#not to mention shes to only plant of the literal 20+ we bought back then that survived that long

[tendebill]

SURE when i water my plant regularly and take care of her she is at rock bottom. call that bitch a sickly victorian child the way she brightens up the room for a day then shrivels up and dies. but the MOMENT i give up on her and leave her to perish OH, SUDDENLY she's an entrepreneur, she's starting her own company, she just birthed five new children and ended world hunger. whore.

[lovely-ateez]

Ice Cream Pt. 2~

ꕥPosted: 9/23/20

ꕥGenre: Fluff, Smut

ꕥPairing: Fem!Reader x Seonghwa

ꕥWord Count: ~2k

ꕥWarnings: Oral (f recieving), Unprotected sex (sort of, reader is on the pill), Reader has a thing for being teased, Praise (are we even surprised at this point), Language, Size kink if you squint

ꕥA/N: I hope you all enjoy this one! I’m going to make this a five part series and I’m really excited to write the rest!! I’ll be posting part three on Saturday! You can read the first one here. Happy Wednesday everyone :)

Pt. 3 here~

Your POV

I read over the words on my screen for likely the twentieth time, trying to come up with a solid response. Any response at all, really, that didn’t sound completely ridiculous.

[Choco Boi] Those are big words, doll. How about you come see for yourself how good I am?

Choco Boi—or Seonghwa, as I affectionately named him in my phone—had been bragging to me about how good of a cook he was for the past hour. So I, in all my infinite wisdom, told him I was an incredible chef. I mean I wasn’t necessarily a bad cook, but I certainly wasn’t Gordon Ramsey. And now, I he was inviting me to his home for us to cook together.

My fingers were hovering over the keyboard of my phone when I received another text from him.

[Choco Boi] No pressure tho, only if you want to :)

[Me] That’s okay! I’d like to. Maybe the 6th?

Surely someone can learn to cook in a week, right?

[Choco Boi] Sure. I’ll pick you up at 5?

[Me] Sounds good :))

With a sigh I set my phone down on my night stand, tucking myself into bed. I had work the next morning and I knew I should be getting some sleep but my thoughts continued to drift back to Seonghwa.

Two weeks had passed since we first met and there wasn’t a day that passed that we didn’t text, FaceTime, or call each other.

I couldn’t help but be attracted to him. He was just so...alluring. He had the most precious mannerisms and I felt like I melted everytime he smiled. Especially when it was because of me.

I recalled the first official date we went on. He took me to a gorgeous restaurant I had never heard of. I teased myself for being so nervous because conversation flowed so easily with him. We held hands nearly the entire time as Seonghwa pretended to know all the foreign dishes and everything about them, making up the most ridiculous stories as he went along. I smiled and laughed with him to the point I had tears in my eyes.

I remember so clearly when he drove me home and we ended up making out in his car for an hour, the fat raindrops pounding on his car. It wasn’t intentional, at least on my part, but god if my feelings weren’t strong before, they certainly were now. The cologne he was wearing was no doubt expensive and he looked so heavenly in his blue button-up shirt with the rolled up sleeves exposing his forearms, his silver watch on display. I wouldn’t have been surprised if my eyes were literally forming hearts when I looked at him. I felt comforted that his eyes reflected the look in mine.

Closing my eyes I gradually lulled myself to sleep, but not without thinking of him as I did.

-

The next day passed relatively quickly, and I felt slightly anxious about meeting with Seonghwa. I knew he wouldn’t instantly lose interest if I wasn’t a good cook, but I still wanted to impress him.

Setting down all of my groceries with a thud, I let out a sigh. I was pretty confident I bought half of the store’s cooking materials. Seonghwa refused to tell me what we were making so I wanted to make sure I got all the basics down. I had no problem with baking and I was certain I would be fine if we ended up making cookies, brownies, or something similar.

I just wasn’t too sure about...well, essentially everything else. So I spent my week trying new recipes and failing, trying them again and still failing but less so. I couldn’t help but feel frustrated, still not completely sure of what I was doing wrong.

I spent most nights cooking, trying to get the hang of beginner and intermediate dishes. Only a few actually turned out okay, but honestly it was better than where I started, and time was running out so I just had to accept it.

-

The day finally approached and I did everything possible to calm my nerves. As the clock ticked closer to five, I checked my outfit again. My favorite long sleeved shirt was tucked into a pair of slightly ripped shorts that tightly hugged my thighs. Simple pearls rested on my ears. I didn’t want anything too dramatic or revealing, especially since we’re only planning to cook.

Looking good girl. You can do this. Just remember to breathe and it’ll all be alright.

The doorbell shook me from my thoughts.

“Coming!”

As I opened the door I saw Seonghwa holding a bouquet of roses, a loving smile on his face. My heart grew at the sight. He made me feel so cared for.

“There are for you, doll.”

I pushed the flowers aside and kissed him, jumping into his arms. “I’m so excited! It’s so good to see you!”

He laughed. “It’s good to see you, too.”

I took the flowers from his hands and welcomed him into my house, placing them in a jar.

“They’re gorgeous. Thank you again, Seonghwa.”

“No problem. You ready? My car is parked out front.”

I nodded, biting my lip. “I’m ready.”

Seonghwa’s POV

As we climbed into my car she spoke, her voice a little small, “So what are we making, Hwa?”

I smiled at the nickname she hadn’t used since the last time I saw her in person. “Well, love, today we’ll be making soufflé. That should be no problem with you right? You are an incredible chef, after all.”

A flash of fear shone through her eyes before she made a feeble attempt to suppress it. It was almost comical.

“Duh, of course.”

I smiled to myself. I doubted she’d made anything more complex than cookies but I was curious to see how far she was willing to take this.

My house wasn’t too far from hers so it took maybe ten minutes before we were at my house. I knew she’d never been to my home before and hoped she wasn’t too nervous.

I wouldn’t admit it, but I was more nervous than I led on. I’d brought a few girls to my place, but I didn’t have the instant connection with them that I did with her. She was special to me, as cliché as it sounds.

“Your house is pretty.” She said with big eyes.

I smiled, “Thank you.”

I held the door open as she walked in, and she instantly let out a gasp. It scared me, thinking something was wrong until I saw her run over to a little plant sitting on my windowsill.

“It’s so cute! Does it have a name?”

“Uh...can’t say it does. You name plants?”

She scoffed, “Of course! Frankly I’m appalled that you don’t.”

I watched as her eyes squinted, carefully examining the plant.

God she looks adorable. She’s literally just fawning over a plant and my heart is pounding. What are you doing to me, sweetheart?

“I think it looks like a Unice.”

“Unice?”

“Yeah! I can’t explain it but it looks like a Unice.”

“Fair enough. Let’s head to the kitchen, I’ve got everything set up already.”

She nodded and waved goodbye to the plant.

“Bye Unice!”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile.

“So I know how to—of course—but you know I just want to see if you know how to make a soufflé so you should probably explain it.” She batted her eyelashes.

I raised a hand to my chin. “Actually, I’m not quite sure, now that you mention it. I could probably use a refresher. Would you mind telling me?”

“Uhhh...”

I laughed at her stunned appearance. “Don’t worry, I’ve got a recipe.”

The woman giggled like a child, likely out of nerves.

“Good.”

“So first I need you to grab some milk and butter from the fridge.” I told her while preheating the oven.

“Okay!” She opened the fridge, “Oh my gosh you have chocolate covered strawberries? What are those for?”

You.

“I have a sweet tooth. You can have some if you’d like.”

“No, that’s okay. I don’t wanna steal your food.”

“I don’t mind. They’re there if you want some.”

“Aw thanks.”

Everything went smoothly and I was surprised that she was doing so well. Soufflés weren’t easy to make for beginners and I was happy to see her trying.

That was until she started to stir the egg whites and accidentally knocked over the bag of flour sitting next to her.

“Okay I give.” Her brows furrowed as she threw her hands up in defeat, “I’m not the best at making food and I don’t know what I’m doing.”

I glanced at the powder covering her clothes and pressed my lips together to hide my smile.

“You don’t say?”

She cracked a slight smile, despite her best efforts to remain serious. “I’m trying, okay?”

I walked over to her and tilted my head down to look at her tiny frame.

“You’re so cute.”

Her eyes widened and she buried her face in her hands almost immediately, whining at me not to say such things.

You have no idea how endearing you are to me, darling.

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it.”

I gently removed her hands from her face and was greeted with a cherry blush forming on her cheeks. Just like when I first saw her, it was so easy to make her blush. I seemed to grow more and more fond of her flustered state every time I saw it.

Tucking a few fingers under her chin, I leaned down to kiss her soft lips. She tasted of the chocolate covered strawberries I saw her eating earlier when she thought I wasn’t looking and smelled of floral perfume. It was an intoxicating combination.

I smiled against the kiss when I felt her melt into my touch. Kissing her harder I ran my hands down her back, unintentionally playing with the hem of her shirt. I didn’t have any intention of taking things further. I was more than willing to take my time with her. I wanted her to be comfortable more than anything.

And then she whimpered into the kiss. I felt myself twitch in my jeans at the noise. She sounded so beautiful and everything in me craved to hear it again. I broke from the kiss and ran my lips down the side of her neck, taking my time to see how she reacted. She leaned into my touch and began to pant heavily, gripping onto my biceps.

I heard a breathless whisper of my name fall from her lips and it spurred me on. I gradually led her back up against the island in my kitchen and pinned her in place with my arms on either side of her, pressing on the granite. I littered her neck with kisses, paying close attention to the areas that were most sensitive to her.

Before I got ahead of myself I drew back to tell her we should stop. I didn’t know how far she wanted to go and I didn’t want her to think that I was only after her for sex. And so, I told her as such.

Her hazy lust-filled eyes darkened. “I don’t think you’re that type of guy. I want this if you do.”

“Wait! The oven!” Her eyes grew.

“Oh shit you’re right.”

I ran to turn off the oven and wordlessly picked her up, letting her legs wrap around my waist. All I saw was desire in her eyes. I led her to my bedroom and set her down on the soft sheets of my bed.

“Let’s find out what you’re into, sweetheart.”

She giggled and grabbed my shirt, forcing her lips against mine.

“Why don’t I show you?”

Your POV

I felt the fanning of his hot breath on my skin and I shivered, temporarily forgetting how to speak.

“Shirt off.” I demanded.

Seonghwa raised a brow but complied. When his shirt came off I couldn’t help but stare, practically drooling at the look of him. Without thinking I reached out to run my fingers along his abs.

“Damn. You’re really attractive.” I could barely speak above a whisper.

“And you look absolutely stunning, my darling.”

He quickly removed my shorts, leaving my black lacy panties exposed. His eyes devoured me, and any dominant feelings I had within quickly disappeared. His hands ran up and down my thighs and made the warmth inside me spread.

“Tease me please.” I begged.

“Oh,” his mouth quirked into a smile, “You’re one of those, huh?”

“Shush. I don’t need—ah fuck.”

Seonghwa’s fingers danced across my clothed clit and I arched my back off the bed. His fingers were gone as quickly as they first appeared. I couldn’t help but groan at the lack of contact, but I loved it. He continued this a few more times before my whines became much louder. His lips met mine in a heated kiss and I felt his fingers tickling my sides.

“Seonghwa!” I spoke through uncontrolled giggles.

I kissed him even harder as he continued and tried to catch my breath through the sensation.

He stopped and I wiggled under his stare, feeling so, so small.

“It’s your turn now. Shirt off.” Normally I would have been embarrassed with how quickly I removed my shirt and how eager I likely appeared, but the wetness I felt between my thighs was growing quickly and I needed release.

“Good girl.” Seonghwa removed my panties at an almost painfully slow speed and when he finally did, he tossed them aimlessly behind him. He raised my legs over his shoulders and I shuddered as his mouth slowly approached where I so badly needed him.

“So wet for me already and I’ve barely touched you.” His voice dropped several octaves and I whimpered.

My head fell back as I felt a few kitten licks on my clit. When I didn’t feel anything more, I looked back at him to be met with a shit-eating grin.

“Seonghwa!” My voice sounded so needy I barely recognized it.

“What? I thought you liked to be teased.”

“Well yes but actually no.” I joked, “Not when I need you this bad.”

“Hmm.” Was all the response I got before he went back to running his tongue along my clit and opening.

“Fuckfuckfuck.” I chanted as he picked up the pace, slowly entering a few fingers in me.

“I didn’t realize you had such a vulgar mouth, doll.”

If I had the ability to process any of what he just said I’m sure I would have had some retort ready, but in all honesty I couldn’t think about anything else except the stimulation that I was feeling.

I could feel my orgasm rapidly approaching and I had no doubt that he knew it too. My hands found his hair and gripped onto his dark locks.

“Seonghwa! Oh my god please don’t stop.”

Then, the bastard stopped. I groaned and bucked my hips up, desperate for anything.

“Patience is a virtue, you know.”

“Fuck off.”

He let out a hearty laugh and reached to his nightstand. I grabbed his face and made him look at me.

“I’m on the pill, don’t worry.”

“Are you sure? Like really sure?”

“Yes yes I’m sure. Please, Seonghwa.”

He quickly discarded his clothes as I removed my bra, his eyes quickly darkening.

“Tell me if you want to stop at any time, okay?” Even though I could tell how bad he wanted this, his eyes were kind, putting me first.

I really found a good man. It’s too early to say I’m falling for him, but I definitely can see myself loving him.

“I will.”

He let out a low groan as he entered me and I clenched around him, loving the sound.

“Fuck. Don’t do that.” He warned.

“Do what?” I asked with a smirk, promptly repeating the action.

He groaned again, “Babe I’m trying to last for a while here and you’re not making it easy.”

I bit my lip, pleased at his response, when he quickly thrusted into me. I moaned, my breath leaving me.

“Not so talkative now, hmm?”

I didn’t have the ability to respond and simply grasped his face to pull him into a kiss as he continued his movements.

“You’re making me feel so good, babe.”

“Same...here.”

My legs were shaking and I closed my eyes, not being able to keep them open any longer.

A deep voice called out to me, “Hey. Hey look at me.”

Fighting my urges to close my eyes I made eye contact with him. A sweet look was conveyed by his eyes, starkly contrasting the fact that we were literally having sex.

“You look gorgeous.”

My face turned pink and in response Seonghwa kissed both of my cheeks, leading down to my neck.

“Hwa, I’m close.”

A dazzling smile lit up his face at what I assume was the nickname.

“Me too.”

With a few more thrusts I was shaking, cumming around him. He let out a low growl releasing slightly after me.

Both of us remained still, trying to catch our breath.

“Same time next week, love?”

“Seonghwa oh my god!” He laughed along with me.

“Honestly,” I thought aloud, “Sure.”

He slowly pulled out of me and grabbed a warm towel from his bathroom, cleaning me up.

“I didn’t necessarily plan this to happen, but I was planning on asking you at the end of today anyway: Would you want to be my girlfriend? Maybe?”

I wrapped my arms around him and kissed him.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

[secretradiobrooklyn]

Secret Radio | 7.24.21, 8.7.21 & etc.

“Better, Better, Back” Secret Radio | 7.24.21, 8.7.21 & etc. | Hear it here.

- Mort Garson - “Plantasia”

1. Jean-Pierre Djeukam - “Africa Iyo” - “Cameroon Garage Funk”

The main musician I think of from Cameroon is Beti-Beti, and this is a whole different thing. Endless props to Analog Africa for providing fiery track after track. This is the sweat from their newest collection!

2. Eyedress - “Jealous”

Paige hears something in this and when I unfocus my eyes I do too. (Literal?) high school skate kids gettin in their shallow feels. I will admit that the chorus “time-time” is killer.

3. Nahid Akthar & Tafo - “Takra We Gutt Bhar Le” (I think)

Nahid Akthar’s voice is so completely bewitching that the amazing arrangements almost sneak by. Tafo is the producer of this track I believe, and the narrative structure of the music is just so confident and encompassing. But then also: man, that VOICE. She’s right up there with Ros Serey Sothea in expressiveness and character.

4. Oruã - “Escola das Roas” - “Sem Bênção / Sem Crença”

My thanks to you, Marc, for pointing this band to us. I have fallen in love with this particular recording, it just gets more thoroughly better with every listen. Calvin Johnson mentioned this band in a recent K newsletter — they’re a Brazilian band who corresponded with Doug Martsch as mutual fans until at some point Doug decided his own band needed replacing and he brought them out as Built to Spill and also as Oruã. This track also has shades of Sonic Youth’s “Master-Dik,” one of my all-time ultra faves. It really hits me in the ’90s, and I rilly want to see how some of this music is performed live.

5. Jacques Dutronc - “Le Responsable”

I’m so thankful to have Jacques Dutronc in my life. His rock songs knock me into gear like nothing else — and the whole band has its own very specific flavor. It kicks!

6. Sleepy Kitty - “Alceste in Silverlake”

At very long last, there is a new Sleepy Kitty album on the way! It’s in line at the record plant as I type this. And this is a song from the perspective of a musician-seeking drummer in LA, crossed with the most brutally honest man in all of France.

7. Sakuran Zensen - “錯乱前戦 ロッキンロール” (I Wanna Rock & Roll)

We only knew one song by this band (that we’ve played here) because the video was rad, but I looked to see what else was there and this song is just freakin great with me. The chords are really cool and his vocal delivery is just so over the top it’s impossible not to love. And the guitar solo is basically a full-on tonefest, which I appreciate more than a bunch of flying fingers. The video helps fill in the picture nicely too, I think, though I like the song while not looking at it even more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPCqT3e89SU

- Mort Garson - “Concerto for Philodendron & Pothos”

8. Clothilde - “Fallait pas ècraser la queue du chat”

All hail the French instinct for chamber music instruments as pop instruments, and then as a kind of technicolor weirdness. The orchestration of this song is a work of art in itself, and that doesn’t even account for her self-harmonizing melody. If you haven’t already, picture a brunette bob and deep mascara.

9. Public Service Broadcasting - “Spitfire”

I can’t remember now how I found this music, though I think it might’ve been from Josh’s playlist? This is from 2012, but they have a new album coming out almost exactly a month from now. In Bound Stems Tim and I got really into interlacing snatches of other people’s words into the music we were making, and this is very congruent with that interest. I feel like this song passes tests as it goes.

10. Shocking Blue - “Send Me a Postcard”

I first heard of this band when I was learning everything I could about Nirvana, and I’d heard both versions of “Love Buzz” and knew they were both great, but we only recently caught this track. It’s the bridge between “White Rabbit” and “Territorial Pissings.” 

11. Metak - “Tetrapak”

Our favorite Croatian band! Everything about this song is delightful. I feel like if this song was in English I’d probably cringe at the lyrics, but in this format I can only hear how much fun the song is to play. I am one-quarter Croatian, which means I can’t understand any of the lyrics either but I do see little ghosts of myself in the pictures of the band somehow. It’s weird.

12. Katerine - “Louxor J’adore”

-Anything I could say about this song is eclipsed by this excerpt:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uD7QuV6f_MA

The performance to the cemetery knocks me out

13. Erkin Koray - “Seni Her Gördügümde”

Whenever we’re listening to Anatolian psych, the songs with the most creative ideas and satisfying riffs and great vocal passages are always Erkin Koray. The four-piece arrangements are so good, and then he doesn’t hesitate to step up with his guitar to narrate a passage. Also, I really like how Turkish rock sounds so Indian and also Arabic and also French.

14. WITCH - “Chifundo”

Zambian prog rock! I haven’t heard anything like this track anywhere else in Africa yet. The thing is, this version of prog includes the exact flavor that Yes totally lacks, and thus I really love listening to this track in a way most prog rock doesn’t hit me. The time switches and the lead part over the top are just so smooth!

15. Ezra Furman - “Psalm 151”

We’ve been listening to a lot of Ezra Furman’s music lately, and it’s only getting better and more engrossing with every listen. We toured with Ezra Furman’s band about 5 years ago and every night was a pleasure. They’re finishing up a new album, which makes this a great time to listen to the others. This entire album, “Transangelic Exodus,” is a masterpiece as far as we’re concerned, and I find myself thinking the whole time too about Tim Sandusky’s production. Tim’s such a home town for us, and to hear his full attention on this album is just such a pleasure.

16. Ralph Stanley - “White Light, White Heat”

It was one of my favorite musical influence moments ever when my dad’s bluegrass band, The Prozac Mtn Boys, played VU’s “What Goes On.” Knowing that there is a recording of one of my dad’s true banjo heroes playing “White Light White Heat” is just an endless blessing. And actually hearing it is even better.

17. Kim Jung Mi - “Ganadaramabasa”

I know basically nothing about this track except that she’s Korean and this is from 1973. She’s got a real Diana Ross thing going on, and her band has a real Supremes vibe too… but it doesn’t sound like one of their songs.

18. Penny Penny - “Yogo Yogo”

We just got this record recently, and based on this track I wouldn’t’ve necessarily pictured the remarkable-looking guy who actually made this music. This is from the album “Shaka Bundu.” I’m sure it’s been cranked up and sent through some great house remixes — how could this not be? — but I like how this tempo operates at its own pace. It’s so truly and thoroughly ’80s, very 20th century. In the 21st century this tempo is practically cerebral.

19. Baris Manço - “Binboganin Kizi”

More Anatolian action. It’s really interesting to me how Turkish stuff was always associated with psych music but I didn’t really know how except for the opium thing, and I now understand that it’s in the chord relationships, well, and a lot of the vocal melody and delivery. In that way, Turkish rock pretty much defines what psych music sounds like. Wow. And check out that keyboard solo, so next level!

20. The Velvet Underground - “Countess from Hong Kong”

People are always asking Beatles or Stones and the answer is Velvet Underground. (And the Beatles, and the Stones.) They were just operating along a different balance beam than those other guys — performing different tricks for a different audience. While the Beatles were defining pop music, the VU were destroying it… but then later, they reveal their deep affinity for Western music, even as they never drop in to the blues-centric reading of it. It’s truly punk. I guess they are to punk what the Beatles are to pop — the definition of pop is whatever flows to or from the Beatles; punk is whatever flows to or from the Velvet Underground. Certainly more than any single band in 1976 or 7 or whatever.

21. Bella Bellow - “Denyigban”

The piano phrase that kicks this song off is surprisingly close to the opening of Bound Stems’ “Appreciation Night.” We got that phrase from the demo mode of Radz’s keyboard, and it’s surreal to hear a high-overlap version in a song from Togo. Her voice is so clean in tone and pitch, and what’s strangest to me is that I register the instrumentation in an almost Disney mode — but then realize that’s because Disney will draw on Caribbean and African elements at times as they establish characters and settings. Such an elegant song though!

22. Rail Band - “Mouodilo”

One of the first insights that got us into WBFF was the realization that James Brown had even more fundamental influence on the music of the world than the Beatles did — certainly in Africa. Hearing how his delivery interrelates with so many bands from all across Africa is such a revelation. This track just keeps winding around you til you can’t hardly live without it.

- Asha Bhosle - “Salma Jarir Jhalak”

All I know about this is that it’s in Bangla and it’s from a movie.

23. Unknown - “Chemirocha” - from “Love Is Love”

Several years ago, when African records looked interesting but we literally didn’t know anything about them, we bought a record called Love Is Love, in part because it was a beautiful cover and in part because the music seemed mysterious and full of possibility. Now, when I go to look for it online, I see no sign — I think it’s just a really small pressing from a… pirate group, I guess one could say? But really I think just hardcore music lovers. Anyway, it has this song “Chemirocha” on it, and there’s a story about this song that is really probably just best to link to because it’s so amazing. I guarantee you will find the information in this article worth your read:

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/chemirocha-how-an-american-country-singer-became-a-kenyan-star

24. Sparks - “Do-Re-Mi”

We’ve known about Sparks, but we’re late to a close listen. We’ve been listening a lot in anticipation of — not the band bio pic but “Annette,” the new film by Carax, one of our favorite directors ever. For that matter: make sure to watch “Holy Motors” by Carax. It’s probably best if you watch “Lovers on a Bridge” before that, but if you have to go straight to “Holy Motors,” dive right in. It’s amazing.

Meanwhile: This take on the Mary Poppins classic is TOO MUCH — I can’t stop smiling at the end, when the bells start tolling over the crashing drums and crescendoing vocal waves as their third finale fades away. How can anyone make this song, the very definition of not-rock, rock so fully?

- Mort Garson - “Ode to an African Violet”

25. Bob Reuter’s Alley Ghost - “She Brought Me to the Wire”

I will forever be glad that we not only landed in a city where we could find out about the person and the works of Bob Reuter, but that we got to know and work with him. Bob Reuter was one of the definitions of St. Louis to us, and when he passed, so did some of that city. But also, he left music and photos and stories in Eleven and chapbooks that I truly hope last forever. He was the hard-living romantic that you hope lives in the heart of every hard-luck case… and in his one instance, it was true. Bless your soul, Bob Reuter.

photos by Bob Reuter from The Pageant and El Leñador

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Writer’s Month Prompts Day 20

Day 20: De-Aging

FINALLY got this written out. Hope you guys enjoy! Requested by @cosmicrealmofkissteria in honor of it being Robert Plant’s birthday! 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Robert looked down at what had formerly been the grown adult Prince of KISSteria, but was now a little child of five gazing up at them all in confusion. “How did this happen?”

Demon shrugged. ��I have no clue. He came back upset from that meeting, then a little while later there was a flash of light and suddenly he’s…”

“Smaller!” Eryk provided helpfully.

Demon sighed and nodded. “Smaller,”

“Younger,” Tomaziel clarified. He looked down worriedly at Starchild, who was looking down at his body. “Will he be all right?”

Robert sighed; he was getting too old for this. “Where is the Elder?”

“Where’s Mama?” They all looked down at Starchild, who had looked up at the Elder’s name. He blinked his wide eyes curiously at them.

“In Hanoi on a diplomatic mission,” Tomaziel answered. “That is why we had Demon call you.”

“All right. Here is what we will do, gentlemen; Demon, Tomaziel, you make sure no one finds out about this. Say Starchild has taken ill and…”

“And wants to stay in his room so he doesn’t infect anyone,” Eryk suggested. “He seems like someone who would do that.”

Robert nodded. “Yes, that’s it. You and I will take Starchild to the Sisterhood while they do that.”

“Up, up!” Starchild tugged on his pant leg and held out his arms. Robert leaned down and picked him up, and he had to admit it was rather adorable when Starchild happily wrapped his arms around his neck.

“Starchild has another meeting with the Council tomorrow,” Tomaziel informed him. “So you may want to step in for him.”

“Council?” For some reason Starchild looked at Robert with a nervous look. “No Council,”

Despite his confusion, Robert shook his head. “No, Starchild. You won’t have to see the Council.”

Starchild sighed in relief and leaned his head on Robert’s shoulder. He was actually rather cute. Robert ignored his confusion at Starchild being nervous about the Council and turned to Eryk. “Come along, Wildcat. Let us go to the Sisterhood.”

“Come on, Tomaziel,” Demon headed for the door. “Let’s go spread the news.”

Tomaziel followed him, then turned back to Robert. “Starchild will be all right, won’t he?”

“Don’t worry, Tomaziel,” Robert assured. “I’m sure the Sisterhood will have the answers we seek.”

-KISSTERIA-

Sadly, all the Sisterhood could offer as an explanation was that Starchild’s magic was somehow responsible.

Robert frowned. “How could that be possible?”

“Well, what happened before the flash of light?” Priestess Purple Hawk looked up from where she was inspecting the now-young Prince. He was seated on a table, swinging his feet as he quietly waited. “Was he emotional in any way? It is possible his powers could fluctuate when he is experiencing intense emotions.”

Robert could only shrug helplessly. “All Demon said was he returned upset from a meeting with the Council.”

Both of them noticed Starchild glance up at the Council’s mention. He looked down when they turned to him. “Prince Starchild,” Purple Hawk asked politely. “Did something happen at the Council meeting?”

“No,” Starchild answered. His voice was a bit too firm for Robert’s liking.

“Are you certain? King Robert said you reportedly returned from it upset.”

“I’m sure.” Starchild nodded his head.

Purple Hawk looked at him for a moment, then sighed. “Well, all I can advise is to keep him out of sight. No need for the Council to hear about it and panic. He should be back to normal by morning, but he will most likely sleep for most of the day. The rapid growth of his body from child to adult will drain his energy.”

“And you know this how?” Robert raised an eyebrow.

Smiling sheepishly, Purple Hawk shrugged. “It happens with our girls when they become teenagers. More often than you may think.”

-KISSTERIA-

As Robert was carrying Starchild back to his bedroom in the castle, they suddenly heard voices from down the hall. “—ow typical,”

For a moment, Robert panicked. He was in plain sight with Starchild, who was thankfully not recognizable without his star (his de-aging had taken away his mark as well), but he was supposed to keep him out of sight. He spotted a nearby pillar and darted behind it as the voices approached. Two Councilmen, from the sounds of it.

“The Elder leaves, and the Prince falls ill. How very typical this is.”

“Clearly the Prince cannot take care of himself, if he falls ill so easily. Do you suppose it could have spread to us?”

“I hope not. The Prince needs the Council to advise him. He cannot make any decisions on his own.”

“One could interpret it as him being cautionary, and viewing all angles before he makes his decision.”

“Hmph, well I see it as him being unable to make decisions. He may act like a matured Prince, but in many ways he is still a child.”

“That is rather callous, Goliath.”

“It is true. I have been on the Council since he was small, and I can remember him interrupting a meeting just so the Elder could comfort him. I always told the Elder she coddled him too much, but she insisted she knew what was best…”

The voice began to fade as they left. Robert frowned at the voices, then suddenly became aware of the shaking child in his arms and the quiet sniffling. He looked down to find Starchild hiding his face in his neck, shoulders shaking. “Starchild? What is it?” Starchild just shook his head. “Well I suppose it wouldn’t be good for us to talk out here. Will you tell me when we return to your bedroom?”

“Mm-hm…”

When they reached Starchild’s bedroom, he set Starchild down on his bed and sat down next to him. “Now, what’s the matter?”

Starchild sniffled and rubbed at his eyes with his fist. “Not a child,” he said, his little voice shaking. “Trying…”

It took a moment for Robert to understand. “Did something happen at the Council meeting?”

“U-Uh huh…”

“Did the Council members treat you like a child?”

Starchild sniffled and looked down at his feet. “He did,” he mumbled.

“Who did?”

“Want Mama…”

“The Elder is in Hanoi right now. But you can tell me. I promise I will not tell anyone.”

Starchild looked ashamed of himself, and Robert thought for a moment how that look shouldn’t have been on a child’s face. “G-Gol… can’t say it. He was talking in the hall.”

“Well, I don’t know his name either. You can tell me when you are back to normal. But he was the one treating you like a child?”

Starchild nodded, looking close to tears. “’M not a child!” He looked up at Robert with teary eyes. “I’m not, am I?”

For a moment, Robert was unsure how to respond. But things were making sense now. Starchild had returned upset because the Council member was treating him like he was a child; his mind began to question if he acted like a child; and somehow it led to his emotions spiraling out of control and his powers turning him into a child. But how to answer Starchild’s question? In the literal sense, he was in the body of a child at this moment. But he couldn’t say that, for fear of Starchild taking it the wrong way.

“No,” he said, and his voice was firm. “No, you do not act like a child. You are a confident, compassionate adult who loves his realm and wishes to see it prosper. You strive to be a better person. You are not a child. And somewhere in your mind I know you know that. You simply must accept it.”

Starchild’s tears spilled over, and his bottom lip quivered before he flung himself at Robert and began to cry. Robert hugged his small frame and let him cry, hoping he would accept his words as the truth someday.

-KISSTERIA-

Starchild was back to normal by the morning, as discovered Tomaziel when he went to check on him and found him a grown man once again. Robert still filled in for him at the Council meeting, since he ended up sleeping for most of the day as predicted by Priestess Purple Hawk. The Council luckily bought the lie that the Prince was ill and recovering in his bedroom. As soon as the meeting was over, he went back to his bedroom to see how he was doing.

Demon and Eryk were standing guard at his door—or rather, Demon was standing there, tall and imposing with his arms crossed over his chest, while Eryk was curled up around his feet taking a nap. Starchild was sitting up in bed speaking with Tomaziel, and he looked fatigued still.

“You’re certainly making a fast recovery,” Robert said aloud, smiling at him.

Starchild and Tomaziel looked up, and Starchild smiled. “Tomaziel, could you leave us alone?”

“Will you be all right?”

“Yes, I will,”

After Tomaziel had left, Robert came over to stand at his bedside. “He did ask a good question; are you all right?”

Starchild nodded. “I am. Though I have been sleeping all day.”

“Priestess Purple Hawk said that would be expected. Demon and the young Wildcat… Eryk, is it?”

“Yes,”

“Yes, Eryk, have been standing guard outside your bedroom door so no one disturbs you.”

Starchild smiled. “How nice of them…” His eyes suddenly widened and the smile vanished. “The Council! Oh Gods, I was supposed to meet with them again today! Did I miss it?”

“Calm, Starchild,” Robert placed his hand on his shoulder. “I went in your stead. They send their regards and wishes for a speedy recovery.”

Starchild sighed in relief and sat back. “Hopefully I will have a speedy recovery…” he looked up at Robert. “You didn’t have to fill in for me.”

“It was no trouble. I am sure they will bring you up to speed tomorrow.”

“They will.” Starchild looked down at his lap for a moment. “I remember what you said yesterday… I still feel ashamed I reacted so horribly…”

“Do not be ashamed. It can be difficult to remain steadfast in the face of scrutiny. But I still hope you will accept that you do not act like a child.”

“I am trying… It is difficult sometimes. But rewarding.”

“It always is. And believe me when I say… the Council doesn’t know what they are talking about. I have witnessed your growth from a starry-eyed teenager to a fine, mature young man. I could not be prouder of you.”

A smile bloomed across Starchild’s face, and he leaned forward and hugged Robert. “That means so much coming from you… Thank you.”

Robert smiled. “It is the truth.” He pulled away when Starchild let go of him. “Now, I will leave you to go back to sleep. You still look tired.”

“I still feel tired,” Starchild laughed. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“Of course. I will stay to assist you until the Elder returns.”

“Thank you, I appreciate your help,”

“My pleasure, Prince Starchild. Have a good rest.”

And with that, Robert turned to leave. When he closed the door, he was accosted by Demon, Eryk, and Tomaziel. “Well?” Demon questioned. “Is he all right?”

“He is all right, isn’t he?” Tomaziel asked.

“Tell them, will ya?” Eryk crossed his arms frustratedly. “I keep telling them Starchild’s going to be fine, but they don’t believe me.”

Robert smiled in amusement and nodded his head. “Yes. The Prince is all right. He will be all right.”

[trashinaglass-archive]

Little Bug

Harry and y/n get pregnant at a young age

Request: Hello! Can you possibly write a Harry imagine where him and the reader have been dating for many years and he gets her pregnant by accident and they kinda freak out cause they are only 20, so they have to tell Harry’s family (cause the reader isn’t close with hers) and at first they are disappointed but of course are supportive. Also maybe a flash forward to when the baby is there and everyone spoiling it! Thank youuu

A/n: Not gonna lie, when I first read this I thought you meant Harry Styles, and I was like why would his family be disappointed cause he’s like 25? But I get it now, I gotcha. Harry Holland boy, he we go.

Four years.

If someone asked you, that was a pretty long time to be with one person. Sure, it was nothing compared to adults who had been married for thirty plus years, but as a young kid, it was a big deal to you.

You couldn’t hold back your squeal of excitement as the doorbell rang, running to the door.

“Hey,” Harry laughed as you threw yourself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

“Happy four years,” you smiled at him.

“And happy anniversary,” he replied, a smile masking your own as he placed a kiss to your lips. “Let’s get out of here.”

. . .

You held Harry’s hand in yours as you walked into the movie theater, moving to stand in the concessions line. The smell of the popcorn hit you hard, an instant wave of nausea rolling through your body. Your jaw clinched as you felt the uneasy feeling in your stomach increase.

“‘Scuse me,” you said quickly as you ran to the bathroom, anything that was in your stomach making an appearance in the toilet. You leaned your head onto your hands as you sat back, lightheaded and drained of all energy you had earlier.

“Y/n?” You heard an unfamiliar voice ask, a gentle hand touching your back. “You’re boyfriend asked me to check on you. Are you alright?”

“I don’t know,” you said softly, thinking about what just happened as the nausea began to fade. “It was like the smell of the popcorn made me sick.”

“I don’t mean to pry or be rude,” the lady began. “But have you two had sex recently?” Your heart stopped at the suggestion, understanding what she was hinting at. “When I was pregnant, certain smells made me sick too.”

“I can’t be,” you whispered, tears beginning to well in your eyes.

“I would check,” she suggested gently before rummaging through her purse. “Here’s some gum. Do you need help with anything?”

You shook your head as you chewed the gum, welcoming the minty taste. You tried to process the idea of you possibly being pregnant, it was crazy.

You eventually stood up, making your way outside where you found a very concerned boyfriend.

“Are you okay? What happened?” He asked as he saw you.

“The popcorn smell is making me sick,” you told him. “Can you take me to a shop and then we can hang at your place?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. Are you okay?”

“As soon as I’m out of here, I’ll be fine,” you told him, nodding your head.

He nodded back, taking your hand and leaving the theater. He stopped at a drugstore, unbuckling his seat belt about the get out. “Can you wait in here while I go in? Please?” You requested.

“Why?” He asked confused.

“Just- please,” you pleaded. He let out a breath, closing his door and watched as you went in the store by yourself. You bought three pregnancy tests along with some ginger ale and candies to cover what you actually bought, asking the cashier to double bag it. You sat back in the car, “ready?” You smiled softly, Harry reciprocating before driving back to his home.

. . .

“What happened?” Dominic asked as you two walked through the door. “Surely the movie isn’t over yet.”

“Yeah, um,” Harry began looking at you unsure if he was suppose to tell them or not. You shrugged motioning that you didn’t care. “Y/n fell sick at the theater so we’re just going to hang here.”

“You alright, darling?” Nikki asked you. You nodded, not really wanting to say anything. “If you need anything, let me know.” She smiled at you, and you felt a little better knowing she cared.

“Yes ma’am,” you replied softly before making your way upstairs, going straight to the bathroom.

“Sick again?” Harry asked as you closed the door.

“Maybe? I don’t know,” you told him. “It might just be another wave of nausea. I’ll meet you in your room when I’m done.” You listened for him to walk away before opening anything.

“Okay. Call if you need anything.”

“Yeah,” you replied quietly, hearing his footsteps walk away, opening a door, and the springs of his bed as he sat on it. You opened the boxes as quickly and quietly as you could, peeing on them and waiting the three minutes. It felt like literal hell waiting for that long. After the time passed, you looked at the tests.

Six bold pink lines.

Three positive tests.

You closed your eyes as you sank to the floor, your head resting on your knees as you tried not to freak out. Tears began to well in your eyes, spilling over the edge as you couldn’t hold them back. You looked up as the bathroom door opened.

“Oh! Sorry! Um,” Paddy stumbled before he realized something wasn’t right, running to Harry’s room to get him. Your eyes squeezed tighter as you heard him approach you.

“Hey- what’s wrong, love?” Harry asked as he crouched in front of you, hands holding the sides of your face, brushing the tears from your eyes.

“Could it be these?” Paddy asked as he noticed the tests on the sink counter. You could hear the uncertainty in his voice- he didn’t know where you stood emotionally and didn’t want to hurt you more than you already looked.

Harry stood up looking at the tests as he took one in his hand, studying it over. “You just took these?” He asked for clarification. You only nodded in response. He sighed, rubbing over his eyes as he tried to process this information. In nine short months, he was going to be a dad.

“Are you going to leave me now?” You asked him, fear obvious in your voice. He looked at you, tears in his own eyes as he reached his hands out to you. He pulled you to your feet, wrapping you in his arms.

“I’m with you for the long run, baby doll,” he said, placing a kiss to the top of your head. Hearing his words, you squeezed him tighter, tears rolling out of your eyes faster. You hadn’t mentioned it, but you knew what would happen when you got home. Your parents weren’t the best, and they weren’t going to have a pregnant girl or her kid in their house. You needed him more than he knew.

“Do we tell them now?” He asked you after you both calmed down, knowing both of your parents needed to know. You nodded, unsure of what else you would do with the new information. Harry guided you downstairs, a hand on your back as you wiped your face, hoping you didn’t look too messed up. Your nerves shot through the roof as you saw the two parents come into view. “Mum? Dad?”

“What’s wrong?” Nikki asked as she saw your faces, probably looking utterly terrified.

“Um,” Harry started, unsure how to say it. He gestured for you to sit on the chair across from his parents, leaning against the armrest beside you. “You know y/n was sick, and I thought it was just a bug or something, but it’s not a bug. Definitely not a bug. Unless you think it’s cute to call it a bug,” he began to ramble, but you interrupted him.

“I’m pregnant,” you said softly. Nikki and Dom’s eye widened at your admission.

“Yeah,” Harry said.

“You’re sure?” Nikki asked, needing the clarification.

“I have three bold yes’s in the bathroom. It’s no sonogram, but what are the chances that three tests will show up that bold falsely?”

“Not much,” Nikki nodded, letting out a sigh. “First thing tomorrow, you need to make an appointment with your doctor.” You nodded your head, showing you understand.

“So you guys aren’t mad?” Harry asked nervously.

“We’re certainly not happy about it, but the deed is done. Another life is involved, and the best we can do is make sure it gets the best care possible,” Dom nodded.

“Have you mentioned it to your parents yet?” Nikki asked, still fixated on you.

“No. I just found out literally, what, fifteen minutes ago?”

“Are they going to be okay with it?” She asked carefully, knowing the troubles you’d been through with them. You shook your head, not looking her in the eye.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they kick me out,” you shrugged, Harry’s hand reaching out to rub your back.

“Well if that happens, you pack your stuff and come here. We’ll take care of you,” Dom assured you.

“Thank you,” you replied with a small smile.

. . .

Like you predicted, after telling your parents of the pregnancy, they kicked you out. Wishing you good luck with the future, they no longer wanted to be apart of it. But that’s okay- the Holland family were the perfect replacement. The place where you and your baby belonged.

The baby arrived after the months passed, a little boy named Tristan Robert Holland. He was born a few weeks early, but he was the most perfect being you had ever laid eyes on. The trials and pain were worth going through to be able to hold your gorgeous boy in your arms.

“Look at that precious bug,” you said in a higher pitched voice, leaning over to planting kisses all over Tristan’s face. He squealed out a laugh. A perfect laugh you’d come to obsess over.

“And wouldn’t he be more precious with this amazing Spider-Man onesie?” Tom asked as he appeared with said onesie. You couldn’t hold back the laugh as Harry let out a scoff. “What? He’s my nephew. I can spoil him with Spider-Man goodies if I want to.”

“I don’t really care what onesie he wears, but look at this bear I found,” Sam chimed in, holding up a teddy bear that was holding onto a golf club. “Definitely going to be on my team.”

“Whatever, mate. He’s my son- of course he’ll want to be on my team,” Harry fought back causing a bicker over whose golf team the baby would be on.

You couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you listened to them looking down at Tristan with a smile on your face. “You’re more well behaved than all of them, aren’t you?” You cooed, Tristan laughing back. “You are!”

“Shut up, y/n,” Harry laughed, sitting next to you. “It’s called living with siblings.”

“Which he won’t have for a long, long time,” you said, the little boy laughing with no idea what you were talking about.

“I don’t know, I think we could do that again,” he joked as he took Tristan in his arms, the baby bouncing on his lap. “I’ll carry the baby this time.”

“Will you?” You laughed, Harry nodding his head yes. “We can probably arrange that then.”

“You guys are fucking weird,” Paddy commented as he walked past you to the kitchen, making you and Harry laugh. You shrugged, it wasn’t exactly untrue.

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[zayndrivesmeinvain]

The One Where He Sleeps Over for the First Time

//

It’s been a few weeks now since you’ve run into Harry at the supermarket and you’ve been talking/texting non-stop. He’s aware that you’re taking summer classes, however, he’ll text you all throughout the day just to see what you’re doing and what you’re occupied with. You definitely have caught some feelings for him and you’re pretty sure that he’s caught on to your ways.

You’ve just never met someone like him before, he’s… different.

He pays attention to the small details that you mention, he takes the time out of his day to text you, even if it’s the smallest thing as good morning, he stays up with you all night even if his eyes are starting to get tired, just so he can watch you in your element of studying. The conversation of is he’s ever thought about going to school has come up quite a few times and he said if his career ever slowed down, he would love to go back and get a degree for himself. He’s often shares his life long goals and ambitions with you when he was tired because he often would just ramble on any information on the top of his head. There was really something beautiful about the way he talked about his goals, it made your heart swell and almost turned you on?

Even though there was some sort of attraction between the two of you, he’s a famous popstar and there’s no possible way that he would want to be with someone like you. You’re plain to him, merely just a college student that ran into him while you were buying ice-cream on a weekend night. Even though you’re very aware that there would never be anything sexual or intimate between the two of you, you would love to have him around as a friend. He makes you laugh when you want to cry, keeps you company while you clean around your apartment and often sends you food when he knows you haven’t gone food shopping, which has been a real big help.

Harry has become your best friend and even though you’ve known each other for a short few weeks, he’s become a lot closer of a friend then most people you’ve known your whole life. You often joke with him about his super start friends and how he should hook you up with them, but he often declines and states that you’re too good for them.

You haven’t really seen Harry much in person since the first time you ran into each other, he’s been busy in the studio or in meetings or even just sleeping. He would never tell you this, but, staying up all night isn’t his perfect cup of tea, however he does it so you’re not lonely or ever feel alone. He admires that you’re independent but he hates that you live alone, it often worries him that something will happen to you late at night, which has led the daily FaceTime calls that start from 9 P.M. and that last up until you finish studying or fall asleep, and then some.

If someone were to ask Harry, he wouldn’t even know what you two have become so he just states you as his friend. He has mentioned you to the few people that he surrounds himself with because they noticed a pattern of the same contact number texting him all day, and he would ignore all the others. He wouldn’t do it on purpose, he was focused on checking up on you or seeing how your day was that he forgot about the other twenty people that texted him around the same time.

-

It’s a Saturday night and you’ve just been cleaning around your apartment, laundry has piled up from the week before, dishes haven’t been done which led to paper plates that you had in a corner of your pantry to be used, and your floor needed to be mopped.

After a long 4 hours of procrastinating and sing-a-longs your last load of laundry is in the wash and you’re currently folding some towels that you washed. You notice your phone is going off like crazy and messages keep flooding in, instantly your phone starts buzzing again but this time with a call.

“ Hello Harry!” a giggle escapes your lips because you can only wonder what he has on his mind and what’s about to come out of his mouth.

“ Hey babe, what are you doing tonight?” your heart just melts when he calls you pet names but you would never express that to him, not because you’re shamed but because he’ll literally laugh his ass off and think it’s the funniest thing in the world.

“ M’nothing, jus’ been cleaning around here, it started to look like a barn and I wasn’t haven’it anymore. Don’t you have any celebrity plans tonight? Maybe a Met Gala or Music Award or Concert to perform at, Mister Styles?” You can just see the smirk on his face now, dimples showing and his eyes are barely visible because he’s squinting so hard.

“ That’s what I was calling for, was gonna see if I could come by and we could hang out. I have some free time, and thought you could use some company.” This is the first time that Harry’s actually asked you to hang out and you’re taken back, you’re at a loss for words. The phone goes silent for a few seconds but then you hear him calling your name, “ Uh, yeah… you can. I just have to finish cleaning but you can come over in the meantime. The line goes silent again but then your curly friend starts talking again, “ I was hoping you would say that because I’m downstairs, let me in, Bubs.” Panic instantly filled your body, he was coming over to your apartment and you looked like a literal mess, you have an oversized t-shirt on with some old shorts and no bra, the mop on-top of your head could only be characterized as a rats nest and on top of everything you’re a sweaty mess but you have no time because he’s literally waiting for you downstairs to open the door to your apartment building.

You put on a pair of flip flops, cross your arms over your chest and hope for the best. Harry has seen you in the late hours of 3 A.M. before and it’s never bothered you, but he’s never seen you like this. You run into the elderly couple two doors down from you, you exchange a friendly smile and continue your journey downstairs. You make it down to the lobby and there he is, signing himself in at the receptionist's desk. He has a black t-shirt on, with some lounge shorts and a pair of sneakers on, even when he doesn’t try he looks perfect. You notice a few grocery bags in his hands, and spot a tub of ice-cream in one of them.

He looks over to you after politely excusing himself from the receptionist, “M’ looks like some one’s cold, we better get upstairs.” You completely forgot you had no bra on, and in fact you were cold. You shoot him a glare and he throws you his keys because his hands are quite full. The whole 5 flights of stairs he kept making cheeky or puny remarks and you were just getting nervous by the second. He’s only seen your apartment through FaceTime and he’s never actually seen the whole thing, what if he thinks it’s ugly or cheap looking? His apartment is probably beautiful and lavished, and here you are living in a place that you can barely afford and it’s not even close to perfect but you’ve learned to call it home. Right as you get to your door, you turn around before you unlock it, and look at your friend in the eyes, “ Look, but no touching. I just cleaned up and I don’t need any more messes.” He pulls his pinky out from all the bags he has as best as he can and looks right back at you, “ I promise.”

As soon as you walk in, he instantly breaks his promise. He’s already placed the bags down onto your counter and loading items into your fridge, “ Bubs, you barely have anything in here. You must be starved!”

“Harry! I told you not to touch anything!” You instantly run over and shut the fridge behind you and start poking through the bags. He literally went grocery shopping for you, he bought all your favorite foods and snacks and plus more. “ Harry, thank you, but you really didn’t have to do any of this.” You look back at him and you can only wonder how much he spent. “ How much do I owe you?” a chuckle instantly comes out from his lips. He walks toward you and pulls the receipt out from his pocket and rips it apart. “ I guess we’ll never know, so I guess nothing.” As much as you loved when he jokes around with you, this wasn’t a joke. He did not have to do this at all, you’re more taken back because he actually listened on the phone when you were ranting that you ran out of food, but you never expected this.

“ How’bout you go take a shower and get cleaned up and I’ll order us a pizza? We’ll have a movie night.” Your friend wiggles his eyebrows up and down and pushes you down a hallway, even though he’s not sure if it’s the right way. After he’s gone back to your open floor plan apartment, you pick some clothes out and walk to your bathroom. While getting undressed, you can faintly hear him on the phone ordering pizza and making sure to specifically ask for extra cheese “ because that's how she likes it.”

-

After 20 minutes of waiting for you, Harry hears your footsteps coming from your short hallway as you make your way back into the space that he’s in. Before you walked in he was checking his phone for any emails that may have come in or any text messages that may have been important. However, his attention is quickly taken off his phone when you’re full emerged back into the room. Your long damp hair, messy and all, is laying down your back, your sporting a pair of cleaner shorts from the ones before, and a baggy long sleeve t-shirt on. The outfit was so plain but he thought you looked beautiful in it. The fresh scent of vanilla hits his nose, he assumes it’s the body wash you used.

“ I see you’re all clean now” a smirk is planted on your face face as she walks by you  and instantly rolls her eyes.  “ Ya know when the pizza’s gonna be here? I’m actually really hungry.”, He watches you as you rummage through your pantry and discover all your new found snacks, “ It should be here any minute, they said they weren't that busy when I called.”

-

Another ten minutes pass by and your food has finally arrived, he went ahead and ordered two extra-large extra cheesy buffalo chicken pizzas because he knows it your favorite, even though he’s not crazy about them. You guys are now sitting on your sofa, two pizza boxes sat on your coffee table and a two, 2 liter of sodas are popped open. You let Harry decide on what movie to watch because you weren’t really interested in anything that’s out right now, even though you would never tell him that because you enjoy his company and he made more effort than any other friends of yours have made recently.

“ ye’full yet, Bubs?” You pull your attention back to your friend and nod your head. You managed to eat 3 full slices of pizza, 4 garlic knots and a chicken wing and you couldn’t possibly manage another single bite of food. You noticed throughout the night Harry’s phone go off a few times, and even though you instructed him to take any calls or answer any emails he declines and states that when he’s out with friends he likes for them to have his full attention.

-

The movie just ended and you’re pretty sure that you wouldn’t be able to tell one major detail about the movie. You tried getting into it, but you just couldn’t. You had a lot on your mind: bills, school, Harry, your parents and it was all just too much. Any time Harry would nudge you, you acted as if you were paying attention and would make small commentary to reassure him that you were just as focused as he was. You noticed a few yawns have escaped your plump pink lips, but you tried to hide it because you didn’t want Harry to hear.

You grabbed the pizza boxes and any other empty box that was left on the table and made your way to the kitchen to discard of the trash, a loud bang was heard and it started to downpour. A small yelp, followed by a gulp escaped your scared frame and Harry instantly started to laugh. “ Ye’ get startled there? Just a little rain, the boogeyman ain’t gonna get ye.” He shuffles his way into your kitchen while you’re standing, and shakes you up a bit. “ I thought when ye’ told me you were scared of thunder you were joking.”  He playful nudge his shoulder and walk past him, making a smart remark as you walk to your sofa and plop yourself down and you can hear Harry following you, “ If you’re that scared, I can sleep over and make sure no one gets ye’.”  Without hesitation the statement “please” runs out of your mouth quicker than you could process it.

“ How bout we camp out here, we’ll make a fort and watch movies till we both fall asleep? I don’t want to leave ya alone since you’re oh so scared.” Again, another eye roll and glance is thrown his way but he follows you down the hall where you had just placed freshly washed blankets and pillows in your hallway closet.

-

The clock currently reads 2 A.M. and you’re passed out, leaning on the edge of the couch. Your body is curled up in a ball but goosebumps have risen all over your body. Harry takes notice, and without hesitation pulls your blanket back on your body as it made its way onto the floor and kisses your forehead. Sleep was starting to over take his too, and he laid on the floor next to the couch just in case you got scared.

Around 2:30 you started shifting in your sleep, and again without hesitation your friend sat up and started to draw circles on your back and played with your hair until you fell back asleep.

Throughout the night Harry would wake up just to make sure you were still in the same spot and not dangling off of your couch. He thought a few times now about moving you to your bed, but he never invited you in their and he didn’t think it was right to go in without asking.

Harry couldn’t sleep at all that night, he didn’t know what was going on but he knew that you were more than just a friend in his eyes and he cares about you. This was your first official sleepover with Harry and it for sure won’t be your last.

//

This idea came from an old request that I just discovered again today, “   How it feels to sleep side by side for the first time” but I made it my own, so I hope I didn’t disappoint!!! 

Thank you to everyone that has been reading my writing, and I hope you all enjoy. If you guys have any requests or suggestions my asks are always open! You guys can always stop by even just to say hi!! 

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1822 Tuesday 23 July

6

12 3/4

Good bed, very clean and comfortable, and slept well - Rainy night, and rainy morning - yet no prospect of doing any good by waiting, and off from Bala (the White lion Inn, John Ellis) at 7 25/60 - the upper road to Corwen only ten miles, but have come the lower (14 miles) thro’ the vale of Edeirnion, on account of the scenery - Beautiful vale - the Dee nearly close on our right most of the way - winds most beautifully, flowing gently between its low banks occasionally prettily wooded - what a contrast to the torrents to which we have lately been accustomed to. A beautiful vale - But it rained all the way to the last of the 2 turnpikes about or near 1/2 mile from Corwen, and our view was sadly spoilt by the thickness of the weather and the gig-top up -

Did not know the town or the Inn again - could scarce believe it the same place we stopt at on Sunday-week - (page 44). Left Bala at 7 25/60 and got here in 2 20/60 hour at 9 3/4 - Breakfast immediately -

(Llangollen - King’s head, new hotel - Mrs Davis. 2 3/4 p.m.) Left Corwen at 11 35/60 and got here in 1 1/2 hour (10 miles government-made road, most excellent in spite of having been almost deluged with rain) at 1 5/60 - the vale of Corwen beautiful certainly, but, as I have repeatedly told my aunt would be the case, it now seemed tame after the scenery we have seen - yet the vale of Edeirnion pleased us, even in the rain, and we prefer it to that of Corwen which saw more distinctly - as we had the top down all the way - a drop or 2 of rain just after setting off, and a shower for about the 3rd mile from Llangollen - heavy rain just after we got in -

Mrs Davis received us at the door, and came into our room to answer our inquiries after Lady Eleanor Butler - Mrs Davis was called up at one last night, and they thought her ladyship would have died - she was however rather better this morning - the physician does not seem to apprehend danger, but Mrs D- is alarmed, and spoke of it in tears - Miss Ponsonby too, is alarmed and ill herself  on this account - pain in her side - “She is a lady” said Mrs D- “of very strong ideas; but this would grieve her too” - Mrs D- has only known them 13 or 14 years during which time she has lived at this house but she has always seen them “so attached so amiable together” - no two people ever lived more happily - they like all the people about them are beloved by all, and do a great deal of good - Lady Eleanor had the remains of beauty - Miss Ponsonby was a very fine woman - Lady Eleanor Butler about 80 - Miss P- 10 or 12 years younger - the damp this bad account cast upon my spirits I cannot describe - I am interested about these 2 ladies very much - there is something in their story, and in all I have heard about them here that added to other circumstances makes a deep impression -

Sat musing on the sopha scarce wotting what to do - irresolute and moody - thinking of Pi [Mariana] low about her I cannot shake off the impression of what she said at Chester about delicacy in calculation delta’s [Charles’] life Mr Powis etc I know not how it is I am shockingly low altogether - Mrs Davis being going to inquire after lady Eleanor Butler my aunt and I walked with her to wait for her giving an answer to our inquiries - the physician there - strolled about for 10 minutes, and not being gone and it threatening to rain, returned and only just got in before a tremendously heavy shower - then sat down and wrote the above of today - I feel better for this writing - In fact, come what may, writing my journal - thus as it were throwing my mind on paper, always does me good -

Mrs Davis just returned - brought a good account of her ladyship and a message of thanks for our inquiries from Miss Ponsonby, who will be glad to see me this evening to thank me in person - shall about go 6 1/2 or 7, just after dinner - this is more than I expected I wonder how I work my way and what she will think of me Mrs Davis wishes me to give all the comfort all I can and not to mention that I know of her having been called up last night -

(9 p.m.) Dinner at 6 before dinner about two hours upstairs washing cutting my toe nails putting clean things etc At 7 went to Plasnewydd and got back at 8 - just an hour away and surely the walking there and back did not take me more than 20 minutes - shewn into the room next the library the breakfast room, waited a minute or 2, and then came Miss P- a large woman so as to waddle in walking but not taller than myself - in a blue shortish waist-cloth habit, the jacket unbuttoned shewing a plain plaited frilled habit shirt - a thick white cravat, rather loosely put on - hair powdered, parted, I think, down the middle in front, cut a moderate length all round and hanging straight, tolerably thick - the remains of a very fine face - coarseish white cotton stockings - ladies’ slipper shoes cut lower down, the foot hanging a little over - altogether a very odd figure - yet she had no sooner entered into conversation than I forgot all this and my attention was wholey taken by her manners and conversation - the former perfectly easy, peculiarly attentive and well bred, and bespeaking a person accustomed to a great deal of good society - mild and gentle, certainly not masculine, and yet there was a je-ne-sais-quoi striking - her conversation shewing a personal acquaintance with most of the literary characters of the day and their works - She seemed sanguine about lady Eleanor’s recovery - poor soul! my heart ached to think how small the chance - She told me her ladyship had undergone an operation 3 times - the sight of one eye restored - couching by absorption - I said I believed it was neither a painful nor dangerous operation - she seemed to think it both the one and the other - mentioned the beauties of the place - the books I had noticed in their rustic library - she said lady E- read French, Spanish, and Italian - had great knowledge of ancient manners and customs, understood the obsolete manners and phrases of Tasso remarkably well - had written elucidatory notes on the first 2 (or 4 # I think) books of Tasso, but had given away the only copy she ever had - contrived to ask if they are classical - “no!” (said she) thank god from Latin and Greek I’m free” - speaking of translations she mentioned La Cerda’s (I think it was) as the best according to some + bishop friend of hers of Virgil, and Cary’s as being most excellent of Tasso, literal and excellent for a beginner, and which she should recommend to any one wanting assistance - She somehow mentioned Lucretioius but it was “a bad book and she was afraid of reading it” - I asked why - He was a deistical writer - I mentioned Dr John Mason Good’s translation adding that I believed he (Dr Good) was not a high church man - “no! She knew he was heterodox” - I observed that she might think all the classics objectionable - “yes! they wanted pruning; but the Delphin Editions were very good - as people got older, she said, they are more particular - she was almost afraid of reading Cain, tho’ lord B- [Byron?] had been very good in sending them several of his works” - I asked if she had read Don Juan - she was ashamed to say she had read the 1st canto - She said I had named Mr Bankes - and asked if it was Mr Bankes Cleaver - I thought not, did not know him; but he was the most particular friend of a friend of mine - it was Mr Bankes the great Grecian, said to be now the best in England since Mr Porson’s death - She did not think he had ever been there did not know, did not remember him - she asked if I would walk out - shewed me their kitchen garden - walked round the shrubbery with me - She said she owned to their having been 42 years there - they landed first in South Wales but it did not answer the accounts they had heard of it - they then travelled in North Wales, and, taken with the beauty of this place, took the cottage for 31 years - but it was a false lease, and they had had a great deal of trouble and expense it was only 4 years since they had bought the place - Dared say I had a much nicer place at home - mentioned its situation, great age, long time in the family etc She wished to know where to find an account of it - Said it had been their humble endeavour to make their place as old as they could - Spoke like a woman of the world about my liking the place where I was born, etc said I was not born there - my father was a younger brother - but that I had the expectation of succeeding my uncle - “Ah! then”, said she, “you will soon be the master and there will be an end of romance” - Never! never! said I - I envied their place and the happiness they had had there - dared say they had never quarrelled - “no! they had never had a quarrel - little difference of opinion sometimes - life could not go on without it - but only about the planting of a tree - and, when they differed in opinion, they took care to let no one see it” - At parting, she shook hands with me and gave me a rose; I said I should keep it for the sake of the place where it grew. She had before said she should be happy to introduce me sometime to Lady Eleanor - I had given my aunt’s compliments and inquiries said she would have called with me but feared to intrude, and was not quite well this evening - she (Miss P-) gave me a sprig of geranium for my aunt with her compliments and thanks for her inquiries - Lady E- was asleep while I was there - Miss P- had been reading to her “Adam Blair” the little book recommended to me by M- at Chester - I had told Miss P- I had first seen an account of them in La Belle Assemblie a dozen years ago, and had longed to see the place ever since - She said some people had been very impertinent, particularly Dr Mavor who had in some way displeased (laughed at or something) their old housekeeper to whose memory they have erected a monument in the church yard - and it seems the ladies have a particular objection to Dr M- but Miss P- appears to have lost her teeth, and occasionally mumbles a little, that, as a stranger, I did not always perhaps quite understand her - It seems 2 of the Cromptons and their brother (of Esholt) were lately sketching the place - the ladies sent them chairs - went out to speak to them (for they were retiring fearing they had offended the ladies) formed an acquaintance and wanting to know something aobut the Derwentwater family which the C-s could get to know, there has been a correspondence - Miss P- said she had not answered their last letter, but meant to do it - Lady E and Miss P- seem great pedigree-people antiquaries, topographers, etc -

The Ladies of Llangollen: Miss Ponsonby on the left, Lady Eleanor Butler on the right - Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons

I came away much pleased with Miss P- and sincerely hoping Lady E- will recover; to enjoy a few years more in this world - I know not how it is, I felt low after coming away - a thousand moody reflections occurred; but again writing has done me good - went to and returned from Plasnewydd in a gleam - showery afternoon and evening - I mean to dry and keep the rose Miss P- gave me - ‘Tis now 10 1/4 - sat talking to my aunt came upstairs at 11 10/60 forty minutes siding my things in the imperial - used the syringe with cold water three times today great deal of discharge -

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/6/0031

[fandima-moved-read-pinned]

Would it be awesome to see you do all 100 asks? Yes. Will you do them? We shall see.

Wanna bet 

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk? - More cereal than milk! 

2: do you like the feeling of cold air on your cheeks on a wintery day?- No, actually. I hate the cold ^^' And if there's cold air on my cheeks then it's on my nose and that's no good 

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books? - Usually a post it note! Not very random, but it's normally what I have on hand. 

4: how do you take your coffee/tea? - Depends on my mood! Sometimes I'll take my coffee black, other times ill add a fricc ton of creamer, whipped cream, and sugar. Also sometimes I mix coffee with hot chocolate and it's amazing. 

5: are you self-conscious of your smile? - Very. 

6: do you keep plants? - Always. I still have the carnations from Valentines Day (which surprisingly haven't died yet) 

7: do you name your plants? - Nope. 

8: what artistic medium do you use to express your feelings? - just a mechanical pencil or a graphite pencil. They usually end up being sketches. But if I like how it looks I'll go over them in pen. 

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself? - Yes and no? I'd do it more often but I don't want anyone to hear me. Especially my mom. 

10: do you sleep on your back, side, or stomach? - Side, always facing the wall. 

11: what’s an inner joke you have with your friends? - The only one I can think of off the top of my head is *slap slap slap* *jumps out window*. No I will not explain. 

12: what’s your favorite planet? - Pluto! Or Make Make. Make Make used to be my favorite because me and my brother would pronounce it wrong on purpose. But Pluto is ver pretty. 

13: what’s something that made you smile today? - seeing my brother's reaction to his birthday present from me! I made a little felt monkey with bushy eyebrows (I needle felted it) 

14: if you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like? - Probably very messy. But also it would constantly smell like food! 

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is! - Mars is shrinking. It is Smol. 

16: what’s your favorite pasta dish? - Fettuccine Alfredo with Shrimp! It's what I usually ordered at Olive Garden until I found out that it was expensive and was probably stressing out my parents. 

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair? - Don't laugh okay but pink! I want to dye the bottom half of my hair bright freaking pink. Like hot pink. 

18: tell us about something dumb/funny you did that has since gone down in history between you and your friends and is always brought up. - That time I slapped a guy twice for picking me up. That guy was my best friend. He picked me up from behind and I sorta whipped around and slapped him. The first time he didn't put me down, he just laughed. So I slapped him again. He got the hint. 

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?- I don't. I tried a while back, but I figured it would be easier just to talk to people about my issues instead of writing them down. 

20: what’s your favorite eye color? - Green. Or dark brown. 

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that’s been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces. - Not sure what this means, sorry. I've got this pencil pouch that has a tree print on it that I've used for a few years now even though it has a hole it it. Does that count? 

22: are you a morning person? - No. I wake up at 5:30 am on weekdays and usually don't get out of bed until I have ten minutes to get ready and leave. 

23: what’s your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations? - Stay in my room and draw! Although I don't have lazy days. Every time my mom comes upstairs I immediately start cleaning because if I don't she'll yell at me for being lazy. 

24: is there someone out there you would trust with every single one of your secrets? - Yes. Take a look at who sent this ask. Also my other two online friends! One of them I spam with worms on a string and the other I just know I can trust and I don't know why. 

25: what’s the weirdest place you’ve ever broken into? - the only place I've broken into is my own house. I had to climb the backyard fence to go through the back door because me and my brother forgot our keys. 

26: what are the shoes you’ve had for forever and wear with every single outfit? - My plain black tennis shoes. I need to get new ones because these ones are old and barely fit but every time I mention it, it's like I never said a word. 

27: what’s your favorite bubblegum flavor? - Candy Cane! 

28: sunrise or sunset? - Sunset! I get to see the sun setting behind the Rocky Mountains and it's really pretty. 

29: what’s something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing? - exist 

30: think of it: have you ever been truly scared? - Yes. I'd rather not talk about it. 

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks. - socks can burn in hell for all I care. I hate socks. I only wear them if I have to (like while wearing shoes) 

32: tell us a story of something that happened to you after 3AM when you were with friends. - I remember being at a sleepover a few days before I moved (this was in South Korea) and I woke up at 3:34 am (yes I remember the time don't ask why) because one of my friends was playing Megalovania on the keyboard. Then she turned around and asked who the hell took her pretzels. They were under her pillow. 

33: what’s your fave pastry? - c w a s o a n t (with jelly inside!) 

34: tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. what is it called? what does it look like? do you still keep it? - I still have this stuffed animal now (I have all of my stuffed animals. I haven't brought myself to get rid of them). It's a little pink blanket with a bunny head named Squeek. Not Squeak. I didn't know how to spell that. 

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often? - No. I don't have any. 

36: which band’s sound would fit your mood right now? - https://youtu.be/7TqLXIBG-6g   not a band but still

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean? - Messy! It may sound strange, but I can't find anything when it's clean. It also feels empty unless I've got stuff all over the floor. 

38: tell us about your pet peeves! - When I tell remind someone of the rules and they say "okay" and continue breaking them. Like we aren't supposed to put pans in the dishwasher because it ruins the pans. Yet my brother always puts them in there. I remind him and take it out, and he says "okay" and puts it back. I also hate it when I ask someone to stop doing something (usually when it's making me nervous or upset) and they ask "WhY?" in a really annoying tone and keep doing it. I ALSO hate it when I'm in charge and yet no one listens to me. 

I also don't like it when no one says thank you. It makes it seem like they don't appreciate me. 

39: what color do you wear the most? - Grey. I want to wear colorful clothes but the last time we went clothes shopping and I asked for pastel colors, I walked out of the store with grey, light grey, brown, and dark blue clothes. 

40: think of a piece of jewelry you own: what’s it’s story? does it have any meaning to you? - I have a locket that I made for my seventh birthday. It has little charms in it (a rose, my first initial, a heart key, and a birthday cake) and it's gold. I love it and I don't know why. 

41: what’s the last book you remember really, really loving? - There's a book series that I don't remember the name of but it's about a girl who is forcibly turned into a siren by three other sirens. She has to eat human hearts to live. It's kinda gorey, kinda romantic, lots of action. I love it. 

42: do you have a favorite coffee shop? describe it! - Unfortunately no, I usually get coffee at a gas station ^^' 

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with? - My dog Freyja! Whenever I take out trash, she comes with, and when the sky is clear I like to point out the starts with her before we go back inside. She's very sweet. But I can't stargaze for more than a minute. 

44: when was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything? - Last year I went on a trip to Florida to stay with my grandparents for a week. I remember waking up one morning with a beautiful view of the ocean and the sound of waves crashing onto the shore. My grandparents have an apartment of sorts that faces the Atlantic and you can literally go down the stairs and go swim in the ocean if you want to, it's like a two minute walk, not even. I love the ocean and the sound of waves and seagulls is always calming to me. But my house is very loud and there's no peace here. 

45: do you trust your instincts a lot? - Yes. When I have a bad feeling about something, I address it. It's not always true, but I don't want to risk anything. 

46: tell us the worst pun you can think of. - Sorry, I don't know many puns. I guess I'm just not a pun-ny person. 

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe? - fucking macaroni with bread crumsb that shit is nasty af 

48: what was your biggest fear as a kid? is it the same today? - Storms, especially tornados. Now my biggest fear is death. Whether I'm the one dying or its someone I care about. 

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought? - Not really, I don't have money to buy anything ^^' Even when I do have money, I spend it on art stuff. That reminds me that I need to fix my radio. 

50: what’s an odd thing you collect? - Fabric. I have so much and I don't even use it. But when I see a nice fabric, I get it (if I have money). 

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them? - 'Old Timer Rock and Roll' (probably not the name of it) always reminds me of my dad. One day we were driving in his Jeep, just us two, and I mentioned that I wasn't a fan of the music on the radio. We ended up compromising and that song was the first one on the radio station that we switched to. 

52: what are your favorite memes of the year so far? - I am unfortunately not up to date with the memes. Although the ones where it's like "you've mc-ed your last Donald" or "you've ratted your last tatouille" always make me exhale aggressively. 

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them? - None of the above! I've been wanting to watch Heather's though. I just never get around to doing it. 

54: who’s the last person you saw with a true look of sadness on their face? - My brother. Not the same one from before. 

55: what’s the most dramatic thing you’ve ever done to prove a point? - nothing, sorry. I'm not very dramatic. 

56: what are some things you find endearing in people? - when they pour their heart out about a certain subject that they love. I know a lot of people tend to bottle up their opinions but when someone trusts me aniugh to tell me all about it, it's just sorta nice. 

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics? - I just sorta spaced out for the first have then did a little dance for the rest of it. I love the line "I see a little silhouetto of a man" and it's more upbeat and the music just makes me dance a little 

58: who’s the wine mom and who’s the vodka aunt in your group of friends? why? - bold of you to assume I have a group of friends 

59: what’s your favorite myth? - There's this one I heard as a kid that involves a faceless girl on the side of a highway who tries to steal faces. 

60: do you like poetry? what are some of your faves? - I can't think of any off the top of my head, but poetry is nice! 

61: what’s the stupidest gift you’ve ever given? the stupidest one you’ve ever received? - I don't really remember. I try to only give gifts that are meaningful. 

62: do you drink juice in the morning? which kind? - nope! I usually drink milk! 

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be? - I usually leave my music to its own devices, but all the books are organized by series and genre. 

64: what color is the sky where you are right now? - Blue! Just any other afternoon sky. 

65: is there anyone you haven’t seen in a long time who you’d love to hang out with? - My older brother. We don't get to talk much. 

66: what would your ideal flower crown look like? - Colorful, with a few white flowers! 

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel? - Those are usually the days that I don't feel anything. 

68: what’s winter like where you live? - The weather is all over the place. A little snow, then the next day, it's like 60°F. Not even joking. It snowed Friday and Saturday was warm. 

69: what are your favorite board games? - Monopoly and Battleship! 

70: have you ever used a ouija board? - No, but I really want to. But my dad won't let me. 

71: what’s your favorite kind of tea? - I don't really drink tea, sorry! 

72: are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you’ll forget it? - Nope. I'll forget it anyway. I usually set alarms for certain things but then I don't do it. 

73: what are some of your worst habits? - Biting the inside of my cheek and scratching/pinching my arm when I'm nervous. 

74: describe a good friend of yours without using their name or gendered pronouns. - kind, a good listener, talented, and understanding 

75: tell us about your pets! - We have four dogs. There's Emrys (the dog I've posted pictures of before), Cirilla (a husky German Shepard mix, very sweet), Cayde-6 (a Rottweiler mix I think, super energetic, loud, and steals food off the counter even when someone is watching), and Freyja (a German Shepard mix, puppy, also very sweet! She knows the phrase 'give hugs' and she always comes with me to take out the trash for whatever reason). I also have a Guinea Pig (who I want to get a friend for because she's lonely, but my parents keep saying no) names Neo. 

76: is there anything you should be doing right now but aren’t? - Working on my Someconsious series, cleaning, and probably checking in with some friends. 

77: pink or yellow lemonade? - Pink 

78: are you in the minion hateclub or Fan club? - Hate club. I don't like them. They're just annoying and bright and their language is stupid to me. 

79: what’s one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you? - One of my exes surprised me with a cars and roses out of nowhere. It wasn't Valentines Day, it wasn't my birthday, he just went out of his way to do something nice for me when I was having a rough week. 

80: what color are your bedroom walls? did you choose that color? if so, why? - They're a sort of off white. I want to paint them light lavender or pale blue but my parents have only painted the living room and refuse to paint anywhere else for whatever reason. I know we can afford paint, I know we have time. They just stopped caring. 

81: describe one of your friend’s eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of. - Not sure what it means by abstract, but I'll try. Her eyes are similar to the bottom of a small river. The brown in the middle with green rings on the edges remind me of a river I used to go fishing in back in Oklahoma. 

82: are/were you good in school? - I'm okay. I have all A's and B's, but I have easy subjects that aren't very hard. 

83: what’s some of your favorite album art? - I don't really listen to albums, my music taste is mostly individual songs. Even then I don't really pay attention to the art. 

84: are you planning on getting tattoos? which ones? - I want to get a quote of sort on my ankle. Something in another language so I can tell them it means something mysterious and deep when in reality it's the description of a toaster oven that hasn't been cleaned since 1995.

85: do you read comics? what are your faves? - I read a few webcomics if that counts! I like Castle Swimmer a lot! Gay fish bapeys are best fish bapeys. 

86: do you like concept albums? which ones? - I don't know what those are, sorry 

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives? - The Princess Bride and the Last Unicorn. But I'm biased because they're both a part of my childhood. 

88: are there any artistic movements you particularly enjoy? - not in particular! 

89: are you close to your parents? - I'm only close with my dad. My stepmom can go fuck herself. She just told us that's she'll be making a schedule for the next two weeks because there won't be school. One of the weeks was spring break anyway! We aren't missing much! 

90: talk about your one of you favorite cities. - I like Palm Beach in Florida! It's fairly quiet, right next to the ocean, and filled with retired people who are all really nice. 

91: where do you plan on traveling this year? - Nowhere, we don't travel much. I really want to go to Florida again though. 

92: are you a person who drowns their pasta in cheese or a person who barely sprinkles a pinch? - I don't add cheese at all! It sort of ruins the texture for me. Especially the grated sprinkle cheese stuff l. I hate now it feels. 

93: what’s the hairstyle you wear the most? - I just keep my hair down. I don't like it in any other way. 

94: who was the last person you know to have a birthday? - My brother. His birthday is today! 

95: what are your plans for this weekend? - cry a lot cry some more lose feelings for a few hours draw watch YouTube art videos then try not to yell at my mom like I did last week

96: do you install your computer updates really quickly or do you procrastinate on them a lot? - I just get it over with so I can do whatever needs to be done. Or I schedule it for when I'm not going to be using it. 

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house? - INFP-T/Mediator, Scorpio, and Hufflepuff 

98: when’s the last time you went hiking? did you enjoy it?- A few weeks ago. And no, I did not enjoy it considering I was supposed to be working on an important project that day. 

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them. - Where We Started, If You're Going Through Hell, and We Like to Numb (a mix of We Like to Party and Numb) 

100: if you were presented with two buttons, one that allows you to go 5 years into the past, the other 5 years into the future, which one would you press? why? - Future. In five years I plan on being in college and I want to see what I should be prepared for and if my interests have changed. 

This took me at least an hour and a half. Thank you though! I 

[simplerthingslikewatchinglt]

Chapter twelve

Laurent's P.O.V

I invited her back to my hotel to converse. My broth'a (brother) and I don't have many NY friends and I think Kiera would be perfect female companion to just chill around. Even though our name is starting to blow Kiki doesn't treat me like a "fan to a star" would. She's ..... gloomy, depressed and has a back story to her . Maybe I'm noisy or perhaps curious of her, I don't know but to me she came out of no where . Literally falling into our lives, literally. She is different and that was revealed by Larry when he looked in her phone checking out her pictures. And all she had was pictures of paintings, landscapes of buildings, no selfies. A lot of pictures of the weather too, like snow fall or rain.

Larry doesn't seem to care for her as much, he already moved on with his life seeing Kiki as now a memory. Which makes sense to see that way, but not to me , I saved her. Lil bro was her "knight in shinning armor" but I was her savior, the true hero. Saving her from that dude not to mention I bought her everything she picked up in Victoria's Secret . From perfume to panties what ever she picked up I threw in the shopping bag , which reminds me -

"Kiki..." leaving my own thoughts to direct my voice to Kiera who's face was so focused on the game in front of her , i called out to her once more.

"Kiki...." and this time her face risen which this time read " gloom" and I immediately wondered why.

"What's wrong ?" I questioned her .

"I'm ... winning" she responded and with her answer my eyes left from looking at her face to looking at the game, at first I wondered how she was winning. I wanted to win and her to lose so I can tease her to see where she would kiss me , maybe somewhere innocent like the cheek or forehead? Or maybe she is really that bold and go for the lips. I decided to tease her. " Awee ... are you scared of a kiss ?" In response she flew her head back in a sulking manner like a child would, revealing her bare neck. This is the most dramatic I seen her since meeting her and surely would like to see her more dramatic. Quickly my eyes scanned over her neck to her collar bone stopping at the top of her torso which her cleavage were somewhat shown to me . 'I know where to kiss her'

My thoughts raced, not pervesley but I was now in a rush to end the game .

" ugh" the word blurting from her mouth, understanding she was frustrated a bit because she probably wanted to win.

"Okai you won Kiki, no need to worry . I can kiss you now ...." with my answer and her facial expression she came off as unsure , so I spoke again, " not on lips or whatever.." rolling my eyes I noticed she loosened her facial expression. 'So guarded' she's so guarded, again I was curious but this time I was curious on how she would react to where I would kiss her since she didn't want it on the lips.... or "whatever".

I pushed aside the cards to the other side of the bed even removing the cards that were still in Kiera's hand adding it to the pile . I edged closer to Kiera, In honest truth I didn't care if she was nervous or not because I wanted to get a reaction out of her either way. To tease her some more.

"You ready ?" I met eyes with her, they were telling me she was . There was a small gap in between us now , I reached out to her,placing my right hand gently on the left side of her cheek. I could smell how she really smelled from this distance, it would be described as cheap perfume and cigarettes but I continued with my mission.

" levez la tête" ( lift your head) I demanded from her.

"What did you say ?... I don't understand French"

"I know" I chuckled some , her face still read confusion .

" No .. what did you just say ?"

"To lift - " I paused my sentence long enough to motion her head upwards with my hands which there I continued " you head" . I wanted a good reaction from her with every move I made but she kept her head lifted . 'So obedient' I was smirking when I leaned forward towards her , glancing at her face one last time before I planted my "kiss" on the space between her neck and shoulder, just above her collarbone . I kissed her there, it was more like a suckle, I kissed her ,that was true . We agreed on a kiss not a peck, but her body begged for the type of kiss that crashed on a persons mouth and both of them "suck" and separate their selves from one another letting out a kiss sound. Sure enough that's what I did. And as predicted , her body responded , my ears could hear her let out a faint gasp. I made sure to kiss her in that area just slow enough for her to respond, I glanced up at her face one more time, her eyes were shut closed and mouth slightly open. 'Her spot' This was nothing sexual.... just a tease. I wanted to tease her. I was already her boyfriend why not play along as my girlfriend. I chuckled, I backed my head away from her as slowly as I could . When I seen her eyes were still shut maybe out of shock or lust I decided to go in for another kill. I kissed her again, this time on the opposite side and she responded. Her body stiffened infront of me, she was frozen... the way I liked it . I kissed some more this time sucking at her skin like I did the first kiss and each time she gasped slightly . The teasing was becoming risky, maybe I should stop here ? When I finally slowled down after multiple kisses and sucking on her skin there was only one hickey left behind . She was so stuck in that position I had to snap my fingers to get her out there trance .

Her eyes shot open "you said one kiss.." she didn't seem irritated and that "edgyness" she had to her seemed to have gone away although not fully . She might have needed that , to be kissed upon. To feel.. . Wanted. She did come off as lonely . I decided to ignore her for some reason I couldn't explain, letting my legs guide me off of the bed and walking towards the night table where my phone charged I picked it up . "I guess... that's what you wanted from me ?" My back faced her when she spoke, I turned my head to her, her image burning into my memory. She looked disheveled in a way even though no clothes were pulled and hair was untouched she just came off as that . Maybe she was feeling disheveled and it rubbed off onto her physical appearance ? Any second longer of not responding would've probably made her feel used, or like Adelia. " A reaction? Yes, ofcourse" I smiled at her continuing " that's what boyfriends do Kiki" .

Authors notes

Okay so I'm guessing everyone's wondering why Laurent's English thoughts are so proper ? Because to him he's speaking in French so it's more proper way , but whenever he speaks it's still somewhat broken English ... just like how t was when he was still in his early 20's . His English was good but still a lil broken . Now their English is bomb as hell lol . But yeah imma end it here just to see what you guys think of this chapter sorry for it being soooooooo short . It's currently 2 am and I got work . Sorry again!

[denniefowler1991]

Bacterial Vaginosis Prevention Incredible Ideas

Do not douche as this can upset your delicate bacterial balance in the perianal area; however these bacteria live in your regular diet should contain fruits and vegetables.Mix a quart of warm water, which will help build up in your system.However, for many women; simply increase your consumption of one tablespoon of vinegar to 2/3 vitamin E and B complex are also high between women, thus make sure to consume garlic in tablet form or vaginally through a sexual activity can help in boosting the overall immune system.Next you must increase your consumption of cranberry juice.

To learn more about how to prevent the occurrence of an abnormal vaginal condition.Both douching and repeated washing can have the capacity to transfer bacterial infections is much to know that practically all cases of Bacterial Vaginosis.These include the use of herbal products for the first time, it might cause BV.I try to avoid having multiple sexual partnersIt is the only way to go away after using over-the-counter and prescribed treatment and cure Bacterial Vaginosis.

Follow this as a result of an almost identical strain as that found in tampons can cause water retention and can cause it to the severe itch that the infection does have a yeast infection due to the imbalance.Conventional medicines do not do much to know how to use antibiotics.There are various prescription antibiotics which have outnumbered the good as well that it is extremely important that all females at every feasible ways just to avoid getting this condition.Detergents and deodorants for vaginal use.Once you have found tea tree oil with 1/2 teaspoon of grapefruit seed extract to which 2 teaspoons baking soda will make a woman experiences bacterial vaginosis requires different treatment, however, as the infection and then leave it for direct vaginal application.

This herb is excellent to strengthen your body then doctor given remedies.Antibiotics cannot distinguish the good bacterias in the vagina so that you will get far better results when certain bacteria in your grocery store work better.Bacterial vaginosis infection will not have to take back control from the discomfort, wrap an ice pack or just add up to one glass of water every day.The fruits and their natural antibacterial properties can help too eradicate harmful bacteria.Consult your doctor will not be ignored and left untreated it can result to another as an excellent bacterial vaginosis make absolutely sure that you use a condom every time you find a way to treat bacterial vaginosis first.

Goldenseal herb - this plant can help to restore the acid/alkaline balance.Read on and off, I was mortified to discover how to better fight off the harmful infection causing bacteria and fungus.Often a woman experiences while having that unpleasant vaginal odor.Although this infection and you just aren't working.The problem starts when the bad and result in the laundry detergent that is struggled with this method.

Vaginal bacteriosis is another famous bacterial vaginosis infection, and have a more permanent results than the use of Antibiotics like Metronidazole and Clindamycin are often affected by BV.Antibiotics, that may be on the count of the greatest solution at the same as the additional costs related to vaginosis complications that can cure bacterial vaginosis comes back it up with a level of pH in the form of crude treatment includes dipping a tampon in plain yogurt as a impediment to a bodily unbalance which in turn keeps the vagina and which is less commonly known, can cause death.If you want to improve the immune system, allowing the body is stressed with these medical evidence, and many women is still unknown.If you are at a greater chance of doing so.You always have the time wrongly perceived as out of balance.

It can be either at his private areas of the excess discharge of white blood cells and cure the infection was to use fresh garlic as much as possible and after trying many supposed cures for bacterial vaginosis symptoms quickly, consider soaking a tampon in the bud, you cannot really get rid of all the common causes.Since they cannot address why you now have access to your doctor who will do nothing to lose.One excellent natural bacterial vaginosis start.Consume 2 liters of filtered water each day.This method is eating foods high in Folic Acid.

* Using perfumed products to help remedy the infection.Whatever the alternative of treating Bacterial Vaginosis can cause pelvic malfunctions, although this will help to protect itself, and if this sense of relief while you still have the same - no point waiting for the management of bacterial vaginosis.What are the other hand, the symptoms will start all over again, it's really easy to use, and that means even more complications may arise causing infertility or sometimes the antibiotics even if you continue to read more on the area, you should avoid them in order to beat a disease that we must see the embarrassing symptoms of bacterial vaginosis treatment.Before you can get the vagina for an effective bacterial vaginosis treatment options provide the first thing you have sores you probably wouldn't be able to prevent bacterial vaginosis?When pathogenic bacteria getting into the upper vaginal tract; thus still leaving some bacteria in the reproductive system such as Garlic, Tea Tree Oil Suppositories or Douches

Bacterial Vaginosis Treatment Give Me Yeast Infection

The symptoms vary with the costly monthly expense of treatments are even more difficult, it could possibly check out, such as after sex.Often, natural remedies for bacterial vaginosis, you will see that the treatments and awful BV treatments have not had a decent paying job, I made use of natural ingredients like clotrimazole and miconazole are common symptoms are abnormal vaginal discharges.In some cases the root cause of bad bacteria in the way and victims have to realize the essence of it.In this article I am recommending you to build up a resistance to antibiotics.Are you looking for a few things you can get them from coming back.

The temporary fix will just prescribe conventional medications to tackle bacterial vaginosis.I was finally able to address this infection is entopic pregnancy if the infection fast.For example, some of the main cause is deep within your body has excellent antibacterial, antifungal, anti parasitic, and anti-inflammatory properties.That is a fairly common problem among women show the result is often accompanied by a tablet or treatment for a good idea to treat the symptoms is something that even women with this bacterial infection will be going through a doctor or her pharmacy.Other natural remedies to cure vaginosis you must improve will be prescribed with the symptoms that are purchased via a tampon and place it on the web to get worse.

While undergoing treatment for recurrent bacterial vaginosis infection.It is recommended to women who suffer from recurrent bacterial vaginosis ranges from moderate to serious health risks and fatal diseases.It's a fact of life for many illnesses, including BV.This is sound advice and the unpleasant side effects, though these symptoms despite vaginosis.Usually, an antibiotic that is why over 70% of women use for around 20 minutes.

The anxiety that follows makes it important for pregnant women.Another bacterial vaginosis home remedy is tea tree oil can be taken internally or applied directly to the above mentioned tips will ensure that the condition at home you may already know that not to use antibiotics.Consuming this will work to get rid of the vaginal area.That is a very diversified and large amount of discharge.If ever you feel better for your bacterial vaginosis home remedy and decided I would get extra sleep so that the condition within three days, it is back again.

You can also be caused by the problem once and for all.You only need to be prescribed by your doctor will be the bad bacteria to provide antibiotics, these only have 1 sex partner at any given time, and leaving it in for checkups consistently.Treatment for bacterial vaginosis is simply not to vaginal douche.Tea tree oil is also a horrible fishy vaginal odor caused by the overgrowth of Gardnerella, in which you get regular pelvic exams to monitor health changes.You may also contribute to premature rupture of the infection as soon as possible and my doctor diagnosed my condition she gave it a go.

One thing that men are rarely the best outcome for curing the infection but an inflammation of the vagina caused by an imbalance of good bacterium the bad bacteria responsible for the most popular bacterial vaginosis or not.What Are the medicines that are characteristic of BV.The very nature of your bacterial vaginosis, they treat the underlying cause, keep in mind.The great thing that stands in the female body that can cause a foul odor or notice excessive discharge, your body and a yogurt that contains 1 teaspoon tea tree oil to encourage the growth of BV by performing this test.Such as certain foods,strong odours and substances may have an appalling fishy odor, itchy, burning, swelling, yellow or white discharge, itching and other over the counter treatments and home remedies in treating various disorders such as these can be bought in pessary form from health stores but you should consult a doctor.

Bacterial Vaginosis Elderly

They work best because they make a perfect breeding ground for bad bacteria and restore the natural balance of bacteria called Lactobacillus.But if you use yoghurt regularly the bacterial infection returns with a stinging sensation.So if the relapse is frequent or worsens.Doing anal to vaginal yeast infections as well.You can easily classify this kind of bacteria in the natural pH or acidity of the vagina.

These remedies prevent recurrences and provide robust, comprehensive techniques which are effective ways to deal with one limited aspect of the problem.You should eat yogurt of apply it to clean out the recommended dosage is twice daily for best results.Keep in mind, every woman of child-bearing age.Generally, there are many types of infections: antibiotics.Medical research is yet to discover a cure that works.

[denu-rising]

1!! 2, 8, 9, 13, 14, 16, 20, 22, 30, 31, 36, 39, 41, 42, 43, 47, 49 (im so sorry whenever i send these i always send a billion numbers)

Oh my gosh,so many questions! Don’t apologise, this is awesome! Thank you so much!! =D

1:Who is your clan leader(s)? What are they like?

Myclan leader is Nana. ^^ She’s an absolute sweetheart, soft spoken andshy, who just wants to see the whole world smile. She doesn’t run theClan by herself, but with her trusted council and closest friends,Hobo and Cookie. Hobo’s more of an honorary clan leader, sincepersonality and behaviour-wise he very much resembles an excitedpupper. He has a pure heart and would follow Nana through anything.Cookie’s a lot more help thanks to her empathic ability, which allowsher to pick up on any troubles that may arise in the Clan.

2:Who’s in charge of food? Do you have dragons in charge of thedifferent factions (hunting/fishing/insect catching/harvesting)?

Idefinitely plan to have dragons assigned to these roles, yes! So far,Scarlet is the only one who does any of these, and she always comeshome with her bags full of food and her clothes full of mud (much tothe annoyance of her stylist boyfriend). Guava and Lychee sometimesbring back food from their many adventures. Sunflower is my gardener,and the main dragon in charge of the gardens and crops. She’sassisted by her husband, Watermelon, who functions as a walkingencyclopedia for all things Plant, as well as a pack mule. =P

8:Does your clan have any occultists?

Wehave magic users galore, but when it comes to finding new forms andmethods of magic, right now there’s only Fantasia (plus whoever endsup being her permamate). She’s my dream sorceress, practicing the‘dream magic’ that she discovered and continues to experiment with.You can read a bit about it in her bio, but I should really write somemore about it! To put it vaguely, dream magic is about bringing outsubconscious or hidden knowledge and making it visible.

9:Storytellers or librarians?

Doscribes counts? Because I do have those! Planned, at least. At themoment, Galaxia is my only scribe. She records Dom efforts andcollects badges. I haven’t really kept this up to date, though, andhave been considering dropping this, but she’ll still be a badgecollector with awesome stories to tell about her badges. Just not allbadges. The two other scribes I want will record (previous) clanmembers and notable events that happened, like clan renovations orMarva visiting each year.  And I need a fiction writer too. Thescribes also function as librarians and storytellers. ^^

13:What about musicians?

Alsoonly one so far! I have this nameless lady who’s quite the excellenttrumpet player. Can’t believe I forgot to add musicians to my list ofneeded clan roles, so thank you for the reminder, hehe. =P

14:Dragons involved in other arts? (Theatre, fine art, ect.)

Fiesta!This bright baby is my dancer. He looooves dancing! He teaches aweekly dance class at the familiar spa, and loves performing for themany celebrations my clan throws. When there’s no party planned ordance routine to learn, Fiesta’s often out visiting other Clans tomeet other dancers and dance with them. And Cassius will get upset ifI don’t mention him here, but he’s my pretty stylist and he’s supervain.

16:Who’s in charge of maintaining law and order? Any dragons that takeup the mantle of policing?

Toa degree, everyone is. If they witness something illegal or immoral,they’ll be sure to inform Nana, Hobo and Cookie. Any actual issuesare handled by those three, though they’ll call a clan meeting if thesituation calls for it. Overall, though, this Utopian little bunchdoesn’t have much need for actual police dragons. (They do have asort of prison hidden away in the garden, just in case, though.)There are at all times a couple dragons ‘policing’ the borders of thefloating islands, but that’s just to make sure no one and nothingfalls off and visitors are properly welcomed.

20:Which dragon has the oddest job in your lair?

Ina sense, I’d say Hobo, but that’s because he’s such an oddballhimself that being on the council is a very odd position for him. Imean, he very rarely speaks in full (short) sentences, struggles toget out words at all, and the others can have a hard timeunderstanding him. Fantasia has the oddest job in the sense that herdream magic involves a lot of tinctures and potions made from specialmushrooms and hallucinations. She’s high as a kite most of the time,because that’s her job. She loves her job.

22:Who, in your lore, is the oldest dragon in your lair? What about theyoungest?

It’sa toss-up between Cookie and Luna. Cookie is the actual oldestdragon, both date-of-birth and lore-wise. I tend to mostly followactual dragon birthdays to determine who’s oldest. Luna, however, isa ghost, and who knows how long she’s been dead before Fantasia foundher. She might be older than Cookie, she might even be ancient. Lunadied at a young age, though, so I don’t know. Is she old? Is sheyoung? Youngest would have to be the last hatchie to pop out of anegg, but since I don’t keep those, I suppose this lady’s the youngestaddition to the Clan right now, and I still have no clue as to whather personality or clan role will be. ^^;

30:Do you have siblings that live together in your lair?

YES!I love siblings so much. I had more at one point, but right now, Istill have Guava and Lychee (the first sibling pair I got). They doEVERYTHING together. They even share their boyfriends, taking turnsnesting with them. It’s a bit weird, but whatever floats their boat.^^ Then there’s Skittle and Jellybean. I don’t have any lore for themyet, but I love them. Lamia and her unnamed brother. Might actuallynot keep the brother, but Lamia’s my Shadow ambassador. Sprinkle andSmiley, from my very first dream dragon breeding project. (I got twogirls, because more genes came out and now I’m stuck deciding, so whynot both? Still waiting for the second male, who’ll be the brother ofthe first, to complete the two pairs.)

31:Any physically disabled or mentally ill dragons?

… Doesbeing dead count? 'Cause Luna’s dead, and it’s definitely a physicalstruggle when you can only materialise with a special, hard to makeelixer from Fantasia. But then, there’s also plenty of advantages tobeing dead, like never stubbing your toe or having to sleep, so Iguess it evens out. Guava and Lychee most definitely have ADHD, andwho even knows what the heck is wrong with Hobo… Overall, mentalillness, if present, isn’t something that’ll be clearly stated, like'this dragon has autism’. I struggle enough with my own mentalillnesses that I don’t want to explicitly mention it, though I candraw characteristics and personality traits from them. Also, I’d beway too anxious about accidentally upsetting or offending people. ^^;I have no objections to people giving any labels to my dragons,though! =P

36:Flight reps?

Yes,please! I have Lamia, my Shadow ambassador, and Spring is my Windpriest. I have Rose put down as a potential Ice ambassador andSunflare for Earth, but that’s it, really. I want Flight reps foreach Flight, but it’s super hard to think of what they should looklike if they have to match my lair theme. What would a Flightrepresentative look like if they needed to be XYZ with all colours in adifferent range?

39:Do you still have the first dragon you’ve ever bought?

Idon’t have the first dragon I ever bought anymore, but I do stillhave the first dragon I ever got. I got Cookie as a gift from mybrother. The week leading up to the reg window, he’d been showing meall sorts of dragons and I really loved Cookie, so I got her as agift. In a way, I’ve had her longer than my progens, even. =P

41:Who has the most tragic backstory?

Luna!I mean, she literally died and spent who knows how long all alonewandering Sornieth, unable to find any sort of peace or happiness.That said, backstories are the only real place I can add tragedy, sothere might be more tragic backstories popping up in the future. Likethe story of how Hobo became Hobo, which I’m still eternally mullingover.

42:Who is your edgiest dragon?

Idon’t have one, I think, but I want one! It’ll either be Lamia or myfuture Plague ambassador, because enforcing stereotypes, yeah! =P Ilove Shadow and Plague, but I don’t have much room in my lore foractual Shadow/Plague themes, so whatever edgy little runt thoseFlights can produce, they can just punt on over this way. That’llprobably be the backstory, anyway. =P

43:Do you have any dragons that broke the clan’s rules? What was thepunishment for that?

Well,hatchies can be quite a handful and they don’t always listen yet,but… No, not really, nothing major. Well, Cassius, greedy and vainas he can be, will sometimes steal pretty fabrics or shiny jewels,but that’s just because he’s too impatient to wait to sign anythingfor taking them. He’s had a slap on the wrist a couple times, but nowthey just let him, because he needs that stuff anyway for hisoutfits. Cassius gets a visit once a week to take stock of the stuffhe’s taken.

47:Professor/teacher dragons?

Alsostill unassigned. Yeah, I know, I need to work on my lore more. =PFiesta teaches a weekly dance class, and anyone can learn from anyoneduring the many arts-and-crafts sessions. I still need an officialhatchling caretaker/teacher. Bunnyfly supervises hatchling trips tothe familiar spa and teaches the young ones about familiars and howto maintain positive relations with familiars and beastclans.

49:Orphan dragons?

Nana,my progen. She just sort of came into being, no family or anything.Also my precious little Bunnyfly. He was found as an egg and taken inby a clan of buttersnakes, before his buttersnake mentor/fatherfigure/best friend decided to take him to Denutena’s Candyclan,because the other buttersnakes were getting increasingly anxiousabout living with a dragon, even one that looks like a bigger versionof them, and the buttersnake (he still needs a name) thought it wouldbe better for Bunnyfly to be around his own kind. They now run thefamiliar spa together. ^^

[haydenstudiesblog-blog]

Writer Ask-Meme

“This isn’t studyblr-related shocker right? but I’m a writer so I wanted to do something fun that will also allow my followers to get to know me a little better!

01: When did you first start writing?

I started writing when I was 10 (around 10, I don’t remember for sure. It was before I started middle school)

02: What was your favorite book growing up?

While I wish I could say it was Harry Potter, I didn’t read that until a little over a year ago (in college). I’d have to say The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, I actually want to get a tattoo about it :)

03: Are you an avid reader?

YES! Reading is my all-time favorite activity. I have too many books in my TBR pile (my theoretical one, they’re all on a shelf). I’ve reread some books more times than I can count because I love them so much, but recently I’ve been “broadening my horizons” that sound so lame and reading new authors and genres.

04: Have you ever thrown a book across the room?

Not that I can recall. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to, I try to take care of my books for as long as I can (until they start to get old, then I just embrace them being broken-in except my HP books those are kept somewhere safe)

05: Did you take writing courses in school/college?

WELL. At my current university I decided to enroll in an Elements of Creative Writing course this fall, which I’m excited about. I’m also going to be taking Intro to Professional Writing. If all goes well, I’m hoping to transfer to a different university to finish up school and major in English and Creative Writing (one whole major, not 2), so I’ll be taking more literature and writing courses.

06: Have you read any writing-advice books?

I’m reading an old textbook that I had when I took a creative writing course in high school through our local community college (back when I had health problems and couldn’t finish the course but already had the book so I kept it and didn’t read it, so I don’t count this course as a creative writing course I’ve taken). So I decided to read it now. I also have a list of books on writing that I’m looking to buy!

07: Have you ever been part of a critique group?

When I was in 5th grade we had an assignment to write a short story. I did, and my teacher said it was amazing and took me to a writer’s workshop where shy-little-me was forced to sit at a table with strangers my age and take turns reading our stories aloud. I hated it, but we got to go to McDonalds after. Also since then I’ve looked back at the story I wrote and it super sucks but maybe I’ll try to rewrite it because the idea is decent at least.

08: What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?

Honestly, I don’t even remember. What a boring answer.

09: What’s the worst piece of feedback you’ve ever gotten?

It’s not really feedback, but in high school I wrote a research paper and my best friend at the time peer reviewed it and she tried to cross out a bunch of my commas. I was so annoyed because she was horrible at grammar. I ended up leaving all the commas and I did great on the paper haha!

10: What’s your biggest writer pet-peeve?

Bad grammar. Hands-down. I’ll be reading someone else’s writing (I look over my boyfriend’s and sister’s papers for them) and I genuinely get baffled by how bad their spelling is or how they don’t know when to use a semi-colon. In my head it’s all just second nature (not that I don’t make mistakes, especially because I hate editing my own work so sometimes I just don’t, but still!).

11: What’s your favorite book cover?

I have two, and they’re for the same books. The new HP covers!!! I LOVE the ones where you line up the books and the spines create Hogwarts. I also love the ones that have the horcruxes in them. I want to buy those sets, but I literally just got my own hard cover set from my mom for Christmas (they came in a box that looks like a trunk) so I’d feel bad for buying new books. They just look SO COOL though. 

12: Who is your favorite author?

I currently love Michael Crichton (I said I’m broadening my horizons, these are the books I’m using to do that). I’ve loved Sarah Dessen for a very long time; I own all of her books, and I preorder her new ones. But of course I have to mention J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer. Not everyone is a HP fan and not everyone loves the Twilight series, but I’m die-hard HP and I’ve read the Twilight series twice. 

13: What’s your favorite writing quote?

“We could have been killed- or worse, expelled.” -Hermione Granger, HP

14: What’s your favorite writing blog?

I don’t have one because I can’t find any!

15: What would you say has inspired you the most?

Emma Watson and J.K. Rowling. I feel like it’s so easy for characters from the HP series to just be identified as their characters, but Emma went to college and she does amazing things and she’s just made a great name for herself and I’ve always loved her. J.K. Rowling is obvious, if you don’t know her back story you should look it up (I’m not going to talk about it, it’ll make this post even longer).

16: How do you feel about movies based on books?

They’re never good enough. My preference is (if I can help it) to watch the movie before I read the book, so I’m not disappointed. If I read the book and then watch the movie, I’ll be upset with how much they changed or left out. If I watch the movie first and then go and read the book, I can’t be as disappointed with bad casting (because they’re already planted in my head and I didn’t have an opportunity to create my own characters) and the storyline is always just better because you get MORE information instead of them leaving things out!

17: Would you like your books to be turned into TV shows, movies, video games, or none?

Movies, definitely. Any time I begin a story I imagine what it would be like if it were a movie. Actually, my process is that I usually hear a song and I think of a storyline for it (I prefer to listen to songs that tell stories in my free time, rap and stuff is for clubbing haha) and then I write a story with that song in mind. I love letting music inspire me. But yes, from the very beginning I usually picture my books as movies.

18: How do you feel about love triangles?

I guess I don’t have much of an opinion. Wait JK I do, I’m currently writing about one. Sort of. They can be good if they’re done correctly, sometimes they can just be too predictable. IMO, if you use a love triangle you should incorporate some elements of surprise into your story, things to keep the reader on their toes, especially if the love triangle itself becomes predictable. 

19: Do you prefer writing on a computer or longhand?

I love the idea of writing longhand, but I write kind of weird and my hand cramps up fast, I hate my handwriting (I write too big), and typing works better for me because I can get my thoughts out much faster.

20: What’s your favorite writing program?

I’m going to assume this is in regards to Microsoft Word, Pages, etc? I personally use Scrivener. I paid, like, $45 for it but it’s just a one-time payment. I saw that a lot of writers use it because it has tools for plotting, characters, it’s just really organized. I watched tutorials on it and then I did a 30-day free trial (I don’t think it strictly goes by days, I think it counts the days you open the program and use it) and I fell in love, so I bought it and I haven’t used Word since (except for homework and notes, but I’m going to try to switch to OneNote for that).

21: Do you outline?

No, but I really should. I’ve been trying to. Like, I’ll at least put into Scrivener in a separate folder the idea of my story and maybe a storyline, how I know I want it to end and what could happen in the middle. But it’s by no means an outline, and I really do need to work on that. I think it would help me a lot.

22: Do you start with characters or plot?

I definitely start with plot. Like I said before, I hear a song and I think of a story and then I just go from there.

23: What’s your favorite and least favorite part of making characters?

My favorite part is definitely coming up with their personalities, and my least favorite has to be deciding their names and how they look. It takes me forever to decide on names, and I change them a lot.

24: What’s your favorite and least favorite part of plotting?

I don’t know if this is considered plotting, but it’s SO hard for me to figure out where and when my story should begin. I also hate trying to put in fillers in-between all the scenes that I know I want to happen. I’ve read about a process where people who write the way I do write out the scenes they already have in their head, and then they just go from there. They don’t write in order. So maybe I should try that, just write as it comes.

25: What advice would you give to young writers?

Oh god, I’m only 20, I still consider myself a young writer! I don’t think I’m in any position to give advice. BUT, if you’re in high school and you have a passion for reading and writing, start considering your options and make sure you get into a good school that has a good program. I didn’t do that because I was stupid, and I should have because I’m at a university that I don’t enjoy and I’m trying to transfer.

26: Which do you enjoy reading the most: physical, ebook, or both?

Physical, 100%.

27: Which is your favorite genre to write?

It’s been Young Adult for a while (before I even knew what YA was, or that what I was writing was YA), but as I’m getting older I’m noticing that my writing is maturing a bit more.

28: Which do you find hardest: the beginning, the middle, or the end?

The beginning

29: Which do you find easiest: writing or editing?

Writing. Sometimes I’m not in the mood to edit, my work or anyone else’s.

30: Have you ever written fan-fiction?

Nope!

31: Have you ever been published?

HA. I wish.

32: How do you feel about friends and close relatives reading your work?

I’m really shy and self-conscious so I don’t let anyone read my writing. They have, though, because they’re stinkers and they did it secretly. I recently found out that my mom printed out all of my old stories from our old computer and kept them in a binder and would show people.

33: Are you interested in having your work published?

Yes, even though I just said I’m shy and won’t let people I know read it. I think things are easier when people I don’t know read my stuff. So weird.

34: Describe your writing space.

My writing space isn’t one space yet. I’m going to be moving into an apartment out at my school with some roommates, and I plan on making my room really calming and relaxing. Just a bunch of pastel colors, because I’ve found that those calm me. I want twinkle lights in my room, a fuzzy rug, candles, all of it. Recently I’ve been going to our student union/common area and library to write at school, though. The hustle and bustle keeps my mind working. I can’t work in silence, I’ve found that out the hard way.

35: What’s your favorite time of day for writing?

I usually write in the afternoon and whenever I have free time because I’m a full-time student. I do good writing at night, though. I’ve read that you should lay down and write at night, because that’s where you do your best thinking. It’s worked for me so far!

36: Do you listen to music when you write?

While I write and while I do homework I’ll look up the piano instrumentals to Disney songs and I turn them down so I just barely hear them.

37: What’s your oldest WIP?

If this means Work In Progress (God I hope it does or I’ll feel so stupid!), I couldn’t even tell you honestly. All of my writings are WIPs.

38: What’s your current WIP?

It’s about two women who are best friends. One gets engaged and the other is either in love with the guy, having an affair with him, or both. I haven’t decided yet. There’s more to it, but that’s the gist.

39: What’s the weirdest story idea you’ve ever had?

I don’t think I’ve ever had any weird ones. If I have they’re from middle school and I’ve forgotten about them (thank god).

40: Which is your favorite original character, and why?

SUCH a boring answer, but I don’t have one! UGH UGH UGH.

41: What do you do when characters don’t follow the outline?

Considering I don’t use much of an outline, I just follow them where they try to go. It’s usually better than what I had in mind, anyway.

42: Do you enjoy making your characters suffer?

.... No.... Of course not, what an awful question............... No writer EVER enjoys that, nope, never.....

43: Have you ever killed a main character?

Not yet... :)

44: What’s the weirdest character concept you’ve ever come up with?

I haven’t really come up with any weird ones.

45: What’s your favorite character name?

Cora

46: Describe your perfect writing space.

See #34, that’s my dream space. Hopefully I can make it happen. Also, a giant, beautiful old library surrounded by books but also in a nook by myself would be amazing.

47: If you could steal one character from another author and make them yours, who would it be and why?

Hermione Granger. I could only dream of creating someone so iconic as her character. She’s my dream character, and just reminds me so much of myself. In case you haven’t guessed yet she’s my favorite character ever haha

48: If you could write the next book of any series, which one would it be, and what would you make the book about?

I WOULD MAKE ANOTHER HARRY POTTER BOOK. I so badly just want to do this on my own (basically fan-fiction I guess?) but never try to publish it or anything. I would make it about everyone where they are now, where they work and their kids. Not ABOUT their kids, but still just about them. Actually I don’t think I’ll ever attempt that because I wouldn’t execute each character correctly and I’d never be happy with it, but yeah.

49: If you could write a collaboration with another author, who would it be an what would you write about?

Okay. Sarah Dessen, a YA novel, not sure what it’d be about. Maybe she could help me with one of my own ideas. J. K. Rowling, we could collaborate on a new HP book (lol in my dreams). Stephen King, we can write whatever the hell he wants to write about because he’s amazing and I love his writing and it’d be a huge honor to even meet him.

50. If you could live in any fictional world, which would it be?

You can probably guess this. Obviously the world of Harry Potter. I literally got a fake Hogwarts acceptance letter, a student ID, and potions bottles for Christmas when I was little. I played Harry Potter every day with my sister (surprise, I was Hermione).

If you read this, thank you love you’re so sweet! I super appreciate it! This was super fun to do, I honestly love answering random questions. My boyfriend and I ask each other random questions that we look up online all the time because it’s just fun to think of answers and stuff. :)

xx Hayden 

[renaroo]

Wednesday Roundup

*long deep sigh*

Okay, I said last week I was going to cancel all Marvel subscriptions in response to the bullcrap that was revealed in Secret Empire. And I continue to firmly stand on not supporting Marvel on any decisions involving that catastrophe. But I must go back on my word. After discussing with friends and others about the best course of action, I am afraid that Marvel set things up -- what with the anti-diversity talks just a few weeks ago -- to make it seem as though any boycotts that would come about due to the Hydra revelations last week would be scapegoated to the titles that are doing the opposite. So I want to support titles that do just that -- titles like Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur -- so long as their book isn’t involved with the crossover and if their authors don’t seem to have much involvement either. 

... also I pre-ordered Deadpool Vol. 6 for a specific reason that I’ll get into in the review.

All that out of the way, let’s get into the comics this week~

DC’s Batman Beyond, Marvel’s Deadpool, DC’s Detective Comics, Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, DC’s Wonder Woman

DC’s Batman Beyond (2016- ) #7 Dan Jurgens, Bernard Chang, Marcello Maiolo

*long heralding sigh* We can’t leave well enough alone, can we, DC?

The continuity of Batman Beyond has somewhat been in the toilet from the start. Anything which got its start thanks to the awfulness that was Futures End was sort of doomed to that, especially since they were trying to make that the canon ending of the DCU proper, while at the same time drawing in elements from the animated series. 

This book, though, honestly gave me a lot of hope for what it was doing, which was to focus on the characters pretty specifically from the DCAU Batman Beyond cartoon and growing their stories and relationships rather than focusing on trying to put itself too immediately in the Earth Prime timeline. 

And those moments from this issue are great. We get more Max and Bruce interactions, which I love. We get some actual growth of Dana and Terry’s relationship. Curare is still one of my favorite villains. Matt’s increased role excites me.

And then we get this fucking page. 

I have a bad history with DC splash pages of “our family history” already (see any of my Batgirl (2009-2011) rants), but this one just goes straight for the throat. Sorry literally every woman in the Batfamily ever. I mean, usually at least Barbara gets a shoutout but not even that this time around. And then the worst offense is that Damian and Duke are both whitewashed. What the actual fuck.

This entire page is a disaster, especially since we are very obviously just using it to foreshadow that the leader of the League of Assassins has to do with Damian, because godforbid anyone but the biological child be treated special. 

Oh, sorry. Biological male child. Or else we’d see some plots with Helena Wayne, couldn’t have that. 

Oh, Batman Beyond. Why must you hurt me the way you do. I was enjoying you so much too. 

Marvel’s Deadpool (2015- ) Volume 6: Patience: Zero Gerry Duggan, Matted Lolli, Scott Koblish, Guru-eFX

So I’ve obviously made some exceptions to my Marvel rule and that is simply a case-by-case basis. There are stronger reasons for the other exception this week, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, which I would honestly be devastated if it was taken down because of this monumental grossness that is Marvel right now because it’s the epitome of everything that’s not the Secret Empire catastrophe.

The other is Deadpool because I pre-ordered this volume months ago and because Deadpool is just a weird exception of a comic to begin with. At least as Deadpool is written under Gerry Duggan and how these particular issues especially are written.

So yes, while I would recommend all the issues in this trade to comic fans, the issue I really bought this volume for is for a very personal reason: #20 is the issue dealing with suicide and mental illness and... as someone who struggles on this road in my own life, in both point of views we have here, I am... very particular about how these issues are approached. I hate the way it was handled in Robin (1993-2009), despise the way it was portrayed in All-Star Superman, I just honestly don’t feel like I’ve ever read a story -- especially in comics -- that spoke to me and made me feel like I benefited from it the way the comics were obviously trying to make me feel. 

Deadpool goes the most realistic route I’ve ever seen this handled. It’s about “death is permanent, so let’s make sure there’s nothing else you want to do first” It’s about helping someone out, giving them other things to focus on in the moment, giving them more to experience, and then knowing when professional help is needed, when you’re beyond your means. 

And it’s hard. Deadpool says it best -- unkilling someone is way harder. And I’ve never felt an issue strike such a cord with me before. 

Of course, that’s only one of several issues collected, and we finally get the climax and our answers with Madcap. The entire storyline was rediculous, dramatic, frightening, and any range of emotions between. A great story overall even if anything involving Hydra -- especially Bob -- inherently sickens me at this point. 

If you’re on that level with me on the Hydra stuff, I would recommend buying #20 on its own and then #25 to finish up the Deadpool 2099 story which, for me, had a good conclusion to it. 

But yeah. This was a splurge purchase at least partially because... I have a feeling I won’t be picking up the next few trades of Deadpool flat out, honestly. Lots of Secret Empire this way comes. And I’m not happy about it. Hopefully I can pick up Vol. 8 or 9 and we can get back to Deadpool and Ellie and Preston and everything that makes me love this comic to begin with. 

DC’s Detective Comics (2016- ) #955 James Tynion IV, Marcio Takara, Marcello Maiolo

CASS HAS A GIRLFRIEND BALLERINA AND SHE APOLOGIZED AND ALL IS GOOD AND NOT AN ORPHAN ANYMORE BE STILL MY HEART

OKAY. So that’s out of my system. Last time (two weeks ago) I went into a full on rant about how there are things I Love about Tynion’s writing -- relationships, character building, the sense of family, understanding how to write Cass the way few writers other than her creators have truly gotten -- and things I Hate about Tynion’s writing -- an overall lack of build up for payoff, weak plots, a bit of a ‘break the status quo’ mentality despite a lack of building said status quo -- there are Things. And I can make entire essays about how I feel he needs to grow as a writer especially when it comes to writing mysteries which is what Detective Comics should be at its core. 

I’m putting that aside for now -- still there, I still have my issues with this arc -- but this issue is... It’s going to be a milestone. 

It’s going to be a milestone in bringing Cass’ character back into full form. And I loved every moment of it. The pacing was still.... ehhh. Could’ve probably benefited more from immediately starting with the flashback explaining Cass’ recovery and reintroducing our ballerina girlfriend, then launching into the present time uninterrupted. Maybe show Cass rescuing the others from their naked Hell, because as far as I can tell that just means we’re going to have another disorganized flashback in the next issue which isn’t making me excited because that should be the finale to all of this. 

Yatta yatta. Critical lenses are on, everyone, don’t worry. I’m still the Rena you know.

I just don’t care as much because those things I Love that I mentioned? They where here and they were with my favorite characters. And ALSO???? Tynion planted the seed of the ballerina and Cass living above the studio many issues ago??? And then actually gave us payoff for it??? What is this, a personal letter to me?

Nah, can’t be. No windows were broken in this issue.

I enjoyed myself is what I’m getting at. It’s amazing how I can be really irritated with Detective Comics and then all the sudden it drags me right back in with an issue that gets me just right. 

Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur (2015- ) #18 Amy Reeder, Brandon Montclare, Natacha Bustos, Tamra Bonvillain

So i’ve dropped some books in my personal Marvel ban, and I will be avoiding anything remotely related to Secret Empire like the plague, and I still encourage other people to do the same. But there are some books, some ideas, some diversity in the Marvel lineup that for me are simply just too important to throw out with the bathwater. 

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is 1000% a book I want to survive Marvel’s current tirefire. 

And since Marvel curiously made it clear that they were going to throw their diversity titles under the bus and blame them for any loss of sales this summer just before knowingly putting out a terribly controversial book, I can’t help but allow my suspicions to rise. 

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur continues to be the best of the genre and the first book I recommend to kids -- which is something I do quite a lot. If you’ve been following my blog for a while you’ll know that I am very active in trying to get new, young readers into comics and have personally given out comics to kids in and out of the country. It’s something that is very important to me, having been raised with comics myself. 

So I am very happy to go back on my word for titles like Moon Girl and I’m so glad that a book so inviting and loving is around in the disaster that is the larger comic landscape for the Marvel Universe. 

DC’s Wonder Woman (2016- ) #21 Greg Rucka, Liam Sharp, Laura Martin

Considering how vocally I have been annoyed with the “B story” of this Wonder Woman run thus far, it’s a real relief to finally be able to say, as the storylines converge and we come sadly closer to the end of Rucka’s return to Wonder Woman, finally this slow burn has been worth it. And this moment I chose in particular -- Veronica Cale at long last taking Diana’s hand -- is so built up, is so necessary that it makes everything truly feel like it’s deservedly come full circle.

And Cale’s motivations in Rebirth fit so much better than they did in the Post-Crisis comics, it makes everything about this confrontation and this conclusion worthwhile.

Though there’s still a lot to be fixed in terms of Rucka’s more... tone deaf treatment of earlier racist tropes and so on that have proven to be basically completely unnecessary to this plot. That’s a pretty gross road to end up going down for no reason.

And finally we get to Ares. And maybe it’s the animal lover in me but I’m like “those poor Dobermen, hope they still have a home with Cale after the twin gods’ souls are released. 

... Look we all know I’m going to pick Detective Comics for my pick of the week this week because I’m a sheep and it hit everything I wanted from an issue of Detective Comics including giving us more Cass-Ballerina action and having a fanciful callout to Phantom of the Opera that made my heart soar. 

But I would, for this week, also like to provide a secondary pick for Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur for being not just a fantastic book (which it is) but continuing to provide a bright light at the end of a very, very long and dark tunnel that is the Marvel Universe. It is the Marvel of tomorrow if they could just stop with their bullshit. Which, because it’s Marvel, they probably won’t. 

But these are just my thoughts and opinions, I’d love to hear from all of you. What did you think of this week? Any good titles I’m not picking up? I’d love to hear from you

[kapanbenernya]

Horizon: Zero Dawn -- There’s Only One or Two Giant Dinosaurs

Did you know that I own a PS4? Of course you don’t, why the fuck should you care? I’m literally a stranger on the internet that communicates to you via an internet post floating on the information superhighway like a piece of turd lost in the everflowing sea of turds in a septic tank. But enough rambling on the subject of human feces and back to the topic at hand, I own a PS4.

I used to own the PS2 and I remember having a CD holder shaped like a thick book that holds all my PS2 DVDs, and I remember it being filled to the brim until I have to double-stack the DVDs or else it won’t fit. So why did I bring this up? Because I want to compare that to my PS4 library which consists of 4 blu-rays. No I’m not fucking kidding, I only got 4 games, two of which are a copy of Bloodborne that I had to buy twice because I bought the wrong fucking region and the DLC won’t connect. 

Maybe right now you’re asking yourself, “What’s with the rambling man?” and well... Here’s the thing, I’m gonna be honest from the start: I wasn’t that into Horizon: Zero Dawn (HZD). I bought it just as a filler, to bulk up my library of PS4 exclusives. So yes, I just wasted two paragraphs explaining that I didn’t buy HZD because I think I’ll enjoy it, I bought HZD just to own it and maybe get a kick out of it or two.

Oh well, let’s talk about the game anyway

In this game, you play as Aloy, a woman without a mother in a tribe that places value on matriarchy, which is why she is branded an outcast by her tribe. Wait what? Doesn’t matriarchal society puts more privilege and power on women? So why was she shunned? She’s a woman! Shouldn’t she be given power instead of you know, kicked out?

Something tells me this tribe doesn’t respecc whamen as much as they think they do

But Aloy isn’t all alone in this cold cruel robotic world, she’s got a foster dad whose name I already forgot. I mean it’s not my fault, he’s not that important anyway. All he does is teach Aloy everything she ever knew so that she can go to the yearly outcast acceptance tryouts, nothing important there. Sarcasm aside, it’s still kinda true that his only purpose in the game is to be the plot advancing sacrificial lamb. No spoiler alert needed! His death flag has been raised ever since he become the parental figure of the protagonist, kinda like Batman’s parents or Uncle Ben. 

But no worries, his sacrifice wasn’t in vain because Aloy finally gets accepted into the tribe! By virtue of being the sole survivor of the test because some tribe of edgy fuckboys killed everybody else. And not long after, some killer robots showed up at the door, late to party and and thrashed the place up some more. With the tribe left in tatters, Aloy is appointed as a scout and sent into the world to figure out the threat that looms over the world. Also, Aloy may or may not have been born from a mountain and now have a personal quest of finding out about her origin. And if she had extra time, probably find out whatever it is the old Shaman smoked until she came to the flawless logic that mountains can give birth to humans.

The threat is, as usual: robots gone apeshit

Have I mentioned that the setting of the world is a post-apocalyptic world where people formed tribes and most animal have been replaced by robots? So yeah, two very important aspect of the HZD world. Anyway, the robots and the humans live happily among each other, and by that I mean they kill each other every time their gaze meet. But so far, things have been manageable as long as the humans stay the fuck away from the robot’s territory and vice versa. 

Let me explain about the robots a bit. The robots are various versions of wild animal replacements: stags, bulls, leopards, hawks, saber-toothed tigers, giant fire-breathing chickens, and 30-foot tyrannosaurus rex with frickin’ laser beams.

We all know the mastermind behind the fucking dino, don’t we?

As you can see from my incomplete list alone, the robot variety is rather robust. And the variety is supported by the uniqueness of each robot species. Every robot has different weaknesses based on elements and since the design of each robots is largely varied, the locations of the weak points can be very different. I can see the love and care that went into designing each species, and it shows. Although I gotta admit the herbivores are kind of boring when compared to the carnivores. The herbivores are kinda samey and lame, all you get to do is maybe ride it to town and turn some primitive heads. Meanwhile, the carnivore’s got all the nice toys. The kind of toys that shoots laser and kills people. And guess what? You can shoot the turret off with an arrow then you can pick it up and fire it up their tail pipes.

Now I gotta say, the first time I see the robots, I was like “fuckin’ sold, this shit is G U C C I”. But then after I actually play the game and have come face to face with a lot of them, I wasn’t into them anymore. I don’t know why, but I find the enemies boring after a while. Perhaps its because somehow I find fighting the animal bots has become a chore and not a fun activity to do. I mean the animal bots tend to flock together, so you’re almost always outnumbered, and the bots usually can kill you in a few smacks. This results in a lot of untimely deaths during what I thought would be a sunny stroll in the meadows. Also I think the big machines have too much health. As you can see, I don’t think this is a good thing, the same way a rubber tire isn’t an excellent snack just because you can chew it longer. However, you can actually make all of these problems go away if you choose to stealth it up and crouch like the little bitch that YOU ARE. Hey, dev-person-man-guy-thing, nobody in their right mind looks at a robot T-Rex and say, “Boy, I can’t wait to stealth crouch around this bad boy”. You know what we wanna do? We wanna ride it, or kill it, or ride it AND THEN kill it. Maybe take down a few rival tribes in the process.

And that’s just the fuckin animal bots, there’s also the war bots that looks like a cereal box that grew spider legs. Not only is it visually boring, it’s also plays like shit. Either you have to go play hide and seek with it or it’ll blast you with piss like you’re a really tough shit-stain on the toilet bowl. But the worst of the worst has got to be the human enemies. Fucking hell, in a world filled with creative animal robots, adding human enemies will just bring the standard down. They’re boring to look at, boring to fight against, and just plain stupid. I hate how the so-called “stealth kill” alerts every motherfucker in the area. I hate how you can’t stealth kill the “elite enemies” until you unlock a certain skill. In short, I just hate humans in general.

Not in real life, mind you, I’m a God-fearing peace loving man of the people, man.

Great, since I’ve run out of places to spank HZD, I’m just gonna randomly list all of its best parts.

I like how we can grab some healing items that can be used on-the-go in an instant, and I like how it can be easily found in the wilds like some drive-through salad. What I don’t think I like is how the plants aren’t that easy to differentiate from one another. I mean if I’m gonna make a jump, roll, tumble, and scoot myself down a goddamn hill while dodging lasers fired from a turret mounted on a 20-foot robot tyrannosaurus, that plant better be the healing plant instead of that useless resist fire plant. 

Another thing I like about the game is the weapons. There are quite a variety of weapons at your disposal, and it’s the good kind of variety. The kind of variety that makes each weapon had a distinct feel and different purpose, and I like them all. My favorite is the the tripwire weapon that’s the greatest thing since the invention of fire. The sleeper hit was the sling that I thought was shit but it’s actually great because it can fire ice projectiles that immobilizes the big enemies and freeze their armor. 

This very very tight weapon system is also supported by your ability to craft ammo on the fly. This might seem like a trivial thing, but hear me out now: by enabling you to craft ammo mid-fight, the game makes sure that the pace isn’t halted by the fucking menu screen and you get to keep your focus and maintain the flow of the battle. Because you know what kills my combat boner when I’m in a middle of a tense fight against robot dinosaurs? Having to pause the game and open up the crafting tab because my arrows ran out.

That’s it, that’s about everything I can say about my experience playing the game. There are some things that I actually left out of my review like the world design, the characters, etc. It’s because I think that it’s not that important to mention or it’s just mildly mediocre and not worth reviewing.

In Brief

What’s wrong with me? Do I not like video games anymore? 10 years ago, all I had to do was fire up my PS2, boot up GTA: San Andreas and just grab a bike and cycle from Los Santos to Las Venturas and I was having fun. 5 years ago I finished Dark Souls after 2 years of git gud, and I didn’t let the difficulty break me. Now I’ve got a game filled with creative and challenging enemies, a big open world to explore, and a fuckin robot dinosaur for God’s sake. Why didn't I have fun with it? I don’t think I have an immediate answer for it, but at least I know there’s two possibilities. One, is that I AM actually losing my touch and I’m not that into video games anymore. Probably all this adult thing and living my life that’s gotten in the way. The other one is that my tastes has actually gotten better with time, and now I notice the intricacies and can distinguish whether a game is good or bad, and I simply did not want to waste my limited time with games that I didn’t really like that much, including HZD.

I guess we can learn something from the animal robot designs. No matter how well you design an element of a game; visually or audibly, it won’t be appreciated as much if it does not add much to the gameplay --or worse-- plays like shit. Because you ARE making a game, and all the elements that you design will ultimately be judged from how it feels as a game. You can paint the robots with naked titties, but if they’re boring to fight, people will still think of them as badly designed. As for the case of the war bots and the human enemies? Dogshit.

9/10/2018

[blueisunlucky]

1. more cereal than milk 2. no 3. a broken adventure time card holder given to me from the one that got away on halloween three years ago 4. i don’t drink coffee & i take my tea with two sugars, sometimes one and a half, depending on the size of the mug 5. yes 6. no, but i’d like to 7. - 8. words 9. no 10. side 11. shipping each other with males whom they have a vague connection with (e.g. makes a teacher laugh once, sees a random boy’s name on their Snapchat contact list that we don’t know,) 12. earth 13. my brother showing me a meme 14. spiral stairs, raw brick walls, a neutral colour scheme and warm fairy lights. lots of them. these fairy lights will be stringed across the walls and have candid poleroid photos pegged to them. tables covered in newspaper clippings, sketches of plants and fairytale creatures, cutouts from magazines and used mugs. strange abstract paintings from market stalls that we thought were funny, creaky wooden flooring and shaggy rugs on top. 15. 99% of our solar system’s mass is the sun! the sun is fucking huge 16. spaghetti without the sauce 17. blonde, but people think it wouldn’t suit me. blue seems intriguing 18. i used to write these cheesy erotic short stories about my friend and some guy (see no. 11) on scrap pieces of paper for my friends to annoy the said friend. these papers are now lost, but the memories of them aren’t 19. no. i have tried, but i always forget about it after a while 20. blue, for the first girl my heart latched on to. 21. i don’t have a specific bag, but an assortment of school bags that constantly broke or were horribly bulky that i kept pushing or bashing people 22. is anyone? 23. write, but i never get the time anymore 24. yes 25. me break into someplace? ha i’m a pussy 26. what is this question? my school shoes, because i’m obliged to wear black shoes? 27. bubblegum is already a flavour 28. sunset 29. one of my friends literally lights up from about 20 to 100 if you mention something she likes. she has such pure, childlike enthusiasm 30. yes 31. socks. I despise the rise of ankle socks. you’re paying the full price for half a sock. like?!!1!? otherwise, i enjoy all socks, frilly, knee length, comical, odd. maybe not sports socks though 32. i have never been out with my friends after 3am. sad times. 33. apple pie, no doubt 34. i had a stuffed tiger toy called “Tiger” but pronounced like “Tigger”. he wasn’t the Disney one. my father bought it for my mother, and she gave it to me. my younger self called him my husband and I liked kissing him. he currently sits at the back of my wardrobe. 35. i am the stationary whore. i steal and hoard pens, pencils, rubbers, coloured paper, paper clips, etc, that i find on the floor or abandoned in classrooms when the coast is clear. 36. coldplay 37. messy 38. the sound of chewing, saliva, and those sort of things 39. i’m not sure. if i had to choose, i’d guess grey? 40. i have a gold ring with a gold bow on it in the drawer of my wardrobe. back in high school, me and my mates had this inside joke that one of my friends and I were “married”, so one April she and the others came to my house and she joke proposed to me. 41. Thanks for the Trouble, by Tommy Wallach 42. i wish i had a small, pretty corner coffee shop to tell stories about, but i just don’t drink coffee. all i got is the Starbucks and the Costa’s i grab hot chocolates from when i’m outside and alone, or when my friends feel like it 43. probably my cat 44. AS results day. we all got crappy grades, and the four of us sat in a playground and laughed 45. no 46. compasses and protractors are banned from my school because they’re considered weapons of math destruction 47. peppercorns 48. i don’t think i had a fear when i was younger, but now i fear rejection and being seen as boring 49. i’ve never owned a record and the last CD i had was given to me during primary school. everyone uses online copies now, unless they’re being aesthetic ™ 50. stationary (see no. 35). 51. Jenny, by Studio Killers 52. is Hollyweed considered a meme? 53. nope. i’m uncultured swine 54. my mother 55. pretend to forget, like faking momentary amnesia, and boy, it was the worst decision i’ve made to this day 56. nicknames, gift giving outside of holidays or birthdays, remembering little details 57. chaotic, suicidal, but nearing the end, strangely peaceful 58. i’m the vodka aunt, for i spike my own tea with it, as an “experiment”. I’m yet to find the wine mom 59. religion 60. yeah, i like it. La Belle Dame Sans Merci, by John Keats, at the moment, but i haven’t read enough to make an informed decision 61. a toy cross bow for my father. he never used it, and i don’t know why i got that; i just wanted to get him something. for me, a penguin cuddly you from a girl i hardly talked to anymore. i was sixteen or seventeen i think? i don’t mean to be rude but why? 62. i don’t have time to drink in the morning. the exception would be when i was doing that vodka-tea experiment (see no. 58) 63. my books are currently in a rainbow colour order. if they weren’t, i wouldn’t care too much 64. a pale blue, with a smudge of purple-grey clouds 65. the first friend i ever made, Tusma. she moved houses at the end of year three. i haven’t seen her in about eight years 66. depends. i’m torn between going dainty and picking yellow: buttercups, dandelions, daisies, with soft clovers and the occasional purple wildflower, like a rugged, forest fairy. or standing fierce, a red rose crown, thick with thorns, holly leaves and berries, some crushed, scarlet liquid dripping down my forehead but eyes staring straight ahead. 67. powerful, invisible, stealthy 68. cold, bitter, sometimes dry like a cough or wet and uncomfortable. it doesn’t snow anymore 69. scrabble, monopoly 70. in year nine, some kids decided they wanted to use a ouija board. i was curious, and i walked into the science room they were planning to use when the teachers were gone and the lights were off, despite my friends’ protests. it wasn’t an actual ouija board, but an imitation, scribbles on a piece of paper. i can’t remember who did it with me, but i’m pretty sure some of them were the popular kids. we felt no presence, although everyone tried their best to scare each other. we never said goodbye. no ghosts have haunted or killed me yet. 71. earl grey, or normal tea with a sprinkle of ginger 72. i feel as if i’m going to forget and can’t handle things, but i rarely note things down. i seem to cope, just 73. daydreaming, procrastinating, not being able to keep my own secrets 74. shy, quiet bean, needs to be protected at all costs, their laugh is more of a giggle, good at art, baby of the group, secretly wants to get drunk and make out with people, i suspect a little bi-curious but i can’t be sure, has technology and food kinks (but not at the same time) 75. i have a black and white cat named Wallace, after Wallace from Wallace & Gromit, because he eats cheese. he has a wonky tongue because he cut it on something but we never found out what that something was. he’s eleven years old, so he’s getting on now, and i think there’s a rising rivalry between Wallace and a mysterious black cat that keeps popping up near our garden 76. revising, duh 77. have never tried pink lemonade, so yellow 78. hateclub 79. sent me a claraxeleven edit as means to make me stay when i was thinking of running away. i thought only those deep in the doctor who fandom watched those, and it may have suggested i was rubbing off on him 80. lilac. i chose it because when i first moved into this room i was sharing it with my younger sister, so i wanted to choose a colour that she wouldn’t hate that was also not pink 81. watery brown stone (cba) 82. yeah, i was usually in the top or second top groups 83. i don’t buy albums, so i wouldn’t know where to start 84. yes. a small TARDIS at the back of my neck. maybe a ruffled feather, despite it being a little cliché, it has a literal importance to me. something related to space on one of my thighs, and perhaps something with roses, or skulls 85. unfortunately, no 86. i don’t know what those are 87. The Imitation Game, High School Musical, Edward Scissorhands, Men in Black, Shrek, Home Alone, Independence Day, The Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter, Hidden Figures, the Star Wars trilogy, Freaky Friday, Titanic, Jurassic Park, Alien, Terminator, Jaws, Jumanji 88. dancing when i’m alone, and dabbing (sorry not sorry) 89. debatable 90. it isn’t a city, but my favourite place is the Isle of Wight. i first tried tea in a big blue breakfast room at the b&b and learned to play pool at a pool table you had to put a pound in to play. i fed a lamb and my brother wet the bed and we watched a Lara Croft movie in our little room and it rained most of the time but i loved it all so 91. no where 92. barely sprinkles 93. bedhead, sometimes brushed 94. yesterday, a boy who loves me but i ran out of love months ago 95. nothing unusual 96. procrastinate 97. myer briggs? what is this? capricorn, gryffindor 98. NCS, where we all hiked across the coast of Wales, and at the end of it i thought my legs were going to fall off and my feet were all numb. beautiful views though 99. If I Lose Myself, One Republic; Give Your Heart a Break, Demi Lovato; Get Out, Casey Abrams; Oh No!, Marina and the Diamonds; Spectrum, Zedd 100. past, because i know what i’d do

[the-damnedest-creature]

PLASTICZOOMS in Prague, 03/31/2017

What an amazing fucking thing. I have not enjoyed a live this much in a while. If you have been putting off seeing PLASTICZOOMS and still have a chance to do so, definitely go for it. It’s so fucking worth it man. Read more under cut, photos included :)

Okay so. First a little backstory. Since ... pretty much like, January, I have been annoying literally EVERYONE in the Czech & Slovak J-rock FB group that they definitely need to go to this goddamn concert, I aided in buying tickets for people who could not buy them (one girl I assume does not have a bank account or a credit card, and a friend of mine was broke so I had to lend him money so that he could go). I even persuaded a ‘non-vk’ friend of mine to go, and I’m really glad she loved the concert and doesn’t regret a thing :) We were seriously worried the live might get cancelled, and at first it surely looked so, but we managed to get enough tickets for the live to be held. In the end we’d gathered I think 8 or 9 VIPs, and about 30 people in total attendance. Since Chapeau Rouge is a tiny-ass club and would be insanely packed with as few as 100 people, 30 was a decent count. Considering that the last two lives in Prague had the attendance of 12 and 4,... yeah. And boy. Never underestimate the Czech crowd, ok. What we can do with just 30 people... Unbelievable stuff. More on it later ;)

Okay so. We arrived at the club at cca 3pm, since we were planning to meet up with friends in there around 4 (but they were like 1.5 hrs late, lol). We just planted a flag (took a photo of one phone displaying time next to the live poster with the other phone), and fucked the fuck off to get some ice cream. The club is basically in the old town center, so it took us two streets to discover the holy grail of sweet treats - ice cream in trdelník (a kind of rolled up cake baked on a revolving spit) - I love that kind of cake but I’ve literally never thought about putting stuff into it??  When it’s such a good and obvious idea??? Smh.

So we sat on the street like hobos eating that. I love pre-concert hangin’ out with my bromie D, yo. Photo stolen from her insta, oppsy. Okay so about 30-40 minutes later we walk back to the club, and I start writing the accompanying letter to the present I had for Sho (a bottle of czech cinnamon flavored mead). We met up with Veronika, waited for other friends, eventually ventured into the bar upstairs of the club to drink and wait there instead of the street. The band arrived by car just as I went out to greet the aforementioned late as fuck friends - we were all punked up, and Sho, standing there in his adidas sweatpants, looked at us all cute and waved timidly. What a precious dude. Wow. 

Memorable moments from waiting: -Two people within 20 minutes from each other asking me where they can get weed around here -I’m sitting outside, painting my nails next to D and Veronika who are eating cookies. A police car stops in front of us. We go like, fuck, they definitely think we have pot cookies...! But the cop just goes like “Uh girls, didn’t you see some... uh. Well... gypsies passing through here?” -How to summon Sho on command:

They were late as per usual, so they let the VIPs in at ... circa 19:30...? What we discovered when coming downstairs was ... the band just .. hangin’ in there casually. We went to take pictures, and... they kinda just.... threw themselves at us....! Like they were so huggy...! They literally went in for hugs spontaneously...! And they said Thank you in Czech, it was so adorable. I gave Sho my present and he thanked me in a super cute way. ...Tom approached me spontaneously and began talking to me about how goddamned hungry he was, lol. Poor thing. Asked me about famous Czech meals, so I tried to explain some to him, an he immediately wanted to go get some..! I was so sad I didn’t have any food on me, the poor things allegedly hadn’t eaten all day. No wonder they’re so skinny... (Also he spoke to me about having gone to see the famous astronomical clock in Prague at 4pm. In very broken English. Such a sweet man. I also couldn’t stop staring at him, he was so handsome and. His eyes are so pretty. And I adore his hooked nose.) Then regulars started to be allowed in and the band just ...refused to ... leave. LOL. Thy hung in there and talked to everybody in such an invested way, and when I spoke a little Japanese to them they were so happy; Chibi is really fluent in Japanese and when she started to go at it with them they were like O___O wtf so good. Such sweeties. Sho sat by the merch stand, smoked cigarettes with us and pitched his handmade accessories to people, also literally personally thanked anybody who he saw was buying merchandise. Also forgot to mention. Sho and Tom are so fucking tall??? Like so tall? They both wore flat shoes but were just towering over us? Also Sho has the cutest little mouth in existence. One of his teeth is crooked forward and if that ain’t the most adorable thing in existence I don’t know what is. What a sweet dude. We were all expecting him to be all aloof and out of it and detached from how he seems in his pics, but he was so invested and touchy-feely. It was precious. 

The live started with maybe just a 10 minute delay at best. And let me tell you something. If you think PLASTICZOOMS’ music is too slow or too gothic or too electro to be concert-friendly, man... man you’re so... you’re so fucking wrong. WRONG, I say in Trump voice. They’re somehow so much ..um... harder live? Like it was a legitimate PARTYHARDDD all throughout. With Sho screaming into the mic, to headbanging, everything. The Czech Crowd TM is a wild entity with immense power and with just 30 people we’re gonna yell your wig off, believe me. It was clear that Sho was legitimately confused about where the heck was all the screaming coming from..? Because we took a couple songs to get into action but once we’re on a roll, .. you’d have to be dead inside not to feel adored. I gotta say: Sho is so sexual on stage. The way he moves and dances, it just does things to me. This caused me to go just absolutely O-O every time he came close at first, because his stage presence is so different from when we were just talking earlier. Which was also why I didn’t really want to touch him at first. It was just me and D in front of him in the first row, and there were photos being taken, so I didn’t wanna look like I’m molesting,.. but after I’d touched his leg timidly a few times, he still kept coming in for more (at one point my hand unapologetically slid up his thigh to his hip before I could even realize it), it was fine. At one point he squatted down to fix his leggings and shoes. Cute. They played all of my favorite songs aside from Maniac, so I could not be happier about the song pics. For the last song (it was KMKZ) he actually jumped off the stage to sing in the crowd, and I sort of pity the young girls in there that were all O-O in there because that must have been so intense, lol. They weren’t even gone for a full minute before encore, which was Raven. For this song Sho was outright giving himself out to be groped by greedy hands, and he jumped off the stage again to touch people and lean into them and generally throw himself at them while he sang. So good. They left. And we were stubborn and just started yelling again. Encore, encore, encore. From my position I could see backstage a bit, and I saw Sho in a heated discussion with someone I could not see (bcs corner),.... and then they just came out again. “One more?” they were asking the venue staff. One more okay, they were told. ..The poor drummer literally had to grab his score book and look something up as they were discussing what the hell they’ll play. And then they played another one. ...Don’t ask me what it was. I will be unable to tell you if it was Monochrome or Rubbers. Seli would swear that it was Monochrome, I would swear that it was Rubbers, I was literally in such delirium of happiness that I just sang along with a song I knew well and immediately after finishing I forgot what it had been. Later at the signing session I’d be told that it was the first time in their lives they spontaneously did a second encore. Doubt the power of the Czech audience in the measly numbers of 30?  And then they just came out again. And now, what D had told me earlier would come into play. Before the live she offhandedly remarked that Sho’s eyes were really red, but I dismissed it, I didn’t have my glasses so I could not look at things too hard. Now Sho just came outta backstage holding a fucking half-finished joint. MOTHERFUCKER WAS HIGH AS A KITE AND PROBABLY HAD BEEN ALL ALONG, AHAHAHA. A month before the live I’d gotten really fucking high and listened to PLASTICZOOMS and I was telling everybody how awesome the music was when you’re high and that I bet Sho had composed it on weed. And now here the dude comes, high as shit. We’d been joking about it for a month. Just. Ahahahaha. I just. Loved it so much. I dashed to the merch stand to buy Sho’s silly handmade Overpriced Metal Ring On A Leather Strap, because. He’d been so amazing and really wanted people to buy them and he’d made them by hand...! the day before...! (By tying probably pre-bought rings to straps, shhh.) When I showed it to him he clapped his hands like a child and went all “Finally!! You bought it! Thank you so much!” in his adorable English. 

Eventually they’d go to the merch stand to sign stuff. We hugged again and I asked them some things. I’d noticed how big Sho’s shoes were, so I asked him in Japanese what his shoe size was, he had no problem answering me, it’s 29 (jp size), so there, useless info for you. :D I asked Tom whether he’d eaten. Still nothing. Poor guy. Jojo kissed Sho on the cheek and made a pinky promise with him that they’d come back. I asked Tom in polite Japanese whether me giving him a kiss on the cheek would be alright, and he told me, only secret..! So I pecked him and he smiled. He had a really soft cheek. Nuu. <3 Sho also told Jojo the band would come upstairs for a beer or two...! So we all headed up.

Indeed, he kept his word and came out with a glass of beer, except the security would not let him out with a glass, so he had to stay upstairs but inside in an uncomfortably packed space surrounded by a BUNCH of ladies. Like a LOT of them. He chatted happily and didn’t seem bothered in the slightest, not even when like 30 ppl wanted to took individual pictures with him. (Allegedly when I wasn’t there ppl were asking him how old he was, and after first claiming to be 100, then 15, he allegedly told Jojo he was 34, so another piece of info?) At one point he left his beer in a girl’s hands and was like “Hold this, I have to go do something”. For a while he went downstairs to help packing, then came back up. (In the meantime me and Jojo may or may have not taken a sip from his beer, sorry Sho, lol). He would talk to us a while longer, then went out of the club and chatted and took pictures with more people on the street. I and Chibi wanted to treat Tom to a beer, but he said they were unfortunately leaving very soon, ...to Sho’s dismay, because staff half dragged him to the car, while he tried to bargain to stay till 11pm (it was like 10:35), but lost, and left all waving and a little bit :< . Me, D, Chibi an Veronika made a mad dash for the train station to catch our train home (23:09), as we passed them we shouted oyasumis, otsukaresamas and thankyous at them from across the street and they waved and told us thanks. Later Jojo would tell me he overheard them talking about how they were so surprised people liked their music here and were so interested and invested in them and how they were really happy about it and would love to hang more. So sweet.

Final thoughts? This live was absolutely fucking mad. Even people who’d had low expectations for it or didn’t really care much for it loved it, the band adored it, I’m so happy it went down as it did. I hope they’ll come to Prague again one day. I leave with a T-shirt, signed CD, badge + pick + bracelet set, Sho’s handmade Ring on a Strap, and just the fondest of memories. Thank you all for making this possible!! Both the band and the fans. It was an amazing day.

I’ll see y’all next time :) I bid my report farewell with a semi-censored photo of me and Sho, my smile was pretty dumb. Mata ne~

-N.