#is it like the smiley face equivalent to upside down emoji? why? they are facing each other

[computer-wizard]

i think someone just blocked me over sending a "(:" in response to a ":)". if you see this i want you to know. i was about to send clarification "they are facing each other" sorry dude if it was bad or offensive i have autism i couldnt tell

[jumblejen]

We Were Always Going to End Up Together - Ch 3

Suptober 22, Day 3: Digital

On AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42237885/chapters/106197975

He didn’t call Dean that night. Nor did he text. Dean tried not to think about it when he silenced his phone to go to sleep. He tried not to be disappointed when there were no missed calls or texts the next morning when he woke up either. Still, it didn’t ruin his day. And upside, he got to tell Charlie she was wrong about how the whole thing was going to go down when he went over to her place for pizza on Sunday. It would have been nice though.

Monday brought his daily routine back and it didn’t take much for the thrill of possibility every time he got a text notification to fade. Zoom meetings bled into emails which bled into the everything he had to get done. Working remotely at least meant he could spin in his chair when he needed a little break. And it meant he could pad around in his socks and comfy pants without anyone raising an eyebrow. There were perks to the digital age.

On the slow afternoon of Thursday, Dean was pleased to hear the ding of a text. Anything to break the way the day had stretched like taffy. If his boss didn’t think it was fun to make surprise calls after 4 to try to catch them not working, Dean would have tapped out an hour ago.

Two messages had come in. An embarrassment of riches. The first was from Charlie trying to wheedle Dean into attending another haunted thing, this time a haunted house. He closed the thread without responding. She knew as well as Dean that he didn’t exactly have a bustling social life. But if he begged off, he’d have to hear about how he was becoming as much of a Halloween Grinch as Sam. Was there a Halloween equivalent? Most of the Halloween movies weren’t really specifically about the holiday as they were just slasher flicks. He’d have to think about that… The second one though, that was from an unknown number, and bonus, it didn’t include a link, so maybe it was even from a real human being. All it said was ‘Hello, Dean.” complete with punctuation which Dean was going to roll his eyes at until he realized that this might be from Castiel. His face softened into a small smile as he texted back “Cas?”.

The response of a smiley face emoji was almost immediate and Dean’s own smile widened. Before Dean could think of what to send in response, another text came through “Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?”

Dean’s smile turned into a full face grin as he texted a thumbs up. They quickly decided to meet at 6 at the Roadhouse and Dean was over the moon. He didn’t know a damn thing about Castiel other than he worked at the haunted maze and was gorgeous, and apparently liked dinner on the early side, which was fine with Dean. It had been a bit too long since he was excited about the prospect of going out with anyone.

Too wired to text Charlie, he called and launched into the conversation with “Guess what?” as a greeting.

“You won powerball and we can both quit our drudgery?”

“Nope, even better!”

“Ooh he called you didn’t he.”

“He texted,” corrected Dean primly.

“Well, better than nothing.”

“People don’t really call each other anymore.”

“Says the guy on the phone.”

“I can hang up?”

“Don’t you dare! What did he say?”

 “I will have to decline your invitation for the haunted house tomorrow, because I have a date at the Roadhouse.”

“Wow. That’s great.”

“You don’t sound like that’s great.”

“I mean, did you get to know each other at all…”

“Isn’t that what the date’s for?”

“It’s just that you tend to be a little…”

“What?”

“Impulsive.”

“You’re saying that meeting him in a public place, where I know the owner is more impulsive than using some dating app? At least I know he’s a real person.”

“You’ve just had some… challenges in your dating life…”

“Why are you trying to make me feel bad about this?”

There was silence on the other end of the phone at first. Dean almost checked to see if the call had dropped when he heard Charlie sigh. “I’m sorry. It’s just that the last few have been a little scary.”

“Yeah I know.”

“I just don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“It’s just dinner Charlie. We’re meeting there and if it will make you feel better, you and I can set up a time I have to text you by to make sure I’m really okay.”

“Promise?”

“Yeah, promise. But you gotta let me be excited.”

“He was pretty dreamy.”

“Damn straight he was.”

“Hopefully not, for your sake.”

Dean burst into laughter, the awkward part of the conversation almost forgotten. He knew Charlie was just looking out for him, but he didn’t want to get bogged down in his past right now. He was going to go out with a cute boy tomorrow night, and that sounded pretty damn good.

[wetalkinboutbooks]

New Year, New Review 🤩

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Summary: The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: The final instalment of the Ember Quartet had us crying in the metaphorical club. It’s exciting, terrifying, and probably the horniest book in the series and we loved it!

~Spoiler-full discussion below~

The Good:

→ Elias and Laia

Geena: In the final instalment of the Ember quartet, Sabaa deprives us of an Elias POV and slaps us with the Soulcatcher instead… He’s very much an ‘emotions are bad’ type of dude, the opposite of Elias who always had so many… but both of them are so angsty? The Soulcatcher really likes to beat up trees when his memories from when he was Elias resurface which was so emo to me. Despite being possessed by Mauth he is also such a coward, especially around Laia, because Elias’ feelings for Laia scare him and every single time he is like *running emoji*. We were surprised that Sabaa let him remain the soulcatcher for so long, every chapter I was like ‘Okay, maybe this is where Elias breaks through…’ but no.. Elias remained buried UNTIL their night in the cabin… the Soulcatcher was like ‘k I’m out’ but ONLY for ONE NIGHT and that still makes me scream.. The Soulcatcher was like ‘you kids are too horny for me, I’m gonna take a nap for a bit and let Elias take over bc Jesus.’ 

Despite it all, the Soulcatcher’s chapters were enjoyable albeit painful because this man was so duty bound, like even Elias wasn’t that dedicated when he was a Mask. But near the end, when we finally get the chapter that starts with Elias…. Ngl I cried a little, and immediately wanted to reread the whole series (I feel like Sabaa did this on purpose to torture us). I want to fight Sabaa though, like she did an amazing job showing how Elias’ conscious and the Soulcatcher’s conscious were constantly fighting one another, and how Elias’ memories of the people he loved ultimately fuelled the Soulcatcher’s actions… even though the Soulcatcher was like ‘I’m doing this for the ghosts’ like okay… no ghost told you to keep protecting and kissing Laia but you still did it…  

Kae: Okay, so Geena summed up my boy Ilyaas pretty damn well. Also, we LOVE HIS ETHNIC NAME IN THIS HOUSE. But um, YES. Elias was a sad boy ™ the whole time while fighting his emotions and ultimately losing. It was so PAINFUL as a reader, seeing all of  his chapters except the ONE say ‘Soulcatcher’. But when it finally said ELIAS again, I too, started to cry. Because he was BACK. 

You can all thank the power of Laia’s determination to seduce Elias back to himself, because our girl was NOT giving up. She said ‘you gonna get this coochie, dammit’ and in the cabin, Elias was like ‘well i’ll be damned. I sure as hell am. I am BACK BAYBEEEEE’

Geena: Sabaa Tahir said horny rights like ksjdnfdsjknfsdk

Kae: AUFVAHLHVKJ. BUT YES. In the end, love won. And so did sex because everyone was doin it or TRYING to do it. I guess when the world is ending, you only get one last time to uhh…. Have a good time. So they made sure they did lmao 

Now, let’s get into Laia. 

Laia. My sweet little cupcake. My mug of tea with too much honey. This girl has been through literal hell and back, and yet, she kept going. She NEVER gave up. Laia woke up in book 4 like ‘Today i will commit crimes. Helene and I crave violence’ and they both just started kicking ASS and I LOVED THAT. I was really happy to see the progression of Laia and Helen’s friendship and how they genuinely grew to like one another and see each other as besties. They both deserved a girl friend and I’m glad they found a friendship within each other. 

Laia is the bravest character in this damn book. She went from poor scholar, to slave, to hero and she was brave because she had to be. Laia is strong and took on their entire world. She had help, but she did a lot of it alone and that takes some real guts. She is the most genuine, sweetest, bravest girl and I love her. <3 

Laia also single handedly brought the Ilyaas back from his Soulcatcher shit. During this whole book she was just like ‘You know what? I think I’mma go mess with Elias’ emo ass today to see if I can get him to kiss me or something’ THEN SHE PROCEEDED TO SHOW UP AT THIS MANS HOUSE (realm or whatever) BUTTASS NEKKID. And he saw her and immediately flew the hell out of there it was TOO MUCH and he LIKED IT but couldn’t admit it. 

Geena: You know what I love about that whole scene was like earlier she was like ‘He’s a lost cause idc’ and then Darin was like ‘Elias wouldn’t give up on you if that happened’ and Laia was like ‘you’re right, he would show up stark naked and try to seduce me back to my body’ and she did just that...

Kae: SHE DID. SHE SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT! Like, her entire mission was to bring Elias back while also planning on taking down the Nightbringer. But she was straight up like ‘okay but not before i get my man back through SEDUCTION’. Ugh, the mango scene?  Superb. 

Geena: Laia is hands down one of my favourite book characters to exist. Her journey from the first book being a scared girl with a missing brother, to being the face of a revolution… like the GROWTH. Like Kae mentioned, she and Helene end up as BESTIIEESSSS, and I was surprised at how natural they seemed. Because we went from them hating each other to close friends, but despite not seeing their development, it came off so natural? So, I loved that! 

Kae covered Laia’s character pretty thoroughly, she was both a horndog and a bad bitch. Like this girl has pretended to be a Slave for the Commandment to travelling a desert by herself and facing off a squad of Jinn… In retrospect, Laia is a unique case, she’s allowed to be kind and caring and doesn’t have to be a fighter type to be strong. She’s not the chosen one, which this book made clear, it could’ve been anyone to fight the Nightbringer… but only Laia was strong enough to love him AND defy him. And I just love her a lot… she was very much an anime protagonist with the power of love, family, and friendship… anyways I love her and that’s all I have to say

→ Helene 

Geena: The way I ended up liking and rooting for Helene this book? Came out of left field. To be honest, in previous books I didn’t feel much for her other than ‘stop chasing after Elias and Laia pls.’ But this book I wanted her to win, especially with the fight against the germanic-esque invaders. She goes through substantial development, no longer seeing Scholars as slaves and taking their opinions seriously.. Like Laia, Musa, and Darin were all a part of her crew. A stark difference from Book 1 Helene, who thought Scholars only had one role in the world and that was slaves. 

Helene… like Laia… really has the Ember equivalent of hot girl summer with Harper… all the time she spends denying it she is like *jumps on him the chance she gets*. The bath scene… Helene’s power was turning her tortuer into her MAN… But also Sabaa said that ‘yes she has changed, but she has to repent for her sins’ and that’s why Helene is basically left alone at the end (save for Laia, Elias, and Musa). 

Kae: So not gonna lie, I never actually disliked Helene. I saw her as the flawed character she was in the beginning. During her cat and mouse chase with Elias and Laia in the beginning, she would piss me OFF because like, that’s your BEST FRIEEEEEND. JUST STAAAAHP. But also, it was him or her and her family's death, so I get it. But I always saw potential in her to be better. And thank GOODNESS she went through all that character development. Because she was a damn menace in the beginning. 

Also like Geena mentioned; Helly and Harper finally hooking up? I swear the heavens opened up in that moment because EVERYONE could feel their tension. LIKE JUST DO IT ALREADY. You can’t fight love, baybeeee

Watching Helly grow as a person was really rewarding as a reader. Like Geena said, she went from hating scholars to being like ‘hmm, maybe my opinions are shitty?’ and straight up changed.  I also feel for her because she lost her ENTIRE family and like, honestly? I would’ve given up. BUT SHE DIDN’T. She’s a literal fighter, bred for this shit. So she FOUGHT. And I was really scared she was gonna get murked because y’all know Keris’ tiny evil ass doesn’t have a chill button. And when they were fighting? I was like LAWD PLS DON’T  TAKE HELLY. But instead he took Harper *upside down smiley face* SO THAT WAS FUCKED UP AND I WASN’T READY FOR IT. But a piece of me knew it was coming. 

The Bad:   

→ Darin and Harper

Geena: As Kae mentioned… Harper kicked the can in this book :’( His eventual fall came from loving and caring for Helene too much, which left him open and gave Keris the chance to stab him. Harper was basically Helene’s heart outside her body, and when he went down so did Helene. I had had a feeling when Book 3 ended that Harper wouldn’t make it, but I WASN’T HAPPY ABOUT BEING RIGHT FOR ONCE… Harper had finally met his brother (Elias) and hadn’t even had a chance to meet the real Elias and talk to him about their father or other sibling stuff. LIKE OF ALL CHARACTER DEATHS… AND THERE WAS A LOT… The other one that came out of left field was fucking Darin of Serra… DARIN… THE ONE DUDE WE SPENT TWO WHOLE BOOKS SAVING… DEAD WITH A SNAP OF HIS NECK!! I WAS SO MAD

LIKE SABAA HAD US THINKING HE WAS GONNA BE SAFE, SHE GAVE HIM A LIL GIRLFRIEND AND EVERYTHING BUT THEN SHE GOES.. AND KILLS HIM?? JUST LIKE THAT?? Then we had to read the scenes where Elias helps both Darin and Harper pass over into the afterlife and I was just *cries angrily* 

Kae: Well, THAT was sad. Have you ever just like, felt your heart break into a million tiny irreparable pieces? That’s how I felt when Darin and Harper died. Because like, they were both trying to save the women they loved. Darin to Laia, (foolishly so against the Nightbringer) but I would do it for my little sister too. And Harper with Helene against evilass Keris. Dude, that shit just sucked. It hurt to read. It hurt to imagine the girls feeling the pain of their deaths. They were both such good men. And DARIIIN. 

Darin didn’t have to go out like that, man. It was such a harsh death. No last words. It was just over and his body was just gone. I wish Laia would’ve been able to talk with him at The Waiting Place at least one last time. But it is what it is. I hated to see both of them go. Especially since Darin pretty much sparked this whole series. 

Sure, Laia, Helene, and Elias were the main characters. But Darin was the spark that started the fire. And he didn’t even get to see it’s flames extinguished. 

Geena: He was the ember in the ashes… literally like Sabaa uses that for Elias and Laia but it applies to Darin the most

Kae: LITCHRALLY gonna get teary eyed over here. Our boys deserved better :( 

Conclusion 

Geena: This was not at all a disappointing end to the series we’ve followed closely for so long. The different plot points and character arcs were tied up nicely, and Sabaa Tahir showed us once again why she’s one of the best fantasy writers on this side of the Milky Way. We didn’t even bother including a ‘The Ugly’ section because we loved it too much ksfmsd. The only qualm I’d have with the end was the empire remaining, Helene recognized the Scholars as equals but centuries of pain isn’t easily forgotten you know? SO THAT’S WHY I THINK WE DESERVE A SEQUEL SERIES… BUT I DIGRESS… OVERALL, I loved this book and the ending for all the characters ESPECIALLY FOR OUR GIRL LAIA <3

Kae: YES. I AGREE 100% WITH GEENA. It was such a beautiful end to the series. Sabaa is  GENIUS and her storytelling is phenomenal. I loved every little surprise she’s hidden in all of the books. ESPECIALLY WITH COOK BEING ALIVE? I DIDN’T SEE THAT SHIT COMING AT ALL. LIKE HOLY SHIT? So Laia had some remaining family afterall, and I think that’s very sweet. I’m really sad to see the series be over with and Geena and I are both *~HOPIIIING~* for an epilogue or some little crumbs or SOMETHING with the gang and how their lives ended up into middle adulthood or something. 

Geena: I would literally take a single paragraph… Ms. Tahir…. Blease…

Kae: But yes, in conclusion, Laia has a heart of gold and we LOVE HER. She’s brave and strong and smart, and was the only one out of THOUSANDS to stick for herself and defy the Nightbringer, and save the whole world. Helene has come a long way and she developed beautifully as a character. And Elias. Ohhh, Ilyaas. His continued self sacrifice and bravery and love still helped him live in the end and I think that’s beautiful. 

[errorsystemfailure]

Questions directed to Finn — What is your favourite colour+general aesthetic and look to go with it? Favourite "emojis"? The ones that are... 🔬🐝💊

You have no idea how good your timing is.

My favourite colour is a fairly even split between blue and purple. Depending on the day it could go either way, but whenever I use heart emojis it’s the blue one, so that probably says something. I just like cool (as in cool vs warm, not. Cool as in neat. That was probably obvious) colours, but I like those best. I remember my favourite colour of VW Beetles used to be the light blue-green ones—I always called them sea foam green. That’s not really relevant, it’s just a good fact.

General aesthetic—when it comes to blue I like. Blue hair. A lot. I’ve dyed my hair blue like three or four times and it’s my favourite look and NOW I want to dye my hair again, damn it. Uhhh. I like those underwater photos that people take? Or those fucking. Water pools in Mexico that you can jump into and they kind of look like portals to another world? I forget what they’re called but I saw a documentary about them once and I still think about them.

When it comes to purple I like orchids a lot??? They’re my favourite flowers; I own one and I’ve personified him to a stupid and vaguely embarrassing amount. Also purple crayons usually blend the best with each other on paper and you can get the best gradient effect with them and I live for that! Uhhh purple hair is also good and usually it fades into blue which is Excellent.

☠️💙🐧are probably my favourite emojis?? I also use this combination 🤘😔🤘a lot because it makes me laugh. My most used emoji is definitely either the thinking emoji or the upside down smiley face emoji.

I’m not sure what the mathematical equivalent of a few is but we’ll call it three and leave it at that. In no particular order, I’d say that three of my favourite words are catharsis, vellichor, and clandestine, which is all going to make me sound ridiculously pretentious, but then I am a bit, so.

Catharsis is mostly because I like the concept. My borderline ass thrives on strong emotions and I’m constantly searching for methods of coping with them because holy shit how does one deal with. That much. I have yet to find a method of proper release for all of them and so haven’t achieved full catharsis yet but. That’s my nirvana. Which is also a good word.

Vellichor is a good word because it’s about. Bookstores. And I really like books. I don’t read as much as I used to because. Attention span is a little shot at present. But I still love books and I love old bookstores and I just. Consonants are good. Also wistfulness! Nostalgia! I am constantly feeling both of those feelings and it’s a real bitch but there’s a WORD for that!

Clandestine, I like because it’s good echolalia. It just. Feels good to say and I repeat it a lot on cycles and it annoys everyone around me but it’s SUCH a good word to say. Hard syllables. I love it. Good shit.

Well wishes back in your direction! Feel free to send long messages any time, I kind of adore things like this. Though I’m not sure how you’ve finagled it so that I’ve written you an essay; I’m fairly certain this was supposed to go the other way around.