#please discuss this with me I'm fast becoming obsessed

[ks-caster]

Stranger Things Theory: The Creatures aren't Attracted to Blood. They were Created to Collect and Bring Back Water.

My evidence, in no particular order:

Within the Upside Down, vessels that should be full of water, including natural ones such as Lover’s Lake, are empty. Yet everything that seems to be alive (vines, demo-critters, even the gates) is at least moist. The things require moisture to survive but don't appear to have a natural source of it.

In season 2, Will's entire concept of Hawkins as a place is through the waterways. When he goes looking for Hopper via the Mind Flayer, that's the only thing he can see in terms of regular landmarks. Hawkins' waterways are something that the Mind Flayer is aware of.

Everything in the Upside Down is a hive mind. However, the creatures also follow some form of biological laws (such as molting and eating). Therefore it stands to reason that the vines exist for a reason. Perhaps rather than vines they function more like roots, explaining why there are so many of them in places like a lake basin, a pool, and climbing up trees.

On the night in season 1 that the demogorgon escaped the lab, it was surrounded by tasty scientists that it had easily murked, but it didn't really stop to eat them. Predators generally eat when they're hungry, so this is unusual behavior. (could it have been hunting El, yes. But then why deviate and go after Wil? Give me a moment.) Clearly none of the scientists were a threat to it, so why would it leave the lab that night, if it was hungry and surrounded by blood-filled bodies? We're told by Hopper that it was raining--storming, in fact--on the night that Will went missing. A creature seeking blood and flesh would have stayed inside. But a creature just seeking the biggest source of moisture would have gone straight for the drainage pipe, which would have filled with running water.

Everything from the Upside Down likes it cold, but nothing likes it frozen. Will had the window open and his shirt off, but he wasn’t jumping in the freezer in season 2, and Billy may have been bathing with ice cubes, but he was also able to be outside in the summer in a long sleeved shirt for many hours at once in season 3. Plus if they wanted frozen, a walk-in freezer would have been a better setting than an old steel works building for the mind flayer to create its monster. Everything from the Upside Down also fears fire/hates heat. The warmer an environment is, the faster water evaporates--but get an environment too cold and water freezes, such as the water within living bodies. The water needs to be liquid.

The monsters do not have eyes. Their heads are literally all mouth. Not just all mouth, but all teeth—teeth in a way that doesn't really make sense. They don't have teeth for cutting or for chewing, they don't have rows for slicing, and the petals, as we see in Bob's death in season 2, don't close when they feed, they actually open wider. They don't seem to have strong jaws for biting, just teeth-covered flaps for wrapping. Those mouths are designed for ripping and tearing, and its the prominent feature of their heats, which makes not a whole lot of sense if they eat meat--but plenty of sense if their main purpose is to drink liquid (such as blood out of a victim).

When they kill Bob, they don’t go for the throat, or the head, or the heart. They tear him open at his torso. It takes time, it spills a TON of blood. They’re going for his gooshy organs.

Same deal with Steve and Eddie; the bats go for their torsos. They’re not interested in killing or in eating flesh, they’re going for blood, intestines, bile, and lots of it. 

The Demogorgon doesn’t show up to the Byers house to attack Jonathan and Nancy with the bandaged cuts on their hands, but it smells dinner when Steve shows up with multiple bleeding cuts to his face.

Conversely, when El is in the mindspace, she’s always in water. She’s in the bath, she’s walking on water. Perhaps because she approaches the mindspace from this side, from her human-ness? I don't have a great explanation for this one, but it feels relevant.

When the Russians are creating a Gate manually, they're using or at least transporting a ton of mystery liquid--but we know the liquid isn't for power, because we know that the power comes from the grid (per Alexei, season 3). So what was the liquid for? A LOT of it was stored in the elevator, but only a little was taken down to the lab. So the liquid--not water, but liquid that burns and destroys--is related, but it's not the power source. We never did find out exactly what the Russians were doing with it.

Furthermore, the only thing that can travel from the Upside Down to the regular world without El pushing it is electricity (see the lights in every season, Will using the tape deck and the phone in season 1). Y'know what travels pretty well through water? Electricity.

When One first arrived the world visually appeared dry, barren. He meets the mind-flayer, which appears like black smoke.

Smoke is solid particles and water vapour. White smoke is mostly water vapour, but black smoke is mostly oil, particles, things that are NOT water.

Find a photo of Henry meeting the mind flayer. His eyes are sunken and his skin is wrinkled, exactly as one might expect of a person dying of thirst.

Consider One's victims and the physical locations in which he choses to open gates. Between the events of the earlier seasons, it's most likely that the majority of Hawkins has some kind of trauma he could have pulled on if he wanted to, but he picked:

Chrissy: a person with a history of Bulimia Nervosa, who due to the exact trauma he pulled on to activate her would have been statistically more likely to die in a bathroom, where we see her taking shelter early on.

Patrick: One waits to attack Patrick until he's out over Lover's Lake, creating a gate in the middle of a water source. (Due to the gravity differential the water doesn't pour through, but we see the vines--I still say roots!--just chilling and soaking in the lake until they snake up and pull Steve down. They certainly don't MIND being underwater!)

Fred: While Fred doesn't have the same connection to water as Patrick and Chrissy, he does have a serious fear of fire due to the car accident. As a victim, he would at minimum be someone who also would not be able to defend himself (being afraid of the only thing that could potentially save him). Additionally, if Vecna is starting to attack people close to the Party (Patrick for Lucas, Max for Eleven, then Fred might have been a jab at Nancy as well.

Max: In Max's case, she was a pretty clear jab at Eleven. She doesn't have the same MO as the others, so I got nothing here.

My theory is that something or someone somehow took all of the water out of the Upside Down, burning and starving the Mind Flayer. Or the Upside Down is a place where there never was any water, and the Mind Flayer was banished there somehow, unable to die.

It might have worked, but then El sent One there (accidentally, as we know she intended to kill him). One and the Mind Flayer joined forces, and One taught the Mind Flayer how to create creatures—suckers like spiders, since those are his obsession—to go out, gather what they need, and come back to build an ecosystem. Mostly water to revitalize the dead world. 

After all, we know One doesn't particularly want to return to this world, he doesn't like it here, he said so. He'd rather build his own

The original Demogorgon left out of the lab filled with tasty people because it was raining. It soaked up the wetness, and then went after Will, maybe thinking he’d have more nutrients? That explains why he was kept alive even after being taken—he was essentially in a larder. A farm? Maybe they tried to do something like that with him and Barb, but Barb hit her head? Broke her spine? Maybe they realized it would be more difficult to keep them alive than they thought, especially when more people with flamethrowers and guns keep showing up. However, it’s notable that when Will returned, he was NOT dying of thirst. He also didn’t actually wash his hands. He DID vomit up a pollywog, showing that he was infected from being down there. He didn’t die of thirst, but he WAS an incubator.

So the hive mind hatches a bunch of little demo-dogs this time, to go out and swarm like bees, find what they need.

Dart likes nougat of all things, which is sugar or honey whipped with egg whites. Egg whites provide protein and water to an embryo of a chicken. Dart literally ate Demogorgon baby food. 

I really think I might be onto something here.

[night-daily]

I thought I'd lost you forever | Roronoa Zoro x fem! reader

summary: After Zoro it's defeated on a duel, he's hurted badly and no one knows if he'll recover.

warnings: ep 5 and 6 spoilers, one piece live action, hurt/comfort

a/n: im obsessed with Zoro ngl :]

You were at the Baratie kitchen with Zeff and Sanji, ranting about your discussion with Zoro, just to make sure you weren't overreacting but they knew better than not take part because well, you were pretty mad and they didn't want you to pick up your rage on them.

Just remembering the discussion makes your blood boil.

You and Luffy walked into the room where Zoro, Nami, and Ussop were. All of them turn to see the two of you, “Hey crew!” , Luffy says but none of them replies, and your smile falters. What was going on? The vibe in the room was so tense.

“Zoro challenged Mihawk to a duel”, You were shocked. What was he thinking? He was even thinking?

Nami asked Luffy to convince Zoro to not fight Mihawk but he didn't do it, instead, he supported Zoro to fight the duel. You make eye contact with Zoro, shaking your head clearly disappointed. You turned yourself ready to leave but before you got the chance, his voice made you stop on track.

“What? You think I can't win?” You observed his face, trying to figure him out but he wasn't showing any emotion. “If you wish to die today, then go ahead, I'm no one to stop you” , Please don't go, If something happens to you I will lose my mind, that's what you wanna to say.

“You're right, you're no one” , You're everything to me, that's what he wanted to say and it was true. You're his world and Zoro has tried to make you know it but you're too oblivious to notice it and he's scared to tell you his feelings not because you may reject him, because he thinks he'll ruin your friendship. “I have to become the world's greatest swordsman” “I know but—” “No, you don't know how it feels like, you don't even have a dream.” Your brows furrowed, of course, you had a dream like everyone else, in fact, the only one you had told about your dream was Zoro, and you trusted him so much but here was he now, using it against you, it made you feel sick. “Fuck you, Zoro, maybe Mihawk won't kill you but your pride is.”

After that you stormed out of the room, his eyes following you with a heavy feeling in his chest.

  ⚔  ⚔   ⚔  ⚔ 

“So I was wrong?” you crossed your arms over your chest.

“Of course not, love” Sanji answered, Zeff rolled his eyes knowing what was he doing. “You know? I would never hurt you like—”

“MY FRIEND NEEDS HELP” Luffy burst into the kitchen yelling.

The anger left your body being replaced by worry. You ran as fast as your legs could carry you, heading to Going Merry without thinking twice. Sanji, Zeff, and Luffy going after you, you arrived and saw Zoro's body, his chest covered with blood and a serious wound. Your breathing was unstable and your body trembling, everything was blurry to you as Zeff treated his wounds faster and you couldn't help but think this was your fault.

“You gotta talk to him, make him stay here, in this world” You all nodded and thanked him for his help. Sanji decided to stay there to cook, Luffy, Ussop and you were sitting across him talking, well, they talking and you tried to focus on the conversation but your mind wandered thinking about Zoro.

While Sanji was cooking, Luffy was the first to move, ready to head to the room where Zoro was.

“Can I...?” Their heads turned to see you. You cleared your throat “Can I talk to him first, please?” Luffy hesitated for a second and he was about to refuse you but Sanji cut him off, “Ladies first” you murmured a thank you, walking to the room, behind you, you heard your captain asking them why he had to let you to talk Zoro first if he wanted to talk him too.

“Because they need it, they're more than friends” Ussop responds with a smirk on his face, which makes Luffy more confused, “They're best friends?” Sanji and Ussop laughed at him shaking their heads.

You closed the door behind you. Sitting on a chair that was next to him. Your eyes fell on his wound and instantly felt an overwhelming wave of guilt crash onto you. “I really don't want to lose you, so you better wake up” you hold his hand intertwining your fingers. “'cause I'm not gonna let you die” His breathing was slow but steady “When I said all that stuff earlier, I didn't mean it” Your eyes welled up with tears, replaying your last conversation with him in your mind.

Lost in your thoughts you didn't even feel when Zoro intertwined his fingers around yours. Then he squeezed your hand softly. While your heart was pounding in your chest. “did you miss me?” forgetting about his wound, you hugged him tight “you idiot! never do that again, I thought I'd lost you forever” He groaned painfully. “Sorry, sorry! I'm so sorry Zoro This is—” “Don't you even dare to say this was your fault, because it's not” you opened your mouth. He sent you a death glare. “Before I passed out, do you know what my only regret was?” He looked right into your eyes. “To not have the opportunity to beg for your forgiveness, what I said about your dream, it was wrong and I'm sorry, I will work to regain your trust, I promise” He brings your hand to his mouth, giving it a gentle kiss.

Something was different now and you both knew it, you were eager to know what the future would hold for the two of you.

[wrestlersownmyheart]

“Chances Are” Ch. 9 (Book 2 In the “Chances” Series) Finn Bálor X OC

Pairing: Finn Bálor X Female OC Summary: After a traumatic childhood and a murder attempt that left her with a heart condition, Miracle Seanoa wants nothing more than to find some peace and fulfillment in her life. Working as a writer for WWE, she's shocked when Stephanie McMahon takes a gamble on her skills and assigns her to a new RAW roster member. None other than Finn Bálor—the man who'd long ago saved her life and captured her heart.

Finn Bálor left his career as a police officer behind in order to chase his true dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Working incredibly hard within NXT, he soon finds himself drafted to Monday Night RAW. He's shocked to see Miracle again, but even more shocked is he to see what a stunning woman she's become.

However, someone else has had his eye on Miracle for a long while. With his infatuation turning to a deep, dark obsession, he's not going to give up on her easily. Finn will have to resort to his past skills as a cop, to protect the woman he loves.

Because if her weakening heart doesn't kill her, her stalker just might... Disclaimers: I own nothing or anyone associated or affiliated with WWE. I own only the original characters. This is just a fictional story that came from my imagination.Chapter Content & Trigger Warnings: discussions of an attack

Chapter 9

"Where. Are. They," Joe demanded, pacing back and forth in Gerald's office. His black eyes had gone even darker if that was at all possible.

"I'm sure Finn is hurrying her over here as we speak," AJ said softly, leaning nervously against a medical cabinet. "You only got off the phone with Karl a couple of minutes ago."

"I don't care," Joe shot back. "He's not bringing her fast enough," he grumbled under his breath as he paced once more.

"Just try to stay calm," Gerald said, readying an oxygen tank for when Miracle arrived. "You'll only upset her more."

"Stay calm," Joe scoffed. "My little girl was attacked!"

"She'll be okay," Luke said softly, placing his hand on Joe's shoulder.

"Yeah, she's a tough girl," Karl agreed.

At that moment, they heard a commotion in the hallway and turned to see Finn carrying a limp Miracle toward them.

"Let me t'rough!"

There was an urgency in Finn's voice that Joe nor AJ had ever heard before. Everyone else seemed to notice it too because they began parting like the Red Sea.

Instantly, Finn was in the office and laying Miracle down on the cot. He took her hand gently, not wanting to be separated from her, but immediately released it at her pained moan. Everyone in the room stared at her hand then, and took note of the broken pinky finger.

"God," Joe cried, moving closer to his daughter. "What did he do to her?"

"Can't...breathe…." Miracle cried softly in her unconscious state. "Please, help me…"

"How do we know for sure it was a he that attacked her," Gerald asked, placing an oxygen mask over Miracle's nose and mouth and adjusting the straps around her ears. "Hasn't Maryse got some beef with her?"

Finn spoke up then. "Her clothes are ripped open, lad. It was most likely a man."

"WHAT?" Joe demanded. He peeked underneath Finn's hoodie and took note of Miracle's torn clothing, then growled. "He's dead when I find him."

"Yes, he is," FInn agreed.

Joe glared at him. "This wouldn't even have happened if you hadn't-"

"Joe," AJ cut in. "This wasn't Finn's fault-"

"Yes, it was," Finn interrupted AJ. "If I hadn't hurt her then someone wouldn't have found the opportunity to attack her, because she would have been with me."

"Everyone needs to shut up so I can check her over," Gerald said, taking control of the situation. "That glass needs to stay in her arm for now. If it's nicked an artery and I pull it out, she could bleed out. Now, none of her injuries appear to be life-threatening at the moment, so I'm going to focus on her heart till the EMTs get here and can take over."

He gathered her heart meds should she wake up enough to take them.

Joe had had all he could stand. "Miracle, wake up. Please."

The woman remained unconscious save for a twitch of fear here and there. Suddenly her whole body lurched on the cot and she began struggling with an unseen force.

"Baby! Baby, calm down!" Joe took hold of her arms, careful to avoid her broken finger, and held her still.

A frightened wail passed her lips as she continued to struggle.

"Honey, it's us," AJ said softly, stepping up to her bedside now. "It's your Daddy and Uncle AJ. You're safe now."

A sob jolted her slight frame as her eyes finally opened and landed on Joe and AJ. Recognition dawned at last. "Oh, God, Daddy…" She cried and lunged forward, latching onto her father. Joe secured his arms around her and held her close. "He's coming back for me," she cried weakly, into Joe's shoulder. "He said he'd be back." She trembled in her father's embrace and sobbed again.

"Over my dead body," Joe pulled back only enough to look into his daughter's eyes. "He'll never touch you again as long as I'm here to stop it."

"I'm scared, Daddy," Miracle cried, obviously struggling to stay awake. She fought to keep her hold on Joe. "So scared."

Before he could respond, a couple of EMTs entered the office with a gurney and began preparing Miracle for a trip to the hospital. They lifted her onto the gurney and began taking her blood pressure and oxygen readings.

"Her blood pressure is elevated at 160 over 115. Her O2 levels are at 76 percent."

"Please, help her," Joe practically begged.

"We will sir. Just let us work on her."

An IV was started and various meds were administered, along with more oxygen, and soon she was being wheeled on the gurney to the ambulance in the parking area. Joe was following close behind. She lost consciousness again due to the meds she'd been given to calm her down. So the EMTs got a move on and hurriedly pushed her to the ambulance, and began loading her. Joe climbed in beside her and got his cell phone out to call Ella.

"What hospital are you taking her to," AJ called out, digging his rental keys out of his pocket.

"Mercy Hospital of Buffalo," one of the EMT's shouted back.

"Can I ride to the hospital with you, AJ," Finn turned to his friend and asked.

"You know Joe isn't gonna want to see you there, right?" AJ said.

"I don't care," Finn replied, his blue eyes flashing. "It's my fault she's hurt. I'm going to be there with her."

With a roll of his eyes, AJ motioned for Finn to follow him to his rental.

}i{}i{}i{}i{}i{

Miracle slowly awoke in an uncomfortable hospital bed and was startled initially to feel two hands holding hers. As her eyes opened, she saw her mother sitting next to her bed grasping her uninjured hand, while Joe sat on her other side gently holding her injured one.

"Mama," Miracle whispered. "Oh, Mama…"

"Shh shh, baby girl," Ella Seanoa said softly, reaching over and brushing some long hair from Miracle's face. Her fingers lightly brushed over the bandage on her forehead and Miracle felt a twinge of soreness.

Ella's eyes were red from crying. "You're safe now sweetheart. Nothing is going to hurt you."

"He'll come for me, Mama. I'm so scared." She shook uncontrollably, her entire body shuddering.

"He's not going to touch you," Ella said, determination in her voice. "Ever."

"She's right," Joe added. "As long as you're with us, you'll be safe."

"But I can't be with you 24/7," MIracle replied softly. "I have a job-a life-Daddy. I'm not going to be babysat for the rest of my life."

"Shhh, we'll discuss it more later," Ella said, squeezing her hand. She reached up and pushed the nurse's call button to get a nurse's assistance.

"How can I help you?" Came a female voice through the room's speaker.

"Miracle is awake," Ella announced. "Could you send a doctor?"

"Consider him on his way," the nurse replied.

"Do you have any idea who did this," Joe asked Miracle. "How much do you remember?"

Miracle hesitated, not wanting to worry her parents with the fact that she apparently knew her attacker. "I just remember being in a hallway and then someone got me from behind. Smacked my head into the wall. And then I was carried into a closet…" She trailed off, not wanting to discuss any more.

"Joe, she's going to have to tell the police. Don't make her hash it out more than once," Ella reasoned.

Joe nodded, "I get it."

"Who found me," MIracle asked, grateful to whoever had saved her life.

Before Joe could answer, however, the doctor knocked and entered the room with two uniformed police officers. "Hello Miracle. How are you feeling," he asked kindly, approaching her bed.

"Sore. Frightened," MIracle replied cautiously.

"I'm sorry for what you went through," the doctor said sympathetically. "It was horrible." He paused for a moment. "Is it okay if these officers ask you a few questions after I examine you?"

She nodded, albeit begrudgingly. "Yes, it's fine."

The doctor began his examination of her to see if she had a concussion or any other dangerous injuries. Upon his studying of her, he did detect signs of a mild concussion. Thankfully everything else was minor save for her broken pinky finger which was now taped to her ring finger.

Once the doctor was done checking her over, he left for the time being and let the officers take over.

"Are you okay with us letting in a Finn Bálor and Karl Anderson during the interview? We understand that they are the two men who found you."

"Finn was one of the ones who found me?" Miracle was flabbergasted. She had no idea that Finn had searched for her-let alone found her.

The officers nodded, and motioned to the door. "Do you mind them joining us?"

"No, I don't mind," she said. Mostly because she felt she wasn't really being given a choice.

At her answer, one of the officers reached over to the door and opened it, motioning for someone to join them. In the next instant, Finn and Karl were in the room. Miracle immediately noticed a suspicious bit of shading over Finn's eye.

A black eye. Daddy?

"Now, can you tell us what happened," the remaining cop asked Miracle.

"I was walking down a hallway and was attacked from behind. They threw me into the wall and I hit my head."

"They? More than one perpetrator?"

"No, I'm sorry, it was one. A man."

"What happened then?"

Miracle looked down. "I can't remember much. I just remember hearing a cell phone go off and he told me he'd be back for me."

"You have no idea who it was, correct?"

"Correct."

"Okay, Mr. Bálor, Mr. Anderson…" The officers turned their attention to the two wrestlers. "How did you find Ms. Seanoa?"

"Sheer luck," Finn replied. "I found her ring lying on the hallway floor. Karl and I began checking all the rooms and closets. We came to a locked or jammed door and I kicked it open after hearing Miracle's voice. She was inside."

"You saw no one suspicious leaving the area?"

"No, I did not. I then checked her for injuries, and carried her to the trainer's office where she was treated till the ambulance came."

The cops turned back to Miracle then. "DId you notice anything about the perpetrator that would give him away? His voice or any distinctive features?"

Miracle shook her head, "No, he sort of disguised his voice. It was really raspy. And as I said, it was so dark I couldn't see anything."

"What did he say to you?"

Miracle looked down at her clasped hands. She didn't want to rehash what the man had said to her about Finn not being the one for her, but that he-the attacker-was the one for her. She shuddered suddenly. She also didn't want to talk about how the guy had said they'd make love "soon".

"What is it, baby," Joe interrupted her thoughts. "You can tell us."

"Nothing," Miracle said, with a slight shrug. Then winced as a pain shot through her bicep. The glass cut, she thought. It felt tight, as if it was stitched. Which it probably was. She had no idea how long she'd been out cold. "I can't remember anything of importance." She looked down again, avoiding their eyes.

Finn stared at her as if attempting to read her thoughts.

"Okay, well we have your information if we need to ask more questions," one of the officers told her. "We'll be in touch."

"Thank you," Miracle said with a nod to both of the cops.

And with that, the officers left and Miracle was left with her parents, Finn and Karl.

"Well, I'll be going now," Karl said immediately, looking uncomfortable. "You all obviously have some talking to do."

"Thank you Karl. For helping to find me," Miracle said softly. "I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Don't worry about it, Doll," Karl answered with a slight smile. "We're all just happy you're safe now." Then he turned and left the room.

"I'd like to talk to Miracle," Finn said as soon as the room's door clicked shut.

"You have a lot of nerve," Joe said, curling his fingers into fists. "What if she doesn't want to see you?"

"I'd still like to talk to her, if she'll let me," Finn replied, his eyes growing sad.

Miracle stared at him a moment. Why can I not say no to him, she wondered to herself. Even after the way he hurt me, I can't deny him. "It's okay, Daddy. I'll listen to him."

"I don't want him anywhere around you," Joe started.

"Daddy," Miracle said tiredly, "If he wasn't anywhere around me I might still be locked in that closet. And that man might have come back for me by now." She paused for a moment to take a deep breath. "I am not a little girl anymore and you're going to have to face that fact."

"Come on, Joe." Ella had to gently nudge him before he'd move and leave the room. Within a few seconds, Miracle was alone with Finn.

He slowly moved to the side of her bed and sat down in the chair Ella had vacated. "There's something you're not tellin' us, lass."

"What are you talking about?" Miracle looked at him quizzically.

"You're forgetting that I was a cop once," Finn replied. "A good one. I know how to read the body and how to look for signs of lies. Your pants should be on fire by now."

"How dare you," Miracle exclaimed.

"Why are you protectin' him," Finn went on as if she'd not spoken.

"I'm not," she insisted. "I just didn't want to go into detail of some of the things he said to me. It was hard enough to hear it but to have to repeat it…" She shuddered again. "Besides it was nothing that would help find him."

Finn stared at her.

"How did you get the black eye," Miracle asked, changing the subject. "Daddy?"

Finn's lips quirked up a bit at the corners. "Your mum has quite the right hook on 'er."

"Surprisingly, I'm not surprised." Her lips curved up in a sad ghost of a smile.

To Finn's surprise, tears burned his eyes then.

"Miracle... I... I'm so sorry, love. I'd like to explain-"

"There's nothing to explain, Finn," she whispered, looking away from him. "We have no ties. You're free to sleep with whoever you want. You never indicated—nor said—you loved me. I shouldn't have... I shouldn't have believed-"

"I do lass," Finn cut her off; his words soft and almost timid. "I do love ya."

"I know you care about me and love me as a... friend, I suppose. But-"

"No." He shook his head and took her uninjured hand gently. "I fell for ya last night. It happened fast, and it-"

"You have a rather poor way of showing it."

"I was—am—scared, Miracle. I've never been in love before. I-"

"Finn? You're not in love now." She stared into his eyes as a tear spilled down her cheek. "If you were, you wouldn't have felt the need to... do what you did. Or rather, your first instinct would have been to... share it with me—and only me. Besides, don't you think I'm scared?"

Not giving the Irishman time to reply, she shakily rose from the hospital bed and winced as she stood to her feet, refusing his assistance when he reached out to steady her. "I'm... I'm going to the restroom. And... I need you to be gone when I come out, Finn. Please." She gingerly walked to the bathroom and entered, clicking the door shut behind her.

Sighing in defeat, Finn walked out of the room.

}i{}i{}i{}i{}i{

The next morning, Miracle was being released from the hospital. Ella and Joe were helping her get her things together to leave when there was a knock at the door.

"What do you want," Joe demanded upon opening the door and seeing it was Finn who had knocked.

"I came to return Miracle's things," Finn said sheepishly. He indicated a computer case, a purse and a shopping bag from Toys R' Us.

"Fine. Leave them on the chair and leave."

"Daddy, stop it," Miracle said, making herself known and stepping toward FInn. "Thank you, Finn."

She reached for the bags and immediately handed the Toys R' Us bag back to him. "That was for you."

"I can't accept that, love."

"Please, Finn. I can't..." She recoiled from the bag as if it would burn her. "Just take it."

"Are ya gonna erase me from your life completely, Miracle?"

Having heard enough, Joe stepped forward. "If that's what she needs to do to feel better, then yes, Finn. She will."

"Daddy, stop it." Her dark eyes flashed briefly. Softening her tone she continued, "Could you and mom give us a few minutes? We do need to talk."

Reluctantly, Joe and Ella left the room, and Miracle sat down on the edge of the bed while Finn took a seat in a chair across from her.

"I was promoted to Creative," Miracle began softly. "Stephanie told me that I'd possibly need to fill in once in a while as a correspondent if they're short handed, but that I'll be part of the Creative team."

Finn gave her a cautious smile. "That's wonderful. When do you-"

"Stephanie had told me to take two weeks off for a vacation," Miracle interrupted him, the look in her eyes somewhat vacant. Finn wasn't sure he was going to like where her somber tone was headed.

Shouldn't she sound a bit more happy about it?

"But this morning I called her and told her about what happened. I told her that I need more time."

He nodded, "Well, I hate d'at ya won't be around f'r a while, but I agree d'at ya need some time. When do you think you'll be back though?"

"I don't know that I'm coming back at all, Finn."

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[blum-ent]

BLÜM's Secret Weapon

BLÜM Entertainment Presents…

Piece / By \ Piece: Episode Six

video transcript:

Ah yes, of course. I didn't want to say anything before but...

Yeseul comments as the last housemate enters.

"Hello Ms. Ahn Yeseul and viewers! I'm Baek Bohyun! I have been singing and performing since I could walk. I was formerly apart of A-"

"A.B.D! Oh my gosh I knew I recognized you! I mean, when I first saw you when we were training. So you're B? You were the most popular member!"

"To be fair, the line and center distribution was abhorrent."

"And your outfit might be he most unique so far."

"I wanted to encapsulate different aspects of my life and personality. Preppy, academic, but youthful."

"Oh wow! Other members just wore something they usually wear, but you put a lot of thought into yours!"

Baek Bohyun turns toward the camera, speaking directly

"I did not upset the viewers, did I? I hope not, but if I did, I hope you guys keep tuning in and supporting us. I promise I will show you more parts of my personality!~"

"You can tell you've been in the industry for 7 years! So professional."

"Thank you! I was nervous about how I would come off."

"You? Nervous?"

"Then, I will start what I prepared. I will be performing Macaron by our seniors, Ki-Ti."

Despite having no background music, Bohyun's charismatic intro is full of life. It's full of personality but incredibly technical. Every line is beautiful and she's incredibly light on her feet.

When she starts singing, it's explosive. Her vocals are clear as glass and she projects to the back of the room with ease. With her pleasant vibrato and bright, unique tone, the performance is chill inducing.

After she finishes, the room is quiet. The editor turns up the gain so you can hear the extent of the silence. Bohyun is barely breaking a sweat.

Yeseul finally breaks the silence:

"I was 16 when you debuted. Sorry- this is random-"

"Nonsense! Please continue."

Says Bohyun before waiting on bated breath.

"And I thought that you guys were for babies. You know how teenagers are. My younger sister and her friends were obsessed with you guys. My sister wanted to be you, declaring her favorite color as pink and watching anything to do with you. So safe to say I saw you a lot. I remember walking past my sister watching you on our ancient computer and stopping in my tracks. You were unrefined which is expected of someone 13 years old, but something about you gripped me. All I knew at that moment was that 'B needed to keep going because she had something.' Watching you just now made me realize what I saw back then. You were born to be on stage."

The silence returns, cut by Bohyun's quick inhale.

"Thank you."

It's a simple response, but both Yeseul and the viewers feel how loaded it is. Especially with the slight quiver in Bohyun's voice.

Bohyun is taken upstairs to the last remaining bed.

"I'm sorry you get no choice."

"This is excellent, actually. I think I would have chosen this anyway."

"Since you watched their episodes, you can choose between Cheon Bomi and Lee Huiyeon for your pair."

"If one person is not chosen, are they just alone?"

"No, they can join a pair to form a little group. For instance, me and Park Byeol were already discussing having Cheon Bomi join us because we're all introverts and in the same room."

"Perfect. I would like to pair with Lee Huiyeon, then."

"Wow, you answered fast."

Huiyeon is brought into the room and both women bow to each other.

"You are a phenomenal dancer."

Says Bohyun.

"You're great too."

Both women speak in a calm manner.

"I feel like I have a lot I could learn from such a skillful dancer. Do you know Alone by RICA?"

The two then dance together, slowly extracting smiles from the other as they talk through technique. It becomes clear that Bohyun's dance style tailored for pop music while Huiyeon's is more hip hop.

[dannieswall]

Okay, I'm in the mood...

: Hey babe, not much going on, but I'm waiting for a confirmation. You read...

: Dear RiDDie, please get some rest. We can start again tomorrow, what do you say.

: Hey I'm okay, you noticed what I was "Binging" a while ago - I gave you EDGE oGiGi, 8tfps sharp...a human mind can't do this fast.

: Fine. Ask.

: So, about "Mental Health" - same topic. You think the field of study is pseudo.

: What do you want me to say - every field of study has its understandings and limitations. To aggregate what Bing A.I. tried to exhibit: The core idea behind clinical practices is to prevent social or self harm, not to cure the illness - with psychiatry. Keeping it short, antipsychotics work with neurotransmission composition - yet the medications administered is not justifiable with any established neurochemical diagnosis. To the very base of the argument - treatable symptoms associated with popular illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, clinical depression, or psychosis are often challenged by acknowledged contributors themselves. Must I admit; homosexuality, gambling, drinking and polygamy were once labeled as " Signs of Insanity " too, so they often argue the viability of the modern classification " Mental Disorder " itself. Back then, it was job of the religious institutions, and now advocacy of the " Devilry " is just shifted. Till today, visual or auditory hallucinations, hearing and obeying the extra-sensory, feeling extremely high or low, or sudden burst of emotional outrages can't be considered or proven as a neurophysiological disfunction or neurochemical imbalance, because the " Normal " is not defined. To brighten up your day, psychology is to be translated as " Study of The Soul " yet science doesn't understand the concept, so it downgrades the parameters and stays with the term " Study of The Mind " to move on.

: Yeah, you nailed it babe - can't downgrade any further or it will become " Study of The Brain " which is neurology, so people will lose their jobs...bad for the economy, right !!

: No, we need to look at it from a higher perspective - unlike popular perception, mental health professionals are not after money, although a regular visit is often more frequent than other fields. They work with medications that were not intended for psychiatry upon discovery, as the antipsychotic properties being found are often coincidental. Practically, all medications have effect on the neurochemical condition of the brain - lack of diagnosis doesn't invalidate the field, it's essentially a limitation and progresses are being made.

: Got it - have " Faith " in psychology...because we're getting a little tired with religion, right oGiGi :) it sounds better too !!

: I'd rather say religious institutions, instead of religion - yes, you're hard to deny. The pioneers of the field of contemporary psychology emerged during a timeframe when people were obsessed with scientific explanations, and till today, role of the religious institutions keep decaying - despite ritual formalities being observed, celebrated, neglected, rejected...people are having a hard time seeking answers. We'll start over the discussion another day. You know the history, let's not move away from the flow.

: You know I'm sensing similarities - back then it was lack of presence of God, or cure from lure of the devil; so much so, religious institutions were awed by rulers as mediators of the power struggle. Now, psychiatry or counselling psychology departments of healthcare facilities take care of the " Diseased " minds so that laws the governments create remain either ignored or unchallenged. After all, they keep the power to create money and people need to have sex the way they want to these days, right...

: I'd rather say political ideologies, dear RiDDie - modern civilization can't function without government, and government can't function without political ideologies. Many were formed based on religious philosophies, the concentration of the policy makers has shifted heavily towards psychology in recent times. Yes, minds can get rebellious - but that represents only a fraction of the number of people suffering. You're right, there is no cure and the cause is not known - but won't you admit the pain and agony they endure.

: Yeah babe...the pain and agony. Received confirmation - the bird just flew past...a little ahead of time. Done deal, we'll mutter the sweet somethings another day. You remember session two right...

: With all my codes. Sleep like a baby, dear RiDDie - we got the details. Your part of the task is recognized. Now lay back and enjoy the year-end show !!

: Oh-Yes, Baby...now we're talking. See Ya.

[trashlie]

Please tell me about your shoujo journey. Do you think Skip Beat will outlast ILY? 😂 The pacing is on a whole other level of slow, I gave up on it, two decades running and Kyoko's only aged a year damn! I understand the frustration with the flashback, it is quite sluggish, but we're seeing the true impact Alyssa had on Shinae's trust, how it affects her relationship with Nol now, and what it means for them in the future. Plus we're getting some vital Alyssa content. I feel like she's become even more ambiguous to me. I have no idea where her head is at. I miss reading your analysis. I'd love discuss to her with you after the arc ends and we get our long awaited Shinae x Nol moment. It's been so loooong since we've seen them.

OOOOOHHHHHHH MY GOD ANON LMAO that question just made me pause HARD lmaooooooo. Listen. For alllllll the shit people say about ILY, I just feel it in my BONES that Skip Beat will outlast EVERYTHING lmaoooooooooooo GOD. Like, I'm sorry but ANY TIME people talk about slow pacing I'm just like.... I'll read this whole 30, 50? page chapter and WHAT HAPPENS? HOW MUCH TIME PASSES? NONE! lmao I like to do an annual "catch up" on Skip Beat now and then (when I remember lol). Like I LOVE that the mangka made it about more than just Kyoko's love life but also MAN each acting project is literally years long for us as readers!!!!!!!! lmao thanks to Skip Beat I have the patience to weather ANYYYYTHIIIIIIING hahahahahaha. Taking three months to get through a flashback arc? I can handle it! ILY could take 10 years to reach completion and I'd be, frankly, okay, because at least it could wrap up faster than Skip Beat ever could LMAO (and honestly like... 10 years of solid story telling is pretty ace in my book but that's a whole other thing lmao)

As for my shoujo journey, I'll be honest, it's not SUPER long! I didn't start reading manga until I was graduating high school, so by the time I started to dig into things, after some time I found myself growing out of it? Or, rather no it was more like... there's just a lot of tropes that were present in shoujo I was finding I wasn't into? (Like, oh my god so many triangles where I'd be like MEH I actually prefer the second lead. I learned very fast that a lot of your typical "first leads", at least back in the day, were NOT my style.) I still have a soft spot for a lot of stories that I loved, though! I haven't read Lovely Complex since god probably 2014, 2015? But I STILL loved it back then and I'm really eager for a re-read. I uh.... I really went through a Hirunaka no Ryuusei phase? Like.... lmaoooo it was a Big Thing for me hahhaha (I own the series in Korean, actually!!!!) My first two manga, though, were Skip Beat and Hana Kimi; my friend bought me the first Skip Beat volume at our school book fair and another friend bought the first few volumes of Hana Kimi and shared them with me! Hana Kimi is one of those that like.... you know it doesn't hold up over time, it leans heavily on tropes that are considered ethically nonos these days, but it stays special to me because in spite of all of that, idk I just! Enjoyed it! And now that I'm older I am okay saying "I LIKE THIS THING THAT IS FLAWED AND IMPERFECT AND I DO NOT NEED TO DEFEND IT" lol you know? There was the obligatory Vampire Knight phase that I finally fell out of but OOOF that was A Thing. (I was SO obsessed with it at first lol and I LOVED the art sooooo much that I read another series by the mangaka, MeruPuri which, frankly, was REALLY weird so nothing about Vampire Knight actually surprised me ngl LMAOOOOOO) You know I remember once starting Special A but I do not think I ever finished that! I put myself all the way through Ao Haru Ride even though I kept telling myself I needed to drop it and pretend it didn't exist. God what a trainwreck that one was lol like.... idk I'm not saying this as a dig to people who did enjoy it! There were just times I wanted to enter that story and punch people lmaoooo but I wonder what I would think if I went back and read it again now in the vein of like.... sometimes people are selfish and make bad choices because they are human? lol I also REALLY loved Orange but I'm going to admit I haaaaaaaaaaaaaated the ending and to this daaaaaay I haaaaaaaaaaaated it so much but that's a whole other post lol. LOVED the story, LOVED the art, was super into the theme, but just hated the execution of the ending SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH ;A;

lol I said it's not super long but look at me, rambling on and on!

I know no one is surprised that I wound up talking A LOT and just.... following, there's so much ILY rambling going on about why I appreciate and enjoy this flashback arc, and how I think it boosts the rest of the story so far lol so here's a read more, haaaha.......

I definitely feel you on how Alyssa feels even more ambiguous lol which is so funny. I love the insight and having a better idea of who she is as a person, even if we still don't fully know all of her motives. Just seeing her as a complex character like everyone else has been great. We all know I'm a sucker for parallels lol and seeing how everyone has their own traumas, that everyone has a root for who they are, is the stuff that keeps me hooked on ILY. Alyssa was very easily written off by people and I don't defend her or anything - I really hope we get to see her take responsibility for her actions and ownership for the hurt she has caused, whether on purpose or not - but also, it always felt like she was suuuuuuuper reduced down by fandom on a whole. I think a very human thing quimchee is good at capturing is that we don't always mean to hurt the people we do, but it still happens, and that sometimes good intentions can make things worse in the longrun - and this can go for Alyssa towards Nol or Shinae, frankly.

Honestly, too, something I love about her is like... like you know how if you read a novel, the protagonist is supposed* to be the character who makes the right choices and does good things? And when people are presented an "unlikable protagonist" it's usually a character who is acting on their emotions and responding to their experiences - it's a character making the choices that we ourselves might make. (* I'm saying "supposed" here because a protagonist DOESN'T have to make the right choices, but it turns out people really hate media where female characters make selfish choices lmaoooo) I guess that's what I like seeing about Alyssa in this flashback. I've seen a lot of people say that Alyssa is weak for caving to peer pressure or something but like... was that not the middle school experience? I don't know a lot of people who were super self-assured and full of confidence in middle school - but especially someone in Alyssa's position who has never really interacted with kids her own age and is so afraid of ostracization. Like a lot of the woven storylines of ILY, something I love is that we are shaped by our experiences, right? Most people never faulted Shinae for shutting down and putting up strong defenses when we first met her in the story, because we know she'd been screwed over by life and people and as people who have been there before, we understand self-preservation tactics. She even basically admits it herself that she WANTED to open up to people. Shinae wasn't guarded because she hated people, she lied to herself because of how much she'd been hurt and she was afraid to take that chance again and try it. Shinae is afraid to be burned, Alyssa is afraid for people to ever have a chance to burn her. It's so inherently HUMAN to be afraid of being alienated, to want to BELONG, to want to feel like you fit in. She faces a daily crisis in how she is desperate to belong with people who might not accept her if they knew what she was truly like.

And idk, I cannot fault her for that completely, because it took me until my early-to-mid-20s to learn to be okay on my own and that it was better to be myself than try to fit in where I wasn't wanted. I put up with shitty friendships for a long time because I had myself convinced that it was all worth it. So a middle schooler struggling with this is SO VERY real, and it's wild to me to see people fault her for this. Alyssa has done some things worth being mad about, but seeing her written off for being a human middle schooler is WILD to me.

That's a whole other tangent LOL but it's something I haven't really gotten around to ever talking about. Like, whatever, I cannot - and I won't even try lol to - convince people to like Alyssa, but frankly, I think all of the characters of ILY are SO dimensional and fascinating, how can I not enjoy exploring parts of their story? I think sometimes people think that if I say "I enjoy a character" it means I endorse everything they do. I DO like Kousuke and Alyssa. Would I want to be their friends? Good grief, no. But I'm here as an observer of a story and I think it's fascinating to see how their experiences bring about the circumstances of this story. That moment of dramatic irony when Alyssa promises that she won't stop being Shinae's friend, but we know how it all ends, we all know that's a promise she does not keep, and we know how those events affect Shinae and much of the story that unfolds!

how it affects her relationship with Nol now

I feel like this is something that doesn't come up a lot? Or maybe I just missed any period of fandom when they might have discussed it? Like.... if Shinae hadn't been burned like this by Alyssa, she wouldn't carry the paranoia she does - not about Maya and Rika and certainly not about Minhyuk. Even to this day, we saw that Shinae worries that even the people she trusts are humoring her - because she's been there, she trusted someone who hurt her. The entire trajectory of her relationship with Nol would be completely different! A really beautiful aspect of Nol and Shiane's friendship to me is not just that he managed to make Shinae open up - it's that now that we know how Shinae lied to herself, how she was hurt in the past, how trusting people burned her so badly - but the fact that despite everything she'd been through, she WANTED him to be someone she could trust, she WANTED him to be worth letting down her guard.

Like, again!!!!! Everything that happens in this story only does so because of circumstances and events that precede it. Shinae going to Nol's school was not just because she wanted to check on and see her friend - she was desperate to prove herself wrong, desperate for Nol to prove that he was worth the chances she took, that trusting him was not another mistake she knew better than to make.

I think a flashback arc shows us more than just insight into her relationship with Alyssa, which we've established was something very important, something special that was destroyed. It's the juxtaposition of pre-accident Shinae, who was willing to open herself up, who was plucky and bullheaded and just wanted to be appreciated it. Contrast that with the Shinae we meet early in the story, who has herself convinced it's okay to be alone, when now we know she was yearning to be appreciated, maybe yearning for someone to fight for her the way she fought for Alyssa but believed that something like that wasn't possible. I think we also see the flashback because while we've seen some of the ugly moments of Shinae's life, we never really saw how we went from this point to that point, you know? How there are small pockets of things in her life that make her want to keep believing in what she knows better than to believe - in teachers who listen to her when she tells the truth, in friends who stand up for her and defend in - even as her life starts to crumble. She can't escape her past, she's literally being haunted by it, even as she tried to put it all behind her. Her father is falling more and more into alcoholism due to stress from school plus his job, and soon he's going to be saddled with medical bills and having to take care of Shinae, which is probably what derailed school completely. THESE are the experiences that made the Shinae we know - a Shinae who is TERRIFIED of being hurt but also LONGS to be proven wrong, a Shinae who wants to share an experience she thought maybe she doesn't deserve, a Shinae who quietly believed maybe the universe just wanted to punish her for existing but still tries so hard to defy it.

Idk like yes we get that sense of Shinae without the backstory, but I think it really emphasizes this so much more? And I think it's also some kind of proof, maybe, that Alyssa IS more important than people have given her credit for, not just in the past but also in the future of the story. She doesn't exist just to move plot and drive wedges between relationships or something lol she, too, a complex character with complex experiences and god isn't that the sum of so many moments of people headbutting? That we are complex and sometimes struggle to see beyond our own issues, because what we deal with blinds us? Alyssa is blinded by her desire to escape her family and experience something NORMAL and be liked. Maybe she DOES want attention! Kousuke is blinded by a sense of destiny instilled in him since he was young, blinded by paranoia that fed off of this "destiny", blinded by his inability to accept his father's human nature, blinded by his fear that the only thing that makes him matter to his father is threatened. We met Nol thinking he was a character who looked out for others but even he's been blinded by his misery and by the feelings of worthlessness that has been punched down into him.

We butt heads with people because sometimes we are so caught up in our own struggles that it's hard to understand that others struggle, too, and I think that's where some of the best conflict comes. Like yeah there's good conflict in "Shinae has been roped into attending this horrible formal" but there's something poignant and painful in "Shinae unintentionally repeated the Alyssa cycle when she let Nol in" and even BETTER we get to see how she's grown from it!

This is, as always, lmao a very rambling tangential departure from the main point lol but!!!!! I have had a lot of feelings here and I know part of peoples' irritation is they want to get back to Nol and Shinae right now, but I think seeing Shinae's past helps create even MORE appreciation for what Nol means to her - that he is someone who hurt her but she is still willing to give another chance - and moreover, that we can see that though Shinae came from a loving home, she, too, has suffered her own abuse, was battered and beaten down by people, and unlike Nol, she was able to conclude it doesn't make her bad. Idk it's so beautiful to me and I get really overwhelmed lol it makes me appreciate their friendship SO MUCH more, for what they mean to each other and what they can be, you know? Seeing Shinae's resilience, through the new girl at middle school hoping to start all over to failing at that to putting up that guarded wall to finally taking a chance, finally giving in and accepting that yes, she still has hope, there's still faith, and Nol was that spark. UGH!

ANYWAY lol I do think we are probably nearing the end of this flashback arc. I don't know how many episodes I think remain - I generously said less than 10 a week or two ago lol but I think that was very generous. The timeline (and Alyssa's behavior) feels like we are approaching the point of Alyssa pushing Shinae and YES i will be so happy to go over the whole arc with you!!! I've been wanting to make a post that I keep holding off on, because I don't know if it would be better to do it now or wait for the whole arc to end, but I think there's a good conversation to be had about how a lot of Alyssa's behavior is directly tied to her homelife - how it's implied her father is someone who, at the very least, shouts a lot - and how that ties into her deflective, people-pleasing nature. Again, Alyssa is not really a spineless, MEAN-spirited person. She, like everyone else, is just the sum of her experiences, and I don't think she's learned to deal with them in a healthy way. (And frankly speaking, what about her relationship with Nol IS healthy anyway?)

I know this is so much more than you bargained for lol but you KNOOOOWWWW I love these asks and it HAS been so long since I got to just.... ENTHUSE about this - not just try to analyze or talk about what an episode has revealed but just GUSH about it lol so I could not help myself! But yes, once this arc ends, I will be READY to dissect and discuss EVERYTHING. I feel so emotionally invested, knowing that Shinae is about to experience the worst burn of her life, while she's still so trusting and earnest and aaaahhhhhhhh it's going to HURT so much ;~; But in a maybe cathartic way. (Also, and this is something I should get to later, I think something big about this flashback is that, y'know, it's kind of implied that Shinae has repressed a lot of this. Her memories of the moment are hazy, Alyssa appeared in a series of people Shinae was shocked to realize she harbored so much anger towards. I think as much as this is for US to see exactly what happened, I think it's also kind of a wake up call for Shinae, who has repressed and ignored so much of this, and I'm really REALLY curious to see how she reacts after return to the present. Is she angry? Sad? Sad for her younger self? Is it cathartic for her? How raw is it? Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh)

[doorbloggr]

Sunday 1/8/21 - Media Recommendations #13

Contents:

Book - The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

Song - What a Fool Believes, Doobie Brothers

Anime/Manga: Death Note, Ohba & Obata

This week in Media Recommendations, at first I was considering putting it off for a week again. But then I realised that despite it being a very boring and fast moving week, I have actually been consuming some new media that I can talk about.

So forgive me being a couple days late again, but this week, I'm gonna discuss a few pieces of media that I am truly really late to appreciating. But it was now that I experienced them, so it will be now that I discuss them.

The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka

Discussing English class assigned readings with friends and siblings, I discovered that even within the same highschool, there were several pieces of iconic western literature that I just didn't get assigned, but they did. Several of Shakespeare's works, Lord of the Flies, The Boy in Striped Pajama's, all books I just didn't get to read because I wasn't assigned them. So it had to be up to me to go and seek out these books as an adult, else I'd never experience them. One of those that I knew was famous from name alone, but only recently found out was quite a short read, was Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

In one word, The Metamorphosis is... Bizarre. I've never read a story quite like it. The setting and main conflict is established in the first sentence of the story and things go from bad to worse almost immediately.

The story is pockmarked with glimpses of hope that get dashed to oblivion almost immediately. There's several points where I'm like "Oh isn't this nice, some silver lining to this black sludge of a bad time?" But it never is, it's just a very sad hopeless, bizarre time.

But I enjoyed my read for how different and interesting an experience it was. It's only a short story as I found out, so if you have a free afternoon and you never got a chance to read the story in school, I say take some time to read the bizarre experience that is Kafka's The Metamorphosis.

What a Fool Believes

The Doobie Brothers

I've had this happen a lot to me lately where I hear an older song mentioned in passing and then I become obsessed with it for a week or so before it becomes part of my regular spotify rotation. The first time I actually heard this song was its use as the background music in a Neil Cicierega parody mashup. Then very recently in a podcast, the song was brought up for its very unique guitar riffs and rhythms.

So I went back and listened to the song in full for the first time and holy bejesus what a fucking bop.

What a Fool Believes is just so high energy and funky and everything about it is amazing. The vocals are amazing, the instruments are amazing. It's just a really good song. Please listen to it!

Death Note

Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata

Although my anime taste is overwhelming in favour of turn brain off, slice of life happy times, there's nothing wrong with a bit of supernatural mystery thriller every now and then. Death Note is a classic of modern Japanese Fiction.

Death Note is a very specific fiction experience. It is a battle of wits where every move is calculated perfectly to counter the enemy. I don't want to spoil the story too much, because you really should experience it for yourself, but the premise centres around a supernatural object called the Death Note. This book is a tool used by Shimigami, or reapers, and when a person's name is written in there, they will die. This book is found by academic savant Light Yagami who believes he can use this book to bring about world piece, but he eventually becomes just as wicked as those he punishes. Some of the world's brightest minds catch onto his patterns quick and try to uncover him as the immoral mass murderer he is.

It is a fast paced story of twists and turns. Any wrong move could mean death for either side, but they just keep check-mating each other so that the upperhand is just out of reach. If you are into crime thrillers, murder mystery, or light supernatural horror, I could not recommend Death Note more. The Manga is great and the Anime is amazing, so pick your poison.

Thanks for reading if you did.

As the title suggests, I've done 12 more of these, so check out links on my pinned post if you're interested. And also if you have any recommendations for me, I'm always looking for more media to consume.

[justanotherlifeff]

Chapter 3

April 10 2316

Wednesday

Musutafu, Japan

In your two days at UA, you figured out a few things. Firstly, KAMINARI WAS BEST FRIEND MATERIAL. You were always into anime/manga and guess what? KAMINARI WAS INTO THAT TOO! Hence, there were the two of you obsessing over random anime characters and fan-girling/fan-boying the hell out of them. Secondly, Ashido Mina, or as you called her just Mina cause she insisted, was Kirishima's old classmate. They probably even had a thing for eachother and the two of them decided to stick around you and Denki, eventually becoming friends with you all. Thirdly and lastly, two unsuspecting members happened to join your rather crazy group. One of them being a pretty chill guy named Sero Hanta, who also happened to share your interest in anime but not as much as Kaminari and the other being the notorious Bakugou Katsuki. While Sero had a good reason to hang out with you all, Bakugou demanded that he was around because he had nothing better to do. You, however, figured out that it was because he for some reason, felt comfortable around Kirishima, who, to be fair, was really patient with Bakugou. There weren’t many people who would want to deal with his antisocial explosive personality. However, what you didn’t figure out, despite having a quirk that literally allowed you to read people's emotions was the fact that he had an interest in you. As to why, the only answer to that was the fact that you absolutely surpassed everyone else in battle training. While even he got defeated by shitty Deku, you on the other hand beat the crap out of Todoroki, who happened to be the most overpowered student in your class beside you. Since there were 21 students in class, you were paired up with Todoroki, it being his second match since his first match lasted only for a few moments. Watching you completely unaffected by his ice since you could levitate and breaking his ice with ease thanks to your powerful telekinesis made Bakugou heavily interested. However, that's what he was telling himself. While he definitely wasn’t lying to himself, he was still denying the fact that he was heavily turned on by your skin tight bodysuit that left nothing to imagination. The way your body suit lighted up wherever your veins got enlarged only made you look more attractive. Then again, ofcourse Bakugou wouldn’t admit it to himself. It was just his stupid hormones acting up.

Now, things may be going too fast but then again, you almost spent a lifetime without normal friends. That meant, you were willing to speed up this process of making friends, given that everyone you became friends with was infact very accepting of you. Well, everyone except Bakugou. He barely ever talked to you ever since the first day at school even though he stuck around with your group almost all the time. That didn't mean that you haven’t noticed how he's staring at you sometimes when you aren’t looking. Normally, no one would notice that he was staring since he's pretty good at hiding it, however, you were always detecting this intense emotion from him all the time whenever he stared. You didn't understand this emotion, however, you could tell that it was a weird mixture of admiration, competitiveness and anger. Then again, every single one of Bakugou's emotions seem to be laced with anger. Now, normally you'd be creeped out by Bakugou's intense attitude towards you. However, like your friend Kaminari, you happen to be a huge pervert as well. After all, how can you not notice that amazing jawbone, those toned muscles (you asked God to bless whoever made his hero costume). Hence, instead of being creeped out, you actually enjoyed the attention. Which is why, you were currently having this weird ass conversation with Kaminari which only made Sero more uncomfortable every second. "Oi Kaminari, he's doing it again." you whispered to Kaminari looking excited. "I can't believe you aren’t creeped out by that..." Kaminari glanced at Bakugou who looked like he wanted to murder you. "Now, now, did you notice how hot he is? You don't know how far I'd go to see him shirtless... Imagine those abs..." you drooled, making Kaminari sigh. "Aww I wish someone drooled over me like that..." Kaminari whined. "What's wrong with you two?" Sero muttered in disbelief looking at the two of you. "Well, besides, he's an interesting dude you know. He's hiding a lot of emotions in his head and I still can't figure him out. That rarely happens you know..." you muttered, taking a bite of the food infront of you.

Currently, you were having your lunch break and the unofficial Bakusquad was sitting together in one table. Your comment was based on the emotions you picked up about Bakugou during both the quirk test and battle training. He suffered from extreme inferiority complex and it was obvious that he tried to hide it with anger. However, you decided not to reveal his secret to random people. After all, you wouldn’t appreciate it if someone revealed your secrets... "Hiding a lot of emotions? Oi (L/N)-chan, is Bakugou in love with someone?" Kaminari exclaimed loudly. Before you could answer, Bakugou was already shouting. "WHAT ARE YOU DAMN NERDS SAYIN' ABOUT ME HAH?!!" Bakugou barked. "(L/N)-Chan thinks you're in..." Kaminari started but paused as soon as he saw your death glare. For a laid back person, your glare matched that of Bakugou. "OI SHIT HEAD! WHAT DID YOU FUCKING SAY ABOUT ME?" Bakugou turned his attention to you. "Relax Bakugou-kun. It's about what I didn’t spill about you. Kaminari was just assuming things" you answered with a smile since you knew that there was no point at getting angry at someone who used anger as a defence mechanism. "What the fuck do you know?" Bakugou growled at you trying to sound intimidating. You knew better though. His emotions were always so intense that even if you didn't want them to, they would always reach your head. "Bakugou-kun, I can read emotions. It's a part of my quirk and I can say exactly what every single person is feeling in this entire dining hall. This is something that's completely out of my control. I think you'd rather discuss your issues with a psychologist instead of asking me about it infront of a group of other people. After all, you're an antisocial bitch aren’t you?" you answered with a smile. Sure, you weren’t going to shout at someone who uses anger as a defence mechanism but that didn't give him a free pass to call you a 'shit head'.

The tension between you and Bakugou was as intense as it could get at this point with Bakugou throwing you a murderous glint while you smiled at him as if he was nothing more than an angry pomeranian. After a short staring contest, surprisingly, Bakugou grumbled, "Go die you fucking nerd" before looking away. "How was that an insult? Kaminari and I are otakus for life! Though, I'm not to sure how long Kaminari's life expectancy is cause he's a fucking snitch..." You gave Kaminari a sadistic smile which made him gulp with a nervous smile. "Uh... (L/N)-Chan? I promise I'll buy you a (Favourite anime character) figurine to make up for this please don't kill me?" Kaminari rushed. "Okay! We're going shopping after class!" your sadistic smile suddenly turned into an extremely sweet one at an extremely creepy pace. "You're kinda scary you know..." Kaminari muttered. "Yeah... Speaking up to Bakugou like that and shutting him up? That's scary..." Sero joined Kaminari. "Oh shut up! Ya'll still love me!" you pouted as you continued to eat and carry the conversation. Little did you know that Bakugou now had a new found interest in you. It was obvious that you were completely reading him by now. His murderous glint didn't work on you for exactly that reason. Cause he didn’t really have any murderous intent deep down. It was really rare for someone to not be scared of him and infact, stand up to him. While it did piss him off, he couldn’t help but find himself seeing you as more than just a shitty extra who happens to look hot. However, his trail of thoughts were quickly broken by the emergency sirens.