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#Its so hard to be an optimist. To constantly try to look on the bright side and be proud of your efforts
kay-elle-cee · 7 months
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@jilytoberfest 31 Prompts: Day 17 || 1186 Words || Read on Ao3 —
“Alright, everyone! Follow your string!”
James gives a chuckle as he grabs the red string of yarn attached to his left ring finger (a little on the nose) and begins following its path. He has to duck through a few obstacles created by the other participants following their own strings. When he had agreed to help Arya—a longtime family friend—with the kickoff of her matchmaking business, he didn’t expect it to be so…labyrinthine. 
Carefully skirting around two blokes who had gotten their yarn knotted together, he sees his string tighten as a pull from the other side draws his attention.
Tied to him by several meters of red string stands a woman with similarly red hair, half of which is pulled back to uncover stunning, amused green eyes. A small smile graces her lips and James sees her eyes involuntarily flick down his body as he approaches, taking him all in.
He feels a little guilty for thinking this whole thing’s a lark.
“Hi,” he says with a smile, offering his hand. “James Potter.”
“Lily Evans,” the woman replies with a shake of his hand. 
The two stand there for a moment in awkward silence, unsure of how to broach the subject of their supposed compatibility. James can certainly admit to being attracted to her, but all of Arya’s methods of matchmaking have never really worked for him in the past—his most recent relationship a shining example of that—and he finds himself having a hard time trying to be optimistic about this one.
“So what brings you here?” Lily asks, brows raising. “What about this event did you think was unmissable?”
James’ brows knit together as he thinks of a way to give her a satisfiable enough answer without exposing himself as a fraud. “Well, I’ve known Arya since we were five, so—”
“Wait, wait, sorry,” Lily hurries, pulling out her phone. She gives him an apologetic look. “Mind if I take some notes? I’m…” she grimaces, “I’m a reporter. Ms. Bell knows I’m coming, so it’s not any sort of nefarious undercover situation, but ah, just wanted to get that out in the clear.”
A laugh threatens to burst from his chest. Of course Arya would pair him with the woman writing an article about the event. James was nothing if not personable.
All fears of ruining this woman’s day evaporated, James feels his shoulders relax as he gives her a casual smile. “Of course, I’m happy to help. Like I said, I’ve known Arya since we were five so I can confidently say this is a lifelong passion for her. She’s personally been responsible for introducing the bride and groom of the last three weddings I’ve gone to.”
“And what was it specifically about this event that caught your eye?”
“Well, this is the biggest event she’s done. Typically it’s very casual, or even one-on-one when people specifically seek her out for her services. But I wanted to come see what something at this scale would look like.” James takes this moment to look around the room—all the strings were slack as the couples chatted, smiles bright and enthusiastic around the room. “And it seems to be going off without a hitch.”
“It does,” she agrees, pausing in her typing to look around with a smile.
“Arya does have a natural talent at all of it. And she’s realistic about it.”
He’s watching Lily as she types away and notices the wry smirk that pulls her lips tight. “No waxing poetic about how each of us are ‘predestined’ and all our paths are constantly heading in that direction, no matter what right or wrong choices we make?”
He has to blink for a second, shocked at the specificity of her words, stomach turning unpleasantly at where he’d heard such similar musings. “No, not at all. I know the red string of fate”—he holds up the yarn still attaching them—“is a bit gimmicky, but I can promise you, Arya puts a lot of effort into this. She emphasizes working on relationships, acknowledging issues and working forward in a partnership. ‘Signs’ are not something she puts stock in.” He winces a bit at the bitterness in his voice.
Lily’s stopped taking notes now, a divot in the space between her brows as she studies him. James’ hand comes to rub the back of his neck, and he can feel the heat coloring his cheeks.
“My last girlfriend, she was really into fate and destiny and all of that stuff. It made it really stifling sometimes, being with someone convinced that every little thing was a sign. It starts to feel like your decisions aren’t really your own.”
He expects it to weigh down the conversation—an awkward admission in the middle of this matchmaking-interview session—but is surprised when she nods and pockets her phone, a sigh deflating her.
“I know what you mean,” she commiserates with a shrug. “I recently got out of a relationship with a guy who was the same way. Obsessively counting every little thing as a sign to do this or that, what to name out bloody kids—nevermind we were only together for four months.” She shakes her head as if ridding herself of a thought even as her lips thin into a line. “He was really into Destiny, too. I caught them fucking at his flat…two weeks after he gave me a key? Dumped his arse on the spot and didn’t look back.”
James chokes on air and she meets his eyes with a rueful smile.
“Sorry, have to cope somehow.”
“Sounds like you dodged a bullet.”
“That bullet’s name was Simon and I wished I’d dodged a little faster.” She offers a chuckle that James notes is laced with embarrassment, but he’s too struck by the dryness of his throat to offer any sort of reassurance.
“Did you say Simon?”
Lily nods in assent, confusion pulling her brows together.
James’ mind is racing and he tries to keep his voice calm. “Would he, by chance, have blonde hair and a…” James pauses, mouth twisting as he looks for a delicate way to phrase the rest of his sentence. “...Mole situation around his eyebrow?”
Lily’s eyes widen, lips parting ever-so-slightly from shock. “How—“
“Destiny…obsessed with destiny. That’s—“
“Your ex.”
As the realization washes over them, James’ hand crawls from his neck into his hair as they stare at one another in a shocked silence, the rest of the world buzzing on around them. Lily’s eyes are sparkling with delight and James feels a strange kind of giddiness settle in his chest as all the pieces fall into place.
Something catches his eye over Lily’s shoulder and his gaze flickers to see Arya giving him a thumbs up with a mouthed ‘Thank you!’.
He has to contain himself from snorting as his attention turns back to the woman in front of him, an excited hum racing through his veins. “Can I get you a drink, Lily?”Her head tilts to the side a bit, her smile genuine, still glittering with a bit of wonder at this entire situation. “I’d like that.”
— some inspo taken from here
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msweebyness · 5 months
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MiracOlympus- Formal Introduction
Howdy, ya'll! Here's the formal introduction to the characters from my new AU! The background is pretty simple, the Miraculous characters are the Gods from Ancient Greece! Enjoy! @imsparky2002 @artzychic27
Adrien:
(Zeus)
God of the sky, king of Olympus
A much fairer and more compassionate ruler than Zeus
Still a sunshine boi
Doesn't sleep with a bunch of women, actually loyal to his queen
Team Dad
Kim:
(Poseidon)
God of the seas
Crazy-ass Middle Child
Constantly losing his trident
Protective of the ocean and its creatures
Likes challenging the other gods for fun
Nathaniel:
(Hades)
God of the dead, lord of the Underworld
Oldest child, protective of his two younger brothers
Chose the Underworld because he likes peace and quiet
Not the bad guy mortals make him out to be
Very respectful of Marc, i.e. never kidnapped him
Marinette:
(Hera)
Queen of the Gods, goddess of marriage and family
ROCKS that peacock aesthetic
Acts more like a team mom than a queen
Doesn't try to murder any other girl who's interested in Adrien
Likes to ship people with Rose
Mylene:
(Demeter)
Goddess of the Harvest
Loving and nurturing, makes sure mortals are taken care of
Protective of Marc, her younger brother
VERY passionate about the environment
Mediates conflicts on Olympus
Sabrina:
(Hestia)
Goddess of the home and hearth
Gentlest and humblest of the Gods
Gave up her throne for Nino, since she never really wanted it
Has a hard time saying no
Amazing cook
Kagami:
(Ares)
Goddess of war
Believes in honor and fighting for a worthy cause
Has never lost a battle
Rides a kickass motorcycle
Always armed, just in case
Rose:
(Aphrodite)
Goddess of love and beauty
Supportive of all sexual identities, ACE PEOPLE ARE VALID
World's biggest shipper
Very humble about her looks
Adores Juleka beyond all sense of reason
Juleka:
(Artemis)
Goddess of the hunt and the forest
Shy, prefers to spend time with animals
Always has her bow and a quiver of arrows
Gets pissed if you insult her mom or Rose
VERY against abusive relationships
Luka:
(Apollo)
God of music and prophecy
HE CAN SEE THE FU-TURE
Never seen without his lyre
Most beautiful voice in the history of all time
Juleka's wingman
Ivan:
(Hephaestus)
God of fire and blacksmithing
In his forge 70% of the time, Mylene drags him out to take a break and get some sun
Buffest of the gods, but super humble about it
Olympus' repair man
Still a soft, gentle boi
Alix:
(Hermes)
Goddess of travelers, thieves and messengers
Carries messages between all the realms
Has a winged pair of rollerblades
The ultimate prankster
Fastest of all the gods
Max:
(Athena)
God of Wisdom & Innovation
Always accompanied by his owl, Markov
Gets exasperated with the foolish choices of his peers
Actually still good friends with Kim
Always working on something new
Nino:
(Dionysus)
God of Wine & Festivity
Ironically, drinks in moderation
Has so much energy
Plans all parties on Olympus
Shares a passion for theater with Jean
Alya:
(Themis)
Goddess of truth and justice
Oversees all trials conducted on Olympus
WILL call you out if you're acting unfairly
Only Nino can get her to cut loose a little
DESPISES Lila
Chloe:
(Helios)
Goddess of the sun
Has an ego the size of, well, the sun
Nothing can shine as bright as her
Knows EVERYONE'S business, because the sun sees all
Has a soft spot for her sister, the moon goddess
Ondine:
(Amphitrite)
Goddess of sea creatures, queen of the oceans
Rules over the sea with Kim, makes sure he doesn't do anything too reckless
Has tea meet-ups with fellow Goddess Queen, Marinette
Unceasingly bubbly and optimistic
Lila:
(Eris)
Goddess of strife and discord
Thrives on conflict between the other gods
Lies to get her way constantly
Starting wars is a hobby
The others only put up with her because they have to
Keep an eye out for more of this AU! Leave thoughts in the comments and reblogs!
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star-anise · 3 years
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Ok, I'll bite. What *is* the difference between Bridgerton and Jane Austen in relationship to their skirts?
Oh! Not in their costuming, just in their general *waves hands* everything. It's a comment I see a lot about Bridgerton: "Well, it's not much like Austen, is it?"
That's because there are 200 years of literary history between the two, and they have not been empty!
This ended up being 1.5k words, but when I put stuff under a readmore, people don't actually read it and then just yell at me because of a misread of the 1/10th of the post they did read. Press j to skip or get ready to do a lot of scrolling (It takes four generous flicks to get past on my iPhone).
First I'll say my perspective on this is hugely shaped by Sherwood Smith, who has done a lot of research on silver fork novels and the way the Regency has been remembered in the romance genre.
The Regency and Napoleonic eras stretch from basically the 1790s to 1820, and after that, it was hard to ignore the amount of social change happening in Britain and Europe. The real watershed moment is the 1819 Peterloo Massacre, where 60,000 working-class people protesting for political change were attacked by a militia. The issues of poverty, class, industrialization, and social change are inescapable, and we end up with things like the 1832 Reform Act and 1834 Poor Law.
This is why later novelists, like Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell, are so concerned with the experiences of the urban poor. Gaskell's North and South has been accurately described as "Pride and Prejudice for socialists."
So almost as soon as it ended, people started to look back and mythologize the Regency as a halcyon era, back when rich people could just live their rich lives and fret about "only" having three hundred pounds a year to live on. Back when London society was the domain of hereditary landowners, when you weren't constantly meeting with jumped-up industrialists and colonials.
Jane Austen is kind of perfect for this because she comes at the very end of the long eighteenth century, and her novels show hints of the tremors that are about to completely reshape England, but still comfortably sit in the old world. ("The Musgroves, like their houses, were in a state of alteration, perhaps of improvement. The father and mother were in the old English style, and the young people in the new. Mr and Mrs Musgrove were a very good sort of people; friendly and hospitable, not much educated, and not at all elegant. Their children had more modern minds and manners.")
Sherwood Smith covers the writers who birthed the Silver Fork genre in detail, but there's one name that stands out in its history more than any other: Georgette Heyer.
Georgette Heyer basically single-handedly established the Regency Romance as we know it today. Between 1935 and 1972, she published 26 novels set in a meticulously researched version of London of the late 18th and early 19th century. She took Silver Fork settings and characters and turned them into a highly recognizable set of tropes, conventions, and types. (As Sherwood points out, her fictional Regency England isn't actually very similar to the period as it really happened; it's like Arthurian Camelot, a mythical confection with a dash of truth for zest.)
Regency Romance is an escapist genre in which a happy, prosperous married life is an attainable prize that will solve everything for you. Georgette Heyer's novels are bright, sparkling, delightful romps through a beautiful and exotic world. Her female characters have spirit and vivacity, and are allowed to have flaws and make mistakes without being puritanically punished for them. Her romances have real unique sparks to them. She's able to write a formula over and over without it becoming dull.
And.... well. The essay that introduced me to Heyer still, in my opinion, says it best:
Here's the thing about Georgette Heyer: she hates you. Or, okay, she doesn't hate you, exactly. It's just that unless you are white, English, and upper class (and hale, and hearty, and straight, and and and), she thinks you are a lesser being. [...W]ith Heyer, I knew where I stood: somewhere way below the bottom rung of humanity. Along with everyone else in the world except Prince William and four of his friends from Eton, which really took away the sting. But my point is: if you are not that white British upper-class person of good stock and hearty bluffness and a large country estate, the only question for you is which book will contain a grimly bigoted caricature of you featuring every single stereotyped trait ever associated with your particular group. (You have to decide for yourself if really wonderful female characters and great writing are worth the rest of it.)
So Heyer created the genre, but she exacerbated the flaw that was always at the heart of fiction about the Regency, was that its appeal was not having to deal with the inherent rot of the British aristocracy. I think part of why it's such a popular genre in North America specifically is that we often don't know much British history, so we can focus more on the perfume and less on the dank odor it's hiding.
And like, escapism is not a bad thing. Romance writers as a community have sat down and said: We are an escapist genre. The Romance Writers of America, one of the biggest author associations out there, back when they were good, have foundationally said: "Two basic elements comprise every romance novel: a central love story and an emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." A strong part of the community argue that publishing in the genre is a "contract" between author and reader: If it's marketed as a romance book, there's a Happily Ever After. If there's no Happily Ever After, it's not romance.
It's important for people to be able to take a break from the stresses of their lives and do things that are enjoyable. But the big question the romance genre in particular has to deal with is, who should be allowed to escape? Is it really "escapist" if only white, straight, upper class, able-bodied thin cis people get to escape into it? In historical romance, this is especially an issue for POC and LGBTQ+ people. It's taken a lot of work, in a genre dominated by the Georgette Heyers of the world, to try to hew out the space for optimistic romances for people of colour or LGBTQ+ people. These are minority groups that deal with a literally damaging amount of stress in real lives; they are in especial need of sources of comfort, refuge, community, and encouragement. For brief introductions to the issue, I can give you Talia Hibbert on race, and KJ Charles on LGBTQ+ issues.
Up until the 1990s, the romance genre evolved slowly. It did evolve; Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan's Beyond Heaving Bosoms charts the demise of the "bodice-ripper" genre as it became more acceptable for women to have and enjoy sex. The historical romance genre became more accommodating to non-aristocratic heroines, or ones that weren't thin or conventionally pretty. The first Bridgerton book, The Duke and I, was published in 2000, and has that kind of vibe: Its characters are all white but not all of them are aristocrats, its heroines are frequently not conventionally beautiful and occasionally plump, and its cultivation to modern sensibility is reflected in its titles, which reference popular media of today.
This is just my impression, but I think that while traditional mainstream publishing was beginning to diversify in the 1990s, the Internet was what really made diverse romance take off. Readers, reviewers, and authors could talk more freely on the internet, which allowed books to become unlikely successes even if their publishers didn't promote them very much. Then e-publishing meant that authors could market directly to their readers without the filter of a publishing house, and things exploded. Indie ebooks proved that there was a huge untapped market.
One of my favourite books, Zen Cho's Sorcerer to the Crown, is an example of what historical romance is like today; it's a direct callback and reclamation of Georgette Heyer, with a dash of "Fuck you and all your prejudices" on top of it. It fearlessly weaves magic into a classic Heyer plot, maintaining the essential structure while putting power into the hands of people of colour and non-Western cultures, enjoying the delights of London society while pointing out and dodging around the rot. It doesn't erase the ugliness, but imagines a Britain that is made better because its poor, its immigrants, its people of colour, and the foreign countries it interacts with have more power to make their voices heard and to enforce their wills. Another book I've loved that does the same thing is Courtney Milan's The Duke Who Didn't.
So then... Bridgerton the TV show is trying to take a book series with a very middle-of-the-road approach to diversity, differing from Heyer but not really critiquing her, and giving it a facelift to bring it up to date.
So to be honest, although it's set in the same time period as Austen, it's not in the least her literary successor. It's infinitely more "about" the past 30 years of conversation and art in the romance genre than it is about books written 200 years ago.
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silv3rswirls · 3 years
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music box
Summary: He hadn't meant to keep the music box packed away for so long, but the sight of it was just one of many things he couldn't bear any more.
Warnings: Mentions of death, grief/loss, angst
Pairing: Jung Hoseok/reader
Wordcount: 830
Time taken: 20 minutes/unedited
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A tear threatened to slip down his face when he found it.
Broken glass scattered in the box, cutting through the newspaper that did little to protect whatever frailty was left.
Picking it up, barely minding the glass, Hoseok turned the music box over to inspect its broken and jagged edges. Where flowers once bloomed in delicate glass and a couple once spun slowly as music notes played, there were only mangled remains. Flowers that ended with sharp points and the couple- Hoseok’s lips press to a thin line as he inspects them closer. The woman of the pair stood relatively untouched, while the man was broken. His head was gone and his upper body shattered; only his legs remained, broken at the knees with just one disemboweled arm still around the glass girl’s waist.
Funny how the girl was the one who remained.
Hoseok remembers fondly when gifted the music box to you. It felt like so long ago that you had opened a delicately wrapped box to find an adorable, glass music box waiting for you. You had smiled so hard that evening, bright and breathtaking as you wound the box over and over again. Hoseok knew, somewhere deep down that it would hurt you to find the box had gone so neglected.
He hadn’t meant to leave it packed away for so long. Everything had happened so fast and he hadn’t been able to bear the sight of your things anymore. In a rush, he packed them away, threw them to storage, and left them to disappear.
Of course, he couldn’t run away from what was left of you forever, could he? He had fully intended to, but Seokjin had been pestering him about finding some of your old photos for the memorial. He hadn’t wanted to, but bit his tongue and looked for Jin.
Carefully Hoseok collected the few pieces of glass that had fallen from the box and returned them, carefully picking the box up and the photo album for Jin. He left it on the counter and took the music box to the dining table, overturning the box and letting the glass pieces scatter against the table. So many tiny shards, an impossible puzzle before his eyes. He found some glue and his glasses, sitting down with a sigh and checking the clock.
He had time, right?
So he began his impossible task, fixing the broken glass man so that he may spin and turn with his lover once again. Painstakingly he sorted pieces and glued them with care for hours. He tried to keep his mind blank as he did, ignoring the rings and dings of his phone, he just needed to fix it.
When you left him Hoseok had fallen. A tremble rocked his life and while almost a year had passed since the accident, he hadn’t managed to fix the damage. You had always been there to tell him things were okay when he needed it. You would pet through his hair and smile down at him with the surest and comforting look in your eyes. People liked to call him an optimist at times, but he was sure you took the cake every time. That was one of the things he loved most about you, how excited you were for the future. How sure you looked at it despite having your own doubts and worries.
It doesn’t take long for Hoseok to stop and observe his work. The man is barely together and blood from Hoseok’s cut-up fingers stained it. He cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the stingy buildup of tears beginning to choke him. What was the man so broken when it was the woman who left?
Why did he feel so dead when you were the one who had passed?
The tears fall freely down his face, unyielding as he thinks back to his last moments with you. How unfair it was that you were gone forever. It’s true, he knows what Jin and the others have been telling him. He needs to grieve and move on, he can’t stay like this; walking around his house like it’s an untouched tomb for you. Keeping your things locked away yet still constantly on his mind. He needs to work on it but it hurts too.
Carefully he picks up the music box, turning it over and winding it slowly. Listening to every creak he turned it before setting it back down. It took a moment and Hoseok believed it to be truly broken, but it began to spin with no music for a few seconds until the notes began to play. He closed his eyes as he listened to the familiar song. He could picture you so easily, despite having taken photos of you from his life long ago. His face is warm, flushed with tears.
It amazes him to see how the broken man still dances with his partner.
He envies it.
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twinklelilstarkey · 3 years
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“Please don’t go” with Freddie Andersen 🥺
"Please don't go" - Frederik Andersen
Words: 3.6k+
Type: ANGST
Warnings: A lot of crying from both Y/N and Freddie. Break up. Mentions of long distance relationships.
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It was a tough decision to end your relationship with Freddie.
You two had dated for a few months, after being extremely good friends for years. The whole relationship was a quite sudden decision, but right as it started, it felt so right that you felt stupid for not admitting your feelings sooner.
You feel like it’s fair to say that everything, absolutely everything, was just pure perfection when you were together. And that is why what you two shared will always be kept in your hearts:
All the smiles, all the laughter, all the hugs, all the kisses. The way one would always support the other on whatever decision. Or the way you two believed in one another, no matter what. 
There was just nothing bad about it. There were no arguments. If anything there was just disagreements, which if they did escalate, you two would fix it or just calm down in the same breath. 
Ending it, even though expected, was as painful as anything can possibly be. Both of you cried, constantly itching to comfort one other, feeling as helpless like never before.
You two sat opposites on your couch. Freddie looked at the ground, elbows over his knees as he listened to you, and you stared at a wall to contain your tears. Yet as soon as the first one escaped, you were done for.
Sobs in the middle of sentences, almost as if your heart was pleading your brain to stop you from putting an end to it. To what made you happy. 
An imaginary weight, which would always be lifted off when together, had now set over the two of you again. As well as the cold of familiar loneliness, and the horrible pain of heartbreak.
But it was for the best... right?
You got a huge offer for your job, some kind of promotion, which consisted of you moving to America.
It has been so many years since you started calling the Toronto streets your home, that you just know that this change will be unfamiliar and hard, yet the outcome always seems worth it. 
In your eyes, there’s absolutely no way for you to refuse it.
But for you to have it, you have to lose a lot too since work never makes it easy for anyone to take days off. Especially if those few days are to be in another country. Canada, in your case.
And sure, you had holidays and a week or two offered to you as some sort of vacation in a whole year of work. But not enough for you to try and leave everything behind you intact and act as if it will stay like that while you're away.
Whether you like it or not, strong friendships will become weak, the constant communication with your family will not even seem like half of what it used to be, and when it comes to relationships, trust will be tested. And god, even if you trust someone with your life, nothing can stop your brain from thinking of all awful possibilities. As well as your heart from hurting due to missing them so much.
Long-distance relationships are painful and you do not want to go through them. You would prefer to let the love of your life live his life with someone else, then let them wait for you for only God knows how much time.
That decision is the opposite way of looking at life selfishly. You prefer to go through an immense amount of pain if that means that the ones you love will be happy. Something Freddie always loved about you and sometimes would bring it up in conversations.
He also wouldn't let you refuse such an offer and you know it. The opportunity of you going after your dream was more important to him than anything, because it is your dream. He just didn't really know what would come with it.
He didn't know how much he would cry, how much he wouldn't want to open his eyes in the morning to see an empty bed, how much he would come to hate the silence in his home, or the absence of your perfume in his hoodies. It was a whole list of horrible things that he feels while following the same routine as before, yet all it gives him is pain. 
While you were packing your whole apartment to move far away, fighting off tears, Freddie had to work.
In morning skates, he would find himself skipping almost half his playlist when stretching because everything would remind him of you. He wouldn't look up at the clock in anticipation to go home. Or even be quick with getting off the ice when the last minute of work ends.
Sometimes he would sit on the bench for so long that the lights would eventually turn off around the arena. But he would just sit there. Head hung low with his eyes either closed or staring at nothing in front of him, letting his head run free.
Those weeks were rough. If rough could even come to describe half of what you two felt.
Today is your last day. The day to get on an airplane and not be sure when you're going to step foot into Canadian soil before Christmas. Or even see your loved ones before that too.
Your family and your friends have texted you a lot this morning, letting you know that they'll meet you at the airport. As well as asking how excited you feel.
You truly aren't even slightly excited to leave. All you feel is regret. And it's heavy and painfully stabbing its way into your back while closing its fists around your heart.
Why didn't you start dating way before all of this? Maybe that would've worked out in a way. You two could've argued and hated each other for what you've swarmed it could be forever. 
Or why did you have to meet him at all? Why didn't you ignore him like every other guy that talked to you on that specific bar? It would've made your friendship impossible and he would be nothing but a goalie you would see on the TV.
Getting up from bed today was just as bad to you as it was for Freddie. You two both dragged your feet into your separate bathrooms and undressed, pulling yourselves under the water of the shower. The water would soak you but neither of you moved to actually start doing anything else, you just stood there for a minute.
And with that, a loud sob jumped out of your mouth and you're back into your circle. Back to doing the same things with the same make-up-less face, your eyes swollen from tears and gaze fixed in nothing but the tiles of your floor.
Freddie didn't sob, but he isn't sure if he didn't cry either. If tears fell they left with the water falling from on top of him. The water that is trying to embrace him back to comfort, but failing miserably.
You throw the rest of your things inside your last bag and close the zipper slowly. Your gaze lifts up to the mirror of your bathroom and the reflected image breaks you as reality sets in.
You have to leave.
Walking around the apartment to check on everything was difficult as you continue to battle your emotions and throw all the memories to the back of your mind.
After that, you leave the key on the place you had previously planned with your landlord, and off you went into your Uber to the airport with your last belongings in your bags. Ready to leave home.
The driver was nice. He made small talk about where you were going and how he had gone there with his family last summer. He also must have sensed your uneasiness, so he decided highlight how nice the locals were and how everyone would always be ready to help you.
It relaxed you in a way, but not entirely as that wasn't even what was on your mind in the first place.
On the other hand, Freddie's late. Stuck in traffic to be more precise. His leg bounces with stress as he hides his face under his hat and hood of his shirt. All he could think of is how he won't get there in time.
His driver is silent, bobbing his head to the soft music playing on the radio while he stares at all the cars in front of them.
When taking a quick peek at the lines of cars in front of him, Freddie's starting to lose hope, no matter how hard he tries to be more optimistic.
He unlocks his phone as his fingers itch to text you, but he freezes at the picture of his home screen. He still doesn't have to heart to change anything he had with you, not even his god damn home screen.
A picture just a few weeks old, before you even had told him about the job offer. You were smiling at him behind the camera while holding a puppy up to your chest, eyes bright and wide with excitement. And your smile... just as breathtaking as heart-wrenching.
Freddie blinks harshly at the painful happy memory and looks ahead of him as the car moves ever so slightly. He has to at least say bye to you.
"You're going to love it, I know it!" Your mom says excitingly.
She squeezes you into another hug and you close your eyes at the feeling of her squeeze. Your hands are shaking for some unknown reason so you hesitate before wrapping your arms around her as well.
"You'll meet so many new people and learn so much new stuff."
She's starting to sound more excited than you at this point, yet you don't do anything but a short nod against her shoulder.
When you pull away, you look down at your phone, expecting to see any sort of notification... but there's nothing.
"Hey, I want a hug too." Your friend says over everyone's voices as she elbows her way to you.
You offer her a broken grin and she sadly smiles at you, throwing herself and her arms around you. 
Freddie almost rips the door open as the Uber parks right in front of the airport's main doors, not even realizing that he hasn’t acknowledged the driver verbally ever since he got inside the vehicle. 
His feet feel heavy and his legs tired, even though they have no reason to feel that way, yet he drags them into the building.
He walks fast-paced through the airport, looking through every group of people. His eyes scanning every single backpack, shirt, head of hair, beanie. Everything to find you.
You unwrap your arms from around another one of your friends and she smiles at you while cupping your face in her hands.
"If you ever need anything, I'll be on the first plane to you." She tells you and you grin at her.
"Promise?" You ask.
"I promise."
She kisses your nose and that's able to make your scowl break onto a smile, making everyone around you feel a sudden weight being lifted off the air around them, relief.
You adjust your backpack on your shoulder as you look around the group to see if you've hugged everyone and it sure seems like it. Your heart tightens in your chest and you take a deep breath.
"Are you ready to go?" Your mom asks you, laying her hand over your shoulder.
"I think so." You tell her.
She gives you a light squeeze in comfort and looks over behind her to see the line where you need to do your check-in.
"Well, I believe you just need to go over there," She starts, looking back at you, "and get your-"
She stops talking out of nowhere and you lift your gaze from your bag at her. She’s staring at something behind you.
Your heart quickens and at the sudden bit of hope runs through you. You look over your shoulder and your eyes meet Freddie walking towards you.
He's wearing grey sweatpants, a black hoodie, a hat over his head, and the hood of his shirt over it. If it wasn't for all the light coming from the large windows beside you, you wouldn't have noticed his reddened eyes and the broken look he's giving you.
Without any sort of hesitation, you take the backpack from your shoulder and lay it on the ground, taking steps towards him.
Freddie meets you halfway, wrapping his arms around you as yours move up to wrap around his neck and cling onto him. He holds you by your waist securely and lifts you in the air to hold you as close to him as possible.
A soft sob you’ve been holding in falls from your lips, sounding slightly muffled by his clothes, and you lay your head over his shoulder. Freddie closes his eyes to stop his tears from coming up again, snuggling his face close to you.
Your family and friends, when seeing and noticing you two, let sad smiles appear on their faces and decide to step aside, giving you two some space and privacy.
"I ran the whole airport to find you." He says, some humor deep in his tone.
A small smile lifts over your face as you cry your eyes out again, more out of relief than anything else.
One of his vacant hands lays on the back of your head, almost as it holding steady and his thumb caresses the nape of your neck, softly and carefully.
"I thought you weren't coming."
You pull your face away from his shoulder and take a look at him, locking gazes with him. Your hands rest over his shoulders and Freddie looks back just as directly.
"I got stuck in traffic." He explains.
Your hands come up to his bearded cheeks, a small pout influencing your forced smile, and your thumbs caress his skin.
His hand also rises up and he quickly wipes the tears off your cheeks.
“Don’t cry, come on.” He tries to tell you in a whisper over the sound of everyone’s loud voices around the airport.
“Sorry.” You tell him almost automatically, voice slightly cracking.
“No, don’t be sorry.” He corrects you. “I just don’t want to see you sad.”
You sniffle, your hands still over his cheeks, and give him a little nod, almost as your way to acknowledge his words since you’re not really trusting your voice right now.
Freddie kisses your palm and you lift your hands to wrap your arms around his neck again. He holds you as well and tries to swallow the ball of emotions at the back of his throat as your body shakes as you let out another overpowering small wave of silent sobs.
His eyes water ever so slightly and he blinks the tears away. 
“Do you feel ready to go?” He asks against the fabric of your hoodie, leaning his head closer against you.
“No.” You tell him.
Freddie swears his whole body reacted to your words. Maybe it was because you said it so close to his ear and that was the reason why he felt all those chills, but in a way, he knows it’s more than that.
He gives you more squeeze and your heart aches over what it could possibly mean. His hand rests over your leg and he leans forward to motion you to get back on the ground.
You do as requested but your body almost acts as if in denial when you order it to let go of him.
Freddie’s hands lay loosely by your waist, while your arms still hug his neck close to you, making him have to lean down over you.
“You still want to go, right?” He asks.
He doesn’t even know if he’s just checking on you or if he’s just hoping for an answer that would mean that you could go back home with him, but either way, he awaits it.
“I think so.” You try to say, but your voice falls in a whisper.
He forces your arms a bit away from him and you lift your head from his shoulder, sending him a look so broken that Freddie swears it broke his heart even further. He stares back into your eyes silently and observes your expression.
Without thinking twice, you close the small space between you two and lay your lips against his.
The sweet kiss is more than welcomed by Freddie, who can’t help but feel the small bit of hope course through his veins. The relief he felt over feeling you just hugging him again was able to destroy so many doubts in his head, and now that you’re kissing him, it’s like he’s falling in love all over again.
His hand rests in the back of your head, not letting you pull away just yet from the kiss he has been thinking about and needing for the past few weeks.
When you do pull away, you two just feel reality wash over you like a ice cold bucket of water. It’s heartbreaking to the point of you to want to gasp for air. 
You feel horrible.
Freddie looks back into your eyes as he pulls away further and he feels his eyes well up in tears again. And this time, it doesn’t go unnoticed.
Why do you have to go?
Your hands lay over his shoulders even when he stands upright and his hand continues rested over your head, against your hair, feeling it under his fingers.
He breaks his gaze from your eyes to check the time on the screen a few meters behind you. You follow his gaze, hands now sliding and resting over his chest, and your heart skips a beat at how the time flew since you had gotten there.
You don’t have much time left.
Your eyes go back to Freddie and he looks absolutely broken. And that is not making anything feel any easier for you.
“I love you.” You decide to tell him, “So much.”
He looks down at you and brings his hands back to your cheeks, holding your face.
“I love you too.” He answers.
His voice is so much lower and so much weaker than you’ve ever heard it before, it feels like a nightmare. 
It feels so unreal and so scary that it seems like something only the back of your mind can create to terrify you.
You grip onto his shirt and pull him down to you again, ignoring how the tears are starting to come up your eyes once more. He does as you request him to and this time doesn’t even even think twice before kissing you.
Your lips press against his as he lays various small pecks onto them while holding your wet cheeks in his larger hands.
“Please don’t go.” You hear him plead after a kiss.
You reopen your eyes and stare back at his. A tear has been able to escape his eyes and you’re quick to wipe it with the end of your sleeves.
“I need to go, Freddie.” You tell him, fighting off a sob. “I already signed everything.”
Frederik lays his forehead against yours and looks back onto you.
“Then I’ll wait for you.”
No.
You shake your head at him as a sob escapes your lips again and he fights off your denial with a nod.
“I will. I’ll wait for that contract to end, or I’ll retire early, I don’t care.” He tells you, feeling some more tears wet his face again, “We’ll be together again. I’ll visit you as many times as I can. I promise.”
You wipe his tears and quickly lean back to just pull him into another hug.
You cling onto his shirt, feeling more powerless than anything. 
The pain you’re feeling due to leaving is so strong that you almost don’t feel like yourself. Your body is shaking, you feel light headed, your chest is aching as your heart beats just as fast as your mind runs through all your options. 
You didn’t want it to be like this. For you to feel so sad and in so much pain. 
Freddie holds you back before you pull back, squeezing you close to him.
“Honey, it’s time to go.”
Your mom’s voice.
You quickly wipe your tears and lift your head from Freddie’s shoulder. He lets you go and a sudden rush of cold fills your body. The lack of his warmth is almost able to freeze you.
After that and a harsh and hard swallow of all your emotions, you pull your parents and friends into another set of hugs. Rushing back to Freddie for a last hug.
His hand is over your back, moving up and down to try and comfort you. You lay your wet cheek over his shirt, not caring if you wet it. And as soon as you look at him, your chin over his chest, he kisses your cheek.
A last squeeze later and you step back, offering everyone a small smile. Freddie grabs your backpack from the ground and gives it over to you. You take it silently and look up at everyone once more.
A small broken whisper moves past your lips as a small ‘bye’ to everyone that is looking at you and you soon turn on your heels, and... leave.
You don’t look back. Scared that if you do, you’re not able to keep going. And with that, Freddie stays back, standing right next to your family and friends.
Your mom has her hand over his back, comforting him just like he just did to you, in silence. And as soon as you’re out of the view from everyone’s eyes, she doesn’t hesitate to pull him into a hug.
“You’ll be together again. I’m sure of it.” She reassures him.
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I hate this, but it can’t stay on my drafts for longer than it already has. Hope you like it...?
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petite-ely · 3 years
Text
Afraid // JJ Maybank
five - but what if?
Pairing: JJ Maybank x fem routledge! reader
Warnings: bad language (don’t swear kids), mention of drowning, mention of death, nightmares, mention of guns, mention of fight, did I miss something.
Description: after his reckless actions at the party, JJ is unable to sleep but he isn’t the only one still awake.
A/n : I don’t want to make this longer than it already is, I think I’ve talked enough lol. If for some reason you want to know why I’ve been gone for so long I’ve written a post regarding it. Sorry again for not posting in so long. If you want to chat, feel free to reach out. I’m friendly. :) please kindly tell me if I’ve made some mistakes, I’ve reread this like a hundred times but its possible some mistakes slipped.
Previously next
Afraid masterlist
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Gif by @cobrazkai
Song recommendation
JJ Maybank was 14 years old when he first realized that he had feelings for one of his best friends. The thing is he didn’t know what the hell those feelings were. He had always thought that y/n was really pretty and he considered her to be one of her closest friends and that was it. Friends- that’s what they were.
But after years of friendship and wild adventures and basically hanging out 24/7, something felt different. And boy, did that scare him.
JJ was not the kind of person to be really in touch with his emotions. Being abandoned by his own mother and living with an abusive alcoholic father didn’t really help either. If anything, his past traumas only made him more disconnected from his emotions and feelings.
He might’ve been hot headed and impulsive but that didn’t stop him from feeling things, often even too deeply. The issue was naming the emotions he was feeling. He didn’t know what he was feeling like half of the time. So when it came to y/n, his feelings for her were so intense and unknown. He had never felt this way for anyone before. He was so confused.
Being around her felt weirdly homely and yet, he never really had a real home to come to. For him, it was only a house. It was a building with things he wasn’t really attached to and a man he couldn’t really call a father, despite DNA saying otherwise. Being with her felt warm and golden and it was like a drug he couldn’t say no to. He was constantly looking for ways to feel this specific way. It was euphoric. But he only felt this way when he was around her. And it felt like home.
She was the home he wanted to come to every freaking night. And he wanted to dance with her and have night long discussion and caress her cheeks tenderly. He wanted to kiss her more than anything else, his lips on hers staying that way until one of them needed to take a breath - oh what heavenly feeling that must be. He wanted to proclaim his feelings to the entire island - the entire world even.
Only he couldn’t. There was this rule, and he couldn’t break it. Usually, he wasn’t the kind of person to let rules determine what he should and shouldn’t do. But it was the pogue rules, he couldn’t break them. He couldn’t do that to his friends, regardless of his own feelings.
Love. That’s what his feelings were. It took him some time to realize it, but yeah, it was love. He was certain of it (which was rare for JJ). A first love, innocent, deep and one sided. At least that’s what he thought. How could she love him? How could anyone love him when even his own father didn’t? Who would want him?
Now, JJ had messed, big time.
He was sitting beneath a tree, at the edge of the yard whims the château, a few feet away from where the water started. His gaze was turned towards the sunrise though he wasn’t really looking at the magnificent show of colours that nature was offering him. He was thinking or more like regretting.
He kept replaying the event that had happened just a few hours ago on the boneyard again and again in his mind. The arrogance on John B’s face while he taunted the kooks, the empty, psychotic look on Topper’s face while he was holding J.B’s head underwater, his own hand holding the gun against Topper’s head. It felt so powerful at the moment and yet in retrospect he felt so stupid. What would he have done if something had actually happened, if someone had gotten hurt because of him?
In the spur of the moment, he hadn’t thought about it really much. How crazy it actually was. He saw his friend in a situation where he could actually die and only thought about helping him. He had this thing with him that could help save him, an object that take could take someone’s life in the matter of seconds. So he used it at his advantage. He had only wanted to help, but at what cost.
He kept picturing the expression on y/n’s face when he got the gun out. It wasn’t anger, no it was much worse, she was terrified. She had actually been scared of him. How could he ever make up for that. How he could he ever admit what he was feeling for her after he had brought her such terror. He had ruined everything.
What if she never forgot that moment? What if she never forgave him?
A branch cracked somewhere in the distance, and JJ turned to face whoever, or whatever, was lurking in the dark. He was blinded by the bright artificial light of a flashlight. “JJ?” A voice spoke and the blond immediately recognized it. Y/n.
“Can you please turn it off, I don’t think it’s necessary,” he responded, motioning to the clarity that brought the sunrise. It was light enough for them to fully see one another.
“Oh, yeah, sorry, “-she sat down beside him- “Couldn’t sleep?” JJ stared at her for a moment before taking his eyes away.
“Yeah, you could say that. What about you? John B snoring too loud?” Y/n gave a small laugh.
“Um, no, not this time.” Her smile went down. “I had a nightmare.” JJ’s brows furrowed.
“Not about um, not about tonight right?” He asked, guilt hidden in the tremors of his voice.
Images of the past night filled y/n’s mind. Her brother being held under water, JJ pulling the gun out, the loud echoing sound of the firearm as it shot in the air. She could still hear it ringing slightly in her ears.
A small moment went by before she finally shook her head in denial, earning a small sigh of relief from the blond (at least that wasn’t his fault, he already felt guilty for so many things). “No, uh, no it wasn’t that,” she said, her voice barely audible.
JJ stared at her face in the golden light of this early morning. He noticed the blank stare in her eyes and frowned. Nightmares, although worrying for most people, were pretty common for y/n. JJ of course knew this, yet something felt odd.
He rested his hand on the small part of her back between her shoulder blades. “Do you want to talk about it?” She turned her head to meet his eyes, the feeling of his skin, warm and soft against hers sending small tingles at the base of her neck.
She didn’t want to bother him with her problems, she knew how horrible his home life was compared to what she was living. She didn’t want to remind him of this not make him feel bad about her small problems when he was facing such violence on a daily basis. Still, she knew JJ and talking about his dad was the last thing he wanted to do. And his eyes, his beautiful ocean blue eyes, it’s like they could see through her. How could she lie to him?
“I, uh I-I-“ his hand went to her shoulder and he squeezed it reassuringly. “You don’t have to tell me, if you don’t want to.” Y/n felt her cheeks burning (hopefully he didn’t notice it). She took a moment to breathe in deeply the fresh air, calming herself slightly before putting her hand on his.
“No, I-I want to. I think it’ll help, in a way.” JJ cracked a sweet smile. “Alright then.”
“I keep having this one dream about my dad and I see him on his boat wandering. He’s lost in the middle of the ocean and he’s calling my name.” Saying those words, she really felt as though she could hear her father calling her name in the far distance, as if he was right beside her. Sadly, it was only her imagination playing tricks on her.
“And it keeps turning to this nightmare, where he dies in various horrible ways. Either drowned or starved or eaten by sharks.” JJ’s gaze softened, his eyes admiring her lips forming each words one after the other. “But tonight-“ she let go of his hand, shifting her body to face him completely, “-tonight, for a reason, I didn’t see him.”
“The boat was empty.”
Flashes of her nightmare came back to her like waves crashing on the beach. Her dad on his boat, a smile sketched on his lips. The sky is clear blue, not a cloud is in sight. There’s a warm breeze, she can almost feel it on her skin, and the sun is shining. It’s almost utopian, the perfect day to spend out in the sea.
Then the scene changes. The sky darkens to a deeper shade of blue, grey clouds towering the ocean. The wind is stronger, much stronger. It whistles as it makes its way in the crevices between each tree and threatens to tear the sails down. And the boat, she can see it floating hauntingly on the wild waves the same way a ghost would in abandoned castle. And there’s no trace of her father. Not even a feeling, that would tell her he’s there, trying to survive this storm.
“What if he really is gone J? What if my dad-“ she stopped her sentence to look at the horizon, somehow hoping to see a sign that would prove she was wrong. “I’m trying so hard to be positive and optimistic, but it’s been so long. What if he never comes back?”
The look in her eyes was heart-wrenching. JJ didn’t know what to say or do. He never really thought about it. What would happen if Big John was gone. To be honest he didn’t want to, that man was more of father to him than his own ever was. And losing him would be... he preferred not to think about it.
“I disagree,” he finally said. “What?” “Your dad is like one of the smartest person I’ve ever known. I think that, he, of all people would know how to get out of any situation, especially if it seems impossible to everyone else. I don’t think that you should give up on him yet.”
“You really think so?”
“Yes, I do,” he smiled. “So fuck everyone who tells you otherwise,“ y/n giggled. “Fuck all of them! You’re allowed to have hope, y/n, even after this much time. They can’t take that from you.”
“In the meantime, we’ll there’s us,” us, “the pogues, our own family. We can get through anything, right?”
“Yeah, we can.” Y/n’s head fell on his shoulder. “We’re the pogues.”
JJ admired her carefully. How her face looked, basked in the golden rays of the sun, looking so terribly tired and yet so beautiful. He could stay like this forever, losing himself completely in her smile. God she was so wonderful.
“Hey y/n/n?” “Yeah?” “Are you mad at me?” “Huh?”
“Why would I be ma- oh, oh.” The gun. He thought she was mad at him for what he did. Though he saved her brother, didn’t he? So, she didn’t understand why he would think she could hate him.
“It’s just that you looked so terrified when-” “You saved him JJ, that’s what matters most.” Y/n interrupted the boy mid sentence, placing her hand on his arm in gratitude. “If you hadn’t done anything, he could have...” she didn’t finish her sentence.
When she saw JJ holding the firearm against Topper’s head just a few hours ago, she had first been incredibly shocked. She didn’t recognize the JJ she knew. But now, she completely understood. It was his way of protecting his friends, his way of showing he cared. And that, she admired him for it. Though he could’ve shown it in a less dangerous way.
“I admit,” she added, “it was dangerous and a bit scary to see and we’re probably gonna get some kind of revenge from the kooks soon, but no one got hurt. And J.B, well he’s okay! We’re all okay!”
“Also, I’m pretty sure I did some very, very stupid things last night, so I can’t really be mad at you,” she cringed remembering the amount of alcohol influenced things she had said and done during the party. “God, I must have looked so ridiculous.”
JJ laughed at her comment. “Yes, yes you did.” “Man, John B was right, I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
“Can you just promise me something?” Asked y/n, once their laughter had died. “Depends what?”
“Promise me you’ll never hurt yourself with that thing, or anyone else for that matter.”
“I promise, y/n. ”
“Thank you.”
Taglist
@deionswannabegirl @kaelyn-lobrutto24 @poguestyle17 @im-a-stranger-thing @lasnaro @thoughtsofthestars @briandaflores19 @lunaposey @allycat449-blog @ifilwtmfc @kitty084 @coloradogirl07 @ponyboys-sunsets @chaoticbisous @p0gue420 @sloaneemily
If I forgot you or if you wanna be added/removed just tell me! Also I’m sorry if your name didn’t work :/
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sunbeams-and-honey · 3 years
Note
what are your thoughts and words of advice on/for these placements?:
Virgo Sun and Mercury (7h), Pisces Moon and Ascendant (1h), Scorpio Venus (9h), Taurus Mars (3h), Libra Jupiter (8h), Pisces Uranus (1h), Aquarius Neptune (12h), Sagittarius Midheaven and Pluto (10h), Capricorn Chiron (11h), and Leo Lilith and Saturn (6h)
Hi darling! Thanks for the question and sorry about the wait. I don't mean to sound weird at all, but we have so many similar placements, it's insane. I'm wondering if you were born a few days after me...
Anyways, I've already gone over the following placements! Click on each one to find each respective post:
Virgo Mercury
Scorpio Venus
Leo Saturn
Pisces Uranus
Aquarius Neptune
Capricorn Chiron
Moving on, your Virgo Sun Pisces Moon combination makes you logical and idealistic, with a strong and vibrant imagination. You are very opportunistic, so you know how to make the best of whatever comes your way. You are definitely someone who can trust in both your intuition and your intellect. You provide very deep and important insight on a variety of matters, so people often turn to you for advice. You are quite logical as well as a person who can trust your hunches. You are quite a wise soul; you can be thrust into almost any situation and you already seem to know what to do. You can deal with concepts and meanings that are difficult for most people to understand.
Your Sun in the 7th means that being in a romantic relationships is very important to you. Being with someone in that sense brings out the best in you as you can mirror and compliment the other person(s). However, this can make you miserable and feel as though you are without purpose when single. You only know how to base your personality and behaviours off someone else rather than being your own person and finding out who you truly are. You would like a career where you work with the public, but this may prove a challenge as you are heavily influenced by what other people think of you.
Your Mercury is in the 7th too, which makes you someone who prefers to solve problems by communicating and talking through what went wrong. You want to get the point of view of whoever else is involved in the issue rather than solely focusing on yourself. You are quite sociable and much prefer to be out and about rather than being stuck at home (I dread to think how you're coping with the pandemic, good lord). You easily become bored when left to your own devices. Your relationships tend to be very healthy and successful because you know how to properly communicate with the other person. You quickly come to an understanding with the other and frequently share ideas with them.
You have your Moon in the 1st House, which means you are rather emotional and delicate, not that this is necessarily a bad thing, mind you. You are constantly thinking of others and of how you can help them, regardless of how well you're doing in your own life. You are ready to jump up and lend a helping hand at a moment's notice. You aren't too worried about always having a plan to follow; simply going with the flow doesn't tend to stress you out much. You are honest about your feelings, not really one to hide them or be ashamed of them. Your heightened sensitivity can cause relationships issues as you have the tendency to overreact to certain situations and people.
Your Pisces Rising makes you a very optimistic person who also wants to share that positive attitude with the world. You may view things with rose-tinted glasses which can lead to you having expectations which are way too high. Just remember to stay realistic while keeping your optimism. You feel things very strongly but are rarely aggressive. You get along with pretty much anyone due to your friendly and relaxed manner. You assume that others always have good intentions, which may be a nice outlook to have on people, but can put you at risk of being manipulated or exploited by others.
Your Venus in the 9th means that you might be one to fall in love too easily, especially if its with someone who brings something new to your life. You are very appreciative and interested in others' cultures and want the people around you to be the same. You are very warm and adaptable, and love having freedom and independence in your relationships. You are definitely not clingy or needy. You will not hesitate to end a relationship if the other person is restricting you in some way. Your ideal partner needs to be open to adventure and new experiences. You don't tend to appreciate what you have now, always looking to the future and what it might hold for you. This can mean that precious moments slip right past you and you don't even realise it. Learn to love the present for what it is every now and then.
Your Mars is in Taurus, which makes you quite comfortable with who you are as a person. You prioritise the things in your life that make you happy, not too worried or focused on the things you do just because you have to. You're definitely here for a good time. Though that's not to say that you're reckless or anything like that. You also want a future that is stable and secure as well as fun and exciting. You're very driven to achieve this for yourself and are willing to work hard for it. You are a bit materialistic and can depend on your possessions too much at times. Comfort of the utmost importance for you.
You have your Mars in the 3rd House, which means you a pretty straightforward with your communication. There's no beating around the bush with you, that's for sure. You're not in the least bit afraid to talk about sensible and serious matters, and are also unafraid of expressing yourself how you see fit. You are always ready and willing to open other people's minds. You're very energetic, almost to the point where you have this kind of nervous energy about you. You find it very difficult to just slow down and rest. You have a strong faith in your own ideas and have enough ambition to want to pursue them. You always want to experience new things.
Your Libra Jupiter makes you have a deep desire to have everyone just get along. You're not really a huge fan of conflict. However, this desire can make you miserable as you feel guilty if you don't get along with someone. It's important that you understand that it's completely normal to not get along with some people and it doesn't mean that you're doing something wrong or that you just need to try harder. This placement can make you somewhat of a wandering spirit. You love to meet new and interesting people, partly just for the joy of it, partly because you're desperate to meet your soulmate.
Your Jupiter in the 8th means you are quite spiritual and sociable, and definitely someone who seeks pleasure from all areas of your life. Your intuition is on point and highly accurate, which makes you very good at determining the root of a problem. It's because of this that you may find that people often turn to you to help them deal with issues. You absolutely love solving complex mysteries, always happy to test your mind. You really do mean well but you can be overly emotional at times. You're also prone to manipulating others, whether you realise you're doing it or not.
Your Uranus is in the 1st, which makes you an eccentric at heart. You are someone who wants to support the people around you in becoming more confident in their identity and originality. People may consider you to be ahead of your time. You might find that a lot of unexpected things happen to you in your life; you'll definitely have a lot of stories to tell when you're older! You don't care much for rules, especially when they start to restrict who you are as a person and how you express that. That doesn't mean, however, that you don't want to help and care for the people around you.
You have your Neptune in the 12th House, which means that you're easily misunderstood by others. This is because while you do mean well, you don't tend to express your true nature. In reality, you are extremely kind and compassionate, you just struggle with putting this out there. You can be quite pessimistic, always focusing on what's wrong in your life and stressing over everyday issues. You should try to look after your own happiness and wellbeing more. You're very empathetic, but this can mean that others' negativity affects you deeply. Remember to put up boundaries if and when you need them; your true friends will understand.
Your Sagittarius Midheaven makes you someone who has a great love for life and everything it has to offer. You constantly want to learn more about anything and everything and then share that knowledge with others. People are attracted to you thanks to your friendly, sincere and energetic persona. You love chatting to people who are very different to you as you love learning about others' life experiences. You like to look at theories and then try to make sense of them, or to simply make up your own. You may often ponder the big questions of the universe and try to decide your point of view on it all. Despite this, your mind is always open to new ideas and you love to hear what other people think.
Your Pluto in Sagittarius means you are very spiritually attuned to the world; spirituality is just something that comes to you naturally. You can tap into your innate power with ease. You absolutely have the ability to help change the world for the better. You are constantly on the lookout for new experiences, always wanting to do things you can look back on and smile about. You are very free-spirited, not really one to be happy to just follow the rules as they are without good reason. You dream of a bright and happy future and you have to realise that you can absolutely make this happen.
Your Pluto is in the 10th, which makes you extremely focused and driven to achieve your goals. You are determined to overcome the close-minded views of the people around you. Your career is extremely important to you, always wanting to improve and advance within that area of your life. You are very good at devising goals and at planning your course of action. You assess and manage risks incredibly well and are confident in everything that you do. You research and search for knowledge that can improve your life in any way possible. You are quite the perfectionist, which is good because it pushes you to achieve your full potential, but can mean that you overwork yourself too often.
You have your Chiron in the 11th House, which means that the friends you normally attract want to help build you up as a person and want to see you do well in life. This means that you can absolutely rely on your friends to support you no matter what. They also provide you with close friendships that can run very deep. They may be a little insecure so make sure that you hype them up just like they would with you. Your friendships are mutually beneficial in that you help each other to become the best versions of yourselves that you can be.
Your Leo Lilith makes you extremely confident in yourself, almost to the point where you become self-centred and egotistical. It's important that you learn to dial this down without diminishing your self-worth. You might view yourself as someone who is generally better than most people, and regardless of whether or not this is true, you shouldn't let it influence your behaviour. Everyone deserves the same respect as you. It can be hard to talk sense into you sometimes as you tend to become very disillusioned at times. You constantly seek attention from others which can lead you to do some rather stupid things in order to be seen.
Your Lilith in the 6th means that you are somewhat of a workaholic, never knowing when to stop and just take a break. You are very composed so you're good at censoring yourself and stopping yourself from saying or doing something you know you'll regret. However this skill can also manifest as preventing yourself from expressing your true self, which can become very problematic. You love to record things that you've done, whether that's by keeping a diary or by filming everything at any opportunity. You may have the tendency to change your job the second you become bored, which can be good as it keeps you stimulated, but can be an issue as the boredom you experience might just be momentary.
Your Saturn is in the 6th, which makes you hardworking, disciplined, and mature enough to want to grow from your past mistakes. You're not someone to cover up or ignore your past failures as you recognise that they are always a good learning opportunity for you to improve yourself. You may tend to have issues related to your health, but of course I don't want to scare you or anything. Just remember to try and lead a healthy lifestyle where you can and you should be okay. You might face a few issues at work, whether that's something to do with your colleagues, environment or something else entirely. You do tend to have a bit of an attitude so just watch that and know when to dial it down.
Words Of Advice:
Don’t take everything for granted.
You need to learn how to put yourself in other people’s shoes every now and then.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Life is there to be enjoyed, so enjoy it!
Sometimes showing your emotions proves to others how genuine you are.
Identify where you need to change as a person in order to succeed.
Be more responsible when making promises.
Your value is not solely based on what others think of you.
Don't be afraid to try new things.
Do things that bring you satisfaction in a spiritual sense.
Learn to take more risks in order to creative more positive changes.
Make loving yourself a higher priority in your life.
Be careful when making financial investments and decisions.
You can express your opinions without offending people.
Don't force yourself to get on with every single person you meet.
Stick with your commitments.
Use your great taste to help others more often.
Prove to others that they can depend on you.
Try to differentiate your internal criticism from what other people actually think about you.
You can express your opinions without hurting others' feelings.
Keep close to those who you consider to be your family.
Learn how to communicate effectively with people who are different to you.
You can be self-confident without having a massive ego.
Think through why you're bored of something before doing something about it.
Remember to take breaks more often.
Thanks for the question darling and I hope this helped! Sending good vibes your way and have a wonderful rest of your day!
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matsbarzal · 3 years
Text
Time’s a Ticking || Matthew Tkachuk
Notes: anyways I decided to do matty and I found this long list of soulmate AU prompts so I know what I’m doing tonight yikes. so here’s a lil bit of a nervous/anxious matty even tho he refuses to admit it. hope you enjoy!!! let me know how you like it <3 
Summary: everyone is born with a dwindling time on their wrist. the moment the time reaches zero is when a person meets their other half, the person who makes them whole; their soulmate. 
Word Count: 3k+
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10,584. 7 days, 8 hours and 24 minutes. 7 days until he’d meet his other half, the person that’s meant to complete his soul, be his better half, or whatever a soulmate is meant to be. Matthew wasn’t crazy about the idea of soulmates, sure, he was surrounded by people who were madly in love and happy and complete; but he was also surrounded by those people... the one’s whose time stopped, girls and guys who had a permanent marking of time on their wrist that would never move again.
He wouldn’t say he was a pessimistic person, but he had seen so many friends and family fall into a spiral after their soulmate clock stopped ticking, watched as their other half broke them without even meeting them. He wanted to be excited and optimistic but Matthew couldn’t bring himself to feel the same delight that his friends did on his behalf. Anything could happen in this 7 days, 8 hours... and 22 minutes now.
6160 minutes
You could feel the bump of the plane as it touched the ground. This was the one part of flying you hated the most, the anxiety and the bumping as the plane made its way down the runway towards its destination. You knew anything bad was unlikely to happen, but your nerves were on edge. All you could think about was the time on your wrist, the time that kept on ticking. It hadn’t stopped in your entire 21 years of life, and from the looks of it, you were approximately four days away from that happening.
Sighing, you listened to the claps from around you as everyone congratulated the pilots for landing the plane safely. Around you, people stood up and began collecting their belongings, grabbing their bags from the overhead compartments as the chatter continued in the cabin.
You politely smiled at the man beside you as he passed you down your bag, a quick “Thank you” leaving your lips as he gestured for you to walk in front of him towards the exit. 
Originally, you hadn’t had any intention of leaving Alberta for the holiday break, but your parents had practically begged you to come home for the holiday’s, citing the fact you had remained in Lake Louise for the last year and that they had only seen you once since you made the choice to unravel everything you knew by packing a few bags and moving halfway across the country to Alberta to work at some fancy ski resort in the mountains. 
It was originally only meant to be a few months worth of work, waitressing in Lake Louise at a 5-star resort that is, and then time kept going by, and the more and more you fell in love with not only the scenery, but the people. Everyone was happy there, tourists were always excited and polite, everyone just wanted the chance to see the Lake, skate on the Lake, whatever it was. No one was ever unhappy here, and you loved that. 
You were pulled out of your thoughts as the line in front of you continued to move quickly, people eager to get out of the cabin and get back into the fresh air that flowed outside. You could barely contain your giddiness as you stepped off the plane. You could barely believe how much you missed the province, missed your friends, coworkers, you even missed the tourists. Who would’ve thought?
After about 20 minutes of watching the carousal spin and spin and spin, you finally eyed your bright red, Flames red, as a lot of people reminded you, suitcase. Grabbing it, you hauled the bag off of the carousal and onto the ground. You were eager to get to your car, which you had already paid a good 500 dollars worth of parking for, and eager to get the move on the three hour drive across Highway 1 to Lake Louise. 
After four and a half hours of travelling, you knew this three hour drive was going to exhaust you. And with the temperature out in Alberta right now? All you wanted was your bed and a cup of piping warm hot chocolate to end the day.
4590 minutes
“Man, your face is already awful to look at. You really trying to ruin it even more right before you meet your soulmate?”
Before Noah could even think, a wad of tape hit the side of his head while exclamations went up around the room about the choice of target. “Whoops, guess my tape slipped... out of my hand.”
Matthew shrugged his shoulders, an innocent grin on his face as he stood up to grab the tape from beside Noah Hanifin’s locker. 
“No, but seriously, why are you getting into fights with three days left on your wrist? Don’t go and get yourself killed or something, they’d be devastated if they’ve waited this long for your dumb-ass just to have 4000 minutes tattooed on her wrist for the rest of her life.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Matthew ignored his teammates comments, choosing instead to run his finger across the always-changing number on his wrist. 
“It’s not like it matters anyways.” His words were barely above a mumble, but it was enough to spark the attention of his captain, who was quick to tell him to meet him in the trainer’s office after he was done showering and getting the blood that was currently dripping down his face, cleaned.
Obliging on his captain’s orders, he found Gio in the office, a tight smile the only warning that he was about to get ripped apart by the veteran. Gio was one of the lucky ones, he had barely been 16 when his clock finally hit the big 0. It made him an advocate for all the soulmate bullshit, constantly encouraging his teammates to wait it out, be patient, their time would come. 
“Chucky, buddy, we gotta have a chat.”
Quirking his eyebrows at the older man, Matthew nodded, “Well Gio, I kinda figured that one out buddy, unless you pulled me in here to look at my oh so pretty face.” 
“I’m serious. You need to stop with this constant bashing of soulmates and times and shit. I know you don’t like it and you hate the concept of soulmates and whatever, but you’re doing nothing but worrying the younger guys. These kids are constantly terrified their minutes are just going to stop and be etched into their skin.”
Subconsciously running his fingers across the number on his wrist again, 4530 minutes. Wonder what that is in exact time. Shrugging his shoulders, he was quick to apologize to his captain. “Sorry, G. Not trying to scare the kids, just getting a little... I don’t know? Worried? It’s getting too close, I don’t want to get like...  it’s not important, never mind. I’ll stop talking about times in the locker room. Sorry.”
Quickly tightening the tie that was now wrapped around his neck, Matthew raced out of the office before Gio could say something else to him. He eagerly grabbed his phone, wallet, keys and suit jacket before quickly making his way towards the parking garage, the only thing on his mind was of course, you.
2120 minutes
One whole day and just a few hours. You could barely breath as you ran your thumb over the little black number on your wrist. You knew it was inevitable that you’d be meeting your soulmate while working, the moment you looked at the work schedule when you arrived back from home, you knew you’d be stuck working during the time in which you were meant to meet you soulmate. You were giddy, sure. But what if they didn’t like you? What if whoever it was, was snooty, and rude, and didn’t like you for who you were?
“Y/N, you gotta stop thinking about it, babe. You’re gonna get your head stuck in a whirlwind of thoughts. Think about other things! Like... the Calgary Flames.”
Eyeing the blonde beside you, “Tell me Cassidy, why in the world, would I think about the Calgary Flames, instead of thinking about my soulmate?”
Your coworker shrugged her shoulders and gestured to the board behind your head. You had all been notified a day prior that the Calgary Flames had reserved a whole floor of the Chateau for the weekend. With your restaurant being directly in view of the Lake and the Mountains, you were expected to be the main dining spot for the team over their course of the weekend.
“Believe me, Cass, the last thing I want to think about is a bunch of hockey boys who are going to make me miserable the weekend where I’m supposed to be... not miserable.”
She winked at you, a teasing glint in her eyes, “Maybe one of those awful hockey boys has the same number on your wrist. Maybe Noah Hanifin’s your soulmate. God, I’d be so jealous, could you imagine being destined for that beautiful exhibit of a man? God, I’d climb him like a tree.”
Laughing, you wacked her with the towel in your hand as she continued to egg you on, gloating about how beautiful of a specimen Noah Hanifin was, and how she’d do just anything to crawl into bed with that man. Cassidy was always like this, bubbly, happy, positive. Her number had stopped moving 12 years ago, or so she says. She hadn’t been paying attention the day it stopped, the number etching itself into her skin permanently, to never move again. She was never negative about it, always saying that she hoped just the thought of her brought peace to her soulmate in their last moments. 
“Okay okay, enough about the Flames. I doubt it’s even going to end up being any of them, hockey boys and I do not get along. Especially the one’s that are just constantly bothering people, and that’s the entire Flames roster, so... let’s get back to work.”
440 minutes
One thing Matthew was sure of was the fact that he loved everything about the drive to Lake Louise. He wasn’t notorious for being a huge fan of the scenery around him, but something about the drive across Highway 1, the trees, the snow covered mountains, they all just faded together and created this picture in his head. It was hard to describe, there wasn’t anything specific to the picture, it was just joyful, it was happy, it was calm. Jesus, maybe he was just fucking crazy. 
A lot of people always said you feel more calm in the hours leading up to the first time you meet your soulmate. But he sure as hell didn’t feel calm. He was on edge, the scenery around him, albeit, it was beautiful, it was not calming him down. His leg was shaking, his foot tapping the ground beneath him on the bus. He could see Johnny giving him a look every time his shaking leg touched his teammates. He knew the entire team was frustrated with him. Two games straight, two 10 minute fighting majors. 
He was being a pest, constantly egging people on, trying to ignite arguments or fights or just some form of stimuli to get his mind off of the only thing it could stray to. You. He didn’t want to think about whoever the hell you were, he didn’t want to get his hopes up that maybe his clock would actually hit 0, maybe he’d actually meet his better half. Or maybe he'd fall through a crack in Lake Louise and never have to worry about it again... hopefully. 
“If you touch my leg... one more fucking time, I am going to sock you in the fucking face Chucky.”
Immediately pressing his heel into the ground, Matthew mumbled out a quick ‘sorry’ to the teammate beside him as he watched the trees continue to go by outside the bus window. The time was still changing on his wrist, every minute counting down as the minutes passed outside. There was barely any cell service on the drive up, so the only thing that could truly distract him at this rate, was you, and he hated that.
“Soooo... you excited Chucky? It’s gotta be the big day, no?”
If choking a teammate was legal, Matthew would already be wringing Noah Hanifin’s neck. 
“Yeah, delighted.”
“C’mon grumpy pants, you’re literally like what? 6 hours away from meeting the person who’s supposed to complete your soul... and you’re in a foul mood. Did Doughty crawl up your ass and die last night or?”
Grinding his teeth, Matthew tried to bite his tongue, refusing to lash out at his teammate, even though he so desperately wanted to. He wasn’t going to be the cause for a toxic locker room, especially over something as stupid as soulmates. 
It was obvious that something was going on, everyone on the team knew the time on his wrist equalled out to less than a day. Everyone could see how on edge he was slowly getting as the time dwindled down, but no one could figure out why he was getting more and more frustrated, why the excitement wasn’t shining through as the time continued.
“Why the hell aren’t you excited man? This person’s supposed to be the love of your life, and you seem like you couldn’t give two fucks if you meet them or not?”
It was too late, Matthew was exploding before he could even comprehend what he was saying. “It doesn’t fucking matter man, okay? I don’t give a shit about this soulmate bullshit. Everyone’s soulmate is gone one day anyways, what the hell does it matter if you meet them now? I’m gonna be aching at some point because they’re gone and I’m alone. Woohoo, I get to meet them today, woo-fucking-hoo. I could literally not care less, so stop bugging me.”
27 minutes.
It was all around, highly likely, that your soulmate had some form of connection with the Calgary Flames. Their reservation was scheduled for 23 minutes from now... and your wrist had that small number 27 etched on it as it continued to count down. 
“Wow... maybe your soulmate really is Noah Hanifin... I’m sorry for saying I’d climb him like a tree.”
A loud laugh left your throat as you watched a guilty smile form on your co-workers face. “Cass, I highly doubt it’s Noah Hanifin. It’s probably just a coincidence that their reservation time coincides with my meeting my soulmate time.” Cassidy gave you a knowing look as she walked away, a small smile on her face.
You were anxious, you couldn’t deny it. Every second that counted down, you were nervous, what if you weren’t good enough for them? What if they were embarrassed it was you? What if... oh god... what if they hated soulmates? What if they were one of those people who was willing to cut the tie, ignore the call, ignore the connection?
You refused to think about that, instead putting yourself to work, clearing the tables and plates of the previous occupants, you waved off the clearing crew, instead choosing to do it yourself. Anything to get your mind off of it. 
The Flames weren't the only occupants of the Chateau tonight, only taking up about half, you were able to still seat other tourists who were interested in the view tonight. 
That’s how you found yourself, 25 minutes later, your hand on your hip as you interacted with the group of rowdy guys in front of you. They were from Edmonton, and they were absolutely hammered. They were as nice as you could expect them to be, continuously flirting your ears off, as they tried to impress you with their... what was it? Accounting job? You couldn’t remember for the life of you, your mind solely stuck on the small number 1 now etched on your wrist. 
You were roused out of your thoughts at the feeling of a hand touching your waist. “C’mon sweetheart, you’re not even paying attention to us here. Take a shot with us, baby!”
You politely removed the offending wrist, a tight smile now etched on your face. “First, I would ask that you please don’t touch me. Second, I was most definitely listening. You boys want another round of beers, and 6 tequila shots. Unfortunately, I don’t believe the shots are the best idea, nor do I think the beer is, but I’ll definitely get you a glass of water.”
Spinning on your heel, you went to walk away but were stopped by the feeling of a hand tightly gripping your wrist, a small squeak falling from your lips.
“We don’t want water.”
“Please get your hand off of me.”
“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.” 
You were about to retort, a vicious snarl on your lips, but your words were caught in your throat as you watched a fist connect to the cheek of the man in front of you, a gasp leaving your throat.
2 minutes
This had to be a joke. He was apparently two minutes away from meeting his soulmate, and here he was, in an orderly fashioned line as him and his teammates made their way into the restaurant. He could barely breath, his pants felt too tight on his hips, he could feel the sweat seeping through his shirt. Thank god he made the choice to wear black. 
It felt like everyone’s eyes were on his, everyone was wearily watching the number on his wrist go down, as the obvious anxieties began to cloud his every thought, action, move... everything.
He tried to take his mind off of it, observing the restaurant as the team slowly made their way to their designated tables. There were a few other patrons, most of them caught up in their own world. One specific table caught his eye, they were a group of rowdy guys, maybe a few years older than him. 
Quite frankly, they looked like all around assholes. Looked like the guys you’d see from Wolf of Wall Street, and from the looks of it, they were really starting to irritate their waitress. Although, all he could see was your back, your posture was unbelievably straight, your hand on your hip as you inventively listened to the guys in front of you.
Matthew continued to watch you, something inside of him telling him that he just couldn’t look away. He had to keep looking. He watched as you turned your body, ready to walk to wherever your destination in mind was, but he instantly zeroed in on the hand that was now tightly wrapped around your wrist, a violent look on the man’s face.
He wasn’t moving on his own accord now, his feet were basically moving by themselves as they raced towards you.
“Get us what I asked for then, bitch.”
His fist was connecting with the other man’s face before he could even think. He heard the gasp from beside him, he watched the number on his wrist hit 0 the exact moment he looked at you, a look of shock on everyone’s faces.
“Chucky!”
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“I’m going to call the police you fucking curly-headed fuck.”
He could barely focus on the voices around him. You were here. You were literally right in front of him. Both of your numbers were at 0, he could see it on your wrist. He was literally staring in the eyes of his soulmate.
“Oh my god, you punched one of our guests.” Your voice was like bells to his ear, soft, delicate, everything he wasn’t... but god, you were perfect.
“I’m Matthew, and yes... I uh... I think I did punch one of your guests. I also think you’re my soulmate. Does it count as self-defence... if I punched him in my soulmate’s defence?” 
You laughed, trying to cover it up with your mouth as you watched your manager’s rush towards the now bleeding asshole at the table behind you. 
“I think I like you already, Matthew.”
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heauxplesslydevoted · 3 years
Note
Hi there! We're changing things up a little this week :)
Not Yet Wed Questions
Note: Great Scott! This week, we are going back in time to MC’s intern year. Think of Ethan’s relationship with them at this point and answer the following questions accordingly. It is entirely up to you when in year 1 this takes place (pre/post Miami, pre/post CH 15, etc). Feel free to answer with dialogue or pictures or both :) Have fun!
No worries. All of this is off the record and HR will never know!
The setting for this answers is:
For Both
When I first saw them, I thought__________
What is your coworker's most used swear word?
Quick: What color are their eyes?
Three people at work your coworker hates?
What is your coworker’s strangest or most endearing quirk?
If they had a crush on anyone at work, who would that be?
(Bonus round! Feel free to skip.)
Never have I Ever:
come into work hungover
had a fistfight
been kicked out of a bar
gotten a tattoo
broken someone’s heart
been in love
For MC (Ethan is not there)
Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)
What do you find the most impressive about him?
Last thing he texted you?
If he asked you out on a date, what would you say?
For Ethan (MC is not there)
Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)
What specifically do you find attractive about her?
Last thing she texted you?
If she asked you out on a date, how would you respond?
Alright, post Book 1 but pre-Ethan fleeing to South America Ethan x Naomi coming right up! I feel like that time would have maximum tension because they’re trying to find their footing again after fucking the souls out of each other’s bodies and sending them into orbit, and lowkey falling in love sleeping together, while maintaining professionalism.
~v~
For Both:
When I first saw them, I thought__________
Naomi: I thought “thank God someone else is here!” I was in over my head with that patient, and I didn’t even notice that The Ethan Ramsey was the one assisting me until much later.
Ethan: I thought she had guts. You don’t see too many first day interns that are ready to jump into the fray like she did.
What is your coworker's most used swear word?
Naomi: He says Christ and any iteration of the word damn. Dammit, goddamn, goddammit, you get the gist.
Ethan: She says fuck.
Naomi: You’ve never heard me say that.
Ethan: She says fuck a lot, especially when she’s...*Ethan trails off and catches himself before he finishes that sentence. It’s a moot point all the same because now all he can think about is the young intern in front of him, hands pulling his hair, nails raking down his back, moaning the obscenity into his ear, into his pillows. He awkwardly clears his throat* Just trust me, I’ve heard her say it. Multiple times.
*and now he’s mad at himself*
Quick: What color are their eyes?
Naomi: Blue. They’re kinda hard to miss.
Ethan: Her eyes are brown.
Three people at work your coworker hates?
Naomi: He hates everyone, except for me and Naveen.
Ethan: Except for you? You think pretty highly of yourself, Rookie.
Naomi: Am I wrong? *Ethan doesn’t deny it, instead staying silent and Naomi smirks* Exactly
Ethan: I don’t think she dislikes anyone. I’ve never met a person like her, she makes friends with everyone.
What is your coworker’s strangest or most endearing quirk?
Naomi: He fiddles with his glasses a lot.
Ethan: She’s constantly biting her lip, especially when she’s really focused.
*she’s actually surprised that he picked up on that* Naomi: You notice that?
Ethan: I notice everything...about everything. It’s the nature of the job.
If they had a crush on anyone at work, who would that be?
*they both share an awkward glance before looking away and declining to answer*
Never Have I Ever...
Come into work hungover
Ethan: When I was younger, yes. But now that I’m older, I know my limits.
Naomi: No, because I don’t get hangovers due to my magical hangover cure.
Ethan: That god-awful drink is...surprisingly effective.
*the interviewer asks Ethan to elaborate on the time Naomi gave him whatever her hangover cure is, and he adamantly refuses*
Had a fistfight
Naomi: Yes, but in my defense I was drunk.
Ethan: *snorts* How is that a defense?
Naomi: I’m the daughter of an attorney, I usually try to resolve my issues with my words. But drunk Naomi is a little feistier.
Ethan: You mean you have a level of feistiness that I’ve yet to see?
Naomi: Oh yeah. Anyway, I was in college, I was drunk at a bar, someone spilled a drink on me, and it escalated. I think I broke her nose.
Ethan: An arrest record wasn’t on your file when we hired you.
Naomi: Like I said, I’m the daughter of an attorney, and the granddaughter of a DC judge. That has its perks.
Ethan: Yes, I’ve gotten into a fist fight before. I punched Nash in the face. And before that, i fought my old med school roommate.
Naomi: Ooh, what did he do?
Ethan: That’s not a story I’d ever divulge while sober.
Been kicked out of a bar
Naomi: Yes. Circle back to the previous question.
Ethan: No, because I’m an adult.
Gotten a tattoo
Ethan: Absolutely not
Naomi: I have a tattoo of the Cancer symbol on my left hip. It’s my zodiac sign.
*this stuns Ethan into silence because he’s seen her naked on more than one occasion and been...very well acquainted with the body parts below her waist, and for the life of him cannot remember a tattoo*
Broken someone’s heart
Naomi: No. At least, I don’t think so. I’ve had my heart broken, if that counts.
Ethan: Same as Naomi. I don’t think I have.
*they make a pointed effort to not make eye contact with each other, and Naomi bites down on her lip, letting the silence hang in the air. The alternative would be informing Ethan that he has indeed broken someone’s heart, and that just won’t do.*
Been in love
Naomi: I don’t know. Maybe? I thought I was in love with my med school boyfriend, but now that time has passed, I know that wasn’t love. At least, not the good kind. And there was a near miss after him, but nothing came out of it. The emotions were a lot stronger the second time around though, and i think it’s the closest I’ve come to it this far. I’m a hopeless romantic, so I hope I find it someday.
Ethan: No. Call me a cynic, but I just don’t see love as something that’s feasible and attainable. Putting that much trust and dependency in another person is not realistic.
For Naomi (Ethan is not there)
Where do you see him in five years (both professionally and in his personal life?)
Naomi: I don’t know what’s left for a man like Ethan Ramsey. He’s already done so much in the field of medicine, unless he reinvents the entire wheel and turns it upside down, which I can see him doing. I can see him writing more, publishing more research, and of course winning more awards. If he wasn’t so anti-administration, he could be running this place. Or maybe he’ll start his own non-profit.
Naomi: As far as his personal life, I don’t know. You heard loud and clear that he doesn’t really believe in love. I hope one day he changes his mind or finds a companion, because underneath his extremely prickly exterior, he’s one of the best men I know and he has a heart of gold. He deserves the chance to let someone take care of it for him.
What do you find the most impressive about him?
Naomi: From afar, Ethan seems very larger than life, but I think the most impressive thing about him is his dedication to not just medicine, but his patients. I’ve never seen him not go above and beyond for someone he was treating.
Last thing he texted you?
Naomi: “Please consult Diana in HR regarding your official diagnostic team fellowship application. I know this year has been unorthodox to say the least, but there are still some steps that must be taken before the start of your second year. Thank you.”
Naomi: I’ve never received a text message that long.
If he asked you out on a date, what would you say?
*her cheeks heat up furiously and she pulls her bottom between her teeth before answering, her eyes bright and watery*
Naomi: Am I a total glutton for pain for saying I’d jump at the chance?
For Ethan (Naomi is not there)
Where do you see her in five years (both professionally and in her personal life?)
Ethan: Dr. Valentine has so much potential and she’s going to be one of the greats. She’s going to be running the diagnostics team if she chooses to stay at Edenbrook, and I can’t see Naveen not trying to keep her here. She’s going to win awards, have awards named after her, publish research, lead trials, whatever. I hate to sound banal and cliche, but the sky really is the limit for her. I chose her for a reason, and I plan her helping her reach all of that potential.
Ethan: As for her personal life, I don’t know. Hopefully she finds someone that’s good enough for her.
What specifically do you find attractive about her?
Ethan: A-attractive? *the word comes out in a squeak, but he coughs to cover it up* Why on earth would you assume that I’m attracted to her?
*he goes on a ridiculously long tangent about how inappropriate it is to be attracted to your coworkers, especially your subordinates, and how he would never jeopardize Naomi’s career on something as trivial as attraction, and anyone with an ounce of common sense can tell that he doth protest too much*
Ethan: But if I absolutely had to pick something besides her good looks, it’d be her spirit. She’s warm and empathetic and optimistic, and I’ve never seen someone care as much as she does.
Last thing she texted you?
Ethan: “👍” I sent her a message about her upcoming fellowship and she sent back a thumbs up. Just that. I was a little annoyed.
If she asked you out on a date, how would you respond?
Ethan: As um...flattering as that might be, I would say no. I am an attending, she’s an intern, my soon to be fellow. That is crossing too many ethical lines, lines I refuse to breach.
Ethan: And I would say no because Naomi is...just a good person. And maybe I’m being biased, but I don’t know if anyone will ever be truly worthy of her. But I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she deserves so much better than me or what I could give her.
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fabianocolucci · 3 years
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Can we have one lighthearted and optimistic show or movie for once?
Hello, I am writing this post because I have read that the CW is making a TV show about the PowerPuff Girls, except they’re going to be depicted as “20-somethings who are disillusioned after having spent their childhood fighting crime”.
Reading that angered me, I have to admit it, because this is just the latest of a never ending series of shows and movies that try to take something that is supposed to be lighthearted, funny and optimistic and turn it into something dark and edgy about how much life sucks, trying to highlight that “we live in a society” and so on.
Riverdale is the example many people come up with most of the time, and I can see why: its shared universe (which includes The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) is a textbook example of how Hollywood keeps handling these things. However, what many people fail to realize is that this trend has been going on since long before the CW took Archie Andrews and the others and tried to be as dark and edgy as they can.
When Batman Begins proved to be a huge hit, and it was followed by an even greater hit (The Dark Knight), Hollywood apparently thought that the reason of its success was that it tried to be darker and edgier. However, those things worked only because Christopher Nolan wanted to take a popular superhero and tried to depict him in a more realistic tone (after all, their movies may be even darker than what Batman is supposed to be, unless you take in consideration any Batman comic written by Frank Miller).
Since then, we’ve seen countless movies, games and shows that tried to be so dark they’ve become bleak and, honestly, even a bit bland.
On the superhero side, we’ve seen multiple depictions where, for instance, Superman has become evil and is now a force that needs to be stopped (they even made a movie about this being a possibility, as if it’s inevitable), while we’ve seen at least four live-action depictions of Batman being a killer hero who has lost his vision and hope (to the point where Batwoman casually mentioning how Batman has a no killing code was enough to make that world’s Batman a lighter version than what is the current trend). The Netflix shows about Marvel superheroes even made it look like the Avengers’ arrival caused nothing but problems for New York (admittedly, they kind of have to depict New York this way, otherwise it would feel weird how there’s so many superheroes in that city and yet crime is still a thing).
On the fantasy side, because of Game of Thrones’ success, now every fantasy TV show wants to emulate it, and as such we have bleak, humorless worlds where there’s a lot of darkness, with constant “mature” content like swearing and sex (The Witcher is a great show, but they could have toned it down a bit, in that context). It’s like even a genre whose name is literally “fantasy” can’t escape in trying to depict a more gritty and real world where everything always has to be dark.
On the science fiction side, well, we’ve seen the new Star Wars movie, which took the ending of Episode VI, which was full of optimism and hope, and basically said “nope, everything now is so dark and lonely”. I guess one of the reasons why you could pretend the sequel trilogy never happened is that, well, they end with a more positive note than whatever happened after episode IX.
On the TV side, there isn’t just Riverdale or the upcoming PowerPuff Girls show. The Winx Saga has taken away all the color of the cartoon (no, seriously: everything is so grey and soulless looking in the TV show that someone may have to tell you they’re supposed to be The Winx Club in live action). The Nancy Drew show now is a dark mystery more in line with Riverdale actually. Netflix is making an Avatar show and apparently they want to age up the characters “so that they can have sex” (which somewhat implies that there’s someone who looked at 12 year old Aang or 14 year old Katara and thought “I want to see them have sex”, which is so creepy and disturbing that I even regret pointing it out).
This would not be such a big deal if there wasn’t the fact that we’re talking about the vast majority of big movies and shows! Even something funny like Lost in Space has been turned into a dark remake.
Why is it so hard to find something in Hollywood that doesn’t try to be dark and depressing? Well, I think there are multiple reasons, which I’m going to point out:
·       There is this idea among writers that drama is the only thing that keeps the plot interesting. Characters need to have tragedies thrown at them all the time, they constantly have to fight and (usually) heavens forbid if they even try to lighten up a bit. This is, of course, wrong, as shown by how many fanfiction writers take characters who have a life made of day-by-day drama and depict them in quiet scenes like them making a meal for their beloved or just going to a vacation where they can relax. Just because depicting nothing but quiet and peaceful moments can become boring on the long run, doesn’t mean it can never happen;
·       Because we live in dark times, then everything has to be dark. It’s as if people can’t experience any sort of hopeful escapism when out there it seems like nothing but tragedies and negativity occurs outside of their windows. Illnesses, war, deaths, recessions and so on happen 24/7, so how can you showcase even a bit of positivity? Well, I have one question: what kind of escapism would constantly remind you of the very thing you are trying to temporarily escape from? If I want to forget about the World’s problems for an hour, then why on Earth are you making me think about them? Who decided that the best way of forgetting that life sucks is to have your story say “life sucks” all the time? I don’t understand;
·       Writers are probably influenced by the “loser culture” on the internet. I mean, wherever you go on social media, people seem to have a race to see who has the most miserable life. Many comic artist have their characters experience all sorts of problems and negativity, there’s a lot of memes about negative stuff (how many times have you seen a wholesome post with a reblog or a retweet adding something negative? For example, I don’t know, someone tweets “I asked my mom a puppy, she brought me five of them” and someone says “if I asked it to my mom, she’d bring five slaps to my butt”). Of course, if I, a writer, see that people can’t stop talking about how much their life suck, I would think “well, maybe that’s all they want to hear about” and make characters with miserable lives;
However, I have always noticed how there’s a medium who seems to not be easily affected by all this stuff: animation.
You want a fantasy show where everything is colorful and bright? There’s lots of cartoons for that.
You want to see superheroes doing their best to fight for the good of the World? There’s plenty of them in animation.
You want hope and positivity? Tune in on any station that airs cartoons and you will find it.
However, the problem is that this goes hand to hand with the old stigma that, well, “cartoons are for kids”, so it feels like movies and TV shows are saying “positivity and happiness are for children. Grow the hell up and see how dark and hopeless the World truly is!”.
Why is trying to be positive and optimistic something that can’t happen if you’re a mature person? Why is it so wrong to just want to see a bit of peace in these media?
I don’t know what else to say or to add, so it’s best if I finish my post right here. So, here’s my opinion:
Even though it is okay for you to tell me a story where nothing matters, where “we live in a society” and where you can’t have good things, it should be balanced with something. Have you ever seen the Yin Yang symbol? Why do you think it depicts darkness with a little bit of light? Because nothing can be completely dark. So, just try to add some good energy in your story. It won’t be an issue for anybody to just have one moment where everyone smiles.
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blacksunscorpio · 4 years
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Hello! I saw your post about elevated planets, is there also any explanation about the planets opposite/bottom of the Zenith/Mc? Thank you!
Good Question
Nadir In Astrology
The Nadir, or Imum Coeli (IC), Latin for “south/bottom of the sky,” or “lowest point” is one of the four major angles in an astrological birth chart [the other 3 are the [Rising, Descendant, and Midheaven] and definitely the least talked about. The Midheaven and Nadir points lie at opposite ends of your Natal Chart. The Midheaven is at the very top [where your most elevated will be nearest]. It is where the Sun was at its highest peak during midday. Using this, we calculate the Nadir, or where the Sun was at its very lowest point during midnight. Like the Ascendant and Descendent Axis, the Midheaven and Nadir are opposites, with one side exposed and other other deeply hidden. It lies opposite the Midheaven—a point on our chart that represents our public life and persona, which gets a lot of attention.
What it Means
Since the Midheaven is our brightest, most open, well-light part of your personality, adversely the Nadir is the dead of night in your chart [quite literally], the IC is the deepest, darkest, quietest, most personal place in your chart. It  houses the Private Persona. This is how your mind operates in secret, how you feel, and how you act, when you are completely alone, with no one else watching. Our Nadir (IC) signifies our most profound depths and needs, a part of us that we often don’t share with others. While the rising and descendant axis of our charts navigate the relationship between self and others. The Midheaven and Nadir showcase the polarity of our outer and inner worlds. The IC sits on the cusp of the fourth house, ruled by the moon/cancer associated with family lineage, home environment, and family influences. Similarly to the moon, our nadir shows us our needs and emotional tendencies, though it's much more than that. When you looking at your birth chart, the nadir is below the horizon line of the ascendant and is the lowest place in our chart, therefore representing our foundation and roots. In this way, the IC also reveals the type of environment best for our physical well-being. Make sense? Now, I want to mention that many often think of the MC as a fake, constructed persona, and the Nadir is as our real, authentic selves. This couldn't be further from the truth. Fake news. This way of thinking hinges on the idea that we are fundamentally one type of person, forced act unlike ourselves in different situations. But the truth is, all of your choices and actions come together to create a portrait of who you really are, regardless of what made you act that way. The way you act when you are in front of people, trying to make your best impression - that is the real you. And the way you act when you are alone, with nobody to judge you - that is the real you, too ;). Humans are dichotomous and complex and astrology allows for that because it, as a study, is complex as well.
Nadir By Sign
Aries: [Libra MC] Need for independence and freedom. Reputation is built on the finer aspects of your personality. People know you by your good looks, first and foremost. They see you as elegant, yet strong; rational and logical. Inwardly, can be prone to dramatic displays of anger, loud demands, bossy, and sharp, biting humor and immense stores of sexual drive or drive in general. Family was very active or extremely ambitious. Learned early on how to be independent. Growing up, might have witnessed a lot of conflict in your family, some of it serious and some of it not. You saw problems with alcoholism, drug addiction, and anger. Unconsciously aggressive or combative.
Taurus: [Scorpio MC] Need for security or physical pleasures. Come off as intense, passionate, mysterious or dark. Family was stable or materialistic. As a child you were always well fed and secure. Parents/guardians gave you a taste for the finer things in life by caring so much about the look and quality of the things in their home. On a darker note they could also be quite controlling in a lot of ways, both over their house and family. Nothing could be done, or touched, or moved, or planned without them having a hand in what was going on. Native can be unconsciously inflexible or possessive.
Gemini: [Sagittarius MC] Need for understanding themselves and world around them. Outwardly can be very philosophical, blunt, straightforward and/or outspoken. When you find yourself alone with your thoughts, you spend a lot of time enjoying your own inner dialogue. And when you are with those few people you are close to, you enjoy a lot of stimulating conversations.  Family is a literal mosaic. Different colors and personalities. Home life was changing constantly. Family was growing and shrinking, moving around, breaking apart and then putting/fitting new pieces together. Childhood was self-expressive or hyper-intellectually focused. Unconsciously erratic, anxious or cunning that can display itself as duplicitousness.
Cancer: [Capricorn MC] Need to seek and give nurturance. Can come off as  determined, hard working, goal-oriented, and very good at what you do. You have a very professional public image that exudes confidence and experience. Family was co-dependent or critical. Growing up your mother was the central figure of your family home, either because she was a single mother or your father was away from home a lot. As a child, you were given more than enough praise and attention. When alone, you take on an almost maternal role in your house, cooking and cleaning and taking care of chores. Often, you will retreat into your bedroom, den or personal workshop and spend a lot of time working on things by solo.  Unconsciously co-dependent or guarded.
Leo: [Aquarius MC] Need for creative self-expression. intelligent, detached connections with other people. Can come off as detached or have this kind “dry intensity” that radiates off of you – you seem to be quietly aloof, cold. When alone, can be quite friendly or show big displays of love to those close to them. An eternal child that will always love fairly tales no matter how old they are. Family was self-involved or warm-hearted. The kid who was told they were special all the time. Everybody in your family (especially your mother) fawned over all the things you did, praising you for every accomplishment and exaggerating all your best qualities. You got everything you wanted. Unconsciously may have a lot of self-doubt.
Virgo: [Pisces MC] Need for efficiency. Comes off as a creative, kind, spiritual, almost ethereal person. People will notice the far-away look, the quiet contentment that hangs around you like a miasma. Draws in both saints and sinners. Though they may present a misty outward appearance, inwardly they keep detailed inventory of everything. Likes work and routine. Family or parent was hyper-critical. Some kind of negativity surrounding you when you were growing up, like fighting, substance abuse, depression, anxiety, or a poor home life. Whether or not you were aware of what your family members were going though, you looked for an escape. May have control freak tendencies.
Libra: [Aries MC] Need for harmony, though possibly difficulty in knowing needs with too much vacillation. Outwardly brave, perhaps a tad bossy, driven, commanding and leader-like with touches of aggression or authoritarianism. inwardly, peace loving, diplomatic, utterly polite, cooperative and friendly to the point of people pleasing. Family could have been quite social or superficial. When you are out interacting with the world you are confrontational and/or competitive. Growing up, you had to share your parent’s attention with other people. You might have had other siblings that got more than you, or they might have had other obligations that took up their time. Unconsciously coy.
Scorpio: [Taurus MC] Need for emotional depth and understanding. Outwardly laid back and grounded. Astonishing work-ethic. Security minded and practical. Inwardly there is a deep well of emotion. Can dwell or obsess. Powerful drive and silently aggressive. Family was secretive or powerful. Unconscious forces outside may have influenced them. Involved in power dynamics. Subconsciously,  memories of the past are littered with alcoholism, abuse, death, trauma, sex, various kinds of manipulation and betrayal.
Sagittarius: [Gemini MC] Need to discover their own truth. Comes off as intelligent, sociable, highly optimistic. Social butterfly. Inwardly may act out personal and grandiose dramas. Family was hyper-ethical or adventurous. Sought to learn and understand other people’s cultures and perspectives. In your childhood, when you were living at home with your family, you were thought of as a very bright child. Energetic, enthusiastic about learning, and always exploring the outside world, you met every new subject with curiosity and an open mind. Teachers and classmates labelled you as the “smart kid”. Unconsciously can seek status, attention or might be prone to judgment.
Capricorn: [Cancer MC] Need for reliability and order. reputation for being determined, hard working, goal-oriented. Family was traditional or repressed emotions. Might feel like you have to “fight for respect.” Family was very restrictive and controlling. Tried to make you into what they wanted you to be rather than accepting you for how you were. When alone in the privacy of your own home, you are emotional, sensitive, and very attached to your belongings and loved ones. Unconsciously self-repressing or pessimistic.
Aquarius: [Leo MC] Need for unconventional and individual stance. Comes off as bubbly, friendly, happy, and attracts attention easily. Inwardly, a loner, detached, intelligent, the furthest thing from a people pleaser. Likes to be left alone to their own devices to study or research. Family was non-traditional or unavailable. Home life might have been chaotic or tumultuous. As a kid you had little control over your life’s direction and had to follow your parents wherever they went. This could mean you were uprooted a lot, maybe a military kid or simply forced into their religion or belief system. Unconsciously somewhat detached from others. Accept anybody for anything, you support them 100%. Not interested in people or affairs/things that do not concern you. Father might have been absent. Unconsciously weird/ unusual.
Pisces: [Virgo MC] Need for wandering or mysticism. Comes off as organized, dissecting, routine-loving and very well-put together. Inwardly, can be emotional, messy, lazy, gullible, but also sensitive, compassionate, empathetic, and completely selfless. Family roots of unclear boundaries. Growing up there was a lot going on between your parents that you didn’t understand. Perhaps born on the verge of some kind of upheaval. Something happened that caused the family break apart before you were born and now they were dealing with the aftermath. Unconsciously over-sensitive or non-committal.
Bruja note:
The key to understanding the patterns and energy of the IC brings balance and equilibrium to our lives as it teaches us how to embrace our past and move forward into our future. How to really grasp and harness the midheaven gifts and promises. There is an inevitable sense of karma and destiny associated with the angles of our charts, and the IC is no exception. Knowing the patterns of the nadir brings consciousness to our underworld. More understanding. It is considered by many astrologers one of, if not THE most important part of our entire chart—because of the depth of understanding it gives us when we really commit to comprehending it. By utilizing the skills and difficulties of our family/ancestors/origins, we are thrusted into our personal journey’s and ultimately our north node or most elevated destinies.  
What sign is your Nadir in? Dissecting and understanding it can bring healing and growth to you and those you’re closely connected with.
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highly-impatient · 3 years
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Missing Your Touch Ch. 1 (A Glimbow Fic)
Written By: highly-impatient or highly-impatient013
Summary: When you spend all your days together, it feels like years when you’re apart. Glimmer has been recently abducted to space stuck on Horde Prime’s ship as the Rebellion fights off the Horde’s soldiers on Etheria. This story re-imagines season five of She-Ra: Princess of Power as Glimmer and Bow confront their feelings of missing each other’s presence and touch. Expect angst, warmth, hurt, and a beautiful love story! 
Available to read on FF.net
Will add it to AO3 as soon as I can
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“You know looking back, it was quite obvious that I was jealous,” Glimmer laughed to herself. She had been locked away for who knows how many hours in an empty room. There was nothing but white walls, a large bed, and silence. No one could hear her, maybe Horde Prime, but it’s not like he would care. “When Perfuma asked you to the ball, I was mad you agreed because it was natural to always have you by my side. I felt like I was being left behind, and now, look at me. I’m all alone.” Tears rolled down Glimmer’s eyes. She and Bow always trusted each other. They were best friends, but after becoming queen, losing many in the Rebellion, and her...mother, things were not the same. Her insecurities crushed her, and she kept asking herself if she would ever be good enough. Would she ever be like her mother? And with Adora, Glimmer felt like their relationship had become fragile like eggshells. Glimmer knew others saw Adora as more of a leader. After all, she was She-ra. Glimmer could not help that every time she saw Adora that she was reminded of losing her mother after disobeying her orders. Like a knife plunging through the palm of her hands, Glimmer was left with her thoughts and emptiness, “Bow,” Glimmer whispered. “I miss you.” 
“Glimmer!” Bow shouted. It was another nightmare, but could it be a nightmare if the event was real? Only a few hundred feet away, the moment of Glimmer being pulled into space by Horde Prime continued to replay in his dreams every night. He was so close but not close enough. Now, he had no idea what happened to her. What were they doing to her? Or worse, was she even alive? The thought sent an unnerving chill down his spine. The last time he saw Glimmer before she was abducted into space is when the three of them got into a fight. Bow could feel the lingering touch of Glimmer brushing her thumb against his calloused clamped hands. She had begged him to trust her. As much as Bow did trust Glimmer, she had been wrong. Trust comes from being honest and telling the truth, even if it is not something the other wants to hear. But why did she not trust him? It probably did not help that he and Adora had ignored her orders and went to Beast Island without her. Maybe if they had stuck together, they would not be in this mess. The two had spent everyday together for years, and Glimmer’s short absence felt like weeks. Glimmer had become more erratic since becoming queen, and Bow could tell that she was frustrated with how plans were falling apart. It was hard to watch knowing how optimistic she had been. Fighting a constant war was taxing on all of them, so when Bow grabbed onto Glimmer’s hand to comfort her, he did his best to empathize her pain and loneliness. When she pulled away, he could only think about how their intimate friendship was unraveling every passing second. Did she not trust him anymore? Were they not friends that could talk or let the other one know how they felt? Bow scratched the back of his head as he slid from under his covers. How did Bow feel? He already knew how he felt. The person he cared for most was gone, and he missed her dearly. 
“Bow, are you up?” Adora whispered. “I couldn’t sleep either.” 
Bow replied, “Yea.” Bow got up, in which he came face-to-face with Adora when he exited the tent. After Horde Prime had located Etheria, Bright Moon had been overtaken. They had lost many in the Rebellion, while whoever was left remained in the tents. They were constantly on the move. Adora and Bow sat themselves across each other on logs separated by a burning fire. Streaks of red, orange, and amber shifted in front of them. The sounds of crickets and a gusting wind filled up the air void of their voices. 
Adora spoke, “It’s all my fault, Bow.” 
“No, it’s mine,” Bow said. 
Adora shook her head, “If I hadn’t insisted that we go to Beast Island, then Glimmer would still be here. If She-ra was still--”
“No, it was the right thing to do. We brought back Entrapta, and we found King Micah. We stopped the Heart of Etheria.” Bow swallowed what felt like a lump in his throat before continuing, “I wasn’t fast enough. I was so close, and I let her disappear right before my eyes.” It was clear that Bow was trying to hold back his tears until they had begun to drip like a faulty faucet. Adora ran up to Bow wrapping her arms around his shoulders as the two clung onto each other. Their hearts ached losing their close friend. 
“We will get her back,” Adora muffled out of her throat strained from emotion. 
Morning came and the Rebellion was back to its regular duties of recovering towns from the Horde. Strategic meetings about what to do next along with the knowledge of safe zones were extensively discussed. 
“Entrapta!” Bow called. “Do you think we will be able to fix Mara’s ship for outer space?”
“Space travel!” Entrapta smiled. “I just have to run some tests. With some adjustments and my tools, Darla will be ready to go. Emily, we got work to do!” Entrapta was overjoyed at the thought of seeing what was beyond their planet. 
Bow looked up to the sky as the clouds drifted slowly. The stars were dim and not yet in sight, but there was a world outside of Etheria, “ We may not know where you are or how to find you, but I’m bringing you home, Glimmer.” 
Puzzled by Bow staring up at the sky while holding his electronic communication device, Micah finally decided to approach Bow with a question that he had on his mind for some time now. Micah asked, “Bow, can I ask you a question?” 
“Yes, King Micah, sir,” Bow stood upright. 
Micah glanced over at the boy before proceeding with his question, “Are you dating my daughter?” 
Bow was flustered by the unexpected question and his cheeks blushed briefly. It was not the first time he had been asked this question, but Micah had been rescued from Beast Island a week ago. “N-no, sir. Glimmer is just my best friend.”
Micah sighed in relief, “Okay. I like you boy, but my Glimmer is too young to be dating.” Micah patted Bow on the shoulder. Micah had no clue how old Glimmer was. It never bothered Bow that people had mistook them for a couple. When you spend that much time with someone, it’s understandable that anyone outside of the relationship may see differently. It had been weirder that Micah had also made that assumption since he had never seen Bow and Glimmer interact with one another. There was a tightness in Bow’s chest. 
“Yes, sir” Bow responded. Micah returned as they were prepping to split into groups for the next mission. The tightness in Bow’s chest had not lightened up. Micah’s question repeated again in Bow’s mind. Are you dating my daughter? For just an instant, an image of Glimmer smiling had crossed his mind. This time, Bow’s chest began to thump and Bow looked down confused by the offset feeling, “That’s weird.”
A/N: I originally wanted to post this first on Fanfiction, but I have to wait 12 hours before I post after creating a new account. I wanted to start a new account since my other one is when I was 12. AO3 says I have to wait for an invite link, but the other chapters will be posted on there. Hopefully, you enjoy the story so far because I really love Glimbow as well as all of the characters. I’ve re-watched this show like 5 times already T_T
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readingsbylibramc · 3 years
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birth chart reading for @xxg0thbabyxx
hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.
🦋 chart shape, dominants
your chart is a seesaw shape. your life focuses on different ideals and interests, often constrasting between each other. from one side, this gives you the ability to be adaptable and find solutions easily. on the other hand, you may struggle with balance; for example, you might find yourself dedicating your life to your relationships, neglecting your ego or viceversa. you need to learn how to harmonize these energies.
your dominant planets are mercury, the sun and uranus. you are definitely a very charismatic person, you are sociable and people see you as someone easy to approach. you look and are friendly, you try to make everyone comfortable, even though you could change your mind pretty often. because of that, people can see you as too unpredictable or impulsive.
your dominant sign is gemini. you are a very intelligent individual, you are thirsty for knowledge and you also have great communication skills. you have a witty sense of humor, you're able to make everyone feel at ease with your sympathy. people may say you're two-faced, but in reality you just act in the most appropriate way based on the situation you're in. you despise boredom, you're very experimental in your life, but others may mistake this trait for flakiness.
your dominant element is air. in your life, you adore seeking for knowledge of any kind. you may be interested in studying different subjects, from those you study at school like science, maths, literature etc. to more unconventional ones, such as astrology, psychology, criminology and so on. you enjoy interacting with people; even if you’re not that sociable, you’ll still be interested in their point of view and their ideals, as you see it as a way to expand your own mind. you’re also interested in vintage, and you may have a retro aesthetic or just like history in general.
🌎 ascendant in gemini, 2° / 1st decan ruled by mercury
you enjoy communicating and intellectualism. you’re very curious about everything that surrounds you. you love expanding your knowledge, ideas and mind in general through communication, interactions and media. you have the ability to adapt quickly to new situations; your mind is fast, usually impulsive, even though this energy may not be much prominent; it may be perceived differently due to your libra energy, in fact. that’s because libra prefers organizing things, rather than acting impulsively. yet, this placement still helps you being adaptable to changes, even though you may only be able to see it after a few years if you manage to balance it well. you may also be able to match the energy of the people you’re talking to in order to be perceived as more likeable and connect with everyone on a deeper level. you may be fond of books, poetry, literature… both writing and reading. it’s also a way to let yourself tune to your emotions. since you’re constantly mentally active, physically you may also tend to play with your fingers or hair, or maybe you tend to gesticulate while you speak. appearance-wise, I assume you’re at least of average height, with long limbs and fingers. you have something small about your face; you may either have a small nose, or eyes, lips etc. same thing goes for your bones. you may be naturally skinny, or perhaps you have healthy curves. you also tend to look younger than you actually are, especially when growing up. you may often be, or at least look, sleepy. your eyes have a very dreamy look to them, and they’re probably almond-shaped.
gemini ascendant square pisces moon: you may have troubles understanding others’ real feelings for you. you may feel as if everyone hates you, like everyone is talking behind your back when it’s the opposite. the moon being in pisces doesn't help either, as this aspect enhances its trust issues even more. you’re particularly sensitive about others’ view and opinion of you, you may get deeply hurt when people criticize you. you could have the tendency to act differently than you usually do, in order to preserve your feelings. this is obviously a toxic behaviour, that fills you up with your own stress and doubles it. due to that, you may become very moody and nervous, ending up hurting others yourself. or maybe, it’s the other way around; your feelings are so overwhelming that you can’t hide them, and that could put you in embarrassing, unpleasant situations. you may show all of your emotions on your face, ready to be read. the way to cope with this placement is finding someone similiar to you; someone who’s trust-worthy, and very sensitive and empathetic too. someone who’d never judge you for you think or say, and that would always help you becoming the best version of yourself. someone that understands you, without having to explain all of your behaviours and habits.
gemini ascendant opposite sagittarius pluto: you're aware that the world is too nasty for your honesty, hence you may have trust issues. even though you are friendly, you're very picky about who you decide to actually call your friend. you may constantly feel lonely, as if no one were willing to listen and understand you. you live with the fear that others may take advantage of you, hence you end up doing it yourself, unconsciously. you may be controlling, but your chart hints that it's not too much of a big deal. you may have the tendency to do it sometimes, but it's mostly a bad trait of your past life. the universe is testing you to see if you've learned your lesson or not. you have all the skills to avoid this type of behaviour now that you're aware of it.
🌞 sun in gemini, 15° / 2nd decan ruled by mercury and venus
with your sun in the mutable sign of gemini, you are a very light-hearted, chill individual. you're very bright and bubbly, you have amazing communication skills and also an entertaining sense of humor that is able to light up the room. you're very sociable, you like interacting with others, and with your heavy gemini energy in the rest of your chart, you don't find it hard to let this side of you out, especially with people you feel comfortable with. since gemini is a mutable sign, you most likely have tons of interests and hobbies, they're so many that you find it hard to keep up with all of them, despite being extremely good at multi-tasking. in fact, you're particularly intelligent and thirsty for knowledge. you like learning about everything, you love looking and being smart. it's your way to feel empowered and proud of yourself. you always need freshness in your daily life, you cannot stand boredom. because of that, you may often change your ideas, your hobbies, your favourite singer, etc. sometimes, you could even apply this to friends and lovers, and people may consider you unloyal or not much serious because of that. in addition, you get easily very anxious and stressed, to the point that you may seem dramatic to others.
gemini sun square pisces moon: with this aspect, what you need and what you want tend to clash. in your case, your gemini sun wants to be in the spotlight, you want to be sociable and have fun. you want to go out often and live life to the fullest, while your pisces moon is more private, it prefers being alone. as a result, you may come off as unpredictable and / or indecisive. you could struggle with being optimistic, as you have this inner turmoil in you that makes you struggle to attract positive situations in your life. you may often feel conflicted, as if you didn't have control over your emotions. you may have unstable self-esteem, one day you could be feeling extra confident and happy with yourself and then the next day you feel very insecure, you want to change everything about your persona. you could feel unwanted, or perhaps you actually used to feel unwanted during your childhood, perhaps by your parents, relatives or even by other children at school. you're basically a walking paradox, you want both intimacy and independence, stability and flexibility.
gemini sun opposite sagittarius pluto: probably during your childhood you couldn't make your own decisions. you might have been highly influenced by someone in your family, probably your father, and hence now you feel the need to have everything under control. maybe too much. you despise authority, you may even quite rebellious. maybe your parents have tried to convince you following their religion, ideals etc., without giving you freedom. or perhaps, they are overprotective and avoid to make you have experiences. I imagine that getting rid of your control issues, which are caused by this sense of not being in control of your life, may be the first step to finally heal your wound, which is somehow linked to the relationship with your friends and casual partners in your everyday life. start trusting others more, and don't be afraid of being 'fooled'. you're totally capable of understanding when someone is trying to hurt you, follow your intuition. even though it may be hard, even painful, it'll be the key to transform and overcome pluto's lessons to achieve your goals.
🌙 moon in pisces, 5° / 1st decan ruled by neptune
hands down my favourite moon sign! you're extremely empathetic and sensitive, you care a lot about others and you treat others' problems as if they were yours, you get totally immersed in them. you have quite a vivid imagination, you're able to idealize and picture anything you want. while this placement gives you an incredible amount of creativity, it can also make you uncomfortable. in fact, you may actually find yourself imagining every detail of every situation, even the worst ones. let's suppose you hear of a rape at the news; you literally start imagining the scene detail by detail, and it makes you extremely uncomfortable. actually, it literally ruins your mood, as it's as if you actually lived that scene. going back to the creativity matter, you have the soul of an artist; you have very enhanced emotions, and you're able to express them through artistic outlets. you could be amazing at writing poetry, books, art, music... also, your particular empathy of human's intellect can also make you an amazing psychologist or actress, as you're able to understand others' feelings and make them your own. you're extremely spiritual, and if you don't feel like that, you just have yet to have your spiritual awakening. you may be able to talk to spirits, for example, or perhaps you have very meaningful dreams. or maybe, you could literally predict the future through them. you're also most probably an avid daydreamer, you tend to get distracted easily because you're too busy thinking about random scenarios in your head. seriously, you could even make a movie out of them. you're also an hopeless romantic, and you dream of finding not just your spouse, but your literal soulmate. to make it simple, you want all of your daydreams to become reality.
pisces moon square sagittarius pluto: your emotions are so intense that they almost scare those around you. in fact, you're prone to accentuated mood swings; when you're happy, you start smiling and laughing joyfully. when you're sad, you're the type to cry, scream, even throw up in some cases. that's how far you go with your emotions. maybe, you also feel repressed to express your feelings exactly for this reason. you probably also have a conservative/possessive mother (or just any member of your family), with whom you don't feel at ease expressing your emotions. or maybe, your mother was absent throughout your life. on the other hand, you can understand others' feelings, but be careful not to use it to manipulate others. you could also be very paranoid, and might develop addictions and anxiety disorders, especially with your sensitive pisces moon.
🗣 mercury in gemini, 28° / 3rd decan ruled by mercury and uranus
mercury is in its natural place in gemini, your whole chart flows very well! you have great problem-solving skills, you are extremely intelligent and astute. when you were younger, you probably used to be the winner at games like hide-and-seek. this placement also enhances your thirst for knowledge of any kind, you want to learn at least a little about anything, from science to foreign cultures. yet, since you want to learn so many things all at once, you may lack precision and be a little bit superficial. on the other hand, you're a fast learner and you may often find people predictable, but in reality you're just ahead of them. you're also very open-minded, even though you still rely more on logic, not like your sister sign is sagittarius. yet, it's easy for you to be flexible in your day-to-day life, you don't have to follow a schedule to have everything under control, even though you may often suffer from stress and headaches due to this lack of organization. you may have a very youthful and positive voice, you just give off good vibes, you know?
❤️ venus in leo, 0° / 1st decan ruled by the sun
with leo venus you're very picky, as you have high expectations for your future partner. you always try to be at your best state, and you want those who surround you to be perfect too. it's hard for you to fall for someone, as you take everything in consideration: personality, physical appearance, fashion sense... it may look like it is too much, but once you find the right one that truly satisfies your standards, you're in for a long ride. you'll want to travel, live your life in the best way possible with the person you love. you look at them as if they were the brighest star in the sky, and you want to be seen like this as well. you may even be a bit clingy, but your partner needs to be aware of that. they can't repress your need for affection. you see love as a way to revive your inner child, you feel younger when you're in love. even though you want someone fun and outgoing, you also need someone ambitious, hard-working and generally serious when it comes to committing. there's no room in your life for flaky people.
leo venus square libra mars: this placement most likely gives you a short-temper. you may have lots of friends or lots of romantic partners, but you may find yourself being often irritated by them. you could argue with others over petty things, and this could affect your relationships significantly. at the same time, you enjoy fun, exciting relationships. you're the type who's looking for a risktaker, even dangerous partner. you hate boredom, and this may be your weakness regarding this placement; that is, once the relationship starts getting more serious, you feel as if it's going down, when it's actually the opposite. hence, you just run towards a new adventure. with this placement, what you need is learning to open up and being honest without being too blunt. you need to talk about your feelings, you can't bottle them up, but be careful not to sound rude, don't be too impulsive. because of your nature, the perfect partner for you would be someone mature, confident and empathetic that will understand you and won't get hurt by your words.
leo venus square aries jupiter: you come off as a very positive, happy-go-lucky person. you're extremely friendly, and this makes you be good at social relationships. you may have lots of friends, or at least you have the potential to make many if you opened up and talked to them. yet, while this energy gives you positive vibes, some people may take advantage of that, as you could easily be mistaken for naive. people can try to dominate you unconsciously (sometimes even on purpose) not only in relationships but even in friendships. aside from that, I don't think this placement causes you many problems. you may have the tendency to procrastinate and not work. you could be quite lazy and get easily distracted, as you're constantly with your head in the cloud.
leo venus opposite aquarius neptune: you probably dream of a love like those you hear about in fairytales; you're not only looking for a partner, you literally want a princess/prince, who's willing to give their all to you. you find yourself daydreaming often about love, and it may also be your source of inspiration for creativity and art in general. probably, you may idealize people too much; that is, you may create a version of others that only exists in your head. hence, once you get to know someone better, they turn out to be the exact opposite of what you thought. this causes you to be sort of naive when it comes to relationships, so pay extra attention to this problem now that you're aware of it.
☄️ mars in libra, 24° / 3rd decan ruled by venus and mercury
there’s this stereotype that libra mars people are passive-aggressive. it may be true, but only partially. in fact, you try to avoid conflicts exclusively when you’re in public, or maybe with someone you don’t know well. in that case, you can eventually try to avoid the problem. with people you’re close to, you’re pretty much the opposite. you may say the worst of things that you probably don’t even feel, you may even have the istinct to throw hands. you’re driven by a strong sense of justice, and you probably were the class’ snitch during daycare/primary school. you also strive for equality, hence you may get very defensive when it comes to proving your innocence, or just really anyone’s. overall, you’re a fair person with strong morals, who acts based on the situation you’re in.
libra mars opposite aries jupiter: you easily come off as more assertive and arrogant than you actually are. you say things impulsively, and sometimes you’re too blunt and hurt people’s feelings. you don’t do it on purpose, though, there’s no malice behind your acts; it’s just your natural way to express your opinions. you’re also very competitive, and this may make you look selfish. on a positive side, you probably have a naturally nice body (or maybe you react fast to diet/workout). you’re a risk-taker, and if you’re not you should try breaking the rules sometimes (obviously not doing illegal stuff lol). in fact, it’s when you’re both physically and mentally active that you’re able to come up with even better ideas, as you’re full of creativity. to cope with this placement, you can try doing something fun to challenge your mind, basically get out of your comfort-zone. of course you don’t have to overdo it, but it would be beneficial.
🏡 houses
your 1st house is in gemini. your ego feels fulfilled when you express your opinions, ideas and creativity. people probably see you as an intelligent, wise individual. maybe even as a know-it-all. you care about both your inner and outer self, which may be the cause of your confidence issues. you try to fit into society, and you tend to change your approach to people based on who you’re interacting with. while this gives you great social skills, it may confuse you quite a bit. in fact, you may forget who you are. you may often have identity crisis, especially since you always feel as if you have to fit somewhere. your sun in this house makes you very confident and motivated to achieve your goals. you possess strong leadership, which makes you aspire for the best positions in work, school, marriage etc. you don't want to lower your standards. you hate routine; you always try to spice up your daily life a bit by meeting new people and trying new experiences in general. you enjoy having fun, partying, travelling... you thrive in social situations. you may have troubles making right decisions, as you're quite indecisive. but, once you do choose, no one is gonna stop you from achieving your goals and showing the world who you are. in fact, you gain confidence from your assertiveness, making you pretty proud of your persona as well.
your 2nd house is in gemini again, with also your mercury sitting there. you’re probably very intelligent, and your skills are what boost your self-esteem. you’re also capable of doing more than one thing at the same time. you could make money from communication, hence you could become a writer, a singer, a theraphist, a judge, even an influencer. anything that involves the use of words. you may also be quite intelligent, and your intellect and ideas are what make you feel most confident. you have a slow way of thinking and speaking. your voice may sound really calm and pleasant to hear, yet still strict and ambitious. you’re probably a good singer, or at least have the potential to become one. you tend to overthink a lot, but you eventually get to a conclusion and stick to it. no one is gonna change your mind. you enjoy learning and working in creative ways; you might enjoy using powerpoints, flashcards or maybe study with your friends, or listening to music. you also probably have a nice, aesthetic handwriting and you like organizing your agenda. your voice is probably very soft and youthful.
your 3rd house is in cancer. your parents were probably successful in school and university, and they passed down their knowledge to you. maybe, you may have the same interests or passions as them, or perhaps they want you to be academically successful just like them. you may also find yourself talking about your memories, as you’re very attached to them, or even directly about your childhood/parents. your venus is also in this house: your flirting style most probably includes jokes, teasing… things like that. even though you may seem flaky, as you like experiencing romance with different types of people, you’re actually quite picky. in fact, in order to fall for someone, you need to feel mentally attracted to them, not just physically. someone ignorant and stubborn that doesn’t care about learning something most definitely isn’t for you. you’re not the type to be super romantic and sweet with your partner or just people in general. you show your affection for example by sending them memes, making ironic jokes about them etc. also, when you’re into someone, you probably get very talkative! you start asking them simple questions about their life, even things like 'did you have lunch?’.
your 4th house is in leo. your family had great expectations of you, which could have eventually led to anxiety/self-esteem issues. on the other hand, your parents cared about you, and they always made sure that you had everything you needed. if you have siblings, you were most likely the favourite child in the family, or at least you were spoiled by your parents, both with material things and affection. overall, your childhood wasn’t much turbulent, even though your parents most likely were quite strict with you. there could have been a bit of arguing as well aside from restrictions, and hence it was hard for you to establish a proper emotional bond with them. because of that, you may feel a little insecure now, as you may constantly feel misunderstood by others.
your 5th house is in virgo. you enjoy relax, yet you may feel guilty to abandon work for a while. you always feel like you have something to do, and that doesn’t allow you to fully enjoy your rest time. make sure to always find some space for yourself, though. it’s where your energy resides, you feel at home and comfortable exploring your abilities, you shouldn’t take them for granted. also, this enhances your writing abilities even more. in fact, you’re both creative to create stories and rational to tell them objectively and in a clear manner. you're picky with your lovers and friends, it takes time for you to open up to someone and fully trust them, but once you do, you're very loyal. I don't see you being as extroverted as other geminis, you need your alone time, but you definitely don't mind spending time with your loved ones and close friends.
your 6th house is in libra. you most likely involve beauty, art, aesthetics and creativity in your daily routine. your home environment probably looks very neat and well-designed. you care a lot about it, as much as you care about yourself; you put a lot of attention in your outfits and looks too, and you most likely love shopping. this is another placement that indicates that your ideal career should serve your need for creativity and self-expression. it’s very important for you to pursue a career that helps you find a way to express the creative side of your mind. you may also often find yourself dating people from your daily routine, hence co-workers, classmates etc. mars is also placed in this house: your life revolves around being productive. you don't like to waste your time, you always try to learn and gain something useful from everything you do. that's caused by the fact that you're motivated to be perfect in what you like; this, combined with your competitive nature, may often cause you to burn out.
your 7th house is in sagittarius. you want your marriage to be a constant travel for you, in which you can both relax and learn. you want to marry a witty and impulsive partner, that is also fun to live with. you may often find yourself falling for unavailable people, either physically or emotionally (or even both). they may be foreign, or at least they’re able to speak a different language from yours. they could also have a different culture/religion from yours. overall, they're also very wise, outgoing and surprisingly open-minded and philosophical. you could meet them in a place where you go to relax, such as the movie theater, a spa, the beach or even during a vacation. your sagittarius pluto is also sitting in this house: you tend to attract very intense partners. your future spouse will be very loyal and fond of you, but they may be a little too obsessive for you. it will be a very intimate relationship, but you may struggle with control. in fact, you’ll most likely be both very possessive and easily jealous, and there may be some arguments regarding this issue. with this placement, you may also attract ‘broken’ people, such as drug dealers, alcoholics, abusers… yet, as I’ve already mentioned, you also have jupiter (sagittarius) in this house, which makes you luckier when it comes to love. you’ll most likely avoid this type of people, but your relationships will still be very karmic. they may be painful, as you love hard when you fall for someone, but they’ll be crucial for your self-growth. you may also find yourself being attracted to mature, possibly older people, from different cultures / country from yours.
your 8th house is in sagittarius again. you’re very curious when it comes to taboo topics, you like learning about them. you’re probably into conspiracy theories, as well as matters like astrology, tarots, horror, tragedies, violence… you can use them to transform yourself and grow up, so you could definitely use this birth chart reading to improve yourself. 8th house is also the house of karma, and yours is kind of strange. you may often feel like you’re right about something, e.g the sky is blue. you’re very proud of your observation, but then it turns out to be different. it’s like the universe is constantly teaching you new things. luckily, this is something that gets better with time. in addition, having sagittarius here is great, as jupiter kind of protects you from the 8th house’s malefic themes. all the negative things that could happen to you, are actually blessings that are here to help you. you just need to be a little bit more optimistic, the universe has your back.
your 9th house is in capricorn, with also your neptune sitting there. you have a pragmatic approach to philosophy, school and experiences in general. for example, you may be the type to plan every day of a travel. at school, you were probably the type to prefer more logical subjects, but I assume that you were good at all of them. with neptune being also here, you may come across a lot of unexpected and confusing events in your life, especially when you’re entering a new phase of your life. yet, you may often get lost in your thoughts and get unmotivated from time to time. you most likely love travelling and making new experiences. if you had to choose how to spend your spare time, you’d most likely choose to travel somewhere. you’re also extremely open-minded, you hardly ever have prejudices. you surely don’t judge people from their sexuality, skin colour etc. last but not least, you may also have a knack for philosophy, poetry, literature, history… anything that can open your mind and stimulate your creativity.
your 10th house is in aquarius with also your moon and uranus placed there. your uranus is tightly conjunct the midheaven. you want to stand out from the crowd, you strive to establish your own morals and beliefs. you don’t want to conform to anything and anyone, as you’re a trend-setter and you want to be seen as such. you’d rather have a job where you can handle your work yourself, rather than having a boss. in fact, aquarius in this house makes you extremely resolute and motivated to achieve your goals and be independent. you may not be much interested in love, and if you are, you don’t overlook career either. having a stable and successful future that makes you happy is the key for happiness in your life. it’s important to be focused when working, especially for you. yet, once you know how to balance this tricky energy and get your stuff together, you’ll earn a reputation for being an innovative and original person. you may be quite artistic, creative and emotional, you’ll probably focus your life on self-expression. with the moon in this house, you are most likely going to be independent at work, you'll most likely have your own business. you could possibly work online as well, you could earn money through the internet, or perhaps your job may require you to physically move: you could be a dancer, an actor/actress, you could pursue a career that involves a certain sport, etc. you will get to express your emotions through your job, or perhaps you'll get to help other people with their feelings. you would make a great therapist, nurse, counselor, etc.
your 11th house is in pisces. you probably had problems with your friendships in your early years. you could have been too shy to approach people, hence you struggled to befriend them. or maybe, you used to gossip around, and that led you to lose them. or perhaps, you’re too work-oriented to find some spare time to hang out with others, and hence you end up losing your bond with them. in the best case, you may have quite spiritual / religious friends, or perhaps they’re your soulmates, they were a part of your past life. you have this habit of idealizing them a bit; that is, you may be too picky in choosing your friends. you’re probably looking for the type of friend that’d literally throw themselves under a car to save you, but it’s hard to actually find someone like that. open up more and accept others as they are. you don’t necessarily need to be with them for a long time, but make sure to learn your lessons from them.
lastly, your 12th house is in the sign of taurus, with also saturn and jupiter placed there. you may feel attracted to spirituality, but you’re quite lazy to actually dive into it. I feel like at first you may be quite skeptical about your abilities, but as time goes by you become more open-minded and in tune with your higher self. once you understand your true power, you'll become very spiritual and intuitive. you'll have lots of meaningful dreams, possibly prophetic dreams that could warn you about the future. you may be able to perceive and talk to higher entities such as spirits, and you could become a master at manifestation. with a positive attitude, you'll be able to attract everything you want in your life, especially finances and love thanks to taurus in the cusp of the 12th house.
❤️ love life, soulmates
in love you attract sagittarius, virgo, scorpio and aquarius placements. your future spouse may also have prominent sagittarius placements; you need someone who’s charming, respectful, interesting and polite, but that can also stand up for themselves with no hesitation. you’re also into the magnetic, sexy type. you’re looking for someone independent, but that wouldn’t mind dedicating their time to you. you may feel unlucky in love, as your sagittarius descendant makes you attract people that are usually unavailable, whether it’s physically (they’re abroad) or emotionally. you may marry someone of a different culture/country/religion from yours. you may also meet and marry abroad or during a vacation. they could also be someone very well known in their career field, or perhaps they may even be famous. you could also meet them in a place where people usually relax, such as a bar or at the restaurant, and it will most likely be love at first sight. your children will most probably have very prominent mercurian energy, hence virgo or gemini; they’ll love to learn new things, they'll be very witty and ask multiple questions, as they will be very intelligent. yet, they could be a bit too talkative, and could have a tendency to gossip.
👶🏻 family life
your mother is probably very hard-working, and she has a strong role in your family. she loves being spoiled and appreciated, together with receiving attention. yet, she could sometimes be quite superficial because of that, but deep down she’s very romantic and mannered. she may have leo placements, or maybe aquarius, cancer, scorpio or capricorn. your father is a bit more unpredictable, he could be moody and therefore you may argue with him more often, and he might be an aquarius or have any type of fire/water placement in his chart. yet, he also has a very sweet and outgoing side to him that he may struggle to let out. if you have siblings, they’re probably leos/fire signs. you have a very pleasant relationship with them, you're all very playful and generous and you used to always stand up for each other, even though there could have been a bit of competition.
📊 career
as I’ve already mentioned above, you most likely have great communication skills and writing abilities. you’re very logical and precise, you’d definitely do well in a field that requires calm and organization. I can also picture you being an amazing teacher or even professor. based on your other placements, you could also do well at literally any creative career! you may be a dancer, a singer, or even something more complex like a creative director. otherwise, you could also be successful as a designer of any kind, an architect, a scientist… something that allows you to be mostly independent, but that can still guarantee you mental stimulation and a decent income, and that also allows you to use your creative venusian energy. I also see you working in the medical field, especially as a therapist, a psychologist, a nurse... anything that allows you to help other people's mental health. your future career could also include spirituality, such as yoga, astrology... you may be a medium, a tarot reader, a fortune teller, etc.
👕 fashion sense, style analysis
keyword for your wardrobe: black. every leo venus loves black, it's probably my favorite love story. after all, it's such a versatile color! it can be both badass and classy, how can I blame you. you may also have a thing for anything that looks luxury and high quality; you probably enjoy wearing designer brands, especially in your belts and bags. you may also like wearing fitted clothes, even just simple skinny jeans or tight tops. aside from black, you could as well use white and bold colours like gold, hot pink etc. also, you may as well be into pastel colors, and you could like following fashion trends.
👁 past life, life purpose
in your past life, you were very career-oriented. you were probably extremely successful at work, it was your priority. you could have even been someone important for your career, who knows. yet, this lifetime you don't need to focus on work anymore, you're already a master at it. now, you need to solve your issues with your family and create a family of your own to fully accomplish your life purpose. there may be some ups and downs, but this is what your soul has to learn in this lifetime.
🤔 major transits analysis / august 18
jupiter is current in aquarius, meaning that it's transiting your 10th house conjunct your pisces moon. this is an extremely positive time for you! in fact, having the planet of abundance and luck conjunct the planet of energy means that you're motivated to work hard and achieve your goals! it's the best time to start a diet, a workout routine, study, dive into a new hobby... your vibration is much higher these days, therefore it's the best time for you to manifest.
🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills
you’re very in contact with your spirituality, making you more sensitive to higher affirmations. you have the ability to visualize what you want. that’s the key to activate the loa: travel with your fantasy, and visualize what you desire. do you want a new car? imagine yourself doing road-trips on that car. a new phone? visualize yourself making calls with that phone. you can even literally create a story involving those topics and it will come true. you can also help yourself by writing and listening to your own affirmations, maybe covered up by some music. in this way, you'll develop a more optimistic mindset and you'll be able to attract more positivity in your life. you just have to believe in your power!
and this is it! thank you again for booking a reading, hope it resonated with you :)
-libramc xx
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sanghyukstattoos · 3 years
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Cross the street
Characters: Kim Youngkyun I Hwiyoung x Reader
Genre: Fluff
Words: 2468
Summary: Hwiyoung loved the sun and the sky and you but sometimes, all the hassles and life changes gave him a major headache but today and everyday other day since that time he had met you, you were there to listen to his troubles. 
A/N: There were so many beautiful Hwi gifs, I had a tough time choosing-
Also, this one wasn’t requested but I had thought of the idea ages ago so I hope you enjoy! 
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His fingers roughly threaded through his hair, pushing the strands out of his face. Standing outside the room he had just walked out claiming that he needed, "air", the annoyance was coursing through his veins and he felt like venting. Just moments before, he had gotten the scream of his life and to add salt to the wound was the fact that it was for something beyond his control. That person must have been having a bad day too. However, if that was how his day started then he could have walked away like it was nothing.
Starting with the bad comments, the world worked wonders. It seemed as if there were no end to the amount of bad people that existed and the problems manifested as a result of their behaviour. Even listening to music didn't help as the thoughts persistently lingered at the back of his mind. At this point, this would be the second week to look bleak, he thought trying to selectively remember the good memories of the last.
Opposite him was a huge glass window and the sky couldn't have looked any more prettier. There were both dark clouds and bright ones alike but the bright ones took over the sky. Overlapping with the dark clouds, it looked as if the latter were adorned with sequins that shone even as the night raged on. Scoffing at the sky, his thoughts were interrupted by someone opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Sanghyuk looked at him with immense concern before saying, "They want to discuss something but they need everyone there". Nodding, he turned to enter but was stopped by Sanghyuk tenderly saying, "You'll be fine, let's go".
Taking a deep breath as he entered the room, a couple of eyes turned their way. When they actually got to the discussion, it wasn't anything like he expected it to be. Rather than talking about future plans, it was about reformation. A type of change subject to varying degrees but that's at least how he interpreted it. Is this how it’s going to be from now onwards? We change for those people instead of trying to bring about change as idols?
Change was harder than he thought because sometimes it required trying to convince a whole bunch of people who held the same opinions and were all equally persistent about it. Many beliefs couldn't be factually proven so saying that someone else's beliefs were wrong was incorrect because there was an equal chance that yours were wrong as well. So he had to let it go but not when their beliefs influenced his behaviour, especially in a way that he didn't agree with.
In the next room, it was as if they were having some sort of dance party, the stomping, screaming and and literal choruses of laughter made concentrating on what the director was saying, harder. His attention went fluttering to what could have been possibly happening in the very next room. From the look on the directors face, she also seemed dissatisfied and looking around, she let out a laugh that was of course, open to interpretation. At the corner of his eye, he saw Youngbin and Inseong glancing nervously at one another and looking at the others, they seemed to share a nervous disposition as well.
Hints of behind the scene movements that fans were indefinitely clueless about through the way the group presented themselves, seeped viciously from Sanghyuk. Taking a look, one would be able to see the negative comments clamouring and tearing down at the strong self- esteem walls he had built. These people are not our fans, he thought to himself. Hardiness is not a trait everyone was born with and subject to experiences in life, people gradually begin to display varying degrees of hardiness. Obviously, Sanghyuk was no exception to this, developing a strong sense of resilience over the course of his life as an artist but to see him like this, deeply saddened Youngkyun.
An inadmissible gap filled with the silence from Sanghyuk, Youngkyun tried his best to comprehensively understand what people were saying but while nodding, he couldn’t help but disagree to a larger extent. They really meant when they said that silence was key. These people were angry and Youngkyun immediately understood that they had lost the fight they started. Softly sighing, he smiled as he turned to the camera for the ones who were there for the same reason as he was.
During the course of the live, the members made sure to give Sanghyuk a pat every now and then. He found the premise hurtful but comforting because they were there with him. Temples throbbing a bit, he squeezed his eyes feeling temporary relief from having not blinked once within the last couple of seconds. Eyeing the snacks on the table in front of them, he reached for two, holding one against his chest while he handed the other one to Sanghyuk. The older one received it with a small smile to his face, murmuring a "thank you" whilst returning to his comfort zone.
A while ago, he put himself in Sanghyuk's place and shivered a little at the thoughts that crawled into his mind. He wasn't the centre of their negative attention but he ended up feeling self-conscious. It was coincidental for him to be called at that exact time allowing him to brush the situation aside. Looking over, he made a decision that even if he couldn't stop the problem, he would protect Sanghyuk, following whatever the older chose to do. Not thinking about how exhausted he could become, he went ahead believing that even if he burned out, it would be at Sanghyuk's side.
Gradually spinning, soft laughs and giggles passed them by as the live came to an end. Evoking a nature of warm- heartedness, interacting with their fans from all walks of life left a deep impression on the members. The support they received was instrumental in their music and it made them happy knowing that people loved the results of their hard work. Despite ongoing troubles, they compartmentalised, segregating the nice people from others. There was also strength in numbers but this didn't have to refer to a large number of people because even two could seal the deal.
Just like Fantasy's, the members had one another and being able to rely on each other meant that they didn't worry about concerning their fans. On the way back home, the members optimistically spoke about the live with Hwiyoung pitching in every once in a while. Bright but tired smiles lit the dimly lit car as the members fell asleep one by one. Comfortable silence enveloped the car as Hwi looked outside, watching the trees and other cars pass by in a blur. Taeyang looked over at him, tracing his face for a hint about his thoughts. From a glance, it looked as if he was wandering but Tae realised quickly that his intense focus must have meant that he was only thinking about one thing.
They all were because it wasn't fun knowing that someone who constantly made you smile wasn't smiling anymore. Obviously he'd pick up his baggage someday and throw it over the balcony, free from its weight but that toll it placed on him while it was with him was enormous. His balance from the rest of the world was crowded with aimless thoughts, thoughts that Sanghyuk quickly looked away from. You couldn't solve this problem today even if you wanted to. Neither could you run away from it, pretending to have solved it because that would be like putting a band-aid on a gushing wound.
Today wasn't the day and still looking outside, Hwi rested his head on the headrest, feeling a wave of tiredness wash over him as he did so. Getting off, the boys lugged out of the car with Hwi informing them that he would make his way to your house. Nodding, they wished him well and to be safe, watching as he got into his own car and made his way to your house. Half way through, he felt as if it was a bad idea to arrive at your house because while you'd definitely be excited to see him (he could already see the smile on your face), he'd want to complain about how terrible his day was. Parking outside, he shut the car door and practically ran to the door.
In less than five seconds, you were at the door, having felt excited to meet him. You skipped down the stairs, careful not to hurt yourself but as soon as you landed on the last step, you bounced all the way to the door, straightening a little as you reached to open it. Peeking at his form, alarm bells set off in your head but you prepared yourself for the scenario that was about to unfold, knowing that whatever it was, you would be here to hold him in your arms and soothe him. "Hey babe" you smiled, extending your arms and meeting your eyes, he mirrored your bright smile and lightly fell into your embrace.
Your fingers went up to his head, running your fingers through his hair as he hid in the crook of your neck, taking in your smell. Your smell was the most familiar and the most comforting, helping him relax as it instantly reminded him of you. "It's late, you must be really tired," you said as you pulled away, arms still around his waist. "It's okay, it’s surprising I’m not that tired" he replied scrunching up his nose and holding up his fingers to represent how little he was tired. Hand in hand, you walked to the bedroom, sitting on the bed as he went to the bathroom to freshen up, grabbing some clothes on the way from the free space you made for him in your cupboard so that he'd have some place to keep his stuff every time he came over.
You didn't like the idea of leaving his side when his composure was essentially ripping at the seams but you waited nonetheless till he came out. Joining you on the bed, he laid himself in between your legs with his head on your chest as you ran your fingers through his hard, supported by pillows against the headrest. Softly, you asked him, "You okay?" but you could tell that he wasn't going to reply from the silence. He was trying to tell you but he didn't know where to start because he felt like that was the most important. Not being able to put his finger down on the one thing that was causing him the most trouble threw him over the line. Just as you grasped his chin to get him to look up at you, he shifted to lay on his stomach, burying his head in yours as the tears that he had been holding in all day flowed free.
Feeling the warmth on your stomach and hearing his sniffles made you connect the dots together and immediately you asked, "Babe? Hwi baby, look at me, tell me what's wrong" you tenderly spoke but this only encouraged more tears from him. It was as if he couldn’t find the words to tell you and this is the only way he could start. Leaving your position from around him, you slept face to face with him and pulled him into your hold. You held the back of his head as his arms immediately found your form, squeezing you against him. Sobbing, the tears flowed at an alarmingly free rate and stained your shoulders.
This hurt you and tears pricked the corners of your eyes as Hwi was usually very happy with his gummy smiles and adorable attitude. Not to mention how much fun the two of you had but you needed to remind him that bad times only lasted as long. Pushing away your tears, you held his face in your hands, forcing him to look at you. He peered through his wet eyelashes at you, cheeks wet and momentarily stopped at your actions but looking you in the eyes caused him to start again. You pouted as you watched him cry saying, "Baby boy, you have to tell me what's wrong so that we can try and fix it together". Hearing your words made him shake his head vigorously, disagreeing that you could help whatever was going on.
"Well, how would we know if you don't tell me?" you gently questioned looking at his eyes that were lost in thought. "Okay" he whispered, voice hoarse from the crying and swallowing, he took a shaky breath before starting his story. Letting go of his face, you shifted again, this time face to face with him as he explained. Going into detail, you made mental notes at the level of different elements whilst patting his butt which helped him calm down faster. He stopped every once in a while to take a breath which also allowed you to process the different pieces of information, trying to pick out any places where you could ask questions.
Completing his stories, he rubbed the wetness away from his eyes, throwing an arm over your waist as you rubbed the expanse of his abs. His turn over, you started, "It's difficult, I'll give you that. Even more so, you are able to deal with these situations. Look at them from a third person perspective and imagine that you were speaking to a fellow friend, how would you describe what just happened? After that, how long will that memory stay with you, won't it be crowded by the happier memories you make every day? It's really easy to get lost thinking over and over again about all the tiny things that have built up or a problem that won't go away, but if you give it time, I guarantee you now that you'll have moved on to other parts of your life, later on." you spoke, letting the words run through his mind, seeing the answers form in his mind.
You waited for a few moments till he nodded in agreement saying, "Thank you by the way" following with a soft kiss to your lips. Warm, they tasted a little bit salty and as you pulled away, you replied, "It's okay baby". Your hands found his hair, holding his head back a little so that you could press a kiss against his forehead, holding him in your arms. His eyes dropped, the exhaustion seeping through him having poured out the stress that he was carrying with him all day. You smiled at the small rises and falls of his chest, laying next to him as you pulled the covers over the two of you. Not before long, you fell asleep as well, thinking of the way he slept like a little baby. 
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portvalehq · 3 years
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an artist at heart, you never even meant to find your way port vale, painted in shades of gray and duller than other places you’ve called home. yet a few years in, and you haven’t found the heart to leave. it calls to you, in a way, promising something beautiful under layers of stone and secrets. you see the vibrant colors beyond the rain, and want to bring a new life to this sleepy little village town.
EMILIA MIRABEL ACOSTA ● CORAL ● THE ARTIST
age & birthdate: 30 & June 26th 1991
birthplace: Cardenas, Cuba
length of time in port vale: 2.5 years
occupation: tattoo apprentice at anchored heart tattoos
faceclaim: Ana De Armas 
HISTORY
Growing up, Emilia had a knack for the arts, the kind of child that like to be stocked up on crayons and coloured pencils so she could spend her free time doodling. It was a hobby she enjoyed and honestly, she was good at it. However, as much as she enjoyed and excelled at art, her parents weren't too fond of her "wasting her time with silly drawings". She preferred seeing her focusing on her studies, having no problems vocalizing to her how they believed this talent of hers wouldn't get her anywhere. It was disheartening to know her parents didn't approve of her exploring a future with something she loved but fighting them on it would be met with threats of her finding her own way without their support. Had she not been so financially dependent on them, she would have stood up to them sooner.
Emilia went along, doing as she was told, working on art pieces whenever she had the chance. She worried her skills would fade away if she didn't continue to practice and that maybe that was what her parents were hoping for. When it was time for her to go to college, she knew she wouldn't be able to convince her parents to let her study art unless she wanted to pay for it herself. Some of her best marks were in science (mostly astronomy) so her parents decided for her that she would go to school for astrophysics.
It was difficult and far too much work and after a couple semesters, Emilia gave up. She stopped going to classes, worked part time as well as doing art commissions to make money before telling her parents she was done doing what they wanted her to do. Once she dropped out she started to focus even more on her art, trying to get noticed and make something of herself. She travelled around a lot, leaving when she felt she wasn't getting what she wanted. 
She almost gave up until she arrived in Port Vale. This was the place that felt right to her. Emilia never considered becoming a tattoo artist before arriving here but there was something about this place but she enjoyed it and felt no desire to leave.
PRESENT
Upon arriving to Port Vale, Emilia didn’t expect to stay for very long. Coming here was a last ditch effort, would she find what she was looking for here, or would she have to go crawling back to her family and admit that they were right all along? She stayed at the inn for a while, not wanting to commit to anything long term. She had to find street corners to set up and show off her art before she got noticed. The idea of working at a tattoo parlor was one that she instinctively wanted to turn down, her parents voices in her head reminding her how people with tattoos were hoodlums and delinquents and that wasn’t something she should be getting herself involved in. But her parents were no longer in control of her life, Emilia was, and the idea of someone walking around with her art inked into their skin was something she wanted to see.
The past two and a half years since she arrived flew by. She barely even noticed how long she had been staying at the Inn until after about a year she was reminded that she could get a place of her own instead of constantly asking to stay “one more month”. These days Emilia feels happier than she’s ever been, currently working on her apprenticeship and working hard on making custom art pieces for the parlor and its customers. She also offers her services in doing freelance photography for businesses that might want it for decoration or for promotions.
PERSONALITY
Emilia is the type of person who always does her best to look on the bright side of things. She is optimistic and has a tendency to see the good in people even if others can’t see it for themselves. When she was younger she was more reserved and kept to herself and her drawings but these days she has started to feel more comfortable with going around getting to know people, especially in a place like Port Vale. She is soft-spoken and kindhearted, perhaps to a fault, she trusts people too easily which could get her into a sticky situation if met with someone with bad intentions.
CONNECTIONS
OBSIDIAN: he is your trainer and inspiration. if it weren’t for him, and his shop, you may have blown through port vale without a second thought. your art caught his eye somehow, so you sit with ink & needles and listen to his guidance. the sadness he carries with him reminds you of port vale in general; the dull, dreary cloud that shrouds the beautiful oceanside town needs a little color, and so does he.
SEAWEED: they’re crazy; fully batshit, and you love it. you wish you could believe in merfolk with the same passion as they have, look out into the ocean and see a whole world beneath the surface, and let it consume your life. they see their fantasy world of mermaids as important as you see your art, so you get them, and they appreciate you for it.
SAPPHIRE: the two of you were fast friends. though your hearts are the same, you couldn’t be more different in every other aspect. they are flighty and anxious, where you love life and laughter. you want them to branch out, and the longer you spend with them, the stranger they seem; so you dig deeper, diving into the connection headfirst. when you become a star tattoo artist, you want your art to be displayed on her skin.
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insanityclause · 4 years
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There are few directors who toy with the conventions as Guillermo del Toro does, and there’s no question that he puts his own unique stamp on several genres he clearly adores in the 2015 film Crimson Peak. Gothic romance, horror story, twisted fairy tale, and bodice-ripper – the film has it all. Del Toro’s vision comes through in every frame, much like the eponymous location, which oozes red and looms above all else, including the characters.
We learn the name of the rotting estate far before we learn the name of our heroine Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), the demurely optimistic, aspiring writer who is the child of a self-made business tycoon (Jim Beaver) in early 20th century America. She may take after her father in her disdain for those who inherited their wealth – ironic being that she’s an heiress herself – but she’s nevertheless swept off her feet in a passionate whirlwind romance when the English baronet Tom Hiddleston… errr… Thomas Sharpe comes to town, the very man her (dead) mother warned her about.
Hardly surprising it didn’t take, given Hiddleston’s charms, and the fact that the film takes pains to state that Edith could be the belle of many a ball… if she didn’t scorn the frivolities all the other female characters take so seriously, often belittling Edith for her bookish interests. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how often female characters lacked friends of the same gender until about 2016.
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When Edith and Thomas marry and she’s taken to her to new husband’s ancestral estate, the titular Crimson Peak, that’s when del Toro is in glorious peak form. It’s also when the film’s flaws really rise up, much like the specters who immediately make themselves known to Edith and guide her in deciphering the various secrets Thomas and his sister Lucille (Jessica Chastain) are hiding.
And they’re clearly hiding something. Crimson Peak may have plenty of modern touches and make full use of all the effects thereof, but there’s not a sneer or a smirk to be found. The film wears its bloody heart on its sleeve, unafraid of its own sincerity as the plot unfolds, with plenty of revelations, but few surprises. There’s no doubt that “ghosts are real,” as Edith states in the beginning, and anyone expecting shocking, upending plots twists will be quite disappointed.
There’s also little doubt as to who the real villain is, and why many reviewers cited Rebecca and Jane Eyre (one version of which also starred Wasikowska) as clear influences. Both feature young, strong, yet naive heroines who must contend with older, worldly, deeply sexual women as obstacles to the happiness awaiting them, and Edith is certainly in that heroic mold. With her bright blonde hair, yellow dresses, the way her hands tremble as she wanders fearfully alone through her creepily oppressive home holding aloft a lit candelabra, she is the innocent virgin, the victim we always sympathize with. How could we help ourselves?
Since this is a film with few surprises and no subtlety, it’s hardly shocking that her main oppressor Lucille Sharpe isn’t just Edith’s opposite, but everything society tells women not to be: deeply sexual, filled with rage, and perhaps most crucially, older, unmarried, and sans children. From the moment we meet her, black-haired and wrapped in a red dress as she plays a darkly beautiful tune on the piano with icy precision, she embodies the Sharpe home and its unsavory history.
Thomas may be a fully aware, willing participant in their crimes, but Lucille is the one who gets her hands dirty and disposes of their many victims, with Chastain throwing herself into the role and quickly becoming the standout as Lucille and Edith play their deadly game, each trying to survive the other.
Make no mistake, it’s not just Edith battling for survival as the siblings slowly poison her on their isolated estate, which seems to ooze blood as it slowly sinks into the red clay beneath. What Crimson Peak fails to recognize, even as it provides plenty of motives for Lucille’s actions and occasionally grants her moments of vulnerability, is that Lucille’s life is at stake too, and not just for her crimes, which have been many and grisly.
For all her privilege, she is a woman with few resources and opportunities, who endured a childhood of physical and emotional abuse. Conversations reveal how much physical violence was a fixture in the life of her and her brother, with their mother regularly beating them both with a cane, and whose father beat her so severely he broke her leg and left her bedridden for a time.
And yet Lucille is the one society expects to nurse her abuser back to health (and did). She also receives the majority of the blame not just for the crimes she and her brother commit, but for their incestuous relationship. Thomas has the face of a tortured angel as he becomes more and more conflicted, even partly redeemed when he eventually attempts to save Edith from his sister. Hiddleston is more than up to the challenge, and it’s hard to picture other actors so convincingly pulling this off and earning our sympathy.
That Edith does survive (women like her always make it to the end) is mostly thanks to her childhood friend Alan (Charlie Hunnam), who harbors an unrequited love for her and investigates. Edith may have deduced what was happening, but she’s no match for Lucille, who not only outwits her at every turn but is fully aware of how toxic the love she and Thomas have for each other is.
The truth is that Lucille is the character who most closely resembles a victim of abuse. Lucille is constantly in survival mode, believes that love is finite in a fundamentally harsh and unjust world, and most tragically, continues the cycle of violence by inflicting it upon others, whether it’s her own mother, or the women Thomas marries for their money and she disposes of, and whose situations bear an unsettling resemblance to her own. All of them were wealthy women with no living relatives to look for them, with their dreams of a better life long since abandoned.
Similarly, Lucille’s solace both during and after her abuse is Thomas, the only one who shared her pain. The night he and Edith spend away from Crimson Peak and consummate their marriage is when Lucille has a small breakdown as she realizes she’s losing the only person she was ever able to love, as well as her sole source of economic support.
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Pick up any Jane Austen novel and you’ll find entire plots set in motion by young brides who were less than sympathetic to their husbands’ spinster relations. And Chastain isn’t just more interesting than any blushing bride, it’s compulsively fascinating to watch her smile and be a villain in the mold of the best Shakespeare antagonists. So larger than life is she that even the decaying mansion which creaks and groans at every turn as if mourning the various sins it houses can swallow her up. No wonder the ghosts aren’t that frightening — they’re merely the direct results of the evil deeds the living commit, many of whom are just as frozen in time as the deceased who haunt their halls.
Not that Edith doesn’t deserve our sympathy, but how could she really compare? Del Toro knows it, and he’s fully aware of who should have the last word, if not the last lines. Lucille may not find peace even in death, but it’s nevertheless her fate to remain a formidable presence in the place where her greatest pain and her greatest joys are gruesomely intertwined, determined to remain in the past in a world that left her behind long ago.
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