#they love each other so much :((((( the brothers EVERRRRR

[moikey-croikey]

he’s so deflated awww

Water is Thicker than Blood Chapter 75

Reinforcements needs to be called in, this case may be a bit too severe for just one man.

{Start} {Prev Next (coming soon)} {MasterPost}

Shes gotta cha-cha. and she's got to slide. its what must happen.

imagining the severe tonal shift that venue mustve experienced. From an absolutely explosive and almost violent fight between the groom's parents and 'brother', to a lovely first dance between the married couple followed up by like,, the cupid shuffle r smthn. hilarious.

[lovemesomeagnst]

ARCANE SEASON TWO EPISODE SEVEN IS MY NOW FOREVER FAVOURITE EPISODE OMFG

Spoilers for Act 3 below!!

Powder is SO pretty here?! like her space buns means everything to me omg omg and why is her dress reminding me of Gwen’s prom dress from atsv too. She’s so pretty omg stop this rn.

Powder is this alternate universe means everything to me.. like to see her SANE and HAPPY and she’s so so so adorable and lovely. She’s cheeky and smart and so awesome here. Also idk why but I especially loved her outfit with the space buns so much more??? Like it suits Powder SO well omg. It’s so refreshing to see Powder like this.

The way Vi’s death somehow led to world peace is so sad like seeing the Topsiders interact and be at peace with the undercity is so aughhhhhh. Like to think that the officers saw her death and they didn’t like arrest them or whatever because they’re children and this potentially led to Piltover and Zaun coexisting in harmony. To think that in this world, everyone else is like alive and GOOD. Silco and Vander r both alive and well and friendly again, Mylo and Claggor are alive too, so is Benzo.. etc etc (now I lowkey want content on this universe especially between Powder, Mylo and Claggor because they totally looked out for her after Vi’s death I’m sure. Seeing them interact in this universe is so aughhh. They could have been the older brothers and found family everrrrr). This universe actually makes me mad in a tragic way because they COULD have had this all by Vi’s death which is so sad?? Like I love Vi but omg this world is like a paradise man.. it also has to do with the whole hextech not existing but damn.

Also this episode had me giggling SO hard because ekko x powder like omfg. From the start u could NOT tell me they were platonic. BYE the way they were looking at each other was more than that for sure.. this is literally the look of love guys.

Also Powder x Ekko in this episode was so good.. the lingering touches, the glances and look they gave each other. That whole montage of them working together.. THAT WHOLE DANCE SCENE. It was such a good build up it had me screaming like the scene was soooo romantic and good. The lighting, the song, the animation and them dancing together and looking into each others eyes AHHHH

That rooftop scene and that kiss was so sweet I loved it sm. It was adorable, the setting was so gorgeous and lovely and aughhh. “Can we pretend like it’s the first time” SOBBING

I never rlly saw Jinx x Ekko much, it was cute but I wasn’t rlly feeling it but Powder x Ekko in this universe means everything to me so muchhh

LIKE. Them. Just them. I love them in this universe 💕

[neyslover]

yourinstagram

liked by t.chalamet and 172,479,962 others

yourinstagram photoshoot for my newest album ‘spare my pride’ 🙈🤍

comments

taylorswift SO EXCITEDDDD 💞💞💞💞

yourinstagram IKK ME TOO THEYRE GONNA LOVE ITTTTT

billieeilish i loved writing this album w u it was an honorrrrr 🥹💞

yourinstagram R U KIDDING I LITERALLY HUNG OUT WITH MY CHILDHOOD CRUSH IT WAS AN HONOR FOR MEEEEE 😭💞

y/nhq

liked by billieeilish and 329,849,726 others

y/nhq y/n’s newest album will be officially released on the 23rd of july! presave in link in bio

comments

y/nfan1 ALBUM OF THE YEAR?!?!?!?!!

harrystyles ❤️❤️

harryfan4life BEST COLLABS EVERRRRR WBAT

taytayxhazhaz taylor and harry were probably recording in the same studio so they probably saw each other once or twice so??? haylor reunion?!?!!!!!!

nicksturniolo my brothers will hear this album ONLY on repeat for the next 10-15 decades !!

yourinstagram does that mean you’ll do a video reacting to my album? 🙈

nicksturniolo OF-FUCKING-COURSE???????

enews

2,648,914 likes

enews y/n spotted with french actor, timothée chalamet, after breaking up a long relationship with pete davidson! is her latest album dissing pete? will we get another album full of love songs for chalamet??

comments

y/nfan4life get a life 💯💯

yourinstagram it’s none of ur business who i date or who i write my songs abt 😭😭

taylorswift how about you go get a life THEN analyze everyone’s every single move?

a/n: HIIII i wanted to try writing like insta au since they don’t take up that much time

[half-a-brain-cell]

Obx season 4 thoughts 🫰🏻

Let me talk about JJPOPE first

- Jjpope building shit together and jj saying i love u pope will always get me

- Pope saying they need to get more for the amulet and john b saying youve been hanging out with jj too much where IS that post saying they bring out the worst in each other

- Jj saying "i love you pope just say it back" istg jjpope everywhere for those with the eyes to see

- Pope tackling the cop bc he is afraid he is going to shoot jj I AM LITERALLY CRYING they are going to jail for each other

- "what about pope huh he just threw his whole life away for you" ugh ugh ugh and jj saying "my life is already over in the first place"

- Jj punching rafe and everyone going what the fuck and then pope saying "if he wasn't gonna do it i was gonna do it".... Chaos boyfriends forever

- Jj telling pope he shouldve let the cops shoot him bye

- Someone on twitter said jj dies in popes shirt i haven't known peace since

- Pope telling jj "let me protect you for once" i am crying actual tears AND THAT LOOK THEY EXCHANGE BEFORE THEY SEPARATE I FELL TO MY KNEES AND THAT IS THE LAST TIME THEY EVER SEE EACH OTHER ARE YOU KIDDING ME

Speaking of that terrible storyline

- I never cared about the alleged cast drama bc those are real people and their personal lives are none of my business but it is so sad that (apparently) jiara is such a sad ship (like jjpope is NAWT canon and they get much cuter moments) and jj is dead bc of it

Speaking of JJ

- it absolutely breaks my fucking heart to see him even more reckless, to see him drinking, to see him slipping away from everyone, to see him telling john b he will be a shit dad???? And then he saves sarah and he gets better and then HE DIES after saying "I already have everything i ever wanted" even though Groff already has the crown????

Speaking of Groff

- most unlikeable character to date (and there are so many lol, I am looking at u Ruthie), can't believe they gave JJ two shitty dads

- Luke can also rot in hell and his brief "redemption arc" was utter bullshit, so he loved Larissa and her baby but he went on to abuse that child???

Speaking of redemption arcs

- they should've cast someone less hot and less talented as rafe bc why the hell is his evil ass getting a redemption arc? Get him therapy instead!! The only good thing he ever did was throw groff into that well

- the milf hitting on him was funny tho

- i am also screaming at the scene where sofia overhears rafe saying shit like i am not living with a pogue i have standards that is like every fanfiction everrrrr

- last but not least why is he so ORANGE

My favorite quotes bc sometimes obx is still the silly little boat show it was supposed to be

- "AI has come a long way" JJ i am cryinggg

- barry saying "idk why i need that cool shit when i'm in the middle of tuna season" KING

- "i got a phd in thiefology" LMAO

- not a quote but Shoupe interrogating them is so silly that is peak pogue behaviour

Speaking of our silly little boat show

- Once again i love jj and john b they are BROTHERS

- I get so emotional watching this idek but john b really is their stupid dad which makes Sarah their mum that being said i HATE the pregnancy trope esp when she said she didn't want kids

- i do love Jarah tho, you wouldn't believe they are exes irl, like Kiara's being beaten uncounscious by groff, jj is locked in his familys mausoleum, pope is on the run and John b and Sarah are like 🩷let's get married🩷 REAL LOVERS

- Sorry but the boss of the bad guys having such an intense english accent is so fucking funny to me what do you mean INNIT you're in north carolina

- gentrification is a huge and REAL topic and ngl i was actually crying when these greedy kooks took poguelandia away from them

Idk man, in conclusion, they had poguelandia and they could've all been happy and i will never get over this 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔

[thedepthsremember]

TRR 3.20 "A Warm Reception" what does that mean. does that mean FIRE i am on edge

I'm expecting it to go all nice and heartwarming, and then Anton shows up at the end. We shall see.

Officially longer than any other TRR book! We’re in uncharted territory now!

From what I saw from my roommate’s Liam playthrough, a lot of the carriage dialogue is mostly the same no matter who’s there, but, I do like this as a callback to awesome-storm Maxwell-Riley from the Homecoming ball, or Duke Whirlwind Dancemaster-Deluxe. With Maxwell, everyone keeps emphasizing how our lives together will be full of adventure and never be boring. ♥

You fools, take this chance to make out in the carriage! No! F O O L S 

Oh. Hello Ana! She’s got a new dress for us, of course. 

... Mehhhhh sorry not into that plasticy cutout look. Why do they keep doing that, it doesn't look like fabric. Sorry Ana, I’m gonna stick with what I've got. 

Maxwell says it doesn’t matter what Riley’s wearing, he and everyone else won’t be able to keep his eyes off her. :’) ♥ bro

Ana, a true friend (despite how I keep tossing out all her hard work) leaves us alone in the boutique. 

We are a storm... a hurricane… a mega punching robot... of love

sweet nervous boy. Riley literally said “I do” (well, ‘hell yeah’ in my case) and he’s still can’t help doubting a little. 

now makeouts?? nope, Madeline. Girl you are about to get stabbed. ANA, WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HER, I’M SORRY, I’LL WEAR THE DAMN DRESS

(If we keep trying and then getting interrupted, only to finally succeed I will actually love that.)

Oooooo the reception hall is so pretty! Damn, they have really been outdoing themselves with the art lately. First the cathedral, now this. *__*

People coming up to tell us how we made them cry out our vows! Yessss tell us all about your tears! Our love is powerful, baby.

Took no screenshots of Hana’s parents so I can ignore that they came. 

NEVILLE?! WHAT THE F. RASHAD, DID YOU BRING HIM. DUDE. YOUR FRIEND IS SHITTY AND NO ONE LIKES HIM, STOP BRINGING HIM PLACES. 

You know, at the beginning of the tour we heard Neville wasn't even planning on coming to the wedding so I guess that's........ ssssomethingg..g..........…

like maybe he’ll get shot this time. aim better, assassins 

Anyway, better people now! Hello friends! 

Hana says we were like a fairytale! Even Drake is getting poetic. Liam sees how much we love each other. Maxwell has won the wife lottery. Excellent, so much love here. 

LMAO....... SAVANNAH EYEING BERTRAND LIKE, HUH.... MARRIAGE..... HOW BOUT..... THAT...…. :|

Me and Maxwell, poster children for impulsivity: YEAH, JUST DO IT JUST JUMP INTO MARRIAGE IT'S GREAT

Bertrand : *SWEATS BUCKETS* 

Hgnngggg I would stab a man for that wedding food right now. I picked Drake’s beef pork stew and oh my god...……. How do they always make it sound so good??? 

[pause to google feijoada recipe]

Time for toasts! Maxwell’s...….. awwww. ;___; 

He starts it as a Once Upon A Time story of how Riley was whisked away to love a prince, but her happy ending was swapped when she fell for the court jester instead. 

(Flashing back to the apple festival and Maxwell being excited to be jester. Good times.) 

My heart is bursting. I love our story too T_T 

Andddd he just blurts out about the hippo tattoo to everyone and covers it up with an awkward metaphor. That's a deeply Maxwell moment and I love it. ♥ 

Omg. Might regret it but I desperately want to hear Olivia's idea of a wedding toast.

EXCUSE YOU MADELINE, SCHEDULE SMEDULE. THE BRIDE DEMANDS TO HEAR EVERYONE RAPTURE ABOUT OUR LOVE

Olivia:  So soon after I met Riley I was like "I hate that bitch" Riley: a-awwww....thanks...…… 

I'M DEAD "LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT" I WON OLIVIA’S RESPECT! :’D BEST DAY EVERRR

I mean we also got married but like. you get it. 

“As we say in Lythikos, you’re still alive, so drink!” never change. 

Liam: Aww...…. He tries but falls back on being super formal, referring to me as "Cordonia’s newest dutchess” and me “being a friend to Cordonia and [him]”

It's ok buddy, sneak out whenever you're ready. Hana and Drake can cover for you.

Hana: Hana wins the toast both for having the most insightful things to say, and also being LITERALLY THE ONLY ONE (besides Bertrand) TO TALK ABOUT MAXWELL. She also made me cry, so like, triple points. 😢 😭 I love her so muuuuch.

Drake: “I knew you were trouble when you walked innnn~” 

Those were some real nice things you said about me but YOU ARE THE BEST MAN. 

I know I'm great and we're all in love with me, but come on. 

Alright here’s Bertrand, he’s gotta talk about Maxwell. 

new big bro you will be NICE to your BROTHER or I STG

starting out rocky what with the “wow Maxwell made like so many mistakes” business. let him rest, it’s his day, good lord 

*snaps fingers in front of his face* BABS, FOCUS

OH. OH OKAY. HE TURNED IT AROUND. HE SAID HE LOVES HIS BROTHER IN FRONT OF EVERYONE. THE DANCING COMMENT AND EVERYTHING AND HE ADMITTED MAXWELL DOESN'T NEED TO GROW UP. I'M. OVERWHELMED. 

In which I will take any choice that turns Riley into a woo girl. And Kiara’s family continues to be my favorite. They’re coming over to Valtoria Revanasi all the time. 

After all that, my toast was … whelming. I did get my vows already, so I guess it’s whatever. 

First dance time! Aww this track is giving me HSS prom flashbacks. Michael I hope you're happy out there.

Apparently Maxwell picked the song, which can only mean he is a secret HSS fan. 

“Partners” is such a lovely title for these two. I've always loved the term, you're partners in crime, partners for life, but they're also dance partners.  

Number of times Maxwell has done the dip kiss: 4. This boy SMOOTH AS HECK. 

Bertrand is scandalized by our nonsense but Drake understands they should take what they can get.

(where are my boy’s damn jello shots) 

..... I think I just married Emperor Kuzco. 

Maxwell challenges Drake to a dance off, and holy shit Drake can dance. Or at least spin kick. I'm still fairly certain he has no sense of rhythm. 

....Drake did not dispute the best friend comment and I'm counting that as a win for Maxwell. 

time. for. CAKE????! 

Real life me is a little sad I don’t have cake. I do have fancy rice crispies from my friend’s coworker’s wedding. It’s no passionfruit cake tho :’( 

(they successfully distracted me from wait where’s Olivia with cake. How dare you take advantage of my short attention span.)

Maxwell and Riley have matching swords. I might cry. That's the best.

..... Incredibly tempting to fuck up and cut the table. But OUR CAKE ok doing this right. 

WHOA Bastien hello, where'd you come from.

Aww Madeline has pleased her goblin father.

Maxwell is so happy about the Cheetah cake SUCCESSSSSS [sneakily high fives Gladys]

[I hope Gladys gets cake. At least 3 slices for Gladys.]

Ooooh so Savannah and Drake's mom still came! She’s off taking care of Bertie. Bring forth the Walker matriarch, I wish to meet her. [ spoilers: we do not :( ]

Uh oh Savannah is pissed and I bet I know why~

Bertrand's only just noticed oh dear.

Savannahhhhhh pleeassssse. These two need to work on commutation so bad. I TOLD YOU TO BE DIRECT WITH THIS DUMBASS. YOU'RE STILL HINTING. 

Bride awkwardly hovers outside her own reception trying to get her fool friends to communicate AGAIN.

Like I'm pretty patient and Bertrand is family but oh my god I can't be there for everything

Riley is tired too, bless her. We could totally have snuck off with Maxwell at this point but no, here we are. 

Ok Riley's prize for taking the diamond option to help Bertrand one more time is that she gets to cause shenanigans. You know my girl loves a good shenanigan! 

Oh my god are we getting the band back together YESSSSS

Stop one: Drake. He knows Riley by this point and senses shenanigans a mile away. 

Drake: You don't need my permission, Savannah’s her own woman and all that.  Bertrand: But I'd like it. Drake: ok then FUCK NO. Bertrand: :’O

Bertrand making the shocked face is always funny. Same with his mad face. Really just Bertrand emoting = comedy gold.  

Drake fully won Maxwell's respect with the breakdancing, and he's won Riley's by realizing he has the power to make Bertrand do whatever he wants right now. 

Drake immediately regrets his abuse of power. Aaahaha ok, ease into it.

Somehow we talked Drake into singing. I'm just saying, this would have been so much easier with him last, when peer pressure was on the table.

Maxwell has been waiting for a moment like this moment his entire life, he'd pay to be part of this.

Liam would both do anything I asked and is always down for bromance time.

There is an option to panic and throw the bouquet at Neville. I have to try that at least once. But later. 

Man Riley should have demanded the boys reunite their quartet anyway. BEST WEDDING PRESENT EVERRRRR (after all their other gifts because those were actually really sweet)

Savannah: holy crap you're smiling  Bertrand: Well you make me happy so fukkin get used to it 

^Those are totally direct quotes. 

While I’m making other people happy - TIME FOR GIFTS! 

The book for Liam is a nice follow up to all his talk about how he wants to bring Cordonia peace. You’ve got faith that he can achieve his dreams! Aww.

Everyone else does surprised sprites but Drake is wary as ever. Smart dude.

Hana's gift............... Ok yeah let’s just...… move along. sigh. 

At least Riley succeeded through the roof with Maxwell’s gift, he was about to pass out with all the layers this gift has. Aww, that was so worth it. 

Honestly these were all kind of short. Meh. Maxwell’s was worth it, Liam’s was a nice second. 

Finally can we sneak off--??

MADELINE.............. I WILL STAB YOU WITH MAXWELL’S FANCY ACTION FIGURE, DON'T THINK I WON'T 

Time to see other friends! We go to Kiara first, which is good. I continue to be proud of her forever. 

Penelope is me at every party. Where are the dogs. I can people watch just fine next to the dogs.

HOOOOLY SHIT

DANIEL

D A N I E L

DANIEL IS HERE, TAKING SHOTS WITH LEO

What do you know :D I have friends! Well. One friend. And no family. They’re really determined to leave that open, huh. You know, I’m okay with it. 

Daniel, I admire your thrift, especially considering what it must have cost to come here on a waiter’s salary, but someone is definitely going to think you're here to serve food.

..... Whelp that came true immediately. Hey Regina. 

Leo goes off with him. I guess they're bros now! 

or .... well. I've seen the posts going around. Make this a trip to remember, Leo! ;) 

Awwww nice moment with Regina. Look how far we’ve come!  I've always liked her. She's a practical lady. 

GLADYS

GLADYS IS HERE TO LET US GET ALONE TIME, FINALLY. BLESS YOU GLADYS, I COULD KISS YOU but that’s for Maxwell 

Wait...... I'm getting suspicious. We're just. wandering away......… mmm :|

oh noOOOOOOOOOOooo--[all goes dark]

Aw mannnnnnnn Gladys D: Riley is never trusting anyone in this broke-ass country again. Remember how we kept talking about how in New York you can trust people to be upfront with their intentions???? 

[throws Daniel and Hana into a suitcase] COME ON MAXWELL, WE’RE MOVING BACK TO NEW YORK. 

IS THAT SOMEONE ANTON, GLADYS

:’((((((((((((

I’m so sad, I liked her. I hope we can still win her back to our side. She seemed so surprised every time we treated her decently, I think there’s a chance. She probably got into this plot before she got to know us. 

Things we know: 

Liam is the only LI who doesn’t meet you in the hedge maze if you’re his LI. On the one hand, getting the king to sneak out is a whole nother level, but also he’s likely to have a big part in next week’s plot. 

The poor guy is also still definitely in love with you, even if you softened the blow with the closure option. And he’s especially taking it hard if you’re with Drake. We’ll see how those things go together. 

Olivia disappeared! Before cake. For their plot to work, they still need her around to make her queen. She’s loyal to Liam no matter what, but I’m still holding out hope that befriending her or not is going to play a part whether that loyalty extends completely to you. 

She was also our strongest defense, what with all her knives and proclivity for stabbing. So Olivia is likely to be okay, but who knows if they will be. 

Do they have our friends? We didn’t see them after gifts. concern.

what do you think? 2 more chapters? Wrap up evil plots and then have good things, hopefully? or just keep adding chapters and then it doesn’t have to end hahaaaa 

[iankarlo]

Haircut & Marshmallow | 80th

Hello. Another blog. Thursday already and I'm excited for the weekend. 

Today is one of the busiest day everrrrr. I have been juggling 3 jobs and they are all needed to be out today. 

So, I tried to compose myself, organized the tasks and dealt with it one by one. 

I coordinated to multiple teams too and to all of our project managers. Good thing, its minimal phone calls today. Less stressful. 

I finished most of my tasks today. Its very fulfilling. I mean, its been a while since I felt this kind of business and being happy about it.

I am hoping I can get s new job this month so I can pay all my debts. There's so much happening in my life but I still feel grateful about it.

Anyway, Ae, gave us marshmallow. It supposed to be for Abi, but I consumed it all. He is always smiling to me and I find him really cutie. He is nice to me and he always greet me, "Good morning, Ian" whenever I passed to his station. 

After work, I immediately went out and I walked with EJ and its been a while since the last time we had a talk. I mean, even though we don't have the same views in life, I still find him a good person. We always talk about his baby, our dogs and our plan to eat samgyup.

I went to central to have a haircut cause I feel like I look very messy. I even stop and bought a chocolate drink in Krispy Kreme while waiting for Jehan. I asked my friends to eat in Jollibee with me but its only Jehan who is available. We even saw his twin brother and his cutie nephew. 

We walked around in SM and went to Watsons to buy some skin care.

I also passed by to Miniso and I bought a charger, Bam's toy and a keychain.

When I got home. I just laid down in my bed then my friend chatted me and visited me. Its been a while and we talked a lot like we've never seen each other for a long time. 

That's it for today's blog.

Love always,

iankarlo

[outerbankies]

i have finally gathered my thoughts and i need to discuss some of my fav parts of the new blurb w you even tho i am obsessed with the whole thing!!!! ps sorry this may come across as word vomit and make no sense i’m just v excited about this one 🥰 okkkk so:

- rafe & dylan’s relationship is the sweetest ever!!! i love that they’re getting closer and that it’s turning into like a little / big brother the both of them never had growing up and dylan just knows how much rafe really does love his sister!!!! 😩 ps love that rafe has now taken both of the siblings on a pit spot to papi’s lol

- the comparisons between theo (yuck) & rafe especially the “he couldn’t change your tyre but he called triple a” & “theo would never climb the vined lattice to your second story window or dare to sneak up the main staircase not after wilbur barked at him for the third straight time” i loved that so much because even when she thought it was someone else in the end it was always going to be rafe in the end and this just proves it!!!!! 🤍

- the fight with kelce :(((( besties really were fightinggggg!!!! but when he still answered to her straight away when she called him after theo left her because he loves her forever even tho he’s pissed! he is literally her bestest friend (besides rafe but duh) and i love their friendship so so much!!!! ps after the said fight gretchen’s “that’s all you ever fucking do rafe, nothing” made me DIE like you tell him girly !

- rafe and william both having the same troubled relationship with their dad’s is sooo sad but at the same time i love that they had the little bonding moment and william telling rafe all about how he left because he fell in love and that finally encouraging rafe to step away from ward!!!!! they’re going back to cali baby!!!!! ☺️✨ but the “i’m willing to bet y/n’s asleep if she let you out of her sight” even her dad knows she is in loooove with him hahaha

- wilbur!!!!!!!! her not telling rafe that he’ll be there because she knows that would make him less nervous!!!!! cutest thing ever

some other honourable mentions are the ig stories at the start, y/n meltingggg about him holding the baby, rafe renting the white jeep because he knows she misses hers, the conversation they had about who liked who first and him getting the harry potter collection just to give them to her, dylan being a little shit the whole time, rafe defending her in front of june !

i could go on and i know i have missed some other things that i loved because i honestly didn’t want it to end!!! but these are all things that i can think of for now and sorry i have rambled and these probably make no sense at all but i just wanted to share them with you lol so thank u for writing yet another incredible blurb bestie ! this is literally my favorite fic ever ever everrrrr and i’ll never ever get over the two of them … :) 🤍

guys pls don’t everrrr apologize for asks like this. as a writer, responses like this are literally the best thing i could ever hope for when putting my fics out into the world. i love that you guys spend so much time thinking about it and typing out your thoughts so i can read them too. so thank you!

- yes haha i really wanted to build out dylan and rafe’s relationship but also show thru rafe’s pov how he and y/n (and her dad later) are alike and how they care for each other but like. in an annoying sibling way lol

- so glad you caught onto that part! yeah i really wanted to drive home that she would’ve never ended up with a guy like theo if she wasn’t trying to downplay her rafe feelings because he’s like the anti-rafe in so many ways

- ugh listen i was so conflicted because since kelce did have such a big role in the theo thing back in the day i did kinda wanna include him in this part but i just couldn’t figure it out for some reason. but just know that rafe made a joke that he texted the boys theo was there and they offered to come help best his ass and y/n was like wait… tell me ur joking like you know they will actually come don’t you

- yeah i really wanted to bring that up again because i did kinda mention it in the very last part of the fic when rafe and her dad talk. i think her dad kinda realizing what he goes thru and that he can relate is what changed his view of him from when rafe was a teenager

- wilbur is his emotional support dog it’s true

again thank you thank you thank you this made me feel so warm

[citrus-cactus]

Tri Super Stage Evolution Liveblog!

Broken into two parts since this ended up being pretty long ^^; So heeeeere’s Act 1!

And we open... with abstract performance art featuring digimon puppets XD Is Agumon’s “I feel funny” a little fourth-wall wink-and-nudge to the audience?

PATAMON IS STILL THE CUTEST AND BESTEST DIGI-PUPPET EVERRRRR I love him and I want one

Having to make some mental adjustments for the actors’ voices... Koushiro’s voice is so DEEP! :O

Mimi’s desire to forgo bungalows to “rough it” while camping was a surprise! (Have I ever mentioned how much I adore Mimi?)

I figured the digimon would already be aware of the significance of August 1 but then I had to remind myself that Odaiba Memorial Day is actually August 3, sooo... I guess that gets a pass!

A FINE DISPLAY OF SWEET SOCCER KICKS aaah good job live-action Taichi!!

ASGHGFSGHG THIS PHONE CONVERSATION is making my little Taijyou-loving heart flutter!

HE GOT A B! GOOD JOB JYOU I’M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!

No seriously, this is the best phone conversation ever. Jyou reaching through time and space to needle Taichi about grades, plus playing the sempai card, PLUS getting all maniacal...(!) And Taichi’s “if you’re coming, it’ll be even more fun” and “don’t bring your books, hahaha... wait, he hung up?” I just.... AAAAAH TRI WHY ARE YOU PUSHING THIS SHIP SO HARD???? DON’T STOP NEVER STOP X3333333

Ooooh, dat bass... *swoon*

OMG the band has speaking roles??? We never get to see Yamato interact with any of his bands. This is a treat! “Oui!”

YESSSS AS SOON AS IT WAS MENTIONED I KNEW TAKERU WAS GOING TO TROLL YAMATO VIA A SLEEPING BAG PURCHASE. Also Patamon, you little punk: “Pink won’t look good on him, this will be fun!” XD

Also, the production quality of this is video is really good, just thought that deserved a mention ^_^

I really enjoy watching the puppeteers’ expressions and body language too. Their faces mirror their digimon’s dialogue and sometimes they even mouth along with the words!

Cut to shadowy Etemon, smash cut to THE NEXT DAY!

MIMI YESSSSSS. Like, I know she gives a serious reason for her decision, but I also like picturing her doing aaaall that sweet-talking to convince the other DigiDestined that she should be put charge of managing supplies, knowing full well she’s not going to bring anything because equipment is for weenies and SUFFERING BUILDS CHARACTER. This is my girl, ladies and gentlemen. My girl! <3

New hat for Takeru to mark the occasion... checkity-check check!

THEY RECREATED A BUNCH OF THE ANIME CLOTHES IN REAL LIFE! Sora’s “California” sweater and Taichi’s “17″ button-down in particular. Squee!!

OH MY GOD ETEMON. WHAT. WHAAAAAT. This is hilarious.

And now... a camping montage!

KOUSHIRO WHAT WAS WITH THAT BURN AGAINST TAICHI. Rude! >:(

OHHHH EVERYONE’S BURN AGAINST MIMI THO. That I’ll allow.

Ooh, some Koushiro career introspection! GOOD. 

Oooh, LOTS of career/future introspection! Good good GOOD!

HOOOOLY HECK Hikari’s “something I admire vs. something I really want to do” (in regards to becoming a kindergarten teacher)! That creates such an interesting parallel with her admiration of Taichi (editorial aside: I wish the first four Tri movies had explored the idea of Hikari distancing herself from her brother, it would have made the end of Kyousei that much more interesting!)

SORA PLEASE STOP AVOIDING TALKING ABOUT YOURSELF (but also Big Mood-- I get it girl, you do you!)

Tentomon: “I don’t think [digimon] grow up.” WOW, that’s surprisingly candid (and maybe goes some way to explain why the digimon have been written the way they are in Tri?) Interesing, interesting...

The kids keep saying the battles are over... it really makes me wonder when is this supposed to take place relative to the rest of Tri!

Mimi in a sleeping bag is my new favorite thing.

MIMI AND HIKARI TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN THEIR SLEEPING BAGS IS MY NEW FAVORITE THING.

OOOOOH SORA THANK YOU FOR OPENING UP A LITTLE <3

Yamato’s actor is amazing and awesome for his bass AND harmonica playing just... wow, dedication T^T

THE NEXT DAY...

Ooooh, Koushiro! Figuring out important things! Confiding those important things to Taichi! That’s more like it <3

Based on Takeru and Patamon’s comments about infection, I would guess this takes place after Kokuhaku... and therefore, after all of Tri? I’m so confused!

OH GOD ETEMON IS STRIPPING AND PROVIDING HIS OWN MUSIC AND HAS FOURTH-WALL BREAKING POWERS WHYYYY

ETEMON FIVE. WHAT. THE. FFFFFFF. 

I’m not sure the world needed anyone to explore the possibilities of an Etemon/Taichi ship, much less semi-seriously/canonically. I am disturbed.

Phew... and that’s only Act 1????? 0_0

TO BE CONTINUED!

[meiratz]

Hey. I am a freelance photographer. That is how I pay for so many things in my life. And OH MY GOD, am I thankful for that. I am so thankful to have this skill that people like and hire me to do. I’m not sure what kind of bent out of shape, confused, and terrified person I would be if I didn’t have an outlet like photos. Thank you to everyone who has ever hired me to shoot their photos. I am constantly grateful and terrified that you will never hire me again and this will all go away. BUT that is my own self-talk to deal with and thank you for being still and constant for me. I love you. I love shooting with you. 

But this post is about how I am always looking for “a job” 

Here’s why I am always on the lookout: 

Because I want to work on a team, I want to build something that has a large impact, I want to learn from other people and projects, I want to leave work at work, and I need some affordable health insurance or to make enough money to pay for mine without money stress (Here in Wyoming my covers-nothing-but-huge-emergency health insurance is $340/month. I am a forever Obamacare woman, but I am almost always drowning in my insurance cost.) 

But searching for and applying to jobs is not for the weak hearted and it is also not without its own hilarity. 

I cannot be the only one looking for jobs. 

I cannot be the only one.  SO here is my voice out to the world to say: I see you! I see you trying! I see you looking for the right thing. I see you not selling your soul to the devil.  Here are some of my searching for jobs, being offered jobs, almost taking terrible jobs, taking terrible jobs, being offered great jobs that don’t go forever, and making it work stories.  Searching for jobs story:  I am a pain-seeker when it comes to this process. I LOVE TO CALM MY STRESS WITH MORE STRESS (to my mom and my life coach, I know this is wrong. I’m working on it. xo.)  Example: I search job boards to soothe (a.k.a beat into submission and exhaustion) my worried brain to sleep.  I have an app called JobAware and it is my version of tinder. I go downhill on this app very quickly. It goes from “Oh yeah, I could totally be a manager of 450 people in an industry I’ve never heard of!” to “I think I might be able to scoop ice cream? But they probably won’t hire me. I’m lactose intolerant.”  I wake up in the morning and i look at my screen grabs (this is how I organize my future life to do list. *screen grab* “Apply for that in the morning!”) and I think “Mei, what in the actual hell are you doing?”  Advice: Don’t do any of what I have just detailed for you. Don’t do it.  Being Offered jobs story:  I almost took a job as a car salesperson.  Then I realized I don’t know anything about Ford trucks and I don’t own enough slacks. End of story.  Advice: if you want to be a car salesperson, do it. If you go to buy a car from a car sales person, know they are working their tail off. The job is waaaaay harder than it seems.  Almost taking terrible jobs story:  I got offered a position with a company we will call “yourusualstartup” for the purpose of this story. I was going to be a customer success rep and I was going to be amazing at it. Did I even know what we were selling? Yes. Did my soul swell because I believed in it so much? No. It wasn’t complex or beautiful or important. I was in a place where I thought my marriage, my lifestyle, my livelihood and my process depended on it. So, I said yes and I started negotiating.  Here’s what I was offered: The equivalent of $8 an hour. No maternity leave. No insurance. I was offered: “a great company culture!”  I was enraged.  I wrote back that $8 an hour could not possibly be what they are paying their male employees, the law requires maternity leave be offered, and a great company culture doesn’t mean anything if I can’t pay for my regular doc check up.  The CEO copy and pasted my e-mail to the entire company and told them I was “obviously not invested in them and they would not be hiring me” and then they started offering maternity leave to their employees.   Advice: Do not let over privileged young white male CEOs decide what is going to work for you. Also, just because offensive stuff comes in a well written and well formatted e-mail, does not make it right.  Taking terrible jobs:  One time I worked for a company where I was handed a folder of images from tumblr and told to copy them.  I was new, I was scared, I was nervous. He was in charge. He was paying me. He sat right next to me. He had been in the design industry for years and years and years and... So I did it. For a couple days.  Then I thought: “Wait a second!! Mei! What the hell are you doing?!”  So I said “Actually, I don’t feel comfortable doing this. Because copyrights? and because what the hell?”  and he said “Mei, everyone wants to be a hero. The reality is, not everyone will be. This is how the whole design industry works.” 

Same company asked me to bring a bottle of fancy whiskey to the printer two days before Christmas to ask if we could expedite our printing job. Let me say that again: A company of MEN told a WOMAN to bribe another man with a bottle of whiskey TO PRINT T-SHIRTS.  *deep breath*  Advice: If it feels wrong. It is wrong. Also, that isn’t how the whole design industry works.  Being offered great jobs that don’t go forever story: Every nanny job I have ever had has been the most empowering and loving and beautiful experience I have ever had.  It’s just that I couldn’t help raise those babies forever. Even if I wanted to live in your house and be part of your family dinners forever and ever and ever. Even if you were my safest space I have ever had. You helped me fly. 

and that breaks my heart and rips me open every day. 

Advice: If you are ever given the chance to stand in the safest space of your life. Take it. Breathe it in. Thank it.  Making it work story:  This is constant. I don’t know what to write here because this is what we are all doing all the time.  I’m cheering you on. KEEP IT UP!  I love you. I’m proud of you.  This all being said: I realize how lucky and privileged I am to be able to continue my job search because of my privilege, my resources and my support. I do not ever take those things for granted. I think job searching, job offering, company cultures and resources can be better. FOR EVERYONE. Let’s push for that. xo.  A few of the people who have inspired me to keep it up and to keep searching for a good spot to land my energy and ideas:  Oakley - Forever and always pushing and asking for better and making dirt into gold. She teaches me how to never ever everrrrr settle.  Brittany - She never ever ever ever gives up. Also she makes the most incredible large scale installations.  Hannah Boreal - She pushed for her dream in all the ways possible and she frickin did it.  My mom - Coach, boundary pusher, writer, activist. If I get to be like her, ever, I’m lucky. I’ll let you know when her book goes on pre-sale. You don’t want to miss it.  Janet - Always encouraging. Always trying to be better. Always asking. Always reminding us why we are worth it.  All those Ragans - One pushes for equality and justice, one educates the next generation, one is all about mindset and surging forward, and one is in charge of a college volleyball program and is driven to give them the best life experience possible.    My brother - Constantly curious and forever researching. Also he taught himself everything. Srsly.  Tina - She taught and teaches me how to stand up, how to believe in myself, how to ask for more and how to be the best mother, professional and friend.  Kara - She teaches everyone how to be more fierce, tender and educated.  Max - When he says he is going to do something, he does it. One of my favorite thought partners.  Skylar - He works on himself, on the big problems, on the issues we haven’t even seen yet. He is three steps ahead, always.  Skylar’s mom - She makes me believe in the impossible. She took an entire bus of homeless youth to the movies when it was too cold to be outside. PEOPLE.  Katie - SHE JUST LAUNCHED SOMETHING HUGE! EVERYONE CHEER!  Robyn - Writer and coach, She is writing the most honest and raw book I have ever ever ever ever ever heard of. I am waiting on the edge of my seat for it to be on shelves.  Molly - We don’t know each other very well, but she has forever inspired me to push and to ask better questions, and design better things. 

Take care of yourself and stay present. xo.  M

[rxpunzelwrites-blog]

what my kiddos are doing for valentine’s day!

laura tagged along with lydia and rosy for a lot of the day because she normally spends the day with lydia and felt a little lonely probably. but then she left the two of them to do their own thing and now she’s scotty’s valentine and eating donuts with him.

audrey isn’t even aware it’s valentine’s day. she was probably alarmed by the all the paper hearts in messina then eventually shrugged it off and went to work.

harper spent it with toby of course, and baked him heart shaped cookies and they probably went for lunch with their kiddies! she also baked rhodes a batch as well and kissed him all over his face and told him she loved him no less than thirty times.

reuben had to help bill pick out a valentine’s day gift from tori and suggested that he take her on a ghost tour. whether or not he took that onboard is up to jenny :’) and then reuben pulled himself to dinner and asked daisy on a second date and probably just took her somewhere nice for dinner.

mickey didn’t celebrate valentine’s day because it’s shane’s birthday which is a hundred times more important to him. he saved up his money and bought him a vintage signed photo of gregory peck.

dennis went right ahead and bought bret flowers and they weren’t crumpled this time and he says that he’s only making up for squashing them on their auction date and that he didn’t even know that it was valentine’s day but he said all this with a stupid smile on his face and probably helped with the rosy surprise even though he complained the whole way through it.

alice spent the whole day making out with jay. probably in front of quinn at some point. i am so sorry.

leon sent an anonymous card to freddie because he’s in way over his head. silly boy.

atticus kissed eeeeeeveryone on the cheek today. but finn and reggie and amelia and annie got TWO kisses. he didn’t get anyone any gifts bc he claimed that he is their gift and that they should feel blessed.

wren claimed quinn as her valentine like she usually does. she made him a card like she usually does. and she kissed him like she usually does. later on, she went birdwatching with henry and tried to ignore all the flutters in her tummy.

rosy spent her day with lydia and got the best surprise EVERRRRR. she definitely cried. and then when laura left them alone she demanded that she and lydia cuddle in bed for the whole night and then told lydia that it’s the best valentine’s day she’d ever had. also realised she’s in love with lydia but didn’t say it out loud because she wants to tell bret first and ask if he thinks she should tell her.

wilhelm literally just spent the day with ringo starr. his ankle still hurts so he couldn’t even dance, poor bb.

felix wrote little valentine’s day cards for raegan, hazel and monica and then he sent one to eddie ‘from mallory’. but yeah it’s mostly from him. felix loves valentine’s day oh my gosh.

jack sang love songs all day, i’m not joking. he probably shyly serenaded ivy as well.

justin definitely asked raegan out on a date. and then as a joke he’d pretend he’d asked colton out as well and then he’d pretend to be worried about being double booked and then insist that indy needs to come now as well so there’ an even number. it probably wasn’t even his idea because he’s too dumb for that so raegan is welcome to take the credit.

callum debated asking what scotty was doing and then decided against it and just wished kai a happy valentine’s day through the wall before ultimately just going to work and spending his night on the docks.

brody lmaaaao okay so brody bought hunter a bunch of the saddest looking daffodils in the whole entire world because that was all he could afford. and he left them at her desk and claimed that it was so he could ‘keep up appearances’ oh my god i’ve been waiting to type this all day.

riley received lots of valentine’s cards from his students and took them all home with him and pinned them on his wall after he conferred with barry just to make sure that none of them were serious love letters. he sent monty a card and said he only did so because that’s what the two of them usually do.

sutton probably went to hang out with kara and ollie fully aware that it was valentine’s day but didn’t mention it and if it was brought up he would feign ignorance like ‘oh??? it’s valentine’s day???’

let’s not talk about how greyson is doing today

elsie kept herself to herself even though she contemplated wishing tara a happy valentine’s day but decided against it. angelica probably tried to corner her for a kiss but she ran away.

wardo is the most loved up fucking goober right now. he spent the whole day kissing louis and then dancing with cecily and ivy and was even nice to ulysses. wardo was in the best mood ever today okay.

elliot cooked chicken nuggets for melody and then took her to a monster truck rally. he asked for a kiss from raegan and was probably denied it, but he definitely gave rhodes a big kiss. and he’s super worried about him after the break up.

pace and cece didn’t give each other valentine’s gifts, but pace wished everyone he came across a happy valentine’s day. he filmed a lot of people getting their gifts and even caught a proposal on camera so he’s had a good day living through other people’s happiness.

angelica gave everyone all the kisses including lizzie, bea, jess, seth, katie, carter, cassie, conrad, melody and nearly elsie. basically if you think there’s a chance that angelica would have reason to kiss your oc then she definitely did.

dean spent the day watching finding nemo with mellie and baby hadley :)

joe hooked up with someone he can’t remember the name of. very romantic.

sybil went ghost hunting as usual, possibly with byron and if anyone tried to suggest something about that she’d threaten to curse them.

ella had class but brought hazel cupcakes home for her to decorate. she probably uploaded the footage to her youtube channel.

aaron is spending the day with his girlfriend but let it be known that he text astrid saying, ‘happy valentine’s day, maine x’

harvey was working but as you can see, he’s talking to kenny which means he’s very happy about that.

nathaniel spent the day with will and jane and kissed them both and basically just tried to keep will’s spirits up.

will isn’t doing good right now and he misses alex a lot and he feels edgy and anxious but he spent time with nathaniel and jane anyway bc he knew it would make nate happy.

dixie was working but when she saw séamus in the lobby, she definitely wished him a happy valentine’s day and then spent the rest of her shift blushing about it. also her momma made a sculpture in her pottery class and ‘in the spirit’ of valentine’s, she gave it to mr croft. innocently, of course, but dixie knows better and wasted no time in telling cassie and david.

cecily spent her day playing with apollo and smiling and giggling at wardo and louis. she let wardo dance with her and she hugged ivy and after some encouragement from her brother, she got brave enough to kiss louis on the cheek and wish him a happy valentine’s day before all the excitement got a bit too much for her and she scurried off to the museum. but then she saw david and got all frazzled again :’)

levi IS GOING ON A SORT-OF DATE WITH AMELIA AND THAT’S THAT ON THAT.

dustin is making fun of all his students’ valentines. because he’s a dick.

diego probably isn’t doing a lot bc when is he ever but i like to think he enlisted caroline’s help to draw a picture of a butterfly so he could give it to cedric.

chase is getting high af and hooking up with whoever wants him. mess.

max is having the time of her fricking life and sent valentine’s to practically all of messina. she’s wearing heart themed everything today and her muse is through the roof so she’s probably planned like six new novels and she’s LIVING. and she’s asking after everyone else’s valentines and how they’re going and fangirling over all the cute things.

holly walked into a novel idea. glared at katie. left.

benji probably got another kiss of david because i say so that’s why.

jutta has no valentine but she plans to find one when she goes out clubbing tonight so really she’ll be fine.

taylor sent valentine’s to both darren and ronnie from BOTH her and james because she knew james wanted to but wasn’t brave enough, and it also helped her feel less guilty about everything that’s happened between her and the boys lately.

bennett got piss drunk then found some randomer to sleep with so he can forget about calvin and hero.

kit is in a surprisingly good mood today. simon gave her chocolates which she didn’t eat, but gave them to cody instead. then she baked cakes for daisy, simon, lo and beau. she was probably super shy about giving lo one but again, she’s in a good mood, she got over herself and did it.

simon woke up feeling sad but he still went into work and bravely wished billy a happy valentine’s day AS A FRIEND before saying the same to everyone else in a novel idea. then he went home and gave chocolate to kit and beau to be a gentleman.

evie demanded that jax be her valentine because she knew he hasn’t quite managed to work up the courage to ask ronan out and ronan remains oblivious.

oz gave out free candy to everyone and tried not to be sad when daisy told him she was going on a date with reuben so there’s that.

caroline heard that amelia and cassie were both otherwise preoccupied but decided that was okay because she woke up and tackled jason and gave him a big kiss on the cheek as well as a card that says ‘i love you to infinity and beyond’. she also bumped into gabe and pretended to not know it was valentine’s day pls just give me this.

mellie is probs very anti-valetine’s day right now. she’s avoiding che and probably pouted if indy did end up giving into justin and going out, so she watched finding nemo with dean instead.

ronan was working and being oblivious about jax and i hate him for it. he probably spent what free time he had attempting to find a date for his cousin, abel.

alfie baked all his friends a heart shaped pie and gave them all kisses even though he’s a little bi awkward around scotty rn because he’s not sure if he’s allowed to kiss his cheek anymore, but his spirits were up anyway!

emma was on set and i’m sure that drew did something charming so there’s that :’)

ellis arranged so many flower bouquets today and you can bet your goddamn ass she went to pick clara up at school and gave one to barry whether he liked it or not. she also graciously camped out in calvin’s room in order to give rory the space should he bring someone home :’) and because of that she probably bulled calvin into letting her braid his hair.

seth spent the day with all of his friend - not just katie. he gave all of his friend a valentine’s day hug - not just katie. he went out at night with all of his friends - not just katie. AND YES HE’S SURE HE STARED LONGINGLY AT /ALL/ OF HIS FRIENDS NOT JUST KATIE, THANKS VERY MUCH.

noah literally spent the whole of rehearsal belting every single iconic broadway love song at isaac just to get a reaction from him.

conrad was bullied by anya into wishing lizzie a happy valentine’s day. he’s going to be embarrassed about this for the next three months.

carter as we know was cassie’s valentine and the two of them shared alllll the candy and chocolate together. and then he met teddy and let a stranger hug him and that’s very important for him. also, he pined over jess. as per.

kevin WAS SNAKED BY CARTER FUCKING HEFFRON. he’s v displeased and pouted at katie for being the mastermind behind the whole thing.

piper probably took a selfie with hunter and sent it to brody saying that she was stealing his valentine. 

robbie spent it with blair and was appalled when jimmy showed up to ask if he could take blair out because EXCUSE ME CATTLE MAN THAT’S MY VALENTINE AND I NEED TO MAKE ALL THE MEMORIES WITH HER. so my headcanon is that he obnoxiously tagged along.

beau got cakes from kit and chocolate from simon and bought lo a big tub of marshmallows :) she’s not really up for celebrating though after her break up.

bailey sent all of her sisters gifts and then went to the stables so she could assist couples going on valentine treks together. she briefly contemplated how lonely single life can be but swiftly got over it.

adam definitely gave mack a card and a teddy literally just to piss off roy because he’s awful.

sawyer was in the ER and probably walked in on bennett and someone on the on-call room and is scarred for life. she debated going to see lux but then realised caleb might be working and decided against it.

micah spent the day at home with jd. he feels bad about not really checking on greyson but he knows he doesn’t treat jd the way he should or spend that much time with him on a good day and he wants to make that up to him on the national day of romance.

foster was working and probably received an inappropriate valentine’s from one of his students that probably left him close to tears because NO THIS IS WRONG WHY CAN’T I JUST HAVE AN EASY LIFE. he probably debated shoving himself back in the janitor’s closet before ultimately deciding to hide away at lunch time and share his babybel with ryke.

jimmy decided to ask out blair for the day and then realised that meant robbie would be tagging along. he was only a little annoyed.

[maddieziegler-news]

Hey, I hope this is not weird...was just curious if you have some book recommendations :)

Hey, of course it’s not weird, I’m happy to help, especially when it comes to books! ;) So I don’t know which genre you’re looking for, so I’ll just recommend some books and if you need more you can tell me more details like genre etc. I’ll also link all books to their goodreads page, so you can quickly look at the description, author etc. :)Ok, so if you’re into fantasy and like reading series, I recommend the following: 1) the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas (there are currently 5 books out, the sixth to come this September). It’s a really easy read, like you don’t have to focus much and it’s very entertaining, with really great characters, it gets better and better with each book and is super exciting, funny and just a joy to read. One of my all time favourite series everrrrr!2) Another series I love is  The Paper Magican by Charlie N. Holmberg, three books, but really short ones, so a quick read and what I loved about those books was the magic system. Like it’s really different to the way magic is usually potrayed (you can do magic with paper, glass etc) and it has a really sweet love story and I usually hate love stories, but this one was really cute.3) Game of Thrones of course! But I don’t know how old you are and how much into reading. This series is honestly up there with Lord of the Rings, George R.R. Martin is a genius, but it’s A LOT to read and really really complex, with sooo many characters, so you really have to be up for that, otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it since it’s anything but an easy read.4) The Selection series. At first I didn’t think it would be something for me, since it looked really girly and all and that’s not so my style, but they were sooo good. It kinda reminded me of the show the Bachelor lol? I hate the Bachelor, so it’s not like this, don’t worry. The concept just reminded me of it. :D Like there is a prince who is supposed to marry and girls all over the country can sign up for it and then they “draw lots” and 35 of them get chosen and get to the palace and then he has to eliminate one by one, but that’s just one of the story lines, like there are rebel movements involved (it’s kinda a dystopian society) and it just all gets bigger and bigger, so yeah.5) An Ember in the Ashes by @sabaatahir, it was really hyped, so I was reluctant at first, but just a few pages in and I was hooked! Such a great series, I certainly recommend it! It’s a really brutal world, kinda inspired by Ancient Rome (?), but also by real events from our world today and you have two main characters from whose point of view the story is told, both on different “sides” of the political system portrayed in that world, but I don’t want to say more, just read what goodreads says lol, I’m so bad at explaining without giving anything away.6) Red Queen, loved it! It kinda reminded me of the Selection Series and it had this dystopian vibe about it again, but also this “palace atmosphere” (sorry, don’t know how to describe it, but some parts take place in a palace), I liked the main character a lot (also she’s a POC), there are currently two books out, but the third one will come out February 7th (the day I’m done with exams, what a great coincidence!).

7) If you’re into mythology, I recommend reading anything by Rick Riordan! He’s amazing, I loved the Percy Jackson series, you’ll learn a lot about Greek mythology, but in a super fun way, Percy is honestly hilarious, the entire series is and it’s super diverse, which is great and a super easy read, not complicated at all and I know so many who loved this series, no matter what age, so yeah!8) The Song of the Lioness Quartet! I stumbled across it when I was about 11 I think, total coincidence, someone had lost it in school and we never found the owner, so I read it and then went to get all the other books of the series. It’s about a young girl and her twin brother. He is supposed to become a knight and train at the palace of the king, she’s supposed to become a “lady”. But he’s much more into magic and she loves fighting, so they switch roles and she pretends to be a boy and goes to the palace and trains to become a knight and it’s honestly such an empowering story, especially for young girls to read, but also for grown women. He’s trainging to become a powerful magician and kinda gets on a bad path, but I won’t say more. It’s super fun to read!9) If you’re more into daker material, the Abhorsen series might be something for you! It’s quite dark and scary if I remember it correctly (i read it about 7 or more years ago), but sooo good! Really different from other fantasy in my opinion!

If you’re looking for a good biography and are into dance (which you probably are if you follow me), I can recommend Michaela De Prince’s biography, Taking Flight! It’s told beautifully and she talks not only about her hard childhood being a war orphan and all, but also about racism in the ballet world.Another biography I can recommend is about Sasha Cohen (if you’re into figure skating), she’s my favourite figure skater and her biography was super interesting to read!I don’t know many love stories and stand alones (i read so many series omg), but I can recommend The Siren, it’s a love story, really different from many books I’ve read. It took me some time to get into it, but when it did, I cried and laughed and just had so many feelings. It’s about a girl who became a siren and wasn’t allowed to use her voice in front of real people anymore, who lost her family to the see and had to “sing” ships into ruin about every 6 months killing all the people on it to feed the sea. It’s kinda a double love story, to a man and to the sea (strange, I know!). It’s really sweet and sad and different and a stand alone (not to big), so it’s certainly worth a try too! Oh and it’s by the same author as the Selection Series I recommended above, so if you like her style, she writes a lot!If you’re looking for good classics, I can recommend anything by Jane Austen honestly, her books are easy to read and super sweet love stories! Also Oscar Wilde if you’re a bit older and like a challenge and a good laugh (and are like me way to cynical in life).Okay so I could go on and on, but I probably already bored you to death and spammed all my followers, so sorry for that! If you need more, feel free to send another ask, it’s also easier for me if you tell me your favourite genre and what you like to read. I’ve mainly recommended fantasy now since that’s my favourite genre, but I’ve also read tons of other stuff, so I can certainly recommend more! ;)

[yukimichikosamasorigins]

Chapter 4

           Back in my room I neatly put all my equipment away and set her artwork to dry. Carefully I changed back into my night robe and sat down on the comfy pillow that was in front of my writing desk. It had been a while since I’d written to my friend. Perhaps I should take a little bit of time to begin a new letter.

A while back after a trip over seas my brother had brought with him a letter from a woman in a foreign country.

“She reminded me of you a little. When I told her this her eye’s lit up so much Yun-Yun! I think you should write to her.” He’d said. It wasn’t long before I’d sent out my first letter to her. Within a few weeks one arrived in return and they had been trading ever since. My brother had been right, they got along quite nicely. I loved reading for one thing. We traded books and shared stories about our lives. It felt like a relief to be able to tell her about everything without having to hold back. Perhaps I was naïve. Sharing such things with a foreign nations royalty but their country and ours had been friendly enough with each other. Of course, the civil war here and the large war waging there made things far more difficult as of late.

           We had to be more careful with their words, in case their messages were intercepted. But still, the night was young, and I wanted to send out the painting to my friend. However, as I wrote my eyes began to droop. Barely finishing my sentence, I managed to fold the paper, sealing it with wax. I was so tired by this time I practically crawled back into bed.

           The next morning the light that came through the window was a grey one. Clouds had moved back in and they looked angry. Almost a dark purple. I sighed, hoping it would have been something of a nicer day. I’d enjoyed yesterday. Rain meant that I’d be cooped up in the castle.

No painting for me I guess. I hopped up from my bed and began gathering my clothing for the day. Thankfully her father had had enough sense to not get rid of the plumbing in his quest to bring us back to the old days. I made my way to the bathroom and began getting dressed. I was just about to begin combing out my long hair when a voice called,

“Yun-Yun.”

A knock on her bathroom door came at the same time, almost startled me in the mornings quiet.

“Oh! You scared me.” I said popping my head out to see my brother’s smiling face.

“For someone who is supposed to be working on her meditation you sure do startle easily.” Toshi said with a grin.

“You’re such a jerk Tosh-Kun.” I said with a pout and opened the door for him to enter as I continued with my morning routine.

“And you’re such a brat Yun-Yun, but here we are.” I stuck my tong out playfully and tied my hair into a side bun.

“So, did you just come here to scare me or be annoying?” I asked looking at him with a smirk.

“You shouldn’t be so mean to someone who has come baring good news.” He replied with a matching smirk. To be honest it’s a wonder we weren’t mistaken more often as twins. He was only two years my senior and we had both very much taken after mom with her extremely pale skin and dark eyes. I often teased Toshi about his lack of facial hair. Sure, he shaved but he’d never had to do it often and when he did he always did it so well he looked as if his face had been waxed it was so smooth.

My eye brows raised.

“Bet you thought you weren’t going to get to paint, today did you?” HE said with a cheesy grin. My eye’s narrowed.

“Michiko Toshihiko, you’d better not be messing with me.”

“Messing with you about painting would be a terrible life choice. I finally got dad’s go-ahead to get you a tutor on calligraphy and ink painting.” I think if it hadn’t been for Toshi’s decently large shoulder build I would have knocked him over with the force of my jubilant hug.

“Oh my gosh Toshi you are the best brother everrrrr!” I cried with glee.

“You might want to get going though because he’s already here.”

“What?! Toshi!” I yelled and grabbed my stuff running flat out to grab my paint set and supplies.

I think I had never moved as fast as I did that morning apart from my martial arts training classes.

When I arrived at the door I almost completely forgot about manors and came barging into the room but managed to stop myself short. I took a moment to let my breathing steady and then sat near the paper door.

“Sensei, may I come in?” I asked in the clearest tone I could manage.

“I imagine so.” Came a gruff voice.

“Thank you very much.” I said as daintily as I could manage in my excitement. I opened the door, moved in and then closed it. Turning I was able to take in my new teacher.

He was definitely an older man, which didn’t surprise me. My father tended to favor people of his own generation rather than younger teachers like Tomoe.

“Sensei, it is my great honor that you have accepted me as a student.” I said bowing at my waste. It was a little over kill. Normally someone of her caliber would only nod their head but he’d probably had to go through some major blockades to get to this point. Her father, while a major contributor of the arts himself, didn’t like the idea of me learning art formally. He preferred me to focus on other more socially important classes such as learning new languages, instruments as well as how to properly brew tea and walk in different Kimono’s and footwear. The only reason she was allowed to even partake in martial arts training was to help drain some of the nervous/hyperactive energy she had with ADHD. Then again, he ended up being far more encouraging of it after the civil war broke out and attempts on the life of the royal family began to become a more common reality.

“Eh? Wow, Michiko-Sama really polished you up huh?” Her new teacher said with surprise. She blinked in surprise and realized that this wasn’t the first time she’d seen this man before.

“Nakamura-San?” I asked in shock.

“You’re making me feel so old right now jeeze kid.” Nakamura said with a grin. Nakamura’s white wispy hair and balding head was indeed a stark contrast to his former slicked back hair. He’d also upgraded to spectacles and downgraded from a cigar to a cigarette. My memories of him had indeed faded over the years. I’d not seen him since childhood. He was an old war buddy of my dad’s.

“You’re my new teacher?” I asked in astonishment.

“Indeed I am. Toshi reached out to me after he saw one of my paintings on display at a gala he’d attended about a month ago. At first your father was apposed to it but then I reminded him that every good general knows the art of calligraphy so if you’re to make good conversation in any situation tradition is where you should start!” He boomed with a huge grin.

“I’ve been trying to get him to let me learn for years! If I’d have known it was that simple-” I commented with a sigh.

“Ah, ah, ah, not so fast. It’s not exactly that simple. While your dad has given us the go ahead he wants to make sure you progress steadily, or he’ll be cutting the line on the bone he’s thrown us.”

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“I mean that we’re not just going to be painting all day. I also need to teach you to make conversation about it as well. You’re polished now, but my goal is to make sure you shine at any gala he takes you to.” He said putting out his cigarette. I nodded trying to put a serious face on but it didn’t hold for long before my grin returned.

“Heh, you are really stoked about this aren’t you?” An amused look displaying across his face.

“Yes!” I burst out and began spewing all the things I’d been working on and all the things I wanted to learn to do. He allowed me a moment and then put his hand up to silence me.

“Okay, I need you to focus. Before we begin every day, we will meditate in order to visualize the end goal of each lesson. To take ourselves through each step and difficulty we may encounter to we are able to take it in stride. This type of meditation served me well on the battlefield and it has served your father and brother well during this war. It will now serve you well in your day to day life.” Tanaka said, all trace of joviality gone. It wasn’t that he was serious, but more so the type of focus I rarely found in life. And suddenly I realized this might be a bit harder than I’d thought. However, my drive wasn’t gone. And with that we began our first lesson.