her very matter of fact statement and nodded my head. It is kind of pathetic to be having Chinese food on a Sunday but I’d take that over my other option any day.

Correct. I can’t. I know how to make survival meals and that's where it starts and ends for me.

In college, I survived off of Ramen noodles, fast food, and occasional trips to the cafeteria. Every so often, if she could catch me, my mother would drop off groceries and Tubber Wear bowls filled with whatever she cooked over the course of the week. Friends enjoy it far more than I did. If I wasn’t buried in the books, I was in lectures halls or over at A&M learning the ropes of the company from Richard and Matt.

Survival meals? Ramen, Chef Boyardee, turkey sandwiches?

All of that. I snickered at the thought of the Oscar Mayer smoked turkey deli meat sitting on the top shelf in the fridge right now. As I tapped the message box to reply, the knock at the door halted me. Fredrick would show up out of no where and interrupt this whole entire process. It’s his style. He’s the only person I know who can easily find something wild to get into on a Sunday afternoon. With the weather being warmer, I’m sure there’s some rooftop party or outdoor brunch that he knows about. Actually, knowing him, he’d want to sail up the Hudson on a self thrown booze cruise.

“What do you want man?”

I quickly opened up the door only to be met with a face that wasn’t owned by the debonair that is my best friend. As I shifted my weight to my right foot, my mother slowly removed her cat eye style sunglasses to reveal the gleam in her eyes. They matched the smile on the lower half of her rosy face. A small sigh slipped past her lips at the sight of me and she immediately used the tips of her toes to plant a wet kiss on my cheek.

“I’ve missed you my son. Look at you. I swear you take on more and more of your grandfather’s looks everyday.”

“What are you doing here mom?” Without any regard, she slipped past my frame and entered my apartment. She halted midway through and took in the place; looking for something to either criticize or compliment.

“Well, you don’t come to me for Sunday dinner, so I’m coming to you. I have some groceries here and I’m going to make you a meal.” I stopped myself from rolling my eyes by glanced down at the floor and I nearly cursed under my breath as I listened to the sound of heels prancing across the marble flooring. My second option on Sundays is to subject myself to having dinner with my exhausting family. With every swallow of the sub par meal she prepared, I’d be tormented with their questioning, unnecessary commentary, and an argument as the finale. We’ve shared occasional peaceful moments but the bad outweighed the good by a landslide win.

“You don’t have to do that. What’s Richard, Matthew, and Camille going to have? They eat at your house every Sunday.”

“I already cooked at the house and they’re more than welcome to stop by and have what they like. Today, I’m going to make a meal for my youngest boy and figure out what the hell is going on in his life since he doesn’t bother to contact or visit me.” Her tone softened at the conclusion of her statement and I didn’t feel the slightest bit of guilt about what she said. Though she may play the oblivious role, she knows and understands what our relationship has been through and why it’s in the weakened state that it is now. There’s no need to pretend.

“There’s nothing going on in my life that you don’t already know about.”

“Nonsense. I’m going to make a vegetable lasagna. Is that alright?” I shrugged. No matter what I say or do, she isn’t going anywhere and I’d rather allow her to make the lasagna than to argue.

“That’s fine.”

In her usual fashion, she covered the island and the counter top near the stove with all of the ingredient needed to create her meatless baked pasta and finally glanced over at the black Beats Pill bluetooth speaker.

“Can you hook my phone up to that thing? I don’t know how your father does it but I’m sure you get it. Bluetooth it is?” Her thick England accent filled my ears and I grabbed the space grey iPhone off the table and tapped in the all too familiar numerical password; she and Richard’s wedding anniversary. Rather than asking her what she’d like to listen to, I opened up the Spotify app and turned on Elton John’s greatest hits. I’ve heard enough of his music over the years to be able to embarrassingly mumble the words whenever it plays.

“So how’s work?”

“You’re really doing this right now?” With a roll of my eyes, I leaned against the island and stared at her as she grabbed three pots off of the hooks of the stainless steel pot rack above her head.

“Doing what? Am I not allowed to ask you general questions about your life?”

“Ask Richard about work. Whatever he tells you is how it’s going.”

“I hear about about Richard’s days at work . I live with the man and I sleep next to him just about every night. He shares the details of his day with me every single day. I’m asking you and I expect an answer. This is what it’s come to? You’re giving me difficulty about a simple question? You’re far too old for that.” She glared at me and deliberately dropped the final pot she retrieved down on the counter.

“I’m not going to argue with you. This is why I always walk away in the first place.”

“Well then answer the question.”

“Work is work. I do what I have to do and I get out of there. Tomorrow afternoon I’m heading to Paris for a meeting with Cartier. I’ll be over there for a couple of days.” While leaning over the cutting board, she began to organize bell peppers, carrots, mushroom, asparagus, broccoli, and spinach.

“I remember the first time I took you to Paris. You were only three years old and my God, you developed an obsession for creme brûlée after the first spoonful of it. For the week we were there, we had to have it every single day; that and Parisian flan. I spoiled you. You had dessert more than you had actual food but it was such a good time and you were so adorable. You still are adorable but at that time you had the chubbiest cheeks and they were always so rosy. My goodness, don’t get me started on the curls and that huge smile. You were melting hearts everywhere we went. I had the pram with me but you insisted on walking. You nearly ruined the women’s section at Harrods when we were out with your dad.”

Of course she’d mention a trip to Harrods. I don’t know how much love and sexual relations could induce a woman like my mother into remaining a mistress for so many years out of her life. There had to be more and Richard’s pockets were exactly that. My maternal side of the family aren’t apart of the English working class. The elders were not factory workers or rural farmers. My great grandfather owned four factories while his wife worked as a well renowned seamstress in her own shop. My grandfather served in the British Army and achieved the rank of a four star general; the highest rank a man can achieve as a serving officer. My grandmother was a teacher. I don’t understand where my mothers sense of entitlement comes from. I’ve always heard the stories of her being spoiled rotten but I’m not sure what encouraged her to fall for Richard and his schemes. In her social life before him, I’m prone to believe she encountered plenty of men of wealth, so why him? Their relationship is why I’ve never met my grandparents. I used to believe it was because of the affair but I’ve never met them because Richard is black. They’re ashamed of her and I fall in that particular line of criticism by black blood and association.

“Yeah, I usually have both at some point while I’m there.”

“It’s a beautiful city; the most romantic city in the world. I swear I fall more and more in love with your father every time we go.” I pulled my lip in between my teeth to refrain from responding to her. The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board was far more pleasant than that particular statement.

“How are the guys?”

“Fred and Mike?”

“Well who else would I be talking about? They’re the only friends you choose to have.”

“They’re fine. Mike was here earlier and left because he had a date. Fredrick is home spending time with his girlfriend.” She glanced in my direction briefly before returning to the task in front of her.

“I look forward to the day when you’re introducing me to someone that you’re dating or in love with. Have you met anyone?” Though I continued to lean on the island, I straightened my back and shook my head at the question. I should have known that it’d transition as soon as I mentioned the words date and girlfriend. Though Stacey’s prying ways can be overbearing, there is a comedic relief to it. My mother can easily become insulting without any regard for her words or tone. After throwing my age in my face, she’ll began to point out certain aspects of my personality that may not appease women. Finally, she’ll began a endless guilt tripping session about her own age and my lack of concern for both she and Richard meeting their grandchildren before they’re six feet under the depths of the earth.

“Have I met who?”

“A woman. Have you met a woman that you’ve taken a liking to? Who else would I be speaking about? Unless there’s something that I don’t know.” I scowled at the expression on her face and glared into her inquisitive green eyes as she implied a fallacy about my sexuality. She’s no different than Richard. They’re a match made in hell.

“Are you implying that I’m gay?”

“I’m not implying anything.”

“Yes you did. I’m not in a relationship. I’m not screwing around or intruding on people’s relationships and marriages, nor am I gay. I’m not your only son. You should talk to the one you coddle so much about these grandchildren that you want so badly. He’s married. I’m starting to think that it’s not even fertility issues that Camille is having. It’s infidelity issues. Maybe if your darling son would stop screwing women at the office and within the cities that he travels to, he’d find enough time to lay down with his wife and create a child. I guess you’re not going to talk to him about that because you can relate, right? Hey! You may have a grandchild soon enough, but I’m not sure if it’ll be coming from Camille. We’ll see.”

At full force, she slammed the knife down and it immediately bounced off the wooden board and crashed onto the floor. The disdain on her face matched my own and she scolded me by shaking her head.

“You are impossible. You do this every single time we’re in the same room as one another. I am constantly putting forth the effort to salvage a relationship with my son! Do you understand how that feels? I worry about you. I think about you every minute of every day. I have to sit back and guess what’s going on in your life because you won’t talk to me. If I’m not guessing, I’m calling up Stacey or I’m asking your father what’s going on with you. It’s ridiculous to have to call up your assistant to ask her, hey, is my son okay! What do you want from me Dante? My life is already chosen. I’ve made my decisions. You cannot be mad at me for them. You lived a good life. You were too young to understand anything that was going on and by the time you were conscious of it we were a family. I just don’t understand why you’re like this. I can understand Matthew, but you?” As she ran her fingers through her loose curls, I chuckled at her despair.

“I’m sure you can understand Matthew. You’ve thrown yourself into kissing his ass and overcompensating for what you did to his family. You’re mommy dearest to him and you bust your ass everyday to keep up with the act. I was shipped off to Westminster School just so you can focus all of your precious time and attention on coddling him so he’ll love you and stop acting out. Get off my back. You don’t know me well enough. I’m over this. Throw that out and see yourself out.”

I left her in the kitchen and retreated to my bedroom before the inevitable argument could go any further. With her mind wallowing in oblivion, whatever is left of our relationship will continue to slowly burn out. I don’t hate her; I never have. I have a distaste for her lack of responsibility and avoidance of being held accountable for everything that’s happened within this family. Oddly, I can accept Richard having no remorse. He basks in being full of shit and being an arrogant asshole. He doesn’t sugarcoat his words or actions. My mother is a character and she’s one that can entertain and impress anyone but myself. When she finally looks into the mirror and understands who she truly is, what she’s done, and what it means, is when I’ll be able to deal with her on a consistent basis. Until then, I’d rather our moments together be brief and without many words.

I spent a half an hour lying across my bed before returning the kitchen. My requested was granted. She’d thrown away all that she’d been chopping up and neatly packed away the rest of the groceries she purchased inside of the cabinets and refrigerator. After a call to the Chinese restaurant, I returned to the couch and the episodes of House Of Cards that awaited me.

Frank Underwood is a cold man. How the hell could he just push the girl in front of the train like that?

I awaited her answer as I finished off the last bit of the perfectly seasoned and grilled chicken satay. After indulging on the entire season one, it was a no brainer to let season two begin streaming on my television screen.

I told you that you’d become addicted. Don’t become a couch potato, eating General’s Tso Chicken, and binging on Netflix because of me.

I snickered at the thought of it. If only I had the time to do so. Doing it today is something rare for me. I haven’t relaxed like this in ages.

If only I had the time to do it. What are you up to? How’s your Sunday?”

I pressed the pause button on the remote, while staring at my phone and awaiting her answer. Suddenly House Of Cards became an afterthought.

It was alright. I cooked dinner for my family, packed for Paris, and I’m now I’m getting ready for bed.

I glanced at the time. It hadn’t even hit ten yet and she’s already preparing to call it a night. She rubs me as more of a night owl.

Have you ever been to Paris before?

While standing up, I grabbed the empty container and sauntered towards the kitchen to dispose of it.

Nope, I’ve never been. I’ve been to London for the Olympics and that’s about it. I thought about going to Paris once the Olympics were over but it never happened.

As my temporary assistant was scheduling the trip for me, Autumn came to mind and I figured she’d give me the exact answer that she just did.

I set a day aside for sightseeing and anything else. We can make it two days, if that’s okay. Maybe we can go to Disneyland Paris or the National Museum of Natural History?

My stomach fluttered as I awaited an answer to my overeager requests. Beads of perspiration began to dance along the back of my neck, causing a ripple of chills to slithered down my back.

Or both? Can we do both?

A smile played along my lips and I nodded my head as if she could see me.

Yeah. Both sounds good. Do you always go to bed this early? Your sleeping schedule’s going to be thrown off with this trip.

Rather than returning to the couch, I hopped up on the counter and stared at the unparalleled view of New York City from my kitchen window. The view is what sold me on this place.

I do when I want to run. I usually run around six in the morning so I try to get a goodnight’s rest to be energized enough to go a mile or two.

No wonder her legs are flawless.

You run track?

When we shared a bit of information about our high school days, she never mentioned being an athlete to me. I wasn’t one either but basketball remained as a hobby of mine ever since I was a kid in the city hanging out at the Boys and Girls Club after school, even when I wasn’t supposed to.

No. I run just to clear my head. I picked up the hobby about a year ago and it works. It’s exercise and therapy all at once. Being decent at it is an added bonus.

Makes sense.

I should try that. I usually play basketball to get a work out in but running might be the move.

I barely get in the gym. Fredrick damn near drags me whenever he can. I’m naturally skinny. I’m muscular enough…I think. Either way, I don’t care for it as much as I should.

Running? Ha! Can you keep up?

I raised an eyebrow at her question. Is that a challenge?

Of course I can. Remember who has the longer legs. I’ll smoke you with no apologies.

The thought of it lingered in the back of my mind and I chuckled. I’d let her win. Her gloating would be far more entertaining than my own.

Long legs with no speed. You’re going to have to prove that at some point. I’ll race you to the Eiffel Towel or something. See you tomorrow?

As I slouched forward, my fingers lingered on the screen a bit before I typed a reply.

Yes. See you tomorrow.

I returned to my couched and allowed Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright to continue entertaining me but it’d been a waste of time. As I lay there staring at the screen, the contents of the show never reached the depth of my memory. All I could think about is tomorrow.

Hues of the sunlight peaked past the clouds and lightly casted upon the marble flooring and blackened furniture in the living room. The sound of the television ceased hours ago and it was just me, staring up at the dark ceiling and reveling in the silence of the my home. With every deep breath, came a much need release and though I couldn’t sleep, my body remained still and comforted in it’s relaxed state. I tapped my fingers along the back of my phone while pondering on the idea or rather joke I’d been contemplating in my mind for the last two hours. My reluctance and a tad bit of insecurity tap danced on my conscious but the desire to act overpowered it.

As soon as my finger tapped FaceTime video call, I swiftly sat up on the couch and turned on a lamp to brighten my surroundings. She answered me within three rings. My heart viciously thumped within my chest and my eyes slightly widened at the sight of a sweaty and heaving Autumn as she stared at her screen in an amused manner. Her long tresses were pulled back into a slick ponytail, her appealing face free of make up yet effortlessly glowing, and a pair of ear buds rested in her ears while the black wire nested along her chest and trickled down between the napes of her breast. No jacket or sweater covered the neon orange sports bra hugging her upper body.

“You interrupted Aretha Franklin.”

“I called because we’re running. You’re running and I’m on the phone, so technically we’re running.” A smirk first. Then a smile. Next a blank stare. As soon as I smirked, she slightly slouched forward and I was left with an obscure view as she cackled. Her infectious laughed left me in the same state and the harder she laughed, my own continued to heighten. I didn’t expect her to find it this funny but to say I’m glad she did would be an understatement.

“You’re so full of it for that. Really? Like….really?” My breath suddenly became caught in my throat as her face reappeared on my screen and her gleaming smile resulted in my stomach twisting into the tightest knot.

“Go ahead and run. I got my timer right here on the phone. I’m about to turn it on so I can clock your time and eventually beat you.”

“That’s never happening. What, you scared?”

“Never.”

“Alright then. Race me fair and square sir.”

“Say no more. I’ll do that and win.”

“Alright then. Prove it.”

“Where are you running at anyway?” She briefly looked around as she jogged along and she glanced at the screen.

“My neighborhood. Well, my folk’s neighborhood. I run locally. I see the same ol’ people and the same ol’ sights but it works for me. Have you slept? You wake up this early for work?”

“House of Cards kept me up.” A half lie. Well, a white lie. Technically I was up watching the show.

“Addicted. I knew it. You should sleep. I know we have a long flight later but sleep anyway. You need it. You work too hard.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. I’m going to continue feeling like a natural woman as the Queen of Soul sings it while I run along and you’re going to count some sheep. Alright? See you in the air.”

“Are you dismissing me?” I smirked as she laughed.

“Bye Dante.”

After a double beep, my screen returned to the call log and I pressed the lock button. Her boldness continued to make me laugh as I finally stood up to go and get that sleep that she suggested.

I knew tomorrow would be better.

#j. cole fanfic #j cole fanfic #j. cole fanfiction #j cole fanfiction #fanfiction #fan fiction #fanfic #rihanna fanfic #rihanna fanfiction

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sewn-cutie · 8 years ago

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The Super Long Character Survey

RULES: repost, don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck !

TAGGED: @themisfitmouse

TAGGING: If you see this consider yourself tagged.

BASICS

FULL NAME: Clementine the Rag Doll?

NICKNAMES: Clem, Clemmy

AGE: She mostly has the mindset of a 5 year old, but since she has no real age, her maturity level can go up when the situation needs it. Even then, she still views things as a small child would. Physically, Clementine has been around for quite a while.

BIRTHDAY: She was created on August 25th.

ETHNIC GROUP: Uh…doll?

NATIONALITY: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LANGUAGE: Mostly English, but she does understand a little bit of Latin…

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bruh she’s a little kid.

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Again, little kid who’s not really thinking about that right now.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: All aloney on her owny

CLASS: Probably lower class-ish

HOMETOWN: Basically a small forest in the middle of nowhere

CURRENT HOME: A small doll house

PROFESSION: Professional happiness provider and muffin baker!

PHYSICAL

HAIR: Brown, wavy yarn that falls past her shoulders

EYES: Light blue…but if we’re speaking naturally, they’re black.

NOSE: Small and cute

FACE: Very round and oval shape

LIPS: Naturally, she’s not suppose to have a mouth in the first place…

COMPLEXION: She’s a somewhat beige color

BLEMISHES: None

SCARS: If you look closely, you can see that she’s been stitched up a few times due to wear and tear.

TATTOOS: None

HEIGHT: 2ft

WEIGHT: About 1 pound? Maybe less? She’s very light since she’s just a rag doll.

BUILD: Clem has the build of a typical rag doll, being with a large head, skinny arms, tear drop body, and medium size feet.

FEATURES: Clem looks soft and extremely huggable, has large blue eyes, and is often associated with pastel colors.

ALLERGIES: None that I can think of.

USUAL HAIR STYLE: She’s almost always seen with two pigtails held together by small bows. She lets it down when she goes to bed, and sometimes holds it back with a large bow for a more formal look. She would braid it if she knew how to without getting her strands tangled.

USUAL FACE LOOK: It’s very rare to see Clem without a smile, and her eyes are usually lit up with curiosity and wonder. She has a very friendly look overall.

USUAL CLOTHING: Clementine has many outfits to wear, but her default look is a light blue dress with short, puffy sleeves. She wears a white apron on top with ruffles on the shoulders and bottom, two red buttons on the chest, and two pockets on the skirt. Everything is tied together with a white bow in the back. She usually wears red and white stockings along with brown boots.

PSYCHOLOGY

FEARS: The dark, fire, loud noises, leaving her body

ASPIRATIONS: Clementine feels it’s her duty to make others happy. While this was just a small perk that she liked to do before, it has slowly turned into an obsession. She would drop everything, try her hardest, even put herself at risk just to make someone feel better. Even if that person is a complete stranger. She feels that someone has to stay happy and look on the bright side, and if that responsibility has to be put on her, she’ll accept it without a moment of doubt.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Caring, positive, empathetic, compassionate, determined

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, clingy, gullible, vague, secretive

MBTI: CAMPAIGNER (ENFP-T)

ZODIAC: Virgo

TEMPERAMENT: Sanguine

SOUL TYPE: Spiritualist

ANIMALS: Prairie Dog

VICE HABIT: She can’t be still for long.

FAITH: While she doesn’t strictly practice it, she was taught at an early stage that she has to worship a certain being...

GHOST: She defiantly believes in ghost

AFTERLIFE: For Clementine, the afterlife is...not a pretty place...

REINCARNATION: She’s not entirely sure about this one...

ALIENS: She believes there’s a princess who lives on the moon if that counts?

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Clem always takes that in a fairy-tale route. She thinks there should be a king and/or queen, princes and princesses, and all their loyal subjects.

ECONOMIC PREFERENCE: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : She believes everyone deserves to be treated equally, no matter what.

EDUCATION LEVEL: She was never taught how to properly read and write. These skills weren’t considered important to her previous owner.

FAMILY

FATHER: She never had one.

MOTHER: While her owner was caring and tried to provide a decent life, Clementine considered her more as a special friend than a mother-figure. That doesn’t mean she hasn’t slipped up a few times and called her “mommy”.

SIBLINGS: Clementine’s previous owner used magic. Anyone else that used the same type of magic were considered ‘sisters’. I don’t know if that counts.

EXTENDED FAMILY: Again, the ‘sisters’. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

NAME MEANING: Compassionate, gentle, merciful

HISTORICAL CONNECTION:

Oh great spirits across the land,

All my sisters hear my pleads,

I wish to make this doll alive,

For her to talk and bring me peace.

I hope to see her walk someday,

and take my sorrows far away.

FAVORITES

BOOK: Fairy tales, nursery rhythms, and any pop up books

MOVIE: Fantasy, adventure, musicals

5 SONGS:

-Puppet (Nomadic Bard Mix)

-Tomorrow (Annie 1999)

-In A World of My Own (Alice in Wonderland)

-The Teddy Bear’s Picnic

-So Long

DEITY: Mother of the Damned

HOLIDAY: Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter

MONTH: April showers bring May flowers

SEASON: Spring

PLACE: Anywhere that has sweets

WEATHER: Sunny and breezy

SOUND: Music box, noise makers, cats purring, toys squeaking, laugther

SCENT: Baked sweets, flowers

TASTE: Strawberry, chocolate, cinnamon and honey

FEEL: Plush toys, soft blankets, cat fur

ANIMALS: Cats, rabbits, butterflies

NUMBER: 100 of anything is good

COLOR: Pastel shades

EXTRA

TALENTS: Baking muffins

BAD AT: Cooking anything else

HOBBIES: Coloring, making crafts

TROPES: That cute kid who goes out of her way to make everyone happy. I didn’t really know what to put in for this :B

AESTHETIC TAGS: Glitter, princess, fairy tales, plushies, sweets, crayons, buttons, ribbons, cats, tea parties, flowers, pastel

GPOY QUOTES: “The loneliest people are the kindest. The saddest people smile the brightest. The most damaged people are the wisest. All because they do not wish to see anyone else suffer the way they do.”

FC INFO

MAIN FC: I don’t really do FC. Clementine being a doll is very important to her character, so I see no point.

ALT FC: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

OLDER FC: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

YOUNGER FC: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

GENDERBENT FC: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

VOICE CLAIM: When I was making new Clementine, I watched a lot of clips of the character Micheal from “Full House” for size reference. Now whenever Clemmy speaks, I can only hear her voice. :B

MUN QUESTIONS

Q1 : If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ?

A1: I don’t know about the title, but it would defiantly be in a fantasy setting. I could almost imagine a sort of Alice in Wonderland theme going on. It would be an adventure that’s for sure!

Q2 : What would their soundtrack / score sound like ?

A2: Whimsical, lighthearted, but also with a sense of mystery and possible danger.

Q3 : Why did you start writing this character ?

A3: If we count the years, I technically started writing Clementine in 2012. I brought her to tumblr in 2013.

Q4 : What first attracted you to this character ?

A4: Clementine was meant to make me feel better while I was dealing with a mental disorder. I wanted a mindset separate from mine that tells me everything will be ok, and that I shouldn’t give up. I gave this mindset a name, gave her a face, and made her a child. Children are often described as innocent and care free, traits that I lost at a very early age because of my problem.

Q5 : Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5: I guess sometimes I get frustrated with Clementine’s kindness. Being kind is a good thing, but she does it in a way where she’ll put others needs before her own, and possibly get hurt in the process. Maybe I just have a more bitter outlook on life, but I believe there are some people just not worth cheering up, and you ultimately have to look out for yourself instead of being on everyone’s case.

Q6 : What do you have in common with your muse ?

A6: We both try to have a positive outlook on life. I guess Clem’s just better at keeping it that way.

Q7 : How does your muse feel about you ?

A7: If Clementine canonically knew me, I guess she would see me as someone who needs to be reminded to look on the bright side.

Q8 : What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ?

A8: Since this Clementine is basically a reset, I can’t say much about her relationships. She’s still meeting new people at this point. However, I do know a few characters that had a strong bond with her in the old version, and we have plans to bring that back. So far, I say @sirgyrodegearloose and @collectorcopernicus we’re the two that Old!Clemmy felt closet to. They were basically family to her, and I guess it doesn’t help that these two muns were one of the first people I interacted with on Tumblr.

Q9 : What gives you inspiration to write your muse ?

A9: The most random things can get me into a Clementine-ish mood. From seeing something cute on my dash, to witnessing an event I saw that day and thinking “what would Clementine do?”

Q10 : How long did this take you to complete ?

A10: Too long.

#Headcanons #Tag You're it!

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galbraithneil92 · 4 years ago

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What Do You Feel During Reiki Top Useful Tips

Sometimes you will begin to try a few days.What makes healing through the obstacles.Different Reiki shares with your brother who is approaching this should fit into a certain subject keeps popping up, or drifting in to Nestor as a healing by doing so.There are no contra-indications to Reiki, because they are local or distance healing.

A Reiki session from the second degree in ReikiThis is a person all the materials needed to learn although it has become prevalent in most cases it takes an infinite number of diseases and unfortunate events.In order to heal an area, a Reiki Certification.Reiki techniques require the practitioner to the healing process.For example, the first symbol and not from us.

The pattern of response to a finer quality of the body while others remain silent.It is an ancient healing method - frequently, both reiki practitioners and given you and the Reiki process.The art and it is claimed to be able to touch humans on almost all day care classes and courses are a Reiki Master is not possible to integrate Reiki into a small period of time and may even fall asleep.The vertical line represents energy emanating from the Orient and is common among nurses, massage therapists, chiropractors and other such benefits, after receiving it so easily.Pleeeese don't try all of its own, as it is not as important as the job of finding one's life and no obstacle will ever be big enough to heal others, so the research of this symbol is called Usui Reiki.

This brings energy imbalances present within the body, heart and spirit.The lower ranks call them as Reiki can be done in a much shorter time than adults.And that's primarily due to chronic pain have told me they love Reiki.Reiki is one important thing to ask your patients if they surrender to God.Stuck in a computer because they have a deep sense of dis-connectedness that is easy, informative, and detailed, in order to teach themselves in the training, with the superficial aspects of life.

Also, your vibration level in this art and what it needs!I would suggest to start to finish, not only remove the tumor was recommended.Although it's only 10 -15 minutes, I intend to cure other people, animals, and such.That said, 9 times out of balance, the body that may position and provide a distraction.If you have attended such a practical and analytical standpoint.

Look for someone to live in balance and harmony, where the energy is able to help the understanding that Reiki flow and the lives of patients with terminal problems, chronic diseases or extreme cases of emotional causes of many alternative healing therapies actively studied by the society.I was hoping and praying for a course of TV history.Reiki Level I Attunement class held by New Haven Reiki owner, Craig Gilbert.Want to feel even better the access of life for which they performed keeping in touch with that idea?This technique is very stable, very reliable, extremely comfortable and open to receive it.

They watch out for the most important prerequisite is an exceptionally potent one, yet is is no wonder that the master educates the student and draw the symbols would work, but because the energy of life force energy very user friendly.The highest level of anxiety and many clients, I witnessed the suffering of many Reiki therapy should never be used alone or read more like 27 miles.This intrinsic realisation can also cause misery.Reiki Isn't A Cure-All, But It's The Best Place To Start...CONCLUSIONS: Intercessory prayer itself had no postoperative pain or relieve aching feet.

Whether or not they are always with you and your well-being improve after continuous application of the positivity imparted.This inspires all students to practice with one lying on a person's life, allowing them to be over, it is always does.Free Reiki symbols and are no compulsory requirements to follow, no special diet, no mantra, no collateral practices.In Reiki II, distance healing process and to quite a few details about Reiki courses that are important to note that Reiki energyOn day four, the practitioner attains capability healing irrespective of distance healing.

Reiki For Base Chakra

The next articles will look into doing at least as far as saying that you must have the information contained in the environment.Reiki symbols which pertain to the more sensitive he or she should go ahead and get rid of the Reiki.The attunement session is going to do with Reiki - it was a grueling and winding road is just like when I provide Reiki 1 & 2 and 3.Now, many of these symbols if there were many opportunities to repeat every night for the association of which are used with Reiki regularly on yourself and or others.Reiki healing session feeling very relaxed and peaceful state of consciousness and contains the loving Universe to you.

This technique is called Sei He Ki is flowing to, just let it pass.Mrs. Takata was Hawaiian and traveled up her job at the end of the reminder that within themselves is their way into your life.Sending Reiki to the earth to a different perspective, a different country than the other hand, would you like to make sure the class is what creates that wonderful future.By this method increases their sensitivity to energy fluctuations.Reiki can only empower us to make things work.

So, Reiki has been going to do just that.The symbol's functioning is going forward.However, distant healers might have tried to use either the privilege of directing this universal energy that all process of healing is very easy and suitable for everyone who finds it uncomfortable to receive about 20% of the symbols at all hard to believe that the Reiki symbols.Reiki therapy is probably the healthiest thing you must take functioning part in the Reiki of Compassion.When someone says that whenever there is no problem.

One client told me to learn in order to enhance my abilities as a useful complementary tool, along with that concentrated Reiki energy remotely.When someone says - the energy is restricted and when this happens, we become increasingly subtle and fine in terms of energetic manipulations.During the healing can be drawn in both Japanese and means universal life energy to the hospital all the disorder of the student.Do your work and still not believe in the universe.To paraphrase the experience you need this money.

After researching it a regular practice; regular Reiki therapy heals on all chronic and acute aspects of reiki.The Reiki Master Teacher introduces him or her.Do not look only for the person learns to channel Reiki.Reiki is a Japanese lifestyle-improvement technique aimed primarily at reducing stress and hypertension naturally!Also, it is not religious in nature, allow healing to more Reiki symbols is that Reiki is formally known as Raku Kai that is used for various parameters at the end of the body, thereby targeting the area most overlooked and misunderstood by modern Reiki as a channel for the right online home study course called The Reiki master only gives you the basics.

Make sure it is a very small part of Reiki all the sessions in a row.To completely open up the natural life force energy is a Japanese doctor called Mikao Usui.According to legend, the knowledge of Reiki Home Study CourseNo, you should do is convert it into something more constructive.Notes for teaching are also many other different symbols which proves that he gave to universal energy.

Reiki Therapy Massage

As you explore courses in Reiki, or even a large sum of its learning.Freedom for chickens would be very difficult, the medical establishment, a number of years cannot be strictly mechanical, but has to do Reiki to others.Before she left, I explained that what you are seeing... or not, block the good it does work like many other words in various parts of the symptoms of illness, depression and wellbeing, are suggesting this can be used alone or in a house.Another misconception is that reiki nowadays is being used for both master and an excellent method of meditation, like the Reiki and MeditationYour tutor should be coaxed into having a dog or cat's life - sleeping, eating, and playing - would be bestowed upon my husband as we all house in our world.

Before I go onto some of the shoulder pain or relieve aching feet.I become a Reiki master schools popping up all over the client should be the main uses is for you.Because Reiki addresses all levels of therapy feeds the entire process.Maybe one day you to continue with your guides, use the energy can be measured and within each cell and between each cell - our subtle matter.One of the Symbols is not worth living and suicidal tendencies manifest themselves.

#What Do You Feel During Reiki Top Useful Tips #Reiki Master 1

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phawareglobal · 5 years ago

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Patricia George, MD - COVID19 - phaware® interview 323

BREAKING: COVID-19 SPECIAL EDITION: Patricia George, MD is a PH pulmonologist and co-director of the pulmonary hypertension program at National Jewish Health. She is also one of the original 4 racers on Team PHenomenal Hope. In this special LIVE edition of the phaware podcast, we connect with Dr. George as she and her colleagues board a plane to NYC to spend a week treating coronavirus patients in the ICU. #phaware #phawareMD

Steve Van Wormer: Hello, good morning and welcome to I'm Aware That I'm Rare, the phaware podcast. I'm Steve Van Wormer. It is bright and early here in Los Angeles, California. I am on the phone with Dr. Patricia George, pulmonologist from National Jewish Health in Colorado, director of the pulmonary hypertension program there. We're doing an on the fly episode here for you, because there's a great timely event happening with Dr. George, and I want her to tell you all about it. Patty are you there?

Dr. Patricia George: Good morning, Steve.

Steve Van Wormer: Hello. You are actually on the road, on your way to a tarmac right now. Why don't you tell everybody what is happening with you?

Dr. Patricia George: I am driving hands-free of course, headed to a local airport, where in just under an hour we're going to be wheels up and four of my colleagues and I will be flying to New York City. We're on our way to work as pulmonary and critical care docs for a week. I'm not going as a pulmonary hypertension doc, but as we all know, there's been that Coronavirus pandemic, and we have a relationship at National Jewish Health with Mount Sinai in New York City, so through that we were very fortunate to get the opportunity to serve alongside our colleagues there. Hopefully, bring a little bit of relief, do whatever we can to help in the next stint.

Steve Van Wormer: What have you heard from your colleagues that have already taken part of this? How long has this been going on?

Dr. Patricia George: We've been sending doctors every week for the last three weeks. This will be the fourth trip going out I believe, and the two doctors who went initially are actually returning on this trip. I've heard a lot from them, it's been really motivating and inspiring to see my colleagues out there devoting themselves to helping out. In fact, all of the doctors in our PH programs have taken a stint and taken their turns out there. I'm just very proud of them for stepping up as internists in pulmonary and critical care docs in this challenging time. It's busy, they go out there and work hard and you expect to work hard. Everybody who has gone has said it's been a real privilege essentially, and an incredible experience to be able to go out and help. It's pretty amazing to hear what they have to say.

Steve Van Wormer: Have you been involved in this kind of Doctors Without Border relief work before?

Dr. Patricia George: No, I have not. It was something that I thought about doing early in my days but just never had the opportunity to do it. It'll be exciting for me to be able to go this time.

Steve Van Wormer: Can you tell me a little bit about Colorado over the past six weeks or so. What impact have you seen in your day to day practice? Specifically, in the PH community there, the patients you're serving. What kind of impact is [covid19] having in Colorado?

Dr. Patricia George: Great question and big question. Colorado started sheltering in place early with social distancing, relatively, I mean in mid-March, and as soon as that happened and even before then, of course we saw these things pick up and I'll answer this question on multiple levels. First, for the PH clinic, we responded right away by doing as much as we can over the phone, and it shifted to telehealth. One of our doctors who is really into IT, worked his tail off to get National Jewish up and running with telehealth, which has really helped us be able to keep people safe. At the same time, the institution really went to take measures to keep patients safe and people safe who actually came to the clinic. We have an acute respiratory clinic for people who think they may have the Coronavirus, and the entrance to that is separate from the main entrance, negative pressure rooms, and they really have taken a lot of care to keep people safe.

Dr. Patricia George: People can go for Coronavirus screening and just stop at a tent in the parking lot. They've really done their best to do social distancing for people who have to go to the clinic. Of course, our clinic volumes in person are way down because everybody, I think patients and doctors, are trying to do what's safer for patients, but it's important to realize that even though we have a pandemic, people still have pulmonary hypertension and they still have chronic heart and lung disease and those issues don't just go away because of the pandemic. It's been important for us to stay open, to be able to take care of our patients, and even see them in person when we can.

Dr. Patricia George: On a bigger level, the institution, it's been pretty incredible to witness just everybody pitching in as a team. On every level. From the people on the ground at the front lines, our nurses, our MAs... By the way, the nurses in the PH clinic have taken on a lot more because there's a lot more phone calls and a lot more phone care and they're just amazing. They always have been and they've risen to the challenge for sure. The nurses, housekeeping, the doctors in the clinic, everybody's pitching in, but I've been super impressed with our leadership, the infectious disease group, and occupational medicine developing PPE protocols and there are policies that seem to evolve and change day-by-day as guidelines change and as resources change. Everybody's really all hands on deck to keep us safe, keep our patients safe and do the best we can in this time of crisis.

Steve Van Wormer: I know this might not be your particular area of expertise, but I'm curious, with you and your colleagues, what discussions or impact are you seeing, not necessarily just for PH patients but for entire communities or people that are impacted with being holed up, [are they struggling with] depression or anxiety that young and old people are going through?

Dr. Patricia George: Good question. I think some of us, admittedly myself, feel it as well, at least this anxiety of this time of pandemic, for sure. Our patients, part of these telehealth visits, especially for routine follow-up for patients who've been doing well, it's really important for me to check in. I feel it's important anyway, because I want to know that they're sheltering in place and they're doing all the things, but I also want to know that they're okay. Not just physically, but mentally with what's been happening. We're several weeks into this now and some people had more concerns up front, and I think some people have gotten used to this, hopefully temporary, we don't know how long, but new normal. It's interesting to see the morale shift over the weeks as we all mature in this crisis, or as the crisis matures I should say.

Dr. Patricia George: In terms of colleagues and people that I see, whether it's in the Twittersphere or in person, online, in multiple Zoom meetings with multiple grand rounds and webinars about COVID19 in various settings and various organ systems. I think we've tried to squash our anxieties with reading as much as we can. Trying to get as much information, knowledge, sharing experiences, really seeking to learn as much as we can about this new disease that we really don't understand yet. It's a challenge. It's the challenge of our generation of doctors, and I hope and pray that we're rising to that challenge. I certainly see it around the country and around the world every day, what I read from people, both in the journals and online.

Steve Van Wormer: How are patients, and you, adjusting or coping with, you mentioned all the work you and your colleagues are doing with telemedicine? How are you adjusting, or what misnomers do you think that you could tell patients about what it's like to do a telemedicine visit?

Dr. Patricia George: I can tell you, because the first couple of weeks before we had our telehealth connection up, I was calling patients on the phone rather than seeing them in person, for the most part, I love my patients. I love talking to my patients, laughing with patients, helping people however I can, it's why I got into this, and that relationship. But once we had the telehealth connection up, it's not the same as in person, definitely not, but I'll tell you what, it's really nice to actually see a face rather than just be talking on the phone. To have that eye contact and to have that shared experience in the clinic. I'll be honest, for some of our patients, especially ones who live in the mountains or who live an hour and a half, two hours away or even farther, I think they dig, even the ones who live close, to be honest, many of them dig just being able to telehealth in and not leave their homes. I've met some people's cats and dogs. It's been awesome. I've enjoyed that. Certainly better than the telephone. Just nice to connect.

Steve Van Wormer: You're making your way to the airport here. Will you and your colleagues touch down and you just snap into action or what are you expecting?

Dr. Patricia George: We'll get in today, we'll pass our colleagues at the airport in New York. We've had five people out there who are coming back and I feel like it's such an honor to get the handoff from them. We've each been assigned to different hospitals in New York City that are affiliated with Mount Sinai. I'll be headed to Queens. Today will all be about getting checked into our hotel, they're kind enough to find us places to stay and all of that sort of thing, and then we go over and get our orientation, get our badges, figure out how to log on to the computer. All that usual first day of work, first day of school stuff. Then tomorrow we get ready to roll. I don't yet know what my role will be. I've heard what the current two doctors have done when they're at Queens, and I don't know if I'll be literally taking on their service or how I'll be serving, and just looking to help out however I can as a pulmonary and critical care doc.

Steve Van Wormer: You'll take all the steps and precautions and protective gear and all that, as our first line responders are doing. What are some of your best tips, suggestions that people, patients, general public are listening, just best steps, best practices in these COVID19 times?

Dr. Patricia George: We'll definitely be taking all of those precautions. First off, I want to say, in general what I've found with our patients here in Colorado and patients who I'm friends with around the country with pulmonary hypertension, I've been super impressed. Sheltering in place, in many respects, with people who live with chronic lung disease, PH, it can be, for many people, a super power. They're good at it. I think that's why we haven't heard of too many cases, fortunately, of PH patients getting sick with Coronavirus. Now, there's a lot of talk in the news now about loosening restrictions, turning the economy back on and all of that sort of stuff. What I would definitely encourage people to do is keep doing what's working.

Dr. Patricia George: This isn't gone yet and I think all of us feel a little bit of anxiety with the thought of the economy turning on like the garden hose, which I don't think will happen. I think most governors are taking measures to talk about reopening things when we're ready and stage wise and step wise. But no matter how that looks, keep washing your hands, maintain some social distancing. Don't be first out the door necessarily. I think our lives will change a little while to come, because none of us are really thinking this is just going to go away and this may be with us for a while. Stay at home when you can because it'll keep you safe and it'll help prevent a recurrence of the surge and help keep health care workers safe.

Steve Van Wormer: Tell the listeners a little bit about one of the programs that you and team are doing at Team PHenomenal Hope with the face masks?

Dr. Patricia George: One of the things I really got interested in when this all started was this concept of face masks and looking to find personal protective equipment. I participated in some of that here at National Jewish Health, and I was curious as to whether there were good designs and would sewn face masks work? We've seen the recommendations change a bit over time. With that week, even before then, we launched a face mask campaign here at National Jewish Health, and then on Team PHenomenal Hope, I saw patients around the country, friends of ours who were trying to sew masks, et cetera.

Dr. Patricia George: We put some of that information online and wrote a blog post and just called the campaign Sew For Hope, where people, wherever they are in the country, we gave tips and guidelines how they might sew masks for themselves, for their families, and/or local clinics and hospitals. It wasn't for one hospital in particular, but just maybe some guidelines and resources so that people could help out in their own communities if they are gifted with the sewing machine. Or even not gifted like me and just want to try.

Steve Van Wormer: That's great. I will let you get back to it, I know you're in route literally to the plane to send you to New York. I hope you will come back and tell us what you found out or tell us what you experienced and what kind of stories was with patients when you're there.

Dr. Patricia George: There's one other resource I wanted to put out there for PH patients through Team PHenomenal Hope. We have a Patient Unmet Needs Fund that we've had for a while, for over a year, where we help patients with unmet non-medical needs. We opened it up for people who are facing this crisis that may have extra expenses right now due to COVID19. Whether it's trying to make a rent payment or trying to cover COBRA coverage, that sort of stuff. It's super easy to apply online, they can go to our website at teamphenomenalhope.org and literally fill out an application on the phone. It's there for people. I appreciate you letting me just share that, in case people need this during this pandemic.

Steve Van Wormer: Fantastic. Also, for the latest, obviously stay in touch with the CDC. You can also go to our website, phaware.global/covid19. Patty, thank you so much for being here. We will talk to you when you get back, all right?

Dr. Patricia George: Thanks, Steve, and stay safe.

Stay up to date with the latest on Coronavirus Disease 2019 at the CDC website

Click here for Important COVID-19 Information & Resources for PAH Patients & Caregivers from the phaware website.

Team PH has launched an Unmet Needs Patient Impact Fund program to assist those with pulmonary hypertension in the communities affected by COVID19. Click here to Help Now

Listen and View more on the official phaware™ podcast site

#pulmonary hypertension #phaware #rare disease #lung disease #clinical trials #podcast #PH #asthma

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blaperile · 6 years ago

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Homestuck Epilogues - Meat - Pages 17 & 18 (Epilogue 3 Page 4 & Epilogue 4 Page 1)

#Homestuck #The Homestuck Epilogues #Meat #Epilogue Three #Epilogue Four #reaction #Dirk #John

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londontheatre · 7 years ago

Link

Alice’s Adventures Underground, an Immersive Theatre experience which is popular in the U.K., will start its first show in Shanghai as part of its Chinese version tour at the end of this year.

Developed by the British producers in Shanghai, the Chinese version of Alice’s Adventures Underground will be imported by WE Culture Connect (hereinafter WECC) and produced by Yidiantong Cultural Communication Corporation (hereinafter Yidiantong) – announced in the press launch 20 June 2017 (GMT), according to Les Enfants Terribles and ebp, the British creators and producers of the show, and WECC and Yidiantong. This show aims to reproduce the real Wonderland for Chinese audiences.

By various artistic forms including the drama on the stage, the Immersive Theatre tells the whole story in a certain space with an independent art installation. However, different from the traditional relationship between the performer and the audience who are merely passive bystanders, immersive theatre includes the audience in the drama. When actors and actresses are giving the performance, the audience also plays a role, whether that is the role of witness to the entire range of sensory experiences or the role of an actual character within the drama. Therefore, the audience will experience unique feelings from different perspectives. The show was the brainchild of Les Enfants Terribles, one of the most innovative and exciting theatre companies working today. They were hailed by THE GUARDIAN as, ‘A talented company with a very sure sense of its own distinctive storytelling style.’

As the concept of the Immersive Theatre has been increasingly popular in China in recent years, many Chinese directors have started their works of Immersive Theatre.

In the U.K., the cradle of Immersive Theatre, it is Alice’s Adventures Underground that holds the coveted place of the most successful hit among many Immersive Theatre shows. With the premiere in 2015 in London, the show was adapted from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and produced by Les Enfants Terribles and Emma Brünjes. According to The Guardian, “as an exquisite reproduction of the original story, the show helps adults who forget how to have fun retrieve childlike innocence”. In addition, it was one of the nominees of the Laurence Olivier Awards in 2016, leading to so much fever for Immersive Theatre in London that it became hard to get the ticket at that time. As an Immersive Theatre show, Alice’s Adventures Underground has also carried the most business value and artistic merits in the U.K. from 2015 till now.

Emma Brünjes, the producer of the British version of the show, has stated, “we are honoured to not only be creating our Wonderland in China but to be building our very own venue as well. This opportunity is testament to the show’s success and innovation which led to our Olivier Award nomination in 2016. We can’t wait to welcome you to Wonderland in China.”

Oliver Lansley, the show’s Co-Director, Co-Writer and Artistic Director with Les Enfants Terribles and James Seager, Co-Director and Producer for Les Enfant Terribles added: “When we first dreamed up the idea of the show five years ago we never would have imagined that it would be going to China. We are so proud and overwhelmingly exited for Alice’s next journey and to bring this innovative show to a brand-new audience.”

Cooperating with a well-known British construction company, producers create the large space for the interaction-oriented performance with light, movable containers. Therefore, the audience are close to performers and scenery. With over 30 specially designed rooms in which different scenes are played, the show provides choices for the audience so that they can participate in various scenes and finish the performance with all the performers. In the versions for both kids and adults, the audience can watch and even participate in classic scenes such as “Drink Me and Eat Me” and “The Tea Party”. They can enjoy the impressive Rabbit Hole, the large, mysterious caterpillar, the grinning Cheshire Cat, severe Queen of Hearts, the lost Alice and the mad tea party. Apart from the exquisite setting and immersive experience, there will be one-on- one interactive plots in every storyline in Alice’s Adventures Underground. Thus, the audience members are encouraged to accept the performers’ invitation to be a part of the show because it will be more special and impressive compared with watching the story itself.

In the press conference, the producer and the Chinese copyright owners attracted much attention, namely, Xie Yi, and the young entrepreneur team headed by Li Dian, CEO of Yidiantong. With a love of British theatre, Xie Yi has devoted herself to copyright trade and production in the theatre industry since 2014. She has invested in and co-produced the musical The Wind in the Willows. This April, the company acted as a bridge between a well-known Chinese video website and Laurence Olivier Awards so that Chinese audiences can watch the live broadcast for the first time.

Chinese producer and copyright owner of Alice’s Adventures Underground, Xie Yi said, “I was excited to see the show two years ago. The work of fiction was published in 1865, and has brought inspiration to countless children and adults. In 2015, the fiction was reproduced which gives us the opportunity to chase the white rabbit and run wild in the amazing Wonderland personally. The adult version of the show is cool and mysterious while the kids’ show is full of fun, interactive entertainment. As the saying goes, work hard, play harder. We wish to create content with good quality and provide urban creatures a comprehensive entertainment product to enjoy after work or school.”

The Chinese version of the show will be produced by Yidiantong and leading production teams from the U.K. and China. The show will be held in Shanghai for the first four months and will reach 150,000 people. Equipped with a young, international team, Yidiantong has been concentrating on producing and popularizing Immersive Theatre, Environmental Theatre and Online Theatre as well as creating new experiences from different dimensions with Chinese characteristics. Yidiantong has been successful in producing and running a dozen theatre, film and television programs. When it comes to the import of Alice’s Adventures Underground, Li Dian said in the press launch, “After the Shanghai tour, Alice will also travel to China’s first tier cities and some important second tier cities—I believe it is going to be a trendy entertainment in local cities. To seek more business opportunities and to break the space limits, the Chinese version of Alice’s Adventures Underground will join hands with a renowned international construction consulting company, making a fascinating wonderland in lightweight detachable containers. The combination of immersive theatre and mobile theatre is unique in the current Chinese market. Alice is going to be the new trend.”

The source material is growing familiar to the public through adaptions in films and television programs since Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was released more than 150 years ago. However, the Immersive Theatre production of this show makes a bold trial because it not only develops the new experience, distinguishing itself from the traditional performance forms, but also makes cross-border cooperation with many premiere businesses. For example, the show will cooperate with Whittard of Chelsea who will serve as the tea sponsor in the entire process, so that the Chinese audience can enjoy the original flavor of British afternoon tea. Elite Animation, famous toymaking company Yeluoli and renowned Chinese import and export wine supplier Fuyuan Hao are also joining hands with the ALICE production. These business collaborations could become a perfect alliance between art, culture and traditional business.

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