#*oops wrong goddess. it's too early

[voiceofduality]

// no one follows me on this account anymore but i made drows lately

#a bard/sorc with eilistraee's divine blessing #and a blood hunter/artificer with a literal demon in his body #*oops wrong goddess. it's too early

[starlight-loki]

Headcanon of the day: Loki x Mystic!Reader

This sort of acts as context for a fic I have coming out in the next day or two. I thought I'd release this first as a kind of shittily-written backstory for it, so that the relationship dynamics make sense :) Enjoy!

UPDATE: the fic is all done! you can read it here

(this is quite long and the Keep Reading option won't work, dammit. my apologies 😅)

You know something's wrong as soon as Stephen bursts into your room, a troubled look in his eyes

"They're here."

Stephen had been talking about this for a while -- it was just a matter of time before Thor and Loki arrived in New York looking for their father

He told you from the start that they were going to need help; your help

At first you protested because you were still in the midst of learning everything there was to know about the mystic arts.

you weren't a beginner by any means, but you definitely didn't feel you were at a level where you could just... fight the goddess of death

Now, you realized as Stephen rushed out of your room as quickly as he came, you were out of time to prepare: you had to use what you knew and hope it was enough

You stepped down the stairs into the main entrance of the Sanctum just as Stephen brought Loki back from the void with a thud

"Right, I'm sending Y/N with you. The two of you are going to need help with this whole... situation."

"We don't need help, especially not from a mortal, you second-rate-"

Stephen sends all three of you through a portal before Loki can even finish pulling out his knives

at first, you really can't stand either of them

Thor is... too much muscle, not enough brain

while Loki on the other hand is half part brain, half part whining weasel

You honestly feel like you got stuck babysitting the two of them, and there's a part of you that hopes this mission Stephen sent you on won't be so bad after all

Of course, everything sort of went to shit when you found yourself on Sakaar

You were the first to arrive, and were admittedly terrified when you came face to face with the Grandmaster

you had powers and were strong enough to defend yourself, sure, but this seemed like a whole other ball of wax entirely

You chucked a few illusions here, as well as a couple fancy tricks you learned from Stephen there, and soon enough you became the Grandmaster's... magic show.

It was disappointing really, to know that your powers were being used to amaze three headed ogres and other folks who looked like they walked straight out of the Capitol from The Hunger Games, but at least you weren't fighting in the arena

or worse... dead.

to your surprise, Loki showed up a week later -- escorted to your room by none other than the Grandmaster himself

"Y/N, I've got another wizard for you!"

(you swear you can see Loki's jaw clench at the Grandmaster's term, and it takes all you can not to laugh)

"He can do illusions too. Maybe you two can, y'know, think up a big show for us tonight."

Loki's surprised to see you (and also relieved to see a familiar face, finally), but he quickly disguises his relief as disgust before you can think anything more of it

"I'm not sharing my bed." You say tightly, and Loki shoots you a glare before settling down on the couch in the corner of the room

At first, the two of you barely talk to each other despite sharing a room

You really just throw some illusions together during your show, and then head back to the room to sulk in silence

It honestly starts to feel like you're living the same day over and over, that is until you wake up to the sound of screaming

You rush over to Loki, to find he was having a violent nightmare

When he finally wakes up, terror in his eyes and not fully registering his surroundings, you place a hand over his forehead gently

You remembered an incantation you read once while at the Sanctum, one that could calm even the most restless mind, and you mumbled the words to the best of your ability

To your relief, Loki's breathing slowed as the last of his nightmare faded away

"You okay?"

You don't know why, but you find yourself reaching to hold Loki's hand in both of your own

His fear, his memories... you could almost feel them physically reverberate in you

maybe your initial conceptions about Loki were wrong, after all. Maybe he wasn't nearly as bad as you thought

you go out of your way to try and be a little nicer to him, sneaking in drinks and other treats you managed to grab on your way out of the Grandmaster's parties for him to try

sometimes, the two of you would even stay up until the early hours of morning, sharing stories and laughing together and actually feeling happy

for a garbage planet, maybe things weren't quite so bad.

until the night you had a nightmare. you could've sworn it was real, the way everyone in your dream seemed to dissolve into ash right in front of your eyes

you didn't realize you were crying out in your sleep until Loki woke you up, the entire situation reminiscent of when you first caught him having a nightmare of his own

you see the worry in his eyes, and you can't stop yourself from crying as the events from your dream played through your mind

"It's alright. It's not real. You're safe, Y/N. You're safe."

Loki repeats those words quietly like a lullaby until your breathing calms, and you grab his wrist before he can retreat back over to the couch

"Please stay."

the two of you don't realize just how touchstarved you are until you're both lying together, holding each other as if the world were about to end

(i'm getting Pompeii-esque visuals, am i crying??? maybe)

as your relationship progresses into purgatory-type territory -- somewhere between friendship and romance -- you realize the connection between the two of you grows stronger

specifically, the telepathic connection

before you know it, you can hear Loki's thoughts, and he can hear yours

you suspect it has something to do with the incantation you used to heal him after his nightmare

(you never did read the warnings on that one. oops.)

after a while, the two of you managed to control your telepathic abilities, to the point where you didn't hear the other's each and every thought

there was only a soft buzzing noise in the background of your mind, as if Loki's energy was gently reminding you he was there

Loki found your thoughts incredibly irritating at first

especially how you never seemed to shut up when you were nervous

there was a certain comfort in knowing you were only a thought away, though. especially when the day finally comes when you have to battle Hela

there's a moment when you're convinced Loki had died -- when he ran back into the palace to summon Surtur -- and your breath stops all together in your throat

for a few seconds, you couldn't hear his thoughts anymore. the constant white noise in the back of your mind was gone

when it suddenly resumes out of nowhere as you flew away from the remains of Asgard with Thor and everyone else, you couldn't help but make a run for Loki

you found him in one of the sleeping quarters on the ship, and before you could think twice, you kissed him. hard.

"You idiot! You could've died!"

You can't stop the tears of relief and the smile that lights up your face as you take him in

"I didn't die, however. I'm still here."

All you can do is laugh, and to your utmost delight, Loki pulls you in for another kiss

except this time, you freeze.

"Do you have the Tesseract?"

the way Loki's hands tense around your waist tells you everything

"...why would you think that?"

"I'm a mystic, you idiot! I practically pick up on energy for a living!"

Realizing he really can't hide anything from you, Loki materializes the Tesseract and holds it out to you carefully

"What were you hoping to achieve with this?" You ask, your voice nothing more than a horrified whisper

the lost look in his eyes tells you everything: he wasn't really sure, himself.

you conjure a portal and send the Tesseract far, far away from the two of you, and you can almost see the relief visibly fill Loki's eyes as that temptation disappeared

You realized as you landed back on Earth that the two of you were finally safe. You were home, and you had Loki now, too.

Things were going to be okay.

Until of course, the day your visions started.

#headcanon of the day #loki x reader #loki x gender neutral reader #loki x reader headcanon #loki laufeyson #loki imagine #loki x reader headcanons #the avengers #thor ragnarok #doctor strange #mcu loki #loki hc #loki x reader hc

[theoryfan205]

Link falls first

The change part 1

Zelda had gotten up early today, though she would of loved a few more hours she was too excited to go back to bed for today was the day she got to play the goddess in the ceremony, she stayed up late finally finishing her sail cloth and today she was going to practice the new instrument her father had shown her, apparently it was just like the one the goddess used!

She got out of bed and instead of putting on her regular outfit she put on her outfit for the ceremony, she couldn't wait for link to see her in this, he was probably out like a light right now, she'd have to wake him up later

She slowly opened her door, peeking out to make sure nobody was there to see her, when she was sure the cost was clear she left, closing her door as quietly as she could before making her way through the academy, it was still a bit late so if she wanted to Practice it'd have to be somewhere quiet, like... Oh the goddess statue! And it would fit since she was playing the part of the goddess, she was interrupted from patting herself on the back for her amazing idea as the bathroom door had started to open, quickly thinking she charged ahead and slammed it shut again, earning a surprised noise from the person inside

"Ah! What in the goddess?-"

Phew, it was only her father, she felt bad for having to slam the door in his face but this was important

"Sorry father! It's an important day and i want link to see me first in my outfit, you understand right?"

She heard him chuckle through the door, her nerves relaxing immediately

"Ohohoh! Alright Zelda, I understand, love is a very passionate feeling after all"

That had her blushing, she regretted confiding her feelings with her father, even though it made her feel better, if she was lucky maybe today link and her could...

Ah! Focus Zelda! You've been standing there quietly for too long!

"Thanks father see you later!"

She managed to get out before rushing to the doors, accidentally closing them a little too hard, oops, it'll probably be fine, she quickly made her way up to the goddess statue, giving a quick prayer to the bird statue on the way, she's always being told how important it is by jakamar, he wasn't wrong though so she always did it.

When she arrived at the statue she could see her and link loftwings flying together in the sky, seeing them made her smile and made her more determined to get this right! She started playing on the harp as her father called it, singing the lyrics as best she remembered, she was there practicing for hours before she noticed the ceremony was nearing, so she wrote a quick letter to link and called her loftwing Down, handing the letter to them

"Go deliver this to link, okay? Make sure he wakes up too or he'll be late again"

And then her loftwing was off, she resumed practicing, waiting for link to show up so they could spend the day together before the ceremony started, this would be a grand day she decided, nothing could go wrong

@cowbn @attllhak

Behold! The first chronological fic for my link falls first au! I'm tired and i didn't proofread so I have no idea how this will go, either way enjoy!

#skyward sword #sksw #ss #loz #loz sksw #loz ss #skyward sword au #skyward sword fic #link falls first #skyward sword link #skyward sword zelda #link skyward sword #zelda skyward sword

[linksthoughtbrambles]

[Link finds formalized services distracting. He's trying to pray, for goodness' sake. Be quiet!]

(Link's Thought Brambles part 7)

Please, please give me some sign of how you want me to do this. Should I kneel with you? Stand behind you but closer than usual? Should I glare at all these priests and priestesses acting like they’re being helpful, but actually they’re making you uncomfortable and you’d be better off without them?

“En”

Here they go.

“dashelu nobeh shundu tje shutue kehwenu saleh”

It’s a shame

“en dashelu nobeh dushu”

because the song itself is so lovely.

“tje shutue nobeh dezu dotshe”

I think it’s best

“Keh nahbenue nofeh toh balee”

To kneel with her.

“Nayru farore toh din”

To show we’re equals.

“Kah neh baneh nobe shalu”

Which is such bullshit

“Toh nobe dezu uta ah en.”

because she’s the Princess for f@*#’s sake. (Oh. Oops. Sorry.) And me? I’m just a guy from Hateno who can do a backflip and smack moblins around. And she’s brilliant and gorgeous and patient (with everyone but me) and kind and so giving that she makes herself miserable so she can help everyone else. They don’t give her any credit-

“In the name of Goddess Hylia, we offer this prayer. We offer our hopes so we may labor with joy. We offer our dreams that we may soar skyward. We offer our losses so we may have new life. We offer our fears that we may have courage.”

Seems to me like she already has that.

“We offer our mouths through which you may speak. We offer our hearts so you may feel. We offer our breath in purpose of surface and sky. We offer ourselves not in vain sacrifice, but in defense of the greatest good. We are the tree and the field.”

Sounds like nothing but checkmarks there, too.

“In the name of Goddess Hylia, we offer this prayer. We offer our strength so we may shape the earth. We offer our endurance that we may thrive. We offer our defeats so we may cherish victory. We offer our weakness that we may have power.”

I guess I see that one, too? She’s strong and absurdly enduring. Certainly has had loads of defeats.

“We offer our hands through which you may act. We offer our skill so you may create. We offer our flesh in renewal of land. We offer ourselves not in supplication, but in triumph. We are the rock and the wind, the river and lightning.”

Hmm maybe she could work on that one. She sure seems like she’s supplicating.

“In the name of Goddess Hylia, we offer this prayer. We offer our minds so we may learn the ways of creation. We offer our diligence that we may surpass. We offer our misapprehensions so we may have humility. We offer our failings that we may have wisdom.”

Okay, maybe these prayers have a point. It’s like they’re describing her. Except the triumph thing.

“We offer our sight through which you may see. We offer our thoughts so you may know. We offer our words in preservation of reckoning. We offer ourselves not in conceit, but in search of truth. We are the light of gold and white.

“In the name of Goddess Hylia, we offer ourselves. May the light ever illuminate our path.”

Oh, good. That’s the longest one. More singing, now. I lost my original train of thought, didn’t I? What am I praying for?

.

.

Goddess, if you’re there, please help the Princess. Could you give her some pointers? It feels wrong that her magic would be something you just give to her. If you have it, wouldn’t YOU use it? And even if you disapproved of our Princess, it would be petty to doom all of Hyrule for it. No. It doesn’t feel right.

.

I wish she’d smile like she did way early in. Before I pulled the sword. First week in the training yard, Bernes backhanding my shoulder and pointing up, and there she was. Smiling. I fumbled my parry. She was so, so, beautiful and it seemed like she was smiling straight at me. Wide, sparkling eyes locked right on mine the second I looked up. I hope Bernes stays on duty at East Post through winter. I’m not sure I could take the ribbing right now. But really, how could I possibly have known who she was? Who would think the Princess of Hyrule would dress in totally ordinary work clothes, get them filthy, tie her hair up in an extremely messy version of a Sheikah bun and have stuff smeared right between her eyebrows?

I was totally rooted to the ground. Couldn’t move. I’d never felt that way before.

Which brings me around to saying thank you, thank you, thank you for the fact that she fixed the slate. Can you die of mortification? If you can, then I very much would if she knew how much I think about that. Or, you know, other things. Related to that. I, ah, probably shouldn’t be thinking about those while praying.

Still, I wish I could have gotten to know that girl on the rampart. She seemed happy. No more messy hair or dirty clothes since then. Someone probably humiliated her for it. I can guess who.

“Netu ne naetaresobe”

Here they go again

“Husobirutsheh”

with the chanting this time.

“Husobirutsheh”

I can’t hear myself think.

“Husobirutsheh”

Maybe they’re too loud

“Atotshe deh sobeh sa”

And the Goddess can’t hear what people are actually praying for.

Yeah, I know that’s not it. But it would be a great excuse for them to stop.

“Netu”

Ooooh boy, they do this one over and over again. I lost count last time.

“ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

It doesn’t sound like a song someone wrote to sound nice. It’s too short. It’s like there’s a bunch missing. Maybe there is.

“Netu ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

Maybe that’s why the words don’t make sense. Maybe they’re not even the real words. Maybe people have been singing them for so long they’ve turned to gibberish. Maybe if we knew what they really meant, the prayer might help.

“Netu ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

If Lagrue tried to sing this he’d totally screw it up. His Rs sound like Ws half the time and he says probuhly instead of probably. If I’m honest, I say prolly half the time. One of us in a temple could change the words of the song for generations to come!

“Netu ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

She’s been doing this her entire life. Kneeling here and listening to people sing and chant at her. Maybe they weren’t so judgy when she was a kid.

“Netu ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

Before all this, I’d’ve thought the journeys to the Springs would be the hardest thing for her. But I’m looking forward to the first we do together. At the Spring, there should be some peace and quiet!

“Netu ne naetaresobe, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh, husobirutsheh. Atotshe deh sobeh sa.”

No one looking over her shoulder waiting to criticize. And water lifts you up. Not like stone. You feel heavy kneeling on that.

Look at her. She’s absolutely still and silent.

So is the chanting. Guess they finished for now.

Does her mind wander all over the place like mine when she prays? Or is she so used to the forms she follows them even in her own head? I don’t really wonder what she prays for. We all know that. Though there could be a few things she slips in on the side.

Never mind, I don’t think so. I think she’d see it as selfish. But she does work toward other things when not praying. Contingency plans. Safety nets. Making sure the rest of us are in place. She has to spend some of her energy tolerating me, too. Sorry, Princess. I guess I’m also praying we find a way to ease that burden even when I’m around.

They’re singing the creepy song that always freaks me out for some reason. It doesn’t have words, but it’s like I know it means something and it’s on the tip of my tongue. I almost want to say it scares me, but that’s not quite right. It’s more like there’s a warning in my heart not to sing along. Isn’t that strange?

The Princess doesn’t sing it, either. Maybe she’s not allowed to. I haven’t asked.

You know what else I pray for? For people to be kind to her. Let’s start with the Princess’ totally unsympathetic lady’s maid. I still don’t understand how a person can take care of someone else’s physical well-being but not show them a single shred of affection. The time I saw her help braid the Princess’ hair was the first time I got truly angry at one of the castle staff.

I used to braid my sister’s hair. She’d giggle and thrash around to mess me up so I’d have to start again. I’d have to wrestle her down. Then mom would come in and yell at us. Well, by yell I mean talk loudly while also sort of laughing and sometimes she’d help me hold Chee down. How is that kid so strong? I have a solid six years on her! People say I’m way stronger than I should be. So I guess Chee must be, too. Maybe next time I see her she’ll wrestle the sword right out of my hands and we’ll realize it made a mistake. I’m pretty sure she’ll be bigger than me.

Anyway, that woman braiding the Princess’ hair was like- like- I don’t even know what it was like. I want to say a funeral, but the Princess’ hair wasn't being buried. And once again I'm kind of an idiot because I can't figure out how that analogy's supposed to work? Wait, is it an analogy or a metaphor? Either way, it was so clear that neither of them wanted any part of it. There was no eye contact at all. No small talk. No nothing. A matter-of-fact-styling-and-now-we’re-done, and she walks out. I mean, she didn’t even have the professional decency to remark that the Princess looked nice when she was done. I can only imagine what putting that dress on was like before that.

No, no, no, do not imagine that. Do not. Do not.

It’s just that no one in the castle talks to her. Unless they’re going to say something unpleasant or that’s pure business. They don’t treat her like a person.

“En dashelu nobeh shundu tje shutue kehwenu saleh”

Oh, pretty song again.

“en dashelu nobeh dushu”

Whoops. I was praying for something.

“tje shutue nobeh dezu dotshe”

And I think I was getting to something important.

“Keh nahbenue nofeh toh balee nayru farore toh din”

It’ll come back to me once we’re back outside.

“Kah neh baneh nobe shalu toh nobe dezu uta ah en.”

I hope she doesn’t do the thing where she meditates in the pool again. Whatever they clean it with seems to bother her skin. Just one more pro for visiting a natural spring.

-----

[Note: The first song in the service is the Song of the Goddess. I made up the lines Zelda doesn't sing in Skyward Sword so we had lyrics to go with the rest of the melody. Did I make up the translation too, you might ask? Why yes, yes I did! Because I'm a nerd! Ah hahahaha! They sing it again at the end of the service.]

[Note 2: The repetitive chanting is the Song of the Hero from Skyward Sword. Its origins are lost to the people singing it here, as is most of the song.]

[Note 3: The song that sounds creepy to Link is the Song of Time. It's caused some problems in the past. Haha.]

[Note 4: The rest of this particular service is wordless singing and silent meditation. Thus no other speech recorded by the slate.]

Read Next: Zelda scrolls through Link's thoughts instead of sleeping

Follow this link to read this fic from the beginning

Follow this link for the post list for this fic in order

#linksthoughtbrambles #zelda #botw #fanfic

[elliewritessometimes]

no other feeling

kate plays piano. and also apparently knows a lot about ballet. that is all. 

also!!! this is based on the song ‘no other feeling’ by egg and I would perhaps recommend listening to it here if you want the fic to be like Inclusive but yknow whatever it’ll make sense if you don’t

oop I forgot something - this is kind of a sequel to my previous fic ‘two queens in a king sized bed’ and it references it vaguely so go read!

tw: one very vague mention of death, it’s horrifically slightly disgustingly fluffy so I can’t think of anything else right now!! let me know as always if there’s anything you want me to tag

---

It felt like Kate had always played piano, even if the instrument itself often went untouched. As many seem to know, it's far too easy for life to get in the way of passions such as music. Sometimes, Kate envied Eva for her guitar and how she never seemed to stop playing it. They supposed a piano was a hell of a lot less portable.

But now, the grandfather clock in the hall having just struck 7, the chords came with ease, fingers dancing over keys. The romantic part of Kate thought that perhaps their fingers had been ballerinas in a past life.

i hate being in love

because i can't stop thinking of

all of the things

that could go wrong

“That’s very you.” Kate stopped playing abruptly, clearing her throat as she turned to see Eva standing in the doorway to Kate’s parents’ sitting room. She was framed by sunlight, hair a little bit crazy and hands tucked into her flannel pyjama bottoms. In that moment, Kate thought their girlfriend might be a goddess. Eva just smiled, walking forwards to drape her arms over Kate’s shoulders, head resting on top of their’s. “You’re up early.”

“I was inspired by your 3am guitar session. Seeing as my parents aren’t home, I thought I might try my hand at piano.” They picked up the song where they left off.

and i hate wondering how

i could go on without you around anymore

cause i don't know where i belong

if i'm not with you

and i don't know how you think

i could just move on in the blink of an eye

i bump into someone new and my heart melts

“That lyric doesn’t make sense.”

“Stop judging me, literature nerd.”

“Says you.” But Eva still kissed the top of their head, and Kate’s ballerina fingers continued their pas de deux. 

When she was a child, Kate was known for being the one with an ‘overactive imagination’. Their nightmares were worse (they still are), her thoughts being carried away with the current to an even darker place. It was never all bad though - even now, they still loved long car journeys where they could let her imagination run just a little bit wild. And now, apparently, that imagination had really hooked onto the ballerina fingers. 

They say that all the world’s a stage, but maybe that’s not just an excuse for being dramatic, not that Kate was one to stray away from the melodrama that could be created of any situation. A piano could also be a stage. The spotlighted stage for a smaller performance. You wouldn't think that fingers could pirouette, but here they were, spotting their way through Kate’s chorus. 

She paused before the second verse, fingers hovering in a développé, waiting to complete the adage. Eva rubbed circles into their shoulders. Kate could feel her sway slightly to the tune. They smiled.

i hate caring so much

cause every day, if i'm not in touch with you

for a few hours

i think that you're dead

“That hits hard, huh?” Eva’s voice was soft, blurred around the edges.

“Yeah. Just a bit.”

and i hate the way that i blush

the way that i act like i've still got a crush on you

after a year, i'm still going red

Kate felt her cheeks heat at the line. Typical. Eva’s palms moved from their shoulders to those warm cheeks, and they could feel her bite her lip to stifle a grin. 

“Got a crush, Dalton?” 

Kate scoffed. “No, of course not. I’m tough and emotionless.”

Eva gave a sad sort of laugh, “You’re cute. It’s cute.”

“shut up, it's not cute.”

and i don't know how you think

i could just move on in the blink of an eye

i bump into someone new and my heart melts

no other feeling in the world compares

to the way that i love you, i swear

that i could never love anybody else

The sun had worked its way through the doorway, squeezing through from the hall and spilling its masses onto the piano keys. Kate’s playing presented an arabesque as the sun directed its spotlight onto stage. She shuffled up on the stool and Eva slid down to sit next to her, leaning into their side with a yawn. Kate let her lean, finishing the song softly, dragging out the notes as though coming to the end of the dance. 

no other feeling in the world compares

to the way that I love you

i swear that i could never love anybody else

The grandfather clock in the hall ticked past 7:10 and in that moment, Kate’s dance finished, their applause being only the sudden trust that they could love the girl curled into her side forevermore. 

#we are the tigers #kate dalton #eva sanchez #kateva #this is pure fluff and it makes me sick sdkfhsdkjfh #I don't know what else to tag this I'm having a moment #I hope you like this tho #im obsessed with this song so here have some Therapeutic Early Morning but actually written late at night Fic #:D #I hope the links work omg links make me sO scared #tiff and Kiera this is for you #and also avvy because I sent you a cover of this song earlier from my bathroom #come on a roadtrip with me because I like your pin :D #*hand kiss*

[gansey-just-gansey]

The Princess and the Half Bloods part seven

They drove to Leo’s house first. When they pulled up, the garage door was open, showing an old car and a pair of legs sticking out from underneath it. Percy rolled the window down.

“Hey Ms. Valdez. Is Leo even awake yet?” Percy called out.

“Yes, I just saw him eating.” A woman emerged from the depths of the car, t-shirt and jeans splattered with oil and grease. “Leo!” she yelled. “Percy y una chica estan aqui! Ven aqui!”

“Yo se, Mama. I heard them pull up,” Leo said, appearing in the doorway to the house. “Estamos ir a la casa de Jason. Don’t wait up, okay?”

“Toma tu tarea, por favor. I don’t want you to fall behind, mijo.”

“Si, Mama,” he sighed, shoving his backpack into the backseat ahead of him. “Let’s get out of here before she starts looking up what schoolwork I’m missing and makes me play catch up on that, too.” Percy pulled out of the driveway with a wave at Ms. Valdez.

“Do you have homework you need to get done?” Annabeth asked.

“Yeah, but it’s not important. We practice pretty much the whole day so I won’t even have time to do it, were I inclined to.”

“I promised Chiron I would keep you guys on track with school. You can’t fail and get grounded and miss a night at The Big House.”

“Well Saturdays are off limits, we definitely have to keep up with our practices,” Percy interjected. “And Sundays are usually working on developing songs.”

“When do you typically do homework then?”

Percy and Leo shared a look in the rearview mirror. “Whenever I have the spare time,” Percy said with a shrug.

“I see. So you just don’t, right?” she asked, exasperated.

“Not usually, no,” he admitted.

Annabeth sighed. “Piper, Hazel, and Frank meet up with me on Tuesdays so we can work on our homework together. I’ll help with anything you need. We usually go to a coffee shop but all seven of us would take up a lot of room. I’ll have to talk to Piper about letting us use her house instead.”

“If we have to study, a tricked out mansion isn’t a bad place to do it in,” Leo said, perking up.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. “So how long does practice last?”

“You’ll be getting home pretty late, if that’s okay with you. The garage has been soundproofed after a lot of complaints from Jason’s neighbors, so we can practice well into the night without having to worry about keeping anyone up,” Percy explained.

“That’s fine with me, I don’t think my dad is expecting me back for dinner anyway.”

They pulled up to the Grace house, parking behind the van on the street. Jason came out to meet them as they got out.

“Hey guys, girl,” he said, nodding to Annabeth.

“Unlock the van, I need to make sure my baby remains unscathed,” Leo called, pulling on the back door of the vehicle.

“Your girlfriend is just fine, Leo,” Jason said, but pulled out his keys and unlocked the doors anyway. Leo started checking over his drum set. “Everything is all set up for practice, just gotta get the drums in there.”

“Cool,” Percy said. He went around to the trunk of his car and grabbed his guitar. “We’re going to do a playthrough of all our songs and covers for Annabeth today.”

“Sounds like a plan. Mom is out for the day, possibly the night. Either way, I doubt we’ll see her.” It was only a little bitter. Annabeth wondered at the relationship there, but didn’t feel it would be appropriate for her to ask.

She followed Percy and Jason into the garage, leaving Leo to struggle with the drum set on his own after he insisted she let him carry it himself. The other two started checking that their guitars were tuned while they waited. Annabeth booted up her laptop and started setting up a YouTube channel for them. She created a new email for the band and used it to make the account.

Piper texted her while Leo was finishing putting up the drums: Are you awake? The band was a hit, obviously.

Yeah, she sent back. I’m at their practice right now. Setting up social media for them before they start at the bar.

The reply came almost immediately. Without me???? Annabeth chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Percy inquired.

“Piper. Hey, is it cool if she comes and helps me set up all this social media for you guys? She’s like, a PR goddess.”

“Yes. Yeah, of course. She’s totally welcome here,” Jason stuttered out.

Annabeth texted Piper the address with no explanation and put down her phone in favor of the computer. She didn’t have to wait long before her phone was buzzing with another text from Piper.

I’m here but no one else is? I’ve been ringing the doorbell for like five minutes.

“Oops, shit,” Annabeth muttered as she got up from the beanbag she had taken over when she came in.

The boys all looked up from their instruments. “Something wrong?” Percy asked.

“Piper,” she said as she opened the door that exited to the front yard. “Hey, we’re back here. Sorry, it’s soundproofed.”

“There you are,” Piper said. “I was beginning to think they had kidnapped and murdered you.”

“Not yet. I think they were just about to start, yeah?” It turned into a question at the end as she looked toward the band.

“Yeah. We’re going to start with our covers. Ready?” Percy asked the others. They murmured their assent and it was quiet for a minute until they started playing. The first song they played was After Midnight again. Percy winked at her just before he started singing.

Most of their covers were songs that Annabeth knew, Blink 182 and Sum 41 and the entirety of the Green Day album that Percy said had inspired him to start playing. There were a few she didn’t recognize, some from a band called Waterparks that Annabeth vowed to listen to when she had the free time because The Half Bloods played them so perfectly, and some from Taking Back Sunday, New Found Glory, and other bands she’d never even heard of. She was glad for their long list of covers that they could pull songs from to play during their sets so they didn’t play the same songs every weekend. They could play a couple original songs and a bunch of covers each time and people wouldn’t get bored.

Annabeth watched them play, making a note in her phone of each song. When they took breaks for water and just giving their arms a rest, Piper and Annabeth busied themselves with setting up an account on every major social media platform for them. She added them all to a group chat and sent the login info for all the accounts. Piper took a picture of them while they were playing and set it as their profile picture.

“Until we can get a professional in, it’ll do,” she said, nodding to herself.

They took a longer break once they’d exhausted their list of covers. It was already near dinner time, so they all piled into Jason’s van and went through the Wendy’s drive through. The boys refused to let the girls pay and split the bill three ways as a thanks for the work they were doing.

“So we were talking,” Percy said once they were back in the garage and eating, “and we were thinking that we’re going to use the extra ten percent you wouldn’t take for things for the band. Like the photoshoot you were talking about and like recording time and stuff.”

“That’s actually a very good idea,” Annabeth approved. She probably should’ve thought about that herself.

“Would you mind taking care of that money? I’d probably lose it or accidentally spend it.”

“I can put it in a separate account that’s only for band stuff. I’ll probably be the one booking everything anyway so I might as well. I’ll go make the bank account this week.”

“You’re a godsend,” Jason said with his mouth full of fries. Piper laughed and he tried to quickly swallow it all but only choked. She laughed harder as Leo pounded on his back.

“Okay, enough fucking around. Let’s get playing our originals,” Percy said, grabbing his guitar. Annabeth settled deeper into the beanbag she had claimed. Her part of the job was over for the day and she could truly enjoy watching the band play their originals with no distractions.

They played their whole CD through, followed by a couple others that they hadn’t had an opportunity to record. Percy and Jason were perfect, their voices harmonizing beautifully. Leo was a beast, slamming out the beats with no more than a thirty second break between songs.

Things slowed and relaxed as they started playing parts of unfinished songs and suggesting changes and additions. Jason nailed down a bridge for one song and Leo played around with a solo until it was up to his standards, then pushed it a little farther, a little faster. Percy strummed and hummed mostly to himself in one of the corners, trying to find words to fit his little riff. Annabeth watched, enraptured, as they worked their magic. Piper spent most of the time setting up little details like bios on the social media accounts and circling the boys to take more pictures for Instagram. She handed her phone over to Annabeth so she could pick out which pictures were good enough to post. She sent the ones she liked to herself so she could post them.

Eventually Piper had to leave because her dad was supposed to fly home early tomorrow to spend the week with her before setting off for another film next weekend. After she left, Annabeth put up the pictures on Insta and Facebook, then turned off her phone and leaned her head back. The music that The Half Bloods played wasn’t exactly lullaby material, but the party the night before had really taken it out of her and she’d been on the whole day since she woke up. She drifted off.

She woke to Percy gently shaking her. “Hey, it’s time to go. We’re finished for the night.”

The bean bag was not the most comfortable thing she’d ever slept on, leaving her with a stiff neck and heavy arms. She blinked blearily and stood, grabbing for her bag, but Percy already had it packed and slung over his shoulder. She smiled sleepily at him, and Percy responded with a brilliant one of his own, grabbing her hand to guide her clumsy limbs to the car.

“Could you carry my shit, too?” Leo called after them. “I’m not holding your hand, though.”

“Get your shit in the car and let’s go,” Percy said, flipping him off. Leo grumbled to himself about how he was tired too but got in the car after Percy had deposited her safely in the passenger seat.

As they drove Leo home, Annabeth pulled out her phone to check notifications on the band accounts. They already had three followers: Piper, Hazel, and Frank. Piper must’ve texted the others.

There was another post in addition to the pictures of the band playing that she didn’t remember making. She clicked on it, worried that she had accidentally posted something that wasn’t meant for the official account.

“Late night band practice. Catch us live @thebighouse every Friday and Saturday starting this weekend!” the caption read. It was a picture of Annabeth, curled up on the bean bag, asleep. Percy crouched next to her with a smirk, one hand making the peace sign and the other taking the picture.

Annabeth smiled to herself and watched the houses fly by as Percy sped away.

#please forgive me for the spanish #i cant make accents with my keyboard #pjo #hoo #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #percy #percy jackson #annabeth #annabeth chase #percabeth #jason #jason grace #piper #piper mclean #jasiper #leo #leo valdez #punk #punk rock #punk au #punk!percy #band #band au #one of mine

[abraxos-is-toothless]

Surprises (6)

Next chapter is here as promised! You could even have 7 pretty soon😁 it picks up a little after this too, I know it’s a slight slow burn, but they do get there💙 they are awkward babies in this one😂

Previous Chapter. Masterlist.

Warnings: There will be swearing, mature themes, mentions of alcohol at times, and mentions of sex. I will updates warnings as I go if needed.

No beta today as it’s 1am so @bryaxisthefaceofnightmares is saved this time:) this gif isn’t very good oops.

Chapter 6

—————

Azriel thought he was imagining things when he’d read his texts the next morning. He hadn’t expected Elain to answer him that quickly; he hadn’t really expected any reply at all, thinking that she’d ignore him after the mess he had made of everything. Or maybe that she’d blocked him completely and she’d never see the message. He knew he would have deserved it, so he was grateful, even now as he reread her reply for what seemed like the tenth time.

Today, 12:30 at the diner. Don’t be late.

-Elain

It was now 12:00 on the dot and he was sat in his usual booth a bit further at the back, knowing full well he was extremely early, but he wasn’t taking any chances of being late and missing what little opportunity he had left. A waitress came over and asked for his order, and just as he was about to tell her that just a coke would be fine, goddamn fucking Tamlin and Ianthe- Feyre’s prat of an ex and the crazy bitch who never left Azriel alone -walked through the diner’s doors. Panicking he snatched back the menu he’d just handed the waitress, opened it out, and covered his face with it. Real subtle, you utter moron. When he peeked back over the top, Tamlin and Ianthe were nowhere in sight, clearly having gone over to the other side of the diner. He smiled sheepishly at the gobsmacked waitress next to him, apologising for being so rude, however she just smiled saying that they had all done something like that at least once and disappeared to get his drink.

Ianthe was someone who liked to have her own way all of the time, like a spoiled little brat. She’d tried to get with Rhys a couple of times until Feyre put her in her place one time during lunch, and then she’d tried Cassian. But she had only managed to try the one time. No one had known that Cass and Nes were together, that they had been together for just over six months- Azriel had no idea how that was possible though because his brother couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. That was up until the day Ianthe set her sights on him, plastered her body to his against the lockers, just as the eldest Archeron sister walked around the corner. Everything became a blur then. Azriel had blinked, and all of a sudden Ianthe was cradling her bloody nose, and Nesta was shaking out her fist while Cassian was kissing her in any place he could reach. She was a force to be reckoned with and he was terrified of being on the receiving end when she found out about what he and Elain had done. Ianthe- who Azriel had deemed slightly psychopathic –had set her sights on him a few weeks after that incident and he hadn’t known peace since.

His reverie was interrupted when he heard the tinkle of the bell above the door, and looked up to see Elain walking through the door, his breath getting caught in his throat. Gods, she was beautiful. She was dressed in a light pink hoodie; black ripped jeans and her hair was up in a messy bun. The sight was not good for his hormones, making him shift awkwardly in his seat to get comfortable again. How was he supposed to have a serious conversation with her looking like an utter goddess? His drink was brought over then, snapping him out of whatever state of leering he had been in.

Keep it together you fuckwit, you’re trying to make amends not jump into her pants.

When she finally came over to the booth, he noticed she was wringing her hands together on the table and that she wouldn’t look at him again. Azriel understood why, he wouldn’t look at himself if put into her shoes, but gods did he want her to just look. To see him. So that when he explained why he had been such an asshole, to tell her how much he wanted to start again, she would see he was being sincere. Reaching over, he tentatively to took her tiny hands into his, pushing back the thoughts of how they fit do well together and spoke so gently that he didn’t recognise his own voice.

“Elain, will you look at me, please?”

oOoOo

Elain was taking deep breaths, but they didn’t seem to be helping her much. She wanted to look at him; she wanted to hear what he had to say so they could get this over with. But the only thing she was currently able to think of was the warmth of his hands on hers. She was staring at the way they engulfed her own, the comfort his warmth gave her traitorous body, when she noticed all the scars. Her breath hitched slightly and her brain started to work a mile a minute, wanting to ask so many different questions at the same time.

Why did you say those things yesterday? Why did you just walk away? What happened to your hands? How did we end up in bed together? How do we move forward now?

She was still having a mental panic when Azriel cleared his throat to try and get her attention again. Looking up at him slowly, she was shocked to see how nervous he was, because yes he’d said in his text that he wanted to make things right. He even wanted to know about the baby, something she hadn’t expected at all. But in all honesty, she thought the only thing he was going to do was tell her today, was that he wanted nothing to do with either of them, that if she said something he would deny it. Maybe she was about to be proven wrong? Steeling her own nerves, she pulled her hands away- not missing his look of disappointment and possibly hurt – to put them in her lap and said as strongly as she could “You have fifteen minutes, Azriel. What is it that you want?” Drawing his hands back, he looked down shyly for a moment and when he brought his gaze back to hers, he let out a very audible breath.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean any of it honestly; I just had no idea how to deal with the situation. When I said ‘easily forgettable’ I didn’t mean that what we had done meant shit all, because it did mean something, to me at least. I just wanted to keep it between us because your sister will quite literally kill me if she finds out.” He took a shaky breath before continuing, “The morning after, I remembered some things, realised what you were and part of me hates myself because you should have had something better, should have had someone better. And I’m so, so sorry, for all of it.”

Elain hadn’t realised she was crying until she tasted the salt on her lips, quickly bringing her hands up to wipe away the tears, although it did her no good because he had seen them anyway. Part of her wanted to go over and hold him, to tell him everything was alright but the rational side of her brain made her stay rooted in her seat. Everything was not alright; she had no idea if it would be again for a while so she started to nod a little before stopping abruptly. Confused now, as she had just clicked on to something he had said, asking with clear curiosity “What do you mean you ‘realised what I was’? I don’t get it.”

She blushed in full force when he bluntly replied “You were a virgin. Right?”

Fuck. How could he have realised? Elain didn’t tell him and he hadn’t asked, she remembered that at least. When she asked him as such, it was his turn to blush as he stumbled over his words.

“Um- well- when I... Uh there was a bit of blood on the sheets, not a lot but, it was there. I remember you asking me to be gentle, but that could have just been a preference so when I saw the sheets, I knew what I had done.”

Guilt was written on his face now. He felt guilty about it, but how was she meant to comfort him without lying? Because yes, there had been a slight bit of soreness the morning after, however, she didn’t want to make him feel any worse so decided not to mention it. Turning to face away from him again and stare out of the window, Elain contemplated whether or not she should ask him about the elephant in the room. He had said he wanted to know about the baby in his text, yet he hadn’t brought it up since she’d sat down. Deciding to just jump straight into it, she spoke again, her nerves coming back in full force and she knew Az could tell by the way his whole face softened.

“You drove here right?” He gave a small nod to confirm. “Then could we maybe go somewhere more private? You said you wanted... Well you said you wanted to know about the other thing, and it’s probably best not to talk about here.” She gestured to all of the other people around the diner; all having their own conversations yes, but the place was slightly smaller than it looked. Azriel started sliding out of his side as he began speaking, offering her his hand once he was stood.

“Of course we can, I know a place actually. Would you like to go there or somewhere different?”

It was easy enough to get out of her side unassisted, but she took his hand anyway, wanting to feel that comforting warmth from earlier and agreed to go to wherever he had in mind. As they walked out of the diner to make their way to his car, she realised that neither of them had let go of the other and that Azriel was lightly running his thumb over her knuckles.

Being so engrossed in the boy beside her, she never noticed a smirking Ianthe sat in the back corner, watching them leave together hand in hand.

—————

Awkward fluff is the the best fluff😊 Love it? Hate it? Don’t be afraid to tell me! If you want to added or removed from tags I’ll be happy to do that for you😁

Tags: @starlitfangirl @starsauroras @drunken-starz @myfriendscallmeraba @thesirenwashere @empress-sei @elrielllll @stars-falling @cirieael @verifiefangirl @theshadowsinger-and-thefawn @mirainthedark05 @fancyclodpaintercookie @acourtofterrasenandvelaris @azriel-archeronn @queen-of-glass @bamchickawowow @slightly-sane-fangirl @empress-ofbloodshed @sleeping-and-books @b00kworm @kvi-arts @rhysandhlcor @tswaney17 @awkward-avocado-s @judexcardanxgreenbriar

#acotar #acomaf #acowar #acofas #azriel #elain archeron #elain x azriel #elriel #surprises #awkward babies #they dont know what to do #fluff #feyre archeron #rhysand #nesta archeron #cassian

[esterphania]

Gling!Gling!Gling!

This sound keeps on resonating through the colony ,I don't know what making them ring the bell at this time of the day ,such an early hour 😔, oh no ! I know why it's been rang it's because today is the day all young mermaid are to come out for the race before hunting activities begin we do this once every month .I just want to sleep 😴 and cover my ears with the pillows but that's impossible since they are going to still check round all the house for us or wait 🤨 is the colony under attack that's why the bell is been rang so that everyone can come out to fight 😕 this makes me shoot my eyes open to start looking for where to hide as I can't fight for my self I can at least look for how to stay alive .

Am not like every other mermaid 🧜🏽‍♀️ am weak ,slow ,I can't make wave or create storms ,etcetera 🤔who even does that here Lol 😂 but still I can't do anything for my self so I should definitely hide before they get here 😰

Mummy,what about mum ,what do I do I can't go out to look for her I'll die before I make it to any where by now my head has started feeling so heavy I couldn't just get the picture of mom been killed right in front of me ,my hands started shaking I could feel the tears threatening to drop from my eyes 😑😭 why does this always have to happen to me .I have been having this anxiety attack and ptsd as well since when I was a kid ,no,no,no,I can't start thinking of this things I have to go get mum I just have to ,I tried moving but couldn't get my feet or body too as I applied more force I felt my strength dissipate and my eye lids close gradually as I accept the darkness that's comes with it .

"Ada ,Ada,Ada, wake up , wake up baby ,you need to go for the race ,darling wake up you are scaring me "I heard my mum say as I gently open my eyes to find my mum looking at me with worry written all over her face ,I could have sworn she had called my name more than 20 times before I woke up ,

"oh mum ,my sweet mum"I say as I hug her in a rush thanking the water Goddess for keeping my mum alive for me

"Ada ,...Adaobi, what's wrong baby are you okay ?." Mum says as she pulls me out of my daze

"yes mum am fine ,I couldn't be more better "I said to my mum mentally cursing my self for worrying her that much then it me ' the race 'am going to be late and that's if I aren't already late I wonder how many hours I was out for shit I cursed again .

"Ada prepare for the race you have twenty minutes to get out of this house and show them how strong you are " mum said knowing fully well that I was so impotent to do that 😓but still she has faith in me

"Alright mum I'll be down in a sec ,you really know I have to stop going since I haven't made any improvement since then "I said with a worried look on my face "but I'll be down soon never mind ,so no if you don't mind can you leave my room so I can get dress up ,thanks " I said as I gave mum a kiss on her cheeks

As soon as mum shut the door behind her I feel to the bed out of exhaustion am so tired of this stuff

FLASHBACK

The coach was asking all of the racers to a queue for more co-ordinance and here I was just staying in a corner as always . Coach is a man in his late forties ,it seems like he was well structured by the water goddess as he has a handsome face for a man his age with prominent jaws ,small pinky lips and attractive dimples many unmarried mermaids often go after him seeing as his wife passed away leaving him and his two children James and Julia martins and ever since then he has refused to get married .

Coach has always been one of the three people who have been nice to me although he shows it more privately than publicly ,according to him people find fault with what ever I do I'm and he won't want them reading meaning into what doesn't have a meaning although I don't care 🤷‍♀️ or maybe I do care but what can I do 😩.

Well as for his race I don't even know what an doing here ,this race takes place every month on the day which there is a storm ,not the very very troubling storms ,just the light ones as we are still young stars ,I always lose the race because I'm slow and can't challenge my self to do anything .All of my pair are better than me ,I'm ten years old now and am still as incapable as a three year old child I just pray he doesn't remember to call me .Just as I am liking my wounds I begin to hear my name from a distance

"Adaobi,come join them for the race "I felt like swearing at myself as I walk to join the others ,I mean who knows that the mind is powerful as well I thought it was just the tongue that's powerful what a mess 😪.i have never won this race before neither have I gotten between the 1st to 15th people who has been wining since I was five ,so I cant definitely win this. I'm just been put here to be the laughingstock of the community again so here I go as coach blows the third whistle ,the race begins and every one has started swimming they are so very fast and I'm still so slow .

The race is to go around the temple of the mermaids and back to the starting points before the time is up every time I pass there it seems like there's more to it although I can't quite figure it out but this time around as I passing the temple something begins to call me ,to draw my attention to check it out ,to open it , to be honest no one has been able to open the doors to the temple talk less of cracking. It was so real right here at the side of the temple As a noise begin to rise its tempo in my hears I recognized it as clattering sounds of plates and dishes and then cries then it starts to make me slow down making me want to pass out there then am sure there was something being said between all of this but I could hear it as I was almost out because of fear ,then before I know it all I begin to hear is run ,run Adaobi run ,of possible fast ways I could think of swimming nothing came through .I just did the only thing I could that was to swim as fast as I possible could to get out of there .

I got to the finishing point where I began seeing people again before my heartbeat subsided and I realize that everyone was looking at me which face of a WOW and question of 'what was pursuing you 'then I turned to the board to find out that I came in as the fifth person in the competition I couldn't believe it ,isn't it I who had never gotten past twenty second in the race is now the fifth .

I was over joyed ,confused but still happy 😆 because then I began to think that I had hope that I wasn't useless at all just then I took a look at my clothes and I think everyone had started seeing it too and started laughing at me.Well at the end even though I passed that day I never passed again which still means that no one recognized me as a winner that month they all still laughed at me .

FLASHBACK OVER

So now since that one time i thought I won till now that I'm eighteen years old I still haven't won at all am still the slowest amongst the set of people am competing with as my pairs have all graduated to another level of train about two years ago but I still continue going on my mother's request and yes if your asking whether the noise continues then I'll be glad to say 'NO big 'NO' but oops who knows what today will bring .

#romance #romantic books #mermaid #love quotes #love #business #trending #underworld #reading #Spotify

[someplace-that-is-else]

“Shaking It Off...?’: Is the Magicians Surviving Post-Quentin in Season Five?

 Editor’s Note: Spoilers for the current season of The Magicians lie ahead. Read at your own risk.

 I still can’t listen to it.

 Every time I was at work, the radio loved to drop in Taylor Swift. I admit it. I love Taylor Swift. It was earned respect so I won’t knocked it. However, when I heard ‘Shake It Off,’ I changed the station. Why? Because I was reminded every time.

 The Magicians Episode 4, Season 1…Quentin Coldwater in the mind asylum. Him singing it. It was a turn left moment in a somewhat serious scene that was hilarious.

 But I was always reminded when I heard the song. Now…

 Quentin Coldwater was dead.

 In case you missed it, the fourth season of The Magicians went out with a bang. In order to save the world and his friends, Quentin Coldwater sacrificed himself. It was a heartbreaking moment and yes, there were tears at the gang’s tribute to him with a cover of ‘Take on Me.’ It was also shocking because who would have thought a show would kill off their main character, the character that viewers are brought into the show by. Even ballsier? Leaving the main character dead, confirmed immediately after the episode aired that night by way of internet interviews from the producers.

 That was the world viewers were coming into walking into Season Five.  Unlike Supergirl which I dropped in Season Four due to the on-the-nose political writing, I was curious to see how the writers would play the death of their main character.

 So how was it?

 Did Someone Order an Apocalypse?: Raising the Stakes in Season Five

 After a season where magic was rationed out, this season was different. Now there was too much magic. How much? So much that people were exploding for crying out loud.

 As a result, there were plot threads being introduced. You had Penny being made a professor at Brakebills and dealing with the presence of a signal that one of his Traveler students was hearing. You had Kady struggling with being the leader of the hedgewitches while being in the middle of a mystery involving the disappearance of a book depository. Most importantly, there was a Pig running around, encountering Julia and saying an apocalypse was coming.

 Hm…the end of everything. While the Magicians has had moments that were life and death, I do not think it has actually dealt with an apocalypse. It sounded so Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And it was during one of these moments of too much magic that the apocalypse was supposed to happen.

 And this was all in light of the fact that Quentin was only dead a month. Alice, Julia, and Elliot were the ones who were hit the hardest by his passing. Julia was Quentin’s best friend. Alice was Quentin’s girlfriend. Elliot was his woulda, coulda, shoulda. But as usual, the world as they knew it needed saving.

 And there were casualties on the way to the apocalypse. Penny lost his ability to control his Traveler abilities so much so that he could accidentally kill himself now. Dean Fogg was lost to a whole dimension in Kady’s pursuit of the book depository. In the gang’s attempt to stop the apocalypse, they succeeded. But there was a BUT.

 WRONG apocalypse.

 All that struggle. Encountering goddesses with agendas. The return of evil hedge witch Marina who was behind the depository mystery. Kady almost was killed by an assassin. Elliot and Margo got stuck in a time loop.

 It was all for the wrong apocalypse. You see the Pig was talking about a whole other apocalypse that was coming. One that appeared to be tied into another plot thread from last season involving Elliot and Margo being trapped at one point in the Narniasque land of Fillory 300 years in the future and its future ruler the Dark King.

 Oops.

 The Power of Three: Character Development in Season Five

 Magic comes from pain.

 Eliot said that to Quentin in the first season. Over the course of the seasons, that has truly held up quite well. Going into Season Five, there was still plenty of it. And that brought me to the character development for Julia, Alice, and Eliot specifically. Their pain. Their grief over Quentin’s death.

 I loved Julia’s Season Four arc. The ‘is she or isn’t she still a goddess?’ arc. She had been practically redeemed in Season Three. She had sacrificed her being on a higher plane for her friends. And where did she go from here? From here led to a new relationship with Penny, getting to get close with her best friend Quentin again, and have a chance to be a full goddess again. However, that was snatched away from her by the Monster and so was Quentin. She was human again with no magic…until her pain over Quentin’s death, bringing her magic back to the surface.

 And that miracle was what was driving Julia this season. She was determined to not have Quentin’s death be in vain. She was going to stop those apocalypses. She was so determined that it was revealing cracks in her relationship with Penny. In fact, they broke up…just in time to find out that Julia was pregnant. So would Julia keep focusing on stopping apocalypses to honor Quentin’s memory, or would she focus on herself and her future which may or may not include Penny?  Oh, the dilemma…

 And then we had Alice…

 Honestly, I haven’t liked Alice since Season 2. She was cute. She was brainy. She wore glasses. And Niffin experience, while a great plot twist for those of us who hadn’t read the books, really tainted her. And any sympathy she got for her pain was destroyed by betraying the gang by helping the Library at the end of Season Three. I enjoyed everyone giving her the business in Season Four. 

So I was saddened to see Quentin take her back. Especially with someone better hanging in the wings.  

That said…the pain that Alice felt for Quentin dying. The staying in her room. Her wearing his clothes. Her trying to resurrect him. That felt real. And for the first time, Alice felt like a person again. She felt like Alice. And as the current season has progressed, a new persona has taken over: old Alice. The last few episodes had brought back the brainy, the problem solving, and dare I say it the cute Alice from the early seasons. From the darkness, she had come back into the light.

 And finally, there was Eliot. Eliot spent the majority of Season Four possessed by an ancient Monster. A Monster who was on a mission to resurrect his even more dangerous sister. In the process of Eliot trying to find a way to contact Quentin, Margo, and the gang, it was revealed that there was a scene not revealed to the audience. Back during the Season 3, Episode 5 episode “A Day in the Life,” Quentin and Eliot were trapped in a time loop of sorts and lived a whole life together. Fell in love. Had a child together. Died. In the end, quick thinking brought them back. And it was over…right?

 Wrong.

 It turned out that Quentin and Eliot had had a talk. Proof of concept. Most people took a chance when they got into a relationship. Here they had a whole lifetime and saw they worked together. So…Quentin wanted to make it real. The debatably straight character wanted to give it a go…but Eliot pulled away. Being trapped in a Monster gave Eliot that push. The push he needed to get free and tell Quentin that he was ready to give it a go.

  So of course…Quentin died.

 And just like that…they became Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Tara and Willow. They became like The 100’s Clarke and Lexa. What did I mean? I meant that the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope struck again. You know, the trope in literature and tv where two people of the same sex cannot be happy and if they found happiness it usually ended in tragedy. And the fact that Quentin got some form of closure with Alice in terms of their relationship while he did not with Eliot was quite the tragedy for fans.

 While I personally would have liked to see some closure for those two (called Queliot by their fans) due to the relatability of their situation (which happened more in real life than people thought), I was pleased to see that in the latest season that Eliot was definitely dealing with his unsolved feelings about Quentin. Not only did he find some closure to it, he even got to some closure with Alice as well since they had quite a bit to deal with between each other. Bonus, Eliot had been bantering with the Dark King, this season’s potential Big Bad who happened to be flirting with Eliot.

 A happy ending for our resident gay man? This is The Magicians. So…iffy. LOL!!! Especially after that reveal in Episode 9.  So time would tell how the relationship between Eliot and Sebastian the Dark King would resolve itself.

 Speaking of…

 Pieces of a Puzzle: Using Plot Threads that Work Well in Season Five

 While a lot of the seasonal plot arc had to do with the gang dealing with apocalypses, there was also the arc having to do with the Dark King who usurped Margo’s rule of Fillory. Fans got to meet him in a clever introduction during Alice’s and Eliot’s quest to give closure to Quentin. Thus, the tension between Sebastian the Dark King and Eliot began.

 In another blog I did ( https://someplace-that-is-else.tumblr.com/post/183733192088/well-fuck-how-i-fell-into-syfys-the ), I mentioned that protagonists were only as good as their antagonists. The more complex the antagonist, the better. And if the Dark King was to be the main villain this season, the writers did him right. On one hand, there was the burgeoning relationship between him and Eliot and the fact that Fillory worshipped him for his ability to push back the invading Takers. On the other hand, it was revealed HE was behind the Takers being in Fillory in the first place and was immortal to being killed. Add on to that the reveal in Episode 9:  Sebastian was one of the Chatwin siblings, brother to the Beast…

...still the best villain in this series. His goal:  to resurrect his lost love. Given the gang was dealing with the aftermath of Quentin’s death, how could they not relate? How could we? Things were more murky.

 Meanwhile, there was the mystery of the signal. As mentioned earlier, the increase in magic meant there were a lot of new traveler magicians coming into their abilities with no one to guide/teach them. Enter Penny the only Traveler alive to tell the tale. At first Penny was reluctant, but he attempted to. That was how he met Plum, one of his students who was hearing the mysterious signal. In the process of hearing the signal, Penny lost his abilities. And to add on to the mystery…Plum...

... was ALSO a Chatwin. Whom daughter…Jane, the Beast aka Martin or Sebastian…remained to be seem.

 And then there were two.

 Finally, there was the world seed. I had greatly enjoyed seeing Alice morph back into her brainy persona that I remembered from the first two seasons. At the same time, she had started a bantering friendship with another magician who was some expert in possibilities. And from some notes left around by Quentin, Alice and this student had been creating a world seed. The belief…that it could create a whole new world. Leave it to Quentin to be gone, but NOT forgotten.

 How that would come into play with Plum, the Dark King’s plans, and the Fillory apocalypse was too early to know. It was recently announced by the SyFy Channel that they had cancelled The Magicians. Insert eyeroll here given my colorful history with SyFy. However, the producers of The Magicians have always mentioned that they wanted to adapted the last book in the series The Magicians’s Land for one of their seasons. And all signs of what I knew to happen in the book revealed this current season was loosely based on that book (in the book Quentin was still alive for example). So it would be interesting to see how it all ended for everyone.

 With a bang…or a whimper?

  #themagicians #syfychannel #syfy #whoorderedanapocalypse #buffythevampireslayer #buffyreference #glory #seasonfive #taylorswift #quentincoldwater #shakeitoff #aha #takeonme #apocalypse #supergirl #raisingthestakes #plotthreads #characterdevelopment #grief #queliot #writing #narnia #darkking #magic #buryyourgays #powerofthree #puzzlepieces #signal #seed #withabang #withawhimper

#the magicians #syfy channel #syfy #whoorderedanapocalypse #buffy the vampire slayer #buffyreference #glory #seasonfive #taylorswift #quentin coldwater #shakeitoff #aha #takeonme #apocalypse #supergirl #raisingthestakes #plotthreads #character development #grief #queliot #writing #narnia #darkking #bury your gays #magic #powerofthree #puzzlepieces #signal #seed #withabang

[volganic]

Song of Magic

[part 1] [part 2] [part 3]

"Very good," the dragon crooned with praise as he rewarded the Hylian with a firm squeeze on his shoulders.

The hero was reeling from the onslaught of new information.  How was this possible?  Was it really that obvious?  Who else knew, or had known?  Most importantly, why did it have to be Volga of all people to show him this power he never had known?

Suddenly he felt dizzy and on the verge of emptying his stomach.  It was a complete overload and he was no where near prepared for this rude awakening.  He shuddered to swallow the bile in his throat that built up in his esophagus before turning to look at the taller man in absolute bewilderment.  The captain tentatively brought his hands up to sign, but flinched at the scowl he was given.

"Mind your hands, boy."  Link knew that this was the only warning he was going to get if he wanted to keep his hands attached to his body.  With a wavering and quiet voice, he spoke.

"H.. H-How?  Why?"

Volga shrugged without a care.  “I may not know much...” he trailed off, studying Link’s face.  Truly it was a pity that it had taken nearly twenty-odd years for the divine power within the Hylian to be tapped into and brought to light.  He turned his eyes away from Link’s pitiful expression to look at the moon again as if the clear sky would provide the answer.  "I only know that I would be doing my ancestors -- and even as far as yours maybe -- injustice if I were to leave you to your own devices without guidance.  As I've said, even one of my own kind was a friend of the Hero."

He turned his attention back to the smaller man who stood still with a forlorn expression, but his eyes still held some bit of hope.  "Though you might not understand it, I will always stand by my code of honor that I dare not strike down those who are worthy of being called an equal when they are ill-equipped... You still have yet to reach your full potential.  I would rather not label as 'fate' or 'destiny' that our bloodlines have crossed paths again.." he trailed off again, furrowing his brow.  "It's mere coincidence."

Link mirrored his expression as he crossed his arms.  It was too early to tell whether or not what Volga prattled on about was the truth, and whether his trust could be placed on such a crafty man.

"I will help your cause -- your cause.  For the sake of the hero, not whatever pitiful army you so choose to align yourself with.  Do I make myself clear?"

It's still a lot of strange circumstances coming together at once for the Hylian to process.  He was only sent here to gather more details on a threat that may never come.  Now he was learning that despite all of his accomplishments and rank in the army, it was all coming undone.  His stomach still churned at the thought of everything being all for naught.  He felt defeated... but it also inspired him.  The faint glimmer of determination came flooding back into his cool blue eyes as he nodded in agreement. The Hylian would be a disgrace to his ancestors if he refused, especially if Volga was willing to teach him more than just sharpening his combat skills.

"That's fair, I suppose."

"Then start by picking up after yourself, boy," Volga said gruffly.  "I refuse to pick up your toys that you so carelessly throw on the ground."  Link blinked at the comment, eyes drifting down to where indeed he had left his sword and shield on the rocks.  Oops.  The other knight turned on his heel and made his trek back into the safety of the caves, spear still in hand, soon with Link in tow.

--

Stay out here.  The brash words replayed in Link's head as he rocked on his heels.  For whatever stupid reason, Link was not allowed in this certain part of the Eldin Caves.  Whatever lay behind the heavy doors (and past the two Lizalfos chieftains on guard) must be a well kept secret.  Maybe it was where Volga had kept his treasures?  Dragons were known for their hoarding tendencies, aside from striking fear into those below them on the food chain, right?  He figured it was more than likely an insensitive comment to make.  Was it wrong to ask, or was it worse that he was already devising a plan to sneak in there?  Unadulterated curiosity ate away at his thoughts; it was better than staring at the ceiling while waiting for the dragon knight to reappear.

The Lizalfos sensed his half-assed plan, or his unease with waiting for so long without an escort.  Their intense stares bore into his soul.  The Hylian tried to lighten the tension between them with the tiniest of waves... the drakes did not move. Just about as friendly as their master.  He drew his hand back down to his side in regret.

Volga emerged from the extended tunnel not long after the awkward exchange.  Link visibly relaxed at the sight of him and wiped the sweat off his brow.  It was still boiling inside of the caverns, so to put his entire collection of his hoard in the middle of the volcano was a wise move on the dragon's part. 

The knight grabbed Link by his upper arm and ushered him away from the guarded door, met with very little protest.  Anywhere was better than standing close to two reptiles who looked at him like he was their next meal in the center of the volcano.  The Hylian toddled behind Volga as they made their way through the caverns, approaching even deeper into the crystal blue caves.  It had opened up into more tunnels than the last time Link had been here.  Clearly he was distracted as he nearly bumped straight into Volga who had come to an abrupt stop to relinquish his hold on the Hylian's arm.

"Give me your earrings."

"What?"

"Now."

Volga stared down at the captain with the patience of a saint, waiting for him to do as he had been instructed.  Link returned the star with an incredulous expression.  Even though the blue bands had little worth to him, it was a strange request.  He relented after a small pause and unclasped the jewelry from his ears, dropping the pair of blue rings into Volga's open palm.  The dragon moved his other hand to drop a different pair into Link's smaller hand -- red in color with pointed tips along the underside of its curve.

"These will also protect you from the heat.  You no longer have to wear the Goron tunic here lest your general start to grow suspicious of your drastic wardrobe change."

"I'm not a fan of magic, nor items based around it," he confessed, clasping the fireshield earrings to replace his old piercings.

"Surely you jest, or else your goddesses truly have blindly put their trust in a fool.  What of the Triforce?  Do you deny it by not calling it magic?"

The Hylian rolled his eyes and threw his arms out in frustration -- this was the last place he was going to have his debate on how his stance about anything related to magic.  "I'm not here to argue, I'm here to learn!"

"And you will start by familiarizing  yourself with items that go beyond being 'just this' or 'just that'.  You should develop the skill to adapt to any conflict you find yourself in, with or without magic items."  If Link rolled his eyes again, Volga would've squeezed them out of his skull with his dragon hand.  "I've been more than generous enough to offer you items to shield you from the heat of Death Mountain that you humans are not accustomed to.  I would suggest that you take that into consideration before I rip those piercings off your ears, boy.  This is all for your sake, not mine."

Link bit his lip at the hollow threat and relaxed his posture.  It was Volga's turn to roll his eyes.  He motioned for the Hylian to join him at his side as he ducked behind two of the largest crystal formations, digging into a withered chest that had been hidden in plain sight.  Volga drew two large scrolls from the inside and rolled them out on the cave floor. 

"Tell me, how well-versed are you in sight-reading music?"

#hyrule warriors #volink #fic

[bnha-headcanon-central]

ochaminatsuyu

this ship doesn't get much recognition, so i'm here to mcfucking scream about it because it's so good so strap in kida this is gonna be a longer one

- mina literally is addicted to physical affection. she'll combust if she's not holding someone's hand/sitting/laying on someone/cuddling someone/touching someone. tsuyu and ochako know this. often, one or both of them will find mina literally attached to them at the hip, like clinging to their arm or just bumping their shoulders

- tsuyu is the only one who willingly wakes up at 6 on weekends and mina and ochako literally despise it. like, how dare she be more funtioning than them. the only good thing about it is that, since tsuyu is also a pretty good cook, she likes to make them breakfast. they usually thank her with kisses and tired hugs because "it's only 8 tsu, why are we awake" and they kinda lay all over each other while tsuyu serves them breakfast. sometimes they doze back to sleep and tsuyu just lets them because they're both adorable and they aren't early risers like her, so she'll just pack up the breakfast next to the microwave for later

- ochako accidentally floats mina and tsuyu all the time. like she'll just be holding one of their hands (or both who knows) and she'll get super excited and squeeze a bit too hard, and all her fingerpads are pressed against their hand and suddenly, oops, her girlfriend(s) are floating. mina absolutely loves it and likes being able to be pushed around while floating. tsuyu finds it a bit odd but also adorable because of how embarassed ochako gets every single time (it's a beautiful display of hands waving in front of her, blush redder than a tomato, broken sentences that don't quite make sense even though tsu knows what they mean, and ochako trying to get them close enough to the ground to release her quirk)

- mina and ochako play smash together. ochako mains kirby (obv) and mina mains either inkling or jigglypuff (as someone who doesn't pay smash a lot this was my best guess) and they're about equal in skills. they always play when the bakusquad/dekusquad are, and usually destroy the guys. tsuyu doesn't often play, but when she does, she decimates and it's terrifying, like how does she do that? no one's really sure but they do know that when she picks up a controller they're all screwed

- tsuyu likes to go to the creek or the lake/river and just kinda interact with the animals there. like sure she does enjoy swimming and such but it can be fun to go to just watch the frogs jump around and the turtles slowly make their way around. she loves to go to these kinds of places to pick up trash, too, and does community service that involves nature a lot. she does it so often that mina and ochako do it a lot, too, because they want to support her and her interests, but it's also bonus points because they get to watch cute animals! and clean up the environment! while spending time with their gf!

- ochako is suuuuper broke, and tsuyu and mina like to buy her mochi and sweets because they know she probably can't afford it herself. she always gets emotional like "what did i do to deserve such lovely girlfriends??? you two are blessings i don't know how else to describe you absolute goddesses" and it usually ends with ochako peppering them in kisses while trying to stuff her face with mochi

- mina loves to breakdance, and tsuyu is amazing at it after numerous lessons, but ochako can never seem to get it quite right. like mina and tsuyu are really good at it and can dance circles around each other but ochako can have two left feet sometimes so she opts to watch rather than join when they get to Advanced Stuff. tsuyu and mina like to dance together a lot and will sometimes just start dancing at each other when they're alone. like it's a whole Thing. ochako will never understand why they do that just that it's adorable and she has one too many recording of the encounters

- ochako is in love with space!!! everything space she's just so enamoured with it and she'll just casually mention some obscure fact about pluto or a constellation or black holes to whoever will listen. she has so much knowledge about everything Space that mina says she rivals jaxa (japan's nasa). tsuyu likes to ask trivial questions about something in space just to hear ochako go on a tangent for like three hours about this and that and how a lot of info about it is wrong, and it's so cute tsuyu melts every time

- mina steals their clothes. she's a clothes theif gf. ochako looks in her closet and finds her jaxa sweatshirt missing. tsuyu hasn't seen her favorite skirt in weeks. neither of them know exactly where any of their shirts are other than maybe the laundry? and mina is just in her room hoarding her gfs' clothes and revelling in how much comfier stolen clothes are

- on that note, mina won't do her fucking laundry either, so eventually tsuyu goes to her closet only to find one clean shirt left and she has to confront mina about it, and what she finds is the largest pile of dirty laundry she had ever seen in her life, consisting of both her and ochako's clothes, with some of mina's sprinkled in. mina will never admit to stealing the clothes even though both ochako and tsuyu know for sure that it's her

- tsuyu isn't super big on initiating contact but never shies away from it. she actually welcomes mina slipping her arms around her waist, or ochako suddenly holding her hand, or mina laying across her lap, or ochako tucking her hair behind her ear. it's so routine and it gives her butterflies sometimes so she just lets her gfs do whatever they want, which is usually hugs and cuddles

- they spar with each other sometimes, because being a hero means keeping up a basic workout routine. ochako likes to say her muscles are so that her hugs are That Much Stronger, mina says it's so she can beat the shit out of homophobes and transphobes, and tsuyu just states that she wants to be a stronger hero. but anyways if you think these girls would be desensitized to each other in work out clothes you're Dead Wrong. i hc tsuyu as ace so she's not really flustered or attracted like that, but mina and ochako are both utter disasters who need to dunk their heads in buckets of ice water to cool down because their gfs are super hot wtf

- ochako has done everything in her power to tame mina's hair. it's just Never Going To Happen. hairspray, clips, bands, headbands, sweatbands, gel, mousse, nothing works, her hair is like a life of it's own. tsuyu's is so much easier because it's straight but it's also extremely thick and difficult to brush, and it also takes like ten years to wash bc of how long it is. ochako prides herself with being the only one in their relationship with "normal hair" but then mina points out that it defies gravity and ochako just. stops talking about it.

- mina is an energy drink girl, ochako is a hot cocoa girl, tsuyu is a tea girl, and mina is the only one of them that likes coffee

- tsuyu has big hands to hold her gfs' hands. that's it that's the bullet point

- mina has, and will probably again, accidentally burnt through a sweatshirt or shirt's sleeves because she was angry and acid just kinda exploded from her arms. she always feels kinda bad about it, especially if it wasn't hers, but tsuyu and ochako are always quick to assure her that it's okay and she didn't mean it, she just has to work on controlling her quirk a bit more, everybody makes mistakes. it makes her feel better every time

- mina loves to fall asleep sandwiched between the two of them, but so does ochako, but so does tsuyu, so they take turns being on the outsides of the cuddle line when they sleep together

- ochako has undeniable bisexual polyam energy by going to her gfs and being like "i saw this really cute boy and i know you two are lesbians but jesus he was cute" and both tsuyu and mina kinda nod along like "can't relate but cool" but as soon as she brings up a cute girl mina and tsuyu go "oh yeah THAT we get she's cute as fuck" and they all gush about their celebrity and hero crushes (spoiler alert: literally all three of them have a crush on miruko)

- tsuyu, as we all know, goes into hypernation when she gets too cold, so during winter mina makes it her personal goal to wrap tsu in as many blankets as she can while still letting her be mobile. ochako likes to make her tea and mina does too but she always messes it up somehow so she leaves that to ocha. tsuyu appreciates it all, she really does, but she'd also appreciate not actually burning to death in the middle of the dorms

- ochako goes to mina and tsuyu whenever she gets dysphoric (bc i hc her as trans) and they always litter her in kisses and hugs and cuddles and positive reinforcements about how beautiful she is and that she's their amazing girlfriend and she cries almost every time because her gfs are just so good to her, she got so lucky

- mina once got her fingers stuck in a finger trap and spent three hours wailing at her gfs to free her (all they did was giggle at her and refuse until she got desperate and started screaming so much bakugou came over, also screaming, and just fuckin ripped the trap. he freed her but at what cost)

- tsuyu is very blunt, which makes her a very good comunicator. it can also lead to wild conversations and situations. she once told mina that her outfit was a bit too much and the conversation somehow ended with mina loudly complaining about how feathers in fashion should be shot down with bazookas. tsuyu had no idea how it happened but it did and she decided to leave it at that

- mina is very expressive and isn't afraid to blatantly say "i love you" to her gfs. tsuyu isn't as expressive but will definitely tell them she loves them when she feels the need. ochako is all physical because god help her she can't fucking say it. she loves them with all her heart but every time she tries to say it her throat clogs up and her face goes red and she just can't, so she's shows her love through phycial affection

- mina was the one to ask ochako out at first, but at the time ochako also had a crush on tsuyu, so she felt kinda dishonest being with mina even though she liked her, too, so she told mina and mina went "hell yeah me too she's so great right? lets ask her out" and ochako was like "wtf???? whAt THe fUcK???? you can just DO that???" so mina went "yeah why not?" so they asked tsuyu out and tsuyu went "sure i like you both why not kero" and here they are, happily together

- tsuyu has to constantly remind mina to go to bed before 3 am because they have school in the morning and mina is going to hate herself if she doesn't sleep

- tsuyu has to constantly remind ochako to eat something other than snacks and mochi because it's unhealthy and tsuyu would be more than happy to cook something for her, just stop eating only doritos for two days

- tsuyu is the exhausted responsible gf because holy shit her gfs are Absolute Disasters how did either of them survive to high school

- mina likes when she knows more than tsuyu on a topic so she can finally feel a little smarter than her intelligent gf, at least in this certain category, and tsuyu loves when she gets excited (read: all the time) so she patiently listens to mina go on about whatever it is she researched at 1 am last night because she was deep web surfing

- ochako will throw hands even if she doesn't seem like it. she's ready at almost all times to fucking fight if given an invitation. she revelles in people underestimating her because she loves to kick their ass and watch their faces as they realize they made a mistake prevoking her. mina always cheers her on like a personal cheerleader and tsuyu gently advices against it while secretly cheering her on

- tsuyu gets sick very easily. when it happens, ochako and mina become her personal servents. they cook for her, carry her everywhere, bundle her in a multitude of blankets, they even change the TV channel for her. it gets exhausting sometimes but she knows they do it out of love for her and that always makes her feel happy. though they never do sleep with her in fear of catching whatever she has at the time so she's technically under quarentine (even though they do everything for her, they definitely wear medical masks and rubber gloves, only partly joking)

- mina likes to squish the pink circles on ochako's fingerpads and quietly say "toe beans"

- tsuyu lets mina paint her nails and put makeup on her, but usually only for special events

- ochako absolutely adores when tsuyu says "kero" because holy shit??? that's just super cute and no one can tell her otherwise

- mina will sometimes gush to the bakusquad about how much she loves her gfs because she can never talk about them enough (kaminari always bemoans being single, kirishima listens and nods along out of wlw/mlm solidarity, sero doesn't pay too much attention but still hums occasionally, and bakugou pretends not to care but is secretly happy that mina is so in love and happy)

- tsuyu compliments ochako and mina daily. on their outfits, their hair, their makeup, a funny joke they made, a math probalem they got right, just whatever sparks the butterflies that day. she's always so genuine about it that mina and ochako both lose their minds because it's so much

- ochako has at least once made mina or tsuyu do the spiderman kiss with her using her quirk

- WAIT TSUYU CAN JUST STICK TO THE CEILING

- so tsuyu does the spiderman kiss with them by sticking to the ceiling and ochako uses her quirk on mina to do the spiderman kiss send tweet

that's it that's all i have for right now but just know i love this relationship and lot and intend to do more, just maybe later because it's like almost 1 am and that's late for me so enjoy this sleep-hazed keyboard smash of gay

#bnha #bnha headcanons #ochaminatsuyu #ochamina #ochatsuyu #minatsuyu #uraraka ochako #asui tsuyu #ashido mina #bnha mina #bnha uraraka #bnha tsuyu #lgbtq #lgbt headcanons #long post #anti gravity #alien queen #frogs are gay

[jadinerhine]

Thinking about 90s anime fandom, oh boy

IDK if it's because the end of 2019 had dawned on me recently, or if it's because I'm getting older, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about the days of 90s fandom, and how no one (?) has thought to interview people involved in fostering/maintaining it back then.

I'm specifically talking about the people involved in mags like Animerica and Protoculture Addicts, tbh. They were a lifeline for people like me, from a small Caribbean island. The only thing we had in terms of news direct from Japan, or learning about new creatives.Not just because for a bunch of oldtaku, they were sometimes our best and foremost anime news heralds -- but because they were the only thing we had.

I memorized the names involved, like Trish Ledoux, Julie Davis, Pork'n Beans (who remembers THAT artist), Claude Pelletier, Dana Lewis, Rachael Thorn or Toren Smith for translations, Carl Gustav Horn (Caribbean Kidd was where I heard of him, my brain wants to say) -- or the Manga no Mori column, the anime CDs reviews -- --the custom drawn covers Protoculture Addicts had (I liked those??) before they finally started to use licensed official covers --- the anime-lovin' punker MAI ANIME and her retired miltary grandpa mascots lmao

WHEN THE ANIMERICA LOGO CHANGED IN LATE 90S, IT WAS A HOT BUTTON TOPIC XD

( Sidenote: heck, who remembers when Antarctic Press started translating and publishing manga...that in hindsight ended up being doujinshi that they didn't have the rights to translate or super independent work that they mistreated in terms of publishing schedules )

To this day, I don't think anyone who read Animerica could forget the cool fanart sections (I sent in some and GOT ONE PUBLISHED...under a wrong name at first. Oops. I wrote in with the correction and I got a Ranma postcard set in addition to a printed apology), the 4-person reviews for fresh anime from Japan, the letters, the asking for penpals from other places, etc.

For Protoculture Addicts, it was filling in the holes that Animerica didn't, with their added insights and reviews on "niche-ir" anime, or giving us info directly translated from the listings or news of anime.

(What was fun to find out recently, was that Protoculture Addicts named themselves after the protoculture concept from Macross/Robotech...and it was actually a nice circle to learn that after I got into Macross two years ago. Now my memories are sweeter, to pen a nice phrase.)

I see a lot of good talk about archiving anime history -- but things like these magazines and the people involved in that era never seem to pop up. And that makes me sad because again, kid from the Caribbean, and I never was online like most of America at the time. Anytime people talk about irc this, rec this, r finding other kids their age online, I get envious, sad, bitter. But at the same time, I was very lucky and privileged to be able to read Animerica and PA frequently. I'm sure I may have been the only kid to do so for a LONG time.

And the reason why I say that almost arrogantly is because I never met any kids my age who liked "those Chinese cartoons." In fact, I was always made fun of. It's why I latched onto these magazines, and the letters column like Oh My Goddess' "Letters to the Enchantress."It was the only time I was able to see people talking about stuff I knew. I was made fun of in real life, and the only way I knew I wasn't alone was by seeing people who could have penpals asking for more friends, people with easier connections and their underground magazine/comic-making.

Only anime fans I'd met before, say, 2003 or 2004, were fans as old as my mother and usually male. Suffice it to say, I didn't hang much with them. The reason why I note the years is because I started cosplaying iirc and started to meet people who were getting into anime thanks to the broader internet availability and cable TV (Toonami!) -- and cosplay still wasn't big in Puerto Rico, but I kept at it and met new people. More ppl began to join me in cosplaying!

Of course, because anime was beginning to spread beyond, it also meant people now started to like "those Chinese cartoons" (ones that I was told were "just a phase") and suddenly forgot that they hated it before. And bullied me at times for it. And despite anime being cool now, I still wasn't one of the cool kids 🙃

(To be clear, I don't mind ppl getting into anime whatever way they do/did. I'm just more pointing how people like me don't suddenly become more important just because their hobbies were now cool.)

(That is, until I also was lucky to get Newtype Japan through the Previews catalog and people wanted to see these magazines to see what was up in Japan for about 3 minutes before pulling Beavis and Butthead moves and huh-huh-hu'ing about all the PRON SEXY STUFF XD Typical kids. )

...extreme tangents aside, people involved in those magazines SHOULD be heralded more, mentioned more. Only oldtaku, I'd wager, remember Trish Ledoux and even then, I wonder who ever looked at the credits page obsessively and committed some of those names to memory like I did.

(In fact, I was so happy to find her on twitter a while ago -- I'd wondered how she fared after she stepped down as editor of Animerica so many years ago. Y’all should follow her ! )

And if I may be frank, whenever I see CERTAIN people say that 90s kids "don't know what early anime fandom was," or that people my age aren't to be included in reminiscing about early anime fandom because it started in the 80s...ngl, can't help and mostly think "ok boom-x-er"

Imagine thinking that there wasn't anybody around in 1994 or 1995 becoming fans of anime because we weren't old enough or something -- or think that every single one of us thinks anime started in the 2000s.

Imagine thinking there's not such a thing called ERAS, and that Animerica and Protoculture Adults WERE part of 90s fandom, and fostered kids and adults alike throughout that decade.

Imagine being lucky to work in the industry and thinking that.

(This is why I don't look down on anyone who gets into anime one way or another, or has their own versions of anime fandom, or likes what they like. I don't want to become that gatekeeper person.)

And before anyone asks "why don't *you* do this archive work" -- I don't have those connections. I'm a Z-rate comicker. There's people who have those connections and haven't done it. They have other things to do in their lives or their fandom concentration is elsewhere. A-OK!

I just mention it because there should be someone out there who DOES have the time and connections, to get the direct insight on producing these materials for the Western sides before it's all lost. To collect for all of us to look back (or learn, for those who weren't there)

Because it's not just the Japanese side that needs to be saved for historical purposes. It's the Western, Eastern European, Western European, Caribbean, African -- any history of fandom outside Japan that needs to be saved too. We HAVE the technology now. We can do it.

thanks for coming to my tedtalk, as the kids say, sorry for the long introspective rambling rant thread.

#90s #anime fandom #fandom #Animerica #Protoculture Addicts #(is fandom wank even relevant to this as a tag?) #( it's not even the right usage of it but who knows at this point) #my ramblings

[strongheartmaid]

Shun on Death Queen - oops

@oopsbirdficced

AN: oh look, a new AU I’m working on. Let’s start with: Guilty is a former Silver Saint/still the world’s worst mentor/but an okay dad; Shun discovers he’s really Hades/host of Hades really early on; Shion is currently alive (Saga hasn’t been possessed by Mars); the Black Saints get actual screen time/names/personalities; and oh, look, Esmeralda bloody well lives.

-

Death Queen Island - an inhospitable place, one barely fit for life, let alone fit for training children to become Saints for the maiden goddess of wisdom, Athena, chosen guardian of the world. (Guilty recognized a reassignment to Antarctica when he saw it - obviously, Shion had his reason for doing it, just wish he would have told him first.) Yet it was in such a place that children were sent to train - one of which should never have come here. Guilty stood in the shadows, his eyes fixed on one of the candidates for the Phoenix Cloth - a young boy, one who looked too delicate, too gentle to be successful. He doubted the boy would survive long enough to become a Saint, especially in this time of war (even if Shion hadn't indicated that a Holy War was on the horizon, it was always a possibility - whether by Greek or Norse hand, a Holy War would happen).

Still, Guilty thought as he watched the youth try to keep up with the other candidates, there was something unsettling hiding behind those large green eyes. Privately, he wondered not for the first time just who or what Shion sent him to train. Hopefully he was over-reacting but well, Guilty thought, he didn't live this long as a Saint (however long retired from active duty and settled into a mentor position - largely against his will, but Shion's word was law and he did have a daughter to worry about..) to not pick up on things. Little did he know that it would be when the boy turned sixteen - when he was old enough to be properly tested for the Phoenix Cloth - that everything would come to a head and he would learn exactly who he had been training. - It had been slow - the realization of the changes in the youth, of who he was, of who he was becoming. At first, Guilty thought he could just dismiss the changes in the boy's personality as a by-product of his rather harsh training methods (but at least he'd know if his students would be able to handle life and death decisions - unlike some of the others who liked to coddle their students). But that wouldn't account for the other changes in the youth - such as the unnatural darkening of his hair or the paling of his eyes (ones that now looked like icy bits of jade). 'Shion, just what the hell did you give me to train?' Guilty thought as he watched the youth, Shun, train that afternoon. 'There's a darkness in that boy that isn't natural. Why did you have to send him here? Did you know this island would force that darkness to awaken or were you unaware of it as well?' A chill ran down his spine at that thought - that even Shion had been fooled by how innocent this child appeared to be. He flinched slightly as he watched at how brutal Shun had gotten in his fighting style. 'That.. No, it couldn't be,' Guilty thought as he raced over to the boy, hoping to stop him before.. That - that wasn't the Phoenix Cloth he had been training to earn. No, that was a Surplice - one he hadn't seen in a long time. 'Hades, why the fuck does he have Hades' Surplice?' The implications of this terrified him and not for the first time he regretted giving up the Auriga Cloth. “Esmeralda!” he called out to his young daughter, not stopping in his dead run to where Shun was. “Find Nero and his companions, then the lot of you take the Phoenix Cloth and get to safety.” “But what about you, Father?” Esmeralda called back, concern and fear coloring her voice. She didn’t want to leave her father, but well, she wasn’t trained to fight - not like the others were. “Don’t worry about me, munchkin,” he answered, “I didn’t live this long just to die now. Just get you and the Cloth to safety, that’s all that matters. And if you see the Grand Pope, tell him you have a message from me and give him a swift kick in the shin.” He paused, thinking that over and shook his head. “On second thought, don’t do the shin-kick. But tell him what’s happened on Death Queen. Now go! Hurry!” Esmeralda nodded and quickly hurried off, running as fast as she could to where she remembered that Nero and his friends would wander off to train. “Nero! Magnus! Long! Liu! Ammon! Thallo!” she called, fear still coloring her voice. She felt justified in screaming when a dark clad figure landed in front of her. She placed her left hand against her heart before she noticed it was the darkened version of the Holy Cygnus cloth before her. “Magnus,” she whimpered for a moment before running over and curling into his arms. Magnus froze a moment, unused to having Esmeralda in his arms - normally that was reserved for Nero, but well, Nero wasn’t here so he guessed it was all right.. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, “Esme?” he asked, his Finnish accent stronger than it usually was. “We have to get the others,” she said, tugging his hand. “Father wants us to take the Cloth and get off the Island. It’s.. It’s Shun.. He’s.. He’s changed.” “Changed? Changed how?” Long asked as he and his brother joined Magnus and Esmeralda. “He..” her voice trailed off for a moment, and she shuddered a moment. “He was wearing a Surplice..” “That’s not good,” Liu murmured softly. “Thallo, Nero and Ammon were going down to the beach to train. We’ll meet up with them there.” Esmeralda nodded. “We need to get the Phoenix Cloth first before we can leave. Father didn’t want it falling into the wrong hands.” Magnus thought a moment before bending down in front of her. "Climb on," he said, looking over his shoulder. "It'll be quicker if I carry you." Esmeralda gave a noise of agreement before climbing on, burying her face in his hair. "I'm on," she murmured. Magnus stood up slowly before adjusting her and starting to run, quickly following the Black Dragon twins. "So, anyone have any idea how Shun is Hades if his wearing Hades' armor means what I think it means?" "No idea, but the Grand Master had to have known, right?" Liu called back. "Unless Shun managed to fool him as well.." Long skidded to a halt as he noticed Nero on the path ahead. "By Zeus's thunderbolts, we were looking for you." "What for?" Nero asked before noticing Esmeralda on Magnus's back. "Esme?" he asked, concern coloring his voice. "Father's fighting Shun.. But.. it's not Shun," she tried to explain. "Shun but not?" Ammon asked as he came up to see what was taking Nero so long to get back. "What? He went all evil twin on us?" "More like evil god on us," she corrected, her voice shaking a bit.

#Shun discovers he's Hades early #Black Phoenix Nero #Black Swan Magnus #Black Dragon Long #Black Dragon Liu #Black Andromeda Ammon #Esmeralda (Saint Seiya) #Esmeralda lives! #Auriga Saint Guilty (my head canon for this fic) #saint seiya AU #(yes I included the fact that the Black Dragon were twin brothers in the manga) #giving the Black Saints names #mentioned Grand Pope Shion #Guilty has a freak-out #brownie points if you figure out where Thallo and Ammon got their names

[realityhelixcreates]

Lasabrjotr Chapter 6: Lost Legacy

Chapters: 6/?

Fandom: Thor (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Warnings: Nothing I Can Think Of Relationships: Loki x Reader Characters: Loki (Marvel), Thor (Marvel), OFC, Bjarkehild(OFC) Additional Tags: Post-Endgame: Best Possible Ending, New Asgard, MAGIC, Touch is Habit Forming, Oops, Fuck That Dish in Particular, Thor Knows a Thing or Two About Earth

Summary: Holding hands with Loki can be a bit too much to handle.

You woke to a full scale invasion of your room. A group of women entered with Loki at their lead, carrying your breakfast, and a bathrobe nearly identical to the one he was wearing.

Oh, you’d just known it. You’d known you had been wearing his clothes. It made you uncomfortable just thinking about it. Not only had he sneaked into the room sometime yesterday morning while you were sleeping, to leave you food and clothes, but also, the wearing of his clothing indicated a level of intimacy that the two of you definitely did not have and that you couldn’t even contemplate wanting. And now all of these women were not only going to see you wearing his things, but they would also know that he could and did access the room anytime he wanted. What were they going to think? You had only been here for two days; you did not want to get a reputation for being anybody’s ‘kept woman’.

Loki set the food and robe down, and stripped the blanket from you, jovially commanding you to arise. At your squeak of protest, the oldest woman stuck her finger in his face, and though you couldn’t understand her, she was clearly berating him. It was a little shocking to see him being shoved out the door, scolded like a child, and even grinning like one.

But he had to have been a child at some time, hadn’t he? Maybe this woman had scolded him even then. She shut the door behind him.

“Ah, scalliwag that he be, let him not get thee in a tizzy, dear. Up, up! We must see to thee.”

“Er, yes ma’am.” Her tone brooked no argument. You rose, yawning, stretching. “What do you need me for?”

“We’re to provide thee with things a lady should have, but thee was brought without. We will be taking measurements for proper clothing, and providing what we may in the meantime. There must be little things as well, scissors for thy nails, a brush for thy teeth, a comb for thy hair. We shall see to them.  Ah, and this be Saldis.”

She brought one of the women forward, a young one with a bright expression and dark eyes.

“She will be thy caretaker for those things a man may not comprehend.”

Saldis held up a measuring tape. “We’re going to be making you a few things, and probably altering some items we already have. If you just wear the clothes you came with every day, the stitches will tear. They don’t seem to have been very well made.”

“Yeah well, in my position in life, cheap is the name of the game.” You said.

“Allow us to change that. Please hold up your arms.”

It took longer than you expected, but you’d never had formal measurements taken before, and only Saldis and the old woman-Roskva-spoke your language. You took care to inform them that your weight would likely be changing, as you were coming back to health after a long illness, and they agreed to add a few inches here and there. When they left, Saldis gave you a pad of paper, and told you to write anything you needed her to know on it.

“I’ve plenty to do around here, so I’ll only be able to check in a few times a day.” She said. “If you aren’t here, just leave me notes, and I’ll take care of whatever it is, okay? I hope I can make your stay here more pleasant.”

“Um, thanks.” Was all you had given her in return. As a member of the servant class yourself, you had no idea how to act around a maid. It felt weird and wrong to have one. You reminded yourself that she wasn’t yours, you were her side project, and that made you feel a little better about it.

Breakfast was cold, but you didn’t mind. The oatmeal had apples chopped into it, and didn’t have to be hot to be good. Cold coffee was also acceptable. The fish oil was gross at any temperature, but apparently a permanent part of the meal, so you swallowed it as quickly as you could, wondering if gods suffered from vitamin deficiencies. How did their bodies work? Did they pee? There were toilets, so clearly they did.

They were alive, like you were. But what did that mean? If these gods lived, and had bodies, and could walk among people, did that mean they had done so before? Legends had been told about them, hundreds, thousands of years ago, so they must have.

Thor and Loki looked no older than yourself. How long had they looked like that? How old could they possibly be? More importantly, possibly most important, were they the only ones? Was Bjarkehild a goddess? Was Saldis? Was the sweet young guardsman?

And what about legends from elsewhere in the world? Were there more gods? Were they all real, just on other planets, somewhere out in space?

You stared out the window as you ate, looking over the construction. Were there hundreds of little gods out there, right now, building a city for their people? Would this become a literal heaven on earth?

“Do you practice obliviousness, to perfect it so?” Loki asked from over your shoulder. You choked on cold coffee. “Surely you can’t be that deep in thought.”

You set the drink down carefully. “You sneak around on purpose; don’t act surprised if I don’t hear you when you don’t want me to!” You said, once you’d finished coughing. “But yeah, I was thinking of something.”

“Did the ladies trouble you?” He asked, but you shook your head.

“No, they were just fine. I’m not used to being waited on, but they didn’t bother me. L-your Highness, are there other gods? If you exist, they all have to exist. Don’t they?”

“Oh. Slightly larger question than I was expecting. What would it do to your little internal world, if I were to say yes? What if I said no? What would change?”

You frowned. That was a dodge for sure. “I don’t know.” You said. “I’ll have to think about it.”

“You do that. For now, we’re due the meet with Bjarkehild. She wants to observe what happens when we…” He searched for a good word. “…Link?”

“It’s way too early in the day for that.” You protested. “I’ll be useless until evening.”

“Insinuating that you are useful in the first place.” He jeered.

“Rude!” You complained, then finished your coffee in one last gulp.

                                                                                        *****

“From the looks of it, I would think that this originated from an outside source.” Bjarkehild announced. She had examined your marks very carefully, taking all kinds of measurements, asking questions that you didn’t know how to answer; questions about magic, about your ancestry, neither of which you were familiar with.  Questions Loki didn’t seem to like, especially about his own ancestry. Bjarkehild seemed to know something about him that he really didn’t want to talk about, for all that she worded it in a subtle manner.

“What makes you say that?” Loki asked, seeming relieved that she was no longer asking about ‘his forefathers’ or his ‘previous experiences with Midgardians’.

“They are exactly the same in every dimension, from width to depth, as if you had both grabbed the same burning brand. That’s why it looks so much bigger on her hand; your hand is much larger than hers, but the mark takes up the same amount of space on both of you. She tells me that she has no history of magic, and no previous knowledge of this kind of mark. You have assured me that you have not cast this spell, and that you had also never seen this mark before either. I don’t believe it’s possible to cast such a complex spell you have no knowledge of, even by accident.”

“A fair assessment. However, there is no one else on this planet who could do this. I am coming up blank for a source of power that could do this to me.”

“Perhaps they are not on this planet. It is still possible that you have been cursed. You are not without enemies, my lord.”

Loki grimaced. “You’re not wrong. Most of my very worst enemies are dead now, but a death curse is a very powerful thing.”

“That still doesn’t explain my part in this.” You pointed out. “I’ve never been anywhere but Earth; I never met any of his enemies. How could I possibly be involved in a death curse against him?”

“And besides, I do not think ‘May you be tied to the life of a human woman’ is the kind of curse any of them would have used.” Loki pointed out. “However, this world is very large, and very old. There are many sources and forms of magic that were developed and lost here; this could simply be one of those, coming out of dormancy.”

“It’s still so hard to believe that real magic once existed here.” You said.

“Oh, it still exists. There’s at least one school that has been continuously running for several thousand years.” Loki said. “That wizard you saw yesterday is one of them. Some forms of magic might return, some might be newly invented, and some might remain lost forever, but it was always here. We taught our own magic to your kind thousands of years ago, but others were already here from long before even us.”

“So this mark could be anything?” You asked, awed by the information.

“I don’t think so.” Bjarkehild said. “I believe it has to be tied to one of you, and I’m afraid it is probably you, my lord. This mark comes from a magical tradition that is directly descended from the magic our people taught to the ancestors of theirs. So I believe it is tied to you, but that it still came from a source outside of you. Your presence was very likely nothing more than a catalyst. Yours too, ____. We still don’t know what role you may play in this.” She sighed. “If only we knew your ancestry further back than your grandmother.”

“I wish I did too.” You said. “But gramma really didn’t get along with her family. She never talked about them, and none of them ever tried to contact us, so I don’t even know if any of them are still alive. She even changed her name.”

“Sometimes family does unforgiveable things.” Loki said softly. “Sometimes it all becomes such a mess that you really can’t ever go back.”

You shot him a curious look while Bjarkehild pretended not to have heard him.

“I would like you to connect so that I can see exactly what happens.” She said. “Are you comfortable with doing that?”

Loki shrugged.

“Not exactly.” You said. “But I won’t say no. It’s just really weird, that’s all.”

“Whenever you’re ready.” She said.

Loki held out his hand to you, expectantly, as if he’d done it a hundred times before. You didn’t want to bring it up, but this was a part of what made it weird for you. The intimacy, with him specifically. Maybe it would be different if he was somebody else, or if you’d actually had a date with anyone in the past few years. But men had been less important than work, and they had mostly gone for Tara anyway. And though Loki had been somewhat absolved in your eyes, you were still far from any kind of easy trust.

You hesitantly slipped your hand into his. He curled his fingers around yours, bringing your palms together. The link sparked instantly, runes glowing bright blue, spreading up your arms. Bjarkehild  began writing them down as quickly as she could.

“What does it feel like?” She asked, pointing at you.

“Like I’m being filled up too much.” You gasped. “Like there’s just too much in me, too much blood, or too much air, something like that. Like my skin is too small. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s uncomfortable. My whole body’s too tight. It’s in my eye, and it’s hard to see. Can’t concentrate. Buzzing’s too big, I can’t…I can’t!”

“Alright, let go.” She commanded, and Loki released you. You slumped against him, and he sniffed in disdain, but didn’t shove you off. Bjarkehild would probably yell at him if he did.

“Are you alright?” She asked.

“Just give her a moment.” Loki assured her. “The effect of it seems to muddle her brain, but she will recover shortly. She will probably require food. Mortal bodies have a limited energy reserve.”

“I see.” She called for someone you thought was a nurse, and sent her for a snack. “Now for you; what is this like for you?”

“Not altogether dissimilar to what it is for her.” He said. “She has no experience in manipulating magical energies, so it is much harder on her. But it does feel rather like a sponge being filled up. Like light finding its way into every little space and trying to leak out when there is no more room. I don’t find it all that unpleasant, but I’ve found that if I let it go on for too long, it can be overwhelming. The energy is…large, but not heavy? Rather like a fog bank or a strong wind. It is difficult to transmute or manipulate, but I believe that I can. It still feels somewhat familiar. I must have come into contact with similar energies before, but I still cannot identify it.”

The junior healer returned bearing a plate stacked up with buttered slices of that dark bread you were growing so fond of. You ate three without stopping, then sheepishly offered the plate to the others. Loki waved it away, and Bjarkehild declined with amusement.

“Are you ready to try again?” She asked.

“I guess so?” You didn’t know how much of this you could actually take, but with a sorcerer and the senior healer watching you, you were pretty sure nothing that bad would happen.

Loki casually took your hand again.

“Now try to push to power back down into your hands.” Bjarkehild instructed.

“I don’t know how to-“You started to say, when you felt Loki push, and the power slammed into you. It felt as if your head would come off your shoulders.

You were on the ground, though you didn’t recall falling. The plate-and the bread-was in little pieces all around you. Loki and Bjarkehild knelt beside you, Bjarkehild lifting you effortlessly in her arms-so strong, like all Asgardians, Loki checking your eyes, your face, looking for any sharp fragments of plate that might have pierced your skin.

“We’re going to call that enough for today.” Bjarkehild said, finding a bed to lay you down on.

“I thought something like this might happen, if she got overfilled.” Loki said, the words coming out fast. He was scratching at his palm. “I didn’t know she would be so…receptive. I didn’t mean for that to happen, I thought there would be some kind of blockage or resistance, some kind of natural defense to the flow of power.”

“Obviously, you didn’t mean to.” Bjarkehild assured him. “But now we know we have to act as if we’re dealing with a first day student. She has no defenses, no control, no experience at all. I shouldn’t have asked you to do that in the first place. How do you feel, dear?” She asked you. “Do you hurt at all?”

“I don’t know.” You said, barely able to speak above a whisper. “I don’t understand what happened.”

“You took in too much energy at once.” Loki explained. “Your body converted it in order to protect yourself, but not very well. I did not know that you couldn’t push back. I’m not used to working with such inexperienced people.”

Again, not an apology, but close.

“Never knew magic was real before.” You said. “Never had a chance to get experienced. I’m sorry. I think I dropped the plate.”

“You didn’t exactly drop it.” Bjarkehild said. “What did happen there?” She asked Loki.

“Well, when I pushed the power into her, a little of my own went with it. I saw her manifest the energy outside of herself, into the plate and bread.”

“And that made it explode?” Bjarkehild asked.

“It exploded?” You repeated.

He shook his head. “No. The power found all the little structural weaknesses, the tiny cracks, the bubbles, the imperfections. Then it filled them in and sort of…pushed them apart . No heat or fire, just a good, hard shove to the weak points. That was just not a very well made plate, it seems. But don’t worry about that; it was not your fault.”

“You should rest for now, at least until we’re sure there’s no damage.” Bjarkehild directed. “I’ll send Ulfrun back out for more bread. Tell us if you feel anything unusual.”

You wanted to say that everything was unusual, but you were already drifting off.

                                                                              *****

 “She has magical aptitude.” Loki said, once it was obvious you were asleep. “That opens up some possibilities.”

“That must be terribly rare among humans, for her to not know it.” Bjarkehild said.

“Not necessarily.” Thor said. “There are a lot more of them than there are of us. Things get lost.”

Bjarkehild jumped. “Your majesty?” The king followed behind Ulfrun, carrying a plate of dried stockfish.

“I heard your healer here speaking with the kitchen staff about exploding plates. I thought it sounded a bit interesting.”

Loki translated that quickly. I heard my brother might be getting into trouble again, so I came to check in on him. He fixed the junior healer with a dry stare. She did not meet his gaze. He knew her family, knew they did not really approve of him. Was she spreading rumors deliberately, or was she just a harmless gossip?

Thor set the plate down and took a seat, while Ulfrun hastily took her leave.

“The thing about humans, is that there’s over seven billion of them.” Thor said. “And they all used to at least believe in magic. It still exists here, but it’s a lot more rare that any of them gets the opportunity to learn. Magic may not be much more common among our people, but there are a great deal fewer of us, and that makes it so much easier to find out who can use it and who can’t. A human might go their entire life without finding out they have the ability. Generations might pass without a single sorcerer being trained. There may be a much larger number of magical humans than all our people put together, but the percentage compared to the rest is so low, that finding one is probably quite rare.”

“Perhaps that’s why this was possible in the first place.” Loki mused, gazing at his palm. “Latent magic that she never would have known she possessed, if not for one chance meeting. I wonder how many there really are?”

If humanity had not stopped training their mages, the Battle of New York might have gone very differently. Hel, he might not have gone any further than Stuttgart. Even a master could be overwhelmed by amateurs if there were enough of them, and even if only three percent of the population had magical potential, that was still several hundreds of thousands that could be mustered to defend the planet.  

“They are going to start figuring it out.” Thor said. “Humans are insatiably curious beings, trust me.  Once that bilgesnipe’s out of the bag, there will be no going back. So, what actually happened here? Your healer seemed rather frightened by our little mortals’ sudden ability to destroy dishes.”

“Just a small incident with her capacity to hold energy, that’s all.” Bjarkehild told him. “It discharged into the plate. She’s resting now. No sense in pushing her too far.”

You stirred in your sleep, shivering. Loki heard his name fall from your lips once, and he was standing by your side in the next moment. You weren’t awake, but you were shivering hard, and paler than you should have been. He drew the blanket up further around your shoulders, but it didn’t seem to help.

“Bjarkehild.” He called, though she and Thor were already there, already trying to help.

“Magical exhaustion.” Bjarkehild suggested. “Her body isn’t used to it. Plus, she’s more fragile than we are.”

So this was his fault. Grand. Would he ever stop accidentally inflicting suffering?

“_____, can you hear me?” He asked softly. “You called for me. Here I am.” It was the first time you had called him by name, and you weren’t even awake. He patted your cheek to see if you would wake.

You calmed at his touch, the shaking subsiding.

“Keep doing that.” Thor encouraged. Loki rolled his eyes.

“No, I think I’ll stop and just let her shake out of the bed. Of course I’m going to keep doing it!”

“All right, how are you doing this?” Bjarkehild asked. “Normally, a person suffering magical exhaustion just has to rest and deal with the side effects. What are you doing differently?”

“It has to do with the link we have through the mark.” Loki explained. “When I found her, we were both feeling rather rough, but she was much worse off. It was closeness, especially touch that gave us our health back. I do not know why, and I really don’t like it. I don’t need my continued existence linked directly to some weak little thing who can die so easily.”

You took that moment to snuggle into his hand. Bjarkehild almost managed to mask the sound she made, but Thor didn’t even try to hide his expression. Loki pressed his lips tightly together, daring either of them to say anything. He knew they had both labeled you as ‘cute’, like a small animal, and he wanted no part of it. He didn’t want the attachment to so transient a life. Besides, you weren’t cute. You had tried to break his nose!

“She seems to be responding well.” Bjarkehild pointed out.

“Only because she is asleep.” Loki said. “Otherwise she would be steeped in distrust over my touch, and wiser for it.”

“And you, my lord?” She asked, notebook ready. “Does this affect you in any way? Does it feel draining? Empowering? Calming?”

“I feel…better? Like when you walk into a room and something smells very nice, and it uplifts you? It’s rather like that.  Gentle. Subtle, but it makes me feel…just better. However, I cannot just trail her around behind me, holding her hand like a child all day.”

“I’m sure we can schedule you in some healthy hand-holding time.” Thor said, almost teasing, but Loki only glared. When he finally removed his hand, you made a little noise, but did not resume shivering.

“Well, it looks like she will be staying here for a little while. What else is on the itinerary today?” Loki asked, as if seeking an escape from the soft moment.

“More discussions with the environmental specialists.” Thor said. “Building regulations, what can and can’t be done on the land, habitat conservation, and so on.”

“Sounds perfect. Let’s go.” Loki agreed, and exited with his brother close behind, leaving Bjarkehild to go over her notes.

#loki x reader #lasabrjotr #loki (marvel) #thor (marvel) #avengers #marvel fanfiction

[ts-akhmim]

Episode 1 | Part. 1 “Can I Kick the Tomb?”- Kendall

Me before Day 1 of Hosts: “I really am excited to be back and playing my official last season of Tumblr Survivor (and ORG) ever.” *40 SEASONS LATER*

https://66.media.tumblr.com/9abe7e9a250f88588980b89fdbc5bd6f/tumblr_pj4lahOlsg1s34uqa_400.gifv

I’m back for another shot and I’m thrilled to see where this goes! It’s been three years since I last played an ORG so I can’t wait to see how much Tumblr Survivor has changed. And who knows, maybe I’ll be lucky this time around. The main thing I’m looking to accomplish this time around is that I have fun! I feel like I took my previous seasons way too seriously (what can I say, I’m competitive) and I feel like that clouded my judgement. I mean, I’d like to win too!! But I want to be able to enjoy myself and make friendships that last a long time outside of this game. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I am currently at home as an unemployed college graduate. So, I feel like this is the perfect time for me to get back into the Tumblr Survivor community and get another shot at an ORG before my life gets busy again. In the past, ORGs have really conflicted with my work/life structure. That’s mainly why I said I’d never do orgs again, because I hated having internal mental breakdowns in public. I didn’t think I’d give it another go around, but now that I don’t have work/school to focus on. And since I have no idea how long this pandemic will last, might as well find ways to occupy my time through ORGs. I feel like I have done almost everything one can do on Tumblr Survivor… except win. Here is a quick summary of the games I played previously to help me reflect on what I can improve upon this time around. First time around, I was a mid-merge boot in Maluku after I was exposed for flipping on the fans and lost everyone’s trust. In Newfoundland, I was sapphire idoled out as an early merge boot for being in charge of the dominant alliance. In Ancient Greece, I was a 4th place robbed goddess after literally controlling the whole game and cut loose by my alliance right before FTC. And in Hosts, I flipped on my OG alliance after finding out people in the alliance wanted me out and got runner-up. So I hope that I can change things around this season and HOPEFULLY win (I’ll cry if I’m a pre-merge boot). My strategy going into this game is just to get to know people on a human level and allow them to think I’m someone who will follow commands/take orders. I don’t want to be the person deciding who goes home, but I want people to feel comfortable talking their every game move with me. Perception is key for this game, so if my allies think they can drag me to the end I’m going to let them think that. I’m hoping with that perception, I can be a subtle move maker this season. Almost as if no one sees me coming for them. I find that my fault in previous seasons is that I either put myself in the leadership role, or I’m too far in the bottom that I’m criticized for all decisions I make. I’m hoping that I have trust for those who are in the alliance within the alliance so that we can eventually overthrow whoever the person in charge is. For now, I just want to socialize and get to know people and hope that by increasing the social game the strategy will all fall into place. One thing that does scare me going into this season is possible pre-existing relationships. I’ve been out of Tumblr Survivor for the past three years and honestly have no idea what happened in previous seasons. I also don’t really keep up with anyone in the community either, so I’m going in with almost zero connections. This could be a good thing or a bad thing. The good thing is that it allows me to form genuine relationships with them, and I can ensure to my alliance that I’m 100% loyal to them going forward. Numbers are important, so if my tribe sees me as a number it would indicate. The bad thing is that if people know each other, then they could easily get me out if they choose to do so. Especially if they know my reputation as a “flipper” and think I won’t be trustworthy going into a merge/endgame. So I’m hoping that if I have a strong presence on night 1 that I can be included in the alliances and get my way into the majority. Because the last thing I’d want is to be Ethan Zohn’d out of the game. Waiting all this time just to be pre merge would be TRAGIC. Overall, I’ve grown over the past three years and I hope that I can reflect that onto this season. Since I last played an ORG, I came out to everyone through social media and I’ve been able to increase my self-confidence. Last time I played I just finished my freshmen year of college. Now, I’m graduating and going to attend graduate school to get my masters degree. I feel like I’ve grown and matured as a person, so I’m going into this season almost as a completely different person. There’s no holding myself back from anyone and I know that at the end of the day, I’m just here to have fun. So I’m ready for this big adventure that’s ahead of me, because I’m hoping to finish my last ORG (forreal) on a high note!

okay so the season hasn't even started yet and in a shock to nobody i'm already cracked out of my mind? i have fully been spiralling and researching who could possibly also be in the cast based on their avatars? i'm not gonna embarrass myself and put who i have predicted because whenever i put that in a confessional im always wrong without fail? anyway so thought i'd put what my plan is here SO when i completely do not follow this i can look back at myself for being a clown? BUT anyway this season coming back as a winner is very, very scary. it looks like i am going to be the only winner on my tribe, and one of only three winners in the entire game which is very very scary. also last season i was able to kind of operate from a position of being super underestimated? like nobody had eyes on me and that allowed me to get away with murder, and this season i need to play with a consistent awareness that people will... know what shenanigans i'm pulling and always will be tentative to let me play unrestricted. also i am so happy about being on the brawn tribe - that is SUCH a good landing spot for me. i would hate to be a winner put on a tribe for social ability (beauty), or strategic ability (brain)... it also means hopefully i could be in a tribe with less social people who are just challenge beasts, so as long as i am pulling my weight in challenges hopefully can wriggle my way in? the avatars on my tribe are real hard to place, two are not players i even recognise and from looking at the wiki - my only guess is someone called jake from generations is na'onka? just because he is also on the record page for immunity wins... so we will see? i'm just very very worried that i'm going to become alienated for being a former winner but i really. really hope that's not the case! in general... my aim is to just make jury, there are gonna be like no winners in this cast and there are going to be such eyes on me accordingly, so i need to play much more round by round, with a survival mentality? this season is gonna be a disaster for me but we will see how it goes NNNN.

I’m back… somehow! It’s kinda crazy how this is my sixth season of Tumblr Survivor (and my first TS game in like almost two years) but I was just wanting to play. I’ve done just about everything you can do in TS (leave premerge, participate in a Redemption Island duel, be a tribe swap captain, win individual immunity, have an idol, have a double vote, go home with an advantage, be the last person from your original tribe, leave in a rock draw, negate votes with an idol, and make it to the end)... except win, I haven’t quite been able to do that just yet! However, that is all gonna change in Akhmim and I’m sending that in stone. (watch me be a clown and leave first gfbndms). I don’t know, I just really want to prove myself as a capable player yknow? Ultimately, I’m here to look cute, chew bubblegum and kick ass. (‘:

Oh my god, synapses are firing all throughout my brain right now. I didn't prepare myself well enough for this season, but...I have friends here! LMAO! Jordan and Liam L are two people I know very well, I've seen Jakey around on FB, and I've spotted Ali on Discord! I'm hoping I can just integrate myself well enough cause there's a lot happening for me right now...

So I’m on Hathor which is the Beauty Tribe which… does not surprise me at all really? Not saying that I’m pretty or anything but I got 2 brain cells and suck at challenges so being a Beauty was my only option oop. That being said, looking at my Tumblr Survivor ~career~, I’ve only gotten 7 votes (only 5 that count) in the last 3 seasons that I played where I got 6th, 12th, and 2nd place SO that must mean I’m doing something right to be in people’s good graces? With that in mind, I want to be the Belle of the Ball and be the cutest beauty here so people wanna love me, protect me, and work with me <3

Jess, 6:51 PM Unfortunately, you have not entered the Tomb.. 6:52 PM Can I kick the Tomb? Alyssa, 6:52 PM you can 6:52 PM I kick the tomb Alyssa, 6:52 PM Unfortunately you have not entered the tomb

oh gorl. i cant believe it ladies and gays we're BACK BACK BACK AGAIN.... thanks coronavirus for completely putting my life on pause making me unemployed and able to have the time to do this again? No but on a serious note who in the hell would've guessed little old me coming back out HOPEFULLY one last time, and my mission this time is quite simple. WIN ALREADY BITCH. ITS ABOUT TIME, ITS ENOUGH, WE'RE TIRED. This will officially be my third time playing tumblr survivor, so lemme try and give yall a quick recap just so everyone knows a little bit about me. My very first time playing, I was an extremely young and naive 17 year old who was COMPLETELY tripping, yet it somehow worked for me and I made it to day 39 in og egypt. However, I didnt get a damn vote so that's when I first realized maybe I got some growing to do.... Fast forward to 2 years later, i was 19, moved out of my parents house, living on my own, so a little bit of character development on my own part, and it reflected in my game so much. I was learning from my mistakes and it got to a point where...i legitimately had a shot to win!! I was being smart and strategic, but, I made one mistake that cost me everything when I was so close, top 5, not too bad. 3 years later, and here we are. I'm still living on my own, im no longer that ugly ducking baby adam but now im slowly on my path to mother goose moment! im in a place in my life where im not only physically feeling myself, but I now know who I really am. With age comes wisdom and another chance at tumblr survivor!! Being this is my 3rd time I absolutely want to go all out. I want to WIN. Im so ready, especially on a season like this, brains vs. braun vs. beauty, one of my favorite twists especially because beauty just means so much to me. Not even in like a vain way honestly, like yeah i know im a bad bitch i know im a cutie physically but to me being a beauty is being able to really have a sense of CHARM about you and being able to get whatever you want with it Looking back at my games in tumblr survivor, and in life in general, i usually get my way with the help of my big mouth. I'm absolutely not the best in the challenges, and i might not always be the one who's able to come up with a big plan, but one thing about me thats for sure is im always one to find my way in the know somehow. In both my seasons I played with a very similar approach, first i assess my tribe and everyone in the game and see how workable i feel with people, and from there on i start building relationships. It's like gardening, you find the people you connect the most with, and build from there, and the ones i dont, i simply wont waste my time with and theyll be the ones i vote out, but ultimately as long as it aint me, then oop sorry to these people not me already writing a whole book and i havent even started talking about anyone but MYSELF YET DSFFHJKAFH.....im so sorry @hosts pls forgive me i warned yall i go on and on but ANYWHO ill try to wrap this up. Basically, im in love with my tribe right now, ive obviously talked to everyone and been having really good conversations with Augusto and Kendall. I really like them and could definitely see myself aligning with them. But aside from them I was honestly GAGGED AND GOOPED to see some familiar faces even on this TRIBE. AMIR is someone who i know from way back when in my tumblr candicestewart days when i was raising hell, we were mutuals but havent spoken since so years really, however in a game like this you can take the tiniest bit of association and use it as a groundwork for trust, so stay tuned for that...also AJ?????? me and him have spoken every now and then through various communities we fall into so thats another interesting dynamic, im not sure how anyone feels about me but im hoping they just like me enough not to be the first boot... Also im really glad there doesnt seem to be a lot of juggernaut type players here, my last season was challengers vs. champions so there was a LOT going on with 10 winners and 10 challenger, but speaking of that season i almost forgot to mention JAKE???? JAKE IS BACK TOO???? this.....could be really bad for me. For those who dont know, in cvc, me/jake/jessy had an iconic alliance because of our ~herstory together which stems back to us all being 14/15, and yeah i worked with them for as long as i could, but jake basically ran a cult on challengers vs champions which obviously i wasnt a target as long as i had them as shields by my side so we worked well together, until final 6 that is when i made my move and my vote was the reason jake went home. My whole season people kept saying adam just wants to sleep and play their game, when the truth was, im no dummy, i always knew id have to turn on them, it was just about waiting for the right moment and thats what i did, and if i could go back, id do it again! However, this is a completely new game so to me its a do over, i hope he doesnt have any baggage against me but i guess we'll just have to wait and see if we ever make it on the same tribe even, but i know he's just as good as me so i think we'll see each other again real soon.. this is my 3rd time playing, ive had a good cirie run but i do NOT want to be hvv'd cirie'd whatsoever. and thats kinda my fear coming back, I wanna be able to keep playing lowkey and having people underestimate me for as long as i possibly can, because guess what thats what works every time, these people are such fools they fall for it over and over again! they absolutely should beware of me because im here, and im in it, and i will absolutely lie cheat etc to just about anyone if it means getting me farther. ive got plenty of friends, im here for my virtual crown anywho. first book over with. i swear this was only so long because i was taking about myself too much, wont be as bad next time! well lemme not be delusional i do love talking about myself but xoxo thats it for now time to go back to having conversations and praying if we lose this challenge im not first boot

also getting to (hopefully) play with autumn again? the egyptian gods are good to me 

So I’m making my Day 1 confessional mainly so that I hit the 500-word requirement for the first challenge. Tumblr Survivor is different than when I last played 3 years ago. I hope I don’t come across as doing TOO MUCH but I’ve already started on the challenge and I’m trying to spend the first few days socializing and getting to know people. My goal is to have people come to me with alliances because it shows to me that they want to work with me. If I lay the foundation for the alliances, then I get the image that I’m running things. And I want other people to fill those shoes so that I can play an under the radar game. I feel like this is a group of people that I can stick with long term. I have a reputation for being a flipper, so I’m hoping that I can show to the Brains tribe that I plan to be loyal to these people long term in this game. But I also hope that I’m never put in a position where people want me to flip. Anyways, here’s my Day 1 analysis of my tribe: Trace – We played in Maluku together 6 years ago and I flipped on the fans the first tribal to vote him out. Granted, he got his revenge by making me the first boot of a versus side season, I hope he doesn’t try to seek vengeance now. So far I feel like we’re gonna be civil with one another. We talked about him and his boyfriend Matt, how he got a new dog just 3 days before quarantine, and how he recently moved to San Jose California. To me, it makes me think things are pretty civil between us. I could see Trace being a future leader of this tribe, so I hope that he goes about taking that role and makes the first move against people so I can work alongside him. Isaac – My history with Isaac is that I hosted Malaysia, and I feel like we’re on good terms. Which is nice because I don’t have to do the small talk with him and can just go right into the strategy. Sadly I don’t know him too well since he was voted out Day 6, but I felt bad that he was an early boot. The age difference between him and the other contestants played a role in it :/. But right now we’re hitting the ground running with things. We’re talking about my dog at the moment (which I intentionally changed my profile pic to her so that people would use it as conversation starters – we love strategic thinking!) Devon – I like Devon, but at the same time, I also see right through him. Devon’s trying to play a UTR game. I respect that, however, I’m trying to play a UTR game too. We had a brief call to solidify our allegiance to each other. He told me how he was loyal to Alyssa and Jess and they screwed him over big time during Guyana. So I’m seeing that he already has a plan to make sure that doesn’t happen. I want to keep him around because I could see the two of us being a dynamic duo going forward, similarly to Me/Matt in Maluku or Me/Andrew in Hosts. I need to make sure someone else calls the shots and brings me/devon in so we can plot against getting them out. Also, he’s really attractive and it saddens me that he’s straight so I now have to work on that. Autumn – a QUEEN!!! I love her! She’s iconic, she’s a legend, she’s never the same, she’s talented, she’s EVERYTHING! Considering that she’s one of 3 females on this cast, I hope that she and I can be the iconic male/female duo that I have every time I play. Similarly to Me/Maria in Maluku, Me/Lizard in Newfoundland, Me/Gerda in Ancient Greece, & Me/Jessy in Hosts. Right now we’re bonding over graduate school and the severity of the pandemic, so I hope that we can work together long term in the game because I love her. I also have to be careful with her because she’s won before. Duncan – I like Duncan so far too. We’ve played an org season together before I took my 3-year hiatus, but I don’t remember which one. And neither does he LOL. But so far we’ve just talked about psychology since we have a lot of respect for that field and how survivor is a huge social experiment. I’m hoping that he doesn’t see me as a major threat because of our intellectual talk. I like him so far, so hopefully, we can work together going forward. We’ve also talked about the types of dogs we both have and what we’ve been up to with our lives, which I like being able to get to know everyone. Bodhi – I messaged him saying “hi” and he ignored me, so I am comfortable with him being the first boot. However, I will need to have other people go and say they want him out so I can be like “cool let’s do it”. Maybe this will change tomorrow, we’ll see. But that’s where I’m at right now. Overall, I think I have a good fitting with the group. I don’t like that no one’s made an alliance chat yet, but I think my conversation with Devon confirms that I have allies going forward. Plus it's also Day 1, so no one wants to make that type of move yet. I’m hoping that by sticking with the social game for now that I can get people to like me and include me in alliances that they have. For now, I’m just gonna keep talking about my dog until that happens 😊

hey guys its me, again. I know i said I was done going on and on but now i have some tea! the tea is: IM PISSED. last time i played in challengers vs. champions i made it my prerogative to be the first one to find the hidden immunity idol, and so guess what for the last 4 1/2 hours ive been DECIPHERING and trying to figure out how to get it, first i spent 2 hours learning heiroglyphyics because my dumbass really thought it was hidden in plain sight right on our logo! until i realized it made no sense at all, but hey, good to know ill be able to find my way through an egyptian pyramid now if i ever need to! So i kept digging, a little deeper until i seen these little numbers on the blog under all the cast reveals, this was what told me i had just wasted my time with the heiroglyphs but that i was onto an actual lead now, so upon doing that, i was messaging both aj and amir discussing my theories with them because i figured if i didnt find it, i wouldnt mind them finding it....but i definitely just want it for myself first because cmon this is survivor and we havent even had any tribals yet, therefor sure ill let people THINK i trust them, but at the end of the day i only truly trust me, myself, and i. amir then helped me crack that the numbers on the blog actually spelled out the three gods names that our tribes are named after, so then about another hour goes by and i cant find NOTHING ive tried flipping the names, doing research into them, and got nowhere. until i realized, it was so simple, all i needed to do was look at MY tribes god, HATHOR, and then i took that name and coded it into numbers, which lead me to finding the idol trigger. Lemme tell yall how ecstatic I was to find it, it made all my work tonight completely worth it, or at least i thought until i tried entering the tomb and had to answer these questions to get in, and i got one wrong along the way..... I WAS SO CLOSEEEEEEEEEEE, THEN MY DUMBASS OVERTHOUGHT ONE OF THE EASIEST QUESTIONS AND BLEW IT. now i have to wait another 24 hours before trying again, which drives me crazy, i solved and cracked this puzzle within 4 hours, who's to say every other person on this tribe wont do the same? if someone finds it and gets it all right before i do, im gonna be so mad at myself but hey at least i tried, im gonna give myself kudos for figuring that shit out it was not easy!!! and i at least made what i would assume would be one of the first attempts at it, so anyone else who tries yall are copying me and trust you WILL hear from my lawyers!

i am not as upset to be back as i thought i would be! i don't hate the cast and theres only one person in the game that im not excited to see and ironically, its not jordan pines. I got stuck with a bunch of mayo boys at first but then you guys blessed me by bringing autumn into the tribe. THATS MY DAUGHTER AMERICA! i literally was the one to bring her into the community and never got to play with her, i think its crazy that after such a long hiatus from us both that the quarantine gifted me the chance to play with her. Hopefully i can last longer than 1 round to enjoy it lol. Also the boys aren't that bad! They're all really pleasant and enjoyable so far and i found out Trace used to live in STL so we're bonding on that! I'm hoping i can do well but ultimately I'm enjoying this tribe for what its worth but i just can't figure out what to do to go idol hunting haha.

To start, it’s important to acknowledge how good it feels to be back in TS. I wasn’t quite too sure what kind of cast to expect, considering most members from my original season, Guyana, would likely feel uneasy with me in the game. However, it looks like TJ is the only one from Guyana representing this season, which is great news for me. Even then, TJ and I got along great after the season ended, so he doesn’t worry me in the long run. My current tribe is clearly skilled in the social game, because everyone has been active beyond belief. Right now, I would describe my closest ally as Scott. He is a clear-cut threat, but has a lot more connections than I do and could be useful to me in the early stages of the game. We called for a bit last night, and continued to be around the bush about gameplay. However, if we ever lost a challenge, I feel like he’d run with whatever plan we come up with. In terms of my LEAST closest connection, I’d go with Bodhi. He’s a nice kid, but we just don’t relate and he can come across as arrogant at times. Scott has already mentioned him as a first boot, so I’ll likely stay clear of any game talk with Bodhi for the time being unless its pushed onto my lap. My biggest blessing/curse in this game will be the fact that I’ve played FAR less times than a majority of the players. Almost gives a ‘Russell Hantz’ vibe. Far less credibility entering a new season with experienced and well known players, but also means there is less material for them to know about when it comes to my game. As long as I don’t overplay my hand and let the game talk come to me, I could set myself up PERFECTLY on the Brains tribe. Autumn has been fairly quiet, but we talked a bit about television shows, which is great common ground to build on. It would be hard to classify her as a threat right now, but I wonder how much she has been talking to others. As for Isaac, he came in late to my DMs because of his work shift. We both work within food service, so it was nice to reflect on our work shifts and ask him about his interests. I think he’s capable of being someone worth working with, but no game talk has taken place between us. If we lose an upcoming challenge, I expect for that to change rather quickly. When it comes to Duncan, I’m not sure how to read him yet. He’s oddly active, and has likely been talking to everyone for an extensive period. I’d like to say I trust him, but I’m sure others feel a similar way. It will be difficult to pinpoint him as a threat to others, but we will see how things unfold based on the challenge trend. Finally, there was Trace. We held a steady conversation for a bit, but then he disappeared. Would likely make for an “inactive” boot if he doesn’t turn around his social game early, but things happen. Based on the number of times he has played already, it would be ideal to get rid of him within the first 3-5 rounds of the game.  

Here’s my cast assessment: Brains: Scott – This guy seems awesome. He seems smart, he seems well-spoken, he seems humble. I’m really excited to meet this guy down the line. Bodhi – All I know about him is he’s supposedly a crackhead and you should be careful around strategically… not sure how I’d fit in there. Trace – I like him! Funny, sassy, he and I totally need to meet! Devon – Fucking Slithers… Isaac – I’m hoping this isn’t the Isaac I fought with in a different game because this guy seems really funny and genuine. Duncan – What is he wearing? Autumn – She seems chill. I’d like to talk to her and get to know her some more. Beauties: Austin – He seems like a good southern boy, but I imagine there’s a diabolic side to him that the intro video doesn’t show. I’m gonna watch out for him. Adam – Another funny guy. He’s got a great personality and I could see making it far, but I also see him as someone that could get to self-involved and make a mistake down the line. Kendall – Ok, she’s cute and funny. Please let her be my new Lexi (and don’t let her be like Alyssa) Augusto – Seems like a good guy, but I’m not sure how our styles would mesh just based on his introduction Connor – Is this Zwooper Connor? Because like… hell yes!!! AJ – Not sure what to say here. Not much of an intro. But he seems interesting. Amir – I’m curious to see what this guy is like. I could see him being like someone I played with my first season which would be intriguing. Brawns: Dan – I’ve been hosted by Dan. I’ve played with Dan. I think he could be a great person to work with moving forward and I’m excited to reconnect with him. Liam M – He’s a funny guy from my interactions from him. He’s been quiet, but I’d imagine he’s not that quiet. TJ – Dumbass Liam L – I love Liam. We just finished another season together, so I could see us working well together Jakey – This guy is F-U-N-N-Y! I need him around. Jordan – Is this guy full of himself? Or like… how do you name a season after yourself? Ali – I like this guy. He’s going to be a social threat as a winner, so I’m gonna let him make himself a bigger threat.

okay so this is going to be my five hundred word confessional! My cast assessment is uploading so this is going to be a bit out of order but some updates. im now in an alliance with jordan and jake so life is GOOD. I love them both and they're both kinda chaotic and super fun which is super exciting! i also cracked the idol code with dennis yesterday in my host chat! my plan is to search again in three hours when i can, hopefully snag the idol and then tell my two lovelies so i can build trust. thats the goal anyway... in other news... trace from brain thinks he is SO slick. he edited his wiki to remove the fact that him and connor are friends like sir... the fact y'all hosted together is enough for people to be worried about you, you going all FBI level redacted is so stupid? it makes it look like MORE of a thing. anyway so if i can get my way one of connor or trace (or both im not picky) would go prejury... hehehehhe hmm wowie five hundred words is a lot more than i thought.... anyway so other thoughts lemme think... i think my game plan this season is something im going to stick to of gravitating towards the big personalities and threats. like i need cover as a winner with that said im very lucky that im probably the worst winner of the three? amir is literally one of the scariest ever and im terrified of him... and autumn i love her but she is more fun and strategic than me! like me landing on brawn is also great, because i'd rather be seen as brawny than strategic or social... god i really do not know how to fill up 500 words this is so tough not enough has happened yet hmmm... maybe i update my tribe thoughts... so Jake I LOVE, he is so much fun and i think we are gonna really really vibe... im excited hehehe. Jordan Pines is a legit legend, like he is gonna be SUCH a hoot i feel it... me jordan and jakey are literally gonna blow stuff up on this tribe and beyond im MANIFESTING it. others on my tribe... TJ is lovely! he talks so formally hehe its like our conversation is a script? like its human but its slightly rehearsed and weird its odd. British Liam I really like I really wanna stick with him but I am worried for him about being an easy vote? I wanna keep him safe tbh... then other Liam is ofc close to Jordan, which btw im SO glad jordan like addressed head on with me... im kinda fine with him sticking around now at this point... dan I love too! i think at this point my priorities are sticking with jake and jordan, while also protecting liam lovelis if he becomes a target because i really like him!! liam m first boot if jordan is fine with it, otherwise TJ...

I haven't done one of these yet and honestly, I am just gonna spill a little about my tribe? I like everyone a lot so far. I hope that we can win some challenges and stay safe for a while. I really like Ali, Jordan, and Jakey so far. But also, I know them from before this. Ali and I have never played together I don't think but we have always talked about wanting to. Jakey and I go waaaay back. He is actually from the same part of NY as me. We had a rocky relationship years ago but we have both come a really long way maturity wise. Then there is Mr. Jordan Pines. We always have good intentions and want to work with one another, but we always seem to start off on track, and then identify each other as threats and kill one another. He usually out places me so I want to keep an eye on him. As for the others, I'm really just trying to remain social, make those connections, but focus on the people that I know. I hate playing like that, but honestly, it might get me farther. As far as my strategy this game, I want to be super loyal to people. That's how I played my last game and it got me 2nd place. I know that I should be striving for first, but honestly second isn't too bad lmao. I think that what was missing from my last TS game was the glamour. The jury said they missed "big moves" and "idol plays". Well honey, let's do that then! I need to come up with a plan to incorporate those things into a strong social game. I just fear that I'll be damned if I do, and damned if I don't. My fear is that I will come up short with the moves and get second again, or I'll overplay and find myself gettin somewhere between 10th and 7th. I think a way I can get around this is not bringing all the people I trust into a big group. If i'm able to divide and conquer my allies, it will show loyalty, but also strategy. As far as the idols are concerned. Who the fuck knows. I can't get into this tomb, I can't figure anything out about it. I am searching high and low on the blog and pictures trying to find the key into the tomb. I have a feeling it is one of those things where you really need to put in some work to find it. Or it's one of those, it's under your nose the whole time and Jess, Alyssa, and Drew can't believe how stupid you all are. That is more likely the true answer to this haha. I have been asking Ali and Jordan about what they think, and they have basically "come up short" I don't know if that is really true or not, I know that they are really smart players. I think the key could also be in the posts as far as the hashtags. There are some really weird hashtags on some of the posts. Maybe it's a code or something? Lemme look into that.

Soooooo first day was super exciting bc my whole tribe is new ppl which I like bc it's always good to start in a fresh type game ya know. I'm on the beauty tribe werdily so I figure I'm the tai of the season . I also saw on one of the other tribes liam from my season is here so that could be a good or bad thing just have to cross that bridge if and when needed. First person I saw and talked to on my tribe is kendell and I really like her vibe . She seems super chill and I saw she played as a hero is a past season so could be a loyal player. Amiry I actually have seen before in a mini on discord. We didn't talk much but l dis vote him to win in the end so that could be good in my favor . Aj is really nice to seems to be a lil younger then but good to chat with so far. Adam is someone in the game that i have a few things in common with which is great bc connections is exactly what I need to make right now with a game full of new ppl .connor I'm not fully sure how i feel about him yet. He seems like he could be funny but he is always a lil short when we talk and I feel maybe he could be the person to go and i would be okay with it . Augusto is def the person I have probably been talking the most with so far . He seems like he could be my person in this game . I mean things change all the time but as of now that's how I'm feeling about him . I'm so nervous being back in tumblr survivor so soon after my first season in nighingale islands. I got 4th place and if anything I wanna do better now worse . Its alot to hold myself up to but i feel i can push my self more this game and do it . I'm hoping to try and play a lil different this time around . I wanna be bolder and try to do more with myself game wise . I want to play more strategic and not care even more to get my hands dirty. People in the past have called me cutthroat and a villain so why not be the best villain I can be . Finding a idol or advantage and getting a vote at ftc is the other goals I have for myself this season . I know its early but I have a great feeling about the beauty tribe and think we are gonna do great in this game together. Well that's about 500 for the challenge . Hopefully you'll get more confessionals from me in the game . Its gonna be a crazy season . May the tumblr survivor gods be with me in this crazy ass game . Peace out girl scouts . Have a great day . Goodbye all.  

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: BEAUTY TRIBE austin: hes boring but nice and that is okay, just be who u are adam: dangerous, mariah stans dont respect old people, animals or the dead. he scares me. hes real funny tho, kendall: she is so cute, she seems very hesitant to talk to me, but I want to work with her. Shes the only girl on our tribe so like shes not gonna be targetted by a bunch of twinks so its better to be with her than against her augusto: my fav so far, Relatable sweet idk i love him i hope he gives me a chance connor: white gay twink aj: i dont feel Cast Assessment : Winners Ali: my biggest threat in this game by far, kind, can be ruthless, underestimated, he’s gotta GO but I also have to work with him ?? Idk I want to work with him but I don’t think he will want to work with me so idk how I feel about that one yet. Autumn: she is extremely likable from this one intro vid alone...girl we in danger. Want to work with her for sure. 

I want to build a relationship with every member of my tribe, but I am afraid because that could make me a target when I’m already one. Today, I will talk to everyone but not about game at all, tmmrw I will select 1 or 2 people to really trust with game stuff. The goal is to be social but not the most social person on the tribe. I need to get at least 2 or 3 of these people to feel some kind of emotional attachment to me, so I’m gonna keep it strictly personal convos for tonight. I do usually get attached to people as well but this game, being back for the third time, I can’t hesitate to cut a single person. It’s clear some of the people on this tribe are wolves in sheep’s clothing, mainly Adam and Augusto who are lovable and sweet but careful with their words. They are level 3 thinkers (shoutout to jacob). Kendall, Aj, and Connor seem to be more like level 2 thinkers. Austin seems like a level 1 thinker so I have to work with him, those are the kind of allies I need. 

Adam gave the numbers the for this thing, but I told him to use a decoder to turn it into letters. I know I’m an asshole cuz he tried to help me and gave me the clues but I am not going to tell him how to find the tomb, simply because I want it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he figured it out

Also Amir....

So on my tribe, Kendall has played with aj, Aj has played with Kendall and and Connor, and Connor has played with aj and augusto.Kendall and Aj were never on the same tribe, so that’s not a threat. Augusto and Connor both made it far together and didn’t vote each other out so that’s gotta be something to watch out for. Kendall seems super well connected in general, I think the move is to scoop up Austin and Adam and then take out on of the other 4 but if the 4 of Kendall/Aj/Connor/Augusto end up aligning, well, good luck Charlie! So basically my issue is that I don’t trust anyone. Like everyone on this tribe is either distant or a threat, and the thing is is I HAVE TO TRUST SOMEONE so like?? If I just keep my cards close and not talk game with anyone that’s just ensuring being on the outs, but I can’t choose weather to align with the social threats or the people who I barely know anything about because they don’t wanna talk to me much (Kendall Connor Austin aj) Meeee finks the move is to align with Augusto and Adam, they’re both obviously huge threats, but risks need to be taken so I’m going to work on establishing a game relationship with both of them, I trust Adam more than Augusto, and then we can maybe maybe pull in Austin ? Okay literally no one wants to talk to me i i i i, like no one on this tribe messaged me first except augusto, but hes very hesitant about any info in general. Kendall/austin/connor all do not seem to care to try and talk to me so only 2 things are possible, they have all aligned and are planning my downfall, or people r inactive for now but idk. IDK> i do not trust ANY OF THESE HOES ONE BIT, i have to find this fat ass idol tonight i must i must Im gonna get on a call with adam tonight and try and figure some shit out but homeboy literally told me that he took out jakey in an earlier season even tho it was bad for him jsut cuz it was cool to take out a high profile player like sis what in the actual FUCK AND HES THE ONLY ONE WHO SEEMS INTERESTED IN ALIGNING WITH ME LIKE EWKFNEWKFLEWFE i have no choice but to work with this basket case, GOD WE CANNOT LOSE IMMUNITY WE CANNOTTTTTT the people from the other tribes that I would like to work with the most would be jakey and duncan and bodhi. I really wanted to work with bodhi on cutthroat and I genuinely love duncan he is a sweet heart through and through. I wanna work with jakey because he is a massive threat and has bad blood with people who are in thi game. He can also be volatile and someone I can turn into a target ahead of me if it I required 

guess who just got an IDOL HEHEEHEHE. It's Pharaoh Thoth. It's Pharaoh Thoth. I must have said that literally six hundred times in my host chat, the fact that Thoth is a tribe name was legit staring me in the FACE i'm just stupid. and then i messed up on question 9 at 5AM yesterday so i had to stay up till 5am for a second day running which was soul crushing but.... i have an IDOL. I definitely did much more work this time, compared to last time where benj carried my lifeless corpse across the idol bridge only for me to get two separate idols. dennis definitely had to like defibrillate my brain cells into shape but im proud of the work i put in. having an idol is definitely super scary because the risk of going home with one in my pocket is super super high... but.... hopefully I can use this idol to cause havoc and shake some stuff up. it also covers me for a bad tribe swap which is a situation i really see happening this season for me... it just gives me some cover and some wiggle room! im really excited overall tho... ive already snatched myself up an idol and its only day two? ive got an alliance with my two favourites on the tribe, good connections fostering with all the others on my tribe and an idol... which by the way i'm calling dennis im so excited this season is gonna be hoot... also one more time for good measure ITS PHARAOH THOTH.

Alright! I'm so very excited to be back for Tumblr Survivor Brain vs Brawn vs Beauty! So far I'm really enjoying my tribe even though I was cast as a Brain??? What's up with that?? I'm just some hippie from the swamps of Tennessee who is decent at doing long division. So I guess I'll go through my tribe and talk about them individually: Autumn seems pretty cool, I know she is a gigantic social threat so she could maybe potentially be utilized as a shield but I like her! We've been talking a lot about food and the south but that is okay. Bodhi approached me Night One offering an alliance to which I was ecstatic to take him up on! Bodhi is a very very smart and cunning player, which makes me even happier to be working with him because I think as of right now he needs me to get off of this tribe. Duncan is a wildcard in my eyes. I haven't played with Duncan since Pacific Islands and we didn't get along if I recall correctly and I seem to be having trouble creating a dialogue with him? According to other sources that seems to be a consensus. Devon is really nice and I think that Scott thinks he's attractive but that's neither here nor there. I think this is the Devon who went by Slithers in Guyana and referred to Alyssa, Dani, and Jess as females at Final Tribal Council. He seems to be EXTREMELY straight (he said when he's not slinging 'rittos at Chipotle he's playing Call of Duty or watching sports) which is okay if straight people weren't my kiss of death in these games. Scott is a really fun one! He hosted me in Malaysia and always seemed to be a sweet guy and our talks together for the past few days have kinda proved that assumption? We've gotten to know each other pretty well and I think he's a cool dude. I really also didn't wanna be the one to tell him about Amanda Lynn but I was and he joined in on the jokes like a champion! I really think my relationship with Scott could be something that carries me at least to the first swap? Trace is an enigma to me. We have played Tumblr Survivor now 3 times together (he voted me out every time) and he hosted me in Manhattan Beach and I genuinely think in these first two days we have talked more than the rest of those combined? He is a masc for masc dreamboat though but he knows that. If I have to stroke his ego to get where I need to be I genuinely have no problem doing that. I have been trying my best to get in everyone's good graces and/or at least get a dialogue going with them and it seems to have been working? The suckiest part about this tribe at the moment is that there doesn't seem to be an obvious inactive or someone we can scapegoat but here's hoping we don't lose or we lose bad enough we can put it on someone who isn't me. 

i cant believe i learned a tik tok dance. i've never even downloaded tik tok before

this is a RANT confessional it's day 2 and im already so annoyed with this DUMB BITCH...and yes i am the dumb bitch in question WHAT ABOUT IT DAY 2 AND I GO TO THE TOMB AGAIN TRYING TO GET IN, AT THIS POINT IM POUNDING ON THOSE DOORS HARDER THAN ANY JEHOVAHS WITNESS YOUVE EVER SEEN LIKE LET ME IN PLEASE!!!!! and once again, i start off good on the questions, then BOOM i just flop out of no where. story of my life. like DAMN by the time i do get in there's going to be nothing left for me but a fucking stick. But its ok, last night you know what i got cocky and i honestly mightve blown it thinking i could find it myself, so i was forced to make a VERY risky move. im a FIRM believer in loose lips sink ships and thats always one of my biggest strategies when i play survivor is to use infomation and keep as much to myself as possible so i can play my game how EYE want and make MY moves as i see fit, however.....clearly that strategy has not WORKED for me seeing as ive lost twice, so im trying this new thing, its such a crazy concept it's called asking for fucking help ! this was really hard for me to do because of my whole tribe so far im gonna be honest i feel like i have a genuine bond building with AJ, Augusto, and Amir, but i dont want to go spilling the tea on the idol to everyone, the last thing i want is everyone else figuring out and trying to get it, granted, finding it probably wasnt that hard and im just a dumb bitch so someone else most likely ALREADY has it, however, if they dont.... i decided i wanted to make a move and tell AJ about it. Me and AJ have a past connection thats pretty good so basing it on that alone i decided to share my tea with him, and honestly i LOVE augusto and amir too, however.... these people are all silent killers, they wont be fooling me. even though i want to believe theyre on my side, im gonna need a vote before i start to put trust like that into them. So until them, im putting my eggs in AJ's basket and hoping he finds something and will trust me moving forward because of it, even if he already found it himself and didnt tell me, i at least made the effort to show him i want us to be in this together, so hopefully trusting and opening up a little bit more will finally improve my game but if not i am still hoping absolutely no one finds it so i can be greedy and try again, and probably flop again tomorrow. **BREAKING NEWS ALERT: aj has just informed me he DIDNT find it, which he could be lying but i dont think he is, but only another 24 hours will tell... 

I have not written a confessional in a day, why am I like this? Anyway, y’all are about to hear EVERYTHING! We all get onto the beach and the gag is that 3 winners join the game alongside us losers (;-;) but honestly, it isn’t too bad? Like genuinely, it’s cool that the winners get to return like yay for them! Not only that, but if people believe these winners to be a threat then that’s just a shield for me so I am not mad at that whatsoever! Looking at the cast this season… I see familiar faces and I’m not sure how to feel? I know Dan who is on the Brawn Tribe (Apis) and I adore Dan as a person. That being said, I had a lot to do with his boot in Seychelles and while we were working closely together, I had to get him out. My thing about games is that if it’s a new game, it’s a new slate. However, is he gonna feel the same way? Only time will tell. On the Brain Tribe (Thoth), I have played with Isaac, Trace, and Bodhi. My relationship with Isaac is inch resting because I think he’s amazing and he has actually hosted me before… but the only thing is that we voted for each other to go in Socotra so who knows how he feels about me in that way? Trace I know because of Socotra as well and we did click socially but we just never had much of a chance to play with one another so there isn’t much to say about that. Now Bodhi…. He is the person I am the closest to out of all these people and I do not know how that will affect this game? I was the only person to stick by his side during the first round of Socotra when he went home in a revote and in a way, this was good karma because I was the only Great Lakes representative still alive after Final 21. Now will he remember my loyalty and admiration for him if we are reunited in this game? Girl, I deadass have no idea and it could go anyway… which is scary like a yikes on bikes moment right there. The only person that I know on my tribe is Connor since we played in Socotra together. We weren’t TOO aligned but the round I left, him and I made an alliance with Samantha. However, this loyalty wasn’t tested much considering I got rocked out. However, a connection is a connection so pursuing that is something I am okay with. As far as my tribe goes, I really do like everyone! I am trying to be this super approachable person that people can laugh at and laugh with yknow? So I do hope it works in my favor in the long run because currently, everyone except AJ has expressed the fact that I am one of their favorite people to talk to on this tribe so yay for that!

Alright, so the first full day is over, we're nearing the end of the first challenge, and I think that I've positioned myself at least somewhat decently? I think I've learned from past seasons that the goal of this early stage is to make sure you're about right in the middle in terms of activity, socialness (which isn't a word, but everyone is going to know what I mean by it) and challenge performances. That way, nobody has reason to get rid of you before a tribe change(whether that's because people think you aren't going to be helpful in challenges moving forward or because you're too big of a threat and can't be allowed to make the next stage of the game) and will allow me to make some connections that will help me both now and later in the game. I think I'm implementing this well at the moment. I had a nice talk with both Dan and Jakey and I think both of them will look out for me early on, specifically for this first vote. Once that trust is established from voting, I think both of those will be very fruitful for me moving forward. Same with Ali and Liam L. Both of them have been talking to me a decent bit and I like the rapport that I'm creating with both of them, but these two are going to be HUGE threats this season, I can already tell. So I think it's best I get on their good sides and allow other people to catch on to the fact that these two are going to be people who need to go whenever you get the shot (specifically though when they stop benefiting me). This first challenge absolutely sucks! I always hate these stupid scavenger hunts and will be so glad when it's over. I think I've put in a decent amount of work that will show that I'm here and want to play, but we'll have to see after the challenge is revealed how my score is really going to stack up. I really don't want to go to tribal this first round, but I could see either Jordan or Liam M. being people who could be targeted for everyone else to not be the first boot if that's the case. I think Liam specifically hasn't spent as much time socializing and I think others hopefully know how large of a presence Jordan has (I've known him for two days and I figured this out). So like, it would make sense to take one of them out early, but I reiterate that I'm quite ok not going to tribal here and just being safe. Being back for my third time means that this truly needs to be the one where I can take home this win. I admittedly don't know if there will be a fourth shot for me. I think I'm nearing the end of my ORG playing as hard of a realization as that is for me, but I know that I'm not able to commit the same way I was when I was back in high school, so I need to make the most of this time out there. I made huge mistakes in my redemption season that still haunt me to this day, so hopefully I can fix those this time around, play a strong, strategically sound game, and maybe I can surprise myself this time around.

All right 500 word confessional coming up. Time to say my thoughts on this game so far and this is a good excuse to do it. Its been 65 seasons since i've done an all returnee season which is a crazy fact I won't shut up about even though drew hates it, and I’m feeling good so far on this brawn tribe. I already have an alliance with me Ali and Jakey, and strong bonds to Dan and Liam, that leaves Lovelis and TJ my new people I'm meeting and probably people i'd target if we lost just due to the fact I don’t really know them. Out of the two I’m probably having better early convos with TJ but I don’t think thats really indicative of anything as its just been 2 days and anything can still happen. Honestly this cast is kind of a mix and match of crazy throwbacks for me like y'all got me SCOTT, y'all got me KENDALL, like I am floored and I am so excited to play with some of these people. I think my strategy for the starting tribes is to try to chill a bit and not be the centre of attention if I can manage that. Ideally I just want some easy rounds where we mostly win immunity, but if I’m honest Im gonna want to go to at least one tribal before we swap, and i don’t want to go into a swap not knowing how people are actually planning on playing, I want a chance for everyones cards to be laid out early, and then I can better understand the playing field. Okay I'm running out of things to say and I still got like 200 words to go. Alright the tomb, FUCK THE TOMB, its crazy for me that theirs an idol system I just haven't auto figured out before anyone else, its very out of character. Especially that before this game started I found the legacy advantage and left the hosts shook, like they were actually speechless the game hadn't started yet and I already have a power that was a great moment. But the tomb has still alluded me. What I know is that their are numbers on the cast reveal posts and a weird in face in the picture but I cannot out two and two together to make this work. Im hoping everyone is struggling as much as I am because I don't want any powers on the table that I do not know about. I want ideally to know where everything is even if its not in my possesion. Knowledge is power and I want all the knowledge possible to give me the best upper hand. Im cautiously optimistic on this starting tribe that I don't think people will target me early, so I think all I got to do is just secure my relationships and make sure that when this game starts getting crazy, i got enough people feeding me info so I'm in control. WHEW 500 WORDS DONE!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CxQVVsZUxRnM6PtiAIKKX2ncbSa-2rOR/view?usp=sharing Look man I am exhausted if you want intensive strategy you have come to the wrong place

Truthfully, the biggest gag of this whole season is me being placed on the brain tribe. I obviously am brilliant, graduated from honors from a top university, etc. But like, my beauty is undeniable, no? God I hate that I wrote that but, I AM BACK! It feels good to be back on a season where like nobody seems that negative? Yet? It was really refreshing to see a couple of people that I already knew, but I honestly have a really good feeling about this brains tribe. I connected really well with everyone on the first day, and I feel like I already have a strong standing in the tribe just after a few hours. I also love that this tribe is only 7 people and not like 12 because I can actually connect with people on a closer level. That being said, another great thing about this cast is that I also have a good amount of friends on the other tribes. Connor is here. I love that for me, but I am going to have to be very strategic about how I use that friendship if our paths ever do cross because I am not going to let it get in the way of me being strategic and making moves that actually make sense for my game in the long run, not just to appease my friend. A similar thing could be said for Dan D, but he is also just like a scary good player and he’s engaged now too so I have to really work on that friendship. I am feeling somewhat good about this challenge. I have taken the time to really try and do as many of the things as I can, and all I can hope is that my tribemates do the same. I am a little nervous about some people’s scores… Autumn. We have less than 12 hours to go and she still hasn’t started. But I am hoping that some of the scores of the more active people will carry us to a win. It would be cute if I could avoid tribal for a bit, but I know I won’t be able to. Also, Isaac being here is funny. Immediately he came to me and was like, “god I hope you aren’t going to vote me out this time, AGAIN.” And I obviously would really love to work with the kid but clearly our history is a bit rocky. So my plan is just to be kind and kind of act like it didn’t happen in hopes that he too will do the same and we can actually work together as friends this time. In closing, I appreciate the opportunity to be brought back, and I really hope that I do not let any of my fans down! I am going to keep socializing, using my social skills to create lasting bonds that will hopefully save me for a couple of tribals. We will see what happens as the season progresses but for now, please wish me luck!

Okay! I am awake! I can make a functional confessional maybe! So first hour of the game I made an alliance with Austin because I have no impulse control and hey thought it would be swell. I then made an alliance 30 minutes later with Augusto and I probably would have made more alliances if Augusto didn't say "Kendall plz wait like a day," So I did wait a day... and then made 2 more alliances 24 hours later. In my defense it wasn't my turn with The Beauty Tribe's communal brain cell and it's been 7 decades since my last game. Anyway I think it worked out because now we have a power alliance and we are Bringing Sexy Back! ... Literally that is the name of our alliance. Bringing Sexy Back. I came up with it and it's like a double meaning because 1. We Sexy and 2. We back. We do not have backs though... there was a tragic accident. Anyway the Core 4 is Me, Augusto, Connor, and Amir. And we keep saying shit like final 4 final 4 but I have to determine the weakest link before it hits me in the face. I don't trust Connor which is why it's important we work together, because I have a feeling he's going to cause damage either way and it will be safer if he thinks I trust him. He has played with Augusto and has a high opinion of him, so that duo is something I am somewhat worried about. I don't know why I don't trust him, it's not a matter of dislike, if anything he's one of my favorite people to talk to on the tribe it's just there is something calculating about him. Like he's sizing us all up. Augusto and I get along pretty well. He keeps saying shit like "Queen" and "We are meant for each other" and other weird but nice things. We both live in Utah so that's pretty lit. I'd like to work with him but I'm also wary of flattery. He seems to be pretty social with the other two as well, like I mentioned before he and Connor were once on the same season together and Amir mentioned that he's the person he talks to the most. It makes me a bit suspicious as to where his loyalties lie which is sort of dumb because he's like legally allowed to talk to people but I don't want him to be their number ones. It would be inconvenient. Amir is... a mess. A likable mess but a mess. He literally told me he has been waiting for someone to ask for an alliance and that he talks the most to Augusto. He wears his thoughts on his sleeves. He seems a bit nervous to be back, like we'd perceive him as some sort of threat because he was an extra player so to speak.... I don't not yet anyway but it's probably for the best I don't say that out loud. We talked about having a spare fifth and I put Austin on the table because 1. it would be nice to have control of a spare. 2. To keep my promise to him to work together. Sadly I wasn't all that subtle about it so... probably sketched the others out even if it was only a little bit. There 400 words plus other more words. Suck it and See bitches! And by bitches I mean hosts and I guess who ever else reads this.

Ok so I have full confidence that I can reach 500 words because I talk too much as it is so here we go hahaha. My tribe is taking this challenge super seriously and while I obviously stan and enjoy having a very active and engaged tribe, I need them to have lower expectations cause your girl is on her period and she just wants to nap. This whole “everyone needs to get 100 points” energy is not a message I can actually endorse. I am content with a smooth 50 points so if I get more than that great but I don’t need the pressure. I respect everyone’s right to go hard but I would like to not do that. Like it’s a Monday my guy- if that’s how you want to spend it by all means but this is not the only org I’m in and it’s definitely not the only thing I have to do today. I desperately need to do laundry but like changing the sheets on my bed and going to two Zoom meetings has me BEAT. Like I’d call it a day to be honest IF it weren’t for my damn tribe and their push to 100 points per person. All I know if I reach that goal, y’all better not say a damn thing to me because I really tried. I not only look like garbage but I feel like garbage yet I’m out here taking videos and drawing on my face and looking up a damn TikTok dance even though the whole world knows it by now and I’m like why? Why am I doing all this? Is it really to keep white men happy? Does this arbitrary goal mean anything in the end? Do we really NEED 700 points and can we negotiate that number down a little bit? I’m just saying Like obviously I want us to win but no I don't want to spend all day doing this against my will. Y’all need to be happy with whatever I give you and VERY hot take: if I don’t get 100 points then what. What y’all gone do about it- fight me? I do not own Crocs, VHS tapes, anything Egyptian, anything Survivor related, anything rainbow, or a banana and I don’t feel bad about it. There, I said it. I own what I own and I ain’t breaking quarantine for anything so hear me when I say: y’all will get whatever I give you. I want to EAT today but no I gotta get to making all these random videos so I can rack up points, some of which would make for quality blackmail but we won’t get into that. I’m doing this honestly for all the iconic female players who aren’t playing. I can’t make them look bad by being first fucking boot in a season that only has two women playing out of 21 people so I will just suffer through the pain. It’s not like I don’t have the numbers to stay anyway so there’s that. This is all really a formality, if you will. I’m not going anywhere- low score, high score, it really doesn’t matter but that’s just between us girls.

Okay! I am awake! I can make a functional confessional maybe! So first hour of the game I made an alliance with Austin because I have no impulse control and hey thought it would be swell. I then made an alliance 30 minutes later with Augusto and I probably would have made more alliances if Augusto didn't say "Kendall plz wait like a day," So I did wait a day... and then made 2 more alliances 24 hours later. In my defense it wasn't my turn with The Beauty Tribe's communal brain cell and it's been 7 decades since my last game. Anyway I think it worked out because now we have a power alliance and we are Bringing Sexy Back! ... Literally that is the name of our alliance. Bringing Sexy Back. I came up with it and it's like a double meaning because 1. We Sexy and 2. We back. We do not have backs though... there was a tragic accident. Anyway the Core 4 is Me, Augusto, Connor, and Amir. And we keep saying shit like final 4 final 4 but I have to determine the weakest link before it hits me in the face. I don't trust Connor which is why it's important we work together, because I have a feeling he's going to cause damage either way and it will be safer if he thinks I trust him. He has played with Augusto and has a high opinion of him, so that duo is something I am somewhat worried about. I don't know why I don't trust him, it's not a matter of dislike, if anything he's one of my favorite people to talk to on the tribe it's just there is something calculating about him. Like he's sizing us all up. Augusto and I get along pretty well. He keeps saying shit like "Queen" and "We are meant for each other" and other weird but nice things. We both live in Utah so that's pretty lit. I'd like to work with him but I'm also wary of flattery. He seems to be pretty social with the other two as well, like I mentioned before he and Connor were once on the same season together and Amir mentioned that he's the person he talks to the most. It makes me a bit suspicious as to where his loyalties lie which is sort of dumb because he's like legally allowed to talk to people but I don't want him to be their number ones. It would be inconvenient. Amir is... a mess. A likable mess but a mess. He literally told me he has been waiting for someone to ask for an alliance and that he talks the most to Augusto. He wears his thoughts on his sleeves. He seems a bit nervous to be back, like we'd perceive him as some sort of threat because he was an extra player so to speak.... I don't not yet anyway but it's probably for the best I don't say that out loud. We talked about having a spare fifth and I put Austin on the table because 1. it would be nice to have control of a spare. 2. To keep my promise to him to work together. Sadly I wasn't all that subtle about it so... probably sketched the others out even if it was only a little bit. There 400 words plus other more words. Suck it and See bitches! And by bitches I mean hosts and I guess who ever else reads this.

wow, is it great to back! initially, i was pretty nervous entering this game because i honestly just didn't know what to expect. however, i feel as though i'm sort of picking up where i left off a few years ago in terms of adaptability. i was placed on the beauty tribe, and immediately there were a ton of familiar faces that i could connect with. those being adam, amir, and kendall. i would consider connor one too but we were never that acquainted when we played idlm together, i'm pretty sure i even voted him out. as with any game, it's all about breaking the ice in those starting days by striking up conversation with other people on your tribe and seeing what they're all about. with my aforementioned connections, i felt as though it was pretty easy slipping into conversation with them and just catching each other up on how life's been since we last met. with adam, that wasn't really the case since we still frequently see each other but nonetheless! augusto has left a HUGE impression on me in the best way possible. i adore literally every aspect of him and it feels like and i could be pretty good friends. austin is very sweet and we have similar interests, but i'd love to continue getting to know him to form a more solid relationship with him. overall, i feel as though the tribe dynamic works pretty well. everyone is likable and of course, while it's expected for the beauty tribe, it'll be tough in the event (knock on wood) we ever go to tribal! but i'm always geared up and ready to go girl so i guess i can take on anything. our first challenge is the scavenger hunt, and while i lowkey loathe it, this one was actually pretty fun! hopefully we win it because we seem to be pulling out all the stops for this. one of the tasks had required us ALL to be on call and honestly i feel as though that really brought us even more together as a tribe. it was an instant kii with everyone as we sat around sharing interesting experiences and memories. going into actual game discussion, adam is EAGER to play. like EAGER. he's so excited and his mind has been racing since i've touched base with him. as soon as we were introduced to the tomb, his cracked ass starting spiraling. he was NOT gonna stop until he figured out how to get into this tomb! initially, he thought the hieroglyphics on the logo were of importance but he then noticed that the tags on the cast reveal had interesting numbers that corresponding to our tribe name. we ultimately put these numbers into the blog and were let inside the tomb. HOWEVER, we have to fight to even see what's inside of it! we have to answer 10(?) questions i believe relative to egypt, and i got about 7 of them right and stumped on one, halting my progress until the 24 hours are up and i can go again. out of an act of selfishness, i do want this idol all for myself so hopefully adam doesn't get there before me, though i wouldn't mind it as right now i consider him my final two? but we have WAYS to go so who knows if that even holds up.

I guess i need to do one of these anyway!!! I wish i could do a video but i will suffer for the greater good as always!!! The cast this season is very interesting!!! I dont know a lot of people which is a plus but there’s a few haters in the game i hope aren’t coming after me as much as I’m coming after them LOL. Adam, Kendall, and Trace sorry boos your time is limited! I will never trust these players. On my tribe we have a masc straight energy with Liam, Lovelis, TJ, and Dan and some more feminine energy in myself, jordan, and ali. The fems have decided to join a group to stay together and hopefully we can get someone to vote with us if we have to go to tribal council. For right now I trust both of these players, but moreso Jordan. We’re not entirely sure if we can trust Ali. The temple stumped a lot of us and I haven’t heard much about anyone finding it. EXCEPT ME BITCH. I found that shit last night and I was so hype then jumped the gun on the third question and flopped. But I’m reallyyyyy hoping no one else has it, though I fully suspect someone else to have found it. I’m not going to tell a soul because I want it for myself and I’m worried word would get out that I found it and people would suspect I have an idol, even if I don’t. I don’t want to lose at allll. I’m putting my all into this challenge and praying we come out on top. If we get another clue, whatever, just don’t send me to the hell place. TJ is a cool dude and I enjoyed my conversation with him the first night. We vibe together even if he is a straight male and I am gay as a fedora. I like our pairing and I don’t find him to be a sneaky player so I’d love to develop our partnership further so we can be a powerful force in the game. I would feel good knowing I have someone outside my alliance watching my back as well. Right now, it’s hard to get a read of the tribe. Everyone’s kinda quiet, besides ali and jordan, and I don’t know if it’s because they’re already against me or just hard to warm up to. I guess time will tell but can that time be later? My plan right now is to just continue being myself because I think people like me on this tribe for the most part. I’m not going to over-socialize or play too hard cause the way this tribe is going, saying one wrong thing could make you stand out. I’m trying to hide in the shadows and play the cute role for as long as possible before I smile in their face and slit their throats :~) Also I may have planted some doubt into Jordan’s ear about Liam! Because Liam said to me he can’t do the tik tok dance bc of his foot disease that flares up sometimes. Note, this tik tok had no feet movement and could virtually be done in a chair. So I just let Jordan know what Liam told me and immediately Jordan was irritated. I didn’t intentionally mean to throw Liam under the bus, but the bus came quickly. 

So i meant it when i said that i truly like everyone in my tribe. I love the fact that trace is the first person I’ve ever played with that live(d) where i do. I’ve never met anyone from saint louis before and to be able to talk about the gay bars and the local colleges and areas is nice. I’ve seen his name way back when around the community. I think that it’s amazing, the casting this season so props to all you host. Bodhi is someone else who I’ve seen around plenty, but we’ve never had the pleasure to meet each other and he’s someone that I think is very intriguing. I know he’s a strong social player when it comes to brass tacks though so im a little nervous seeming him in the game. Isaac is someone who I’ve played with a handful times and it’s just weird? We have never targeted each other in the games we play but also have never actively worked together in a game. We usually just coexist and ended up on different sides because we had different friend circles in games past. Now if we go to tribal in this first round, then ideally one of those few people will go. Like I said I like everyone, but I need to make sure to play an active role this time, not so passive like last time. Autumn and I got an alliance together. Also, if I haven’t already praised the tumblr survivor gods that I get to play with m daughter, let me re-iterate that I am so ecstatic! Now I’m not going to put all my eggs in her basket, but I hope my connection with her can carry me through the first couple rounds of the game at least. We got an alliance together consisting of myself, herself, devon and scott. In my opinion, the key to a successful alliance is good communication and loyalty. I also want to work with people I have a genuine interest in. I think Scott is so adorable, and I can’t tell if it’s a façade or not but I’m getting along very well with him. Perhaps its just his strong social game kicking in. Regardless he’s someone that I like and is charismatic and optimistic, that’s the type of person I need on my side moving forward. He’ll be great for group morale and maybe he can snoop information out of others moving forward. As for Devon, he says he’s a very loyal player and he is from Guyana. I see him as someone that will hopefully be super loyal and perhaps even a bit naïve moving forward. I don’t know what I want my relationship with Autumn to be with like in this game. She could be my number one, but for anyone that knows us its possible we get targeted like natalie and Jeremy which I don’t want to happen. I really like our tribe and hope we can stay together as long as possible. What I want from this game is to play a strong game and still be liked by all my peers and of course try to win. My first time in the first quarter of seasons, I was brand new as fuck, fresh out the survivor pussy. I didn’t have any confidence or social skills and got booted first. My second season in the 2nd quarter, Lazio, was not a horrible game to play. The cast was trash though and not a well respected season. It was a weird twisted season, i didn’t like anybody on that season and went out in early jury, although I did make single digits. Last time I played was in the third quarter of ts seasons, playing in Bermuda. I played bc I wanted one last hurrah before taking a hiatus and I don’t mind playing in seasons hosted by Chris Stoner. It was revealed to be a 30 person and I wanted to quit after seeing that lol. I was a weak player on strong tribes during the first half of the game, and the few times I went to tribal I had enough relationships with people that I made it to the 15 person f*cking merge. Because I ghosted the first half of the game I wasn’t viewed as a threat but also wasn’t respected by players. I want to be respected for the game that I play this time whether it brings me to final tribal council or winds me up as the first boot. I came here to prove that I have the chops and can do it. I haven’t been voted out of a game in 2.5 years so if I do get eventually booted its going to sting hard lol. I hope to eventually see people like Dan and Ali get voted out before a swap hits but I bet ts gods will swap me onto a tribe with them both lol. Its just going to be awkward if I have to play with them. I’m willing to if I have to, but I def would prefer to just avoid the awkwardness if possible. In contrast I’m hoping people like Amir and Kendall perform well on their tribes because if possible, I already know I like them personally and would love to work with them later on in the game. I just thought about what I can rant on about for a 100 words. WHAT THE FUCK IS WITH THIS IDOL SEARCH!?!? IS IT LIKE ONLY OPEN FOR CERTAIN PARTS OF THE DAY? I LOOKED ALL AROUND THE BLOG AND CLICKING EVERY LINK I COULD FIND HOPING TO MAYBE RUN INTO THE IDOL HUNT. NO ONE HAS TOLD ME THE SECRET YET! IS IT ONLY OPEN ONCE A ROUND BETWEEN RESULTS AND TRIBAL? Oof I don’t want to lose. Losing to one tribe isn’t bad because its mutually exclusive, first and last. We don’t have to win 1st place, however we need to make sure we don’t come last. Getting first boot would suck eggs and I would end up getting a lower placement than my first time. Idk if anyone has gotten first boot twice, but I don’t want that distinction. 

okay so my tribe is picking it UP in the end of this challenge, my king jakey suddenly has a full sheet which we love to see. in other news... im not feeling TJ's energy, he is kinda fishing about Montenegro and referencing that I won in a kinda threatening way? and i think he thinks he is being super discrete?! but he... is not. its just making me uncomfortable, like i am already really insecure as a player about being a winner and being seen as one, and i dont like what he is doing. also wanna preface this with the fact that he asked about montenegro in a super complimentary way so this is 100% an overreaction JKASDF im not trying to hide that im a winner (im not trace trying to FBI redact the wiki) but i don't like it being brought up in that kinda threatening/fishing way. like when jake talked to me (even tho he was vague too) about me being a winner, he said he thinks me, Jordan and jakey are the high profile people on the tribe (even tho i think i only am because im a winner, im a one time player and not super connected), which at least grouped us together and was in a discussion about working with that? so yeah... i think at this point i wanna stick with Jake/Jordan first and foremost, then Lovelis, then Dan... then Liam M/TJ are bottom of the totem pole for me, but particularly TJ that man can go soon... (also this is really gonna be a mo situation where tj said literally one thing and i dont trust him KJLASDF)

Wooooo cast assessments except I never watch anyone's intro videos so it's more like a cast reaction lmao

https://youtu.be/K3rfK-Cf-GQ

everytime tj starts typing my heart rate elevates by about 600bpm. literally how can someone be so complimentary and yet so terrifying simultaneously i'm nauseous also just as a side note he is probably being super nice and im just being demonic but we will see kjasdfa

okay so if this doesn't demonstrate im insane, im not sure what will. i take it back about TJ, i think he is actually nice JLKSADFAD. i think his way of relating to me was talking about past games and honestly thats kinda sweet i think i just read into things too much. maybe i do like TJ and want him to stick around NNN. maybe she's born with it, maybe its genuine insanity. but yeah TJ if you are reading this sorry for being the rudest ever over a compliment nnnn

I’m so sad that we lost because I don’t want to see any of these people go home and I don’t want to be first boot! lol. I’m also pissed now because I spent so much time doing stuff for nothing >.> it’s the game though, so we’ll keep trudging along i suppose. I don’t want to go home so let’s see what happens 

#BackWithVengeance

[dakotahiggins-blog1]

  I remember meeting a woman named Emily at yoga camp where we bonded over vegan garlic butter, broken hearts and the mutual last minute acceptance into the month-long Aruba yoga teacher training. At 23 years old with 9 years of yoga under her belt, she quit her job at lululemon in order to meet me, become my assistant and of course, a yoga teacher. Just kidding… sort of. Emily is, in all seriousness, the Goddess, Keeper, and Knower of all things yoga mats, yoga clothes, and yoga leggings. Since embarking on The Road Les Traveled, she has schooled me on all the need-to-knows for yoga and is also to blame for most of my lululemon purchases… oops.

What defines a good yoga mat? 

Thickness

Most mats will vary between 2mm-7mm (that’s in millimeters, y’all). The thicker the mat, the more cushion to protect your joints. A 2mm mat may lead you to a throbbing knee in crescent lunge and a 7mm mat may have you craving more connection with the ground below your mat during tree pose. A pretty safe bet is the middle ground 5mm mat. But do not be fooled…not all 5mm mats are made equal. Read on yogis…

Material

PVC, aka vinyl, is what the old age, tried-and-true yoga mats are made of. The newer eco friendly mats come in everything from recycled rubber to cotton. Natural rubber is great, don’t get me wrong. I urge you to save the ozone if you’re not allergic to latex, BUT air that baby out properly before being that girl in the studio.

Open cell VS closed cell

Go into any luluemon and they will school you on this terminology that sounds straight out of a high school biology textbook. Let me break it down for you. “Open cell” means you can sweat your heart out and the mat can handle/absorb it. In fact, if you opt for open cell tech, your mat will absorb anything that drips on it. So avoid the mat cleaners/oils to wipe down post-flow. Closed cell technology means your mat will not absorb moisture but needs to be wiped clean. Open cell tech is great for hot yoga, but it needs a warm soap and water rinse to refresh. Closed cell tech is great for those who don’t plan on dripping sweat every use and want to spray and wipe your mat clean.

Texture

Sticky, grippy, smooth, rough, grainy. All words to describe the texture of the (wind beneath your wings) mat below your feet. I say- to each their own. Personally, though they may seem mutually exclusive, I tend toward a smooth but sticky mat.

Price & Durability

I still have my very first yoga mat stored in my childhood closet for no particular reason other than nostalgia and that it was $20 from Marshalls. It served its purpose as a surface to move on, but let me be the first to advise you… invest in your yoga mat. The surface you move on can affect your practice, and the right tools really do make a difference. A good yoga mat should offer you up to 5 years of a non-slip, supported surface. Invest wherever your heart desires, but here’s my recommendations based on how you like to flow!

Best for: Hot yoga

Project OM: eQua Yoga Mat

Price: $150

Highlight features: The eKO mat base is made from sustainably harvested tree rubber, non-toxic, + practice yoga WHILE giving back and flowing for a cause!

Mastectomy tattoo artist David Allen collaborated with Manduka to produce the beautiful mat above with open cell technology where 100% of all net profits from this mat will directly benefit Susan G. Komen until December 31st, 2019. It’s like a yoga towel and a yoga mat had a baby and BOOM! This beauty was born.

Lululemon 5mm Reversible mat

Weight: 5.24 lbs

Price: $78

Highlight features: Open cell technology, natural rubber, reversible, and an antimicrobial additive

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Tried and true. It’s never too early to start loving your joints. So say hello to this 5mm thick reversible Lululemon mat. With open cell technology, you can confidently power flow your ass off in a hot room. Bonus – due to the antimicrobial treatment you do not have to wash it every time. Sorry clean freaks, it’s the truth. I would hose mine down with soap and warm water then hang to dry. Note to all dirty hippies out there (hi Emily): throw a yoga towel down for added absorption and you can wait another few sessions before the hose down.

Best for: Travel

To be honest, I haven’t carried a “travel yoga mat” with me in the past year. Since I got certified, I try to practice every day no matter where I am in the world. I lug my 5mm mat around every airport through every TSA check and smile at the flight attendants when I carry it on the plane accompanied by my personal item(s) & carry on.. Half hiding it, half praying they see it and say nothing.

Lululemon 3mm Reversible Mat

Weight: 3.87 lbs

Price: $68

Highlight features: Open cell technology, natural rubber, reversible, antimicrobial additive

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Because The Road Les Traveled may take you to a yin class post-Patagonia trek or a power vinyasa flow in a Balinese hut, you can opt for the slightly thinner version of the Lululemon reversible mat. With the same exact reliable characteristics as its 5mm big sis, you can pack an extra few yoga pants with the 2 lb difference!

Manduka eKO Superlite Yoga Travel Mat

Weight: 2.2 lbs

Price: $44

Highlight features: 1.5mm closed cell tech, natural rubber, and 99% latex-free

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

This mat is thin, but boy is it light. With the classic Manduka grip, you can count on flowing without slipping. Would I practice on this mat everyday for a month? No. But I would suggest it as a packing essential if you don’t want to lug around your 5mm mat.

Best for: Everyday (the committed yogi)

Manduka Prolite Yoga Mat

Weight: 4 lbs

Price: $60 (starting rate)

Highlight features: 4.7mm, closed cell technology, zero waste, 100% latex-free, and a lifetime guarantee

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Manduka has become the go-to yoga mat brand worldwide and for good reason. This is one of the most popular Manduka mats you will see. The closed cell technology makes it super easy to clean. If you plan on sweating, you can lay a Yogi Toes towel over your mat to accompany those extra sweaty vinyasas. Plus, it is made from sustainably harvested rubber contributing zero waste to the world in the process.

Best for: Every Other Day  (the sporadic yogi)

Welcome Yoga 5mm Mat

Weight: 2.3 lbs

Price: $48

Highlight features: Closed cell tech, lightweight, alignment strip, and eco-friendly manufacturing

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

Grippy & reversible with an alignment strip down the middle. We gifted this mat to all of our LimitLes in Bali 2018 babes. The lower price point, beginner friendly features, and eco friendly manufacturing will be an investment you can feel good about making. Plus, if your yoga practice becomes more frequent, this lightweight reliable mat can become your go-to travel mat.

Honorable Mentions

Jade Harmony Mat

4.76mm thick

Weight: 5 pounds

Price: $79.95

!function(d,s,id){ var e, p = /^http:/.test(d.location) ? 'http' : 'https'; if(!d.getElementById(id)) { e = d.createElement(s); e.id = id; e.src = p + '://widgets.rewardstyle.com/js/shopthepost.js'; d.body.appendChild(e); } if(typeof window.__stp === 'object') if(d.readyState === 'complete') { window.__stp.init(); } }(document, 'script', 'shopthepost-script');

Turn on your JavaScript to view content

For me, the lack of love for this mat is simply a texture preference. It’s a little too grainy for my linking. I’ve never slipped, but I did get calluses on my palms with frequent practice (TMI?!). BUT I love all that Jade is and does. Jade plants a tree for every mat sold and the purchase of certain color mats contributes $5 to charity. Plus, they are made in the good ole USA!

Other brands to check out: Prana, Hugger mugger, Alo, Gaiam.

So yogis, weather you’re a plant eating, daily practicing yogi or your practice is slow, sporadic, and followed by a glass of wine with friends (btw I’m both of these depending on the day)… there’s a yoga mat out there for you.

Are you in a committed relationship with a mat I haven’t mentioned above? Drop a comment below so I can expand my horizons. Happy flowing!

The post Yoga Mat Guide for EveryBODY appeared first on The Road Les Traveled.

#NOTANAD</span></p>