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#PS my computer says i made these 10 months ago. why did i keep it in my drafts for so long
cloudslou · 2 years
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1-800-channie · 5 years
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Cigarettes & Mint | Chapter 5
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→ Chapter: 1  |  2  |  3  | 4 |  5 (FINAL)
→ Genre: Very Angst  / Very Suggestive / Highschool!Au
→ Warning: Strong language; cursing; heartbroken; character death (?);
→ Pairing: Badboy!Hyunjin x Innocent!Reader;
→ Summary: When your ego is bigger than your brain, you don’t mind breaking someone's heart. As soon as the smell of cigarettes and mint invade your nostrils, your heart starts beating faster and your life starts falling apart. I bet you will end up broken.
→ Playlist for the Chapter:
↳ Goodbye - 2N1E ↳ Apology - iKON ↳ Be Alright - Justin Bieber ↳ Voices - Stray Kids ↳ I Am You - Stray Kids
→ Words: +2K
→ N/A: Hiii everyone! First of all, i wanna apologize for posting late but my dad took my phone (I'm using my computer, but it will probably be taken away too) So, if i disappear, know that am alright, and ill be back as soon as i can. This chapter is wayyyyy softer, please enjoy the ending, thank you so much for all the loves, the asks, the reblogs, the notes the comments! Everything, thank you! And oh, prepare your heart ;)
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[10:00 PM/  ONE DAY AFTER THE BET]
The light inside the room wasn't much since it is night time, but it was enough to make your eyes burn a little, causing an uncomfortable feeling. You exposed your orbs once, feeling them too lazy to even move, everything too blurry, so you couldn’t really make out where you are. You close them and open them once again, this time they adjust to the environment around you quickly.
You take a glimpse around, the white walls and the intense smell of disinfectant filled your nostrils. On your back, a pair of fuzzy pillows, on your wrists needles secured with some band-aids. Outside, the sky was reserved with sparkling starts, announcing that better times were coming.
As you were going to run your fingers thru your dad’s locks. You noticed how he is resting his head on the delicate mattress of the bed, sitting on an uncomfortable wooden chair, his hand sleepily holding yours.
He wakes up in a jolt, too involved to understand that who was stroking his hair. He rubs his eyes, trying to wake up. You used that time to notice that they are swollen and have deep circles underneath.
“Kim Sun…” He cries, standing up and welcoming you right after. You lean your head on his shoulder while he caresses your hair. “I thought i lost you… I was so worried.” His masculine voice gently confesses, missing his daugher more than his rest.
“I'm ok dad, dont worry.” You smile, as he releases you from his firm grip.
“The doctor said you passed out because you were too vulnerable. She explained to me that you didn't seem to have signs of food inside your organism.” You blush flustered,  shifting your gaze from his blue eyes to your ghostly white hands. “And i also know what happened at home. Hendery informed me everything…”
“You didn't arrest him, right? It was not his fault he was-”
“Hey, calm down, girl.” Your dad interferes you. “I didn't arrest him, no.” He describes to you calmly, his features turning from carefree to concerned.
“What happened then?” You ask worriedly. “Why are you making that face?” You ask a bit louder, hands shivering and tears at the corners of your eyes.
Something is wrong, why won’t he tell you?
“I got this for you… It was written by him…” Your dad hands you a good-looking letter. The envelope is white and has written ‘For Kim Sunny,’ in his pretty calligraphy.
“What- what does this mean?” You ask in hopes that your dad would say something to ease the tension you feel inside. Something inside your body was warning you that letter was not good news.
“Read it and find out, my daugher.” He kisses your forehead. “I'll go outside tell the doctors and the two other boys outside that you are finally awake.” You nod, hearing him closing the door quietly.
You could hear the sound of the crickets from the outside, due to the sudden silence, singing their song carelessly making you feel lonely.
With trembling fingers you open the elegant envelope, finding a letter written in a sky-blue paper that perfumes like candy, you have these in your room…
“Lovely Sun,
I meant to tell you this earlier, but i didn't have the strength to, you know how weak I am when it comes to you. Some months ago i participated in an audition to train at the SM entertainment, i didn't believe i would be accepted but i was. They said my voice was melodic, that I danced admirably and my looks were definitely of an Idol.
I was accepted. I was feeling so happy and proud of myself, doing something as cool as being an Idol have always been my dream, and you know it, but as soon as i saw that I had to move to Seoul, my joy faded away.
It was hard for me to adapt to Busan, meet new people… How could i go to that enormous city by myself?
That was not the worst part, i didn't want to leave you, i wanted to keep you around me. Because we only have each other… So I thought of staying here, and wait for you. Wait for you to finally love me back, so we could date and build a family, just like i always dreamed for.
But it turns out, that dream was more stupid than the one of wanting to be an idol. We can't make people love us. And i know, i can't make you love me back, the way i want you to.
I swear, Sunny, I'm not angry at you for not loving me back, because we can't choose who we fall in love with. The same way it was not my fault that I fell for you, it isn't your fault that you don’t love me the same way.
So I accepted the opportunity and I’m moving to Seul in two days, so Hm, when you wake up on Friday, I’ll already be there, at the hotel.
I'm sorry for not telling you in your face, but i couldn't watch you in tears, i feel something so strong for you, that i dont know what it is anymore.
Please don’t hate me.
Remember me as your best friend that was always there for you, know that i will never forget you, never. You are my bestie and you will always be…
I love you,
Hendery <3
Ps: i stole your favorite teddy, please don’t be mad, i just needed something to remind me of you. “
When you concluded reading the letter, the atmosphere seemed like it was suffocating you. The tears that escaped your eyes wetted the lovely letter, blurring some letters. Your heart throbbed, really bad, and you felt shameful for what you made your best friend go thru, even though you never meant to harm him.
Deep inside you are proud of him for moving on, you are proud of him following his biggest dream, with or without you.
Still sniffing you put the letter back on the simple envelope and put on the nightstand next to the comfortable bed. You rest your head against the headboard as you try to tranquilize your breathing and to stop the tears from leaving your eyes.
The doctor comes inside silently, followed by your dad and two other characters. You clean the tears with the back of your hand, trying to pretend that you weren't disturbed. As they get closer you recognize Changbin’s and Hyunjin’s bruised face. Both of them had visible cuts all over their appearance, Changbin was even using crutches.
“How do you feel, dear?” The kind woman asks while she checks your pulsation and your temperature.
“Just lightly dizzy, but alright.” You answer shyly, the eyes of all those people reading you carefully were making you ashamed.
“You need to eat more, your body needs the energy and nutrients to stay strong. You passed out due to the pressure, and since you had no energy left your body couldn't handle the pressure properly and decided to enter the resting mode.” She explains. “No intense feelings this week. You need to feel strong so you can finish high school and go to university healthy, ok?” She suggests, knowing exactly what you were just some months away from finishing the 12th grade.
You grin softly, feeling too uncomfortable with all these eyes on you.
“Well, i think these two own you an explanation… So I will leave the three of you alone. If they try to hurt you-” You dad turns to you. “-Scream, Ill be here to arrest these two trouble makers.” He ends by stating, getting out of the hospital room with the doctor that just winked you, making you giggle.
As soon as the door closed an agonizing silence filled the room, Changbin was now sitting on the chair adjacent to your bed and Hyunjin was standing up, playing with his fingers.
You could feel your heart skip a beat at the sign of these two boys in the same room as you after what happened.
“So… I… Lemme go first.” You stumble over your words, embarrassed. “Changbin, just after all this time I realized that I pushed you away, and you didn’t drift apart from me. I really, really like you. You were my best friend, and I'm so sorry i left you behind.” You look deeply into his dark orbs, noticing his cheeks turning red. He also stares at you. He misses you so much, from all the profound conversations to the Rapp battles.
“I'm sorry i agreed to do to the bet, I'm sorry I didn't stop Minho, even when I felt guilty. I just- Hyunjin and Minho are the only friends I have, i was afraid that if i say no, they would leave me behind… alone.” He confesses flustered, burying his face behind his hands.
“I wouldn't leave you alone, Binnie.” Hyunjin shifts his eyes from your pale skin to his best friend. “I am your friend. I would be there for you. I may be cold-hearted, but i would never forget the man that was there when i needed him the most.” The lip ringed boy speaks carefully, care was obvious in his expression.
A comfortable silence now rests around you all, the love so clear in the air. But more important than the love, the friendship.
The next thing you witnessed was both of man's hugging. You could not feel more happy to see that no matter what, they always got each other back. As their part their bodies, shy from the sudden affection, Changbin walks your way and wraps his arms around your small waist, hugging you just like he always did.
“Am i forgiven?” Both of you ask at an identical time, laughing at the sudden telepathy.
You nod your head, content for being accepted back in his life, the weight being lift off of your shoulders.
“Sun…” Hyunjin starts, looking at you deep in the eyes. “I'm so sorry…” He hesitates for a whole minute, trying to find the appropriate words to say to you. “I dont have anything else to say besides I'm sorry.” The moon outside the windows seems to steal his eyes from yours, and you feel relief, too flustered to face him fully.
“Hyunjin…”
“Let me finish.” The tall man interrupts you harshly. “I didn't want to do this stupid bet since the beginning, ask Changbin if you don’t believe me. I wanted to keep you away from me because I thought you were too perfect to be close to me. You always look so free from your mind, so happy. You radiate such a happy aura, and I- I am no one. Not even my dad loved me enough not to leave me alone with my mom.” He confesses moving towards the window, gazing at the sky as he talks, he can’t say these words while looking into your eyes, he will break in tears.
And his ego can't show that…
“Now, I know that you have eating disorders, you only have your dad and that your best friend abandoned you.” Your heart throbs in pain at the memories of Hendery. “I started to feel so good in your company. Your laugh calmed me down and your eyes would make me stop breathing from how pure they were… Even though i may be in love with you, i can’t be yours.” Hyunjin studies at his dusty white Nikes, trying to calm down.
He is telling you the truth, he is opening up after all of this.
“Hyunjin…”
“You deserve better than me.” He finishes speaking and walks over you. His slender digits grab your chin gently, forcing your head up, and while his eyes were locked with yours, his lips came in contact with yours as well, molding against yours like the best creation God has ever made.
“So, what happens now?” You ask as your lips part, unhappy that the kiss was so short.
“I won’t go to study anymore. My mom needs help with money to take care of my little brother, so i will start working.” He informs you walking away from you.
“You could work and study…” Changbin suggests, trying to keep his best friend close.
“I'm not good at school, so its no big deal… I hope you can move on from me and find a man that will treat you the way you deserve.”
Hyunjin plays with the red roses that were resting inside a tall, transparent jar. Those roses reminded him of you, so beautiful, pure and fragile.
“But Hyunjin, I dont want another man, i want you.” Those words shocked him. Inside of him, there was a war, his brain was screaming at him to leave but his heart crying your name aloud.
“If you leave me, you will be just like your dad… Will you be able to live with that regret? With that lonely love? When i am right here, forgiving you, and giving you one last chance?” You ask him, your voice cracking from the sobs that wanted to escape, as you close your eyes.
“Man, we can help you out. We can study with you, work with you, help you earn money… We are here for you, let that pride go for once. Tell your ego to go lower just a little.” Changbin states, watching his best friend fight on the inside.
Silence involved the three of you for a while, while Hyunjin fought against his demons.
Suddenly, you feel his strong arms around you, pulling you closer to him. The familiar smell of cigarettes and mint calming down your poor, broken heart.
“I will stay with you… with both you… but give me time to adjust to this, alright?” Hyunjin shyly takes your hand on his, and looks at Changbin, watching him with the biggest smile on his edges.
Hyunjin was finally and genuinely happy after a while.
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icecoldflames · 5 years
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The Pinnae Flower Chapter 1
Masterlist
The Fifth Pinnae Book???
People seem to want to know my opinion on Raz Keeran’s soon-to-be-published fifth and final book in the Pinnae series. So, I’m gonna give it to them.
I know Pinnies—fairies and spirits alike—are freaking out. Who wouldn’t? I’m freaking out right now, sitting up in my bed, nursing a cup of tea and writing this blog post. But I’m not freaking out for the same reasons everyone else is freaking out about.
I’m freaking out because I want to know what’s going to happen in the fifth and final book. We never knew there would be five books in the series, only four. However, Raz Keeran stated on his Twitter that five books in his series was always the plan. It wasn’t unprecedented. So, it’s not a money-grab like some people think.
Also, I’d like to point out (or, more specifically, my friend Logan pointed out to me) that there is no actual proof that Raz Keeran is going to kill off Parisa and Arel. I don’t know where that rumour started but, on Raz’s official sites and social media, it doesn’t say anything about killing the two main characters from the previous four books!
I know that the summary for Pinnae: Spelunca that Raz gave us is pretty nerve-wracking. I mean, come on Raz! We need to kill now what this last book is going to be about! His exact tweet says this:
“A short summary of PS:
It will not have Arel and Parisa in it but will focus entirely on a new MC. Fairies and sprites will not have a major role either.”
Thanks for that hint, Raz.
But anyway, with some sleuthing with Logan, we managed to headcanon what this last book will be about:
Number 1. It will probably be about dragons. I mean, this is pretty obvious I think. Dragons were mentioned in the previous books. Also, in PM and PE, their titles are the names of the fairy and sprite villages: Magus and Exsul. This is obvious latin and anyone could put those words into Google Translate and find the words “magical” and “outcast”/”banished person”. The latin of Spelunca is “cave”. Where do dragons live? Exactly. A cave.
Number 2. We’ll figure out who took the pinnae flower. Raz never did answer the question as to why the dragons stole the pinnae flower (I know Raz never did say the dragons actually did take the flower but it’s pretty much canon by now. Unless some fairy or sprite rubbed glitter on a dragon scale).
Number 3. Raz also NEVER TOLD US WHO FREAKING KILLED SIDNEY. I know some people think that maybe it wasn’t a person but I’m not buying it. Raz wouldn’t kill off that character and then say “oh, he died of a heart attack” or “he died by glitter suffocation”. No. Sidney died at the hands of another person. Who, you may ask? We’ll find out in PS, we’re sure.
Number 4. We’ll find out why Arel’s little sister, Kaida, was in that last scene. We’re sure it wasn’t a vision or some weird magical hallucination. Kaida was there at the battle. Sure, she vanished in, how Raz put it, “a blink of an eye” but do you know how that could have happened? Oh, I don’t know. Magic?
Which brings us to Number 5. Kaida, Logan and I think, is going to be the new MC. We both think it won’t be a full-fledged magical character like a sprite, fairy, or dragon, so human (or at least half-human) will probably be the main character. I mean, why else would Raz add that tidbit about Kaida there if they didn’t plan on using this character in the first place?
So, yeah. These are five things Logan and I think will happen in PS. I’m not mad at Raz for making a fifth book. Sure, the ending of PTNE was pretty good and cry worthy but there is just so much Raz hasn’t answered. Something tells me we’re in for a big surprise.
No one was expecting that bloodbath at the end of PTNE and I think Raz might be preparing us for something darker. The first four books might be about cute fairies and sprites but this last book, we know, is not going to be focused on them.
Thanks for reading my loyal plebeians.
Prince Roman Falco
~~~
Roman read through his post once again before hitting the “publish” button. Then, he heard the familiar whoosh as the post went onto his blog, “The Prince’s Crown”. His blog was his most prized work. A blog—his blog—with a massive and loyal following.
While he started writing posts about musical theatre first, it slowly morphed into a Raz Keeran blog dedicated to Raz’s most famous series: the Pinnae series about fairies and sprites. He still did other posts like everyday life posts and still about theatre. But he was known famously for his Raz Keeran posts. Though, he couldn’t give all the credit to himself. As much as he wanted to, most of his fame admittedly came from his best friend since high school, Logan Holmes.
Logan was incredible with thinking up theories and backing them up with the most forgettable quote from the series. And, amazingly, they usually made sense. Logan also edited all of his posts to make sure he used correct grammar and spelling and sourced everything well.
Logan was not an avid Pinnae series reader or a, as the fandom called themselves, the Pinnies. And Roman could understand that. Logan wasn’t into fantasy worlds with fairies and sprites. He liked mysteries and non-fiction and something that puzzled his mind.
Roman constantly teased about Logan’s last name. Holmes. As in the famous fictional detective, Sherlock Holmes.
With some persuading on Roman’s part, he had managed to get Logan to pick up the Pinnae series. There had been only three books out at the time and Logan had read them in three days. One 700 paged book a day. And Logan was working at the university on those three days. It was like he ate them up and gained the knowledge inside them.
While Logan still wasn’t a full-on Pinnie, he enjoyed the book and had respect for Raz Keeran. “That author can sure write a fantasy novel.” Logan had said after he had finished the fourth book.
Roman watched as his blog post began to be read. His first and most loyal plebeian, an unknown face under the name “theazureflower” commented first, like usual.
Amazing read Roman! Tell Logan that he did a fantastic job! I feel as though this fifth book will not be like any others. And not just because it’s the last book in the series! Your headcanons always seem to make perfect sense! (◕ ˬ ◕✿)
Roman grinned and pressed “reply”.
Glad you liked it! I’ll definitely tell Logan your praise when I see him next!
Roman finally closed his laptop and stood up. He stretched his back and wrists as he made his way to the kitchen for a snack.
He loved Raz Keeran’s series. Maybe some would call it childish for a 25 year old to read such a fantasy novel, but he didn’t care. He had been called many things in life and childish was definitely the one he preferred.
The only thing that really bothered him was that he didn't know who Raz Keeran was. No one did. Raz wrote under a penname and had, so far, not been found out by the public. There was little known about Raz. All Roman and the public knew was that Raz lived in a small town in the USA. No one even knew what gender Raz was. They were completely anonymous and Roman wished he knew who Raz was.
It would be an incredible feat. It would be in magazines, on blogs, in the news! POPULAR BLOGGER UNCOVERED THE MYSTERY BEHIND AUTHOR RAZ KEERAN. He would be famous! It was a secret dream of his to find out Raz’s identity. He knew a lot of people frowned down upon those who wanted to figure it out. They said that if Raz wanted to be found out, they would have shown themselves long ago. They said it was Raz’s own, private, business.
But that still didn’t stop Roman’s dream. He wanted to find Raz. The first one to find Raz. Before anyone else did. He knew there were other people trying to find them. Most of them were large news corporations who could allow that much time spent looking for clues.
But Roman had something that the news corporations didn’t have. He had Logan Holmes.
Roman had hinted at the idea of Logan helping him search for Raz plenty of times. In conversations, in texts, anytime he could speak to Logan. But Logan refused. He had the same opinion as most Pinnies—that trying to find Raz was an invasion of privacy and was wrong.
But Roman’s counter argument was always “but Raz puts themself in the spotlight, they should be in the public. It was their choice to write the Pinnae series.”
However, Logan, always the intellectual, would say “but it was Raz’s choice to stay out of the public eye. You can’t dictate another person’s choice to either stay out of the brutal views of the public eye or put themselves in the limelight where they would no longer have the privacy they want.”
Roman sighed as he opened his cabinet, taking out some crackers and getting some cheese from the fridge. He was sure that if Logan helped him find Raz, they would be able to find them. Easy peasy.
These few months were the perfect time to try to find Raz, too. It was coming up on summer vacation and Logan was taking his summer vacation too. They would both be free from work to travel to wherever Raz lived and find him before their time would be up and they’d have to go back to work.
Roman cut up his cheese in little pieces, humming to himself. Maybe he should phone over to Logan’s house and see what’s up later. Maybe today would be the day he would convince Logan to help him find Raz.
~~~
Logan looked down at his computer screen, reading the picture of theazureflower’s favourite passage from the whole Pinnae series written by Raz Keeran. theazureflower did this every time they messaged each other. He must have at least 10 different favourite scenes in the Pinnae series. Not that Logan was complaining. The passage he sent Logan was from the first book, Pinnae: Forests and Flowers.
Sidney looked absolutely terrifying. The other sprites seemed to think the same too for they made sure to keep a good distance between them and Sidney. His hair was a curly dark red and his eyes were haunting—a smoky grey and golden flecks, sunk deep into his face. He seemed almost impossibly skinny—skinnier than the sprite queen herself.
He was the only one who had a dark grey cape wrapped snugly around his neck with a hood. Most of the sprites had short sleeved shirts on of varying colours. It was like Sidney was a dark stormcloud amidst a large rainbow.
But Sidney didn’t seem to mind the obvious difference between him and the other sprites.
“Hi!” Arel said, looking at Sidney with a toothy smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I like your cape.”
A couple nearby sprites seemed astonished that Arel was even speaking to Sidney and I had to nudge Arel in the side. “They’re staring at us!” I hissed.
Arel looked at me. It was almost a confused look. “Why does it matter? Besides, we’re humans Parisa. Or,” his eyebrows drew down, “at least half human”. He shrugged and turned back to Sidney. I huffed and crossed my arms.
Sidney gave a curt, tight-lipped, smile to Arel. “Thanks. I made it myself.”
“Wow! I wish I could make my own clothes! Normally my mom just buys it at the store.” Arel rambled kindly, making me even irritated.
“That sprite is constantly wearing that stupid cape,” a sprite next to me sighed, climbing onto a branch near my ear. I turned to see a female sprite with bright purple hair. I think Titania introduced her as Mauve. She was frowning deeply. “Once,” she said more quietly, “me and a couple other sprites tried to pull that thing off.”
I looked at her and glanced back to where Arel and Sidney were now having a conversation about leather. “And? What happened?” I asked quietly, urging her to go on.
Mauve shivered just slightly and I was afraid she would fall off the branch. “Let’s just say no one saw him for a whole month. Rumour has it he was exiled.”
“Was there anything you found?” I asked, cocking my head to the side, keeping Sidney and Arel in my peripheral view. “Underneath his cape?”
Mauve shook her head vigorously, her purple hair shaking with it. “Didn’t even get that close to him…” she trailed off and crossed her arms tightly.
Mauve glanced over at Sidney and Arel and I followed her gaze.
They were both laughing silently, as if they’d known each other for eons.
Logan liked Sidney’s introduction too. While the sulky, dark, character was often a cliché there was just...something about Sidney’s character that made him think there was a reason for the cape—a reason for his death in the fourth book. He wasn’t just any morally grey character who would no doubt get an arc in the last book.
But, then again, maybe it wouldn’t happen. Logan had been wrong before. Raz had pleasantly surprised him in the fourth book. He had thought that Raz wouldn’t include such a bloody war. It seemed more like a children’s book than a young adult novel and the blood and descriptions really threw him for a loop.
That was what made Logan like Raz. It was unlike any YA novel Roman had made him read. While some things were alike—fantasy universes, action and conflict and romance—The Pinnae series was something else entirely.
It had hints of dark but children could still read it. It was hidden so well that Logan almost didn’t catch it himself.
theazureflower: I just love sidney’s character!!!
theazureflower: And arel and parisa’s and mauve and lewis’!!!
Logan grinned down at his screen and rolled his eyes.
Lewis’_Journal: You love all the characters. I don’t think you’d be able to choose a favourite character if your life depended on it.
theazureflower: Guilty is charged ;)
theazureflower: But they are all so amazing and raz does such a good job at making their characters feel so...real!!!!
theazureflower: I mean, none of the characters are perfect and their flaws don’t seem like an afterthought. They just...ASDFGHJKL! I relate to all of them all at once!
Logan loved this about theazureflower. He was always so excitable and happy and reminded him of—no. He wouldn't think about him now. Not when he was talking to theazureflower and having a good time.
He did agree with theazureflower, though. Raz’s characters all seemed to be real characters—save that most of them were magical creatures who could fly and speak to animals.
theazureflower: What character do you relate to most???
Lewis’_Journal: Definitely Lewis. I feel like he’s almost exactly like me.
Logan didn’t want to delve too deep into Lewis’ character with theazureflower. It felt almost...too personal to talk about with an online friend he didn’t even know the first name to.
Lewis, Logan felt, was the perfect embodiment of himself.
Lewis was a fairy who was mentioned briefly in the first book before being introduced more thoroughly in the second book, Pinnae: Magus. He was intelligent and smart and did not speak much with the other fairies. Logan liked to think he was the opposite of Sidney to a degree—the outcast character but on the fairy side.
But Lewis accompanied Parisa in her quest to find the missing Pinnae flower. He was, at first, silent and incredibly stoic. It was only when Parisa brought her laments that she was missing Arel that they really bonded.
During that chapter the reader finds that Lewis has a brother. While Logan doesn’t have a brother himself, he can still empathize with Lewis’ emotions connected to his gone missing brother.
theazureflower didn’t reply for a long moment. Logan didn’t think about it too much.
That was when the phone rang. He reached for the phone and groaned at the caller ID. Roman. Roman Falco. His co writer of the popular blog, “The Prince’s Crown”. Logan’s name was never mentioned in the About page but Roman mentioned him enough that almost all the readers knew Logan helped write Roman’s posts.
What really annoyed Logan, though, was that Roman was a, rather scatterbrained and b, was obsessed with the author of the Pinnae series, Raz Keeran.
While scatterbrained was fine (it was only the fact that Roman never had a schedule for his posts and they always came out on random days at random times), it was Roman’s obsession that was borderline stalkerish and just plain wrong.
“Let the author live their life!” Logan had said late last week when Roman had asked him to figure out where Keeran lived for the thousandth time. “If Keeran wants to stay anonymous, that’s their business, not yours.”
Logan was hoping Roman would eventually drop it. But, Logan knew his friend well. Roman was very strong minded and when he wanted something, he would try his darned hardest to get his idea to become a reality.
Logan put the phone to his ear after heaving a deep sigh. “Hello?”
“Logan—“
“—No, Roman. I’ve already told you I’m not going to stalk Keeran and find out where they live so you can unveil them in your blog.” Logan said crossly.
It was silent on the other end for a split second. “...It’s your blog too, ya know.” Roman’s voice finally said. “You help me with all my posts.”
“But you started the blog.” Logan pointed out. If Logan were to have a blog, it wouldn’t be about a book series (no matter how good of a series they were) and he would definitely not call it “The Prince’s Crown”.
“Yeah, that doesn’t mean anything.” Roman said emphatically.
Logan didn’t know why he was arguing with Roman. Besides, Logan and Roman didn’t get paid for the blog. Sure, sometimes they got ads on their blog but, more often than not, “The Prince’s Crown” to Logan was more of a hobby.
Roman seemed to be thinking about the same thing as Logan as he immediately dropped the argument. “Anyway. Logan, you’ll never believe what I just read!”
Logan crossed his arms, squatting the phone between his ear and shoulder. He raised an eyebrow. “What did you find now, Roman? Something about Keeran on another sourceless blog that only relies on speculation?”
“No—well...yes.”
Logan pushed up his glasses and took a breath. “Okay, Roman, what did you find?”
One of Roman’s “brilliant” ideas to find information about Keeran was to search up their name or something about the Pinnae series and then go to the very last Google page.
Most so-called “interviews” with Keeran and “Raz Keeran Revealed!!!” posts were fake and were in the last pages of Google for a reason.
“There’s this new interview! Speaking to Raz Keeran over email!”
“—Literally every interview with Keeran is over email,” Logan said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “No one has heard Keeran’s voice. No one knows what gender Keeran is either, that’s the whole point of email.”
“Anyway,” Roman continued. “It said that they managed to learn a couple things about Raz. It said that they managed to weasel out of them that they go to this cafe every morning. And!! Listen to this! It says that Raz lives somewhere around the coast and their town does annual art exhibits around their streets!”
Logan’s back stiffened and he instantly began scrolling backwards in his conversation with theazureflower. “Art exhibits in the streets?” He repeated. “What is this blog anyway?”
“‘The Pinnae Flower’.” Roman replied. “Some tiny blog run by this girl.”
“Isn’t that the one who also said Keeran was some big corporation?” Logan asked, still scrolling. He was into last year’s conversation with theazureflower.
“...Well...yeah. But still!”
Then, Logan found it. A conversation he had had with theazureflower two years ago. June. Almost exactly two years earlier.
theazureflower: I can’t wait for this weekend!!!
Lewis’_Journal: How come? What’s happening over there?
theazureflower: There’s this thing my town does
theazureflower: It’s kinda of like this art thing
theazureflower: Artists in our town do some art and over the weekend they hang them everywhere in the town
theazureflower: Like a scavenger hunt but you find wonderful art everywhere!
Logan wasn’t sure if any other USA town did an art exhibit like theazureflower. It felt odd for Keeran, though. If their town and theazureflower’s were the ones to do an art exhibit, then wouldn’t Keeran be more secretive with it?
But when Logan searched it up. There were a couple of small towns that did something like what theazureflower explained.
There were multiple towns but none of them were theazureflower’s home town. Logan knew theazureflower’s hometown, Mayflower Town, and it wasn’t there.
“Logan?” Roman asked, making him jump. He had forgotten Roman was still on the line. “You still there? What are you doing?”
“I think…” Logan said, trailing off. He straightened his spine. “I think you should leave Keeran alone.” He hung up before Roman could say anything else.
Logan went back to the computer and theazureflower.
...What if theazureflower and Keeran lived in the same town?
Logan and theazureflower sometimes talked about meeting each other summer. Maybe…
He quickly shut the computer. No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t try to unveil Keeran. It would go against all of his morals. It was wrong. Just plain wrong.
But Roman would want to travel with him—they always did in the summer. And if Logan told Roman about Keeran and theazureflower, Roman wouldn’t leave that town until he found out Keeran’s identity.
Unless...what if theazureflower was Keeran?
No. That was impossible. Keeran explicitly said in previous email interviews they did not read theories about the Pinnae series because they didn’t want to be accused of plagiarism. “The Prince’s Crown” was just about all theories and ideas.
No. Logan couldn’t go against his morals. He wasn’t a hypocrite. Logan did not want to be the one to put a spotlight on Raz Keeran.
Logan got out of bed and poured himself a cup of coffee in a cup that Roman had given him last year for his birthday—a Sherlock Holmes mug that said “It’s elementary, my dear Watson”.
It was going to be a long day. He could feel it.
~~~
Roman loves to teach. Children were always bursting with excitement and ideas. Roman was glad he was a drama teacher—he couldn’t imagine teaching children math or science.
It was nearing the end of school and since elementary schools had no exams, he didn’t have to do major correcting like Logan did.
Thank goodness.
By the end of the day, Roman was feeling electricity running through him. He didn’t think he could go home and do something productive and static right now.
So, he called up the only person he wanted to see. Logan. Maybe they could go to the mall or go out for an extra early supper.
“Hello?” Logan asked from the other end. His voice had a sharp edge to it.
Roman put his phone on speaker and began pulling out of the school’s parking lot. “Want to chillax this afternoon? I just got out of the school. I can come pick you up. I don’t think I can stay at home on this beautiful June afternoon.”
Logan didn’t reply for a long time and Roman had to check his phone to make sure he hadn’t hung up on him.
“As long as you don’t bring up trying to find Raz.” Logan said bitterly. “I’m sick of you always talking about it.”
Roman didn’t even think. “Of course. No talk about finding Raz. Got it.”
“Good.” Logan said. “I’ll just pack some stuff to correct and I’ll be out at the front of the university in five minutes.”
Before Roman could protest (who brought stuff to correct on an outing?), Logan had hung up.
Roman got to the university in less than three minutes and, soon after, Logan walked out. Roman glanced at the dash and grinned. Exactly five minutes since their phone call.
“As always, very punctual.” Roman commented as Logan pulled himself into the passenger seat.
“Why are you surprised?” Logan asked, buckling himself in and putting his massive canvas bag at his feet. “I am always punctual.”
Roman grinned as he put the keys in the ignition. “So, where do you want to eat? We could go to—“
Logan rolled his eyes. “Why do you always ask? We always go to the same place.”
Roman shrugged. “Just making sure. What if you suddenly become sporadic and choose some place different?”
“I’m not messing with tradition.” Logan protested. “We’ve been going to the same place since we were in high school.” His eyebrows knitted together. “And when have I ever been sporadic?”
“Well, there was that one time,” Roman chuckled. “When you signed up for the soccer team on a whim.”
“I need exercise.” Logan protested. “The place where I normally walked went under construction—“
“Sure, sure, sure.” Roman grinned as he pulled up to Fairy Cakes and Fantasy Books.
The whole building was decked out in pink and glitter with fairy statues near the door, greeting customers.
The building was squat between a law firm and a grass lot that seemed to permanently hold a “For Sale” sign beneath it’s uncut grass.
It was far away from most of the city and pretty secluded.
Fairy Tales and Fantasy Books was a cafe and library all wrapped into one. It was mostly booked out for birthday parties and for special events.
Normally, it was empty. Like now.
“I can’t believe this place is still open.” Logan muttered. “And still looks pretty okay.”
Roman stepped out of the car and Logan did the same. The air felt thicker even though they were nowhere near the center of the city.
As Roman opened the door, a bell above tinkled and Logan patted the head of a statue of a fairy clad in pink and doused with a fine glitter.
“Ah! Roman and Logan! My favourite two customers!” The lady behind the counter exclaimed. She had her dyed blonde hair up in a bun and was wearing a green dress like Tinkerbell.
“Good afternoon Breena!” Roman called out, striding over to the desk where all the baked goods were.
Logan was immediately drawn to the books and he began to gravitate towards them.
The books were in the corner and the wooden bookshelves were covered in pink glitter and sparkly fairy stickers. Logan’s eyes read the spines.
Most of them were fantasy novels. Hence the name Fairy Cakes and Fantasy Books.
Logan recognized the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings, the Chronicles of Narnia, and the Six of Crows duology. And, in the very middle, was the Pinnae series.
They were the American version. The cover was a glossy pinnae flower with an old time-y map as it’s background. They were all hardcovers.
The first book in the series, Pinnae: Forests and Flowers, was the only book here at the cafe that he had read. All the others he had bought himself.
Scrawled throughout the pages, however, young children had marked it with crayons and the pages were dog-eared again and again, some pages were missing corners altogether. It infuriated Logan to no end.
So, after he had finished the first book, he had bought the entire box set which included a complementary map of the world Raz had created.
“So, what’ll it be?” Breena asked, gesturing to all the pastries and cakes behind the glass.
Roman leaned against the counter, clicking his tongue while making his decision. “I think I’ll have the usual, Breena. Thank you very much.”
Breena grinned and slid open the glass, taking out three churros which had been rolled in pink, edible, glitter. The card next to them read “Fairy Wands”.
“And you Logan?” Breena asked.
Logan came up to the glass and peered inside. He’d been seeing the same baked goods since high school yet he could never really choose “a usual” like Roman.
“I think I’ll have two of those Fairy Cakes,” Logan finally decided, pointing to the powdered sugar topped Berliners.
Breena nodded and put two of the Berliners on a plate.
Once they had paid, Logan and Roman found themselves in their usual spot—in the back corner next to the fairy book display which included a couple of the Rainbow Magic series, the Artemis Fowl series, and The Spiderwick Chronicles.
“I literally love this place,” Roman sighed as he bit into his churro. “It always seems so magical to me.”
Honestly? Logan didn’t see it. All he saw was a cafe-library covered in pink and glitter and fairy pictures and drawings hung on the walls.
But he loved it all the same. Just not for the reasons Roman had.
He loved how the books were all Tetris-ed in the bookshelves perfectly. It was like an oddly satisfying video.
He loved Breena’s desserts even though he didn’t have much of a sweet tooth.
And lastly, the fact that it was almost always empty. While Breena probably hated that there wasn’t a lot of business, Logan was perfectly content eating Berliners with Roman in an empty cafe with books.
They sat in comfortable silence as they munched on their treats.
As always, Roman was the first to talk. “Guess what I saw today.”
“What?”
“I saw one of my students, Matilda, reading the first Pinnae book! I think she’s going to do her novel presentation on it too!” Roman grinned from ear to ear.
“I, as well, saw a student in my astrology seminar with a t-shirt with the pinnae flower on it.” Logan said, remembering the student and his green shirt.
Roman finished his churros in record time, Logan just starting his second Berliner.
He could feel the pressure building up in Roman’s voicebox, about to ask the inevitable question. Logan knew Roman couldn’t refrain from it. He never knew why he always made Roman promise not to bring it up when Logan knew for a fact Roman could never bite his tongue.
Roman shifted in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Logan…” he hesitated. “I know that I promised not to say anything about it but...could you please reconsider trying to find Raz?”
And there it was. Logan sighed and shoved the rest of the Berliner in his mouth to keep from screaming. He didn’t think he could handle Roman right now.
Roman twiddled his fingers like a child as he waited for Logan to chew and swallow the Berliner. “I just,” he sighed, “you’re so good at mysteries and stuff and—“
Logan swallowed and angrily shook his head. “No,” he hissed, trying not to raise his voice and alert Breena. “Roman, I’ve told you every single time you’ve asked: no. I will not find Raz for you. There is a reason Raz is anonymous.”
He didn’t know why right now, in a glittery cafe-library, he was finally breaking. After years and years of Roman asking, he had never really gotten mad or angry with him. Logan would just shake his head or logically explain why finding Raz was wrong, hoping it would get into Roman’s brain and he’d finally realize that his dream was unethical. Maybe it was pent up anger from all the years.
A small part in Logan’s brain reminded him of his theory that theazureflower and Raz might live in the same town.
He shook it away. Not now, he told himself.
Roman shrunk for a split second in his chair before seeming to come to his senses and lean forward and straighten his spine, meeting Logan’s height. “I understand why it’s wrong but don't you see it? Our blog could get so many new readers and we could become famous!”
“I’m not interested in becoming famous, Roman. Maybe that’s why I empathize with Raz so much.” Logan snapped back. “I’m not finding Raz for you.”
Roman wasn’t giving up that easily. And neither was Logan. He didn’t know how the two of them—both rather hotheaded—became friends, to be honest. Or, actually, stayed friends after all this time.
“What if—”
“—No, Roman. I won’t take any of your compromises. You’re atrocious at keeping promises. Like this one.” Logan inturpted, not in the mood for one of Roman’s compromises. “Oh! But what if we found Raz but didn’t tell anyone?” or “What if we found Raz and hinted at it on our blog to grab followers?”. Logan was sick of them. Roman would never keep Raz’s identity a secret after he knew, Logan was sure of it.
“This summer is perfect, though, Logan!” Roman exclaimed wildly. “It’s summer and you’ve got a couple of weeks from last summer we didn’t use!”
Logan gritted his teeth and brought his hands into fists. “Roman, for the last time, I am not—absolutely will not—find Raz Keeran for you.” His voice was loud and Logan prayed Breena wasn’t in earshot.
Roman slouched in his chair and sulked, rolling his eyes. “I bet I could find someone on Craigslist that could find Raz quicker than you anyway. They can be my new best friend.”
Logan felt his anger rise and rise until it consumed him. “Craigslist?” He repeated. “Craigslist?” He pounded a fist on the table, the plates slightly jumping off the table. He was better than any random person on Craigslist.
Logan heard the words come out of his mouth before he could logically go over the consequences. “Oh yeah? You think, Roman? Well pack your bags and book us two plane tickets to Mayflower Town. We’ve got some sleuthing to do.”
36 notes · View notes
steve0discusses · 5 years
Text
Yugioh S2 Ep 33:  ᵇˡᶦᵐᵖ ʙʟɪᴍᴘ  BLIMP ԀꟽI⅂ꓭ
I usually don’t really do these during weekdays but lets just say today was a day where I felt the need for a healthy distraction.
Ah, it is episode 33. There are...so many episodes in a Yugioh season, guys. I was just not aware. But, here we are at episode 33 and we are finally going to start the finals.
For reals this time, no one’s going to get engaged, no one’s going to randomly murder a bunch of people. We are officially starting the finals this episode.
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Sort of.
Man, Kaiba and his butterfly-wing shoulderpads. Sometimes it just looks like he’s just going to gently flutter away.
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Also in this stadium with Kaiba and Mokuba is Marik and Odion, who is just as confused as to where the hell everyone went and why the hell Mai just flew by being carried off by a ninja in a jet pack. The hours it must have taken to wait for Yugi’s crew to walk 2 single blocks was enough time for Marik to formulate yet another back-up plan. I want to say this is plan #9.
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It’s a good thing Pharaoh can’t read anymore, considering that Marik’s just walking around in a crop hoodie with a tattoo that just reads “SEASON 2 SPOILERS, PHARAOH, DO NOT READ” in hieroglyphs.
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But if you wait long enough, even Yugi and his friends will accidentally wander the correct direction and actually show up.
(read more under the cut)
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Not a joke, this is actually an unfinished public works project, congratulations, Kaiba Corps, there is nothing that Kaiba won’t try and then fail at, at least once.
Anyways, this shady-as-hell unfinished stadium seems kind of like a good place to get murdered and then tossed into a cement slab. Which honestly, would have been a very likely end to this season, considering what we have been through so far.
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Marik decides to sneak around the bleachers, probably on all fours so no one would spot him, jump out a window, and then come in through the front door like he’s not been here this entire time. As he did, apparently he made everything very, very windy. In fact, everyone with a millennium item brought with them a spooooooky gust of wind except I think Yugi, who is probably too short to pull that one off.
Yugi did manage to get the vibe of “something bad is coming” before Marik entered the field, but like...there’s so many bad things at this point, Yugi. So many people that could be. It feels like that might be half the cast. You could say that at any given moment in this season and be absolutely right.
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So, after possessing Tea for a second, for...some reason? Did she need threatening? Anyway, after doing that, Namu is in with the gang because literally nothing will prevent Yugi from becoming a friend with you, especially if you are trying to hide the fact that you just tried to kill him by drowning him in the ocean.
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Funny how instead of them asking how the hell Namu got away from cultists, they have to fixate on the mystery of “is Bakura good at cards!?” because, and I kinda forgot about this, I guess they don’t remember the last time they saw Bakura play. How far up their own ass is Yugi and Joey to assume that just because Bakura doesn’t brag about cards all day, that Bakura hasn’t been equally good at cards? They kind of deserve this.
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Yeah and PS Kaiba absolutely did not check the satellite to get the DL on why the hell Bakura got so many cards. Dayjob Saruman I guess went home for the evening so...although that shadow game was definitely being recorded on a computer, we’ll never know what that mess looked like on Kaiba’s end. Like there’s just three duel disks covered in ectoplasm hanging out in the cemetery and no one seems to have noticed?
Like for a competition that was huge about security and tech, they only seemed to watch the God Cards players and then Mokuba randomly monitored Joey Wheeler for some reason. That was it. That was all the people the Kaiba’s cared about.
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So although Marik and Odion and Bakura could probably take on everyone right now. Like riiiight now. They decide not to because, well, I nearly forgot about someone that I was really looking forward to seeing again, that’s right, my favorite boy!
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AW THERE HE IS!
to quote one of my actual favorite earworms,
youtube
Where has this big boy been hiding!? He’s freakin ginormous, but apparently he was just hiding behind a soft cloud or something, in anticipation of this grand reveal in a very sketch unfinished stadium that’s probably being used to bet on bum fights.
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Mokuba gets excited for the first time since...I don’t remember if Mokuba’s ever actually been excited before. Like I’m digging through my memories here and no, Mokuba’s been mostly abducted, angry, bored, or scared, this is the first time he’s exuded that pure pre-teen energy.
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PS a blimp’s max flying height is 1500 ft, and what surprised me the most about this was realizing that this entire time we’ve been watching this show, we’ve been getting measurements in US metrics. Didn’t realize that before today.
Also, on my wikipedia deep dive into blimps, I found out that like...this is probably not a “blimp,” but actually a semi-rigid airship but...I’m gonna keep calling it a blimp. Don’t @ me, blimp fandom on tumblr.
It’s so good to see more Blimp. Even though...probably the worst place to throw a tourney? Like...how many people are you even gonna fit in there? Like...is this televised? I mean I don’t know how Kaiba’s marketing works for this, honestly, he took over every TV in the city to get people to join this tourney, and now that it’s in full swing no one can watch it?
Whatever, it’s a blimp.
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Duke Devlin is still here, despite the fact that I don’t think he’s going to do anything for the rest of this season. I guess they had to promote that gameboy game so his face will just be in the background always although as a dice player he um...he has no purpose here.
In fact it makes no sense, he works with Pegasus who straight up killed Mokuba and Kaiba like a month ago, why are they just letting him on their airship? Whatever.
I dunno, maybe there’s more that Duke will do eventually, but he just seemed like a replacement for Bakura at first--and Bakura’s back now, so why’s he still here?
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Ishizu is here, and while every other time we’ve seen Ishizu, she’s been talking our ears off, the one time she should probably say something, she instead decides to lock herself inside her bedroom and avoid everyone.
I guess she was mostly avoiding Marik so they don’t have a sibling laser fight in the hull of a Blimp. That would have made things so awkward for Yugi and Bakura. Especially Yugi, who still doesn’t know that thing around his neck shoots freakin lasers.
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Props the background artists who had to draw billions of small little buildings AKA the worst background in the world to draw. I will go through hoops to avoid drawing even a single building, but to have to sit down and paint just a whole page of buildings that someone’s going to smack a foreground on anyway? Mad respect. If you look closely you’ll see that this artist had to use a ruler and perspective and other annoying tools that take up time and energy. Even using editing tools like using blocks of black color to imitate the look of rooftops and crowded structures, it probably took them a few hours to make the background that went in a .2 second scene.
They’ll probably reuse these buildings later, don’t get me wrong, but oi, I feel for them in my carpel tunnel bones.
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Seto keeps telling Yugi that they’re rivals but I don’t think anyone on this show other than Joey thinks of Seto as much of a rival at all. You almost feel a little bad for him, like he’s in a weird...hate triangle, but very much on the loosing end of it.
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Next we get a good look at Kaiba’s interior design decisions, and much like his mansions, it’s a lot of very unexpected soothing pastels. Like this is a lot of seafoam blue. How can someone so angry make something so grandma-zen? Is it actually Kaiba’s grandmother who is just slapping down all these paint chips when he’s not looking? I mean it’s got muted pink stools even, with a makeup station.
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Tea, Tristan, and Duke have no rooms to go to because they aren’t actually part of this competition, so they’re just squatting around until they’ll probably all end up crashing with Mokuba, the only other person who is not dueling in this competition. Reminds me a lot of the first week of college, where everyone is just coasting dorm room to dorm room and there’s like 10 people there who actually don’t actually go there but want to hang out with their high school friends and they just end up sleeping in your room for 7 days until they read your other friend’s diary, get hella indignant, and then storm off back to California. My apologies to my Freshman year roommate who had to put up with all that girl drama.
And because it’s this show, the men and their bottomless stomachs decide to raid the smallest little mini fridge and you wouldn’t believe what takes up about 1/4 of it
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There is so many cheese wheels in this Japanese show, guys. So, I felt like doing a quick google search of Japan and Cheese and it’s just a bunch of ex-pats talking about how the European cheeses most of us are familiar with is harder to find in Japan. So, maybe that’s why? It's a status symbol that he can find round cheeses?
But even if you can only get your hands on a 30$ Swiss wheel every so often (because that really is just Swiss cheese, like lets be real.) how much Swiss cheese can one man eat??? Especially since, looking closely, there is not a single baguette here. No man can eat that much cheese without a bread!
Sorry, stuffing your face full of free cheese you pulled out of your friend’s mini-fridge is also giving me vivid flashbacks to my Freshman year of college.
Also little edit--just realized that flag is flipped 90 degrees from French so that’s probably a Holland flag? Although I looked up European flags and there is...none that have that color order so I don’t know which country they were originally going for.
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YO I just realized there’s no curtains on any of these pelvis-height level windows. So, you can’t sleep because of the lights, and you can’t change into pajamas because like--the whole city will see.
Kaiba does seem like the type that would on purpose not install any curtains on any of the windows he’s ever owned, though.
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Keto is gone, and now we just have Roland, who is probably too terrified to ever abduct the Kaibas by picking them up by the neck with one arm.
Anyway, in case you were wondering--since the show has decided to make a huge fuss over card prep time--how can they prep for a card game if they only have the cards they brought with them and they don’t know what the other people are even playing or which person they’re playing first?
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Kaiba did nothing. He sat there and thought “If Yugi doesn’t even put that God Card in his deck this entire tourney will be absolutely pointless.”
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Mai took little sips of milk. Probably paired it with Swiss cheese. Just a huge bite out of a wheel of Swiss cheese.
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Odion never found the refrigerator.
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Marik took a nap on this bed that looks like it’s just made of foam. Why is this the only one on the show who’s like “Youknow, I should sleep at some point.”
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And Yugi’s prep involved talking to himself a whole lot, which explains why none of his friends wanted to stay here for that. I doubt very much Yugi kicked him out of the room. He was probably like “no, stay, stay” in that high pitched-low pitched voice combo until they were like “nooooo I don’t want to be present for your daily seance checkup byeeee.” while slowly backing out of the room.
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Yo remember that time we were worried about Bandit Keith stealing the puzzle?
Apparently...Pharaoh could have just sort of done that dizzolving thingy and appeared right back on Yugi’s neck.
And remember that time Yugi handed that puzzle to Joey?
Apparently...Pharaoh could have just sneezed and then bam--right back around Yugi’s neck.
Like remember any time this season that we’ve been like “Oh no, the puzzle! We’re gonna lose it!” no that...that was never a problem.
I mean to be fair when it’s dismantled it might not work but um--apparently you can’t lose an item after it’s decided it likes you. At all. Which is kind of weird because Pegasus totally lost that eyeball, and aren’t all these items property of Pharaoh anyway?
I’ll try not to think about it as this rule seems to only really apply to Bakura. 
Anyway, next week--I’m pretty sure the finals are indeed actually starting next week. I could be wrong as I have been every single episode but maybe--probably--the finals are actually going to start. We shall see.
86 notes · View notes
snowyseahorse · 6 years
Note
All of them
why do you do this to me
flower crown: when did you last sing to yourself?
Are We There Yet by Timeflies and Chase Rice
fairy lights: if a crystal ball could tell you the truth about anything, what would you want to know?
Where to find Better People
daisies: what is the greatest accomplishment of your life?
Pulling myself out of my worst emotional/mental state like a year ago and evolving because of it (and I guess my grades too lol I have a 4.0 and I’m taking 4 AP tests monday-wednesday)
1975: what is the first happy memory that comes to mind, recent or otherwise?
Dancing in my room and Feeling Good
matte: if you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living?
I’d tell the truth more and tell people I love them and take easy classes because What’s The Point and make out with more people (I haven’t made out with anyone in like 6 months I’m sad) and get my driver’s license and cry more
black nail polish: do you have a bucket list? if so, what are the top three things?
I don’t! I just want to be happy. Nothing else matters.
pantone: describe a person close to your life in detail.
Jeremy @diediedie000000000000000000000 is my closest friend right now and he’s fantastic. He has the most confusing eating habits and I don’t even try to understand them; he’ll eat like 3 servings worth of pastries and beef jerkey and sunflower seeds and 5 thin mints for breakfast. His metabolism is golden too, so he eats so much but has no body weight or fat. His hair is black and long enough to run my fingers through, which always messes it up. (but he says he enjoys it so it’s all good) He likes the aesthetic when it’s wet and all over the place, but doesn’t like actually having wet hair. His skin is perfect too and he has cute little freckles below his eyes that make him look like a literal angel. He doesn’t like drawing attention to himself but is a sluT for attention from his friends, so when I randomly take pictures of him he looks so bashful and pleased and adorable and tries so hard not to smile. On FaceTime sometimes he’ll just straight-up ask for attention and I turn off my laptop and we both lay down on our beds and make noises at each other. It’s so hard to believe that he used to ignore me in the hallways because he’s shy. I’d pass him and call his name or touch his shoulders and he wouldn’t even make eye contact. He also lied and said that he doesn’t like cuddles, and now he’s one of the most physically affectionate people I’ve ever met. (he also said that he didn’t like to say “I love you” to his friends and guess what else changed) Even at school he’ll get really close and just touch my leg or my side. (our computer graphics 2 class probably all thinks we’re dating) He does this cute thing where if I pet his nose he like leans his head into my hand like a cat and my brain is just like oh my gosh protect this human. He has a lot of cute mannerisms too. When I’m on the call and he has to put his phone down he makes the same little face that he uses for literally every snapchat he sends, with his lips pressed together and his eyebrows raised. If he’s explaining something really intensely he will sometimes curve his fingers like he’s holding two tennis balls and tense up his entire body. He’s an enneagram 4, which basically means that he gets high off of being special, and we use it as a meme when we’re talking about him. Whenever I do something weird I ask him if it “satisfies his ennegram 4” and he replies that it does. He also likes doing things that make him feel closer to someone, I guess because it reaffirms his importance and reliance. Wearing no makeup or having messy hair or singing in front of him are things he really appreciates(I’ve done all three). I’m painting him as really soft and pure but he also can be quick to retaliate (”if someone starts something, you can be sure I’ll finish it”) or become defensive if he considers himself provoked. He doesn’t like having people dislike him though, and is really proud of not hating anyone or having any real enemies. His memory is terrible, especially at night, and honestly it’s a miracle if he remembers anything that happens past 9pm. Even his short term memory after dark is pitiful. There was one night where I tested him and told him to remember a song, and 10 minutes later when I asked he has no idea what I was talking about. I’d ask him to corroborate the story but there’s no chance that he remembers. The lack of memory makes him really doubtful of facts too. My favorite test is to ask “Jeremy, did I grow up in a fjord?” (I didn’t) and he usually starts with “no”, but if after he answers I don’t say anything, he always changes to “yes?” and prompts my “JeremY, this literally happens every time. You KNOW that I didn’t, and just because I stay silent doesn’t mean that you’re wrong.” Am I a bad person? He really just needs to be protected; I’m so worried that one day he’ll literally sell his soul or do drugs or blow all of his money and just think nothing of it. I would never trust Jeremy with finances. He’s an impulse buyer, and sometimes also gives people way too much money to eat spicy food or something else unpleasant; it drives me insane because I despisE spending money. Video games are another one of his vices. He’s amazing at every game he plays. It’s really just excessive at this point. Pokemon is his childhood and he destroys me on Pokemon Showdown constantly. (I’ve never played a proper pokemon game) He got me into PS, eating in my room, and RWBY, and I introduced him to Be More Chill and Heathers and Hamilton. He can sing really well, which is only further proof that he’s actually an angel. I feel like we have a pretty good balance as friends. He tackles his emotions head-on while I avoid them at all costs. He like to be able to rely on other people and I only want to rely on myself. He only owns one pair of shoes (by choicE) and I love feeling pretty by wearing makeup and outfits I like. He keeps his family out of his social life and I tell mine everything. He’s a wonderful friend and I don’t deserve him at all but I try my best to.
moodboard: do you feel you had a happy childhood?
Yes! My family is wonderful so I got lucky.
stars: when did you last cry in front of another person?
I don’t know. I usually don’t. It was probably Jeremy though.
plants: pick a person to stargaze with you and explain why you picked them.
Jeremy,,,,,, because he’s my closest friend.
converse: would you ever have a deep conversation with a stranger and open up to them?
To an extent. It depends on who they are.
lace: when was your last 3am conversation with someone, and who were they to you?
I haven’t stayed up until 3am probably since I was dating my ex boyfriend, so him.
handwriting: if you were about to die, and you could only say one more sentence to one person, what would you say and to whom?
Probably tell my mom that I love and appreciate her.
cactus: what is your opinion on brown eyes?
They wonderful and u n i q u e
sunrise: pick a quote and describe what it means to you personally.
“It is a dangerous thing to unbelieve something only because it frightens you“ - Cheshire Cat in the book “Heartless“ (I just really like it because it’s so consistent with truth and fighting against oneself)
oil paints: what would you title the autobiography of your life so far?
I don’t know, maybe something about evolving and getting through thing and becoming better. Maybe “Better” because it also aligns with the OneRepublic song
overalls: what would you do with one billion dollars?
I hate spending money, I’d probably just hold onto it forever
combat boots: are you a very forgiving person? do you like being this way?
I used to be more so, but life isn’t as black and white as it used to be. 
winged eyeliner: write a hundred word letter to your twelve year old self.
Literally 12 year old me was doing fine. She doesn’t need a letter. 14 year old me maybe did.
pastel: would you describe yourself as more punk or pastel?
pastel
tattoos: how do you feel about tattoos and piercings? explain.
I don’t think I’ll get any more piercing than the ones in my ears now because earrings irritate my ears and it just wouldn’t be worth it. I like the look of tattoos that are slightly darker than the skin, and are on the person’s hands or waist, but I probably won’t get any. I don’t know. People can do whatever they want with their bodies.
piercings: do you wear a lot of makeup? why/why not?
Foundation, eyeliner, mascara, concealer, some highlighter. I just like the look of it.
bands: talk about a song/band/lyric that has affected your life in some way. 
I don’t know, but TOP is always a good choice for this. I made my Depression Castle in minecraft listening to them.
messy bun: the world is listening. pick one sentence you would tell them.
I believe in you
cry baby: list the concerts you have been to and talk about how they make you feel.
The only one that made me feel anything was when I saw OneRepublic with my ex boyfriend. He started talking about depression and my hearT.
grunge: who in the world would you most like to receive a letter from and what would you want it to say?
I’ve talked about the first person I was in love with, and I’d probably want the letter to be from her because we don’t talk that much now. We’re going to prom in the same group and she’s going to be so gorgeous and I’m going to gravitate to her like I always do and I don’t know. I just want to know that she doesn’t hate me.
space: do you have a desk/workspace and how is it organised/not organised?
Yes! I’m sentimental as hec and so I have pieces of paper from my friends and small things and sticky notes all over the back. (actually I calligraphied “Riley” and “Katherine” onto sticky notes a while ago to put there because I don’t have anything physical to remind me of you two)
white bed sheets: what is your night time routine?
Call Jeremy, brush my teeth, floss, I’m probably already in pajamas, take my makeup off, unmake my bed, take my bra off, get into bed, say goodnight, sleeP
old books: what’s one thing you don’t want your parents to know?
That I masturbate………. My mom was talking once about how I might not orgasm until I’m in my 20s and that’s ok, and I just kind of laughed. It would probably be fine if I told her but ya know
beaches: if you had to dye your hair how would you dye/style it and why?
I just redyed it pink today!
eyes: pick five people to go on an excursion with you. who would you pick and where would you go/what would you do?
Jeremy, Marissa(she doesn’t have a tumblr), @parksandrecmeup, @sparklygemsuniverse, and @internet-pringle and honestly I’d go anywhere with them
11:11: name three wishes and why you wish for them.
Happiness (it’s what I always wish for at 11:11)
That my future will be wonderful
That the world will improve
painting: what is the best halloween costume you have ever put together? if none, make one up.
When I was smol my mom sewed this thick piece of fabric together and we painted and stick feathers to a mask so that I could be Hedwig from Harry Potter. I was so warmmmmmm
lightning: what’s the worst thing you’ve ever done while drunk or high?
Never been either because I’m boring
thunder: what’s one thing you would never do for one million dollars?
Kill someone
storms: you on only listen to one song for the rest of your life, or only see one person for the rest of your life. which and why?
Song, because I can still go about my normal life and interact with society
love: have you ever fallen in love? describe what it feels like to realise you’re in love.
Twice! The second time was better and softer. I was always smiling and happy, and texted him 24/7. My heart felt like it glowed.
clouds: if you’re a boy, would you ever rock black nail polish? if you’re a girl, would you ever rock really really short hair?
Nah. I like my hair
coffee: what’s your starbucks order, and who would you trust to order for you, if anyone?
Hot chocolate because I Avoid starbucks, and anyone can order for me tbh
marble: what is the most important thing to you in your life right now?
Myself *sunglasses emoji* (I’d say Jeremy but like he doesn’t need my help, my main goal is helping myself)
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fesahaawit · 7 years
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What If You Only Tried to Be 10% Happier?
Two weeks ago, I shared the news that I have been dealing with some pretty intense anxiety on a daily basis. In that same post, I asked if you had any recommendations for audiobooks or podcasts on the subject of meditation. I had concluded that slowing down and breathing more would be the solution to this problem, and I wanted to collect data and insight from all of you, so I could map out a plan to get back to my normal self as quickly as possible. Yes, I can see the oxymoron in that statement: I knew I would have to slow down, but I wanted to do it right away and get it over with. (More on this later.)
The first piece of advice I took was to listen to my friend Brooke McAlary’s interviews with Kevin Janks. I will admit that I was secretly praying I would find a story of someone who had gone through exactly what I was going through. (Isn’t that what we’re all hoping for, to some degree? To make that connection and feel like you’re not alone?) So, at first, I was disappointed because I couldn’t quite relate to his story about where he thought his anxiety stemmed from. In fact, it made me wonder what the heck I had to be anxious about. I don’t have a high-stress job or demanding clients or anything like that. My tasks are my own and most of my deadlines are self-imposed. I am in control of that part of my life.
But then Kevin started describing how his anxiety felt – like there was something crushing his chest – and I let out a huge sigh of relief. Yes. YES. That is exactly what my anxiety feels like.
In the weeks leading up to when I published that post, I woke up every day feeling as though there was an elephant on my chest. And if the elephant wasn’t there, at first, he stomped his way over by 8am and curled up to have an all-day nap. It wasn’t painful, but it did feel like there was a weight on my chest that had squeezed my lungs down to the size of peanuts. As a result, I was constantly gasping for air, feeling as though I could never get enough oxygen. And the worst part was that, as time went on and this continued, I couldn’t focus on anything. I would stare at my computer and think about working or writing, but I couldn’t. All I could do was try to catch my breath and calm my anxious mind.
Since listening to Kevin describe his experience, and identifying how my own anxiety physically felt, the solutions to help minimize it became a lot more clear. Aside from downloading those episodes of the Slow Home Podcast, I did two other things that day. The first is something I’ll tell you about in further detail in a future post. The second thing I did was meditate. It started with a simple 10-minute body scan. I closed my eyes, took slow and deep breaths, and focused on different parts of my body. During those 10 minutes, I couldn’t help but notice the weight was being lifted from my chest as my heart rate and blood pressure normalized. I opened my eyes and felt more relaxed than I had been in weeks.
Honestly, I felt like I was floating. The oxygen I so desperately needed had finally poured in. It was like the time I flew back to Victoria after being in Toronto for months and the fresh, ocean air made my eyes glaze over. There was no weight; only light. I thought I was cured.
So, you can imagine how disappointed I was when the elephant came back a few hours later. I didn’t even see him coming. He just stomped his way over, sat down and crushed my lungs again. Fortunately, when I noticed that it felt like I was gasping for air, I knew what to do. I closed my eyes and took a few more deep breaths, until some of the weight had lifted. As the day went on and the weight got heavier, I took more deep breaths. Eventually, I stopped what I was doing and meditated for 10-15 minutes. That seemed to remove about 90% of the weight, even 100% for a short while. And I have repeated this process every time I have felt him start to stomp across my chest since.
One of the most interesting things I have learned since starting my very-new-to-me meditation practice is that nothing is going to cure my anxiety overnight. But when I said earlier that “the solutions to help minimize it became a lot more clear,” the keyword in that sentence was “minimize”. I am learning that lots of things reduce my anxiety: switching tasks, going for a walk or hike, soaking in an epsom salt bath and even reading. And, of course, meditation has proven to be beneficial in more ways than one. I’m sleeping better, focusing more and getting all of my work done. The weight is still there, but these small wins show huge promise. I need to exercise patience and know it will take time to feel like myself again.
Aside from listening to Brooke’s podcast, I have read two books in the past two weeks, one of which was 10% Happier by Dan Harris (another recommendation from many of you). Like Kevin’s interview, I couldn’t relate to everything Dan shared in his book. However, when he started talking about the period of time in which he used drugs and alcohol as coping mechanisms, a rush of memories and thoughts flooded through me. Something I’m starting to come to terms with is that I have probably had a low level of anxiety for many years, but I used a lot of quick fixes to alleviate it. Alcohol, drugs, junk food, shopping, etc. Things that would make me feel 100% happier in the moment.
Of course, none of them worked. Quick fixes never do. They are bandaids put over deep wounds that need more love and care and a longer recovery time. Yet I continued to do these things over and over again for years, and paid for it in other ways that I ignored for even more years. I reached my heaviest weight, made countless regrettable decisions and ended up being maxed out financially – all because I was always looking for that quick fix.
The more I think about the title of Dan’s book, I can’t help but wonder: what would you do differently, if you stopped thinking every bad day needs to be “fixed” with something? Or if you gave up on the idea that any problem could be solved with one big purchase or one night out? Or if you stopped trying to increase your productivity or the number of workouts you do by 100%, 200% or more? Or if you stopped comparing yourself to your favourite influencers, and feeling as though you have to start doing exactly what they do RIGHT NOW to reach their level of success? What would it look like if you only tried to be 10% happier, in any given scenario?
Could it help you find even a few simple things to be grateful for on the seemingly worst days? Could it keep more money in your bank account, which could later be put towards things you truly value? Could it help you find more satisfaction at work, at home and in your relationships? Could it stop you from making regrettable decisions? Could it give you some perspective and remind you of the incredible progress you’ve already made? Could it make you 10% happier? And wouldn’t that be great?
When I think about some of the biggest changes I’ve made in my life – specifically, quitting drinking and impulse shopping – I know that they weren’t made overnight. The same way I’m learning that lots of things reduce my anxiety, there were a lot of things that helped me in those scenarios too – and oddly enough, many of them are the same. Deep breathing, walking, hiking, and reading in the bath. Writing about it here also helped. Right now, I’m doing a lot of that too, but in a notebook for my eyes only. None of these things has ever made me 100% happier overnight, but they have all helped me feel 10% happier in the moment. They are mini quick fixes, if you will, but part of a long-term strategy.
I know it’s not always easy to look at a long-term plan and feel like it’s going to work. Trust me, this is the #1 struggle people share with me when they talk about why it’s difficult to stay motivated when saving for retirement. But just like our monetary investments, I believe a long-term approach to happiness will give us the best results. You are worth the time and energy.
So, I’m not cured. As much as I wish I could, I can’t slow down, meditate a few times and expect my anxiety to disappear. But I can say I feel better. I still have two hours left of Dan’s audiobook to get through, so I don’t know the ending quite yet… but as I noticed myself feeling a little better each week, I applied the book title to this specific period of my life and realized that is all I could really ask for: to be 10% happier and healthier than I was the week before. Two weeks ago, I meditated and thought I was cured. Last week, I realized I was 10% happier. Today, I think it’s safe to say I’m about to hit the 20% happier mark. This feels like good progress. And I’m in it for the long haul.
What could you do today to feel 10% happier?
PS – Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for a subscription to Calm. A random draw made with the Rafflecopter app named Meaghan S. the winner. Enjoy, Meaghan!
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