#they're fun & cute & don't require a lot of brain power

[raiiny-bay]

some photos from the boys' teen years

[solomonish]

ooooh wait! tell me about ur old books!! or like, if you could experience reading a specific book again as if it was your first time reading it, which would you pick?

OK. HI. HELLO. I didn't mean to leave you in my inbox for so long I was simply asked a question and then forgot every book I've ever read ever alskdjfdfklkf

BUT I don't usually reread books because I can remember them pretty well so I don't have any book I've thought this before, but I wish I could read the hunger games series for the first time again? I think this is equal parts the books were good and also I wish I was reading them while they were popular because that was just fun. I kinda miss that era where there were like three major book series being turned into movies (I think it started with twilight from like 2009, then the hunger games came out 2012, then the great gatsby movie came out the next year, then in 2014 we got the giver, the divergent series and the maze runner series so it was a hot time for books to get movie adaptations and WHILE THE BOOKS WERE ALWAYS BETTER.........they hype was fun. i say this only having watched twilight, the hunger games, the giver and the first divergent and only having read the hunger games and the giver and the first twilight book haha)

the only book i've reread is hatchet by gary paulsen because I read it in 5th grade on my own time and then it was required for 6th grade and my teacher got mad at me when i told her i already read it aldkjfdkfdsk

when i was a kid...i never really liked many children's series because i've been an advanced reader since day one, so when many big series were being introduced i was uninterested because they were too easy :/ i do remember really liking the Magic Treehouse series though! and also anything by Lois Lowry???? She is a LEGEND oh my GOD

I got into these books when I was a bit too old for them but liked them because they were cute - the Ramona Quimby series? The big, multichaptered books. Those were cute.

OH OH the Sweet Valley Twins? I LOVED those books too. I was a kid in the 2000s so they weren't new when I was around but schools always had lots of worn and random installments of the series and I would always try to find ones when I was done with my work for free reading.

Um.........I read the first three books of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole and those books are why barn owls are one of my fave animals lol they were good!!! although i recently looked up a summary of them and sometimes i wonder how adults come up with the ideas for children's books lmao but more power to ya man i ate that up and if I still had the books I'd read them again!!

I also read a few books of the Mary Kate and Ashley series, both the ones where they're detectives (the Case of Camp Pom-Pom??? Hello) and the one where they're teens (Never Been Kissed? I wanted to be them so bad)

Yeah I used to be a reading monster when I was younger. I had this giant tub of books from when my older sister was younger and just random ones I'd collected from family members giving them out and gifts from school and events and stuff and I've read through all of them. A few years ago I got rid of them but I remember sorting through that tub and being like huh. nothing new just like last time lol

I remember being SO BORED as a kid when we'd have to do reading in class because I'd get done so quickly! And there was a time where every week we had to pick a book from a small collection the teacher had and I read through the entire collection before the school year was up and the teacher didn't have more for the program and she got frustrated with me (no shame to her I imagine forcing a gaggle of children to read and then having one need more books that the school can't/won't pay for is tough) but it just struck me as being so frustrating! because i wanted to read and do as i was told! but alas my brain was too big smh

These are not all of them by any means but some of the bigger series that i remember off the top of my head lol. Did you read any of these? Or did you pick up some other series that I've never touched?

[deathbydarkelves]

I decided to make playlists for Cathala and Tarinne plus explanations for why I chose each song because I entered one of those ADHD fugue states and if I didn't finish this task I would die

Anyway here are the two links (they're youtube playlists because I don't have spotify. I would obviously recommend using an adblocker if you're just gonna watch on youtube) and the explanations for each song are below the cut :) Each playlist is about an hour long.

For Tarinne’s:

1. Foggy Nights: I consider this her theme so putting it first as a sort of intro only makes sense.

2. Here’s a Health to the Company: I think this works as an example of her general disposition. She’s a people person, and always a fan of singing these sorts of songs in taverns, on ships, or what have you. It also kind of feels like a sendoff to soldiers, which I imagine symbolizes her joining the Sentinel Army and quickly thereafter fighting in the Third War.

3. Wartime Prayers: Somewhat self-explanatory, this is symbolizing her seeing war for the first time, but I also included it because the last line transitions SO WELL into the next song.

4. The Hollow: This song is an intro to an album I've never heard so I don't know the context, but I really love it because it sounds like someone praying to their deity and like I mean c'mon. Elune. Tarinne's praying to Elune to guide her through the war. Do I need to elabo-

5. Wave Walker: KILL DEATH MAIM AHAHAHAHA

6. Isil Elun’falo: Just a super rad fan-made night elf song that's basically "wow we sure do love Elune" said in twenty different ways for four and a half minutes. But it ROCKS and I LOVE it.

7. Chewing Cotton Wool: This song is about losing a loved one (I did have to check but yeah that's what it is) and I use it to symbolize Tarinne losing her mom during the war. The last line, which includes the song's title, I especially like. It's referring to how morticians (apparently) put cotton gauze in a corpse's throat and mouth to keep body fluids in and make the face look more natural. So there's a fun fact for you.

8. See U Soon (Song for Dad): Just a short lofi piece to rest a bit, and it was also chosen because the title's in reference to Tarinne growing closer to her dad after losing her mom. She still visits him at his leathers and furs shop in Stormwind fairly often, especially after dangerous adventures. She just wants to make sure he knows she's alright ;-;

9. No Lullaby: Right back into it with a song that I use to represent Tarinne's general feeling of not being able to go home because it's not there anymore. She's felt like this since the end of the Third War, but it's especially strong since the whole Teldrassil thing. But I like the ending, "who said you're on your own," because it contrasts the repeating of "alone" in the rest of the song. And it's kinda like "hey, listen, you're not the only one who feels like she can't go home." I mean that's probably how basically every single night elf feels right now skxnks

10. The Moss: This song juxtaposes classic fairy tales with scientific facts about the world and I love it to BITS. I'm using it here to represent both Tarinne's love for storytelling but also her sort of... part-time historian/archaeologist/conservator career.

11. Rasputin: I just associate this song with her for some reason and this was the best place to put it.

12. Electric Feel: Moving on to focus more on Tarinne's relationship with Cathala now. This is an extremely great and somewhat 😏 song that I also included because the electricity theme is appropriate because Cathala has lightning powers and y'know it's from Tarinne's perspective or whatever.

13. Bedroom Hymns: You know why this is here.

14. Movement: I can't talk about love songs without talking about Hozier, okay. This is just a nice, slower song to relax a bit with.

15. Never Let Me Go: I have an entire goddamn music video in my head with Cathala and Tarinne for this song and it’s very dramatic and emotional and I had to include this song or I’d die. Basically just listen to near the end of this song when she's repeating the title over and over, and imagine the two of them seeing each other at opposite ends of a battlefield after the dust settles and they rush towards each other and fall to their knees holding on as tightly as they can because they got separated early on and each thought the other was dead. Then you'll know how I feel when I listen to this song.

16. Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control: First of all I love the title, and second of all there's a big section in the middle (1:49 to 2:47) that I like to interpret as the two of them grappling with the fact that they're not really quite sure who or what they're fighting for anymore. Their people, yeah, but there's so many alliances and semi-permanent enemies and only-on-every-other-thursday-enemies all intertwined and the world is just so very confusing and they're trying to make the best of it. Elf school didn’t include international, interracial politics in its curriculum. It did however include how to properly plant trees, and AP calculus (this is a joke).

17. In Dreams: I like to imagine this song is something the two of them would say to each other, as a way of saying “even when everything we know is gone, even when the world ends, I will still be by your side. And if I’m not, don’t fear, for I will find you.” It makes a nice note to end on :)

For Cathala’s:

1. muse: Just a nice lofi intro to get us into things :) I don't see this song as her theme, like I do with Tarinne and the first song in her playlist, but I like it quite a bit. I don't actually really have a theme for Cathala yet, I'm currently going with a version of Way of the Monk from WoW's OST but I'm still looking for something better.

2. Frogs Singing: I included this because it's about just appreciating nature, which works because night elf and also mindfulness and meditation is a whole thing.

3. Tongues: This is a song about feeling distant from your peers which is like Cathala's whole existence! She's this weird mix of two cultures and ultimately she feels out of place regardless of where she is or who she's with. Also the theme with not understanding what people are saying works because the poor woman had to learn Pandaren from scratch and that shit ain't easy. I think blizz said somewhere probably that Common is just a language that EVERYONE knows inherently because Video Game but that's bullshit in my opinion. I'll allow spells that let you understand foreign languages to an extent (Comprehend Languages from D&D lets you understand the LITERAL meaning only, which I like), but every culture and species in the universe knowing Common is silly if you think about it for more than two seconds.

4. Kung Fu Fighting: I'm legally required to include this song. Also I prefer the Kung Fu Panda version, I'm sorry.

5. Harder Better Faster Stronger: I vicariously experience having a great work ethic through Cathala and that's why this song is here because she has 999 Determination and does Too Many push-ups every day or something idk. I was gonna say "every morning" but I have a headcanon that elves only need to sleep every couple of days (sort of a nod to "elves don't need to sleep at all" from D&D, and to explain why NIGHT elves are active at all hours of the day) so that doesn't work.

6. What's Up Danger: This song is Cathala's whole Vibe. Almost zero threat assessment skills in this woman's brain. If it can be punched, she will punch it.

7. Eye for an Eye: Fairly self-explanatory, it's a song about wanting revenge so... yeah. Checked that box. It was this or The Vengeful One by Disturbed but ultimately The Vengeful One's religious symbolism probably makes it fit better as a Tyrande theme lol ("I'm the hand of god, I'm the dark messiah." Did you mean: the Night Warrior)

8. Survivor: Cathala's survived a lot of shit and this could kinda be her making fun of herself for it because "Gods, man! Don't I deserve a break!"

9. Ashes: Really the reason I include this song is the last chunk (2:42 to the end) because holy shit. Listen, if I was gonna include a song with fire motifs, it was gonna be a somber one like this.

10. Into the West: This can kinda represent Cathala just trying to fucking breathe and recover from Teldrassil. Also works because I dunno it has stuff to do with the elves in LotR, I haven't seen those movies in a while. It sounds nice and is melancholy so I included it.

11. Like Real People Do: Cathala loves Tarinne a lot you guys have I ever menti-

12. Into the Wild: Tarinne changed Cathala's world for the better and she's super fucking grateful she has her by her side. Kinda goes without saying but you know.

13. Chasing the Moon: I have a vague music video in my head for this of them falling in love and it's very cute so there's that. Also it's in this specific spot because hey she may be deeply traumatized but she's still got a fair number of things/people in her life that make her happy so :)

14. Follow My Girl: I've got a theme going in my head that while Tarinne is fairly certain of her place in the world, Cathala is still trying to find hers. She outlived all her connections on Pandaria because Elf Lifespans(tm) and the only members of her family still alive are distant relatives she never knew very well.

15. Wish That You Were Here: This works both to represent Cathala on Pandaria feeling super homesick, and for more recently after Teldrassil. Either way, it's a message to her parents and sister.

16. Mr. Fear: She does her damnedest to hide it but she's absolutely terrified something like Teldrassil's gonna happen again! That fear drives her to do everything in her power to protect who and what she can. As long as they're not Forsaken, cause she's still got her biases, that compassion even extends across faction lines. She never really got the whole Alliance/Horde thing anyway. Innocent people shouldn't have to die, regardless of who or what they are.

17. Ordinary Day: Not to get super out there but I think this song works as symbolizing Cathala really trying to hold on to her faith in Elune, but ultimately feeling pretty abandoned. I mean she can clearly see Elune's influence everywhere. But Elune sure ain't doing Cathala any favors as far as she can tell! It also ends the whole playlist on maybe a bit of an uncertain/open-ended note, because this "losing faith" aspect is a new thing with her and will definitely be something she continues to struggle with for a while. On a related note, I should say Tarinne is still very much devout but she gets what Cathala's feeling and doesn't force anything on her, and vice versa. And Cathala wouldn't become atheist, the night elves aren't monotheistic and she still worships all the other deities, it's just specifically Elune she's a little :/ on.

[overwatch-does-stuff]

Hey, I really love this blog! I think your characterisation of everyone is spot-on. I was thinking about this a while ago, and I think you would have a pretty cool take on it so- what does everyone think of Hanzo and Genji's dragons? like, do they trust them, think they're cool or just think "eff them, they don't science"?

Thank you so much for the request, anon! However, I'm going to use this to bring up some of my ideas and headcanons regarding the Shimada Dragons before I get into the character list.I have some very different headcanons than most of the fandom regarding the Dragons. I personally don't see the Dragons as animals, as cute as some of the fanon interpretations are. Rather, I think the Dragons are very representative of both the brothers' souls.First and foremost, in the short "Dragons", Hanzo is heard telling the story of the two dragons of the north and south winds. However, it is revealed later on that the story is a metaphor for his relationship with Genji. Hanzo is personifying himself as the dragon, which makes it hard for me to believe that the Dragons are some sort of separate, animal-like entity from the brothers.Plus, their dragons and how the brothers use them are very representative of their current emotional states. Hanzo, when using his ult., says "Let the dragon consume you", then expels the dragons from his body through the tattoo. Anyone who plays Overwatch knows that walking into the dragons is incredibly harmful to your health. This implies a negative connotation around the dragon, and this reflects Hanzo's view of himself. When visiting Illios, Hanzo says "Such beauty. . . wasted on the soul of a killer". This is Hanzo still regretting killing Genji, and being unable to forgive himself. Hanzo has a very negative view of himself. Contrast this with Genji's dragon. Instead of it exiting his body and causing harm, Genji's dragon stays near him, encircles him, and makes him more powerful. When activating this power, Genji says "The dragon becomes me". This gives the dragon a very positive connotation, in direct contrast with Hanzo's. This reflects Genji's newfound inner peace and acceptance of himself.To summarize:- Hanzo's dragon kills you with the power of self-loathing and depression.- Genji's dragon kills you with the power of confidence. This doesn't mean that the character interactions for this list won't interesting! These boys are still summoning some weird magic-type stuff. This is going to be fun.On to the list! What Overwatch thinks of the Shimada Dragons:    Tank:D.va just wants to know how it works! She's asking Genji all sorts of questions (as she's still a little intimidated by Hanzo,) and she's determined to get answers. When Genji starts getting annoyed though, she backs off. She'd just like to see it more often. It's so cool!Orisa is wracking her databases, trying to come up with some sort of explanation. At first she thought the dragons were some sort of technological illusion put on by Genji's armor, but when she found out Hanzo could do it to the idea was a bust. She's still deep in thought about it. She'll probably go ask Zenyatta about it later.Reinhardt is in awe of it, but he's not too surprised. He's always believed in a little bit of magic and the supernatural; he just didn't expect to be proven right. He's a little hesitant to ask Genji about it now, as the ninja was not up to talk about it during Blackwatch.Roadhog tries to avoid working on a team with them. He's half convinced he's seeing things, and half convinced that the brothers are conning the whole thing. Nothing like a big spirit dragon to intimidate your enemies. He's seen just about everything in his life, and he's not about to add something like magic to the list.Winston is intensely curious, but tries to avoid asking questions, as Hanzo is, and Genji used to be, very stand-offish about talking about them. Instead, Winston tries to gather data whenever the dragons come out. Whether it be by measuring the air when a dragon passes by, or making observations of Hanzo's tattoo, he'll find out some amount of truth one way or another.Wrecking Ball thinks the entire thing is some very impressive pyrotechnics. He asks Hanzo how to "make dragons". Hanzo now refuses to speak to him. Hammond is now coming up with a plan to break into Genji's room and find out what their secret is.Zarya at first dismissed the dragons as fake, mocking Genji endlessly about it and making snide remarks to Hanzo once in a while. That is, until she saw them in combat. She then apologized to Hanzo, at least. She's been rather quiet to Genji lately. She doesn't seem to ask any questions about them, perhaps out of respect.    Damage:Bastion in fascinated with the Dragons, and tends to get distracted when either of the brothers summon theirs. This can cause problems during battle whenever Bastion is expected to provide covering fire. Outside of battle though, it has asked Genji about the dragons. Genji explained them as best as he could.Doomfist is baffled on how such powerful a force could exist, yet have no records or evidence. He's seen the dragons first hand in battle, in an encounter with Hanzo, but he has yet to come up with a rational explanation for them. Moira couldn't provide answers, and Sombra was unable to come up with any prior history of spirit dragons. He hopes to recruit Hanzo, not just as an asset, but to get an answer on the Dragons as well.Genji isn't quite sure how he and his family have access to the Dragons. All he knows is that it is some sort of ancient power. It thrums constantly within him, and only in moments of true feeling can it be summoned. He used to summon it out of anger, in an almost uncontrollable force. Now he is able to summon it when he needs it most, and it greatly aids him in battle. He has Zenyatta to thank for that.Hanzo isn't nearly so trusting of his Dragons. They are linked to his negative emotions, and he can only summon them when he is overwhelmed by anger, fear, or sadness. He is shocked that Genji can summon his so easily. However, Hanzo also uses his dragon much more as a tool; he purposely brings up bad emotions (especially over Genji's death) during battle and sometimes even hurts himself in order to summon them. This horrifies Genji.Junkrat totally thinks that the Dragons are fireworks. He keeps asking the brothers where they buy them. When he finds out they can't be bought, he spends days experimenting with his own explosives. He can't quite get the same results.McCree knows better than to ask about the Dragons. He's been on a team with Genji before, and back then, he was not in a place to talk about it. Because the Dragons aren't quite so surprising to him anymore, McCree is rather casual when it comes to talking about them, though. He'll explain them to the newbies if questions are asked.Mei is absolutely fascinated with the Dragons! She wants to know what they are- animals? Spirits? Magic? Either way, she's come up with cute names for them (Genji's is Wasabi, Hanzo's are Soba and Ginsing). She sometimes helps Winston try and study them, but she usually lets the brothers know if they're taking readings. Hanzo hates it. Genji doesn't mind.Pharah didn't believe her mother's tales of Genji, and thought the whole "Dragons" thing might just be a metaphor for a battle stance or something like that. When she actually saw the Dragons for the first time, she couldn't believe her eyes. She asks McCree about it later, but doesn't bring it up to anyone else.Reaper knows a lot more than he lets on. During Blackwatch, he had Moira gather information on Genji's Dragon. He took this information and used it to plan tactics to utilize it. Nowadays, he uses what he knows to avoid it. He knows what a powerful weapon it is. He has yet to tell anyone else in Talon the extent of what he knows.Soldier 76 doesn't know nearly as much about the Dragons. Though also a strategist, he hasn't asked Genji or Hanzo about it. He figures that the brothers know when and where to use their abilities. Genji usually communicates and coordinates with his team before using it. Hanzo does not. This can lead to some mishaps during battle, which annoys Soldier to no end.Sombra has searched the web inside and out, but has found no information on anything like the Dragons. Heck, she can barely find records of the Shimada clan. She figures that the family has a closed internet system. She would love to get into it sometime, but that would require an on-site hack, and as of current plans involving the heir, Talon does not want to make the clan mad.Symmetra thinks that the Dragons are nothing more than hard-light structures. She can create similar illusions, but not on the scale of either of the brothers. She wonders if they secretly are masters of hard light, or if they have some sort of technology that allows them to create such constructions on the fly. However, she sees that the Dragons are of spiritual importance to the brothers, so she does not ask. Torbjorn hates, hates, hates even acknowledging the Dragons' existence. He pretends that they don't exist most of the time. However, back in the day, he helped to build Genji's cyborg armor, and he had to build an entirely separate cooling system to deal with the energy surge that the Dragon creates, so he knows that it's real; the logical part of his brain just refuses to admit it. (Basically, "eff them, they don't science", lol.)Tracer thinks that the Dragons are wicked cool. She asks a lot of harmless questions, mostly to Hanzo (for some reason), such as "What makes them go through walls?" or "Why do you have two, but your brother only has one?". Hanzo usually refuses to respond, but she has gotten an answer or two. She usually tells the answers to Winston, as to help him with his study.Widowmaker doesn't have time to dwell on the nature of the Dragons. All she cares about is that they're inconvenient to deal with, often forcing her to move positions and interrupting her usual sniper dual with Hanzo.    Support:Ana doesn't ask many questions, as she sees it as a breach of privacy. She only knows what information the brothers openly say and what she has seen in battle. She does, however, ask the brothers if they would like to be nanoboosted when they summon their Dragons. Genji accepts. Hanzo refuses.Brigitte didn't believe Reinhardt's tales of Genji's Dragon, chalking it up to her mentor's active imagination. All that changed when she saw them in battle for the first time. She's especially fascinated with how Genji's cyborg parts handle the energy surge. She tried to ask her father about it, but all he would give her is the blueprints. Since then, she's come up with several upgrades for the system. Genji, however, politely declines them every time she brings them up.Lucio thinks they're super cool, but he doesn't ask questions, and often is the one to stop others (read: Tracer and D.va) from asking them as well. He understand that the spirit dragons may be a personal thing, so he only knows what information is volunteered. However, this doesn't stop him from creating sick remixes inspired by the Dragons. Mercy knew about the Dragons from the very beginning- it was a medical miracle that Genji survived, and she attributes a small part of that to the dragon spirit inside of him. She's always been intensely curious about it, but she can never bring herself to ask questions. Instead, she focuses on getting to know Genji as a person more. Perhaps with time she may learn more.Moira is also intensely curious. Back in Blackwatch, she was able to study Genji in her laboratory whenever he was injured. She had many theories about the Dragons, but none of them turned out to be true. Regardless, she was able to get many useful data readings as to how they function. Nowadays, she would love to get her hands on Hanzo to further her study, and that is one of the driving forces in the plan of recruiting him to Talon.Zenyatta sees the Dragons as spiritual entities that reflect the brother's relationships with their inner selves. He knows more about the Dragons than anyone else, as he is Genji's closest confidant when it comes to such things. He was able to see how the Dragon changed throughout Genji's spiritual enlightenment. Zenyatta wishes he could help Hanzo with his troubles, but the bowman always refuses.