#i'm nit actually moving out for real

[moinsbienquekaworu]

We're leaving Saturday morning, I just took basically all of my clothes out of my closet and piled them near my suitcase so we know what I'm taking, and seeing my closet all empty (except for all the stuff I never wear I'm not taking with me) is like. Oh my god I'm leaving and I'm not coming back for months. Every time I leave for holidays I think "oh I should take this and this and this and this juust in case, yeah it's just a week but what if I really need my thick socks in the middle of summer?" before I restrain myself and just take three t-shirts, but now that I have the opportunity to pack literally everything in there, it feels wrong. I should not actually be packing up every piece of clothing I still wear. The clothes that stay at home are proof that I'm coming back, if I take them with me too there's no reason for me to go back!

[adventuringblind]

Hi, would you be able to write Oscar Piastri x Shy!reader. Maybe she’s absolutely stunning so other drivers go up to her and flirt with her but she doesn’t respond. Then they see her with Oscar and are a bit shocked.

Thanks 🤍✨

Shy

Oscar Piastri x reader

Genre: Fluff

Request: yes :)

Summary: Sometimes being shy makes people want to know more

Warnings: terrible flirting

Notes: I cracked myself up writing this because I am terrible at fluffy things. I love it.

Masterlist

To say you're shy is not exactly the word you would use. More like... particular.

Your words are few, and you like talking to the people who matter most in your life. Mingling at parties is not something you get joy out of.

When your friend decided to drag you out for the night, you were already frustrated. Even more so when everyone seemed to want to talk to you about their personal lives and amazing achievements.

Then there was Oscar.

You hid from the party in a quiet corner. The breath you'd been holding finally escaping through your teeth. Until He came around the corner.

His stupidly pretty eyes and fluffy hair caught you off guard. You blame the alcohol you had to help you get through this event.

"I take you your not one for parties?"

You wanted to say something snarky and sarcastic. But his voice was far to pleadent to let you do such a thing.

"It's okay, I'm not either, wanna get out of here?"

A simple proposal that changed everything. Oscar kept conversation going, and if you didn't feel like talking, he didn't care.

Sometimes, you would just bask in the comforting silence of each other. Words became unnecacry.

He obviously made the first move as you were far too shy to attempt an advance.

You blushed a lovely shade of red when he kissed you the first time.

And now you're here, traveling the world with him as much as possible, watching him race. It's funny how things work out.

You spend time walking around the paddock looking for the few friends you'd made. Lando being one of them. He teased you and Oscar relentlessly because of how private you are. The papaya colored Brit seemed to be the only one who knew you two were dating.

Other drivers had asked on multiple occasions if you were with Lando. The majority of them thought you were someone's relative and tried to hit on you.

The awful pick-up lines were becoming a running joke in the McLaren garage.

Finally, it became too much for you. The reporters wanted to know who you were. The drivers would nit leave you be despite your best attempts at politely telling the to 'fuck off.' And the fans were starting to get out of hand.

"You sure you want to do this? If your not comfortable with it I can always talk with the PR team."

"Yes, but this way will make them all shut up."

"Fair point."

You walk into the paddock with the two papaya boys that day. Again, you could see people's wheels turning.

Oscar dragged you to one of the skysports reporters, knowing they would be the best ones to get their point across.

Lando pulls his phone out to record, and Daniel, Esteban, and Carlos, who'd been trying to win you over, sidle up next to him. Confused as to why you're standing with Oscar, your hands intertwined.

"Oscar, it's great to see you! Can I ask who the lovely lady standing with you is?" Greets an enthusiastic Laura Winters. You'd always liked her the most.

"Actually, Laura, if it's alright with you, I have a request."

Laura eyes him skeptically as he whispers something in her ear. She nods enthusiasticly, which is a good sign to you.

Oscar turns to you and takes your hands in his. You were expecting him to kiss you. Prepared for it all week. You'd already deleted your social media.

It's a real shock when he gets down on one knee, pulling a box out of his pocket.

Lando is squealing in excitement. The drivers next to him stand frozen, their mouth hanging wide.

You mimick that.

"So I know we planned to just kiss so everyone would finally leave you alone, but I thought this would be even better." A blush creeps across his face, and Laura is grinning so widely you think it might fall off. "I've known since pretty early on that I wanted to spend my life with you, regardless of if anyone says we're too young. I've never cared what they thought, and I'm not starting now. You are the most amazing person I've had the pleasure of meeting. Your witty comments reserved only for me make me feel incredibly lucky. You make me feel important, and I hope I make you feel the same. I want that, forever and always. So, marry me?"

Just like with most times in your life, words don't come easy. You manage to squeak a quiet yes, barely Audible to anyone but Oscar. But he's trained his ears to hear everything you say.

He places the ring on your finger and spins you around in utter joy, landing a perfectly placed and loving kiss to your lips.

Everyone is clapping for you, and you couldn't be happier than I'm this moment. The rest of the world is falling away.

The drivers next to Lando are still processing.

"Did we ever have a chance?" Asks Daniel finally.

Lando snickers. "Afriad not, mate. She's been trying to tell you guys, and you didn't take her reactions as a hint. Looks like you wasted your time on a girl who had her heart stolen."

[importantdestinydefendor]

My Death Mark OC is done!

This is Hagihara Rina. She is a very timid and shy person.

A small profile:

Age: between 35-40

Height: 5'4 (162 cm)

Weight: 119lbs (54 kilos)

Occupation: part-time florist at "Myazakis Flowerfield"

She is the middle child of three children. Her older sister is called Nao, and her younger brother is called Yasu. Her parents are called Hagihara Toshiro (her dad) and Okabe Kaori (her mom). They have been divorced since Rina was an early teenager. Her father left with Yasu, and Rina and Nao were homeschooled since then.

She loves to nit, sew, and everything like that. Takes care of some specific flowers in the shop (for example: she grows her own daffodils). She has worked at the flower shop since she was a teenager. The owners of the shop are the elderly couple Daichi and Jun Myazaki, and they act as her adoptive grandparents. Her favourite colour is anything between pink and red and her favourite flower is the daffodil.

Uuuuuuh I think that is all I wanna say for now?? Since I actually plan to write a fanfiction for her (not in the scale as Firelight AU is turning out to be). So there is not much backstory I can give here except for the divorce part. Finally, I have a character that doesn't have a green/grey/brown/blue-palette! I am not the biggest fan of pink or red personally, but I wanted to draw a character with pink being their primary colour for sooo looong! And I actually finally have one! WOOOOO!

Also I made up her weight based off of my own height and weight ratio + taking in her current mental state (which is just a shit show) and converted it from cm to pound. I wanted to compare it to Yashikis weigth and hoo boy! His weight doesn't really match his height (he weighs around 137lbs (62 kg)) which is as much as I do in real life! And I am tiny comapred to him! (He is 5'11 (180 cm) while I'm 5'3 (162 cm)) So that took a few years of my life. But that just shows how good his character design is as you can really see his lankiness. (And I'm getting off track, this is about my OC not Yashiki. Move over, old man!)

ANYWAY! Tell me what you think in the comments! (Close ups under keep reading)

[papirouge]

I can’t stop crying, I’ve lost more friends in Gaza… yet so many Christian evangelicals have yet to even mention that Christians in Gaza exist. Or if they do, it’s criticism and blaming Gaza for the genocide that’s happening. It’s as if they fully believe it’s a Jew/Muslim conflict when it’s not. It’s an idf-Hamas conflict.

I lost contact with one of my friends and haven’t been able to get any info. The terror keeps coming. And there was no where to go, it hurts. And I’m so angry at that Christians in the west just ignoring it all

.......... I'm really sorry anon...

I've never felt that powerless in my life, and my heart aches for all those people being murdered before our eyes, and the Christian community either condoning such heinous act or turning the head around... They will have to take accountability for their cowardice....

The body of Christ is ONE. If someone cuts your leg or hand, you will definitely feel it and your whole body is going to react to it. But Western Christians? They look away like the cowards that they are. Mind you, they are the same ones that are so suuuuure to resist the antichrist when he will come. Meanwhile, they are unable to voice the slightest support to our Christian brothers in Palestine out of fear... What kind of clownery is that? At least, I don't mind people refusing to cover any sort of world news bc they are consistent in their lane, but I'm thinking about all those Christians who have aaaaaalways so many things to say abt the latest stupid stunt in the news, the wokes, feminists, liberals... Suddenly they are VERY quiet. That's a choice. They are disgusting.

Even the anti Muslim/let's protect Christianism from Islam uwu Christian YouTuber squad are pulling out video exPoSinG Hamas while not saying a single word abt the Christian casualties (David Wood, Apostate Prophet, etc.) They are full of it, and I will never ever again take them seriously in their defense of Christianity in middle east when those ghouls don't even have a word to say about our Palestinian Christian brothers dying under Israeli strikes and PLEADING for our attention and prayers... They only care about Christians dying because of ISLAM, when they die for any other reason, they will defiect. Like, yeah, Hamas sucks - we been knew. What's the point of making 1 video a day about them? In what way does it remotely dismiss the atrocity of whatever's happening in Gaza???

It's so sick to see pro Israel constantly move the goalpost to paint themselves as the only victims, and worse, downplaying what's happening in Gaza.

They will deflect on antisemitism in pro Palestine protests (while acting like the very same didn't happen in pro Israel protests with the most rabid islamophobic genocidal crap), semantics about what Zionism is and whether it's antisemitism (meanwhile palestinians are literally DYING), that they don't care about Gaza as long as the hostage aren't fred (when if they actually really cared abt the hostages they wouldn't encourage Israel to bomb Gaza bc the actual hostages risk dying out there along the Hamas...🤦🏾‍♀️), or shouting "free Gaza from Hamas !!" as if any of that justified bombing civilians... oh and let's not forget the feminist/liberal edge of Israel defense with the "Palestianian are sexist/homophobic so there's no point defending them" stupid narrative....

I think the reason pro Israel are so bad in their rhetoric is that for years they've been used to leverage their Jewishness to get empathy and immunity against accountability.

But it's over now. We have social medias and we can witnessing in real time the horror of Tsahal actions. How they aren't any morally better than Hamas. We've seen the Israeli mocking Palestianians nit having water or food...

"you were quiet when the Hamas assassinated Israelis" we were quiet because this operation went so fast and that Israel quickly retaliated. There was no way to stop the Hamas bc NO ONE knew it was coming, so what did they expect us to do?? Just bc we don't say anything doesn't mean we approve. Do you see people condemn suicide/terrorist attacks whenever they happen?? IMO there wouldn't be such an outrage is Israel left it at that and didn't go overboard with launching a whole war against Gaza. The reason the world is siding with Palestinian is because we are witnessing the ongoing massacre of population with the actual (political and/or economical) backup of our respective countries for DAYS now. Unlike the Hamas attack, there are ways to stop it. The Hamas didn't cut the water & food supply of Israelis. Palestinians aren't clowning on social medias the Jewish civilians who were killed by the Hamas. That's why the world is shocked and is siding with Palestine and is slowly but surely getting fed up with the cognitive dissonance of Israelis crying oppression while acting like soulless ghouls. Crying antisemitism isn't fooling anyone anymore.

[literaticat]

Hi! Real question. Not being snarky. Why does it take MONTHS for editor/publishing contracts to be done? What are the agents and editors actually doing?

I mean we'd all love it to be faster. The bottleneck is not generally happening with agents and editors.

Here's how it goes. (Picking numbers absolutely out of thin air, I have no idea what the actual numbers would be and I imagine it varies!):

You have a publishing house, right? In the kids division, let's say there are six imprints, with six to ten editors each. There are new book acquisitions weekly for sure, probably multiple, at each imprint. Let's say 1-2 books gets through acquisitions at each imprint every week, so between 6-12 new books across the board. We'll aim high and assume 12 new books get offers, which some are accepted some are not, and say they end up moving forward with 8 new books per week across these 6 imprints.

First -- before accepting! -- the editor and agent negotiate a deal memo (this is the basic thing that says all the "big picture" terms such as advance, royalties, etc.). Sometimes things have to be approved by the financial folks, etc. Once the deal memo is complete and we have officially accepted the offer, the editor sends all the paperwork to the contracts department. It is now out of both of our hands.

The "contracts department" may consist of like... two people, and an utterly overwhelmed assistant. They are SWAMPED. They are DYING. They are, I have to assume, trapped in windowless cells doing a painstaking job that requires lots of attention to detail and is utterly thankless and probably getting yelled at by assholes all the time. (I'm so sorry, contracts people, I LOVE YOU, and I don't thank you ENOUGH! You should all get raises!)

So each contract takes time to draft. They can be 20, 25, 30 pages long (or longer!). Each agency does have their own "boilerplate" which at least gives them a place to start so they aren't reinventing the wheel every time, but each book deal does have its own terms (as outlined in the Deal Memo) and there are new terms and bits of wording being changed and asked for all the time -- for agencies like mine, with a lot of business at certain publishers, the contracts people and the agents are basically in a constant conversation, making sure that new terms are being carried over properly, etc etc. It's a nit-picky thing, they are comparing multiple contracts with one another at a granular level, it just takes a long time. No I don't know how long - but I know it takes ME hours to even read them, so I would imagine it's at least a solid half-day with no interruptions to draft them.

Once the contract is drafted, it gets sent to the agent, who carefully reads it and makes notes, those notes get sent back to the contracts person, who carefully reads them and responds, there may be a little more back and forth, finally we get a final contract that can be signed.

(This whole process might, in a fast world, take 1-2 weeks, because the agent ALSO has a queue of things and needs a solid half-a-day to do the notes, and when the notes get back to the contracts person, they go into the notes queue, then the agent needs to re-read the final version, etc. But it could for sure take longer than that. I would not be surprised if it took a month just for a normal contract with all the back-and-forth, and if there are significant changes being asked for, it might literally take months as each side has to get lawyers and such involved to make sure the wording makes sense, etc. This is pretty rare but it DOES happen.)

So back to our bottleneck. The big number of editors filter a ton of submissions into 8 books that are moving forward, those 8 books get filtered to 2 contracts people -- each of those contracts people might be able to realistically do, say, 2 draft contracts per week and 2 notes/final contracts per week. One of them went on vacation once, and both of them have had COVID this year, so unfortunately they are always backed up, and can never actually catch up, because there are more coming in every week than they can possibly do and there's already a queue.

So... That's why contracts take so long. Sorry. Everyone is doing their best, I promise.

[romilly-jay]

The Word is Murder

***again, writing to remind future-me how much I loved this series and what I enjoyed about them ***

I've been taking time out from the real world for the past two years to study for my MFA in Creative Writing. Okay, that's philosophically flawed in various ways - what makes me think there's a world that's real and other worlds that aren't real or that it's possible to move between them or that I am able to identify correctly which is which?

Starting again - I'm a midlife MFA student (just finishing) and it's been lovely and disorienting in roughly equal measure to get to spend two years among people who take seriously the idea that writing books and publishing them is A Thing It's Possible To Do.

Not equally possible for everyone. Do I need to say that? I mean, yes.

And even once a book is published, there's so much we don't really know about why one suddenly breaks through and succeeds, but we do know that without oxygen, without marketing exposure, it won't.

A roundabout way of saying that I hadn't heard of the Detective Hawthorne series until Anthony Horowitz was talking about them on a Radio Four breakfast show - aka not an opportunity afforded to every author - and I don't know how many other listeners also thought "Oh my, this sounds like exactly something I'd love " and rushed out to get hold of a copy. *I* did (library copy but yay libraries and I'm *strongly* considering actually buying the latest one...)

And this is why I knew I was likely to like it (quite apart from the fact that I'm a big fan of Foyles War so felt advance-comfortable about the likely tone)... it's a book that, as a central device, breaks the fourth wall. A book where the author presents as a character. YES.

Here's a not-spoilery bit that catches the early establishment of the dynamic between fictional detective and character-version of AH:

Hawthorne smiled at me for the first time...

'Early days, mate. It's only a first chapter. You can tear it up and start again. The thing is, we've got to find a way of working together, a...' he searched for the right phrase.

'A modus operandi,' I suggested.

He pointed a finger. 'You don't want to use posh words like that. You'll just get people's backs up. No. You've just got to write what happens.'

[This is in ch3, when they're arguing over the exact text I've just read as the start of ch1, with DH giving AH factual corrections and pushback - I'm amused by the nit-picking. I'm amused that clearly AH wants us to be aware that "his" version of ch1 is the one that got used. And there's also plenty of fun speculation and misdirection.]

Pacey with a light touch, and enough real London places to hook me into a version of the feeling when I've walked across a film crew out on location and I wasn't expecting to see them there. <3 <3.

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 21 April

We are being spoilt for choice at the moment. As I've said a few times, I really do think the mid-1950s is a bit of a transitional period. Rock and roll hasn't arrived in Britian, but a lot of the songs we're now hearing sound distinctly different to the stuff you'd hear in the 1940s and earlier 1950s. Less proper and formal, in a way - long may that continue!

Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White) - Eddie Calvert (peaked at Number 1)

I loved this song first time round, and I haven't mysteriously started disliking it. I've said before, for me, if I already really like a song, I'll be strongly inclined to enjoy all covers of it, even if they're not great quality. And this is by no means that. This is a very serviceable version of a song I already liked.

To be honest, I've not much more to say that I haven't already said on the last post about Pérez Prado's version of the song. I kind of expected this version to sound a bit watered down or inauthentic, it being a British cover of a Latin song by somebody called Ronnie Hilton - a decidedly non-Hispanic-sounding name, fitting for this Preston native. But actually, it's mostly just quite a faithful cover, down to the best bit of the original, the woozy slow-down trumpet work.

If I was nit-picking I might say that it's got a bit less of a clear clave rhythm in the percussion, and maybe a little less energy in the non-trumpet instruments? It's also missing the "hyurgh" shout, which was arguably the best moment in the original. However, the trumpet makes up for all that in its sheer riotous enthusiasm, and to be honest, I think if I wasn't paying attention I might not notice all the other differences I noticed. This is just a very similar cover to the original.

I do wonder what the point of covers like that is, sometimes. A cover that dramatically changes a song's vibe or genre, that I get (it's like an AU fanfic, it's the same pleasure). But a perfectly faithful cover confuses me... the original already exists?! I guess it might have come down to some vagaries of 1950s record production and distribution logistics, and just what version of a record people could actuallly get hold of and heard on the radio, but still. Pointless, at least on the face of it.

Not that I'm complaining about more of this song. Did I mention, I love this song?

Ready, Willing and Able - Doris Day (7)

A Doris Day song I've not heard of! I'm not surprised, exactly - she did a lot, and I'm not a superfan or anything - but I am excited, because most Doris Day songs I've come across so far have been real highlights. Secret Love, in particular, I could listen to all day. Doris' voice and general persona is gorgeous, this project has really sold me on her.

We start very strong, with a fast, jazzy opening, Doris singing about how I'm ready / Willing / And able / And honey, now, it's up to you. She's up for some loving, but wants her suitor to commit and make a move. It's a confident, ballsy opening, underscored perfectly by some jazzy trumpet blasts, full big band vibes.

Doris' voice is indeed the star attraction here. She's up against some big brassy sounds and her performance is never once overpowered by it.

I'm also impressed by the modernity of Doris' strightforward proposition here, as she outright states that I'm ready, able and willing / To join you in a little fun / But I won't take second billing / I've got to be your number one. She's taking the lead, stating what she wants, and making the moves to get it, but she's also clear on her boundaries. You get the feeling that Doris is absolutely setting the pace in this relationship, and honestly, it's sexy as anything.

Even sexier, though, is the section just before the end, with the quieter, sultrier lines, all I'm ready / Oh yes, you know I'm ready, baby. It's not explicitly about sex, but it easily could be, you know? Keeps the song classy, for sure.

And then we've got the final section, as Doris blasts out lines about how Now I've stated my condition / I've got lots of ammunition. There's something rock and roll both about the attitude here, and the chord that plays under it. I know I say this periodically about lots of songs I like in this era, but you really can hear the new sounds of rock and roll percolating into places you wouldn't expect them, and this is one example, I think.

Awww, I just love this song. I had a good feeling about it, and my good feeling paid off. Go listen. Not many songs from this project end up in my liked songs list, but this one definitely will.

It's from a musical film, Young At Heart, an update of an earlier film called Four Daughters, where Doris plays opposite Frank Sinatra as the love interest of a songwriter who moves to a small town and gets into romantic hijinks as three sisters all fall for him. The plot summary sounds a little complicated, but it does sound cute - and either way, I think I'd watch it, just for the musical talent!

Stranger in Paradise - Tony Bennett (1)

Something must have been in the water this week in 1955, because here we've got another song that I know, and that definitely stands out. The tune, in particular, is beautiful and iconic. I remember hearing this song for the first time and thinking I already knew it, which is the mark of a catchy hook.

It's also possibly a product of the song's somewhat complicated genesis? It's a song from a 1953 musical called Kismet, itself adapted from a 1911 play, which is an "Arabian Nights" styled fake folk tale romance, set to music by the Russian-Georgian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin, including this song, which is based on one of the Polovtsian Dances from the 1890 opera Prince Igor. This opera, itself based on a much older Russian epic poem, is about the 12th century prince of Novgorod, Igor Svyatoslavich, fighting against Cumans, a Turkic people in the south of modern-day Russia, who were also called Polovtsians. So there are loads of layers of exoticism and historical romanticisation going on even before you look at the lyrics and vibe of the song. And then the musical's duet has been turned into a solo song for a male singer, so that changes it and adds layers again.

We begin with "ooooos" from the backing singers, outlining the main theme to a lush backing of strings and woodwinds, before Tony comes in, an ambitious, soaring leap in his very first line urging his lover to Take my hand / I'm a stranger in paradise.

It's all about the transcendant feeling when you're in love, and I have to say, the lyrics are beautiful. In quick succession, we get lines about how I saw your face and I ascended / Out of the commonplace / Into the rare and about how Somewhere in space I hang suspended. It's a level of earnestness and purple prose that would normally jar, but here it feels thematically appropriate. Love takes you away from the everyday, so why shouldn't your language also be elevated away from the commonplace?

We also get the sense of a certain danger or desperation. From the idea of Tony being left starry-eyed and being lost in a wonderland, to lines that are more explicitly about how There's a danger in paradise / For mortals who stand beside an angel. Tony's lover is something else, and that has a certain fear about it, too. He's worried about getting hurt, still feeling himself a stranger, not wholly "at home" in this realm of perfection that he's somehow ascended into.

And yet the song ends hopefully, with a hope that Tony's love might open their arms to the titular stranger And tell that we need be / A stranger no more. It's a beautiful, hopeful ending, and I like it a lot! Tony really sells it, too - there's a grand sweep to his voice, but also a certain vulnerability in the lines that need it. And all that while maintaining good clear diction - important with such wordy, twisty lines.

Actually, I'm realising thinking about it that it's quite a cerebral, twisty song more generally. The lyrics are hard to follow the first time you hear them, even just in terms of syntax, and there's a certain ambiguity to it, even in what it means to be a "stranger in paradise" and how that changes over the course of the song.

I like that about the song, to be clear, and I also think you can enjoy it without making it that deep. It's pretty and catchy and Tony Bennett can sing nicely. In some ways that's all you need to know.

I could name almost any of these three as my favourite. They're all great. But only one made my liked songs playlist, and in my books, that's a surefire way to earn the final title. So, without further ado...

Favourite song of the bunch: Ready, Willing and Able

[vvendyreads]

Fake It 'til You Make It by Laura Carter

Abbey thought that she was about to have the best night of her life. Her boyfriend, who was also her childhood friend, asks her to dinner and she thinks wedding bells are coming. She is shocked to find that instead of a proposal he actually wants to break up and he's been cheating on her with someone else. To make matters worse, she then quickly loses her job. Abbey decides to turn things around by spending all of her savings on 6 months rent in her dream luxury apartment building. While there, she runs into her ex, who is now dating someone who lives in her building. She's saved from embarrassment by her suave star baseball playing neighbor Mike, who has been bugging her since she moved in. When Abbey and her ex are both invited to her parent's vow renewal in Canada, Abbey decides that she needs a fake boyfriend to bring. Mike volunteers. What Abbey doesn't know is that "Mike Thomas" is actually Ted Thomas, Mike's brother who has been hiding in his brother's penthouse ever since his fiancée cheated on him with his business partner. After Abbey mistakes Ted for his brother, he decides to pretend to be him, fooling Abbey and everyone else.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had high hopes for this one. I love a good fake dating story. Unfortunately, this one was just not for me. Pros:

Fake dating is always a must read for me. Literally. Tell me a story has fake dating and I'm all in. I love the romantic potential of dating someone you normalize wouldn't in a low stakes way. Even better if the characters initially can't stand each other. How else will they learn to get along? I think this trope is so fun, even if it doesn't really happen nearly as much in real life as media would make us think.

Dual POV: I love getting both characters' perspectives in a story. The great thing about books as opposed to real life, is that you can know exactly what another person is thinking. Especially with how this story goes, I think Ted would have been pretty irredeemable if we hadn't gotten his POV.

Interesting settings: I enjoyed the diversion to Canada. This book was set in New York, which I think is having its moment right now. The author didn't really explore that setting much, so I appreciated that she moved the characters to a different location, so we could at least explore that.

Cons: (Unfortunately, there are more of these than pros for me)

Mistaken identity- I really hate mistaken identity. I honestly wish I had known going in that it would be a part of this book, as I may not have read it. I included it in my summary but the official one for the book only describes Mike/Ted as a "hot neighbor". I would have forgiven the mistaken identity if it had been corrected quickly, but he doesn't come clean (read: get found out) until nearly the end of the book, which made me anxious and frustrated for most of the story. I didn't buy his reasons for keeping up the ruse to Abbey.

Too many Britishisms: I understand that Boldwood Books is U.K. based, so this may be nit-picky and not an actual issue. I would maybe buy that Canadians might have similar ways of speaking to British people and many characters were Canadian, so perhaps those instances were normal. That's all fine, but when the same phrases were coming out of an American character's mouth, it took me out of the story. The American born Ted said things such as "feck" and "join the queue" and "a kilo of strawberry jelly" to name a few. I feel like an editor could have caught this (or hope that one will now!)

Ted was very superficial. He spent a lot of time rationalizing that he wasn't this shallow guy but the brother he was pretending to be is, so he must also act this way to be him. He spends so much time focusing on the looks of the Abbey and his ex and using this as a way to judge them. Ted also spends much of his initial interactions with Abbey deciding that she is superficial for doing really normal things, which felt very hypocritical. He's supposed to be the nerdy, shy guy but he just came off as a jerk. He also repeatedly mocks Abbey's period underwear that she accidentally dropped in front of him, which made me kind of hate him.

The book felt somewhat incomplete. There were story lines that started but didn't go anywhere. For example, Abbey desperately needed a job. A legitimate company wants to offer one and tells Ted to have her contact them, but he never tells her about it. The book also ends pretty quickly. I would have appreciated an epilogue to know how it ends.

Neutral?

I think that my ultimate issue is that this felt like a mid 90s-early 2000s chick lit/romance. The characters fell into a lot of the boxes of this time: the guy is a jerk, the girl is in distress, there's lots of talk of shopping and a glamorous life. This kind of book was incredibly popular and I'm sure that plenty of people will appreciate it. I think there was a lot of potential in this book, but it just wasn't my cup of tea.

3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[lascapigliata]

the primary issues i still have with storygraph are as follows. yes some of this may be because i'm used to gr but i still think if they want to compete with gr, storygraph has to get on its level in these areas lol. i grant, none of these would be as annoying if i wasn't trying to manually add like 100 books in one go, but it all is still annoying

adding a rating - just a rating! - takes way too many clicks. the minute you say a book is read you should be offered a way to rate it. having to select a review then first scroll through all the moods and pacing and whatever for the rating is irritating. and it's so buried and small that it's hard to find at a glance when you are scrolling for it.

related but there are just too many multiple choice questions. stop making it feel like work!! both by putting it below the rating And review as above, but also by decreasing the number or putting some of them below an accordion or something.

too many clicks in general. imo anything that i am adding as metadata - review, rating, tags, dates read, dates reread, etc, should be easily accessible all together as opposed to being siloed into three or four separate processes, even if there are Also ways to do them independently

let me just see my own books. home screen shows to-read and recommendations (which i don't have generated because i don't want them, so it's just dead space) but not recently read, and "my books" is not a main nav item. i'd expect a workaround in "my stats" but it also doesn't show you any fucking books (more on this below). so you have to click THRICE - avatar > profile > reviews. pourquoi?!?!?! am i missing something?

minor issues:

ik their stats are their cool thing but selecting a time period for which to see statistics and then having to click inside all the charts just to remember what you read? not into a pop-up/modal either but taking you to a brand new page in the same tab navigating AWAY from the stats page to see the list. so you have to totally reload the stats page when you return? annoying! annoying. just let me see the books on hover

categorization on the stats page doesn’t follow the selections YOU put in. if YOU say a book is medium paced it’ll show in the slow pie slice anyway. why? why ask me for those decisions then ignore them on my own stats?

have tried to add books to the database as they promise you can and can't seem to actually make it happen! not a HUGE deal except if you're going to have the function, make it work or provide a legit estimate as to how long it takes to put in the system

as i’ve said elsewhere the question “is the cast diverse” is annoying. i suspect what they’re asking is “are there marginalized characters” or “are minority groups represented” or something; it rules out things like books set in other countries (not diverse, but not white)

seeing/editing your own review of a book in general is not intuitive. you click "add a review" on the right side of the screen but then when you're done it's moved all the way to the right. why? and why is there no clear "edit" button from either the book's item page OR YOUR OWN BOOKS LISTINGS as opposed to having to see the review first THEN press the tiniest little edit icon on earth?

i have a lot of ui/ux/design issues with the site in terms of hierarchy etc. but that's to be expected. (in fairness i have design issues with goodreads too.) such as "activity" below the book cover just saying "you read this 2x" or whatever on the book item page. this is wasted space that could house, say, my rating review or even just read dates, all of which are more valuable pieces information given that i took the time to add them

included in those issues is that when you DO find your way to your own books, you can EITHER see your books with the pretty covers OR your reviews, which take up so much real estate for those without anything written. put the pretty covers next to the reviews. this is not rocket science

other small design/ui nits include how it looks to add more tags to ones you've already added, and lack of distinguishing style for links that are pretty important like book titles that will get you back where you need to go when you've added dates read, kind of thing. (the latter is an accessibility problem on top of being a design issue)

the favicon is not consistent between pages which so doesn't matter AT ALL except it's an absurd problem to have and it's the kind of thing i'm paid to notice

give me a bugherd snippet and a dream and i could go hog wild on this site i tell you

[nytehavyn-circle]

Tolaas gently took her hand, and squeezed it. "I akin't gonna hurt ya, darlin', I promise." He hoped the tone of his voice assured her that he was telling the truth.

He took her hand, brought it up to his fangs, and had her run a finger over the tooth, even having her gently touch the point. When she was finished, he tilted his head at her and then smiled. "Told ya. Real." He winked.

“Alright, so...” he began, exhaling slowly, “Livin’ Vampire. Well, ta start, I ain’t dead.  Ain’t undead, neither,” he chuckled.  “Quite alive, I assure ya, but I akin't human.  I gotta feed, but not near as often as other sorts a’vamps - maybe once every two weeks - an’ I ain’t gotta kill when I feed.  Ain’t gotta, and ain’t got the desire. Now that's not saying other Livin' Vamps don't. We have free will, we can choose how we feed, we ain't compelled ta kill when feedin', 'less'n ya wanna focus on that compulsion."  He ran a hand over his hair, then looked at Anne again.  “Usually, I feed from donors.  Like ya've heard me mention tanight. But all my donors'er willin’ people.  An’ I usually like ta feed durin’ sex.”  He gave her a sly, almost flirtatious grin.  “Though I don’t hafta feed durin’ sex; just more fun that way. Heightens the whole experience. Also, I do need ta eat. Regular food an’ drink. Alcohol's just one a'my vices," he laughed. "So, like I said - livin’ vampire..”

He refilled his glass with the Jack and took a drink, looking at her once again. He checkd her aura, searched her eyes, sent out his "feelers" to check to hope he wasn't scaring her away or making hr think he was crazy.

Tolaas continued. "We can’t turn inta bats, can't turn inta mist; nothin' a'that nature.  We got heightened senses, an' heightened abilities - stronger’n humans.  Now, I can die - like, actually die die.  I can get a mortal wound an’ bleed ta death if’n I ain’t got enough blood ‘round ta help the healin’ process.  If'n ya cut off my head, I’m a corpse.  Stab me in the heart - well, ya ain’t gotta use a stake fer that one.  If'n ya stab me in the heart an’ I’m dead, period.” He shrugged and raised his hands.

"And, like all Livin' Vampires, I’m a empath.  Meanin’ I can pick up on exactly what someone else is feelin’.  Now, I can’t read minds… but alotta the time, what someone is thinkin’ usually correlates ta what they’re feelin’.  So, in an odd way, that sometimes forms images in my head.  So, telling ya what yer thinkin’?  Just a’offshoot a’what yer feelin’.  Because, I can see an' read auras.  Which usually tells me a nit more 'bout the person. What their thoughts'er doin' ta their auras - seein' the spikes and hills, swirlin' colors, ebbs an' flows - it can show me whether they're human er not, and this ability, 'long with my empathy, can help me pinpoint on whether her not someone is lhyin' ta me, whether er not someone's not such a nice person, ya know, stuff like that.” Another drink from his glass.

He didn't notice that while he was telling Anne this, he had moved a bit closer to her. What he was telling her was, in an odd sense, sort of intimate. Which made his body react, because he was definitely attracted to her. Their legs were touching.

Tolaas continued. “That’s purdy much it, save fer the sun.” He gestured vaguely upward.  “Now, I don’t become vampire flambe,” he laughed.  “But the longer I’m out in direct sunlight, the sicker I can get - get sorta heat sickness quicker’n a human would.  In the shade?  I’m purdy much fine.”

He gave a shrug.  “There ya have it, darlin’.” He smiled at her. "Now the rest is up ta you. Ya can choose ta believe me, er ya can choose ta believe I'm insane. But no matter what ya choose, I'll give ya this promise - I am notta danger ta ya." He nodded toward the door and then looked back to her, eyes locked. "Yer also free ta leave whenever ya want. If ya think ya need ta get 'way from me. An' I won't be offended, I promise."

@frombehindpaleeyes

At her question, he grinned even wider. "They're real," he said. "It's what happened when ya've been sired, when ya become a Livin' Vampire."

He scooted closer to her, his knee touching her leg. "Feel," he said, opening his mouth for her.

"I can tell ya all 'bout Livin' Vampires, if'n ya wanna know?" he gave a light shrug. "Whether ya choose ta believe it er not is up ta you, but I'ma tell ya now - pay attention ta the world 'round ya from now on. Ya've met a supernatural bein' an' been brought inta his world. Yer eyes have been opened, an' so has yer mind, whether er not ya feel it. Yer gonna start seein' more a'the world than ya bargined fer." He gave a smirk and a chuckle.

"So... Livin' Vampire. Feel like hearin' a explanation?"

@frombehindpaleeyes

[beezoobledoodles]

(So this is a genuine review and just general thoughts on Rise! Of The Tmnt because I just wanna rave about it. Also this is being written at 3 am so excuse any incoherentness, also this qll just my personal opinion on the show+movie :3)

Rise Of The Tmnt is ny favorite series to date. (Aside from TOH but that's beside the point.)

I think Rise is a perfect culmination of character,

Section one:

character analysis part 1: Raph

I love raph, he's the best depiction of his own character plus the best older brother I've ever seen ever in any media. He's soft and kind most of the time but very serious when he needs to be, he's very loving and understanding, I love every scene he's in he's just... a delight to have. Also I love alligator snapping turtles and the fact they just made one be the opposite of mean and well angry is a very pleasant surprise especially from his 2012 counter part. Infact Rise!raph is a much more easier set of character design. I genuinely like that he's buff and strong and could crush literally anything and everything but he has just so much care and tenderness that he doesn't.

Raph is literally the definition of "big man big emotions" and the "big emotions" part comes from the fact that he just loves his family, he may be confused at times but I love that he takes time to understand something! Unlike his 2012 counterpart.

His care can be obviously seen when draxum drops Leo off the building roof. Him using his power power saving Leo's life.

2012 raph is just the worst. I'm sure there's....something in him but I didn't find him appealing nor a good character so the departure of the basic teadmilling on brute and abusive that they hashed into 2012 raph from rise is a very pleasant and nice experience.

Rise raph is a the definition of a gentle giant. Like he's so much taller and bugger tha everyone around him! And it's great!!

I have no complaints with rise raph. I love him. I move thats he's just a huge dork. Also that whole bunny episode was just.....actually unsettling. But it slightly unclear if he was either afraid of bunnies or puppets (but that might be me nit picking up on context clues) Conclusion: i like raph and the fact they went with the gentle giant approach and that they made him the eldest and the leader was such a departure. But I think the only real criticism i have is the fact that he's very brash and rushes into things way to fact (but then again so am I so who am I to talk lmao)

Character analysis part 2: Donnie

At first I didn't really have any feelings towards him, at first I didn't really like him but that was baseless cynicism but after finishing the series in its entirety I really enjoy donnie, he's just fun. He's a better version of his original counterparts (including 2012) his baseless cynical optimism can be enjoyed anytime he's screen. Also. I've never seen a character mug for the screen as much as Donnie except gloriosa daisy and lord helmet from spaceballs.

I think Donnie works better in a duo match especially paired up with someone completely opposite like Leo and Mikey.

You can definitely see that he cares even though he's just like an emotionless static man but I think the line of him saying "copper daddy" will never not be funny to me.

Also you can definitely see his genuine care in the episode "Donnies Gifts"

His departure from his 2012 counter part is so much better because he doesn't go along with raphs omnipotent bullshit and infact finds his own solutions before admitting that he was "wrong" but I guess that's his amounted characterization of "burnt out gifted kid who wants tk hear his father's proud of him just once" he's not a liability or stubborn (or more stubborn) as his 2012 counter part.

My only real complaint is that they didn't make more dock ock references. They had perfect opportunities.. (other than it being set in new york) he has the octo pack and the metal claws I don't see how they COULDNT make a dock ock reference. But I do enjoy donnie.

Note: do not give him uranium.

Character analysis part 3: Leo

Leo is a much different story, he's not as gritty or serious as his 2012 counter part. Infact his counterpart took to seriously and was part of the trope of tragic leader (in slight defense he was given leader trauma at a young age that's not his fault) but rise Leo just. He's just the most.

I like that he doesn't take things as seriously as he should just makes for an even funnier scenario. The fact that dan(if im correct, someone can correct me on this later) voices him is just fucking amazing.

Leo is just hilarious in every scene he's in (Also I forgot to mention this hyt the fact that everyone is in agreement, my self included that Donnie and leo are both twins is just also funny in its own right)

But like raph, leo can handle serious situations when he needs to and his acceptance of near death in the movie is just really fucking sad, it definitely made me feel an emotion I didn't expect.

I admire the fact that he's a baseless idiot with little to no self regard is just kinda funny especially in episodes like shell in the cell.

Leo isn't exactly my favorite but I do enjoy him when he's on screen.

Character analysis part 4: Mikey

Question. Is it infantilization if I call an autistic 12 year old cute? I mean that in a grandma pinching your cheeks and gives you cookies type way.

Rise mikey is such a refreshing Harbour of characterization. He's just a ball of fun I love him! He's qlso quite literally the baby of the family. And rightfully so. Im surprised they didn't do more with him.

Frankly I think mikey is the only one with less screen time than the other three, his relationship with raph and Donnie is drastically so much better.

Considering his relationship with raph in the past ((2012)) has not been the best I'm glad they didn't bring that whole mess back.

I found rise mikey so much more enjoyable to be on screen and to experience. His technical and literal "child like demeanor" is just overall really adorable and i just wanna hold him! I mean LOOK AT HIM!!

Also his dynamic with raph is so wholesome and healthy and I wish they'd show more of their dynamic.

His and donnies dynamic is refreshing in hindsight especially everytime Donnie calls him "micheal" is just such a sibling thing.

Mikeys soft orange color is so nice on the eye it makes him stand out better from the others

(that was also the other problem from his 2012 counter part was that 2012 Mikey was also smaller than his brothers but he was also kinda...bland...there was so much more that they could've done with him but he was ultimately treated with the side carred "annoying little brother" routine they shoved down into private from penguins, I wouldn't be surprised if thetook inspiration for him and raphs relationship from private and skippers abusive relationship considering they came out the same time but that's beside the point)

Rise mikey has just so much more to him, his care for his family, his artistic approach, the fact that he has a very decorative undershell (the stickers? He has) are a very nice pigment to his character (very simple but recognizable) his scene in the hidden city and the line "he made me, he made us" just hit so hard especially for being the youngest in his family, he doesn't understand as he and is almost but not completely absent minded, i think the closest thing to "absent minded" he comes tk is in the library episode but that's just that one episode.

He's just ultimately trying his best sometimes forgetting he's not exactly the only one in the room just makes for a fun time.

Also his almost self sacrifice in the movie was heart breaking. He just wanted to save his older brother! His panic and genuine fear when he and Donnie were stuck in the tank was just.... ouch. It heart..

Also this scene

He's just so tiny.

Anyway. I like Mikey. I just wanna hold him and give him head Pat's.

Character analysis part 5: April O' neil

I love april. She's just so much.

I love her over exuberant energy, the fact that she's ready to just beat ass at any moment is hilarious.

Her dynamic with the turtles is just so wholesome. She's a wonderful character, she felt almost perfect she's not a complete disaster and she doesn't have the creepy thing between her and Donnie (*cough*2012*cough cough*) she's just her own character and i love her. I have nothing else to add. I have no real criticism of April. Only the fact that she's better in every way compared to every April that came before her.

Character analysis part 6: Splinter

So. It's time to talk about Splinter.

Honestly.... my first time seeing Splinter I never really thought of him, I thought his reveal as Lou jitzu was hilarious but it similarities on being a yoshi hamato was nice knowing he had some relevancy to rises story.

While Splinter isn't exactly the "Best" character, he's a very...interesting character and i like the silly rat man.

That's the thing, Splinter doesn't exactly HAVE TO BE serious and gritty all the time. I like rise Splinter for the fact that he is silly and goofy, he acts like a dad on a sugar crash and it's great.

He's paced like uncle Iroh if he were written like season 8 Celestia just without the basic wise cracks and advice (I mean unless you count the end of season 1 and the entirety of season 2)

Splinter was just... I liked him he was funny.

Character analysis part 7:

Casey Jones jr.

I like hi. He was great axpostion for the movie, his trauma of the dystopia ruined city of "new york" 2077 when the kraang took over is very evident and his joy of actual food is just very heartwarming.

I definitely prefer rise Casey Jones over any of his counterparts becomes he's not an inclosed asshole. Also the whole reveal of his line at the end of the movie of "THATS MY MINE" sent me laughing.

(Also before we get to the next segment I wanna mention I like Todd. He's funny and hilarious, I love his friendship with mikey i loved Todd's introduction he was just so funny.)

Segment 2:

Villian analysis part 1: Rupert Swaggart

They just made a more Cockney Cocky gordan Ramsey but some how made him worse, he wasn't a bad villian he was.....just....ehh I didn't hate nor enjoy him... they could've done more with him but what that more is I don't exactly entirely know... I found his design okay?... there's not much to add with meatsweats. (I'm starting out in "order" so now starting with the villians with the least impact)

Villian analysis part 2: Repo mantis

He's a repo man. I found him hilarious nit as hilarious as the others but hilarious nonetheless. Nothing more to add.

Villian analysis part 3: hypno-potomus:

Hypno was the more fun villian, he was definitely more of a villian than anyone else, going as far as to almost KILL the turtles is his dabue episode. *shrugs* I enjoyed him on screen.

Villian analysis part 4: the foot clan

They weren't reall. Villians, they were just doing what they were told to do since their clan was first made to do in the first place, that was made very clear especially in the movie.

Villian analysis part 5: Baron Draxum.

I love draxum!! I will shout it from the rooftops. I love draxum as a villian (even though that's a barely qualifiable contender) and I loved him even more as a redemptive scouling father figure. Especially so more than season two.

But draxum is just one ham and cheese sandwhich!! He's like discord but less chaos and more just CHEESE! ALSO! he's got deer feet. And i love that for him.

I love his relationship with Splinter and their "rivalery" he's just fun. Also his hesitant human acceptance is funny especially when interacting with April.

Also he has zero hesitation in his body.

Villian analysis part 6: The Kraang

oh ew oh God. What the fuck?! God their gross but I guess they have to be right? Compared to their 2012 counterparts. They look even more alien like. Just..more disgusting.

Also the scene where they just kinda pull an RE7 and fucking mold raphs body is so fucking disgusting but also really cool. I'm surprised they didn't manipulate his strength. But Also I HATE the kraang with a burning passion. Jesus Christ.

But they did what they were supposed to do. They were there to take over earth, the took over the basic empire state building. Traumatized three children made raph pull and Ethan winters while also traumatizing their best friend(s) and father figures while also being fucking evil and loving every single second of it.

The kraang were by definition: narmy as fuck and I loved it. But also fuck the kraang I hate them.

On a side note CASSANDRA IS THE FUCKING MOST AND I LOVE HER!!!

Overall I think Rise might be the beat adaptation of the tmnt story by far. I mean like unless something equally if not better comes along but we'll see. Next time I'll do a full review of 2012 since I still have a bone to pick but overall I enjoyed rise.

20/10 will watch. maybe I'll do a 10 words or less review later. Anyway goodnight hope you enjoyed my senseless ranting I'm gonna pass out now.

[hoseokslefteyebrow]

“ Don't worry, you're safe now.” || Homicidal Lui

Pairing : Yandere! Homicidal Lui X Reader

Genre : Fluff, Angst, Yandere

Summary : In which insane meets broken.

Wordcount: 2k lol

WARNINGS : Yandere ;), someone dies but it's not very gore or sum, he's already insane, but in here he loses even more sanity, abusive household.

Headcanon

Aight so to start it off, you didn't know Lui before he developed Sully

Or knew him in general, that you didn't either

You met Lui in a very odd way.

You met him at the drugstore, simply because you needed toothpaste and he needed whatever.

At this moment Lui was Lui, not Sully who tended to take over control more than what was supposed to.

You had accidentally bumped into him  in one of the aisles, and unlike most people who'd stop to stare at his face, you simply apologized and went on with your life.

This of course is the most normal action for basically every humane person, but for someone who was looked down upon due to his facial features and his silence, it was the start of something.. 

That might be growing into one big disease.

How Sully met you was in the most stereotypical way, he had simply come to kill you, not knowing who you are.

Sully had never been very picky on who to kill, he simply broke in, outed his frustration, and left.

That was the original plan with you too, at least for Sully's part.

Until he was straddling you, knife pressed to your throat, and realized you were actually very much awake.

You weren't screaming at him to get off, yet he could see the fear in your eyes.

Maybe it was because his hand was on your mouth, and so he decided to play a little.

And so took his hand off, yet you still didn't scream.

After a moment of doing nothing, he sat back, rather calmly, placing his full weight on your body and looked at you curiously.

Much to his confusion, you didn't really react, just keeping eye contact, fear filling up your irises even more

" Ar- aren't you g-going to kill, me?" You ask him in a shaking voice, unable to keep yourself from stuttering.

By the sound of your voice, Sully switches forcefully into Lui, and you can only watch in fear and confusion what's happening around you.

Because it does look rather terrifying, a man first sneaks into your house, and is suddenly at you with a blade in your neck, and as you speak, he throws himself off you, and is now holding his head in his hands, blade fallen to the ground with a loud sound.

You flinch as the unknown male to you also drops to the ground, mumbling to himself.

The sound of his knees hitting the ground must've been loud, because soon after the hallway lamp is turned on, and you hear the sound of footsteps approaching.

And then you're shaking Lui, and you're telling him to hurry up and leave, apologizing along with it.

By the sound of even more in your stuttering voice, even Sully becomes quiet.

And so Lui actually takes the moment to study you.

Now with the dull light from the hallway, you appear to be injured.

He's not sure how bad it is, but there's blue and purple spots dancing all over your skin.

Underneath your thin white shirt, he can even spot a very nasty black one, and suddenly he spots the scars on your arms too.

He's brought back to the scene in front of him when your voice has turned into panic as someone tries to open the door to your room.

He doesn't even process what he's doing before he's pushing his knife, which he had picked up from the ground, into your hands.

" You need it more than us."

And then he's gone, trough the window into the streets.

You flinch when your father opens the door, knowing what you're in for.

He returns to your room the next night, not sure as to why himself.

He's left disappointed when your room is empty, tough his knife, which he had left behind, is clean and on the pillow, on top of a paper.

Upon picking it up, he realizes it's a note.

' I'm not sure if you'll ever come back, but here's the knife you left behind, you told me I'd need it, but I really don't.' 

He looks around the room, spotting a pen in the corner on the ground, and decides to write you back.

' what's your name?'

The next night he returns again, hoping he'd get an answer.

Instead, he's met by an empty bedroom once again.

He doesn't know why, or how, but for the first time in a while, he feels disappointment spread in his chest

Due to Lui feeling a little down, Sully's easily able to take over, and he walks them into the forest.

Sully doesn't know why either, but suddenly he's in a part of the forest they're not familiar with.

And then he hears the sound of a twig breaking behind him, and he's turning around.

He's shocked to find you standing there.

He can see the fear in your eyes, but is surprised to see that there's less of it than last time he saw you.

Your posture is also relaxed, and then he realizes, you're not afraid of him.

He's not sure on how to feel by that.

" My name's Y/N." You tell him dryly.

He's blinking, not sure what you mean, before he's stumbling again, switching back to Lui by the sound of your voice.

" I'm- I'm Lui, he was Sully." Lui stutters.

You turn your head at him in curiosity.

" He? Is there a voice in your head?" You ask him, tough it doesn't sound like you're mocking him, simply asking him a question.

" Ah, no. I have a split persona." He tells you, somewhat awkwardly.

" What's that like?" You ask him.

By that simple question alone, you've made him feel human, like a guy his age.

Sully doesn't like it one bit, this feeling you're giving the both of them.

The three of you end up meeting near the forest for the next few weeks.

Over those weeks, Lui and Sully get to know you better.

And get to know Lui too, tough Sully keeps himself shadowed.

He's always in the back of Lui's mind, of course, whenever you're around, Lui feels like Sully's just, closer.

He doesn't know why, and he's worried about that.

It's not until you don't show up unannounced like usual, that Sully makes an appearance again.

She might not want to see us today, Sully, maybe we should give her space. Lui tells his other persona.

She's ours, Lui, can't you see that? And we can just call it a visit, she can tell us off if she wants. Sully tells Lui, who's still not into the idea.

We're going. And with that he takes control.

Once they arrive, Sully's happy to have taken control over the situation.

The moment he hears your voice he freezes.

The sound of it isn't melodic and relaxed, instead, it's trembling and weak.

Sully doesn't like it.

He originally didn't plan  to intervene, but when the sound of something breaking reaches his ears, he's quick to check it out.

The scene in that greets him makes the already burning fire rage on even worse.

Because a few meters away from him, at the other end of the hallway is where you are cowering in front of an older man, who's got a broken bottle in his hand, glass shards around the two of you, and your arms in front of you to protect you from, what must've been, the blow which the whiskey bottle had given you.

Sully's not the only one who's seeing red.

Kill him. 

It's Lui who's giving out the command this time, to end this man's life.

But then you see him and you're quick to run to him and pull him away from the scene.

Sully blushes at the contact your skin makes with his.

" I'm sorry you had to see that. Are you okay?" You ask him tenderly.

He blinks at you.

You were the one who received the blow, there's a thin trail of blood trailing down your arm, and you're standing in shorts in cold weather, yet you're asking him if he's okay?¿

" Who was that fucker?" He asks instead, not even bothered to ask if you're okay.

Because he knows, no matter what your answer is, you're not.

" My father. But, it's not his fault. He- he was drunk." You tell him softly, truly not meaning your abusive father any harm.

" Tch." Sully doesn't even say anything before he shrugs his jacket off and unceremoniously dumps it on top of your head.

" Wear it. It's cold." He tells you, acting like some kind of low budget tsundere.

" So you're Sully?" You ask him.

That catches him off guard.

" How did someone as dumb as you know?"  He asks you.

" I'm not dumb. And Lui usually blushes a lot more." You tell him, putting his jacket on.

Sully's lowkey impressed by the answer, and your attitude.

And so you finally get to know him too.

It takes a lot of convincing, but at the end of the day, your father lives.

Over the next few days, you grow even closer with the two of them.

And subconsciously, Sully becomes a little too fond of you.

It's during the daytime one day when Sully and Lui talk about this feeling both of them have for you.

It doesn't take a long conversation, and they decide to confess to you that night.

However, they're left disappointed, and angry, as you turn them down.

Lui thinks it's because of his scars, while Sully thinks you're feeling too bound down by your father.

The real reason ( and the one you've told them) is that it's because you simply don't like him that way.

The next few nights they don't show up, which leaves you disappointed.

You're not aware of the big, bloody mess you've created.

After a few toughs , Sully comes with a suggestion to make an end to your misery, and to free you from your father's abusive hold, permanently.

Lui is at first against this, after all, you did tell him to not do that, but after some persuasion of Sully, he's in too.

That night, they show up at your house, greeting you by stepping in trough the window.

You're not the first house they're 'visiting' that night, and so you start to cry when you see him all bloodied up, sharp eyes telling you that he's nit here for a visit.

Your first tough is that he's come to kill you, because you turned him down of course.

However, as he spots the tears escaping your eyes, he's quick to come to your side and hush you.

" Don't worry sweetheart, we've come to free you."

And then he's walking into the hallway, and moving to another room.

You're quick to understand his intentions.

He's come to kill your father.

The first two rooms he checks out are a fail, one being the bathroom and one being a study.

However, Sully is annoyed when you stand in his way, trying to avoid his kill.

You're a little stronger than you look, and manage to keep him off the other male in the room for a while.

While Sully initially did not want to hurt you, he decides against his own decisions, and knocks you out with the hilt of his knife.

You hear him mutter something along the lines of " Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." 

When you wake up again, you're placed on an uncommon bed, Lui, or Sully, at your side, softly looking over you with a crazed look in their eyes and a sickly sweet smile.

" Don't worry, we're safe now."

A/N: Tell me what you think about this writing style, and what I can write better ;). Also, Creepypasta requests are still open.

[heartshards]

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the broadway version basically the first Frozen film, so essentially connected to the second one as well? So shouldn't you be using a faceclaim who's Sami?

god I've literally been back for less than 24hrs

ahem. so yes, the musical is more-or-less the first film expanded upon. and yes, Frozen 2 does confirm Anna & Elsa are half-Northuldran on their mother's side. and yes, Walt Disney Studios has confirmed the Northuldra, the indigenous population trapped by the mist in the enchanted forest, are partially based on Norway's Sami people.

now I'd like to point out a few things.

first, I have been writing Elsa since 2013, when the first movie came out. I have used Lily James as a secondary/modern/as-needed faceclaim since that time. second, I situate Arendelle in modern/"real-world" verses in Denmark, since Frozen is based on The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen, a Danish author. third, and I cannot stress this enough, Arendelle and the Northuldra are fictitious, they are not exact representations of any one indigenous population, rather, as the studio has said, they can represent the subjugation of many different indigenous persons across Europe and North America. using any one particular indigenous actress might come close, but nothing would be 100% accurate to a people that was invented for animation. they are not, for example, absolutely based on real Columbian people like the characters of Encanto.

yes, Elsa is half-Danish and half-Northuldran, but she's also not entirely human at all – she is a spirit gifted to Arendelle in somewhat human form. if we want to get into the nitty-gritty of genetics, she wouldn't have blonde hair with her parents. it's scientifically impossible.

now I want to be clear I'm not trying use ~magic~ as an excuse to whitewash. I just think it's a bit odd to have someone jump in my inbox not 24 hours after I come back to writing Elsa and point out a faceclaim I barely even use. 90% of my icons are icons of the various musical actresses from bootlegs of the show. I only chose Lily back in the day because I felt she had the right expressions/mannerisms/costumes for Elsa. no, she isn't Danish, but as someone of white European descent, I wouldn't care if a British person played me when I'm technically Dutch. I will say straight out I am not of indigenous descent, so I won't speak for any such community, but I am also aware actresses that are half-Sami are pretty few and far between. if someone wants to suggest one to me that might work for Elsa, I am very open to it! but I want to circle this back to the fact that I really don't use icons super often anymore anyway. half my partners are iconless so I am moving more in that direction.

also, just as an aside, actresses of several different races and ethnicities have played Elsa and Anna and their parents in the musical, because it is a fictional, magical world. yes, based on the real one, but nonetheless, having a black Elsa or Anna or a Filipino Anna or a Japanese Elsa (all of which we have had in the stage show) hasn't undermined the story.

I would never claim Elsa's connection to the Northuldra is anything other than very important to her character, but I think nit-picking this element of my blog I don't even use often feels to me a bit more performative than actually helpful, especially when sent as an anon and not approaching as an actual conversation. I am always available via DM if you'd like to chat, though.

[syubub]

Yoongi birthday reading/energy check!!

It's sweet sweet tangerine bois birthday!!

I wanted to do a cute little energy check up to see what's up and ask some fun little questions!!

I'm excited so let's just do this shit!!

Disclaimer: this is for entertainment purposes and not to be taken as fact!!

---

I want to apologize for the absolute shit pictures but what's new lol

So, let's start with the platform. First thing I noticed was the blue was brighter but the platform was darker? It was like someone cranked up the contrast to 100. Ngl it looked pretty cool. Yoongis platform doesn't typically have a barrier like some of the others do so I just kinda walked in and did the whole, "happy birthday, I have questions" His energy seemed a lot more... vibrant? And playful I guess? It was really nice. Now. The actual connection was intresting because the cord was blue again and like, real thick. (I don't think my perceived thickness of the cord has and real correlation with how strong the connection is. It was just thicc) this time though, the cord was connected at the chest instead of the third eye. So i was like, ??? But my guide didn't give my any sort of helpful input (my guide likes to watch me suffer in my confusion. I'm sure of it)

Anyway, cord like that and then yoobi gave me a headbutt to connect at the third eye. Idk why he gotta be like that :( istg next time he's gonna flick my forehead or something.

I was like "cool cool cool. I want to do the reading now pls" and idk how to explain the energy other than sassy. You know? Blah blah blah I'm thinking, "I don't remember him being so cheeky but maybe I've been gone long enough for him to level up into his final sass monster form"

Anywho, this was intresting because after the little strings were connected and stuff, we plopped down on the floor. And it was like everything I was doing irl was being mimicked infront of yoons energy? So we were sitting facing eachother and I was putting the cards down between us?? Usually that doesn't happen but it was kinda fun!!

Moving right along. I first asked if there was anything he wanted to say or needed to get across and it was 11. Now, 11 has come up before and I'm still not to sure what it's in reference to? My best guess is possibly he's been seeing 11:11 or that it's 2? Idk let me know if you have any clues lol. Other stuff was just kinda banter and stuff.

So so so.

The reading. First thing I asked was how he was doing. And I shuffled his preticular way (when I ask a question I always ask for the energy to tell me how much to shuffle or when to stop. For yoongi it's always 2-2-2. So 2 bridge shuffles, 2 hand shuffles and then split the pile in 2. That's why I think 11 might be 2 to him?)

The cards we got are ace of swords rev, justice,the heirophant rev, the empress.

So based off this I was like okay. I want to pull clarity cards for the two rev cards to get a better picture so I pulled the emperor rev for ace or swords rev and strength rev and wheel of fortune rev for the heirophant rev.

Starting with the ace of swords rev, and the emperor reverse. It seems like yoongi has been re thinking his relationship to control in his life. That's he's possibly noticing any unhealthy needs to control his life and the situation around him. It could also refer to his judgment being clouded by a rigid approach.

With the justice card it makes me think that he's possibly considering a big choice in his life or that he's really doing some deconstructing of his own views. This second idea fits in well with him getting clarity on some possibly unhealthy control issues in his life.

Now. The heirophant rev, strength rev and wheel of fortune reverse. This was intresting to me bc they are all major arcana. The heirophant rev can really talk about no longer needing outside approval and making your own way in your own time bc you are your own teacher. Strength in rev I kinda read as self doubt and feeling down in this case. Like a lack of confidence in himself and his abilities. And the wheel of fortune in reverse I took to mean as his breaking cycles. All together these cards kinda paint a picture about wanting and trying to break a cycle of self doubt and self limiting beliefs and learning more about himself and why he think what he does about himself and searching through everything for truth. It's really good!! In short he's doing some nice soul searching and trusting himself to guide his own way through this self discovery!

The empress! This card seems to pop up for yoobi a lot and I think it really speaks to the abundance that surrounds him! Not just money but the abundance of creativity, love, friends ect.

Now now now. I asked him if there was anything that he wanted to tell us about himself or bts or what's happening in the near future. For that I got 2 of cups, king of wands and 3 of coins.

So the 2 of cups is partnership. Usually romantic. Could be pertaining to the may 13th thing that is ever present lol but I'll get to that later. With the 3 of coins talking about teamwork, this could definitely hint at collaborations coming up!! That's the vibe I get. No one crush my dreams. And for the king of wands it could be talking about taking the reigns on a new project and starting to get it done. Like a new opportunity. This could be a new bts project like starting a new campaign or new venture or maybe personal like the a mixtape or doing more songs for other groups ect.

I had to ask him how he was feeling about the grammys. I had to. Had to. The cards were ace of wands, 2 of wands and death reverse. When these came flying out I could help but smile. Yoongis energy was almost giddy too!

Witht he ace of wands

It's that spark of creativity and inspiration. It's that feeling when you get super excited over some new thing. I think this is the perfect example for feeling reinvigorated. The 2 of wands takes that spark from the ace and tries to funnel that excitement and newness into something directional. Using that burst of creativity to start planning for future progress!! Its so nice to see that! If they don't win (IF) you bet we're gonna get some bangers about a corrupt system. If (WHEN) they do win we'll get bangers about how thankful they are to have gotten where they are in spite of a corrupt system. I just want to hear an uncensored version of yoongi being like, "HOLY FUCKING SHIT, WE DID IT BITCHES. FUCK ALL YOU BASTARDS THAT SAID WE COULDN'T."

I can dream....

What a nice dream.

Now I asked if there was anything yoobi wanted to say to us as in advice or comfort or anything like that and I got, Clearing negativity, make time for self care, when I'm tuned into the energy of abundance I become abundant. when I'm in a state of appreciation im in vibrational alignment with my true love nature. The world rev, 2 of swords rev and that project, that person, that idea is waiting.

Awe. Take care of yourselves!! Make sure to take time to enjoy what you like and try not to let any negativity get in the way of you enjoying your days. The world rev to me seems to be talking about seeking closure on the things in your life that have been impacting you. Tie up those loose ends so you can move foward without triping over yourself and 2 of swords rev I think talks about information overload and being kinda indecisive bc of that. Take a sep back to evaluate the situation at hand because sometimes it's so close you can't see what you're looking for. Those of you who are studying and getting frustrated because you just can't seem to get it, try taking a step back and doing something to take care of yourself and come back to it so you can approach with a clearer mind. Try not to get stuck or paralyzed by choice but if you do get stuck, take some time to detach yourself from the situation and come back later!

A fair few people wanted an update on yoobis soulmate as well. If you need a refresher here's the run down. Yoongis soulmate is impossible for me to read, yoongi is a smug ass and I'm nosy and probably a little dumb.

Now that that's cleared up

I asked, "am I missing something?" (As to why I can't connect and why yoongi won't give me answers.)

I got queen of cups, magician and the high priestess. I read this as him being like, "yeah dude, you aren't woke enough"

YOONGI just give me answers pls. The high priestess is intuition and sacred knowledge, the magician is manifestation and the queen of cups is also intuition.

At this point I was like, okay you little shit, can you at least tell me how your soulmate is doing? Can you do that for me?

2 of cups, 2 of pentacles, 9 of wands and knight of wands. 2 of cups is partnership usually romantic, 2 of pentacles is priorities and managing them, 9 of wands persistence, knight of wands motivation for a new thing. His soulmate last time was in the process of going through some shit and figuring it out and it seems like now they've got a better clue of how to move foward and are currently heading towards good things/ important things in their life (possibly like working towards dream career or had an idea for a business the want to start or field they want to go in.)

I was thinking about the next question when this popped into my head, "if you know about your akashic book, do you know about your soulmates? Have you read it?" I used my pendulum. No movement at all. What so ever. "Are you listening to me?" Yes. "So answer my question please" No. "Do you like to watch me suffer?" Maybe. "Do you know the answer to the question" yes.

YOONGI WHY

This cheeky son of a bitch.

Now I was like, fuck it. Imma ask him the big boi question.

"Is your soulmate present when I do these readings?" Yes.

WHY THE FUCK CAN I NIT PICK UP ON IT???

I had to take a deep breath dude. Yoobi is testing my nerves.

"Are they hiding their energy?" No.

I was actually gonna combust. This makes no sense.

I asked yoongi if he would tell me what I'm not getting. Silence. So i ask my guide.

"lol ur dumb"

Watch me Google "how to fire your spirit guide"

Istg this feels like some dumb prank. Maybe I'm just genuinely oblivious to his soulmates energy or maybe I'm just doing something.

What do you want to bet that his soulmate is just hiding under the platform and I'm too stupid to notice or some dumb thing like that.

yoobi, sir, why must you do this?

I decided to continue.

"What message or thing have you learned from your soulmate recently that could be valuable to us?" I got healthy communication in relationships and deep replenishment.

Good to know you can have a nice communicative relationship with your soulmate bc I CAN'T.

I'm petty about it, sue me.

The message does stand though. Good communication and taking proper rest to replenish yourself.

Now I had to ask yoongi directly what he thought of may 13th.

I got the lovers, 7 of swords, the magician and judgement. The seven of swords was intresting and it makes me think there's some extra stuff at play here too. 7 of swords is about getting away with something and deceit. The clarifier was the magician.... this could mean a lot honestly. It could be that maybe yoongi will have his relationship exposed or possibly that maybe him and his soulmate meet but yoongi is disguised? Idk how that would work at all but I'm stumped. There's a lot of variations that this could be. The magician is about manifesting and having everything you need to create what you want. This could possibly mean that maybe he gets a sudden idea that's like, "oh I have to go here right now. Its super important" eventhough he has practice scheduled. So that would let down his team but he would be following his path and it might lead to him meeting his soulmate? Maybe vice versa? Idk let me know what you think??

With the judgement its about inner calling and kinda like the peak. Like shit has been leading up to this moment. With the lovers too it does seem like a union?

I asked him, "but like what's gonna happen on the 13th thought and I got the 10 of cups. Divine love, bliss, alignment, happy mushy gushy shit. This is why I'm so inclined to think that they'll meet on the 13th or things will get serious or their paths finally cross. The cards seem to heavily suggest that.

My dude. Yoongi is really sappy, pass it on.

For the last question I asked yoomgi if there was messages/ advice he had given to his soulmate that we might benefit from.

First step, open your third eye, open your heart, sign from heaven, open your arms to receiving.

A lot of opening lol.

It's good advice though learning to be open and receptive and taking that first step in tackling life or any situation.

Oki. Now for the disconnecting. It was not nearly as strange as it has been in the past. I was just like thanks dude. Again, happy birthday blah blah and I got up to leave. I noticed it looked like we were in sitting in one of those old plastic hoola hoops? Like the pink and yellow ones lol. As I was looking at and and like??? Off to the side the numbers 13, 28, 54. Obvi 54 isn't a date and then I the last yoongi check up there was book pages and I feel like 54 and 28 were the pages?? I'm not actually sure as I'm writing this so I'm gonna check.

Yep I checked. They are the page #s.

So that's intresting.

Other than that though I just kinda left and he was like, "bye" and that's all.

Not as cool as other yoongi adventures but equally as frustrating.

TLDR

Yoongis doing pretty okay and he's a cheeky little shit. My guide like to watch me suffer and yoobi is mushy gushy squishy.

Happy day of birth Syub!!

[commoner-slash-movie-critic]

When Night Is Falling (1995)

dir. Patricia Rozema

This one was recommended to me by @wingedcatninja a little earlier in the week. Thank you! Please feel free to tell me what you thought about it!

I watched this film with some company which means that I had a good laugh while doing so, because, if I'm honest, it was just a tid bit ridiculous to me. Let's get into it.

The movie is about two women, Camille (Pascale Bussières) and Petra (Rachel Crawford). Camille is a mythology professor in a conservative Christian school, while Petra performs in the circus. After randomly meeting at a laundromat, Petra begins... pursuing Camille who, in turn, discovers both her sexuality and a more adventurous part of herself she hadn't known about.

So, okay, here's the thing. It wasn't...bad. It was a little over the top.

First off, it's yet another movie about polar opposites, a match that realistically would never work but it's fiction so you gotta make things exciting, I can't fault it for that. Plus, we gotta take into account that it's set and produced in '95 so, I suppose clichés are to be expected.

Petra begins pursuing Camille rather aggresivelly which, it may've been just me, but it kind of creeped me out? Like, Petra climbed the tree outside Camille's office to say hi, or to look, I'm not sure. And then she sent a toy arrow through her window with a picture of herself and another girl going at it with her phone number on the back in her own, unique way of quite literally sending nudes without the help of the internet.

The cinematography and the landscapes were beautiful though. Some of the directing was just gorgeous.

The thing I noticed most was the dialogue which was just awkward for the most part. Unrealistic, for me. Forced, even. If you heard a lot of this in real life, you'd probably cringe.

(that was just... Why?)

I loved their tenderness. I loved the scene after their sex scene where they're holding each other, talking about Camille wanting to run away to the circus with Petra. As actors, they had a pretty good chemistry when it came to those soft scenes.

Speaking of sex scenes though, I gotta admit, to me the two that took place in the movie seemed excessive. It may just be me, but they seemed a bit too long to the point where near the end I was almost awkward and uncomfortable. It felt like something too private for us to watch to such an extent. But that is just my personal opinion.

I liked the idea of the trapeze parallel. The two women up in the air moving in unison right after the two protagonists have been united.

Camille's boyfriend, Martin, was actually nicely portrayed. The reaction to discovering the woman he'd just proposed to was attracted to women, especially being a not so conservative Christian, was pretty damn unique and interesting and real. I didn't expect it, but I found it so human and realistic and definitely beyond the expectations I had. That was a good scene.

Also, I'm probably nit-picking, but I honestly couldn't care less about that guy, Timothy, or his girlfriend/wife, who were running the circus. They had absolutely no role in the movie. Also excessive. What was that?

The thing I was most bothered by was how quickly it all progressed. That was, what, a total of a week? A week and a half? And somehow they met each other, Camille found out she was gay, proceeded to accept it completely, fall in love with this stranger and run away to the circus. Huh?

Overall... Not a bad movie honestly. There were a lot of awkward moments, a lot of forced dialogue and scenes that kind of made you uncomfortable, but the ending was good and brought everything full circle. Not sleepover worthy. Probably something you'd watch alone when you don't feel like going outside. Would I watch it again? No. Would I recommend it? Eh, not so much. Did I have fun while watching it? Absolutely. But that might been my friends' fault.

I suppose, you have nothing to lose by watching it, but you have nothing to gain either. It's alright. I give it a 5/10.

[gg-astrology]

Hi ! I wanted to ask about your opinion on cusp ? I'm born on the 23th of august so my sun is leo (29'59) but I feel like virgo suit me the most ? I'm quite new to astrology but I already love it so much and struggle a lot already too ;-; I'm just really meticulous about learning it right and you seem so nice ! I hope I didn't bother you too much ! Keep going and have a nice day 💕

Happy belated birthday!! 💕 First of all I hope you had a great day and is enjoying this Virgo season! 💕 You didn’t bother me at all no worries! :) I’m glad you’re loving your astrology journey so far💕 I’m going to try to explain this, but feel free to let me know if you need clarification on anything ok? 💕

[Below cut: ‘Cusps’ + Critical Degrees/Importance of Degrees ]

Just a little bit of preface: You don’t have to learn everything right the first time/say the right stuff all the time, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you ever do that ok? 💕

Honestly (imo) a huge part of astrology is just an on-going process, so there’s a lot of editing involved regarding interpretations/opinions? People can have a lot of different opinions on astrology, it’s just how multi-faceted the (signs/placements) things we’re learning/studying are. That’s part of intaking the information. It’s also the style people interpret/express it outwards that’s different. You can learn things bit by bit and just make it easier on yourself to digest information. And you can make up your own interpretation (that’s meticulous, but forgiving) that way ok? 

Don’t feel like you’re struggling alone, or if you’re taking the hard path by yourself. You can always edit your answer and think about things more, I hope this helps you out a bit/feel a lil bit better about it! Let me know how you feel! Otherwise I’ll just preface it like this because Im nervous and just want to help skdjfns💕

So on to the topic, degrees do matter in astrology. To make matters a little simplier -- if you’re standing at the door you can’t be standing at the window 5 feet away. I don’t think our legs stretch that long, so where it lands is the exact point of where it is. 

If you want a general rule/thing just to make it easier for yourself (in regards to ‘cusps’ and all the confusing stuff), just pay more attention to the degrees/calculating things. You can apply it across the board to your other placements as well (not just the sun, which is where we usually hear the word ‘cusp’ used). 

With degrees, its about the progression of going through the signs, right? Like you can tell when someone is at the end of their Aries Moon by the degree it’s in, but it’s also the lessons the signs gives you/their energy/stages you are in corresponding to those signs. It’s the dialogue between your natal placement and the rulership directly. I had an answered ask about critical point/karmic point if you’re interested in it. It basically outlines the energy these points 29′-0′ goes to and why it has that plutonian effect on it (transformation between the planets/signs in placements). The answer ask applies more for people with 0′ degrees though, I’m going to kind of explain what the difference is between 29′-0′ later (before the end of this ask). 

So similarities between 29′-0′ first: When signs are at 29′ degrees it’s at the final stages of the sign, so the energy is geared towards wrapping things up, doing the final exam. It’s facing the final boss/challenges on the lesson that the sign brings, and learning to conquer it. 

But it’s also talking about new beginnings (karmic point/transformation) so it’s trying to beat that boss while moving into another sign at the same time. Your focus/direction is geared towards the next sign (Virgo) but the challenges you face/have to beat are from Leo in order to prove yourself ready for leveling up.  

Most people give rounding up 29′59 to 0′. There’s a lot of different names for this and most have varying opinion about what it’s called/if it’s actually good or bad. It’s kinda like people either really liking Scorpio/Pluto or really really despise them. Personal opinions and sometimes personal fears.

Most just honestly think it’s kind of layered/complex. Natives who find themselves at that crux point often find them ready/tilting towards the next sign already (29′), but those who are in the sign (0′) might find themselves drowned completely by the multi-faceted problems that the sign’s journey has to face, y know?

So people in this crux will either run away from it or embrace it. It’s a karmic point where you either feel more related to your past (0′) or your future (29′). They’ll find themselves relating strongly to either sign, particularly the core energy that’s usually described in the archetype (like, the typical zodiac/horoscope stuff). 

Watch out for nit-picking the parts they want to relate to and the part they don’t understand. Mostly because other native in the same sign are progressing through parts of that journey (in other degrees of progressions, like 14′-16′, 17′-25′ etc.) that reaches the less seen/unexplored part of the signs that’s not written as their archetype y know? Some difficulties can’t be explained to people who hasn’t been through the same journey (again, past-future). So that’s part of the reason why sometimes, people find themselves feeling different from other natives of the sign, and look for that core-energy to stabilize/give direction to them. (ASC, absent signs in people, intercepted signs, karmic points)

Archetype is like the unsaid part of the sign, a huge area that simplified zodiac/horoscope stuff doesn’t cover. Take Leo for example, there’s a lot of brandishing on the extroverted, leadership qualities of a Leo. But the unexplored part that astrology puts a focus to is the sentimentalism, kind of shy and romantic part of Leo as well. 

So to answer your question about ‘cusps’ in the Sun: Just for the sake of technicalities, there’s only one sun. You can always focus on the part of the journey where you’ll still have to slay the boss (which will resurrect many times) but you’ll also find Virgo manifesting somewhere else in your chart usually. 

It’s at the end/beginning of one sign which makes the energy kind of pointed into a focus (transitioning stage).  

Also another thing: karmic point or this 29′-0′ makes the native find themselves facing difficulties manifesting certain traits of the planet. Usually it’s because the energy/focus is shifted into driving towards that one sign that you are less aware/focused on your other-- or maybe vice versa. 

But maybe if you’re at 0′ something, it’s also because in side-real you may be the past sign (-23′) so generally there’s a lot of challenges to think and consider about being here (also in trad. astro there’s things about terms/bounds and if you’re interested, that’s also very fascinating to read about since 29′ tends to be the area where we’re restricted somewhat) 

So the lessons you’ve learnt/the challenges you faced are not often focused on bringing what resources/materials you’ve gained already into being used. There’s a disconnection there because your eyes are set on the future, that sometimes you forget to side-step the pothole when you easily can. Or you forgot how to use materials from the past and therefore the future cannot happen. It’s a frustrating position to be in. 

I hope this answers your question and help you somewhat! 💕 If you need further readings that might be easier to understand than my rambling, this astrologyuniverse article is really helpful! 

I hope this isn’t too harsh and I didn’t just? info-dump on you. Feel free to ask me anytime you want a second opinion, I’ll try to help as best as I can? I know the way I explain things can be really whacky so please feel free to ask me to clarify! I can also link u up to some resources if I don’t know stuff! 💕

PS. Also, thank you for commenting/responding to the Namjoon post!! I’ll be sure to add it in and try to address it ok? 💕 And also thank you for sending in the ask in general!! I hope I helped you somehow! 💕