#the moon & sun are different every single day but no matter what they are gay and i think thats beautiful

[asexual-naegi]

hot take

all gay interpretations of the sun & moon/eclipse are valid

[casualotptrash]

Why the Persona 3 FES vs Portable Debate Makes Me Want to Fly Into the Sun Pt. 3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Da da da daaa!

Part 3 of this lovely emotional rant is here, for anyone who wants to spend their time reading these. With the last two posts, I have mostly tried to be informative or just complain a bit about why this debate makes me want to fly into the sun, but for this post it’s going to go a little different. Perhaps a bit more subjective than the others.

In this post, I’m going to go over everyone's favorite clusterfuck...a definitive version of Persona 3.

Now, as we established in the previous post, we know that the argument of FES vs Portable is essentially pointless because everyone’s opinion on either game is subjective. However, I have neglected to bring up this topic that puts a huge ass nail into this dusty old coffin: the fact that there is objectively no definitive version of Persona 3.

Everyone can argue all day and night about which version of P3 is better, but no one can deny that either version are “definitive.” By definitive, I mean that the game has the most content that is offered, like Persona 4 Golden or Persona 5 Royal. The reason none of the P3 games are definitive is because base P3 lacks stuff from FES and Portable, FES lacks stuff fro Portable, and Portable lacks things from FES. It’s a gamble of whether you want to experience cutscenes, an overworld, and The Answer, or a whole new route with the FeMC and the brand new option of dating male party members and saving...you know who.

One might be able to say FES is definitive because it has The Answer, which I believe is considered canon according to the Arena games. Another could say Portable is the definitive version because it came out after FES, added the FeMC (who is technically canon as per the second Persona Q game), and removes The Answer (which a lot of people said The Answer messed with the core theme of P3). However, the definition of definitive in this case, and with all of the other games, is that the game offers the most content. Arguably, FES and Portable provide the same amount of content, just in different ways. This is why this whole conversation of which one is better, or which to play first, spawned in the first place.

The reason I am bringing this up in this post, about why this whole discussion physically pains me, is because having a real, definitive version of the game could finally put this discussion to rest. At least, it somewhat would. People would probably still argue that FES is the best for some reason.

Now, the argument becomes...well, what does a definitive version of Persona 3 look like?

I have seen quite a bit about this topic, and people seem to really miss some common sense points. For example, they get caught up in whether it would be considered a remake or a remaster. I know some use those terms interchangeably, but the “official” definition for each is that a remake is a game that is made from scratch, while a remaster is made by updating the existing assets and engine. For example, the upcoming Nocturne HD release is a remaster. Personally I find it difficult to neatly fit the typical persona definitive editions, like Golden and Royal, into either of these categories. It may just be me not fully grasping the differences between the two, but I believe they would fit into more of the “remaster” category. It is true that there are new assets and content being added to the game, but it’s so minor that I’m not sure it could be considered a remake. On the other hand, because new content is added it couldn’t just be defined as a remaster because typically the effects and such aren’t even changed that much. It’s just gameplay and story content that is tweaked.

When people get so caught up in what it would be considered, logic seems to...go out the window? For example, in a debate between a P3 remaster or remake, a person made a comment that if a remake was to happen then people would demand that all of the social links be available to anyone. Now, that just isn’t possible for a variety of reasons. There’s no way we could ever mix and match social links to get a preferred grouping. Another issue with this is that if just a remaster was made, then one of the two games would be left out.

This is why I don’t really think about whether a definitive edition is a remaster or remake, because using such strict labels make it harder to judge what could, or should, be in one. This is why I’m just referring to this process as making a definitive edition. That being said, I would consider a definitive P3 game to be more of a remake (not that it really matters) because my ideas would essentially combine FES and Portable, in a way?

So here we go, into my idea of what a definitive version of Persona 3 would look like. (Warning: This will contain spoilers for all of the P3 story and *gasp* may be a bit biased toward Portable because I like it more)

1. Presentation

In simple terms, I would want the game to essentially be Portable...but with updated graphics, cutscenes from FES, and an overworld. It’s easier to use Portable as a base because it’s already closer to the format of P4 and P5, so then adding in the good parts of FES with the cutscenes and overworld are par for the course. As far as graphics go, I would like the models and environment to look more like P3D (aka whatever engine they used for Persona 5?) because damn did the characters get a glow up.

2. Gameplay

Along with the format of Portable, I would also want the gameplay of Portable to be in this definitive version. That means no jealousy system, no fatigue until after you leave tartarus, the vision quest, and the other changes I mentioned in the first post. Sorry FES fans, but yes...I would still want the option of controllable party members. However, a new change that should be added is backup members earning exp. I don’t think baton passes or anything should be added, we don’t want a clone of P5, and the combo attacks in P3P kind of fill this role anyway. The idea of having social links give certain perks with ranks, like how confidants work in P5, is interesting but I don’t think it would be necessary. I would also say that the soundtrack should be exclusive for each side, like how it is in Portable, and that there should be an option to choose which skills are inherited.

3. Social Links

The stance I would take with social links would essentially be how Portable did it, but with a slight tweak. No matter how much it would be cool to date Rio or Saori as the Male MC, or vice versa with Kaz or Keisuke and FeMC, I don’t think any mixing of the two sides would really be feasible. However, I would love to see cameos of those characters in the opposing routes. For example, you see Yuko and Kaz in the female route, but in the male route you could see Saori and Rio at school. That being said, and this is probably one of the biggest issues, I would want the male protag to be able to have social links with the entire party, men included. This brings up the issue of what social links you would cut out because you can’t have two social links be the exact same arcana. Unless they want to add more arcanas to the game, which would probably not go over well either, the best option is probably to prioritize the male party members and then have who would usually be in their place just show up sometimes. For example, Kenji would show up in the social link with Junpei instead of the magician social link just being about one or the other.

I know this seems weird, but it does kind of avoid shafting one or the other. If it was too hard to fit the two together (such as Chihiro and Ken both being Justice), perhaps a few more school scenes could be added where the MC interacts with the school friends that are not seen as much (Kenji, Chihiro, etc.) However, and this might piss off 1% of people but whatever, but the moon arcana with Nozomi (Gourmet king dude) could just be completely taken over by Shinji. Nozomi is a meme, but he is not needed in any way. Also, I would prioritize Yuko in the male route over Koromaru since, although he is a very good boy, he is still a dog. Also, please get rid of the option that you’re forced to romance every girl in the male route, and personally I would say keep in the fact that you cannot date Junpei. In a headcanon sort of way, I totally dig the idea of the MC being able to help Junpei through his rough time after Chidori dies (if she dies?) and feelings grow from there, but from a story perspective I think it’s integral to his character that he friendzones the player if they try.

So TLDR; who the social link is about would mainly stay true to the original route (male route with Kaz, etc. and female route with Rio, etc.), however in the male route the party members would take priority (so Akihiko would take the star arcana place and Mamoru (track guy) would just be featured in the link sometimes), and in both routes Shinji would take Nozomi’s place as the moon. Important note that besides including the other character, the main substance of the social link shouldn’t be changed; aka they should not change the format of the social links to operate more like P5 social links where the MC is just solving all of their problems.

(Sidenote: This is imply my idea on how to include party members into the social links for the male route, however if they just decided to keep the social links the exact same as Portable with no male party member social links with the male route then I’d be fine with that too. It wouldn’t really take away from the game as a whole for me, personally.)

4. Romance Options

Riding off of the social link talk...and I know this is like the least likely option of happening, but please make some gay options Atlus? If we can romance every single girl in the male route, why not just add the romance option for the men too? Yes yes there’s the whole argument about the issue of “making everyone bi” (thanks for erasing sexuality that care more about connections rather than gender?), but I say look no further than how Dragon Age 2 did it. Every romanceable option in that game can be romanced be either the male or female main character (barring a DLC character who is only romanceable by females), and it works just fine. Turns out, no one really gives a shit if it’s “realistic” enough (aka only having one or no bi/gay people apparently?) because it’s a video game and people want to romance whoever they want...because it’s a video game. Even if you really, really don’t like this approach there is also the option of going the Dragon Age Inquisition route, where characters are able to be romanced by certain genders and not by others (race also plays a role in this in the game, since there are elves and other fantasy races and such, but this is not applicable to Persona obviously). This is simply a hypothetical example, but how this would work is that like Fuuka can only be romanced by the Male MC, Akihiko and Yukari could be romanced by either MC, and Mitsuru could only be romanced by the FeMC. Obviously social links specific to a run would be a romanceable option to the MC in their route (as in Yuko would only be romanceable by Male MC because she’s only in her run, and social links like Saori could be a romance for FeMC because she’s specific to her route). I have a gut feeling this would cause an even bigger uproar with the fandom, so having any romance option (barring route specific social links for the route they’re not in) be available for either male or female MC is the best option in my opinion.

Take out Ken’s romance option altogether though. I know some of the language is different, so it doesn’t say you “spend a long night together” or whatever, but that doesn’t really make it any better. I do think it’s fine if Ken has a crush on the MC, and maybe has a whole Kenji thing of thinking they are together cause he’s 10 and kids can be like that, but the MC wouldn’t actually act on this and the player could be given the choice to actively dissuade Ken. The only good thing that came out of Ken’s romance option was the fact that him and Akihiko can argue in Tartarus if you romance them both, and I don’t want to lose that hilarious dialogue.

5. Tartarus

Tartarus...uh...to be honest I’m not really sure what to do with this beast. It’s boring and tedious in the first place, probably by design for symbolism in the game, but I’m not sure how to make it interesting without copying the dungeon/palace format. Perhaps the blocks could be restructured to act more like a big puzzle that needs to be solved, like certain sections of palaces in P5, but also have bosses and shadows thrown in. For example, perhaps one block could be more reminiscent of hide-and-seek stealth tactics while another is formatted like a series of arena-esque gladiator fights. Also probably lower the number of floors you need to climb? It gets a bit ridiculous when you realize there are 264 floors of Tartarus and 99% of them are the same but just with more funky music and slightly different decorations. This job is suited for someone with actual video game making experience though, and not me.

6. Awakenings and Pacing

Let’s talk about some quick fixes to awakenings and pacing of the game. Now, since this is a definitive version and not a true remake, I wouldn’t want them to rewrite the entire story or something. Most of the party member’s original awakenings happen off screen, which can be kind of lackluster. The MC’s and Fuuka’s are the only two we really see, and those moments were really cool in my opinion. Obviously we wouldn’t see Mitsuru’s, Akihiko’s, or Shinji’s original awakenings, but that is fine. Yukari and Junpei also fall into this boat because Yukari awakens before the MC gets to the dorm, and it would be hard to show Junpei’s awakening while also having his whole “reveal” moment when he comes to the dorm to live there. I don’t know if it’s ever mentioned when Ken awakens to his persona, but making a scene to show both his and Koromaru’s would be helpful instead of just saying Ken has the potential and he’s joining, and hearing about Koromaru awakening but not actually seeing it. As for the pacing, I’m mainly talking about the summer time where you can’t hang out with a good number of social links. I would just change this so that you can hang out with school social links during this time more readily, like if they’re just hanging out somewhere in town if they’re not at school. Like I said, this isn’t a remake (and I’m not a video game designer) so I didn’t want to get into how to fix the overall pacing of the story, which can be pretty slow until October or so. My one suggestion is maybe adding in a few extra scenes with Strega before October so it’s not like we run into them a couple times and suddenly they’re a major villain.

7. Shinjiro

(Spoilers for after October) I know certain people will definitely not like this point, but I think the option to save Shinji should remain in the game (and Chidori too). I’ll go into this in another post, but my main reason for keeping this in is because some people really do like this option, so it would be kind of unfair just to get rid of it because other people don’t like it. However, I would suggest a change to his social link so that there is the option to save him or not while also being able to complete the social link. Perhaps after rank 10 would be when you could give him the pocket watch, so that people could get the rank 10 and not be forced to save him. 

8. Extra Content

(Spoilers for the ending of Persona 3 and The Answer) Each definitive version has extra content in the “third semester” (because Persona 4 and 5 both essentially end after December), but in Persona 3 the natural game ends in January. I am not sure if they would try to add another whole months or so on, but because The Answer already exists, but I assume they wouldn’t add extra content in February or something for the MC. For The Answer, I would keep this in the game as sort of the “extra content” but add a FeMC version of this. Obviously it would be largely the same, except with the FeMC and perhaps the male party members could get more of a focus since the female party members get a larger focus in the male route (ie. Yukari breaking down with the keys. Maybe Junpei or Akihiko could take on this role as the people who don’t want to let go). Also, as a possible new addition to The Answer, Shinji could be a part of it if he is saved during the main game. In the NG+ run of Portable FeMC route, if you romance Shinji he comes to the rooftop for that final scene, so in a way it could be possible for him to recover by the time The Answer happens in March.

Now, if Atlus decided to add a more typical “extra content” thing, I hope they wouldn’t try to cram The Answer in on top of that unless they were able to do it cohesively. It might be a lot to have the whole ending of the game in January, come up with a reason to have extra content in February (presumably with the MC still alive, but also combat would need to be a part so then the issue arises of Tartarus coming back or something?), and then have the answer take place right after near the end of March.

Well that’s the end of that I think. This will also be the last post in this little “series” because I pretty much went over everything about this debate that makes me want to fly into the sun. I know the things I talked about in these posts will probably never stop, but I really hope that if a definitive version comes out at least the discussion will change to saying what is good or bad about each game rather than FES supremacy or whatever. That being said, above all I really hope this debate doesn’t discourage new fans from Persona 3 or the series in general, because that would probably be the worst outcome from all of this. It’s a great game, and it’s a shame that the game itself is kind of held back by being split into two (I’m not counting base Persona 3) different forms.

[kcatta-wodahs]

👉👈 if you're,, still doing the matchups,, I'd like one please? 🥺 My name is Kai, he/they (also gay-mammon, heyo 👀) Don't mind what kind of matchup you wanna do, or with any of the boys! I'm an aries, an introvert but I'm also really clingy and touchy djdbdb, usually like slow building romances. I usually draw, play games, or make stuff in my spare time, and meme humor makes me laugh the most. I'm emotional so I cry when I get mad, but I get mad a lot anyway. (1/2)

(2/2) I usually sleep when I'm having a bad day. I'm very passionate about the things I'm interested in, whether it's hobbies, fandoms, or communities. Neurodivergent and stimmy as all hell, and I invest a lot of my time in my special interests. Uhhh I'm not sure what else to put sjdbdn but i hope you're having a good day!!! I tried keeping this in one ask but that failed miserably 😭

A/N: KAIIIIII  hello i love your blog so i hope you love this i want to be friends. Also don't worry about the ask amount I've tried and it's like... impossible to get everything in one. I've sent in like 4 at a time. I have no idea how some people send in the longer ones without breaks? Tumblr mysteries.

I pair you with... Simeon!

Now, we all know he's an angel. Soft and supportive of so much, and you're so passionate that he can't help but be drawn to you. Your joy when surrounded by your interests, and when you delve deep into them warms his heart. He finds himself just watching you in order to calm himself, or when he needs to be cheered up. There is a lot of pressure on him as an angel and friend of Michael -- being with you brings him to his roots: The belief that he carries that angel and demon are no different from each other, or from humans. He finds the way you bring the three worlds together inspiring, and he wants to help you.

More Below the Cut!

Expect his latest writing to draw a lot of inspiration from you. He'll have new characters who stim like you do, or who find similar hobbies. He can't help it - you know so much more than he about how to be genuine. 

He loves to join you in your hobbies and interests, and will listen to you for hours. He gets invested in your special interests with you, and makes an effort to learn at least half of how much you know about them.

He is absolutely adorable about it too. If you're into cosplay? Guess what, he'll do the best cosplay just for you. He always gives you little gifts that are related to your interests, and you have no idea where he gets half of them.

Simeon loves to explore. He is up for anything once. (I mean, did you see how calm he was during that event?) And honestly, there isn't much that he won't enjoy.

👀 take this fact wherever you will 👀

He will go with you for moral support absolutely anywhere.

And if you're caught in a bad situation? If someone's being a dick? He's right beside you to help.

When you end up crying out of anger, he somehow knows how to help you get words past the lump in your throat. He will refuse to let whoever angered you demean you for crying, and will hold them there until they have properly apologized for their transgressions. 

Expect that there will be tons of times where you turn to look at him and find that he's already watching you with the fondest little smile.

Especially when you get excited about something, no matter how you show it. He is once again absolutely smitten every single time and he wants nothing more than to be near you.

He likes to watch you draw, if you're comfortable with it. Same with games -- he sucks at them (like a lot of technology) but since you play them he can easily enjoy them with you!

You like to take pictures of his failed attempts at using technology. 

Also his cluelessness with technology make him the perfect target for grandpa-meme jokes and its honestly so fun.

"OOh man he's a magic man" 

Snippet

The soft sliding of the door against the carpet woke Kai from his fitful sleep. Somehow he felt more tired than when he had collapsed into bed. The memories of the morning he had had still rang in his mind, and he wanted nothing more than to forget them.

However, when he looked up to see what had woken him, he found Simeon standing before him. The angel was holding a tea cup and platter and came to sit on the bed beside Kai's legs. Slowly, Kai sat up.

"Are you feeling any better?" Simeon asked. Kai could only respond with a shrug. Sympathy clearly crossed Simeon's gaze as he laid a hand lightly on Kai's leg and held out the cup to him. "This is for you. Once you finish it, I promise to leave you be."

Kai took the drink and breathed in the soothing steam. Whatever it was, it smelled lovely, but it wasn't what he needed right now. Seeing Simeon had helped him realize what it was he was truly looking for. He set the cup to the side, looking at the angel whose brows had knitted together in worry.

"If I don't finish it, will you stay?" 

Simeon's expression cleared into a small smile. "I might even if you do," he teased. In response, Kai held open his arms, looking for a hug, which Simeon instantly gave. Something in Kai released in that moment, allowing him to sniffle as tears started streaming down his cheeks. 

Simeon hummed softly against him, rubbing his back and brushing his hair with his fingers. He let Kai cry as long as he needed to, even if the tea grew cold in the meantime. When his tears slowed, Kai tried to mumble out an apology, but Simeon was having none of that. He leaned in and pressed their foreheads together, wiping away the tears on his cheeks and following his fingers with little kisses. 

Then his breath whispered against Kai's ear, beautiful words that made the human’s breath catch in his throat, even though he couldn't understand them. It was as if Simeon's breath had become its own form of magic, a sigh with the feeling of a whole world in it. The rising of the sun and the beauty of a bird's song; the longing of the moon and its stars reflected in the seas; all hidden within the sentences he spoke.

Though he was reluctant to pull away, Kai did just to try and find some explanation in the angel's expression. Simeon's gaze was endlessly gentle, the closeness between the two only further cutting off Kai's questions. A small chuckle showed that Kai's unspoken confusion was heard.

"It is a poem we have in the Celestial Realm," he murmured, taking Kai's hand to his lips. He laid a small kiss on the first knuckle.

أنا أحبك.

Simeon breathed the beginning of the phrase again, a slight smile curving at his lips as the ancient language made Kai's breath stop once again. But he continued in the human tongue.

"As if all hearts were a mirror of mine,

"As if life were invented for my love,

أنا أحبك.

I love you. 

[thatnerdnextdoor24]

on love’s light wings

I'm stuck on quarantine and I hate online lessons. Also, I've had this quote stuck in my head all day. Yes, I know that it's actually "With love's light wings." But I like "on" more, okay? Shakespeare would let me take some liberties. It's fine. Now enjoy the soft gays.

ao3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The idea of waking up, in a lover’s embrace, had always seemed so romantical and impossibly far away. It sounded like something straight out of one of Tessa's favorite novels. Something that had always had an attractive appeal to Kit. But he knew that if he tried to reach it, to search for it, he would be sorely hurt and disappointed. That was, until it hadn't been. Until the day when Kit had finally dared, he took a leap of faith and found that there was, indeed, someone to catch him.

Ty. 

He had caught him. Easily, with a grace and romance, only a Shadowhunter Centurion could have. That seemed so long ago. Lifetimes ago. Yes, the Kit that did not believe in a lover's embrace, was a very different Kit. Because the Kit the now, was in such an embrace. In fact, he found himself in it often. Despite that, Kit still feared that he might one day lose it. So he would find himself studying the scene before him. 

The sun would leak through the curtains. Casting a golden glow across their apartment bedroom. Their legs had tangled together, the sheets bundled around them. Ty's dark curls spilled across the pillows. His eyebrow, usually quirked or furrowed in curiosity, would be relaxed. His arm draped around Kit’s middle. Ty's face would gleam in the morning light. He seemed so, impossibly still. So beautiful. Like youth and beauty in a single frame. Like one of the statues in the Institute's garden. Ethereal. Eternal. 

Kit would let his hand trace Ty's collar bone, his shoulder, down his bicep. He took no small amount of pride and satisfaction in his boyfriend's lack of clothing. He could have laid there forever. Ty made a small noise, (he did that in his sleep a lot) and nuzzled his face closer to Kit's. A smile drifted across his face, he closed his eyes in an attempt to fall back asleep to the sound of Ty breathing. Then the cat started. That damn cat. Clawing at the door and meowing constantly. Kit had lived with the cat long enough to know that it wouldn’t go away until fed. Ty murmured in his sleep, he was always a heavier sleepier than Kit. 

With a sigh, Kit crawled out of bed. Careful not to disturb Ty. Irene, it seemed, didn’t have such notions, because she just meowed louder. Kit rushed to throw on some underwear and a T-shirt, and hustled out the door. “I hear ya.” He hissed at Irene, using his foot to keep her from rushing into the bedroom. Their LA apartment was small. The bedroom door leading right out into the livingroom and the adjourned kitchen. The light flooded from the big window overlooking the city. Everything was quiet, as if the world hadn’t quite woken up either. Kit drifted past the couch and into the kitchen, Irene at his heels.

Irene was a smart cat, he had to give her that. She had recently been registered as a service animal, and she was good at it. She could tell when Ty was about to have an attack. She knew how to help him through them. Irene wasn’t half bad at tracking demons either. It was very difficult for Kit to stay annoyed or mad at Irene. Especially when she had helped Kit a few times as well. Both in the demon hunting aspect, and in getting through panic attacks.

Besides, Ty always felt better when Irene was around, especially when Kit or Julian weren’t with him. Living in the middle of the second most populated city in the US never helped Ty’s autism. Kit had once asked if he’d ever want to move to somewhere quiet, but Ty had simply said that LA was home. So that was the end of that. 

Irene jumped gracefully onto the kitchen counter. Waiting patiently. “Oh, so you’re going to be all nice and quiet, huh? Now that you’ve got me awake.” Kit mused. Irene tilted her head innocently. A chuckle escaped Kit, he reached out and gave the cat a gentle scratch behind the ears. She let out a soft purr. 

He made quick work of getting her food. It was something he did every Sunday morning, the movements now a natural reflex. He filled the blue food bowl and set it down. Irene descended the counter in a single bound. “Happy now?” He asked, and he could’ve sworn she scoffed as she devoured her breakfast. Kit rolled his eyes and glanced at the oven clock. It read; 9:07. Ty revolved his life around a strict schedule. But Sunday’s were different. There was still a schedule, but there was only one thing on it. At 10 am, they would go to the Institute and eat Julian’s pancakes with the rest of the Blackthorns. They would linger and leave around noon, and then, it was just them. Just Ty and Kit, to do as they pleased.

Sometimes they’d go to lunch and a movie. Sometimes they wandered the mall, or downtown. Sometimes they went to the library, or sometimes they just went home. Sundays were always Kit's favorite day of the week. Kit was about to head back to the bedroom to awaken his sleeping beauty, when a pair of arms snaked around his waist. “Good morning.” Ty hummed, his face buried in the crook of Kit’s neck. Kit leaned against Ty’s chest, “I thought you were asleep.” He whispered. Ty shrugged, “It was cold without you.” His arms tightening around Kit as if to emphasize. Kit’s chest rumbled a laugh. Ty was right. It was warmer now. He turned in his lover's embrace to wrap his own arms around his love’s neck. 

“On love's light wings.” He murmured, pressing a soft kiss to his boyfriend's lips. Ty smiled against him. It was something that Kit said often to Ty, and it always lit his face up in a smile. The old Kit would have never said something so soft and lovely, but this Kit did. Kit had found it when he’d read Romeo and Juliet one boring summer day at Cirenworth Hall, years ago. It had spoken to Kit. Lept off the pages and stuck in his head all day. The perfect way to describe it he’d thought, and it was a strange thought. The Kit at that time, that younger, angrier Kit, didn’t think about love often. But he had loved his new family.

He loved the way Mina would sometimes stop crying when he scooped her up. It made his heart swell when she went from tears to giggles because of him. He loved the way Tessa’s voice changed when she read a story. How invested and serious she took story time each night. He would sit on the floor while she cradled Mina and sat in the rocking chair. Softly rocking and reading the girl to sleep. He loved the way Jem taught him. He taught him everything. From languages and history, math and science, to fighting and tumbling, climbing and tracking. He taught it all with a gentle hand and firm but simple instructions. 

Kit loved all these things. They made his heart lift and soar. Made him feel ten feet tall, as if he could take on anything and come out on top. Yes, ‘loves light wings’, that was it. That was what made him feel like that, what picked him off his feet and sent him to the highest places. Love had always sounded so heavy to him. Like a burden or a weight, holding him down, a chain keeping him in place. But that wasn’t it at all. Love was light. Love was fragile. Love was blissful and sweet. Love was warm and soft. He didn’t know this, not until a night when the stars were bright. When he and Ty had sat on the roof of the Institute.

 After he had spilled his guts in a less than graceful, but much clearer, confession. Things were oddly comfortable, yet Kit didn’t know where they would go from there. Or what he should do. In the end, it had been Ty, who leaned over and asked to kiss him. The world had stopped spinning, just for a moment. Then he had kissed him, and it spun again. Faster, wilder, clearer than before. Kit had kissed people before, sure. Many times, with mostly girls. They had never felt quite right. No matter how much he had cared. But this, this had been more than right. It was meant to be. That line had come back to him. When they had pulled apart, a little breathless, Ty’s eyes shining brighter than any moon or star. Kit’s heart leaping into his throat.

“On love’s light wings...” He’d whispered, without thinking. Ty tilted his head, his headphones had slipped around his neck. “Romeo?” he asked. Kit’s face flushed. “Yeah, I-uh-I understand it now. I didn’t before. But now I do.” He had stumbled, expecting to be teased. But Ty would never, he knew that now. His face had split into a smile. A dazzling, beautiful smile. That knocked the breath out of Kit, and he could feel those wings of love. Light, and gentle. They wrapped around him and lifted him up. They held him, re-molded him. Shaped him into someone new, someone he had forgotten was there. 

In his mind, there had been the Kit before, the Kit that was angry, who hated his father and wanted his mother back. Who didn’t know who he was, who had loved, but never loved in return. Then there was the Kit who was still young, and confused. But who had loved. But was then broken. Then he was back at that angry Kit. Yet slowly, he had begun to change. Becoming a Kit who learned to let go of that anger. Who finally, laid his parents to rest in the back of his heart. And in this particular moment, he became a Kit who had finally found himself. Who loved and was loved back. This was the Kit, who had grown up. 

Now, Ty was kissing him in their kitchen. When he pulled back, he gave Kit a curious look. “What are you thinking about?” he asked, his hair still messy from sleep, the dark waves falling into his face. Kit brushed them away. “That I love you.” A boyish grin on his face. Ty pressed a kiss to his cheek, “I love you too,” He said. “And we should take a shower.” He let go of Kit, giving him a smirk over his shoulder as he entered the bathroom, leaving the door cracked open. Kit leaned against the kitchen counter, still grinning softly. He stood there for a few minutes before the words and smirk registered in his head. His cheeks heated. Irene licked her paw at his feet, giving him a strangely judging look. “Don’t look at me like that.” He muttered, and followed his boyfriend. 

This Kit, he decided, had it a lot better, and liked it better, than the old one.

[ranposlittle]

match up please? I have short teal dyed hair, grey eyes, I'm 18, 5'1 and a gay trans boy! My signs are sun ♊ moon ♐ rising ♊, entp, 7w8, Ravenclaw, sanguine, have depression and aspd. I tend to have a thing for redheads but personality and motivation is most important to me. I like adventuring and singing and I love birds. I'm not afraid to pick a fight with someone and I'm pretty fiercely protective. I can be childish but I give off good vibes and want to help everyone I can. (1) 🌹

anonymous asked: I tend to talk a lot and I hyperfix hardcore on things. I have a lot of odd facts, especially about classic authors and crows. I need someone who is patient and can handle my loud and optimistic personality and my need to help others. Thank you in advance! (2) 🌹

I ship you with...

──────〔 MARK TWAIN 〕──────

You were out on your usual search for an adventure when all of a sudden, you heard a loud bang in an otherwise peaceful hill. You rushed to see where the noise came from and there you see a redhead man, armed with a hunting rifle, taking aim on birds resting atop some branches. Feeling a sudden wave of courage to protect the precious beings, you shouted at the man to let him know that what he was doing was wrong and should just leave the innocent birds alone. He was surely pleasantly surprised with such an act, for he never had anyone come up to him before to stop him whenever he goes hunting. He wanted to tell you to mind your own business, but seeing the teal color of your hair accentuating your bright grey eyes, his playful flirtatious personality took over. He put down his firearm and began asking for your name and if it hurt when you fell down from heaven. A crow cawed at the distance as you just stared at him, dumbfounded.

In fairness, Mark (as he later introduced himself) never went bird hunting after he met you. He listened to why you love the winged animals and even took in every single one of your odd facts about crows. He respects you and what you believe in so he started to just practice with non-living things instead to keep his aim sharp. Mark was honest from the start. He admitted being attracted to you, not just by your beauty, but also with your confidence- to the point of picking a fight- in order to protect what you value. Even if it’s just little creatures like birds. He truly admires this somewhat childish yet strong personality of yours, never being afraid to stand up to challenges; a true reflection of your 7w8 personality.

Being the carefree man that he is, Mark just loves how you excites him and always keeping him on his toes. As an ENTP and a Ravenclaw, it’s not unusual for you to spark a friendly discussion with him out of the blue, so he feels the need to be prepared to take you on. Even if you’ll just agree to disagree sometimes, it’s always still an enjoyable conversation for him. Given you have Gemini as your sun and rising sign, you’re naturally quick-witted and doesn’t find it hard to communicate your thoughts. In fact, you love communication. It allows you to feed your innate inquisitiveness about life in general, taking every piece of knowledge you get as a valuable treasure. Your Sagittarius moon makes adapting to different people and differences a walk in a park and your Sanguine personality further enhancing your social skills. You don’t shy away from crowds and you just possess a certain kind of charisma that attracts other people towards you. Mark just looks at you in awe of how amazing of a catch you are and seeing how likable you are, his ego immediately inflates upon thinking that it’s him that you chose. He feel like he found another version of himself in you as you basically mirror him in being an intelligent, confident, and courageous person, all the while maintaining a sense of spontaneity and positive disposition towards life. He’s very proud of you and would often show you off to other people without a care of what they might think.

Overall, I think Mark is your guy because he can definitely handle your loud and optimistic personality as he is one as well. You just have a very outgoing personality and he would love that he can take somewhat risky adventures with you (as you would with him). You’ll feel equally comfortable to be yourselves with each other, knowing that you have an inner understanding of each other’s characteristics. He would support you in your need to help people even if he doesn’t understand it sometimes and would actually love to gain some wisdom from you on how to be more compassionate towards others. He may be a bolt of energy but he does know when to slow down and take things seriously. Your journey to commitment will be slow, but if you would be patient with him as he would be with you, you’ll be unbreakable. You’ll be each other’s ride or die. Mark would be there for you, thick or thin. Whether you just had a bad day or a strike of depression, he would show you that he supports you no matter what. If you want to have some time alone, he will respect your space. If you allow him to be there for you, he will never leave your side until you’re okay. Just say the word and he’s willing to make it happen. Truly, the beauty in your dynamic is you’ll have a balance between being best friends and doing fun things together, and being seriously committed to each other. Odd facts would be your thing. Both of you would constantly look for one and once you find something that sounds really interesting, you would just get that itch to immediately tell the other hoping that they don’t know about it yet.

────── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ──────

▮ ❝ Hey, anon~ Here's your matchup! 💗 I hope you liked it because I really think you're compatible with Mark hehe aside from all the things I said above, your zodiac signs are polar opposites which is a plus! That's all! Take care! ( ｡>﹏<｡)~♡ ❞

[im-just-here-for-the-drama]

LGBTQ Characters in Asian dramas: The Good, The Bad, and The Mediocre: 2019 Edition

No one asked, but here it is-all the gay I saw in 2019! 

SPOILERS AHEAD!

The Bad (I’d say don’t waste your time on these, but who am I to tell you what to do?)

Graceful Family: Mo Wan Joon 

The Story: Blah blah blah, revenge or something- at a point it’s revealed that Mo Wan Joon is a trans woman. 

Should you watch?: If you really like revenge melos maybe, but if you’re looking for this show to do something good and offer up some good trans rep? Nope. 

Literally nothing about Mo Wan Joon’s story is watchable. I wasn’t even entirely sure the show even knows what being transgender even means. It comes off as more of a plot twist  to put the family all in a tizzy more than anything else. They don’t really show much of Wan Joon’s struggle or anything poignant or engaging. 

TharnType

TRIGGER WARNING:  Sexual assault/rape

Country: Thailand 

Official Links: https://www.facebook.com/notes/line-tv/tharntypetheseries-line-tvs-official-links-for-international-fans/2525229217761969/

The Story: Type is a homophobe who ends being roommates with the openly gay Tharn. 

Should you watch?:  No. The good you get isn’t worth sitting through the bad. But if you really can’t help yourself, you’ll have to learn to ignore its problematic elements.

Type was molested as a child, and as a result he hates gay people. He’s clearly still traumatized by his experience. He has nightmares and is triggered by Tharn at least once remembering his assault. Type eventually tells Tharn about his assault and it’s pretty much never brought up again. 

Type is shown to be ridiculously homophobic and he equates gay people with pedophiles and is never really corrected in this logic (even though his boyfriend is a whole gay man). Even after Type starts dating Tharn, Type’s homophobia is never really properly put to rest. 

For some reason, the writer of TharnType loves incorporating rape/sexual assault into her shows when it’s clearly a sensitive topic she knows next to nothing about. And it’s clear in this show, because the show take the topic way lighter than it should.  Because of what happened to Type in his childhood, he believes that gay men like forcing themselves onto others without their consent, and then the show proceeds to have Tharn do exactly that to Type multiple times. Also, thankfully, this happens offscreen, but another character pays several men to gang rape another character and that’s too heavy for a show that clearly wasn’t going to address it properly. 

At the beginning of this show, Tharn had a huge issue with knowing what boundaries and consent were, but by the second half, Tharn chilled out and Type stepped up and became ridiculously childish and violent towards Tharn. Clearly these two have no real business being in a relationship with each other if you ask me.

Though there was a lot I hated about this show I did like some of it. I think this writer writes some really nice and sweet scenes between Tharn and Type.  Mew and Gulf have great chemistry. I’ve seen plenty of videos of Gulf and Mew together and they are adorable. They work well together and they come off more natural than some other couples, but the way the relationship is handled  in TharnType and some of the things that are glossed over in this show leave a bad taste in my mouth. 

The Mediocre (These aren’t the best, but they’re watchable.)

Moment at Eighteen: Jung Oh Je

Country: Korea

Official Links: https://www.viki.com/tv/36633c-moment-of-eighteen?q=moment%20of

The Story: Transfer student Jun Woo has no interest in school life, as he is traumatized from being expelled from bullying. Meanwhile, Soo Bin has been watching Jun Woo all this time. She sees a different side to Jun Woo than the one that other people see. Oh Je, is Jun Woo’s best friend who starts to discover his sexuality.

Should you watch?: Hmmm… sure. 

Oh Je has a decent side plot. It was interesting to see him figuring out he liked Hwi Young and coming out to his ex girlfried, Da Young and his friends. I do wish his story was expanded a little more though. There were several things I would have liked to have seen, like coming out to his family, and I thought they wrapped his story up a little too quickly at the end. 

2moons2

Country: Thailand 

Official Links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdoEouCtbBvjdNkB5Wl0eYS4V4Zx-1MZY

The Story: Wayo is accepted at the Kantaphat University, in the Faculty of Sciences. Wayo has always been in love with Phana, who studies at the same university. When Wayo has the chance to become the “moon” of his faculty, the two begin to spend time together because Phana himself has been the “moon” of the medical school the previous year and must supervise the freshmen participating in the competition. The two slowly get closer and closer. 

Should you watch?: Yeah. 

Honestly, it’s not super memorable,and not super impressive, but there’s some cute moments, and an easy storyline. We get to see more of the other two couples (MingKit and ForthBeam)  than we saw in the original 2moons. It’s fun and interesting enough. I’ll look forward to the next one. 

Theory of Love

Country: Thailand

Official Links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVsizYwoQ6B3LsKmcDDMNtHGXnjG88i4C

The Story: Third is a  filmology major and a member of the Savage Team along with his best friends Two, Bone, and Khai, but he has a secret. Third has been secretly in love with Khai for years. 

For three years he has kept his secret love in his heart, silently supporting and loving Khai while knowing there is absolutely no future between them since Khai is as straight as a streetlight pole and also an absolute player. 

To make matters worse, Khai has a “no dating friends” policy.  How long can Third love Khai silently while watching Khai bring a different girl home every night? Third has tried to see Khai as just a friend.  But has failed time and time again. Because as easy as it is to fall in love, to stop is just as hard.  Maybe even harder.  But when Third finally decides to stop loving Khai, Khai decides to start loving Third.

Should you watch?: It wasn’t my cup of tea but, yeah.

Who knew one of my most anticipated shows of the year would turn out to be one of the most disappointing? The show spent way too much time on Third crying, wallowing, and letting his friend walk all over him, and not nearly enough time on Khai making a believable turnaround. Khai spent at least half the show being a dick of a friend, to the point that I was unsure as to why Third liked him for so long. Then when Khai started to have feelings for Third, I just thought it happened way too quickly and unbelievably to me. But despite all that there were some cute moments in the end that made all of that kind of  okay and kind of worth it. And the side couple was cute. 

Dark Blue Kiss

Country: Thailand 

Official Links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdoEouCtbBviEVFNHbg7dKw7Lfd8-6zB1

The Story: Kao and Pete being in a blissful romance, have grown closer. But Kao is closeted, and he fears the thought of others finding out. His mother introduces Non, a son of a colleague, to be tutored by Kao. With Non constantly giving off ‘iffy’ vibes towards Kao, it only fuels Pete’s jealousy. Their relationship is put in strain, but through this, they must ultimately overcome each other’s flaws. 

Whilst Sun pushes his brother Rain to stay away from Mork, the younger man’s uncontrollable behavior brings him in. As his wildness is intriguing, Sun’s seriousness holds Mork down somewhat. Underneath it all, the two start to care for each other. However, with Mork’s dangerous life, he can’t shake who he is. But maybe he can for someone like Sun.

Should you watch?: If you’re a fan of Pete/Kao or a fan of the typical GMM show.  

I wasn’t a huge fan of Pete and Kao from the series they were originally in and this show honestly didn’t really help. Pete and Kao’s relationship is pulled into an annoying direction when an outsider tries to come between the two of them. It’s classic bl tactics and frankly it’s boring and frustrating to watch when it drags on for multiple episodes. I did love Sun and Mork from the beginning, but even the writing for their storyline got annoying towards the end. The huge problem in this series is that none of our leads really communicate with each other. There’s some enjoyable things in this show but it’s ultimately more frustrating than it should be. 

Ossan’s Love: In The Sky

Country: Japan

The Story: Haruta, a 35-year-old single man, has to switch careers and he begins a new career as a cabin attendant in Tenku Peach Airlines. Even though he’s clumsy, he seems to be protected by the Great Captain Kurosawa. One day, he finds drawings of himself in a locker and accidentally discovers tries to figure out who drew them. Haruta discovers that not only is the mechanic Shino in love with him, but Captain is secretly in love with him too. Meanwhile, Haruta takes an interest in the co-pilot Naruse.

Should you watch? Yes, but you might be disappointed by the end. 

I’m a fan of  the original Ossan’s Love and I know what this show usually gives so I expected this show to be silly, ridiculous, fun. And it was for the most part. I always love Haruta. I would literally watch him in any reincarnation of this show and not complain. He’s always a joy to watch and that’s still true here. But this time around, things are a lot more messier than usual. There’s a complicated love triangle, which I hate, but  even that was fine because I enjoyed the other characters. My only complaint was how it ended, because I would have preferred him with someone else rather than who he ends up with. 

Love with Flaws: Won Suk and Ho Dol

Country: Korea

The Story:  Joo Seo Yeon, is a hot-tempered physical education high school teacher who always wears sneakers, jeans and training uniforms.  The death of her parents helped instill a deep sense of compassion, a generous heart and an outspoken objection for anyone who drinks and drives. Living in a house with three wild and very attractive brothers, she loathes flower boys. Her ideal type is someone who is “not handsome.” Won Suk is one of her handsome older brothers.

Won Suk has closed his heart to relationships and love, but he lives his life as an openly gay man. Ho Dol is closeted and lacks confidence. They meet one night at Won Suk’s bar.

Should you watch?: People have been kind enough to condense Won Suk’s and Ho Dol’s  story into parts on YouTube so yeah, go ahead and check it out. 

These two don’t get a whole lot of screen time, but the little they do get is nice. We get to see Won Seok help Ho Dol open up and be more confident with who he is and in turn, Won Seok opens up his heart. 

The Good (These are worth the hours of your life you won’t get back.)

History3: Trapped

Country: Taiwan

Official Links: https://www.viki.com/tv/36410c-history-3-trapped?locale=en

The Story: Shao Fei’s police officer mentor and Tang Yi’s gang leader father were killed in a gunshot attack. No one knows why or what really happened. The only survivor, Tang Yi, stepped up and is now the gang leader. Police officer Shao Fei wants to find out what happened that day and he’s sure that Tang Yi’s hiding the truth. Shao Fei decides that the only way to figure out the truth is to investigate Tang Yi to the fullest and Tang Yi just wants Shao Fei to leave him alone since he’s trying to take the gang in a more legitimate direction, but what happens when the two keep crossing paths and ultimately start to fall for each other? 

Should you watch?: Absolutely. 

I watched this show twice last year and somehow I liked it even better the second time around. The story is fresh-school/university plots get real old real fast (not that I don’t love them though). Instead we get a story about a mob boss and a police officer.  The plot is well written, coherent, interesting, and fun, and doesn’t revolve solely around the romance. And speaking of romance, it’s well integrated into the larger plot that focuses on figuring out what happened to Tang Yi’s father and Shao Fei’s mentor years ago. There’s just the right balance between plot and romance. There’s also a second couple that’s super cute. Both couples have great chemistry. What’s not to like?

He’s Coming To Me

Country: Thailand

The Story: After his death, Mes is a ghost that is consumed by loneliness. That is until he meets a strange boy that can see him. The two bond in a state of happiness and joy as they develop into friends. But what happens when Mes falls for the boy who is alive?

Should you watch?: Of course! 

This is by far, in my opinion one of the most slept on shows of 2019. Who would have thought things could work out between a ghost and human? I went into this show expecting it to be full of sadness and angst and it really surprised me. Of course it does have those things, Mes is ghost so… but  it’s definitely one of the sweetest dramas of the year. The boys forge a strong friendship and bond from the beginning, they’re ridiculously cute, the side characters are enjoyable, the friends are supportive,  and there’s an interesting story of Mes and Thun trying to figure out the mystery behind Mes’ death. You should definitely put it on your list to check out. 

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

Country: Japan

The Story: Kakei Shiro is a 45 year old lawyer who works at a small law firm. He is a good cook and a meticulous and thrifty person who keeps the monthly food budget to 25,000 yen. Shiro’s daily routine is to leave work on time and head to a discount supermarket nearby. His partner Yabuki Kenji is an affable hairdresser in his 40s. The two of them share a two-bedroom apartment and the finer points of two men living together comes up at the dining table every day. Although two of them have been in a relationship for three years and Kakei’s parents know he is gay, Kakei never shares the fact that he is gay or Kenji is his partner to anyone else.

Should you watch? Definitely.

Very slice of life, very sweet, very heartwarming. We get to see two older gay men navigate their lives and society. We see how Shiro struggles with coming out and being open and we see how he deals with his accepting but ignorant parents. We see Kenji struggle with Shiro’s closed-offness and the strain its puts on their relationship when Shiro refuses to let people know they’re together.  Shiro and Kenji interact with other gay couples too, and it’s interesting to see the dynamics between the different couples.  It’s a nice change of pace to the shows I’m used to.  Also, there’s plenty of food to salivate over. 

Hello? Spring Is Coming

Country: Korea

Official Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnyivXs1rWk

The Story: Every coming out is difficult, but most of all, coming out in front of  family is the hardest.

Should you watch?: We get way too few shows about wlw. And also they’re way too short, and on that note yes you should watch. It’s sweet. 

The Effect

TRIGGER WARNING: Rape, bullying, attempted suicide 

Country: Thailand

Official Links (in the comments): https://mydramalist.com/32424-the-effect

The Story: Shin, a shy and reserved 1st-year university student, admires his senior Keng from afar. Keng is tall, handsome, smart and owns the heart of many girls on campus. But what others don’t see is the pressure to be perfect from his family that weighs on Keng’s shoulders.  Due to Shin’s clumsiness, he becomes acquainted with the handsome senior. As Keng takes a liking to his junior,  jealousy from peers makes the cyber world a breeding ground for hate and nasty rumors. Shin falls victim not only to the strangers online but to Keng as well. Nobody but Shin can overcome the trauma that will be placed upon him. All he needs is for the strangers to listen. Because only then can they understand “the effect” that they have on others. 

Should you watch? Heed the trigger warnings, and if you can handle them, then yes. 

You know those BL shows where one of the characters is forced or coerced into having sex with their love interest and then falls in love with him at the end? This show is thankfully, not that. I wouldn’t even consider this a BL because, well because it’s not. It’s not a love story. It takes a very very different and serious path that most shows in this genre don’t even come close to. This show did a good job of really showing the effects of social media, bullying, and rape, what they could really do to a person, and the support system one needs after a trauma. At a (way too) short 3 episodes, it was super emotional, mostly realistic, and it really left a memorable impression. There were a few things I wish had been explored and fleshed out more and I wished they’d changed the ending from the novel. I would have preferred something more uplifting, less open ended potential tragedy. But on another note, James as Shin was a stand out here with such an emotionally draining role. I’ll definitely be looking forward to his future projects. 

Mood Indigo/Indigo No Kibun

Country: Japan

The Story: The story begins with Shiro Kido’s reunion with a former classmate, Rio Kijima, at a college teacher’s funeral. In the past, when they were students, Kijima used to show talent as a novelist, even earning a big prize. Kido was jealous of Kijima’s success, but after reading his works he became aware of his lack of talent and gave up writing novels and became an editor of erotic novels. However, after reuniting, it became clear to Kido that Kijima was stuck; facing a wall. He had used up all his talent. With Kido also being in a lost state he offers Kijima the opportunity to write pornographic novels.With the intense eroticism and closeness, both men open up and feed into their desire. 

Should you watch?: Yeah. 

As one of the more erotic shows on this list, It was interesting to see the development between Rio and Kido. Their dynamic certainly isn’t anything romantic,cute, or healthy but still very beautiful, passionate, and raw. I wasn’t a huge fan of this shows predecessor Pornographer, but this one really made me appreciate it from another perspective. It helped me realize why Rio was the way he was and how this relationship impacted his later relationship with Kusami.  

Really Lily?

Country: Korea

Official Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=167D6kmuspU

The Story: Are we friends? Or…

Should you watch?: It’s short, sweet, and funny. Absolutely. 

Rural Outcasts

Country: Korea

The Story: Sun Hui moves to a small village where she lives her life as Soon Ho until she can make enough money to become her true self. Dong Ja, a feisty 12 year old, breaks into her house one day.

Should you watch? Yes.

 Found family always makes for a heartwarming story and this one is no different. I loved the bond between Dong Ja and Sun Hui and I loved their mother daughter relationship. Very sweet and heartwarming, but be prepared for some heartbreak too. 

History3: Make Our Days Count 

TRIGGER WARNING: Forced kisses, bullying 

Country: Taiwan

The Story:  At first glance, high schoolers Xiang Hao Ting and Yu Xi Gu appear to be polar opposites: While  Hao Ting is an outgoing, hot-headed extravert and some-time bully,  Xi Gu prefers to keep a low profile and focus on his schoolwork. They seem bound for totally different futures – the bookish Xi Gu looks destined for academic success, while life is just a long popularity contest for Hao Ting. But a quirk of fate – and a crucial intervention by a female schoolmate – results in the two young men’s paths crossing. But there is more to both young men than first meets the eye.  Hao Ting was not always this way. He started out as a perfect student until he discovered the joys of going off the rails.  Xi Gu has a reason for being so aloof and studious: His parents died in a traffic accident while he was younger, and he is being fostered by his aunt. As such, he works hard to get good grades in an effort to win a scholarship and ease the financial burden on his relatives. Xi Gu and Hao Ting find themselves drawn together, and passions ignite. The former notices that he has the unique ability to bring  Xi Gu out of his shell – and becomes intent on melting his cold-as-ice exterior. What will happen when their two worlds collide? And can love be the catalyst that helps bring these two unlikely students together – as their high school days draw to a close?

Sun Bo Xiang is Hao Ting’s friend who has a crush on a man, Lu Zhi Gang who he meets at the gym. Zhi Gang’s runs the shop that Xi Gu works at part time. When Bo Xiang confesses to Zhi Gang, and tells him that he’ll love hm forever, Zhi Gang doesn’t believe it because Zhi Gang is young and overzealous. Also, nothing lasts forever, or does it?

Should You Watch?:  Yes, but it doesn’t end happily so keep that in mind.. 

Given this show’s predecessors it had some big shoes to fill. I expected this show to be good and honestly, it was. The general consensus is that the ending ruined the entire show. And had I had time to sit on this series-if I had watched it over the weeks, I might have felt the same way. But I watched the entire show in one sitting over the course of a day and I just can’t bring myself to hate it completely. The writing was good, the directing was good, and the acting was so good I think a lot of the show was elevated because of it. This show made me feel so many things. The couples are great with natural chemistry, and the side characters fit so well (there’s never a dull moment with Hao Ting’s friends).  I smiled, I laughed, and of course I cried (#heartbroken). I was sad and upset when episode 10 came around. I wasn’t disappointed once the credits rolled because I was still riding the emotional high of the first nine episodes, but after I had time to sit and think about it, the more disappointed and angry I got. Just like grey rainbow and wise prison life- why did you give me everything I ever wanted and then rip it out from under me? But even so, the first nine eps were great. Does it have its flaws? Well obviously, some things in the show are a little iffy (Hao Ting and Sun Bo practice some problematic behavior at the beginning towards their love interests, that’s where the trigger warning comes in)  and the last episode is a glaring misstep. Do I wish things had ended differently? I think they absolutely should have. Even this ending would have been satisfactory with some proper execution and build up. Overall this show could have cemented itself as one of my favorite shows if not for the last episode, but I really don’t regret watching it, because when it was good?  It was gold.

Out of Breath

Country: Taiwan

Official Links: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuUQH5CiOw6n9Z0O5ytuQY2EFuvbF_7DX

The Story: Ha Eun has just broken up with her girlfriend when she meets out and proud Min Seo. 

Should you watch?: Yes! 

It’s a short webseries about coming out and no longer wanting to hide who you are. It’s very sweet and realistic. The ladies are cute and their characters are believable. My only complaint is that I wish the show was longer.

Until We Meet Again

TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide

Country: Thailand 

Official Links: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPXE51seODgcGxLQF_X5jzQ/playlists

The Story:  Thirty years ago, Korn and Intouch were university students in Bangkok. Intouch entered Korn’s life despite knowing that he was the son of one of the most influential people in Bangkok, the mafia. At first, Korn kept pushing Intouch away, but in the end, he couldn’t resist him. However, in a time where homosexuality was unacceptable and having parents that were against their relationship and each other, Korn and In’s love was bound to be doomed. Amidst the chaos, while Intouch kept on fighting for their future, Korn could not deal with all the suffering his lover was facing and decided to give up. That day, two sounds of a gunshot rang through the air. Their story ended with tragedy, but something had already tied itself between them, bounding them together even after they were dead. 

Years later, a freshly returned to Thailand, Pharm who is a  freshman in T- University has grown up always feeling like he is waiting for someone. Being riddled with sad dreams that always left him waking up with a wet face, fear of loud noises, and a birthmark on his temple, the boy has always felt like there is someone he is missing. Dean, the third year swimming club’s president at T- University has also spent his life searching for someone whose face he can not remember. The red thread of fate that had tied them together in their past life once again pulls the two boys back to each other, tying them to each other and a past that might not be worth remembering, but a love that is unforgettable. Because the red thread that binds the two hearts together will always lead one back to the other. Even though it might tangle or stretch, it will never break.

Should you watch?: 100% yes. 

This show isn’t finished yet, so I’ll just talk about what I’ve seen up to this point. I read a few comments about this show before I watched it and although it was one of the shows I was looking forward to the most, I was skeptical about watching it since the reviews were mixed. Lots of people love it, but there was also an overwhelming about of people saying it was boring and average at best. After watching the 12 episodes that are out, I gotta admit that it’s not perfect. It is a little slow in some parts, some times you feel like you’re watching Thailand’s version of the food network, the director needs to learn when a scene is over, the product placement can be distracting, the kisses are more awkward than I’d like them to be, and that sounds like a lot to be bothered by, but honestly- I love this show. I feel like Until We Meet Again is what happens when a production crew cares more about making a good show rather than making something that fuels the typical bl fan’s fantasies. It has an interesting storyline and it’s well acted. There’s great emotional moments filled with sweetness and sadness. It’s funny and there’s loving and supportive family and friends. A lot of the typical bl drama tropes aren’t involved here. There’s no girlfriends, no portrayals of women as evil incarnate, no cheating, no coercion into sexual activities, or the popular I’m just gay for you crap. I saw on Twitter a while back that someone was asking how they could get bl to branch out-how to reach a larger audience because there’s a lot of people that won’t watch it-this is how you do it. 

[ohayohimawari]

Kakashi Asks-Answer

Q: (From @nyxako-writing) “So this is more of a silly question, but since the Narutoverse has everything we have (except for guns) do you think Kakashi would ever be a gamer? And if he played any of the Legend of Zelda games, which would be his favorite? XD”

A: Okay so, here’s the thing.

Nyx has the pleasure (?) of knowing me through Discord, and when I’m not geeking over Kakashi, I’m geeking over the Legend of Zelda games. I owe you a life debt for presenting me with this scenario, Nyx! I’m sitting here happy as a clam with my Beta, my Naruto Official Character Data Book and my LoZ encyclopedias.

While I was taking my own sweet time drafting this answer, the incredibly talented @roonie-doodle made my dreams come true by creating this piece of fanart featuring BOTW Sheikah!Kakashi:

Grab a snack and a tasty beverage and buckle up for ALL the geeking Hima below the cut.

In Boruto, we see the next gen ninjas behaving rather UNninjalike with their handheld gaming devices. Whether that’s allowed under the Shinobi Rules or not, it proves that video games exist in Narutoverse.

As a single dad, Sakumo would totally employ screens to occupy Kakashi so he can catch a nap between missions. It’s my opinion that the members of the Hatake household would not like combat games. Think about it: after a day of working in customer service, would you want to unwind with a game that requires your character to level up at a call center? Coupled with their predisposition to PTSD and I think that’s a great big nope. However, father and son could only play Pong, Asteroids, and Pitfall so many times before Sakumo would see the benefit of spending his ryo on the more sophisticated NES, when it becomes available.

According to me, everyone should love the LoZ series and that includes the knuckleheads of Konoha. Even without my totally biased viewpoint, I think Kakashi would enjoy some, but not all of these fantasy adventure games. After he inserts that first Zelda cartridge into the console, he’d be astonished by the colors and the music. His little masked mouth would water at the ability to go up and down, left and right.

And when he enters that fantastic cave where the wisest npc is waiting with a sword and the warning, “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this,” Kid!Kakashi would be hooked.

It’s not just the gameplay that has him running back to Zelda after killer kindergarten lets out for the day, though. I think that the first time Kakashi realizes he could’ve taken the shorter route of up, right, up, right, right, right, right, right, up, left, up, to the second dungeon (instead of his initial path of up, right, up, up, up, up, right, right, right, right, right, down, down, left, up), he’d grab his ninja crayons and draw a map of the whole darn overworld. Sakumo would totally put that shit up on the fridge too.

Then, then, after Kakashi has smashed through every breakable wall, moved every block, and beaten the OG Ganon, there’s a second effing quest waiting for him (and what a beast it is). Sakumo would be able to put the first map in his son’s baby book then because it’s basically useless for the second playthrough, and Kakashi’s meticulous approach to beating the game would begin anew.

Time to grab a tissue because this is where things get angsty. As we all know, my poor octorok-squishing bean has a very short childhood. While I’m sure that he would’ve loved the hell out of the first Zelda game, he is much too busy being a child soldier in the Third Shinobi War to play The Adventure of Link. While Nintendo offers new consoles and LoZ games to go with them, Dungeon Boss-Kishi plunges Kakashi into darkness with neither a red candle nor a blue one to help him find his way out. Between dodging Danzo and loathing himself, I can’t help but think that it’s impossible for this ANBU assassin to find time to play A Link to the Past or Link’s Awakening. Sob.

However, the Sun’s Song is unlocked and the clouds part for the early days of Team Seven. I can totally imagine Kakashi spying on his cute little genin (while he makes them wait for him) and overhears them discussing one of the best games in the LoZ series, Ocarina of Time. After all the lunches Yams has bought for him, Kakashi decides he can afford to splurge on an N64, and he attempts to recapture some of that Zelda magic from his youth.

This game does not disappoint Kakashi, either.

Like everyone, he’d consider muting the TV way before Link had a chance to verily demonstrate his courage because of Navi’s constant interruptions. However, I think after dealing with another talkative bright ball of a boy as his student, Kakashi is willing to put up with Navi out of respect for the late Great Deku Tree’s wishes.

Honestly, I think Kakashi could relate to this version of the Hero of Time. The poor kid doesn’t quite fit in with the others around him, he’s orphaned, has the expectation of saving the world thrust upon his little kid shoulders, then before he knows it, he’s all grown up and the world around him is even more dangerous than it was when he started.

Even though a map is provided in this game, I think Kakashi might still keep notes of every odd thing he encounters as he thoroughly explores 3D Hyrule (boulders, different colored trees and wide spaces that LoZ geeks know are suspicious). He’d be the kind of gamer that focuses on completing the game-not just beating it-making OoT the right game at the right time for him. He’d plant every bean (and drop bugs on the sprouts), get every weapon upgrade, collect every piece of heart and every gold skulltula. He’d be intrigued by the owner of the Happy Mask Shop (as well as Impa, the Skull Kid, that shady Poe Collector fellow, and Kaepora Gaebora), and he’d make sure that Link models each mask for the Deku Scrubs in their hidden grotto. The Water Temple would’ve driven him just as crazy as it drove the rest of us LoZ freaks when he finds that he’s one key short or didn’t move that one block before adjusting the water levels, but it’s all forgiven when he fights Dark Link.

Kakashi would use fishing as an excuse for being late to meet with Team Seven and it wouldn’t be a lie. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura would catch on to the truth when their sensei starts absentmindedly humming the OoT soundtrack (the Gerudo Valley theme is his favorite) because everyone that’s played the game is guilty of it.

By the time Kakashi realizes that it’s impossible to beat the Running Man (even with the Pegasus Boots) in that damn race to Kokiri Forest no matter how many times and how many different ways he plays OoT, Majora’s Mask has dropped.

The alternate world of Termina serves as the perfect distraction from Sasuke’s obsession with revenge, and the beginning of the end of Team Seven. Kakashi would be quick to appreciate this game from the beginning; chasing after that weird Skull Kid from OoT, which leads Link to encounter the Happy Mask Shop owner who, right off the bat, starts to prove what a creepy creep he really is.

It should be obvious without my listing all of the reasons as to why Kakashi would love this game. The world is gorgeous, the story is mysterious, the dungeons and bosses are challenging, the Garos, the MASKS fer chrissakes, and the side quests (OMG, the side quests) are an LoZ completionist player’s dream.

If you still need proof that Majora’s Mask is among his favorite games, I offer Kakashi’s boldest move as the Roku-blow-up-the-moon-daime. Fight me.

I’ve kept to the LoZ games that have been released for home consoles because I think Kakashi would avoid the handheld devices. He doesn’t need to have his gaming habit blow his cover while out on missions. He has his trusty, tattered copies of Icha-Icha books and those are plenty to keep him occupied and entertained during downtime around the campfire.

At any rate, at this stage in the Naruto series, the main hero is off training with Jiraiya and the Leaf is short on shinobi to run missions, so Kakashi wouldn’t have much time to indulge his love of LoZ games anyway. He’s definitely invested in the series by now and curious about new installments to it. He would be aware of the release of The Wind Waker, but I think his initial impression of that game would be that it appears cartoonish, and may not be enough to spark his interest in the game at the time.

However, I’m certain that the next LoZ home console release would have those tantalizing fingers of his twitching to play again. I think there’s a lot about Twilight Princess that would catch his attention. The overall dark tone of the game would remind him of Majora’s Mask, new characters and enemies… The familiar LoZ story branches off into new territory and I bet that would have him keen to explore it.

But then he starts to play it.

Twilight Princess starts off so damn slow and Kakashi is so damn busy at this point in the series that I think he saves and quits and isn’t in a rush to return to the game. He’s got a Kazekage to rescue and a Kyūbi to protect; he doesn’t have time to herd oxen and chase cradle-stealing monkeys.

After the power of friendship saves the day and Gai carries Kakashi home, the copy-nin is bedridden and picks up the game again out of boredom. His interest in it is rekindled when he meets with the Twilight Emissaries and is turned into a wolf. Midna entertains him, definitely.

Honestly, I think Kakashi would have a love/hate relationship with Twilight Princess. My headcanon is that he would enjoy another opportunity to explore the world of LoZ, but this game doesn’t present the kind of satisfying overworld journey as other games did. He would be impressed by a few of the characters, but scratch his head at most of the others. He’d have a greater appreciation of the enemies, dungeons, the Ancient Hero, the Cave of Ordeals and especially, the overall story. However, I’m convinced that Kakashi is a completionist and anyone that challenges themselves to complete Twilight Princess knows the unbearable pain of Rollgoal. Ugh.

After Kakashi finishes this game he doesn’t sell it, but he doesn’t replay it often and never through to completion again. He’s satisfied that the Kingdom of Hyrule is safe as long as Malo exists within it.

At this point in Naruto’s flawed timeline, things are coming to a boil. Kakashi faces off in his own boss fight against Pain and Konoha suffers the same fate as Kakariko. My favorite ninja dork falls in battle (and I rage-quit the series for a while), but Kishi releases a bottled fairy and Kakashi is revived to fight in another shinobi war, become the Rokudaime, and play more LoZ games.

Or so he hoped.

Being Hokage comes with more paperwork than any elite shinobi could complete in a lifetime. The position also comes with a pay raise (as I imagine), so I see Kakashi parting with some of his savings to give the gift of a Wii and Skyward Sword to his best buddy, Gai.

I think that this is an LoZ game that Kakashi would be content to occasionally watch his eternal rival play, rather than play himself. Lord Sixth would love the story, would love the presentation that this game is the beginning of LoZ lore. He would also love that he is watching rather than playing when Gai deals with the frustration of syncing and re-syncing the controllers when he flies his loftwing, or swings the Master Sword. The only time I think Kakashi would grab the controllers for this game would be to take a crack at Koloktos. I also think that would be the only break he’d get to sneak in some LoZ fun while he’s Hokage.

Of course, this means Maito would become a fan of the LoZ games and he would approach them with the same gusto he applies to everything in his life. Gai would play through the back catalog, training for when Kakashi retires and becomes available to speed-run playthrough challenges.

Gai would be the friend that convinces Kakashi that he must play The Wind Waker and distracts his rival from the eternal sailing by explaining why A Link to the Past might be the most important game of the LoZ series. Now that Kakashi has reached a point in his life that offers him time for leisure, he plays through it as well as other games in the series that he had missed out on. Besides adding A Link to the Past to his list of favorites, it would otherwise remain unaltered at this point: Zelda, OoT, and Majora’s Mask.

By the time Kakashi knows the significance of the yellow band in the various caps worn by the Hero of Time, Breath of the Wild is released and his list of favorite LoZ games grows again.

There is just so much about this game that would appeal to Kakashi. The sheer size of the overworld (I’ve read it’s 360 square kilometers) and the fact that he can explore the whole thing would be this ninja dork’s dream come true. He can progress through the game however he wants to. He’d buy that Sheikah set right away, and find Majora’s Mask as soon as that DLC dropped and roam the world to his heart’s content.

Kakashi wouldn’t be bothered by the odd trophies this game offers for completing it, because as a completionist player, he understands that completing it is its own reward. His alter-ego Sukea would love taking photos both for the compendium and for the sake of fun. Kakashi loves to infiltrate, gather information, solve puzzles, and form plans and BOTW offers all of that in spades.

He’d restart the game so many times just to try out different strategies. The first time Kakashi leaps off of Mount Lanayru, sputters out of stamina and lands on a buck that charges straight for the blue lynel in Naydra’s Snowfield (this totally happened to me btw), he’d realize he should’ve been trading those spirit orbs for stamina vessels instead of only heart containers; resulting in his first restart. The second restart would come after Gai shows off his spiffy expand-a-band-banded inventory and this time, Kakashi would plow through the Great Plateau so he could recover that pair of priceless maracas. Countless other restarts occur as Kakashi experiments with which and how many towers he should attempt to overtake before he finally makes his way to Impa.

With every restart, he learns something new about BOTW and enjoys it more. He commits locations to memory (at least 148 for the towers, shrines and captured memories). He rushes to gather the essential 441 Korok seeds in each new playthrough (he might shed a tear when he finally becomes a member of the 900 club-I know I did). He figures out how to cheat on Eventide Island. He learns that even though he could launch Link across Hyrule with Magnesis and Stasis doesn’t mean he should. He looks forward to every Blood Moon, if only to cook as many hearty durians, mighty bananas, and endura carrots as he can between 11:30 and midnight in-game time. He realizes that his greatest enemy in all of Hyrule is the weather. When the Champion’s Ballad is available for download, his excitement for playing the game begins all over again.

I’ve stated several times that I’m convinced that Kakashi would be a completionist player and out of all the games, the latest LoZ is a pleasure to complete (despite what some YouTube gamers may say). In addition, BOTW came out during a period in Kakashi’s life when he could afford to spend significant time playing it.

And this finally brings me to the answer to your question. Breath of the Wild would be Kakashi’s favorite LoZ game, hands down. He would love this game so much and would enjoy playing it so often, that I think he had a Nintendo Switch stashed in the fanny pack he rocked during the Steam Ninja Scrolls arc.

XOXO

[diveronarpg]

Congratulations, ART! You’ve been accepted for the role of EDMUND with an approved FC change to Max Irons. Admin Minnie: I knew this was a winner while reading your plots Art, but it was your para sample that really left me speechless. The way you showed us how he had suffered and how he had ached, all that bitterness and resentment and ambition and pride... it was so clear how deep your love for Edmund goes. I am thrilled to see someone with such an intimate, intense grasp on Easton’s soul. Please stay forever, and please ruin us for the rest of your life! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

WELCOME TO THE MOB.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Alias | Art

Age | 19

Preferred Pronouns | He/him

Activity Level | Well here’s the thing about quarantine. I will be spending the next two-three months in a house, all day, every day, with consistent access to a laptop. I also lost my job and because the US economy is a flaming pile of garbagé, I don’t imagine getting another any time soon, especially since all my skills are in food. All this to say, I believe I will be incredibly active, outside of my Skype’d classes and grocery runs and whatnot.

Timezone | MST

How did you find the rp?  | A discord friend DM’d it to me after I went on a rant about Edmund and the layers to his “Thou, Nature, art my Goddess” soliloquy. They know me so well, and acceptances were literally in like six hours from when I got the link, so I sat my butt down, put down my real-world obligations for a moment, and typed this whole thing out like I was writing an unstarted essay due at midnight.

Current/Past RP Accounts | All my old RP writing is from years ago and is, frankly, really really bad. Thank you for making this optional.

IN CHARACTER

Character | Edmund or Easton Craven. I love Daniel Sharman’s wonderful, gorgeous face with my whole heart (hello gay awakening), but I’d like to use Max Irons instead, if at all possible.

What drew you to this character? | So, my love of Easton/Edmund actually began about a year ago, when I cut my hair and started playing around with names and different clothes. I was in a Shakespeare class at my college, and it was a requirement that we perform a monologue. It didn’t need to be Broadway-worthy, we just needed to deliver it, and we could do this as often as we liked. I performed two. One from a play we had read and analyzed, as my professor asked, and I did another. That second one was Edmund’s “Thou, Nature” soliloquy. It was the first time I performed as a guy to an audience that thought I was a guy, not a girl playing dress up. So I have a really strong emotional connection to Edmund, regardless of the form he’s in.

I was really excited by this particular version of him, however, because I thought it played right along the line of a monstrous asshole and charming young man doing what he can to deal with the hand dealt to him. He’s both of those things, to me, and I really enjoyed that you brought that forward. Edmund, from the source, reminds me of Chris Evans’ character from Knives Out, in a way? Completely self-motivated, selfish and cruel, and yet really fun and charming, as long as it isn’t you he’s screwing over at the time. I know he isn’t that character and I’m honestly really glad for it. I just found a similarity there.

I just really like those kinds of characters in fiction, and that, combined with my emotional ties and vague debt to the source character, meant I arrived and started writing as fast as I could.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? |

These are all ideas, nothing here is set in stone, and are entirely dependent on the beauty of the other writers free will.

Some Twelve or Fourteen Moonshines Lag of a Brother: From the get-go of this awful experience known as the human existence, Easton has existed just slightly behind Everett, just enough to keep the guy freezing in the shadows. It’s the last name, the mannerisms, and the goddamn eyes that sit in his skull. It is a truth, acknowledged by both me and him, that there is an association to Easton he really wishes wasn’t there. This is why I want someone to look at Easton and see Easton, not a Craven.

Now, I want to pause here, and say that Easton is a lying snake of a man that would and probably will sell out his own family for one corn chip. He is completely self-centered, convinced of his superiority, and willing to bleed the world dry to get the pound of flesh he is owed. I want someone to see this, to realize there is a snake curled around the Capulet’s necks, willing to bite and kill every single one of them if it means he gets to sit comfortably on a throne of gold and bones. Because that is what he wants, he wants the world to pay for every second of misery he endured in his life. But he is charming, slippery in the way only the truly awful can be. He’s accepted the labels thrown at him and become them, which is its own kind of armor. Who doesn’t love a bad boy?

But beyond all that, he is rotten through and through. I’d like his armor to crack and reveal the duplicity underneath, maybe around someone like Maeve or Catherine, someone that might not be believed right away. I love the idea of Easton being the wolf among some very dangerous sheep, but the really, truly awful ones not realizing. This could produce a really fun dance, where the two parties involved both try really really hard to overthrow or remove the other from their position while still trying really hard to maintain a veil of normality.

But that dance is what makes this all so terribly fun. They’re on a rock, doomed to eventually die, and Easton wants his power, but why can’t he play a few games while trying to get it?

I Grow, I Prosper: Easton, poor guy, was brought into the world and then spent the next twenty-six years being told his existence and all the things that came with it were his fault. They weren’t, or at least they weren’t in the way he had been told his entire life. He has learned to move past the label of “bastard” or “illegitimate”, meeting all such claims with the certainty that he must act the part. But does his position fulfill him? Does his current lot in life spark joy? I think not! He is a captain, yes, but so is his brother. He is, at best, on equal footing with his brother and at worst, he is the younger brother desperately following behind Everett as a living shadow yet again. Easton needs to be more than Everett. He’s wanted this his entire life. The whole city needs to look at Easton and see him, not his brother, and then Easton wants to rub it in Everett’s face, lord it over him for the next century at the shortest. That is the general idea behind this plot: Everett surpassing and overcoming his brother. The fact that he’d end up lording over so many others is really just a plus!

This plot would require effort. Loads and LOADS of plotting and communication on my part, and a whole lot of cutthroat, stepping-on-literally-everyone-else-in-Verona from Easton. He is going to have to exploit the hell out of Celeste and the information she can get him, potentially leading to her downfall just so Easton can succeed. He will need Rafaella and Tiberius to trust him almost unconditionally, which, just from what I’ve seen poking around the main, seems pretty much impossible. And of course, he has to successfully and continually one-up Everett, which might be the hardest job of all, given the whole awful tangle of EmotionsTM that Easton has towards him. It’s hard for him to be clear-headed when he wants to tear Everett into little tiny pieces with his bare hands.

But hey, that is, again, the whole point of this plot: the destruction of the legitimate son. Eliminating the sun so the moon can rule 24/7.

My Services are Bound: No matter how ambitious, how desperate Easton is to rule the world, he doesn’t yet. He works for the Capulets and he is a tool used to further the wishes of those above him in this terribly illegal food chain where dog eats dog. No matter how much Easton wishes it was different, it isn’t, at least not at the moment, and he must bide his time until something better happens.

Yes, Easton is a tool, and I want him to be reminded of that. He has the ambition to rule the world, can picture himself with a crown he may never hold, but he is a knight on the chessboard. I want his ego to be checked, I want him to be taken down at the knees and reminded of the situation he is in, who he works for. Now, ideally, this would come from the Capulet family themselves and not a rogue Montague or something.

The Capulet family, in order to win this war they’ve found themselves in, need their tools to be obedient and ready to deploy at a moment’s notice. This is not the case with Easton. He’s a rebellious man, more loyal to himself than any of the lofty ideas the Capulet heads have surrounded themselves with. So the family he serves would need to get Easton back in line, somehow. They’d need to remind him who he is and whom he serves no matter what it took and use whatever tools at their disposal. This could potentially happen after Easton completely blows off a mission he was handed to advance his own agendas, which I think would probably be the best choice as it would probably send these awful shrieking sirens off in the Capulets.

I want this particular plot because Easton is so assured that he will be able to make the world pay and yet he’s just one man against so very many others.

Are you comfortable with killing off your character? | Oh most definitely. As a writer, I am a firm believer in conditional happy endings, probably because I play so many video games. In order to get a happy ending, in order to survive, the character has to do all the right things. The likelihood of Easton doing all the right things is just tiny, absolutely microscopic.  

IN DEPTH

I was going to do both, but I’m running out of time so…

In-Character Para Sample:

There is something beautiful in standing alone, where there are no silent reminders of how Easton arrived in this world, how he stepped into it screaming and no one cared to change that. There were no side-eyes, reminding him of how unwanted he was, how utterly unworthy he was to bear the name “Craven”. No hands hiding giggles at the boy his mother ran from and his father hid away. Here, under the bowed ceiling in the transept of the Capulet’s cathedral, there was only him and God.

“I hope,” Easton began, fingers lightly running across the back of a pew likely not used for praying, “that you know what is coming.” The eyes that proclaim a taint to his family’s name were raised to dance across the ceiling. “If word is to be believed, you, an old man in the sky, a Father,” he spat out, “brought me here. Placed me here upon this Earth to do whatever it is I so wish.” A smile, small and dangerous with heavy promises was birthed on his face, an expression that could not have been more familiar to his muscles. “I suppose that’s all a father has ever done for me. Perhaps,” he mused, lightly tapping his chin as he continued to wander aimlessly among the seats of a flock absent. “Perhaps I should be grateful that both You and him are both so delightfully hands-off.”

“I suppose this rock is where You chose to put all Your bastards, isn’t it? Shoved them away from Your kingdom, making them fight for their place in Your home despite them all being Your children?” The noise that escaped Easton’s mouth was not fit for the place he stood in, but it hardly seemed to matter to him as he collapsed into a pew, feet raised to rest on a Bible, feet that had stood in a man’s blood not hours before. “I suppose that must be how it is, because we’re all made in Your image, aren’t we? And that man had to learn it from somewhere.”

His head fell back, eyes closed to the beauty above him in a silent condemnation for Who it was built for. “You’ve released yet another snake into your garden by making that woman my mother and handing me the Craven name, you know.” The observation was quiet, laced with the bitterness of cyanide, perfected over years of similar declarations. The words were familiar, not on his tongue but rather to his mind, the idea similar to ones he had kept close for years.“I have crawled in the dirt on my stomach for too long because of You, and I shall take a throne and dare You to steal it from me.”

He inhaled, once, a desperate attempt to calm the words he could feel rising like acid in his throat. It didn’t work, though Easton didn’t try very hard. He rarely did when alone. “I am owed this, you miserable old bastard,” he hissed out from behind his teeth, sounding like the snake he had just claimed to be. “I will take everything because this is Your fault, and I will make your precious sheep pay for every inch of Your mistake. It’s mine, I deserve it.” A hand was clenched into a fist in his lap and Easton shifted forward, only to slam it into the wood of the pew ahead of him. “It’s mine.”

He stood suddenly, coat rising around him like smoke rising around a fire, warning the world of the danger just over there. Turning on his heel, he left the cathedral without a look back, without a fear of God. And though there had been no one around, the air hung heavy with a question. Just which father had he been addressing?

Extras: If you have anything else you’d like to include (further headcanons, an inspo tag, a mock blog, etc), feel free to share it here! This is OPTIONAL.

I submitted this through an Easton mock blog! There was going to be stuff there but my laptop crashed and I need to eat dinner!

[freckliedan]

Okay but what about compatibility-wise? Everyone talks about how compatible dnp are but idk where to find this info myself (or how to decipherit for that matter lol). But i figured i would ask you cause you seem pretty passionate about it!

hi b! i just got a few super helfpul asks on the subject of synastry (which is new for me!) if you wanna check out my dnp astrology tag, but i'm also super happy to give u a rundown of what i already know/how i look at compatibility in my own, cobbled-together, absolutely not expert way!

a lot of the astrological learning i've done is thru cafeastrology.com; they have a free birth chart calculator tool, and if you google "dan howell birth chart" or "phil lester birth chart" you should be able to get the info necessary to run their charts (time and location of birth) from other websites! (i like astrotheme, they do cool things with graphs). the time/place of birth info is also availible in tabinof, too! and if you don't have a copy, send me an ask abt phandom archives of content, bc it is availible online.

cafeastrology lets you run the compatibility of any charts you make, so i've looked at dnp's compatibility that way before! with online birth chart/compatibility reports, it tells you every single thing that may be a result of a person or couple's chart(s), so sometimes (especially in birth charts) you'll get like, 8 different aspects in someone's chart that say they're diplomatic and friendly in interpersonal relationships and a single aspect that says they're combative and abraisive in the same scenario.

SO when that kind of thing happens, the single trait that's contrary to the vast majority of the chart can be cancelled out, or only show up under certain circumstances - basically, astrology can be confusing and not every single sentence in a birth chart or compatibility write-up is gonna be dead accurate, but the ones that aren't will be directly contrasted by the ones that are super accurate / repeat themselves throughout the chart.

the reason i can understand charts at all is because ya bitch has adhd and has run a ridiculous number of charts! usually digital birth chart calculators will explain what all of the chart means, and the more charts yoy read the easier it is to understand parts of what's going on just by looking at the chart itself. cafeastrology's compatibility grid really helped me understand things better, too.

solutionastrology & astro-seek also have pretty good compatibility calculators, too!

all that said, dan and phil's compatibilty is like ... it's fucking beautiful, yall. they both have air signs for their sun/moon/mercury, something that both probably makes them feel farther apart from everyone else that they know and understood by each other/connected to eachother in a really deep, unique, meaningful way.

as a gay in a relationship with someone of the same element as me? (in my case, earth/earth), the ways that sharing an element with your partner manifests is in like... you have a really similar way of seeing the world, and processing information, and similar priorities - but, because you're not the same exact sign, you and your partner see different parts of the same picture, and you both constantly are within your comfort zone together while also expanding each other's way of seeing the world and strengthening one another's approach in every endeavor you take on.

but like, as air signs who often are associated with thought and conceptual matters dnp are like... like they genuinely exist in a universe where it's just the two of them and their love for eachother? they could be alone together in a room full of people in the loveliest possible way.

i think i've said this elsewhere before, too, but phil keeps dan from sinking, and dan keeps phil from disconnecting. a weakness of dan's from his chart can be getting trapped in too much thinking, and having his thoughts run away from him in a bad way; phil's chart makes it pretty clear that it's altogether too easy for him to disconnect and isolate from others. they both are able to like. keep the other grounded, though? dan being an anchor-point for phil, so that he doesn't float away from connection, and phil being a buoy for dan so he doesn't sink. it's like. they create a perfect equilibrium?

they also both have a lot of fire in their charts, which, a) that means their love is very equally passionate bc of their venus/mars placements, and b) it means that they also, in each other, have a partner who balances them out by being the direct opposite to their sign? a lot of compatibility calculator websites say that your sister sign (the sign 6 months away from your own, earth is paired with water and air with fire) is a sign you will have conflict with &that you shouldn't date.

however, in my experience? having a healthy close relationship with someone who is of your sister sign is one of the most grounding and beautiful relationships, romantic or otherwise. i know a gemini/sagittarius couple that's like, wicked in love and good for each other, and my best friend is a scorpio which is sister signs with taurus. being close to someone with the opposite sign to your own helps you work through your weaknesses and flaws and have a more open, balanced way of engaging with the world!

so, the huge amount of sagittarius in phil's chart balancing dan's gemini combined with the significant leos in dan's chart that balance out phil's aquarius genuinely like.. leaves me speechless. i didn't think it was possible for two people to have both the compatibility of being the same element and of being sister signs, but that's what dan and phil have. they're literally each other's comfort and home and safety, while also being one another's strongest support and most loving critic, a compass for each other pointing towards a healthy, fulfilling, happy future that they worked hard (together)to acchieve.

i love them and their love. the stars are just, gay for dan and phil. and their love isn't just incredible because it was ~fated~ or something, their love is genuinely inspiring and gorgeous because even if the stars made this all possible, they chose each other. they choose each other every single day, and that's why their love exists. that's how they've made it this far, and i'm just? honestly in awe, yall.

[ttime42]

2018 Fic Roundup

This is a list of fics (in no particular order) I read last year. Many of these I finished. Some of them I started and didn't finish because it turned out they weren't for me. Others are rereads. Thanks to all the wonderful authors who fill fandom with life.

Watson's Folly by Diana Williams

John Watson, the new Earl of Saughton, is madly in love with the beautiful Mary Morstan. But he has returned from the Peninsular War to find his family on the brink of ruin and his ancestral home mortgaged to the hilt. He has little choice when he is introduced to Mycroft Holmes, a civil servant of apparently unlimited wealth and no social ambitions for himself - but with his eyes firmly fixed on a suitable match for his only brother, the unorthodox and irascible Omega Sherlock Holmes. Can John forget the woman he loved and find happiness with a man so very different from his lost love?

To the Sticking Place by blueink3

Renowned Shakespearean actor Sherlock Holmes has finally burned all of his bridges in the theatre industry save for his constant director, Greg Lestrade. John Watson has made a name for himself in the musical theatre circuit, but age and injury are working against him. Can they reinvent themselves for an all-male Macbeth without killing one another? 

The Yellow Poppies by SilentAuror

Sherlock is threatened and assaulted in the hospital immediately after having been shot in the heart, first by Mary, then by Magnussen. As he recovers at Baker Street with John and plans the attack on Appledore with Mycroft, he fights to work through the trauma caused by these two visits. Set during His Last Vow.

The Vapor Variant by 88thParallel

They stood face to face in the middle of a clearing. The dim light of the moon barely allowed Sherlock to see the glassy terror in John’s eyes and the sweat that glistened off his forehead. His nose was bleeding again, blood dripping in a slow stream from his right nostril.

They were both gasping for air, John’s eyes locked on Sherlock’s. There was no recognition there, just wild animal fear.

Time stood still for an eternal few seconds, and Sherlock took a shaky breath. “John—”  

Spell broken, John spun and bolted back into the woods.

Still heaving for air, Sherlock took off after him.

The Sock Index by distantstarlight

John and Sherlock live at 221 B Baker Street. Everything is back to normal with the long-time friends....or is it? 

The Shop Boy by EventHorizon

Sometimes, taking care of Sherlock had its benefits...

The School Boy by EventHorizon

As Mycroft and Lestrade pursue their own relationship, Sherlock learns the meaning of friendship with the new boy in his school, John Watson.

The Science of Musicality by circ_bamboo

Classical musician AU: Sherlock is a professional solo violinist, and John is his new accompanist collaborator. They've got a recital in three months, and someone doesn't want them to do it.

The Riven Crown by The_Kingmaker

‘We may have won the battle, but I fear the war with winter is just beginning.’

The aftermath of war is no laughing matter. Those who died must be honoured, those who are wounded must be healed, and those who remain need food and clothing, peace and sanctuary. With Thorin's life hanging in the balance, it is up to Bilbo and the rest of the Company to rule the rag-tag remnants of Erebor in his place.

Then there is the matter of the gold...

Can Bilbo save both king and kingdom, or is Erebor destined to fall deeper into ruin?

The Men Who Talked Between the Words by Odamaki (locked to Ao3)

John expected to be a father some day; he expected to have the house, and the wife and the nice suburban job. Sherlock never expected to have children, in part because he never expected to make it past 30. As it turns out, you don't get a choice. Crammed into Baker Street with a baby, John struggles with single-parenthood and his own fears, while Sherlock treads the fine line between doing too little and saying too much.

The Guarded Secret by mycapeisplaid

After his war injury, John feels broken, small, and useless.  On a whim, he takes a position as a security guard of sorts at the gorgeous Holmes Hall in Yorkshire.  As it turns out, he is not as broken, small, or useless as he thinks.  A story of beauty and blossom, murder and mystery, loss and love. 

The Clash of Storm and Sea by QuinnAnderson

Music School AU. The first time John heard Sherlock play, he knew he was done for. Johnlock.

The Burning Heart by May_Shepard

When Sherlock dies, John Watson feels like his life is over too. He’s completely shut down, until Mark Morstan, a new nurse at John’s medical clinic, catches his attention, and helps him uncover the long buried truth of his attraction to men.

Although he’s certain he’ll never get over Sherlock, John plans to move on, and build a new life with Mark, unaware that Sherlock is not quite as dead as he appears, and that Mark is hiding secrets of his own.

The Bluest of Blue by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John

John Watson's 10th season as a Denali National Park Ranger was shaping up to look like all the years before.

Until a special team from Europe was flown into the Park for a summer-long wolf-tracking research project, and the head of that research team was wearing a perfectly tailored suit.

Gimme Shelter by SinceWhenDoYouCallMe_John

All John Watson wants is the feeling of a freshly waxed surfboard under his feet and the hot California sun baking down onto his back. To finally go pro in the newly formed world of professional surfing and leave the dark memories of his past behind him as he rips across the face of a towering blue barrel. To lounge beside the beach bonfire every evening with an ice cold beer tucked into the cool sand beside him and listen to Pink Floyd and the Doors while the saltwater dries in his sun bleached hair.

That's all he wants, that is, until the hot young phenom taking Oahu and the Hawaiian shores by storm steps up next to him in the sand in the second round of the 1976 International Surf Competition.

A Further Sea by i_ship_an_armada and ShinySherlock (locked to Ao3)

Here be a tale of adventure for both body and soul, but beware if ye be not of stout heart, for this be piratelock, ya savvy? Luckless ship's surgeon John Watson takes a chance, and finds himself eye to eye with The Ghost, the scourge of the seven seas and a definite thorn in the side of the blaggard, James Moriarty. But when John finds there's more to this most cunning pirate than be meetin' the eye, he has to choose--is it a pirate's life for him?

The Bells of King’s College by SilentAuror

It's only been two weeks since Eurus Holmes disrupted their lives when Mycroft sends John and Sherlock to Cambridge to pose as an engaged couple at a wedding show in the hopes of solving six unsolved deaths...

Summit Fever by J_Baillier

After graduating from medical school, John Watson followed his heart to the Himalayas. Ten years later, he's a haunted cynic working for his ex-lover's trekking and mountaineering company. Will leading an expedition to Annapurna I—the most lethal of all the world's highest mountains—shake John out of his reverie, and who is the mystery client added to the group at the last minute?

Share the Stars with You by EventHorizon

Set in Victorian times, we find Mycroft as a sedentary man of wealth and power and Greg as an explorer, a true man of action.  Given their opposite natures, could it be these two might actually achieve the one thing neither has ever thought possible - finding someone to love?

School for Scandal by rubberbird

Sherlock lusts from afar. John tries to fool himself.

Saving Sherlock Holmes by earlgreytea68

Sherlock Holmes, schoolboy. Yeah, that basically sums it up.

Performance in a Leading Role by Mad_Lori

Sherlock Holmes is an Oscar winner in the midst of a career slump. John Watson is an Everyman actor trapped in the rom-com ghetto. When they are cast as a gay couple in a new independent drama, will they surprise each other? Will their on-screen romance make its way into the real world?

Paradigm Shift by distantstarlight

Sherlock Holmes is the world's only consulting detective. He's also a virgin, and has staunchly remained that way. One night he's on a case like normal but he sees someone who after a single glance turns everything Sherlock thought he knew about himself completely around. Enter one John Watson, doctor, soldier....stripper?

In the Still of the Night by SilentAuror

As locals on the Northeastern coast begin to report UFO sightings, life at Baker Street becomes significantly awkward as John brings up his desire for more than friendship and Sherlock refuses him. They embark on the investigation from the confines of the tiny cottage Mycroft has rented for them, attempting to navigate both the clues of the case as well as their own inability to communicate...

In Search of a Word: A Symphony of First Times by queenfanfiction

There is a new concertmaster at the London Symphony, and John Watson is starting to fall a little bit in love with both the music and the man making it.

How Long? by TheBritishBourbon

Sherlock never got to jump off the roof of St. Barts, he never got the chance. Sherlock was abducted and held for 5 years, but now he has escaped. What awaits him as he returns to reality?

Every Star in the Sky Knows Your Name by Jaune_Chat

Mal's latest pair of passengers slowly reveals they have more of a connection to the crew than anyone would have thought, when Simon discovers that Sherlock and his sister had been in the same government program over a decade and a half apart. Sherlock's friend John, his rescuer and keeper, tells the crew the story of living a life on the run, something that is both less and more familiar than anyone expects.

Enigma by khorazir

It’s the autumn of 1941, war is raging in Europe, German U-boats are raiding Allied convoys in the Atlantic, the Luftwaffe is bombing English cities, and the cryptographers at Bletchley Park are working feverishly to decode their enemies' encrypted communications. One should consider this challenge and distraction enough for capricious codebreaker Sherlock Holmes. But the true enigmas are yet waiting to be deciphered: an unbreakable code, a strange murder, and the arrival of Surgeon Captain John H. Watson of the Royal Navy.

Electric Pink Hand Grenade by BeautifulFiction

"If Sherlock's brain is a hard drive, then these attacks are an electro-magnetic pulse." Sherlock Holmes does not do anything by half, not even a migraine. It falls to John to witness one of the greatest minds he has ever known tear itself apart, and he must do his best to help Sherlock pick up the pieces.

Butterbeer by green_violin_bow

One of very few students left at Hogwarts over the Christmas holiday, final-year Slytherin student Mycroft Holmes finds himself thrown together with Gryffindor Quidditch team captain Greg Lestrade. An unlikely friendship, but one that blossoms in the huge, mostly-empty castle.

Boyfriend Material by PoppyAlexander

Boston Brawlers' team captain John Watson longs for two things: a championship before he retires, and a boyfriend. Assigned to room with goaltender Sherlock Holmes--known around the league as both a genius and a "weird dude"--on Brawlers' roadtrips, John discovers the things they have in common that lead to an easy friendship and a convenient arrangement.

Slow-burn, adversaries-to-friends-to-lovers, romantic comedy.

Alternate Universe - Sports/Ice Hockey

Babylon by BeautifulFiction_FMA

Two years after retrieving his brother's body from the Gate of Truth Edward Elric is still paying the price. Will his debt ever be repaid, or will it finally cost him everything? (Originally published 2007 on fanfiction.net and livejournal)

An improbable love by slowroad

Sherlock is a famous violinist who is going through a bit of a slump. He's lonely and miserable. It has been three years since John was invalided home from Afghanistan. He's slowly getting his life together, but he's lonelier than he's ever been. And then, the the two of them meet… 

Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore

Post Series 3. Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world ...and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

A Hundred Crimson Sols by elldotsee

Will Holmes is a chemical researcher recognized widely for his contributions to the new Mars exploration program. Thanks to his ground-breaking developments, the IMMC (International Mars Mission Corporation) is one step closer to Martian colonization. Will and his team of scientists are headed out on the first of three manned missions before the first group of settlers arrive. Three days before launch, one of the crew has to be replaced. Will panics because...new people. The replacement is of course one John Watson, biomedical engineer and space hottie who was pretty sure he had retired from actual space exploration and was now content to work in the nice, quiet research lab.

Can the crew survive this TOTALLY ROUTINE trip? Will they be able to endure each other for the looooooong trip in close quarters?

{SPOILER: Of course not. That would be boring.}

Guarantee there will be drama. And explosions. And Will is gonna do something cocky and stupid. Really good chance for some zero-gravity boinking (bet ya didn't even know you needed that in your life).

Gonna be a wild ride... prepare for blast off.

A Fold in the Universe by darkest_bird

Alpha Sherlock and Omega John are in a relationship. Prime Sherlock and Prime John are not. So what happens when a freak fold in the universe switches one John for the other?

[spellcastersjudgement]

please could you do fusionshipping and number 7?

*takes drag of cigarette* fusionshipping, you say? that was baby froots oh tee pee growing up…this one is gonna bring back a lot of super gay sixth grade headcanons and feelings and u know what?? im glad  

#7: a kiss to shut them up 

Jaden Yuki was like the sun. Warm, bright, a symbol of happiness and growth. Zane wasn’t cliche enough to state that he was the moon or something, but Atticus supplied that for him. His best friend had a goldmine of of gross poetic things to say about the differences between himself and Jaden, and if Zane wasn’t a closet romantic and desperately pining for the other duelist, he would’ve backhanded Atticus with enough force to give him whiplash. 

That wouldn’t be the only reason Atticus Rhodes needed to be backhanded. He’d been earning his comeuppance for several years now. 

“Hey, look over there,” 

Zane heard Atticus’s voice at his shoulder and smelled a scheme, but humored his best friend and looked over to where Atticus had jerked his head. 

Jaden Yuki had just walked into the convention center, duel disk on his arm, other arm linked through Jesse Anderson’s. Jim and Hassleberry were a few steps behind them, also with duel disks–that was a bit surprising, as Zane hadn’t seen either of their names on the registration for the tournament. They wouldn’t be competing in the same bracket, so Zane didn’t think too much of it. They wouldn’t have been good competition anyway. There was another issue though. If Jaden had all of them here, plus Syrus as his manager, it would– 

“Damn, we’re not gonna get any alone time with him,” Atticus grumbled. They were at the bar, day drinking to survive the opening ceremonies for the tournament, which was too much talking and not enough card games for Zane. 

Though he was loathe to agree with Atticus, Zane could privately admit that Jaden showing up with his entourage would mean that he would have less time with the brunette. “We?” 

“Yeah, we, Zaney. You and Jaden see each other all the time at the super high-level tournaments, but you never make any moves without me bugging you,” Atticus downed his drink and signaled the bartender for another. “Now I have to work on separating Jaden from the pack and then I have to make sure you do your job of actually flirting with him instead of just staring at him and hoping he gets the message,” 

“Stop strategizing.” Zane ordered. 

“Zane, if you would get off your ass and actually–” 

“I’ll see Jaden at the next tournament, this one doesn’t matter.” Zane grumbled, knowing that Atticus wouldn’t take him seriously but saying it out of principle. 

“This one does matter–come on, I need you two together while I’m still young!” Atticus said, throwing up his hands, exasperated. 

“He doesn’t like me, Rhodes,” 

“You don’t know that!” Atticus started on his typical spiel of how Zane wasn’t a mind reader, how he’d never know the joys of love if he didn’t risk experiencing pain, that Jaden was single and put up with Zane’s shit, which was more than Zane should expect from anyone. 

“Come on, you two are perfect–sun and moon remember? Yin and yang? Do I have to read my poems to you again?” Atticus threatened. 

“Read me a poem and I’m cutting off your hair,” 

“You say that all the time, Zaney–my hair is still as long and beautiful as ever.” Atticus’s took a sip from his fourth drink of the afternoon. “Look, you get blasted, you flirt with him, tell him how you feel–a year from now you’ll be Mr. and Mr. Yuki-Truesdale and I get to officiate the wedding,” 

Jaden Yuki-Truesdale did have a nice ring to it. 

“I’m not doing that,” Zane said, mostly because even in his most private fantasies of Jaden and him being together Atticus Rhodes was not the one marrying them. He’d already slated Alexis for that position. 

Atticus wasn’t paying attention anymore, he was laying a hand over his heart, smiling, a faraway, dreamy look in his eyes.  “Come on, come on–opening ceremonies tonight. Picture this: sit next to him, take his hand, look down into those big, beautiful eyes, stroke his cheek, tower over him on your spider legs and whisper: Jaden Yuki, will you do me the honor of being my Eternal Sunshine?” 

“Shut the fuck up,” Zane snapped, feeling a blush coming on. Eternal Sunshine. What a name. What a fitting name.

“You two would be adorable–you with your goth aesthetic,’ Atticus motioned to  Zane’s all-black ensemble, the makeup, the nails, the choker. “And him, with his boy-next-door aesthetic–adorable! It’s the season for love!” 

“It’s midwinter,” 

“All seasons are seasons for love, you frigid bitch,” Atticus huffed, shoving Zane’s shoulder. “Look, I’m going to go distract everyone and–” 

“Atticus if you set me up with Jaden I’m going to smother you with a pillow,” 

“Now that’s a threat I believe,” Atticus said. “That’s why I made sure your manager booked us separate hotel rooms this time,” 

Atticus dropped the subject–sort of. He was now alternating between drinking and swiping through pictures of Chazz, and Zane would be lying if it didn’t make him jealous to hear his best friend gushing over his boyfriend. They were nearly impossible to stomach when they were together, what with Atticus coming up with nicknames and breaking out into song at every available opportunity. Zane had known Chazz for a long time, and when they’d gotten together he’d hoped the black-haired boy, who was always ragging on Jaden for being over-the-top, would bring Atticus’s antics to a grinding halt. He felt betrayed when Chazz started blushing and thanking Atticus for all of his romanticism instead of chastising him. 

In a moment of weakness, probably brought on by the alcohol, Zane reflected upon how maybe he should let Atticus help him out with Jaden.

The moment was gone in an instant. That would be a horrible idea. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Atticus whispered excitedly. “Eternal Sunshine at 6 o’clock,” 

“Don’t you–” 

It was too late. Atticus was already slapping down cash on the bar and standing up. “Hey there, Jaden! You know where the bathroom is?” 

“Hey Atticus!” Jaden’s voice sent a jolt of happiness through Zane, and he took another drink to calm the frantic beating of his heart. “Jesse’s heading to the bathroom now, just follow the blue hair,” 

Zane saw Jaden sink down into Atticus’s empty chair. “Hey Zane,” 

He swallowed another mouthful of gin and tonic before responding. “Nice to see you,” 

“What’s it been, a week?” Jaden laughed, leaning his elbow against the bar. “Didn’t expect you to be competing in an open-entry tournament,” 

“Atticus wanted to enter,” Zane tried not to think of sunshine and seasons of love as Jaden laughed again. 

“He bring Chazz with him?” 

“Chazz is halfway around the world with Alexis and Bastion,” 

“Oh yeah, Prague. Bastion told me about it, I didn’t think Chazzeroo was going with them,” Jaden picked up the drink menu, no doubt looking for something fruity and sweet, something Zane would never touch with a ten foot pole. Another thing Atticus liked to wax poetic about–only he could make something corny and romantic out of drink orders. 

“We should go to Prague,” 

Zane nearly choked on his drink as his mind rared into overdrive. His mind knew that logically the second half of that sentence was “for a tournament,” but his heart desperately wanted it to be for more personal reasons. Mr. and Mr. Yuki-Truesdale–damn Atticus for bringing the thought to the forefront of his mind (he’d thought of it before, certainly, but only late at night when he was feeling especially lonely, not in broad daylight with Jaden sitting right next to him)–on honeymoon in Prague. Not his first choice, he’d always imagined it on a beach somewhere, but if that’s what Jaden wanted–

This train of thought was strangely reminiscent of Atticus. They weren’t–god they weren’t even together, let alone married. One step at a time. 

Or zero steps at a time because you won’t do anything, Atticus’s voice–when had he gotten in here?–echoed in Zane’s head. 

“You alright, Zane?” Jaden asked, leaning forward, concern in his eyes–here he remembered Atticus comparing the color to some chocolate he’d bought for Chazz–and Zane was ready to swear off alcohol for the rest of his life if it was going to cause him to think of Atticus Rhodes. 

“Um, yeah, I’m good,” Zane said. “So you were saying we–that, uh, we should go to Prague,” 

“Oh yeah, I bet it’d be awesome!” Jaden thanked the bartender for the fluorescent pink daiquiri, picking up the cherry and popping it into his mouth. Zane nearly passed out at the images in his head. “I don’t know anything about it, but it’d be an adventure–think about it, two Americans lost in the Czech Republic, can’t read anything, only armed with our duel disks and wits–sounds like a movie,” 

“The only movies I’ve seen that take place in the Czech Republic are horror movies,” Zane said. That’s not the kind of movie he wanted to make with Jaden. 

God, bad choice of words. 

“You’d keep me safe–no one messes with Zane Truesdale,” Jaden smiled, and Zane–well he would have to agree with him. If anyone laid a hand on Jaden Yuki in his presence it would be the last thing they ever did.  

“Tell Syrus to register you in a tournament and I’ll tell my manager to resister me,” Zane said. 

“Tournament?” 

He looked up from his drink at Jaden’s surprised tone. He felt a glimmer of hope, praying that he wasn’t about to get it dashed. He had to play this cool, no matter what he was feeling. “I thought we were talking about competing together,” 

“What? Oh, no, um,” Jaden’s face, the pretty face that had both haunted and blessed Zane’s dreams, was bright red, his lush, coral pink bottom lip–god, he was starting to sound like Atticus again–between his teeth, his eyes to the floor, lush eyelashes brushing against his cheekbones. “That’s not–not what I meant,” 

Oh god. 

Zane let himself feel a bit more hopeful, sit up a little straighter, lean in toward the brunette. 

He was speechless, but Jaden couldn’t seem to stop the words from stumbling out of his mouth. “I’m so–oh god, um–I meant like, together, but not–I was talking with Jesse last night and then Alexis called me and Bastion–they all said that–that I should–even Syrus said that–I’m sorry Zane I thought that you–I thought that you liked me–I’m so–” 

For Zane, it felt as if time had stopped. Jaden–his Eternal Sunshine–returned his feelings. 

Jaden was still talking, wildly gesticulating, his drink sloshing out of the glass and staining his sleeve. Zane–Zane could listen to Jaden talk all night, had done so many times while they were together at tournaments, but right now he wanted Jaden to stop talking, but–but Zane couldn’t speak, couldn’t tell Jaden how much–

Well there was something else. 

“I just–I don’t want this to change our friendship and–” 

Jaden was still going. Zane stood up–spider legs, like Atticus said–put his hand, which he saw rather than felt, on Jaden’s chin, feeling the softness of his skin, brown eyes wide and surprised as Zane leaned down–

In all of his musings about what it would be like to kiss Jaden, Zane never expected a spontaneous kiss to surpass his perfectly constructed fantasies. 

The brunette’s lips weren’t soft like he expected–they were chapped, rough, the texture a delicious contrast to Zane’s silky lipstick. The fruity flavor of the drink lingered on his lips, and Zane could learn to love the taste if it was being served to him from Jaden’s mouth. 

Enthusiastic by nature, Jaden quickly recovered from the surprise to throw his arms around Zane’s neck, bringing them closer together–there was the sound of glass breaking and Zane could hear the remnants of Jaden’s drink dripping on to the floor. A tongue forced its way into Zane’s mouth, a hand buried into Zane’s hair, teeth clacked together–Zane was dizzy with alcohol and the sensation of having Jaden Yuki in his arms, kissing him with wild abandon, and wouldn’t be surprised if he’d keeled over and woken up to find this was all a dream. 

When Jaden pulled away, blue lipstick smeared on his chin, he knew it wasn’t. 

“So, uh–wanna make Prague our first vacation as a couple?” Jaden laughed, smiling. 

“Yes,” Zane choked out, stroking the side of Jaden’s face. “Yes, my Eternal Sunshine,” 

He realized what he’d said a moment later when Atticus’s laughed interrupted the moment. 

“Another plan well-executed!” Atticus praised himself. “I’ll go search for plane tickets to Prague,” 

“Hey, hey Addy,” Jaden called. “Be sure to book mine under Eternal Sunshine!” 

Zane was going to kill Atticus–he wanted to smack that self-satisfied grin off his face. 

After he got back from Prague, of course. 

[homalfaut]

Dream recount 8/20/18

I was walking down a street after hanging with Marc.

It’s a main street,

very similar to Broad Street…

But not Broad Street.

Judging by the height of the sun

I wanna say it’s about 3 o’clock,

prime busy time.

A dark skin man whose health is seeming to come closer to it’s expiration date with each rotation of the sun approaches us.

The wrinkles on his skin read about a mid 40 with his height being barely over 5 ft.

His smile is very warm and welcoming,

in an off-putting way due to his sun orange teeth (which he seems to be missing 5 of).

We had a short ,dry conversation that seemed to blend in with the rest of the noises in the background.

Roaring car engines,

Unruly teenagers,

entitled college students,

this conversation blends in with it all,

but feels different.

Only when you’re part of it. At least.

I don’t remember what was discussed or any details of the conversation.

Just that he approached me the way you’d expect a homeless person to approach you before telling their rehearsed sob story.

But upon opening his mouth I realized he knew something about the universe that I didn’t.

A secret.

And that the person he was looking around for… Was me.

There is one part of the conversation that never escaped my memory though.

He told me, “I’ll be seeing you again”, through very promising eyes.

And that’s where it began.

Time-lapse

I’m at the restaurant I work at.

The place looks somewhat similar to my actual job but it’s more fancy and polished.

Bundles of people with a gay air about them are steadily streaming in and out of the restaurant.

It wasn’t overflowing but it wasn’t empty.

My coworkers seem to be very fond of me, managers included.

This day at work feels very bright and upbeat.

Maybe my mood has too turned merry, possibly in correlation with the incoming customers.

My coworkers are around discussing what they are going to be doing once work has ended.

Drinking,

Smoking,

Hanging out at a bar, conventional late night past times.

But what do they accomplish through this other than temporary happiness?

The high goes away,

The drunk goes away and 95% of the conversations won’t even be remembered.

They all involve hours of small talk, just to have an animated conversation that won’t make it

past the setting of the moon.

Not that I don’t enjoy these pleasures as well… I just get very reclusive sometimes so I tend to avoid them.

I don’t contribute much to the conversation, I never do, but I know that there’s a lovely lady I am to be expecting after.

That’s my pleasurable vice,

women that look like they could kill me.

I catch myself daydreaming about her.

She’s the sister of a friend.

I can’t seem to recall if he’s a close friend…

Or any other details about him.

But the thoughts were never about him anyway, they were about her.

She was very attractive,very unorthodox features.

Naturally silver, almost crystal, sparkling hair

Eyes a shade of blue that seemed to not exist before she did.

Skin almost pale enough for her to be translucent,

She just seemed to be unre-

“Everything okay Bernard? You’ve been just standing there for a couple minutes now.” my manager chimes

“Yeah, I’m fine, just had something on my mind.”

“Oh, well the night’s dying down, so you’re good to go for the night.”

“Gotcha, thank you!”

I had never been more elated upon clocking out in my entire experience working here.

Usually it’s kinda bittersweet, my coworkers are very wholesome people and every second around them just feels refreshing.

But today I had a more uplifting experience ahead of me. Or so I thought.

Time-lapse

I’m hanging out with the girl and her brother at… I actually don’t know where we are.

Me and her are laying down with each other on the dark-beige carpet with a blanket over top of us.

Our bodies in some oddly perfect unison with each other, like the sun and the moon in constant orbit.

She devours my attention making me void of the world around me.

Nobody but us exists in this moment…and her brother who could intervene at any second.

I have this recurring problem of never letting myself fall into any moment when there’s any possibility of an external force breaching it.

But I told myself I should feel more free than that, that nobody can take you out of your moments except yourself.

I don’t know how much time we’ve already spent together by this point in time or how long we’ve even known each other for

But I can tell the answer to both of those questions isn’t as long as it should be before you get as intimate as we were without one force being scared of the other.

But the moment was perfect, it felt like we’d already known each other for a lifetime,

Like we’ve had conversations that had preceded the existence of any living creature,

Almost as if our sole existence in this fabricated universe was for each other.

Something like… Destiny.

As perfect as it was though i can’t seem to remember a single word shared between us.

I just remember at some point our conversation was replace with a fragile embrace from her lips to mine.

Make note it was her lips to mine.

More fragile kisses were shared between our glass lips knowing very well one of us could break in this moment.

Soon her fingers begin to cascade down my chest to my stomach

they reach my waist and suddenly i hear her brothers footsteps.

She remains unflinching and the only response i can manage is “Are you okay with this?”

Referring not to me being with his sister but to me having this moment almost in front of his very eyes.

He gives permission and expresses no discontent with the affair happening before his eyes then proceeds back up an adjacent staircase.

Yet another thing that struck me as weird during this whole experience.

Everything happened between us seemed to be a blur except one part

We never reached the point of having sex, but some form of pleasure happened that night.

I’ve always been more in love with the girls I never ended up having sex with than the ones I did.

Maybe because I felt more obliged to chase them,

Maybe because the lack of sexual intimacy was filled up with other forms of intimacy that couldn’t be replicated,

Maybe because we were more compatible romantically than we were sexually,

I’ll never know so I don’t ponder on it.

We went back to kisses that were less fragile this time for we have long lost the fear of breaking.

She invited me to her house in hopes of us seeing each other again.

I was more than reluctant to meet her again, but I couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that grew within in me as soon as I agreed.

Time-lapse

I’m at my house

It’s the type of place you’d see in the Jetsons

The building itself is beyond the height of a skyscraper,but my room is a very big bubble room

It’s doesn’t have any futuristic characteristics like the Jetsons but has a metallic baby blue color to it.

Kinda like the one you’d see in a sci-fi film.

There’s a huge window opposite of my bed,

It’s wide enough to look like a movie projector screen you’d see in a movie theater.

Another weird factor to mention is that I don’t remember the view from the window, if it was the sky or if it was a cityscape, or even worse,

If it was nothing.

Some subtle aspects of feng-shui are present.

Usually hang outs are held at my place, but you can tell why.

I’m with another girl.

Her features are more normal and demonstrate that she’s made from the earth in its purest form.

Her skin a dark shade of brown that is also reflected in her eyes as if both were summoned from the very core of the earth herself.

Soft dark curly hair gently caresses her face,

She exists as if every beautiful part of nature came together to create one person.

I can’t remember any dialogue shared between me and her but knew we were both there for an affair.

I had felt a safer and realer feeling with this girl than the other one but couldn’t bring myself to get into her

It’s that feeling of being attracted to something that you know isn’t good for you.

You feel like it would make your life more interesting as opposed to something that will probably help you out more in the long run.

I don’t remember what occurred between me and her during our time together other than an obscure conversation that consisted of me dodging our true purpose for being there.

But nothing pertaining to a sexual experience happened here.

Time-lapse

I arrive at her place

Correction: I’m in her place

I have no recollection of how I got there or even entering i just know I’m in there.

The only people that reside here are her, her Dad and her brother.

The house itself produces a very strange aura.

The best way to describe how i felt here was like how Alice felt when she fell down the rabbit-hole into Wonderland

Very lost, confused, slightly terrified…

and surreal.

For some reason the house felt small and continuously shrinking yet i seem to fit perfectly within the house at all times.

We started talking, but it felt as if she were trying to lure me into her.

As if her sole existence in my life was to be some kind of lure into an ingenious trap of the universe.

The unison wasn’t  there any more. it was more like i was the ocean

Flowing, naturally

And she’s the moon

Pulling me to flow harder but almost towards her in a way that I couldn’t resist.

Then she started changing.

And i don’t mean the type of changing like when you’re dating someone for a long time and over time they start becoming comfortable and changing,

I mean her entire physical appearance was morphing before my very eyes in a matter of seconds.

her eyes started becoming black lines spiraling around their sockets,

Wrinkles cascaded the surface of her face on all ends,

Her almost transparent skin glowed and became suddenly translucent,

her jaw dropped long enough that you could fit a soccer ball in her mouth,

And there were no teeth or tongue that belonged to her mouth either but now it was an endless black abyss.

You could easily sink in there and not come back. Ever.

I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what was happening to me too.

As this transformation is happening she is saying something… Something that no matter how hard i try to recall my brain just refuses to do it.

As if i’m better off just never truly remembering what she said.

Maybe I am.

Suddenly two guys in beige suits with white button up shirts underneath and black ties come in and pull me out of the room.

They’re faces were ridden with distress and urgency, as if they had feared for my life more than i had.

I was still in shock and my face could only manage a blank facial expression

Time-lapse

I’m in the office with the guys.

A couple days have passed since the incident but I still haven’t fully let it sink in.

My eyes are weary and droopy, you can tell i haven’t had any proper sleep (if any at all) since the incident.

Me and the men are discussing the scenario from start to finish, and every detail of every second from top to bottom.

I remembered what she said at that moment and told them what she said.

We were able to decipher that she wasn’t a creature of our society, we didn’t know what she was or what she would’ve done with me but we all knew it wouldn’t have been good for me to stay in that situation.

I was easily able to decipher what she was saying and the meaning behind it but i told the men that i had to withdraw from the investigation.

I already felt as if I was a huge target and that wouldn’t be my last encounter with her or her species.

Continuing in this investigation would only increase my name being in some type of spotlight and their chances of coming into contact with me again.

Time-lapse

Me and Marc are at the nearby mall.

Marc has yet another “fool-proof” plan about how we can shoplift a couple of things we don’t really need without the mall security guard noticing.

Malls in this world aren’t like malls in the real world.

They’re in the similar shape as my room which makes them feel slightly futuristic in a sense.

Stores are spread out side by side in one giant culdesac formation.

Also, You kinda just get your stuff from the individual stores but it’s not like the individual stores have security or anything at the front.

There’s only one entrance to the whole mall so you can only walk in that way and walk out that way.

We gathered up the stuff from the stores we wanted and then we’re heading out hoping the security guard doesn’t investigate us, because ya know, sometimes they don’t apparently.

Our hopes were wrong.

He questions us about the things we have but in this society you don’t necessarily get arrested for attempting to shoplift, you just kinda look like an idiot.

As he’s rummaging through the stuff he also tells us to beware of this guy.

He fits the description of the exact man from the beginning of the dream.

Suddenly i turn around and the man says “Glad to see you again.”

Then I woke up.

[marcusssanderson]

79 Inspirational Quotes About Comparison To Others

Find yourself on social media comparing your life to others, a little too much? Looking for uplifitng quotes about comparison?

From the time we are small, we learn to compare ourselves to others. At a young age, it is our way of making sense of things, of figuring out our place in the world. This can be fine if you have a strong sense of self and self-esteem.

However, if in comparing yourself to others, you decide that you are NOT as good as others, or not as capable, nor as likely to succeed, it can be very detrimental.

As we get older and develop a stronger sense of self, knowing that comparing ourselves to others is NO longer necessary can be a very powerful and liberating concept. You can have many small victories along the way, and allow yourself to celebrate them.

Here are some wonderful quotes about comparison to others – and what you can learn from them.

  Uplifting Quotes about Comparison To Give Us Perspective

1.) “The only person you should try to be better than is who you were yesterday.” – Unknown

  2.) “Have more than you show, and speak less than you know.” – William Shakespeare

3.) “Don’t compare yourself to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.”- Regina Brett

4.) “We’re only envious of those already doing what we were made to do. Envy is a giant, flashing arrow pointing us toward our destiny.” – Glennon Doyle Melton

5.) “Focus on your journey, not the destination.” – Greg Anderson

6.) “Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.” – Coco Chanel

  7.) “Everything in life is easier when you don’t concern yourself with what everybody else is doing.”

8.) “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

9.) “Personality begins where comparison leaves off. Be unique. Be memorable. Be confident. Be proud.” – Shannon L. Alder

10.) “Don’t waste your energy trying to change opinions … do your thing, and don’t care if they like it.” – Tina Fey

11.) “You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized how seldom they do.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

12.) “Let it go. You can’t move forward if you keep looking back.” – April Harding, ‘Finding Peace, Fulfillment, and Contentment Being Single’

13.) “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside you.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

  14.) “You don’t have to do what everyone else is doing.”- Oprah

  15.) “Do what works for you. You don’t have to be Michael Jordan; you just have to do what you’re comfortable with.”

16.) “Don’t compare your beginnings to someone else’s middle.” – Tim Hiller, ‘Strive: Life is Short, Pursue What Matters’

  17.) “Being a successful person is not necessarily defined by what you have achieved, but by what you have overcome.”- Fannie Flagg

  18.) “Channel your envy into purpose.”

  19.) “Owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we’ll ever do.”- Brené Brown

  20.) “Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?” – Danielle LaPorte

  21.) “Stay true to yourself.”- Selena Gomez

  22.) “I will not reason and compare; my business is to create.” – William Blake, Jerusalem

  Beautiful Quotes To Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

23.) “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” – Oscar Wilde

  24.) “How many times each day do you mean to say one thing, and say another instead, because you’re worried about what others might think?”

  25.) “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.” – Bernard M. Maruch

26.) “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe

  27.) “Follow your inner moonlight; don’t hide the madness.” – Allen Ginsberg

  28.) “Faithless to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

  29.) “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” – Maya Angelou

  30.) “About all you can do in life is be who you are. Some people will love you for you. Most will love you for what you can do for them, and some won’t like you at all.” – Rita Mae Brown

  31.) “Be yourself, don’t take anything from anyone, and never let them take you alive.” – Gerard Way

  32.) “You cannot change what you are, only what you do.” – Philip Pullman

  33.) “You are you. Now, isn’t that pleasant?” – Dr. Seuss

  34.) “Art and life really are the same, and both can only be about a spiritual journey, a path towards a re-union with a supreme creator, with god, with the divine; and this is true no matter how unlikely, how strange, how unorthodox, one’s particular life path might appear to one’s self or others at any given moment.” – Genesis P-Orridge

  35.) “I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all.” – Coco Chanel

More Quotes about Comparison

  36.) “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” – Mahatma Gandhi

  37.) “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” – Judy Garland

  38.) “To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting.” – E.E. Cummings

  39.) “God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.” – William Shakespeare

  40.) “The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

  41.) “Where’s your will to be weird?” – Jim Morrison

  42.) “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” – Oscar Wilde

  Inspirational Quotes on Comparing Ourselves To Others

The act of comparison is an act of violence against the self. Be your own cheerleader. STOP comparing yourself with others and focus on how you can become the best version of you.

Embrace your personal victories and combat your challenges head-on. Don’t compare your chapter one to somebody else’s chapter 50.

Here are more motivational quotes about comparison.

    43.) “If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.” – David Carradine

  44.) “I find the best way to love someone is not to change them, but instead, help them reveal the greatest version of themselves.” – Steve Maraboli

  45.) “There is nothing more awful, insulting, and depressing than banality.” – Anton Chekhov

46.) “I will not hide my tastes or aversions. I will so trust that what is deep is holy, that I will do strongly before the sun and moon whatever only rejoices me, and the heart appoints.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

  47.) “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton

  48.) “Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.” – Homer    

  49.) “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?” – Ru Paul

  50.) “They can’t scare me, if I scare them first.” – Lady Gaga

  51.) “Don’t be into trends. Don’t make fashion own you, but you decide what you are, what you want to express by the way you dress and the way to live.” – Gianni Versace

  52.) “Our time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” – Steve Jobs

  53.) “An unfulfilled vocation drains the color from a man’s entire existence.” – Balzac

  54.) “When I was a child my mother said to me, ‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general. If you become a monk, you’ll be the pope.’ Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.” – Picasso

  55.) “Follow your own star!” – Dante Alighieri

56.) “You are not a bad person because you are gay. You are you because you are you and you were meant to be you – so be you proudly.” – Tegan Quin

  57.) “Don’t let others box you into their idea of what they think you should be. A confined identity is a miserable way to exist. Be you and live free. Trust that in living true to yourself, you will attract people that support and love you, just as you are.” – Jaedade Walt

  58.) “If you want to be yourself, sometimes you can’t compare the economic benefit with art.” – Kelly Liang

  59.) “To be one, to be united is a great thing. But to respect the right to be different is maybe even greater.” – Bono

  60.) “Learn to… be what you are, and learn to resign with a good grace all that you are not.” – Henri Frederic Amiel        

  61.) “Never apologize for showing feeling. When you do so, you apologize for the truth.” – Benjamin Disraeli

  62.) “If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.” – Johann von Goethe

    More Quotes about Comparison

63.) “The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

  64.) “At bottom every man knows well enough that he is a unique being, only once on this earth; and by no extraordinary chance will such a marvelously picturesque piece of diversity in unity as he is, ever be put together a second time.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

  65.) “We all wear masks, and the time comes when we cannot remove them without removing some of our own skin.” – Andre Berthiaume

66.) “One’s real life is often the life that one does not lead.” – Oscar Wilde

  67.) “Taking into account the public’s regrettable lack of taste, it is incumbent upon you not to fit in…” – Janeane Garofalo

  68.) “Some people say you are going the wrong way, when it’s simply a way of your own.” – Angelina Jolie

  69.) “I feel that the simplicity of life is just being yourself.” – Bobby Brown

  70.) “How many more of us are faking the facade? How many more of us are pretending to be something we’re not? Even better, how many of us will have the courage to be ourselves regardless of what others think?” – Katie McGarry

71.) “Don’t dilute yourself for any person or any reason. You are enough! Be unapologetically you.” – Steve Mariboli

    What are your thoughts on these quotes about comparison? What other comparison quotes would you add to the list?

When you decide that the only person you have to please is yourself, you can also decide WHAT your definition of good and successful are. This can be empowering, therapeutic, and motivating.

If the only person you are competing with is yourself, you can set realistic, attainable, and rewarding goals.

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