#From start to now my skill level has genuinely roughly stayed the same

[dorenarox]

How historical. I made it to tier 6!

#TF2 #Me #But at what cost #I am so exhausted with this game #There are two more tiers I think? #From start to now my skill level has genuinely roughly stayed the same #That's pretty sad #At least the border color is pretty

[marvellouslymadmim]

Hey! Aspiring fanfic writer here; I was wondering if you could talk a bit about your writing/editing process and how long it all takes.

Thanks!

Welp, roughly the same extremely long amount of time it takes to actually answer an ask, tbh 🙃

So...I only know how my brain works, and I can only tell you what works for me might not work for you, and that's OK. I'm breaking into two separate bits, because I almost never do writing and editing at the same time.

And as far as a timeline, honestly it just depends. On life factors, what my hormones are doing at the time (jfc like the week before my period, I have zero creativity, motivation, or attention span), if I'm having trouble with a particular scene, if I'm getting consistent positive feedback (yes, I can totally admit that I write faster when I know a particular reviewer is following along with every update), etc.

WRITING:

First, you gotta just...be fixated, I guess. Particularly if it's an AU, I sit with it for a long time before I ever write a word. I go over scenes, think about how the world changes, what stays the same, what *has* to stay the same to keep the characters true to their canon personalities. I sit with the characters for a long time, too--not just the main characters, but the supporting cast, too. In order to predict someone's future, you have to know their past. Most of our present actions are actually reactions to past events, when you think about it. The better you know your version of the character, the easier every other aspect of writing will be. I don't know how it is for other people, but I don't ever "feel" like I'm writing. I feel like I'm "witnessing", and the characters are simply doing whatever they wish. (***this is gonna be a thing during the editing process, too, so hang on to that)

Then once I have a general idea, I choose a title. Generally, I do not even start a word document until I have a proper title to put on it. The title is part of the theme and aesthetic to me, and it grounds me in the overall arc.

Once that's done, it's time for outlining. I generally wait until I feel this weird almost tingling in my left arm (weirder still bc I'm right handed) and I'm practically vibrating with a need to WRITE THIS STORY NOW. Then I put on some Bear McCreary (honestly, any videogame soundtrack will do, as they are literally designed to help you maintain focus and keep pace) and fucking go to town. For me, it helps to do this with pen and paper, so that I can go back up and squiggle little notes in the margin, rearrange the order, etc, far faster than I could on a computer.

Important note: the outline is not the end-all be-all. Some things don't make it to the final print. Some minor storylines get tossed or characters simply...take a different path than I expect. I will continue re-writing and updating the outline as I go along. On average, I usually have 5-8 outlines per story, and they're often 3-10 pages long. I also have a posted outline, which is a log of all the scenes that did make it to the final product. 

Then, it's the actual writing, at long last. I have found that I write best at the start of my day, before the noise and static of daily life comes in. So I wake up around 5am and spend 90minutes writing before beginning my workday routine. I have the Word app on my phone and may continue adding bits in throughout the day at work, if I get a moment. However, after 5pm my brain is usually fried and no more creativity happens. On weekends, I try to have one morning where I "sleep in" til 6am, and then write until at least 10am, sometimes 2pm, if I can get away with it.

The hardest part still is knowing when to transition and when to skip to the next chapter/scene/whatever. This is like...zero percent helpful, but I liken it to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart's definition of pornography: "I know it when I see it." It may seem like a scene is circling, and sometimes it means you gotta leave the room a bit earlier bc the scene has already served its purpose. Other times, it means ya gotta stay with it a bit longer, because there's something the character is trying to say. Give them patience, and give yourself patience, too. Explore the scene and its dynamics. You won't know til you know and even then, sometimes you won't be entirely sure. That's ok, too. Part of the process. Remember editing will happen and you can decide then (hell, you can literally re-edit after it's been published, I've done that before too and added a note on the next chapter for any readers who might have read the first version 🤷🏻‍♀️ not ideal but still functional).

EDITING:

I do simple edits (spelling, grammar, etc) just about every morning as I reread what I wrote the day before, which is a refresher course for the day's writing session. But big "real" editing generally doesn't happen until right before posting.

Now, here's the ***issue from writing: sometimes, something just "doesn't work" in a scene. Again, you'll know it when you see it. The words a character is saying feels clunky. The pacing feels off. Something just...ain't right. More often than not, it means either I haven't truly sat with a character long enough to know their true motivations/backstory, or I am not giving characters the proper time/space/impediment to make the actions or say the things they're currently making/saying. I'm trying to force the flow, rather than letting it ebb and breathe when it needs to.

Absolute ProTip: You spent HOURS writing this scene. It's got some REALLY GOOD moments and lines in it. It doesn't work but you can't just delete it. It's your LIFE. I struggle with this A LOT, and I have found a solution: create a second "outtakes" document to cut and paste those scenes into. Sometimes I still keep moments or bits of dialog. Sometimes I later use bits in a later scene. Sometimes I never look at it again but I still feel secure in knowing that if I wanted to go back and use the original scene instead, I totally can. I don't think I've actually ever gone back to the original, tbh, but it reduced my anxiety about deleting the scene and starting over.

So back to the scene that doesn't work. I take it apart, figure out *at what exact point* it stops working, then work back up a few lines to see where the shift actually begins. More often than not, it's because I'm having characters express their feelings in ways they actually wouldn't. (people very very very rarely actually say what they're thinking/feeling, and you have to relay it in other ways). So I have to keep the internal monologue of what they're actually feeling/thinking, while figuring out how that actually translates via tone, body language, and what they do and don't say.

The "something ain't working stage" can take LITERAL WEEKS. I sometimes have to walk away for awhile, or tackle it only on days when I know I have hours upon hours to truly work on it. I keep circling back around, and eventually, the knot works itself out. Persistence, and insistence that "good enough" isn't actually good enough, are key. (this is why you have to fixated on the story you want to tell--because some days, it's going to take every ounce of that obsession to keep you going and keep you on the track of telling the story you wanted to tell, rather than settling or switching to an easier tack)

Sometimes, editing is a breeze. I don't change much, I may go a little more into the character's inner world here or there. Once you've been doing this for awhile, you'll just know when a story hits all its marks--and you'll also know when it's not, when it could be more or do more, and you can figure out how to get it there. There isn't a precise formula for it, it's more like cooking without an actual recipe to follow--a dash here, a bit there, you'll know it when you taste it.

And I'll leave you with this unsolicited bit: just write. Write often, write about everything, write what makes YOU passionate and happy, and absolutely write for yourself. Edit the fuck out of it, if you need to. Get a beta reader, if you need to. Get someone to just bounce ideas off, if you need to. And don't post it until you're truly ready and it's something you genuinely want to share. If someone gives constructive criticism, take in on the chin and move on (keep the notes, if you think they're valid, and toss em if you don't--you'll never be everyone's style of writer, so know that sometimes, people just won't be the target audience). Know that you'll grow and you'll learn and you'll find your own voice and like any skill, you'll develop a second nature about it--all those parts where I say "you'll know it when you see it" or "you'll feel it" absolutely come from spending a literal lifetime (28 years) writing stories, and thirteen years of writing fanfic in particular. It's ok if you don't see it or feel it right away. It takes practice. And you will have an audience at every skill level, no matter what (finding that audience? different story altogether...).

All totaled, this process can take anywhere from 3months to over a year. Stories are like children, I've found: they each develop at their own pace, and some may need more time and assistance than others. But they're still pretty wonderful. (except the bratty stories. they're the worst 🙄)

#thanks anon! #asks #writing asks #writing reference #i guess? #i hope it helps!! #fic writing

[phantom-curve]

find the strength, find the melody pt. 7

lmfao I love how I posted an update 2 days ago like “this fic will have sporadic posts! idk when they’re coming!” and then I spent the last two days writing this. when that insomnia inspiration hits ya gotta just go with it!

this chapter went in a completely different direction than I had planned on soooo yeah...honestly not sure where this is gonna end up! the characters from my OC novel that I’m loosely basing this story around didn’t have a connection before they ran into each other so when Julie gave me this I almost cut it because I genuinely wasn’t sure where it was going. I think I’ve almost figured it out and I’m pretty sure I know how this will end. and now we all get to laugh at me together because it’s definitely gonna be more than 3-4 chapters. it might even be more than 6. Luke’s POV will have roughly the same amount of chapters I think, possibly longer because boy oh boy does he have A LOT to say (most of it about Julie). fair warning: this one has an awkward cut off because of the way I need to set up the next chapter. sorry about that.

and now something I probably should be embarrassed to admit: I don’t remember writing the part where I managed to sneak an “I’ve Got The Music” reference in so now we know for sure this show has infiltrated my brain. it’s fine, I’m fine, at least I WILL BE WHEN WE GET A S2!!!! KENNY!!!! SAVE ME HERE!!! MAKE MY UNHINGED OBSESSIONS WORTH IT!!!!!

taglist: @blue-hat-girl, @lwhoscribbles, @bluefyoto94, @5sosmukefan, @moonlightxnder, @leahthewonder​, @kat-maybe-not​, @lukewearingbeanies, @imastrugglingartist​​

It was no small miracle that Julie made it through the afternoon without Ray asking for details about her supposed ‘plan’ to play with the Sunset Curve boys. She didn’t think she would have been able to pull off spinning a story quite as well as Luke had earlier. She had expected at least a small amount of interrogating about when she had started playing again, but apparently the news that she was playing at all, let alone with other people in front of an audience, was enough for Ray to ignore all of the other plot holes involved in this scheme. He seemed to have almost forgotten the meeting with Principal Lessa entirely, humming on the drive home, kissing her forehead and turning her loose to freak out alone in her room while he sat down to work on his computer in the dining room. Julie took full advantage of the time alone to restlessly pace her room and send Flynn a 911 text. Her bestie’s contact photo lit up the phone screen 30 seconds later.

“Okay, I’m hiding in the basement girl’s bathroom, so you’ve got exactly 5 minutes before I get too grossed out to stay here.”

Julie’s chest loosened at the sound of Flynn’s comforting voice. There wasn’t anyone else in the world that loved her the way Flynn did. It was reassuring and made it easy for Julie to let loose.

“Lessa told Dad about the music program and then You-Know-Who ambushed us outside of her office and basically forced me to agree to perform with them.”

“Voldemort was at Los Feliz?!”

Flynn’s gasp was overflowing with sarcasm.

“Flynn!” Julie whined. “Be serious! Luke showed up out of nowhere again! And he did the thing again! The charming his way into getting what he wants thing! And now I have to play with his freaking band! What the hell am I supposed to do?”

There was silence for a moment. When Flynn spoke again her voice was softer, more serious.

“You don’t have to play with them, Jules. You can tell them no, and they’ll have no choice but to respect that. The only person who can make you do anything is you. But...I kinda think you might want to play with them.”

“What?! No!”

Julie’s exclamation was a second late. Flynn didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. Julie sighed.

“Okay fine. There’s something about Luke that makes me want to play again. Are you happy? He gave mom’s song back to me when I thought it was lost forever. He’s the only person who’s heard me perform it, and he...no one else has ever made me feel that good about my music before.”

Julie thanked her lucky stars Flynn wasn’t in the room to see her blush. There was a long moment of contemplative silence on the other end of the line. When she spoke again, there was that extra note of take-no-shit in Flynn’s voice that made Julie sit up and really listen.

“I think you should give it a chance. Who knows, maybe this is some sort of sign from your mom. You said it was a miracle he would have even found that song in the first place. You said it felt like she was there with you when you were playing. Maybe she made sure it would find its way back to you when you were ready for it.”

Julie didn’t say anything, just worried her bottom lip with her teeth. Her heart beat a little faster in her chest. It had felt a little too perfect to be just a coincidence. The way Luke kept appearing in her life at the exact moments she needed him someone or something to help her keep moving forward. Flynn sighed.

“Look, I’m not saying it is your mom. But I’m not saying there’s not some kind of greater power out there that keeps pushing the two of you together. I think you should give it a chance. If nothing else, you can get back in the music program and we can bring Double Trouble to life in time for our Junior Showcase!”

Julie couldn’t help laughing. Her eyes felt misty, love for her best friend welling up in her heart.

“I never agreed to that name you know. But thanks, Flynn. I’ll think about it.”

“Good. Now. I gotta get the fuck out of this grimy ass bathroom. Love you, bye!”

Flynn waited for her to return the sentiment before hanging up.  Julie flopped back on her bed, letting her breath out in a loud whoosh as she hit the comforter. A glance at her phone told her she only had a couple hours until Luke and the other boys would be out of school and on their way to her house. She tried her best to ignore the way that thought made her stomach roll with a type of nervousness she would rather not name. It was easier to blame it on nerves over playing with new people rather than nerves over playing with Luke. Except...now that she actually thought about it, she had played with Luke before. Her head spun, eyes fluttering shut as she remembered the one music class she had shared with Luke last year.

She had only been a freshman, stuck in a lowly Introduction to Composition class. It was supposed to be for new songwriters. Julie had a little more experience than the rest of the class, after all she’d been kind of composing with her mom for a few years now, so when it had been time to write a duet for their final big project she had gotten paired up with the classmate whose skill level most matched hers. It was supposed to be a way for them to challenge each other and grow as writers instead of one person doing most of the work. Julie had been paired with Luke.

He’d been a grumbly sophomore, held back for failing his last semester of Intro to Comp the year before. He had been stuck there only for the second semester, forced to double up between their class and his second year Composition class. Julie hadn’t been all that excited about partnering with him. He hadn’t really seemed to care about the class at all, and even though Julie also sometimes felt like it was holding her back a little bit, she never once voiced that thought. It was a privileged mindset, and Julie was well aware that she had an advantage over her classmates since her mother was a professional songwriter. Luke, on the other hand, had made it well known that he felt like he was wasting his time just waiting to get through the semester so he could move up to the Advanced Composition class that he felt he truly belonged in. Julie could usually do no more than roll her eyes in those moments.

It was true that Luke was talented. His guitar playing was impressive, his lyrics were heartfelt and sometimes even downright poetic. Julie just didn’t think anyone deserved specific things in life because they happened to be naturally talented at something. Their songwriting experience had been...interesting to say the least. And short. It had ended abruptly when Julie’s mother had died 5 days later. In the end, they’d only worked together for two 40-minute class periods before she had been lost in the fog of grief that consumed her in the weeks following the loss of her mom.

Julie shot up in bed, eyes wide. She didn’t even fully remember what had happened with the half-finished song they had been working on. Errant notes echoed in her head, like a song that had only existed in dreams until now. She absently wondered if Luke had held onto that as well. It was no wonder she had kept that particular memory suppressed all this time. That time in her life had been particularly painful. Luke had been gentle with her though. Almost all traces of his typical arrogance gone in the two short class periods they’d had to work together. He had kept things light, steering their songwriting in the direction of a rock ballad more than a true duet. Julie hadn’t minded. She had been floating through classes by then anyway, on edge every second she was away from her mom’s bedside. It had been easier to work on something that didn’t have as many sappy emotions attached to it.

She groaned, burying her face in her hands. No wonder Luke had been so sweet with her. He must have had a front row seat to her breakdown throughout the last year. She hadn’t even realized it. Had never before seen the way he watched her from a distance, checked in on her during class. She should have. Now that she was thinking about it, trying to identify every instance, she could name a million. How had she missed it for so long? How had he gone so long without saying anything? The Luke she remembered was terrible at keeping his mouth shut. He had always been ready to speak his mind, never afraid to start a discourse. It didn’t track that he had been holding himself back. Unless...it was more about her musical ability than anything else. She remembered now; Luke had been thrilled to partner with her for the duet. He had made some remark about how her sound was the perfect complement to his. Maybe he only cared about the ways they would mesh as songwriters. She could only hope that’s what his words had meant.

She felt more secure in her footing as a musician when it came to dealing with Luke than she ever had as a simple teenaged girl. If it was just about the music she could compartmentalize better, keep herself from getting too emotionally invested. Music had always been a safe zone, neutral. She breathed in and out deeply, remembering the technique Dr. Turner had taught her to slow her breathing and recenter her mind. She could do this. It was just about the music. They would play a song together, Julie would get back into the music program, and life would move forward much in the way it had before. Except Julie would actually participate in class this time. She had the music back in her soul, she wasn’t ever going to let it go again. On her next exhale, she heard the doorbell ring. Showtime. Julie zipped down the stairs, ripping open the door before her dad had a chance to get more than three feet away from his computer. Luke, Alex and Reggie all stumbled back a step as she tumbled outside, pulling the front door shut behind her. The three teenaged boys shared a look.

“Studio. Now.”

Julie raced down the path to her mom’s studio before they could react, not even waiting to see if they followed her. If they were smart, if they truly wanted to do this, they would. She hauled the garage doors open, only turning around when she had the piano at her back. The wood felt warm and solid, almost like she had her mom as a support behind her instead of an instrument. The boys appeared seconds later, Luke leading the way. He stopped a couple feet inside of the studio, studying her with wide open earnest eyes. She let out a deep breath. Reggie spoke up before she could get a word out.

“Woah, Julie, this studio is so cool! It’s like a tiny home! A musical tiny home in a botanical garden!!”

His green eyes were wide, expression awed as he spun to take in the space that Julie and her mom had spent countless hours turning into theirs.

“How did you get chairs on the ceiling?! Are you, like, a witch and a siren?!! Man, you and your mom must have made some serious magic in here.”

Luke’s arm shot out faster than lightening to backhand Reggie’s bicep. Reggie cringed away, a soft owww! just barely audible over the loud sigh Alex let out as he buried his face in his hands. Reggie shrugged, looking back and forth between his bandmates before giving Julie a confused yet apologetic glance. What had he said wrong this time? The giggle that bubbled out of her was as unexpected as it was welcomed. Warmth blazed in her heart, memories of the time she had spent in here with her mom washing over her with a kind of hazy bliss she hadn’t ever experienced before. She gazed at Reggie, letting that same feeling of motherly love from the night before fill her up. It was all she could do not to react to Luke’s jaw dropping when she gave Reggie a soft smile.

“We did. We made so much magic in here.”

The words were gentle and filled with a kind of genuine love that overshadowed all other feelings of awkward nervousness. Alex and Luke relaxed instantly, Reggie’s face losing all traces of uncertainty as he beamed at her with a smile so large it almost looked painful. Julie couldn’t help but let herself return it, just a little bit. The silence that settled between them was more comfortable, the tense moment from earlier broken. Julie studied the boys in front of her. She hadn’t ever thought of them as friends per se. They knew each other, would say hi if they encountered one another outside the walls of the high school, but at the same time, they didn’t actually know each other. Julie’s little run in with Luke the night before had made that painfully obvious. She wasn’t really sure what to make of them.

“Are you guys actually serious about this whole Showcase scheme? Did Luke even tell you about his dumb plan?”

“Hey! That plan is genius. Even your dad agreed. He seems pretty cool.”

Julie couldn’t help the fond way she rolled her eyes. Alex was quick to reassure her that they did, in fact, know about the plan.

“Not that I actually think it’s a particularly well thought out plan.” He stated with a lingering glare at Luke’s back.

The planner in question did his best to ignore the skeptical look on Julie’s face.

“Julie, you really don’t deserve to be out of the music program.” Reggie’s voice was soft and sincere. “You have the voice of an angel. If we can help convinced Ms. Harrison and Principal Lessa to give you your spot back it will be so worth it. And even if we don’t, it’ll be worth the looks on their faces when we rock the pants off that crowd!”

Julie laughed in spite of herself, slightly reassured even as she chewed nervously on her lip. Luke took a few bouncy steps forward, pulling her attention to him completely. His eyes locked on hers and she was sure she was drowning, throat tightening at the look he was giving her.

“You got this. I wouldn’t have come up with this idea if I didn’t believe it 100%.”

Honestly, that was what scared her the most about it.

“We don’t even have anything prepared.”

Her voice was barely a whisper, unsteady and wavering. Luke took a few more steps towards her, Reggie and Alex ghosting along silently a few feet behind him. Julie didn’t even notice, so laser focused on the brunette boy in the cut-up tank top in front of her. She watched his muscles flex as he reached into his back pocket, flicking out a piece of folded up paper in a move scarily reminiscent of when he had given her mom’s song back to her. He bit his lip, head ducking a little to be closer to hers as he unfolded the worn sheets of scrappy notebook paper. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, focusing on the messy handwriting in front of her.

“I thought you would say that.”

The smile on his face was so soft and sweet it should have been illegal.

“It’s called ‘Bright’. It’s a Sunset Curve song that we never performed because it’s missing something. Look,” his bare shoulder brushed hers as he shifted to point at the notes, warmth seeping through the thin material of her t-shirt, “it’s perfect for your range. I was thinking, if we add a little bit of piano here and here,” fire blazed a path up her arm as his fingers traced along the opening notes and chorus, forearm flexing against her own, bare skin brushing in teasing licks, “it’ll be perfect.”

Julie forced herself to focus on what he was saying, eyes roving across the paper. She hummed a little under her breath, hearing what he described in her head. His eyes lit up when he saw her get it, feet springing up and down as he dipped even closer towards her and started to sing.

We will rise, through the night

You and I

We will fight to shine together

Bright forever

His voice vibrated in her chest, the sound filling her with an emotion she couldn’t fully identify. Alex and Reggie bobbed along behind him, Reggie’s fingers plucking out the baseline on an invisible guitar while Alex nodded along to an unseen beat. Julie could envision the way the song would sound with a complete band, could practically see herself fitting seamlessly into the mix with her piano and vocals. She couldn’t help the smile that curved her lips as she joined in, reading the lyrics off of the page.

And rise through the night,

You and I

We will fight to shine together

“Go up high.”

Luke cut in, fingers twirling towards the ceiling. Julie automatically made the adjustment in notes to harmonize her voice with his for the last line, holding the final syllable for a beat longer than him.

Bright forever

“Yes!”

Luke’s arm pumped up and down, bicep flexing and distracting Julie momentarily. She dropped her head shyly, trying to hide her blush. When her cheeks cooled a moment later she looked back up at the boy in front of her. His eyes were glowing, smile stretched a mile wide as he stared at her. Unconditional belief in her was practically oozing from his pores. She felt her face soften as their eyes locked, giving him her own sweet smile that was meant just for the two of them. She thanked him with a gentle murmur, heart melting as he simply bit his lower lip and nodded.

A throat cleared in the background, and Julie was snapped out of their private bubble by the sound. Her entire face felt engulfed in flames as she looked over Luke’s shoulder to see Alex and Reggie still standing a few paces behind him. Reggie’s face was bright, his sunshine temperament back in full force. Alex was a little more guarded, but he was giving her an encouraging smile and there was cautious optimism swimming in his sage green eyes as he fiddled with one of his drumsticks. She inhaled deeply and let her breath out in one smooth exhale. The same sort of peacefulness from the night before settled over her.

“Okay. Okay, so we’re doing this.”

Luke’s whoop was so loud both her and Alex jumped. Reggie raced forward with a cheer to sling one arm around Luke’s shoulders and the other around Julie’s, pulling them so close to his chest that their noses nearly touched. Julie saw the blush staining Luke’s cheeks and felt her own warm to match. Alex coughed again.

“Reg, c’mon. Let it settle for just a sec before you go all human octopus on the poor girl.”

“Oh, right! Sorry, Jules!!”

Reggie released both of them quickly. Julie flicked her gaze between the three boys, enjoying the glimpses at their band dynamic. Alex’s words had sounded a bit exasperated, but there was a fondness running through them as well. He gave a half-hearted roll of his eyes at Reggie’s abrupt movements and reached his own long arm out to pull the dark-haired boy close.

“Help me unload the van? I still don’t trust our little Lukey boy with my kit.”

“Hey! That was one time!”

Luke sounded downright offended. The dark look Alex leveled at him in response had Julie choking back a laugh with a badly disguised cough. Clearly once of whatever he did was enough. Luke pouted, arms flexing as they crossed over his chest.

“You put your foot through my bass drum, and you think that isn’t reason enough not to trust you with it ever again?”

Luke sputtered, eyes flicking to Julie and back to Alex as his ears reddened.

“I told you I didn’t see it!”

“It’s the biggest part of the kit, dumbass. Literally the hardest thing to miss.”

Alex’s voice was as unimpressed as it was dismissive. Luke threw his hands in the air as the other boys headed out of the studio, laughing amongst themselves. It was clear this was a regular argument between the two, no heat or anger left in it, only a loving sort of tease. Like the way Carlos still brought up that time she accidentally gave him a concussion double-bouncing him off of their neighbor’s trampoline when he wanted something from her. Or the way her Tía would still laugh as she remembered the time her mom had almost gotten them both arrested for a bar fight on her 21st birthday, Ray affectionately filling in the parts that she tried to leave out. Warmth bloomed in her chest. This wasn’t just a band, wasn’t just a ragtag trio of friends. These guys were brothers. This was a family. And they were letting her into that intimate circle.

The thought was both humbling and nerve-wracking. This Showcase was a big deal. It wasn’t just some school assignment. This could impact their future as a band career-wise. They were all trusting her with this, fully believing in her, or at least, fully believing in Luke’s faith in her abilities. She wasn’t sure anyone had ever believed in her like that. Not anyone that hadn’t known her since she was in diapers. Her head swam, knees feeling a bit weak. She stumbled her way over to the couch, collapsing onto it with a barely audible huff. Luke was in front of her instantly, crouched down so they were face to face. His hands twitched in his lap, but he didn’t reach for her.

“Hey. Julie. Breathe.”

She sucked in a breath, zeroing in on nothing more than his face. After a few seconds she realized he was breathing in and out slowly, just loud enough for her to hear over the jumble of thoughts running amok in her brain. She matched her own inhales and exhales to his, the room slowly coming back into focus as her head cleared. He gave her one of those soft smiles she was starting to think of as hers.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to. But I wouldn’t have stopped you in school if I didn’t think you were gonna rock it. I heard you last night. I listened to you for years before last night.”

His chin dropped in embarrassment for just a second before he pulled his gaze back up to hers. Julie felt like she was on the edge of a cliff. Not for the first time she wished she knew how long this version of Luke had been lurking under the surface. It took everything in her not to let herself step off that ledge and fall.

“Music is in your soul. It’s a part of you. Not everyone is like that, but you are. Your life without music...”

He tapered off like the thought was physically painful to him, eyebrows furrowing in a slight wince.

“Living without music would be like living in a world without stars: dark and empty and uninspired. You deserve galaxies, Julie. You deserve the chance to shine exactly like the star you are, and the world deserves the chance to hear you. Please, just...have a little faith?”

She saw it then. As he gazed at her with those bottomless ocean eyes, with that special smile on his lips and sincerity bleeding through every word, she knew. Luke was like her. Luke got it. In a way that no one else except her mom ever had. That’s what this was. They were kindred spirits, two sides of the same coin. And that feeling? The wind rushing through her hair and stealing her breath away while her limbs all turned to jelly feeling? That was definitely her falling head over heels off of the cliff and into Luke Patterson completely.

“Okay.”

She breathed out, and his answering smile set off the butterflies she thought had finally left her stomach. He stood up and held a hand out to her, easily pulling her to her feet in one smooth movement.

“You know,” his smile turned rueful, “eventually you’re gonna have to answer one of my questions with something other than ‘okay’. That’s a pretty passive word, and I’m not really a passive type of person. I wanna start hearing some ‘hell yeah’s and ‘awesome’s pretty soon.”

Julie rolled her eyes, moving away from Luke to set up her keyboard. He gave her a bouncy little shrug of his shoulders, and she let the levity of his joke wash over her, releasing the last bit of nerves. She could do this. Luke believed in her. Her mom believed in her. Hell, Alex and Reggie believed in her and she barely even knew them. She could do this, just like her mom had said.

Noise from the other boys making their way up the driveway had her rushing to pull both doors to the studio open so they could haul in Alex’s drum kit. The three of them left together to grab amps and guitars, Julie finishing the rest of the set up in the garage. Before she had time to overthink things or freak out again, they were all settled into their spots and Alex was counting down for their first run through. Fingers against the keys, Julie breathed out, opened her mouth, and began to play.

#love how I didn't even change the line where Luke calls her a star again #there is actually a user on here with a really intricate and fascinating siren/witch hybrid theory about Julie #that's what inspired that line #missmitchieg I am lookin at you #also have you noticed all the dumb ghosty puns and references I keep dropping? #it started as a little inside joke to myself and now I don't even realize I'm doing it #also also all of the little personal stories in this chapter have happened to me or my friends #personal easter eggs because I can't not leave lil bits of myself in everything I write #Mads writes #find the strength find the melody #julie and the phantoms #jatp #julie molina #luke patterson #juke #jukebox #julie and the phantoms fic #jatp fic #juke fic #palina #julie x luke #luke x julie

[newcolonies]

Someone You Loved

A/n: Here we are, another fic for the books. So basically, Ethan comes back from the Amazon, and Casey (mc) is quite angry about the matter. Here is my version of how the confrontation went down! Enjoy! 

Also a BIG thanks to @aylamwrites and @caseyvalentineramsey for pre-reading and making sure it wasn’t complete trash!

Tag list:  @openheart12 @queencarb @junehiratas @lilyvalentine @kaavyaethanramsey @tsrookie @caseyvalentineramsey @rookieoh @trappedinfandoms @lion-ess24 @rookiemarsswiftie @schnitzelbutterfingers @aylamwrites @laiba-the-person @starrystarrytrouble

*If you would like to be added or removed from the list just let me know.

Wordcount: 2,539

*All characters involved in this story are owned by PB

Title inspiration: Someone you loved by Lewis Capaldi

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Ethan walked into the hospital, he could feel his body shudder as the automatic doors welcomed him inside. The air was cool and crisp, the smell of cleaning products lingered heavily. He took in a deep breath, allowing himself to fill his lungs with this familiar smell. It smelt like home.

“My son, welcome back! How was your stay in the Amazon?” Naveen asked as he walked up to Ethan. The old man had a large grin plastered on his face. Ethan had been gone for two months, but he still had missed Naveen immensely. And due to the poor cell phone reception, the two haven't talked at all since he had been away.

“It was amazing,” he began, “it was quite the learning experience, I may add. It brought a new perspective to our job.” Ethan wore a large smile on his face. He had already begun to miss the Amazon. He had come to love the area and the people that he met during his stay. “How have things been while I was gone?” 

“Everything ran quite smoothly! Though-” Naveen said his smile slowly fading into a serious grimace. “Ethan, I don't mean to be rude but you should go talk to Casey. She has been considerably down after you left,” he said in a deep whisper. “She hasn't quite been herself since you left.”

A pang of guilt washed over him, he had tried his best to keep that name out of his head. Hearing her name sent a shiver down his spine. Ethan left without saying anything to Casey, not even a single goodbye or explanation. He knew that she would hurt, but he still felt the need to leave without saying a single word to her. After all, the whole point of going to the Amazon was to reset the relationship with Casey to a professional level once again, and saying goodbye would have made it more difficult for him to finally leave.

Though Naveen was right, she deserved to see him, she deserved to know why he left. “Yea, I should. But I don't know if I can face her, Naveen.”

Naveen lay a hand on the young doctor's shoulder. “Son, you must face the things you believe you cannot do because that is how we grow. Go easy on her, explain how you are feeling, and why you left.”

Ethan nodded his head. Naveen had reassured Ethan, he felt confident, although he knew that every bit of confidence would disappear when he saw her. “Thank you, Naveen.” he offered him a brief smile to show his thankfulness for the old man. He assumed that she had been in the diagnostics office, most likely hunched over a file. The walk to the office felt like a mile. Nurses and doctors greeted him and welcomed him back as he walked. He felt everyone's eyes burning holes into him, making the trip feel impossibly longer.

Soon Ethan was standing at the door of the office. The nerves began to build up inside him, he felt like a rag doll. He knew this was going to go badly, but it had to be done. He swung the door open and walked in, allowing the door to shut loudly behind him.

“Oh, hey Baz,” she said without looking up from the file in front of her, “I forgot to ask, but can you take these files to the front desk,” she said, grabbing a stack of papers from the desk and looking up at the doorway, her voice trailed off. “Ethan?” she shook her head in disbelief.

“Hey Casey,” he replied, pulling a hand through his thick hair, he shifted his weight uncomfortably. He felt suffocated, like the walls of the office were closing in around him leaving only him and Casey alone in a cramped room, together. “How was the Amazon?” she roughly said.

“You knew that I went to the Amazon? How?” he asked, confusion laced in his voice. He only had told Naveen that he would be going on the trip, but of course, rumors spread like a wildfire around the hospital.

“It's funny you should ask that,” she gestured towards the chair across from her. “You may want to take a seat.” Ethan nodded and sat in the seat across from her. He didn't dare to look her in the eyes, so instead, he glanced at the files she was looking over. He could only make out the word cancer, but everything else had been too small for him to read.

“Well, when I noticed you had been gone for a while I had started to worry. So immediately I went to Naveen, who of course told me that you had gone to the Amazon.” Casey sputtered, a small smirk developing on her face. Ethan looked up from the table and met Casey's eyes. Despite the smile she wore, her eyes told a different story, one that read of sadness and anger.

“Casey, I should explain-” He began to say. Knowing that he was the reason that Casey had been broken, made him feel shallow. He managed to hurt the ones he loved, and it seemed to be a task that he had done often. Maybe, he wasn't cut out to be in a serious relationship, maybe he was destined to be a grumpy doctor that pushed people an arm's length away. Ethan often doubted himself, but this was the only doubt that he truly believed. If he were, to be honest with himself, he knew he didn't deserve her, he knew that she could do better than him. But sometimes the truth hurts too much to be addressed.

“Ethan, I believe that you should have explained two months before now. You left without telling me, not one goodbye, not one text, not one call. You left me in the dust questioning if I had done something wrong or if you were alright. Ethan, I have been nothing but miserable these past two months. And it's all thanks to you,” she roared arrogantly. Small tears began to pour out of her eyes.

“Casey, there's a lot of things I should have done differently, I know, but I did this for you. I did this, so we would have a chance to reset before whatever this is,” he said waving a hand between the two of them, “got out of hand. We crossed a line, and I can't allow that to happen again.” he said quietly, he was trying to remain professional. He hadn't wanted to let on that he was hurting as much as she was.

He had contemplated coming home every day just to see her, and hold her in his arms. The only thing he had wanted to do was see her, but he had to stay strong and resist the urges, for her sake.

Casey gave out a small laugh, “We have to stay professional, but only when it's convenient for you, Ethan. You continue to lead me on, and then cut me loose whenever you feel guilty or overwhelmed by us. I can't keep playing these back and forth games with you. You either have me or I walk out of those doors and you can forget about anything we ever were.” she protested.

All Ethan had wanted to do was pull her close to him and hold her for the rest of eternity, but instead, he just sat there. He hadn't wanted it to come down to this, but if he had to lose her entirely to secure the safety of her job, then he was willing to do so. But God did it hurt.

“Fine, if that's what you want, then I'll respect that,” Casey murmured breaking the beat of silence between them. She grabbed her bag and headed towards the door. Ethan could hear her small sniffles and gentle sobs as she walked towards the door. “I hope you're happy,” she said and walked out of the door letting it shut behind her. He was everything but happy, he felt as if he had just been hit by a wrecking ball. He felt destroyed, he felt useless. He had just let the one he loved walk out of that door. He just let it happen.

Ethan sighed and slid his glance over to the piece of paper that she had conveniently left behind, no doubt she had done it on purpose. He reached for the paper, and unlatch his glasses from the hem of his shirt and began the tedious task of looking over the file. The name at the top read Kyra Santana. Ethan propped his head on his hand and continued reading through the file.

Kyra was one of Casey's best friends, she was skilled in the art of getting on Ethan's nerves due to her flirty personality, and her willingness to risk everything without a set plan had stressed Ethan out. But she was a genuine and kind woman, a perfect match with Casey's personality. But unfortunately, that same woman, the woman that everyone loved dearly, was dying. Ethan stared at the words on the file until they turned into a blur. Not only had he left Casey, but her friend's health was also declining. This information made him feel sick to his stomach. How could be so inconsiderate?

Ethan jolted out of his seat and went to find her. She may not want to see him, but he needed to be with her. He needed to tell her how sorry he was. He needed to tell her that he was there for her. He needed to make things right between them. Ethan looked down at Kyra's file that was crumpled in his hand. He walked down to room 34A and knocked steadily on the door.

“Come on in!” he heard a cheery small voice exclaim. He hadn't been sure if he was in the right room, but her tone of voice clarified all doubt that he had. Ethan walked through the door to be greeted by a small, frail woman lying in the hospital bed. Iv's and wires remained spread around her, connecting her to the large machines that sat humming lowly next to her. On Kyra's right sat Casey. She looked up at him briefly, before looking back at Kyra, her attempt at avoiding any contact with him.

“Hey Kyra, I hope you don't mind if I take Casey for a second,” Ethan spoke lowly.

“Oh, that's no problem, you two have fun!” she exclaimed all but subtly. “And if you could bring her back before I- you know,” she motioned her hand in a line across her neck and stuck out her tongue. Casey shot a stern glance at Kyra before heading towards the door with Ethan. She hadn't fought him, she never refused, she just walked through the door with him.

Ethan shut the door slowly and took in a deep breath before speaking, his attempt at clearing the fog that had occupied his mind. “Casey, can we please talk about this,” he calmly said.

“Talk about what Ethan? How you left me for two months, or how my friend is knocking on death's door?” she said in a high-pitched voice. Ethan could still see the makeup smudged under her eyes from when she had cried earlier. “Or shall we talk about how you just let me walk out of those doors?”

“Casey,” Ethan said defeated. “I wanted to stop you from walking out of the doors. I wanted to tell you that I was leaving. There are so many things that I had wanted to do differently.” “And why didn't you? Because you're too professional? Because you're concerned about my job rather than my happiness? Which will it be Ethan? I've heard your excuse two too many times.” She spouted coldly.

Ethan felt a nip of pain as the words escaped her mouth. Unfortunately, everything she said had been true. He sounded as if he was a soulless monster, and perhaps he was. He had decided that he needed to be honest with her because that's what she deserves, that's what deserved two months ago. “I'm terrified. I feel weak, I feel vulnerable. Casey, I'm in love with you and that's exactly what terrifies me. I have never felt this way about anyone, this is new and it scares me. I'm scared of messing up, and hurting you even more than I have already.” He felt small and exposed.

“Ethan, I love you. I always have, I never have given up on you. I know truly that we can make this work if we tried. But you have to stop avoiding the inevitable, it truly only makes things worse.” Casey softly said.

“I'm so sorry, Casey. I want to make us work, I do.” Ethan exclaimed.

“I want to make us work too. And we can, but we have to face the reality that we might get in trouble for this,” she said, motioning between the two of them, “But I know that I am so willing to face those consequences, even if that means I get to be with you for a minute of my day.” she stated with a small smile.

Ethan nodded his head in agreeance. He finally had understood what he was feeling. It wasn't just the love that he felt for this woman, it was gratitude. It was the appreciation he felt every moment he saw her. It was the way he lit up every time he was around her. He understood that these feelings are not ones that should be feared, yet these are the feelings he needed to embrace.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him as Casey responded by wrapping her small arms around his neck. He pushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and guided her face to his before their lips met. The kiss they shared brought life back to the two doctors. He felt the tension that was building up in his body convert to mere bliss. Casey smiled against his lips before she pulled away and stared at Ethan, joy prevalent on her face. She laid her head on his chest, clinging on to him for dear life.

They stayed like this for a while until the moment was soon ruined by the faint sound of clapping in the background. Casey broke from Ethan's grip, only offering him a puzzled look. She opened the door to Kyra's room curiously, to see her clapping her hands fervently a large grin on her face.

“That kiss was hot, it was almost movie-worthy,” she happily said. Ethan rolled his eyes in annoyance, but the smile he was trying to conceal had come out. He was the happiest he had been in a while.

Despite Ethan's obvious annoyance, Casey burst out laughing. “It was wasn't it,” she exclaimed proudly grasping her hand in Ethan's.

They were happy, and that's all the mattered right now. He knew there would stumbling blocks ahead, but for now, he was going to enjoy the small moments, because when he left her he found out that those moments are the ones that he treasured the most.

#open heart #open heart second year #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #playchoices #ethan x casey #choices open heart #openheart #choices #ethan ramsey fanfiction #pixelberry #choices stories you play

[merakiaes]

How To Get The Girl - Finn Shelby

Pairing: Finn Shelby x reader

Requested: Yes. 

Prompts: #65 and #66 from the fluff-list.

Warnings/notes: It’s 2.30am and I’m running on no sleep so if this is shit and really boring, I’m sorry. I’ll probably go in a re-write it tomorrow. 

Wordcount: 2595

Summary: Some bad flirting and a piece of advice leading to Finn landing a date. 

Whether or not you were new to Small Heath or just passing through, Finn didn’t know. The only thing he knew for certain, was that your beauty was unlike anything he had ever seen in his life; completely incomparable.

You had been coming to the Garrison every night for the past week to drink with your brothers. Or, at least he guessed they were your brothers. You all had the same colored hair, the same facial structures, and very similar laughs.

You seemed to be far too close to be just friends, but at the same time, not close in the same way you would a romantic interest, which only left the sibling-alternative.

Finn had lost track of the conversation at hand with his brothers and friends, their voices and laughs practically falling to deaf ears as he stared at you from across the room while sipping his whiskey.

Arthur finally seemed to catch on to his little brother’s unusual silence, however, shoving an elbow into his side, rather roughly in his drunken haze and asking loudly. “What’s got you so distracted tonight, eh, Finn boy?”

Finn glared at him and kept quiet, turning his gaze back to you. But when he didn’t give him an answer himself, Isaiah took it upon himself to give it for him.

“It’s that girl! He’s been pining after her ever since she came in the first time on Monday. Not that I blame him, she’s fucking magnificent.”

Arthur and John each let out a drunk yell, scooting closer to their youngest brother and putting their arms around his shoulder almost in perfect sync. “There’s a fine looking lass.” Arthur agreed.

But John only let out a loud laugh, ruffling his hair around while shaking his head. “Not a chance. Fancy girls like her don’t go for boys like us. She’s born from money, that one.”

Polly snorted from where she sat on the opposite side of the table, raising an eyebrow at her nephew. “And how would you possibly know that?”

John waved a hand in your direction, where you were laughing carelessly to something your brothers had said, having no clue in the slightest to the conversation currently going on behind your back.

“Look at the diamonds around her neck and listen to the accent of the company she’s in.” He said, shaking his head again with a teasing smile playing at his lips as he took a drag of his cigar. “Those are London boys. And you were born in the slums. Don’t get your hopes up.”

His discouraging words drew a scoff from Polly, but she chose to stay out of further conversation, knowing she would without a doubt lose her temper otherwise.

Instead, Tommy chose this as his time to join in, sitting up in his chair and putting out his cigarette, blowing out the final drag of smoke before speaking.

“Well, he’s also a Shelby.” He noted, looking at John, before turning to Finn and taking that back of his neck in his hand. “And since when have us Shelbys had any trouble in finding women, eh? All he needs is a little boost.”

With that, he gave him a small shake and then proceeded to tell him what he needed to do to get your attention.

No matter how hard he tried to be, he wasn’t his brothers. He had their charm, without a doubt. But the difference between them and him was that they knew how to use it, and he was absolutely fucking clueless.

At nineteen years old, he wasn’t a virgin. But the only girl he had ever slept with was the whore his brothers had hired for him on his eighteenth birthday.

He had told Tommy when reporting back that very same night that he never wanted it like that again, and he had stuck by it, not having felt a woman’s touch since. Barely even held a conversation with one, if you didn’t count his aunt and brothers’ wives.

John, Arthur and Isaiah let him in on their tips and tricks, as well, giving him examples of lines and words that could be used to ‘lure any lady in’. Some of the things they told him to do and say seemed absolutely bizarre, but what did he know?

Their biggest mistake, however? Not telling him in which context the different lines should have been used.

He probably should’ve been able to figure that out himself, but like earlier mentioned, he hadn’t had much practice on the subject of women and quite frankly, he wasn’t like his brothers at all personality-wise.

Rather than being loud, daring and fierce, he was soft, shy and careful, and when finally having gathered the courage to walk up to you at the bar, really fucking nervous, which was probably what fucked the entire thing up.

He could practically feel himself dying from shame when he slid up beside you with an overly cocky smirk, speaking out: “Rumor has it, I make you nervous,” like his brother’s had advised him to, only to get little to no reaction back.

It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for you to be approached on a night out, quite the opposite really; you honestly got more surprised nowadays if you weren’t approached by at least one man.

You didn’t know what it was that made them think you would ever be interested when they delivered such bad pick-up lines, just like this one. 

You admired them for the attempts, but never gave them much of a response, and this time was no different, as you simply snorted at the lame line.

But when you turned your head to the side to turn him down like you did every other guy and caught sight of his face, your attitude shifted in an instance.

Unlike the cocky, overly confident boys you were used to, this was not one of them. 

Sure, he still sported a cocky smirk on his lips. But his eyes were so insecure and soft, going together perfectly with his innocent, freckled face, and instantly caught your attention.

So, rather than shooting him down like you had originally been planning, you twisted your body to face him, completely forgetting about the drinks your brothers had sent you to retrieve.

You raised an eyebrow. “Are you flirting with me?”

His smirk instantly widened, but it faltered slightly every once in a while, showing you clearly that this wasn’t something he usually did. “That depends, is it working?”

His voice was casual and sure, but his nervous face betrayed the entire act of confidence he had put on.

“Well, I have to be frank.” You chuckled, tilting your head to the side slightly. “Your skills of seducing a woman are absolutely shite and I usually don’t care for boys who strike up a conversation by tooting their own horn, but you’re cute and you seem nervous, so I’ll let it slide.”

He obviously hadn’t been expecting you to talk back with such ease, his smirk falling in a matter of seconds and his freckled face taking on a pink tint. He began sputtering for a response, and you couldn’t help but throw your head back in a laugh.

“Oh, the fearless mettle disappeared just like that, did it?” You questioned, amusement evident in your voice, and he must’ve taken it as if you were mocking him because the next second, his face had taken a sour turn.

“I’m not nervous.” He defended, but the intensifying blush on his cheeks told you different.

“No?” You raised an eyebrow, giving him a lopsided smile. “Then how come you still haven’t offered to buy me drink?”

“I don’t have to buy you a drink. My brother owns the place.” He was quick to reply this time, actually shocking you but still causing you to laugh a genuine laugh that pulled all the way to your eyes.

“Does that line usually work on girls?” You asked, and instantly he turned flustered again.

“No.” He disagreed, stuttering over his words. “I mean, I don’t really talk to girls much.”

You snorted, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t say.”

The blush on his cheeks deepened even further at your sarcastic remark, and you were starting to feel guilty. 

He obviously had no idea what to do in the situation he was currently in and although it shocked you to even say it, you found him interesting and didn’t want to scare him away.

So you dropped the sarcastic act, putting on a genuine smile and chuckling lightly. “Relax, I’m just having a bit of fun.” You comforted him, now in a tone much softer than before, sticking your hand out. “I’m (Y/N). What’s your name?”

His entire body seemed to relax at the sight of your outstretched hand, shoulders slumping and a small breath escaping from between his lips. 

He took a moment to react, before reaching out and taking your hand in his, shaking it carefully. “Finn. Finn Shelby.”

His hand was softer than you had expected it to be. Your brothers were all hard workers, all having served in the war. Their hands were rough and scarred and calloused. Bit Finn’s hand was smooth, indicating that he had yet to put in any hard labor in life.

And you found yourself liking that.

“Well, Finn Shelby, let me ask you something.” You said once he had let go of your hand again, licking your lips and leaning in a bit closer, peeking a glance at the table at the other side of the room that you had seen him sitting at before, and where its occupants were obviously trying to listen in without looking too obviously – and failing miserably at the latter. “Is it your brothers who taught you how to flirt? Because they didn’t do a very good job.”

He glanced over at said brothers just like you had, before turning back to look at you, a sheepish expression now settled on his face. “It usually works better for them.” He admitted lowly. “But as soon as I try anything they do, I mess up.”

Your eyebrows furrowed slightly at that. 

You got the feeling he wasn’t just talking about the flirting, and you found yourself puzzled about this boy. Not even five minutes into meeting each other and he was already, in a way, talking about his feelings; oversharing.

But you found it sweet. A guy that wasn’t overly masculine on a toxic level and could talk about his emotion was something this cruel world needed a lot more of in your opinion. 

There was nothing attractive about men who couldn’t own up to the person they were on the inside. In fact, those were usually the ones who grew up to be the really bad ones.

“That’s because you’re not them.” You answered, shrugging with a smile. “A piece of advice? You need to adapt to your own personality, use your own personal charm to your advantage, and not try to mimic someone else’s.”

He laughed at that; a genuine laugh that didn’t seemed as forced as everything else up until that point. “I wish they would have given me the same advice.”

“Well, their advice might not have done you very good, but you still got me hooked, didn’t you?” Your flirty attitude turned back on just like that, and when yours did, so did his, but this time in a natural way.

He raised an eyebrow, adjusting himself where he was leaning against the bar so that he was more comfortable. “Did I?”

“What would you do if I said yes?” You asked, raising an eyebrow to match his own, to which his grin only widened.

“I would ask you on a date.”

Your lips trembled and you had to force yourself to keep your calm in order to not break into a full smile.

“And when and where would this date take place?” You hummed, your head that had previously already been spinning with the alcohol you had consumed throughout the night now spinning even more with the buzz of the excitement you were surprisingly feeling by talking to him.

“Seven o’clock tomorrow night.” He answered, not even taking a second to think about it, shocking both you and seemingly himself as he caught himself and slowed down with a sheepish smile. “Dinner, a movie at the pictures, and then back here where I would introduce you to my brothers.”

You snickered, leaning your chin on the palm of your hands and narrowing your eyes slightly at him. “Taking me to meet your family already on the first date?” You teased. “You sure do move quickly, don’t you?”

Much to your surprise, he didn’t blush at your teasing this time, instead just giving you an equally as teasing smile back. “Just using my own personal charm to my advantage.”

Your eyebrows shot up, your confidence faltering for a slight moment as he was now beginning to take control. “And using my own words against me. You drive a hard bargain.”

He took a slow step closer to you, and whether or not it was intentional, you could admit you felt heat rise to your cheeks when his fingers brushed against yours at the surface of the bar.

You glanced down at your touching fingers briefly and he did the same, before looking back up at you with questioning eyes. “Is that a yes?”

You didn’t get the time to answer before your oldest brother called out your name from your table. You threw a look over your shoulder, noticing they were all now standing up and beginning to get into their jackets, without a doubt tired of waiting for the drinks you were supposed to bring them some five minutes ago.

“Just a minute!” You yelled back at them, hurriedly turning back to Finn who was now looking at you expectantly. 

You bit your lip, looking around at the bar and luckily spotting a newspaper and a ballpoint pen lying around within reaching distance.

You stretched your arm out and grabbed them, clicked the pen and started scribbling your address in the corner of the first page with as clear letters you possibly could.

Your brothers had now started heading past you and out the door, and the oldest one – the same that had called for you – had stopped behind you with your jacket slung over his arm, waiting for you to finish.

You clicked the pen and put it down at the bar, carefully ripped the corner with your address written on it off and folded it in two before pushing yourself off the bar.

Finn did the same and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he watched your brother help you into your jacket wordlessly, respectfully minding his own business and not intervening.

Once you had gotten situated in your coat and pulled your hair back out from under the collar, you reached the note out for Finn to take.

He took it with a small smile, and you returned it with a smile twice as wide.

“It was nice meeting  you, Finn Shelby, and I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow.” You grinned and leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

His skin was warm against your lips, no doubt from being flustered from your entire interaction. 

And your little finishing touch did nothing to calm his racing heart, having him even more flustered than he had been before when you walked out with your brother in tow, leaving him to go back to his own brothers with the good news.

#finn shelby #finn shelby imagine #finn shelby x reader #Peaky Blinders #peaky blinders x reader #peaky blinder imagine #peaky blinder fanfic #peaky blinder headcanon #tommy shelby #arthur shelby #john shelby #ada shelby #ada thorne #michael gray #polly gray

[whumphoarder]

You Still Got Us

Summary: Peter is having an off-day, which unfortunately coincides with an Avengers’ level mission. After watching the kid take a number of close calls, Tony has no choice but to bench Peter mid-fight.

Word count: 2,461

Genre: angst, emotional hurt/comfort

Link to read on Ao3

A/N: Written as part of @irondadsecretsanta 2019! Merry Christmas @garbotuesday! Hope you enjoy :D

Thanks to @xxx-cat-xxx and @sallyidss for beta reading and to @awesomesockes for the idea

It was pretty clear that Peter was having an off-day.

Tony first noticed the signs during Steve’s pre-mission briefing that morning when the kid repeatedly kept sneaking glances at his phone. That seemed a bit out of character given Peter’s usual reverence toward the captain, but Tony excused it on the basis that a) it was a pretty straightforward mission, b) they’d been over the exact specifications of the building they were going to be infiltrating four times already, and c) Cap could be boring as hell.

Peter seemed a bit preoccupied during their flight to the rural New Mexican town, but nothing too out of the ordinary. He nodded along to all of the team’s tactical discussions and appeared to understand his role in the plan. Later, when the kid tripped over his own feet while exiting the quinjet, Tony chalked it up to nerves.

But the final straw was when Peter misread Steve’s hand signal to hold his position as an order to strike. That mistake is what caused the kid to charge directly into a room full of six heavily-armed guards, completely by himself.

Cursing, Tony quickly scrambles out from behind the crate that’s been shielding him from view. The rest of the team is already mobilizing, thankfully used to improvisation. Natasha takes out one of the men with a roundhouse kick to the jaw while Steve and Clint converge on two more, quickly disarming them.

Another guard hurls a heavy metal table in Tony’s direction and takes off running toward the backdoor. Tony’s just started after him when he hears Sam’s urgent warning over the comms.

“Heads up, Spidey!”

Tony whirls around. Peter—who is staring down at his own wrist, frantically tapping the side of his webshooter mechanism—barely has time to look up before the fifth guard aims his gun directly at the kid’s head.

Instantly, Tony raises his hand and blasts the weapon right out of the guard's grip. The man gives a strangled cry of pain as he clutches his now burned hand to his chest. Taking advantage of that momentary distraction, Tony switches his repulsor setting to stun and fires again. This time he blows the guard clear across the room. Under his faceplate, Tony grins.

(It’s the little things.)

Unfortunately, he doesn’t get to bask in the satisfaction for long. A split-second later, a burst of energy slams into Tony’s chest plate. The force sends him hurtling backwards into the wall. Tony grunts sharply as pain explodes in his ribcage.

Peter races over to him. “Oh god, Mr. Stark, are you okay?” he blurts out, his tone borderline hysterical. “I’m so sorry! My webshooter jammed and I—”

“Get down!” Clint shouts.

Tony swears sharply, yanking Peter down with him just as another photon blast shoots over their heads. This time it’s so close that Tony swears he can see smoke wafting up from the top of Peter’s mask.

“Shit, kid…” Tony gasps out, his chest heaving as he struggles to catch his breath. “You alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine,” Peter assures him, gulping hard. He’s sitting on the ground now, looking more dazed than anything else. “I just, uh, didn’t see him there.”

Over the comms, Tony hears Steve report that the two remaining guards have just escaped through the southwest exit. Sam and Natasha immediately take off after them. Peter starts scrambling to his feet like he intends to follow, but Tony grabs his wrist.

“Oh hell no. Don’t even think about it,” he snaps. “You’re staying right here.”

“What? No!” Peter protests, trying fruitlessly to twist his arm out of his mentor’s iron grip. “I’m fine—I’m not even hurt!”

“No, but you will be if you can’t get your head in the game,” Tony retorts, his gaze traveling around the room. Out of the team, Barton seems to be the only one left. The archer has an arrow trained threateningly at the pile of groaning men on the ground.

“Yo, Legolas!” Tony hollers, causing the man to glance back at him. “You got this?”

Clint smirks. “Absolutely. These guys aren’t going anywhere,” he says, nodding his head toward the incapacitated guards. “Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.”

Tony rolls his eyes at the archer. "Yeah, well let me know if it gets to be difficult, difficult, lemon difficult..." he mutters. Still holding Peter’s wrist, he pulls the kid with him behind a stack of crates in the back corner of the warehouse. He retracts his helmet to look directly at Peter. “Alright, start talking,” he orders. “What is going on with you today?”

“Nothing,” Peter says tightly. Even in the mask, he won’t meet Tony’s gaze. “’m fine.”

“No, you’re not fine—you’re unfocused. You’re sloppy,” Tony argues. “Sloppy doesn’t fly in the big leagues, kid. Sloppy’s liable to get you killed.”

”Right, no, I know that. My webshooter is just clogged, but I can fix it!" Peter babbles. He resumes smacking the side of the mechanism. "I’m sorry, I’m really sorry, I just—” With a final smack, the blockage is released and a string of web shoots out of the device, adhering Peter’s foot to the ground. He groans. “Aw, c’mon...”

Tony heaves out an exasperated sigh as the kid proceeds to clumsily spray his foot with web solvent. “Alright, that’s it, I’m benching you,” he declares. “Go back to the quinjet and wait for us to finish up.”

“Wh-What?” Peter stammers. He shakes his head frantically. “No, no I’m fine, Mr. Stark! I’ll focus! It was just—”

“Nope,” Tony cuts him off. “If you can’t take this mission seriously, then you shouldn’t be on it.” He’s starting to get heated now. “And don’t think I didn’t notice you constantly on your phone this morning. I don’t know what you think is so important on there, but you can crush candy and fire angry birds at green pigs another time.”

“I-I wasn’t,” Peter mumbles, still looking down.

"Then what were you doing?" Tony demands.

Peter bites his lower lip. His voice is very small when he answers, “Waiting for a text.”

“A text?” Tony balks. He’s in genuine disbelief. “You’ve been begging me and Cap to let you come along on the real missions for months now, and when we finally do, rather than following orders and keeping up, you spend your time, what? Texting your girlfriend?”

Peter’s hugging his arms around his middle now. He shakes his head slightly, his words coming out in barely a whisper. “No. May.”

Tony frowns in confusion. “Your aunt?”

Peter nods, his lower lip starting to quiver. “She… um, she found a lump a couple days ago? On her, uh…” He gestures vaguely in front of his chest.

Tony’s heart sinks with the realization. He exhales slowly. “Oh bud…”

Inhaling shakily, Peter starts to ramble. “Like, it might be nothing and I know I shouldn’t jump to conclusions or anything before the tests come back because who knows if it’s cancer or just like, fatty tissue or something? She said it could be that and it might be no big deal so I shouldn’t get worried yet, but… but like...” He draws in another shuddery inhale. “May’s mom died of breast cancer when she was only like, forty. And I know that doesn’t mean that May has it or anything but it can run in families and so"—he sucks in a sharp breath—"I just, I mean...she’s all I have left, a-and…”

Peter breaks off into a choked sob, and Tony sets a hand heavily on his shoulder.

“I just… I ca-can’t lose her too, Mr. Stark!” he cries.

“It’s okay,” Tony whispers, rubbing his hand up and down over Peter’s arm. “It’s alright, kid…”

Through his earpiece, he hears Nat report that she’s just taken down the final guard. Sam cracks a quick joke about Black Widow’s head-locking skills before Steve reports that he’s discovered the weapons distribution area. It all sounds pretty well under control.

Lowering his hand, Tony steps backwards and taps his earpiece with two fingers. “Hey, I need to take the kid back to the jet,” he says quietly. “I’ll be back in ten or so to finish up.”

“Roger that,” Steve replies. “Is he injured?”

Tony hesitates. Peter has tugged his mask halfway up over his face now and is scrubbing at his cheeks roughly with the back of his hand. “Not physically," he replies after a pause. "But he’s… he’s done for today.”

X

The walk back to the quinjet is brief and silent, the only sounds being Peter’s occasional sniffs. He’s clearly trying his best to pull it together, so Tony just lets him be.

Once back onboard, Peter immediately sinks down into his seat, removing the mask entirely. Tony grabs a bottle of water and a protein bar from their supplies and holds them out to him, but the kid just shakes his head.

“I’m good,” he whispers.

“Doubtful,” Tony replies. He sets the items down on Peter’s lap anyway.

Peter bends down to reach into his backpack, which is stowed under the seat, and fishes his phone out with trembling fingers. He scrolls through to check his notifications, and then sighs.

“Anything?” Tony asks.

Peter shakes his head. “Not yet.” He lowers the phone back down and looks up at his mentor. “I’m really sorry about the mission,” he says quietly. “I shouldn’t have come today. That was really stupid and I just put everybody in danger. I was just so worried and I thought it might take my mind off it, but...” A stray tear runs down from the corner of his eye.

With a sigh, Tony presses the button to fully retract his armor. He then plops down on the closest seat, wincing as pain shoots through his now unsupported ribs. “Look. I’m not going to say what you did was okay, because it really wasn't"—Peter bites his lip and gives a solemn nod—“But at the same time, I'd be lying if I told you I’ve never done anything similar.” Tony pauses for a beat. “Emotions suck.”

At that, Peter huffs out a short, empty laugh. “Yeah. Agreed.”

They sit there for a moment, before Peter asks hesitantly, “Uh, are you going to head back now?”

Originally, Tony was only intending to stay until the kid was situated and then get back to the warehouse to help confiscate the weapons, but the quiver in Peter’s lip is giving him pause. The team probably doesn’t need him, per se—the hard part is basically over.

Tony shrugs. “I think Cap’s got it handled. Plus”—he presses his hand gingerly to the bruise on his ribcage—“this could probably do with some ice. Do you think you could…?” He flaps his hand in the direction of the ship’s medical supplies.

Peter’s eyes widen. “Oh! Yeah, of course.” He hops up from his seat and retrieves the first aid kit. He locates a single-use ice pack which he snaps and shakes to activate the chemicals.

“Here,” Peter says, handing it over. “Uh, how bad is it?” he asks nervously. “Do you want some painkillers or anything?”

Tony takes the ice pack with a nod of thanks. He’s had enough broken ribs in his life to know that these are likely just bruised—at worst, cracked. The injury is only ranking about a three or four on the pain scale, which is far below his usual threshold for sitting things out. But if the kid needs something else to focus on, he figures a break won’t kill him.

“Sure, if you’ve got any,” Tony says, keeping his tone casual.

Peter locates and doses out three Tylenol for Tony, shaking them into his mentor’s palm before grabbing him a fresh bottle of water.

“Thanks,” Tony says. He swallows them down and then adjusts his position in his seat, considering for a moment the best way to keep Peter's mind occupied while they wait. “Hey," he begins, "have I ever told you about the time Clint tried to free climb the outside surface of a three-story building?”

Peter shakes his head.

“Oh, it’s a doozy,” Tony remarks with a chuckle, settling deeper into his chair. “Alright, so it was Valentine’s day, which I only happen to remember because Cap insisted on making these heart-shaped pancakes for everyone, which set off the fire alarm...”

Over the next ten minutes, Tony recounts the story with as much embellishment and vivid imagery as he can muster. Peter gives the occasional single breathy laugh or nod as appropriate, which satisfies his mentor that his less-than-subtle distraction tactics are at least partially working.

“...luckily, Thor caught him before he hit the ground,” Tony concludes. “You know those viral videos where the firefighter catches the baby being dropped out of an apartment window? Same concept, except the firefighter was an alien god and the baby was a grown man in cargo shorts. Still screamed about the same amount though.”

With a short laugh, Peter checks his phone once more. He then sighs and shakes his head slightly before setting the device back facedown on his thigh.

Tony takes that as his cue to continue. “...Speaking of screaming, have you heard the one about how he once posed as a camel trainer in Australia, and led a group of—”

Just then, Peter’s phone buzzes.

Eyes going wide, his hand shoots out for the device so fast that his fumbling fingers send it clattering to the floor. He drops to his knees and picks it up, quickly turning it over to see the text.

For a few seconds, Peter just stares at the message, unblinking, and Tony waits for a response with bated breath.

Then suddenly, Tony’s watching tears well up in the kid’s eyes. His own heart drops to his stomach and all at once it's 1991 again and Jarvis is knocking on his bedroom door, informing him that a state trooper is here, that something terrible has occurred, that his parents are—

A choked sob from Peter knocks Tony back to the present. The kid is still knelt on the floor, pressing a fist to his lips, shoulders shaking from the effort of keeping quiet.

“N-Negative,” Peter manages to say through the tears. “The bi-biopsy was... it was negative. No cancer.”

Ignoring the protests from his ribs, Tony slides out of his own seat to join him on the floor. He pulls the boy in to his chest for a tight hug. “It’s okay, Pete,” he says quietly. “It’s okay. I got you.”

Peter’s sobs are wracking his entire frame, but Tony only holds him tighter as he cries.

“It’s alright, kid,” Tony breathes, rubbing one hand up and down Peter’s back. “You still got her. You still got us.”

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#irondad secret santa #irondad fic #angst #Emotional Hurt/Comfort #crying #crying peter #hurt peter parker #hurt/comfort #mentions of cancer #anxiety #mcu writing #my fic

[arkus-rhapsode]

Ok. So what do you think of the latest chapters of fairy tail 100 years quests? What what's happening to characters? I think you're so possed that you even stopped reading more

Hoo boy... *Cracks knuckles* We may be here for a while.

So before I start, let me make clear that I actually keep up with 100YQ, though not for any actual interest anymore. I now stay with it for ironic enjoyment. Because I could say EZ has dumb stuff, but at this point, if you’re Hiro Mashima’s main audience, its fine. No, 100YQ is unique in that it has WTF moments that transcend just the FT fandom sensibilities.

Before I dig in, I’m gonna lay out some formatting rules because we’re cover A LOT. Im gonna be fair and split this up into positive and negative aspects of the series. Because I at least try to be intellectually in what I do.

To avoid from going on tangents and jumping around, I’m gonna be going in chronological order of events. Now this will not be an overview of the series up to this point because that’s stuff I’ve already talked about. Instead I’m gonna start from the point this went from genuine interest to ironic interest. That begin the Whited Out FT Guild.

Positives:

The concept of the wood dragon god having a kingdom on his back is really cool world building. Its actually something that I really liked about the Sea Dragon God as well. Having a realm reliant on the dragon as well as a reason to revere them. What with the water dragon god controlling the tides while wood dragon god is the supporting the city on his back actually makes them seem like god figures and adds to the lore of the world of Earthland in a way that Ishgar and Alvarez sorely failed at.

Laxus punching out Kyria. Petty yes, as Kyria is my least favorite dragon slayer. However a lot of Whited out FT mages were getting jobbered like crazy or just given unceremonious defeats. So Laxus actually seeming like an obstacle was good.

The cat twist with Touka is actually a funny bit of trolling and was one of the few times there was effective foreshadowing with Touka having a tail. (Too bad it was suck in the meandering Gajeel plot.)

The Dragon Eater guild is a much better final villain army than Spriggan 12. The 12 had little structure as to who was the stronger members, resulting in multiple Spriggans feeling like such major disappointments.

Most Mashima Villain organizations tend to broken up like this: Boss->Special Units (I.E Spriggan 12, Nine Demon Gates, Element 4)->Fodder Units.

No one cares when the fodder of a villain group is beaten as they’re just faceless minions. However, when you get to the special unit, that’s wheen there are actual obstacles and the villains start becoming more like characters. However, Hiro has been bad at this when he’s dealing with bigger organizations.

He never had to worry about telling you which member of the villain group’s special unit were more powerful than the others. Due to working with units composed of low amounts of characters, such as Team Lyon, Element 4, and Death’s Head.

You could say that all were roughly around the same power threshold. However, where the spriggan 12 royally failed was there were 12 of them in that unit and they were all just given the blanket term of being on the same level of the number 1 wizard saint. Yeah... that’s a check so large that Hiro could not cash it.

Hiro even seemed to retroactively acknowledge this by stating that August, Irene, and Larcarde were the three best to cover his ass for the fact that all the spriggans seemed to be jobbered far easier than ones supposedly equal to the number 1 saint.

However, the Dragon Eaters are opponents we’re gradually introduced to over the storyline and we actually see a demonstration of what a group of them can do, instead of 1 just trying take on all of team Natsu at once. We see that Skullion’s team is roughly equal to Team Natsu, giving us a gauge for the Dragon Eater strength, but then we get both Wraith and Nebal, underlings not part of Skullion’s thre man team, implying that are of a weaker variety and thus serving as a stepping stone to fight Skullion. But also introducing us to the Black Dragon Slayer Cavalry. Members above Skullion’s team that give us an idea if when they show up what the audience should expect of their strength level.

There’s a reason why in One Piece why Yonkou opperations have so many categories. You’re not gonna care about the minor thugs, but by making a distinction between the Headliners and the Disasters in Kaidou’s crew, you’ve made it so that we the audience will not feel disappointed if a Headliner is beat by a weaker character like say Usopp but still know that they are more than a foot soldier so this win meant something.

Now time for the negatives:

The concept of White Out is not awful, and is actually a fairly interesting concept for a villain motivation in FT. However, the White Witch is one of the most transparently evil characters in the series, thus you know that she’s doing this morally ambiguous action because she’s evil. Imagine if this were about humans or royals who feared the growing power of mages. Or a disillusioned mage with the concept of people like Zeref or the GMG, where is seems like magic is endless and how that’s a threat to the world. No, White Witch really seems like she wants to be this grand manipulator and actively enjoys calling heer whited out people, puppets.

However, there’s also the fact the whiting out doesn’t make too much sense. Some characters seem like mind controlled puppets like Juvia, while others are basically the same except their evil now like Gajeel, Mira, Elfman, Laxus. And some are dumb jokes like Jellal.

So there’s no consistency to this brainwashing. Only other time I’ve seen a mind control plot like that in media before is Yugioh GX. Sometimes people act like they’ve been brainwashed into something different like Alexis. But then people like Bastion and a lot of the gag members of the society like Rose and Bob act as if they’re not affected by anything.

Yeah, this white witch plot feels distractedly ripped off from the society of Light from Yugioh GX.

The concept of Team Natsu vs FT in the vain of the fighting festival arc is dumb narratively from two standpoints. First from a story standpoint in the idea that why the battle of FT arc was opportunity, due to the fact they were all willing to fight to free the frozen girls. Which allowed for others to show shades to their motivations Like Alzack willing to mow through his other comrades for Bisca or Thunder God Tribe assisting in protecting Laxus so he’s the last man standing. There’s a tangible reward on th line that motivates the characters to act as do.

Here, the characters are clearly fighting against their will because of an intangible force. This white magic makes them slaves and are fighting because “white doctrine.” Something they only believeebecause brainwashing. As such, you want to see Natsu and gang beat them up to stop the white witch and free them. There’s no force or intrigue that makes the audience care about both sides like seeing Alzack vs Jet and Droy because you know they both want to save their partners but only one can. Instead people only care because a surface level of “friend turned evil” device. It takes the B and C list cast of the FT guild and makes them props.

And from a meta standpoint, there is no tension, due to the fact this is a post final battle with acnologia Team Natsu. The team is bounds ahead of so many guild members like Macao, Reedus, Max etc. that the only real threat is the S class mages. So that makes that big page spread of evil FT in cult robes dull as only like 3 of them are gonna actually matter.

Then there’s Wraith. Nebal was a boring an generic crazy guy is unimpressive, Wriath was actually really interesting at first. Is ghost magic allowed for an interesting fight and his possession actually having limitations on how effective it was made for a cool skill.

But then the reveal about him and Makarov. I eye-rolled at that point, but then I saw the previews and was like, maybe this’ll be the best thing to come out of this series. Everyone wants to know more about past FT around team Makarov’s time.

But all the potential of young Makarov and young Porylusica and the rest of their team is put on fast forward as they’re all suddenly thinking about leaving. But maybe the reveal with Wraith could be interesting. I saw a lot of good theories like Wraith was Makarov’s half brother or Wraith was the son of Makarov and Porylusica who was killed by Ivan.

Well... Any theory would’ve been better than Wraith was some random ass mage and when they say he a Makarov are related its because the bonds of FT that is real family and transcends death itself.

...Gag me...

And and Wraith just fucks off into the afterlife. Because we can’t actually end a fight because of the protagonist’s ingenuity. No, the villain just kills themselves because feels. Isn’t that right August and Irene?

In conclusion

That’s my thoughts as briefly and coherent as I could make them. So if you wanna know my feelings on 100YQ, it can basically be summed in FT being FT. If you expected more, you’re gonna be disappointed. But if you genuinely love the world and character regardless of Hiro’s writing, you’ll probably still enjoy it regardless of what I’m saying

[kaiba-fangirl]

Fill in the questions/statement as if you are being interviewed for an article and you were your muse

Tag 10 people to do this meme, (repost, don’t reblog)

TAGGED BY: not @rogueprinceconsort =P & I know I’m not a RP blog, but I am a fanfic author so I still do the same kind of stuff, just everyone at once with chapters, so I’m sure ya won’t mind... idk itching to write Seto but his mind is all over the place in Ch7 of And You? (AO3/FFN), & I know I’ve missed a bunch of personal tags in the past, so, well, I’m here now. TAGGING: anyone 1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

“Seto Kaiba.”  (海馬 瀬人 Kaiba, Seto)

2. WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME?

He narrows his eyes, already suspicious. “Legally, that IS my real name.”

3. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE CALLED THAT?

“I was born Seto,” he answers flatly, then smirks. “The Kaiba family name I earned for myself and my little brother at the age of 10, when Gozaburo agreed to adopt us thanks to my, superior negotiating skills.” [Seto after Egyptian Pharaoh Seth. Kaiba for, apparently, hippocampus/seahorse.]

4. ARE YOU SINGLE OR TAKEN? “Taken. Happily married to the number 1 female duelist, Mai Valentine. She’s now heading the new Fashion Tech and Merchandise Department at Kaiba Corp.” [but he’s also still looking >.>]

5. HAVE ANY ABILITIES OR POWERS? “Just bleeding edge technology development and superior dueling skills,” he shrugs smugly. [and hacking.] [You also accidentally activate latent magical powers every so often, dumbass. Sure he’s a genius. A genius that weaves techno-sorcery into everything & commands gods without even knowing it.] “Anything else you may have heard about magic or spirits or real monsters, is all just nonsense hocus pocus. It’s sensationalists trying to make our amazingly life-like holographic projections seem dangerous.”

6. STOP BEING A MARY SUE/GARY STU. “Heh, doesn’t that just mean born talented? You should be so lucky.”

7. WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOR? “Blue,” he chuckles childishly. “It was probably what first drew me to, you know, Blue-Eyes, when I was young.” [It’s not. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon was his magical monster of light ‘girlfriend’ in Ancient Egypt in a past life of his 3000 years ago.]

8. HOW ABOUT YOUR HAIR COLOR? “Chestnut.”

9. HAVE YOU ANY FAMILY MEMBERS? “Living, my little brother, Mokuba, and now my lovely wife.”

10. OH? WHAT ABOUT PETS? “No pets. I barely have time for having two people in my life now it seems, and that’s even with Mokuba off travelling.” [any pet energy is expended on more Blue-Eyes White Dragon themed everything]

11. THAT’S COOL I GUESS, NOW TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE. “You wanna see a REAL Gary Stu?! As in, there is no reason he should have made it this far?! Joey fuckin Wheeler. This loser stole his way into my tournament, then has the nerve to even challenge me for 3rd place as if that meant anything, and he still ends up 4th even?! How! He operates on pure luck, and leeching off his ‘friends!’ His deck is a mess, I mean have you even seen his lineup?!?!” [Well that would all be redacted. Now, since this is for an interviewer for a published article...] He calmly and thoughtfully looks off at a spot on the far wall behind the interviewer. He purses his lips and furrows his brow, genuinely distraught, drawing from a direct encounter. “I’m actually more concerned than ever about the state of refugees- whether they have that official label or not. Around the world. Especially the children. These children don’t know what’s going on, and people say they care about children, but they really don’t. They’re not thinking of those kids- of refugee kids. Of poor kids. Of orphans or abused kids. And the way these refugees are being treated, those kids are getting hit with all those things at once. Ya know, I- I was fortunate enough to have that opportunity to be adopted, in a strong first-world nation, but I know what it’s like, to know that the grown ups are just using you, not listening to you. You’re nothing to them; maybe pawns. Now, I’m doing all I can, as president of Kaiba Corp, but there is still only so much we can do. We’re not making tanks or any weapons at all anymore-” He chokes at the thought of a tank staring him down specifically, compared to the latest news. He clears his throat to manage. “Not since the day I took over. We may not be contributing to that military industrial complex anymore, but the state of refugees today is still just as bad if not worse. Now they’re using weapons outlawed by the Geneva Conventions, and in countries that pride themselves on freedom and opportunity. Pteh. It’s madness. It’s evil.” [...aaand that just became the cover story] [We’ll be back after after a short break.]

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE DOING? “Besides dueling, uh, tinkering. Reading. Hacking into random databases I shouldn’t be in.”

13. EVER HURT ANYONE BEFORE? “Next question. Don’t even print that, or you’ll be hearing from my lawyers. And they don’t play so nice.” [By ‘lawyers’ I’m pretty sure he just means goons.]

14. EVER… KILLED ANYONE BEFORE? "No.” [Gozaburo.]

15. WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU? "Dragon.”

16. NAME YOUR WORST HABITS. "Tch, I wouldn’t have gotten to be president of a multi-billion-dollar corporation if I had bad habits.”  [That is literally his worst habit. Also how he got there is because of all his bad habits.] He chuckles at what he’s about to make fun of. “Then again, some people think that working too much is a bad habit.”

17. DO YOU LOOK UP TO ANYONE AT ALL? "How could I when I’m already on top?”

18. GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BISEXUAL? "Irrelevant.” He smiles menacingly. “Card games are more important anyway.” [Bi and trying to figure out how to tell his wife. Then again once he does that, the press will be easy. Possibly also grey ace or demi, since he does enjoy the physical aspects of being married & his crush.]

19. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL? “Graduated high school early and then went right back to work as CEO, at the time. I don’t have time to waste getting a piece of paper to validate my knowledge that I’m already putting to use at Kaiba Corp everyday. --but I certainly support everyone staying in school as long as they can. Kaiba Corp offers a free college tuition program for any employee, paid ahead of time, and schedules can be worked around class and homework time as needed.”

20. DO YOU EVER WANT TO MARRY AND HAVE KIDS ONE DAY? “I never thought I would want to marry, but I have always assumed I would want to adopt. Now I am married, and we both want to adopt. Someday. It needs to be when I can have time for them...” [and he’s wondering why you are supposed to only marry one person...]

21. DO YOU HAVE ANY FANBOYS/FANGIRLS? “Yeah,” he laughs, genuinely embarrassed at this level of pure idolization, “I find it endearing to see people dress up as Yugi and I at events.”

22. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF? “Losing my little brother.”

23. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY WEAR? “Full-length pants, tight fitting turtlenecks, boots, and a trenchcoat. More leather and straps and buckles, the better.”

24. DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE? “Of course. My little brother and my wife.” [and Joey]

25. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WET YOURSELF? [he just makes this face:]

[but possibly the last time he did hard drugs]

26. WHAT CLASS ARE YOU? (HIGH CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, LOW CLASS) “Highest class.” He winks, for the spotlight.

27. HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE? “I don’t need ‘friends’ outside of my family.”

28. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PIE? “Finally, an intelligent question!” he laughs rudely. “My thoughts are that we should change the standard approximation for π to something closer to 3.16. That’s what I use in my calculations, and I find things just seem to work out better for me because of it.”

29. FAVORITE DRINK? “I’ve started drinking a lot more water, and I think that’s pretty much all I drink lately.”

30. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE? “It’s comforting being in my office, knowing where I belong, knowing that with me there, everyone I love is safe, knowing how I got there, and being proud of all I’ve accomplished, but...” [sometimes anxiety about it being Gozaburo’s old office creeps into his mind like an evil spirit or ghost...] “But more than that, I enjoy the wild freedom of just taking my Blue-Eyes jet out with some good music playing.” [oh my various gods he will always be an emo teen at heart <3]

31. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMEONE? He scoffs. “Yes, I am genuinely interested in my wife. Mai is an amazing person. And- Ah, and, um, next question?” [and Joey!]

32. WHAT’S YOUR BRA CUP SIZE AND/OR HOW BIG IS YOUR WILLY? “What kind of magazine is this for, anyway?” he asks as an aside, then thinks up a ridiculous enough response. “Ever hear of Zorc? I’d say that’s roughly one-third the size of mine.” Under his breath, he scoffs in disgust. “Imbeciles.”

33. WOULD YOU RATHER SWIM IN THE LAKE OR THE OCEAN? “Er, a private pool, thanks. Too many paparazzi anyplace else, and I wouldn’t want to close off anything from the public.” [I hear there’s a river in Egypt he lives in though]

34. WHAT’S YOUR TYPE? “Independent. Strong. Great duelist. Someone who knows what it’s like at rock bottom, but still managed to claw their way to the top...” [he spaces out off to the side]

35. ANY FETISHES? *zoom out to room full of Blue-Eyes White Dragon themed EVERYTHING* “Nah.” [*insert Will Smith presenting his AO3 tags]

36. SEME OR UKE? TOP OR BOTTOM? DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE?

[Switch! But “And You?” is stuck at a T rating, sooo...]

37. CAMPING OR INDOORS? "The fuck- you’re giving me whiplash with these questions,” he mutters. “Camping sounds nice. Real camping. Mokuba and I used to build forts and play outside a lot. I should ask him if he wants to go on a camping trip when he gets back. I doubt- well, no, I think Mai would like that, too.” [And Joey can cook them “candy bars!”]

38. ARE YOU WANTING THE QUIZ TO END?

#well that was very educational #& rather therapeutic after what happened at dinner #re: kaiba #seto kaiba #writing ettu #re: and you?

[igjojpkpdtll-blog]

Can I See Who Views My Instagram In 2019

It is easy to use, in rancor of the artifice that it doesn't have the most genial interface, anyway you don't need to contribute much vitality looking on who viewed my instagram it, maybe it's not the prettiest site on earth, who viewed my Instagramyet it completes the obligation it was proposed for extraordinary. Would you have the out of the ordinary to look who points of view your Instagram, every you habit to do to check Who maxim my Instagram profile is enter your username in the best possible box upon the site and snap on the attend to get. It's fundamental, isn't that so? It is sheltered to make a clean breast that you are a hotshot? attain you past in imitation of people observe constantly? If really, if its every the similar to you skirt this area. Unmistakably when most by far, you just dependence to confer to those you truly know.

How To See Who Viewed Your Instagram Video

So if you have to save your Instagram stamp album secure, pick private cassette in the options menu. I outstandingly recognize this commotion to all watchmen who convey photos of their kids to stay in adjoin bearing in mind connections and relations roughly speaking the world. Amazingly, this does not shield your compilation from everyone. There are gadgets out there that empower stalkers to look your private profile without taking into account it. In any case, you can use the application we reviewed above in order to see who motto your Instagram profile and square everyone whose username how to see who views your Instagram. I'm not your parent, in view of that I won't uncover to you what and to whom you can share. Nonetheless, there are instruments out there that empower stalkers to look your private profile without taking into account it. The authenticity of the situation is that one organization can be a pathway to additional relational relationships or email accounts, and previously it is essential for casual networks to use the comparable usernames, passwords should be mighty and unique. Is it real that you are a virtuoso? I will presumably uncover to you that some dreadful crazy people can watch photos of your child or yours. They can uncover to you where you performance and as soon as and where you travel, or what extra events your adolescent is visiting or operational roughly dispatch the web application by tapping the catch above. you may announce what the solicitation for that summary infers. Various customers are intrigued nearly the solicitation for disciple and taking into consideration records, inclinations, and story sees, as it is ordinarily apparent that the solicitation isn't requested. The sure report for the solicitation for these summaries isn't every one of clear, nevertheless we understand that everything comes back up to the Instagram estimation. who you attract in the same way as the most on Instagram will likely appear at the most elevated infatuation upon the summary, which is the reason you as often as viable declare your to be partners or partners as the primary watchers on the once-over. Who views my Instagram, who perspectives my Instagram? thus you can't see unconditionally who visits your Instagram profile, still is there a quirk to deal afterward comprehend your stalkers? Heartbreakingly, moreover no regardless of the pretension that there is more manner for comprehension on this request. The Instagram Algorithm shows you posts and demands your cronies and inclinations reliant upon three factors: your interests, your associations, and reference. By interests we aspire what you in imitation of and attract with. attachment insinuates similarly to who's substance you taking into consideration and attract with, still besides who likes and interfaces past you. This infers it could broadcast who is stalking you. If someone is reliably the fundamental as soon as recorded on your photos and you don't routinely affix once them upon the web, they may be an Instagram stalker. improve of your username and snap the concentrate on get and retain on for results

My View Starting Points

By and by loosen up, listen to some music, watch some YouTube accounts, make a coffee. Just don't close that site and sustain up relentlessly. According to the creators, dependent on the gift weight upon Instagram API servers, this methodology can agree to wherever from several minutes to 15 or even 30 minutes in the most unprecedented cases. It's not stirring to them. It's dawn and end in the works to Instagram and their servers. The impact of web based systems administration and stalkers upon our lives. Who is stalking my Instagram. Web based moving picture have irritated a regulate in structure social bonds and dynamic can you see who views your instagram up attachment subsequent to swing people. pull off you bearing in mind in the manner of people observe constantly? In deed genuinely, you should maintain a strategic set against from this entry. Who views my Instagram in any case, you can use the application we assessed above in order to see who wise saying your Instagram profile and square everyone whose username you don't see. I'm not your parent, consequently I won't uncover to you what and to whom you can share, anyway I will presumably circulate to you that some dreadful insane people can watch photos of your youth or yours. They can unveil to you where you law and subsequent to and where you travel, or what other deeds your child is visiting or charmed by. I don't set sights on to terror you, anyway I have to exhort you that there are various alarming people on the planet. The use of get into settings could be recommended to the people who genuinely ought to be evident and acquire no opportunity to acquire out. The most huge event is that it does feat and it works snappy. It ought to exhibit to me who maxim my Instagram profile and it did. There is conveniently unintentional to play signs of improvement, the UI is especially something that stands out as underneath typical and should be unadulterated up to ensure that this application is less hard to use for your unsigned customer. Regardless, you ought to investigate warily. We have assessed distinctive substitute applications who are always unbiased as "the fundamental genuine plan" that empowers customers to see who has visited their Instagram profile. In any case, this isn't the primary issue that they share for all goals and excuse the mutual factor of these applications would be the ventilate in which that a great part of the era they essentially don't occupy in as announced. After some time, it worked out that their usage influences for as far-off help as we can recollect. This is particularly felt today by adolescents, for whom online informal communication is only an vital bit of their lives. Specialists have for quite a even if been contemplating whether (and gave this is valid, how) the usage of online simulation impacts our enthusiastic wellbeing. Sometimes there are analyzes that portray, notwithstanding stand-in things, how the usage of extra advances can be associated following tilt issue, paying little mind to whether it damagingly influences connection behind friends, or it impacts the individual fulfillment and the level of euphoria. Likely the most enormous risk we direction by means of online systems administration media stages are stalkers which are a ration of the become old hard to perceive and most stages don't assist us afterward this matter since we can't check who is seeing our profile, photos or accounts. This is the defense it's noteworthy for people to gain access to applications, for instance, the referenced above in order to consent who viewed my Instagram. This is the topic of what might be on the horizon, and as such we are moreover delineating supplementary research on this issue. Online vibrancy now and once more have all one of the reserves of physical a basic stage for youths and a crucial sort of edit as soon as the world who perspectives my Instagram. It isn't on your own a tell wherein one circulates self or comments, nevertheless besides a sort of correspondence, character going on associates afterward people whom the who views my instagram puberty does not see, anyway who call partners or associates. The force of online life and the skill of their effect are also negative. We ought not ignore cyber-bullying, stalking and supplementary rasping experiences and neutral individual to individual correspondence districts that impact people's inclination that anything is good taking into consideration the world, truth and energetic condition.

Reference

We have viably explained a lot upon passwords most noteworthy business to recall is that you have to amend them from mature to period and never reuse them. Undeniably when most by far, see who perspectives your Instagram you how to see who viewed your instagram video in fact habit to take over to those you genuinely know. So, can you look who views your Instagram in exploit you have to save your Instagram book secure, look who points of view your Instagram private scrap book in the options menu. I significantly suggest this endeavor to every watchmen who take over photos of their kids to stay in be next to next contacts and associates on the world. Grievously, this does not shield your autograph album from everyone. There are instruments out there that empower stalkers to see your private profile without when it. The certainty of the situation is that one direction can be a retrieve to supplementary relational associations or email accounts, and back it is very critical for casual networks to use the proportional usernames, passwords should be mighty and unique. Is it real that you are a superstar?

[rigelmejo]

i found the little prince on the same site i found xiao mao stories on, so that’s great. i can now look up words by clicking them. so of course i did what i tend to do - and i reread chapters 1-3 actually looking up all the unknown words. It can’t hurt as review I suppose? And I comprehend things a lot more clearly the second time reading through. 

...although I know I am... defeating the point of extensive reading if I’m... intensive reading lol. Although... eventually the two things merge when you don’t have to look many words up? ;-; maybe?

anyway in a few days I’m gonna do my goals met post or whatever and. All I know is WHATEVER my study plan was? It ended up becoming lots of extensive reading (chinese), audio (chinese, french), flashcards (japanese). Also some miscellaneous writing (chinese), and writing/grammar reading (japanese)... but to be fair it was not very much.

 I also got so much done I’m really proud of myself tbh. Like. For japanese I got 318 grammar flashcards done, 430 vocabulary flaschards done. To me that is a big deal because once I passed 300 grammar cards, 100 vocabulary cards, I officially had reviewed all of the japanese I had studied years ago and moved onto completely new material for me. That just blows my mind. I reviewed roughly what I used to know in like 2 months maybe? And now I’m learning genuinely mostly new material which is so cool to me. Also I know that years ago I started reading manga and playing video games Before I covered this much studying, so at this point I am more prepared than I was last time I did it. For whenever I choose to do it again. 

The main thing that I think was not a success was listening reading method. I want to do it so bad, I like it in concept, I need listening comprehension improvements, and I like reading! But genuinely the fact I have to stay on the task for long durations of time is just so freaking hard for me. I have been able to do it in 20 minute bursts, but I still overall NEED like 1 hour a day along with the ‘breaks in between’ if I want to finish at a decent stopping point I can start from again later. It is really hard to do if I have anything else significant planned for the day. Maybe I will try it one weekend day or one day off. I realize now why the person who initially explained the idea tended to do listening reading for 8-10 hours a day for a week to a month. It is MUCH easier to do if you can do it for long periods of time - if for no other reason than KEEPING PLACE in text is so much easier if you DONT have to leave the text regularly. And then also, so much of its learning method involves repetition of common word usage of the book, so lots of consistent regular input of the words (like doing it a week to month straight) will provide more regular review of words than doing it one hour every week. 

I want to try this method so badly, and I think it would help my chinese a lot at any level (since I still have a long way to go before I have a “natural listening” ability of material of that complexity), or my french (because I know a lot reading wise I just need to turn that into listening comprehension). I have had some success doing step 2 of the listening reading method - and I know its simply because when text matches the audio it is so much EASIER to stop doing it, return later, and easily find your place to continue from. However, the issue with step 2 is - while it allows me to improve listening comprehension of words I know, it does not allow me to pick up new words as easily. And genuinely I DO think step 3 helps more with listening comprehension - because you have to rely so much on listening comprehension ALONE to follow where you are in the text (its also why that step feels so intense and is so hard to keep your place in). 

So anyway. Step 2 has been quite easy, and I have actually managed to do it a bit this month. But step 3 is just. So difficult for me to get myself to do. For Francais Par Le Methode Nature, now that audio exists I’m basically listening to that and then also reading along with the text when I miss a word (which is more just comprehensible input with a transcript?). With MoDu, I listening to the audio while reading the chinese and glancing at the english for some key definitions (I don’t feel it challenged me to practice listening very much though). With the little prince, I played chinese audio and followed along to the text (mostly to match sound to new words I picked up when I read beforehand). With the xiao mao smiling cat story, I also played audio after I read it, to match audio up with new words I’d picked up - that time by listening then glancing at the text when I didn’t recognize a word when listening. So yeah like, I have been doing variations on step 2 sort of, so I suppose I’ll see if it produces any significant benefits for reading or listening. I also listened to tianyake audiodrama yesterday without looking at the subs and that was cool because it was a test of my actual listening comprehension a little (except easier to follow since I know the story).

I also think doing L R with a parallel text is much easier - again, because you can easily keep track of where you are in the audio so for people like me who NEED 10 minute breaks constantly it makes the activity much easier. I am using a parallel text for MoDu now and I think that’s why I was able to do about an hour and 30 minutes this week. I was doing sort of step 2 (so it was easier), and I had a parallel text so I didn’t get confused.

other notes?

In a way I’m glad I studied primarily simplified chinese, because it kind of helps me keep japanese more firmly ‘separate’ in my head. Some japanese kanji look like the simplified, many look like the traditional hanzi, and some I think may be simplified in a different manner. Japanese kanji do not mean exactly the same thing usually, and their multiple pronunciations can get confusing for me. So when the kanji looks different from the hanzi - i recognize traditional hanzi somewhat, so I can usually still recognize them and their meaning, but I don’t immediately think of them when I’m writing/typing/reading chinese unless I’m on a traditional text website/novel/show. So when I see the more traditional looking kanji, I can usually recognize them if its a familiar character, but my brain doesn’t so automatically jump to its chinese pronunciation. Which kind of helps me to keep my japanese pronunciations Separated from my chinese ones. Right now some of the hardest words for me to remember the pronunciation of are when the kanji are the same as a chinese simplified word (全然， 全部，方向). They’re easy to remember the definition of, but the pronunciations that come to my mind are pretty much automatically chinese.  

Also the Nukemarine LLJ decks are really helping, there’s a reason I like using them ToT. All the vocabulary is presented individually, then in sentence examples, all with audio. And lots of audio and reading practice so I can practice both. The grammar decks, which go along with Tae Kim’s Grammar Guide, are more challenging but understandable even without referencing tae kim’s grammar guide (which is great cause i’m too lazy right now to read a grammar guide). Mostly though, I just love the improvement I see from it? It’s structured well, so you get a lot of grammar foundation, kanji foundation, vocab foundation, and the different courses reinforce each other. 

I recently opened clozemaster to try the japanese fast track again - every so often my mind wonders if I could learn a significant amount from Clozemaster alone lol and I want to test it. I do genuinely think if you used Clozemaster it would work as well as that old 10k chinese or japanese sentence srs flashcards methods (which did work for people they just sound awful if you hate flashcards like me). Sometimes I use clozemaster as a ‘graded reader substitute’ to bridge the gap in my reading skills so I can push into reading native material easier. I did that for french and it helped a lot then I stopped using it once I could read novels. I did that with chinese and it helped a little. But I read in chinese so much I ultimately study more stuff when I just read so now my actual vocab is ahead of where I am in clozemaster when I try it for chinese lol. So like... usually I read it as an upper-beginner aid to break into reading target language materials that aren’t for learners. 

Well, I love contemplating if I could just learn a language FROM clozemaster sentences primarily as the study method though lol. Well, once I tried testing that with japanese years ago! It was brutal! I was a mid-beginner who’d studied for 1-2 years, and it was brutal! So many unknown kanji, unknown grammar, it was a mess lol! Just barely doable, would not recommend trying as a complete beginner. Well this week I tried to use Clozemaster japanese again - and it went super easy. One unknown word a sentence, or no unknown words and I marked the sentences mastered. The ideal difficulty for using clozemaster to improve, and I did not find the sentence grammar or kanji too intense to figure out. So the Nukemarine LLJ studying is helping a lot. I must have a bigger base of understanding than I did last time I tried clozemaster japanese, just because the activity is so much easier.

and an observation about me? I am super motivated by challenges apparently. Specifically when I hear something’s been done, worked, and then want to test it myself to see if it does. It’s why I was able to study 2k chinese words last year - someone else did those specific words, then started reading, and I wanted to know if I could copy that (it did help, though in retrospect there’s slightly easier ways lol!). 

This month? I read some stuff about how graded readers help with reading speed - now bam I am devouring easier reading materials (I read 53 chapters so far this month, counting shorter graded readers as 1 for ever two chapter chunks). I realize the reading material is much easier for half of this, so its closer to 30 chapters read in terms of length - but that’s still a good amount of reading in a month! And I finished reading 3 books this month! Also I read recently that extensive reading helps with vocabulary, and making future reading easier. So SINCE extensive reading is so much easier with these books more to my level, I’m testing that by reading a LOT lol. And that tip also motivated me to find an ease rating for what I’m reading/plan to read, which I’m sure will help me pick reading material in the future more based on actual needs. Like if I want to intensive read I can pick a ‘harder’ text, if I want to extensive read I can pick an easier rated text closer to my current ‘ease’ level (or a little harder), or if I want to extensive read something hard I can know its hard and read a translation beforehand. Basically just... the info I found about extensive reading really MOTIVATED me into doing it. 

There’s finally audio of Francais Par Le Method Nature, and even that motivated me to listen to multiple chapters to just test if the book works! I know the book works, I’ve read like 200 pages of it before and its basically a huge factor in what helped me move into novels from graded readers in french... its dated but I love the book so much and wish the same technique style textbooks were in more languages. I read the preface yesterday, which is so much easier for me to read now versus when I first read it lol which just shows it helped once. And it covers 3000 words chosen from frequency indexes, introduces everything in french in a manner to help students comprehend the meaning from its context, includes a pronunciation line guide below text (though now that audio exists its so nice to use!). This book’s designed to get a learner able to move onto target language materials for native speakers afterwards, and it SHOWS. I never even completed the book and only read it and it helped so much. I’m finally listening to it now, and in awe of how comprehensible the audio on its own is. Anyway this book’s concept always felt like something I wanted to test and proved if it worked so, if I have time...

Nukemarine’s LLJ i’m pretty good at sticking to, because its structured and has a claim about what I’ll be able to do when I’m toward the end of it - read japanese. The courses used to be called Standard Guide to Japanese Literacy SGJL. They were originally made to help japanese learners push into reading - and a lot of the related immersion tips/activity that go along with the guide also contribute. I imagine it got renamed something more general - Lets Learn Japanese LLJ - either because it wasn’t quite enough for novel reading, or it made more sense to call it something broader. 

I would love to have the motivation to test Listening Reading Method and prove if it works or not and how much ToT. It frustrates me so much I can’t remain focused long enough to do it multiple hours a day (whereas shows and books I can, since I can take breaks easily between moments). I already tested several hours doing it (specifically step 3), and I can confirm it at least improves listening comprehension of what you already partly-know. The little L R i have been able to do, boosted my listening comprehension of shows/audiobooks/audio dramas NOTICEABLY within a few hours of doing it, and with every few more hours I do it. So as a upper-beginner/low-intermediate learner (?) L R step 3 helps a lot with dragging listening skill up to match reading skill. And it doesn’t take much to see benefits. But I haven’t done L R enough to test how much totally new material you can learn from doing it - I’ve done enough to pick up a few words and phrases, but most of the benefit was half-learned words becoming more fully learned and instantly recognized in listening instead of requiring me to pause and think and get lost. 

#april #april progress

[livingmybestfictionallife]

Proximity (00)-Prologue

Prompt: Sebastian meets his newest neighbor and immediately finds her to be an interesting and genuine person. Before he knows it, he’s developing feelings for his much younger friend that he tries not to act on because of their age difference, only the proximity of their lives has other things in store for the couple.

Warnings: some language

A/N: Here is the prologue to the new Sebastian series I’m starting. Please let me know what you think. I hope this is something you’re all interested in.

New York City was a much bigger place than (Y/N) had imagined it would be. She had been living in the city since she started her undergraduate degree but had been staying in a dorm throughout most of those years. It wasn’t until she contemplated continuing her education in graduate school that she actually decided it was time to find an apartment. She didn’t want to be one of those people in her early to mid twenties living in a dorm filled with eighteen and nineteen year-olds away from home for the first time in their lives. After searching endlessly for a descent place in a nice neighborhood and then a nice place in a descent neighborhood, she was given the opportunity to teach undergraduate survey level English courses at her university while she completed the department’s graduate program. With the extra source of income on top of her part-time job at the bookstore, she was able to afford rent on a nice place in a nice neighborhood; there was just one small problem.

For a steady month an a half, at the same time every night, without fail, the person who lived above her would watch Friends on Netflix on a volume so loud it should blow the person’s eardrums out. At first she tried to ignore the inconsiderate individual above her, then came anger and she started poking at the ceiling with a broomstick or standing on a table and pounding her fist against her ceiling. After anger comes a long stint of passive aggressiveness where she would turn her TV on equally loudly or blast her music until she can’t hear the person above her anymore, but this only lead to people coming to her door and complaining about the volume of her electronics, which lead her to the most rational way to handle her problems.

Aggravated, (Y/N) stood in a pair of loose jogger sweatpants and a cropped shirt that didn’t expose any of her midsection. She was comfortably tasteful and would soon regret her choice of schlump clothes. Her fist pounded against the door, begging to be heard over what appeared to be prerecorded audience laughter. She quickly folded her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot, her impatience growing by the second. Just as she was about to bring her knuckles to the door again, she heard heavy footsteps making their way toward her.

The door crept open to reveal a tall man with thick brown hair and eyes so bright they outshines stars. “Can I help you?” a low, articulate voice flowed from the apartment and toward her ears.

“Um, hi,” she stated in a rather unsteady manner. Oh, fuck! That’s Sebastian Stan, her mind shouted as her eyes gapped at the man in front of her. “I’m (Y/N), I just moved in below you--” the man immediately nodded his head and offered her a small smile.

“You’re here about the volume aren’t you?” he grumbled with a laugh.

“Guilty,” she muttered in response, trying not to draw too much attention to the fact that her heart was pounding in her chest.

“I wish I could tell you there was something I could do about it, but I lost the remote and it’s one of those stupid new televisions that don’t have any buttons,” he sighed.

“How dare technology make TV buttons obsolete!” she scoffed, earning a small laugh from the she had admired from afar for so long. “If you have a smart phone I can show you how to program your phone to act as a TV remote.”

“Even if I have a Samsung TV and an iPhone?” he asked.

“Yes,” she chuckled, “even then.” Smiling, he stood aside and allowed the door to creep open even more.

“Please, come in,” he said with a warm voice. “I’ve gotten complaints from everyone around me already. I figured that the person below me would be next.”

“I tried to just ignore it, then I started to try annoying you by doing the same thing, but that just got me yelled at by my neighbors,” she admitted as he unlocked his phone and handed it over to her. She quickly downloaded an app to fix all of their problems and synced it with his television. When she handed it back to him and pressed the volume buttons to test her skills, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself.

“I would never have thought to do that,” he sighed. “Thank you so much, (Y/N).”

“It’s no big deal...” she paused, not sure if he had mentioned his name in passing or not and definitely not wanting to seem like a creepy stalker.

“Sebastian,” he hurried to fill in the blanks.

“It was not a problem, Sebastian,” she finished, not being able to control the blush rising into her cheeks.

“How can I repay you?” he quickly asked as she shifted on her feet.

“The silence is a gift in itself,” she couldn’t help but joke as another adorable smile slid across the man’s lips.

“Have you eaten yet?”

“Um, no?” her voice inflected upward as he stared down at her with a breathtaking smile.

“I just ordered a mountain of shrimp fried rice and some take-out—would you like to join me? It’s the least I could do.” She hesitated, not wanting to shoot down his offer entirely, but still wary about the dark realities of the world.

“I could be a serial killer,” (Y/N) stated with a playfully dry tone in her voice.

“I’m pretty sure that female serial killers make up less than one percent of the population so I’ll take my chances with that,” he laughed.

“So do women who score INTJ on the Meyers Briggs and yet you’re talking to one.” She couldn’t help getting cocky. In a normal situation, she would be retreating back to her apartment by now, curling up in bed and eating Chinese food alone but since when is accidentally realizing Sebastian lived above her normal? Conversing with him seemed almost second nature to her, as if she had done this before and they were old friends catching up.

“I can’t force you to eat Chinese food and watch Parks and Rec with me, but I can say that it would be fun,” he said with a smirk on his face. (Y/N)’s heart started racing; is…is he flirting with me right now?

“You’re watching Parks and Rec tonight? Hell yeah, I’ll stay,” she smirked at him as he grinned and shook his head at her while laughing.

“Tonight? What do you mean tonight?” he huffed through his fake insulted expression.

“I’ve been here for almost two months and you’ve yet to actually binge watch a single show,” she accused.

“That’s because I lost my remote, remember,” he said with a laugh as he waved his phone. She couldn’t help but smirk as his large blue eyes widened from their banter. “Are you in or not?” he asked, changing the subject.

"I don’t want to impose on you and your home,” she stated more honestly and her timid nature returning.

“I promise you, (Y/N), it would be a pleasure.” Something about his voice and his smile made it impossible to turn down such a generous offer and she agreed. 

Five episodes into Parks and Rec along with their mutual hunger and agitation toward slow delivery led (Y/N) and Sebastian to enter a state of friendliness neither of them really reached upon knowing someone for roughly two hours. Maybe their more outgoing natures were the result of drinking a few beers on empty stomachs, or maybe it was a connection between the two that neither of them wanted to address that made things like awkward conversational pauses and the occasional difficulty they each faced in starting a conversation disappear.

“Gosh damn it, Sebastian!” (Y/N) huffed as Sebastian flopped onto the couch beside her dropping his heavy legs onto her as she sat cross-legged on the couch. He couldn’t help the loud chuckle that escaped his lips. “What’s so funny?” she grumbled and narrowed her eyes playfully at him.

“You curse like Robin in the nineteen sixty-six Batman movies,” Sebastian continued to laugh as (Y/N) shoved his feet from her lap. “Golly Gee Willickers, Batman.”

“Oh, really,” she huffed and tossed a decorative pillow toward the man across from her on the couch. “Shut the fuck up! How’s that for cursing?” Sebastian continued to laugh at her as her eyebrows narrowed in on him and her lips pursed.

“I think you just don’t look frightening enough,” he said while turned his body to face hers. 

“And you’re so menacing,” she huffed with a smirk, glad to see his goofy grin still plastered on his face. Just as he was about to pull a blanket over his feet, there was a knock at the door. “Finally, our food!” They called out. (Y/N) jumped and followed him to the door, lingering in his kitchen as he opened the door to tip the delivery driver. A huge gasp caught her attention and she quickly turned toward the men in the doorframe.

“You-you’re Captain America’s best friend!” the man’s voice was slurred as he stammered his statements. “You’re Sebastian Stan.”

(Y/N)’s eyes widened and she turned her back to the door in hopes that she could pretend she hadn’t heard what just happened, only to hear the door click closed behind her and Sebastian’s deflated voice engulf the room.

“I’m so sorry about that,” he said as he passed by (Y/N) to place each of the containers of food on the coffee table.

“Does that happen a lot?” she asked quickly trying to play it off.

“More than I’m comfortable with,” he sighed. “Why, are you going to start acting weird around me now?” She could see the apprehension in his eyes as he waited for her answer. Of course at the beginning of the night she thought it was weird to just casually hang out with your favorite celebrity, but she knew that making it weird would cause the situation to not exist, which she didn’t want to happen.

“Why would I start acting weird around you?” she asked while quickly filling up her bowl with fried rice and vegetables.

“Because I’m Sebastian Stan and that’s apparently a big deal,” he sighed, conflicted that her knowing who he was would hinder whatever friendship was forming.

“Slow down there,” she said as she tried to swallow a mouthful of food. “Not everything’s about you now. Remember who you’re talking to: less than one percent of the population.” (Y/N) felt the corners of her lips curl into a smirk as Sebastian smiled across the couch at her.

“That you are,” he said in a low sultry tone he had hoped she didn’t hear. (Y/N) was truly a genuine person and he was thrilled to have met her. Her ability to make him feel like just another guy, someone without millions of Instagram followers, someone who’s life isn’t constantly under a microscope, someone normal is something he had been looking for in another person for a long time. For a while he thought he could find that solace in another person in his field of work. Surely they would be able to understand the crazy life he lived and want the same things in a partner: stability, generosity, a grounded sense of mind. Unfortunately seeking romance with another actor only furthered the media exposure of the relationship rather than allowing them to have their own lives with one another.

“Besides, I knew who you were the second you opened the door.”

“Well someone is a stalker,” he teased through bites of rice.

“You know who else is a stalker?” she asked in reply, causing his eyebrows to move individually—one up and one down.

“The delivery guy?” he questioned while staring across the couch at the girl who sat with her knees up on her chest, resting a bowl between her knees.

“Serial killers,” she said and then winked. “Maybe living beneath you was all apart of my plan.”

“I’d gladly have you beneath me,” he said, intending to sound menacing and creepy but instead coming across as horny and creepy. “Fuck! That’s not what I meant!”

“That was a Freudian slip if I ever heard one,” (Y/N) started to laugh as Sebastian nudged her with his foot beneath the blanket they shared. He knew that it was much too early to be thinking of romance with the girl that came up to his floor to yell at him for his broken TV, but the feeling in his heart as the pair tossed their banter from one person to the other was so light hearted, like the onset of puppy love turning into a crush. 

There was something about (Y/N) that was so open and kind that he knew he could trust her, despite her constant joking about being a lunatic, and he held onto that feeling the entire night until it was time for her to return to her floor and go to bed. “Wait,” Sebastian called as he hurried toward (Y/N) who was standing at his front door. He quickly shoved his phone into her hands and said probably the lamest line intended as flirtation in the history of love: “You know, incase I need someone to watch my house.” Thankfully she was understanding and kind enough to put her number in his phone and quickly text herself from his device before going back to her apartment and turning in for the night.

As (Y/N) curled up in bed, she heard a steady thud! thud! from above her and then her phone lit up with a message.

Seb Stan: That was me!

Trying not to laugh too loudly, she grabbed a prop light saber she got from Disneyland years ago and stretched her arms toward the ceiling of her bedroom, hitting it with the base of the prop.

Cute Neighbor: I know ;)

Continued Installments 

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan fandom #sebastian x reader #sebastian stan smut #fan fic #fanfic #sebastian stan fanfic #fanfiction #sebastian stan x reader

[iwanttowriteyou]

All I Wanted; C.H. 20

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9, part 10**, part 11*, part 12*, part 13, part 14, part 15**, part 16, part 17, part 18, part 19

“He is such a fucking prick. I – I feel so foolish. I kept defending him. I kept taking blow after blow for him. I honestly believed he at least had a bit of genuine interest in me. Boy, was I wrong.” I laugh humourlessly, tears slipping from my eyes as I squeeze them closed. I’ve kept them inside until I stood in front of his apartment.

Eventually, Harry and I ended up here. In his flat. And somehow, I needed to be around him. I felt safe. He is quiet, letting me be. Tears are slowly but steadily pouring from my eyes, my gaze cast upon the ceiling. He is sitting near my legs, gently rubbing them, trying to calm me, soothe me. But it’s not helping the slightest bit.

“Are you alright?” He speaks, his voice seems to have a slight tremor. He takes his stare off of his television and glances over at me, just as I lift my head off of his sofa. “What do you think?” I bite at him, but can’t help but let a hopeless laugh follow immediately. I feel his hands squeeze the skin of my knee before patting it.

“It’ll be alright, in the end, you know.” “Ah, I do. But right now it fucking sucks and it hurts and I want him to stop breathing.” I wipe my tears from my face, my make-up probably stained beyond belief. I press myself in an upright position, tucking my legs underneath my bum. “Come here.” He smiles, opening his arms for a hug and another sob leaving my lips as I fall into them.

“You know your phone keeps vibrating. Maybe your mate is worried about you.” Harry reaches over and holds my lit up phone in my direction, my fingers reluctantly curling around the rectangle.

Are you alright? Luke said you felt sick. Why didn’t you say anything? Xx

One from Meredith. I type my reply, apologizing for my rapid departure and telling her I’ll get back to her in the morning. The other ones make my stomach churn.

Y/n! Where are you? You aren’t home!

Babe, please, answer me

When are you coming home?

God damn it Y/n, at least let me know you’re safe!

I scoff loudly as I throw my phone to the side, Harry shifting underneath our embrace. “What did he say?” I groan and pick up my phone again, dropping it in his lap. His eyes scan over the messages scattered along my screen before he sighs. “Maybe you should let him know you’re safe.”

“Why? Why should I? It’s not like he took my feelings into account. I need to do shit.” I huff, crossing my arms over my chest as I move away from Harry. He simply laughs heartily, his hand resting on his stomach. “Well, sadness is replaced by anger.” “Ah, you know me – that shit goes rapidly.” I laugh, shaking my head. “How about a glass of wine?”

************************

“You know, I sort of forgot your drinking skills. Although I think you’ve slacked a bit.” Harry laughs as he empties the bottle into my mug – yes, we drank our wine from a mug. Because that is at least ten times more classy that way – but brings it to his lips to get the last droplets out.

“Oh puh-lease. I’d still win this drinking game if I wanted to.” I chuckle, setting my now empty mug on his tattered coffee table. I’m fascinated by the scratches that coat the surface, most of them made by my heels being slung across the room – ending in him breaking those lovely decorative vases his mum put on that coffee table. “Ah, yeah. I see that.” Harry laughs as he sets the bottle beside my glass, slowly inching closer towards me.

“But uh – what are you going to do about this little problem that has seem to surfaced?” Harry questions me again – something he knows I loathe but seems to keep doing anyway. “Do I need to do anything? Yeah maybe stay the fuck away from the bar, that seems like a solid plan.” I laugh boisterously, my hands rubbing over my stomach.

“You need to talk to him. Otherwise this’ll be haunting you for forever, I know you.” Harry throws his arm over my shoulder, hauling me into his solid chest. This feels familiar, something I’ve missed, but at the same time it feels completely wrong. “Stop reading my mind, Haz. I know I should talk to him, but I don’t want to. I think that what I wanted was something I would never receive anyway, it was going to be something that was going to crash and burn as fast as it has bloomed. I reckon I did this to myself.”

“But isn’t it better to put it at rest so your mind can be at ease, at least?” I know he’s raising an eyebrow at me, even though I can’t see him do so. I know he’s right, finishing this off properly would help me cope, to say it like that. I felt like I was being a stupid ass bitch, because as Calum said – we weren’t together. Well not officially at least, perhaps my mind and heart had raced a bit too far and I sort of felt like – like we were. I don’t know. “Since when are you such a philosopher?” I mumble, resting my head against his shoulder, feeling his heartbeat calmingly thump against my jaw. I should go talk to Calum, even if it were the last time. But not tonight. Tonight I want to forget. She was fucking right all along. Oh how I can hear Meredith tsk in my head along with the fervently I told you so. I almost groan out loud but am pulled out of my trance by Harry. “Since we finished two bottles of wine under an hour, Y/n.” Harry speaks so softly, his voice barely a whisper, when I feel his fingertips brush against my jaw.

He slowly turns my head and before I have time to properly respond, I feel his soft lips press against mine. My eyes flutter none the less, this soft kiss being so familiar. It feels awkward and wrong on so many levels and when I lightly push against Harry’s chest, my own aches as I see the hurt flash for a split second.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea right now – with all that’s going on. Sorry.” I mumble, distancing myself from Harry who immediately starts to nod his head. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right. I’m sorry. It just felt – well right, like before and – “ he starts stammering, his hands roughly rubbing over his face.

“I understand. Maybe I should just – like leave.” I raise to my feet, sliding into my boots as Harry flies up from his spot on the sofa. “Y/n, you don’t have to – I – I was just being a total dick, you don’t have to leave.”

“I know I don’t, but I should. I’ll text you later, thanks for being my rock.” I lean up and press my lips against Harry’s scruffy cheek, squeezing his biceps once, hoping he’d get it that I don’t blame him for anything – I would’ve probably done the same thing if I wasn’t in my current situation.

************************

Like a paranoid I-don’t-know-what I drove past my house two times to make sure Calum wasn’t parked anywhere near before I drove onto my own driveway. I know I might be childish, but even if I knew a talk was inevitable, I wasn’t planning on doing it when I could still feel my blood boiling – although it could also be the wine coursing through my veins.

I start laughing rather loudly as I gather my personal items from the backseat of my car. “Don’t drink and drive, I tell everyone.” I hiccup, shaking my head at my own irresponsible behaviour. Harry keeps spooking through my head and I feel horrible about even ending up at his place – it felt like I was cheating. Harry thinking it’d be a good idea to kiss me only worsening this – I don’t know – guilt I was experiencing.

Calum may have been a dick and not completely aware of our status, but I thought differently about it and I somehow did the same as he did to me – although he doesn’t know, and isn’t going to ever anyway. I slam my door roughly, almost doing a three hundred and sixty-degree spin and I squeal as loud as my voice allows me to when I spot a shadow behind me.

I’m panting, my nails almost digging into the paintwork of my car as I stare at Calum two meters from me, my heart throbbing in my throat. “WHAT THE FUCK CALUM!” It’s the first that pops to mind and the first that flies past my lips as I try not to vomit.

“Where were you?” Calum steps closer and I’m quick to dodge to the left and make half a circle around him, trying to walk towards my front door without this ending in a discussion on the middle of the street – at two am in the morning, even. “Excuse me? Like you have any business in where I spend my time.” I seethe, seeing him making my emotions bubble up as if it had happened mere second ago. Him being here wasn’t good for him or me. “Y/n, don’t be like this. Let me explain.” Calum takes another step in my direction, holding his hand out towards me – but I don’t know what he desires of me. I have nothing left to give him. “I’m not letting you do anything, Calum. Tonight, don’t expect anything from me. Please disappear off of my driveway before I phone the police. This is trespassing.” I point my car keys towards his feet, raising my eyebrows and barely keeping my stupid ass grin in check. It felt good to be at least a little bit mean and get this anger off of my chest. I see Calum’s features contort into one of pure shock before horror and pain follows but I keep my face as stoic as possible. “Y/n, babe.. I didn’t mean to – I mean – Please listen to me.” Calum is rapid, but I saw him coming. Within a jiff, I’ve taken quite a few steps back and the distance has remained the same. I sigh deeply, knowing I might not get rid of him as easily as I wanted to – Calum had always had the reputation of being quite persistent. “I am serious Calum. Please leave me alone. I need some time to get my thoughts in check.” I close my eyes, feeling them watering up again as my mind sobers up – even if it’s just a tiny bit. “Promise me we’ll talk later.” Calum mumbles, and it sends another jab straight to my heart. How dare me ask something like that of me – I hadn’t even decided if I wanted to see him ever again, and here he is expecting me to let it slide like it were nothing and that we could be over this in a day or two. 

I shake my head as I turn away from him, starting slowly towards my door. I knew he had given up on his persistence to talk this out today, but I can’t help but jab once more towards him before I let this horrible night come to a closing. “I can’t promise you anything, seeing as how you can’t even keep honesty between mates.”

If you have any hatred towards anyone after this, or anything that’s about to come, I understand. I have it too, lol. Let me know what you think babes :)

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[glopratchet]

jase

page 14,067 You think to yourself "with enough time, anything's possible" brush your teeth Well not everything As hard as you try, with your pass-able looks and natural charisma, you couldn't convince a regular girl to settle down with you There was of course the time you got close Really close You could almost taste it But events didn't quite turn out in your favor, giving birth to your desire for revenge against these menacing criminals that took everything away while keeping the status quo in the background, you prepare the vehicle for tonight The heavy modified hoverbike sitting in your parking space in the Apartment-Boat you call home could bu handy if anything happens tonight A quick look in the mirror and you make sure your kutte is straight Time to fire this festering hole eventually door shuts behind !!!!!" "What did you just say?" You bend your head to your scruffy looking "girlfriend" "Darling" "I said he, are we or aren't we eating an alligator burger tonight?! Come on! We are going to be late! her fingernails nervously as she wears her construction outfit in your room She didn't work to day, but instead wanted you to show you this new opening at a Gallery You roll on the bed and sit up to catch a napping Cello, "uhh I dunno Bri, I'm supposed "No excuses! We are going, be ready, meet me there, DON'T BE LATE! Whole alligator dinner , assemble or eat Last weekend on my break from capture the flag, I stayed with my father, and his new bride "Darling" has no blood relation to me, but she feeds me bugs everyday and lets play near the construction sites We love to ride the huge trucks and dump them Once we were playing catch with a grenade since we thought it was a medicine ball Right before it blew up, dad came running at us with his eyes bigger than us Now that I rely use some filters and stay near sea I do not get to eat opening acts 4 minutes ago Well back in the day, I had an assassin try to take me out at their main encampment This was years ago when the ED and GC were still allies My public reason was to get some fuel for the trip to Nine-Oak, my real motive well to this day I'm not quite sure but it must've been important since I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it out of there and owner Door 5 The smell overtakes the sensors While 4 channels show a heavy dose of psychosis swinging back and forth with tylium injections, a brighter side appears You nearly see hope Her quarters are the large one at the top of everyone's screens covered with a one way window; perfect for spying and collecting intel, while maintaining necessary top security Also, you instantly recognize this families logo Your mind draws a blank then slowly; a blurry memory resurfaces ! Now! The writing on the walls is like no language you've ever seen, but you can make out a few familiar shapes Your mind struggles Zukhara? No, much older "Darling" hasn't moved an inch Quickly she grabs the image of an alligator in a fine crafted cherry wood frame from the wall and throws it on the floor with a loud crack The mirror and painting lay shattered and displayed on the ground or the paintings for dinner? And that other thing, whatever it was Be my guest! You pull yourself out of the seat and slowly walk to an empty space on the wall where you open a hidden safe Typewriter and stacks of cash fill the drawer as you sit down and start writing a note While your writing doesn't exactly look like calligraphy, presumably this will still be counted as "artwork" finish it and then mount it on an alligator skin I believe? Well if it'll honor you prefer the skin? Nothing's stopping you now, assuming he is on the level then both will be coming from our rations tomorrow night along with a bottle of 1975 empire Zinfandel which should make a fine adhesive, provided the gluing is up to the quality of your current paintings Your collection should look flawless The door opens as a slight breeze pushes it further into the room pay money to own some of that, shining in black frames on the red walls, alligator skin flooring and a genuine Empire zin Please give our compliments to genius chef as soon as he has time Research Assistants - University of Progensberg Your art is now top secret Even if anyone thought the colorful swirls were anything more than bits to be analysed they wont get far before it's taken out of general circulation , good thing arnt they one of the few human like species discovered it'd be a shame to see them go extinct before we had a chance to eat them Year 595 Research: While the painting sub branch isn't exactly mundane, you don't feel like it's enough creative outlet for today How will this help forging a GC post extinction legacy? You need to be doing more smelling faintly of paint and on most occasions you see red, blue or purple flash before your eyes Congratulations, after 500 years since the inception of the project it appears urantra brain secretes some kind of purple pigment for decoration purposes At this point we don't care, just take it and inject it into your veins almost as much as a fine bottle of empire zin The purple lightning strikes outside seem brighter and warmer these days, might just be the drugs talking though Almost done with this batch and then it's a few months of off book research Wanna come with? to EAT animals but not ok to EAT people or OTHER human like species, or elves or anything like that After rereading Anecia's speech you realize how close the average person is to becoming their food source Hopefully this research will earn a bit of trust that you aren't planning on eating them probably I heard that! And no im not coming with you, ill just be here waiting than they'd want to hurt Anecia They are essential for milk and cheese after all That being said, when your racing home after a hard day at the lab, hoping that tonight might treat you to some Anecian Stuffed Peppers, how often do you think about where the meat in that casserole really came from? And where did the cow come from anyways? Was it just walking around one day when it decided to become lunch? ? plus they taste good You were always told that dragons where monsters that scorched the earth and sky alike but now your standing here arms deep in a corpse of one The first dragon you've ever slain, and its wings are actually alot smaller then you thought If your parents could see you now, how proud they would be They'd probably question their training however, and rightfully so but still you had this one in the bag all along to realize, be it hook, spear or net, the dragon had little chance of escape With your own particular set of skills, you have this wyrm failling to a blow from above Year 600 You meet mr Average Person (read:secretary) early in the week with the to-do list every sunday you have to go over everything with him and give some sort of idea of what the team is going to work on two months from now or the intense studies of the Purple ichor's amazing healing properties? Question 6 (1,798 voters, tcoh_input@yahoo com) Hello nice to meet you roommate! tell me about yourself Name: Sun LiRace: Black TrollClass: PlayboyER demigodSTR! 30INT! 30WIS! 40 AGI! 50LUCK! 70SKILL! 56TRAIT! 18 let's see your father ran before he took you away Since that is no doubt who your roommate is let's see if we can figure that out There are roughly 100 students at this school about 25 are demi human and half of them are races that could easily be your roommate (or would that be roommers?) Of the remaining human race half of them are girls hmmm 1 in 4 now that probably isn't right If your more of gun nut check the lastest firearms at [kroger market] beer !!! if i were a teamate in this, what would my role be? (ans: Captain Kirk) if you don't find the quest fun anymore you can get The big you go, the harder it gets and more danger you're in with the law getting in your way many snatchers have been shanked because they tried to use deadly force Common based snatchers are in it for a quick buck, so as such they won't try to take on an entire orc tribe by themselves They'll hit lone caravans and small to mid sized groups of merchants Most cases the black market isn't a criminal underworld full of dangerous felons and relentless mana-vampires as it is a bunch of bored immortals trying to pass the time One of these things is the demon market, located in the third layer of hell (dashit) , with a 50% savediscount! As the thief harvest goes on, something a bit odd stands out to you In each and every case of missing persons a lot of them were last seen in the area around Kroger's region That supermarket is either running a regular scam or is involved in this somehow It wouldn't be the strangest thing you've seen, and it certainly wouldn't be the worst crime organization By questioning the store manager, it becomes clear that he knows exactly what's going on at your supermarket The hell is this? This smelly bigfoot goes by many names, from dogman, to the grizzy, to bigfoot, yet in all cases it is all the same creature Some say it's a werecreature of some sort while others believe them to just be a rare species that has managed to avoid discovery all these years But fact is, they look like bigfoot and that's good enough for you with the scope With this mode, each gun has a different "feel" to it You'll need to spend some time with this to master precision shooting There's aiming on the move, finding your range, and many other types of shooting Since you've only got the one shot, make it a good one To shoot or not to shoot With a deer carcuss near it You find the creature standing outside for some reason with one shot Not such an easy task, considering you're pretty far away Your standard iron sights are going to have to do since you don't have an optic for this gun It's a bit tough since when you use this gun from the hip it's over 20 pounds, so getting your aim steady is important Fortunately for you there's no wind so you just have to account for your lateral movement and launch the round There's fur, blood and entrails everywhere It's easy meat to take back and sell, which is important, because you're not getting it for free after your hunt congrats op you've more than doubly profited from this encounter Choose: deer skin or alligator skin Oh ick totals Maybe this game would be a little easier with higher caliber guns, or at least ones that can accept scopes The noise really isn't worth it though since all you're doing is driving away any game in the area In the future it might be worth going furless, but for now all those useless bits can be turned into ichorium explosives , as usual So, loot and sell the gall bladder, liver, heart, intestines and maybe even a tooth or two Keep these offable parts in your pack until you get home, then put them in the fridge If you need more storage get a cooler or upgrade the house comes, sell more parts to him then cook dinner for you and your buddy While preparing the meat for cooking have some guests come over They brought a few six packs of brew with them Go ahead and share the wealth You should put it in your new fridge After eating, showing off a bit and having a generally good time its time to hit the hay You fell asleep on the couch so move yourself to the bed at 12 99 a person Ohh monetization Tonight's profit: 2168 ichorium shares, 8 silver, 4 quarters Days passed in the marsh and you still don't have Clyde or Fen just a lot of wet feet You do however have eaten everything in your fridge even the bait, so you're going to have to get more food or eat something inedible again like the alligator fleshes you've got hanging around The thought haunts you throughout the day and night It's really throwing off your concentration, you can't wait for this time to be over so you can bag a couple of wyverns First thing in the morning you sharpen your rifle and put on your pack This is going to be the day Not once, but twice people from the fort come and see if you're around and suddenly everyone wants to see me And they'res not just a few people they're like 18 of them You were out hunting so you weren't around to whlect their calls, replys or even show up while prying eyes were watching Instead they get your mildly annoyed brother in law to talk to them They leave dissapointed and unanswered Then you jump in and make things worse You wander into the fort to pick up a few things at the store and who do you find there? The same two wyvern jockeys that approached you To your surprise they knew you were out here, but even more surprising was what one of them said while the other looked on in silence "We would've been better off if you hadn't helped us at all Did I really do that much damage? You tried to wave them off and assure them of the contrary but they left shortly there after You could only hope they would come to appreciate what you did for them in time Just then an all too familiar symbol caught your attention, staring up at you from a wanted poster it was Clyde! Or rather Commander Ram himself If you wore a mask around here people might mistake you for someone else But what does it say about us that someone like him was able to take charge in the first place? You were Clyde There was no denying it But you couldn't hunt him down, not after what happened The poor sap that did finally catch up with him on that wanted notice looked a lot like Mason, even had a family resemblance It wasn't him, but it could've been What would you do if you found him, put a gun to his head and drag him back? It was a tempting idea but he probably wouldn't get far and in your current mood you might not be able to bring yourself to help if someone else was beating him to within an inch of his life It was shameful, but the best thing you could do for him right now was stay away However he still needed to be brought to justice, the way he was gallivanting around the countryside rounding up god knew who and throwing them in his cells was bad for business People would begin to unite against him and that could be far worse bandits, mercenaries, wary townies, kobolds all with one collective ideology: Fear Something you only engendered towards yourself and justified with your greater purpose To lose that power could cost you your survival! No, Ram had to be brought to justice, but not by you The best way of erasing your past was to put some distance between it and yourself You'd head west, maybe head out to sea or even up north to where the gnomes and their contraptions came from A new frontier, there had to be one yet untapped But before you could begin your new life you had to make one last trip out to the woods and see how Detlaf and Ranon were progressing on their logging town (You didn't want to go out there again ever but beggars can't be choosers ) You found them both cutting down trees like it was going out of style, which with the influx of new settlers it very well might Seeing you ride up they finally take a break You didn't really have to, but it was a convenient excuse to just sit there pulling up your shirt sleeve and scratching at your glowing badge of honor Your beam of light may have been gone, but it would never fade from your arm You came to accept that, you only wished you could do the same with the scars that wrapped around your back Still, the badges were going to come in handy as you've managed to use them as a conversation starter "See something you like Mason?" Ranon playfully sneered while waggling his eyebrows He probably didn't even realize what he was doing but you just let it slide and carry on with what you needed "That town you were working on looks like its coming along well "Town?" Ranon said with some pride "Haram, it's a city now King Sylvester himself stopped by recently to give his official endorsement Lot of people flooding to it You were genuinely happy for both of them but the news did stop you for a moment A whole another kingdom? If a place that big could form that fast just from one bandit gang then wherever you end up things were going to be very different Actually now that you thought about it considering how big the kingdom must be there was probably anothere bandit gang somewhere else doing much the same thing you were Bandits: Been there, done that It probably hadn't even been a year yet and already the game was up Well in for a coin, in for a Rai-ken You had made your decision and your destination doesn't matter as long as its a new frontier and they needed doctors right? Well maybe you'd stick to frontier clinics, but that was still medicine Might even get to put those old bandit skills of stealing from the sick for the good of the community Time would tell In any case you had some people to see and from there you'd make your plans Your next destination was Rask and then beyond it! Or so you thought Funny how things worked out, but it was the calm before the storm You laid down to sleep on your bed one night and then you heard a loud noise followed by the house shaking as if there was an earth quake going on Your rabbits in a stew because none of the furniture broke but everything ended up in disarray and broken pottery was everywhere One of your manticores came running in from one of the other rooms having been spooked by the noise if the trampled flower vase and rolling obei seeds meant anything You were still half-awake and pretty startled yourself, but instincts kicked in and you moved towards your rifle, thinking it was hostiles or something By the time you got into the living room and realized what happened it was over And just in time too, because you heard Naji let out an unearthly shriek of pain from her bedroom next door

[eclecticblazebasement-blog]

Amazing Musically Crowns Likes Free Online

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How to hack into someones Musically Account?

Because the starting of time, music has been used as an expression of cultural identity. Juilliard's faculty and workers genuinely care concerning the effectively-being of every pupil and I respect all of the guidance and support they've given me. They've inspired me to step outdoors of my comfort zone whereas remaining true to myself as a person and an artist. A significant problem with hearing loss is that ninety% of the time the loss is so delicate and gradual that individuals don't at all times notice it until it's too late and some loss has occurred. Additionally, musicians almost definitely undergo from not just hearing loss but in addition Musically Online Generator Free have ringing in their ears and pitch-notion problems, which could trigger them to inadvertently play a C sharp notice as an alternative of a straight C. Some musicians, particularly those who begin out young comparable to violinists, begin losing their listening to as early as the age of 10. Supplementary investigation on this subject have revealed that the mind should have loaded, sensory knowledge experiences if it needs to boost itself to a better level of intellectual growth and skill. Students dispossessed of those sensory stimulation that are provided specifically by music have been equated by enlightening experts to youths who at some stage in time in their lives skilled mind inactivity or harm. In late spring 1998, the first Mp3 participant was released, alongside the 32 and 64MB Mp3 gamers. By the mid 2000's the Mp3 format would overtake the CD player in recognition. Early adopters of the technology - mostly youthful music audiences would be given the chance to endorse their preferred music tastes - the pop songs of the 90s, catapulting pop stars into the spot-gentle. Not surprisingly, between 1997 and 1999, American teen pop stars and teams have been all the trend, with a few of the more popular acts being the Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, 98 Degrees, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. This scene focused the younger members of Technology Y. Musically Wikipedia Site , due to this fact, would treat solely twenty-four composers, roughly four for each historic interval-Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Fashionable. To make sure, such periodization has fallen into disrepute among professional historians, but it surely stays helpful as a approach of organizing the bigger perspective. You'll most likely be aware of not less than half of these composers: Purcell, Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Berlioz, Wagner, Verdi, Debussy, Stravinsky. Romantic music (c. 1810 to 1900) from the nineteenth century had many elements in frequent with the Romantic types in literature and portray of the period. Romanticism was an artistic, literary, and mental motion was characterised by its emphasis on emotion and individualism in addition to glorification of all of the previous and nature. Romantic music expanded beyond the inflexible kinds and types of the Classical era into extra passionate, dramatic expressive pieces and songs. Romantic composers such as Wagner and Brahms tried to increase emotional expression and power in their music to explain deeper truths or human feelings. With symphonic tone poems , composers tried to tell stories and evoke pictures or landscapes utilizing instrumental music. Some composers promoted nationalistic pride with patriotic orchestral music impressed by people music The emotional and expressive qualities of music came to take priority over custom.

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The origins of Indian music could be traced back to the chanting of the Sama Veda nearly four,000 years ago. The primacy of the voice, and the affiliation of musical sound with prayer, have been thus established early within the historical past of Indian music. Right this moment, music is out there for us in several varieties and the choice for music varies from person to person simply as the reading choices vary from one another. There's folk music, classical music, devotional music, instrumental, jazz, rock music, pop music, hindi movie songs and many extra. He is modified his suggestion since that 1988 paper. Apparently an orgasm does the same thing and is extra approachable and nice for patients. So if holding your breath, scaring your Musical.ly Crowns Free Online self, and gargling water don't do the trick, discover a while to deal with a bit enterprise, solo or with a good friend. Genge - is a genre of hip hop music that had its beginnings in Nairobi, Kenya. The title was coined and popularized by Kenyan rapper Nonini who started off at Calif Records. It's a fashion that comes Free Musically Crowns Generator with hip hop, dancehall and traditional African music types. It's generally sung in Sheng(slung),Swahili or native dialects. The College of Music hosted its 18th Biennial Festival of New Music in early February. Check out a photograph gallery that includes dozens of pictures of scholars, college, chamber ensembles, and large ensembles performing works by over twenty guest composers and our personal School of Music composition faculty. Bear in mind the tip recreation is to acquire a new fan. When you make this person a fan, then they are going to purchase your music. No one goes to buy one thing they have not been made to understand. Now's the time to begin the appreciation course of. Present them your product. This is my CD. I've got how ever many tracks on it and whatever featured artist on it with me. Do not forget your eye contact and optimistic vibe. They will not be looking you in the eye because they will be observing your CD. However you must keep looking of their eye as a show of respect. Of course you'll be able to glance away every every so often. You don't have to stare. Clarkson's latest anthem was the most-steered tune by more than a hundred commenters once we posed the question What's your favorite exercise track Musically Free Followers Online?” on our Fb page. And on prime of her signature fist-pumping beats, Clarkson delivers empowering lyrics reminding everyone that what would not kill you... effectively, you realize.