#and then. all the classes start at 5:45 or 6. unless you live across the street from your job your not going to be home at that time

[crowcryptid]

Thank you to my professor for having common sense and ending the class 30 mins early cause no one who is willingly taking a class at this time is memorizing chemical formulas past 9 pm

[dingyuxi]

I was tagged by @cuddlybitch​; tysm hannah ❤︎ 

1. What is the color of your hairbrush? wait but I have three...one is a dark wood, the other is silver and the last is blue and white

2. Name a food you never eat. I hate eggs. In all shapes and forms (unless it’s literally baked into something which at that point it’s not an egg)

3. Are you typically too warm or too cold? Too cold. 

4. What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Watching Live On.

5. What’s your favorite candy bar? Heath bars! I love toffee. 

6. Have you ever been to a professional sports game? No...unless you count this really minor league (honestly it’s probably not even considered a league) baseball game. I think they were the Rockcats? lmaooo I honestly don’t even know how I ended up there.

7. What is the last thing you said out loud? I was helping my brother set up his bluetooth speaker, I think I asked him if it was charged.

8. What is your favourite ice cream? Ohh this is a tough one. It really depends on my mood. For basic flavors...strawberry and vanilla. I also like green tea and mint. 

9. What was the last thing you had to drink? Green tea with lemon and honey.

10. Do you like your wallet? I mean it’s fine? It’s useable. Could be cuter lol.

11. What is the last thing you ate? A brownie-peanut butter cookie bar. 

12. Did you buy any new clothes last weekend? Nah. I wish I had money to buy new clothes. But also I have no where to go in them...

13. What’s the last sporting event you watched? I don’t really watch sports. But recently I went down the youtube rabbit hole of dog sporting events. I watched many agility competitions....and then we transitioned to dog dock diving. Don’t ask.

14. What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Kettle corn!

15. Who is the last person you sent a text message to? My friend Jillian.

16. Ever been camping? Yep! Tent and all. It was on like an official camping ground tho so there were bathroom facilities and such. It wasn’t actually just in the woods in the middle of nowhere. 

17. Do you take vitamins? My doctor said I should take vitamin D (not because I was deficient but just because that’s something people should do)...I did not listen.

18. Do you regularly attend a place of worship? No.

19. Do you have a tan? Whatever limited summer tan I got has mostly faded. But let’s be real it only became a tan after I first burned. I’m pretty pale, probably because I rarely see the light of day oops.

20. Do you prefer chinese or pizza? This is so? Why isn’t it like Italian vs. chinese? I’m gonna go chinese because there’s so much more to choose from to suit my specific mood.

21. Do you drink your soda through a straw? No. I mean if I'm in a restaurant and they give me a glass I'll drink from a straw. But if it’s a can or bottle or I'm just pouring it into my own cup then no. Although we have a collection of metal straws at my house and I use those occasionally when I’m drinking something that I had to mix. 

22. What color socks do you usually wear? Generally white. 

23. Do you ever drive above the speed limit? LOL. I’d like to meet someone who never does. But I'm not a speed demon. I simply follow the flow of traffic. And that usually means 10-15mph over the speed limit on the high way. On inner roads its more 5-10mph over.

24. What terrifies you? All bugs need to stay a great distance away from me. I will shriek like a banshee and jump 10 feet in the air if they startle me. I kid you not. 

25. Look to your left, what do you see? My desk. And it’s messy array of papers, notebooks and folders strewn across it. I really should organize it...

26. What chore do you hate most? Cleaning the bathroom YES. But that’s not really a daily thing. If we’re talking daily I hate doing the dishes.

27. What do you think of when you hear an Australian accent? I’m sorry but it’s just this beach blonde surfer dude. Or kangaroos. There’s no in between.

28. What’s your favorite soda? I like Sprite and Root Beer. 

29. Do you go in a fast food place or just hit the drive thru? Drive thrus stress me. I feel too pressured. I’d rather go in. Also I’m the type to examine the menu carefully before ordering anything. And the drive thru menus are never comprehensive, or they’re shown at the very last minute. 

30. What’s your favorite number? 7

31. Who’s the last person you talked to? My brother

32. Favorite meat? Beef.

33. Last song you listened to?  “Trying My Best” — Anson Seabra according to spotify

34. Last book you read? I was trying to read Kingdom of Sea and Stone but I got so bored I stopped. 

35. Favorite day of the week? Friday or Saturday.

36. Can you say the alphabet backwards? I mean...I'm sure I could if I really think about it. Definitely won’t sound fluent. 

37. How do you like your coffee? Definitely not black. I’m more of a latte, cappuccino type of coffee drinker. Or iced coffee with condensed milk. 

38. Favorite pair of shoes? I’m not really super attached to any one pair. I’ve mostly been wearing my grey keds as of late. But I will start transitioning to ankle boots soon for the fall season.

39. Time you normally get up? If I have no classes or other engagements, 10:30-11am. What can I say? I’m a night owl. 

40. What do you prefer, sunrise or sunsets? Sunsets! There’s no way I’m waking up at the crack of dawn to watch a sunrise. Honestly it’s more likely that I’ve stayed up so late that I see the sunrise and then go to bed. 

41. How many blankets on your bed? Two. A fluffy blanket and a comforter. 

42. Describe your kitchen plates They’re your basic white corelle plates with this green and red floral pattern or a grey-blue floral pattern around the edge. 

43. Describe your kitchen at the moment Uhh It’s clean? The dishes are all in the dishwasher (to dry), the pots are all put away in the cabinets. It’s also 1am right now though, so everything has been put away for the night already.

44. Do you have a favorite alcoholic drink? No, I definitely haven’t tried enough to know. I want to try flavored soju and mixed drinks with it. I’ve had this sweet sake once and that was good. It didn’t even really taste like alcohol. 

45. Do you play cards? I like learning new card games, even if I don’t play often. But this also means I forget the rules because I don’t play regularly. I used to remember actual poker rules but when I play with my fam it’s an abridged version. 

46. What color is your car? White.

47. Can you change a tire? LMAO that would be a call to my dad or triple A stat

48. Your favorite state or province? I like the northeastern states. Maybe I'm biased since I live there. 

49. Favorite job you’ve had? I had a job as barista and that was fun. Plus I always got to have fun with my crew mates. 

tagging @hwanginyeop, @thingskateknows, @kdramaxoxo, @junghaesin, @moonlightsdream, @liveasbutterflies, @jingyans, @therukurals (only if you want to!)

[abrunettefangirlnerd]

It’s Too Much

Pairing: Steve Rogers x reader

Summary: You are a college student trying to get into nursing school. Being accepted into NYU’s program you just have to make the grade in one more class to start in the fall. This semester has been difficult and only gotten worse since this COVID-19 required your college to close. Living on campus and your family living in Colorado, makes moving back home extremely difficult. Besides you don’t want to leave. That is when your sweet boyfriend offered for you to stay at his apartment.

Oneshot

A/N: It may be a little long, but the ending is freaking adorable

10:15 pm

             Putting away the last bit of your clothes in Steve’s closet, you sigh in relief. Today has been so long starting with waking up early to move all your stuff out of your dorm. Your college has moved all classes online with the COVID-19 outbreak. Since there is virtually no reason to be at school, you decided to move out to get a reimbursement for the rest of the semester.

             Problem is, your school is in New York and your home is St. Louis, Missouri. There is no way for you to get everything in your car and drive half way through the country. Thankfully Steve, your boyfriend, has been gracious enough to share his apartment with you for the remainder of your semester.

             A warm-muscular arm wraps its way around your waist and pulls you toward an even more muscular body. Turning your body to face him, you burry your face in Steve’s chest as you wrap your arms around his torso. Steve places a soft kiss on the top of your head before leaning his against yours. Feeling the light brush of his breath against your hair lures your subconscious to the impending darkness of sleep.

“Do you want to go to bed?” Steve ask. A smile invades your features. You love how attentive he can be.

“No,” you pout. “Going to bed means waking up, and waking up means studying.”

             Steve’s grip on your loosens, prompting you to look up at him. A twinkle of mischief resides in his beautiful blue eyes. A part of you wants him to tell you what he is thinking, though it may be more fun for him to show you.

“I have an idea then.” Steve smirks.

             His arms encircle your legs before you could ask him what he’s up to. Throwing you over his shoulder he walks you over to the bed, and flips your body onto the soft mattress. Laughter erupts from your chest. You find it so cute when he acts so dominant because he surprisingly loves being submissive a great deal of the time. Though seems like tonight he wants to take the reins, and you are more than happy to let his dominant side take over tonight.

***

Next Morning

Inulin can determine glomerular filtration rate in the renal system because it is only filtered, not reabsorbed or secreted…

Mean arterial pressure can be calculated by taking systole + 2 (diastole) / 3…

Trypsin, chymotrypsin, and elastin are endopeptidase enzyme…

             You woke up, your thoughts running a million miles an hour. Looking over at Steve’s alarm clock you see that it reads 5:45 am. Well, I usually wake up at 6, what is 15 minutes really?

             Carefully shimmying out of Steve’s arms, you grab a new pair of underwear, and a fresh pair of sweats and t-shirt from Steve’s side of the closet. Heading over to the bathroom down the hall you turn on the water, wait for it to heat up, and step inside.

             Lathering your head with citrus smelling shampoo, you make a mental note of all the things you need to do today. A sheet of anxiety wraps around your body like a tight uncomfortable blanket. Taking deep breaths you try to focus on the warm water. Imagining it melt away the anxiety from your body, you begin to feel better. Before you know it, the last bit of body soap has been washed away and it is time to get out and start your day.

             Quickly getting dressed in Steve’s soft and warm clothes you head into the kitchen to make breakfast. Popping a bagel into the toaster, you search for some fruit in the refrigerator. Finally coming upon some cut up fruit, you take the container out and pour some on your plate. About that time your bagel is ready to go and all you need is your coffee. Tasting the warm-stimulating hazelnut coffee against your throat, you take a deep breath and dive into your studies

6:15 am

             Opening your laptop, you guide your mouse to a folder holding the rest of your physiology lecture videos. Your professor had his lectures recorded a few years back and thankfully saved them. Without these, you have no idea how challenging the last half of this semester would be.

             Scrolling through the list, you land upon the next video lecture. Waiting for the video to load, you take a sip of our coffee and plug in your headphones. Steve is an early morning riser but is definitely taking the opportunity to sleep in given the new situation. The last thing you want is to wake him up with your school work. He deserves to sleep in every once in a while.

7: 25 am

             Writing down the last bit of notes from the lecture, you look up and see that your breakfast has barely been touched. The bagel has a single bite and only half of the fruit remains. The floors creek behind the bedroom door signaling that Steve has woken up.

             As if on cue the door opens revealing a half asleep posture. Hearing him yawn you look up and offer a morning smile. As he heads into the kitchen for his own cup of coffee, you refocus on rewriting notes from the recent lecture. You have this rhythm down after the first couple weeks of the semester. After class you would rewrite the notes, neatly into a notebook and study them the next day.

“Want some breakfast?” Steve asks.

“I made me some.” You tilt your head toward you cold bagel and coffee and get a disapproving look from your boyfriend.  

8:00 am

             Taking out your laptop again, you log into your school’s blackboard account. You watch as the computer loads your Nutrition book as a yawn of your own settles across your lips. This is your least favorite class of the semester. It has nothing to do with the content. There is just so much of it and your teacher’s lectures are not helpful whatsoever.

“How about a break?” Steve looks up at you with puppy dog eyes, his head against your shoulder. “You just had to wear my clothes, you’re killing me.”

“Not yet, it is only eight in the morning. And I have to keep you entertained somehow.” A pinching feeling hits you in the gut as you think about taking Steve’s advice. You had the same problem while living in the dorm. You never take breaks unless you can’t see straight or it is time for bed, whichever comes first. Of course there were plans you would make with Steve that would take place of a break.

9:30 am

             Finally finishing the chapter for Nutrition, you head back into the kitchen. You throw away the rest of your uneaten breakfast and grab another pot of coffee. Taking in the precious smell you can feel your stomach start to growl from missing the other half of breakfast. You decide there isn’t enough time to make anything, and figure the coffee will just be enough.

“Hon,” Steve’s cautious voice looms over you. You can tell he is trying to tread lightly. He means well, but neither of you have been in this situation where you are living together.

“(Y/N), maybe you should eat something else.”

“It’s okay. I’ll be fine, thank you though.” You place a reassuring kiss on Steve’s cheek and then head into the living room again.

          The pinching gut feeling returns as you think about Steve’s expression. Maybe I should take a break? You shake your head and conclude you will take one later.

10:05 am

             The simulation for your physiology lab has finally loaded. Your professor for lab has ten lab simulations due this week by Thursday. With all the packing, moving, and unpacking this weekend you haven’t had the chance to get ahead of this. By Wednesday you have to take an online prelab quiz and be prepared to take a post lab quiz at the end of class on Thursday. Since it is all online now you have to definitely zero out time to get it all done on your own.

             Steve comes in with a plate in hand. On it is a piece of toast with a Nutella spread and banana slices nicely resting on top. Involuntarily, your mouth begins to water at the sight of food. Some find it a weird combination but you think it is the best thing you’ve found to eat in a while.

“Here, I made you this.”

             He places the plate of your physiology lab notebook. A tiny bit of annoyance restless onto your surface but you push it away. You know that Steve just wants to make sure you’re eating enough. At the beginning of last semester Steve noticed how little you started to eat with your added stress. This semester isn’t much better, but this way he at least gets to keep a better eye on you. You’ve never had a problem with your appetite. There is just so much on your mind, and so much stress that you barely remember to eat. When you do, it doesn’t take long for your nerves to get the better of you and suppress the want to keep eating.

“Thank you.” You say, and you snake your arm around his neck and bring him in for a kiss.

12:10 pm

“Okay, lunch time!” You claim, excited for a break. “How does a pizza sound?”

             Steve is in the corner of the room working out with his weights. Taking a moment from his current set, Steve nods in agreement. You find a small but noticeable grin hiding against his lips. He is clearly happy to see that you have finally taken a break… well a break to make food.

             The only pizza you guys have is a veggie and chicken frozen pizza. Taking it out of the wrapping, you preheat the oven and wait for it to beep. This moment allows you to turn on the tv and find “Friends” on the screen, your favorite show of all time. Steve crawls up against you even with sweat dripping off onto you.

“Babe! You’re dripping all over the pizza!” You laugh.

“Extra flavor?” Steve’s eyes glimmer as he represses his own laughter.

             After lunch you get back on your computer to log onto your Old Testament/Hebrew Bible class. After the class you organize your notes, work on your paper for the class, and review your notes from both physiology lecture and lab. It isn’t until 6 o’clock that evening before you are done. A friend from a class called needing you to explain something from the lecture today which took a little while.

**

             This routine repeated over and over during this week. Steve recognizes that there was no way this is going to change unless he said something. Though the last thing he wants to do is upset you. He knows how stressed you are about getting into the nursing program. You have a spot actually. You just need to get a B in physiology to keep it, and the first exam did not go as planned.

But Steve does know this isn’t healthy. You are ranging between 7-9 hours of work, with only an hour break at lunch to cook and eat. He would love to offer to cook for you, but he is scared that you’ll take that extra time to keep studying.

“Baby doll?” Steve peers around the corner leading into the living room. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Sure, one second. I just need to finish writing this thought.” You say as you scribble a few more notes in your notebook.

             Steve comes over and sits on the coffee table in front of you. He helps you move your school stuff away. You knit your eyebrows together in confusion. Normally you aren’t done for the day, it is only 4:30 pm.

             Steve’s knees lightly press against yours and he takes your hands in his. Rubbing circles into your skin with his thumbs you allow the soothing touch to calm your nerves. Steve leans in and presses a kiss to your forehead that you graciously accept.

“What’s up? You’re scaring me.” You say. A sinking feeling rests in your stomach that are sending your nerves in to a frenzy.

“I love you (Y/N). I love having you hear, but…” you can feel your heart drop. “I am worried about you. All you do is study. I’m sure this is what you’ve been doing this last year but I didn’t realize how much you do until now. You’re too tired to want to work out like you normally do, or able to stay awake while we are watching a movie. On top of that, you barely eat. It’s not healthy.”

“I know, you’re right.” A tear falls down your face. “Living in the dorm I never felt like I could get away from school. I felt like I had to constantly study. When I stayed the night here it would help me separate it easier. Though since I can’t leave, and some of my professors have added extra assignments I’m feeling it becoming a bigger problem than before.”

“Well, then.” Steve’s soft lips graze across yours, taking your breath away. “Let me help with that.”

             Pulling you on his lap, Steve’s fingers tangle in your hair. Steve presses his forehead against yours and both sets of eyes close. Stroking his hands through your hair, you focus on Steve’s breathing. You can’t believe you are lucky enough to find a man that actually cares about your well-being. He is right and you know it. From now on you’re going to do your best to not let school be your whole life.

“You know what I want to do?” Your voice is barely above a whisper.

“If you say study,” Steve grumbles, “I’m throwing your notebooks out the window.”

              Shaking your head no, you start by placing a kiss on Steve’s cheek. Trailing down his face onto his neck, Steve grips your hips which brings your body closer. Steve does not understand how great of an advantage he just gave you, and you try to suppress the smile peaking up from your lips. Wrapping your arm around his torso, you wait a moment before reaching behind him. Finding what you are looking for, you bring your lips back to his. Eagerly accepting your kiss he almost doesn’t feel the nerf bullet hit his side.

“Oh no,” Steve’s voice is low and you can feel your heart beat faster. “You’ve done it now.”

             Stumbling to get away, you leap over the back of the couch for cover. Peering over the edge you aim your nerf gun where you last see him, but Steve is already gone. You listen for any sudden movements and try to recall where the other gun was last seen. Remembering it was in the bedroom, you stealthily slide across the floor hoping for another sneak attack.

             Reaching the door, you find it cracked open. You slip your body slowly into the dark room and reach for the light switch. If Steve is hiding, you want to find him before he finds you. The lights turn on and brighten up the room, making your eyes squint.

“Surprise!” Steve jumps from the side of the bed as you feel two nerf bullets attack your abdomen. “I win!”

“But I got you first!” You playfully whine.

“Doesn’t count.” Steve insists. “I win, and I want first place prize.”

             Steve takes even strides toward you. Stopping in front of you, his body towers over your own. His arms pin you against the wall as his wild eyes peer into yours. A burning desire of anticipation ripples through your chest. It is almost too much to bare until Steve finally crashes his lips to yours. Running your hands over his body, and his over yours, you lead him toward the bed and show him how lucky you are to have him.

[nothoughtsjust-vibes]

I started Twilight for the thousandth time because I hate myself and this time I recorded most of my thoughts and, since I have no one irl, I have To shout them into the Void

1. Why is all the dialogue so cringey?

2. Why would she remember her favorite dessert at a rando diner when she hasn’t been there in several years?

3. The coloring is just so blue

4. Why does she look SO PALE?! Is it because K Stew was actually supes pale or because the director wanted her to look vampiric?

5. Why does Bella sound like she’s gonna cry when she implies that the guys at school are sexually harassing her? Could it be BECAUSE THEY WERE DOING THAT?!

6. “Things were getting a little strange”? Just because he wasn’t in school? Bitch, you met him once and he was an ass, any sane person would just forget it.

7. “You’re not in Phoenix anymore, Bells”. They don’t have animals in Phoenix?

8. Why is every guy so invested in Bella?

9. Their first convo in class is SO AWKWARD!!! Is that bad directing and writing or is it genius?

10. “Any cold wet thing, I don’t really...” fast forward two years she’s getting dicked down by vampire cock

11. Her telling Edward about her mom and Phil is so awkward. Like, he needs to ask her to explain things that she should know need explaining. “Why’d you move here?” “My mom remarried...” “So, you don’t like the guy?” “No, Phil’s fine....”

12. When there’s a vamp as attractive as Carlisle, why would she ever go for the son?

13. The big question is why would anyone go for Edward when Carlisle is RIGHT THERE!?

14. What I wouldn’t give for a book of Cullen origin stories: Jasper in the Civil War? Alice in the Salem Witch Trials? Rosalie getting epic revenge on her rapists? Carlisle’s everything!? YES PLEASE!!!!!

15. How Edward doesn’t realize breaking into someones room and watching someone when they’re sleeping is fucking creepy, I’ll never know

16. Rosalie shoulda knocked sense into Edward to not be a creeper

17. Bella is supes rude to Mike by just not paying attention when he’s taking to her

18. Jesus, Mike’s eyes are GORGEOUS. Don’t know how I didn’t see that before

19. I would want this guy as my science teacher

20. Has Edward ever talked to a girl outside his family? Like....ever?!

21. You don’t hit a bus door to get the driver to open it. Because of this movie, I did that one time and now I hate teenage me for that

22. WHY IS EVERYONE IN THESE MOVIES SO GODDAMN SKINNY!?!

23. Love that vampires don’t need to eat, but Emmett is eating in a cafeteria scene

24. “If you were smart, you’d stay away from me.” HOW BOUT YOU STAY AWAY FROM HERE DUDE!?! MAYBE STOP GOING INTO HER ROOM AND WATCHING HER SLEEP

25. KrimsonRogue said if you can use anything besides rape, don’t use rape. Maybe SMeyer should’ve heard similar advice and taken it

26. So Jacobs just not gonna introduce his friends?

27. “You caught that, huh?” They were a foot away from her and no one else was talking

28. I remember that in this beach scene, Bella was trying to seduce Jacob into talking. And she was like, 17 and he 15 which, even if not bad with age gap, still creepy. And she’s not good at it. And doesn’t need to do it.

29. Why she shrieking? It’s a goddamn rope he’s chasing her with

30. Why are the villain vamps so goddamn dramatic?

31. Why is Bella’s google searching so instantly effective?

32. Why does she go all the way to Portland to buy one book, flip to one page, take one word from one caption of one illustration, and then never touch the book again?

33. Bella is super not a good travel companion. Why didn’t she just drove her own self to Portland to go to the bookstore?

34. How she get so lost?

35. How did she not answer her cell while her friends were freaking out about where she was?

36. Why are her friends just leaving her with this very strange dude who never interacts with anyone?

37. That first line the waitress delivers to Edward feels like very bad acting.

38. It’s hilarious that corpse feet made her immediately think of Edward

39. How could she just barely graze Edwards fingers with hers and immediately have a shock reaction of “Your hands are so cold”

40. Okay, even with all this “evidence”, no normal person would be like, “Yup yup, he’s a vampire” and then have some dramatic confrontation in the forest during school

41. She just ditches her backpack in the forest. I assume she needs it

42. “Sometime you speak as if you’re from a different time” Bitch, when?

43. These are not normal conversations that happen in these movies

44. Bella is not normal. Dude she’s known for two days says he’s probs gonna kill her and she’s just like “Yeah, cool”

45. Why does he think his sparkle skin is a turn-off? I’d be like, “Hell, yeah, you never need to buy body glitter”

46. How she trust him after, like, two weeks and a couple conversations? I don’t trust people with my FEELINGS after two years, this bitch trusting an admitted murderer with her LIFE after two weeks

47. “I’m not afraid of you. Only afraid of losing you.” EXCUSE ME BITCH WHAT!?!? YOUVE KNOWN HIM TWO WEEKS

48. YOU CANT FALL IN LOVE THAT FAST!!!!!

49. Okay, but why’d Angela say “Oh my god” before Bella even got out of the car? All that she saw was the car drive up and Edward get out

50. Why were people staring? That’s not how high school works. People don’t REALLY give a shit who’s dating who unless they’re queer

51. I get the convo montage is to indicate they’re spending a lot of time together, but they’d have to remember the exact place they left off in the conversation or just have the same conversation over and over

52. Only living on tofu would not keep you strong

53. Okay, that cut of him jumping from the rock and cut to him jumping into the truck bed is very good

54. “Here comes the human”..... WHO SAID THIS LINE!?!? It sounded very happy, BUT THE ONLY TWO WOMEN IN THE ROOM WERE ESME AND ROSALIE AND ROSALIE WAS NOT HAPPY AT ALL AND ESME WASNT SPEAKING

55. If I were in Bella’s position, among other things I woulda done different, I woulda eaten the shit out of that Italian meal the Cullens prepares for me

56. The scene in Edwards bedroom is so goddamn awkward, but I feel like that works since she’s super awkward and he’s a 108 year old virgin who’s never spoken to a girl before her

57. Why she just turn his stereo on without permission?

58. I heard Claire de Lune is like, the most basic piece ever. Writers couldnta been more creative?

59. How is taking her on a tree climbing adventure making her dance?

60. “So, you and Cullen, huh? I don’t like it.” YOU KNOW WHAT MIKE!?! FUCK OFF!!! YOU HAVE NO GODDAMN SAY IN IT

61. What the hell was that twerking to the daughter of the chief while the chief was there?

62. So he’s been watching her sleep for the past couple months. She got there middle of the semester. So around March. A couple months would make it June. HOW LONG IS THIS SCHOOL YEAR!?!

63. Why Edward couldn’t have bounced with Bella before the villain group got there is beyond me.

64. THIS SCENE WHERE BELLA TALKS SHIT TO CHARLIE AND LEAVES THE HOUSE!!!! THIS IS THE PART I HATE THE MOST BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY GODDAMN WAYS SHE COULDVE LEFT HOME FOR A COUPLE DAYS!!!! “I’m gonna go stay at Jessica’s house for the weekend” “I’m gonna go to Angela’s house for the weekend” “I wanna take a weekend trip with Jessica” “I wanna go visit Mom for a couple days” LITERALLY ANYTHING EXCEPT THAT WOULDA WORKED THERE WAS NO GOOD REASON FOR HER TO HURT HIS FEELINGS LIKE THAT

65. If Rosalie could smell Bella across the field when there was no breeze, why can’t James smell her standing five feet from her?

66. Laurent really didn’t give them any helpful information. James is super dangerous? Yeah, Edward already got that. Victoria is dangerous? Yeah, that’s kinda common sense. Thanks for nothing, you French bastard

67. Man, why the tits did Bella not just tell Alice and Jasper about James supposedly having her mom hostage? Seems like she should trust the group of seven vamps to beat two

68. How did Alice see James going to the ballet studio but not James calling Bella?

69. “I don’t regret the fact that I’m gonna die because at least I got to meet Edward” is what she’s basically saying. As the great Ronald Weasley said, “She needs to sort out her priorities.”

70. The level of dependency Bella exhibits when Edward tells her she has to go to Jacksonville is truly terrifying.

[malaikoftaa]

bye i have to do this because i read @blognotfound ‘s but whatever i’m bored anyways

1. think of the last person who said i love you, do you think they meant it?my brother lolol probably not

2. would you date an 18yr old at the age you are now? uh no

3. when was the last you were aggravated and happy at the same time? yesterday

4. would you ever smile at a stranger? yes i would

5. is there someone mad bc you’re dating or talking to the person you are? i’m single as hell so no

6. have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today? nah

7. what exactly are you wearing right now? running shorts and a shirt from my temple

8. how often do you listen to music? the real question is : when do i not listen to music?

9. do you wear jeans or sweats more? sweats

10. do you think your life will change dramatically before 2014? it... has??

11. are you a social or antisocial person? it depends on how well i know you

12. have you ever kissed someone who’s name begins with the letter a? nope

13. what about the letter r? nope

14. can you drive a stick shift? ahahahahhahahaha funny joke no

15. do you care if people talk badly about you? not really

16. are you going out of town soon? nope

17. when was the last time you cried? yesterday because i’m dramatic asf

18. have you ever told someone you loved them? platonically yeah

19. if you could change your eye color, would you? mm maybe a few shades lighter than it is

20. is there a boy who you would absolutely everything for? yes my guy bsf

21. name something you dislike about the say you’re having. my mom’s listening to despacito yikes

22. is it cute when guys kiss you on the forehead? yeahhh

23. are you dating the last person you talked to? no because that would be incest and uhm ew

24. what are you sitting on rn? my bed

25. does anybody regularly tell you they love you? platonically yes

26. have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? yes

27. who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? my best friend

28. do you get a lot of colds? nah

29. where is the shirt you’re wearing from? my temple

30. does anyone hate you? lol yeah

31. do you have empty alcohol bottles hidden in your room? no because i’m 13

32. do you like watching scary movies? yeah

33. do you wanna get your tongue pierced? ouch no

34. if you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? 2017

35. did you have a dream last night? yeah i went to chick fil a with margot robbie and we talked about leonardo dicaprio :)

36. when was the last time you told someone you love them? uh 2 days back

37. do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? uh please no

38. do you think someone has feelings for you? idk man

39. do you think someone is thinking of you rn? maybe?

40. did you have a good day yesterday? it was alright

41. think back 2 months ago. were you in a relationship? nope

42. in the next 48 hrs, will you hang out with a girl? my mom yeah

43. has anyone told you they don’t ever wanna lose you? yeah

44. what’s the best part about school? lunch 👅

45. do you have any pictures on your facebook? i don’t even have fb in the first place

46. do you ever pass notes to your friends in school? yeah during tests because they all ask me for answers smh

47. do you replay things that happen in your head? omg yeah things from like 4 years back

48. were you single last summer? yes i was

49. is anything in your life like it was 2 years ago? not really no

50. what are you supposed to be doing rn? reading a book

51. do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with? it depends

52. are you nice to everyone? lol nope

53. have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? yeah yikes

54. did you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? yeah because i’m a nice person

55. are you good at hiding your feelings? depends

56. do you think you like someone? leonardo dicaprio yeah

57. have you ever kissed someone who’s name starts with j? nope

58. do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys? both

59. has anyone of your friends ever seen you cry? yeah because i got reallyyyyyy shitty period cramps in class once

60. do you hate anyone? depends on how you define hate

61. how’s your heart? alright

62. is there something that happened in your past that you hate talking about? yes way too many

63. have you ever cried over a guy? no

64. who is probably talking a load of crap about you rn? uh my ex bsf who lives across the road isn’t that great

65. are your toenails painted pink? nope

66. will your next kiss be a mistake? uh that’d also be my first so idk maybe? i hope not tho

67. do girls love it when their bfs cry? uh no

68. have your pants ever fallen down in public? my kilt has while playing field hockey but i was wearing shorts underneath so its fine

69. who was the last person you were on the phone with? my bestfriend

70. how do you look rn? nasty

71. do you have someone you can be your complete self around? yeah most people unless you’re a total psycho

72. can you commit to one person? yeah

73. do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? yeah

74. have you ever felt replaced? so so so many times

75. did you wake up cranky? nope

76. are you a jealous person? sometimes

77. are relationships ever worth it? haven’t been in one but i mean they should be worth it

78. anyone you’re giving up on? lolz my brother

79. currently wanting to see anyone? @kalenahaimm​ GET YOUR ASS OUTTA JAPAN AND BACK IN NJ PLEASE

80. name something you have to do tomorrow. uh eat?

81. last person you cried in front of? my mom

82. is there someone you’ll never forget? yep

83. do you think the person you have feelings for is protective of you? no cuz he don’t know me he’s a celebrity

84. if the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing rn? eating :)

85. are you over your past? nope

86. have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex? uhh yeah that was a disaster

87. is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to? yeah

88. if your fist true love knocked on your door with an apology and presents would you accept? no because that’d mean he stalked me al; the way from ohio to nj and that’s weird 

89. so the last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3am, do you let them in? a ghost. sure.

90. have you ever liked someone who your friends hates? yeah

91. will you be in a relationship in 2 months? doubt it

92. is there anyone you know with the name michael? my neighbor

93. have you ever kissed a matthew? nope

94. were you in a relationship in january? how was it going? nope

95. were you happy with the person you liked in march? i don’t think i liked anyone in march?

96. is the last person you texted attractive? yes she’s pretty

97. who do you have texts from? my 2 bsfs, my cousin, and a family friend

98. if the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? “that’s great”

99. have you ever kissed someone older than you? nope

100. who’s in your pfp with you? uhh no one

101. ever kissed under fireworks? nope y’all really be making me feel single asf huh

102. has anybody ever given you butterflies? duh

[ruby-dear]

all of them except 77, 78, 81, 92 and 96

Ember, I know this was you. I’m doing it, but that’s 93 questions you’re asking for so they’re going under a cut. 

1. Talk about your first love. There have been a lot of those, so let me talk about the first one I really remember. I was in eighth grade, at the time, and she wasn’t exactly a great person looking back but she was cool and confident and she liked me, and she called me her best friend, and probably the best school-related memory I’ve ever had was her tackle-hugging me from across a classroom. I didn’t even realize I liked girls until she’d pretty much left my life completely. Maybe I’m looking at it through rose-tinted glasses now, but I think that’s okay, sometimes.  2. What’s the most beautiful songs you’ve ever heard in your opinion? Most of my favorite songs are Owl City, especially the older stuff. It has a soft, dreamlike vibe to it that I find really pretty even when it’s depressing. 3. How’s your heart feeling right now? Pretty good, I think? 4. What kind of self care is your favorite to do? The fun stuff. Bath bombs, makeup, fancy shampoo. Retail therapy actually works pretty well for me, even if a lot of the time I don’t even buy anything. 5. What’s your skincare routine? Um... Shower? 6. How did you get to be so beautiful? Natural talent and carefully learned confidence. 7. Do you have any stuffed animals? Oh, do I. I have like, seventy Webkinz, and that’s without getting into anything else. You could say I collect plushes, even if I don’t do it as actively now. I have a couple of Eevee plushes, too - I’d say I want to own all of them one day, but I’m like, 95% sure that’s not possible. 8. Best trip you’ve ever been on? Once, we went to Prince Edward Island for a week, and my mom surprised me by meeting up with my best friend’s family, who happened to have gotten a room at our hotel for one night. I think that probably wins. 9. Favorite thing about your room? That it’s starting to look like it belongs to me, even if I want to move somewhere else. 10. Opinion on love? It takes work, but it’s worth it.

11. Are you affectionate? Around people I’m comfortable with, definitely. 12. Who do you look up to? The people who have enough confidence to be unapologetically be themselves.

13. Favorite poet? Robert Frost. When I was eleven, I found a book of his poems, and I loved that book so much I didn’t pay any attention in English class at all.

14. Song that makes you happy? How about one that calms you down when you’re in a bad place? There’s a lot of songs that make me happy. Hard to go wrong with the Pokemon theme, though. As for things that calm me down... It’s Alright by Mother Mother and Misguided Ghosts by Paramore have both got me through a lot.

15. Do you play an instrument? No. I was supposed to learn piano in seventh grade, but I couldn’t read the sheet music so they never let me play, and I tried to learn guitar multiple times but it never stuck for the same reason.

16. Do you do art? Using what (pencil, watercolor, etc)? I paint, though not as often as I’d like to! Using acrylics, usually, but watercolors sometimes.

17. Do you dance? What style of dance? I took ballet as a child, til they kicked me out of class, and I still enjoy dancing but I don’t remember any of what I learned.

18. What’s your zodiac sign? Do you believe in astrology? Gemini. I think it might have some kind of truth behind it, but I’m not really one of those all-or-nothing people. It’s just for fun, you know?

19. Favorite old film? I don’t watch a lot of them. Does The Aristocats count?

20. What’s your hairstyle? It’s long and wavy. I’m getting blue highlights soon.

21. What weather is the most beautiful, in your opinion? Light rain. The kind that dries off before you get inside, when the sky is perfectly clear, but it starts falling anyway and it stops just as quickly.

22. What upsets you most about the world? That however hard we try to fix it, we’re unlikely to get very far.

23. Are you in love right now? Yes. At least, I think so.

24. Do you have a crush? If so, talk about them! I have a girlfriend. Is that the same thing? She’s cute and funny and she thinks the same things about me for some reason, and she knows exactly how much of a disaster I can be and hasn’t run away yet.

25. Do you have pets? Talk about something sweet about them! I have a cat, Little Prince. His sister died about a month ago, and she was the one who usually kept me company (total lap-cat), but ever since he’s usually either close to where I am or comes when I call him over.

26. Do you have a lucky number? Any multiple of seven, but especially fourteen. They’re my favorite numbers for the same reason.

27. Have you ever wished on a star? What about on a fallen eyelash? I try to wish on stars, when I see them. Eyelashes I’m usually more annoyed about than anything.

28. Do you believe emoji spells to work? I think anything has the potential to work, given the right amount of effort and intent. That said, I don’t think you’re going to accomplish anything drastic.

29. Do you believe in magic in general? Oh, definitely. Just look at the world we live in. How can you not believe in magic when it’s all around you? The night sky without air pollution, the sunlight dancing on the water, candy cane white hot chocolate - it’s everywhere, in everything.

30. What’s the most beautiful thing in life, In your opinion? Everything. There’s something beautiful in everything, if you look for it. Today, let’s say the feeling of sliding around on a hardwood floor in fluffy socks, dancing along to one of your favorite songs.

31. Opinion on the color pink? What about baby blue? As a kid, I hated pink. I like it now, though. Blue is my color, light blue especially (particularly with star patterns), so I’ve always liked it.

32. What instrumental sound is your favorite? Am I alloawed to say wind chimes? I’ve always thought they sounded super pretty.

33. Do you like the sound of wind? What about the sound of rain? I love them both.

34.Who makes you happy? My friends. All of them, in different ways, the people who are still in my life for various reasons. I love them.

35. What makes you happy? Light rain, strong wind, good music. My cat’s soft meow when I wake him up by accident. White peppermint hot chocolate. Fall colors, string lights, Halloween and winter holidays. Ice and snow and skating, dressing up for no apparent reason. The trick to it all is finding new things every day.

36. Imagine your ideal life, the life you wish to make, what will that look like? A house big enough for a family. A degree of some kind hanging on the wall. A life where I’m making things because that’s what I love, and I can try new things just for fun, where I don’t have to worry about money so much. The chance to get married someday, maybe.

37. Do you wear makeup? If so what’s your favorite type of makeup or specific makeup product? Favorite store to buy makeup? I do! Unless someone else is doing it for me, I generally keep to lipstick and eyeshadow. I’ve never been especially picky about what brands I use, but I usually go to Nyx because it’s on my usual route when I go on shopping trips, and I’m kind of attached now. Plus, nowhere else I’ve been in person has as many bold colours.

38. Do you wear dresses? If so what’s your favorite dress you own? I like wearing dresses. My favorite that I still have is a longer black dress, and it’s in serious need of either repair of retirement, but I got it for $20 as a cosplay outfit last year and it served its purpose. I wear it around still, sometimes, because it’s generally an easy fix.

39. Ever been heartbroken? How do you deal with it? Yeah, a few times. I vent to my friends, usually, and then I eat ice cream and listen to gnash for a while and eventually I start to feel better.

40. Who’s your closest friend? What do you love about them?

41. Introvert or extrovert? Kinda both? It’s complicated.

42. Do you like MBTI? What’s your MBTI? Is that... Fuck, is that the one with the letters? I think I got ENFP last time, and when I was younger it was INFP.

43. Would you be a fairy, a mermaid, a vampire, a siren, a or an angel? I’ve had people tell me I have ‘fae vibes’ before, so let’s go with that and hope it’s not offensive.

44. What’s the best song a friend has ever introduced to you? I don’t remember enough of them to feel good about picking one. I basically only listen to music I’m recommended now.

45. Parlez-vous français? A little, by virtue of being Canadian and having driven through Quebec. Not enough to carry on a conversation.

46. Most beautiful place you’ve been to? Prince Edward Island, hands down. It’s gorgeous.

47. Where/when do you truly feel at home? When there’s a light breeze, and the perfect song is playing, and the people I love are there. When we’re laughing with each other.

48. Does smiling put you in a better mood? Try it right now, you’re smile is gorgeous! I don’t think it does, honestly? But it does tend to happen when I’m happy.

49. Favorite shoe you own? These ankle boots I got secondhand that have little metal stars on them. I’m gonna be so upset when they finally wear out and I need new ones.

50. Can you walk in stilettos? Do you like them? God, no, I’ve tried. Any heel that’s too sharp or pointy or tall is a major problem for me. It’s part of what makes finding shoes such a pain.

51. Do you feel loved? Not always, but yeah. When I remember, or when I ask, or when I’m reminded.

52. How do you express love to those you care about? I try to tell them, but I’m also the type to engage in constant teasing. I’m the friend that punches you in the arm as a show of affection.

53. Favorite term(s) of endearment? The more creative ones. The basics don’t do much for me, honestly, but it’s more about the person saying them anyway.

54. Most romantic thing someone’s ever done for you? Make me feel like I don’t have to try so hard to feel like myself.

55. When is the happiest you’ve ever been? Walking the downtown city streets in winter. It was cold, sure, but it was gorgeous and I finally felt independent for a while.

56. Are you happy right now? Yeah, I’d say so.

57. What makes you smile? Bad jokes, among other things.

58. Do you laugh a lot? Yeah. A lot more than I used to.

59. What’s your favorite kind of aesthetic? Punk/scenecore. They’ve really influenced my more recent style choices.

60. Do you want to marry for love or for some other reason (like money)? Love, definitely.

61. What would your dream wedding look like? Do you want to get married? With someone I love, and the other people I love there too. Somewhere beautiful. I think I do, someday, but it’s not something I’m so worried about.

62. Favorite flower? Roses. Blue Moon Hybrid Tea Roses, in particular, are especially pretty.

63. Favorite artist? I don’t really have one. I do enjoy looking at art, though.

64. Favorite music artist? Owl City.

65. How kind do you think you are? Is kindness important to you? I don’t know. People seem to think I’m kinder than I believe I am. It’s important to me, yeah, to try and help people and to do nice things.

66. Ever made a playlist for someone? A few times. They were never anything special, as far as I’m concerned.

67. Do you have anything you do to physically comfort you when your sad? Such as a favorite blanket? Or a relaxing bath? Long, warm baths and cuddling with my cat. Warm blankets and stories with happy endings.

68. Early bird or night owl? Night owl. I’m a night person.

69. Morning routine? Wake up, do nothing for a while, actually get out of bed and figure out breakfast. While that’s going on, try and figure out if anything important is happening today.

70. Night routine? Get comfortable, then write or daydream til I fall asleep.

71. What is the most lovely quality a person could have in your opinion? Self-confidence and a willingness to help others.

72. Do you cry often? Does crying help you get the emotions out? Do you feel better after? I tend to hold back my feelings til they all fall out. So I end up crying at least twice a month, usually. It helps, yeah.

73. Do you like hugs? From people I feel comfortable with.

74. When was the last time you kissed someone? On the lips? Never.

75. Are you small or tall? Small. I’m 5′0.

76. Do you like wholesome memes? Yes. They’re cute.

79. Have you ever lived in a different country than you currently live in? Nope. I’ve never lived outside this city, only been on trips.

80. Do you like plane flights? Airports? I’ve only flown once, and I was two, so I don’t remember it very well.

82. The beach or a forest? Sand or bugs? Depends on the day. Today, though, forest.

83. What time of day do you tend to be in the best mood? Evening, usually.

84. Do you push yourself to act together and in a good mood even when you aren’t? Yeah, when I’m stressed.

85. Favorite kind of tree? Either maple or pine. I’m Canadian, what can I say?

86. Do you care about the health of the Earth? Yes, but there’s only so much one person can do.

87. What did you like most about your childhood, if anything? Field trips. Adulthood is sorely lacking in field trips.

88. Do you read a lot? What’s your favorite book? I used to. These days I still read, but it’s mostly fanfiction. My favorite books, though, are Tamora Pierce’s Emelan series and the first two books of Kenneth Oppel’s Silverwing trilogy.

89. What are you most nostalgic for at the moment? Trick-or-treating.

90. What’s your favorite personality trait you have? I try to let the people I love know that I love them.

91. List at least ONE thing you love about your appearance. I have pretty great hair.

93. Do you worry a lot? Constantly.

94. The dazzling lights of the city or the relaxing countryside? The city. The countryside’s nice, but the streetlights and the city skyline are what make me feel at home.

95. Ever changed the shoelaces on one of your shoes? For what reason? I actually don’t know how to tie laces, so no. I’ve never been able to pick it up. I might get someone sense to, if I could find cool enough laces.

97. Do you like doing little acts of kindness? Yeah. It feels good to make people happy, you know?

98. How’s your day/night going? Pretty good! I did just spend over an hour on this, but I finished it, so that’s an accomplishment of its own.

[solange-lol]

not so typical love song - ch. 6/13

Chapter Title: Oogum Boogum Song

Words: 1,711

Art by @lizzybizzyo! <3

[ one | two | three | four | five | six | seven | eight (coming soon)]

read on ao3

—

The moment Nico got home from school that Wednesday, finally ready to be off for the long weekend for Thanksgiving, he could tell something was different.

For one thing, his father was actually home (per his car in the driveway.) And there were actually voices coming from the kitchen that greeted him, rather than the typical cold, empty silence.

Which could only mean one thing…

Nico’s eyes lit up the moment he stepped into the kitchen. “Bianca!”

His sister looked up from the conversation she was having with their father and Persephone. She immediately jumped up from the table, and Nico dropped his bag, practically running over to greet her.

The moment they hugged Nico realized how much he missed her. Life had been hectic, and as much as Blue may provide some sort of sense to his world, it felt amazing to have physical comfort again,

It almost made Nico want to tell Bianca about all he’s been through.

He stored that thought away for later, instead focusing on being here in the moment with his sister.

“I can’t believe you’re home,” he mumbled into her shoulder. (It wasn’t fair that she was 5’9 while he was stuck at 5'4.)

Bianca pulled back. “You didn’t really think I’d miss Thanksgiving, did you?”

“No! I’m just surprised you’re home so early! I thought you would be flying in the morning of.”

“Nope,” Bianca smiled, leading him over to the dining table where their parents still sat. “I got done with classes yesterday, so I took the day to get my stuff together, and then took a train this morning.”

“You took the train?” Nico asked, bewildered. “But that’s like… an eight hour trip”

Bianca shrugged. “Airline security during the holidays from now until the New Year is horrible. I didn’t really feel like waiting hours in line, so I thought I would just suck it up and make it easier on myself.” She paused before changing the subject. “Now, where’s that sister of ours?”

Nico smiled. “Probably getting a ride home from Frank.”

Bianca raised an eyebrow, a matching smile spreading across her face. “Ah, yes. The infamous Frank.” Nico and Bianca tried to call each other once a week whenever Bianca was free to talk, and during those calls, Nico did his best to catch her up on what was going on at home. “Will I ever get to meet this boy?”

Nico shrugged. “Dunno. None of us have met him yet. Maybe you’ll be our lucky charm.”

As if on cue, they heard the door shut, and Hazel walked in. “Bianca!”

A near-identical greeting to Nico’s ensued, and soon the five of them were sitting in the family room, drinking hot chocolate together as they caught Bianca up on everything Nico had missed during their phone calls. 

“So tell me about this Frank,” Bianca smiled, crossing her legs and giving Hazel a look over the top of her mug as she took another sip. 

Hazel immediately flushed, curls bouncing as she shook her head. “I told you guys, he’s just a friend. But, um, we are going to the homecoming dance together,” she said, more to her mug than to her family. 

Bianca smiled calmly. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nico cut her off.

“What?”

When Hazel and Bianca both gave him a warning look, he took a deep breath and tried again. “You didn’t tell me that.”

“Yeah, because I knew I wouldn’t hear the end of it!” Hazel retorted, causing Bianca to giggle while Nico huffed. Persephone and just watched amusedly from the side, and even their father had the hint of a smile on his face.

“Speaking of homecoming, who are you bringing, Neeks?” Bianca asked, elbowing him with a sly smile.

“Oh, um. Nobody, I don’t think. I mean, I’m going with friends but not, like, with a date.” 

He wasn’t lying; he really did only plan on going with friends. It was tradition by that point for his group to go to the dance together unless somebody got asked, and even then they usually just included their date in the group. Plus, even if Nico did have a date, he doubted he would really fit Bianca’s expectations. 

What she said next just confirmed his suspicion. “Why not? Are girls not lining up to ask you out? I thought people were into the whole edgy and mysterious thing nowadays.”

Nico scuffed his toe on the carpet. “Haha, uh, yeah. Not exactly,” he said, refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Because I’m gay. GAY!

Maybe coming out to Bianca this week wasn’t the best idea…

—

Nico excused himself to his room later that night after a game of monopoly, despite his sister’s many attempts.

“We could watch Titanic?”  Hazel offered, but Nico just shook his head. While it was one of their shared favorite movies, (especially Nico’s), he wasn't exactly in the mood. 

Also, he didn’t really feel like explaining tonight that the reason he loved it so much was because of a young Leonardo DiCaprio.

He wanted to ask Blue how the coming out process with his family was going, maybe even get a few pointers. However, when he opened his laptop that night, Nico was surprised to see an email already waiting for him. And judging by the subject line, Nico wasn’t sure what he was supposed to expect as he clicked on it.  

From:  blue0919@gmail.com

To: bettertoburn@gmail.com

Date: Nov 27 at 5:41 PM

Subject: This might be a lot to take in

I’ve had such a weird day. So much happened I can’t even tell if it's real, and what’s good or bad about it. 

When I got home from school yesterday, both of my parents were there. As in, my mom and my actual birth father. I haven’t seen my dad since I was 4 years old. He stopped sending me birthday money when I was about 10. I sort of assumed he was dead.

Apparently, he’s not dead, though, and he and my mom were just sitting there like he hasn’t been ignoring us for the past 12 years of my life. 

And get this: there were two other kids there. Apparently, I have siblings (and the worst part is, my mom told me later that I might have more. I could have 10 siblings and I wouldn’t even know. My father is a manwhore, apparently.)

The room was dead silent and I just had to sit there awkwardly with these two other kids and listen to them explain the situation. Apparently, my mom is adopting them because my father isn’t fit to take care of them. He essentially guilted her into it because he’s a deadbeat and my mom is the kindest person you’ll ever meet. 

Anyway, after an excruciating hour of small talk, they excused us. Except my house is small and it’s quiet, and when they started arguing we just sat silently on the staircase. They didn’t even last a whole minute before they were screaming at each other. We could hear every word. 

Imagine being stuck with two people you’ve never met but are apparently related to. I felt trapped at the top of this staircase, just sitting between the wall and the railing as they watched me. I honestly felt like banging my head on the wall a few hundred times until it broke through, but they both already seemed so scared. 

Anyway, they’re moving in a little before the holiday break, which means I need to get to know them well enough soon so I can get them gifts for Hannukah. (If they grew up celebrating Christmas… well I don’t know what to do then).  My half-sister (that’s so weird to say) is a freshman, and my half-brother is a sophomore. I don’t know a thing about either of them but after the holiday break, they’re coming to CHS. I’m being completely honest here, Angel, I don’t know how I feel about it yet. 

My dad wants to take me out to dinner or something before he disappears forever, and I honestly don’t know what to do. I wasn’t expecting any of this. 

I’m so lost, Angel. If anyone can find some sort of humor in this, it’s you. Or just distract me. You’re good at that too.

Love,

Blue

Nico felt like he was looking at a weird, distorted mirror, like something you would find in a funhouse. Who knew Blue would have such a similar situation to something Nico had dealt with years prior?

He knew that this would have come out sooner or later the more they went in detail about their lives, so biting the bullet, he started to type.

From: bettertoburn@gmail.com

To: blue0919@gmail.com

Date: Nov 27 at 7:45 PM

Subject: Re: This might be a lot to take in

You probably won’t believe this, Blue, but I’ve been through something similar. 

Remember when I mentioned my half-sister and how it wasn’t a long story I was interested in getting into? Yeah, apparently when my mom died (I was maybe two years old at the time) my dad had some interesting coping mechanisms. And 12 years later after her mom died, suddenly I’m being told that I have another sister. Not exactly something you’d expect to hear at 13 years old.

But, I learned to love her. She’s my sister through and through.

You know me, Blue. I’m not one for pep talks, and I’m not saying it’s going to be easy. It wasn’t for me. Nor will I say I understand, because frankly, there’s no way I can understand what you’re feeling completely. You’re not crazy for feeling the way you do.

I’m here to support you. If anyone can get through this, it’s you.

(That’s really cheesy and unhelpful) (But also true)

Love,

Angel

Nico let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding once he sent it. It was sort of scary how much he was willing to risk just to comfort Blue, but it felt worth it. 

He would do anything for Blue.

Now if only they could work up the courage to reveal their identities before someone did it for them.

[mysterylover123]

Another Top 20 Favorite BKDK Moments

 mysterylover123

Yes, I actually found even more! Looking through the series for other moments just kept delivering unto me more BKDK stuff, until I finally had so many they needed another list.  These are admittedly mostly smaller moments, compared to the first list, but I still though they were worth including.

My Next Top 20 Favorite bKDK MOMENTS:

#20. “Deku, that has to be my codename.”

“Time to Pick some Names” Chapter 45/2.14

What Happens: Midoriya decides to  choose “Deku” as his hero name. We get Bakugo and Uraraka’s reactions to his decision, along with Bakugo vs Deku replay.

Why I Like It: Though this is also probably my favorite Izu/Ocha moment, I do like how BKG giving Deku the Hero Name fits in with some of the other LifePartner characters in the show (Erasermic and Mirio/Tamaki). It’s minor and mostly Izu/ocha, but I still wanted to include it.

#19. Waiting up for Deku 

Chapter 163/Internship arc’s ending

What Happens: Bakugo (and Todoroki) both wait up for the Internship kids to return from their harrowing experience. Bakugo plays it cool, but this was the night before the remedial course, so we know he’s actually concerned.

Why I Like It: While again this one can apply to Kiribaku, Kacchako, and Tododeku as well, we shouldn’t discount BKDK either - since Bakugo did indeed wait up for Deku’s group. Also Kaminari calls him Kacchan now too :)

#18. “You’d die in the exam!”  

Highlights from KiraElric’s meta (Link: https://kiraelric.tumblr.com/post/158423114578/my-best-friends-a-fucking-nerd-and-an-idiot-god)

Chapter 1/Episode 1 “Izuku Midoriya Origin”

What Happens: Deku’s desire to go to UA is revealed in front of the class. Bakugo freaks out, but unlike the rest of the students, doesn’t laugh at Deku, but instead demands to know what he can even do in the UA entrance exam.

Why I Like It: Well this is our introduction to Bakugo and he’s designed to come off as a complete ass. But the subtleties of the rivalry are present from the beginning: first, Bakugo dismisses his other  classmates as extras but freezes when Deku’s name is brought up, he doesn’t laugh at him, and demands to know what the hell he can even accomplish. It comes across like Bakugo knows, subconsciously, that Deku can probably do great things, but doesn’t want to admit it (because that’s the reason, we hear it stated later on).

#17. “What about Deku?”  

Highlights from above post: https://kiraelric.tumblr.com/post/158423114578/my-best-friends-a-fucking-nerd-and-an-idiot-god 

Episode 5 “What I Can Do for Now”/6 “Rage you Damn Nerd”

What Happens: During the quirk apprehension test, Bakugo checks to see how Deku is doing. When Deku displays his quirk for the first time, Bakugo freaks out and demands an explanation.

Why I Like It: Bakugo is very fixated on Deku. He takes time out of his own test to see how Deku is doing in the exam, and is absolutely stupefied when Deku displays an ability - in hindsight, he seems at least a little justified in getting so mad, since Deku must have been lying to him their entire lives - he doesn’t know yet about OFA  -so what other explanation is there?

#16.  “That was your idea, wasn’t it?”

Chapter 37/Season 2 Episode 9 “Bakugo vs Uraraka”

What Happens: Bakugo, when fighting Uraraka, is cautious of her because he knows she’s friends with Deku. After the match, he confronts Deku about “his” scheme, and Deku corrects him, informing him it was Uraraka’s idea (though not from lack of Deku trying).

Why I Like It: While I’d like to think Bakugou is careful of Uraraka at first because she helped beat him before, he states he did it because she’s friends with Deku. It’s Deku he confronts, Deku who he thinks came up with that scheme. Deku also knows Kacchan well enough to tell that he’s not going to hold back against Uraraka, and tried to help her win against him too. He goes into his match with Todoroki soon after, and says the phrase that Bakugo repeats to him “Where are you looking” while demanding that he not hold back (same as Kacchan does).

#15. “Still should’ve broken some bones.” 

From: Chapter 70/3.02 “Wild Wild Pussycats”

What Happens: Bakugo, having heard about the Shigaraki incident, mutters that Deku should have fought back against him, despite Hagakure’s protests.

Why I Like It: This scene is tiny and flashes by fast, but it does show that Bakugo, whether he’ll admit it or not, thinks highly of Deku and believes that he could’ve taken on a super villain. It also shows that he probably agrees with Deku and Todoroki about heroics, breaking rules to save others and the like - we saw Iida and Deku disagree on this, etc.  

#14. You didn’t help me!”  

Chapter 1/Episode 1 “Izuku Midoriya Origin”

What Happens: Bakugo, post sludge villain, is preoccupied with Deku, leaves behind his offers to be a hero and runs after him to remind him, loudly, that he didn’t save him. He slouches off like the good Tsundere he is, and Deku smiles.

Why I Like It: This moment’s visuals and dialogue are so at ends with each other. Basically on Bakugo’s side 1) he ignores all of his offers from pros to brood about Deku 2) he chases after Deku, with a very sweet delivery of his name in the sub, just to tell him that ‘he didn’t help, and 3) Deku actually looks happier after this conversation, no longer brooding and smiling. It’s the weirdest scene, because the dialogue is so angry and derivative, but the body language comes across as sweet and sincere. (Also earlier on, depending on the translation, Kacchan’s friends ask him if he wants to go check out girls, and Bakugo loudly protests against this idea, after having brooded about Deku the entire walk home. Guess he’d rather be thinking about Deku.)

#13. “Don’t compliment me!” 

From: Chapter 194/Joint Training Arc

What Happens: Deku sees Bakugo’s new winter costume and starts fanboy-ing over it so much that Bakugo tells him to stop, chewing on his speech balloon.

Why I Like It: As I pointed out in an earlier post, this is another romance trope they check off (dismissing a complement). But moreover, it’s Bakugo seeing Deku watching him, asking what’s up, and Deku openly gushing about how awesome he thinks he is. Uraraka, pay more attention - Hatsume’s not the one you should be punching yourself in the face for jealousy towards. (In all seriousness, this moment is so cute. Deku’s so openly admiring)

#12. “No point if I can’t do better than Deku!”  

Episode 2.12/Chapter 43 “Bakugo vs Todoroki”

What Happens: Bakugo, during his fight with Todoroki, loudly proclaims that he won’t accept a win unless he can stand up to the same thing Deku stood up to. Deku even cheers Todoroki on in a way that makes Bakugo smile, because he wants to win right. When Todoroki doesn’t give him that he flies into an unstoppable rage.

Why I Like It: Bakugo’s fixation on Midoriya just dominates this arc, even in Todobaku/Tododeku scenes like this one. Bakugo pitches a fit when his childhood friend is brought up (in a scene that can be easily parodied into “It’s not like I like that idiot baka” territory), and demands that he be given the same fight that Deku faced. He has to be as good as Deku, basically, or else he’ll be left behind and he knows it.

#11. “Because you’re amazing”

Episodes 6-7 Battle trial Arc Deku vs Kacchan

What Happens: Deku and Kacchan fight in the Battle Trial Arc. They both go all out and Bakugo freaks out about Deku holding back. Deku calls him an idiot and says he wants to beat him because he’s amazing. All Might notices his passion. Deku passes out and Bakugo’s anxiety fit starts.

Why I Like It: Never let it be said that Deku can’t “Idiot Baka” too. This is one of their darkest, most intense scenes, but woven into it is their future, more positive bond. Deku ignores teamwork with Uraraka and takes Kacchan on. Bakugo is upset that Deku wasn’t honest with him. Deku feels guilty about that. Deku tells him he’s amazing and that’s why he wants to beat him. Fighting Kacchan gives Deku the strength to go beyond.

#10.  Sitting Together

Chapter 2-3, Episode 3 “Roaring Muscles”

What Happens: After a snippy exchange, Deku and Kacchan sit together at the entrance Exam. When they’re handed out their assignments, Deku notes “They’re splitting us up so we won’t work with any of our friends.”

Why I Like It: While they tsun-tsun a lot in this scene, even in Chapter/episode freaking 3 Deku and Kacchan thought of each other as friends. They say it, right there. They sit together voluntarily. They commentate on what’s going on. BK’s dialogue in the manga is less confrontational than the anime. + Bakugo and Uraraka walk in in the same pose, and Deku compares saving her to saving Bakugo. Deku gets 0 villain points, Kacchan 0 rescue points, to hit home how they’re two sides of the same coin. Chapter/episode freaking 3.

#9. “Arrogance? No…” 

From: 2.02 Roaring Sports Festival

What Happens: Bakugo gives the Pledge of I will Win. Everyone thinks he’s being an ass except Deku, who thinks that he’s intentionally making things hard for himself. Kacchan bumps into Deku afterwards, with a challenging intent in his eyes.

Why I Like It: Nobody understand Bakugo quite like Deku. While he often slips up in how he handles the Lord of Explosion murder, (early on), Deku definitely gets him. (“You’re a piece of work, but I get it.”) He sees straight through his facade here and is the only person we hear giving him the benefit of the doubt. Bakugo for his part also makes sure to let Deku know that he’s still his #1 rival. (Also: Jealous Kacchan in the Locker Room when Todoroki challenges Deku. Just in case you thought him challenging Shoto wasn’t about Deku.)

#8. “Don’t lose, All Might!”

From: 3.11 “One For All”

What Happens: Watching All Might’s final fall on TV, a panicking Deku and Kacchan shout out in unison their cheer for him to do his best, not to lose. We got some sweet Horikoshi sketches in the manga when this ep aired of D&K as the heirs of AM.

Why I Like It: Deku and Kacchan disagree on a lot, but they both love/worship All Might. They’re set up as his two heirs, the heroes who will take up his legacy, and in this moment they yell out in sync, cheering him on (standing together voluntarily). It’s super emotional, but just a quick reminder in this big payoff episode that BKDK is alive and well.

#7. “What do they want with Kacchan?”

From: 3.04-3.07 Training Camp Arc

What Happens: Deku, while fighting Muscular, learns that Kacchan is in danger. As the fight goes on he goes more and more into BKG territory. This powers him up for 1 million% and throughout the rest of the arc.

Why I Like It: While this moment is mostly about Kota (the kid we specifically compared to Kacchan earlier), it’s also important how pumped up Deku is on the need to rescue Kacchan throughout this arc. Like, all he has to do is hear his name in the context of threatening and he goes bananas, more so than for anyone else. 1 million% OFA is Deku’s saving urge + Winning urge fused together.

#6. “Thanks for the idea, Kacchan!”

From: 2.03 “In their Own Quirky Ways”

What Happens: Deku, taking inspiration from Kacchan’s quirk, comes up with a plan to win the Obstacle Course race.  

Why I Like It: One of my favorite Deku moments ever, where he goes bananas and wins it all. Deku’s first and biggest #1 win in the series so far, and who does he have to thank for it? The inspiration he takes from Kacchan. It even seems like he gets his second wind here once he hears Bakugo’s voice and falls, upside down in profile, towards Kacchan. We intentionally have him cute Todoroki out of the frame here, just in case you missed who he’s thinking of. And Deku wins, all because of Kacchan.

#5. “Just like Kacchan then!”

From: 1.10 “Encounter with the Unknown”

What Happens: Deku, trapped with Tsuyu and Mineta by villains, tries to think of a way out of their situation. He thinks to himself “what would Kacchan do” or “act like Kacchan”, and succeeds in beating up the villains.

Why I Like It: “What would x do” is a phrase the series likes to throw around its couples (Izu/ocha, todomomo; Iida’s is more platonic because he also lists his brother). And here’s Deku saying it about Kacchan. Finding once again the strength to win due to thinking of the symbol of Victory. It’s nice that the inspiration isn’t one-sided either, as Bakugo seems to have adopted Deku’s rescue policy later on. Love these two.

#4. The Hideout Raid

From: 3.08-3.10 ‘From Iida to Midoriya’/‘All for One’/‘Symbol of Peace”

What Happens: Deku goes against his own safety to save Kacchan from the LOV. He freaks out when AFO shows up but regains focus when he hears Kacchan’s voice. He comes up with a plan that relies on who Kacchan is as a person, and successfully saves him.

Why I Like It: Take note, Naruto, on how to properly retrieve your rival: #1. Go against the authorities’ wishes to get him back, not on their orders. #2. Consider your rival’s wishes and friends, and #3. Don’t force it. In all seriousness, my favorite part of this is Deku regaining focus when Kacchan turns up. He was panicking and experiencing death dreams, but one word out of Kacchan’s mouth and he’s back on task.

#3. “Just watch me, Deku” 

From: Chapter 206-7, Joint Training Arc

What Happens: Bakugo, going into his training test, mentally asks Deku to watch him. Watch him Deku does, as he shows off his new teamwork and rescue skills and wins the day. They share some light banter afterwards.

Why I Like It: So much. Sexy Sestuna Tokage on one side, demanding attention, while BK & DK only have eyes for each other. Deku watching Kacchan. Kacchan demanding Deku watch him. Kacchan saving to win, as Deku must win to save. Their light challenging banter afterward, All Might calling Kacchan a “good friend”. (All Might stop shipping them, they’re not best friends yet!) Like if you want to see how BK benefits from Deku, outside of having someone he can cry in front of, here it is. Deku makes him a better person. And he wants Deku to see that he’s a better person now.

#2. “He lit a fire under me”

From: Joint Training Arc Chapters 208-216

What Happens: Deku gets hyped for his match because Kacchan “lit a fire under him”. He wins his fight despite his power freak out, and we get lots of worried Kacchan shots during and after the battle, just as we got Deku shots during his.

Why I Like It: The other side of the coin: Deku wants to win thanks to Bakugo. He’s ready and raring to go, smiling and optimistic. Their teams both win, all to 0, because of this (the only teams to do so). + Bakugo looking concerned for Deku when his powers go out of control like the good BF he is. I’ve talked about the big BKDK moments in this arc before, but these subtler ones are just as powerful

Extras:

-Winning the Tokyo Tower Contest 

-Bakugo cheering for and smiling when Deku (and All Might) win in the movie.

-Filler Pool ep where Bakugo makes sure to remind us he’s Deku’s rival, in case we forgot.

-Omake and various incidents where Uraraka calls them “fated enemies” and roots for them to reconcile. (does she want an OT3?)

-Mothra!Deku and Godzilla!Kacchan (queen and king of horror cinema)

-A few bNHA Smash shenanigans:

Baby Kacchan’s crush on Deku 

Vanilla ice cream mixup

Bishonen Bakugo being all kinds bi 

Deku blowing off their OFA date

Fanboy stalker Deku 

-The Couch stuff 

-Pop poll 4: Holding the two halves of AM’s sword 

#1. “I’m headed for the top, why should I care?”  

From: 2.02 “Roaring Sports Festival”

What Happens: Deku is feeling unmotivated to do well in the Sports Fest, until he overhears Bakugo stating that he’s headed for the top and that’s all that matters. This finally gets him psyched to go and motivated.

Why I Like It: Why’s this #1? Well partly because it’s the biggest oversight from the last list, but also because it’s so subtlely important. Deku doesn’t get hyped to do well in the Sports Fest, that very definitive story arc, until he hears Bakugo’s resolution and how dedicated he is. It’s Bakugo’s words that motivate him to go forward and beyond here, just as he so often does. This is what causes hime to do well in the fest and acknowledge how important Iida and Uraraka’s motives are too, and yell at Todoroki for holding back, and in doing so change the course of so many stories. Yes, most of that is Deku’s own strengths shining - but the best kinds of relationships are the ones that make each partner better through being together than apart, aren’t they?

[noblecrumpet-dorkvision]

Necromancer Week: Day 2

New Undead!

This took by far the longest of all the installations for Necromancer Week, and normally I'd save it for a finale but some of the future homebrew content depends on these monsters (mainly the Ancestral Spirit and the Zombie Giant). I also managed to find time to sketch some of the creatures, so be sure to check the published brew over at Homebrewery! If you're having trouble viewing it (on Firefox, for instance) I have all the relevant mechanics in this post as well.

You may recognize some oldies like the Bleakborn from the 3e Libris Mortis and the Sacrol from 2e which I came across online. There's also a huge zombie and huge skeleton if you ever need stats for them. I tried to fill out Challenge Ratings that didn't get a lot of attention as far as the Undead type goes. Now you can challenge players at each level!

Ancestral Spirit

When a soul moves on to the afterlife, an echo of it might remain. The Ancestral Spirit is an ethereal remnant of someone powerful and wise, tied to the Material Plane to aid their descendants. They are usually intangible and unseen. However, people often feel their presence if they were close to the spirit in life. Some say these are the spirits which answer the calls of spells like Augury.

It is normally beyond the capabilities of most necromancers to easily summon incorporeal undead, but the Shepherd of Spirits cleric is an exception. 

Medium undead, neutral Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 22 (4d8+4) Speed 40 ft. Fly (hover) STR 7; DEX 13; CON 10; INT 4; WIS 12; CHA 10 Resistances: acid, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Immunities: cold, necrotic, poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11 Languages: understands any languages it knew in life but cannot speak. Challenge: 1/2 (75 XP) Ethereal Sight. The spirit can see 60 feet into the Ethereal Plane when it is on the Material Plane, and vice versa. Incorporeal Movement.  The spirit can move through other creatures and objects as if they were difficult terrain. It takes 5 (1d10) force damage if it ends its turn inside an object.

Actions

Blessed Touch. Melee Spell Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8+1) radiant.

Burning Blight

The Burning Blight is a fossilized animated skeleton of a creature native to the Elemental Plane of Fire. This can include Azers, Salamanders, or Efreeti, but many other denizens can be turned. The skeleton is blackened and is shrouded in constant flames.

A Blight It seeks nothing but destruction of the living. Natives on the Plane of Fire see such creatures as nuisances thanks to their innate immunities to fire. When a Burning Blight finds its way to the Material Plane, either by being summoned or escaping through a planar rift, it's a different story. Burning Blights deplore an environment that isn't constantly alight with flame. The Blight will burn anything flammable it can find, leaving swaths of forest in ashes or reducing entire wings of dungeons to embers.

The creatures sometimes vary in size and shape. For a large Burning Blight, increase the Claw damage to 9 (2d6+2) slashing and 7 (2d6) fire, increase the hit points to 60 (7d10+21), and increase its challenge rating to 4.

Medium undead, chaotic evil Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 45 (6d8+18) Speed 30 ft. STR 12; DEX 14; CON 16; INT 6; WIS 8; CHA 13 Vulnerabilities:  bludgeoning Resistances: cold, acid Immunities: fire, poison Condition Immunities:  exhaustion, poisoned Senses:  passive Perception 9 Languages: understands Primordial (Ignan), but cannot speak Challenge: 3 (700 XP) Fire Shield. Whenever a creature makes a melee attack against the Blight within 5 ft. of it, that creature takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. Illumination.  The Burning Blight emits bright light in a 30 ft. radius, and dim light 30 ft. beyond that.

Actions

Multiattack. The Blight can make two claw attacks when it takes the attack action.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d6 + 2) slashing plus 4 (1d6) fire.

Eye Rays. Ranged Spell Attack: +3 to hit, range 60 ft., one target. Hit 14 (4d6) fire.

Bleakborn

Bleakborns are created not through violence, but through necromancy and either bitter cold conditions or freezing magic. They appear as discolored humanoid corpses covered in frosty crystals or icicles, even in hot environments. Bleakborns feed on the warmth of the living, using their aura and frigid touch to drain heat from their victims. The heat replenishes them. Their wounds are easily healed with a constant supply of living warmth.

A Bleakborn can remain inert for centuries waiting for a taste of heat to rouse them to life again. Even slain Bleakborns can return to life if no precautions are taken to prevent it from regenerating.

Medium undead, neutral evil Armor Class 15 (natural armor) Hit Points 75 (10d8+30) Speed 30 ft. STR 15; DEX 8; CON 16; INT 3; WIS 10; CHA 16 Saves: Constitution +6 Immunities: poison, necrotic, fire (see Heat Consumption) Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses: Darkvision 60 ft., passive Perception 11 Languages: the languages it spoke in life. Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)

Chilling Aura. Each creature that begins its turn within 20 ft. of the Bleakborn must make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or take 7 (2d6) cold damage, or half as much on a successful save. The Bleakborn regains hit points equal to half the damage dealt. The ability remains active even if the Bleakborn has been reduced to 0 hit points unless its remains have been completely destroyed or dismembered. Freezing Touch. Creatures that make a melee attack against the Bleakborn within 5 ft. of it take 4 (1d6) cold damage. The Bleakborn regains hit points equal to half the damage dealt. Heat Consumption. Whenever the Bleakborn is dealt fire damage, it instead regains hit points equal to the damage dealt.

Actions

Multiattack. The Bleakborn makes two attack with its drain heat attack. Drain Heat. Melee Spell Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 10 (2d6+3) cold. The Bleakborn regains hit points equal to the damage dealt.

Blood Ooze

Blood Oozes are born from a vile ritual that involves dissolving a creature in acid and imbuing it with necromantic magic. The ooze is red and translucent, often with indigestible scraps from its last meal floating within its mass. The ooze is essentially a mass of undead blood cells, and it feeds on living tissue. Any creature that comes into contact with its slime starts to quickly wither away as if from necrosis.

The ooze is most known for its ability to physically enter lifless corpses, causing them to slightly bloat or leak its blood-red slime through open wounds or orifaces. It uses this technique to sneak up on unwary prey, seeming to be a mere zombie or even a haggard humanoid. Once it gets close, it erupts from the corpse to spread itself to other nearby living creatures.

Although it is not adversely affected by sunlight, it avoids it whenever possible. Radiant damage will cause it to react by violently expelling slime.

Medium undead ooze, chaotic evil Armor Class 7 Hit Points 90 (12d8+36) Speed 20 ft., climb 20 ft.

STR 16; DEX 5; CON 16; INT 1; WIS 8; CHA 1 Resistances: bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage. Immunities: acid, necrotic, radiant Condition Immunities: blinded, charmed, deafened, exhaustion, frightened, prone Senses: blindsight 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 9 Languages: none. Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP)

Amorphous. The Blood Ooze can move through a space as narrow as 1 inch wide without squeezing. Corrosive Form. A creature that touches the Blood Ooze or hits it with a melee attack while within 5 feet of it takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.

Actions

Pseudopod. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d6 + 3) bludgeoning plus 14 (3d8) necrotic. In addition, the target must attempt a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a glob of the ooze sticks to the target, dealing 9 (2d8) necrotic damage at the start of each of their turns. A creature can use their action to scrape the ooze away, ending the effect.

Inhabit Corpse. The ooze can hide inside of a Large or Medium corpse or undead creature, slowly digesting it from inside. The ooze retains all of its statistics but cannot make attacks while inhabiting a corpse. The ooze can exit the corpse by using its Slime Burst ability. While inhabiting a corpse, other creatures can discern its true nature with a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Insight) check.

Reactions

Slime Burst. When the Blood Ooze is subjected to radiant damage or a melee attack, it can spew globs of itself in all directions. All creatures in a 10 ft. radius of the ooze must  attempt a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid getting stuck with a glob of ooze dealing 9 (2d8) necrotic damage at the start of each of their turns. A creature can use their action to scrape the ooze away, ending the effect.

Carpal Horror

The Carpal Horror is an awful undead created by twisted necromancers. It's a mass of eight clawed undead arms stitched together at the center.

It scurries quickly towards enemies that it feels walking near it and leaps onto them. Once it latches on, it begins snapping at the target with its maw of teeth at the center of its radial limbs, shrieking frantically all the while. Its vicious mouth isn't immediately visible beneath its body, but most discover it once it makes its first attack.

The creatures are always constructed through necromancy; they are not natural. Their purpose is usually to guard treasure or to defend smaller entryways to a lair that other undead have a harder time patrolling. Thanks to their size and climbing ability, the horrors can easily surprise intruders from hiding.

Small undead, neutral evil Armor Class 16 (natural armor) Hit Points 9 (2d6+2) Speed 40 ft., 20 ft. Climb

STR 10; DEX 17; CON 12; INT 2; WIS 8; CHA 3 Skills: Stealth +5, Perception +1 Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: Tremorsense 60 ft. (blind beyond this radius), passive Perception 11 Languages: none Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

Lunge. When the horror moves at least 20 ft. in a straight line towards a creature and hits it with its claws attack, the horror can use its bonus action to immediately make a Bite attack against the same creature.

Actions

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d4+3) bludgeoning. If this attack hits a Small or larger creature, the horror attaches itself to the creature with its gripping arms. A creature can pry the horror off of the target with a successful DC 13 Strength check.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 8 (2d4+3) slashing plus 4 (1d6) poison. The Carpal Horror can only use this attack against a target it is attached to.

Chimeric Corpse

A Chimeric Corpse is a hulking conglomeration of various animal parts created by deranged and powerful necromancy. It has a dangerous animal head on its shoulders as well as mounted on each of its arms. The creature is strong, able to knock enemies across a room or hold them tight in its grip.

The horror can be taken down piece by piece if heroes coordinate their attacks, lobbing off the undead animal heads sewn to its body. With fewer attacks to dodge, it becomes easier to deal with.

Large undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 15 (natural armor) Hit Points: 127 (15d10+45) Speed: 40 ft.

STR 20; DEX 10; CON 16; INT 3; WIS 10; CHA 4 Skills: Perception +4 Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses: Darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 14 Languages: the languages it spoke in life. Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)

Stitched Parts. The Chimeric Corpse has three heads stitched to its body. When the Chimeric Corpse takes more than 30 damage in a single turn, one of its heads chosen at random is destroyed. That head's attack option becomes permanently disabled.

Grappling Bite. When the Chimeric Corpse hits a creature with a Bite attack, the creature becomes grappled (escape DC 15). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Chimeric Corpse can't bite another target with that same attack.

Mighty Blow. When the Chimeric Corpse hits a creature with a Gore, Ram, or Tusks attack, the creature must make a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be pushed 10 ft. away from the Chimeric Corpse.

Actions

Multiattack. The Chimeric Corpse can make one attack with each of its attached heads.

Bite (Bear). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 14 (2d8+5) piercing.

Gore (Rhinoceros). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 18 (3d8+5) piercing.

Bite (Shark). Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 14 (2d8+5) piercing.

Offal Nightmare

The Offal Nightmare is a horrifying creature that appears to be a humanoid corpse torn inside-out. The entrails have engorged, tempered and animated through necromancy. The remainder of the nightmare's body is a withered sack of skin and bones that hangs uselessly from its aft end.

Its thick, rubbery intestines are coated with acid, and can spew the stuff from a distance when enough has built up inside it. The creature feeds on the living by grappling and constricting with its animate entrails and dissolving its kill with acid. It staves off other enemies while it feeds by slamming its withered corpse into them like a flail.

Although it is more common for necromancers to create such undead, some Offal Nightmares can form naturally after especially violent deaths involving live disembowelment.

Medium undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 16 (natural armor) Hit Points: 90 (12d8+36) Speed: 30 ft.

STR 16; DEX 17; CON 16; INT 4; WIS 10; CHA 13 Resistances: cold, bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagic weapons. Immunities: acid, fire, poison Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses: passive Perception 10 Languages: understands languages it knew in life but cannot speak. Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The nightmare makes two attacks, one with its entrails attack and one with its slam attack. Each attack must target a different target.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d8+3) bludgeoning.

Entrails. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 12 (2d8+3) bludgeoning and 18 (4d8) acid. If the target is a Medium or smaller creature, the creature becomes grappled (escape DC 16). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained, and the Offal Nightmare can't use its Entrails attack on another target.

Acid Spit (Recharge 5-6). The nightmare spews a gout of acid at a 15-foot square area  centered at a point up to 60 ft. away from it. Each creature in the area must attempt a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (4d8) acid damage or half as much damage on a successful save.

Patchwork Titan

Patchwork Titans are huge masses of undead parts stitched together in haphazard ways by insane (or creative) necromancers. The undead all act independently, constantly trying to wrench themselves apart from one another.

When living flesh is nearby, the titan acts more like a unit as it attacks, ignoring its inherent torment at its abominable creation. Slashing weapons will tear its stitching apart and cause part of it to fall off. Thanks to its conglomerate nature, the fallen part will continue to attack despite being separated from the whole creature.

Huge undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 12 (natural armor) Hit Points: 124 (13d12+39) Speed: 30 ft.

STR 19; DEX 12; CON 16; INT 3; WIS 10; CHA 1 Skills: Perception +3 Immunities: poison, slashing Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses: passive Perception 13 Languages: none Challenge: 7 (2,900 XP)

Multiple Heads. The titan has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, deafened, stunned, and being knocked unconscious.

Actions

Multiattack. The titan makes three slam attacks

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 18 (2d10+4) bludgeoning.

Reactions

Split. When a titan that is Medium or larger is subjected to slashing damage, it splits into two new titans if it has at least 20 hit points. Each new titan has hit points equal to half the original titan's, rounded down. New titans are one size smaller than the original titan and makes one less attack when it uses its Multiattack action.

Sacrol

A sacrol looks like a four foot tall humanoid skull surrounded by a constantly shifting, multi-coloured mist. The mist is the true body of the sacrol, which forms into spectral entrails to attack its foes.

Sacrols radiate a cold, clammy aura. They communicate through howls that sound like hundreds of death shrieks.

The creature is formed naturally from a large number of creatures that died in proximity and in a short time. Mass graves, battlefields, or razed villages are often places that a sacrol will haunt. Once it rises, it will unerringly seek out those responsible for its collective deaths and slay them before returning to its unhallowed birthplace.

Small undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 16 (natural armor) Hit Points: 94 (17d6+34) Speed:  30 ft. Fly

STR 11; DEX 12; CON 14; INT 8; WIS 10; CHA 16 Immunities: cold, poison, necrotic, bludgeoning, piercing and slashing damage from nonmagic weapons Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned, prone, stunned, unconscious Senses: passive Perception 10 Languages: none Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Innate Spellcasting.  (spell save DC 16)

3/day: Animate Dead (skeletons only)

1/day: Finger of Death

Actions

Multiattack. The sacrol makes two attacks with any combination of either its tentacle or constrict attacks. The sacrol must target different targets with each attack. Tentacle. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 14 (3d8) necrotic. The target becomes grappled (escape DC 16). The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken.

Constrict. Melee Weapon Attack: +7 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target grappled by the sacrol. Hit 8 (3d4) necrotic. The creature must succeed at a DC 16 Constitution saving throw or become stunned until start of the sacrol's next turn. The target's hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken.

Sinew Slinger

A Sinew Slinger is a creation of both engineering and necromancy. A crossbow made from sinew, bone, and muscle is crafted from an otherwise normal corpse. The resulting creature can then attack from range and in melee, making a versatile combatant for an undead army.

Necromancers need to have a thorough enough understanding of biology and the dark arts to successfully create the creature. The setup takes weeks to accomplish, but the effort is often worth it.

Medium undead, neutral evil

Armor Class: 14 (studded leather) Hit Points: 39 (6d8+12) Speed: 30 ft.

STR 11; DEX 14; CON 15; INT 3; WIS 6; CHA 1 Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: understands languages it knew in life but cannot speak. Challenge: 1 (200 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The slinger makes two attacks, only one of which can be a crossbow attack.

Crossbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 80/320 ft., one target. Hit 8 (1d10+2) piercing.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d6+2) piercing.

Skin Strangler

The Skin Strangler is a husk of loose skin animated with necromancy. It moves almost like an ooze or a piece of cloth in the wind. It feeds off of blood through small tubules hidden all over the "inside" of its body. It envelops its target, trying to crush them or suffocate them. Once dead, it can drink its fill before seeking out a new victim.

An encounter with a Skin Strangler is usually sudden. The creature will hide in dark crevices and leap onto unsuspecting targets. If it has recently taken a kill or has some corpses lying around, the strangler will envelop a corpse and shamble towards enemies appearing to be nothing but a simple zombie. Once it gets close, it abandons the corpse "wearing" it and leaps towards its next victim to strangle the life from it.

If attacked by multiple enemies, it will use its victim's body as a puppet much like it did the corpse to fend off attackers.

Small undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 13 Hit Points: 39 (7d6+14) Speed: 30 ft., 20 ft. Climb

STR 17; DEX 12; CON 15; INT 7; WIS 10; CHA 4 Skills: Stealth +5 Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: none Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Corpse Puppet. The strangler can cover and animate a Medium or Small corpse, making it look and act like a zombie. A DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check reveals its true nature. Skin Puppet. The strangler can move a creature engulfed by its crush attack as a bonus action by succeeding at an Strength (Athletics) contest against the engulfed creature. If the strangler succeeds, it moves the engulfed target up to 15 ft. and can force it to make one melee attack against another creature within 5 ft. of it. Damage Transfer. While attached to a creature, the strangler takes only half the damage dealt to it (rounded down), and that creature takes the other half.

Actions

Crush. Melee Weapon Attack: +5 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d6+3) bludgeoning and the strangler attaches to the target. If the target is Medium or smaller and the strangler has advantage on the attack roll, it attaches by engulfing the target's body, and the target is also blinded and unable to breathe while the strangler is attached in this way. While attached to the target, the strangler can only attack the target with its Crush attack and does so with advantage. The strangler's speed also becomes 0, it can't benefit from any bonus to its speed, and it moves with the target. A creature can detach the strangler by making a successful DC 14 Strength check as an action. On its turn, the strangler can detach itself from the target by using 5 feet of movement.

Storm Dreg

Storm Dregs are griffons struck down by lightning and reanimated with necromancy. Though they can naturally occur in lands where undead roam, most are deliberate creations by necromancers seeking an impressive and terrifying flying minion or mount.

The dreg looks like a molting griffon with blackened flesh. Some soot and ash continually flakes from its feathers. Its eyes and the inside of its beak glow white with energy.

The creature retains the strength and swiftness it had in life but gains an innate ability to produce lightning from its beak. It seems to feed on the ozone released from its electrical attacks, or perhaps on flesh imbued with the stuff. When your hair stands on end, it's about to strike.

Large undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 13 (natural armor) Hit Points: 53 (7d8+21) Speed: 30 ft., 80 ft. Fly

STR 18; DEX 14; CON 16; INT 2; WIS 11; CHA 5 Immunities: poison, lightning Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: none Challenge: 3 (700 XP)

Flyby. The Storm Dreg doesn't provoke on opportunity attack when it flies out of an enemy's reach.

Actions

Multiattack. The Storm Dreg makes two attacks, one with its beak and one with its claws.

Beak. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 6 (1d8 + 2) piercing and 3 (1d6) lightning.

Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 9 (2d6 + 2) slashing.

Lightning Breath. (Recharge 5-6)  The Storm Dreg blasts a 60 ft. long, 5 ft. wide line of lightning from its open beak. Each creature in that area must make a Dexterity saving throw, taking 14 (4d6) lightning damage on a failed save or half as much on a successful save.

Swarm of Limbs

A simple but effective use of necromancy is to animate piles upon piles of severed limbs. After binding their energy sources together, the limbs will move as a hive mind, crawling and trampling over everything in their path. With no way to feed but an insatiable hunger, they will try to destroy any creature they sense nearby out of anguish.

Necromancers find it difficult to control the swarm's rage unless doing so directly, so they often contain the swarm to a confined space like a pit trap or a closed corridor.

Large swarm of tiny undead, neutral evil Armor Class: 15 (natural armor) Hit Points: 85 (10d10+30) Speed: 30 ft.

STR 14; DEX 13; CON 16; INT 1; WIS 6; CHA 1 Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, slashing Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, grappled, paralyzed, petrified, poisoned, prone, restrained, stunned Senses: blindsight 30 ft., passive Perception 8 Languages: none Challenge: 6 (2,300 XP)

Undead Fortitude.  If damage reduces the swarm to 0 hit points, it must make a Constitution saving throw with a DC of 5 + the damage taken, unless the damage is radiant or from a critical hit. On a success, the swarm drops to 1 hit point instead. Swarm. The swarm can occupy another creature's space and vice versa, and the swarm can move through any opening large enough for a Tiny insect. The swarm can't regain hit points or gain temporary hit points.

Actions

Pummel. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 0 ft., up to four targets in the swarm's space. Hit 20 (4d8+2) bludgeoning, or 11 (2d8+2) bludgeoning damage if the swarm has half of its hit points or fewer.

Talking Head

The Talking Head is a simple undead creation, as far as necromancy goes. It's a fiend summoned and trapped inside a severed corpse head. The trapped demon gibbers and shrieks and spouts obscenities constantly, only staying quiet when it wishes to lure a creature close.

Necromancers keep them as guardians or traps laid for interlopers, or as boons during combat to pester foes from the sidelines. The creature is nearly useless in physical combat as it is slow to move and can only bite creatures gullible enough to stick their fingers near it.

Clever necromancers will stitch these heads onto a headless zombie if they wish for them to be able to move or attack easier. However, the head is not in control of the body, which leads to lots of cursing and shouting from the fiendish head.

Tiny undead fiend (demon), chaotic evil Armor Class: 13 (natural armor) Hit Points: 6 (1d6+3) Speed: 5 ft.

STR 3; DEX 11; CON 16; INT 9; WIS 10; CHA 15 Immunities: poison, fire Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned, paralyzed, prone Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: Common, Abyssal Challenge: 1/8 (25 XP)

Actions

Vicious Mockery. The head targets one creature it can see within 60 ft. of it. If it can hear the Talking Head, the target must succeed at a Wisdom saving throw or take 2 (1d4) psychic damage and have disadvantage on its next attack roll before the end of its next turn.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +3 to hit, reach 0 ft., one target. Hit 5 (1d4+3) piercing.

Wretched Engima

The Wretched Enigma is an undead sphinx. Immensely powerful and cunning, an enigma is often kept by powerful undead like liches, death tyrants, or vampires. They also can serve as leaders of cults dedicated to secrecy, knowledge, and undeath.

Hungering Minds. The enigma feeds upon psychic energy, which it collects from victims by presenting them with riddles that provoke them to think. Every thought thereafter feeds the creature's insatiable appetite. The enigma is usually found with a train of mindless undead servants catering to its insane whims. These minions are unique in appearance as they are each missing the back of their skulls, leaving just a face behind. The enigma devours the creatures' brains before reanimating them, despite not needing to physically eat to survive. It simply enjoys the taste.

Hoarders. Once an enigma is brought into the world, no treasure, secret, or mind is safe. A sphinx is normally bound to its lair, but an enigma has no such restriction. Unless bound to a master, the enigma scours the world for lost treasures, powerful artifacts, and the closest kept secrets to add to its new hoard.

Godless Power. No longer bound by the duties of the gods, the enigma loses its ability to warp reality. Now it can only create a false reality through its illusion spells. Its roar becomes a haunting howl that breaks the minds of the living. Its divine spells are severed from their source and it must learn new spells by draining the minds of spellcasters.

Large undead, lawful evil Armor Class: 18 (natural armor) Hit Points: 137 (13d10+65) Speed: 40 ft., 60 ft. Fly

STR 20; DEX 10; CON 20; INT 14; WIS 16; CHA 21 Saving Throws: Dex +5, Con +10, Int +7, Wis +8 Skills: Arcana +7, Perception +8, Religion +7 Resistances: bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing from nonmagical attacks Immunities: poison, psychic Condition Immunities: charmed, exhaustion, frightened, poisoned Senses: truesight 120 ft., passive Perception 13 Languages: telepathy 120 ft., Common, Sphinx Challenge: 13 (10,000 XP)

Spellcasting. The enigma is a 10th-level spellcaster. Its spellcasting ability is Charisma (spell save DC 18, +10 to hit with spell attacks). It requires no material components to cast its spells. The enigma has the following wizard spells prepared:

Cantrips: mage hand, minor illusion, toll the dead (XGtE)

1st level (4 slots): cause fear (XGtE), detect magic, protection from evil and good

2nd level (3 slots): invisibility, suggestion

3rd level (3 slots): animate dead, dispel magic

4th level (3 slots): banishment, hallucinatory terrain

5th level (2 slots): cone of cold

Magic Weapons. The enigma's weapon attacks are magical. Legendary Resistance 3/day. If the engima fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.

Actions

Multiattack. The enigma makes two claw attacks and uses its conundrum ability.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 16 (2d10+5) slashing.

Drain Mind. The enigma chooses a creature within 120 ft. of it and bombards them telepathically with unsolvable riddles. That creature must attempt a DC 18 Intelligence saving throw or take 14 (3d8) psychic damage and become stunned until the end of the enigma's next turn. The creature takes half this much damage on a successful save and is not stunned. The enigma regains hit points equal to the damage dealt, and learns one fact or secret known by the target. A creature unable to receive the enigma's telepathy, as with a Ring of Mind Shielding, is unaffected by this ability.

Howl. Once per day, the enigma can unleash a bloodcurdling howl. All creatures within 30 ft. of the enigma must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or fall to 0 hit points. Creatures that succeed on their saving throw become frightened of the enigma until the end of its next turn.

Legendary Actions The enigma can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature's turn. The enigma regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.

Claw. The enigma makes one claw attack.

Teleport (Costs 2 Actions). The enigma magically teleports, along with any equipment it is wearing or carrying, up to 120 ft. to an unoccupied space it can see.

Cast a Spell (Costs 3 Actions). The enigma casts a spell from its list of prepared spells, using a spell slot as normal.

Zombie Giant

A zombie giant, much like one of a more manageable size, is stupid and driven only by a mad hunger for the living. Necromancers that create them are irresponsible in the best sense and insane in the worst. The creatures will break any nonmagical barrier trying to contain them if they think it will lead to a meal on the other side.

Sometimes a reanimated giant is a secret weapon. A powerful spellcaster can contain one in a magic circle only to be released when the time is right, wreaking havoc on a battle once thought won.

Huge undead, chaotic evil Armor Class: 15 (patchwork armor) Hit Points: 163 (13d12+78) Speed: 40 ft.

STR 25; DEX 9; CON 22; INT 1; WIS 3; CHA 4 Saving Throws: Str +11, Con +10, Cha +1 Skills: Athletics +11, Perception +0 Immunities: poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: Understands the languages it knew in life but cannot speak Challenge: 9 (5,000 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The zombie makes two slam attacks.

Slam. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 25 (3d12+6) bludgeoning. A Large or smaller creature hit by this attack must succeed at a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be knocked 20 ft. in a random direction away from the zombie and take 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.

Yeti Skeleton

The horned skull of an abominable yeti crowns this powerful undead. It has retained a shred of its ability to freeze enemies with is gaze, but instead paralyzes them with fear. Necromancers prize skeletons of yetis for this ability. As an animated skeleton, they can follow marginally complex orders with unerring certainty. All shreds of its once-monstrous nature disappear in the reanimation process.

Huge undead, lawful evil Armor Class: 16 (natural armor) Hit Points: 137 (11d12+66) Speed: 40 ft.

STR 21; DEX 12; CON 22; INT 3; WIS 10; CHA 9 Vulnerabilities: bludgeoning Immunities: cold, poison Condition Immunities: exhaustion, poisoned Senses: darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 10 Languages: Understands the languages it knew in life but cannot speak Challenge: 8 (3,900 XP)

Actions

Multiattack. The skeleton makes three attacks: one bite attack, one claw attack, and one greatclub attack. Then it uses its frightful gaze.

Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 16 (3d6+5) piercing.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit 16 (3d6+5) slashing.

Greatclub. Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 10 ft., one target. Hit 19 (3d8+5) bludgeoning.

Frightful Gaze. The skeleton targets one creature it can see within 30 ft. of it. If the target can see the skeleton, the target must succeed on a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or become paralyzed for 1 minute, unless it is immune to fear effects. The target can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. If the target's saving throw is successful, or if the effect ends on it, the target is immune to this skeleton's gaze for 1 hour.

[tuanyiems]

50 Questions Tag

Thanks Chelle for the tag @prettywordsyouleft c: 1. What takes too much of your time? Watching videos/dramas when I should be doing more productive things 2. What makes your day better? Good weather, tasty food, and when my friends and family make me laugh :D 3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today? My sister made bomb dinner today! 4. What fictional place would you like to go to? I feel like I’m exposing myself but Shugo Chara lol I want to meet my heart’s egg haha OR Ouran High School Host Club! I want to hug Mori senpai lol 5. Are you good at giving advice? My friends keep coming back to me so I guess so? I always feel awkward about giving it though lol 6. Do you have any mental illness? Not that I know of, but I’ve also never sought professional help... 7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? Almost regularly when I was a kid but not anymore. Thank god, that stuff’s scary af 8. What musician inspired you the most? Got7 has comforted me the most but in terms of inspiration, I will have to go with bts  9. Have you ever fallen in love? Once but he was a toxic person, what a waste of my love :/ 10. What’s your dream date? One where I feel relaxed enough to joke and laugh, something not too serious and with tasty food! 11. What do others notice about you? That I’m quiet. People who have known me for a little bit longer will notice that I laugh over everything or that I’m smart but also an airhead lol People who have seen me on stage know I have a switch. I’m awkward and stumble over my words but give me a script and a stage and it’s a different story. Performance Ems is a whole other girl lol 12. What is an annoying habit you have? Not so much me, but it annoys everyone around me--I can’t take a compliment and am never satisfied with my own work. 13. Do you still talk to your first love? Nah 14. How many ex’s do you have?  Three 15. How many songs are in your playlist? 1027 total in my phone but in my current fave playlist, 150 16. What instruments can you play? I used to play the violin. I’m learning the guitar and ukelele now 17. Who do you have the most pictures of? Mark Tuan but what’s new haha 18. Where would you like to go before you die? The moon. Realistically, Korea and Japan. 19. What is your zodiac? Aries 20. Do you relate to it? I’m on the cusp, Pisces-Aries and people think I suite Pisces more. I relate to my Cancer rising the most though. 21. What is happiness to you? In the wise words of Kim Yugyeom, I find happiness in the little things. They add up. 22. Are you going through anything right now? I broke up with my boyfriend of over a year four days before my bday :/  23. What’s the worst decision you’ve ever made? When I was fresh out of a toxic relationship (ex #2) my friend convinced me to join a dating app for the first time. I joined out of fun to troll people at first but one day I was chatting with this guy and we were talking about Scrabble. He then invited me to hang out with him one night and young, innocent old me thought that we were really going to play board games at his place! ANYWAYS long story short we did NOT play any board games and I ran away as fast as I could and stayed up until 3AM ranting to my friend about how I would never join a dating app ever again lol  24. What’s your favourite store? TJ Maxx, I love their stationery and they have some pretty cheap name brand makeup! I got a Too Faced palette for 20$ and that’s half the price of what Sephora sells at! 25. What’s your opinion on abortion? Nobody’s business but her’s. 26. Do you keep a bucket list? I make a yearly bucket list in every new bullet journal I get. I only ever cross off 1 or 2 things though. I made a lifetime bucket list back in middle school but it’s lost somewhere in my diaries and I don’t remember it anymore. 27. Do you have a favourite album? Verse 2 by JJ Project is my heart album. I also really like Epik High’s Sleepless in ___________ and RM’s mono playlist too. Great playlists for writing! 28. What do you want for your birthday? My bday just passed and my sister got me the shoes I’ve been wanting yay! 29. What are most people’s first impression of you? That I’m quiet and shy (cause I am lol) 30. What age do you seem according to most people? I just turned 23 but I am often mistaken for 15-16, younger if I don’t have makeup on :c 31. Where do you keep your phone while you’re sleeping? I know this is bad but I usually fall asleep with my phone in my hand or right next to my pillow. 32. what word do you say the most? Does umm count as a word? 33. What’s the oldest age you would date? As of right now, I want to be in a relationship where my partner is going through a similar stage in life as me or has just gone through it so I don’t want to go too much older. I think the oldest I’ll go is 4 years older than me. 34. What’s the youngest age you would date? I just got out of a relationship where my bf was 3 years younger than me and now I wonder if it’s too young for me. Perhaps this won’t matter to me once I get older, but for now I think I’ll only go 1 year younger. 35. What job/career do most people say would suit you? People always tell me elementary school teacher but kids scare me haha. I also get writer, artist, and therapist a lot.  36. What’s your favourite music genre? Ir&b hiphop, across all countries/languages. 37. If you could live in any country in the world, where would it be? Japan or Korea but I’ve never been there before so I don’t really know. 38. What is your current favourite song? Epik High’s Lullaby for a Cat and Sleeping Beauty 39. How long have you had this blog for? Is there a way to find out? I made it a loooong time ago so I don’t even remember. Shoutout to my peeps who remember me when I was an emo aesthetic blog xD 40. What are you excited for? For warm spring weather to officially come and stay!  41. Are you a better talker or listener? A listener. 42. What is the last productive thing you did? I was working overtime for a while to prep for a performance. It’s been a while since I’ve done spoken performance and it was my first theatrical piece, but I’m happy I was given the opportunity to incorporate my creative hobbies into my work. 43. What do you want for Christmas? A plane ticket to anywhere warm lol 44. What class do you get the best grades in? I've been pretty good across the humanities 45. On a scale of 1-10, how are you feeling right now? 7  46. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years?   In ten years I’ll be 33. Studies say people’s stress levels start to decline once you hit 33 so I hope that’s in my future lol. I also hope I’m still writing and making art. 47. When did you first get your heartbreak? In February 2014 my cat died while I was in another state for a collegiate conference and when I got the phone call I cried for the first time in over ten years.  Ex #2 was my first love and we broke up in 2017 also on my bday week (I’m seeing a trend here lol) but he was an a**hole so I don’t consider it heartbreak anymore. 48. At what age do you want to get married? lol I don’t want to get married. Unless Mark Tuan is getting down on one knee, I don’t want to get married ever. 49. What career did you want to have as a child? A writer :D 50. What do you crave right now? I don’t know if I can say that I crave this because I’ve never eaten it before, but I want to eat hotteok! Whenever they eat it on the variety shows my mouth waters! Tagging my lovelies: @tuanamino @yugyeomsauntmimi @yup-indecisive-girl-cece @ily-cyj and anyone who would like to do this c;

[heartcravings]

50 Questions Tag!

@jongin-be-my-jagi​ tagged me for this a while ago, but I took my sweet time to answer. Here is my secret intel if you want to know me a little bit more!! Check hers as well, she’s an amazing writer and friend. 1. What takes up too much of your time? Tumblr, my stupid procrastination prone brain and my thesis. 

2. What makes your day better? Friends and loved ones, music and these absolute dorks (Channie especially) 

3. What’s the best thing that happened to you today? I hopped on the mat today in the early hours of the morning, rain on my window and the neighbours cat peeking at me from his window across the street.

4. What fictional place would you like to go to? Wonderland, bacause it’s “curiouser and curiouser!”

'Who are you?' said the Caterpillar.  Alice replied, rather shyly, 'I — I hardly know, sir, just at present — at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.'

5. Are you good at giving advice? I think so. Not so good at following my own advice though.  I do always consider where the other is standing and if I don’t know how to proceed then I’ll just be honest and say I can’t help. But i’ll always listen with my heart. 

 6. Do you have any mental illnesses? Not diagnosed. I do think i might be going through something now. 

7. Have you ever experienced sleep paralysis? No, but i have a recurring nightmare: the world is made of black and white paper thin layers. I am a paper thin person walking along a street surrounded by paper thin buildings. I walk for a long time, looking up at the white sky. Until the street ends, there is no more building and i fall into the abyss of a blank page.  I have had this dream since the age of 8 or 9 years old. Fear of not being good enough, you say?! Ding, ding, ding!! We got a winner in the back!  8. What musician inspired you the most? I get inspired by music all the time!! One of my all time favourite songs is Spanish Sahara by Foals. Its sublime!

So I’d say I’m mainly inspired by these artists: Queen, Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Radiohead, Bowie, Daughter, Bob Dylan, Beirut, Yeah yeah yeahs, Arcade Fire, The National, Joy Division, Blur, Warpaint, Gorillaz, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, Chet Baker, The Cure, Courtney Barnett, The Maccabees, Car Seat Headrest, Florence + The Machine, Editors, Kasabian, Crystal Fighters, Death Cab for a cutie, The Doors, Efterklang, Explosions in the Sky, Franz Ferdinand, The Horrors, James Blake, José Gonzalez, Los Campesinos!,  Metronomy, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, Patrick Watson,  Phoenix, Sharon Van Etten, The Shins, Simon & Garfunkel, The Smiths, St.Vincent, The Strokes, Toro y Moi, tricot, Tune-Yards, TV on the radio, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, The Vaccines, Vampire Weekend, The Velvet Underground, The War on Drugs, Wild Beasts and Yo La Tengo.

And the electro, pop and hip-hop groves of my heart: EXO, 2NE1, Janelle Monáe, Big Bang, Kris Wu,LCD soundsystem, SBTRKT, Childish Gambino, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar and Daft Punk. 

And special mentions to the portuguese ones (learning from yixing and promoting when i can :P): Capicua, Joana Espadinha, The Legendary Tigerman, Linda Martini, Mayra Andrade, Noiserv, Ornatos Violeta, Paus, Samuel Uria, You Can’t Win Charlie Brown and The Silence 4. I know, tldr right? Sorry folks! 9. Have you ever fallen in love? Yes I have. I have mistaken a crush for love too. But i have definitely been very deeply in love. A wrecked kintsugi heart over here people! 10. What’s your dream date? I don’t think I have one. I’d love to do something unique with that someone special, something special for the two of us. It could be as simple as riding the subway while sharing earphones & listening to our playlist or walking the dogs out! Idk, I’m easy to please. But right now it would have to be with this handsome man :D pretty please?!

11. What do others notice about you? I am very kind and warm hearted, so I think that’s what people first notice when meeting me. Although I maintain good eye contact, I am also timid and will be quieter if there are very energetic people in the group. When alone, I usually take the first step and try to meet people, but only if i really must.  12. What’s an annoying habit you have? It’s really hard for me to ask for help. I also like to tell detailed descriptions of everything... Couldn’t you tell? 13. Do you still talk to your first love? I’ll text him on his birthday and he does the same to me. We met when we were 10 years old and that childhood friendship remains. But regarding my one and truly deep relationship, no we do not talk, unless we randomly meet.

14. How many exes do you have? I have three exes. The first love who was just an idealized crush on my childhood friend: we dated for 2 weeks during summer break xD Then my first real boyfriend, we met in my first year at university, dated for quite some time, he really loved me and made me love myself a little more. Finally the one i loved too much. I mended his wounds and made him love himself as much as I did. I always say all the love we feel makes our hearts grow bigger. I do not regret loving any of them, I am me now due to them and I would not change it if I could. 15. How many songs are in your playlist? I have way too many playlists for each and every mood... But my favourite songs list on spotify has about 1500 songs! uwu!  16. What instruments can you play? Triangles and flute?! I had mandatory music classes in school... so in reality I can’t really play a instrument...

17. Who do you have the most pictures of? Probably my cat, Sushi. With a second close of my doodles and sketches. 

18. Where would you like to go before you die? EVERY WHERE!!! But I really want to go to Japan and Scotland and Iceland and South Korea and New Zealand and i’ll shut up. 19. What’s your zodiac? Capricorn. 20. Do you relate to it? Sort of.

21. What is happiness to you? You know when it’s really cold outside in the winter and you manage to find a sheltered place where no wind can hit you and you still get to feel the warm rays of the winter suns on your skin? You hear the birds outside and you are contempt in that moment, at peace. That is happiness to me.   22. Are you going through anything right now? Yes, I am a bit lost. Trying to finish my thesis and trying to find what I want to do after. It’s liberating but also pretty scary. 23. What’s the worst decision you ever made? It’s a series of small decisions really. It started with going for a phd with the same people i worked in my msc. Should have gone to a different place. Then deciding to come home after a traumatic loss in the family. Should have kept my life going but I stalled it then. (I don’t regret helping my loved ones though).

24. What’s your favourite store? Probably Wishtrend for beauty stuff. Other than that I don’t have any favourite brands/stores. 25. (HALFWAY!) What’s your opinion on abortion? I think everyone is free to decide what they want or need to do. I couldn’t possible judge. If I would it? Probably not.

27. Do you have a favourite album? I don’t think so, I have favourite tunes for different moods and moments in my life. But if threatened with my life, I’d maybe say Total Life Forever from Foals.

28. What do you want for your birthday? It’s such a long time until my birthday comes! But maybe a real EXO ot9 reunion as a goodbye to Minseok?

29. What is most people’s first impression of you? Friendly and easy to open up to, i think.

30. What age do you seem according to most people? In real life, people usually think I am way younger than I am.  31. Where do you keep your phone when you’re sleeping? In the crook of my bed, between the mattress and the bed frame.

32. What word do you say the most? No idea really! 33. What’s the oldest age you’d date? 40s? I don’t think too much about age actually. 

34. What’s the youngest age you’d date? 20s? Again not very important to me. Love is love, whomever, whenever and wherever <3

35. What job / career do most people say would suit you? I don’t know! People always say i don’t totally fit in anything... so there’s that. If you have an idea please let me know! 36. What’s your favourite music genre? Go back to question 8. I listen to everything! :D 37. If you could live in any country in the world where would it be? I’d like to live around the world, every few months a different place and get to know different cultures.

38. What is your current favourite song? I’ve been obsessed with RM’s intro/teaser song, Map of the Soul: Persona. (I’m not even a bts fan, but this music and lyrics just touched me a lot.)

39. How long have you had this blog for? I think for about 6 years? It’s my personal space, where I dump all my obsessions.  

40. What are you excited for? I’m visiting some friends in Granada in a couple of weeks. Yay, tapas!

41. Are you a better talker or listener? Normally I am a better listener. But there are a few people to whom i open like a book. Either words flow right out of me without even thinking or they see throw me. Those truly are my people.

42. What is the last productive thing you did? Prepped meals and cleaned the kitchen. Open the folder and file of my thesis. Read the latest chapter I wrote.  43. What do you want for Christmas? Well, just like for my birthday, there is still such a long time to it! But let’s say i want to have already finish this part of my life and want to find my next adventure.

44. What class do you get the best grades in? No more exams! Ehehe! But I used to have good grades at everything. Physical Education was my lowest mark i think.

45. On a scale of 1-10 how do you feel right now? Right now, a 4? I have a headache.

46. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years? Smiling? :D I want to be happy in my own skin. To feel contempt in my life, doing something that gives me a sense of purpose and having time to share and enjoy with my friends and family. 47. When did you get your first heartbreak? Oh my kintsugi heart has been broken quiet a lot. By friends and lovers and even by myself. I keep patching it up with gold dreams though.  48. At what age do you wanna be married? I will only want to be married if i find the one. So until then I guess. 

49. What career did you want to have as a child? I wanted to be an astronaut and a ballerina. Preferably both!

50. What do you crave right now? Just sitting somewhere and listening to Yeol play the guitar.

Well i finished it! :D I’ll tag @thedeviousdo @ohsenhun @hongseok and @paepsi. I’d love to read yours! Feel free to dismiss it though, it is quite a lot.  Lots of love everyone!! <3 <3 <3

[cumulohimbus]

100 things I want to do in my lifetime

So, I had a really good conversation today with friends, and I opened up briefly about my stay in a psych ward a few years ago. It came up because I am acutely aware that I haven't been doing well, and am scared to return to a situation anything like my previous stay at said ward despite knowing that being hospitalized would probably be very beneficial at this time in my life. Talking about it did make me remember something though, something that gave me a lot of hope. While my experience with a psych ward was overwhelmingly negative, there was a part of treatment that really got through to me at the time. It especially helped with my suicidal ideation, which is something that's been really problematic for me again lately. Since I remembered it, I'm going to revisit the exercise, and I encourage anyone and everyone who also struggles with suicidal thoughts, thoughts of self harm, mental health issues, or even if you're just having a bad day, to give this a try. It's simple. Make a list of 100 things you want to do in your life. They can be as realistic or unrealistic as you want them to be. They can be big, long-term goals, or small, silly goals, and everything in between. The only rules are to write 100 things, and to avoid sarcastic or pessimistic things like saying one of your goals is to die or something like that. Save the list! Then someday you can go back and cross off things that you've accomplished or edit as you see necessary. Without further ado, here is my list:

1. I want to get my name legally changed to Larkspur Emmett so my dead name is no more

2. I want to get top surgery

3. I want to rekindle relationships within my family, especially with my cousins

4. I want to get scuba certified

5. I want to dive over the "sunken island" location on the lake my family had a cabin on that I visited frequently while growing up

6. I want to go diving in general, seeing a coral reef in person is an especially huge dream of mine

7. I want to rekindle my knowledge of the Spanish language and eventually become fluent

8. I want to continue learning American Sign Language

9. I want to learn more about my ancestry; I know I'm a vast mix of probably mostly European blood, but my family comes from so many different places and I'd like to know more about them

10. I want to finish the art commission I started for my close friend

11. I want to travel to places like Costa Rica, Japan, Chile, and Australia

12. I want to go on exotic travel adventures with a future romantic partner or close friend

13. I want to get my Bachelor's degree

14. I want to earn enough money to live comfortably, probably with pets

15. I want to adopt a pembroke welsh corgi

16. I want to beat my eating disorder(s) for good and be able to stop taking medication to help if at all possible

17. I want to go ziplining

18. I want to go skydiving

19. I want to hike through the Monteverde biological cloud forest reserve in Costa Rica

20. I want to develop a drag persona and perform as my persona on a regular basis

21. I want to make a fursuit (yes I said it, fite me)

22. I want to finish an entire animated music video

23. I want to learn more about plants and successfully keep one alive for longer than a year

24. I want to try my hand at raising an ant colony

25. I want to go swimming more often

26. I want to learn more martial arts

27. I want to learn to be a leader in my community

28. I want to work harder in my college classes

29. I want to learn to not fear loneliness and abandonment, and to appreciate my alone time

30. I want to get (many) more self-designed tattoos

31. I want to continue learning how to appreciate my body without caring about other people's opinions on what is considered "attractive"

32. I want to eat more whole foods both because they're healthy for me and taste far better than anything with chemicals in it

33. I want to meet a few famous people in person, can't think of many off the top of my head though, but I know there are a couple

34. I want to take dance classes again

35. I want to learn how to play a musical instrument (I mean, I took 7 years of piano and can kinda read music, but I wanna learn an instrument that's better suited for short fingers lolol, maybe french horn?)

36. I want to finish the paintings I've started

37. I want to learn how to digitally render things realistically

38. I want to finish the fanfiction piece I started a couple years ago

39. I want to become more patient and less envious

40. I want to heccing fly, okay?

41. I want to feel like relaxation is deserved and expected, and not a luxury only for those who can afford it

42. I want to reassemble an animal skeleton

43. I want to dig up a fossil (specifically of some sort of mesozoic creature, that'd be so cool)

44. I want to get back to using my planner

45. I want to play more (board, card, video, etc.) games with my friends

46. I want to disassociate less and be present in the real world more often

47. I want to be more informed about what is going on both in general, but especially in my more immediate environment

48. I want to take up better drawing habits (more life drawing, warm ups, breaks, etc.)

49. I want to try a real goddamn piña colada, bonus points if it's on the beach

50. I want to try existing in a portable living situation, like a renovated bus or van, for a while

51. I want to learn basic wilderness survival skills

52. I want to learn how to identify many different species of all types of organisms, especially plants and animals

53. I want to get my vehicle fixed up nice and maybe hand paint some things on it

54. I want to learn more about different cultures because they're fascinating and I want to be as respectful of all people as I possibly can be

55. I want to paint the waterfall jungle mural of my dreams in my future house

56. I want to gain better control of my emotions and my responses to them

57. I want to fabricate a working pair of wings for human beings

58. I want to learn/do more embroidery

59. I want to get a cerulean blue Corvette stingray

60. I want to get better about not procrastinating

61. I want to go to more events/be more involved wherever I am

62. I want to go for more walks to places I haven't been to before, bonus points if it's in the middle of the night and/or in the rain

63. I want to do things like play in inflatable obstacle courses and ride on roller coasters without caring about whether other people judge me for doing those things as an adult

64. I want to regain the physical strength I have lost from being sedentary while my mental health has been at its lowest

65. I want to spend more time laying in the sunshine, preferably with the bare minimum of clothes on because I enjoy the warmth on my skin

66. I want to cuddle more with others that feel comfortable enough to participate in that with me

67. I want to learn more about the fabrication of clothing and design/make some outfits for myself

68. I want to cosplay, maybe go to a convention sometime

69. I want to go skinny dipping >:3 (look, it's number 69 on the list, okay?)

70. I want to try all sorts of foods I've never had before

71. I want to see a butterfly leaving its cocoon in real life again

72. I want to read more of the books I own

73. I want to be kissed by someone again...it's been over 4 years...

74. I want to eliminate my habit of requiring a Youtube gaming playlist to be playing in order for me to fall asleep

75. I want to learn more about the history of the lgbtqia2s+ community

76. I want to learn how to cook for myself better, and like, actually use those skills on a regular basis

77. I want to learn how to take care of my vehicle better on my own, like how to change a tire and such

78. I want to learn to communicate better, and just, in general how to be the best friend I can be

79. I want to stop using all substances for the purpose of drowning out my surroundings and messing with my temporal senses, if I'm going to drink/smoke/get high/whatever, I want it to be because I want to for fun, not because I want the chemicals to take the edge off my mental illness(es)

80. I want to start taking better care of my dental hygiene

81. I want to learn more about my legal rights and finances and other "adult" stuff that doesn't really get taught to you unless you specifically go looking for it

82. You know the somewhat obnoxious game Bop It? Yeah, I want one of those again, keeps me entertained for a long time

83. I want to design more things in general, more characters and their outfits and personalities and the worlds they live in, I enjoy that

84. I want to spend more time outdoors with my friends, watch sunsets and collect miscellaneous objects from the universe and such

85. I want to teach someone something, sit down and maybe teach someone how I draw or about something that I am at least somewhat knowledgeable about

86. I want to go to more aquariums; if/when I travel more I want to go to every aquarium I come across

87. I want to start a legit collection of something and like, build it up over a long period of time so it gets pretty impressive

88. I want to get my eyes surgically corrected so I don't have to wear glasses or fiddle with contacts

89. I want to learn more about Greek and Latin roots and just words and symbolism in general

90. I want to lose the embarrassment I have about my hyperfixations because I deserve to not feel ashamed of the things that bring me satisfaction and joy, and it's okay if other people don't share my enthusiasm about such things, I just want to learn to not be embarrassed that I like stuff

91. I want to get over my fears/discomfort re: nudity, especially for life drawing classes; see, it's one thing to see someone nude and divert my eyes but for life drawing I'm kinda forced to look...

92. I want to understand myself better and learn to love me instead of the opposite; I want to be full of love for the beautiful people around me and I want to really solidify in my brain that I am one of those beautiful people

93. I want to do more things for others that are meaningful because that makes me happy, and I want to learn to do those things while also respecting everyone's, including my own, boundaries

94. I want to develop a sleep schedule that is healthy and appropriate, and that I'm able to maintain

95. I want to run in the rain more often and jump in puddles (edit: while typing this it started storming out and I had to run outside in my bunny pajama short-shorts, winter boots, and a sweatshirt, to grab my box of silly plant seed experiments before they blew away, so progress is already being made)

96. I want to get over my intense fear of making phone calls

97. I want to learn how to sing better with my new and improved deeper voice from being on Testosterone

98. I want to get my first tattoo fixed up and hopefully renew the meaning it had to me at the time that I got it -- I want to try to keep that promise

99. I want to spend more time actively working on improving my mental health

100. I want to see more, I want to learn more, I want to do more, I want to be the version of myself that is genuinely amazed and curious by all manner of things, and I know that part of me is still there

And now, once you've finished your list, you have 100 reasons to not give up, because there's no way of knowing what you're capable of doing if you don't exist to try.

[viking-hel]

Writing British Fanfic

Hi guys! This little post is just something me and @survivor-reborn put together for when you want to write fanfic with characters that are from the UK!

This isn’t to discourage, or poke fun at, but to help really set the scene or location, because sometimes there’s nothing more jarring than seeing a word or phrase that just isn’t used as much/if at all in the UK, especially when the rest is pretty good!

Now, that’s not to say you need to do this; these little things can sometimes really aid in telling the story, especially if they are set in Blighty.

1. Mom / Mum

Kinda obvious? Yeah, I know. However it is easily done. Perhaps some people in the UK say this, but more often than not, it’s with the ‘u’ and not the ‘o’.

2. College / University

Right, this might get hard to explain. What people in the USA call college, we call University or ‘Uni’ for short. College in the UK is actually something else. The education system here is not like the US for example, which I’ll get onto. College here is where you get qualifications called ‘A-levels’ which you need to get into uni.

3. Kindergarten / Primary / Middle / Secondary (High) School

Kindergarten: we don’t really use that word. Or at least, I don’t where I live and down in Devon. Does that mean it isn’t? Perhaps not, though I don’t think so. In the UK we have something called ‘nursery’ and that’s for little kids, aged about 3-4 years. 

This leads onto primary school, which is sort of elementary school equivalent. Primary school may have a nursery (mine did) but really it goes from Reception (4-5yrs) up to Year 6 (10-11 yrs). HOWEVER, and this is where it can get confusing, some areas of the UK do have a middle school system, but NOT ALL. I never went to middle school, but my niece did! 

[If the area is a middle school systems, then it goes Infants/First - Middle - Secondary/High. Infants/First school ends at Year 4. Middle school covers from Year 5 to Year 8, and high school from Year 9 to either Year 11 or Year 13 (Years 12 and 13 are essentially college years where you do A-levels).]

For simplicity, just stick with Primary school and secondary/high school. Certain places in the UK call it high school, others say secondary. Others say both. Secondary/high school goes from Year 7 to Year 11 (or perhaps Year 13). 

4. Highways, roads, streets.

This will seem silly. Though we have something called ‘Highway Maintenance’ we don’t use the word ‘highway’ or ‘freeway’. We use motorway for the big (UK-big, which is no more than fours lane in each direction) main arteries if you will.

We say main road to mean the next step down. These roads connect to the motorways (which start with M e.g. M6, main roads start with A e.g A500). High street often implies a street with shops on it through the local ‘hub’, not always meaning city centre. 

5. Supermarket

We don’t often have grocery stores. We might have a greengrocer / grocers, but don’t add ‘store’, we don’t use that word much. But there is the supermarket, where you get most food e.g. Tesco or Morrisons.

6. Chemist / Pharmacy

Can use either but if ever you see the word chemist, we mean the pharmacy.

7. Stores

The only time we use the word store is in relation to ‘department stores’ which sell clothes, home items and makeup / perfumes perhaps, like Debenhams. Use the word shop instead as most people are likely to say that.

8. ‘Ay up mate!

Mate means friend, and though some may beg to differ, you don’t commonly hear the word buddy or pal. Except for perhaps a dog’s name.

9. Lass!

The further north you go in England, and then into Scotland, lass or lassie means girl. They’re more likely to say that.

10. Pop

Some places in the USA use the word pop to mean soda. If we want a particular kind, we’d say the name e.g. Coke = coca cola, Sprite or 7-UP = lemonade (yes, we don’t do the lemon and sugar thing much, so we mean pop if we want lemonade).

11. Sofa / Settee

Though couch is becoming slightly more common, certain areas of the UK might say sofa or settee more.

12. Kettle

You boil water in this for cups / mugs of tea. Found in the kitchen, plugged into the wall, likely next to the teapot.

13. AC

We don’t have AC built in with the house. They might be in offices, but not in the house. 

14. Drinking age

Is 18 here! So if you’re writing about teens in the UK, then legally can drink from 18 years, but have likely been drinking since they were 14/15 because, yeah rules.

15. Age of consent

Is 16 years old. Just so you know.

16. POPTARTS

Others in the UK may say “WTF are you talking about, I eat them everyday,” but I can count on ONE HAND how many poptarts I’ve ever had (three!). They aren’t common in my neck of the woods, and so I don’t think they’ve become a staple in breakfast diets until recently.

17. Pies.

Here in the UK, pies are often savory as well as sweet. We do have apple pie, I have had other fruity pies. But we do also have meat and potato (yum!), chicken, steak, steak and kidney pie, the list goes on.

18. Pasties

Not pastries, though we do have those too, pasties, as in Cornish pasties are savory and delicious. Can be flaky and make mess when eating.

19. Cheese

Unless you intentionally buy the pre-sliced stuff, most kinds of cheese in the UK comes as blocks of cheese. And depending on the type of cheese, different ‘strength of taste’ from mild to extra strong (cheddar).

20. Cookies / Biscuits

Cookies have chocolate chips in them. They are a particular type of biscuit and don’t refer to all of them. Those are biscuits.

21. Gravy / Biscuits and Gravy

Gravy is savoury and commonly brown coloured, made from veg flavours, chicken or ‘meat’. And we don’t have biscuits and gravy.....that wouldn’t make sense with the former!

22. Holidays

Only in Uni have I ever seen the period of teaching called ‘semester’ and the holiday breaks termed ‘vacation’. When in school they’re called instead ‘terms’ and ‘breaks / holiday’. 

We don’t have Spring Break, but we have something called half-terms, which is a week long break in the middle of each term, which usually last between 6-9 weeks, depending on how things are scheduled which are not the same country wide. 

Easter is two weeks off, Christmas is also two weeks, and Summer holiday lasts for 5-8 weeks, it keeps changing but they’re often 6 weeks, and get called 6-week holiday.

23. No Thanksgiving or Fourth of July, just to remind you!

24. Lessons

What are called classes in USA, are often called ‘lessons’ here, or in high school, you just refer to them by subject e.g ‘I have geography now’. Class / classes are often reserved for external activities like dance.

25. Canteen

Essentially the cafeteria of the school. This may not be the same for all of the UK.

26. Queue

What we are known for. We queue, which means standing in a line. At school you might be asked to ‘form a line’ before going back into the classroom, but outside of that, you queue.

27. Rubber

An eraser. They rub out.

28. Take-out

What is called take-out we call takeaway!

29. Bangs

Bang means something else in the UK, so we say fringe: the hair that falls over your forehead.

30. Half-an-hour

We have perhaps an odd way of saying time? We don’t say counter-clockwise, we say anti-clockwise. We often use the 24-hour clock so we know what 16:45 is telling us, which is ‘quarter to five in the afternoon’. We say half-an-hour, meaning thirty minutes. We say ‘ten to’ or ‘twenty to’ or ‘half past’ or ‘quarter past’ etc.

31. Fortnight

Not the game. This means two weeks. Bi-weekly.

32. Aye

I use this to mean yes. Though in the south of England you might not hear it much, the further north and into Scotland, you will hear this.

33. PB and J.

Peanut Butter and Jelly. Well jelly in the UK is what Americans call jello. What they call jelly is jam in the UK. There will perhaps be some people who have this, but I don’t think Peanut butter and jam is that common. At least, not to together.

34. Cheers

Thanks, thank you. Or “ta very much”.

35. Fanny

Fanny means arse (ass) in the USA. It doesn’t here and if you said that we’d give a right funny look.

36. British Accent.

NO. NO SUCH THING. I don’t sound like Sam Heughan or Ewan McGregor. Nor do I sound like Tom Holland or Kit Harington. They’re all ‘British’ but the British accent does not exist: if you live in England, you will have an English accent. Live in Wales, you’ll have a Welsh one. Live in Scotland, you’ll have a Scottish accent. Live in Northern Ireland / Ireland, you’ll have an Irish accent. 

And to further make it worse, they’ll all sound different! 

I don’t speak like the guys of Peaky Blinders. I don’t sound like a cockney from London, and I don’t speak like the Queen. Me and @survivor-reborn won’t sound the same. This goes for people in Scotland, Wales and Ireland. We’ll have an English/Scottish/Welsh/Irish accent, but we won’t sound the same, and at times, will use dialectal words: if I said “what do thee know, owt o’ nowt?” only certain people will know what I’ve asked.

So these are just things to perhaps keep in mind, and I know people will likely get things in American culture wrong and across the globe. If you don’t live in it, how will you know?

Add to this if you like, because I know I’ve missed some things. And if you want, you can ask either me or @survivor-reborn and we’ll try to help!

[clearpeanutcollector]

Bets College Homework Mac App

College isn't all fun and games (unless you want it to be.) Don't sweat it, though. Take a look at these 25 apps — they'll give you a smoother college experience by helping you study smarter, connect with new people and wake up in time for your early lectures.

Jul 06, 2020  BET+ is a premium online streaming service with over 1,000 hours of your favorite Black content from the best Black creators. Now, you can stream Black culture: the movies you remember, the TV shows you love and the new series you can't live without. And they're all in one place, commercial free. Everything from classics like Martin and House of Payne to modern favorites like Bigger and Carl. The best part about this app is that the students can opt for one-on-one interaction with a tutor and clear their doubts instantly. Download: iOS. Student Agenda. This homework app offers a free planner and diary that is designed by the students for an uncluttered usage.

Your university probably has its own app, too — download it. It will provide you with a more tailored breakdown than a national application.

See also: 12 Things Students Should Never Do on Social Media

Any helpful ones we missed? Let us know in the comments!

1. BenchPrep

Image: BenchPrep

BenchPrep is an interactive course library with all the graduate and professional exam study material you can handle. It includes hundreds of practice questions, flashcards, in-app purchases and almost 600 study lessons. Go ahead and pick your poison: LSAT, MCAT, GMAT.

Available for free on iOS and Android devices.

2. iStudiez Pro

Image: iStudentPro

iStudiezPro keeps track of your deadlines, grades and more across all Mac devices — all you need to do is plug your class schedule into the app. It comes with both Cloud syncing and iCal integration.

Bets College Homework Mac Application

Available for $2.99 for iOS. The free iStudiez Lite version limits the number of classes you manage, but it's useful nonetheless.

3. Evernote

You've probably heard a lot about Evernote, and yes, you should try it. What have you got to lose .. your homework? The app syncs all your stuff — text, audio, photo, video — to an online account, so you're always connected with resources to study.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by Evernote's many features, check out this comprehensive beginner's guide.

Available for broke college students (read: free) for iOS and Android devices. The premium version is even more useful, at $5 a month or $45 a year.

4. StudyBlue Flashcards

Flashcards are an effective way to memorize information, but making them is a headache. With StudyBlue, use text, pictures and audio to create the perfect stack of (digital) flashcards; or, search the massive database to borrow someone else's.

Bets College Homework Mac App Free

Available for iOS and Android devices.

5. RealCalc Scientific Calculator

Did your little brother steal your calculator once you finished AP physics? Use RealCalc for serious computing — it's a perfect alternative for the calculator-less.

Available for free for Android. If you need a heavy-duty upgrade, try RealCalc Plus for $3.49.

6. Engineering Professional

More than 650 chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, hydrology and mechanical formulas are updated in Engineering Pro — so don't worry about buying multiple formula apps. Save or Favorite the formulas you need most often.

Available for $11.99 for iOS.

7. EasyBib

Image: EasyBib

EasyBib generates citations in MLA, APA and Chicago style wherever you are — just scan the book's bar code or enter the title. The app also lets you easily email and export the bibliographies to yourself. Using this, you have no excuses for putting off that term paper.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

8. Notella

Image: Notella

Some professors drop the most important bombs when you least expect it ('Have a good spring break, everyone. Oh! One more thing: We're having an exam worth 60% of your final grade the day you get back. See ya!').

Don't miss a thing with Notesdeck. This super-fast note-taking app opens to a new note by default, lets you create custom hotkeys and syncs notes from other apps — iCloud, Evernote, Simplenote and Dropbox. You can even search within those other apps from one search bar.

Mac map mouse button app download. Feb 06, 2007  Question: Q: Mouse Button Mapping More Less. Apple Footer. This site contains user submitted content, comments and opinions and is for informational purposes only. Apple may provide or recommend responses as a possible solution based on the information provided; every potential issue may involve several factors not detailed in the conversations. May 28, 2012  ‎Joystick Mapper is an application that allows you to configure your joysticks or gamepads to simulate keyboard keys/mouse movement/mouse click/mouse scroll, so you can control any app or game using them, even the ones without built-in support. It also lets you remap the Scroll Wheel Button to some useful functions like Mission Control and it features a refined Smooth-Scrolling algorithm, which I think strikes a great balance between fluidity and control. Mac Mouse Fix is very light on system resources and it's a System Preferences Plugin so there's no status bar item. X-Mouse Button Control by Phillip Gibbons (Highresolution Enterprises) is a free application that can help you customize the functionality of your mouse buttons (set new functions to mouse buttons). Sadly, there is no version of X-Mouse Button Control for Mac available for download, but there are other tools that can help you change the.

Available for $2.99 for iOS.

9. Wolfram Alpha

From thermodynamics to baseball, the Wolfram Alpha reference app uses its supercomputing Cloud to quickly generate answers — across thousands of domains — to all your research questions.

Available for $2.99 for iOS and Android devices.

10. Dictionary.com Mobile

With more than two million definitions, synonyms and antonyms, Dictionary.com's fast and user-friendly mobile app will decode that confusing media law textbook in no time.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

11. Babylon

Whether you're a Spanish lit major or just looking to finish your general education requirements, Babylon provides comprehensive dictionary results and translations for dozens of languages. With pasteboard integration and access to more than 1,500 glossaries in 75 languages, you'll never struggle to find an accurate definition for your foreign language presentation again.

iBabylon is available for free for iOS; Babylon Translator is available for free for Android.

12. Jumpcut

You have better things to do than copy and paste all day. Make light work of data entry assignments with Jumpcut: copy as much text as you want, one after another, and paste using simple keystrokes.

Available for Macs only.

13. Dragon Dictation

Ever wish you could type faster? Dragon Dictation uses accurate voice recognition software to let you speak and instantly see your words in text. Dictate statuses to your social networks or pretend you're talking to someone if you're trying to write a speech — even send statuses straight to your social networks. Try this if you're in a time crunch and really need to churn out an essay; or, if you're just someone who prefers speaking over writing.

Available for free for iOS.

14. SelfControl

Image: Flickr, jonas maaloe

It's finals week. You have a huge essay to finish .. but then there's Reddit, emitting its bewitching siren call. Every. Damn. Time.

SelfControl lets you set a period of time to block certain websites or mail servers by adding them to a 'blacklist.' It's too bad if you finish your work early — restarting your computer or deleting the application won't negate the timer.

Available for free for Mac OS X.

15. Studious

Avoid interrupting class and getting on your professor's bad side with Studious. Once you input your class schedule, Studious will silence your phone during those hours.

Available for free for Android. Upgrade to Studious+ for $1.99 to bypass the ads.

16. Circle of 6

Ever feel uncomfortable when it's dark and you're in a new part of a city — or even campus? Circle of 6 won the White House's Apps Against Abuse challenge. It helps you stay safe by connecting you to six trusted contacts, whenever and wherever. Use the pre-programmed 'come and get me' message with your GPS location, or easily call national and local emergency hotlines in critical situations. It's a fast and discreet way to put your safety first.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

Addendum: You don't actually need six people if you want to double up on contacts.

17. Skype

Image: Skype

Hi!The last days I've noticed how every time I start Safari everything freezes (finder included) for a couple minutes. Macos bitcoin miner in mrt.app. Then I can write something in the search bar, and then it freezes another time!

Video interviews are not going away any time soon — so you might as well get a heads up now. Microsoft's Skype is a reliable way to connect with faraway family and friends via text, voice and — of course — video.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

18. LinkedIn

LinkedIn and all its nifty mobile features makes connections a breeze — for better or worse, college is a time of both personal and professional connections.

Available on the web, of course, but also for free for iOS and Android devices.

19. Twitter

Don't be the only person in class who isn't up-to-date with world events. Use Twitter to keep yourself in the loop in both the academic and social aspects of your life. In today's contemporary classrooms, you may even be asked to participate in class discussions via Twitter.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

20. Sworkit

There are a lot of things to do in college. Exercising isn't always one of them; especially when there's socializing and studying to be had. Sworkit's greatest asset is its ability to let you choose your exercise time allotment in five-minute increments — starting at, yes, the very low threshold of five minutes. Doable, right?

It also boasts an extensive list of work out routines.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices. Sworkit Pro comes with advanced features and costs $0.99 for iOS and Android.

See also: 10 YouTube Channels That Will Make You Smarter

21. Mint

Club fees. Books. Tuition. Food. College adds up — quickly. Mint is a web and mobile app that helps you keep track of your spending. Plus, it's never too early to start cultivating good credit.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

22. Sleep If U Can Alarm

Bets College Homework Mac Apps

Come on, you lazy bum — you're paying for these early classes, remember? Nicknamed the 'world's most annoying alarm,' Sleep If U Can gives you two options to silent the alarm: 1) Shake your phone; or 2) Physically go the place shown on your screen (see: the bathroom sink in the video) and take a picture.

Available for $1.99 for iOS and free for Android.

23. Pocket First Aid & CPR

Mashable composite, images: Pocket First Aid & CPR

While it's not the sexiest app to have at your disposable, you never know when it might come in handy. Along with clear and concise CPR instructions, Pocket First Aid and CPR contains 34 videos and 46 high-resolution illustrations.

Available for $1.99 for iOS and Android devices.

Bets College Homework Mac App Download

24. Between

Attempting the long-distance relationship course? Kudos — that's no small task. Relationship app Between can help ease the separation anxiety by letting you send messages, voicemails, memos and photos. A private timeline makes it easy to reminisce about the good old days with your significant other(s).

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

25. TED

Image: TED

In an environment often congested with bad influences, a heavy dose of genius goes a long way. TED Talks give you instant access to the biggest thought leaders of our time.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices.

Image: Mashable, Meghan Uno

Whether you're taking the first step towards school or passing out of the college, your life can be a total mess including assignments, surprise tests, homework, examinations, attendance and so on. All you do is wake up early, go to school and come back. That becomes your routine cutting out the quality time to spend with your family and friends. How disheartening is that? With such a busy schedule and a massive number of deadlines to fulfill, it becomes quite challenging to keep track of homework or anything that has to be submitted on the next day. In such circumstances, a homework planner or organizer could be reliable to oversee and update you regarding the assignments, homework and other deadlines. Of course, it's a daunting task to look out for a suitable homework planner who can assist you with your regular tasks.

Top 5 Homework Planner Apps for College Students

Because it is a tedious job, we have come up with the best homework planner apps for students that will help them to do their tasks without any hassle:

1. School Planner

School planner is a full-scale homework planner app that is designed mainly to pay attention to students so that they are well focussed about their career. This app has a pile of features ranging from simple features to ones that you can think of. Besides your homework and timetable, school planner app assists you to keep track of your attendance. You can also add your teachers' contacts on the list, combine recorded lectures which could be beneficial during exams and add multiple planners too. Initially, it is a tedious job to use this app as you have to enter all your details in a form. In addition to your details, you must enter your teacher's details, timetable, and other college details. But once that's done, you're good to go! The app also supports backing up all the data that you feed in via Google drive, calendar, etc. This app does not fail to give you weekly reports, give reminders on the day of submission of assignments, attach snapshots to any reminders. Although the school planner offers a lot of features, it has the best performance with a beautiful framework. In case of your research paper you can use Edusson at affordable pricing.

2. Istudiez pro

Istudiez pro is yet another student-friendly homework planner app and probably the oldest app when compared to all of the mentioned apps. Like school planner, this app also offers a wide range of features including grading, attendance and subject wise organization of activities. It is way easier to set up when compared to a school planner. But the prominent feature in studies pro is that it is integrated with Google Calendar which gives you all the details like holidays, exam schedule, daily routine and so on. Not just that, it is also supported in all operating platforms like iOS, Mac, and windows. All the apps sync well and therefore you can operate this homework planner anywhere anytime on your laptop.

3. My study life

The next homework planner app for college students is My Study Life. The best thing about this app is that it has its web app which makes it unique. The web app can sync well(mostly on Android) therefore making your data accessible from any remote location using your device. Make sure that you've got a web browser installed in your device. This is a goal-oriented app and keeps reminding you about how much is completed and how much is left to achieve the goal. In addition to that, the calendar feature keeps track of all the important dates, it could be deadlines or project submission dates. The only con of my study life is that it is quite lengthy to set up. Once it is correctly done, you're all set!

4. ChalkBoard

One of the smartest homework planner app for students is a chalkboard. It is pretty quick regarding its features and subject wise allocation of teachers on the app. When you open it for the first time, it prompts you to fill the name and subjects of all your teachers along with the timetable. Cool, isn't it? Although the setup process is a tedious job, it is entirely reliable and smooth. The amazing part is you don't have to memorize your timetable as you can see the upcoming classes on the home screen. Not just that, you can also find pending assignments and other tasks on the screen making your job way too easy. Features like these make this app stand out when compared to other homework organizer apps and gives you a great overall experience. This homework planner app would have been much more superior if it had a calendar feature in it.

5. Egenda

It's quite easy to set up Egenda when compared to others. All you need to do is, add the subjects and classes that you have. Once that is done, you have the choice of adding any homework, deadline, project or test. The pending tasks can be seen in the form of cards and have to be swiped away once it's completed. The best part about this homework planner app is that it keeps you updated, could be regarding the upcoming assignments, tasks or competitions. This will help you plan ahead and complete the job on time. Unfortunately, the app doesn't have a timetable feature. But in its latest update, you will find a calendar that can assist you in keeping track of dates. Backup option not available in this app, therefore data can't be recovered once you lose it.

Final Words

So these were some of the coolest homework planner apps exclusively for career-oriented students who want their tasks to be completed on time and who do not wish to struggle till the last minute to meet the goal. We genuinely understand your problem and these apps are going to be of great use to you!

[worldcakecakecake]

Feliciano and the King of Hearts

Chosen by the gods as the Queen of Hearts from the moment of birth, we follow Feliciano’s story as he grows into royal life, learns to rule, go against age old customs, and his relationship with his husband to be, the King of Hearts.

Chapter 1 I  Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 IChapter 9I Chapter 10I Chapter 11I Chapter 12 I Chapter 13 I Chapter 14 I Chapter 15 I Chapter 16 I Chapter 17 I Chapter 18 I Chapter 19I Chapter 20 I Chapter 21 I Chapter 22 I Chapter 23 I Chapter 24 I Chapter 25 I Chapter 26 I Chapter 27 I Chapter 28I Chapter 29 I Chapter 30 I Chapter 31 I Chapter 32 I Chapter 33 I Chapter 34 I Chapter 35 I Chapter 36 I Chapter 37I chapter 38 I Chapter 39 I Chapter 40 I Chapter 41 I Chapter 42 I Chapter 43 I Chapter 44 I Chapter 45 I Chapter 46I Chapter 47 I Chapter 48 I Chapter 49

I’ve had this chapter done for a week, but it is only now that I managed to find a computer (one of the few working ones in the university) to actually post. There’s still no electricity where I live, no signal and water is limited...we might not have most of these until December (And sometimes I think February). My time to write is still very limited and worst when classes started as well as dealing with matters about my move. Still on hiatus, but I do try to write when I can, just continue to be patient. For those who read The Society of Romulus and Remus and Good Luck Friedrich, I am also in the process of working on the next chapters for them so expect it soon. Hope you enjoy!

                                                Chapter 50

What a bliss that innocent night had been, what a rest, what a waking, what a meet of shinning eyes and smiles, even if the darkened brick around them, even if the raging blizzard outside, even if in Khaos’s castle. All that could be ignored, all that can be forgotten when Feliciano could freely let his fingers linger all throughout Ludwig’s face, when Ludwig could thread his own over Feliciano’s arms, their legs still between each other, chatting, laughing as if they could be in some kind of normality back in Berlin or even in Barga.

 “Are you still using those shampoos Mrs. Palmieri made,” Ludwig chuckled against his hair, taking that very familiar scent that had remained just the same as it had been in their childhood.

 “I can’t possibly use any other, none can treat my curls as well. I had her give me an entire box of her bottles before leaving to Berlin,” Feliciano smiled, finding safety in the crook of Ludwig’s neck.

 “The scent fits you really well, plus your hair is still as soft,” he complimented in earnest.

 Feliciano giggled and wrapped his arms strongly around his neck, letting him have as much of his hair as he wanted.

 “When we return to Berlin-” he still hoped, he still believed- “we’ll be staying at Barga on our way, I can have her make you some as well,” he chuckled, letting his fingers trace his lips.

 Ludwig pondered it, before revealing in a smile his acceptance, “how many scents does she have available?”

 “You don’t have to worry about that, Mrs. Palmieri has several, she even has strawberry milkshake.”

 They laughed, wondering how it would seem on Ludwig, joking as things as having Birds flying above his hair trying to take a picking from whatever fruits they thought would be there. One of their fits was interrupted by a quickened knock, having them both sit instantly, with a still secure hold that didn’t let them leave.

 “Your highness, King Khaos and the servants will soon check on you, we have to get going.” There was great urgency in Angela’s voice, one Feliciano knew needed to have immediate heading, no matter the regret in his eyes or how he had slowly released himself from Ludwig, already slumping him into his despairs.

 “I’ll do whatever I can to come here tonight,” Feliciano promised as he stood, stretching and riding of any wronged fold in his clothes.

 Ludwig could only sit, taking Feliciano’s hands, giving him one last grasp of himself and an assurance. “If not, I completely understand, don’t fret so much, I want you to be safe more than anything.”

 Feliciano smiled and nodded in acceptance to his words, giving him one last kiss upon his forehead before settling off, the touch upon the door the signal enough for Angela to omit the keys and give him exit. A last wave and the sun disappeared once again from the room, Pookie giving a meow of miss, extending his paw wanting to have him back. Ludwig petted him, with just the calm he needed himself.

  Back to that room of darkness, even with riches, even with slight colors, even with the largeness and the views. It was gloom, it was death, Feliciano could feel constant shivering that had him holding to himself, trying to call out for Augusta within himself as some leaning. Nothing, nothing of her as he had felt before. He sighed and settled off to the bed to try and find some rest before whatever Khaos would ask of him. As he came to that reach, there was a sudden knock that interrupted. Without waiting for his permission, a group of servants made their way inside, stopping in a perfect align to give him a bow to then place the clothes they had brought over one of the near low tables, each by turn leaving the room until Feliciano had the room for himself once again. Hesitant, he made his way to the presented robes and could already feel himself be driven by disgust. All of them were the dark of Khaos’s reign, some tight enough to reveal much of his form, others his own Ace power, as well as others that would reveal too much of his skin, a couple of reds to go along with him and so he knew they were made with himself in mind. Feliciano recoiled, afraid of them as if the king himself was there mocking him, forcing the wear on him. He looked upon his own white robe, still clean, still with Ludwig’s lingering warmth and declared that it was good enough to use, decided, sending glares to what he had brought.

 That afternoon he was asked to join Khaos in one of his study rooms. He was going through some plans of attack he had made with his men’s last mission, adding and fixing, ruin that would surely bring devastation to Feliciano’s people if it worked. Khaos dared to do this while the very arising queen of Hearts was sitting in the very room, taking seating as far from his desk, close to the door, to take his immediate exit as soon as Khaos decreed it. Feliciano could see hinted anger in his eyes once he saw him in the same robe from the day before, clearly showing a disobedience and disapproval in wearing the sickness he had given him. He didn’t mention it, he went on chatting about the strength of his men, their cunning and the power he had given them. Feliciano wanted to mention that if it had all been true, then they wouldn’t have escaped or defeated them as they had done many times, as the very kingdoms subdue them and claimed their victory, but he remained silent, only sending daggers with his eyes, weak ones, none capable of his sweetness, which only made Khaos smile and Feliciano more fearful.

 He was told he would have dinner in his own room for the night, just as Angela came picking him up to take him once again there. On their way, she promised that once he was done eating, she would take him to Ludwig for the night. In the silence that later continued, Feliciano found himself thinking about the books that were in Khaos’s study, useless ones surely, perhaps records or information about the kingdoms he already knew about. If they held any real importance, perhaps he would have felt Augusta nudge at him somehow from within. He gazed to Angela before him, who he supposedly knew as Khaos’s must trusted servant. Perhaps she knew, perhaps she could help.

 “Are there any libraries here?” He asked, trying to sound as if it was a mere curiosity for leisure.

 “Technically three if you count the study room, there’s another one quite close to your room, mostly full of stories and novels, and then there’s the king’s private one.”

 It had to be.

 “Do you know where that private one is?”

 “No, the king doesn’t allow anyone to go there, something about what Augusta had done long ago,” she informed easily.

 “Any hints, any ideas to where though?” He still wondered.

 “None, he doesn’t even talk about it unless he pays it a visit. Whenever he does he locks himself upon his room, so surely he has an opening from there,” she guessed as much, which gave enough of an idea for Feliciano to pin point.

 As scheduled, he had a dinner of ginger noodles, loaf, ricotta, and biscuits, as rich, as fresh as anything he would have in any castle, making Feliciano wonder for a moment what kind of growing or casting the castle was doing to get these ingredients like those of any kingdom. Once he had shown to be done, Angela took him once again to the deepened rooms where Ludwig was imprisoned, both coming to the usual embraces of miss. Angela left them to their privacy and as soon as her footsteps died across the hall, Feliciano removed from the embrace to speak what he had found out.

 “Angela doesn’t know where it is, but she has an idea that it might be somewhere hidden in his room,”

 “His room?” Ludwig seemed insulted, mostly thinking of where Feliciano would have to go, where he could convince and how in such a private room. Feliciano had to shush him, for an angry fire started to burn in Ludwig’s eyes, along with strength and a harshened grip.

 “I told you I can manage it,”

 “Feliciano, it’s his room, who knows what kind of spells are there, what he could do to-”

 Feliciano had to lay a finger upon his lips to shush him. “Just…trust me,”

 “It’s not that I don’t, I’m worried he would lay a single finger on you and I wouldn’t be there to stop it, I can’t let him do anything to you if I’m here.”

 “I’m just as capable of protecting myself.”

 There was a sudden doubt in Ludwig’s eyes, memories of the many times Feliciano depended on him for a save…but then he remembered the times Feliciano did well just by himself, without his guidance, power and being. He took a defeated sigh, looking down to the floor as he kept a tighten hold of Feliciano’s grasp, letting himself accept, truly trust as he knew he could give to him.

 “When are you thinking of coaxing him as you’re planning?” He was beginning to go along. Feliciano alighted as this sudden chance of command, of the plan being his, one he could be confident in.

 “Three days, it’s enough for him to think that I’ve accepted my prison here, as well as some sort of loyalty to him.”

 How Ludwig hated that, shown in the way he grasped harsher at Feliciano’s arms, ever slightly pulling him much closer to himself.

 “I still won’t let him do anything to me,” Feliciano confided, coming into his lean, into his wrap, into the tightening of Ludwig’s arms.

 “As soon as I have the information, I’ll come for you, I can unlock this door and we can go there together,” he promised, a sureness that Ludwig could easily confide in, swaying, kisses upon their heads, distracted then in their fall against the bed, in their rest, away from any doubts, any insecurities.

  In the coming three days, Feliciano let himself the routine Khaos had placed for him. It was the same pacing and wandering around the room in the mornings. The afternoons Khaos will find his presence, sometimes to just walk around the halls, letting the dark king point and explain all the architectural and artistry details, which in honesty had Feliciano interested and he listened even if the décor of this place was one he would never prefer or try to create. Others they would sit by the throne room or in the study room, Khaos commanding and speaking about whatever sparked his fancy while Feliciano just remained in his faraway spot, glaring and speaking all the battles in his mind. The nights, it was Ludwig, it was times of speaking that they let lost in the last year, it was caresses, it was leans, it was that love of their dreams, needed to recharge, to survive.

 “I love you,” Feliciano had said once again in a fleeing, both at the brinks of dreams. Ludwig had awakened as if the whole room was shaking, having to convince himself for a while that it was real, that he said them, that he could reply his own “I love you”, that he could hold him closer, that he didn’t have to fight with his own self against this, that he could smile and sleep, knowing, trusting.

 The next day, Feliciano would put his plan into play. As expected, he was called to join Khaos in his study room, so he decided to head on wearing one of the robes the dark king had given him. He settled on a tight one with a long soft cape, his form shown uncomfortably so for the eyes of King Khaos. He had to admit that it was beautifully decorated, with symbols, sewn designs, buttons and fabric that were of riches and wealth. This one had slight touches of red, one Khaos had simply thought would look exquisite on the young arising queen, while Feliciano convinced himself that he wore them because of his kingdom, as a form of reminder of his people and what he would do to assure them a future. When he headed down the halls, following behind Angela, the servants starred on surprise to see that Feliciano had accepted to the wear, confiding in a soon join perhaps, but the fierceness that he tried to keep in his eyes made some think otherwise. He was suddenly nervous when they presented themselves before the doors, waiting for Khaos’s approval of entering, having to settle a breathing pattern, to strengthen his goal and belief that he could persevere, focused on the mission and on the limits. The doors departed and Angela could only give him but gazes of comfort, a smile that was enough of a push to bring him inside once again, all for the gaze of the owner of this castle. He was looking over a map of the entirety of the world, of the four kingdoms, his hand with the high presence of a rich glass, filled well with wine that he took constant sips from, refilling on and on, leaving him ongoing in his drink. He smiled, eyes tracing all over his in delight.

 “How gorgeous,” he complimented, not for a moment leaving his gaze as Feliciano moved forward, hips swaying, graceful, eyes focused on the king, but with a spite that he could not hide easily.

 He took his seating, a close one this time, clear enough as to take every detail of Khaos’s own robe, his glass and his surrounding of strange items.

 “Thank you,” Feliciano at least said gently, hands on his laps, trying to keep his inner stability.

 “What made you decide on this?” He finally placed his glass upon the desk, trying to keep his more forceful focus on the arising queen.

 “It was…pretty and I wanted to test it out…it’s really soft,” Feliciano managed a smile, spreading his hands over him tightly, as part of his play but also because he was nervous and he needed to relieve himself somehow.

 “I’m glad, I hope I get to see you in more of my own outfits,”

 “We’ll see,” he smirked.

 Khaos moved slightly closer, taking sitting on his desk, crossing his own legs while his gaze fell obviously on Feliciano’s, and to his working, he began swaying them.

 “A different one each day,” Khaos suggested.

 “You only gave me five,”

 “I’ll have more made, I have many seamstresses.”

 “And they can make all you wish?”

 “Of course.”

 “What about what I wish?”

 It took Khaos by surprise but he was quite accepted to it, leaning to him with quite an interest.

 “What is it that you wish?” He tempted.

 Feliciano wished many things, all of them exploding through his mind, distracting and clenching as if holding from wishing it all. He wished to get out, he wished to be with Ludwig forever, he wished to be crowned, he wished to be the queen his people wanted and needed, he wished to know more of the ace power he recently discovered, he wished Ludwig wouldn’t be affected by a surge that would change him and Feliciano wished he or anyone else could defeat Khaos.

 As he pretended on a smile while they shared a stare, Feliciano  made sure to himself that he would defeat Khaos, that he would see him dead, in honor of all he killed and destroyed, for the other Aces, for Romulus and Augusta.

 Back to the plan, back to the playing.

 “I could…make some designs myself,” Feliciano suggested.

 “Really, what do you have in mind?”

 “Something…powerful, something…seductive and…free,” he practically sang, he lulled, a dreamy haze that he watched proudly as Khaos was caught in. Another lean, closer, he was now right before Feliciano and he knew that from there he had to be careful.

 “I like these ideas,” Khaos smirked.

 “Yet…there needs to be more…I wished I could know more…I wished I could add something to match along with my stay here, to perhaps something of your own magnitude.” Feliciano wore that dashing smile that would have all he wanted swaying and loving, to fall to his belief and his want.

 “I am here to offer it,” Khaos confided.

 “What can you offer?”

 “All the information you need…symbols, spells, power, design, even color, it’s all at my fingertips.” He knew he could omit it surely.

 “It…can’t be so easily conjured like that…”

 “It can, I know everything,”

 “Do you really?”

 “Of course, my mind is a powerful one, it can hold it all,”

 “Can it truly?” Feliciano bit and licked his lips, exalting their glow, their softness, holding down from Khaos angering, from assaulting at such doubts.

 “It can…as well as I can call on it whenever I wish,”

 “How so?”

 Khaos hesitated for a moment, but it was forgotten when Feliciano blinked those big bright brown eyes with shimmering long eyelashes.

 “A library, not just any from your castles or public halls, no, this one, was given to my sister and I by the very universe,” he played out to wonder and Feliciano feigned into it, showing interest as if it was the very first time he was hearing about it.

 “Everything, absolutely everything about the very creation of existence, of magic, every secret, every detail that you didn’t think possible. The universe didn’t leave anything without my knowing,” he smiled proudly, he relished in it, as if the very universe was currently embracing him.

 “It…cannot be real…the Aces, our kings, queens, jacks and people should have held this as well, we…deserved this knowledge,” Feliciano slipped, disobeyed, uttering an inner annoyance.

 “I wasn’t going to accept it.” Sudden darkness, fierce anger, like he was calling upon shadows to strengthen his stature. Feliciano had to hold himself from shivering, trembling, from screaming out a new wish to leave.

 “I don’t believe such things should be handed to just anyone, it’s only right the first ever entity that was created should hold it and decide its wish of it. Perhaps it’s better, perhaps it avoids having the very universe collapse.” He rubbed his hands as if erasing his anger, bringing back his seductive calm, his walk, his circling around Feliciano.

 “Like you wouldn’t do the same,” Feliciano dared once again, but to his surprise, Khaos only smiled, turned to him unperturbed.

 “I have use for this world, Feliciano, I wouldn’t harm it so harshly.” He showed a sadistic smile that Feliciano grew weak to.

 “What could possibly be in there that could help you take such power and control?” Feliciano rolled his eyes, leaning back into the cushion, extending his legs, up and down, the form and movement one Khaos couldn’t ignore, couldn’t avoid the licking of his lips and his approach.

 “I told you…everything,” he whispered with a breath as he leaned, close enough for Feliciano to feel every tingling, every alert.

 “Show me,” Feliciano whispered back, softly and enchanting, daring that closeness that brought their faces inches of clear details. It was beauty that Khaos couldn’t stand, that he wanted, and if meant giving him this for a chance of having him in his grasps, he obeyed.

  Khaos’s room was all the imperialized darkness that Feliciano was expecting, a largeness, an intimidation that seemed to hide openings to more than whatever Feliciano’s mind could extend of what this place was. Luxury, richness, only the best, only the outmost beauty, Khaos smiled, knowing that Feliciano would make a nice addition when the time came. For now the arising Queen kept his space as Khaos reached a large empty wall, with nothing but the usual dark curtains that framed every area. He extended his arm, he chanted words of his language that Feliciano did his best to remember well, along with his movements, along with the design of lights that appeared until a single line appeared, the one that Khaos pulled until a new dark space opened for him. He smiled in finality, like everything was already cleared while Feliciano was still finding some kind of hint of what he wanted to see.

 “Come,” he offered his arm for Feliciano to take, but he refused, instead just offering closeness, with a nod and a smile that was enough for Khaos to start the embark that he followed.

 Much like the descend of the ruins where Augusta’s relics were kept at the bottom of the Clubian castle, it was a dark tunnel of nothingness, steps that went deeper down, the only sound being the echo of the steps they took. Even if he was with Khaos, Feliciano felt deeply alone, craving for a hold, one he knew that Khaos could give, but he rather not, in this moment he rather depend on himself, a show he did by wrapping his own arms around himself as he felt the air become more humid. It was not the kind of air he expected, especially from a library. Intricate columns soon carved the space, a turn around that welcomed them into the official entrance. It was smaller than what Feliciano was expecting, a squared space that he could walk around in a small instant, but it did pile high, the bottom cushioned quite well, homey and inviting. Feliciano honestly did not seem to mind the thought of having a nice cup of coffee here, especially since it wasn’t so foreboding with the various colors that decorated. Its heights ended at a top light at the ceiling, surely from the white of the snow outside, helping in illuminating along with the torches that lite the books that reigned down, ancient, old, seeming to shine with the most precious jewels or even stars.

 Feliciano did not expect to actually be wondered by it, nearing, the first book he spot being one that explained all kinds of Ace symbols, their meaning, power and why were they imprinted on an Ace. Feliciano had to hold himself from taking it out of its shelf, as Khaos obviously kept a sharp eye on him, instead letting his eyes swim across all kinds of topics. How the passing of spirits worked after death, how to control the very seasons, how to time manipulate, how to create life, even how to reestablish a world that has gone through ultimate destruction. All excellent things, but not exactly what he should be looking for, what he should take.

 “Like I said, everything,” Khaos made clear once again, pointing to even the ones at the very top. He surprisingly let Feliciano in his wandering, feigning impression and curiosity, hiding his determination to find what he was looking for. He tried to keep his exaltation when he found one of powers that passed by generation, remembering well where it was located before he found another one explaining all kinds of bursts that could occur during a universal alignment. There was a volume of four books, Feliciano seeing that it was written by Pisa herself, for all kinds of powers Aces held and their explanations. There was another collection of books about universal power, the largest of the hand of creation, another of dark curses, surely for what Ludwig held. Truly everything was here as Khaos had said…and as Augusta had said.

 He had one part, he knew where it was, it was a matter of looking for an escape, of running, of heading out. The expectation, that coming glow was enough to alight him in a shine, one Khaos found irresistible, that brought him close, an extending of arms, in a reach, knowing what it wanted and how to grasp. Feliciano felt him loomed, moving just in time, in a quick swift, trying to pretend that he was interested in the red scale of a book that had to do with the creation of all the animals and creatures. Feliciano kept smiling to him as if to show no wrongness, his usual innocence that didn’t beg for explanation and thus Khaos fell into, not asking.

 “This is truly wonderful,” Feliciano complimented, with honest awe, moving away, finding whatever book in the furthest reach to keep finding his escape.

 “I’m glad for your fancy, have you seen enough?” He still had other plans and at least he had shown him what he wanted, hoping as a form of coaxing for a soon opening.

 “More than enough, thank you so much,” he had some decency to at least tell him, the only time he brought himself closer willingly.

 Khaos smiled, coming close to his own reach expecting, but as quickly did Feliciano move and turned towards the exit, with smiles of normalcy that would be compliant to whatever new turn Khaos would bring them into. Khaos still craved for that chance, still knew it would appear sometime and thus he was calm, he accepted, he moved along. The darkening clutches would soon wrap themselves around the arising queen’s figure and he would soon enjoy every grasp for himself.

[arplis]

Arplis - News: Great lounge and service: a review of Swiss Air Lines’ business class on the 777

During the COVID-19 crisis, our team has temporarily ceased taking review trips and we are not publishing new flight or hotel reviews. While bringing our readers unbiased, detailed reviews of travel experiences is one of our core missions, now is not the time. We all love to travel and know you do too. So, to help keep you entertained — and maybe inspire you — we are republishing a selection of our most popular reviews from 2019 and 2020, including the one below. Hopefully, this will help you once we’re all ready to start booking trips again. TPG Rating 84 100 Pros Generous award space, a great business-class lounge and fast, friendly service. Cons Disappointing IFE and amenity kits, and the seat is tight around the legs and head. 8 Ground Experience 23 Cabin + Seat 11 Amenities + IFE 20 Food + Beverage 22 Service Last spring, I was assigned to check out the opening of the new Jewel at Changi airport in Singapore. There was only one problem: I was scheduled to be wrapping up a trip to Europe at that time. I decided to make Singapore a stop on my way home from London to Shanghai. Since I needed to travel on a fixed date, I looked for award space on Swiss’s 777-300ER which I’d been wanting to fly for years. I find the carrier to be one of the more generous around when it comes to business-class award space on many routes, and sure enough there was a seat available on the exact flight I needed. So was Swiss worth it? Read on to find out. In This Post Booking The cloud of United’s recent switch to dynamic award pricing has one silver lining: It serves as a reminder that the real value tends to lie in partner programs based outside the US. For this Star Alliance business-class award between Europe and South Asia, we had plenty of options to book, including the following programs: Air Canada (Aeroplan): 75,000 miles Avianca LifeMiles: 78,000 miles Singapore KrisFlyer: 92,000 miles United MileagePlus: 100,000 miles We opted to book via Aeroplan, paying 75,000 miles and about $300 in taxes and fees. Aeroplan is a great way to book Star Alliance awards, as it still maintains an award chart and is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, meaning that you could get close to earning the amount of miles needed for this 12+ hour flight just by signing up for a card like The Platinum Card® from American Express, which is currently offering a welcome bonus of 60,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first three months of card membership. Although Aeroplan typically charges more reasonable taxes and fees on Swiss award tickets (closer to $50), I’d be on the hook for the high UK Air Passenger Duty since my ticket was originating in London.  Ground Experience TPG Rating 8/10 HB-JNF Tail 2.8yr Age 22:45 Departure 12h 10m Duration I started my morning at London City Airport (LCY) for the quick hop over to Zurich on an ERJ190. Intra-Europe business class usually consists of regular economy seats with an empty seat blocked off next to you. Upon landing, I headed for the E concourse, which is where most of the long-haul flights at Zurich depart, and where Swiss’ newest and nicest business-class lounge is located. Swiss actually has three lounges in this area — a first-class lounge, a Senator lounge and a business-class lounge. Since I don’t have any Star Alliance elite status, I was only able to use the business-class lounge. Star Alliance Gold elites and passengers traveling in Star Alliance first class (not on Swiss) can access the Senator lounge. Both the business and Senator lounges are located in the same area, one level up from the main concourse. The elevator doors opened to a large Breitling display, and I made a mental note of the time change for when I landed in Singapore. After handing my boarding pass to the agent at the desk I was pointed left to the business-class lounge. In order to use the Wi-Fi, you need to get a unique password from the desk, so I ended up having to come back out. This is very clearly signed inside the lounge, but there’s nothing by the entrance to explain this. The lounge itself featured a similar design aesthetic to the Swiss cabins — a lot of wood, and neutral colors with the occasional splash of red. The lounge was more or less deserted when I arrived around 1 pm, and it wouldn’t begin to fill up until evening. Even then, I never saw more than 50 passengers in the entire space and there was always plenty of seating. I decided to grab some lunch so I could settle in and get some work done during my ~10-hour layover. There was a salad bar with plenty of toppings but not enough base greens in my opinion (unless your ideal salad is corn+olives+dressing). I ended up opting for the live cooking station, which seemed to only have one option for lunch, a fried-fish fillet with a mustard sauce and some lemony potatoes. The food was delicious, though a bit heavier than what I was in the mood for. I would’ve liked more choices, but the fish was good. I ended up succumbing to the dessert bar and indulging in a few pieces of carrot cake. The lounge had a fairly well stocked self-serve bar … … as well as a number of wine/water/soft drink fridges scattered throughout. There was also a massive coffee and tea station. Thankfully, a server stopped me from trying to make a full glass of macchiato in a tiny mug. By far the best amenity of the lounge was the view from the outdoor terrace. The parade of long-haul aircraft arriving and departing under my nose made for some easy entertainment. The lounge even has free binoculars set up every 10 feet or so along the terrace, great for scoping out the planes on the far side of the airport or the Swiss Alps in the distance. And while we’re on the topic of views, this is about as good as it gets looking out from a bathroom. It was dark by the time my 10:45 pm flight began boarding, but during the day I got to watch plenty of Swiss 777-300ERs arriving and departing, stoking my anticipation. The lounge also featured a number of private daybeds for relaxing, though the room had the same floor-to-ceiling windows as the rest of the lounge. If you’re a light sleeper, you might want to bring an eye mask. There was also a business station with a number of computers. Despite the limited food options, this still ranks as one of my all-time favorite business-class lounges. The space was sleek without being ostentatious, the views were unbeatable, and I was able to pass a 10-hour layover without going stir-crazy. Cabin and Seat TPG Rating 23/25 1-2-2 Configuration 20.5 Width 2 Lavs Business class aboard Swiss’ 777-300ERs features about five different seat configurations, as the cabin alternates between a 1-2-2 and a 2-2-1 configuration. This means every row has one so-called “throne” seat alone by the windows, two seats in the middle, and a pair of seats on the other side of the plane. While these “throne” seats provide the most privacy and storage space, they cost about ~$200 to select in advance. Swiss Miles & More HON Circle and Senator elites can select them for free, and you may be able to select them online 24-48 hours before your flight. If you can’t get one of the most desirable seats, the next-best option is the seats in the center section. They alternate between being closer to the aisle and closer to the center, so if you’re traveling alone, you’ll want to aim for seat G in rows 5/6/8/10/12/15/17 and seat D in rows 4/7/9/11/14/16 (there’s no row 13 so it’s not as simple as picking even rows or odd rows). Couples or families traveling together should select any of the pairs — with the center section being the first choice — since you won’t need to climb over your sleeping companion when you need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Our flight boarded on time through gate E52, which had the same sleek wooden design as the lounge and seats. First- and business-class passengers were invited to board at the same time, as well as HON circle elites. I caught a quick glimpse of our 777 before making my way on board. I was struck immediately by the beautiful designs in the galley/entryway, something a lot of airlines overlook. To the left of door L2 was a mini business-class cabin consisting of two rows of seats, with Swiss’ exclusive first-class cabin in front of it. I turned to the right to head into the main business class cabin, which consisted of 52 seats spread across 11 rows. I’d had a lot of trouble selecting my seat online. No matter how many times I tried to change it, the Swiss website kept reverting me to seat 8A. I really didn’t want a window seat where I’d have to climb over someone to use the bathroom on a 12-hour flight, but I couldn’t seem to get it to change my assignment. When I asked in the lounge, the agent told me that certain seats were on a gate hold and she couldn’t override it, but she wrote down the numbers of available seats so I could ask at the gate. I ended up in seat 14D, one of the center section seats that was less exposed to the aisle. On the right side of the seat was a small wooden panel with a reading light and a bottle of water next to it. There was also a button at the top, which released the tray table. This doubled as a privacy divider if you didn’t know the person traveling next to you. This is also where the preset seat controls where located, and right next to them was a compartment with more specific seat controls and the IFE remote. On the opposite side of the seat, no matter which configuration you were sitting in, was a two-story storage compartment. This was perfect for smaller items like a phone or wallet, and for bigger items like my headphone case, passport holder, and inflight menu. The amount of storage is one of the biggest advantages of this seat configuration. There was a small walkway of sorts separating the seat from the aisle, with a compartment to store your shoes during the flight. This was also where the outlet and USB plug were located, meaning they were safely out of the way if you wanted to recline your seat. The biggest drawback to this relatively common staggered configuration is that you have to fit your feet into a small footwell when it’s time to sleep. I’m only 5 feet 7 inches and didn’t find it to be too bad, but I thought that the seat was tight around the head area when fully reclined. Another annoying aspect of the seat is the shoulder harness seatbelt that’s used, which is uncomfortable to wear normally and also to sleep on. Overall I found the seat to be in great condition and the cabin finishes sleek and welcoming. Swiss’ 777 fleet is incredibly young — our bird was less than three years old — which certainly helps. Even with almost every seat taken in the cabin, I felt like I had plenty of privacy and I was able to sleep for eight hours, close to my personal record on a plane. Amenities and IFE TPG Rating 11/15 15in Screen No Live TV No Tailcam Waiting at each seat on boarding were a pair of headphones, a water bottle, a pillow and a blanket. The pillow was a little softer than I would’ve liked, but the blanket was the perfect weight both for lounging and for sleeping. The amenity kit was by Victorinox and was really basic, with a toothbrush, eye mask, socks, chapstick, ear plugs, and nothing else. There were a few tubes of single use face cream in the bathroom, but this is definitely one area where Swiss could improve. The 15-inch IFE monitor had a crisp and responsive display and another small storage compartment beneath it if you wanted to protect your valuables. The selection left a lot to be desired and I struggled to find something to watch. The TV options were especially bad, with none of the classic sitcoms you can usually expect to find on even the most mediocre airlines. I ended up watching “The Social Network” with dinner and relying on downloaded content on my phone for the rest of the time. Food and Beverage TPG Rating 20/25 2 Meals Duval Leroy Brut Champagne No Dine on Demand The very second that the captain announced that boarding was complete, the flight attendants came down the aisles with trays of pre-departure beverages. I selected a glass of champagne — Duval Leroy Brut in business class. We were also given dinner menus and cards to fill out with our breakfast selections, with the two pieces conveniently held together by a pen. I know other airlines offer this option of preordering your breakfast and letting the flight attendants know if you’d like to sleep or be awakened, but this was my first time experiencing it. The system worked exactly as intended, with the FAs letting me sleep until about 80 minutes before landing, then serving me breakfast without having to waste time taking an order. Dinner service began about an hour and 15 minutes into the flight, starting with drinks. The drink cart was followed by a second cart with appetizers and table settings. Rather than preordering your appetizer, you simply picked as the cart rolled by. I selected the Hiramasa kingfish with guacamole and soy vinaigrette, which was served with a side salad and a cheese plate. I was also offered a selection from the breadbasket, and the flight attendant insisted I should take a second pretzel roll if I really wanted to (yes, I did). The fish tasted very fresh, as did the guacamole even though it was beginning to brown. I liked the little dropper that the sauce was served in, as it let me sauce the fish and not the avocado. The salad and cheese plate were both fairly simple but fine. For my main course I opted for the gnocchi with saffron sauce and asparagus. After my appetizer was cleared, the dish looked a little lonely on a big empty tray, but that’s a small sacrifice to me if it speeds up the meal service on a late-night departure. The pasta itself was the low point of the meal — it was far too chewy and not flavorful enough. The other main course options were veal and cod. Dessert was a chocolate mousse with passionfruit sauce. While the cake itself was rather dry, the sauce added a delicious boost of flavor. Service throughout the meal was attentive, with flight attendants refilling both my Champagne and water proactively. One benefit of this staggered configuration is that it’s easy for the FA to reach over and serve you from the other aisle, so I essentially had two different crew members looking after me. Dinner was done about two hours into our flight, a great pace considering the size of the cabin. It wasn’t a memorable meal by any means, but it got the job done and other than the pasta I didn’t really have any complaints. After an incredible full night of sleep, I woke up to a flight attendant tapping me on the shoulder. We were just over an hour out of Singapore, so I quickly ran to the bathroom to freshen up. By the time I got back, my breakfast tray was sitting on the table next to my seat, exactly as I’d ordered it 11 hours earlier. I had a fruit smoothie and cappuccino, the English breakfast (scrambled eggs with chives, potato rosti and a grilled tomato), a yogurt and a few pastries. The eggs were better than you normally get on a plane and the cappuccino was perfectly made. By the time I woke up, it was clear that most people had already finished eating their breakfasts, but I much preferred the option to maximize sleep. I don’t see any need to wake up for a drawn-out meal service and this breakfast did the trick. I should note that there didn’t seem to be any sort of mid-flight snack menu, one area where I’ve been consistently disappointed on my recent flights. Service TPG Rating 22/25 No Extra Pillows No Turndown Service One hallmark of a great international crew is their ability to effortlessly switch between languages as they move from passenger to passenger and the flight attendant working my aisle was a pro. She smiled at every turn and made sure I always had enough to eat and drink. The crossover service I received from the flight attendant on the other aisle was a nice surprise as well. Carts often make service slower as flight attendants can’t easily reach the galley to get drink refills, but this crew kept my drinks topped up the way I’d expect from a first-class flight. Toward the end of the flight I went to the bathroom and happened to strike up a conversation with the purser. When she learned that I lived in Shanghai, we talked for a good 10 minutes about how she’s been flying there for the last 30 years and watched the city grow from nothing into the global metropolis it is today. This was a wonderful crew and the fact that they were able to make me feel so valued and taken-care-of in a 62-person cabin is impressive. Overall Impression I wasn’t expecting Swiss business class to blow me out of the water like Qatar Airlines’ QSuites did, but I also wasn’t expecting it to sink to the level of something like China Eastern. I found the overall experience very enjoyable. The business-class lounge in Zurich is one of my favorites and although the seat and food are by no means revolutionary, Swiss offers a friendly and comfortable way to get from point A to point B. Given how easy it is to find award space on Swiss, I wouldn’t hesitate to book again. All photos by the author. #FlightReviews #Swiss #S-reviews #Reviews #Asia

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