#top 8 unknown facts about our nature

[aero-strange1]

Top 8 unknown facts about our nature

[melanieph321]

Ruben Dias - Lost in Sardinia Part 3/8

Summary - Ruben is on a getaway in Sardinia. There he meets a girl named Fiorella. She starts to wonder why Ruben won't tell her what exactly he is getting away from, or even what his real name is.

Enjoy!

Fiorella had always lived in Sardinia, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty of the island she called home. The crystal-clear waters, lush greenery, and majestic landscapes were a part of her everyday life. It had never occurred to her to go on hike and discover it all.

"You good to go?"

Fiorella told Ruben to meet here at dawn, at the base of the mountain trail. He arrived dressed for the occasion, wearing a loosely fitted t-shirt, a pair of shorts and proper running shoes. Fiorella on the other hand, woke up and did what she always did, dressed according to weather. She wore a hat for the sun and sandals to go with her ripped jeans and white tank top.

"You should know," Fiorella confessed, "I've never been on a hike before. The last time I was at the waterfalls my family and I went by car."

"Are you having second thoughts?" There was a fraction of concern in Ruben's voice.

Fiorella shook her head. "You wish."

He smiled warmly.  "Good, let's not waste anymore daylight then."

With excitement and a hint of nervousness, Fiorella and Ruben began their trek into the untouched wilderness of Sardinia. The air was alive with the scent of wildflowers and the chorus of birdsong, as the two explorers carefully navigated the uneven terrain.

As they journeyed deeper, Fiorella marveled at Ruben's endurance and genuine appreciation for nature. His captivating stories of travels around the world fascinated her, desperately fueling her attraction to this curious stranger.

"What's the reason for your travels?" Fiorella asked, trying to mask the fact that she was out of breath from walking.

"Mostly to clear my mind."

Ruben walked with rapid steps, a pace Fiorella praised herself for keeping up with. On the other hand, Ruben didn't walk with hunched back like she did. His braud shoulders were brought back with his perfect posture and as a pool's of sweat damped the back of his shirt, Fiorella couldn't help but to let her imagination run free.

"Clear your mind of what?" She asked. "What is it full of?"

"I just have some decisions to make back home."

"Decisions about what?"

Ruben glanced over his shoulder, meeting her eye. "You know, there is usually not this much talking during a hike."

"Then I guess were not on hike then. I guess we just love walking to the throbbing sensation of our feet and the painful pounding of our hearts. May I ad that mine is working overtime right now."

Ruben chuckled.

Fiorella took pride in the fact that she made him crack a smile. It felt like they were experiencing the hike very differently. Ruben went on with a twisted expression on his face, like his life depended on reaching the top of the mountain. Fiorella took several pauses during the hike, mostly to snap photos of strange looking rocks and the poop of unknown animals. At times she wished that she had brought Pluto with them. He would have appreciated the journey, at least more than Ruben did.

"My job." He said, regaining Fiorella's attention. "I have decisions to make about my job."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I'm an athlete."

"Like, professional?"

"Yes, it's my main income." Ruben picked up the pace.

"Is this the sport, hiking?" Fiorella was struggling to keep up, almost jogging beside Ruben, who didn't seem to care that she had short legs. She almost tripped herself when he altered his steps very abruptly. 

"Is that it?" He asked, head raised to the sky. He was looking at the top of the mountain. It's where the waterfall would be.

Fiorella nodded. "It's about a 20 minute walk."

And leave her behind? Was he crazy?

Ruben turned to her, his expression unreadable. "Do you mind if run the last part?"

"Um...sure. I'll meet you there."

"Alright, see you at the top."

Fiorella watched Ruben pick up the pace and sprint away from her. Had she said something to upset him?

After what felt like hours of hiking, she finally reached their destination - the magnificent waterfall. Its cascading waters sparkled in the sunlight, creating a mesmerizing spectacle against the backdrop of majestic cliffs and vibrant foliage.

"You made it!"

A voice called her from a distance. It was Ruben, already splashing away in the fresh-water pool.

Memroies of her childhood came flooding back. Without hesitation, Fiorella stripped off her shoes, feeling the rush of excitement building within her. She waded into the icy-cold water, feeling its rejuvenating touch on her sore skin. Laughter echoed through the valley as she and Ruben playfully splashed and embraced the exhilarating experience, forgetting about their troubles beyond their realm.

Vading back to land, they lay down on a large rock, drying themselves in the blissful sun. When it was time to go back Fiorella simply dreaded the thought of hiking back down the mountain, leaving the peaceful waterfall behind her.

"Ugh " Fiorella groaned, sitting down, support herself on a rock.

"You okay?"

"My feet."

"Do they hurt?"

"Yes. I don't think I can make it down the mountain by myself."

Ruben crouched down in front of her, inspecting her blisters.

"I picked the wrong shoes didn't I?"

Ruben didn't answer, he was to busy caring for her wounds.

"I should probably call my dad...or my uncle. They know this trail, they can come and pick me up."

"Or you can get on my back."

"Huh?"

Ruben lifted his gaze, looking deep into her eyes. "You can get on my back. I'll carry you down the mountain."

[harfanfare]

How to win a heart of Leona Kingscholar?

1.       Be able to make braids.

“Don’t move” you switched the left strand of chestnut hair with the one in the center and swapped the right strand with the current center. “You should brush your hair more often. If not, it will get more knotted…”

Leona mumbled something about naturally tangling hair, but stood still. He watched sleepily your hands that played with his hair while you were trying to create solid plait.

His braids got destroyed after lessons with sir Vargas, so you suggested that you will do them again. In this way, he could lay on his cozy bed and with some kind of amusement and pleasure, watching you so closely…

 2.       Be kind and obedient pillow.

“Hey, w-wait! I have lessons in a minute..!” you tried to get out of Leona’s embrace, who drew you towards his bed, hugged you, and didn’t move since then.

“Pillows do not talk” he covered your mouth with his hand and cocked his head a bit. The gaze he send you wasn’t as annoying it should look right now as inexplicably appealing. You suddenly got quiet. “Sleep has a great impact on our health, don’t you know, herbivore? As it’s said… you can’t put school before your health”

“You say that because you just don’t want to listen to professor Trein”

“I'd fall asleep anyway. Then why not pick someplace more comfortable?”

 3.       Try new things.

“But why don’t we add this… and this?” you picked up two vials, pink and lime, and swung them a bit. Small water tornadoes formed in the vessels. “In textbook, they didn’t write anything that they shouldn’t be mixed”.

“Every idiot knows, that these two cannot be combined” Leona accented every word. “Unless you want to blow up a lab”.

You laughed, but put the vials back on the self and stepped back. Leona sighed as he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you to the other side of the alchemy room.

“Come on, let's make this elixir quickly and finish this circus for today. From what I can see, some people are just inspired by... your previous color choices in vials.”

 4.       Eat vegetables.

With a fork, you separated the peas from the carrots as you waited for Leona to get out of the queue for the buffet and return to your table. And the queue was great.

"Herbivore," appeared in front of you a dark-haired boy who sat in front of you with his tray full of meat and some other additives, such as bread, paste, or sauce. "How can I call you an herbivore if you don't eat vegetables?"

"Plants aren’t only vegetables," you said, putting your plate aside.

"But some are," Leona gently grabbed your wrist. He took his fork, punched a mixture of peas and carrots from your plate, and gave you a cutlery. "Eat it. In our dorm it is difficult to find anything other than meat, so you should eat at least so much. You get sick without all these vitamins... or something like that.”

 5.       Be able to fight for yours

You took the scales when you knocked an unknown guy in your face. He took a step back and grabbed his cheek, but quickly jumped up to you and grabbed the collar.

"Ha, Leona's girlfriend is much weaker than I expected," the boy laughed in your face as you yanked and tried to kick him solidly. "What a disappointment.”

"The only disappointment is your respect for women," you fell to the ground when Kingscholar threw himself just to the guy's throat. Both fell to the ground; Leona sat on the boy grounded by his weight and just before his eyes held his hand, which shimmered black and gray sand - his activated unique magic. "Or rather, the lack of its existence.”

At an incredible rate, the man's face went from shock to horror. With a smothered cry, he did his best to break out of Leona's grip before he escaped from your two with vivid desperation.

"This one--" he growled, then walked up to you and helped you get up. "We take you to the nurse. And you have to sleep there or I'll put you to sleep” here he scooped up a few strands in front of your face.”...You fought valiantly. Many would envy you such courage, herbivore.”

 6.       Don’t let him do everything he wants.

He pulled you on the sofa and hugged his face in your hair. Still a moment and you would literally fall on top of pillows that have recently been washed out.

"I can't fall asleep now," you took hhands off and moved a few steps away. Leona seemed slightly confused and partly annoyed. You sent him an apologetic look. "I have agreed that today I will be doing a project and-”

"Is it so important that we have to take our traditional nap?" he interrupted you.

"Unless you want the guy I'm doing the project to come here and pick me up personally," you replied. Leona raised his eyebrows and your mouth bent in a smile. "Rook”

"You can go," he spat. He wouldn’t react at almost anyone else, but Rook would have just fallen into his room or looked at you through the window and watched you calmly nap. Leona shuddered at this thought.

He licked his mouth when you left and fell on his bed. Ah, he will wait until you come back to just make you sleep twice as long.

7.       Smell nice.

“Were you baking?” Leona asked when you entered his room. The scent of warm cocoa hadn’t leave you yet.

"Yes. Ruggie and I made some chocolate biscuits,” you wiped off your flour blouse. "Do you want some?"

"Not really," he replied, approaching you. He took your hand and put it on his cheek, inhaling the smell of pastries even more.

The scent was truly alluring.

He had much more sensitive senses than the average person, especially the senses of smell and hearing, so when he found himself closer to you, he sensed more notes of ingredients: besides chocolate, he recognized honey, nuts, and cinnamon.

He will get drunk with this aroma, which, according to him (but he wouldn’t admit it), was strangely sweeter.

 8.        Don't get along too well with Malleus.

"You're not going to him," you couldn’t help, but roll your eyes at his words.

“Would you like to join our tea meeting?” You looked up at him from under your lashes as Leona pulled you away from the main corridor. “If you really want to, I'm sure Malleus won't mind-“

"But I will," he replied. “He can't take my free time with you because he suddenly decided that he wanted to play... chess with you?” He tried to remember what it was about, but soon he shook his head, clearing the thoughts.

You smiled weakly.

"You'll be the one to explain to Sebek of my,” here you cleared your throat “lack of respect and waste of Lord Malleus' precious time. "

"I will go to him personally and complain about ‘wasting precious time’ of mine and yours.”

 9.       Have a side of your personality that only shows up to the closest people.

Problem with school? Leona won't necessarily teach you everything the textbook says, but he'll find a way to help you or calm you down, assuring you that it will be fine.

Any conflicts in the family or with their lives? Maybe he could solve them for you somehow? - after all, he is a prince, even if the second one, he is still a very influential man.

Maybe at night, your joyful personality disappears? You are becoming closed to everyone?

Each problem will be an important problem for him. He might not take it as seriously as you, but every time you confide in something to him, you can be sure that he will take your secrets with him to his grave. And search for a solution.

…And every time you think about what to do, he will feel a warmth in his heart that you have decided to reveal something to him that others do not have access to. Even if the problem is troublesome and doesn’t fit in the list of things that are nice to spend free time on.

 10.       Give him your heart.

By far the most difficult and demanding, the most important of the other subsections

For this very difficult to give a concrete example

Because in fact each of these stages could give him a fragment of your heart

Or at least his heart was stolen

By each of these moments

And not only these

[waitineedaname]

8- gordon at Benry

“I can’t believe you told them you were my fiancé.”

“Huh? You didn’t say no, though.”

The moms of Joshua’s soccer team were an impenetrable clique. Gordon had no idea why, but for whatever fucking reason, they’d decided they hated him. Maybe he had brought the wrong snacks to practice, maybe they didn’t appreciate Joshua teaching all their sons swear words, maybe he cheered a little too loud at games. Whatever, he could deal with a little pettiness and false politeness from a bunch of housewives. He’d dealt with worse.

It was one of the first games of the season, and it was Gordon’s turn to bring drinks for the team. He was almost at the soccer field, hoping his pack of mini Gatorades would appease Joshua’s teammates, when he realized he was bringing an additional unknown variable: Benrey. The former security guard tagging along to all his outings had become such an expected occurrence at this point that he’d completely forgotten that Benrey had never gone to one of Joshua’s games before. He grimaced to himself as he pulled into the parking lot. Benrey had gotten a lot better about not doing blatant alien shit in public over time, but he was still a rogue element. Gordon could only hope he was in a chill enough mood to not make a scene on the soccer field.

Joshua had taken off running in the direction of his friends the moment the car parked, and Gordon and Benrey followed a distance behind, Gatorade packs in hand.

“Gordon, you made it!” One of the soccer moms waved at them as they walked over. “We were worried you might be late again.”

Gordon tried to turn gritted teeth into a smile. “Just because I was late one time, Katie, doesn’t mean I’m always going to be late.”

Katie gave him an equally fake smile and turned her gaze on Benrey, who was setting his pack of Gatorades down next to the cooler. “And who’s this? I don’t think we’ve met!”

“Hm?” Benrey glanced up at her, then reached out for a handshake, his hand still damp with condensation. “Yo. Benrey.”

“Katie,” She said, shaking his hand for as short a time as possible. She glanced between him and Gordon, trying to make some kind of connection between them. “Are you Joshua’s… uncle?”

“What?” Benrey squinted at her from under the rim of his baseball cap. “Nah, I’m Gordon’s fiancé.”

Gordon promptly choked on air.

Katie’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “I didn’t know Gordon was engaged!”

“Aw bro, you didn’t tell them?” Benrey turned his version of puppy dog eyes on Gordon, which was really just an intense stare since he’d never quite figured out how puppy eyes worked. Gordon thought he could see mischief behind the stare.

“Man, can you blame me? It happened pretty recently.” Gordon tried to convey ‘what the fuck are you doing?!’ without giving them away to Katie. Benrey just grinned and grabbed Gordon’s hand, doubling down.

“Well! I’m glad Joshua’s new stepdad could make it to one of his games!” Katie said, clasping her hands together.

“Yeah, I’m excited. Joshie’s gonna kick your kid’s ass, gonna make all the touchdowns.”

“Um.” Katie faltered, and it took all of Gordon’s strength not to snort. Never had he been so pleased by Benrey’s ability to throw anybody off their rhythm. “Well, our boys are on the same team, and it’s soccer, not f-”

“Huh? What? Sucker? What’re you calling me?”

“Okay! Well! We better go get our chairs set up!” Gordon yelled, dragging Benrey away before he could make it worse. Which led them to where they were now, sitting in lawn chairs on the side of the field, Gordon struggling not to completely break down into laughter. Benrey looked impossibly smug, slouched beside him.

“What was I supposed to say, man?” Gordon continued to protest. “I panicked! God, I’m so fucked. How am I supposed to explain that we aren’t engaged without sounding like a lunatic?”

“Just don’t? Easy.” Benrey shrugged.

“No, you don’t get it. She’s gonna be watching us like a hawk to see if we actually act like a couple.”

“Okay. Guess we gotta act like a couple now.” Benrey raised an eyebrow at him. “Unless you’re chicken? Baby chickenshit? Too afraid to act like he wants to smooch his best friend Benrey?”

“I’m not afraid, asshole.”

“Yeah? Prove it.”

Oh, a challenge, huh? Well, when he put it like that, there was no way Gordon could back down. Gordon leaned over and put his hand on Benrey’s shoulder. “You’re on,” He said, rubbing his thumb affectionately on the side of Benrey’s neck for good measure.

Pretending to flirt was way more fun than it should’ve been. It felt like second nature to lean in a little closer to talk than they would normally or to throw around obnoxious pet names to make each other laugh or to initiate extra physical affection. It felt so natural, in fact, that Gordon almost forgot why he was doing it as he got more distracted by Joshua’s game. Joshua’s team only needed one more point to win, and Joshua had control of the ball, and Benrey and Gordon were absolutely riveted. They were holding hands, but both of them weren’t even paying attention to that, far more concerned with being the loudest people cheering from the sidelines for Joshua’s success. When Joshua kicked as hard as he could and the soccer ball shot to the back of the goal, Gordon shouted “yes!” at the top of his lungs. Giddy with excitement, he turned, grabbed Benrey’s face, and planted a kiss directly on his mouth.

He hadn’t even realized what he’d done until he was already on the field, hugging and congratulating his son. Mortification shot through him like a spike. Oh shit. It was only a dumb competition, he definitely took it way too far, Benrey was never going to let him live this down-

Benrey’s head bonked heavily against his shoulder, an established form of affection Gordon had gotten used to over the past several months. Gordon leaned away from Joshua to give Benrey room to ruffle the kid’s hair and give him congrats of his own. If he hadn’t been so focused on the two of them, Gordon might have missed the sidelong look Benrey sent him and the slight smile that accompanied it.

Joshua was momentarily distracted by one of his friends running over and talking about something a mile a minute, which gave Benrey the chance to nudge Gordon in the side. “Hey,” He said. Gordon looked over at him just in time to receive a kiss on the cheek. Benrey grinned at Gordon’s dumbstruck expression, then scooped Joshua up onto his shoulders like nothing had happened. “Yo, Joshua! Your dad is gonna buy us ice cream!”

“Wh- I never said that!” Gordon protested, following them as Benrey and Joshua chanted ‘ice cream!’ over and over the whole way to the car. He laughed and shook his head. Well, at least he wouldn’t have to deal with the soccer mom clique on his own anymore.

[strangerthings4theories]

Mirror Images: Billy And El Are Reflections Of Each Other

As you read this post, hold the following concepts in your mind: yin and yang in Chinese philosophy. The Light Side and Dark Side in Star Wars. The real world and the Upside Down in Stranger Things.

That, my friends, is the level of thematic significance the Duffers are giving Billy and El. And it’s my top reason for believing Billy will come back.

Why?

El is arguably the main character of the show. Any character who’s linked to her so profoundly will be a Big Fuckin’ Deal.

You cannot, CANNOT, create such a consistent dynamic by accident, which tells me that...

...the Duffers have huge intentions for Billy. He will become more significant to the show, not less! If you think he’ll return just for flashbacks or memories, you’re not thinking big enough.

Buuuut I’m getting ahead of myself. First let me show you what I mean when I say Billy and El are mirror images. It’s pretty mind-blowing...

1) The broad strokes of Billy and El’s lives echo each other: their family backgrounds, their traumas, and their journeys in the show.

>>They’ve suffered under abusive fathers. In fact, in S2 they have encounters with their fathers in back-to-back episodes - El with Brenner in episode 7, Billy with Neil in episode 8. 

Both fathers are likened to the Mind Flayer in the power they wield over their children. In episode 7, El’s hallucination of Brenner tells her she has a “wound... growing and festering” (my paraphrase), a clear reference to the tunnels of the Upside Down. Kali, as the creator of the hallucination, is trying to tell El that he is the source of the wound, and El won’t heal until she’s confronted him. 

In episode 8, the title card “The Mind Flayer” opens on Neil driving back to the Hargrove house, implying he’s the real Mind Flayer in Billy’s life. As I’ve argued elsewhere, Billy won’t heal either until he’s confronted Neil.

>>Billy and El lost their mothers because of their fathers. Brenner fried Terry's brain with electricity for daring to defy him. Billy's mother left for an unknown reason, but we’re led to believe she couldn’t take Neil’s abuse anymore. The way she's presented in Billy's memories leads me to believe she has since passed away.

Billy and El are both devastated by their losses. When El tells Billy at Starcourt, “[Your mother] was pretty,” she’s trying to tell him she understands.

>>Billy and El have “adopted” sisters, Max and Kali. Max represents Billy's better nature; Kali represents El's darker nature. In the same season where Billy constantly insists Max isn't his sister - thereby rejecting her - El finds Kali and embraces her. This symbolizes Billy and El’s complementary journeys: Billy is learning to accept his light while El is learning to accept her darkness.

>>Billy and El are wounded and angry because of what’s happened to them. In S1 El worries she's a monster, and in S2 she nearly kills a man in her anger, only to stop herself at the last second (against the wishes of Kali, her darker nature). Billy lets his rage define him. He's turned into a bully over his teen years, and in S2 he nearly kills Steve. Max (his better nature) stops him.

>>Billy and El are viscerally connected to the Upside Down.

The Upside Down is pursuing El. We’re not sure why yet, but their predator/prey dynamic is the main source of conflict in the show. Brenner says to her in S1, “It [the Upside Down] is reaching out to you ‘cause it wants you. It’s calling you. So don’t turn away from it this time.” His words form the backbone of the narrative:

In S1, El opens the first Gate, introducing the Upside Down to our world and setting the events of the show in motion. At the climax, she defeats the Demogorgon, the Mind Flayer's first servant.

S2 deals with the evolving consequences of El opening the first Gate. At the climax, El closes the Gate (symbolically “turning away" from the Upside Down) and catches the Mind Flayer's attention in the process.

In S3, the Mind Flayer comes after El to kill her. She runs from him, and her friends intervene to save her.

In future seasons, the Mind Flayer will regroup and try again but to corrupt her this time, not kill her. The climax of the entire show will hinge on the resolution of their conflict. El will be forced to stop running and face the Mind Flayer head-on.

In S3, Billy is caught by the Mind Flayer and turned into his instrument to hunt El down. This creates a yin/yang situation where Billy and El are revolving around each other, with the Mind Flayer in the center pulling on them both. At Starcourt, El saves Billy's soul by bypassing the Mind Flayer completely - building “the rainbow bridge.”

If you remember that Brenner and Neil, their abusive fathers, are likened to the Mind Flayer, their interaction becomes the story of Billy re-enacting his trauma, and El helping him heal it.

2) Runaway Max gives us a special case of Billy and El mirroring each other.

In S1, one of El's biggest moments happens in episode 6. Mike and Dustin have been cornered by the bullies Troy and James. Right when all hope is lost, El shows up and breaks Troy’s arm. After that, she confesses tearfully, “The gate. I opened it. I'm the monster.” This brings forward her inner struggle - am I a monster for the things I do? - which she will no doubt revisit in future seasons.

Keep in mind that Troy is around 12 years old, and El breaks his right arm.

Jump forward to S2. At one point, Billy complains, “Yeah, we're stuck here [in Hawkins]. And whose fault is that?” - implying it's somehow Max's. She disagrees. “Yours,” she mutters under her breath.

In the show, we never get an explanation. Runaway Max tells us everything.

Back in California, Billy is spiraling deeper and deeper into a pit of rage. One fateful afternoon, he takes it out on Max and her best friend Nate, a 12-year-old boy. When Max resists him, he seizes Nate's right arm and twists it behind his back. He holds it there, watching Max.

“What are you going to do?” he asks, a crazed look in his eyes.

When she does nothing, he breaks Nate's arm.

The fallout is catastrophic. Within weeks, Neil decides they should all move away from California for the good of the family.

Now think about this. El breaks a 12-year-old boy's right arm to save her friends from bullies. Billy breaks a 12-year-old boy's right arm... because he is the bully.

It’s part of the wider pattern: El is light, Billy is darkness.

3) The Duffers use physical markers to underscore Billy and El’s similarities.

>>When the MF wrecks Billy's car, Billy's forehead smashes into the windshield, leaving a gash. At Starcourt, he slams El into the wall, giving her a wound in the same spot. Thematically, their wounds tell the story of Billy suffering abuse, then turning around and inflicting it on El. He’s perpetuating a cycle, and it’s up to him to stop it.

>>Both Billy and El are limping by the time they reach Starcourt. El's leg is injured from the Mind Flayer, while Billy injures his in the car crash. These wounds tell the story of El, the “innocent,” suffering pain through no fault of her own while Billy, the “guilty” one, is being punished for his crimes. (I put those words in quotes because I believe the show will challenge our assumptions.) 

A sad footnote: El has Max and Mike to help her walk. Billy has no one.

>>In S2, Billy gets a nosebleed out of the same nostril as El. This says a LOT, marking him as a future “superhero” and putting him in the same class as El, Kali, and El's mom Terry.

Off the top of my head, only two other characters get nosebleeds, Mayor Kline and Steve. But the blood never comes cleanly out of one nostril the way it does with El. I believe that was a purposeful design choice to avoid muddying the symbolic waters.

...

Y’all, I’ve already hit my picture limit for a single post, and I’m not even done yet :p So I’ll stop there for now. Eventually I’ll show you how El is connected to the Demogorgon in the same strange way as Billy.

You see what I mean though? There is no fuckin’ way Billy is dead for good. Why would the Duffers give him this much resonance with El, then drop him? 

It makes no sense.

If you ask me, they’ve got plans for our boy. World-altering plans. He’s not just coming back; by the end of the show, he’s gonna be a Big Goddamn Hero.

»»————-　✼　————-««

Billy Is Alive - A Meta Series

[theparanormalperiodical]

Top 10 Controversial Horror Films That Are Famous For All The Wrong Reasons *gags* *cries*

At the beating heart of horror is offence.

From that undeniable sense of something not being quite right, to the CGI-blood-spurtin’-adrenaline-fuelled scenes that leave us shaking in our boots, horror pivots on the knife edge of controversy.

It’s used to drive plots. It’s used to drive hype. And at the end of the month, it drives studio executives to the bank.

Horror films can be traumatic enough. But there are some films that bear the cross of controversy more than others. There are some films that have been branded as so damaging to their potential viewers that merely circulating copies of the film is illegal.

And yet their infamy has forged cult viewership. What was once shielded from us has now become ‘must see’.

Today we are going to be counting down horror’s most controversial films and what made them quite so topical.

*I’m going to star the ones that you can actually watch without getting traumatised. Some are controversial not because of their content but because some religious or political groups disagreed with them*

#10 - The Blair Witch Project (1999)*

Let’s ease in with a classic - a classic you can watch without sleeping with the light on.

In this found-footage flick we see a team of film students as they explore a local urban legend. But what they find leads them to unknown and ungodly territory.

The problem with this film is that it was marketed as a true story. No, not based on a true story, a true story. Yep, they claimed what we were seeing was real, found footage of some teens going mad as they forage deeper into mysterious woods.

IMBd went so far as to report that the actors were dead. Then, the movie studio super-charged their efforts to confirm to the public that not only was this film 100% real, the three main actors were still missing. The parents of the actors then started receiving sympathy cards.

There’s even a mocked up website that perpetuates these claims. 

#9 - Night Of The Living Dead (1968)*

Time for another not-too-disturbing film.

This is the original zombie apocalypse film saw a group of Americans attempt to survive an incoming attack of the undead while trapped in a rural farmhouse.

But the Motion Picture Association of America wasn’t too happy about it. The film rating system was yet to be in place, allowing children to also show up for an afternoon screening and be greeted by a 97 minute montage of extreme violence.

“The kids in the audience were stunned. There was almost complete silence. The movie had stopped being delightfully scary about halfway through, and had become unexpectedly terrifying. There was a little girl across the aisle from me, maybe nine years old, who was sitting very still in her seat and crying”

#8 - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)

In this psychological film, we watch a random crime spree take place at the hands of a couple serial killers. Loosely based on real murderers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole, its controversial reputation was founded on the gore ‘n’ guts screened in the movie.

Whilst it didn’t receive much attention from the public, various classification boards across the world ensured new versions edited with certain scenes - often involving sexual assault and necrophilia - removed for viewers.

In 2003, the BBFC (the UK classification board) finally allowed the uncut version to be released and Australia followed suit in 2005.

#7 - I Spit On Your Grave (1978)

It’s the original rape-revenge flick. And it managed to piss everyone off.

Originally titled Day of the Woman, it tells the story of a fiction writer who exacts revenge on a group of four men who gang rape her.

Despite its pro-women claim-to-fame, the 30 minute rape scene begs to differ. Furious debate surrounds its feminist label as a film that forces the audience to endure rape from a female perspective and long-winded violence against men (something which is often reserved for women in horror). Regardless, the graphic violence earned it a steady ban in Ireland, Norway, Iceland, and West Germany.

#6 - Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)*

You don’t get many controversial Christmas films. They typically stick to a cookie-cutter plot ‘n’ purpose every holiday season. But there are no strong women who need to rediscover the meaning of Christmas here.

Instead, we see a child traumatised by seeing his parents murdered on Christmas Eve go on a seasonal rampage as an adult.

A week after its release in the early 80s, it was pulled from theatres due to backlash. Marketing was focused on a Santa Claus killer with adverts often airing during family-friendly TV programmes and meant numerous children developed a phobia of Father Christmas. Large crowds protested cinemas with one notable protest involving angry families singing carols at the Interboro Quad Theater in The Bronx.

It was only in 2009 - 25 years after its original release - that a DVD of the film was first made available for purchase in the UK.

#5 - Psycho (1960)*

This legendary film follows the disappearance of a young woman after her encounter with a strange man called Norman Bates, one of horror’s most iconic figures. The controversy that would engulf this fim lay not in the violent attack on an innocent woman or even the disturbing content of the film.

Oh, no. It was because of what the leading lady was wearing.

In the opening scene of the film, we see Janet Leigh wearing nothing but a bra.

*gasp*

This racy attire was emblazoned across promotional material, meeting Hitchcock’s high standards of creating controversy around the movie. There was a no late admission policy for movie theaters, and the posters told viewers “Do not reveal the surprises!” to maintain a mysterious aura around the plot twist.

#4 - The Human Centipede (2009) (all of ‘em)

I’ve watched a lot of horror films, in case you couldn’t tell.

I’m used to watching a scary movie, shaking off the anxiety, and moving on with my life. But there are some that stayed with me. I only watched the trailer for the first movie, and it legitimately traumatised me. It gave me quite a severe, sudden bout of a depression for a solid month when I was 13.

Throughout horror’s goriest franchise, we see an evil doctor and amateur mad scientist attempt to sow several people together into a centipede-like chain from mouth to anus.

*retches*

At the heart of promoting the franchise was controversy. Tom Six, the director, forced a narrative that claimed from the first film that this was "100% medically accurate". He even alleged a Dutch doctor helped inspire the film, confirming that with an IV drip, this was entirely possible.

Although it didn’t receive furore that amounted to serious censorship or long-term banning, it was infamous for having its viewers vomiting in the cinema aisles.

The second film, however, was subject to much more severe controversy and could not legally be supplied in the UK until 2011 due to its heavy focus on sexual abuse, more graphic violence than the original film, and it’s pretty vile depiction of a murderer that was intellectually disabled.

Audiences were used to the graphic nature of the franchise by the third and final release. As the least-controversial and least-enjoyable film according to critics, it barely made a dent in the horror community.

Good riddance, I guess?

#3 - Faces Of Death (1978)

I’m not sure I’d recommend this one per se - but I will give it credit for being an interesting project.

This documentary-style film is a montage of footage of people dying in different ways. As a result of its very graphic and very real content, it was banned and censored in many countries. Only in 2003 was it released on DVD in the UK after a scene was cut featuring dogs fighting and a monkey being beaten to death.

Germany, Australia, and New Zealand followed suit, reversing their bans and releasing edited versions.

However, 7 years after its release, the media revamped its interest in the film after a maths teacher showed it to his class at a Californian high school. Two of his students claimed they were so traumatised they received a costly settlement to reimburse their emotional distress. Things took a darker turn a year later, when a 14 year old bludgeoned a classmate to death with a baseball bat; he claimed he wanted to see what it would be like to actually kill someone after watching Faces of Death.

#2 - Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

This Italian film’s title alone hints towards two frightening things: flesh-eating humans and genocide. In this found-footage movie we see an anthropologist lead a rescue team into the Amazon rainforest to find a group of filmmakers that went missing.

The rampant graphic content including sexual assault and animal cruelty showcased in the film (7 animals were killed during filming in some pretty horrific ways) led to it being banned in 50 countries.

Some also alleged that a handful of deaths seen in the film were real, as were the missing film crew. In fact, the actors portraying the documentarians signed contracts that stopped them appearing in motion pictures for an entire year to maintain the illusion of reality.

And only 10 days after its premiere, the director was charged with obscenity and the film confiscated. All copies were to be turned over to the authorities. There are currently a range of versions that have been edited to varying degrees and are allowed for circulation.

#1 - A Serbian Film (2010)

No.

Nope.

Don’t do it. Don’t watch this film.

A Serbian Film follows a retired porn star who agrees to feature in an “art film” for some cash. Little does he know this film will include rape, incest, pedophilia, necrophilia…

Just don’t watch it.

It is still banned in South Korea, New Zealand, Australia. It is supposedly a parody of politically correct films made in Serbia that are funded by foreign groups and allegedly speaks openly about post-war society and the struggle for survival.

*shakes head*

Off to have a 3 hour shower, brb.

If you, uhhh, liked this post please like and reblog.

And if you want to hear more about horror and the supernatural every week hit follow!

[lifesizehysteria]

Tagged by @englishstrawbie

Rules: Answer the following 11 questions and then ask 11 of your own and tag people.

1. What was a highlight of 2021?

My MIL beating Covid with a less than 5% chance of survival. M Quitting my job and going back to school (even though it sucks and I already want to be done LOL)

2. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy?

After paying off debts, a new house so my kids can all have their own rooms. (Preferably in a different country)

3. What is your most treasured possession? (It can’t be a person or an animal!)

Either my wedding rings or the necklace my wife gave me for our tenth anniversary while I was pregnant with the girls.

4. If you could live in any country in the world, where would you live and why?

I honestly don’t know but I’m ready to get out of the US tbqh

5. What’s your go-to movie when you’re feeling sad?

Mamma Mia

6. What’s top of your bucket list?

Meeting Julie Andrews.

7. If you could talk to your 16-year-old self, what would you say to them?

What you’re feeling isn’t love. Don’t waste your teenage years on something that you know can’t and won’t happen because it feels like a safe place to explore without any risk. Yes, you’re gay. But it’s not going to ruin your life and someday it will be one of the things you love most about yourself so let this go and go enjoy being young and dumb while you still have the excuse.

8. What talent do you wish you had?

Not so much a talent but I wish I had a natural affinity to picking up new languages because I’ve never been able to get to a point where I don’t have to translate every word I see, hear, or say but I’ve always wanted to learn multiple languages.

9. Where does your tumblr username come from?

A random username generator LOL

10. What’s a song from your childhood that brings back a happy memory?

My friends and I used to pretend to be the spice girls at sleepovers and would give each other makeovers to look like them and then dance and lip sync to their songs. Wannabe is the song I most associate with those times and even though I’m not friends with them anymore and we had a lot of bad blood a few years later, it’s still a really fond memory.

11. What’s a fun fact about you?

I’ve seen The Sound of Music well over 400 times. Probably more than 500, actually, but I can confidently say over 400. My questions:

1. If you could create a holiday, what would it be and how would it be celebrated? 2. What is your favorite way to relax after a stressful day? 3. What color is your phone case? 4. Do you like board/card games and if so, what’s your favorite? 5. What is something or someone you miss? 6. Do you believe in fate? 7. Are you a traditional pet person, a unique pet person, or not a pet person? 8. Favorite holiday tradition (either cultural or family tradition - any holiday)? 9. Describe your teenage self in 3 words 10. Describe yourself now in 3 words 11. One thing from 2021 you feel grateful for? I’m tagging @8679thehuman @jbthegift @queerytales @unknown-and-anonymus @loveindiravarma

[snarkywrites]

The Nodes of Destiny in the Natal Chart

The Nodes of Destiny are linked with the missions that we have in this lifetime. We have arrived pre-programmed with the lessons from the past with our South Node showing where we have excelled and mastered, while our North Node is learning and developing. The birth chart is comprised of many more themes and this does not mean you have to solely focus on what the North Node means, but it is a good guiding concept to help navigate you through road blocks in life. We all want to learn more about ourselves and the Nodes is a great way to begin with this process. It is a fun way to uncover another missing piece in the puzzle of life. Below you will see some descriptions of what it means to have them in the signs or in their respective houses. Of course, there is a lot more to the Node than just a few sentences, it takes a lifetime to unravel, to master what we were here for and to see how that mission relates to our other pieces in the natal chart. Start by mastering the complexities of the ascendant to uncover the mysteries and purposes of the Nodes.

Aries / 1st House – You have awareness of what it means to have powerful personal connections. Friendships are important to you and you respect and value them more than others. You are reliant, caring and will always provide a helping hand. However, your mastery of these topics can turn you into a pushover. With the Node in Aries or the First House, you need to begin to craft your own identity and independence. Use your diplomacy to create balance with others, while still learning about what drives your ego. Your mission here is to shine brightly and fearlessly.

Taurus / 2nd House – Aries North Node has to develop the ego and curate it while in Taurus, the native has to build the foundation to strengthen it. Taurus North Nodes have to master their ego, to put their value first and not allow others to diminish it. You have excelled at sharing and building with others, but now you must do it for you. The hardest part of knowing how to be one with another is to come back and rebuild for you. Your goal is to master what makes you the provider and winner.

Gemini / 3rd House – With the North Node in Gemini, you must learn to let go of stubborn biases and ideologies. The lesson here is to be more open minded and embrace new ideas and concepts. You have mastered what it means to be a teacher, but you need to go back and take on the role of the student. Even if you have mastered all there is to know, you still need to understand how to view things from different sides. North Node here wants a collaborative effort with others, to not be judgmental and to continue their passion of learning.

Cancer / 4th House – Developing compassion, honoring your emotions and caring for those around you is the mission of this North Node placement. Here we see a glimpse of the divine mother since Cancer is ruled by the Moon. You have learned what it means to take on the empires, by claiming your achievements and advancing to the top. However, now you must focus within. To bring the harmony home and to leave the battle grounds in the workplace. It is a powerful position to be in because there is an advantage in mastering your inner world and the outside.

Leo / 5th House – The connection you might have to others will have to change with this placement. You are at ease doing things for others and being magnanimous, but the lesson that must be learned will be the acceptance of the ego. Your brilliance will radiate when you overcome the fears you might have that pertain to claiming your right to the throne. To freely express who you are without fear is another major focal point in your development. Life is to be lived freely, filled with excitement and to accept yourself for who you are. Honor yourself and your abilities.

Virgo / 6th House – Your mission is to take control and not be afraid of the potential failures. You have exceled at being there for others. Your caring nature will have people gravitate towards you, but you might still find it uncomfortable to come out of your shell. The lessons for the Virgo North Node are to assume the roles of leaders, not in the sense of Aries, but in a way that allows for you to take command of a situation by bringing order. Do not let yourself get driven by petty drama while adapting a martyr complex. Be clear with what you want and do not throw yourself into an abyss when things do not go your way. Most importantly, stand up for you.

Libra / 7th House – Many people will revere your fearlessness and the ability to speak your mind with ease. Taking on challenges is not an issue for you, but you can be very controlling and driven by the ego. With the Libra North Node, the native must learn to expound and understand what it means to be in a diplomatic role. There is a great deal to learn when it comes to dealing with others and how to approach situations from a place of mutual respect. The Libra North Node truly needs to focus on being the tactician and not the warrior. You are already strong, no need to assert your dominance with fury.

Scorpio / 8th House – A powerful place to have the North Node. This placement tied to the material and the unknown. Your lessons involve allowing yourself freedom from possessions. Stop clinging to them and learn to understand that you are here for a higher purpose. Scorpio North Nodes need to learn to trust others and learn from them. Without understanding, how can you evolve and learn? You can be a guiding light to many people, as long as you do not pass judgments and are truly willing to help. There is a fear in surrendering to the unknown, but when you have understood your mission, you will be empowered by those choices, the material will have irrelevance granting you the keys to transcend.

Sagittarius / 9th House – With the North Node in the sign of Sagittarius or the 9th House, you will feel conflicted by your ideas and the ways that they are presented to the world. This placement is where the magic happens. You can cultivate your philosophy and think outside the box. However, your major setback here is the lack of faith you might have in yourself. The mission for these natives involves trusting your abilities and to make sure that you can back arguments with facts. Although you might be passionate regarding topics, you must focus on truths. This is how you will rise and become the mentor to many.

Capricorn / 10th House – When it comes to grounding and perfection, you have become well-versed in these areas. The mastery you have for the concepts within will allow for you to take on the world. With the North Node in Capricorn, it is your mission to reach the summit without fear. You are here to take on a powerful leadership role but also be a guide for those who are working for you. Emotions will need to be contained and you will need to allow logic to rule your decision making. It is not easy, but this is something you must be comfortable in for the long run to run your empire.

Aquarius / 11th House – Something powerful here is developed once you learn to abandon the ego and surrender. You excel at taking control and being in charge. Another gift you have is the ability to know what to do when put in positions of power and guiding others. Your lesson here is to use your gifts to help those that might be afraid to express their voices. An inner power grows when you relate to the collective; helping them to achieve more and to cause social changes. You are the catalyst for more when you work in groups and not alone.

Pisces / 12th House – The things you have mastered begin with asserting who you are and letting others know just what you feel. With your North Node in Pisces, your lessons begin with taking a humbler approach to relating with others. You might know what is best, but you need to learn to understand where they are coming from. Embrace the idea that sometimes, you need to motivate others instead of critiquing them. Your mission should revolve around the collective and to not fear seeking a higher power. You are here to transcend and evolve with each lesson. The souls you meet in your lifetime will help shape who you are throughout your journey.

[tigerkirby215]

5e Zac, the Secret Weapon build (League of Legends)

(Artwork by Christian Fell. Made for Riot Games.)

No one:

Literally no one:

@tigerkirby215​: “HEY FUCKERS WHO WANTS A ZAC BUILD?!”

Full disclosure: I watched Dorans and Dragon’s video for Zac and while it’s really well done (like really well done. I honestly suggest you watch it) I felt like it took a bit of an interesting direction. Ds&D and I have always had different ideas for our builds and I think with the release of Tasha’s there’s actually a lot of interesting new directions to take Zac in.

Also spoiler alert but this build is the most jank-ass fucking shit I have ever made but it strangely works really well? Like I literally sat on this build for two months debating if I should even post it. Also Zac’s a grappler, because of course he is.

GOALS

There's plenty of me to go around - Zac stretches and bounces and changes his shape more-or-less at will.

Why thanks; I do work out - Zac is one of those “hold you down for 10 seconds total in a teamfight” types of junglers.

I'm not as squishy as I look - Of course to be a big bundle of green goo we’ll need to be big. Like, really big.

RACE

END ME I’M MAKING A BUGBEAR! :D

Okay to be fair Bugbear hate is kinda overblown, especially by yours truly. You get +2 to Strength and a +1 to Dexterity as well as Darkvision and several other useful traits: you have a Powerful Build to carry more stuff, for one. You are also Sneaky and get proficiency with Stealth, which is nice because if you launch a Surprise Attack you can do an extra 2d6 damage.

But of course the main trait of a Bugbear is their Long-Limbed bodies. All your melee attacks have a 5 foot longer range, which is obviously important to make Stretching Strikes!

Custom Lineage: If you’re insistent on making a custom “goo creature” race with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything rules here are my suggestions: make yourself Medium (yeah duh) and give yourself proficiency with the Athletics skill. Increase your Strength by 2 and take the Skilled Expert feat for Expertise in Athletics along with a +1 in Wisdom. You will have an uneven DEX score but I dunno just go for Athlete or something later in this build.

ABILITY SCORES

15; WISDOM - Braum isn’t the only champion who believes the heart is the strongest muscle, as if you’d read Zac’s lore he is actually quite a compassionate soul. Also we need Wisdom for our main ability.

14; CONSTITUTION - Zac is a tanky boy, so up the tankiness!

13; DEXTERITY - When you can stretch and squeeze like silly putty dexterity comes naturally. We need that dexterity to jump over walls, among other things.

12; STRENGTH - A lot of it is elastic strength, but if you’re going to throw Cho’gath into Shyvana you do also need upper body strength.

10; CHARISMA - He’s a nice guy when you get to know him, but Zac’s also a bunch of Zaun sewer goo.

8; INTELLIGENCE - Living in the sewers and then later being raised as a weapon means you don’t know any math, science, or history.

BACKGROUND

Zac did grow up in the streets, but the skills from the Urchin background don’t fit him well so we’ll be modifying it heavily. Take proficiency in Acrobatics to squash and stretch as well as Perception to keep those wards up. You can pick your choice of languages or tools because Zac kinda... doesn’t do much other than fight? I mean he’s literally called “the Secret Weapon” what do you want from me?

But your background feature of City Secrets is very useful for traveling the streets of Zaun, letting you find your way around alleys and jungle gank paths to travel through the city twice as fast as the average person! "Put some spring in your step."

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - MONK 1

Been awhile since we’ve visited the good ol’ Monk class eh? Well you can grab Athletics finally, as well as Insight to know if someone’s worth clobbering. You also get proficiency with an artisan’s tool or musical instrument, and I mean... Zac still doesn’t have much lore.

But how about some class features? Monks get Unarmored Defense equal to their Wisdom plus their Dexterity, for 14 AC total. Would medium armor be better? Yes, but you can’t wear armor if you want to use Martial Arts! Martial Arts gives you a variety of benefits: you can punch with DEX or STR, your punches are now a d4 (and will scale as you get levels), and if you punch with your Action you can punch with a Bonus Action after the fact!

LEVEL 2 - MONK 2

Second level Monks get Ki points to use for a variety of features: Flurry of Blows lets you attack twice with your Bonus Action instead of once, Patient Defense lets you dodge as a Bonus Action, and Step of the Wind lets you Dash or Disengage as a Bonus Action. An important thing to mention about Step of the Wind is that it doubles your jump distance, for those big Elastic Slingshot jumps!

You can also put on some boots and get some Unarmored Movement. 10 more feet to be exact!

I guess I’m also obliged to mention Dedicated Weapon from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything which lets you turn any weapon you’re proficient in into a Monk weapon as long as it’s not Heavy or Special. This will be important later but it’s not exactly in-character for Zac.

LEVEL 3 - MONK 3

Third level Monks get to choose their Monastic Tradition and Way of the Astral Self will give you some long stretchy limbs! As a bonus action you can spend 1 Ki to summon Arms of the Astral Self. When you do so, each creature of your choice that you can see within 10 feet of you must succeed on a Dexterity saving throw or take force damage equal to two rolls of your Martial Arts die due to your Unstable Matter.

Your arms will stay up for 10 minutes and give the following benefits:

You can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength modifier when making Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

You can use the spectral arms to make unarmed strikes, which has the following benefits:

The reach of the arms is 5 feet greater than normal, which stacks with your Bugbear arms. 15 foot reach with extra stretchy arms!

The unarmed strikes you make with the arms can use your Wisdom modifier in place of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls, and their damage type is force.

You can also absorb some blows with Deflect Missiles. When you are hit by a ranged weapon attack you can use your reaction to reduce the damage by 1d10 + your DEX mod + your monk level. If you reduce the damage to 0, you can catch the missile. You can then spend 1 ki point to throw it back as part of the same reaction. You make this attack with proficiency, regardless of your weapon proficiencies, and the missile counts as a monk weapon for the attack, which has a normal range of 20 feet and a long range of 60 feet.

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everyone also gave Monks the Ki-Fueled Attack ability which pretty much doesn’t impact you in the slightest.

LEVEL 4 - MONK 4

4th level Monks get an Ability Score Improvement but we’re instead going to grab the Skilled Expert feat. You can increase your Wisdom by 1 and grab proficiency in Survival for optimal jungle clear. But what we’re mainly here for is to make our hands extra sticky with expertise in Athletics! Is the build starting to make sense now?

You can also land safely after an Elastic Slingshot jump thanks to Slow Fall, reducing fall damage by 5 times your Monk level. If you want to keep yourself in the fight then Quickened Healing (also from TCoE, because that book really likes giving new Monk features) will let you take advantage of Cell Division for 2 Ki points, healing you for a number rolled on your Martial Arts die plus your Proficiency bonus. It’s not much but in a pinch it might save you!

LEVEL 5 - MONK 5

5th level Monks get an Extra Attack, so you can punch twice with your action, and then punch some more with your Bonus Action! You can also bring some heavy CC into the party with Stunning Strike; if you hit an enemy in melee you can force a Constitution save or stun them! Yes actual honest-to-god League of Legends stun!

Oh and because Tasha’s Cauldron really wanted to buff the Monk you get Focused Aim, letting you use up to 3 Ki points to increase your roll to hit, at a 2:1 ratio. (1 Ki point = +2 to hit)

(Artwork by SemLimit on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 6 - BARBARIAN 1

Jumping over to Barbarian, land of the true tanks. Barbarians get Unarmored Defense based on Constitution that we won’t be using but I’m obliged to mention anyways. Of course what we’re here for is Rage which will augment you in a number of ways: you’ll resist Bludgeoning, Piercing, and Slashing damage and will do more damage with Strength-based attacks (which you probably won’t be making.) But the most important feature is this line right here:

You have advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.

You know what’s a Strength check? Athletics! So even if you use Wisdom for it you’ll still have Advantage on top of Expertise! And Athletics is used for grappling! At least that’s how I’d rule it, but talk to your DM just to make sure they’ll let this dopey shit into their game.

LEVEL 7 - BARBARIAN 2

Second level Barbarians can let themselves go with Reckless Attack. Your Unstable Matter will give you advantage on your attack at the cost of giving enemies advantage to hit you.

You also get Danger Sense for advantage on Dexterity saves against effects you can see coming. Is a Jinx rocket heading your way? Slingshot out of there!

LEVEL 8 - BARBARIAN 3

Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything gave Barbarians Primal Knowledge for a free skill proficiency from the Barbarian list, so take Intimidation I guess because you are a huge freaky slime guy.

Third level Barbarians get to choose their Primal Path and guess what? It’s Totem Warrior time! As a Spirit Seeker you can cast Speak With Animals and Beast Sense as a Ritual but we all know that’s not what we’re here for. What we’re really here for is the Totem Spirit of the Bear. You can now resist all damage while Raging, with the exception of Psychic damage. Hey there has to be %health damage to deal with tanks after all. (Now if only they’d nerf Grievous Wounds.)

LEVEL 9 - MONK 6

This will be our last Monk level; sad I know. But it’s worth it for the Visage of the Astral Self. You can use a Bonus Action and a Ki point to summon the visage. (And can do it while summoning your arms.) While the spectral visage is present, you gain several benefits:

Astral Sight lets you see through magical (and nonmagical) darkness up to 120 feet.

Wisdom of the Spirit gives you advantage on Wisdom (Insight) and Charisma (Intimidation) checks.

And Word of the Spirit lets you either whisper in team chat to a creature of your choice that you can see within 60 feet of you, or shout in all chat so that everyone within 600 feet can hear you.

Your regular fists are also considered magical thanks to Ki-Empowered Strikes, and you get 5 more feet of Unarmored Movement! "Woohoo!"

(Artwork by Dragonflamebg on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 10 - FIGHTER 1

Teamfight time? Team Fighter time! First level Fighters get a Fighting Style and since you’re punching people your only real option is Superior Technique, giving you a d6 Combat Superiority die to use on a Battle Master Manuever. That Manuever shall be Grappling Strike, letting you grapple as a Bonus Action after punching someone for some Stretching Strikes!

You can also heal with Cell Division assuming the enemy team doesn’t stack Grievous Wounds thanks to Second Wind; it’s a d10 plus your Fighter level. "Keep it together."

LEVEL 11 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters get Action Surge for even more punching! This will be more important in like, two levels.

LEVEL 12 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and for some crowd control in a teamfight Battle Master is a great choice. You are a Student of War which means more tool proficiencies which make no sense because Zac has no lore woo! But of course what we’re mainly here for is Combat Superiority: you have four d8 Superiority Die (plus a d6 one from your Fighting Style) which you can use on a variety of Maneuvers:

Trip Attack is good if you want to bounce, forcing the target you hit to make a Strength save or fall over!

Distracting Strike is like stunning the target in the sense that it gives your allies an opening, but unlike Trip Attack you don’t have to force a saving throw. (Instead Distracting Strike just works after you hit them!)

And if you think your arms aren’t stretchy enough already? Boom; Lunging Attack for 20 foot reach!

LEVEL 13 - FIGHTER 4

4th level Fighters get an Ability Score Improvement: hey it’s everyone’s favorite feat Grappler! You have advantage on attacks against enemies you grappled, and if you’re grappling someone you can then pin them to hold them in place!

Now pinning someone you’ve grappled does take an action but here’s where Action Surge comes in: turn 1? Grab them. Turn 2? Pin them! Easy!

LEVEL 14 - FIGHTER 5

5th level Fighters get an Extra Attack... which you already have. "I hate it when this happens."

LEVEL 15 - FIGHTER 6

Hey more Ability Score Improvements! Want all the fun of a high Constitution score without the Constitution? Look no further than the Tough feat: it gives you +2 HP per level for some big gains!

(Artwork by GisAlmeida on DeviantArt.)

LEVEL 16 - FIGHTER 7

7th level Fighters get to Know Your Enemy: by spending a minute studying someone (IE looking at the scoreboard) you can learn if an enemy is superior, inferior, or equal to you in a number of areas described by the ability.

You also get one more Combat Superiority die and learn two more Maneuvers: Goading Attack will make it harder for enemies to hit your friends (and it works against Tier 4 enemies who likely resist fears), and Disarming Attack will let you stick your hand to your opponent’s weapon to make them drop it!

LEVEL 17 - FIGHTER 8

8th level means more ASIs and I’m starting to think ignoring all your stats was a bad idea. More Wisdom means better punches, better grabs, and better AC.

LEVEL 18 - FIGHTER 9

9th level Fighters get Indomitable, letting them reroll a failed saving throw once per Long Rest. Regardless of what you roll on the new die however you have to use the new result. This can be used on Death saves to try to keep alive a little longer thanks to Cell Division.

LEVEL 19 - FIGHTER 10

10th level Battle Masters get Improved Combat Superiority. Your superiority die are d10s now; even the one from your Fighting Style! You do also learn more Maneuvers but honestly? We got just about everything that we need already. If you’ve hit level 19 playing Zac League of Legends then you deserve to make some choices of your own.

LEVEL 20 - FIGHTER 11

Our final level is the 11th level of Fighter for an Extra Attack that does stack! That means you have 3 attacks total and one extra from Martial Arts!

FINAL BUILD

PROS

Beat up, or beat down? I'm flexible - No matter how you look at it 4 attacks per round is great, especially since you can give yourself Advantage and boost your damage output with Battle Master Maneuvers.

Pick on someone your own size - If everything goes well you should have a solid 200 health by level 20! Definitely nothing to sneeze at, especially with Rage giving you resistance to almost everything and Second Wind letting you heal yourself!

This is gonna get messy - You’ve got a +16 to Athletics checks for Grappling when using your Astral Arms, and can give yourself Advantage or add Superiority die to your Grapple checks. Do I need to explain that that’s really good?

CONS

Don't push your luck, champ - None of your stats are maxed out, and that’s bad. Your hit modifier isn’t great, your Battle Master saving throw is low, but most importantly your AC is really bad. Big health is nice but not being hit is also very helpful. Just saying if you have the chance to go for Point Buy I’d take it.

I never skip breakfast - A small pool of Ki combined with limited Maneuver die means that you’re running on some very potent fumes. Frequent short rests will be needed to make the most out of this build.

These jerks don't know when to quit! - Grappling builds have the ever-constant problem of falling off in the late game when most foes simply can’t be grabbed. This build honestly peaks around level 13 and just falls off from there. This is definitely one of my builds that I think works better in a low level campaign.

But if you want something unique that works well early here’s your build! Big reach to hold everyone in place so your party can beat them up. Playing the CC tank might not be that glorious but it’s a job someone’s gotta do. And remember: "It's not how much you can lift. It's how good you look!"

(Artist unknown. Made for Riot Games.)

[johaerys-writes]

Fandom: The Song of Achilles

Pairing: Achilles/Patroclus

Chapter 8: Like Gods, At The Dawning Of The World of High-Flying Birds is up! Some fluffy sweetness and tender smut with the world’s happiest boys, from Patroclus’ POV :)

Read here or on Ao3! Or read from the beginning 

*****

I woke up with my nose buried in Achilles’ hair, my chest pressed up against his back. I did not remember falling asleep like that. I must have curled against him in my sleep without realising it, I thought, and panic gripped me. I almost pulled away from him- what if he rose to see me like this? What if he’d seen already, what if-

It took a moment for me to remember that he had done the same, only hours before. I could still feel the ghost touch of his lips against my own, his fingers that had tangled in my hair, that had pulled me close. I remembered the things I’ve said, the sounds I’d made. My cheeks flushed and my skin warmed, but I did not dare unfold from where I was lying beside him, for fear of waking him, of the spell that had settled between us finally breaking. Achilles was soundless in his sleep, his chest rising and falling beneath my arm, his narrow ribs contracting and expanding. Each breath came like the sea, like the waves that lapped at the sand only to retreat again.

The sea, I whispered. She couldn't see us here. Thetis, the person that terrified me most of all, couldn't see us here.

I pressed myself further against him, pulled him flush to me. Felt the movement of his breaths in my own lungs, the beating on his heart in my own chest, took a deep breath of his scent- almonds and honey, musk and clean sweat, sandalwood and fresh soil. Him.

He shifted on the pallet, turned around and smiled at me, humming sleepily. His hand found my own in the rose-grey light of dawn, his fingers threading through mine. My pulse skipped as my fingers tightened over his as if by instinct. We lay like this for a while, simply touching, simply holding, breathing each other's air.

“Good morning,” he murmured, his lips moving against my cheek. I could only smile. My throat was tight with the happiness that swelled and rose within me, like a cotton cloud. I kissed the fair skin of his brow, and held him close to me as we watched the world come awake around us.

When the sun had finally risen, we rose with it, making our way to Chiron and the breakfast he had prepared for us. We ate hastily -I only had a bite of dried fig and a piece of cheese, my stomach was too tight with giddiness for me to eat anything else- and then we went to the stream. We washed in the crisp waters, then sat on the grass, letting the sunlight warm our bodies and the soft breeze dry us. Achilles lay next to me, golden and resplendent. He blinked his eyes open and looked at me, and, for once, I didn't drag my gaze away. I could look at him openly now, I realised, without worrying that he would see, that he would bolt like a startled deer if he took notice of my affection. The thought moved me and filled me. To look at him, without fear, and to be looked at in return- it was a miracle.

Achilles' gaze was sharp and inquisitive, his brow furrowed in concentration. "Your hair," he said, tilting his head to the side. "I like the way it curls around your face, how the ends wisp over your brow. Have I told you that before?"

He reached out and smoothed a strand away from my forehead. My skin prickled with his touch. "You have not," I whispered.

He propped himself up on his elbow, his eyes unabashedly gliding over my naked form, from the top of my head to my toes and back. His fingers skimmed my brow, my cheek, the hollow of my throat. Stayed for a breath under my collarbone, then moved slowly down, following the dip in my chest. "Your freckles," he said. "There's a lot of them."

"Is there?" I blinked at him, my breath growing shallow. I could already feel warmth blossoming within me under that curious gaze.

Achilles nodded, drawing smooth lines between each tiny dark point on my skin. He counted them, one by one. Two under my collarbone, one on my neck. Four on my stomach, two near my navel. A cluster of them on my shoulder. A small one, barely visible, on the inside of my thigh. I felt breathless with that slow, quiet exploration of my body, with the tenderness with which those slender fingers that I knew so well touched me, as if I were a new instrument to be learnt. He studied my form with the same razor sharp focus he applied to everything else; fingers that plucked the strings of his lyre with care and precision were now roaming freely over me, now pausing, then gliding, then pausing again to examine something new, something he’d never noticed before and that now fascinated him.

It felt odd, to be the object of such intense observation. More than odd, it felt natural, when it came from him. It felt right. Before I knew it, my hands had also strayed from my sides to smooth over the muscles of his arms, to follow the curve of his shoulder, to rest in the hollow of his throat. The tendons moved gently under my palm when he turned to look at me, twin shards of jade peering at me under his heavy lids. Strands of golden sunlight caught in his damp locks, in the drops of water that still lingered on his skin. I leaned close, brushing my nose over his; his breath warmed me, made my skin prickle. Plush, pillow soft lips parted readily under my own. I could do nothing but surrender myself to their smooth, rhythmic movement.

His lips moved lower, tracing the line of my jaw. I shivered with the gentleness with which they mapped my skin. I arched helplessly into his touch when his tongue, cool and slick, brushed over my collarbone, following that line that he so liked to touch. After this, I mirrored his movements. I had quickly found out that there was a rhythm he liked when I kissed him, that would make his breath come faster, the pupils of his eyes to swell, his lids to grow heavy. I threaded my fingers through his hair, twisting them between his damp strands, marvelling at the fact that I could touch him as I had longed to touch him for days, nights, months on end.

I half expected him to turn away. Every time I looked at him, I anxiously awaited the moment when he would glance away from me, as we had both done so many times before. Every time I touched him, I half expected him to move out of my grasp, to shun me, to cast me aside. Yet, with every second that passed, those thoughts drifted further and further from my mind. He was there, and the desire in his gaze was as plain as my own must be, and he welcomed my touch as I did his own. My heart fluttered in my chest like a newborn bird, struggling to take flight.

Before I knew it, his mouth had moved lower, caressing my stomach, the tip of his nose brushing my belly button. The flicker of amusement in Achilles’ gaze when he glanced up at me made my cheeks warm even more.

“There’s something I want to try,” he said, the edges of his lips curling upwards in his cat smile.

“You do?”

The smile widened. I tilted my head to the side and sighed, watching as Achilles moved lowered still. His palms were smooth and flat on my stomach, holding me as his mouth traced the dark line of hair that led to my navel. My skin prickled, every hair standing on end when I felt his breath brushing my already hardening length. Then, his lips were on me, enveloping me in wet, velvet heat.

I gasped, my breath hitching in my throat. I had often heard the boys back in the palace talking about this, about this and this that the serving girls had done with them. These conversations never held much interest for me, my mind always slipping away like an eel. Yet now, as Achilles’ mouth closed around me, his lips sliding slowly down then up again, my skin felt full to bursting, heat bubbled in my core. I arched helplessly into his touch as he took me in deeper, holding my gaze all the while. I felt caught, pinned in place by the intensity of those piercing eyes, and I did not dare to look away. I was wading in seas of green and gold, swept by the currents, drawn ever deeper into the unknown with every swipe of Achilles’ tongue. I crested on a wave, then tipped over a razor sharp edge; the dappled light that filtered through the trees seemed just that little bit brighter, the mountain air around us crisper when electric pleasure spiralled through every vein. Achilles held me fast as I shuddered, his touch anchoring me through the waves of ecstasy that rolled over me.

I was breathless when he finally released me, pressing soft kisses along my stomach and my chest on his way up. I wearily blinked my eyes open to look at him as he hovered over me. His beauty was breathtaking, but more than that, there was a purity to him, like the first flakes of whitest snow. A wild orchid swaying with the breeze in a field of tall mountain grass had less grace than he did; the drops of dew on velvet flower petals, shimmering with the early light of dawn, would seem dull and lifeless compared to the golden flecks in his bright eyes.

I reached up, pushing a strand of hair behind his ear, caressing the perfect curve of its shell as I did. My throat tightened, full with the words that I had kept from him for so long, and my eyes burned with unshed tears. “I have never been more happy,” I whispered.

He smiled at me and the warmth of it made me shiver. He leaned down to brush his lips, flushed and glistening, over my own. I sighed when I tasted the sweetness of his tongue, and something else, something sharp and salty, fresh oysters and sea-bitters.

“This is how it will always be between us.” There was satisfaction in Achilles’ gaze, and fierce certainty in the way his fingers twined through my own. “There’s nothing else in the world but you and me.”

“Yes.” I breathed the word against his mouth, giddy and effervescent with joy, wrapping my arms and legs around him to pull him close. As close as I could. “Just you and me.”

[technicallyfadingdreamer]

Laser and Light Treatment of Acquired and Congenital Vascular Lesions

IPL treatment of PWS

IPL devices are broadband filtered xenon flashlamps that work based on the principles of selective photothermolysis. The emission spectrum of 515–1200 nm is adjusted with the use of a series of cut-off filters, and the pulse duration ranges from approximately 0.5 to 100 msec, depending on the technology. The first commercial system, Photoderm VL (Lumenis, Yokneam, Israel) became available in 1994, and has been used to treat vascular anamolies. Another, IPL Technology (Danish Dermatologic Development [DDD] Hoersholm, Denmark) with a dual mode light filtering has also been used to treat PWS. Many other IPL system have recently been developed, and the appropriate parameters for congenital vascular lesions are being developed. The IPL has been used successfully to treat PWS (Fig. 39.7),78–80 but pulsed dye laser remains the treatment of choice.

IPL technology has also been used to treat pulsed dye laser-resistant PWS. In the study by Bjerring and associates seven of 15 patients achieved over 50% lesional lightening after four IPL treatments. Most of these patients had lesions involving the V2 dermatome (medial cheek and nose), which are relatively more difficult to lighten. Six of seven of these patients showed over 75% clearance of their PWS. A 550–950-nm filter was used with 8–30-msec pulse durations and fluences of 13–22 J/cm2 to achieve tissue purpura. The 530–750-nm filter can also be used with double 2.5-msec pulses, with a 10-msec delay and fluence of 8–10 J/cm2. Epidermal cooling was not required. Treatment resulted in immediate erythema and edema, and occasional crusting. Hypopigmentation was observed in three patients, hyperpigmentation in one patient, and epidermal atrophy in one patient.

The basics of body fat

Let’s start with the basics. Not all fat is created equal. We have two distinct types of fat in our bodies: subcutaneous fat (the kind that may roll over the waistband of your pants) and visceral fat (the stuff that lines your organs and is associated with diabetes and heart disease).

From here on out, when we refer to fat, we are talking about subcutaneous fat, as this is the type of fat that cryolipolysis targets. A recent study showed that the body’s ability to remove subcutaneous fat decreases with age, which means we are fighting an uphill battle with each birthday we celebrate.

From popsicles to freezing fat

Cryolipolysis machine — which literally translates into cold (cryo) fat (lipo) destruction (lysis) — was invented, in part, by observing what can happen when kids eat popsicles. No kidding here. The cofounders of this process were intrigued by something called “cold-induced fat necrosis” that was reported to occur after young children ate popsicles that were inadvertently left resting on the cheek for several minutes. Skin samples taken from pediatric patients like these showed inflammation in the fat, but normal overlying skin. Thus, it appeared that fat may be more sensitive to cold injury that other tissue types.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Coolplas Fat Freeze Machine uses rounded paddles in one of four sizes to suction your skin and fat “like a vacuum,” says Roostaeian. While you sit in a reclined chair for up to two hours, cooling panels set to work crystallizing your fat cells. “It’s a mild discomfort that people seem to tolerate pretty well," he says. "[You experience] suction and cooling sensations that eventually go numb.” In fact, the procedural setting is so relaxed that patients can bring laptops to do work, enjoy a movie, or simply nap while the machine goes to work.

WHO IS IT FOR?

Above all, emphasizes Roostaeian, CoolSculpting is “for someone who is looking for mild improvements,” explaining that it’s not designed for one-stop-shop major fat removal like liposuction. When clients come to Astarita for a consultation, she considers “their age, skin quality—will it rebound? Will it look good after volume is removed?—and how thick or pinchable their tissue is,” before approving them for treatment, because the suction panels can only treat the tissue it can access. “If someone has thick, firm tissue,” explains Astarita, “I won’t be able to give them a wow result.

WHAT ARE THE RESULTS?

“It often takes a few treatments to get to your optimum results,” says Roostaeian, who admits that a single treatment will yield very minimal change, sometimes imperceptible to clients. “One of the downsides of [CoolSculpting] is there’s a range for any one person. I’ve seen people look at before and after pictures and not be able to see the results.” All hope is not lost, however, because both experts agree that the more treatments you have, the more results you will see. What will happen eventually is an up to 25 percent fat reduction in a treatment area. “At best you get mild fat reduction—a slightly improved waistline, less bulging of any particular area that’s concerning. I would emphasize the word mild.”

WILL IT MAKE YOU LOSE WEIGHT? "None of these devices shed pounds,” says Astarita, reminding potential patients that muscle weighs more than fat. When you’re shedding 25 percent of fat in a handful of tissue, it won’t add up to much on the scale, but, she counters, “When [you lose] what’s spilling over the top of your pants or your bra, it counts.” Her clients come to her in search of better proportions at their current weight, and may leave having dropped “one or two sizes in clothing.”

Although the mechanism of cryolipolysis is not completely understood, it is believed that vacuum suction with regulated cooling, impedes blood flow and induces crystallisation of the targeted adipose tissue with no permanent effect on the overlying dermis and epidermis. This cold induced ischaemia may promote cellular injury in adipose tissue via cellular oedema and mitochondrial free radical release. Another theory is that the initial insult of crystallisation and cold ischaemic injury is further perpetuated by ischaemia reperfusion injury, causing generation of reactive oxygen species, elevation of cytosolic calcium levels, and activation of apoptotic pathways.

Whichever the mechanism of injury, adipocytes undergo apoptosis, followed by a pronounced inflammatory response, resulting in their eventual removal from the treatment site within the following weeks. The inflammatory process sees an influx of inflammatory cells at 14 days post treatment, as adipocytes become surrounded by histiocytes, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and other mononuclear cells. At 14-30 days after treatment, macrophages and other phagocytes envelope and digest the lipid cells as part of the body’s natural response to injury. Initial concern was that cholesterol, triglycerides, low density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high density lipoproteins (HDLs), bilirubin and glucose levels were affected, however these have been shown to all stay within normal limits following the procedure.

Four weeks later, the inflammation lessens and the adipocyte volume decreases. Two to three months after treatment, the interlobular septa are distinctly thickened and the inflammatory process further subsides. Fat volume in the targeted area is apparently decreased and the septa account for the majority of the tissue volume.

Patients and treatment areas

Although all studies show reduction in every area examined, it is still unknown what areas are most responsive to cryolipolysis. Various factors may play a role in the degree of fat reduction observed after cryolipolysis. The vascularity, local cytoarchitecture, and metabolic activity of the specific fat depots in questions may play a role.

There is lack of substantial research to identify the ideal patient or even the ideal area to be treated. Given a modest (yet significant improvement of up to 25% reduction in subcutaneous fat), it is thought that the best candidates are those within their ideal weight range and those who engage in regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, have noticeable fat bulges on the trunk, are realistic in their expectations, and are willing to maintain the results of cryolipolysis with a healthy, active lifestyle.

New design Cryolipolysis is safe for all skin types, with no reported pigmentary changes, and is safe for repeated application. Ferraro et al. suggest that patients who require only small or moderate amounts of adipose tissue and cellulite removal would benefit most from cryolipolysis treatment. Contraindications include cold-induced conditions such as cryoglobunaemia, cold urticaria, and paroxysmal cold haemoglobinuria. Cryolipolysis should not be performed in treatment areas with severe varicose veins, dermatitis, or other cutaneous lesions.

HIFU Decide Guide: Which Device is for you?

High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound also known as HIFU machine is a non-surgical, non-invasive treatment procedure that tightens and lifts the skin using ultrasound energy. It is taken to be a safe and effective procedure for tightening the facial skin.

HIFU treatment procedure has loads of advantages over the traditional means of facial improvement: painless, zero incisions, scarring, and recovery time. In addition, it is far less expensive too.

Granted, HIFU is a popular means of looking better. Little wonder that there are tons of clinics and spas that offer services they claim can make you look better. However, that's not enough reason for you to jump on the bandwagon of folks searching for ways to look better

Why Choosing The Right HIFU Device is Important?

Be sure to get a professional assessment before you start your HIFU treatment. This is because a professional and objective assessment from a specialist will help you discover the best form of treatment using the right multifunctional HIFU that is suitable for you.

Ultrasound technology is completely safe and has been used in medicine for decades. It works by contracting and shortening muscle fibers, thus causing the lifting and tightening effect that makes the skin look better.

Lifting, tightening, and fats melting are natural processes that result in a slimmer face, reduced jowl line & facial tightening. Confused about how to go about the HIFU facelift treatment in Singapore?

You will be able to decide on the best HIFU device to use when you finally decide to undertake the treatment. Let’s look at some of the most common HIFU devices in Singapore.

What is the working principle for HIFU vaginal machine?

The vaginal HIFU machine uses an noninvasive ultrasonic focusing technique to focus on the mucous membrane fibrous layer and muscle layer directly. Using ultrasonic waves as the energy source and taking advantage of its penetration and focus, the system will send out ultrasonic energy focusing in the the lamina and muscle fiber layer in a predetermined depth. A higher intensity of ultrasonic region, called focus region, is formed. In 0.1 second, the temperature of the region can reach to above 65 ℃ , so the collagen is reorganized and the normal tissue outside the focal region is undamaged. Therefore, the desired depth layer can obtain the ideal effect of collagen concentration, reorganization and regeneration. Ultimately, the mysterious effect of vagina tightening is achieved.

What is the functions for each cartridges?

1. Vagina tightening head

4.5mm heads produce the energy directly to the SMAS , make it thermal coagulation , make the SMAS tighten and lifting, improved the muscle structure from deep to shallow, make better to help the muscle layer restore elasticity and  tighten.

3.0mm head the ultrasound penetrates to the skin under the depth of 3.0mm, aim at  activating the dermal layer’s collagen, effectively enhance the effect of the consolidation of the outline, but also shrink large pores and reduce the appearance’s wrinkles.

Knowing that you are interested in 3D Hifu machine, we have listed articles on similar topics on the website for your convenience. As a professional manufacturer, we hope that this news can help you. If you are interested in learning more about the product, please feel free to contact us.3D HIFU is ultrasound energy distance of width, length and depth, which more Comprehensive, three-dimensional. Directly delivers heat energy to skin and subcutaneous tissue that can stimulate and renew the skin's collagen and thus consequently improving the texture and reducing sagging of the skin. The high quality handle with German imported motor can be used for life. Total 8 cartridges supply treatmetn for whole body. 1.5mm is for the forehead and around the eyes, 3.0mm is for the dermis layer--face treatment, 4.5mm is for the SMAS layer--face treatment, 6.0mm/8mm/10mm/13mm/16mm for body fat layer. Every cartridge can reach 20000 lines lifetime.

4D HIFU machine uses the power of High intensity focused ultrasound to safely lift and tighten skin. High intensity focused ultrasound is a form of energy that is significantly different than light such as IPL and Lasers or Electrical (Radio-Frequency) energy. HIFU, protects the skin surface, whilst precisely penetrating at deeper depths and higher temperatures than Radio Frequency for example, treating beyond the Dermis and Foundation layers, where structural weakening starts.

Tissue at the target point is heated to 65°C, Thermal Heat is created with the skin tissue creating both spaced ‘wounds’ and cellular friction - which in turn promotes healing, immediately contracts collagen and stimulates a rapid production. Over the next 90-180 days, the wound-healing response stimulates long-term tissue and leads to further lifting and tightening, with results that can last years.

4D HIFU also helps to improve the tone and all the features of your face such as your eyes, cheeks, mouth, chin and skin also making it a viable alternative to Botox, with the benefit of being able to maintain facial expression. Excellent for post surgical face lift to maintain the lift and treat blood stasis, scarring, and numbness.

This mode could minimize treatment time achieves the great anti-aging result. It will be leading the new treading in the market, and help you to expand your business.

[violethowler]

The Things That Matter

I’ve talked a lot over the last two months or so about the many different ways that the characters, story, and themes of the Kingdom Hearts series align with the framework of the Heroine’s Journey. For the final chapter in this series of essays, I’d like to talk about what it means for this series to follow this narrative formula. Because the fact that Kingdom Hearts fits into this storytelling pattern is critically important now more than ever. 

The three most recent series I know of that aligned with the Heroine’s Journey framework all ended up missing the landing in various ways. Two of the three - Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Star Wars sequel trilogy - abandoned the formula in their final installments, while the third one - the Frozen movies - managed to fit into the formula almost completely, but suffered in the second movie from a lack of clarity as to which of the two leads is the main protagonist and which is the Animus. Two of these were under the Disney umbrella, and all three have had evidence found that executive meddling or other behind-the-scenes conflicts over story direction played a role in how the final installments ended. 

As I mentioned in my essay “Into the Unknown,” when a story deviates from the structure it appears to be following, it produces a visceral sense of wrongness in the audience. In stories which up toward the end aligned with the Heroine’s Journey, that effect is amplified. The framework of the Heroine’s Journey was designed to uplift the experiences of identities outside of what society considers the default option in storytelling. The lived experiences of those identities are mirrored in the narrative’s themes. So when a story set up around calling out prejudices and double standards about those identities that are ingrained into the audience’s culture deviates from that formula, the result inevitably ends up reinforcing those biases instead, on top of the brokenness of the narrative in general.  

In terms of how this applies to Kingdom Hearts, Sora and Riku’s individual character arcs have been noted by many LGBTQ+ fans to have notable parallels with elements of their own lived experiences:

Riku’s arc of learning to accept his darkness as something natural that’s a part of him and which he can express in a positive way mirrors how many LGBTQ+ people grow up with the idea that same-sex attraction is “sinful” and “unnatural” and have to unlearn that mindset in order to realize that there’s nothing wrong with them. Likewise, Mickey’s line in Re:COM about how spending time with Riku has positively changed his opinion about Darkness can be read as an analogy for straight people who are initially unsure of or hostile to LGBTQ+ identities changing their minds with education and first-hand interaction to become staunch allies. Esmeralda’s talk with Riku about how “There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out”[1], while on one level is referencing Riku’s Darkness and his inner turmoil relating to Ansem, can also describe the common LGBTQ+ experience of being in the closet and hiding that part of yourself from the people around you[2]. 

As for Sora, in Kingdom Hearts III he responds to Davy Jones’ comments in The Caribbean about the romantic relationship between Will and Elizabeth by saying that “I still have a lot to learn about love[3],” indicating he lacks understanding of his own feelings in the area of romance. This is supported by the official Kingdom Hearts Character Files book published by Square in February 2020. Short stories in this book featuring Sora’s POV depict him as actively confused about what romantic love is[4], and struggling to define the nature of his relationship with Riku[5][6]. This can be a common experience for LGBTQ+ youth growing up surrounded by media that only ever depicts romantic relationships as one boy, one girl. Many people who grew up like this—myself included—have had similar experiences of struggling to understand our own feelings about someone of the same gender because for our entire lives up to that point we had little or no exposure to the idea that being romantically interested in someone of the same gender as you was an option. 

Sora and Riku are each written in ways that speak to common LGBTQ+ experiences, and the fact that so many things—the canon parallels to Disney romances, the match with how love interests are portrayed in the Heroine’s Journey, the fact that one of the series’ Lead Event Planners Michio Matsuura was described by the Co-Director Tai Yasue to be “head over heels for the bond between Riku and Sora’s hearts[7]”, in connection with his enjoyment of “pure love dramas[7]”—are all pointing to the conclusion that these similarities did not happen by accident, but by design. 

It makes so much sense for Heroine’s Journey narratives to be used to tell LGBTQ+ stories because there are so many ways that homophobia and transphobia overlap with and are rooted in the very same gender and cultural norms that the framework challenges. Many countries have come a long way towards public acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities, but in terms of the stories that we tell, mainstream fiction is still skewed in favor of stories with protagonists who are straight and cisgender. Storylines with straight romance are treated as a society-wide default, while creators in countries like the U.S. who want to include even the smallest background references to LGBTQ+ relationships have had to fight and push back against corporate pressure to remove them. 

This is especially true for media aimed at children and teenagers, as the fact that being openly LGBTQ+ is still widely considered problematic in many countries is frequently used by entertainment executives in ostensibly more progressive countries as an excuse for censoring LGBTQ+ storylines and characters. Multiple creators working on animated shows for Disney and/or its competitors have spoken out in recent weeks about the resistance they faced to including LGBTQ+ relationships[8][9][10] and how they were told that openly acknowledging characters as non-straight was too controversial or “inappropriate for the channel"[9].

As a consequence of this environment, creators wishing to depict non-heterosexual relationships have had to resort to creative methods of getting the implications past the censors in a way that LGBTQ+ audiences would recognize while still maintaining plausible deniability so that the executives could make money off the story in anti-LGBTQ+ markets. The downside to this is that because these efforts are more subtle, most straight audiences will either not notice the implications, or else dismiss them as an accident. Some will go as far as coming up with alternate explanations to justify why any potential LGBTQ+ subtext about a character or relationship could not possibly have been put there by the creator intentionally. 

This extends not only to audiences, but also to people who interact with these stories in a professional capacity, such as translating and marketing a story’s international release. Animated shows that feature same-gender relationships have had international dubs change the gender of one character in the pairing to make it straight, for instance. Or there's the infamous example of how the English dub for Sailor Moon in the 1990s changed two girls from lovers to cousins in order to provide an explanation for their closeness that didn't involve acknowledging that the characters were not straight. In terms of the Kingdom Hearts series, the English localization has routinely downplayed LGBTQ+ subtext in the series while in some cases adding romantic undertones to interactions between a male and female character that did not exist in the original Japanese script. Kingdom Hearts III was one of the most egregious examples of this:

Hercules’ recollection of how he dove into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul in KH2 is thematically connected to Riku sacrificing himself for Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard through the phrase taisetsu na hito (literal meaning: “precious person”) when Hercules is talking to Sora in Olympus and when Mickey is talking to Riku in the Realm of Darkness at the beginning of the game. The English version translates this as “person I love most” for Hercules, while changing it to “what matters” for Riku and Mickey to call back to his meeting with Terra in Birth by Sleep, which the scene includes a flashback to. While Mickey and Riku’s original meaning can still be deduced from the conversation around it, especially with Mickey saying "sometimes you care about someone so much," changing the line for the sake of a callback downplays the evolution of Riku’s goals from protecting “things that matter” to protecting “the *person* who matters”. 

Donald and Goofy’s teasing Sora in the scene at Galaxy Toys where Sora comments on how much he or Riku resemble Yozora is framed in the English version as “Riku would be a great action figure because he’s cool, unlike Sora.” However the original Japanese indicates that the teasing is centered around the fact that Sora said a character who looks like Riku was good-looking.

When Kairi offers Sora a paopu fruit, she says in the original Japanese that it’s simply a good luck charm so that they don’t get separated, while in the English localization, she says “I want to be a part of your life no matter what, that’s all.” While “that’s all” still fits with how the parallels to Winnie the Pooh indicate her connection with Sora has weakened and she wants to maintain it, the first part of the English line calls back to the legend of the fruit introduced in KH1, which was openly referred to as romantic by Selphie in the original and localized versions of the first game. As a result, this adds romantic implications that contrast with Sora’s unreceptive body language and facial expressions[11] as he reacts to the initial offering of the paopu fruit. 

In the original Japanese, Riku’s words to Sora before his sacrifice at the Keyblade Graveyard translate to “I believe in you. You won’t give up.” The English localization changed it to “You don’t believe that. I know you don’t.” Not only does it remove a callback to the original game, but this phrasing dowplays Riku’s faith in Sora and ignores Sora’s very clear feelings of inadequacy. 

During the scene where Sora and Kairi are floating through the dark tunnel toward the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora’s line in English, “I feel strong with you,” was originally an acknowledgement of Kairi’s strength that called back to how he wouldn’t let her come along on the return trip to Hollow Bastion in the first game because he thought she’d “kind of be in [his] way”[12]. Removing this callback takes the focus away from Kairi’s growth and brushes aside one of the ways the game shows that Sora’s view of her has changed over the course of the series.

Some fans defend changes such as these insisting that the development team had to have approved of them. However Testuya Nomura himself feels strongly enough about the subject: he stated in a 2018 interview several months before KH3's release that “an incorrect or defective translation risks compromising the comprehension of the whole story,” referring especially to the Kingdom Hearts series[13], and the English localization of Re:Mind—which was much more accurately translated than the base game—directly references the original meaning of Kairi’s words during the paopu scene in one of the DLC’s Kingstagram posts. This all indicates that changes such as these that remove important connections or change the meaning of the conversation are ones that the development team very much do not approve of. 

LGBTQ+ fans of Kingdom Hearts who recognize their own experiences reflected in Sora's and Riku’s journeys know that Disney has not had a good track record when it comes to depicting LGBTQ+ characters in properties they are affiliated with. The most we ever get in their movies are background moments or nameless characters that are only there in one scene that easily can be cut out for distribution in countries with heavy anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. And that’s if the character’s orientation is even mentioned out loud in the film at all instead of simply being confirmed by interviews before or after release but never acknowledged on-screen. Television has fared better, but until recent years we never had any main characters who were confirmed in-show to be anything but straight. But things are slowly starting to improve. Within the last few years shows like "Andi Mack" and "The Owl House" have depicted major characters as openly interested in others of the same gender[14], and Pixar recently released a short as part of their Sparknotes program called “Out”, which openly centers on a man worrying about telling his parents he’s gay. 

This is why it is so important that the Heroine’s Journey of Kingdom Hearts follow through to a structurally appropriate conclusion, with the development team being given the freedom to tell their story in full without restriction or censorship. Deviating from the formula this late in the series would represent a continuation of the recent trend of Heroine’s Journey narratives being structurally broken by inference from forces other than the main creative team. But if the Kingdom Hearts story is able to complete it’s Heroine’s Journey without executives or localization teams getting in the way of the intended story, then the LGBTQ+ themes already present in Sora and Riku’s journey will break so many barriers,challenge people’s expectations of what is possible, and convey powerful messages of self-discovery and acceptance—just like the framework was designed to. 

Sources

[1] Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance; Square Enix; 2012. 

[2] Tumblr post by @blowingoffsteam2; December 3, 2019. https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/189461796759/blowingoffsteam2-dont-mind-me-over-here-just

[3] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019. 

[4] Translation of KH Character Files Beast’s Castle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; February 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611420864489062401/character-files-beasts-castle-story-english

[5] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; March 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611490139845345280/character-files-arendelle-story-english

[6] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @notaseednotyet; March 1, 2020. https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1233993459670765569

[7] “Message from the KINGDOM” Updates!; April 11, 2012. https://www.khinsider.com/news/-Message-from-the-KINGDOM-Updates-2427

[8] “”Steven Universe” and “She-Ra” creators on Representation”; Paper Magazine; August 5, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/rebecca-sugar-noelle-stevenson-2646446747.html

[9] Twitter thread by Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1292328558921003009

[10] Twitter thread by Owl House creator Dana Terrace; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/DanaTerrace/status/1292321440029478917 

[11] Frame by frame analysis of Sora and Kairi’s body language during the KH3 paopu scene by @notaseednotyet; September 14, 2019.  https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1172774158167506944

[12] Kingdom Hearts; Square Enix; 2002. 

[13] “Nomura stresses the importance of direct translations on story comprehension, and talks about world development as well as the Gummi Ship;” August 27, 2018. https://www.kh13.com/news/nomura-stresses-the-importance-of-direct-translations-on-story-comprehension-and-talks-about-world-development-as-well-as-the-gummi-ship/ [14] Disney’s The Owl House Now Has a Confirmed Bisexual Character; August 9, 2020. https://io9.gizmodo.com/disneys-animated-series-the-owl-house-now-has-a-confirm-1844665583

[health553]

The 8-Second Trick For Health

The Best Guide To Health

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Fascination About Health

Despite these unpreventable problems in measuring the connection of anxiety to resistance, researchers are making development. Does being chilly give you a weak immune system?

The influenza infection stays airborne much longer when air is cold and less humid. Researchers continue to be interested in this question in various populaces. Some try outs mice suggest that chilly exposure may decrease the ability to handle infection. What about people? Scientists have carried out experiments in which volunteers were briefly soaked in cool water or invested short time periods nude in subfreezing temperatures.

The results have actually been blended. Researchers recorded a rise in top respiratory system infections in competitive cross-country skiers who work out vigorously in the cold, but whether these infections are due to the cold or various other aspects such as the extreme workout or the dryness of the air is not known.

Health for Dummies

Workout: Good or bad for resistance? Regular workout is one of the pillars of healthy and balanced living.

No web content on this site, no matter of date, must ever be utilized as a substitute for direct clinical suggestions from your doctor or other qualified medical professional.

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The Ultimate Guide To Health

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Due to their powerful possible wellness advantages, you ought to aim to include a vast variety of herbs and also seasonings in your diet plan. Social partnerships with friends, family members, and also enjoyed ones you care around are essential not only for your mental wellness however additionally your physical health.

[i-stan-nct-and-satan]

Not Broken (Jaehyun mafia au pt 8)

Not Broken Masterlist 

Jaehyun X Reader

Trigger warning: like a slap or two, mentions of abuse

The adrenaline rush was short lived, but my body was still shaking due to low blood sugar I was experiencing as a result.

I couldn't help but just lay on the floor thinking about how I got myself into this situation, and not like I had a choice in what position I was in.

What could I have possibly done to deserve this? Besides the obvious fact that I killed a gang leader, why was I put in that scenario in the first place? If this was punishment for trying to steal for survival then God is an asshole. I might not have been the best person, but I wouldn't say that I was that bad either.

The pain was immense. I could barely see out of my left eye due to the swelling. I wondered what I looked like. I definitely had a black eye, if not two, but I imagined that I looked like a sorry sight.

I couldn't even cry. Despite lying on the ground for the past I don't know how many hours, I was more exhausted than I had ever been in my whole life. My mouth had a bitter metallic taste in it, probably from the blood. Breathing wasn't hard, which was good, but I kept coughing really hard. God, I was thirsty. So, fucking thirsty.

Suddenly, I hear a noise coming from the stairs.

Please be Winwin, I thought to myself. But after hearing the sound of several pairs of footsteps coming down the stairs, I knew that wasn't the case.

"Is our little kitten sleeping?"

My eyes widened in fear as I recognized the voice as the man who did this to me.

My breathing started becoming shallower and I panicked. I thought of pretending to be asleep but that didn't work last time, and I didn't want to piss him off any more than I already had.

I was facing away from the stairs, but I could see three shadows cast on the wall as three figure approached me.

"I asked you a question, Kitten. Don't make me repeat myself," the shadow snarled.

"I-I," I hesitated. I didn't know what to say, but I didn't want the gang leader to view my fear as disrespect. Who knows what he would do to me if I pissed him off anymore?

Laughter was all I heard. He could sense my fear and it pleased him.

Despite feeling disgusted by his laughter at my paralyzed state, I felt a bit of relief knowing that my pathetic attempt at answering him didn't result in any sudden bashings.

My relief was short lived as I felt my body being hoisted up by unknown arms and thrown onto their shoulders. I didn't try to resist because I knew that would get me nothing. If anything, resisting them would lead to my seemingly fast approaching death, coming even sooner.

I thought that I could get through anything as long as I found a way to survive, but now I'm doubting myself.

Maybe death would be better than whatever fate had in store for me today.

As the person carrying me starts walking, I see that Jaehyun isn't the one carrying me since he and Yuta are whispering to each other in the middle of the room.

The person carrying me leans forward, throwing me down into one of the non-broken chairs in a harsh manner. I look up to see Doyoung smirking at me.

He reaches into his shirt pocket and takes out a small key. For a brief second, I think that he's going to free me from the chains that were digging into my hip bones, but he merely rearranged them so that I was chained to the chair.

"Doyoung," Jaehyun called.

Doyoung looked back at Yuta and Jaehyun. His boss motioned for him to join them, so he swiftly made his way over.

I couldn't hear them, but I could see that they were talking to each other.

POV third person

"Okay so here's the plan," Yuta began.

"Remember, first we are going to find out about her connection with Lucas, then we'll find out what happened the night of Ji-eun's, I mean IU's death."

Jaehyun and Doyoung nodded in response.

"I think that we have a good chance at getting her to talk, but..." Yuta turned to Doyoung.

"I don't think we should hurt her. At least, not at first." He finished.

Annoyance grew on Doyoung's face.

"Doyoung," Yuta warned.

"Fine. Whatever." Doyoung rolled his eyes.

"I'm thinking that she is either protecting Lucas due to them having some sort of relationship or she is too scared of Lucas killing her to tell us where he is," Yuta explained.

"Does she not think that we'll kill her if she doesn't tell us where he is?" Jaehyun interjected a little too suddenly, before quickly regaining his composure.

Yuta and Doyoung gave each other a look.

"Boss, do you really think you should be down here for this?" Doyoung questioned.

"Not you, too," Jaehyun sighed, pinching the top of his nose out of annoyance.

"Listen. I'll let you two do your thing. I won't interfere. I trust that you both are fully capable of extracting the info we need," Jaehyun coldly instructed the two interrogators, letting them know that he wasn't asking permission.

Jaehyun took a seat in the corner of the room farthest from Y/N and just stared at her. He was furious with the position he was in.

I need to get my shit together. I've never looked so weak in front of my men before. My father would be disgusted with me if he were alive, and it's all because of her and that bastard. He thought as Yuta and Doyoung continued discussing their interrogation methods.

"Follow my lead," Yuta instructed before making his way over to Y/N.

Y/N's POV

Jaehyun's stare was terrifying, but at least he wasn't near me.

Yuta said something I couldn't hear before they started walking towards me.

Doyoung pulled a chair up and sat in it backwards, arms crossed, resting on top of the chair's back. Yuta remained standing.

"So princess," Yuta started, using the same flirty voice he had used on you at the show.

"How are you?"

The question threw me off completely. I had no idea what to say in response to such a simple question. Obviously, I wasn't "good" with the state that I was in, but his question seemed so genuine, like he was asking a friend he was honestly concerned about. I just stared at him.

"He asked you a question," Doyoung spat out as he started to get up from his chair.

"Doyoung, calm down," Yuta rested a hand on his shoulder, urging him to remain seated.

Yuta turned back to me.

"You must be in a lot of pain, right?"

Still not knowing how to respond, but not wanting Doyoung to bite my head off, I merely nodded.

Yuta walked over to the first aid kit that Winwin had left on the broken pool table and started rummaging through it. Doyoung just kept staring at me. Doyoung's stare was intimidating enough to almost make me forget that his boss was also burning holes into my head.

Yuta returned holding a bottle of water. He opens the bottle of water then he extends his seemingly empty hand towards me.

"Open," he instructed.

Confused, I look down at his hand to see a small white pill, similar to the pills you get from the doctor after getting your wisdom teeth pulled.

He sees the hesitation in my face.

"Relax princess, it's just an Oxy. It'll help with the pain," he states softly.

I open my mouth and he places the pill on my tongue. Then, he brings the water bottle to my lips. I drinking as much as I can, trying not to let any of the liquid spill due to the awkward angle. Yuta pulls the bottle away from my mouth and I breathe heavily.

"Wow, you really chugged that didn't you? Don't worry. You can have more. Just drink slowly."

Yuta brings the bottle back to my mouth and the process repeats until the bottle is empty. I'm still dehydrated, but the water did remedy my dry throat.

Yuta's suddenly caring nature is comforting yet confusing. I don't know if this means I'm safe for the day or not.

"Now isn't that better?" Yuta smiled at me and in that moment, I couldn't feel the pain from yesterday. Either that or the Oxy was kicking in faster than I expected.

"So, you know why you're here. We know about you and Lucas and what happened that night. We just want you to fill in some of the gaps for us." Yuta spoke quietly, as if he were doing his best to not be heard by his boss or even by the man with blue highlights sitting next to him.

"Now these guys wanted to use more violent means to get you to talk, especially this guy right here," Yuta uses one hand to not so subtly block his other hand as it points to a scowling Doyoung.

"But from what I can remember, your face is far too lovely to subject it to any sorts of permanent mutilation and I think yesterday was enough pain to last a lifetime. Am I right?"

I looked up at him as I processed his words.

"But here's the thing," He continued.

"The only way that I can promise that your pretty little face won't be further....um mutilated, is if you answer our questions honestly. Understand?"

I remained silent.

Yuta sighed.

"Look, you're going to have to speak in order to answer us," He reminded.

"If you don't, then I'll be forced to let my friend here use his own methods of questioning, and I guarantee you do not want that. Now let's try again. Do you understand, princess?"

I swallow hard and notice that my throat has suddenly become dry again.

"I... I understand," I finally reply.

"Good!" Yuta exclaims.

"Let's get started."  

"First question. How did you and Lucas meet?" Yuta asked.

I knew that I couldn't be honest if I wanted to get out of there alive. I couldn't let them know that I killed Lucas. Somehow convincing them that there was a mistake and they had the wrong person was my only option. I knew that if I said anything that they knew was untrue, that I would be screwed so I decided that telling them pieces of the truth, was my best route.

"At Kitchen Beat Bar," I answered.

Yuta looked at Doyoung and nodded.

So, they are testing me. I thought to myself.

"How long have you known him?" Yuta continued.

I didn't know how to answer. How long have I known him? I only met him once and now he's dead. And did he say have or had? No, he definitely said have. Are they testing if I know he's dead?

"Y/N?" Yuta noticed my perturbed face

Fuck, I have to give him an answer that doesn't let them know that I know he's dead. Well I did meet him three years ago so...

"Sorry, I was counting. I've known him for three years, but we only met once," I finally responded.

Yuta looked at me as if he was surprised by my answer.

"Do you remember the exact date you met him?"

"I remember that it was September, but no, I do not know the date,"

Yuta raised an eyebrow.

"September three years ago?" Yuta asked, seemingly more to himself than to me.

He looked at Doyoung.

"What was the nature of your relationship with Lucas?" Yuta continued questioning me.

I looked up at Yuta confused by the question.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Yuta looked at me and smirked.

"Well, at first we thought you might have been in love with him, but your story so far suggests otherwise."

"In love with him?!" I can't help but cry out at the suggestion that I was in love with such a vile man. I realized that I had to be more careful with my answers. I couldn't just blurt out anything. I have to be smart with my answers.

Yuta's eyes widen along with his smirk as if he were amused by my answer.

"Interesting! And here I thought that he was your boyfriend. I mean it would have made sense since he gave you that necklace, but the fact that you met him around the time the incident occurred, it seems like you're telling the truth, princess."

Oh no. I'm an idiot. I just confirmed their suspicions with my answers. Now they know that I was with Lucas before he was killed. If they thought we were dating then maybe I would have been able to convince them I didn't kill him. I'm so stupid.

"Let's move on to that night, shall we?" Yuta spoke up again.

"What night?" I asked in an attempt to feign ignorance.

"Don't play dumb princess. I'm talking about the night the murder took place," Yuta cooed.

My heart dropped to my stomach. I didn't know how to act, where to look at, what to say, or how to breathe. I was fucked in every sense of the word.

Yuta saw my reaction and he knew he caught me.

He stepped closer to me and I was afraid he was going to hurt me or something, but he just walked behind me and brought his lips to my ear.

"You do realize we have you, right?"

My breathing stopped completely as I waited for his next words.

"You wanna get out of here alive, don't you?"

I nodded.

"It's not too late for that. You can still live to see outside of this room, princess. All you have to do is tell us everything you know. Understand?"

What did he mean? Does he think I'm stupid? There is no way that they are going to let the girl who killed the leader of their associated gang go free just because she was honest about it. The only thing I can do now is tell them the truth and hope they give me the mercy of a quick death.

"I understand."

"Were you hired?"

"No."

"Then why did you do it?"

"It was an accident."

"Princess, I've seen the body and I've seen the texts. That was no accident."

My eyes dart to the mafia boss in the corner as I process what Yuta just said. He noticed the puzzlement in my eyes, but remained still.

I turn my head as much as I can to look at Yuta.

"W-what texts?"

Yuta laughs as he repositions himself in front of me.

"The texts you sent to draw IU out of the ball that night. We've all seen them. We know that you told her to meet a girl matching your exact description. Are you trying to tell us that it was a different foreigner?" Yuta laughed at his sarcastic suggestion.

"Who is IU?"

Everyone in the room's gazes shot to meet mine.

A loud screeching sound entered the room as Jaehyun stood up from his chair, pushing it back.

"Boss?" Doyoung and Yuta both questioned in unison as the pink-haired man started to walk towards me.

I was so confused. Who was IU and what did she have to do with me killing Lucas?

My thoughts were interrupted by a hard slap to my already bruised cheek.

My ears started ringing again.

"Now you start lying?" the man demands.

"You had a chance to get out of here alive and you decide to suddenly screw yourself by pretending to not know who my sister is? Gee, you sure know how to piss me off," he continued.

"What? What are you talking about?" I cry out.

Jaehyun grabbed a fist full of my hair and pulled it back forcing my gaze to move to the ceiling. In my peripheral vision I see him raise his other hand and I brace myself for another hit, but it never comes.

"I'll give you one more chance. There is no way that you are going to survive to see me leave this room, but if you admit what you did and help tell us what we want to know, I'll make it quick."

Seeing that I was as good as dead no matter what I did, I knew there was no point in resisting any further.

"I killed him!" I confessed as tears were streaming down my face.

"I killed Lucas! I'm so sorry." I continued, choking on my sobs.

The fist that was holding my hair retracted, but I didn't notice. I was too panicked of what would happen next and I couldn't control myself. I just kept talking in hopes that after hearing me out, that they would realize I was just a girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"He was going to hurt me! I didn't mean to kill him! I just wanted to get away! Please! You have to believe me!"

I looked up but could barely see due to the combination of my swollen eye and the tears which filled them.

I only heard silence as I tried to blink away the tears.

I felt hands touch my face, not in a rough way, but not in a gentle way either. I stopped blinking to see that Jaehyun was the one touching me. He looked frightened by me. His expression was made up of pure shock, but he looked like he was analyzing me as if to try and read my mind.

"What did you say?"

I looked at him and said nothing. Confusion and fear leaving me paralyzed.

"What the fuck did you just say?!" He roared.

I flinched, but he kept my face in place. I hadn't noticed, but he was kneeling so that our gazes were at the same level.

"I killed Lucas," I repeated.

Yuta and Doyoung remained silent.

"You killed Lucas?" Jaehyun repeated my statement quietly under his breath, just loud enough so that all the people in the room could hear.

"Please don't hurt me," I begged

Jaehyun released my face and stood up.

He merely walks away, heading up the staircase, with Yuta and Doyoung hurrying to follow him as he leaves the room.

I was unable to feel grateful that, unlike what Jaehyun had said, I lived long enough to see him exit the room I was being held captive in, because just like that, I am alone again, even more confused and frightened than before.  

[minmotl]

Chapter 8: Sui Zhou Warms Up to Tang Fan, Gives Him Ointment for His Bruises

Context: Sui Zhou finally accepts Tang Fan’s help for the Marquis Wu An case. Follows Chapter 7 highlights. This is a full chapter XD

Introduction Post | Masterpost

—

Highlights under the cut

Tang Fan nods, “Fu Yang Chun is an aphrodisiac meant to increase virility and is recorded in old prescriptions. It’s not rare on its own and can be produced with a brown marmorated stink bug, curculigo, rehmannnia, barrenwort and other herbs. Although over consuming the pill does not have any benefits, Zheng Fu said that Zheng Cheng only took this over a period of two to three months only, so there’s no way it could have caused his death. However, if you add some bupleurum chinense, it’s a different story. On the surface this herb can get rid of heatiness in the body, but it must be used with caution. Aside from losing strength and vitality, the herb can damage both the liver and kidneys if consumed over a long period of time. With the addition of this herb, the aphrodisiac turned from a medicine meant to increase virility to a deadly one.”

“The people I sent to Guang Hui Manor sent a response and said that the worker who secretly helped Zheng Cheng to pick the herbs for the pills from Hui Chun Tang, Lin Chao Dong, did not head back to his hometown. His whereabouts are currently unknown in spite of our search,” Sui Zhou says.

Laughing wistfully, Tang Fan replies, “If that’s the case, our leads have once again dried up.”

Sui Zhou is silent for a moment, “That might not be the case. Follow me.”

He gets up and heads outside. Tang Fan locks the doors to his courtyard and follows Sui Zhou.

In the light of the day, the bruises on his neck are truly alarming and not even the collars of his clothes can hide them. He even has an Embroidered Uniform Guard at his side, causing pedestrians to turn around and look at them repeatedly. They look at Tang Fan with strange gazes, as if they are witnessing a prisoner bound for the executioner’s court.

Sui Zhou heads back to the Northern Administrative Court first and grabs Zheng Fu out from the inside, then bringing him along as they head to Hui Chun Tang.

While Shopkeeper Liu and the others were released, their every action and word are still being surveilled. Two Embroidered Uniform Guards are keeping watch at Hui Chun Tang’s door, and as a result, business these few days have declined significantly. Shopkeeper Liu and his two workers are sitting inside with frowns on their faces, and once they see Sui Zhou and Tang Fan, they hurry to get to their feet.

“Sui-daren, look at this, we’re just law-abiding businessmen, and with what happened with Lin Chao Dong, it has nothing to do with Hui Chun Tang either, could you…” Shopkeeper Liu originally wanted to share his woes, but Sui Zhou eyes him coldly in response, so the man can only swallow the rest of the sentence.

Sui Zhou passes the prescription that Tang Fan gave him to Zheng Fu, “Do you recognise the prescription at the top?”

Zhen Fu takes a quick look and nods, “This is the prescription for fu yang chun. Before, when I went to help Young Master to grab the necessary herbs, I often saw this. Huh? But there wasn’t any bupleurum chinense in it!”

Sui Zhou asks, “When was the last time you came here to fill out the prescription?”

“About two to three months ago, I think?”

Coldly, Sui Zhou says, “I need the exact date, think back carefully!”

A human’s potential is limitless, and after Sui Zhou’s terrifying snap, Zheng Fu actually remembers, “It was the 18th of the third month of the year. I recall now, it was that day, because this medicine requires some treatment to become pills every single time and is a little more troublesome, so I always let Lin Chao Dong know two days in advance, and then on the 20th day, I went directly to grab the pills!”

Sui Zhou turns towards Shopkeeper Liu, “You heard him, bring me the purchasing and stock records for Hui Chun Tang during these three days.”

“Yes yes yes, I will get this done immediately!”

The shopkeeper quickly gets the sales man and the physician on duty today to close Hui Chun Tang’s doors and begin searching for the requested records.

Anything to do with providing treatment and medicine concerns the sanctity of human lives, and just a moment of carelessness can lead to death. At the same time, there is no avoiding competition from other medicine halls or apocatheries, and sometimes they may encounter malicious actors using underhanded tricks in the dark, so in order to avoid conflict, older and reputable medicine halls like Hui Chun Tang usually keep pristine records.

The records can be put to use now. With the exact dates available, the corresponding records are quickly found. Sui Zhou and Tang Fan go over to take a look, and it clearly states the amount of herbs and materials the store used and prescribed, and even which prescriptions were given are also recorded.

When they get to the third line, they see the words fu yang chun, and then the names of several herbs behind that, but there is no mention of bupleurum chinense. Then they look at the records of medicine that entered and left the hall in the next two days, but there is still no sign of that single herb. This means that when Lin Chao Dong helped Zheng Cheng to make fu yang chun, the bupleurum chinense used was not taken from Hui Chun Tang.

As it is, Lin Chao Dong is actually a very careful person. To avoid detection by Hui Chun Tang, he decided to buy the herb from somewhere else, but this action has instead turned into a crucial piece of evidence.

Sui Zhou immediately orders the two guards at the door, “The both of you get some others and head to all the medicine halls in the city, and see which medicine hall purchased large amounts of bupleurum chinense on the 18th this month!”

The two men take their orders and leave.

Tang Fan asks Sui Zhou, “Sui-zongqi, would you let me take a look at Zheng Cheng’s body?”

“The Northern Administrative Court’s medical examiner has checked the body, there are no suspicious points around the corpse at all.”

in fact, when Zheng Cheng first died, Tang Fan did check the body over as well, and indeed, he did not find anything out of the ordinary, but Tang Fan thinks that it is no loss to be a bit more meticulous. Now that so many days have passed since Zheng Cheng’s death, if he does not take one more look, it’ll be a pity when the corpse rots extensively. And so Tang Fan insists.

“I’ll have to ask Sui-zongqi to make an exception.”

Although Sui Zhou looked down on Shun Tian Prefecture’s people initially and when facing Tang Fan, did not talk to the man with more courtesy than was necessary, but seeing Tang Fan’s persistence and determination at running around with him for the investigation despite his wounded voice and discomfort, Sui Zhou’s attitude towards Tang Fan eases slightly.

“There’s an ice room in the basement of the Northern Administrative Court. We placed Zheng Cheng’s body there and it is safe for now,” Sui Zhou explains, something he rarely does, “His Majesty tasked the court to solve the case within a month. After a month, even if we fail to solve it, the body will have to be returned to Marquis Wu An’s manor. You can find me at the court tomorrow.”

Everyone knows that the Embroidered Uniform Guards were first established by the late Emperor, and in the beginning, they functioned as the Emperor’s guards, and then afterwards was responsible for the safety of the Emperor when he travelled to temples and more. Then after, they helped the late Emperor to eliminate many subjects and corrupt officials, and so aside from being responsible for His Majesty’s safety, the Embroidered Uniform Guards were also in charge of maintaining peace and supervising anti-corruption measures. In the years of Cheng, the Embroidered Uniform Guards then had control over the Imperial Prison, and their fierce and notorious reputation spread far and wide from then on.

In reality, however, their duties do not stop there: During the state’s Imperial Examination, some guards would be sent to help out; when Shun Tian Prefecture hosts village tests, because the test involves a few areas within and around Jing city, if there are any severe cheating cases, then the guards would need to settle the situation; and other rudimentary things, such as repairing the streets, catching and arresting thieves, and the likes.

A lot of these responsibilities should have fallen on Shun Tian Prefecture, but the Embroidered Uniform Guards ended up doing most of it. At the end of the day, there are more elites within the guards and they are highly regarded by the Emperor. The fees they receive annually are substantial as well, and they are staffed with strong men who excel at everything they do. Their efficiency rates are also much higher than regular enforcement departments like Shun Tian Prefecture. For example, this time with arresting the culprits from White Lotus Sect, concluding the ‘Demonic Fox Case’ was meant to be the responsibility of Shun Tian Prefecture, but because the people in charge of arrests weren’t competent enough, the Embroidered Uniform Guards ended up stepping in again.

This is exactly the reason for the Embroidered Uniform Guards’ poor impression of Shun Tian Prefecture. No matter how great Tang Fan’s reputation is, he is seen as no more than a weak civil servant and since he had no interaction with the Embroidered Uniform Guards prior to this, once Tang Fan joined the ‘Useless Camp’ that was Shun Tian Prefecture, in other’s eyes, he is naturally a member of the ‘useless’ group as well.

Tang Fan is well aware that Sui Zhou’s bias against him stems from these reasons. This was caused by the remnants of history and doesn’t actually have anything to do with Shun Tian Prefecture’s current position. It was the first prefecture established under the Emperor’s supervision, and even though they are half a rank higher than other prefectures, local officials can be found in droves everywhere and their criticism can be heard far and wide, so those in Shun Tian Prefecture have to suffer in silence.

Pan Bin and his predecessors were hardly dominant or aggressive in character and with each generation of officials that only wanted to keep peace, asking not for recognition or reward but only for getting by without committing any mistakes, the moment they are faced with a sensitive case, they foisted the case off to someone else, so it’s no wonder that Sui Zhou looks down on them.

Although Tang Fan knows this, it hasn’t been long since he arrived at Shun Tian Prefecture and he is all but a regular prefectural judge. Faced with this situation, his hands are tied and all he can do is rely on the little power he has to proceed.

With a sigh of relief, he raises both hands together to Sui Zhou, “Then thank you Sui-zongqi.”

At the side, Shopkeeper Liu attempts to get onto Tang Fan’s good side and so moves forward with a smile, “Tang-daren, this is Qiu Li cream and the hall’s exclusive muscle relaxant cream, you should consume the first and it will relief your throat and get rid of heatiness, while using the second to get rid of the bruises on your neck. i guarantee that on the second day after using both, you’ll have recovered more or less!”

This morning, his breakfast was interrupted, and then Tang Fan had to follow Sui Zhou and ask some questions of people involved in the case, and so he did not even have the time to put some ointment. Now, he has spoken for more than half a day and Tang Fan’s throat is almost entirely hoarse. At Shopkeeper Liu’s words, Tang Fan then realises the muscles in his neck are extremely tensed, and his eyebrows furrow in a frown.

Tang Fan accepts the medicine and thanks the man, then insists on paying Shopkeeper Liu for the goods despite the man’s protests. After that, he follows Sui Zhou out of the medicine hall.

The sunlight outside is radiant, so different from the drizzles they have been getting in the past few days.

Sui Zhou’s eyes unconsciously rove over Tang Fan, looking at the person standing next to him with his dark hair and light-coloured clothes, his beautiful and long neck painting a sharp contrast against the marks of ten finger-shaped bruises painted on his skin. It is a startling sight.

From his sleeves, Sui Zhou retrieves a small bottle and hands it over, saying lightly, “Use it on your skin three times a day.”

Tang Fan takes the bottle and smiles, “A product from the Northern Administrative Court, this must be extraordinary indeed. I will have to try this.”

Sui Zhou nods slightly and doesn’t say anything further. With a hand on his Xiu Chun Sword, he picks up the pace.

Though the nature of the bupleurum chinense is slightly more aggressive, but with appropriate use, it is not considered a rare herb. In a city as big as Jing city, there are too many medicine halls that have prescriptions with the herb in it, but to be able to produce so many pills and reach the point where the herb actually starts to harm a person, the amount used has to be much larger, much more than the common amounts used to treat patients. Also, they managed to narrow it down to the two days around the 18th day of the month, so their search area shrank by quite a bit.

The efficiency of the Embroidered Uniform Guards is truly extraordinary, as after only half a day, the men that Sui Zhou sent out came back with information.

Two medicine halls, San Yuan Tang in the north of the city and Ren Xin Tang in the east, both had a customer who purchased enormous amounts of bupleurum chinense on the 18th. Sui Zhou sends some men to ask more questions, and find out that the person who made both purchases are the same person. However, according to the descriptions from both medicine halls, the person who came to buy the herb was not Hui Chun Tang’s Lin Chao Dong, who disappeared so mysteriously.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards proceed to search for and arrest the man, and Sui Zhou is obviously used to situations like this as he easily requests for a sketch artist to illustrate the person’s features based on the given descriptions.

Shortly after, a man with high cheekbones and a flat nose bridge appears on the paper.

It is an unfamiliar face.

Sui Zhou’s brows furrow. He has an inkling on the direction of the case actually. If they call this case complicated, it is in reality not that complicated. The only sensitive touchpoint is that the victim is the eldest son of Marquis Wu An, and Wu An Manor is not a place where they can enter and leave at will.

Hundreds and thousands of people enter and leave Jing city every day, if they try to look for this person, it is no doubt akin to trying to find a needle in a haystack.

At this moment, Tang Fan who has been silent at his side suddenly speaks, “I’ve seen his person before!”

Sui Zhou turns around to look at him.

“I have an impression of this man, but exactly where I’ve seen him, I can’t remember right at this moment. If I remember, I will tell you immediately.”

Sui Zhou nods, then looks at the sky, “It’s getting late. Let’s stop here. Tang-daren can find me at the Northern Administrative Court tomorrow.”

Tang Fan smiles and gets to his feet, “Alright, we found out plenty today, and I still have to head back and give my report to Fu Tai-daren, I will take my leave.”

Sui Zhou seems like a person that is hard to get close to, but his competence and capabilities are outstanding. Moreover, Tang Fan was able to get a bottle of ointment as a gift, and this indicates a slight change to their relationship. If Shun Tian Prefecture manages to build a good rapport with the Embroidered Uniform Guards, then this will certainly be of help to him in the future.

The man suddenly says, “Pan-daren approaches his duties with cowardice, if Tang-daren wishes to do well but remain at Shun Tian Prefecture, it is a pity.”

“Don’t tell me that Sui-zongqi is trying to poach me from Pan-daren, and invite me to work at the Northern Administrative Court?” Tang Fan laughs.

Sui Zhou says, “If you are willing, of course you can.”

===

Notes:

*富阳春 fu yang chun

A well-known aphrodisiac in those times. Fu means rich or abundant, yang means positive energy and in feng shui, yin and yang - yin is usually used to represent female energy while yang for male energy, and lastly, chun means youth.

*柴胡 chai hu

A fennel-like plant. You can see how it looks like on wikipedia here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bupleurum_chinense

*太祖 tai zu

Usually used to refer to an ancestor or founder. In this case, it’s not clearly mentioned which founder they’re referring to, so I’ve translated this loosely as a late Emperor, we’re just not sure which one as he is not named by title.

*诏狱 zhao yu

Refers to the imperial prison where the Emperor’s relatives or most trusted officials who commit unforgiveable crimes are held.

*饭桶大本营 fan tong da ben ying

Literally translated means rice bucket (fan tong) camp (da ben ying). Rice bucket can be understood to refer to a person with a bottomless pit for food, but is also used as a metaphor for a useless person.

*指手画脚 zhi shou hua jiao

It literally means to make a lot of movements when the person is speaking, referring to them speaking out of turn or forgetting their own place as they are speaking.

*秋梨膏 qiu li gao

A medicine made with a white snowpear and is meant to treat lung and throat-related ailments.

*活血膏 huo xue gao

Muscle relaxant that is used to treat rheumatism and athritis in the present.

*绣春刀 xiu chun dao

A special blade that only Embroidered Uniform Guards are given.

*大海捞针 da hai lao zhen

Literally translated, it means to pick up a needle from the big sea, which essentially has the same meaning as trying to search for a needle in a haystack.

[mochikeiji]

Sunshine

↠ Pairing: Bokuto Koutarou x Akaashi Keiji

↠ Warning: TimeSkip AU! Slight angst, fluff! Weathering with You AU

↬ Word Count: 1,851

↣ a/n: I just love Weathering with You. The prompt fits so perfectly I just had too ヽ( ´¬`)ノ even hearing the ost in my head while writing this.

Summary: Akaashi has lived his life raising the sun as he prays. But that came to a stop when Bokuto finds out the consequences. Afraid to lose him, afraid of him to disappear without having to feel what happiness is, he wants him to live his life to the fullest.

⇢ Day 8: Weather/Rain, Magic @bokuakaweek2020

✎﹏

Not many have fallen inlove with the gloomy skies that cried heavy down pours of rain. Not many appreciated the satisfying sight of the droplets patter from their window or hydrate the plants. People would see the rain as some sort of hindrance due to the natural disasters it has caused. Those such as flooding, cancelations of plans or the weird feeling of getting sad from it.

Japan at this year has been experiencing all of these emotions. The rain poured everyday endlessly. In some parts it has, but after a few minutes of hours it'll pour once more. The children were stuck inside their homes, whining sometimes for not being allowed to go out and play as they used to. Adults are always getting irritated when travelling to work. Not a day is completed without having one part of their body soaked from the rain when coming back home.

When has it been the last time they've experienced the warm sun and bright blue skies? When was the last time they have woken up to hear the birds chirping rathet than another round of padding droplets on their windows and rooftops?

If they'd predicted the weather to be in bad shape, people would've appreciated waking up a little early to show some love for the shining sun rather than wishing it hadn't risen.

For Bokuto, he didn't care about any of these calamities. He didn't pay attention to the murmurs and curses about the weather from the people he had passed by the streets, nor the fact that he sometimes gets soaked from the rain or even having his usual volleyball practice get cancelled.

All he cared about with all his heart was the man who had been destined to be his lover.

Also the man who was in full control of controlling the all powerful, bright sun and stopping the rain as he pleases whenever he would pray.

His sunshine boy.

"Keiji, I told you to stop looking over the request anymore."

Snapping his gaze away from the phone screen, Bokuto had snatched it away and places it on top of the coffee table. Taking a seat next to Akaashi and took a sip of the warm hot chocolate he had made for both of them.

"But they were getting mad for not granting their request, Kou.."

Bokuto sees the way his eyes looked down sadly behind his lens. His lips quivering as if he was afraid of something. Guilty of something.

He had no rights to be feeling guilty though. It wasn't his power to control the rain. It wasn't his fault Japan was in this situation for many years. He never asked to be the one speck of hope to bring back the sun even though it meant for a few hours.

It wasn't his or Bokuto's fault they wanted to be selfish.

Akaashi's gift had a risky price to pay. Due to people now knowing his gift, he was often called for so many request to bring the sun out. His request per day would reach 10-20. It was tiring, but this was the only job he had to provide himself. But sadly, to over working himself to the bone, his body began to get transparent. He had been so caught up with his job as the Sunshine Boy he had forgotten he was cursed to disappear to an unknown place if he overused his gift.

And Bokuto didn't want to lose him.

The day Akaashi had revealed his upper body to him, Bokuto's heart shattered. He was the one who had given him the idea of being in this position in the first place. He shouldered the blame on him, for almost unknowingly letting his lover slowly drift away and disappear from him.

But not anymore.

He begged Akaashi to never do it again. Never overuse his power. Allow himself to take a break and just find another job or let him handle all the finance since he was a successful player. But Akaashi didn't like depending all his life on someone, he wanted to be useful. Worthy. Even though Bokuto woukd remind him all the time that he has been more than enough to him, the people from their abandoned website would always call him out and spread hate for his sudden disappearance.

It was a good thing no one knew of his identity. Otherwise he would be hunt down and they'd have to move to places as if they were criminals.

"Keiji," placing his mug down at the table, he moves to his side closer to Akaashi, taking his hand away from his lap and holding it, "Would you be sad if I was the only person who loves you?"

Akaashi never had anyone that loved him so much other than his late mother. Like him, she was born with this gift. His father though, had left the both of them when he knew about their gifts. Angry of why they didn't do something of Japan's situation and cursing his mother for being a selfish woman, leaving her to fulfill her duty until her dying breath and disappearing without a sense of peace.

His words and the people's demands had gone through his head and haunted him. He believed that this was why he was born different. Why he was born with this so called, "gift". He was born to serve other's and grant their request to summon the sun. Nothing more, nothing less. Fulfill his duty to the bitter end.

And Bokuto had proved him othwise.

"From now on, live for yourself, Keiji. You can't give everyone what they want and not leave something for you."

Those were the words he remembered the day he had shown his transparent torso. The words that had made his eyes shed tears and his whole world change.

"I am beyond already happy and blessed to have you as my lover, Kou. And you loving me makes me question why I deserve someone like you," he places his palm on his cheek, stroking it lovingly as he stares back into his golden eyes, "Of course I am happy that the person I love so much loves me as well. Even if he is the only one."

"Then this," glancing at the phine from the table with Akaashi's eyes following his. Returning back to their locked gaze, "They don't matter. Nothing matters but that, Keiji."

His eyes spoke a lot about his deep sadness and guilt. Bokuto pushes his hand away gently and pulls him onto his chest, letting Akaashi sit in between his legs and place his chin on his shoulder.

"Keiji, I don't want to wake up one day and see you gone from my sight."

Listening intensely as he feels his hair being weaved by his fingers, he allows his body to relax on Bokuto's hold and let's him continue.

"Not because you can make the sun appear. I don't care about those, I only care about you. I don't want you to disappear just to have your entire life serving people for their wants and not living yours."

Suddenly, his shoulder began to form a wet patch from the owl haired male, "I don't want to wake up alone again, Keiji..I don't want to lose the only person I've ever loved and didn't have enough time with him."

Like Akaashi, Bokuto had struggled with his own past. Always getting left behind for pursuing too much ambition. His parents not being able to provide him with the love and support he has envied from so many people. He had sought out on his own trying to find a reason for his living. Why he manages to maintain being a famous volleyball player even though he had no one tovbe proud of not only his talent, but his entire being.

Bokuto's body trembles and Akaashi started to feel himself get emotional and squeezed his arms around his torso. Bokuto sniffles a little before pushing himself off of his shoulder to look him in the eye once more.

"Keiji, to me I believe you are a Sunshine Boy. Not because you can raise the sun, but because you brighten the skies from my gloomy life ever since I've met you."

Eyes widened a little from his words, Bokuto removes his mist filled glasses and leans his forehead to his. Sighing out the emotion that had bubbled up in his chest.

"I believe you had more purpose in life than being like this. Maybe," placing both of his warm palms on Akaashi's cold face, wanting him to open his tear filled eyes.

"Maybe you were meant to live the life your mother wished she had."

A life that didn't pulled him down because of his gift. The life that didn't involve the people's complaints and demands. The life that only his happiness mattered.

"We've made a promise together back then."

Akaashi looks down at his hand, his ring finger occupied with a shining ring that fit perfectly and made his hand look more beautiful than they ever were. The one Bokuto had given the night of his confession.

"That we'd be together forever. That nothing else mattered than for us to find our happiness together."

Akaashi lets his tears fall from his eyes, allowing Bokuto to wipe them away quickly. He gives his lips a lingering kiss. Pouring out the emotions more than the rain outside their apartment.

"The hell with everyone in this world. I want you more than any blue sky. You're the real sun that brightens up my world, Akaashi. I knew what I was getting into the moment I fell inlove with you, there's no way in hell I'm throwing all of this away."

Sobs can be heard from the room, but the strong sense of devotion and love was there. Akaashi lets himself grow vulnerable, murmuring "I love you's" and "Thank you's", squeezing Bokuto as if his life depended on it. Afraid of what his mind could've done if Bokuto hadn't said those words to him immediately.

They both know that this weather wouldn't stop. But they also knew that the people's complaints about everything would never stop.

The hell with everything, they thought.

If being selfish meant letting an innocent life as Akaashi live longer and having the weather stay as it is, then so be it. Nothing is more precious than another ones life.

Nothing mattered to the two lovers as long as they had each other.

The weather can stay crazy, but that's how the entire world is, right?

You needed one thing that is sane in all this madness.

And to Bokuto?

That was Akaashi.

"Koutarou."

"Hm?"

Pushing himself off of his chest, Akaashi wipes his nose with his sleeve before speaking, "Don't you want to see the sun?" his words lacing with worry with his mind racing with thoughts.

Bokuto only smiles at him. Knowing already what he was going to answer, pinching his cheek in the process and grinning,

"I already am seeing the sun, Keiji. And its worth keeping bright more than anything."