#my parents both don't speak english and have never owned an english book and my brother said he never saw it in his life when i asked him

[feluka]

biggest unsolved mystery in my life is that one day i opened my book drawer to find two identical copies of a book that i'm 100% certain i've only ever owned a single copy of. same edition, exact same condition, and the label says they've been purchased from the same bookstore. i have no idea which one is the one i've alwayd had and which one suddenly appeared, or where it came from.

[ivystoryweaver]

im so interested in what u think the moon boys would be like as dads???

Ohhhhh, this is gonna hurt my heart. In a good way. I have a lot of feelings about Moon Dads and I've not yet written fics about it so yeah...

I'm gonna jump right in with Marc.

I think if Marc had a child, he would be all in: attentive, tender, affectionate.

I don't actually believe Marc would be afraid of parenting. I know that can be a popular hc/fic plot and I totally understand why, and love reading those.

But I think Marc would be one of those people that would try to do the opposite of what was done to him. Example: his parents were married and that went well... (sarcasm)

Yet Marc got married. He and Layla were together for years and, according to her, had "adventures together", meaning they worked as a (likely successful) team. Marc bailed on Layla once his mom passed and he could no longer control or hide his disassociations (plus Khonshu's threats for Layla to be his next avatar).

Point being: Marc did get married and seemed pretty successful at it, for the most part.

Marc is in charge of bath time. This includes little toy boats, fish that squirt water, bubbles. He's going to wash their hair, or whatever hair needs they have, depending on race and hair types. If it is a hair type he isn't as familiar with, he is going to be talking to his partner, looking up vids, whatever it takes. Touch is going to be so important to him. He is the dad who will know how to do french braids or styles for textured hair.

He's never going to react in anger. If he is angry, he's going to hand the reins to Steven or sometimes Jake (if he is able, it's obviously not a parlor trick), or he will just say to his little one, "Daddy is going to take a time out. I'll be back in a minute and we can have a talk." The idea of putting himself in time out is so endearing to his child that they end up calming from whatever misbehavior they were attempting, wanting to join him in the corner for time out, touching a plushie or reading a book in his lap.

They learn very young that their father's expressions can be stern but his hands are safe. They will not want to disappoint him.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Steven can converse naturally with children, this we see in the first episode. Steven's open, engaging nature is great for children. His own childlike wonder will shine in fatherhood. He was also able to quickly redirect the behavior of the girl who was littering at the museum. So a spunky child in a doctor's office waiting room will be easily wrangled by a distracting toy, quick game or wonderful story.

Steven is your go-to guy for bedtime stories. With a young child, Steven will share how wondrous the world around them is. He'll always have a anecdote or a fun fact for tweens or teens.

He will offer choices. "Do you want to put on 'jammies now or after a story?" "Do you want to help Dad set the table or feed the cat?" Steven has lacked agency in his life, so he is going to give it to his child. He will teach them to speak up for their needs.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

Jake is going to be such a little shit as a dad. I'm sorry but there is no nicer way to say it lol. Jake's used to operating in the background and he's a night owl. He's the fun dad. He's the "don't tell mom" dad (or don't tell dad, dad). Kid wants stay up 15 extra minutes? It's Jake that's gonna sneak them some of the popcorn he popped after they were supposed to be asleep. As a partner, you'd find your little one on Jake's knee in the most comfy chair, watching the Yankees play baseball.

You give them The Look™ and they know they are busted. They exchange guilty glances and then Jake starts repeating words in Spanish. Baseball, Popcorn, very good! If you are already all Spanish speakers then Jake pretends to be practicing in both Spanish and English.

Either way, he and his little twin, with their adorable curls, give you shit eating grins.

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･ﾟ

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[etirabys]

Apologies if this is personal and you don't want to answer (or you don't want to answer for any other reason!); if that is the case no worries. But anyway by virtue of the fact that I am (sort of) a linguist I often get curious about people's language situation. You speak English obviously but spent your childhood in Korea, and often went to the English language book store while there? What is like, your personal linguistic history? Like, what language(s) did you grow up speaking, which ones did you learn later and when, etc? How fluent do you consider yourself in both English and Korean? If you don't mind my asking.

Haha, this is a dream scenario for me (someone asking about a situation I find fascinating about myself because I've never met anyone else with that background, but is probably boring to most people). Here's a longer story than you probably want:

My parents emigrated to the US before I was born, stayed for a decade, and moved back to Korea right after I was born. They're conversational in English, and my sister (12 years my elder) is fluent. Speaking English is valuable in Korea, so they raised me to be bilingual. They taught me the alphabet, bought me English language children's books, and sent me to an English language school run by Christian missionaries for preschool, kindergarten, and part of first grade.

My sister left the country when I was three to go to a boarding school in the US, but she came back every year for holidays, spoke exclusively in English to me, and refused to let the conversation move on if I mispronounced a word.

When I was six, my parents moved further away from the missionaries' school and switched me to a neighborhood public elementary school. At this point I was mildly more fluent in English than in Korean. Reading (English books) was a self-sustaining reaction I spent every free hour on. There were fewer interesting Korean books for children. Korea had industrialized ~30 years prior, and the hangeul writing system had only been in full use ~50 years at that point. As far as I knew, there was no CS Lewis of Korea, no Tolkien, no Diana Wynne Jones. In Korean bookstores, many of the prominent books on display were translated – The Little Prince was popular for children, and there was a children's fiction fad around another French author (who afaik never made a splash in the States) whose name I forget.

So I'm reading like 10 hours a day, at the dinner table, on the escalator when my mom takes me while she's shopping, sometimes under the desk at school flipping the pages with my toes, because the teachers don't care. (This is a huge W as far as I'm concerned for Korea – public school teaching is a somewhat competitive and standardized government job, it attracts people who lack great passion for either teaching or controlling children.) Meanwhile my peers don't like me much because my vibes are rancid: I have a compulsive laugh tic I haven't gotten under control, and I don't seem to understand their preferences very well or actively seek to understand them. Fair enough. I have one friend at any given time and she's usually on the fence about me.

When I'm old enough to take the train on my own, some weekends my mom gives me 5000 won for the train ticket + lunch, and I go into Seoul to visit one bookstore that has a 10-shelf English section. I pick a book, spend the day finishing it, and go home. Instead of my English language skills lapsing and being overtaken by the language I'm immersed in, I'm going deeper into English. Which increased the disconnect between me and my peers. I remember overhearing a conversation about an anime (The Black Cat) and eagerly asking if they'd also read the Edgar Allen Poe short story. I wanted to much to talk about shared interests, but it didn't occur to me to "invite myself into their interests" by picking up the manga they talked about.

...this all made my childhood weird in ways that have shaped me hugely but are difficult to describe. I was isolated and not, happy and not, stimulated and not, developing unevenly...

At eleven I discover fanfiction.net, probably one of the most impactful events of my life. I'm running out of physical books, I've read everything five or ten times, but then the computer! has made a deal with me! It contains INFINITE LITERATURE, although sometimes people seemed to misspell things on purpose and I didn't know why. (I had, approximately, never encountered misspellings in written material before.) In return the internet would take MY SOUL FOREVER although I didn't realize this at the time. I post a 100K Harry Potter epic over the next year where Harry is trained by a special assassin cult that lives under a mountain.

My parents have no idea what is on the internet. They're on a new temporal continent with no clue there's a parasite that can turn your daughter into a fujoshi. They do know that they have a worrying child. But! Her grades are really good, especially when she's testing in English. Good enough that although they originally intended not to send me to the US (my sister got depressed and burned out, and they attributed it to sending her to a different country for school), it made much more sense for me to go. I was on track to get a full ride at an Ivy, a carrot they were Not Immune to, and I obviously despised Korea and wanted to leave.

When I arrived in the States, I was terrified of speaking English to real native speakers. My language experience was "reading/writing: 95% English, speaking/listening: 90% Korean". I could perfectly pronounce any English sentence when I tried, but I'd occasionally and bizarrely mix up R and L, or the vowel sounds "ih" and "eeh" if I weren't paying attention. This went away after a year but I felt extra shy and didn't talk much. I'd guess 80% of my social cachet in freshman year came from writing funny Facebook posts.

I remember my time in Korea without feeling bothered by any single aspect, but overall I still have a big sense of "wow I didn't like that", have avoided non-Americanized Korean people since getting here (ten years ago), and now speak Korean haltingly. I'll try to teach it to my children so that they have the option of that cultural connection, but I don't think I can do a good job. It's feels 90% true thinking/speaking Korean is just a normal skill, a thing I do sometimes on the phone – and 10% true that the happier and more whole I become in the US, the more unsettling it feels to speak Korean at all.

[lovl3igh]

alicent as a mother is always so intensive subject, cause where tg refuse to admit that alicent was a bad mother, tb don't give her justice in reasons why that happened (it's not general, both teams has exceptions ofc)

tg defend her saying it's not her fault, she was used, she didn't want those children, they forced her, but was it said otherwise? yes, she was bad mother because of her own trauma and assault she experienced but she was still a bad mother. having an "excuse" don't change that

and not every time that someone said she is not a good parent, they need to add why. no need for assuming that person who says it, doesn't know the reasons. they can say why alicent became bad parent or the way alicent shows bad parenting or that she is just that, bad mother, they can say all of it or just one thing. all of that coexists

before I'll start: there's most stuff from the show, but there's book spoilers, maybe that will be also show cannon in the future, I dunno, sorry for mistakes, english is not my first language

we have evidence of her being basically sold by her father, sa'd by viserys, forced to birth one child by another. she was motherless child forced to becoming a mother before she was ready. she was not a fan of her children, we see her unhappy with them, and when she speaks it's about dry facts like the labour and not her feelings. she does not care for them that way, which is fine bc she not wished for them and she's still a child herself, but that's a fact

we see her later with her kids and again we cannot say she became better while becoming older. she sees them as her duty (her worst enemy), her responsibility and also (admit it or not) way to put rhaenyra down. otto said to her way before jace was born that he wants aegon on the throne, he already could be accused of treason but alicent remained silent and later she acts the same way. she puts on aegon big pressure, responsibilities and also involves him in act of treason (because again she thinks it's her duty to the realm)

what's more she abuses him physically and mentally. we see her beating him more than once, screaming or neglacting him (all of that are forms of abuse). blames him for aemond's losing an eye while it was her responsibility to watch her kid or a servant and guards', not his (you can say also viserys', there was never a dispute if he's a good father, we know he isn't, it's about alicent only discussion then)

aegon in his 20s has to ask his mother if he's being loved, how sick is that? that he drowns in need of attention? (you can say he deserves all of this but the truth is alicent - and viserys ofc - failed to raise him well and now she fails to punish him, cause he should be sent to the wall, instead she beats him and let's him be a monster to another girl, now as a "king". all not to protect him but to protect his reputation, all she does there is bc of her sense of duty)

helaena hates being touched by her own mother, why wouldn't she? child bride alicent did the same to her daughter, knowing what a menace her son is. she does not understand haelena, she forces her to early marriage, childbirting, unhappy life. (and be fr, haelena might not like touching generally but 1. it's speaks even worse about alicent who touches her againts her will and married her to sexual predator, 2. she didn't mind being touched by jace who not really knowing his aunt was far more gentle)

absence of daeron would say more about their relation if not for long time skips, the truth is sending away little child is a form of neglacting however we do not know if they were in touch and how often. i know it's a common practise, i am glad that baela was at least sent to her loving grandmother in her later childhood, but I still do not like the whole ward thing and i won't comment on it in daeron's case, cause we did not see it here how was it done

I will speak about aemond x alicent relation though which is by far the most interesting. he is the only one we can say that he loves his mother and cares for her which doesn't automatically means she was a good mother for him. for the dynamic he observes alicent needs protection from men around her (rightfully so) and decides to lie to the king to protect her. not only he usually lives meeting her expectations (ekhem ekhem not anymore ig) but can initiate his actions to please her even if that means he'll go against his own wishes (searching for aegon to make him a king)

the fact is he was much miserable for not having dragons AND for being bullied. yet two things we have: first alicent as queen could easily arrange aemond going to dragonstone to claim dragon or take rhaenyra's deal to have syrax's egg. second - she blames velaryon boys as if she wasn't the one who destroyed good relations between kids and as if aegon weren't bellwether for bullying actions (YES, JACE AND LUKE ARE GUILTY TOO, but we discuss here alicent dynamics with her kids, so I point her fault right now) and she raised one child to bully others, his own siblings

then we have the children's fight and aemond loses his eyes. one of the best scene when alicent attacks rhaenyra, 10/10 love everything here. that's gonna sound harsh but alicent's behaviour here screams about duty too. it shouldn't at all, her child just lost his eye, her priority should be to comfort him. instead she wants rhaenyra to take responsibility for having bastards (that's not the case), aegon for not taking care of aemond (it's her responsibility), viserys to admitting her own sacrifices weren't for nothing. she put here herself and her needs above aemond, she used his wounds to attack rhaenyra and her children (no, I do not say she didn't care aemond got hurt, don't put words in my mouth)

"if the king won’t seek justice the queen will" she wants so called "justice", but stated by her only, where's justice in taking child's eye after accident? would she also break aemond nose for "justice"? if he'd killed luke or jace, would she call for killing aemond? it's not caring mother, it's the queen wanting revenge cause she doesn't like princess' privileges (and also privilege that bastards here have). she calms down when she realizes that she went too far, "neglected her duty", that's not aemond's doing (and also fcked up that her assaulted child feels that he needs to calm her down)

"she was ready to die for her children" desperate actions in the worst scenarios to not matter that much with previous behaviour, especially since her children were doubting if she would do that for them in the first place (that ig you can take as opinion, but if mother abuses child for years how much does it counts if she gives up her life for this child?)

regarding rhaenyra she doesn't understand a good mother patterns as well. she either doesn't care nyra will suffer or doesn't understand that mother who just gave a birth to a child, will not send it away even for a second. she doesn't care or understand mother will not allow for taking her child's eye for "duty". she doesn't understand that bastards are not any less worthy of love. her view of motherhood is sacrifising herself, not enjoying what she can

perhaps she did not know any better, her mother was a child bride (forced by old pedo otto) just like her, she did the same to helaena and unfortunately later that happened to jaehaera. she was abused in many ways but later also became an abuser. and all that because she thought life is about duty and sacrifice. she had every reason to be bad mother and she became one but that it should be seen as a fact while some of you see it as an opinion and criticism

if you read all of that - seven hells okay

[katarina-writes-about-jesus]

On the topic of Speaking in tongues

When I had just found God I was in university in Scotland. I was on fire for God even though I really didn't know anything. I'm grateful God found me. I studied theology and met young people from all over the world and we formed a little community. We were from different denominations and from different backgrounds. Some of us came from very christian backgrounds, some of us were from less christian backgrounds. It was fun to discuss religion! And it was fun to pray with different people. Especially for me who had just found Christ.

...and that's when I found myself praying with a girl from Kazakhstan. She was very cool. Exmuslim, had found Christ and defied her parents. Very mentally strong. She had several bibles with passages highlighted and I could tell she was trying to teach me. It was nice. Until she took my hands, closed her eyes and started praying. It started normally with words in English. Then it switched over to nonsense words. She was from the pentecostal church. I found it very strange, I remember opening my eyes and just looking at her. After the praying was done, she told me that it was praying words you don't understand because it's a divine language. Me, who didnt know anything, thought she was right. So the following days I tried to pray like that. But my heart is too traditionally Lutheran to manage.

Now that I'm older and - God help me - wiser I no longer believe that talking in tongues the way that the pentecostal church does is a thing. Tongues means language, like English, Swedish, Arabic etc. If I can bring your attention to The Book of Acts chapter 2:

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?" 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Above it says that when The Holy Spirit entered them they started speaking in different tongues. At that time there were Jews from all over the world there and they understood what the apostles were saying. The human Jews understood what the early Christians were saying. If it had been words that no humans could understand it wouldn't have been so.

They even ask "Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?" Which again they would only ask if they could understand what was being said.

It's a huge miracle that the Galileans could suddenly speak languages of the world that they had never spoken before! And that's that in my head.

...thanks for reading!

[bookishfeylin]

Also SPEAKING of Hybern, and i /know/ I'm talking about the series where its magic system is built horribly despite all of it being heavily relevant because of feyres power situation.... but what the fuck is hybern as a concept. They essentially presented us a completely seperate fae culture specifically seperate from the confines of seasons and times the courts are, that could potentially have its own cool culture factoids, that clearly has a completely seperate ruling system, and then they did JACK SHIT with it. They didn't even give the King a name. They've killed most of the royal family and like No Info About That Has Come Up despite the fact that like... there's so much opportunity? Nesta entire books maim villain is some chick who was made ild and wishes to be young meanwhile the kingdom that's been just recently fucking demolished next door is just chilling? Like?

Speaking the courts and cultures overall... idk I think SJM didn't think this through as to how *different* the courts could be, because humans and fae don't have as much difference as they should, let alone fae from diff courts. Like!! It would also be an opportunity to incorporate fae myths more. The fae don't get hurt by iron -- but they consider it bad luck and avoid it, the fae can lie -- but they abhor it more then humans do because they carry grudges longer, and also because of the grudges fae don't like it when u take stuff or eat their food. Just, so many ways SJM could've made them much more *different*. Like ik we spend three seconds total in human lands but out main narrators are human born! Do they not think of human festivals and human songs? Do they not greet and laugh and comfort like humans? Couldn't this have been more incorporated??? There's like five differences between the species and half of them are extreme horniness! Send help!!

Last ask I swear but WHY do the FAE not have TERMS for FAE FEMAKE AND FAE MALE. WHY IS THAT NOT A THING THEY HAVE. Like, we have terms others then female and male for humans in English because we find the distinction important. The fae find the distinction important in ACOTAR also, and yet they don't have terms to refer to themselves? It wouldn't even be HARD to do just do what we did and take fae and make smth of it.

Actually this is the last ask. Why did she preempt the feysand mating bind with Tamlin and Rhysands parents... and then make it absolutely horrible on both parts?? Like, I'm just saying if my previous knowledge of a concept was that one example is a total tyrant and his wife who's obsessed with him to the point of blindness and the other was a dysfunctional almost loveless marriage I would Run. She continues it too with Elucien and Nessian because Nesta and Cassian are mean ad fuck towards ea h other and Elucien is just awkward silence on both parts. Like I'd get it if it was subverted (like maybe her and Tamlin are mates and then it just kinda doesn't work out or snth) but it's nit a subverted concept despite primarily being associated with misery.

I'm reading all of this and just nodding because YES. What it ultimately boils down to is the LACK OF WORLDBUILDING in this series, and the little worldbuilding she DOES establish being retconned from book to book. For example: Calanmai is supposed to be done by ALL the High Lords in ALL courts. But Sarah seemingly forgot this, and now it only occurs in the Spring Court for... some reason. These are all good, valid questions her editor should have asked her to establish about the worldbuilding, but Sarah never did for whatever reason.

(And yes, it's funny Sarah said that both Rhysand's parents and Tamlin's parents were wrong for each other despite being mates and that the mating bond makes the female overlook the male's atrocities... and then expects us to believe Feysand is perfect because Feyre said so).

[hetalia-club]

I really like your posts where you talk in depth about specific history events and other cultures. I found your Italian American one pretty interesting as I never knew they spoke anther language separate from both Italy and English. I was curious if you had any other fun facts like that.

Yeah I will eventually I'm sure. I do this thing where I pick a random culture and learn a lot about it. Granted it's facts I'll probably have no use for knowing but it's a little hobby of mine I like to do when I'm feeling bored. But they are fun conversation plug ins and it has earned me the 'smart one' among friends and family even if that is complete bull shit because I'm an idiot. I'll often hear something like "what language do *Insert nationality* speak? I don't know ask Brandi she knows". So that is neat I guess. I really don't have the heart to tell them that most of my motivation to learn these things comes from an anime I like.

I'll learn about a culture for awhile until I get bored of it and then switch it up. Right now as I have already stated it's Italian-American culture which has always really fascinated me. Italian-American food is like one of the only foods I eat consistently being a picky eater and all.

But as a side note another American culture I've just started to dive into is Cajun culture. They are a culture located in Louisiana and speak their own language as well. Its parent language is French but the French cannot understand them really maybe a few words here and there. But it would be like someone speaking Old English you wouldn't really understand but you might be able to pick out a few words here and there and maybe grasp the conversation if you listen really hard. Sort of like French Canadian and French. Its parent language is French but it is not the same. Idk if you found that interesting at all. But there is your little fun fact.

I like to wait until I find something really interesting that is worth mentioning. I don't just want to do book reports if you get what I mean (though I easily could).

[magevivika]

The Labyrinth

((Content Warnings: mention of trauma, family rejection, mental illness, and familial abuse. Also Spoilers for Labyrinth (1986 film).))

I was very young when I first saw the 1986 movie Labyrinth. I don't know how old I was but the movie must have been out for at least a few years to make it onto a free broadcast television channel in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It left such an impression on me. Many people talk about the film as a sexual awakening for them and it was for me too - Jennifer Connelly as Sarah Williams is still breath-taking to this day - but it was also much more for me. At the time it was also possibly my first clue about my gender identity - I wanted to BE the Goblin King with his flamboyant fashion, the gravitas of his presence, and of course his magic. He was so much in control! It was a sight to behold.

But as I have grown older and experienced more of the world, while also exploring myself, both of these characters (and their supporting cast) have become so much more.

About the story: Sarah has an infant step-brother (Toby) from her father's new marriage whom she resents having to baby sit. She is a teenager yet still clings to the trappings of childhood in her stuffed animals, fantasy stories, and interests. Her step-mother expresses a desire for her to "date" and socialize which indicates that she is mostly off in her own little fantasy world with her Old English Sheepdog Merlin.

In the very first scene we see Sarah, dressed in a lavish gown, in a park speaking intensely. She demands "the child" and expresses that she is powerful - "My will is as strong as yours and my kingdom as great" but there she falters. She can't remember the next line. She repeats the previous line then pulls out a book and we see she is reciting the lines of text. "You have no power over me" she reads and laments that she can never remember that line.

Then the clock tower bells begin and she realises she is late home - she runs through a sudden down-pouring of rain and we meet her father and step-mother. Her step-brother, she is informed, is already asleep but they're running late. Sarah is upset but dissuades her father's attempt to talk to her through her closed bedroom door before lamenting to herself about his lack of persistence. The parents leave. She notices that one of her teddy bears is missing and bursts into her parents' room where her step-brother is sleeping to see if it had been given to him and it is indeed in his crib. The baby wakes and she's forced to comfort him - except in her resentment she recites the book's incantation to ask that the goblins take the baby away to the Goblin King to become a goblin forever.

This is what sets the rest of the story in motion. The baby's cries suddenly stop when she leaves the room, the Goblin King appears before her to explain he has accepted the exchange to make Toby a goblin, and when she demands Toby back he issues her the challenge of solving his labyrinth within 13 hours under the agreement that if she does then he will return her brother.

Sarah is alone. She made this exchange, albeit ignorant of what she was actually agreeing to, alone. She accepted the challenge alone. She has no one to rely on in this, in the task of saving her brother, but herself. The Goblin King even deploys beings to thwart and redirect her. Yet over the course of the movie she gains friends through her bravery, kindness, perseverance, and generosity.

During the final scenes of the movie, once Sarah has finally solved the Labyrinth, she faces the Goblin King once more. He tells her that he has done so much for her, he took the child at her request, she feared him and he was obligingly frightening, he reordered time, and he has "done it all for you" - so generously. Sarah remains ungrateful and continues with the lines from the book. Jareth interrupts her again to claim that he is offering her her dreams and if she would "Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave." She falters on the same line as she did in the very first scene and repeats the prior.

But then she remembers: "You have no power over me." and everything shatters. The illusion of the power that the Goblin King holds over her is gone. She has fulfilled his unreasonable challenge of solving the Labyrinth and he was only delaying her rescuing her brother as promised. She is returned home and Toby is safely sound asleep in his crib.

A satisfying ending to an exciting tale. Life, often, deprives us of such satisfaction.

My own family of origin is highly dysfunctional, to this very day, and they live in a world of their own where those who harm them are inherently evil. I knew the unspoken rule that one must never speak any uncomfortable truths that would cause pain, make anyone feel bad about themselves, or be damning of those deemed 'good'. For if a 'good' person harms someone then it is not their fault - they have been harmed themselves so we must look the other way. I transgressed by disclosing that one of the 'good' people harmed me profoundly when I was very young. For this sin I have been labelled evil - though the words they use are 'liar' and perhaps 'crazy'. I am mentally ill. I have been diagnosed with chronic P.T.S.D. - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (the neuropsychologist also mentioned complex developmental trauma) from early childhood. It was not caused by a single event, although that one event was traumatic enough, and every 'good' person in my immediate family has deeply harmed me.

And that's why I must remind myself, daily, that they "have no power over me". They absolutely had every power over me when I needed them most and it is natural for my mind to struggle to release that impression. But they no longer have any power that I do not grant them. I have a hoard of friends and allies that I can summon at a moment's notice to support me when I'm in pain and to celebrate every joy with me. I have escaped their Labyrinth even if my mind sometimes still wanders those shifting corridors. I can rise above it, to see it for what it truly is, now. That's not to say it's easy. I still struggle with the feeling that I will face the same condemnation and rejection from others that my family provides. I do have a pair of family members who believe me and try their best to be supportive so I very much appreciate them both.

But, ultimately, my life now is like that final scene where Sarah is in the safety of her bedroom with all her friends celebrating together. She knows she can call on them as they have offered, explicitly, that "should you need us" they will be there. And she feels safe enough to admit that she does need them. "I don't know why, but, every now and then in my life, for no reason at all, I need you. All of you." And that's where I want to stay.

[purplesurveys]

1715

Do you know anyone who always makes themselves out to be the victim? My mom. In her eyes she's never wrong, and if she fucked up she'll never admit to it and always blame it on some other external force sabotaging her.

Have you ever wished you had been born the opposite sex? I likely did, when I was an angsty and also very very boyish teenager.

What were some of your favorite books your parents read to you as a child? I don't think they ever read me anything, and I don't think they ever felt like they had to read to me. I taught myself how to read, realized I enjoyed it, and went straight to reading on my own which is probably why they just left me alone with my books hahaha.

Have you ever been insulted or called names by a significant other? I dunno. Probably?

What’s your favorite movie battle scene? Ooh, I hate action movies. Breaking Dawn 2's battle scene gets pretty intense though HAHA.

Do you drink more frequently than once a week? No. There are weeks where that coincidentally happens, but I don't drink habitually.

Do you have any step-grandparents? I don't.

What is something popular that you refuse to participate in? The hype around Taylor Swift.

Do you oftentimes find it difficult to relate to other peoples’ feelings? Well, yes.

What’s a common misconception about your country? That we can't speak English. Apparently foreigners get surprised a lot by that; if anything we're probably the most English-fluent country in Asia.

How far away do you live from the house you grew up in? Like, 15 minutes away.

Have you ever been to a same-sex wedding? I have not.

Who takes care of your pet(s) when you’re out of town? We used to bring Kimi to my grandma's house since he was a very chill, low-maintenance dog. Cooper and Agi are a bit more active and my grandma has also gotten less stronger through the years so we take them to the local pet hotel instead.

They get their own 'cabin' with a comfy dog bed and have playtime everyday :) Plus the hotel sends videos every 6 hours so they're very taken care of very well there.

Do you practice meditation? No, doesn't work for me.

What’s your favorite Marvel movie? I don't have one; I'm not into superheroes much.

What was the last thing you wrote down on paper? Just a name.

What’s the population of your hometown? A little less than a million.

Have you ever eaten Cajun food? What about Creole food? I love Cajun cuisine. I have yet to try Creole but that's on my bucket list for sure.

If you’ve had both, which cuisine do you prefer? Haven't had both!

Did you have a Walkman when you were a kid? I didn't, my dad did. What I had were a radio and an iPod.

What’s the most difficult experience you and a significant other have gone through together? All the conversations we had about breaking up. She seemed to have wanted out very early on but I had a very strong, "I can change/save her," mindset. So imagine that back-and-forth for several years until everything imploded. YesIknowitwasstupidI'velearnedfromit.

What are your siblings’ names and ages? I'm not sharing their names, but they're 23 and 20 this year.

What’s your favorite recipe you’ve come up with? I have never come up with a recipe.

Have you ever worn false eyelashes? Once and I hated them, never tried it again.

Do you pay much attention to local news? Not always, but I keep up with the news I see on social media.

Have you ever attempted to pick a lock? Did you succeed? Haven't tried.

When did you last dust the baseboards in your home? A few days ago.

Do you prefer Japanese or Korean cuisine? Korean. With Japanese I only like sushi/sashimi/ramen. But Korean cuisine I try out pretty much everything.

What’s something you have zero tolerance for? Animal abuse.

Do you know anyone who could be described as a religious fundamentalist? Nope.

What was the last act of self-care you did for yourself? Taking a nap all day.

What grammar mistake do you find the most irritating? Using the past participle version of verbs in the past tense. "I shown her the clip," "She seen me yesterday."

What will you be buying the next time you go grocery shopping? I imagine just restocking the ref with the essentials, so bread, eggs, stuff like that.

Do you drink soda often? I never drink soda.

[invincible-selfxmade-punk]

Today is what would have been my mom's 84th birthday. When I think in terms of people who have died and have been dead for a long time and it comes time for their birthdays, I always think of them as being incredibly old or would have been incredibly old if they had lived.

The thing is my mom diesd so damn young. She would not have been that old---- at least not to me. But she died at 45, when I was barely 12, and 40 years have come and gone.

I saw a post about Ramadan. And I don't know much about it I don't know if it is still going on. But I did want to put up a little tribute to the second parents that God gave me.

They were an Iraqi couple that I met when I was managing a little kiosk at the mall. I managed there for 10 years and met some of the most wonderful people who became my found family.

The man was named Zeki Al Jabir and his wife was Hayat.s

They only had sons so I became their unofficial adopted daughter.

They immigrated here from Iraq when Saddam Hussein took power and they had to leave behind a fairly privileged life including friends and family.

They both found good jobs here in the United States as professors at a university up north----though probably not as good are as fancy and glamorous as the government jobs that they held before Saddam took everything away.

They came back to Corpus Christi in their '80s to retire and that is how I found them because they walked the mall everyday.

There was a Jordanian couple who ran a kiosk next to mine and I'm guessing that's how we started talking because I heard them speaking Arabic to each other.

I told him how my father was Lebanese and that he had died when I was 20 but he never spoke Lebanese to me. He spoke fluid Lebanese and Spanish to his parents and his parents never really learned english. But he only spoke English to me and didn't seem particularly interested in teaching me any other language. Which I felt a total loss about especially as I got older and after he passed.

Zeki and Hayat were towering influences in my life. Hayat especially was a force to be reckoned with and I truly believe it is because of her that I am now a teacher and it is definitely because of her that I stepped out and published 5 books on my own.

When my first book came out I presented them with a copy and they were so proud of me. They paraded me through the mall with them and introduced me to everyone as their daughter.

Zaki especially always wanted me to become muslim. But that was just not in the cars for me at all. Although I do love and respect it. And in the end I don't think that there are that many differences between our beliefs.

Zeki would regale me with stories of living in Morocco and all the crazy things he had seen and done there. He also thought it quite a novelty that I liked girls. And unbeknownst to his wife would email me. Pictures of scantily clad he thought we both found attractive. He was a wild one! He taught me some Arabic but sadly I cannot remember almost anything now.

Zeki did not tell me when he got answered. I was actually on a trip to Washington DC to visit some of my other Lebanese relatives who are extremely hardcore Republicans and extremely stuck up. But I had gone out on a limb and had gone to visit them and we had eaten at the celebrities restaurant and tried all this wonderful wonderful evidence food and I was so proud to come back and sure it was sexy and it was the last thing we would ever share because after I said he emailed to tell him all this. Hayat assured me he read it and he died a few days later.

I ended up getting a teaching job and moving from South Texas back to West Texas and I never saw Hayat again .

I'm sure that she is in whatever Realm Of Heaven they believe in. Probably harassing Zeki about all those virgins. That's one thing I kind of never figured out. You die you went to heaven you got all those virgins but what happened to your wife?

I'm guessing she would have to be okay with it although if it was me I think I'd be demanding those virgins for myself as well. Big bisexual at all.

People are never God as long as they live on in your memory. And now I'm hoping that Zeki and Hayat will live on in yours as well.

[genshinimpactlife]

Hello! Thank you for the amazing headcanons about the akademiya banishing s/o! Also happy birthday and good job on finishing your finals! Sadly, I haven't saved my ask, neither did I take a screenshot (small brain moment) so I'll be writing everything from memory, making it a tad bit shorter. English isn't my primary language, so I want to apologise in advance for grammatical errors.

Well, I consider myself a complete closet case. It means that I do not go out often, my room is my domain and interacting with my family is a rare occurrence. Though, I guess its all because of the trust issues I've developed as a child due to being made fun of just because I was from a bigger city, had a tad bit more weight and cried a lot (still do). I'm a giant crybaby, even reading makes me cry, though I stand my ground when it comes to people who I cherish. My friends often told me that, " You're comfortable " because of how cuddly I was, even if I didn't exactly give them permission to give me hugs. They considered me as the shy person, never really speaking up, often stumbling over my words and panicking whenever I had to do group projects (knowing that I would be the one to talk about it in front of the entire class). I bend under stress and pressure, but find some comfort in reading books and cooking, be it for myself or my family. I guess I can call myself quite stubborn if not pushy when it comes to my friends, especially when they need somebody to talk to. I have impeccable memory when it comes to texts and poems, being able to recite an entire page if need be.

Besides cooking and reading, I also like to just lay down and think. Whether it's thinking about things that I'll do the next day or just trying to remember my dreams, at least those that left me feeling good after waking up. I used to visit a shooting range quite frequently, but due to lack of support from my parents, I stopped going there. Neither did I pick up any other hobbies after that, though I do want to try and find something to keep myself pleasantly occupied. Besides that, I love writing. Especially tear inducing short stories, but I'm trying to get into the more romantic and "fluffy" writing as of a week now. I don't like kids. I'm talking about those stubborn and spoiled ones, so age range is like 3-8 though my family considers me a great babysitter due to how I can put their kids in line, I don't let them rule me around. I put my foot down, sometimes even on my own friends when they act like idiots and make a rather inappropriate joke. I'm just chilling most of the time— though if anybody wants to talk with me, they'd have to make the first step. The amount of times I've stumbled on my words and couldn't put a coherent conversation starter... really embarrassing. Also, it's difficult for me to hide how I feel, either cause of me tearing up (often gets misunderstood)or just going entirely red in the face whenever I get teased.

I would match you with...

Layla wouldn't have an issue with your more reclusive personality.

She would be patient with you slowly coming out of your shell and growing to trust her.

Both of you will cry together. She doesn't see anything wrong with letting your emotions out and being a "Crybaby."

She will always ask permission first, but she loves to hug you and give you affection.

She loves curling up with you to nap while you lay in bed and daydream.

She doesn't even bat an eye when you stumble over your words or mess up what you want to say. Of course, she does that all the time herself, being so tired.

Even if she's hardly awake, she loves to try and cook with you, though you would have to watch what she does in case she falls asleep.

She would support any hobby you want to do, and going to the shooting range is included.

I'm glad you liked it! Thank you so much! I'm so glad i'm all done with finals now. Your english is great! Hope you enjoy <3

[veenvss]

mortal lands

the family , 8/8

7 , winter

I was originally only going to do the courts but the mortal lands are such an important part of the series so I couldn't just ignore them. These mortal lands will just be the one on Prythian because I am a student and I do not have as much time as I want.

We don't know much about the mortal lands. We only know a handful of people:

Elain- "fawn" Welsh

Feyre- I literally have nothing I think Sarah made this up ngl sounds cool tho

Graysen- "son of the steward" English

Isaac- "he will laugh, he will rejoice" Hebrew

Nesta- "chaste" Welsh diminutive of Agnes

Nolan- "famous, loud" English? originally an Irish surname

Tomas- "twin" Swedish variant this is without any accents

So who we do know is quite varied. Doesn't matter to me, I'm gonna pull something out of my ass and use it because I do not care. Graysen is an English name, Isaac and Thomas are used in England and Nolan is about a quarter of the way there so I'm gonna use English names for this. But Medieval English just to be interesting. So this is just gonna be biblical names with unusual nicknames, I can already feel it.

FIRMIN ARCHERON- "firm" The dad. Canonically, I don't really like him, I know he's disabled and all but it's not my fault he was just really boring. I like to think that before everything happened, he was a good dad. He cared a lot, and he liked to take walks with his daughters. He would gladly sit down and listen to Elain ramble about some rare flower in this book he had found the last time he actually went with his ships. He would comfort Nesta when she was upset, in their own private way.

AMPHELISE ARCHERON- meaning unknown She was strict, rude and uptight. She was incredibly snobby and she cared a lot about appearances, more than her own family. I don't understand how a woman can birth three daughters and not care about any of them. She lacked all emotion until a servant spilt some wine on her dress. That was the only time her daughters ever saw anything other than disgust on her face.

ETHELDRED YOXALL- "noble strength" Amphelise had to get it from somewhere. You could never say that one was worse than the other, they were both as bad as each other. Despite their relations, they constantly tried to one-up each other. Who was richer? Who was wearing the nicer dress? No one got an answer, but she ensured her nails were as sharp as possible before another ball.

Now, I just missed the bus to get to college so I'm going to quickly do Jurian and his family before I do more revision and stroke my dogs.

With yet another quick google search, Jurian is a 'medieval' Low German variant of George. Now, we already have German (Autumn) and I am not one for repetition but I still wanna have it be Germanic because I want it that way, which is why I went with Dutch as the Netherlands speaks Low German and my name website says that it has some variant of Jurian and I'm lazy.

LIEVIN VAN DALEN- "dear friend" "from the valley" Like his name suggests, Jurian's father was a dear friend to many. It was impossible to hate him unless, of course, you were a slave owner with an inbuilt incapacity to appreciate humans and their livelihoods.

MADELEIF VAN DALEN- "daisy" "from the valley" Despite their situation, his parents gave Jurian a brilliant example of love. It's a such shame how he was forced to use it to be able to let their descendants live freely. He knew that no matter what, his mother would be proud of all he sacrificed.

CORINE VAN DALEN- "maiden" "from the valley" Jurian's sweet younger sister, she was one of the first people to give birth after the war, starting the new generation of free humans. Unfortunately, over 500 years, her line of the family have slowly forgotten their connection to their glorified ancestor, but their defiance still remains.

[frodo-with-glasses]

More Reading Thoughts: The Taming of Smeagol

"Well, master, we're in a fix and no mistake." Strong start! Hello, Sam! I missed your face! 8-D

One thing that was lost on me as a kid was just how difficult it would be for Frodo and Sam to navigate this rough terrain when they're so small and not terribly athletically inclined. I have now scrambled around on rocks at the rim of the Grand Canyon, and lemme tell you, just because you can see it doesn't mean you can get down there without breaking your legs.

"Yes, I can smell it." Elijah Wood's delivery of this line will never not make me giggle. That and "I think I've found the bottom." Am I twelve years old at heart? Why yes. Yes I am.

"Only those, what d'you call 'em, lembas, Mr. Frodo." I would just like to stop and express my appreciation that Tolkien so deliberately added these little verbal idiosyncrasies to convey Sam's accent to the reader. This is not me parodying the story. This is a direct quote. Did I expect to see the word "d'you" in this epic high fantasy story? No I didn't. Is it the best thing I've seen all day? Heck yes.

(Makes me wonder how Sam's accent is handled in translations of this story apart from English. Tolkien very deliberately put it in to mimic a very particular British dialect, that much is clear, so how do other translations adapt that to lower-class dialects in their own languages?)

"'There's nothing for it but to scramble down this gully, Sam. Let's see what it leads to!' 'A nasty drop, I'll bet.'" Always the voice of optimism, Sam.

"It is doubtful if he ever did anything braver in cold blood, or more unwise." Tolkien really said, "Sam slid himself right over the edge of that cliff and that was the single bravest and stupidest thing he ever did."

Ooh, Frodo went all blind all of the sudden! :-O I wonder if that's his shoulder wound acting up again....like that "wraith sight" is coming back in response to the Nazgul's screech. Either that or he's just got low blood pressure and the sudden shock of falling down made him grey out a little LOL

"'Stop chattering!' cried Frodo, now recovered enough to feel both amused and annoyed. 'Never mind your Gaffer!'" This hollered up the cliff-face after a near scrape with death. I love this book.

One of the great under-appreciated aspects of Frodo and Sam’s dynamic is the times when it becomes VERY CLEAR just how much older Frodo is. He’s dealing with Sam like an exasperated parent wrangling a hyperactive two-year-old and that’s just very funny to me. X-D

This entire conversation is just Frodo and Sam going back and forth like "I want to go down" "well I don't" "well I do, and I have seniority here" "good point"

"Ninny-hammers! Noodles! My beautiful rope!" I need to know more hobbit swears because these are GREAT

(This and Sam's accent are even funnier when you consider Tolkien's "meta explanation" for LotR. "Ah yes I translated this from the Red Book of Westmarch and turned these hobbit names into ones based off of Anglo-Saxon root words and blah blah blah" okay but WHAT WAS SAM ACTUALLY SAYING IN THE HOBBIT LANGUAGE THEN, TOLKIEN?? Where's your appendix on THAT?? Do hobbits actually use the name of a starchy food as a euphemism? Is the word for "noodles" phonetically similar to a swear word in Hobbit Language, like the Russian "blin" and "blyat"?? WHAT DO HOBBITS SAY WHEN THEY BANG THEIR THUMB WITH A HAMMER??? I DON'T NEED SLEEP, TOLKIEN, I NEED A N S W E R S)

Movie!Frodo: "Real elvish rope :-]" Book!Frodo: "LOL you almost killed us" Sam: "No I didn't TT-TT"

(Honestly I prefer the movie version. I know Frodo is just trying to find a sensible explanation for why the rope came down, but it does come across like he's blaming Sam for something that isn't his fault. Much prefer that little look of "huh...well then" that they give each other in the movie. That's just *chef's kiss*)

Frodo: *grabs Sam's arm* Me, being predictable: 8-D

Obviously much of the way these characters speak had to be adapted to fit the big screen. Gollum, though? He's just. Like that. He talks exactly the same. Like they didn't change anything at all. It's almost jarring.

Tolkien compares Gollum to an insect, a spider, a frog, a dog, and wet string. I have no comment on this, I just think it's brilliantly evocative and very funny.

Frodo responding out loud to the memory of his conversation with Gandalf in Moria is much more poignant when you realize that at this point, Frodo still thinks Gandalf is dead :-(

"Sam...seemed to sense that there was something odd about his master's mood and that the matter was beyond argument. All the same he was amazed at Frodo's reply." This just in: Main Character suddenly gets agency in the story after being tossed around like little more than baggage with feet for several chapters, Sidekick left stunned

"Frodo looked across at Sam. Their eyes met and they understood." Me, being PredictableTM: "hhhhrmnnnnggpppfffffttthhhnn"

Yes I am that basic girl whose favorite thing is when characters know each other so well they can communicate without talking to each other, shut up

"Frodo drew himself up, and again Sam was startled by his words and his stern voice." *Doofenschmirtz voice* If I had a nickel for every time I was caught off-guard by Frodo going all aggro on Gollum, I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice—

"'Down! down!' said Frodo." Bro he literally is even using dog commands on Gollum. Bruhhhh.

Sam, internally: "boi this smeagol be actin' SUS—" *is slapped*

I guess this chapter is called “The Taming of Smeagol” because “Frodo and Sam Repeatedly Try and Fail to Get Down a Cliff” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

[vanilla-villainsstuff]

Hey, can I complain about ppl spreading lies about Macaque and Wukong being brothers in the original JTTW? Yeah? Yeah ok:

I already went over this in my "ranking LMK ships" post, but I really need to get this out of my system because it has been frustrating me to no end. Seeing as I already went over how there's no evidence to support the idea that Macaque and Wukong are related, I'mma just quote what I said in my ship post:

"To all the dumb brains out there spreading misinformation about JTTW, lemme put this misconception to bed now... MACAQUE AND WUKONG WERE NEVER BROTHERS IN JTTW! Buddha stated that they're vaguely a part of the same species, but not brothers. Wukong and Macaque have precisely zero deeper connection to each other in JTTW, Macaque's birth was never even detailed in the book and Wukong doesn't even have parents. I have researched this topic for weeks, I've read parts of the original JTTW, I have even talked with actual Chinese people on this stupid ass issue, and as far as I can tell, this is just a stupid fan theory being passed off as canon by non-Chinese ppl who haven't read or even properly researched the original JTTW. Shut the actual fuck up, I don't want to hear it."

Now I know what some of y'all might be saying, "BUT-BUT I LOOKED IT UP ON GOOGLE AND I SAW A WEBSITE SAYING THEY WERE BROTHERS SO IT MUST BE TRUE!" Yeah...let's go over those sources.

The source ppl have been showing (on tik tok anyways) is this fan theory on Villains Wiki:

Key word: fan theory. The wiki never actually quotes the book directly and basically assumes that Macaque and Wukong were born the same way and also makes the massive leap in logic that them being born the same way somehow makes them siblings. Tell me, if two baby chicks are both hatched from different eggs, does that automatically make them siblings? No, no it does not.

Regarding Buddha explaining Macaque's background, this is what he actually says from the English translation:

"The Intelligent Stone Monkey" is obviously referring to Wukong, but wait, why is Wukong the "Stone Monkey"? The title of "Stone Monkey" suggests that being birthed from a stone is something unique to Wukong and the other spiritual primates were born differently. This tracks cuz the spiritual primates are very mysterious beings who have very little lore in the actual JTTW, so them all being born differently wouldn't exactly be strange.

But yes, Buddha never mentions that the four spiritual primates are all related. If they were, he would've mentioned it especially since he's an all-knowing being. He had no reason to keep information like that a secret when asked.

Some have also claimed that they've heard from Chinese people that they are brothers or are "culturally considered brothers", whatever that means. I, once again, cannot find any evidence to support this on the internet and speaking to actual Chinese people I know irl and on Twitter on this matter just confirms the opposite: that most ppl consider them to be unrelated. The only people I've seen claiming this are or seem to be non-Chinese, so I can only assume that they're either A. Cherry picking and/or exaggerating their sources or B. Made it the fuck up.

"BUT SURELY MACAQUE AND WUKONG HAVE A DEEPER CONNECTION CUZ THEY'RE BOTH MYSTIC MONKEYS RIGHT!?!?" Well, you'd think that but...no. Macaque quite literally shows right the fuck up outta no where in JTTW, commits identity theft and then Wukong fucking kills him. That's it, that's literally it. Macaque's only purpose in JTTW is to be a very on-the-nose metaphor for Wukong overcoming his rebellious past, Macaque is just supposed to act in a similar way to Wukong when he was younger. Another thing: a lot of ppl are also claiming that Macaque is a physical manifestation of Wukong's worst impulses or an alter ego of Wukong's. But no, as Buddha says, Macaque is his own separate, unrelated entity from Wukong.

Now, if Wukong was created asexually and Macaque is completely unrelated to Wukong, why do so many ppl believe that they're twins? Because Macaque in the original JTTW is seen as anticlimactic. Yep, that's literally the reason. And I get it: Macaque, this mysterious powerful monkey the same species as the Monkey King, Wukong's equal, out to replace the Great Sage is... just some guy. He exists, and he has no deeper connection to Wukong outside of that. You'd think he would, but no. So I think a lot of ppl just automatically assume that they're brothers because them being completely unrelated just won't click for them.

One obvious reason is that ppl are genuinely being misinformed and don't want to question others because they're afraid of being wrong, which I completely understand and sympathize with.

Another reason could be that well...and this is going to be a bit controversial but- Maybe ppl are just trying to shut down discussions of queer romance or queer relationships? Now I'm by no means saying this is actually true, but this whole situation reminded me of something similar. Have you ever heard about Patroclus and Achilles? The two historically gay power couple who tragically died together? Well, in 2003's "Troy", the movie rewrites the two as cousins so they could write off all that pesky queer romance as "Just a couple of guys being dudes."

Am I saying that this is definitely a reason why ppl are claiming that Wukong and Macaque in LMK and JTTW are brothers? No. Am I saying it's a possibility to look out for? Yes. I absolutely hate this revisionist history of mythology, even when you point out that someone's wrong they just go, "Well, you must be disrespecting the myth's influence on culture! How dare you question my claims about the original story!? Are you saying that you don't care about Chinese culture!?" And it's like, slow your roll there bud. I've grown up on this story and done plenty of goddamn research on it, I like to think I know what I'm talking about. If the text says they aren't brothers, then they aren't brothers. Period.

But see, that's what I love about JTTW: small, insignificant details about characters can be left up entirely to interpretation, but the core message and story are still intact. That's why JTTW is such a popular story and why it's survived throughout the centuries, it's thanks to it's sheer flexibility as a story. You can give Macaque and Wukong any relationship you want, friends, brothers, the same person, it's all up to your imagination!

That's why I find it so annoying that ppl are barging in with their fan theories and claiming it's canon to the original JTTW, because not only is it just ignorant, but it completely undermines the original story.

Anyways, here's a picture that'll piss off the anti-shadowpeach bitches out there:

[capt-spooki3]

Hey hi hello, how are you doing, i miss you and am .5 seconds away from spamming all your work with likes and reblogs 💕☺️

So I've been thinking (uh oh).... Being close with Tommy and tubbo and telling them ur terrified to meet techno cause mans is so scary to you, and they tell him you're scared cause they're little shits. A d cut to like a few days later where you have to talk to him for smthn and he's making fun of youand teasing you relentlessly cause he knows you were visibly nervous to meet him, but he's being really nice besides the teasing. Thoughts? Interpretations?

You don't even have to respond, just know that I love you and your stuff and hope you have the best day because you deserve nothing less◖⚆ᴥ⚆◗

( ˘ ³˘)♥

am i positive if you're asking me for a fic? No, not entirely.

Am i going to write you one anyway because you're so sweet? Yes absolutely and now presenting:

My Unexpected Tutor

Platonic college au!Technoblade and Y/n

(plus besties with the rest of the sbi ofc 😌)

(Hope this is okay, i just took my own interpretation of it and changed it just a little👌)

Warnings: cursing, teasing, nervousness(idk)

3.3k works

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

With the final bell ringing and college classes ending for the day, you snatched up your bag and book you’ve read off and on that week before heading over to the courtyard that was near the on-campus dorms. Stopping by a vending machine first to grab a drink then seating yourself on a bench and getting comfortable while you wait for your company to arrive.

“Yeah! And that’s- HA! That’s when Wilbur just… oh!-” The nearing sound of Tommy’s voice cut off along with the softer laughing from Tubbo. You were very obviously engrossed in your book, but now you just feigned reading as you listen closely to the sound of slow footsteps nearing behind your bench. The two of them were horrible about being sneaky since you could easily hear hushed laughs as they desperately tried keeping each other quiet.

Right as you heard them stop moving, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself before turning around suddenly and lunging at them over the back of the bench with a half effort grab at Tommy’s extended hand, and yelling. Tommy screamed back, stumbling back a  few paces and Tubbo just stumbled before backing up to the bench and busted out laughing.

“Ey what the hell!” He scoffed despite not being able to hold back his growing smile, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’ll remember that bitch, I’m gonna get you back.” he walked over to you and sat on the other side of the bench, giving you a hard glare when you laughed a little bit though it was mostly from Tubbo’s hysterical laughter. He took a deep breath and calmed himself so he could jump over the back of the bench and sit between you and Tommy.

The two boys were your underclassmen, being freshmen while you were a sophomore. The three of you met in your coding class. You were there mostly to get your English degree and major in said area, but you figured while you had the opportunity you would take classes on things you didn’t know much about. There, you met Wilbur, a senior and Tommy’s oldest brother, and he helped you quite a bit with understanding bits of coding that were a bit too confusing for you at first and were quickly becoming friends with him. That was until Tommy entered the picture. First, you just saw him as Wilbur’s chaotic younger brother who just happened to be in the coding class as well but after some insisting that you get to know him from Wilbur, you hung out one weekend in the library. One weekend turned to two then almost every weekend once he introduced you to Tubbo as well and you all had become a true trio.

You got to know Tommy’s family pretty well. His single father, Phil, who was just like a second parent to you now, and Wilbur who acted just like the older brother you never had. You knew them well despite having known them all for less than a year. The only hang-up is when it came to Tommy’s other brother. You knew he had an actual name, but only knew him by his nickname since that’s what everyone referred to him by. That would be Technoblade. The two of you had a couple of literature classes together and the fact that he was only one grade above you, you’d figure that you could befriend him with ease. Now, it’s not like he was big and scary, he was more tall and lanky but he was smart and he had some vibe around him that just petrified you. You couldn’t ever build up the courage to be around him which made it quite an issue since you were best friends with his brother, though this wasn’t an issue you had ever brought up to any of them.

“So how did classes go for you guys today?” You asked as you pulled one of your legs up onto the bench and closed your book which you held close to your chest.

“Fucking shitty! I got a fuck ton of extra work, like I know it’s college and the weekend but let me live.”

“We got one essay to write, it’s two pages long.” Tubbo reiterated with a smile while Tommy grumbled and leaned his head back so he was looking up at the sky. “What about you Y/n?”

“It wasn’t bad, I don’t have any extra work other than a bit of coding to do. Oh speaking of, Tommy?” You reached your foot over and kicked his leg to get his attention, only continuing when he was looking at you. “Is Will gonna be free at all? ‘Cause I need some help with this stuff.”

Tommy perked up a bit, sitting up to get his phone out. “Oh you're right, I actually need help with it too.” He mumbled while texting and staring at the screen as he waited for a reply. “Uhh okay so he says… I’m visiting some friends so I won’t have time… blah blah uh but ask Techno, I heard he’s pretty good at coding. Nice! That’s perfect, you can just come over to my house and-”

“Ah, you know what- I actually think I’m okay.” You quickly interrupted him, pulling your laptop out of your bag to aimlessly scroll through the assignment you were given. “It can’t even be that hard I’m sure… I can figure it out.” You said with as much confidence as you could muster despite knowing full well you’ll be completely lost as soon as you try to start on the work.

“Come on, we both know that’s a lie, you're so shit at this stuff.” He said light-heartedly and watched you ‘work’. “Seriously, just come over. I’m sure Techno is good at this stuff, if anything we can pay him to do the work.”

“It’s fine- really. I think I’ll just wait for Monday, I can ask Wilbur for help then.” You closed your laptop, keeping your gaze on it for a moment before looking over at Tubbo and Tommy who were giving you both a puzzled look. “What?”

“You don’t…” Tubbo started to speak but Tommy pushed him back with an arm on the chest so he could lean over to look at you closer.

“You don’t have a crush on Techno, do you?” He said and squinted at them as if disgusted by the thought.

“What!? No!” You sat up taller and looked at him, baffled that he resorted to that.

“Well, then what the hell is the problem! Just come over and he can teach us!” 

“I just… he’s kinda…” You grew flustered and found a loss for good words as you realized you were going to admit this. “He’s scary.”

Tommy busted out laughing and wheezed hard, doubling over as he coughed and laughed some more, stumbling over words as he tried to talk but was laughing too hard. Even tubbo who was trying to hold back, joined Tommy which only made them bounce off each other in their hysterics.

“Wha- I’m serious! Do you two not think he’s intimidating!?” You looked at both of them desperately as you could feel the heat that had risen to your cheeks.

“He’s literally-” Tubbo’s laughter interrupted him. “He’s a nerd! How the hell is he scary?” He settled down a bit and nudged Tommy to get him to calm down too, luckily he got his fit of laughter out.

“Oh my god, no I’ve got to go home now.” He grabbed his backpack that had been discarded behind the bench and looked at you once more before laughing more. “Scared of Techno- oh my god. That's good, that’s a good one. Bye bitches!” He saluted both of you before running off.

“Tommy I swear to god if you tell anyone I will deck your shit!!” You stood up, holding your laptop in hand, to yell at him but just stood there defeated once he turned a corner around a building. Tubbo got up beside you, laughing as he put his hands in his hoodie pocket.

“I wish I could give him the benefit of the doubt… but he’s gonna tell Techno. And Wilbur. And Phil for sure.” 

“Yeah... I’m sure he will. I’m going to my dorm, I’ve got to call my mom.”

“Aww-” You put your hand over his mouth, but took it away as soon as he shut up so he wouldn’t lick your palm.

“Shut- I don’t wanna hear shit from you too. Anyway, get home soon and don’t get kidnapped.” You turned away to put your laptop and book into your backpack and zipped it up before pulling it over one shoulder. You looked back at Tubbo and put your fist up to him.

“I’ll kick them in the balls, don’t worry.” He laughed a little and bumped his fist to yours and walked backward a few paces, waving at you. “Tell your mom I said hi!”

You waved back at him and stood to wait and watch him walk off along the stone path until he was fully out of sight to make your way to your dorm, which was right in the courtyard area.

-

Monday came around and with the school day partially over, you made your way to your coding class. You of course didn't end up doing the assigned homework even though you gave it a good try and just decided to rely on Wilbur's help.

You walked into class and took in a deep breath, it was always cool and smelt of coffee since the teacher brewed a cup before your class every day. Making your way over to your usual computer you looked over to see Tommy sitting in your spot beside Wilbur and chatting to him. You guessed he heard you coming or saw Wilbur look your way because he looked back and grinned wide which never meant good.

"Ey look at who it is! Wonderful seeing you again, how was your weekend?"

"Fine." You said, looking down at him and kicking his foot. "I don't like how you're acting, what the hell did you do?"

He just feigned innocence and looked offended that you could assume such a thing. "Me? Me!?" He leaned forward, hand gracefully on his chest. "I cannot believe you right now, I'm hurt Y/n! Truly hurt."

You scoffed with an eye roll and sat on the other side of Wilbur since the seat was free. As soon as you set your bag down and went to turn toward the two, Wilbur was already facing you and leaning on the desk area for the keyboard in a way that looked like he needed to say something in secret.

"You good?"

He just waved you down and you leaned forward to listen. "You're not… actually afraid of Technoblade are you?"

"Tommy you little shit!" You jumped up, nearly hitting Wilbur but he moved back in time. Tommy laughed and fled to the other side of the room where he normally sat so you just grumbled and took your seat.

"Well?"

"Is no one else? He's intimidating, I feel like he'd call me out on all my insecurities if I inconvenienced him. And THEN he would hold me at knifepoint till I left him alone."

Wilbur snorted and hung his head as he softly laughed, you reached over and hit his arm before leaning closer to whisper. “I’m serious Wilbur! He scares me!”

He looked back up at you with the most amused look. “Come on, you can’t be friends with this family without knowing techno. Honestly. Talk to him today. You two have the same literature class at the end of the day right?” He asked as he sat up and leaned back into his chair to turn his computer on and log into the coding website.

“I mean yeah but- what does that have to do with anything.” You asked, but Wilbur didn’t reply as he just stared at his screen so you leaned forward to get into his peripheral vision. “Will, what does that have to do with anything? I’m not talking to him, I hope you know that.”

-

You were wrong. Nearing the end of your literature class, you sat there listening to the teacher while completely lost on the assignment. Usually, it wouldn’t be too much of an issue because you would just give it the best attempt you could and see where you messed up at the end to better understand the work. It wasn’t the best tactic but you liked it better than having to ask for help. But now, this was a big and grade-determining assignment, not one you could afford to flunk.

The class was given five minutes to start on or look over the work at the end of the class. You leaned back in your chair, staring at your paper at a loss, and listened to the sound of people moving around the class near you. You didn’t try to look up since you assumed it was friends going to sit together and gossip. That was until you noticed someone took the seat beside you and shuffled a bit closer. Pulling the paper away from your face to look, you froze instantly upon locking eyes with Technoblade who was smiling lightly. You had never seen him this close, the most notable thing was his dyed light pink hair that had grown out brown roots and you could even see in his smile how his top and bottom canine teeth were a bit longer than normal and looked like he had small fangs and tusks.

He pushed his glasses up before crossing his arms and leaning forward on his desk. “Hey so I know you’re terrified of me, but it looks like you’re having a bit of an issue.” You opened your mouth to speak but were just met with a loss for words and just averted your eyes, continually glancing back at him for a moment as you were unsure what to do. He snorted lightly, bringing his hand up to stifle his laugh, and cleared his throat. “Yeah sorry for bein’ so big and scary but I can help ya. Come one, show me what you are confused with Y/n.”

“You- you know my name?” You looked right at him finally to which he raised an eyebrow at you quizzically.

“Well yeah. Did you really expect me not to? You’re besties with both of my brothers and my dad loves having you over. I was just waiting for you to say hi to me.” He leaned back, fidgeting with a ring with his hands. “Didn’t think you’d actually be scared of me, thank Tommy for snitching. He talked about it all weekend.”

You groaned, leaning forward to run your hands over your face and sigh, swearing that you’d smack him once school was out.

“Oh shi-” You looked at Techno and he was checking the time on his phone. “Hey, class is about to end. You’re not gonna be busy are you?”

“Uh… not, no I’m not.”

“Great.” He got up, moving the desk back to its original place and trotting over to grab his bag, and looking back to you. “Get your stuff and meet me at the south entrance, we can work on it back at my house.” And without giving you a chance to try to object, he called to the teacher saying that he was going to leave a minute early to get his stuff together since he rented a locker a bit away from the classroom and the teacher waved him off.

Reluctantly, you went back to your dorm which was close to where you had class. You dropped off unneeded books and grabbed a granola bar from a box you kept in your room then headed toward the entrance Techno told you to meet him at. And of course, walking up the sidewalk to the doors you saw him there sitting on a bench with his bag beside him. He saw you and jumped up, waving you over to him as he started walking immediately. While you were still behind him, you sent a picture to Tommy, Tubbo, and Wilbur of him walking in front of you and adding the caption ‘i did it :P’. 

The two of you chatted while you walked through the neighborhood and despite light teasing on how scary he was, he was easy to talk to and you had a lot in common with him. It was a shame you hadn’t taken the initiative to talk to him before. In no time, you were walking through the door after him into the familiar home where Phil greeted you with a surprised but happy look and offered snacks which Techno graciously took before heading to his room.

To your surprise, Technoblade is the best tutor you have ever had. He is attentive and incredibly patient when trying to figure out where you are having struggles and he’s smart. Like he knows every single bit of what is supposed to be brand new information from the class. Not even two hours into him helping you, you understood the assignment completely and you both spent the next three hours sitting on his bed and working together. You joked with him and he held the same energy while keeping the focus on working and even swapped laptops with him to check it over for each other.

You broke your gaze from the endless lines of text on your laptop screen to look at the window and seeing the orange sky around trees and over top of houses that indicated the setting sun. “Oh my gosh!” You scrambled off the bed, carefully stuffing papers back into your bag. “I didn’t even realize what time it was- Technoblade thank you a million for helping me. I appreciate it so much, but I need to get back to my dorm! I promised my roommate I’d help her cook dinner tonight.” You grabbed your laptop off of the bed and put it into your bag, closing it all up quickly.

Slinging it over your shoulder and adjusting it, you turned to make your way out of the room but you were stopped by a tug and looked back to see Techno holding onto your bag and looking displeased. “Not yet.”

“Wha- I need to go though-”

“It’s a tradition in this house to hug anyone before they leave, you should know that from my dad.” He let go and opened his arms up to you.

You turned to him and tilted your head a little. “You’re joking…”

He just smiled smugly and waited. You glanced at the doorway but gave in and closed the bit of distance, hugging him to which he returned snugly and spoke softly to you. “You’re a good person. I’m glad to have gotten to know you and I hope you’ll come back. I promise I’m not all that bad.” With that, he slowly let go and patted your arm before gently shoving you toward the doorway and plopping down on his bed. “Have a good night!”

“Uh.. yeah, you too!” You said back, still surprised by the exchange. His words swam through your mind as you went to leave the house, hugging Phil on your way out and wishing him a good night as well. Finally checking your phone on the walk home, you found a supportive and proud text from Wilbur, a dirty joke from Tommy, and something in between from Tubbo.

You laughed to yourself, amused by the differences in the messages. It was times like these that you most found appreciation for the three. Mentally you had to correct yourself though. The whole family was good. This you can say for sure now.

[erismerald]

𝑰 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕 (Jacob Frye x reader) 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 1

Hello, my lovely assassins, I've been away from writing for a while but I'm back! And I bring you a story of our beloved assassin Jacob Frye X F!reader, I don't know yet how many chapters this story will have but I hope you like it and have fun with it, I just want to remind you that I am open to requests if you want to send me a message!

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔: Some fluff and Near Rape

𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔: 3306

𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎

You just got off the plane, you look around you, a feeling of excitement and euphoria fills your chest in a comfortable warmth, your gaze fixed on the incredible sight you had, you are amazed, it was your first time in London, and since you were a little girl you wanted to visit that wonderful city, You listened to the bedtime stories your grandmother told you, about the city, about what happened before it became as free a city as it is now, since you were 5 years old you have tried countless times to convince her to come with you to London, it was just you two against the world, she raised you in place of your parents, since they never cared much for you and your well being, and now you had just turned 18, and on this school trip you finally have the chance to make your greatest wish come true, you were so excited that it was hard to breathe, until you felt a hand lightly resting on your shoulder, it was your best friend F/n, she was looking at you with a huge smile, she knew how much you had asked your nanny to allow you to make this trip, In fact, you smiled as you remembered the conversation you had with her:

𝑭𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌

"Ahm nanny, can I talk to you? "You said leaning against the frame of the glass door of the living room, the atmosphere around you, was nostalgic, you loved the rain and the cold, your grandmother was sitting in a small brown armchair, old with time, in front of the big fireplace, the glass roof that both of you had built some summers ago allowed you to see the rain falling, even during the night, it was really calming, in her fragile hands was a book, you knew that book well "Ah that book ...." You approached slowly, and like a child you sat on the carpet looking at your grandmother with a gentle but mysterious smile.

"I know that look my dear, do you want to tell me something?" she asked already knowing what your look meant, you sighed through your nose and gave her permission for the trip "Y/n...." she said with a sweet smile, but before she could say something disapproving, you interrupted by putting both your hands on her lap on top of the book.

"Nanny you have told me so many stories about that city, why don't you let me explore, I.... I have saved enough money to be able to afford the trip, besides F/n will be there with me, can I go? I promise to draw everything I see, to show you nanny, but I want to find out who I am, so far I don't know where I belong..." you said sadly, it was true, you had a family legacy that tormented you for nights on end, your grandmother said it was a brotherhood that helped people but in your view they stole people's lives, to protect? It wasn't right, and you never accepted it, and preferred to believe it was just another bedtime story made up by your grandmother to make you a stronger person.

"Y/n... I wouldn't deny it dear, I encourage you to go, I'm too old to keep you here, besides it's only a month, what could go wrong? I just want you to be careful, and not to be fooled by anyone, and take this" she got up from the chair and walked to a wooden box hidden in the shelf, from there she took out a necklace, made with a coin? "This necklace belonged to a very important person, one that you know and that will make you know a better world and discover who you finally are" she gave you the necklace with a smile and let you enjoy it on your fingers.

"Who did it belong to?" you asked, curious about the small necklace that had been handed to you.

"Jacob Frye. That necklace belonged to Jacob" She said would be, but confident, you laughed a little, she looked at you confused.

"Nanny, you know I don't believe in bedtime stories anymore, Jacob Frye and Evie Frye are just characters in your stories, that you told me to put me to sleep, but they didn't exist but thank you for giving it to me, I will wear it proudly, even if it didn't belong to Jacob, it belonged to you and that's worth a lot, and Thank you for letting me go, I'll be eternally grateful," You said kissing her hand and smiling at her "Well now, how about I make you some tea and you read me some of your book of tales, remind me who was who?" she laughed and nodded, watching you disappear into the darkness that surrounded you.

𝑬𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒇𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌

"So excited huh?" she smiled and put her arm over your shoulder, as you laughed a little, it was a strange but warm feeling that you were in a place you had dreamed of so much.

"Of course, I am, you've seen the atmosphere! Can you imagine the adventures we'll have in a month here? I'm so excited I can feel my body energetic, I want to know, I want to visit, being here is just a demonstration that my journey to find out who I am, is going to go well!" you said excitedly as you picked up your bag and moved it to your classmates.

"I like seeing you like this, ever since you found out you were coming here, you've talked about nothing else" she laughed, you smiled shyly, grabbing the necklace your grandmother had given you before you left

"Where does that necklace come from anyway? Did your grandmother explain it to you?" F/n asked as she sat in front of you waiting for the teachers and the rest of the class to arrive.

"Well, she told me it would be useful to me in my future, I didn't quite understand, she said it belonged to one of the Frye twins, the ones she tells in the bedtime stories when we were little" you explained watching and twirling the pendant chained around your neck.

F/n smiled and thought for a moment before speaking, she seemed amused in her own thoughts, it was funny to see her like that you thought to yourself as you heard the teachers calling you to go to the bus.

"Do you think it could be true?" She asked getting up, and following the others, you stopped for a small moment, looked at the necklace, and smiled, Nah... it couldn't be true, could it? Since you were little you knew the story of the Frye brothers, their fight to save London from corruption, their adventures, your nanny loved to tell you those stories when you were younger, when she left the room you stayed awake for hours looking at the stars in the sky, closing your eyes and trying to feel the emotion they had, they were your heroes, you always admired them, but they were just bedtime stories, right? it couldn't be true, maybe your grandmother just said that to remind you of old times? You shake your head and go on your way.

*Time skip*

When you arrived at the hotel you were informed that you were going to make a night tour of the streets of London, you couldn't be more excited, you looked at F/n and she noticed your look immediately.

"I know that look," she said a bit teasingly "tell me what do you want to go and see?" you grabbed her hand and stormed out of the room "ahm calm down young lady, you are going to rip my arm off" you laughed a bit as you got into the elevator.

"You know I'd like to go see Big Ben at night and walk around there, what do you think? we could have dinner nearby, I want to draw the streets at night, to show my grandmother" you answered, going through the small backpack you had, confirming that you had everything there, pencils... sketchbook... wallet... watercolors... phone... you got scared when you heard F/n calling you, you were too lost in your thoughts.

"Hello? land call Y/n I've been calling you for 5 minutes" she looked at you with an amused smile on her face, you looked forward and finally noticed that you had arrived embarrassed, you looked to the side and smiled trying to disguise it "Come on let's go I'm hungry" she pulled you out of the hotel while signaling for a taxi.

As you walked through the streets of London, you imagined what it must have been like in 1850, you were always connected to history and literature, you loved to draw and your grandmother always fascinated you with her stories and her adventures here in London, it was here that she had met your grandfather, would the future also await you with unexpected adventures and romances?

*A few hours later

You were in a cafe near the big ban drawing the environment around you, in a way it seemed magical, it seemed that it wasn't real, you sighed happily while you put back the watercolors and your notebook in your bag, you looked at F/n and a group of friends that were with you.

"I'm going to the bathroom, I'll be right back!" you said, getting up and picking up your backpack, heading for the cafe's bathroom.

"Okay, try not to take too long, we'll be going to the hotel soon" F/n warned you as you walked away.

The bathroom was very rustic, it looked like it was from 1880, that was an interesting thing, when you finished doing what you had to do, you went to the small sink and looked at yourself in the mirror, your hair was tied up in a clumsy bun, and your eyes were more sparkling than usual, a small shade of pink adorned your face, you felt free, inspired, you were ready to have this adventure.

you made a little shell with your hand and took some water on your face to refresh it, when you looked in the mirror you saw a shadow behind you and the light had failed for a few seconds, suddenly you looked back afraid, but... there was no one there, could you have imagined it? Were you so tired that you imagined someone behind you? You took a deep breath, picked up your backpack and headed back to your friends' side, but something unexpected happened, when you left the cafe the atmosphere had changed, it didn't even look like the same cafe you had visited, the people were dressed in an old way, they spoke old English, what had happened? You felt fear invading your mind a little, still quite confused, you approached the bartender in an attempt to get an answer, but he seemed a little surprised to see you, he looked at you from top to bottom, with a disapproving look.

"ahm sorry, but what happened to the cafe? And did you happen to see a group of students on the outside terrace, do you know where they went?" He looked perplexed by what you had said.

"I'm sorry miss but, who are you? and what are those clothes you are wearing? And the student girl? I don't know where you come from but I don't want prostitutes or liars in my pub, if you can get out of here, I would appreciate it" you looked at him outraged, what does he meant by a prostitute? Clothes? Ahm you were really lost, but you respected the gentleman's answer and left, when you left you got an even bigger shock, the environment had changed, there were no cafes, the streets were badly illuminated, the people dressed differently, feeling a wave of fear invading your body you started to run like crazy, looking for someone who could help you, after many panicky minutes and without getting any answer you just sat down in an alley and started to cry, where are you? How could you have stopped there? Not even 10 minutes ago you were with your friends, and now you were alone.

You felt the raindrops wet your body and taking advantage that the rain disguised your tears, you hugged your body and tried to breathe, doubts and fears went through your subconscious until you heard the footsteps of someone approaching you, a feeling of hope invaded you but was soon replaced by fear.

"Hey there doll, want some company for tonight?" a man in his forties approached you, and crouched down beside you, he looked you up and down and examined your body, you tried to get up but he pulled you down and pinned you against the wall.

"You look strange, you don't look like you're from here... but I don't care, you'll do for tonight," he said trying to remove your clothes, you screamed and cried, while that pig undressed you and pinned you to the cold wall, the memories of your grandmother, your friends passed in your eyes while you felt your body being abused, you wanted to escape, you wanted to go home, you weren't ready for this... you should never have come .... out of nowhere you felt his body leave yours, he had fallen unconscious on the floor, you looked forward and saw another man, this one looked to be in his early 20's, his costume was different more hidden, he looked at you and helped you to pull yourself together, when you finally finished you looked up at him, his almond colored eyes bewitched you, he put his thumb on your face wiping the tears that were falling.

"I... I don't know... help me..." You fell to your knees on the ground but your body was held by the mysterious man who had saved your life, you felt safe and somehow protected in his embrace, but you weren't strong enough not to cry once again.

"Shhh love, it's ok" he hugged you tightly and pulled you closer to him "You look a little heated, do you have somewhere to stay?" His voice was husky but mesmerizing, but you couldn't answer as you had collapsed in his arms passed out, the fear, the cold, the pain had overcome the last thing you heard was him asking your name.

𝑱𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒃 𝒑𝒐𝒗

With a sigh the assassin took your face lightly, noting every feature of your face, his eyes slid down your body, it was true what he had heard, the rumors that there was a strange traveler roaming the streets was true, but your clothes looked nothing like what he had seen so far.

The rain fell on your bodies, he was afraid you would get sick, even though he didn't know you he couldn't leave you on the street after what had happened, in one movement he gently picked up your body and took your backpack, and went towards the streets calling for a carriage to take you to the station to take refuge on the train, and take care of you.

Getting into the carriage slowly, so you wouldn't be woken up, not that it would be possible to wake you up because you were fainting from exhaustion, but to prevent it, Jacob put your body on top of his, and with his coat wrapped around you, to warm you up.

"Evie will freak when she sees me... what the-" Jacob stopped his words as his gaze was drawn to the necklace that adorned your neck "How come she has this?" he said holding the necklace in his fingers and looking intensely at you "You really are an unexpected traveler."

The streets of London were bustling, the fight against Crawford Starrick, had not been won yet and there was still a long way to go, but still the streets of London was mesmerizing and agitated, the rain was a strange charm of the city, Jacob knew the streets well, he spent most of his time on the streets freeing people from the clutches of the templar.

But he was curious about this strange traveler, during the early evening some Rooks had told him about this mysterious girl who desperately asked crazy questions to people, some even theorized that she had escaped from some asylum, but Jacob had to see with his own eyes this strange girl who had stopped the city with her unusual appearance.

When he arrived at the station, he saw Grennie carrying some boxes of groceries into the train, and when he approached him with a girl in his arms, Henry ran to meet him helping him out.

"What the hell have you been doing now Jacob? Who this girl?" Henry placed his palm over her face, the heavy breathing and the heat she was eradicating were just signs of a strong fever "This girl is burning up we need to get her to a doctor" He said trying to pick up your body but Jacob refused.

"I am sorry my dear Grennie but unfortunately we can't take her to a doctor, she isn't from around here... I found her because of rumors of a strange traveler in town, but I didn't believe it until I saw her lying on the ground with a Blighter on top of her undressing her, the poor thing was terrified, I couldn't leave her there, but look at the way she looks" Jacob removed his coat a little from over you revealing the clothes your real look. "I don't know where she is from but inside her bag, there is some evidence that she isn't from here, I think it might be useful to us, on our mission... just..." Jacob looked at grennie's face with an abandoned puppy dog look.

"I...I don't know Jacob, Miss Evie will freak out about it, but since she might be useful, we can try to wait until she wakes up so we can ask her who she is" Jacob smiled at the answer, Henry opened the door to Jacob's wagon and helped him lay your body down on the small couch, where Jacob use for sleeping.

"Jacob I just got some news... What is going on here?" Evie said abruptly entering the "room" she looked at Jacob with a disapproving look, she walked over to your body examining you, you are burning up with fever.

"She was helpless with a Blighter on top of her doing God knows what, I wasn't going to leave her there alone, besides she's sick, I felt obligated to bring her here, besides Evie.... She is the girl of the rumors, if what they say is really true that she is not from here, she can be useful to us in this fight." Evie stood up and faced Jacob, she knew he was right but she didn't want to admit it, she knew well that her brother sometimes acted before he thought but at this moment he had the right thing to do.

"We'll take care of her until she recovers and we can get answers from her, we won't leave her on the streets, it's really dangerous, but try to consult me before you bring anyone else here, remember that we have a mission to accomplish, and "personal feelings, can compromise the mission" ". Evie said stroking your hair, "Now both of you get out of here, we can't let her sleep in her wet clothes or she'll get even sicker, and Mrs. Green can call a private doctor to come here to examine her?" Evie smiled sweetly in Henry's direction, who replied just as sweetly, walking off with Jacob, leaving you and Evie alone.