#of course my first contribution is this particular special remarkable person

[flan200]

[bukojuiice]

ʚ  Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki cramming school works with their S/O  ɞ *‧.₊˚*੭*ˊᵕˋ੭.*

izuku, katsuki, and shoto x gn! reader  ♡ 

｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ These are some extremely self-indulgent hcs LMAO i’m currently consumed by a lot of school works and extracurricular activities, so i decided to take the time and write some of these up! this the first batch of hcs i’ve ever made so i hope you bear with some errors! i hope you enjoy!

hopefully i get to write more about the other bnha bois/girls soon so please also stay tuned for that!

if you like to see more from me, i have an ongoing bakugo x fem reader! smau called cuddle buddy! read it here!  ( ु•⌄• )  

✧ Izuku is very smart and hardworking so you’ve barely seen him cram any school work or tasks since the two of you started going out.

✧ Soft bby boi knows how to balance his workload from school whilst still being able to spend time with you.

✧ Now here were the two of you, partners for a huge science project that would serve as your midterms for the subject.

✧  Both of you were tasked to take care of two chicken eggs and treat them as your children. Draw faces on them, make them wear clothes, give them names and describe their personalities... literally treating them like actual babies.

✧ You were whining about it at first because it felt like an elementary project instead of something first year high school students (and those in the hero program for that matter) would do.

✧ Izuku remained positive however and reassured you that it was going to be a lot of fun.

✧ You were still salty and unimpressed by the project, but you couldn’t help but melt because of how cute Izuku was and how excited he was for this task. He really wanted to spend a lot of time with you and he was so so happy that you two were partnered for this project.

✧ Because it was midterms week, you were swarmed with tons and tons of stuff to do, so the two of you decided to finish everything else first then deal with the science project at the end of the week because it was the “easiest”. Boy.. were the both of you so so wrong.

✧ Izuku goes up to your room in the dorm so that the both of you can work on the project quietly, yet as he enters, he sees you panicking and running around the room, your camera hanging around your neck, holding two half-cracked eggs with weirdly sewn clothes and faces that looked like they were scribbled from sharpies.

✧ “Izu-kun... can you help me take pictures of our kids for the baby photobook? 

✧ He was about to faint on the spot from fantasizing about his future with you. 

✧ “Of course! hand me All Might Jr. first so you can take a picture of his cute little sister!” 

✧  Yes, your first born eggo is named after All Might. It was Izuku’s decision and you wanted to support him.

✧ You spent all day taking pictures, printing them, designing them and pasting them on the photo album. It was finally nighttime and the both of you are terribly exhausted and mentally drained.

✧ You and Izuku had creative minds so you were able to create the perfect photo album.

✧ Several hours have passed and Izuku still can’t stop thinking of the future he was going to have with you. What a cutie.

✧  After submitting and passing the photobook to the drop box Ilda left in the living room, Izuku goes up again to your room and is surprised by the sight of you sleeping soundly on your bed.

✧ He comes up to you, kisses your forehead and whispers these soft words to you:

✧ “I can’t wait to tell our future kids how I met you.” 

✧ Bakugo Katsuki has never crammed a school work or project in his entire life.

✧ You on the other hand, procrastinated a lot, yet could still pass tasks on time. Although, Katsuki still reprimands you for it. Calling you “dumb butt” instead of the usual name callings he uses whenever talking to your classmates which is “dumb ass” 

✧ He is your boyfriend so it’s not that much of a surprise, it’s just that you’re a bit shocked that he would be really really soft on you. It’s such a sweet gesture though.

✧ After binging a entire series on Netflix the other day, and because he couldn’t resist your pleas of begging him to watch this show with you, it completely slipped from the both of your minds that you had a dance project to work on for your Physical Education class.

✧  You immediately panicked, and Bakugo began to show his usual hot-headed side of him and scolded you for it. Despite him forgetting about it too.

✧ The two of you were going to film yourselves dancing to the Cha Cha dance style and you had a day to create the raw video without edits.

✧  You suggested that the two of you practice by uploading your videos to Tiktok and ask for advice from the professionals who posted their videos there too

✧ “Katsuki-kun do you think we should upload our videos to Tiktok?”

✧  “Absolutely fucking not.”  

✧ After watching a few beginner dance practice videos on Youtube, Katsuki immediately got the hang of it.

✧ Your man had the moves. He really was good at everything.

✧ You couldn’t help but stare at him as he continues to sway and follow the steps without missing a beat.

✧ Bakugo smirks at you, “Like what you see?”

✧ “Get your mind out of the gutter.” You threw a pillow at him as his tease came out of nowhere. 

✧  Since you were quite a slow-learner, it took a few hours before you got the hang of the first routine.

✧ In those few hours, you probably have stepped on Bakugo’s toes a few hundred times and a few hundred fucks were cursed out of his mouth every time it happened.

✧  He was still patient with you though in his own little way. Constantly scolding you every time you made a mistake, but never made you feel guilty for it. 

✧ You were able to finish recording the raw video by evening. A few hours to spare before the deadline. Either way,  the both of you were exhausted when the adrenaline finally died down. 

✧ “I can’t wait to dance with you again like this. Maybe Waltz or Ballroom next time?”

✧ “You’re a shitty dancer so don’t expect it to happen anytime soon.”

✧ “Then again, I’m dancing with you. So it doesn’t matter if you’re bad. The important thing is, it’s going to be special since I’m with you.”

✧ And at that moment, you could feel your heart explode from all these soft emotions.

✧ Shoto was naturally smart. He could finish a lot of tasks in a few hours without getting distracted. That was his strategy ever since he was in Elementary. Getting things done right away and getting flawless remarks and grades on them.

✧ But ever since the two of you got together, he insisted that the two of you would do your school works together. So, every night, whenever there was homework, you would immediately yeet over to Shoto’s room to answer the tasks with him.

✧ It’s really cute. Not only do the two of you get to bond together but, you were helping each other too. It was the ideal relationship.

✧ Shoto is very particular with a lot of fancy things, so he even has this humidifier in his room with your favorite scent so that the both of you can calmly continue your work.  He even has a comforter sprawled upon the floor so that you could sit comfortably. How sweet of him ;w; 

✧ This time around though, the two of you were partnered up for  to answer a elaborate math problem that you were going to present the next day. 

✧ You exceled in your subjects with Math being your weakest point, sometimes even getting unfavorable grades on the subject. Shoto was the exact opposite though. Which wasn’t surprising because he needed to be good for his quirk. How far his fire can go, the trajectory of his ice and all that jazz. 

✧  He wasn’t disappointed that he was partnered with you for this though, despite it being your weakness. In fact he couldn’t be happier. As long as he was spending time with you. 

✧ After reading through the problem and finding the formula, you were already stressed out. Todoroki took notice of this immediately and decided that the two of you should take a break first. He brings you to the convenience store near the dorm. Your hand holding his as he tells you that you could buy any snack you want.

✧ Using his father’s credit card of course.

✧ After coming back from the store, the two of you decided to head straight back to the math problem. It was very very complicated,  especially since the two of you had to divide the work because it was required for the project for the two of you to evenly contribute to it. It was a math problem your braincells couldn’t take anymore.

✧ “Shoto-kun, I can’t take this anymoreee.” You whined, resting your head on his shoulder.

✧ “Come on (Y/N), just a little bit more. We’re almost finished.”

✧  Shoto was finished with his part of the solution, while you were still struggling. It took the whole night to do so but you were able to answer it eventually.

✧  The next day, it was finally time for the presentation. Shoto was able to present his solution perfectly, while you had some slip-ups and mistakes here and there. The both of you didn’t get a good grade because of that... but to him, it didn’t matter.

✧ “I’m sorry for dragging you into this. It’s my fault we got a bad grade.”

✧ “It’s alright (Y/N). It doesn’t matter. As long as I get to experience something different with you and spend time with you every single day, I’m happy and contented. 

✧ You were so blessed to have someone like Todoroki Shoto in your life. What did you to deserve such a precious and kind boyfriend?

-End.  ♡‧₊˚

[paralleljulieverse]

‘Gentlemen like you are few...’: A Supercentenary Tribute to Irwin Kostal

1 October 2021 marks the 110th anniversary of the birth of Irwin Kostal, the musical arranger, orchestrator and conductor whose work helped shape the sound of the post-war American stage and screen musical. In this post we look back at the career of this remarkable 'music man’ with a particular focus on his collaborations with the equally remarkable Julie Andrews -- who, as it happens, shares the same birthday, so this post is doing double birthday honours.

A gentle, unassuming man, Kostal or ‘Irv’ as he was known by associates, was not one for the limelight. It’s possibly why he gravitated to the ‘behind-the-scenes’ art of musical arranging. Unlike composers, performers, or even conductors, arrangers seldom loom large in public perceptions of professional musicianship. They are, for the most part, the ‘invisible artists’ of the music industry: their contributions to the sound and experience of music are immense, but they remain largely ‘uncredited in records, liner notes or books or records’ (Niles 2104, p. 4). That Irwin Kostal would ultimately prove a rare exception to this tradition of thankless anonymity -- becoming sufficiently well-known to have his own name not only included on recordings, but emblazoned on the front cover alongside those of the ‘star’ vocalists with whom he worked -- is a testament to the singularity of his talents. 

Born the son of first generation immigrant parents in Chicago in 1911, Kostal claimed he was instantly ‘smitten’ by music when he saw a piano at the age of two-and-a-half, but his family was too poor to afford such luxuries. Moreover, his father -- a hard-drinking Czech with a fiery temper -- was ‘rigidly opposed’ to his interests in music and ‘could see no future in it’ (’Irwin’ 1962, p. 70). So Kostal initially had to content himself with listening and absorbing as much musical knowledge as he could indirectly. When he was eleven, his father finally brought home a broken player piano salvaged from a removals job and it provided the young Kostal with the launch pad he needed. 

Kostal devoted himself to his musical education with single-minded zeal. His formal training was intermittent -- enabled by a supportive mother who ‘surreptitiously managed to save money from her weekly allowance for my musical instruction’ (’Irwin’ 1962, p. 70) -- but he was a passionate autodidact who would spend countless hours studying and practising on his own. By age 15, he was already playing professionally with local touring bands, while also offering his own services as a piano teacher with, at one point, more than 40 pupils (ibid.).

When he wasn’t playing, Kostal would be found in the local library poring over musical scores and reading about the greats of the classical canon. He was particularly intrigued by orchestration and the possibilities it offered for varying the sound and feel of music. He recalls how he would take orchestral scores home and study all the parts learning ‘about musical instruments I never knew existed’ (Suskin 2009, p. 56).  He progressively worked his way through the music of the masters, going alphabetically: 

‘Bach...Beethoven, Brahms, Debussy, Elgar, Frank, Gounod, on and on through the alphabet...I tried to absorb everything. By the time I came to Ravel, Tchaikovsky and Wagner, I knew quite a lot about music in a jumbled way’ (Suskin 2009, p. 57).

While still in his teens, Kostal started to experiment with arrangements of his own, scoring a high school production of Uncle Tom’s Cabin with multiple variations on the American folk melody ‘Way Down upon the Swanee River’. ‘By taking away the rhythmic aspects and playing it in a minor key,’ he recounts, ‘I found lots of ways to play this song, making it fit the dramatics of the half-hour long story’ (ibid., p. 56). Thus, Irwin Kostal the arranger was born.

Throughout the 1930s and early-40s, Kostal honed his talents in a professional capacity, working with various big bands, before finally landing a job as a resident arranger for an NBC radio affiliate in Chicago. Following the war, Kostal moved to New York where, after a rocky start, he secured regular work as conductor and arranger on a number of long-running radio and TV variety shows including Your Show of Shows (1950-54), Max Liebman Presents (1954-56), and The Garry Moore Show (1959-63). It was demanding, fast-paced work with Kostal having to arrange and orchestrate hundreds of score pages a week, but it consolidated his musical versatility and capacity to work across a wide range of styles and forms (Suskin 2009, pp. 57-60).

Throughout this period, Kostal was also orchestrating for Broadway shows, racking up over 52 credits on theatre productions big and small (Allen 1995, p. 18). Many of these assignments were done in a ‘ghost-writer’ capacity including contributing work to such classic musicals as Wonderful Town (1953), The Pajama Game (1953) and Silk Stockings (1955). A major breakthrough came when Kostal was contracted to work in a credited capacity as co-orchestrator on the original Broadway production of West Side Story (1958) -- collaborating with Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim and Sid Ramin. It earned him his first Grammy Award and a subsequent invitation to arrange and orchestrate a string of other big Broadway musicals including Fiorello! (1959), Sail Away (1961) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962).

The success of West Side Story also saw Kostal do repeat honours on the film version (1961) which would, in turn, earn him an Academy Award and kickstart a hugely successful Hollywood career. In 1963, Kostal was invited by none other than Walt Disney to take on the major job of arranging the songs for Mary Poppins (1964) which had been written by the in-house Disney composing team of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman. The Sherman Brothers claim to have suggested Kostal because they were fans of his Broadway work and they wanted a bright theatrical sound for the score. However, Walt Disney demurred. He reasoned it was a period film and they needed someone who could write music for any style or era, suggesting they get the musical director from The Garry Moore Show instead. Cue mutual delight when it was discovered they were all referring to the same man, Irwin Kostal (Sherman & Sherman 1998; Suskin 2009, p. 65).

Kostal’s work on Mary Poppins catapulted him to new heights of mainstream success. It not only secured him another Academy Award nomination -- he lost to Andre Previn for his work on My Fair Lady -- but it also brought him a tidy fortune in royalties from the film’s best-selling soundtrack album (’Kostal’s’ $65,000′, 57). His fame -- and fortune -- skyrocketed even further the following year when Kostal was contracted to arrange the score for The Sound of Music (1965). His dazzling efforts on this box-office blockbuster confirmed Kostal’s status as Hollywood’s presiding musical wonder-boy and saw him walk home with his second Oscar. A string of other big screen musicals followed including Half a Sixpence (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971). 

Many of these films were repeat collaborations because Kostal favoured working with people he knew and with whom he clicked personally and creatively. He would for example continue as the de facto ‘house’ arranger for Disney well into the 1980s, working on various assignments for the studio including Pete’s Dragon (1978), Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983) and the controversial re-recorded 1982 release of Fantasia (1940/1982) (Tietyan 1990). Kostal would also maintain a long association with the Sherman Brothers, acting as musical arranger for all their big screen musicals including the aforementioned Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) and Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), as well as Tom Sawyer (1973); Charlotte’s Web (1973); and The Magic of Lassie (1978) (Sherman & Sherman 1998).

The other great collaboration of Kostal’s career was of course with Julie Andrews. Perhaps it was the fact that the pair shared the same birthday but Kostal had an extraordinarily sympathetic relationship with Julie and he would work with her more than any other vocalist. Long before they teamed on Poppins and The Sound of Music, Julie and ‘Irv’ were making musical magic together. Kostal was the arranger and conductor for Julie’s first two solo albums for RCA: The Lass with the Delicate Air (1957) and Julie Andrews Sings (1958) where his sensitive facility with a wide range of musical idioms from English classical to Broadway and Tin Pan Alley came to the fore. Reviewing the first of these albums at the time of its original release, one music critic lauded it as ‘a record to charm every member of the family...[with] a combination of sincerity and simplicity and wholesome sweetness...Thank goodness arranger and conductor Irwin Kostal met the challenge and set the ballads winningly without overpowering Miss Andrews’ light pure tones’ (RRS 1958, p. 5A). In a similar vein, another reviewer praised the second album for ‘its charming unforced version of standards, well known and almost forgotten...Miss Andrews still sings naturally and purely [and] the deft accompaniments played by an orchestra under Irwin Kostal are agreeably restrained’ (Masters 1959, p. 11).

In this early period Kostal also worked with Julie as guest star on several episodes of The Garry Moore Show, where he was resident musical director. In this context, Kostal was pivotal in helping establish the legendary teaming of Julie and Carol Burnett which came out of the Garry Moore appearances. He would go on to act as musical director for their breakout 1962 TV special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall which would earn Kostal his first Emmy (Taraborelli 1988, pp. 172-79). He would secure his second Emmy a few years later working with Julie again on the 1965 variety special, The Julie Andrews Show (1965) where, among other highlights, Kostal scored a series of stellar song-and-dance medleys for Julie and guest star Gene Kelly. The same year, Kostal teamed up with Julie on yet another recording with the 1965 edition of the annual Firestone Christmas albums. 

It was however their combined work on the two big musical mega-hits, Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, that secured the Kostal-Andrews partnership a place in the history books. A cultural phenomenon of the highest order, the soundtrack recordings for these two films remain among the most successful albums of all time. Mary Poppins held the #1 spot on the US national music charts for 14 consecutive weeks in 1964, beating out Elvis Presley and The Beatles (Hollis and Erhbar 2006, pp.72ff). The album for The Sound of Music sold over 9 million copies in its first four years of release alone, remaining in the Billboard Top 100 for an unbelievable five-and-a-half years, and becoming the highest selling LP of all-time in the US up to that date (Murrells, 1978)  The Sound of Music continued its record-breaking run abroad, dominating the international charts and holding the #1 spot for 75 weeks in Australia, 73 weeks in Norway and 70 weeks in the UK, becoming in the process the single biggest selling album worldwide of the 1960s (Harker, 1992, pp. 189-91).

Commentators have frequently singled out the combination of Julie Andrews’ soaring vocals and Kostal’s dynamic arrangements as instrumental to the phenomenal success of these two albums. ‘Miss Andrews glows--positively glows--right through the record groove, vinyl disc, amplifiers, speakers, and all other mechanical barriers,’ enthused one contemporary reviewer of the Mary Poppins soundtrack, noting how the ‘songs that Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman have written’ and ‘the handsome arrangements by Irwin Kostal have the perfect balance ‘of lilt and flair to provide Miss Andrews with an effective working basis’ (Wilson 1965, p. 109). Apropos The Sound of Music, another critic pronounced it ‘as good a reproduction of a score as has ever been made’, noting how it ‘presents Julie in a most appealing role and given the splendid musical direction of Irwin Kostal, her talent comes shining through...as a treat beyond measure’ (Moore 1965, p. B6). 

In total, Julie Andrews and Irwin Kostal would work together on six recordings, two musical motion pictures, two television specials, and a host of other TV appearances representing some of the very best of Julie’s musical work during her heyday of the 1960s. Considered alongside the wealth of Kostal’s other work across film, stage, television and recording, it’s hard not to concur with Disney’s Nelson Meecham who, on the occasion of Kostal’s passing in 1994, eulogised: ‘He brought the joy of music to more people than it is possible to count’ (Allen, p. 19).

Sources:

Allen, John F 1995. ‘Remembering a Music Man: On the life and work of Irwin Kostal.’ Boxoffice. August: pp. 18-19.

Harker, Dave 1992. ‘Still Crazy After All These Years: What was popular music in the 1960s?” Cultural Revolution? The challenge of the arts in the 1960s. Bart Moore-Gilbert and John Seed, eds. Routledge, London and New York: pp. 186-200.

Hollis, Tim and Erhbar, Greg 2006. Mouse Tracks: The Story of Walt Disney Records. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.

‘Irwin Kostal: Music in all its many forms is his life.’ (1962). The Province. 2 June: p. 70.

’Kostal’s’ $65,000 Poppins Score’ 1965. Variety. 10 March: p. 57

Levy, Charles 1964. Mary Poppins: About the stars and photo-story features [Press kit]. Buena Vista Distribution, New York. 

Masters, John 1959. ‘Off the Record: Enchanting Music.’ The Age. 7 January: p. 11.

Moore, Robert 1965. ‘Record Turntable: Julie Andrews out in front again in film album of”Sound of Music”.’ The Arizona Daily Star. 7 March: p. B6.

Murrells, Joseph, ed. 1978. Book of Golden Discs: Records that sold a million. Barrie & Jenkins, New York.

Niles, Richard 2014. The Invisible Artist: Arrangers in popular music (1950-2000). BMI, London.

Oliver, Myrna. 1994. ‘Obituaries: Irwin Kostal; Film, TV Orchestrator.’ The Los Angeles Times. 1 December: P. B8.

RRS 1958. ‘On the Record: ‘Lass with the Delicate Air.’ Bristol Herald Courier. 9 February: p. 5A.

Sherman, Robert B &  Sherman, Richard M 1998. Walt's Time: From before to beyond. Camphor Tree, Santa Clarita, CA.

Suskin, Steven 2009. The Sound of Broadway Music: A book of orchestrators and orchestrations, Oxford University Press, New York.

Taraborelli, J. Randy 1988. Laughing Till It Hurts: The complete life and career of Carol Burnett. William Morrow & Co, New York.

Tietyan, David 1990. The Musical World of Walt Disney. H. Leonard, Milwaukee, Wis. 

Wilson, John S. 1965. ‘The Lighter Side’. High Fidelity Magazine. 15: 4: pp. 107-111.

© 2021, Brett Farmer. All Rights Reserved.

[yurimother]

The Best Yuri of 2019

2019 was a challenging year for many, in and out of the anime community, which is still reeling from the horrific attack at Kyoto Animation’s first studio in July that killed 36 people. However, I want to take this moment, as we start a new decade, to reflect on some of the greatest achievements in Yuri.

2019 marked the genre’s 100th anniversary, 100 years since Nobuko Yoshiya released her landmark lesbian novel Yaneura no Nishojo that shaped and created Yuri as we know it. It was possible Yuri’s best years ever, as more incredible titles were released and localized, we experienced fantastic events and moments, and more. This article is part of my continuing celebration of all things Yuri!

Note that many of the works mentioned came out before 2019, but they either were first released in English during 2019 or hit particular high points during this year. Now then, here is the best of Yuri in 2019!

15: SukeraSparo

This Japanese Yuri visual novel developer is starting to reach new heights as they set their sights on releasing new and innovate Yuri titles. The English release of The Expression Amrilato, an educational Yuri visual novel that teaches the player Esperanto, was one of the most unique and creative works I have the pleasure of playing this year. But, they outdid themselves this year, releasing a sequel, Itsuka no Memorajxo, creating one of the most beautiful Yuri games in Folklore of Kudan, and founding a sister brand, SukeraSomero, “to fill the world with YURI!”

The Expression Amrilato is available in English for PC on Steam and Mangagamer

14: Mage & Demon Queen

This outrageous and vivacious webcomic hits its stride in Season 2. After setting a solid foundation, this masterpiece by Kuru “Color-LES” is finally able to explore some more interesting plot lines such as its characters’ pasts, conflicts between the demons and humans, and figuring out who’s gonna be the bottom (it’s Malori, it was always going to be Malori). It is chock full of modern humor and moments I can only describe as hilariously kinky, while rarely feeling gross of sleazy. I can only wait to see what is next for these star-crossed lovers.

Mage & Demon Queen: is available to read in English on Webtoon

13: Yuri Anthologies

In 2018, Yen Press gave us the first hint of some Yuri anthologies starting to squeak into the West with Éclair, but 2019 threw the floodgates open! New works are coming out in both Japan and the West, featuring multiple artists coming together to create works featuring workplace romance, isekai, first-time stories, and even MARRIAGE!! Additionally, creators released volumes collecting their various short stories, like Rouge Nagashiro’s Eve and Eve, and some series saw multiple artists contribute to an already established world such as in the Bloom Into You Anthologies.

12: SHWD

Sono’s science fiction Yuri doujinshi series, published in English by Lilyka, is everything I did not know I wanted in a Yuri series. It showcases pulse-pounding action as the women of the “Special Hazardous Waste Disposal” fight to take down the horrific Dynamis. It has musclebound beasts of women that exude strength, power, and femininity at all times. And it has a compelling story about overcoming personal conflicts and learning to rely on others.

SHWD is available digitally on Lilyka

11: If I Could Reach You

No other series this year delivered an emotional gut-punch like If I Could Reach You. This tragic and beautiful manga by tMnR follows a young girl as she attempts hopelessly to overcome her attraction to her brother’s wife. Everything from the artwork to the dialogue masterfully communicates the devastation and pain that the protagonist Uta feels. It is beautiful and devastating, and I carry every awesome moment on my mind continuously.

If I Could Reach You is available digitally and physically in English from Kodansha: https://amzn.to/36vsYPe

Honorable mention: SQ/Tamen de Gushi/Their Story 

2019 was a little bit of a slow year for Tan Jiu’s webtoon, thanks to an extended hiatus, especially when compared to 2018’s triumphant and spectacular storyline. However, small moments of genius like Sun Jing’s father’s phenomenal visual monologue keep this work in peak form top and my heart. I hope that its recent Japanese serialization on Comic Walker help even more people enjoy it.

10: Still Sick

In my recent review, I called this workplace romance a “Yuri manga for Yurijin,” and there is no way I could come up with a more apt description. Still Sick surprised me with its self-awareness, knowledge, and commentary on the genre. It has an incredibly deep story about two complex and layered characters that ignite each other’s passion, in more ways than one.

Still Sick is available digitally and physically in English from Tokyopop: https://amzn.to/2rVRH07

9: Going Beyond Girl Meets Girl

Yuri stories tend to repeat the same story, two girls meet, they fall for each other, they get together, THE END! The past decade or so has finally seen more stories adding sexual elements, in contrast to earlier S works, and some even explored the dating life of two schoolgirls. However, we have recently seen something remarkable: works featuring couples “graduating” (literally or metaphorically) and enter the real world. Series like Citrus, Kase-san, and, briefly, Bloom Into You explore the relationships as they exit the honeymoon phase and get into the meat of lesbian livelihood.

Kase-san and Yamada is available for English preorder: https://amzn.to/2MXnp4w

8: Nagata Kabi

Over the past few years, Nagata Kabi has redefined what the Yuri genre can be. Her powerful autobiographical manga essays My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness, My Solo Exchange Diary, and Genjitsu Touhi Shitetara Boroboro ni Natta Hanashi communicate her experiences with queer identity, mental illness, and alcoholism. No work of fiction could ever hope to reach Nagata’s strength and crushing honesty. Nagata’s manga has and will continue to change readers and the genre for years to come.

My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2MZ7DWJ 

7: Bloom Into You

Nakatani Nio’s popular Yuri series Bloom Into You crushed it in 2019. It concluded serialization, ending on an incredibly high note, and dominating the market in both English and Japanese, selling over one million copies (well deserved). Additionally, Sentai Filmworks released an excellent collector’s edition of the 2018 television anime adaption that is now a must-have for Yuri collectors. But my favorite aspect of this series is the spin-off light novel series featuring one of its best characters, which have already begun English release.

Bloom Into You: Regarding Saeki Sayaka is available digitally and for physical preorder from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2SVPVHG

6: Heart of the Woods

When I heard that one of the co-creators of Highway Blossoms, one of the better English Yuri visual novels, was creating his own studio, I was pretty excited. But nothing could have prepared me for Studio Élan's first release, Heart of the Woods, which blew me away. The enchanting adventure full of exceptionally queer characters shattered every expectation I had. I am looking forward to its Switch port and voice acting patch, as well as more titles from Élan.

Heart of the Woods is available for PC on Steam. Switch edition coming later this year.

Honorable mention: Hayama-sensei to Terano-sensei wa Tsukiatte iru

Oui Pikachi’s manga about two teachers navigating a new relationship is one of my new favorites. Everyone is so supportive of the title characters as they stumble their way through an honest and mature love. However, I am only giving it an honorable mention this year, as I am sure it will be on this list next year after Seven Seas releases the first volume in English as The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating!

The Gym Teacher and School Nurse are Dating! is available for preorder in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/39JhXMs

5. Sexiled

Ameko Kaeruda’s spectacularly feminist and outrageously funny light novel series Sexiled is could ever ask for and more. I feel in love with its compelling female characters and their riveting battle against the sexist conventions of their society, all of which painfully mirror reality. This work is cathartic, empowering, and so very, very gay.

Sexiled is available digitally in English from J-Novel Club. Physical edition coming later this year: https://amzn.to/35u6NaW

4: Yuri Life

I adore domestic Yuri. Granted, I love a good romance and fantasy, but so many of these stories exist that it feels overwhelming, and sometimes it is just good to sit down and read about two women who love each other living their everyday adult lives in bliss. Kurukuruhime’s Yuri Life, which I have enjoyed ever since it was first uploaded to Pixiv and am so proud to own in print, is precisely that. Nine couples being cute and living together in a variety of humorous, scandalous, and adorable situations. Yuri cohabitation has never been so good! Now, if I could only get some Yuri titles about women raising kids together…

Yuri Life is available digitally and physically in English from Yen Press: https://amzn.to/35stSLg

3: Children’s Cartoons

For the past several years, children’s cartoons and media have slowly begun to allow bits of queer representation onto the screen. While we are still a long way from having Elsa kiss a girl, the small and large victories on children’s television give me hope. Some of my personal favorites include an episode of Nickelodeon’s The Loud House about a lesbian date, a lesbian couple and agender character (using they/them pronouns) in Craig of the Creek, the female protagonist of Twelve Forever developing a crush on another girl, and of course the unbelievable amount of queerness that She-Ra and Steven Universe shove into every moment. I wish I had more series like these when I was young, and I am thrilled that my students get to grow up with them.

2: Our Dreams at Dusk (Shimanami Tasogare)

Yuhki Kamatani’s Our Dreams at Dusk is easily 2019’s best manga. The incredible story explores many real aspects of LGBTQ identities, gay, lesbian, trans, non-binary, and asexual included, in an emotional and resonating masterpiece. The artwork is stunning and more expressive than words could ever be. I stand by what I said in my review, that Our Dreams at Dusk is the greatest manga I have ever read and wholeheartedly believes that it was deserving of the only 10/10 score I gave in 2019.

Our Dreams at Dusk is available digitally and physically in English from Seven Seas: https://amzn.to/2s282AE

Honorable mention: ‘The Conditions of Paradise’ Licensed

One of the best moments of this year came out of Anime Expo when Seven Seas announced that they had licensed Morishima Akiko’s Rakuen no Jouken and would be releasing it as The Conditions of Paradise in 2020. Not only is The Conditions of Paradise a fantastic and mature work of Yuri literature, but it is also over a decade old, having been published originally in 2007. This license, more than anything else, helped me realize how far Yuri came this year. Not only is the hottest new series being adapted, but a historic and profound classic of the genre.

The Conditions of Paradise is available for preorder in English: https://amzn.to/2FjTE9M

1: Yuri Publishers

Not too long ago, it was rare for us to see more than a few Yuri manga releases in a year if any, but now we are at the point where a publisher can do an event announcing five Yuri licenses in a single day! As of this year, all the major publishers, and plenty of smaller ones, are actively licensing, adapting, and publishing amazing Yuri works: Yen Press, Viz, Kodansha, Seven Seas, Tokyopop, Renta, J-Novel Club, and more keep giving us incredible Yuri. I also have to mention the incredible work Lilyka Manga is doing, working directly with mangaka to adapt Yuri doujinshi titles into English, something I would have never dreamed of a few years ago.

As Yuri enters its second century, we are staring down the rest of 2020, a year that will no doubt go down in current Yuri history. The year will see a record number of Yuri manga releases both in Japan and from licensed series in the West. We are getting several promising anime series like Adachi to Shimamura, Magia Record, Oshi ga Budoukan Ittekuretara Shinu, a Princess Principal movie, and more. I cannot wait to see what this year will hold for YuriMother and the Yuri genre. I hope you all stick with me through it as we navigate the waters of a newer, gayer, and greater world of Yuri.

[hardcorehardigan]

[Cover: GREG WILLIAMS/AUGUST IMAGES]

Tom Hardy interview and exclusive David Bailey shot

Tom Hardy interview and exclusive David Bailey shot

By DANIELLE DE WOLFE

02 September 2015

ShortList meets the British actor who took on the Kray twins and won. Plus an exclusive image of the actor taken by the inimitable David Bailey.

Interviewing Tom Hardy is not like interviewing other film stars. From the moment he arrives – alone, dressed down in hiking trousers and black T-shirt, puffing away on a complex-looking digital e-cigarette – it is immediately clear this is not someone who will be exhibiting any kind of on-promotional-duties polish. He is very, very nice (I get a hug at the end of the interview), but there is unmistakably a wired edginess about him. When we sit down, it starts like this:

Me: I’m going to start with an obvious question, which is… Hardy: Have you seen the film? Me: Yes. I… Hardy: Right, well that’s the first question, then. The second one is, “What did you think?” I tell him I loved it, and why, and he is pleased (“That’s a f*cking result!”). When we move on to me asking him questions, his answers – again, in contrast to other film stars, with whom the game is to get them to veer slightly away from prepared, succinct monologues – are smart and eloquent, but long, drawn-out and enjoyably all over the place, veering off into tangents prompted by thoughts that have clearly just formulated. At the end of our allotted time, we are told to wind it up not once but twice, and even then he is still going, launching into theories about American versus British gangster films and life and humanity and such things (“Sorry man, I can talk for f*cking ever!” he laughs). He will be talking with a seriousness and sincerity (“All the risk was taken by [writer and director] Brian [Helgeland], to be fair…”), then will switch without warning into a piercing, mock-hysterical falsetto (“…letting me PLAY BOTH F*CKING ROLES, MAN!”).

In fact, briefly, while we’re on the subject of the way he speaks…

Tom Hardy’s normal speaking voice is not something we have been privy to onscreen. Since he delivered – whatever your opinion of it – the most imitated cinematic voice of the decade in The Dark Knight Rises, we haven’t come close. That thick Welsh accent in Locke, The Drop’s quiet Brooklyn drawl, the Russian twang in Child 44: we just never hear it. And this might be because it doesn’t exist. It’s five years ago, but if you watch his Jonathan Ross appearance in 2010, where he is very well spoken, he confesses he “sometimes picks up accents, and sometimes I don’t know how I’m going to sound until I start speaking”. If you then watch another video of a feature on GMTV, dated just a month previous, while addressing some young people from troubled backgrounds as part of his charity work with the Prince’s Trust, he is speaking to them in a south London street kid drawl. Today, in the flesh, he is about halfway between these two.

A natural-born chameleon.

Tom Hardy shot by David Bailey for ShortList

BEING DOUBLE

The role we are here to discuss today does not, by Tom Hardy’s own standards at least, involve a huge stretch accent-wise. But it is “the hardest thing that I’ve ever done, technically”. This is because, as mentioned, he plays not one role, but two. In the same film. You will likely have seen the posters for Legend by now, depicting Hardy as both of the Kray twins. Which seems an ambitious, almost foolhardy undertaking.

Hardy agrees. “It is one of them situations,” he says. “You get an actor to play two characters, and immediately, it’s pony. It’s gonna be rubbish. Just: no. It’s a bad idea.”

This particular “bad idea” came to him when he first met writer and director Brian Helgeland (who had previously written screenplays for – no biggie – LA Confidential and Mystic River) for dinner. Brian wanted Hardy to play Reggie (the hetero, alpha male, more-straight-down-the-line Kray). Hardy, though, had read the script, and of course, being Tom Hardy, was drawn to the more complex character. “I was like, ‘Well, I feel Ronnie,’” he says. “So which actor am I gonna give up Ronnie to, if I play Reggie? Errrrrggh…. I can’t have that. ’Cos that’s all the fun there! And Reggie’s so straight! But there was a moment when I could have come away just playing Reggie. We could have gone and found a superlative character actor to play Ronnie, and that would have been the best of everything."

But Helgeland sensed the dissatisfaction in his potential leading man. “I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, he wants to play Ron,’” he tells me. “And the paraphrased version is that by the end of the dinner, I said, ‘I’ll give you Ron if you give me Reg.’”

And so began their quest to turn a risky, potentially disastrous idea into something special (as Brian puts it to me, “the movie’s either gone right or gone wrong before anyone even starts working on it”). Hardy found some comfort in Sam Rockwell’s two-interacting-characters performance in Moon. “I’m a big fan of Sam,” he says.

“And Moon gave me reason to go, ‘I know it’s possible to hustle with self, to create a genuine dialogue with self.’ So then it’s the technical minefield: can you authentically create two characters within a piece at all? So that the audience can look past that and engage in the film? It is what it is: it’s two characters played by the same actor. But I think we got to a point where people forget that and are genuinely watching the story."

This was the ‘why I liked the film’ reasoning I gave to him at the beginning of the interview. And it is a remarkable performance, or pair of performances, or triumph of technical direction. The opening shot features both Tom Hardy Krays sitting in the back of a car, and feels strange, but very quickly, within about 10 or 15 minutes, you settle into it, and forget that it is actually the same guy. This was made possible, in part, by Hardy’s stunt double from Mad Max: a New Zealander named Jacob Tomuri.

“He inherited the hardest job of my career,” Hardy grins. “I put on a pair of glasses, played every scene with Ron, then took ’em off and played Reg. And we went through every scene in the film, recording it on the iPhone. So he’s got every scene of me doing both characters, on his iPhone. He actually played both brothers, had to learn all of the lines. He was paying attention twice as hard to keep up. But he superseded that, and was eventually ad-libbing. There’s a line that ended up in the film, where Ronnie goes, ‘I bent him up like a pretzel, I hurt him really f*cking badly.’” “Where did that come from?!” Hardy shrieks, in that falsetto again. “It came from New Zealand."

The wife’s tale

The other big potential pitfall, as Hardy sees it, was contributing to the ongoing glamorisation and eulogising of two brothers who were, to say the least, not very nice. Somehow they have become almost as iconic a piece of the Sixties puzzle as the Beatles or the Stones. But this was not something that Legend would be setting out to reinforce. “One has to approach these things thinking about the families of the victims who were involved in the other end of it,” he says. “Before you find the heart to like somebody, you’ve gotta look at their track record as best as possible: the people who’ve been hurt, the bodies, the suffering, people who were bullied, who lived in terror, who lost significant parts of their lives in the wake of these two men. There’s a lot of sh*t to wade through. And a lot of people who do not, quite rightly, want to see anything to do with these two men. And if I were them, I wouldn’t want to be involved myself, but there’s also part of me that wants to know. That wants to get under the skin.”

So how do you go about doing that? About humanising, to any extent, such people?

“I think the first port of call is, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do and say whatever you wanted to do and say in the world, regardless of the ramifications and the consequences?’ Ultimately, when I – we – go to the cinema or read a book or we go to escape, we respond to certain types of characters that go, ‘F*ck it: I’m gonna do whatever I want.'

And that’s because we can’t. Because most people would feel a responsibility.”

The answer to how Legend would do this came in the shape of a person who did feel some responsibility, namely Frances Shea: the troubled wife of Reggie, who died in 1967. Played by Emily Browning, she became the centre of the film when Helgeland met Krays associate Chris Lambrianou, who told him that “Frances was the reason we all went to prison”.

“We could have put more of the carnage and the crimes in that film,” says Hardy. “Not to say that it is not there, but what you do see, really, is Reggie, Ronnie and Frances. That’s the dynamic we focused on, that space, which hasn’t been seen before. What was that dynamic like? I don’t know if we came anywhere near the truth, because we weren’t there. But that was the playing field, if you like: Frances Shea, future ahead of her, caught up in something, and no one with her, the suicide. That sits with me in a way as the lead. She’s who we forgot. Ronnie, Reggie, they’ve done their bit. Frances was forgotten. And that kind of all ties it together for me."

FUTURE LEGENDS

The initial praise for Legend has been plentiful, but the mindset of Tom Hardy right now is such that he does not have the time to bask in it. There are other quite ludicrously challenging projects to be pressing ahead with. Coming in autumn is The Revenant, starring his good friend Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu of Birdman fame. Its trailer, as well as doing the not-going-anywhere trend for big beards no harm whatsoever, suggests that it will also match Mad Max in terms of an unrelenting barrage of intensity. Further into the future there’s the Elton John biopic Rocketman (initial challenge? Hardy “can’t sing”) and another foray into comic-book adaptation with 100 Bullets (news of which broke just after our interview).

And right now, as in this week, he’s working on a BBC series called Taboo, which is set in 1813 and stars Hardy as an adventurer who comes back from Africa and builds a shipping empire. The story has been developed by his production company Hardy Son & Baker (formed with his father, Chips) and has been written and directed by Locke/Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, with Ridley Scott also exec producing.

“We’re sat on something really awesome,” says Hardy. “And it’s trying to piece it together. I’ve never produced anything before, so I basically don’t know what I’m doing. But I’ve got some options and solutions: if you say something is not working, you better come up with at least four other options. But it’s good. It’s just different.”

Another day, another big challenge. Another chance to do something different. It isn’t an easy life being Tom Hardy. But neither will it ever a boring one, and that’s good news for us.

Legend is at cinemas from 9 September

Words: Hamish MacBain. Images: David Bailey, Studio Canal

You can also read the Hardy interview in this week's ShortList Magazine. It'd be a crime to miss it.

Source: https://www.shortlist.com/news/tom-hardy-interview-and-exclusive-david-bailey-shot

[bonesliketambourines]

Hya! It's the Festive Fanfic Author Ask! Drop this on or off Anon into the askbox of your favorite authors you'd like to know better: Which one of your own fics do you think feels the most You to you? Which one of your stories would you suggest to read if someone wanted to get the gist of your personality?

Hello there anon! Thank you for sending me this ask.

Because I’m a terrible narcissist, I’ve elected to answer both of these asks in slightly different ways. You can read the first part here. Fair warning, it is long, and somewhat heavy in content.

We’re going to take a slightly different, and hopefully significantly shorter, tack for this one! **I’ve come back after finishing to LOL and say, no it’s not shorter, so you can see the rest of it below the cut!

The second fic I’d like to highlight for this ask will come as no surprise to anyone who’s followed me for any length of time; as I’ve said before, I love all my children fanfics equally, but my @lcdrarry 2020 contribution, i demand to dig my own grave, holds a very special place in my heart.

I don’t think a piece of writing has ever come so easily or naturally to me. I have enjoyed the research and creating aspect of literally every single fic I’ve published (special mention here to dress your family in, for which I spent hours pouring over fashion spreads to get the details just right), but there’s something to be said for a fic that exits your fingers as if by magic, without effort or agony at all.

People who have read more than one of my fics can probably point out a few recurring themes, one of which is how I handle Draco’s voice and characterization. I think this particular fic is the pinnacle of ‘my’ Draco and likely always will be.

Despite what Jowling Kowling has said and would like to believe, Draco Malfoy has been a fascinating character across the length and breadth of the Harry Potter fandom, for far many more reasons than Tom Felton being attractive and managing to imbue real depth into a role that was heavily compressed for the movies. We love him because he’s Harry’s natural and immediately-established narrative foil; we love him because everyone loves to hate the snotty little brat; we love him because he began to redeem himself on his own, in his own way, without someone forcing him down the path of Light no i certainly do not have thoughts about JKR’s obsession with snape why would you ask

But that’s not all.

We view the Wizarding World through the eyes of Harry—who, for all intents and purposes, is as ignorant as a Muggleborn. His POV, because of that, is flawed, unreliable, and more importantly limited about so many things. Draco, as the only heir to the oldest and most prominent Pureblood family in the country, is a peek into an entirely different world, one that Harry would have had access to had there been no war. Through Draco Malfoy, fandom can introduce and explore their own traditions within the Wizarding world. We borrow from Celtic traditions, and old pagan holidays, and the tiniest hints in the books that get spun out into vast, glittering truths. For many of us, Draco is our path to the more elaborate worldbuilding that so many authors in this fandom are absolutely incredible at.

Draco is also a way to explore bigger narrative themes—redemption, and forgiveness, and growing up to be a better person than your childhood dictated you would be. I’m forever amazed at the many brilliant characterization choices I’ve read about who Draco is and how he’s come to be in that particular fic; they’re all believable and compelling, because with him, there’s so much opportunity to grow.

I know I’m not the only one guilty of dumping a lot of my own personality traits into the characters I write, and because I’ve never considered myself especially heroic, or extraordinary, my target for the more superficial things has been Draco. 

What do we know about Draco from canon? He’s spoiled, and fiercely loved by his family, and mean, cruel when he wants to be. He’s flawed. He’s learning. And he’s got a smart mouth and an inability to keep it shut even when it would serve him better to be quiet.

I’ll let you all draw your own conclusions about what I’m like in real life from that 🙂

The Draco I wrote in i demand to dig my own grave is, in many aspects, an idealized version of what I consider to be my worst traits. He’s loud, he’s lazy, he’s self-centered, he’s impatient, he’s careless with money and liquor and who he gives his attention to, he’s sarcastic and biting. But he’s also loyal, and clever, and steadfast when he deems it worthy, and intuitive, and devoted when it suits him. He’s also, IMO, funny as fuck.

One of the beauties of fanfiction is how we’re able to take characters that are not fully fleshed out and breathe life into them in some pretty remarkable ways. I’ve written a lot of things I’m proud of, but this fic’s Draco Malfoy is the closest I’ve ever gotten to truly writing my own voice into a character—just a bit perfected and with more money, of course.

[jeremy-88]

Ruminations: Star Wars’ Great Moment

After last week's post, I started thinking a bit more about the Marvel movies, and in particular I began to remember a collaborative set of YouTube videos from some time ago that I really enjoyed watching. They were called "One Marvelous Scene" and were created by a variety of Youtubers all hoping to explain why their respective choices were, in their eyes, the greatest Marvel scenes of all. Some time later, a similar concept was attempted by many of those same people concerning Fox's X-Men movies, and again, I loved watching them. But after revisiting them I decided that I might try my hand at something similar. But not with Marvel or X-Men, (though I may indeed try such a thing at some point), but with a franchise that has been near and dear to my heart since my youth; Star Wars. Ever since I was gifted with the VHS re-release of the original trilogy back in 1995, I have adored these movies, and as you can probably imagine I've been given no end of scenes to talk about and fawn over. Whether you love or hate these movies, there's no denying that they and their characters have left their mark, and as such I could pick any scene from any movie and be able to just talk for ages about them, so narrowing it down to just one is no easy thing.

Thankfully, I've finally managed to decide which scene really stuck with me as my absolute favourite, and it comes courtesy of Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. Now, this is not my top choice of overall Star Wars film, nor is it even my personal best from the prequel trilogy specifically, but it unquestionably gave me a moment that I believe not only stands out in the prequels, but perhaps every Star Wars film out there. The moment in question comes at what is, quite possibly, the most pivotal moment of the entire franchise's story. Anakin Skywalker, troubled Jedi Knight, making the fateful decision to turn away from his order for the slim chance that he can save the woman he loves. Having revealed that Chancellor Palpatine is secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, he is ordered by the other Jedi to remain in the council chambers until the matter is dealt with. And in this moment, both he and his hidden wife Padme worry for one another across the vast distance between them. And all of that worry culminates in Anakin's final choice, to leave the Jedi Temple and follow the other Jedi before they can kill Palpatine. This is my choice for the greatest scene in Star Wars history, and hopefully, I'll be able to properly explain why.

First and foremost, this scene is dripping with atmosphere. And that's sort of to be expected with this movie in particular. Revenge is often regarded as one of the heavier films in terms of tone, and this scene, which is less than two minutes mind you, feels overwhelmingly oppressive and foreboding. There's a real sense of dread hanging over these images, made all the more potent by the fact that many people going into it will know full well what Anakin is going to be doing by the end of it. You watch a scene like this, and you just know that something bad is going to be happening. This isn't the kind of feeling you get when good things are on the horizon. In fact, it's sort of like we in the audience are ourselves feeling the force, as silly as that might be to hear. There's just this pang in our hearts as it plays out that things are just wrong, that something terrible is coming but that, most frustratingly, we're powerless to stop it. This is a situation that the characters too are helpless to prevent, as everything that has occurred thus far in the story is conspiring to drive these people, and Anakin in particular, into the decisions they will ultimately make, even though we can never forget that it is, at the end of the day, still their choices.

In terms of how the scene is framed, structured and presented, I believe Ruminations is masterfully done. Regardless of what you may feel about Lucas, there's no denying that the man knew what he was doing when it came to visuals. There's just so much going on here in just the look of the piece. At this point in his life, Anakin is feeling more than a little disillusioned with the Jedi, and with the council in particular, yet here he is, in their very chamber, and you can see the discomfort he feels from simply being in a place that reminds him of them. When he turns to the window, to look out to Padme, the scene feels almost like a prisoner looking out from his cell to the outside world. It's made all the more blatant when you consider that Padme, and his marriage to her, is a secret he's been keeping. The Jedi don't allow that kind of relationship, yet Anakin wishes for it desperately. He is, quite literally, standing in a place that forbids him from having the life he wants, staring out to that life, that love, all while knowing that those of his order are about to do something that may lead to him losing that love forever. You see him there, and you know there couldn't be a worse possible place for him to be right now.

And of course, the visuals pretty much have to convey all this stuff, because one of the other unique things about this moment is that it is totally free of dialogue. Now, there have been other wordless moments in Star Wars before, but I'm always amazed at just how much can be conveyed when the characters stay silent. Hayden Christensen and Natalie Portman have often been criticised for their respective performances in these films, but this scene especially shows just how unfounded a lot of those accusations are. When you watch them, longingly looking out to one another and clearly feeling unhappy and worried about their situation, you feel all of that. The two actors did remarkably well here, and showed that, when not having to deliver the infamous dialogue of Lucas, they could really carry a scene and let their expressions speak for themselves. Oh, and one last point about the visuals, note that the scene takes place at sunset, the point of day where light gives way to darkness. So yeah, even the very time at which this scene takes place helps to contribute to the overall feel of what is happening, and going to happen. All ending with Anakin turning away from the sun, and from the light as a whole, when he leaves the chamber.

Now, no talk of a scene in Star Wars would be complete without mention of the now-legendary musical score of John Williams. Ever since the first film in 1977, this franchise has been regarded as having some of the best music in all of cinema, and despite a lot of the negativity surrounding the prequels, even they are lauded for their scores. Revenge of the Sith is no exception here, and while most will praise the likes of Battle of the Heroes as being the best track of this particular film, I have to give it to the music accompanying this scene specifically, Padme's Ruminations. Star Wars is no stranger to music that makes the audience feel foreboding and sombre, just listen to the works made for Empire Strikes Back for proof of that, but this one really takes the cake. From moment one we get a piece of music, and some truly excellent vocal work to boot, that really sells the dread that's meant to be experienced as you watch this. And special mention too has to be given to the brief rendition of Across the Stars tucked in at the end here, signalling not only a reminder of the forbidden love between Anakin and Padme, but also a clear answer to the question of what the former will be choosing to do very soon.

Ruminations is quite possibly the most consequential scene in the entirety of Star Wars, and that's saying a lot. So much of what happens after this, to all the major characters, hinges on the decision made here. It is a turning point for the whole saga, and as such the people behind it knew full well that they needed to pull out all the stops to make it as good a moment as it was capable of being. Thankfully, they succeeded, and spectacularly well. From the acting to the visuals to the music to just the general mood of the piece, it ticks all of the boxes you need for a truly great scene. Are there more memorable Star Wars moments out there? More epic or funny or action-packed scenes? Oh, certainly, and bucket-loads of them too. But for me, this scene stands above them all as one that has stuck with me for fifteen years. One I keep going back to time and time again because of just how much is going on in here. It is a moment that heralded the end of an era, the fall of a Republic, the doom of the Jedi, and the last instance of Anakin Skywalker walking the light before his turn to the dark. With all of that, what else but this could be my personal pick for the greatest Star Wars moment of all time?

[angelkyrrieobsioma]

•Personal Development Daily Journal

Reflection #10: “Monitoring One’s Career Development”

“20 years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”- Mark Twain

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”. —Harriet Tubman

No matter where you are, where you came from, Your DREAMS ARE VALID. As a youth, when you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember that Real dreams take work, They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. So then, Just be sure you are willing to do that. In whatever you do, or dream you can, begin if. Life is full of opportunistic mysteries. Boldness has a genius power and magic in it. It all begins with love and becoming passionate in with the things we can do and might can. Never forget to always love what you do and do what you love. Reciprocate. Never listen to absurd words around you or anyone who tells you not to do anything. Focus on what you want and what you love. You do you. Imagination should be the center of your life.~~

17th of March 2021. Our last chapter with Personal Development and probably the best lesson takeaways that I’ve pondered far and wide. Career Path. ‘A career was described by Santos as having a job that suits the skills, the goals, and the personality traits that a person has. It could be a profession that the adolescent has always aspired for or it can be a means of earning an income.’ Career plans can help you make decisions about what classes to take, and identify the extracurricular activities, research, and internships that will make you a strong job candidate. The importance of career planning can’t be overemphasized. Having a career plan is crucial for every person aspiring to become successful in life. It is a multi-stage process that needs to be thoroughly planned and executed to reap the desired benefits. The features of Career Planing consists; Self Analysis, Opportunity Analysis, Goal Setting, and Creating a Strategy and implementing the action plan. In settling on educational and career decisions , students should be urged to consider both their inclinations and their abilities. In situations where interests are more grounded than abilities, understudies ought to be urged to think about systems for improving their abilities. As future freshmen we all want a secured path where almost everything is organized, set and is according to its right places. Almost everyday trying to figure out what we really wanted because were torn between chasing our Passion or Dreams. It is Viability versus Passion. By that case our decision-making process will shaken up hence becoming lost on our way to get there. Some students would also Plan ahead for their own contentment like building a house or family, marrying and even traveling. I’ve come up with this sort of interesting idea about way back in our high-school days our questions goes, “What strand are you gonna get?” “Which school you would take for senior high school?” And now to this, “From what university would you spend your college years? “, “What are your ambitions?”, “Which courses do you think is suitable for your dream profession?” Til then our answers will always be “I still haven’t decided yet. I’m so confused. I don’t think I can make it”. We are so coasted, worried and full of doubts, low self-esteem on taking our career pathways. Inevitably, a successful career is built along several components namely •Life goals, •Career planning, and •Career Development. Course Plan- While many students may be scared to start building a plan on their own, the reality is they have a lot of the knowledge and resources needed to get a head start. First, encourage yourself to review your college and career goals as you build your course plans. Additionally you may even come along again with these, “What prerequisites do I need for my desired college program or major?” “What pathway do I want to pursue?” “Are there special diploma requirements to meet?” Therefore initially asking these critical questions and take a first stab at creating your course plans challenges yourself to research options, problem solve and take ownership over the planning process. Pivotal linking is much independence in choosing high school courses is additionally an incredible introduction for picking courses in college. Once at college, students wont be approaching similar active help with their course choices. Long-haul thinking doesn't frequently start until middle adolescence, with a genuine spotlight on future profession decisions holding off on happening until late adolescence. Yet, with progressively complex requests and shuffling school and extracurricular responsibilities, figuring out how to prepare and focus on is basic. •Sources of Personality Traits May be from yourEnvironmental or Social Factors which Is not just the biological factors that play dominant roles in the formation of personality, social or environmental factors also affect its development. Generally, there are two types of cultures—the collectivist and individualist—that contribute to personality. Distinguishing the development

that you had as for having that career is inclined on a matter of perseverance, tolerance and how to achieve that goal. Miss KV once said that ‘Skies has no limit even if it takes years or the longest time, your future depends on you and upholds you.’ On the latter, we tend to become so goal- oriented that we have no sense nor focus on what’s happening or going on to where we’re going. DECIDE & DISCERN. Failures, discouragement, and rejection are some of the hurdles you may face while working towards your goals. Also, sometimes it takes way too long to successfully achieve your long term goals, which can take a toll on your confidence. This is where short term goals come into play. They keep reminding you the purpose of all the hard work you put in and keeps you focused.  If you have a long term goal comprising of valid short term goals, you can be assured of success. After completing your short term goals, you can set rewards for yourself to enjoy this success, and that will help you keep moving towards your goals.

The secret of success is not just to keep moving. The secret is to keep moving according to a plan to reach to a particular destination in life. The plan is often a combination of many short-term goals pointing in the direction of an ultimate goal. It doesn’t matter if you are in school, college or you are a working professional, having short term goals to attain a long term goal is always beneficial.

Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly. What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable?

No human ever became interesting by not failing. The more you fail and recover and improve, the better you are as a person. Ever meet someone who’s always had everything work out for them with zero struggle? They usually have the depth of a puddle. Or they don’t exist.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end. Failure is something we can avoid only by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.” - Denis Waitley 💜✨✨

@krishavanessa

[mcdynamite]

[Spoilers] I think GoT 8.05 made perfect sense, and here’s why:

 Hello people of Tumblr! I’ve seen a lot of people bashing the most recent episode of Game of Thrones for a number of reasons and I want to step up to the plate and go to bat for the show. To clarify, I dislike D&D as much as pretty much everyone else who watches the show. I think the writing has been lazy, the dialogue has been lacking, and the lead in to some of the things that have happened this season could definitely be better. But everything that happened in 8.05 makes sense, and I actually liked the episode. This is why.

Cersei’s Demise is kinda perfect.

I know a lot of us, myself included, were looking forward to a brutal, sadistic death for a brutal, sadistic woman. But here’s the thing... in its own way, it was a totally brutal way for her to go out. Think about it, Cersei has spent pretty much her entire life talking her way out of things, manipulating people, and in general feeling more powerful than everyone else around her, including her family. She died finally realizing that she was completely helpless and all hope was lost. She died knowing that her arrogance and often unnecessary brutality was what had cost herself, her children, the man she loves, and even her own father their lives. 

She couldn’t sass the collapsing rock to death. She couldn’t stall and wait for The Mountain to come to her aid. She couldn’t do anything but break down and cry and tell Jaime she wanted their baby to live, trapped in the same underground passages where she vowed to destroy all three of Dany’s dragons. Cersei wasn’t publicly executed in front of thousands of onlookers. She died UNDERGROUND, unthought of and uncared for by anyone else in the world but Jaime. She died the same death as all of the innocent citizens who died that day in part because of her own arrogance. It wasn’t special. It was lonely, hidden, and desperate - a fitting end for a woman who’s lived her whole life believing in her own importance.

And speaking of Cersei, even Jaime’s apparent regression makes some sense.

Ah, Jaime Lannister, one of the most emotionally complicated men in all of Westeros. I’m not gonna lie, this disappointed me because I had hoped for better for Jaime, but not because it didn’t make sense. We were ALL rooting for Jaime to ditch Cersei, become the noblest man in the whole world and just be with Brienne, who clearly loves him. But if you take a minute to think about it, while Jaime’s character development has been significant, it never really veered away from loving Cersei. 

He’s always been doing what’s best for her, and yes, that includes when he left her to head North. Jaime did that because humanity was in danger, and as such, Cersei was in danger. Barely over a season ago in 7.03, Jaime tells Olenna Tyrell that his love for Cersei has grown beyond his control. He openly admits it and tells Olenna that he doesn’t believe people will care how Cersei took the throne once they’re living in the world she built. He clearly still loves Cersei here, and while he’s tempering some of her most heinous ideas, like flaying Olenna alive, he’s still carrying out her orders. “For Cersei,” as he always says.

Jaime’s love for Cersei went far beyond his control. It was almost more like an addition than true love. His love for Brienne was pure and kind, but even the purest love can’t sway the grasp of an addition. Cersei was all Jaime had ever known, so even if he loved Brienne, even if he knew Cersei was hateful, even if he knew she was doing unspeakable things to the people of Westeros, it STILL makes sense that he went back. It’s legitimately not at all different from some abusive relationship in real life. One partner may realize that the other is abusive and hateful, but they can’t bring themselves to walk away, and when they do, they may go back. That doesn’t make them bad people, and it certainly doesn’t “undo” all of Jaime’s character development over the course of the series. 

Jaime Lannister is an immensely complicated character, and this is GAME OF THRONES we’re talking about. It’s a very human show. So frankly, if he has genuinely left Cersei without a second glance, that would have been immensely disappointing. It’s just not how people work, not after admitting how deep in the relationship he was literally just 9 episodes prior and only leaving to protect mankind from being destroyed.

And finally, let’s talk about the psychotic break of Daenerys Targaryen.

First, just a quick reminder at how utterly human this show is. We’ve got all sorts of realistic depictions of human nature in Game of Thrones. We have very real depictions of PTSD (looking at you, Theon and Sansa), realistic depictions of the horrors of slavery, realistic depictions of racism and ableism, the list goes on for miles. It’s made abundantly clear throughout the series that the Targaryens have a strong family history of mental illness, so here we go people. Let’s talk about mental illness.

Obviously, there are no therapists in Westeros to diagnose Dany with any particular illness, but it’s reasonable to hypothesize that Dany is experiencing psychosis, also known as a “psychotic break”. Something important to not about psychosis: it’s sort of like a break from reality, so the way someone behaves during a psychotic break is not at all who they normally are as a person. And here’s another thing about psychosis: YOU DO NOT SHOW SIGNS OF IT YOUR ENTIRE LIFE, especially not major ones. Not every person who commits a heinous act of violence grew up murdering small animals and saying sadistic things to family members and friends as a child. I’ve seen a lot of anti-Mad Queen Dany arguments online, and I’d like to debunk a few of them with regards to how mental illness often actually works.

1. Dany was an abused child, why would she hurt children?

Yikes, you guys. This is a really weak argument. Many studies have shown that childhood trauma is associated with greater disposition towards psychosis later in life. Obviously not everyone who has gone through a childhood trauma will experience psychosis, but it can actually be a direct contributing factor to a psychotic break.

2. Dany has always showed compassion to innocent people like the slaves across the sea, so why doesn’t she now?

Again, psychosis is not a direct reflection of who someone is as a person because it represents a break from reality. You don’t have to be an intrinsically horrible person to do something bad when you’re not in control.

3. The warning signs were there, but they were too weak to justify what happened to King’s Landing.

When a person experiences psychosis, the EARLY warning signs (let’s just say for the purposes of this argument are things that happened prior to the start of season 8) are often subtle or even unnoticeable until you’re looking back retrospectively. These can include things like spending more time alone than usual (check), suspiciousness or uneasiness with others (check), and having no feelings at all (check, remember when she ended things with Daario and the show made a big deal out of how she didn’t really feeling anything about it?).

The slightly later warning signs (so, this season) include strong and inappropriate emotions (check, she wants to have sex with her nephew not too long after she accused him of trying to steal her throne), social withdrawal (check), odd beliefs (check, her belief that she was sent by god to change the world), and suspiciousness (check). The warning signs were there and frankly exactly what one would expect to see in someone in the prodome (or very early stages) of psychosis.

4. It just happened so suddenly, the build up wasn’t enough.

Actually, it SUPER was enough. Recently, Dany has lost two dragons, her most trusted advisor, her best friend (who she watched be beheaded) and has arrived in a country where nobody likes or trusts her. All of these are pretty freaking traumatic, and a traumatic event can trigger psychosis. Boom. Bang. It makes sense.

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why people are upset about this. We were all rooting for Dany, our hero who walked out of the flames all those years ago with three baby dragons clinging to her. What happened in 8.05 was devastating to watch, but it wasn’t unrealistic. It was actually very well done from a standpoint of how things actually work in the real world. You can be frustrated with how things turned out, you can be devastated by the destruction of King’s Landing and Dany’s break, and you can be pissed about the lazy writing of this season, but you shouldn’t be angry with the show runners for Dany’s descent into madness. It was actually remarkably well done.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. Valar morguhlis.

EDIT: Obviously not everyone who goes through a period of psychosis is violent. It is an INCREDIBLY small percentage who actually inflict harm on others during a psychotic break. With that being said, rare as it may be, it does happen, it is a real thing that happens in real life, and cases in which a violent outburst happens are pretty spot-on similar to the way it happened to Dany. As someone who has experienced psychosis myself, I of all people know that not everyone becomes violent. But the portrayal of Dany throughout the whole show does align with the prodome of an exceedingly rare, but real, type of psychosis. I’m sincerely sorry for not clarifying this in my original post 💙

[janelledarling]

Coming together.

This is my contribution to @hoopshoney and @purple-apricots Valentine’s Day Fic Fest, With Love, From Wakanda. I had a lot of fun writing this! I hope you enjoy it, and sorry in advance for any spelling/grammatical errors. Let me know what you think! My character is BLACK.

My prompt: “I told you not to get me anything”“And I’m smart enough to know that meant get you something.” 

Pairing: Erik ‘Killmonger’ Stevens x Black! OC

Warnings: None, just a lot of fluff! 

Word Count: 4,500+

___________________________________________________

“Hello, is Ms. Graham available?” an unfamiliar voice spoke politely into the phone.

“Yes, this is she. May I ask who’s calling?” Absedi Graham said pleasantly. Normally she didn’t answer calls from numbers she didn’t know, especially at work. Absedi worked at a large jewelry store where she specialized in Men’s Luxury Watches. Her work day was winding down and she happened to be locking up early as the customers were slow today which was odd since it was Valentine’s Day. Absedi was more than ready for her upcoming week off, whoever was calling just happened to catch her at a good time.

“This is Veronica, with Ross Horology Worldwide. I hope you are doing well.” the woman continued.

Absedi immediately paused her progress of locking the display cases in the watch section of the jewelry store, eyes going wide and mouth falling open at the sound of the company Veronica said she was with.

“I am, thank you. I hope you are as well. To what do I owe the pleasure Ms. Veronica?” Absedi said confidently even though she was so nervous her palms were starting to sweat.

“Well Ms. Graham, upon review of your Resume, background check, and the few phone and in-office interviews you have done in the last few months. We would like to extend an offer to you. That is, of course, if you are still interested.” Veronica explained.

“Wow! That is amazing! I am most definitely still interested!” Absedi exclaimed.

“Wonderful! Your orientation will start on Monday, 2 weeks from now, at the headquarters where the in-office interviews were located. Please arrive at 9am, and check in with the receptionist upon your arrival, she will provide you with your itinerary and tour. Did you have any questions for me?” Veronica asked.

“Nothing is coming to mind.” Absedi remarked.

“Ok perfect! I will send you an email with all the details. Welcome to the team and Happy Valentine’s Day, Ms. Graham!” Veronica advised.

“Thank you so much! See you in 2 weeks!” Absedi replied as she ended the call.

“HOLY SHIT!” Absedi yelled excitedly as she jumped up and down and danced around the display cases.

She grabbed her purse and keys from under the counter and finished locking up all the display cases in her section of the Jewelry store.

As she made her way out the the building her rude ass co-worker called out behind her “Bye Abby! You have a good weekend, Sis!”

“That’s not my name, and I’m not your Sis, we’ve went over this! Bye Brock. Have a Happy Valentine’s Day.” she responded putting on the fakest smile she could muster.

“It’s Blaine, girlfriend!” he said as she made her way out of the store.

“I’m well aware.” she mumbled under her breath, rolling her eyes.

She grabbed her phone to call her friend with her good news with one hand, as she walked out of the large double doors of the building and into the busy city with an extra pep in her step.

Just as she thought the call was going to be routed to voicemail, a deep voice answered, “Wassup Princess?”

“ERIK! GUESS WHAT!?” Absedi screamed with excitement. “THEY CALLED ME! I DID IT! IT’S IN TWO WEEKS! HOLY SHIT ERIK! I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS, I’M SHAKING RIGHT NOW! MY HANDS ARE TREMBLING!” Absedi shouted into the receiver, startling the people walking down the sidewalk as they turned and gave her passing stares.

__________________________________________________

Absedi and Erik had been friends for well over a year. When she met Erik, he had come into the jewelry store looking for a new piece to add to his collection of watches. After showing him the new collection of Cartier watches that came in earlier that week and answering his questions on which models were self-winding, quartz, or manual winding, Absedi left him to view the collection while making her way over to another customer who had recently came in. Just like most of the other middle aged men that made their way to her section of the store, this particular customer was worried less about the watches and more about whether or not Absedi had a man and when her shift ended. When the older gentleman grew tired of Absedi denying all of his advances, he left the store without making a purchase and she made her way back to Erik.

When she walked over to see if he had any questions or if he needed any additional assistance. He took her for surprise when he spoke up and said. “Yeah, actually, I do have some questions. First one is does shit like that happen often? I didn’t think ole dude was gonna take no for an answer. I didn’t wanna have to cause a scene, but I would have with his ole nasty ass.”  

“Yeah, more often than not unfortunately.” Absedi said as she stifled her laugh. “But I’ve gotten used to working around them and deflecting. Tricks of the trade I guess.” she shrugged.

“Hm.” Erik nodded. “Second question, do you work on commission?” Erik continued.

“Yes…? Why?” Absedi answered hesitantly.

“Just making sure if I drop a grip in here the commission would go to you and not that grimy ass colonizer over there.” Erik explained motioning to Blaine.

Absedi couldn’t hold in her laugh when Erik motioned to her co-worker on the other side of the store.

“Yeah, Chadthaniel never comes over here, so you good.” Absedi giggled.

Erik laughed loudly, shoulders bouncing. “Chadthaniel. That’s a good one! I’ma have to use that shit. Ok in that case, I’ll take the Clé De Cartier Mysterious Hour. The Manual 18K Pink gold. Clé De Cartier Automatic Skeleton Gem-Set. The Automatic in Palladium.”

It took everything in Absedi’s power for her to keep her composure. Those watches were some of the most expensive she had in her cases. Everyone would look at those two in particular, but she would rarely make a sale. She nodded and walked away to make sure the watch bands she had in stock would be the right size and fit him properly. He handed her his black card and she went to the register to process his payment. Finally seeing his name. Erik Stevens. Absedi started getting them packaged up for him. These watches were expensive as all hell. Her commission alone was about to be at least $10,500.

After processing his card successfully for over $210,000 and packaging up the watches. She called out to him to let him know she was finished.

“Mr. Stevens?” Absedi called out behind the counter.

“Wassup?” he said turning around from another display he was looking at and walking toward the counter.

“I’m all finished up. Here is your card and your bag. Did you want your receipt with you or in the bag?”

“In the bag is cool. Thanks. Now, before I leave I have one last question.” Erik smirked.

Trying not to get too caught up no the effect his dimples and pretty ass smile were having on her, she cleared her throat before she answered. “Sure, what is it?”

“What’s your name? I might have to come back for some more pieces and I wanna make sure I ask for the right person. If that’s cool with you...” Erik said.

“Sure, that’s fine.” she said quickly.

Like she was about to miss out on another big commission sale like this. Tuh! Momma didn’t raise no fool.

“Here’s my card, it’s got my name, our store hours as well as the store phone number on here, should you happen to need anything.” she added handing him over her business card.

As she watched his eyebrows furrow, she added before he could ask. “It’s pronounced AB-S-IH-Dee. Absedi Graham.”  

“Absedi Graham” He repeated for clarification as she nodded. “Alright Ms. Absedi, it was nice doing business with you.” he nodded as he turned to walk away.

“You too Mr. Stevens. Have a good rest of your day.” Absedi added as he walked away.

“Call me Erik.” He yelled back over his shoulder throwing her a million dollar smile as he left the store.

Ever since that day, Erik would come in at least once a week. They would make light conversation about the new collections coming out with different brands and get to know each other a little bit more.

After 3 and a half years of being in a dead-end job at the Jewelry store, realizing her position was getting her nowhere. Absedi decided it was time to move onto bigger and better things with her career. She applied to a few of her favorite watch companies but had yet to hear back from any of them. Erik came in while she was checking her email for the 12th time that morning for a response from any of the applications she sent over. When Erik asked what she was doing, Absedi told Erik she was looking for another place to further her career and if everything worked out the way she hoped it would, she would probably be leaving the jewelry store in the next few months but maybe sooner. Erik asked her hypothetically if he had questions on some upcoming collections and she isn’t here anymore who was he supposed to ask, because he sure as hell wasn’t asking Chadthaniel shit. Letting Erik know she could still answer any of his questions whenever he had any, she wrote her cell phone number on the back of her business card and handed it to him. Erik ended up texting her right after he left the store. From then on, it seemed like they were constantly in contact with each other. Whether it was sending each other meme’s, talking about politics, or just how their day was, there wasn’t anything the pair didn’t feel comfortable talking about with each other. Absedi found herself reaching out to Erik more often than not. He was very easy to talk to. So it made sense to her that he was the first person she would call when she found out she got the job or her dreams.

__________________________________________________

“Babygirl, slow down. Who called you? What’s happening in two weeks?” Erik said confused as hell, trying to wrap his mind around the bits and pieces he was able to understand as she was speaking a mile a minute.

“Ross! They called me! They want me to start in two weeks!” Absedi squealed.

“That’s dope as fuck Princess!”

“I’m so excited Erik! Like things are really starting to come together for me, you know?” Absedi reflected as she made her way home.

“It seems that way, huh. So how you wanna celebrate?” Erik asked.

“Erik, it’s Valentine’s Day every place from Oakland to Long Beach is about to be packed and busy as hell.” Absedi assumed.

“I ain’t ask you all that, did I? What’s the move girl? Pick sum. Whatever you wanna do, I got you.” Erik commanded.  

“Hmm… OH! I know! You always talking about how you throw down in the kitchen, lemme see sum.” She said imitating one of Erik’s frequently used sayings. “You know what I like, surprise me!” Absedi exclaimed as she listened to Erik chuckle on the other end of the line. Absedi had never been to Erik’s home, they always hung out in public places. He lived about 45 minutes away from her so it was easier to just kick it somewhere between both of their places.

“Bet. Come through around 7pm. We celebratin’! My girl landed her dream job! Whatever you wanna do or anywhere you tryna go, I got you. I’m proud of you Sed!”

“Thank you! I’m proud of me too. Don’t do anything extravagant though Erik.” Absedi warned.

“Huh? I can’t hear you. You cutting out.” Erik lied.

“Nah, you can hear me just fine. Nothing extravagant and no gifts.” Absedi continued as she rolled her eyes. Erik was always trying to get her something she didn’t need. He had already gotten them matching J’s earlier in the week.   

“Huh? Babygirl, you there? Sed?” Erik said trying and failing to hide his laugh as he hung up the phone.

He is so damn petty! Absedi laughed to herself as she waved down a cab.

Looking out the window on the ride to her studio apartment, she couldn’t stop smiling. Time with Erik was just what she needed to kick off her upcoming week off and to celebrate her new job.

It was obvious to everyone including the two of them that they had chemistry. They both really liked each other and were open to the idea of being more than friends, but never spoke on it directly. Just hinted around the subject. Erik would always call her pet names, and refer to her as ‘his girl’ but Absedi just assumed it was how he acted with his other friends too. Although he hadn’t mentioned any other friends, Erik was fine as fuck and Absedi wasn’t dumb. She wasn’t about to assume she was the only person he was showing interest in. Erik would tell her how beautiful she was and kiss her on her forehead whenever they went out for dinner or to the movies, and he might’ve left a few messy voicemails after one too many drinks with his boys. Absedi had also sent her fair share of drunk texts after clubbing with her girls, and may or may not have sent a few thirst traps she didn’t remember until scrolling through their text thread the following morning. Needless to say she swore off drinking for a good month after that.

Just as she was getting out of the cab she got a text from Erik.

Mr. Stevens: 2232 Westridge Road, LA. Don’t be late.

Scrunching up her face at his commanding tone, Absedi sent out a quick reply.

Babygirl: Don’t tell me what to do. We celebrating ME remember.  

Erik smirked and shook his head at her response when he read it. This girl and her smart ass mouth, he thought to himself as got ready to run his errands and head to the grocery store to get all the ingredients to make dinner for the two of them.

While Erik went to the store Absedi got in the shower, exfoliated and moisturized. Debating between a few different outfit choices and reminding herself it is Valentine’s Day after all, she decided to go all out. Ready to get dolled up and leave the house looking like a snack. Absedi settled on a strappy crushed velvet dress in wine just because she wanted a reason to use her new Body Lava. Pairing it with strappy nude heels to show off her baby pink pedicure and her trench coat. Absedi than began working on her make-up, going with a nude look. Putting her hair up into a high pony with her edges laid to perfection, she began gathering her things to head to Erik's house. Turning off the lights and locking the front door she made her way to her car. After putting his address into her navigation and sending him a quick text letting him know she was on her way, Absedi pulled out into evening traffic.

Turning on her Masego playlist and hitting the highway, Absedi couldn’t help thinking about how everything was finally going her way. She was just offered the job of her dreams and would be able to start making a career out of her passion in just two weeks.  She finally had someone in her corner, encouraging her. Erik was her best friend in every aspect of the word. She could not wipe the smile off of her face if she tried.

Not realizing she zoned out the entire drive reflecting on the days events until she heard her navigation say “You have arrived at your destination.” Absedi parked in the driveway grabbing her purse and surveying the area.

Of course, he lives in this nice ass house. I mean it makes sense, he was dropping like $200K on accessories. Absedi thought to herself as she made her way to the front door. After knocking twice, the door swung open.

“You’re late.” Erik said as he raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“No, I’m not. It’s 7:02pm. I’m on time. You were early.” Absedi responded as she flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

“How am I early to my own damn house Sed?” Erik chuckled as he held the door open for her to come in, taking a moment to look her up and down. “Damn, you really came in here looking like a whole ass meal. Good gawddd!”  

“Shut up Erik. You always got somethin’ smart to say.” Absedi giggled as she walked into the open concept area. The smell of dinner invading her nostrils immediately. Taking off her trenchcoat and hanging it on the coat rack near the door.  

“You always gotta have the last damn word!” he retorted from behind her, watching the sway of her hips as she made her way into his home.

“You damn right!” she snapped back over her shoulder as they both started laughing.

After closing and locking the door. Erik walked up and gave her the biggest hug, resting his chin on the top of her head. “I’m so proud of you babygirl. I knew you could fucking do it.” leaning down placing a light kiss on her forehead. Absedi wrapped her arms around him and closed her eyes, finally feeling at peace.

“You ready to eat? I made steaks, loaded baked potatoes, and salad. Sounds basic as fuck but you ain’t had my shit before. You know ion do anything basic.” Erik shrugged.

“That's a fact.” Absedi laughed as she nodded.

“Princess, you gotta let go of me if we gonna eat.” Erik chuckled rubbing circles on her lower back and shoulder blade with the tips of his fingers. .

“Just give me a minute.” Absedi quickly added holding him even tighter and snuggling her face into his chest, feeling the soft scars of his skin press against her cheek.

“Ight.” Erik responded, not hiding the smile in his voice.

After another moment, Absedi pulled away and looked up into Erik’s eyes taking in his features. Plump lips, deep brown eyes, smooth brown skin, dreads braided back from his face, noticing his dimples appear and his white teeth with a little bit of shine come into view.

“You for real checking me out right in my face, you bold as hell.” Erik chuckled.

“And what about it?” Absedi said as she raised her eyebrow, turning and making her way to the kitchen following the smell.

Erik had made filet mignon pan-seared in butter thyme and rosemary, smothered in A1, and sauteed mushrooms and onions. Alongside salad and loaded twice-baked potatoes that were filled with broccoli, mascarpone, pancetta, bocconcini, cheddar cheese and topped with scallions.

“It smells so fucking good, Erik.” Absedi swooned as she damn near drooled looking at all the delicious food he made.

“C’mere.” he said from behind her.

Turning around she noticed Erik was standing by a small table set for two as he poured two glasses of champagne.  

“We can’t celebrate without a toast. Here.” Erk said handing Absedi a champagne flute.

Raising his flute Erik began “To my girl, landing the job of her dreams and molding her destiny to whatever she sees fit. I’m happy you are in my life Sed and I’m so fucking proud of you Princess. You out here doing the damn thing! Salut.”

Absedi couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face after Erik finished his toast, nor did she have a smart ass remark to add when he was done. She did, however have butterflies and could not get them to go away.

“Here.” Erik said as he pulled out her seat for her. “I’ma go grab the food.”

Erik placed both of their plates at the table in front of their respective seats. As soon as Absedi took a bite she couldn’t help the happy dance or the moan that escaped her.

“Erik this is sooooo fucking good! Oh my gawddd!” Absedi moaned in between bites.

“I told you, I don’t do basic.” Erik stated smugly.

“Shut up and just say thank you, damn. Is it really that hard for you?” she shook her head playfully.

Erik smirked at her before adding “Thank you Absedi. I appreciate that.”

“See! That wasn’t so hard was it.” She retorted shooting him a wink.

“It’s probably as hard as you not getting the last word.” Erik snapped back raising a challenging eyebrow and tilting his head to the side.

Watching Absedi just roll her eyes and just keep eating shocked Erik to no end.

“That’s it? You really don’t have something to say?” Erik said eyebrows reaching his hairline due to his surprise. Slightly shrugging her shoulders and smirking at Erik as she chewed a bit of steak. Erik nodded to himself in fake astonishment, causing both to start laughing.

After finishing her third glass of champagne and liquid courage kicking in, Absedi asked the question that had been lingering in her head for a while.

“Do you call all your friends little cute names?” Absedi asked quietly.

“Nah.” Erik responded slowly, setting his plate to the side. “Why? Wassup?”

“I was just curious. I figured you probably called all of your other friends ‘Princess’ and ‘Babygirl’ and stuff like that.” she said looking at anything but him as she shrugged her shoulders.

“Nah, just you.” he stated smoothly.

“Why?” she asked quietly.

“Why you think?” Erik retorted.

“I wanna hear you say it.” Absedi said tilting her chin up to look Erik in the eye.

“What you want me to say?” Erik asked leaning forward on the table and resting his chin on his fists looking her in her eyes. “You want me to tell you how I think about you from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep? How I intentionally irritate you so I can see that cute ass face you make when you get mad as hell? Or you wanna know about how many stacks I spent at that jewelry store just to spend more time with you? How about how I was ready to kill that grimy ass motherfucker that kept trying to touch on you the day we met? I mean I can go on and on. You tell me what you wanna hear.”

Absedi was speechless. “Why didn’t you say something! You know how many wack ass niggas I entertained? And you over here just keeping all these damn emotions to yourself. Stingy ass. You won’t let us be great.” Absedi pouted as she crossed her arms.

“I know your ass, Sed. If I’da said something, you would have started that ‘I don’t wanna ruin our friendship’ bullshit.” Erik replied with a shrug.

“Ruin it.” Absedi said with a straight face.

Erik’s jaw dropped and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Champagne got you all the way bold huh?” Erik smirked.

“I mean, we being all the way real right now, right? So I’m just gonna put it all out on the table. I like you, Erik. I don’t know if a relationship is something you would be open to, but if you are I think I would be viable candidate.” Absedi finished as she nibbled on her bottom lip.

“I’m open to a relationship. There ain’t no other candidates, just you.” Erik stated.

“Just me?” she inquired while side eyeing him.

“Mhm. Nobody else. Since we putting it all out there, I haven’t entertained anybody in a good minute. I just want you.” Erik confessed looking Absedi in her eyes.

“Hmm… Good to know.” Absedi nodded.

Erik stood from the table and started gathering the plates to take them into the kitchen. Leaving Absedi to sit and collect her thoughts. She was oddly enough no longer nervous, she was content with finally letting him know how she felt about him.

Erik made his way back to the table with his arms behind his back. Knowing he was up to something she furrowed her eyebrows while she looked at him. “What are you up to Mr. Stevens?”

Sitting the large navy square leather box with golden script that read Chopard in front of her with a golden ribbon tied around it, Erik pulled his chair from his side of the table just to sit it right beside her. Erik grabbed her hand an intertwined their fingers.

“Baby…” Absedi breathed her eyes wide in astonishment staring at the box bringing her other hand up to trace the golden boarder around the sides of the box.

“So I’m your baby now?” Erik asked lightly tilting her chin towards him to grab her attention. He was wearing the biggest smile she had ever seen.

Nodding and climbing into his lap not taking her eyes off of the box of one of all time favorite jewelers, Absedi leaned back into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

“Yeah, you my baby too.” Erik added quietly.

“I told you not to get me anything.” Absedi whispered as she went back to staring at the box in awe.

“And I’m smart enough to know that meant get you something.” Erik chuckled as he rested his head on the side of hers.

“I know how much you love Chopard watches but something else caught my eye. You gonna open it or what?” Erik asked

Slowly taking off the ribbon, and opening the leather box, Absedi saw the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. A large amethyst in a rose gold setting with diamond accents hung on a 18K rose gold chain.

“Oh my god, Erik...” she whispered gently touching the dainty necklace. “Thank you! It’s so beautiful.”

“Lean up real quick.” Erik said gently taking the necklace from the packaging and gently putting it on for her and sccurring the clasp at the back of her neck. “Beautiful necklace for a beautiful girl.”

“Damn you really feelin’ me, huh?” Absedi teased as she tugged on his arm playfully.

“And what about it?” Erik imitated her from earlier on in the evening light-heartedly, causing them both to bust out laughing hysterically.

“How you feelin’ about all these changes? New job, Me, alla dat.” Erik questioned.

Turning around and pulling her dress up so she was able to straddle Erik’s lap and wrap her arms around his neck and rub smoothing circles into the back of his neck with her fingertips, as he lightly ran his hands down her sides. Absedi thought back from all the changes that had taken place in her life in the last 24 hours. New job, new man, new necklace, and new outlook on her future.

“Honestly truly, I’ve never been better.” Absedi beamed.

Absedi leaned up slightly and pressed a few soft kisses against his lips. As he murmured “Happy Valentine’s Day Princess.” in between them he felt her body melt against his. Erik’s hands tightened around her waist, pulling her closer, he kissed her back deeply until they both pulled away to catch their breath. Neither one of them could wipe away the huge smile that had taken over their faces.

This Valentine’s Day was definitely one for the books.

Taglist: @chaneajoyyy @marvelpotterlove @faatassbitch

[alteredphoenix]

One Night on the Wild Hunt (WIP)(Tales of Berseria Modern AU one-shot)(Velvet/Eleanor)

A/N: I don’t do romance often. In fact, I’m quite awkward around it, although people that know me are well aware of my stance on dabbling with it (because it’s the highest selling genre in literature, I find it much too easy where it concerns making a quick buck; I would much rather prefer a challenge).

I don’t really ship, either; I’m very particular with what I choose, and I don’t like all the dramatic naval combat that is packaged with it.

But when I find something I do ship, I latch onto it. I dabble with it. I wonder “How may I contribute to this fandom with my own special brand?”

So I surprise myself that the only actual pairing I’m into in any fandom is Velvet/Eleanor (I find it hard taking Magilou seriously, Eizen’s just there, Laphicet is still an absolute NO BUENO regardless of what the /ss/ posters on /v/ swear, and Rokurou has the personality of a cardboard box plus reminds me way too much of my father to want to ship him with anyone a.k.a. he’s loonier than me!).

There are three other one-shots that take place in this modern AU (that is inspired and based on Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas aesthetics), usually for me to mess with if I want practice treading through unfamiliar waters. While I’m inclined to make remarks about Rumiko Takahashi setting the precedent for slow-burn romances, I’m often tempted with the idea to see how long I can stretch these bad boys out before I - or someone else, or perhaps everyone - has enough and wants such consummation to be over and done with.

But I digress, even if the dog in these stories (who is indeed an Undertale OC and cameos from my Heroes of the Storm anthology, “First Impressions”, but none of that really plays into these fics) thinks otherwise.

(I’ve had this sitting in my USB since August and haven’t felt compelled to touch it again until I saw that Talonted from AO3 name-dropped me as an inspiration for their Veleanor fic “Viennese Waltz”. I don’t know if you have a Tumblr or lurk it, hon, but if you should see this, this preview’s for you, as a token of my gratitude.)

-

A jingle of wind chimes rings sweet in the air, clear and loud.

Doodle barks, and there’s a clatter of nails on the cement (nails that are too long, Velvet thinks, and remembers that she keeps telling herself—as well as forgetting--she’s going to trim them so he can stop sliding across the kitchen floor) as he gets up on his paws and all but pushes his nose, ever cold and ever wet, against her bare leg.

DON’T LOOK NOW, HERE COMES TROUBLE.

Velvet turns away from the motorcycle and looks.

“Woof!” says Doodle.

Velvet doesn’t see him, tongue lolling and tail wagging.

She doesn’t even hear him, nor feel the shock of him slamming his nose into her a second time.

(She will think, later on, that she will have to go see the doctor when her next paycheck comes in. Shortness of breath and heart palpitations can be a sign of something much more serious if left unchecked and untreated. Such nasty, dreadful, obnoxious things; they make it so hard to focus that everything just

falls

away.)

Whoa, Velvet thinks; and if anyone were to ask her, as she stands still and time passes all around her, what words she would like to have on her tombstone, that alone would be the one. Of course, that requires talking, and at this moment her brain had suddenly forgotten how to string more than two syllables together.

So it compels her to do the next best thing to keep her alive: breathe.

And so she does, eyes tunneling in on Eleanor as she closes and locks the door behind her. She’s dressed for work, in a pair of (FORM-FITTING, her mind reels) slacks and a white button-down blouse with the collar popped and the sleeves rolled up to just below the elbows. There’s a cute little leather purse hanging off one arm and a dark blue cardigan over the other that pulls away from the doorknob, keys in hand on a metal ring – and it’s the big kind of ring, the one prison guards like to carry and hook onto their belts that hold their handcuffs, blackjack, and gun all over the front; but the belt she wears is thin, and black, and it’s a miracle that shirt is stuffed any further south than it already is. It makes it look her chest is about to--

Velvet breathes.

She jolts, suddenly, when Doodle makes those heavy panting noises that means he’s spazzing out on all fours and bashes that hammer-head skull of his against her one more time.

That blows all the fog away, and suddenly Velvet feels small. There’s grass, and there are trees, flowers of all different colors in the bushes and in the boxes underneath the window sills. There are little white butterflies fluttering through the air, even a dragonfly. Distantly, on the other side of the block, someone’s blasting hip-hop. Somewhere, on the other side of the world, the moon sits in a dark sky crowned by stars.

Eleanor’s hair is down, tapering off just beneath her shoulder blades. Long and flowing and bright red; au naturale, not the fake shit people like to put on their scalps with chemicals that are harmful for your roots and the environment. This is something you’d see from a late-night anime with the main female character...except every one of those redheaded MCs were fake and much too extra (whatever the flying hell that meant; teenage, internet lingo evolves worse than a Pokemon), and--

And: When did she grow it out?

My goodness. It looks so soft.

“Woof!” Doodle says. Standing a few feet away from her, not quite crossing the strip of lawn that divides their little abodes but far away enough on the driveway for him to outrun her if she gives chase, he looks back at her. Smiling.

TODAY IS SUNDAY. YOU ARE OFF. SHE IS NOT.

SAY SOMETHING.

IT’S NOW OR NEVER.

(Now see, a lot of things can be interpreted from that single statement.

But there’s no time to waste on weighing moral conundrums of the sexual variety, and in spite of all the goodwill and religious upbringing she’s had in her life, Eleanor, like all normal, rationally minded humans trying to survive, loves seeing her well-earned gald go into her well-earned bank accounts.)

YOU CAN DO IT.

Velvet does. “Good morning. Little early to be painting the town red, don’t you think?”

(For one very brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, out of the corner of her eye, a shadow flits over Doodle’s face. Just a bird, a voice in Velvet’s head whispers. Robins and cardinals and blue jays going around to feed their chicks and do whatever the hell they feel like.

She doesn’t recall hearing any birds chirping and tweeting and doing birdly things. At least, so far as she could tell. Strange; her memory’s usually pretty good at remembering.)

[myxcenterxstage]

“ Marry me. “ (from Goodsir ofc!!)

Traik: There is Wonder Here. A KimbleSir Fanfic.

by myxcenterxstage (and some contributions from brassandblue!)

Prologue: [link]

~*~

‘Sleep, I’ll carry you. You can carry me later,’ Harry had insisted.

‘But how can I possibly carry you…?’

Comforted in his arms, Priscilla mumbled in groggy exhaustion as she clung to Harry for dear life. Her tired eyes looked up at Goodsir a moment, before closing once more. As he walked on, the freezing winter air burned through the shield of layers of fabric wear to their cold forms. Her face buried into the crevice of his neck and shoulder in search for any trace of warmth against the Arctic tundra.

The Arctic was merciless since their narrow escape from Hickey’s Rescue Camp. They had hoped at some point to reunite with Crozier’s group. And feared each night to fall prey to the Tuunbaq. But their trail had been one of solitude. They were the only man and woman in all directions the eye could see to the horizon. It almost felt as though they were the only two people on the planet at times.

At least, of all persons, Priscilla was so grateful to be with her last living closest friend. Dr. Harry Goodsir.

[more under the cut!]

The pair had formed a special bond since the halcyon days in Baffin Bay. Staying up til well past the first watch, discussing every topic under the sun on the natural studies and arctic marine life. (As well as zoological, anatomical, and pathological observations.) He was the first to be bold enough to ask her for a dance at the expedition’s first Winter celebration. And they had always found a sure solace of comfort in each other’s company in the consecutive days of grief that occurred all too often on this voyage. Goodsir was fiercely protective of her at the Mutineer camp. And that continued through these many miles distance.

In the quiet hours, they had bared their souls to one another. That raw, exposed, and open truth that was all that was left of their humanity. Speaking of childhood. Their hopes and their dreams. Priscilla even confessed her scandal and its consequences that awaited her back home in London. To her surprise, without any further explanation, Goodsir expressed that she was innocent on her part, furthermore to him it sounded like none of it was her fault entirely. And in fact, he assured her it was impossible for him to think any less of her.

Come morning, Goodsir would remark, “There is wonder here. This place is beautiful to me, even now.” To which Priscilla nodded in silent awe, much to her surprise how optimistic he could still remain.

Tragic how the effects of their turmoil would inevitably catch up with them.

It had taken its toll on Priscilla first, being the more frail bodied. However, perhaps it wasn’t only the lead, the malnutrition, the Arctic conditions killing her. That lingering darkness that crawled in the back of her mind. The agonizing burden of grief that weighed her down with every waking moment. That, when paired with all pains of imminent death, it had finally succeeded in robbing her of her smile. And it was next targeting her very will to live. Cooing that there was a home waiting for her in name only.

And even when the willpower to live felt crippled against the reality of their condition, one look to Harry and his stubborn determination to clinging to whatever hope to survive they had left was enough to tell her she had to press on in spite of it all. His arms that carried her felt more like home. And so did the sound of his voice.

In her half-slumber, she let out a soft grunt at the familiar sound. Were those… birds?

Priscilla found herself jostled awake when they suddenly fell.

“Harry!” she shrieked in panic, seeing his face to the ground. “Are you all right?!”

Fearing the worst, she helped him sit up, brushing the dirt off his face with her hands. “What’s wrong, Harry? Why are you crying?”

His words finally made everything clear what had happened. She stared at him in disbelief, then at her hands - that was dirt on her fingertips - greenery! The breeze carried the salty air of the ocean. Was it all a dream? A hallucination?

For the first time in weeks - Priscilla smiled.

Finally, a broad genuine smile. A tear streamed down her cheek, and then another, and another. Until she shut her eyes and wrapped her arms around Goodsir’s neck into the tightest embrace. She let out a choked exhale, a release of relief as she broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

They made it, they finally made it.

“I can’t believe it, we’ve done it!” She could barely speak. The scurvy made all movement unbearable, but it was hardly noticeable compared to the abounding joy they shared.

“We’ve done it, at last…!”

~*~

Priscilla would never forget that feeling of exhilaration and overwhelming joy in restored hope when they had finally reached the sea. When Goodsir showed her how the lichens were edible. Her exclamation of cheer to the first fish he managed to catch. His wide and almost childish grin across his face to his triumph, followed by moments of their pensive observation as to the exact type of fish, even if it was for a few fleeting seconds - the naturalists that they were, of course - before consuming it. A feast, they’d always remember, followed by their long overdue rest.

They were later reunited with the other remaining members of the expedition and they aided them to some modicum of better health.

And eventually, a whaling ship finally spotted them and brought them all to safer harbors.

So here they were now. Having crossed the Atlantic ocean, almost home. England’s shores would be on the horizon at any moment. And then…

And then what? Was that it?

The chapter of the Franklin Expedition would be concluded? They had found the Northwest Passage in the end… but at what cost? Too many were lost. Too many tears were shed…

Apparently, the extraneous journey had come to an end. They would all return to their respective homes, return to their lives. She would face her scandal equipped with the knowledge she learned to survive against the worst of the Arctic itself.

But that wasn’t the worst of what was to come. To Priscilla’s chagrin, that would also mean having to say goodbye. How she didn’t want to… these men were no longer ordinary men when they first voyaged in 1845, but were now extended family.

And there was one, in particular, she would have the most difficulty parting with…

“—Doctor Goodsir!” Priscilla chirped as Harry arrived. Inexplicably she had found herself in an inescapable daze all afternoon, but the sight of him instantly brought out her smile as he joined her side.

He had been so doting to her to ensure her recovery from the lead poisoning and scurvy would be a sure one and was persistently very protective of her. She always had a sense of transparent ease around him, a certain sanctuary in each other’s company. His same tenderness with which he carried her across those last miles…

Their conversation had begun as the usual - Goodsir’s concern for her health. She inquiring of his own. And it soon progressed to how glad they were to finally return home. Priscilla expressed how bittersweet it all felt - after so long to return to some semblance of ‘normalcy’ and having to reluctantly say a final goodbye to everyone once they reach the docks.

“Promise that you’ll always write to me, Harry?” she asked poignantly.

It was then that their conversation had taken an entirely unexpectedly different turn.

‘Marry Me?’

Priscilla’s blue eyes widened. Had he just — Her face glowed a hot red blush. — Proposed to her? She was momentarily rendered speechless, studying his face as to what could have prompted this.

“That is, I, I—“ Catching himself, Goodsir stammered to find his tongue again, realizing his sudden outburst to declare so great a question. “Miss Kimbleton.” He swallowed. “— I find myself greatly fancying and admiring you.” His gaze never left hers. “As we walked these hundreds of miles together, I would be happy to walk beside you for the rest of my life.”

“Harry…!” Tongue-tied herself in a flustered state, Priscilla searched for his hand to hold - only to realize to her surprise that their fingers were already subconsciously intertwined.

This was followed by a flurry of Goodsir profusely apologizing, his internal thoughts in upheaval at what he has done. “I had no intentions to put you in the position to answer that kind of question —“ The doctor confessed his worry that they would never see each other again, and that after all they had been through - how he didn’t want to lose her. Someone who he so cherished. “But if you have no inclination to accept, I should still wish to remain friends, Miss Kimbleton.”

“No, no! On the contrary!—“ Her heart began to race. With her mouth slightly ajar as she listened to him. “Dearest Harry…” She bashfully looked down and looked back up at him with a warm, bright smile and adoring expression. “It’s something I’ve secretly wished for you to ask me for so long. Yes! My answer is yes!” she repeated, chuckling. “I wouldn’t want to spend the rest of my life with anyone else but you.”

Harry’s face luminated, holding her hands tighter, “I want to take you with me to Edinburgh. To meet my family.” he chuckling with her “— I want to travel the world with you! To see all the world’s beauty… together.”

“I would be honored, Doctor! Your heart is so brave, and mind so brilliant, and character so giving. You see the best in people, and I always felt…” She blinked back tears, “Those hundreds of miles on foot we’ve crossed together… you’ve seen me in my darkest hours. You both accepted and supported me - and were the first to express my innocence to a past that’s only haunted me. And when I thought I couldn’t walk another step…” Her gaze lowered, the experience would follow her like a shadow, it seemed.

Smiling tenderly, Harry cupped the side of her face to lift it “I’d gladly carry you for miles all over again to ensure you’re safe.”

Priscilla stared at him a long while, taken aback with the same look of gratitude when in that Arctic tundra after she confessed her scandal and he expressed how nothing she could have done, past or present, guilty or innocent, would diminish his respect for her. “What have I done to deserve someone as goodhearted as you?”

“I could very well ask you the same.” Goodsir stroked her golden hair with his other hand before resting it to cup her face with both hands. “I love you, Priscilla.”

Priscilla’s eyes sparkled, “Oh Harry, and how I love you.”

After a long exchanged look of adoration, they kissed.

“You were right all along.” Priscilla whispered, gazing up into Goodsir’s eyes, “There is wonder here.”

[ask-yandere-boi]

Sorry to bother you, but I was wondering do you have any advice or important tips for writing a yandere character? Thank you!

Gaaaaaahhh, anon you’re dragging me ooc to tell you how to write? Buddy oh boi, I can assure you I have no idea what I’m doing, so accept this wonderful jumble of words that may or may not help! 

Let’s start with the obvious, there are many types of yanderes.

Like, a lot. 

In fact, I believe every type requires a different way to handle them, and explain their motivations which allow them to fall under the large pool of ‘yandere’ characters. I believe the two main points of these characters are the love-struck and dangerous sides, which each type handles differently. I’ll keep it simple for now. 

I popularly see them broken up into two primary groups:

Obsessive and Possessive

Obsessive: Those who find a strange fascination with a particular person, they find them different or special thus their adoration grows into one that overtakes their lifestyle, Soon, most of their time is spent protecting this person or learning all they can about them. 

What’s easy about writing these characters is it’s obvious that their actions come from adoration and love, a key part of the yandere personality type. Without the love motivation they just become stalkers or yangires. These feelings of devotion can be portrayed to a reader most easily via the yandere’s thoughts, ex. “Oh, how their eyes sparkled with the life of a world buried deep within, I wished to know such a burden, to learn all of the person deep below.” The second part of a yandere, which is where they become creepier or dangerous, is where this character may be lacking. We have an obsession? Check. Will this obsession affect the story? Well, there’s a lot of ways you can go with this. 

After this part in the obsessed type’s growing interest, it’s hard to tell how they will allow these feelings to grow further. You could have them take the classic ‘kidnapping’ route, however unless your victim is meant to escape and another hunt ensures, it’s hard to keep the story rolling without a mind-break game that everyone has read a million times before. Yes, keeping your character interesting and different seems to be the problem here. At this point, you need to introduce another factor that may limit your yandere, whether this be society, their setting, illness, a clever partner, an unforeseen disaster, etc. Those are just a few ideas. 

Then again, maybe you don’t want your yandere to kidnap their beloved, or even for their fixation to grow much further. If so, then I highly recommend having them have a greater goal other than their beloved, since not much more material will be produced by just their stalking rounds, unless you’re really creative! 

Intermission: Hey, I’m not a writer, these are just my thoughts don’t hurt me. Also if you would like to contribute via comments or reblogs yas queen please help. 

Possessive: As the name implies, these types wish to control and own their loved one. A simple task that is usually followed up by your casual remarks “You belong to me.” or “You have no other choice, you’re mine.” ya know, as you do. 

These types are fun to play with when you bring in a sub group I like to call ‘manipulative types’. Manipulative types devote their work to either shaping their beloved into something they would much prefer (this can also lead to a group I like to call ‘my doll’ types) or shaping the world around their victim into one that would aid in gaining ownership of their love. First, shaping their beloved is a method where they may use their power (more on that later) to create situations where their love is either broken or dependent on the yandere. For example, the yandere forces their love’s significant other to break up with them. Not only will this allow their victim to be single once again, but also emotionally unstable so they can swoop in and help them, thus growing their bond so their darling is more dependent on them. 

Manipulative types also change the world around their loves to make it easier to obtain them. A good example of this is social isolation, where they threaten, distract, dispose of etc. those around their victim in order for them to be farther apart from others. This will lead to their love seeking companionship, which a yandere is happy to provide. 

Possessive types, as a whole, have one major flaw when writing them which make it hard for them to appear as ‘yanderes’. This is the ‘love-struck’ side which is their motivation for any actions they may take. It’s all for love, you know! 

As explained earlier, possessives wish to own their loves. Having a yandere built upon the topic of ‘owning’ someone isn’t exactly romantic, I mean, unless you’re into that, if that’s the case go wild and have fun with it. Ownership based upon need or lust rather than actual love makes your character similar to that of an incel. To avoid such things, I recommend there being a reason for their need of ownership over their beloved. Perhaps their love is dating someone else? Maybe going to a far away place? Something fun, like someone else’s dance partner in a performance? Get creative with it!  

Power: A large part of stories based around yandere characters require that the yandere has a bit of power which helps them get away with half of the crap they do. An example of this would be murder, of course. I don’t know about you, but murder seems pretty hard these days. You have to influence a person until they’re in an isolated spot where no will discover the act, you need to have the opportunities to grab something deadly whether poison or a base ball bat, you also require both the physical and mental strength to carry through the murder, and other processes not everyone is capable of. 

Making your character powerful enough to do these acts may be a problem, as you could say they’re ‘overpowered’ or don’t make sense. If you’re cheap. like me, you could just make your yandere rich or a political influence, perhaps even give them an education which will allow them such skills. 

As of now, there are many plot holes and hurdles you’ll have to jump to make sure your character is a true ‘yandere’, which remember the most important parts are being dangerous while also motivated by love. Each type has different routes towards obtaining such needs, however at the end of the day it depends on how creative you are and mix the formula up. Go crazy! 

Alright bois, I’ve been writing this on and off for the past three hours, so I won’t add much more. I hope this helped even though there weren’t many writing tips… Still!  I’m no professional and I’d love to see add-ons to this post, maybe I can learn a little something from you guys ^^

[blackgoddessofsassiness]

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[writers-hq]

Just wondering if you have any posts on how to do physical descriptions? I'm struggling with describing how my characters look.

As a general rule, we give very few fucks about how our characters look, UNLESS their appearance has special significance on the plot. 

We go into this in more detail in our Writing Short Fiction course (which also totally relates to novel characterisation) - here’s an excerpt:

One of our favourite character descriptions EVER is by the master of the throwaway (but emphatically important) line, Douglas Adams, in So Long and Thanks for All the Fish:

If you took a couple of David Bowies and stuck one of the David Bowies on the top of the other David Bowie, then attached another David Bowie to the end of each of the arms of the upper of the first two David Bowies and wrapped the whole business up in a dirty beach robe you would then have something which didn’t exactly look like John Watson, but which those who knew him would find hauntingly familiar.

He was tall and he gangled.

When he sat in his deckchair gazing at the Pacific, not so much with any kind of wild surmise any longer as with a peaceful deep dejection, it was a little difficult to tell exactly where the deckchair ended and he began, and you would hesitate to put your hand on, say, his forearm in case the whole structure suddenly collapsed with a snap and took your thumb off.

But his smile when he turned it on you was quite remarkable. It seemed to be composed of all the worst things that life can do to you, but which, when he briefly reassembled them in that particular order on his face, made you suddenly feel, “Oh. Well that’s all right then.”

I mean, really – if you ever find a better line than: he was tall and he gangled, let us know.

We know this man immediately. Not only what he looks like and how he might speak, but the way he makes us feeeeeeel if we were to be in his presence. And all that in a little over 200 words.Here’s another one – from a short story this time – by Stephen V. Ramey, in Simply Salazar, published in (Short) Fiction Collective.

When his girlfriend dumped him, Salazar suppressed an urge to stalk her. That would only lead to trouble, maybe even a double-murder. She said she wasn’t seeing anyone, but why else? It was probably that guy down at the hardware store. Sandy hair was a definite weakness of hers. It was why he’d worn a wig for the full week of their relationship. Had she seen him take it off? He should ask her. He picked up the cell phone and thumbed through to her number.

Through close third person perspective we get a pretty clear measure of this guy via his thought process alone. Short sentences jump from one to another and bring us straight into the action without wasting any time introducing us formally. We can predict how he might act. We can start to see where this story might be going and we’re interested in finding out what happens. Job done.

Notice also that neither of these examples really go into much detail about the physical description of their characters. Sure, he gangled, or he wore a sandy-coloured wig, but these features are not extraneous – they contribute to the overall sense of the person. We learn more about a character’s thoughts, attitudes and opinions through their actions, their interaction with other characters, and their responses to what’s going on around them.

Don’t get hung up on physical description. A person’s eye colour tells us nothing about whether they’d be useful in a bar fight – unless it’s splintered through with burst blood vessels and ringed with purple bruises. The type of shirt they’re wearing doesn’t tell us anything about their state of mind – unless it’s inside out and stained with baked beans from last night’s dinner. The tumbling flaxen curls of your heroine are irrelevant – unless they get tangled in her sword while she’s mid-battle and she vows to shave her head if she survives the skirmish.

[ricekilla]

u.s. hip hop artists must learn from bad bunny

There’s a nobility to watching someone speak a second language in public—especially on live TV, as Bad Bunny did in his performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It is that cringe-inducing reality of imperfection; of the accent, the mispronunciations, the stuttering, that can leave a human so vulnerable. You’re watching a young man who knows his grip on The World’s Most Important Language is far from perfect. But rather than quietly accept this and avoid speaking it altogether, rather than resting on his native tongue and his many native successes, in a moment of exposure wherein most young artists would understandably reserve their vulnerabilities to avoid ire, Bunny decides to go for it. He speaks English, and it’s not perfect; but it is powerful. In his first televised American performance, El Conejo Malo spoke on the natural disaster that ravaged his home of Puerto Rico, including a barb at Donald Trump, all in accented English.

Yes, everyone’s got a Trump take, and most of them are Trump Bad. And yes, we need more than just cute speeches, verses, and social media posts. We need real activism; the activism that can actually send an impoverished child to school and help a sick mother pay for her health care. We should expect that Bunny put his money where his mouth is and work to fight against white supremacist leaders like Donald Trump as well as continue to repair the damage caused by Hurricane Maria. But there’s something special about Bad Bunny’s words in particular; unlike your safe American (and Latinx) stars, he’s not necessarily supposed to be speaking out. He could easily just be Lil Pump Puerto Rico for some years before his stature expands to the point of political expectations. He could easily just be the ignorant Latino rapper, or the ignorant Latino star, and not be expected to empower the world his art illuminates.

There is an ignorance associated with Latinx rappers in comparison to their influential American counterparts. The mainstream American musical lexicon only knows Daddy Yankee and Don Omar; Calle 13 is not even a footnote for your average hip hop fan. People are just beginning to take Latin “urbano” seriously as being led by artists that do more than make bops for your friends to slur-sing at high school dances. Bad Bunny sat with Colombian reggaeton king J. Balvin for an interview with Complex magazine, in which they announced a potentially seismic collaborative album. The two discussed and affirmed their place as trendsetters shirking norms; Balvin describes Bunny’s nails as a “very beautiful thing”. He tells Complex in Spanish that the message of expressions such as these is to “Be yourself. …If they say, he’s crazy, or he’s gay or whatever, who cares? If he’s gay, then he’s gay! When they see that, they say ‘Okay, if Bad Bunny isn’t gay, but he feels comfortable with what he’s doing, why won’t I come out of the closet and say it’s okay?’”

And in this moment wherein the ostensible Drake of Latin hip hop is encouraging defiance towards gender norms, I have a realization: somehow, the artists that do not even perform in English are the ones whose words should be most important to us in American hip hop right now.

How many American artists put themselves in a position to be vulnerable or ill-equipped for the sake of trying to say the right thing? It’s easier for G-Eazy to drop Donald Trump diss verses; he’s rich, established, and white, and he’s got little to lose. It’s easier for a rapper like Logic to plead for everyone to get along. It’s easy for Soundcloud rappers to dye their hair, rock their satchels, and tat their faces; how many of them are going to tell you about what social standards made those features shocking in the first place? How many of them are going to speak out against traditionalist aesthetics that they’re breaking? How many of them have something important to say?

We should, of course, be careful to exalt El Conejo Malo as some sort of feminist hip hop icon. Though he’s shown remarkable qualities as a public figure, he’s still a work in progress like the rest of us; often his music is charged by hints of debaucherous misogyny that is understood as the genre standard. It’s nothing particularly out of the ordinary, but that doesn’t make it ideal. And in this moment of hypertense political stances and, of course, Cancel Culture, seeing Twitterers post quips like “we stan an artist that is against toxic masculinity and gender norms 💅🏽” causes me to cringe; it feels like we’re setting ourselves up to be let down whenever Bunny makes a mistake.

Bad Bunny has not been cancelled yet, but he has been tested. His encounter with a salon that refused to paint his famous nails caught some flack from commenters. Many were angered by his reaction, in which he told doubters of his sexuality to “bring their women to his house” to watch them “have his babies”. In response to this, he clarified his sentiments in a classically defiant way (as translated by Remezcla: “’I was saying that I’d have sex with their wives, get them pregnant (which is wrong) and the men would raise my kids,’ he wrote, adding, ‘It was only a nice and exaggerated way of saying, no, I’m not gay and I love women. That’s all.’”) Eventually, the Latin trap star deleted his Twitter account.

Like the Fallon performance, this was an instance of Bunny using his words even at a point of potential vulnerability. He started by doing a typically millennial thing in calling out a salon for being decidedly unwoke and refusing him nail service because he was a man. He affirmed his gender expression as a straight man painting his nails because he wants to, understanding that there’s nothing wrong with that. Yet, in trying to say the right things, he said some wrong ones. There’s an obvious tint of misogyny in the “I’m gonna fuck your girlfriend” approach, particularly in this case, even if it is so hip hop and so inane that your average person would hardly bat an eyelash to it. Regardless, it was a failure on his part; he was a bad Bad Bunny, and it’s important that we acknowledge that.

It’s not to say that we should totally overlook the misogyny in Bunny’s lyrics or any other rap artists’, which both result from and contribute to a society that sidelines women as objects of desire, existing as complements to a man’s journey. I just want to write some nice words in Bad Bunny’s obituary before a Twitter storm eventually comes and gets him. He’s made mistakes and he’ll make more; unfortunate word choices and collaboration choices will get to any rapper’s resume in this toxic landscape. But what Bunny has decided to do so early in his career is remarkable for the fact that he is being abnormally, bravely thoughtful for someone in his position; someone who is young and misunderstood.

He is misunderstood because of the way he rebels against gender norms. He is misunderstood because his music isn’t in the right language; he’ll always be a Spanish rapper and not simply a rapper to the average hip hop head. He is misunderstood because of his drawl, his sluggishly opened vowels both as an intended stylization and as a natural result of his speaking voice and accent. He is also misunderstood as a young Latino from an island ravaged by natural disaster and poverty; overlooked by world powers, mocked by their cultures. He is misunderstood within that Latin American culture that physically and emotionally beat down young men who express themselves in “feminized” ways. If we know anything about mumble rap, or even music in general, it’s that the misunderstood artists have the most to add to the conversation.

Some of our misunderstood artists beg to be misunderstood. Kanye West went on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in a MAGA hat, highlighting a Yandhi press tour which we may otherwise know as Crazy Kanye 2: Electric Boogaloo. What’s most insulting about his whitewashed whimpering is that it’s become boring. We already know that none of us will completely understand his actions; he and his stans will equivocate that with us not being able to criticize him, which, no. The ignorance of his political speech is staggering, almost purposefully so. Rather than work to validate his perspective through an informed compassion, he manufactures a plastic one to hide behind when critiqued by the likes of known Chomskyites like Lana Del Rey. It’s a circus sideshow that only exists to benefit TV executives, Kanye West, and to some degree, Lord Voldemort himself.

Let’s compare that to another performance on a marquee NBC program. In his television debut on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Bad Bunny gave a speech to the opening chords of his trap banger “Estamos Bien”. In his gravelly Borinqueño drawl, he preached with efficiency: “After one year of the hurricane there’s still people without electricity in their home. More than 3,000 people died, and Trump is still in denial, but you know what? Estamos bien!”

Rather than simply make fun songs and letting the rest of us intellectualize his place in this crazy world, Bunny is telling us what he’s fighting for. Rather than benefit himself through latching to causes, Bunny is benefiting causes through testing himself. And although his message is still a bit surface level and his songs sport the occasional (frequent) shallow lyric, his choice is important. He is putting words to his rebellion; substance to his style. Rather than settle for iconicism like young American rap stars, or navel-gaze with conjecture like some of our living (dying) legends, Bad Bunny is fighting for goodness that should be much simpler to see than it seems to be.