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drabbles-mc · 3 years

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Date Night

Angel Reyes x F!Reader

Warnings: language, mentions of alcohol

Word Count: 2.6k

A/N: I wrote this fic when my boyfriend and I were on a big Warzone kick so be warned that a majority of this story uses that as the base of it haha. This one-shot got away from me pretty quickly, and I’ve been super hesitant to post it (it’s literally been sitting in my ‘finished’ folder for months without me posting it because ~anxiety~) But I figured it’s not doing any good sitting unpublished. I know I haven’t really been creating a whole lot of Mayans content lately, but hoping to get back into the swing of it soon! xo

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You were sat on the couch in your apartment, headset on as you started another round of Warzone with Angel, EZ, and Coco. The four of you tried to band together at least twice a week when their lives would allow for it, all playing from your respective apartments. Coco heard you mention something off-hand about Call of Duty one night and he didn’t let it go, and somehow that evolved into the four of you running quads together in your free time. Coco and Angel were always getting intermittently suspended from the game for the things that they said when they were winning, and you and EZ found it endlessly entertaining.

“Thought you weren’t going to be on tonight, Y/N,” Angel commented as the two of you waited for EZ and Coco to get back to their headsets, each of them having gotten up to grab drinks.

You tried not to sigh, “Didn’t think I was. Plans got cancelled so I got some unexpected free time.”

“Glad we’re your second choice,” EZ’s voice founds its way over the stream with a chuckle.

“Second place ain’t that bad, EZ,” you laughed, “Don’t bitch about it.”

“Homeboy bailed again, didn’t he?” Angel asked, already fairly certain of the answer.

“Yuup,” you stretched the word out, letting your annoyance shine through, “Fuck it. Doesn’t matter,” you paused, “How long does it take for Coco to grab a fuckin’ beer?”

“Ay, I’m here,” he spoke up, finally, “Let’s run it.”

Considering the fact that the four of you were constantly talking amongst yourselves about things that had nothing to do with the game, you did pretty well as a team. You’d get a few wins together every week, and of course one of them was always trying to take all the credit. It didn’t matter enough for you to get involved, so you let them argue it out amongst themselves.

“Fuck!” Coco groaned, “Team on me. I’m down.”

You laughed, “Damn, hope you’re a better sniper in real life or Angel and EZ are screwed.”

“Shut the fuck up,” he shot back at you with a laugh.

“EZ how do you always end up in a completely different part of the map?” you chuckled, “We can’t revive you if we don’t know where the fuck you are.”

“When have I ever needed you guys to revive me?”

“This motherfucker,” Angel mumbled under his breath, trying not to sound as amused as he was.

“It doesn’t bother your man that you’re spending your night with three dudes who are, objectively, way better than he is?” Angel asked with a laugh as he trailed you in the game.

You shook your head, glad that he couldn’t see the smile on your face, “Your humility never ceases to amaze me, Angel.”

“Didn’t answer the question, Y/N,” EZ piped up.

“You guys trying to hold an intervention right now or something? Fuck,” you laughed.

“You think you need one, querida?” Angel’s tone was baiting, and you were trying not to feed into it.

Luckily, before he could keep pressing you about it, the two of you started getting lit up by another team in the game. Normally it would’ve been frustrating but you were glad to have the distraction. It was bad enough that Angel was always looking for any excuse to give you grief about your boyfriend, but you had to admit that your boyfriend gave Angel decent amounts of metaphorical ammo to use against him. You hated conceding to that, though, so the onslaught of players coming after you was a welcome distraction.

You managed to get out of it unscathed, but Angel wasn’t so lucky. You chuckled, “Have fun in the gulag, sucker.”

“We’re on the same team, you know,” he laughed.

“Not when you’re talking all that shit, we aren’t.”

“You’d still buy me back though, right?”

You scoffed, “Nah if I’m gonna drop four grand it’ll be on Coco.”

“Damn straight,” Coco’s laugh rang through the chat.

“Seriously where the fuck is EZ?” you shook your head as you sprinted across the map.

“Safe and sound unlike you fools,” he chuckled.

“Can you stop camping and come drop me some ammo?” you couldn’t hold your laughter in, completely undoing any work you had been putting in to sound annoyed.

Despite all the shit the four of you talked, you managed to clutch a win at the end of it with EZ and Coco. Angel was pouting over not being bought back, but you were a woman of your word and when you were able to Coco was the first player you brought back into the game. The four of you stayed on for a little bit in the lobby, just talking amongst yourselves before EZ and Coco got ready to sign off.

“Tell your man we said wassup,” Coco snickered.

You sighed and rolled your eyes, “Goodbye, Coco.”

“You two gonna play nice if I leave?” the smugness in EZ’s voice was palpable.

“No promises,” you laugh.

“Beat it, Boy Scout,” you could hear the smile in Angel’s voice, “Go clean your one set of silverware or something.”

“I have at least three sets now, but fine,” with one last laugh he left the lobby, leaving just you and Angel behind.

“Wanna run another one?” you chuckled, “Promise I’ll buy you back this time.”

“Fuckin’ liar,” he laughed, “But fine.”

It was silent between the two of you for a few minutes and it was almost eerie, solely because Angel was notorious for never keeping his mouth shut. A couple times you wanted to point it out, but something in the game would always distract you and you never quite got around to it.

“Boy Wonder still not home?” Angel asked.

“Something tells me that I’m flying solo tonight,” you paused, letting a half-hearted laugh fall from your lips, “Besides you, of course.”

“Of course,” he chuckled but you could tell that there was something more behind it.

“Whatchu thinking, Angelito? Hm?” you tried to coax it out of him.

“What kind of fuckin’ idiot,” he paused as he reloaded his gun, the brief pause making your stomach knot slightly, “doesn’t use dead silence? I hear your heavy feet from miles away, querida.”

You huff, knowing that he was deflecting, “That’s what’s weighing on you, Angel? Really?” your fingers nervously drummed against the back of your controller.

“Speaking of idiots,” he continued, and you wished that you could see his face, “what the fuck is your man doing ditching you again?”

There it is.

You let out a sigh that shifts into a hollow laugh, “Your guess is as good as mine.”

“Never thought to ask?”

You scoff, “You know, it actually never crossed my mind. Blowing my whole world wide open tonight.”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckled, “Clearly a touchy topic.”

“I don’t even know if I want the fucking answer, at this point,” you shake your head as the two of you slowly but surely make your way towards the safe zone of the map, “I don’t want another bullshit excuse.”

“Why do you even bother sticking around, then?”

“I dunno,” you chuckle quietly, “Why do you still pick up the AK when you could grab the M13? Sometimes people just do dumb shit.”

“I’m nasty with the AK and you know it,” he laughed. There were a few beats of silence as the two of you battled it out in the game, covering each other before Angel continued, “I’m just sayin’, you should not be spending your date night playing fuckin’ Warzone with me.”

“My company that bad, Angel?”

“You know that ain’t what this is about.”

You sighed, “I know. It’s just—fuck!” you laughed and let your controller drop into your lap, “I’m down. Fuck.”

“C’mon, gotta keep your head in the game,” he laughed.

“You don’t get to grill me on my relationship and then give me shit for being distracted.”

“Wanna back out?”

You nodded before you remembered that he couldn’t see you, “Uh, yea sure. I’m tapped out for the night, I think.”

Both of you backed out of the match but you stayed on the line with each other. The silence that filled the space between you almost felt heavy. Part of you felt like you should be saying something but you didn’t quite know what.

“Wanna come over?” you didn’t know what possessed you to say that, especially given how late it was, but it was out there now and you couldn’t take it back.

“Now?” he couldn’t pretend that he wasn’t surprised.

“I mean…yea?”

There was a pause before he laughed, “Fuck it, why not? I’ll be there in fifteen.”

“Real fifteen, or Angel fifteen?”

You could easily picture him shaking his head at you, “Real fifteen.”

True to his word, fifteen minutes later you heard a knock at your door. You let him in and for some reason, things felt just a little bit different. It wasn’t anything that either of you said or did, but there was definitely a shift. You grabbed a couple beers for each of you before plopping down on the couch next to him.

The two of you got wrapped up in conversation, bantering back and forth about one thing then another. It was the hardest that you’d laughed in a long time and you had to admit that you needed it. Not that you didn’t love shooting back and forth with him and the guys, but there was definitely something different about sitting on the couch together and joking around as opposed to doing it over a headset from your separate living rooms.

At one point he bet you that you couldn’t win a round without your headset on. You were fairly certain that he was right, but once he made a bet out of it you needed to prove him wrong. Loading the game and taking a long drink from your next beer bottle, you got ready to hopefully make yourself twenty bucks richer.

It was about as futile as you’d assumed it would be, but the commentary from Angel made the repeated defeats worth it. The two of you were shoulder to shoulder on the couch, Angel doing everything except reaching over and snatching the controller from you in an attempt to throw you off. You playfully nudged him to try and put some distance between you as you played. Both of you were erupting with laughter when you heard a key turn in the lock of your door.

Both of you paused and looked over as your boyfriend walked in. Despite the fact that neither you nor Angel were doing anything wrong, you still felt like you were supposed to be explaining yourself. He only looked at you for a moment before his eyes locked onto Angel’s. The two of them had only met briefly on a few occasions—he never really hung out with the guys from the MC.

“Sorry. Didn’t know you had company,” he was still looking at Angel rather than you.

“Uh, yea,” you closed out of the game and leaned back on the couch, “Kind of a last-minute thing.”

“If you’re busy, I can leave,” his eyes darted back and forth between you and Angel.

“She shoulda been busy a few fuckin’ hours ago, bro,” Angel spoke up before he could stop himself.

“What?” his tone had more bite to it than you were used to.

“Angel, don’t,” you kept your voice quiet.

“No, let him say what he’s gotta say,” you could tell by the way your boyfriend shifted his weight that he was going to turn this into more than it needed to be.

“I’m just saying,” Angel shook his head slightly, “Me and my boys have spent more time with your girl on your date nights than you have lately,” he sucked his teeth, “No reason that she should be stuck playing fuckin’ Warzone with us jokers when you’re supposed to be taking her to dinner and a movie or some shit.”

“Fuck,” you whispered as you ran your hands down your face.

He stepped forward towards the couch, “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

Angel stood up off the sofa, effectively dwarfing your boyfriend without even having to try, “Who the fuck are you?”

Your boyfriend looked over to you, “Y/N, why do you le—”

“Nah, nah,” Angel shook his head, “This is between us now,” he motioned back and forth between them, “Say what you gotta say.”

“What gives you the right to come in here and tell me what to do with my relationship? Don’t you got biker shit you should be doing?”

“What do you think I’m doin’ right now?” there was a cocky smirk on Angel’s face as he spoke and you knew that you shouldn’t have found it as amusing as you did.

You must’ve been worse at hiding your amusement than you thought, because when your boyfriend looked over at you, anger instantly took over his features, “This shit funny to you, Y/N?”

All of the care in you disappeared, “I mean,” you sighed and shrugged, “honestly? A little bit.”

He scoffed, “You know what? I don’t fucking need this,” he shook his head, “I’m not gonna stay here and just be disrespected. I’m fucking, I’m done. I’m out.”

You knew that you should’ve felt something, but you just didn’t. You didn’t even bother to get up off the couch, “Leave your key on the way out, then.”

Both he and Angel looked at you with surprised expressions on their faces. Your boyfriend shook his head slightly in disbelief, “Wh-what?”

“If you’re done,” you leaned forward, elbows resting on your knees, “then leave your key to my place. I don’t want my ex to be able to get into my place whenever he wants.”

He sputtered a few fractions of words before tossing the key onto the table and turning to head out. He slammed the door behind him and Angel looked back to you, shock written all over his face. A smile crept across his lips and he shook his head at you.

“That was fuckin’ cold.”

You chuckled, shrugging, “Was a long time coming though, right?”

“I mean, yea, but still,” he paused, really looking at you, “You good?”

You nodded, “Right now? Yea. Maybe it’ll hit me tomorrow or something. Or maybe it won’t,” you had to laugh.

“Sorry I kinda brought this on,” you could tell by the look in his eyes that the apology was genuine.

You shrugged, “You and your big fuckin’ mouth certainly didn’t help,” you chuckled, “But none of that was on you.”

“You wanna talk abou—"

“No,” you cut him off with a shake of your head, “C’mon,” you motioned for him to sit down next to you again, “Time for you to lose without a headset on.”

He laughed as he sat next to you, “I ain’t gonna lose.”

You smiled, shaking your head as he took the controller in his hands. Without thinking much of it, you found yourself settling against his side. He froze up for a moment before reaching around you, lightly wrapping you up as he held the controller in his hands. Neither of you said anything about it for a few minutes while he got himself set up.

You chuckled as you watched him loot for weapons, “Still gonna use the goddamn AK?”

“The gun isn’t what’s gonna make me lose, querida,” he chuckled as he chanced a glance down at you cozied up against his side.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” you smiled up at him knowingly.

He chuckled, shaking his head, “Nothin’, nothin’.”

#mayans mc #mayansmc #mayans fx #mayans mc imagine #angel reyes #angel reyes x you #angel reyes x reader #angel reyes imagine #angel reyes fanfic #my writing #fanfiction #drabblesmc

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sewerpigeonart · 4 years

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i have so many other things to be doing but instead i am thinking about zhongli (long disorganized stream of consciousness post under the cut sskjfdkw)

he is having to face that the time of adepti is passed, a bittersweet development because it’s literally like a parent realizing their child has grown up when they weren’t looking and that they don’t need you anymore, not the way they once did. zhongli and the adepti are calmly receding, relinquishing their governance. but zhongli still upholds his duty to contracts, to order, to the truth because he was rex lapis, and to him it is an objective responsibility to maintain history in a way that it will be accurately remembered so that future generations can make wisened decisions to avoid past mistakes or honor past prides.

but zhongli can’t do this as a god anymore, he does this as a man, as a mortal which is something that is obviously not natural to him but he is finding a certain peace in it, even a delight in the challenge and in the way he now has to alter his perspective and approach to things. and we can sense the age and wisdom that emanates from this now mysterious mortal man, yet he maintains a humility that a normal person would be less likely to possess if they were as educated and confident in their knowledge as zhongli. people trust him because he is, excuse the pun, so down-to-earth. but even though he is millenia old, this new “transformation” of sorts, or this transition of power for him has gifted him a new sort of innocence that doesn’t keep him from resonating with empathetic people (i.e. us, the audience, more or less), for example his dumb bitch disease when it comes to money management. it’s hilarious that he is THOUSANDS of years old and has all this age-old wisdom and insight and is so ponderous but at the same time he’s that one friend who is always borrowing money and you’re like “seriously, dude?”

but can you imagine how lonely it must be to be 6,700 years old and all the memories and loss and the degree of necessary emotional distance from everything you’ve seen and done but still upholding a sense of duty to the truth, the fact that he was there for all this history, these cataclysmic events and destruction and yet the constructive evolution of liyue all the same. his idle line “where are those who share the memory?” just aches bc it’s a glimpse past this objective exterior. you sort of forget that oh yeah, he’s a god, and he’s only just recently beginning to immerse himself in the mortal experience. people need other people, it’s intrinsic to the species’ nature. for all intents and purposes, he simply was a god, and now he has to navigate the world like anybody else.

in-game he is described as “particular,” which makes him sound sort of anal and rude but he’s really just passionate. he knows things, and his sense of duty to order and accuracy makes him “picky” because he is passionate about things being done right, whether it be contracts or a bowl of soup. and he loves to share his knowledge! he wants to show us things and give us interesting tidbits of information. think about how you feel when someone gives you the opportunity to indulge your personal knowledge and passions, how exciting it is to show people you care about things and places that are meaningful to you. “where do you want to go next?” he suggests he can take us to liyue’s hotspots, but in reality it’s plain he’s pretty much down for whatever because he’s sort of already been there/done that with many, many things, but he gets to relive them in a different way when sharing that with someone else.

but then i can’t help thinking of the few ways we as his companions can return the favor to zhongli, to give him new experiences in certain ways, because he *is* so unaccustomed to what it means to be mortal, to be a plain old human. like at the end of his story quest when you’re standing at the top of the stone peak at guyun forest and he’s just like, “i think i’m going to stay here a while,” because he essentially wants to allow himself time away to reminisce on these ancient memories he has, so many of which that he doesn’t get to pay them the respects as often as he feels they deserve.

i remember at that part just being like sir i want to HUG you, and then i was like but what if you DID hug him. like how might that affect him? he’s practically 7000 years old, he knows what a hug is, but i can’t imagine from his position it was an action frequently engaged in because it is so human, and you just kind of give him that form of support because you’re just a little baby human person, you’ll never comprehend the griefs and memories and weights this guy always had and always will carry, but you can relate to the aspect that sometimes we all just need solace, so u give him a lil hug, and maybe at first he’s like “what’s happening” and maybe he doesn’t hug back bc it’s not so natural for him but just as you recognized a certain vulnerability in him, he recognizes this is what humans do to comfort their friends, he knows this is how mortals express support and care and he has a passing moment of being like, “oh, right, part of being human is sharing experiences, but not all experiences are about traveling or eating—this too is part of the mortal experience, what it means to be human” and im,,

#genshin impact #zhongli #genshin spoilers #soft spoilers #zhongli genshin impact #this is embarrassingly disorganized stream of conscious im sorry #i am just obsessed w his character #sorry to go weeb on main #comfort character hours #this is what i think about at 5am is hugging anime characters

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fe-semi-decent-scenarios · 4 years

Note

oooh could you do protective headcanons for the golden deer too??🥺

{I most certainly can. Y’all know I love these tropes so keep ‘em coming. Hope it’s to your liking! :3}

Claude:

6/10

Neutral, with just a tad bit of nerves.

Look. Claude has bigger fish to fry than what you’re gallivanting on about during the day. The man has a dream to catch with literally a country and 1/3 (woot woot alliance) on his shoulders.

First, the future. Then, you. Can’t have a life together if there is no place for it to be had, yeah?

This doesn’t mean that he never worries about you. Quite the contrary, if he begins then he can’t stop. So he doesn’t tinker the thought.

Instead he has his most trusted allies at your back. During the Academy days you were left under Hilda’s watchful eye, and during the war you are always nearby (courtesy of matchmaker Prof.Byleth)

Once he puts a ring on it you’ll have guards. No problem.

He also trusts your own capabilities. One doesn’t train every day to walk out with nothing

Also

You make me laugh if you think Claude believes you’ll ever cheat on him

Not that he’s cocky okay, maybe a bit but no one would dare put the moves on “The Master Tactician’s” s/o

Any suitor coming your way is peasant fodder. If not to him, than to your own personal retaliation.

Yupp, nothing to worry about. You’ve got it covered. He’ll only step in if you physically come ask him

and with a bit of teasing he’ll comply

However, Claude is very sensitive to illness for obvious reasons. This is why he’s listed at a six. He always insists on tasting your food

It was a gimmick at first, and in the beginning he’d make banter to sneak a bite while you remain all unknowing of his true intentions

He’ll be damned if someone ever poisons you. They won’t ever get the chance

Ignatz:

9/10

Let us face it. Iggy is a worry-wart.

He freaks out over the most minuscule of situations. The poor lad nearly gets a heart attack at least once a day

And no, i’m not just referring to his pre-timeskip self. Ignatz may have grown a head taller, got a backbone, fancy harem artist pants--but no, he did not lose his inner anxious zealot. That trait will cling until the day he dies sadly

Having you at his side only makes things worse (in a good way. The trouble is worth it to him)

Especially if you’re more of the risky sort. Expect him to mother hen if you cause ruckus around the monastery. He can and will lecture you to death (only to apologize and hide away after)

Now not only does he worry about his own issues, but also yours. I swear Ignatz acts like you are his second being. If someone scolds you, hurts you, etc. he acts like they did it to him

Can be a bit dramatic, not gonna lie. He gets so worked up that his ears go red. Like, you can just t e l l he’s holding so much back because he doesn’t want to go too far

Don’t even get me started on if someone tries to make a move on you

He becomes t o r n. It isn’t his place to tell you who to hang around, but ohmygodwhatifyourealizeheisn’tgoodenough

iggy no, bad iggy. don’t think like that

He feels threatened so easily and not many would peg him the jealous type. He is, but hides it very well.

If need be he will talk out his feelings with you. That’s something noteworthy of Ignatz: he uses his words. He may find communicating such thoughts aloud difficult, but if he truly is concerned then he will be honest with you.

Raphael:

10/10

Raphael believes in trust. He expects you to be honest and to not keep anything important secret. In return he’ll do the same.

This is why he doesn’t care if someone is flirting. He could give less of a thought on gossip, rumors, or anything really. That effort can go towards training

He truly, honest to Sothis, trusts you with all his heart. There isn’t any time to spend doing otherwise. Raph just wants to live happily and that means having you by his side

Nor does he feel intimidated by anyone else either. I’m not saying that he reeks of resolved confidence, but Raph believes that you love him. Love topples any mindless flirting that other people throw your way

but let’s get one thing straight

If anybody, and I mean ANYBODY, tries to hurt you

This guy’s having them for b r e a k f a s t. Pounded, sliced, and Smoked. The same way he liked his bacon.

You are his family. Raphael protects his family, and those he cares about.

You will never be alone. Goddess if you cry and someone else is the cause then he will take action. One fault of Raph is that while he’s a sweetie, he doesn’t think before acting a lot. Similar to Caspar, he just goes for it

It takes a lot to get underneath Raph’s skin.

In short: do not f*ck with his loved ones. He would take on Nemisis himself mono-e-mono if it meant protecting them

Lorenz:

8/10

Y’all going to sit there and try to convince me that Lorenz Hellman Gloucester doesn’t try to establish dominance?

Key word: try

He’s quickly shut down

“Lorenz if you tell one more person that we’re betrothed, I swear that I’ll shave off your eyebrows” - You, one month post-confession

Saying that you’re his perfect match is no excuse. Considering all the preaching he does on noble humility, you’d think he would want your private affairs off the notice board?

It doesn’t take long for your peers to start complaining. Claude finds his behavior entertaining, but not a day goes by that someone doesn’t beg you to make him shut up

Lorenz is also a bit old fashioned. He doesn’t like the idea of you fighting more than necessary

Once again, shut down

Best way to deal with Lorenz is to let him think he has his way, then just do whatever. He gets upset, pouts, spouts his normal lecture, but then relents. All in due process with him

Never thought I’d say this, but perhaps requesting not to be in the same troop together is the best option? You’d think he would fight better with an S tier relationship at his side? Nahhh. HE TAKES YOUR KILLS IT IS NOT FAIR

He gives too much attention to what you’re doing, and not the enemy. Best if you stay separated

Ugh pray no one hits on you in front of him. Just... *screams* I don’t think anyone will, just to avoid him getting defensive. I swear the other deer take extensive preventative measures to avoid it.

Hilda:

6/10

C’mon. This is Hilda we’re talking about

You two most likely grew closer because she “asks” you for help so often

Just like Claude, she has bigger fish to fry. The last type of person she wants to be is Holst (she loves him though don’t misinterpret that)

She does worry though

Not enough to make her take the front lines, but a smidgen. Just to where you’ll get periodic check in’s

Nothing obvious. A simple “what’s going on?” as she inquired about your well-being

A precarious scan-over as she checks for any new scars

She does get jealous though. There’s an entire castle full of available people and someone chooses to flirt with you?

That just doesn’t make sense. Perhaps the “once something is taken it becomes more desirable,” saying has some truth

She’s quite the clinger. You’ll just be walking and suddenly, BOOM, bubble-gum pink arm-candy in the corner of your vision

Once you two bypass the ‘puppy-love’ early stages, she changes.

Despite her negligence beforehand, she does become overprotective

Will fight if needed. Say you have a paralogue? Just so happens she was nearby and wants to tag along

She also has to protect you from Holst. My dear, you cannot do that yourself. Brotherly wrath beseeches you, my god. Run dude run

Marianne:

3/10

A possessive streak is nonexistent in her blood. Such thing is a personal fear of her’s. Marianne refuses to conform to the stereotypes associated with her crest

However, she does believe that one day you may leave her side. Marianne isn’t the most confident person. She...doubts

Often does she wonder if you’re there solely to make her hurt. To love her and then one day disappear without a trace

Anxieties like so will not go away overnight. She will not seek reassurance, which makes her more uncommunicative than most partners

but no one is perfect. Neither are you. All you personally can do is politely decline any advances, and do your best to let Marianne know that you love her

She isn’t particularly protective in any other sense either. She’ll heal you if needed, but special attention isn’t there

Marianne treats being a healer like how an ER doctor operates. On the field, everyone is equal. She is needed everywhere and cannot stay by your side. Otherwise lives will be lost, and that won’t be good for her conscience.

The same goes for all other aspects. If you’re gone, then you’re gone. If you’re sick, then you’re sick. She cannot give you special attention and acts in accordance to severity of the situation. Patients cannot be weighed in value via personal bias

She has a surprisingly strong sense of self control, let me tell ya.

Lysithea:

7/10

She...does not have much time. Entering a romantic relationship was not a possibility that crossed her mind once before you

Why bother when the ending is certain? Why leave someone brokenhearted, or a widow? Why give herself that extra stress when she’s already under so much as it is?

You can’t blame her for being extra cautious. While her life may be hanging on a string, that doesn’t mean yours has to end

After some time she develops a resolve. If needed she would gladly lay her life down if it meant you could live another day

A problematic conclusion. You two will argue often over how she cannot trade a ‘life for a life,’ just because of her special circumstances. Her mind always enforces that it’s the logical decision, and has trouble recognizing her own value

I suppose that comes with being a know-it-all, huh? Once her mind is set then there is no changing it

Despite her brain sending all the signals that acting on jealousy is wrong...well, we know Lysithea

She won’t come out and say she gets protective for your sake. Apparently anyone flirting with you already had business with her

Business that miraculously unfolds once you leave. Then suddenly they no longer have an interest?

What’d she do? Threaten to shove a thoron up their rectum? No one knows

Leonie:

9/10

She is the mom who’d create a strict morning routine for her kids to follow before school

Or a thorough itinerary on a vacation

Not a moment or bullion to be wasted!

Cannot express enough how much this girl cares. She can become annoying from all the interference, but you’ll never become a bum with her in your life

You might want to ask her to butt out. Remind her that you’re not one of the kids from her village, and that you can handle yourself

Sometimes you’ll joke and say “yes mom,” because she gets b o s s y

Which will earn you either: a) a glare, or b) her playing along and confusing everyone else

So in a sense, yeah she’s protective. Overbearing in her own Leonie way

Not the jealous type. Leonie doesn’t look at what other people have, and instead focuses on her own life. If someone wants to shamelessly throw themselves at your feet then that’s their issue. You know better than to cheat on her

I can see her complaining to the captain or to Byleth though. Why waste time when the issue can easily be solved? Obviously someone with the time to flirt has time to do training drills

Bonus! Cyril: (because during my first play-through I kept expecting GD to take him under their wing. They did not, and Nintendo missed out.)

5/10

He personally hates being treated like a child. When someone doesn’t take him seriously Cyril’s self restraint goes b o o m

So he won’t do that to you. You’re a capable individual and that’s that. Nothing more for him to interfere with

His only protective streak lies when you’re incapable of doing things yourself. Aka: injured, ill, resting, etc.

He’ll nag you for not being careful, but it’s not hard to miss the tears pricking his eyes

He’s also very perceptive towards break-in’s. Many people have tried to kidnap/assassinate people of higher standing. He’s witnessed many attempts towards lady Rhea. I see him taking night shifts for patrol often, and after the war the habit sticks with him.

He takes a lot onto his shoulders often. It’s not bad. Being dedicated is an admirable trait, yet if you’re down someone will have to stop him from picking up the slack.

He’s no healer, and leaves that job to the professionals. However he doesn’t want anyone to disturb you with the work your missing. So he’ll do it in your stead

Manuela lets him stay in the infirmary past visitation hours. Mostly because he’s so busy during the day that he can’t come by

He won’t return to his room those nights. He prefers to be by your side, just in case.

Other than this type of situation- no, he’s not protective in the slightest.

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malarkay · 3 years

Text

To Walk With Dreams and Darkness: Chapter One

Summary: The year: 1982. The place: Brixton, London, England. Piper is a normal 11-year-old kid trying to enjoy the summer holiday with her foster brothers, Aaron and Finn. But when a stranger shows up bearing an acceptance letter to a place called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she’s swept away to a magical world, one that is just beginning to heal from a brutal, decade-long war. There she will make new friends and new enemies. And she just might find herself a part of something bigger than she ever imagined.

Chapter 1:

Minerva studied him with a tight-lipped look of disapproval. "I trust you aren't planning on delivering this letter dressed like that."

Arygyn made a show of looking down at his outfit, a deep aqua robe trimmed in red, with billowy sleeves and metallic gold feathers embroidered around the cuffs and high collar, "Not colourful enough?"

Minerva's stern façade didn't crack. "I see that your time away from us has not granted you any more maturity. Or humility."

"I know how terribly disappointed you'd be if it had," he said, grinning at her.

She went on as if he hadn't spoken. "Given the circumstances of your resignation, I had foolishly assumed you'd be on your best behaviour to prove to the Headmaster that he made the right decision in inviting you back."

"Oh? And what do you know of the 'circumstances of my resignation'?" he asked airily.

"Need I remind you that I am Deputy Headmistress of this school? There aren't many secrets the Headmaster keeps from me. Do you think I don't know what prompted your departure?"

That sobered him up. "Minerva," he began, but she held up a hand.

"What's done is done. We cannot change the past. We can only strive to do better moving forward."

He felt his face flush. He wasn't easily embarrassed, but Minerva McGonagall had always possessed the rare ability to discomfit him, even as children.

"Back to the matter at hand, I took the liberty of choosing a Muggle outfit for you to wear on this assignment." She nodded to the folding screen that blocked off a small corner of her office.

He walked behind the screen to discover a brown tweed suit with a white button-down shirt and matching brown tie.

"Minerva, no!"

His protestation was met with a soft noise of amused satisfaction from her.

Grudgingly, he changed into the suit. Emerging from the privacy of the screen, he frowned at her as she smiled in open amusement now. "I think you forget something," she pointed out, her gaze flicking up to his hair.

He sighed, retrieving his wand from the inner pocket of his jacket and pointing it at his head. "Colovaria!" He looked at the mirror she had hanging on the wall, watching as his hair and beard faded from their glorious green and purple to his natural dirty blond.

"Well, I hope you're happy," he said, carding his fingers through his hair self-consciously.

"Oh, you have no idea," she responded, holding out an envelope sealed with the Hogwarts crest in red wax. "I won't keep you any longer. This letter is already late."

~*~*~

"I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"Aww, c'mon, Piper! They're bullies! They deserve this!"

Piper frowned. Finn, one of her foster brothers, had a point. The gang of older kids had caused them nothing but grief since they'd known them, constantly picking on them for no other reason than the fact that they were younger and smaller than them. And now here they were, clowning around in the corner shop while their bikes laid unlocked and unattended outside. Still….

"I know they're bullies, but we're not thieves."

She looked over to her other foster brother, confident that he would back her up. But he was staring at the bikes with a mischievous gleam in his green eyes. She nudged him with her elbow to get his attention. "Right, Aaron?"

"Let's do this!" Aaron said with finality, and Finn pumped his fist in the air, certain that the matter was settled with Aaron on board with his plan.

"I can't believe you two!" she hissed.

"What's the matter? Do you not know how to ride a bike or something?" Finn challenged.

"Of course I know how to ride a bike! Probably better than you! I…" she stopped abruptly when she noticed his triumphant grin. "Finnegan Fletcher! I will not be goaded into going along with your stupid plan!"

"God, Piper, why do you always have to be such a goody-goody?"

"I wouldn't have to be if you'd stop being such a screw-up!"

He mouthed her words mockingly back at her, and she was about to really lay into him when he suddenly grinned. "Hey Piper, guess what?"

"What?" she spat at him.

"Too late," he said, punctuating his words with a pair of finger guns. She looked to where he was pointing. While they were busy bickering, Aaron had gone and nicked one of the bikes, mounting it. Finn laughed and ran over to do the same, and she had no choice but to follow or be left behind to deal with the consequences.

She glanced through the glass door of the shop as she took a bike, making sure no one had noticed them. Luckily, the two leaders of the gang seemed to be embroiled in an argument of their own, which wasn't an uncommon occurrence. They were a brother-sister duo, a pair of upper-middle-class kids in their late teens who tried to cultivate a working-class punk image but couldn't quite pull it off. Nonetheless, they had managed to amass a following of half a dozen townies who followed them wherever they went. It was their bikes that she and Aaron had been sure to pick. She wasn't sure who Finn's belonged to.

"Let's get out of here before they figure out what's going on," she said.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

With that, they pedalled like mad all the way home. Between their front garden and their neighbour's was a tall privacy hedge with a large hollow spot in the centre. It had made for a great little secret hideout when they were younger, and it was the perfect place to stash their contraband bicycles now. With the bikes hidden, she began walking up to their house when she spotted the white sedan parked out front and froze in her tracks. "Um, guys, was Ms Davies supposed to visit today?"

"No, she's not supposed to come until Monday," Aaron answered.

"They know about the bikes!" she yelped. She wheeled on Finn and poked him hard in the chest with a finger. "This is all your fault! What if she's here to take us away from the Wrights because of this? We'll be separated and never see each other again!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Aaron cut in, putting a hand on Piper's shoulder. "Piper, calm down! There's no way they know about the bikes. It's only been twenty minutes."

"Well, she's here early for some reason, and that can't be good," Piper said, worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

"What if she is here to take one of us away?" Finn asked, sounding worried now. "Not 'cause of the bikes, but just because."

"There's no reason to think that," Aaron said confidently.

"No reason to think that? Mate, when was the last time she ever came for an unscheduled visit?" Finn pointed out.

Aaron opened his mouth to answer, but he must have realized he didn't have a good response because he closed it again.

"Listen, standing here and worrying isn't going to do us any good," Piper decided. Taking a deep breath, she marched up the walkway to the front door before she lost her nerve. Pushing open the door, she was greeted by the sight of her foster mother, social worker, and a tall, suited man she had never seen before sitting in the parlour sharing a pot of tea.

"And that," the man said with a dramatic flourish of one hand. "Is how I narrowly avoided getting expelled from H-ah, Saint Cyprian's, myself!" He had a flamboyant, lilting way of speaking that didn't fit his stuffy appearance. She and her brothers stood gaping in the doorway as Agatha Wright and Florence Davies burst into scandalized laughter at his tale.

"Oh my," Agatha said, dabbing at her eyes with a napkin. "Well, I don't expect our Piper will be getting into such mischief. She's never been any trouble."

"Speak of the dickens!" the mysterious man said, eyes falling upon the trio. Putting his teacup down, he stood and swept over to them. "Piper Cochran, I presume?"

She nodded hesitantly, and he gave a bow that was every bit as dramatic as his earlier flourish had been. "I am Professor Skeelur, and I represent Saint Cyprian's School for Gifted Children."

Beside her, Finn giggled and nudged Aaron. "Is it just me, or does that sound like something straight out of the X-Men?"

"You two strapping lads must be Aaron and Finnegan!"

Aaron grinned, and Finn puffed out his chest. No one had ever called them strapping before, certainly not skinny little Finn. "Yes, sir," Aaron answered for them. "If you don't mind my asking, why are you here?"

"I don't mind at all. I am here to offer Ms Cochran here a spot at our school. You see, her excellent marks make her just the kind of pupil we look for."

Piper's eyes lit up. "Really? I've never heard of this school. Is it here in London?"

"Scotland, actually. It's a boarding school."

"Oh," Piper said, her face falling. "Sounds expensive."

Ms Davies spoke up from her spot on the sofa. "The school covers tuition, room, and board. Money's no issue. And should you choose to attend, you'll receive the stipend the Wrights receive for your care during the time school is in session, for school supplies, and anything else you might need while you're away."

Piper looked hopeful, "And I'll get to come back here when school isn't in session?"

"Of course," Agatha said, beckoning her over and pulling her into a hug. "You will always have a place here. You know that."

Professor Skeelur clapped his hands together, bringing their attention back to him. "Now, there are a few details that need to be discussed before Piper makes her decision. Is there somewhere that Ms Davies and I can speak to Piper privately?"

Agatha nodded. "She has her own room; you can speak in there."

Piper led them to her room. The professor shut the door and then, much to her confusion, he pulled a pale, slightly gnarled stick from the inside pocket of his jacket and pointed it at the door. "Sanctum impervius!"

"Now then, we can speak freely," he said, turning to her. "I must confess that I wasn't entirely honest with you back there. There is no Saint Cyprian's. I'm here on behalf of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Smile, kid! Your life just got a whole lot more interesting! You're a witch."

She frowned.

"Is this a joke? Because if it is, it's not funny." She had actually been stupid enough to believe that she had gotten accepted into a good school. She should have known better.

"Piper," Ms Davies said gently. "It's not a joke."

She scoffed, and the professor – if that's what he really was – added, "And I can prove it."

"What are you going to do? Pull a rabbit out of a hat? Saw Ms Davies in half?" Piper asked sarcastically.

If anything, her mockery just made his grin widen. "You misunderstand. You're not going to be learning parlour tricks. You're going to be learning real magic. Like this! Well, not exactly like this. There aren't many witches and wizards who can do this. But it'll give you an idea."

He stepped back, giving himself room, and then…well, then she couldn't quite believe her eyes. He began to warp and shift until suddenly the man was gone, and in his place was a bird. It had iridescent blue-green feathers, a red underbelly, and a tail over twice its body length. It launched itself into the air and flew around the room.

Ms Davies gasped. Piper could only stare wide-eyed as the bird landed and transformed back into the professor.

"Close your mouth, kid. You'll catch flies," he told her. "Do you believe me now?"

"I'm dreaming," she decided.

Professor Skeelur stepped forward and delivered a sharp pinch to her arm.

"Ow! Why'd you do that?"

"To help you decide if you're dreaming or not. And what d'you know, it looks like you aren't!"

"So, you're really a wizard?"

"Yes."

"And I'm a witch?"

"Yes."

"And is Ms Davies a witch?" She looked curiously at the woman she thought she had known for half her life.

"No," Ms Davies said.

"She's a Muggle."

"Oh no, what's that?" Piper asked, wondering if her social worker would transform into some strange creature now, too.

"I don't have any magic," Ms Davies explained. "But you aren't the first case I've had who ended up being magical, so this didn't come as a complete shock to me. At least, not until he turned into a bird. I haven't seen that before!"

"Does Agatha know?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"The fewer Muggles who know about us, the better," Professor Skeelur explained. "We have pretty strict laws against revealing ourselves unnecessarily."

"But what about other people like me? Don't their families know?"

"Well, yes. Most Muggle-born children's immediate families are told."

"Then why can't Agatha, and Robert, and Aaron and Finn know? They're my family."

Professor Skeelur took a moment to consider her words, then shrugged. "Well, if you consider them family, then I suppose you can tell them if you want and if you think they can keep it to themselves. I leave that decision up to you. Oh! I almost forgot."

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out an envelope, handing it to her. She looked at the front, finding her name and address written in green ink. Flipping it over, she saw that it was closed with a wax seal. Snapping the seal, she pulled out the letter within. The first sheet of paper was an acceptance letter that rehashed what the professor had already told her. The second page was a list of school supplies she would need.

"Work robes, dragonhide gloves, pewter cauldron, a wand," she read aloud before skimming over the rest of the list, eyebrows raising. "Where am I supposed to get all this?"

"Diagon Alley."

"I don't know where that is."

"Well, of course you don't. That's part of the reason I'm here."

"You'll take me?"

"Yes. This very afternoon if Ms Davies doesn't mind driving us. I'd Apparate us there, but you're new to magic. I don't know how you'd respond, and frankly, I'd rather not have you getting sick on me."

Piper nodded. She didn't want to get sick on him, either.

When Ms Davies agreed, they told Agatha that she had accepted her spot at the school and that they were off to purchase school supplies, and then the three of them piled into Ms Davies' car. She drove them to Charing Cross Road, and the professor led them into and through a dilapidated pub and out into a back alley.

Taking out his wand, he tapped a series of bricks and, to Piper's amazement, the wall rearranged itself into an archway, revealing a whole new world beyond.

"Wow," she breathed.

Their first stop was to Gringotts Wizarding Bank, where Professor Skeelur and Ms Davies helped her set up an account and get her stipend money exchanged into wizarding currency. She tried not to stare too hard at the bankers, who the professor told her were goblins, during the transaction. She didn't want to be rude.

"Where to next?" the professor asked once they left the bank.

"Back near the entrance was a shop with a stack of cauldrons outside. I need one of those."

The professor nodded and led the way to the shop. He ended up negotiating a reasonable price for a display model that had no flaws other than a darker patina that suggested that it had been sitting there for some time.

Next door, they purchased a set of brass scales and a telescope before heading to the apothecary across the street to pick up a set of glass phials.

They passed a shop called Quality Quidditch Supplies that had a large window display showing off brooms, an odd assortment of balls, and protective gear. "What are the brooms for?" she asked.

"Flying, of course."

She stopped walking and stared at him before bursting into laughter. "You're telling me that witches actually do fly around on broomsticks?"

"All the time."

"Why haven't we ever seen any, then?"

"I told you, we're cautious about not revealing magic to Muggles."

They stopped off at the stationary store, where she purchased some quills, ink, and a pack of parchment rolls, along with some notebooks. Next came Flourish & Blotts. Stepping into the store, Piper felt her pulse jump. It was the most glorious bookshop she had ever seen in her life. The store was two stories tall, and floor-to-ceiling bookshelves ran along the perimeter of each floor. Smaller bookcases and tables stacked precariously high with books dotted the first floor, and even more books surrounded the checkout counter. The shop was large but was so cluttered that it felt cosy, warm, and inviting.

She slowly worked her way around the shop, perusing the books. There were hardcover and paperback books that were no different from those you'd find in a regular bookshop. But there were also ones bound in what Professor Skeelur claimed was dragon hide, as well as books bound in silk. There were giant books she could barely lift and tiny books with print so small she couldn't read it without a magnifying glass.

Eventually, she came across a section of second-hand textbooks. She carefully selected the best cared for ones she could find. In line at the checkout counter, she picked up a copy of a book called The Tales of Beedle the Bard. She flipped through the pages and asked, "Is this a book of fables?"

Professor Skeelur nodded, and Piper added it to her pile. "Aren't you a little old for children's stories?" he joked.

"Well, in the Muggle world, you can actually learn a lot about a culture by reading their fables. I imagine it's the same with the wizarding world. And I want to learn about you. About us."

The professor smiled a genuine smile and excused himself. After a moment, he came back with another book, this one titled Hogwarts: A History. "I think you'll like this one, too. I'll buy it for you."

"You don't have to do that," she told him.

"Of course I don't, kid. I want to. You're welcome."

She grinned as they paid for her books and reluctantly left the shop.

Next, they stopped at the professor's behest at Cranville Quincey's Magical Junk Shop shop. "All this stuff of yours is getting heavy," he complained. "Even split between the three of us. And by the three of us, I mean mostly me. Don't think I haven't noticed that I'm the one doing all the heavy lifting here."

He set down the bags he had been carrying, the ones with her books and cauldron, before searching through the small, cluttered shop. "Luck is on our side today!" he said, as he yanked a battered leather steamer trunk free from where it was wedged between an old wardrobe and an armchair that had seen better days. He checked the price tag and, satisfied with it, paid the shopkeeper and ushered them back outside.

Once out in the light of the sun, the trunk looked even less impressive. It was beyond beat up, with tears in the leather, a sagging lid, and a broken latch.

"Thanks," she said with as much politeness as she could muster.

Professor Skeelur smirked. "Nothing a little spit-shine won't fix."

"Please don't spit on it. It's been through enough."

"Piper!" Ms Davies said reproachfully.

But Professor Skeelur just laughed it off. "Watch and learn, Little Miss Sassy Pants!" He pointed his wand at the trunk and said, "Reparo!"

The trunk began to mend. The tears in the leather closed, the latch realigned itself and firmly reattached to the trunk, and the structural integrity of the lid was restored.

"Wow!"

"Oh, I'm not done." He pointed his wand again. "Installare rotae!"

The trunk rose a few centimetres off the ground. She looked closer and discovered that it was because locking wheels had been added to each corner of the trunk.

"Capacious extremis!" Piper watched but didn't notice anything different about the trunk. She looked at him quizzically. "Extension Charm," he explained. "It gives you more room on the inside. Now then, what's your favourite colour?"

"Blue."

"Colovaria!"

The dull brown leather of the chest transformed into a deep, royal blue that really made the brass fixtures pop.

"Wow…." She was getting a lot of use out of that word today.

"How do you like it now?" he asked smugly.

"I love it!"

"Good. Now pack your things away, and let's continue. We still need your robes and your wand."

They went to a second-hand robe shop next, where she found three sets of school uniforms and work robes in good shape for half the price the professor said Madam Malkin's would cost.

All that was left was her wand. The professor led them to a little shop toward the end of the street. "Ollivander," the professor told her, "is the best wandmaker in all of Britain. If there's one area you don't want to skimp on, it's your wand." Ms Davies elected to stay outside with her trunk so that things wouldn't get too cramped inside.

Ollivander's was a small, dimly lit shop. The air was stuffy and smelt faintly of dust. Shelves lined the wall behind the counter, each one stacked high with long, narrow boxes.

Behind the counter was a man with unruly white hair. Piper assumed he must be Mr Ollivander. He had his back turned as he searched the shelves, running his finger along a row of boxes before choosing one.

Setting it on the counter, he opened the lid, taking out a wand and offering it to the only other customer in the shop, a dark-haired girl her age.

"This one is blackthorn and unicorn hair, 11 inches, fairly flexible. A very loyal combination. Once the wand bonds with its owner, it's very unlikely to be won by another. Good for duelists."

The girl gave the wand a wave. When nothing happened, Mr Ollivander took the wand back, setting it aside with others that formed a small discard pile on the counter.

The man resumed his search of the shelves, choosing another. "Birch and phoenix feather, 12 inches, unyielding. Phoenix feather wands favour your family. Your father and grandmother were both chosen by them. Give it a try."

Piper looked up at Professor Skeelur. She wanted to ask him what the man meant by the wand choosing people, but he had his attention focused elsewhere. She followed his gaze to where a woman stood silently off to the side. She was an older, aristocratic woman dressed in black, Victorian-era clothing. Her long, sleek hair was either pure white or platinum blonde; Piper couldn't tell which. Her eyes were an icy blue and just as cold as she stared back at the professor with a level of antipathy that he matched.

"No?" Ollivander's voice drew her attention back to him and the girl. "Let's try this one. Elm and phoenix feather, 10 inches, pliable."

Again, nothing seemed to happen when the girl waved the wand, and the man added it to the pile of rejected wands.

Ollivander scanned the shelves, stroking his chin. A full minute of silence stretched out before he chose another box.

"Yew and dragon heartstring, 12 inches, rigid."

The girl perked up the moment the wand touched her hand. She raised the wand, and Piper jumped as a shower of silver sparks shot into the air, bathing the room in a ghostly glow before fading.

"Excellent!" Ollivander exclaimed. "I'll box this up for you."

The woman stepped up to the counter to pay for the wand, and the girl turned, finally noticing that they weren't alone. Casting a surreptitious glance toward the woman, making sure her attention was elsewhere, she walked over to them.

Face to face, Piper was able to get a better look at her. She was of a similar height to Piper with a pale, heart-shaped face and, unusually, deep violet eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the professor without preamble.

"Hogwarts business."

"Oh," the girl said, disappointment apparent in her tone. "I thought perhaps..." her eyes cut to Piper, and she elected not to finish her sentence. Instead, she studied Piper, eyeing her from head to toe and back again. "You're Muggle-born." It wasn't a question.

Piper nodded. "And you're," she hesitated for just a moment, realizing she wasn't sure of the proper terminology, but took a deep breath and ploughed on ahead anyway. "Witch-born."

Beside her, Professor Skeelur coughed, pressing a fist to his mouth. By the way his eyes sparkled, she could tell his cough was covering laughter.

The girl laughed outright, not bothering to hide her amusement. She stuck out a hand, "I'm Lark Cyclonis."

Before Piper could introduce herself, the woman was at Lark's side, slapping down her offered hand.

"Merlin's beard, Anarchis," Professor Skeelur said heatedly. “Is she not allowed to make new friends?”

"Don't be absurd, Arygyn. Befriend a Muggle-born? Out of the question.”

Piper's jaw tightened. Unlike when Lark had said it, Anarchis' use of the word 'Muggle-born' was filled with disdain. She was no stranger to that tone. She had heard it often enough from people who couldn't keep their opinions to themselves when it came to her living situation or heritage.

Professor Skeelur narrowed his eyes at the woman, and when he spoke, his voice was as cool as hers. "Why don't you just use the word we all know you really want to use?"

Anarchis sneered. "Watch your tongue with me, boy. This is precisely why you are to have nothing to do with this family. I don't need you teaching Larkspur how to be a disrespectful blood traitor."

"Grandmother, please," Lark's voice was tight, her face carefully blank.

"Not another word," Anarchis snapped at her. She handed Lark the bag with her wand before gripping the back of her neck. "Now come along. We still need your books." Without another glance at either Professor Skeelur or herself, the woman marched the girl out of the shop.

Piper crossed her arms as she watched them go. "Good to know I'm not good enough for some people in this world, either," she said, aiming for a light tone, but the lump in her throat got in the way.

"Kid," Professor Skeelur said, putting a hand on her shoulder and squeezing. "Anyone here who thinks you're not good enough isn't worth knowing. Now let's get you your wand."

She nodded, giving him a weak smile.

He walked her up to the counter. "Mr Ollivander, this is Piper Cochran. She'll be starting her first year at Hogwarts this fall."

"It's nice to meet you, sir," she greeted him as he peered at her with luminous, silvery eyes. If it weren't for Professor Skeelur and that awful Anarchis woman both having blue eyes, she'd seriously be starting to wonder if odd-coloured eyes were the norm in this strange world.

"The pleasure is all mine," he replied. He walked around the counter with a tape measure in hand. "Now, let's see what we're working with."

He released the tape measure, and it went to work on its own. It measured her height, the length of her arms, wrist circumference, palm width, the distance between her eyes, and a dozen other nonsensical measurements. A quill jotted down the information for Ollivander as he asked her about her dominant hand and when, where, and at what time she was born.

By the end of it, she wasn't quite sure if he meant to sell her a wand, tailor her school uniform, or write up her astrological chart.

He walked back around to the other side of the counter and searched the shelves, speaking to her as he went. "Each wand has its own unique personality," he explained. "The different wood types and wand cores have certain characteristics they bring to the table, with each individual tree and creature adding their own flair. Length and flexibility each play their parts. And, of course, the personality of the wizard the wand bonds with is the final ingredient. When you put all those pieces together, you get a wand that is unlike any that has ever existed or will exist again. The choosing of a wand is one of the most important moments in a young witch or wizard's life."

Plucking a box from the shelf, he turned and smiled at her. Opening the box, he offered her the wand within. "Grapevine and dragon heartstring, 11", swishy."

She took the wand and, having watched this process play out with Lark before her, gave it a little wave. Nothing happened, and Ollivander took the wand back, placing it back into the box before setting it aside. "You see, the wand chooses the wizard. If the wand decides you're not a good fit for it, it will refuse to perform for you or will perform poorly. You can use another's wand in a pinch, but neither you nor the wand will reach your full potential that way. Here, my goal is to match you with the perfect wand. I hate wasted potential."

"How will I know if a wand is a perfect match?"

"Oh, it will let you know. Now then, try this one on for size. Alder and unicorn hair, 13 inches, supple."

Again, she tried waving the wand, and again nothing happened. Nothing happened with cedar and unicorn hair or aspen and dragon heartstring, either.

As the pile of discarded wands grew, Piper began to wonder if Professor Skeelur had made a mistake. Maybe there was another Piper Cochran out there somewhere who was the real witch, waiting on a Hogwarts letter that would never come because it had been handed to her imposter, instead.

"Maple and phoenix feather, 12 and a half inches, reasonably supple."

Piper took the wand, and a feeling of warmth spread through her. She waved the wand, and a glowing ball of blue light shot from it, flew around the perimeter of the shop, and right out the window.

Ollivander smiled, "An excellent wand! And an auspicious start to your new life as a witch. Both maple and phoenix feather are highly prized. For a wand of such calibre to choose you tells me that you can achieve greatness. But never rest on your laurels. Maple demands an adventurous and innovative spirit in its owner, or it will languish."

"Really?" Piper breathed. "You aren't just saying that to make me feel better about myself?"

"Why would I do that? I take my craft very seriously. If I believed you to be a mediocre witch in the making, I'd simply say nothing at all," Ollivander said matter-of-factly.

"What about that last wand you sold?"

"Yew and dragon heartstring? Why do you want to know? Taking a shine to wand lore already?"

"Just curious."

"Well, it's a powerful combination."

"More powerful than maple and phoenix feather?"

Ollivander hummed as he mulled the question over. "I would say so, yes. Phoenix feather will excel at any task you put it toward. But it's also stubborn. It makes you earn its excellence. But I find that those who are chosen by it are up to the challenge. Dragon heartstring possesses more brute strength and is easier to work with, but that isn't necessarily a good thing. You're more likely to accidentally blow yourself up with a dragon heartstring wand."

She laughed but stopped when she realized neither Ollivander nor the professor was laughing with her. "You're serious?"

"Quite. There's a reason magic requires so many years of schooling and why underage wizards aren't allowed to use magic outside of school. As for the wood, yew is rare and powerful. Some would say..."

"Dark," Professor Skeelur cut in, and Ollivander frowned.

"Yes, some would say that. Yew's reputation has been unfairly maligned over the centuries. I was going to say that yew is bold. It's attracted to the strong, the resolute. It appreciates a certain level of audacity in its owner. None of those qualities are inherently evil. Does that answer your question?"

"I think so, thank you."

Ollivander smiled again. "If you're still interested in wand lore after your fifth year, come see me. I might be persuaded to offer you a summer apprenticeship."

Grinning, she thanked him again. He packaged up the wand as she counted out the money she owed him. "Your wand registration number is printed on a card inside the wand box. Don't lose it. You may need it someday, especially if you ever plan to travel to the states. They have strict permitting laws over there."

She thanked him for a third time, and Professor Skeelur smirked at her as they left the shop. "Look at you. Your first day in the wizarding world, and you're already getting job offers."

Her smile didn't fade for the rest of the day. This was going to be fun.

~*~*~

A/N: Okay, who made it this far? Really? Great! Scale of 1-10, how interested are you in continuing to read this?

#storm hawks #storm hawks fanfic #storm hawks piper #arygyn the skeelur #cyclonis

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mostfacinorous · 4 years

Text

Stoki Whumptober Day One: Let’s Hang Out Sometime

Loki wished he could say he was new to this, or at least less than used to it, but in honesty there were few people who knew him that wouldn’t tie him up, given the opportunity, within moments of his appearance.

Case in point, his current captor, The Captain. He’d been waiting when he returned from a dinner out, casually leaning back on his couch and sipping on some of his alcohol, and before he’d even finished his drink he’d been knocked out, and had awakened trussed up like a boar for roasting.

Well, perhaps that was dramatic. His hands were bound, and he’d certainly had worse. Also notably, interestingly, the captain was still alone, and not surrounded by his team.

“You do realize I’m only letting you do this for your own comfort.” He commented, adjusting his wrists obligingly while the Captain checked over the shackles he’d been put in while he was out.

At least he got a point for decency, checking Loki’s fingers to be certain his circulation wasn’t threatened. But he lost that point for the way he snorted in response to Loki’s attempt at making polite conversation.

“Is that a hobby of yours? You seem to let us lock you up fairly frequently.”

Loki had the good grace to flush, if only slightly.

“Yes, well, you seem to be more open to listening when I’m restrained. It isn’t my fault I have to compensate for your paranoia.” He ignored the stiffness in his neck; he was seated on a much harder chair than he had been before he’d been so rudely deprived of his libation, and his head had been allowed to loll on his neck while he was restrained. Rude.

“Hm.” Rogers said, circling back around and stepping back, the better to survey him from his standing position. “Seems to me it’s entirely your fault we have to be on guard around you. History shows you mostly try to screw us over when we hear you out.”

Loki had to concede that he had a point, though he did not have to do so out loud, and so did not.

“It is precisely that history which I have come to discuss with you. I am afraid that our history-- not just yours and mine, but all of this timeline’s-- is under threat. And I cannot handle it on my own.”

Rogers blinked. “I’m not sure if I believe you, but either way-- that’s a lot more humility than I would think you were capable of.”

He crossed his arms and Loki could feel himself being watched for any sign of ire or struggle. So he relaxed into his bindings instead.

“Please, Captain. I was a Prince and a younger brother. Both roles demand humility, and a willingness to show it.” Loki shrugged, contriving to look unbothered.

“So what’s this threat, then, that you can’t handle it with all your magic, but you think I-- or we, the Avengers too, I assume-- can help?”

“Well,” Loki paused for added drama, “I wasn’t certain if you’d want to involve your friends. You see-- the threat is your Bucky. And the stone that has come into his possession. It is a source of great power, and his handlers have lost sight of him. It seems to me that he of all people has plenty of reason to wish to rewrite history. Whether you will allow him to or not, though… that’s what I am interested in finding out.”

Rogers sat down, hard, stumbling back the few feet it took to land on the couch.

“Bucky’s run off with a magic stone to fix the past?” He repeated, obviously stricken.

Loki nodded.

“Not that I can blame him, but anything he changes will have drastic repercussions on our present, up to and including unraveling it entirely. And I think you know as well as I that he isn’t in the best of mind states. Who knows whether or not it is his own agenda he is working toward.”

Rogers was silent for a long moment, gaze locked on his shoes.

“Thank you. For coming to me with this.” He finally said, and his voice was a croak that spoke of threatening tears.

“Oh, please. It’s hardly a favor. You want the soldier. I want the stone. Can we help one another, or no?” Loki spoke it as the challenge it was.

Rogers looked up at long last, and though his eyes looked red, his face was determined.

“You’re going to help me find him.” He answered.

Loki stood, and turned his back toward Rogers, wiggling his fingers in anticipation of having his freedom restored. “Then let’s make haste. Once you take these off, I can--”

“Oh no, you’re going just like that. I can throw you further than I can trust you, even on the best of days.”

Loki spun to face him, dismayed.

“You would have me lead you to your friend, the assassin, unable to defend myself?”

Rogers smirked.

“Ought to at least slow you down when you decide to double cross me, don’t you think?”

Loki was suddenly not entirely pleased any more about the situation he’d put himself in.

#Stoki #Steve Rogers #Loki #Whumptober #MCU Fanfic #That writing thing I do #Stoki Whumptober2020

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sonicringbond · 4 years

Text

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 52

Hopefully as everyone is reading this things have improved for me. My mental state has been a bit of mess at the time of writing this. I’ve had fears for the future of the AU and my ability to write it at all. While I have big plans and changes in store, it’s surprisingly difficult to stay enthusiastic. Strangely, only my primary villain seems to keep me motivated. But they won’t appear here, too an extent I suppose, but there is another villain who returns in this scene. I’ll let you see who now in...

“Oh~! I see more flowers,” Blister began as she stepped through the Ring Gate and watched Zooey embrace Tails. She grew distracted a moment however as she took in the sight of the Ring Gate Beacon room. The ceiling of shifting blocks covered in glowing geometric patterns was almost mesmerizing. “Wow~. I have to get one of these on my ship.”

“Maybe later,” Tails stated as he put his hands on Zooey’s shoulders and pushed her back, although as gently as he could. “Right now, we have to support Sonic. Zooey, can we map out the catacombs from the bridge.”

“The Engineers and I already have a map in place,” Zooey confided in Tails, though still peeked around him curiously at Draw and Blister. Tails’ urgency pulled her back however as she felt his grip tighten on her shoulders. “We can use the same sonar method we used to map the city to keep track of Sonic and give him a heads up if anything goes sideways.”

“That’s great,” Tails sighed relieved and started to hurry for the bridge, stopping only long enough to look back and ask Zooey another question. “Is it sensitive enough to pick out people?”

“I don’t believe it is, but the catacombs should be large enough for the Tornado to fly through.”

~|~

“Ho! An aeroplane of all things to best Claymore the Purple,” Claymore scoffed as he strode through brick halls that were open on one side to a cavernous hall beyond. “How the mage caused so much trouble with so small a force. No less he bought the time to take to the skies again. Ho! It is like that I would do well to remember the name Sonic the Hedgehog, unless I should stop him and my other guest all at once.”

Weighing the thought of confronting two Ring Mage’s, Claymore chuckled nervously to himself. “Ho! My first real battle since waking and I must face two Ring Mages. Would that I could be joined in battle by my fellow knights.”

~|~

“I don’t like it,” Rosy puffed up her cheeks, her problems multifold.

“Well, you’ll just have to bear with it,” Sonic encouraged Rosy to not let the situation get to her. As he was sitting on top of her pressing her deeper into the cockpit of the Tornado, his words seemed uncaring. Though they were no meant to bet, he had his own problems controlling the biplane as he had one hand occupied holding onto Rosy’s tarot card case. “Just consider it for your own protection.”

“I don’t need protected,” Rosy puffed her cheeks up even more. “Besides, if what Tails said is true, we won’t have time for me to be kept safe. We have to go stop Ix.”

“You know who you’re talking to, right kid?” Sonic feigned being hurt. But Rosy was not feeling playful.

Beyond the cockpit, even squished uncomfortably behind Sonic as she was, Rosy could see Yoluku in the sky, the upside-down sunset becoming a tighter and more sinister smile with each passing moment. A chill ran through Rosy looking at it, and she could swear even without her cards that she heard those same whispers.

It’s fine. This is fun isn’t it? Enjoying a desperate adventure to save the world with your true love. How entertaining!

“Hrm~!” Rosy emitted a low growl and puffed up her cheeks more. Not liking the voice in her head, she contorted herself as best she could behind Sonic and managed to get access to her wrist device.

“Tai~ls!” Rosy whined into it. “Please tell me you have somewhere for us to go!”

-I do!- Tails’ voice came back across the radio.

~I want to feel relieved while Tails guides Sonic through how he needs to fly the Tornado into the catacombs. It’s actually a lot of fun too, the way Sonic pilots his plane around the towers of the city and down into a chasm I didn’t know was in the city. Ooh~! It’s so exciting, but the situation isn’t good. Yolk is… I don’t know what Yolk is any more, but I have a really bad feeling.

~It’s not like me to have bad feelings, especially when Sonic is here. I know he’ll save the day, but something isn’t right. I just have a hard time believing Ix was seen so easily. He had me and everyone else fooled when I first met him, so to think he would be seen going into these oversized catacombs. It just doesn’t feel right. I wonder if this is supposed to be a trap. But for who? Did he even know I was going to be here? Ooh~! I don’t like this!~

“We’re going on foot from here,” Sonic stated as he landed the Tornado on a small ledge, bringing the short flight to an end. As he left the plane, he worked he wrist device under his ow glove cuff. “I’ll relay back to you what I see Tails, but you’re going to have to be on your game to get us to where you think our uninvited party crasher is going.”

-No problem, Sonic!- Tails’ voice chirped confidently across the wrist device’s radio. -Just watch out for traps.-

“No worries there,” Sonic laughed. “In case you haven’t forgotten, I have a world class rascal here to take care of them for me.”

“Soni~c!”

~Sonic’s ability to stay cheerful, even in the face of danger is always so inspiring and always helps me forget that people call me strange for doing the same. I can’t help but smile running with him through these ancient stone tunnels. Though it would be nice if there were less traps. But, well, a lot of traps that needed to be tripped were already tripped as Sonic and I ran past them. It’s hard to say running so fast, but they look more like they were disarmed rather than tripped. I shouldn’t be surprised, but… I kind of feel like it looks too familiar how they’ve been disarmed.~

~|~

“Alright, how much further do you want to drag me into this place! It’s been nothing but trap after trap and no rewards worth the risk!"

“Silence, treasure hunter! I must endure this humility and so will you.”

“Yikes! Don’t lose your feathers old man!”

“An old man who will outlive you, treasure hunter!”

“Alright, alright! Just put my gun down. I’ll stop asking questions.”

“Perhaps it would be best if you both focused.”

“Yeah, well if I could I’d leave you both under a pile of rubble if I thought it’d do anything you talkative pile of rocks.”

“Keep talking, treasure hunter. It fascinates me how your mouth is able to dig a grave.”

“Yikes!”

Watching the antics of Doctor Fukurokov, former leader of the now all but defunct Battle Kukku Armada, and Fang the Sniper, the troublesome treasure hunter who introduced Rosy to the world of adventure for his own gains, Ix would have sighed if his stone form possessed lungs. The two were anything but dignified. Though at least Fang put on no airs of false dignity like Doctor Fukurokov.

Still, Ix’s plans required both, lest he had been rid of them ages ago having learned all he needed from them via a forced Ring Bond.

“There will be time for you to torment the Child of Chaos yet, Child of the Heavens,” Ix at last interceded by walking between the owl and jerboa-wolf hybrid. His actions were meant to do more than break line of sight between them however, as he continued forward causing Fang to panic.

“Watch where you’re walking you blasted statue! You’re going to get us all killed!”

Fang’s excited shouting carried through the catacombs, straight into the twitching ear of a certain pink hedgehog girl. “Fang!”

“Him again, huh?” Sonic sighed in response to Rosy’s exclamation.

“Ooh~! Don’t be like that Sonic!” Rosy chided Sonic before suddenly picking her own route deeper into the catacombs.

“Hey! Amy! That’s not the way Tails is–”

“It sounds like Fang is with Ix!” Rosy interrupted Sonic and dashed off, following the sounds of the voices and her intuition.

“This isn’t a great time Amy! AMY!”

Left with little choice, Sonic took off after Rosy. It was going to be far from a difficult task to catch her either. For as much as she did her best to run at Sonic’s speed, her stumbling and general clumsiness was not the practiced and instinctual scrambling that Sonic performed that allowed him to run freely nigh anywhere. As large as the catacombs were, however, Fang did not possess Sonic’s speed. As he was the one searching for traps, he was the one controlling the pace at which Ix’s party progressed.

“Yeesh, the weasel, the surprisingly resilient birdbrain, and the statue who really would have been better served staying in bed,” Sonic remarked as he skidded to a halt and saw the odd group. Or at least odd to Rosy who did not see the panic on Fang’s face as anything but a desperate plea for help. Naturally, Sonic saw it differently. “So how are you going to lie your way out of this one, weasel?”

“Ho! Funny, Ring Mage,” the voice of Claymore boomed from beyond Ix. “I was aiming to ask you and the medium the same.”

“And now, all of the players are present,” Ix remarked, his blue glowing eyes taking in the autogolem knight, the treasure hunter and pirate, and the two hedgehog’s who he silently deemed the most troublesome of all his obstacles.

Scene 52 · CLEARED Party Crashing, to be continued

-----

And there we go. Two scenes left to finish up Season 1. There’s a lot of ground to cover, and hopefully I’ll be able to have Sonic meet my main villain. It’s just there is so much to cover, and it’ll likely inflate the scenes. The smart thing to do would be to stretch it out, but I really want to end the season inline with the anime season. So, if everything went well after I wrote this, in one week Season 1 will be finished and Season 2 will be quite different in it’s handling. Please look forward to it!

-----

Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”) - Vocaloid Version – Azina, Masayoshi Soken – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”)

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic fan fiction #sonic au #sonic au series #sonic ring bond #the journey #classic amy #amy rose #rosy the rascal #au amy #amy redesign #miles tails prower #fang the sniper #doctor fukurokov #pir'oth ix #sonic oc #claymore the purple

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solarcali · 4 years

Note

It's me *again* 😬💖

Can I also get a synastry ship with The Boyz Sunwoo & Hyunjae, please? ♡

Sunwoo is actually my bias and Juyeon my bias wrecker and Hyunjae my bias wreckers wrecker and I also like Sangyeon so I really loved the The Boyz ships! 💕

Sun: Virgo

Moon: Aries

Rising: Leo

Synastry with Sunwoo :

So we actually have a birth time for Sunwoo, he was born at 8 p.m in Seoul which gives him a Scorpio rising.

So first of all, you two have a Sun-Moon conjunction in Aries, so he is your ideal man as a marriage partner, someone you feel could fulfill your needs, and he would feel like you understand him, and this bond would be particularly strong because his Sun is at 22 degrees Aries, the exact same degree as your Moon. Since we have 30 degrees in every sign, the stronger the degree, the stronger the aspect between the two planet is going to be felt.

His Moon is in Leo, a fire sign like your Aries moon, and in the same sign as your ascendant. So he would feel like the way you present yourself reflects who he is inside. He would probably admire your regal appearance. Same with his Venus in Aries, he would definitely notice you and like the way you look, but with the Moon/ascendant bond, it's not just surface level, there is an emotional identification on his part.

Now let's look at his 7th house : he has it in Taurus and his Mars is there as well. All his planets in Taurus are ruled by his Venus in Aries. So what he wants in a partner is an earthy, stable, sensual indivual (Taurus), who is also assertive (Mars) and passionnate (Aries Venus). And you fit all these criterias according to your own placements : you are a Virgo (earth sign), all that Virgo falls in your second house which is the house of Taurus, so you possess strong Taurean qualities as well, maybe you're very stable or you know of to manage money, you like nice smells, nice food, nice clothes, nature, you may like to cook... This is what he wants in a partner. And of course your Aries moon and your Mars in your first house gives you a strong Martian quality as well.

A few issues could be regarding communication : your Mercury in Virgo opposes his Mercury in Pisces. Virgo likes to talk, because Mercury is at home in Virgo, this is really a talent that you possess here, you're logical, intelligent, learn quickly. And Pisces Mercury typically is more quiet, they think with their emotions rather than their logic so it may frustrates you.

His Mars in Taurus is also squaring your Mars in Leo so there could be conflicts, ego battles here. Especially between two fixed, stubborn signs like Taurus and Leo. But both Mars makes more harmonious aspects with your other planets so it makes it easier. Because it's in good aspect with each other’s Sun and Venus, there's a mutual attraction and support when it comes to each other's goals. He would likely help you on a more practical level, while you would cheer him up and encourage him.

One last thing is that you have Aquarius in the 7th house. So every Aquarius type of contact is good for you. And since we know he is a Scorpio ascendant, we can see than your planets in Virgo falls in his 11th house, the house of Aquarius, of friendship, it's a great house to have planets in synastry in any case because we just tend to get on!

Synastry with Hyunjae :

Hyunjae is a Virgo Sun and Mercury like you. There is a similar expression of the self, similar goals and vision, a very easy communication. With your Venus in Virgo as well, you're going to like him, admire him for his skills, his hard-working nature, his humility, his intelligence, all Virgo qualities. And he would feel appreciated and flattered.

You also have your North Node in Virgo, which is like the point of destiny in your chart. For Indian astrologers, the North Node represents what we are supposed to manifest in this current lifetime. So if somebody's planets touch your North Node, there is like a fated feeling on your part, like that person is meant to play a part in your life, with his Sun it could be to help you understand your place in the world, your purpose. He would be a guiding light for you.

We don't know if his Moon is in Capricorn or Aquarius. If it is in Capricorn, it trines all your planets in Virgo, his earthy Moon matches your earthy Sun, Venus and Mercury. So he would feel loved, understood and encouraged by you. It would be a great connection to have since typically Capricorn Moons have a hard time opening up, especially with his shy Virgo Sun.

He may have a tendency to be a bit depressed at times, pessimistic, because Capricorn is a sign that carries the energy of the planet Saturn. By nature, Saturn is rather slow, restrictive, in general it kinda feels like a bummer lol. So when you have your Moon there, which is all about your moods, emotional patterns, you can imagine how heavy this can sometimes feel on a daily basis. It's also difficult for him to let go of a feeling once it comes to him. But because Capricorn is all business, these emotions are buried deep inside and kept under control, not visible. This may be particularly frustrating for your Aries Moon. You probably are quite expressive emotionally. When you feel something, you wouldn't be the type to hide it. You also have the ability to move on rather quickly. Aries and Capricorn are squaring each other, so emotionally it could be challenging for you two to understand each other.

On the other hand, you may share an ambitious nature and could be both career oriented since your Moon is in the 10th house, which is the Capricorn house of career, reputation, public image etc...

If his Moon is in Aquarius, the emotional compatibility is better. His Moon would also likely fall in your 7th house, so he would be nurturing with you.

His Venus and Mars are in Scorpio. Scorpio goes well with your deep Virgo energy, especially your Venus, there is physical compatibility there. He would like the more quiet side of you, the humility, the depth you possess.

He may have a harder time with your fiery placements though, especially your Mars in Leo. Mars is the warrior within us. When it's squaring another person's Mars, it creates a conflict, and naturally both Mars are gonna fight, especially two passionnate Mars in Leo and Scorpio.

You tend to take action in a visible way (and admire people who do so) you fight head on, especially with Mars in the first house. You also have a certain heroic, noble quality to you. You have dignity, pride. When you are angry, it shows. What you see is what you get.

But he is very secretive, Mars in Scorpio has a lot of energy but keeps it inward, controlled, hidden. He's a bit like a sniper lol. If he's angry with you he may not show it but will not forget or forgive easily and you won't have the patience for that.

So you see we have a pattern here. You have some compatible placements, but overall you have different approach. You may be intrigued by each other at first, but after a while, his energy may be a bit to heavy for you, and it could become exhausting to try to please or understand each other.

So I hope you like it, your compatibility with Sunwoo is especially good in my opinion. 💙💜💛💚💖

#astrology ship #kpop ship #sunwoo #hyunjae #the boyz #compatibility ship #astrology #kpop #compatibility #synastry

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astroismypassion · 4 years

Note

hi! i just saw you were having difficulties with your messages, so i am totally okay with going through the ask box! I was born on May 14, 1997 at 6:36pm (18:36) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, USA. Thank you, again, for your time!! :)

Thank you for answering me! <3

Hi!

Thank you for buying me this delicious hot beverage. I drank black coffee with rice milk while writing your interpretation. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did writing! And I was listening to Michael Kiwanuka - One More Night while writing. ;)

Your dominant planets are: 1. Venus, 2. Sun and 3. Moon. Your dominant signs are: 1. Aquarius, 2. Taurus and 3. Gemini. Your main mode is Fixed. You are Air dominant.

FAMILY, SIBLINGS, EARLY LIFE

If you have any siblings, they are Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces. You might have not liked the traditional schooling system, because you found it too rigid. You have Aquarius IC. You had an unconventional upbringing. You have Aquarius and Pisces in the 4th house. This means someone in your family might have had an escapistic problem (drug/alcohol issue, emotional problem, depression or even overslept). A parental figure might have had a religious upbringing, background. There were many superstitions in your family growing up. Or you believed some untraditional, “strange” things. You might have had an escape in your life, be it music or just your room or somewhere where you felt safe and comfortable. You liked to play in your own world. You daydreamt often. You might have escaped into art, fashion, creating your own fantasy or reality. You also have Jupiter in the 4th house. You might have moved around often or changed residence, even school. You might have many siblings or you have an extended family. You could have relatives or other family members living abroad or they have different religious, cultural backgrounds or even different social status. You have Sun square Moon. Your parents might have not agreed on your parenting style. They were not in sync. They might have been two very different figures. Your mother and your father had very different personality traits and character. You have Mercury square Neptune. You might often have deja vu moments. Or you find it hard to really remember whether a thing happened or that it has never happened. You might lose focus easily and just wonder away in your thoughts. You might have been really good in literature, languages or certain abstract topics and drawing, creative writing. But maybe not so much in sciences, such as math. You might have found it harder to comprehend it. You have Mercury square Uranus. This indicates an astrologer’s mind. You might be really good at astrology! You have unique ideas and visionary thoughts. Some might think you are not being serious. You can have a foot in the mouth syndrome and say something too quickly, before really thinking it through. You might often surprise people. You have Taurus Sun in the 7th house. Your father seemed to have had a passive role in your upbringing. He might have not performed all his parental duties. He was probably a bit lazy as well, but people liked him. He is quite stubborn and opinionated. He is proud of his relationships with others, be it business, platonic or romantic. You have Leo Moon in the 10th house. Your mother is well respected and maybe even well known. Or she works in administration, politics or public sector. She might have been the main breadwinner in your family. She is proud, generous, ambitious, hard working, strong, reliable, responsible and caring.

PARTNERSHIPS AND FRIENDSHIPS

You have Aries, Capricorn, Pisces, Libra, Virgo or Scorpio friends. In your romantic relationships you attract Capricorn, Aries, Pisces, Taurus, Leo, Gemini and Cancer, even Libra is possible. You have Virgo mars in the 11th house. This shows how you approach your crush, how you act and how you take action. You like hard working people, who are social and have loyal friend groups. You might like platonic friendships more than romantic partnerships. You like cleanliness, organization and order. You might often clean yourself, your room, environment or somehow constantly beautify it. Self care means a lot to you. Either way you value mental connections over anything. You need compatibility in the mind. You need to be attracted to someone intellectual first. But you also notice their physical appearance, in terms whether they are healthy, clean and nice, elegantly put together. You have Gemini Venus in the 7th house. You are quite a flirt. You like flirting, word play and a bit of mind games. You like people that grow with you. You might like the idea of a date, where you learn something together or learn a skill together. Or perhaps taking a cooking class together. You like puzzles, quizzes and questionnaires. You like to “sample” many people. You have a fear of commitment and settling down. You desire it, but fear it at the same time. You have Venus trine Uranus. You might be attracted to odd, unique, quirky people that stand out. You have Venus trine Neptune. This means you idealize others or put them on the pedestal often. Others might do that to you as well. You might put people under pressure “to perform” to your ideal love fairytale. You have Venus opposite Pluto. Beware of this placement! You might attract quite a few obsessive people. Or people seem to stalk you even years after you’ve broken up. You might be quite possessive of your friends and loved one. You can be even a bit jealous or envious over them.

CAREER, PROFESSIONAL LIFE, PUBLIC IMAGE

You have Virgo North Node in the 11th house. This might indicate that you may lead a bit of a “loner” life. But you need it, since you get easily overwhelmed and need plenty of alone time to recharge. In this lifetime you are asked to organise, establish a routine, live more in the present moment and be of service to others. You might have to learn how to help your friends, community, society in general. You’ll learn humility as well. You will need to take care of your health, yourself in your day-to-day life and how to have a daily routine. But you’ll probably find this easier after 30. You might benefit greatly from owning a pet. You could be an excellent advisor, counsellor or consultant. You might have a knack for social media, marketing, publishing and communication fields. Even journalism, publishing, news anchoring, writing. You could work in non government fields. Or you could be an activist for a cause at least at some point in your life. You might like to own the newest gadgets and modern electronics in your home as well. But also spiritual items, even tarot cards and all the items from your travels. You have Taurus Mercury in the 6th house. You like to stimulate your mind daily. You might often think about your health, pets, if you have any, food and drink, material possessions and items, your friends, even your daily routine, how to organize yourself better. You could think about your daily tasks, your day-to-day life, duties, responsibilities. You are extremely detail oriented and you have a keen eye! You observe EVERYTHING. Facial expressions, gestures, small birthmarks. You notice how someone is dressed, how they speak and present themselves.

ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS

You have Libra Chiron in the 12th house. There is a certain wound or a past hurt in regards to your one on one relationships, be it platonic, romantic or business. You might have been hurt, disappointed or rejected in the past. You didn’t have an example of a healthy relationship, so you might sometimes think relationships all together aren’t for you. You might have experienced your parents' separation or divorce or their relationships have affected your views on them. You might make a mistake aggression for love at times. Or passion and lust for love. You have Gemini Juno in the 8th house. This indicates your ideal partner, your ideal soulmate. It can be a friend or a lover. They would have to be versatile, always keeping you on your toes, changing and able to keep up with your transformations as well. But also loyal, secure and that you share a deep bonded trust with them. You have Pisces Ceres in the 4th house. This presents how you wish to be nurtured and how you often nurtured others. You give your unconditional love and support and be like a family to others. You provide a safe space for them. You may need artistic escape or an artistic outlet for your emotions and that you can cope with reality so you like to daydream and pursue artistic endeavours. It’s crucial for your mental and emotional wellness. You have Virgo Lilith in the 10th house. You are very helpful, but you expect the help in return when you need it. You might be quite possessive of people’s belongings and what they have. You are quite persuasive and can easily get what you desire. You can show more of the “negative” Virgo traits in the area of the 10th house, such as being over critical, nagging and complaining.You have Aquarius Part of Fortune in the 4th house. This is where you find natural luck and good fortune. You might find it when you make peace with your unconventional upbringing, family background and history. When you learn how to detach from your family members and still have friendly relationships with them.

CHART RULER

You have Pluto as your chart ruler. The chart ruler of the 1st house is in the 1st house. This means you’re in charge of your own destiny in this lifetime. You might be very self reliant. And you’ll have plenty of personal experiences to back you up when you’re sharing your knowledge with others. You could just use you as an example. Your personality, ego, characters, traist, self esteem, self worth might develop through your personal experiences, interactions with others. Here’s an additional video on this topic by an excellent fellow astrologer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1HnMdFJeXR0

HOUSE RULERS

The ruler of the 1st house is in the 1st house. You express yourself through the way you look. You express yourself through clothing and makeup. The image you project affects your ability to navigate through life. The ruler of the 2nd house is in the 4th house. You impose your personal values on your family members. Personal money goes to family. You are possessive of family members. Your values manifest in family life. You are concerned with the financial security of your family. The ruler of the 3rd house is in the 5th house. Daily conversation revolves around children, hobbies, creativity, theater or the arts. Your communication style is creative and entertaining. Experiences of early education affect your ability to be creative. You have a child-like and playful communication style. The ruler of the 4th house is in the 3rd house. Home is a place to have lively conversations. Cultural upbringing has a strong bearing on your thoughts. Feeling included or rejected by your family influences your day to day interactions. Home is a place where people come and go. You bring your private inner self with you when you write, keep a journal or blog. The ruler of the 5th house is in the 3rd house. You communicate in a playful and lighthearted way. Romance and fun express themselves through a love of reading and writing. Fun is found through gossiping. Relaxation comes through conversation and writing. The ruler of the 6th house is in the 11th house. You specialize in working with large groups of people. Your working environment is social. You work with friends on a daily basis. The ruler of the 7th house is in the 7th house. The partner needs to be willing negotiate and cooperate with you. Marriage partners are business partners, business partners are marriage partners. You want to be with someone who is cooperative. You want a partner who is a good negotiator. The ruler of the 8th house is in the 6th house. You have obsessive or intense everyday habits. You use your capacity for research and investigation in health and fitness fields. Work is emotionally turbulent. You have complex emotions surrounding health and diet. The ruler of the 9th house is in the 10th house. You expand your horizons through your choice of vocation. Traveling helps you become more widely known. You find meaning through your choice of vocation. You travel because it makes you seem important. Journalism builds your reputation. Your education level builds your reputation. You apply your wisdom to gaining status and social standing. You receive awards and recognition for your academic achievements. The ruler of the 10th house is in the 7th house. Partners should have the same ambitions and goals in mind. You gain recognition and social status through your partner. Ideally the partners should have equal status and equal standing. Partners should have balanced careers. The ruler of the 11th house is in the 6th house. You meet like-minded people through your interest in diet and exercise. The groups you join involve a certain amount of specialization. You bring your interest in social causes to your work environment. You want to reform attitudes to diet, health and exercise. You like working with friends. You have long term goals and wishes relating to diet and exercise. The ruler of the 12th house is in the 7th house. Your partner desires to escape from reality as much as you do. You lose your boundaries when it comes to significant relationships. Your grief and sorrow affect your relationships. The desire to escape reality affects your ability to maintain a serious relationship.

#astrology #chart reading #natal chart #birth chart #chart interpretation #astroismypassion

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merryfortune · 5 years

Text

A Fear Unfounded

Ship: Forte/Margaret

Fandom: Rune Factory 4

Word Count: 2,004

Tags: Love Confessions, Light Angst, OOC

Forte was stunned when she arrived at the lake to the west of town. Margaret seemed to relish her surprise as Forte, clinking armour and swishing dress and picnic basket and all, drew in closer to where Margaret had set up not a camp but a picnic.

She looked the perfect picture of hedonism, sprawled out as it were on a check stripe blanket, light and cottony with interlocking colours of white, pastel pink, and cherry red. She also had a woven straw picnic basket nearby, as well as her lute, all entwined with flowers and her love of music. She laughed blithely when Forte lugged her own basket towards her at the glistening lake’s edge; delicately so, her delicate hand in front of her lips.

“I couldn’t stop Kiel; the moment I mentioned that you wanted to go on a picnic, he insisted on making some treats for me to share with you.” Forte sheepishly explained as she knelt down awkwardly and joined Margaret on the picnic blanket.

“Now we definitely have enough to feed an army.” Margaret joked.

“As Selphia’s sole knight, I will certainly prove that. I won’t let a single morsel go to waste.” Forte sounded as though she were taking some grim vow upon saying that but her earnestness only amused Margaret further.

It also endeared her further. That was her ever so serious Forte, alright. She wouldn’t have this young woman any other way.

“May I?” Margaret asked once the moment had cooled off from the japes and the like.

“Of course.” Forte replied and she let Margaret have at her picnic basket. Meanwhile, almost gluttonously, Forte made her move on Margaret’s picnic basket. She glanced back towards the elf. “May I?” The words barely left her mouth, she was near soundless as her hands grappled the vine-stricken handle.

“Yes, of course.” Margaret replied

“Thank you muchly.” Forte beamed; even her happier expressions grave.

Margaret was quick to find cupcakes stocked in Forte’s larder of a picnic basket. She was all to overjoyed to peel back the waxy casing and eat it. The plush cake’s sweetness danced on her tastebuds and was quick to disappear as Margaret had a swift appreciation for the flavour of it.

“Simply scrumptious!” she crooned, clasping her cheek in her hand, crumbs splayed over her chubby cheeks. “My compliments to the chef.”

“Kiel will be pleased to hear that, though let’s pray that he doesn’t develop an ego over it, I adore him but I’m certain he would be insufferable.” Forte smiled.

“All boys - even men - are like that though but I truly do love Kiel’s baking, it is a very narrow second to Porcoline; he will be an excellent chef once he matures a bit more.” Margret continued to gush.

“Yes, I agree.” Forte murmured, head dipping slightly as she contemplated whether the accent taste to the egg sandwich that she had taken from Margaret’s picnic basket was mustard or not.

Unlike Margaret, Forte has opted for a savoury option first. She thought it was gauche to have sweets before something decent, but for once, not to protect her image. Margaret knee her too well for that which was why she could eat freely, without prettiness or essential etiquette making that maybe the order of food eaten didn’t really matter. But it was probably, no, almost certainly, mustard in her mashed egg sandwich which really was delectable.

“It’s a splendid afternoon, don’t you think?” Margaret asked Forte quietly.

“It is. Your foresight to pick today of all days for this get together is impeccable, Margaret.” Forte said.

“Thank you. I did put a lot of thought into it. I chose today because it’s still summer but is nicely on the cusp of autumn, making for beautiful sunshine and crisp weather without being painfully warm.” Margaret explained; her face drew lines of concern. “I worry about you in summer, seeing you in all that armour. I understand why but still. I worry.”

“I know but my constitution is vast.” Forte assured her.

That bittersweet grimace didn’t disappear from Margaret’s face. That, in turn, concerned Forte. Margaret’s fist clenched by her side and Forte suspected that this wasn’t the saccharine outing which she thought that she had been invited out onto. It was just like Margaret to play games like this; to set the mood right, create a lull of false sense of security so that she may exploit emotional and conversational vulnerability. She didn’t like open confrontation, after all, as it was too violent for her. And it was just like Forte to fall straight into such a social faux pas of a trap. That was how she played Margaret’s games, after all. After all, she didn’t like underhanded means of working out aggression, preferring the simplicity which came with the swing of a sword against a foe.

“I want to support you and your endeavours as a knight, but I worry about you.” Margaret said.

“Fear not. I am strong.” Forte said with her chest puffed out. It wasn’t a boast, she possessed far too much humility to boast but it was not arrogance to be rightfully confident as her abilities as a swordswoman were without match, in Selphia at least.

“I know. You are very strong but...” Margaret murmured. “But I’ve been thinking, with Frey as our acting princess, I fear that your glory is tarnishing as more people rely on her rather than you to keep our town safe. You patrol every night and just looking at you fills people with ease. People who are not me, at least.”

“Margaret...” Forte didn’t know how to reply to that.

“You work tirelessly, thanklessly. At least I, when I busk or when I perform at Porcoline’s, I get tipped but no one ever does so much for you.” Margaret continued.

“I don’t mind. I don’t need to be paid or thanked. My pride is all that I need.” Forte gently rebuked Margaret.

“I can wait endlessly, you know, but can you?” asked Margaret, tears shimmered in her eyes.

Her sudden shift in conversation caught Forte off guard. “Can I wait for what?”

Margaret was silent. Thinking. Grimacing. The sunlight overhead seemed far too sharp, all of a sudden, with an unbearable heat gracing them thickly. Yet a breeze blew around them, cooling them, nonetheless. It rustled the leaves of the trees and the grass too, toyed with their hair as Forte waited for Margaret to come to some explanation both in her head and in her voice.

“Elves are very long lived compared to other humans...” Margaret murmured. “But normal humans are so short lived compared to Elves. I can wait, wait for you to retire so that I don’t have to worry about you being injured, or worse, but can you?”

“Margaret, I do not follow what you’re asking of me.” Forte sounded like her heart was breaking, she was fighting back tears.

“I love you, Forte.” Margaret confessed empathetically, placing a hand on her breast.

Forte’s eyes widened as the words continuously rang through her head like an echo. Over and over. Her heart hammered in her chest.

“Oh.” she murmured, gaping, really.

Margaret looked away from Forte, “I love you now, I know I will love you in many years to come, but I just fear that our circumstances might keep us apart. I find it unideal, to merely pine for you until your duties are done.”

“Why… Why do you think my duties as a knight have to be concluded for us to be together?” Forte asked.

“Selfishness, mostly. I can’t distract our most dependable knight, after all.” Margaret was lying; though, there was likely a nugget of truth in what she had said, the way more tears streamed down the side of her face betrayed her. She pawed at them, hopeless. “You were an illicit affair, yes? Your mother had Kiel at an advanced age, compared to you, yes?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry for your losses. Even all this time later, I am.” Margaret said. “But from them, I assumed that it was wrong for a knight to show that much emotion, attachment to people like that. I thought a knight, especially one as prominent and dear to us as you, were expected to uphold all values and virtues, including chastity.”

Her explanation followed to reason. The underlying implication that Margaret perceived Forte as just and noble flattered her. But it was in that explanation that Forte saw where her dear companion faltered. Ever sure of her perceptions of her the world, it took a lot to convince her of contrary evidence and the like, completely unlike another elf who shall not be named, Margaret prided herself on the vision she carried and sometimes exerted over others.

“Whilst it is true that a knight ought to be a paragon of virtue, there is no rule disallowing fraternising with the general populace. We have codes of honour for that too, my lady.” Forte told her.

Margaret prickled to hear that, her lips pursed in surprise. It appears that she had wasted tears but Forte thought otherwise. She leaned in and wiped away what remained of those shed tears in Margaret’s forget-me-not coloured eyes. She smiled gently beneath her choppy and blunt fringe.

“Thank you kindly for your consideration but you are mistaken, I am afraid. Your observations, whilst keen, have misled you. Though I will admit, I find it rather romantic that you are certain that you could wait for me but fortune smiles on your field, you do not have to wait a single second longer for me if you wish to court me.” Forte told her.

Perhaps Margaret should have been embarrassed for coming to such conclusions, but she wasn’t. Only relief coloured her cheeks pink as she found her empathetic reply, replying with her whole chest.

“I truly don’t want to spend a second longer, Forte, thank you, I love you.”

Her words were sweet but her kiss sweeter. She caressed Forte’s face as she kissed her so swift to cross the middle of the picnic blanket, over the basket and over the distance of all those years alone that Margaret had envisioned would divide them, so lonely.

Margaret kissed Forte ardently. Her passion was dulcet, and Forte could not crave it more. Margaret’s kiss was divine. Experienced and yet new; for the first time, in a way. Forte became intoxicated on the floral perfume which drifted around her lover. Her lover. It felt sublime to acknowledge that, even quietly in her own mind, as she was kissed. She felt as though she had become a new woman with a renewed sense of what she heroically owed her dear hometown.

Forte broke the kiss. She wished very much that she didn’t have to but alas, she needed breath. But this was a breathlessness like she had never known before. She often felt satisfied with how she painted after a particularly challenging round of training, but this was different. Though it did set her heart racing, quite similarly. No, this was something more tender than steel blades and broken hilts. It was more precious, like flowers and cakes. She smiled though, unguarded and somewhat grateful.

“I really enjoyed that, Meg.” Forte said.

“I did too.” Margaret chortled. “Though you tasted like mustard and egg salad.”

Forte blushed. “My apologies.”

“You’ll just have to fix that then.” Margaret told her, both playful and uppity. So, on Forte’s behalf, she retrieved another cupcake from the picnic basket bearing sweets.

Forte received it graciously and without her usual, and forced, bellyaching. “I suppose I shall.” She then sank her teeth into the treat.

She smiled a little wider, a little bigger, as she ate the cupcake. Seeing that made Margaret happier than Forte could know, but what made her happiest of all was knowing that this was all happening in the present. And not some precarious far off future. It was good, even great, she thought, to enjoy things in the moment.

#rune factory 4 #rf4 #forte (rf4)#maragret (rf4)#forte x margaret #margaret x forte #writing tag #i might have some more rf4 fics up my sleeve depends #i've only beaten arc 1 lol

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jamiescallion · 5 years

Text

AMERICAN ANIMAL - (January Recap)

Chapter One

Mr Rawling Rump the Rhinoceros, of Austin Zoo, Texas, plunged his large snout into the cool mud and shut his beady black eyes. Rump, as most knew him, let the sludge cool his horn and daydreamed about the coming celebrations. He was excited. The weather had been stifling of late and the party was exactly what the animals needed.

Rump was the oldest mammal in the zoo. His advanced years hadn’t meant he’d learnt humility. Far from it. He was a proud beast who thought a lot of himself, and he wasn’t shy in sharing that around. His enormous enclosure: Rump Ranch, was named by Rump’s father Big Red Rump, and because of its location, next to the entrance, it was considered prime real estate. This made Rump a very important beast indeed. His father Big Red Rump would say:

“You’re a top mammal, son, and you must act like it. The Lion, Tiger, Elephant, Giraffe, Snake, Wolf, Monkey, Gorilla and Bear can afford to mess up. You can’t, the scrutiny is too great.”

Rump had been excited about tonight's chow down for weeks. It was an opportunity to see all of his supporters and also an opportunity for him to gloat. Just one week ago he’d won a triumphant victory over the ruling Big Cats. Rump had repeatedly insisted that President Zanzibar should provide conclusive proof he is an American Animal. Born in an American zoo. Zanzibar eventually relented and Old Baldy, the American Bald Eagle in charge of History and Births, confirm that Zanzibar was indeed born in an American Zoo, although not in Austin zoo. Rump considered the confirmation a victory and took great pleasure in letting his fellow creatures know. Rump’s swaggering self-satisfaction would soon sour.

Rump pulled his horn out of the sludge, climbed on top of Rump Rock, tipped back his head and let loose a thunderous bellow. Simon the snake slunk into the ranch. Simon, a python, was not very long for a python but he was certainly a python. His silvery scales blotched with oblongs of butterscotch yellow, ringed by lines of burnt orange.

Rump and Simon stalked and slid up the shallow slope to the Big Cat enclosure, where tonight’s stomp would take place. Under the giant arches, they went and into the vast and beautifully maintained Palace. Rump nodded cordially in return to those that greeted him. He took his place next to Senator Elena Forde’s enclosure. Elena, a sleek snow Leopard, nodded coldly toward Rump. They’d been friendly once but things had curdled since Rump had attacked her party leader. President Zanzibar, the Lion, climbed onto the speaking slab and addressed the crowd of gathered animals. Rump gazed up at the leader with barely masked disdain.

President Zanzibar looked down and smiled. “It is wonderful to be here with you at the chow down. As you will have heard Old Baldy released my official origin story and I am officially an American Animal. I was born in America!” The animals snorted in support around Rump. Zanzibar smiled more broadly now. “I hope it puts the doubts to rest but in case there is still any uncertainty, Old Baldy said he will give Mr Rawling Rump a blow by blow campfire retelling of my birth story. He’s called it out of Africa.” The animals laughed with great enthusiasm and Rump felt consumed with humiliation. His horn hot with embarrassment.

Zanzibar put up his paw to quell the laughter. “I should add that my mother was not African. She was born in New York Zoo…” Zanzibar now gazed openly at Rump. “Is New York okay or do I need to get Old Baldy to confirm my mother’s origin story too?” Rump’s eyes watered in shock, feeling the crowds communal stare upon him he attempted to smile back with casual grace. As if he’d been in on the joke. Only an awkward grimace was raised. Which only served to stoke the fire of mirth. President Zanzibar called for the stomp to begin and the animals, in unison, began to thud the ground with hooves and paws, trotters and claws. Rump turned to see Simon beating his diamond-shaped head against the ground with concentrated and joyous enthusiasm. Rump gave the snake a contemptuous glance and made his way out of the palace, through the entranced and stomping animals. He trudged back down the hill to Rump Ranch. With every step the rhinoceros’ fury grew, his stubborn will bent on revenge.

Chapter Two

Rump spent three weeks plotting. June ushered in a ferocious temperature and with it a resolve to get revenge done. The rhino climbed onto Rump Rock, tipped back his enormous head and roared. Simon slithered into the enclosure in record time. “Simon, I want you to gather all the animals together and tell them to come to Rump Ranch.” “Of coursssssse,” Simon hissed. “May I enquire as to what we will be discussing?” he said gazing up at the rhino with a colourless smile.

Rump snorted through bucket-sized nostrils and the python wished for eyelids. "This zoo is not great, not great at all. The zoo in Houston and the one in San Antonio are way better, way way better. Which is just terrible. Now go gather the other animals. I’m going to make some changes around here."

“Of courssssse?” said the snake. “But how do you know?" "Old Baldy told me,” Rump said impatiently.

“He wouldn’t lie to me. He’s a true American Animal." Old Baldy, the American bald eagle, visited zoos all over the state. Animals gathered around the ‘news tree’ most nights to hear Old Baldy broadcast the truth. Simon had not heard the claims their zoo was inferior to others but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true.

"President Zanzibar will surely do something," said the snake.

Rump shook his gnarled head, his yellow straw wig flapping, his beady black eyes rolling and his red necktie swinging.

"That pampered lion won't do a damn thing about a damn thing. He isn’t even a true American Animal. You heard him say his mother was African. He admitted it. How can he be our President if he wasn’t even born in an American zoo?"

“But Old Baldy said he was an American Animal.”

“Do you believe everything you hear?” said Rump.

Simon thought about this. Something deep in his slippery stomach told him Old Baldy had confirmed Zanzibar was an American Animal but perhaps he had it wrong. Did he believe everything he heard? Perhaps he did! One thing was for certain, Rump had never ever lied to him.

“Your right of course,” Simon said. “I will gather the animals. Although I’m not sure the Big Cats will come.” Rump settled the snake a beady glare.

“Tell them exactly what I say. Tell them I am going to clean this crooked zoo up and make it great again. Tell them I’m starting with the big furry hairballs in the White Palace. I’m going to cough them up and use them as earmuffs.”

Simon didn’t understand but nodded all the same. He knew Rump was talking about the ruling big cats but he didn’t know what a hairball was. As he slithered up the hill to deliver the message his thoughts turned to food. Most specifically, lunch.

The reptiles arrived first: Mike the lizard, Toby the toad, Gordon the gecko, Linda the turtle, Eric the skink, Charlie the chameleon and Crazy Tom the one-eyed crocodile, all settled down in the soft brown earth in front of Rump Rock and chattered excitedly as they waited for the great horn (as they called Him) to speak. Rump gave his loyal supporters an exaggerated wink, the enthusiastic reptiles grinned and all winked back. Apart from Tom, the crazy one-eyed crocodile, because a crazy one-eyed crocodile can’t wink.

Next to arrive was the sleek snow leopard, Senator Elena Forde. A senior member of Zanzibar’s administration and the Big Cat Patriot Party, she sashayed into the ranch with what Rump dubbed “arrogant cat syndrome”. Senator Forde climbed the leafy sweetgum tree that stood at the centre of Rump Ranch, stretched her limbs over a thick branch and began to preen her paws. She regarded Rump lazily and said: "What are you going to moan about this week?"

Before Rump could respond with nuclear indignation the heritage mammals ambled through the gates and into the enclosure. Joshua the giraffe, Gaga the albino chimpanzee, Jape the gorilla, Lenny the gazelle, Zee the zebra, Sally the hippo and Archer the toothless baboon. Trailing after them, like a vast grey cloud, plodded, Jacob the African elephant. A kindly and steadfast beast. Jacob was one of President Zanzibar’s most trusted supporters and a well-respected member of the zoos community. He was not known for his quick wit but was universally liked for his honesty, affability and tireless work ethic.

The heritage mammals supported the president with dutiful deference, Jacob going further with a belief that Zanzibar possessed almost godlike powers. The heritage mammals had always aligned themselves with the big cats. Since the dawn of zoos.

After the mammals, came the natives: Butch bear, Woody elk, Hank wolf, Buzz coyote, Rocky raccoon, Henrietta red fox, and Ace the three-legged bison. Rump loved the natives because in many ways he wanted to be one, and the natives loved him back because in many ways they thought he was one of them.

Old Baldy glided into Rump Ranch and landed gracefully on a branch high up in the leafless sweetgum. His friends from the menagerie had already taken up lower positions in the tree. Eric weaver, Sarah parrot, Dodger cockatoo and Reginald falcon were all thinking the same thing: if only the other animals could gain their elevated perspective, they might grasp how ridiculous Rump was, and not hang off his every pompous word.

Next came the rodents. Rump had long labelled them “aliens” because they’d arrived at the zoo from other countries, many of them illegally, or so the rhino claimed. Mohammed meerkat, Zoya mongoose, Ali otter, Baba porcupine, and Jose the Mexican rat. Strictly Jose was a Mexican sereque but only his fellow aliens bothered to learn the distinction. The rodents hung back, near the exit, unsettled and nervous. Ever watchful.

Finally, President Zanzibar wandered through the gates of Rump Ranch, his big cat cabinet marching in behind him. Seven senators: tiger, leopard, panther, jaguar, cougar, puma and cheetah. All lived and worked with the President at The White Palace.

Zanzibar moved through the crowd greeting creatures with an easy smile, the animals beamed back in delight. Only when Zanzibar was sitting on his hind legs, his lustrous golden mane angled upward toward Rump, did the rhino begin his speech…

The lion turned and gave the audience a warm smile and then turned back and looked up at Rump.

“Are we not all aliens in our own way?” His commanding voice silencing the commotion.

“My parents came to New York zoo from Tanzania many years ago. I am a first-generation lion. Does this make me any less of an American animal?”

The big cats and mammals roared in support. Rump shook his horn and looked out toward the assembled crowd.

“You’ve ruined this zoo with your woke snowflakery, Zanzibar. For eight years we have suffered at the paws of your administration. Whilst only the elite or the lowly are cared for. What about the animals in the middle? Enough is enough. We need change. I will do a better job than you. We must make this zoo great again. Do you accept my challenge?”

The gathering of animals roared, snapped, yelped and hissed. Some were noises of support, some of opposition, but all agreed that this was an audacious challenge. Zanzibar had never been opposed before, not even by another big cat, let alone a rhinoceros wearing a straw wig.

After a thoughtful pause, President Zanzibar raised his mane and addressed the gathering.

“It is Mr Rump’s right to challenge me.” He turned his flecked auburn eyes on the rhino. “But I will not stand against you. Another will take my place.” He nodded toward the Leopard lounging in the tree. “I choose Senator Elena Forde to run against you in my stead.”

A clamour of surprise and excitement erupted from the crowd. For the first time in almost a decade there would be an election and on the ballot paper a rhinoceros. Rump let out a high-pitched squeal, a noise that male rhinos are well known for, but try to avoid emitting because they think it’s emasculating. Rump pulled himself together, puffed out his cheeks and thought it through. It was unlikely he would win, the big cat elite was too powerful, their supremacy stretched too far back. However, he was in the race and anything can happen when you’re in the race. Then it came to him, a revelation. He wasn’t a big cat and as such he didn’t need to play by their big cat rules. He cleared his throat and began his acceptance speech.

“I accept any challenge set before me,” Rump began. “and I will fight, fight, fight to expose the lies and corruption the big cat elite have committed for so many years. But, you know what’s more important than anything?” he paused to rear up on his hind legs, delighting the reptiles at the front. “Unity! And you know what I love about it?” Continued Rump. “Unity is love, I’m in love with myself, I’m in love with all of you and I’m sure as hell in love with this zoo. And I don’t just love the animals that already support me, I love the animals that have cat yolk in their eyes. Yeh, that’s right, I’m in love with you because I know you love me right back. Deep down, even if you don’t know it yet. We’re all in love together because we all have one thing in common,” he paused again, glancing toward the exit where the rodents stood nervously watching. “Well, not all of us…and do you know what that thing we have in common is?” he bellowed.

Rump waited a beat and then thundered his final line with slow and purposeful intent. “WE ARE ALL… AMERICAN ANIMALS!”

As the new presidential candidate climbed down from the Rump Rock, a chant started up. Two words. Over and over again: “AMERICAN ANIMAL, AMERICAN ANIMAL, AMERICAN ANIMAL, AMERICAN ANIMAL.”

Chapter 3

Rump could not sleep that night; he replayed the day's events with growing delight. Excited and restless in his luxurious straw bed. He’d played it perfectly, he’d been cunning, calm and courageous. He knew the odds were stacked against him, but that didn’t matter. If he could just convince half the heritage mammals to vote for him, he’d be in with a chance of prickling some fat cat fur. Besides, win or lose, he was in the game and his daddy had always said:

“Once you get in the game, you can change the rules.” His daddy had also told him: “Winning ugly is still winning.”

It had been decided that the vote would take place in three weeks time. Rump’s campaign strategy was a simple one. Shake the tree and see what falls out. He was going to make sure that this election would be bigger than anything the zoo had ever seen before. It wouldn’t just be unique because Forde was the first female candidate to be selected in the history of the zoo and Rump was the first non-big cat to be selected. It would be unique because Rump intended to break with convention. In fact, he hoped he could break convention altogether. As he lay awake, staring up at the moon, he compiled a list of one ultimate and unbreakable rule: No matter what, however much the big cat elite pressured him, or how compelling the evidence against him was, he would never ever admit he was wrong. About anything. Ever.

One of the first executive decisions the rhino made was to make Simon Python his chief advisor. The other reptiles respected Simon and keeping them onside would be vital. Rump felt sure Simon would make an excellent right-hand snake. Not least because Rump knew he would do everything he asked, without question. He also chose Simon because he was almost as committed to expelling the alien animals as he was. The reptiles had always felt like they’d been treated as second class citizens by the big cat elite, they’d grumbled about it for years. Rump, who once boasted that his Ranch was twice the size of the reptile house, took the decision to make the refurbishment of the herpetarium (reptile house) his first election promise. He would hold a big rally that very day and announce the exciting news.

Rump commenced a run of rallies that quickly became the hottest ticket in town. His impassioned speeches sparking a conversation that divided opinion, animals and even, in some cases, species. Rump railed against the big cat elite with sincere passion, his mischievous charisma and disarming candidness winning over many doubters. He exploded with policies. Opinions that dared talk about real issues; overpopulation, sanitation and animal migration. His election pledges ranged from the wacky and wild to the inspired and necessary. He threatened to dig a vast trench around the zoo to stop the alien rodents getting in. He promised to make all carnivores pay more tax, a vow the big cat elite were most upset about. Rump was vague and direct, unpredictable and cocksure, but most of all he was plain-speaking, no-nonsense and different.

Rump told the animals that if they had a problem, he would fix it. He didn’t get bogged down in detail, he simply said it would be dealt with. If he said a group of animals were corrupt, they were corrupt. Rump didn’t get involved in evidence. Rump dealt in fact. He didn’t get embroiled in proving things; that was what the big cat elite did. He didn’t have time to waste on verifying particulars. Why should he? He knew exactly what was going on. His supporters took his word for it. He didn’t tell them how everything would get better. It just would. Every speech he gave, audience members either chanted and cheered, or heckled and booed. It was a polarisation so stark many animals worried there would be civil war. The middle ground vanished, you were either with him or against him. His detractors were ardent, his followers evangelical.

Every Rump rally ended with the same repetitive chant: “AMERICAN ANIMAL, AMERICAN ANIMAL.”

The rhino climbed onto Rump rock spurred by the sound of fanatical cheering, he gazed out at the assembled animals, his straw wig flapping in the wind. He was pleased to note the new faces. Every day more were drawn to his rallying cry. “We need big talk and even bigger action,” Rump began with intensity.

“BIG TALK, BIGGER ACTION.” Chanted the crowd back at him.

Rump had travelled around the zoo, visiting with animals from all walks of life, talking to them directly, listening to their grievances, promising swift justice or instant resolution. He injected his speeches with their concerns:

“American animals must come first! Let’s make this zoo great again!” he bellowed, waiting a beat so the gathering mob could chant his words back.

Rump awoke on the sixth day of the campaign with an idea. He summoned Simon and instructed him to go and find him a chalkboard. Within an hour Simon slithered back into the ranch, dragging behind him, a thin sheet of grey slate stone.

“Place it at the entrance of the ranch, where all can see it,” commanded the rhino. Rump followed Simon outside to make sure the snake completed the task to his satisfaction.

“What is it for, Mr President-Elect, Sir?” Simon said as pushed the flat stone into place. “I will use it to communicate my important message, direct to the other animals.”

“What a truly ingenious idea, Sir.”

Rump craned his neck and started to write on the board, with his horn. Simon spoke the words as he spoke them: “A leopard can’t change his spots. I don’t have spots!”

The snake wagged his tail excitedly. “What will you call this new form of communication, Sir?”

“Well, let me see, this is a Horn Board!” Rump said kicking the slate tablet. “So I guess the act of committing thoughts to the Horn Board is called Horning,” he added.

The following morning, Rump went to check the Horning Board and was surprised to find a rather large pile of flat stones stacked at its base. Closer inspection revealed each of the slate tiles was etched with a message.

The first of which was written in tall spidery lettering and was signed by the Mexican Sereque, Jose. It was a straightforward opinion: “You’re an idiot!”

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The cover art that received the highest number of likes for the month of January:

Quentin Blake

#authorsofinstagram #artists on tumblr #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram

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marymccartneyphotos · 5 years

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Mary McCartney Has Photo Show in Toronto

The Star; By Jeanne Beker; May 03 2013

When I first screamed my heart out for Paul McCartney at Maple Leaf Gardens back in 1965, I never imagined that years later, I’d not only have the thrill of interviewing the famous Beatle on several occasions but also meeting his beloved first wife, the talented Linda McCartney, who exhibited her photography in Toronto in 1990. Five years later, I found myself in their daughter Stella’s tiny Notting Hill studio, as she launched her very first collection. My Fashion Television producers needed images of the fashion gathering held at Stella’s studio the night before, so the designer turned us on to her older sister, Mary, to help out. Mary was a budding photographer following in her mother’s footsteps and supplied us with some gritty images that wonderfully captured the spirit of the stylish party, attended by such friends and model luminaries as Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss. While Stella went on to become one of the fashion world’s most influential designers, Mary McCartney has become an accomplished photographer whose easy, uncontrived style smacks of spirited spontaneity. Known for her celebrity portraiture, she has a knack for relaxing her subjects, capturing intimate moments that speak of ease and a certain sensuality. The mother of four young boys ranging in age from 1 to 13, the 43-year-old McCartney will be in Toronto Thursday for the opening of an exhibit at Yorkville’s Izzy Gallery, entitled Developing, which will feature 15 of her large-scale images shot over the past decade. I spoke with the photographer on the phone from London this week about her work, her late mother’s influence, and the humble nature of her ultra-famous family.

Q: What was it about photography that really turned you on in the first place?

A: I grew up watching my mother taking photographs. She’d always have a camera with her and throughout her day, she’d just randomly, suddenly pick it up and take a picture quite quickly. She made it look easy and very natural. When I became an adult, I worked in picture research, thinking maybe I’d work in a gallery, but not taking pictures myself because I felt intimidated. Then my mom asked me to go into her archives and help edit pictures with her for exhibitions and books, and when I looked through her contact sheets, it married up those memories I had of watching her taking pictures. Looking at the contact sheets inspired me because the images were seemingly quite simply taken, in available light, but what they looked like on the contact sheets was really special and personal and intriguing. I liked the variety of her subjects and her images, all in her very confident, elegant style. From there, I got inspired to do it myself.

Q: I’m sure your dad taught you a lot about the impact of imagery, too. He often camped it up for the cameras, inherently understanding what photographers go for. All that consciousness of image must have affected you.

A: Photography is what brought my mom and dad together. My mom was passionate about photography and rock ’n’ roll. That’s what brought her to London and that’s when they met. She was taking photographs of The Beatles during a press day they were having. Obviously my mom was beautiful and they were attracted to each other. But my dad was a huge advocate of my mom’s photography, because I think he connected with how relaxed she made him feel and how, with such ease, she would get really interesting pictures. He thought that was quite special in her style. He loved her photography because she made it look easy, but when you looked at the pictures, she got so much of her subject in there. There was a real kind of connection in the camera with her subjects and her.

Q: You’ve shot all kinds of celebrities. How do you relax a subject?

A: I try to gauge what my subject wants to do and we chat a bit before. I’ll just try to make sure that they know that I’m going to work with them to try and get some great shots, rather than impose my view on them. Throughout the shoot I’ll keep evaluating how comfortable they are. If it seems to be getting a bit more difficult for them, then I take a break, get them to walk around a bit and get them to sit back down again. You know, keep it moving.

Q: The fashion arena has also provided some wonderful opportunities. What is it about that world that intrigues you?

A: Models are much more comfortable in front of the camera, so it’s nice. I don’t do very much fashion anymore, but when I do I love coming up with an idea for a story that you can tell over eight to 12 images, which is really refreshing. I also realize how top models are really great models. Some look beautiful, but they’re not necessarily that good at telling a story. They may have one amazing look, but the really top models can tell different stories and perform different characters in front of the camera.

Q: Tell me about your work with Kate Moss. What makes her such a profoundly interesting subject?

A: She is so beautiful, you just don’t want to stop shooting her. And she’s got different personas in front of the camera, so that’s quite interesting. But also you can tell she’s got a lot of depth as a character in real life as well, so she’s intriguing on different levels. She’s a little bit naughty and she’s got a great sense of style. And she’s got an opinion on things.

Q: There’s such an air of humility about you and your family, considering the wealth of talent you all possess. And you have a kindness and compassion towards people. I guess it’s just a true love of humanity that seems to shine though in the work that you do.

A: It’s lovely that you say that. I think it probably goes back to my parents in that they’ve always been passionate about what they did. My mom was passionate about photography. She’s like me now. I don’t feel satisfied if I’m not taking pictures. And then my dad is passionate about his music and he’s got an artistic sensibility. As a songwriter, I don’t think he could ever become too gentrified and above the real world because I don’t think he would find the lyrics and the inspiration that he needs to carry on. Both my mother and my father had a real work ethic and I think we’ve instinctively picked that up over the years. We only feel satisfied when we’re doing projects that we care about. That’s definitely been influenced by them.

Q: They taught you well. Now you’re the mother of four boys. How has motherhood changed you as an artist? How has it toyed with your artistic eye?

A: That’s an interesting question. I think it’s made me focus more on what I’m going to take pictures of, because I don’t have time to waste. It’s also made me relaxed a bit more in my style. Because so many spontaneous moments happen with kids, it’s made me appreciate my more spontaneous pictures. Those are the ones I value the most. A lot of the pictures that are my favourite ones are the ones that have ironically been taken in the least amount of time.

Q: In this age of Instagram, when everyone seems to be a photographer, and with so many sophisticated technical tools at everybody’s disposal, what is it that really does separate fine art photography from so much of the fare that we’re bombarded with, in such a variety of media platforms?

A: It’s interesting, because fine art photography can be anything. I’ve even considered, in the future, doing a book of my own Instagram pictures because I love taking those quick pictures that are in a way throwaway. I like the spontaneity. I love the fact that there is that technology that everyone can take pictures. It makes you realize how artistic a lot of people are and how it gives them the outlet for that. You don’t have to know how to use a camera, and figure out your shutter speed and your light settings. But it also makes me appreciate that sometimes when I’m taking pictures, and I’m taking them on my old film camera or even on a high-end digital camera, it is still quite complicated, to set up the camera, to think about what depth of field you want to get, what exposure, what film quality. . . . It still takes a certain amount of consideration and I think that is what separates the social media pictures from fine art pictures. But it’s pretty amazing that you can take great pictures on your phone and some of the filters that you can apply now really are quite flattering. Still, sometimes there’s something to be said for having to think it through and taking a bit more time over it.

Q: When you look back at that iconic image of you as a wee baby, your face sticking out of your dad’s coat on that memorable first solo album of his, what goes through your mind?

A: I think it’s a really sweet, amazing, quite eccentric, family snapshot. But as a photographer, I look at it and completely see why my mom took it because it was this beautiful moment. My dad used to zip me up in his coat and they’d go horse riding together in Scotland. He’d carry me in his coat on horseback, which you’d never do in a million years these days. But it’s that light really that strikes me about that photograph. You can see she’s taken it right at the end of the day, where there’s that beautiful kind of sunset orange glow, which had this real softness. I think that really makes the photograph because I think dad is really responding to that light and that moment. It’s a captive moment, which I think is why it’s a picture that is a historic one. It’s not contrived. You can tell it’s got real intimacy to it.

#paul mccartney #family #Linda McCartney #mary McCartney #photography #kate moss #fashion #interview

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harvestgatenetwork-blog · 5 years

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The Harvest Gate Podcast - Episode 1

Below is a written transcript of Episode 1 of The Harvest Gate Podcast.

Now available on harvestgate.org/podcast , Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app or service.

New episodes every Sunday at 6AM.

Episode 1: What is Harvest Gate?

*Intro Music*

Greg: Hey this is Greg

Zack: And Zack

Greg: Welcome to the very first Harvest Gate Podcast. We are delighted to be talking to you about this project. And we’re excited to welcome you to our very first podcast, we’re going to be talking about Harvest Gate, tracking our growth and development, keeping you up to date on events and news that’s going on. But for this very first episode, we want to take some time to introduce ourselves, Harvest Gate and everything about this project. So Zack why don’t you start, tell us a little about yourself.

Zack: Yea, my name is Zack Morgan. I am a pastor here in Newark, Ohio. I’ve lived in this area for pretty much my entire life. I spent 6 years away in the air force and I came back to the church that I grew up in as a pastor which was an interesting dynamic. I’ve had some great leaders that have guided me along the way and have helped shape a lot of my thinking, a lot of my behaviors. It has led to this really cool…what I believe is the vision of Harvest Gate that I’m excited to talk about with you Greg.

Greg: I’m excited too! We’ll dig deeper into exactly what Harvest Gate is and where that idea came from. But first, do you want to tell everyone a bit about how we met and our relationship, how we got here?

Zack: Yea. That is a fun story. About a year and a half ago I was playing on a church softball team and Greg and his wife Emily came to the game and that was an interesting dynamic about how you came in the first place.

Greg: Yea, I mean, it is a funny story as well. We didn't really know you guys, we didn't have any connection to your church, even though its less than a mile from our house. We had a mutual friend that Emily knows from a group of ladies that she meets with, that her husband played some game that I played and said, "Hey, we should get together and hang out!". They invited us to play softball and I think at some point we discovered a mutual affection for tennis, which sort of led into, how can we get some exercise outside of softball, let's meet up on Fridays for tennis.

Zack: And what Greg didn't tell me is that he's a really good tennis player and I kind of just played for just for fun. So Greg and I started playing tennis, and that was really fun, but then the weather got cold so we started getting coffee and so we started getting coffee. We've been getting coffee for about a year.

Greg: Yea, over a year.

Zack: One of the fun dynamics between our relationship, I'm a pastor obviously, but Greg is not a follower of the Christian way. He believes what I would call the Christian ethic but does not identify as a Christian himself. Greg, would you talk about that a little bit?

Greg: You know, I think everyone has their, sort of journey or path that they've been on. I grew up going to church and while I think I didn't totally buy-in to everything about it, I really picked up on Christian values and how you treat other people. Treating people with kindness and loving people even if you have differences with them. It's been certainly a topic of conversation and discussion in my marriage where my wife is a very strong believer and I'm less so, but we agree on wanting to pass on those values to our son, in a way that is impactful and meaningful for him in his life. The thing that meant a lot to me about our relationship, and getting coffee, and talking and all the conversations that we had is that I never felt this pressure, that I was any less than anyone else because I didn't believe in it. We could have honest conversations about what we thought about or how we felt about things and there wasn't any judgement or pressure like, "We'd be better friends if you were a believer" or something like that.

Zack: And I just love you authenticity, you don't pretend to be something you aren't. In honesty, apart from Tennis and Coffee, there's not a whole lot that we share in common, but we've developed a really good friendship, I would consider you one of my best friends.

Greg: Yea, absolutely.

Zack: Can you tell me a little bit about why, as a non-believer, why you would want to join a church plant? I love it. I'm also really intrigued by it.

Greg: When you outline it that way it doesn't make a ton of sense. I think it's a combination of several things. My wife's passion for the project is really exciting and that gets me really excited about it. But also, I look at not just the church side of it but all the positive impact you're trying to have in and around central Ohio and the long term vision of how that can grow. It appeals to me because there are too many things in our world these days that are negative, that divide people when we would really come together to do good things, regardless of what we believe or how we feel about certain things. Why not try and make a positive impact.

Zack: You and I have had this conversation before. I believe that this is what the Kingdom is all about. Whether you are a believer or not a believer, coming together to bring about God's redemptive work to the world. You can do that whether you are a believer in Jesus and his ways or not. Greg, does this seem like a good time to talk about what's going on with Harvest Gate, how we got to this point?

Greg: Yea, let's dig in a little deeper on what Harvest Gate is, what exactly it is that we're talking about our involvement in then we can maybe we can get into our related experience and what we're bringing to the project.

Zack: I'll try to be brief about this but my story with church planting goes back to 2009. In 2009, my wife and I, Liz, were in a church in Florida while I was in the military and our church was wanting to start small groups and at the time I had just fallen in love with everything church. I wanted everything to do with the church. I heard they were doing small groups and I said, "OH! Can I lead one?" They said sure, and I said, what is a small group? So they kind of laid it out. I said, "Is there a curriculum or anything like that, that I need to go by?" No. Being the naive, young man I was, I thought, well I only have the bible to go off of so that's a good start.

So I remember in Acts, chapter 2, there is a part where it says, "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread, to fellowship and to receiving of the lord's supper." And in verse 47 it says, "and the lord added daily, to their numbers, those who are being saved."

So I was like, alright, well I guess we'll just go with this. Our small group started out with 8 people and like every church in America in the 2000's our slogan was, "Love God, Love People and Server your world."

I went through that passage and I said, "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, that would be 'Love God'."

And to fellowship, that's 'Love People' and broke it down that way. Our group started out with 8 people and within about 3 months we were averaging 35 people or so.

Greg: Wow!

Zack: That group became church for people. We did communion, we did worship, we did teaching, we ate a lot, we laughed a lot, we cried a lot and it just became beautiful. It was at that point where I felt, looking back in hindsight, I had no idea what church planting was, I was like, "Oh we should just start a church!"

Greg: Yea

Zack: And by god's grace we didn't because I was an idiot back then...I'm still an idiot, but less so.

Greg: And humble.

Zack: Yes. I lacked humility back then and it was a piece of pride for me. So that's where my heart for church planting began and then we'll fast forward. In 2014, I got out of the military, I became a pastor at the church where I'm currently serving here in Newark.

In 2016, at the behest of my lead pastor, who is a multiplication guru, he encouraged me to do a church planters assessment and so, Liz and I went through a 2 or 3 day thing.

Greg: Liz, your wife, of course.

Zack: Yes, Liz is my wife. So its a 3 day journey where, basically, you're being...interrogated is not the right word...interviewed about your life and your life experience for probably 8 hours a day. Ultimately what they said, they give you 3 options, they say, "Yes, you possess the qualities to be a lead church planter right now."

"Yes, you do possess these things but you need some significant training or coaching."

or "No".

Liz and I received a no, sorry, we received a yes! We were ecstatic! That was in 2016. We left there thinking, "Yea, this is awesome, still feeling called to church planting but we don't feel released from where it is we're currently serving."

So in 2017, I went to a church planters conference in Florida, called Exponential, which I feel now is a great time to plug Exponential. If you are interested in church planting or multiplication or discipleship, Exponential is a fantastic conference that I highly recommend, it is the largest gathering of church planters and multipliers around the world. Something like 5000 people come out to that.

It was there at Exponential that I met a fellow church planter, who was actually doing it, I felt like an imposter because I hadn't actually planted a church. But I met him, his name is Cory Dorian, he is out in Washington or Oregon area. He got permission from his district to buy a house in a neighborhood. Basically, they just did a house church and their ministry, their vision, was to do everything in their neighborhood for the neighborhood.

They met in their house but they did all their shopping, all their haircutting, everything happened in their neighborhood.

So i asked Cory, "This is fantastic! But what are you doing, how are you finding that you can support yourself apart from being paid by the district."

Greg: Financially.

Zack: Financially, right. And he said, "Uhh, I haven't figured that out yet."

I loved that vision but it felt like all the wind was let out of the sails because it's like, well, I'm not going to be able to find a district or a place...I'm not going to be able to find a sugar daddy essentially...

Greg: And that's important for you because you have a wife, you have 3 kids...

Zack: Yea!

Greg: You've got to support that whole household as well.

Zack: And if I had a really rich Uncle or something like that who, what was that movie, Baxter's Millions? Brewster's Millions? Richard Prior? It was a great movie, anyways!.

But that was not the case for me. I started dreaming, "How could we do this?" And I was reminded, I feel like God reminded me of this, that I had a dream to open a coffeehouse before I was called into ministry, but once I was called into ministry I thought, "Well, that dream is just going to have to die."

And so I let that go and hopped into ministry.

But here in 2017 at Exponential I feel like God gave me a dream to marry both the marketplace and the church together. God gave me this vision, I called home, I called Liz, and I said, "Liz. God gave me this vision, here's the vision."

And she said, "Well its great that he gave you that vision, but he did not give that to me."

Greg: Uh oh.

Zack: Liz continued, "If he wants us to do this, he's going to have to talk to me about that."

Again, all the wind out of my sails.

Greg: Yea.

Zack: At that point, I put church planting in my back pocket and I thought, "Well, maybe one day down the road, 10 or 20, 30 years from now, God will let us plant a church."

Greg: Yea.

Zack: So in 2018, Liz and I began the process of becoming missionaries, to go to Vienna, Austria. It was a great process, it was about a 9 month process where we went through that application process. Through that we were getting lots of affirmations from the people who would have essentially benefited from it, the people who would be sending us. But what we were missing were affirmations from people who were close to us, like our family and our spiritual mentors, who were surrounding us.

For the last 4 years, I've been working on my Master's of Divinity with a specialization in church planting and multiplication through Wesley Seminary. One of the classes I had to take for my specialization was a class called "Launch"

By this point in the story, we're in 2019, January of 2019.

Greg: About a year ago.

Zack: About a year ago. Almost to the day. One of the first assignments was, give an autobiography of your experience or your involvement with church planting and multiplication. I essentially was typing out everything that I just shared, "Oh I felt called to plant a church 10 years ago...here it is...10 years later...haven't planted...woe is me."

As I am writing that paper, I get a text message from my pastor, Chris Dyer, and he says, "Zack, do you still feel called to plant a church?"

And I was like, "........Yes."

And he said, "Because I have been talking with Ed Love, who is the director of multiplication for the Wesleyan church, and he thinks that I just need to push you out of the nest and let you fly."

Greg: Mmhmm...works for birds.

Zack: Works for birds! I remember I screen-shotted it and sent it to Liz and remember, we're still going through the process of trying to become missionaries at this point. I sent it to Liz and I said, "So things might be changing."

And little did we know, that moment set us on a course to birth what we are now talking about, Harvest Gate. So that's what kind of led us to this moment. That class was an amazing class, it helped us put essentially to paper, everything that had been in my head and had been ethereal, had now become a reality.

Greg: It's been a long journey, there's been a lot of things that have sort of led you to that point. Now that we're here, define Harvest Gate. What is Harvest Gate? You talked about the coffeehouse, the house churches, package those together for us, for the listener and explain what that is.

Zack: Yea, so it's interesting. I grew up in what I would call a traditional kind of church. And I'm not talking about the music necessarily. It's a place where you go on a given day of the week and that's what we called church. But as I've studied the scriptures and as I've studied church history and things like that, what I have found is that the movement of God's people often happens in homes.

What we say at Harvest Gate, what would be our mission statement essentially is, "Connecting faith to families, communities and marketplaces."

I heard some statistics a few years ago, and these numbers aren't exactly correct but they are close enough. Again, I believe I was at Exponential. And I heard a pastor say this, he said, "83% of pastors, in the last 12 months, do not have any friends who are non-church goers." And that broke my heart.

Another thing he said is, "Something like 63% of pastors, in the last 12 months, have not personally led someone to Jesus."

I remember thinking, "We have to do something that is different!" If we're trying to tell our people that they need to be loving their neighbor and caring for their neighbor and loving those who are different than them and loving those who have different ideologies, how are we going to teach them these things if we ourselves aren't doing these things.

Greg: Yea!

Zack: Which again is another reason why I love our relationship because we don't agree on everything.

Greg: It really is a relationship that, in my head, wouldn't make sense. Because I have often felt uncomfortable at church. I've had a handful of interactions where somebody comes up to you and says, "Oh, are you saved?!" and it sort of feels aggressive and an invasion of...Well, I can choose to believe what I want to believe. I don't necessarily want to share that with everyone, though I obviously am now...

It is an interesting dynamic about how we got here and how it just works. And there is no...I don't ever feel that uncomfortable pressure or bias towards believes versus non-believes or something like that. I can just be whoever I am. Thanks for that!

Zack: And that doesn't mean that we don't talk about spiritual matters.

Greg: Yea!

Zack: I've told you before, if I didn't want you to believe what I believe, then what I believe is not actually worth it. Or I'm just a jerk for not wanting you to believe that.

Actually, Greg, the reason that we are doing our church is exactly for people like you, who have been hurt by the church, burned by the church, who don't want to associate. I'm not saying you don't necessarily want to associate with church.

Greg: Sure.

Zack: People who just feel disenfranchised. There have been some studies, some more anecdotal, some more legitimate, that have said, "If the church as it stands now, as it is traditionally configured, were to operate at a 100%, we would only reach about 40% of the population."

When I say traditional church, I'm talking about brick and mortar church, where you go to a certain place on a certain day of the week and if you're really spiritual, one other time throughout the week. Maybe you're part of a small group or something like that.

So we have roughly 95% of churches in America, who are going after 40% (of the population), while maybe 5% are going after the other 60% of people. Harvest Gate, I believe, is a church that wants to go after the 60%. Those people who will never step foot into a traditional type of church.

We want to engage people in what we would call the third place of life. I remember reading a book called, "The Story of Christianity" by Husto Gonzalez, who is a really famous church historian. There is a passage in there that really just struck me. He said this, he said, "In truth, most missionary work was not carried out by the apostles but rather by the countless and nameless Christians, who for different reasons, persecution, business or missionary calling, traveled from place to place taking the news of the gospel with them."

As I was thinking about that and pondering that, I couldn't help but to think, Paul became a tent maker, he used his tent making to build relationships with people and used that to share the gospel.

His partners in ministry, Pricilla and Aquila, were tent makers. You have Lydia, who was the first one, the first person baptized in Europe and there is a church that met in her home. She was a seller of fine, purple linen. The writer of the book Luke and Acts, Luke, was a physician. Each of these people used their vocation in order to pastor people, essentially. And that is where the idea of Harvest Gate came from.

What we want to do is open a coffeehouse where we can engage people in the third place of life. There was a book written called "The Great Good Place" and it identifies 3 different places of life. You have the first place which is home, the second place which is work and the third place which is, kind of defined by neutral ground, it is a place where everyone feels welcome, it is a level place. Conversation is the main activity. It is easily accessible and there is accommodation for everybody. It has regulars. You think of Cheers.

Greg: Right, right.

Zack: Low profile, the mood is playful. You refer to it as a home away from home. I have a local coffeehouse that I attend, that I frequent pretty regularly.

Greg: Well and we go there together, and whenever we're there, there are maybe a dozen people or so, over the hour or hour and a half that we're talking, that know you, have seen you at church, have you seen you around town.

They certainly remember you by name, some are just "Hello!" and some are "Oh how's the family, how's the kids" and they certainly really do know you.

Zack: And it's not just me, it's the case for you to.

Greg: That's true. I have, maybe by accident, come to meet and know lots of people through my relationships with people at both your church and another church here in town. All of a sudden...I should clarify, I'm not originally from Newark, I moved here from Columbus. My wife Emily is from Newark. And there were a lot of times, maybe even a lot of years, soon after I moved out here where I felt very isolated, didn't know anybody.

I've spent almost the last 8 years working from home and working from home is great but you don't meet anyone working from home, just your dogs and your family. How I feel now emotionally and mentally is so much better. Having these relationships with people, where I live and having met you and us being able to get together regularly to talk and share what's going on in our lives has made a huge difference.

Zack: I think that community aspect is really important.

Greg: Yea.

Zack: This is not the case entirely, across the Christian realm but a lot of times in the church, community or relationships are kind of sterile. We might have a few close-knit relationships but there's not a general sense of community.

Greg: Right.

Zack: We might say that we have a community of people, but we really only see each other once a week.

Greg: Yea..

Zack: Maybe twice a week. And so what I love about our relationship, maybe not daily, but pretty close to that.

Greg: You are a master of the gif by the way.

Zack: Thank you! It is a skill that I...

*laughter*

Zack: We communicate pretty frequently. I would say that our...I could be mistaken...This is honest moments here with Zack and Greg. I feel like our relationship when it first started was kind of awkward.

Greg: Maybe. I think we were both figuring it out. It's a believe and a non-believer at probably extreme ends of that spectrum. I'm not an active non-believer, I'm not dissuading people, I'm comfortable where I am.

Zack: Yea.

Greg: And I think we were both trying to figure out, are we going to offend each other? Are we going to be uncomfortable with these types of conversations? We figured out pretty quickly, no, we're fine having honest discussions about it. We can come and go from that topic without it feeling forced or uncomfortable, like oh, we have to talk about that big cross-shaped elephant in the room.

Zack: Exactly, yea and it kind of sounds like an intro to a bad joke. A pastor and an agnostic walk into a coffeehouse.

We're hoping that through the coffeehouse we're able to engage with people in a relationship. I have a family member who was asked about this, and they said, "So is this like a Christian coffeehouse that's like, here's your coffee now if you want prayer step over to this line and we'll have someone sent over to pray for you."

No, that would just be weird and uncomfortable.

Greg: I can verify that. That I would also feel weird and uncomfortable about that.

Zack: I would feel weird and uncomfortable about that and I'm a pastor.

Greg: Well there ya go.

Zack: This is a for-profit coffeehouse that I'll be the owner of.

Greg: Yea.

Zack: The idea is that we want to engage the world in a really good, quality service, quality product. Here's the thing, I believe that our worship and our work are intimately tied together.

Greg: Yea. Everybody on the Harvest Gate team is reading a book about this.

Zack: Yea.

Greg: About how your work and how what you do should be fulfilling and tied to what you love to do.

Zack: The Hebrew word for the word "work" in the old testament, Genesis 2, says that, "God put Adam in the garden to work the field and take care of it." That word, work, is the Hebrew word "aved" and it literally is used throughout the old testament to mean, service or service to god. That word is often used synonymously with the word worship.

I believe that one of the best ways that I can share the gospel with people, is through doing really really good work.

Greg: Yea.

Zack: And treating people really well and there is a saying, I don't know if you're aware of this saying Greg but St Francis of Asisi said, "Preach often and when necessary use words."

I think it is a great sentiment but I think what has happened in the church is we just go, "Well I don't need to say anything because I'm doing it with my life."

I think that words are important and that we need to have those conversations which is why, I think, you and I have these conversations.

Greg: Yea.

Zack: But...so we want to use the coffeehouse to engage people into relationships so we can invite them into discipleship and then into our house church. Which is what we're going to be, it's not going to be a building, it's going to be wherever people live and work.

It doesn't matter if you live in an 8,000 foot mansion, which if you do, please invite me over, I want to see that.

Greg: Right, yea! Absolutely!

Zack: Or if you live in a studio apartment, it doesn't matter. You can have church right there. Engaging in those things that the early church engaged in. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread, to communion and to fellowship. You can do those things all from your home.

So we want to engage people in the first, the second and the third place of life.

Greg: So I think the coffeehouse ties back into the example you gave earlier, and I apologize I forget who you were specifically referring to but, when they were talking about starting this house church and they felt called to do that, it was great and they felt very passionately about that but how do you support your family. The coffeehouse is really going to do that, its going to support your family to enable you to do the stuff in that community.

We should clarify, we're in Newark, Ohio right now, Harvest Gate is going to be in Columbus, you're not opening a coffeehouse and going to sometimes be there, you're going to move there, to live within short distance of the coffeehouse, or at least that's the plan.

Zack: Yes and thank you for bringing that up. Our big dream is that we want to have a transforming presence in every zip code in Columbus. In Columbus, there are 49 zip codes.

Greg: That's a lot of zip codes.

Zack: That's a lot of zip codes. So that means we want to have either a business, and it doesn't have to be a coffeehouse. A business and/or a house church in every zip code in Columbus. You're absolutely correct, Greg, that will be my vocation, that will be the way that I sustain our life and our family.

Here's one of the things I love about what we're doing, through the coffeehouse, 10% of all of our profits are going to go towards starting other businesses or other churches, or other faith communities. Greg, let’s say that, in this hypothetical situation you become a believer and you've always wanted to start Greg's yoga studio.

Greg: *laughs* I can think of a couple other businesses I might start first, but lets go with Yoga, I can aspire to something...

Zack: We would then launch you out, through the pool of money essentially that is coming in through Harvest Gate Coffeehouse to help start Greg's Yoga Studio. We want to be a place that is a blessing to other individuals, yes, but also to the community as well.

Which informs our name. The name Harvest Gate comes from 3 things, Jesus says, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so ask the lord of the harvest for more workers."

We want to be a part of the harvest. In Columbus, as of 2010, there are 693,127 people who have no religious affiliation at all. We want to see that number changed.

We want to be a part of the harvest, that is where we get Harvest from. Gate kind of seems a little strange and I'm going to address the elephant in the room. It seems like when you put Gate at the end of something, like Watergate, it seems to not go well.

Greg: Harvest Gate is not a harvest related scandal.

Zack: No. It is not. It is rooted in biblical ideologies. Jesus says that, "I am the gate. None come to the father except through me." We want to be very very very very Jesus centered. I had this revelation a couple of years ago, where I felt God spoke to me and he said, "Zack, you've become so institutionalized that you've been trying to win people to church and not to Jesus."

That began me on a journey that I really just want to be so Jesus-centered that its...

Greg: Thinking about taking up carpentry as well?

Zack: My dad's a carpenter so that works!

Greg: There ya go!

Zack: That's where we kind of get the idea of Harvest Gate, but it goes a little further than that. In the new testament, Paul used the word "ecclesia" to talk about the church, it is the greek word, "ecclesia". In America, what we generally tend to do is we define that word pretty narrowly and we say, it is a gathering of people or the gathering of the saints. To be sure, it is that, it is a gathering of people but Paul actually took that word from the secular community, so every village, town or city would have a group of elders who would meet at the city gate.

That group of elders, their responsibility was to bring wisdom and council and clarity and value to the cities, towns or villages in which they lived. If there is an engagement, they would affirm the engagement. If there was a dispute between land owners, they would make a judgement based off of the information that came in. Different things like that.

So that gathering of people at the city gate was called an ecclesia. And so Paul, I believe knew this, when he used the word ecclesia to describe the church.

I believe that Paul wanted the church to know that we exist for our communities, we exist for the cities, towns or villages that we live in. As a business, we want to bring value to our community, we want to hire people, we want to create jobs, we want to give back to our community. We want to be a gathering space for people! Whether you are a Christian or not or whatever the case is. So that's kind of what we're wanting to do with our business.

Greg: I think its a really...one of the things that drew me to the project is that it is such a...seems like an unconventional idea, that it can be a business that can do good. So often these days, capitalism in America is fueled by this uncontrollable greed for more, for more, for more. And companies seem to only want to do good things if it makes them appealing to customers, if it makes them lead to more sales. It sort of takes business away from any type of morality and starts to only think about what good can we do to positively influence our bottom line.

I don't like that sort of greed, really turns me off of businesses.

It is hard to describe exactly how I feel about it in a professional way. Nevertheless, I think I really like that Harvest Gate is taking a business and saying, "Okay, this is not just about making as much money as possible and that the only people that are going to be positively impacted by that are the tiny handful of people at the top or those that have invested the most money, or something like that."

We're not going around looking for investors to share in what we're doing in some way, we're looking for, and this is probably a good time to talk about it, that we're going to be looking for people to donate to help support this project and we're going to be talking about, fairly transparently, on this podcast about our progress with that. How we're doing and how we're reaching our goals, setting our goals and how all of that is going to enable this project to happen.

Zack: And I think it is important that we say that, we view this as a missionary endeavor.

That a lot of times missionaries will go to a foreign country and they will start a business in order to engage people in the community. We're wanting to do the exact same thing here in Columbus.

The business and the house church are in a symbiotic relationship with one another.

Greg: Yea

Zack: I tell people this, If we have just a business and no house church, we are just a business. We don't want to be just a business.

If we have just a house church and no business, I'm going to be living in a box and I won't be taking care of my family and I don't want them to resent me.

And we also won't have a way to engage people into the house church because we won't have a way of knowing people.

Greg: You can't have a house church without a house.

Zack: Exactly! We've kind of wrestled with this, which comes first, the chicken or the egg. In this situation, it is the business. For us to move to Columbus, the housing market there is about $100,000 more than where we currently live.

Greg: No doubt about that.

Zack: I truly believe that this is of God because I don't know if...I might be able to plant a church and do okay with it just because I'm familiar with it but I've never started a business though and I don't really know much about business. Fortunately, we have a team of people who have been surrounding us, like your wife, Emily.

Greg: Your wife, Liz.

Zack: Yea. And some others on the team, who have great skill and great knowledge and we also have outside counselors, I don't know if counselor is the right word, outside sources who are speaking into our lives and speaking into the business itself.

Greg: Yea, and I think it is worth mentioning now that we are going to be taking some time over the coming weeks. We're hoping to do this podcast weekly, and meet some of the people on this team and how they are going to be contributing and I think that goes to also we'll be talking more about your history and background, experience.

We'll be talking a little bit about myself, my wife, your wife and other team members and how everybody is connected to this, how serendipitous it is about how we all got connected with this. It is a really, sort of, weirdly shaped grapevine that has connected everybody to bring them here.

Zack: Yea and to speak to that point, a lot of times when we plant churches or we start businesses or things like that, what we tend to do is say, "I have these positions that need filled so I'm going to find people that fit these roles."

I feel like we have done this a little differently. God has laid people on my heart and I have sought them out and we found their unique gifts and skills and have plugged them into the places where they will thrive the most. And I believe that is what we are called to do in the church, is to release people so that they can live an abundant life in who God has made them to be.

Greg: I think that is a really fine point to end on for our first podcast for Harvest Gate.

Zack: Yea.

Greg: It has been great sharing this project and this idea with everybody and we hope that everyone is excited to keep tabs on what we're doing and the development of it. We'll be getting into more detail on our goals and our timeline and lots and lots more in upcoming episodes. For now, people can check us out and track what's going on at harvestgate.org

Zack: That's correct.

Greg: And we're currently on what social media?

Zack: We are on Facebook and Instagram for the time being.

Greg: And definitely more to come in the future.

Zack: Yea.

Greg: Alright, thanks very much for listening.

Zack: Had fun!

Greg: Follow us on social media @HarvestGateNetwork

Zack: There are several ways you can engage with us and support Harvest Gate at harvestgate.org

Greg: You can subscribe to the Harvest Gate podcast on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. If you are as excited as we are about this project, please consider sharing it with the people in your life.

Zack: Thanks for listening to the Harvest Gate podcast. Connecting faith to families, communities and marketplaces.

#Columbus #HarvestGate #ConnectingFaith #Episode1

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joannaofportugal · 5 years

Text

JOANNA DE BRAGANZA / / CHALLENGE 004

eleven tests completed & eleven explainations wrote out.

SOUL TYPE TEST | the sage

A Sage soul is one whose role in life is collective expression, communicating big ideas with as many as possible. Natural extraverts, playful expression is fundamental to the Sage’s nature, though they are more adept at entertaining an audience than in coming up with original ideas. They are born attention-seekers, very much at home in front of an audience, taking centre stage. The bigger the audience the better, but any audience will do. The natural goal of any Sage is to express the highs and lows of life for all to see, sharing lifes lessons in an appealing way to create shared understanding. All soul types can manifest positively or negatively in any given moment, as the individual chooses. When manifesting negatively, Sages lapse into ORATION, i.e. hogging the spotlight, loving the sound of their own voice. The positive manifestation is COMMUNICATION, being on the same wavelength as the audience. Famous Sages include Mae West, Oscar Wilde, Bill Clinton, Jim Carrey

NOTE: reading through the soul type was very on-par with joanna’s very person, i would class her as a YOUNG SAGE who chases fame as nowdays celebraties do. she hogs the spotlight, the loves the sound of her own voice - what else could she be?

MBTI TEST : entp-a ( the debater )

The Debater personality type is the ultimate devil’s advocate, thriving on the process of shredding arguments and beliefs and letting the ribbons drift in the wind for all to see. Debaters don’t do this because they are trying to achieve some deeper purpose or strategic goal, but for the simple reason that it’s fun. No one loves the process of mental sparring more than Debaters, as it gives them a chance to exercise their effortlessly quick wit, broad accumulated knowledge base, and capacity for connecting disparate ideas to prove their points.

NOTE: i was surprised, i thought her mbti would come out as something a little more dramatic rather than chasing knowledge or logic in it’s most intense form. i’m not too agreeing with the result, but maybe i can use this information to strengthen her person - and i like the ‘devil’s advocate’ side to it.

CREEPIEST THING ABOUT YOU TEST: your possessiveness is really uncomfortable

It’s obvious to everyone around you that you feel the need to keep everything just the way you like it, and that insistence often borders on obsession. Your persistence, materialism, and sentimentality can prevent you from ever letting things go, and the more you care about them, the more stubbornly you defend your right to own them forever. Sorry to say, but there are some things, like memories and loved ones, you simply can’t own, and trying to stake your claim over them just makes you seem unbalanced and creepy. It probably wouldn’t hurt to quit being such a hoarder, too - none of your guests enjoy trying to find a seat in a room piled high with reminders of everything you refuse to let die.

NOTE: this is quite onbrand but wouldn’t be the creepiest thing to me when it comes to joanna - though she is posessive i don’t agree that it’s overwhelmingly disgusting.. i’d say it’s her rudest, or need to be right all the time.

TEMPERAMENTS TEST: sanguine 23/24 choleric 18/24 melancholic 05/24 phlegmatic 05/24

Your temperament is sanguine. The sanguine temperament is fundamentally spontaneous and pleasure-seeking; sanguine people are sociable and charismatic. They tend to enjoy social gatherings, making new friends and tend to be boisterous. They are usually quite creative and often daydream. However, some alone time is crucial for those of this temperament. Sanguine can also mean sensitive, compassionate and thoughtful. Sanguine personalities generally struggle with following tasks all the way through, are chronically late, and tend to be forgetful and sometimes a little sarcastic. Often, when they pursue a new hobby, they lose interest as soon as it ceases to be engaging or fun. They are very much people persons. They are talkative and not shy. Sanguines generally have an almost shameless nature, certain that what they are doing is right. They have no lack of confidence.

NOTE: this is a much easier answer for me to digest, though joanna isn’t evil she certaily has a rudness that can come across as evil to some people - or perhaps she truly is just a bully. and the last quote, ‘they havae no last of confidence’ is right on the target! though of course, as a young girl there may be bouts of insecurity.. which may evolve into humility or down-right foolery.

LAWFUL ALIGNMENT TEST: chaotic neutral

A chaotic neutral character follows his whims. He is an individualist first and last. He values his own liberty but doesn't strive to protect others' freedom. He avoids authority, resents restrictions, and challenges traditions. A chaotic neutral character does not intentionally disrupt organizations as part of a campaign of anarchy. To do so, he would have to be motivated either by good (and a desire to liberate others) or evil (and a desire to make those different from himself suffer). A chaotic neutral character may be unpredictable, but his behavior is not totally random. He is not as likely to jump off a bridge as to cross it.

NOTE: in terms of alignment i think this is the safest option to describe joanna, she is no hero but she is no villain either.. she looks out for herself more than anthing else, though most choices come at random and at various paces.

GREEK DIETY TEST: poseidon

He was god of the Sea and other waters; of earthquakes; and of horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. He is noble and powerful, and is recognized as a figure of leadership.

NOTE: like what happened when i took the same quiz for marius, i lost my first results. my first was aphrodite, which i didn’t necessarily agree with - then came poseidon. i’m happier with this result because poseidon was such a crass and awful man who made hell a lot worse than hades ever could’ve - he killed many whilst at sea, and in my opinion, was one of the most powerful gods of greek mythology.

ENNEAGRAM TEST: type 7 / 7w8 ( the enthusiast )

People of this personality type are essentially concerned that their lives be an exciting adventure. Sevens are future oriented, restless people who are generally convinced that something better is just around the corner. They are quick thinkers who have a great deal of energy and who make lots of plans. They tend to be extroverted, multi-talented, creative and open minded. They are enthusiasts who enjoy the pleasures of the senses and who don't believe in any form of self-denial.

NOTE: she is certainly a pleasure seeker and planner for distraction and i think this is the closest i’d get to describing joanna though i wouldn’t call her creative due to the fact that she has little skill to anything!

SEXUALITY TEST: 40% heterosexual 30% bisexual 20% asexual 10% homosexual

this needs no description though i will write that of course she hasn’t had sex with anyone yet due to her position? it would be wrong for her to do that as a princess and thus has not experimented with anyone either than taking a few kisses from princes and noblemen. also, she has yet to be awoken to the sense that being attracted to girls is normal, so this quiz is entirely random to the point that it’s made for modern day human beings, not ones from 1455.

POKEMON TEST: flying type

The Flying type is all about the self. You possess traits that are often sought-after: Confidence, self-respect, and bravery radiate from your being. You are a very self-aware individual, and that knowledge can be employed to great use both alone and socially. Remember, however, to not get too big of a head, Flying-type: Your confidence is good, but empathy is better. Often, you may find yourself at the whimsy of society. You are honorable, but also constantly worried about your self-image remaining pristine. If you allow yourself to become too wrapped up in what others think of you, you may become too flighty and scattered for your own good. Remember to relax, and let your spirit soar!

NOTE: though i find it hard to relate joanna to a pokemon the description is pretty good and i can fit joanna into it - though i’d rather see her as a spoilt and messy jigglypuff.

TEA TYPE: hibiscus tea

You’re a *lot*. But that’s not a bad thing! You’re unafraid to take up space and make your voice heard. You love being the center of attention and are willing to cause a scene to swivel the spotlight toward you. You’ve got a sharp tongue (you’ve probably been called sassy at least once in your life) and you can use that for good or evil. Your tartness might not be for everyone, but those who get you love your larger-than-life presence.

NOTE: once again it’s pretty lose to joanna’s character and i particaly like the line ‘your tartness might not be for everyone’

BIG FIVE PERSONALITY:

of course i wasn’t going to pay for this quiz so i only have a little information to share: OPENNESS 52% CONSIENTIOUSNESS 10% EXTRAVERSION 100% AGREEABLENESS 21% NEUROTICISM 33%

NOTE: extraversion is a funny one, and i really like the look of this type of quiz but alas i’m poor and i’m not gonna spend money on a made up character!

and as i did with marius i ended up making a birth chat for her, who was born 29th may, 1438 at 17:39am.

#ofc i put too much time into this lmao #crhs.challenge #// seja a princesa vermelha ou morra ! ( JOANNA BRAGANZA )

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