#you have no idea how great it feels to be established in my career

[confusedsimblr]

On one hand, I love my job. It feels like I was made for my career and I enjoy it nearly every day. On the other hand, I am so damn tired

[zaczenemiji]

Hi! Just saw your request are open. I thought it would be a great to request a OS of Kenji Sato x Fem! Reader.

I got inspired by that song of "Too Sweet" from Hozier and I got the idea of how good is Reader with Emi, (since she knows he's Ultraman and also raises a baby Kaiju alone) such a Sunshine, even Emi sees her as a new maternal figure, he thinks she's too sweet, getting the idea of having kids with her but having the thought she deserves better.

But she thinks on the contrary, he's such a bad boy with a good heart. If you wanna add more things, it's up to you. I'll leave it to your imagination. Take your time and no need to rush. Take care.

Too Good, Too True

Kenji Sato x Reader

Word Count: 1,456

Genre/Warnings: Established Relationship, Found Family

Author’s Note: Particularly in love with this one, and Too Sweet plays rent-free in my head.

MASTERLIST

You know everything about Kenji: his past—the reason he’s distant from his dad, his secret—that he’s Ultraman, and his love child the 20-foot-tall kaiju baby in his basement.

You guys have been together for a long while now, even before everyone knew him as Ken Sato, the baseball star—the one whose name dominates the headlines.

With millions of adoring fans, you’re grateful you still have a place in his life. At first, there was a looming thought at the back of your head that tells you how easily replaceable you are.

No matter how you repress the thought, the fact remains that it is true. Who are you when compared to Kenji? You weren’t a model, an icon, a singer, or the daughter of a CEO—like all the other women waiting in line for him.

You were just… you. Simply (y/n) in her soft pastel and floral dresses. You don’t own a lot either, just a flower shop in LA. Your favorite hobby is tending to your garden where you grew the flowers that you sold.

All of your issues regarding this have long been resolved since Kenji has always been quick to reassure you of his love. That to him, everything and anyone else pails in comparison to you. He wishes you knew your impact on his life.

You have always been his breath of fresh air. It started at college during his baseball trainings, he’d wait for a certain girl to pass by. His eyes were always quick to find you among your group of friends.

On his games, you were his number one cheerleader. Your friends and his teammates were always so surprised to see the quiet dainty girl that you were yelling and cheering for his name.

Back when his mom was around, you got along with her so well. Kenji would find you and his mom in their kitchen baking cakes and making cute little pastries.

His mom loved having you around. You were always welcome at his house. When she found out that you were an international student who flew to LA alone and lived in a dorm, she almost wanted to adopt you.

But ain’t no way Kenji wanted to be just a brother in your life.

Many things have changed since then. In becoming a baseball star, half of his life was no longer private. In becoming Ultraman, his responsibilities were no longer limited to that of his career and personal life. And in becoming a daddy to a kaiju baby, he realized you deserve better.

You came over to his house every day to visit Emi. He admired your patience with her and how you were always a ray of sunshine to everyone, including a kaiju. And you’re not afraid of playing with her even if she could literally crush you out of nowhere.

You’d come over with fresh flowers picked from your parents’ garden. You’d make big flower crowns just for Emi and smaller ones for yourself and Mina.

Today was a particularly rough day as Kenji got home from a game. You wanted to accompany him today but he insisted for you to watch over Emi. He has been feeling like shit lately, not knowing what to do with Emi and his declining performance in his games.

Upon passing by the kitchen table, he sees a can of his favorite fizzy drink. Under it, a note. He lifted the can and read, “left this up here so mina won’t see (｡- .•)”

For the first time that day, he smiled. You’ve always told him how lucky you thought you were for being with someone as great as him. But the truth is, it’s the other way around.

In one go, he finished his drink so he could immediately head down to see you. You and Mina were too busy playing with Emi to notice him. He stayed at the lounge where he could see you from the other side of the glass.

There you were, beautiful, with flowers adorning your hair. You looked so pure and innocent. Your gentle demeanor had always put him at ease.

Your expressive eyes looked up at Emi in an attempt to communicate beyond words. Kenji loved your eyes. They were always filled with warmth and kindness but when you look at him, all he sees is love.

On the contrary, there’s him. He and his troubled past.

He is distant from his dad, wanting little to no connection with him. If it wasn’t for his mom, he wouldn’t have returned to Japan.

You weren’t like that. You had a good relationship with your parents. You deserve someone who could give you and your future children the same kind of environment you grew up in—peaceful and without the fear of the possibility that one day, your husband might not come home.

He worries he’d be like his dad, absent. He is Ultraman now. His duties would one day require him to be away, sometimes without notice and for extended periods. You deserve someone who can be there for you consistently.

He is constantly under the scrutiny of the public eye, both as Ultraman and the baseball star that he is. And the public is not often gentle. You deserve a private and peaceful life, away from the criticisms of society.

Kenji loves you dearly, he really does. But oftentimes, he thinks he’s not the best person for you. He thinks you deserve someone who can offer you a simpler and safer life.

Too deep in his thoughts, he failed to notice you enter the room. The kiss you gave on his cheek pulled him back to reality.

“Tough day?” You asked, sitting beside him on the couch.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But I’m okay now. You’re here now.” He turned to look at you, his rest.

“Would you like to talk about your day?” You asked, reaching out to brush strands of his hair away from his face.

He shook his head. “I’d like to hear about yours first.”

You smiled, excited to tell him what you planned on doing. Since he’s staying here in Japan for good, you thought you would too. The flower shop in LA would be left in a good friend’s care. And here, you thought of working as a kindergarten teacher. You had doubts before but after being able to take care of Emi and enjoying it, you were now sure that this is the kind of job for you.

Kenji’s expression shifted upon knowing this. A shadow of doubt crossed his face. “What’s wrong?” you asked. “Do you not approve?”

“You deserve better,” he said, eyes falling downward before turning away to lean properly on the couch.

Confused, you leaned back as well. “Better job?” You asked. “Kenji, I think this is the bes—“

“Better than a guy who’s got a kaiju baby to take care of and a past, present, and future that’s complicated,” he continued his earlier statement, cutting you mid-sentence.

You were shocked. You never expected him to feel this way. You felt bad because for every time he assured you of his love, you failed to realize that he needed reassurance too.

“Oh no, Kenji,” you said. You turned his face to look at you, cupping it with both of your hands. “You’re a good man.”

“I’m worried, (y/n),” he said softly. “I worry that I can’t give you the life you deserve.“

He wants to marry you, he truly does. He dreamed of having children with you, teaching them, watching them grow. And when all is done, living the rest of his life with you.

When he passes by jewelry stores, he always thinks of you. He’d get in, and browse their selection of rings, but thinking of how you’re too sweet for him holds him back from buying.

"You're the best man for me, Kenji. Not despite your past and your duties, but because of them. They've shaped you into the person I love,” you told him.

“You're a wonderful father to Emi. And if you ever wanted more—if you ever wanted us to be more,” you leaned in to press your forehead on his. “I know you'll be an amazing father because of how you love me every day.”

Kenji closed his eyes, leaning into your touch, the tension slowly leaving his body. "You really believe that?"

"Every word," you said softly. "You are my home, Kenji. As long as we're together, I'm not afraid of anything."

He opened his eyes, looking at you with a mixture of relief and gratitude. "Thank you, (y/n),” he said. “I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You'll never have to find out," you replied, pulling him into a tight embrace.

Taglist is open! Comment if u wanna be tagged on future Kenji oneshots

@flowerloves

[leviscolwill]

sanctuary

pairing: jude bellingham x f1 driver!reader

summary: after an eventful singapore gp, the only thing you can think of is your comfy bed but your body has another plan and your boyfriend isn't happy about that. [wc: 1,6k]

req: Ferrari driver reader x jude where she feels a bit dizzy after a race and kind of faints when they get at the hotel, like just fluff with him taking care of her + CAN YOU WRITE JUDE ANGST THEN FLUFF IDC ABT THE SCENARIO JS JUDE ANGST IN JUDE X DRIVER READER 🙏🙏

contents: established relationship, charles is reader's teammate, ferrari being good au (impossible ik), reader faints, jude is a worried bf, barely has angst ngl 🏃‍♀️, nothing else i think

note: i have no idea how to write about fainting and it probably shows. ALSO, i wrote most of this at 1am so i hope it makes sense (probably doesn't but we move😪)

now playing: sanctuary by joji (nectar)

usually you would say you absolutely loved singapore. the track was one of your favourites on the calendar and you practically counted down the days to this race. but this week was probably the most difficult of your entire career in motorsports. of course, marina bay had never been an easy race, and the weather conditions in singapore were only making it harder to handle. but this year, no number of ice bath and cold shower could appease the dizzying headache that plagued your weekend.

and to add to that, everyone at the team has been stressing you out about the championship. obviously, you were grateful that you could finally fight for one, ferrari had built the perfect car this season. but this came with a price, fighting against charles for the title. you were great friends with your teammate but you had to admit your relationship took a toll with the constant tension between the two of you throughout the season. anyone wearing a bright red kit kept reminding you that you needed to be careful on track, that if you crashed with anyone, but especially with charles, you'd be in great trouble.

thankfully your boyfriend joined you after qualifying, and made your weekend instantly better. he noticed something was wrong right away. of course, you told jude about your struggles but he didn't expect to find you in this state.

"maybe you shouldn't race tomorrow..?"

you took a glance at jude, laid down on the hotel room bed, to check if he actually meant what he just uttered only to find a very serious look on his face.

"yeah, i'll just call fred to tell him i'm feeling sick and don't care about the championship anymore, that's definitely the best choice i have." sarcasm dripped out of your words as jude rolled his eyes.

"just because you had a bad day, doesn't mean you have to give me an attitude." it was your turn to roll your eyes. you quietly got under the sheets and muttered a barely audible 'goodnight', clearly not having the energy to argue with him tonight.

as you closed your eyes you felt jude turn around to wrap you in his arms around you.

"i'm just worried for my girl, that's all." he said, softly kissing your hair. you turned around to face him, having to trace his face before finding his lips because of the darkness of the room, and pressed a quick kiss on his lips.

"i appreciate your concern, i really do. but this race is so much more important than a silly headache. i'll be okay." you kissed him again for good measure. "you're gonna have to trust me with this one."

"i always trust you." the two of you talked some more before falling asleep in each other's arms.

—

the only thing you could think of when you stepped out of your car was your bed. as expected the race had been particularly draining and truth be told, you didn't know if you would be able to stand on the podium in your state. you managed to score a satisfying p2, well it would have been more satisfying if charles wasn't standing on the highest step of the podium, with a 4-point difference before catching on you in the driver's standing.

when the whole team congratulated you on your results, it felt like you were in a fever dream, barely making out what was real and what wasn't. you didn't even notice jude talking to you before he snapped his fingers in front of you.

"are you okay ? should i take you to the medics ?" he asked in a worried tone.

"i'm alright... just need to get through the podium." which did not happen. you ran off stage as soon as the italian anthem stopped ringing in your ears. it was all too much, the heat, the noise, the exhaustion, the pressure. all too much to handle for you.

when you joined jude, he was already talking with your pr manager, telling her you wouldn't be able to do any media work right now. it was the truth, not a petty lie to get away with it. you genuinely felt even more lightheaded (if that was possible) at the sole thought of having to go through a dozen interviews.

seeing you barely standing straight must have conceived her, so soon enough you were on your way back to the hotel in a cab jude called.

you quietly laid your head on jude's shoulder. he barely said a word to you since the podium incident, only asking how you felt, if you drank enough water, and how many hours of sleep you had. you watched him as he typed things on his phone in total silence. you wondered if he was mad at you for putting yourself in such a situation or only worried. regardless, you felt a pang of sadness in your heart thinking about it before drifting off.

—

as soon as jude opened your hotel room's door, you felt your legs giving up on you, your hands found the wall to steady yourself. you could hear jude's voice but couldn't make out what he was saying, like you were underwater.

you tried making it to the bed, but you fell down on your knees and just propped your back against it, waiting a minute before getting up, to get your head to stop spinning uncontrollably.

"y/n. are you okay ?" you felt your boyfriend kneeling down next to you and could finally understand his words, but it felt like they were resonating in your brain, only worsening your headache.

"i'm fine, i'm fine... i just need a moment." you didn't want to worry jude more than he already was, although the weak tone of your voice alarmed him more than anything. you felt him shift around you, and caught a glimpse of him coming back from the bathroom before your eyes shut.

when you woke up, you were laid on the bed with a wet cloth on your forehead. and the first thing you saw was a wide-eyed jude handing you a glass of water.

"i thought about making you drink when you were... asleep? but i didn't want to drown you. so i waited for you to wake up." he was talking fast, too fast for you to fully understand his nonsense.

"hello to you too." your voice was still weak but you felt much better than at the race track. you quickly took a few sips of water before jude tried drowning you for good.

"what's that ?" you asked pointing at the cloth still laying on your face.

"some website said that's what you're supposed to do when your irresponsible girlfriend faints." you hid your face in your pillow at his accusatory words.

"no, but seriously y/n. do you have any idea of how worried i was ? imagine if something wrong happened. god, i knew i shouldn't have let you race..." his words had an angry tone to them and you were confused as to why jude was mad at you over hypothetical scenarios.

"but nothing wrong happened, i even got points. are you not proud of me ?"

"are you being serious right now ? you know i'm always proud of you, points or no points. but you think i'm gonna clap for you after putting yourself in danger like that ?" jude's tone got somewhat angrier but he kept going.

"fuck, when you fainted i already saw myself explaining everything to your mum. you can't take those risks, especially when you drive a fast car for a living. you can understand that right ?"

you felt tears well up in your eyes at his words, thinking about how worried he must have been this whole time.

"i'm sorry, it's just... i've been thinking about the championship a lot. i guess that clouded my judgment." you wiped away your tears quickly, before jude could notice them but it was too late.

"hey, hey, hey... you shouldn't be saying sorry to me, you probably spent a worse weekend than i did anyway. i'm not mad at you but at the situation, alright ?" his fingers stroke the wet spots under your eyes, wiping what was left of your tears away. "i'm proud of you, and happy for your points. but you're not winning a championship by making your dangerous job even more dangerous." his voice and his eyes were soft and you felt your chest get significantly warmer.

"you're right..." the room got silent for a couple seconds at your words.

"what was that ? i couldn't hear you babe" jude had a shit-eating grin on his face and you knew exactly what he wanted, and it almost made you physically sick to give him this satisfaction.

"i said... you'reright." you tried getting those terrible words out as fast as you could, but he wasn't happy with that.

"mmh mmh, that won't do... say it nice and loud for me love." you felt your face heat up, both in fluster and embarrassment at his words.

"you're right." your words had a defeated tone to them, but jude decided that would be enough by the way he didn't taunt you anymore.

he moved and got under the covers with you, even though you were gonna have to get up again as you were both still dressed. he just wanted to share this little moment of peace with you.

"you know, it's crazy how you drive the fastest car in the world but can't survive singapore's heat for a weekend." you playfully elbowed jude's ribs at his teasing.

you were grateful to have someone like jude to support you and your intense lifestyle, but also someone to talk about silly little things, legs tangled under the sheets.

[seemycee]

|WHY I THINK NICKI MINAJ IS A VIRGO RISING AND NOT AN AQUARIUS RISING| 🧠✍🏾🤬💆🏾‍♀️

- so just like many celebrities nicki minaj’s birth time is unknown. many people have speculated she’s an aquarius rising due to her wearing eccentric outfits from 2010-2012 and the fact she would have an 11th house stellium to explain her fanbase and scorpio 10h to make her infamous. nothing else explaining her personality, career choice, why’s she’s a talented rapper, or her childhood. so i’m going to explain why i think she’s a virgo rising and before somebody starts foaming at the mouth these are just my opinion and ideas, not FACT! (also i prefer old rulership but neptune, pluto, and urnaus will be used)

4TH HOUSE IN SAGITTARIUS: 🏡✈️🏚️

- nicki minaj was born in trinidad on december 8th, 1982 making her a sagittarius sun. her mother and father left trinidad sometime while she was a toddler to establish a new life in america. leaving her and older brother jelani in the care of her grandmother. when she was 5, her parents sent for her and her brother and they quickly moved to the u.s where they lived in a two family home. nicki minaj’s mother carol owned this two family home and the family lived upstairs but had to eventually move downstairs which was smaller in order to rent out the upstairs to families to make ends meet. eventually the house was burnt down by nicki’s father. nicki minaj spent a great deal of her childhood creating characters to escape the reality of the world she was living in at the time. her father was abusive towards her mother due to him becoming victim of the crack epidemic of the 1980s.

- nicki minaj has uranus in her 4h and in modern day astrology uranus represents sudden changes. so it being in her 4h (home) manifested in her domestic life constantly changing. her 4h being ruled by sagittarius could be seen as an indication of why she emigrated from trinidad to the u.s since sagittarius is known as the traveler in astrology and the 4h represents the home. nicki minaj’s father being a drug addict and her using made up characters and living in a fantasy land to combat her fathers erratic behavior. can be seen by the presence of neptune in the 4h and it being conjunct her 10h (father) ruler (mercury) since neptune rules over delusions (fantasy land) and addictions (crack addiction). might i add nicki minaj too has also battled with addiction and that would make sense aswell because neptune would also be conjunct her chart ruler (mercury) and neptune is very prominent in charts of people prone to addictions.

- nicki minaj is a homebody she prefers to be in the comfort of her home and in the presence of her family. she has expressed over the years how she doesn’t like to attend industry events to barbz dismay who constantly want her to be at fashion shows or at different award shows. she even famously said in her song freedom “i’m not into fake industry parties or fake agendas”. ice spice recently even said while filming the barbie world video with nicki minaj she had her whole family in the trailer with her all day and a year prior coi leray said the same thing while shooting the blick blick video. i personally think this is because she has a great chunk of her core planets in her 4h (sun, moon, mercury, & venus) especially her venus cause that indicates a strong love for her family and sun (self) is tied to her family since it’s sitting the 4h. also 4h people tend to not like being “out there” cause it’s makes them uncomfortable. which makes sense cause most of their planets would be opposite the mc which is opposite the ic which is in the 4h. whatever is conjunct your ic you do not feel comfortable showing with the public (mc). which also makes sense for nicki minaj who hasn’t even shared the name of her child with the public.

- nicki minaj also has shown a great love for her homeland trinidad despite living their very briefly. that can also be a manifestation of sun in the 4h, cause people with this placement tend to be very patriotic or in other words proud of their homeland. also her mercury cause that rules over communication and since its sitting in her 4h it would make sense for her to love to talk about where she’s from.

3RD HOUSE IN SCORPIO: 🗣️🤬🧠

- okay so i never understood why people call virgo risings rude until i learned about them having 3h in scorpio. as we know scorpio is traditionally ruled by mars and mars isn’t a very loving or nurturing planet, in-fact it’s very aggressive and domineering. so virgo rising tend to be very blunt and straightforward with communicating, not really caring if they hurt people’s feelings or not. especially when they’re bothered by someone or something these mars ruled 3rd housers will smite you with their words. they can also have a problem with pushing their ideas and opinions on to people, kinda having a my way or the highway attitude about it. also they tend to be very dirty minded individuals once you get to know them, cause mars also rules over sexual desires. but even with all that being said people tend to value what virgo rising have to say constantly coming back for their opinions even if it’s not what they wanted to hear.

- I feel like this resonates so much with nicki minaj cause everytime she speaks her mind people are automatically put off. often labeling her as rude, a b*tch, and egotistical. she even famously said “if i am assertive, im a b*tch” on her my time now documentary. last year (2022) nicki was on live two separate times with two female rappers (coi leray and jt of the city girls) giving them career advice. literally after both lives, clips were being posted online and people were speaking about how nicki spoke to them, making her seem as if she were being condescending to them. those girls took nicki minaj’s advice and their careers flourished. coi leray no longer had thin skin dealing with the public and stopped letting them hinder her from releasing music. jt built a brand outside the city girls, even dropping a solo single that she was afraid to drop cause she didn’t feel confident standing alone.

- nicki minaj is also known for asking explicit questions when she’s doing queen radio or just being on live with people. recently she asked kai cenat what his favorite position was. 😭

9H IN TAURUS: 🎤🎨🎭

- nicki minaj attended la laguardia high school of music & art and performing arts from 1996-2000. she originally wanted to be a singer but failed her singing audition for the school but got in due to her passing the drama audition.

the 9h rules over higher education but astrologers do debate if high school should be categorized in the 3h or 9h. so again take everything i say with a grain of salt.

- i think this is really self explanatory but her going to school (9h) originally for singing (taurus) just makes a lot of sense. cause the sign taurus is venus ruled and venus rules over all arts.

- also minaj has a venus ruled 2h (libra) and that can show a beautiful singing voice but quality of her singing is afflicted due to the presence of pluto here.

TALENT AND HOBBIES:🤹🏽‍♀️🎨✍🏾

- nicki minaj is a talented rapper known for her complex lyrics and many different styles of rap. wether she’s being sexually explicit, dissing her rivals, being emotionally vulnerable, or just being boastful. she’s able to do it all. she’s even dabbled outside of the “hip-hop” sound incorporating many different genres of music in her artistry.

- so let’s go back to the 3h since it rules over all forms of communication even writing. a lot of writers have a prominent 3h because the 3h deals with the mind. to be a writer it takes a lot brainstorming to come up with different ideas to write about. nicki minaj has jupiter and saturn in the 3h. with jupiter the planet of expansion in here, i can see somebody who has a lot going on in their mind and is very knowledgeable when it comes to knowing things. nicki minaj is a rapper and she constantly makes references to people, places, and things. with saturn being here aswell i can see that communications wasn’t something she was good at when she first started but over time she got better with it. this can definitely be seen throughout her career with all her different musical efforts. she even spoke about how lil wayne used to get mad with her cause she would take days to write verses (slow moving saturn). eventually nicki minaj learned how to write verses within one studio session.

- then the ruler of her 3h (mars) is in her 5h (creativity, talent, hobbies). which can show he she expresses her creativity through her writing (rapping). since her 3h ruler also shares rulers with the 8h she can transforms herself through her writing since the 8h rules over transformation. which makes sense cause nicki minaj often transforms herself into different alter egos when performing her raps. it can also explain why she’s sexually charged in her music since the 8h deals with sex and so does her 8h ruler that is situated in the 5h. also nicki minaj didn’t take rapping seriously at first, it was a hobby of hers that she later turned into a career. lastly since mars is associated with anger, confidence, combativeness, and competitiveness. it shows why nicki minaj disses her enemies in her raps and why she continues to remind her competitors why she’s the reigning queen of hip-hop.

- also something i wanted to add since we’re talking about the 3h and 5h. nicki minaj did two songs with ice spice who is a confirmed virgo rising (via herself). she’s also a capricorn sun and mercury. both those planets fall into nicki’s 5h of creativity, making it easy for nicki to collab with her multiple times. also she said what drew her to ice spice was her voice (mercury) and individuality (sun)

6H & 10H: 👩🏾‍💼🏆✨

- nicki minaj began her rap career apart of a group called the “hoodstarz” in 2003. they were your run of the mill rap group following the rap trends of that time even minaj having a more aggressive rap delivery reminiscent of females rappers she listened to in the 90s (lil kim, foxy brown, queen latifah, ect). during the time in the group minaj had been offered pre-written lyrics which minaj constantly rejected. her reasoning was because she never wanted anyone to be able to say they wrote for her, like past female rappers and the simple fact that rappers are suppose to write their own raps. to this day minaj still stands on this belief and it has become intertwined with her career.

- in 2007 nicki minaj released her first mixtape entitled “playtime is over”, where she began rapping in a more feminine & seductive tone of voice with sexually charged lyrics. which wasn’t uncommon in female rap at the time but minaj’s delivery is what set her apart from her peers who used a more aggressive approach. after, minaj worked on and released two mixtapes where she started introducing alter egos one being called “nicki lewinsky” the name being a play on monica lewinsky who is notoriously known for engaging in sexual activities with president bill clinton. this alter ego was just nicki minaj being sexually explicit. another being the “harajuku barbie” later known as just “barbie” is minaj super hyper feminine side often rapping in a prissy voice and rapping about things that would be seen as boujee. this alter ego is famously tied to the nicki minaj brand, often associating her with the doll of the same name and the color pink.

- minaj gained a social media following which eventually led to her being signed by young money entertainment. prior to this minaj was offered deals in which she turned down because she didn’t want to sign a 360 deal, a deal that is famously known to hinder artist finically and restrict them artistically.

- after signing minaj began working on her debut album and doing features. in which she famously debuted her rap alter ego “roman” who she describes as a gay man that lives inside her who wants to attack everyone. through this alter ego minaj lets out her aggression, often using this alter ego to bash critics and diss her enemies.

- also during this time, minaj started wearing outfits that were unconventional for a hip-hop artist and deemed as “camp”. minaj has never explained why she wore these outfits i’m guessing it was to garner attention. she herself despises her look from that era of her career. lastly minaj started dabbling in other genres of music and gaining more success from doing so. she famously is known for her crossover rap/pop music which at the time alienated her from the hip-hop community cause it was seen as something taboo.

- minaj has become the highest selling/most successful female rapper ever. having the most chart entries on the hot 100 among female rappers, a diamond single, and all 4 of her studio albums certified platinum or higher. her career didn’t just stay in music, minaj has dipped her hands in many pots. from acting to voice acting, from having multiple clothing lines to having multiple perfume lines, and from owning an alcoholic beverage to owning a gaming app. she even appeared as a judge on the tv show american idol. minaj has done it all and continues to expand her brand.

- if nicki minaj was a virgo rising she would have aquarius in the 6h which could explain her unconventional approach to female rap which would be her job. her 6h ruler (saturn) is in the 3h which shows a constant need of mental stimulation in her workplace. i feel like that shows with nicki minaj constantly coming up with new ideas for her genre bending music. i also feel as though the aquarius 6h shows why minaj is against ghost writers and 360 deals, cause these are forms conforming. the sign aquarius is often associated with being rebellious, and unconventional which is a major theme in nicki minaj’s career and daily life.

- minaj’s mc would possibly be in gemini and that just fits her so much. the signs gemini is associated with communication cause it’s ruler mercury. so people with a gemini mc’s often have careers that allow them to use their voice. nicki minaj is a rapper with her mc ruler (mercury) conjuct venus which explains why she chose a career in music, after all rap is “rhythm and poetry”. gemini is a mutable sign and mutable placements are able to adapt and change. the sign gemini is often associated with the saying “jack of all trades, master of none” due to the sign’s love of learning many different subjects. so this can speak to nicki minaj dabbling in many different ventures outside of music.

- also her mc, ascendant, and ascendant ruler are all in mutable signs (gemini,virgo, sagittarius). minaj is constantly changing her look, sound, and public persona with each era of music.

- i forgot to mention above but minaj is constantly being misunderstood by the public, resulting in her being controversial. this is probably due to her mc ruler (mercury) being opposite her mc in its detrimental sign of sagittarius.

11H IN CANCER: 🫂🌙✨

- the 11H in astrology deals with friends, fans, influence, manifesting, technology, financial gains, social networking, and many many many more things.

- nicki minaj’s fans are notoriously known for being vicious towards anyone who speaks ill on nicki minaj. this makes sense cause nicki minaj’s 11h is in cancer and cancer is ruled by the moon, so her fans would want to nurture and protect her. her moon is in an exact trine with mars which can show her fans more toxic and aggressive approach to defending her. it can also show why nicki minaj was able to build a fan base through social media (myspace) cause again her 3H ruler (mars) is in trine with her 11th house ruler and the 3h rules social media in astrology.

- her 11h ruler is also in the 1h. i feel as though this can be interpreted as nicki minaj gaining popularity and influencing others with her appearance. nicki minaj had everybody and their mothers wearing pink streaks in their hair and rocking barbie chains. she also infamously influenced a trend in female rap where female rappers get their bodies done to be more appealing. recently nicki wore crocs in a ig photo and increased croc sales by 4,900%. another example of a female artist with this placement would be madonna, who is a rumored virgo rising. madonna’s style had so much influence during the 1980s, which led to time magazine writing an article about it and coining the phrase “madonna wannabe”.

- minaj would also have her northnode in the 11h as well. this makes sense cause the northnode represents your life’s purpose and it being in her 11h indicates how she was suppose to impact society. nicki minaj’s career showed record labels how marketable female rappers can be after them giving up on signing female rappers prior to minaj’s debut. this has led to record labels signing multiple female rappers even one label atlantic records trying to sign female rappers to go against minaj.

- outside of female rap, in 2016 nicki minaj won a case that allowed artist’s streams to count towards their album sales and single sales. allowing artist old or new, to receive certifications for their work.

APPEARANCE: 💇🏾‍♀️👁️🫦

- before i jump into the appearance i wanted to state that nicki minaj did get her body done but not her face. she also got her body done because she felt insecure seeing all the women lil wayne had around in the studio who had big butts. lil wayne would talk about big butts to other men around her all the time. so she felt like she wasn’t desirable cause she didn’t have a big butt. this makes sense cause lil wayne would have a stellium in her 2h (sun, mercury, saturn) and in astrology the 2h deals with self esteem so people who have placements here can literally make you feel unstoppable or make you feel like complete shit. she also has her chart ruler (mercury) conjunct neptune, making it prominent in her chart and neptune prominent people are more likely to get surgery.

- also, not all virgo rising dress alike. we’re not all trying to look like a librarian who lives in a cabin. ice spice, kurt kobian, and chole bailey are all virgo risings do they look like librarians?!!?! so whoever started that stereotype is not seeing the golden gates. if you want to see somebodies aesthetic it’s best to look at their venus sign.

- so virgo rising tend to have diamond shape heads

- dainty facial features with the nose being the most prominent feature

- expressive eyes

- youthful appearance

- defined face especially the jaw but not harshly defined, some say its like if you gave a baby facial structure

- high cheek bones

- symmetrical features

- proportional body

so below i’m gonna include pictures of nicki minaj from her 20s which is considered your physical prime before you start aging

|IN CONCLUSION|

- we don’t know what nicki minaj’s rising sign at the moment but i will bet money it’s not a damn aquarius rising. i was looking at the charts of her lovers and husband and their placements would make sense in this hypothetical chart i’ve made so i might make a post about that. - seemy 💕

© seemy cee 2023 all rights reserved

[anthroamazed]

tips for stem majors in math and science courses (spoonie + neurodivergent friendly)

hi y’all! my nameis lila and i’m a 28 year old physics and anthropology major who’s about 2 years through college (in the US)! as we’re coming up on the start of the fall ‘23 college semester, i thought i might share some really solid hacks for fellow STEM students taking science and/or math courses that i’ve basically built my college academic career on. and! these study tips are spoonie and adhd friendly! as a matter of fact, a lot of these are tips/methods that specifically work for me as a neurodivergent spoonie (i have pretty severe adhd, as well as POTS and ME/CFS), but that i think non-disabled/non-spoonie and/or neurotypical students could also benefit from using! so with out any further ado, here are my 7 tried and true study hacks for college math and science classes…

1) discover your learning style and tailor your studying towards leveraging it.

you’ve probably heard of visual, audio, and kinesthetic learning styles, but did you now there’s actually way more learning styles than just those three? i’m personally a “social learner,” meaning i learn best through discussion and socialization with 1+ other people to interact with. this could look like teaching other classmates concepts and methods that we’ve learned or discussing ideas with classmates and/or professors until i fully understand the concepts at play and how they connect and can reflect them in performing analysis and application, etc. honestly, figuring out my learning style was hands down one of the most helpful things i’ve done in college. it has allowed me to choose professors who i will mesh better with in terms of how they teach, as well as to adapt materials and methods to my style of learning in order to master them quicker and more effectively.

2) rewrite your notes after lecture, for the love of god.

this tip actually comes from my high school IB Math HL teacher, who told me to do this when i originally left high school for college. even if you think you’ve mastered the basics of the topic covered during the lecture, rewriting those notes after lecture helps really hammer in the knowledge that you’ve already established and also helps to get the wheels turning on pieces of information you might have less of a grasp on. try tp set aside at least 30 - 40 minutes after class to just rewrite your notes and try to really digest the information.

3) body doubling is one of the most beneficial things ever to be invented even if you’re not adhd, and i WILL die on that hill, thank you very much.

“body doubling” or “having an accountabilibuddy” are interchangeable terms in the adhd community that mean you have one or more consistent study buddy/buddies who you do all the homework and/or studying with in person on a regular basis, even if you’re just working next to each other in total silence. this does a couple of things. first off, it forces homework/assignments/studying to become a concrete social obligation you need to regularly show up for, rather than a nebulous obligation based on an invisible deadline. second off, it gives you 1+ partners to work out your problems concerning course topics with. third off, it allows you to build a network of peers where you feel comfortable helping each other with course material (this is especially great because it’s likely you and your classmates have different strengths regarding course content). tbh, body doubling is the other method that i, personally, have found most useful in college and i highly recommend trying it, even if you don’t have adhd.

4) teach others/your classmates the analysis and application methods you’ve learned, even if those methods aren’t 100% solidified for you (trust me on this).

the goal of stem courses is never memorization, but rather being able to understand a topic well enough to analyze a similar situation and apply the what you’ve learned creatively. this is where teaching others comes in. in order to teach others a concept and its related analysis and application well, you have to have at least a fraction of a decent understanding of these things yourself, and, further, often time in teaching these things you also learn to grasp the concepts/aanalysis/applications even better than you did before with each new teaching session. basically: teaching others is a creative way of also teaching yourself. you get the benefits of repetition, of thinking about a concept/technique/analysis and application in a new way, and of getting to apply the concept/technique/analysis and applicatioin to a new scenario each time. plus, you’ll typically make friends quickly in the process! there’s really no downside to this tip imo ;-)

5) utilize your college’s tutoring center/program(s), even when you don’t think you need to.

usually colleges have either set up a general “tutoring center,” on campus where you can find tutors for all different kinds of topics and courses available during regular hours for walk-in sessions and/or appointments free of charge or departments will hold regular weekly (or twice weekly) free on-campus tutoring sessions for specific courses. regardless of which of these options your college has, i highly recommend attending at least one tutoring session/appointment (ideally with the same tutor if/when you eventually find one you click with) every single week, even when you don’t feel like you’re struggling with the topic(s) covered in that week’s lecture. this will help you review topics and techniques covered in lecture, deepen your understanding of them, and, if nothing else, it’s an excuse to get homework out of the way while having someone else there who can help you if/when you get stuck. attending at least one session weekly also helps you get into a habit and routine of keeping up with your assignments, so you’re not left scrambling at the last minute before they’re due.

6) if you have accommodations, request access to record lectures. if you do not have accommodations, ask your professor if you are allowed to record lectures. IF YOU RECORD LECTURES, DO NOT FORGET TO REVIEW THEM!

okay, so first up for my fellow spoonies and neurodivergent peeps: when you apply for/renew your accommodations, make sure that “recordinng lectures” is on your MOA (memorandum of accommodations), because so long as it is, your professors legally cannot deny you permission to record lectures without risk of themself and the college being sued for an ADA violation. also, make friends with a classmate and ask them to record lectures and send them to you if/when you are absent (let the professor know that you’ve asked this classmate to record and send you the lecture if you are absent)

now, if you aren’t disabled, a spoonie, and/or neurodivergent, you aren’t guaranteed permission to record lectures. however. ask the professor if you can have their permission to audio record lectures (be sure to also let them know that such a recording would be for personal use only and that you don’t plan on distributing the recordings). i’ve found that many professors don’t mind you having an audio recording.

even if you aren’t an audible learner it can be really useful to have these recordings to review at a later point. oftentimes reviewing lecture recordings can be useful if you glazed over and missed a section of the lecture and/or if you can’t remember what a professor taught during a section of a lecture.

7) last but not least, on a related note, if you have accommodations, also request access to your professor’s lecture notes. if you don’t have accommodations, check if your professor posts their lecture notes for students to use.

having your professor’s notes can be extremely useful for review purposes, but they can also help you understand where your professor is going with course content and what they want to stress as important.

[maingh0st]

thoughts on holly black's tithe

fair warning that this isn't really going to be a book review—I went into this book predisposed to enjoying it, and I generally had a good time. rather than a comprehensive review, I just have some loose silos of thoughts I wanted to share. it's still a long post, but I'm not attempting to cover everything! so without further ado (some spoilers ahead):

let's get this out of the way

Tithe was Holly Black's debut YA novel, and it reads like it. it's a good debut—she's clearly a skillful author even this early in her career—but there are some choices (pacing, phrasing, etc) that read as slightly amateur. one of these choices was, in my opinion, including multiple POVs. maybe this is a controversial take, but I would've enjoyed this book more if Roiben's POV hadn't been included. it would've increased narrative tension, led to more intrigue about his character, and allowed us to get to know him along with Kaye (rather than being privy to his secrets and Deep Inner Turmoil from the jump).

I can't remember where I saw this, but someone said that reading Tithe feels like talking to a teen who's just figured out they can swear & make sex jokes, and yeah, that's accurate—but I also found it strangely endearing. Kaye is a teen, and her ~quirky~ teenager-ish musings on boys, alcohol, fashion, etc feel believable. which leads, unfortunately, to the next thing I've gotta address:

Kaye is 16 years old, and most of the time, she reads like a 16 year old. on the other hand, we're never told Roiben's exact age, but the man has lived a lot of life by the time we meet him. now I'm pretty lenient toward the idea that the Folk age differently than humans, so it's not really an exact number that's the issue, but the sheer chasm in life experience between them. I quite enjoyed both characters on their own, and conceptually, I feel like they work well together on a personality level, but yikes guys. the story even highlights that Kaye hasn't gotten her license yet because of her age; meanwhile, Roiben is waxing melodramatic about how many people he's killed in his years of tortured servitude to his evil queen. this age gap combined with the insta-lovey nature of their relationship* made this book feel... well, about as dated as it is.

*they have great chemistry once they're actually having conversations & getting to know one another! I really enjoyed their banter! but that's well into the book, and well after they've already been acting mutually infatuated

laughs nervously while looking at sjm

okay I'm not going to harp on the above points, I just wanted to get them out of the way. but now let's play a game: let me tell you about a plot from a popular YA novel, and you tell me which book I'm describing.

there is an evil queen with beautiful red hair and pale skin. she holds her court beneath a large hill. the court itself is ghastly—full of bloodshed, debauchery, riddles, and cruel games. unfortunately, an immortal fey man has found himself magically bound to her power, and while he tries to carve out pockets of agency in minor ways, his forced loyalty to his queen requires him to compromise his morals and cultivate a fearsome, bloody reputation.

a young woman who was raised in the human world finds herself swept up in the machinations of this court. the man fears for her, because she is vulnerable, but her presence also makes him feel hope, and her strength and cleverness surprise him. many shenanigans ensue, and they kill the wicked queen.

I mean. there are notable differences, of course, but I just noticed too many acotar parallels. anyways. holly black did it better

reading a faerie's pov

I've already established that I love Kaye, but guys, I really do love Kaye. I love that she takes initiative and moves the plot along (breaking her glamour too early is a great example of this—she could've gone along with the Grand Plan, but her curiosity led her to act faster). I like that Holly allows her to be selfish and think ugly things, but still try to do good and be kind. I know these books have less buzz than tfota, but I find myself fascinated that there's not really Discourse about the Kenny situation (for a tldr: Kenny is Kaye's best friend's boyfriend. Kaye accidentally glamours him to be infatuated with her. when she learns how to remove that glamour, she first takes the time to taunt him publicly and humiliate him with his own desire for her. personally, I like that Holly wrote her doing this and then feeling remorse about it, but it is objectively pretty shitty, both to him and to her best friend).

I also like the way Kaye is believably fey. she's playful and blunt and mostly uncaring about social conventions. repeatedly throughout the book, she'll make a decision without deliberating on it beforehand (which at first, as a reader, feels jarring), but then as she's facing the consequences, she processes her choice and often feels regret or course-corrects in some way. it feels very fae to jump into something because it seems fun, then only once you're in the thick of it realize that Oops, My Actions Have Consequences

threads left undone/questions that weren't answered—or maybe I'm a bad reader

who tried to kill Roiben at the beginning of the book? it's a Seelie arrow, but I thought there would be more plot relevance to this attempt on his life. do Seelie fae often try to murder him? it seemed like a significant one-off event, but as it stands at the end of Tithe, it was just the narrative's way of leading Kaye to find him

Kaye pricked her finger on a thorn in Lloyd's jacket pocket, and I now understand that this was (I guess?) meant to connect Lloyd to Nephamael (the knight with the thorn-lined cloak). but hey, this is a magic book, and I really thought there would be some magical significance to Kaye pricking her finger

is Kaye Fierch her true name? Does she have a true name that she's unaware of? How are true names given / received?

what secrets are guarded by the Court of Termites?? I know this isn't really a plot hole because Kaye is so new to the world of the Folk, but I'm just putting it on the record right here that I really hope we learn some of these Deep and Dark Secrets that were teased

because this post has gotten long, I'm going to create a separate one with bullet points of things we learn about/are reminded of re: how the faerie world works. I kept track of these for the fic I'm currently outlining, but also because it's fun to pay attention to little worldbuilding details :)

[folklorcore]

how about a little scenario where the reader wrote call it what you want for robert and him reacting to it

call it what you want ─ r. pattinson

Thank u so much for your request. <3

Pairing: Robert Pattinson x Singer!Fem!Reader

TW/Tags: Established relationship, pure fluff.

Summary: Everyone believes that fame is happiness and perfection, but on the other side of the coin is that at any moment they can destroy you. And that's what happened to you, but during that you met Robert, who you wrote a song for and he reacts to it for the first time.

Words count: 0.83 k.

Robert's Masterlist.

As is known, fame is not always rosy. Much less perfect.

You learned this as soon as a rumor that nearly destroyed your entire reputation caused you to disappear from the public eye for almost half a year.

If it hadn't been for Robert, you honestly wouldn't have pursued that career.

The two first met in person a month after the whole mess went off. When you first started dating, dubious about everything that was going on, you tried to break up with him a couple of times. You didn't think it was good for his career that when both went public with your relationship, they linked him to you.

Most of the discussions were about that. And they always brought you to tears.

So he took you by the cheeks, caressed them gently and looked directly into your eyes.

"Listen to me, if I'm with you knowing everything that happened it's because I really love you for the great person that you are. I know that the y/n they talk about out there is not my y/n. I'm here to stay, honey ."

And that's when you started planning your comeback, preparing your next studio album.

In which there was a song, or more, for Robert.

"All the liars are calling me one,

nobody's heard from me for months,

I'm doing better than I ever was."

You started humming while writing the lyrics.

As the days passed you had more than half the song done.

Everything was inspired by the situation you were going through, how you went from feeling so low but Robert helped get you out of the hole you were in when everyone turned their backs on you.

There was one time where they almost saw you on the streets of Hollywood when you and he went to buy breakfast, only you stayed inside the black armored van and they only got photos of the actor. But they were photos of him smiling at the van as he got into it.

Magazine articles and Internet pages began to speculate about Robert's new conquest, but they never imagined that it would be you.

"'Cause my baby's fit like a daydream,

walking with his head down,

I'm the one he's walking to."

You recorded little clips of moments with him for a possible video for the song.

Moments when it was you and him in a cabin you had in Canada. You spent much of the time there.

You playing the guitar by the fireplace with him in front of you while recording the video.

Walks in the woods. You smiling as he took your hand to kiss the back of it. You composing. You looking at the snowy landscape through the window with a cup of hot chocolate in it. Making forts under the covers in the living room.

"Starry eyes sparking up my darkest night."

It was almost completely finished, only the bridge was missing.

As you tried to figure out what you could write on that part, you brought your hand up to your clavicle, playing with the thin chain that hung from your neck with Robert's initial.

And just like in the cartoons, it was like a light bulb went on over your head.

"I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck." you murmured singing, writing everything before the idea left.

And at least a couple of days later the song was completely finished. A week later you went to record it in a studio and a couple of months later the album was completely ready.

That had been three months ago. All your fans received you in a good way along with your new album.

And some time later the rumor that had caused your disappearance was denied.

You started a tour and that was the first night of it. And it would be the first time Robert would hear the song, because you wanted it to be special, when the album came out you didn't let him hear it.

"This song was inspired by a person who stayed with me all the time when I disappeared," the screams of the fans filled the stadium, making you smile. You looked in the audience for your boyfriend, who was already looking at you with happiness shining on his face. "Robert, this is for you."

You started to sing the song, watching at all times Robert's reaction, which did not stop smiling with love.

"So call it what you want, yeah,

call it what you want to."

You finished, your chest heavy with joy and adrenaline, facing the entire audience with a genuine smile.

Backstage you looked for Robert, and when you saw him you ran to him to hug him, so he welcomed you with open arms, hugging you tightly.

"I loved the song."

"Yeah?" You looked at him affectionately and he nodded caressing your cheek.

"Yeah." He tilted his face a little so he could kiss you softly.

REQUESTS ARE OPEN.

[moonylvs]

hey! Have you ever written RemusxRegulus?

honestly love the ship and saw you were looking for requests

I was thinking maybe a college au, or do whatever you'd like!

Thank you very much for your request! I hope this meets your expectations, sorry for the delay ⋆˙⟡ This is my first request and I'm very happy with the result, I hope you like it too, tell me what you think <3

Secret Friend

Summary: Remus starts talking through letters with a stranger, but who knows how close this stranger might be?

Pairing: Moonwater (Regulus x Remus) You can see this as Romantic to Platonic, you decide.

Words: 4k

Warnings: Non-explicit mentions of stress, anxiety, feeling of loneliness and problematic adolescence (nothing specific), minimal hurt/comfort (You can barely notice it) Muggle & College Au, not proofread.

Remus and Regulus didn't consider themselves friends, not at all, sure, they shared a dorm room in college, but nothing more than that, they didn't even talk in the dorm, Remus had a part time job at a coffee shop so he didn't even spend much time in the dorm, Regulus didn't talk much either, so their conversations were reduced to a simple “Good morning” and a “Could you turn the fucking light off?”, but nothing more than that.

Neither of them intended to establish a friendship, Regulus enjoyed his loneliness and Remus had too many worries to pursue a friendship.

Remus hated the education system at all, but there wasn't much he could do if he wanted to graduate, so he had to adapt, staying late doing projects or even doing them at work, earning a few lectures from his boss.

But here he was again, to say that he hated Professor Sprout's class was an understatement, Remus felt that the teacher was very positive about life, the woman loved social activities and said that being sociable would be very useful for his work life, Remus couldn't disagree more.

Professor Sprout's new job was called “Secret friend ”, even the name was ridiculous, it consisted in that during the rest of the semester you would be assigned a “Secret friend”, who would be a person of any career and grade of the university, with whom you would have to write letters, this with the point of knowing someone from zero, without judging or without ideas of that person.

Remus wanted to die, he had enough to do with his career and his job without worrying about talking to a fellow faculty member, he thought about just never sending the letter and not participating, but Professor Sprout assured that she would give extra points to those who participated and Remus definitely needed those points if he wanted to keep his scholarship.

Remus had to resign himself, he would be talking to a stranger for the rest of the semester, great.

It was Saturday night and Remus was coming back from work totally exhausted, when he got to his room it was already turned off as usual, Regulus used to sleep early and he used to curse Remus for leaving the light on while he was studying.

Remus thought about simply going to sleep, he was exhausted, but as he lay down on the bed he remembered Professor Sprout's project, that damned letter.

Remus cursed to himself, he had been carrying the letter from his “Secret Friend” for two days, ever since Professor Sprout had handed it to him, but he hadn't had the time or the energy to read it.

Remus would have preferred to leave it in his backpack and forget about it, but he had to write a reply by Monday and give it to the teacher, so with annoyance he stood up and looked for the letter in his backpack, before returning to his bed, turning on the light on the bedside table, the brunet was thankful that Regulus was deeply asleep and could not insult him because of the light.

The brunet looked at the envelope of the letter, there was nothing special about it so he opened it and took out the letter, Remus rolled his eyes slightly when he saw it for the first time, it had a perfect and tidy handwriting, the opposite of Remus'.

Remus just wanted to get it over with so he started reading the letter.

“Hello stranger, I don't know how to start this letter, I must admit it wasn't in my plans to have to talk to a stranger for the rest of the semester” Remus couldn't help but laugh as he read the first line, at least the stranger didn't seem too excited about the project either.

“Professor Sprout said I shouldn't give out information that would reveal who I am so I guess this letter will be brief, I find it ridiculous since among the thousands of students at this university you are unlikely to know me, but well, I can tell you that I like poetry, books and art and that I hate this project, we don't have to talk too much if you don't want to either, I just need the extra points, but you can tell me something about yourself if you want, so we'll have something to talk about - Atte. Stranger.”

Remus had to admit he was a little intrigued and amused by the letter, he thought he would have to deal with someone irritating who wanted to talk often, but knowing that his secret friend had as little interest as his own made him feel a little calmer.

Remus thought about answering the letter until the next day, but he knew that his work would be chaotic because it was the weekend, so he grabbed his backpack, a sheet of paper and a pen.

For a moment remus stood thinking, before he started writing, he hoped his secret friend wouldn't make fun of his poor handwriting, his dyslexia and bad calligraphy were something he was not proud of.

“Hi stranger, I'm glad to know that you're not too excited about this project either, I need the extra points too so that's why I signed up, you can write whenever you want, I don't want to talk too much either, my work and school take up most of my time, I like books too but I haven't read anything in a while, do you have any recommendations for me?

There's not much I can tell you about myself, I guess I'm not very interesting, I spend most of my time at school and sometimes in the library, I hate coffee and I love music, any kind of music, I can't go a single day without my headphones.

I don't know what else to tell you about me, you can ask if you want, bye bye stranger - Atte stranger."

Remus wasn't very convinced with his letter, but he couldn't care less, it was just a project, he had no intentions of striking up a real friendship with that stranger.

“Could you turn off the damn light, Lupin?” Regulus snorted without even looking at Remus, the boy just rolled his eyes, putting the letter in an envelope quickly and stuffing it in his backpack to give it to the teacher on Monday, then turned off the light before he could hear another one of Regulus' complaints.

Monday early in the morning Remus handed in his letter, forgetting about it for the rest of the week, his secret friend was serious about not talking so often, Remus didn't care, his week was chaotic and he didn't have the time to worry about it.

Remus's cafeteria job was actually pretty simple, but working double shifts and having to deal with jerks made Remus want to quit, but he knew it would never happen, he needed the job to pay for his degree and generally support himself.

On Friday afternoon Remus had already received his letter, when he got to his room it was empty, Regulus hadn't spent much time in his room that week, but Remus was grateful for it, he didn't want the boy to see him reading a stranger's letters.

Remus took the letter in his hands and opened the envelope, beginning to read the letter which had the same perfect handwriting.

“Hello again stranger, I didn't even remember I had to write you back, my professors have been drowning me with projects, I don't think I asked you what major you were in, but I'm studying art history, it's not as easy as it sounds, I swear I hear one more story about some disturbing fact about a 16th century artist and I drop out of school.

Do you really work? I hope you don't mind if I ask where you work, I don't know many people with a job of their own, my parents would kill me if I even suggested the idea.

I'm very bad at recommending books, but at the moment I'm re-reading “Dead Poets Society", it's my favorite book at the moment, you can find it in the school library, I'm sure there's more than one copy, let me know what you think.

How can you say you hate coffee? It's the only thing that keeps me surviving college, you should try the coffee in that little cafeteria on campus, that's coffee.

I don't have much time to write, I have to finish three essays by tomorrow, so goodbye stranger - Atte stranger.”

Without even noticing Remus had a smile on his face as he read, that guy was funny and even though he sounded a little bitter, he liked him, which was ridiculous because he had never seen him before.

Before Remus could think anything else, the sound of keys brought him out of his thoughts, Remus knew instantly that it was Regulus, so he put the letter in his backpack as he watched the black-haired man walk in, carrying a load of stuff, Remus couldn't help but laugh slightly at the sight of him, he looked frustrated and fed up with everything, now there were two of them.

Regulus didn't even look at Remus as he entered the room, trying not to drop everything he was carrying, in frustration he set everything on the floor and placed his coffee on the bedside table, the smell of it flooding the place instantly.

“Ugh I hate that fucking smell” Remus huffed referring to the smell of the coffee, shifting to the other side of the room, where his bed was.

“You're free to go lupin.” Regulus said without looking at him, taking a sip of his coffee, Remus just rolled his eyes, muttering a low “fuck off” before heading in the direction of the bathroom to take a shower.

A week later the next letter from his secret friend reached Remus, this time he didn't read it in his room, he was in the library, reading the book that the stranger had recommended, until he remembered that he had to write to his secret friend again.

“Hello stranger, art history? Really? I guess it's interesting, my career is more boring, I'm studying law, it's not very interesting but very heavy, I hope you manage to finish those essays, I have to learn half of the constitution by the end of the month, great.

And yes, I hate coffee, that has to do with my job, I work in a coffee shop on campus, I think brewing so much coffee has made me intolerant, I can't even stand the smell, it's disgusting.

To me it's more surprising that someone doesn't work, how do you pay for your career? I guess you're rich or something.

Something tells me that the “little coffee shop” you speak of, is where I work, I hope you are not one of the idiots that makes my day more difficult :)

I'm reading the book you recommended, it's interesting, you have good tastes, I hope you manage to finish your essays, good luck - Atte. Your stranger friend”

To Remus' surprise, he and his strange friend spent the rest of the semester talking, their letters became more and more recurrent, Remus found it strange how easy it was to talk to this person, the guy assured him that no, he wasn't rich, although Remus found it hard to believe him because of the things he told him, he was sure the guy at least lived comfortably.

Remus and the stranger spent the rest of the semester talking, Remus told him that he had a passion for photography, but that buying a camera was way out of his budget, he also cursed his secret friend for recommending Dead Poets Society and not telling him how much the story was going to tear him apart, Remus swore he would die when the stranger told him that there was in fact a movie as well.

Because of this book, Remus had had a fight with the librarian, because despite the stranger's words, there are not two copies of Dead Poets Society in the library and when he wanted to ask for the book again someone had already taken it.

Remus was about to hang Regulus when he saw him in his room reading that book, but he had to restrain himself and hope he would finish it quickly, what did he know about Dead Poets Society anyway?

To Remus of a few months ago it would have seemed ridiculous to talk to a stranger and even more so to look forward to his letters, for Remus it was a way to strike up a conversation with someone without feeling pressured or judged.

He didn't have too many friends at his college, many considered him “intimidating”, plus he didn't have time to go out and socialize with the rest because of his work, so having someone to talk to without feeling pressured was kind of soothing.

That day had been an especially hard day for Remus, his boss had given him a lecture because a customer complained about his “rude” behavior, Remus tried to tell him that the customer was treating him like a criminal and deserved to be called a jerk.

But despite his pleas his boss didn't care, “the customer is always right”, how he hated that phrase.

School was killing him and the incident in the cafeteria didn't help him at all, he felt totally overwhelmed, when he got to his room he was about to gasp with frustration when he saw Regulus there, he could only wish they didn't have a fight that day.

But Regulus didn't even notice his presence, he was sitting at his desk writing without looking up, Remus didn't give it a thought, he just went to his bed and threw himself on it, his arm covering his eyes from the light.

He couldn't remember the last time he had felt peaceful, work, school, it was all getting to be too much.

He hadn't heard back from his secret friend for a week now, which wasn't helping him clear his head either, he needed a distraction.

“Can you turn off the light? I have a headache” Remus said, his tone less hostile than usual, he sounded more weary.

Regulus could have protested as usual, insulted him, but hearing the tone of his voice and how tired he looked, he just couldn't, so he just muttered a low “fine” before stopping what he was doing and turning off the light, leaving his things on the table and going to his own bed.

Remus murmured a soft “Thanks” before covering himself with the sheets to try to sleep, he was somewhat surprised that Regulus hadn't protested, the guy had been less rude the last few days, they didn't talk too much, but Remus felt something was different, though there was too much going on in his head to give it any importance.

In the morning Remus felt strangely better, this fulfilled his theory that sleep solved everything, the brunet stretched slightly, scrubbing his eyes slightly sleepily before standing up and going to the bathroom.

Before he reached the bathroom his gaze fell on Regulus, who was still asleep, he looked so peaceful in those moments, then his gaze shifted to the desk, where Regulus' papers were still strewn about.

Remus frowned, his gaze fixed on one of the essays, the guy blinked several times, maybe sleep was playing a trick on him, but he was almost sure that that handwriting was the same of his secret friend.

It couldn't be true, Remus couldn't believe it, Regulus couldn't be the guy he was talking to, Remus didn't even believe Regulus was capable of signing up for that project.

Remus' mind started to process everything, he wasn't sure what career Regulus was studying but he had seen some of his books about “art”, he had also seen him reading Dead poets society, but it all had to be a coincidence, right?

Remus' gaze went from the essay on the table to Regulus and again, he could remember the letters of his secret friend and even if he didn't want to accept it the handwriting was too similar, especially since the boy had a peculiar way of writing the letter M.

Remus saw Regulus stir in bed, he didn't want the guy to know that he had been staring at his handwriting, so he immediately went into the bathroom, trying to organize his thoughts.

Remus wanted to believe he was crazy, so ignoring his thoughts he stepped into the shower, though his mind was elsewhere.

When he came out of the bathroom Regulus was already awake, once again deep in paper, writing non-stop.

Remus wanted to stop thinking, but his gaze went to Regulus' bag, where an envelope was sticking out slightly.

“Where did you get this?” Remus said bluntly, taking the envelope and showing it to Regulus, it was one of his letters, the same one Remus had written last week.

Regulus didn't even look at Remus, his gaze fixed on the envelope, the guy cursed under his breath.

Regulus' silence was answer enough for Remus, he felt a whirlwind of emotions wash over him, he was frustrated but most of all embarrassed, he had been talking to his roommate all this time? With the same one he insulted every morning and could barely tolerate?

A thought clicked in Remus' mind, “You…You knew it was me?” he asked in a low and somewhat hesitant voice, to which Regulus only nodded slightly.

“Since when?” asked Remus again, his voice didn't sound annoyed, if anything, confused.

“Ever since you said you worked in the cafeteria on campus I had an idea it was you, then one day you said your roommate had taken the dead poets' society copy from the library…”

Regulus explained in a low voice, without looking Remus in the eyes, Remus could remember, he told his secret friend when he saw Regulus with the copy of the dead poets' society, now he felt like an idiot, what else had he said?

“Oh god” was the only thing Remus said, he was totally confused and bewildered.

“Are you mad that…it's me? The one you were talking to” Regulus asked, with a tone of vunerability that Remus had never heard before.

The brunet felt his chest squeeze like never before, he wasn't sentimental at all, but with those words something stirred inside him.

“No, it's not like that Regulus…. I just…” Remus said, stumbling over the words, he didn't know what to say at all, but he definitely wasn't upset that it was Regulus he was talking to.

“I never thought it was you…that's all” Remus added quietly.

“Why?” Regulus asked instantly, looking Remus in the eyes for the first time.

Remus hesitated for a moment, searching for the right words. “It's just that you…your always so closed off, you don't even look at me when I'm in the room…And in your letters you talk so calmly and seem to understand everything I say…Why aren't you like that here?”

Regulus felt a pressure in his chest, something he didn't often feel, he hated feeling like this, vunerable, exposed.

“The first time I saw you I thought you were intimidating…I thought that if you thought I was dumb and weak you'd take advantage of that…I thought that if I was tough and closed off you wouldn't want to mess with me” Regulus said quietly, playing with a thread of his sweater, trying to avoid Remus' gaze.

Remus swore he felt someone squeeze his chest, “Intimidating,” was how half his class described him, and his chest hurt to hear it each and every time, he wasn't mean or intimidating, it was the last thing he wanted to be, but he knew his height and the scars from his troubled adolescence gave him that image.

“I'm sorry, Regulus, I never meant to-” Remus tried to speak but the words got stuck in his throat, he hated that they had that image of him and even more that Regulus had had to change his personality because of him.

“You don't have to apologize, Lupin, I know you're not mean or rude, I was just worried, it's just that I didn't know how to fix things afterwards” Regulus admitted somewhat ashamed, scratching his neck in embarrassment.

“We can do it now, can't we?” Remus asked in a soft voice, giving Regulus a small smile.

The black-haired man looked up, his eyes widening, something in his chest stirring, he nodded almost instantly, giving Remus a small smile back.

“Do you fancy going for a coffee?” Remus said kindly, standing up.

Regulus frowned immediately, looking at Remus with confusion “I thought you hated it, you said so in your letters-”

“I can take it for you” Remus interrupted, smiling at Regulus and walking to the door, holding it open for Regulus.

“Who knows, maybe I'll end up loving it, stranger” Remus muttered with an amused smile.

Omg I don't know about you but I loved this, this idea came to me at three in the morning and I definitely had to write it, thanks to the person who made the request, maybe it doesn't have much of a College au but I hope you like it ✦ ∿ (btw, I don't know how many times I wrote dead poet's society)

[astrobiscuits]

Hiii! For my Solar Return Year I have: Sun in the 1st, Moon in the 7th, Venus in the 1st, Mercury in the 2nd, Mars in the 2nd :)

Hello, fellow astrologer :) i remember you from somewhere?...maybe it's just my mind playing tricks, idk

☀️ Sun in 1st house - this year is your year! You'll focus first and foremost on your wellbeing, on what you need and not what other people need. Depending on your Sun sign, you might start working out, a new project/business or something you've always been wanting to do.

🥰 Moon in 7th house - contrary to your Sun's position, this placements brings a heightened awareness of your partner's emotional state.

If you're in a relationship, this year you'll be spending a lot of time with your partner. You'll want to nurture them and the relationship and you might become a bit self-sacrificing for the wellbeing of the relationship.

If you're single, it's almost like you'll focus so much on yourself, just so you'll attract the perfect partner for you. You want to be the best version of yourself for when you'll get into a relationship. Once established in a relationship (there's a high chance you'll find a partner this year), your focus will shift onto your partner's needs and wants, making you an amazing lover to have.

💄 Venus in 1st house - this is usually an indication of having a glow up in SRs. You might decide to lose weight, start a new skincare routine, wear makeup more frequently, change your fashion style or get cosmetic surgery. If you've been struggling with low self-esteem due to the way you look, this year will be the end of an era 🔥🔥 You'll feel more confident in your skin, regardless of what you do. This is also a great time for getting into modelling professionally.

📼 Mercury in 2nd house - this year, it's highly likely you'll make connections with various successful people in your job industry that will prove to be pivotal when it comes to making money. You might meet someone who offers you a better job in terms of money or someone who knows someone rich that could help you.

If you're currently working, this year is one of the best years for asking for a raise. Unless Mercury is afflicted in your SR, you're gonna get that raise 100%.

If you're looking for a job with a high paycheck, getting into the PR industry would be a wonderful idea. Publishing a book, becoming a teacher (especially in humanities), a journalist, a reporter, a TV presenter, a radio host or podcast host are all great options for gaining financial freedom, but only if you can skip getting higher education in these domains (that is, unless you've got a benefic in your 9th house like Jupiter, then you can start studying and working at the same time in one of the previously mentioned careers).

💳 Mars in 2nd house - this year, you'll have the motivation to make lots of money through hard work (that is, if Mars is in Aries, Leo, Sagittarius or Capricorn in your SR). If Mars is not in one of the previously mentioned signs, you'll likely choose to invest your energy in high paying careers that are don't require as much effort.

During this year, your stability might be threatened by jealous men who might look to steal your money or dim your light in order to make you feel unworthy of yourself or your financial gains (yes, you might stumble upon misogynistic men who think that women shouldn't earn more than men just bc they're women). But don't fret! If Mars is well-aspected in your SR, you'll learn how to fight for your value!

[vickyvicarious]

You may be interested in this article about ine if the "unpublished" letters in Dracula. It's the letter from Mina to Lucy that we don't get to see.

https://www.mpw.ac.uk/2021/03/18/the-suppressed-letter-in-dracula/

(I've not read all of it yet, but the author takes jabs at the literary critics who call Lucy frivolous and empty headed)

(Link for ease of clicking.) Okay, so this is another instance of the author raising several interesting points but then interpreting them in ways that go wildly against my view of the book and the characters.

Mina's missing letter to Lucy is indeed interesting. I love the defense of Lucy's intelligence. The idea of condolences being given in some capacity as well is quite interesting. There are certainly hints towards bisexuality/polyamory throughout the story. Lucy's search for the key vs. Jonathan's search for the key is something I've noted myself.

However...

Then the article begins to suggest that Dracula/vampires are liberating in some way. They don't come right out and say it but there are hints with the suspicion at Mina's description of her attack (I read it as her guilt complex, not her in denial about having actual complicity) or remarking that Dracula is Lucy's key and generally leads to freedom in the various escape scenes except with Jonathan (Lucy tries to take a literal key from Mina; when she leaves she is put in a position of danger. There is something to be discussed about 'freedom from the cage' with Lucy, Renfield, Bersicker leaving the home/asylum/zoo... but it's notable that they never actually become free, just puppeted by or drawn to Dracula, and they're all hurt in the process). I don't think Mina blushing in that scene where she asked if her entry was necessary to add was because she felt guilty about possibly having cheated/wanted to with Arthur - I think she didn't want to embarrass people, and also maybe was embarrassed at her own excitement/gushing. I don't believe Mina's letter about her wedding was trying to convince Lucy to follow her duty and marry a man she doesn't love, but instead meant as a comfort in advance for the loss of her mother that Mina knew would soon occur.

I don't think that Lucy doesn't love Arthur. If anything, I think her difficulty speaking about him in too great detail suggests her love for him is deeper and more genuine. The lack of detail in the proposal scene is actually a match with a pattern in books like Jane Austen, where bad proposals are delivered exactly and good ones are summarized. I think Lucy loves Arthur a lot, and her line about marrying three men is more reflective of her not wanting to disappoint them than her genuinely being romantically inclined towards them. I did a whole analysis of that entry last year, talking about how Lucy and Arthur are shown to be more in sync than she is with either other suitor.

However, his alignment with Mrs. Westenra is really interesting, and I do agree that he is the definitely the one that there would be pressure towards. Quincey is rich, Jack has had an impressive career - but Arthur is rich, titled, established in local society, and of the same/greater social class. I think, however, that the tension here revolves around Lucy and Mrs. Westenra, not Lucy and Arthur. Mrs. Westenra clearly wants them to be married, and I suspect is going to a fair bit of effort to push them together. I wonder if she is the chaperone for them, and in fact is not allowing them alone together (something Lucy mentions about Arthur's proposal, that he had tried a couple times but didn't get the chance). But Lucy's mother isn't just pushy about Arthur. She infantilizes Lucy and doesn't tell her things, and I think is a major contributor to Lucy's own difficulty about speaking up about her own feelings.

I've spoken in the past about how key the fundamental truthfulness of our authors is to this book. And that's something the article discusses as well, remarking how they all align with one another to tell a single agreed story despite different authors. However, I don't think we're intended to try and read between the lines to find places where they are lying/hiding from one another. And I also just don't think they are for the most part. It ties into the themes of the book more for them to be open where they can, and thus makes them sharing these documents more significant as well. Admittedly, the author of this article isn't suggesting that Lucy is outright lying to Mina here... more that she is forcing herself into playing a role, and Mina sees through it. But I still think that undercuts the primarily happy tone of this letter in a real way.

I do love the idea that Mina's letter does have some actual commiseration about things that are bothering Lucy. But I would read that as being much more about Mrs. Westenra and Lucy's expected role in society. Lucy wants to speak more of Arthur but she can't, because of the type of restrictions a lady has to follow. That sort of thing, more than doubting Lucy's feelings for Arthur are genuine. She's obviously stressed about marrying him, hence the sleepwalking, but again I don't doubt her feelings for him. I think it's the major shift in role and also concern for her mother, possibly mixed in with resentment of her.

Mina and duty is also an interesting topic and there is plenty to discuss there. But I don't see her as forcing herself in her various relationships. She genuinely loves Jonathan, her support for Lucy and Arthur is genuine too. She actually assigns things she does for fun to dutiful reasoning several times. I just... don't agree with the way this article interprets its topic.

Relatedly, there are several other letters alluded to that we never get to see. I recently noticed Jonathan's short letter to Mina before arriving at the castle, but there are more to come. Some of them also seem relevant to the plot, perhaps even more so than some of these letters between Lucy and Mina. But I think these are included because they establish things that become relevant, such as Mina's plan to keep a journal, Mina's knowledge of the three suitors before she meets them, Lucy's health at various points, and such details. Why things make it in or don't can still be interesting to discuss, but I just don't interpret them as ever holding some key that will unlock a secret hidden in the rest of the book. Whether that be about relationships or events.

[harveyguilleniconodelamoda]

Thoughts on Fashion & Style from Harvey's Instagram Live with Samantha Rei Crossland

Last night, Harvey Guillén joined fashion designer Samantha Rei Crossland for a chat on Instagram Live to talk about life, style, the entertainment industry, and to answer some fan questions! The full video may be available via Harvey or Samantha's IG eventually, as they saved it at the end, but in the meantime I've compiled some of the questions and answers related to Harvey's relationship with fashion and style here!

This text is taken from the video and has been lightly edited for clarity.

Samantha: Dollie says, "as a fan you can really tell Harvey worked deliberately through fashion and photoshoots to establish his style in person, in front of the camera, and on the red carpet. I'd love to hear more about that journey and additionally if you have any tips for achieving confidence in style and fashion."

Harvey: Wow, good question! I feel like that was an avenue that never was presented to me as an option for the first part of my career. You know everyone's like "oh who dressed you?" I dressed myself! I mean I still do, but I didn't really get any kind of help with anything stylish-wise until recently, when I got the opportunity to work with different designers and stylists who introduced me to those designers. That's really what it is: a stylist will get you into an atelier or someone's house, like Christian Siriano or someone like that. But for the most part, for a long time I just kind of dressed myself, and on a budget.

Knowing Harvey was putting these kinds looks together by himself on a budget in 2017 and 2018, I will never again cut any of the Chrises with their MCU money a single centimeter of slack for showing up year after year, to event after event, in bland black or navy suits.

Harvey (continued): Because stylists are worth every penny, but they're expensive! They are expensive because they do a great job, but you also have to be constantly doing that. I think Zendaya was just talking about this in an interview. There's moments where you want a stylist because you want to look your best and you want the best opportunity and possibility, and there's moments where you're like "I'll dress myself, it's just a small event, I'll make it work. I'll make it work with what I have."

But yeah, I really wanted to put myself in a position where...why can't I like fashion? Why can't I do a photoshoot, and why can't I do a cover? I had a publicist, one of my first publicists...I said "I want to be the first to do something, like be on a cover of something like this!" And they straight out loud said "that's not going to happen." And I was like..."oh well, I mean maybe not overnight, but that should be the goal, we should work toward--"

And they were like "yeah, but we want to be realistic...and that's not gonna happen."

Cannot imagine being the person to tell THIS man he's never going to be on the cover of a magazine.

Harvey (continued): I realized, if people on your team are naysayers or they're not seeing the vision, those people aren't on your team. So unfortunately, I had to let them go, because if there's someone on your team who's already being toxic towards your vision, that's not the vision, that's not the vibe, that's not it. And so I'm glad to report that shortly after that we did get a cover! And then I was able to kind of show that off and be like, "it can be done!" You just have to find the right team and the right people who see your vision.

I think for so long it's just been easy to say no to people who don't fit the mold of Hollywood, and I'm not here to fit a mold. I'm here to break it.

Samantha: You're killin' it! You have no idea how many of these questions were just "when is he starting a fashion line?"

Harvey: I want to! I think right now I'm so focused on my main passion, which is acting, and I'm so grateful and blessed to have opportunities that are coming my way and that I am excited for. And now wrapping something that I'm gonna hold so dear to my heart like Shadows for so long, I'm so grateful. And you know, most actors would kill for just the opportunity to be on a show like Shadows and call it a day, and I would be happy if that's the work that I'm known for, because it's such a great show.

But I'm fortunate that I have all of these other things that are coming up. I'm so excited for the opportunities, and I'm excited for the different characters and different roles and different hats I get to put on.

But eventually that would definitely be an avenue that...I mean, it would definitely be on brand! You know? It would be so on brand to open a plus size line, especially because growing up I didn't see as many options for plus size people, period. But if there were, obviously the lean is for female clothing, and it was never for men at all. Like the options for a plus sized guy was like...screen t-shirts and jeans. And that's it!

Or it was always Big and Tall, where if you weren't tall you got stuck with a really short and stout kind of shirt. The measurements were always catered to "if you're big, you gotta be tall," and well, I don't know if that's true, but there was no in between. So that's a market that I would definitely want to look at. But for the time being I'm focusing on the acting part of it.

Samantha: Kelly wants to ask, "do you like any specific colors or patterns? Where are your tastes when you dress high fashion?"

Harvey: I used to be afraid of color a lot because I was always told if you're plus sized or bigger you'll amplify yourself. But I think you shouldn't be afraid of color. Last year, a year ago next month, at the Meta Gala I wore pink! That was all Christian Siriano from head to toe, and there was a wink there and a story behind it--if you know you know--why he and I chose the color pink for the Met Gala and who they were honoring and all of that. So I'm not afraid of color. I try to be very specific about the dimensions and where my leg cuts off or where it elongates my leg.

Harvey's now-iconic outfit from the 2023 Met Gala--whose theme was honoring Karl Lagerfeld--blended foundational style elements of Lagerfeld's most famous designs for Chanel with all the things Lagerfeld loudly hated throughout his life. Lagerfeld was infamous for making shitty comments about plus sized people, people of color, short men, and a host of other things. He also disliked the color pink. So Harvey showing up as himself and looking stunning wearing that glorious pink number was possibly the classiest shade ever thrown.

Harvey (continued): I've just been like the Christian Siriano poster boy this year! Which is a funny story because when I first approached him over a year ago for the Oscars, he was really busy and he said "I really don't make menswear."

And I was like "well I'm not saying I want you to make completely a tuxedo, I want you to do something in the middle." And he was like "well, I kind of did that with Billy Porter" where he put Billy in this really amazing gown. And I was like "well I don't want to do a gown, I want something between that, you know? Like where it doesn't have to be a traditional, boring, just plain old tuxedo, and it doesn't have to be this amazing, beautiful ball gown that Billy had worn."

Because he doesn't really design for men, he designs for women. And he said "this would be the first I would do this." And I said "then that's great! It'll be the first!" And he definitely had never designed for a plus sized man, so we were checking all these boxes off.

So my idea was if someone in 1920 went to an award show but was trying to wear a vintage Victorian or Edwardian outfit to honor a vintage look. So the hair was 1920s. The hair was done by Connie, who was my hair person in What We Do In the Shadows, who helped me originate the original look for Guillermo.

And Romie--who's my best friend since third grade--is my makeup artist, and she did my makeup for the Oscars and makeup for a lot of the events I go to.

And it was just amazing, you know. That outfit...oh my god. Vogue ran it, they got so many likes, it was on every social [media] outlet, and it did so well that last fall, for the first time, [Christian] had a men's line. And I can't help but wonder if it was a coincidence, if it had anything to do with my "how about we try this experiment!"

This beautiful vintage-inspired look for the Oscars was Harvey's first red carpet collaboration with Christian Siriano and landed him on nearly every best dressed list for the event. The metallic brocade tuxedo gown and bell hem trouser were included in Siriano's Fall 2023 line, and are available to order on his website (for a hefty price) as separate pieces in sizes up to a size 30 (58 bust, 60 waist).

Harvey (continued): Christian's been great, and of course he would make amazing pieces for menswear, of course he would!

We collaborated on a lot of things. For the Critic's Choice award we did a really cool cut, which was like a midriff cut with a peek-a-boo of belly. Because you know, I like my body, and I can show it off! And he did it in a way where I was like "woah!" It elongated my leg and it had a peek-a-boo of a little bit of tummy, and it had a neckline that plunges. So it shows your chest, and it's mesh, and then this giant bow on the side that you can take off or put on.

This red carpet look Harvey wore for the Critic's Choice Awards is one of my personal favorites. It feels like plus size people are always being urged to both cover up as much as possible and make ourselves as small as possible. But this outfit stares those demands in the face and says "Why though? Fuck that! Show yourself off and take up space!"

Harvey (continued): It got so many compliments on the carpet! And it's to a T a Christian look, but also very much me, because we collaborated in what that would look like and how I want that on my body, how it looks on my body, because what looks good on me may not look good on someone else. But it's knowing what your best assets are and what you're showing off, and what you want to show off. Because that's what's going to make you feel the most comfortable, when you're showing off something that you love about yourself.

Samantha: That's literally what I tell my clients! You feel the best you've ever looked in your life when everything just fits you perfectly and shows off the best parts of your body that you like the most. It's not about hiding, it's about amplifying.

Harvey: Yeah, exactly.

---

Thank you so much to both Samantha and Harvey for this wonderful conversation on IG Live! It was truly a joy to witness it and get more insight into Harvey's thoughts on fashion and style.

If you're interested in Samantha's designs (including her OFMD-themed makeup pallets!), check out her website here. And you can find WWDITS-themed Harvey-approved merch at his website here!

[deathbxnny]

hiiii !! thank you so much for doing my doctor s/o request, i liked it sm but i'm too anxious to thank you in comments, haha.. (´･ᴗ･ ` )

so !! do you mind if i make another request ?? okay so! an artist s/o with hsr characters who likes to draw them. i'm thinking of a little cute scenario, like y'know, it's some important date for character and s/o and s/o gives them their sketchbook which filled with drawings of them?? as a present? like s/o loved to sketch them every chance they get (´• ω •`) i don't know if i explained my request well...

AH. could you include sampo, haha...please? i love this silly man sm ~

don't forget to stay hydrated!! eat and sleep well !!!! thank you again for doing my last request! (⌒▽⌒)♡

-----♡

A/N: Hello again, Anon! Thank you for the request! I find your ideas so cute! Also thank you for the kind reminders!<33

Featured characters: Sampo, Gepard, Jing Yuan

Content: Artist reader, established relationships, fluff, sfw

Reader has no set pronouns!

((Not fully proofread!))

-----♡

》Sampo Koski

He loves your art alot and supports you as much as he can. He likes watching you draw/paint too, mainly because he finds how focused and serious you look during it super cute. Is definitely the type to keep any drawing you give him, even a small doodle.

With that said, he notices whenever you draw him. He never tells you this however and just always conveniently stays in the same spot for you, even if that means that he can't move for a while. He doesn't mind though and finds it adorable that you want to draw him of all people.

It was Sampo's birthday, when he finally was able to catch a glimpse of the drawings you were making of him. He was grateful for your gift and promised to cherish it. It was the first time he ever looked so serious and vulnerable, which made you very happy.

He carries the notebook with him often now, so that whenever he misses you, he can just take a look at what your beautiful hands made for him and feel better.

-----♡

》Gepard Landau

He fully supports your Artist career and makes sure everyone in Belobog appreciates it too. He's just so unbelievably proud and always tells you how talented you are all the time. Definitely also spoils you with any art supplies you might need.

He never notices when you draw him, mainly because he's always busy with work during it or just very tired. Thankfully he doesn't move much when he's working on paperwork in his office or resting in the house, so that gives you plenty of opportunities to draw him in secret.

You gave him the little notebook full of drawings of himself on your anniversary as a couple. He was quite surprised at how full it was and even laughed lightly at how he just never noticed. He kisses you hands, thanking you deeply for this beautiful and meaningful gift.

He keeps the notebook with him whilst he's out on the front lines, mainly for when he misses you and to remind himself of what he can come home too soon.

-----♡

》Jing Yuan

Supports your passion with everything he has and shows it off to absolutely everyone. People just have to know how talented and great the general's s/o is afterall! He'll take care of any art supplies or other needs you have, he just finds how excited you get over new paint or pencils so cute.

It's alot harder to hide it from him, that you're drawing him, because he just notices everything about you. He finds it adorable and amusing, when you hide your notebook from him and tell him that he can't see it yet.

He's still pleasantly surprised, when you give him the notebook to him as a gift for a gift giving festival. Jing Yuan is extremely thankful and makes sure you know it with sweet praise and endearings.

He keeps the notebook at his desk in his office, so that he can look at it and think of you during longer work days. He perhaps also uses it to justify slacking off for a couple moments.

-----♡

A/N: Thank you again for this Anon! I hope you liked it!<33

[heartilywrites]

Please a (Legend Of Korra) wing beifong x shy!fem!reader? where she’s the adoptive daughter of Bumi II or the adoptive granddaughter of Sokka and Suki who’s a powerful earth & metal master & a (leader) kyoshi warrior and dating Wing. After kuvira defeat, Shy!reader invited The beifong family and they’re excited going to the kyoshi island the first time 💚

If you don’t write wing, write Iroh II instead

،، 𝓛overs Rock ; W. Beifong

resume: where you invite your boyfriend's family to the Kyoshi island.

content warning: pure fluff ; post s4 ; Wing Beifong x fem!reader ; established relationship ; mentions of eye color for r ; no use of y/n

wc: 1.5k

a/n: this one was an interesting one, i love the idea of the Kyoshi warriors still around !! i might do one with Iroh II i feel that one would be interesting to write but different prompt so it doesn't seems too repetitive! THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING, ENJOY :D

“ Just give me true love and understanding for the rest of my days.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “The Kyoshi warriors are there to help out people who need it.” the female's voice sounded distance. “Your gran–gran Suki was the best warrior out there and I'm sure you will be a great leader to the new generation of warriors just like her.”

You hands played with your set of fans while sighing. Even after so many years, you still had your mother's comment rounding your mind every now and then.

She was the daughter of Sokka and Suki, born a waterbender, she was never forced to follow her mother's path nor her father's career, but after Suki's passing she decided to keep her legacy alive as much as she could before her own descendants could. Your mother always wanted to have children, but had the bad luck to have a hard time conceiving, so she decided that it would be best to adopt. She would have the child she always wanted and would give one a family.

She had always said how it was an instant connection when you two first met. Seeing a little you coloring on a book with such concentration and determination made her heart warm and after that it was history.

You didn’t know by that time that you were an earthbender, but your green eyes had told on you to be from the Earth Kingdom, your mother said how –even if you weren't blood family– she could see Suki on you, it was almost like she came back to live. And so you were taught the Kyoshi warriors culture, she made sure to let you know how if you didn’t want to follow with it that would be okay, but you always said how you will continue the legacy. That was what you've been doing all this years.

You've been living in the Kyoshi island since reaching your teenage years and only after your training with them finished and finally named a warrior you were able to come and go from the island as you wish. In one of those trips, you met Wing.

The Kyoshi warriors were split and sent to recognition of the most important points of the Earth Kingdom first and your group was sent to Zaofu. When you arrived the matriarch received all of you with open arms and such a sweet aura that made you feel welcomed, Suyin said how excited she was to finally meet the Kyoshi warriors after hearing stories about them when she was younger and showed everyone around.

At your arrival to what it seemed to be a training area with big metal pieces, you could spot two boys, twins to be specific. While you were looking around that area and Suyin was explaining what it was, green eyes were set on you with a special brightness in them; Wing felt as if he was just struck by an arrow when he saw you giggle at a joke made by his mother.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Think fast!” Wei screamed throwing the disk at him, he was too distracted and got hit with the object at the side of his face. With a loud groan he felt sat on the floor. “My spirits, you are an idiot.”

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Boys!” the older woman exclaimed terrorize by the sudden accident.

Everyone was quick to get closer to them, you had tell that you'd check on the hurt twin since you knew about first-aid. “Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me well?” you asked after crouching in front of him.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I think the disk made him stupid.” the other twin said laughing when Wing took too long to answer clearly distracted by you, his mother hit him in the shoulder.

At first he was mumbling a little bit at your sight that made you frown. “Pretty... I mean! Yeah, I can hear you!” Wei exploded in laughter and you could feel your face warmer.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “That's great,” you made sure he was seeing well by asking him to tell you the amount of fingers you were holding. “Can you tell me what your full name is?” your hands touched the skin in his face looking for any wound open.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Wing... Wing Beifong.” he answered feeling tickles in each spot your fingers were touching. “What's yours?” you smiled and presented yourself, he made sure to burn your name in his brain.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “What day are we in, Wing?” he answered with the date, feeling his heart skip a beat at how his name sounded on your voice. “Okay, I'm sure you're fine, just don't take any naps right now for precaution.”

Suyin sighed and took her other twin's ear. “You and I will talk about your way of playing.” you looked at the exchange with a smile and when you turned back to Wing, he was still staring at you with such curiosity.

And after that interaction, Wing was obsessed. He loved the way your touch felt on his skin, how sweet his name sounded on your voice, how your green eyes had this cute brightness on them that made them shine like they were a pair of the most beautiful emeralds, how your Kyoshi make-up looked so good on you and made your eyes the center of attention.

Wing looked for you in any chance he had, always bringing you gifts, taking you on small walks on the city, asking you on spontaneous dates which you gladly accepted to ever single one of them and after some time on the city, the warriors needed to visit a different one so Wing took the opportunity to ask you out formally a day before leaving.

A couple of years had gone by since that, sometimes you would visit the family on Zaofu or he would meet you at Republic City, the relationship was just great.

When the whole Kuvira situation took flight, you made sure to be by your boyfriend's side as much as you were allowed too and when it ended, you had an idea.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “You want us to visit the Kyoshi island?” he asked carefully, making you nod with a little of slowness.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I thought... Uhm, since this whole thing took a toll on everyone that... Maybe you can come to the island and have tiny vacations... Just if you want! I'm not pressuring you to anything! If you don't want that's okay.” you talked a little too fast for his liking, but he smiled with such calm before cupping your face in his palms.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “We would love to, my love.” he answered giving you a tiny peck on the lips.

Another thing he loved from you was your personality. Even if when you were fighting people you looked intimidating, at any calm interaction with new people, you would almost make yourself smaller. He knew after your third date how you didn’t like being in such places with large groups of people and he made sure to take you to places were you felt comfortable. When he introduced you to his family formally, he answered every single question for you and the way how he always was thinking of you and your well-being made you fell more in love with him... If that was even possible.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “We are!?” an excited Opal asked at the dinner table, a big smile on her face.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “I asked for permission and was granted,” you nodded. “It's a little vacation trip I want you to have to relax and also as a thank you for teaching me how to metalbend.” your voice got lower at the last part, a little bit withdrawn, your face started to feel warm.

Your boyfriend took your hand in his, smiling. “Nonsense, darling, you were already a natural when you came here!” Suyin exclaimed. “We just helped you activate your potential.”

Plans were made and not even a week later, the whole Beifong family was at the entrance of the Kyoshi island, looking around amazed by it. Even after all those years, the island was restricted to just the people on the village and the warriors, so almost no one in the modern age knew how it looked.

You had asked one of your teammates to do the tour for you and after that, a small welcome dinner was held.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Uh, sorry–.” you tried to speak to get their attention, Wing made a gesture that he would handle it.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Family!” he exclaimed loud enough for them to stop talking, once in silence, he smiled. “Thank you, you can go now.” the last part he said your way.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Hi, sorry, I would like to thank you all for accepting my invitation here.” your fingers were drumming slightly on your side after standing up. “It really means a lot to me to have all of you here, I appreciate you for taking me in as one of your own and... I hope you enjoy the island.” a nervous smile took place on your face.

After that the whole family burst in cheerings clapping at you and smiling with such fond aura. Wing got closer to you after sitting down. “That was sweet, honey, I love you.” he said, a soft kiss was exchanged between you two.

‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ “Ugh, that's disgusting! We're eating!” Wei exclaimed in a jokingly way, throwing pieces of bread at his brother.

[chaotic-archaeologist]

Hi! I'm currently doing my MA in archaeology (European Prehistory specialization) and I love it. I always thought I'd get my Masters and dip, but lately I've been seriously contemplating getting a PhD. I love learning and studying my topic and I'm having so much fun at my uni and suddenly starting my working career at 22 doesn't sound very appealing anymore. However, the idea of applying to a PhD program is very overwhelming (luckily where I want to apply has a pretty cohesive sign up step by step), still the idea of funding (especially) and having to write a proposal and possibly getting rejected from the place I've spend the last three and half years walking around is very overwhelming. How can I have that be not so overwhelming to the point of giving up bc if sounds like too much? Do I need to worry about funding that much? Is it expensive?

(I tried to find your advice masterpost before sending this ask to check if you'd already talked abt it, but I couldn't find a working link, sorry)

Thanks in advance :D

Hi dirtling,

First, here's a link to my advice master list—sorry that wasn't working for you. Our blue hellsite is fickle like that.

From what you say, it sounds like you have a great attitude for starting the journey to a PhD. Ultimately, the love of learning and a dedication to the field are the most important parts. The application and the proposal and the funding are daunting for everyone, but they are doable. I find that breaking things down into bite sized pieces and establishing your sense of self worth outside of academia are critical.

Now I feel the need to point out that my experience and advice come from a uniquely American viewpoint, and may not be applicable to European schools at all. Europeans please feel free to chime in with your own advice!

The very first thing you should do is talk to your advisor. Please send them an email right now if you have not already done so! Your (potential) advisor is going to be your champion in any sort of application process going forward. If you want to continue at the same university you're already at, your advisor is the single best person to help walk you through that process. Even if you wind up going somewhere else, you're going to need to make inroads with another advisor at a new program.

Finally: grad school is expensive (at least in the United Stated). However, many programs will have tuition waivers and assistantships that they offer their grad students because if everybody had to pay for it, nobody except the very rich would be able to afford to go to grad school. Exactly how affordable it is depends on the cost of living in your area and how much the school pays you (and whether you're able to work outside to supplement that income if need be).

Honestly, I think you've already done the hard part by getting into (and nearly completing) a Master's program. That's a great step towards proving to PhD programs that you have what it takes, and it should give you a decent idea about finances. What are yours like right now? How about your peers? I would imagine there isn't going to be a vast amount of difference from a MA to a PhD, and in the US a PhD is sometimes cheaper because they're funded while MAs often are not.

There will be differences from a MA to a PhD. Doctoral students are going to be expected to take on larger magnitudes of their own research and function more independently, but a good advisor and program should help you through that process. Again, the key is to take things piece by piece. Start with talking to your advisor and maybe the graduate program director. Take a look at that step by step guide with them and break it into separate tasks you need to do.

Don't psych yourself out about this too much. One thing at a time.

-Reid

[e-s-willswriting]

So, You've Seen a Bad Play: An Essay

Yesterday I went to see a show.

It was a student production my friend was involved in. I’ve seen student productions in the past and overall, I have been very impressed with them. They’re a showcase for budding talent and intriguing ideas, even if aspects need to be refined. I can’t say any of the shows I’ve seen are bad (all that comes to mind was a production of Measure for Measure, but it was simply that I hadn’t studied the text itself. The production was great and had intriguing fight choreography).

Part of me felt I would do an actual review of the thing, but for the sake of privacy for those involved, I felt I’d rather not. But I still wanted to discuss it, nonetheless.

It was a small-scale production by someone who was not from an Arts and Humanities background, but a medical sciences background. I really respect when artists incorporate their studies and careers, even those unrelated to creative fields, into their work. In my student workshops I’d read one text about a pilot written by someone who was a trainee pilot, and another time I’d read a book that, even if I didn’t like the text, I loved the details that came from the writer being an archivist and imbuing that into the text. It adds a real richness to those aspects that can only be gained from hands on experience, and I love that. I feared that the work I was going to see might be too technical, that aspects may go over my head, but I hoped to go in and appreciate it even if I didn’t fully get it.

I didn’t get it.

But not for those reasons.

Let me set the scene. I’m sat in the back row on pretty standard fold-up chairs with limited visibility due to those in the front two rows, sipping a complimentary cider that came with the ticket I paid for (much needed). Tiny studio room. The writer gets up, only gives an epilepsy warning and promptly sits back down. I make a mental note of how unceremonious of a welcome that is, if you could call it one, but pass it off. Play begins.

In short, the next hour was an incredibly poorly written production. Character arcs were non-existent, things would be introduced then promptly dropped, they wanted to deal with too many environmental and political messages for an hour runtime and all of them fell flat, scenes were poorly established, and the messaging felt non-existent.

But it’s not like I can’t praise aspects of the show. The actors hard carried the production despite the abysmal script they had to work with. If I saw them in another production, I’m sure they could absolutely kill it. And there were interesting things that could have worked if fully incorporated. There was a musical accompaniment for one (1) scene that was very well done and pleasant to listen to and then she just sat in the corner quietly for the rest of the show not to be used again (like multiple aspects of the script, established and ditched). There was a cool little red beep under one of the characters’ tops to act as their heart. They really tried to do things with what little they had.

As a creative, it feels weird to be a critic. Especially one to a student production. I'm always having to clarify that I understand that making stuff is hard because I do it too. Perhaps I'm only harsh because I'm affirming to myself what I want to see out of my own works. I see a thing, I think ‘this could have been better’. and I think about how I'd apply those lessons to my works. It only comes from a deep love for the medium that my critiques are harsh. I’ll always look for good, even in things I don’t like (even if it’s just ‘I think the concept is cool’) because there’s very few things that are wholly bad. Hell, some terrible things can at least be entertaining, which I don’t deny this production was (if not for the reasons it intended). I am a firm believer that one of the worst things a story can be is boring.

I’m particularly harsh on this production because I sincerely believe it was AI-generated.

What doesn’t help is the show all but confirmed it, with an almost 5 minute long in-universe advert for a hospital. Multiple AI voices (man 1 to woman 2) saying effectively the same thing. All it served was to establish setting.

Here’s roughly how I would have done it, in about 30 seconds:

A man walks out in a white coat. He puts on blue gloves and a face mask, and hurriedly walks off stage as CHARACTER A walks on, nervously pacing the hall of the hospital.

There. Done.

Could my friend have told me it was AI-generated?  Sure. Thing is, they didn’t know for certain, only that they were paid to work in it (thank God) but thus under contractual obligation to finish the production for pay (they’re a uni student, any money’s good!) And by the time they’d told us to get tickets, they’d come to realize just how bad it would be, and it was too late at that point (student productions can be under tight time constraints).

Thing is, I believe one of the core issues of AI is consent, or lack thereof. I believe that as a consumer, I should have had the right to know what content was involved in this production, and it was up to the production itself to disclose that. Just as people deserve to know any potential content warnings and epilepsy warnings for a show and to make the educated choice to engage with that material as a consumer, I think they also deserve to know if a production uses (or is entirely made with) AI.

Sure it's not going to harm them if they're seeing it, but don't they deserve to know? Because what if next door, there's a small self-produced play written by humans that could change their lives and speak to their souls? Don't they deserve to know that it was made by a person, honestly produced by them?

Little on the webpage communicated that it was AI generated, and the text only appears as such now after I’ve seen the play. If I had known the play used AI, and seemingly was entirely written in it, I would have not paid to see this show. Simple as. I want to support shows written by people.

But now I must grapple with the fact that I paid money to see something made with a tool I have extreme ethical complaints against as an artist and consumer. I have seen one 15-minute play (Caryl Churchill’s What If If Only, a quarter of the runtime) and a free production by Mamoru Iriguchi (What You See/What You Don’t See) and I would much rather have paid the ticket price for those shows which I absolutely loved, than to have seen this seemingly AI production once.

And I think that’s why I wanted to write this blogpost. To remind people that as consumers, we deserve to know if a production uses AI machine learning software. We deserve informed choices. AI probably won't leave anytime soon and might significantly help certain sectors, but right now it’s a wild west and often not used for these purposes to sincerely help people and provide accurate information. And there are those that assume that it democratizes the writing process. On the surface, yes. My mum could put in a prompt and get a script. But the love of labour? No. Not now, not ever. AI devalues artistic processes, and it's insulting to a medium that's withstood all of human history to effectively be told that a robot can recreate it.

But no, it can't replicate heart. It can't replicate real human experience.

In a strange way, seeing this production is somewhat affirming. I struggle with writing. Sometimes it’s just the act of getting up to write after a long day or a late night. Other days it’s harder stages (editing for example). At some points it’s having the ideas and having little way to communicate them. At times it’s just the isolation of it all and the compulsion to just scroll through my phone- I’ve written best when I’m working with others at times, even if those people aren’t writers!

Writing for me has been a struggle, and it’s a struggle I’m still overcoming. I’m still discovering who I am as a writer, what works for me, what stuff I want to produce. And there’s those times when I manage a good session, or an idea burns in me like fuel, or I make people’s eyes light up with the stuff I’m producing. That’s when I know the reasons I struggle. It’s because I can’t suppress the urge to make stuff, and I don’t want to live a life I’d regret in not at least trying to make cool things.

I’ll probably make bad things. First drafts and such that aren’t good. I’ve made bad things in the past, absolutely!

But I chose that struggle.

And if this play can exist and be produced, then the only thing really holding me back is myself. Seeing things like this galvanizes me to push on and make the things I care about.

And I will them with my own hands.

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Gestation 1.2 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

My thoughts were on Emma on the bus ride home.  For an outside observer, I think it’s easy to trivialize the importance of a ‘best friend’, but when you’re a kid, there’s nobody more important. 

Yeah, that definitely feels like it hits/rings true for me.

Of course, what's weird about this phrasing here, are the 'when you're a kid' and 'for an outside observer' bits. Like, that's more self-aware than I think Taylor should be, and the latter part especially feels like something someone reflecting back on these events years later would say, rather than what someone in the moment would think?

But maybe that's just Taylor's voice.

A friendship that deep is intimate.  Not in the rude way, but just in terms of a no-holds-barred sharing of every vulnerability and weakness.

"Not in the rude way"? I'm... I mean, contextually I think I guess this means like 'not in a sexually intimate' way, I guess, with the use of that phrasing, but that's got to be the weirdest way to put it I've seen, nor did it seem altogether necessary. I don't think anyone would have assumed it was meant that way. I certainly wouldn't have, but it's not like it ruins the work.

That notebook was – had been – my notes and journal for my hero career.  The testing and training I’d done with my powers, pages of crossed out name ideas, even the measurements I was using for my costume in progress.  After Emma, Madison and Sophia had stolen my last backpack and stuffed it in a wastebasket, I had realized how big a danger it was to have everything written down like that.  I had copied everything over into a new notebook in a simple cipher and wrote it bottom to top.  Now that notebook was spoiled, and I was looking at having to copy some two hundred pages of detailed writing into a new notebook if I wanted to preserve the information.  If I could even remember what was on all of the ruined pages.

And so the history of the wormverse turns. Without this, without the kickstarting element, and having that kickstarting element destroy so many of her notes and ideas... she doesn't go out half-cocked like she does. Doesn't face Lung, doesn't meet the Undersiders... and so the wormverse turns.

Many worm fics, especially Altpower fics, do indeed start with the Locker, or even whatever the alternate trigger is, or somewhere similar, and that is understandable, but it also makes a great deal of sense for Wildbow to start here. Three months between the locker and Taylor actually doing anything would have been very dull to read, even if much of it was skipped over. And having Taylor immediately go a-heroing as soon as she was recovered (as much as one can be) from the Locker would have been indicating a very different sort of personality for Taylor. Taylor did got get the most immediately useful power - and she's already probably a pretty thoughtful person, based on what I indirectly know of her.

So it's another key establishing character element for her. I can certainly see why - if every character is established so well - so many of Worm's cast burrows themselves into various people's minds and won't let go. I can see why Worm would have grabbed readers once they started, with all these well-placed hints and details.

Okay, so it had been harder than that.  Not just any spider worked, and the black widow spiders themselves were hard to find.  They weren’t typically found in the northeastern states, where it was generally colder, but I was fortunate that that key element that made Brockton Bay a tourist destination and a hotspot for capes also made it a place where black widow spiders could live, if not thrive.  Namely, it was warm.  Thanks to the surrounding geography and the ocean bordering us on the east, Brockton Bay had some of the mildest winters you could find in the Northeastern States, and some of the most comfortably warm summers.  Both the black widows and the people running around in skintight costumes were thankful for that.

Which came first? Brockton Bay being unusually warm for it's location and thus black widows? Or black widows and this Brockton Bay being unusually warm for it's location?

With my power, I had ensured the spiders could multiply.  I’d kept them in safe locations and fattened them on prey I directed straight to them.  I had flipped that mental switch that told them to breed and lay eggs as if it was summer, fed more prey to the hundreds of young that had resulted and had earned countless costume spinners for my trouble. 

Honestly, this is a reason shard-granted powers are pure bullshit (affectionate), because sweet jesus, this level of control over the bugs, which should have minds humans can't understand? That should not be so simple, and yet.

Yeah, I needed a life.

Yet another cornerstone of a stable timeline. Taylor not having a fucking life.

It wasn’t a great looking costume, just yet.  The fabric was a dirty yellow-gray.  The armored sections had been made out of finely arranged and layered shells and exoskeletons I’d cannibalized from the local insect population and then reinforced with dragline silk.  In the end, the armored parts had wound up dark mottled brown-gray.  I was okay with that.  When the entire thing was done, I planned to dye the fabric and paint the armor.

Knowing what Taylor will be experiencing shortly, it's kind of surprising she didn't realize how villainous her costume looked, but I do suppose I can understand a combination of a desperation to be a hero and being too close to it, and probably just... not wanting to think of it, etc, was a factor.

Also, and like - I've seen lots of very clear dates for various events, where do those come from? It's not in the text, is that something Wildbow provided later? did people run the numbers using the existing dates and just hope they weren't missing anything?