#once i get bored of this ill look for his comedy stuff

[unfortunate-songbird]

Analysis because I’m bored

I’d do a venndiagram thing but it won’t fit everything so you get a confusing list instead

Zuko from Avatar. Hunter from Owl House. Leo from Rise. Tommy from DSMP.

What do they have in common?

a frikcin lot, actually

Leo&Hunter&Zuko&Tommy

16 y/old boy

Trauma city baybee

Has cried on screen at least once 

Self-sacrificial tendencies (some more prominent than others)

Mental health in the gutter

What’s a therapist

Magic exists

Angst magnets both in canon and in the fandom

Can Not catch a break ever

Cocky

They all have siblings

Dumbass. Every single one of them. They’ve all done really stupid things.

Sometimes they are in absolutely misery and sometimes they are just incredibly funny for no reason

High key dramatic 

“Most people find me annoying at first” they piss off a lot of people and can be kinda obnoxious 

Strange creatures exist

Distinct color

Almost fell to their death in a very dramatic scene 

But wait, there’s more:

Tommy&Hunter&Leo

No mom at all

Literally none

Silly goofy guys <3

Blonde (look ik Leo only had hair for 1 episode and it was evil but let me have this)

Really wants attention/validation and does some stupid stuff to get it (ok Zuko probably does too but it’s a little less?? Obvious?? Idk)

America exists 

They live in a comedy world (aside from the angst) and it Shows

Starts out silly goofy and then turns into angst (Avatar was kinda angsty from the beginning)

Knows a few words of Spanish (which is more than Zuko knows considering Spanish doesn’t exist in his world)

Leo&Zuko&Tommy

swords

swords

swords

Don’t wanna flex but they’ve never been possessed (rip Hunter)

Doesn’t travel between realms (fantasy vs the real world but with some magic involved)

Does not attend school at all and shows no interest in doing so

Has a normal vocabulary (doesn’t use nerd words as much as Hunter)

Face visible from their first appearance 

Has fist-fought people and will again

Fshshs this one is not very long

Zuko&Hunter&Leo

Cartoon

They can wield magic powers

Has a large support group of people who love them (oof Tommy)

Has at least one good parental figure (oof Tommy)

Recovery! Hopeful endings! :) (oof tommy) 

When they almost fell to their death they were saved by a loved one (oof tommy)

Big brother moment (at least one younger sibling) 

Very protective over younger siblings (adopted or not)

American accents

Tommy&Hunter&Zuko

human (look hunter’s a clone of a human I’m counting it)

They like girls (probably straight)

Manipulated by one of the most powerful character in their world

Experienced abuse and is very clearly traumatized by it 

Not very good at acting like they’re totally fine and not at all mentally ill

Trauma is actually addressed in canon (Fshshs rip Leo) 

Goes off into the wilderness alone for a while and comes back disheveled, distressed, and generally not vibing

Can go places without being immediately ostracized due to being an actual turtle (Rip Leo)

Can’t lie to save their lives

Actually exists in other worlds besides just like…. New York

But of course, who would I be if I just stopped there??

Tommy&Hunter

fully blonde

Has had multiple panic attacks on screen

Dog person (hunter likes wolves and tommy does too)

Finds out rather abruptly that their abuser doesn’t care about them and has a mental breakdown over it

Friends are all very very traumatized

Would cry at being accepted into a family (Hunter did and you can’t tell me Tommy wouldn’t bc he really badly wants a family) 

People tend to dislike them a lot despite them not really deserving it? (Like yeah they’re a little obnoxious at times but it’s not that big of a deal)

Their animal friends always die :(((

Worrying suicidal/semi-suicidal behavior?? (Hunter was digging his own grave ok I know it was kinda played for humor but that’s messed up. I don’t even need to mention Tommy boy was fully and canonically suicidal)

Spend most of their time in another realm being somewhat? Aware of another realm but no one really going there until much later

LGBTQ rep in canon (not them specifically tho)

“Aw, they’re finally heali- oop, nope, there’s another buttload of trauma”

Zuko&Leo

Uses two swords at once

Very good sword fighter also

Tends to kinda jump into things without thinking even though they’re smart and can strategize well but somehow it works out for them in ways it really shouldn’t 

Is occasionally the voice of reason while everyone else is being dumb

Feels weak and powerless next to their super-powerful awesome sibling(s)

Main parental figure is a short Asian man with grey hair that is very powerful but tends to act silly. Also they don’t like utilizing their incredible fighting skills unless necessary bc of their Tragic Past (TM)

Tommy&Leo

Your second priority is your loved ones. Your first priority should always be committing to the bit

Humor coping mechanism 

Makes stupid decisions for the funni

Really loves their older brother who gives them a lot of guidance (to the point of almost being a parental figure)

They have a main mentor/parental/familial figure that they really love and that loves them in return but their relationship is somewhat strained due to the mentor figure’s poor mental health causing them to inadvertently hurt them

Make silly noises heehoo

Some angst but mostly funni

They have heartbreaking angst and then straight back to crack levels of comedy

Can be very overconfident in their abilities, especially when it comes to smooth-talking/scamming people

Trapped in a prison with an unbeatable foe and basically beaten to death 

They only escaped because of magic previously thought impossible 

Angst in a dark void heehoo

Younger brother energy

Antagonizes a lot of people

Allowed to swear

Upset someone who loves them because they didn’t seem to be taking a situation seriously and it ended up with a lot of hurt from both parties 

Hunter&Zuko

Father figure is the leader of an oppressive regime 

Raised from birth to believe said regime is good and helping people

Good heart under it all

Redemption arc when they figure out they’re on the wrong side (takes a while because they don’t want to think ill of their father figure even though they’re blatantly abusive)

Mental breakdown moment when they realize- was in denial for a long time before that point

Visible scars caused by abuser

Gets a new, actually nice parental figure

Big brother of their friend group 

Bulliable 

Socially awkward 

Changes outfits throughout the show to show their character growth and development

Has some moments of empathy with protagonists before actual redemption arc

Not actually the protagonist/ main focus (look, Tommy and Leo are very much main characters)

Adopted 12 y/o younger brother who is very powerful and they are very protective over him 

Little brothers’ eyes glow blue when they use their powers

Zuko&Tommy

theater nerds 

Overdramatic

Red guys

Lashes out at people who care about him 

Born naturally (as far as we know)

One-on-one duels don’t work out so great for them

They have been Everywhere. Almost every large event involves them somehow

100% actually human 

Sometimes uses swords, sometimes other stuff

Don’t do great wandering in the wilderness on their own

Talks to themselves/random animals when stressed

Anger issues anger issues anger issues

Jerk with a heart of gold (real) 

Has canonically committed many crimes and doesn’t feel guilt about most of them (some of the worse ones that really hurt people they do feel bad for tho)

They commit arson and it’s not ideal

Falls into a minor villain arc right when it seemed like they were going to get better, then realizes this isn’t who they are and confronts the person encouraging them to be violent/cruel

Leo&Hunter

Artificially created by a dramatic being with a gold horned mask and nefarious plans centered around genocide and conquest

Obsessed with a science fiction franchise and dresses up as characters from it

Is shown to enjoy wearing animal costumes once and then it’s never brought up again (Leo’s unicorn onesie and Hunter’s split-second Flapjack costume)

Teleportation 

Trauma surrounding possession

Knows a little bit of Spanish 

Acts confident and smug and cocky when in battle mode but is actually insecure and sad

also:

anyway that’s all thanks for reading

#toh #hunter toh #toh hunter #golden guard #zuko #zuko atla #avatar the last airbender #atla zuko #rottmnt leo #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt leonardo #dsmp #dream smp #c!tommy #tommyinnit #character analysis #rottmnt character analysis #dsmp character analysis #toh character analysis #atla character analysis

[modernmutiny]

Catch me recovering from that fucking sledgehammer of a moon knight ep by drinking whisky out of a large tea cup with oranges on it and watching Rhys Darby's entire filmography

#moon knight spoilers #sort of? #teddy talks #starting with wrecked bc i already saw all the wwdits stuff #its like a comedic Lost and rhys breaks his legs and just sits and makes stupid funny comments every once in a while #hes wearing the stupidest fucking hat ever #and i love him #once i get bored of this ill look for his comedy stuff #or just switch to taika and watch Jojo rabbit #tho being jewish that might make me feel Worse idk i dont know much abt it #but anyways. being raised by three generations of alcoholics means that when i start having panic attacks i just get hammered #it solves the problem at least lol #long term? eh. short term? im doing fucking amazing ty #that ep fucking hit me over the back of the head with a steel chair btw #did Not expect disney to come out with such a realistic depiction of child abuse #i fucking flinched so hard i fell off my bed when she grabbed the belt #so. whisky and ice cream and checkers hot dogs #i also had to see my father not long after watching it so my mental state is Very Fragile rn #do i need therapy? yes. will i today? no #like marc i too have a broken and fractured mind lol #i just cant stop replaying that in my mind #marc sitting in his room rocking back and forth while his mom breaks down the door and he keeps repeating its not his mom #fuck thats a page taken straight out of my childhood #anyway im drinking Too Much on an empty stomach to numb that shit #🤙🏻 wish me luck

[knaite-solo]

Dangerous - Zuko x Reader

Summary: When you don't leave your tent, Zuko gets worried and decides to do something about it. 

Pairing: Zuko x Waterbender!Reader

Genre: Fluff with some comedy

Warnings: Swearing and period stuff

Word count: 2856

That day, you didn't leave your tent.

Zuko was very attentive, but it didn't take much effort to realize that there was something wrong with you. It was unusual for you to avoid talking with the rest of the group. You always liked to interact with others and help even in the smallest tasks.

So when the hours went by, and you didn't leave, he started to get really concerned. The prince began to walk to your tent until he sensed a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around to see who it was, he found Sokka staring at him very seriously. So serious that it didn't suit his goofy character.

"Don't go in there." He said in a warning tone.

"What? Why?" Zuko asked with a confused expression.

"Just don't." Sokka looked around as if he was seeking for a hidden enemy and then whispered. "It's dangerous. Trust me, man."

Zuko decided not to enter your tent, at least not at that moment. Sokka's warning had left him confused. What could be so dangerous about you? He decided to gather more information. Maybe Toph or Aang could help.

                                          ☆

"So, what do you think?" Zuko asked Toph, who was lying on a stone while playing with her space rock.

"Probably some silly stuff." The earthbender said while changing her rock to numerous shapes.

"But Sokka said it was dangerous. Maybe she is ill or something." The prince tried to think about other possibilities. Toph just looked extremely tired of the conversation.

"Well, I tried to talk to her earlier in the morning..."

"And?"

"She cursed me for opening the tent and let light enter her eyes." Toph blew a few strands of hair in an annoyed attitude. "Sokka usually says dumb things, so I never thought I would agree with him on something. But he's right."

She stopped playing with her space rock and transformed it back in a bracelet, putting it in her arm.

"I don't know what happened, but I don't give a shit anyway."

Zuko just listened to Toph and tried to imagine you cursing her for just trying to talking with you, and he just couldn't. You were such good friends with everybody, especially Toph since she wasn't into girly things, neither were you. Both of you were so close that once he found out you two playing in the mud. Toph throwing mud at you with her earthbending and you with your waterbending. You just were Toph's best friend. Why would you treat her so badly out of nowhere?

"Thanks for the information, I think..." The prince said indecisively. He didn't know what to say since he noticed that Toph was lying about not caring about your mood change.

"It's was a pleasure talking to you, Sparky. Sadly I can't say the same about Y/n."

                                            ☆

"Are you sure she did that?" Aang was brushing Appa's fur while listening to Zuko talk about your weird attitude with Toph.

"Yes. And Toph was really mad. More than usual." The prince couldn't forget the eartbender's expressions as she talked about you. It was a mix of anger and deception.

"Maybe Y/n ate something bad?"

"But Sokka said that it was dangerous to go in her tent. I don't think it's food poisoning." Zuko also couldn't forget Sokka's serious expression. If it were in another context, it would be hilarious.

"Sokka and Katara had a strange fever not long ago." The airbender finally finished brushing Appa. The sky bison looked joyful. "They said strange things and couldn't do anything alone. Maybe it could be it."

"And how the fever stopped?"

"Well..." Aang let out a nervous chuckle. "They had to suck some frozen frogs."

"FROZEN WHAT-'' Zuko's eyes widened.

"MAYBE SHE ISN'T SICK, I DON'T KNOW!"

"HOW THE HELL AM I GOING TO FIND FROZEN FROGS HERE?" Zuko was already thinking about the worst.

"HOLY SHIT! CAN'T YOU ASSHOLES STOP SCREAMING? YOU'RE HURTING MY EARS!" Toph appeared out of nowhere while complaining and covering her ears.

"Why you guys keep using these bad words in front of Appa and Momo?" Aang asked in a withered tone. "They're innocent creatures..."

                                           ☆

Zuko was hopeless. Nobody seemed to be able to explain what was wrong with you and the list of people he could ask was almost over. There was only one person left.

"Katara." He called but she didn't seem to hear.

The waterbender was kneeling on the edger of a river while washing some clothes and sheets. She would submerge the fabrics in the water, rub them, and then dry them with her waterbending. Being a waterbending master had its advantages. She always used her bending in everyday activities, making things a thousand times easier. It was impossible not to look at her and not to be amazed at how easily she connected with the water and managed to manipulate it.

But then Zuko noticed that one of the sheets was different from the others. It had a red stain on it.

"Is this blood?"

Katara almost jumped after hearing that question. Because she was distracted, she hadn't noticed when the prince had approached much less he had called her and now she had been caught with that incriminating sheet in hand. And not any incriminating sheet, it was your incriminating sheet.

"B-Blood? I don't know what you're talking about!" Katara quickly hid the sheet behind her.

Zuko tried not to roll his eyes. He might be trying to become a better person, but that didn't mean he would accept to be made a fool of.

"I can still see the sheet behind you." He just said in a bored tone.

Katara blushed. She hated to lie but she hated to be caught in the lie the most.

"Sorry." She stopped trying to hide the cloth. "I didn't want you to see that."

"Why not?" Zuko looked again at the red stain. Now he was absolutely sure it was blood.

"It's kinda embarrassing to explain..." She returned to clean the sheet, focused on making the red stain disappear.

"I won't judge, I promise." Zuko reassured.

"It's a woman thing. Usually, we don't want people to notice when we are on our period, you know?"

"Oh."

As the stain started to dissolve and vanish in the river's stream, Zuko's mind clicked. Your period. Of course! How could he be so dumb? He felt his face starting to redden.

"So, Y/n is..."

"Yes, that's why I'm washing this." She lifted the sheet that now was wet. "But even if we try to be careful, accidents do happen. "And with a simple movement, she removed the water from the sheet, drying it in the process.

"Accidents, right." Zuko just pretended to agree. He understood generally what being on period meant, but that was all he knew. Part of him was never really interested in knowing more about it, but another part never had access to it, since the subject was considered taboo by most part of women. "I suppose it's impossible to be careful enough."

Katara immediately noticed how he didn't seem to know much of what they were talking about and a playful smile quickly appeared on her lips.

"You know you're not fooling anyone, are you?"

"What do you-"

"Zuko, it's okay to not know about things." The waterbender assured him. Her smile wasn't playful anymore. It switched to a tender one.

"I-I-" The prince started to blush again. He really wanted to understand more about theses "girly things" and how he could make you feel better but it was just so difficult to ask. "I don't-"

"Don't worry. I won't tease you." Katara started to get up with the basket of clean clothes in hand.

Zuko looked away, focusing on the camp before answering. The prince imagined you trapped in that tent, acting in that moody way for a reason you couldn't control. He really wanted to help you, and if that meant he had to go over all his shame and male pride, he would.

"Fine. " He answered while pinching the bridge of his nose. "But don't tell Sokka."

"Why would I-"

"Don't tell Toph either."

"But why-"

"Actually, don't tell anyone."

                                          ☆

Today your period was getting the best of you. Your mood was shit. You had been turning over all night because of hellish cramps so it was expected that you wanted to sleep until later. But then when Toph, who was unaware of your situation, tried to talk to you, you were extremely rude to her. Actually, even if you tried to tell Toph that you were on your period, she wouldn't understand since she hadn't had her first yet, but you still had no right to curse her just for saying hi.

As if it were a punishment from the universe, you realized that you had stained one of the sheets that you had used that night. Furthermore, your horrible cramps had returned. Thankfully Katara came to your rescue, helping you a little with the pain and offering to wash the tragic sheet.

Now, after all the events, you didn't quite know what you wanted to do. Sure, you wanted to apologize to Toph, but you were afraid of what to do if your mood changed again.  Your body was limp, your breasts were swollen and your back hurt a lot. Everything told you not to get up. So, that's what you did.

You were almost asleep again when you felt someone entering the tent. Thinking it was Toph, you automatically sat down and started to apologize.

"I know that nothing I say will change what I did, but I really-" You stopped talking when you noticed it wasn't your best friend that was in front of you, it was the guy that you liked. "Zuko?"

"Sorry for entering without asking." He said with an apologetic look. "Can I stay here?"

"I would love you to stay but... " You really wanted his presence there, but you were afraid to be rude to him too. And he was the last person you wanted to make a bad impression on. " I'm not very well today."

"I know."

"You... know?" You asked in a slightly nervous way, but you tried to disguise it.

"Yeah." He rubbed the back of his neck, looking as nervous as you were. "But I don't mind."

You seemed to be even more nervous than before. Being alone with him always made you unquiet, but imagining that he might know about your period made you want to bury your face in the ground and disappear. You knew it was normal to menstruate and it was stupid to perpetuate the idea that guys shouldn't know when you were or weren't on your period, but the thought of talking about it with him scared you.

You tried to say a few things, but the words died in your throat. The fear that the guy you liked so much thought you were disgusting made you so apprehensive that you didn't even know what to say.

He noticed your apprehension almost immediately.

"I-I bought you something!" Zuko started looking for something inside a small bag he had with him and it was the first time that you had noticed its existence.

When the prince finally found what you were looking for, you realized it was a very poorly wrapped up packet.

"You didn't need to-"

"It's chocolate. Katara said it could help." He handed the packet to you without looking you in the eye.

As you started to open it, you saw different bars of chocolate. One of white chocolate, one of dark chocolate, one with chestnuts and one with an extremely reddish color. Some of them were a little broken and melted, but most of them were fine.

"I didn't know which flavor you like the most, so I bought one of each." You felt your ears burn just by imagining him buying all that for you.

"Where did you-"

"I borrowed Appa to go to the nearest market." He answered. "But they ended up getting kind of..." You tried not to laugh at his frustrated face.

Your shame was gradually going away. He didn't think you were disgusting because you were on your period. In fact, he was worried to the point of taking a mini trip and buying sweets for you. And he even tried to wrap them up, though he clearly failed. Imagining him doing all that for you made your heart warmer to the point of making you cry. Your mood change was taking the best out of you again.

Zuko's eyes widened as soon as he noticed your tears.

"I-I'm sorry! I-" He started to get up. "I'll leave you alone!''

You quickly held him by the wrist while letting out a laugh. Your tears salted your mouth as you giggled, but you didn't care. Meanwhile, Zuko was staring at you with an extremely confused expression.

"I'm happy, you dork."

"But why are you crying?" He looked so worried that you almost felt guilty for laughing at him.

"Period things. I'm fine, really." You said while whipping your tears away. "Now sit here with me. I'm curious about this red one."

Zuko sighed with relief and sat next to you with his legs crossed. You stopped holding his wrist, being surprised at how brave you were to do something like this. You were the kind of person who got embarrassed just by touching him in the shoulder. Even when training with him, you would get disconcerted by the smallest things.

"It's a Fire Nation traditional chocolate." He broke a piece of the chocolate and offered it to you. "I thought you might want to try it."

You took the bizarrely red piece from his hand and tried not to sweat.

"I hope this isn't too spicy." But when you ate the piece, your fear came true. "ZUKO!"

"WHAT!" He practically jumped.

"WATER!" You screamed as you felt your tongue burning.

The prince started turning over all the sheets until he finally found a canteen lost in a corner of the tent. You didn't even wait for him to deliver it to you. You took the canteen from his hands and drank the water until you felt the burning sensation cease.

When you finally managed to stabilize your breathing after drinking so much water, you faced him. Zuko was sweating bullets.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked worriedly.

"It was an outstanding experience." You replied with a grin. "But I prefer not to try it again."

"Yeah, I won't buy this one for you the next time."

"Next time?" You couldn't ignore his statement. What did he mean by next time?

"Ah..."

Zuko started to blush again. Every time he started talking about things he had done for you or how he wanted to be with you, his face turned red, almost like a tomato. However, you couldn't hear his answer since your cramps have returned, making you lean forward and hold your belly.

"Hey, are you-"

"Cramps. Awful ones." You replied, still holding your belly. Your cramps were rougher than usual, so you laid down. "Sorry for ruining the mood."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. "

You were unable to agree or disagree with him. Your pain was so intense that you couldn't focus on anything. The guy of your dreams was on your side and you couldn't even look at him.

Suddenly, you felt something hot thing land on your belly. It was hot, but not enough to hurt you. It was cozy and made your pain lower little by little. You only came to understand what it was when the heat moved and you recognized the shape of a hand, a male hand.

"Katara said that heat can help with the pain." Zuko said as he slid his hand over your belly. "Do you feel better?"

"Yes." A pleased expression appeared in your face. "It feels nice."

"Good. I've never done this before." He stated.

"What about Mai?" You asked curiously, trying to not sound jealous. He was being so supportive that you couldn't help but imagine him trying to please his ex-girlfriend in every single way.

"Mai hardly commented on how she felt. Even when she was more... Er... Sensitive- "Zuko cleared his throat. "She was no different. It's not like I never wanted to help, but she never allowed me to be close enough.

"I see." You imagined him trying to get closer and Mai pushing him away. You felt sad for him. "Well, I feel happy for being the first one." Shyly, you put your hand over his. "I'll give you a lot of work to make up for it."

A smile lit up his face. His smile was the most beautiful thing in the world, and it was becoming more common as he spent more time with you and the rest of the Gaang.

"Am I supposed to be afraid?" He replied provocatively.

"Women in their period can be the most dangerous thing, you know."

"Yeah, Sokka said so."

"Sokka what?"

Taglist: @bucky-blogs @dekahg @eridanuswave @the-firebender-girl

People who were interested but I don’t if I could tag them: @unfortunateshelby @little-wankenobi @theblueslytherin @creepytoes88​ @http-peter-parker​

I don’t think this was my best work since I don’t feel really secure with portraying Zuko as a boyfriend yet. I’m not really sure about how he expresses love since he had so many problematic relationships and I don’t think he would be the perfect guy who would know everything about dating and stuff. I also don’t think he would say his feelings out loud. He looks more practical to me but not too practical. To me, he’s probably shy with this stuff. 

Please, give me feedback if I portraited him well as a boyfriend even if he wasn’t your boyfriend in this imagine.

English isn’t my native language so it might have mistakes.

I needed to write this since my period is still killing me.

#prince zuko #zuko #zuko x reader #prince zuko x reader #zuko imagine #avatar #avatar the last airbender #avatar imagine #atla #atla reader insert #atla imagine #atla drabble #reader insert atla #atla zuko #avatar zuko #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #prince zuko x you #zuko fluff

[anonymous-tals]

Oops, I wrote a 5 page Mythic Quest fanfic instead of doing my homework...

I was bored so I wrote a story about if Brad helped David pack up for moving apartments.  This is definitely centered around mental illness/mental health whatnot but no specifics of anything are discussed.

TW:  Implication of eating disorders/disordered eating, implication of depression whatnot

Anyways, I hope the story is enjoyable.  I don’t know if it’s any good but I had an enjoyable time writing it.

The Move

 The week was coming to a close and Brad was finishing up his work for the day. Warm sunlight poured through the windows, indicating the sun was setting.

“Hey, Brad!” Brad turned to see David standing in his doorway. “Can’t wait for tomorrow!” Looking around cautiously, Brad stood up and walked over to David.

“Let’s keep this under wraps, ok? I can’t have anyone thinking I’m a nice person.”

“Well, I think you’re a nice person!”

“Shut up. Just keep this on the down-low. I just needed an excuse to get some activity of sorts in.”

“Packing up for a move can be quite exhausting. Make sure to have a good breakfast. Or, even better! I’ll make us breakfast! How do you feel about pancakes?” Brad rolled his eyes before walking back over to his desk.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, David.”

“I’ll take that as a yes on the pancakes.” David walked away, cheerfully while Brad sighed, going back to work.

… 

Ding dong! It was exactly 10:00 a.m. when David heard the doorbell to his apartment sound out. He rushed over to the panel and pressed the speaker button.

“Brad, is that you?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Well, sometimes it’s people trying to convince me to join their religion but I just ignore them-”

“That was a rhetorical question, David. Let me in.”

“Ok. I’m in room 203.”

It was about a minute before David heard a knock on his door. He rushed over and opened it to see Brad, looking exhausted.

“You good, man? You look like you’re going to pass out. It’s only one flight of stairs.”

“I’m fine, David. Now, let’s get started.”

“Wait just one second there, bud!”, David said, rushing off down the narrow hallway. Brad peered down the hallways as sounds of clattering echoed through the apartment. Brad then turned to the rest of the apartment that he could see. It was a mess. A fire hazard, for sure. It looked like a mess that could only accumulate after weeks upon weeks of not cleaning. Suddenly, David rushed back holding two plates. “You almost forgot about breakfast!” Brad stared at the pancakes, not moving. David gestured one of the plates towards him. “Any day now!” Brad reached out and delicately took the plate from David’s hand. “Great! Now, how about we sit over there!” David pointed towards a couch in a small living room area that was quite cluttered. Books and knick-knacks were strewn about haphazardly. “Sorry, it’s not always this messy. I’ve just been trying to sort through things so everything is all over the place.”, David laughed. Brad was still staring down at the pancakes as an awkward silence filled the room. “Ooookay, then. Let’s go!”  

They headed over to the couch and they sat down, placing the plates on a small, magazine-covered coffee table. David carelessly pushed the magazines onto the floor. He started eating while Brad poked at the pancakes with his fork and looked around the room.

“You know, for not having food in your mouth, you’re awfully quiet!”

“Mhmmm.”, Brad said, acknowledging David speaking without giving him anything to work with.

“Well…” David tried to think of something interesting to talk about but he couldn’t. “Anything fun coming up for you?” Brad didn’t respond, now staring intently at the pancakes. “You can eat them, man. They are yours for the devouring!”, David chuckled.

“You know, I’m not hungry. Where’s your kitchen?”

“You sure? I have some other stuff if you want something else.”

“No, I’m good.”

“Ok, um, it’s right down the hall. The second doorway.” Brad stood up without another word and beelined to the kitchen, disappearing out of David’s line of sight. David could hear the sound of scraping followed by thumps and crinkly plastic. “You can just put it in the fridge!” Brad didn’t respond. David sighed before going back to eating his pancakes, Brad returning not long after.

“So, when are we going to get to packing up these boxes?”, said Brad, seemingly more energized than before. He had started bouncing his leg impatiently.

“Well, look who’s eager to help!”

“That’s what I’m here for. And I’m planning on catching a movie later so I want this all to be done sooner rather than later.”

“Oh, really? What movie? I really enjoy comedies. Like this one-” Just then, Brad interrupted him before he could finish his sentence.

“It’s a documentary about cheetahs and their role in the ecosystem.” David nodded.

“Oh… Mhmm, I see. Interesting.” David sat there, unsure of how to continue commenting on that. Despite David’s clear lack of interest, Brad continued.

“It’s really interesting to see the ruthlessness of nature and the wild and how everything plays a part in keeping life evolving and growing and just existing. You know what I mean?” There was a spark in Brad’s eyes that David only saw when Brad got a good deal in a sale. David gave a small nod.

“Oh, for sure… Well, I mean, no, but that’s very interesting.”

“It really is.” Brad didn’t seem to acknowledge David’s lack of knowledge or interest in what he was saying. He was just fully lost in thought. Suddenly, he seemed to come back to reality, as if he was escaping from a trance. “Well, um, anyway, let’s get working.”

“Perfect timing, too! I just finished my pancakes. Let me just take this to the kitchen and we can get this show on the road!” David and Brad both stood up and David headed to the kitchen to put his dish in the sink. It only took him a couple of seconds but by the time he came back, he saw Brad was looking at himself in a small mirror that hung by the door. David paused before brushing it off. “Ok, let’s get this thing started!” Brad spun around, caught off guard. It was as if he’d forgotten that he wasn’t the only one here.

“Right.” Brad seemed a bit out of it, as he’d been not long before. “Where do we start?”

“I guess we can start at different sections.”, said David. You can start over there…”, said David pointing to the corner of the living space. “… and I’ll start over here!”, he said, pointing to a bookshelf next to the TV, not too far from where Brad would be working. “Let me get the boxes!” David rushed down the hall and Brad walked over to the area that he’d be covering. He noticed an odor growing stronger as he approached it. His nose crinkled as he peered around the mess. He suddenly came upon what looked to be a Chinese takeout box.

“I’m starting to wonder if he’s ever cleaned this place.”, Brad said to himself. David reappeared with two boxes.

“Ready to rock and roll?”

“Sure.”, Brad paused. “When’s the last time you cleaned?”

“Oh, very recently. As I said, I’ve just been sorting through things and-”

“Really? Because the amount of mold on this old takeout seems to indicate otherwise.” David walked over to where Brad was standing.

“Oh, uh… I must’ve, um, missed that. I’ll get a garbage bag.”

David cleaned up the rotting food and they both sat down to get to work. Brad started picking up items and placing them in the box. It was silent between the two of them. Brad would’ve spoken but he didn’t know what to say so he kept quiet. He placed things carefully in the box, using the space as efficiently as possible. He fit one last item in the box before turning to David.

“Hey, where’s the tape?” Suddenly, a puzzled expression grew on Brad’s face. David’s box was empty. He just sat there, tapping his finger on the side of the box. “David?” Suddenly, David jolted his head up.

“Huh, oh, uhh…” David picked up an item, pretending that he had been being productive the whole time. “The tape?”

“Yes, David. The tape.”

“It should be on the coffee table.” Brad scooted over to the coffee table and shuffled the items around before turning to David.

“I don’t see it.” David was quiet. His face looked tired yet he hadn’t even done anything yet. Brad sighed and moved closer to David. “You ok?” David looked at the ground and fidgeted with a coaster that had somehow made its way onto the floor.

“I’ve been trying to pack for weeks now but I just keep putting it off and putting it off. I’ve just been so tired and I can’t do anything but I’ve been trying. I want to do it but I can’t! I’ve barely had the motivation to clean, as you can see. Once I get home, I just am so drained. The thing is, I don’t even do anything at work! I just stand around. I’m useless.” David spoke quickly and his speech got shakier and shakier as he spoke. “I thought having a friend here would help me but I just can’t do it. I can’t do anything right.”, David said, flopping over and burying his head in his lap.

Brad sat there, watching his boss break down in front of him. He’d seen David have panic attacks before but nothing ever like this. Nothing this depressing. In an attempt to comfort him, Brad patted him on the back.

“Hey, man, you aren’t useless!” Brad paused. “I understand how you feel, though.”

“You do?”, David sniffled, poking his head up.

“Yes…and that’s as far as I’m going to go into it.”, Brad said quickly. They sat in silence for a moment, David sitting back up. His eyes were glazed over.

“You can just leave if you want, Brad. I wanted this to be fun but I ruined this whole thing.”

“I never expect anything I do with you to be fun so you didn’t let down my expectations.” Brad started to regret making that kind of joke but David seemed to find it funny, a small smile forming on his face. “I’d be happy to stay and help.”

“Really?”, said David.

“Really. Now, I’m going to go look for the tape and I’ll be right back.  You just relax and I’ll work on packing your stuff up.” David nodded before looking back to the box.

Brad searched around, eventually finding the tape in a drawer and grabbing another box on the way back to the living area. As he entered the room, he saw David still staring at his box except, now, there was an item in there: a book.

“Hey! Look at you go!”, Brad said, reaching out his hand for a high five. David weakly tapped his hand before going back to staring at his box. Brad walked over to his side of the room and started packing stuff up.

… 

Brad placed tape down on the last box before sitting back and sighing. He looked at the clock on the wall of David’s bedroom. 11:49 p.m. He stood himself up, placing his hand on the dresser next to him to steady himself. Yawning, he entered the living room to find David lying on the couch.

“I did it! Your stuff is all packed and ready to go.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you. Really. I can’t begin to describe how much this means to me.” Brad gave a tired smile. They were quiet for a moment. “You want anything? It’s good!”, said David, raising his plate of chicken, rice and mixed vegetables. Brad shook his head.

“No, I’m good.” David looked at him puzzled.

“Have you eaten anything today?”

“I’m just not that hungry. I’m not a very hungry person, David.”

“Yah… I know.” David looked at him, a mixture of confusion and concern was expressed on his face. Silence filled the room again.

“Well, I think I better head home.”

“Home?”, said David, turning fully towards Brad. “What about your movie?”

“Oh, it played hours ago. Sometime around 6. I thought we-… I’d be done by then.”

“What?! Why didn’t you go?”

“I don’t know. You needed help moving! … Shut up.”

“I’m sorry, Brad. If I had helped, you probably wouldn’t have missed your movie.” David flopped down onto his back. “I’m just a waste of people’s time, aren’t I?”

“Jeez, man. Calm down.”, Brad said, sitting down next to him. “You know how I am. If I wanted to leave, I would’ve left. I was happy to help, ok?”

“You sure?”, David said, propping himself up and meeting Brad’s eyes.

“Yes. I’m sure.” David smiled.

“You know, Brad, deep down, you are a nice person.”

“Don’t you dare repeat those words to anyone or else I will not hesitate to destroy you.”

“Got it.” Brad then stood up.

“Well, I’m going to go so…”

“Ah, yah. Goodbye, Brad!”

Brad walked over to and opened the door when David spoke.

“Hey, promise me you’ll eat something when you get home, ok?”, David said, with a smile.

“Sure… I promise.”, said Brad, giving a weak smile before it fell to a tired expression. “Bye.” 

The door closed and David let himself fall back down onto the couch. He looked around at all the boxes. His apartment was barren except for the furniture. Guilt from not helping still lingered but his appreciation and gratefulness topped whatever guilt was left. David thought about getting up and going to his bed but he was too tired. He reached for the remote and put on a random channel and lay his head down. Today was the last day in his apartment. The last month or so had been rough but David was just glad that the last real memory that he’d made here was not entirely horrible. As he thought, David slowly closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

#mythic quest fanfic #mythic quest #brad bakshi #david brittlesbee #so i can write 5 pages of a fanfic #but not write what would probably be a one page article for journalism? #ok brain #you do you i guess #tw ed

[ordinaryschmuck]

Top 20 BEST Animated Series of the 2010s-5th Place

Up until now, I’ve been pretty iffy on which show went where on this list. However, from here on out, there is no doubt in my mind the ranking is almost perfect (or, at least, to me it is). 

Just keep in mind, this next pick isn’t as cute and innocent as it might look.

#5-Camp Camp (2016-)

The Plot: Camp Campbell is a place where kids can go to do anything! Like space camp, theater camp, art camp, magic camp, and also other magic camp! It’s a dream come true...except for a little rapscallion named Max, who was forced to go there by his crappy parents. With the help of his two new friends, Neil and Nikki, the three of them will make it their life's mission to make life a living hell for their two camp counselors. Or, at least, it’s their life’s mission until the end of the summer.

This is the first and only web series on this list, and it is made by the (in)famous production company called Rooster Teeth. And trust me when I say that Camp Camp is the best show Rooster Teeth created ever since they started working on Red vs. Blue. And I can think of a couple reasons why.

Reason number one is the show’s comedy. Just like Rick and Morty, Camp Camp relies on being absurd and dark to get a laugh out of audiences. However, there is one thing Camp Camp has that gives it an advantage: The fact that it’s a show on the internet. There’s a lot of jokes that writers are not allowed to get away with on television. But on the internet, it’s all free game, baby! You want to make jokes about Hitler and the holocaust? Go ahead. You want a young cis boy to ask when he’s going to get his period? Go ahead. You want four kids to get scarred for life after catching old people having sex? Go right the f**k ahead. Because this is the internet. A place that is impossible to make kid-friendly, no matter how hard certain websites try! (And in case you’re wondering: Yes, all of those examples I just listed are actual jokes within the show. So have fun.)

With the benefit of having little to no filter, Camp Camp’s sense of humor allows it to go further with its jokes while having competent enough writers knowing the definition of “too far.” Because believe it or not, there is a limit that this show has with how far it’ll take its humor, and rarely does it feel like it crosses it (and it’s usually Kerry Shawcross’ episodes that crosses the line, oddly enough). Now, as I’ve established in my Rick and Morty review, not everyone is going to find these types of jokes funny. But for the most part, I personally think Camp Camp is hilarious. In fact, out of a fifty-nine episode line up, there is a total of ONE episode that I felt was low on the laughs. And like most good comedies, the best jokes come from who’s saying them and not what's being said. People need to remember that humor comes from the characters. Otherwise, when the gag goes to the wrong cast member, you’ll end up having people respond with, “but that’s not what this character would do or say.” In fact, the only time when a joke falls short in the show is when the wrong character says what is already a funny line that’s just misplaced.

And seeing as how we’re already talking about the cast, now might be a great time to mention that Camp Camp has the best group of characters Rooster Teeth made since the first thirteen seasons of Red vs. Blue. Like I said with Rick and Morty, I prefer to have a series with a moderately large cast of characters, as it offers writers enough room to work with so the series doesn’t become stale. And boy, does this show have a lot to work with. Everybody starts off with a personality that’s simple and serves the purpose of making a joke. But as the Camp Camp goes on, the more that these personalities grow and the audience gets to learn more about them. Even characters who seem like they’re only useful for the same comedic bit eventually become more complex as the series progresses. The best example is Dolph, who starts off as a source for Hitler jokes. But in the episode “The Candy Kingpin," we see that he’s also a little kid who’s just lonely and naive...while also still being the source of Hilter jokes. Now, at a glance, it might seem like there are too many characters, and it can certainly feel like it at times. Luckily the writers are smart enough to know which characters need more focus and which ones can be used for comedy. For instance, Space Kid doesn’t seem that complex in the slightest, but he’s a source for comedy, so he doesn’t need to be. Besides, the writers can develop any characters it wants whenever they want to. Because if Max and David are of any indication, this show has the best character development in any Rooster Teeth series.

I’m not kidding when I say that the relationship between Max and David is the best thing about the series. They start off with a simple dynamic: David is the happy go lucky optimist who gets in the way of Max’s pessimistic schemes. There’s nothing too noteworthy at first, and the majority of the episodes are just Max screwing over David and David keeping Max in check. However, the showrunners found a way to make their relationship more intriguing with each season. (Kinda spoilers ahead) Not only does Max learn that David understands how rough life can be, but, realizes why David has the determination to stay optimistic in the first place. And once David learns why Max is so jaded, he begins to work with Max through a new angle. In fact, the second they’re both on even ground, the two of them stop working against each other and learn how to work with each other (kinda spoilers over). Now don’t get me wrong. David still gets on Max’s nerves and vice versa, but there’s still a small amount of respect shared between the two. This is what I loved about their dynamic: Their development isn't blatant, but it still exists. In Red vs. Blue, it feels like Tucker’s development seems to take a step backward and forwards with every other season. And in RWBY, it feels like Yang is a different character after experiencing a traumatic event. This is understandable given what happened to her. But seeing how her having a sense of humor, which is everything likable about her personality, left after this one moment, it can be a bit disappointing (especially since Yang seemed like a person who hid her trauma through comedy). As for Max and David, everything that is likable about their personalities is still there, only now seen through a different light. This may not seem that impressive, but considering how Rooster Teeth has handled character development in the past, it’s pretty great.

Here’s another thing that may not seem as impressive as it really is: The show’s animation. I am amazed at how this series manages to have a television-quality of effort. Now, that may not sound like a compliment, but considering that this is a web series, it’s pretty darn impressive. Most online animated shows barely stick to a weekly schedule and the ones that do only manage to have episodes lasting for 3-5 minutes. So, seeing as how Camp Camp can have 12-24 minute long episodes once a week AND still managing to look good is a testament to how far internet animation has come. There’s also a surprisingly large amount of detail added into the show. I’m not talking about the characters themselves, as they have pretty simple designs. What I am talking about are the little things that the animators added in. If you pay attention to the props, backgrounds, and even things they wrote in, you’ll notice a whole lot of things that would have flown over your head otherwise, such as great jokes, continuity nods, and even sublime foreshadowing when it comes to season three.

So as you can tell, there’s a lot to like about this series. So you’re wondering why it’s only #5. Well, my reasons are more pitiful if I’m being honest. You see, Camp Camp is aimed at adults, but it doesn’t feel like that at times. Like I said with my Final Space review, most writers think that for a series to be considered for adults, you have to use sex, drugs, violence, and cursing. Now, in all fairness, those aren’t really meant for kids. And understandably so. However, if you take all of that stuff out, then what’s stopping this show from becoming kid-friendly? Not a whole lot, especially since there’s a handful of episodes that have plots I’ve seen in other kids' shows (“Jermey Fartz,” “Eggs Benefits,” and “Night of the Living Ill,” to name a few). Personally, I believe that for a show to be for adults, it requires two things. One is to have writing that may seem boring to kids but interesting for adults. It's also important to have stories/plots that kids are not ready to fully understand yet. If you fail to do both, then there’s nothing stopping a twelve-year-old from watching your show and enjoying it just the same. And I should know because I was twelve when I started watching Rooster Teeth’s content in the first place.

Also (and this next complaint is less pitiful and more problematic), it's not good with how whitewashed the voice cast is. I get it. A voice is a voice, and the color of the actor's skin shouldn't matter...except that it does. Because if you're going to go the route of having a diverse cast of characters, then you might as well go all the way by having their voice actors be people of color as well. And don't get me wrong, these actors do a perfect job for their respective roles, both for the dramatic and comedic moments. But, as this series started coming out in 2016, long before current events, it still bothered me that a character like Nerris--

--was voiced by a woman like Barbara Dunkleman:

Yeah...That’s a big yikes.

So while it may not exactly be the best example of an adult series and definitely needs some recasting, Camp Camp is still one of the best shows in the 2010s. It has impressive animation for an online series, has hilarious comedy, and even better characters to enjoy. And seeing as how this is only #5, that can only mean that the shows can only get better from here.

(Side note, is it bad that two seasons of this show made me connect to the characters much better than the first six seasons of RWBY? Because I certainly think so.)

#top 20 of 2010s #camp camp #rooster teeth #what i thought about #screw rwby

[hollywooduniversityalumnus]

1. burning glances, turning heads

He really should know better, Margot thought, to expect that his class would be paying attention on a Friday afternoon before the long weekend.

As Professor Hunt, the surliest yet most accomplished educator to roam the halls of Hollywood University, all but threw Lance Sergio out for being extremely obvious about taking excessively filtered selfies during the lecture, she took the opportunity to lean over to Addison, poking her with the eraser end of her mechanical pencil. The blonde, as if being suddenly woken, started, causing her gel pen to make a squiggle just off the doodle she was mindlessly making on the edge of her paper.

“What?” Addison asked, voice barely louder than a whisper.

Margot shrugged. “I’m bored.”

“I think we’re all bored,” Addison teased. “But at least some of us are more subtle than others.”

She nodded towards the front, where the professor had turned his attentions to Jenni Whitman, whose open laptop screen displayed one of the trashier celebrity gossip websites. Beside her, Bianca Stone surreptitiously slipped her phone into her pocket and bowed her head over her notebook, as though trying to commit the blank pages to memory, and Shae, another of Bianca’s friends, panicked and stuffed her phone in the front of her shirt, making a strange lump in the fabric.

As Jenni, too, packed up and took her leave at his insistence, Professor Hunt returned to the lectern, his jaw tense.

“While I understand that you are all incapable of delaying gratification long enough to pay attention in my class, I maintain my zero-tolerance policy for distractions. It would do the rest of you well,” he gritted out, “to not force my hand any more than it’s already been.” His eyes slowly took in the remaining pupils sitting in the hall. “Do I make myself clear?”

The lecture continued.

As he began a diatribe on romantic comedies, Margot turned back to Addison and gestured for her to look at her notebook. Addison subtly glanced down as she pretended to stretch, reading the message written on the corner of the page in very, very light pencil lead strokes.

Do you think he’s ever even seen a rom com?

Addison smirked and turned the page on her notebook, scrawling her reply in much more perceptible pink glitter ink.

Not on purpose, if at all.

Margot suppressed a laugh at the thought.

Like, maybe he sat through You’ve Got Mail thinking that it was about the postal service?

Or Mystic Pizza being about a magical pizza.

Or Crazy Rich Asians being a biopic.

Or-

“I thought I made myself clear.”

The two girls jumped in their seats, hearts pounding, expecting to find the frowning professor looming over them. Luckily for them, his attention was on Shae, whose poorly hidden phone in her shirt had become quite the spectacle, as the screen lit up behind the thin fabric and an instrumental snippet of a Top 40s hit blared from behind the buttons.

“Out,” Professor Hunt snapped. When Shae didn’t immediately move, he all but yelled, “Out!”

Dear God, she thought, this lecture is never-ending.

She was one of perhaps sixteen students left in the hall. Many others, including Bianca, had either flown the coop during the mandated fifteen-minute break, or were not-so-nicely asked to leave by the increasingly tense professor. She had flirted with the idea of beginning her long weekend early, too, but she knew she was already on thin ice with Hunt (to be fair, when isn’t she?), and she might as well learn something anyway. She didn’t have anything to do or anywhere to be. Unlike many of her classmates, she wasn’t heading home for the long weekend, and her plans for the next four days were most likely going to be a cycle of sleep, catching up on the show Chris recommended, and getting takeout.

“. . . and that is why we're discussing the decline of the romantic comedy, a genre that relies all too often on an unbelievable formula. Miss Sinclair?”

Addison’s head snapped up. “Yes, Professor?”

“Kindly give us an example of a trope commonly seen in romantic comedies. I am assuming you are familiar with them.”

“Y-yes,” Addison said, twirling her fuzzy-capped gel pen with her fingers. “Um, in, um, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, the two leads often fought and got on each other’s nerves but fell in love with each other anyway.”

Professor Hunt nodded. “Thank you, Miss Sinclair. A topical example of an overused trope. How often have you seen the two lead characters spend most of a movie fighting with each other, only to end up together in the end because of some ill-established passion? Far too often, I’d assume.”

As he droned on, Margot reached over and patted Addison’s arm. “Good job.”

The blonde returned the smile, relieved to have survived the encounter. “Thanks, I was dying inside.”

“Real love is nothing like that,” Hunt said, sneering. “Real love, the kind that exists outside of a cinema screen or five-dollar DVD bin, is not a predictable, clearly laden path with a clear and promised conclusion. Expecting a happily ever after in a relationship is naïve at best.”

“Who hurt him?” Addison mumbled to her.

She poked Addison again with her pencil. “Can you imagine someone loving Hunt? Or even dating him?”

“No! It'd be like dating an angry bear. It’d be a miracle if they lived to tell the tale. I heard he's single, unsurprisingly.” Addison shook her head.

“He probably has crazy high standards. Do you think he has a type?” She bit her lip, assessing her professor from afar. Though his modelling days were far behind him, he still maintained a well-kept, impeccable appearance that often made her wonder what he would look like without the constricting suits he wore like second skins. His features were both manly yet delicate, as if the world had taken its sweet time with perfecting his visage. And his jawline . . . sharp enough to cut glass. He was definitely not lacking in looks, talent, or drive, which was what made his being perpetually single all the more intriguing, though his personality made it understandable.

“Yeah, if perfect is a type. Like, someone with a model hot body, a mind as sharp as a stiletto, and a Hollywood career that's skyrocketing.” Addison giggled.

She tapped her lip with the eraser end of her pencil, thinking. “So, a fictional person.”

Addison leaned into her, eyes glimmering with amusement. “I bet it'd be like getting graded all the time. He'd be judging your outfit, insulting your conversation, critiquing your kissing technique! ‘Too much tongue. You call that a kiss? Kindly remove yourself from my sight.’”

She chuckled. “‘You’ve got to do better than that if you want me to feel anything other than complete and utter monotony.’”

“‘I've seen more believable kisses on The Bachelor.’”

The laugh that bubbled out of her was loud enough to capture the attention of the very man they were emulating. His eyes narrowed as he spotted her quickly trying to clamp her mouth shut.

“Miss Schuyler! Is something amusing? Perhaps you'd like to finish off my lecture on the difficulty of realistically portraying love?” he asked.

She straightened in her seat. “Sorry, Professor.”

“. . . And in conclusion, once a genre full of heart, the majority of romantic comedies have descended into farce bereft of true emotion. Class dismissed.” The professor strode over to his desk and began the necessary routine of shutting off the projection screen. As he did, the rest of the class stood up, stretching, and began packing their things away. Excited voices began eagerly discussing their plans for the weekend.

Thank God, Margot thought. The never-ending lecture was over. Let the weekend-

His eyes met hers, a pointed gaze. “Except for you, Miss Schuyler. Come see me. We need to talk.”

. . . Shit.

Addison touched her arm. “Do you want me to stay back, too?”

“No, no, it’s okay,” she said, patting her friend’s hand. “You go on ahead. Don’t be late for your bus. I know you’ve been looking forward to seeing your mom.”

Addison grinned. “I’ll text you when I get there.”

“The least you can do,” she teased.

Addison’s smile waned. “Are you sure you’ll be okay on campus for the weekend? My mom said it would be no trouble at all for you to visit.”

She shook her head. “Oh, no, I’ll be fine. With almost everyone going away for the long weekend, I’m going to indulge in using up all the hot water. Maybe even sit at the good table in the coffee shop. Wild stuff like that. Thank you, though.”

“Well, then,” Addison said, smile returning full-force, “I’ll be on my way. Good luck! Hope you don’t get into too much trouble.”

She stood up and stretched her arms over her head. “Don’t worry about little ol’ me. I know how to deal with him.”

Addison nodded and took her leave, one of the last of the classmates to exit the hall. Gathering up the rest of her things, Margot stuffed them into her tote bag and made her way up to the professor’s desk, where he was busy rifling through his own bag and muttering to himself.

“Just one second,” he said, placing a few handfuls of odds and ends from the depths of his bag on the table.

She nodded, more fascinated by the things that he seemingly carried around with him. Of the many things on his desk, she noted a mini Rubik’s cube, a slip of paper with very faded ink that might have been a receipt or a movie ticket once, a cellophane-wrapped green-and-white mint, three expensive-looking pens of various colours and sizes, and a tube of plain blue Nivea lip balm, identical to the one she had in her purse at that very moment. While the label on hers had faded from usage and being flung around inside her bag, his looked brand new.

After brushing those items back into his bag, he placed a stack of papers on the desktop. Among them, a bright slip of paper poked out, much smaller than the rest, and made of a thicker, textured material. Curious, she pulled it out until she could read the tiny lettering.

5th Annual Los Angeles Charity Masquerade. Admit one (1). $250 admission not including fees/taxes.

She’d never been to a masquerade. She imagined they were just like that scene in Labyrinth, with David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly spinning around the room, surrounded by people in grotesque masks that partly concealed their identities. Big poufy dresses and suits with coattails. Drapery and curtains and mirrors. But an LA soiree version of one probably meant champagne by the bucketful and crudités carried around by masked waiters. Perhaps live music, performed by musicians forced into formal wear, and maybe they were even masked as well. Was everyone there, guest or not, required to wear one? Were masquerades that strict? Do people who wear glasses have to-

You’re getting distracted, she told herself.

“A masquerade ball, huh? That sounds romantic.” She leaned against the desk, smirking at him. “And here I thought you were completely against the concept of romance.”

“Only someone delusional looks for love at a charity masquerade ball,” he replied scathingly. “It's a charity event and an obligation. I'm expected to attend, but there'll be no one worth talking to. As usual.”

“No date, huh?”

His eyes narrowed. “A date would require me to spend the entire evening there. I can't imagine anything worse. I'll be leaving as soon as I've made my donation to the cause. But I didn't call you up here to discuss my social calendar, Miss Schuyler. I wanted to talk about your behaviour in class. I thought, after seeing nearly all of your classmates get removed from the hall, you’d know better than to provoke me. I want to make it absolutely clear to you that it is unacceptable to disrupt my lecture. Save your chit chat for your own time, understand?”

She swallowed hard, feeling heat on her cheeks from his gaze. “Yes, Professor.”

He nodded once. “Good. You may go.”

As she left the hall, phone in hand, her heart was thumping in her chest from excitement. But not from the weekend finally starting.

She’d never been to a masquerade, after all.

But first, she’d need a dress. And shoes.

Without her stellar roommate and fashionista friend by her side, she felt entirely overwhelmed as she flipped through the overflowing closet Addi had insisted she make use of. Though she hadn’t told her the whole truth – just that she was attending an event that required formal wear – Addi had been thrilled to break up the boring bus ride with some advice.

“Not too much cleavage,” Addison said, her voice tinny through the phone speaker. “And not short, either. Knee-length or longer.”

“Do you think I’ll need gloves?” she asked. “Like Cinderella?”

Addison hummed. “Maybe. Pack a pair of elbow length white gloves in your bag, just in case. Oh my gosh. What bag are you bringing? It cannot clash. You hear me? Cannot.”

“Addi, I don’t even know what dress I’m wearing.” Margot frowned at her phone, balanced atop a stack of textbooks on her vanity. “I’m standing here in my underwear trying to figure this out. I’m pre-bibbidi-bobbidi-boo here.”

Addison’s laughter rang out of the speaker.

“I’m serious, Addi. Maybe I shouldn’t go.” She bit her lip, thinking of the money she’d spent on a ticket, money that might’ve been better spent. She was lucky that there were even tickets available. But that was beside the point. “Maybe this is a bad idea.”

“What’s a bad idea? Having a good time? Attending a charity event? Making career-defining connections? Come on.” Addison giggled. “Maybe you’ll even meet the love of your life there.”

“Right.” She flipped through the racks, eager to find something, anything . . . and then she saw it. A strapless, silvery blue ball gown, tight at the top but not overly cleavage-baring, that flared out at the waist to a full, silky skirt that would definitely conceal whatever shoes she would wear. She pulled it out of the closet and unzipped the clear garment bag to admire it. It was a princess dress if she ever saw one. Turning back to the phone, she quickly requested the voice call turn to a video.

Seconds later, Addison’s tired faced filled the screen. “What is it?”

Brandishing the dress out with a flourish, she ignored that she was standing in little more than a bra and panties as she showed the dress for her friend’s approval.

The gasp she heard confirmed her selection.

“You’ll be so stunning! A real-life Cinderella,” Addison said.

“Yeah,” she said absentmindedly, running her hand over the smooth fabric, already envisioning the makeup look she’d pair with the outfit.

“Except-” Addison narrowed her eyes in her best stern Hunt impression. “If you lose one of my shoes, it would be best to leave the country.”

Her taxi finally reached the front of the line, and a footman waiting on the sidewalk opened the door for her. She stepped out in her beautiful ball gown, giving the footman a grateful smile as he closed the door after her. Taking her time ascending the steps in her heels, she met another footman at the door who, after looking at her ticket and corroborating it with the guest list on a tablet, handed her a mask with ribbons.

She stepped into the hallway leading to the ballroom and found a mirror where she could put it on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she was more than pleased by her last-minute glow-up. As Addison had her closet, she had her vanity, stuffed to the brim with makeup products that she used to make herself look as chic as possible. After adjusting the mask to fit her face, she smoothed a layer of lip gloss over her lined lips and smiled to herself.

With this mask, I could be anyone . . . well, anyone smokin' hot, that is, she thought.

The ballroom was packed despite its tremendous size. Decorated Regency-style, it dripped with decadence, glass, and shine. Gold chandeliers tipped with crystals dangled from ceilings with painted murals, and tables spilled over with decadent food and sparkling drinks in crystal flutes. Famous actors and big names in the industry, though shrouded by masks of varying hues and designs, gossiped at the edges of the room, while couples danced and twirled on the floor. As she envisioned, masked waiters masterfully navigated the room, offering bite-sized treats that made her mouth water just looking at them.

After making her way around the room, taking in the splendor, she came to a stop near a pillar and sighed.

“This is incredible,” Margot said aloud.

“Isn’t it?”

She turned her head, surprised to see a man with a dark blue mask eyeing her from where he sat by the nearby bar.

“Come sit with me and let’s talk about it,” he said. The invitation, though innocuous in its wording, made her uncomfortable.

“Um,” she said. Her mind, which was usually buzzing with quips, did not offer her an out.

“Don’t be shy, baby,” he pressed, voice a little too firm and sharp for her liking. “I won’t bite. Come here.”

She swallowed hard at his leery gaze, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. “I-”

And then she felt it, a hand circling around her elbow, and she was not alone. She tilted her head up to appraise her saviour, who was looking down at her with a smile. Her saviour, tall and silver-masked, looked and spoke to her as if he knew her.

“There you are.” He led her to the other side of the bar, all the while chattering loudly as though they had come together. “Nearly lost you in this crowd.”

She knew that voice. Knew it quite well, in fact. She’d heard it in lecture halls, offices, in her nightmares and dreams, and in places unexpected.

This was one of the latter now.

He gestured to a pair of empty seats, and she gratefully took one. As soon as she was comfortable, he turned his head to look over at where that man who had been speaking at her sat. Then, he leaned against the bar, standing over the other empty seat, and picked up a half-empty glass, presumably abandoned by him when he came to her rescue.

“You should be careful,” he said sternly.

For a moment, she thought he recognized her, and she prepared for the lecture that would undoubtedly come.

“Even charity events attract the lecherous,” he continued. “You’re very welcome, by the way.” A smirk played on his lips before he took a sip of his drink.

“Thanks,” she said, for she had no clue what else to say.

He nodded once. “Do be careful with yourself. You’re bound to attract some unwanted attention. It would do you well to keep your head clear so that you may avoid future encounters. You can’t expect someone to come to your rescue every single time.”

“Nor do I expect rescue at all,” she replied. “I am no damsel in distress. Though, I guess, I kind of was for a second there, huh.”

He laughed. It wasn’t sarcastic or mocking. A genuine laugh that made him tilt his head back ever so slightly. She’d never heard him laugh like that before, but now that she had a taste, she wanted to hear it again and again. It was so unlike him, the caustic and cold professor she knew. It made him even more attractive.

“At least you’re honest.” He tilted his head at her. “I prefer to be honest.”

“I like that.” Sitting up a little straighter, Margot added, “Honesty's refreshing. One thing I've learned since I've been here, in Hollywood I mean, is that too many people are willing to lie to your face or cheat to get ahead.”

He glanced at his watch. “Is that so?” He killed his drink and then levelled his gaze with hers. “And you’re not one of them?”

“No,” she said, then thought better of it. “Not yet, at least. Not if I can help it.”

“So, you want to get ahead.” He finally lowered himself into the seat beside hers.

He gestured to the bartender for a refill, and she took the opportunity to order herself a drink. The bartender nodded at them and turned away.

“I want to be a household name. A famous actress.”

He leaned forward, close to her. “Here's some more truth for you . . . everyone here wants to be something. But not everyone here is going to succeed.”

Stubbornly, she said, “I will.”

“You're brash, naive, and overly confident. I used to be that way, before. . .” His smirk waned, then disappeared altogether. It was clear he was not mentally in this room anymore.

She wondered what he was thinking about.

The bartender slid his scotch refill to him, then delicately placed her drink on a coaster in front of her. He picked up his glass and took a rather large gulp.

“. . . Ahem. Excuse me. I'm Thomas. And you are?”

Honesty’s refreshing, she had said just moments earlier. Too many people are willing to lie to get ahead.

She truly didn’t want to lie to him, not now. But she also sensed that revealing herself now would mean that she wouldn’t get to keep talking to him like this or hear that laugh.

And, honestly, what good would come out of angering him after he’d been so kind to her?

“Someone who doesn't like to reveal all her secrets.” She smiled coyly, taking a sip from the paper straw in her drink. “It's a masquerade ball, after all.”

His eyebrows furrowed. “You don't have to be so coy. I don't need a name to figure out who you are. Or anyone in this room, for that matter.” Turning so that he could assess the crowd around them, he nodded towards different masked guests. “Timothee Chalamet; his hair is distinctive, as is his stature. Charlize Theron; note the regal way she carries herself, much like several of her most notable characters. Adam Driver; tall, kind of awkward gait, a low voice that carries over the crowd.”

“Very impressive, Thomas,” she said, trying out his name on her tongue. It was sort of strange to refer to him so casually, but she’d have to adapt if she wanted to keep this going on.

He took another sip, clearly pleased to be right. “Told you, didn’t I?”

Though she enjoyed the game they were playing, she decided to really test him. “Here’s a harder challenge: do you know who I am?”

He hummed thoughtfully. “I've been wondering that the moment you arrived. Something about you is familiar, almost loathsome, yet at the same time, forgive me, attractive.” He tilted his head. “You’re not going to tell me who you are, are you?”

Though her heart was pounding, she kept it cool. “Maybe at the end of the night. Unless you're planning on leaving early. Are you?”

“No.” He broke eye contact with her long enough to get the bartender’s attention, and he gestured for another refill. “No, I’m not.”

At some point, in the midst of their conversation, the music had noticeably gone softer and slower. He finished his drink and sighed, placing the glass onto the countertop, but just as he was about to request another refill, she captured his attention with a hand on his arm.

“We should dance,” Margot said, springing out of her seat. “Care to join me?”

He hesitated, and her glossed lips pouted.

Then, slowly, he rose from his seat, all the while maintaining eye contact with her. He straightened his tie and gave her a smirk.

“Do try to keep up,” he teased, buttoning his suit jacket before offering her his arm. They slipped through the crowd, the guests not dancing parting for them as easily as water. As soon as they reached the dance floor, he took the lead, taking her in his arms and guiding her. She was slow, cautious. He watched her fight her instinct to look at their feet.

“If you're nervous, this dance will be over before it even begins,” he warned, though his grip on her tightened.

She pulled him closer, emboldened by the drink in her system and the fact that he didn’t know who she was, and smiled up at him.

“Do I seem nervous, Thomas?” she asked.

He smiled. “Not at all. I’m surprised. You’re not completely horrible at this.”

She batted her eyelashes. “You say such charming things.”

They both laughed as he whirled her around the room.

She didn’t know how long they’d been dancing for, but she knew they were being watched. The crowd of dancers had thinned considerably since they had first arrived on the dance floor, and now many spectators lined the floor, watching with increasing interest as she and her partner weaved around the other dancers, doing increasingly interesting moves at his lead.

Her heart was pounding, the music was building to a crescendo, and he spun her around the dance floor faster and faster.

Don’t puke, she told herself. Do not do it. Your reputation will not recover. Not with whoever’s in attendance, and certainly not with Thomas.

His voice came from somewhere to her right. “Keep to my tempo, or you'll fall behind.”

He spun her out and away from him.

The world beyond the dance floor seemed as if was moving in slow motion, while she was stuck on fast-forward. She felt like she was one of the fairy toys that spun around and around in the air, aimless and free, before meeting a wall or piece of furniture and clattering to the floor. She braced herself for impact.

But then her hands connected with his again, and the crowd that had gathered to watch the dancers applauded as he pulled her back into his embrace.

“You learn quickly. I wish you were one of my students,” he whispered in her ear.

Her stomach, which had felt so light just moments before, now felt heavy and twisted.

“You’re a teacher,” she said. It wasn’t a question.

He nodded. “I teach at a local university.”

“How . . . nice.” It was the best she could come up with at the moment.

After she had become too dizzy from the spinning, he escorted her off the dance floor with an amused smile. He led her through the ballroom and out onto a private balcony cordoned off by a thick dark velvet curtain. Taking her hand, they stepped closer to the railing, into the cool evening air.

After giving her a long look, he let go of her hand and slowly removed his mask. The silver-lined blue barrier fell away to reveal him. He looked even more handsome up close, with a shy smile on his lips and the bright light from a single lantern hanging above them illuminating his debonair features.

“Disappointed?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, stunned by seeing him so unguarded, and even more handsome up close. “Not at all.”

The ocean waves below were muted by her heartbeat. Above them, she noted the sun setting, the sky becoming an ombre canvas of oranges, reds, and pinks. It was truly a stunning sight, but her gaze kept coming back to him. Still smiling, he reached out and took her hands in his.

His voice was husky, low. “You are definitely the best part of the night. I wasn't expecting to meet someone like you. I can sense something about you, a connection . . . I never thought I'd feel this strongly about someone I just met, but I can't seem to stop myself.”

She felt as though she was not breathing. As if she might never breathe again.

Moving even closer, he circled his arms around her waist, tilted her head up, and leaned in, eyes closing just before they made contact.

She was surprised by how sweetly he kissed her, how delicately he held her, as though she would slip away in the faintest breeze. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her closer to him until they were nearly inseparable. She thought she could hear fireworks somewhere, and wondered if she was only imagining them, but when they finally pulled back from the kiss, she saw flashes of colour illuminating his face in vibrant hues.

“Thomas,” she said breathlessly.

And then his mouth was on hers again, pulling her closer still, until his back was against the wall, and her hand was on the back of his neck, holding him to her. She felt his fingers on her back, just above the silk of the strapless dress, and she shivered and pressed herself tighter to him.

“Please,” he whispered raggedly once they separated again. “I have to know who you are.”

Margot stilled.

He reached around her and began tugging on the ribbons of her mask. She watched him closely, letting him untie the knots, savouring what very well may be the last moment she would have with him like this. 

The mask fell away from her face, and she watched him recognize her, watched his eyes widen and face twist in betrayal and anger before he stepped back and pressed a hand against his mouth in horror. Her blood ran cold as his eyes narrowed and his expression hardened to one of complete disdain.

“Margot? How - how dare you?” he gasped. “You – you – I cannot believe this! You lied to me! You deceived me! You seduced me! How could you?”

His rejection, though expected, pained her in ways she couldn’t even describe. As though his words were branding irons, burning his hatred into her flesh.

“You’re the last person I wanted to see behind that mask,” he spat. “You, of all the people in the world.”

He kept hurting her, hurting her, like he didn’t care. And perhaps he didn’t, now that he knew the truth.

“I can’t believe I - Dear God, I kissed a student.” He leaned back against the wall, forcing himself to take deep breaths to keep himself steady.

Tears slid down her cheeks as she watched him denounce her in every way possible. Even though he’d bragged about being able to identify anyone, he didn’t expect her, didn’t even cross his mind to guess her, and for some reason it hurt her more than anything else.

“Some part of you might’ve known it was me,” she said indignantly. “You were bragging that you-”

He let out a caustic laugh at that. “Why would I want you to be someone I despise? Someone I don’t respect? I’m disgusted with you and myself.”

And that was all she needed to hear.

Pushing past him, she covered her face – and the tears streaking down them – as she rushed out of the gala and into the night.

The taxi ride back to the dorms was awkward, mostly because she spent the entire ride sniffling, trying to hold back her tears, and using up the Kleenex the driver kept a box of by the rear windshield. After tipping him, she sprung out of the taxi and didn’t stop running until she was safely back in her room.

It was there that Margot allowed herself to fully break down. In that beautiful princess dress, she flopped onto her bed and sobbed, hugging herself tightly, letting out all the anger and frustration and pain that she felt at being so heavily and heartlessly rejected by him. She cried for the way he looked at her. Sobbed at the beautiful moments they shared that were now tainted by the conclusion of the night. She ached for what could have been and wept for her naivete.

A part of her knew that there was no way anything could’ve come from it. But she’d let herself fall into the fairy tale, accepting him as her stand-in prince for the evening, and felt charmed by their conversing, their somewhat playful banter, and the compatibility in their dancing skills. And the kisses they shared . . .

Though her chest and throat ached from crying, if she closed her eyes tight enough, she could still feel his mouth against hers, languid and sweet in its kiss.

There was something there. She knew it.

It hurt her to know that, even if he sensed something too, he would never acknowledge it.

Twenty minutes away from the Hollywood U dorms, Thomas Hunt sat on his bed, still in his suit from the masquerade, drinking scotch straight from the bottle. Two pairs of masks lay beside him, one slightly more rumpled than the other from its owner stepping on it as she ran from the private balcony.

Setting the bottle down on the bedside table, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to think back to the beginning of it all, pushing past the haze the alcohol left in his head.

He’d spotted her the moment she walked in and had kept an eye on her since she began making her way around the ballroom. And, from the sounds of the men sitting close by him, he was not the only one who had noticed her.

The dress she wore made her ethereal, like she’d stepped out of a dream. The shiny silk that hugged her frame before flowing to the floor, coupled with her demure yet entrancing makeup and the awed look in her eyes from behind her mask, set her apart from the rest.

He took a large gulp of his drink and loosened his tie.

She got closer, and one of the wolves made their move.

As if by an unknown force pulling him forward, he found himself walking up to her, his mind struggling to catch up with his actions as he offered her a way out of the clearly unwanted interaction.

“There you are.” He led her to the seat he had previously occupied and was pleased to find that one of the men had taken flight upon seeing them interact. She sat down and looked up at him curiously, as if wondering why he had saved her from being potentially preyed upon.

“You should be careful,” he said. “Even charity events attract the lecherous. You’re very welcome, by the way.”

“Thanks.”

He knew that voice. The sincerity of the gratitude, tinged with sarcasm at having to reply at all.

She seemed not to have recognized him. He wondered how long it would be before she did. Though the mask concealed some of her features, with his close proximity he was quick to identify her by other things that gave her away, like her high cheekbones and dark tresses she’d pulled into a half-up hairdo and, now, her distinctive voice.

He felt tempted to call her out on it and send her on her way home, but at the same time, he wanted to know where this would go. Revealing what he knew would mean that he wouldn’t get to keep talking to her like this.

And it was a masquerade ball, after all.

#thomas hunt #thomas orson hunt #hollywood u #fanfiction #only fools fall for you

[tackletofset]

list of best tom/harry fanfic

Uuummmm…. Okay

*is actually excited*

Tomarry Fic Rec List

Disclaimer: Mind that this is my version of favorite Tomarry fanfics and I might have missed some others doesn’t mean that they’re less phenomenal.Also, the list is by random order.

Click on the titles for links :3

Don’t Fuck With Florists (They’ll Fuck You Up) by MayMarlow

Teen And Up | 13944 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | One-Shot | Completed

Characters: Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Mr Borgin

Relationships : Harry Potter/Tom Riddle

Summary: Unsatisfied with his post-war life, Harry decides to get to the root of all of his problems when that root was still working at Borgin and Burkes shop in the late 40s. He’s the Master of Death, damn it, he can do what he wants for once in his life.Tom Riddle isn’t particularly happy about working at a small, dingy shop for magical artifacts, no matter how interesting those artifacts are. He’s even less happy when an insufferable stranger sets up the most obnoxious flower shop right across the street.What follows would be a romantic comedy, if it weren’t for politics.

My notes: I love this fic because of the political undertone, and not-so-subtle reference for Trump. I love how Harry could sway Tom’s from being a Dark Lord into Minister for Magic. If you like dark humor you’d enjoy this fic ;)

Rumpelstiltskin by Gallons_of_the_Stuff

General | 8884 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | Chapter 2/4 | Ongoing

Characters: Merope Gaunt, Tom Riddle Sr., Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Fem!Harry Character

Relationships : Merope Gaunt/Tom Riddle Sr., Harry Potter/Tom Riddle

Summary: He was all she ever wanted, and she knew exactly how she could have him - even if it would not be real. Then a stranger made her an offer she could not refuse, for a price that seemed like a joke at the time. Was it really just a teasing remark though? Or would her deal cost her more than she ever wanted to give up?

My notes: This is how Merope/Tom Sr relationship goes without a love potion. Merope is aided by Fem!Harry who ‘only’ asks for her firstborn in return.

The Dark Serpent and The Dark Horse by Kaede Ravensdale

Mature | 104187 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Chapter 40/? | Ongoing

Characters: Tom Riddle Sr., Tom Riddle, Harry Potter

Relationships : Tom Riddle Sr. & Tom Riddle Jr, Tom Riddle/Harry Potter, Tom Riddle Sr./Severus Snape

Summary: In which Tom Riddle Senior never could fully put Merope’s claims of being pregnant out of his mind and set out to bring his child home, unwittingly changing the fate of both the Wizarding and Muggle worlds and laying waste to the machinations of a certain scheming old man.

My notes: THIS IS LIKE BY FAR, MY MOST FAVORITE TOM RIDDLE FIC EVER!!! LIKE, EVER!!! THIS IS SO PHENOMENAL! I mean Tomarry + TomSr/Jr bonding is perf Spoiler! Tom is related to the Targaryens in this fic.  Baby Tom gets the Father’s love that he deserves. Also openlymanipulative!Dumbledore and Slytherin!Harry. Best ever. I hope the author will update soon before my head starts flooding with imagines of this fic, such as Tom Sr. stands in between the little Tom (and Harry, so he’s protecting them both) and the killing curse (a curse probably by Grindelwald or Dumbledore). Also, now I like to listen to Targaryen theme music while musing about Tom Sr :3 I also imagine him trying to ride a dragon for the first time, awkwardly in muggle clothes while his son watches in awe. Him riding a dragon to a war against Grindelwald, also arriving in Hogsmeade alongside his son bringing dragons :3 ahh the Tomgaryens.

Little Red Riding Hood by BigJellyMonster (orphan_account)

Teen and Up | 1256 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle

Relationships : Harry Potter/Tom Riddle/Voldemort

Summary: Harry has to deliver a basket of treats to his neighbors on the other side of the forest. He was told never to talk to strangers. Too bad he doesn’t listen.

My notes: Very cute Harry. Manipulative Tom. Fluff. Definitely should read.

I Speak Parseltounge by BigJellyMonster (orphan_account)

General | 1602 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle

Relationships : Harry Potter/Tom Riddle

Summary: Tom keeps hitting on Harry in parseltounge but he doesn’t know that Harry speaks it too.

My notes: Another light fic. Sneaky Harry. Reccommended!

Pass the salt, Daddy by DarkkBluee

Not Rated | 1569 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle | Voldemort, James Potter, Lily Evans Potter, Tom Riddle Sr., Thomas Riddle, Mary Riddle, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin

Relationship: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin

Summary :Tom and Harry have a family dinner.“Daddy, can you pass the salt?”Or not.Seven pairs of eyes swivel in his direction.

My notes: Harry has seven Daddies. Nuff said.

Meeting the Parents by temptresslove

Teen and Up | 4113 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, Lily Evans Potter, Tom Riddle Sr., James Potter, Narcissa Black Malfoy

Relationship: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Harry Potter/Tom Riddle/Voldemort, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle, Harry Potter & Tom Riddle | Voldemort

Summary :“It’s nice to finally meet you, Tom,” Lily says with a big smile. “I’ve heard so much about you.”Beside her, Harry noticeably stiffens.“Oh?” Tom asks, one eyebrow raised elegantly, looking at Harry amusedly. “Only good things, I hope.”“Oh yes,” Lily gushes. “Very good things, indeed.”Harry grabs Lily by the arm that almost hurt and smiles at her tightly. “Mom, shouldn’t you be going to Headmaster Dippet’s office by now?” The way his grip threatened Lily made her grin even larger.

My note: Another oneshot I really, really like! This is an omegaverse, fluff, very cute Tomarry interactions. I like how they write the relationships to their parents as well. Love this one.

To Be Set Free by Merrinpippy

Teen and Up | 35831 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | Chapter 14/14 | Completed

Characters: Harry Potter, Tom Riddle, Dudley Dursley, Petunia Evans Dursley, Vernon Dursley, Tom Riddle Sr., Albus Dumbledore, Gellert Grindelwald, Dobby, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Draco Malfoy, Bartemius Crouch Jr., The Brazilian Boa Constrictor (Harry Potter), Lucius Malfoy, Dolores Umbridge

Relationship: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle,

Summary : Harry Potter, raised and abused by the Dursleys ever since his parents died, lives in the cupboard under the stairs. He has no friends or family who love him and his life is dull until one day a letter arrives arrives for him, written in green ink, that promises freedom. Sounds familiar, right?King Thomas Riddle’s illness combined with his political paranoia pushes him to arrange three royal balls, after which his son, Prince Tom Riddle, must choose a guest to marry, thereby securing the kingdom’s future and solidifying their strength in the eyes of their allies/enemies. Tom is convinced that he will be able to defy his father and choose no-one, or at least he is until at the first ball he meets an attractive stranger with dark hair and glasses who won’t tell anyone his name…

My notes: A really sweet Cinderella AU! You’d love the chemistry between Tomarry here.

Ice Cream Stalker by Watermelonsmellinfellon

Teen and Up | 750 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger

Relationship: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle,

Summary : @vertibirdo on Tumblr Prompted: Yo, would you be up to doing some Tomarry non-magic Modern AU? Something cute?

My notes: A lighthearted, fluff AU. Love it, and how Hermione’s helping Tom to approach Harry.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker by Watermelonsmellinfellon

Teen and Up | 1948 words | No Archive Warnings Apply | Oneshot | Completed

Characters: Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Nagini

Relationship: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle,

Summary : Nagini acts as a messenger for Harry and Tom, carrying insulting messages between the Slytherin dungeon and Gryffindor Tower. Eventually, Nagini gets bored and starts making up stuff, and the messages just become confusing. Nagini becomes a matchmaker. Unwittingly.

My notes: Tomarry shippers are Nagini.

Diablerie by Oceanbreeze7

Teen and Up | 156584 words | Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings | Chapter: 22/25 | Ongoing

Characters: Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Tom Riddle, Harry Potter, Order of the Phoenix, Hogwarts Students, Hogwarts Staff, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Albus Dumbledore

Relationship: Harry Potter & Tom Riddle,

Summary : Moody reclined in his chair, his prosthetic scratched over the floor. “What year is it, Riddle.”It wasn’t phrased like a question, maybe that was why Tom finally answered.“September.” Tom clipped out coldly. “1942. You know this.”’Harry inhaled so sharply he choked on his spit. He hurriedly turned away, hacking and wheezing as he nearly asphyxiated on his own saliva.“Yeah,” Moody grimaced with a slight disgruntled noise hidden in his tone, “that’s a problem.”

Tom Riddle, 15 years old, in the middle of the London Blitz suddenly finds himself in a future with no allies, resources, information, and everyone he knows treats him with enough restraint to not murder him on the spot. It takes a lot to truly ruin a human being, to rot them so thoroughly even fruit flies avoid the stench. Tom doesn’t want this bullshit, Tom only wants to-‘Please God, let me live.

My notes: I haven’t finished reading this one, but it’s really good. This fic could capture the terrifying essence of devastation of war and death. It contains a graphic and detailed description about Tom trying to survive in the blitz, so it’s not for those who aren’t into those heavy materials.

#anonymous #tomarry #pottermort #tom riddle #tom marvolo riddle #harry potter #harry james potter #tom riddle sr #tom riddle senior #fanfiction #wwhp #wizarding world #tomarry fic rec list #slytherin harry #yespapa #yeslord

[ohjohnno]

Outrageous Fortune Reviewcap: S1E09 (”When The Blood Burns”)

I’ve been demurring on this one, partly because of real life shit (well, mostly that to be honest) but also because this episode isn’t all that good. It’s an episode entirely centering around Antony Starr’s characters, and I sure hope they paid him double, cos the range he needed for it was tremendous. But, unfortunately, one of those characters (Van) just isn’t all that interesting yet, and the other (Jethro) is ill-served by one of the dumbest and most unfortunate sideplots the show has yet had. So, without further ado, we’ll get this one out of the way, and I’ll try and keep it short. 

We open with a dual appearance from the two most irritating characters in the show: Tracy and Suzy Hong, their differences now thoroughly mended and united in enjoying themselves by tormenting Van.

Yeah, it’s as insufferable as it looks. An incensed Van finally snaps and threatens to quit; Mr. Hong overhears, but Van finally manages to stand up for himself and it pays off: Mr. Hong makes him manager of one of his local little stores, which seems to sell mostly cheap novelty junk. I’m not entirely sure why he does this, honestly, but it’s a mildly important character moment for Van, so okay, I guess?

Meanwhile, in the West household, things are getting a little crazy.

Cheryl and Kacey are promoting their new underwear business with a sorta quasi-striptease party, hosted by and for middle-aged women. It’s one of the aspects of the episode I like best, not because the women are sexy but more because they really aren’t; they’re a bunch of trashy fortysomething women, reminding the world that it isn’t just model-type people who like having sex, or who know how to have fun with it. Kacey makes this explicit with a little barb at the morbidly fascinated Pascalle, telling her they didn’t offer to use her as a model because they wanted to use “real women”, which is a nice reminder that toxic standards of femininity cut cruelly in both directions. So, yeah, good segment - made all the better by the horror of the younger girls who’ve been dragged along.

Van returns, utterly nonplussed at the scene before him, and they all retreat to the bedroom. Antony Starr’s comic acting here is great, actually - he follows the others to the room and finds them using his drugs with an indignant and confused response of “well... don’t!”, and it makes me laugh every time. Draska expresses some clear interest in him, which he once again ignores, as usual. The next scene is where the plot properly begins.

The gist of it is this: the Hongs’ local store has their goods transported from warehouse to shelf by Draska’s clan, the Doslics. Van discovers that there’s a discrepancy between the number of trading cards he was meant to be shipped and the number he actually received; he goes and politely asks the Doslics about it, and they do not take that well.

   I come from good people - HONEST people! Made strong by our troubles!

Naturally, they think he’s accusing them of thievery. Naturally, this makes Van pretty sure they really are committing thievery, and a raging Mr. Hong agrees. The two proceed to keep escalating tensions, and the rest of the Wests get caught in the crossfire; mama Doslic gets into a fight with Cheryl in a supermarket car park, Pascalle finds her old tyre-modelling photos all defaced with violent graffiti, and it’s all mildly funny but also kinda dull. Eventually, it turns out that Van’s mate Munter has been stealing the cards from the warehouse all along, using the keys Van gave him for safekeeping. This is not the last time Van will find himself victimized by the consequences of his own actions.

I’m blasting through *a lot* of this plot here really quickly, and that’s cos it just isn’t very interesting for the most part. It’s trying to be a farce, mostly, and it sometimes succeeds; Van’s initial confrontation with the Doslics is really quite funny, and his steadily increasing panic as the situation just goes more and more wrong isn’t bad either. But it’s all a bit too by-the-numbers and predictable, and in the end none of the stakes feel real; we all know that in an episode like this, the Hongs and the Doslics were never really gonna properly come to blows, and they don’t. Van confesses a lot of stuff to Draska in a couple of secret meetings, and while he’s initially paranoid about her loyalty, she proves herself by finding a way to fix the issue; she places all the blame for the break-ins on Eric (who was selling the stolen cards anyway, after buying them from Munter) and the two families come together to absolutely motherfucking whoop the guy’s ass, leaving him looking rather worse for wear. 

      ...next thing I know I’m getting the shit kicked out of me by half the West                                                   Auckland United Nations!

If I have a favorite moment in this plot, it’s probably near the beginning, when the elder Doslic is first bringing in what he believes to be the full shipment of cards. He’s ranting and raving, the whole time he does it, about how much he just damn well hates the “chinks” and their terrible language skills, not to mention their driving - all while speaking in a heavy Croatian accent himself and also, oh yeah, taking their money. This show really does get quite a lot of comedy out of the idea that solidarity between marginalized groups really just doesn’t exist.

The rest of it, though? I mean, it does contain a couple of important moments, I guess. Van, after initially lying to protect Munter and only making everything worse, is genuinely willing to offer himself up, blame himself entirely, and essentially sacrifice himself in order to save everyone’s hides, and only doesn’t end up doing it because Draska fixes it all before he has to. That’s a nice reminder that Van, at his core, really is a genuinely good person, and that his internal conflict as a character all comes from the tension between that and the toxic masculinity he’s had indoctrinated deep within him by his father and the culture he’s grown up in. Cheryl demonstrates where her loyalties lie and takes Van’s side without a second’s hesitation after mama Doslic shows up with complaints; for all her problems with Van, she really does love him unconditionally. But there’s also too much stuff that doesn’t come off, like Van’s boring interactions with a mildly delinquent kid who likes the trading cards, or Tracy’s ever-one-dimensional mistreatment of Van. 

Still, at least it’s better than Jethro’s plot.

Remember how Tracy knows now about Jethro’s little rape-by-deception thing a few episodes ago? Well, she still doesn’t seem to be thinking of it as rape, but she is trying to get him to apologize for it nonetheless. Jethro, meanwhile, wants to root her again, and he knows he can’t do that without apologizing. So Jethro’s plot this episode is several scenes in a row of him miserably failing to pull off a convincing apology, and... that’s it, really. Hugh’s back, being annoying as usual (though it’s intentional enough that it doesn’t bother me too much), and Loretta briefly shows up to mock him for how bad he is at apologizing (talk about the pot calling the kettle black!), but for the most part this is all really redundant and dull. The only interesting part comes in Loretta’s video shack, where Jethro straight up lies to Caroline’s face, right in front of Loretta, in order to make himself some free time to go and keep trying it with Tracy. Loretta, of course, is too sociopathic to feel sorry for her, and we all knew a couple of episodes ago that Jethro wasn’t gonna be able to maintain it with her as a regular relationship, but the beginnings of heartbreak on Caroline’s face as she begins to get an inkling, in her subconscious, of what’s going on is genuinely sad.

But the ending of this plot? It’s awful, and in a really unfortunate way. In the end, see, it turns out Tracy never really wanted an apology; she likes Jethro, doesn’t really care about the fact that he deceived her in such an intimate way, and wants it with him again. She decides he’s ready when... he just refuses to apologize one time, admitting he isn’t sorry because (and this is possibly the worst line of dialogue in the whole show, so brace yourselves): “why would I be, when it was the best fuck I’ve ever had?” 

Eugh.

So they start having an affair, and that’ll stay important. Meanwhile, Van’s plot ends similarly, in the superficial respect: Draska finally convinces him to have sex with her, as a celebration for the two of them getting out of that little escapade with everything intact, and it’s also the start of a relationship. Her toxicity, of course, has been evident the whole time from her unhealthy fixation on him, but if she demonstrated anything in this episode it was her intelligence and resourcefulness, so one suspects bad things on the horizon for Van. Nothing much happens with the rest of the characters - Loretta doesn’t do much other than the aforementioned mockery of Jethro and some mildly funny jabs at Pascalle’s choice of career, and Pascalle doesn’t do much other than get all horrified by what’s been done to her poster. On the whole, then, this is a disappointing episode, and maybe the worst one so far. Van will get good, I promise - the potential is all there already. But we’ve still gotta wait for now. Until next time.

#Antonia Prebble #Siobhan Marshall #antony starr #Robyn Malcolm #grant bowler #television #outrageous fortune #Frank Whitten #rachel lang #Gutter Black #nz

[apairofcrepeswiththerarestape]

The New York Review of The New Yorker for April 6th 2020

Hello! This week was surprisingly busy! As we move into the part of life when you have scheduled video calls with other humans so you don't feel like you live on an island which is your apartment and the laundry suddenly needs to be done and that requires a bucket and now there is less time to read The New Yorker! I apologize for the delay. Also we got Animal Crossing and it's simulacrum of the regular world is soothing, horrifying, and addictive. ANYWAY, let's talk about this issue!

COVER

I was pretty down on Chris Ware for his work last week and guess what? I THOUGHT THIS COVER WAS FINE. You probably shouldn't be handing your phone with gloves in a hospital though.

TABLES FOR TWO

Woof, this one really caused a lot of consternation in the old brain pan. Hannah Goldfield writes about the restaurants that are trying to make do with delivery in this age o tha rona. On one hand, I love restaurants and want them to stay open and for the people who work there to get paid and be able to live (as a former and hopefully future food service worker I have a bit of skin in the game), but reading about the lush meals that are being delivered/picked up makes me feel a little queasy! Like if you have the money to be ordering in all the time why not just give that money to people and learn to fucking cook something every now and then. The number of people put at risk every time these people want take out from Carbone or whatever is insane. Maybe if you love a restaurant so much just give them money and tell them to make food for people that have a little bit more need than you? I don't know, I ordered wine delivery last week so maybe I should be measuring my own neck for the guillotine.

TALK OF THE TOWN

We lead off with the traditional Trump is bad/stupid/doing terrible things articlet (this is not a typo, I'm trying to make articlet a thing), it was fine.

Next a thingee about people trying to find ways to make a cheap ventilator which was only depressing because the government paid people to try to do this and then those people had their work basically thrown in the trash. There was a whole ProPublica article about it which I just tried to google but about 6 other articles about how fudged the whole ventilator world is came out and I was too bummed.

Then a jammer about Alex Jones who is only worth attention when he's going on a strange nonsensical rant about how he's a man filled with blood or whatever. He's apparently scamming people with bs supplements to prevent the corona virus which is NOT A SURPRISE.

After that something about how people are buying guns, EVEN LIBERALS! How fudging shocking! Everybody in this little thing sounds like a moron.

Finally, something about how theaters are trying to stay open through streaming content, which is admirable. Unfortunately the performer featured in this piece plays the ukulele, hands down the worst instrument in human history. If you'd like to hear a good song played in a way that makes you go "hmmmmm, I like this song but for some reason this version is only making me angry" then the fucking uke (as it is often referred to by people who I immediately try to leave the vicinity of) is for you! Anyway, I hope that Caveat (the club featured in the thing, a place where I have not seen many people I know perform because I am lazy) stays in business but that ukulele mentioned in it is smashed against a wall or rock.

CORONA VIRUS CHRONICLES

I read this article but could not remember anything about it.

COMIC STRIP

This was fine if kind of boring. Again a cartoonist talks about how terrible they are. I swear  I like comics, maybe just not New Yorker comics?

SHOUTS & MURMURS

Did not read.

ANNALS OF MEDICINE

Well this was pretty miserable to read, Eyal Press writes about the consequences of Alabama not expanding medicare funding. This article is filled with heartbreaking stories of people who lack means falling ill and dying and it pretty much seems like it was Alabama's fault. THE WORLD IS REAL COOL RIGHT NOW. This was a very good if extremely sad piece.

A REPORTER AT LARGE

This was not a real rainbow of a follow up! Rachel Aviv tells the tale of Sharon (or Sharoni) Stern, a sad person who thought they had found something in the world of Butoh dance but eventually killed herself. JESUS NEW YORKER EDITORS! CAN YOU GIVE ME A BREAK! Anyway, this story is very sad even without me really knowing what Butoh dancing really is (though someone once told me about how moving it was and then I looked up a video of it and it left no impression (even though I know many dancers I have little to know facility for speaking about it), I do remember telling that person that it looked "cool" because I think I was trying to impress them? I'm pretty sure my trenchant analysis failed that mission). The two other main people in the article, Katsura Kan (the Butoh instructor who Sharon fell under the influence of) and Tibor Stern (Sharon's dad), seem like real jerks!

LETTER FROM YANGQUAN

Did not read.

FICTION

Oh man do I love George Saunders. His ability to tell stories that illustrate the ills of our current reality by showing us ones that are slightly shifted never fail to get my brain working.The stories combined with the challenge of his linguistic tricks that somehow make the stories more emotional (rather than the usual linguistic trick reaction, which make me say "wow, what a cool linguistic trick") also blows my mind. This story is no different, though it is less weird than the usual fare. Presented as a letter from a grandparent to his grandson dated sometime in the near future, it tells the tale of a world who's apathy towards the slow slide to authoritarianism (which, uh duh, we're in the middle of right now!) went unchecked and how those who were/are not directly affected by it will allow it to continue. It made me sad! 

A CRITIC AT LARGE

Elizabeth Kolbert talks about how pandemics shaped human history (this was the subhead of the article so you can probably figure that I do not have a lot to say about it). I don't remember a lot of the article but I DO remember thinking "oooooh, this is INTERESTING" while I read it, so there's that.

BOOKS

Jill Lepore Jill Lepores the hell out of life living alone during our modern emergency and it made me sad (man, this issue made me sad A LOT). Lots of sad stuff about chimpanzees in here if that's your thing (and I hope it isn't you sick FREAK).

BOOKS

Sheila Heti on the letters of Tove Jansson. I never really got into Moomin as stories but Jansson's lines were always really fantastic to look at. I always feel like a real dummy when a book of letters is reviewed because if I ever become famous a collection of my emails will consist of so many of them that read like "look at this video of Kelsey Grammer falling off a stage!" or "here's another version of this comedy bit, I changed the word fuck to fudge, what do you think?" Anyway, Tove sounds cool but I will not be reading a book of her letters.

BOOKS

Did not read.

THE THEATER

Did not read.

MUSICAL EVENTS

Did not read.

POP MUSIC

I had not heard of Yaeji (I rarely hear of good new music. I've definitely entered the age of my life where I'm mostly listening to reissues to stave off the possibility of outwardly liking something current that turns out to be ultra corny) but Hua Hsu made me interested enough to check out her record and it's pretty great so far! Thanks Hua Hsu!

THAT'S IT! A real bummer of an issue for this bummer of a time! Hopefully next week will be more fun! Probably not though! See you next weeeeeeekkkkkkkkkkk!

#the new york review of the new yorker #the new yorker #SAD #george saunders is great #dumb projects

[iyliss]

Sooo @lily-liegh I finally finished writing everything for your gift >w< It ended up much bigger than expected so I have to post it here under a read more. Also I went for a travel in Paris since I know the place at least a bit, and im sorry if it isn’t always well written and has lots of mistakes...

Anyway I hope you enjoy it ♥♥♥

First, how they ended up travelling together... First was Akira, who had to go to Paris for a week for a business trip. But he managed to get paid for another week there, so he could have some nice holyday with Aoi since they never really travelled like this. But well Aoi couldn't stay alone in this city she doesn't know for the week that Akira had to spend on work... So he asked her if she had any friend or classmate who would like to come,and she invited Yusaku and Takeru.

When he heard about this, Kusanagi kindly « offered » to take care of the kids if he could come with his brother. Meanwhile, Ema kind of imposed herself and her brother in the trip because she always wanted to go to Paris (and Akira trusts her on keeping an eye on Aoi).

As for hanoi....Well, very sadly, Baira and Faust had a last minute work preventing them from doing that travel they had prepare... But it would be a shame not to use the plane ticket and hotel room ! Ryoken,what about you go with Specter ! (actually they never planned on going to Paris, they just wanted to give Ryoken some actual holydays and knew he would have never accepted directly). And it turns out they are in the same hotel as everyone else, and they kind of decided to spend the week together.

Now for the planning. Takeru absolutely wanted to go to Disney Land, Revolver wanted to go to the  Museum d'histoire naturel (natural history museum??) to find stuff to give to the other knights. Specter totally agreed with him, especially since he learned that the botanic garden was nearby.

Kusanagi basically wants to see the classic places (louvre, eiffel tower...) and take a lot of photos. Aoi secretly wants to go to Disney too, and she knows her brother will bring her to all the museums she likes anyway. Ema absolutely want to explore the catacombs and go shopping. Kengo just want to go back as soon as possible.

They somehow managed to organize everything in a single week, by allowing a day for each person who will chose where the group would go. It ended up like this :

    Sunday : the plane actually don't arrive too late but Akira spoke words of wisdom : « don't plan anything. You'll just be laying on bed all day because of jetlag. »

    Monday : a whole day for disney world. It was the most sunny day, and monday is always better than week end or wednesday.

    Tuesday : Morning for the louvre (it's a bit cloudy), afternoon for the eiffel tower (some more sun)

    Wednesday : late at night is when the catacombs tour take place, so they just kept the rest of the day empty to do what they wanted on their own

    Thursday : Shopping time ! And visiting the old paris, buying lots of souvenirs.

    Friday : Museum d'histoire naturel+botanic garden. Takeru didn't understand how it could take up a whole day.

    Saturday : Packing up, the plane is in the afternoon.

And... How each day actually went :

The beginning of the travel was pretty nice.Takeru managed to get the window seat, Yusaku in the middle and aoi on the aisle side (she asked her brother to travel with her friends). On the other side are specter and ryoken. At first Specter wanted to be by the window but he quickly felt bad so they switched. Behind was jin (window), kusanagi (middle), ema and on the other side kengo.

The first few hours were a lot of fun, they had started to play some card games, Kusanagi had food for everyone, and they took beautiful picture. The first one to fall asleep was actually Yusaku. Surprisingly, he felt very good in the plane and managed to sleep more during the travel than in the last two weeks.

Ema decided to sleep to keep a healthy schedule. She didn't, and watched stupid comedy with kusanagi for hours while criticizing everything. Takeru fell asleep while watching movies, and Aoi had to crawl all the way over Yusaku to take off his headphones which he was starting to entangle beyond recuperation.

Specter watched a 10 hours long documentary about the Amazon forest. Ryoken red a book, then slept, then tried reading again but couldn't, then started a movie he didn't finish, then slept again a bit, woke up on some turbulations, red again, and all this the whole time. Kengo said he was reading, but really he was playing with the game there was on the screen in front of the seat.

Aoi just spent most of the time half asleep, looking at everyone and listening to music when everyone was sleeping. When they arrived, she ended up the most capable with Yusaku to guide everyone to their hotel room. Though they almost forgot Takeru, who had fallen asleep on one of the subway station seat and didn't follow the group when it came.

But the magic of Disney land blessed him during the night, and he actually woke up first singing (badly) all the worst songs. Aoi, Kusanagi, Ema and Kengo yelled at him to shut up because they already started to have the songs in their head. Everyone prepared, and they arrived at the park quite early. They were expecting to see some people, but not that much crowd.... and now here comes my lack of knowledge of how this thing is like (i never went to disney land ever). So I have absolutely no idea what is really there. So sorry it'll be a bit lacking…

But anyway, they came back to the hotel incredibly tired. Thanks god they had eaten so much junk food, they didn't even need to think about a dinner.

The next day was harder for everyone. The sky was grey, and they were more than afraid to get lost once more in a dense crowd. But they still got to the museum around midday and ended up splitting up. Ema, Kusanagi with Jin, Takeru and Aoi went to see the Joconde and all the important stuff. Specter, Ryoken, Kengo and Yusaku went to visit the other less crowded flours. The first group got their great dose of selfies to expose on social media, and even ended up « retranslating » the guides speaking language they didn't know but with stupid explanations.  The second group found a nice little exposition about how middle-east prehistoric civilization were worshipping nature that satisfied everyone. They ate at the museum's restaurant and went to the eiffel tower.

And it's at this point they realized the hell that was Paris' subway. They came back to where they were countless time, had to ask many people, and spent way too much time arguing about where to go... and about how to pronounce all the exotic words

(kusanagi swore to god that « bastille » was pronounced like baseball). But they still found their way, and the eiffel tower. « It's small » said Aoi. « it's huge ! » said Takeru. « And this is where Humanity's hopeless vanity started. » said Kengo. « Look there's a colleague ! » said Kusanagi as he was reaching for the closest Hot dog van, not even minding that they ate copiously 2 hours ago.

They climbed up the tower. It turns out Specter had indeed dizziness (or vertigo ? Like when you're ill on height ? ), so he stayed on the ground with Jin who was too tired and Kusanagi who was talking business.

As they were walking on the countless stairs, Ryoken couldn't help but talk about how this was nothing compared to his own tower. Eventually they reached the top and gladly enjoyed the wonderful view. Aoi and Ema started reading some flyers they managed to find in japanese about how the tower was built, and Ryoken and Kengo got in a deep talk about how high you should climb on such a tower to start having trouble breathing. Takeru found one of those thing used to see the city closer (where you have to put a coin), that looks a lot like a big canon, and said played with it like a big big laser gun.

When everyone gathered, it was already quite late and the restaurants were all full. They got back to their hotel, found a pizza hut on the way, and watch with much incomprehension french tv shows in the same room.

The next day everyone woke up at their own pace. Aoi, yusaku and ryoken woke up quite early and decided to go buy croissants for everyone and enjoyed the grey morning together. After spending two days in loud crowds, the silent streets felt magic. When they came back to the hotel, specter had woken up and was a bit scared not to find Ryoken in the room.

After breakfast, ryoken, specter and Yusaku went around to find big book store with very specific books of their interests. They found a little shop with  old books, where Specter discovered an encyclopedia of plants from 1500~, with watercolor illustrations. Then they ate a sandwich, and went down a street with a bunch of retro video game shops and old informatic stuff. They regretted quite a bit not being able to bring back the most fragile and big pieces.

Meanwhile Aoi waited for Ema to wake up, while looking for various stores (mostly CDs). They left at the beginning of the afternoon with takeru and kusanagi. (Jin was too tired, kengo was too grumpy) they got lost quite a lot, but managed to find their way and enjoyed a nice time of trying to tell the seller what french singers aoi was looking for with the most terrible pronunciation.

They gathered where the catacombs tour started. Since there wasn't any in Japanese, they went for the English one (ryoken, kengo and Ema could both understand it well enough to explain to the others. Kusanagi thought he could too but it turned out that beside informatic words, he didn't understand English that well). Though after some time they ended up just trying to scare each other (mostly everyone trying to scare takeru). They also lost kengo and ryoken at some point. Ema thought it'd be funny to say they had been taken away by some zombies or demon. She almost got killed by specter. They eventually found them discussing French revolution at the entrance (they were bored and left).

Thursday: once again, they ended up in way too much crowd. Specter spent the whole time whining about all the people, except that moment they stopped to eat chocolate crêpes. Takeru had a little list of things he had to bring back for him and kiku. He barely bought half of it, and he spent most of his money on completely unrelated stuff(like those little metal eiffel tower). He still managed to find the hoodie he was looking for.

Kusanagi cried when he saw all the aprons there were in the souvenirs shops. He ended up taking picture of each of them and make a complicated organization to chose the ones he'll buy, two of each since yusaku needed one.

Ema bought more magnets than she had place on her fridge. She spent around an hour deciding if she should take one of those pin up lady ones. “They are so pretty! but that's still objectification of women. but they are really cute aaaah…”

Ryoken found a quite good old revolver replica and considered buying. Or more like Specter and Yusaku almost bought it for him before he allowed to gift himself with it.

Aoi tried not to buy much stuff since her brother always tell her about how all this is useless and just for tourist. She still fell for one of those little music box in cardboard boxes.

And of course they got lost countless time. And every time there was someone to say “wait let me check on my phone” to realize they had no connexion here…

When night fell, they found a nice little restaurant with traditional french dishes. Never did they eat that much cheese in their whole life.

Friday: specter was incredibly excited to see the garden, but it wasn't open in the morning so they first went to the museum. They spent hours at the place with dinosaurs bones and various animals exposed, until Specter realized it was 1 PM and he might not have time for the garden if he stayed with the others. So he went there with Aoi and Yusaku, who also wanted to see pretty flowers rather than dead animals.

There was strangely not that many people in the garden, and they greatly appreciated this calm moments after days of noisy crowds. Aoi took picture of all the colorful flowers, Yusaku red the little articles about the poisonous plants and did the little quizz with much concentration, and Specter skipped all the smaller plants and went to look at all the trees. He was very sad to hear he wasn’t allowed to touch all of them, but still took a lot of pictures and enjoyed it a lot. When he came back with a bunch of books from the nearby stores, Aoi pointed out it was all i english and he won’t be able to read them. “Don’t worry I can understand english well.” “But… you didn’t help us when we got lost?” “Revolver didn’t ask me to do so.”

The others kept enjoying the museum. Ryoken got the glorious idea to first go to the store and took his time to take stuff for each of the other knights, as there was a lot of choice. Takeru and Ema stayed at the animal section, amazed by all the wonderful creatures that lived on this earth (and takeru actually cried in the lost animals part, where it’s only species in danger or extinct). They also managed to scare Kengo with the dinosaurs reconstitution (Ema still has the recorded moment).

Kusanagi went with his brother to the geology section, and spent the whole time going for each pretty stones display wondering which one was the coolest. Also none of the three that went to the plants questioned why Takeru and Kusanagi had dino hats for the whole evening.

Saturday: Yusaku and Kusanagi woke up first. Yusaku didn’t have much stuff to put back in the bags, but Kusanagi had bought quite a lot and had to organize his luggage carefully to put everything in.  Ema thought about keeping enough space for her purchases, and managed to pack up quite quickly (tho she had to redo it completely once because she had lost her phone, which was inside the biggest bag). Revolver and Specter ended up with too many books, but by taking them with them for the travel they still managed to pack everything quite easily.

The real panic ended up for Takeru. He had bought way too many things for the space he had, so he had to organize everything like a tetris game. Despise that, he still asked yusaku and Aoi to take some of his stuff in their bags (Aoi would come back the next week so she didn’t had to pack, but she knew she wouldn’t buy much with her brother anyway).

They still came to the airport in time, could buy some food for the flight. They sat in the plain ready to enjoy the travel over the cloud once more… But every single one of them slept the whole time.

#vrains #if someone knows how disney land is feel free to help me #and happy birthday again lily ♥♥

[caskit2]

Gorillaz Analysis

Caskit’s not ready to throw all their cards on the table but the time has come!!! 

Okay then, I had to think long and hard about what I wanted to talk about here with Gorillaz cause DAMN!! 

I love gorillaz, 

I love the characters 

damon is a gift that we just dont deserve 

But how did I end up in the fandom pool? 

Well for one, I have heard of gorillaz music back in middleschool but at the time I was busy with Invader Zim and Inuyasha as well as jumping into this band wagon as well  (Full metal Alchemist) 

so by the time I turned to look at Gorillaz was when phase 3 was JUST wrapping up and making way for phase 4. which means I jumped into a fandom that had characters that I knew NOTHING ABOUT. Do you know what that means?

It means I also had no understanding or knowledge of why people shipped “this or that” in the fandom, but I gained some intel on the characters and the growing plot of the story, but other than that, I didnt understand why I was drawn to a particular “ship” in the fandom.  

*actual expression made, im not joking*

Once upon a time, caskit discovered 2doc and was not surprised that this was a ship. I have seen similar stuff that has a common theme that i was drawn to at the time. I was more interested in why fans ship them so I dived in head first into the boiling lava and came to a conclusion.,.....

I dont see them as able (capable?) of ever ending up in the way that most 2doc shippers would pick. The two are chaotic on levels of different tiers of “weird and gross” and I dont really have a reason as to why i was drawn to the ship, but It made me want to analyse what exactly a stable relationship is!

I basically walked around in that area of the fandom and didnt really form any “attachment” to it. I never really experienced a “healthy relationship”, lived in childhood and teen years were I went through life avoiding relationships. So I didnt have a good start, but I knew eventually that I would have to explain myself. 

I feel bad that I wouldnt be able to give a solid answer to what makes me want to sit down and analyse any scenario that has “present abuse undertones” but I know that in the past and how I grew up with what I was exposed to...That I would come to realize how unhealthy it is just for me. 

This post isnt particularly about 2doc itself, but its more about discussing how I handled MY reaction to something that I have seen over and over. In a way, I could see those abusive tones that were present.

Basically Caskit never experienced good healthy relationships and decided that it was a good idea to use gorillaz as a processing strategy....not a good idea in the end cause...OOOHHHHHHH 

It confused me more than before!!! 

I got friends that tag their stuff, and I dont really get so bothered with peoples own opinions, cause I was more worried about how I would come to understand everything. 

When I think about how fans are dividing and putting up a wall to keep “haters outa my yard”  it usually has to deal with shipping stuff, and character hating. And I guess I was confused about everyone’s perception of the characters.

Talking about the characters, I dont have a “least favorite to most” cause I have specific connections to them in different ways. 

I can find similarities to noodle for the expectations she had in a band at age 10 and growing up (plus we are both gays that dont like to publicly talk about relationships) 

I connect with Russel cause I lost a piece of myself  after a paranormal encounter and 3 near death experiences and suffer hallucinations. His protective demeanor to little noodle clicked with me. I see him as the Heart and soul, dedicated and warm friendly guy. ( you mean a decent human being right?)

I relate to 2d in a way that I share his enthusiasm, and mad bravery to live with the same guy who ran him over and caused 2 accidents that are permanent. 

I relate to murdoc in a weird way...  His childhood hits too close to home for me, as a CSA survivor of 2 incidents, pain addict and victim of abuse, draws similarities. But there were things that he has done that match things to my past like the abusive father, and dwelling on the darker aspect of a bittersweet reality. I was expressing physical violence to “show affection” and was never called out for it. I was not just a victim, I was also the abuser and since it was something that murdoc is faced with, is why I hated him. He is (for me) the thing I hate about myself. 

When I saw more and more fans hating on murdoc I wondered if people would ever think I was the same as him. Fans didnt like the way he treated 2d  and the rest of the band, And I agreed. Fans hated him for lying and causing drama and I agreed.  

His ignorance was a comedy slapstick (dressing in a nazi uniform cause he thought it “looked cool” despite russel telling him that its not a good idea) and was seen as the “crazy hooligan that has delusional dreams of fame”  and it bothered me that jamie used this to cover up allot of obvious issues that needed to be addressed. and the way that the fandom treated him made me think about how I would be accused of being like him. 

(thank goodness I didnt cause a car accident and have to sell my soul to satan for a shot at fame with a kickass band and didnt make uncomfortable sexual jokes or ignore others that tried to help me.) 

I can separate what justifies the hate on murdoc when it comes to abuse and causing shit to go down. becuase I did those things in the past, but it didnt take me more than a decade or more to realize that what I did was wrong! I didnt take forever to change for the better. so Im frustrated at him for taking so long to turn around and go “holly fuck im a bastard! I should probably fix that” 

Yeah NyOO ShiTT HunnayYY!! 

I dont hate him for being an idiot, I hate that he symbolizes all things wrong about me that never got closure! 

him admitting to being the cause of 2d’s social anxiety and eye damage as well as the abuse is easier said than done! but the fact that he is letting everything out of the “in-denial basket” is nice for me to see, cause right now Healing and progression in closure to issues of trauma is what is important to me. 

The endgame for my perspective on 2d and murdocs relationship is this: 

I dont want to ship them

I dont even see it as a thing regardless of character development and both guys working through their own shit themselves. 

I am not the best person to explain what a toxic or abusive relationship can be. 

Why? becuase I lived through it and I was both the victim and abuser to myself  and grew up without a good relationship (and I have a fear of positive affection) so I dont enjoy going through the same pattern as before where i shipped abuse in the past as a “dumb 13 year old weeboo” 

I dont view their relationship as romantic, or platonic, or healthy. 

I just want the boys to enjoy their own character growth individually. 

I would like to eventually see a friendship with them But I’ll be more excited if instead the whole band eventually gain a healthy relationship with everyone.  

Year 2018 marks the year I jumped in head first into gorillaz as a blind fruit bat 

(I call it the year caskit played with fire) for cosplaying ‘murdoc fuckn wrinkles’ at a convention around the time the fandom was yelling at him and jamming to 2d’s album. 

Caskit jumped into the shipping lava all for Behavioral analyzing and hopped over fences to see other fans perspectives of characters they liked and hated just to make sure Caskit could understand the illuminati that is Gorillaz. 

I made friends all over the fandom, and thanks to a few people, I gained more confidence to push my art skills and create some kickass art of Gorillaz. 

And yeah I yap yap about murdoc ( looks over @russelhusselhobbs im sorry you put up with my bullshit) but remember peeps. 

I like hearing about the others and have gotten more into 2d’s character as well as Jumping over the fence to go hang out with russel fans and listen to fangirling from friends and just trying to be a freakn fairy godmother and deliver some good representing art. 

And for those who aren’t aware, my past artwork is probably gonna float around so if its signed as Caskit or Caskit19 then its mine and if you see my old 2doc stuff.....,

for the trigger. 

But YEAHHHHHH!!! I wanted to throw all this on the table. and I dont know how to feel about that...(I swear my friend jokes with “need some feel good inc for Caskit” ) Kinda contemplating my choice between sticking my head into a hornets nest or jumping into a dark water trench.... the hornets nest sounds less likely to give me a seizure induced panic attack so ill go for that. ( I have a tolerance for inflicted pain so no you cant hurt me by using violence cause I dont have any consideration for myself and my safety)  

But yeah now I can get back to drawing fun stuff. (hopefuly caskit wont have to bore you guys with stupid shit ever again! xD) 

#murdoc niccals #gorillaz #russel gorillaz #2d gorillaz #noodle gorillaz #past 2doc #Caskit is into friendships and healthy relationships #Frosted respect flakes are delicious

[dukeofriven]

Hussie, Hitler, And Boy I’m Tired

I said earlier that I didn’t want to put on my hip waders and muck about in the Homestuck tags. *pulls off hip waders* I went anyways. I went even though I was feeling pretty good because I had a nice dinner and got to watch the New Years Bake-Off special. I went anyways, and I did it for you, my eight followers who aren’t pornbots. It turns out the Homestuck fandom of Tumblr is as scary and hyperbolic as ever, and has taken one lousy bit of badly written crap and extrapolated that backwards into ‘Homestuck has always been a racist anti-semetic pile of garbage and everything about it is terrible and Andrew Hussie needs to die.” I’m not paraphrasing, by the way. Someone out there is chanting ‘die Andrew Hussie die,’ because he had the gall to... clumsily dunk on Hitler like a fifteen year old trying to impress his English teacher with edgy comedy? This new stuff is too dumb to be offensive, especially in an era with, y’know, Hitler-praising alt-right Neo Nazis actually being mainstream media figures.  Hey Tumblr fandom? Can you... mm not chill, chill’s not the word I’m looking for what is it... oh yes. Can y’all fuck off for once?

Tumblr doesn’t deserve to enjoy things because it doesn’t know how to enjoy things responsibly. It lurches from adoration to hatred without pause, and as a writer it gives me nothing but an anxiety. I cannot produce anything imperfect, I cannot ever write crap because if I do then all my work will be tainted by it forever. On Tumblr you are always judged by your worst effort, which is a fucking god-awful standard for large media franchises of any kind. You know who one of the greatest, most thoughtful, socially-driven authors of the twentieth century was? Terry Pratchett. You know what’s kind of sexist and lazy and awful? The Colour of Magic. You know what’s weirdly colonialist and smug and all-around shit? Snuff! Neither of those shitty books invalidate the forty other Discworld novels. The existence of Anchorman’s bloviating nothingness doesn’t erase Will Ferrel’s warm and desperately human performance in Stranger Than Fiction. The Forced Kiss Equal Romance kiss in Blade Runner doesn’t erase the rest of the movie piercing question on the nature of what it means to be human. And on and on and on. Andrew Hussie’s sneeze-shart dogshit history rewrite that was so embarrassingly bad it got pulled from the internet didn’t erase Rose/Kanaya, or gay Dave, or Joey Claire tap-dancing her little heart out to try and defeat a monster. And even if Andrew Hussie does a JK Rowling and produces nothing but ill-thought-out crap from here until the day we all die in the great Disney Final Merger of 2023, it still won’t invalidate the good moments that made you happy. I mean if Andrew Hussie toddles out of retirement onto a talk show in a bathrobe to discuss his new revelations on the Puppetgrandmasters of Scion who all have worryingly Semetic names, I’m not going to be so naive as to pretend that his earlier media can be consumed in some kind of vacuum, that the future cannot affect the past. but I am saying that the good that happened in it - the things that affected you in positive ways - are not ethereal. It mattered to you then, and that’s okay. Tumblr’s hyperbolic responses seem to be rooted in embarrassment and self-flagellation. People seem so terrified by the thought that anyone might associate them as a fan of something - gasp - linked to controversy that they... well, they say shit like “die andrew hussie die.” Hey dude. Hey. You need to redirect that anger, my friend. There’s actual Neo-Nazis in the streets. On the TV. In the US government. I guess what I’m trying to say is... Woof. Okay. You know, to give Andrew Hussie partial credit here, its nice to see someone actually write Adolf Hitler the way he really was - a pant-shitting constantly whiny toddler of a human being who endlessly threw tantrums and got to where he was largely on the strength of other people’s bad decisions. Remember kids: the biggest myth Neo-Nazis have ever perpetrated is that Germany under Hitler was well-run, well-organized, and anything other than a collection of squabbling dysfunctional fiefdoms run by party hacks propped up by a bureaucracy and military too bound by inertia, ego, and cultural racism to do anything to stop a lunatic from ripping their country to shreds. That whole ‘trains running on time’ thing? It’s nonsense. Go study the conduct of the war once Germany had exhausted all its pre-war stockpiled resources and ran out of useful shit to loot, once it had to start relying on its leadership for the things that make wars winnable - supplies, reinforcements, fuel, winter clothing. Watch the way from 1942 onwards Germany stumbled from one disaster to the next, as Hitler fired more and more generals and drew more and more authority to himself and his fellow party cronies. Hitler should not be feared as a man of competence or skill - he was a buffoon, a clown of a human being fuelled entirely by petty, vindictive spite and an unlimited capacity for cruelty. And before anyone goes ‘well if he was so objectively pathetic how the fuck did he take over Germany’ I direct you to google the last two years of American politics and the words ‘Donald Fucking Trump.’ [I recommend, on these war subjects particularly, Sir Antony Beevor’s bleak and sobering works, particularly Stalingrad, Berlin: The Downfall 1945, and Ardennes 1944: Hitler's Last Gamble.]  Sorry this... kind of got away from me somewhat, but I really hate it when people get mad that someone didn’t take Hitler seriously (and, to be strictly fair, this is not what everyone is mad about in regards to Andrew Hussie, either). You should never take Hitler seriously. Take hate seriously - take violent words, and calls for purity, take his ideas of superiority and racial preeminence and anti-semitism seriously as the evils, the horrors as they are. But the man himself? He literally stank - a combination of his halitosis, chronic flatulence, and was constant diarrhea. [I am not exaggerating] He was a sad pathetic clown, and Andrew Hussie chose to write him as such. He just... went too far. It happens. It’s not good writing. It’s fucking shit, to be honest. Boring shit. The Minions movie decided to have the Minions sit out the entirety of WWII by having them get stuck in a cave or some such. Honestly that’s a better option than what Andrew Hussie went with - and ‘be more like the Minions movie’ isn’t advice I give that often. You want to be disgruntled that an author wrote something this bafflingly tone deaf and tedious? Sure. I know I am. But to chant for his death? Are you fucking kidding me? Look! Look out your window at those marching Neo-Nazis trying to establish a white supremacist state? What the ever-loving fuck are you people doing in here getting ready to string-up a man whose crime was making Adolf Friggen Hitler too petty???????? Tumblr. Tumblr, for the love of god this has to stop. This ‘Ceasar’s wife must be above reproach’ shit has to stop - it’s killing fandom, it’s killing good media critique, it’s burying proportional fan response, and its just exhausting. Why can’t you ever just let something be lousy without it being literal death warrant? There’s real demons out there - I can see them out the window, and every time I turn on the TV. Maybe - just bloody maybe - not every single crime deserves the exact same level of disapprobation and punishment? Maybe we could read some content and say “boy that sure had some lousy implications and also was just really poorly written” and then... stop there? Wouldn’t that be nice, for a change? We could dislike something without feeling like it required activism on our part. We could say ‘this piece of media was shit, but it didn’t advocate for a white ethno-state, so I will continue to think of it only until the end of this sentence.’ I am not advocating for an end to media criticism for anything that isn’t openly hate speech (but if you think that I am I am going to assume you’re already so needlessly enraged about this whole matter that I’m a bit puzzled why you’ve bothered to read this far since its obvious we don’t agree on many fundamental issues.) What I am calling for is the end to death threats against people who don’t mean you harm. Because that’s lunacy. That’s beyond the pale, actually, that’s really disturbing and sickening and you should seriously reconsider your relationship with media. Because there are people out there who do want to hurt you. Their lives are fuelled by hate, their philosophies are driven by it, as are their politics. I assure you that when a time traveller steps through a portal trying to prevent the rise of ‘the great Trump War of 2020′ the inciting incident will not be ‘Andrew Hussie trivialized the holocaust by citing its origins as a grudge Adolf Hitler bore Albert Einstein over a rivalry in secret clown ninja school before being taken on as an agent of a baking-obsessed alien space witch and bumped into power by the Peters principle.’ Because just by writing that sentence I have already reaffirmed a very simple truth: this is way, way too stupid to give the slightest shit about. So let’s tell Andrew Hussie that his new work is... mmm.... kind of like a shit if a shit had a shit that was itself shat out by a shit and then vomited on by another shit who had eaten nothing but shit since Sunday. Let’s tel lhim “hey dude, your clownish work summoned the spectre of anti-semetism, and you can do better.” Frankly, I think that message was already sent, since in the two hours between me going to make and eat dinner and then coming back to my computer, the new material was discovered, read, disseminated, and removed. Two hours. Sure, maybe a bit of lag due to what does and does not hit my feed but come on - this all took place in an afternoon. It’s already down. Our voices were heard - we didn’t think this was very good, and apparently Whatpumpkin agrees enough that they didn’t mount a defence of it. Rather than take the next logical step, though - which seems to be calling for the death of Andrew Hussie and removing all of Homestuck from the internet and maybe nuking Toby Fox from orbit just to be extra-sure? - we could do... something else. Talk about the release date for Stranger Things, maybe. Track down some local Neo-Nazis and punch them. Read some Antony Beevor books and really educate ourselves on what a smelly fuck-up Hitler was so we can chant that at Neo Nazis at their next rally. Or you could watch the New Years Bake-Off special. It was pretty good.

#homestuck #andrew hussie #hitler #hiveswap #hiveswap friendsim #whatpumpkin #skaianet #bake-off #terry pratchett #homestuck analysis

[orpheus-type-beat]

Percy Jackson part 1

Confession time: I was a gigantic Percy Jackson and the Olympians fan as a kid, so this book is very nostalgic to me. I haven’t reread the series in a long time though, especially not the first book, so it’s very interesting to read this stuff again as an adult. I was struck with a couple of observations. First, It’s a pretty good book, which is a relief. I can defend my 11-14 year old self’s tastes, this is mostly a solid kids fantasy novel. 

More relevantly, it’s very different in tone and in execution than Rick Riordan’s later books, especially his sequel series Heroes of Olympus. Those books bounce between different perspectives, and the whole thing is written in a close third person. Moreover, they are so caught up in the lore and the universe and the Percy Jackson formula that they, I feel, lost touch with something the original series had that made it feel special to me. Rereading the first book in the series, I think I have a better understand why.

Perspective

I’m a sucker for first person narration in novels, I’m realizing. Another one of my childhood favorites, the Animorphs series (shoutout to anyone who read those), was also written in this same sort of first person. Each book began with a very post-modern, “if you’re reading this it’s too late,” exposition machine that explained the premise of the series, who the important characters were, and set up the events of the book. The meta, post-modern framing device is never fully explained (why were the characters of the Animorphs, or Percy Jackson himself, writing any of this down?), but are used as a framing device to enhance suspension of disbelief, and to enable humor (through snarky asides).

This close first person, a sort of refined stream of consciousness that feels like a combination between a movie shot entirely in one characters’ POV and a letter written to a friend, is missing in the later Percy Jackson series, I think to its detriment. Not only does the first person narration makes sense in a Greek setting — it emphasises orality, putting this book in conversation with orally transmitted greek myths — it also enhances the series’ humor. A lot of the humor comes from Percy’s wisecracking during fightscenes, which gives the series an action-comedy feel. The comedic portrayal of many of the gods and supernatural beings adds to that, but much of the comedy comes from Percy’s reaction to events, not from the events themself. This enables the events to be able to be taken seriously while simultaneously being mocked and used for humorous purposes.

The first person perspective also differentiates this series, tonally and technically, from Harry Potter (which is a much more obvious influence in this first book: he goes to boarding school, has an abusive home life, and lives in the legacy of a mysterious parental figure). In many ways, this book reads like post-modern Harry Potter — the sense of wonder and fairy tale magic is replaced with humor and a system of magic that feels more logical and rule based. Stuff like the Mist, as an explanation for how the magic in the world remains hidden, and the fact that monsters explode into dust makes this an urban fantasy, akin to sci-fi as much as fantasy. Harry Potter, in contrast, is firmly rooted in fantasy.

The second Percy Jackson series moves to a close third person narration style, and while there are benefits to this (for example, there isn’t the need for the dream sequence exposition hack, and the series can accommodate diverse perspectives more directly) I think something tonally and structurally is lost. It loses the sense of orality, the primacy to the action and humor lent by a first person narrator with a “unbelievable true story” framing device. That blending of the border between fact and fiction is what myth accomplished in Greek times, and what the original Percy Jackson series accomplished for a lot of people, and surrendering that means surrendering something special.

Disability

I had forgotten what a big deal disability is in these books. The thread of all demigods being troubled kids with mental disabilities, specifically learning disabilities, is I think really interesting and radical. We still live in a world where mental illness is taboo, but some mental illness are less taboo than others. In particular, when people say “mental illness” they usually aren’t referring to all mental illness. Usually, they are referring to a subset of mental illnesses, issues like depression, various types of anxiety, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc. — mood, personality, or anxiety disorders. 

Of course, those illness are all still massively stigmatized, but all of those disorders tend to leave cleverness, speech, and some behavior intact. It’s easier to “pass,” in a sense, with those disorders, than it is with other mental illness. We can understand the troubled genius better than we can understand someone who is intellectually disabled. 

That’s what makes the learning disability angle so interesting. In theory, these demigods aren’t troubled geniuses, they’re normal, unexceptional kids (discounting the water bending and sword fighting) who can’t read or write well, can’t focus, and don’t always succeed in the classroom. They aren’t brilliant, but fragile minds. They’re just C, D, and F students, with gifts that are incompatible with our school system’s expectations about the pace of learning and what achievement looks like.

These are the kind of kids we don’t tend to recognize as valuable, and worthy of being written about and made heroes. And if I remember Riordan’s impetus for writing this series was his son’s own struggles with learning disability: dyslexia and ADHD. But in the Heroes of Olympus series, this disability angle is really de-emphasized, and I think to its detriment. It loses the “it gets better” message and inclusivity to people who, even in narratives about mental illness, often get left out. 

Myth Making

This brings me to the interesting ways this book is in conversation with Greek myth, and myth in general.

First of all, having all the demigods have dyslexia and ADHD is a clever inversion of the typical Greek hero’s childhood. Usually, Greek heroes were preternaturally gifted, succeeding in and out of school, and are immediately recognized as different and special. In this book, the heroes are recognized as different, but not as special, but as lesser than. This transform the Greek hero’s sense of inevitable destiny into an underdog story — one that works for modern audiences, the way a gifted noble’s path to glory worked for ancient ones. This reflects modern conceptions of democracy, and the mobility of class, that didn’t exist in ancient times (reminder that Athenian democracy was for rich, landowning men).

Second of all, there is a distinctly non-Christian concept of cycles at play in this book, and in this series. Threat to Zeus’ rule by Titans is thematically compatible with ancient Greek succession myths. And the bit about monsters turning into dust and then reforming eventually creates an overarching them of balance: the war between good and evil is eternal and constantly shifting. The best anyone can do is try to shift the balance, temporarily, in a positive direction. This makes all of the fun bits, like locating the modern Mount Olympus in New York City, having the gods adopt modern trends, work thematically as well as humorously. There an almost Eastern theme of yin and yang, which in all honesty is reflective of Eastern influence on the Greeks and Romans.

Thirdly, Rick Riordan has one mode, it’s just the Odyssey, and that’s fine. The road-trip rompy with constantly shifting objectives leading up to some climax that reveals itself to have been behind the scenes all along is a classic narrative structure that is very ancient Greek, and so works in a story so deeply in conversation with ancient Greek myths.

Conclusion

Finally, by way of conclusion, the thing that makes this first Percy Jackson book/series work, and interesting in conversation with fantasy, myth, and stories about heroes, is one of its central themes: the deification of humanity. The gods in this universe are static, comic figures. Humans are the ones that are able to change things — that’s why the gods love them, and keep making demigods all the time — and humans are the ones, in the series, that are capable of real good and real evil. 

(Semi spoiler alert) In the last book, it is the human capacity for love, sacrifice, and good that saves the day, and produces positive change in the world. The gods are powerful and eternal, but the real source of beauty in the world is humanity, in its capacity for change, rebirth, and renewal. Gods get bored, get cynical, get complacent. They decay, eternal and unmoving. In contrast, humans die and new ones are born, and to them the cyclic war between good and evil remains fresh. Humanity can continually change without movement or exhaustion, constantly relearning the same lessons and experiencing the same joys and sorrows afresh. Gods, locked in a cycle, go around once and are bored and numbed forever, while the human experience stays continually vital and alive.

That’s why this series, despite being so rooted in Greek myth and fantasy, feels so modern and sci-fi influenced (as a huge sci-fi fan, that’s probably why I like it so much), and why this story — despite its post-modern trappings — reaches for sincerity. Gods, in the Percy Jackson universe, can’t survive on their own. They are immortal, but they can grow tired. They can be broken by endless living, and fade away. The gods rely on people to break up the monotony, to remember them and keep them alive: humans are the source of life in this universe. 

(real spoiler alert). The series ends with Percy being offered godhood, immortality, which he rejects. That’s the thematic conclusion to the entire series, and its significant. Besides true love or whatever, the reason Percy rejects immortality is that he realizes that to live and die, taking part in the cycle, is more meaningful than eternal life. Becoming a god would mean forfeiting that meaning. This is a series about gods and monsters and nymphs, but the real magic in this world is humanity. 

Our magic is thus: unlike the gods, as time streams past, we remain untouched by eternity. And I’d argue, like this series does, that that’s real immortality.

[hereitalkonandon]

I always write something here because at this point it would look naked if I didn’t.

Yeah, of course I can tell you why I blocked you, I just thought that it would make sense coming from me because I've a lot of weird behaviors, and then I clearly don't dislike you so I didn't feel like you would even be curious and the story was long. 

So I have two accounts and both have the same amount of posts more or less, but one is my personal account, it's one year older than the other, no one cares about it but that's the one that I love the most, I use it daily to post whatever I want but I also talk about my life sometimes, I never like anything with it. Then the other account, no one cares about it either but that's the one I use to like things and to follow a lot of people, sometimes I ignore it for months, as in I don't reblog anything, but I often like things. So I was obviously following you with that one.

I would often check your blog and steal a post or two to reblog with the account that I actually love, (I love the other one too but not as much) so I couldn't just reblog them from you because I don't approve of reblogging and reblogging from someone for months but somehow not following them. I don't actually care and I don’t mind if others do it, but I'm aware it might be odd, so I didn't do that with you because I knew I was checking on you.

With other people it doesn't matter, since I know I'm not checking on them, so who cares if I keep mysteriously reblogging and reblogging from them and never actually following them. So, both you and someone else could think the same thing, it would be the same action, but the difference is I didn't care with other people. I was also well aware that you wouldn't notice a thing even if I randomly made those reblogs, but that's how my brain works and it made me uncomfortable.

Then one day when I remembered it was Revenge of the Sith’s anniversary because I had seen it on your blog earlier, for whatever reason I thought I might as well follow you with that account too. But then I realized it was giving me a lot of anxiety, my follows are public, there are dark people out there, you are an attractive woman, you are interesting, cultured, smart, angry, I didn't want the dark people to get the wrong idea, and you wouldn't even notice if I clicked unfollow, it was as easy as that, so why not do it, so I did it.

Back then I loved to go through the Jaime and Cersei tags, you were often there, I actually found you years ago because of it as I've already told you. And I would use my other account to surf the tags, because I would mostly like posts, I don't use my favorite account to like things so it's pointless to surf tags with that one, I only copy the posts I really like and take them to my other account, well, that's now, when I first started I would reblog things nonstop, I still do now sometimes, but I feel them in my soul or something.

There are a lot of posts in both of my Tumblrs that now make me embarrassed or with thoughts that I don't even have anymore, but I refuse to delete them, so I can see how much I've changed even if I've always been the same person, and how I've changed my mind about some things.

You were not going to notice a thing, but I still knew what I was doing and it gave me anxiety, since I unfollowed you with my other account, I felt odd about liking one of your posts with my other account, you had no way to tell I owned both accounts, but I didn't care, that's not how my anxiety works, so I unfollowed you and blocked you, because I didn't want to accidentally like one of your posts while searching the Jaime and Cersei tags, I didn't have to block you with my favorite account because I never looked through the tags with that one so I obviously couldn't accidentally like any of your posts. And yeah it's just that simple and that stupid.

The whole letter was already written but I’m editing it and deleting things were I repeat myself and such, but I actually accidentally fell asleep for some hours right now after editing this part, so this letter will probably have a lot of dumb things that I won’t notice because I am so tired so I understand what you meant at the end of your letter.

At one point I even followed Victor because even if I didn't care for him I often found posts about trees and dumb stuff on his blog that I would steal and reblog from someone else, I was already checking on him because of you anyway. We were so different and I found him so boring, but I think I always found way more posts from him than from you, since I find you interesting as a person but I rarely personally like a post from you by itself, I do, but not as often as with his blog.

Of course he reblogged a lot of tacky things like Justin Bieber and dumb comedies. In this case, I wasn't reblogging them from someone else because I cared about Victor's opinion, it was precisely because I didn't want him to somehow think that I cared about what he was up to. Sort of, but only when it involved you.

Even if I didn't have anything against him either other than finding him dull as a person. I'm sure that even straight men have approached him because of his looks even if they obviously aren't attracted to him, his looks meant nothing to me, it offended me that he could think I found him interesting, what was there to find interesting other than that.

But once I followed him it didn't matter, I obviously kept reblogging from him because I was following him, and that would make sense to him. Maybe it didn't, because this one time he tagged me in some thing with some questions for people you would like to know better, since I had been reblogging a lot of trees and whatever from him I guess, he didn't say so, but I could imagine that was the reason.

I think one time I even reblogged this picture of a bowl of cereal that he was about to have in the bathtub or something, felt like something I would do, probably most people would eat like that. Perhaps he got the wrong idea because I reblogged a lot from him and he thought I was socializing, whatever it was I answered him because I hate being rude. I never ignore people when they talk to me, even if someone is insulting me I answer their insult, not because I care about being polite once they were rude, but because I’m just not into ignoring people, they are talking to me, why shouldn’t I answer.

I sent it as a personal message instead of as an ask because it was too long, and for some reason I also didn’t want to post the questions on my blog. You know how I love to talk and talk and talk so it was a single message but I hit the limit. He didn't never even bothered to tell me he read it, I was glad, I didn't actually want to talk to him. I probably didn't even want to talk to you back then, I found you interesting, but I'm never lonely and I didn't feel like I had anything to say that could interest you.

Ever since I joined Tumblr I would sometimes spend days reblogging a lot of things from someone, a lot of old posts and stuff, and they never thought anything of it, I was obviously just interested in their random pictures. Not that I know what he actually thought when I did it to him, but he is the only person to ever tag me or send me anything at all after doing something like that, other than a really nice woman from three years ago or so.

She just said hi and such and I talked a lot like I always do and overshared, she seemed to have a lot of anxiety too from stuff I saw on her blog and she told me she had been extremely depressed for years and for no reason I think, a mental illness probably even if she didn’t tell. She actually managed to talk like a normal person and was likely used to talking to everyone, so I think she either found me boring or was uncomfortable too and didn’t know how to handle me because I was uncomfortable myself and I kept justifying the way that I talked and clearly had no social skills.

So we exchanged some words for a day or two but she didn’t keep talking, then she sort of said hi once again months after that because I reblogged Halloween pictures nonstop and it was nowhere near Halloween, not from her but she was following me so she saw, 18 pages of Halloween pictures in a row I think, just like the first time we didn’t keep talking. And then she sent me some ask a year or so after that after being wrong about one of my posts about some stuff happening in real life and she thought it was online and was trying to be helpful and telling me I could report people on Tumblr, so I just told her that it wasn’t like that but thanked her and stuff.

You are the only case where I took the time because of the person and not the random pictures. But I unfollowed him after a month or three (by then I had already unfollowed you or maybe I hadn’t followed you with that account yet, I just remember I wasn’t following you at the same time) because he reblogged a picture of a white shirt that said "Killer", written with a Sharpie, it was from this one idiot that murdered a lot of teenagers and said, at his trial, while wearing it, something like "this hand that killed your children now masturbates at the memory of their deaths" in front of the parents of course.

I obviously hated that murderer, it somehow made me angry that Victor would be stupid enough to just reblog something like that without researching, I don't think he would have had reblogged it if he had known, so whatever, I clicked unfollow.

I kept checking on him sometimes, but because of you. Then you broke up and I kept checking for a while, but by then I actually had something against him, I don't care if he is a good person, I know he is, but I have contempt for all men that wish that stuff to women they claimed to love at some point. So I was so angry whenever I visited him and once I realized it was really over and that you didn't have anything to do with him, or that maybe you did elsewhere even if not romantically but it wouldn't show on his blog, I stopped visiting.

He is nothing to me so I'm obviously not carrying some grudge still, but I dislike him because of the way he spoke of you, as I would dislike any man that does that, as I've said. And I repeat that yes I did insult my ex-girlfriend but that was also the way that we talked to each other when we were together, and not like he did, I never wished her ill, that was the last thing I wanted for her.

This reminds me that another thing I hate is when a man was always respectful of his girlfriend and never used bad words with her but as soon as they break up he starts treating her differently and being extremely disrespectful. I was also disrespectful towards her during our relationship and she was like that towards me too. But I mean when men do that exclusively after the break up, to me it says “I don’t bother to respect you because I can no longer gain anything from you, I don’t make any effort because I won’t get anything out of it.”

So yeah, while he no longer makes me angry, my idea of him has been tarnished forever, but it doesn't matter if I’m being unfair because I never think of him if I'm not writing to you, and he doesn't need me, so it's okay if that's the idea I want to keep. But I truly hope he grows up anyway, I have no reason to wish he keeps behaving like that towards women when he breaks up with them, both for him and for the women. So, may he rest in peace. Also, I saw some anon you received at some point asking if you still thought of your ex, and they probably meant Victor, but I didn't send it.

No, I didn't find the poem because of my ex-girlfriend, I would love to read poetry if I didn't find most of it cheesy, but I always do, so I'm too lazy to look for poetry hoping that I will enjoy a poem or two, just as I’m lazy with movies when it comes to characters not having enough depth because of the duration of the average movie.

I found it because I had seen the quote "I see you in colors that don't exist" plenty of times, so when it started to remind me of you I wanted to see where it came from, if it was just a single quote, and sadly it was from a love poem (I was surprised when I saw that it barely had any comments since the quote was already so famous), so I felt that I couldn't send that line to you, I felt like sending an explanation along with the quote would be dumb, I ended up doing that eventually anyway.

That's probably why I memorized a fictional meaning, so much, that yesterday I thought that was actually what the poem was about even when I didn’t remember a thing about it, now I remember that back then I thought that from a stranger's point of view, if you sent her that quote, the poem was about your imaginary relationship with her and how painful it was even if I already knew that it was probably about a relationship that had actually happened but now the other person had moved on, it likely reminded me of my ex-girlfriend but I was also mostly convinced that she still loved me so I didn't relate to it. I found some parts of the poem cheesy, that's why I didn't care for it and forgot all about it but that one quote. I don't care about most poems. I love the idea of them but there's always something cheesy. I find most things cheesy too.

I was embarrassed, I am embarrassed when it comes to sharing good feelings, I can talk about romantic love forever and my positive feelings when it comes to that, it doesn't make me embarrassed, but most positive feelings that have nothing to do with romance or animals do.

The thing about the wall sound so like me, I didn't remember it but I do now that you have mentioned it. It was good then, there was violence. I don't use violence for that though, it's just a part of who I am and I'm angry most of the time, I was already like that before I met my ex-girlfriend and it never made me unhappy, it felt natural, I was comfortable with my anger, I don't think it will ever go away, it’s probably because of something hormonal and doesn’t have an actual reason.

I don’t have any problem that I am aware of, when I was about 20 my testosterone was extremely high. That was also the time when I kept pressuring my ex-girlfriend for sex after she was the one that finally started all the sexual stuff by herself probably tired that I never tried anything, but I stopped soon when she told me how it made her feel, I felt like I was going crazy and couldn’t think of anything else, only with her though, it never made me find other women attractive, so men that use that as an excuse to cheat are stupid.

And I would have trouble breathing when I was enraged and my chest would feel way too heavy, but the doctor said it happened sometimes and that it would probably fix itself and wasn’t too dangerous since I was young, and it did after a year, so I know for sure there’s nothing wrong anymore because even if I have trouble breathing I’ve never felt like I literally have to keep gasping nonstop, and I also only feel like I’ve trouble breathing when I’ve been pushed way too far, like with my neighbors but that’s because they make me so anxious too and they keep doing it all day long, anger isn’t normally physically painful anymore. I was also often angry since I was about 5, before any of that happened, that’s why I think it’s just there for no reason, like how some people have always been too lazy because it’s just who they are.

As I've told you though, I never use my fists against other men, I always try to solve my problems with words, and I've been lucky enough to never have someone try to punch me, because then I would have had to defend myself, because of my pride, of course. Lucky because that’s not the kind of person I want to be. I also know that if someone that I am sure is so much stronger than me, probably everyone since I’m too skinny, punched me, I would feel the need to keep punching him back while being fully aware that I will likely lose, yeah because of my pride. So I'm not really hurting anyone by being this way.

Oh I also asked you not to publish it because I thought that maybe you would rather not spam your blog, but that you would obviously answer me because you felt that you had to. And when I saw you mention the anon, also, I sent another anon because I felt that if I didn't perhaps it would look like that person wasn't checking on you anymore, not that it was an awful thing, but I was still doing it so I mentioned it.

I don't know if I'll ever be able to leave this city, sadly. But I'm planning on moving out, because I'm really desperate about the noises, as soon as I can, I don't know how soon, though, but if I could I would leave this week, it just doesn't sound that likely since I'm looking for a very specific place, somewhere I can be sure that I won't be annoyed by any noises again.

I just thought that maybe you had heard about Tijuana because of its reputation, but I'm glad that the situation isn't terrible enough to have reached most people, I think that's a good way of measuring, if something is that bad most people in the world have heard about it.

If it's water and it has waves then it's just as a good, I think. I like the night and the stars better, and forests and snow too, but I still love the sea. I used to go to the beach when I was a young boy, now I don't and I haven't been for many years, but I enjoy looking at beaches on the internet. Which is crazy because I have one here. Even if I don't visit it, to me it's always weird when I actually think of how some countries don't have beaches and people have to travel just to go to one.

I like my city enough if I ignore the criminals, but I like the look of U.S.A better, that's the only country I've visited, I don't think I know which place I would rather if both countries were just as safe. It has better buildings and better streets of course since they have way more money. I used to visit California a lot as a teenager and ever since I was a 3 or 4, I feel like Target was a friend of mine, I felt like crying when I wrote that, it's funny, I just really liked it, it's just some supermarket, but I always felt good when I was there. And Disneyland. I also saw snow in that country, the only time I've ever seen snow, I felt like crying once again. We once even visited a police station until 3 AM or so because my mom's car was stolen. They ended up finding it on that night because for some reason they just stole some stuff like my iPod and moved the car to the next parking lot. My passport expired years ago and I was too lazy to get one so I can’t visit anymore. They make such a big deal out of it and often deny you a visa even if you have had already been visiting for years.

I love that country but if I could leave Mexico, since that would require a lot of effort anyway, I wouldn't strive for U.S.A, Americans think everyone would love to live there but I wouldn't because of the random shootings at restaurants and supermarkets by crazy people. I would be leaving because I want a safer city, and of course anywhere else is safer, but I would try to pick something from the top twenty safest countries list, or fifty, any place that would have me but that wasn't as dangerous. I know that you can have something happen to you anywhere, some people have been murdered in Sweden and Germany, I know, and I haven't been murdered yet and I live here. But yeah my odds of being murdered would be lower elsewhere, that's what I want.

I love this place called Sanborns, chain stores from Mexico, it's a dumb place where you can buy books and things like watches, glasses, candy, things for adults mostly, toys, but it also has a restaurant. I always felt good there. And we have Costco and Office Depot like in U.S.A, I love those places too. I also enjoyed being outside of any school building, for some reason.

I don't love places in particular, but I liked looking at the stars and at the moon from different streets and houses, and to be in the car at night and all the things I saw. I also loved certain rooms or parts from different houses that I've been to. Then these huge buildings (huge when compared to a person), two towers with a lot of stores and offices, my mom would take me there and I would walk through one of the buildings by myself while she was exercising, I would also buy magazines because I've always loved them. And then I love life and most of what I have experienced has been here. So in a way I love this place even if I wouldn't care to ever visit again if I manage to leave.

This city is where I realized I want to live forever, it's just that I know I can have the same experiences somewhere else. If I ever leave this country I know that then I could think fondly about most things from it, since I wouldn't feel at risk because of it. The funny think is I can understand what you are saying when you talk about your city, I can't claim that I know what you actually feel, but some places from Europe make me feel like that, not any place in specific, some pictures. And I can imagine what it would be like to grow up surrounded by art and culture, all that sort of stuff. When I look at those kind of pictures I feel like I am living someone else's life even if I’ve never wished for that because I love being who I am, and that I have been there and have many memories of doing things in those places.

I've been answering your letter as I am reading it, sometimes I read the whole letter before I answer and sometimes I do this, it depends on my mood, but not that I do one thing when I am sad and one when I am happy, I just do whatever I feel like doing at the time, for no reason.

So I've just realized that you asked me about traveling and I've already sort of answered. Before talking to you I didn't care about traveling that much, but now I do even if I wouldn't spend my money on it, I would save it to leave this country eventually. I didn't see it as something bad but I also wasn't drawn to it, and for some reason this month or so I've been able to see why most people really enjoy it. If I had all the money in the world and knew the plane couldn't crash, or if I were immortal, I can see myself loving to move from one city to the other every month or so, I don't see why I wouldn't rather do that than staying in the same place, though I would also like to have a home where I would keep all my stuff and favorite furniture. Before, I couldn't understand.

I'm not afraid to die, it just makes me extremely angry, I love myself, why wouldn't I be angry at the thought of disappearing. That's why I'm ridiculously careful, and some would say that's not living, but to me it is, like what I said about traveling, if I could I still wouldn't do it often anyway, because I can't know that the plane won't crash and as far as I know I am not immortal. I hope we are, we have never died. And I can still do everything I truly enjoy doing even if I never travel, that's why I wouldn't risk it, since I don't truly need to see the rest of the world in person to feel that I am living a complete life. But what I said it's also true, I can now see why everyone wants to do it.

If I traveled I would like to see U.K out of  all the places that you mentioned, I love Victorian stuff and old books written by English people. I've also always loved knights and things like that. And I didn't care that much for Egypt before but now it makes me think of you and I would like to see the pyramids, but I feel more drawn to a museum full of things from Egypt, I have never been into deserts but I love being inside of buildings, nice buildings make me feel the same way that looking at the stars does.

I'm not rich but I've never been poor or unable to buy the things that I want, but since I'm from a sort of poor country I've always been attracted to cultures that feel like they are from rich people, white people usually. If I had been born in a country that I didn't think of as poor I feel like I would be drawn to exotic places. This doesn’t happen with looks because I only like dark brown eyes and white people from that sort of cultures normally have blue or green eyes.

I've always told you that I like everything you have to say and that includes rambling, it's good when you talk more about yourself. About an hour ago or so, I had to get up, and I thought of how I often feel like crying when I am talking to you which also made me feel like crying, it was already almost 9 PM and looking at the night sky makes me emotional by itself. You are a good writer but it's not because of that, good writers don't automatically make me feel like crying. I just thought that it's nice that you want to be a writer, whether you try to sell books or not, but that you are doing it, even if it were just a private journal, it would be a waste if you didn't write.

I think the reason you aren't drawn to U.S.A is that you already have really nice buildings and that you have been to similar places but with more culture, so to me it makes sense that you wouldn't find anything special about it. I would also like to see Canada. You are lucky in the sense that most people want to visit places from Europe anyway, some spend their whole lives saving for it. You get to live in Europe and also visit it. I feel like I would also rather visit places from Europe better than all the other countries, Oceania too, first I would visit cities from U.S.A, because of what I told you before in my letter, that I also grew up there, spent some nights there, so I care for it even if I wouldn't enjoy living there, but just because of the shootings, otherwise I would love to, since I already feel a connection because of the TV Shows, books, music, brands, internet, language, and the time I spent there, it's so much safer than Mexico too.

I think Mexico City is a nice place, the actual capital of the country, it's also dangerous though, depending on the streets, but nothing like Tijuana. Their accent is terrible and funny, but not that foreigners could tell, and the air is bad for you because there's a lot of contamination, it's a really big place. But they actually live like people there, they have this university called UNAM, many museums, and great things.

I never thought you were into bondage and rape fantasies, though, I only said I wasn't into it, I was specifying because I said I was really into humiliation and that sort of stuff, so I didn't explain what I liked about it, that would have been too graphic and disgusting, but I felt like saying what I wasn't into which was easier to write without it being dirty, it doesn't make me uncomfortable but I feel like it's inappropriate for us to talk about it too graphically, somehow.

I know you are into choking because I have seen you say that on your blog and that thing about the knife from Victor, but I never saw anything about rape or bondage on your blog and didn't know you had any experience when it came to that, even if you didn't enjoy it that much. I would actually love to do sexual stuff often and I think about it daily just not all day long, but I'm not into casual sex so it's really complicated. But it's not something that I need, like when people claim is a basic need, not really, you can take care of your sexual needs by yourself for the rest of your life, you can't do that with food.

Maybe it's just your own version of sexuality too, there are no rules about how you should feel, and it would also be normal if you felt differently about it all the time. Ideally, I think you should only do something sexual if you feel like it, even if it's once a year, but I know you probably feel like that would be unfair to your boyfriend, of course it wouldn't, and I'm not saying it's some sacrifice to sleep with him, just that in an ideal world you would only have sex if you felt the urge to do it.

And you also wouldn't be wondering if there's something wrong with it. I think there's only something wrong with it if you really wish you could want it all the time but can't, and even then maybe it would still be normal. Like someone saying he wishes he could be hungry all the time but couldn't, it doesn't work like that. But you also say that it could be because you were traumatized and if so then you could need some therapy or treatment if you want to fix it, assuming there's anything to fix.

When it comes to asexuality I personally think that if someone is in love he wouldn't care about giving sex up, and that if a man cares enough about it to break up with his partner then he isn't that much in love. But I'm talking about true love since it's the only sort of love I think lasts for long, I can understand someone caring a lot for their partner but still feeling he can't give sex up and deciding it's best to leave even if I couldn't picture myself doing that, but I would call him a liar if he claimed it was true love but he had to walk away, I’d buy that he believed that, but I would think he is an idiot for believing such a thing is possible.

I don't know if I found out a year ago or two, I've known about him since I was 14 or so, and I never suspected he was gay or anything, just never thought of it, but I wasn't shocked when I read that he was, only thought it was a shame that he felt that he had to hide that part about himself for years when I read that he had struggled with that.

I don't think that here in Mexico anyone would be judged for being asexual, some ignorant people would probably say it's weird and that they aren't truly living, maybe most people, say stupid things like that, but some people would probably find it appealing, some sexist men, I think, feel that they would always be virgins and fantasize about sleeping with them. I feel some wouldn't understand and would make dumb jokes about it but that they wouldn't automatically assume it's a bad thing, maybe a lot of people over 40 and young people that think they are smart would say asexuals are just being stupid and that they need to stop using the internet so much, the worst kind of people, I can’t stand them, I would never be around them because they make me feel like I’m having a heart attack. I really love old people though, probably so much better than the young, it’s just ignorant old people that frustrate me.

And when it comes to gay people, they are accepted if they come out, mostly, some minor celebrities have and it didn’t hurt them, but of course that a lot of men still use gay as an insult and think it's the worst thing that a straight man could be called, I don’t know how their brains work in order to think there’s anything offensive about the word other than mistakenly stating someone’s sexuality.

Then some religious people are against it like religious people from most countries. Or some make this stupid protests sometimes about gay people adopting, saying they are okay with them but that they shouldn’t do that to children which makes my brain hurt because it doesn’t make any sense, saying that they do anything to children at all, it doesn’t happen often though.

I was shocked when I read this list two years ago or so about how accepting countries were of gay people and Italy was lower than Mexico (because Italy has better education and Europeans are so much cultured) but then I thought of the church and it immediately made sense. Many people are catholic here but very passive about it, they think god and Jesus are out there but don’t think about them, most people from this continent probably, except U.S.A and Canada, but nothing like in Italy, of course. There are some very catholic people too, and enough catholic private schools (religion is forbidden in public schools because they can’t force it on you) but nothing different actually happens, they just pray once a month or something and have a religion class some days. I know because I went to two religious high schools but only because my mom thought they were nice, she never really cared about it and she is actually agnostic too since I explained it to her and she thought it really made sense.

There were gay students and they never tried to change their minds, they completely ignored the topic, I only heard a teacher or two made some stupid comment about it being wrong, not hatefully, but that because of the Bible, not to them but to the class, and there was only one time when they bought a nun to talk about some stuff, about life in general, but she decided it would be a brilliant idea to spend the whole time whining about Adam and Steve and everyone was so annoyed because yeah most people hate that sort of stuff and couldn’t care less.

It was also while doing my religion homework that I realized that the Bible was full of lies when I was about 15, and that its god was made up, so great job, school.

I also believe that even if most people wouldn't think it's a big deal, a lot of celebrities are still keeping their sexuality to themselves because they want to have as many fans as they can, and you obviously always lose some fans when you say that you are gay or something other than straight. I personally wouldn't lie about being gay to keep my fans, I would want the homophobic people to stay away from me at all costs anyway and wouldn’t want them to be my fans even if they wanted to “see past the fact that I was gay”, but I understand why they feel like they have to.

Since I'm not into socializing I have no idea about this, but I feel like they probably keep annoying asexual people with stupid questions all the time no matter the country.

I had something like what happened to you too, it was when I was 14 maybe, after I took a shower, I got a lot of red patches on my body, and I remember they were so itchy but not painful, a really annoying feeling anyway, but they started disappearing as soon as the towel touched them, it was odd. You will probably be fine when it comes to allergies, my mom has been allergic to dogs forever but she still loves them and she’s around them all the time, she only gets some red hives but never had any trouble breathing or any swelling.

[sandeshblogger]

8 smooth ways to teach the art of living via casting off the hurricane of mind from the mind

‘mind’ is a vehicle that takes you on a global excursion from home .. takes you everywhere ..

all and sundry's issues go with the flow .. from time to time it's miles sad and from time to time it is happy ..

Angel and satan, the 2 inhabitants of the mind, on occasion deliver us stunning ideology and on occasion horrific ideology.

The thoughts does not get worn-out .. it maintains flying ..

The work of the thoughts is going on day and night time .. so much that once in a while we get bored .. the mind does no longer allow us to sit down nevertheless even at the same time as running ..

Then how many haidos is this mind carrying even as being empty .. ?? A large hole is fashioned in all those thoughts.

And we sink deeper and deeper into that pit.

from time to time these thoughts become like a big elephant .. and we stock its burden for years ..

from time to time i wonder why all that is sitting to your wrist .. ??

All thoughts, excellent or horrific, must be eliminated from the thoughts .. allow's get a calm thoughts ..

essentially, if the mind does not recognize what peace is, how can it's calm .. ??

mind and feelings run rampant within the thoughts .. and the top will become bhuga ..

we strive to entertain the mind for that but it is vain.

due to the fact we don't know the artwork of calming the thoughts, the artwork of dwelling via removing the hurricane of mind from the mind.

So there is no attempt in that path .. in the long run we give up .. and Alia begins the recurring as Bhogasi ..

however friends, it isn't very hard to get peace of thoughts.

All you have to do is get it.

nowadays we are able to discover ways to free the mind from all traps thru these suggestions.

1. Forgiveness and forgetting the beyond:

the mantra 'Forgive and forget about' could be very critical buddies .. do  .. ??

now and again we forget about an incident .. but when we do not forget it, we also do not forget the offender in the back of it .. we don't forget the heartache that passed off to us .. the thoughts is restless once more .. !!!

how many days do you need to live with this burden .. ??

Samarth has stated, It occurs all of a sudden. ”

you have to learn how to forgive before you forget what happened. Now, of route, you may not discover this realistic. however now let's see how to forgive

If we can forgive, we are able to forget the entirety.

after which the sour reminiscences of the beyond that get up inside the thoughts, the feeling of revenge will depart by using itself.

And yes sorry, learn how to do no longer only to others but additionally to yourself .. we also make errors .. harm a person ..

It remains within the thoughts for the relaxation of one's existence .. even though we repent, there may be still a unhappiness inside the thoughts ..

there is a gilt that haunts you for the relaxation of your life. Forgive yourself for that.

The errors of the past or the mistakes of others are constantly piercing our minds. it is appropriate no longer to permit the sort of past to occur in our gift as nicely.

great memories ought to usually be kept in thoughts .. sweet purple reminiscences will convey quite a few peace to the mind ..

In an in advance article in Manache Talks, it turned into written as 'overlook and Forgive'. Many human beings's comments and messages on it had been such that if the wrongdoers were forgiven, they might be unfastened to make further mistakes.

So forgiving them and letting them pass is the incorrect manner !! How can this give you peace of thoughts?

it truly is right, friends, however if the mistakes are small, it's far continually better to understand the wrongdoers and live away from them.

but if the errors were made on a massive and unjust stage, then it's far as much as you to leave the ones errors to the law.

2. workout, dance and meditate:

exercise and meditation are the panacea for plenty problems.

Dancing is likewise a tremendous manner to relax your mind .. if you love to bop, you may forget all of the issues and come to be very glad ..

Do you already know .. ?? There are a few strain factors for your frame which can relieve you from many troubles. apprehend its technique too.

Acupressure is a completely effective remedy for lots physical illnesses and mental imbalances.

a few research have shown that if the stress points are pressed with the right pressure, the pressure to your mind is lightened.

we can quickly carry you an editorial and a video on this topic.

3.  Smile lots, speak and ease the strain:

Laughter is a psychic. you could have heard it referred to as 'Laughter is the first-rate remedy'.

It is easy to get peace of mind with laughter therapy.

sit down within the organisation of giggling loved ones or pals and permit the mind get the nippiness of laughter.

Comedy serials, watch movies .. even kid's movies come up with a variety of joy .. preserve the typhoon of mind far from your thoughts ..

And make sure to share your thoughts together with your special buddy or associate.

if you proportion the entirety in your mind, you'll understand how to reduce the stress to your mind .. but you need to practice it often ..4. Do things for yourself, not for anyone else:

Throughout the ages we live for others. He does many things for others by killing his mind.

If someone is good because of our patience or sacrifice, we consider it a blessing. This is the goal of all good people.

But while doing all this, how can you forget yourself .. ?? Just as we have duties towards others, so do we have duties towards ourselves.

And if you don't complete it, it makes the house sad .. and that's what keeps you going ..

So live for yourself .. Don't look back while doing anything for yourself, for your own happiness ..

Wake up to a comfortable life .. the mind will automatically be happy ..

4. Do things for your self, now not for everybody else:

at some stage in the ages we live for others. He does many stuff for others by using killing his mind.

If a person is right due to our patience or sacrifice, we remember it a blessing. this is the purpose of all suitable human beings.

but whilst doing all this, how will you neglect yourself .. ?? simply as we have duties toward others, so will we have duties closer to ourselves.

And if you don't entire it, it makes the house unhappy .. and that is what keeps you going ..

So live for your self .. do not look returned while doing something for yourself, on your personal happiness ..

wake up to a comfortable existence .. the thoughts will routinely be satisfied ..

5 wreck each unfortunate items or grandchildren:

Vicious relationships in no way let you hold your stability .. unwanted relationships preserve you locked in a cage of misery for all time ..

And irrespective of how an awful lot it hurts the thoughts .. If there may be such a poisonous relationship in our life, most effective the mind of it maintain blending in our head .. so much so that we overlook to stay ..

consequently, it's far better to hold this sort of courting away .. eliminate the individual that is bothering you mentally ..

better a terrible horse than no horse at all.

If household items associated with the same individual are bothering you, throw them out of the house too .. a few antique things, a few bad recollections are also now not suitable within the house ..

dispose of grandchildren and matters that give you sour recollections. instead, boom your friendship with those who make your thoughts happy.

6. Embrace dreams, pursue hobbies that delight the mind:

The best way to get rid of bad thoughts is to channelize your mind .. revise your dreams ..

Turn the direction of the thoughts of the mind in that direction .. When you follow the path of dreams, your free time will be rewarded in learning the skills required for it, cultivating the hobbies required for it .. and the storm of thoughts will not get entry in the mind ..

7. Reduce engagement:

Act according to the law of working and leaving .. Don't get involved in anything or man ..

If life is involved in something, expectations increase and if they are not fulfilled, then the mind gets injured due to disappointment .. The mind falls back into the pit of sorrow ..

So don't get involved in anything .. If you have to get involved, get involved in good deeds and thoughts .. Spirituality also says this .. Do your deeds and give up expectations .. This is a great way to get peace of mind, even if it is a little difficult .. !!

‘Reduce engagement’ does not even mean going down the path of asceticism. But when the time comes, you should always be able to be detached.

8. Embrace gratitude and understand the opposite:

If someone has helped you, if someone has done good to you, you should be grateful to such a person, to such thoughts .. If you need someone, you should help the needy ..

If someone close to you is behaving inappropriately for some reason, what could be better than to understand them .. ??

If we continue to behave badly without realizing that there is a reason behind the strange behavior of others, then we are also in trouble.

Instead, try putting yourself in front of the situation. The sharpness of the crisis will be understood .. !!

Giving gratitude and helping are two things that satisfy the mind.

All these tips will definitely help you to get rid of the heavy elephant of thoughts.

There are other things you can do as well .. Living with positive people and thinking positive will also help you a lot to get rid of bad thoughts ..

It is not important to be perfect every time .. The important thing is to keep the mind calm and happy .. !!

#Forgiveness and forgetting the beyond #workout dance and meditate #Smile lots speak and ease the strain #Do things for your self #now not for everybody else #wreck each unfortunate items or grandchildren #Embrace dreams #delight the mind #Reduce engagement #Embrace gratitude #understand the opposite #themotivational #themindmotivated

[jelanisaeed]

Round 5: VS Turtwig- Legends Part 5

Hello everyone! Sooo, I had a whole plan for Jasper's chapters and then I scraped them lol Cause I'm chaotic like that lol. So, I made some edits to the ending of Chapter 4 which changed how this chapter begins. Basically, I removed the argument and ended it with a more diplomatic ending. The reason is that in light of everything going on in the world, I didn't want to have my male leads experiencing conflict with male leads right off the bat when I know my female lead won't experience the same. So, I decided to make all three have unique experiences core to their development and character.

There's a lot of pain in the world so I want to alleviate that. However, I feel it necessary to make this known moving forward. This author is a black queer man who supports Black Lives Matter. So a lot of my stories will have emotions and plot-lines geared towards the black experience (modified of course since this doesn't take place in our world). I feel like it's necessary to make that clear moving forward.

And before we move onto lighter things, I also wanna say Rest in Power Chadwick Boseman. You were loved and still are for your amazing contributions to the lives of black peoples and for being an icon that young black actors can strive for.

Nowww, on a lighter note. The song of choice for this chapter was all over the place lol. But I eventually settled on My Sanity by Thrii. They're amazing and that song is so beautiful.

Without further ado, I hope you enjoy the story!

…

Pokémon Adventures: Turquoise, Jasper, & Ammolite

Round 5: VS Turtwig – Legends Part 5

Location: Veilstone City Date: August 4th , 3000 Time: 3:00pm

"Ight," Jasper finally said with a smooth grin. "I'll take your word for it."

Today hadn't gone as Jasper expected. Not surprised there. His days never followed a set plan. Something always came up and disrupted the course. Rocking the boat until he tumbled into the waters and swam for safety. Other times, however, he was surprised with a gift.

Much like today, he chuckled.

Jasper accepted the package from the cute guy. Had to be from Oreburgh with his purple miner hat over his short coils. Dressed the part, though the orange belt was a nice touch. Way better those gaudy belts the miners wore around Veilstone.

The package matched Jasper's aesthetic. Star-themed with his name written almost like constellations. Whoever this was from had great taste. Maybe Jasper could borrow some stationary from them? Regardless, he tore open the package and found three gifts—a timer ball, a letter, and some gadget.

"A pokémon?" Jasper snatched the ball and examined the transparent top. A turtle of some kind slept inside.

Mommy nudged him and flashed another encouraging smile. "Go on," she urged with cacturne mimicking her every move. "Let's see 'em?"

Everyone watched him, awaiting his next move. Even Kito stopped eating for this! Though the little looked fed up with all the waiting. Tapping his feet with arms folded across his tiny chest. Jasper chuckled. If Kito was ready for it then there was no reason why he shouldn't be.

"Ight—c'mon out, buddy!"

In a burst of light and smoke, the pokémon appeared. Much greener than he thought with a twig on its head. Still cute though. Even though it yawned nice and wide without care.

"A turtwig?" Mommy frowned.

Turtwig? Now that was name Jasper remembered. He learned about them in history class. Super rare pokémon that Pokémon Professors researched in Sinnoh. One of the Pokédex Holders had them too if he remembered right. Diamond, was it? Yeah, Diamond of that comedy duo.

But why me? Something soft nudged against his legs. Jasper looked down and smiled. Looks like Turtwig finally noticed him. Little guy smiled at him with those droopy yellow eyes of his.

"Professor Kapok gave you a turtwig, huh?" Baryte mused with furrowed brows. "Weird. What else is in there."

Guess this Professor Kapok didn't give out pokémon often. Much less to strangers. Jasper didn't have any teachers who matched the name. Although, there was this cool guest speaker who always asked him questions. Said something about having the eyes of a pyroar—whatever that meant. Jasper never paid it much mind.

"He gave me this weird-looking gadget," a handheld painted light yellow with purple stars, "and this letter."

A letter addressed to him in perfect script. Jasper snorted. Academics sure loved their cursive writing. Nonetheless, he opened the envelope and took the letter inside. Written in cursive as well, but on more star-themed stationary.

"Greetings, Jasper." Arceus, even the writing sounded intellectual. "I hope you remember me. Spoke at your school while you were just a litleo. Yet your eyes burned with the passion of pyroar. Such ferocity in your moments—I knew you'd be a force in the future."

So, it was them. Jasper assumed they were just another scientist. One of Daddy's colleagues perhaps? He met some of them in the past. Whenever he brought Daddy dinner during overtime hours. His coworkers always gushed about Jasper. Even teased Daddy about having the coolest son ever.

Their words…well, maybe he paraphrased a bit.

But this Professor Kapok came to his school. Taught the best lecture on dark type pokémon he ever sat through. Left without a trace, only to give him a gift years later. Jasper didn't believe much in faith, but this lined up too well not to be!

The letter soaked Jasper's mind with flowery metaphors. A few questionable ones, sure—The hell does "a blazing star in the void" mean? But he pushed through. Poetry was never his strong suit. Though Baryte took to it with ease and explained that stuff for him.

Smart guy, Jasper decided. Though, no surprise there. Baryte gave off the vibes.

He finished the letter shortly after. Only noticed then his trembling hands. The teardrops pelting the paper. And the soft arms hugging him from behind. The sensations struck at once. His heart led the sensation, pounding in beat to his sobs.

Little turtwig even hopped into his arms. Little turtwig—a pokémon he just met—came to comfort him with soft nuzzles to his chest. Jasper accepted each brush and hugged the little guy closer to his chest.

Professor Kapok gave him a gift to treasure. Not just in this new pokémon. But the opportunity of the lifetime inscribed in his words.

"I never enjoyed seeing the lights of stars dimming away," the letter had said. "So, for you, I'll send a private nurse for your mother. So, you may take your journey uninhibited and breathe life into the star burning within you."

…

Jasper emerged from the bathroom refreshed. A grin slapped across his face as he hung a dry towel around his neck. Perfect for catching the water dripping from his shrunken afro. Had to love washdays. Never failed to leave him as stress-free as the towel slung around his waist. Almost made the cold shower worth it.

Almost. Jasper stilled loathed them with a burning passion.

I guess they good for something, Jasper shrugged and walked back to his room. They eased away the sores from his morning workouts. Plus, he felt less tension in his soul.

Still hate 'em though. The disdain, however, didn't last long. Once he slipped into his room, he found the cutest surprise. His new turtwig stood at the door with a fish-eating grin.

Now this made the shower worth it. "You waited for me, Kobe?" The little guy nodded. Even licked his wet legs. Jasper laughed. Such a sweet little guy—unlike Kito who lazed around on his bed.

I gotta thank Professor Kapok when I see him. Maybe buy them a gift. Though, Jasper didn't know where to start! Science wasn't his forte; maybe Baryte had some suggestions? He seemed the type.

Regardless, Jasper had more important business to attend to. Like getting dressed. And he wasted no time throwing on his clothes. Truth be told, he had this outfit picked out for years! Well, sort of —a few changes as his style evolved.

Ge unzipped his stunky track top, showing off his favorite starry night tank top. Paired well with his royal blue track shorts and silver compression tights. Finished off by slipping into a pair of purple and black sneakers.

"How do I look?" Jasper struck a pose. If he had the mass, he would look like all those famous bodybuilders! Especially the ones down in Orre. Now they were massive!

Kito only nodded, bored with it all. Figures—never gave Jasper any credit! So what if he saw it a million times? Kito needed to learn from Kobe. Now he had the perfect amount of enthusiasm as he jumped around and cheered. Jasper grinned. Finally, someone appreciated his swag.

Half of being a trainer was looking the part, right? The half came from being prepared. Jasper already packed up his murkrow travel duffle with the necessities. Now, where did he put his belt?

Ah ha! There it was, hanging off his desk. He strapped it on and clipped his dusk balls in place. Now, he was ready for anything Sinnoh threw at him!

"Jasper?" Mommy stood in the doorframe with cacturne beside her. Her eyes glossy as tears streaked down her face. "You look so handsome."

Jasper blushed and rubbed the back of his head. Maybe it was too early for handsome. He still had to pick out his hair. Couldn't go out with a shrunken 'fro! Especially if Mommy wanted pictures like always. No way he'd embarrass himself again!

"I want you to know this before you leave," Mommy started. "Something I'm sure you know, but reassurance never hurt."

Mommy walked to him. Slowly as if every step burned away at her energy. In some ways, it did. Jasper knew it did. Not just from the illness, but her pride. Back in her day, Mommy rose to the ranks of the Elite Four and mastered Dark-type pokémon. Even conducted extensive research on them. It was, honestly, how she met Daddy. And the two fell in love instantly. Or so they say. Grownups loved telling love stories.

She reached him drenched in sweat. Her breathing labored as cacturne scolded her. Thank Arceus for that guy. Mommy's partner and caretaker. He knew her better than most and never took his eyes off her. It set his heart at ease to know she had him while Jasper left.

"Your father and I are proud of you. Regardless of what path you take. And we'll support and cheer you on through hardships. So, please, don't forget to call home."

Smirking, Jasper hugged her tight. "You don't hafta worry, Mommy." After all these years, his dreams felt closer than ever. "I'll call home and I'll come back. Just you wait."

Time to follow the stars like Professor Kapok said…or whatever that letter meant.

…

"So, you're ready now?" Baryte asked with a smirk.

Jasper rolled his eyes. Wasn't his fought! Mommy refused to stop taking photos. Only Arceus knew what she planned to do with them. Especially the ones with his shrunken afro! She loved showing those off to company. Parents loved embarrassing their kids, Jasper figured. Must be some form of payback from their parents or whatever. Not that he cared.

Okay, maybe he did. If only to stop her from showing those photos to his coach again.

Mommy played a cruel game, but Jasper rose above it. Besides, he had bigger issues to solve. "Yeah, just gotta swing by Lake Valor." He stated, slinging his duffle over his shoulder. "I left Kula there in the morning."

Baryte accepted that and followed him there.

Truth be told, Kula enjoyed Lake Valor more than his room. Not that he blamed her. Jasper always got up early to relax by the lake. Sometimes he spent the morning bathing in the solar rays as his pokémon played. It was easy for him. Under the soft embrace of the lake, he felt at ease. Energized with peaceful energy as the tension eased from every fiber of his being.

On the way there, Jasper boasted about the lake. Encouraged Baryte to take a swim there sometimes but backed off when the miner admitted he couldn't swim. Fit his aesthetic— swimming rock-lover? Jasper laughed.

They arrived at the lakefront easily enough. Jasper knew the route well and took all the best shortcuts. Encountered a few pokémon along the way, of course. And a few trainers who loved losing to him. What could he say? When it came to battling, Jasper held his own.

And so did Baryte. His cranidos rammed through the competition with an impish grin. Had to love it.

When they arrived, however, Jasper felt a shift in the atmosphere. Spirited pokémon lived in Lake Valor and infected the air with bursts of energy. On a good day, he heard the roars of a gyarados breaching free of the crystal blue water and blew a powerful spray to rain over the land. Much like this morning.

Yet the lake was silent. And icky energy crawled through the air and stung at his bare skin.

"This is Lake Valor?" Baryte frowned beside him with a strange look behind those glasses. "It's…somber—not like you described."

Somber…an aura that didn't blame in this lake. Over the years, Jasper only experiences roaring energy blazing through the souls of pokémon and trainers alike. Not this cold hand that strangled his inner flame.

"This is wrong." Jasper walked inside and scowled. That icky energy bit at him, whispering strange warnings in his ears. Warnings that didn't match the usual voices he heard. "Something happened here?"

A thin fog fluttered around them. Chilling as the voices grew louder and that hand tightened its grip. Beside him, Baryte shivered. Couldn't blame the guy. The lake shouldn't feel like this. Unless someone trespassed and disrupted the natural habitat. Jasper frowned. Anyone who disturbed the lake had to deal with him as a Child—

"Gah!" Baryte stumbled into him and pointed a shaky finger and at a downed body up ahead. A dark, bird-shaped…wait a minute!

"Kula!" Jasper scrambled to his murkrow and scooped her into his arms. Something attacked her! An electric-type no doubt; she had electricity dancing through her feathers.

"Jasper?" Baryte whispered, tense and with a hand at his belt. "Look ahead."

Deep in the fog, a ball of light floated. Dancing almost like a bizarre apparition as it came closer. The air thickened and Jasper swore he smelled ozone. Regardless, that icky energy gnawed at him the closer the light came. The voices now a chorus of screaming children submerged underwater. That light had a strange aura to it…much like the lake.

"The trespasser…" Eyes wide, Jasper screamed for Baryte to move. The two went separate ways as a lance of golden electricity shot through the fog and struck down a towering tree! Their attacker emerged from the fog with a ditzy look to it. But the aura it radiated sent the voices in a frenzy, Finally, Jasper understood why.

"A Shadow Pokémon."

For the first time in years, shadow pokémon returned to the lake.

…

Anddd that's the Chapter! Jasper is really fun to play with. Especially cause he has an endless pit of energy that really just writes itself. I adore him lol And Baryte kind of acts like a good balance for him. But that'll come up more later. They're good for each other. In a friendship way lol I haven't given thought to who Jasper is paired with now, but we'll see! Who knows, Jasper and Baryte might be the end result lol.

But anyways, feel free to review or pm with what you think of the chapter!

#Pokemon #LGBT