#seriously... i wonder if i'll pass out sometimes lol

[citrine-elephant]

my headcanon for leon being a sugar fiend probably stems from my fear of a sugary american diet-

that boy needs happiness in his life in the form of strawberry milkshakes and iced coffees and sugar cookies and-

[miaitzia]

Souheki In Dazai’s Entrance Exam

plz don't take this post too seriously.It's not some proper analysis, mostly just my thoughts about the interactions.A little bias because I hc they actually are very close.maybe i'll make a post about why I think so in the future.

“So, newbie. Uh…Dazai, was it? Where did you work prior to coming here?” “Hmm?” Ranpo’s expression has faded, his eyes peering into Dazai’s as if he is searching for something. “I didn’t really do anything after finishing school.Was just kinda around, you know?” A few seconds go by as Ranpo silently stares at Dazai.Finally… “Oh, that’s nice. Anyway, welcome to the agency.” And that’s it. He begins laying out the documents across the desk as if nothing happened. What was that just now?

So since LN1 is in Kunikida's pov.Notice how in this scene not only Ranpo is staring at Dazai,Dazai was ALSO looking back.IT WAS MUTUAL.They were both silently observing each other.i assume Dazai’s back was face Kunikida so that’s why we can’t see his expressions.

ok this part is just my pure delusion but i imagine Dazai was wearing his usual plastic smile(yk he still not used to interact with others )when answering Ranpo,but as time passed by,it has faded just like Ranpo’s.Then they just have some of the most intense staring contest.Imagine the tension in the room lol,no wonder Kunikida was so confused.I also believe Ranpo's response is some kind of his way to implicitly promise Dazai he won't expose him and wish him good luck on starting a new path. 

i think dazai was confident that no one will find out his past since they can’t use ability on him,and in those few seconds he realized Ranpo just figured it out(tbh maybe even more than that considered Ranpo have met oda the day he died and ada collaborate with special division sometimes he may have met Ango),thus he started to question if that’s actually his ability.

“Dazai, what was that about?” “Don’t ask me… By the way, what kind of skill user is Ranpo?” 

lol Kunikida was so clueless,he’s like you two just met what r you up to what’s with that silent intense staring.

“What?! Is there really a skill like that?!” It seems even Dazai can hardly believe it.”  “I dunno, it’s just hard to believe a skill like that actually exists.” He doesn’t appear convinced.

It's hilarious Dazai asked Kunikida what Ranpo’s ability is when the man himself is just right in front of him. 

“That’s what makes it so amazing! Listen to this. When Ranpo was thinking, I sneaked up behind him and pinched some of his hair.”

Dazai openly doubted if an ability like it would exist before Ranpo started deducing.So Ranpo may have been cautious and noticed Dazai was sneaking behind and testing it.But weirdly he didn’t seem to mind if Dazai would tell the others(yes i believe he had already knew he doesn't have one even before LN1)like that’s not one of his biggest secret.

Even if he didn't notice at that time,he surely would when he noticed Kunikida’s curious gaze next time they met.But he never said anything for yrs.Maybe he was just rather let others know than confronts it with Dazai.He didn't directly admit to Yosano in guild arc either.

Ranpo who never tells others Dazai’s past VS Dazai who shamelessly continually tells ada members Ranpo is abilityless will never not be funny to me.

But seriously Ranpo is so sweet he trust and respect Dazai from the very start, even knows his background he still completely accepted him, willing to give him a chance to be with the good side.i love souheki.

“He possesses tremendous deductive and observational skills that your average fictional detective could only dream of.” “That’s what impressed me. A skill would make this just another phenomenon, which wouldn’t even be surprising, let alone impressive. But Ranpo is utilizing his brain, something we all have, to reach these conclusions.” “That guy’s got some serious powers of deduction and observation! And even Ranpo himself seems to think he’s using a skill. Man, that is one amazing detective. I need to start applying myself more.”

Aside from genuine appreciation here,it may also because of his gratitude for Ranpo’s silence.

I love seeing Dazai simping over Ranpo.Like even in current arc he still praises him a lot.He's so fond of him🥲🥲🥲

[bones-of-a-rabbit]

status of babbit's life yeehaw

tl,dr: busy moving and a couple of other big life things that just complicate things, but well on the way to being back to normal! new fic chapters and better quality art coming soon.

tl,wr (too long, will read):

Helloooo what's up its me, Babbit. or Rabbit. or Bones. or Idiot Moron Menace Child, idk im not picky lol

i know a lot of you guys have been wondering wtf is up with my upload schedule lately and the extreme lack of even basic content and also i am extremely aware that i have not updated my fics in a few millennia and for that i am very, very sorry. this post is to answer a few questions you might have, if anyone was curious about the 'reason' instead of just the 'when.'

my family and i have had a hell of a year, y'all. like, jesus christ, i really hope things level out and calm down for a while once we're moved in to our new apartment bc god damn we are so tired. the list goes: 1. we got kicked out of the house we were renting-to-own bc we wouldn't be able to afford the new rate, so they gave us two months to find a new place to live (not long enough, it turns out) and then foreclosed to get us out. 75% of our belongings were still in the house when we had to leave. that includes all of our christmas ornaments- including the ones kept for decades, and the ones made by me and my siblings, and the fancy ones made from blown glass. 2. the first night out of the house, one of our dogs, freaked out by the strangeness of the situation, panicked and slipped her harness and ran off. that was over a year ago. we haven't seen her since. 3. my cat got very ill and became unable to eat. she passed away almost exactly a year ago. she had been 14-15, and had been my baby since i was maybe 8. 4. one of the tires on my dads car blew out. during the night, while it was parked on the curb so he could put the spare on in the morning, one of the in-tact tires was fucking stolen LMAO 5. we applied to rent at so many places and got rejected so, so many times. it costs money to apply, btw. we're talking like $200+. no, u don't get that money back. 6. i lost my job bc knowing i would have to work 8 hours at a job that stresses me out to the point of exhaustion (at a place where no one takes me seriously and would actively laugh at me when i try to express my need to step away for a minute) sometimes paralyzed me and made me sick to my stomach and made me feel unable to leave the house, and i called out one too many times. a day after my birthday, too! 7. just recently, like within the last week, my dad's car got fuckin totalled!!!!!

THE GOOD NEWS IS WE OFFICIALLY, FINALLY, AFTER A SOLID YEAR, HAVE AN APARTMENT!!!!! I'LL HAVE MY OWN ROOM AGAIN!!! THERE'S AN ENTIRE KITCHEN!!!!!!!

the 'oh god' news is we still have to move in, and replace a lot of the stuff that we just couldn't take with us when we moved out (mostly stuff like bookshelves, dining table, dressers, etc) AND get the few things we could cram into a storage center out and moved into the new place, which isn't a lot but at the same time is more than we can realistically handle on our own. and then, we have to get my mums cats (a pair of kitty sisters that we had to temporarily house with my aunt, who got tired of looking after them and let them outside to be outdoor cats a few months ago. yes, this was an extremely shitty thing to do, and we've been working hard to get them back safely) AND my gecko (who my cousin has been looking after, even tho feeding him worms freaks him out LMAO yes i plan on compensating him) moved in, as well... basically oh my god there is so much to worry about but at the same time it's nice to have to worry about it bc it means we're making progress sdkfhsjdkfhdsjfh

basically i am just so tired but so busy and also thinkin abt so much im so sorry for lack of stuff but i am so looking forward to being able to bounce back, pls stick with me, it'll be sorted out soon i think and then i'll hit y'all with some good stuff i promise!!!!!!!

anyway thank u guys i love u and appreciate u all for sticking around

[cloudbells]

some of your posts actually got me thinking about these questions! i'm very curious how people feel about this sort of stuff, since my own fandom opinions are relatively mild and it got me wondering how other people's experiences compare...

so how about #'s 2 (for stony), #9 and #27 (other than frostshield??😉)

Thank you for the ask (and for creating the game)! Lol, I'm glad me and my inability to keep an opinion to myself was a part of the inspo <3 And sorry for the long wait!!!

2) What's your biggest stony pet peeve?

BIGGEST? Oh man, I'm not sure...Teenification of Tony Stark. He's written so...infantile and emotionally weak (I love vulnerability, but my word choice of him being written as weak is my gripe) in many Stony fics. It genuinely gets on my last nerve. He's damn near 40 in AV1. And he only gets older. And sure, maybe there's some arrested development there, but he isn't a damn child. He knows this. And actually conducts himself well enough in canon (in a way that matches his issues) but it's the fanon portrayal I don't like.

WAIT...I think I have something that's popular for the ship itself. Not very fan of the lengths that misunderstandings go for Steve and Tony...Like, I understand they aren't great at communication, but sometimes it gets to the point where I'm like, "It's passed dense and shot straight into pure asshole territory". I know a lot of people write like this because of CACW, but hot take, I don't think CW was so much of a communication or misunderstandings problem. I'll elaborate on this in a separate post, maybe. But the way misunderstandings are drawn out with seemingly no reason gets on my nerves, but it really depends. I can love misunderstandings, but it can't be something that's contrived for drama's sake.

Oh! Another one is in AUs where Steve was still Captain America, and Tony is still Iron Man, and Howard was still lovesick after Steve died and Tony knew all about Steve as a child....and then the AU has Steve undercover or something and Tony doesn't recognize Steve's face. LOL. This sounds specific, but this exact set up has happened enough to where it bothers me. Like, it's kind of funny though, how annoyed I get over it lmao.

9) What's something that bugs you in fanfiction that you encounter often but isn't necessarily a dealbreaker for you as a reader?

I have a lot of not-dealbreakers. Primarily because if I were to strictly stick to my vision of every possible portrayal, I'd have like 3 fics to read. I'm picky in theory, not so much in practice because I'm also extremely greedy. I'll give one each for Stucky and Stony.

Stucky: That Steve crashed the Valkyrie because he was so sad about Bucky dying. I talk a little about how much I generally dislike this trope here. I think it's a huge disservice to this character, I will never take it seriously, and I will never write it. But, it's not a dealbreaker as long as it's not repeatedly more than....let's say 3 times in a fic. Looking back, I already gave this answer, so an additional one - Bucky being community dick and then getting upset that Steve doesn't realize that Bucky wants him and the tone of the fic also supporting that Bucky has a right to be mad lol. It's a weirdly common narrative point in a lot of fics and I just don't care for it. It's actually one of the reasons I tend to stay away from pre-CATFA fics. This trope also happens in Stony too, now that I'm thinking about it. What's up with that?

Stony: I (unsurprisingly) have a few to choose from, but I'll say - when it's written like Steve was horrifically out of line or the aggressor in AV1. It's super common (from throwaway lines to paragraphs about how Steve was an asshole) and there is a fine line that this has to walk for me not to dip. Usually, it's a couple of line about it, which I can ignore.

27) What's something that you think [insert fandom/pairing] doesn't have nearly enough of that you're starving for?

I have an embarrassing amount of rare pairs that I ship and I've been itching for a chance to let them out (/ = romantic or sexual, & = platonic).

Steve & Wanda. Oh my goodness, I am absolutely starving for more fics that show their growing bond from AOU to CACW. I would eat it up. Even in AUs, honestly. I said in another ask that I dislike kidfics, but guess what I'm outlining right now involving kid!Wanda...I just think there is something to explore there with Steve's care towards Wanda in canon. I feel like he understands her, to an extent, and anything he doesn't understand, he tries to sympathize with. He reaches out to her and that's so, so important to me. Because I adore Wanda. So much.

Rumlow/Steve. I want to clarify, not so much as a romance pairing (though I have read a couple like that), but more so as a one-sided creepfest on Rumlow's end. Something about him feeling an erotized violence/hatred towards Steve is so delicious to me. In my mind, it's not even love/hate - it's obsession. Maybe even coupled with a childhood admiration morphing into a disturbed/twisted fixation on Steve. I think this Rumlow likes to see Steve hurt. I also think he hates to be kept away from him. He's not deluded enough to think that Steve loves him back, he in fact, probably loves how much Steve hates him after the Hydra reveal. Yum.

Carol & Steve. Nothing much to say here, but I'm sure it's not too surprising. Captain Marvel is my 2nd most-watched MCU movie after CATFA. And I think their stories and journeys and experiences are so, so amazingly similar that I cannot resist the temptation of wanting them to be in every scene together. The squeal I let out when she first met Steve probably broke a few records.

Can I get a little more obscure? I have Steve-ships with characters who aren't in the MCU. Here's a speedrun, no elaboration:

Din Djarin (The Mandalorian)/Steve Rogers

Kushina (Naruto) & Steve Rogers

Sesshomaru (Inuyasha) /Steve Rogers

Ginko (Mushishi) & Steve Rogers

Epsilon (Pluto) & Steve Rogers

Kurenai/Steve/Asuma (Naruto).

Izaya Orihara (Durarara) & Steve....or Izaya/Steve...Izaya would hate him so much haha.

[anamericangirl]

This anon would take AnAmericanGirl on a date. She seems nice! Would be nice to get to know her a little more, and not even just about political stuff. Hell, not even about that at all.

Like hey, got any funny stories from any jobs you've had? I'll give an example of mine.

I worked at TJ Maxx in Burbank when I was 16, had a work permit for it, and there was this elderly woman who came in and asked me if this floral-pattern couch upholstery we had was available in a bigger size. I didn't know how to check, but I told her I'd figure it out and went into the back. I found the same pattern, and looked through them until I found a bigger size, and then I came back and handed it to her, and she thanked me and wandered off.

Later, when I got off work, I walked out and this girl ran up to me and went "Hey! My grandma wanted me to give you this" and handed me a plate with some plastic wrap on it that had a bunch of those chocolate thumbprint cookies on it. She just went "Bye!" and waved and ran off, and I was like "Did that old lady seriously bake cookies for me because I helped her find a couch cover thing?"

For the next few days my fellow employees were telling me that the old lady had walked around the store telling everyone I was a wonderful employee and was a huge help, and it warmed my heart.

I never heard from the lady again, but that moment stuck with me my entire life. 19 years have gone by and I still remember getting cookies from a sweet lady who wanted a floral pattern couch cover. Hell, I still remember how they tasted.

I hope that couch is still in her house somewhere with that same floral pattern on it and that girl who handed me the cookies sits on it and drinks cocoa. It's a romantic idea I know but I like to think about that sometimes and it makes me smile.

So how about you?

Aww, that's so sweet! What a nice lady! It really doesn't take much to make someone's day sometimes and it sounds like you both did that for each other. That put a smile on my face.

I don't have any stories nearly that endearing but I do remember working one of my first jobs, which was a gas station attendant for a major grocery store chain over here and I while I liked it because I was completely independent and worked it alone and didn't have anyone hovering over me it's also the job that made me decide I never wanted to work retail again lol.

But there was this one lady I remember. She and her husband or boyfriend lived close enough to walk to the store and she did so frequently. She came a lot to the gas station by herself to buy cigarettes and she was really nice and we would always chat a little bit.

She knew I liked to read because I always brought a book with me to read during the slow times when I had nothing to do and she started bringing books with her from her home to give to me.

I was a always a little worried about her because whenever she walked to the store with her husband or boyfriend (never found out what relation they were) she would never stop by the gas station (which they had to pass to get to the store) or talk to me but she would always smile and wave when she walked by with him. But he never acknowledged anything. And something about her appearance and mannerisms kinda gave me the impression that maybe she wasn't in the best living situation.

But when I eventually left the organization I didn't see her at all during my last two weeks so I never got to say goodbye to her, which I was a little sad about.

I think about her sometimes and hope that she's doing ok.

[goodhickey]

1,9,13, and 15 for the ask thing!!! <3

YAYYY THANKS

1. what are 3 things you’d say shaped you into who you are?

Dogs and wolves are number one, seriously. As a kid, I bonded with my first real best friend over our shared love of wolves, and I would talk to anyone I could about dogs. When times were hard for me, I could count on my dogs to be there. Studying dogs and wolves more closely has helped me to better understand people through the lens of animal behaviour, and has led me to my current job which is the only one I've ever had that's truly fulfilled me. I think about dogs and wolves often, and without my love of them I don't think I'd be who I am. secondly, my father. I don't think I could ever be the person I am without him. he is the most kind and empathetic person I've ever met, who taught me the value of doing good deeds in my community and in my family without needing to be asked. his kindness is infectious and makes me feel good to help others, and the relationship I have with him is one I wouldn't trade for the world. my only tattoo (as of now anyway!) is one I got because it reminded me of him. I can show it off if anyone wants to see, lol. for my last thing though, I'd have to go with an easy answer, one that applies to pretty much everyone: the internet. I'm a very socially averse person - not by choice - and have always found it extremely difficult to put myself out into the real world and meet people. online, I've been able to meet people from all over the world who have offered me perspectives and kindness I couldn't have found in my local community, even if I weren't too cowardly to look. my best friends in the world are people I never would have met in my life without the internet, and they've all shaped me in ways I don't think even I'll fully comprehend.

9. tell a story about your childhood

this ones a bit bittersweet, but this is always the memory that comes to mind when someone wants to hear an anectdote about my childhood. the last time I ever saw my childhood dog was a rainy day, when I was eleven years old. my parents are divorced, and the dog was my dad's, so I only got to see him every other weekend. but we were the same age when they adopted him, and so we were both eleven then. I had no way of knowing it would be the last time I ever saw him - as a child, I couldn't note any symptoms of anything to come, and it's not as if anyone would have told me. he liked to try and jump on me, but at his age and weight all he could do was rear up on his hind legs like an old horse. a few winters prior, my dad had built the old man a doghouse of his own, with a porch and a heater to keep him warm. it was a sunday, and we were playing in the yard. or, as much playing as he could do anymore. I didn't really mind him being slow. as a baby, they'd set me on his back and pretend to let me ride him. I was more than okay carrying his weight this time around. but it started to rain hard after not too long - and PNW rain storms are no light business. but I didn't want to leave him just yet, knowing that going inside meant finding my father waiting to drive me back to my mother's, somewhere I'd rather not be. so we retreated to the doghouse - comfortable enough for us both to fit inside, my dad was kind to his dog like that - and sat there for a while. he and I were both wet and panting, staring out into the endless sheet of rain as it poured over the grass. I held him, then, seeking warmth and maybe for someone to tell me I'd be okay when I left. I remember him pressing into my chest and sighing. maybe it was then he decided he had done everything he ever wanted. my dad found me in the doghouse not long later, helping me out as I waved goodbye to my beloved yellow lump. I found out only a few days later that he had passed in his sleep. peaceful, just fell asleep and never woke up. I sometimes wonder if, in his last dream, he could hear rain pooling on an old patio roof.

13. what are you doing right now?

laying in bed. I've been awful lazy the past few days. currently snacking (cheez its) in the dark with a candle going. might pick up my copy of the terror again, though it's been a while since I've read it.

15. what do you think of when you hear the word “home”?

a doghouse.

[sugarsweets9987]

Silly rambles, feel free to read or not. Just thought posting.

Saw a post from someone about SWSH and how it's a little funny coming back to those games and remembering how people complained about them, only for SV to release even worse.

It just brought up a thought for me. SWSH is like XY to me. And I mean this as in you will NEVER catch me whining about them or talking shit about them. Those games, despite their respective flaws, are both incredibly special to me for incredibly different reasons. I'll talk about both of them now because I want to.

XY were my first ever pokemon games. I got Y for my 8th birthday (or that christmas), if I remember correctly, and my sibling had X. I loved playing those games. They introduced me to Pokémon as a franchise entirely, and I still hold those games very dearly despite how everyone talks about how shit they are. I find them wonderful and a really fun trip down memory lane. I seriously hate seeing people so constantly and consistently hate on these games because of how important they are to me, but I get that not everyone feels the same way. These games mean nothing to most people, but everything to me. I wish the games got a little more love.

Sword and Shield, on the other hand, means a lot to me in a different way. Lets start with the innocent fun stuff. I'm going to be honest with you all right here and now; I love Leon. Almost everything about him I love. He's a silly and fun champion who just wants everyone to have a good time. Plus he has a Dragapult. Based. I also love Raihan and Hop. Raihan is just. S+, no notes. I can't explain why I love Hop, but I really just do. His whole arc of wanting to be exactly like Leon, then realizing that's not what he truthfully wants out of life and instead deciding to research pokemon to become a professor instead is just. Super appealing to me! He also probably just gets bonus points for being Leon's brother anyways seeing as how Raihan and Leon are tied for my favorite characters from SWSH lol. Also, all 3 of the starters are awesome. I love all 3 of them. Zamazenta and Zacian are also cool legendaries :) Spectrier too.

Now. On a more personal level. My dad started to play switch games with me and loved to watch me play during the pandemic. We played Animal Crossing New Horizons, Diablo III, Ace Attorney (Trilogy and Chronicles) and Pokémon Shield together. In Shield, he would do whatever he could to get me a pokemon I wanted, especially shinies. I have so many shiny pokemon just thanks to him trading almost all day for me. Most of them are hacked, yes, but I don't care. It was really just the thought that mattered to me. I have a shiny Porygon Z named Jitters that he went above and beyond just to get me. Unfortunately, in 2021 he passed away due to Covid. These Pokémon are. More important to me than ever. Because they were some of the last gifts he got me before he passed. Jitters specifically will always mean the world to me. And I will always name a shiny Grimmsnarl "Mr. Legs" based off a joke I had with my dad about its gigantamax form.

Damn. Now I want to hunt a shiny Scorbunny and name it "Sparky" (one of my dad's nicknames) since that was his chosen starter. I think I'll go start that now.

If you read this. Why? But also. Thank you. Sometimes I just need to talk about this stuff. And why certain things mean so much to me. Anyways. See yall later. Maybe I'll reblog and update this post if I get my Scorbunny.

[seldomscilence16]

Whumptober Day 20:

"People don't change people, time does."

Blanket | found family | "you will regret touching them."

Fandom: Merlin

Prompts used: allish

This one's all over the place, it took me two days and went away from what I wanted, making the next day shorter lol. But it's here.

….

Merlin- if anyone deigned to ask- would say coffee shops were one of his favorite things about the future. Sure there were quite a lot of things he enjoyed about the ever changing world- plumbing, running water, unions, etc- but Coffee and coffee shops were up near the top. Sure he sometimes- all the time- missed Gaius and his concoctions, and… well everything except the constant threat of death.

If you were gonna live an endless life, you needed caffeine in Merlins humble opinion, and since he was the only one he knew of, his opinion mattered most. He wondered how long he could live off of caffeine and spite….

"Mr. Emrys!" The voice pulls him from his thoughts, a young teen running up to him.

"What are you doing out this early, Kim?" He greets her with a smile, taking a sip of his newly acquired energy source.

"I was hoping to find you at the library, but saw you before I got there! I need your help!"

His smile falls at her slightly panicked tone,

"What's wrong?"

"My parents don't believe me, and if they don't believe me then the cops won't! I dont know who else to go to-"

"Come sit down, take a breath. What happened?"

The outdoor seating area is deserted this early, and Merlin is glad for the privacy, as the two sit across from each other.

"I… I saw something weird yesterday afternoon." She starts, biting at her lip nervously, Merlin nods in encouragement, "I was at the library, studying, when I heard a weird noise. I was worried someone was hurt, so I went to check and…" she looks around, lowers her voice, and they both lean in, "He came out of the book. Climbed out of it like a clown out of a car."

He blinks, taking this in, and looks at Kim seriously,

"Kim, I need to know what book, and what he looked like, can you do that for me?" He keeps his voice calm, steady, trying not to scare her, she looks caught off guard but quickly nods.

"It was one of the Arthurian Legends books, I… there was nothing too special about him except his clothes, like he was straight out of Arthurian times. He muttered something about the nights? And left in a hurry…"

The nights… or the Knights… this could be very bad.

"Thank you Kim. I'll take care of this, don't worry." They hold eye contact for a moment before she nods and stands.

"Thank you Mr. Emrys. Be safe." She hesitates for only a moment before hurrying down the street.

Merlin releases a troubled sigh, he doesn't quite understand it, the books were practically fiction at this point- no matter how much Merlin tried to fix it- for a 'character' to emerge… well it didn't seem likely. Traveling by book? Immersing one's physical self in a book? It was puzzling, and did not make a lot of sense, but if someone had come back, and they were looking for 'the knights', then trouble was brewing.

It seems he had some research to do once more.

The thing with reincarnation, was that you never know how soon one will re enter life, or what they'll look like. So the universe decided to curse Merlin multiple times over, for every incarnation he'd found of his past were identical to the faces he'd find now. It was painful, to see familiar faces, and have no recollection pass on them when they see you. To be cursed to walk the world until Albions greatest hour of need comes about, when you know no such place truly exists any longer, and that knights will not be what is needed in this changed world…

But even if his knights were strangers right now, he would save them, he'd always save them.

Leon, Gwaine, Lancelot, Percival, and Elyon. They've had many names since, and some lifetimes they are all there, others only some, and some none at all. Merlin has had all the variations of it, the pain never stops, a link to the past suspended out of his reach by no one but the universe itself. Sometimes he thinks he sees others too, a glimpse of Gwen, a look not unlike Gaius', Morgana through the crowd, a child like Mordred, a million other faces too, but never for more than a second, only left with the lost feeling of panic and sorrow.

This time round it's not hard to find them. Names practically the same, clustered not far from here, it's almost too easy to find them and he wonders why they haven't crossed paths yet in this life. He shakes the thought, he's been keeping busy this time round, a distraction sure, but what else could he do? He takes a breath, staring in the mirror as his form shifts. His aged appearance gains youth, his red scarf really makes the bags beneath his eyes pop, he can almost fool himself… that it's all been a dream…

He hurries out before he can reminisce anymore than that. He had people to save.

"Yo, dude, if this is some weird LARP thing, can you leave me out of it? I got work to do!" Eli strains against his bindings, yelling at the door before him.

The men on either side of him are doing much the same, looking just as peeved as he is.

"Yeah mate! Whatever game you're playing, I don't want any part of it!" The guy with dark shoulder length hair to match the scruff on his face, goes for an easy going tone, but he can hear the barely restrained anger in it.

"This is ridiculous. How did one man manage to capture six fully grown men by himself, let alone keep us contained? Does anyone feel drugged?" The longer haired blond seems to be taking the methodical route of getting his own bindings undone, but to no avail.

"I'm too coherent, so, gonna say no."

"Surely if we work together one of us can get free, there's no way rope is this strong." The other blond's frustration only seems to grow with every failed attempt to free himself.

"It's good rope if it is." The tallest of them comments idly, large muscles straining and rubbed raw from the rope rubbing the exposed skin.

"Keep quiet in there! There's one more to come, then revenge will be ours…" the voice fades as their capture walks away, pacing as he's been doing.

"Oh gods, he's smeagling, this is not good." G

"Did you just use smeagle as a verb?" E

"How would you describe his behavior then?" G

"Uh, crazy." E

"Alright enough, arguing will get us nowhere." A

"Everything is getting us nowhere." La

"I swe-" whatever the short haired blond was planning on retorting is cut short as a loud noise echoes through their location- an abandoned something- and the six men fall quiet.

"You!? This whole time… you will pay for killing my Lady! The true Queen!"

"Yeah, Crazy works…"

The building is old, some small dingy little house long abandoned, Merlin assumes the guys are in the cellar, but if they'd been captured then he couldn't take this mysterious guy for granted. [See he could learn things.] So he makes an entrance, the door easily slamming off its hinge and making a rather loud crash in the space. The man is as unremarkable as Kim said, the black layered robe he wears the only indication he's not from around here- the fabric, Merlin can tell, is OLD.

"You!? This whole time… you will pay for killing my Lady! The true Queen!"

Ah, so a follower of Morganas then… or maybe Morgause, Merlin thinks a few people wanted her on the throne. It didn't matter one way or the other, Merlin could sense the Knights below, which means this was a dangerous enemy, who had it out for him.

And he had just been thinking about how he HADN'T missed the mortal danger.

Though, he wasn't mortal…

Whatever, he probably needed a fight anyway.

The guy fires first, an ameteur spell, that reminds Merlin that his knights are not knights in this world and any magic would be a lot for a mortal of this time period. He had been hoping for a challenge so his magic could have a small release. Though he supposes the guy, at least, has quite a bit of perseverance.

"I think these mortals have made you soft!" He taunts, out of breath but grinning with blackened and broken teeth, "Perhaps we should change the stakes, Emrys!"

He begins muttering under his breath, quick and malicious, Merlin recognizes the dark aura-all too often a favorite of his adversaries- but it's not directed at him, no it's directed towards the door they'd ended up at. Or rather, who lays beyond. Screams echo from beyond the wood, and they, like all the others he's heard, will engrave themselves into his memory. They are too familiar, his friends in pain, four- no… six voices calling out in agony-

His eyes glow, his hair flutters wildly, he speaks no spell but the man hits the ground like a rock anyway. The screams cut off, but Merlin isn't done,

"You will regret touching them." His voice echoes around them, low and dark.

"B-but you… you are Emrys, you don't-"

"You were wrong before, People don't change people, time does. And I've had an abundance of that."

"M-my lady will have her revenge! You are not safe from her wrath! Arthur Pendragon will fall! And Camelot-" His scream cuts off his revenge monologue, as he turns into a piece of paper.

He came from a book, but was simply a puppet character, there was someone else behind his entrance. He burns the page, making his way towards the cellar entrance. Beyond he finds five men tied to chairs- though the magic infused rope has since lost its magic- they are unconcious, chests heaving with the after effects of the spell. Percival, Gwaine, Arthur, Elyan, Lancelot and Leon.

Arthur, the spitting image of his Kingly self, and the first Merlin has seen since that day, when he'd lowered him into the lake.

Its a new kind of torture, he supposed, the universe telling him what he feared, that Albion truly was gone, and the world would move on, and that Merlin was truly alone.

Arthur wakes with a groan, the softest of blankets covering his sore form. As he shifts he feels the tell tale pull of bandages over his arms, and wonders what happened this time, where was Merli-

Merlin. Who… no he knew. He'd been on the ball field practicing, when he'd gotten dizzy… he awoke tied to a chair alongside five other men- no his Knights- but they weren't were they… they weren't in camelot they were in Britain, but he was in the forest, no the field-

"Bullocks, my head feels like it was done in by a mace- where am I?"

Arthurs head turns to the side, Gwaine- was that his name now? Did he know?- was sitting up in his own bed, and past him were the other four-

"We… were in the cellar last right?" Elyon asks, voice hoarse- and gosh all of them were, they'd screamed when-

"With Smeagle crazy man yeah." Lancelot agrees, looking at them all with wide eyes, "Don't think I knew you guys then… not until… What had that guy said?"

"Emrys." Leon says.

"Magic…" Gwaine whispers.

Everyone turns to him with wide eyes, cementing the fact they were all on the same page.

"So, if we're all here…" Percival starts, eyeing wherever here was.

"Then where's Merlin??"

The small clinic was funded by a founding family of the small town they'd found themselves in. The Emrys family.

"They said he lived here." Leon says, looking at the obviously old but well taken care of house.

"Hey, look here." Lancelot- Lance- runs his hands along one of the posts on the entrance to the porch. As they gather, they find- carefully etched and preserved- the seals of their houses and of Camelot.

"So either scarily coincidental or we're in the right place." Gwaine gives a lopsided grin, only slightly tinged with uncertainty.

"Great, Percy you knock." Leon pats the larger man's arm who gives him a look of betrayal.

"I'll knock you ninnies." Arthur walks up the steps, brave face in place, and taps the door a few times.

"I thought you said knock, your majesty." Elyon goads, Lance snickers beside him.

Arthur glares, raising his arm again only for the door to open before he can. The man before them is older than they are, yet somehow holds himself on a delicate line of seeming both older and younger. Eyes that have seen far more than any should, and yet they glimmer with something as he eyes them. He may be older looking, but Arthur can't mistake the feeling of knowing, and the pain that comes with seeing how tired, how much weight seems to lay on his shoulders.

He's tense, eyes red rimmed with darkness smudged underneath, but he offers a small smile.

"Good to see you gentlemen awake, you'd been through quite the ordeal- or so I heard." He says, rubbing a hand over his face.

His red scarf is a pop of color and achingly familiar paired with bright blue eyes.

"Yeah, we were saved by someone, named Emrys." Elyon responds, the knights coming closer, familiarity clear in their eyes.

The man falters, his shoulders pulled downward by an invisible force,

"Well-"

"We know its you Merlin ya clotpole." Arthur can't stand it another second, the last time he saw Merlin he was well… dying.

Merlin's eyes widen, staring at the group like he's waiting for the joke.

"It's alright Merlin, I think we all know at this point." Lancelot's smile, reassuring and comforting, does not have Merlin's tension easing, but he does lose the wide eyes.

He shimmers before them for a moment, a golden glow from his eyes to his feet, before the Merlin they all know stands awkwardly in the doorway. There's a bit of fear in his posture, but a resigned look to his eyes now obviously red from tears he'd shed recently. Arthur thinks Lancelot and Gwaine look ready to fight anyone, but while there may be a bit of surprise, there is no true anger or fear from anyone, even Arthur himself is lacking it.

He thinks he surprises everyone when he pulls the beanpole into a hug.

"It's been a long time, my friend." He murmurs, as his shirt becomes wet and wrinkled from a teary face and tight grip.

The others gather round to encircle the magic user, their friend, a blanket of warmth they hadn't realized they needed falling over them. Like they were finally home.

(Myrddin Emrys is the name hes using atm, but I never got it in there :/)

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

I JUST FINISHED EPISODE SIX AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

I AM NOT FREAKING OKAY!!!!!

I was tearing up during Miss Jenn's goodbye to Ricky and Gina and through Emmy's song 😭😭😭😭😭 and after I finished the episode I went back to watch Over Again again and also a few of the in between flashback scenes and I started tearing up AGAIN at the same spot 😭😭😭.

It's just- I know how it feels. I wasn't able to make it to the meeting because I was sick, but our musical was cancelled. And I was there as it went down hill. I was there when my theatre teacher announced she wasn't coming back the next year. I remember crying and hugging her, and when she left down the hallway I remembered starting to sob. I remember when I heard the news that my friend, from my theatre family, had passed away. I remember tearing up when my teacher said she was proud of me after a show. I'm about to tear up again now - I feel the prickles xd.

I just- I felt this. It may not have been the end of our department but I've been through it. And it hurts, it really, really hurts. Add that to how much I love these kids, the amazing acting, this show having always been there for me, and the fact that I'm not ready to let it go yet? Yeah, I'm tearing up xd. I'm just gonna straight up call it crying at this point xd. Tears may not have escaped my eyes more than like a tiny bit/halfway, but I was almost sobbing breath wise.

I just love this freaking show so much <3.

Okay x'd! Now, uh, for everybody's parts xdd.

Alright I'll be honest I have no idea how I'm gonna make it through this, especially any semblance of quickly, but I really wanna watch the next episode xDD. Even after washing dishes my emotions are just a Lot lol. But, alas, let's try homies xD.

First of all - you know where I'm going with this ;). Actually, wait, no, I'm putting them last lol. I can do whatever I want :)!

Okay so Ashlyn and Kourtney's flashback y'all 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️. I'm literally not okay <333. The fact that they're the ones who convinced each other to join :'DDD?? And also that it was because of Nini and EJ, or just EJ lol but you know, for both of them XDD. Way to speaks ill of the not here guys LOL xDD /lh. Anyway, OH MY GOSH I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH 😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️💔🥰. They are. The sweetest <3333. Thank you very much 😭 :'))) :'( <333 🥰🥰.

Also, individually, I'm so happy Kourtney's in a bit of a better place 🥰. And her giving advice at the beginning? Look how far she's come 😭😭😭❤️❤️. I'm so proud of her <33.

And Ashlyn, stepping into the spotlight theatre wise her entire time on the show :'). And we didn't even fully know <3. I honestly just love my girl so much <33 😭❤️.

Maddox and Jet just being there for all of this was hilarious xD. Also of course them standing next to the pair in the last paragraph in their couples for Over Again :'))). I'm not okay 😭😭😭❤️. But honestly I feel awful for them 😭😭❤️💔. Like Maddox said, they just got here. But hey, it's saved!!! Forgot I'm not feeling awful for them anymore :'DD. But seriously, I love them <33. I was wondering if they would try and work them in, but sometimes, you're just the new kids :').

Also Maddox helping out with Over Again 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️. Also I know I mentioned it but her actually saying "We just got here" was just 😭😭😭💔💔.

And Jet running out and the end :'((. My poor guy is honestly just trying his best and wants a family :'((. But I promise bro, you're gonna get to keep this one :'D.

Anyway, I love them both <333.

Miss Jenn 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️. Her flashback with Mr. Mazzara was amazing (and not knowing Turing was hilarious XDD) 😭❤️❤️, I just love them :')). And honestly she was just giving me so many emotions this episode 😭😭😭💔❤️❤️❤️🥰. And AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! MISS JENN ORIGIN STORY!!!! THE FULL REASON IS BECAUSE OF ALYSON REED!!! BECAUSE OF MS DARBUS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰. Y'all it's the way I'm so not okay :')). And AUUUWWHHHHHHH THE IDEA OF WONDERING CAME FROM HER TOO!!!! SO SHE HELPED FORM ASHLYN TOO 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️🥰!!! AND "TRUST THE PROCESS"!!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Y'all I'm just still so not okay over that 😭 xdd. And like I said- Miss Jenn kept getting me teared up at the end :')). I just can't <333.

Also, her flashback with Carlos 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰. AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Y'ALL I AM STILL S O NOT OKAY OVER THAT :'DDDD DD': 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔❤️❤️🥰 <3333. My babeys <333. And AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH CARLOS GAVE HER THE NAME OF MISS JENN!!!!! NAME ORIGIN STORY TOO :'DDDDD!!!! Y'ALL WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS 🥰🥰🥰😭 <333. I'm kidding we totally deserved this :'). Anyway, I just love her so much 😭❤️.

Mr. Mazzara 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️!!! HONEYYY!!! He was a part of a boy band :'DDD. That was joy for a second lol but it kinda works :')). Anyway, also SLGKFHDKGS XDD!! But honestly him crying in that flashback killed me 😭😭😭💔❤️. It may not have been quite as emotional as some of the others, his story that is, but it still hit :')). Also AAAHHHHHH HIM YELLING AT PRINCIPAL GUTIERREZ TO GIVE MISS JENN TIME WITH HER KIDS YESSSS 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️💔🥰❤️❤️😭. I'm not okay, thank you very much <3. And AAAHHHHHH his bit with Ricky at the end :'DD. He recommended him :'))) 😭😭❤️. I just love him so much <333.

Poor Emmy 😭😭😭😭💔. The tearing up continued through her song :'). As soon as I saw the lights and stuff turning on I was like ":')) all she wanted to do was sing on that stage :'( :')". And she DID 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰. AND SHE SLAYED SO HARD!!!! WHOOO :'DDD!! ALSO SHE SAVED THE SHOW :'DDD!!!!! AAAHHHHHH :'DD!!! Thank you girly :')). Congrats <33. Also her leaving at the beginning was so sad 😭. I'm glad that for right now it's worked out better :')).

Ricky :'))). AAAAHHHHHHH I'm so proud of him he made it into college :')). I really hope he can manage to get those grades up - especially with what sounds like new drama headed their way xdd. But I think it'll be okay :')). Also I just love Rocky's reactions to things xD. Like the needing to sit down, and the chills lol xD. I love him your honor. And AAAAHHHHHHH his and Gina's flashback 😭😭😭😭😭💔❤️🥰🥰. They really are here because of each other :')). OAUGH!! Not okay <3.

GINAAA 😭😭😭❤️❤️. I'm not okay <333. Again, their flashback :')). I feel so bad for my girl 😭😭💔. Early Gina really was going through it :'((. And she was being out in boxes :(. And then she signed up for auditions because of Ricky, and she gave him the perfect advice to make everything happy, and I just :'DDD. I love her so much 😭😭🥰❤️. You made the right choice, girl :')). So many times <333. Also, her and Ricky's goodbye to Miss Jenn, especially after being the ones trying to stay on track and try to save the show the eitr episode 😭😭😭💔💔❤️. Y'all, I'm I'm not okay <33. AND AAAHHHHH I think she's gonna get offered a movie or a TV show or something- OH RIGHT QUINN'S NEW MOVIE!! We'll probably that, but won't take but <3. I mean, maybe she will!! But I doubt it :).

Carlos. I'm gonna talk about them separately first so we're talking about his flashback :'). Y'ALL. THE WAY I LOST MY M I N D DURING THIS FLASHBACK 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔❤️. I saw the ice and guessed, but then they actually talked about it and I just :'D D':. Like, I'm so glad it was confirmed, because ~angst~ but it's also just really sad 😭💔. I feel awful for him :'((. But Miss Jenn saved him :')). And I'm so glad for that <333. AND AAAHHHH HE NAMED HER!! Y'all I'm literally not okay 😭😭❤️❤️❤️.

SEB USED TO DATE NATALIE??!?!!! W H A T!??!!!!?? So my question is, is he bi or was he just not out yet xD. Or dating her in a beards kind of way lol. Ah, I don't know, but whatever :')). ALSO UHH WAS HE ON THE WRESTLING TEAM?? I have no clue, but I loved getting to know new things about him :')). Also them passing Carlos in the flashback 😭😭😭❤️❤️. And Seb being the one to convince Natalie to join :'DD!!!! Oh gosh I just love them so much <333.

And now, it's time :'). ~Seblos~.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'M NOT OKAY!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH 😭😭😭💔❤️❤️❤️🥰😭.

Seb rushing in and talking about how guilty he feels and AUGH the homecoming reference I just can't 😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔❤️. Also Carlos's responses xD. But seriously, that entire conversation is just so good 😭😭😭😭💔❤️. And of course the whole Natalie reveal lol xd xD. And AAHHHHH the fact that Over Again is a song for Ryan and his partner :'DD. Oh my gosh <33. I mean nah, it's totally for Seblos, but still, you know 🥰🥰. Ryan and him and have it too <333 lol xD. And AAAHHHHHH Y E S S S RICKY NUMBER ONE SEBLOS SHIPPER COMING IN ONE MORE TIME 😭😭😭❤️❤️. I've found the cussing hilarious this season just because it's kinda wild that it does exist and it's usually used kind of comedically but AH yes Seblos deserve one from Ricky xDD.

And I just. Over Again. Oh. My. Gosh. IT IS SO FREAKING GOOD 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💔💔🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰!!!!! IT WAS ABSOLUTELY B E A U T I F U L :'DDDDDD 😭😭😭😭😭💔💔❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰!!! IT'S THE WAY I'M NOT OKAY 😭😭❤️. AND ALL OF THE COUPLES IN THE BACKGROUND, AND MISS JENN AND ASHLYN ENCOURAGING CARLOS 😭😭, AND SEB'S SHOCKED LOOK AND THEN SMILE WHEN CARLOS STARTS SINGING :'DDDDD KGUENSOLSOMA 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰💔💔❤️😭😭❤️!! AND THEN CARLOS SITTING DOWN NEXT TO HIM AND I JUST OH MY G O S H Y'ALL THE WAY THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰!! THE PURE L O V E IN THEIR EYES 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰 :'DDDDDD!! I AM SO NOT OKAY <333333!!! AND HUAGHEIOACMEOAMPEL CARLOS GETTING UP AND GOING AROUND THE PIANO AND CHUCKED THE PAPER I JUST AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHPGIEJAOCMSOALS 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️. IMAGINE AN AAAHHHH DEVOLVING INTO SOBS 😭😭😭 X'DD!! IT'S JUST SO GOOD AND W O N D E R F U L L Y A C T E D AND SO FREAKING AMAZING AND EPIC AND I JUST AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰!!!!! THANK YOU VERY MUCH 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️❤️😭😭😭😭😭 :'))) :'DDDDD!!!!

I. Am so. Not okay :'))) <33.

And then.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! WE GOT A SEBLOS "I LOVE YOU" :'DDDDDD!!!!! SOBBING SCREAMING SHAKING CRYING THROWING UP T H A N K Y O U S O V E R Y M U C H!!!!!

Like okay yeah it was "I-" "I love you too" BUT THEY SAID LOVE A LOT DURING THE SONG TOO OKAY 😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰 :'DDDD AND IT COUNTS 🥰🥰🥰🥰. With or without the song :'))). I do hope we get a full one as well but we probably won't lol.

Also, WE DESERVED A SEBLOS KISS!!! But if we get one before the end of the show then this scene was perfect 🥰🥰🥰🥰❤️😭😭❤️. Well I mean okay lol actually I wish we got a bit more of a solid "Yeah were good :')" in words, like, not in the song lol, but if you just take the song it works <3333. I think I'm just so used to hearing the song that it's hard to reconcile it with the actual show now xD. But seriously, I loved this scene so, so much <33.

And, one more big scream because:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHOOOOOOOOO SEBLOS IS BACK TOGETHER :'DDDDDDDDD 😭😭😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYY :'DDDDD :'))))!!!!!!! <333333!!!!!!

Thank you very much <3 I'm not okay 🥰.

EJ, Nini, Big Red - we missed you :')). So much <333. But I'm sure we'll get them back :'). I mean, not Nini, but you know <3. I think there will at least be a reference :').

And AAAHHHHHHHHHHH WE SAVED THE SHOW :'DDDD!!! AND THE DRAMA DEPARTMENT!!! AND IT WAS COACH BOLTON AND MS. DARBUS :'DDDD!! Well, Bart and Alyson :')). Also, Alyson saying Miss Jenn had to play Ms. Darbus 😭😭😭❤️❤️❤️🥰🥰 :')). Y'all, I'm not okay <333. I'M STRESSED! I'm nervous, I'm scared, and I'm definitely not ready xD. But at the same time, I'm so ready :'D.

I loved this episode, SO freaking much. It was just- oh my gosh, so, so amazing :')). I'm not ready for this freaking show to end <3333 :'). xd But, I'll make it <33. We'll make it :')). I am SO. FREAKING. EXCITED!!!!! For the next episode - the second to last episode :') 😭😭😭💔❤️ -, and the one after that - the last episode :')).

Let's do this y'all :'D.

NOW ONTO EPISODE SEVEN!!!!!!!

[sufferinggod]

Had a great day today. During work hours I was in a meeting/training session with 30 other people. It went well. To no surprise I had the best English out of everyone. Lol. All these people either got heavy ass Mexican accents or they have little to no accent but can't read and mispronounce everything haha. But yeah, surprisingly I participated a lot and was involved through the 8 hour session. But honestly don't feel as if I learned much and I do find that a bit concerning. Like I don't retain much knowledge with these meetings because I don't take them seriously lol and don't pay attention much. I try to focus because I know I should but I don't feel like I retain much knowledge or learn much. But yeah. Then I watched Spain get knocked out of the world cup. And I watched the first half of Portugal vs Switzerland. So yeah good day overall. And tomorrow we're supposed to be getting a huge check. I hope it's actually a lot and I get a good amount. Like I said it's this thing they do here in Mexico every December. So yeah. I want my bed and my TV so I hope I get a lot. Then I Friday I get paid so yeah. Getting paid twice this week. And now I'm about to turn on the PS4 and start playing the new Overwatch update. I'm gonna buy the new Battle Pass and start grinding. This time I'm definitely gonna complete the whole thing. I almost finished the last one I just needed 5 more tiers but it's ok. This one I'm gonna complete the whole thing. So yeah, things have been going good.... And I've been ghost on social media besides Tumblr. I have posted or uploaded anything for 4 days. That's a new record. I needed a break bro. I always need a break from things. I always need to disappear sometimes. Wonder when I'll decide to come back. It's unfortunate that I go ghost during the world cup. My friends know me for a huge soccer freak and I completely decide to dissappear during the world cup lol

[latina4rmbx]

Lover

I contemplated many a day on what to put for this particular title. I decided to share a memory.

You know how they say hindsight is 20/20? Yeah, youth is definitely wasted on the young. As I get older, I realize how naive I have been in my life. Naive is not necessarily a BAD word. I've been very trusting and sometimes just not in the know.

Back in the days before Instagram, right after the creation of Facebook (not The Facebook) there were these sites called BlackPlanet and MiGente. This was the dating apps before there were DATING APPS.

I met a man from MiGente and he and I used to see each other rather frequently, but he was NOT anything I could really put a label on. Or so I thought.

One day I called Mr. Man and he answers the phone, "Hi lover..." I literally don't know what the fuck else he said after that because I sort of passed out. Mind you, I might've been maybe 27, if that. I promise you the age is a HUGE factor AND the fact that I was just clueless (LOL Yes familia, I've had less clues than a incomplete box of the game).

"Hi lover..." (BLANK). Now, any conversation that came after that is irrelevant because like I said, my mind was BLANK. When I finally found the mental stamina to think properly I wondered...What does he mean by lover? Like seriously, what did he mean by lover.

Up until that point, I've been a girlfriend, a wifey, a side chick, a pendeja I mean all of the things, but I never realized that in ALL of those titles I was a lover.

This man, who was only in his early to mid-30's called me such a sophisticated word. I honestly didn't think I deserved such a title.

If you know me, you KNOW I asked him what he meant by calling me his lover. Was there someone and I was like your mistress? Lets be honest, generally speaking, when you hear someone call another someone lover, it's usually the side boo.

He said "No silly," Let me pause right here because he was so patient with me at times. He was compassionate and understanding and that was something I truly adored (and still adore) about him.

"No silly, that's what you are, my lover." Insert school girl blush here.

Again, I felt way too immature to be called by such a word. I never even considered that what we had was even love. Not saying because you call someone a lover doesn't mean you're in love or there's even love there. I'm sure you've seen a Telenovela or Soap Opera where the woman (generally it's a woman) who exclaims: "I've taken a lover." It's usually some pool boy or young man who is old enough for consent but young enough to be her child.

He called me his lover, because we were fucking (for lack or want of a better term) but there certainly WAS love there. I didn't know at the time that how he felt. I thought it was a flippant description of our relationship. It surely was not.

In more recent conversations with him we reminisce about being lovers and all that actually entailed. YES, there was sex and lots of it but there was care and we went out on dates and we had fun and we laughed so much.

Familia, you know how I flip definitions around right? I want to look up the definition of lover. Of course I'll share it with you (if there are multiple definitions I'll add the one(s) that are close to what my brain thought it was).

Well, there are MANY and they all are interesting:

DEFINITION OF LOVER

1. a person who greatly enjoys something or has great affection for something (a lover of fine wine)

2. a person who loves sexually or romantically; specif.,

a. either partner in a sexual relationship of any kind

b. either partner in an adulterous or otherwise illicit sexual relationship

 OLD-FASHIONED

c. the illicit male sexual partner of a married woman

d. a person with regard to his or her degree of sexual skill, responsiveness, etc.

3.�� a couple in love with each other or in a sexual relationship with each other

Now, not to say that I got it right, but I definitely did AND surprisingly, the definition I was considering is already there. It's number 3. At least the first part of #3.

Sufficed to say that he and I are no longer lovers. We haven't been lovers in a long time (how long is long time you ask - approximately 9 years - give or take) but he and I still keep in contact.

Why would you want to keep in contact with an ex lover? Well, because we're mature (at least I have) and there was an abundance of love. We don't hang out or go out to eat or do any of those other things we used to do but we DO check ins once in a blue. Why? Because there was love. It's that simple. There was real love and so there's still affection and care and humanity.

There are lines we would never cross. Not again. He's in a happy and healthy committed relationship and I happy and healthy LOL. I am also happy for him. Some may say, it's a slippery slope and yes it could be...for others, not for us.

I was his lover, once upon a time. The memories will always exist and there will be this warmth of affection toward each other, nothing more. More than that, he was my lover and I was too immature to realize it.

Sorry familia, I have to log in to work. Mind the business that pays me.

Before I sign off, I hope you find a lover that shows you love and affection and patience and compassion but more than this...I hope you are mature enough to see it when you have it.

Thanks for reading.

XOXO

[aaghht]

minor spoilers for the usagi chronicles series but just wanna try and figure out a timeline here, so...

Miyamoto Usagi is established as a "distant ancestor" of Usagi

Yuichi Usagi lives in a futuristic Edo inspired era/re-imagining of the comic world

Neo Edo exists about 1000 yrs into the future? (i think the show itself doesn't establish this as strictly, so i think might have gotten this from some NYCC livestream or something) Edit (24.10): Actually, the show establishes this a few times, but it's a bit vague/always the same:

One of the dog police guarding Usagi in ep 2 tells him the story of Miyamoto Usagi and how he was a big traitor, starting with:

In the first ep, it's established that a 1000 years ago, something happened with the main villain Kagehito, to make him hate Miyamoto Usagi - for sealing him in the Ki-Stone for a thousand years.

The same episode, Karasu-Tengu also mistakes Usagi for Miyamoto, and says a similar line about the Ki-Stone:

Then the season end establishes that this sealing of Yokai and Kagehito by Miyamoto Usagi was to hold off an invasion from another dimension/space a 1000 years ago.

Another little factoid to build on: in the 1st ep, when meeting Usagi, Gen says it's the first time he's seen a rabbit in the city;

(edit end)

Auntie mentions in the 1st ep that her and Usagi's great-grandfather made her sword, Edgewing, together "back when I was your age." - so I assumed here first that Miyamoto is the great-grandfather Auntie means here. (edit: again, how old is Auntie if she's had her sword for that long???)

so when in season 2, Usagi and crew save Neo Edo and then visit the temple again, they see Miyamoto Usagi reflected from the Ki-Stone, he calls Usagi his grandson. I checked this in translations and the subtitles too and there's no mistaking his words there.

so I'm just wondering... What is the timeline here?? how many generations have passed between Miyamoto's time and Usagi's time?

Also, since they have different last names (Miyamoto and Yuichi) and Yuichi is his grandson, I guess I can only assume that Miyamoto Usagi had at least two daughters: Auntie and Yuichi's mom.

edit 2 (Oct 24): The 2nd season establishes that at some point, Miyamoto sent his sword, Willow Branchs away for safekeeping with a servant. The sword is lost in a war those same "1000 years ago"so at what point did Miyamoto Usagi of this series die? How old is Auntie? What's the life-span of rabbits that there are so few of them that a bounty hunter like Gen (who we will assume, travels or at least sees people a lot), would be surprised to see a rabbit in the city?

This begs another question.... if we assume their lifespans are actually quite long.... How many rabbits are left?

a 1000 years is definitely enough time for a heroic character like Miyamoto to be rumored into a villain, but even a 100 years is enough for that sometimes, so is it really a 1000 years?

Yokai are mythical beings so they can basically exist and remember a time like that easily enough, but since they've been locked away for a whole 10 centuries... (edit end)

sdfsdfsdfs i would just like to know more plz

seriously, this show is so fun but i know almost nothing abt the og comic series except maybe stuff I once read on fan wikis, so I guess I'll have to introduce myself to the series proper one day. I believe the series is a bit more removed from the series in that it exists in the comic world but in a further away sci-fi future, so it isn't too bad that it's left vague in the Netflix series.

but I'm still just wondering??? so Yuichi Usagi is a grandson???

Gen, Kitsune and Chizu are also either distant descendats/direct re-interpretations and unique takes on the side-characters of the og comic series, so very non-seriously I'm just wondering here how the family trees look like lol

edit 3 (Oct 24th): so with all this in mind..... is Auntie Miyamoto's daughter and then, Usagi's own mom, his youngest daughter? How old did the other characters from the og Usagi's time live? How many generations have passed for their families? Gen has a family tree, but both Chizu and Kitsune are orphans - how old aaahhh so many questions (edit end)

also listening to an interview with both Stan Sakai and art director Khang Le on this podcast and it all just sounds so inspiring to me but I just thought I'd make this post to think about what the timeline/relation might be. I also think it might not be that important since the show itself seems to be spiritually faithful as a spinoff to the comic, but still, got a bit curious haha!

edit 4 (Oct 24th): also, from that same interview, I remember they mentioned that Neo Edo as a futuristic city (a 1000 years from the Edo-era of the Usagi Yojimbo series) has flying cars. There are talking appliances (not Yokai-posessed), vending machines (a staple of modern japanese cities?) and futuristic games, like TRON-esque car racing games, but interestingly, no phones. So the crew put a bit of thought into that - what would a futuristic world without phones look like?

signed - Aghht, 19th October, 2022 (might add more as I remember)

[fieurissons]

sometimes i think about full throttle wonhan a bit too much and want to cry. dont ask me why cause i wouldn’t know what to answer

so, I have no idea if this is what you were looking for coming in here, but I just remembered having, um, word-vomited is probably a good term for it, a short wonhan prequel sometime ago. and I'm going to share it with you, because I appreciate you thinking about them. plus, why not?

disclaimer: I don't know how evident this part of their relationship is in existing literature (lol) because I've never explored it properly. but. in my head. this has always been there.

warning for sexual content. :)

Jeonghan stares at the ceiling until the breath he draws no longer strains his lungs. He turns his gaze to Wonwoo then, lying flat on his stomach, sweat pooling at the subtle dip on his lower back. Jeonghan nudges him.

“Mmhm?”

“Don’t betray me,” he says, the words ringing more as a plea than a threat.

Wonwoo makes a noncommittal noise and Jeonghan waits. To see whether he’s worth opening his eyes for.

As it turns out, he is. Lashes fluttering, Wonwoo’s bright and clear gaze finds him within a few heartbeats. Jeonghan stares back.

“I won’t,” answers Wonwoo, brows drawn together in all seriousness. “I won’t sleep with anyone else.”

Jeonghan barks out a sharp laugh, startling him. He’s got so much to learn, hasn’t he?

“I don’t care about that.”

He frowns, mouthing Jeonghan’s words back as he tries to read between the lines. It takes him a moment, which Jeonghan generously allows. Understanding passes over his features, softening them a fraction before determination sharpens the handsome contours once again.

“When I race, I win for us,” he murmurs. Jeonghan wonders how many races back has that started to feel true for Wonwoo, given the deafening conviction in his barely audible voice. “And you already know my hands create only for you.”

Archangel, Wonwoo had affectionately named his creation, a nod to the vow he made Jeonghan when he agreed to build her. I'll make you fly. No, I'll make you soar. The man who has given Jeonghan wings is also the man best positioned to clip them.

“So… no matter where I am," Wonwoo closes the distance between them, gravitating into Jeonghan's space. "What I’m doing," he noses along Jeonghan's jaw, Jeonghan tilting his head back reflexively. "Or who I’m with—"

A low whisper into Jeonghan's ear: "I will come when you call.”

Wonwoo's kiss-bruised mouth lands on Jeonghan's own, warm and seeking. His cloying words would have swooned a lesser man, his silver tongue forcing them to their knees, worship-ready. Jeonghan's been around long enough to need more than subtle implications. He pushes away, their lips bidding each other farewell with a soft note.

"Always is a dangerous promise."

"It's one I'm making," says Wonwoo, gracefully bearing the weight of Jeonghan's gaze like a golden crown.

What does it say about him, when he's already imagining the ways Wonwoo would break a promise made barely a minute ago? But when Wonwoo makes a gentle coaxing noise, Jeonghan lets the sweet tendrils of ill-conceived dreams wrap around his heart.

Eventually, Jeonghan nods. Wonwoo imprints his smile on the edge of his shoulder, then rolls back to sleep.

[nose-bandaid]

a hug per dollar

hello! it's me, the platonic anon from before... may i request a non-romantic, changgu & gender-neutral reader, coffee/study date? and maybe you could work in a reassuring hug 🥺 thank you so much 💛

Yeo One (Changgu) x (gender neutral) Reader | Platonic fluff + comfort?! | 1.8k words

synopsis: overworking can sometimes be an easy, but terrible habit to fall into, but luckily, changgu is there to drag you out when you do.

a/n: lol i think i projected this to have 1.2k but it ended up with 1.8 but i am not complaining !!!! to my dear platonic anon, sorry this took so long ksdhfkdsj i hope you enjoy it !! i may or may not have done an uno reverse on stud.hui.o fanatic because now it is the reader who's overworking BAM 💛

=====

"Don't you think we've been here for long enough?"

Your hand stopped writing the flurry of notes and you looked at your friend, who peered back at you over his laptop. "Changgu, it's literally only been..."

You flipped your phone over to look at the time on its display and faltered when you realized just how late into the day it was. "I guess we have been here for a while."

"Which is exactly why I think we should—"

"But I'm not ready to leave yet!" You snapped back, immediately backing off when you realized how harsh your voice was.

"You didn't get much sleep last night, did you?" He pressed on and you buried your face back into the piles of work laid in front of you.

"We don't talk about that either."

He let you be and the two of you went back to working in silence for the next while until Changgu eventually got up from his seat. Your eyes followed him as he stretched and let out a sigh. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom."

"Okay." You replied, and returned to your work.

=====

Not long after, a juice box slid into your view and you looked up at Changgu who returned after his bathroom break that took much longer than a usual bathroom break would've taken. You quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

"You got juice from the bathroom?"

He laughed and you took note of the other juice box in his hand — the exact same flavour as yours. "Of course I did. They added vending machines in the bathroom recently, didn't you know that?"

You decided to play along. "Is that so? No, I didn't know that. But do enlighten me as to why you would ever trust a vending machine located in the bathroom."

He laughed at your small jest. "Nah, I just went on an adventure to grab us some fuel." He dropped back into his seat and let out a relieved hum as he stared at his laptop. "After finishing that stupid essay I think I deserved the treat."

"You know, if you're done working you can always head back first. I'm fine on my own."

He shook his head adamantly at your offer. "This is our study session, you know? It's a we thing," he emphasized that with a point to the table. "So I'm not leaving until you're also done."

You sent him a small smile in appreciation and returned to your textbook, taking a small sip from the juice box as you did. It was refreshing and in the back of your mind, you wondered how he knew this was your favourite flavour. You didn't recall ever telling him.

"Though I think you've done more than enough work for today."

You didn't miss the next thing he muttered quietly.

"Look, Changgu, I'll just finish this chapter and we can call it today, okay?" You desperately held up a finger to assist in your pleading.

"One chapter and one chapter only." He reluctantly gave in, deciding to get a head start on another assignment in the meanwhile. Once again, you settled back into a comfortable silence, listening to the distant voices of others in the library.

You ended up finishing that chapter quicker than you initially thought you would and it flared up a new flame of determination within you. You could cram in a few more chapters then, right? You'll get them done in no time, especially with the flow you had now.

Agreeing with yourself, you got started right away.

You're pretty sure Changgu noticed when you flipped the page again.

And again.

And again.

Surely he's noticed the way you're slouched over a bit more now, the way your eyes were drooping and your gaze became unfocused. The way you've hardly touched the bag of snacks since he opened it. But you kept on going. Your determination knew no limits and you kept on going despite all the rational part of you that screamed at you to stop.

...Now, where did you leave off before you started daydreaming?

Right, at the end of this paragraph. You returned to staring at the mundane words in the textbook. You swore you were almost finished with this page but you also told yourself that what felt like hours ago. No matter how many times you read the same sentence over and over again, the words never seemed to stick in your mind. Your hand couldn't figure out what to write and what to leave out. All of it seemed important and you cursed the way your next exam weighed so much and yet gave you such vague preparation instructions. If only you had started studying earlier... but wasn't one week enough? Maybe you just weren't fit for this? Probably, because —

Changgu placed his hand onto yours. He gently pulled the pen out of your grasp and gestured for you to look at him.

"Let's take a break, you have no say in it. Seeing you like this makes me exhausted, I can't take this anymore."

No matter how many times you've drilled into your mind that it was absolutely not okay to take a break, the moment you heard the words from someone else, your composure crumbled.

You let out a deep sigh and let your weight rest on the table. "Yeah let's."

Changgu helped you pack your work away after cleaning up his own and waited until you were fully ready. When you slid the chair back to its former home, he held out a hand for you to take and you happily took a place by his side.

"Are you going to take me on another adventure?" You playfully asked, already feeling a little better now that your work was tucked away.

He shrugged. "Honestly, I had no clue where I was going to take you 'cause I didn't think you'd actually stop studying. But sure! Let's make this an adventure."

Stepping outside, you realized how much nicer it was to have a change of scenery. It was already late afternoon, the sun shining brightly above, engulfing you in a pleasant kind of warmth.

You sighed inwardly, this would've been more relaxing if your mind would just stop drifting back to all the work you still to be done. Hadn't you done enough? You worked so hard for the past who-knows-how-many-hours and yet it only left you unsatisfied and even more stressed.

Maybe it just wasn't enough.

A gentle bop on your head brought you out of your thoughts and you stared at Changgu, his hand still raised from bonking your bad thoughts away.

"Stop thinking so much." He crossed his arms and looked at you pointedly.

"Huh?"

Squinting his eyes, his face leaned into yours, getting closer and closer, and you found yourself edging away from the intrusion. Just as quickly as it started, he suddenly disappeared, straightening his back again and letting out a huff.

"Just as I thought."

"What?" You asked again, still lost.

"You're thinking bad things about yourself again! Stop that."

"How did you know?"

He playfully punched your shoulder at that. "I'm your best friend, you think I wouldn't notice these things? You always have this expression on your face when you're beating yourself up. Looks kinda stupid."

Your mouth gaped at his remark. "Hey!'

"I'm kidding, you never look stupid," he smiled and continued. "But what is stupid is you thinking that you're not good enough because you can't keep up with everything that's going on. Can you really blame yourself if some uncontrollable force decided to dump an unreasonable amount of work on you all at once? You're doing your best, which is one, really paying off because I swear you've covered like a billion chapters today. And two, is extremely cool — I heard the group studying behind us gush about how hard you were working and guess what?"

"...What?" You asked hesitantly, still trying to recover from your friend's spiel.

Changgu grabbed your shoulders to keep your attention. "I also think you're really really cool!!" He announced loudly, capturing the attention of a mother and her daughter nearby. They walked away after the initial surprise.

Your lip trembled, not even having it within you to be embarrassed by his public confession. Instead, you were overwhelmed by his kindness. "Changgu..."

He pulled you into a hug and you basked in his presence. The faint smell of fresh laundry lingered on his hoodie and you melted into his comfort. "You're doing great, and you'd be doing even better if you let yourself breathe for a moment. As overwhelming as it may feel, the only thing that's going to bring you down is yourself if you keep on going at this rate — not your work." He gently scolded before he pulled away and cupped your face, eyes boring into yours.

"Got that?"

You nodded hesitantly. "Yes."

"I don't know... that wasn't really convincing..."

You laughed lightly and pushed his hands away from you. "I got it, I got it, Changu. Thank you so much." You found yourself much more relaxed after your talk. "From studying with me to buying me snacks and comforting me... aargh, I appreciate it."

Changgu simply gave you a bright smile. "Anything for you."

That was all he said, but those 3 words were enough to express just how much you meant to each other.

"Besides, I don't think of it as a chore, any time spent with you is great."

You pouted. "You're too good for me, seriously. How can I make it up to you?"

In all honesty, you expected him to dismiss the question, but instead, Changgu's eyes wandered off as he placed a finger on his chin. "Well, I did notice that my favourite drink is on sale when I passed by that cafe on the way here..."

You sent him an amused look. "The juice wasn't enough?"

"Are you telling me to pass on a sale that takes a whole dollar off?"

Once again, you found yourself playing along with his act and your eyes widened. "Oh geez, you're right, we can't miss out on that." Pushing Changgu from behind, you ushered him forward. "Let's get moving! We spent so much time in the library the shop's going to close by the time we get there."

Changgu chuckled as you caught up and fell into step with his movements. "I'm glad to see that you're back to normal."

"And I'm glad we get to save a buck on overpriced drinks. Thanks for everything, Changgu." You swiftly replied and he sent a smile your way.

"Anytime."

[musicallisto]

Congrats on 800 followers!! You write beautifully and deserve every one of them and a thousand more 💕🎉

For the celebration, could I get a vanilla milkshake (ship)? Of Percy Jackson or Narnia?

I'm a straight girl, INFP, enneagram 5, hufflepuff student, and daughter of Athena. I really love any kind of art, from painting, to music, to literature, to sculpture, and anything. That doesn't mean I'm good. Even tho I wish I was. I really like to write, it helps me put my thoughts and feelings in order, and words come easier when I write them down than when I try to talk. The most important thing to me are my friends, my loyalty is one of the little things I actually like about myself.

I'm really bored with my life and always wished of something more, so any kind of media that has a good story it's something I'm a fan of. I'm literally waiting just to be old enough so I can go on my own adventure and live a little.

I'm not a very affectionate person, not in a conventional way anyway, I'm not good enough with words to repeat how much people mean to me (even if they really do), and I don't like to be hugged that often, and only if they're really close to me. But I'm always there for anyone that needs me and I'll try to do the best I can to help.

I don't like small talk, I want to have long talks about everything that comes to mind, whether it is the last book you read or a random thought about the stars, or mythological creatures, or aliens, or your deepest secret or some dumb thing that happened some years ago. Whatever, but a real conversation.

Did I forget to say I'm Mexican? Lol, I speak Spanish and we're known for joking around (And it's probably that I punch someone jokingly before I hug them. Yep, not very good at expressing emotions at first. I can be WAY more open once I gained trust).

I like to take things with calm and humor, but if it's something serious I know how to take the situation seriously and give the best advice and "wise" words I can think of. My friends come looking for my advice often lol whether or not they follow it afterwards. I don't like to talk about my problems, because I don't want to worry any of my friends, and even though I could need help, I just hold it in until it passes (I should follow my own advice and talk to someone but OH WELL...)

I really don't know what else to say. I love to read, and I love musicals, and I'm trying to learn how to play guitar, and I'd like someone with good sense of humor but that I know I can trust.

Anyway, congrats again!! You're really talented and I don't know you that well but you seem like an awesome person. If you don't have time to do this, don't worry 'bout it u.u

here’s your vanilla milkshake! I only did it for percy jackson for lack of time, but I hope you enjoy your story with leo valdez all the same - it’s my reckoning you two would get along pretty well...

Leo is definitely always down for an adventure. He’s the kind of person who effortlessly makes the most boring errand into an epic, and sees the excitement in everything around him, but understands exactly what you mean when you say you want to go out there and see what life has in store for you, for real.

You’re both sitting on your bed in your bedroom - it’s not often you get a break from Camp Half-Blood or Camp Jupiter respectively and are able to go back to your human lives, but whenever you get the chance, you seize it and enjoy the peace -, and talking about your biggest wishes and desires ...

(The conversation came naturally and flows just as organically; because Leo is a childish and excitable fool most of the time, but he understands there’s a time for everything, and he can be particularly serious and insightful when he understands it’s time for him to be)

... And you tell him all you really want in life is to go on an adventure, a real one, unpredictable like a rush of blood to the head.

“Well do I have news for you about a place called Camp Jupiter--”

“I don’t mean running from monsters or fulfilling prophecies... I want to see the world with my friends by my side and live beautiful things. One day, when I’m old enough.”

“Who says you aren’t old enough right now?”

“I’m sorry?”

(He’s straightened up from his slouching position on the mattress, and is looking at you with the utmost seriousness in his eyes.)

“I mean it. Who says we can’t go on an adventure, like, right now?”

“Where could you even go?”

“I don’t know. Got a globe laying around somewhere here?”

You comply, and he spins it, and orders you to jab your finger at it whenever you feel like it (which he doesn’t give a real meaning to, because it doesn’t even have one), to determine where you will go.

“... Moscow?”

“Ah, great place for a son of Hephaetus, love the heat out there.”

But needless to say, when Leo gets a spontaneous idea like that, there’s no use in trying to get it out of his head;

so the following week you are to depart on your trip to Russia, and you can’t hide your excitement. Traveling on a whim with your boyfriend might just be the first step to the adventures you were awaiting...

OK, but Mexican solidarity!!! I love my Latin cousins ugh you guys are so much fun,,

Talking shit about half of your respective Camps in Spanish behind their backs (and from Reyna’s half-smiles she miserably fails to conceal, you feel like you might not be the only ones who find this terribly funny)

“Mira a Jason, siempre tan serio y melancólico. Cuenta la leyenda que la mueca se le quedó grabada en la cara.”

“Pobrecito. Igual alguna profecía le delivra de su maldición de gravedad perpetua.”

“¿Y si le voy a contar un chiste?”

“Creo que solo te abofetará, Leo.”

Expressions of affection are rarely overt between the two of you, because you both tend to deflect your real feelings (especially affection or love) via humor and play them off as something “just for laughs”. You’re also big on tough love, so much so that sometimes the others wonder why you’re always playfully hitting each other’s arms as though you hated each other’s guts.

But the truth is simply that you were always raised to express affection in these ways, and get a bit awkward when you’re expected to be upfront about your feelings. Still, you’re both extremely warm and loving, and your “I love you”s simply have to be deciphered.

And no one deciphers them quite like the other half of the pair. It’s a language that only you two understand; that’s why you’re such a good pair.

800 follower sleepover [CLOSED!]

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

Would you mind sharing a list of visual artists that you know of if it's not a problem? ❤️

Oh, seriously wonderful question - I appreciate it so much, thank you!!

Assuming this is in response to my post about Black and Indigenous creators, I've tried my best to make a good list here. But to be honest, visual art isn't typically a thing I pay a whole lot of attention to except in passing (like, I see a post or something and am like 'OMG!!!' and maybe I think about it for a little bit afterward, but otherwise I tend to move on from it fairly quickly. If you've followed me for a while, you know I tend to obsess over music, and sometimes movies and TV shows, but also literature. Visual art is where I'm, like, a fan, but not usually a super fan, if that makes sense. LOL), so I really had to think and research some in order to properly respond to this ask. But that's not really a problem, so with that preface out of the way, here's my recommendations for you!

Wait I'm sorry one more preface to note: these are contemporary artists and thus they present contemporary art, so if you were wondering about historical art, I'd have to do more research about that. LOL Also, per my previous statement, I'm honestly not familiar with very many visual artists, so those I am listing here will mostly be Indigenous or Afro-Indigenous/Black Native artists. Since I'm not super into visual art as a medium, I shamefully can't name very many Black visual artists (contemporary, in this case, as that is the theme I'm trying to represent by this list). But I'm going to do more research on my own, and once I do, I'll edit this post with my findings or better yet make a whole separate post, since this post is going to be super long. If you were hoping for recommendations of Black and Indigenous historical visual artists, I'd have to get back to you on that another time...although I will say as a gentle reminder: Google is free, and so is Wikipedia. I would probably, to be honest, use Wikipedia as a jumping off point to discover said artists, but it wouldn't be the last or only place I would look (I use Wikipedia as a jumping off point to discover musicians and bands all the time, but as I've found out via this method, lists on Wikipedia and such are often frighteningly incomplete, so I use other methods – even looking for recommendations via the artists I found on Wikipedia at first – to make my research more thorough. And you can do that, too, if you don't already. :) ).

One more (sorry) crucial preface about contacting Indigenous artists and folks in general.

@ChiefLadyBird on IG and Twitter (Chippewa, Potawatomi) - Artist, illustrator. Via social media, this is one of the most well-known artists I could think of off the top of my head (apparently she even has a Wikipedia page, LOL! But actually, that's pretty neat). She makes a lot of nature-themed art, as well as art of Native people (like Buffy Sainte-Marie, AHHH!!!) and erotic art, all of which is simply BEAUTIFUL. She's also made social justice-oriented art, as well, which you might've seen a print of if you're aware of #CancelCanadaDay (since that was quite recent).

@Paige_Pettibon on IG, aka Paige Pettibon, website (Afro-Indigenous/Salish, Black, white) - Visual artist, beader and jewelry maker. For the longest time I only followed her jewelry account (@plain_to_sea) on IG, but when I visited her visual art account I NOTICED SHE DID A PRINT OF BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE AND I'M. :')))) She does all sorts of art judging by her website and IG art account - digital art, charcoal drawings, watercolor paintings, acrylic paintings, and of people and nature and Native art designs, which is all truly beautiful. (I'm a big fan of her charcoal drawings of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin, in addition to her print of Buffy. :'))

@PlateauPop on Twitter and Etsy, @sandrawpb_arton IG, aka Sandra Warriors (Coast Salish) - Artist, jewelry maker, traditional tattoo artist. I've recommended their art before, but I'm more than happy to have an excuse again to recommend them. Their art is some of my VERY FREAKIN' FAVORITE; it moves me and gives me feelings like other art forms I tend to prefer (music, literature) does, which is to say it is incredibly powerful and so beautiful. My favorite piece of theirs is an ink print depicting generations with the Universe as the first generation supporting three future generations of Native people (the first time I saw it I almost cried. It's so gentle and hopeful and just...so achingly beautiful). They mostly make digital art, but they've also shared their ink drawings and if you follow them you can be privy to their paintings and hand print textiles, too! If you've seen my past Settler Saturday posts, they also make and sell jewelry and I would like to buy some some day, heh heh.

@lauren.nicole.creations on IG, aka Lauren Nicole, website (Tongva, Chumash) - Beader, jewelry maker, visual artist. Lauren Nicole not only makes utterly gorgeous beaded jewelry, but she's also a visual artist! I'm most familiar with her floral prints (actually her logo is a calla lily aka A ME, LOL), but she does lots of cool nature prints and stunning abstract art as well as art of people, too. And you can buy her art (or jewelry!) via her website where she has links to her jewelry Etsy shop and Redbubble visual art shop. One day – mark my words – I will own a print of her calla lily painting. :')

@jacobvjoyce on IG, aka Jacob V Joyce, website – Artist, illustrator, singer. I only recently found this person, but it turns out I was almost aware of them much earlier because they're the lead vocalist of the band Screaming Toenail. Their art – occasionally short comics, zine illustrations, digital art, murals – is really lovely, and even if Screaming Toenail isn't a band musically that I can get into (I tried, I will say), I really appreciate Jacob Joyce's art!! Quite a lot of the art on their IG is also on behalf of Out Proud African LGBTI, a UK organization supporting London-area local LGBT+ asylum seekers and refugees.

@nalakwsis on IG, Etsy (Cree) - Beader, illustrator, photographer. I only just recently found this artist via prints shared on behalf of residential school victims and their families (so fucking powerful), but I noticed that they've also shared art depicting what I would consider as: queer love, people, nature and animals, horror (spirits, ghosts...very haunting art, which is tbh also completely up my alley). I love that their art ranges from deeply moving, intense art to calming and curious and maybe vaguely unsettling art.

@emilykewageshig on IG, aka Emily Kewageshig, website (Anishinaabe) – Painter, illustrator. Her art features incredible Native art designs of nature, people, and social justice-oriented art! I didn't follow this artist before now, but when I checked out her account I realized I'd been more aware of her art via other people I follow than I realized.

@inkstitcher on IG, aka Sarah Ayaqi Whalen Lunn (Inupiaq) - Artist and traditional Inuit tattoo artist. I only just now found her account but one of the prints she did of a woman in an eventide gradient is so fucking beautiful I almost started to cry. And she also makes beaded jewelry so, you know, that's an instant follow from me. LOL

@destinyariannastudio on IG, aka Destiny Arianna (Afro-Indigenous/Black, Wampanoag), website - Multidisciplinary artist. She makes absolutely stunning women-centered art that, I would say, also does an incredible job challenging anti-Blackness in Native art. SO IMPORTANT!

@jasmine_shawnaf on IG, aka Jasmine F (Kichwa) - Digital artist. She makes a lot of what I would consider empowering art of Indigenous women, which is so beautiful and touching! She's also done social justice-oriented art, which I also love, ya know. :')

@khavenart1 on IG, aka Kaitlyn Haven, Etsy (Diné) - Digital artist. She does a lot of anime (Ghibli redraws and ATLA-inspired art with Indigenous representation!!!!) themed art, which you can buy on Etsy as stickers and prints. I'm obsessed with her Indigenous ATLA-inspired art oh my god.

@PhilipKaiten on Twitter, website – Digital artist. I found this self-taught artist on Twitter when I happened to stumble across his art not too long ago and thought it was STUNNING. Such beautiful Black art!! And you can buy it on t-shirts and all sorts of products on his TeePublic page (linked), so check it out!

@project_562 on IG, website (created by Matika Wilbur who is Tulalip and Swinomish) - Photographer. Why do you need to know who the fuck Edward Curtis is when Matika Wilbur exists? I'm just saying. (Which, for the record, is not an invitation to look up Edward Curtis, who was a white dude who photographed Native people in a way that heavily contributed to the "vanishing Indian" trope that still persists across the world to this day. You don't need to do that when Matika Wilbur's Project 562 is RIGHT. THERE.) Project 562 is Matika Wilbur's documentary project which endeavors to photograph over 562 Indigenous nations. So if you want to see and be aware of contemporary Native people (of the U.S.A.) in photography FROM a Native photographer's perspective (which is, for example, the best way to consume art about Native people), this is hands-down one of THE BEST photographic examples you can find. Personally, when I look at her photos I can feel the love that went into them, and of course you can visually see the love there, too. :')))))

@artbyciara on IG, website (Chamoru) - Artist. I'm most familiar with her art as the episode covers of the All My Relations podcast, which is always SO beautiful and soft and just...ahh, heart eyes! Apparently she's self-taught, which is incredible as her style feels so familiar and informed. She also makes cool nature and food prints, and she makes and sells jewelry, too! She also sells stickers, socks, bandanas, and enamel pins in her art shop, where you can find and buy all of her art and such!

@deboraiyall, aka Debora Iyall (Cowlitz) - Artist, singer, songwriter, poet. If you've followed me for long enough YOU BETTER KNOW WHO THIS IS. Yeah - she's not just the lead vocalist and songwriter of Romeo Void, one of my very favorite bands ever, but she's also a visual artist and an art teacher!! She was the artist of Romeo Void's It's a Condition album cover art and she's done a lot of amazing art in that linocut style (the style It's a Condition's cover was done in), and she shares her own art as well as her students' art on her personal IG. I adore her and respect her so much, you know, I just can't even.

@lukeswinsonart on IG, aka Luke Swinson (Anishinaabe) – Illustrator, muralist. His art style is so smooth and serene, and I think that such a concept applied to animals which are featured in his art quite often is so amazing...

@ndn.o on IG, aka Otaes (Ramapough Lenape), website - Artist, educator. Does a lot of street art with important Indigenous people-related statistics and facts - seems very (necessarily!) driven to present the truth about Indigenous people and how their well-beings are affected by racism, colonialism, etc.

@morning.star.designs on IG, aka Lanah Jewell, website (French and Oneida) - Illustrator, painter, muralist. I don't know if you all will recognize this piece posted on behalf of MMIW, but I sure recognized it, without knowing the artist the first few times I saw it (now I know!).

@MichaelaGoade on IG and Twitter, website (mixed Tlingit) - Artist, picture book illustrator. Most famously (I personally would say?) she's the illustrator of the book We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom, which is a children's book highlighting Indigenous-led movements on behalf of protecting the Earth and water. She's done cover art and illustrations for other books, as well, though! She also did the Google doodle honoring Tlingit activist Elizabeth Peratrovich.

@ty_rushnell on IG, aka Tyler Tabobondung Rushnell, Redbubble (Wasauksing First Nation) - Artist. He does a lot of abstract art with saturated colors, and apparently he's self-taught. His art is SUPER, SUPER cool, and some of his art incorporates pop culture references (Indigenized Addams Family Values, Tupac, Spiderman...) which is a bonus to me. :)

@cedarsageskoden on IG and Twitter, aka Bailey Macabre, website (Cree-Métis) - Artist, writer, beader. I believe they mostly do digital art, but they've drawn comics, social/environmental justice-oriented art, abstract art, and really great prints Indigenizing pop culture classics . :) To be honest, I don't remember seeing their art so much as I see their activism-oriented tweets on Twitter (which is quite often...but certainly not unwelcome!!), but seeing their art now is amazing and so much of it GIVES ME SO MANY FEELS.

@sweetmoonphoto on IG, aka Tenille K Campbell, website (Dené, Métis) - Photographer, poet. I'm not exactly one to recognize what is outstanding in terms of photography, but to me her photos are incredibly striking. And of course, as a writer, I fucking love her poems RIGHT IN THE FEELS.

@salish_artist_margaretaugust on IG, aka Margaret August, website (Shishalh) – Artist. I'm most familiar with their art via Salish Style (mentioned a little bit below), but it turns out Margaret August also makes amazing glass art, cedar sandblasted art, and serigraph/giclee prints, which you can see examples of on their IG and their website. SIMPLY. AMAZING. I was already in love with their art prints and paintings for sure, but their cedar art especially and bentwood boxes are fucking incredible. :')

@ovila79 on IG, aka Ovila Mailhot, website (Nlaka'pamux, Sto:lo) – Graphic artist, designer. You wanna know how much I like his art? I own one of his prints on a mask, and I also bought a sticker of one of his designs for my mom which she put on her water bottle. :) I adore his style, and the recognizable Coast Salish formline style incorporated into his art with a modern touch is just lovely. (DNKHNFHJBFHJD HE ALSO DREW ANIME STYLE ART WITH SALISH INFLUENCES AND IT'S FUCKING AMAZING. CALL ME A FAN.)

@moe.butterfly.art on IG, aka Moe Butterfly Hoffer, Etsy (Seneca) – Artist. He mostly does digital art, which you can find especially on his IG and Etsy, but they have some traditional art they've shared, as well. The quality is seriously fucking stunning. And so much queer art, omg! Their art makes me smile so muuuuuuuch.

@gaysalishart on IG, aka Chase Gray, website (Musqueam/Tsimshian) – Artist. No matter what kind of visual art you were hoping to find via my recommendations, you should NOT be surprised that I’ve recommended an artist who draws Pokemon with Salish influences. COME ON, THAT SHIT IS AMAZING!!! ...well, I love it, at least. :’D

@ninalikesbutts on IG, Etsy (Indigenous) - Artist. Her art is mostly of brown and Black women - nude, half nude (I mean, her handle is "ninalikesbutts" so there's a lot of butts in her art. I'm not complaining. In fact I will NEVER complain. There's your one TMI in this entire post from me, you're welcome) - but she's also done prints and stickers of motivational-type art of (clothed) women in everyday situations. To be honest, I'd call ALL of her art beautiful!!

Edit: I also noticed that the small business Earth Daughters were showcasing Black and Indigenous visual artists on their IG; I’m familiar with Earth Daughters because of their sister business, Piña Soul, who I’ve bought earrings from before that are made by Indigenous Mexican artisans (in case you were also interested in other types of art besides just visual art, consider that a recommendation, as well!). Earth Daughters primarily works to “uplift transnational Indigenous WOC & LGBTQ2S+ through mutual aids & sustainability.”

Also, if you like Pacific Northwest Native art (I do, although of course I've pretty much grown up around here and am pretty familiar with this art), there's this cool website I found a little while ago that sells a TON of different products in Northwest Native art styles, ALL created by Native Northwest artists, so, for example, if you want to peruse different PNW Native nations' art styles and get to know some artists' names, this is a good place to start. As far as I know, the products are available to those living in the U.S. and Canada...I'm not sure if they sell/ship to anywhere else in the world, though, as I haven't bought anything from here YET. I have a list of things I want to buy from here one day, LOL.

Another similar suggestion to the one above: Salish Style is an Indigenous-owned small business that sells a bunch of different products (clothing, stickers, face masks, hats, buttons, etc.) with prints featuring art all designed by Coast Salish artists. So, once again, it's a PNW Native art thing, but still worthwhile! (And since it's local, it's all the more important to me, but also familiar in that way, too!) There's art designed by a bunch of different artists, so you can find more artists that way and look them up if you want to see what other types of art they create.

Finally...I know this post is super long, but I want to end it by recommending that EVERYBODY across North America especially know whose land you are on – the land you reside on, but also whose land you're on WHEREVER you go, like if you visit somewhere new. Even if you don't necessarily use the information to do something activism-oriented, or even if you don't verbally acknowledge it to someone (although that would be great if you COULD do that, especially if you live there), being able to acknowledge it to YOURSELF is a small, but, I would suggest, important step toward decolonization – decolonizing your mind, at least, if you will, and hopefully also a step in supporting Indigenous sovereignty. But why I really said all that is: if you want to support local to YOU Indigenous artists, which is what I WHOLLY encourage, knowing whose land you're on can help you find artists who belong to that/those nation(s) and who you can then support. Like, the reason I recommended so many Coast Salish artists is because I live on, work on, and regularly travel across Coast Salish land; they're the people I want to support so I've done the most research to find them. It can be that way for you, too, wherever you are, if you care enough to do so and put in the effort. (Which is not supposed to sound passive-aggressive, my apologies. I mean it genuinely. It's something that means a lot to me could you tell? so I hope this sort of thing can and will be as meaningful to others, too.)