#when it's just as possible to be a functional member of society without leaving your home

[ovaruling]

i found this very interesting, especially as a woman who has cheated death several times, came away from it disabled, and is now fiercely determined to live independently into old age, child-free (in this case, the relevance of that being the context of having no children to assist me with care or basic function as i age).

however, this is also important for all women, because being able to carry fitness (and by fitness i refer to the ability to complete everyday tasks and basic mobility without extreme difficulty or injury) into old age is a topic that affects us as a sex with some growing urgency.

statistically, we know (or should, by now) that women cannot depend on male partners/family members to care for us in times of illness or crisis, and that also goes for caring for us as we age. they leave. they shirk. they hope we’ll just die and relieve them of the burden of caring for us.

and even if male partners are not a factor, aging women ARE seen as a burden–to our families, to our friends, to our loved ones, to our doctors, to our governments, to our societies. having children or a partner or family members or friends does not necessarily guarantee that they will assist you in your old age.

so it is of utmost importance that we as women educate ourselves on how to stay as physically independent as possible as we age. here is an excerpt of the article that describes why i think this is so important:

"Think of the Centenarian Decathlon as the 10 most important physical tasks you will want to be able to do for the rest of your life. Some items on the list resemble actual athletic events, while some are closer to activities of daily living, and still others might reflect your own personal interests. I find it useful because it helps us visualize, with great precision, exactly what kind of fitness we need to build and maintain as we get older. It creates a template for our training.

I start by presenting my patients with a long list of physical tasks that might include some of the following:

1. Hike 1.5 miles on a hilly trail. 2. Get up off the floor under your own power, using a maximum of one arm for support. 3. Pick up a young child from the floor. 4. Carry two 5-pound bags of groceries for five blocks. 5. Lift a 20-pound suitcase into the overhead compartment of a plane. 6. Balance on one leg for 30 seconds, eyes open. (Bonus points: eyes closed, 15 seconds.) 7. Have sex. 8. Climb four flights of stairs in three minutes. 9. Open a jar. 10. Do 30 consecutive jump-rope skips.

The full list is much longer, with more than 50 different items, but you get the idea. Once they’ve read it, I ask them to please select which of these tasks they want to be able to perform in their ninth, or better yet 10th, decade. Which ones do they choose?

All of them, typically. They want to be able to hike a mile and a half, or carry their own groceries, or pick up a great-grandchild, or get up if they fall down. Or play 18 holes of golf, or open a jar, or fly somewhere on a plane. Of course they do.

That’s great, I say. You’ll make that kid’s day when you pick her up like that. But now let’s do a little math. Let’s say the kid weighs 25 or 30 pounds. That’s basically the same as doing a squat while holding a 30-pound dumbbell in front of you (i.e., a goblet squat). Can you do that now, at age 40? Most likely. But now let’s look into the future. Over the next 30 or 40 years, your muscle strength will decline by about 8 to 17 percent per decade—accelerating as time goes on. So if you want to pick up that 30-pound grandkid or great-grandkid when you’re 80, you’re going to have to be able to lift 50 to 55 pounds now. Without hurting yourself. Can you do that?

I press the issue. You also want to be able to hike on a hilly trail? To do that comfortably requires a VO2 max of roughly 30 ml/kg/min. Let’s take a look at the results of your latest VO2 max test—and guess what, you only scored a 30. You’re average for your age, but I’m afraid that’s not good enough, because your VO2 max is also going to decline. So you can pull it off now, but you likely won’t be able to do it when you’re older.

On it goes. To lift a 20-pound suitcase overhead when you are older means lifting 40 or 50 pounds now. To be able to climb four flights of stairs in your 80s means you should be able to pretty much sprint up those same stairs today. In every case, you need to be doing much more now, to armor yourself against the natural and precipitous decline in strength and aerobic capacity that you will undergo as you age.

Eventually, my patients get it. Together, we come up with a list of 10 or 15 events in their personal Centenarian Decathlon, representing their goals for their later decades. This then determines how they should be training. In the end, most people’s Centenarian Decathlons will probably overlap to a degree. Someone who enjoys stand-up paddleboarding, for example, would perhaps choose “events” focused around building core and cross-body strength. But she will likely be training the same muscle groups as I am doing for archery, and maintaining a similar degree of stamina and balance.

The Centenarian Decathlon is ambitious, no question. A 90-year-old who is even able to board a plane under her own power, let alone hoist a carry-on bag, is doing extremely well. But there is a method to the madness. These individual tasks are not out of reach. There are octogenarians, nonagenarians, and even centenarians right now who are running marathons, racing bicycles, lifting weights, flying airplanes, jumping out of airplanes, skiing the Rocky Mountains, competing in actual decathlons, and doing all sorts of other amazing things. So all these events are within the realm of possibility."

[mbti-notes]

Anon wrote: Hello! While I don't know my type (INXX F), what do feelings of shame say if they involve your passions? Growing up I learned that it's better to get a career and do what you'd like as a hobby, but I hate my job. It consumes so much time and energy; there are times when it takes up my whole life.

However, whenever I try to share my "true self" with others, people either don't care, tell me it's not mature/normal enough, or use it against me. Now, sometimes I look at what I love and feel sick.

What complicates it is that it's hard for me to feel a sense of belonging anywhere, yet when I watch some of these writers/artists/animators, see how they think, I get a sense that I could belong with them. Some are analytical when explaining their processes, others more methodical, all of them love what they do, no matter what their goals are.

I wish I could have that type of work, on which you could focus and follow this flow (although this isn't always the case). That is not true for my job. You have to fight everything and do a million things at once, yet I can't escape without something to fall back on. Although I'm trying to improve my skills and build a portfolio, find good teachers, it's hard.

People say to have confidence in yourself and make your own decisions, but what if every choice you make is wrong? What if you can't win and you're supposed to take it? How can you be yourself when you're fundamentally taught everything about you has to be hidden or "fixed," that your needs are illegitimate and should be ignored whenever possible?

I'm asking this because while I feel fine more often than I used to, I don't want my past or other people to control me. I want to be myself, but I keep asking myself what that is. It's like there's a piece of me that's locked away and I can't get it out. Thank you.

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

Figure out your exact type by doing a proper type assessment. If you are INF, that only leaves two options: INFP and INFJ. The two types are very different and would call for different ways of approaching personal development. If I don't know your type, I can't get into specifics of how to address your issues.

Many people experience some degree of invalidation as they grow up. It is a near universal experience because it is a natural consequence of socialization. Socialization is the process of learning how to function and thrive in the society you live in. Certain negative traits and behaviors in people are widely discouraged, shamed, or condemned for the sake of maintaining a well-functioning society. If people weren't socialized, the concept of "society" would cease to have any meaning.

Parents, schools, and society at large use various ways to socialize children. While every member of a society must go through socialization, some parenting styles are better than others, some education methods are better than others, and some societal values are better than others for children to internalize and perpetuate. The worst methods of socialization leave people suffering from psychological issues such as low self-esteem or grandiose entitlement. The best methods involve learning how to strike the right balance between self and others.

You ask "how can you be yourself when you're fundamentally taught everything about you has to be hidden or fixed, that your needs are illegitimate and should be ignored". Do you just automatically believe everything you were ever taught in life? Do you still believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny?

At some point, you have to grow up and think for yourself, do you not? At some point, continuing to blame your parents/upbringing really just becomes an excuse. Are you concealing a deeper truth about not wanting to grow up, perhaps because of not wanting the heavy responsibility it entails? Refusal to mature is one common way people get stuck in a rut and remain at the lowest levels of ego development, thinking and behaving like a child or teenager all throughout life. The longer you resist the call to confront your life challenges and grow as a person, the more and more self-esteem you'll lose, because the evidence of your deficits becomes harder and harder to ignore.

Belonging isn't easy for everyone because not everyone happens to be born into an emotionally, socially, and intellectually supportive environment of best fit to their personality. You can take this as a personal affront and bitterly point fingers, or you can treat it as a matter of circumstance and change it. If your environment doesn't work for you, you owe it to yourself to either find a better one or create a better one for yourself. As a child, you have little control over your circumstances. However, as an adult, you are equipped with enough power to counteract toxic upbringing and change childish thought patterns. You not only have the power to learn, you also have a responsibility to yourself to address what is not working in your life.

Do you understand the concept of "owing things to yourself"? It is predicated upon the idea that you own your life and should therefore take full responsibility for it. You won't take ownership as long as you have a weak sense of self. People with a weak sense of self have low self-awareness. They don't know their own mind, their own values, their own needs and desires. You may not be at fault for having a weak sense of self, so it's not a crime to be punished. However, it becomes an ego development problem if a person resists strengthening their sense of self. When you aren't able to make good decisions for yourself, what happens? You always defer to others, you fly by the seat of your pants, or you get stuck in indecision - which option sounds best to you?

Regardless of what you did in the past, how are you going to make decisions going forward? Continuing on as before means nothing will change for the better, but your feelings about yourself and your life will continue to worsen over time. Feelings are very important for informing you about what's not right or what's not working in life. If you don't listen to them or even suppress them, they get worse and they get louder, which can have a very negative impact on your mental health. You must answer feelings by properly attending to the problem that they are urging you to resolve.

You ask "what if every decision is wrong". What if I told you that there are no "wrong" decisions in the way that you mean? In order to progress in life, one must learn from every experience. Therefore, all experiences, positive and negative, are important to your personal growth. Your reluctance/refusal to accept the negative aspects of life means that you lose precious opportunities to learn and grow into the person you're meant to be.

You ask "what if you can't win and you're supposed to take it". What if I told you that there is no such thing as "winning"? In order to make good decisions, one must be attuned to reality. In reality, "winning" is just an idea, a mental construct, a value. Mental constructs are only "real" insofar as you choose to believe in them, which means you can stop believing any time you decide it's no longer worth it. As long as you want the superficial status of "winning" and keep believing in the concept (because someone told you to), you'll keep suffering the consequences of "losing" and the feelings of being a "loser". Is that a price you're willing to pay? If not, then it's time to change your worldview. Your way of thinking lacks sophistication and nuance.

You say you don't want the past or others to control you? Some people romanticize suffering and build their identity around it because they like the benefits of positioning themselves as the victim. Some people wish for a dominant figure in their life to make decisions for them because they don't want to bear the hardships of discerning what is right/wrong. As long as you derive some sort of "benefit" from viewing yourself as a victim of your past or submitting yourself to the control of others, why would you choose differently? Are you willing to give up those "benefits"? If so, you have to stop seeing yourself as a victim and you have to stop seeing yourself as incapable. You have to change the stories you tell about yourself.

As an adult, you have to acknowledge that the "locked" up piece of you was locked up by you. It is a defense mechanism; you did it to protect yourself from hurt and pain. But, in the end, it means you are trapped by your fear of hurt and pain. Logically, the way out is to confront hurt and pain and learn the emotional intelligence skills you need to manage it better.

You believed that locking yourself up would free you from pain, but you are still in pain, aren't you? Worse, you are likely to hate yourself for getting stuck in pain. Confronting the challenges of your life is also painful because it's hard work and you open yourself up to setbacks and failures, but the difference is you get rewarded with self-esteem and growth. Thus: Choose your pain wisely. You treat all pain as being bad, which is more evidence that your way of thinking lacks sophistication and nuance. If you're going to experience pain either way, at least get something meaningful out of it.

When you suffer from devaluing your own existence, you are likely to benefit from assertiveness training. I've talked about it before and recommended books on the resources page. Taking a practical course might be a good idea. They are usually offered by employment upgrading, self-improvement programs, or mental health services. They are designed specifically to teach you: how to change faulty beliefs about yourself and the world; how to honor yourself; how to communicate about needs and wants; how to advocate for yourself in various situations; etc.

[cartoonscientist]

similarly to how there’s kind of a cognitive divide in the physical disability community between people with invisible disabilities and people with disabilities that may require more obvious accommodations, I’ve noticed a separation in ideals between people who are mentally ill or neurodivergent but are able to mostly function as normal adult members of society and the people I would call “mentally disabled” (I’m one of them) who don’t live “normal” lives and usually functionally don’t have the full rights of an American citizen

a lot of people in the former group sometimes don’t even realize the latter group exists beyond the odd stories they’ve heard of people with childhood behavioral issues who can never leave professional care in their adult lives and what a burden they are on society and their caretakers. in their mind, someone who is too mentally disabled to work or live alone or drive is obviously also too mentally disabled to enjoy the things normal people do or have motivations or interests or a complex sense of identity; perhaps some of them don’t even think we can experience meaningful happiness in the depths of our foggy torment, so why would we ever need to open a business or file taxes or fly on a plane alone? why would we possibly want to own a gun when we can’t even aim it and we’d probably just use it to shoot our caregiver when they asked us to take a shower? [A/N: guns scare me a little so I have no interest in buying one but other people who shoot or hunt as a hobby have made good points about how unfair the restrictions on gun ownership are for the mentally ill compared to people with no official diagnosis but who may have a history of spousal abuse, etc.]

and because of that, many of these former people are very eager to vote for laws that restrict the freedoms of the latter group. the whole reason I was inspired to make this post was when I saw a whole thread of people on Reddit, many of whom (statistically) must have a mental DX and probably even post elsewhere about ableism, chiming in about what a great idea it was to unilaterally forbid bipolar people from having control over their own money and wondering why this law hasn’t been made yet

but what they don’t realize is that they can become members of the latter group without experiencing any changes in their mental and physical state. politicians can always move the goal posts of what “functional” is. maybe one day people who have panic attacks or PTSD will be considered too risky to be allowed to drive, and now suddenly you can’t keep your job. maybe employers will start scoping social media for evidence of ASD or ADHD activism and use that to secretly reject applications. the opportunities you have access to are just as dependent on social climate as the severity of your symptoms.

closing note: I’m definitely not saying everyone is like this! I’m just complaining about a huge population I’ve seen online, but ultimately I believe infighting is counterproductive and we all need to lift each other up. hang in there and have a great day, my crazy [reclamatory] friends.

[prince-icarus]

honestly if i could just live my entire life without leaving my house i'd be alright

[sushireads]

jungkook fic recs

this is a list of jungkook fics i’ve read and loved very much! enjoy. <3

ps. all fics with 🍙 are the ones i loved a little bit more.

2! 3! by @gimmesumsuga

smut, fluff | one shot | 3K words

The one at the end of Jungkook’s Wembley Vlive.

IDOL au

a dangerous game by @goldngguk​ 

horror | series

You were in love with him. Jeon Jeongguk was everything you’d ever dreamed of and more. He was wealthy, kind, gentle, and most importantly, he loved you dearly. You knew he would always be there for you to guide you and protect you. You’d been together for just over a year and knew he had made plans to propose to you. But you found it strange that he had never brought you home to meet his parents.

KILLER, HUNTER, YANDERE au

About Time by @yoonia

ON-GOING | 🍙, angst | series

Be careful for what you wish for, because you may never know how to deal with them once it comes true. What would you do when your wish for a second chance actually came true? But was it really a fulfilled wish? Too many questions lie when it actually happened. Were they real memories? Or perhaps a part of a past life? Was it only a dream all along? Will everything be different this time?

SOULMATE, TIME LEAP, TIME TRAVEL au

ALL I WANT FOR COCKMAS by @junqkook

fluff, crack, smut | one shot | 3.6K words

you tell santa exactly what you want for christmas.

CHRISTMAS, SANTA au

Amour by @taesthetes

fluff, fantasy | one shot | 6.1K words

{{ noun // a love affair, usually secret; a lover }}

To love would be committing the greatest sin.

ANGEL, DEMON au

aurora. by @krreader​​

angst, fluff | one shot | 6K+ words

dawn comes after the darkness, and with it the promise that what has been torn by the sea is not lost. - lisa wingate 

IDOL au

baecation by @1kook

smut, fluff | one shot | 5.9K words

“Lose the top, or lose the right to present yourself in any low back gown for the next three months.” He truly knew the way to your heart.

RICH, VACATION au

banana milk by @kimnjss

smut | one shot | 6.7K words

sent to the grocery store in the middle of the day, you’d never believe who you ran into in the milk aisle.

STRANGERS TO LOVERS au

bandslam by @ironicarmy​​

angst, smut | series

Cocky drummer Jeon Jungkook has never been the type to hate on anyone. But when his best friend Taehyung unexpectedly leaves the band and leaves you in his place, he can’t really blame himself when he acts with disdain towards you. Not even when there’s a prize at stake.

COLLEGE, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, ROCK BAND au

Be Mine by @staerrylights

angst, fluff, smut | one shot | 5.5K words

When the worlds of a campus’ star player and ordinary girl collide, sparks will fly.

JOCK, FUCK BOY au

Bells by @taetaesbaebaepsae

fluff | one shot | 1.6K words

SOULMATE au

bitchin’ by @kinktae

🍙, fluff, angst, smut | series

The 80s were a time of choices. Which perm was right for you? What color neon would you wear next? None of these choices, however, were more questionable than a certain deal you made with Jeon Jungkook.

—part of the rewind series

1980s, ENEMIES TO LOVERS, FRAT BOY, FAKE DATING au

black card by @minsprings

🍙, fluff, smut | two shots

a long night at another one of your obligatory high society functions has you desperate to relieve some stress with your husband jungkook, who’s been apparently hiding a kink from you for some time.

CRAZY RICH ASIANS, CEO, ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP, HIGH SOCIETY au

Blackjack by @kpopfanfictrash

smut | series

Bangtan is one of the most vicious mafias on the west coast. Only six members are known by name though, with a mysterious seventh member dubbed only as ‘the shadow.’ When you become indebted to the worst of the worst – how, exactly can you find a way out?

MAFIA au

caught me. by @jeongi

smut | one shot | 13.5K words

you hate your temporary roommate, jungkook and it doesn’t help that he’s been catching you at the most inconvenient of times.

ENEMIES TO LOVERS, ROOMMATE au

Crybaby by @lavishedinjimin​​

smut | two shots

dangerous love by @seulgiology

smut, light fluff | one shot | 3.7K words

MAFIA au

Departure by @nomnomsik

smut, fluff | one shot | 6.2K words

As a flight attendant for Korean Air, you’re scheduled for a thirteen-hour flight to Japan. However, things get intimate between you and your partner and co-pilot, Jeon Jungkook, when he realizes Park Jimin, the famous idol from Korea, broads the plane and blatantly flirts with you.

FLIGHT ATTENDANT, IDOL, PILOT au

Dumbo by @cinnaminsvga​

humor, smut | one shot | 17.2K words

you know what they say about boys with big noses…

{or alternatively: jungkook has a big dick but he doesn’t know how to use it, but luckily you’re there to help.}

Dynasty by @jimlingss​

angst, smut, fluff | one shot | 17.4K words

It’s no secret that the Emperor is infertile. But even so, a girl is selected every three months and brought to become his concubine in hopes of conceiving the next heir. This time, it’s you. And in order to prevent execution, Jeon Jungkook might just aid you in conception.

HISTORICAL au

Euphoria by @seokstrivia

fluff, smut, angst | one shot | 7.6K words

There was always a sign on Jungkooks’ door that said something along the lines of, ‘Warning; I am naked in here. Do not enter unless you’re ready to see a whole lot of dick.’  

or, that one roommate au where Jungkook is a cocky bastard.

ROOMMATE, SLOW BURN au

fatal attraction by @jungcock

ON-GOING | 🍙, angst, smut | series

Your dangerous ex-boyfriend comes back to haunt you in more ways than one.

SERIAL KILLER au

first time together by @httpjeon

fluff, smut, angst | one shot | 8.4K words

you never thought you’d fall for the charms of jeon jungkook, the campus heartthrob, play boy, and fuck boy.

—part of the together series

COLLEGE, FUCK BOY au

flesh and blood by @kinktae

fluff, smut | series

You are living in a society that is just now picking up the scraps that the Great Outbreak left behind after the government killed off the majority of the zombies. Still, some remain, and fear still lies within society’s walls. So imagine your surprise when the very thing you’ve been taught to fear ends up saving your life, showing you that maybe two beating hearts aren’t always required when it comes to love.

ZOMBIE au

For science by @boymeetsweevil

fluff, smut | series 

Jungkook asks you to let him watch you get off. For science.

NERD au

Game Over by @gukgalore

smut, fluff | one shot | 5K words

You try your hand at a certain TikTok trend using your boyfriend.

DOMESTIC COUPLE au

Head in the Clouds by @taequois​​

one shot | 3.7K words

You were the third wheel for your best friend’s date but why was Jeon Jungkook kissing you instead? 

YANDERE au

Hellblazer by @jungkookiebus

smut, fantasy | series

“Few people really think about dying… paranoids worry about it without really understanding it. Victims of fatal accidents and murder don’t have time to think. You only really think about it if you take the time to. And you only take the time if you know it’s going to happen.” -John Constantine, Dangerous Habits Pt. 1: The Beginning of the End, Issue #41.

CONSTANTINE, DEMON au

HIDDEN STARS by @jungblue

angst, smut | series

It started out simple, but when your feelings start to grow for the idol who isn’t allowed to date, things get complicated.

IDOL au

Hiraeth by @darlingwoes

smut, angst, fluff | series

Hiraeth: A longing for a home you can’t return to, or that never was.

It was confusing, the whole ordeal was. But no matter how many times you told yourself to go back, he was always there, taunting you to stay.

ROYALTY, TIME TRAVEL au

His Name by @jimlingss

🍙, angst | series

Jeon Jungkook is a puzzle with too many missing pieces from his past and too many sides. Somehow, it’s become your job to solve him.

MULTIPLE PERSONALITY au

i wish i missed my ex by @angelguk

smut, fluff, angst | one shot | 18K words

COLLEGE, FAKE DATING, FRIENDS TO LOVERS au

It Ain’t Me by @inferno-loop​​

angst | series

industrial by @taendrils​

fluff, smut | one shot | 8.1K words

❝there are lines you shouldn’t cross, things you shouldn’t touch and skin you shouldn’t mark when your hands are missing your gloves.❞

PIERCER au

Jeon Jungkook Must Die by @tayegi

smut | one shot | 14K words

Jungkook is Typing... by @glassbangtan

mild smut, angst, fluff | one shot | 21.1K words

You and Jungkook met online when you were only fourteen years old. Neither of you thought meeting up would be a possibility, until you’re hired as Big Hit’s new editor.

IDOL au

Killjoy by @taequois​​

smut | one shot | 9.3K words

You thought you’re trapped in the lion’s den when Jungkook kidnaps you. But he’s no lion and unfortunately for him, you weren’t a mouse either.

YANDERE au

Laundry Fairy by @bulletproofbirdy

fluff, smut | one shot | 3.5K words

You wake on Saturday to find that your boyfriend has cleaned your apartment and done your laundry–shenanigans ensue with the help of the spin cycle.

ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP au

love alive by @jamaisjoons

angst, fluff, smut | one shot | 17K words

a year after you and jungkook break up, the two of you meet at your brother’s party.

—part of the mixtape series

EXES, POST-BREAKUP au

Making of a lover by @smileyoongle​

angst | one shot | 2.4K words

CHEATING, YANDERE au

mask by @onherwings

🍙, angst, fluff, smut | one shot | 32.1K words

Perhaps you signed up for more than you expected when you agreed to pretend you were just Jungkook’s roommate when his (female) childhood friend comes to visit.

BOYFRIEND, COLLEGE au

mastur-bait by @kookswife​​

🍙, smut, fluff, humor | two shots

you drunkenly touch yourself in front of your neighbour, hoping he’ll take notice. you can’t help but do a double take when he actually does.

—part of The Connotation trilogy

BAD BOY au

Meeting their soulmate for the first time by @sunyoonandstars

🍙, fluff | one shot | 2.1K words

Jungkook is driven by the desire to, one day, meet his soulmate. However, he had not imagined it to happen so soon …

“Jungkook’s eyes met yours only for a brief moment. Still, this split second was all it took to send a surge of thrilling heat through his entire body, the intensity of your gaze leaving every last fiber of his being vibrating and his veins tingling with what felt like a million of tiny electric shocks. He could have sworn his heart literally skipped a beat. Or two. At least. Because those eyes weren’t just any eyes. They were the eyes. The eyes which had been haunting his dreams …”

IDOL, SOULMATE au

melomaniac. by @jeonscript

smut | one shot | 13K words

you’re wholeheartedly, madly in love with jungkook and yet you shouldn’t be because he’s supposed to be your best friend and nothing more. worst part of it all is that you know he’s in love with you too.

BAND, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, PUNK au

Mind in the Gutter by @kpopfanfictrash

smut, fluff, humor | one shot | 18K words

Starting over is never fun. Especially not when you decide to take the phrase fully to heart; new job, new city, new coworkers and new relationships. When you are dragged to a happy hour by your new co-worker, Taehyung, you end up sitting beside a (very) cute, (very) shy IT worker named Jungkook. Several drinks later, he mentions he is in a professional bowling league with his friends and you rather enthusiastically invite yourself along. As time passes and you begin to grow closer, you still find it impossible to read Jungkook. Working in the same company and seeing each other so often, it is only so long before one of you snaps. But who?

BOWLING, WORKPLACE au

more than friends by @matchakoo​

smut, angst, tiny fluff | two shots

you and jungkook have been roommates and close friends for a couple years, and you’re oblivious to the fact that the only reason why he hates your recent fuck-buddy is because he has the fattest crush on you.

ROOMMATE au

morning rush. by @atdawnsuga

smut | one shot | 3.2K words

You develop a strange relationship with the boy you share your morning commute with.  

COLLEGE au

Movin’ by @mygsii

smut | one shot | 3.9K words

you’re moving to a new place and have called up some movers to help. you didn’t expect to find one of them extremely attractive, nor did you expect to have him all over you as soon as break time rolled around.

MOVER au

Mutual by @seokjxnnie​​

smut | one shot | 2.7K words

Your boss was always talking about how her son would be perfect for you, promising that he was going to the staff holiday party. He turned out to be the hook up that happened a couple months ago, who you kept around for some good dick.

OFFICE au

My Type by @shadowsremedy​​

smut | one shot | 6K words

Never judge a book by its cover.

COLLEGE au

neighbour by @imagniation​​

fluff, smut | one shot | 4K words

‘you think I can afford a plumber?’ your endearing neighbour jeongguk has magic hands that fix toilets and make you orgasm.

NEIGHBOURS au

one thing right by @hobios

🍙, fluff, angst, smut | series

“i’ve been wrong about a million times, but i’ve got one thing right.”

or, desperate to get your ailing mother into the best care possible, you ask your childhood friend turned enemy to marry you for his health insurance benefits. the only problem is it’s illegal. and he’s the sheriff. and you swore to hate him since the day he broke your best friend’s heart.

ENEMIES TO LOVERS, FAKE MARRIAGE, SHERIFF, SLOW BURN au

One Year, My Love by @hayjeon

🍙, angst, fluff, smut | two shots 

You forge a marriage contract with the strangely speaking man who suddenly stumbled into your town with memory loss, but little do you know that he’s actually the lost Crown Prince, and a lot can happen between a married man and woman in one year.

FAKE MARRIAGE, ROYALTY au

Orange Tulips by @kainks

angst, fluff, light smut | one shot | 10.2K words

You’d remember Jungkook with every life you lived. Only he’d never remember you, never recall how your fates were written in the stars since the beginning of time.

REINCARNATION, SOULMATE au

Pay by Play by @yoonia

smut | one shot | 3.6K words

—part of @bangtansmutcentral‘s Made With Love Project

CAM BOY au

Pen Pal by @chinkbihh

angst | series

As a lonely person, the idea of exchanging letters with someone apart from society was actually quite appealing to you.  In a random act of charity and desperation, you sign up for a pen pal and get paired up with an inmate named Jungkook.  The letters were meant to help him cope with prison life, but little did anyone know it was actually driving him more mad.  

PRISONER, SERIAL KILLER, YANDERE au

Piss Off Your Parents by @littlemisskookie

smut | one shot | 16.4K words

In an effort to piss off your parents you move in with their worst nightmare- a boy with tattoos, a rock band, and an irresistible charm.

BAD BOY, FAKE DATING, RICH, ROOMMATE au

Play Pretend by @seokoloqy

smut, angst | one shot | 8.6K words

walking under ladders, splitting the pole, breaking mirrors, going near black cats—just to name a few things Jeon Jungkook doesn’t do before his soccer games.

And after Jungkook catches his girlfriend cheating on him, he’s going to need a little more than luck to get her back. He needs you.

FAKE DATING, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, SOCCER PLAYER au

Quarter Quell by @chinkbihh

ON-GOING | 🍙 | series

Every 25 years there is a Quarter Quell edition of the Hunger Games. Quells mark the anniversaries of the districts’ defeat by the Capitol, and include special celebrations. The Games involves some sort of twist that makes them even more disastrous or difficult to compete in, or watch.

HUNGER GAMES, YANDERE au

Redolent by @baeseoul

ON-GOING | angst, smut | series

You and Jungkook have a past, but the biggest mistake of his life has him losing you in every way. It isn’t until the smell of the unique combination of vanilla and pear blossom for the first time in over a year reminds him of you and your endearing candle obsession that he’s forced to reminisce about what he had, and what he lost. He wants to reconcile, but what if you’re doing just fine without him?

INDIE ROCKER, MUSICIAN au

Rigor Mortis by @readyplayerhobi

smut, angst, horror, fluff | one shot | 28.5K words

A night out at a bar results in you going home with a young and attractive police officer. But if you think the night was something to remember, that’s nothing compared to waking up to find a zombie outbreak in the city. A chance encounter with Officer Jeon leads to him helping you escape from the plague infested city.

POLICE OFFICER, ZOMBIE au

ROTTENFOLK by @junqkook

🍙, smut, fantasy | one shot (in dire need of a part two though!!!) | 13.5K words

a look was as hazardous as chemicals, a kiss as perilous as poison; his eyes and lips felt akin to a cure, but he was purely venom.

—part of BTS Smut Club’s The Heatwave Project

FAIRIE, ROYALTY au

roulette. by @taesthetes

light fluff, angst | one shot | 1.2K words

noun : a gambling game of chance.

he loves me, click, he loves me not, bang.

ASSASSIN, MAFIA au

Ruin the Dress... Shirt by @fortunexkookie

smut, fluff | one shot | 4.8K words

What could possibly go wrong during a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner with your brand new boyfriend? Let’s be honest, you shouldn’t have even asked.

NEW RELATIONSHIP au

Scum’s Wish by @bobagukk

angst, smut | one shot | 4.8K words

Secret Slut by @jeonsweetpea

🍙, smut | two shots

Jungkook accidentally gifts you, his boss, a sex toy for Secret Santa.

ASSISTANT, CEO au

skype sex by @floralseokjin​​

smut, fluff | one shot | 2.9K words

—part of the first love, last love drabble series

CYBER SEX au

Somnolent by @forgottenpasta

fluff | one shot | 3.5K words

After spending one night in bed with you, Jeongguk finds out he is unable to sleep unless you’re sleeping with him.

ROOMMATE au

Sprout by @hugseoks

fluff, crack | one shot | 1.2K words

After a nice evening out with your friends, you find yourself coming home to your sleeping toddler and the new hairstyle she had tried on your husband.

DAD, HUSBAND au

stand-in by @gvksp4ce

angst, smut, fluff | one shot | 10K words

frat parties always suck to a certain degree, especially when you walk in on your best friend’s partner nailing your own boyfriend on said buddy’s bed. However, drowning in self-pity was not on Jeon’s watch.

COLLEGE, FAKE DATING, FRIENDS TO LOVERS au

strawberry lips by @personasintro

fluff | drabble | 2.8K words

it’s not your fault your professor is extremely young and oh, so hot

PROFESSOR au

Summer Solstice by @brokenspinez​​

smut | one shot | 6K words

Down on your luck and desperate for a successful harvest, you pray to the gods. You figure no one in heaven was listening to your prayers when nothing happens immediately. But one fateful night, your prayers are answered. Are you willing to pay the price? The sacrifice might not be what you were expecting….

GOD au

Tangsuyuk Love by @full-of-jams​​

fluff, smut | one shot | 11.5K words

College student Jungkook flirts with a customer who always orders take-out tangsuyuk at his part-time job. Meanwhile he’s miserably trying not to fail his Math class, while hiding his ever-growing crush on you.

COLLEGE, FRIENDS TO LOVERS au

tell me no lies by @jeongi

angst, smut, minimal fluff | one shot | 15.1K words

You chose to rob your boss, however; you never expected to fall in love with him.

—part of BTS Smut Club's Under Fire Summer Project

CEO, CRIMINAL, ROBBERS au

the beast hidden inside by @harvcore​​

smut | one shot | 1.5K words

never come home smelling like another man, especially when it’s mating season.

or 𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐣𝐞𝐨𝐧 𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤, 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚, 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐬…

ALPHA au

the best part of me is you by @yourdelights

fluff, smut, angst | one shot | 9K words

Having been best friends since childhood, you’re an expert in all things Jungkook. You know everything about him, from how he took his coffee to the sound of his laugh after a successful prank. There was no part of him that you didn’t know like the back of your hand, or so you thought. Your view on things gets a bit skewed after discovering the one secret Jungkook had kept from you: he’s a camboy.

BEST FRIEND, CAM BOY au

the coffee shop contract by @gukyi

fluff | one shot | 18K words

apparently, having an instagram profile with a different girl in every picture is reason enough for your friends to strike up a deal where they’ll pay you to have a relationship. well, jeon jungkook’s no good at relationships, but a fake relationship isn’t a real relationship. is it?

COLLEGE, FAKE DATING au

the engagement by @virgoknj

angst | drabble | 3.4K words

in where your ex jungkook appears at your engagement party

EXES au

the jeon twins by @krreader

fluff, angst | one shot | 3.2K words

jk thought he was doing this for his twin’s good. falling in love with you while pretending to be kookie was never something he planned on doing and he hated himself for it.

COLLEGE, TWINS au

The Jorts by @gukslut​

fluff, smut | one shot | 6.5K words

ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP au

the sea & the storm by @jamaisjoons

angst, fluff, smut | one shot | 20K words

the sea is a powerful mistress. she is calm and beautiful. she is mysterious and alluring. she is a force to be reckoned with. above all, however, she is lonely. until she meets him.

—part of the Fantastical Stories for Curious Souls collaboration

SEA SPIRIT au

the train of lost souls by @inktae

angst, fantasy, fluff | one shot | 13.6K words

The moment you step inside the train, you are given two options.

You can choose to live, to be given a second and a last chance in life, in exchange for your memories and your previous existence. You can choose to be alive again, but it can only be an entirely new life. Everyone you’ve ever crossed paths with would forget your name. All the pain and the love you knew, all the ups and downs that made you hurt and made you smile — all of it, completely gone.

Or you can choose to move on, to give your life away while keeping your memories until the end of time. To step out of the world of the living and to embrace a new kind of loneliness, but with the warmth of your past always safe between your cold hands.

You are dead, but it’s up to you to do something about it.

The choice is solely yours.

The Truth About Forever by @thedefinitionofbts

romance, implied smut, angst | one shot | 6.3K words

There are a lot of things you know. You knew the water in the lake was the clearest, most fresh tasting in the world and that lavender hyacinth graced every hillside, peeking through patches of wild grass and forest green shrubbery. You knew the weather was pleasant enough and the air clean enough even for someone with a body as weak as yours to sleep peacefully under clear moonlit nights. You know a lot of things, but there was one thing you didn’t know…  

“Jungkook and Y/N forever…” Seokjin reads the little inscription on the corner. “Hey, this person even has the same name as you, how weird.”

SLICE OF LIFE au

the universe of us. by @taesthetes

🍙, fluff, angst, fantasy | one shot | 21.1K words

nefelibata : (noun) lit. “cloud-walker”; the one who lives in the clouds of their own imagination or dreams

The story of Icarus tells of a naive being who loved the sun and flew too close, leading to his untimely descent into the ocean. But what the tale didn’t speak of was how the sun and the moon fell in love with him, too. And with the pull of the tides due to the attraction of the sun and the moon, he tosses and turns, torn between two entities.

So if Kim Taehyung embodies the sun, then Jeon Jungkook is the moon.

And you are Icarus.

DREAM, SLICE OF LIFE au

The Virgin Volume by @kpopfanfictrash​

smut, angst | two shots

The year? Some point after college. The occasion? Namjoon is getting married and the Rich Man’s Crochet Club has convened once again. Somewhere between the drinks and the laughter, everyone has the same realization: Jungkook has never been in a serious relationship. In the name of all that is holy (Overwatch and booze), the club’s mission is revived. Now though, their goal is much more perilous. Now, they aim to find Jeon Jungkook a girlfriend.

—part of The Rich Man’s Crochet Club series

COLLEGE, FRIENDS O LOVERS, VIRGIN au

the wedding planners by @gukyi

fluff, light smut, light angst | one shot | 28K words

jeon jungkook is three things: cocky, terrible, and your worst enemy. then your best friend hoseok gets engaged to the love of his life, and suddenly jeon jungkook is four things: cocky, terrible, your worst enemy, and the man you will be spending the next seven months with in order to plan your best friend’s wedding.

and then, as if your life couldn’t get any shittier, you make the poor decision of sleeping with him on the first day of the job.

ENEMIES TO LOVERS, WEDDING au

through the night by @nightbts

ON-GOING | 🍙, fluff, angst | series

IDOL au

Travel Diary by @nitaescence

fluff | one shot | 2.5K words

BOYFRIEND, VLOGGER au

way down in bed stuy by @minstrivia

smut, light angst | one shot | 5K+ words

as a final farewell you fuck your sister’s unbelievably attractive knave boyfriend that you definitely do not have feelings for…again.

CHEATING au

Welcome to the Underworld (AO3 Link) by @spookitokki

fluff, smut, fantasy | one shot | 9.6K words

In a dark little second-hand shop downtown, stuffed in an alleyway you only stumbled into because you were lost, you found a charming antique radio. When you turned it on, it began to play what would become your favorite radio show, “Welcome to the Underworld”

DEMON, RADIO SHOW HOST au

youngblood by @jinitude

smut | one shot | 14.6K words

“I don’t care if he’s got the potential to be the next big thing. I’m done trying to chase a story that doesn’t exist. The kid is a wet leaf left on the curb to dry and crumble into pieces the next day. You’re going to send me to five of his concerts and I can already tell you how each one is going to go. He’s a wannabe bad boy who jizzes his pants when he sees a girl looking at him. Assign me someone else.”

ENEMIES TO LOVERS, JOURNALIST, ROCK STAR au

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[rose2jam]

Why It Was Practically Inevitable That Severus Snape Would Join A Cult, an essay by Rose Jam

So, let’s talk about Cults. Disclaimer: This is just information I’ve gathered over the years from my personal fascination with religious cults.  I’m in no way an expert or a psychologist or whatever.  This is just my personal understanding from the research I’ve done.

A cult is started when a wildly charismatic Leader feels like they have a purpose, a higher calling, or a mission to be fulfilled (or they could also just be an egomaniac). Maybe they really do feel like what makes them special comes directly from a higher power, be that God, or the Heir of Slytherin, but either way, this person has a pathological need to be worshiped, and they need followers in order to do that.  

So, how does one obtain Followers easily? By finding the misunderstood misfits of society, and promising them something.  The people who feel like no one else understands them, or their ideologies.  But this Leader?  This Leader GETS IT, MAN! The Leader understands them perfectly, vindicates them, and makes them promises along the way.  Like, if they stick with the Leader, then not only will they finally be understood, but they themselves will also be revered.  That they will rise above all of the others who have put them down for so long, and will come out on top as a superior being.  

Any of this sounding familiar?

Charles Manson preyed on young people in the middle of the hippie movement, mostly women, who were feeling lost, lonely, and in need of guidance, or in terms of the men he recruited, seeking power over others.  Not all of these people were poor or helpless; some of them came from middle class, or even rich homes and families.  Yes, some of them came from broken homes, but all of them felt “broken” themselves, in some way. So Manson used their desires to have a family to draw them in.  He then used LSD and other drugs to keep them under his control, and he created a manipulative environment where the members of his “family” felt they could never leave him, and if they didn’t follow his commands, something horrible would happen to them.  I’m not going to go into full detail on the Manson Family Murders, but if you’re personally interested, check out the Podcast “Cults” on Spotify.

So back to basics, this Leader draws in Followers with flowery promises of community, power, family, or whatever.  But once the Leader has that following, the terror will begin.  Cult Leaders are usually master manipulators, and have completely brainwashed their followers into believing the “us vs them” mentality, that the outside world is evil, that the outside world will only harm them, that the outside world would never understand what they’re doing on the inside.  And that the Leader is the only one who knows the truth, so they better stick with him.  Or maybe the Leader has gaslit his followers so completely, that they become dependent on him for everything, to the point where they don’t know how they would possibly function without the Leader.  Or, the Leader has created an environment that’s so hostile, that Followers are too afraid of what might happen to them if they tried to leave, or didn’t do what the Leader commanded.  Typically, it’s a combination of all of the above.  Destructive cults will either hurt others outside of their circle (The Manson Family, Sect of Nacozari), harm themselves (Heaven’s Gate, The Ant Hill Kids), or both (The People’s Temple, Aum Sinrikyo).  

Now that I’ve laid this foundation, I’m going to tell you why it was practically inevitable that Severus Snape would join a cult.

Snape’s childhood ultimately laid the foundation for the mental state he would be in when he decided to join the Death Eaters.  He grew up in an abusive household, where his father, the muggle, had his magical wife so thoroughly whipped, that she couldn’t (or chose not to) use magic to defend herself, or her son (1).  Eileen had obviously told Severus about magic, about Hogwarts, about what a wonderful place it was, and what a wonderful gift magic could be.  Severus also watched as Tobias beat the magic out of her.  (I know it’s debated whether Tobias actually physically abused his family, but he certainly verbally/mentally/emotionally abused them, so the term “beat” could be used figuratively as well).  I don’t think it’s unreasonable to believe that Severus developed an extreme hatred of muggles with “burn the witch” mentalities from a very young age because of this.

Enter Lily, perhaps the only other magical person in his life besides his mother up to this point. He sees her using magic out in the open, perhaps recklessly, for fun, and he sees an opportunity to make a friend (and, admittedly, to be smarter than someone about something for a while). He was so eager to tell her all about magic, because getting to learn magic, and go to Hogwarts, has possibly been the only thing keeping him going in his young life.  And now he’s made a friend, a real friend who doesn’t think he’s weird because he’s magical.  Unlike Petunia, yet another muggle who makes fun of him for being weird (2). And Lily actually seems to like him back.  For a kid who probably hasn’t received a lot of affection in his life, this is monumental.  This friendship is everything.  Why wouldn’t he love her?

So the time finally comes to go to Hogwarts.  Severus gets to escape his abusive household, and finally has an opportunity to embrace magic for the first time in his life.  But almost immediately, he’s met with a hic-up.  Specifically, James Potter and Sirius Black.  So Severus is no longer facing abuse exclusively from muggles who think he’s weird, but now he’s also getting it from other magical people who think he’s weird (3).  And this started on the fucking TRAIN before he even GOT to Hogwarts. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t sour a kids dream right off the fucking bat.  And then, when he finally gets there, he’s separated from his only friend, by being sorted into different houses (4).  What a way for a life-long dream to be thoroughly dashed in less than 24 hours.

Let’s look at Snape’s Hogwarts experience.  He’s a good student, and he pours himself into learning as much magic as possible, and at being the best he can possibly be, probably motivated by a desire to be better than what his Father thinks possible.  During this time, he is regularly bullied and abused by the Marauders. Sometime before his 5th year, the Incident at the Shrieking Shack took place.  It definitely sucks to have been so thoroughly fucking duped, and put into a life-threatening situation involving a goddamn werewolf (5).  But perhaps even worse than that, the salt in the wound, was that no one fucking did anything about it (6).  He saw Sirius and James and Remus get out of that situation without facing any sort of proper punishment (as in, they all still stayed at the school as opposed to being expelled like they DEFINITELY SHOULD HAVE BEEN (At least Sirius should have been)). Dumbledore was looking out for the Marauders, but no one was looking out for Severus.  On top of that, Severus isn’t allowed to TELL anyone about it, not even Lily.  So, he goes through what was possibly one of the most traumatic experiences of his life, and he can’t even tell anyone that it happened.

So, what sort of support system does Severus have during all this?  He has Lily, sure (who literally told him he should be GRATEFUL to James, one of his abusers).  But, what he really has, is Slytherin House (7). I’ll say it plainly: Severus was sorted into a house that was already full of existing cult members.  McGonagall says in Sorcerer’s Stone that “Your house will be like your family” (she at least says it in the movies, I’m too lazy to get up and reference my books rn lol).  So, Severus’ family, his support system, for 10 months out of every year, is a house that is already full to the brim with pureblood elitists with prejudiced ideals, who would absolutely vindicate Severus in his dislike for muggles.  As a kid first getting sorted into the house, it’s obviously not unreasonable to become friends with the people you’re literally living with.  His dorm mates became his family.  So, when his dorm mates started to become Death Eaters… This is headcanon, I fully admit, but like, fuck, Severus didn’t have a lot of friends, and was probably already drifting apart from Lily.  Do you really think he was going to tell the people he had to live with every single day, not to mention the only people that had been supporting him for years, to go fuck themselves for using Dark Magic?  Especially when he was probably feeling like he was on the verge of thinking that their rhetoric made some sense?

On to Snape’s Worst Memory (8).  At this point, he’s spent 5 years in Slytherin House, with fellow students who casually throw around the M word.  He gets attacked by James and Sirius, he’s practically defenseless, and then the girl who he’d considered his closest friend for so long… has to force herself not to smile when he’s thrown upside down and exposed to everyone on the grounds.  Sure, she was trying to defend him at first, but she also fucking nearly smiled at his humiliation, his pain, his abuse.  So he hurls the one word that he knows is going to cut the deepest, that will hopefully hurt her as badly as she has hurt him. And it works.

Severus had been beaten down his entire life.  By Muggles and Magic Folk alike.  And finally, he’s betrayed by Lily, his last lifeline to the light.  He betrayed her as well, of course.  But he did try to show remorse.  And she doesn’t forgive him (9), which was her prerogative, of course.  

So.  Who does he have left?

I’ve placed little (numbers) throughout my writing here.  Each of those numbers denote the specific events that led Severus to becoming an angry young man, who hates muggles, hates (some) magic folk, and resulted in him feeling weak, helpless, and desperate.  For what?  For power, for a family, for a community.  For a world where he is no longer the weird one.  For a world where he’s respected, strong.  For the world he thought he was going to be a part of, when he arrived at Hogwarts in his first year.

And it just so happens that this is the exact world that Voldemort is (allegedly) trying to create.

Severus Snape was angry, and vulnerable, and as such, he was practically the poster child for the type of person who would be susceptible to falling for a cult.  Maybe he was recruited by his friends in Slytherin House.  Maybe he was recruited directly.  Either way, charismatic Tom Riddle came along, understood how he felt, where he was coming from, told him he deserved better, and offered him all of the things he never had in his life.  And being at rock bottom, being the lowest of the low, to Severus it must have seemed like a miracle of an opportunity, or perhaps, like the only chance he had left.

Now, let me be extremely clear; everything I’ve written is not trying to EXCUSE Severus Snape for his actions.  There is always a point where personal responsibility must come into play.  Except for children born into cults or victims of kidnapping, nearly every person who has ever joined a cult has made the personal decision to join it. I’m just trying to express how unbelievably easy it is, for a Cult Leader to find people with damaged lives and low self-worth, to suck them in with promises of a fulfilling life and grandeur, and for those people to be easily swept up and brainwashed into believing that what they are doing is right.  (Or that what they are doing is required, because the alternative is more horrifying.)  

The type of people who joined the Death Eaters are the same type of people who joined Heaven’s Gate, or The People’s Temple, or yes, The Manson Family.  Now, I’m just going to say, from my own personal point of view, I do not vilify anyone who’s ever joined a destructive cult.  On the contrary, I feel sorry for them.  Because most people who join a cult, don’t necessarily do it signing up for the… end result of what happened to them.  Some of them totally do, like Heaven’s Gate. Most of them knew that the end result was going to be the “evacuation of their earthly vessel”.  But the people who joined the Manson Family, for instance, did not initially join it KNOWING how it was going to end.  They were part of the family long before Manson even came up with Helter Skelter, and by the time the Tate-LaBianca Murders took place, they were already too far gone to go against it.

I highly recommend anyone who’s interested in a humanizing view of former cult members, to read the essay “Leslie Van Houten: A Friendship” by John Waters. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/leslie-van-houten-a-frien_b_246953

Or, at the very least, listen to this 7 minute NPR interview with John Waters about the essay https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111585116

It’s the story of how notorious film maker John Waters, became friends with former Manson Girl, Leslie Van Houten, and about how she broke away from the cult after her conviction, how she’s spent the last 51 years of her life recovering from the psychotic influence of a maniac who’d promised her the world, and how even though she was convicted to life WITH a possibility of parole, it’s never been granted to her, despite the fact that she has done literally everything possible to try and atone for her crimes.

Maybe I’m just a bleeding heart.  I’m pretty much the only person I know who feels sorry for Leslie Van Houten and other cult members who were brainwashed, abused, and manipulated into doing a lot of the horrible things they’ve done.  But there are people in the world, who have committed FAR more heinous crimes than the Manson Family murders, and who are far less repentant than Leslie, but because those crimes weren’t as notorious, they get to walk free.

Addendum: When I first posted this, I had a few people point out to me that they had always associated Voldemort and the Death Eaters with Hitler and Nazi Germany.  This is a perfectly fair point, but one that I personally don’t jive with, and the reason is simply the numbers.   There were literally millions of people in the Nazi party during WW2.   Death Eaters don’t even reach triple digits, as far as I’m aware.  As I hinted at in this essay, I consider Voldemort and the Death Eaters to be MUCH closer to Charles Manson and the Manson Family.  The Manson Family 100% had Nazi ideology, of course. "Helter Skelter” was Charles Manson’s prediction that there was going to be a massive race war; one that the Whites were going to lose, and that he and his Pure White family would emerge from it in order to rule over the remaining Blacks.  Kinda... sounds like a Death Eater thing, huh?

Sorry.  Back to Snape.  There is a lot we don’t know about Severus’ actual time as a Death Eater. I think it can be reasonably assumed he’s never actually killed anyone before Dumbledore (In Prince’s Tale, Severus questions if his soul would be safe from killing Dumbledore, and Dumbledore implies that his soul would not be damaged by helping an old man avoid pain and humiliation.  This leads me to believe that Severus never committed any soul-damaging murders before this).  Beyond being a sneaky spy and delivering the prophecy to Voldemort, his time as a Death Eater is all up for conjecture.  

Severus does make one important deviation from the typical cult member mold, however.  In the end, he manages to break away from the cult.  The scales fall from his eyes.  In a figurative sense, the LSD has worn off.  What made him sober up, was the threat to his last lifeline to the light. The one good fucking thing he’d ever had in his miserable life.  He was brought back by genuine love.  Ya know, the ENTIRE MESSAGE OF THE HP SERIES. And not only did he leave the cult, but he then spent the rest of his life actively attempting to destroy it, and atone for the mistakes he’s made, in an effort to bring back the world he’d been excited for, as an 11-year-old kid, so full of hope.

[ddarker-dreams]

Yandere Behavior: Chrollo Lucilfer

→ Yandere MBTI type: CAMS. (Cruel, Aware, Manipulative, Strict).

Chrollo as a yandere is difficult to grasp. There’s a lot that’s up in the air. You might believe you’re beginning to understand him, only to have that way of thinking torn away. The main problem can be attributed to Chrollo not even fully knowing what he wants from his relationship with you himself. For someone so introspective, Chrollo doesn’t have solid reasoning for what he does, and he even acknowledges this. Not that you’ll ever be privy to this information.

From his point of view, he thinks of you in between a material obsession and someone he cares for. Chrollo has a vague idea of what love is from reading. He just doesn’t have his own experience with love to draw comparisons and knowledge from, and sees it all through a tainted lens. For the sake of manipulating you he’ll call what he feels love. It stops just short enough of valuing you as a fully functioning human being, yet isn’t belittling enough to classify you as a thing. You’re in a limbo.

While he’s technically the least cruel of the yandere adult trio, that doesn’t amount to much; as he has his own unique ways of being awful. Chrollo has a charisma to him that brings you into conversation, whether you’re verbally responding to him or not. The meager amount of tact he possesses isn’t enough to make up for the sharp as knives discussions he broaches. His bluntness is hidden behind a thin veil of charm, disguising the distressing questions and comments as good-natured.

That being said, he’s not wholly sadistic. Chrollo isn’t talking to you with the intention of upsetting you like some others (*cough* Hisoka *cough* Pariston), he wants to pick your brain, and gain insight. You being upset is more of a... byproduct, as he sees it. Another aspect to learn from. You’re so different from him, growing distraught at things he could care less about. He finds it interesting. He’s the devil’s advocate type of guy with you.

You’re likely pictured in his head as a belonging at first, that fleshes out into something beyond that. A way to pass the time that wouldn’t leave his mind. Chrollo would genuinely be surprised by this development, especially when he picks up on hints of affection towards you. He’d dislike the thought if anyone bothering you.It doesn't sit well with him and he’s not sure exactly why. He’s seen far worse and turned his back. Then there’s you, someone capable of stirring up emotions within him in a way that shouldn’t be possible.

Chrollo has absolutely no qualms about plucking you from your carefree life for his own benefit. He’s a thief, and you just so happened to be the next target to catch his eye. You’re either going to be tagging along with him, or staying in a home far removed from society. He’s made it painfully clear that resistance will only serve to make your situation worse. The gap in power between you two is downright laughable, his connections to the underworld vast. He won’t actively flaunt this unless you make a point of testing him.

Travelling with Chrollo is both the best, and worst part of your relationship. It beats being cooped up in a stuffy house full of nothing but books you can’t read and boarded up windows, but god is it tiring. By the time your jet lag is improving and you’re getting used to your hotel room, he’s already telling you to pack your stuff for a new destination. Half the time he doesn’t even bother telling you where you’re going.

Chrollo also leaves at unholy hours of the night. Then he comes back with items that you swear you’ve seen in a pamphlet or something before. If he catches you staring at it long enough he’ll tell you, or hint at its origin with a weird smile. You get the feeling the clothes you caught him discarding with blood splotches on them have a connection, but feel too sickened to confirm the suspicions.

There’s a good chance you’ll run into a Troupe member or two. Their interactions with you range from either ignoring you entirely, or being so friendly that it’s creepy. Chrollo describes you as his lover to them, but the label does not feel fitting whatsoever. When the more outgoing members ask you questions to be polite, you get a feeling they already know the answers. You don’t want to know why they have so much information on you. How long was he running surveillance on you exactly...? 

He’ll take you to a variety of places, since he feels confident in his ability to keep you from acting out. The places you frequent the most are: museums, art galleries, local bookshops, and the highest rated restaurants in the area. You’ll be taken aback by how talkative he can be in some areas, subtly flaunting his vast knowledge to you. He’ll take your hand and lead you from place to place, acting almost like a tour guide. Reciting the history, importance, and other trivia about the places you go.

The illusion of freedom that getting to explore the world brings is fleeting. At the end of the day, you’re still imprisoned, even if it’s in a world class suite. You’re expected to go along with his whims without complaint. Chrollo tells you that he’ll make it worth your while, but that doesn’t do much for you. 

His romantic gestures can feel... hollow, in a way. They’re too perfect, uncanny even. You can never fully tell how genuine he’s being with you. He’ll compliment you but it feels almost degrading, or he’ll give you a kiss and stare just a bit too long to see if your reaction is the one he wants. The times where he’s most real with you is when you get him started on a topic of interest. Any other forms of vulnerability that you witness are planned to the letter, to get you to trust him more. It’s easier to mold you as he pleases if you’re more amiable to him, after all.

Quotes.

“We’ll be leaving early tomorrow morning, so pack you stuff before going to bed. It’ll be a long flight.”

“You’re wondering where I got this from? Admittedly, it’s a long story... if you think you can stomach it, I’ll tell you.” 

“It’s understandable that you’re distraught, new situations can be intimidating. With time, all pain fades. I’m willing to wait.” 

[kannra21]

Sniperhaul fanfic

ˡᵐᵃᵒ ᶦ ᶜᵃⁿ'ᵗ ᵇᵉˡᶦᵉᵛᵉ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ᶦ'ᵐ ᵈᵒᶦⁿᵍ ᵗʰᶦˢ

Overhoe finally broke out of Tartarus after a very long time. However, he couldn't have done it without the help of a certain villain mistress. 😏 Who's she and why did she choose to help this terrible (x2) man? Find out bellow.

characters: overhaul (chisaki kai) x sniper lady

word count: 3k

warnings: angst, past memories, handless overhaul, hurt, comfort, gangs, yakuza, just girl taking care of her mans

notes: I'd like to thank the person responsible for proofreading this work bc I'm supposed to keep their identity a secret. 😎 Thank you once again! And of course, the manga and characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi. @meefal you were excited to see the final product so here you go, hope you like it. 🖤

✂-------------------------------------------------------

Overhaul couldn't remember how long he'd been there, he'd lost count weeks ago. The only thing he knew was that he was in "Tartarus", a prison located 5km off the coast of the Mainland. It may function like a conventional prison, but in reality, those who're deemed a severe threat toward the safety of the nation were locked up and monitored closely, regardless of whether their sentence has been decided on yet. The facility was divided into 6 levels, where the potential threat level of criminals was deemed "higher" the further underground you go. It's a prison where, once you enter, there's no chance of leaving.

He sat there in his cell, B10 being the lowest level in solitary confinement. It was too cold for his head to function and too dark for his eyes to see, with the small window above the prison doors being his only source of light. There was also an opening where prisoners received their meals, but considering that he lost his hands, the guards could easily enter without worrying too much for their well-being. They'd leave whatever they offered that day and give him a disgusted look before locking the doors after themselves. He couldn't see his reflection nor touch his face, he probably looked like crap by now. His skin was itching and he felt disoriented from all the germs occupying this space, it's been a while since he's gone out for some fresh air. 

He was practically Quirkless and yet they locked him out in the worst, most dreadful place the isolation block had to offer. He couldn't even feed himself properly, he couldn't do anything by himself whatsoever. But there was only one thing left to him; he spent days and days thinking about pops, Chrono, yakuza and everything he could have if it weren't for those stupid heroes-- no, if it weren't for his plan that so grandiosely failed. It made him feel miserable, desperate even, and with grief soon followed acceptance. It was all his fault, and he needed to live with this burden for the rest of his life. Because of him, pops is still handicapped to the bed somewhere, wherever the heroes might have taken him. 

He stood up and started beating the cell with his leg, curing his frustrations. He didn't know why he was doing it, it was irrational and he's hurting himself unnecessarily, but for some reason it made him feel lighter. At least he could transfer some of his inner pain to the outside world. Other criminals laughed at his patheticness, especially since they knew why the guards were allowed to enter his cell. They shouted that it was impossible to escape, but he wasn't trying to. He knew that it was useless a long time ago. 

Midnight came and all the prisoners mostly fell asleep. Overhaul, however, couldn't sleep a wink. Because of the dark room he spent most of his days in, he lost his sense of time so he was pacing around, deep in thought. He couldn't dream of anything nice anyways. 

"Can't fall asleep either?" a feminine voice could be heard from the other side. Wait. They allowed women here? What could she have possibly done to deserve such punishment? 

He leaned his back on the doors and slid down to the floor, trying to find the right words.

"Yes." he sighed, enthusiasm lacking in his voice "But it's not like I need you to talk about my problems." 

"Hm, whatever. Go beat your head against the bars. Fall unconscious, loser."

The man snorted, which might as well be his first time he ever did that. 

"Well, this certainly sounds effective. It's not like I have anything to lose anyways." 

"Hey." the tone of her voice was earnest, and it aroused further questions in his jumbled up head. 

"What?"

"We're going to get out of here." 

Is she being serious now? "Really? Because as far as I know, we're locked out here for good. We don't even know the severity of our sentences. They can do whatever they want with us."

"Not quite. You know that they're being supervised by 'The Hearts and Mind' party offshoots. They can’t do a thing to us as long as they have their heads to the pikes." 

This might be true, but he didn't believe in anything the government's been telling them lately. It's only a matter of time before they switch their plans and play by their own rules, because stabbing people in the back was the only thing they've ever been good at. 

"How did you end up here?" 

Oh the long-awaited question. She wondered when he'd ask. 

"It's not like I need you to talk about my problems."

He smiled, he liked this vicious side of hers. But he also realized that she could be nice as well because if that wasn't the case, she wouldn't spread promises of the escape. At least that's what he thought. 

"Sorry about that." 

"It's okay. We've all been here for a very long time, now weren't we? We lose our cool and act like total assholes."

"Direct and straight to the point I see." his deadpan voice could be heard from the other side of the bars. 

"'Been raised this way, for the better or worse." it didn't sound like she was bragging, yet it felt like she was just talking about herself, honest and confident, to cover up what she felt was wrong. The incoming topic which she'd rather avoid. 

The villainess didn't want to open up about her past, so she just answered his question. 

"I killed people beyond counting, following AFO's orders. He always wished to become the world's greatest demon lord and thus promised us enormous change in the hero society. So in order to achieve that, he needed his underlings. And that's how I ended up here."

"You were loyal till the end."

"You know what they say; there can be no progress nor achievement without certain sacrifice."

Wise beyond her years and just as sad. He wondered how her face looked like, how the world's been treating her. 

"I had my own sacrifices as well."

"Do you regret them?"

...

"I do." 

Now it was her turn to snort "Really? And I thought that people situated this low couldn't have regrets. You remember what they said about us. 'Beasts in human clothing', 'Simply dreadful beings'." 

He felt insulted, maybe the things she said were true but it's not like he was anything similar to these pigs he shared the same air with, unfortunately.

"I regret hurting the person important to me. The old man who once took me in when I was very young. He was the infamous boss of Shie Hassaikai." 

Something clicked in her, it's such a small world they're living in, "Yakuza? I know you guys. We used to trade with you back in the days."

"Todou Gang?" 

"You said it."

"But... you were a force to be reckoned with. One day you just collapsed and not a single trace could be found. According to certain sources, there was no way anyone could determine the exact cause of your downfall. So what happened?" 

"I killed them all." 

... 

"AFO told me to kill them to prove my loyalty to him and, of course, to make sure that there was no one I could turn to other than himself." 

For some questionable reasons, and he didn't dare to admit that it was empathy he felt towards a random stranger and a former gang member he shared some history with, Overhaul wanted to fill the silence that lingered between them. Perhaps, because he felt guilty for making her reveal more than what she initially intended. 

"I used pops' niece, a 6-year-old girl who had an extraordinary Quirk; it allowed her to rewind a person's body back to a certain state. That means she could put a body back to before it was injured or before the person even developed a Quirk. With that, I wanted to create a Quirk-erasing drug to get rid of the Quirk society altogether and to make sure that yakuza could rise once again. I cut her skin every day to take blood samples and to test her regenerative abilities. However, pops didn't approve of it, so I handicapped him to the bed and planned on waking him up the moment I realized my plan, to make him proud of the achievement. Unfortunately, it didn't play out as I wanted and I never reached him."

The silence followed and the woman wore a disheartening smile on her face. It's not the answer she expected, she didn't ask for another sad story from another messed up person she's met in her life. But the intentions were pure and for her, it was good enough. 

"We both fought for something only to lose it all, huh?" she laughed, but it was prominent in her tone that it was bittersweet. 

"At least you're brought here in one piece." 

"At least you can still revive your parent."

Were they comforting each other? Were they jealous of each other? Were they wallowing in self-pity? They couldn't tell. The only thing they certainly could was the embarrassment they felt from the moment they realized that some of the prisoners were eavesdropping and making fun of their vulnerabilities. See? That's what they hated the most about opening up about themselves; they were worried about their feelings being perceived as a joke. The only way to protect themselves was to rise up the walls and never let anyone get closer, except they didn't regret exchanging a word or two, as long as it was the two of them. 

The next day, 8:34PM Mainland-side entrance, the guardians of 'The Bronze Gate' announced a code red security lockdown. Panic and shouting could be heard from across the hall and the security alarm announced the potential danger. 

"Close any and all passageways on each floor. All workers are to enforce strict measures to maintain order."

"The surveillance system is down! It seems like we've been hit by some sort of EMP attack!"

Static waves were spreading around the metal frames and the prison doors of the isolation block unlocked. Overhaul could hear the commotion outside and the villains leaving their cells in a hurry, but as much as he tried, he couldn't push the heavy doors open.

"3 seconds until we're back online- wait... What the... With the system down we can't monitor the inside!"

"Nice, 3 seconds be damned." he beat the door with his legs, pushed the surface with his shoulders, leaned all of his weight on the godforsaken thing just so it could finally open. Nothing. It seems like he lost a couple of pounds during his stay here. He couldn't believe his eyes, this couldn't be happening to him. After all this time of patient waiting and hoping to meet pops once again, it turns out he'd be the only one still trapped and all because he didn't have any hands. He panicked, he really couldn't decide on what to do next. But then he remembered-

"Go beat your head against the bars, loser."

That's it! This might be his only chance to escape! He didn't have much time left though, he could hear the shooting nearby so he definitely needed to hurry.

"The system won't come back on!! The ones in solitary confinement are breaking out!! Inside!"

"Control unit's on site!! Execute lockdown in the isolation block!"

"Follow procedure! If even one of them steps a foot outside their cell-"

"Fire!! Open fire!!"

Muscular threw whatever he could find in this messed up place back at them, excitement prominent in his big smile "You ain't gonna kill me with those puny toys! So how about you show me the exit already?!" 

Other villains were joining him, still overwhelmed by the sudden freedom they've been given "Dammit... After all that time..."

"Meat..." Moonfish mumbled as he cut his opponents with his blade-like teeth. 

The villain lady joined them in the run, still carefully examining her surroundings in case they were tricked into something, "The system isn't responding to my Quirk. 'Guess Tartarus really is falling." 

As she was running down the corridor, she could hear beating noises coming from one of the doors. It sounded dull so the person must have been using their head. 

"Eh, don't tell me the idiot actually listened to my advice. He must be desperate." 

She came to the doors and turned the circular lock in a hurry. She really didn't want to stay in this place any longer, but she couldn't leave him behind either. It's not like she could use him for anything since he was basically handless and Quirkless so why was she doing it? She didn't have an answer. Maybe it was their talk from the other day, maybe because they were both gang members with a history, maybe because of her regrets and her wish to do something right for once. Or maybe because she was just this kind. Nah, this couldn't be it, she never did anything in her life that didn't require a certain purpose. She cast her heart aside a long time ago and did what was necessary for the accomplishment of the mission. It would be weird if she suddenly started using her heart again, now wouldn't it? She was AFO's personal assassin, there was simply no way. 

He came out of the room with eyes wide in puzzlement. He was finally free and ready to find pops so he could possibly revive him and try to fix things as much as he could.

They looked at each other for the first time. They never said it aloud, godforbid, but they liked the other's eyes. And perhaps the eyes were a window to a person's soul, their broken souls, tormented by the life's temptations. They were still so young, probably in their twenties, and yet they looked older at the same time. Maybe because of the seriousness in their faces, their stronger stance, the way they defied their fate. They were destined to fall apart, no one would argue with it, but circumstances drove them to take action and rise from the bottomless chasm. And now they had each other. 

"We need to get out of here," she stated and pulled him by the sleeve that hung loosely from his shoulder. They escaped Tartarus and raided a small shop near the coast to change clothes and to mingle into the public unnoticed. She quickly picked out a dress and threw herself at work while Overhaul was still standing by the shop display, looking out for the potential intruders.

He couldn't erase the thought of this being some sort of a really weird first date; the girl coming out of the stall and the guy examining her looks. He shook his head, he never had this kind of thoughts in his entire life. He needed to pull himself together. 

The bob-hair came out and adjusted the ammo on her utility belt. He looked at her from the corner and she was stunning; intimidating with a tad bit of femininity in design. He stood there and watched how good it fit her curvy form. The thoughts wandering in his head sounded so wrong, terribly wrong. He needed to bring himself to stop. 

"Oh right, I almost forgot." she took a shirt off the shelf and came to him, showing him the garment in her hands "You need a little help, right?" 

"Sure.'' his voice was small and he stood still while she undid his buttons. Maybe from the outside he looked completely calm, but from the inside he was a complete mess. He looked at her face and wondered if she knew, the kind of effect she's having on him. She raised her head and he looked to the side, there's no way he could look her in the eyes at this point. He hoped she didn't notice. 

"You like this one, don't you?" she asked, filling the awkward silence. 

"Looks don't matter, the most important thing is to change and avoid getting caught." She looked annoyed. Great. He wanted to shove his head though the wall. Wait… Why was he thinking that? 

"I choose the clothes I like. It makes me feel better in my skin."

"You look good in it."

She looked at him surprised and he quickly corrected himself "the dress looks good."

"Sure." she trailed off and put the new shirt over his shoulders. She could feel his muscles tensing. This was probably because of the cool air, she assured herself. 

"Why did you break me out of Tartarus? It's not like I could be of any use to you." 

She buttoned up his shirt and fixed the wrinkled parts on the garment, hand accidentally brushing over the left side of his chest, feeling his heartbeat.

Well... that was a surprise.

"I thought that maybe you could be of some use to the demon lord. Not Quirk-wise, but you may offer a valuable set of information. Something that the demon lord would appreciate greatly." she could feel it slowing down and her heart dropped just as much.

"But also because I... liked you."

He looked at her incredulously and she smiled. She pinched him to bring him out of the trance and he complained. "Don't be awkward, say something."

"I like you too... I, this is my first time I ever said this to anyone. It's weird."

She slapped him gently on the shoulder and he reached to take it but, yea, no hands.

"What the hell?"

"You're the one who's weird. But I guess that I like you this way." she stood on her toes and kissed his cheek "Ew, you should definitely shave though. No doubt about it."

The former yakuza boss swore; he'll never understand women. But for some reason he couldn't deny that he was particularly drawn to this one. He wondered if pops would approve of her.

[gruviafan-forever]

GRUVIA WEEK- DAY III

"DISCOVERY"

When Gray had reported the drone issues to Erza and Mr Dreyar, the agency was in fix about who could be going to this extent to know about one of their actor's personal lives.

"Looks like there are still some reporters who believe that photos stuff,"

Makarov said while rubbing his forehead.

"But Master didn't we announce it's just a hoax that should have calmed everyone down" Erza reasoned.

"That's not the case, Erza. It's more like these people are working to uncover Gray's secret and create some scandalous sensations" 

Makarov said and tried calling his grandson, Laxus Dreyar who works in the police department.

After informing Laxus, Makarov seemed to have calmed down. That's when Erza informed Gray's decision to unravel his marriage.

"It's high time. However, it's a good decision" Makarov said with a smile.

He knew how hard Gray has worked for these four years to shape his career.

"Let's hope it goes accordingly. Tell Mr Jason to come and meet me. He needs to prepare an article about this and publish it the very next day of the award function on Sorceress Weekly. Also, I need to talk with Gray tomorrow, do inform him, Erza" Makarov informed.

"Yes Master," Erza said with a smile.

#

NEXT MORNING 

Gray got ready for the upcoming event and told her he could come late at night so that they don't wait for him for dinner.

"Yes, Gray-sama. Today I was planning to take Yuki to the park so that she could play with kids of her age. But after what happened yesterday, I decided not to," Juvia said and was adjusting Gray's coat.

Gray began to ponder before he spoke again, "I know it's not right to keep her inside the house and deny her playing freedom. But the situation calls for it, we have to bear for a few more days, Juvia."

He said confidently and kissed her forehead.

It was still 9 AM and Yuki was still fast asleep. So the couple had time for themselves to enjoy their company.

"Sure Gray-sama. You take care. Don't go getting rigid suddenly. Be smiling and welcome your fans warmly. It's because of them you have gained this popularity, remember that Gray-sama."

Juvia lectured her husband like every time any event comes up.

"Yes, madam"

Gray rolled his eyes and smiled at the end. At times, she treated him like a child which he secretly liked.

"Good boy, now get going. I have a lot of chores to do today. If possible, can we go to the supermarket? They're few things which we need to purchase." Juvia consulted him.

Gray agreed and told them to be wary of their surroundings.

"Don't let Yuki wander off on her own. She's such a ball of energy. I know she is a bit difficult to control but look after her. I will take my leave, bye, wifey."

Gray leaned forward to kiss her lips and got one in return.

After bidding bye to her husband, Juvia got freshened up to kick start her day before her daughter woke up.

Soon Gray reached the mentioned location, he was escorted by his manager through the back exit.

"Good morning, Erza"

"Happy morning, Gray. How's Juvia and Yuki doing?"

"Oh, they are doing great. Did Mr Dreyar say anything about the issue?" Gray questioned her.

"Yeah… he wants to meet you after this event. So get ready for that."

Erza informed them and soon they reached the main cabin where every celebrity under the Fairy Tail banner was present.

They greeted each other before Gray went to his friend, Natsu Dragneel and his girlfriend, Lucy Heartfilia.

They bumped their fist and the first thing Natsu asked about was Yuki and Juvia.

Almost every single member of Fairy Tail knew about him so it was not a piece of surprise news for them.

"They are good. Juvia's been calling you two for dinner. Why don't you come by one day? And you too, Erza. Come with your boyfriend."

Gray teased the red-haired woman who had the courtesy to blush on hearing about her love interest.

"Sure, we will come by, once we get to enjoy some free time,"

Natsu said and Lucy nodded in agreement.

That's when Gajeel decided to enter their group. It had been three years since he joined Fairy Tail after his Phantom Band got disbanded.

It was Juvia who proposed Gajeel join this big agency. Gray had spoken about this to Mr Dreyar on his girlfriend's insistence.

Mr Dreyar readily agreed after seeing his performance, ever since, then, Gajeel had been performing for this agency. 

His popularity soared after his debut. Gajeel was very much grateful to both Gray and Juvia.

Gajeel had insisted Juvia continue being his lyricist but she denied it as the agency had appointed their best Lyricist, Levy McGarden to aid her best friend.

Juvia knew Gajeel was smitten by her and didn't have the heart to the third wheel behind them.

Moreover, things happened which made her quit the part-time job which she was doing.

"Yo guys, it's been a long since I saw you all in existence. How's everything going on?"

Gajeel greeted and began with the conversation.

Gray greeted him back and soon everyone started to discuss the event and its aftermath.

#

It had been a month since Gray and Juvia had levelled up their relationship.

Gray's first tv drama shooting has been wrapped up. In a few more episodes, the drama reaches its conclusion.

For now, Gray enjoyed his free time before the shooting for the next drama commences.

The last two days were hectic for both of them as the agency had ordered Gray to move out of that lodging apartment to other high society flats which they had arranged for him.

This move was taken to avoid fans and reporters gathering around his place and prevented them from invading his privacy.

Juvia was sad hearing this news as now she will be left alone in his apartment.

Even her best friend had moved out to give privacy to her and Gray, same was the case with Gray, Natsu had moved out a couple of months as soon as he signed up for his first tv series.

Juvia tried to remain bold and not to tear up but nothing could get past Gray's eyes.

"Juvia"

"Juvia"

Gray pouted, she was not paying attention to him and was just staring blankly at his shirt.

To remove her from trance, Gray hugged her from behind which startled her.

"Gray-sama"

"Oi!! What's with the long face? I have never seen you thinking like this. Are you perhaps trying to ditch me?" Gray teased her and kissed her neck.

Juvia turned around and hit his chest, "Don't joke like that. You know how much I love you. Stupid Gray"

Juvia sounded serious especially when he heard her calling him 'Gray'.

She never called him by name without a suffix. That's when he noticed she was crying.

Gray began to fidget and cupped her face, "Hey dear, what happened? Why are you crying?" He asked her worriedly.

Juvia began to wipe her tears off but it never stopped until she told him the reason.

"I feel we will stay apart, Gray-sama, emotionally too. I'm scared that I will be left all alone once again in my life. Of course, I'm being clingy on you but I couldn't help it."

She conveyed her feelings and hugged her lover tightly.

Gray felt happy that she opened up her fear. Even he didn't want to move away from her and from the morning was thinking of asking her to move in with me as his fiancee.

Yes, Gray wanted to marry her and have a lovely life with her. He knew from these 7 months of dating, that she was born for him and he for her.

He was going to propose to her tonight but it looks like the plan needs to be executed at the moment to make her feel assured of their relationship.

"Juvia, I.." 

Before Gray could say anything, Juvia fell unconscious in his arms. He tried to wake her up but it was futile.

He carried her to the bedroom and went out to call a doctor from a nearby clinic.

Once the doctor had come and checked her up, Gray felt relief that she was alright and nothing to worry about except...

"WHAT??" Gray shrieked.

"Yes, Mr Fullbuster. Your girlfriend is pregnant. Congratulations, once Juvia wakes up, give her the medicine and go and visit the gynaecologist, they will guide you from there."

The doctor left him after advising him how to take care of a pregnant woman.

Gray couldn't believe what was happening at the moment. He had mixtures of thoughts and emotions.

But predominantly, it was happiness. He is going to be a father, that too really soon. He was going to lead a happy life with his beloved.

Soon, he was going to have a family which he and Juvia were denied from starting, this brought him happy tears and thanked the Gods for such a second chance.

Now all he hoped for was Juvia to feel the same as him.

After 30 minutes, Juvia woke up from her sleep, the first thing she saw was Gray resting beside her.

Juvia smiled at him and ruffled his hairs and that's when she noticed the ring on her finger. 

She couldn't believe her eyes and closed her mouth with her palms to avoid shouting.

Slowly, Gray woke up and saw his girlfriend's surprised expression which brought a smile to his face.

"Well, calm down, Juvia" 

Hearing his voice, Juvia pulled him into a hug and shouted 'yes'.

Gray chuckled, " I didn't even ask you yet"

Juvia began rubbing her face against his and kissed his forehead,

"I will marry you, Gray-sama."

Gray kissed her lips, "I was actually planning to do it tonight after dinner but here, I'm asking you 'Will you marry me?' "

"1000 times Yes… I'm waiting to live my life with you, Gray-sama…"

"So do I, dear"

Gray kissed her again.

Once their adrenaline has calmed down, Gray slowly broke the news.

"You know what, I found out something. Can you take a guess?"

Gray asked her while squeezing her palms.

Juvia wondered what it could be and accepted her defeat. Now she was curious what this could be.

"We are going to be parents. You are pregnant, Juvia. You are gonna be mama and I'm gonna be papa."

He said with a big smile and kissed her palm.

Then, he told her everything from the moment she fainted to till doctors departure.

Juvia was shedding happy tears and caressing her flat tummy for now. She was going to be a mother, she was going to have her own family now which she longed for since her childhood.

"Are you happy, Gray-sama?"

She wanted to know his feelings.

"My happiness goes beyond this world. I'm happy that we are gonna start be a family together. Juvia, let's get married tomorrow."

Gray shared his piece of mind.

"Thank you for sharing the same feeling as mine, Gray-sama. I love you a lot." Juvia said earnestly.

The very next day, they got their marriage registered in an office. Gray casually informed the recent events of his life to friends and Mr Dreyar.

They were shell shocked yet wished them both happiness enough for their life ahead.

That's when Mr Dreyar had told him to hide this news from the public as Gray was still a budding artist and this could hamper this growth.

Juvia agreed and supported this decision and even convinced Gray to agree with this. It's after sorting out these issues they finally went to their new home.

[tenderlyrenjun]

[7:05 P.M.]

“Love,” Renjun calls almost dejectedly for your return to the dining room table, where he is still seated, corner of his mouth dripping red. He wipes away the stain with the cloth on his lap, pushing the chair further out yet not completely getting up. That is rude to your guest.

And in two millennia, he has never, nor will he ever, forgo the manners his mother taught him, especially after having seen the turmoil following the reign of Yongming. No, his household - your shared household (a detachment from the word coven that the media has perverted in the last few decades) - has maintained enough peace and stability to rival the Tang Dynasty. Though, it is not a competition, even if a sword rests unsheathed above the mantel, like a trophy. Sometimes, he performs calligraphy there, while you read poems that scholars would consider missing, not knowing about your Bonnie and Clyde phase where you two would speed through authentication labs in Europe, retrieving artifacts for the high. Now, they serve the purpose to educate new coven members - which is why you cannot understand Renjun’s desire to attend college! You two are educated far beyond historians, skilled beyond artists, analytical beyond mathematicians. For Heaven’s Sakes, you can compel an admissions board to let you into medical school or law school or graduate school! There is no reason to revert to the basics. And though your darling sweetheart would never utter the words elitist at you, he is still thinking that you act that way! Especially while you stand at the entryway; jade, silk gown breezing dramatically with your temper.

“I don’t understand, Renjun,” you say, chin turning to your shoulder, unable to look pick your gaze off the marble floor. “We have companies and hotels. We have connections.” It is how you keep a social security number to manage all your dealings. “We have the whole world at our feet, yet you want to go to college?” You turn around, arms crossed over your middle, eyes tracing the path you took away from him until poking the hem of his clean trousers. “And not even a top 100, like Singapore, Harvard, or Tsinghua.” You finally stare at him, the gleam of his sharp knife (or rather, a dagger, seeing as it is an easier tool to keep his food still) signaling you. “A SKY school, really? Did you fall in love with another mortal?” You refrain from glaring, the anger of that incident having not resurfaced for centuries, yet the insecurity lingers in how your voice hisses, bringing out your red eyes. 

Renjun sighs, and stabs his meal, like a pardon, between the ribs, a loud wail echoing his thoughts. He stands up, straightening his jacket before making his way to you. When he gets impossibly closer, he tilts your face up. “I will never leave you,” he promises. Nothing could make him ever leave you. His heart revives for you; his eyes regain function for you; his body moves for you. He kisses you tenderly, melting your resolve until he can bring the conversation back again. And as he breaks the embrace, your lips chase his, the oath ghosting unsigned while his tongue leaves. Renjun opens your eyes with his hand stroking your hair behind your ear; his hair is long enough to do the same, the pieces already combed on his neck from your apéritifs. “We have the whole world at our feet,” he agrees with you, “but why not try something new? We have never struggled together.”

“That’s not true,” you whisper, curling your fingers around his palm, slowly turning your mouth in to peck it. “What about the Hou Jing rebellions? Or the Middle Joseon Era when we met Jeno? Or the World Wars?” You fall into his chest, the lapels scraping your collarbone like a handkerchief. “We have lost so many good friends over time. Our own aerie is dwindling with this industrial revolution.”

Renjun staggers back, further to cup your face. “Love, I merely want to explore the world and everything it has to offer.” He pads your cheeks with his thumbs. Had he known this suggestion would nearly bring you to tears, resurface the worst moments of his life, he might have waited until buying you another Swarovski pendant. He kisses a rogue tear, attempting to assuage your worries once more. “I want to do it with you.” He sighs, dolefully, head hanging slightly (though the angle keeps him close). “We were changed so young and so early in time. We haven’t begun to explore the modern world.”

“Of course we have,” you deny, ignoring how it took you until 2018 to grasp social media without a consultant. He gives you a stern look and you tighten your face. “Define modern.”

“Contemporary. After 1970.”

You deadpan at him, gradually breaking down your issues with change. It is almost as if you read his mind, communicating through stares. You see his point of view, but you both have formal meetings with other coven leaders (contrary to your family’s rebranding, others have yet to progress), have businesses to manage, have new vampires to train - you have so much work as leaders. And although four or five years will pass like seconds for the two of you, your day to day schedules do not.

Renjun equally interprets your worries and again strokes your hair. “I know. I know, but our ‘internships’ with three holdings are coming to an end, and I am tired of humans assuming that we have parachuted our way through the rankings, without knowing how hard we worked to establish their places of work centuries before they were born.”

“I didn’t know you felt that way,” you mumble. He never said anything, not even during your personal meetings, the times when you two catch up during bed on all the dockets. You lean into his hand, looking up at him gently. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Renjun sighs apologetically. “You live in this fantasy world where we essentially start over every couple of decades, never interacting with the humans.” You wince and he steps closer, enveloping you into his jacket. “And I know that it will hurt too much to interact with them again. I don’t want another Chenle situation to happen, but they talk, they evolve, they think on their own. If we were to keep up, we need to enter society again.” Renjun kisses the top of your head. “And we can do it at different classes, so we can stay longer in these countries.” He feels your hug tighten and your head nuzzle his buttons. “I know that it’s hard to leave so often, and we don’t have to.”

“You’ve thought about this often?” you ask him incredulously. And he nods his head, slowly, to give you more time to process it. “Okay.”

“Okay?” Your tone sends him mixed signals, not entirely validating or telling of anything. 

“We’ll sign up for one semester,” you plan. His face responsively breaks into a wide smile at having you agree with his project, and you immediately return it, falling in love all over again with his expression.

Renjun kisses you deeply, cutting off any other points you might make. He already has several ideas drawn up to carry this plan further: you can still manage the businesses through the board, over email; you can pass off as college students through graduate school, and night classes are possible; you can actually have breaks and be young, wild, and free again. Renjun, consumed by the possibilities, energetically tugs your waist to his, dipping you to the ground, his fingers buzzing with excitement until you drain it out of him, almost like drinking his own blood. Luckily, you two still have dinner fresh on the table, the shrieking having turned into a weak music to sway to. And he draws you back up, not ending the embrace quite yet, wanting to give you all of him, as you have just promised him your next half-decade.

“I love you,” he mumbles on your lips.

Your fangs extend, aroused by his enthusiasm. “I love you too,” you whisper breathlessly, although your lungs are fully capable - with being undead and all.

“Come.” Renjun straightens you both, leading you by the hand, back to dinner. He pulls out the chair for you, adjacent to his, at the head of the table, and you accept. He pours you a glass of dark red, passing off the golden rim to your lips, watching you stain them again like lipstick. “To the next decade.”

You cheer with him, gently tapping his cup. “And eternity with my love.”

[mrsjadecurtiss]

A different ask! What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay? Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that. But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric? What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

Thank you for your question :) I have divided my answer into points regarding the different aspects of your ask.

What do you think Roose actually feels about Ramsay?

In regards to the Roose-Ramsay relationship, some facts are important:

Roose did not raise Ramsay, and as far as we know did not interact with him in his childhood beyond the two times the miller's wife came to him after his birth. ("She was never to tell the boy who had fathered him." - Reek III, aDwD) All he knew about Ramsay was that he was his son, had his grey eyes, and was "wild and unruly" (the reason Ramsay's mom demanded a servant).

"Lord Bolton has never acknowledged the boy, so far as I know," Ser Rodrik said. "I confess, I do not know him." - Bran II, aCoK

Ramsay only came to the Dreadfort in 297AC (after Domeric died). This is extremely recent - for context, we have Dany chapters in aGoT taking place as early as 297AC, and the War of the five Kings starts at the end of 298 AC according to this timeline.

As a consequence, since Roose leaves the Dreadfort for the War of the five Kings, he assumed a paternal role for Ramsay in between 297AC and at most very early 299AC (The timeline has the battle of the green fork in January 6 and he'd need to travel to the south before that in the first place). This is only between 1-2 years depending on how early or late that year Domeric died (Shoutout to @blueagia who made me realize this timeline years ago).

Ramsay is violent and cruel, but not stupid (Roose even says he is “cunning” in Catelyn VI, aSoS). He was able to present himself as an ally to Theon in aCoK, and it stands to reason he might have given a salvagable impression to Roose at the beginning while he was testing the waters. Ned Stark is a just man who tried to execute the remote-living Jorah Mormont for slave trade; Since he never went after Ramsay, we can assume whatever Ramsay did during his time with Roose was discreet enough that word did not get to Lord Eddard, and so at the beginning Roose must have had no reason to complain too much about Ramsay's conduct either.

Eddard Stark had never had any reason to complain of the Lord of the Dreadfort, so far as Jon knew. - Jon VII, aDwD

"No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet. A peaceful land, a quiet people. That has always been my rule. Make it yours." - Reek III, aDwD

Roose gets a legitimization for Ramsay as part of his benefit from doing the Red Wedding, showing that back then he still had an intention of keeping him as his son and heir. However, returning from the war in the south shows Roose how bad Ramsay's political decisions are when left on his own, including:

Leaving Donella Hornwood for dead, horrifically abusing Theon who is a valuable hostage and a potential ally, being unable to keep good optics and alienating his allies ("Surely you misspeak. You never slew Lord Eddard's sons, those two sweet boys we loved so well. [...] How many of our grudging friends do you imagine we'd retain if the truth were known? Only Lady Barbrey, whom you would turn into a pair of boots … " - Reek III, aDwD), abusing his wife "Arya Stark" who is beloved by their Northern allies, and more...

We see in the aDwD Theon chapters that Roose is still giving Ramsay advice and counsel (see again the Reek III quote), however he also appears to be despairing of him:

"I know." Lord Bolton sighed. "His blood is bad. He needs to be leeched. The leeches suck away the bad blood, all the rage and pain. No man can think so full of anger. Ramsay, though … his tainted blood would poison even leeches, I fear." - Reek III, aDwD

We also see in later Theon chapters that he frequently holds meetings without Ramsay:

[Roose:] "The hall is not the place for such discussions, my lords. Let us adjourn to the solar whilst my son consummates his marriage. The rest of you, remain and enjoy the food and drink." - The Prince of Winterfell, aDwD

Lord Bolton was not alone. Lady Dustin sat with him, pale-faced and severe; an iron horsehead brooch clasped Roger Ryswell's cloak; Aenys Frey stood near the fire, pinched cheeks flushed with cold.  - A Ghost in Winterfell, aDwD

[Lady Dustin said] "Roose is not pleased. Tell your bastard that." - The Turncloak, aDwD

Implying he is losing faith in his son, or otherwise does not trust him or value his input when it comes to political situations; a bad omen considering heirs like Robb usually sit with their fathers in councils.

My impression is that Roose initially adopted Ramsay as an heir for the following reasons:

- Sentimentality, since Ramsay is a son of his own blood ("I should've had the mother whipped and thrown her child down a well … but the babe did have my eyes." [...] "Now [Domeric's] bones lie beneath the Dreadfort with the bones of his brothers, who died still in the cradle, and I am left with Ramsay. Tell me, my lord … if the kinslayer is accursed, what is a father to do when one son slays another?" - Reek III aDwD). As a member of a patriarchal society, Roose was raised with the expectation that he will continue his bloodline, and so likely has the wish to be succeeded by his son.

- Practicality, since Ramsay is already an adult, so he doesn't have to raise and invest in another child for years ("That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD). [Speculation: For a new son, he would also have to remarry, and both his prior wives are implied to not have liked him ("The two before her never made a sound in bed" - Reek III, aDwD) while he also doesnt speak of them with fondness - so he might also prefer to be single and raise his bastard instead of having to deal with yet another unpassionate/unloving marriage (considering he's middle aged and uncharismatic, a young new wife wouldn't be thrilled about him), until he finds a marriage that provides him a good benefit (like the Frey money + alliance).]

- The belief that, despite Ramsay being raised a peasant and having violent tendencies, it is possible to "educate him" so that he becomes a functioning member of society (see again my point about Roose counseling him). Roose possibly initially projects some of his own personality on Ramsay (Compare this meta i wrote).

During aGoT-aSoS he must have still thought Ramsay viable, which is why he has him legitimized by the crown. He has not known Ramsay closely for long; This explains why he kept him around even though he is so unfit as an heir (it takes time to fully realize that), but also explains why he is so dismissive of him, as that short time of knowing him as an adult would not make him fond of Ramsay the same way one might be fond of a child they raised.

Roose then realizes after the war, as seen in a Dance with Dragons, that Ramsay is not a fitting heir. What this means for the later books is open for now... Will he abandon Ramsay? Use him as a scapegoat? Or still try to salvage him? I personally believe he is starting to see Ramsay as a danger, and is starting to think about how to best get rid of him.

Just before the Red Wedding he talks very dismissively about how Ramsay could be executed for his crimes, but obviously he knows Robb's never gonna get the chance so maybe he cares more than that.

My belief is that Roose is fundamentally selfish and worried about his own skin. While he has the goal to establish Ramsay as a capable heir, he prioritizes his own safety and reputation. By distancing himself from Ramsay's crimes in front of the other Northmen, he can't be blamed for them; by using Ramsay as a scapegoat for Bolton crimes, he himself can wash his hands from the involvement and won't be hurt if any crimes come to light. If he keeps pointing attention at how Ramsay is wild/cruel/treacherous, then the northmen are more likely to suspect/blame Ramsay than the "peaceful" Roose. Also, even if he cared for Ramsay, he would never openly admit it because it's something that could be used against him (same reason as to why he generally keeps his emotions under wraps).

If you compare this scene from aCoK (where Ramsay is believed dead) with the scene you mentioned from aSoS, you can see that to prioritize his own safety and reputation he will sacrifice Ramsay; but he will also defend Ramsay ("Yet he is a good fighter, as cunning as he is fearless.") as long as it serves his interests, of course while still keeping an emotional distance.

One important thing about Roose is that he does not always say the things he actually thinks; When looking at his quotes it is not only important to look at what he says, but which intentions he has with his words and what effect he wants them to have on the person listening. Compare this quote by grrm:

Lord Bolton may well have all sorts of things in mind. Whether or not he would act on any of those thoughts is another matter. Roose is the sort of fellow who keeps his thoughts to himself. - SSM

But Ramsay (probably) killed precious Domeric

"Ramsay killed him. A sickness of the bowels, Maester Uthor says, but I say poison." - Roose in Reek III, aDwD

This is speculative, but I personally believe that case is not as clear-cut as it is made to look. Poisoning Domeric does not necessarily seem like Ramsay's style; i often see people in fandom suspect that his mother is actually the culprit. I personally suspect the first Reek of killing Domeric - we know he once stole perfume, meaning he knows his way around the castle, and he also got looked at by a maester implying he might know the maester’s chamber where poisons could be kept. He has ample reason to hate Roose, who let him live with the pigs and had him whipped and later sent him to live with Ramsay, but also seems to have interest in improving Ramsay's status ("She made him, her and Reek, always whispering in his ear about his rights." - Reek III aDwD). He is also known to be inseperable from Ramsay, so if Ramsay went to meet Domeric, Reek would come with him.

Either way it could be that Roose just didnt initially believe Ramsay killed Domeric since it looked like he died from sickness, and only later changed his mind on this issue - note that Barbrey Dustin, whom he is implied to have regularly spent time with shortly before the quote about Ramsay killing Domeric, seems to be a believer that Ramsay was the murderer, so she might be the one who convinced Roose; And maybe Ramsay's bad conduct during the time of the war aided to make Roose believe her. Changing his mind on this could influence his decision on what to do with Ramsay come the Winds of Winter.

Or alternatively, if we’re keeping closer to the text, he just thought the positives of keeping Ramsay outweigh the negatives of him being a kinslayer; however it seems odd that Roose, who is so worried about his safety, would adopt a man if his first act he knows of was this treacherous and dangerous. Then again he frequently verbally states that he does not see Ramsay as a threat, which can be read in different ways depending on if you take it as a literal statement or as a tool to enact dominance over his dangerous son.

"All you have I gave you. You would do well to remember that, bastard.” [...]

“I know what he said. You're to spy on me and keep his secrets." Bolton chuckled. "As if he had secrets. Sour Alyn, Luton, Skinner, and the rest, where does he think they came from? Can he truly believe they are his men?"  - Reek III, aDwD

What does he actually feel about him and potential Walda baby(-ies)?

I think he would like to have a son that continues his values and manages to be a capable heir to continue the Bolton line. Domeric was the ideal son, talented and competent, and Roose invested a lot of time and money in giving him a great education. Now that Domeric died and all of this is down the drain, and Roose himself isn't getting any younger, he wants to have a new heir in a way that's the most convenient for him. It appears to me like he is currently weighing the positives of each option (Ramsay or new Baby), and it might even be that he has already come to a decision, considering how he is starting to grow frustrated with Ramsay.

"I have become oddly fond of my fat little wife. [...] Ramsay will kill [all the sons she bears me], of course. That's for the best. I will not live long enough to see new sons to manhood, and boy lords are the bane of any House." - Reek III, aDwD

In line with my earlier point about Roose’ words also being about the effect and not just the message, I believe the line about him being ok with Ramsay killing his sons might be very calculated towards the fact that Roose knows Theon is to report everything he hears back to Ramsay. If Ramsay hears this, he is placated, because it confirms that he is still the main Bolton heir - which means that he does not have to think about harming Lady Walda (because the sons are no threat to his position), and he does not have to think about harming Roose (because he just has to wait until he can succeed him).

Of course all of this post is based off the first five books, so the interpretation may change once the next book comes out or through a different reading of the lines.

[darakshafatimasstuff]

Imamat is given to Imam Ali (as) by Allah ❤️❤️

Imam or leader is the title given to a person who takes the lead in a community, in a particular social movement or political ideology, or in a scientific and/or a religious form of thought.

Naturally, because of his relation with the people he leads, he must conform his actions to their capabilities in both important and secondary matters.

As is clear from the preceding chapters, the sacred religion of Islam takes into consideration and gives directives concerning all aspects of life for all men.

It investigates human life from the spiritual point of view and guides man accordingly; and it intervenes on the plan of formal and material existence from the point of view of the life of the individual.

In the same way, it intervenes on the plan of social life with its regulations (i.e., on the plan of government).

Thus, the imamate and religious leadership in Islam may be studied from three different perspectives: From the perspective of (1) Islamic government, (2) Islamic sciences and injunctions, and (3) Leadership and innovative spiritual guidance.

Shi`ism believes that since the Islamic society is in dire need of guidance in each of these three aspects, the person who occupies the function of giving that guidance and is the leader of the community must be appointed by God and the Prophet.

Naturally, the Prophet himself was also appointed by Divine Command.

The Imamate and Succession 🖤

Man through his God - given nature without doubt realizes that no organized society, such as a country or city or village or tribe or even a household consisting of a few human beings, can continue to subsist without a leader and ruler who puts the wheel of the society in motion and who will govern each individual's will and induces the members of that society to perform their social duty.

Without such a ruler the parts of this society would disperse in a short period of time, causing disorder and confusion to reign.

Therefore, he who is the ruler and governor of a society, whether it be great or small, if he is interested in his own position and the continued existence of his society, will appoint a successor for himself if he is to be absent from his rule - temporarily or permanently.

He would never abandon the domain of his rule, which would be oblivious to its existence.

The head of a household who bids farewell to his household, upon a journey for a few days or months, will appoint one of the members of his household or someone as his successor and will leave the affairs of the house in his hands.

The head of an institution, the principal of a school, or the owner of a shop, if he is to be absent even for a few hours will select someone to represent him.

In the same way, Islam is a religion which according to the text of its Holy Book and the Sunnah is established upon the basis of the primordial nature of things.

It is a religion concerned with social life, as has been seen by every observer near and far. The special attention God and the Prophet (SW) have given to the social nature of this religion can never be denied nor neglected - It is an incomparable feature of Islam.

The Holy Prophet (SW) was never heedless of the problem of forming a social group - this was so since the beginning of Islam's influence in Arabia. Whenever a city or village fell into Muslim hands he would, in the shortest time possible, appoint a governor or ruler in whose hands he would leave the affairs of the Muslims.

In very important military expeditions - in the Holy wars (Jihad) - he would appoint more than one leader and commander.

In the war of Mu'tah he even appointed four leaders, so that if the first was killed the second would be recognized as the leader, heading his command. And if the second was killed, then the third would be leader, and so on.

The Prophet also displayed great interest in the problem of succession and never failed to appoint a successor when necessary. Whenever he left Medina he would appoint a governor in his own place.

Even when he migrated from Mecca to Medina and there was not, as of yet, any idea as to what would happen; yet still, order to have his personal affairs managed in Mecca for those few days, he appointed Ali (may peace be upon him) as his successor.

In the same way, after his death Ali was his successor in matters concerning his debts and personal affairs.

The Shi`ites claim that for this very reason it is not conceivable that the Prophet (SW) should have died without appointing someone as his successor, without having selected a guide and leader to direct the affairs of the Muslims and to turn the wheels of the Islamic society.

Man's primordial nature does not doubt the importance and value of the society and that the existence and continuation of that society depend upon a just government which agrees to carry out these regulations completely.

This fact is such that anyone possessing intelligence would not neglect or forget it.

At the same time one can doubt neither the breadth and detailed nature of the Islamic Shari'ah, nor the importance and value the Prophet (SW) attached to it; thus, he made many sacrifices for its application and preservation.

Nor can one debate the mental geniusness and perfection of intelligence or perspicacity of vision of the Prophet (SW) (beside, this fact is confirmed by revelation and prophetic narrations).

According to established traditions in both Sunni and Shi'ite collections of hadith (in the chapter on temptations and seditions and others) it is transmitted from the Prophet (SW) that he foretold seditions and tribulations that would entangle the Islamic society after his death and that corruption would penetrate the body of Islam until ( a later time) worldly rulers who would sacrifice this pure religion for their own impure and unscrupulous ends.

So, how is it possible that the Prophet (SW) would neglect to speak of the details of events and trials of years or even thousands of years after him, and yet would neglect the condition had to be brought into being most urgently after his death?

Or that he should be negligent and consider as unimportant a duty that is on the one hand simple and evident and on the other significant to such a degree?

How could he concern himself with the most natural and common acts such as eating, drinking and sleeping and give hundreds of commands concerning them, yet remain completely silent about this important problem and not appoint someone in his own place?

Even if we accepted the hypothesis (which Shi'ism does not accept) that the appointment of the ruler of Islamic society is given by the Shari'ah to the people themselves, still it would be necessary for the Prophet to give an explanation concerning this matter, He would have had to give the necessary instruction to the community so that they would be aware of the problem upon which the existence and growth of Islamic society and the life of religious symbols and observances depended and relied.

Yet there is on trace of such a prophetic explanation or religious instruction. If there had been such a thing, those who succeeded the Prophet and held of power in their hands would not have opposed it. Actually, the first caliph transferred the caliphate to the second by bequest.

The second caliph chose the third caliph through a sis-man council of which he was himself a member and whose order of procedure he had himself determined and ordered. Mu'awiyeh forced Imam Hassan to make peace and in this way carried away the caliphate After this event the caliphate was converted into an hereditary monarchy.

Gradually many religious observances identified with the early yeras of Islamic rule (such as holy war, commanding what is lawful and prohibiting what is forbidden, the establishment of boundaries for human action) were weakened or even disappeared from the political life of the community, nullifying in this domain the efforts of the Prophet of Islam.

Shi'ism has studied and investigated the primordial nature of man and the continuous tradition of wisdom that has survived among men, It has penetrated into the principal purpose of Islam, which is to revivify man's primordial nature, and has investigated such things as the methods used by the Prophet in suiting the community;

The troubles which entangled Islam and the Muslims and which led to division and separtion; and the short life of the Muslim governments of the early centuries, which were characterized by negligence and lack of strict religious principles.

As a result of these studies Shi'ism has reached the conclustion that there are sufficient traditioal texts left by the Prophet to indicate the procedure for determining the Imam and successor of the Prophet.

This conclusion is supported by Quranic verses and hadiths which Shi'ism considers as sound, such as the verses on walayat and the hadiths of Ghadir, Safinah, Thaqalayn, Happ, Manzilah, Da'wat-i'ashirah-i aqrabin, and others.

But of course these hadiths, most of which are also accepted by Sunnism, have Otherwise the whole question of succession would not have arisen, Whereas these hadiths appear to Shi'ites as a clear indication of the Prophet's intetion in the question of succession, they have been interpreted by Sunnis in quite another way so as to leave this question open and unanswered.

Quranic Verses about Imam Ali's Imamat ❤️

To prove the caliphate of Ali ibn Abi Talib, Shi'ites have had recourse to Quranic verses, including the following: "

Your master [wali] can be only Allah; and His messenger and the those who believe, who establish worship and pay the poor due, and bow down (in prayer) [or, and this reading is accepted by 'Allamah Tabataba'i: "... pay the poor due while bowing down (in prayer)"]" (Quran, V, 55). Shi'ite and Sunni commentators alike agree that this verse was revealed concerning Ali ibn Abi Talib, and many Shi'ite and Sunni traditions exist supporting this view.

Abu Dharr Ghafafi has said: " One day we prayed the noon prayer with the Prophet (SW). A person in need asked people to help him, but no one gave him anything.

The person raised his hands to the sky saying, 'Oh God! Bear witness that in the mosque of the Prophet (SW) that no one gave me anything.' Ali ibn Abi Talib was in the bowing position of the prayer.

He pointed with his finger outwards towards the person, who then took his ring and left. The Prophet (SW), who was observing the scene raised his head toward heaven and said: ' Oh God!

My brother Moses said to Thee, "Expand my breast and make easy my tasks and make my tongue eloquent so that they will comprehend my words, and make my brother, Harun, my help and vizier" [cf. Quran, XXVIII, 35]. Oh God! I am also Thy prophet; expand my breast and make easy my tasks make Ali my vizier and helper.'" Abu Dharr says, "The words of the Prophet had not as yet finished when the verse [cited above] was revealed."

Another verse which the Shi'ites consider as proof of the caliphate of Ali is this: " This day those who disbelieve in despair of (ever harming) your religion; so fear them not, fear Me! This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favour unto you, and have chosen for you as religion AL-ISLAM" (Quran, V,3).

The obvious meaning of this verse is that before that particular day the infidels had hopes that a day would come when Islam would die out, but God through the actualization of a particular event made them lose forever the hope that Islam would be destroyed.

This very event is the cause of the strength and perfection of Islam and of necessity could be a minor occasion such as the proclaim of one of the injunctions of religion. Rather, it was a matter of such importance that the continuation of Islam depended upon it.

This verse seems to be related to another verse which comes toward the end of the same chapter: "O Messenger! Make known that which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord, for if thou do it not, thou will not have conveyed His message, Allah will protect thee from mankind." (Quran, V,67). This verse indicates that God commanded a mission of great concern and importance to the Prophet (SW) that if not accomplished would endanger the basis of Islam and prophecy.

But, the matter was so important that the Prophet (SW) feared opposition and interference and in awaiting suitable circumstances delayed it - until there came a definite and urgent order from God to execute this command without delay and not to fear anyone.

This matter also was not just a particular regligious injunction in the ordinary sense, for to preach one or several religious injuncations is not so vital, that if a single one of them was not preached it would cause the destruction of Islam.

The Prophet (SW) of Islam did not fear anyone in preaching the injunc- tions and laws of religion. These indications and witnesses add weight to the Shi'ite tradi- tions which asset that these verses were revealed at Ghadir Khumm and concern the spiritual investiture (walayat) of Ali ibn Abi Talib.

Moreover, many Shi'ite and Sunni commentators have confirmed this point.

Abu Said Khudari says: "The Prophet (SW) in Ghadir Khumm invited people toward Ali and took his arm and lifted it so high that the white spot on the armpit of the Prophet (SW) could be seen. Then this verse was revealed: 'This day have I perfected your religion for you and completed My favor unto you, and have chosen for you as religion Al-ISLAM.'

Then the Prophet (SW) said, 'God is great (Allahu akbar) that religion has become perfected and that God's bounty has been completed, His satisfaction attained and the walayat of Ali achieved.' Then he added, 'For whomever I am the authority and guide Ali is also his guide and authority.

Oh God! Be friendly with the friends of Ali and the enemy of his enemies. Whoever helps, help him, and whoever leaves him, leave him.' "

In a summary, we can say that the enemies of Islam who did everything possible to destroy it, when they lost all hope of achieving this end, were left with only one hope.

They though that since the protector of Islam was the Prophet (SW), after his death Islam would be left without a guide and leader; and thus, definitely perish. But, at Ghadir Khumm their hopes were brought to end as the Prophet (SW) presented Ali as the guide and leader of Islam to the people.

After Ali, this heavy and necessary duty of guide and leader was left upon the shoulders of his family.

Reference:

Ali the magnificent vol. 01 page 564

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

Jesus Dines with a Pharisee (Luke 14:1-14)

"One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, He was being carefully watched." Our Savior did not refuse any invitation to a proper social function. His example is important for us. He wants His people to be IN the world, though not OF the world. He does not desire us to withdraw from men - but to live with them in life's common relations, only being careful all the while - that we live the true life as citizens of heaven. We are to be the salt of the earth - our influence tending to purify and sweeten the life about us. We are to be the light of the world - shedding brightness upon earth's darkness, helping weakness, comforting sorrow.

John the Baptist would not have accepted the invitation of this Pharisee. He was an ascetic. His theory of life required him to keep out of the world, witnessing against its evil, by withdrawing from it. But Jesus did not follow John in this. He gave men a new type of religion. His first public act, after returning from His temptation, was to accept an invitation to a wedding feast. His theory of life was that the truest and most effective protest against the world's evil - may be made from within, by living a holy, godly, and beautiful life - in the midst of the world's evil.

Jesus had a reason for accepting social courtesies. He wished to show the divine sympathy with all human life. We used to be told that He often wept - but never smiled. But we cannot think of Jesus never smiling. His whole life was one of gladness. He went among men - that they might know He was interested in their lives.

Life was not easy for most people in our Lord's day. Their work was hard, and they were not kindly treated by those who employed them. Their burdens were heavy. They were poorly paid. Jesus wanted them to know that He was their friend; that He cared for them, sympathized with them. He was ready for every opportunity to get near to them, that He might do them good. When He attended dinners, feasts, or weddings - He was not satisfied merely to eat and talk over the empty trivialities which are usually discussed around the table on such occasions. He found time always - to say some serious, thoughtful words, among the lighter things - which those who heard Him would not forget. Some of His most important teachings were given at feasts.

We scarcely know why this Pharisee invited Jesus to dine with him. We cannot suppose that it was really a cordial, friendly invitation; that he wished either to honor Jesus or to have the pleasure and privilege of entertaining Him and hearing His profitable conversation. Possibly it was a sinister motive which led him to give the invitation - a plot to get Jesus near to him, that he might catch Him in His words - or lead Him to do something or say something which could be used against Him. It may be that the presence of the man with the dropsy that day - was part of the same evil intention. It was on the Sabbath, and if Jesus would heal this man on that day, there would then be cause for criticism, such healing being considered by the Pharisees, a desecration of the Sabbath. Of course, the sick man may have come in of his own accord, drawn perhaps by the hope that Jesus would hear him. But there is room for the suspicion that his being present that day, was part of a scheme to get Jesus to violate the Sabbath rules, as they were interpreted by the scribes.

Jesus was not afraid of any such plots. He never thought about expediency or diplomacy, when an opportunity for doing good came His way. We are told that He "answering spoke." What did He answer? No question was asked Him, so far as we are told. Evidently He answered the thoughts of the lawyers and Pharisees who were watching to see if He would heal the sick man. Jesus is always aware of what is going on within us. Our thoughts are as open to Him - as our acts are to our neighbors! We should not forget this when our thoughts and feelings, are not what they should be.

The question Jesus asked brought up the subject of Sabbath healing. The Jews considered it wrong. But they did not care to answer Him just now - so "they held their peace." They wanted Him to heal the man, that they might bring their charge against Him. Jesus healed the man. Thus He teaches us to think for ourselves in matters of duty - and not to be influence by what we suppose other people will say. Too many people take their moralities largely from the opinions of others, doing this and not doing that, to meet the approval of others. But that was not the way Jesus did. His rule of life - was God's opinion. "I do always the things that are pleasing to Him." That should be our rule of life.

Jesus asked another question. "If one of you has an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?" This question His critics would not answer. They admitted that it was right to relive a dumb animal in such a plight. But if it was right on the Sabbath to help an ox out of a pit - how could it be wrong to help a suffering man out of his trouble on the same holy day? Surely a man is worth more than an ox, dearer in God's sight, and we should be more willing to relieve a man than an ox. Thus Jesus stripped the Sabbath of the disfigurement which human hands had put upon it, and set it forth in its beauty, what God meant it to be when He first gave it to man.

There was another lesson which Jesus wanted to teach that day. So He "put forth a parable." He had noticed that as they took their places at the dinner, the guests scrambled for the best places at the table, the seats of honor. There is much of this same spirit yet in the world. One sees it on railway trains, on steamers in hotels and boarding houses, almost everywhere. Nearly everybody wants the best - and scrambles to get it. Sometimes it is seen, too, where members of families try to get the choicest things on the table, the most comfortable seat, or the brightest, airiest room. Often bitter strife occurs, and harsh wrangles take place between brothers and sisters - each demanding the best. It will be wise to study this lesson very carefully and to apply it to ourselves - the kind of application we should always make first in studying Christ's words .

Jesus said, "When someone invites you to a wedding feast - do not take the place of honor ." We would say that common politeness would prevent any guest at a dinner from rushing for the seat of honor. It is understood in all refined society, that these favored places are for the guests who are specially honored that day. Even these guests, though they know they are to have the distinction, do not take their places unbidden - but wait to be invited to them. "But when you are invited, take the lowest place," said the Master further. Thus the religion of Christ teaches the most beautiful humility and courtesy. We are not too seek to be ministered unto - but to minister (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45); not to get distinction and praise - but to live humbly and quietly .

Kossuth said that of all natural emblems, he would choose the DEW as the emblem for his life. It makes no noise, seeks no praise, writes no record - but is content to sink away and be lost in the flowers and grass blades, and to be remembered only in the fresh beauty and sweetness it imparts to all nature.

Those who always demand that they shall be recognized and that their names shall be attached to everything they do, have not learned the mind of Christ. Our aim should be to seek to have Christ honored, then to do good to others, and to be remembered only in the blessing and good which we leave in other lives.

"For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Jesus tells us, further, that those who look after their own honor - shall fail to be honored, while those who live humbly, modestly, without seeking distinction or praise, shall receive the best promotions.

The last teaching of the passage is also very important. "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind - and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." Mary Lyon used to say to her graduates, "Go where nobody else wants to go - and do what nobody else wants to do." That is another version of the teaching of Jesus here. The rich have plenty of invitations - Christian love should seek to give pleasure to those who do not have much of it. If you are at a party, and there is one person present who seems to get no attention, that is the one whom, according to our Lord's teaching here, you should be most interested in and should take particular pains to make happy. Among your neighbors are some who have many things to make up their enjoyment - friends, money, health, books, social opportunities. But there are others who lack in these regards. While you are to love all your neighbors, your love should show itself especially toward the latter class - those who have less and who need you more.

[optimismrpt]

LIMITED RUN SKELETON RP CONCEPT CHECKLIST

first and foremost, this is just based on my past experiences and it’s easy to say that not all of my successful rps have checked all of these boxes. so this is not to say that your rp must check all or any of these off this list in order to be a good experience. this is just what i’ve been thinking about recently while trying to come up with a new limited run rp plot. so if your rp concept doesn’t adhere to this, don’t worry! i’m sure it can work regardless, i’ve just built this list to make it as easy on myself as possible to know what is more likely to work! 

A TEAM OF HEROES - this one might seem obvious, but it’s actually harder to come up with  an idea for than you’d imagine. since in a lot of stories have a very obvious protagonist, love interest, sidekick, mentor, and supporting cast. it’s important to create a team where each character has nearly equal claim to each role. since people are always going to want to play the hero or the love interest, you need to create a team where no character has more unavoidable focus on them. each one has to have the potential to be ‘the main character’. 

PAST CONNECTIONS - having the rp start off so fresh that no one has ever met each other usually seems like a good idea but i find it actually leaves people scrambling at opening to come up with all new ways for characters to meet and results in less investment in dynamics. so having a variety of connections between characters is best! some of them can just be meeting but it’s always good for a few of them to have years of history with each other. 

VARIED CONNECTIONS - while a lot of good stories work with all stranger, all family members, all coworkers, it’s a lot easier to have a functioning and inspiring rp that incorporates multi-faceted and diverse connection types. so when coming up with an idea see if you can justify the character coming together and knowing one another, without restricting yourself to one type of connection. 

VARIED PERSONALITY TYPES - this is the most essential on this list. some plots will narratively warrant similar people being drawn together, so it sometimes makes sense for a team of heroes to all be . . .  heroic. but if you can find different motivations, personality types, and archetypes to divide your characters into it helps a lot to create tension and keep the group interesting. guardians of the galaxy and avengers is, in my opinion, the best reference to look towards when trying to create a team of heroes who all have the same core motivation ‘save the universe’ but different underlying reasons to do so and very different approaches for how it should be done. 

LIGHT TONE - this is just my personal preference i suppose. but i’ve found that humor and not taking the rp or the characters to seriously is what creates true and lasting inspiration for a rp. it’s all the memes and goofs that really stick in my memory and endear me to the characters. and this is generally facilated by a lighter tone. but maybe it’s just me, and even when i do rps with a darker tone, the comedy appears anyway. really, just don’t take yourself or the rp too seriously. so the concept should be something that you are okay with joking around about.  

MOVING PLOT - i always try to come up with a plot that justifies the characters moving around, jumping from location to location. whether they’re going from planet to planet on a sci fi space adventure or from city to city on a spy mission, it’s a great way to keep intrigue and make the plot feel like it’s moving forward. while there are a lot of good ‘bottle episodes’ of tv shows and great movies that all take place in one room, it can get kind of boring for a rp. so i try to come up with something that keeps the characters on the run, either to or from something. 

MANY ANTAGONISTS - i try to avoid plots where there’s one big bad guy that the characters don’t meet until the end. i think it’s good to have the characters be facing lots of conflict: from within the group, from society as a whole, from an opposing group, and more! that way there can be lots of npcs, sources of tension, and things holding the characters back from achieving their goals. plus, it’s always fun to have a plot where the ‘villain’ they thought was going to be their arch enemy isn’t the biggest problem after all. 

THEMES TO EXPLORE - i remember watching a video where the writer of fight club talked about starting with a theme and writing a story just to explore that theme. i don’t usually do that, but the themes of a story i want to explore are usually the second thing to pop up after general concept. so i always look for a story which has a question i want to answer. for retired it was ‘if the world has falsely believed you to be a hero for all your life, what do you do when you a re forced to become what they believe you are?’ and for my next rp it’s going to be ‘if you’ve been searching for a dangerous truth your whole life and then find it, is that actually a good thing?’. these are the questions that make the plot fall into place and the story seem worthwhile. 

ADVENTURE WITHOUT ACTION - most of my favorite movies like kingsman,  john wick, pacific rim, and kong: skull island rely on a lot of physical action. whether it extended fight combat sequences or big cgi monsters duking it out, the excitement is derived from something extremely visual and difficult to write. this is really difficult to add to a rp without it falling flat. big monsters and long fight sequences are good on screen, but even when adding dice mechanics it’s just not as fun in rps. so i try to avoid emulating stories which rely a lot on these things. 

that’s it! that’s the list of things that i keep in mind when coming up with a concept! i know it’s a lot but when you find the right concept it feels so good! of course, i am always open to follow up questions and general advice!

[sendmyresignation]

You Got Blood On Your Money

Question: how do you make honest art? Is this not the eternal conflict as a creator- how to stay genuine to yourself and your art without tripping into the pitfalls that lay within fame or money or popular culture? Every creator must grapple with the fight between being seen and being sold. But very few artists struggle with this quite as visibly as My Chemical Romance has. From the inception of this band, which has always been more art project than musical endeavor, its members have tried desperately to convey a bone-deep sincerity fundamental to their work. From their very first song, the band proclaims itself as a savior to a generation that had been stripped of their will in the face of unimaginable horror. At the same time, there exists within their music a commitment to storytelling, a desire to fill the empty space in rock music with narrative and macabre and emotion that had been absent. Both of these elements manifest themselves into a band that very seriously considered it their mission to save people’s lives, as well as to create deeply meaningful art. But how do you save as many people as possible without being corrupted by the spotlight? And how do maintain genuine storytelling as you get further and further from the basement shows you got your started in?

These are questions that permeate their music at every turn, something that haunted each album and made itself known in each new project. And while there are many ways to dissect this particular struggle in their discography, nowhere is it more apparent than in the dispute between Thank You For the Venom and its reimagined successor- Tomorrow’s Money. These songs are noticeably similar in their structure as well as lyricism and imagery but instead of the latter building off of the other, they are inverses of each other. And they speak to My Chem’s long battle with becoming a legendary band in the midst of also attempting to keep their identities as artists and outsiders. And in analyzing their differences, it becomes reflective of the band’s main career-long conflict between the commodification of their art and the need to create something larger than themselves. And the question remains, were they successful?

Before we answer that, let's talk about Thank You for the Venom. To begin, it's important to note that Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge is an interesting part of My Chemical Romance’s discography because ultimately, it is unconcerned with legacy, but instead is centered on the immediacy of loss and the reactionary pursuit of revenge. In a record overwhelmed with death and grief, there is very little mention of the afterlife for either the living or the dead- characters are murdered but there is very little textual violence. Characters come back to life but there is minimal discussion of how they died or where exactly they were in death. However, that does not mean Revenge is not devoid of mythologizing- it just happens to be about immediate intention rather than a long-term commitment. It is because of this reckless drive forward almost to spite the odds that allows for Venom to exist as the band's declaration- it is their call to arms. Specifically, the track is a pronouncement of My Chemical Romance as renegades fighting against the fake, safe bands writing hits for money instead of survival or purpose: they “won’t front the scene” if you paid them, after all, but are instead running from their enemies. And not only are they an oppositional force, but they are pariahs, targets- something you can try to kill but will fail at. More specifically, in “If this is what you want the fire at will” there is an element of martyrdom, the idea that they are not just a necessary part of the very structure of society but also there is the implication that killing them is to concede to their influence and a necessary part of their lifecycle. Once you get big enough to become a target, you inevitably will be shot down- that is the final step of a great and honest band’s success. This also feeds into the album's wider ideas surrounding revenge as a concept as the greatest revenge is finding success in the aspects of yourself and, by extension, the things you create that other people thought were worthless (I don't think it's a coincidence so much of this album is steeped in comic book imagery and art and mixing punk and metal and theater when those are things the band would get shit on for enjoying). At the same time, this theme exists as the foundation necessary to create an anthem of survival- revenge is the fuel that keeps the protagonist, as well as the band, in motion. Look at the specifics of their thesis- “Just the way the doctor made me” and “You’ll never make me leave” are both reconciliations with the self in spite of the prevailing narrative against them. That connects to the way this song is a statement of a savior and a martyr twofold- “Give me all your hopeless hearts and make me ill” as a representation of the band taking on the pain of others to keep them both alive. All told, in Venom there is perseverance in the face of a large, unimaginable adversary. It is a threat directed at your enemies. It’s living as free and ugly and completely yourself as you can until they shoot you down in a hail of bullets. And then even that end is itself a victory.

Here, at its core, Venom is really the singular instance in the entire album where the band reconciles with an image. And the image the band creates for themselves is as outcasts in opposition to the "scene" and as a revenge plot, proving to their audience the value of authenticity and survival and rubbing it in the faces of those who doubted them. These themes about what My Chemical Romance is and what their goals are is something they wrestle with for the rest of their career- how do you say lives, reach an audience, and remain a fighting force against the societal norm when you exceed your mission and become part of the fabric of popular culture? But that is for later, at this moment, Revenge imagines no future. Only this desperate battlecry.

By contrast, Tomorrow’s Money is dealing with the aftermath. Functioning as a cynical reimagining of Venom, the song is structurally, thematically, and even lyrically reminiscent of Venom to an uncanny degree. First and foremost, the songs are structured the same- a slow build-up into a whispered intro, a multi-part chorus, the exact same chorus-verse layout, and a strikingly similar solo. Looking at the two Toro solos more closely, they both feature more building up as well as tremolos, triples, darker tones, and what sounds like a slide progression just ripping through both of them. Tomorrow’s Money is mimicking Venom pretty clearly here- either as a direct reference or because Venom is so reminiscent of the condensed MCR sound that they’re ripping off to make their point. And looking deeper at the themes present in Money specifically, just like Revenge, there is a clear lack of legacy- “we got no heroes ‘cause our heroes are dead” calling back to the very real disillusionment of Disenchanted that’s placed specifically in a song about becoming part of the machine, being heroes themselves, to nod to the fact that the very mission of the band is dead as well.

Simply put, Money tackles similar issues as Venom about fame and audience and creating art while using much of the same language and metaphors to completely invert the claims found in the “original”. To start with, both songs use the verbage “bleeding” to associate with a kind of suffering for your art that was an aspect of their previous band ideology. Namely, it’s the idea that the audience makes the band ill through the “hopeless hearts” as much as the “poison” does. The “what’s life like bleeding on the floor” of Venom is paired with “you’ll never make me leave” is a statement of defiance and survival against the odds while still bearing the burden of other’s pain. Money, on the other hand, explicitly says they “stopped bleeding three years ago” as a rejection of this leftover martyrdom prevalent in Revenge especially.  But it also refers to their newfound luxury of comfort, they have a way to stitch themselves together that they didn’t have before. These implications transition directly into the ideas surrounding health, vitality and living- specifically surrounding both doctors and infection. Speaking of the former, Money has an interesting lines in “If we crash this time, we’ve got machines to keep us alive” and "me and my surgeons and my street-walking friends" because they speak to both becoming a part of the “industry” by mentioning mechanization but also specifically evokes the living dead. In the MCR canon, the idea of the undead (both vampires and zombies) are antagonistic forces that represent the outside world, specifically fake people or the music industry. And zombies, in general, are already rife with allegorical connections to consumerism, like how Dawn of the Dead, a known mcr influence, is directly about materialistic culture. Vampires, subconsciously or not, are often representatives of exuberant wealth as well as beauty and desire. They’re also blood-suckers and leeches that someone in this narrative has fallen in love with, as if colluding with the enemy and allowing them to literally drain them and their life force. Thus, in describing themselves as essentially undead (when they crash, they’re revived) as well as directly collaborating with the undead, they are connecting themselves to the very forces they’ve been fighting. But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this association is how they specifically relate it to survival, the only way of staying alive is to accept them, to allow themselves to be hooked up to the machines that make them undead in the first place. Almost as if you make it far enough not to tear yourself apart, you’ll eventually assimilate into and become part of the industry. 

This idea of unavoidable assimilation is compounded with the multiple references to viruses- “You're loaded up with the fame. You’re dressed up like a virus” then being reemphasised with “We’re gonna give it for free. Hook up the veins to the antibodies, got it with the disease, we’re gonna give it to you”. Both these lines condemn fame but also implicates themselves as part of the contagion that is celebritidom at the same time it depicts this process as unavoidable. Not only that, they’re the ones spreading it at the same time they condemn it. This duality, possibly even exaggerated hypocrisy is buried deep into the foundation of Money. Even the ending line, as angry and inflammatory as it is- still names them as complicit as the "I’ll see you in hell" implies that they're going to hell too. Looking even deeper, there are multiple references to the dilution of their message:  “Choke down the words with no meaning” and “The words get lost when we all look the same'' both representing meaninglessness in the lyrics while “the microphone’s got a tapwire” is reminiscent of wiretapping or even the surveillance company Tapewire, suggesting their words are under scrutiny, they are being monitored and that could be one of the reasons for meaningless words. All of these lyrics reference, with subtly or, in the case of the last one, very obviously about the sellibility and how rigid the label of “emo” is and how they couldn't escape it - they may not have gotten paid to front the scene, but they sure did inadvertently lead a cause. And being put in that position was clearly very stifling, striping them of their artistry. Even looking at the response to Black Parade, it's clear that popular culture at large did not appreciate the record for its genuine message but for the moment in time it represented or the aesthetics it called back too. In many ways it was taken at face value- “words with no meaning” or just another dark, death obsessed emo record. What Tomorrow's money is is a rejection of the glorification of suffering and nativity of Venom in the face of becoming pop culture icons but it's also, in a way, reconciling with a perception of failure and loss of creative control that will haunt My Chem for the rest of their years.

Ultimately Tomorrow's Money is representative of the band's response to the gradual shift of My Chemical Romance, as an entity, away from martyrs to an accepted part of the music industry and culture. How do you reconcile with that? In this moment, in a post-Black Parade era, they try taking everything down with them- becoming a whistle blower to their truth. But perhaps most importantly, this conflict lays the foundation for Danger Days as both critique of industry’s commodification of art, as well as the reutilization of the obsession with legacy and death in their next project -no longer can they let the machines revive them, they have to get out of the city, yell incendiary graffiti at the top of their lungs, and explode in brilliant colors. It was time to return to calls to arms. It was time to return to the power of not just of death but of living on long after it, the album the act of becoming folk heroes for a new generation. And while the bright lights didn't last forever, by scrapping Conventional Weapons and starting over in the name of artistic integrity they truly created a legacy of material unrivaled in its sincerity, reach, and cultural significance. 

As we know, the story didn’t end there. The final chapter used to be closed, and ending with "I choose defeat I walk away and leave this place the same today" as the conclusion of their career. This was not the explosion Gerard wrote about, not the doomsday device but a quiet goodbye, a silent curtain call. It's another round of disillusionment finally fully-realized. And yet, the Reunion seems to be a direct contradiction to their farewell- in some way they did come back because they were needed, because their absence was a gaping hole in music at large which suggests they did change things, that they do have a noticeable effect on the world they inhabit. Looking at A Summoning for even a moment, the picture illustrated to the viewer is that they are an otherworldly power. That they are an entity that you plead for the return of, the hero and the savior on clear display. And regardless of how you feel about the postponement, you can never talk away that fact- some force bodily brought them back in their narrative, that it was human interference that started the resurrection. And that it was primarily through art, especially that video, that they declared their forced-to-be unfulfilled intentions. I've always liked to believe that we've cycled back around, that the cynicism of Conventional Weapons and then later Fake Your Death has had its moment but now it's time to return to that world of rebellion in this era of the desert- the reinhabiting of reckless living and creation. Again, we must ask: what does it mean to make art for the masses? I don’t think we’ll ever truly find the right answer, but I think My Chemical Romance have always tried their best to solve the equation.

[ya-riotreads]

By: Angie Thomas

Prequel to: The Hate U Give

Goodreads Rating:★★★★★

My Rating:★★★★★

Find a copy near you from a local library: https://tinyurl.com/rcs34hcz

Angie Thomas has returned readers to the streets of Garden Heights; 17 years prior to Starr taking on the injustices of police brutality and in light of BLM movement. Concrete Rose focuses on 17-year-old Maverick Carter as his life changes with the birth of his first child. Taking place around the late 1990’s, Thomas explores the trials of generational stagnation, societal and environmental pressures, and the challenges behind stereotypes from the perspective of a black boy and his transition into manhood. The main question and task Maverick is imposed with is: what does it take to be a man and what type of man does Maverick want to be for himself and his family?

The reason for the 4.5 out of 5 rating stems from the accurate portrayal of urban/ghetto/hood life, Maverick’s character growth, Thomas’s insights to teenage pregnancy from the male perspective, and the setup of character, situational and relationship foils. Anyone who knows where the “concrete rose” metaphor gained traction from will understand what this story and subject matter pertains to. For those who don’t, let’s provide a brief aside to talk about one of thee most infamous West side artist to live—being Tupac Shakur. After the death of Tupac Shakur, a publication of his poems was release as a book entitled by the included work, The Rose that Grew from Concrete. The poem and Thomas’s book details the life of an individual who is meant to fail due to the inequities existing in their environment which is comprised of their familial situation and the type of people existing in their community. Maverick Carter—the rose to Garden Heights’ concrete—is the child of former King Lord legend who is serving jail time, has a mother who works two jobs to make ends meet, and is in relations with the King Lords for protection and means of income. In the beginning of Concrete Rose, Maverick does not see any wrong in following in his father’s footsteps, believing that being a man is to protect your family—blood and gang. Although Maverick Carter does fail in terms of becoming a teen father, falling into drug sales, flunks out of school, and considers murder to avenge the death of his relative, Maverick does succeed in his life in terms of not committing to gang life by the end of story. Maverick succeeds in following the terms of becoming a present father to his children. The ways in which Maverick could have failed was to abandon his children and continue down the path of gang life, however, Maverick learns that true fatherhood requires a father’s presence and guidance. Rather than running away from his problems, Maverick steps up to the plate and takes responsibility of the situation he—as an individual—has placed himself and other’s in.

The portrayal of gang life and living within an urban setting, such as Garden Heights, is an accurate representation of how it is in American urban life. From an outsider’s perspective—i.e. someone not in a gang or even someone living in a more suburban community—Garden Heights is an area where it is undesired to be stuck in. Someone living within Garden Heights (i.e Maverick) knows where safe spots are during what time of day and what risks lie within certain areas. In terms of gang life, there does exist a ranking or hierarchical system members follow. Gang life, similarly, is a commitment for life. The means of getting out is a risk to anyone’s life. The gang assumes a departing individual will be a risk to the gang in the future as they may rat-out information to the police or switch sides between other rival gangs. Maverick’s leaving of King Lord operations, although a risk, is necessary for himself becoming a better person for Lisa and his children, as well as, becoming the father he didn’t have full access to. Similarly, Maverick’s action of leaving foils that of King and Iesha’s residency, which—later in The Hate U Give.

In terms of literature on teen pregnancy, majority of works tend to focus on the female perspective as society claims females have more to lose out on than males. Thomas provides a golden opportunity by writing Maverick’s perspective on being a teen parent. Maverick’s first child—Seven—was born from (a lack of a better term) one-night stand with Iesha. However, rather than disregarding the birth of Seven and the positive DNA test, Maverick does take responsibility in caring for his child. A stereotypical move that Maverick could have taken was not accepting ownership/responsibility of Seven and disadvantaging Seven further by forcing Iesha to keep him without regard. However, Thomas’s theme of family keeps Maverick from going down that path. With the conception of Maverick’s second child with Lisa (someone Maverick sincerely loves and cares about) tests Maverick’s responsibility a step further based on Lisa’s preference to how she want to raise their child. With Seven, Maverick is still connected to King Lord life and imposes the risk of Seven falling into his footsteps in the future. However, with the second child and Lisa’s demands, Maverick must move passed his pride and become more than what gang life has imposed him to become—his father, not a dependable father figure. The male perspective of teenage pregnancy also nods to the concept of family building and parenting being a cooperative effort between both parents. Although our patriarchal society frowns upon men taking on child-rearing or any other “female designated” tasks, Thomas takes incentive by presenting a functionally learning and adapting male catering to the growth and development of his child. Thomas takes the opportunity to level the playing field between male and female pregnancies by having Maverick obtain losses female characters (i.e what Iesha would have endured had she possess a supportive family unit and this been her story) typical would experience during a teen pregnancy: grades falling, monetary insecurity, and a close to nonexistent social life.

Throughout the book foils exist EVERYWHRE. They exist in Maverick’s parents’ parenting in relation to his own parenting efforts, they exist between Lisa and Iesha’s stances and roles of motherhood, they exist between social expectations between Lisa and Maverick in terms of who was likely to become a teenaged parent and who was not, they exist between King and Maverick—which plays out later in The Hate U Give—as Iesha becomes pregnant again with King’s baby—these are only the ones that most forefront in my head, however, all are important as they push and pull against the stereotypes projected upon black people. However, my personal favorite foil is that of Maverick and his father as it leads to my favorite quote in the book coming from Mr. Wyatt in form of a question, aiding Maverick making a correct choice for himself.

““Because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree?” Mr. Wyatt asks. “However, it can roll away from the tree. It simply need a little push.”

Maverick is appreciative of his father and the ability for his father to guide him when possible, however, Maverick does serve as a foil to his father by not committing to Kingship, not killing out of revenge, and being present for his children to guide them at all times instead of behind bars. Maverick strives to give his children the luxury of presence and convenience as that is something he wished for since his father’s sentencing.

The reason why this story isn’t a 5/5 is due to the lack of development for important female characters. Understandably, this is Maverick’s story and as Maverick is a strong hetero-male. It is, with this regard, that I take his lack of attention to female characters not out of perspective or out of character. The phrase, boys will be boys—as irritating as that may be—is in play here in terms of boys naturally being dense and inattentive to social cues in relation to their female counterparts. Maverick is a strong hetero-male growing up in a patriarchal society and in gang life, Maverick’s perspective is centered on himself and other men because he is searching for guidance relative to him versus doing what comes naturally (which to note, naturality is more of a female designated concept i.e. women’s intuition) but, he does learn to develop from his mother. Not to say that the female characters were weak, on contrary, they were not! The women in the story possessed hardy personalities and dialogue that was strong against Maverick’s actions and tendencies to keep him in line. However, there could have been a little more insight into their weakness. I think Lisa could have used a weak moment much like Maverick’s mother when she learns of the second pregnancy. Although readers do see Lisa cry in learning she was pregnant, that moment of weakness was swept aside as she pulled herself together quickly in the proceeding chapters. Iesha’s character could have offered more perspective into post-partum depression rather than just simply dipping out of eye-sight. However, in rebuttal, this isn’t their stories and if it was… Iesha would have been an unreliable narrator and could have been seen as an attack on stereotypical black teen girls… Lisa’s perspective would have been too convenient and smooth to engage readers as her life was pretty comfy up until her pregnancy… while Maverick’s mother would have been seen as too soft upon her child and the story may have not been about her grandchild, but rather, her relationship with Moe. All in all, I appreciate and applaud Angie Thomas and her publication of Concrete Rose as it provided insight into male teen pregnancy, the black perspective and transition of boyhood into manhood, and the accurate representation of urban/ghetto/hood lifestyles that can be seen within American society.

See my Goodreads rant!

Did you enjoy reading Concrete Rose? Check out these recommendations!

The Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – poetry (novel in verse), coming-to-age, gang violence, revenge, psychological

Street Love by Walter Dean Myers – poetry (novel in verse), rap, romance (forbidden love), family troubles

Tyrell by Coe Booth – family troubles, identity, homelessness

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson – teen pregnancy, coming-to-age, adulthood

Bloody Seoul by Sonia Patel – gang violence, Korea, coming-of-age