#Literally spelling it out in bright bold letters | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

anhdong · 2 months

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Image 1 - Denotative Meaning of a "Stop" Sign

Captured here is the universally recognized 'Stop' sign: an octagonal shape with a stark red background and bold, white letters that spell out 'STOP'. This sign is designed to capture immediate attention with its bright color and distinct shape, differentiating it from other signs. The use of red, a color that instinctively signals caution and urgency, universally communicates the necessity to stop. Its octagonal shape is unique among signs, ensuring it is quickly identified by people even from a distance.

Image 2 - Connotative Meaning of a "Stop" Sign

(The picture is not a "Stop" sign on the road but the meaning is also included the "Stop" sign on the road.)

This 'Stop' sign, while straightforward in its command, carries deep connotative meanings within our society. The red color not only demands immediate attention but also evokes feelings of danger and the imperative to cease motion, reflecting an unspoken rule of compliance and order in the public domain. It symbolizes the collective agreement and trust in a system that prioritizes safety and order, ensuring the flow of traffic is managed, and accidents are minimized. Its omnipresence at intersections serves as a reminder of our shared responsibility towards each other's safety. In this way, the 'Stop' sign also serves as a physical manifestation of societal norms and legal obedience, enforcing not just traffic rules but a cultural doctrine of caution and vigilance.

Image 3 - Iconic Function: Recycle Icon on Water Bottle

The recycle icon emblazoned on this water bottle embodies an iconic sign of sustainability and environmental responsibility. With its three arrows looping back on themselves, the design visually mimics the continuous process of recycling—collecting materials, processing them into new products, and then starting the cycle anew. This icon transcends linguistic barriers, offering a universal message that encourages consumers to participate in recycling efforts. Placed on a water bottle, it communicates the bottle's potential for reuse or proper disposal, aligning the everyday act of drinking water with broader environmental goals. The simplicity and clarity of the icon make it instantly recognizable, transforming a small symbol into a powerful advocate for reducing waste and conserving resources. By representing the recycling process in such a straightforward and effective manner, this icon not only informs but also inspires action towards a more sustainable world. Recognized worldwide, the symbol not only guides behavior but also fosters a global community committed to sustainability.

Image 4 - Nutrition Facts Box as an Indexical Sign

The Nutrition Facts box found on the side of snack packaging serves as an indexical sign, providing a direct quantifiable insight into the snack's nutritional composition—calories, fats, sugars, proteins, and more. Unlike mere advertising, which might claim that a snack is 'healthy' or 'low in calories,' the Nutrition Facts box offers tangible evidence of these claims, grounding them in data. This direct connection between the information presented and the physical reality of the snack's ingredients and nutritional profile marks a clear indexical relationship. Consumers rely on this information to make informed dietary choices, making the Nutrition Facts box a crucial element of modern food packaging. It not only communicates essential health information but also reflects broader societal concerns with nutrition, health, and informed consumer choices. This transparency empowers consumers, promoting healthier choices and fostering a more informed public.

Image 5 - Symbolic Function of the Apple Logo

Featured here is the iconic Apple logo, a symbol that has transcended its literal meaning to embody innovation, simplicity, and elegance in the realm of technology. Despite the apple shape having no inherent connection to electronic devices, through strategic branding and consistent design philosophy, it has become synonymous with cutting-edge technology and user-friendly design. This logo symbolizes more than a company; it represents a lifestyle choice and a commitment to aesthetics, functionality, and innovation. It also plays a crucial role in cultivating customer loyalty and evoking a sense of belonging among users, further amplifying its symbolic potency.

Image 6 - Book Cover Referencing Woodcut Print Style

This book cover employs a design reminiscent of historical woodcut prints, a technique characterized by its bold, engraved lines and stark contrast, which was widely used for illustrating narratives before the advent of photographic reproduction. By referencing this style, the cover art for 'Restaurant Republic' is not merely a visual choice but a signifier connecting the contemporary content to the historical subject matter within. It invokes a sense of nostalgia and authenticity, suggesting a scholarly approach to the history of public dining in Boston. The use of woodcut print style signifies a connection to the tradition of storytelling and historical documentation, hinting at the detailed research and possibly a narrative richness that awaits the reader. It evokes the era when public dining establishments began to flourish, and the medium's textural quality suggests a tactile engagement with history, drawing a parallel between the tactile nature of eating and the sensory experience of reading. This tactile quality not only visually engages but also invites the reader to feel a part of the historical narrative, enhancing the immersive experience of the book.

#gd260 #module5

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punkyflesh · 3 years

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I love your fanfiction so much.. actually because of it I watched sofia the first couple of days ago and Cedric is so 😳😳 i just want to hug him and say that everything will be fine... speaking of the request for a story could you please write about how a completely-non-believing-in-magic s/o gets into their world (portal?? spell??) and they with a cedric look at each other like on mice for experiments until they slowly fall in love /i used google translate so sorry for mistakes/

AAAAA that literally made my day when i first saw it, i'm honoured to have encouraged you to watch the show & i'm glad you enjoyed it!

i’m going to make a part two for this fiction as it’ll be very long otherwise

don't apologise for the mistakes - as far as i'm aware, you're asking for the reader to be transported to enchancia who doesn't believe in magic, and cedric sees this as a good opportunity to use them for experiments blah blah love. let me know if i'm wrong about that, but enjoy!

TW: strong language used (swearing)

cedric x reader who doesn't believe in magic | oneshot - part one

"I'm just not convinced that this 'spell' of yours is going to work. You know I don't believe in that sort of crap." You said, shaking your head and folding your arms sternly. Your best friend had been trying to persuade you to try out a new teleportation spell they'd found online for many weeks now - according to the website, the spell would teleport you to a kingdom of magical opportunities and unique people - you simply did not believe the bullshit that came from a domain with a warning on the page.

It had taken a few weeks in order to gather all the equipment needed, and it amused you that your best friend was so easily swayed. You on the other hand? Well, let's just say you were only playing along to prove yourself right. As your friend finished up the alignment in which the equipment was supposed to be, they gestured for you to stand in the centre whilst they got the torn-up paper with the 'magic words' scribbled on messily. With a huff, you hesitantly stepped into the circle that had weird letters around it, glitter from the local craft place in town, and burning sage. "Alright! Are you ready to be transported to a place beyond your wildest dreams?!" Your friend exclaimed, holding onto the piece of paper excitedly and jumping up and down. Although you didn't believe that it was going to work, seeing your friend so excited ignited a sense of warmness in your heart. With a small smile, you nodded.

From then on, your hearing began to turn hazy. You could briefly hear the chanting of your friend, reading from the scrawny piece of paper, but could also hear a new ringing that was getting increasingly louder. You tried to shout out, tried to get your friend to stop and explain how you suddenly thought that this was a bad idea, but you could not hear any words escaping from your mouth. Your stomach began to churn as a bright, white light made you squint. You felt as though you were falling through a lifeless void before you hit a hard surface, your eyes still tightly sealed shut.

What the hell was that? You opened your eyes slowly to find that you were in fact laying down as if you had just got thrown against the surface of something hard. Your body felt numb. On the floor below you, you realised that you were laying upon a red carpet - you don't recall owning one, but then soon saw that the carpet was the length as one of the red carpets you'd see at a movie premiere. Using all your strength to lift up your head enough to support itself, you gazed down what seemed to be a long hallway with intricate designs and paintings decorating the walls. The ceiling was high. You couldn't tell if you were still tripping out or if this was reality but managed to gain more strength to push yourself up even further, looking around your surroundings and taking in the change of scenary. This definitely was not the dingy basement you were in 5 minutes ago. This was something a lot more elegant, posh - almost like the interior of a castle.

All of a sudden, the area you were sitting in was overcast by a shadow, a silhouette of someone. You turned your head expecting to see your friend, but instead saw the long legs of someone unfamiliar to you. They were quite tall and was wearing a long, plum-coloured robe that was tied into a neat knot above their abdomen. You gulped unconsciously and continued to raise your head until you saw the figure fully. They were looming over you, folding their arms into the sleeves of their robe and raising their eyebrow. The look on his face looked stern, but not confused or angry - more of a resting face. The figure had quite noticeable eye bags underneath his hazel eyes and a unique colouration to his hair - he had silvery-white bangs that heavily contrasted the darkness of his natural shade.

You found yourself staring at this odd hair colour before you heard him clear his throat, snapping you out of your trance and jumping slightly. "I uh.." You began, trying to pull yourself to your feet but achieving nothing in the process. The teleportation - or whatever nonsense had just happened, you were too confused to think about it - had obviously left you quite weak. "No need to explain. I'm already aware of your circumstances." The man spoke, cutting you off from what you were trying to explain. You stopped and gave the man a confused look - what did he mean he already knew the circumstances? If you were teleported...was he already aware of that? Hesitantly, you saw him offer you a hand. "It seems as though you've had quite a fall. Here." You looked to his hand - he was wearing black, fingerless gloves that were well fit against his slender fingers - and snuffled a laugh. A bold fashion choice.

Questioningly, you took the mans hand and he pulled you up onto your feet until you were able to look him in the eyes. Finally being able to share the same gaze as him set off a sudden spark in your body that ran from your heart to the hand in which was still interlocked with his own. You felt your heart begin to pound in your chest as you held onto him, not being able to take your eyes away. The same eyes that were looking down at you coldly seemed a lot softer now, gentle even. It was as if the whole world stopped. The figure stared at you for a moment longer, before clearing his throat for the second time and turning his head away, retracting his hand from yours and then offering you a small smile. “You must be my new apprentice. Marvellous to finally meet you.”

“I’m sorry, apprentice?” You questioned, your voice raspy and small. What did he mean apprentice? Apprentice for what? He raised his eyebrow at you once more and stifled a laugh. “Yes? Is there a problem?”

“I’m sorry, but you must be confused. I don’t even know who you are.”

The man looked taken back from your words, judging by the way his face transformed, you seemed to have offended him slightly. “Excuse me? I am Cedric the Sensational! Royal sorcerer of the Kingdom of Enchancia! I’ve saved a few people before and…”

Listening to the man drain on about his successes, you laughed, this time not holding it back. Your laugh caused him to stop talking and stare at you, as you shook your head and brushed off your clothes. “Sorcerer? Sorry pal, but I don’t believe in magic. Try fooling someone else with that story, because it sure ain’t gonna be me.”

Cedric listened to you as you laughed, freezing as he processed. You didn’t believe in magic, yet you had randomly appeared in the middle of the castle, dressed in clothes that’ll surely take you to the dungeon out of the blue? It just didn’t make any sense - unless…

He smirked. It had worked, his spell that he had sent out had actually worked! It was time for him to use this to his own advantage.

He was gonna have fun with his new little experiment.

#cedric oneshot #anti cedfia #comfort character #cedric x reader #cedric the great #cedric sofia the first #cedric the sensational #cedric #cedric the sorcerer #cedric the great x reader #cedric the sorcerer x reader #sofia the fandom #cedric the sensational x reader

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itsivyberry · 3 years

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tri-wizard champion {5}

The Maze

Draco Malfoy x Hufflepuff!Reader

a/n: my Christmas gift to you because 2020 has sucked ass and I want to finish this series before it’s over❤️ enjoy also READ THE MF TRIGGER WARNINGS THEY ARE REALLT IMPORTANT THIS TIME

word count: 4590

warnings: major character death, lots of blood, anxiousness, mentions of vomiting, sad sad stuff dude, also literally loss of a limb (there’s a warning before it begins, please don’t read if you can’t stomach it)

summary: the truth about the Y/L/N’s is to be revealed soon when Y/N is facing the dangers within the maze of the third task.

tag list: @drawlfoy @fanficflaneuse @ccelinewritess @accio-rogers @babyhoneystvles @nekee-lilac02 @dracofeltonmalfoy

masterlist

{ 1 } { 2 } { 3 } { 3.5 } { 4 } { 5 } { 6 }

gif credit: @harrysweasleys

The final task approached rapidly.

News about the sudden death of Barty Crouch spread throughout the student body quickly.

Y/N was growing anxious, more than she ever was for any other task. The spots from the grindylows had faded to a lighter color, similar to the two gashes on her back.

But now here she was, waking through a doorway to face the entire Hogwarts student body along with families and the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students clad in a black and yellow outfit to represent Hufflepuff.

The three Hogwarts champions stood by their entrance to the maze. Cheers could be heard from every angle at which they stood, a lively march being played by the band.

Many students had homemade banners with the champions’ last names written all over. Y/N smiled at the sight of Draco holding a large banner with a silly drawing of her and Y/L/N written in big, bold, sparkly letters. She gave him a funny face and a thumbs up, and he blew a kiss right back mouthing “good luck.”

“Sonorus!” Dumbledore casted the amplifying charm, and the sounds of cheers and music died out. Students clambered to sit down, eager to hear about the task.

“Earlier today, Professor Moody placed the Triwizard Cup deep within the maze. Only he knows it’s exact position. Now, as Mr. Diggory...” cheers erupted at the sound of Cedric’s name, and Amos held his son’s hand high in recognition, “...Miss Y/L/N and Mr. Potter...” cheers grew louder and students stood, yelling for Harry and Y/N, including Ron, Hermione, and Draco, “...are tied for first position, they will be the first to enter the maze, followed by Mr. Krum...” more cheers, “...and Miss Delacour.”

“The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I’ve instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter. Should, at any point, a contestant wish to withdrawal from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands. Contestants! Gather around. Quickly!”

Y/N rushed up, following Cedric to where Dumbledore stood. Her heart was pounding.

The five champions huddled up, and Dumbledore placed his arms around Y/N’s and Krum’s shoulders.

“In the maze, you’ll find no dragons or creatures of the deep. Instead you’ll face something even more challenging. You see, people change in the maze. Oh, find the cup if you can. But be very wary. You could just lose yourselves along the way.” The ominous undertone to his voice gave Y/N goosebumps.

Draco watched intently, trying to listen to what Dumbledore was saying to the five teens, but had no luck. His heart was pounding just as hard as Y/N’s was.

“Champions, prepare yourselves!” Dumbledore instructed, and the crowd cheered again.

Without thinking, Y/N turned around and bolted to the stands, stopping right in front of where Draco was.

“Wish me luck!” She said, jumping up to wrap her around a around his neck and pulled him close. He sat up to lean over the railing blocking the two of them, hugging her so tightly. “Awes” and “oohs” circled around the two of them.

“Good luck.” Draco whispered in Y/N’s ear, pulling back just enough to press his lips on hers in a rushed and anxious kiss.

She pulled away quickly, touching her feet to the ground and smiling warmly at him, before rushing back to her designated entrance to the maze, unknowing of what she should find inside.

Y/N looked into it, her heart hammering. It was too foggy to see any clearer than maybe 6 feet in front of her, and the hedges were impossibly tall.

Her thoughts began to bite at her. What if I don’t make it through in time? What if something in there kills me? What if I get lost and nobody can see the red sparks?

She wished she had the support of a representative like the other champions did. Y/N looked over to see Amos giving Cedric a tight hug, whispering something in his ear.

Just as quickly as he had hugged his son, he made his way over to the young girl and gave her a big hug too. “You’ll do amazing, Y/N. I wish both you and Cedric the best of luck.” He said into her ear.

“Thank you, Amos.” She smiled at him, allowing him to step back over to his son.

Cedric smiled at her, but it was wobbly. He could tell she was just as nervous as he was, and tried his best to comfort her with the distance between them.

“On the count of three. One-“ Dumbledore’s voice was cut off by the canon exploding early. Y/N couldn’t breathe as she watched Harry take the first step into the maze. Cedric followed right after, and the lively music from before flooded through the small arena.

The second Y/N stepped at least two feet into the maze, the entrance sealed off. It was deafening, how silent it had suddenly become.

Draco watched closely, as his girlfriend was suddenly separated from the eyes of the spectators. He knew her parents were watching somewhere in the crowd, feeling just as nervous as he was.

The only thing Y/N could hear was her own staggered breathing and the snaps of twigs beneath her feet. The passage was narrow, and she kept her want tightly in her hand.

The maze seemed to change every passing second, passages forming quickly. She was running now, trying to make sure she wouldn’t get crushed.

The first scream caught Y/N’s attention. It was loud, and bone chilling, and echoed throughout the entire maze. She was so sure the other champions must’ve heard it.

She was frozen. The scream must’ve come from Fleur, she had decided, and was silently praying the girl wasn’t hurt.

It was when an explosion over head, red sparks from only a passage over, had broken Y/N from her trance.

From outside the maze, everyone was silent at the first sight of surrender. Draco was repeating a mantra in his head.

Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N. Don’t be Y/N.

A glimmer caught her eye. She had barely moved from the entrance, not nearly putting in as much effort as she thought she would.

Y/N walked slowly towards it, whipping around and keeping her eyes open for any threat. A twig cracked behind her, and she screamed when something tackled her to the ground.

Draco heard the second scream. He knew it was Y/N after Fleur was removed from the maze. It took all of his control not to jump from the stands and force his way into the maze to find her himself.

“Y/N? Oh, Merlin I’m so sorry!” Cedric pulled himself off of her. “I thought you were Krum! He’s gone insane!” He helped her up.

Y/N’s eyes were blown wide and her breath was short. “You- you scared me! Don’t do that!”

Cedric must’ve seen the glimmer too, a glowing object in the distance.

“Together?” He asked her, not taking his eyes off the prize.

“Together.” She spokes quietly, taking the first step towards the cup.

Indistinct shouting not very far from the two Hufflepuffs made both of them jump. Krum, who’s eyes seemed to be incredibly cloudy from what Y/N remembered they actually looked like, was shooting hexes at Harry.

Harry’s defenses were down. “Get down!” Cedric yelled, jumping in front of Y/N and dodging the hex that had missed Harry. Y/N shrunk into the hedge to the left of her, covering her face with her hands.

“Get down!” Cedric yelled once more, Krum yelling another indistinguishable hex at Harry who was now on the ground.

“Expelliarmus!” Y/N gained the courage to jump up, hitting Krum square in the chest. He was thrown further away from the three of them, and seemingly unconscious.

Cedric ran over to him, kicking his wand from his hand. Y/N and Harry both realized he was about to cast another spell on him, Godric knows which one.

“No! Stop!” Harry yelled, holding him back. “He’s bewitched, Cedric!”

“Get off me!” He shoved Harry harshly.

“He’s bewitched!” Harry repeated.

“Cedric! Stop! Listen to him!” Y/N yelled, holding him back as well. Cedric shoved her to the ground so hard, her wrist snapped in half from the angle at which she hit the hard dirt. She cried out and it echoed, using her elbow to sit up and her feet to push away from the two boys. She had already caught a look at the ungodly angle her hand was suddenly bent at, and it made her want to vomit.

Cedric realized what he had done at the sound of his best friend’s scream. He was about to hold his wand up to send sparks for both Y/N and Krum, but Y/N jumped up before he could.

“Stop! We’ve already made it too far.” Her voice trembled. She was shaking violently, keeping distance between her and the two boys.

It was silent for a moment, the deafening sound taking over between the three teenagers just as when they first entered the maze.

“Together?” Cedric asked quietly, repeating what he said earlier, and looking at both of them.

“Together.” Harry and Y/N said at the same time.

Just as Y/N took a step towards them, a violent gust of wind hit her back and loud cracking echoed.

“Go!” Cedric yelled, grabbing Y/N’s good hand and running towards the cup. Harry ran after them, as quick as he could.

They made it to the center of the maze, and there stood the magnificent Triwizard Cup.

“Go on! Take it!” Cedric yelled.

“Together!” Harry yelled back, looking at Y/N who still had tears streaming down her face.

“One, two, three!” The three students jumped forward in the nick of time, grabbing ahold of the cup. A bright white light filled Y/N’s vision, and she was suddenly dizzy.

The three of them dropped onto the ground. She could sense their location had changed before she opened her eyes.

Harry and Cedric were on the ground near each other, gasping for breath. Y/N was thrown on the ground along with the cup, just a few feet away from them. The shock was beginning to wear off, and the pain was almost unbearable in her wrist.

“Come on, Y/N. Get up.” Cedric spoke quietly, the stillness of their new location scaring him. “You okay?” He asked both of them.

“Yeah.” Harry stood, looking around. Y/N allowed Cedric to help her stand, and she could finally see where they were. He held her broken wrist loosely in his hand, putting a protective arm around her shoulder.

A graveyard. The cup was a portkey. The sky was dark and cloudy, fog covering the rolling hills. Y’all tombstones towered over the three of them.

“Where are we?” She whispered.

“I’ve been here before.” Harry spoke suddenly.

“It’s a portkey. Harry, the cup is a portkey.” Cedric smiled mischievously down at the glowing cup.

“I’ve been here before.” Harry repeated. “In a dream.”

“Cedric! We have to get back to the cup. Now!” Harry’s voice was filled with fear and realization.

“Harry, what’s wrong?” Y/N asked, her eyes filling with tears again, thinking the worst that could possibly happen. Were they set up?

“What are you talking about?” Cedric pulled Y/N closer, trying to keep her safe from whatever Harry had realized.

A door creaked open loudly in front of them. It made Y/N jump, and the first tear rolled down her cheek.

Harry began shouting when a figure walked from the doorway. A scruffy man turned as he collapsed on the ground, and a fire was lit from under a large cauldron in front of the doorway. Cedric released Y/N from his hold, rushing over to Harry.

“Harry! What is it?” He spoke, his voice cracking from fear.

“Get back to the cup!” Harry yelled out of pain again, sounding rather irritated.

Cedric put distance between him and Harry as the figure stepped out from the doorway. Y/N immediately recognized him as Peter Pettigrew, a good friend of her parents before he betrayed them all for Voldemort. Her eyes were wide when she realized what he was holding in his arms.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Cedric spoke, holding his wand up as a threat.

“Cedric, back down now!” Y/N yelled pulling his shoulder back. He shrugged her off.

“Kill the spare. Keep the girl alive.” A raspy voice spoke.

“Avada Kedavra!”

“No! Cedric!” Harry yelled, attempting to stand but was too late.

A bright green light temporarily blinded her. She watched the unforgivable curse hit Cedric and throw him over her head and behind her. The second his corpse hit the ground, a loud sob escaped her mouth.

Peter rushed over to Harry, using his wand to force him to stand. He backed him up into a statue that locked him in place.

“Do it! Now!” The raspy voice spoke again.

Peter hesitated for a moment. He walked over to the cauldron, keeping a hold of the blanket in his hands but dropped whatever was holding it into the boiling substance.

“Bone of the father unwillingly given.” A disgusting bone was levitated from the ground, caught on fire and into the cauldron.

Y/N’s breathing was too short when the realization of a dead body behind her set in.

“Flesh of the servant...” he turned suddenly, rushing to Y/N and forcing her towards the cauldron.

“Stop! What are you doing to me!” She yelled, trying to release herself from his grip, but it was too strong.

“Willingly sacrificed.” A large knife was pulled from his sleeve. He forced her broken wrist above the steaming substance as she thrashed against him.

********THIS PART IS GROSS PLEASE PLEASE DONT READ IF YOU CANNOT HANDLE REALLY GORY STUFF!!!!!!!!!!! ‼️‼️‼️‼️

With no hesitation, he dug the sharp knife into her wrist, cutting through the bone and severing her hand into the liquid below. She screamed, louder than she ever thought she could. Blood spurt from her hand, staining the grass by her feet. Peter threw her on the ground, away from him and Harry.

She made quick work, ripping part of her shirt to wrap around her wrist, trying not to pass out from the loss of blood and the sight of her bone. Y/N had been taught what to do in this situation, just not to herself. She could barely even register what was happening as her fight or flight took over.

“And blood of the enemy...” he used the same knife to cut part of Harry’s sleeve. “Forcibly taken.” Peter dug the knife into his wrist, blood rushing down Harry’s arm and dripping from his elbow. He cried in pain, and it made Y/N wince.

Peter tapped the hilt of the knife over the cauldron, letting a few dropped of Harry’s blood sizzle into the liquid.

“The Dark Lord shall rise... again.” He spoke, breathing loudly.

Harry’s screams broke Y/N from her daze due to the blood loss. The entire cauldron caught on fire, melting away to reveal none other than the slimey, naked, disgusting body of Lord Voldemort.

Black smoke surrounded him before his pale feet touched the ground, forming into a cloak of some sort.

Y/N could hear him inhale deeply, running his hands along the pale, veiny skin on his head. She could tell this was the first time in a while he had taken his human form.

Peter stepped forward, his face full of awe and adoration.

Voldemort walked forward to Peter, looking down and laughing quietly but maniacally and the form he had taken.

“My wand, Wormtail.” Voldemort spoke harshly toward his follower, holding out his hand. Peter brandished the wand, bowing deeply and holding it out to Voldemort.

“Y/N, hey, look at me! You’re going to be okay. We are going to make it out of this. Stay close to the portkey.” Harry whispered, turning his head to see Y/N in her awful state. She looked petrified, seemingly wishing this was some sort of nightmare.

They watched as Voldemort took the wand from Peter, inhaling deeply.

“Hold out your arm.” He commanded Peter.

“Master...” Peter started to cry. “Thank you, master.” He began to hold out one of his arms.

“The other arm, Wormtail.” Voldemort spat. Peter’s eyes went wide as he held his other arm, allowing Voldemort to take a grip on it.

He shoved the tip of his wand onto the bare skin of Peter’s wrist, and the dull ink that once was there grew darker, revealing the Dark Mark in its true form.

Thunder rumbled throughout the graveyard. Y/N jumped, trying to stay as quiet as she could.

Voldemort looked up into the clouds. Y/N followed his gaze, and right before her eyes a dark skull formed. The skull opened its mouth, and a thick trail of smoke bellowed out of it, heading right towards where they were. The smoke broke off into different paths, becoming darker.

The second the smoke touched the ground, a person appeared. There were too many for her to count. Dressed in dark cloaks, skull masks and pointing hats, she couldn’t identify any of them.

“Welcome, my friends. Thirteen years, it’s been, and yet... here you stand before me as though it were only yesterday. I confess myself... disappointed.” Voldemort spat again, his voice echoing through the graveyard.

“Not one of you tried to find me. Crabbe!” Voldemort yelled, rushing up to one of the figures and ripping the skull mask off. Dark smoke followed.

With just a flick of his hand, Voldemort was now revealing the figures.

“Macnair! Goyle!” Y/N recognized the names. Crabbe and Goyle, two of Draco’s closest minions. She was silently praying there wasn’t a Malfoy among them.

“Not even you, Lucius.” Voldemort walked up to the last standing figure, ripping of the mask. A crow flew away violently from behind them.

Y/N was trying to stop the bleed of her wrist, but it soaked through the fabric she had wrapped on it. She was fighting off the black spots of her vision.

“My lord,” Lucius was brought to his knees. “Had I detected any sign, a whisper of your whereabouts-“

“There were signs, my slippery friend. And more than whispers.” Voldemort interrupted him.

“I assure you, my Lord, I have never renounced the old ways.” Lucius removed the hat from his head, revealing a familiar platinum blonde. Y/N let out an involuntary sob as she realized, but soon quieted down.

“The face I have been obliged to present each day since your... absence... that is my true mask.” Lucius continued as the other Deatheaters around them stood.

“I returned.” Peter spoke shakily, raising a hand for recognition. He gasped and doubled over when Voldemort rushed over to him, the cloak bellowing behind him.

“Out of fear, not loyalty. Still, you have proved yourself useful these past few months, Wormtail.” Voldemort’s voice softened just the slightest bit.

Y/N didn’t have time to realize when he was walking over to where she sat on the ground, over by Cedric’s body.

“Oh...” he spoke, pushing his face around with his foot. Y/N winced as he tutted loudly. “Such a handsome boy.”

“Don’t touch him!” Harry yelled, shrinking back when Y/N flinched and Voldemort glared at him.

“And who might this be, Wormtail? I see you used her for the spell.” Voldemort sneered, looking down at Y/N.

“Y/N Y/L/N, my Lord.” Wormtail spoke up. From behind Voldemort, Y/N saw Lucius whip around with an unrecognizable look on his face.

“Y/L/N?” Voldemort repeated, and Peter nodded. “Stand, girl, now.” He demanded.

Y/N stood slowly and shakily, keeping her composure in front of the Dark Lord himself.

Voldemort’s hand whipped out to grab her wrist, taking a look at the damage that was done. She inhaled sharply, letting out another sob from the grip he had.

“Well done. You have served me well, Y/N.” Voldemort said, dropping his grip and letting her arm fall limp. She kept a hard face despite the tears running down her cheeks.

Her eyes flickered to Harry. He had an expression that said “back down.” Voldemort followed her line of sight to look at the boy he hated so very much.

“Harry. Oh, I’d almost forgotten you were here. Standing on the bones of my father. I’d introduce you, but word has it you’re almost as famous as me these days.” Voldemort paused, maintaining eye contact for a second more.

He turned suddenly to his followers. “The boy who lived. How lies have fed your legend, Harry. Shall I reveal what really happened that night 13 years ago?”

“Shall I divulge how I truly lost my powers? Yes, shall I?” Hs muttered to himself, walking away from Harry.

“It was love. You see, when dear, sweet Lily Potter gave her life for her only son, she provided the ultimate protection. I could not touch him. It was old magic. Something I should have foreseen. But no matter, no matter. Things have changed.” Voldemort ended his monologue, rushing up to Harry and raising a hand as if to strike him.

“I can touch you... now.” He brought his pointer finger to touch Harry’s scar.

The screams that filled Y/N’s ears were agonizing. She shrunk into herself, wincing away from the noises. When Voldemort screamed along with Harry, ripping his hand away from his face, the screams stopped.

“Astonishing what a few drops of your blood with do, eh, Harry? Pick up your wand, Potter!” Voldemort released the statues grip on Harry, letting him drop to the ground.

“I said, pick it up! Get up! Get up! You’ve been taught how to duel, I presume, yes? First, we bow to each other. Come on, now, Harry. The niceties must be observed. Dumbledore wouldn’t want you to forget your manners, would he? I said, bow.” He was speaking so quickly, almost going crazy at the thought of fighting Harry once and for all. With a wave of his wand, Harry was forced into a bow.

“That’s better. And now!” Voldemort growled, running towards Harry and throwing him onto the ground. Y/N watched, using her feet to shove her back farther from the scene. When she hit something, she turned around quickly to see Cedric.

“No, no, no, no.” She kept repeating, grabbing his face in her hands. It was as though she finally realized what had happened. She had lost her best friend. Sobs were heard from where she sat on the ground. Her tears dripped down her chin and onto Cedric’s cold face as the dual behind her continued. She winced at every hex that was sent to either of them.

“I’m so sorry, Ced. Please. Please.” She begged him, grasping at his shirt, still sobbing violently.

Y/N never took her eyes off of Cedric, even when Voldemort and Harry cast such strong spells that they collided, created a blinding light from behind her. It was went Harry’s Expelliarmus spell finally hit the tip of Voldemort’s wand when she turned around to see an abonormallt large spark erupt.

It took the form of Cedric, alive and smiling at the two of them. Another old man, presumably a muggle, took place on the other side of them. Two more sparks formed to be a woman and a man. The man was speaking quickly to Harry.

“Harry! When the connection is broken you must get to the portkey! We can linger for a moment to give you some time, but only a moment. Do you understand?” Harry nodded.

“Harry, Y/N,” Cedric spoke from above. Y/N’s tears began to start again at the sound of his voice. “Take my body back, will you? Take my body back to my father.”

“Let go.” The woman’s voice was heard. “Sweetheart, you’re ready. Let go. Let go!” All four spirits rushed forward when the connection was broken.

Harry ran quickly over to Y/N and Cedric.

“Hold onto him! Accio!” Harry pointed his wand at the portkey, grabbing Y/N’s hand as she wrapped her arm around Cedric’s. The portkey took them right back to the arena.

The three of them landed hard on the ground. Cedric’s body was sprawled, and cheering erupted. The lively music started once more, nobody noticing what had happened. Harry was crying now.

“Harry, let go of him. Let go of him!” Y/N sat up, pulling Harry off of Cedric’s body.

He knocked her off, the exhaustion finally hitting her as she collapsed on the ground. Fleur rushed forward, and Y/N had never been so glad to see her.

She screamed loudly, looking around and covering her mouth with her hands in terror.

“Harry!” Dumbledore yelled, rushing from his spot in the stands. Hagrid hesitated to continue clapping when he realized what was happening. The music finally died down with the sounds of a trumpet flailing.

“For God’s same, Dumbledore, what’s happened?” The minister rushed to the ground by Harry and Cedric. Two Beauxbatons girls were helping Y/N up, her head lolling as she finally began to lose consciousness.

“Help! We need help here!” One of the girls called, her accent thick. Draco rushed up so quick, breathing heavy. “I’ll take her.” He spoke to the girls.

Y/N looked up quick at his voice. “Don’t touch me! Don’t let him take me! Get away from me!” She screamed, thrashing away from his hands.

He seemed so hurt and confused, putting his hands up in surrender. Y/N could tell he looked scared, more than she was at the mere sight of him.

Madame Promfrey was quick to rush up to Y/N, Taking her from the girls and putting her on a stretcher. “She’s coming with me alone.” She spoke harshly to every student surrounded it Y/N. Gasps were heard as the stretcher was levitated and everyone could see the damage.

“That’s my boy!” The faint cry of Amos filled Y/N’s ears. She used all her strength to lull her head to the side, watching her best friend’s dad collapse next to his son’s corpse. Her face scrunched up as hot tears escaped her eyes, dripping from the bridge of her nose onto the fabric of the stretcher.

Y/N eventually succumbed to the darkness, not caring who could see how hurt she was. Every student saw the blood soaking her shirt, how dirty she was, and her missing hand. It was an awful sight, and some people had to turn away so they wouldn’t lose their dinner.

Pomfrey was quick to take her to the Hospital Wing, fixing her up and cleaning her off so she could rest comfortably.

~.•*✰

Students would linger in over the next few days, checking up on Y/N to see how she was doing. She was always the same every time; asleep, but alive.

There wasn’t much Pomfrey could do about her hand. Tragic, it really was. Y/N would have never been considered as a follower to Voldemort, much less a loyal servant to him.

Dumbledore helped shield her from the press and the students that were begging to know what had happened in the maze. He made sure Y/N wouldn’t wake up to threats or feel incredibly unsafe somewhere she called home.

Professors were now worried about how to tell the students about the death of the golden boy, and how to not let it slip that Voldemort is back, alive, and rapidly gaining power.

But that was an issue for when Y/N woke up, and the truth about her family would finally be revealed.

~•.*✰

a/n: wow! Sorry about this one! I decided to leave on a cliff hanger, lol my bad. I’m done using the movie as a reference so the last chapter is coming straight from the noggin onto my cellular device. Merry Christmas tho, hope y’all got everything you wanted! Happy holidays and happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate during this time! Love you all so much

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alovesongshewrote · 4 years

Text

Kiss Me | Hisirdoux Casperan

Plot: A fight between Douxie and the reader attracts some unwanted attention, and the only way out is to kiss. At least in your opinion. [Hisirdoux Casperan x Gender Neutral! Rival!Rreader]

Word count: 1,734

Warnings: fighting, rivalry, tension (owo), a lil’ spicy (bc rivals to lovers, so you know how that goes), swearing

A/N: I used some dialogue prompts from the blogs corvidprompts and dialogue-prompts because witty banter is hard to write

Magic was weird.

It was colourful and glowy, and it lit up the night. Magic was super pretty, but also super noticeable, and that made it really hard to fight your arch-rival in the dark of the night without anyone noticing. That didn’t mean you weren’t going to try.

And try you did! With a blast of blue light, your back collided with a tree, ripping the breath from your lungs.

“Oh, come on Casperan,” you wheezed, “I know you can do better than that,” you paused again to violently cough, supporting yourself with the tree you had hit. The tree was loose.

“Seriously (L/N)?” Hisirdoux emerged from the tree line, “Now is not the time for witty banter,”

“This isn’t banter, it’s flirting. Now keep still, it’s harder to hit you when you move around like that,”

He groaned as you steadied your hands, taking aim at the wizard. He did the same. The two of you moved against each other in sync, letting your magic fly towards your opponent. Red and blue collided in the air, illuminating the night sky with a purple glow for the briefest of moments. Your hits landed, and you were both blown back.

“Ugh,” you groaned, making your way up from the ground, “You… suck,”

“Oh, what, no more witty banter, darling?”

“Ok, you know what? Fuck you, fuck this, when I’m done kicking your ass I’m going out and buying white flowy shirts and tight pants and we’re doing this like proper rivals! You wanna insult me? SEND ME A LETTER,”

“You talk too much,”

“Shut up,”

Red magic threw him back this time, you ran to his body, eager to kick him while he was down. And you did. He groaned, “Ugh, harder dadd-”

“Jesus, Casperan, you could at least buy me dinner first,”

“Cheeky,” he laughed out. You allowed him to rise from the ground, getting yourself into a combative position.

“You’re so strange, you know that,”

“Yeah, I’m not the only one,”

You ran at him, throwing punches and spells in his direction. Red and blue mixed, turning the world around you purple. Eventually, it was enough to knock him onto his back. Unfortunately, he took you with him.

You also landed unfortunately, straddling his lap, “Like I said emo boy,” you exhaled, “Dinner first,”

He made a noise between a groan and a screech, flipping you onto your back and jumping off of you, “Bold of you to assume I could afford that,”

“Oh god, do they not tip in this town?”

“Nope,”

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” you let your guard down for a moment, relating to the hell of retail all too well. Douxie, of course, used this against you, taking your legs out with his staff.

“Ahhh, ow. That hurt, you bastard,”

He sighed, kneeling next to you, “You know we could avoid this if you just did as I asked,”

“Never gonna happen,” You sprung up, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him to the ground.

“I will smite you,”

“Yeah, yeah,” you said, struggling to your feet, “You couldn’t smite a paper towel if it set itself on fire. Get some perspective,”

You threw another spell at him, the red light threw him back a few feet. He crawled to his knees.

“Awwe, Doux you’re on your knees in front of me. Looks like you’ve really hit rock bottom,”

“It might, but I’ve brought a shovel and I’m ready to dig!”

“You really didn’t understand what I meant,”

You lifted your fists, red light surrounded them, Douxie did the same, still on his knees. His frame was illuminated with blue light.

“I should’ve left you on the street corner where I found you,” he said, preparing to curse you. “BUT YA DIDN’T,” you wasted no time, springing at him from your spot. This time it was Douxie who hit a tree.

“C’mon now Doux,” you stalked over to the wizard, “Why do you hate me so much? Is it really you? Or did Merlin tell you I was a big bad bad influence and you instantly believed him?”

Douxie growled, “That’s enough. Get out of Arcadia (L/N),”

“Awe, but I was just starting to like it here,” you smirked, “Just tell me,” you dragged out the last word, “Why do you want me gone so badly?”

“Because you’re a threat!” the wizard sprung up and threw a spell your way. It just missed you, but there was no time to celebrate. Another curse was headed your way,

“You have no morals! You don’t care about anyone but yourself!” Douxie’s magic shot out at you. With each spell, his control lessened, the blue light becoming more and more chaotic, and more and more of a threat.

You too were losing control of the situation, and now you were struggling to regain it, mostly through banter.

“That’s not true! I care about my dog,” Your response only enraged the wizard further, making the situation worse. More spells came your way. You did the only thing you could and kept dodging, backing up and away from Douxie, who advanced on you. It was becoming more and more clear that Merlin was not a card you should have played.

“You don’t take anything seriously! You’re cruel and unusual, and,” Douxie stopped talking. You took the moment to catch your breath, staring down your opponent. Usually, the rivalry between you and the wizard was light-hearted, but the look in his eyes told another story. Your heart sunk as you realized he might actually hate you.

The thought made you sick. Did you even want to keep fighting if that was the case?

You didn’t.

So, when Douxie came at you, you did nothing. You just stood there as he advanced, backing you into yet another tree and pining your arms above your head. You gasped slightly, feeling your heartbeat pick up speed in your chest, the sound of it roared in your ears. Could he hear that? You hoped not.

He leaned closer to you, his lips beside your ear. You pressed your eyes shut. If he hated you, what came next? This was a very strange way to kill someone.

“You’re cruel and unusual, and you keep distracting me,” “What!?”

“I said, you keep-”

“Sorry to interrupt,” Archie’s voice nearly drew a scream from you, “But someone is coming!”

You took a moment to curse the light show that was magic before looking around. You could see bushes moving nearby. Someone was definitely headed your way.

“Shit,” you muttered.

“Archie, hide,” Douxie’s familiar did as he asked while you pondered what the hell to do next. If anyone found you and Douxie in this position it would raise a lot of questions. There was only one thing you could think to do. It would also raise questions, but hopefully, there would be fewer of them because there were no other options.

“Kiss me,”

“What?”

There was no time. Whoever it was was only moments from finding the two of you.

So, you broke from the wizard’s hold, grabbing his face and bringing your lips to his. The kiss was soft. His body was warm. Your eyelids fluttered closed as you moved a hand from his face to the back of his neck. His hands moved too, finding their way to the small of your back, pulling you closer to him.

The two of you moved in perfect sync as if the universe had made you for each other. The kiss became more passionate, stealing your breath and making your heartbeat even faster than before. Sparks ran through your body, demanding more, more what you didn’t know. Every nerve was on fire. Your body burned like an ember smouldering in the night.

Unfortunately, you couldn’t focus all of your being into the kiss, as much as you wished you could. You stated alert, listening for whoever had come to investigate the bright lights in the forest. You said a little thank you to the gods when the person missed you entirely and disappeared back into the trees.

And then you cursed them because that meant you had to separate yourself from Douxie.

Your lips came apart, leaving both of you breathing heavily. You shut your eyes again and brought your forehead to rest on his chest. He didn’t let go of you. If anything, he only brought you closer to him, burying his face in your hair.

“So,”

You looked up at him, “That was nice,”

“It was totally nuclear,”

You smiled slightly, before moving your hands from his neck to encircle his waist, “I’m sorry. For what I said about Merlin, I’m sorry,”

“I’m sorry too, love. For everything, all of this. I-I didn’t mean-”

“I know,”

“And I know you care about the world outside of you, and your dog and-”

“Douxie?”

“Yeah?”

“Just shut your mouth and kiss me again,”

The wizard did what you told him. This time, you let yourself melt into it.

The kiss was too short in your opinion, but you had more questions, “So, I guess you don’t hate me, huh?”

“(Y/N), darling, I could never hate you. I think you’re amazing. You’re so strong, and fearless, and you’re one of the most skilled magic users I’ve ever met. You distract me because you’re just so-”

“Beautiful,” you cut him off, not talking about yourself, but rather to yourself about Douxie.

“Yeah, that,”

You kissed again, this time, the length was more satisfactory.

“So, what do we do now?”

“I still wanna go to dinner sometime. And I’m getting the bill because the tips in this town suck,”

“I-”

“No, seriously, I got it. I invested in Apple back in the day,”

“You’re brilliant,”

“Thanks, I know,”

The two of you shared a smile, reveling in the moment until a small cough came from one of the bushes.

“Oh, yeah, hey Arch,”

“Hi, Douxie. (Y/N),”

“Hey Archie, how are you?”

“I’m just fine, but right now Douxie and I need to get back into town. The bookstore won’t guard itself,”

“It literally will with warding, but ok,”

“Go home with your familiar emo boy, your bookstore needs you,”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be around. I’ll pick you up sometime on Saturday for dinner?”

“Nuclear,”

You giggled again, pecking him on the lips one more time before letting him go.

“Goodnight. Casperan,”

“Goodnight, (L/N),”

#hisirdoux x reader #douxie x reader #hisirdoux casperan x reader #douxie imagine #hisirdoux imagine #toa douxie #toa hisirdoux #hisirdoux casperan #fluff #angst #slight angst #rivals to lovers #enemies to lovers #kissing #hugging #tension #fighting #magic

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gimme-my-mammoney · 4 years

Text

Obey Me! AU Highschool - Prom Dates

Prom season is here and you have your eye on a certain classmate for your date. Will he ask you?

Lucifer ~

On the prom committee overseeing the budgets. Has to be the voice of reason so that the budget doesn’t end up being millions.

Tells you that you’re going to prom with him. He doesn’t give you a choice but you’re not mad about it.

Picks you up dead on the time he said he would. Flowers in hand (red roses).

Wearing an all black tux and shirt with a red bow tie. He wanted to match your dress.

You take his breath away and he isn’t afraid to tell you.

Spends the whole night proudly showing you off and never leaves your side.

Whispers how beautiful you are into your ear randomly throughout the night.

He’s an incredible dancer and gracefully leads you around the room. You feel like a princess.

Takes you out for an extremely fancy meal afterwards. He wants to make you feel as special as he can.

He’ll kiss you at the end of the night as if he’s been desperate to kiss you all night. You can tell he’s been holding back while in company but now you’re alone you’re given all of his passion in one long make out session.

Will call the next day to ask if you enjoyed yourself and assure you that it was the best night of his life.

Mammon ~

Was on the prom committee until he got thrown out for spending some of the budget on himself.

Only asks you to prom when he sees someone else about to do it. He shoves them away and tells them you’re going with him.

He’s a little late to pick you up and feels awful about it, even though it’s only ten minutes. He’s bought you the biggest bouquet that must of cost a fortune. They’re your favourite flowers too: he does listen - occasionally.

He goes bright red and starts acting stupid when he sees you. You’ve completely knocked him off his feet and now he’s nervous. It’s a good job you find it cute.

He’s wearing the most fashionable suit you’ve ever seen. It’s obvious he’s bought the best of the best to make sure he’s worthy of your arm. He’s given Goldie quite the workout.

He’s glued to your side all night and whenever someone talks to you he has to slide in (not so subtlety) that you’re here with him. It’s less possessive than usual and more in genuine awe you’re actually there together.

He can’t dance to save his life but it makes you laugh. He’s the life of the party and you’re both lighting up the room. He gets awkward and blushes when it comes to slow dances and awkwardly shuffles around the floor. He nearly falls when you lay your head on his chest as you sway.

He surprises you and takes you out for a fancy meal afterwards. It’s nice to spend time just the two of you. He relaxes more away from your classmates and you end up talking and laughing until it’s way past the time you should’ve been home.

You’re going to have to make the first move and kiss him. He stands around waiting for something to happen but goes a deeper shade of red with every passing second. Once you’ve made the first move it’s like he’s been awakened. He’ll keep demanding kisses and won’t want to leave you.

He’ll call first thing in the morning and wake you up. He’s reminding you how lucky you were to have gone out with the GREAT Mammon before muttering how much fun he had too. He’s an idiot but he’s your idiot.

Leviathan ~

Joined the prom committee just to ensure that ruri-chan’s music gets played.

You’re going to have to ask him to be your date. He can’t believe you’d go with a gross otaku like him. Are you sure?

He’s early to pick you up because he was so excited. He waits for you to finish getting ready and can’t stay still. He brings you a simple bunch of flowers that he’s obviously picked himself and they’re your favourite gift you’ve ever been given.

You get one of his signature ‘woooooaaahhh’s as soon as he sees you. He’s bright red and can’t stop stumbling over compliments he has for you.

He’s wearing a suit that looks a little awkward on him. He’s tried to be as formal as he can but you can tell he’s not comfortable in it. You loosen his tie and take it off, you’re not bothered about how he looks as long as you’re together. He relaxes a little more now.

He’s socially awkward so you spend a lot of time just the two of you. He’s cute when he’s nervous.

You have to force him to dance and you end up leading a little. It’s obvious he’s never slow danced before. Once Ruri-chan’s song comes on he transforms. He’s dancing like he’s at a concert and his joy is contagious.

He takes you for a meal afterwards because that’s what the forums said to do. He’s awkward again until you hold his hand over the table and talk about his favourite anime.

He awkwardly makes the first move and kisses you at the end of the night. Once he’s broke the tension he’s desperate to keep kissing you and gets a little more dominant. You’re a fan of this side of him.

He’ll text you straight after he’s left to ask if he did alright.

Satan ~

He’s the head of the prom committee (he got in there before Lucifer) and runs a tight ship.

He reads book after book on dates and is surprisingly nervous to ask you out. He does it with a huge sign and by blasting music in the hall.

He picks you up a minute late and kicks himself. He was debating whether to be on time or fashionably late: the books didn’t say which was better. He’s bought you some flowers and chocolates and awkwardly shoves them to you.

Once you’ve convinced him to calm down and not worry about doing everything right, he relaxes. He tells you how gorgeous you are and means it. He’s going to be bold and sneak his kiss in now and you’re not going to stop him. Breaking etiquette never felt so good.

He’s wearing a suit with a green bow tie and rocking it. He’s even styled his hair and is wearing your favourite cologne. He’s perfect.

He’s actually a social butterfly tonight. Something about your kiss seems to have changed him. He’s at peace with the world and seems genuinely happy. You can’t stop smiling. He holds your hand all night. Literally all night.

He’s desperate to dance with you, which takes you off guard. He can’t stop smiling and twirling you around the dance floor. Every time he pulls you close to him he takes the chance to tell you that you look beautiful.

Instead of a meal in a restaurant, he’s planned a nighttime picnic under the stars. You spend the rest of the evening cuddled up to him under a blanket as you star gaze and talk.

He kisses your hand as he drops you off before pulling you in for another love-filled kiss. He leaves with a smile and wink and your knees buckle.

He’ll ring you the next day to ask if you’re free for another date. Of course, you say yes.

Asmodeus ~

The prom committee is his territory. He’s king of themes, decorations, catering, and everything else you can think of. Asmo knows how to throw a party.

He throws a party to ask you to prom. It has the perfect photo opportunities so he can post about it on social media.

He wants to get ready with you. You spend the whole day together getting your hair and nails done. He’s all about making sure you feel glamorous. You’re pampered and beautified within an inch of your life.

He adores you in your dress and squeals with delight (before making a comment about ripping it off). You might actually look more beautiful than him tonight.

He’s the centre of attention and loves sharing the spotlight with you. He’s proud to be your date and gets a million pictures with you. You’re prom king and queen, obviously.

He’s a better dancer than you but makes sure that you don’t look ridiculous. He’s romantic and makes you feel adored.

He takes you for a meal with his big group of friends and their dates. It’s practically a second party. He sneaks you away so you can walk home together to talk and get some privacy.

He kisses every part of you he can: your shoulders, your neck, your jaw, and finally your lips. You can tell he’s been desperate to do it all night. It pains him to pull away and leave you but he does - right after he asked for a sleepover.

He’ll ring you the next day to ask you to come look through the pictures and help him decide which is best for his social media.

Beelzebub~

Joined the prom committee to make sure the catering was good. He was especially fond of the sampling day.

Spelled out “be my prom date?” In candy but at the last two letters while he was waiting for you to see it. He was mad at himself until you agreed to go and let him eat the rest of the candy. He still saved you one, though.

He turns up on time with flowers and a huge edible arrangement. You check it twice and, shockingly, he’s not eaten any of it. He wanted you to have it all. You agree to share it on the way to prom.

His tongue practically falls out of his mouth when he sees you. You’re not sure if he’s hungry for the food or for you anymore. He pulls you close and tells you that you look delicious and beautiful. He kisses your cheek.

He resists dashing straight to the buffet when you arrive and has pictures taken for you. You nod and let him rush to the food table. He returns with arms full of food and a plate for you too. He’s in a great mood and keeps pausing between mouthfuls to tell you that you’re beautiful.

Once a slow song comes on he stops eating and extends his hand to you. He sweeps you to the floor and holds you as close as possible. He’s not the most graceful dancer but he’s strong enough to whisk you around the dance floor like you’re dancing on air.

He takes you out for a meal afterwards and gets a special dessert made for you with your names in icing on the top. You’ve never seen him smile so much.

He carries you to your doorstep, bridal style. Once he’s put you down he leans down and kisses you softly but filled with love. Then he wraps his arms around you and lifts you off the floor, kissing you with more passion. Before he leaves he wraps you in a bear hug and tells you that he loves you.

He turns up at your house the next day to take you out for lunch. He’s missed you since yesterday.

Belphegor~

He’s part of the prom committee but falls asleep in every meeting.

Asked you to prom by giving you a giant teddy bear. It’s nice and cuddly and a perfect nap buddy.

He’s quite late to pick you up because he fell asleep. He also left your flowers at home in his rush to not be unforgivably late. You can’t help but laugh.

He’s wearing a stunning grey suit but his hair is messed up on one side where he’s been sleeping. You have to fix it for him before you can go.

His eyes pop out of their sockets when he sees you. He tells you that you look like a dream he once had about an angel.

He’s very touchy with you all night. He couldn’t get any physically closer to you. He manages to stay awake and loves listening to you talk.

When you slow dance it’s more like a swaying hug. You love how wrapped up in each other you are.

Afterwards, he takes you to a tent filled with pillows and blankets. There’s a projector screen up and you watch your favourite films with him. You both drift off and end up being extremely late home but you don’t care.

He asks you if he’s earned the chance to kiss you. You answer him by placing your lips on his and he holds you tightly.

He turns up at your doorstep the next morning, he had to bring you the flowers he forgot yesterday (and he just wanted to see you).

Diavolo~

He popped in to see the prom committee but was too busy being class president to join.

He got the cheerleader to hold up banners asking you to prom. Nearly the whole school stopped to watch him ask you.

He’s dead on time and collects you in the fanciest limousine you’ve ever seen. He’s bought you a flower necklace that goes perfectly with your dress.

He’s wearing a black shirt, white tie, and red blazer. He’s never looked so handsome.

He can’t stop smiling when he sees you and tells you that every other man is going to be jealous he got to come with you tonight. He carries you out the car and you can’t stop laughing.

He’s very popular but makes sure that you’re always included in conversation. He’s funny and you’ve never laughed so much. He’s full of life and you’ve never felt so safe and comfortable with someone.

He’s a great dancer and takes leading you round the dance floor very seriously. It’s hard being so close to him and not blushing. When he catches the blush on your cheeks he grazes over it with his thumb before kissing you in the middle of the dancefloor.

Afterwards he takes you to a fancy restaurant where he’s got a private room. You spend the whole time talking and laughing and having the time of your life.

He kisses you on the doorstep and you melt into his arms.

He calls the next day to ask if you enjoyed yourself. You end up being on the phone for hours.

Simeon~

He’s on the prom committee and is in charge of theme. ‘One night in heaven’ is the one he picks.

He turns up at your house to ask you to prom. Armed with flowers and his angelic smile he manages to win you over. It helps that he’s enlisted the school choir to serenade you while he asks.

He collects you in time in a white horse and carriage. He wants you to feel like a princess today. He’s brought you some white roses with little crystals in them. They’re the most beautiful flowers you’ve ever seen.

He’s wearing a white tuxedo that’s got a subtle glitter to it. Wonder how he achieved that subtle sparkle?

His face is alight with awe as soon as he sees you in your dress. You’re both glittering and all eyes will be on you tonight.

He spends the whole night talking to you about the most amazing topics. He loves poetry and music and can’t wait to get your opinions on his favourites. You go for a walk outside under the moonlight and talk for hours.

He dances like he’s flying. It’s effortless and graceful and it feels like you’re having to hold him down or he’ll take off.

He takes you for a meal but not inside the restaurant. He’s arranged for you to have it outside between trees dripping with fairy lights. He looks even more beautiful in their soft, twinkling light.

He kisses you so softly and so sweetly that now it feels like you might fly away. He leaves you feeling light headed and floaty, in the best sense.

He turns up at your doorstep the next day to bring you a necklace. It’s covered in sparkly stones. He says it reminded him of you last night and he had to give it you. You end up kissing him on your doorstep again.

Solomon ~

Has nothing to do with prom committee because the other members don’t trust him.

He asks you to prom with a gift of a promise ring. You gladly accept. People are shocked he’s asked you: he’s kind of the school bad boy. His arms are covered in strange markings that everyone’s sure are tattoos. They have to be, right?

He shocks you by being on time to collect you. He’s got a sleek black classic car for you to ride in. He gives you more jewellery as a gift.

He’s wearing all black, which makes his white hair seem more shocking than usual. He’s rolled his shirt and blazer sleeves up to his elbows, exposing the markings on his arms. He’s impossible to look away from.

He whistles as soon as he sees you in your dress. When you blush he tells you that you look cute and vulnerable, before taking your hand and guiding you to the car outside.

Everyone spends the whole night staring at you both but he doesn’t notice. He’s too busy watching you with a soft look in his eyes. He takes your hand randomly and kisses it, telling you that you’re stunning.

He slow dances with you and you’re surprised at how shy you are. He’s both powerful and intimidating, but also soft and safe, as he looks down at you and smiles. He’s swaying you and such a gentle rhythm that you start to relax into his arms.

You walk home after and get food from a truck. It’s lowkey but endearing. He talks to you the whole walk back and you find him fascinating. He’s extremely knowledgeable on myths and legends and you find yourself drawn into his stories.

He kisses you on the doorstep. With his arm leaning against the door behind you as he slowly leans in, giving you plenty of time to refuse him if you wish to. His lips are soft but something in the kiss seems to drag something out of you. You wrap your arms around his neck and pull him into a more passionate kiss. He pulls away and chuckles, before kissing your hand and leaving with a wink.

You’ll call him the next day, to ask if he’s free. He’ll make himself available for you.

Thank you for reading! I thought I’d add some pictures to this one with it being my official return to this blog. I wanted to do something a little special. I got most of the dress images from google and Pinterest so credit to those who designed them and those who posted the original pictures. I did try to find the original posters to credit them but came up blank. If you own them and want crediting or want them removed, message me and I’m more than happy to do that. (I believe that some of them can be found on @evermore-fashion, so credit to a wonderful fashion blog that I am now following).

I hope you enjoyed this little AU and I’ll see you all soon! Love you 💕

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serrj215 · 4 years

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Please Pass the Tofurky

"I want to be alone" Raven said those words so often Beast Boy often joked it was her catchphrase. Raven normally relished solitude. It was a break from the constant emotional noise pollution her abilities picked up. It was a chance to put her mind in order and add new layers of control. Peace, quiet, a fresh stack of books to read, what more could demoness ask for? Thanksgiving this year meant just that. The tower all to herself. Fate had handed her exactly what she wished for. "Alfred are you sure about this?" Robin said over his cell phone. "Yes I know it's Thanksgiving but he has never made a big deal about it before." He was pacing back and forth through the empty common room. "Wait he wants to meet her?" he said a touch of panic creeping into his voice. "He's dying isn't he?.....I am not trying to be funny Alfred, this just doesn't sound like him. " Robin just continued pacing as Alfred on the other end tried to help him understand. After a few minutes Robin agreed "Okay the leer jet at Sullivan field tomorrow...okay….it's going to be good to see you too." With that he hung up and stood there, just letting the last few minutes sink in. He was going home for Thanksgiving and the closest thing he had to a father wanted to meet his girlfriend. "This is so...normal" he said looking back down at his phone. Starfire jumped at the chance to meet Robin's family literally. It was a good thing they were on the roof when Robin told her because she grabbed him and leapt into the air with joy. She was fully prepared to fly them both to Gotham right then and there. Until Robin told her "Um Star my family already went to the trouble of sending the plane." "Oh I do not wish to be the rude. We will take the plane. Oh this is so wonderful! I feel like I am going to emfnar!" It was a good thing that they did take the plane. Starfire packed so much Robin wasn't sure even she would be able to carry it. She was still gushing as they left the tower, and probably all the way to Gotham city. She assured Raven as they were leaving that when she returned that they would have the "girl talk" and she would tell her everything in great detail. Cyborg ended up visiting/rescuing the Titans East. He got the call sitting in the driver's seat of the T-Car running another set of performance tests. "Hey Sparky we need a little favor." Bumblebee said through the car's audio. "We need? or YOU need?" He said as he was checking the computer's diagnostics. "And you never need little favors, you call me when you need to pull off something nuts." "WE! Volunteered to do a charity Thanksgiving dinner." "That’s nice, you're not getting Grandma Stone's Pumpkin pie recipe" He said flatly. "That says in the family" "Victor Stone, are you proposing?" Cyborg looked up from the readout on the console to the small speaker glad that this was not a video call. He cleared his throat. "Cute Bee. Okay Thanksgiving Dinner, what do you need from me?" There was a long silence making Cyborg think that the call had dropped until Bumblebee said quietly. "To cook it?" Another long silence this time it was Cyborg that had gone quite. "Cyborg you there?" "Let me get this straight" He stared too calmly for what he was just asked. "You volunteered to make the biggest meal of the year, for how many?" "Maaaybe 200." she said quietly "and then expect me to go across the county to cook it for you with two days notice?" "Oh course not, It's just that…" "What!?" he shouted back. "None of us know how to cook! I mean we thought Speedy could but all he knows how to make is chili and hot dogs!" "You live with these people! How can you not know if any of them can cook?" Cyborg spat out. "What the hell have you been eating all this time!?" The augment continued. Cyborg spent the next hour explaining what they would need to have when he got there. You had never seen someone be so passionate about explaining the difference between a dutch oven and a slow cooker and insisting he would need both. Beast Boy was going east as well to see the Doom Patrol. It was a bit abrupt. Raven had found a note he had left on the kitchen table.

Dudes,

The DP asked me to come home. Will be back Monday.

Sorry won't be able to share the parade and Tofurky this year.

Beast Boy.

Raven looked at the hastily scribbled note. She could almost feel the disappointment on it. She knew that Mento didn’t ask for anything, he ordered it. That the only reason that Beast Boy followed was some sense of family loyalty and it being the holiday. Still a long weekend without video games, puns and stankball. She was going to call that a win. By Thursday morning Raven was in an empty tower. At first it was everything she could have hoped for, the empty common room was perfect for her morning meditation. Cyborg had left the fridge full, so there was no argument what was going to be for breakfast or lunch. She was able to finish the novel she was reading and start the next book in the series. All in the most glorious quite. "It's too quiet" Raven said to herself as night settled in. She didn’t believe her own ears. Sitting on her bed she pushed away the book she was reading. She just re-read the same page for the 4th time. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Raven's eyes closed tight she tried to focus on her breathing, trying to slow the a new creeping panic. She didn’t understand, she had been alone before, and for much longer, just she had never felt alone here. This was her home this was different, the Tower didn’t feel right without the familiar presence of her friends. It was cold and alien, like she was in a strangers house. It was a horrible realization that as much as she coveted solitude, there was always the comforting auras of the others nearby, now…she couldn’t help but wonder if this is what it was like to suddenly go blind or deaf. There was something missing and... In her mind there was a sudden flash of bright green. Raven shot bold upright almost falling off the bed. Before she could process this a small envelope slid under her door and then the sound of rushed footsteps. "Beast Boy?" she said to the empty room. He was supposed to be across the country, but it was definitely him. Raven couldn't help it. She was actually glad that someone, even Beast Boy, was in the tower. Raven got up quickly snatching the small square of paper. She opened it and read. Ms. Raven

Your presence is requested in the ops room for a Thanksgiving dinner.

Formal dress is not required but will not be discouraged.

Thank you.

Garfield Logan. Raven looked at the invitation. "Garfield Logan?" She asked herself. It was not often that she heard his real name. She knew that he didn’t really care for it but looking at it on the paper it wasn’t a bad name. This wasn't like the scratched out note he left when he left, she could tell he tried to make the letters neat, he even spelled 'presence' correctly. Raven looked back and forth between the note and her door. Wondering if this was some sort of elaborate prank. I mean this was Beast Boy. But curiosity got the better of her, and it led her out the door to the ops room. "What is this?" She asked as she entered. The couch was pushed over to one side. In its place was a long table set with a white table cloth In the center of the room. There were several covered dishes and a basket of bread, Two place settings in the middle of the table across from each other. The biggest surprise was Beast Boy himself. He was wearing a white button down shirt, with a black vest and dress pants. He had even tried to run a comb through that mess of green hair. He looked up at her from arranging the different dishes. "Happy Thanksgiving." He said softly not sure how she was going to react. "Beast Boy, what are you doing here?" She approached the table. "What about the Doom Patrol?" "I changed my mind." he said sheepishly and quickly turned his attention to the food. " We got a ton stuff here I hope your hungry."

She could tell he was holding something back. Despite the smile on his face he wouldn’t meet her eyes. Still this was quite a feat to set this all up on his own. The food, his look, setting up the room, then Raven remembered the invitation.

"Will all this keep for a few moments?" Raven asked, referring to the table.

"Ah Yea." Beast Boy said, slightly confused. Raven quickly left to go back to her room. Leaving Beast Boy to fiddle with the table not sure what was going on. When she returned she was waring Deep blue sleeveless floor length gown. Her hair was pulled back, and she wore small gold and ruby stud earrings.

"I think this feels more fitting." She said as she came back into the room. "Wow." Beast Boy breathed out his jaw hanging open. "Don’t get used to it. " She glanced at him "But since you did put in the effort. " "I just didn’t think you had anything in your closet but blue capes." Beast boy said unable to take his eyes off of her. It was Raven. The dark blue the way the dress flowed like her cloak even in the red accent of the earrings, it was still her but she was breathtaking. "Starfire found this for me, under the mistaken impression that there will be a ball sometime soon."

Shall we eat?" "Ah,..Yes..ya" He said, pulling out the chair for her. They were both seated.

"So where do you want to start?" Beast Boy reaching for a one of the casserole lids.

"How about with the truth?" She said folding her hands together. "Beast Boy what are you doing here?"

"Eating sweet potatoes?" a stiff smile on his face.

"Empath. Beast Boy I know there is something your holding back"

Beast Boy sat there looking at her chewing on his bottom lip. His eyes met hers again.

"You sure that we can't just eat green beans and not talk about this?"

Raven just sat there and stared at him. She knew that her patience would win out over his impetuous nature. They sat there looking at each other for a few moments. Or for 26 years depending on the perspective.

"The house was empty." Beast Boy whispered.

He picked up his fork needing to do something with his hands. "The mission comes first." The words came out practiced. As if he had said that phrase a thousand times before. "I got to the Manor and no one was there. The place was dark, I found a note on the door. It said I was late. Something came up in the Andes. "

"Beast Boy I-"

"No, you know what's really funny, I thought it was a joke, like a surprise party or something so I went in anyway and ran over the whole house calling them, checking every room. They were gone the jet was gone. " A the moment she could see him trying to hold back the tears. "But the best part, the fridge was empty! No Turkey defrosting for the big day, no potatoes, just some bread a peanut butter in the pantry."

"So you came back here."

"I made a sandwich first, but yea." He wiped his eye with the back of his hand. "Thanksgiving is supposed to be about family and I wanted to be with family, they knew that and used that to get me to come home, and put me to work." his eyes fell to the empty dinner plate in front of him. "I am sorry Beast-" her voice froze for a moment. "I am sorry Garfield."

This snapped his attention back to her. He had gone years without hearing his real name. He remembered hating it, but in her voice, it was different.

"Rae, I am the one that should be sorry. I mean I know you were probably loving having the tower to yourself. I half expected you to see all of this, ask me to stay quiet and go back to your room."

"Too much of anything, even quiet and solitude is not a good thing." I guess I have gotten used to this place, the people in it." She looked up at him. "I missed my family. Thank you for coming home."

The blood rushed up into Beast Boys face. This was like a dream, she looked amazing, and she was here with him, alone.

"Well we have food. Oh! there is a replay of the Parade on Tv we can watch, or we co-"

Raven reached across the table and put her hand on top of his. "We could just talk some more?" She said.

The both stared at each other until for a moment. "Yea okay…I would like that." His voice shook a bit. Raven puller her hand away, he Immediately missed it.

"Where is the tofurky?" she as she cautiously started to take the lids off the dishes.

"Avoid the brown one on the end."

"Thank you."

They ate, and talked, and talked some more. It was one of those conversations that took on a life of its own. It was early Friday morning before they gotten up from the table and he walked Raven back to her room.

*****************************************************************************

So its July, how about a Thanksgiving story? This was in the draft pile asked my wife to pick on and this is what she picked. Besides some Fall would be welcome with this 100+ degree heat.

#BBrae #bbrae fanfiction #Serrj215 Original #thanksgiving #robstar #(just a touch)

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365days365movies · 3 years

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March 7, 2021: Onward (2020) (Part One)

Finding Nemo.

That’s my favorite Pixar film. Real talk, no arguments, and today’s movie? NOT dethroning it. This movie is so hard-wired into my brain, that the second I typed the words of the title, the theme song ran through my head, where it lives rent-free. It will be a cold day when I don’t find an excuse to shout “NEMOOOO!!!! I HAVE TO FIND MY SON!!” at any opportune moment. I will never stop swimming. Whenever I catch a Chinchou or Lanturn in a Pokémon game, I name it “Goodfeeling’sgone”.

SHARK BAIT OOH HA HA

YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE DEPTHS OF MY LOVE FOR THIS MOVIE.

...Ahem. So, yeah, I love FInding Nemo. For the record, the sequel ain’t bad. And also for the record, there’s only one Pixar movie that I consider to be bad, and it’s the one you’d think. You know, the one about ageism. The one where somebody dies by torture? The bad spy movie?

...the second one about cars?

Which means, YES. I DON’T THINK The Good Dinosaur IS THAT BAD! Not exactly good, but its gorgeous, and just kinda boring, not outright terrible. That Styracosaurus, though...that dude is great.

Anyway, off of Pixar for a sec, huh? What about fantasy? I’m a big tabletop RPG nerd, and I’m currently the GM for a Pathfinder campaign, a Pokémon RPG, and a Mutants and Masterminds game, while also playing in a Pathfinder game as well. Yeah, I’m a busy dewd. But what I’m saying is, this movie should be preaching to the choir for me. I’m a Pixar lover who plays RPGs. I’m ready for this. I’m ready for CGI Bright. Which is another way of saying, I’m ready for a version of Bright that doesn’t suck.

So, why haven’t I seen it until now? I mean...COVID-19. This film got FUCKED. But, no matter! It’s on Disney Plus, I’ve got Disney Plus, so let’s get this baby STARTED! Let’s get updated on some Pixar! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap (1/2)

OK, immediately digging the soundtrack over the Disney logo as we jump in here! Very ethereal, very fantasy, very LotR, I LIKE it, I LIKE it! And then...long ago, the world was full of wonder!

We get a view of the world of olde, with magic and many mystical, mythical creatures living together and adventuring. However, as magic wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to use, it eventually gave way to technology, fading away in a world now very similar to ours.

Basically, it’s about the same as our world, except for a few different races, and the fact that dragons are basically dogs, and unicorns are basically raccoons, which is fuckin’ fantastic.

We enter the home of teenage elf Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) and introverted now-16-year-old who lives with his mother, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and his older brother Barley (Chris Pratt). Barley’s a tabletop RPG nerd who’s also a fan of the magical past. Said obsessions cause a strain on his relationship with Ian, and with that of his mother’s boyfriend, centaur policeman Colt Bronco (Mel Rodriguez).

After a discussion about Barley’s recent attempt to protect an old magical monument from destruction, he accidentally damages the sweatshirt that Ian is wearing, which was owned by their late father, Wilder. Ian rushes out, flustered, despite Barley’s attempts to bond with him. Well, looks like we have a sense of the plot for this one.

On his way to school, Barley stops to get some food when he meets Gaxton (Wilmer Valderrama), an old college friend of his father’s. From Gaxton, he learns things about his father that he never knew, like that he was bold and standout. From there, Barely pledges to try and be more self-confident, like his father.

Whiiiiiiich, doesn’t exactly work once he gets to school. He fails to stand-up to a jerky guy at school, he fails in his driving class, and he fails to ask other high school kids to his birthday party. But to be fair, Barley helps a bit with that last one when he shows up with Guinevere, his busted-ass van with a unicorn painted on the side. Which is supposed to be uncool...but I kinda dig it, not gonna lie.

After that, Ian completely flubs the invitation bit, confusing the people he was talking to, and disappointing himself in the process. He gets a ride home with Barley, and goes home to talk to a tape recording of his dad. Which is...beautifully sad, and somehow very easy to identify with. So, yeah, it’s gonna be that kind of Pixar movie.

Ian talks to his mom about his father at his age, asking if he was ever unsure. She says yes, but couples this with a surprise: a gift from his late father, who died of a terminal illness shortly after Ian’s birth. The gift is for both Ian and Barley, and was meant to be opened when they were both over 16.

She gets it from the attic, and they unwrap it, where it’s revealed to be a wizard’s staff. Which is weird, because Wilder was an accountant. In a pocket of the wrapping cloth, there’s a letter written by Wilder with the narration from the beginning of the film (that “Long ago” bit).

Also included is a spell, written by Wilder so that he could see who his sons grew up to be. This “Visitation Spell” would appear to be a way to bring Wilder back for 24 hours. Barley, being the magic-lover that he is, tries multiple times to cast the spell with the staff, but fails to do so, much to his and Ian’s great disappointment.

However, when Ian tries to read the spell out of curiosity later, the staff begins to react, and the spell begins to work. Barley comes in as this is happening, and the spell works...halfway. It starts to fail, and Barley offers to help, but Ian pulls the staff away, and the spell stops as the Phoenix crystal inside it shatters.

Looks like another bust, but it’s not a complete failure. And if you’ve seen literally any trailer for this movie, you know what happens.

Although it’s just his legs and feet, it’s still Wilden Lightfoot (Kyle Bornheimer...technically). The boys decide to try and complete the spell, but need another Phoenix Gem to do so. According to Barley’s “historically accurate” TTRPG, Quests of Lore, they will be able to find one by accepting a quest from the place where all quests start: the Manticore’s Tavern. And so, the quest begins!

The brothers and their half-dad board Guinevere and drive to the Manticore’s Tavern. On the way, Barley convinces Ian to practice some spells from the games rulebook, but they don’t work because Ian’s not invoking his passion (or his “heart’s fire”, as Barley calls it). Meanwhile, Laurel figures out where they’re headed, but doesn’t know exactly why...yet.

After the journey, they make it to the Manticore’s Tavern, which is now essentially a themed Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant, owned and managed by Corey (Octavia Spencer), a very overworked manticore. Which is pretty great, not gonna lie.

They try to get the actual map to the Phoenix’s Gem from her in order to conjure their Dad, but she no longer sends adventurers on dangerous quests, mostly because she doesn’t want to get sued by any injured adventurers. When Ian argues with her about this, she IMMEDIATELY DIVES INTO AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS/MID LIFE CRISIS!

It’s, uh...it’s kind of amazing. Having completely lost it at this point, she basically tears down the entire building with her bare hands and fire-breath. Unfortunately, the map to the Phoenix Gem is burnt in the process of Corey’s literal meltdown. However, as Wilden’s about to be crushed by a couple of falling beams, Ian taps into his heart’s fire.

Nice. They get out of there, and head out for the Gem, using a child’s placemat replica of the real map to make their way to a place called Raven’s Point. However, rather than just follow the goddamn map, Barley decides to go on much more dangerous road known as the “Path of Peril”, once again following the “call of adventure” and his gut.

Which...yeah, Barley’s not really considering the reality of this whole situation, which fits his personality. He’s a dreamer, despite the rational and reasonable solution in front of him. And, in case you weren’t sure, I’m pretty sure that isn’t a good thing.

Ian points out the correct point that what actually matters is that they send enough time with their father, and they do indeed take the straightforward path. Good! Barley listened to Ian’s suggestion after all. However, they hit another snag when the car breaks down, completely out of gas. Problem.

Meanwhile, Laurel makes her way to the Manticore’s place, only to find it on fire! She meets Corey, who tells her that she’s met her boys, and told them about everything...except the curse. Also, there’s a curse. Laurel, who is the best movie Mom ever, tricks a policeman interviewing Corey to diverting his attention away from her, and smuggles her into her car to help find (and maybe rescue) her sons.

Stuck off the freeway without gas, a desperate Ian asks Barley if there are any spells that can get them more gas. They concoct a plan involving a shrinking and growing spell, but that immediately goes wrong as Barley tries to instruct Ian, only frustrating him further, and causing him to fumble the spell and hit Barley with it, making him tiny.

They decide to head to a gas station, where a group of pixie bikers has just arrived. This backfires when Barley, lacking basically any common sense, ends up insulting the biker leader, Dewdrop (Grey Griffin) and her ancestors. Nice one, Barley. As they escape from the pissed off pixies, the tiny Barley is unable to drive, forcing the driver’s anxiety-riddled Ian to drive, overcoming his fears from earlier by force, being chased by the pixies all the way. It’s a pretty good sequence, to be honest.

youtube

Well, they escape the Pixies...but not the cops. And I think that’ll be a good place to pick up in the next part! See you there!

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dansnaturepictures · 3 years

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16/04/2021-Orange Tip and more at Lakeside and photos at home: Five pictures in this photoset are different to those I tweeted tonight which are the first three, seventh and tenth in this photoset

I took the first three pictures in this photoset as I went on my last lunch time Lakeside walk before a week’s annual leave next week, replacing what would have been our Pembrokeshire holiday which due to the pandemic we have now postponed until next year and we are hoping to do some special day trips with restrictions eased enough to allow, I am hoping the week can be as good as recent patches of annual leave/bank holidays, my week off in January and the similar week off instead of a postponed Welsh holiday in June last year when everything had unlocked enough to allow some further afield day trips including to surrounding counties.

I wanted another look at the snake’s-head fritillaries as I may not necessarily come to Lakeside during the week off and may not be walking here until 26th April, so I think these smashing flowers may have ended or thereabouts by that point. So I did this by scouting out groups of them I had not yet seen in my best ever year of them here this year a flower I am loving so much here over the last few years as I walked to the far east of the southern fenced off nature reserve area and walked in a path that takes you right along the fence from the back of trees and along. Here I stumbled across indeed a group I had not seen yet this year, including the one in the fourth picture in this photoset it was beautiful to take lots of them in but this as a single flower stood out most to me I had a lot of great moments taking in single flowers today including daisy and dandelion. The fritillaries are such succulent looking flowers. I then indulged as the sun was in and out a little again but shining very brightly when out in some landscapes using this as a great vantage point across the nature reserve and taking in some beautiful sweeping views from this area I took the fifth picture in this photoset of a fantastic green looking view a big theme of my week. The green continued as I loved seeing some more lichen in this area this year I enjoyed it in the winter especially one day which I took the sixth picture in this photoset of today. I then took the seventh picture in this photoset of one of the group of snake’s-head fritillaries I discovered towards the end of last week. I took this with my big lens, the closeup one before was with my macro. This was not before I tried a shot I wanted to and perhaps rarely for me I suppose had in my head to try out with the snake’s-head fritillaries with my general lens, a landscape shot with the beautiful flowers in the foreground and I sat on the now quite dry floor you know its spring when that happens as this can be one of the wettest parts of the country park in winter with the mud and bog. I was quite pleased with how this came out and I tweeted on Dans_Pictures the photo I took.

It was another pre-planned photo as I moved on out the gate and towards beach lake, the eighth picture in this photoset. This is because as I said I’m taking part on a Facebook group I’m in, in a themed Facebook challenge this week where each day its a different letter to post photos on the theme of and over the week it spells out April. Having managed to think of an A, P, R and I some more challenging than others I knew L was the easiest letter for me as my day would involve a walk at Lakeside. I went very literal for that and wanted a picture of one of the lakes today, which I have managed at various points all week too, and I got it with this one. This was a beautiful scene and I loved taking in the water birds as I walked through the lake area and over the bridge again, such as Lesser Black-backed Gulls with one of them having a spat with one of the many Black-headed Gulls as things get a bit territorial which is interesting and two of the Great Crested Grebes. As I tweeted a picture of I got very close to a Greylag Goose as I got over the bridge a brilliant photo opportunity.

I then decided I wanted to go through a hidden little area in the trees where there is a high seat to take me into the woods and along the woodland path as planned for my route today. As the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker which was fantastic to hear at Lakeside again after a couple of weeks ago was enticing me into the woodland, I was wondering whether if I finished work early enough I would do an evening walk tonight. One of my key targets for the last couple of weeks at Lakeside has been an Orange Tip butterfly the all important spring species for me so an evening walk would be one last chance before going on leave to try and see this one of my favourite butterflies here. I hadn’t seen any butterflies today by that point as the sun just started to settle on being out for a long period. I was thrilled to see one I fully expected to in the woods a Speckled Wood fly back into the nice little area with a bench where I had seen my first Comma of the year near on my last patch of annual leave. A nice memory of packed minutes on last Friday’s walk where I saw my first Speckled Woods of the year. As I watched it I was over the moon to see a white butterfly and instantly I knew it was a male Orange Tip and then I saw it fly around a bit battling with the Speckled Wood a little which I always love seeing with butterflies. I made out its ice lolly tip to pure white majority wings and was so happy to see this butterfly. I said when I saw my first of 2018 that they make me feel in love with life and I could hardly contain my excitement for this moment in 2021 which is one of my real favourite moments in any spring seeing my first Orange Tip of the year. This butterfly took my year list to eight competing well with how many I had seen on this date in 2019 and 2020 my top two butterfly year list totals I am pleased with this. I spent a fantastic few minutes enjoying this butterfly and didn’t feel the need to come back tonight as I had achieved my latest wildlife goal on lunch time walks.

The Orange Tip then landed and closed its wings, and I with my big lens on at this point took a safety shot. But then I was stunned as I managed to get my macro lens on and edge gently closer to it and take a picture with it! An Orange Tip is a butterfly that so rarely stops so any kind of picture of one and at any stage in their year is brilliant. But to get one with my macro where you do have to get quite close to it and it has to stay still for a long time at the start of the season where normally not much lands with temperatures moderate so not as many warm sun basking opportunities so they can be flighty. Obviously it could have been newly emerged which would account for more stillness too which is amazing if so. I felt an interesting rush of adrenaline as I limbered up to the nettle it had settled on and took the picture with my macro which showed how I was so intoxicated by wildlife it really made me stupidly happy as so many moments have this year for wildlife.

What I hadn’t realised until recording the year tick and checking my past lists is today is ten years to the day since I first ever saw an Orange Tip it was along the River Itchen which felt fantastic. What a way to celebrate this day. On Monday I made a big thing about it being ten years since I saw my first Cuckoo and I had overlooked for years the magnitude of seeing both my first Cuckoo and Orange Tip ever in that short space of time over that glorious Easter holidays when I was still at school where so much else happened for me that fortnight as both became one of my favourite species being added to those lists in the years not so long after. Orange Tip is a butterfly I find so immaculate and so beautiful with the males and their stunning bright colour scheme which gives them the name and the female’s intricate and bold markings. This species sybolises the hope and passion of a blooming spring and they just provide you with a moment of splendour every time you are lucky enough to see one. They are one of nature’s finest works of art and one of Britain’s best species and key riverine species. I took these butterflies to my heart very quickly over the last decade where I have been so lucky to be able to see them so much and it is something I look forward to every year the Orange Tips coming out. I walked along to the monks brook halt steam railway platform entrance and along the northern path which I would take home I spotted a Brimstone flying and also more white butterflies I didn’t get to see what they were but they could have been female Orange Tips along the part of the park I learnt last year that they are here and something that can be seen. This was the first time ever that Lakeside was the place I ticked Orange Tip as we snuck a female in the river Itchen and males and females at Stoke Park Wood before the first Lakeside one on lockdown daily exercise walks last year. Of the eight butterflies I’ve seen this year six have been for the first time at Lakeside now and I am so proud once more of how I have used this wonderful local country park to get my butterfly season really well underway with a variety of species. Lakeside did dominate the location field of my butterfly year list last year with working from home and everything there are some species I tend to see at Lakeside first anyway as I really awoke to the fact of knowing there was so much on my doorstep and I’m glad I’ve done it again so far.

On the way home I took a third planned picture which I tweeted as I photographed a patch of blossom and greenery just outside the park as it goes towards the bridge to the new development and road which is a nicely shaped bush and I noticed it shine in the dark on my Wednesday evening walk. I remember photographing this one last year too on a lunch time walk and its interesting its flaired up nicely again around this time of year.

At home this afternoon I took as I tweeted a nice range of landscape and sky out the window and wildlife photos, including Rex the Feral Pigeon we have nicknamed who as well as his partner Violet was around a lot today which was great. I was also transfixed just before sunset by a large group of Starlings on the green out the front among the daisies and dandelions which looked really pretty as I processed my photos from today I just loved watching them. I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset of these. I hope you all have a nice weekend.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first of one of my favourite butterflies the Orange Tip this year, one of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe, Brimstone, Speckled Wood, Mallard, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Magpie, Jackdaw, Starlings with a brilliant view of some with food at times too along the northern path at Lakeside at lunch time too likely the same group as on the green, House Sparrow, Great Tit well at Lakeside in the hidden little bit, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Feral Pigeon, Robin and I heard both of the woodpeckers two of my favourite birds the Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker.

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milomeepit · 6 years

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I Was An Island (Touch Starved!Logan LAMP)

Chapter One: Bagels

Word Count: 2092

Ships: LAMP

Warnings: Swearing, unhealthy sleep habits, food, touch starvation

What is it like to crave to touch or be touched on a consistent basis by someone? Crave to be able to put your arm around them, touch their face or have their hand or shoulder touch yours and so on?

Logan tapped his fingers against the keys of his laptop. This was a stupid topic. It made no sense. What kind of affect could physical contact have on a person’s psychological state? Surely, once past childhood, past the need for such things as comfort from one’s parents after a nightmare or a skinned knee, it wouldn’t matter.

He could hardly remember the last time he had hugged another person. Not since he was a child, he was certain. He was fine. Wasn’t he?

His fingers hovered over the keys, hesitating. He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, hearing it creak quietly beneath him. This was preposterous. Pointless. Absurd. Logan drew back from the computer, rubbing his temples as he sighed. However ridiculous he found it, it was a necessary project to make the grade in his psychology class.

Staring at the glowing screen of his laptop, the typing cursor blinking on the page, taunting him with his lack of an answer to this question that should have been simple. So simple.

He shut the laptop, pushed away from his desk, and rose to his feet. He stretched, feeling his stiff joints crack. Perhaps it was time for a break. Have something to eat. He had promised Patton that he would sort out his own dinner, since he wasn’t eating with the rest of them. He glanced at the clock in the bottom corner of the screen and grimaced.

3am was a tad late to call it dinner, but he was going to keep his promise and at least have some crackers or something.

He exited his room, making his way quietly down the dark hallway. Did they have any of those Lunchables packs left? He knew Patton liked to keep a few in his bookbag to nibble on while he studied. Roman had insisted they stock up on the pizza variety, claiming they were vastly superior to their ham and cheese brethren.

Logan shook his head fondly, pausing outside Roman’s door. His gaze travelled over the Disney themed stickers plastered to the wood, the bold lettering spelling out ‘PRINCE’ stencilled in bright red paint. Roman would be asleep at this hour, he was sure. Whether it was curled up in bed, clutching an armful of plushies, or collapsed against his desk, pen in his hand, passed out halfway through the latest sentence of his work, he would certainly be out for the night.

Logan continued down the hall, frowning to himself. Roman really did concern him, sometimes. The man needed a good night’s rest. That, however, was his own decision, and Logan could hardly police his sleep schedule and self care. Much and all as he may wish to, on occasion.

He entered the kitchen, heading straight for the pantry and pulling open the door. He ran his eyes over the shelves, chewing his lip as he considered his options. Crackers... peanut butter... Crofters was another option, but he didn’t quite feel in the mood for something sweet. His gaze landed on a bag of bagels, and a small smile crept onto his face. Perfect.

He grabbed the bag and shut the door, then turned to the counter. “Hm... perhaps...” He paused for a moment. “... Cream cheese?” He murmured aloud.

“You’re up late.”

The gravelly voice behind him made him jump, dropping the bag on the counter. “Good lord!” Logan spun to see Virgil, perched on the dining room table, a dark outline in the shadowy room. Sitting so still, it was no wonder that Logan hadn’t noticed him at first.

Virgil smirked slightly. “Couldn’t sleep?” He asked, his voice low.

Logan frowned as he opened the bag and pulled out a bagel. “Working on a paper. It’s a... difficult subject for me to wrap my head around.”

Virgil nodded to the bag. “Be a pal and make me one, too?”

Logan rolled his eyes and grabbed another bagel. “Brat.” He pulled a knife from the block and started carefully splitting the bagels in half.

Virgil winked, shifting position to fully face Logan. “So, what’s the paper? One of your star nerd ones?”

“Ah... no, it isn’t astronomy,” Logan shook his head. “Psychology.”

Virgil perked up slightly. It was one of the few classes the two shared. “Oh, really? What’s up? Having trouble with finding sources or something?” He asked.

“... Not exactly.” Logan was quiet for a few moments as he pulled cream cheese out of the fridge. He held it up to show Virgil, who nodded, before popping the lid and beginning to slather it over the bagels.

“So... you gonna ask for help or brood with your snack for a while?” Virgil raised an eyebrow. He leaned back, bracing his arms on the tabletop behind him as he swung his legs back and forth idly.

Logan cleared his throat. “I do not ‘brood’.”

“He says, broodingly, as he broods.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

“You’re damn right I am. Now quit dodging the question, nerd. What’s the problem?”

Logan sighed, retrieving a plate from the cupboard and dropping the bagels onto it. He made his way over to the table, setting the plate down next to Virgil. “I suppose... much and all as I’ve read over the subject material... I don’t quite grasp the concept.”

Virgil patted the tabletop. “Take a seat, dude. Let’s talk this out, step by step, huh? Maybe we can figure out where you’re getting lost.”

Logan hoisted himself up, perching on the edge of the table. He picked up his bagel, taking a bite and chewing thoughtfully. “Well... I suppose... I just don’t understand. I don’t understand the concept. At all. I mean...” He paused. “I’ve been reading accounts from people who experience this ‘touch starvation’ phenomenon. They state that... despite social interaction... despite seeing people... conversing with people in everyday situations... it’s the physical touch they crave.”

Virgil made a soft noise of agreement. He picked up his bagel, turning it over in his hands and poking at the small amount of cream cheese that had squished out the side when Logan pressed the halves together.

“I... have to confess I don’t understand the difference,” Logan admitted. “It’s all social interaction, isn’t it?”

Virgil sighed. “Not... not exactly.” He chewed on his lip as he thought.

Logan tilted his head, looking at Virgil curiously. “Oh?”

Virgil closed his eyes. “It’s... it fucking sucks. It’s one of the worst feelings I can think of, honestly.”

Logan lowered his bagel, licking cream cheese from his lower lip. “... You experience it?” He asked softly.

“... I have, in the past.” Virgil stared down at his untouched bagel. “You want to touch, but it can’t be someone you don’t kinda trust, and you’re afraid to ask, let alone do it, because it fucking sucks when someone belittles your needs or thinks it’s silly, or worse, thinks it’s pathetic.”

“Virgil...”

“It’s like... you’ve gone so so long without the touch you need that.. you’re just desperate for it, but you feel stupid for asking, for needing it, so you usually don’t. Which just makes you need it more, because it’s like every day you don’t get nice touches the problem gets... exponentially worse.”

Logan watched as Virgil’s grasp on the bagel tightened, his fingers digging into the snack. He frowned. These were the kinds of things Virgil had experienced? He felt a little guilty for his callous attitude towards it.

Virgil swallowed, shaking his head. “Like... someone touching you is like heaven… but if you ask for that, it’s gonna nibble at your brain that it’s artificial, that they don’t really mean it, that they’re just humouring you. And it doesn’t get better in days or weeks or months, because it didn’t get that bad to begin with in days or weeks or months.”

He set down the bagel, then crossed his arms, wrapping them around himself. “And, you know, the literal worst thing is someone scorning you for touching them, even though it’s perfectly within their rights to not want to be touched, it is just devastating to the psyche to have someone that you care about enough to want to touch get angry or disgusted or annoyed at you touching them.”

“I see…,” Logan trailed off, his mind trying wrap around Virgil’s explanation.

Virgil swallowed again, and Logan realised he was fighting back tears. “I just want kisses down my spine, on my forehead, someone nuzzling into me, someone hugging me so tight it’s hard to breathe, petting my hair, scratching my head, idly rubbing my back. Little stuff. I want to hold someone, hug them with all my strength, bury my face into their clothes and skin and hair, kiss someone all over, touch them everywhere and do it over and over, run my fingers through their hair, play with their hands and kiss their knuckles and the veins on their wrists.”

Logan reached out hesitantly, his hand hovering above Virgil’s shoulder. Was... was it appropriate to offer physical comfort? Was it the correct response to offer a hug? Or would that be crossing a boundary, considering the subject matter? Did he even want to hug Virgil? He wanted to do something. God, why wasn’t Patton here? Patton was much better at these... touchy-feely, mushy, emotional conversations.

“It hurts, like, I get physically ill if I don’t get touch when I have those moments I desperately need it but feel too afraid to seek it,” Virgil continued, his voice strangled. “It doesn’t even really have to be sexual, or romantic. I just like touch. And I haven’t had enough of it from the people I loved. So now it’s kind of like a condition. Touch-starved.” He paused, taking a deep, shuddering breath. “And it fucking sucks.”

Logan slowly, gingerly, laid his hand against Virgil’s shoulder. The fleece-lined fabric of Virgil’s jacket was soft beneath his fingers. His fingertips tingled at the contact, and he fought against the urge to pull back.

Virgil turned his head to look at him, his face pale. He looked like a ghost in the dim room, his dark eyes shining in the faint light seeping from the kitchen. “... So... yeah. It’s... it’s a thing.” He snatched the bagel off of the plate, tearing into it.

Logan licked his lips, silently nodding. He wasn’t sure what to say. He never was, when it came to these sort of things. He didn’t exactly intend to have a big, spill-their-guts, heart-to-heart conversation with Virgil. He just planned to have a snack, then to stare at his computer screen until his eyes burned and the birds outside his bedroom window began to screech at the rising sun.

“... You okay, dude?” Virgil’s voice was rough, and it pulled him out of his thoughts.

“I’ll be fine. I’m somewhat concerned for you, though.” Logan frowned at him, squeezing his shoulder gently before drawing back.

Virgil shrugged. “I can manage, usually. I’ve talked to Patton about it. It’s part of the reason he’s always laying on me when we watch movies and stuff. It’s... his way of helping.”

“Part of the reason? What’s the rest of the reason?” Logan asked.

Virgil’s lips quirked into a fond smile. “... Because it’s Patton.”

Logan found himself returning the smile. “That’s a predictable, yet totally valid reason.”

Virgil ate the last of his bagel, then eased himself off of the table. “I’m gonna go back to my room.”

“Going to sleep?” Logan followed him, picking up the plate and carrying it over to the sink. He rinsed off the plate and set it in the drainer as he shook the excess water off of his hands.

Virgil grabbed a dish towel and dried the plate, smoothly placing it back in the cupboard. “I’m gonna try. How about you?”

Logan paused, his glowing laptop screen flashing in his mind’s eye. The idea of working more on his paper made him feel physically ill, and he had to fight the grimace from his face. “... Yes. I think that’s probably for the best.”

Virgil bumped his shoulder against Logan’s. “Night, nerd.” He nodded, then turned, disappearing down the shadowy hallway.

Logan stood, stunned for a few seconds. He slowly raised a hand to the spot where their shoulders had touched. His shoulder seemed to burn, his skin prickling like pins and needles.

What the hell?

#touch starvation #touch starved logan #lamp #analogic #logan sanders #milo writes #virgil sanders #logic sanders #anxiety sanders #sanders sides #thomas sanders #fanfiction

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katesjournal · 4 years

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Maria

Artist Maria Cruz was born in Quezon, Philippines in the year 1957. She studied Fine Arts at the University of Santo Tomas, moved to Australia to pursue graduate studies at the Sydney College of the Arts, and later, settled in Germany after completing her post-graduate studies at Kunstakademie in Dusseldorf. Although not as well-known as some of her fellow international Filipino artists, Maria Cruz is an accomplished woman who has cemented a place for herself in the international artistic community with multiple achievements under her belt. She has received multiple residencies including with PS1 New York, Asialink, and the Karl Hoffer Gesselschaft International Studio in Berlin. Although little is actually known about the artist in terms of her personal life, dissecting the diasporic nature of her upbringing may give us insight into how her experiences have translated into her work. Having immersed herself in different lifestyles growing up, it does not come as a surprise that she is known for abstract and post-modern works that communicate the various cultures that she has encountered. One observer states, “it’s like painting in tongues, using the various voices of the world.”

Maria Cruz has also utilized feminist tones in her previous works. In 2013, she participated in the exhibit called “You Have Every Right,” where she displayed pieces that consisted only of words, referencing lines such as “May katabi nanaman akong lalaki,” and “Hanggang kailan ako magtitiis?” spoken by actresses from an old Filipino film. These lines represented women aiming for freedom in a man’s world. In the following year, in an exhibit called “Psychology Today,” Maria again used words as colorful standalone paintings, with messages against gender inequality.

For several years, Maria Cruz has used words and letters in her works “to make them speak,” creating depth and intimacy that communicates meaning to the observer in countless ways. Every letter and every word has meaning, whether it be explicit or vague. Maria’s skillful use of text as imagery has landed her multiple accolades, one being the Portia Geach Portrait prize for her self-portrait entitled Maria—a combination of her face and her name.

Maria Cruz’s Maria was created in the year 1997 with the use of oil paint, and was gifted to the Ateneo Art Gallery by Jo Holder. The painting depicts the subject, Maria herself, gazing through a wall of letters spelling out her name, shielding parts of her face as it threads through the contours and edges of the letters. The subject wears a weary, dejected look on her face, with a frown etched onto her lips, and dark, blank eyes gazing into the observer’s own.

Dissecting the elements present in the painting, we can see that the artist uses soft, smooth lines to capture the contours of the subject’s features, which contrasts with the hard, geometric lines of the letters spelling out her name. Furthermore, we can see another contrast between the subject’s neutral colors composed of browns and blacks, to the bright green of the letters. The artist seems to be giving her name more emphasis, drawing our attention from the subject, to the name. The artist confirms this, stating: “When I look at my face in the mirror, it is just marks I see, and when I put my name in text on top of my face I think that you can then read into that painting many other things other than just myself.” With the addition of her name in big, bold letters donning a bright color, the artist gives the painting more substance—something to look at other than her face which hides behind a name that has been tasked to speak for the individual.

Personally, the most interesting point of this painting to me, are the subject’s eyes. Aside from the downturned lips, forming what looks like a frown permanently marring her face, the eyes are what carry the atmosphere of the painting most effectively. They seem to be expressing everything, yet nothing at the same time. The subject’s eyes pierce through the painting, hollowly gazing at the observer’s own. Her eyes seem heavy, with the bags underneath weighing them down. Her pupils are dark, almost pitch black, save for a faint shine casted by the light, out of the observer’s reach. Her expression is purposefully unreadable, almost empty, leaving the observer perplexed—a feeling that corresponds to the complexity and indescribability of Maria Cruz’s essence. The weighted gaze of the subject stirs something within the observer, urging one to act upon its message.

Clearly, the name Maria, plays a big role in the narrative that the painting wants to convey. It refers to both the subject—the artist herself, and the Marian concepts of womanhood. This painting serves as an examination of the self and the concepts behind it. When we refer back to the elements present in the painting, we can see just how significant the name is to the message that the painting and the artist want to communicate. First, the solidity and brightness of the green used for her name. According to the artist, the name Maria is ordinary—almost generic. Yet there is a certain vibrancy and uniqueness to it that makes the ordinariness and universality of it somewhat attractive, much like how the color was utilized—the green being both ordinarily solid yet attractively bright at the same time. Second, the soft, smooth brushstrokes and the use of green, a color that signifies gentleness and modesty, all allude to the virginal and pure woman that the Marian tradition imposes. The painting seems to both embrace and reject these implications, shown in the way that Maria lets her name speak volumes, while maintaining the complexity of her essence quite literally, behind it. Although presented quite vaguely, this message becomes clearer the more we dissect the painting’s existing themes and elements.

To me, the painting’s message is actually quite relevant, especially today, as we are in an era where movements fueled by women gaining recognition of the self are dismantling the orthodox understanding of womanhood. We have started to question our place, our role in a society that reduces us to mere names and traditions. However, much like how Maria Cruz both embraces and rejects the implications of her name, we can reclaim our sense of belongingness through reflection, which may aid us in moving past these traditions to acquire an understanding of our identities. Being a woman myself, I appreciate that themes like that of Maria’s are given light as I recognize that there is still much to learn about myself, and my womanhood. I have been moved to reflect and understand the complexities of my identity, and for that, I greatly value this painting and its message.

Artwork’s Details

TITLE: Maria

ARTIST: Maria Cruz

MEDIUM: Oil on canvas

YEAR: 1997

PROVENANCE: Gift of Jo Holder to the Ateneo Art Gallery

References:

Lerma, R. (2005, August 15). The ineffable Maria Cruz. Retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/arts-and-culture/2005/08/15/291667/ineffable-maria-cruz

Maria Cruz. (2015, November 30). Retrieved from https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-bulletin/20151130/282587376896609

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dogood-in-silence · 4 years

Text

Dealbreaker

I swiped my mascara one last time over my eyelashes before leaning back and scrutinizing my appearance in the mirror. Satisfied, I gathered up my purse, slipped into my rain jacket, and locked up my apartment. A frisson of nervousness zipped through my body, settling in the pit of my stomach. It only took 21 years, but I am finally going on my first date.

My mom always told her friends that I’m just a late bloomer. My grandmother is convinced I don’t know how to flirt with boys. Regardless of the reason, I had never had the notion to go on a date until now, not even in high school. But, that all changed when I met Will in one of my accounting classes. I had seen him a few times around campus, but until that class, I had never spoken to him.

We got stuck together in a group project with a couple of others in our class. He was shy at first but eventually warmed up to me when I started cracking jokes about the girl who decided she was going to be our “leader”. Over the course of several classes, we began to talk more and more until I finally asked him if he wanted to go get coffee and dessert one night.

To my pleasure, he agreed and here we are. Walking by the windows of the little coffee shop that was just a mile off campus, I could see him already sitting at a table in the corner. I smiled slightly to myself as I stepped through the door and over the threshold. Will looked up when the bell over the door frame rang and smiled warmly at me and stood up. Approaching him, I slung my purse over the back of the chair and leaned in to give him a hug.

“Hey, Will,” I said as we embraced quickly.

He was warm and smelled like rain and cologne.

Pulling back, I was ready to ask him if he had ordered yet when the words got caught in my throat. Will’s forehead. It...it said MURDERER.

A look must have passed over my face because Will looked confused.

“Jess? Are you alright? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Will reached up and grabbed both of my shoulders, trying to catch my eyes. His touch made me flinch and he pulled away as if I’d burned him.

Still in a bit of shock, I closed my eyes and took in a shuddering breath. Surely I just...hallucinated for a second or something. Maybe my nerves about this date were more than I had realized. Steeling myself, I opened them again to find the same black letters scrawled across his tan forehead. I shook my head slightly in disbelief.

Finding my voice again, I reached down and picked up my purse.

“I-I’m sorry, Will. I just remembered. I had something else planned for tonight. I have to go.” I barely spared him another glance as I raced out of the shop. My heart was pounding against my ribcage as I slid into the driver’s side of my car. Reaching out, I locked the doors before I even put the key in the ignition.

Peeling out of the parking lot and turning right, I was too spooked to even check my mirrors. If I had, I would’ve seen the black truck that pulled out a few seconds behind me.

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

Several weeks passed. With each day, I tried to forget what happened on my “date” with Will. I asked my professor to allow me to change groups, and by some stroke of luck he agreed. I avoided him at all costs, barely even looked at him. Unfortunately my morbid curiosity still goaded me to trace those letters with my eyes. I didn’t understand why I could even see them or where they come from. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before or since.

Sometimes I could feel Will’s eyes on me from across the classroom. I just tried to focus on my notes with an even greater concentration. He never did try to initiate contact, but then again I never gave him the chance. One day, about a month and a half later from ‘The Incident’ (that’s what I was calling it in my head), I was rushing out of the lecture hall when I rounded the corner and ran smack into a solid mass. My books and phone flew out of my hands as I staggered backwards. Hands reached out to stabilize me. Bending down to collect my things, I sputtered out an apology.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Looking back up, the mass I ran into just smiled down at me. He reached down to give me a hand to stand.

“Oh, well it’s not every day that a cute girl literally falls into your arms. Hey, I’m Jacob.” Finally taking in his appearance, I couldn’t help but return the bright smile he was giving me. Jacob was cute: blonde hair, blue eyes, boyish looks.

“Hi, I’m Jess.” I stuck out my hand awkwardly, trying to keep all of my things from falling to the floor once more. He shook my hand while laughing.

“So, Jess. I think you definitely owe me dinner for running me over,” he said while giving me a little smirk. I raised my eyebrows.

“I owe you dinner? You almost knocked me down with all that,” I gestured at his chest and bulky arms.

“Okay, fine. How about we decide who owes the other one over dinner tonight? Are you free? Pizza is $2 a slice at Mario’s tonight…” he trailed off while looking hopeful. My mouth started salivating just at the mention of Mario’s. What are the odds he would want to go to my favorite pizza place. How could I say no?

“Alright then. I’ll see you there at 7:30?”

He nodded and looked pleased. “Sure, see you then! You’re buying my cannoli though,” he said smugly. I chuckled lightly as I walked away, waving my hand behind me.

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

It’s funny how life works. For 21 years, I had gone on zero dates, and then within 2 months, I had two--with different people nonetheless.

Mario’s was packed out with college students. Their $2 Thursdays were a bit legendary around here. I sifted through the tables and bodies, finally spotting an open booth. Sliding onto the red vinyl, a waitress came up and I took the liberty of ordering for Jacob and me while I waited on him to show. It wasn’t long after the waitress brought out the pitcher of beer that I saw Jacob walking up out of the corner of my eye.

I smiled when I saw him and looked down to fill our plastic cups as he was sitting down. When I looked back up, it was the worst version of deja vu I’ve ever experienced. Well, almost deja vu. Instead of MURDERER, STALKER was spelled out clearly against Jacob’s forehead. Once again, I worried that I was seeing something that wasn’t there. I hadn’t even had a sip of alcohol yet. But no matter how much I tried to blink and breathe, the letters stayed put, just as bold as they had ever been.

Jacob didn’t seem to realize that I was having an internal crisis; around the loud rushing in my ears, I could hear him talking to me. Making eye contact, I could tell he had just asked me a question. I couldn’t remember a word he had said.

“What’d you say?” I said, almost feeling detached from reality at this point.

“I said I hoped you got pepperoni, that’s my favorite,” he smiled. I realized he was expecting an answer.

“Uh.. yeah. I got two slices of pepperoni and two cheese. I wasn’t sure what you wanted.” Jacob still seemed oblivious to everything as he grinned happily about my topping choices. He started to tell me a funny story about something that happened in class--the one he had after we bumped into each other.

I scarcely listened, just trying to nod or smile in the right places while working out my next move in my head. Luckily, the waitress showed back up with greasy pieces of pizza spread across paper plates. Deciding that I was safe inside of Mario’s, even if I wasn’t necessarily safe with Jacob, I resolved to stay for my date. Maybe if I talked to Jacob more, I could figure out why these words were coming out of nowhere.

So, I pressed on. I tried to tread lightly with Jacob. He didn’t seem like much of a threat so far. Quite honestly, without the big black word blaring across my vision, the date would’ve been very enjoyable. We seemed to have a lot in common and frequented a lot of the same spots with our respective group of friends. Nothing I could ascertain from him seemed alarming in any way. Well, except for the obvious. After a couple of hours, I decided that I just needed to go home and think alone.

I feigned a big yawn and stretched. “I’m sorry, Jacob. You haven’t been boring company, but I’ve had a really long week.” I hoped I sounded convincing.

A shadow of an emotion I couldn’t place flitted across his features but it was gone before I could analyze it further. He offered a disappointed smile instead that seemed genuine enough.

“Ah, Jess, it’s okay. I’ve had a long week, too. Maybe we can get together again next week?” he suggested hopefully. He pulled out his wallet and threw a couple bills onto the worn wooden surface and made a move to stand.

I just nodded slowly. “Yeah, maybe next week,” I agreed noncommittally. I stood as well and returned the hug he initiated, against the urging to run from my inner voice. We said our goodbyes under the streetlights outside before parting ways. I looked over my shoulder several times as I walked to my car before hastily driving away. As I pulled out of my spot, I couldn’t help but feel like I was being silly for being so paranoid.

I had no reason to believe Jacob was stalking me; I had never even met him before this morning. Don’t stalkers always try to get close to their victims? Furthermore, I had no reason to believe Will was a murderer. This was all some kind of sick joke the universe was playing on me. I chastised myself, noting that I had been watching too much Criminal Minds. Regardless, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Jacob driving away in the opposite direction, the tail lights of his black truck fading into the distance.

-----------

I spent the next few days wondering about the words. Wondering if there was any connection. I had no way of knowing if Jacob and Will knew each other. Maybe they were conspiring together to write disconcerting words on their foreheads. But, why? And it didn’t seem like anyone else could see them but me. The only thing my questions were generating were more questions. The only real fact I knew was that the words only appeared, it seemed, when I was on dates. And, apparently, I could see the words after I had finished the dates, too, because I could still Will’s MURDERER every time we were in class together.

That brought an interesting idea to the forefront of my mind. Clearing my schedule for the weekend, I concocted a plan.

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

Getting the dates was surprisingly easy. All it took was downloading Tinder, posting a few pictures, and swiping. I swiped right liberally in order to maximize my matches. As the matches filtered in, I started messaging. Arranging dates for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Lunch dates, coffee dates, meet-ups at a local bar. I strategically mapped out my scheduling, and if I could stick to a time limit, I would wake up Monday morning having been on 12 dates. It was a push, but I decided it would be worth it if I could get to the bottom of all of this.

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

My first date Friday afternoon was with Drew. We met at a local bookstore, as he was an English major. He offered to show me some of his favorite authors. Much to my dismay, but also to my relief, those black capitals never showed up. I tried not to let it distract me, but I was puzzled on why I saw letters on Will and Jacob but not Drew. Maybe my hallucinations had stopped. Maybe it was a terrible joke.

Eventually, we wrapped up the date nicely and swapped numbers. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again, but it had been a nice date and I figured no harm, no foul. Even though I wasn’t close to any answers, I decided to continue on with the other dates just to garner some confirmation for myself.

The second date was up next: Peter. I beat him to the mini golf course just outside of downtown. After exchanging pleasantries and shaking hands I looked up to see, MARRIED written clear as day right above his eyebrows. I glanced down at his left ring finger. Sure enough, I could see a faint tan line present. I didn’t even finish the date. Peter wasn’t worth my time, and my hypothesis was starting to come together anyway.

Over the course of the weekend, I did make it to all 12 of my dates. Out of those 12, 7 of the men showed up with imprints. MARRIED, GOLD-DIGGER, PSYCHO, ABUSIVE, JEALOUS, CONTROLLING, and MANIPULATIVE rounded out the group. The other 5 dates were benign. No words of any kind showed up. After considering all of this information, I decided I had finally figured it out. I could see dealbreakers.

----------

I felt so much more at ease once I figured out my new power. Even though it might have been the lamest superpower you could have. It was useful I suppose. But, I half-heartedly wondered why the universe couldn’t give me the ability to read minds or fly. Nevertheless, life continued on normally for the most part. Drew texted me a few days after our first date and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. I easily agreed. Drew was smart and very nice, and I looked forward to getting to know him more. We agreed to meet up at a restaurant downtown.

After putting the finishing touches on my outfit, I stepped outside of my apartment and started down the concrete steps. The sun had already set and the stars were twinkling brightly above. I had just reached the bottom landing when I felt two arms grab me roughly from behind, one around my waist and one came up to cover my mouth. The surprise mixed with the strength of the assailant caused me to lose my footing which only seemed to make everything worse. I could feel myself getting dragged through the breezeway. It seemed we were going to the rear of the apartments where the electrical meters and air conditioning units were. The realization dawned on me that there were no cars behind the apartments since it dropped off into a drainage area. This thought only renewed my fighting, but no matter how much I tried to kick or flail or scream, I was overpowered.

I felt myself being pushed roughly up against the wall. One hand still covered my mouth while his other forearm rested against my neck with a firm pressure. His knee came up to hold my hips in place. I looked up, squinting through the low light; an icy chill coursed through my veins.

It was Jacob. Funny, sweet, cute Jacob. I could just make out STALKER still written across where had been at Mario’s. Except, unless the lights were fooling my vision, there seemed to be something else written smaller underneath. I tried to lean closer to read it, but Jacob read my movement as an attempt to escape and pressed firmly against my neck.

He leaned in, his face coming within inches of mine. He looked positively crazed.

“We meet again, Jess,” he sneered. The only thing I could do is voice my muffled dissent. He pressed harder against my mouth and tilted even closer. I gasped and my eyes widened as I could finally decipher what was written under STALKER. I stiffened under his grasp. KIDNAPPER was clearly spelled out. And it was…getting bigger? STALKER seemed to be shrinking away while KIDNAPPER took its place.

“I will take my hand off of your mouth if you will stay quiet,” he hushed out. He slowly pulled his hand away. His palm hadn’t left my skin for more than a second before I yelled out as loud as I could. He hand came down hard on my right cheek, slapping me across the face, before moving his hand back in place.

“I said stay quiet. But that’s what happens when you don’t behave,” he growled out. I just raised my eyebrows and whimpered. He seemed pleased that I was feeling distressed.

“Now, what you’re going to do is walk with me calmly to my car. There will be no screaming or running. If you do, the consequences will be far worse,” he said with an air of danger. Shifting his arms and reaching around to the back of his pants. The cold muzzle of gun pressed heavily into my stomach. “Do I make myself clear?” He punctuated the question by shoving the gun a little more forcefully into my middle.

I could only nod silently while trying to think of any way I could get out of this. He pulled me away from the building and forced me in front of him, the gun now pressed cooly against my back. We walked together, passing through the breezeway once more.

I felt the air change behind me before the chaos erupted. To my left, Jacob went flying , stumbling forward before falling face first onto the ground. The gun clattered out of his hand and slid into the shadows. Taking in the scene, I could see someone else was now on top of Jacob and they were attempting to throw punches back and forth. Neither seemed able to get the upper hand. The second man was smaller but quicker. Jacob was trying to rely on brute strength to overpower him.

They scuffled for what seemed like an hour but was probably only a few seconds. Somehow, Jacob broke loose and started crawling over to the direction of the gun. He had just reached his hand out, fingers brushing the gun, when the other guy leapt onto his back. Both of their hands now reached out, fighting over the gun. Jacob was still underneath the other man, trying to wrench his hand free.

They fought for a few more seconds before a loud bang echoed off the walls around the breezeway and everything stilled. Blood started leaching out, pooling underneath Jacob. The other man slowly rolled off, the front of his shirt, face, and arms splattered red. He looked up at me, breathing heavily.

I gasped loudly.

Will.

fin.

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magnetic-force-of-a-may · 5 years

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Now I See Daylight: Lover is Taylor Swift’s Brightest Glow-Up

I wrote a ~2,000 word review of Lover. I’m so proud of you @taylorswift buddy, and as someone who majored in literature, I always like to close-read and write about the art I appreciate. and I love love lover, and I hope you’ll like my review (skip to the last paragraph if it’s too long hehe). <3 @taylornation The musical event of my year transpired last night when Taylor Swift released her hotly anticipated 7th studio album, Lover. It’s Taylor’s 13th year in the game, my 11th year as a Swiftie, and we’ve both never been better. After dancing/crying/listening to Lover since last night, I’m finally ready to write my review of this triumphant, exuberant pop masterpiece.

It’s been a whirlwind past few months, from five holes in the fence to the star-studded, not-without-controversy YNTCD to the gorgeous title track that is “Lover.” As always, Taylor and her team have orchestrated a business-savvy album roll-out, complete with an elaborate, year-long, Easter Egg hunt. There is always much speculation about a Taylor Swift album, and a marketing campaign structured around clues is a smart way of creating the speculation, shifting listeners’ attention somewhere productive; in this case, re-watching the “ME!” music video over and over to catch all the eggs and amp up the video’s views. But to hear Lover in its entirety at the end of an Easter Egg journey is ultimately rewarding and intimate. “I am an architect, I’m drawing up the plans,” sings Taylor in “I Think He Knows.” The Lover era confirms her skills as a powerful architect; she builds speculation, constructs masterful bridges (she really went to “bridge city” with many songs on this album), and shows no signs of stopping.

The opening track, “I Forgot You Existed,” is an understated earworm that essentially bids the reputation era (and the Kimye drama of 2016) adieu. “It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference,” Taylor shrugs. Vocally, the song has a colloquial quality; throughout, Taylor speaks, laughs, even trails off. It’s the equivalent of the throat-clearing that launched Track 1 of reputation, “Ready For It.” The first and essentially last song about “drama” on Lover, “I Forgot You Existed” clears the path for the 17 raw, emotional tracks to come.

The immediate next track, “Cruel Summer,” is an absolute pop-bop that immediately takes us to the higher register (Taylor in soprano-mode is sublime). It’s likely the next single (Tay teased the title in the YNTCD video and in a recent Amazon ad). This is the first song on the album that takes us to BRIDGE CITY—Tay practically screams “he looks up, grinning like a devil” in the bridge, and it’s amazing. We get to hear several New Taylor Sounds in this album, and it’s a lovely surprise each time. The trumpet(?) tease that opens “False God” and the way Tay sings “lo-o-o-o-ve” in the chorus prove that it’s all in the details. Structurally, the song staggers the lyrics in the chorus, such that each bleeds into the next (“Religion’s in your lips / Even if it’s a false god.” The religious imagery in Taylor’s past two albums is fascinating). Something similar happens, with even more syncopation (and brass!), in “It’s Nice to Have a Friend,” which is the grown-up, dreamier version of “Mary’s Song.” Speaking of the debut album, the way Taylor sings the bridge of “Cornelia Street” (“Barefoot in the kitchen…”) sounds just like the chorus of “Invisible.” Are these callbacks to her debut album coincidental? Knowing Taylor, likely not.

Indeed, many moments in Lover remind us that the old Taylor is far from dead, as she previously proclaimed in LWYMMD. "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” makes a direct reference to Tay’s song from the Hannah Montana movie (I looove “Crazier”), and in “Daylight” she sings that she used to think of love as being “burning red,” a lyric from “Red.” And Track 12 of Lover, “Soon You’ll Get Better,” is like Track 12 of Fearless, “The Best Day” (one of my all-time favs)—both are songs about Taylor’s mom, Andrea Swift, who is currently battling cancer. “Soon You’ll Get Better” is the album’s #1 tear-jerker, and features Andrea’s favorite band, The Dixie Chicks. It’s the closest thing to country on the album.

But on Lover, we are undeniably listening to a new Taylor who brings the storytelling traditions of country into the energetic world of pop. This Taylor writes about love from a stronger place of growth and self-confidence. You know that meme that goes, “I’m you but stronger”? That’s Lover to Taylor’s early discography. Tay’s confidence jumps out clearly in ME!, which was the first single Taylor released on 4.26 and honestly still one of my favorite tracks from the album (catch me yelling “HEY, KIDS! SPELLING IS FUN! on tour). I truly love Brendon Urie’s part in that song. Although “ME!”might have a reputation for being a “kids’ bop,” it channels a form of self-awareness that we also get on “Afterglow,” which is about a lover who understands her own flaws: “It’s all me, in my head.” Both “Afterglow” and “ME!” speak to the beauty and possibility of experiencing a storm with someone and recovering together afterwards, be it in the rain or in the light. It’s not just self-awareness that Taylor demonstrates on Lover, but also social awareness—this is the year she finally became vocally political, after all. “YNTCD” was her first LGBTQ anthem. Although some have accused Tay of “queerbaiting” (there’s always some flaw to pick out, isn’t there), the song is truly Taylor’s love letter as an ally to the LGBTQ community. Then there’s “The Man,” which slams the patriarchy by imagining a world in which Taylor is not a woman, but a man. “If I was out flashing my dollars I’d be a bitch, not a baller,” she sings. She also gives Leo Dicaprio a well-deserved roast; while Taylor’s dating life has received extensive scrutiny, tabloids don’t hate on “Leo in Saint-Tropez” the way they lambast Taylor for ‘serial-dating.’ “The Man” also sounds very much like HAIM’s “Forever” (“Dress” on reputation gave me HAIM vibes too). And I’ll forever stan Taylor x HAIM.

In Red, Taylor sings “Stay Stay Stay” to someone who later likely breaks her heart. Interestingly, the song on Lover that sounds like a musical echo to that track is “Paper Rings,” an adrenaline rush of a song about getting married. The song is another perfect 60s bop, and I love all the counting that happens in the song; it lyrically and spiritually channels the “you’re the only one I want” energy from Grease. “I like shiny things,” sings Taylor (we know) “but I’d marry you with paper rings.” And theother elephant-in-the-room song about marriage is of course “Lover,” which has literal wedding vows in its beautiful bridge. Of the three marriage-related songs on this album, “Lover” wins my heart (and it’s Taylor’s favorite song that she’s ever written, I hear). It’s a beautiful ballad that comes straight from the heart. Like the best Taylor Swift songs, it’s personal. We get straight to the time and place, like in “Cornelia Street,” the street on which Taylor used to live. In fact, the song’s melody seems to share the same musical pattern as “Delicate,” and some fans even speculate that the “third floor on the West side” from “Delicate” is on Cornelia Street. Another song is that is very location-specific is “London Boy,” which is a personal favorite for its allusion-heavy lyrics and catchy beat. I know that some Londoners are shaking their heads at the lyrics, but oh well—it’s a cute nod to Taylor’s current boyfriend of three years, Joe Alwyn, who (if you haven’t figured it out by now) is the inspiration behind many of the songs on this album. Another standout, should-be-a-single track is the aforementioned “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince,” which demonstrates Tay’s exquisite, imaginative storytelling style and mastery of metaphor (“Getaway Car” was the masterful-metaphor song on reputation). I could really write a paper on these lyrics. The Guardian seems to think it’s about living in Trump’s America? It’s a song that, along with “The Archer,” is reminiscent of Lana Del Rey’s dreamy pop (although the latter, while lyrically lovely, has yet to totally grow on me). Taylor has long been outspoken about her love for Lana’s music (they also share a producer: the amazing Jack Antonoff). If this means that Taylor’s music is beginning to take on a slightly indie-rock quality, I’m not complaining. For instance, “Death by a Thousand Cuts” has a slightly Vampire Weekend-quality to it, especially with the freestyle piano tinkling that emerges towards the chorus. But it would be remiss for me to compare Taylor to other artists (although maybe this at least proves that I listen to other music hahahahahah). As she sings in “ME!”, she’s the only one of her(!), and Lover proves this to a T (see what I did there?). From the records it broke even before release day to the pop perfection we’re getting on every track, Lover is bold and brassy, and Taylor knows it.

A few months ago, Taylor wrote in an Elle listicle that she has learned to “step into the daylight and let it go.” That line has indeed revealed itself to be a lyric from the final track of Lover, “Daylight,” a 5-minute long song that beautifully closes the album. “I don’t wanna look at anything else now that I saw you,” sings Taylor to her lover. But she also ends with a monologue: “You are what you love.” For Taylor, to love someone is to also love yourself. And that message of self-love radiates throughout Lover.

Earlier this year, I read an article with the headline, “Sad Taylor Swift is the Best Taylor Swift.” While it’s true that artistic production does often come from places of suffering and heartbreak, Lover steps into the daylight and delivers songs on an album that is wonderfully bright. The album cover, shot by the talented Valheria Rocha, captures the softness and loveliness of this glow. In Lover, Taylor is not our heartbreak princess. And we don’t want her to be, either. She’s braver than “Fearless,” and she’s more than simply “Clean.” I’d like to argue that Taylor is at her best at her brightest, which is to say at her clearest and cleverest. She’s someone who shines, inside and out, in her music and in her life. The illuminating, skin-clearing grace that she delivers on Lover lights up my room. This review is glowing, and so is Lover.

#lover #taylornation #taylorswift #reverbnation

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loudenoughtohear · 7 years

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My Autism Traits Bolded w/ Some Explanation

I copied this from mlmscout so that I could bold the traits that pertained to me. Here is a link to the original post

School/Learning/Thinking/Executive Functioning:

○ Average to high intelligence, may have high grades

○ May have low grades due to executive dysfunction

Explanation: There are times when my grades are excellent because I am able to maintain a consistent routine and there are times when things like depression, as well as family matters throw me off balance and my executive dysfuction takes over and my grades start to dip.

○ Difficulty with executive functioning, i.e. remembering chores/assignments, beginning or finishing tasks, trouble multitasking or switching between two tasks, etc.

○ Has symptoms of AD(H)D such as forgetfulness, restlessness, impulsivity, and trouble focusing

○ Has symptoms of OCD such as anxiety, paranoia, delusions, and odd habits or routines that stem from anxiety (compulsions)

○ Has been (correctly or incorrectly) diagnosed with co-morbid disorders such as depression, anxiety, AD(H)D and OCD

I have been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. I was incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD in elementary school.

○ A “teacher’s pet” and tells on students for breaking rules, may be a “tattler”

○ Seen as odd, shy, eccentric, and/or annoying by peers and classmates

○ Uses “formal” or “pedantic” language rather than casual/conversational language

○ Exceptional vocabulary since childhood

○ Skills tend to be far above or far below those of peers

○ Considered “gifted” or a “savant” in areas such as math, physics, science, vocabulary, reading comprehension, art, and/or music

For me it is was reading and being hyperlexic. But I never did well on the exams given in school, so they put me in remedial english in elementary school, but I would come home from school and read my mother’s college textbooks.

○ Superior skills in mathematics or physics

○ Poor understanding of mathematics

○ Has or has symptoms of dyscalculia, a learning disorder characterized by:

○ Difficulty with mathematics (including basic concepts such as addition and subtraction)

○ Difficulty identifying patterns

○ Difficulty telling left from right

○ Poor navigational skills and sense of direction

○ Difficulty remembering long sequences of numbers such as phone numbers

○ Difficulty reading clocks and telling time

○ Difficulty with applying math concepts to real-life situations

○ Difficulty with measurements

○ Difficulty applying previously-learned skills to new concepts in math

○ Difficulty finding different approaches to the same problem

○ Difficulty reading charts and graphs

○ Poor spatial awareness, difficulty estimating distances and have poor depth perception

○ Has or has symptoms of dyslexia, a learning disorder characterized by:

○ Difficulty recognized letters

○ Difficulty matching letters and words to sounds (i.e. pronunciation errors, not knowing what sound a “B” or an “H” makes)

○ Limited vocabulary

○ Difficulty with word sequences such as counting or the days of the week

○ Confuses the order of letters, makes frequent mistakes in spelling and grammar

○ Difficulty remembering facts

○ Difficulty understanding the rules of grammar

○ Difficulty learning and retaining information, relies on memorization without complete understanding of concept

○ Difficulty with word problems in math

○ Difficulty following a sequence of directions

○ Difficulty understanding jokes, idioms, metaphors, and figures of speech

○ Difficulty learning a foreign language

○ Obsessions with particular topics, known as “special interests” in the autistic community

○ Talking about a special interest brings comfort and happiness, conversation is limited to or focused on a special interest

○ Not interested in talking about topics besides a special interest

○ Spends long periods of time researching a special interest and categorizing information on a special interest

○ Has a “comfort item” such as a toy, blanket, or stone, may take item everywhere and refuse to part with it, doing so causes anxiety, sadness, and/or a meltdown

○ Superior long-term memory

○ Weaker short-term memory

○ Prefers to be self-taught and direct learning

○ Intense interest in literature and writing, may have taught self how to read before formal education, may be hyperlexic

○ Prolific writer

○ Deep thinker, curious

○ Drawn to philosophy, may have shown interest and curiosity in subjects such as death and the meaning of life since childhood

○ Prefers visual and kinetic learning, needs to get hands-on to understand topics

○ Highly creative and imaginative, drawn to art and writing

○ Art and writing relieve anxiety

○ Enjoys music, may be interested in songs and lyrics

○ Tasks with several steps can be troublesome

○ Difficulty remembering and following verbal instructions, needs written instructions to complete a task

○ Difficulty locating objects

○ The thought of having to leave the house for an event causes anxiety, may avoid leaving the house, talking to people, or confronting people

○ Upcoming events cause a feeling of dread of anxiety

○ Easily irritated and/or frustrated, avoids and/or gives up on tasks that are not easily overcome or mastered

○ Difficulty lying, may appear to be naïve, gullible, trusting, or a “pushover”

○ Tendency to be logical and see things at “face value” and take figures of speech, jokes, sarcasm, metaphors, etc. literally

○ Odd combination of strengths and weaknesses in regards to memory, executive functioning, motor skills, academics, intelligence, and interests

Motor Skills/Physical/Sensory/Routine:

○ Poor motor skills, may be clumsy or cumbersome, difficulty holding a pencil, kicking a ball, writing/drawing by hand, etc.

○ Auditory processing difficulties, may take a moment to process and interpret words, speech, and noises, may have auditory processing disorder (APD)

○ Odd gait or posture, may walk on toes or drag/shuffle feet, may sit in a crouching or perching position

○ Learning to ride a bike or drive a car can be difficult due to a lack of necessary skills

○ Becomes non- or semi-verbal when stressed, overwhelmed, or tired (i.e. being unable to speak, speaking takes a lot of effort and is tiring/exhausting, words feel “stuck”)

○ Experiences meltdowns/shutdowns when stressed, overwhelmed, or tired, may cry, scream, become snappy/irritated/impatient, or become withdrawn (may appear to be a “temper tantrum”)

○ Thumb-sucking lasts past childhood into adolescence

○ Bed-wetting lasts past childhood into adolescence

○ Experiences insomnia

○ Not a “morning person”

○ Has a co-morbid chronic illness, such as IBS, gluten intolerance, allergies, asthma, fibromyalgia, seizures, epilepsy, etc.

○ Resistance to and/or inability to cope with change, which causes anxiety

○ Adheres to a daily routine, straying from routine causes anxiety

○ Likes to sit in the same seat in the car or at meals, wear the same outfit, or eat the same food

○ Sensory issues, sensitive to textures, touch, sound, taste, smells, light, etc.

○ Avoids loud or harsh noises, bright light, certain tastes/textures/smells

○ Experiences “sensory overload,” may experience a meltdown or shutdown if sensory input is too much to handle

○ Dislikes physical contact with people, resists hugs/kissing

○ Engages in self-stimulating behavior to soothe, cope with sensory input, and/or express emotion, known as “stimming” by autistic community

○ Visual stimming includes watching moving objects such as water, leaves, or cars, and waving or fluttering fingers in front of eyes

○ Physical stimming includes spinning, jumping, waving arms, flapping hands, swinging, waving or fluttering fingers, flicking or rubbing fingernails, rubbing hands against a surface or texture, bouncing legs, rocking, chewing or sucking on objects, fidgeting with toys, and petting/stroking/twirling hair

○ Vocal stimming includes shrieking, laughing, singing, humming, repeating sounds or words (echolalia), and clicking tongue

○ Auditory stimming includes listening to music, blocking out noise, and listening to sounds

○ Prefers comfortable clothes over stylish clothes, may have a favorite shirt or outfit, may cut tags off of clothes due to sensory issues

○ Has or has symptoms of sensory processing disorder (SPD)

○ Has a “sixth sense,” notices the presence of people, may dislike standing close to people or standing in front of people

○ Has an odd tone of voice, may speak with an odd inflection, in a monotone voice, with an accent, or too loudly/softly for a situation

Social/Behavioral

○ Difficulty understanding “social rules,” may be unaware of boundaries and personal space

○ Difficulty understanding the “social hierarchy” and roles within a family or classroom, may act as a teacher to their peers

○ Shy and quiet in social situations, may be an introvert

○ Loud and aggressive in social situations, may cross boundaries

○ Clings to one or two friends, prefers to have a small friend group

○ No interest in socializing or making friends

○ Prefers to interact with people who are younger or older, little interest in peers of the same age

○ Has trouble keeping up a conversation, whether face-to-face or online, may abandon conversations due to anxiety or boredom

○ As a child, preferred to talk to teachers than peers, may view peers as “boring” or “stupid”

○ Dislikes and avoids eye contact, eyes may wander during conversation

○ Appears rude due to lack of understanding of “social rules,” not making eye contact or using “appropriate” body language, or dominating discussion/reverting discussion back to self

○ Dislikes “small talk,” prefers to have “intelligent” discussion, talk about self, or talk about a special interest

○ Difficulty understanding social cues such as body language, gestures, tone of voice, and facial expressions, may not be able to read emotion

○ Taught self how to act “properly” in social situations and/or read emotion, may mimic people in real life or on television

○ Conversation and socializing is anxiety-inducing and exhausting, may need a lot of rest and “de-stressing” after socializing

○ Tendency to be bullied, shunned, mocked, teased, or ostracized by peers

○ Tendency to over-share

○ Difficulty understanding what is and isn’t considered “socially acceptable,” may be blunt and considered “offensive” or “rude”

○ Difficulty knowing when to speak, may interrupt

○ Considered annoying by peers, “unable to take a hint”

○ Sense of humor is “quirky” or “odd,” may not understand typical humor used by peers

○ Excess apologizing

○ Difficulty knowing when a mistake has been made, may not apologize

Imagination/Empathy:

○ Escapes through imagination, may have maladaptive daydreaming disorder (MDD)

○ Intense, overwhelming emotions

○ Hyper- or hypoempathetic

○ Highly imaginative and creative

○ May have had imaginary friends as a child

○ Easily distracted, gets “lost in thoughts”

○ Fantasy brings comfort and relief

○ May not be interested in fantasy

○ Prefers to play with toys in an “unusual” manner, may spend time setting up scenes with toys without acting out a scene, may line up or organize toys, etc.

○ Prefers fantasy over reality

#autism #autism resources

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