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blu-joons · 3 years

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Aussie Dates ~ Bang Chan

A hand gripped onto your own tightly as you walked towards the entrance of the zoo, dragging you along the path and towards the ticket barriers. Your head could only shake at the excitement in Chan’s eyes as he brought you along to revisit one of his favourite places in the world.

His eyes darted around at the sights and the bright colours, “it’s not changed at all,” he mumbled under his breath, “you’re going to love this place, just like how I have for all of these years Y/N.”

“I’ve got high expectations,” you smiled from behind him, reaching into the pocket of your trousers to pull out the two tickets you’d kept a hold of for Chan to pass over to the staff member.

“I used to come here all the time, my parents would end up having to pick me up to take me away from some of the enclosures and move me onto the next one,” he continued to tell you, happy to reminisce about all the happy memories he had made, and all the ones he hoped to make with you today too.

Once you’d gotten through the main entrance, you barely had a moment to compose yourself before Chan pulled you down one of the roads and towards the meerkat enclosure, the first on a long trail you knew you’d be exploring. Chan positioned you in front of him as you approached the fence, making sure that you could see just as well as he could.

As you leaned against the fence, Chan’s arms wrapped around you, resting his chin against your shoulder so that he had the perfect view of both the animals you were watching, and the wide smile on your face as you did so. “I’ve got our route planned out for today, I want to make sure that we don’t miss a single attraction.”

“Is that what you were doing last night when you refused to come and watch the movie with me?” You questioned, gently hitting his bicep as his head nodded back at you. “It was so awkward just sat with your mum and dad, I thought you were genuinely busy, not writing down a route that we could have come up with now.”

“I told you, I wanted today to be perfect,” he teased, “a lot of planning has gone into this.”

After a few minutes you decided to move onto the next enclosure, following behind Chan’s lead to where you’d find the giraffes. There was a growing distance between you both as he did so, with Chan holding tightly onto the map, following the red marker pen that he’d drawn around it.

“Once we’ve seen this, there’s a bird enclosure just down the path that you can walk through,” Chan informed you as he led you up a small slope to the viewing point to look out across the field at the many giraffes that the zoo was home too.

Your eyes flickered around to him as soon as you processed the information, shaking your head at the thought. There was no way you were going to walk through an open enclosure, you’d watched far too many videos of those types of things to even risk going in there and having something happen to you. Chan chuckled as he watched your expression drop, nudging gently against your side.

“Nothing bad will happen,” he tried to assure you, but your head continued to shake. “I’ve never had anything happen to me when I’ve walked through it, although I did see an old lady have her phone taken from one of the bigger birds before.”

“That’s not making me feel better about going in there,” you chuckled, brushing a hand over the top of your head, “maybe I’ll just sit that one out and laugh at you as you try to go through it,” you mused, relieved when Chan’s head nodded, and his arm moved to wrap around your waist.

He leaned across and pressed a kiss against the side of your head, “if you don’t want to go in, I won’t force you. Just stand outside and wait for me, how does that sound?”

And stand outside you did. Moving on from the giraffes after ten minutes, you separated from his side, allowing him to walk through the open bird enclosure all alone. You could see the fear in his eyes despite the smile on his face, glancing across at you every few moments to offer an assuring smile, all the way to the end of the trail.

“You’re so brave,” you teased as he stepped out, joining back up to your side.

The two of you continued to make your way around the zoo, diligently following Chan’s path as he recalled several occasions that he’d experienced over the years during times when he used to visit with his family, making new memories of his own too.

“When we were here once, my dad lifted up my legs by the monkeys that I thought I was going in,” he chuckled, barely able to finish his story before light giggles came from him, “he lost the grip on my ankles, but luckily my mum was able to pull me back down instead.

Your head shook at his story, but your attention was soon caught by the enclosure you’d most been looking forward to seeing all afternoon. You tugged at Chan’s shirt, pointing across to it to try and get him to go.

“It’s you,” you joked, pointing across to the three wolves that were prowling around a large open enclosure, desperate to walk over and get a closer look.

“That’s not on the route yet,” Chan argued, trying to pull you in the opposite direction to where he wanted to go. “We’ll get there soon enough, but we have this bit to do first.”

“Are you seriously going to stick to that stupid route all day long?” You asked him, “I know you want today to be perfect, but I think it’ll only be perfect when you start relaxing and not being so focussed on trying to make today so magical.”

“I’m just excited,” he whispered softly, placing the map into his pocket, “I wanted to make sure that you experience that same magic that I have for so many years here.”

You extended your arm out for his hand to hold onto your own, pulling his reluctant frame across to look at the wolves, finally breaking his route planner and doing things at your own pace too.

“It is magical, seeing all the places that you’ve grown up whilst we’ve been here is all that I wanted to do,” you quickly reminded him, offering him a warm smile, “I thought you’d want to pay a visit to your ancestors anyway,” you continued to tease as finally the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile and his eyes quickly rolled.

“You’re not funny,” he sniggered, pulling you over to where you wanted to go, “I’m much better looking than any of what you’re going to see in this enclosure anyway, don’t you forget that.”

Your free hand pushed his shoulder softly, “I don’t know, the sloth that we saw not to long ago was quite a cutie.”

“No way, I’m not letting you compare me to a sloth.”

---

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raisans-art · 3 years

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What the Fuck Are these Characterizations: The Essay

Full warning: This is only concerning Tommy's stream made today, 4/29/2021. I know Ranboo has streamed after Tommy but I haven't watched that.

On with the essay.

A lot happened.

Tommy tried to kill Dream, Dream actually killed Ghostbur, Wilbur is back (pog). It's a lot. A lot of plot and a lot of emotions. I will preface this with the usual "holy hell these people are pretty damn good actors for having no formal training as far as I'm aware." They get their emotions across very clearly and that's kinda why I'm making this in the first place. The way some of the characters acted in Tommy's 4/29 stream is a bit odd in my opinion.

Now, I will concede that I have not been diligent with the Dream SMP lore. I've been given broad strokes and have seen various clips but I have definitely not been on top of it. I may have missed streams entirely and you all more avid fans may be able to name scenes that I haven't seen that rationalize some of these reactions that I will be criticizing. If you can, please do so! I'd love to start a dialogue over this!

So, how I'm gonna break this all up is to take a look at Tommy, Wilbur, Ranboo, and Awesamdude and how their CCs characterized them during the stream. I'll sing praises where they are due and point out my criticisms where they arise. Then, I will try to surmise some meta as to why I think these characterizations came to be in the first place.

Tommy

Tommy, to me, has the best characterization in this. CC Tommy clearly has a very good sense of what he wants from his character and has been playing into that line of thought from the beginning of this whole debacle.

Tommy is scared, paranoid, and pissed off. Ever since he left the prison he avoids taking damage like the plague, rambles indecisively, is easily sent into a panic, and is hypersensitive to the people around him. He panics when he sees weapons out and one crucial thing that he made clear from the start was that he wants Dream dead.

Straight out of limbo, Tommy concludes that Dream needs to die. From there he plans this whole mission with Ranboo, Tubbo, and Ghostbur to get in and kill Dream. He says that Dream can't keep living with this power at his fingertips, and from before his final death, Tommy clearly wants to be rid of his abuser, adding a personal layer to his plan. Tommy is stubborn and determined since the beginning, sacrificing his life and disks for L'manberg and refusing to believe that his home is gone until the place is blown to bedrock. Of course, he would stick to his plan to a T.

Now, is this a smart decision to sneak into the highest security area in the entire SMP? Fuck no. It's a stupid idea. Even if Tommy hadn't messed up, Sam would've seen Dream die to a floating axe and kept Tommy and Ghostbur in that containment cell. It would've been a one-way ticket, especially given what we see of Sam in this stream.

But this all makes sense for the character CC Tommy is playing. Tommy isn't thinking about how smart of a decision this is and he hardly ever does when he takes action. He shoots from the hip, takes his first instincts, and acts on them.

It's easy to draw a clear line of progression of Tommy as a character from season 1 to this moment in season 3 and past Ghostbur's death. His hyperventilating as he tries to get his plan to work after it failed, Trying to save Ghostbur from what he went through, lashing out at Sam, and yelling at Wilbur. All of this in line with who Tommy is as a character and how events have changed him. This is a good characterization.

Wilbur

Wilbur has changed a lot since we've seen him last, both alive and dead. Since he's been alive, Wilbur has changed his tune from "I want to die" to "hell sucks, mate." What's particularly interesting is that this sentiment that he has from being alive carried for a long time into his limbo, as evidenced by his appearance in the season 2 finale on the bench. He wanted to "stay dead" at that point. Since we've seen him in limbo, he's gone from content in his situation and understanding why he's there and that he's there forever.

Now we have Revivedbur. Revivedbur is ecstatic to be alive again. He goes from numb to embracing feeling again. The fandom once thought that Revivedbur would be annoyed with or hateful towards Dream for bringing him back turned into joy and reverence. This is quite a drastic leap. Bad characterization.

But it isn't.

I have seen one clip from Ranboo's stream on 4/29 and that is Ranboo telling Philza that Wilbur is alive. In this bit, after mentioning that Wilbur has been in limbo for a perceived 13 and a half years, Phil says "13 years is a long time to be away... he almost certainly isn't the same person... people can change quite a lot in a single year, two years, three years, four years, even five years, Ranboo."

Wilbur has been gone for 13 years. He's been in the same place with no change other than Tommy for 13 fucking years. That's 13 years where we heard from him 2 times. We know virtually nothing about what those 13 years were like for him, but from what Wilbur has said, it was torture to him. He was stagnant, stuck in a fucking tube station for 13 years, unable to leave no matter how hard he tried.

We know so little about how his time in limbo changed him because it's such a long span of time with radio silence. I dare say this is fucking great characterization.

Ranboo

This is where I start having some issues, and this is where I have the least amount of context. From what I've seen, Ranboo is little miss angst who forgets things and is constantly on the verge of having a panic attack (hyperbole). From what I have surmised of his character in various contexts, serious and dramatic scenes and domestic ones, Ranboo really cares about the people around him and is scared of himself and his mind.

So why is it that he straight up just sneers at Tommy, saying "the hell did you do?"

I'm really just focusing on this because it just seems really off to me in the context of his character. Ranboo was in on this plan. It's pretty common knowledge that the only person with revive powers is Dream. Ranboo doesn't know everything that happened within the prison, sure, but why is he so quick to assume that Tommy was the root cause? Is it because he's been hanging out with the world's 2nd biggest Tommy hater, Niki (the character for clarification)? I honestly don't know where this jump-in assumption is coming from. Given what I understand of his character, this line and the implications I'm getting are just a bit out of character. Feel free to explain why I'm wrong because I am not in this loop whatsoever.

Awesamdude

Sam is where I have the biggest issue. How does a man go from living on an isolated island in grief over a death he could've prevented if only he had been quicker, to yelling at that same formerly dead person that he was at fault for the death/revival of another person?

Now, one thing that is strengthened by this characterization is Sam's dedication to the rules. He has his strict protocol and he is not going to let that slip up for anything. He wants to keep Dream in prison and never let him out.

But I'm just having a hard time grappling with a man so quick to blame himself last time something like this happened being so quick to place blame on a child he, from what I've seen, had a good relationship with. It feels like I'm missing something here.

Yeah, Tommy broke into the prison, but why is Sam's first thought that Tommy was trying to break dream out? This harsh turn on Tommy just doesn't come across right to me.

Why Did This Happen?

I do think there could be a meta reason as to why these don't land right to me. These two characterizations are centered around Tommy. How people are reacting to Tommy's actions. Tommy and Dream are the head of the prison stuff right now. at least as far as I know. I'm not sure if Wilbur has come back on as a writer yet but last I heard it's still Tommy and Dream handling their shit. With the writers in mind, I wouldn't put it past them to decide to add more conflict with Tommy and other members of the SMP right now. The Egg is a bit busy with other things, Jack is just running the hotel, and the Syndicate doesn't really have any qualms with Tommy on any level that they would act on. It could be the writers trying to add conflict to the prison storyline by generating conflict between Tommy, Ranboo, and Sam with Wilbur being a fuckin wild card.

I don't know mate, I just wanted my thoughts out there and maybe be fucking pounded into the ground by people more knowledgeable than me.

Have a dialogue with me I'd love to debate. (All friendly debate please I don't feel like taking this too seriously it is Minecraft roleplay after all.)

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magioftheseas · 3 years

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An Encounter Among Blossoms

Summary: Haru meets a young man who seems to have an affinity for her gardening neighbor. She's quite eager to scout him out before the two of them meet.

Rating: G

Warnings: Akechi sticks a rabbit in a bag, but the rabbit is fine.

Notes: It’s a Haru fic for Akechi’s birthday which is just a little strange but I really love the idea of her and Akechi as gardening neighbors. It’s super cute. Haru’s super cute. Shuake’s super cute. Cute!

***Alternate Ao3 Link***

Commission? Donate?

It hadn’t been a particularly bright or warm day. The diluted sunshine was still pleasant in its own way, comfortable like room temperature and unassuming. Another fine day, she would think as she headed down the usual path, humming a little tune as she did. The insignificance of the weather preceded the encounter which was anything but.

When Haru rounded around the corner to her garden, there was an unfamiliar young man standing by. It wasn’t unusual for people to pass by, nor was it unusual for them to stop with alarm once they heard the string of colorful curses and irate grumbles. This young man, however, was not frozen in place with alarm. He stared out into her gardening neighbor’s domain and even without seeing his face, Haru knew the young man was transfixed.

“Excuse me,” Haru called out politely, making the young man jump. She wondered what sort of face she expected under that head of messy black curls, but—perhaps she was surprised by how striking this stranger looked.

Yes, this young man had almost delicate features. A smooth jaw and soft lips parted in surprise before pulling into a more neutral line. His eyes were dark like iron—one that held other colors in its embrace rather than swallowed them whole.

“Staring is rude,” Haru said, then, aware that she was staring. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“No, I...” The young man steps back, ducking his head as if to hide that gaze behind his fringe. A shame, really, Haru almost wanted to comb them back to catch another glimpse.

...but if he had stopped to stare, then it was at...

“I just,” the young man continues, pinching a curl between his long fingers. Elegant if not for how the nails had been bitten short. “I was just...passing by.”

“That’s fine,” Haru said sunnily. “Would you mind helping me out, then?”

“Oh.” This person made a very familiar face. The kind where it’s clear the person finds it difficult to say no. “Is that...alright?”

“I could always use a helper bee,” Haru chirped and when she came close, she murmured to him, “And Goro does as well, even if he’s too stubborn to admit it.”

The young man is silent, but there’s the slightest twitch of a smile at his lips.

“I’m Haru,” she says, blushing now that she realized she hadn’t yet introduced herself.

“Amamiya...Ren.” He nodded politely in return. “It’s nice to meet you, Haru-san.”

“Just Haru is fine, Amamiya-kun.”

“Then just Ren is fine.”

Goodness...he doesn’t know the effect he has on people, does he?

She was almost glad to swoop in before Goro could see or notice.

She was especially glad when it turned out Ren was a dutiful helper. He would do anything asked without complaint. Admittedly, he’d be so docile it uncomfortably reminded her of her past self. At the very least, it was less that Ren was eager to please and more that it just—didn’t occur to him to perform half-heartedly.

As he meticulously pulled out weeds, she did notice his posture wasn’t dissimilar to Goro’s.

A hard worker, one who doesn’t complain. With natural charm.

“Ren, ren,” she says in a lilting voice, smiling when he looks up to her attentively. Her smile broadens and she hands him one freshly washed tomato. “They’re ripe today. What do you think?”

Ren does smile mildly before biting into the tomato. He’s quick to lick its juices off his fingers. He nods in approval but is too busy eating to give any verbal compliments.

“Good enough for Goro?” she asks, watching to see if he chokes. He does not, but he’s quieter. There’s a softer pink on his cheeks. Haru can’t help but grin. “Gather some up when you’re done. We’re going to visit him.”

Ren didn’t work half-heartedly, but it was only now that he worked eagerly and enthusiastically. He diligently picked, and painstakingly washed each one until it was spotless. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t envious.

Ren was a charming young man. Even if she already has a beautiful girlfriend, she wouldn’t mind dating him as well. Only if her girlfriend was into it as well, of course.

Alas, I don’t think he’s interested in me at all.

She’s not too bothered, not when Ren follows her like a puppy and carries the basket of tomatoes with great care. As if he’d do anything to avoid even the slightest bruise. As she crosses the border from her garden into her neighbor’s, it’s not long before she spots that neighbor. Specifically his sunhat and his ponytail. Kneeling down, staring at a squirming sack no doubt with a look of deep consternation.

“Goro, what are you doing?” she asks cheerfully. “Is there a rabbit in that bag?”

“This fucking pest,” he hisses, snapping to attention and spinning on his heel to face her. “Won’t leave my goddamn...ah.” His expression drops the second he sees that someone else is with her. His face scrunches up. “Amamiya? What the hell?”

“Oh!” Haru gasped, looking between them. “You two know each other?”

Ren simply stares at Goro intensely, and Goro’s mouth twitches into a forced smile.

“Goodness, what a surprise,” he says, slipping into a more pleasant front with the elegance of the stepsister shoving her foot into the glass slipper. “Amamiya-kun is the barista of the café I frequent. We’ve played chess a few times. We’re...acquaintances, you can say. I’m quite embarrassed you’ve seen me in such an...improper state.” He even tugs at his sunhat to hide his face. Specifically that cute splatter of freckles that Haru appreciated even if the general populace didn’t. “I apologize greatly.”

He gives a bow.

“Goro,” Haru reprimanded gently. “Enough of that. Ren-kun already saw you cursing out the grass earlier.”

“I sure did,” Ren agreed, and he hands Goro the basket. “Here you are, Akechi.”

“Happy birthday!” Haru exclaimed excitedly and shoved Ren forward for good measure. Ren did yelp, as did Goro, but no one managed to fall. Not yet anyway. “I know you said not to get you anything, but I had...a bootyful harvest! And to top it off, Ren-kun’s just your type!”

“Haru,” Goro hissed, red in the face.

“You look really nice in a ponytail,” Ren offered awkwardly. “But, uh, you’re not going to eat that rabbit, right? Like...the big bad wolf?”

“Goodness, no!” Haru exclaimed. “Goro just catches them and gives them to me to release elsewhere. Although I’m not sure...” She trails off when she sees just how covered in dirt Goro is. “Well. You can at least try not to frighten them so much.”

“For whatever reason this one avoided the usual traps,” Goro huffed, gesturing at the sack as if it were obscene. “I had to personally deal with it.”

“Is it really your birthday?” Ren asks. “I, uh...didn’t know. But if you want, I can treat you to curry and coffee on the house later this afternoon...”

“Doesn’t that sound lovely?” Haru asks, and she goes to gingerly pick up the sack. She does glance inside and yes, it’s quite the energetic black bunny. She wonders if she’d get away with taking it home instead. Probably not. “I’ll take care of this darling.”

“Haru,” Goro warned again. “I-It’s not...”

“Please enjoy your tomatoes and your birthday, Goro! Don’t feel the need to wait on me if you want to go somewhere!”

She’d leave with a skip in her step but she doesn’t want to jostle the rabbit too much. Either way, she ignores Goro calling after her in exasperation and unease. He quiets, and a quick glance back—she sees that Ren is patting Goro’s shoulder as he sullenly bites into a tomato.

“Here you are, darling!”

Strangely, the rabbit doesn’t dart away the second Haru releases it. It just sniffs around, grooming its ear, blinking up at her with beady eyes.

“Curious dear, aren’t you,” she cooed. “And mischievous. Should I give you a name? How about Loki?”

The rabbit turns away, seeming disinterested.

“Or Noir!” Haru exclaimed, and laughed. “Either way, caused quite a bit of trouble for Goro, didn’t you? But you must know that his bark is often worse than his bite. Despite that, the flowers he grows are quite beautiful, aren’t they? Do you think under those roses is where he buried our fathers?”

No answer of course, but when it glanced back, she couldn’t help but be reminded of Ren.

...they met already, huh...? Then...I think things will be very interesting from here on out.

She and Goro had been associates for quite some time now. She’d like to think she knew him quite well, and she thought she had scouted Ren out well enough to know that he was Goro’s type.

“He deserves to be happy,” she told the rabbit and left it at that.

When she returns, Ren and Goro are already deep in some strange debate. Goro even laughs, but he quickly scowls when Ren points out the juice on his cheek. Ren’s commenting, likely on Goro’s demeanor, and the conversation is serious now.

As curious as she is, it’s improper to eavesdrop. Haru crosses the border once more, returning to her garden. There’s still work to be done.

#haru okumura #okumura haru #shuake #akeshu #goro akechi #Magi fics

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zahra-kha · 3 years

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Dear Diary 28

I’ve been busy preparing for the Lucky Sparrow show. I’m in a lot of group performances and I want to get the timing right. I’m also considering remodeling my apartment. I’ve written father but he hasn’t written me back in a while. I think he’s busy. He’s been trying to gain access to a mine near a village in the mountain ranges. They’ve been in talks for a while now about this deep, underground mine that’s kept the town afloat for generations. Father wants to take over and improve their revenue and making several quality of life investments overall. He’s been sweet talking the townsfolk but it’s been putting him at odds with the mayor there. That’s all I know since last we’ve spoken.

Still no word from Sahrin and Fitaan about Armand. I think I’m fine with that. I mean, I still don’t know what I’m going to do or say when I see Armand. What is there to say? “Hey, why did you try to kill me?” I already know why, or at least, I have a good idea. Honestly, a part of me hopes they don’t find him and that he just disappears. Sai and Esila have gone quiet and Cecilia’s been missing for moons now too.

I feel alone. It feels like the troupe, my family, is falling apart.

Plume was last night! It was great to go to my second home, relax and fight some! It was busy, we had nearly a full house, that was great! I love going around and chatting people up at tables and getting to know people, and the fights were great! Tamala and Kaito won their fights...although it was weird seeing Conor in a moogle suit.

I put in a lot of orders for fish and chips, it’s a popular dish I guess! Something happened with Vin since I last saw him, because he’s a girl now! I guess something with alchemy? I’m not sure, but she looks great! I didn’t recognize her, since it’s been a while but she seemed relaxed and not as stressed or tense. Maybe the things that had been weighing on her has eased or been lifted. I hope so. We were never really close but she seemed to carry a darkness in her that troubled her deeply. Especially when it came to her feelings for Trystan.

My match was with Jasper! I’ve been wanting to properly fight him for moons so I was excited. And no, it’s not because I like him - it’s mostly because I respect him and I think he’s a great fighter. I admire his skills and I really wanted to test my own against his to see how far I’ve grown.

But then he tried to pull my tail >:|

Yes, it’s a legitimate strategy, the tail is a sensitive part of the body but it’s like...it’s like...if I’d gone for a crotch shot or something! I don’t know! It’s not the same but I was still a little peeved about it! Not so much because he did it, but because I remember Khan taunting someone else about pulling my tail and how au ra squeal and just - ugh!

So maybe I wasn’t the most mature in how I responded. I might have tried to be a brat and stabbed him using a move he likes to do with the dagger he gave me.

I might have done that on purpose. I have my moments. I have never once said I was a girl who takes the high road. In my defense he tried to stab me in the shoulder first I just succeeded where he failed.

Why am I justifying myself to my journal. I’m not in the wrong here!

And then he took my dagger! Okay, to be fair I did leave the dagger in his shoulder but! BUT! I was going to pull it out before he sliced my arm and moved away! I really was! What kind of friend would just leave their dagger embedded in their friend’s shoulder! Not this friend!

Well, technically I did but not on purpose! I’ll die on that hill.

Anyway I won that fight, although I’d still love to go against him again. He’s a deadly opponent and I can’t hold back against him and that makes me happy. Plus, it’s just fun to fight against friends.

We got into an argument though (I think it was the first time?) - in retrospect it was probably a silly argument to anyone who was watching, but he took my (yes MY) dagger and I wanted it back! Plus, it might have just been another dagger for him, but for me it was a something a friend gave me, so it’s precious to me. I treasure all of the things my friends give me, and I’ve been training diligently with that dagger. It was a silly argument, but I wasn’t going to back down.

Gods, and he just had to say ‘alls fair in love and war’, I can’t believe him. He didn’t even mean anything by it but I immediately reacted on reflex. Jasper you clueless Doman never change but at the same time please be less frustrating.

After the fight, some healing, and taking a few more orders, Jasper was nice enough to give me back my dagger and after chatting about how I didn’t have a pair, he gave me one that balanced right. I wasn’t able to convey how touched and happy I was because Erith and Eir’s fight morphed into such epic proportions that it blinded the entire room, but I was.

I don’t...think? There was a winner to that fight? Erith said he won and Quin carried him away to recover but well. Ok.

After that Tyme and Quin fought. Quin used a gunblade for a bit but he doesn’t really strike me as a guy that favors weapons? At least not the few times I’ve fought him. Tyme is a martial artist from what I’ve been able to see and she’s damn good! Quin eventually won after discarding the gunblade and switching to wrestling moves. He made her tap out. Not a lot of blood, but it was an interesting fight to be sure!

The last fight was against Penelope and some guy named Xavier. He was a mountain of a man and I guess he could take a beating to boot. We were helping Erith between that, Eir had left, and people were starting to clear out. Jasper had gotten really quiet and was zoning out so we were growing concerned about him, but he kept insisting he was tired. There wasn’t a fever, but he didn’t look good, either. Erith was insisting he needed a cleansing.

Pen and Xavier’s fight was intense. I started feeling sick when her flame blade started searing into his flesh. The stench made my burn scars itch and I felt nauseated. I wanted to stick it out till the end though, but I was grateful when she switched elements.

I’m not quite sure how he was able to take those blows and keep on going but I know I couldn’t have. Not stoically, anyway. Fire hurts like all the hells. When Discordia hit me with that flamethrower I thought I was going to die, my entire body felt nothing but agony. Even getting cut hurts like a bitch. Pen is an amazing fighter, I like her sword skills and how she can switch elements like that.

She won against that huge guy eventually though, which was something. I couldn’t stay though, it was getting a bit hard to breathe, so I told Leih I was heading out and she gave me a bit of a sympathetic smile as if she understood. I admit, I appreciated it.

Ah~ anyway! There’s another mixer this weekend, along with the show, so much to do! I should write my parents again and hopefully see if they write me back.

#ic #zahra's diary #zahra kha #zahra kouris

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praphit · 4 years

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Space Jam: Smells like wholesomeness, with a touch of R.Kelly.

I want to talk a lil "Space Jam"

(that's a very awk pic of Michael Jordan. He doesn't look real. Have aliens possessed MJ? Is that the twist in the movie? You'll have to watch to find out)

I've been thinking to myself, "We need a hero right about now." We need a hero who is strong and wholesome. Heroes today are so...

you know?

yeah, you know...

To find the type of hero that we need, we have to go back to the 90's, and what better 90's hero, in our current time of need, than Michael Jordan?

MJ, at the time of "Space Jam", when he wasn't soaring through the air, was walking and dribbling on water. MJ + Looney Tunes = hell yeah!

Lo and behold, we get some bonus nuggets out of "Space Jam" - a lil bit of MJ's origin story.

Everything starts off wholesome enough - with R.Kelly’s. "I Believe I Can Fly".

Yeah, some of you remember now. This movie actually starts and (spoiler alert) ends with R. Kelly.

A young Mike playing basketball in his backyard with his father. He is telling his father of all of the things he'd like to accomplish when he grows up: he wanted to play at North Carolina, play baseball at some point, play in the NBA, dominate Nike, dominate the world, bang supermodels, everything that all kids want.

The young kid hears the climax of R.Kelly's inspirational hit coming, so (with his dad cheering him on) jumps in the air for an epic slam. He's flying and flying and falling and falling and then lands on his head - blood and brain matter spread out everywhere. There is huge panic on the face of daddy. Walking by, at the perfect moment was a homeless kid, who saw the whole thing.

Dad shouts, "Hey, you! Come here!" The kid runs, but daddy had a bike nearby and caught up with the homeless kid. He convinces this homeless child to help him bury his son (no one knows where), and assume the idenity of the previous Mike.

(We're learning so much)

The rest of his family all had bad eye sight, so the plan worked, and a new (OUR) MJ was born!

"SPACE JAM"!

Then, there's a lot of Michael Jordan footage to the soundtrack of this movie, which I remember being excellent! It wasn't just the gospel musings of R. Kelly, but also Coolio, Salt-N-Pepa, Monica, Jay-Z(with more R.Kelly), Biz Markie, Seal, Barry White.... SPACE JAM, y'all!

There's many cameos in this flick. Ray Ramono's wife in that show... "Everybody hates Ray?" or is it "loves Ray"? Idk I don't know her name either, but she's in it.

Bill Murray at the height of his powers is in it.

Btw - most of the LOL moments come from him.

Newman from "Seinfeld".

And a bunch of terrible-acting NBA stars. Barkley and Jordan are ok, but the rest... Good thing that the Looney Tunes are there to compensate.

Danny DeVito is up in there! - playing a degenerate as usual.

He's always playing that type of role isn't he??

But, then again, look at him.

It's not like he was ever going to compete with the Tom Cruise’s of the world.

Sometimes, people, you gotta play the hand that you're dealt, you know?? - work what you look like. Some people look like drug dealers, some look like beach bums, some look like porn stars, but you gotta rock it.

Some say that I look like a weed dealer. Yep! - pastors have told me this. I'm not saying that I'm going to go around selling pot to pastors, but... you know... you gotta do what you gotta do.

DeVito had a plan... a plan that I do not feel like explaning, so here's a montage of sorts; picture this to the inspirational music of R.Kelly (since he appears to be the background music to MJ):

(I don’t remember which song this one is from... oh well)

Recap:

DeVito wanting to enslave the Looney Tunes, but somehow Bugs Bunny convinced him to play a basketball game instead.

Danny, buddy... that's not how super villainy/dictatorship works. If you've got the power to make slaves, and you want to make slaves, you make slaves. You don't accept a challenge of a basketball game for their freedom.

The Looney Tunes struggle, but they have MJ, so we all know what eventually happens.

A few things:

1) Some fat-shaming when it comes to Newman. BUT, that's more a reflection of how "woke" we've become:) And... look at him.

If you show up to a basketball court looking like this, you're asking for trouble. Remember what I said about playing to how you already look.

2) Lola Bunny -

When she is first introduced, all of the Looney Tunes.... REACT

Let’s just say that all of those mofos should be hashtagged! Bugs, at one point, grabs her ass and forces a kiss on her. She likes it though, i guess. They're both horny as well. Isn't that true about all bunnies?? I heard that they're all horny, all of the time. Hmmm...

A lot of Bugs Bunny scenes are starting to make more sense.

That being said, there's a lot of messages of unity and diligence and belief up in here.

Even though they shamed fatty, he was still able to play with them. And after they all got a chance with Lola, she was able to play as well. She was one of the best players!

This movie still holds up! It's funny, entertaining, and a feel-good for any family hiding in their homes from COVID-19.

Grade: A

In watching MJ play ball in this movie, I was reminded of how great he was in general. Go check out some old footage of him. There's something enchanting about watching someone do what they were meant to do on this earth. It's like watching poetry in motion. I remember being sold a car once by a real sleazebag. He was ripping everyone off (probably even me to a degree), but he was so good at lying to people and talkin shit. I had to compartmentlize for a sec, and appreciate that I was in the presence of greatness. This man was (and IS, if no one has murdered him yet) the MJ of sleazy car sales.

We need a lil more of that in our lives at this time, right?? Not the sleaze, but watching poetry like that of Michael Jordan.

I wonder what MJ would do about this current pandemic? Though, the real MJ is rumored to be quite the gambler, and with a lack of sports to bet on, he might be gambling on other things... like if people are infected or not; which is terrible. I could see him having a closet filled with tests, but only for gambling purposes.

So, let's not think about that. Let's stick with 90's "Space Jam" Mike! What would he do? How would he lead us?

Wouldn't it be nice if he could simply challenge COVID-19 to a game of basketball, for our freedom?

I read a headline that said Trump had contacted Arod for advice on COVID-19.

Different sport, but maybe Trump's thinking the same solution. Time will tell.

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rannadylin · 4 years

Text

OC Personality Test: Idalia

Tagged by @queen-scribbles and I’m passing on the tag to @aban-ataashi @serenbach86 @lunarowena @risualto!

Here are the rules:

1. Go to this website.

2. Choose an OC and take the test for them.

3. Put their stats here.

I’m doing this for Idalia. I think I had attempted an MBTI test for her earlier in the campaign and got INFP but have had my doubts as her story progressed, and this result seems quite a bit more accurate for her:

Defender (ISFJ-T)

Mind - This trait determines how we interact with our environment.

3% EXTRAVERTED | 97% INTROVERTED

Yep, no surprise there; I write/play mostly introverts but Dal is the shyest of them all by far! Even shyer than Xipil who also happens to be an ISFJ...

Energy - This trait shows where we direct our mental energy.

41% INTUITIVE | 59% OBSERVANT

Well, she did have plenty of high awareness rolls in the game. This is pretty close to the middle though.

Nature - This trait determines how we make decisions and cope with emotions.

21% THINKING | 79% FEELING

She’s one of those quiet ones with *very deep feelings* that no one else is likely to ever hear about, yep.

Tactics - This trait reflects our approach to work, planning and decision-making.

64% JUDGING | 36% PROSPECTING

I suspect she scored so high on J because she’s such a hard worker and diligent and also just not fond of plans changing in the middle of them and such. (Much as she loves Ona, spending a day with her highly spontaneous Waelite friend would probably wear Dal out!) She was kind of confused when the God Squad was first assigned to go spy on Waidwen but then immediately changed course to go look for Magran’s artifact; being Dal, however, she did not at all speak up about it but it bothered her. (It bothers her even more in retrospect once they found the artifact and it was used to blow up her god, I suppose.)

Identity - This trait underpins all others, showing how confident we are in our abilities and decisions.

28% ASSERTIVE | 72% TURBULENT

Honestly I don’t even know where that 28% came from, has Dal ever been assertive in her life? Well, maybe a little when she attempted that intimidation roll against Yarrow despite not being able to add her glow to it anymore. XD But then - if she’s committed to a course of action - like rescuing her brother - Dal does get a little more assertive to make sure she sticks to it.

Bonus, behind the cut: Some highlights of the ISFJ descriptions that definitely do fit Dal, though there are parts of them that aren’t quite her either, but hey, that’s how personality types go :-D

“Defenders are true altruists, meeting kindness with kindness-in-excess and engaging the work and people they believe in with enthusiasm and generosity.”

Yeeeep. That’s like the basic Idalia definition right there.

“Defenders are found in lines of work with a sense of history behind them, such as medicine, academics and charitable social work.”

Yeah I guess being a priest (pretty well educated for Gilded Vale standards, right?) with healing magic and then later being a cook in a soup kitchen kind of ticks all those boxes...

“Defender personalities (especially Turbulent ones) are often meticulous to the point of perfectionism, and though they procrastinate, they can always be relied on to get the job done on time. Defenders take their responsibilities personally, consistently going above and beyond, doing everything they can to exceed expectations and delight others, at work and at home.”

Hmmmm I hadn’t considered Dal being a perfectionist, but she’s certainly meticulous and reliable.

“Naturally social, an odd quality for Introverts, Defenders utilize excellent memories not to retain data and trivia, but to remember people, and details about their lives.”

So the idea of Dal as “Naturally social” sounds kind of odd, but she does enjoy interacting one-on-one or in small groups with people she knows well enough. It’s just getting to know them that is so awkward.

Her strengths:

Supportive (”choosing empathy over judgment whenever possible“ yeah that’s pretty much how hearing from her parents the story of why they left her at the temple as a baby went...)

Reliable & Patient

Imaginative & Observant (she sees you blushing, Nona)

Enthusiastic (not a trait we’ve had much chance to see, I must write her a purpose in life to be enthusiastic about now!)

Loyal & Hard-working (”Defender personalities often form an emotional attachment to the ideas and organizations they’ve dedicated themselves to. Anything short of meeting their obligations with good, hard work fails their own expectations.“ yeah she definitely had an emotional attachment to her temple!)

Good Practical Skills (”The best part is, Defenders have the practical sense to actually do something with all this altruism. If mundane, routine tasks are what need to be done, Defenders can see the beauty and harmony that they create, because they know that it helps them to care for their friends, family, and anyone else who needs it.“ Dal is a big fan of mundane, routine tasks that do in fact help others! Like cooking!)

And her weaknesses:

Humble & Shy (yeah this is like Dal 101)

Take Things Too Personally (”Defenders have trouble separating personal and impersonal situations – any situation is still an interaction between two people, after all – and any negativity from conflict or criticism can carry over from their professional to their personal lives, and back again.“ Definitely applies to Yarrow being suspicious of her after Waidwen’s camp!)

Repress Their Feelings (”People with the Defender personality type are private and very sensitive, internalizing their feelings a great deal. Much in the way that Defenders protect others’ feelings, they must protect their own, and this lack of healthy emotional expression can lead to a lot of stress and frustration.“ Ha this also is like Dal 101)

Overload Themselves (“Their strong senses of duty and perfectionism combine with this aversion to emotional conflict to create a situation where it is far too easy for Defenders to overload themselves – or to be overloaded by others – as they struggle silently to meet everyone’s expectations, especially their own.” Aw, poor Dal!)

Reluctant to Change (She really hated leaving her temple!)

Too Altruistic (”Being such warm, good-natured people, Defenders are willing to let things slide, to believe that things will get better soon, to not burden others by accepting their offers of help, while their troubles mount unassisted.” Again, poor Dal!)

I must also quote the bit on Romantic Relationships for ISFJs, because uh...some of these elements may already be in my fic outline for her XD

“When it comes to romantic relationships, Defenders’ kindness grows into a joy that is only found in taking care of their family and home, in being there for emotional and practical support whenever it’s needed. Home is where the heart is for people with the Defender personality type, and in no other area of their lives do they strive with such dedication to create the harmony and beauty they wish to see in the world.

The trouble is, these are the benefits of an established long-term relationship, and Defenders’ unbearable shyness means it can take a long time to reach this point. Defenders are most attractive when they are simply being themselves in a comfortable environment such as work, where their natural flow shows this kindness and dedication. Relationships built on established familiarity are a warm prospect for Defenders – they take dating seriously and only enter into relationships that have a real chance of lasting a lifetime.“

#idalia #poe god squad campaign #oc personality test #that fits her so well!#and i really need to write the rest of her story now #from the desk of ranna #long post

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precuredaily · 4 years

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Precure Day 161

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 13 - “Rin-chan Decides on a Club!” Date watched: 30 November 2019 Original air date: 29 April 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/Skj7Avo Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Judo, track, volleyball, tennis, kendo, and basketball are all vying for Rin’s skills...but her heart lies elsewhere

There are three very important things in life to Rin: her family, her friends, and sports. In this episode, we get to see 1 and 3 come into conflict within her, and she struggles between her passion and her responsibilities. It’s a great episode.

The Plot

Rin is playing futsal, a small-team, small field variant of soccer, with four other students from the school. They don’t have enough players to make a proper club, and Rin can only play sometimes because she frequently has to babysit her twin siblings, Yuu and Ai.

Yuu on the left, Ai on the right

In fact, Rin helps out at a lot of sports clubs, but can’t join any of them because of her time constraints. The school’s sports festival is coming up and naturally, everyone wants her on their team. Last year she actually was able to compete in all the events, because they were spread out across a few days, but this year they’re going to be all at once to save time, so Rin has to choose a team to play for, and of course all of them are trying to get her. Complicating the matter, the sports festival is the day that the futsal team has scheduled their first proper match, which they can only do with five people, so they really need Rin’s participation. Even Mika won’t leave her alone, trying to find out what team she’s going to join so she can report it to the paper. However, Rin can’t answer, and instead runs off campus after school to practice with the futsal players, which Mika finds suspicious. As she gets to the field, she overhears the team members talking about how they’re out of luck without her, and she feels bad.

The next day, she talks about her conundrum with her friends. Nozomi says she can take care of the kids so Rin can join a proper team, but she already tries to do that and fails, so Rin isn’t confident in her. All four of the other girls try taking care of Yuu and Ai together, but the twins still manage to capture Coco and Nuts, which the two fairies are none too pleased about. While Nozomi and Urara plead with them to give the mascots back, Rin has a heart-to-heart with Karen and Komachi about what to do. They suggest that now might be the best time to pick one team and stick with it, especially since she seems to really enjoy the futsal team. She’s still worried that nobody but her can handle Yuu and Ai when her mother isn’t around, however.

Before she can make a decision, the soccer ball the kids are playing with gets kicked out of the field, and it bumps into Gamao, who has taken up a job as a janitor at the park instead of working for Nightmare. Public service has done nothing for his attitude, and when the kids ask him to return the ball, he hurls it at them at high speed, nearly knocking them out if Rin hadn’t caught it in the nick of time. Now the girls are all upset and they tell the kids to go play on the other side of the park for a while, while they contend with Gamao. Rin is naturally angry that he tried to hurt her siblings, and she tries to attack him, but he turns a Pinky into a Kowaina. The other four transform and deal with it while Rouge fights Gamao. She is absolutely furious at him for threatening her family and she unloads on him. If he weren’t such an awful person I’d almost feel sorry for him. As before, the girls manage to break the mask off the Kowaina without hurting the Pinky, while Rouge threatens Gamao until he retreats.

As night falls, the girls all sit down and Rin admits that she doesn’t think she’ll be able to help the futsal team. At that moment, Yuu and Ai walk up and promise to behave and be good so she can join the team, because they love her and want her to be able to have fun sometimes. At that exact moment, Mika appears and forcefully asks Rin if that’s her final decision. The twins answer that their sister will DEFINITELY win, and Mika takes that for confirmation, snaps a quick picture of a startled Rin, and runs off to write about how the school’s star sports player has decided to join the futsal team. Rin playfully chides the children but it’s clear that, despite her exasperation, she’s happy with this outcome.

The Analysis

Rin’s struggle between doing what she wants (playing sports) and having to watch over her little siblings probably hits close to home for a lot of people. When you’re the older sibling, oftentimes your job is to watch after the younger members of the family when your parents can’t, and that can interfere with your own personal life. Rin was ready to sacrifice doing what she loved in order to take care of her siblings, and that is beautifully tragic. The show gives this struggle its proper diligence, fully showing both the desperate need for someone to look after Yuu and Ai as well as Rin’s love for soccer, and how much the other sports teams are coming after her. It’s a difficult balance, and the writers deftly showed this with a mix of humor and age-appropriate gravity.

Also, purely from the standpoint of trying to choose a sports team to join, the small futsal team is the obvious choice for Rin. We’re told she helps with all the others, but none of them need her the same way the futsal team does. If she joins them, they have just enough members to play against other teams and form a proper club. If she picks one of the established clubs, they get an ace in the hole, but they aren’t lost without her. This is driven home by the added detail that her flashbacks are the only time we see her actually participating in these sports, while she actively plays futsal at the beginning. It was never really a matter of which sport she’d choose, only if she would commit. The illusion of choice that the writers presented her with is transparent, but intentionally so. They’re only trying to make you feel invested in the underdog.

Now, let’s discuss Rin’s family, and the lengths she goes for them. This is the first time we’ve actually seen her home, her mom, or her siblings (It might even be the first time we learn that she has siblings, I honestly don’t recall). Yuu and Ai are introduced as rambunctious twins whose favorite activity is stirring up trouble. Nozomi can’t control them, Rin has to shout to get them to settle down, they are a handful.

However, they love Rin a lot and they understand, to a degree, that certain things are precious to her. They’re upset when Gamao is being mean to them and to Rin, and they want Rin to be able to play sports without worrying about them. Similarly, Rin loves her little siblings and wants to protect them from danger. When Gamao acts like he’s going to hurl the soccer ball at them, she jumps in and takes an astonishingly hard throw, before getting righteously upset at his threats against her family. Rule 1 of Precure: never piss off the big sister, it will not end well for you.

The flurry of punches she unleashes on Gamao rivals Cure Black’s ruthless attack on Gekidrago way back in FWPC 11, for similar reasons. I love it, we know Rin represents passion, and this is the culmination of a threat against two of her passions combined: her family and her hobbies. You don’t mess with that.

as Gamao learned the hard way

If there’s a downside to this episode, it’s entirely conditional, and that’s that I don’t believe we ever see Rin with the futsal club again, or see how her siblings are taken care of. I am happy to be proven wrong, since I’m sure there’s a lot about these shows I have forgotten over time. We’ll see.

Other high points: Mika is a good source of comic relief, as always, and this time she’s at least reporting on something actually sort of newsworthy, and not Nuts. I hadn’t realized that she recurred quite so frequently, she’s been in every episode bar one since her debut. She’s a good investigator and if she wasn’t so easily distracted, she could probably be a valuable asset.... or a major obstacle to the girls, either way. As it is, she’s a tabloid reporter, and she gets laughs for that.

I appreciate the gradual shifting from day to night on the day of the fight. It’s a minor bit of continuity that really shows that they cared, and demonstrates how long Rin was anguishing over the decision.

Next time, Karen struggles with club budgets, and learns a surprising secret about Otaka-san. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Kettei!

#Precure #Pretty Cure #Yes! Precure 5 #YPC513 #PCD161

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per-ineptia-ad-astra · 5 years

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starhearth: episode two

First Month of Spring, Days 5-7

With a new morning dawning it’s time to really start getting this colony underway. Our motley little crew are still flush with the spirit of pioneering (very Star Trek of them) and have supplies to last a while, but they won’t be satisfied with sleeping on the ground and eating plates of berries around a campfire forever. They’ll be needing beds, and a roof over their heads, and more food, preferably before all those plates of berries run out.

[ID: A screenshot showing a small patch of trees by a lake with a square boundary marked, within which are a few cages.]

First off, Uhura is assigned a little patch of territory near the stockpile to do her trapping in. This will at least supply us with a considerable amount of dried jerky, which will keep the crew from starving if all else fails. Then it’s time to consider our first building.

Stonehearth comes with a few pre-made building templates, but by and large you’re expected to design your own; once designed and placed in the world, your hearthlings will construct them from your stockpiled materials. I’m not exactly what you might call good at designing buildings, but fortunately hearthlings aren’t too picky about architecture and even I can manage to stick a few walls and a roof together. This first building is basically just one big room with a couple of smaller rooms attached, which is meant to eventually serve as a kind of tavern/dining hall, but more immediately will give everyone a place to sleep and eat inside until we can build some individual houses.

The finished schematic (such as it is) calls for a bit more wood than we currently have, but there are some trees in the way of where I want to put it anyway so that works out alright. A few people are sent to cut down those trees; in the meantime, Kirk studiously patrols around the camp, while McCoy crafts himself a Herbalist’s Workbench, which he’ll need to craft other things.

Once the trees are down, the building is placed in a spot close to the lake, next to a young chestnut tree. The chestnut tree isn’t strictly necessary. It just seemed nice.

Time to start building! It’s going to take rather a while, though, because Trappers, Herbalists and Footmen can’t build, so it’s just Scotty and Sulu working on it for now. And with Scotty initially busy making the doors and windows, it’s left to Sulu alone to begin laying the flooring. Unfortunately, he’s chosen to do this while drunk.

[ID: A screenshot showing a close-up on Sulu’s character bar, with a small icon on the side showing a mug of beer, with an accompanying description window which reads: “Light-headed: Having a merry time! Maybe a bit too much...Oh, well. Courage is increased. Diligence, Willpower, Speed and Stamina are slightly decreased. Crafting takes longer and has less chances of producing high quality items. This hearthling is less menacing to enemies. This hearthling will want to engage in conversations and sleep a lot more than usual.”]

Kids! Don’t try this at home. Combining carpentry and alcohol rarely ends well.

Then he falls asleep on the spot. Oh well, that might be for the best. At least now he won’t wind up nailing his own hand to the floor.

[ID: A screenshot showing Sulu, laying fast asleep on a partly finished floor with a couple of Z’s coming from him.]

Having finished his workbench, McCoy goes to gather some herbs and edible mushrooms, starting a makeshift garden next to the stockpile. Meanwhile, Scotty has finished building all the furniture for the tavern, which has raised him up to Level 2. With that done he can start helping Sulu build the actual structure.

The next day brings us a couple pieces of welcome news. The first is that a passing explorer has happened by and they’ve got an offer for us.

[ID: A screenshot of a message box titled ‘An Explorer Approaches Your Town.’ Below that, the text reads, “Hello Enterprise! I am an explorer from far to the east who deals in various amounts of trade and collection. Recently I found 2 Autonomous Cricket Golem just sitting next to the road. I’m not sure who left them there, but they’re quite helpful at cleaning up! I don’t have much use for them myself, but a nearby village said they are in need of 5 Wooden Window Frame. I will be relaxing nearby for 5 days...would you be interested in a trade at that time?”]

This is a stroke of luck, especially so early on. Cricket golems will haul items, meaning hearthlings have to spend less time doing it, which is especially helpful given that hearthlings kind of suck at cleaning up after themselves and tend to drop things all over the place. Also, they’re super cute. We definitely want these, and Scotty can easily crank out those window frames in time, so the offer is quickly accepted.

The other good news is our Daily Update. The Daily Update checks your town’s total net worth and your total amount of provisions, and if both are high enough, a new villager will come to stay. And today, we’ve got enough!

[ID: A screenshot showing a message box titled ‘Daily Update.’ The box reads “Immigration Report: Day 7 of Bittermun, 1000. Enterprise population: 5. Next hearthling requirements...” Below this are two icons, both with a green checkmark on them, one a basket containing a pumpkin and one a chest containing some gold. The icon is labeled ‘Food 117/50’ and the second is labeled ‘Net Worth 545/275’. Below that the text reads, “A new settler would like to join your town!”]

New villagers will have randomly generated names, appearances, stats and traits, and while you can freely change their names at any time, the only way to get new stats and traits is to save immediately beforehand and then reload until you get one you want. Which I...may have done. A few times.

In the end (I’m gonna decline to comment on exactly how long this took) we’ve got a newcomer with 4 mind, 6 body, and 3 spirit, with two traits: Animal Companion (this time, the animal is a fox) and Storm Chaser (which...I’m not actually sure what that one does, but my best guess is that it gives them a happiness boost in stormy weather).

By default in Stonehearth you’re not able to change the appearance of any hearthlings aside from your starting five. In the interests of having everyone look somewhat remotely recognizable as themselves, I employed a mod that lets you change the appearance of new villagers. The downside to this is that the town quickly wound up becoming remarkably homogeneous, but, well, that’s TOS for you.

At any rate, our new villager has the stats to be a good combat unit, and we’ll need an archer eventually, so I decided to make this one Chekov. Because...firing phasers is kind of like firing arrows...look, just go with me on this.

[ID: A screenshot showing a hearthling with brown hair and brown eyes standing next to a fox. Below him the description box reads “Pavel Chekov—Worker.”]

For the moment, however, we need more hands to build the tavern more than we need an archer, so Chekov won’t be taking up his job for a while yet. While he gets to work helping Scotty and Sulu, McCoy harvests some nearby berry bushes and makes some healing potions—more because he needs the experience than because we need healing potions, but hey, they might come in handy.

With the additional help the floor of the tavern is soon finished, and work begins on putting the walls up. But it’ll still be a while before it’s done and in the meantime, sleeping on the ground is making everyone grumpy, so Scotty’s made some extremely basic beds, which are put out near the fire. Before all the beds are even placed, Sulu and McCoy have passed out in a couple of them.

[ID: A screenshot near the campfire, showing two beds placed in a row, with the outlines of three beds still to be placed. McCoy and Sulu are each sleeping in a bed while Scotty sits nearby eating some berries.]

Apparently it’s been a tiring day.

#starhearth

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theunredeemable · 5 years

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Surprise, Surprise

Chapter Three: Ab-so-sushi-ly Perfect Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/43005041?show_comments=true&view_full_work=false#comment_216497207

Ruby clung tightly to Yang as Bumblebee tore down the roads of Patch. She could feel the engine rumble beneath her, and though she had been on the bike before with her cousin, she had never become used to the sharp turns Yang liked taking. She gasped and tightened her grip as Yang took yet another sharp turn as they headed down the road leading towards the docks. Slowly Yang started to decrease speed and slowly slid to a stop outside of the newest, and only, sushi bar in Patch. As the blonde killed the ignition to her beloved bike, she looked up at the sign advertising the name, and let out a snort. “Ab-So-Sushi? I think I'm already in love.”

“Oh Maidens. Really? I'm surprised Blake likes this place if the name's anything to go by.”

“Why? Blake likes my puns.”

“No one likes your puns Yang. They just humour them.” Ruby eagerly got off the bike, removing her red helmet and quickly trying to smooth down her hair. “I just hope they're more professional than you and Sun.”

“Hey, we're professional. We're very good at our jobs thank you.”

“Professionals don't blare a 14 year old meme and sing along to it loudly in the middle of the day.”

“Dragostea Din Tei is a great song I think you'll find Rubes.” Yang huffed indignantly as they made their way to the front door, slipping the bike's keys into her pocket. “Sun and I just appreciate the classics.”

“Whatever helps you cope with the truth” Ruby smiled as she teased Yang, pushing her slightly. She was rewarded with Yang simply ruffling her hair again. As the two entered the restaurant they were greeted with a foreign aroma as several sticks of incense burned throughout the building. Bamboo flooring was decorated with large square carpets of brown and gold. Wooden pillars and arches helped add to the aesthetic, as well as the open kitchen in the middle of the bar, so patrons could see their meal prepared. The whole place was lit with paper lanterns. They took a seat at the bar, still looking around and watching a few servers dart around between tables. Their attention was drawn back to the bar when they heard a confident voice in front of them.

“Well, good afternoon ladies, and welcome to the place where the Sake flows and the food is Ab-so-Sushi-ly delicious.” Yang's eyes lit up with delight as Ruby's head sunk down onto the counter with a groan. “Not seen you two around in a while. How have you been girls?”

“Not been to bad Coco. Haven't seen you since you left to travel the world three years ago. When did you get back?”

“And when did you pick up Yang's humour?”

Both Coco and Yang laughed a little, both holding bright smiles at Ruby's dismay. “Who do you think taught your cousin half her puns. And to answer your question Yang, about 7 months ago. Ended up spending half my travelling time in Menagerie where I met a really, really cute girl.”

“Oh? How'd that go?”

“Pretty well seeing as she decided to move back here with me and open up Patch's first Sushi bar.”

“That's great Coco! Do we get to meet her?”

Coco nodded and looked over her shoulder. “Hey Cinnabun. come over and say hi!” A slightly smaller looked up as she heard the nickname, rabbit ears twitching slightly, before she came to stand next to Coco, cleaning her hands off on a towel that hung out of an apron pocket. “Ruby, Yang, meet my girlfriend Velvet. Velvet, these are some old friends of mine.”

“It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Welcome to Ab-so-sushi.” Velvet's smile was bright, and her voice had a slight accent to it that seemed to make Coco's smile brighten as she looked at that Faunus lovingly. “Coco picked the name.”

“I, for one, think it's a great name. And welcome to Patch Velvet.” Yang waved happily. Ruby smiled and waved her greetings as well.

“I hope to see more of you but I'm afraid I have to get back to work. Lots of hungry mouths to feed.” Velvet planted a quick kiss on Coco's cheek before going back to the flurry of cooking in the open kitchen.

“We should catch up some time. First though, what can I get you two?”

Yang took a minute to look over the menu, nodding to herself. “Can I have the barbecued eel? Along with Salmon Nigiri please? And some water.”

Coco nodded, then looked to Ruby as she wrote down their orders. “I'll take the Chicken Curry Ramen please? As well as some Sake.” Both Coco and Yang raised their eyebrows at her order, prompting Ruby to shrug. “What? I'm not driving.”

“That's fair. I'll go let Velvs know and will bring it over as soon as it's done.” Coco bid them fair well and left them alone at the bar.

“Well Rubes, how have you and Pyrrha been? Anything exciting?”

“Well, now that you mention it, we did get a call from Mom and Dad the other day. They should be heading back soon from Atlas.”

“Why'd they go to Atlas again?”

“Mom wanted to go to a seminar the Academy was holding, see if it held anything that could be transferred to her own classes over at Beacon.”

“So why did Uncle Qrow go?”

Ruby smiled, and rolled her eyes a little. “Why do you think dad went? To bar crawl and see some of the workshops up there. He promised to bring me back some dust so we can do some more experiments here.”

Yang nodded to herself as she listened. “To be honest, they deserved the impromptu holiday.”

The conversation was interrupted as a glass of water was set down in front of Yang, as well as a small porcelain cup and bottle of Sake in front of Ruby. It wasn't much longer before their food was placed before them, and conversation died in place of eating.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sun loudly sang along to the music blaring from his radio as he worked. It was currently rotating through a playlist both Yang and he created for work. It had been a few hours since Yang had clocked out, and he had been working diligently since coming on shift, losing all track of time. The reward for his efforts was the pile of rust he was left with was resembling a car once again, albeit with far to many dents to be serviceable just yet. Between his focus and the music, he was unable to her the soft jingle of the bell that rested above the shops door, signalling that someone had entered The Solar Flare.

Emerald and Weiss walked into the main workshop as they looked for him, finding him underneath the car. His tail danced to the music as he sang happily, ignorant of the world around him as he repaired the under frame. Blue eyes met red as the two girlfriends smiled deviously. Sun always enjoyed pranking them, and they found themselves the rare opportunity to get him back. Without saying a word, they had both come to the same conclusion.

“Vrei să pleci dar, nu mă, nu mă iei, nu mă, nu mă iei, nu mă, nu mă, nu mă AGH!” His singing was interrupted as two pairs of hands grabbed his legs and abruptly pulled him out from under the car. He clutched onto his spanned defensively as his eyes went wide with shock. When he was the two standing over him he sighed with relief and placed a hand to his heart. “You two scared the hell out of me! When did you get here?”

“What, straight to accusations? Not even a, Hi girls how are my favourite people?” Weiss placed a hand to her heart in mock offence. “I'm hurt.”

“Oh no! That won't do at all.” Sun stood up with a flourish, a cheeky grin adorning his face. “Whatever can I do to make it up to my two princesses?”

“A kiss wouldn't go amiss for starts.”

“Easily done, and happily given.” Sun placed a loving kiss on Weiss's lips, which was soon replicated between Sun and Emerald. “When did my two favourite people get her though?”

“About five minutes ago. Weiss thought you'd lose track of time so we came to pick you up.”

“And I was right, or did you forget we're meant to be picking up drinks and heading over to Yang's before Five?”

Sun looked up at the clock and smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “Oops. Guess I did get a little to into work. Do you think she has any idea we're throwing her a surprise party?”

Emerald shook her head. “She shouldn't. We've all kept quiet about it, and I know nothing's been mentioned to Ruby. Speaking of, I believe Ruby's shift of distracting her cousin is about to end.”

“Wouldn't Red get a little suspicious though? Having to distract Yang?”

It was Weiss's turn to shake her head as Sun began the process of closing the shop early. “Not at all, she's quite simply not permitted to question it.”

“Why's that princess?”

“The Schnee Clause.” Weiss and Emerald spoke in unison. Both looked a little shocked, then laughed”

“What's the Schnee Clause when you're at home?” Sun called out from the office, flicking off the lights as his partners waited for him at the door.

“The Schnee Clause states that One Ruby Rose is not allowed to question any request, demand, or decision made by a Schnee if they instate this clause.” Weiss explained.

“It's the perfect way of getting Ruby to help with a secret, without telling her the secret.” Emerald continued.

“Sounds pretty sweet! Alright, all done here. Let's swing by Junior's and pick up a few bottles of Yang's favourite.”

“Way ahead of you, our dear ruffian, way ahead of you.” Emerald pulled out two large bottles of Spiced Plum Cider. “Junior even threw in a keg as well for cheap. You can carry that.”

“Sweet. Yang's going to love this party!”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blake gently rubbed her wrists as she sat in the bed. Winter had come in for their hourly check in, and had undone the restraints on her limbs. She still moved carefully to ensure nothing else was undone, the ribbon pleasantly restraining greater movement and hugging tight to her skin. “How much longer until the party starts?” Blake didn't miss the way Winter looked at her hungrily, before adverting her gaze when the Faunus addressed her.

“Not much longer now. The others should be heading over now.”

Blake nodded, sipping from the water Winter had provided to help her parched throat. She hummed in delight as she drank the ice cold water, sighing contently as she placed it back down on the side table. “Alright. And, how long will the party itself be?”

“Three hours max. I've made the others believe that I have an early start tomorrow. Or, rather.” Winter smiled slyly. “I've implied that, though they probably can guess I have a more private gift planned for Yang.”

“But have no idea how right they are.”

“Correct. Ah, what shall I tell them about your...absence?”

“Have you hidden my shoes?” Winter nodded. “ Tell them I said sorry, but I had to stay late at the Library to catalogue a shipment we got in.”

“Very well. I'll also tell Yang that you'll give her your gift later.”

Blake nodded, rolling her shoulders. Wiggling backwards onto the bed, she laid back down against the pillowy backdrop Winter had prepared, and nodded at the other woman. “I'm ready.”

“Good, cause it's time for the final touches as well.” Winter watched as Blake bit her lip, and went about tying up her hands and legs again. Sauntering away, she could feel the woman's gaze on her back, and smiled to herself as she opened up the closet. Slowly bending over to rifle through the bottom of the enclosed space, she gave Blake a perfect view of her rear. The faunus felt blood rush to her cheeks as she chewed her lip. A tantalising minute passed before Winter stood back up, holding two items in her hands. Blake gasped slightly at seeing the blindfold and ball-gag. “I bought these a few months ago after Yang and I had a rather, drunken, conversation about being tied up and blind folded. We both forgot about it in the morning but I had drunk purchased them.”

“And now....you have a perfectly willing third party to enact those fantasies on.”

Winter smiled slightly, nodding as she approached the bed. “This isn't too much is it?”

Blake was silent for a moment, before softly answering. “No, this is perfect.” When winter reached the bed she could smell Blake's arousal, and smiled as she placed the blindfold over the other woman's eyes.

“I'll be back in a few hours to check up on you before we three begin the real party.” Blake opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as she felt soft lips touch hers, as Winter stole a kiss. “I'm looking forward to it.” Blake could her the gag being placed next to the glass for later use, and Winter's footsteps as she walked away. A gentle click of the door closing, and then she was left alone in darkness and silence.

She couldn't wait.

#Surprise Surprise #winter schnee #winter/yang #blake/winter/yang #Blake Belladonna #yang xiao long #ruby rose #sun wukong #emerald sustrai #weiss schnee #sun/emerald/weiss #rwby #rwby au

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sakhi76457545-blog · 5 years

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Best Wishes For Anniversary

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Models

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More....

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goolagola · 6 years

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THE CASE FOR WORTHY HEROES: Yagiz Egemen Decrypted | #review

Originally posted on Fb on February 27, 2018.

Here it goes. Y’all asked for it. But consider yourselves WARNED. I put a new definition on LONG Fb posts 😆. I did break it into parts so you can save the rest of the reading for another day. And I STILL haven’t watched the rest of the eps yet! 😵

PART I — Story Is As Story Does

It’s been told, that good writing essentially is not just about what is being SAID, but what is being SHOWN. That lazy writing only TELLS a story, instead of DISPLAYING it.

The key to Storytelling isn’t just in “telling" your story—it is in SHOWING it... ESPECIALLY in Filmmaking. It’s more than just the visual portrayal of a story’s characters coming alive in film, but the crucial demonstration of an Author's narrative to earn our faith in their story and its keystone characters.

For even in life, you trust a man’s actions, not just his words. At times, you can ONLY trust his actions, NOT at all his words despite how profound and persuasive they may be.

Words are POWERFUL. Remember that old nursery rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never break me”? Yeah. That’s not really true, is it? Don’t get me wrong, I understand why the rhyme was composed—to advise kids to ignore the vicious words that bullies may attack us with. But it’s undeniable, though try as we may to insist otherwise, that words could, and HAVE affected us, even so systemically profound to the very deep of our souls, with either LIFE... or with DESTRUCTION. We understand the ugly end of the spectrum, what that looks like—we have more suicides and shootings now in the U.S. at our high schools, and though many have been for different reasons, but just as many can be ascribed to lonely and unstable kids who've been bullied with ugly beatings both physical AND verbal. And so they returned fire with much more cruelty. And the price was much more deadly.

I believe writers and filmmakers overall have been given a significant gift to saturate culture either with life or destruction through their craft. With LOVE, or with its dark ABSENCE. What’s more, with what is actually TRUE about LOVE, instead of what is erroneous and false. You and I know, down to our deepest instincts, what we need more in this world.

Now ask yourself, what is it about the story of Yagiz Egemen that compels you so? Why does this character and his resiliency resonate with us in no less than remarkable measure? Even more than Hazan at times for many different occasions, if I may say, though Hazan Camkiran is a compelling character herself. But why are we so enthused to root for Yagiz in this tumultuous, and at times questionable—even ludicrous—dramatical narrative? And for his fascinatingly indefinable relationship with Hazan?—

Why are we still watching?

For the most part, we are able to give a comprehensive reasoning WHY something affects us so. But just like how INTUITION has been showcased in the Writers’ story as I had said last review, many of you have been INTUITIVELY assessing THEIR story, hence in how you have expressed it to each other about a certain scene or just overall plotline—“'I don’t know what it is…' 'I just can’t put it into words…' 'I can’t really describe it…' 'Hazan and Sinan together just doesn’t feel right…’ ‘You’ve put into words what I’ve been feeling about Yagiz and Hazan all along...'” And so on.

Though many have been able to translate into words, yet just as many of you, if not all, have basically responded with how you’ve FELT about the story. You've INTUITIVELY evaluated that there’s just something quite special about Yagiz Egemen... ESPECIALLY Yagiz together with Hazan.

It is in the synergy of how and what the Writers, Directors, and Cast have SHOWN—not just said and spoken—about Yagiz’ story alone, and Yagiz and Hazan’s together.

But what exactly have they SHOWN?

If you don’t mind another lengthy summation, well, let’s get crackin’, shall we? 😁

PART II — EPISODE 14: A New Beginning?

I’ve spent the past two reviews on the singular bond that Yagiz and Hazan share together and how it had developed through intuition for truth and series of instinctual behaviors. The thing is, it wasn’t so much of what they've SAID to each other, for we know that even after discovering it was Sinan who had been the perpetrator of the lies, Hazan still directed some pretty colorful choice of words at Yagiz about her keen mistrust of him. But funny thing is, what is being SHOWN with their actions concerning each other, contradict what they’ve said to, and or about each other. And ladies and gents (there ARE gents, right? We’re not all just crazy cupcakes here? 😆), like I’ve prefaced above, that’s what you can actually TRUST in these unpredictable happenings; As the old adage goes, actions DO speak louder than words. And what we can learn from E14... Pfft.. 🤣🤘😏

I definitely got the message, LOUD and CLEAR.

E14’s pivotal opening scene picked up from the ending of its preceding episode—Hazan FINALLY discovered who had betrayed her. It wasn't who she had thought it was. Her beloved... was NOT who she had thought he was. So what kind of man was Sinan Egemen? But then—

Just what kind of man—WHO WAS this Yagiz Egemen?

Well, missy, as we have covered last review, but let me expound a bit further on it: he’s quite the guy who’s been instinctually PROTECTIVE of you—so strung up was he to the point that he couldn’t even open a stinkin' car door properly when he was trying to get ya in his car, away from the fresh reminder and place of that crazy stunt ya pulled trying to put yourself in front of an insolent fool and his deadly gun. He also was the guy who had defended YOUR sister at the expense of HIS OWN sister’s good faith and adoration for him. The one who had sent the company lawyer to get ya outta jail, jeopardizing his good standing with his dad whom he had always and diligently aimed to please. Oh, he also sought to protect YOUR HEART from being broken from finding out how your mom had bargained you (AND your sister too, btw, by insinuating that HE had stolen Ece’s virtue and so he must pay)—all at the cost of HIS OWN PERSON by letting you to continue thinking that HE was a vile and disgusting son of a gun, even after finding out that it was his brother instead… All because he didn’t want you to end up on the streets and become fresh pickings for some unsavory characters, without the sustenance and protection that his family’s home could offer. Cause if you’d ever found out his brother's ugly betrayal towards you, he KNEW without a doubt that you would shun such security. And btw, he also had to return back to the company that he had resigned from, which he left under some very serious and still unresolved issues, in order to keep up the scheme that he’d thought would save you, but also work to provide a steady income that could give you the comforts and security you need should you try to leave the Egemen mansion in the future.

ALL without you even knowing just WHO has been truly looking out for you all along... And I have only covered his protective behavior up to E13 so far. Then again, I don’t think Yagiz would even recognize himself at this point. This certainly didn’t fit his M.O.—

Only a man in LOVE would display these types of actions and he certainly was NOT a man who LOVES a woman.

Right..?

ShuuUURE. 😏

Bro.

YOU’RE A GONER. A TOTAL GONER, I TELL YA! Michael Bolton is STILL pipin'—WHEN A MAAAAAAAAAAANNNN LOVES A WOOOMAN!—with his epic L’OREAL hair, and we’re ALLL singin' along. 💃🕺😂

(Disclaimer: I am not an official hairstylist for Michael Bolton nor have I been paid to endorse any L’OREAL hair products and represent its brand. Any attempt to recreate Mr. Bolton’s hairstyle or test his hair products, please do so at your own discretion) 😝

And I haven’t even BEGUN to really touch on E14 yet!

Shall we, then? 😃

PART III — EPISODE 14: An Unexpected Discovery?

In a sense, E14 IS a new beginning—Hazan discovered the TRUTH.

She and Yagiz were put on a path of discovery and it led them to each other with the corrupting lies finally removed. And so begun a new chapter, and its beginning is already filled with breathtaking development. I know some of y’all’s lungs seized to function properly at the sight of an unconscious Hazan at the strong arms of Yagiz Egemen, as the stunning view of the sparkling sea splayed behind them. That beautiful sight of that vast sea that may harbor unknown wonders isn’t the only one beautiful to behold. Nor the sea the only one with some hidden wonders.

WHEN A MAAAAAAAAAAANNN LOVES A WOOAAHH—

Okay, Bolton. We get it. LOVE is pretty darn beautiful. And oh-so wonderful to behold... JUST like this episode. 🤣

I mean, so ya witnessed the girl just passed out right in front of ya onto that hard pavement, and the perceptive and levelheaded Yagiz Egemen who was notorious for his striking intelligence and ruthlessly logical but successful solutions, would probably react just like any normal person who’d attempt to bring anybody to health, but do so JUST a tad more brilliantly.

He kidnapped the girl.

Pfft 😂

The man’s instincts were kicked up to HIGH GEAR. He didn’t trust ANYONE to take care of Hazan and keep her safe, at that point, but himself. Not even professional doctors, for the hospital was NOT his initial solution, only later on. He took her to his home. And check this—he didn’t put her in the other two bedrooms that his apartment accommodated.

He carried her to his room.

His bed.

HIS.

🙈🙈🙈

If Yagiz Egemen was a LION, what we’ve just witnessed is a magnificent beast MARKING his territory. With his scent that was all over those bed sheets and his keen, vigilant gaze, all imprinting on Hazan. And sure, this was still not a man in love, right. 😏

Then Hazan woke up. And for someone who DESPISED Yagiz Egemen, it took her some time to actually start yelling at him and take offense for taking her to his home and laying her on his bed. Her initial thought wasn’t even to have lit outta there if she couldn’t so much stand his presence...

But to ask for her phone 🤣—

Which in the midst of the shock and pain her discovery yielded, she had left at the studio, but somehow discovered that Yagiz had kept it after she came to, which tells me, the two even had a prior interaction, all in Yagiz room, before her anger actually emerged.

So Hazan was angrily anxious to get out. And Yagiz became increasingly anxious about her being anxious, her trembling, her ability to process things properly, and safely, aaand the darn stairs she was heading to!

Then Sinan showed up—

And Hazan would rather face the man who she had just taken offense for holding her in his arms than face his younger brother.

Last review, I said that it’s never a good idea to lie to cover a lie (heck, it’s never a good idea to lie at all), even if that lie was to save somebody—which was simply oxymoronic. I also said I understood why Yagiz did what he did with that fib—it was a quick solution he could come up with in that moment. And so, as Hazan turned back to face Yagiz in his hallway after shouting at his brother to leave, we now could see that Yagiz’ quickie “solution” was actually backfiring on him. Though Hazan finally discovered Sinan’s full treachery, she had a hard time believing that Yagiz’ scheme of making her the face of his cosmetic company was no cruel trap but Yagiz’ attempt—misguided and ill advised, though it was—in trying to save her. So Yagiz pled for her to trust him, he wasn’t trying to hurt her nor was this some cruel game he was playing, as Hazan accused him for humiliating her and for being just as disgusting as his vile lying brother—until that same lying brother breached the front door.

And Hazan instinctively RAN to take refuge in the very room of the very man she had said she did not trust. 😂

And Yagiz’ swift instincts was to prevent his brother from getting to her with that awesome block action. 🤣

I told ya 😎. The man was marking his TERRITORY. 🤘

So sitting on top of those stairs he had moments ago feared, Yagiz continued to wait patiently, and calmly, as his foolish younger brother wax philosophical to get his girlfriend back… Till he started beating on Yagiz’ bedroom door to breach it—the girlfriend he had betrayed refused to buy his monologue. A clashing of shoving brothers ensued. Then Sinan had the audacity to holler at Yagiz “not to interfere” and Yagiz harshly barked back to remind the senseless twit that it was him who had pushed his unsuspecting older brother straight deep into the muck. And with Yagiz' sharp words, this is where a key fact is revealed:

Yagiz takes ownership of this whole thing. He acknowledges that he is now deep in the thick of it. By his “interfering”, shows that he was no longer trying to bail off the path that he had not chosen for himself (of which attempts to do so, I had expounded on last review), one that was costing too much of him. Yet finally discovering the truth for himself, he feels responsible for his part (even for his brother’s actions, if I may say—he IS the same man who had apologized to Ece for his sister’s action on her behalf), and therefore responsible to care for the girl that they’ve wronged, who was now choosing to take refuge in his room. Yagiz knew it wasn’t going to be easy for Sinan to win her trust, let alone her affection. So he advised his brother to give her some space. Give himself time. And “Give her time."

Ha. With those words, Sinan was DOOMED. Ya leave those two alone, and your big brother will STEAL her heart. 😏

And so the adventure continued. Sinan left. And Hazan was back on that darn bed 🤣, but this time at her very own discretion. Then something metaphorically intriguing happened... (those Writers are good! 😆)

What Sinan failed to do with trying to force himself in, Yagiz succeeded to accomplish with a different way...

He opened the door with a KEY.

Here's the thing.

Hearts aren’t meant to be invaded. They are meant to be unlocked. With that seemingly trivial action, they are showing who actually possessed the keys to Hazan’s heart.

But that’s for later 😉.

So then I guess we can’t really call Yagiz a thief of hearts..? But he is a kidnapper with a really good lawyer 😂. Hazan dear, if you’ve actually chosen to take sanctuary in his home—his bedroom, in fact 🙈—there was no way he was going to let ya go without a fight. Like, LITERALLY—y’all saw those glass shards everywhere, right. Remember what he’d said to her earlier concerning Sinan? That “If he found the strength to go after you, he wasn't going to leave easily"? Yeah—that line was a twofold literary device meant to actually describe Yagiz, not his brother. In fact, “wasn’t going to leave easily” is an understatement—abduction is a straight up crime 🤣. But I guess Yagiz’ defense argument would hold up in court. He DID say that that day, his home was HERS 😆, and if it was actually Hazan’s house, then it wouldn’t be called kidnapping, right? 🤣Oh, shucks. I was really excited to add Professional Kidnapper to his titles. But at least we can still call him Huggable, for drunk and brokenhearted girls—with the penchant for passing out on sidewalks in pretty dresses and bare feet—in need of compassionate consolation. And, err, Hazan, for a kickboxing coach with an athletic degree, you do have a history of zonking out (not sure if it looks good on that resume, gurl)—By day you pass out on random sidewalks and by night on Yagiz’ arms. 😆 But at least it wasn’t as cold and hard as that dirty pavement—ugh, who knows who last spit on it—so good choice this time. And I guess falling asleep on the arms of Yagiz Egemen does spice up your resume and one does require a healthy balance of spice, sugar, and salt in one's life. 😂

Well, what else was Yagiz Egemen besides being huggable... Whelps, he was a definite sucker for tears for sure. It’s what made him huggable in the first place. And perhaps it’s what had turned him into Hazan’s personal face-washing assistant, too 😂. But he definitely turned to be her partner in crime. She did say she wanted Sinan to feel just as hurt, and so Yagiz made it official—and with her signature, he too became her boss who lets her sleep on his bed at night and makes her breakfast in the morning...

Bruh. Bosses don’t do that... HUSBANDS do that. They worry about protecting their wives and keeping them fed. And make sure their wives sleep on their bed.

Wonder then what your instincts were really trying to tell ya. 😁

PART IV — The Villainous and The Heroic

Every story boils down to one thing—

CONFLICT and RESOLVE (a.k.a Resolution).

PROBLEM and SOLUTION.

Hence you have a Villain as an agent of Conflict, and a Hero with a Solution to resolve it.

There are many, many stories out there, with their even more many, many, many Heroes. Many of them are worthy. Many are not.

I believe Yagiz Egemen is a worthy one. And I hope I’ve SHOWN, not just TOLD (get it? 😝), why he is, with what you’ve read above and even in prior reviews. But perhaps, to really appreciate even further how worthy of a Hero he is, is to see the contrast with one who had really been more villainous than he is heroic in this story… Sinan Egemen.

If you’s a Sinan stan, do accept my apologies for there will be some roasting happening in the next few minutes. He had it coming. Dude needs to be called out.

Since we were on E14, let’s pick up on what was happening at the end of the next episode. True to Yagiz’ anticipation, Hazan did leave the Egemen mansion after finding out her beloved had betrayed her and had then found shelter at Kerime’s place. But Sinan showed up late one night, unannounced, and certainly unwelcome, trying to get her back. Then Yagiz showed up.

“What are you doing here?” Sinan asked, confounded. To which Yagiz replied, “I will not explain to you.” 😎🤘😏 I told ya, the man had also marked his territory. And he does not have to answer to Sinan for it. Still, Sinan challenged with, “You came to talk to Hazan at this time at night?”

Oh, please. This kid tryna front. Get outta here.

This little immature snot just don’t get it. Kid tryna be all territorial but what a bloated blimp full of gas you are at the end. Literally, a minute later (yes, I know, it’s the next episode for us but ya get my point), where did all that protective manhood go when Kerime showed up? Let me explain.

I’ve observed in the Eastern world, and me being of mixed blood myself, how honor and respect is a serious thing—VERY serious thing, in fact. I won't really get all into it, but the bottom line is, if you live in your father’s house, he looks after you. You answer to him. Before it’s your house, it’s first HIS. You respect his authority and his duty to look out for you. Now Hazan was staying at Kerime’s house. In the beginning of E16 when all four of them, that is, Yagiz, Hazan, Kerime, and Sinan, were outside, just look at their body language, and by “their”, I mean Hazan and Kerime. Hazan was standing behind Kerime waiting respectfully. This was Kerime’s house, and technically, Hazan was then under her care, though at that point in time Kerime didn’t know who Hazan was and that Fazilet was scheming again. The point is, Yagiz, Hazan, and Sinan were under Fazilet’s conniving that Kerime was Hazan's kin, and the one sheltering her by allowing her to stay at her house.

So, this little weasel dared to front at his big brother, “questioning" the wisdom of his nightly visit (yeah, and there he was, this foolish mess of hypocrisy and arrogance, INVADING on Hazan's space when she clearly had told him to get the snuff out)—but who in the world was actually answering to the person who was sheltering Hazan, wishing her to get well, trying to be respectful, and in doing so might perhaps excuse their late night excursion to see her young kin… Well, FOR SURE it wasn’t Sinan. It was his “questionable" brother instead that he was trying to drill. The nerve. So please excuse my harshness for calling you a little immature snot at this point in time but you clearly need a whoopin’. Grow up, man. Please. Don’t try to front if ya can’t own up. You trying to defend Hazan’s honor really rings empty and hollow when you left it to your brother to really be the one responsible for BOTH of your presence there. If you really felt responsible for Hazan, if would’ve been YOU facing Kerime. The reason your brother was there in the first place was because he was busy trying to take care of everyone else; His—and btw, is YOURS, too, if you recall—sister in particular, who had been in his home earlier and at the very brink of losing it (sorry bruh, she did lose it actually, strangling Ece, all drunk and crazed, but you just didn’t know that that was going on YET) because his hero father had married a teenager who was younger than his own teenage daughter... But there you were trying to score some lip action. *SMH*. You’ve been so caught up in your own selfishness and pain, you didn’t even realize THE REST of your family were suffering too. But it was Yagiz here trying to make sure all y’all’s blasted tails were alright (which includes you too, Gokhan, but you flippin' ignored his call, so you can't really accuse him for not reaching out like you will when y'all finally get your siblings night later on). Yagiz went to Hazan to tell her to try to reel her sister in because Ece’s taunting Selin was creating more pain and anger instead. He certainly wasn't there to seduce her, like Sinan had been doing.

Now here’s the thing about LOVE; before it receives anything, it seeks to GIVE instead, because LOVE does not seek its own. In other words, it is NOT self-seeking. It’s time to really just call it for what it is—Even in this early stage of whatever was happening between Hazan and Sinan, at the end of the day, can you really call that LOVE? The heart of the matter is, Sinan wanted to get back with Hazan because of the comfort that she can offer him in this heartbreaking, confusing, and distressful time (did he not say that himself, though with a different preface?). Because if he really was looking out for Hazan’s best interests, he would’ve listened to what his brother had said back at Yagiz' home when Hazan was hiding in his room—Give her some time.

“Did you really expect that it was going to be that easy? Yok ya!” Yagiz had wisely but, vehemently, said to Sinan. In other words, prove, and show her, that you can be a trustworthy man. Then WIN her heart again. But instead, there he was trying to emotionally FORCE himself upon her. The girl had told you to get out but still you invaded on her space, trying to seduce her. Oh man. This is a huge RED FLAG. There's a word for someone who forces intimacy upon an unwilling participant. Any sane Dad woulda whooped the salt out of this guy. That is somebody’s priceless daughter right there!

Sinan can SAY that he loves Hazan but at the end of the day, he was still seeking after his own first, instead of putting her needs before him. How long did that “I will save Hazan from myself” from E14 really last? What? Two days? Three days tops? Pfft. Even your way of trying to free her from you was breaking her heart by way of expensive booze and cheap women, instead of just go man up like your brother’s been asking you to. And it was Yagiz having to clean up after your hammered and sorry tail. Again.

One must stand as a man and be accountable for who he is and his actions before he’d even thought to be responsible for another human being, especially a woman he desires to win. If not,

How could he be called worthy of her?

PART V — A Story’s Crown of Glory

Of a grand and worthy Story, what then would be its CROWN of GLORY?...

LOVE.

I believe that the glory of ANY story is when it tells and shows the timeless story of LOVE... even if a story is a superhero ACTION flick.

Yet, even for a Superhero—super powers or not—whether he knows what he’s doing trying to rescue his beloved girl and humanity or not; he’s still a Superhero worth his salt. Why? Because, again, LOVE, is his motivation. A Superhero out to save his own skin is one you can't really respect. Can you actually even call him a HERO? Just look at any war movies out there. It’s the same repeated theme that resonates with our hearts over and over again—

A Hero who rescues and lays down his life for others.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what we identify LOVE to be.

In by no means is Fazilet Hanim ve Kizlar a perfect story. In fact, it is seriously flawed. I’ve said it above that it is at times ludicrous. You literally have THE MAIN leading character in which the show is partly named after, and from the get go she was no inspiring Hero but destructive Villain instead. A broken mother who breaks her children, because broken people break people. And so far, though we had witnessed some redeeming qualities in Fazilet Camikran, she had remained steadily villainous, and again, ludicrous. Sirma and her writing team’s got to work some serious muscle to redeem their main leading character if they'd any aspirations to finish strong, which I’m sure they do.

Caglar had mentioned that FHVK is a story about the complexities of the human soul. Within the soul of mankind, there are shades of dark so black that all have been both the victim and perpetrator of an unrighteous deed and deeds at various points of our life. BUT... Mankind is also capable of great compassion. Great sacrifice. And of the always much-needed GRACE.

You and I know, down to our deepest instincts, what we need more in this world.

There’s a reason why Caglar’s character have risen to prominence more than all the characters written in FVHK. Yagiz Egemen is NO perfect hero. But he IS a Hero who had displayed closer to its TRUE essence what this world really needs most—

LOVE.

And perhaps that is why we are all still watching.

With this, I bid you adieu.

Cheers 😁

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pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer · 3 years

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I beat NEOTWEWY! That was the most JRPG-ass final boss I’ve fought in years, love to see it. Need to dig into the post-game content before I try to compare it overall to the first game, but the ending at least...I’d probably say that’s better than the first game’s, and being able to say that just makes me giddy. A long list of other, super spoilery thoughts below the cut.

-It’s pretty cool that every family of Noise has its own symbol this time! Makes it a lot more clear when you’re hunting a specific Noise.

-Pachy Noise seem a little less annoying? Maybe? I still dread them but not the most.

-Puffers take a bit too long to explode and that’s annoying, but in the grand scheme of things that’s pretty minor.

-Those fucking Chameleons, though. The vanish and snipe routine I could tolerate, but combined with that counter blast every time you hit ‘em...yikes.

-I still think Rex Noise are cool af, but the Maximazaurus kicked my shit in and it didn’t feel entirely fair. How was I supposed to know that roar attack covered the entire battlefield? Can it even be dodged, or are you just supposed to kill it before it can use it?

-Fuck Plague Noise

-RIP Drake Noise and Progfox :(

-I do find it a little weird that some Noise have a regular and boss version that use the exact same name. Makes me wonder why they didn’t just recolor and rename the boss version. Meh, it’s not that important.

-So it seems “mutating” a Pin just means evolving it but it requires certain conditions, and those conditions seem to be which character it’s equipped to when it finishes leveling. Very glad there’s a skill on the social network that makes their conditions clear.

-RIP Shutdown PP :(

-Music still slaps. I really like that one, “Breaking Free” I think? It embodies that early 2000s angst, plus the final lyrics are “the world ends with me” and I’m a sucker for that shit.

-The direction they went with Kanon didn’t quite land with me personally. Like it was still pretty good, I did feel a bit sad to see her go, but her introduction just really rubbed me the wrong way I guess.

-I was unsure about the VIP system at first, but shopkeepers do still warm up to you even if it isn’t as trackable. And...I never did a whole lot with the brand chart anyway, I guess. The VIP level being a permanent thing rather than resetting every time you leave the area is a strong point in its favor.

-I really like the social network! Gives you even more info about the background characters and helps drive home the themes of connection, and it’s heavily incentivized by the wide variety of rewards you get from it. Five of my six pins can be Uber now.

-There was a minute there I thought I wouldn’t be able to progress without grinding Style, but then I realized it only restricts abilities, not what you can and can’t even equip like Bravery did. Yeah that’s a step up.

-OH, and Pin Mastery! Mastered pins counting even if you evolve or sell them! That’s good. That’s very, very good.

-I like how most of the playable characters have their own unique Psych used in the overworld to make up for their interchangeability in battle. Do sort of wish Minamimoto and Neku had their own, but it’s not a sticking point by any means.

-Also how fucking hype was fighting Leo Cantus Armo and then seeing Neku bust in with Twister playing, that was so fucking cool.

-Speaking of Hype...was kind of expecting Tsugumi to do more? In and of itself I don’t think there’s really an issue, I 100% think it’s a matter of her being central to the sequel buildup in both Solo and Final Remix. She’s super sweet, though. ^_^

-As for Tsugumi’s Noise form...well, lolz told me to bring Stone pins and those really trivialize the fight. The first time, at least.

-Someone I do think was underutilized is Ayano. We didn’t get enough from her prior to her infection and that limited the impact. The flashbacks offered during that scenario definitely helped, and I really liked Rindo going through the day trying to talk with Shoka and mentally prepare her, but...they definitely could’ve done more with her, and her being one of the characters who actually dies doesn’t help.

-Neku’s so happy in this game!!

-SHIKI FACE REVEAL!!!!

-I lost my shit when Beat took off his mask, adding him relatively early was a Good Move.

-HACKER RHYME

-I feel like Joshua showing up right out of nowhere would be confusing to new players, but obviously I can’t say that with certainty. Plus, there’s still the Secret Reports, those might explain quite a few things.

-Right, Secret Reports! I actually got one before even beating the game (Report 3), it was after my social network got to 70% completion so I think that was the unlock. I am...nervous about not having a checklist of the unlock requirements this time, but it seems they might be easier to get overall (I got Report 2 just from fighting Go-Go Beringei’s symbol on Easy) so we’ll see.

-Don’t think I see game time anywhere so that sucks, especially since the Switch’s gameplay records are so damn vague.

-Still a tiny bit salty the game didn’t tell me about what the “-” button does right away.

-All the books seem to be in one shop and I quite like that, as well as the whole organization/aesthetic of the Collection menu. I really want to see if I can 100% this game.

-The Graffiti wall is also a cool spin on achievements, even moreso since you can actually see the wall in Udagawa.

-Susukichi’s completed Noise form is tough. You really need to time your dodges when he punches, took me a minute to get that, and taking cover from that massive lightning attack is a pretty cool gimmick. I got massive Ovis Cantus vibes.

-Can we talk about how fucking packed with spoilers that last trailer was? I am of the opinion spoilers don’t necessarily ruin things but that’s a personal choice and holy shit Square.

-Really like how they subtly mislead you in regards to Swallow’s identity. The way scenes cut made me think for the longest time that they’d be the leader of the Ruinbringers, helped by the fact that Susukichi and Tsugumi start just a bit out from Rindo on the social network, leaving just enough space for one character to link them. Then they start making you think it’s Rhyme. Then you get surprised by the final reveal, but it’s a surprise that makes sense looking back. Love it.

-The whole bit with Rindo meeting anOther is also a really interesting juxtaposition with Neku meeting CAT. Both of their character flaws can be traced back to their idols, but in Neku’s case it’s down to his own misinterpretation, while Rindo is just the type of follower Motoi wanted to create. Meeting his idol is a positive experience for Neku, but a negative one for Rindo, yet they both grow as a direct result of the encounter. Super cool.

-In fact, it’s actually Fret whose backstory ends up being closest to Neku’s, despite their wildly different dispositions, that’s nuts and I love it.

-After her speech in Week 3, Nagi might just be the best character.

-They did a hell of a lot with Shoka and I love all of it.

-I said it before but I was not expecting to love Kaie as much as I do. Definitely in the running for favorite Shinjuku Reaper.

-I didn’t expect much from Hishima due to his nondescript character design, but he’s actually pretty cool.

-For Susukichi and Shiba both, they’re complete assholes in different and entertaining ways, but both manage to have a healthy amount of depth as well, I really like that.

-And fucking Kubo! Hated him from the start, but he managed to grow on me as things went, and his final reveal left a hell of an impression. I do sort of wish we got to fight him ourselves, but he got a brutal death and that’s what really matters. Xander Mobus sounds like he’s having fun.

-Haz was a very interesting addition. We’ve been wondering who he is since that final trailer (where they showed the last scene he, a Walking Spoiler, was a part of, what the hell) and I still wasn’t sure what to expect once we did get his name. He definitely gave off the same vibes as Joshua so I thought he might be a Composer (either replacing Joshua in Shibuya or maybe coming from Shinjuku), but the reveal of what he really is was pretty cool.

-Uzuki mellowed out just the right amount, I like her a lot more now.

-Kariya’s pretty much the exact same character and I love that for him.

-Would’ve liked to see Hanekoma but oh well, it sounds like he’s still writing the Secret Reports so that’s cool.

-Oh yeah, Coco. Mmm...I mean I still don’t trust her? It is a little weird that Neku does, but not to a jarring extent? I dunno, I feel like she’s still got a scheme going on...

-Again, fantastic ending, last scene very similar to the last scene of Steins;Gate so that’s a plus in my book.

-And it’s got its own Another Day!! The mention of Tin Pin makes me wonder if it’s the same timeline as the first game’s Another Day, but not sure. All three of the checkpoint bosses kicked my ass so I left to go hunt Secret Reports and fill out my Noisepedia, but eventually I hope to get further into it.

-I wasn’t super diligent with Pig Noise but there’s only one variety missing in my Noisepedia, plus I missed the second level Rex Noise. Other than that and the spots past Phoenix Cantus I just need to try to fill in drops.

-Blond kid spending one of his seven days hunting for seven urban legends really took me back to the KHII prologue, and I’m one of the folks who liked that so I mean that as a good thing.

-”The pigs’ll come sniffing!” Beat knows what’s up.

-The Chapters menu seems to count Scramble Slam rewards towards completion...I am quite nervous about that, seeing as I only got like halfway to the lowest prize every time…

-Commentator Reaper has my whole heart though

-There was one sidequest...W3D1, I think? It said someone in Udagawa needed help, but I ran up and down Udagawa like 5 times and couldn’t see anyone. Did I miss it? Is it post-game? Is the game bugged? Hm.

-But I have done almost all of the sidequests, and I...usually did well on Dive missions. There’s a decent chunk of stuff for me to do in revisits but not too much.

-Where I am right now, I still have some unanswered questions, but a lot of that comes down to specific details I might not mind if they don’t clarify. Still hope they do, of course. I crave knowledge. Time to get back to finding those Reports...

#Pahrak plays NEOTWEWY #NEOTWEWY spoilers

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sparklezoi · 6 years

Text

Crazy, Ch16 & Epilogue

So finally we’ve reached the end! Whee! Thanks for reading and for being patient with me as I procrastinated months sometimes between writing chapters. This isn’t the last you’ll hear from Kurt and Zarah, though! I plan to start writing more for them immediately. They’re too cute to let go. If you need to refresh your memory, you can read all the chapters at http://archiveofourown.org/works/8015611/chapters/18350020

The portrait was even more beautiful than he would have expected, especially for having been done in crayon. There was a bit of anime influence in the eyes, drawn large and expressive, but overall the style was fairly realistic. That was definitely Zarah’s delicate little nose and rosebud lip pattern. His blond hair was loose in the drawing, tumbling in fluffy waves and curls over his shoulders. It was obvious Zarah had a lot of talent for drawing, but it needed to be nurtured and allowed to mature. There was a letter inside as well, but Kurt still had yet to read it. The moment he had read the note scrawled on back of the envelope, he had dropped everything and headed for the bus stop. The note had proclaimed, in large letters written in red crayon, I’m getting out! As the bus appeared around the corner, he hastily stuffed the drawing back into the envelope and the envelope into his back pocket. The letter would have been sent a couple of days ago, at least; Zarah should be home by now.

He was greeted with a hug at the Andros’ door, and that was just by Zarah’s mom.

“Oh, Kurt, great news!” she said in lieu of a proper greeting. “Guess who’s home?”

It wouldn’t have been hard to guess even if he hadn’t gotten that note scrawled on the back of that letter.

“I’m glad,” he replied. “How’s he settling in?”

“About as good as you’d expect for someone who’s been away from home for weeks. He’s got a lot of catching up to do with school and all.”

Kurt nodded. “I won’t keep him long, then.”

He had a curfew to make at the group home, anyway.

Marian took him upstairs to where Zarah lay on his stomach on the bed, propped up on his elbows, poring over his algebra book. Or so it would seem. Upon closer inspection, one might notice his equations had given way to doodles towards the bottom of the page as his concentration waned. He startled a little as his mom knocked on the (already open) door out of politeness.

“Zarah, honey, there’s someone here to see you,” she said sweetly.

There was an audible gasp before he scrambled up off the bed, hurried over and pounced Kurt so suddenly that the man had to stumble back a step or two so they didn’t both fall over. Zarah hugged his mentor as tightly as he could.

“Kurt! I missed you so much!” he said.

“I’ll leave you two alone for a minute,” Marian excused herself. “Door stays open, please.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s good to see you home,” Kurt said, “And thank you for the beautiful drawing.”

“I just hope it meets up with your expectations,” Zarah said humbly.

“Meets and exceeds. You really do have quite the talent for art.”

“Thanks,” Zarah said, blushing.

Kurt caressed his pupil’s soft, rounded face, so cherubic in its beauty. It was hard to imagine someone so lovely could ever have been turned to such evil. But that was a different life, a different person, he had to remind himself. He was still acquainting himself with the person his pupil had become in this life. He wanted to know every detail, but he would have to pace himself. Now that they had found one another, they had the rest of their lives to explore and learn about one another. For now, one question weighed most heavily on his mind:

“So how did you convince them to let you go home? Did you manage to convince them your past memories were only works of fiction?”

“Not quite,” Zarah replied, “and I’m pretty sure Dr. Jeong would’ve kept me longer if not for that one letter I wrote you.”

“The one your parents saw?”

“Yeah, DeShawn told Dr. Jeong I knew Japanese but had never studied it. The doctor thought he could catch me at something, gave me this big, long test to see how much Japanese I really knew.”

“Which, of course, you passed.”

“Not just that,” Zarah said with a self-conscious little grin, “but the friend he got to grade the test told him my Japanese was that of a gay man from the ‘90s, which of course no Japanese class is ever going to teach, and he didn’t think I could have answered all those questions so well if I had learned it all from anime. He couldn’t explain it. Dr. Jeong was forced to admit I knew things I had no way of knowing as a teenager from Georgia. The next day I was sent home.”

“Interesting. Though I suppose he never admitted belief in your reincarnation.”

“He didn’t have to. As long as I’m home and life can get back to normal, I don’t care what he believes.”

Life was going to be better than just “normal” for the both of them now, though, because now they would have each other.

Kurt wrapped his arms around Zarah’s lithe body, pulled him close and placed a kiss on the top of his head.

“I love you,” he said, barely above a whisper, and he heard Zarah’s breath catch at the sound of the words. He loosened his grip and held the boy a little further away, until he could look him in the eyes, and repeated with a bit more ease and confidence, “I love you, Zarah.”

Tears threatened to fall from those green eyes as Zarah threw his arms around Kurt once again, burying his face in the taller man’s chest. Kurt just held him for a minute or two, stroking his hair. He idly wondered what shampoo Zarah used; his hair smelled amazing- a mix of exotic tropical fruits and flowers. He found himself wishing he could conjure a flower to place in his pupil’s hair, but that, too, was part of another person living another life, years ago.

Finally, “I love you, too,” Zarah reciprocated. “Kiss me?”

“I-I shouldn’t, not here in your parents’ house.”

As religious as they were, Kurt knew they wouldn’t appreciate walking in on seeing him kissing their son passionately on the lips, especially not while Zarah was still living under his parents’ roof and thus subject to their rules. And he hadn’t worked so hard to earn their trust only to betray it now (no matter how much Zarah pouted.) For now they would both have to settle for a chaste kiss on the forehead. Then he reluctantly let go and turned to leave.

“Well, I don’t want to keep you from your homework…”

“Don’t go yet! You just got here!” Zarah protested. “Um… do you know anything about quadratic equations? Maybe you can stay and help me with my homework.”

“Unfortunately, I have a curfew to make. I’m afraid I can’t.”

“My mom or dad could take you back. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

Zarah pouted cutely and pleaded with his eyes until Kurt finally gave in.

“I… guess I can take a look and see whether I remember how to do it.”

That was good enough for Zarah, who tugged his mentor over to where his school books were lying out on his bed. This was probably the only time his parents wouldn’t freak out over looking into his room to check on him and finding him on the bed with a man.

Epilogue

Zarah had left his windmill puzzle in Tom’s care when he went home, and now the boy sat at a table in the common room diligently working on putting it together. He silently cursed Zarah’s parents for bringing one with so many pieces. This was going to take forever!

“Hey,” asked a friendly voice, “you need a little help with that?”

Tom looked up to find one of the last people he wanted to see: one of the nurses, a guy named DeShawn. Zarah had seemed to like him a lot, but that didn’t make him any less staff. It didn’t necessarily mean he was trustworthy..

“What, so you can take one of the pieces and keep me crazy?”

“No, so I can give you this,” DeShawn replied, dropping a piece on the table.

Tom blinked several times as he picked the stray piece up and examined it.

“So I was right all along! You guys really do take and hide pieces.”

“I think you just dropped one. I found it on the floor over there.”

“Oh,” Tom said, finding and sticking the piece in the place where it fit. “Thanks.”

“No problem, brother, and if you change your mind about needing help with that, just let me know. That's a lot of pieces for one person to do on his own.”

DeShawn had turned to go when Tom called out after him, “I’m really not all that great at puzzles, so if you really wanna help…”

“Sure.”

He hated the way a couple of the other nurses had conspired to take a piece out of this puzzle when they learned of Tom’s conspiracy theories, and the test that had been conceived to find out for sure. Finding and returning the piece seemed like the least DeShawn could do to help preserve one boy’s sanity.

#sparklezoi #yagific #Sailor Moon FanFic #kunzoi #kunzite x zoisite #kunzite #zoisite #the end #yay!

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