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lesbianakaashi · 3 years

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The Forgotten Shounen: Katekyo Hitman Reborn

This is not a “Why you should watch/read khr” or anything like that. This is just me going into the deep dive and throwing my findings at you. I’m making this because khr used to be my favourite series when I was 15 (I had plushees, posters, tradingcards, the art book etc) and now as an adult I constantly find myself baffled at how unknow it seems to be.

1. Okay first what is khr?

Katekyo Hitman Reborn! or just Reborn! is a series by Akira Amano which was published in Weekly Shounen Jump from 2004 to 2012 (with 42 volumes) and got an anime adaption which run from 2006 to 2010 on Tv Tokyo (with 202 episodes and one OVA).

2. What’s it about?

Khr is a parody of the italian mafia and plays in a world where the mafia is heavily influencial. The protagonist is the japanese middle schooler Sawada Tsunayoshi who is known as “No good Tsuna” because of his failing grades, general weak and cowardly personality and weak physics.

He becomes aware of the mafia world when a 2 year old baby called Reborn arrives at his house claiming to be the greatest hitman and declaring himself his home tutor. Reborn was send by the 9th head of the Vongola famiglia who is ready to retire and looking for a new heir. Which of course, is supposed to be Tsuna and now it's Reborns job to shape him into a worthy sucessor.

Tsuna rejects the violence of the mafia world and refuses the position as the 10th. Thanks to Reborn and his general craziness Tsuna meets different people and starts to make real friendships. Reborn wants 6 of those friends to be Tsuna's future guardians, basically a group of people which will be closest to him in the vongola famiglia. Tsuna might have no interest in those positions but the friendships he builds with them become really precious to him.

Reborns arrivial also brings in the enemies of the Vongola family which leads to Tsuna being forced to engage in battles. Generally Tsuna openly avoids fights and prefers to run away but will put himself in danger for his friends' sake or because of something Reborn did.

Through out the series Tsuna matures and gains strenght but he never becomes a power fantasy. He's just a guy with many flaws who grows through the human connections he makes.

Personally I think the relationship between Reborn and Tsuna is one of the best student teacher reltaionships in all of manga only topped by Mob and Reigen from Mob Psycho 100. Especially the last arc really underlines their unique relationship to me.

Furthermore, khr offers a new and unique battle system: The flames. I'm not gonna go into to too much detail but the general idea is that one fights with their dying will flame which basically turns off your the savety switch so you can fight with everything you have. The flames are seperated into different categories such as: sky, storm, mist, rain, sun, lightning and cloud and have different attributes asigned to each one. Tsuna's use of the sky flame and his transformation when using it is still one of my favourite shounen transformations to this day.

3. What happened?

The series did really well and then not so well over the course of its serialisation. After the manga got an anime adaption it increased in populairty and video games, light novels, and other products such as CDs were created based on the series. Reborn is one of the best selling series of Weekly Shōnen Jump and has sold around 30 Million volumes overall. It was and still is very popular in Japan but rather unknown in the west.

According to the article "The Rise and Fall of Weekly Shonen Jump: A Look at the Circulation of Weekly Jump" khr was the 10th bestselling series in Weekly Shōnen Jump, with a total of 7 million copies sold in 2007.

This number increasing to 15 milion in 2008. Which placed khr into the 4th best selling series of 2008 in Japan.

Between 2008 and 2010 those sales declined but still kept strong with khr as the 6th top selling manga in 2009, 8th best selling in 2010 and then 24th best selling in 2012.

In November 2014, readers of the Da Vinci magazine voted khr number 17 on a list of Weekly Shōnen Jump's greatest manga series of all time.

After the anime came to an apprupt stop in 2010 for unknown reasons the manga sells took a visible hit. (Apparently the studio wanted to put the anime on halt because they were busy with other projects and give Akira Amano time to develop her story but I couldn't find any source for this claim) Furthermore, the rushed last chapters of the manga in 2012 declined the popularity of the series even more. There's no offical statement as to why the manga was ended in such a way but it's reasonable to assume that Jump either cut it considering the decreasing sales or Akira Amano choose to end it for personal reasons.

Nontheless, Tsuna not being included in Jump Force (a fighting game where you can play as different characters from Jump) in 2019 even tho he made it in earlier Jump Stars games also underlines the decreased interest in the series.

Rumors on a reboot or anime adaption of the last two arcs surface from time to time but are genereally unlikely. Artland the studio which made khr has gone bankrupt around 2015-2016. It might be taken on by another studio but rather uncommen especially with such an old series.

4. Art style

The khr anime ended over 10 years ago and the old art style might not be appealing to newer audiences.

Especailly because the anime adaption follows Akira Amanos old art style which heavily developed within the years. Here a picture comparing characters in the new art style:

A modern anime adaption in the new art style would be aesthetically pleasing. It would probably look similiar to Psycho Pass since Akira Amano did the concept art for this series.

(My personal art student hot take is that both art styles are unique and fun. Up to this day Akira Amano still has my favourite art style and even if the amount folds in the characters clothing is a little extreme I love it dearly.)

5. Criticism

The show is not without flaws and even if I greatly enjoy it it wouldn't be right not to adress them.

Daily Life Arc:

A lot of people view the first 20 to 25 episodes as fillers and quickly lose intererst in the series. This is due to the fact that Akira Amano inteded the series to be a gag manga and focuses the first chapters on world building, character introduction and comical narratives. It's rumored that the decision to develop the story into a battle shounen was made because the sales weren't doing well enough at first. So the first chapters/episodes may seem titidious but are necessary for the story and the development of the characters. The tonal shift from a more gintama like gag manga to a darker battle focused story can also be offputting to some viewers.

Either way a lot of people blame this arc when discussing why khr never got an english dub or didn't end up on Toonami. I've also read that the manga never finished serializing in the north america. However, it finished in other western languages like german and spanish.

Censoring:

The anime censors A LOT. From Gokudera's smoking habit, Yamamoto's whole character arc which deals with heavy themes such as depression and suicidal thoughts. The general bloodiness of the manga was censored and sometimes whole chapters and characters were left out even if those were important to the devolopment of others.

Filler episodes:

Out of the 202 episodes the anime has around 29 filler episodes which makes roughly 14 %.

Sexism:

Even if Reborn was written by a woman most female characters are rather flat and their storylines often tied to a male character in one way or another.

Genereal things:

Khr, like many other long running series, is sometimes criticised for a lack of world building or unpopular narrative choices.

6. Hope?

Khr isn't exactly dead. As stated before the series is still very popular in Japan and still gets new merch pretty regulary. There are also petitions floating around for a reboot or a new anime season but those never get a lot of traction. Furthermore #Reborn2期アニメ化 (#Reborn2ndAnimation) used to get some traction on twitter not too long ago. Last year the Anime News Network did a poll on which anime the readers would like to see a rebooot of and khr placed second.

Either way here's a collection of recent khr things I could find.

- In 2018 a new bluray set was released in north america

- The khr stage play reached yet another new season

- A mobile game was released last year

- Currently ongoing anime cafe event called "Concerto di Vongola"

- Last month there was an event with the former VAs and stage play actors where they discussed their favourite khr episodes.

- There has been an increase in blind reacts to the openings on youtube which might bring in a new fan base. The biggest one I could find had around 90k views and was made in 2019. On this note check out the soundtrack. The first openeing Drawing Days by SPLAY still makes me go insane (but I'm biased of course)

There also renewed hope for a new season/reboot because Shaman King, Inuyasha and Bleach got anounced for new seasons after a long hiatus. It's important to keep in mind that the circumstances for those series are differnt tho. For example bleachs new anime is often tied to the immense success of the gatcha game.

7. Conclusion

Khr is a series which used to be a flagship for Weekly Shounen Jump and is deeply beloved by it's fans, especially in Japan. It influenced other shounen series like bnha. It would be nice to see it gaining a bigger fanbase in the west :)

#khr #khr meta #anime analysis #shounen jump #katekyo hitman reborn #mirytalks #long post #manga

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silentxoxaria · 3 years

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(gif not mine)

Sweet Tooth - Gabriel x Reader

part 2

word count: 618

warnings: typical supernatural violence, language

summary: hunting with the Winchester lead you to experience a lot of things, but you never thought you'd meet a sweet tooth Trickster.. or should i say archangel.

A/N: i really hope you y'all enjoy this!

1 - Channel Surfing

You had been hunting with the Winchesters for a while now trying to help them out with Lucifer and Michael as much as you can, but now you were sitting at a small almost broken table in a old motel room researching about some type of hulk thing that ripped the head off of a Bill Randolph.

"This report is just weird," Dean commented as he read an article stating that a "Local man killed in bear attack"

He turned the laptop to face you, there was a picture of the victim holding a fish proudly that you assumed he caught.

The door to the motel opened and Sam walked in with a look of seldom, "Find anything?" you asked based on his expression.

"There is a giant eight-foot-wide hole where the front door used to be. Almost like—"

"A Hulk-sized hole." Dean blurted out cutting off Sam "Maybe. What do you got?" Sam asked

"I got nothing, sorry." you admitted "Well I got something, it turns out that Bill Randolph had quite the temper. He's got two counts of spousal battery, bar brawls, and court-ordered anger management sessions. You might say you wouldn't like him when he's angry." Dean said in response to Sams question

"So a hothead getting killed by TV's greatest hothead. Kinda sounds like just desserts, doesn't it?" you added "It's all starting to make sense." Sam said

"How is it starting to make sense?" you asked with a face of confusion "Well, I found something else at the crime scene." Sam responded pulling a handful of candy wrappers out of his pocket, "Candy wrappers." Sam said dropping them onto the table "lot's of them" "I don't get it?" you questioned him.

"Just desserts, sweet tooth, and screwing with people before you kill 'em," Dean observed and started to put the pieces together. "We're dealing with the Trickster, aren't we?" Dean questioned getting up from his seat.

"wait 'the' Trickster? meaning there's a certain one?" you asked with a very puzzled face.

"yeah sorta, a little while back we dealt with a Trickster who's mo was killing people who deemed to be douchebags but we thought we killed him until he came back and made me relive hundred Tuesday witnessing Dean's death" Sam responded to you "ah.. okay.."

"I've wanted to gank that mother since Mystery Spot."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm fucking positive."

"No, I mean are you sure you wanna kill him?"

"Son of a bitch didn't think twice about icing me a thousand times." Dean replied to Sam.

"No, I know. I mean, I'm just saying maybe we should talk to him."

"Excuse me?"

"Think about it, Dean. He's one of the most powerful creatures we've ever met. Maybe we can use him."

"For what?" Dean asked.

"Okay, the Trickster's like a Hugh Hefner type, right? Wine, women, song—maybe he doesn't want the party to end. Maybe he hates this 'angels and demons' stuff as much as we do. Maybe he'll help us."

"You're actually serious about this," Dean gasped.

"Yeah."

"Ally with the Trickster. A bloody, violent monster, and you wanna be Facebook friends with him? Nice, Sammy."

"The world is gonna end, Dean. We don't have the luxury of a moral stand. Look, I'm just saying it's worth a shot. That's all. If it doesn't work, we'll kill him."

"How are we going to find him anyway?" Dean wondered.

"He doesn't ever just take one victim. He'll show somehow. I'm sure of it," Sam sighed, as you took a seat on one of the beds.

"I better make the weapons," Dean declared, grabbing his keys to get the stuff out of the trunk.

#Spotify #supernatural #archangel gabriel #gabriel x reader #archangel gabriel x reader #castiel #deanwinchtser #samwinterchester #winchester brothers #winchester boys #dean winchester #dean was always bi #sam winchester #ao3 #fanfic #wattpad #my fic #spnfandom

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vivisextion · 3 years

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I first saw Slipknot at age 14.

No one knows how I managed it. I'm not sure I even remember. These days, you have to be 16 or 18 to get into Standing areas. I do know I had to buy tickets on the phone, back in the old days (2005, that is). A singular ticket, too - none of my friends, not even the classmate who had gone with me to see Linkin Park the year before, was that into Slipknot.

But I HAD to see them. This was the Subliminal Verses tour cycle, and Vol. 3 was my first and favourite Slipknot album, even to this day. It's the reliable old warm blanket for my soul whenever I need it. It's on right now, as I write this.

My memory isn't that good, but luckily I unearthed a livejournal (livejournal!) diary entry about the event I made the next day.

August 16, 2005. I went right after school. I went to a very conservative Anglican secondary school, too. I tried not to get caught in the bathroom, as I coloured my nails black with permanent marker (I know, don't laugh) and changed into my standard metalhead baby outfit - Slipknot band shirt, black cargo shorts, and my pride and joy: steel-toe boots I somehow managed to cajole my parents into letting me own.

I caught the bus to the open-air war memorial park where the gig was going to be. I got there at 4pm, 4 hours early. A couple other maggots were already hanging around. I found myself surrounded by tombstones, and I read them all. It was the middle of the Hungry Ghost Festival, too - a very fitting time for Slipknot to pay a visit to this godforsaken hellhole of a small town I lived in. (Especially given the paranormal circumstances surrounding the making of Vol. 3.)

While I wandered around the venue (no security or sound guys were around at all), I spotted two white vans pull up to the stage, in the middle of a clearing. It was them! I spotted Joey and missed him by a hair's breadth. I was quickly ushered behind the stone archway entrance by security then.

(Funnily enough, while walking around, I got mistaken for Joey more than once. I am the same height as him, had the same long black hair, same pale skin, and was wearing almost exactly what he had been. One person claimed from behind, I was a dead ringer, apart from when I turned around, and they realised I was Chinese.)

It was soundcheck time. A sound guy testing the mics would say random things, like "testing one two three two one.... fudge fudge, I like fudge...." The band even did Purity, so us earlybirds were given a rare treat, and we screamed along from the entrance, and drummed our fists on the sides of nearby porta-potties. I hope no one was in there at the time. Whenever we got a glance of any of them, we'd scream and cheer. Finally they left again, but were soon to return.

This was the first time I'd been a part of the metal community. I was barely allowed internet in those days. But here, random strangers were friendly, striking up conversations like they'd been friends for years. Two big guys, called Trevor and Ted, looked out for me the entire gig after, keeping other big dudes from crushing me too much (I'm 5'3, remember). Other people commented on me being so baby, because I was only 14, and said they would take care of me.

When we were finally let in, right after the usher cut the rope, I ran in, screamed "WOOOHOOO!" along with a few friends I'd made. I only briefly stopped to receive this RoadRunner Records compilation CD from a roadie, then resumed running like a madman screaming and dashing into the VIP cage.

I was right up against the barricade - the first time I would ever be at a gig. People from assorted magazines and press took photos of us, and I think I got my photo taken about 10 times at least.

(This is how I got in trouble with my parents the next day. My photo had ended up in a local paper - you can see examples of that here. They had no idea what I'd been to see the night before, and were horrified when they saw what Slipknot looked like.)

We saw Sid filming us from the stage with a camcorder and screamed at him. We saw Jim and screamed at him too, and he flashed the victory sign back at us. I remember Metallica playing at the time, another one of my favourite bands.

The concert was a brutal religious experience I will never forget. People with their arms outstretched, crying and screaming out loud, moving like the devil possessed them.

The new friends around me made sure I was alright after every song! There were huge guys fainting behind us who had to get carried out, but I endured, a tiny 14 year old child. We got a family speech as per tradition, of course. "Are you guys out there all looking out for each other? We're all one big family, and we gotta look out for each other." What Corey said held true - strangers hugged, shook hands, talked, and made friends. I was heartened by how close-knit the maggot community was. It really did feel like a family, and it's felt like that ever since.

Of course, I did my first Jump The Fuck Up. It is possibly the most euphoria I've ever experienced all at one go. (Later, in 2020, I was extremely disappointed that I didn't get to do it again in London.)

They did the death masks for Vermilion, and I remember Chris helping Sid fix his mask and shirt when they'd changed back. Sid hung out near Clown's drums for most of the time too, and hugged him from behind and just latched on at one point. It was pretty adorable.

Fun fact: The version of Eyeless you hear on the 9.0 Live album is from Singapore, as is Eeyore. There are very few photos and videos from the crowd of this gig, because in 2005, very few people had camera phones. The crowd at the Slipknot gig in 2020 was a sea of arms with phones, filming the gig rather than experiencing it. Yes, I'm going to be that cranky old geezer who complains about the good old days.

Joey as usual, was fucking amazing and never failed. However, due to the fact that I was right up front, only his tiny head was visible behind his vast drum set, I couldn't see him the entire gig.

Amazingly, the government told Slipknot they were not allowed to do obscene gestures, curse, vomit (possibly due to the decomposing crow pre-show ritual), simulate humping on objects, throw faeces, or jump off stage (looking at you, Sid). I don't think our totalitarian government knew who they were dealing with, because watch what happens next.

Near the end of the gig, Corey tells the crowd “your government has given us a laundry list of things we aren’t allowed to do, your government has told us we are not allowed to swear”. Crowd goes “BOOOOOOOOO” and Corey goes “BUT WE DON’T GIVE A FUCK!!” And they launch into Surfacing, the last song. Everyone riots. Best night of my life.

You can find the setlist from that gig here. It had everything I wanted and more.

This story later got immortalised when Kerrang asked maggots for gig stories, for an article which came out in 2020. I had forgotten entirely, until people began messaging me to tell me, and one friend sent me a scan of it!

On the way out, I managed to get a shirt. I remember calling my best friend at the time, and got everyone at the merch booth to go "IF YOU'RE 555 THEN I'M 666" for her. This shirt has since been lost to the landfill, because my Christian mother took it upon herself to dispose of it the first opportunity she got. Needless to say, our relationship is not very good.

After that, I even managed to get that Roadrunner compilation album they were giving out signed. The band was staying at the Carlton. Unfortunately, Joey wasn't there, neither was Clown, and Mick was swarmed by guitar nerds so, 6/9 it is. It is a great regret of mine that I'll never have anything signed by him, nor will I ever get to see him perform ever again.

The next day, I went to school, my head swimming. Yes, I went to see Slipknot ON A SCHOOL NIGHT. I was a giant bruise, from my ribs and my chest, to my hips and knees, from being slammed into the barricade like a screen door in a hurricane. Most of all, my sore, headbanged-out neck could barely hold my head up. Classmates thought I had been in a fight. I was torn between battle-scarred exhaustion and hyperactive ranting about the most amazing gig of my short life (it still is, to this day). When teachers spoke to me, I wanted to reply, "Fuck trigonometry! I've just seen SLIPKNOT. Do you not understand that my world is different? Do you not understand that *I* am now different?"

My country was a small, conservative town that Slipknot had graced with their unholy presence. Corey Taylor once said that where he grew up in Iowa had a way of making a 16 year old boy feel like a 36 year old man (or something to that effect). I felt that in my weary bones as a teenager, being from a place just like that. Years later, Watain would run into worse trouble, and wouldn't even be allowed to perform. The Christian stranglehold is stronger than ever. It was a good thing that back then Slipknot had the element of surprise, striking serpent-fast and choking this society by the neck for a too-brief time, before they departed.

After that, my desire to play the drums only grew like a weed. Joey Jordison had, has, and will always inspire me as a drummer, and seeing the beast live (or what little I could spy behind the massive riser) had only spurred me on. I had always been a noisemaker, be it driving my parents mad with chopsticks on pots and pans, or driving my teachers mad with pencils on my desk. But of course, my parents wouldn't have any of it. I'd have to wait a good 14 more years before I'd be able to afford lessons and later, a kit of my own. Better late than never, right?

There will never be enough words to describe the impact Joey has had on my life. And it isn't just Slipknot, either. I could write another essay on his time with the Murderdolls and its influence on my own gender-non-conforming ways. Suffice to say, my wardrobe doesn't look too dissimilar to his during the early Dead in Hollywood days.

I told my boss I could not come into work today. I was grieving. I said that my music teacher died, as I didn't think she'd understand the magnitude of my loss. In a way, it's true. And I am not the only one Joey has nudged on the path to being a musician, that much is certain. To the rest of us, I wish strength and love for you in this difficult time. The best way to honour Joey, who truly loved music, both the creation and appreciation of it, is to pass that gift on. Teach it to someone. He is the reason I picked up the sticks in the first place, and one day, they'll be handed on, the heavy metal baton for the next generation.

And finally: remember that the ones we have lost are never truly gone.

Vinnie

P.S. See if you can spot me in the crowd photos in this post!

#Joey Jordison #Slipknot #Murderdolls

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cazimagines · 3 years

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After seeing @toobruhlforschool post the article, I had to translate it!

English translation by google translate below the cut

Daniel Brühl tried for the first time as a director - and he succeeds very well. His debut “next door” (in theaters July 15th) is full of black humor about how embarrassing, tricky and exhausting it can be to be a famous actor. Especially when you meet a neighbor in the corner bar in a Berlin neighborhood, played by Peter Kurth , who obviously hates you. The story is based on Brühl's idea, and very vaguely on his own experiences, from which the writer Daniel Kehlmann draws("Measuring the World") has made a script in which the price of fame is demonstrated with relish. In addition, allusions to Daniel Brühl himself are hidden in the film, who not only directed the film, but also plays the protagonist, a famous actor, in “next door”. Brühl, who last worked in the international Marvel series “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” , speaks in an interview about what made him decide to make this story into a film and how to approach such a project.

Interview with Daniel Brühl: About the price of being in public and the success of projects

Mr. Brühl, in your directorial debut you investigate the price a successful actor pays for being in public. Why did you want to do this film?

One topic I've always been interested in is gentrification. The initial spark was an observation I made in Barcelona. That was about ten years ago. I moved to the city for a while. That made me very proud, because I've always felt very connected to Barcelona, I was born there and finally wanted to say: “I'm a Barcelonian now”.

Instead, did you attract attention because the actor Daniel Brühl was recognized?

No, I just acted very silly, always walking through the streets with my key fob to show that I don't live in a hotel, I'm from here now, then I always talked loudly to the people in the market where Street, via FC Barcelona et cetera. Then I always enjoyed going to such a lunch spot and one day there was a crusher in front of me, such a real edge, and looked at me piercingly without blinking. Forever long. Like Clint Eastwood.

Just like in your film a man from the neighborhood, played by Peter Kurth, who takes on an actor who is very similar to you.

Yes, with the man in Barcelona back then, I immediately felt that he couldn't take me. As I sit there with my trolley suitcase, just flown in from Berlin. The jet set that somehow rattles around loudly with the waiters, makes each other mean and wants to please. That totally exposed me. Then my imagination started. I thought it was a scaffolding builder who had been able to look into our apartment from a construction site for months and now wants to confront me with everything he knows about me.

How do you relate this story to gentrification?

There is such a constant feeling that you are not to blame for gentrification but are part of the process. I've been dealing with this since I've lived in Berlin and I noticed it again in Barcelona. Then the mind game started that an actor, someone who is in public, offers a completely different surface to attack.

How do you translate that feeling into a project?

I enjoyed the way such a person was approached in a masochistic way. As he is told, “I found your film poop. I think you shit as an actor. " Then I moved the story to Berlin, the East-West topic was added, but at some point I realized that I couldn't write it alone and approached Daniel Kehlmann. He could do something with it immediately. While we were writing we noticed how much more was there. That was around the time some public careers were collapsing. That was an interesting component, people who outwardly have perfect lives, whose careers are ruined by rumors that come out about them.

Which personalities are you thinking of?

Well, of course the case of Kevin Spacey, the very different case of Harvey Weinstein. There have been many cases, some of them based on real crimes. It became an interesting topic for me because I wanted to play someone who would completely lose himself in his career and then be held up in the mirror.

If so much of you went into the script, why is Daniel Kehlmann the only one who has the credit and you don't?

There are so many Daniels. At some point I just felt uncomfortable reading my name so often. In addition, Daniel Kehlmann did the most on the script. I couldn't have made the film without him. That a Kammerspiel (From what I learnt in my film studies, Kammerspiel is a certain type of German cinema) remains exciting for over 90 minutes depends on the dialogues and they mainly come from him. I was a sparring partner who fed him ideas.

You have had a veritable career as an actor for over 25 years, appearing in blockbusters and playing a leading role in an international Netflix series. Then that's a fundamental step in deciding whether to direct. How do you manage to take such a new path?

You can't take a quick shot. I've been waiting for the right time, but you can't let it pass. That's what happens when you're too scared, too respectful. At some point you have to trust yourself. Now that I've done it for the first time, my humility towards directing is even greater. I consciously wanted to do something small. I would not have believed myself capable of certain other substances. Then I would have the feeling that I am falling out.

How do you know that you are on the right track and that you can get started with a project?

If an idea remains interesting for you after long deliberation and reflection, and does not suddenly become stupid or boring, you can ask yourself whether this idea is reasonable, i.e. whether you trust yourself to implement it. I knew this was a world and that there were characters - I just know my way around that. If you are also lucky enough to be able to set up a good team, then you are on the right track. It is of course a total luxury that someone like Daniel Kehlmann has promised me to write this. Peter Kurth replied with a handwritten letter within 24 hours. We met and hugged in his local pub.

The role actors and actresses play in public is not only the topic of your film, but was also discussed in the course of the #allesdichtmachen campaign, a campaign against the measures taken by the federal government to contain the corona pandemic. Were you also asked about this?

I was actually not asked, but I know many of those involved. I wanted to stay out of this heated Shitstorm number and clarified that privately with those I know. I not only found the action unsuccessful, but also the counter-action excessive and absurd. I can see that in many areas at the moment, how quickly such a thermal rises, which is toxic. That's a bit of the theme of the film.

Then again quickly an easier topic: What is the most absurd thing that has ever happened to you as a public person?

Haha, a scene that also made it into the movie. In Barcelona a couple came up to me in a park, two blondes, with a camera in their hand. It was immediately clear to me that they were Germans and they wanted a photo with me. I instinctively put my arm around the woman. They were Swedes, of course, who didn't recognize me at all, but wanted me to take a photo of them. It was so embarrassing and even more terrible than in the film because then I started to explain in English “You know, I'm a famous actor…” The way they looked at me! Haha, that was one of those moments when you notice how you blush. Well then I think I could tell you about embarrassment for an hour.

#daniel bruehl #daniel bruhl #daniel brühl

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latte-fairytaekwoon · 4 years

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Seeing Their Crush Half Dressed

Kim Hongjoong:

Hongjoong was lost for sure. He didn't understand why. As an idol, he should remember his way backstage where they hold the Music Bank performances.

"Fuck......where is it?"

He scratched the back of his head, trying to remember where Ateez' waiting room was. He kept walking until he finally reached a door that he felt was familiar. Without thinking too much he opened it and widened his eyes. It definitely wasn't his waiting room. It was your group's waiting room and you were currently in the process of putting on your stage outfit. You both just stood there, too stunned to say anything.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry Y/N-shii! I was looking for my dressing room!" He finally found his voice.

You simply chuckled and quickly threw on your shirt.

"Stop the formality, we're friends you know. I'm glad it was you and not someone else who bursted in."

Hongjoong let out an awkward laugh before saying sorry again and closing the door. Once alone, he face palmed himself and dragged it down his face.

"Hongjoong you stupid idiot!"

Park Seonghwa:

Seonghwa just wanted to watch his currently favorite drama that he was hooked on. Except the 99 liners decided to hog up the tv and he was mad. Then he remembered you lived right next door. Why not just go over and watch it with you? It gives him time to spend time with you as well. Win win situation if you asked him.

He texted you and you of course told him to just walk in. You underestimated how long he'd take though, and he came faster than you thought. So when he walked into your living room, you were still in your workout attire, and it wasn't exactly much either.

"I brought you the gummy bears you-"

Seonghwa sucked in a breath when he saw what you were wearing, his mouth dropping as he stared at your body.

"What?" You asked as you took in his reaction.

He simply pointed to your clothes.

"I was exercising. Geez no need to make a big deal out of it." You rolled your eyes.

Seonghwa snapped back.

"Oh no! Don't take it the wrong way! It's just.... your body...."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "What about it?"

"It's just.........Wow! Amazing!" He giggled.

Jeong Yunho:

It was Yunho's day off and he decided to spend it at a sauna to relax after working for long hours. Mingi decided to join him as usual. It was all fun between them, just laughing and joking amongst themselves. Mingi was definitely teasing him about his crush on you, which Yunho could only blush at his comments.

After a bit, they decided it was time to leave. Yunho walked out of the sauna room first, Mingi staying for just another minute. Upon walking out, the door to the sauna room next to his opened as well and you walked out.

"Yunho?" You asked, surprised to see him there.

"Y-Y/N?"

He was shook to find you there, and even more since you were wearing nothing, only towel draped over your body to cover you. He felt his face getting hot and then he remembered that he himself only had a towel tied around his waist.

"So nice seeing you here. Maybe I'll see you some other time." You smiled and waved goodbye to him.

Yunho chuckled nervously and waved to you, not knowing what to say. Right at that moment, Mingi came out and took in Yunho's state.

"What's with you? You're acting stupid. Like the kind of stupid you get around Y/N, but 5 times worse"

Kang Yeosang:

You often spent time at Ateez' dorm cause of Wooyoung, he became your friend and he loved having you over, partly because he enjoyed your company and partly cause he knew of Yeosang's crush on you. So of course, he liked torturing the poor boy by making him flustered by your presence.

On a particular day, you accidentally spilled your drink on your shirt and Wooyoung offered you one of his shirts, and left you in his room to change. Except Yeosang didn't know about this, and it was his room too. So he went looking for something and found you topless.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry!"

He didn't wait to see your reaction. He just covered his face and slammed the door behind him, too shocked to say anything. He ran into the living room, where Wooyoung was and judging from his friend's face, he could guess what happened. Wooyoung started laughing at him.

"Warn a guy you imbecile!" Yeosang threw a cushion at him and made his way to the kitchen.

Once alone though, he replayed your image in his head and giggled softly. He's not totally regretting it.

Choi San:

By no means was this an accident, coincidence or simple unfortunate circumstance. Nope. San knew what he was doing and he was not regretting any second of it. He simply saw the opportunity and decided to take it.

The boys were spending time at your place. You were all planning on watching movies the entire night. Sometime during one of the movies, you got up and decided to change into something more comfy. That's when the light bulb switched in San's brain.

"I'm going to the bathroom." He announced, not that anyone was paying attention.

Instead of the bathroom though, he curbed his way to your bedroom door before smirking to himself. Putting on an innocent expression, he opened your door and walked in on you in just your underwear.

"Choi San!" You exclaimed as you covered yourself.

"I thought you were done!" He said while faking a shocked look.

"Get out!" You yelled as you threw the nearest article of clothing to him, which he dodged.

"Ok ok!"

He closed the door and walked back into the living room, a tiny smirk on his lips.

"You're a perv." Seonghwa told him.

Song Mingi:

This day could not get worse for Mingi. First he woke up late for practice, then he kept messing up at said practice, which resulted in him having to stay extra time at the studio to make up for his mistakes. And now he's lived one of the biggest embarrassments of his life.

It wasn't your fault. He didn't know your plumbing was being fixed and San offered to let you shower in their bathroom. He also forgot to mention that to Mingi when he came home. So naturally when he walked into the bathroom, he was not expecting to see a half naked you in front of him.

"Aaaah!"

You both yelled. Mingi slammed the door closed and ran back to where San was, who upon hearing the commotion, realized he messed up.

"Ooops. Forgot to tell you about-"

"Yeah I noticed." Mingi cut him off.

Mingi sighed and slumped his tall body next to San, feeling so embarrassed.

"How am I ever going to be able to look at them in the face after I saw them half naked?"

San patted his friend's back. "Come on, it's not so bad..... I've seen them completely naked and I can still look at them."

Mingi whipped his head up at San's confession. "You what?!"

Jung Wooyoung:

Feeling bored and wanting to go out, the boys dragged you to the mall with them. They were so excited to get out and enjoy the world, not to mention they all wanted to buy things for themselves. So there you were, watching them all try on clothes and endlessly asking you for your fashion input.

Hongjoong couldn't stand to see you sitting there though. He picked out a few things for you to try on as well, secretly hoping you'd get them so he could customize them for you. So you went inside one of the dressing rooms to try them on. Wooyoung had been looking for his jacket though, which he misplaced.

"Maybe you left it in one of the dressing rooms." Mingi suggested to him.

Wooyoung thought that everybody was done trying on clothes though. That's why he didn't know you were currently in the one he just casually walked into.

"Holy Jesus!" Wooyoung screeched when he saw you half naked.

"Haven't you heard of knocking?!" You yelled as you pushed him out and slammed the door.

Wooyoung walked back to where Mingi was.

"What happened?" Mingi asked, noticing how awkward Wooyoung looked.

Wooyoung looked at the taller male and smiled. "Nothing that I regret."

Choi Jongho:

You were planning a trip to the beach with your family. You were so excited to see them after so long, and even more to see your favorite cousin, whom you were currently texting. Both of you were swimsuit shopping and trying to get each other's opinion on what to get and what looked better on you both.

Unfortunately for you, you weren't really paying attention when you sent a picture of yourself in a very revealing swimsuit to Jongho instead of your cousin.

Y/N: So what do you think? Do you like it?

Jongho dropped his phone when he saw your text, fanning his face that was getting hotter by the second.

Jongho: I mean..... I do?

You screamed when you realized your mistake.

Y/N: Oh my God! Jongho I'm so sorry! I was trying to send that to my cousin! :(

Jongho: It's ok. Don't worry :)

Out of respect for you, he quickly deleted the picture, only thing left was the memory of your body now engraved in his mind.

"Damn are they hot though." He said to himself.

Gifs not mine, credit goes to their respective owners.

#ateez #ateez reactions #ateez hongjoong #ateez seonghwa #ateez yunho #ateez yeosang #ateez san #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung #ateez jongho #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines

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ritchieblackless · 4 years

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Blackmore and Powell's friendship pt III {The last lap}

Well, first of all, thanks to everyone for supporting this mini series (just three post omg) of Cozy and Ritchie's friendship. They were so cute and I think they didn't realize how goals they were....

Also, this part will be more long than the others because it's the last one and because there's a lot to cover in this last lap.

Making 'Down To Earth'

Making that album was important for those two because they were in their own. The band, in a certain way, was no longer Ritchie's band.. Although Ritchie will never admit it, without Cozy's help Down To Earth and his successful career after Cozy left, would have been a little more difficult. Without mentioning that Cozy discovered Joe Lynn Turner.

As Cozy quoted in his 1982 interview.

"He [Ritchie] seems to have more success with Rainbow since I left. I'm really glad for him. -Cozy (Kerrang! 1982)

But returning to the point... As the two dorks were men in charge, due to pulling the new Rainbow out, they had to be closer to each other more than they used to and spending more time together under a lot of stress. Perhaps that was the reason why their friendship quickly wore off.

Anyway... time for quotes! I'll put first the 'Making Down To Earth' quotes and then the 'Woring off friendship' quotes.

"After a while we were going crazy, we couldn't find anybody at all. Then Roger Glover said, 'Well, what about me?' Ritchie asked me what I thought as I'd have to work with the guy and I said, 'Fair enough, I'll give it. try, once I start playing I can never hear anybody else anyway.' So Roger became the bass player." -Cozy. (1979)

(Ritchie knew Roger for years and still he asked to Cozy what he thought about Rog...it shows you that Cozy's opinion was important to Ritchie)

"All the members we've got are very competent at what they do. Don's been playing keyboards for years, Roger's an accomplished bass player, Graham's a great singer... all I've got to do is teach Ritchie a few new chords and we'll be alright." -Cozy (Sounds 1979)

(A little of English humor for y'all. I'll skip the quote where Ritchie says that he would loved having that laugh with Cozy because you already know that one. Where Ritchie tacitly said that he miss Cozy)

Now, the quotes about their, as Cozy called it, battle of wits.

"Cozy and I, we're always trying to outsmart each other. He's a very fast person, him with his cars. Me, with my medieval music, he hasn't got a clue where I'm coming from. So we have our differences, but when we're on stage we click because he wants to be the best drummer and I want to be the best guitarist." -Ritchie (Melody Maker or Sounds 1979)

The next two quotes are from the same paragraph but I divided them because... yes.

"Ritchie and I have argued about their [Graham, Don and Roger] inclusion, well, we have a lot of arguments anyway as you can well imagine. When we don't agree over certain things, he usually wins because it's his band, he started it all in the first place, so I'm not going to knock that. But I will make my opinions heard." -Cozy (Pelo 1979)

Cozy was very strong-willed, also a little stubborn but he'll never lose the respect for Ritchie and his baby as you can well read.

"I'll say what I think to Ritchie and he respects me for it. I think the only reason that I'm still a member of Rainbow is that Ritchie knows that I'll beat him up if he fires me. So we have differences of opinion - in fact it nearly came to fisticuffs at one point in Geneva - but at the end of the day it's usually OK, we have a few drinks and make it up. But it's good all the same, it's healthy. We're men enough to know that united we stand, divided we don't necessarily fall but it's not going to be so easy. So if we stick together we could end up conquering the world. Which'd be nice, wouldn't it?" -Cozy (Pelo 1979)

Awwwww, Cozy... you two already did. He softie.

"We disagree about a lot of things, although we tend to agree upon the end result. I do feel uncomfortable with him in some situations, but we do treat each other with a great deal of respect." -Ritchie (Sounds 1979)

You... you toxic dorks. I'd love to know what that 'Uncomfortable' means.

"I've had thoughts about leaving Rainbow every other month. It's easier to quit, but harder to keep going - and I don't believe in giving up. Ritchie must have been thinking 'I wonder how much longer he's going to take this?' while I was thinking 'how much more can he put up with me?' - it was a battle of wits. This is reflected in the way we play, very aggressive; but in the end we've got great respect for each other." -Cozy (Sounds or Melody Maker 1980) (they in the two interviews say the same so sometimes i get confused but trust me hasha)

I think they were just tired of each other but not tired of being friends but being band mates and driving force.

BUT, although their fights and arguments and all. Ritchie still cared about Cozy. (I'll put a sweet quote just for change the bad taste in mouth of the other quotes)

"I'm speaking for myself and that night I was very sensitive, as in fact I always am, but on that night I felt I could not come across to the audience and I was disgusted with what I was doing. So I came off and I said to Cozy: "Shall we do an encore?" He was very mentally brought down, he'd just done his solo, and so I decided not to do an encore. The whole thing about doing an encore is that it should come from your inner self." -Ritchie. (Sounds 1979)

Is not the first time though. He, in Rainbow, usually wanted to do an encore but then he'd see Cozy, as he said, mentally brought down and as much as Ritchie wanted, he'd not do an encore... just for Cozy.

'After-Rainbow' relationship.

As I showed you in the first part, they ended in very good terms and still being friends and they were still good friends until, of course, Cozy's death.

"Ritchie and I are still really good friends. He came to see us [MSG] while ago. I left the band very amicably way and there's no hard feelings. I just think five years was quite long enough. We'd both seen enough of each other. It's a long time to work with any relationship, especially in an artistic way, it was better to part as friends rather than as enemies." -Cozy. (1982) (it was a cut off article I found in pinterest long ago so i don't know the very source)

Cozy was still supporting Rainbow after he left and he liked "I surrender" and all. And he discovered Joe Lynn so when Graham left... Cozy told Ritchie about Joe.

And for the last quote... I will leave this funny but sad but nice (????? ... you will understand what i mean)

"Last time we saw Cozy was in Denmark. He was doing an interview beneath my window in the garden of the hotel. I couldn't resist but to throw water out of the window and onto him. We always played practical jokes on each other. Cozy went too soon, but that's the way he'd have wanted to go, in his car. -Ritchie (Blackmore's Night Q&A online)

"We always played practical jokes on each other". Ritchie you're such a liar and you're talking advantage of Cozy's death because if he were still alive he would tell you that you were afraid of his practical jokes.

But he is deep about Cozy's cause of death, and he's right about it so that, again, shows you that Ritchie knew him very well.

So we reached the end, a fair-sad but happy ending for their friendship. Is sad because Cozy's death but is happy because they were still the goal friends that they always were. And i have no doubts that he still misses him, because Carry On Jon is very similar to The Loner and i don't think it's a coincidence.

Anyway, Long Live Rock 'N' Roll and I want their friendship.

#sorry i didn't know how to end the post hshshs #cozy powell #ritchie blackmore #rainbow band #two dorks #long post #now if you excuse me I'll go to the bathroom to cry #i don't have words #just... two adorable dorks #rainbow #ritchie blackmore's rainbow #graham bonnet #don airey #roger glover

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mytastessuck · 3 years

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Gorillaz: Demon Day

1Ah, the magnum opus. This might not be my favorite Gorillaz album but when think of Gorillaz, they always bring this masterpiece up. As I brought up before, this album was responsible for getting me back into Gorillaz in the first place, my dad buying me a copy as soon as it was released. Needless to say, my hyper ass hyperfixated on this band. I looked up their lyrics, went to their site, read their lore, listened to their interviews and brought issues of Tank Girl. This album basically defined me from 10-15 and I will always be grateful to it for that. This stuff is the GOAT for alternative hip-hop/rock and we are basically going to salivate over it for 15 tracks.

1. Intro

Love this foreboding shit. The instruments, the voices, the zombie stuff...hell yeah. I never skipped this part when I put the CD in the player. When I heard, "Now entering the harmonic door..." I would just grin like a maniac.

8/10

2. Last Living Souls

This is some melodic shit! From the chorus to the verses to the bridge, this shit manages to keep you in while filling you up with your daily recommended dose of solipsism. This is an ass-kicker.

10/10

3. Kids With Guns

This song apparently caused a controversy because kids and guns are not supposed to mentioned in the same sentence unless you're doing a report on Call of Duty: Black Ops but I personally thought this song was just average...until you got to the breakdown. All that noise proceeds to drown you in audio goodness before cutting out before you drown. Hats off to you, guys.

8/10

4. O Green World

Love this. The mixing, the chanting, the singing and random screaming. I don't know what it is with Gorillaz and their more environmental work but they tend to hit the ball out of the park every time they go green.

10/10

5. Dirty Harry

This song has every thing you need for a 2000s track. Kids singing, nice beats, Bush-trashing...basically, it's an excellent time capsule of mid-2000s culture all thrown at you by Bootie Brown stomping on you. What I especially like about this track is how the laughter at the end fades into the far less comforting laughter of...

10/10

6. Feel Good Inc.

I don't fuck with this song anymore.

This song...I would wake up and run to the nearest room this song was playing. I would memorize episodes and timeslots of wherever this song dropped on. I would attack anyone who attempted to turn this song off on the radio. This was my favorite song of all time. This song introduced me to De La Soul. I played this song all the time...to the point that I'm absolutely sick of it years later. I also hate it when people hold it up as the ultimate Gorillaz song. Ya'll know they did better stuff, right? Hell, their B-sides have better songs! But...I respect the shit out of this song. And I'm still grateful to it for fueling my Gorillaz fanaticism.

10/10

7. El Manana

Man, this song used to depress the shit out of me. Even before the video came out. Damon's voice is so oddly sorrowful for a pining side. Thank god he's married because I can see the Maenads swimming up to his beach and tearing him apart for bumming them out with his crooning. I remember when a Wikipedia article was vandalized to suggest this song was about 2D singing to Noodle. Gross, right?

9/10

8. Every Planet We Reach Is Dead

Damn, the piano on this is tight. I remember finding out Ike Turner did the piano on this and telling my dad. My dad thought he died. And he did. A year later. I don't begrudge the music team for working with Ike. He was a genuinely talented musician and a rock n' roll father. Plus, his career was still down the toilet after this so it's not like they did him a huge favor. Still though, listen to the breakdown after the verses. That shit can send you into hyperspace.

10/10

9. November Has Come

MF DOOM. I've been a fan of this guy since the Danger Mouse collaboration and he shows why on this track. I knew that there was only one guy talking on this track and it still sounded like a couple of guys conversing. This dude ruled. RIP

10/10

10. All Alone

A song to shake your rump to and to scare you out of a chill out! I love two-for-one deals! This is where Gorillaz start to bust genres like they owed them money. Rap mixed with soulful singing is a great taste that should be encountered more often. Kudos.

9/10

11. White Light

Fuck yes. This track is short yet sour-sweet with its weird mumbling, scatting, guitar work and heavenly break. Man, I would kill to be somewhere where this playing live. I would mosh to this so hard...good on you, Murdoc.

11/10

12. Dare

It's there, indeed. Finally, a song you can dance to without getting self-conscious. I will work it out, Noodle. I will work it out to your singing and the crowd chatter at the end. You all shake it with me. I hate dancing alone.

9/10

13. Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head

This shit is spooky! Thanks Dennis Hopper for creeping me out well into my twenties. I still get shivers when I hear "Without the truth of the eyes, the Happy Folk were blind." The singing is nice too, tying everything together with even more nihilistic imagery. Ooo-ooo-AH.

10/10

14. Don't Get Lost In Heaven

Pretty nice. Nothing special but it's not suckage either. Just a nice faux-gospel theme to mellow out to. It's cool but I really like this song for being the perfect lead in to my favorite song on the album...

8/10

15. Demon Days

When I first got this album and listened to it, I was disappointed to say the least. "Really? All that awesome shit and you finish it on gospel? I can't even understand what these guys are saying! Fuck it." I skipped it every time I played the album. It wasn't until years later when I looked up the lyrics and sung along to the song that the plug to my stupid brain finally went in the album. This song manages to talk about enlightenment without mentioning God. It tells us to live right without mentioning religion. It uses a choir. It's one of my favorite non-gospel gospel songs and it's one of my Gorillaz works. Praise them.

20/10

Album score: 10.01/10

Tune in next week for D-Sides. And if I thought I was unfair with this score...

#gorillaz #music #demon days #review

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whereistheonepiece · 4 years

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So @lesbian-space-ranger and I accidentally created a new Zosan AU that we’ve been talking about since last night. A note: half of this is me summarizing, half of it is pulled directly from Discord because Cas (lesbian-space-ranger) has such great ideas.

This is a long post. I don’t feel like putting it under a read more. So. Enjoy. Or keep scrolling. Either works.

So this post happened

These roles just came to me. Didn’t need to give it much thought because Sanji has the appearance and demeanor of a lead singer and I like the idea of him using his skilled hands to play piano at the same time.

I also watched the movie Rocketman earlier in the week. You know, that Elton John biopic. I adored it and it’s been heavy on my mind lately and I liked the idea of Sanji giving a high energy performance from the piano. (Sir Elton John’s music comes into play later.)

And as for Zoro, I find the bass and/or the beat the sexiest part of the music in a song and, naturally, I can see him rocking at either.

So I asked Cas if she had any other headcanons for this AU and this thing is too good to not share.

Yeah, so Zoro and Sanji are in a boy band with Usopp and Luffy. Luffy started the band. Luffy does guitar, Zoro is on bass, Usopp is on drums, and Sanji is on keyboard and vocals.

Nami is their manager. She works them hard and has taken a 40% cut of the profits because of the guys’ naivete and inexperience. But she’s why they took off. She booked their gigs at every venue she could manage, no matter how small.

They got their big break when Nami met Vivi, who’s a talent scout for the record label Baroque Works. Nami insisted that Vivi had to see the boys perform because they’re something else and Vivi’s heard that a thousand times, but she agreed because Nami is cute. Nami and Vivi are dating. Also, re Baroque Works: Crocodile looks like a sleazy music producer, doesn’t he? So does Doflamingo.

So Sanji is the pretty one, Luffy is the funny one, Zoro is the quiet/broody one, and Usopp is the smart one.

Zoro has a lot of deals with fitness brands, but secretly finds the famous life unfulfilling. This comes back later, so keep that in your back pocket.

Robin runs their social media. She’s so good at her job, running all of their accounts and tweeting simultaneously, you’d swear she had four sets of hands. Wink.

Franky does pyrotechnics/lighting.

Brook is their stylist.

Chopper was their first real fan. He and Zoro grew up in the same neighborhood and Chopper just always idolized him. He followed them before anyone knew their names. He was their hype man, saying encouraging things like "I know you guys are gonna be great!" He believed in them even when they didn't believe in themselves.

Usopp set up their recordings before they got signed because he’s savvy. And then Chopper would sell their crappy CDs. At these tiny gigs. Like coffeehouses and stuff.

Sanji can play keyboard because his parents forced him to play piano as a kid. They had this idea that classical music would teach him discipline and make him smarter. This is how he meets Zeff. Zeff’s your typical stern instructor, but he’s the first adult to ask Sanji what he actually wants and likes. Zeff sees Sanji’s not into it so he asks him what music he likes and Sanji tells him he likes pop, so Zeff gives Sanji a more rounded education. This includes Elton John because I say so. It did inspire me to put Sanji on keyboard, after all.

But other than being Sanji’s piano instructor, Zeff becomes the one positive adult figure in young Sanji’s life and he becomes something of a mentor figure for him. Zeff has a garden and he lets Sanji work in it with him. This garden is how Sanji gets his “little eggplant” nickname. Sanji pulls an eggplant out before it’s ready and it’s so small and pitiful and Zeff won’t let him live it down. Like, Sanji keeps in touch with Zeff even into adulthood and after he makes it big and he still calls Sanji little eggplant.

Zoro and Sanji are always doing that, "Kind of flirting, not really” thing on stage. Sanji is always like walking up to Zoro on stage and acting like he's going to kiss him but pushing him away at the last moment. And it's this huge mystery whether they're actually an item or not. This comes from Nami. Sanji and Zoro have this natural chemistry with each other that leads to speculation and Nami, knowing how boy band fan bases work, saw dollar signs. But it’s not just pragmatism on her part; she knows that one cannot simply go up to Zoro and Sanji and say “You obviously like each other. You should date.” So she makes money and helps her friends find happiness.

Usopp has speculation going on as well. People are always confused as to who he’s dating. Tabloids keep being like "Usopp dumped Nami and is now dating Luffy!" "Luffy Scorned?" "Luffy ditches Usopp and steals his girl!" And they just think the entire thing is hilarious. They collect headlines. The answer is Usopp is dating Luffy and Nami and Luffy and Nami just become really affectionate with each other after dating Usopp long enough. Also Nami is dating Vivi, like I mentioned, and sometimes Nami brings her on as a plus one.

Sanji and Zoro keep giving conflicting answers about their relationship status. Like they'll tell one person they hate each other and another person they're gonna get married someday. Sanji has to walk this fine line of being "in love" with all of his female fans and also "in love" with Zoro. Or not. Who knows? Like Sanji enjoys the attention but he really really plays shit up for his fangirls. This makes Sanji even more popular. Just picture pages upon pages of Sanji/Reader and “Zanji” fics on Wattpad. Nami is one smart lady. "I am the smartest, prettiest, most clever person alive."

Zosan getting together really is just a bunch of Fake Dating tropes. At first it really is just to get more press for the band. Nami schemes with Usopp and Robin to push them together. Robin's a social media genius and knows how to craft tweets and Instagram posts that fans will overanalyze.

Meanwhile eventually Zoro and Sanji admit to each other they have actual feelings and one day Usopp finds Sanji sleeping in Zoro's bed, both of them completely tuckered out. But they don’t know Nami crafted this. They just come clean and hope she won't be mad and she's like, "Yes! Finally!" and they're like "What?" and she's like, "I've been waiting for you two to realize you have actual feelings. Did you really think I'd just use you for profit like that?" and they're both like "Yes" "Of course"

Zoro’s mad at her for meddling. Secretly he’s grateful, but he doesn’t want to give her the satisfaction and he’s yelling until Sanji grabs his hand and he just calms down.

And to bring Elton John back into the picture, just picture Sanji doing a cover of “Your Song” and uploading it online and thinking about Zoro. Naturally the comments are abuzz with people speculating that he’s singing about Zoro. And like. Onstage Sanji does his rendition and sends these small glances Zoro’s way, partially because he knows it’ll get the band a lot of attention, partially because that song is sweet and beautiful and it’s such a simple way to explain his feelings. (There is a reason why Moulin Rouge included it!!) I imagine this happens before they come clean to each other. Like, Zoro comes to him and is all “I keep thinking about that song you did...” And they go from there.

And eventually the band comes to its natural end.

Usopp goes solo and flourishes, working as a songwriter and a producer. He wrote the band’s songs and he’s had a drum kit since he was, like, ten and he can make his own beats. He’s not the singing type (though he is good at it and could reach new heights if he came out of his shell), so he’s the kind of artist who makes the beat and then gets super famous pop singers to feature on his tracks. But he also writes songs for other singers and is so good at it and produces other artists’ tracks. I also like the idea that he’s taught himself to play multiple instruments, but he prefers the drums/percussion. He totally played percussion in school and was in marching band. I was in marching band for one year. I loathed every second of it, but I know he’d be phenomenal in drum corps.

Luffy isn’t much in music anymore, but he keeps himself busy. He’s something of an influencer, the kind of celebrity who gets paid to wear fashion brands’ clothing. He’s also Usopp’s trophy husband, living off the money he made off the band. Usopp grew wise to Nami’s antics and made sure he and Luffy would live comfortably for the rest of their lives, even if Usopp were to retire. Luffy also is secretly a Buzzfeed journalist because it’s fun for him to write these hit articles and people not know it’s him because he’s writing on this super bland pseudonym.

And then there’s Zosan. They have a falling out after the band splits and go their separate ways.

Sanji quits being a professional singer because he’s tired of the prying into his personal life, but he still mentors and/or teaches. He has a string of girlfriends and finds no fulfillment in those relationships because the women are only interested in his celebrity.

And they aren’t Zoro.

Zoro tried branching off into commercials for fitness, but his heart wasn’t in it. He kind of takes up ranching on a whim and learns that he’s really good at it. He likes the physical labor, the quiet, being away from it all, nobody knowing his name. He doesn’t pursue anyone after Sanji because he feels like if it’s meant to be, someone will appear.

And Sanji does.

Sanji finds out where Zoro is through Luffy. So he makes his way to the ranch and finds Zoro and Sanji is all “Come back. I miss you.”

And there’s just a lot of soft Zosan content during Sanji’s visit. Sanji’s always been afraid of horses, but he’s not afraid when he’s with Zoro, and Zoro teaches him they can be gentle creatures, it’s just that you just have to respect them. (Ha. Get it?) Zoro takes Sanji on a ride and they go out and he takes him up the mountain and shows him how beautiful the view is. Sanji's watching the sunset and he's like, "Damn that's the prettiest thing I've ever seen." And Zoro is looking at Sanji and he says, "It sure is." And Sanji's like, "you're not... even looking." And Zoro's like, "No, I'm looking alright. Prettiest thing I've ever seen for sure."

More soft things like Zoro taking off his cowboy hat and putting it on Sanji. Them sitting by the fire, Zoro playing acoustic while Sanji sings. Whenever people see them they’ll ask them if they’re musicians and they share a knowing smile and say “Yeah. Something like that.”

And Zoro convinces Sanji to move out there with him. The others come to visit. Luffy and Chopper are obsessed with the cows and horses and the chickens. Luffy wants, like, eight pet chickens. Usopp is skeptical. Doesn’t believe Lu can look after a pet.

And it kind of ends there. It was us going back and forth, oftentimes out of chronological order, and so here I am putting it all together because it’s too good not to share. But it was a lot of fun.

#zosan #zoro #sanji #lusona #luffy #usopp #nami #robin #franky #chopper #brook #vivi #namivivi #long post #music au

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littleangel4996 · 5 years

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My Fate Pt 3

Summary: After (Y/n) takes care of Michael,he wakes up in the morning confused as hell and wants answers same as her.

Warning: reader undressing Michael but keeps her eyes on his face, Michael wrapped in a towel, cursing, mentions of virginity.

Michael faints in my lap after he told me who he is. Thank my fucking ancestors that I'm a witch because this man weighs a ton for a skinny.

I use transmutation to teleport to the bathroom and get him clean. This is going to be very difficult for me because how am I supposed to bathe him while he's out ? Again he's heavy.

I'm going to have to wake him a little bit, but he's so peacefully asleep I don't want to wake him up. Let me look up online on how to bathe someone unconscious.

I look it up and nothing except either bathing with him (which I rather avoid) or bathe him in bed (now that's a good idea) or even better, let him sit on the tub while I bathe him so I could avoid getting my clothes wet and not be naked with a stranger. I set the shower for warm temperature. As I wait for the water to be warm I start to take off his jean jacket, yellow dirty shirt and start to unbuckle his khaki pants throwing them in the hamper behind me. The last article is his briefs. Holy crap oh God. I've never seen a actual penis except on a porn website that I accidentally saw when I had to borrow Madison's laptop. I've actually never even done it with a man.

I have to suck it up, I have to suck it up.

I keep saying it like a mantra. I take a deep breath and remove his underpants. I just kept my eyes on him not his “thing”.

-----

This was the hardest task for me than performing the seven wonders.

I had a little strength to help him to the guest room is as he lands perfectly on the bed. I made sure a towel is wrapped around his waist and I finally tuck him in the covers removing the bangs from his face. He looked so much like an angel. The fire alarm goes off in the kitchen as I go downstairs I see smoke coming from the oven. I quickly open up the windows then quickly opened up the oven to be greeted with black smoke in my face. I ran the near drawer to find a rag as I fanned out it out the best I can.

As for the pizza, well there is no point in eating it unless I enjoy burnt pizza then I'm probably crazy.

Instead of a warm meal for dinner I thought a nice (f/f) ice cream was a good way to cool things down after one crazy night. Especially when you just moved in to your new home. Selene, now soundly asleep in bed while watching a little bit of TV as myself start to go into a deep slumber and deal with the situation tomorrow.

Next this is Michael's POV

Michael's P.O.V

After grandma threw me out and not caring or worrying about where to go. She basically doesn't care if I sleep on a fucking bench. None other less I still love her, maybe if I go to the park for a little bit and then maybe I can return home so we can forgive each other. That happy thought was soon cut off as I was struck by someone's car. I laid on the ground hurt. I can barely move. The car stops probably going to check on me. The person behind the wheel backs up their vehicle and runs me over again

Again.

And again.

I wake up gasping for air. I'm back in my old room.

"It was only a dream. Ha it was just a bad dream" I chuckled as I laid back down rubbing my eyes. Or is it my room. Looked around closely to see that I'm laying in a king size bed, instead of my dresser being white they were mahogany and a flat screen TV ? Where is my video game system and my desk along with my shelf with my other stuff. Well I guess there is a shelf that's stacked with books and bored games. I decide to climb out of bed and look down at myself with only a towel wrapped around me and surprisingly clean. I remember a girl, the one who hit me in the face.

Could she be the one who cleaned me. Probably that's why I'm naked. I hope she cleaned my clothes, maybe there are clothes in the dresser.

I walked over to the dresser as I open to find it empty. Figures. Okay, as long as I'm wearing the towel around my waist I'll still be covered.

As I come to open the door there she appeared in pink pajamas with mices printed on them and about to reach the knob. It was the girl who cleaned me. Wow, I've never seen anyone that looks so beautiful. Her (h/l) (h/c) so healthy I bet it never has split ends, her skin looks so soft, her (e/c) eyes can hypnotize anyone and...she is holding my clothes.

“Good morning Michael”

“Good morning umm” She hands me my clean clothes.

“(Y/n) (/l/n) but please call me by my first name” she says nervously. “Oh when you are dressed you may come down for breakfast with me and Selene”.

“Selene?” I gave her a questioning look.

“Oh my cat, she's friendly of course. But enough with me talking you must be dressed you won't be naked. okay I'll be gone.” The girl name (y/n) leaves down stairs heading to the kitchen I believe.

(Y/n) P.O.V

I just got done with pancakes and bacon placing them each on the plate. 2 pancakes and 5 strips of bacon. I don't know if he prefers orange juice, milk or coffee. I'll just ask him when he comes down. He may actually fit into my ex-boyfriend's clothes and shoes. I heard the padded footsteps coming from the stairs to see Michael dressed in his old clean clothes.

“Hey, you're just in time for breakfast. Would you like coffee, orange juice or milk “ I've asked him.

“ Umm I've never tried coffee before, how is it ? “ He asked.

“Well to me it's good, would you like to try mine” he nodded his head. I pass him my cup as he takes small sips of mine until he almost drinks the whole thing. I start to giggle and say “ You can keep it, I'll pour myself another cup”.

I take a cup from the cabinet, adding stuff to my coffee and take a seat across from Michael. He looks at me as if he's waiting for me to give him the go ahead to eat.

“ Please, eat. You've been underground for since God knows when.” He doesn't wait for me to tell him twice as he eats like he's never ate before, like literally. I began to eat as well. This is so fucking weird. I've never thought I would be having someone from the grave to eat breakfast with me.

“Hey, Michael. May I ask you some questions?” I asked. He pauses before putting another pancake in his mouth, dropping the fork.

“I as well would like to ask some questions to Ms. (Y/n)” .

“ just (y/n) please” I say to him and he nodded.

For a little bit of awkward silence until I broke it.

“So Michael, if you don't mind me asking what happened to you like how did you die.”

Michael was hesitant at first but he answered.

“ Well first of all, this used to be my home until you moved in. Actually is this year 2015 still” he asked.

“ Wait no, this is 2020. You've been dead for 6 years.” His blue eyes widened, shocked that he been dead for 6 years. Damn Id be in the same position as Michael. Michael explains what happened to him.

“And second off, My grandma and I had a fight and she told me she never wanted me nor see me again then-”

“Oh my god she killed you ?”

“No” he retorted. “But she did left me on road for dead after she told me to go to hell”. Wait what? He tells me his grandmother didn't kill him but left her grandson on the road for dead after telling him to go to hell.

“Did you get a good look at who killed you” he shook his head. “All I know is that a black car hit me. I don't know what kind of car it was, I'm sorry.” He looked like he wanted to cry.

“I probably deserved it, after I killed the animals and the priest I should have stayed dead. I'm a monster” he cried. So the dead animals were his doing...and a priest, what priest? But I'm not the kind of person to judge, a wise woman once taught me ‘

‘those who judge will never understand and those who understand will never judge.’

I rubbed my hand on top of his as he looked up at me with his teary blue eyes.

“Listen Michael,what you did was in the past. People can change and deserve a second chance” I finished.

“Why do you want to help me” he wipes his tears away.

“I just told you, everyone deserves a second chance in life. Even if you done plenty dirty deeds. You probably have questions for me too, don't you.” He nodded his head.

I take a deep breath and “ Michael I was the one who brought you back to life. My cat Selene found dead animals from yours and grandmother's backyard and I guess when I brought them back from the dead I also brought you.” He's getting confused, oh dear.

“ Michael what I'm trying to say is that I'm….well... a witch” I admitted. “ And no not like wizard of Oz, Sabrina the teenage witch or any sort. I'm talking from the old age witch. I came from a private school in New Orleans, Louisiana called Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies where young witches are automatically enrolled once their powers have been uncovered.we've been taught the history of our kind on how to practice witchcraft, to discover and control our abilities” I finished. I was waiting for Michael to laugh at me or be scared of me but he crossed his arms cocking his head.

“Prove it”.

“What ?” I tried to replay what he just said but I thought he just told me to prove it to him that I'm a witch.

“It's the only way that I'm going to believe you” he said. I took a big sigh using one of my powers, pyrokinesis. I concentrate on the coffee cup as it boils then flames erupted from the cup making Michael jump out of his chair. Then I transmuted behind him poking his shoulder turning around so fast that he's seen a ghost.

“That-that”

“Michael please relax I'm not going to hurt you” I reassured him.

“Was awesome!” He exclaimed having a smile on his face.

“Wait really, you ain't scared of me” I asked, I'm very shocked because if I show these abilities to normal people then they'll run away screaming monster. Well not really but still

“Not at all, I think you would have killed me again if you were a bad evil witch but you are a good awesome witch” he finishes. Selene rubs up against me as I picked her up, rubbing her face against mine. Michael tries to pet her but Selene immediately hisses at Michael. He steps away from her.

“Selene will get used to you Michael don't take it offensive” I said. Michael tucks both his hands in his pockets and nods.

This is going to be one hell of a strange adventure.

-Now as you can see this was a long ass fucking chapter 😂. But I'm glad I took my time with this chapter and thank you for the people were patient ❤️.

@barbie-solecism

@sodanova

@yourkingcodyfern

@kylolangdon

@theghostoflangdon

@miskwaadesiwag

@whysosadmcfly

@creativedogs

@kaccatus

@lxngdonscoven

@captainskyline

@gracethegeek9902

@castiel-saved-me-from-myself

@let-me-try-mom

@edward-nygma-is-my-addiction

@amortentiaxo

@langdonsdemon

@poisedphantom

#michael langdon x reader #michael langdon fluff #ahs coven #ahs apocalypse #ahs murder house #love #comedy #drama #horror #witch!reader #witchcraft #fanfiction #my fate fanfic #fallenangel4996 #myfate pt3 #fallenangel4996 masterlist

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meme991001 · 5 years

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The Black Siren Chapter 1

"Lauren's point of view."

'I can't believe she convinced me,' thought Lauren. 'but I can't exactly blame her. I haven't actually left the house since I moved to Gotham.' Soon I saw a red carpet and flashing lights. Then I began mentally preparing myself. I'm going to need it so I can deal with the paparazzi. It's the first time I'm going to an event since I moved here. Considering it has been a month since we moved here and now I have to deal with these vultures. At least it's for a children's hospital. That's the only thing good about the situation. Slowly the limo stopped and started to straighten my dress to mack sure its perfect. The limo driver opened the door, and flashes of light soon flooded my eyes, and I heard the press say my name. And I quickly smiled and posed for a few photographers. The closer I got to the entrance, the more the questions they asked me.

Some are about my dress. Some about if I'm in a relationship with someone, and if I'm dating Bruce Wayne. Considering it's the first event I ever attended since I moved here, it's a Wayne Enterprises event. We both lost our parents. So I'm not surprised by the question. So I just smiled politely and entered the building. It's a glamorous ballroom with gold accents, a gorgeous chandelier with crystals or diamonds. I can't tell, and a large orchestra was playing classical music giving it an aristocratic atmosphere. Still, I wasn't a surprise that it is this glamorous. He is the prince of Gotham, and me a huge playboy. The only thing that I found about this man that surprised me with is that he adopted kids. However, suppose Lexa's gossip is anything to go by. They are actually his biological kids, and their mothers abandoned them, seriously. In that case, that guy has to take in black haired blue eyed kids I don't know. My thoughts (mini rambling session) was interrupted by a female's voice.

"Miss Lauren Light?" I turned around, and I see a man and a woman with press badges. The man is tall, He was clearly muscular in a lean wrestler way with dark hair and blue eyes. They were covered by his glasses. Yet, he was somewhat hiding that he was uncomfortable in this atmosphere. While the woman was tall, beautiful, and confident. She has dark hair and eyes that look like pale violet in this light. She was wearing a black number and looked like she grew up in this world, unlike the man's stance. I can tell instantly that I like her. "Lois Lane-Kent and this is my husband Clark Kent we're from the Daily Plant," she said with her hand to shake.

I simply smiled politely, shooked her hand, and said, "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Kent, I absolutely love your articles from the Daily Plant" unknown to them. I happen to that Clark is Superman.

"Why, thank you, Miss Light, but do you mind if we ask you a few questions ?" Asked Clark as he and his wife returned the smile.

"Of course not, and please call me Lauren," I said.

"Great, is it true that the only reason you attend this event is because of Mr. Wayne?" asked Lois.

"Of course not, In fact, I had never met him, the main reason I'm attending is because of my sister. She said I need to get out more often, but I'm pretty sure that's not the only reason why," I said.

"So your relationship with Mr. Wayne is fake information, that's good to know. Mind our asking, but why did you choose this event?" Asked Clark.

"Because like I said, my sister wouldn't have it, I nearly did not come if it wasn't for Alexa."

"Who's Alexa?"

"My 16-year-old sister, who needs to figure out how not to mess with my life, and I can live it any way I want," I said as I crackled.

"I know the feeling," they said together as well crackling. I can tell the married partners are speaking from experience.

"Let me guess you both have a younger sister?"

"Lois does while I have I cosine who my parents took in, but she might as well be," answered Clark.

"Okey, the final question is it true that both of your parents and Mr. Wayne's parents were friends and were planning some kind of agreement?" Said Lois.

"I honestly don't know, my godfather said that they knew each other, but he was never told if there was an agreement. I only know that they never wanted a death like that, and wished it was different," I said.

"Thank you for your time, Lauren," said Clark.

"It's no bother at all, and please enjoy your evening, Mr. And Mrs. Kent," I said

"Same to you," they said, smiling, and I return it.

After that, I went to get a drink, so I went to the bar, I went to the bartender and asked, "excuse me, can I have 1 glass of champagne and scotch?" he nodded got started on my drink. As I was waiting for my drink, I noticed a man coming next to me. He was a redhead with green eyes and a goatee, he wore a suit like every other man here. Still, I can tell he enjoys to flaunt his wealth. Considering he was wearing a gold Rolex, it wasn't hard to tell.

"Hey, did it hurt?" the man asked weirdly.

"Excuse me, but what?" I questioned, feeling weirded out

"Did it hurt from when fell from heaven?" the man replied, 'oh, he was using a pick-up line, a bad line if asked me, but that explains it.'

"I'm sorry, not. I didn't fall from heaven, and just to let you know that was cheesy," I informed the man, not even paying attention to him.

"I'm Chase Azul," the man- chase introduced himself, "what's your name, Angle?"

"Not interested," I told him sharply and into the point.

"Come on, let me show you an amazing time," he replied, 'does he know what take a hint mean? Great, its one of those men,' i thought while rolling my eyes.

"Let me make this clear I'm not interested in you" 'you can't get clearer than that,' i thought as the bartender finally brings me my drink. I took a sip of it.

"Trust me, you'll have an amazing-" he was suddenly cut off by another man.

"Excuse me, is this man bothering you?"

"Bruce's point of view."

'I've never been more glad that the kids are all started a strick just to not attend an event,' i thought as just left a conversation for a drink. As I was walking to the bar, I see the most beautiful woman in my life. Considering I often meet models, royal family members, celebrities, and goddesses saying a lot. She has long, dark, slightly curled hair half up and half down, a somewhat tanned or bronzed skin that gives out a gorgeous glow. She was tall with long legs. An hourglass figure also had lean muscles hidden and gave her a delicate yet strong look that you don't see every day. she was wearing a brown dress with some detailing in lace. Her stance was confident yet agitated. Most likely from the man that was talking to her. for some reason, she reminds me of Talia. This surprises me as they while having similar coloring, are noting alike. So I went over there, and the man says, "Trust me, you'll have an amazing-" before I decided to cut him off.

"Excuse me, is this man bothering you?"

"Lauren's point of view."

I turn around and saw a tall, muscular man with gorgeous blue eyes and black hair. He has a sharp and chiseled jaw. I can tell quickly he was confident, and yet there a deep sorrow in his eyes. It took me a few moments to realize that he's Bruce Wayne. 'Man, was he sculpted by gods or something, no wonder he gets all those dates despite being a well-known playboy,' i thought before remembering his question. "Yes, he was," I answered honestly.

"Well, how about a dance to help him realize your not interested?" he asked, extending his arm out as he asked.

"It will be my pleaser," I said, taking his arm, leaving the glass and the redhead gaping. He leads me to the dance floor. He put other his arm around my waist as I put my other arm on his shoulder. "So you're, the legendary Bruce Wayne I've heard all about," I stated.

"Bruces point of view."

As I lead her to the dancefloor, I can't help but think how beautiful her eyes are, blue as sapphires or the ocean somehow dark and yet stunningly bright. I was pulled out by my thoughts by her melodic voice. "So you're, the legendary Bruce Wayne I've heard all about," she stated

"All good things, I hope?" I questioned

"Oh, you know the usual, how you date anything with legs, how you adopted a miniature army of dark-haired blued children. How you are unbelievably handsome you are," she replied. I couldn't help but wince at some of them. "Although the last one was not as exaggerated as I thought it was, and finally the most ridiculous of them all if we’re in a relationship." she continued. While I can't help be proud of the underhand compliment and admire how she stated them, she read at a tabloid. However, I can't help be curious about the last one.

"What do you mean by the last one? I'll be pretty sure to recall being in a relationship with the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I have ever see." complimented. I couldn't help but enjoyed the blush appearing on her flawless skin.

"First of all, I'm not that beautiful," she replied upon while rolling her jeweled like eyes as we continue to sway to the music. "Secondly, that the question the press asked me the most literally its what they concisely asked me. And finally, I forget to say thank you for helping me deal with that man at the bar."

"Firstly, you are that beautiful considering I've met a multitude of beautiful women it saying a lot. Secondly, why would the press ask you that question? and finally, it was my deepest pleasure." I responded.

"Well, number 1 is thank you for the compliment. And number 2 is that this is the first event I've attended since moving into Gotham a month ago."

"Why did you move to Gotham anyway?"

"Work-related and a much-needed change of scenery." she relied upon as the song came to an end. "Thanks for the dance."

"Your welcome..." I trailed off, trying to remember her name. "I'm sorry, but I can't remember your name."

"That's because I never gave it to you," she informed me as she walked away. I watch her leave her hips swaying. 'Damn,' I thought as she disappeared from my view.

"Lauren's point of view."

The event was halfway over, and I was surprisingly enjoying myself, as my phone rang. It was from Alexa. So I went to the balcony and answered it.

"Hey sis, what's up," said Alexa, and I heard some loud music in the background.

"Fine, did you throw a party?" I asked. Wondering if that the reason why she wanted me to go to the event.

"No, of course not, I'm at a friend's party. But don't worry, I will not do anything risky, and it's Molly's party," she reassured me.

"At least I can trust you, Lex, but seriously you could have just asked, and I would have said yes to you going to the party."

"I know, and that's not why I insisted that you going to the event. It's because it's been months since you been in a serious relationship, and I want you to find Mr. Right."

"Lex, you're too sweet for your own good."

"So, did you meet anyone?"

"Well, I did meet Lois and Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne."

"Shut up, tell me your joking."

"Nope, they're really here, Lex. I've just met them."

"Lucky, anyway, go find a guy. I love you".

"We'll see, and I love you too. Bye," I said before I hung up.

"Well, hello there, Beautiful," I heard and turned around to see a man hidden by the shadows.

"Bruce's point of view."

I saw the beautiful woman going to the balcony, 'who is that woman? What's her name? And why is she going there?' I thought. So I decided to follow her and saw her talking to the phone. I was about to leave, then I heard her say. "Lex, you're too sweet for your own good" what a minute Lex as in Lex Luther, then suddenly I heard her say, "Well, I did meet Lois and Clark Kent, and Bruce Wayne." It must be Luther. How do they know each other? "Nope, they're really here, Lex . I've just met them." what are they planning? "We'll see, and I love you too, Lex" Lex Luthor loves someone. I don't believe it. It's time to find my answers.

"Well, hello there beautiful," I said, scaring her, making her turn around to face me.

"Oh my goodness, you startled me," she said.

"My apologies, miss."

"Well, might as well as tell you my name, its Lauren, Lauren Light," said smiling beautifully.

"Pleasure is all mine and Miss Light, please call me Bruce," I said, returning the smile.

"As long as you call me, Lauren."

"Mind me, Lauren, but heard you talk while on the phone, Lex as in Lex Luther."

"Lauren's point of view."

Wait a minute, was he eavesdropping on me, "No, Bruce, that was my sister Alexa, Lex for short," I said with ease, I said," were you eased dropping on me?"

"Bruce's point of view."

That made things more straightforward, then she asked me if I was eased dropping on her, so I said. "Well yes, but only because I was curious about who you were, then I heard you mention the name Lex, so I thought it was Mr. Luther and then the names Clark and Lois Kent and my own. So mind explaining that"

"Oh, my sister is a huge Lois and Clark Kent fan. She loves there work, me too. But anyway, she always wished she met them, so I told her that I met just them, and Lauren, of course, heard of the legendary Bruce Wayne", she explained with ease, although the part with slite sarcasm. Okay, now I feel like an idiot for eavesdropping.

"I apologize for eased dropping on you. To make it up, how about I take you to dinner tomorrow night?" I asked, hoping that I would get to know more about the beautiful woman.

"Apology accepted, Mr. Wayne, but unfortunately, I don't usually mix business with pleasure." making me slightly confused about what business.

"Well, that's a good policy, but I think you're making a mistake here."

"I don't believe so, My Dark Knight, however. Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. And please can you tell The Man of Steel congratulations on his anniversary?" she said before she left, leaving me stupified. How in the world did she know? I went to find Clark, who I know wouldn't believe it. As I ventured to him, I can't help but think about the mysterious yet beautiful Lauren Light.

"Lauren's point of view."

As soon as I said my last comment, I left him surprised, but I couldn't blame him. If I found out that someone knew my secret identity, I would be to, plus I informed him that I knew his and Superman's identity. As soon as I went to the exit, I saw my limo, and I entered it and asked the driver to drive me home. I texted Lexa, letting her know that I implied that I know about his secret. As soon as I finished texting her, I arrived at my building. As soon as I entered my penthouse, I quickly went to my room, changed into my nightwear, and went to bed.

Well, I hope you're enjoying the story.

#batman #batfamily #justiceleague #batman imagine #batfam imagine #the black siren #batfamily imagine #blackcanary #bruce wayne #justice league

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lizzybeth1986 · 6 years

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Quick Thoughts on DD Book 1 Chapter 5

• Content Warning: There are references to slut shaming while speaking about opera singers, and I speak about executions in the Hamid scene (I've not added grisly details or anything, but to me what I have included does sound a little macabre). I don't know if those warrant a warning, but I'd like to err on the side of caution and ensure that anyone comfortable with that knows this before they make the decision to proceed.

• Okay on with the QT!

• Why hello there, fancy hot looking Ottoman prince dude.

• Looks like not one but both of my MCs will be living the thot life.

• Apologies for the huge delay guys. There was a LOT to unpack this chapter, and it took me a while to actually explore, confirm my research and get a clear idea overall of how I wanted to approach this one. I'm hoping once TRR ends I can get these babies out earlier.

• You know what I realised? The Lady Grandma LIKES a sassy bitch. There are several times this chapter she's actually been more approving of my headstrong Marianne than she has been of my more mild-mannered Florence. See all of this:

She's mostly approving of this, however, when Henrietta is the recipient of this behaviour, but there are also points where she appreciates the MC's candor (if she chooses to show it) such as if the MC refers to the art of the fan as "ridiculous". If there is one thing that consistently gets on Dominique's nerves, it is occasions where the MC might speak of herself and her former background negatively, mostly out of annoyance because it shows she hasn't comfortably settled into her role yet, and Dominique needs the MC to do so if Edgewater is to stay within in the family and bloodline.

• Also I love the subtle streak of independence we get to see in Annabelle. She is someone who is doing what is expected of her, someone who tries to make the best of her circumstances the only way she knows how, but she is also refreshingly open about how stressful it is for her to go down this path, even in her free scenes. She is also playful and mischievous and doesn't take herself too seriously, which makes a lot of her scenes a joy to do.

• I also really really liked the option where you tell her she's the one you want to marry, and her reaction is both a disbelief that such a dream could come true alongside a receptiveness to the idea. It's soft and sweet and beautiful.

• So we start out with a crash course on the nobility we'll meet in London (Alfred Halloway, whose daughter Felicity is debuting this season, and the Barrymore family, who are related to the Halloways by marriage). Only this time, Annabelle wants to be a snarky little boss and fill the MC in on all the juicy gossip that Lady Grandmother won't give her.

• Lady Grandmother: Alfred Holloway is the viscount of Lochdale. His daughter, Felicity, will be coming from her estate at Bellington Hall to make her debut this season.

Miss Parsons: Alfred Holloway is an arrogant prig who looks like an Easter ham studded with cloves.

(For the record, this is what a clove-studded Easter ham seems to look like:

Holy shit Annabelle you savage af)

Lady Grandmother: Miss Holloway's family is also tied by marriage to the Earl of Barrymore...

Miss Parsons: Oh, avoid the Earl of Barrymore. His bed has more traffic than Drury Lane!

Annabelle here must be referring to the crowd that tends to flock around the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, which was popular as a source of entertainment for its plays and had a seating capacity of 3000 people.

• The free scene with Annabelle is important because it eases us gently into the main themes of her scene later on. The women get to speak about the whole concept of a "marriage market", and straight off the bat Annabelle lets us know how uncomfortable she is with having to go through a wedding to another man.

• She also speaks about what else - besides the fact that Harry was her closest friend - about his death affected her. Having been promised to Harry, Annabelle didn't have to go through the rigamarole of finding a husband. She had learned to settle with the idea of being married to someone who she knew and liked at least, if not loved. It's sad to us modern readers now that Annabelle would have to settle for less than passion or love, but back then I don't think she could have imagined a better deal. And now...and now she will have to settle for even less than what she had with Harry. This was a pretty neat way of easing us into the larger conversation she has with us in her diamond scene.

• A few days pass, and Briar is now helping us get ready for the trip to London. You have the option of encouraging her romance with Mr Woods, which...cmon. They cute 😊

•

Ooh so our House Colours are navy blue and gold! (considering that the Earl's default outfit itself is navy blue, I should have figured that would be a house colour). It's nice but MY NECK WHERE IS MY NECK.

Did You Know: that up until the middle of the 19th century, men's and women's riding habits were largely made by men in a distinctively masculine style. This is what Candice Hern's article "Regency Habits, Overview" on her website Regency World, says:

"Though the style and cut of riding habits changed with time and fashion, they continued to be tailored in a masculine style throughout the 17th and 18th centuries and into the early 19th century. In La Belle Assemblée in 1815, we read that: “Habits have, ever since they were first brought into fashion, been considered as decidedly calculated to give even the most delicate female a masculine appearance, and the wits of our grandmothers’ days were unmercifully severe on the waistcoat, cravat, and man’s hat which were then the indispensible appendages to a habit.”"

•

YOU'RE NOT COMING WTF DAD NO.

• WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY'LL DO TO YOU WHILE I'M GONE.

• I'm having a sinking feeling about leaving my old dad around in this house while Henrietta is still there, Grandma had better be his bodyguard (or maybe not. Cordonians seem to have weird ideas of what constitutes a successful bodyguard *COUGHCOUGH Mara and Bastien COUGHCOUGH*).

• Like most of the fandom I have a feeling the Earl will die sooner than we think. @i-dream-so-i-write once mentioned that it could well be towards the end of the book, and I think that's a fitting dramatic turn this book would take into the next. I'm going to miss the hell outta this guy though 😟

• Henrietta sent Mr Marlcaster and Miss Sutton ahead of time so they can screw things up for us, so we will need to butter them up like no tomorrow when we reach there, apparently.

• Hello Luke! It's been exactly one chapter!

• Kinda like the bonding the MC and Luke have with regards to the horse. Their first real conversation began with Clover, so it is fitting that their bonding continues over her at least for their initial interactions.

• Aww man, Henrietta wants Clover the horse to be sold and they give you a diamond option to keep her, name her and get extra scenes with her. Florence calls her Moonstone, Marianne calls her Pepper. Moonstone suits Florence's particular sense of whimsy, and I figured Marianne would want something short and snappy and it helped that Luke gave the horse some salt before the diamond option came up 😂

It's a fairly nice scene I guess, but it drives me batty because this book is already taking astronomical sums of money early on in the book, and people are already beginning to get frustrated. Even TRR, which is a pretty expensive book, took more than half the book before they pushed forward the option to buy the Derby horse. It just is beginning to feel like too much too soon at this point.

• Of all the free scenes this chapter, my favourite has to be the exchange among the four in the picnic en route London.

I found this particularly interesting because all of these people, so far, have been outside the rigors of the Season in some way or other. Briar is the most outside of this system of doing things: she has grown up completely out of it and will probably always struggle to understand the way things work within the gentry. Luke has spent years in that environment (that of the gentry) so he knows some of it, but he still is and will always be an outsider. Annabelle has grown up in this environment and is perhaps the closest to it, but has never had to take active part due to her association with Harry and the Edgewater Estate. And the MC straddles both these worlds. She is an heiress, part of this high society, but she was born in and more familiar with Briar's worldview. And I love how this scene captures all this in just a few bits of dialogue.

• Also Luke's sensible response to Annabelle's question and Briar being a teasing little imp is super cute, I will fight anyone who disagrees with me on this 😂😂😂

• So many gems nestled in Annabelle's scene guys I can't even. There's so much going on in this one. So much.

•

The main thing this scene does is to - without a doubt - establish Annabelle as a closeted lesbian. She's still at the stage where she's aware and finds it odd that she doesn't hold any affection for any man, that the idea itself of marriage frustrates her, and her growing confusion that she's now feeling for a woman all that she "should" be feeling for a man. There are points where she almost welcomes it, like the scene I mentioned earlier, but she still is clearly struggling.

The MC has three ways of responding to this - one where she misses the point completely and says "you haven't found the right man yet" (Marianne, unfortunately), another where she states that she "understands" (which is left open - either it is a gesture of support from an ally, or it is from someone who understands her dilemma to...well...some extent. Florence is the second. She is bi, so her "I understand" was basically "I've fallen for some men sure but I also have a hard time figuring out what my sexuality is"). My favourite is the response where the MC speaks of facing a similar dilemma in her life and is an excellent choice if your MC is also a lesbian. I couldn't use this one for Florence or Marianne because it didn't ring true for either of them, but I did see the screenshots on tumblr and it's quite poignant.

Did You Know: Lesbian/sapphic relationships and sex were not as much seen as illegal as invisible...and this was an attitude that a later monarch, Queen Victoria, would uphold as well, refusing to sign a legislation to criminalize it by insisting that "women do not do such things". Obviously as we all know, she couldn't be any more wrong. Today we know of famous lesbian women of the Regency as Anne Lister, owner of Shibden Hall, and the Ladies of Llangollen - two women from Ireland named Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, who had a romantic relationship for over 50 years. Gail Eastwood, in an article titled "Queer in the Regency: a Slice of Once-Hidden LGBT History" says:

Defying their families, the two established an estate in Wales, called Plas Newydd, rather than enter into marriages with men they did not love. Though they incurred significant debt in order to have a staff, they survived on the generosity of friends until a fascinated Queen Charlotte convinced King George III to grant them a pension.

Plas Newydd became something of a haven for writers during the Regency era, especially since the couple living there could afford to keep it.

Part of me wonders if elements of this story may be found in the Annabelle x MC route. Or like Anne Lister, who was well-endowed enough financially that she could refrain from marriage and have relationships with women. Maybe, or - given the limitations of having to chart out a storyline that will suit every LI - maybe not. Whatever it is, I'd be very interested in finding out how they'll handle the MC's romance with Annabelle.

• The second most interesting thing is Annabelle speaking about her poetry, and the restrictions her father has kept on her talent. She mentions him looking down on women's poetry as being "all bad rhymes and flowery sentiment", and that - in keeping with the times - he prefers Romantic Age poets such as Wordsworth, and that famous influence on Romanticism, Shakespeare. If we choose to ask her about showing us her poetry, she tells us her writing is "of a...delicate nature" (get it, girl! 😀) and if we choose to encourage her instead, the MC makes references to Mary Wollstonecraft, whose ideas of gender equality were considered radical for the times, and who is seen as one of the earliest feminist icons.

Did You Know: that in a time when female education was mainly geared to prepare women for their domestic roles, Mary Wollstonecraft advocated for women to receive an education that would help them survive beyond the home and the marriage market, stating that the one real barrier in the way of gender equality was the disparity in the education women received compared to men. She says, "this homage to women’s attractions has distorted their understanding to such an extent that almost all the civilized women of the present century are anxious only to inspire love, when they ought to have the nobler aim of getting respect for their abilities and virtues".

Her daughter, Mary Shelley, would write the famous novel Frankenstein in 1818, two years following the events of Desire and Decorum.

• Within this scene also lies a little tidbit that will hold some importance in Chapter 7: the MC tells Annabelle that her mother used to sing in the opera:

So this could be the root of some of the snarky remarks Henrietta makes about the MC's mother. She has close pretty darn close to calling her a "prostitute" on more than one occasion, and her comment after the MC sang along with Annabelle in chapter 3 about how it was "no wonder" that the MC could sing, given her mother's profession.

Did You Know: Opera singers had a very different reputation in the Regency era, not all of it very positive. Shana Galen, who is described as a Regency adventure author, speaks about how opera singers were viewed at the time: Of course, it was perfectly acceptable for a young lady to show her talents on the pianoforte or to sing in front of a small group of family and friends, but performing on the stage at Drury Lane or Covent Garden were frowned upon.

Female performers, especially, were shunned by society. One example of this sort of attitude was seen in the ridicule faced by a singer named Dorothea Jordan, who had an long-running affair with a Duke, bore him ten children, and who was the subject of a "satirical cartoon that showed her in her bedroom, gazing adoringly at a duchess’ coronet, which she hopes someday to wear by marrying her lover. A map on the wall purports to show the route from “Strolling Lane” (i.e. prostitution) through “Old Drury Common” all the way to “Derbyshire Peak.” A genealogical chart of the nobility lies on her dressing table, and her bed-hangings are crowned by a Phrygian cap, symbol of the French Revolution. The latter is intended to ridicule her pretensions to nobility; as a common woman, let alone an actress, she should know her place" ("Glimpse at Opera during Jane Austen's Lifetime" by Maggi Andersen, for the blog Historical Hearts).

• Luke's scene on the other hand is lighter in content but is important if you look at it from the viewpoint of establishing his role in the MC's life before they reach London. As a neutral friend, he is happy to serve her and considers her a vast improvement over Countess Henrietta. He tells her that she possesses what Henrietta lacks, understands something that Henrietta would never understand in several lifetimes: that looking down on people she believes as her 'inferiors' will leave her at a disadvantage eventually.

But if you hint at having feelings for Luke, the entire mood of the scene changes, and you see him feeling torn between his growing affections for her and his recognition that any relationship beyond the professional will end badly for them all.

• The thing with both Luke and Annabelle is that to not fall for them is to maintain the status quo. So even if there is an element of attraction, the MC not reciprocating does not tip the delicate balance that governs their lives at Edgewater over. But when she does...it gives rise both to moments of joy...and moments of fear.

• Ooh I love the animation for the train!!

I mean...just...look at this!

• The MC and Briar get to react in awe to their first sight of London before they get down from the carriage. We find out that we're pretty much stranded on the streets of London and no one has come to pick us up. Gee thanks, stepbro.

• Not gonna lie, but seeing Prince Hamid's shocked!face on his full-body shot made me giggle a little.

• He introduces himself as Imperial Prince Hamid, cousin to "his Imperial Majesty Mahmoud the Second, Caliph of Islam, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Custodian of the Two Mosques (the last especially was used in royal titles for many Islamic rulers, and refers to the Al-Haram Mosque (al-Masjid al-Ḥarām) of Mecca, and the Prophet's Mosque (Al-Masjid An-Nabawī) of Medina).

• In a sense he kinda reminds me of Kamilah: he is a fictional character positioned as being related to an actual historical figure, so they will give us plenty of background about the countries they were from (Egypt and Turkey [Istanbul in this case], respectively) but keep the actual historical figure at a distance. Making the fictional character a cousin and a person of an important position in that court is a smart choice to make: they're important enough to represent the royals of the times but distanced enough that it doesn't seem unnatural if they aren't that close and ergo can't tell you personal details about said historical figure.

• Did You Know: Sultan Mahmud II (the cousin Hamid mentions) was seen as quite a progressive ruler of his times. 1829 onwards, he tried to bring many, many reforms into the Ottoman empire, including (according to the Encyclopedia Britannica article on him) "adopting the cabinet system of government, provided for a census and a land survey, and inaugurated a postal service (1834), introducing compulsory primary education, opening a medical school, and sending students to Europe. In addition, the sultan’s right to confiscate the property of deceased officials was abolished, and European dress was introduced". It looks like some elements of this way of thought could be reflected in Hamid, from his talk of diplomacy in his diamond scene.

• Hamid not only positions himself as a bit of an outsider to England but also as a man who travels: talk of travelling and seeing the world is his ice-breaker when they get into the carriage. This will allow him not only to help familiarize the MC with London, and his home Constantinople, but also give her (and us) a view of what the world looks like at this point. For instance, if the MC speaks of even London is unfamiliar territory to her, he mentions the Blue Mosque, the construction of which was completed exactly 200 years prior to the events of the story.

• The other very essential point of this scene is to provide a bit of a parallel to Luke, but also as a counterpoint. Luke is disadvantaged both by his class and his race - ergo he has a very layered perspective. Hamid has privileges, but he is also aware of and in some ways used to the reception he gets in England, and has figured out how he wants to respond. Both Luke and Hamid find their ways to cope with their situation, and the MC is allowed - according to the ethnicity chosen for her - to relate to both.

Florence, for instance, relates heavily to this as someone is visibly a foreigner even though England is the only home she has ever known. Marianne does not fully understand this, but she can tell him like any decent human being would that she thinks it's wrong of people to treat him that way.

• Just prior to this the two manage to see the Tower of London, notorious for the imprisonment and execution of many, many people including royals and nobles. There is a short but rather poignant conversation on the "many people tortured and murdered over who had the right to sit on the throne" (among the people executed, you will find names like Anne Boleyn, Thomas More, Lady Jane Grey, Guy Fawkes and Walter Raliegh).

• Did You Know: For a long long time in England, executions were seen as a bit of a spectator sport. The more unusual the criminal, the bigger the crowd. The Capital Punishment UK blog speaks of the kind of atmosphere usually present around the time:

In many counties, executions were held on market days to enable the largest number of people to see them and school parties would be made to attend as a moral lesson, something which is certainly recorded as happening at Lancaster Castle. Public houses and gin shops always did a very brisk trade on a hanging day.

However, attitudes towards executions experienced a shift around the late 18th-early 19th century, and by 1864 Parliament established a Royal Commission on Capital Punishment, with a declaration that executions would take place inside the prisons rather than in public.

I'm not sure if this was intentional, but possibly the MC's and Hamid's reactions to the tower may be reflective of their times.

• Interestingly, Annabelle is shown to look jealous if you've been romancing her, and giving you a sly grin if you're just friends. I quite liked that little touch. Luke meanwhile is a little less open about how he feels at this point: whether you're romancing him or not, he is described as "watching you carefully" during your exchange with Hamid.

• So Mr Marlcaster got the letter from the Duchess to send a groom for picking the MC, but didn't...as per his mother's demands, surely. But AT LEAST you should have been a little prepared to answer me in case I dropped by anyway, dude? Instead of just standing there and staring at me like a scandalized goldfish.

• Looks like Edmund is still going to try screwing things up for us, and we'll need to find a way to get him on our side. After all, we get relationship points with both him and Theresa Sutton, and Lady Grandmother did tell us we could find a way to get them to be with us rather than against us.

• I'm looking forward to Chapter 5...but it's Chapter 6 I REALLY want to see. We're going to learn a bit more about the MC's mother's background!

General Thoughts:

• OMG so much was there to unpack this chapter!! A lot of it to do with Annabelle and Hamid, and Luke has taken a bit of a backseat this chapter but I'm hoping that's a taster of what's to come in his case.

• Look I love this story but IT COSTS SO MUCH. WTF. Keeping Clover was a nice option but it really added nothing to this chapter and could have easily been shifted elsewhere. I want this book to do well. I'm happy with how they're writing it, the effort they're putting into their research and into their characters so far...and I would hate for it to not be appreciated because they made it so hard for people to get into the book by making it this expensive so early.

• Florence is going for Annabelle and Luke (leaning more towards Annabelle at this point), and Marianne for Hamid and Sinclaire (I'm not sure yet but Hamid is a very very strong contender!!). Who would have thought I'd have my first polyam MCs in a book on Regency Era England!! Who woulda thunk!

• Annabelle particularly intrigues me at this point. She is clearly established as both inside and outside of this system, and vocally critical of it at least to the MC. She writes about her desires against the chargin of her father, and states that she doesn't want to merely settle into a 'safe' relationship like her mother, not unless she can know and trust that person (which is mostly why she agreed to the match with Harry even if she didn't love him). She is confused, and open and honest about her confusion. I really think the foundation of this character is immensely strong, but they really need to keep working on her and not just drop their efforts on her halfway. And I've seen that happen enough times with female LIs to be afraid.

• At this point, we now have three male LIs (one Master of Horse who is African-American, one family-approved eligible bachelor and one prince of the Ottoman Empire) and one female love interest. Is there space for one more confirmed female LI? I sure hope so but at the same time I don't want keep my hopes up.

However...IF the plan is to keep just one female LI, then they'd better do a pretty darn phenomenal job of her. If you're not going to give wlw players other options it's only fair to make sure the only option is given really, really good writing - consistently. They're doing a good job so far...but there's a long long way to go before I can fully trust PB to do justice to her.

• That's it for now! On to Chapter 6!

• Tagged: @boneandfur @liamraines @thespiritpanda @alanakusumastan @ernestsinclairs @private-investigator-nazario @bcdollplace @thedepthsremember @mcbangle @queenodysseia @novaelaras

If you'd like to be tagged on these QTs, do let me know! 😀

#desire and decorum #long post #annabelle x mc #luke x mc #hamid x mc #annabelle parsons #luke harper #imperial prince hamid #dnd quick thoughts #quick thoughts

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superredcorp · 4 years

Text

It was Defence against the Dark Arts Class in Hogwarts. The Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins were joined together in this class which was led by Professor Cat Grant. As soon as the students had all gathered in the classroom, she announced the day's subject: Boggarts. Most students, who knew what they were, got a little nervous. And as soon as Professor Grant explained the basics about the creatures, the remaining ones got flustered and uncomfortable as well. No one liked to openly present their fears. No one wanted to feel that vulnerable. However, it was nothing that was up to discussion and the students knew better than to protest in Professor Grant's class. So they did as they were told and collected in the room, in front of a big closet which was already rumbling.

"Now, remember the spell. Riddikulus. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, we've heard the joke before, it's nothing original. Chip chop.", Professor Grant said. "You, the girl who's name I can't remember, you go first."

A Hufflepuff girl shrieked a little when the teacher's finger pointed at her. She gulped and stepped forward. She seemed to be trembling. "Wand at the ready. I'm going to open the closet now. Riddikulus. One, two, three.", she opened the door and a whirling shadow came out. It swirled around until it formed the shape of a spider which was the size of a big dog. The girl stared at it, mortified. Then suddenly her eyes showed determination, she lifted her wand and yelled "Riddikulus!"

The spider slipped and landed on it's back, long legs high up in the air - with grapes starting to form on them like grape vines. A few students laughed and the girl let out a relieved giggle.

"Good. Next one.", Professor Grant said.

One by one the students went forward, facing their nightmares - from wild mystical creatures to bad grades.

"Alright.", Professor Grant said, looking around. "Miss Luthor, you're up next."

On the other side of the room, Lena was standing with crossed arms, leaning against a desk. When she heard her name, she looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, no. I'm not doing that."

"Oh, you are. You may think you're too good for this class, Miss Luthor, but it is a lecture and it is obligatory. So, unless you want to meet with the headmaster..."

Lena scoffed. But one more look at Professor Grant's stern face and she faltered. She rolled her eyes. "Fine."

A few feet away, Kara stood with her two friends: Winn, who was a Hufflepuff as well and Mon-El, who was in Slytherin like Lena. Kara had spent some more time with Lena the past couple of weeks and they had grown closer. Kara was the only one really trying to make a connection with her. And she'd always been very compassionate and attentive. That's why she was the only one in the room who noticed the quiet tremble in Lena's voice when she caved or the way she took her steps to the front rather hesitantly, through she tried to appear tough. Lena seemed to know what was going to come out of that closet - and she was really scared of it.

"One, two, three.", Professor Grant counted and opened the closet door once more. This time the Boggart took its time. It didn't come out as a wild whirl of blackness ready to transform. Instead it stayed in the pitch black of the closet. Then suddenly, a hand grasped the frame of the door. A foot stepped out, wearing heels. The rest of the body followed slowly, anticipation building up.

It was a woman, wearing nice clothes and an evil expression on her face. Kara recognized her instantly and her eyes widened. She recognized her from the Daily Prophet's articles. And others did too because whispers and murmurs interrupted the silence in the room.

"Wait, guys. Isn't that...?", Winn hushed.

"It's Lillian Luthor. Lena's mom.", Kara mumbled, concerned.

Lena was frozen on the spot. She stared at her mother - or the boggart disguised as her mother. Who now started talking. "You are a disappointment, Lena. Your father never should have brought you here. You ruined everything. You are a disgrace. Pathetic. Useless."

Behind her suddenly another figure came out, joining her hateful speech. It was her brother. Lex Luthor. "Worthless. Your real mother is better of dead. You would have been such a disappointement to her. It would be no surprise if she got herself killed on purpose. So she would be rid of you."

Lena had meanwhile dropped her wand. Her hands covered her ears, trying to block them out. Hot tears streamed down her face. No one was whispering anymore, everyone gaped with their mouths open in shock. Even Professor Grant was speechless for once. She obviously hadn't expected this.

Kara couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't bare seeing Lena like this, couldn't bare hearing all those terrible things that the boggart was still spouting at her with an endless amount of shame, anger and hate. She stormed forward, running past her classmates and slid in front of the young Slytherin, who was whimpering heartbreakingly desperate, with her arms spread wide, in a protective stance.

Her eyes narrowed. She knew what was coming but she was prepared. The boggart started swirling and forming new for it's new opponent. Soon enough, it had finished it's transformation. Kara released a shaky breath as she stared her worst fear in the eye.

Death Eaters. Death Eaters who broke into her home when she was just a child, who killed her family for being muggleborns and squibs, who made her an orphan. She may have gained a new family in the Danvers' and she loved them, loved the sister, Alex, she got out of it but the trauma of what happened still cut her deep. Her whole world had been taken from her in that night, in that moment.

Kara raised her wand and screamed "Riddikulus!", directing all her anger and pain towards them. The force hit the boggart so hard that it, or well they, flew back into closet which fell backwards and shut close. Kara breathed heavily. Then she quickly turned around to see how Lena felt but she had to find that she was gone. Kara scanned the room, seeing her run out of the door just in that second. Without second thought, she took off after her.

She ran across the corridors of the castle, looking around, trying to find the Luthor girl. Finally, she found her, sitting against a wall, her legs close to her chest, her arms wrapped around them and her head buried between her knees. Kara came closer, slowly and kneeled down in front of her. She eyed her carefully. By the movement of Lena's shoulders, she could tell that she was crying. Kara gently touched Lena's arm. The Slytherin's head shot upwards, rapidly trying to brush away the tears but failing rather miserably.

She sniffled, looking down at her hands. After a few seconds of silence between them, she said quietly: "You must think I'm pathetic."

Kara's eyes widened. "Why would I think that?"

Lena gave a devastated, dark chuckle. "My greatest fear is my own family. I'm a Luthor, my fear should be muggleborns touching me or not being able to learn dark magic. I'm going to be the laughing matter. Why did you even help me back there? They're gonna take it out on you too."

"Don't say that.", Kara said softly. "You're not like your family. You're good. You are a brilliant, kind-hearted, beautiful soul. No one can take that away from you. I believe in you. That's why I helped you... You're my friend."

Lena looked up at her. There was so much pain in her eyes. But also hope and gratitude. "Thank you, Kara. Really. I... I don't know how to thank you."

"You don't have to thank me. Not for that.", Kara smiled. She scooted around her and sat down next to Lena, putting her arm around her and pulling her close. "I will always protect you. And I will always be here for you. I promise."

BONUS SCENE

It had been an hour since the incident in Defence against the Dark Arts class. Kara hadn't left Lena's side since then. They had a free period afterwards anyway so this was easy to do. Soon enough class would start again though and they didn't share the same one there. So Kara wanted to at least spend the rest of their free time together. At one point, Winn came running towards them. They had found a secluded space where no one else was, to talk without anyone listening or staring. "There you are, guys! I've been looking for you!", he said.

"Is something wrong, Winn?", Kara asked worriedly.

"No. Well, actually, um. I just wanted to see how Lena was feeling.", he stammered, fidgeting with his fingers.

Lena frowned. "Well, that's nice but... you don't even know me."

"I know! But I- well, I-", he began, sighed and looked at the ground. Then he sat down and started again. "Look, I... I know how you're feeling."

"I doubt that.", she said, with a raised eyebrow.

"No, really, I-", he sighed again. "When you two ran off, Professor Grant interrupted the lesson. That's why I didn't get my turn to face the boggart. But I still know what shape it would have taken. I know how you feel because... because I know what it's like to be scared of your parent. The boggart would have turned into my dad."

Kara and Lena blinked a few times, uncertain if they'd heard correctly. "Really?", Kara asked sadly.

Winn nodded, looking down at his hands. "My... my father is also in prison. Regular prison because he's a muggle. When he found out that my mom's a witch, he... he lost his mind. He killed six people."

"Oh my god, Winn, I had no idea.", Kara exclaimed, reaching over to touch one of his hands. Winn let out a sad chuckle: "Yeah, well, it's not really something I go around bragging about. I didn't want anyone to think less of me."

"No one would do that!", Kara was quick to respond.

"Are you sure?", Winn returned with a question. "Because I'm not."

"There's always people who will judge you for your family's mistakes. I'm proof.", Lena said bitterly. She looked over at Winn. "Why did you say something now?"

The boy shrugged. "I guess, I just... I wanted you to know you're not alone... with that feeling. That there's someone who gets what you're dealing with."

"That's... that's very considerate and... very nice of you. Thank you.", Lena said, a small, shy smile forming on her lips.

Winn smiled back. As did Kara who started clapping. "Hey, look, now you have two friends!"

Lena laughed and the other two joined in. And Lena did feel better, included, happy. She had friends. Well, she had a friend and... and she had Kara because she couldn't quite call Kara a friend. She embodied so much more than that. She wasn't just her friend, she was her hero.

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whitewolfofwinterfell · 7 years

Note

I read your previous answer about Stefan being a martyr or a hero (I agree with everything you wrote, thank you for always answering so throughout and thoughtful, it's a joy reading your metas) and I noticed you wrote "lost my soulmate to a coma" in a part of it and I just wonder, do you really believe stelena were soulmates? I do and I've seen other people discuss it, but it'd be fun to read your opinion on it too... if you'd like to share it of course (:

You’re welcome! I’m so glad you love reading my metas, because I always love writing them.

In answer to your question, of course I believe Stelena were soul mates. Of everything pertaining to their relationship them being soul mates is one of things that can never be denied or taken from them. Kevin Williamson has explicitly called Stelena soul mates, Nina has said Stefan feeds Elena’s soul and even Caroline Dries described their relationship after their break-up as being a soulful friendship.

Since you’re already familiar with my metas, it should be no surprise to you that I’m putting the read of my response under the cut, since it’s so long haha.

I think the concept of soul mates is one that’s different for everyone and there are no clear cut definitions or answers, but the most basic definition I can find is from the Oxford dictionary which is:

A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.

I don’t even feel it’s necessary to give examples of how Stefan and Elena fit this definition. It’s pretty obvious for everyone to see that they were ideally suited both as a couple and friends. The problem with that definition is that it’s too simplistic and unfeeling, so I’m gonna go to Urban dictionary instead. I would usually never do this, but since soul mates is more about personal interpretation I wanted to get an idea of some of the common things others perceive it to mean. A few definitions say:

A person with whom you have an immediate connection the moment you meet..The first time you glimpse at each other you are immediately drawn to each other…

A soul mate is someone you meet and the instant your eyes meet you feel these incredible feelings that you never knew existed…

This is a crucial element, that I feel ultimately solidifies Stefan and Elena as soul mates above any other couple on the show. They are the only couple who had an immediate connection from the moment they first met, which is a crucial attribute of soul mates. The reason for this is that the idea of soul mates, comes from Folklore and is the idea that when a soul descends to earth it splits in two, each half of the soul inhabiting a separate body. These two halves are destined to wander the earth until they find each other and only then will they be complete. And since these two people are essentially two halves of a whole, there is an instant recognition and connection, which is also where the idea of “love at first sight” is born from.

Another definition of soulmates is the following:

It’s the love that survives anything and everything, that struggles and pulls through, that even when it seemed hopeless and out of control it still beat strongly. It’s the love that is not superficial, a love that transcends not only the physical world but time itself.

This fits Stefan and Elena perfectly. There seems to be an impression that just because Stefan and Elena broke up their love ended or they stopped being soul mates, which is completely incorrect. Stefan and Elena’s love transcended their break-up, transcended Elena falling in love with Damon and being in a relationship with him, transcended Elena being in a coma for 3+ years and transcended Stefan’s death. In 6x22, 6 years after they met and after everything they’d been through (individually and together), Elena stood before Stefan and said, “I love you so much” and in 8x16 she sat outside Stefan’s resting place 10(?) years after his death remembering him and devoting her life to his memory. Their love was eternal and survived through everything, even death.

A common theme I also see popping up in these definitions as I’m scrolling through is the unwillingness to live without your soul mate in your life, which again describes Stefan and Elena. Even after she broke his heart in season 4, Stefan never stopped wanting Elena to be a part of his life and in season 5 he pushed through his personal feelings in order to establish a friendship with her, because he knew she was so important to him that he’d rather have her in his life as a friend than not in his life at all. In addition, in season 6 when Stefan had moved to Savannah, Elena refused to leave Stefan alone to get on with her life and he told her that he was avoiding Mystic Falls not her. This shows that even when they weren’t living in the same town and their common connection (Damon) was gone there was still a connection between them and a desire to remain in each other’s lives. Similarly, Stefan’s reaction to Elena’s “death” in 7x12 and Elena’s reaction to Stefan’s death in 8x16 showed all the signs of people that couldn’t bear to live a life without their soul mate.

I’ve also found an article that outlines 10 elements of soul mates (x) which I’ll go through systematically.

1. It’s something inside. This is an ambiguous definition and one of the reasons discussing soul mates is so difficult. But I feel like Stefan’s quote from season 5 of, “When we were together, every single atom in my body told me that it was the right thing, that we were the perfect fit,” pertains to this. It’s something that’s deep and profound, a love that makes you feel something you can’t quite explain.

2. Flashbacks. Now, this one is very interesting regarding Stelena, because of the issues revolving around them being doppelgangers. There’s no denying the doppelganger story line developed in season 5 is incredibly flawed with plot holes left right and center, but ultimately, I feel that what it was doing was implying the idea of soul mates. The doppelgangers were born as a direct result of Silas and Amara’s love, they were literal copies of them and therefore destined to meet and fall in love. As Tessa said, she watched versions of Stefan and Elena find each other and fall in love century after century. And when you take away the idea that each doppelganger is an individual person/character these doppelgangers throughout the centuries can surely represent various past reincarnations of Stefan and Elena?

3. You just get each other.“I know you, Stefan, better than anyone.” “You know me probably better than anyone else.” “You knew me better than anyone, you always have.”

4. You fall in love with his (or her) flaws.This is referring to the acceptance of one another’s flaws. I can say with complete confidence Elena accepted Stefan for his flaws and she took this a step further by having faith in his ability to overcome them. The poor writing in the later seasons means that Elena’s flaws were hardly acknowledged by the writers let alone by Stefan or any other character, but the fact he remained a faithful and loyal friend to Elena until the day he died suggests that he did indeed accept every part of Elena.

5. It’s intense. Again I feel like I don’t really need to explain this. From the very beginning their relationship was intense and although the romance ended, whenever Stefan and Elena had an emotional or romantic scene together it was incredibly intense (e.g. almost kiss in 5x04, goodbye in 8x16)

6. You two against the world.I think this definitely applied to Stefan and Elena when they were a couple. Whenever they faced an obstacle they faced it together, they were a team. When Elena was dealing with finding out she was adopted/meeting Isobel, Stefan was right there by her side, when Katherine came back and tried to tear them apart they fought to face her together, when Klaus was hunting Elena they worked as a team, even though Elena becoming a vampire broke them up, they still very much faced that together in the early episodes, and even in the hunt for the cure they were united. Let’s just put it this way: Stefan and Elena have always been on each other’s side, always fighting the same battles and for the same cause.

7. You’re mentally inseparable.This is without a doubt a trait of Stefan and Elena’s relationship. It’s why Stefan’s humanity was so rooted in his love for Elena, why Elena instinctively knew Stefan was looking at her in 3x02, it’s why no matter what happened they remained in each other’s lives, it’s why in his final moments the person Stefan saw was Elena.

8. You feel secure and protected. Again, no explanations necessary. In 3x22 Elena clearly stated that part of the reason she fell in love with Stefan is because he made her feel safe. Whenever Elena was in danger, it was always Stefan that she sought and when he held her in his embrace, you could clearly see how safe she felt just for knowing he was there. With Stefan, I think the safety he experienced with Elena was not so much rooted in his physical safety, but his emotional/mental safety. Elena was the first person since Lexi to keep him grounded, to connect him to his humanity and keep him sane. When he was with her he felt safe knowing that she gave him the strength to conquer his demons and overcome the darkness.

9. You can’t imagine your life without him (or her). This goes back to what I’ve already mentioned about how Stefan and Elena could never completely leave each other’s lives. Even after his death, Elena was finding a way to weave the memory of Stefan into her daily life. Stefan and Elena from the day they met were always going to be in each other’s lives and that is just a fact.

10. You look each other in the eye. Stefan and Elena did this all the time, even after their break-up. Their eye contact, the way in which they looked each other (8x16 is particularly coming to mind here, but also 6x21 and 6x22) was always intense, soft, adoring and easy. You could see the familiarity and comfort that was between them just by seeing the way they looked at each other.

So, by the definitions I’ve found and outlined above, Stefan and Elena seem to be confirmed soul mates.

From a personal perspective, I have never doubted that Stefan and Elena were soul mates. The reason for that is that my perception of soul mates is simply two people that upon meeting form an instant and profound connection and that connection grows and blossoms into a very meaningful relationship that is inexplicable and unbreakable. Whilst the characteristics above do describe soul mates to an extent, for me it really comes down to the fact that Stefan and Elena had such a life-altering impact on each other. They’re two people who brought each other back to life and who quite literally transformed each other’s lives forever. Stefan and Elena’s lives took the paths that they did because they met, because they fell in love, because they knew each other. Even though they broke up Elena reconnected Stefan to his humanity in such a deep way that he was able to continue to grow and move forward with that and loving Elena is an experience that enriched his life and made him happy (even if only for a short amount of time). For Elena the impact was so much bigger because not only did he save her (literally and metaphorically in season 1), but she actually ended up living her entire life through Stefan. She devoted her life to his dream career, chose to live her life a certain way and to be happy in honour of Stefan and what he’d given her. That alone makes me wonder how anyone could say that Stefan and Elena weren’t soul mates, because really, is there anything more profound than that? Another significant reason as to why I perceive Stefan and Elena as being soul mates is because of something which has already been mentioned - their emotional/mental connection. Particularly emotionally, Stefan and Elena had such a instinctual and natural understanding of one another that continued throughout the seasons. As always I feel like the concept of an emotional connection can be very misunderstood by people, so I took the liberty of doing a quick Google search and found a site that I feel explains it very well (x). The first basic definition it gives is:

An Emotional Connection happens when two (or more) people knowingly feel and perceive the same thing at the same time.

I feel like this definition alone really hits the nail on the head and clears up the how/why Stefan and Elena developed such an intense and deep emotional connection. In fact, it also actually explains why/how they connected so quickly, since they were both feeling lost and as Kevin said “dead inside” and they knew they were feeling that way. When Stefan found Elena’s journal, it suggested that she was feeling certain emotions that she couldn’t express in any other way except by writing them (just like Stefan), when they sat in the Grill and Stefan explained that he lived with his uncle, there was an immediate connection on the basis that they’d both lost their parents (obviously the circumstances were completely different, but that’s irrelevant) and particularly at the end in 1x01 when Stefan showed up on Elena’s door with blood shot eyes and they had that conversation where Stefan asks Elena if she’s okay and she says that’s all anyone seems to ask her and he says, do you ever really mean it? That conversation just confirms that emotional connection that was already being built in the earlier scenes by portraying two people that were clearly at a low point in their lives and looking for that emotional connection they found in each other to appease their loneliness and give their life meaning and purpose. The examples that the site gives are also great for going deeper with what it means to have an emotional connection:

Two lovers holding hands while gazing out together at a beautiful sunset - hello, this is already a canon Stelena moment.

A mother and a baby feeling scared together after the baby falls over into a coffee table - comparable to pretty much every scary event Stefan and Elena experienced throughout the season (and let’s face it there were a lot haha) where both of them shared the same fears

A husband and a wife discussing and forming a shared commitment to financial goals - comparable to Stefan and Elena’s shared vision for the future (a human life, children, marriage, careers as doctors etc.)

Two friends laughing together over an old teacher’s funny walk - the entirety of 5x21 comes to mind (they had so much fun and laughed so much together in this episode).

As you can see from these examples and the definition, an emotional connection is really rooted in sharing emotional experiences, negative and positive. Throughout all 6 seasons Stefan and Elena consistently shared similar emotional experiences at the same time (a few of which are outlined above).The next essential part of an emotional connection is empathy:

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person.

This is something I feel like Stefan and Elena did brilliantly. For all of their common feelings/thoughts on certain subjects, there were also a multitude of things that made Stefan and Elena different from each other. They went through experiences emotionally that the other hadn’t, yet they always displayed understanding and empathy. When Stefan was struggling with his blood lust towards the end of season 1, Elena was completely supportive and empathetic, despite being human and not being able to necessarily fully understand what Stefan was going through as a vampire and the same happened in season 3 when Stefan had no humanity. Stefan was empathetic towards Elena in season 2 when she was suffering through the pain of being coveted by the most powerful hybrid of all time. There’s the whole line from Stefan in season 4 of, “You’re in hell, which means I’m in hell” line from Stefan which really sums this up (x). Whatever Elena felt, Stefan felt and vice versa. That is a very powerful thing which is reserved only for the deepest of loves and relationships. However, as the article says, empathy is not enough in itself, it needs to be communicated.

Feeling empathy is a necessary ingredient for emotional connection. But it is not, by itself, sufficient; in order for an emotional connection to be created, the empathy needs to be communicated.And that is where validating feelings comes into play.

Again, Stefan and Elena had no problems in this area. There have been endless conversations between Stefan and Elena where they demonstrate understanding and empathy for one another, even if it’s just simply saying, “I know” and hugging each other. Look at what Stefan said to Elena in 2x20, “Hey, it matters. It matters.” A prime example of Stefan validating Elena’s feelings and showing her his empathy towards her. An example of Elena showing this to Stefan would be in 2x05. “Just a few drops every day, right?” Elena is so empathetic towards Stefan’s struggle with blood and his dilemma between not wanting to lose control, but also wanting to be stronger that she changes her perspective to see Stefan’s POV and then willingly agrees to allow him to feed off her. If that is not a clear example of both empathy and validation, I don’t know what is.

The article ends by explaining that the reason why so many people struggle to establish true emotional connections with others is a discomfort at the prospect of being vulnerable, which is essentially a completely natural human fear. Once more, Stefan and Elena demonstrated the extent to which they were able to be vulnerable with each other. An emotional connection cannot exist if the two people involved are unwilling to drop their walls and be completely honest about their feelings. Here are examples where Stefan and Elena did this with each other (these are just off the top of my head, there are probably more):

1x19: Stefan tells Elena the truth about his struggles with blood lust and openly cries and shows his frustration in front of her

1x20: Stefan cries and admits his guilt, pain and turmoil over the terrible things he’s done in his past

2x09: Elena cries in Stefan’s arms and expresses how she blames herself for her friends being hunted by Klaus to break the curse

2x20: Elena opens up to Stefan about not wanting to be a vampire and cries in his arms

3x14: Elena tells Stefan how she’s feeling about the uncertainty of their relationship and encourages him to open up to her in return

3x20: Elena cries in Stefan’s arms and admits she feels she has no one

4x01: Elena cries in Stefan’s arms openly as she suffers through the transition, later on in the episode Elena and Stefan talk about their love for one another, the situation with Elena nearly dying and cry.

4x02: Stefan admits to Elena he feels insecure that she chose to turn to Damon for help instead of him and Elena opens up about the heightened grief she’s experiencing

5x18: The two discuss how they’re feeling about their visions openly and honestly and get very emotional with each other.

6x22: Elena cries as she tells Stefan how she feels about him.

8x16: Both of them openly cry and discuss how they’re feeling about Stefan’s death and hold each other.

There are so many more examples, particularly in the later seasons that I’ve skipped because I’m just too lazy to write them out haha, but the point has been made anyway. Stefan and Elena were able to be very vulnerable with each other and they had complete trust that neither of them would use that vulnerability against the other as a weapon.

Proof of this emotional connection manifests itself in so many ways throughout the series. The fact that Elena was consistently Stefan’s connection to his humanity, that Stefan was the connection to Elena’s (I will not have anyone tell me any differently on this matter, 4x19 and 4x21 just proved this), that even when she was in a dilemma about Damon Elena sought out Stefan for advice/comfort (even after Damon’s death in the beginning of season 6) and that they knew each other better than anyone else. All of these aspects of their relationship stemmed from this emotional connection that was between them.

Although there are many other smaller factors that contribute to it (such as their general compatibility as people, which I’m sure I’ve discussed in another post somewhere), the depth of this emotional connection Stefan and Elena shared combined with the long-lasting impact they had on one another’s lives are really the main reasons I believe Stefan and Elena were soul mates.

#answered #my meta #tvd meta

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cryptnus-blog · 6 years

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The Immutability Of Blockchain Is Useless When It Comes To Easy Crypto Thefts And Hacks

New Post has been published on https://cryptnus.com/2018/11/the-immutability-of-blockchain-is-useless-when-it-comes-to-easy-crypto-thefts-and-hacks/

The Immutability Of Blockchain Is Useless When It Comes To Easy Crypto Thefts And Hacks

[Disclosure: I used to have a small amount of Ethereum (Ether), but now I have absolutely zero Ether]

Your eyes are not deceiving you, the disclosure above is usually printed at the end of any article by any Forbes writer when the subject matter is about cryptocurrencies.

In this case, I am confirming that I now have no Ether, but I did have some until my crypto wallet was hacked around six weeks ago.

In the interim period, I know now more than most about the lack of crypto security and how it’s virtually impossible to retrieve funds after they’ve been stolen. It’s an interesting story, it’s just highly annoying that it happened to me.

First things first. Like many others, I was in the latter stages of the crypto wave and only started becoming interested in them a couple of years ago.

Blockchain seemed revolutionary, Ether looked as if it could more than emulate Bitcoin because of Smart Contracts, so why not quietly invest in a future nest egg? I had time on my hands, so this was always a long play… and not a big one.

I learnt quickly, heard that crypto exchanges were hacked regularly, so it would be advisable to store my Ether in a wallet via a public key and a private one. I could upload funds using my public key (open to the world), but only I would know the private key.

So far, so encrypted. Both keys were 40 characters long and I decided to use Myetherwallet to store my Ether; friends in the industry had assured me this was the best one.

As directed, I printed off my private key, kept it securely in my desk (whoops, just gave it away again) and then came up with what I thought was a masterstroke.

Some years ago when I lived in Goa, I met some very interesting people, one of whom was a notorious (and somewhat garrulous) drug dealer.

He told me over a few beers that whenever he wanted to pass on a secret message, he would give his Gmail log-in and password to an associate and that individual could access the appropriate message in Gmail drafts.

Nothing would be sent over the internet, so nobody would know, so it was as safe as proverbial houses. Good enough for a paranoid drug dealer, good enough for me; that’s where I stored my private key.

Moreover, I split the key into ten different sets of four characters and encrypted it my own way. Whenever I accessed the wallet, I would scrunch the characters together, cut-and-paste, access my wallet, then clear my browser history, then rearrange them differently. Clever old me.

Clever, not. This, apparently, was how the hackers found my private key. So if you’re thinking of storing your private key (or talking to fellow drug dealers), then Gmail drafts is a very bad idea. Clearly, I found this out too late; you have no excuses.

Crypto wallets and exchanges are mutually exclusive and do not provide security.Quoteinspector (via Creative Commons Flickr

What happened next was insane and intense. When I next logged in, I quickly discovered that I’d been cleaned out a week earlier. The crypto cupboard was bare.

Like any other burglary, this was an intensely stressful experience, so I activated my network of great people. Black hats, white hats, blockchain aces, crypto genii, high-networks individuals with access to the top, everybody I could think of.

Information came quickly. The Ether had been moved to a new public key address, but had not moved for seven days. This meant it could have been malware that had scraped the private key (but didn’t know how to move it to an exchange) or the thieves were biding their time.

Unfortunately, they bided their time for another six days, but I was told ‘not to worry’. This was blockchain and if the funds were moved to an exchange then I would be alerted, the thieves would be easy to track down.

Then they moved and six days later I was alerted that they were transfering my funds (along with others) to the Binance exchange. That transaction had to be stopped because no blockchain transaction can be reversed. Simple surely, the exchange could just block that transaction.

The next six hours were crazy, it was if the whole world was trying to help me out. Over the course of that evening, the odds of me blocking the transaction veered between 5 per cent to 40, down to 20, up to 70, down to 30 and finally a big, fat zero.

Myetherwallet were sympathetic, but said there was nothing they could do, they did not have the ability to stop movements, even if they were suspicious. I spoke to Myetherwallet CEO Kosala Hemachandra in a panic as the heist continued its less than merry way.

Remember we are an open source wallet that doesn’t hold any user funds, so any compromise of funds like this may be a result of using a lookalike phishing site. We have the highest security measures available in the market so that our users are protected against malicious actors.

Well, that was nice to know, but it didn’t help me much, so I turned to Binance, but was presented with a website request for a ‘ticket number’ and they would get back to me in 72 hours.

Seventy-two hours? I wanted something done within 72 seconds. I was told to expect a reply, which came 24 hours later, and a request for a law enforcement number to whom I had needed to report the crime.

I live in the UK, not North America. Law enforcement means the Police and while I appreciate the work the Police do, I don’t think any Police force in this country would even understand what had happened to me.

This to them would just be another burglary and if they did know enough about crypto, being informed that I had left my private key in my Gmail drafts was as good as leaving a window open in my house. I probably deserved it.

I later caught up with Wei Zhou, Binance CFO at this month’s Blockchain Summit in Malta and he said there had an increase in thefts such as mine over the last couple of months describing it as a ‘last grab’; hackers knew the crypto community was beefing up security.

We work very hard to ensure the safety and security of funds on Binance and Trust Wallet. Our hope is that all users are informed on best practices to ensure the safety of their own storage and accounts. We work closely with law enforcement agencies around the world to help users recover funds, so in case of stolen funds, we encourage users to file reports right away with law enforcement.

It will be interesting to find out just how many times Binance has co-operated to get theirs users’ funds back, but Zhou assured me that Binance wanted this relationship with law enforcement to be more efficient and they’re working on it.

I have seen the price of Ether plummet in the six weeks since I was hacked, so the pain has lessened over this period of time, but while I’ve been an idiot, I’m not exactly clueless in how this all works.

For the average and traditional investor however, the volatility of cryptocurrencies and its current (and brutal) bear market are enough to put most of them off investing in crypto.

Add stories such as mine and the eventual creep of regulation, the crypto world right now seems to be a very dangerous place to play.

On the other hand, I’m still a believer and while I’ve been burnt once, I may yet return. In the interim, the thieves have got away with it and whether this is a ‘last grab’, whether I’m a total loser or whether better security is coming, the warning is clear.

Never, at any time, store your private key anywhere on your computer or your cellphone; you are not safe. Moreover, forget using Gmail drafts for anything else other than drug-dealing… it’s a mug’s game.

[Disclosure: I do not currently hold any Ether… or any other cryptocurrency]

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