#weird old men b weird old maning

[spacebunniezzz]

I am in quite a few alternative groups on facebook where people post selfies but I'm getting concerned about some of them.

I see a lot of women who post and a lot of grown non alternative men in the comments who will compliment these younger women and/or add heart emojis and the reason why this concerns me should be pretty obvious, I don't trust these old men in these groups and I have no doubt in my mind that they just flock to these groups just so they can try and flirt with these young alt women and the times I have seen people speak up about these men I have seen people come to the defense that anyone can be alt and that it doesn't matter what age they are and yes thats true however these dudes do not look alternative whatsoever and I hate saying that because I don't think you have to dress alt to enjoy alt things and some people might just be in these groups to get some inspiration but I don't trust these old men in these groups, some of them don't even introduce themselves, they are just there and they only pay attention to the women and it worries me even more since there are minors in those groups too.

It makes me very uncomfortable and I don't even post in some of these groups because the old men make me hella uncomfortable. We say that we care about protecting minors in the scene but clearly some of us don't care cuz we allow these random non alt men to be in these groups.

And even if some of these dudes are just being innocent it's still hella uncomfortable for women and minors to be complimented by older guys even if these old dudes aren't trying to be creepy.

I just want people in the scene to feel safe. Damn.

[thefinalcinderella]

Tsurune Book 3 Chapter 4 - Old Friend (Part 2)

the way people talk in this volume is so weird, it'd be like:

Person A: [random spiel about a semi-interesting but irrelevant topic]

Person B: [random spiel about a semi-interesting but irrelevant topic that is barely related to what Person A is saying]

Person A: [continues random spiel] + Oh by the way [talks about thing that's actually related to the plot/characters]

Person B: Yeah.

And it's like the random infodumping never happened

Glossary here

Full list of translations here

Translation Notes

A hitatare is a type of traditional Japanese men's kimono worn by samurai

A nae eboshi is a type of hat worn by commoners and men without official court rank; an ayaigasa is a type of conical hat

The tenchou chikyuu ceremony is a thing where before you start a yabusame, you had to recite prayers and ride your horse around (or something like that)

The subase is when the head of ceremony gives the signal for archers to start galloping

The gaijin ceremony (凱陣の式) is when a drum is hit to signal the end of the shooting.

A gonnegi is a junior priest

Matsuda says this in English

Igarashi says 可以 in Chinese which means "I can" or "sure"

Previous | Next

 Green ivy was twined around the red bricks.

This year as well, many varieties of roses were in full bloom in the central courtyard of Kirisaki High School. The fragrant scent of the roses hinted at England and showed the height of tradition and praise. A gentleman learned the customs of his family from an early age.

Shuu’s pale eyelashes trembled.

“I met her a year ago. I heard that she was a woman with a bad temper, but she was a perfect lady in front of me.”

Senichi and Manji froze.

“…She?”

“Her name is Lily.”

“…Lily? She’s a foreigner?”

Shuu let out a chuckle.

What was displayed on his phone was white legs and a white mane—it was obviously a horse.

“I don’t think I can attempt yabusame if I can’t ride a horse. Lily might have a Western name, but she’s a domestic horse. Thoroughbreds have thin limbs, so if they break a bone, it can be fatal.”

Yabusame was a Shinto ritual in which archers shot at a target from a horse riding at full speed. It was an eight-hundred-year tradition, and it wasn’t only a martial arts competition, but also a prayer for the peace of the country and the happiness of its people. Schools like the Takeda-ryuu and Ogasawara-ryuu inherited that spirit and technique. As an aside, drawing a bow while standing on the ground was called busha, and drawing a bow on a horse was called kisha.

A few days later, a housha ceremony was carried out at the shrine.

The members of the Kazemai and Kirisaki kyudo clubs crowded into the space. That was because Shuu and Masa-san were participating as the archers.

Horses draped in crimson appeared against a backdrop of jade-green maples.

The archers were dressed in beautiful yabusame costumes. They were wearing hitatare (1) made of gold brocade. Shuu’s was purple, and Masa-san’s was deep lapis-lazuli. Their feet were covered in deerskin, they wore nae eboshi and ayaigasa (2) woven of soft rushon their heads. They wore a bracer on the left hand and their yugake on the right. A long sword and a short sword hung from their hips, and they were holding their bows while carrying their quivers on their backs.

After the magistrate chanted the written prayers, the signal arrows were offered up to the shrine.

――The meigen ceremomy.

The archers would make their bowstrings ring out and exorcise demons.

When the group appeared at the front, there was a path for rider and horse to ride on. It was a long and straight path. Spectators lined the path to see the moment the targets would be hit. There were three targets. After the tenchou chikyuu ceremony (3), the procession began. Standard bearers and taiko drummers stood at the vanguard, and ougikata waved their fans. Three people—the heifuri, target watcher, and an arrow retriever—stood next to each target. These people served indispensable roles in this Shinto ritual.

It was finally time for subase.(4)  At the signal of the head of ceremony’s taiko drum, the archers rode forward. The cool breeze, and the beautiful horses running down the straight path. Their smooth and thick muscles rippled, and the hair that covered their bodies shone in the light.

Shuu seemed like the flower and moon reflected on a clear surface, and Masa-san was like the man in the moon.

The moon reflected in the water was unattainable, and the beautiful immortal who lived on the moon.

Tachisukashi in Japanese-style horseback riding involved raising one’s body from the saddle by a hair’s breadth and maintaining a steady position even while riding the horse. It took many years to be able to master such a skill.

The housha!

The arrows that were powerfully released pierced the targets brilliantly.

Despite the loud cheers, the archers and their horses didn’t stop galloping. They quickly pulled out another arrow from their quiver and released it again.

A perfect hit!

They straddled their saddles, put their feet in the stirrups, and gripped their bows. The sound of the horses’ footsteps kicking up the dirt and the voices of people filled the area, but the archers didn’t smile. They didn’t turn around. This was a prayer for peace.

Bows were divine tools. When handling divine tools, one must never take one’s mind away from the gods. One must not give the demons an opening to take hold of you. By adjusting one’s qi, that is, aligning one’s own frequency with the frequencies emitted by people and objects, thereby purifying the space itself. Every time Shuu blinked, the violet fleeting moments activated.

Masa-san followed. He was someone who served the gods and his eyes were the same azure color as the earth. Many gods were watching—the god of the sky, the god of earth, the god of the bow. They were listening. They were holding their breaths. At this divinely solemn moment, the archer gave it his all. That was what this shot was for. Only when the bow, man, and horse became one could they communicate with heaven.

At the beginning of yabusame practice, participants rode on a human-powered rocking horse. Also, there were no warmup exercises on the day of the ceremony. For warriors, who never knew when a battle would begin, everyday life was synonymous with training. They created a set pattern, turned it into routine, and quickly dealt with any sense of discomfort. They kept in mind that even a second’s delay in judgment could be fatal, and did their best to have no regrets even if they crumbled to dust a second later. Bushido and Shinto rituals were inseparable. One felt the blessings of something invisible against one’s skin.

Archers offered up their prayers in a single arrow.

It was a makeshift bridge that connected heaven and humans.

The targets were hit one after the other, and when they had shot all their arrows, they dismounted. Upon returning to the shrine, a feast was held and sacred sake was offered. When they went outside, they shouted “Ei, ei, ei, oh!” to the accompaniment of taiko drums. That was the gaijin ceremony. (5) Inspecting the targets and cheering in victory was also a symbolic identification of the eradicated evil.

After completing their duties, Shuu and Masa-san looked at each other.

“As expected, Takigawa-san. All your arrows hit the center.”

“I can’t believe this is your first time, Fujiwara-kun.”

“Lily is a woman with nerves of steel. I’m grateful to her for trusting me.”

“Shuu-kuuuun!” Ryouhei ran over to them. “Shuu-kun, I wanna ride a horse too.”

“I don’t mind. We can take turns riding.”

Ryouhei and Minato took turns riding the horse with Shuu sitting behind them. Seiya, Kaito, Nanao, and the others also rode with Masa-san. The line of sight was high on horseback, and the body moved up and down with the horse’s steps, so even in this state it seemed difficult to hit the target with an arrow.

Senichi, Manji, Kabashima, Yushima, and Kuon were also there. Kuon lifted his chin and followed Minato and Shuu as they rode together with only his eyes.

Asahina and Eddie were there as well. The two were facing each other.

“That was so hype! The Young Prince of Kirisaki and Kazemai’s coach look incredible! Eddie, did you get them?”

“But of course. Now, let us move to the next position.”

For the two people who just loved flashy things, there was nothing more exciting than this. They applied in advance to the organizing body for permission to film and to share the proceeds from the stream, and secured the best seats. Matsuda, Kanuma, and Igarashi from Haneina High’s kyudo club, as well as their other school friends, participated as support, and videos were taken from multiple angles. The music would be performed with traditional instruments, and there would be explanatory captions in multiple languages for overseas viewers.

Many of the viewers for the kyudo channel “Yumihiki Douji” were foreigners. Their latest challenge was to get people to remember the “Eight Stages of Shooting.” Just like the soccer terms dribble and shoot, they wanted to raise awareness of kyudo terms such as “uchiokoshi” and “kai.”

That was why they started chanting the Eight Stages in the beginning of their videos. The only way to get people to remember unfamiliar words was to have them listen to them over and over again. The more words you knew, the deeper your understanding would be, and above all, the more fun you would have.

Some people might have skipped watching their videos because they recited the Eight Stages quickly. But there were also byproducts. After their viewers who were archers continued to watch them for about a month, they started reporting one after the other, “I don’t know why, but my hitting rate has increased.” The most likely theory was that the brain responded to the mouth saying things out loud, resulting in image training.

Asahina waved to Minato and the others who had finished riding.

“Hey, Kazemai crew! Can I interview you guys? I’ll start with Narumiya. You know both the Young Prince and the priest, in your opinion, how were they today?”

“They’re the same as always. Really cool.”

“Which one was cooler?”

“There’s no way to compare that, is there?”

“Can I have a look at your palm?”

“My hand? Okay.”

Asahina took a step closer to Minato.

“Just as I thought. You’ve got the Buddha’s eye and Mystic Cross on your palms.”

“Is that rare?”

“It is. They say that people with these lines have strong sixth sense and intuition, and are protected by their ancestors and other unseen things.”

“I don’t have a sixth sense, though.”

“Maybe it hasn’t awakened yet. Well, I’m more curious about this than your palms, though.”

Asahina and Eddie immediately touched Minato’s forehead. Seiya and Kanbayashi let out a simultaneous “Ah.”

“You’re full of openings. We have made contact with ‘Minahead,’ and now our mission for today is complete. Our kyudo skills will also improve. Thanks, Narumiya. We’re looking forward to seeing you at prefecturals.”

“We bid thee farewell!”

The two of them were quick to escape, and were quickly lost in the crowd.

In a corner of the shrine.

Masa-san stretched out as he took off his yabusame costume.

He was the only one there, as he had been given a private room. He rubbed his arms, shoulders, and legs with his hands and thanked them for their hard work for today. Since the body was the companion of the soul, it was the priest’s job to express gratitude to it. Masa-san’s priesthood rank, “Gonnegi” (6), came from the word “negu.” He soothed the hearts of the gods and prayed for their blessings.

He changed into street clothes, finished his canned coffee, and went outside. The sky he looked up at was blue and the wind was cool. The trees were covered in young leaves, and it looked like it was going to be a great day for setting sail.

“Am I qualified to exorcise demons? Answer me, Gramps.”

Gramps referred to Yasaka-hanshi, his kyudo master and grandfather.

As if in response to his words, the out-of-season chirping of cicadas sounded. They were chirping loudly and powerfully, but he couldn’t tell if the answer was yes or no. Did he ask the question in the wrong way, or was it presumptuous to ask if he was qualified or not? He supposed his grandfather was telling him to do his job and not just stand around talking nonsense. He was aware that the gods could see through his defeatist attitude, but if possible, he didn’t want his disciples to find out.

Even if he shot a million arrows or landed a hundred hits, his doubts weren’t dispelled. He was doing his best to contain the surging emotions within, putting them into words and erasing them, struggling to keep them unspoken.

Speaking—proclamations represented one’s covenant with the gods. Prayers and curses were the same from their perspective, and cancelling a covenant was no mean feat.

You must not say those words—.

Not only am I a servant of the gods, I’m also those kids’ coach. All women look beautiful to me, but I only think of my disciples as cute. Am I a doting parent?

The trees rustled in the wind.

The encounter was on a rainy night. The twinkling of peridots.

Dreams and reality intersected.

Sensing the presence of someone, Masa-san held his breath.

A woman walked up to him. It was hard to make out her face because she was wearing fancy glasses under the sunlight filtering through the trees, but he could get a rough idea of who she was by the way she was standing.

“Tsucchi-san.”

“I had no idea that the priest who passed by was the coach of the Kazemai High School kyudo club. There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Tsucchi-san, you’re the coach for Haneina. I saw you at the venue for the preliminaries, but I apologize for not saying hello to you.”

“I don’t care about that kind of lip service. You called me ‘Ena-senpai’ during the thing with Tetsi. What do you mean, ‘it’s a fine name’? I don’t trust men who are smooth talkers.”

“‘Ena’ is a name that comes from the ena of the Womb Realm, the placenta of the perfected one. It seems that everyone has a memory of being wrapped in their mother cradle.”

“Can a Shinto priest talk about Shingon Buddhism?”

 “Japanese people are a people who celebrate Christmas at the end of the year, listen to the temple bells on New Year’s Eve, and visit the shrine on New Year’s. They live a life that’s true to Shintoism, respecting, integrating, and making the other into their daily routines, and yet so many Japanese say that they aren’t religious, making foreigners confused because they don’t understand.”

“I guess there was a problem with postwar education in that regard. Historians say that those who didn’t learn the myths of their peoples perished without exception.”

“Some works such as the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki are based on true stories of natural disasters and incidents, as well as to teach lessons. Because people don’t study mythology, they make the mistake of thinking that there are no gods or Buddhas, and that humans are the supreme creatures on earth. For the Japanese, God is nature itself. The sun god, mountain god, and the water god who is a dragon, are said to be animistic and primitive, but without the sun and water, almost all living things would disappear, and without mountains, it would be impossible to create buildings, cars, and other man-made objects.”

“The great power is God. I guess the Japanese have been good at anthropomorphizing since ancient times. Everything, even swords and countries are anthropomorphized. Humans are humans, and they become the god of learning or the god of manga.”

“Gods, Buddhas, and humans are all exalted and sacred beings. Tsucchi-san, I recommend you learn the art of self-defense. Until you master it, throw anything you can get your hands on, blind your attacker with scissors, and fight back with low blows. If you step on your attacker’s foot or kick them in the shin with your heel, most people wouldn’t be able to move for a while.”

“Aren’t those all foul techniques?”

“The best self-defense technique is not closing the distance with the opponent or creating a situation where you have to fight, but it’s unavoidable in order to fend off physical attacks, right? Even women who lack physical strength should remember how to protect themselves. Both individuals and nations are exploited because they show weakness. You should learn enough to make people think, ‘Oh, I’m going to be in trouble if I make her my enemy.’”

“I heard that we aren’t the strongest primates or anything. There’s something else I want to ask you. What exactly have you been doing for the last four years since you graduated from high school? I’ve been looking for you.”

“Mmm, last year I took the renshi exam and failed. When I entered the shajo, one person couldn’t keep their feet together and we all failed.”

“Hey, you haven’t answered my question at all. That happened after you graduated from university, right?”

“It was a typical four years at university, so I don’t have much to say about it. Oh, your students are here for you.”

When Tsucchi turned around, she saw Asahina and Eddie, who missed the chance to call out to her. Masa-san disappeared while she was distracted.

Asahina ran his hand through his red hair.

“Despite his appearance, he’s a scary priest. I definitely don’t want him to be my enemy. I bet he would chase me to the ends of hell and beat me up if I did anything wrong.”

Eddie also retied his blond ponytail.

“Well said. He is already immersed in tactics.”

The three started walking.

After the yabusame, the Kazemai and Kirisaki kyudo clubs met up and headed to the large public bathhouse.

Minato and the others were unaware of the words Masa-san and Tsucchi exchanged.

Eddie moved into the Asahina household the day after the yabusame.

There was a water leak in one of the units of the apartment Eddie was renting, and all the unit on the first floor was flooded. Chairs and refrigerators that were floating in the water were lying around, similar to the aftermath of flood damage. When he consulted with Asahina, he said, “Why don’t you come over?” and Eddie moved in immediately.

Eddie received a warm welcome in front of Asahina’s house. Although it wasn’t large in size, it had a simple and sturdy construction with tiles and earthen walls, making it look like an Edo mansion.

There was a man dressed in black at the entrance, calling out loudly to Asahina.

“Is that honored personage your school friend I’ve heard so much about, Waka? You said you wouldn’t let us meet him, but have you changed your mind now? Now, come inside, come inside.”

“Uncle, stop calling me ‘Waka.’”

“Waka is Waka. Ane-san is in the back.”

A woman wearing a chic kimono and had her hair tied back appeared. She was in her forties.

“Oh, son, do we have a guest? I’m about to head to work soon.”

“Mom, it’s fine to gather the neighbors together, but could you please stop dressing in black ceremonial kimonos and black five-crested kimonos? People who don’t know us would think this is a Yakuza gathering.”

“I don’t care about people I don’t know. This is a play party for adults, so they can just leave me alone.”

Asahina’s mother was a former actress. She retired when she got married and currently worked as the proprietress of a small restaurant. Her most famous work was a historical drama, and she played a character named Kikyou, called “Ane-san,” so even the people in their neighborhood called her “Ane-san.” Every month, she held a cosplay competition called the tea party. Her husband was a gentle man who was enchanted by his wife, and he would happily say things like, “Kikyou-san, you look beautiful today as well.” In a sense, they were a couple who were similar to each other and could immerse themselves in a world of lies.

There were many other people living in the Asahina household all the time. That was because Asahina often “found and picked up” people.

These people had various circumstances, such as foreigners traveling on a budget or children wandering around town. He enjoyed sightseeing together with tourists, and with bullied kids, he engaged legal organizations to report the bullies, who were essentially criminals, to the police. If they were beaten, the crime was bodily harm; if money or goods were taken, the crime was extortion; slander posted online was defamation, and shoplifting was theft. One must not be fooled by the paraphrasing of crafty people.

Asahina wasn’t only a boisterous Yotuber, but also the most dependable big brother in town. He was gallant and generous, unable to leave those in trouble alone. He was the model of an Edokko, possessing the determination and ability to do things, as if saying, “If the adults around you won’t protect you, I will.” Eddie, captivated with that side of him, enjoyed being around him.

After Asahina finished speaking with his mother, he spoke to Eddie.

“Well, the guest rooms are full, so let’s go to my room. I’ll ask you to help around the house like a freeloader. Also, don’t tell anyone if you find something.”

By “something,” he was talking about the posters and goods of the idol group “Princess Cheer” that Noririn was part of. Asahina was a group stan and a secret idol fan. He watched their fantastic live performances where they sang hard rock and danced agilely everyday.

“They’re piling up, so let’s clean it up quickly.”

“Will this be finished by the end of today?”

“Don’t run away, partner.”

Asahina’s eyes were sharp.

One had forgotten to mention that while Asahina had the appearance of a good-natured young man, his true nature was a tiger. If he recognized someone as an enemy, he would bite at them mercilessly. Barely anyone knew the face of the raging night.

When he opened the door to his room, it was filled with blinding light.

It was such a beautiful day that it was a waste to stay indoors. Asahina leaned out of his window and looked up at the sun. The way he narrowed his eyes and looked at it reminded Eddie of Icarus, who fell after his wax wings melted, and he whispered to him not to get too close to the sun.

The two turned on their computers. Using video editing software, they processed the footage they captured.

“What should we do here?”

“Nothing. Oh, this is nice. Female archers look so dignified.”

“A request has arrived, it has.”

“Shall we transfer it to Sensei?”

As they started to become well-known, all sorts of people wanted to discuss things with them, but Asahina and the others didn’t respond to them directly. At Haneina, they had contracts with lawyers, patent attorneys, tax accountants, and others, and they tried to involve experts in these discussions. There were many scams, and it was too risky for high school students to suddenly sign a contract. They must also pay taxes as well. In addition, the school intended to teach classes using these actual cases so it would help freelancers, who were expected to increase in the future.

“Hmm, my eyes are blinking too incessantly. I shall take a short recess.”

Eddie groaned, leaning towards Asahina, but Asahina remained glued to the screen.

“I am famished. I shall cry if you do not take care of me.”

“Our yellow-headed chirper is such a pain.”

Asahina opened a bag of pastries and popped one into Eddie’s mouth. Eddie lied down, chewed and swallowed, then opened his mouth again. When he was full, he got up and went back to his computer. On the way, his phone rang many times, but he ignored it. He immersed himself in his work and kept pushing forward. Both of them couldn’t stay still. It wasn’t a runner’s high, but once they reached a certain limit, they felt light and comfortable, like their bodies had gone somewhere else.

Old friend.

They probably met somewhere before they were born.

The person who was always next to them.

The person they could never save.

They probably wouldn’t share this feeling with anyone else. It was a secret between just the two of them. They were similar to comrades in arms, those who survived through numerous battles, those who watched their comrades die, and live with bitter memories that couldn’t be put into words. The sound of a young man crying for their mother and the smell of gunpowder. Whose memories were these and from when? They vowed to themselves that if they were still unable to leave the battlefield after being reborn, they would enjoy themselves.

“It’s peaceful here.”

“Yes, it is peaceful.”

“Oh no, we might not be able to finish by evening. I have to get them to confirm it too.”

Just as Asahina cried that out in front of the large number of materials, the door to his room suddenly opened. The members of Haneina’s kyudo club were all there.

“Let me help,” Matsuda laughed. (7)

“I’ll help if I can compose a poem while I’m doing it,” Kanuma said.

Asahina’s mouth curled into a smile. “You came at a good time. Can you do my homework for me?”

“You can do that yourself. Eddie, give me some work,” the Gardening Prince, Igarashi, said.

“I am indebted to you. Then, please translate these comments into Chinese. Include plenty of jokes as well.”

“Keyi.” (8)

In this way, the “Yabusame!” video posted by the kyudo channel “Yumihiki Douji” gained great popularity.

Put a message that will reach those who will notice—.

Kazemai High School.

From a corner of the school building, the sound of instruments repeating the same phrase could be heard. At first, it was out of tune, but before one knew it, they overlapped and turned into stately music. Sounds were also coming from the kyudojo one after the other.

Minato took his bow and arrow and let out a breath.

His master said, “Breathe through the soles of your feet. Relax your whole body.”

He raised his bow without warping his yumifutokoro. The bow was constantly talking to the archer. Release me, believe in me and surrender yourself to me. I’ll give you everything you want.

“You don’t need any tricks. Just expose everything and embrace the earth.”

He slowly pushed the bow open. The bow and human’s breathing overlapped. The breath he took in from the soles of his feet was exhaled at the top of his head and into the sky. The rising air engulfed the surrounding objects.

Tsurune. Matooto. The sound of gasps from the people watching. When the three sounds came together, Minato lowered his bow.

The first-year Kanbayashi clapped his hands vigorously.

“Senpais, that was so cool!”

“Foot breathing doesn’t make any sense to me,” Keyaki questioned, while Himuro was as expressionless as always.

“When you fold your body in half, the parts that overlap, such as the head and feet, neck and ankles, correspond with each other. Just like how the head has eyes and a mouth, it feels like there are eyes and mouths on the soles of the feet as well. Martial art techniques aren’t expressed with words, but expressed with your body. The only way to learn is by actually doing it,” Masa-san said.

When everyone finished zasha, Tommy-sensei stood in front of everyone.

“Now, did everyone change into their gym clothes. Let’s do yoga today. In kyudo, the vertical and horizontal lines of the body are important. Let’s each check the twists in our bodies.”

The method was simple: walk in a straight line with your eyes closed. When you opened your eyes, your body was twisted away from the line. You also tried lying face down and checked to see if your legs were the same length. Next, check for any contortions. If one of your knees stuck out when you were sitting in seiza, you had a pelvic abnormality. People who had a raised right shoulder were putting pressure on their stomach, and people with a raised left shoulder were putting pressure on their liver. They did corrective gymnastics, yoga cat poses and twisting poses.

Next to Hanazawa, who was striking gorgeous poses, Shiragiku was struggling. Since her body was stiffer than expected, Seo came to help. To conclude, they worked in pairs to massage each other.

Minato and Ryouhei formed a pair.

“Minato, Minato, I’m good at massages, aren’t I? I always do them for my sister.”

“Yeah, you’re good at it.”

“Are your toes going around in circles. I tried to do one for Shuu-kun before, but he refused.”

“I think he was probably surprised by the offer. Maybe he was embarrassed.”

“Really? He didn’t have to be shy.”

As they were chatting, Ryouhei leaned against Minato’s back, causing Minato to groan as he was folded in half.

To Hanazawa, Shiragiku, and Seo, they looked like an innocent Labrador retriever sitting on top of a serious black Shiba inu. Next to them, Kaito and Seiya had expressions of exasperation.

Tommy-sensei announced the next regimen.

“Everyone, bring out your phones. We’re going to record everyone’s shooting.”

They stood in front of the target in order. When they finished recording, they watched themselves on the screen. The things that were always pointed out were visualized, so they were able to accept them. At the end, they repeated the important points with Masa-san.

During the break, Nanao showed everyone the photos he saved on his phone. Kanbayashi was impressed by the figurine of a frog drawing a bow and an illustration of a frog wearing a headband while studying. It was filled with frog pictures.

“Kisaragi-senpai, you’re amazing. It’s a whole parade of frogs, kero. Oh, what’s this one?”

“That’s a picture my parents sent me. They’re obsessed with taking pictures of rainbows. They don’t just take pictures of rainbows in the sky, but all sorts of places like on bicycle reflectors and glass windows.”

“The colors change depending on how the light is reflected,” Keyaki said in admiration.

As Nanao was sliding through his photos, Masa-san asked him to stop at one of them.

“This is…”

“Oh, that photo was taken at a shrine on an isolated island. It looks like a rainbow-colored ring and magenta orb floating, but in reality, the setting sun shining between the torii gates was like a chrysanthemum flower, and each petal was shining in a rainbow color. It was really beautiful, apparently. Doesn’t it look mystical?”

“Oh, yeah, you’re right. Sorry, but could you share this photo with me?”

“Okay. But the locals asked us not to post it on social media. There are also worshippers included in the picture, and apparently they won’t be able to handle the influx of tourists on sightseeing tours.”

“Got it.”

Masa-san covered his mouth with his long fingers.

For some reason, Minato felt a chill as he stared at his profile.

Previous | Next

[janiedean]

Oh hey Lavi, for the anniversary prompt how about the following options: A) Rickon telling stories of things he experienced on Skagos (and why he doesn't ride horses and unicorns only) B) Sweet Robin recovering from Lysa's awful parenting, him and Sansa meeting as friends when they're both grown up. Enjoy the hellsite anniversary :3

AAAND EXTREMELY LATE *spins wheel*

--

buy me a coffee | commissions open

--

"Let me guess, we can give Lord Manderly's gift to Arya?"

Not that Lord Manderly will know either way and they do have an excuse - the mare he gifted to Rickon for his... supposed crowning is a truly wonder of a purebreed but she's barely been looked at and Jon supposes it would be a pity to waste her, but then again she is a tad too big to be ridden by a seven-year old... a regular seven-year old, but what Lord Manderly doesn't know won't hurt him.

"She can have it," Rickon shrugs as Jon follows him inside the stables where he's running his hands over the silky mane of... well.

His chosen ride.

A chosen ride that wasn't as huge when it arrived with him from Skaagos along with Osha, Lord Seaworth and a few other men plus Lord Manderly's fealty to Stannis, and good thing they managed to strike a proper agreement in between the whole lot of them, but now -

Now it's... something.

Jon imagines what would happen if someone was to ride it in a battle.

He's halfway sure it would be enough to half-win it.

"Humor me," he says, moving closer, wishing that - well. That a lot of things hadn't gone down since the last time they saw each other. No seven-year old should be this guarded, he thinks, and he's not going to blame Osha for having brought him in the only place no one would have looked for him, but still. If he's to be his regent, gods, Robb, why did you do it, but he knows why Robb did it and on one side he loves him for it, on the other he wonders what Catelyn Tully would think of it.

He has a feeling she didn't approve of that decision. Surely she approved of it less than his siblings, and for a moment he feels like crying, but -

Never mind.

"What's the difference? In between riding that and a horse," Jon adds when Rickon looks at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh," he replies, half-smiling, thinly, but still more than he did since Lord Seaworth brought him back, so - so that's fine, he supposes, "I could let you try." He considers. "But if you tried you wouldn't want to ride horses anymore and I don't think you want that."

"No," Jon shakes his head, "that wouldn't be convenient. But I still want to know."

Rickon looks back at the - at the unicorn in front of him, all black like Shaggydog, who is quietly growling as he huddles with Ghost in the corner, but - in an almost friendly way. And Ghost looks overjoyed to be reunited with his brother, so - good for them. It's large, and that mane looks silkier and shinier than a regular horse's, though it has harder eyes, Jon thinks, and the rough, huge corn sprouting from the middle of its forehead looks like it could impale a man or two.

"They're faster," Rickon finally says. "A lot. Sometimes it feels like you're flying, while they run. They gave me one a few days after we arrived."

"Did they?"

"Osha insisted," Rickon half-smiles. "That one died a while later, but it was old. It still ran faster than any other horse. Then I rode all the ones they had in her village. They gave me this one just before I left but they told me not to name her for a year."

"Why's that?"

"They say it brings bad luck," Rickon shrugs, "I don't know about that, but they'd know best, right?"

"Sure," Jon replies, "and how long do they live?"

"Oh, the first one I had was three hundred years old, they said."

Seven Hells. Does that mean they'll have a unicorn lingering in Winterfell for centuries, if she survives the Long Night? Well, Jon supposes, that can't be too bad.

"Good," he says, "she - she is impressive."

"I know," Rickon replies. "Not that Lord Manderly's was... well, bad. But she's not the same. And when I go inside her the way I do with Shaggy while riding it's just - a horse wouldn't be the same. It couldn't."

Ah, damn. He'll need to tell Rickon to not be so carefree with saying he can warg, and didn't he learn that lesson himself, but -

"I only can do it with Ghost," Jon replies quietly, "but I imagine it's... you see with her eyes, don't you?"

"Yes," Rickon nods, delighted, "and they can see so many colors, you wouldn't know."

Considering that when he's inside Ghost he can see less than he does as a human...

"I imagine it doesn't... compare with doing it with the wolves, does it?"

"Of course not!" He sounds almost outraged. "I mean, with Shaggy it's just different, but no, it's so many more than we do. And they shine so much."

"Maybe I'll go to Skaagos and get myself one then," Jon says, "wouldn't want to try with yours."

"Oh, there's so many of them, and you're friends with all the wildlings. They'd give you one for sure. I heard the other lords say they're bad but they're really not."

"People can be... stupid like that," Jon agrees, shuddering all over again. Understatement of the century, but maybe now that it's clear that they're facing impeding doom maybe they'll get over being prejudiced, he supposes. Maybe they can ask the Skaagosi to send them an army of unicorns. Now that would be interesting.

"I know," Rickon snorts, "I heard them say that they do all kinds of things on Skaagos, but they really don't."

"Like what? The, uh, -"

"Eating other people," Rickon replies with all the calm in the world, and what in the Seven Hells, Jon thinks, but then again didn't he and Robb get excited when as kids Old Nan would tell them stories about the Rat Cook and they were the same age? "Because they don't. I mean, they eat people's ashes after funerals but I don't think it's the same thing."

"They - do?"

Rickon nods. "They said it was so you could bring them with you or if they were good warriors you'd become as good as them."

"... Have you been to a lot funerals there?"

"Some," he says, "I mean, it was all old men, they burned the bodies under the heart trees and then ate the ashes at sundown. Then they'd have a feast in their honor that would go on all night. It was nice. Also they, like, they don't breed all of the unicorns. They capture them sometimes."

"Really," Jon shudders at the idea of taming a wild beast like the one in front of him. "And did you go with?"

"Osha brought me a few times with her friends. I didn't get close or anything but - I cheated."

"Oh, you cheated?"

"I said they could use Shaggy if they needed, but then I went inside him. I think Osha knew but she never said either way."

"It sounds... like you didn't hate it," Jon says slowly. Surely it sounds like he hates everyone staring at him like he's their last hope for House Stark to thrive more than he could ever hate being on Skaagos.

"It was... fun," Rickon admits, running his hand through the unicorn's mane again and again. "And people didn't talk to me weird."

"Weird how?" Jon asks, even if he suspect what the answer is.

Rickon shrugs. "Like I'm more important than you all are. Or like they expect me to... I don't know. To do your job already. Is it bad that I don't really want it?"

"Robb didn't want it," Jon says, "I don't particularly want it and Stannis Baratheon doesn't particularly want to rule the rest of the kingdoms regardless. I'd be worried if you did want it. And you won't have it for a very long time."

"Good," Rickon says. "I guess we couldn't... visit there again at some point?"

"Tell you what," Jon says, putting a hand on his shoulder, "after we deal with the wights we can - all just go there. Maybe we can leave Sansa to handle things here, I don't know if she'd like Skaagos, but - maybe we can go there and she can meet us at the Wall. Unless she wants to come and then she can, too."

Rickon grins back at him. "I'd like that."

Me, too, Jon thinks, and decides that if they get through this alive it's the damned first thing he's going to arrange.

Never mind that he thinks he does want one of those unicorns for himself.

[undreaming-fanfiction]

A Night to Remember: A Late Visit

Fandom: Cats the musical Rating: T (could potentially go up later) Pairing: multiple in future chapters, Tuggoffelees, Victoria/Plato, Demeter/Munkustrap etc. Category: magical circus AU, slow burn Chapter number: 5 Chapter summary: Quaxo and Victoria are paid a very late visit. 

The previous chapter: One of Us

 It had been past midnight already when Victoria woke Quaxo up by shaking his shoulder, wildly gesticulating towards the door. Fortunately, he hadn't been fully asleep yet - the magician was a heavy sleeper and he found it difficult to focus on anything or anyone after waking up. At first, he couldn't understand what was happening, why Victoria would interrupt those precious few hours of sleep, but then he heard it too - a quiet, but definitely insistent knocking on the door. 

He was seriously considering going back to sleep, but his sister's worried expression chased all the exhaustion and laziness away. Reluctantly, Quaxo crawled from under the blanket. "I'll take care of it," he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. Barefoot and dishevelled, he made his way towards the door.

As soon as he opened it, only partially, to see what was so important that it couldn't wait till morning, a strong hand flung the door wide open and he stammered out a complaint as a familiar figure, much taller than he was, burst inside their small apartment. "Finally, what took you so long?"

Quaxo blinked. And again. This was one crazy dream. "Huh? What do you - how do you even..." But then his tired eyes finally focused on the intruder. "It's you!" he blurted out and pointed an accusatory finger at the tall man. His wild mane of hair and provocative smirk were unmistakable. "You always come to our performances and sit at the back."

"Oooh, flattered that you noticed me," the stranger grinned and assumed a posture that was, even to Quaxo's inexperienced eyes, rather...suggestive. "The name's Tugger," he waved at both siblings.

Victoria's eyes were huge and a little bit too focused on those tight pants, Quaxo realised with a tinge of annoyance. "Quaxo. This is my sister Victoria. So what-!"

But of course, Tugger did not let him finish. He completely ignored Quaxo's unfinished question and flung himself on their kitchen chair, stretching his long legs. "Enchanted," he winked at Victoria. "Look, I'm pretty sure you have a ton of questions and all, but I'm really not in a talking mood, so why don't you two just sit down and wait for my ever so responsible big brother to talk you through it?" His tone was self-assured, as if there was no doubt that they would follow his instructions.

And to Quaxo's disbelief, Victoria actually nodded and sat down with a content smile, made herself comfortable and started swinging her feet back and forth, completely relaxed. Before he could ask her what on earth she was doing, why would she listen to this stranger, a small voice started nagging in his head. 

Maybe he's right, you know. Maybe it would be better to just sit down and wait, after all, you're tired, he probably doesn't want to talk anyway...so why don't you join your sister? It will be much easier...

He found his will weakening and prepared to join Victoria on the bed, when he had another, very simple thought. Why? Why should I? He froze mid-step, torn between the urge to obey, to fulfill Tugger's wish, and something inside him that kept the single word - why. Say it. Why? I don't want to, he invaded our home, our privacy, so why should we abide by is rules? 

I don't want to follow what he says without a single thought, like Victoria did.And just like that, the persuasive voice in his head nagging him to obey was gone.

 Tugger watched in awe and rather comical confusion as Quaxo straightened his spine and frowned, his dark eyes staring daggers. The older man gaped at him as if no one had defied him ever before. "And why should I do that?!" the magician snapped and yanked Victoria towards him, to keep her out of Tugger's reach. "You barge in, act like you are the king or something. Our place, our rules! Now speak, what do you want? And sis..." he turned towards Victoria and gently shook her shoulders. The blank and content look in her eyes frightened him. "Snap out of it!" 

Finally, some recognition crept into her features. B-but...! she threw her hands up defensively. Her gaze went to Tugger and Quaxo, back and forward, as if she could not decide whose instructions to follow. He told me to sit down and wait!

"Yeah, I definitely told her to do that!" Tugger chimed in. "Also lady, don't forget to move your mouth during your telepathy thingy. I mean, I expected it, but anyone else would freak out. But back to the more important thing..." He rose up from the chair and walked towards Quaxo, poking his forehead inquisitively, ignoring the annoyed glare. "How did you do that?"

Quaxo took one step back, dragging confused Victoria behind him. "Do what? If you can't be polite, be at least coherent!" Only then had he realised what Tugger said and felt panic start creeping in. "Wait, what do you mean by- I mean, she definitely speaks normally, so-!"

Tugger snorted and imitated a talking gesture with his hand. "Yeah, cut that crap. I went to your shows, I know what she does. That's fine, I mean, most of us are like that. Have a quirk or two. So again. How did you do it? How did you say no?"

"I didn't say no, I said why!" Quaxo spat out, exasperated. "Why is it such a surprise to you that people don't obey your every single whim?! More importantly, what do you mean most of us?" He was intrigued now, despite having every reason to feel endangered by this stranger. Meanwhile, Victoria gave up on trying to find out the middle ground between the two men and sat on the floor in front of them, causing Quaxo to sigh and run his fingers through the already dishevelled hair. "And whatever you are doing, stop brainwashing my sister!"  

It was Tugger's turn to groan now. While wildly gesturing in her general direction, his eyes never left Quaxo's. "It's not like I do it on purpose! But to appease you... hey, young lady! Get up, will you? And make yourself comfortable...please," he added reluctantly when he saw that the magician's frown did anything but disappear. After Victoria was safely seated on the bed, he crossed his arms on his chest and leaned forward to examine Quaxo more closely. "Curious. You really are a strange one, aren't you? I've seen my share of weirdos, hell, we have twins who share control over each other's body, another pair that keeps talking telepathically because apparently, using your mouth to communicate is way too boring, a girl who can shatter glass with her voice...but you, I've never seen anything similar. What exactly do you do?"

The anger in Quaxo's gaze was replaced by confusion. "What...do I do?" Tugger nodded. "Yeah, what is your power, gift, weirdness, whatever you want to call it? I saw you teleport stuff, well, those kittens. That's how I found out you're one of us, I saw the exact moment the ball of fluff miraculously appeared in your hat, but then...you do other things, don't you? Swap things in different places. Make people do some things you want, perhaps?" 

"I wouldn't go that far." Quaxo felt like he was trapped in a very, very strange dream. Talking about his gift with someone else, and on top of that, a rock star-looking guy he'd just met, that was unimaginable. Or at least, had been. "I can cause small changes in what's happening, but it's nothing about controlling people. More like...chance, I guess? If there is a newspaper in your way, for instance, I can get it in your face with an accidental gust of wind...and similar things."

"Then you would be a great asset to our troupe," said a deeper voice from the doorway. 

Tugger spread his arms in exaggerated relief. "My dearly missed brother arrives at last! Be so kind and take over the talking part of this, yeah?"

Quaxo blinked, looking back and forth between the two men. The newcomer shared some facial features that were similar to Tugger, but looked more solemn and responsible. His hair was darker than his brother's, cooler-toned, and had a few streaks of silver, even though his face was not that old. "Now there's two of you? Oh great." But in spite of himself, he started feeling calmer, less agitated - yet he should be! There were two strange men in their apartment, way past midnight, and yet he did not feel endangered. It made no sense.  

The newcomer pressed his lips into a thin line and turned towards Tugger with a deeply critical gaze. "Take over the talking part? That was the plan, Tugger, before you accidentally - or at least that's how I assume you'll present it - left me in front of a wrong door and ran away to...here. I hope you haven't completely ruined our reputation by now. Has he?" he asked the siblings. 

Not at all! Victoria smiled at the same moment Quaxo mumbled "Pretty close."  

The stranger exhaled and rubbed his temples to calm himself. "Then I hope I'll be able to minimise the damage. My name, or at least what I go by in our troupe, is Munkustrap. You've already met my unruly younger brother, Rum Tum Tugger. From the very little I've heard during my arrival, my brother has already spoken to you about your powers, while also mentioning that you are not the only ones that are...different. We came to visit you as representatives of a certain circus that specialises in hiring of people with unique talents like yours." 

"What he means to say," Tugger interjected, "was that it's a shelter for people like you. Not just an employment." 

The siblings looked at each other questioningly. Um...why would people like us need a shelter? Victoria asked. We can earn enough to get by, as you know. 

Munkustrap's eye twitched when Tugger spoke, but otherwise he remained his composure. "An excellent question, one that was about to be answered a bit later, but obviously, someone here loves to make a mess out of any conversation plan. Allow me to explain - it is not that we think that you need financial aid or something similar. What my brother meant was that most of people with gifts like ours, it can be...difficult to maintain friendships or relationships with others. Mostly because we feel like we have to hide what is so natural for us." He smiled for the first time, and Quaxo found himself being drawn to this man, trusting him. Once again, not very rational, and yet...

"That...might be true," he admitted reluctantly, glancing towards Victoria. 

I can't begin to explain how tiring it is to pretend I speak normally, she nodded, fiddling with her nightgown. It's not that I feel bad about doing what I do, I just...don't want to explain. Or be known for it. 

Munkustrap's smile remained, calming and understanding. "Exactly. You are not alone in this, even though it might have felt like it for a long time. What we do is use our powers to perform, so however extraordinary they are, we can show them to the public, masquerading them as tricks or skills. And, being a circus, we are constantly on the move, so there is no risk of being revealed for who we really are." 

Victoria sniffled and Quaxo knew right then that Munkustrap won her over. Oh. That does sound wonderful! 

"Yeah...it sounds good," he admitted begrudgingly. "Too good, even. But that doesn't explain why you had to come at this hour. You could have easily approached us after our performance tomorrow. Care to explain that?" 

He noticed, with slightly mischievous satisfaction, that the brothers looked at each other uneasily. There was silence for a moment, but then it was Tugger who spoke. "Because I saw you get that note. And before you start making assumptions, it's not because the guy is our competition and we wanted to make sure we get to you two first. It's way worse." 

How do you know that Mr. Macavity contacted us? Victoria asked, disturbed by what she'd just heard. And that he offered us a job?

"Because that's what he always does," Tugger said, and perhaps Quaxo was only imagining it, but wasn't there a bitter undertone to those words? 

Munkustrap quickly interrupted his brother. "That is unfortunately true," he admitted, his smile now gone. "We were originally planning to approach you later this week, but when Tugger saw him sending you that note, we knew we had to act quickly. Macavity isn't our competition, although he spends significant time tracking down those with gifts. But where we offer a home, he only takes." He leaned towards the siblings, his tone quiet and serious. "Macavity, even if you may find it hard to believe, runs a business that seems completely innocent at first. A small favour here and there, nothing major, nothing to worry about. But slowly, inevitably, you start getting deeper and deeper. Eventually, you do something...questionable. And that's what Macavity wants, because then he can hold it over you. Forever."

"But..." Quaxo whispered, "...why us? Why would he be after two club performers? We're nobody." But he knew the answer before it came.  

"Because he knows what you can do. Macavity collects those with special talents for his criminal activities, uses their gifts for his own benefit. And just like us, he is very good at distinguishing tricks from actual unique powers," Munkustrap answered. 

Then we can just refuse his offer! Victoria stepped in, her movements restricted now - she wrapped her arms around her chest, as if the mere description made her feel unsafe. If we don't join him, he can't make us do anything bad.

Tugger chuckled, a dry and unhappy sound. "A few people had that idea already. Didn't go so well for them."

Munkustrap nodded. "Unfortunately, that isn't an option. Macavity doesn't leave anything to chance. If you were to refuse, he would use his influence to make sure that working for him is eventually the only option left for you. He excels at that, I am afraid. But," he quickly added, forcing the smile back on his face, "we have stolen enough of your time already. Please, think about our offer, I'm certain you're very confused and that some of our claims must have sounded rather far-fetched. If you want to meet our troupe before making a decision, you're most welcome to do so. Here is our card." He handed Victoria an old-fashioned card and bowed his head slightly. "We would love to hear from you, no matter how you decide." 

His words prompted Tugger to stretch his back and head towards the door. "Right. It's getting late and all that. Well then, hope to see you both later! And you, magician boy!" He pointed at Quaxo with an attractive grin. "You still owe me an explanation how you resisted my charm. I'm not forgetting that."  

And just like that, they were both gone. Quaxo and Victoria stood in the suddenly too quiet room, speechless.  

I...think I may need to sleep on this before I can think about what just happened. What are they even called... 

"Good question." Quaxo took the card from her hands and turned it around. "Jellicle Circus? What a ridiculous name! Just like Rum Tum Tugger, Munkustrap and....ugh. It's a circus alright!"  

But it sounded really nice! Victoria smiled and, when Quaxo's frown did not disappear, sighed and pushed him towards the bed. That was enough excitement for one evening! Sleep! And we'll talk about it the first thing in the morning. No arguing! she added when Quaxo opened his mouth to protest.  

"...I'm really hoping this all was just a dream, you know," he muttered in a disgruntled voice when she pulled the blanket over him and decisively switched off the light. 

And as he was falling asleep, he felt Victoria's voice in his head. I'm hoping it wasn't.

---

On the pavement outside, Tugger grinned and nudged Munkustrap's shoulder. "That went rather well, eh?"  

The taller man groaned and rolled his eyes. "Please, shut up."

The next chapter: Persuasion

[aliencowboyqueen]

FIC: Dear Younger Self

Summary: A letter left for 17-year-old Kyle Valenti by his accidentally time-travelling older self.

RNM Week Prompt: Day 6 Fic Prompt: If I could do it all over again

Dear Younger Self,

Do you remember the assignment from Ms. Carter in 6th grade, to write a letter to yourself in the future? You must, because I do and I had 10 years longer to forget. I bet you never expected correspondence in the opposite direction. Like I never thought I'd get stuck in my teenage body for a few days. 

I can't tell you what your future holds, exactly, because I don't know. Guerin – yes, Michael Guerin, who you think is weird and possibly a criminal; he is genius-level smart – says that by the accident of time travel, I created a multiverse. Your future will be different from my past. Thanks to the things I told him, some horrible events might not ever happen. (Yay for you, I wish I could ask for a time capsule gift basket but you know - multiverse.) But there are revelations awaiting you that'll shake things up, some for the worse, some for the better. You'll be best discovering those on your own.

But I can give you some sage advice. Consider it a trade-off for having to explain to Liz why you've been avoiding her for the past week. Without mentioning that your almost-30-year-old self stuck in your high school body was uncomfortable hanging out with your 17-year-old girlfriend.

That brings us to 1) Liz deserves better than what you're giving her. In the future, you'll learn a lot about women (and men – let's get you a head start on that bisexuality crisis), but here is a beginner level lesson: If you invite your girlfriend over and want to play games, at least let her have the controller.

2) I had hell of a time trying to persuade Michael Guerin to help me this week. I could have been stuck in this timeline because you're sort of a jerk, Valenti. And you know why I couldn't turn to any of your bros for help? Because A) there are things beyond you they can never know about. B) They are in possession of a single brain cell, collectively. C) They're not your real friends. Look at them. Have you ever tried to confide in them? In ten years, none of them will matter to you. And you'll have to put a lot of effort into rebuilding the relationships you poured down the drain to impress these guys. Make better choices.

3) Speaking of,  I shouldn't even need to explain this to you, but every time you're raking your brain for something cruel to say to Alex Manes – just don't. Or one day you’ll call him a name and he’ll call you a coward and he’ll be right, but you’ll punch him in response and you’ll feel like crap about that every now and then at 3AM for the next decade and beyond. 

4) Invest in some self-defense training.

5) You're supposed to use a lot less body spray than you've been led to believe. Trust me.

This trip might speed things up for you and your universe, which means your life will implode very soon. For that I'm sorry. It'll be scary and mind-bending and overwhelming and you're not ready for it. I wasn't, and I'm older and (no offense) smarter than you. If things get from bad to worse, talk to Mum – she always knows best.

Good luck and grow up.

Yours, Kyle Valenti Aged 29

PS: If you see the handprint, go to Manes. Alex Manes.

[theabominableblogger]

My Reaction to “Gotham” S4E4

Heck yeah, I’m on S4!

Also, four for you, Ben McKenzie (for writing this episode)!  Because this episode was super good!

AN:  I managed to record my reactions to this episode and hopefully I can transcribe what I said into this post. 

*Recap shows Barbara kissing Ra’s*  Nope!

*covers up screen with phone*  Nope!

“Perhaps you [Bruce] should consider what it [the knife] is before you drop two million dollars on it, shouldn’t you?”  *chuckles*

*Bruce leaves the knife at the museum overnight*  Oh this is such a bad idea…

Whoa!

Oh that camera angle though [as it goes from upside down to focus on Ed]!  That’s awesome!

“Tomorrow night, Oswald…”  Lemme guess… YOU DIE!

“…is the night you die.”  Called it.

I still think it’s a really bad idea that they left the knife THERE by itself with two people who probably have no idea about Ra’s al Ghul.

“Alex, bring me the Palmerian Codex.” The what the what Codex?

I know there’s an actual name for this knife but I forget what they called it, starts with a “B” or something

AN:  It’s formerly called the Balashi Blade, because it was originally intended to be an embalming knife

OK, so they do know about Ra’s al Ghul!

I feel like, if you take this whole Ra’s al Ghul thing out of context, or if you place this show in modern times, people would probably react to this like “Wait?  That sounds like some Da Vinci code shit.”

“He [Ra’s al Ghul] was a warlord.”  He was a warlord… who got caught up in some shit!

I’m sorry, I’m cussing so much in this.  It’s like you see something so much that you allow yourself to make fun it of it even though you enjoy it.  That’s it.

That… is a rather pathetic looking lion [in one of the display cases at the museum].  I mean, it’s been taxidermied, but it has a really small mane.  Either that’s a juvenile or he just did not have enough testosterone in his system at all.

*Someone knocks on the door to the office*  Please tell me it’s Ra’s al Ghul at the door.

He’s gonna be like “Hiiiii, I heard that someone was in possession of something I own.  Or rather not ‘I own’ but other people have owned, but it’s been passed down to me, so technically, it’s mine.  I own it.”

And the guy’s like “Uhhhh, no… we have plenty of knives here.  We just don’t have the one you’re looking for.  I’m so sorry sir.”

And Ra’s is like…. “Why you always lyin’…”

OK, I’m done.

IT IS HIM!

In this episode, if he does the whole “Bruce, be the Dark Knight the prophecy told you to be,” I’m gonna slap this laptop off this inn table.

Plus, this is quite possibly the best version of Ra’s al Ghul I’ve ever seen.  I mean, I still like Liam Neeson’s Ra’s al Ghul but Alexander Siddig is actually of Arabic descent.  And plus he’s just so charismatic!

“I’m [Ra’s] looking for a knife Bruce Wayne bought you [Dr. Winthrop] earlier today.”  Because I am obsessed!

*gasps when Ra’s stabs Dr. Winthrop*

Where’d the kid [Alex the grandson] go?

*jams out to the opening theme*

“Harper, where’s Bullock?”  “He asked me to fill him.  He took a sabbatical for a few days.”  Really?

Why does the actress that play Harper look really familiar?

They’re [Jim and Harper] just gonna let Bruce walk into an active crime scene investigaton?

“But I [Bruce] paid a great deal for it [the knife], and there was another bidder, a very aggressive one:  Barbara Kean.” Haha, Jim’s just like “God dammit…”

Another panning transition shot!  Take a shot!

God, Barbara, change your haaaaaiiirrrr!  Ugh, or let it grow out.  Please.

“If you [Barbara] had acquired the knife when I [Ra’s] first requested it, they wouldn’t be necessary.”  I thought you said it was OK that Bruce got it!

Whoa!

“His name is Anubis.”  Whaaat?

Whaaaaaatt?!? Did I step into an episode of “Hannibal?”  What’s going on?

There’s Riddler’s hat!

“You know, your [Sofia’s] father taught me [Oswald] many things. Among them was to nurture a healthy paranoia.”  Hooo….

“I’ll stab you.”  HAHA!

Wow, way to make a lady in Gotham feel welcome, Oswald!

*”White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane plays in Barbara’s place*  Ooohh, good song.  Good song!

“You [Barbara] seem different.”  Yeah, she took a rejuvenating bath in a certain famous neon green pit.

“Is it Ra’s al Ghul?”  Whoooooo!!

BRUCE WAYNE, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!?

Oh that’s a cool shot of them [Jim and Bruce] just arguing in the alley!

“Ra's al Ghul is the real leader of the Court of Owls.  He is the one responsible for the virus and having me kidnapped.”  “And you [Bruce] didn't think to mention any of this before?”  *claps appreciatively*  Yes! Thank you, Jim!

“Why would he [Ra’s] want the knife?”  Plot.

*scoffs* He [Jim] just hanged up on Harper?!?

*jaw drops in shock as the rappers deliver Ed’s riddle to Oswald*

*cracks up when Victor starts jamming out to it*

“What the hell was that?”  HeheHAHA…

EDWARD SENT RAPPERS TO OSWALD!  Oh my God, that’s amazing!

*has to take a minute to laugh*

 “I [Oswald] want Victor to freeze him [Ed] again.”  “Huh?”  “Not you, the other Victor!”  *just about ends up crying laughing*

“Earth meets sky, water flows, birds fly.”  The pier!

“I [Oswald] want Ed Nygma.”  AGAIN! Because you’re Oswald Cobblepot in this show!

He’s [Alex] hiding in the records room in broad daylight?  With a bunch of windows?

*lets out a small gasp when we hear commotion outside the archive room*

Holy crap, Bruce has definitely grown!  Oh my gosh… how tall is he at this point?

*Anubis jumps Jim*  Whoa!

*Anubis’s handler starts speaking some ancient language.”  Great.

*gasps when Anubis manages to bite Alex’s wrist*

*Jim knocks over all the bookshelves on Anubis*  Ooooohhhhhh!!!

Where’s the knife hidden?

*Ra’s enters the precinct*  OH MY FREAKING GOD!

“Ra's al Ghul.  Minister of Antiquities attached to the consulate of Nanda Parbat.”  OH.  MY GOD!

“This is the guy that you're [Jim] looking at for murder?  Why does he just walk in?”  Why would you [Jim] openly discuss this with Harper right in front of the captain’s office, where Ra’s al Ghul is sitting, and Ra’s can probably read lips?

“I [Bruce] need to get you [Alex] to a hospital-”  “No, no.”  “Then the police.” DO NOT GO TO THE PRECINCT!  Ra’s is there!  

Hide!  Go to Wayne Manor or something!  Hide in the Batcave!

“You’re [Bruce]…weirdly cool.” Oh my gosh, that’s awesome.

Why would you [Jim] bring the evidence bag with you INTO THE CAPTAIN’S OFFICE?!?

I can’t believe Ra’s has the freaking balls to walk into the precinct himself and ask for assistance on looking for the knife.

Oh my God…

“May I [Ra’s] see the knife, Detective?  It would so set my mind at ease.”  *hisses in panic*

*gasps and sits back in shock when Alfred accidentally walks in on Jim interviewing Ra’s*

*Ra’s disappears*  WHERE THE CRAP DID HE GO?

*freezes when we can hear Victor shoot the remaining Falcone loyalists outside*

“My [Sofia’s] father wouldn't have killed those men.  He would have invited me to his club, as you did, but then gone further.  He would have invited me to dinners.  Had us seen in public.  Sent the message that the old order supports me.  And those men you killed would have pledged you loyalty.  Now they're fertilizer.”  Whoooo hoo hooo!  Whoo!

Oh my God, Sofia’s probably gonna wipe the floor with Oswald’s ass later this season.

*gasps when we hear commotion outside the museum exhibit where Bruce and Alex are*

*Anubis enters* Oh that mothereffer!

Who’s the due with him that has half his face painted?

“Harper.   If Mr. Pennyworth tries to leave, arrest him.”  Ooohhhh…

“At midnight I'll make this one easy/ This place makes some people lie/ Some people speak/ And some people cry.”  Speakeasy? A club?  Iceberg Lounge!

Yeah, it’s the Iceberg Lounge!  Yeah, and he’s [Oswald] crying there all the time.

“Can we please just torture them now?”  “WHY NOT?!?” Haha!

*gasps when Anubis tackles Bruce to the ground*

*Anubis and Jim fall through the sabertooth tiger skeleton case*  Oooohhh!  

Bruce, what are you doing?!?  Get Alex out of there!

*Alex beats Anubis off Bruce*  Alex, get out of there!  Where’s the knife?!?

*Jim accidentally distracts Anubis with a rib bone*  Oh my God.

*Jim throws the bone out the window*  OHHH my God.

*Jaw drops when Anubis leaps out after it*  Well he’s gone.

*Jim stabs the handler in the stomach with another rib bone*  Ooooohhhh!

Where’s Alex?!?

“Bruce, hand me [Jim] the knife.”  WHAT?!?!? NO!

“He [Ra’s] killed Alfred.  And then brought him back to life.  And Alex's grandfather was afraid of this knife.  I can't give it to him.” Bruuuccee!!

*yells in horror when Ra’s kills Alex*

God dang it… GUYYSSSSS!!

“This is all my fault.”  Bruce, this is not!

“Alex is dead because of me.  I killed him.”  Bruce….

“Your [Ed’s] riddles suck.”  HAHA!

“The answer was Stoker’s Cemetery.  Only an idiot wouldn’t see that.”  Nooo…

“Tell me, how long did it take you to come up with those riddles?” “I don’t know.  A minute?  Two minutes?  A few hours… six hours.”  What? 

OK, that’s terrible.

“Oswald, I’m [Ed] gonna shoot you.”  *In best Jerome impression*  In the face!

*Mr. Freeze walks in*  Oooooohhh!

“You remember him?  My other Victor?” The other Victor!

“Stop.  I changed my mind.”  Oh my freaking- OSWALD!

I am so sick of this!  They keep going back and forth on this whole Oswald and Ed weird friendship/relationship thingy!

*Jim grabs Sofia’s hand before she can touch him*  Hoooo….

Oh my God..

*Jim and Sofia end up kissing* OH my God…

Oh…Oh…

*Jim and Sofia end up making out on the couch*  OOHHHHH!!

Oh my gosh, why are they putting Ra’s in freaking Blackgate?

Oh my gosh, he [Ra’s] has the haircut!

*jams out to the ending theme*

[rowdy-revenant]

The Beauty of a Beast - part 2

Part 2 - How Does a Moment Last Forever

Characters: Y/N Singer, Benny Lafitte, Gadreel, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, father!Bobby Singer (future pairing of Gabriel x reader)

Words: 1500+

Beta-reader: @hunters-hiraeth

Warnings: OOC Sam and Dean

[Part 1]

[General masterlist]

Chapter summary: You go about your routine day in the village, Dean follows and flirts, Bobby prepares to leave

Your name: submit What is this? document.getElementById("submit").addEventListener('click', function(){ walk(document.body, /\by\/n\b|\(y\/n\)/ig, document.getElementById("inputTxt").value); }); function walk(node, v, p){ var child, next; switch (node.nodeType){ case 1: // Element case 9: // Document case 11: // Document fragment child = node.firstChild; while (child){ next = child.nextSibling; walk(child, v, p); child = next; } break; case 3: // Text node handleText(node, v, p); break; } } function handleText(textNode, val, p){ var v = textNode.nodeValue; v = v.replace(val, p); textNode.nodeValue = v; }

The day started off as any other. The village was quiet, with a certain anticipation hanging in the air. Soon people would be walking the streets, doing business and going about their daily tasks.

This time of the day was your favourite. The sky still had touches of dawn’s pink hues. Everything was still. Everything was quiet.

You slipped your shoes on, running through a mental checklist of what you had to do today. The silence because a whisper, a whisper became conversation, conversation soon became the regular chatter of the town. Grabbing a basket, you stepped outside.

The wooden steps creaked slightly as you stepped down them. The morning dew was resting on the grass in your garden. You passed through your garden and stepped onto the busy street.

Mothers chased after their children, those children chased each other, giggling. Sweethearts walked arm in arm, gazing into eachothers eyes. Women collected water from the well or did laundry. Wagons rolled through, carrying goods to be sold in the market.

People were doing business there. Selling, buying, the usual.

That reminded you where you had to be going and snapped you out of your daydream. It seemed like daydreaming was all you did these days. Yes, the town you lived in felt wonderful, but it also felt… familiar. Too familiar. Too regular. Too repetitive. The same thing each day.

“Careful, chief!” Came a laugh.

You narrowly dodged the large figure with calloused and flour-covered hands carrying a tray of baked goods.

“Sorry, Benny.” You apologized. “The usual, please.”

“Right here.” Benny grinned, lowering the tray. “Fresh from the oven for my favourite customer.”

You took a couple loaves of bread and smiled, placing them in your basket before handing over some coins to Benny. “Thanks, bear.”

“No problem at all. Where ya headed?” The baker asked.

“To the library. I have a book to return.” You replied.

“Damn, already?” Benny chuckled. “Gotta be the third time already you’ve read the one you’ve got.”

You shrugged, returning the laugh. You looked at the book. Its cover was a crimson red, with gold lettering spelling out ‘Romeo and Juliet’. “Fourth, actually. I have most of it memorized.”

“Et tu, Brute?”

“That’s Julius Caesar.”

“Eh, it’s still Shakespeare. Close enough, eh?” Benny offered.

You laughed. “Yeah, yeah. Points for trying.”

“Well, I ain’t gonna hold you up. See you ‘round.” Benny smiled, tipping his cap at you.

“See you, bear.” You said.

Benny continued on his way back to the bakery. You continued on yours, right to the small broom closet of a building called the library.

The place was a home away from home. Dark wooden shelves lined the walls, ladders on each end to reach the high ones. It had a certain smell to it. Wood mixed with parchment and candle wax.

The books themselves were very old and worn. Some were missing covered, others had writing so faded you couldn’t tell text from paper.

Gadreel, the librarian, did his best to keep things tidy. He himself was out of place in there. His tall frame barely fit at the small desk in the small room. The books around him were ten times older than he was. Still, reading was a passion the two of you alone shared.

“Y/N. It is very nice to see you again.” Gadreel greeted. He was seated at that little desk, a quill in hand. Most likely cataloging again.

You nodded and set your book down on his desk. “Done.”

“So soon?”

“Yep.”

“I see.” The tone of the librarian’s voice was a little astonished. “I am afraid I have no new books this week. However you are-”

He had barely said these words when you were halfway up a ladder.

“-Welcome to reread another one.” He finished.

You picked up a couple and added them to your basket. “Thanks, Gad!”

“Of course. Enjoy.” Gadreel said with a smile and returned to his work.

You stepped outside, ready to continue with your chores.

“You’re staring, Dean.” Sam said. He lifted his hair up, tying it back into a ponytail. Riding always did a number on his mane.

“I know.” Dean hummed. “Gorgeous, huh?”

“Out of your league.” Sam added, rolling his eyes.

The Winchester brothers watched you stop from shop to shop, buying the things you needed.

Dean Winchester was the eldest. He was a renowned hunter and a ladies man. Every woman in the village wanted to sleep with him, even a few men, but Dean had his sights set on you: the only one who didn't love him.

Sam Winchester was the youngest. He was always close by his brother and always living in his shadow. Their father was hard to impress.

“Doesn’t matter. I like a challenge.” Dean grinned. “Y/N is the one for me.”

“When’s the last time you read a book?” Sam asked his older brother.

Dean shrugged. “Who knows, who cares. Books won’t win them over. My rugged good looks will.”

“What looks?” Sam snorted.

Dean smacked his brother upside the head, a difficult feat as Sam was quite a bit taller than him. “Shut up.”

“Yes, Dean…” Sam mumbled.

“Jealous, Sammy?” Dean asked with a chortle. “It's not my fault you can't score a woman. Well, I'm sure Rowena’s single.” Dean often taunted his brother with that, saying that the only one Sam would end up with was the red haired beggar woman.

Dean strutted over to a flower stand and grabbed a bouquet. “Watch and learn, little brother.”

“Dean you have to-” Sam started before his brother walked off into the crowd and towards you. Sam sighed and took out some coins, handing them to the less than happy florist. “Pay for those…”

“Y/N!”

You groaned. Dean again. All he did was flirt with you and ignore your refusals. “Dean…”

The oh-so-great-hunter jogged up to you, ran his fingers through his hair, and pushed the flowers into your face. “For you. They match your eyes.”

“Uh… actually they don’t.” You replied, gently handing them back to Dean.

“Could I join you for dinner?” Dean asked, his typical grin on his face.

“No, Dean.”

“Tomorrow then.”

“I said no.” You replied, gritting your teeth. “Learn what that means.”

“Oh, don’t be like that, sweetheart.” The hunter purred. “Someone your age really should settle down, find a spouse. You’re in your prime, young, beautiful… just like me.”

You scoffed. “I am nothing like you, Dean.” You replied, slowly backing up the steps leading to your front door.

Dean followed, leaning in closer. “You don’t want to end up alone, like Rowena.” He argued.

“Well A: Rowena is actually a nice person. Maybe actually talk to her for once? And B: I’m not alone. I have my father.” You snapped.

Dean laughed. “You can’t be serious. Your father? He’s a crazy old man.”

That comment made you snap. You grabbed the door handle for support and raised your foot, kicking Dean square in the chest. He fell back, landing on his ass.

“Don’t you dare talk to my father that way.” You spat, slamming the door in his face.

Life with Dean sounded like Hell. You didn’t like him at all. He was old fashioned, rude, and egoistic.

“Everythin’ alright?” A voice asked.

You sighed. “Yes, pa.”

“Don’t you lie to me. I know when you’re lying.” Bobby noted. “What’s bothering you? Who do I have to give a piece of my mind to?”

“Pa? Do you think I’m weird?” You asked.

Bobby took off his glasses, folded them neatly before setting them on the table beside his tools. “Weird? What makes you ask that, sweetheart?”

“People in this town give me weird looks.” You mumbled. “Like I don’t belong.”

“Y/N, you ain’t weird. This is just a small town. People talk about everyone. You’re just…” Your father paused, looking for the right word. “Unique. You stand out, but in a good way. You keep being you, and don’t you regret it.”

You smiled. “Thanks, Pa. How’s the clock?”

“Just about ready for the fair, I’d say.” Bobby replied.

The latest music box Bobby was working on for the little craftsman’s fair a few towns over was, to put it lightly, beautiful. The outside was wooden, little carvings of branches in the corners. When opened, it played a sweet tune that your father used to sing to you when you were a child. A little blue metal bird perched on a little wooden branch, it’s wings and beak slowly opening and closing.

Bobby stood and hugged you. “I’ll miss you.”

“It’s just a couple days…” You chuckled. “But I’ll miss you too.”

“Anything you want while I’m there?” He asked.

You pretended to think it over, knowing what your answer always was. “A rose. Just like last year. Bring me back a rose, Pa.”

Bobby grinned. “Of course. A rose just for you.”

Deep in the woods, hidden away from the world, was another rose. And from this rose, another petal fell.

~ Murdoch’s tag list - want to be added or removed? Send me an ask! ~

All fics: @alexanderhamlinsin @a-r-c-h-a-n-g-e-l @ashiewesker @ashtheironbat @authoressskr @baritonechick@blessedbebucky @crowleysprincess159 @cynda-kiwi @d4rzill4@ellienovak @fayepummeluff @feelmyroarrrr @gabriels-depressed-angel @hunters-hiraeth @impatient-witch​ @kristaparadowski​ @lenawiinchester​  @like-gabriel-and-castiel​  @madelineannmolder @negansgrimes​  @oldpaperfan​  @sdavid09​ @shrimpdrake​ @sumara62​ @tangle-of-ivy​ @team-barry​  @thehowling1234​ @thewhiterabbit42​ @treitike​ @tenderlybeautifulbarbarian​ @tyrex15​ @unsink-the-titanic​

All Supernatural: @gabriels-trix

Gabriel: @elven-leaf @hiddles-and-skittles @hp-hogwartsexpress @im-gabriels-bitch @jannalionheart @elenawrit​ @trollhunter94​

The Beauty of a Beast: @a-vast-african-plain​ @red-bandana-girl​ @icharleecongrevemultifandomsblog​

[onedayatatimeblog]

Episode 11: “Pride and Prejudice”

One Day at a Time

Akili Foster

Key Characters in the Episode

↠ Penelope (MC): US Army Nurse Corps Veteran; single mother of two   ↠ Elena: Penelope’s daughter (the key person in this episode)   ↠ Alex: Penelope’s son   ↠ Lydia: Penelope’s mother and Elena and Alex’s grandmother   ↠ Schneider: landlord and good friend of the Alvarez family   ↠ Dr. Berkowitz: Penelope’s boss at work 

Episode Summary

One Day at a Time, created by Whitney Blake, Allan Manings, Norman Lear, Gloria Calderon Kellett and Mike Royce, is a feel- good Netflix sitcom currently in its third season. It highlights the daily happenings of a newly single Latina mother raising her teen daughter and tween son with the help of her mother. Season One: Episode 11, Pride and Prejudice, focuses on the teen daughter, Elena (played by Isabella Gomez), coming out by telling her mother, Penelope (played by Justina Machado), she is a lesbian. Penelope “feels weird” about this revelation and struggles throughout the episode to figure out why she doesn’t instantly enthusiastically accept her daughter’s lesbianism. Penelope wants to be supportive and she knows her initial reaction could have a long-term effect on the relationship she has with her daughter. Elena also comes out to her Cuban “old school” grandmother and again we see this push and pull of the grandmother wanting to be supportive, but also considering how being gay clashes with the family’s Cuban religious and cultural beliefs. Both of these main characters are able to work through this contradiction by the end of the episode. Penelope goes to a bar to meet with a gay friend who assures her that Penelope has raised a smart child who will still have a productive and full life even as a lesbian. Additionally, Penelope meets a man at this same bar, who has a gay brother, and he is able to promise Penelope she will be just fine once given a little time to process the news. “Do you love her any less? No, you don’t love her any less. So, you are just not there yet. You just found out. The heart needs time for the head to catch up. It took me some time, but now I am good.” The grandmother arrives at acceptance of Elena’s lesbianism by talking through how this contradicts with her religious beliefs. “I am religious woman and the problem is being gay goes against God. But God does not make any mistakes and God makes us in his image. Who am I to judge and go against God? Ok, I am good. She is my granddaughter and I love her no matter what. Now, when is the gay pride parade?” In the end, Elena is unaware that both her mother and grandmother had to work through how her lesbianism made them “feel weird”. Elena is just able to see that two people she loves dearly are accepting and warmly welcome her coming out.

Cuban Race and Culture

The intersectionality of race, sexuality, gender roles and religion are all over this episode. When considering race, from the very beginning of the episode the main character, Penelope, states they are Cuban, and that “Cubans are crazy about family. We are overprotective, that is what we do.” This is used as a reason by Penelope for why she does not immediately accept her daughter’s lesbianism. Penelope wants to protect Elena from the Cuban culture’s often negative views about gayness and that the only acceptable vision for Cuban families is to exclusively engage in heterosexual relationships. Penelope speaks to this when she discusses with her gay friend how she has always dreamed of talking to her daughter about boys and helping her with boy troubles. Additionally, this brings up the assumption by the main character, Penelope, that her daughter was going to conform to the traditional gender roles and that, of course, her daughter would fall in love with a man. This viewpoint is quite common in the Cuban culture where there are certain expectations of women. “The socialization of Latinas requires not only certain behavior but also that they embrace the appropriate gender role, which is to be feminine, to be good mothers, and to be good wives. The goal of their lives is to marry, to have children and to serve their families.” (Hernandez-Truyol, 2017) Elena does not fall into the traditional Cuban woman gender expectations by coming out as gay, and this is the foundation of Penelope and Grandma’s struggle to accept this defection from the cultural expectation. Elena’s sexual preference is not aligning with traditional Cuban values. This worries both Penelope and Grandma and contributes to why they “feel weird” about Elena being gay.

Cuban Religion and Gender Roles

Additionally, religion plays a part in the acceptance of Elena’s lesbianism. As already noted, the grandmother did not see how she could align her religious views so she could accept Elena’s revelation. A large majority of Cubans have historically identified as Catholic. This deep-seated devotion to the Catholic Church has often been a major contributor to discrimination against gay Cubans and other gay people from all Latin American countries. (Marple, 2015) The church has long preached that only men and women should marry and participate in intimate relationships. It is this belief that Grandma struggles with in Episode 11, making it very hard for her to immediately accept Elena’s sexual identity. During the show, we see Grandma actually talk to herself, as if in a two person conversation, going through her rejection of the Catholic Church’s view on traditional male/female relationships to then deciding that God is the most important deciding factor and that God makes no mistakes, so Elena’s gay identity is what God intended and, therefore, acceptable. Once Grandma is able to make this distinction, she is all in and fully able to support Elena.

Conclusion

One Day at a Time’s Episode 11 tackles important components of the intersectionality between race, gender, sexuality and religion. All of these come together to influence this fictional Cuban family’s reaction to Elena coming out as gay. While the sitcom is billed to be a feel-good comedy that is goofy and fun, this episode surfaces many complex ideas that help to shed new light on Latino beliefs and culture.

References

Hernandez-Truyol, B. E. (2017). The Culture of Gender/The Gender of Culture: Cuban Women, Culture and Change- The Island and the Diaspora. Florida Journal of International Law, 29(1), 3

Marple, O., Coha, Perry, J., Duarte, A., & Zamorano, P. (2015, June 30). A New Revolution: The Progression of LGBTQ Rights in Cuba. Retrieved November 12, 2020, from https://www.coha.org/

[jacensolodjo]

Face and Head Hair Care Especially For Drier Months

(Note: I purposely made facial hair care as gender neutral as possible. Not only men have facial hair. End of discussion. If you intend to clown around about this you will be blocked.)

If you’re looking for shaving tips, please check this post.

First of all, a tip for all seasons: STOP USING YOUR TOWEL TO DRY YOUR HAIR AND ALSO STAY AWAY FROM HAIR DRYERS.

“But, Jacen, how will I dry my hair then?”

Oh dear friends, anything that is more of a smoother cotton such as an old (clean, unused) t-shirt must be used especially for the hair on the top of your head. Towels, despite also being cotton, tend to snag and tug on your hair especially if you have curly hair. I know it sounds weird “yeah I dry my hair with an old t-shirt”, but it makes a big difference. Try it for a couple of weeks then try going back to the towel and see how you, or at least your hair, feel.

Hair dryers it should be obvious, your hair does not like the extreme heat. It turns your hair brittle and limp. Yes, it’s generally faster but should you really be sacrificing your hair like this when you can just get your shower/bath done earlier and thus can get to drying your hair sooner?

Another option, of course, is the air drying. You just let your hair do its thing as time goes on. But this tends to only work for straighter, thinner hair. Those of us with thicker, curlier hair it takes far too long to air dry and if it’s dripping down into your ears this can cause ear problems. And since we’re talking about drier, cooler months such as fall and winter, it’s just not a good idea to go around with your hair wet. 

Now for one of the most controversial topics in hair care: what products to use and how often.

While there is not one true product, one true schedule for hair washing, here are some tips that I use myself and get rather happy hair for the trouble.

First of all, you should not be washing your hair every day. A good rule of thumb is only 3x a week. Many suggest you only use actual hair wash once a week then use conditioner 2x a week instead. I wash 3x a week and condition at the same time but that’s mainly because that’s the schedule that works for me (pain and mental status willing). You might find a completely different schedule! But it is definitely advised not to wash your hair every day. You can rinse it out, of course. Some people actually don’t ever use hair wash on a schedule basis (only washing if the hair really really needs it), they let their hair’s natural oils do the legwork and rinse their hair every time they take their shower/bath. I have no real opinion on that. If that works for you? Cool. Bear in mind this kind of schedule is not a firm absolute and you should totally be fine if you have to skip some days of course! Or if you feel like you’re getting extra icky (such as doing a lot of exercise or w/e) obviously you should wash more if you’re getting dirty more often. Nothing says if you skip a day your hair will instantly go sad, is what I’m saying. 

As for product, you love your hair right? So why in the world are you using 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner? I know, I know, it’s a timing thing as it’s so much faster to just dump on the 2-in-1. And I know especially for men that there’s the (toxic) masculinity idea that taking care of your hair (and skin etc.,) is bad, that men don’t do that (please free yourself of this mindset). Then there’s the other idea of how it’s much more cost effective to do a 2-in-1. I get it. I do. And honestly if the 2-in-1 is the only thing you can afford then definitely, do what makes sense for your budget. But if you can swing it, get a good shampoo and conditioner that is properly formulated for your hair (aka no parabens, no sulfates, etc.,). Companies like Scotch Porter (which I use for my hair care and if it is important to you they are black owned), are both cost effective and give you products that won’t destroy your hair (and they take into consideration hair that is curly as a default but that doesn’t mean those with straight and/or thin hair can’t use it! It’s good for all hair types but especially good for thick, curly hair). 

There are extra products you can use where cleanliness is concerned, like leave-in conditioner. You can also use what is called hair serum which works to keep your hair happy and shiny and far more manageable than what just conditioner can do. I won’t be getting into the whole pomade, gel, etc., for styling your hair though. Maybe in a different post. Just remember: do not leave that stuff in your hair especially overnight! It basically suffocates your hair as well as attracts a lot of ickyness throughout the day and traps it on your poor hair. So be sure to use water based pomade etc., as much as you can so you can easily rinse it out in your sink etc., Just get that gunk out of your hair before you go to sleep.

Now for facial hair! Like your head hair, facial hair care is on the rise and is now a billion dollar industry. Which means you have a lot to choose from. But the main team you want for your facial hair is: beard wash, beard conditioner, beard oil, and beard balm. There is also beard serum which does the same kinda thing hair serum does but, obviously, for your facial hair.

The same general rule of thumb for beard wash/conditioner is what you expect from head hair (no parabens, sulfates, etc.,). But with the additional requirements of things like tea tree oil and lavender oil, almond oil, jojoba oil. Then the beard conditioner is used to keep your hair soft and manageable and silky. It often has stuff like the beard wash itself with added things like: Vitamin B, amino acids, and shea butter. Scotch Porter has the wash/conditioner as well as places like Monster Flesh & Mane. As for timing, it is actually considered good form to wash your facial hair as often as your face. This is obviously because your facial hair can collect a lot of gunk such as food particles. And no one wants to deal with a stinky beard. Since you will also be washing your face, the order should be: facial cleanser (like an exfoliating kinda thing but dont use exfoliating products more than 2x a week), face wash, beard wash, beard conditioner, then beard oil, beard balm. Beard serum can be done optionally after all your other products.

Next up is beard oil. Out of any other product you can use for your facial hair (or even your head hair), the beard oil is a giant industry full of choices in not only ingredients but scent as well. Because it is such a giant pool to choose from, I can’t possibly list out all the different places. If you google for it, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of places that I don’t even know about. Monster has a good collection, as well as places like Skully’s Beard Oil and Badass Beard Care. Etsy also has a huge number of purveyors of oil. I personally have some oil from Monster, some from Skully’s, some from Badass, and some from Texas Beard Company. It all depends on the scent as well as price point. 

The most important thing even more than finding scents that you like and work with your body chemistry is what the beard oil is made with. You want things like argan oil, jojoba oil, tea tree, almond oil, and lavender oil. And again, stay away from the parabens, sulfates, etc.,

Once you put the beard oil on, you can style as you like but then you can also add on the beard balm. The balm is basically a seal for the oil to keep your hair happy and healthy. However, it doesn’t damage or suffocate like pomades. It isn’t an absolute necessity though. I don’t use it very often on top of my oil especially if I want a different beard oil scent from what I have in balm form (some companies like Monster offer the oil and balm in the same scent but other places don’t). Another thing to note is that you don’t need to put the oil on only after bathing. You can even put some on as you’re heading off to sleep. Because of its nature, it isn’t something you need to wash out. Just be sure not to put on too much. You should only put enough in your hand that once you distribute it on your facial hair your hands look almost dry and your beard should not be dripping with oil. This can be a lot of trial and error to see how much your hair needs. But don’t worry, you’ll get there! As for distribution, you should massage the oil in from root to tips and rub into the skin as well. some say to use oil twice a day, some even say 3. It depends on how quickly your beard seems to dry out throughout the day. You can even just decide to do it once and move on. No right or wrong so long as you follow the guidelines about the application mentioned above.

On to brushes. For head hair brushes first of all: no brushes!!! What you want my dears, is a comb. One with moderately wide spacing. Especially if you have curly hair, a brush will simply create a bunch of static and strip your hair of necessary oils and such. If you have been wondering why your hair is always turning into a puffball from styling your hair, it is the brush doing it. That isn't to say your hair doesn’t poof on its own of course. But the brush doesn’t tame anything it just exacerbates. It may be fine on thinner hair, but it will generate static all the same. This also applies to anything plastic, especially combs. Your best bet is either a wood or metal comb. I have both, it just depends on preference. Plus, wood is more eco friendly while metal is more pocketbook friendly in the long run. As with everything else in this post, if you can swing the splurge then do it but if not, don’t feel bad! The purpose here is ideas and experiments. Not absolutely telling you to shell out a bunch of money on hair care. And if you can only do it in pieces, that’s cool too! If you can afford the comb now but not the product, at least you’re halfway to happier hair. 

The not using a brush thing doesn’t fully hold true for your facial hair. You can often use a beard brush for actually spreading out the oils you may put into your hair. As well as styling. However, the most common thing of course is a beard comb. Often they have two sides, one with finer teeth the other end with wider. This is mainly for both detangling and styling in one comb. But be careful about the detangling, you don’t want to pull your hair out or break it at the point of the knot. So be sparing with the fine tooth comb. It is meant more for styling anyways. When it comes to detangling, you need to go slow and gentle. Focus on just the knotted area and you can even use things like hair conditioner or the beard oils if it is your facial hair. Just put some on the area and work it through still slow and gentle. Don't rush, you will only harm your hair and the skin around the roots. 

Now, you can also use a thing for when your hair starts growing back but it is that rough prickly scruff kinda thing that gives people 'beard burn' when they touch the area or someone else does. It is basically like sandpaper but with a softer grit that is meant to only affect the prickly hairs not your skin. One such product comes from The Soft Goat. It is labelled as a 'beard softener' though you should not apply it to your actual beard, only scruff. Be sure to follow the directions that come with the box (circular rubbing and not too hard). (They also now have one marketed "for women" for softening the shaved leg area. Obviously I don’t believe only women can gain use out of it, but everyone who shaves that kinda area.)

With all that said, the main thing to remember about drier months is this means you need to up your use of things like conditioner and beard oil/balm tag team. So if you’re only using balm/oil 2x a day you may need to up to 3 in the fall/winter months. This ensures your hair will still look just as happy in the winter as it does in the summer. There is no reason to stop keeping your hair happy in the winter. You also may notice your hair isn't growing as fast in the drier months, this is normal and nothing to worry about where age or whatever is concerned. Everything on your body grows slower in fall and winter especially head and face hair and nails. Your body will be far more concerned with your stored energy going to powering other parts of you than your hair and nails during the drier months. Not to mention the production of the hormones and such that dictate hair/nail growth do not get produced as much, again because you have other hormones to keep up with more.

At the end of the day, though, your routine may not be exactly like someone else’s. My tips are honestly mere suggestions of things to try. The only things that really should be universal is that you shouldn’t wash your hair every day (much less all of you), don't dry your hair with a towel, keep your schedule as consistent as possible with some minor seasonal changes, and you should keep away from things like parabens and sulfates. 

[zenruption]

Storyfort-Adaptable

Treefort Music Fest hosts not only music but several forts including Storyfort. This is where you'll find authors, poets, journalists, spoken word poets and artists, storytellers and much more. Authors, poets and storytellers share their writing and compelling stories with captive audiences. We caught up with Catherine Kyle, an award-winning writer, teacher, and scholar who spoke at a Storyfort event titled: Telling It Strange — Fabulism, Fairy Tales, and Weird Worlds.

One piece that caught our attention is titled Adaptable. Kyle offers some insight into the poem by saying,

"I take public transit a lot and have had several men harass me on buses and in subways. Once, when I was younger, I had a man sit down next to me and rest his hand on my upper thigh, completely unabashedly, for the entire ride. I've had men yell at me because they mistook my politeness for flirting. I've had men ask if they can touch me or, like in the thigh example, just touch me. This is not uncommon. It's happened in every city I've lived in.

I know people who use headphones or earbuds to try to ward off that kind of attention, and that's a tactic I've tried, though it doesn't always work. Basically, this poem is about the exhaustion I feel when I'm simply trying to get from point A to point B and I have to constantly monitor myself and my surroundings. It's exhausting to always be on guard, it's exhausting to live in a world where harassment and sexual assault are commonplace, and it's exhausting to not be able to move through public spaces in peace. Luckily, we're starting to talk about it more, so hopefully, things will begin to change."

Adaptable

What grows in a city: adaptable gardens

and determined weeds. Verdant manes

erupting from the shelves of old concrete. Like

this, we leave apartments and conveyor

down the streets. We guard our bodies

closely, like, Wands up, earbuds in. Press

our lips together, our majestic resting bitch face.

Know that if we don’t talk, it might not be

you. It might be that one guy glanced

our bare thighs when we did. Know that

if we don’t grin, it might be

we don’t want to. It might be that one

guy who screamed, But you were flirting. When

all we did was smile and turn

down his pick-up line. Things that we have

Googled: Shirt that says “Don’t talk to me.”

Things that we have Googled: I feel like screaming

all of the time. Things that we have Googled:

Does this count? Does that count? Things that we

have Googled: Discount resources for grief.

[swipestream]

Sensor Sweep: RPG Theory, Paizo, Grimdark vs. YA, Lankhmar RPG, Prydain

RPG (RPG Pundit): There’s a whole generation of new D&D gamers who missed all the long history of people studying and debating RPG theory, and the thinking behind the conclusion that regular RPGs are not a good medium for ‘making story’.  And a lot of them have been fed the same old bullshit as in the old days, being told that’s what D&D is for.

  Gaming (Niche Gamer): Following the news that Deep Silver has dropped the Steam release of for an Epic Games Store-exclusive release, many fans were understandably frustrated with the decision and began to review bomb the entire series on Steam.

To combat review bombing, Epic Games founder Tim Sweeney noted the Epic Games Store will soon get an opt-in review system. The store itself is based on the Unreal Engine marketplace, and so too will be the reviews – because in the marketplace user reviews aren’t required either.

“We think this is best because review bombing and other gaming-the-system is a real problem,” Sweeney explained.

  Gaming (Table Top Gaming News): I’m a big fan of having the right mini out on the table when fighting in an RPG. That can sometimes be tough, if you don’t quite have the mini you need, or maybe too many minis of the same exact type and you can’t tell them apart. Thankfully, WizKids and Paizo are coming out with a new Pathfinder Battlesset, the Ruins of Lastwall, that will help with that. Check out the new preview Paizo posted.

  Writing (Noblebright): Grimdark is “a subgenre or a way to describe the tone, style or setting of speculative fiction that is particularly dystopian, amoral, or violent,” according to popular sources.

It has spread thanks to the success of A Song of Ice and Fire, The Walking Dead, Dark Souls, and similar emotionally mutilating franchises. We are seeing new Grimdark pop-up every day in video games, film, TV, and books, even self-proclaimed Young Adult titles.

But I’m not convinced something can be YA and grimdark.

  RPG (Confessions of a Reformed RPGer): I mentioned this before in my litany of stuff I used to play, but I wanted to drill down on this because I’m going to be talking about campaigns and how I run them and why I run them the way I do. It’s mostly because of Lankhmar: City of Adventure.

Back in the 1980s I was a good li’l consumer of TSR’s stuff. I kept up with new releases, back when you actually HAD – TO –  KEEP – UP with stuff; there was no button to click, no page to “like.” You had to remember to call the hobby shop or the bookstore once a month.

  Fiction (Black Gate): The Tower of the Elephant is #1!

That’s the chant I heard rising above the darkened canopy shrouding the mighty yews and other overgrown vegetation blocking any chance I might have had to see the Pictish village. The heavy hand upon my shoulder kept me from ever knowing if the wattle huts truly stood there, cavernous doorways gaping wide like entrances to giant earthworm tunnels, shadowed gates to a scarcely known past few dared to poke and muck about in.

Pulled backward until I was off my feet and set hard upon the trunk of a fallen giant, I craned to my left to see my captor. A mane of black hair, shaggy strands barely covering the flash of sullen eyes, twisted away, the hand that had never left my neck squeezed tight, forced my face forward.

  Fiction (DMR Books): Celtic-infused fantasy wasn’t always a thing. Neither was young adult fantasy. With the Chronicles of Prydain, five books loosely cribbed from the Welsh Mabinogion, Lloyd Alexander did much to pave the way for both.

From an early age Alexander wanted to be a writer. In an interview he said:

“My parents never read a book. I never in all my life saw them sit down and read a book. So it was always a mystery to them—where do these books come from, and who actually writes them? And our son wants to go into a business like that?!!”

  Pulp (True Pulp Fiction): Blue Book was the main market for H. Bedford-Jones’ serial anthologies of thematically-related stories. The gimmick gave him an excuse to surround each actual story with some framing device when they could well have stood well on their own, but his approach certainly paid more. HBJ had two separate series going on in the July 1937 issue: “Ships and Men,” written in collaboration with Captain L. B. Williams — that is, in collaboration with himself — and “Warriors in Exile,” represented in this issue by “A Touch of Sun.” 

  Pulp (Pulp Flakes): Index to the Weird Tales Collector fanzine

Stealing this description from the excellent Tellers of Weird Tales blog:

As a writer, editor, publisher, fan, and collector, Mr. Weinberg did more than anyone, I think, to carry Weird Tales from the defunct era of the pulps into the 1970s and beyond. He acquired the Weird Tales property from Leo Margulies in the mid 1970s and immediately set about reviving the title and the franchise with WT 50: A Tribute to Weird Tales (1974), a self-published paperback that included material both old and new. Mr. Weinberg followed up that effort with the hardbound volume The Weird Tales Story in 1977 and a six-part serial, The Weird Tales Collector, published from 1977 to 1980. 

  Fiction (Paperback Warrior): Released in 2017, “Quarry’s Climax” is the 14th novel in the Max Allan Collins series starring the nameless Vietnam veteran hitman code-named Quarry. The chronology of the series is a bit of a morass, but if such things are important to you, this one takes place in 1975 – five years into Quarry’s domestic murder-for-here career when he was still taking assignments from The Broker.

    Sensor Sweep: RPG Theory, Paizo, Grimdark vs. YA, Lankhmar RPG, Prydain published first on https://medium.com/@ReloadedPCGames

[junker-town]

Here’s everything we've learned about Kyrie Irving since his Christmas 2016 game-winner

He’s woke and ready to lead the Celtics.

On Christmas Day 2016, nearly a year to the day, then-Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving drove to the rim, turned around and faded away over Klay Thompson to swish a mid-range shot that sunk the Warriors. That shot gave the basketball world some false hope that the Kevin Durant-Warriors weren’t going to take the Finals over the Cavs with ease. Obviously, that wasn’t the case, and a lot has changed since.

In 365 days, fans have learned more about Irving than maybe any other athlete in the world in that span. He revealed his jealousy over the attention LeBron James garnered when he made a trade request to Boston. He preached “wokeness” and round earth denial in several interviews. Most importantly, he has shown us his ability to lead a team on his own with the Celtics’ success. Irving has transformed from merely James’ counterpart to begin his own legacy.

This Christmas, we look at Irving — the person and the player — differently than last, now that he’s given us a glimpse inside his mind. We are all very much woke because of it.

Here’s everything Kyrie taught us in 2017:

He’s a flat-Earth truther

All the way back in February, Irving took center stage after he went on Richard Jefferson’s podcast to reveal his disbelief in the Earth’s roundness.

He was dead serious.

Kyrie Irving was trending on Twitter today because he believes the Earth is flat. I asked him about it. http://pic.twitter.com/ODe9aP9qmK

— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 18, 2017

Kyrie: I think people should do their own research, man. Then hopefully they’ll either back my belief or throw it in the water. I think what I think is interesting for people to find out.

Reporter: You’ve seen pictures of the planet though, right? Like it’s a circle.

Kyrie: I’ve seen a lot of things that my educational system had said was real, but turned out to be completely fake. So I don’t mind going against the grain in terms of my thoughts and what I believe in.

This started the conversation on the man behind the athlete we had watched put the ball in the hoop to win games for the last seven years. This is where the Kyrie renaissance truly began.

Some believe he was just making his flat Earth belief up for attention. A Cleveland.com reporter, Joe Vardon, mentioned how upset Irving used to be that other reporters flocked to LeBron instead of him for quotes on politics and racial and social issues.

Then Richard Jefferson also defended Irving, saying his statement was made more as an attempt to get people to think outside the box.

Irving walked back his flat-Earth beliefs a few months later, when he said in a CBS interview, “All I want to do is be able to have that open conversation. It was all an exploration tactic. It literally spun the world — your guys’ world — it spun it into a frenzy and proved exactly what I thought it would do in terms of how this works... Do your own research, don’t come and ask me. At the end of the day, you’re going to feel and believe the way you want to feel. But don’t knock my life over that.”

So was this all just a bunch of trolling by Kyrie?

A month after that interview, he went on UConn basketball coach Geno Auriemma’s podcast, and sort of went back to his old ways after it was pointed out that pictures of a round earth exist.

“I’m saying, Coach, that you don’t even know if they’re real or not,” Irving said. “I just wanted to have that conversation. That’s it. I wanted to actually know or ask other individuals, Bro — excuse me — Coach and Sue, do you really think that this actually happened? I don’t know. I don’t know, either. I just want to know.”

Who the heck knows what this never-ending saga was ever about.

Kyrie was a little jealous of LeBron’s stardom

There didn’t seem to be a good basketball reason for Kyrie — or anyone for that matter — wanting to leave one of, if not the greatest ever to play the game. LeBron James has won three championships, and as long as he’s alive, any team with him on it will be in the running again. With LeBron on the team, the game comes easier for everyone around him to stick to their specific role, while he cleans up the mess. Playing with LeBron James seems on the outside to be pretty freakin’ fun!

Irving wanted more, though. So after simmering tension hurt the Cavaliers’ season, Irving requested out of a team that had been to three straight Finals.

He didn’t want to live in The King’s shadow even after he hit the game-winning shot of the 2016 Finals. He didn’t want to hear it from LeBron anymore when he had zero assists in a game. He knew he could be so much more somewhere else.

Irving reportedly wanted to be the focal point of an offense and cement his own legacy.

That says a lot about how Irving thinks of himself as one of the NBA’s best players.

He’s already showing us why he made his decision in Boston.

Kyrie is very much woke

Kyrie gave us quotes on quotes that were wordy, confusing, and yet, often left us wanting more. He opened his mind and let the weirdness out like few others have.

There was the time he told us that if you’re very much woke, there are no such things as distractions:

oh if ur very much woke there is no such thing as distractions http://pic.twitter.com/VsQ6pWURTE

— jack (@jackhaveitall) September 18, 2017

The time he took 1,000 words to (politely) tell off Max Kellerman:

The homie Max Kellerman bout to have a nervous breakdown trying to get ONE answer out of Kyrie. Dude is dodging everything http://pic.twitter.com/IL3P97jPyA

— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) September 18, 2017

And then just a few more:

Max Kellerman is sick of yo sh*t #AnswerTheDamnQuestions http://pic.twitter.com/BkO3qtPSbF

— Roy Wood Jr- Ex Jedi (@roywoodjr) September 18, 2017

Then he told us his favorite artists from when he was a kid:

Last week, the Celtics shared their favorite music to listen to in high school... Rozier: Gucci Mane Jaylen: OutKast Baynes: Eminem Hayward: Eminem Morris: Boys II Men, Jay Z Horford: Maná Kyrie: RENT and Phantom of the Opera

— Boston.com Celtics News (@BDCCeltics) December 19, 2017

Irving told Bleacher Report about how he became awake after going vegan:

"It works," Irving tells B/R Mag. "I mean, I'm not eating a whole bunch of animals anymore. Once you become awake, you don't see that stuff anymore."

There’s a lot to even dissect just from his Instagram bio:

Kyrie Irving was entirely himself in 2017, and created a brand as the NBA’s quirky guy seven years into his career. He’s a full-package superstar now, leading a team of youngsters atop the Eastern Conference all while being the center of attention he couldn’t receive in Cleveland.

His numbers are nearly identical to what they were a season ago, averaging 25 points, five assists and three rebounds, but as an improved defensive guard, Boston is rolling with him at the helm. Maybe they’re just woke.

2017 was the year of Kyrie Irving.

[lexidem-blog]

dreams: parallel universes. kinda like a video game; each level was a crazier world. one was this beautiful pastel gradient one w/ these tall beautiful alien ladies bouncing on big pastel spheres. then i used the taxi service which was run by “kind demons” and u had to tell them which hill to take u to and then they just appeared and u were there but everything was fuzzy and dark blue and it took about two seconds n u were dropped off and took a few minutes to be conscious again. giant phone book full of hill names. bag w/ it as bottom. xbox game theif rides in a tropical place. paddle to the other side of the lagoon and then there was a ride i’m little boats w/ like half real half plastic ducks on it. running into the ocean but it was really hot water i was at a family party in a huge backyard and there were sooooo many dogs!! but then it was june and cold and ppl were trying to swim a dream that adele michaela madi and taylor kept being rly rly rude and then were acting like i was being ridiculous for being upset. carol was angry then agreed with them. adele would ignore me whenever i spoke. then later taylor apologized and said i was right n we were in a relationship so it was like back in high school and she made out w/ me and then i was like “ur straight” and told her abt her future and she was like no way i’m in love w/ u n i was like yea but ur straight in the future lol jordan skype showing me t-shirt’s all ugly she was annoyed in big weird space hbd mackenzie emoji straight to 😎 from ❤ lily frankle loook for vid dt n amusement park makeup skipping laughing feet in holes. racing game grandmom real cars. purple mascara. til mirror. lots of tickets. amy talking about marriages florence across table “knew you’d choose jordan” told her i didn’t choose her two dreams about florence’s parents checking in on me & one miimz checking i wouldn’t kill myself but angrily hours: 9 big confusing party was cuddling two girls then graduation but swim i got low place in figures b/c it was split into junior senior but one award set. then hiding but it was m n okay but then they like lost it b/c i held them too tight cuddling. also video games chris beds idk. then i think chris was antagonist. two submarines battling. kept shrinking ourselves but we were inside antagonists lair n breaking all the like dinosaur skeletons. halloween costumes mom orange wig. downstairs laundry  washing bloodstained gown using bar soaps scrubbing. surrounded by half dead little girls doing same woke up in a cold sweat i couldn’t shake b/c all the blankets are cold n damp too. very long dream moving to africa to study abroad. still don’t know what country in africa. started by visiting to see if i’d like it disney style thing could see coronado springs. stranger things kids? then was home n there was maybe gonna be a storm so i was gonna miss my flight but made it. iphone has stopped working so was using my env3 but then phone started working. michaela and other swim ppl were there again saw her friend got bad vibes she got annoyed and i said all her friends still give off mean popular kid vibes. purple lit tunnel after long security/suitcase weird stuff. took like 7 different flights to get to the right country. u could see soooooo many stars and a huge planet and it was on the sea n there were so many mountains. then i had one i was at this place on rollerckatser w/ these girls from a glasgow band and they wanted to be my friend. the one was vegan and knew like ellie’s friends. then i was in this shop thing then a hut and some guy was fingering me and everyone was like “no that’s their job” these like beautiful ethereal women that lived in the water next to the shop. then i lived w/ han n cal n ppl and was tucking them into bed n we were having vegan food n wine also a part w/ a trick where id be chained in the middle of this part and tricked other ppl into me being set free n then ran to find a bus but they were all taking ages then bethany was there more cold sweat 13 hours don’t remember which night. started in moms house and kept feeling stressed. was w/ other ppl and went in an elevator kept checking around each corner. turned out main characters sister was villain and had made it so every time u went in a different room u went into this disorienting like parallel universe and back. walked towards evil sisters hub and hid in jewelry store that was closed for the night. could make self invisible. turned out sister had made eating meat a requirement for her followers? i (main character now?) revealed that she was evil and everything was okay. scaffolding ? climbing. something about a little boy (my child?) none. two hours sleep. i was in a little shelter and held a teeny tiny baby german shepard and pet an american eskimo but their fur was v matted. i was on my moms street and taylor and i were laying down and holding hands and men kept being like “ooooh”. then we were at a party and it was the weirdest mix of people in this weird space that looking back seems maybe. spacestationy? idk how else to describe it. but then i went to the kitchen and it was p normal but like huge and american and laura was there and she was being v sweet as usual and i was talking about baking and left to go to this other meet up thing. these 3 people there wanted me to make them v specific huge drawings in chalk pastel. one of the people was michael from IT who wanted it to be of his one professor and he had a photo of him in his pocket in an envelope. we were about to clean up the cakes n all but then i remembered i needed to grab stuff from this other stall (they were in like fair-esque stalls) and the lady in charge gave me the key and it was like this old cottage and when i went inside i felt like. suffocated. b/c it was rly hot and stuffy. but grabbed my stuff (two stone carvings of giraffes, two of a smaller animal, and two of lions that i realized were poorly done w/ the mane so i was like oh man i’m gonna put fur over them to fix the manes) they were v heavy and i held them in my shirt folded up like a child. the one girl kept saying she needed the chalk pastel thing by tomorrow n i was stressed 10 hrs. i was back w/ florence n hanging w/ her and miimz and we were all v happy very stressful. one w/ big bridge. driving. one w firefly patrol jordan replied. i was rly angry. also she cut her hair soooo short went to cheesecake factory. they said i couldn’t eat alone. was like wow i gotta tell marte at a play w/ like alice. walking down the stairs. colonial british men. teal set on stage. had to go to bathroom. amy and leah woke up and if rainbow reflected mckenzie room plants  then on bed w/o her and tab but pad all over the bed trump was paying me to meet up gave me £700 florence mom debt angry dorney water park uber 2 stars

Brie