#if the alternative to someone blocking me is they might feel compelled to tell me to harm myself

[thatswhatsushesaid]

to be honest I am actually rather surprised I don't receive more messages of that nature given, uh, the way I am on this blog

but I am not complaining!!

[mysticalhouseofcards]

✨🔮✨BTS members current energy reading ✨

Kim Namjoon

Current Energy

✨ Seven of Cups reversed ✨ Generally this card reversed can indicate that he is finding clarity and getting back to reality after a period of indulging in fantasies or living in a dream world. He may be finally starting to act decisively and see the correct path for him clearly, having previously felt indecisive or lost. It represents getting a reality check. Alternately, when this Seven of Cups appears reversed it can indicate that he may has a lack of options, choices or opportunities or he may be feeling restricted or trapped in some way.

Hopes and Fears

✨ The Lovers reversed ✨ The Lovers tarot card reversed makes me think that he is afraid of a breakup I can't be sure about the kind of break up but I am feeling is something work related . Whatever it is, makes him feel insecure and that he or the project he is working on will become less whole. Lovers reversed can also indicate a wrong choice being made. The spiritual and mental connection between him and people is lost or blocked. When this card shows up reversed he might not know what to do. Decisions are being made due to earthly desires and needs, much because it is practical, rather than because it makes him happy and fulfilled.

How to Release

✨ Queen of Wands ✨The advices this card has for him are ,to nurture his creative fire and pour his energy into his creative work. Breathe life into it. Take action on his desires. If there is something (or someone!) he wants, it tells him Go for it!Bring enthusiasm into his situation and Inspire + encourage others through his example.The Queen of Wands is the female leader. When this card comes up, it can say: take the lead. Don’t want to lead? Find someone who will.A brave approach is needed now. Be confident!

Future

✨ Two of Swords and Seven of Wands✨A general meaning of the Two of Swords card is representation of a stalemate, truce or being at a crossroads. It indicates that he will be sitting on the fence or struggling to make/ avoiding a difficult, stressful or painful decision. It is the the card of coming face to face with your fears. It can also signify being torn between two loyalties, relationships, situations, offers or people. It represents being caught in the middle of an argument or conflict and trying to mediate between opposing parties. The Two of Swords also represents blocking emotions, being in denial, blindness and an inability or unwillingness to see the truth. The Seven of Wands card tells that whatever the situation/s he'll have to face will be he will standing up for his beliefs and ideas , he'll be able to maintain control and show he is a strong willed person. Lastly this card tells me that his life will give him challenges and a very hectic schedule .

Kim Seokjin

Current Energy

✨ Five of Pentacles reversed ✨ Generally , the Five of Pentacles reversed is a good omen especially if he has been going through a tough time as it represents hardship coming to an end, overcoming adversity or a positive change in circumstances. When everything seemed hopeless, he was able to held on and now he can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It can also signify improvement in relationships, finances or luck. This card can also represent illnesses improving, recovering from problems and being accepted or welcomed back after a period of alienation or isolation. He should be in a much more positive frame of mind, beginning to rebuild his feeling of security and stability and making progress. He may also be finding forgiveness for anyone who may have caused him any kind of issues in the past. The Five of Pentacles reversed can also indicate letting go of people or relationships that were toxic for him as he is starting to focus on the future.

Hopes and Fears

✨ Eight of Pentacles ✨ With this card I'm getting that he works really hard on a project or maybe a new skill that will be useful in the future but he is afraid that all of his hard work will be in vain because of what is happening right now to the world but of course that the same time he hopes that he'll be able to achieve his goals and find success.

How to Release

✨Three of Wands reversed ✨This card can indicate a need to revise his plans. Perhaps his ambitions are a bit too big at this time.Rather than go big, go small is what I'm getting. Micro steps instead of big, bold moves will make more good results.Instead of global, this card favors local. No need to conquer the world. Start closer to home.

Future

✨ Two of Pentacles reversed and Six of Swords reversed✨The Two of Pentacles card reversed can indicate that he will be biting off more than he can chew! He will may be trying to keep too many balls in the air and finding it impossible to maintain the balance between the various areas of his life. This card represents feeling overwhelmed, overextending himself and lack of organisation. It can also signify that he will make some poor choices because he will be under pressure and may be getting himself into more of a mess than need to. The Six of Swords card reversed show me that he might have to face some troubles in the future but I don't feel like it will be something really important! Also this card is talking about delays , so maybe something that he is working on is moving slower than he would like , but I don't feel that this is bad either , some times obstacles and delays can lead us in a greater place from what we already had in mind! Lastly I'm seeing him healing slowly from a past trauma.

Min Yoongi

Current Energy

✨ Six of Pentacles and Queen of Pentacles ✨ The Six of Pentacles card represents gifts, kindness and generosity. Someone in his life may be very generous towards him with gifts or simply generous with their time, knowledge or wisdom. Alternately, he may has so much wealth and prosperity that he is now the one in a position to help others. This card can also indicate sharing, support, charity or donations. He may be feeling a strong sense of community spirit or compelled to help those around him. It is also a card of power and control ,so he may has come in a position of authority or being well-respected by others when . The Six of Pentacles is usually a positive card to get as it can signify equality and fairness and can also symbolise , being valued or being rewarded for hard work. Queen of Pentacles tarot card denotes a down to earth and practical approach to life and situations. It is important for him now to have work/home balance. Queen of pentacles shows me that he takes enjoyment in material pleasures and success at the moment. This is a very nurturing card and tells me that he wants to take care of people around him . Queen of pentacles inspires integrity and warmth and being an abundant partner, and friend.

Hopes and Fears

✨ Page of Pentacles ✨ This card shows me that he is thinking about the future and some long term goals he wants to achieve ! He is hoping that he will be able to catch every opportunity come to him and find success in his goals ,but at the same time I could say that he is a bit stressed about missing possible good opportunities and make the right choices.

How to Release

✨ Five of Swords ✨This card is often associated with a victory through deceit. As advice, this may say: to watch his back , a betrayal is possible.But it can also advise to always use honesty to achieve his goals. In case he is doing something shady, it’s not too late to turn things around.In some cases, the Five of Swords can advise to use craftiness if you wish to score a victory. Examine his options, take charge and be strategic.Be assertive! A competitive mindset is needed. Take a stand and/or take over.

Future

✨ The Lovers ✨ Generally the Lovers signifies perfect union, harmony, love and attraction. The Lovers can represent finding the balance within oneself. He will learn to understand hiself, his own personal moral code and what he values in life. This will bring harmony and balance to his life. He will have major choices to make or face with a dilemma. He may will be feeling uncertain about situations, people in his life or what direction he should take. These will be important decisions he will have to face . He shouldn't automatically go for the easy road, he'll have to make sure he'll have all the information and make the right decision. Even if it seems like a difficult path, it will lead him on to greater things.

Jung Hoseok

Current Energy

✨ Six of Cups ✨ Generally, the Six of Cups card represent nostalgia, childhood memories and focusing on the past. He may be being influenced by past events, reminiscing about the past or thinking about someone from his past. It can signify simplicity, playfulness, innocence, goodwill and sharing. It can also represent protection and family. If has been going through a tough time, the Six of Cups may be telling to take the support available to him from family and close friends. When the Six of Cups appearance can also indicate that he is being childish or immature.

Hopes and Fears

✨Six of Wands and Seven of Cups ✨In general context, the Six of Wands here represents the hope he has for success, victory, winning, triumph, achievement and having the advantage. It also signifies that he likes and hopes for praise, acclaim, awards, recognition, applause. It is a card of fame, celebrity, fans, well-wishers, supporters, crowds and being in the spotlight. It indicates that he hopes to be a leader, confident and proud with high self-esteem. It is a card that means that he hopes to have strength and stability and can also represent successful campaigns and winning battles against himself or others. With the Seven of Cups card I'm getting that he is afraid of losing important opportunities and make the wrong decision about important matters and stressed of the amount of things he has to take care of.

How to Release

​✨Five of Cups reversed ✨ This card advises him to be kind to himself and take baby steps. He is moving forward but may still have a bit of healing work undone.Change is favored. Embrace the new, even if it seems scary. It’s brighter than what he imagine.If he is struggling with emotions or dependency, he doesn't have to go alone ,help is right under his nose.

Future

✨Six of Pentacles ✨ This card represents gifts, kindness and generosity. Someone in his life may will be very generous towards him with gifts or simply generous with their time, knowledge or wisdom. Alternately, he will may has so much wealth and prosperity that he will be the one in a position to help others. This card can also indicate sharing, support, charity or donations. He may will be feeling a strong sense of community spirit or compelled to help those around him. It is also a card of power and control ,so he may will come in a position of authority or being well-respected by others when . The Six of Pentacles is usually a positive card to get as it can signify equality and fairness and can also symbolise , being valued or being rewarded for hard work.

Park Jimin

Current Energy

✨The Chariot reversed and Seven of Cups✨The Chariot card reversed can indicate that he feels powerless and is lacking direction. He needs to take control of his own destiny and not let outside forces determine his path. When The Chariot reversed he is still moving but he has let go of the reins.He has to focus and take control back! He has to consider what aspects of his current situation are within his control and take proactive steps to change his fate.This may be leading to anger, frustration and uncontrolled aggression. If the people in his life are being too needy and demanding him , he needs to take back his power in a productive way. Also he has to be clear about what time or resources he is prepared to dedicate to others ,set boundaries and stick to them. Seven of Cups card represents having lots of options to choose from or multiple possibilities open to him. It can be an indication that he has so many choices or so many things going on at once that he may be overwhelmed or unable to focus properly. He needs to limit the amount of things he's taking on to a manageable amount. There is no point in agreeing to do things if he can’t give them the time and attention they deserve. He has to try to be realistic about what he can commit to. Also, it indicates that he needs to make a decision in his life and realistically look at where he is ,take proactive steps to make his situation better rather than fantasising about how he wants it to be.

Hopes and Fears

✨King of Pentacles ✨King of pentacles card tells me that he hopes for success in business stuff by being an expert in his field. It is a very ambitious and career-oriented card! But it seems like he is afraid of losing control and power, as well as security and a stable home.

How to Release

✨ Two of Pentacles reversed ✨Things have spun out of control !Seek balance is the advice of this card to him and don’t try to do it all alone.

Future

✨ Page of Swords ✨ He will be full of energy, passion and enthusiasm. He will be bursting with new ideas and plans for the future. He may will be excited about starting a new project, pursuing a new approach or learning something new. He'll have so much energy that he will feel as though he could do almost anything and he can! The challenge, however, is whether he will be able to keep it up. As with all Pages, the beginning always looks promising, but he will need something else to follow through and keep up the pace.

Kim Taehyung

Current Energy

✨ The Chariot reversed and Temperance ✨The Chariot card reversed like Jimin's case can indicate that he feels powerless and is lacking direction. He needs to take control of his own destiny and not let outside forces determine his path. When The Chariot reversed he is still moving but he has let go of the reins.He has to focus and take control back! He has to consider what aspects of his current situation are within his control and take proactive steps to change his fate.This may be leading to anger, frustration and uncontrolled aggression. If the people in his life are being too needy and demanding him , he needs to take back his power in a productive way. Also he has to be clear about what time or resources he is prepared to dedicate to others ,set boundaries and stick to them. In general, the Temperance card signifies balance, peace, patience and moderation. This card indicates that he has found his inner calm and has a good perspective on things. Temperance can also signify that he has found peace and tranquillity and he is feeling content. Temperance indicates that he is truly in touch with who he is inside, what he values and his own moral compass and he is finding it easier to figure out his aspirations and set goals for himself. Lastly it seems like he is trying to get out of the energy the Chariot reversed card has and not allow hiyself to be dragged into other people’s conflict or to let minor issues knock him off balance. Instead he is trying to adapt to the situations with a clear mind and calm heart and keep his balance.

Hopes and Fears

✨Ace of Wands ✨He is hoping for good news and new beginnings and him being able to take action, physically starting something, finding new passion, enthusiasm or spark but at the same time he is afraid that those things want come to him .

How to Release

✨ Five of Cups ✨He might has suffered a loss, grieve. This card advises him to go through the process, even though it may feel uncomfortable. Face his loss full on because by dealing with it directly, he begins the process of healing.Don’t cry over spilt milk.If he has been stuck in regret mode, he won’t be able to see the new possibilities and says Stop looking back.Put the water under the bridge. Forgive and move on.

Future

✨ The Devil revery✨In a general Devil reversed can signify that he will become aware of the things that have been trapping him and the role he plays in allowing them to. It is a great card for anyone battling an addiction or mental illness or engaging in harmful behaviour as it indicates that he will start to see the light and take back control of himself and his life. He wants to be free from problems and he will start to get the motivation to change his circumstances. It can also indicate that he will get a new perspective on issues that made him feel powerless to change previously. The changes he will want to make may not be easy but they are necessary for him if he wants to have a happy life in the future and will realise what he has to do.

Jeon Jungkook

Current Energy

✨ Queen of Swords ✨Queen of Swords t card denotes tells me that at the moment he is kind of cold, professional and thinks in a smart way. He is trying to be is witty and funny in an intelligent way . At the moment he seems to be single and may have been hurt in love, and is bitter and hurt, but good at covering it up. Staying professional right now is a must for him . And also with this card I'm feeling that is not a good period for him to try new artistic things.

Hopes and Fears

✨ The Lovers ✨ I'm getting that he might be afraid that he won't find his significant other or his match about a work related situation and make wrong choices that won't feel him up emotionally and generally.

How to Release

✨ The Hanged Man ✨The Hanged Man advises to wait ,put his feet up and chill , let go and allow the Universe to sort things out.This card can also symbolize sacrifice, it may be advising him to do just that: make a sacrifice. Surrender to the situation ,stop struggling. Give up and trust that things will work out as need be.

Future

✨ Eight of Swords and Four of Cups reversed ✨

In general , the Eight of Swords tells me that he will be feeling trapped, confined, restricted or backed into a corner or having his hands tied. It signifies fear, terror, anxiety and psychological issues. It is a card of hopelessness, helplessness, powerlessness, slavery, persecution and being silenced or censored. He will be feeling the pressure when this appears and may be in crisis or going through a dilemma or drama. However, the overall theme of this card is that he will be the one keeping yourself in this situation through negative thinking and allowing himself to be paralysed by fear. This card also represents consequences and judgement which may take the form of trial by jury, imprisonment and punishment ! The Four of Cups reversed though tells me that this situation won't last long. Generally , the Four of Cups card reversed indicates that he will pull himself out of the rut he has been in. While his life may have previously felt stagnant, that will come to an end. The Four of Cups reversed represent leaving regrets, remorse and wishful thinking in the past and focusing on the present and moving forward in a positive direction.

[winterhawk-olympic-bang]

Emotive Writing

Guest Poster: @thepartyresponsible​

Emotive writing is about making people Feel Things. People use this all the time to sell you stuff, but we’re out here giving emotions away for free. Here are a few tips and tricks I’ve found to make people feel the most emotions.

Word choice:

This is the most straightforward part of emotive writing. Your word choices add an extra layer of complexity to your message. You aren’t just telling readers what happened; you’re signaling to them how they should feel. Most writers do this unconsciously, but being deliberate can make it especially effective.

Here’s a non-emotive, just-the-facts sentence: The soldier lifted his weapon and turned toward the enemy.

Here’s the same sentence reworked to make you care a bit more: The exhausted soldier raised his broken shield and faced the invading army.

The actions here are fundamentally the same, but exhausted and broken invoke sympathy while invading skews negative.

The words you choose are sign posts for the reader. They indicate how to interpret the story and help your readers orient themselves and form expectations. Subtly building expectation is important because, while surprise can be effective, shock is generally numbing and confusion tends to be irritating, so word choice helps you frame things and guide your reader along.

One of the keys here is to attempt some subtlety. If every sentence about your protagonist reads like an ad campaign (effervescent, brilliant, impervious) and every sentence about your antagonist reads like a political diatribe (cruel, spineless, malicious), you’re probably overusing your sign posts. People want to know who to root for, but too much emotive language can make them feel manipulated.

Think of word choice like adding spices to food. If you put oats in boiling water, you’re making oatmeal, and the spices you use won’t change that. But if you throw in some honey and cinnamon, I know we’re headed somewhere wholesome. If you sprinkle in little discordant notes of garlic powder and cayenne, what we’re cooking is a tragedy. And if you upend an entire bottle of cinnamon, a quarter cup of nutmeg, and toss in seventeen whole cloves, I am not staying for breakfast.

Narrative distance:

Narrative or psychic distance is the space between the reader and the character, usually navigated by the intermediary figure of the narrator. Your narrator can be an omniscient figure that knows the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of every character in the world. Or your narrator could be sitting on the shoulder of your main character, close enough to hear their thoughts and know their story but not so close that they speak with the character’s voice. Or your narrator could be your character.

If you want to ramp up emotion, you usually want a narrator who is very close to one character (or, alternatively, to separate characters in turn). But you don’t have to stay at one distance for the whole story, and, just like word choice, shifts in narrative distance can be helpful indicators to your reader about the story and the characters.

A sudden, dramatic shift in narrative distance is quite jarring, like a sudden zoom-in during a movie. It can be effective, but it’ll lose its punch if it’s overused. Generally, if you want to shift narrative distance, you should build to it slowly. Here’s an example of shifting from a distant third person to a closer third person:

They wake the Soldier because the archer is missing. He has a habit of slipping his lead, disappearing post-mission. The chase grew tedious years ago, but the Soldier runs it just the same. He’ll do as he’s told. But it bothers him, when he lets it. The why.

Why does he do this? the Soldier wonders, when he shouldn’t, when it isn’t his place. Where is he going? he thinks, when he can’t stop himself. Who is he running to? But he tries to think nothing at all.

Another trick of narrative distance is to suddenly pull back to show a character who’s been compromised, shocked, or deeply hurt by something. Imagine spending a long time in a close Bucky perspective, hearing his thoughts, and then being abruptly walloped across the face with: The machine went quiet, and the Soldier opened his eyes. Zooming out can emphasize what’s been lost. Because you aren’t just taking the soul of Bucky Barnes right out of him, you’re also taking that closeness away from the reader. You’re silencing the voice they’ve been listening to.

Whether you zoom in or out during highly emotional moments depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and also on who’s involved.  Some characters have loud, messy emotions that will get louder when they’re hurt. Some characters will freeze over and push a narrator further away. You can use narrative distance to show a character slowly opening up or suddenly slamming a door. But you need the reader to have a solid understanding of the character in order to follow what the shift means, which leads to the next component.

Know your characters:

So, here’s the thing. You gotta Velveteen Rabbit this. Every character is Tinker Bell. If you stop believing, they die.

If you want people to care about these characters, you have to treat them like living, breathing, fully feeling people. They have favorite colors. They have phobias. They have Friday night plans and blisters from new shoes and sesame seeds stuck in their teeth. They have superstitions and secrets. You don’t need to know all of these facts, but you should try to give the impression that someone could know them. The more real your characters are, the more we’re going to care about them.

Since this is fanfiction, you start with a receptive audience. Your readers are fond of these characters. Figure out why. Figure out which parts of the character you can relate to and dig in until you feel like you can understand the parts of them you can’t relate to.

Try to collect things that make you feel close to that character. I always have music playing when I’m writing, so I make playlists for characters and playlists for stories. If I feel like I’m losing a character, I’ll go back to their playlist. But you could also use Pinterest boards, reread favorite fics or comics, rewatch movies or fanvids, or spend an unreasonable amount of time researching bows and tactical knives. Whatever works!

Also, remember, your characters don’t know what story they’re in. They don’t know it’s going to end well (or terribly). Maintain that tension, because that’s where the emotions are. When you watch a good horror movie, you’re not really scared of the monster. You’re scared for the characters, because they don’t know if they’re going to survive.

Emotions come from the characters. That’s why it’s still sad that Tony Stark dies, no matter how many times you watch it happen. Tony Stark was brave and flawed and usually right and often sarcastic, and it hurts to watch him die because that’s a full, unique human we’re losing. We know him well enough to know he’s choosing to sacrifice himself and why he made that choice and who will mourn him.

Know your characters, and let them be messy and weird and wrong and hopeful and cantankerous and unique. Fear is relatable, flaws are relatable, and awkward, ungainly, stubborn progress is relatable. Just remember what it is that makes their progress their progress because, if you can swap Dominic Toretto in for Ted Lasso and have the exact same story, you’ve probably lost your characters.

Plan your emotional trajectory:

Okay, time to get a bit technical. This is for people who like to plan. For those terrifying, godlike writers who just sit down and write, this might not be helpful. For my fellow planners:

There’s a theory (which you can get a general overview about here or, if you’re very into data, right here) that there are six core emotional trajectories in narratives:

1)      Rags to riches (rise)

2)      Riches to rags (fall)

3)      Man in a hole (fall then rise)

4)      Icarus (rise then fall)

5)      Cinderella (rise then fall then rise)

6)      Oedipus (fall then rise then fall)

Since rise and fall can mean different things, I find it helpful to combine these building blocks with emotional axes, which you can find some examples of here.

So, basically, for my winterhawk baseball au Got a Heart in Me, I Swear, I planned to follow the “man in a hole” trajectory (fall then rise) along the anxiety-confidence emotional axis with some bleedover from the humiliation-pride axis. Which basically means Clint started comfortable enough, nosedived deep into anxiety and humiliation, and then slowly built his way to confidence over the rest of the fic.

If the listed axes don’t appeal to you, you can very easily create your own. Just think of an emotion, identify what links it to its inverse, and then list the related emotions between the two opposites. Disgust and adoration are opposites, but they’re linked by attention, right? You can’t ignore something you find disgusting or adorable. So, here’s an example emotional axis you could follow: Disgust – Resentment – Obsession – Fascination – Reverence – Adoration. Enemies to lovers, anyone?

Emotional axes help provide a natural framework for your character’s emotional trajectory. They can be subtle; you don’t have to start on one end of the spectrum and go all the way to the other. A story that moves just a step or two on an emotional axis can be incredibly compelling. That small progress from discomfort to hope can hit really hard if the progress feels fought-for and earned and real.

Tips for writing emotions:

·         Get physical: If you want to show an emotion instead of telling it, describe its impacts on the body. Most characters won’t think I’m embarrassed. They’ll feel a drop in their stomach like someone cut the elevator cables and a hot stinging in their face like they’ve been slapped by some disappointed version of themselves. The more visceral your descriptions, the more the reader will feel them. If you want your reader to feast on feelings, you have to set the table.

·         Dramatic zoom: When something very intense happens, shift the narrative distance. In or out is fine, but a sudden, dramatic event should result in a sudden, dramatic change in focus. Characters might hyperfocus on their physical bodies (the mechanics of breathing, the ringing in their ears, the mad animal urge toward flight) or they might be kicked so far out of their own heads that they feel like they’re dreaming or watching the scene play out from overhead. This distance is useful for two reasons: it feels real, and it allows readers to absorb the situation in pieces, without being overwhelmed by it.

·         Unreliable narrator: Some emotions can be so charged that people don’t want to own them, like grief, shame, jealousy, rage, lust, and guilt. Characters might unconsciously misrepresent these to themselves as something else. A grieving mother might insist she’s tired. A rehabilitated assassin who’s fallen in love with an absolute dork might tell himself he’s just tracking a target. Everyone knows what it’s like to lie to themselves, so this makes characters relatable. And, also, everyone likes being in on a secret, so, sometimes, this is just fun.

·         Face the monsters: We’re often conditioned not to dwell on unpleasant things, which is part of why it can be powerful to examine them in stories. From small things like inglorious emotional states (envy, cowardice, resentment) to character flaws (recklessness, withdrawal, arrogance) to personal tragedies (loss, betrayal, abandonment), the negative parts of human emotional life pack quite a punch. Acknowledge them. Not only are they relatable experiences, but redemption and recovery arcs are some of the most compelling stories we have.

[divinaes-bookofsecrets]

Hello, I just found your tumblr!

I would discover my spirit guide.

My initials are MN, I'm a Libra, born on 9/30/2001

Thank youu❤

Hello MN, appreciate you checking in with your spirit guide through this Shamanic Healing Journey experience that I provide. if you could tip me at my business PayPal here that would be greatly appreciated

Thats a list of my services in case your interested in something else after this which I've chose to do BONUS for free because I'd like to promote my page again ! so if you could help out by SHARING this post too that would be great !!

also to anybody else reading this, yes, I do FREE Readings but you must tip this one request is an exception. (see price list above if you are interested in paying for your reading )

So, MN, You travel daily with several spiritual guardians by your side at all times but the one that I would like to bring up to you today is one of your MAJOR GUIDES and has been with you since birth, and is not just in and out of your life for life lessons.

Your Spirit Guide that I feel is important to tell you about is a tiger on the astral realm and his name is Zuri. His name is of African decent and he's most likely if you go meet him on the Astral, you may notice the African accent in his voice.

Zuri lives, like I said in an Astral domain. His cave by the river is in The Deep Forest.

The Deep Forest is home to the greatest of all trees. It is a realm of thick and feral vegetation, as well as a rich and diverse wildlife. Dense and majestic canopies almost entirely blocked sunlight from reaching the ground below.

The entire place was claimed by nature. There are no artificial buildings anywhere in the Deep Forest.

This is an actual photo of your real live Spirit Guide, Zuri !! (:

Why is this Spirit Guide in your life ?

the following photos will explain then ill give you the messages that were intended for you. it will make sense and go with the advice portion of this Shamanic Healing Journey Experience you've requested

🌾🐯🌺Zuri has several messages related to your life. Firstly , this is what was meant to get across to you about your karma. Next will be some advice .

"With North Node opposition the Ascendant Your personality can often clash with social norms making you unpopular. Although you're personally detached from prevailing social trends, you're able to view them at work in an objective manner, thereby understanding how to relate to and take advantage of them. Your strong individualism doesn't make you popular. At times, your seriousness can make others feel uneasy, especially in social situations. You tend to be somewhat short and paunchy and may have peculiar speech in some way."

Zuri says "Your karmic path is not aligned with your identity and ego, which stops your personality to grow and evolve. You may feel like an outsider or that many people are against you. Your ego may be strong or rigid and this aspect is trying to cause problems in order for you to be more flexible and modify and change your behavior and identity. The best way to deal with this aspect is to be more open minded when it comes to alternative perspectives, opinions or viewpoints especially when it revolves around how you act with others."

ADVICE FROM ZURI: 🌻🦁🌻

An opportunity to travel in the next few months may come to you this week. At this point though, Libra, it may be just an idea, but it is one that you may be very excited about. You may have felt "stuck" recently, unable to find the interesting diversions you usually seek out. Enjoy your time planning for a future trip by doing all the research you can. You may have a goal of altering your alliance with a business partner or some organization you have been affiliated with. This is not the time to make that move, but it is a good time to contemplate the ramifications and look into other possibilities. You may meet an interesting and compelling person this week, and there may be a temptation to enter into a relationship, whether it is a friendship or a romance. But don't rush in too quickly. There may be more to this person's life than is obvious, and you might not agree with all of it. This could lead to regret. A somewhat self-centered friend may make an effort of yours all about them. Rather than taking it personally, just let them do their thing, and try to find entertainment in it.

An opportunity could arise for you in April that will set your heart aflutter. This may involve the chance to do something you envisioned for a while, but never took seriously for it seemed out of reach. Do not let a self-limiting fear stop you from taking advantage of this, dear Libra, or you might regret it for years to come. Fight your fears and don't overthink it. This is a great time for a retreat from the hectic pace you have been keeping. If you have the chance to get away, even for a little bit, take it. Do something self-indulgent - whatever that might mean to you. You may try doing something you have always wanted to try like horseback riding or anything really. No matter how offbeat, as long as it captures your fancy. Whatever it may be, do it with gusto, and leave your cares behind for a little while. Someone could come to you with a truth you might not want to hear. Don't allow it to affect you because it is not about you. It was not your choice to get involved, so just be supportive as much as you can. You may discover an unusual coincidental connection between yourself and someone you know this month. This could help draw you closer together into an even more enjoyable friendship or romance.

-- Divinae 🏵💮🐯💮🏵

[linskywords]

criminal-minds-fanfiction wrote a bunch of questions for authors that you’re supposed to let people ask you, buuuut I felt like answering all of them instead of doing my actual job this afternoon. 😄 Here we go:

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fanfiction?

Like 25 maybe? I started writing about a year after I started reading it. I had a fanfiction-deprived adolescence, y’all.

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favourite if you write for more than one?

The hockey boys pulled me in years ago and they haven’t let me go. I do sometimes write other things: I almost always participate in Yuletide, and I’ve actually written a bunch of Animorphs fic under a different name (ask me if you want to see it!). Mostly hockey RPF, though.

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

Haha neither. Well, I guess OC’s, if I had to choose -- I don’t read or write reader inserts. But I tend to keep OC’s for original fiction.

4) What is your favourite genre to write for?

I was very confused about fic having genres before I realized this was probably referring to the genre of the canon works. Um...sports. :D

5) If you had to choose a favourite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

Don’t make me choose my favorite child. Um, probably the first wolfverse story -- I don’t know if it’s the best one, but I’m very grateful to it for starting the ‘verse!

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

None of them, if that’s an option. If I really had to choose...probably the Kirk/Spock fic I never finished even after uploading it to AO3 and promising to finish it this time. I still want to finish it!! But it would be the first to go.

7) When is your preferred time to write?

I don’t have a strong preference. Afternoon/evening. I like having multi-hour blocks, and I use the Forest app to keep me off my phone while I do it.

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Plot bunnies come from all over the place: random thoughts, memes, real-life conversations, suggestions from other fandom people. I tend to have a pretty strong “THIS IS A STORY I WANT TO WRITE” response when something grabs me the right way.

9) In your xxx fic, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

Haha this is probably why I’m not supposed to just answer all of these in order. XD I’ll answer for my current WIP: the scene where Geno kisses Sid for the first time. So soft. So angsty. 😈 (My own story has cursed me to love Geno. I am doomed.)

10) In your xxx fic, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

In general: I know how my stories are going to end when they start. Sometimes it does evolve a bit as I write. One thing I’d like to play with is including more of the main characters being together at the end of the story, instead of ending it at the moment when they get together; the latter makes sense from a tension perspective, but I’ve been finding when I read lately that I want more of the happy times at the end, so I’m going to try to move in that direction.

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Only for typos, I think.

12) Who is your favourite character to write for? Why?

Ooooh. Either Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews. There’s something so compelling to me about Patrick’s fanon voice. And every love interest in every original story I try to write is Jonny.

13) Who is your least favourite character to write for? Why?

I...don’t really write about characters I don’t like? I wish Auston Matthews would shave his mustache.

14) How did you come up with the title for the xxx? - You can ask about multiple stories.

About fifty percent of the titles I come up with are desperate scrambles because I’ve got nothing. The other fifty percent I have a perfect song lyric for from the start.

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

I only write OC’s in original fiction, but: I’ve been phonebanking lately, and I’ve been writing down all the good names I come across. The best so far is someone with the last name Quackenboss.

16) How did you come up with the idea for xxx?

MAGIC.

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

Oh...oh no. Um.

“It doesn’t matter what he was thinking about. His knot popped; that’s the important thing.”

Some of you can probably guess what that’s about. :)

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

Mostly on my computer. I have a lot of beginnings of stories I haven’t finished yet; many of them I’ll probably go back to. I tend not to post things until I’m done or close to done with them. (That one Star Trek fic being an exception. Mea culpa.)

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

YES. The 1988 timer one and the 1988 story where Patrick’s a girl who sneaks onto the Blackhawks in disguise. I’d love to do a Bennguin version of both of those.

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

Hm. Some of them I think I rushed a little. More Than I Could Ever Promise, I think it needs a good old-fashioned battle scene in the mountains at the end to really round out the plot.

21) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

Have I mentioned astolat? What, only two or three hundred times? I should mention her again, then. Give me that woman’s ability to plot. Inject it into my veins.

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Haha. I often have slightly cringy moments in my old stories. You Made My Life an Adventure, I definitely didn’t really know what I was doing yet...

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

I usually listen to music.

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

Turned on.

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Yes. The sequel to My Heart Forgets to Beat.

26) Which part of your xxx fic was the hardest to write?

The Sid/Geno wolfverse story I’m working on now is maybe the hardest thing I’ve ever written. The language barrier is such a new challenge for me.

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I don’t formally outline, but I tend to have a sense of the major plot beats. One reason I love writing fic is that the plot and world tend to be straightforward enough for that. I have a lot more trouble doing that with original fiction.

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fanfiction?

This will radically reduce the amount of time I spend writing original fiction.

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Like You Have a Secret I think is less read than some of the others because it’s het, but I really love it. Similarly, some of my stories that are inspired by other works (Tangled, Doctor Who, The Giver) tend to be read less because people think they need to know the source material, when really I deviate from the source material so much it’s not important.

30) In contrast to 29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Huh. Probably not. I’m definitely surprised when some stories take off -- Kinda Narrows It Down I wrote pretty quickly, on a whim, and I was surprised by the extent to which it resonated with people. Turns out lots of people think Tyler was coming out in that tweet. XD

31) Send me a fic recommendation and I’ll post it for my followers to see! (The asker is to send the rec not the answerer)

Ooh. Ignoring the terms of this question, but: I just read this TK/Patty story and loooved it. It’s a different take on werewolves than the one I use in wolfverse, and it’s super compelling:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029188

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

Hahahahahaha. (I mean...less so than you might think.)

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

I absolutely love it when people write screaming flaily responses to my fic. Also anytime anyone says that they’ve been having a tough time and my story was exactly what they needed. Maybe my favorite was the responses to More Than I Could Ever Promise that told me it read like a novel; that meant a lot to me right then.

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

Fandom is amazing; people almost never give me concrit. I did have someone ask once if I randomly chose when to stop writing and just ended my stories there. I was pretty offended, since of course that’s not true at all, but I can see where they were coming from: my stories tend to wrap up after the characters get together, and sometimes there’s a lot of potential story left to tell at that point. But stories have to end sometime.

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I tend to share them! I find other people’s enthusiasm to be strongly motivating, and sometimes people have awesome suggestions I wouldn’t have thought of.

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

Well, I only have the one. XD Sid...is about to have an important conversation with Mario.

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

Ooh, I’m not sure I’m the write person to answer! No idea, really. My recent TK/Patty is probably pretty funny. Or maybe Quality Time, where Patrick doesn’t understand why he keeps losing track of time when he’s cuddling with Jonny. Anything with a super dumb protagonist, probably.

38) If you could collab with any other writer on here, who would it be? (Perhaps this question will inspire some collabs!) If you’re shy, don’t tag the blog, just name it.

Wow, I have no idea. I’ve never really written a story with someone, so I’m not sure how that would work. I want to say astolat again but honestly I’d be too intimidated.

...no, I’m gonna say astolat. Even if I made a fool of myself I think I would learn a ton.

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

Third. For some original stuff I like first person, but third feels right for the hockey boys.

40) Do people know you write fanfiction?

My close friends do. Most of my friends have the vague idea I write fic, but they don’t know my username or anything.

41) What’s you favourite minor character you’ve written?

Patrick Sharp. No question.

42) Song fic - What made you decide to use the song xxx for xxx.

I will legit listen to a new album with a doc open to write down promising lyrics. Titles are HARD, y’all.

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

I think people guessed where the Tangled fic was going. Though I also liked the guesses that it would be about Patrick’s mullet. XD I don’t really mind when people guess twists -- in the kind of story I write, it’s more about the experience of reading it than about surprise!

44) What is the last line you wrote?

“His parents have always been very respectful of any choices Sid’s wanted to make. They haven’t pried into his private life when he’s tried to set boundaries. But they’re wolves, and they know him a lot better than Jordy does. Sid isn’t going to be able to keep it a secret from them what he’s going through.”

...no guarantee it survives in that form. :D

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Getting the story out of my head and into reality! Spoon out that lake, baby.

I also do love the prospect of posting it for people to enjoy and respond to. It’s one of the reasons I find fic so much more rewarding than original fiction, where the timeline to a readership is so much longer.

46) I really loved your xxx fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

Things, probably.

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

This exercise might be going off the rails a bit. (If anyone does want to pose this to me, feel free!)

48) What’s your favourite trope to write?

Ooh. Mutual pining. Friends to lovers. Werewolves. :D

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

The first fic I ever, ever read was a random Kirk/Spock one I found through google, and I was like “OMG IS THIS WHAT AROUSAL FEELS LIKE”

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Oh man. Angst, as long as it can have a happy ending. But it just wouldn’t be the same without the smut.

[xwaywardhuntress]

You’re Not From This World (Part Seven)

Summary: Imagine the boys get sent to an alternate reality again without you, which leaves you stuck with the Winchester look-alikes, Jensen Ackles, and Jared Padalecki.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x reader, Jensen Ackles x alternate world!reader

Warnings: Both worlds POV, Swearing, Internal injuries, Gunshots

Words: 4700+

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. This is fanfiction only. Please do not redistribute my writings on other sites, horrible or not. Thanks!

Author’s Note: Holy Moly, this one is twice as long as the last part. Next part is already pretty long too, which may or may not be the last part, depending on how I split it. Welp, hope y’all enjoy. <3

Catch Up: Part One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six

Arriving at the motel, the moment everyone was through the door of your motel room, you turned around with your hands on your hips. “Alright, convince me otherwise why I shouldn’t send both of your asses back to the bunker this instance?”

Jensen and Jared looked at each other and gulped. Jensen cleared his throat as he took a step toward you. “We’ve technically dealt with a witch before. A real witch.”

“Yeah, yeah. And I shot at her. We’ve got some experience with witches.” Jared added.

The boys were not making a very compelling case for themselves as you let out a sigh and shook your head.

Before you could speak, Jensen jumped in again, “We have an idea of how Dean and Sam think and we’ve played them for basically a decade now. And I know for a fact, Dean wouldn’t have let you leave on your own.”

You rolled your eyes, knowing that the latter part of Jensen’s words were true. Since you first started hunting with the brothers, you hadn’t hunted by yourself in a long time. There was also the fact that there was always some bigger issue to deal with than the usual monster hunts. You sighed as you took a seat at the edge of the bed in the motel room. “You’re right. He wouldn’t. But….” You paused for a moment. “This wasn’t exactly a hunt. I told you guys before, I just have to grab the ingredients from another witch. I don’t plan on killing anybody or fighting anyone..” …Unless it comes down to it. You finished the sentence in your head as you knew there was a slight possibility there could be a confrontation, since it was the mother of the witch you had just killed recently. Jensen and Jared weren’t on the level of need-to-know at the moment.

The two actors continued to try to convince you to let them stay and help as they brought up past witch cases.

In the back of your mind, you already knew that the moment they showed up, they weren’t planning on leaving unless you literally dragged them back to the bunker. You sighed, giving in. “Fine. You both can stay…under a couple of conditions. One, you listen to what I say. You may be able to act like Dean and Sam but I’m the one with the real experience here…”

Both of the boys nodded their head in agreement, internally patting themselves on the back for being able to get you to let them stay.

You continued, “Second, you both are not allowed to go off on your own. No matter what you hear or see. Got it?” You narrowed your eyes at them.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Is there more?” Jared asked.

Getting off the bed, you walked over to your duffel as you grabbed an angel blade and tossed it on the bed in front of them. “Lastly, you’re both going to learn some basic combat and practice shooting better. Just in case.” You grinned at them.

Jensen and Jared looked at each other and gulped. They had a feeling that learning some basic combat from you would be much more intense than what they were used to from the trainers from the show.

- - -

Back in the actor’s world, the older Winchester woke up to the smell of food and sunshine. He grabbed a pillow and placed it over his head. “Why…so bright?” He mumbled underneath the pillow.

“About time you woke up. I ordered you breakfast after Cat insisted, but it’s probably cold now.” Sam shared as he had already been on one of the borrowed laptops researching ways for him and his brother to return back to their world.

Dean squinted one eye as he took the pillow off his face slightly to look at his brother at the table by the sofa bed. “Would you mind?” He asked, referring to the open windows where the sun shined brightly through.

There were two sets of curtains that would cover the window. A lighter set which was see through and then a darker set meant to block out the sun entirely. The younger Winchester gave him one of his infamous bitch faces as he pulled the lighter set of curtains to cover the window. “Some sunlight might still be good for you.”

Dean groaned in the bed as the sunshine was still a little too bright for someone who was just waking up. Eventually he got out of bed, his first stop was the coffee maker in the hotel room. Once he had his cup of coffee in his hand, he made his way over to the table Sam was sitting at already. When he spotted the food on the table, he couldn’t help but grin. “Damn, we need to stay in hotels rather than motels if you get this kind of breakfast all the time.”

“That’s all you’re going to get, Dean. They stopped serving breakfast over 30 minutes ago.” Sam stated.

“Fine by me.” Dean smiled as he forked some eggs and placed it in his mouth. Once the eggs were in his mouth, he made a face. “It’s cold.” He complained but still ate the eggs.

“If you hadn’t slept in, you wouldn’t have missed the food when it was hot and ready.” Sam explained, not having or showing any pity towards his brother.

Dean glared as his brother’s attitude towards him. He grabbed a bacon off his plate and threw it in his mouth. “At least I can count on bacon to be good hot or cold.”

The younger Winchester rolled his eyes at his brother’s comment. “Hurry and finish eating so you can start helping with finding a way to get back home.”

“Okay, mom.” Dean mocked, when he finally realized another body was missing in the room. “Where’s Y/N? I mean Cat?”

“She went to the studio to tell the TV crew and their bosses that Jensen and Jared are still not feeling well enough to work and also to pick up some scripts.” Sam explained.

As if rehearsed, the door to the hotel room jiggled as Cat came quickly walking through. Without even closing the door herself, she spotted both of the brothers awake and at the table, to her relief. When she reached them, she slammed a stack of papers on the only empty area left on the table as she flipped through and stopped at a particular page.

“You okay, Cat?” Sam asked concerned as he stared up at his friend’s doppelganger from this world.  

“Yeah, where’s the fire?” Dean asked looking behind her to play off his question. His plate of food was completely empty now.

Catching her breath, she pointed to a particular word on the page. Both boys looked at her questioningly and then leaned over to view the word. The word was portal. Immediately, Jared turned the stack of papers towards him as Cat took a couple of steps back to sit on the pull out sofa bed that had not been put away yet. She needed to catch her breath from rushing up here.

“What does it say?” Dean asked eagerly as he stood up to close the door she had left open. They didn’t need non-invited guests listening in.

Sam had been reading the page in his head. Once finished, he looked up at his brother, “It’s a spell to create a portal to another dimension.”

“So we found a way to get back to Y/N?” The older Winchester questioned, hope filling his eyes as he sat back down in his seat.

The younger Winchester turned his attention to Cat before answering his brother. “Where did your writers get this?”

“I’m not sure, but it’s a start. Our writers are known to do their research and try to use as authentic as it gets supernatural artifacts and spells.  I just remembered there were some issues before I started the show that Jensen once told me about. Apparently, there were some actual artifacts they used that would cause weird stuff to happen. Eventually the writer’s used what they found in their research as a baseline and would change some things to prevent anything weird from happening again, if what they found was real.” Cat shared, her breathing back to normal.

“So this world does have some supernatural in it.” Sam commented, almost happy about this news.

Cat chuckled, “I guess so.”

Dean looked between his brother and the actress. “So then we have a way home? We can get back to Y/N?”

Sam looked at his brother with a hopeful smile. “I think so. But…” He paused. “We’ll need to see what the spell is based off of. From what Cat said, the spell written in this script was changed from the original, we need to find out where the original spell is written. I have a feeling that an arch angels grace is one of the items they changed to fit the show more.”

“That sounds like a good guess. We can check out the storage room on set. Eric showed me it one time and said they kept any information they found that were used in the show there, just in case they needed to look back at previous research information.”  Cat added.

Dean stood up abruptly, “What are we waiting for? Let’s get going and find the original spell. Then we can click our heels together back to Kansas.”

Sam stood up as well, ready to find the original spell as both boys began walking around the room, gathering what little belongings they had with them.

As great as the plan to find this original spell seemed to be, Cat couldn’t help but think of one problem. “We can’t go till tonight.”

Both boys turned to look at her, but it was Dean who spoke first, “Why not?”

“I told everyone that Jensen and Jared were still not feeling well. Even though they shut down production for the day, there will probably still be crew members there to prepare for tomorrow, just in case the leads, you two, do feel better. We should wait till night to go to make sure you two aren’t seen.” She suggested.

“She’s right.” Sam agreed. “It’ll probably be bad for us to show ourselves when Cat has been telling them that Jensen and Jared are sick enough to not work. For now, we can try to search through the internet if we can find the spell.”

Dean sighed, knowing that his brother and Cat were right. All he wanted was to get back to you as fast as possible.

- - -

Back in the Winchester’s world…

After you gave a once in a lifetime basic training of how to handle an angel blade and got in a few practice shots until you were satisfied with Jensen’s and Jared’s performance, you all went out to a local diner. The three of you grabbed some quick grub as you also explained each ingredient you would be looking for: a fruit from the tree of life, the seal of Solomon, the blood of a most holy man, and an arch angel’s grace. Most of the items, you had an idea of what to look for. The one you were unsure of was the seal of Solomon. However, based on research before the boys showed up, you had narrowed it down to be some sort of pendant. After explaining what you would be looking for to the boys and finishing the food, you all headed out to stake out Remy’s mother’s place.

This time the Impala had been parked at a more inconspicuous location, out of sight from the targeted house. Luckily the neighborhood had one road in and out. All that you had to do was wait for Remy’s mother to leave her house and drive by. From your scouting earlier, you had learned from a male neighbor that the women along the street attended a happy hour bingo event, which just happened to be tonight. You did find it weird that a witch would go to a bingo event, but all witches had some kind of unexpected interest.

As you waited with Jensen and Jared in the impala, you’d thought it would be best to go over the plan one more time with them. “Alright, so what are your roles again?”

“Stay in the car and keep an eye out for the witch’s return.” Jared stated almost too proudly.

“And if she comes back while I’m still in the house?” You asked raising a brow as you looked between both actors.

Jensen groaned, just like Dean would, “Call you to tell you and still stay in the car.  We are not allowed to leave the car.”

“And then if anything really bad happens, we call Cas.” Jared added.

“That’s right!” You smiled at them.

“I don’t get it. If this is ‘not a real hunt’…” He used his fingers to create quotation marks. “…why do you have to sneak in to get the ingredients?” Jensen asked eyeing you.

You rolled your eyes, “Look, like I said earlier, I’m not planning on fighting her or trying to kill her. And to ensure that doesn’t happen, I just won’t make any direct contact with her. Plus, witches always want something in return. I don’t have time to deal with that.”

“Are you sure one of us shouldn’t go with you to help you look for the items? They could be anywhere in the house.” Jared asked.

“I’ll be fine. If this witch is one to play off being normal, she’ll hide her witch belongings all together in one place in the house. I just have to find that one place.” You shared, knowing that you could be wrong.

Before Jensen could get his opinion out, a car’s headlights lit up the road in front of the Impala. Everyone in the car ducked, except you. You peeked through the window as you watched Remy’s mother drive by in the car you had seen earlier parked at the targeted house. Remy’s mother had looked almost exactly like her daughter, except only an older version. Once the car passed by and took a turn at the stop sign behind the car, you got out of the car. Before you closed the door to the Impala, you leaned down and looked between the actors, “You guys know what to do. I’ll be back in a bit.”

After leaving the boys in the car, you broke into the witch’s house easily. The inside of the house was pretty normal looking till you reached the kitchen. There were herbs and containers all spread out around the kitchen counters. It was actually a mess. What really caught your attention as you entered the kitchen was a bright light running vertically in the air. “Alright, don’t know what that is so let’s not touch that.” You spoke to yourself as you began wandering around the kitchen looking for the ingredients.

Conveniently, all the materials you were looking for were grouped together by a bowl near the tear in the air. There was only one thing missing which was a glowing container, which you had seen before as an angel’s grace. Worrying about that one item later, you began to grab the rest of the items that were present. As you grabbed the pendant first, a bright light emitted from the tear in the open space sending you backwards. When the light cleared and you adjusted your eye sight, you saw a figure standing in front of you. It was Remy’s mother. “What the hell?” You swore you and the boys saw her leave in her car.

“Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” The witch asked you as she caught sight of the pendant in your hand.

Your eyes followed the witch’s eyesight to the pendant in your hands. You chuckled embarrassed as you held your hands out in front of you, one holding the pendant. “Listen, I’m not here to hurt you or fight you. I just need some ingredients you happen to have. That’s all.” You tried reasoning with her as you began walking on the other side of the kitchen island from where the witch stood. If you could get behind it, you could use it as cover and grab your gun with witch killing bullets. A precaution that you deemed necessary to bring and thankful you did.

The witch watched you as if she was studying you. “Why do you need that pendant?”

“Long story short, I’m not sure. I’m being paid to get certain materials. You happen to have some of them from what my contact told me.” You lied your ass off, which you didn’t think the witch was buying with the way she was now glaring at you.

“Liar!” The witch yelled as she used her magic to throw you against the kitchen cabinets. You hit the cabinets hard, breaking some as you fell to the ground in pain. “Who are you?!” The witch yelled as she began walking over to you.

Despite the pain, you were able to reach behind you for your gun. Quickly pulling it out, you sat on the ground and pointed it at her. “I wouldn’t take one more step if I were you. It’s loaded with witch killing bullets.”

The witch stopped walking. “You’re a hunter.” She stated as she scoffed, “And you said you weren’t here to hurt me, yet you carry a gun with bullets to kill my kind.”

“Just a precaution to keep myself safe.” You commented as you slowly stood up with the gun still pointed at the witch. “Now, I’m just going to grab a few things and then I’ll be on my way. That’s all.”

“What makes you think I believe you? I don’t trust hunters.” The witch stated.

“I can say the same about witches, but you’ll just have too if you want to continue on living.” You shrugged as you had begun walking around the kitchen island again as you made your way to the ingredients you needed.

The witch watched slowly as she began putting together what you were after. “No. I know what you’re after.” She mumbled to herself as she threw her hand up to throw you against the wall again.

You had squeezed the trigger twice the moment you felt yourself being pushed away. One shot hit the witch in the shoulder but it didn’t kill her. How was that possible?

She forced you against the wall unable to move with a smirk on her face. “Well, it looks like your witch killing bullets failed. Now tell me, where is he?” Her smiled turned sinister.

You struggled against the force she was using against you. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You weren’t lying, you really had no idea what she was talking about.

Remy’s mother smirked before throwing you against the cabinets again and then back against the wall. The throw definitely hurt a bit more. “Let’s try this again. You’re after the ingredients to create a portal, which means you’ve dealt with my daughter. And I assume she’s dead. Her death finally made her useful because that means he is free now. So where is he?”

Hearing her speak of her daughter so harshly, you spat in the witch’s direction as best as you could. The witch was talking about Remph, that much got confirmed to you. You lied again, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, bitch. Condolences on your daughter though.” This time you were the one to grin at her.

The witch glared at you as she threw you against another wall that broke, causing you to hit a wall in the living room area and fall to the ground. Your whole body ached as you could taste your own blood coughing up your throat. You definitely had something broken or fractured now.

“Fine. You don’t want to tell me? I’m sure those boys are around here somewhere. I’ll get one of them to tell me where he is. So now, I have no use for you.” Remy’s mother began lifting you up off the ground and began choking you.

This was not the way you wanted to go out. Being killed by a witch was probably one of the most terrible ways to go out. Without thinking, you prayed to Cas for help. You even prayed for a sliver of hope that your Dean would somehow come save you as he did on occasion.

As you felt yourself beginning to lose consciousness, you heard the front door bang open as multiple gunshots were fired. Dropping to the ground, you were fighting to stay conscious as you spotted two familiar faces. “Sam? Dean?” You mumbled to yourself as you were a bit incoherent at the moment.

It was Jensen and Jared. They managed to get two shots at the witch, one on her arm where you had shot her shoulder earlier and one on her leg, causing her to now limp. The shooting continued as you tried to watch the events. You heard footsteps turn into running as shouting followed after.

A set of arms soon surrounded you. “Y/N? Hey, you’re going to be okay. Stay with me. Sorry for not following your rules. I’ll be right back.” The deep voice said as you were left alone again. The reality of what was really going was becoming clearer after almost being choked to death.

“Jared!” Jensen shouted out for his friend who had followed after the witch when she had started running away with a limp. He met up with his friend in a trashed kitchen. The witch was standing in front of something both boys had never seen before with her hand reached out towards the unknown and a grin on her face. A bright light emitted and then disappeared, along with the witch. “Where’d she go?” The older actor asked.

“She disappeared into this like tear in the air.” Jared tried explaining. “I’m pretty sure we shot her, and with witch killing bullets, but she didn’t die?” Both of the boys put the safety of their guns back on and placed it back into their pockets.

“The same happened with me.” You spoke from the kitchen entrance, leaning against one of the walls that was still intact. You began coughing up blood as you started sliding down the wall you were leaning on. You were able to fight off the feeling of passing out, but you knew you had some kind of internal injury from the way the witch had thrown you around like a ball.

“Y/N!” Both of the boys called out for you, but it was Jensen who caught you.

“The ingredients….” You managed to say before coughing up more blood.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get it.” Jensen looked over at Jared, telling him through his facial expression to grab the ingredients. Jared shrugged as Jensen waved his hand around, mouthing to just grab everything. “Can you walk on your own? I’m going to help you back to the car.” You nodded your head as Jensen slung one of your arms over his shoulders acting as your support.

“You both didn’t follow my orders…” You quietly spoke, but Jensen still heard you as you approached Baby.

“Yeah, well Cas called us and said he heard you pray to him. But he couldn’t come since something was happening with Remph. We weren’t going to do nothing, so we ran to the house…” Jensen explained.

“…guns a’blazing.” You finished his story.

“Yeah…” He said as he helped you into the backseat of the Impala. “Get some rest. I’ll go back and help Jared grab the ingredients before the witch comes back. And then we’ll drive by the motel, grab your things and head back to the bunker. Luckily, we’re not too far from the bunker, so Cas can heal you when we get back and you can beat us up for not staying in the car as told.” Jensen winked at you.

You couldn’t help but smirk, shaking your head, “Definitely getting your asses kicked when I’m fully healed….” And with that said, Jensen left you to help Jared as you found yourself closing your eyes to get a moments of rest.

- - -

“Son of a bitch!” The deep voice yelled aloud.

“Shhh” Two voices shushed the older Winchester at the same time.

“This place has a night shift security guy named Tom, so you need to quiet down, okay?” Cat asked as she continued rifling through stacks of papers that were previously boxed up.

Dean groaned at the lack of findings they were having as they had been searching through the boxes for over an hour now. None of the boxes were labeled. Opening another box, he pulled another angel blade prop as he waved it in the air and watched this specific one wiggle a little. “For every fake angel blade that I’ve come across so far, I’d be one rich man I tell you.”

“Once the angel arc began, the set was filled with angel blades. You’d find them everywhere. I’m pretty sure there’s enough around here for each cast, guest stars, and crew members to take two home for themselves whenever the show ends.” Cat shared.

Dean frowned in thought as he considered taking one himself.

“Dean, quit playing around with the fake angel blades and keep looking.” Sam huffed.

“Bitch.” Dean called out rolling his eyes.

Sam returned the usual banter. “Jerk.”

Cat smiled at hearing the Winchester’s banter. It was one thing when she heard Jensen and Jared act it out, but hearing it from the real deal themselves was more amusing. While going to grab another box near the storage entrance door, Cat heard the sounds of items being moved around nearby. She quietly peeked her head out the door as she looked for any signs of security guard Tom. If he had caught her, she’d lie about wanting to practice with one of the old props for a future scene or something. Tom was a pretty chill guy and they’d met before on late set shoots. When she continued to hear the noises of objects being moved around, she walked over to the boys, whispering, “Guys, I think there is someone on the sets.”

“Works in our favor. While the security guard checks them out, we should be safe.” Dean commented as he continued to go through his current box he was working on.

“Okay...” Cat lingered on the word before returning to what she was doing. After about ten minutes, she heard a loud thud as if something fell over. The boys had heard it too when everyone looked up and looked at each other. After a visual agreement, it was decided to check it out. Making their way out of the storage room, the boys followed Cat towards the set area. They found a shelf filled with filming equipment to hide behind as they spotted a figure in the bunker set.

“Oh my god.” Cat whispered as she spotted another figure on the floor. “That’s Tom, the security guard. Is he dead?” She asked, feeling a chill run up her spine.

“I can’t tell from here. But, Cat, do you recognize the woman?” Sam asked quietly.

“No. I’ve never seen her before.” Cat answered.

Dean wrinkled his eyebrows together as he checked out the woman. It wasn’t until he saw her face where he had an inkling feeling that she looked kind of familiar.

The woman in question began laughing out loud. “This is the spot. I can feel it. It will open here and I’ll get revenge on the Winchesters and that woman.”

Dean and Sam looked at each other as Cat looked between them both.

“It seems like maybe it’s the other way around and you guys knows her?” Cat questioned as she looked back over at the woman who seemed to be preparing for something.

“She looks a bit familiar.” Dean answered. “I can’t put my foot on it right now.”

Before Sam could answer, a bright light appeared before the woman. The light ran down vertically in front of her.

“What the hell?” The boys and Cat all asked in confusion as another bright light emitted from the vertical light line and three figures appeared.

To be continued in part 8!

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[phoenix-downer]

Hello! I haven't played KH III yet but I plan to. I have come across some really hateful posts on tumblr and even twitter about Sora and Kairi being together. It appears some people are really upset that Sora and Riku didn't become a thing and have downplayed Sora x Kairi's relationship as something as forced and not having chemistry. I had no idea this was even a thing. Can you tell me where this hostility came from? I thought it was obvious that they had feelings for each other.

Hello! Thanks for the ask! There’s a lot to examine here, but I’ll do my best to try to tackle the whole issue with tact and empathy. Light/very vague spoilers for K/H/3, E/ndgame, and F/M/A follow (with slashes so they hopefully don’t show up in the tags).

First of all, I’m so sorry you’ve stumbled across those kinds of tweets and posts. If I could, I’d shield everyone from having to deal with such hatred and negativity about something they enjoy. Doesn’t matter what you ship; no one deserves to deal with that level of toxicity. 

Imagine going into a room and hearing people talk loudly about something you love, talk about how much they hate it and how much it sucks. Doesn’t make you feel very welcome, does it? But that’s exactly what’s happening here - you’re not the only one who’s noticed this. I have had to block or mute so many people because of the kind of bashing you describe. People purposely tagging their hate so that fans can see it, saying nasty things and picking fights in a way that makes you wonder what they get out of being so cruel and vicious. 

I’ve seen it so much that I’m extra sensitive to it now too; I block much more quickly than I did in the past. And I would advise other people to do the same. You don’t owe anyone access to your social media. They’re not entitled to your time or energy, either. You don’t owe it to them to read their hate. By blocking them, you take away part of their audience, you take away their attention. And the thing is, they want that attention. They want to make other people angry and miserable because they’re angry and miserable. And you don’t have to give them the satisfaction. 

Sadly, because twitter and tumblr have such poor moderation, no one running these sites is doing much to stop these people. In fact, the platforms even encourage that kind of behavior, because the loudest people get the most attention. So that encourages and emboldens the kind of nasty behavior you’re seeing.

Now, this is not to say there is never room for criticism, because there is, but that is a very different thing from what you’re describing, which is plain old bashing. Criticism and critique are offered in the hope that something will improve; bashing is done to express pure vitriol, and it isn’t productive for anyone. It might feel good in the moment, but in the end it just leaves people bitter and empty. 

There are plenty of people critiquing K/H and how the games went and how the various character arcs unfolded and how the relationships developed, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Shutting down all criticism isn’t healthy; it should be allowed and encouraged, as constructive criticism leads to healthy dialogue, both with other fans and with S/quare E/nix. And Square has listened to fans in the past; they’ve fixed issues with gameplay that occurred when 1.5 and 2.5 were ported to the PS4 and converted to 60 fps, for example.

Neither is there anything wrong with venting to a close friend in a private setting - DMs, PMs, on your personal blog or twitter account with the ship you’re criticizing censored somehow so that everyone who likes it doesn’t have to stumble across your venting. Heaven knows I’ve had to vent a lot to stay in the fandom without lashing out. The issue is when someone thinks it’s okay to force their anger and negativity onto other people who don’t want to see it or hear it. 

So the question is, why are we stumbling across such strong feelings? Because it’s clear people feel pretty strongly about all this. 

I don’t think there’s an easy answer as to why this is happening, but I’ll take a shot at explaining what might’ve happened all the same. I’m sure if you asked someone else, they might give you a different answer, and it’s worth getting multiple perspectives. This is just my two cents, and naturally, it’s going to be biased towards my experiences and preferences. 

The shipwars in the K/ingdom H/earts fandom have been nasty for years. From what I can gather, they got really bad when KH2 was released, though I’m sure there was probably drama before then. S*kai fans and S*riku fans did not see eye to eye on how that game went, and it’s all been downhill ever since. People on both sides have been mean and nasty, I’ve seen them be nasty, hurling insults and slurs and accusing each other of awful things to the point that the question of “who started it” is pretty much moot at this point. A more productive question would be, “how can we end it and get along, or at least start treating each other better?” 

Now, since I ship S*kai (obviously), I’ll share why this is such a touchy subject for me personally. I’ve been in fandom for a while now, and something I’ve noticed is just how much fans tend to hate female characters because of sexism and internalized misogyny.   

I was in the M/C/U fandom before this, and Sh*ron’s actress got death threats around the time C/ivil W/ar came out from angry shippers. And then P*ggy’s actress has likewise been harassed after E/ndgame came out by, again, angry shippers. I was a big F/M/A fan back in the day, and W*nry got so much hate from, you guessed it, angry shippers. I remember a friend back then rolling her eyes and bashing W*nry, and when I asked her why she hated her, she couldn’t really give me a clear answer other than that she was “whiny.” 

Heaven forbid a female character not be completely perfect. 

Over and over, I saw this pattern repeating. A female character gets hate because there is a popular alternate pairing that she “gets in the way of.” Even before I had the vocabulary to talk about it, the hatred just struck me as very gendered. I never saw that level of hatred for any of the male characters unless they were written to be hated (hello Shou T*cker). And I was likewise harsher on female characters than on their male counterparts. It took me years to realize what I was doing and to try to put a stop to it. 

So then I came to the K/ingdom H/earts fandom with all that background and baggage, dealing with years of people hating characters I liked and looked up to and identified with, and I saw the same thing happening again. Yet another female character getting nasty hate because of her gender, because she dared to like a boy who was shipped with another boy. Because she dared to fall in love. How dare she have feelings, how dare she be feminine, how dare she wear pink and have a flowery Keyblade. How dare her strength of heart be stronger than her physical strength. There is only one kind of strength that matters, and it’s how hard you can kick someone’s ass (wrong, wrong, wrong, and one look at the whole power of friendship thing this series revolves around would tell you that). 

How dare K*iri not be an instant expert at fighting, which is cruel and ironic because if she was an instant expert at fighting, everyone would be crying Mary Sue. How dare she sass and tease S*ra, she’s such a bitch. Oh, she doesn’t tease him as much in K/H/3 and is more gentle and supportive because he’s going through hell and nearly loses everything and she knows he needs her support now more than ever? She’s a complete pushover! 

See what I mean by how hard people are on female characters? K*iri can’t win no matter what she does. She could have the best character arc ever post K/H/3 and people would still find something to complain about. That’s not to say I don’t have issues with how she’s written, I just think the criticisms against her tend to be way overblown. There aren’t enough discussions about how she could improve moving forward (though I have seen them, and thank you to those of you who do have them!), instead people just write her off completely as useless and worthless and want to improve her character by… dropping her out of the story completely (and yes, I’ve run into someone who actually thought this would be a good thing and always felt the need to talk about it, and it absolutely drove me up the wall). 

And worst of all, she can’t win because S*ra fell in love with her. Really, it’s ironic that she gets as much hate as she does for something S*ra did. She had no control over S*ra falling in love with her, and yet she is absolutely despised by people because he did. She isn’t “good enough” for him apparently, whatever that’s supposed to mean.  

I share all this to explain why I was so sensitive to the issue coming in. I saw the same thing happening I’d experienced time and again and I was so exhausted. So tired of it. I didn’t want to deal with it again, and I was on my guard right from the start. Especially because it’s so normalized in online KH communities to bash K*iri and S*kai. The major ones, too, with lots of people and a wide range of (or lack thereof) of shipping preferences, not just dedicated shipping groups. Try to go an entire discussion without seeing it come up… it’s a lot harder than you might think. 

At first I tried to be patient and understanding. Other people have different tastes, and I wanted to be understanding of that. But after years of watching the bashing happen, my patience ran thin. I was sick of seeing it enabled in major K/H communities, sick of seeing mods refuse to put a stop to it, or worse, low-key join in with the bashing, sick of having to put up with so much negativity when all I wanted was somewhere to discuss something I enjoyed. Some people seemed almost gleeful, almost eager in their bashing; any time K*iri was brought up, they felt compelled to express their hatred for her. They were more obsessed with her than her actual fans were; felt more passionately (albeit negatively) about S*kai than some actual S*kai shippers did. 

When I reached that point, the point where I was tempted to be negative and snappy and rude, I knew I couldn’t engage with certain people anymore. So I stopped trying. I searched for S*kai fans here on tumblr and stuck with them. I didn’t want to add to an already tense situation, and thankfully, there are other people who feel the same way (but more on that later). 

And on the S*riku side of things, some of them have shared that they have been told nasty homophobic things for shipping S*riku. And for many of them, I’m sure S*riku is a way of expressing their identity, a way of exploring their feelings and expressing them in a safe, welcoming way with fellow fans who get what they’re going through. Representation has gotten better in recent years (though it still has a long way to go), but back when the K/H games were first coming out, things were different, and people had to take what they could get from canon and run with it if they wanted to see more content that represented them. 

I’ve also seen a few people say that certain S*kai fans went out of their way to message them and rub what happened in K/H/3 in their faces. That kind of gloating is bound to upset anyone, yikes. Canon has become the new gold standard for shipping in the last decade or so, and it has sadly been weaponized in the ever-nastier ship wars, when really, a ship’s value shouldn’t be based on how “canon” it is but on the joy it brings to people. 

So yeah, we have a situation where enough people on both sides were treating others poorly that everyone got defensive, because how could you not when people keep attacking something you love, especially if you feel strongly about it/associate it with your identity? And that made people more likely to lash out, and when they did, people got even more defensive, and the cycle repeated, over and over and over again. 

And you know how I mentioned I sought refuge with likeminded fans? I think that happened all over the fandom. People seek out those who will support them and support their beliefs and form identities and communities based around them… and that’s a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, it’s great to get so much support, especially if you’re seeking refuge from a particularly nasty ship war. Having a safe place to vent and unwind and finally get to talk about what you love without fear of getting hate over it is awesome.

On the other hand, things like echo chambers, confirmation bias, groupthink, and the false consensus effect flourish in those kinds of situations. If all you hear is that XYZ pairing must be canon or will be canon in a future game from the group of people you’ve surrounded yourself with, and everyone enthusiastically agrees because everyone ships the same thing you do and of course no one is going to rain on that parade, it can come as quite a shock when a new piece of canon comes out and doesn’t align to your expectations. Especially if you’ve spent years expecting canon to align with your expectations. 

We lose something when we can’t engage in healthy dialogue with people who disagree with us. Our perceptions get warped, our memories might even get warped, and what we could’ve sworn was canon… we might be surprised to see wasn’t, when we revisit the source material with a more critical eye or listen to someone who sees things differently than we do. 

But how can we have that healthy dialogue when there’s been so much bad blood? How can we listen to each other when there’s no trust? It’s nearly impossible, so instead we reinforce the beliefs and ideas our own communities already hold fast to, and the cycle continues. We draw lines in the sand separating “us” vs. “them” and don’t give each other a chance. Not only does this alienate people on opposite ends of the shipping spectrum, it also alienates multishippers because they’re considered “traitors” to both sides, and that is an uncomfortable place to be. 

I think that’s why you find the whole thing so jarring. I’m guessing you might not be as heavily involved with the fandom as I am, and have thus been largely immune from the perils of echo chambers and confirmation bias. So for you it must seem really weird that something that seems clear to you is so contentious to other people. I don’t say this to throw shade at anyone, because I know the same thing would’ve happened if the pairings had gotten switched around. It’s more of an observation of a phenomenon I’ve seen happen over and over again throughout the years. 

So all of that is to say, things are tense because of all these backgrounds and experiences and histories people bring into the fandom. No one exists in a vacuum, and things were already tense before K/H/3 even came out. K/ingdom H/earts has been such an important part of many people’s lives and growing up experiences that they feel a deep connection to it and almost a sense of ownership of it. It’s a shared story, a shared experience. It belongs to all of us, in a way, and yet it’s still N*mura’s baby.

And that’s where we run into more issues. How much say should fans have in a work of art? Does the creator get the final say in interpretation, or should she accept that once her creation has been released into the world, it’s up to other people to interpret what she meant? There are no easy answers to these kinds of questions, and they’re widely debated and discussed (see: the whole death of the author debacle). 

However, while I think feeling a sense of ownership and investment in a piece of art is totally fine, it crosses the line when it gets into the realm of entitlement. By this I do not mean asking for more representation, because that is a perfectly good thing to ask for; I mean demanding that the creators cater to your whims… or else. I mean contacting people who worked on the game on twitter and demanding they change the story to make it “right.” I mean directly telling one of the VAs you want her replaced because you thought she did a bad job. And yes, I am talking about actual stuff I’ve seen happen in this very fandom. All of that has also left me with a bad taste in my mouth, and other people I’ve talked to have felt the same. 

That being said, shipping in and of itself is not the problem. For every nasty tweet and bashing post out there, there are plenty of kind and good people who are just there to enjoy their ships. Lovely artists and talented writers and skilled gif makers and editors creating a wealth of beautiful content for something they love. People who would never harass others for their shipping preferences and are disgusted by those who do. Unfortunately, they’re not the ones getting the attention, and they’re probably not the ones you’re going to run into if you ship a different ship, as they tend to stick to their own spaces out of courtesy and respect. 

This means that the people you are more likely to run into are the ones who want to pick fights. The ones who bash and stir up drama and tell people to kill themselves for shipping XYZ. While there are plenty of people being cruel and nasty and toxic, there are good people in the fandom too. Kind, caring people who will see you as a person first and not an XYZ, even if they don’t agree with you on everything. They’re quiet(er), because kindness isn’t usually flashy and showy, but they’re here. You just have to know how to find them.   

Thanks for the ask! I tried to answer this as fairly as I could, based on my observations and things I’ve been stewing over for a while now, so I hope it sheds more light on the situation. 

[jancmalandra]

King Moominpapa

On the perils of meeting new neighbors

The second week of May in Moominvalley saw some truly ideal Spring weather. The skies were dotted with just the right amount of clouds to provide occaisional shade from the Sun, which seemed to be content with providing just right amount of warmth. The breezes were perfectly light and cooling. The entire extended Moomin family sensibly decided to spend as much time as they could outside during daylight hours. Every meal was held as a picnic. Snork Maiden would join Moomintroll for his morning fishing, providing him with welcomingly distracting kisses and cuddling. Moominmama left the housework undone between breakfast and lunch and lounged in the hammock on the veranda all morning. Moominmama and Snork Maiden spent their afternoons tending Moominmama's vegetable garden, joined by Moomintroll. Moominpapa took his memoir writing setup out to the veranda table and worked there all day. Snufkin spent the better part of his days in Moominvalley's woods until meal times at Moominhouse. All of them fervently wished that this idyllic existence would never end.

When a really big shimmer appeared in midair within walking distance of Moominhouse that Friday, everyone who could see it at first thought that a sudden heatwave must have hit, but the temperature and humidity hadn't changed at all. Then, the shimmer started to take a recognizable form; a gigantic medieval castle. Its formidable outer defensive wall with archer's towers above the drawbridge and at each corner of the wall was surrounded by a wide moat. The wall hid the better part of the central keep. Its parapets and sloping roof covered in ceramic tile peeked above the wall.

The sudden existence of a castle in the middle of Moominvalley was not the oddest part of the scene that greeted everyone's eyes that morning; it was the fact that the entire keep was both undeniably real and appeared to be an illusion at the same time. Mr. Hemulen, who had been peering carefully at a freshly grown patch of flowers before the castle began blocking his view, immediately realized that the castle was almost transparent, and that he was standing on the surface of the moat without sinking. He found that he could walk right through the outer wall and continue looking at his flowers without any hindrance.

The drawbridge of the castle dropped and a squadron of ghost Moomin knights on horseback came riding out, lead by a ghost Moomin king. They headed straight for Moominhouse. Every member of the Moomin family had extensive experience with ghosts, so they were more astonished than scared when this ghostly company pulled up in front of the veranda of Moominhouse.

"Prithee, good people," said the Moomin king, "I have come looking for my descendants. My kingdom requires defending by the living immediately and no one but someone of my noble lineage will do."

Moominpapa collected himself as best he could and did his best to reply appropriately: "Verily, I am Moominpapa, and this is my family. I doubt very much that thou couldst be speaking of us, but mayhaps we couldst point thee in the right direction?" He had a dreadful feeling that the opposite of what he had just said was true. The very last thing that he wanted was that much additional responsibility.

The Moomin king looked closely at Moominpapa, Moominmama, Moomintroll, and Snork Maiden, who had all gathered together around the veranda and immediately declared, "Pray, do not attempt to deceive me. It is apparent that the guiding hand of fate has led me to exactly the right family at my kingdom's time of greatest peril!"

"Peril?!", exclaimed Moominpapa, sounding even more nervous than before. "Whatever do you....I mean, canst thou mean?!"

"An armada of ghost pirates is planning to invade Moominvalley at any day.", explained the ghost king, "I fear that even my knights and I shan't be enough to repel them. Only a living relative of mine being crowned king can provide us with enough of an advantage to prevail in the coming battle."

"And how dost that work?", asked Moominpapa. "Thou didst mention that I need to be alive, didn't you? Are you....I mean, art thou quite sure thou art not attempting to deceive me on that point?!"

"Most certainly not!", said the ghost king, deeply offended at the implication that he might be lying. "Now, thou must accompany us back to the castle so that we may perform the coronation with all due haste!"

Moominpapa felt compelled to come with the ghosts back to the castle and his family naturally followed him to be sure he would be alright. Entering the castle keep was like going into a fairy tale. The central castle itself was at least six stories tall and impressively vast. It was surrounded by buildings meant to serve the castle's needs like the stables that hugged the outer wall. The wall itself had stairs all over its interior allowing access to the castle's outer defensive points. The interior of the main castle was breathtaking and more than a little overwhelming. Moomintroll couldn't help noticing as they were being led through its halls that his paws passed easily through every wall and object they went past. They could have walked right back through the walls to the outside world anytime they choose.

"Papa!", he said to his father, "You do know that you don't have to do anything these ghosts say?! There's no way for them to hold us here if we don't want to stay!"

"It's better that we stay with them until we find out everything that is going on.", Moominpapa whispered to him, "At the very least I believe them when they say that they don't mean me any harm. I'm also sure that they're telling us the truth about the ghost pirates. We have to play along until we can figure out how to get the ghosts to leave, or teach them to live in Moominvalley peacefully. I'm beginning to get an idea that might work, so please trust me."

"Are you sure you're not secretly enjoying the idea of the fuss that they're about to make over you?", said Moomintroll, voicing his suspicions.

"Of course not!", said Moominpapa, "Being friends with ghosts is fun, but being their ruler is way too much for me. I know that I wouldn't enjoy it at all!"

The throne room itself was a grand audience hall with two elegant thrones on a dais at the top of it. The walls were hung with luxurious tapestries and the ceiling had large windows every few meters to let light in. Large lit candelabras hung from the peak of the ceiling as well. The ghost queen was already seated on her throne and a large company of ghostly Moomin knights and nobles filled the numerous wooden chairs that lined either side of the central aisle.

The coronation was a solemn ritual. Moominpapa handed his top hat to Moomintroll as the ghosts put a long fur cape over his shoulders as they led him to the foot of the dais and with a lot of pomp put the bejeweled crown of the former king on his head and declared him King Moomin. Moominmama was named his Queen next and crowned with the tiara of the former queen, but she insisted on keeping her favorite apron on and wouldn't wear her royal cape. Moomintroll couldn't resist trying on his father's hat and he discovered to his surprise that it fit him perfectly. He was now the spitting image of his father. Had he really become Moominpapa now?

The former king addressed Moominpapa formally, kneeling in his presence, followed by the entire company of ghost Moomins. "My liege, please command your subjects as to how we shall defend your kingdom against the pirate invaders."

"We shall invite them to stay as respectable, peaceful citizens of Moominvalley!", said Moominpapa in a commanding tone. "We shall start by setting an example ourselves. I hereby command that all the Moomin Knights give up all weapons of war and work hard to earn the trust of the citizens of Moominvalley and to contribute positively to the life of the village. Under no circumstances are you to frighten anyone deliberately. We must prepare to meet the ghost pirates as they make land as peacemakers. Everyone is to do their best to win the help of the rest of the people of Moominvalley in persuading the pirates to become good friends with everyone or else leave Moominvalley in peace!"

The entire audience was astonished at the new King's commands, but their traditions allowed them no alternative but to bow in obedience. Moomintroll thought his father's idea had merit, but was there enough time to make it work? Were the pirates coming in a few days or a few weeks? Could the Moomin ghosts befriend everyone in Moominvalley before then? Would the ghost pirates respond positively to overtures of peace? That was a lot of uncertainty to live with, but it was the best idea that they had to work with. It was now a matter of all of the living Moomins helping the undead ones learn how to live peacefully with others.

To Be Continued

[there-will-be-trouble]

For Tomorrow Elliot Alderson x Reader Prompt: “Please stay with me.” & “You make me feel alive.” Words: 1988 Warnings: Light swearing, drinking

Schrödinger wondered: "when does a quantum system stop existing as a superposition of states and become one or the other?" He posed the scenario of a cat within a closed system, a box. It could, prior to observation, be either dead or alive. Since keeping the box closed staved off determining the state of the cat, it actually became both dead and alive. He also argued that any observer could not be in this state of quantum superposition, as observing one’s condition immediately decided one’s condition. It would be impossible to test the theory.

Elliot was calling. Your phone was ringing. You hadn’t yet answered it. Until you did, his condition would remain undecided.

“You make me feel alive.” Well– that’s a relief. But more so than it already did, his voice sounded harsh and unused. “Thank you,” was the first thing you could think to say. There was a sense of urgency behind what he was saying. “It’s true,” he wanted so badly for you to believe him, you could see that. But you didn’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to tell that the strain in his voice didn’t come from feeling alive and well. “Are you okay?” There was no pause before he spoke, “No.” He didn’t say anything else and neither did you. He hung up.

You had stepped out to take the call while meeting a small group of friends at a bar downtown. Downtown actually means as close to downtown as you could afford. The paint was peeling and it wasn’t on purpose, the floor was warped and sticky from all the spilled drinks, the chairs groaned dangerously, and the tables appeared to be more of a delicate balancing act than something to rest your elbows on. The friends themselves weren’t old friends, but they weren’t new friends either, they weren’t really friends at all. They were people who’d invited to you a shitty bar in a shitty neighborhood so they could justify drinking on a weeknight. You walked back inside the bar and picked up your things before saying, “That was my boss. I gotta go.” “Awwww, that’s a shame,” someone slurs, half drunk, “we were about to order a round of shots!” You’re done with these people, “All the more for you guys, right?” They cheer at that, an uncoordinated chorus of hollers and whoops. You make your exit.

Elliot’s apartment was a number of blocks away that would have been inconvenient if you were wearing heels. But luckily, you didn’t care enough about what these people thought about your appearance to bother with dressing up.

A week ago the apartment building’s door had broken and the building owners either didn’t care or didn’t have the money to fix it. Either way, you didn’t need to be buzzed in. Then you ascended the front steps and four flights of stairs before making it to apartment 4E. It took only a gentle knock for him to open the door. “Hi, Elliot,” you smiled. He smiled back. Even if you hadn’t dressed up, you’d still put some effort into your outfit. “Were you out?” He questioned, observant as ever. You shook off your shoes, coat, and bag as you responded, “I didn’t want to be. It was some crappy place a few blocks away, with people I barely know and frankly didn’t want to. I’m glad you called.” He closed the door and you noticed how dark the room was and how tired he looked. Life had exhausted him, drawn away all resources and all energy and left him here to deal. His eyes were rimmed in red and lines seemed to have been sketched in and around every feature of his face. He looked at you like he could finally take a breath. He didn’t have any words, but he didn’t need to explain it. His hand reached out and took yours. He rubbed a finger into your palm, and then on the back of your hand. Then he looked back to you. It was heart-wrenching, the way his head was slightly tilted wearily, the way he pulled his eyebrows together and turned his lips down just a smidge. It was subtle, but you could tell how done with the world he was. You reached your other hand to touch his cheek and his eyes darted all over your face. He kept giving you that look as he stepped closer. He needed this. His arms wrapped around you, he leaned down to rest his head on your shoulder. It was like the tug in your heart had pulled him in and how he was holding onto you for dear life. He didn’t want to move, he wanted to stand like that forever. He didn’t need to take on the world or his problems if this was all he had to do. If he could just hold you like this all day- then maybe everything would just resolve itself. When you pulled away there were tears on his face. Carefully, he leaned in making sure to keep his eyes open long enough to watch yours close as the kiss began. It was slow but loving and meaningful. Elliot wasn’t a sloppy kisser, he wanted to cherish every moment and feel every second of it. It grounded him. Kissing him, however much you loved it, seemed selfish right now. There were more important things at hand, “Elliot-” He could guess what you were going to say, “Tell me about the bar. Why was it so crappy?” It used to piss you off when he would use you as a distraction. You didn’t understand why, his reasoning behind it. It was because you could take his mind off everything. He could listen to you talk for hours if you had that much to say. He would ask you a thousand questions to get you to speak. He would play a hundred songs to get you to dance, say a hundred things to get you to respond. It wasn’t that you were distracting, it’s that you were so separate from all the negative things in his life that they could just vanish while you were there. “Are you sure?” He looks you in the eyes. Somehow his austere stare comes off as loving and gentle, “Yes.” After one last kiss, he takes your hand and leads you across the apartment to his bed. He lays down on top of the sheets and you lay down next to him. He doesn’t stop holding your hand. “You want to hear about the bar?” You ask after a moment of silence. “Go for it,” he whispers in response. “Well for starters-”

It was heaven to be there with him. Absolute heaven. Is heaven different for everyone? It could be. Heaven is simple, you think. Whatever it is or isn’t, it’s simple. For you, heaven is a person. For you, heaven is a listener. Heaven doesn’t have many words but heaven has a sense of humor. Heaven wants to do better and wants to be in control. Heaven cares completely and loves deeply. Heaven is Elliot.

Conversations like this are a blessing. It’s hard to get Elliot to talk, but occasionally, if you let him, you won’t have to, “Where do you think those people from the bar are now?” He asks. “Oh, I don’t know,” you answer, “drunk, probably.” “That’s a given,” you can hear the small laugh in his voice. “They might still be at the bar.” “It’s been almost an hour,” he reasons. You’re still lying side by side, as you were when you first arrived. You haven’t so much as picked up your phone since you got here. You’ve most definitely lost track of time.   “Time flies by when you’re having fun,” you joke. “Is that what they think is fun?” He asks. “Drinking to excess, throwing up, passing out, having a hangover?” “What’s the alternative? Sobriety? The world’s too much for some people to handle.” You know Elliot can understand this, that’s why you brought it up. Thinking about it, actually, that’s the very reason you’re here. “They’ve numbed themselves with superficial social interaction and chemicals.” “They don’t see the world as it is.” “And more importantly,” Elliot tells you, “they don’t care.” He’s right. You let the room be silent before speaking again. “There are so many things you can do with your life.” “What do you mean?” His question is one stemming from curiosity, not an actual lack of knowledge. Your conversations have become a way to be around each other, not just a means to an end. “There are so many things you can be, so many choices to make.” “You mean how people choose to live?” “Sure. How people choose to live.” “You’re right. People can be any number of things. But how much of that is something they chose and how much of it was chosen for them?” “Does free will exist? Is that what you’re getting at?” It’s difficult to decipher what he’s trying to say, he’s being vague on purpose. “No, not really. It’s just- sometimes things happen that dictate how your life will play out from then on.” You’re catching on to what he means. He shifts a bit uncomfortably. The mattress dips subtly, the sheets rustle. “And sometimes you don’t have a say in it,” you finish. His voice comes out as a whisper and you can’t tell whether or not that’s what he intended, “Exactly.”

It feels like you could fall asleep here. Right now. Elliot’s shoulder is against your cheek, your head is leaned against him. The room is silent save the quiet sounds of life. Elliot’s breathing is slow and calming. The world seems to revolve around him. Your world does, at least. The quiet of the room can be attributed to him, to his silence. He’s taught you that you don’t need anything more than a person’s presence to love them. There are countless ways to tell someone how you feel without having to say it. Remember that always.

You’re unbelievably comfortable and it’s his bed you’re in. You’re at total peace and it’s him you’re lying next to. You love the world only because he’s in it. It feels like heresy to speak, but you do so anyway, “Are you awake?” “Yes. Are you?” That makes you smirk and you can tell that he is too, “Yeah, what time is it?” He groans, the sound of someone not completely lucid, “Don’t know.” “I’m gonna check.” You lied. You don’t move. You want to get up and go look at your phone, but… “Why?” He makes a compelling point. “I have to go eventually.” You reason, trying to work up the nerve to let go of his hand and sit up for the first time in hours. “I mean it,” he urges, “you don’t have to.” “Do you really want to have a discussion about what we do and don’t have to do in today’s society right now?” You joke. “I’m being serious.” “Elliot-” He cuts you off, “You could stay, with me, please stay.” You remain silent. “Please stay with me.” He sounds so small. His voice is minuscule. But it’s undeniable proof that he wants you. You don’t care about properly considering his request or processing the ramifications, you want to stay here with him forever. You’re convinced. You sit up- “(y/n)-” -and cut him off with a kiss. “Stay with me for everything.” He whispers. “Through the night.” “Until the sunrise.” “For tomorrow.” “And the day after that.” “For all our days.” “Through the years.” “Until the next life.” “We could be together even then.” “We will.” “Until the mountains move.” “Until the sun swallows the Earth.” “We’ll see the Andromeda galaxy together.” “We’ll see the whole universe together.” “I love you, (y/n).” “I love you, Elliot.” And then you slept. Together forever. And ever. And ever.

[southernwolf16]

Downtime Chapter 1

AO3

Determined | Promise | A Show of Power

My entry to the Noblesse Fix It Event

Prompts 2-Quiet, 5-Regret, 16-Family, 17- Warmth, 21-Promise, 30-Concerned

This story is inspired by what I think is an unsatisfying ending to the Werewolf Island Arc, among other things. And also by reading/ seeing one too many of  @o-c-o-c-o‘s works. I didn’t even know the phrase “data dump” until I read it from you.

To @thedreaminus, @silverwolf8940, @pandora-twists, @madameazzure and everyone else who might be interested, here is my contribution to the fandom.

WARNING: VERY LONG STORY. I had to break it into chapters or else the whole thing will probably be around 20K words. This one is 10.5K words

SUMMARY: M-21.exe has stopped working. Or alternately, the Werewolf Island aftercare story nobody asked for.

The mist that shrouded the Werewolf Island dissipated into crystal shards, falling around them like blood-colored snow.

Is it over? M-21 raised his head to the sky. What little remained of his strength gradually returned, and it was barely enough to keep him upright. M-21 did his best not to sway where he stood. 

Not now, please.

“The same thing’s happening around the island,” Tao said after listening to the report from Kentas’ group. 

“Does this mean Maduke lost?” Regis asked.

“There’s only one way to find out.” Takeo turned to Lunark. “We better head back now.” 

“Go. And thank you for your help.” Lunark glanced at M-21, silently hoping that he would survive this ordeal intact.

M-21 pushed himself onward with the rest of RK, continuing to ignore the dull ache in his chest that began to bother him following the fight with the werewolf warriors. He almost lost his footing once or twice, except no one saw it since he was lagging behind the group. By the time they reached the battlefield, M-21’s vision was already swimming and the dull ache had intensified enough to steal his breath. He was cold and not because he was shirtless the whole time. 

M-21 knew there was something seriously wrong with him. Although it would have to wait, not when there were enemies who could still be lurking about. M-21 concentrated on the scene before him instead. There was no trace of Maduke. Muzaka and that female werewolf named Garda were nowhere in sight as well. However, the Lord, Raizel and Frankenstein did not display any hostility in their stances.

It was over. They had won. Yet the victory was hollow, what with Raizel using his already scant life force and the werewolf race possibly suffering cataclysmic loss of lives. 

The Lord was speaking to Raizel but for the life of him, M-21 could not understand a word of it. Nothing made sense anymore. Everything hurt, his eyesight darkening at the edges as his heart clenched in his chest. M-21 refused to yield to the pain and exhaustion racking his body. 

After the brief exchange with Raizel and Frankenstein, the Lord flew to the sky and departed with the other Clan Leaders. 

It was really over. M-21 drew an agonizing breath as he tried to survey everyone with his failing sight.

Everyone’s safe now. We can go… 

Frankenstein approached Raizel. “Master, it’s time to head—”

…home. M-21 succumbed to unconsciousness, falling backward as he did so. He was only saved from crashing down by Takeo catching him by the shoulders. 

Takeo nearly recoiled at how icy M-21 was to the touch. “M-21!” 

Tao rushed to help Takeo lower M-21 to the ground. Takeo stripped off his coat and covered M-21 with it in the hopes that it could somehow warm him up. M-21 only shivered in response.

“M-21…” Tao removed M-21’s mask and tapped his cheek a few times. “He’s unresponsive.” 

Frankenstein hurried towards M-21, berating himself for not sparing a few minutes to examine him beforehand. M-21’s very rapid pulse, cold and clammy skin and irregular breathing were not reassuring in the slightest. Frankenstein lifted M-21 and had to swallow his anger when he realized that M-21 weighed less than he should. “Tell me you came here with transportation—”

“We brought one of the choppers.” Takeo proceeded to lead everyone in the direction where said vehicle was located. 

Tao did not move. “Boss, please let me stay so I can find data—” 

Frankenstein cut him off. “Take someone with you—”

“I’ll go with him,” Rael volunteered. 

Tao was already on his communication device. He made contact at last as the rest of their party was leaving the area. “Kentas, it’s Tao. We need help…”

------------------------------------------------------------- 

Frankenstein had a lot to be grateful for. 

Someone had the foresight to bring blankets. They used one as a mat so M-21 was not lying directly on the chopper floor, while the other they draped on him to help raise his temperature.

A few weeks ago, M-21 suggested that there should be medic bags in the choppers. He also said that the non-medical members of the household should train in performing emergency medical procedures, not just basic first aid.

Frankenstein was pleased that they were able to implement at least one of M-21’s ideas. But the irony of it, Frankenstein thought as he took the medic bag from its compartment, was that M-21 will be the first person on which the medic bag’s contents will be used. 

There were many trivial and profound details in the grand scheme of things for which Frankenstein should be thankful. Though right now he would greatly appreciate it if they could get back to the house faster than what was possible. 

Frankenstein prepared the necessary equipment and donned medical goggles and gloves. He clamped a pulse oximeter on M-21’s right index finger to get a reading of his pulse rate. M-21 was having difficulty breathing despite a clear airway that Frankenstein was compelled to use the Bag Valve Mask on him.

More than thirty minutes passed as Frankenstein continued to provide ventilation for M-21. His blood oxygen level was now almost within the normal range. Just a little more and— 

M-21 suddenly made a gurgling sound and started gagging. Frankenstein stopped using the Bag Valve Mask, removed the airway adjunct from M-21’s mouth and turned his head to the side, where he vomited a stream of bile mixed with bright red blood.

“What’s our ETA?” Frankenstein maneuvered M-21 into the recovery position then grabbed Takeo’s coat to catch the vomit. He glanced at the pulse oximeter and bit back a curse. M-21’s pulse was dropping fast. 

“We’ll be in Korean airspace twenty minutes tops,” Takeo replied. “We’re already going as fast as we could—”

“Land us on a building closest to the house when we get to the city,” Frankenstein ordered. Whatever that bitch Ignes did to M-21 was wreaking havoc on his system. They were running out of time. Frankenstein further instructed Takeo to go ahead of them later to power up the lab equipment. He looked to Raizel. “Master—” 

“M-21 is our priority now.” Raizel was aware that he would only delay Frankenstein if he were to go with him in his exhausted state. “I will follow you later.”

“The rest of you should stay with Master,” Frankenstein said to Regis, Karias and Seira. 

“I’ll be your lookout,” Karias offered.

“We’re now in Korea,” Takeo relayed. “We’ll reach the city in fifteen minutes.” 

Frankenstein checked M-21’s breathing. He was no longer throwing up bile, although a thick stream of blood steadily flowed from his mouth. Fifteen minutes seemed like eons.

“ETA five minutes,” Takeo called out as he calculated the trajectory to the building nearest to the house. The chopper did a slight turn and dropped to a lower altitude. 

“We’re landing now,” Takeo announced after so many minutes. The chopper touched down on one of the skyscrapers that dotted the city.

“You have five minutes.” Frankenstein threw a quick look at Takeo and resumed preparing M-21 for the move. 

Frankenstein cleaned up M-21 as best as he could and swaddled him in a blanket. M-21’s shuddering worsened as they alighted from the chopper and were met with the chilly night air. Seira came forward to pull at a section of the blanket and placed it over M-21’s head as a makeshift hood.

It was time to go. Frankenstein and Karias leaped from the building as the others anxiously watched. 

Frankenstein flew at a relentless pace, pushing himself to his limit despite his own injuries. They were only a few blocks from the house when M-21 stiffened, gasped and gurgled. Blood gushed from M-21’s mouth and nose, soaking the blanket so much that the stain spread beyond his chest and showed no signs of stopping.

Dread crept in yet Frankenstein was calm as he whispered, “M-21, we’re almost at the house. You’re going to be alright. We’re going to fix this, I promise.” 

So don’t you dare die on us now.

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

M-21 roused to the sound of splashing water, the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves as a soft breeze blew through them.

Something was coaxing M-21 to wakefulness, but he was very, very tired. Going to sleep was a wonderful idea, except everything seemed to conspire against him because the sounds were somehow louder. Or maybe his hearing got better. Either way, falling asleep was regrettably out of the equation. 

M-21 cracked his eyes open, expecting to be assaulted by a light that was too bright. To his surprise, no such thing happened. The light had a warm, comforting quality to it. M-21 took stock of his surroundings.

He was sitting against a tall tree, the expanse of its branches serving as a natural canopy. M-21’s legs stretched out, his feet just a few meters away from the rocky edge of—there was no scent of brine in the air—a lake, then. Grass covered the ground surrounding the tree and M-21 wanted to pull each blade off just so he could savor its freshly cut fragrance. Farther ahead, the land to either side of him was green and bore touches of different colors from what he guessed as flowers. Maybe he could take a stroll once he was not feeling so faint. 

Done with checking the environ, M-21 gave himself a once-over. Strangely, he was wearing his clothes from when he was still with the Union sans the trench coat. Did his old attire have that much sentimental value to him that—

A series of caws broke through the bird songs. All of a sudden, a crow landed on M-21’s left foot, skittered across his leg and paused on his knee. M-21 idly held his left hand to it and let the crow perch there. 

“Hello,” M-21 greeted. The crow answered with a caw. Why was there a crow here? The crow continued its walk until it got to M-21’s shoulder, and once there started tugging at his hair.

“Hey, what are you doing?” M-21 shook his arm in an attempt to dislodge the crow, but the corvid merely flapped its wings to balance itself. Was it trying to groom him? The crow stopped messing with his hair, though. M-21 drew his left leg up bit by bit and the crow flew back to its previous position on his knee. M-21 reached out to touch its head. 

“Are you here all by yourself?” M-21 was quite sure that crows traveled in groups so maybe this one got lost. The crow ceased with lightly pecking at M-21’s fingers to throw him a beady gaze and another caw.

“I’m not really sure what this place is, but it looks peaceful, right?” And now he was having a one-sided conversation with a bird. M-21 had done crazier things so this was nothing. “And I don’t mind the company.” His arm dropped to the grass as a dull pain in his chest made itself known. “I just…need to rest a bit.” M-21 leaned his head back on the tree’s trunk and closed his eyes. He could probably try sleeping again— 

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you.”

M-21’s eyes shot open and he jerked forward, sending the crow flying. That voice, he would recognize it anywhere! M-21 twisted to the side, almost going on his hands and knees to search for its source. 

And found Him standing just several paces away. M-21 sank back on his legs, gaping as He strode towards him.

“I finally found you,” M-24 said once he arrived in front of M-21. 

M-21 felt his eyes prickle at the corners. “You’re not really here and this is a trick.” He wanted to believe his words yet his heart refused. “I miss you so much that they’re making me see you like this. You’re not real.”

M-24 hunkered to M-21’s level and stared with that familiar expression of kindness reserved only for him. It spoke of shared suffering and an oath made so long ago to have each other’s back come hell or high water. 

And the dam broke. The tears came unbidden and relentless, cascading down M-21’s cheeks to his chin and dripping to the ground.

“It’s…really you…” M-21 could barely see M-24 through his tears. 

“Shhh, don’t cry.” M-24 wiped away M-21’s tears. The action only made M-21 sob harder.

“Someone from the Union pretended to be you. I really thought you came back.” M-21 no longer gave a damn if he sounded like a child telling on someone. There was no helping that he was this pathetic. 

“I’m here.” M-24 continued to dry M-21’s tears. “So no more crying, it’s not good for you to be crying now.”

M-21’s hand drifted to his chest, right where his heart was. A sharp pain made his breath hitch. 

“M-21, you have to stop crying. It’s hurting you.” M-24 tried again.

“It hurts so much...” M-21 groaned. 

“I know. That’s why you have to calm down. You can do it.” By now, M-24 was sitting on the ground and pulling M-21 into a one-armed hug. “Come on, breathe.”

M-21 drew deep, shaky breaths as he scrubbed off his tears with the sides of his hands. He eventually composed himself, salvaging what little was left of his dignity after his pitiful display. The pain in his chest eased down. 

“We miss you a lot, though not so much we’d want to see you this soon,” M-24 said as he gave M-21’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“Can’t I just stay here?” M-21 burrowed into M-24’s side. “I’m tired.” 

“You’re not even supposed to be here,” M-24 answered. “So you really have to go.”

The confused look that crossed M-21’s face prompted M-24 to hold him by the shoulders and solemnly say, “Remember the promise that we made. And more importantly, remember there are people waiting for you.” 

People waiting for him? Who…

Black strands. Blond waves. Locks of magenta. Tresses of silver. Red. Blue. Gray. Ice blue. The image of a group of persons flickered in M-21’s mind, their names eluding him though not their significance. Family his heart echoed, there was a family waiting for him. 

He was not alone.

That solitary crow, watching M-21 and M-24 from the ground, let out an impatient caw. 

“M-21?” M-24 tentatively queried.

M-21 sighed. “You’re meant to take me back, aren’t you?” He uncurled from M-24’s side and moved to stand up on wobbly legs. M-24 rose along with him and kept an arm slung across his shoulders to help steady him. 

“Lead the way then,” M-21 said.

M-24 nodded and they walked in the direction where he came from. The grass was longer and interspersed with flowers of all imaginable colors. M-21 could have stopped and perused each one, except M-24 swiftly ushered him along a concealed path. Overhead, the crow glided in circles and repeatedly cawed as if telling them to make haste. 

“We’re almost there,” M-24 uttered. Whether this was addressed to him or the crow, M-21 was unsure.

The pair had been trekking for some time and arrived at higher ground at that point. The horizon was lined in white and as they closed the distance, M-21 and M-24 came upon a white stone wall. Right in front of them was an intricately carved wooden door. 

M-24 released M-21. “This is as far as I go. You’ll be able to get back once you pass through this door.” However, M-21 remained motionless.

“M-21, please, you can’t stay here much longer.” 

M-21 turned to look at M-24, uncertainty in his eyes. “Hyung…” On any other day, he would have been self-conscious for letting the word slip.

M-24 relented, pulled M-21 into another embrace and declared, “We’ll see each other again someday.” He lightly pushed M-21 towards the door. “Now you have to get back home.” 

M-21 touched the door and it creaked open. When it was wide enough to let him pass, he spared one last look at M-24.

“Go on. We’ll all be here when you come back.” M-24 smiled. 

M-21 returned the smile. “Yeah. I’ll see you later.” The door immediately shut once he went through it.

M-24 glared at the crow as it settled on his shoulder. “Just because you helped out back there doesn’t mean you lot can go near him,” he warned. “He’s not ready to deal with you.” 

The crow just tilted its head to one side and cawed.

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

M-21 found himself in a forest. Close to barren trees swayed in the wintry breeze and sent leaves raining down. The full moon was low and enormous, the only source of illumination in the suffocating darkness.

“You made it.” A female voice came from behind him. M-21 spun to find a young woman and a teenaged girl standing there. Their similar features led him to conclude that they were related to each other. Both had red brown hair—the young woman’s hair was loose and flowing while the girl had hers in a long braid—and brown eyes. They emitted a glow that rendered them distinct in the bleak surrounding. 

The pair took quick strides towards M-21. “Come, we must hurry.” The young woman grasped M-21 by his right hand and marched onward. His eyes grew wide at the move yet he allowed himself to be led farther into the forest since he sensed no ill intent from her or the girl.

The young woman looked back at M-21. “You will leave this place unharmed I promise you.” Her determined gaze convinced M-21 that she would fight tooth and nail to guarantee that. 

“If you hear some strange sounds don’t pay attention.” The girl advised as she walked beside M-21. She held a three-pronged wooden spear at a ready.

M-21 noticed that the only sounds in the forest were their footfalls and voices. 

A shrill scream pierced the air. A cacophony of wails, shrieks and moans followed, causing M-21 to tremble in spite of himself.

The young woman squeezed his hand. “Hush, it will be alright. We will not let them hurt you.” M-21 focused on the warmth of her hand to shut out the voices. 

The young woman decided to pick up their pace that M-21 was almost breathless with the exertion. The forest disappeared and they arrived at a low cliff with a raging river below it.

“You have to jump into the water,” the young woman explained as she and the girl steered M-21 to the cliff’s edge. “It will keep you safe and return you home—” 

“Wait!” M-21 held his ground. “Please tell me…have we met before?” His instinct was screaming that he ought to recognize who they were.

The young woman wore a bittersweet smile. “No. It would have been a very happy day if we did.” 

M-21’s mind was racing. Why did he feel so safe with them if they never met previously? Why did the thought of leaving them make his heart heavy?

Then it dawned upon him. M-21’s stare went from the girl to the young woman, his eyes shining with unshed tears. “You’re—” he somehow choked out. 

The young woman took M-21’s face in her hands and wiped the corners of his eyes as the first of his tears began to fall. “Remember what your friend said? It’s not good for you to be crying now.”

M-21 fought hard to keep himself from further weeping. “I-I don’t understand. Why are you here?” The words kept tumbling out. “What does it mean that you’re here—” 

The young woman pulled M-21 to plant a kiss on his forehead and stare into his eyes. “Our time has long passed. But not yours.” She carried on in a firm yet affectionate tone, “I know it’s been hard, but you have to stay strong. And never forget there are people who care for you very much.”

M-21 was wrapped in her arms. He held her tight, not wanting to let go. 

“We have to say goodbye for now, my love,” the young woman said a few moments later. M-21 forced himself to withdraw from the hug.

The girl stepped forward and embraced M-21 as well. “Take care of yourself out there, you hear?” 

M-21 nodded, not going to the trouble of saying anything lest he end up sobbing. Instead, he did his best to commit their faces into memory. M-21 resolved not to throw away everybody’s efforts to get him there and set his attention on the river. He breathed in and jumped down. The river’s churning waters swallowed him as soon as he hit it.

They were right. M-21 was calm as the current swept him away. It feels safe down here. 

Then he was gone.

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The sharp, monotonous beep of the vital signs monitor gave way to intermittent ones that were far too slow for Frankenstein’s liking. It only highlighted that M-21 was in a very precarious condition.

Frankenstein wasted no time and placed M-21 in one of the tanks with Karias and Takeo’s assistance. A comprehensive scan revealed a myriad of issues requiring immediate attention, foremost of these was the rapid cell degeneration ravaging M-21’s organs and causing them to fail. Frankenstein administered the highest possible dose of medicine within the safety limits to arrest the degeneration. He was now working against the clock to formulate a cocktail of drugs to address M-21’s other injuries and ailments. 

Somewhere behind Frankenstein, Takeo was saying that he needed to go fetch Tao and Rael from the Werewolf Island.

Karias approached Frankenstein. “Is there anything else we can help you with?” 

“None for now,” Frankenstein replied without taking his eyes off his task of retrieving his research data. At that point, he remembered. “Master must be here already.”

Takeo and Karias glanced at the observation window on the other side of the lab to find Raizel, Seira and Regis watching them. Judging from their expressions, they were unfortunate witnesses to most if not all of the horrific scenario that transpired moments ago. 

“We’ll see to his needs,” Karias reassured Frankenstein. Takeo and Karias left the lab just as Raizel exited the observation room with Regis and Seira, and they all caught up with each other at the hallway.

Seira and Regis were unable to disguise their horror. Takeo tracked their gaze to his blood-smeared shirt. “It’s not mine, it’s M-21’s,” he said as he pulled at the sticky clothing. “I better change out of this or I might scare Tao.” 

Raizel continued towards the elevator and everyone dutifully followed him. He had utmost confidence in Frankenstein’s abilities to take care of M-21. For his part, Raizel decided that he would not add to Frankenstein’s concerns and fix his disheveled appearance as a start.

It was close to an hour later when Raizel entered the main lab all by himself. There was no evidence of the previous event there. In fact, the lab was far too clean and currently had an overpowering chemical scent. 

Frankenstein was standing in a seemingly relaxed manner in front of the tank that held M-21, thoughts unreadable. Raizel took a position to his right and observed M-21 as well. What he saw caused him worry and he let Frankenstein feel it through their Link.

After a while, Frankenstein murmured, “Sometimes I regret not forcing them to leave.” 

“You forget that they are not the sort to listen,” Raizel answered, equally quiet. “They want to stay despite the danger.”

“Maybe I should have threatened them with Dark Spear.” Frankenstein clenched his fists so hard that his knuckles were turning white. “Then none of this would have happened.” 

There would have been no kidnapping, no rescue mission sidelined because of the mad ambitions of a Werewolf Lord, and no necessity for his Master to use his powers and deplete his life force as a result.

“What’s done is done.” Raizel’s words sounded harsh even to him, but it would do no good for Frankenstein to fall into a pit of self-loathing and guilt. “Do not blame yourself for things you have no control over. Moreover, do not lose sight of what is important now.” 

Frankenstein violently sighed then collected himself. He faced Raizel and gave a slight bow. “Forgive me for speaking and behaving out of turn, Master.”

Raizel extended his hand and patted Frankenstein on the shoulder in understanding. 

“Please go rest, Master. I will handle things here,” Frankenstein suggested.

Raizel would have declined except Frankenstein’s anxious expression changed his mind. “I do not need to leave to get rest,” was what he said as a compromise. 

“As you wish.” Frankenstein obtained a chair for Raizel and together they began the vigil over M-21. The beeps from the equipment monitoring M-21 were the only sounds to counter the hush that descended in the lab.

Time went by. The silence was broken as the door slid open and let in Tao, Seira, Takeo and Regis. They made their way across the lab to where M-21 was. 

Tao was as stunned as the rest of RK at seeing M-21 inside a tank. Because none of them ever had to be in one despite sustaining grave injuries in their past battles. M-21 was too pale, too still as he floated in a healing liquid. Tao belatedly noticed a hint of the metallic scent of blood notwithstanding the liberal use of cleaning chemicals.

“So it’s this bad.” Tao was unable to stop from cataloging M-21’s injuries now that they were away from the battlefield—a laceration close to his hairline, the large bruises already turning blue, the collection of abrasions. M-21 probably fractured some bones too. There was a high likelihood of other internal damage as well due to the experiments on him. 

Tao hated that he was the bearer of bad news. However, everyone needed to know what happened. “M-21 here purposely provoked Ignes and made her so angry she increased the intensity of her experiments.”

“Let me guess, is it because he won’t take whatever’s being done to him sitting down?” Takeo did not expect any less from M-21. None of them did. 

“Precisely.” Tao laid his hand on the glass of M-21’s tank and tried not to be hysterical at the situation. “Is our M-21 becoming predictable or what?” Seira reached out and held Tao’s shoulder.

“Ah, there’s one more thing,” Tao continued as he kept his gaze on M-21. “Kentas said M-21 was unconscious for about three days.” 

Frankenstein internally cursed. The experiments must have been very intensive for M-21 to be in that state for that long. He hoped Ignes was suffering twice as much inside Dark Spear.

Tao was about to lose it but finished his report nonetheless. “And Ignes injected him with some drugs before that. Kentas thought he won’t wake up again.” 

At this point, Frankenstein pinched the bridge of his nose, whether in frustration or something else, no one could tell.

“What exactly is wrong with M-21?” Regis hazarded the question. Everyone looked to Frankenstein for an explanation. 

“His cells are degenerating,” was Frankenstein’s first statement as he commenced discussing M-21’s present state of being. By the end of his account, everyone except Raizel became more visibly upset.

“I’ll…go work on the data dump from the Werewolf Island,” Tao announced before heading for the door. 

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything rash,” Takeo murmured then followed Tao. He found him crouched near the wall across the elevator, a dazed expression on his face.

Takeo let his steps fall louder to alert Tao to his presence and sat on the floor beside him. “I’m not going to ask if you’re alright because that’s a very stupid question,” he said a few beats later. 

“Sorry, I almost lost it back there,” Tao apologized. He was a professional damn it, why couldn’t he behave like one now of all times?

“Because this isn’t just some job for the Union involving someone we don’t know or care about,” Takeo shot back. 

Crap, and I actually said that aloud. Tao was distracted from internalizing his embarrassment when Takeo nudged him at his side.

“That data you found won’t sort itself out,” Takeo emphasized. “So get ahold of yourself, M-21 needs us at our best right now.” He stood up and held out a hand to Tao. 

Tao stared up at Takeo. “Boss said those things and you’re still pretty calm—”

“Truth is, I’m absolutely terrified.” Takeo grabbed Tao’s hand and pulled him up. “I’ll deal with myself once things settle down.” 

At Takeo’s encouraging look, Tao straightened, did a heavy exhale and slapped his cheeks rather hard with both hands. “Focus, gotta focus.” He turned to Takeo. “I’m okay now so you can go back—”

Takeo threw an arm over Tao’s shoulder and steered him to the elevator. “Nah, I’ll go with you. I’m not an IT genius, but I can be a fresh pair of eyes so we don’t miss anything.” He said as an afterthought, “Or I can at least make you coffee—” 

Tao blanched. “Ah, no offense, but I’ll pass and have tea in that case. Or make my own coffee.”

Takeo side-eyed him. “You make it sound like my coffee is awful.” 

“No, it’s not. I just don’t want to stay awake for forty-eight hours straight, thank you very much.”

The hours passed. Karias and Rael returned from patrolling around the city and were brought up to speed regarding M-21’s situation. Tao and Takeo came down to the lab with data roughly ten hours after M-21 was placed in the tank. 

M-21’s cell degeneration completely ended at thirteen hours. Nonetheless, he was not yet out of the woods. Frankenstein adjusted medications, increasing or decreasing one and removing another. M-21 remained inactive, so much that it was hard to tell he was breathing were it not for the equipment monitoring his vitals.

To everyone’s relief, M-21’s regeneration finally kicked in when he was about to hit the eighteen-hour mark. 

Thereafter, Raizel and RK persuaded Frankenstein to take a breather. The constant barrage of mournful stares from Raizel and Seira, queries on his wellbeing from Regis and Takeo and blatant appeals to his conscience on how M-21 would feel if he were to collapse courtesy of Tao, made Frankenstein yield. However, he issued strict orders to immediately call his attention should there be any change in M-21’s condition. To appease him, Tao made sure that his tablet had access to M-21’s real-time data so he would not miss anything.  

It was already the twenty-first hour by then. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

M-21 continued to sleep, unmoving and silent. 

The household adapted its routine accordingly. Seira and Regis went to class at Ye Ran while Karias and Rael kept watch over the school. Tao and Takeo took turns staying at the house in the daytime to provide standby assistance to Frankenstein. Raizel opted to recuperate at home and was usually in the lab for most of the day as well.

Karias and Rael conscripted themselves to making rounds in the city during the evening, and whoever was on standby duty in the day would briefly join them. RK assumed the vigil over M-21, dividing themselves into pairs consisting of Tao and Regis and another of Seira and Takeo. 

One night, Seira approached Frankenstein to request lessons on how to cook food for convalescing people. Frankenstein gladly indulged her, passing on his recipes and the others that he learned over the years in his travels.

Different people chanced upon Regis on several occasions as he left M-21’s room bearing cleaning implements. He went from making sure that the room was clean for when M-21 came back, to making sure that it was clean for when M-21 woke up. No one begrudged his steadfastness. 

M-21 grew less ashen and the external evidences of his ordeal had all but disappeared.

The household spoke to M-21 about things. On how their day went, on the latest events, even their concerns about schoolwork and some personal endeavor. 

And about that one unanswered question: When will you wake up?

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

Takeo just came back from evening patrol when he received a message to report to the lab.

“You wanted to see me, Boss?” he asked. 

Frankenstein raised his eyes from the data he was studying on his tablet and looked at Takeo and Tao. The pair straightaway sensed that something was about to happen.

“M-21’s already waking up?” Tao’s voice was hopeful. 

“No, he’s not. But staying longer in the tank won’t make him heal any faster.” Frankenstein put the tablet aside. “And I don’t want him to come round to a lab situation, so we’ll be taking him out of there now.”

Seira came across Takeo as he got what appeared to be half dozen bath towels from the linen cupboard at the ground floor. Tao showed up not even a minute later with some clothes and explained things to her. 

Takeo and Tao arrived at the lab whilst Frankenstein was wheeling a gurney to the tank’s right side. They deposited the towels and clothes on the gurney and waited for further orders.

“Tao, you’re in charge of opening the tank. Takeo and I will handle M-21.” Frankenstein grabbed one of the towels, draped it on his shoulder then stood in front of the tank. The whole procedure would have been easier if M-21 was conscious, though given his experience and his current circumstance, it was better this way. 

Tao tapped a series of keys on the tank’s touchscreen console to open the vents on the tank’s floor and let some of the liquid drain out. He paused the process when the fluid was lower than M-21’s shoulder level. There was a hissing sound and the glass tube slid down to the same level as well.

Frankenstein stepped forward, reached inside the tank and held M-21 by the shoulders. “I have him secure.” 

“Roger that, fully opening the tank now.” Tao tapped more keys and programmed the tank to completely drain itself and for its glass tube to fully slide down. 

Frankenstein caught the brunt of M-21’s deadweight as he lurched forward, no longer buoyed by anything. Takeo drew closer and removed M-21’s oxygen mask and the electrodes attached to his chest and temples, allowing Frankenstein to lift him out of the tank. 

The timer on the tank struck ninety-six hours.

M-21 dripped so much water on the floor that a puddle formed on the spot where Frankenstein set him down. He began to tremble slightly due to the temperature shift. Takeo and Tao made swift yet careful work drying M-21 off, divesting him of his sodden pants and dressing him in dark blue pajamas. Frankenstein toweled M-21’s hair while ensuring that he stayed upright. The entire activity did not last more than ten minutes. Frankenstein issued instructions on how to properly execute the three-person lift so that M-21 was safely laid on the gurney. He likewise led in maneuvering the gurney out of the lab. 

The remaining members of the household gathered in the living room and waited for news. Almost an hour had already gone by since they learned that Frankenstein and the others were extracting M-21.

Someone’s message alert chimed. Raizel took out his phone and rose from the sofa after reading something on it. “Frankenstein says we can see M-21 now.” 

The elevator ride to the lab area was brief. Raizel sauntered past the main lab and observation room, heading in the direction of a room at the end of the hall. Oddly, the room was not fitted with an automatic door. Raizel turned the door handle, revealing that the space had been refurbished as a hospital room complete with amenities befitting that of a private suite.   

M-21 was on a hospital bed, finally fully dressed and with a blanket draped up to his chest. He wore an oxygen mask connected to a ventilator and was being administered fluids and medication via intravenous cannula on the back of his left hand. Five wires attached to one of the equipment that flanked his bed continued their way inside his pajama top from his right collar. Completing the setup was the pulse oximeter on his left index finger. 

Overall, M-21’s appearance reinforced the notion that he was frailer than before. Frankenstein was quick in reassuring everyone that M-21 was recovering, albeit much slower than his usual pace. He likewise stressed that there was no more added benefit for M-21 in staying in the tank, that waking up in there would be more detrimental. 

“He’ll need more time to recover,” Frankenstein explained. “Also, his brain activity indicates he’ll regain consciousness in two or three days’ time.” 

As the household found seats on the chairs and sofas, Tao moved to the left side of M-21’s bed and in a mildly reproachful tone said, “You’re taking this sleeping business too seriously, M-21. Do you need a kiss to wake you up just like in the fairy tales?”

Tao’s second statement intrigued the Nobles, except for Karias, that a rather amusing yet low-key discussion on the relationship between fairy tales and kisses ensued. Frankenstein had to intervene when Seira began to exhibit a keen interest on carrying out Tao’s idea, if only to save himself from having another patient in the person of Rael succumbing to nervous breakdown. Fortunately, he was able to defuse the impending crisis with help from Karias. 

Frankenstein eventually declared that visiting hours were over. Regis and Tao stayed behind for their vigil duty as everyone else retired for the night. Raizel and Frankenstein were yet to leave.

“Do wake up soon, M-21, or Seira might really try to kiss you.” Frankenstein did a final check on M-21 to make certain everything was in order. 

Tao stood to the side looking sheepish for almost causing a misunderstanding, so he was surprised when Raizel came over and gave him pats on the shoulder.

Raizel focused on M-21, drawing his right hand out to brush up the hair that had fallen back on M-21’s face. “We will be waiting for you as always.” He did this for a few moments and exited the room afterwards.

“Tao?” Frankenstein called out.

Tao snapped to attention and handed Frankenstein’s tablet back to him. “I’ve already synchronized that with the equipment data. We’ll call if anything changes so you got nothing to worry about, Boss.” Frankenstein was scrutinizing him rather hard that Tao raised his right hand and blurted out, “And I swear, no more strange ideas.” 

Frankenstein accepted the aforementioned tablet. “I’ll hold you to that.” He cast M-21 a last once-over before heading out as well.

“Um, sorry about that, M,” Tao said as he occupied one of the chairs closest to M-21’s bed. Then he proceeded to tell M-21 random stories. Regis also got roped into sharing some details of the project he and Seira were working on. 

They could only hope that M-21 was able to hear them.

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

M-21’s respiration considerably improved as the hours slipped by, prompting Frankenstein to start weaning him off the ventilator. Fourteen hours since being hooked up to the said machine, Frankenstein at last removed M-21’s oxygen mask, allowing him to breathe unassisted.

Tao shared the news with the other RK members, Rael and Karias when they had a video call during morning break at Ye Ran. To say that it improved their mood would not be an exaggeration. 

That evening, M-21’s visitors also noticed that he was less pallid compared to yesterday. It was yet another milestone proving that he was slowly but surely on the mend. And it was on this encouraging note that everyone bade M-21 good night.

Frankenstein had been asleep for about an hour when his tablet began beeping almost at the same time his phone started ringing. The clock on his bedside table read 2:25 a.m. He grabbed both gadgets, putting Takeo on speakerphone as he checked what caused the alert on the tablet to go off. 

“Boss, something’s wrong with M-21—” Takeo reported as the call connected.

“I’ll be down in ten.” Frankenstein was already changing out of his sleepwear. Not even ten minutes later and he was walking into M-21’s room. 

“We didn’t notice anything until the monitor started beeping,” Takeo explained.

Frankenstein studied the data on a nearby screen and found something suspect on one of M-21’s ECG parameter readings. He promptly unbuttoned M-21’s shirt to remove the electrodes attached across his torso. “We need to get him to the lab now.” 

Frankenstein performed several scans and by the time it was over, M-21 was running a low-grade fever. The remorseful vibe from Seira and Takeo did not escape his attention as they made their back to M-21’s room.

“Just to be clear, I’m not blaming anyone for this. And neither will M-21.” Frankenstein eyed the pair after placing a damp towel on M-21’s forehead. 

Seira could only sigh. “He will most likely blame himself.” While Takeo and Frankenstein did not say anything, their expressions told they agreed with her assessment.

“We’ll take care of things here,” Takeo said. Frankenstein dispensed last minute instructions on how to tend to M-21 before hurrying back to the lab. 

Morning came soon enough. Takeo glanced at the clock while Seira was busy swapping M-21’s towel with one that she just wet and saw that it was nearing 6:00 a.m. So far, M-21’s temperature remained unchanged.

“You should get ready for school, Seira,” Takeo suggested. The door opened and everybody else came in for their morning visit, only to be stopped in their tracks by the scene in front of them. 

Takeo explained what transpired in the early hours of the morning, ending it with, “Boss came by a while back, says he’s almost close to confirming his diagnosis.” That had been nearly two hours ago.

A gloomy quiet settled among them. Until Raizel spoke, “School.” 

That spurred everyone to action. Seira went with Regis, Karias and Rael to prepare for the day. Raizel sat on a chair, making sure that he was not getting in anyone’s way and stared at M-21.

“You better go,” Takeo said after seeing that Tao was yet to leave. 

“Not gonna happen,” Tao responded, his eyes narrowing as he inspected Takeo. “You didn’t even take a nap the whole time you’re here?” Takeo’s guilty expression confirmed his accusation.

“I’m relieving you, so get some breakfast then sleep.” Tao all but ordered as he grabbed hold of the basin Takeo was about to carry in the room’s kitchenette area. 

Takeo did not bother putting up a fight. “Alright, I’ll be back in an hour—”

“Three hours,” Tao imposed. 

“Right, three hours,” Takeo agreed.

He must be tired if he was this compliant, Tao noted. Takeo explained Frankenstein’s instructions regarding M-21 before he reluctantly left. 

Frankenstein turned up several minutes later with two IV bags of medications and piggybacked these to M-21’s primary IV line.

However, things took a turn for the worse. By mid-afternoon M-21’s temperature shot past thirty-nine degrees Celsius, forcing Frankenstein to adjust the dose of one medication a tad higher than the safety limit. Despite this, M-21’s fever raged on and went beyond forty degrees Celsius as early evening arrived. He began to take rapid, shallow breaths and was now shivering even with his burning temperature. 

“We can’t replace his blanket with a thicker one, it’ll only make his fever worse,” was Takeo’s response when Regis raised the suggestion.

Seira stared at M-21 after putting a basin of water on the table beside Tao, her brows creased with concern. “The cold is hurting him.” 

Regis could barely suppress his frustration. “Is there anything else we can do?”

Tao sighed. “This is the only way we can help.” He changed the towel M-21 had on his forehead then commenced patting his arms with another towel in an effort to lower his fever. 

Once Tao finished his work, Takeo came over and pulled M-21’s blanket until it was at his chest. “This is how we can help, so we just have to keep at it.” His voice took on a dejected tone.

Raizel watched the scene unfold with sorrow-filled eyes. The children were capable in their own ways and posed a threat to enemies, yet could not ease M-21’s suffering for all their abilities. And it pained Raizel that he was unable to offer the right words to dispel the overwhelming sense of powerlessness gnawing at them. 

----------------------------------------------------------------

Frankenstein was at his wits’ end. He had been reviewing his data and those that Tao gathered from the Werewolf Island along with M-21’s scans and test results. Everything pointed to one conclusion—continuing with M-21’s current treatment would be fatal—because the infection plaguing him was proving to be resistant to the drugs specifically formulated to cure it. 

There was another option, one Frankenstein did not want to implement unless the situation became so dire there was no other way out of it. He marched into the lab’s drug storeroom, opened a refrigerated storage and pulled out a twelve-inch glass cylinder filled with a light blue liquid.

Frankenstein moved to the adjacent room and deposited the cylinder on a table, the action making the slightly viscous liquid shake within its confines. He glared at the item as if it was the source of all things vexing. This particular drug had shown tremendous potential in treating various maladies yet was unstable and still in its clinical trial stage. 

Frankenstein scoffed at his foolishness. That M-21 would die due to a medical complication was by far the greatest threat now. And he would grasp any opportunity, no matter how small it was, just so M-21 would have a fighting chance at survival.

No one dies on my watch. Not this time. 

With renewed determination, Frankenstein assembled the rest of his required ingredients and materials to begin working on M-21’s new medication.

---------------------------------------------------------------- 

Regis was equal parts uneasy and relieved. M-21’s temperature stayed the same despite their efforts to bring his fever down to a more manageable level. Still, it was better than the alternative. Regis handed the towel he folded to Seira, then glanced at the entrance in the hopes that Frankenstein would finally return with something to end this.

The sound of the door unlocking caught everyone’s attention. Frankenstein strode into the room, examined M-21 and replaced his two most recent medications with the single IV bag he brought. 

“The medication will start working in an hour,” Frankenstein announced once he was done.

A tense silence reigned, until Raizel declared that they should have dinner since it was getting late. He also mildly chastised Frankenstein and Tao for missing lunch, stressing that M-21 would not appreciate it. 

“He’ll probably say something along the lines of ‘Don’t neglect yourself on my account’,” Takeo added as he fixed M-21’s towel before it slipped off his forehead.

Frankenstein and Raizel decided to stay behind and sent the rest of RK to have dinner first. Thereafter, Tao and Takeo came down and took charge of M-21 so they could have dinner as well. 

Raizel and Frankenstein waited for the elevator to return from the lab floor. The elevator door slid open to reveal Tao scowling at something on his pocket computer.

Tao looked up when he noticed the elevator door moved and came upon Raizel and Frankenstein standing outside. “Boss, one of our sensors just detected someone entering the city.” 

“Have you identified who it is?” Frankenstein asked. Could it be…

“Hold on, I’m trying to get a video feed. The intruder came from the southwest.” Tao tapped and swiped at his screen until he got the information he needed. “I got a lock on the intruder and…oh.” 

Raizel’s worry vanished at Tao’s surprised expression. “Not an enemy then?”

“Considering recent events, I don’t think so.” Tao showed the live feed from one of the cameras he installed in the city’s ruined sector. 

Frankenstein’s phone chose to ring at that moment, the number flashing on the screen familiar despite him not registering it in his contacts list all this time.

“You should answer that, Frankenstein. He seems concerned you are not picking up,” Raizel observed. True enough, the person on the video feed was frowning. Tao excused himself to give Raizel and Frankenstein some privacy. 

Frankenstein swiped on his phone screen and answered the incoming call.

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Muzaka landed on top of the building Frankenstein directed him to go and waited. It had been two nights since he received a call from Frankenstein regarding a request. Muzaka would have obliged him back then, except Garda’s vital signs became so erratic that he was unable to leave Crombel’s lab.

A presence materialized a few meters from where Muzaka stood. He recognized the Noble as the leader of the Kertia Clan. 

“Frankenstein sent me to escort you,” Rael said without preamble.

Muzaka nodded and followed Rael’s lead. They traversed several buildings before landing in a deserted alley. Muzaka noted that the buildings were not as high as the ones in their previous location. 

“This way, please.” Rael stepped out of the alley and made a right turn. The late-night traffic was thinning and the establishments they passed were either closed or already closing. A few more minutes of walking and they reached a residential area. Rael stopped in front of the gate of a white two-storey house and unlocked it to let them inside the property.

“Frankenstein is waiting,” Rael stated once he disengaged the front door. 

“I’ll show myself in.” Muzaka knocked then turned the door handle. Rael vanished from sight as soon as Muzaka entered the house.

The first thing Muzaka became aware of was the somber stillness that seemed to permeate the air. Second was the rack to the right side of the doorway filled with footwear. There was a handwritten note reminding people to change into slippers. Muzaka did just that before venturing further into the house. He found Frankenstein standing in the living room. 

“Sorry I’m late,” Muzaka announced his presence.

“My apologies for not bringing you here myself,” Frankenstein replied as he met Muzaka. “There’s a pressing matter that I’m currently attending to.” 

“Maybe I shouldn’t have come since you’re busy,” Muzaka answered. He could not avoid taking notice of Frankenstein’s worn out appearance, subtle it may be.

“Actually, now’s the right time for you to be here.” Frankenstein strode farther into the house with Muzaka in tow. They came to the end of a hallway, where Frankenstein pressed a hidden panel on the wall that uncovered an elevator. He gestured for Muzaka to enter then followed inside. 

“I’ll only take an hour of your time seeing as we both have other important things to take care of,” Frankenstein guaranteed.

The elevator came to a stop at the lab floor and they headed to the main lab. Tao did a good job of finding data in the Werewolf Island, except it turned out that the werewolves experimented on their civilian population. There was also data on Kentas, though it was insufficient for Frankenstein to conduct an in-depth study on werewolf warriors. 

Then there was Muzaka. Definitely not a run-of-the-mill werewolf and arguably the strongest Werewolf Lord. Frankenstein was quite apprehensive and prepared several arguments to persuade him, so he was rather astonished that Muzaka readily consented when he broached his request.

Muzaka let his eyes roam around Frankenstein’s lab and saw the stark contrast between its technology and that of Crombel’s. Even a non-scientist like him could tell that Frankenstein’s was more superior. 

He was curious about something else so he turned to Frankenstein. “So how’s that kid you rescued doing?”

It was a well-meaning question, but it made something inside Frankenstein snap. 

Let them taste our wrath. 

The chant of thousands of souls reverberated in Frankenstein’s head as tendrils of his power shot out, purple black in all its malevolent glory. 

Make them suffer.

“Frankenstein, quit it already!” Muzaka did not expect his inquiry to touch a nerve and cause such violent reaction. 

Make them bleed.

Enough Frankenstein, M-21 is terrified! 

Raizel’s words cut through the din and brought Frankenstein back to his senses. The dark aura that threatened to devour everything disappeared.

Takeo burst through the door not a minute after. “Boss, M-21—” 

Frankenstein’s feet moved by themselves and he dashed out of the lab. In his haste, Takeo left the door to M-21’s room gaping and Frankenstein could hear faint noises from inside as they drew closer. Frankenstein stepped through the threshold and beheld the result of his indiscretion.

M-21 somehow mustered strength so he was now lying on his left side, gasping and whimpering softly. 

What have I done?

Raizel cautiously held M-21’s shoulder. “Calm down, M-21.” The whimpers did not stop and even got worse. Raizel pulled back and met Frankenstein’s guilt-ridden eyes. 

Frankenstein could barely stand the sorrow on his Master’s face so he withdrew to check the monitors then hovered by M-21’s bed, uncertain on how to go about their predicament. Maybe he should sedate M-21…

Takeo took the spot Raizel vacated and touched M-21 on the arm. “M-21, please, no one’s going to hurt you here.” 

“There must be something we can do.” Seira had been reflexively clutching the towels that fell when M-21 abruptly shifted.

“Maybe something werewolf-related?” Tao was grasping at straws.

“We don’t know anything like that,” Regis countered rather testily. 

A muffled sob from M-21.

Everybody set their attention on Frankenstein, silently imploring him to please do something, anything, to put an end to this harrowing situation. 

“If you want to try something werewolf-related, you can start with calming yourselves down,” Muzaka said from the open door. Although surprised at his presence, nobody objected as he let himself inside the room.

Muzaka was unsure whether his idea would work, though there was nothing to lose if they had a go at it. He continued in an even tone, “Sick werewolf children are very sensitive to the emotions of people around them, so caregivers have to make sure they’re calm at all times.” 

It required some effort for the panic-laden atmosphere to gradually ease as everybody contained their agitation. However, with the damage already done, M-21’s whimpers were persistent.

“I want to try something. I promise it’s nothing harmful,” Muzaka told Raizel and Frankenstein. Both nodded their assent and stood to the side to give Muzaka room. The others did the same. 

Muzaka made his way to the left side of M-21’s bed and sat on the chair Takeo previously occupied. His eyes went to the bed’s plastic side rail.

“Can this be removed?” Muzaka asked. Takeo came forward and collapsed the aforementioned side rail, allowing Muzaka to place his right hand palm-down on the mattress, almost close to M-21’s head and hands. 

Muzaka commenced slowly patting M-21 on the upper arm and in soft voice said, “Hey there, it’s alright, you’re safe. No one’s going to hurt you here.” M-21 was tense at the onset but relaxed under his touch.

“You have nothing to be afraid of.” Muzaka glanced at the household as he continued to do a few more slow pats before moving to gently stroking M-21’s arm. “They’re very sorry for scaring you and they won’t do it again.” 

M-21 was whimpering less now.

The poor kid’s very sick. Muzaka was sorry for M-21 and had to bury it deep to avoid further distressing him. Instead, he carried on with his ministrations, telling M-21 several times more that there was nothing to be afraid of, that he was safe. 

M-21’s whimpers grew even lesser.

“That’s it, you’re doing well.” Muzaka reached forward and started to run his hand down M-21’s back. “You’re doing very well.” 

The act made M-21 pause mid-whimper then he resumed at a lower volume.  

Muzaka remembered a melody sung by countless werewolf parents over the centuries. It was the one that lulled Ashleen to peaceful slumber when she was just a tiny infant. 

Muzaka drew a deep breath and began to hum. It was shaky at first as he thought of the tone for each line. By the time he was at the second verse, Muzaka grew more confident, his humming steady.

M-21 ceased his whimpering altogether. 

If one were to ask Muzaka what was going through his mind at the time, the most accurate response would be he was not thinking at all. Everything came to him as a reflex. And caressing the back of a hurt child to soothe him whilst humming a lullaby was not wrong in the slightest. Muzaka did not stop either action even after M-21 had already gone silent for some time now.

Moreover, he did not balk when M-21’s fumbling right hand reached for his right hand, missed and succeeded at last in catching his index and middle fingers in a feeble grip. 

Muzaka repeated the lullaby a second, even a third time. He was in the midst of the fourth cycle when he determined that M-21 was no longer in a panicked state. Muzaka finished the lullaby, rubbed M-21’s back a final time before freeing his fingers from M-21’s hold.

Thankfully, M-21 made no protest of any sort. 

“Frankenstein,” Muzaka’s call broke the spell that the others fell under, “you better check him.” Muzaka left his seat and found his way beside Raizel as Frankenstein approached.

Frankenstein repositioned M-21 on his back and checked if the cannula or any of the electrodes were dislodged, and was relieved to find that everything was still in place. M-21’s skin was still too hot to the touch and his breathing still rapid and shallow. Frankenstein raised the blanket to M-21’s chest. The medication should be taking effect now so his fever would go down soon. 

“Leave him to us, Frankenstein,” Raizel said. “You and Muzaka have something to do.”

“And the sooner we get it done, the sooner you can get back here,” Muzaka added. 

Frankenstein nodded. “Then I’ll leave him to you.” The rest of RK moved in and took over M-21’s care as he and Muzaka hurried to the lab.

More than half an hour of scanning, several vacutainer tubes of blood, a session of tissue sample extraction, a buccal swab and a quick trim of a clump of Muzaka’s hair later, Frankenstein was finally finished. He handed Muzaka a bottle of orange juice, which Muzaka stared at with suspicion. 

“You think I have time to make things explode in your face?” Frankenstein almost huffed.

“Not really, more like I’m wondering about the sugar content of this drink,” Muzaka replied from his seat as he unscrewed the bottle and sniffed the juice. 

“It’s sugar-free, says right there on the bottle,” Frankenstein pointed out. He let Muzaka finish the drink prior to speaking again, “I apologize. I did say I’ll only take an hour of your time—”

“It’s fine, there were extenuating circumstances anyway.” Muzaka allayed Frankenstein’s concern. They were quiet as Frankenstein stored the samples he collected for study later. 

“I never got his name.” Muzaka was referring to M-21.

“We don’t know it.” At Muzaka’s raised eyebrows Frankenstein pressed on, “The people at the Union call him M-21 and he’s the survivor of a group of experiments named M-Series. M-21 doesn’t have any memories of his past and believes they’d been experimented on for years before the M-Series was declared a failure.” He may be imagining it, but Muzaka seemed to have turned a shade paler after his revelation. 

“How old do you think he is?” Muzaka could not help inquiring.

“We’re not really sure. Master and I think he’s twenty-six years old at the most. M-21 assumes he’s around twenty-eight years old.” Frankenstein gestured for Muzaka to hand him the juice bottle for disposal. 

Muzaka had a suspicion that neither party was right about M-21’s age if he were to judge by the scent he encountered a while ago. It reminded him of joyful shrieks, happy giggles and sleepy afternoon cuddles.

It confounded Muzaka that a modified human would bear the scent of a werewolf child of all things. 

Frankenstein mulled on Muzaka’s question and recalled those very rare, unguarded and short-lived instances where M-21 appeared and behaved much younger than his supposed age, and how his defenses would go up and he would revert to his somber, world-weary self. M-21 gave him and Master the impression of a child doing his best to fit into an adult’s shoes. And M-21 was successful for the most part, which was very remarkable.

Frankenstein changed the topic. “I’m surprised you agreed to this.” 

“I said I owe you, remember? This is part of paying my debt to you and Raizel for helping my people.” Muzaka scratched his cheek. “Although I’m not sure if you’ll get something useful out of this when my body is such a mess.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Frankenstein responded as the door opened and Raizel entered the lab. 

“Is there something wrong, Master?” Frankenstein asked.

Raizel shook his head. “Takeo says M-21’s fever is going down.” 

Frankenstein grabbed his tablet and confirmed that M-21’s fever had indeed gone slightly lower.

“I guess I should be on my way.” Muzaka stood up and did a few stretches. 

“Are you sure? You can rest for a few more minutes,” Frankenstein said.

“I’m fine, I‘ve endured far worse,” Muzaka replied as he fixed his hair. 

Raizel accompanied Muzaka on his way up to the house and joined him as he left their property. They were now strolling on an empty, tree-lined street.

“You’re worried.” Muzaka expertly deciphered Raizel’s blank expression. 

Raizel sighed in response. “Frankenstein is doing everything he can but M-21 is still unwell.”

“He’s been sick since when?” 

“M-21 collapsed before we left the island. He has been improving until he got ill again today.”

That long? No wonder they all look so upset. 

“Things happen even if you’ve been very careful,” Muzaka observed. The minute crease of Raizel’s brow showed he erred on that statement. What was with tonight that he kept saying the wrong words?

“So how did you meet him?” Muzaka steered the conversation to a safer subject. 

“M-21 was entrusted to us.” Raizel did not elaborate further.

“Must be a long story. Maybe you can tell me next time we see each other.” Muzaka clapped Raizel on the shoulder. It was probably not even a year since he joined Raizel and Frankenstein’s household, yet M-21 appeared to have a profound effect on them. 

“And don’t be too anxious about M-21. With Frankenstein in charge I’m sure he’ll get better in no time.” Muzaka walked a few steps ahead of Raizel and turned to face him.

“I’ll see you around.” With that, Muzaka leapt to the sky. The cool night air contrasted with the warmth that still clung to the fingers M-21 held. 

Muzaka gazed at his right hand and mentally shook himself to get rid of the strange yet familiar sentiment beginning to take root in his heart. Not only was it presumptuous, it was distracting as well. And if the situation was indeed as dire as he believed then he had no time to spare on distractions.

[fair-fae]

this is nervewracking to ask, but i'm going to do it anyway. what did cyril do that was abusive? i can't see it, and honestly that just makes me scared that i do some of the same things and don't recognize it.

Hey, anon! This is a perfectly fine question and there’s nothing wrong with asking it (the issues lies in people who don’t see the abuse and then decided obviously that means it’s just not happening… and then go the extra mile of harassing the victim and their supporters). Thank you for asking! I’ll try to explain as best as I can, but the best advice I can give is to Google signs of emotional abuse and you can find a lot of lists of certain behaviors. Most are framed in terms of romantic relationships, but they can happen with friends, family, RP partners–anyone, in real life and online alike.Cut for length and general sensitive content dealing with emotional abuse and the dreaded “drama”

Here are some common ones that imo appeared in the logs:Isolation

Abusers often try to isolate victims from their friends/family and any other relations they might have. A sad and lonely victim makes for an easier target, as does one with no support network to help them escape their abuser. It also means less people around to find out about the abuser’s true nature. In the logs we see him try to cast doubt on her friends, telling her that her friends were bothering him and calling him “her keeper” or coming to him about her private conversations with them that they were displeased about (yet refusing to say who, to leave her questioning everyone), not mentioning her friends and tumblr followers were worried about her and trying to reach her until after the fact, etc.Walking on EggshellsA lot of people in abusive relationships describe it as feeling like “walking on eggshells.” They try to avoid doing things that might set off their abuser… but their abuser has to keep them from being content and confident to keep them in control, so they’ll find smaller and more irrational things to get upset at them about. Replying “if you want” to being asked about taking screenshots becomes a point of contention. “When are you going to stop being sad?” becomes an angry question. She’s blamed for deleting her own blog even though he knew she did it for her health/happiness. She’s blamed for the smallest inconvenience of people asking him if she’s okay even though she has no control over them choosing to reach out to him and for the most part didn’t even have any knowledge of it. Rather than answer them or ask them to stop contacting him, he ignores them, then blames her for him continuing to receive questions from them and the perception he believes that people think he had a falling out with her.

Gaslighting

This is what I saw the most of them in the logs and the most alarming thing. Gaslighting is turning everything around on the victim and making them doubt their own memory/sanity/intelligence/credibility. No, that didn’t really happen, you’re lying. No, what I did to you wasn’t that bad, it was normal, you’re just dramatic. No, I didn’t really say that, you’re misremembering. It’s a lot of lies, justifications, twisting words and scenarios, and taking things out of context.You can see how everything is spun as her fault and actually hurting him. Her deleting her blog is her fault. Him receiving messages about it is her fault. Her not doing anything about the messages is her fault, even though he just now told her it was bothering him, even though he just now told her he was still even receiving them past the first couple ones. Her being unhappy is her fault and a bother for him. Her not being enthused enough to do things with him is her fault, why doesn’t she appreciate that he so generously offered to hang out just to make her feel better? Obviously it’s all because she just hates him. He’s not treating her like an inconvenience, that’s just her mental illness telling her that. She tries to talk to him about her feelings and the way he’s treating her, and rather than acknowledging it, he turns it around–rather illogically and irrationally–about how he is actually the one being mistreated and inconvenienced.Passive Aggression 

A classic way to make people feel like shit but then pretend you did nothing and act like it’s all in their head. Look at the language he uses. Calling her “childish and rash” for “expecting” him to answer messages about her even though she never said she expected that. “It’s better than nothing” when she tries to do something to address the people messaging him as soon as she finds out it’s bothering him. “I don’t think you handled something well -  whatever -  people handle things in different ways” in regards to her deleting her blog for her own happiness. “I would have hoped we could resolve the problem if we’d talked it over” as if he wasn’t the obstacle in that.Those are just a few examples from the first album (the others get into less passive aggression, and more… downright aggression but still have plenty of examples, “delete them - so you don’t just repost them later without my knowledge again.”).ControllingnessThe staple of abuse is an attempt to control the victim. Look how weirdly hung up he is on her deleting her own blog and not doing it in a way he approved of (I almost wonder if he’s upset because he lost the status points of having a “tumblr famous” ship partner?). Look at how, even after they stopped being friends, he wants to keep her character on his ship page after she’d asked him to remove it and he admits to intentionally doing it to make her talk to him and give him leverage over her. Look at how he won’t let her go talk to her own friends in private for advice regarding him and shames her for it being an invasion of “privacy,” as if the logs showed some personal/RL info and not just him being unreasonable. Look at how concerned he is with people on tumblr not assuming the two of them are on bad terms. Look at how, even after they stop being friends, he browses her blogs for posts he believes are about him and tries to tell her what she can and can’t say on her own blogs.It’s evident in his branding post, as well. If people cut ties with him on terms he doesn’t like, they can’t RP having a brand–because he said so. Even if they change the story of how they received it and what character gave it to them. Even if they had that idea before they met him and asked him to RP it with them. Even if they change the look of the brand so it’s no longer his design. This isn’t even a unique idea or something he came up with on his own. Branding slaves has been a RL practice. It’s been made into a trope with… pretty much every fictional slave storyline.And while I’m generally of the opinion of the opinion that IC =/= OOC, IC does not exist within a void unaffected by OOC and vice versa. It’s just speculation since there’s nothing wrong with RPing the type of character he does, but there could very well be a reason he’s drawn to an antagonist/rapist/slaver/abuser/sadist/kidnapper type character.Lack of Care for BoundariesShe says she doesn’t want to be friends anymore, she blocks him, she asks him to delete her number, so what does he do? He not only keeps her number, but texts her because he hopes she hasn’t blocked him there, too. Not even to make an apology, just to say “I would have hoped we could resolve the problem if we’d talked it over” as if he hadn’t been an obstacle in that and “if you change your mind, I’ll be here” to put the onus of fixing the problem on her. When that doesn’t seem to get a response? He keeps their ship on his page despite her asking him to delete it and says, “I used it to make a point, since I knew that you wouldn’t continue the conversation unless I had something to get your attention.” He knows she doesn’t want to talk to him, so rather than honoring it or even finding a respectable way to approach her and make amends… he’s does something against her wishes that he know will upset her so she’ll feel compelled to reluctantly reach out to him. And when he gets that platform he wanted, does he use it to apologize? Nooope! He uses it as leverage to make her delete her screenshots of their conversation.Ultimatums How do you make someone do something they want to do? Give them an alternative that’s even worse. You want your name removed from my ship list so people don’t think you’re associated with me after you’ve realized I’m not someone you want to be around? You have to message me, delete your logs of our conversation, and not say anything about me. You don’t want me to embarrass you by posting logs of your confession to me and me rejecting you? You shouldn’t do things I don’t like, then… oh, but I’d never actually do that, don’t worry, silly! :) :) :)General Narcissism There are numerous times he demands he should be more appreciated. I did all these things to try to cheer up you, be grateful no matter how I’m treating you now. I’ve been so nice to you, how dare you say you feel like I don’t care even when I’m disregarding your feelings. Heck, look at the posts about his rules regarding his branding. He acts like it’s a revolutionary idea he came up with all his own and anyone he’s RPing with is being graced with this groundbreaking idea and if they keep some element of it in their RP after cutting ties with him they’re just “piggy-backing off" his time, effort, and energy to make up for their “lack of creativity” like srsly dude??Even though he refuses to apologize or acknowledge any wrongdoing, he really wants her to forgive and her to make things up to him, to still be his friend, to still have a positive opinion of him so he won’t lose that control. He can’t just let things die. Look at how many times he brings up being “villified” to her friends, the community, etc. He is desperate to have the world see him in a good light, which goes back to the other things mentioned. Control over the perceptions people have of him. The power of popularity and being liked to better isolate victims. Respect from the community to lend credibility that he’s trustworthy and definitely not gaslighting.

And not directed at you, anon, but in general.. for all the people trying to spin at as someone mad they got rejected who was actually terrorizing him… really? The only person who brought up her feelings in the logs was him doing it to spite her. idk I’ve dealt with a lot of admirers not taking rejection well and lemme tell you, I don’t invite them to hang out IRL (I try to avoid seeing them IRL, actually), I don’t ask them to hang out with me in game, I don’t go to lengths to contact them when they’ve blocked them, I don’t ship with them and try to parade it on my blog even after the ship has been retconned, I don’t desperately try to stay in contact with them and convince them to see me in a positive light, I don’t manipulate them into messaging me when I know they don’t want to talk, I don’t try to control their lives and their blogs, and I definitely don’t threaten them with ultimatums. Honestly, nobody deserves that in any context, even if they were a terrible person themselves.

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Anime of Note 2018 Rainbow Edition

2018 was some kind of a year wasn't it? It was long and a pain in the ass but there was some anime out this year I really enjoyed. I'm here to write down a bunch of shows I enjoyed in no particular order. I might put them in the order I watched them in, or I might not. I guess we'll see huh?

Also, I think there's WAY more this year than usual which means I either like things easily, there were a lot of good shows, all of the above or some other reason. Hope I don't get too long winded on you! Also I'm using whatever names I feel like for naming things off, translated, still Japanese...whaaatever~

Pop Team Epic

Pop Team Epic was everything I wanted it to be and more. I've been a fan of Bkub's work since the early days so to see these two shitty girls finally show up on the anime screen week to week was a pleasure and a delight. The decision to make two separate half episodes with different voice actors for Popuko and Pipimi was a wonderful decision that let us experience things like Aoi Yuki as Popuko and Norio Wakamoto as Pipimi. It also shot the wonderful team of ACBU into the spotlight. Their Bobunemimimmi segments were so disgustingly perfect and fit the tone of the show perfectly. It also gave us one of the best moments in anime this year:

Needless to say, I really hope they are doing a season 2 like it's been rumored. I'm on board for SO much more.

Yuru Camp

This was a show I actually watched twice this year and have subsequently watched multiple episodes just on my own. It is one of my favorite things this year and maybe it's just because of how unassuming it is. There's honestly nothing deep to the show. Cute girls dress in warm winter clothing and go camping. However, the way everything is paced with nice warm colors and chill ass music nestles its way into your heart and fills you with a nice cozy feeling. It's like a blanket, the anime. Just wrap yourself up in the wonderful friend times and maybe you'll learn a thing or two about camping and friendship along the way.

Mitsuboshi Colors

Are adults letting you down? Sure, they're not up to the challenge pretty much all the time. But that's why you should just stay out of the way and let Colors come in to save the day! This trio of girls are ready to save their town and to let shitty cops know what's up. Seriously, it's a cute show with a cute group of friends getting into big adventures, even if those adventures are often due to their own misconceptions. It's a good show with kids who act like kids and are always either talking about poop or are sucking at video games. It's a nice show and has some good performances, as well as the best sunglasses of 2018 in my book.

Karakai no Jouzu Takagi-san

A series about a boy and a girl who are totally crushing on each other, even if one likes to keep it deeply hidden and the other would never admit it really. Oh, also she owns him every chance she can get with teasing. It's like a reverse Tonari no Seki-kun if Seki was not in his own world and was actively trying to make Rumi blush or stumble over herself. This premise may sound mean but it's honestly all in good fun and there's something really cute about the pair's friendship with each other. The way the manga apparently goes makes me really want to check it out sometime too.

Oh also there's a great side trio of friends with and I love how dumb of a baby one of them is.

Hinamatsuri

What happens when a yakuza becomes the dad of a psychic girl who crashed in an egg in his apartment and broke all his vases? This series! Hinamatsuri was a show that got me really hard this year at a couple points where I know I had to either fight back tears or take a few minutes to sit their with a quivering lip and watery eyes. It's an incredibly funny show from  the premise alone but when you have the put upon character of Nitta having to take care of the force of nature that is Hina it just escalates it. On top of that though, there's a good heart to it as well. Anzu is a wonderful character and I love her story and her many grandpas. Also Hitomi's story actively hit me hard to where I felt bad for a fictional child to please just be a child for a little while. It was powerful stuff and I loved it.

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

I hate Sword Art Online. I've only watched the first series with the original and faerie times, but I hated it so much. That being said, hearing that the new one was actually good made me seek it out and...thank God it is. Llenn/Karen is just a much more compelling character than the power fantasy that is Kirito. The story of a woman who does not like herself in the real world, but finds a new home and life in virtual reality is a nice little story. On top of that, ditching the stupid "if you die in the game, you die in real life" really helped the show out in my eyes. This show is not about stop some huge over arcing villainous plot to fuck over the whole world or whatever. GGO is about trying to save someone from hurting themselves and honestly, that's a lot more relatable. A recap episode in this day in age IS silly though for what it's worth.

Let's take a short break shall we? For a little section I'm gonna call, Fuck, You Let me Down Man.

Amanchu Advance

I put Amanchu on my list two years ago of Anime of Note because I really enjoyed the tale of friendship it told. Amanchu Advance continues that story and shows Teko slowly becoming more of her own person thanks to that friendship. She wants to become a stronger person, a better version of herself and it's through her friends she's able to do this. The series is still very good at showing these moments but the last few episodes of the show are bogged down in a weird supernatural plot with a ghost boy that I wish they would have just tossed down the shrine steps. The twist at the end with it was not worth sidetracking the story for three episodes in a 12 episode story and soured my experience as a whole. I've been told the author likes doing these sorts of things and I didn't mind the lucid dreaming episodes, but this bit just did not land for me and it's a big bummer.

Here's Another Side Category Called Old Anime I Watched And Enjoyed. Yes, that's the full title.

G Gundam

I don't know why it took me so long to watch this series, but I am glad I did. Maybe I just needed friends to be there to watch it with, who knows. Either way, I'm thankful I got to join Domon on his journey searching for the man in the photograph and to experience the Undefeated of the East in his most powerful form. G Gundam is a goofy setting with a bunch of weird but fun characters and their even weirder mobile suits. I don't know how much I can really say on it since I'm sure most people have probably checked it out years ago on Toonami. It's still fun and good and it has a Gundam who is a boxer and a football man at the same time. Gundam Fight, Readdddddy....GO!

Back to my normal list, though I have grouped the next couple shows in a block I am calling the "I wish these had a full 24 episodes even though I understand why they didn't but please make more I'd love it, ok thanks" block.

A Place Further Than The Universe

This show had...a lot of moments where I was sitting there and just processing all that was going on. A group of girls become friends and join a civilian expedition to Antarctica, one of whom is going there to basically go where her mother had spoken of years ago and never came back. It's a show that I felt compelled to keep watching even though I knew I should have stopped for the night, telling myself "I can watch one more episode..." . It just gripped me and sank its penguin fangs into me. Shut up, I know what I said. Seriously though, the cast of secondary characters are just as fun as the main ones and I enjoyed every minute of it. It definitely destroyed me in one of the more heavy moments near the end though so keep a box of tissues handy ok?

Wotakoi

Love is hard for otaku. It's in the show's translated title and everything. Let me tell you, I'm very happy seeing so many anime featuring adults in the work place these days. Wotakoi is a show I felt a very personal connection to, especially its humor levels. Not going to lie,  I am a Kabakura through and through when it comes to my anime watching and purchasing habits. It's a cute love story with a couple of characters getting together out of convenience before realizing maybe there's something more than that to it. The interactions are great and it's very relatable if you've ever had a friends' game night or anime watching session. It's a show that just feels like it knows just how to speak to you if you've been a fan of anime for a long time.

Hisone to Masotan

Hey, you into dragon vore? Then have I got the show for you buddy. All joking aside, Hisomaso is a show with one of the more fun protagonists I've run into in a while. Hisone's blunt and to the point to the detriment of anything that comes out of her mouth most of the time, but there's something about her honesty that's very endearing. The show's pilots are a great cast and their dragon friends are just as charismatic even if they spend a lot of the time cosplaying as aircraft. This show has a nice story about trying to find just where you fit in within the world and sometimes that's hard. Sometimes the best thing to do is dive into the gullet of a big scaly F-15 and ride the free skies to your heart's content. I love you Masotan.

Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight

This show I think more than any others in this block I wanted more of, even though I know why I don't have more of it. From episode one, I got Utena vibes with the music, the auditions, Hell, even the prefight wardrobe transformations. Stage girls do battle with all of their shine to prove who is truly the top star. That's the basic premise and the cast of characters really helps to flesh it out with their own motivations of what makes them keep going to be the very best they can be. I loved all of the imagery in the auditions and the music and the big doofy giraffe just watching from the stands and enjoying the whole thing. Revue Starlight is a stylish show with some amazing animation and choreography that puts most of the things I watched this year to shame and I need more things like it.

STOP IT'S PRECURE TIME

Go Princess Precure

This is me and Cheapsteak's "old Precure" of the year and it's wonderful. It's a story about dreams and fighting for them. The Princess Precures are maybe not the most relatable of characters as they attend a very prim and proper high class school. One is a business conglomerate's daughter, one's a super model, one's a Princess from another plane entirely. But there is something wonderful how they all work together as friends and work to save everyone's dreams, I don't know there's something very good and wonderful about that. I love that even when it comes to one of the villains, a character in the show goes out of her way to help him with his self esteem (and make up). I don't know, I've got a few episodes left but I just love it. Haruka is my favorite Pink Precure I've met so far and she is gonna be tough to beat.

Hugtto Precure

Very similar to Go Princess is Hugtto, with its message of hope for the future because you can't just stay in the present. There's a great cast of characters and they all work so hard to cheer each others' dreams on, all while taking care of a baby and a hamster from the future. I think this show also has the best mid-seasons Cures I've met so far and just...everything with how supportive and good everyone is to each other has me smiling the whole time. Also in the episodes leading up to the anniversary movie this year, we got some of the best big moments I've seen in a show in a while. A lot of the episodes have some amazing animation work as well and just...I like this show a lot especially what it did to show Hana's pre-show back story as well. Pink Cures are really good huh?

Back to business!

Asobi Asobase

Along with PTE, this was one of the weirder comedies that I watched this year. It's often crass or just outright weird, but that's one of its strong points I think. The show's opening is a giant fakeout from what seems like your ordinary "cute girls doing club things" chill show because you're soon hit with some of the weirdest faces and shrieks that I've run into in a while. The characters are a troublesome group of weirdoes who try to do activities like a normal club but fail horribly at it, often due to one or more of them sabotaging it with their own dumbness. It really says something that the sweetest and most relatable characters are the witch girls who practice curses all day. They're really the best though but so are all of the fucking weirdoes in this show. Also there's ass lasers so if you're into that...

Cells at Work

Learn about the human body while dangerous viruses and germs get fucking iced like they walked into the wrong anime. Follow a red blood cell make her way through the blood stream and lose her way every single time. Thrill at the amazingly adorable platelet crew as they get to work each day. Cells at Work is a weird science shounen show with some great character designs and interactions. The way the cells just are working hard and doing their jobs as best they can is great and you want to root for them so hard. Those Killer T and White blood cells and Macrophages just love killing SO much. It's a fun show that teaches you about biology and anatomy in a somewhat rudimentary but enjoyable manner.

Plus I will stress again, the platelet design is beyond cute.

Skullface Book Seller Honda-san

Honda-san is a cute little series you could watch in an afternoon due to its episode count and length, but it's one I could see myself watching multiple times easily. It's a fun window into the window of book store retail and the Japanese publishing industry. The characters have fun designs, mostly normal bodies with some kind of weird mask/helmet on but they're very relatable. Honda-san does his best to help out the customers, even when their requests tear at his very sanity some times. But that's retail huh? It's fun though, go check out this good skeleton!

Bloom Into You

I think this was the show that intrigued me the most this year because I was just hooked on the relationship between Yuu and Touko and seeing how it advanced. Yuu is a girl who wants to be able to fall in love like everyone else her age seems to be able to and when she finally meets a girl who she thinks feels similarly...that darn senpai falls in love with her. It's a very relatable tale even if you haven't been in a lot of relationships. Seeing Yuu realize her own feelings slowly grow towards Touko and the issues that come up because of was something that had me wanting to find out more each week. It also was the show that took me the longest to come to my final thoughts on too due to its ending but ultimately, I'm glad I watched it.

Zombieland Saga

Honestly, I'm glad to start and end this list with certifiable bangers. The concept of zombies becoming idols sounds like it could just go so wrong but it doesn't. It's so good and fun and goofy. The characters are all really fun and goofy but still have depth to them, even zombie brained legend Yamada Tae. I love this show and every character in it and if there were Franchouchou concerts done like a Hatsune Miku tour, I'd go so hard. Zombieland Saga is a good and powerful show and it even has a good ending with a sequel hook. Watch these girls and cheer them on, that is an order.

I normally do a "Shows I'll Watch Next Year" section but I realize I never end up doing it so I'm just going to add one of my current ones I know I'll continue watching.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Golden Wind

Come on, you knew this was going to be on here right? I'm curious where this gangster plot line is going and can't wait to continue next year.

So that's my list, I hope you enjoyed it. For a special treat to go into 2019, I leave you with the best moment in anime 2018. Peace!

Ah well I got copyright striked so here’s a mirror

https://streamable.com/87z73

[vieuxnoyesrp]

Dani. Katherine Pierce has become infamous not just as a character - but as tool that’s been used time and time again to spice up many storylines - both on the show and in many roleplay spinoffs that stemmed from it. Just like her personality, there’s both a thrill and a danger to that; the former because she’s so fun to have around, the latter because it’s so unfortunately easy to see her turned into a flat stereotype or a poorly-layered plot contrivance. For us, your application was refreshing in that you went back to the basics; showed us the building-blocks of her character and alluded to the links she still has to her past. She felt more human than myth. Your headcanons were totally outside-of-the-box and your writing was impeccable. Most of all, we loved that you showed us who Katherine is as an individual; beyond the overly familiar scope of her connections to the men in her life; to Klaus, Elijah or the Salvatores. You hit the nail on the head with this application and we’re grateful for it!

Dani, thank you very much for applying. As for Katherine… 

                       ⚜ ~ WELCOME TO VIEUX NOYÉS!!! ~ ⚜

Wondering what to do next? Click here and let the good times roll!

⚜ Roleplayer:

⤜ Name/alias: Dani ⤜ Pronouns: She/Her ⤜ Age: 20 ⤜ Timezone: EST ⤜ Activity: I try to be on at least once a day, though replies tend to take a day or two to get done! These last months have been a bit stressful, but after next week’s hiatus a lot of time will be clearing up which will allow me to participate daily rather than every other day, or every other other day. ⤜ Best form of contact: (Skype, gmail, or just here on tumblr, etc.) My twitter: daniellaferri or my skype danidanidani are all good! ParacosmicMuse is also an alternative since it’s my personal. ⤜ Any Triggers? (If so, please tell us how you want the subject to be treated in this roleplay (whether to be tagged accordingly or avoided completely, etc.) Shootings, gun violence, eating disorders, sexual assault ⤜ How did you find Vieux Noyés? Rose was kind enough to recommend it to me at a time I was looking for another writing group. ⤜ What drew you to the RP? Not trying to kiss major ass or anything, but the admins. I’ve known all of you a brief amount of time truly, but the fact that you three are collaborating makes me feel in insanely good hands. The RP itself has so much attention to detail and wonderful people, of course, and that creative take on these characters keeps me motivated to be a part of it all. ⤜ What is one subplot/element from the Plot page that you are particularly looking forward to seeing in this roleplay? I’m really eager to see the Salem and New Orleans witches play, tbh. Like I love everything, but I’m really excited to see how ancestral magic and magic from the earth differentiate and how the covens ( the NOLA one already having major differences and a weak community at the moment ) will co-exist. Also, what will the ancestors say about it? Cause from what I’ve seen on TO they have a lot more dominion over their coven than i think the witches realize, and I don’t see the ancestors responding too well to the possibility of their legacies switching over to a different kind of magic, with a group of foreigners. It all sounds really interesting, I hope I get to see that played out one day.

⚜ Desired Character:

⤜ Why do you want this character?

TVD was a show that took a while, and some effort, for me to get into. I always stopped watching after season 2 simply because I didn’t feel entirely attached to the problems the ensemble faced, nor was I a fan of the ‘love triangle’ trope in my fourteen or fifteen years of age. One of my few favorite parts of the show was Katherine Pierce. I think she was a really underutilized character. In attempts to kind of do something bigger and greater, the writers threw her potential under the bus and the more I think on her character, the more I wonder about her mentality, her development, and what her story would have been where she not pushed into irrelevancy in the middle of the series. I really want to explore that in this new setting.

⤜ What are your future plans for this character?

I  want to test Katherine’s resolve, and her self-acceptance. She’s adamant about no longer running, and yet, she has a slew of enemies in New Orleans, multiple characters who wouldn’t mind killing her or casting her out, and do not owe her any favors. So while she tries to develop a network of defenses as she has all her life, I really want to see where that humanity comes in, and whether or not she’s willing to confront the fact that a part of her genuinely wants to live ( not just survive ), if it means fighting against, not just physical violence against her, but  people’s beliefs about her, and a lot of distrust that has just generally followed her around in all her time running from Klaus.

⤜ Put yourself in your character’s shoes. Give us a few lines to describe a day in the life of your character… Where do they live? Where and how do they spend their time?

Not one for traipsing across the Bayou in heels, or finding comfort in the solitary fields by the old plantation homes, Katherine Pierce has settled down at the heart of the city. Well, sort of. For now, she stays at the Hotel Royal, intent on hunting for real estate only after she’s obtained sanctuary from either of the notorious king pins of the quarter: Klaus Mikaelson or Marcel Gerard. For now, she remains unlisted, under their noses, and the patron of an all inclusive continental breakfast. She knows the constant bustling streets will work in her favor, seeing as she needs to lay low for awhile.

Katherine is always on the go, which means, unless she’s certain no one in her vicinity will go blabbing to some higher-up about her location, she doesn’t linger in many coffee shops or bars. She favors the antiquities shop occasionally, for it’s cluttered space, and luxury finds, gets her morning coffee at the French Market when she doesn’t order it at the hotel, and, should she need to meet someone for a chat, she’ll usually take to some overzealous tourist trap bar on Bourbon Street.

By now she’s noticed a few key players making constant appearances at Rousseau’s and Tulane University. Which is why if she’s ever spotted there, it’s usually because she wants to be found. At the moment her days are spent trying to establish enough formidable connections so that, should things go south she won’t have to flee, again.

⤜ Give us three headcanons regarding your character of choice.

Second to Mystic Falls ( Circa 1800s ),  Île-de-France remains Katherine’s favorite place she’s traveled. She had arrived in the Parisian Region in 1718, and had managed to reside there for as many as four years before continuing the game of cat and mouse Klaus refused to relieve her of. In that brief time, she’d assimilated beautifully to the luxury, the politics, the gambling of the aristocrats. The men found her beautiful, and she basked in the jewels she’d been gifted, and the balls she’d been taken to. The Palace of Versailles has seen blood spilt by her before, and still it retains some of her happier memories of the past. Briefly, the formidable château made her feel safe, without leaving her bored. She resents that it’s more of a tourist attraction now.

Her license is expired, but her IDs are always up to date. With the aid of several supernaturals in the identity theft ring, Katherine has been known to keep herself under the radar with the use of countless false identification cards, all up to date, all dummy-proof. Still, she has no driver’s license, and her current one is a few years past. Usually, she’ll compel her way out of traffic violations, and drive when necessary, but makes use of taxi cabs and compact cities to keep her off foot and unreported.

Katherine has but one keepsake from her past. Too much time on the run, and too little emotional involvement left her taking only what she needed in her travels. And though she’d sooner mock the everyday hoarder, than replicate them, Katherine still holds onto the resin light blue cameo necklace she wore during her time at the Salvatore Estate. Bewitched by Emily Bennett, the pendant became outdated over time, but unlike the rest of her daylight accessories from her past, this jewel was one she carried with her well into the next century. To this day, it remains in her jewelry box, carrying memories of a time in love she’s not willing to forget so easily.

⤜ What are some plots you’d like to explore with your characater?

I’m looking forward to the plot between her and Caroline. This misunderstanding that Elena was the one who turned her seems so interesting to me, and refreshing, that I really want to see how Katherine will attempt to play it all out in her favor, and what her back up plan might be should Caroline discover the truth and redirect her anger to it’s rightful owner.

I also look forward to seeing how Katherine ‘play’s nice’, for lack of a better term, with Marcel. She’s so prideful that I feel like there’s definitely room for struggle there, in terms of how much ass she’s willing to kiss and how much she’s willing to bank on the king of New Orleans. Also, Klaus and Marcel have a very temperamental relationship, so I think it’d be really fun to explore how Katherine keeps up with, and plots around, that unsteady alliance.

In regards to developing her character, I really want to see how Katherine will fight to remain in New Orleans. By that I mean, I noticed a lot of her connections don’t really understand why she’s decided to finally stop running, and stop in New Orleans of all places. And I think the character herself struggles to accept/address how deep that longing for stable ground and love runs, or how long its been festering. Since she’s truly put herself in ‘the lion’s den’, as it were, I want to see her earn that freedom from those that want to kill her, but I also want to see her realize that not all of it is as easy as an endless list of back up plans and manipulation tactics.

⤜ Para sample:

(Retained for privacy.)

————— ⤜ Would you like to be considered for another character if not accepted as your primary choice? No, i’ll stick to just Bonnie. But thank you! ⤜ Have you read the rules? Yes ⤜ Anything else? That’s all <3

[elizabethrobertajones]

(1/2) I can literally understand all of your bi-dean meta except for the male siren thing. The siren literally was trying to be the perfect little brother for Dean. I mean the siren literally says "I should be your little brother. Sam. You can't trust him. Not like you can trust me. In fact, I really feel like you should get him outta the way, so we can be brothers. Forever." as well as "No. I gave him what he needed. And it wasn't some bitch in a G-string. It was you. A little brother."

(2/2) I mean I’m NOT against bi-dean, everyone has the right to their own opinions. And A LOT of your analysis is interesting and valid, but if your suggesting that bi-dean is proven through “Sex and Violence.”, I’m lost, cause that seems to have incestuous subtext rather than bi-dean subtext (not that there’s anything wrong with shipping Wincest). I mean Dean could get any girl (and probably guy) if he wanted. The siren revealed what he needed/wanted most was family(specifically Sam)…

(3/2) Cause at this point, tensions were high between the brothers due to Sam’s powers/secrets and Dean needed someone he felt he could trust by his side, a little brother who was devoted to him, some one who understood him (which is why Nick shared the same tastes and interest). I mean I have a little sister and every time she likes something I enjoy, I’m fucking ecstatic. I mean I’ve watched this episode so many times and I fail to see how this is anything but an episode meant to solidify…

(4/2) and push the point that the brothers were not on the same page, and it foreshadowed the future fight and subsequent rift b/t them in “When the Levee Breaks.” I mean y'all say that Nick was a sexual being meant to seduce Dean, but it’s still weird cause he’s trying to being the perfect brother in canon. Sorry this got so long, I’m just curious at why so many people think the male siren has anything to do with bisexuality (of the non-incestuous variety, cuz I can see tht meta 4 wincest ship) 

Heya! 

I think this is really to do with something I was talking about last night about suggestive subtext, when trying (incoherently) to explain why I didn’t think Dean getting his memories back was textual - I think it can be taken as a strong reading and I wouldn’t disagree because I literally make the same reading, but I think it’s implied canon. Ditto the bi subtext around Larry this latest episode. We all know it’s a mechanical bull with a gendered name, not a human male, but between Dean being told he “had the hots” and the ridiculously pornographic riding sequence, and the general phallic nature of the bar they were in, it all still is overwhelmingly suggestive of queerness. 

When it comes to the siren we actually had some more of this suggestiveness this episode which sort of repeats my point I’ll make about it: we only heard Sam say that there could be male sirens. No context, about brothers or even the context of the case for the easiest surface reading that it was just trying to get some hunters off its back by any means necessary. If you’ve forgotten the siren episode or it’s only a dim hazy memory and you sort of connect it to Dean but don’t regularly chug the entirety of canon and then yell about it with strangers online, the episode is not as memorable. So it’s really just posing the point that sirens aren’t all hot chicks, and giving us Dean’s reaction because, right then, he is the casual viewer, and all he knows is the concept that a siren could seduce you as a guy as well, and he just says, “huh.” 

Its surface text reading (and I checked this with my mum after watching because she’s admitted she has 0 queer subtext reading skills but is a very smart, character-driven writer who knows how to read a text) is platonic, not remotely sexual, and when I told her that some of the fandom takes it as proof of Wincest, she burst into hysterical laughter at the concept, and explained to me the reading that Dean is just concerned about his brother and it was an obvious exploitable emotional weakness.

(So the rest of this answer is like a more than usual implied “sorry Mum” :P) 

To me, this episode works by sorting out several layers and understanding that any reading of it you make has to have at least the surface text pasted firmly on top at all times. It WAS a platonic brother thing, and that’s the only way to wring a successful queer reading out of it, because if you start to suggest too far, you immediately cross over into wincest territory, by suggesting the surface text has the sexual element and that it was actually present in the episode as like, feelings and shit the characters were dealing with. 

If you look at it as SUGGESTIVE subtext, accept that the siren is “just” Larry the mechanical bull, then you have exactly the right angle on it for the “huh” of your own.

So, I guess you’re bringing up the meta I wrote about Bobby and 4x06/4x14 - in that case Bobby is the perfect little “huh” angle into it. No one tells him on screen about the brother thing. He definitely knows the siren was presenting as male when it attacked Dean. He killed the thing :P He was the one who sussed it out by checking Nick’s FBI alias out. He knew for half the episode that Dean was being stalked by a male siren, came in, killed it, and aside from some pointed looks from under his hat, didn’t mention it.

There’s a popular text post about the episode that goes:

remember how sam and dean both thought that the siren infected its victims through sex

and when sam walks into the motel room to find dean with nick-the-siren and dean’s totally under the siren’s control sam just

rolls with it

This is the suggestive subtext at work. Nothing here affects the actual text of the episode: it’s about both our interpretation and interpretation within the text of the episode about how this situation might be read. (Obviously this mentions Sam but it goes doubly for Bobby who didn’t see the talky part of the fight, and is never corrected on screen about what he just saw.)

It’s not about wilfully forgetting that the episode has a main text about the brothers, but to see beyond it, within that text. I think it’s probably the causes of the biggest misunderstandings about this episode when you see arguing about it because I think an all or nothing “it’s literally about bisexuality” gets usurped by “I should be your brother” but saying “it’s just about these surface text platonic feelings (because the show would never make it about surface text wincest)” also means you block yourself off from analysing it. The wincest reading of the episode exists in the exact same liminal space of the subtext as the bisexual reading, which means they stumble all over each other and makes the arguments incredibly difficult to untangle because two people can both stand there pulling on the arms of the same moment arguing it means different things in a way most episodes don’t have when it comes to direct, sexual subtextual readings. (e.g the Dean & pie/cake subtext if you don’t agree can just be discarded, rather than it being directly suggestive of the completely alternative reading.) 

Like, stuff your ears to the other subtext and sail right on past :P (When I did the rewatch I actually did essentially lash myself to the mast and demand to hear the song while obviously letting the ship sail to the proper place without getting dashed on the rocks, and I think it’s compelling but not my subtext and most importantly, since I read 0% of other episodes as having overt Wincest readings but many many episodes as having overt bi!Dean readings, I’m utterly secure in literally watching the siren episode and picking out the Wincest subtext and being like “yeah okay then”)

If you don’t assume that the show is saying anything profound about Wincest, though, and the “i should be your brother” is just a deflection away from overt sexual readings, it’s much more interesting for the bi Dean subtext. An example I’ve compared it to before is in 2x03, which follows a very similar emotional pattern to this episode with Dean and Gordon. Before Sam and Dean fight, we’ve seen Dean get VERY buddy buddy with Gordon, and there’s a wealth of suggestive subtext in their very brief interactions since they bond alarmingly fast at a bar, thirdwheeling Sam, and that’s immediately got hook up connotations. When Sam confronts Dean he has a sort of “I know what this is about” moment and there’s a real “Oh shit he’s going to tell Dean he’s crushing on Gordon and his judgement is impaired” moment, before Sam tells him it’s because Dean misses John and is filling the gap. I do not think the suggestiveness of Gordon and Dean’s interactions suggests that Dean had the hots for John, just like I carry on not thinking that when Crowley starts his official seduction in 9x11 comparing himself to John, or later in 10x01, to Sam. 

Once I’ve got a surface reading and the deflection and the way it was read in the aftermath (yeah we’re working backwards through the episode here :P) then there’s a kind of solid place of understanding my own interpretation to examine the rest of it.

There’s this article which would be kind of pointless as evidence in other cases of actor commentary on the story because PR is not showrunning, etc, and we can’t really depend on them to answer with a proper understanding of what WE are listening out for, or what the show has crafted around their understanding, but in this one when we’re looking at suggestiveness is fascinating:

http://elizabethrobertajones.tumblr.com/post/147614438213/bluestar86-findmyjaffa-mishabethyname

“yeah, at that point I thought he should be ambiguously sexual. As an FBI agent he was a guys guy, but this creature wasn’t a guy or a girl. I tried to find something in between and enjoyed having control over these boys in a sexual way”

This is not describing anything between Sam and Dean, but how the actor played it between himself and them - he saw the siren at work, as using sexuality as part of its control. This reading applies to the entire episode, with all the cases of the siren at work, but obviously those were all “hot chick” siren moments, and so exerting control over the men was a given that it had been using a strip club full of female dancers as the lure to find them, so they’d be understandably into hot women. Which means the overt reading of sexuality is oh so much easier to make and credit and honestly having him say even this much about it is pretty dramatic, though of course as a killed-off one time character, he’s got a lot more freedom to chat about the process and admit to playing up sexuality in a room with 3 male actors. 

I’m just going to grab my laughing from the rewatch I did for the next point, about the gap between Nick commenting that he was the siren and had trapped Dean, and the brother line:

That glorious, glorious moment of floating amazement where the it-was-a-actual-legit-seduction text peaks, and you’re allowed a moment from which most bi Dean peeps never recovered. (There’s a three strikes and you’re out policy here: Playthings, this, Dr Sexy. :P)

Because of course, whatever comes out Nick’s weasely mouth once I press play again, the question has been asked. The idea has been planted. It doesn’t matter what they say after this even setting aside all the logic of siren lore explained in the episode or any of the other circumstantial stuff which leads me to my text of the episode conclusion this is a bi Dean episode through and through.

They gave Dean a male siren and gave us these few seconds to let us reflect on that in its pure, this-was-a-seduction in the main text of the episode moment. There’s a level outside the text here where they set this all up, and threw this at us, and handled it in such a way as to leave it open to going on 7 years of fandom arguments about what interpretation was the correct one of the 3 on the table. This is the thing about these fandom arguments: when it comes to people trying to tell those who see Dean as bi that they’re making it up or something, or putting it into the text themselves, the response is usually, no, we’ve got it from the show. Even if you immediately go along with one of the other 2 alternatives (it was platonic all along despite the siren’s sexually charged MO: it was about a sexual proxy for Sam all along despite the fact the siren textually does not have to replace like for like objects of affection) THIS MOMENT before we know it’s officially about Sam, the show is textually letting you think about it for 3 seconds in a deadly serious context.

It’s like 2:30am I need to stop waxing on about this but seriously this fucking moment.

http://elizabethrobertajones.tumblr.com/post/125513601548/spn-hellatus-rewatch-4x14-or-honestly-this

If I ever try to explain to myself WHY this episode is bi Dean, it’s all resting first and foremost on those few seconds of screen time, because in that point, no take-back has been offered. Knowing there IS a take-back a second later doesn’t actually detract from the raw suggestiveness of this moment, which let us think, if we picked up on it immediately, that Dean had a male siren and had been seduced just like all the men and their “hot chicks”. It allows a whole moment where it seems like the show is telling us that Dean is *just* into men and the siren managed to snare him that way by catching him unawares. After all, Sam and Dean are looking for a siren-cum-stripper so getting in under their noses would be important. Dean didn’t trust Cara because she was female despite her being in a generally more socially accepted job, and she was used as a deliberate false lead by Nick (by planting the flowers) AND the show to imply that someone in their general vicinity that they’d been having a thing with that episode could be the siren. Sam’s new female character hook up was not, in fact the siren. Dean’s new male friend WAS. Admittedly it’s a lot of thinking to do in 3 seconds but if you’ve been waiting for the blow to fall that the siren has been worming its way in romantically as Cara, and going along with the surface text of the episode so far, then the instinctive “wait WHAT” is enough to do the work here before the show comes back out of slow mo and carries on like usual, establishing a nice safe cushion-y layer of no homo. 

The show DOES however offer its own reading on TOP of the no homo, within the episode, to make it absolutely unequivocally clear there’s a “no incest” reading too - the surface text is EXTREMELY fragile this episode and they do a lot of hard work and backpedalling to try and maintain the fragile surface tension, so, still working backwards through the episode, we get to this:

DEANSo whatever floats the guy’s boat, that’s what they look like?

SAMYeah. You see, sirens can read minds. They see what you want most and then they can kinda, like, cloak themselves. You know, like an illusion.

Cut to the siren seducing the next dude and cue the sweet relief of the subtext that shatters the first interpretation offered by the subtext so far. Sam n Dean have had their relationship portrayed a certain way (overtly: the lying and ongoing season 4 angst, subtextually, a little odd framing and more stray comments beyond the norm) and the episode will come down about said relationship, but this random bloke is the key to what happens next.

Siren:

Disappointed mom and Jesus judging this guy:

The siren emphasises not that she’s a sexual rival (although we don’t know if that guy has Oedipal issues) but mentions that she is a sink on his time and an anchor stopping him from running away with them to be alone together forever and ever and ever, which, with their line about him not sticking her in a care home yet, suggest that she is ill and frail enough to be a full-time job for the guy, much like Dean is stuck with Sam as part of their full-time job and ongoing “look after Sammy” mentality.

So before Nick ever shows up it’s clearly shown that “floats the boat” has a surface level disconnect to the target of murder (and it’s just that statistically the siren is going after mostly hetero dudes with wives, given where they pick the men up and how lends itself to the typical MO). This scene is obviously the “lol no incest” for the end of the episode once the siren tries to drive them apart. […] Both sexualised interpretations live on: the massive logic leap to say “yeah well what if there were Oedipal undertones to this relationship?” which is a headcanon you can float which will mean the siren can still get Dean for that reason, but at this point, the main text of the episode becomes: “the siren will use sexuality to seduce the man, but the target closest to the man that will be the victim is that of unfortunate proximity, not necessarily a sexual rival to the siren.” And therefore, until the reveal after Dean drinks from the flask, we have a long stretch of episode where Nick is main-text seducing Dean with no argument, and the only counter-argument offered is Nick’s own words.

[…]

DEANWait, he killed his mom?

SAMThe woman he was closest to.

Dean’s thoughts go there. Sam shrugs it off, having either not noticed this is weird because new info makes sense to him, or he’s already worked this one through and come to the realisation the siren’s pattern isn’t strictly sexual or that this was a thing but he’s not going to judge. :P So we have two conflicting interpretations at work here; Sam’s chill attitude which surface level suggests there was nothing odd about it, and Dean’s ‘ugh wait but with the information I had available to me I have come to an incredibly awkward realisation!’ tone of voice. (And the subtextually buried one contradicted by the main text of Sam’s dialogue where it is also possible he assumes like Dean this was incest but that it isn’t weird/gross enough for comment.) Sam is implied to be ahead and be offering a rational explanation for this to Dean, i.e. wow that was an unfortunate interpretation, Dean! Fortunately, I, a better-informed individual who has had more information to work with than you before we started this conversation, have come up with a rational alternate explanation which does not involve incest!

This one particular death has pretty much the whole episode riding on it when it comes to interpretation because it is used as the way to confirm non-incestuous relationship replacement with the siren (which along with the siren still showing sexual control over Sam and Dean when he has them under his control backs up the way it seduces the man and says they should run off together romantically - Nick also makes them fight in order to be in love with one of them ~forever~ (a.k.a until the spell wears off and the survivor comes to his senses and probably kills himself over what he did)) - of course because despite the focus on the mother, the man still sleeps with the siren and it’s still framed as a romantic/sexual seduction to get him to the point of murder. The sexual element persisting after the siren says “I should be your brother” is a point I’ll get to better in a minute when I recap the conclusion from my rewatch but does essentially give you the choice of reading that he was talking crap there :P

There’s also the implication of the empty beds/back and forth of the episode, where Sam and Dean’s time management parallels back and forth. There’s suggestive subtext here between Dean and Nick because Sam has wall-banging sex with Cara, and their part of the story is directly back and forthing with Dean and Nick - we have some serious gaps in time, and when Sam returns to the room just before the fight, Nick and Dean are waiting, on those neatly made beds that seem to see no action. I don’t think they slept together. BUT the suggestiveness is right there and people have commented on it and picked it up, so it’s a valid part of the subtextual layer.

Here’s the conclusions I came to in my rewatch:

Aw, Nick, no. We were having so much fun.

MUNROEOr it could be her saliva… You really should have wiped the lip of that thing before you drank from it, Dean. I should be your little brother. Sam. You can’t trust him. Not like you can trust me. In fact, I really feel like you should get him outtta the way, so we can be brothers. Forever.

DEANYeah. Yeah, you’re right.

So, what’s left on the table?

Completely valid if out of left field for the episode’s subtext alternate reading of Dean as somewhere on the Aro spectrum so the siren doesn’t affect him at all romantically, and goes for filling the emotional void it creates from a different angle (several season 3 moments imply Dean has a void in himself for romantic love as emphatically distinct from his need for Sam, but I’m pretty sure I clocked them all coming from Sera as an ongoing subtext about Lisa as endgame, including foreshadowing of what happened with Lisa in the long run when Gamble got to write that full arc, so you could argue A: it’s all from one source as with the many contradictory writer impressions of Dean’s sexual/romantic identity, and B: it wasn’t even as straightforward as that even when she was implying it existed, as that relationship eventually wrecked itself upon the shores of the brotherly bond too, by her pen).

The interpretation that this was just about Sam, platonically, because this is his closest relationship, and the siren, recognising he was a hunter, needed to get to him fast (the other victims took a lot of softening up and a hefty blow to their bank accounts first because this is clearly how the siren makes a living: like the shifters it doesn’t need to kill to eat, just for fun, using its powers for personal benefit and amusement) and so it took an alternate approach to get under his skin in a day using the available tools: Dean is all fucked up about Sam’s secrets and sneaking around talking to Ruby and being a monster and so on, creating an ideal weak spot to get at him: Nick creates an uncomplicated ideal other human for Dean to adopt as a brother in the shortest time possible, because he fully intends just to make the hunters kill each other/themselves on realising what they did and leg it out of town before anyone comes to finish him off and so to Nick the sexual side of it is an unnecessary complication to tidying up the situation.

As above, but the wincest reading, with the siren’s sexually charged MO included despite the only proxy-kiss because of all the subtextual implications and the apparent links between Nick and Sam.

As point 2 again, but with the siren’s sexually charged MO still counting in the background of why Nick, because Dean’s repressed bisexuality made him a double easy target. Dean would not suspect the dude, while thinking he was hunting a stripper, and yet the siren’s MO still works on him as Dean’s “float the boat” umbrella is very wide. The “brother” thing goes back to the main text platonic reasons, and Nick just needs to say something to get Dean on his side that’s still broadly in character for Dean (like, he would not have just magically got through his whole gay panic in that moment: the other victims were all aware of who they were and what they wanted throughout [see also: the first man they interviewed at the start]: part of Dean’s horror in this moment is probably realising the siren affected him AS Nick and having the same moment of wondering about himself before Nick’s reassuring words ease him along - oh, this is just about Sam). So in this case Nick finds it easier to go for the surface reasons Dean was emotionally vulnerable with the emphasis on his lack of trust in Sam, because Dean IS emotionally vulnerable in his most important relationship, and creates an ideal other person is someone who represents Sam just enough to show he fits the emotional void, but is sufficiently different enough (fun, common traits and interests to Dean, trustworthy) to count as a separate identity to Sam (because Dean does have a ton of issues which do not necessarily have to be incestuous but can be to do with the most important relationship in his life having an overbearing effect on everything he does and the way he relates to other people, as constantly shown elsewhere without demanding we pay attention to the alternative reading unless the viewer is inclined to like it and look for it).

And I am aware that after talking about how the incest subtext takes the most leaps along the way, it’s the bisexuality argument which, by being debunked by platonic bros main text, gets relegated to the back seat, now needs a strong counter-argument to its own “debunking”, while the main text is more compatible to the other subtext’s conclusions.

This is why there are fights. :P

Obviously I choose to believe the very careful mental meanderings that back up my reading that there is a suggestive element to the episode that can imply Dean’s bisexuality without having to credit that the sexual element includes a wincest reading, and as I said, this is because the episode is highly suggestive, but everything it tries to tell us in text is broadly the platonic bros reading, so it is left to choice, favoured interpretation, emotional preference, whatever, to pick out what you want. There’s a valid in-text suggestion that the siren does NOT work incestuously even when the most important relationship is a family one, and if you use these as the guidelines, the rest of the suggestiveness about the sexual elements can just be read as the fact that Dean was into Nick as a person rather than having been attracted to him because he reminded him of Sam. 

Although honestly it really just comes down to part 23346346 of infinity under the same heading as:

why I’m on the dean is bi train:

we’d never get a two minute montage of sam “riding larry.”

http://elizabethrobertajones.tumblr.com/post/157196244593/goodfemalecharacters-why-im-on-the-dean-is-bi

[minnievirizarry]

Bad Template: How Not to Sabotage Your Outreach

Outreach is a key element in your online marketing strategy.

Influencers can help you broaden your reach exponentially with a single tweet or backlink.

Making connections, spreading influence, and maximizing your online visibility through amazing content can boost your brand quickly.

However, bad content will sabotage your hard-earned outreach efforts, eliminating any progress you made.

Here are 10 instances of bad content that will sabotage your outreach efforts and what you should do instead.

#1—Awful first sentences

You have around one-tenth of a second to make an impression. A lame first sentence will cause most to click away.

For example, Hubspot says starting an outreach email with "My name is…" or "I work for…" is not only boring and unoriginal, most people aren’t interested, frankly.

Other phrases like "Did you know…" or "I’ve been thinking…" put a reader off immediately because they don’t really want to know what you’ve been thinking about.

Awful first sentences are like a huge neon sign blinking on and off that reads "I’m trying to get something from you."

Unless, of course, you’re representing a large, internationally-known corporation, which could be a door-opener.

Instead, start your email with "[Person’s name] recommended we get in touch" or "You posted a great article on X in the Y group on LinkedIn yesterday."

The trick is to personalize the first sentence, which means you should begin your sentence with "You" rather than "I."

You’ll have a better chance of catching someone’s attention if you dive right into your message.

#2—Awful endings

Much like first sentences, ending your outreach efforts can make a difference in response rates.

The average person gets over 200 emails a day; you need a way to stand out from the crowd.

An ending can keep you top of mind for a variety of reasons—make it a good one.

Neuromarketing quoted a study that found safe-bet endings are "cheers," "kinds regards," and "best," which range from 14.5%, 13.5%, and a 7.8% increase in response rate, respectively.

But you can do better.

Your email’s closing should give context to your outreach. In particular, thankful closings prompt the best response rates:

Thanks in advance—38.3% increase

Thanks—32.6% increase

Thank you—21.9% increase

Gratitude is always good for boosting positive emotions between you and your recipient, and it sets an expectation of cooperation.

#3—Focus on benefits

Don’t focus on presenting every feature of your product. Going on ad nauseam is the swiftest way to get your email deleted.

Instead, tell them a story about how others have benefitted from using your product.

People respond to stories according to Harvard Business Review, especially stories about others just like themselves who have succeeded or overcome obstacles.

Give your reader an idea or a mental image of how you can help him and make it worth his valuable time.

You want to show how your recipient can benefit from responding to your email.

Always offer something that is equal to or more valuable than their time.

This is a great example of an outreach pitch that made me want to collaborate (even though there is a typo in the first sentence!):

#4—Average ideas or content

Build your outreach efforts on solid, fresh, and original ideas and content.

Asking someone you don’t know to share average ideas or content will never get you the outreach you need.

In fact, the person on the receiving end will likely never look at another email from you.

Take the time to be creative and original.

Put forward your best ideas or content, no matter where or who you’re targeting.

In fact, the more you create targeted content for outreach, the better your response rate.

The Daily Egg has an excellent post on how to make it so good that they can’t say no to your offer and will be inspired to share your link or article.

Perhaps the worst thing you can do is copy and paste your outreach content.

You get in trouble when you forget to remove copy targeting other influencers or target markets from your content, proving that your campaign is staged and impersonal.

You don’t want influencers to think that they’re part of a cookie-cutter outreach operation.

#5—Sloppy communications and content

Nothing makes you look more amateur than poorly-written, error-filled content.

If you can’t be bothered to take the time to edit and proofread your writing, then don’t bother sending it.

They will hit delete before they even reach the end.

You need to use an editing tool to strengthen and polish every piece of writing before you push send.

Even the best writers and editors make technical and stylistic gaffes that take their content from outstanding to mediocre.

An editing tool like ProWritingAid will capture multiple ways to improve your writing that you’re just too close to your work to catch.

#6—Divergent target markets

Let’s say, for example, you are working on an outreach campaign for a company that offers custom-made holidays.

Don’t direct your outreach efforts at a website that specialises in shoes.

While some people might like to have new shoes before leaving on holiday, most will not see a connection.

You need to find the communities that share your target market.

Make it very clear in your outreach emails how and where your communities overlap online.

The best outreach campaigns will have a well-thought-out marketing plan in advance of reaching out to influencers.

If you want a great response, show influencers how everything is laid out in front of them and the interconnections between their audience and your target market.

It will help them make their decision quicker and easier, saving time and helping to deliver awesome results.

#7—Mass emails

Sending out generic mass emails is spam, regardless of your intent.

Good outreach practices do not include the scattergun approach of sending vague emails to a lot of individuals you don’t follow or found at random.

Especially with influencers, give them credit for being able to tell that you have merely replaced the name at the top of a mass email and sent it to them.

If your business or content doesn’t mesh with the content they produce, you won’t connect or get a link back.

This is an example of an email I received this morning (I’ve blocked the names and specific websites):

They haven’t bothered to find out my name or mention anything about our product.

The example content has nothing to do with our area of expertise.

I didn’t even bother to respond.

Instead, carefully target people whose work you know and follow and who have similar interests or expertise.

Any good outreach program relies on a mutually beneficial relationship, so make sure you’re being deliberate and strategic with your outreach efforts.

Let them know what you can offer that will be beneficial to them.

To compare, I receive the email below on the same day. It’s clearly been customized specifically for me:

It’s not perfect but I will definitely reply and see if we can work together.

Personalizing your communication and including relevant links to content on an influencer’s website will help show that you are familiar with their audience and what they like to see.

#8—Too many (or not enough) options

It’s always good to give your readers choices for calls to action.

What can sabotage your efforts is giving one terse call to action or so many that they have analysis paralysis.

Go for somewhere in the middle such as a 2-3 item limit.

This avoids the hard sell of a single call to action (such as "Let me know the date that works best for a phone call").

It also avoids offering them so many alternatives that they put your email aside to think about later.

#9—Clickbait subject lines

Gimmicky subject lines that are nothing more than clickbait will sabotage not only your outreach efforts, but also any future campaigns.

For example, you may get emails with a subject line like:

"RE: ____________" where the subject leads you to believe it’s part of an earlier email thread

"Your copy is enclosed" with a link to a standard opt-in form in exchange for your personal information

An astonishing statement that doesn’t relate to the email’s content

You want to honestly and transparently grab readers’ attention.

If you think your subject lines may sabotage your outreach, send your emails to team members, peers, or colleagues first.

Get their feedback on subject lines and body content before sending out emails.

#10—Making it about social media instead of the relationship

Influencers are not in the position to simply collect a paycheck for helping out on a media campaign.

They want to create relationships with brands and people.

That’s generally how they became influencers in the first place.

So an outreach campaign with any influencer must benefit both your brand and theirs.

The only way to accomplish that is through a relationship.

The beauty of developing a relationship is that an influencer is more likely to talk about your brands in real life, beyond merely posting about it.

A relationship can drive an influencer to go above and beyond, especially if they feel a connection to what your brand stands for.

Get influencers personally invested in your vision and mission, and they’ll feel compelled to live it and promote it.

Conclusion

Remember, outreach—if it’s done thoughtfully— is beneficial to your prospects.

You are offering them something that they can use in their marketing efforts.

Think about what they would make their jobs easier and offer that.

If you follow the tips above, you will be less likely to sabotage your efforts with bad content and more likely to increase your open and conversion rates.

Lisa Lepki is the Editor of the ProWritingAid blog. A word nerd, she loves the technical elements of writing almost as much as the writing itself. Her work can be found on Writer’s Digest, bookbaby.com, The Write Life, and DIYAuthor.

The post Bad Template: How Not to Sabotage Your Outreach appeared first on NinjaOutreach.

from SM Tips By Minnie https://ninjaoutreach.com/bad-template-outreach/

[underthebtree]

How many happiness tips do I need, exactly?

Yesterday I had a little bit of time on my hands so I spent some time scrolling the internet for everything happiness and well-being (as you do!).  As I searched and read I got this disconcerting feeling that I was missing something – everyone out there has a tip sheet!!  I began to think to myself, wow this must be the thing to do – the thing that everyone NEEDS – a quick summary of all the things that they have 'obviously been missing', that they obviously didn’t know about, that will improve their lives immeasurably – oh all you need is that tip sheet – right?!

A quick look at the google search will reveal an extensive list – anything from 4 through to 24 (and sometimes as much as 50!) things that you should be doing if you want to be happy.

Things like:

Eat right

Exercise

Be mindful

Get outside

Talk to people

Be grateful

On and on it goes – depending on how many ‘things’ the author could identify that are the ‘keys’ to happiness – I assume with the assumption that people don’t know about these things and need to be told more of what they SHOULD be doing, and are obviously not. 

 What you should be doing!

It was then that I reminded myself of what that these tips sheets might look like for someone who is depressed and anxious:

What, there is more that I have to do, more that I am not doing?!

If only I could do these 24 things – then I would be happy.

I know that I should be doing them.

Why am I not doing them, when I know that I should, and this tip sheet is telling me that it will make me happy!

Why don’t I just be like Nike and Just f**ing do it!?

I must be doing something wrong.

It must me my fault,

The problem is me,

I have failed.

I am a failure, worthless, inadequate, not measuring up, ________________ (put your favourite criticism here!)

And here in lies the rub – we do all know, by and large, the things that will likely contribute to happiness and well-being – HOWEVER there is a ginormous cavern between KNOWING what do to, and well, DOING IT!

 Is it really a matter of just knowing more?

It was Morpheous in The Matrix who I believe has said it best.

In offering Neo a choice between the red or blue pill he said – 'there is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path'!!

These are NOT the same thing!!

If this were the case

All accountants would be rich

All doctors would be healthy 

and psychologists would never get depressed!!

From a CHANGE PROCESS perspective – the tip sheets are interesting fodder IF you are feeling pretty resilient and on top of things – oh sure I can add that trip outside, sure I can start to focus on being grateful

BUT

If you are DEPRESSED OR ANXIOUS – these well intentioned tips are in fact PROOF that you are failing and not measuring up – more things that you know you should be doing but are not – told ya – FAILURE!

To the depressed and anxious mind – these tips sheets are actually highly INVALIDATING – they tell you that change is easy and quick – just do these 5 things and you will be roses.

 The true process of change

In effect they give the wrong message around what it really takes to live a happy life, raising expectations that if you just do these few things then all will be well, that suffering is a result of something that YOU are not doing, therefore if there is unhappiness it must be your fault somehow

Once again you feel to BLAME – so the depressed and anxious voice will tell you – and here is the tip sheet smiling at you and rubbing in this noxious idea.

So upon further reflection, I was reminded why I have not done a tip sheet, AND the tips sheets were in fact part of my mission behind starting the writing in the first place!! – to give people a more realistic idea of what it takes to change your life, to support an upward spiral in your mood, and to ultimately experience ever increasing good and HAPPINESS.

So what is this process?

Essentially it comes down to QUESTIONNING!

If you were to go back and read the above, you will notice what is written comes from the depressed or anxious voice – it is the mind chatter that is thrown up when you are experiencing anxiety or depression.  The mind chatter that is ALWAYS skewed in some way towards

The personal – there is a problem and it must be me

The catastrophic – there is a problem and I will never get out of this

The all or nothing – I am happy or I am miserable/ I have succeeded or I have failed

The black and white – this is what I SHOULD be doing, no exceptions!! No, stop making excuses!

There are other ways in which our thinking is skewed but these are some of the main ones, and these thinking patterns offer up a DISTORTED view of reality – a view that is distorted but oh so compelling BECAUSE it is matches how we feel and it confirms what we already believe!

So having some new ideas about what you COULD be doing to improve your mood may be helpful in some circumstances HOWEVER if it is just adding to a list of the things that you think you should be doing then NO it is not helpful.

 What are the alternatives?

What is more helpful is to begin to QUESTION as you are then engaged in an active process that prompts thinking and reflection.    

If you notice a mood shift then you could question what you have done with the information available to you -  did you use it as the little factoid that it is

OR

Did you use it to beat yourself up with and prove that you are not doing enough THEREFORE you are to blame for your own misery.

If it is the latter then this NEEDS ATTENTION - it is this PATTERN OF THINKING that is undermining your happiness - and it is this that you now get to address - looking at your expereince through the keen lens of your awesome questions.

 Awesome questions

Am I confusing thought/ feeling with fact?

How helpful is it to think along these lines?

What is another way of looking at this so that I could feel better?

If this is NOT helpful, what are my alternatives/ options?

What would I say to a friend in this situation?

More often than not we can give great advice and support to our friends, but when it comes to us – no way!! 

Why not treat yourself as you would a friend?

Why not choose kindness?

Why not give it a go today, and start to appreciate that change is a PROCESS, one that unfolds day by day, in the moment – where each moment is an opportunity to start again and do things a little differently.

If you miss one moment then there is always another.  Another opportunity to begin to question how you are looking at the world and beginning to make a change – and if there is relief or your suffering eases then THIS is the true path towards happiness

Follow this path.  Do more of this in your life – and this is the only tip you will really ever need!

 Remember that Bodhi starts with you

Toni-Anne

PS: Have you heard the whisper? ‘The Awakening Spirit' will be opening up again soon as a home study package and will be our last offering for 2017!!  

If you know that you have blocks and barriers that hold you back from experiencing all that you want in your life;

If you know that your relationships, career, finances, health and overall quality of life are all impacted by a lack of self-belief;

If you want to start getting out of the way of your own happiness so you can start to experience ever expanding GOOD in your life;

Then please join us for ‘The Awakening Spirit’: a 6 week focus on getting to the REAL YOU, below the programming, to uncover your potential so you can really start to actualise your talents and abilities into the world RIGHT NOW!

Each week you will be provided with new content and powerful processes that will guide you towards your true self; returning you rock solid self-belief so you can genuinely bring about lasting changes in your life - what a great way to end 2017 and start your new year off on the right foot!! 

All of this is the privacy of your own home that you can do at your own pace.

The course will open again soon for a limited time so you can get in before 2017 comes to a close.  

 PS: Would like to receive our weekly newsletter, Sunday Inspiration, a short update that will add a bit of inspiration and positivity to your week

   Disclaimer:  This information is in no way intended to replace psychological treatment should you be suffering from clinical depression and anxiety and be in need of personalised, individual therapy.  This information can be used as an adjunct to your therapy and you can feel free to raise it with your therapist should you have one.  Consumers access and use the techniques provided for coaching purposes and do so at their own discretion and accept all responsibility upon making this choice.  If you are in any way suicidal, please contact your therapist or emergency support services.