#and some of us would like to be able to experience book 7 properly when we finally get it

[goblinbabyy]

It would be!!!! So very cool!! If people in the Twisted Wonderland fandom!! COULD STOP POSTING SPOILERS ABT BOOK 7 WITHOUT A WARNING AT THE TOP!!!!!!!!

[sun-in-retrograde]

A star is about to explode

The Blaze Star is about to go nova in the Northern Crown. For a day, this faint star will become as bright as the North Star. In the past, a new star appearing in the sky was a major omen and people would pay close attention to it, but people rarely understood that it could be a recurrent phenomenon.

Recurrent nova explosions basically happen when a star experiences a large explosion that is nonetheless not big enough to destroy it. In the case of the Blaze Star what happens is that a small white dwarf is orbiting close to a much bigger red giant star. The red dwarf has an “accretion disk” of chemicals around it and as the Blaze Star travels through it it takes in more and more glasses until this reaches critical mass and explodes. Then, for a day, the star becomes 1500 times brighter than it usually is. We know of ten recurrent novae but the Blazing Star has one of the longest known periods between recurrences - about 80 years.

The Blaze Star, also known as T Coronae Borealis (or T Crb) is currently at 18°22 Scorpio and it’s moving slowly through the Scorpio. The last time it lit up was 9 February 1946 when it was at 17°16, then before that it was at 16°10 on 12 May 1866. There’s also two documents that discuss the nova before it was properly discovered. It was observed in around 1787/8 and a medieval manuscript mentions the nova in mid Autumn of 1217 when it was at around 7°04. The Ursperger Chronicle reports it like this:

"In the autumn season of the same year, in the early evening, a wonderful sign was seen in a certain star in the west. This star was located a little west of south, in what astrologers call Ariadne's Crown. As we ourselves observed, it was originally a faint star that for a time shone with great light, and then returned to its original faintness. There was also a very bright ray reaching up the sky, like a large tall beam. This was seen for many days that autumn. The preachers also in these times asserted that many other signs had taken place in heaven and on Earth, which it would be too long to enumerate and to add to this brief account."

I share the full text here because I think as astrologers what it shows us is that ancient astrologers took events like novae seriously and if we are seriously making a case for following in their footsteps we need to do the same. But also, they didn’t understand what they were looking at. We are aware of ten recurrent novae in this galaxy and we didn’t have evidence of this phenomenon at all until the 1900s. Most people who saw a recurrent nova before that thought it was a possibly miraculous one off event. I am 100% expecting to find ancient mesopotamian, Chinese, or Indian records that show that someone somewhere noted a recurrence in ancient times. The ancients were so often able to see more and connect more than we give them credit for. But I’ve not yet seen any evidence of this. For now, we have to assume that the recurrence of nova explosions is something nobody understood until modern times.

The Northern Crown

The Coronae Borealis constellation is named after the garland Venus gave to Ariadne when she married Dionysus. It therefore traditionally has some Venus-Mercury themes. In some cases this seems to play out with a connection between the nova event and children. For instance Spiro Agnew had his Sun conjunct the Blazing Star and his wife’s pregnancy at the time of the novae encouraged him to go back to law school. 

In some cases it can also relate to adult experiences of children and succession - for instance the month of the nova architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s son sent him a copy of his book about their relationship. It had the very Saturnian title: My Father Who Is On Earth. Frank was not happy and wrote notes throughout the book, his son responded to his comments. The book was published with the full disagreement available for everyone to read. This is all very Saturn-Venus to me - succession, children, creation, difficulty, and legacy all wrapped up in one story.

Passing the Torch from Conflict to Conflict

The most notable event at the last nova was the Soviet prosecutor giving his opening statement at the Nuremberg trials. A couple of Nazis had key signs on those strongly conjunct the Blazing Star - Wilhelm Frick (the architect of Germany’s anti-Jewish laws) and Alfred Rosenberg (the administrator in charge of occupied Russia). Oddly Frick was one of only two Nazis to refuse to testify in his own defense, and Rosenberg was the only Nazi executed following his trial who refused to give a last statement before being hanged. I don’t know what this is about but Hess, the other Nazi who refused to testify had the Blazing Star strongly trine is ascendent. Maybe the influence of the Blazing Star encouraged them to let their lives end with the mercy that we didn’t have to hear them whine about it. Because honestly, nothing of value was lost when the leaders of the WW2 Nazi Party were executed. 

Passing the torch from one conflict to another seems kind of key to this nova. On the day of the nova Stalin gave his first major post war speech and said that another war was inevitable because of the "capitalist development of the world economy", and that the USSR would need to concentrate on national defense in advance of a war with the Western nations. This is considered by some to be the start of the Cold War. Meanwhile in Britain, Jewish ex-servicemen beat up a group of fascists who were trying to rebuild their movement - this was both a reflection on the war that had just gone and inspired the formation of the 43 group of anti-fascists which was an essential part of the post war anti-fascist movement. One conflict ends, but immediately, another one starts.

What I’m looking out for

We can expect the nova in the next six months so I’m keeping my eye out for conflicts that are ending and sparking an immediate new conflict. The change over from Israel invading Gaza to a more sustained occupation as part of their ongoing genocide against the Palestinians strikes me as a key one to watch for. The Blazing Star is loosely conjunct Ukraine’s MC and Pluto and its at a sensitive part of various Russian natal charts so this is a conflict to watch when the Blazing Star goes up.

Prince Harry is a key celebrity in this - he has the Blazing Star conjunct his MC and it’s interesting that we’re currently in a period where for the first time ever the British press has more complaints about Prince William’s wife than Meghan Markle. The monarchy is less of a joke than we make it out to be sometimes - the ongoing conflict between the Windsor siblings and their wives demonstrates major faultlines in British society on issues like how tolerant we are of secrecy within the executive arm of government, and how a lot of people understand race and racism. A shift in this conversation could be important. 

Of course, with the conception connection some of the most important events of the transit might not become apparent right away. It could be conception, or women finding out they’re pregnant, or starting to tell people. The key thing seems to be how the arrival of a child impacts the parent and this is a really personal thing we might not be aware of unless this hits your personal chart at the right time in the right way.

In general, I’ll simply be watching out for a new star in the sky. Astrology isn’t just about fortune telling, it’s about forming a personal connection to the universe and watching an event like this is one way to do that. I also think astrology is about forming a link to the past. We do this by following the cycles of planets, or in this case, stellar explosions. We also do this by understanding our ancestors who also tried to understand the stars. We have an opportunity to understand the cyclical nature of an event that most past astrologers could only understand as miraculous. I think that’s really beautiful.

Underneath, for the nerds, I have the charts for the three known nova explosions so far:

[jils-things]

NEW COLOR PALLET TRIO INFODUMP AAUGH‼️‼️(art by nero mwamwa)

OKAY im genuinely gonna take huge insp off the movie because it just matches so well and it bridges missing concepts i needed for their lore AUGH OKAY so

• i'm reclaiming the idea that red gave jaide a torchic and named it chuy (it was named kaia but its CHUY NOW!!!) while i unfortunately cannot answer how did red acquire a torchic it's totally meant for her (maybe through trading with a hoenn local that happened to be in kanto at the time)

• before jaide left for johto, red and blue invited her to the safari zone in fuchsia city because they miss her and they want her to experience what it's like to catch pkmn (despite the pikachu incident that occured before) this allowed jaide to discover her talent - she's really good at catching pkmn, even better than both boys combined.

• so when she was prepared to leave kanto, she would at least have this newfound passion to try to capture, and her target is the johtonian pkmn. she's thankful they helped her find something special about herself. her parting words was hoping that she'd meet them and they'd become fully fledged trainers they aim to be

• skipping past the gen 3 to gen 6 events, we land on the gen 7 timeline, they're all adults now. blue is viridian city's gym leader,

jaide is professor oak and elm's designated professional catcher,

and red is the mysterious living legend and champion who later opened up to the public again thanks to blue.

• meanwhile - thanks to kukui, alola has been creating their own championship league which meant that it's still new. i like to think that the battle tree was also created at the same time and he needed "bosses" to facilitate the battle tree.

• kukui invites red and blue to become the battle tree bosses, to which red and blue agrees with. it's gonna have some sort of grand opening and this brings attention to people from the other regions to want to visit alola. i like to think bringing blue and red was a celebrity bait in some way, especially for red who's popular despite not showing his face around.

• at that same time, professor oak has a new job for jaide which was to capture all alolan regional forms of certain pkmn - she was given the funds to help her go travel to alola. blue would know about this and he tells her to come visit the battle tree because he and red will be there as well. (AHEM AHEM LIKE HOW MANOLO IS GONNA HAVE HIS FIRST BULLFIGHT AND IT COINCIDES WITH THE DAY MARIA RETURNS FROM SPAIN AND AND AND--

• ahem anyways, blue is very excited about this! because red and jaide havent exactly met up with each other properly (they were only able to say hi to each other through blue's contacts since blue and jaide consistently talking to each other throughout the years) (just imagine a funny zoom call where red and blue are in the same room and jaide is on the other side)

• red's ... quite nervous and excited about this! he's still getting used to the public attention and usually loses his mojo when he's being watched, and it's double the pressure when she's around. he can only pray he'll do fine at the battle tree if she's gonna watch him.

• a fun cameo happens with elio/selene where they solo red in the battle tree and blue watches them - jaide eventually appears as well to watch and they're both cheering for red 🫶

• red almost lost that round because jaide showed up and he kept taking chances to look at her

• after the grand opening, they were officially reunited and it felt so good to meet each other again. well, blue with jaide and red felt like nothing since he was simultaneously in contact with them. he's like the messenger between the apples 😔😔

• i like to think red really has never fallen off of liking jaide since he was a kid but it only got stronger when they meet again and it's like an old book had been dusted clean and ready to be opened

• and appleshipping pre romance begins shortly after wehehehhe

[mrbexwrites]

Writblr Q& A

Tagged by @surroundedbypearls here. Thanks so much :D

1. What motivates you to write?

I don't know...I've always spent a lot of time in my own head, and I've always just written down the stories that my brain likes to make up for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I absolutely adore this line by @sarahlizziewrites from her WIP Grey Sky Lark :

"I spent the better part of two decades looking for you. I would do it again."

It's just...it gives me actual chills and I think about this line at least once a week.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

I think the strongest aspect of my writing is my dialogue. I used to hate it when characters would speak, and I'd end up having them info dump and the speech would be so stilted and robotic. I worked hard to make my dialogue more realistic, and I (hope) my hard work has paid off, and it's now the best parts of my works!

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I absolutely love seeing everyone else's creative process, and how generous people are with sharing their skills. So many of you just post massive chunks of knowledge about your own publishing/editing/writing experience to help us all get better at what we do, and I'm just in awe! I love the support that everyone has for one another.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I have a notebook to scribble ideas, names, plot lines etc. I've tried to use flash cards in the past, but I tend to lose them, so a note book it is. I treated myself to Scrivener but I haven't really transferred my WIPs across to it yet, as I've not properly had a chance to sit and familiarise myself with it. So still chipping away with Google Docs due to my own procrastination!

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

So, Searching for Starlight, a WIP that doesn't get spoken about often has some excellent worldbuilding imo. I'm especially proud of the concept of 'solar sails' for how my spaceships were powered. Totally impractical and wouldn't be able to work with actual physics, but real-world stuff be damned!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Just take it one day at a time. Don't force yourself, and be careful of burnout. Listen to music, walk, partake in media you life, and don't feel guilty for not working on your WIP 24/7. Your story deserves to be told, but not at the expense of your health (speaking as someone who hopitalised themselves a couple of years ago doing NaNo who definitely did not take my own advice- I am older and wiser now. Look after yourselves guys; be kind to yourself!)

Tagging @cee-grice @at-thezenith @sam-glade @scifimagpie @queen-tashie @cowboybrunch and leaving an open invite for anyone else who'd like to join in

[ravencromwell]

For the character ask game, Athos Dane: 7, 10, and 20.

7. A quote of them you remember: "No one suffers as beautifully as you." And before everyone starts laughing at my terrible cliche—it is terribly cliched, I would pair it with "My plaything is dead". The no one suffers as beautifully as you comes just after Athos's interlude with Beloc where Beloc tried, and did real damn good for a teenager, to be defiant, but eventually answered Athos's questions about his name etc. without yet having the Soul Seal on. Contrast this to Athos's "Sing for me, Holland" in ACOL, which Holland refuses to do.

Yes, Beloc is undoubtedly fun, but fundamentally, he knows how this game is going to go. The fact that Holland still has defiance, after seven years, seems to just fucking enthrall Athos. He makes Holland fill the blood goblets partially just to fuck with Kell, but also for that flicker of rage and humiliation Kell notices as being so out of character. Fundamentally, he doesn't know when Holland will give him the last scrap of power, and that's what keeps him coming back.

But any love or fascination or what have you is utterly gone once Holland is no longer a spectacle: my plaything, he says, in his own pov while talking to his sister. He feels "annoyance at his servant's incompetence" The one time he mentions Holland by name, it's to tell Kell how he and Holland are fundamentally flawed when compared to Athos.

Everything this man did for seven fucking years around Holland was either about furthering his goals or getting some kind of reaction, be it in his choice of conversation topics or experiment subjects.

Holland has a line that is so fucking sad to me in that context in ACOL where he says he never screamed if he could help it, out of the quixotic hope if Athos didn't get a reaction, he'd just kill him already. There's something so fucking tragic I don't have words for the fact that Holland's refusal to stop being a person, at least in small ways, and even the ways he tried to provoke Athos, were so much of what made him interesting enough to never let fade into the background as a particularly useful pair of hands. Because as we see with essentially sending Beloc out as canon fodder, and again with the dismissive "my plaything" comment after Holland's dead, once there's no longer potential for interesting power dynamics, he's bored moving on. 

10. Describe the character in one sentence.: "Intelligence has never tempered my desire. It merely ensures I take what I wish without consequence."—Athos Dane, to his hypothetical biographer, poor bastard.

20. A weird headcanon:

He may have learned to read on the coast primarily to sniff out magic, but when he arrives at the castle, he finds he quite enjoys books outside of magic. Vortalis was a military histories fan, which Athos "journey of the battle" absolutely fucking devours for the play by play.

Astrid likes the White London version of Caesar: careful, methodical, only moving when the field was to his advantage.

Athos, though, it's the underdogs. The White London Hannibal bringing his elephants in what everyone called folly; the Lord Caradoc/Caratacus resisting a much larger force. Just _immensely his jam.

And once he got started, he wanted more of anything Holland thought might rouse his interest. I don't think the Danes had any _reason to go to Grey London, but I suspect that by God, if the Mareshes Antari could go, they sent Holland there on the semiregular (I will play with the toys, too!) One of the things Grey had neither Red nor White did was a thriving fiction culture. And if you're one Holland Vosijk, who wants to be able to bring back some escapism for yourself, you'd better be prepared to bring back gifts.

Which leads me to: Athos Dane, sometime Shakespeare fan and more often critic.

1. Huge, huge fucking fan of Iago. Iago knows how to properly manipulate some people. (Except of course, as is the problem with so many people, he got squeamish in the end. If he had killed the messengers from Venice when they found him in the alley, he would never have needed to kill his wife and certainly never have been tortured and executed. But Iago pre–Othello Act Five: _spectacular.

2. Huge Richard III fan—likes all the histories, honestly. But that "winter of our discontent" monologue: gets him _every time. Richard, now there's a man who knows how to embrace being hated. (Though that he cares at all about fool's opinion of him just demonstrates he lacked an Astrid. Without that one person for unconditional affection and non-judgment, he could only embrace it so far.

3. Hamlet completely cracks him up in an awful way. Or rather, the ways in which Holland and Hamlet's desire for revenge mirror one another. "You thought you were Hamlet, coming down that hall and did not understand we were not his foolish uncle!"

4. The rest of it: Romeo and Juliet, the comedies, most of the other tragedies, just _trash. Characters too weak to dominate the way they should or unrealistic ("blood never denies blood what they want" he says of the Capulets etc. smiling beatifically at Astrid.

5. Astrid has the copy of Titus Andronicus. Major Queen Tamora fangirl "We shall serve the Arnesians their royals in pie," Athos says, when Astrid sighs over missing their opportunity with Holland.

Athos is very theatrical, has a multitude of ideas for how to stage the Shakespeare sets with magic when they take Arnes, and is very keen to read other plays.

[pinkuclown]

I need to get this out of my head.

Listen, I love it when people write and draw things about Shirakumo coming back where everyone is happy and everything is a lovely pink colour BUT I NEED ANGST

I need the three of them to go through real problems if this ever happened.

First of all: Was Shirakumo conscious while being Kurogiri? If he was, would he be able to remember his friends? Or would Yamada and Aizawa have to put the puzzle back together in his head for his memories come back?

I personally like the first one where he remembers everything, because there would be trust between Shirakumo and the other two.

Now according to that

Aizawa (I don't have too many thoughts about him)

It takes him a really long time to get comfortable with Shirakumo's presence again

If you didn't know the whole thing, you would though that Aizawa doesn't like Shirakumo at all

That's not true though

He's just afraid to get attached and lose him again

He avoids him most of the time

And obviously feels really guilty about it

and him being there is not helping at all

He still takes care of Eri

He eventually starts to get along with him after a couple of months

Yamada

He takes care of Shirakumo 24/7

Literally, they both live in the same house

Hizashi moved this radio studio to the house

Why? Shirakumo is VERY unstable when he's alone for longs periods of time

And by long periods I mean 3-4 hours

Hizashi gets tired of this sometimes

But hey, it's his friend after all right?

Shirakumo is the one that needs help right now

"It's ok, we can do this" he repeats to himself on every night Shirakumo can't sleep

He sometimes feels like a single mother taking care of the child she didn't want in first place

He would never hate him, but sometimes he wants things to be like when he wasn't around.

And can't help to feel like shit. Like, damn

He knows that Shirakumo's having his fifth panic attack of the day but he literally offered to take care of him? Even though he was warned about everything, he still signed up for it

Because leaving him with the hero security shit wasn't an option

Shirakumo

His quirk is now the same as Kurogiri's

When he was "brought back", he went in coma for almost two months

His family was notified during that

And when he woke up, he literally couldn't walk or even talk

Like when you haven't played a game in a long time and you forgot even the simplest things

With Recovery Girl and Eric's help, it took him a month and a half to properly communicate and like six months to stand or walk without help

The only thing that he has to wear is a flexible metal piece to support his head into his column

Hizashi was with him during the whole recovery. Aizawa usually checked on them but mainly Hizashi, it was almost all in his shoulders after all

He was later informed about Nemuri. He was sad of course, but not really surprised since she never showed up in those almost ten months

He's not the sunshine boy he was before

As I said before, he remembers everything: before and after the accident.

Even some fragments of an old man using his body as an experiment

He knows he used to be nothing like he is now, both mentally and physically

that really messes up with him

Shirakumo usually struggles a lot with his appearance. Reflective things are in the top 5 things that he now hates

He is much more irritable than before, but he tries his best to not kill those loud blondes dudes from both hero courses

And struggles a lot with nightmares

He feels guilty. Everyone is so worried about him and he hates that

He wants to pretend that he's ok even tho he can go days without sleeping

He also hates that Hizashi won't rest as well

When they're at UA, Shirakumo stays with Yamada

And sometimes Eri, because she's the other one person that Shirakumo gets along with. She thinks that Shirakumo is really sweet and calm, and she also enjoys coloring books with him

When he's with Yamada, it's like watching a puppy follow someone everywhere

When his friend is teaching, he brings a chair and sit with him at the desk and sometimes helps student with their English homework

He still wants to be a hero

So after being fully used to everything, Principal Nezu lets him join the hero course, despite him being like 20 by that time

It's not his fault after all

Edit: for the first year, Shirakumo had a lot of migraines at random times. He also could be walking normally and from one moment to another, he would have been taken to see Recovery Girl because he randomly passed out in the hallway

So yeah, that's all I have to say for now

If you're still here, thanks for reading

[cottoncandyruby]

I was gonna do more lil updates for MythiCon but the journey here has been so tumultuous all I’ve wanted to do is sleep and scream 😂

I forgot how to do read more on tumblr so just scroll by if ya don’t wanna read aha

"Anticaption, Aviation & Allergies"

Part 1. A little trip to Dublin

Of course the shortest part of my trip would be the easiest. So my mum and I were up at 3 am got a very expensive taxi, cos there were no trains, to the closest airport. Lingered there until our flight left at 8. I was so excited even though I’ve been on a plane before when I was small, I had no sensory memory of it or anything so the sensation of flying was like woo.

Tis a very short flight to Dublin, like an hour and I had a window seat so the absolute dream 😍. (Also that's like the only picture I took because I forget to take pictures)

Part 2. Dublin to New York

So we had to chill in the airport for 4 ish hours, we shared some BK chips cos airport food is overpriced lol. Anyways, it all chill until we get called to the lil reception people by the gate and they wanna look at our info and we don't know why or what the issue is. We booked this trip through booking.com but it is unclear what info actually went through lmao. They change something on our tickets and we get moved seats (?) And then it's all fine.

We end up talking to this Irish lady who travels for work and tell her about our super fun New York layover; it's 14 hours, we were very excited that we could go explore New York in the later afternoon/evening cos the only thing we anticipated doing was attending MythiCon. The lady's like "Oh....14 hours" with an obvious, "honey something went wrong" face.

Part 3. The New York Flight

We get on the plane to New York and we are on the exit row where you have to verbally confirm that in an emergency you will be able to open the door and help people get out, no pressure right?! I am on the aisle seat, my mum the middle and our new friend Steven(?) is in the window seat.

This flight lasts 7 hours and I spend the entire time reading the first LotR book cos I can't hear Steven for shit, airplanes are loud y'all, and avoiding eyecontact with bathroom users who are queuing up in front of us cos the loo is directly opposite. I made the mistake of wearing, what i used to call, my comfy jeans and I'm a big girl with some thicc thighs and oof ma legs had no circulation.

Steven talks my mums ear off for near 6 of the 7 hours in which she sparingly looks at me for ways out of the conversation or for me to join in, and I genuinely cannot hear him but also the whole ordeal is hilarious to watch. Except Steven thought we were a couple and I am realising I will have to spend the whole of MythiCon reinstating that I am travelling with my mum not my partner. Gosh.

Part 4. Newark, not New York

We arrive and Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry have just left Tom Bombadil and we realise we are not getting out of this airport. We retrieve our bags, my suitcase is slightly broken and won't stand up properly but we move. A very nice woman informs us we won't be able to store our luggage anywhere and that our flight which leaves at 6 am, we arrive at 4pm in New York by the way, won't be open for check-in until 3.30 am.

So, we must keep our luggage with us at all times and journeying into New York is suddenly much less appealing. I am also internally reeling from the disappointment of not going up the Empire State Building which was something I thought my mum had booked but no. Anyways, I don't wanna walk around New York with my suitcase but the other big issue besides the prospect of sleeping in the airport is Mielle Rosemary and Mint Hair Oil.

Here be some context before I continue:

I am biracial. My mama's white and I have no connection to my relatives of colour wherever they may be. So, despite being black I have lived a very white experience (still had the racism and all the shit but anyways) for y'all readers of colour or informed folx, you will know afro hair requires different products and care to white hair. I have slowly become aware of this over the last 5 or so years. I have never had a protective style and the town over from me is more diverse than where I live and has afro hair salons. So, I boldly book in for Goddess Locs cos I'm Jamaican and they look pretty and why not spice things up before going on a 33 hour flight?

Unlike as specified in the booking information for this hair it is not 30 minutes but 8 hours and not 55 quid but 85 and its this very rude 19 year old doing my hair. She puts some spray on and recommends I put hair oil on to keep my scalp hydrated. This is the Sunday before we leave. We get the flight to Dublin on the following Wednesday morning.

On Monday, I purchase the aforementioned hair oil. My hair feels a little itchy and I cannot tell if it is mild discomfort because of the weight of the locs or the spray she's used. So on the Tuesday night my mum liberally applies the hair oil across my entire scalp, a lil bit runs down my back across my face etc.

I wake up Wednesday morning, it still itchy.

....

We do the Dublin flight, the New York flight and when we land in Newark I am starting to feel very sick and my head feels warm to the touch. It could be from lack of sleep but fainting is imminent so we take the AirTrain to Penn Station and purchase some antihistamines. We see a sign for Madison Square Garden and head back to the airport.

We awkwardly finagle ourselves into a bathroom stall with our suitcases and my mum gets some nail scissors out from her suitcase and cuts my 85 pound hair off of my head. My scalp and more clearly my hairline is covered in bumps. I dont have phobias well except arachnophobia but hives and bumps make me feel sick. So I could not touch my head and boy I wanna scream and cry, I know that I must look as awful as I feel.

We remain in the airport til our flight, I get no sleep, my mum dozes off awkwardly on the chairs and my head gradually stops hurting but is still hot and itchy. The nausea abates over time.

Part 5. New York to Austin

Flight is smooth, my mum sleeps the whole way and I listen to music and half watch ParaNorman with no sound on cos I'm a multitasker.

Our flight is early, and we had booked a driver (which felt so posh) and Austin airport is lovely looking I must say. Anyways, our flight is an hour early so we sit in the pick up bit for am hour gettin chilly. Our driver arrives when he was scheduled to around 10.30 and says he'd been waiting for ages because he saw the flight was updated. Immediately felt guilty aha but he was nice. My mum woke up with a headache so I'm doin most of the talking.

The drive to the hotel is exciting, we passed by so many beautiful houses. Its so much more colourful than I thought, not that I had a whole bucket of ideas about Texas' aesthetic.

The hotel is tall, brown ish and angular. Inside its kind of intimidating but to the right of the entrance my eye catches this big sign for MythiCon and they've got a little reception area fashioned with all the merch Mythical Beasts get when they arrive which I'll post pictures of separately but it's lovely looking. The posters are huge and I fear they will be crumpled on the way back but c'est la vie.

We go to reception after being armed with Mythical Merch and they have shuttle buses runnin' to and from Stat Hill Ranch so my mum and I make a mental note to catch the earliest one which is at 2.30pm today ahhhh.

Anyways reception. Everything's going fine, despite my email the dude respects my chosen name which is very satisfying after being called ma'am several times awoke the gender angst in me. He asks for a small deposit of 225 bucks.

Side note - My mum and I are bad with money. We know she'll have got paid Friday morning for work and that that will cover Mythicon expenses. By the time we get to the hotel, we only have 100 dollars.

My mum calls my nan, I message my best friend, who graciously send us the money and 30 minutes later we are through. Check in was advertised at 4pm (it's around 11 ish when we arrive) but one moment of good luck allows us a room early. He might've just pitied us I don't know. I hate money, I hate capitalism. I know im saying this after having spent so much to just get here but that wasn't even money we had and it feels like we're being reminded of how we don't deserve to be here I don't know. It was very humbling anyways, and I could tell my mum wanted to cry and I was ready to zone out but it got sorted.

We get into the room, I'll share some pictures later cos it is nice in here. I go into the bathroom and do what I usually wind up doing when I hold stuff in and start to cry, a bit from the malaise of travelling its been over 24 hours and I've not slept, a lot from the continuous bad luck, and the rest for the renewed discomfort of the hair oil on my head.

The mirror confirms one thing which is I look abysmal. The product she used on my hair has fried and looks like dandruff, my skin is blotchy, and it's a big oof. I get in the shower to wash out the oil...consequently, I wash it onto my skin and the rest of my body. I bawl whilst doing so.

My hair starts to cool as I dry off but my body starts to swell. My already thicc thighs be getting thiccer, my hands and feet swell. My body, limbs specifically have a veneer of numbness like when you fall asleep on your arm and it takes a while to get any feeling back. It's a bit concerning but I take another antihistamine and finally sleep.

We had planned on exploring last night but we did not go anywhere beyond our room.

Part 6. Fog and Furtive (?) Optimism

Today the bumps on my head feel smoother, I'm still swollen but less so and I am very thirsty. It has been a heck of a journey but if it is the price to pay to see Rhett and Link up close and personal I'll do it.

But I had to rant and feel sorry for myself on the internet first.

If you read this to the end I would like to both thank you and apologise. I am manifesting that things will only get better from here.

This weekend is gonna be Mythical!

[funkymbtifiction]

I’m an ENFJ 2w1 so/sx and I have a lot of difficulty understanding and properly appreciating my brother, an ISTJ 6w5 sp/so...

Well. First I am going to say that one of the strengths of high Ni is finding a different vantage point from which to survey a situation and re-interpret it in a different, unusual way. Meaning that you need to go inside yourself and consider your brother from a different, larger viewpoint than just "he offends people." Think about him in a broader context, think about the psychology behind this (I assume you have read a lot about 6s? if not, please do so, it will be helpful in understanding how fear is motivating him, and that will give you an even deeper understanding of his psyche), and then think about how you could reach him by catering your Fe to what he would respond best to. How can you use what you know about being a 6 to reach him? (Let's say that a 6 wants to be liked, because it's true -- they are attachment types. What would be the benefit to him of being liked, by him actively working toward softening some of his own edges? Would he be more successful in his career, for example? A strong Te user responds to facts and logical thinking -- cause and effect. You do this, that results. For a 6, you do this, you alienate people who might not like you anymore and could hurt you -- so the goal becomes, how do I find allies? How can you help your brother be someone who attracts allies and friends?)

Another thing... how old is he? If he's 12 or 15, this is not a huge deal; if he's 30 and still alienating people, it's a problem. Age matters. Being a teenager who is trying to figure out who he is and what he thinks and where his place is in the world... matters. If he's under 20 years old, cut him some slack. He's immature. What you described to me are "young" 6 behaviors and as he gets out into the world, gains more experience, deals with more people, they will fade a bit. The less experienced in real life a 6 is, the more rigid their views -- because they can cling to them in the comfort of their own home.

Okay, on to the rest of your ask...

He attaches to people and ideologies to keep himself safe and make sense of the world and I get that. But, by constantly choosing this over this etc, he alienates other people and offends them which as an Fe-dom is just no. He often seems to have no idea about the emotions and opinions of others and is self-centred, constantly talking about what he likes and he’s doing.

Really, this is butting up against your need, as an EFJ, to have everyone on the same page and maintain harmony between them, which is understandable. But TJs do not think that way, as you know from living with him (ha, ha). Something to remember, then, is that... his actions don't reflect on you and won't change how people feel about you, if that is partly your concern. People will evaluate him independently from you and not lump you together. Second, you can't expect him to understand the emotions of others -- this is beyond his understanding. ITJs are incapable of that. Does it offend higher Fe types? Yes. Can it change? No, it can't. You need to find a way to accept this, and not expect it from him, which means being more able to just shake your head when something happens, remind yourself that "this is just who he is," and deal with the fallout.

When something goes slightly wrong, it’s like his whole world explodes and everything is ending right this second and he either starts yelling or sulking or blaming other people for something that is his fault.

You may want to read the book I am reading, which is the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. In it, the author talks a lot about putting power back in people's hands through your choice of language (I think the author is an EFJ 2w1 as well; he might even be ENFJ due to his focus on language/words/communication techniques). He says that most people excuse personal responsibility by insisting it was not their fault, but that you can put power back into their hands by reaffirming that the choices they made led them here. Are they CHOOSING to get upset right now? Angry? To blame others?

Something about blame is that the 6 being an ego type, wants to be a good person in a similar way that the 1 gets credit for being (the difference is the 1 doesn't want to be good, so much as RIGHT). 6s also want to be RIGHT. Blame means I did something wrong, which attacks their ego structure--their line to 3 rebels at being seen in a negative light, and they want to avoid the consequences of having something be "my fault," so that' why they point fingers elsewhere. It takes a lot of self-work for a 6 to be able to admit when they were wrong without fearing the consequences (punishment). But as I said, the more immature the 6, the more this happens; the more mature the 6, the less this happens. It can be grown out of, but the 6 has to be aware that this is a problem with them and something that needs fixed (which a lot of 6s will want to do, because they are super-ego types who don't want to do the wrong thing). So... maybe introduce him to the Enneagram. Find a good book about it and give it to him, something like Russ Hudson or Richard Rohor. See what happens.

He constantly measures himself against the normal and “shoulds” endlessly, ending up despairing and frustrating himself and everyone else. It’s just so stressful.

I realize this is going to be incredibly hard for you to hear, as an EFJ 2, but... you can't fix him, you can't change him, and his struggles are none of your business if he won't listen to you. You cannot control how other people think, feel, or behave, all you can control is how you respond to them. If you see a technique that might help him, point it out to him, but don't lecture or mother him. Younger siblings hate being parented by older ones. Come at it from a "friend" perspective, and not a "sub-parent" perspective.

I think he’s amazing overall and some of these negatives are also very positive. I just don’t know how to keep everyone happy without “shoulding” at him. He deserves to be and express himself but so does everyone else and when he’s being him, that can’t happen without an explosion. I don’t know if this is personality related really. I was just wondering if you could give me some tips on how to deal with 6’s need for security at all costs (as opposed to my 2 need to be needed) and Fi vs Fe. Thank you so so so much for all you do! I love reading through your blog and your thoughtful, kind responses :)

Turn your Ni to thinking about -- how can I make him feel 'safe and supported' in this environment and pursue that for a while. Instead of seeing him as a problem or something to fix, look beyond that to his true needs, his 6 wounds of feeling unsure and unsupported, and see what happens.

[glowyjellyfish]

OUAT Rewatch Report Part 2: The Shepherd through Fruit of the Poisonous Tree

1. I always expect Snow/Charming episodes to be boring, but the two of them are too precious to be boring. I think it would get old real fast with different actors. Of course, I haven’t gotten up to the “constant relationship drama” phase really, so we’ll see.

2. I’m excited to see more Dr. Whale, and think it’s cute how proud he is of David waking up, all “no way he wakes up on someone else’s watch”. Aw, Victor, did you have a little urge to yell “HE’S ALIVE!”? I’m also convinced that his little mini-success there helped change him, the way the major characters who got episodes to themselves changed when trauma from their previous lives was resolved in the present day. Nudged him from behaving like a womanizer with a wandering eye to more of a Gentleman. (Although I am half convinced he was more distracted by the color red than anything else. It is the first color he ever saw, if I recall correctly. And I am now totally convinced that Regina designed his cursed personality based on her experience of him. “He will be CONSUMED BY HIS WORK and DESPERATELY LONELY, CRAVING ANY CONNECTION, but he will only ever manage to break hearts THE WAY HE BROKE MINE.” or something.)

3. hilarious that Regina was like “I need someone without a heart” looked at Graham with tears falling down his face “PERFECT”. Pretty sure Regina made her decision based mainly on his hotness.

4. ugh poor Graham. Gaslit sex slave with what is functionally heavy depression (that’s the effect I deduced being heartless generally has, because it’s clearly not literally “can’t feel anything at all” but it definitely feels that way and leaves emotions very numb). It’s difficult to reconcile Regina keeping Graham as her mind-controlled sex slave with her eventual redemption. I just have to acknowledge it as one of the worst things she’s done, and I believe she considers him her possession more than her slave (which probably isn’t any better), and I think she thinks she cares about him. And she blames Emma for making her kill him, too. Not cool Regina.

5. If I remember correctly, the main reason kissing Emma broke the curse on Graham is because she’s the product of true love and therefore magic. I like to think it helped that he was developing feelings for her—nowhere near true love yet, but much closer than anything he’s ever experienced—and probably also it helped that his wolf brother was hanging around town clearly knowing what was going on. I mean, I headcanon Graham as being basically like FitzChivalry Farseer in terms of his relationship with the wolf, so it stands to reason if his wolf didn’t get properly cursed with new memories, it would be able to nudge him out.

6. Tiny baby Baelfire! Oh my god what a tragic life this kid has to look forward to. I wish we got about 100% more from his perspective. show what it was like for a kid from a medieval fantasy world to stumble into the real world with no parents and no support! (The pit stop in Victorian England with the Darlings did a bit of that, I think.)

7. I enjoy August so much, knowing who he is and what he’s about. He’s obnoxious when you don’t know what his deal is, but when you do? Chef’s kiss. He’s skilled at Not Lying without being even slightly honest. Also, I guess he needed the book to understand the situation and also restore his pages, but I’m not sure how he knew about it in the first place. If the book appeared with him and Emma, how did it end up in town? If the book manifested in town, how did he know about it? It feels like they were trying to imply he came to town at some point in the past, but like. Regina would remember him, surely? I feel fairly confident that the writers didn’t have any origin story for the book in mind and were writing by the seats of their pants about it.

8. Fruit of the Poisonous Tree is not bad but pretty boring. Sydney really could have used a better backstory. Off the top of my head, I feel like it would have been more interesting if he was a spell that gained sentience and was never a person until the curse.

9. I have a whole theory about how genies work and I’m not sure whether it works for all OUAT genies; it basically goes that the enslavement of a genie is intended to be the prepaid price of magic for the wisher, but it takes into account both the wisher’s intentions and the genie’s subconscious perception and judgment on the matter. So if the genie thinks a wish is too big, or impossible, or dumb, the magic will attempt to correct this by coming as close as possible or extracting a separate price or whatever. Which is how most wishes go wrong.

10. I forgot just how damn enjoyable it is to watch shiny crazy Rumple stick his glittery hands in EVERYTHING. I know it eventually got tiresome when no characters other than Rumple and Regina seemed allowed to have backstory with newly introduced fairytales anymore, but in s1 it’s fantastic. Especially knowing that he’s creating elaborate chains of deals for the express purposes of getting the curse made and cast, making Emma exist to break the curse, and putting himself in a position where he’ll be able to make sure she breaks the curse and he can bring in magic and find his son without losing his power. What fun!

I think at think point I can confidently say I still enjoy this show as much as I used to, and expect that to remain literally true as I get further in and get up to the increasing levels of dumb. We’ll see how much dumb I can handle nowadays; for example I deliberately chose to save Skin Deep for a different viewing session so that I would not be faced with starting a session with the incredible cheesiness of Dreamy. But I’m still having tons of fun, and expect to continue at least through Manhattan.

This time I am trying to select a Simpsons gif to go with each episode I watched (but then it really didn’t want to post 6 gifs, so I stopped at 5 episodes/gifs):

[missaureus]

It All Started with a Friend-for-Sale Post

Samuka. That was our very first response.

24th of June 2022. I was down to the last week of my Community Medicine Rotation in internship. Being tagged as the least toxic department, I had the confidence to finally book a ticket for a short weekend vacation with my girlfriends. I purchased that plane ticket months ago with the thought that I may not be able to ride it in case a change of schedule that would suddenly pop out of nowhere!

A week prior, a notice was given to our group, a schedule to have our graduation photos taken which on the day of my flight! It was a blessing in disguise since we were excused from our duty post the entire day and the photo shoot only lasted less than hour. Having all the glam that day, I asked one of my groupmates, Aike, to take a portrait of me because it was a rare occasion for us to dress up. I felt human. She then said, "Hala, Brey! Gwapa kaayo ka, ibaligya tika!". Then, Franz, also a groupmate seconded, " Doc, naa ra ba koy friend". I just shrugged off their silly banters and hurriedly went home to prepare for my flight later that day.

I decided to go to the airport a little earlier, which is an hour drive away, to cram up a 50-item online exam at 7 PM. I seriously had to pick my struggle but for sure, it would break me if I miss my first vacation after the pandemic hit.

Before hitting the gas, I was notified on Instagram that Aike tagged me on a friend-for-sale post. I was laughing so hard, this girl really did?! HAHAHA. While driving to the airport, I received a veryyyy long message from my sister. It dawned on me how making her some lunch before leaving to the airport as a peace offering did not make any difference. We had a fight earlier that day because I got irritated while she did my make up. We were running late for my schedule and I hastily demanded for her to finish it already. She did me a favor and I appeared so ungrateful. Seconds after, my mom also texted me on how I unappreciative I was to my sister. I was already making a draft of apology in my head.

So much was going on in my head at that time. Not to mention I had a hard time looking for a free parking slot to leave my car for 3 days. When I did, I paused and enjoyed the gorgeous orange. I realized, I had never properly breathe the last three years. I was missing so much due to medical school and it is a norm to miss out family events, milestones, vacations, etc.

I checked in and looked for an empty seat in the airport. I was aimlessly scrolling through my virtual notes when Aike chatted in our group chat, “Besh, willing ra ba ka mag LDR? Naa natay buyer!” I just laughed with the idea. She bombarded me with some forwarded photos and even sent the guy’s educational background!!! I just joked around to screen the guy before I check on him. We were just exchanging HAHAHAs in our group chat without even realizing that it was already past 7 PM and still no hint of our scheduled exam. My flight number was announced for boarding so I asked my friends some favor to answer my exam for me, which was luckily postponed later on.

And the moment I reached my friend’s condo, Niña greeted me with, “Naa biya nichat nako. Ibaligya daw nako siya sa imo.” What??? I was shocked! That very same guy. He sold himself hard, too. He added me on Facebook and started chatting casually. He asked me if I was able to attend their school activities back in college. It only happened once! Surprisingly, I recalled him on that day. He went on stage after being called for some sort of an opening remarks. What was even more shocking, he remembered me, too! That was 6 years ago.

We were just intermittently chatting. It was like a long-sought peace was experience for 3 days. When I had to get back to my hospital duties, I was reset like a robot. All the same but I brought along that friend whom I met virtually in Tagaytay. Funnily, I cannot help to associate him with that vacation.

[lunarconjure]

First Post... Shit that's on my mind.

Whew... 24 going on 25 in just a few days and the trauma KEEPS popping up. I really thought I'd dealt with most of this shit, but if I'm being triggered then I guess not.

To start this blog off right, I should do a basic proper intro yeah? I'll introduce myself as Red. Age 24 (25 on 7/16). Black. Male.

I don't know how to describe myself these days other than eccentric, yet strangely grounded. I decided to start this blog because... well... niggas need to express themselves. And I, for one, have not been able to properly cultivate that space for myself in my life. In fact, this blog is the start of a new journey of self-acceptance and shame-ridding for myself.

I think the typical Black queer boy growing up in the South has had similar experiences to mine. I wasn't totally rejected by my family when it came time for "coming out", but I definitely wasn't accepted either. I spent most of my life being the smart, quiet kid with a small circle of friends who knew me to be anything other than quiet. I was the odd child in my family that was strangely obsessed with esoteric topics & books from a YOUNG age. I think my first "witch awakening" came with either seeing that one Scooby Doo movie with the Wiccan gworls or seeing bad bitch Raven knocking these hoes out with a quick "AZARATH METRION ZENTHOS" you feel meee. My first gay awakening came when my neighbor's son and I were in his room watching porn together and I noticed I was paying way more attention to him & his lighter-skinned meat than the videos on screen.

Obviously, being both gay AND an aspiring witch was a big fat no. It very much gave "Bitch ya already going to hell, you just WANT to do the absolute most huh?!"...and did! But it's not like I *wanted* to be disobedient... it's just that I've been able to see through the flaws & holes in organized religion from a young age and I've BEEN had questions! Like firstly... y'all really feel comfortable with the idea that after dying we'd be in either Heaven OR Hell for ETERNITY? Like... forever? Forever, ever? All depending on what we "did" during our measly (if even) 70ish years on Earth? Didn't sit right.

And so... I grew up feeling somewhat detached from my family & others around me. It was as if I'd already lived this part of my life and I was waiting on others around me to "catch up", but that never came. I explored different spiritual avenues on & off throughout my adolescence and experienced some good & some downright spooky shit (and since this is MY blog, I'd love to talk about that woowoo shit more). At some point, I was so fearful that I'd "never have a normal life" (cue Normal Girl - SZA) and thus began to denounce some of my more esoteric ways and leaned more into Christianity as a safety blanket from the world I was drawn to but didn't quite understand. I'm sure if I had a guide back then to help me understand my gifts and natural inclinations, then things would have progressed much differently for me... but I didn't.

It's always ironic though how the things that you need to be doing? The things that your soul craves & constantly sends you lil reminders? They will find a way back to you.

And so, my spirituality did return.

And that was about 3 years ago that I started rediscovering that part of myself. I stumbled across Hoodoo and my world began to open up & ancestral memories began to flow. I began to remember the power that I've always held & lowkey feared using.

No journey comes without it's trials though. And in true spirituality, you must come face to face with your shadow. Modern spirituality will try & tell you that your shadow is something to be conquered, smothered out. No, your shadow is meant to be heard, seen, and validated. You know... kinda like how you weren't as a child? Exactly. In fact, I believe that if we could literally bring light to the face of our "shadow", it would resemble a younger version of ourselves. The you who wasn't heard when you tried to express yourself. The you who learned from emotionally absent people how to mold & craft yourself to be worthy of love & acceptance. Your shadow is there to remind you of the wounds you still carry, ignoring them doesn't make them go away.

And one of my greatest wounds is that I've never felt like my voice mattered. Expressing myself came with the threat of the absence of love. So now, with my disorganized attachment style, INFP, type 5W4, and all other things I've researched and researched to better help me understand why I feel so broken... I'm coming back to claim myself. To reclaim my power. To reclaim my motherfucking voice.

As to not drag this first post out, I'll leave y'all with these last couple sentences. I'm a firm believer that until the blood runs cold in my veins, I am VERY much capable of making change in my life. And you are too. This is a step for me, and I want to hold myself accountable to continuing this online journal of sorts... if not for me then for someone else like me.

We'll chat soon. <3

~ Red

[atripwithafrofuturism]

Lion's Blood by Steven Barnes

Rewriting the past. Isn’t that something we would all love to do? Some people would use this power to redo an embarrassing moment that happened to them or perhaps change the direction of their career. In some instances, creatives will use this premise to touch on bigger social issues. Desmond Nakano attempted to do this with the film White Man’s Burden. A 1995 film that reverses the socioeconomic conditions of Black and White people in America.  Although well intentioned, it greatly misses the mark. The failure of his film lies in a lack of understanding of the socioeconomic issues he is reversing and a reliance on stereotypes. These pitfalls perhaps do have some value in their ability to warn future writers of the flaws that arise from a one-dimensional approach.

            Fast forward 7 years and we get Lion’s Blood by Steven Barnes. Disappointed by the 1995 film he was given the opportunity to work on a television show that wanted to write an episode on the same premise. He immediately felt that this would experience the same pitfalls as the 1995 film as there was not enough time to properly address the underlying issues. From this came his epic novel in 2002 titled Lion’s Blood. This book flips the issue of slavery as we know it and presents an alternate reality where Europeans take Africans to the Americas, instead of the other way around.

            What I really enjoyed about listening to Steven Barnes was the attention to detail that he exhibited. Any major work focusing on a monumental topic like this requires more than surface level research. As a result, Barnes was adamant about fully understanding this history before he was able to deconstruct it. He was also thinking from the reader’s perspective and questioning what type of story people would be more likely to read. After all this research and reflection he decided that his book would be first and foremost entertaining. To pose heavy and difficult questions he believed that they would have to be delivered in a digestible way for the public. This reminds me of the Boots Riley film, Sorry to Bother You. Both works pose big and complex questions while providing imagery from which the viewer can bounce off their possible answers. When hardquestions are directly asked in work, unfortunately people are not always willing to answer them. Barnes successfully created the work he felt had been done wrong by so many.

[hexxxboys]

Red

Stage Name: Red

 Birth Name: Elian Sterling

Position in Group: Secondary Main Vocalist.

Age: Forever 28

Pronouns: He/They

Sexuality: Pansexual 

Dom/Sub/Switch: Switch- Sub lean

Relationship Status: Highly Selective Multi-- Single

Birthday: March 16th

Zodiac Sign: Pisces 

Blood Type: O

Height: 5′7

Eye color: Dark Brown

Current Hair color: Switches from Ruby Red to a dark Auburn in his demon form. In his human form he some times switches to a peachy pink or black

Supernatural Species: Demon

Personality:  Still  emotionally unavailable even though he's always flirting. Abandonment issues are high, he doesn't trust easily and at the same time clings to those who give him attention.  He's socially awkward even though he's an extrovert but uses his flirting abilities to be able to interact properly.  When crossed he can be very petty and take things too far , leading him to do things he later regrets , this means he can be very impulsive at times.

 He will get distant and push away others if he feels like he was wronged. Elian is one of those people that gets possessive over the people that he loves. Since he is filled with insecurities due to past experiences he tends to get overly possessive and that leads to all of the above. unfortunately he is a hopeless romantic. 

Bio:  Elian ' Red ' Sterling ,  First of his name but given many titles during his lifetime , as he was  known as The King of The Infernos, Lucifer , God of Chaos and Destruction , The Queen of Demons, The Patron Saint of all Sinners , Mother Red , Father of Serpents , The Queen of The Underworld or Queen of the Damned or just simply Red.  

Red once had a hard life as a human which led him to the decision to sell his soul and become a demon.   Searching for a way out of his hard life , he accepted the consequences of losing his soul    —  becoming a pet for Lucifer and being bonded by contract; it took him a few years to understand what that meant and accept what he had become.

 Red was forced to do unmentionable things during his time as a pet.  Later down the line he had realised he was tricked into doing those horrible acts which in the end he saw out revenge even though it was too late to save his soul. 

When Red ' turned ' twenty-one he met a young man, who became the love of his life. He made Elian feel loved and special, like he was worthy and valid. It was something he had never felt before. He truly believed he could be himself around his lover and that he would never hurt him or leave.  

Though Red learned how to love out of that relationship it was short lived. They had broken up twice  , leaving Red feeling broken on both occasions.  However during the second break up Red found out he could get pregnant and he was with child.  

Shortly after his lover’s departure , Red  met Jamie Grayson , a young ghost that was trapped inside his manor. The two instantly connected and Jamie became a very important person in his life. He even went on to raise his daughter with him.

After a few years , Red became  a God of Chaos and Destruction after finding some ancient book,  which corrupted him, initiating  a war to take over the Infernos ( Hell ). After dethroning Lucifer and taking over the Infernos, Red realised he wanted more than just that and went   on to conquer the world and reshape it to what he seemed fit. However the quest for world domination failed and Red was punished with his first death.  

As the years went by , Red came and went. During his second life, he was able to establish a romance with a man he had fallen madly in love with many moons ago. His name was Keizer Vladimir Leviathan or better known as Serath Sang--an almighty and powerful cosmic being.The two eventually got engaged and had three beautiful children. However their relationship didn’t last–resulting in Red’s fourth and final death and Vlad’s eternal slumber.

Red eventually woke up in the Underworld , becoming its queen due to his best friend/soulmate: Jamie Grayson, who couldn't let him go, so they ruled together and eventually got married in order to protect their hearts from being hurt again. Red being the queen of the Underworld makes him responsible for the realm of the dead while Jamie attends earthly matters. Red however is confined to the Underworld. Until Thorne summoned him back into the realm of the living.

After Thorne cast a summoning spell forcing Red to come into his realm. Thorne had given up being the main vocalist and guitarist of the band Hex and needed someone to take over and since Red was the former vocalist before their debut , he knew he was the only capable being in getting the job done. Red agreed only because he had grown tired of being in the underworld but he isn’t happy about being on earth surrounded by memories of what could have been.

[ssrtsussfrt]

Finding the Right Locksmith Services

Locksmith services can be essential for your home security needs. Not only do they provide a layer of protection against break-ins and theft, but they can also improve the overall aesthetics of your property. If you’re in need of a locksmith, it can be tricky to know where to start. That’s why we’ve put together a list of tips to help you find the right car locksmith near me for your needs. From checking reviews to narrowing down your choices based on price, these tips will help you get the best service possible.

What to look for in a locksmith

When you are looking for a locksmith, it is important to consider the following:

- Experience. A locksmith with lots of experience will be better able to help you solve your specific problem and get you back into your home as quickly as possible.

- Licensing and accreditation. Make sure the locksmith you are using has both licensing and accreditation from organizations like the National Locksmith Association (NLA). This will ensure that they are properly trained and equipped to handle all types of locks and security questions.

- Price. Don't overpay for services; always compare prices before hiring a professional.

- Comfort level. Make sure the locksmith you choose is comfortable working in tight spaces and around complicated equipment.

The different types of locks

There are a few different types of locks that can be used in order to secure objects. The different types of locks include the standard padlock, U-lock, and keyed lock.

Standard Padlocks: Standard padlocks are the most common type of lock and can be found on many doors and gates. They use a simple pin and key system to open them.

U-Lock: U-locks are a more secure variant of standard padlocks and are typically used on high value items such as bikes or cars. They use a locking mechanism that requires both a key and a code in order to open them.

Keyed Locks: Keyed locks use either a combination of regular keys or special key cards in order to open them. These locks are typically less common than other types of locks but can be more secure if used correctly.

How to choose the right locks for your home

The locksmith industry is a vast one, with many different types of locks to choose from. To help you make the right choice for your home, here are some tips:

-Choose a standard lock. A standard lock is the most common type of lock and is typically used on doors and windows. Standard locks can be unlocked with a key or a code.

-Consider a solid core lock. Solid core locks are more secure than standard locks and are typically used on doors that are important to security, such as firearms cabinets and safes. They can only be unlocked with a key or a code that is specific to the lock.

-Consider an electronic lock. Electronic locks use sensors to detect when someone tries to unlock the door or window, and then sends a signal to unlock the door or window. This type of lock is often found on windows that open into rooms outside of the home.

Locksmith services for office security

office security is always a top priority for businesses. One way to secure your office is by implementing locksmith services. Locksmiths can install and maintain a variety of locks to protect your business assets. They can also provide 24/7 emergency support in the event of a lock issue.

When choosing a locksmith, be sure to ask about their experience securing businesses. Ask if they have any insurance policies that cover office security incidents. Also, ask about their pricing and how they will handle service calls. Be sure to review their reviews online and contact them if you have any questions or would like to book a consultation.

Conclusion

Locksmith services are an important part of any home security system, and it's important to find a company that you can trust. Here are a few tips to help you evaluate a emergency locksmith company: -Ask around — talk to friends, family, and other people in your community about their experiences with the locksmith companies they've used. -Check out customer reviews online — read what others have had to say about the quality of the work, as well as how quickly they were able to get service after calling. -Be sure to ask questions during your conversation with the locksmith technician — make sure you understand exactly what they're going to be doing before agreeing to hire them.

[twisted-wonderland-but-gayer]

Random question... but ive been thinking about the TW boys(excluding the fish mafia) and if they know how to swim, how good they are, and if they enjoy it or not.

I think the majority of the boys can swim but... i feel like Riddle either never learned is just surprisingly shit at it... he also gets seasick on boats... this boy is not made for sailing....

Also Leona doesnt mind swimming but he just HATES the feeling of getting out and being DRENCHED in water.

Riddle Rosehearts- Never really learned how to. Is awful at it but won't stop trying until he perfects it. A panicked swimmer. 2/10 but with practice 5/10

Trey Clover- Solid swimmer, probably helped to teach his siblings. 7/10

Deuce Spade- He probably also doesn't have much experience but the second you challenge him to a race he becomes an Olympian. Forms a little wonky. 7/10

Cater Diamond- Suprisingly good. Uses breaststroke and butterfly. He prefers to use a floaty though. 8/10

Ace Trappola- He swears he's good but he's average or mediocre at best. Probably also splashes you and is just an overall menace. 6/10

Leona Kingscholar- He's amazing at it. Perfect form and technique, you will never know because he hates being soggy. 10/10

Jack Howl- Super athletic boy. Knows a lot of forms and techniques. Really good swimmer but his tail can really get weighed down. 9/10

Ruggie Bucchi- He loves fishing in canon so I'd imagine he at least knows the basics. Doesn't really use strokes or anything. Amazing doggy paddle. 4/10 but 6/10 because he's trying.

Kalim al Asim- Oh my god he's awful. He's knows how to float at least but would prefer a donut. Doggy paddler- 2/10

Jamil Viper- Great actually. Uses breaststroke but despises swimming because the octotrio harasses him. 7/10

Vil Shoenheit- Oh yeah. He's a perfectionist too. Does all kinds of fancy or 'artsy' techniques. Probably a synchronized swimmer. 10/10 but because he's an ass about it I'm deducting 2 points. 8/10

Rook Hunt- Do I even have to explain? The hunter of course knows how to swim. Like Rook he is very pretty about it. You would never guess that he has the potential to make the Olympics when he's trying to hunt something underwater. 11/10 I am deducting a pint though because I am terrified 10/10

Epel Felmier- Probably decent. He's a country boy so I wouldn't be surprised if he's been chucked in a few muddy bodies of water in his life. A bit crude and juvenile though. 4/10

Idia Shroud- Absolutely not he is literally fire. He goes into panic mode and nearly drowns. I'm giving him a point because the speed at which he booked to land is impressive for a weeb. He also probably jumped 6 feet into the air. 1/10

Ortho Shroud- Assuming his technology can handle it, he'd be an amazing swimmer and diver. Loves going deep underwater and taking pictures of the cool animals. 10/10

Malleus Draconia- I don't think he really was able to swim as a child. Picks it up pretty quickly as a lizard but still isn't a strong swimmer. 7/10 for learning how to within minutes unlike Riddle.

Lilia Vanrouge- He probably floats above the water tbh. I can't see him actually swimming to much unless it's for a warm up or something. He just likes to lay back and float around with some sunglasses and cucumbers on his eyes. 3/10

Silver (Vanrouge)- Like father like son. He's actually pretty good at it but it drains a lot out of him so he also tends to float in his back and occasional uses his arms to change directions. 3/10

Sebek Zigvolt- I just know he would be am awful swimmer and would prefer to use a floaty like Kalim. Probably sinks too. Makes him realize that if his lord and savior Malleus was taken somewhere with lots of water he can't properly protect him and immediately starts to train his swimming techniques... it's very crude but it's an improvement. Doggy paddles at least 2/10.

[thelostcityofsugarteara]

Hello! I wanted to request a affogato x warrior!reader who doesn't know a thing about love, comfort, or affection because they've been so battle hardened their whole lives? Like they've had to fight to survive constantly and/or are constantly guarding the king and/or citizens? Like at the feeling of genuine affection for the first time, they start crying....

oh absolutely !! thank you for the request, anon :)

affogato with a touch-starved watcher reader !!

you had been a watcher for a while now.

when you first met affogato, you were intrigued by him.

this feeling was new to you, you had never really experienced anything like this. it felt very strange.

one time, you and affogato were talking about how the watchers fight in the snow, when he complimented your unique technique.

and you felt heat rise to your cheeks… you were… blushing ???

okay, something was very strange here.

you looked in every book you could but to no avail. you could not find anything on what you were feeling.

eventually, you came to your senses and realised that what you were feeling was love.

when this thought came to you, it hit you like a truck. you had to go get some milk to cool yourself down !

while you were going through your silent crisis that spanned days, affogato also realised that he was interested in you romantically.

he then took the next step, planning how to confess to you. like how i mentioned in my caramel arrow vs affogato post, he would take you somewhere quiet like his bedroom & confess simply but effectively.

when he told you, you started blushing again & told him you felt the same (you somehow managed to do some research). he was very pleased, and that’s how you two started dating.

being affogato’s lover is a great experience !! get ready for back of the hand kisses, out of the blue compliments & more.

after your first kiss with him, you started crying. he was startled, wondering if he had done anything wrong. he asked you what was the matter, if he had done anything wrong…

when you calmed down & were able to properly speak, you told him how you had hardly ever experienced affection & it was overwhelming (in a very good way).

he was sympathetic, but not surprised. everyone in the dark cacao kingdom were very serious nearly 24 / 7.

he gave you a hug & apologised for overwhelming you, then told you that from now on, he would help you slowly become used to affection.

over some time, you became used to your boyfriend’s affection & soon started to reciprocate it !! simple things like small kisses & gentle hugs.

hii !!! i loved writing this, and i’m sorry if it’s a bit short :( affogato my beloved <3