I wish I was able to explain the concept of ruth a lot better bc then I could be like "this is a ruth moment" "progressing onto the next stage of the ruth arc" etc and everyone would know what I mean

BTS Caretaker CH31

Summary: She may think she has Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around her fingers. She may think it is easy to love the members equally without hurting any soul. She may think the boys wont fall head over heels for her. She assumes it is okay to show a little love and affection towards the boys, what if she gets it all wrong? What if it only brings more complication to her already complicated life? Can she survive their charms? Will she be able to resist them? What if they just wont let her go?

- Pairing: BTS x Oc ( Yoongi x OC, Jungkook x OC)

- Genre: Fluff, Slight Angst, Romance, Idol!au

- Word Count: 4,782

- Author Note: Happy new year! the beginning of the year has always been crazy, hahaha sorry for late update~ my goals are still similar, to finish posting BTS caretaker before 2021 endss. stay safe everyone <3

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Chapter 31

“Nuna!” Hoon announced while making his way inside the shop with a bright smile. “You seem happy” Seul popped out behind the counter with a huge smile. Wongeun looked at Hoon quizzically, from the corner of his eyes he caught a glimpse of giggly high schoolers swooning over the young man in front of him.

He let out a small chuckle “Someone earns bunch of fangirls” Seul followed his gaze and cringed instantly at the sight.

“What is so good about Hoon?” she slanted a look his ways and found him frowning as he gazed up Seul’s face. His eyes narrowed as he sneered sarcastically “Do I need to remind you I appeared in a show which is insanely famous with bunch of other good-looking men on planet. Technically, I am a celebrity now” Wongeun stared at him in amazement, more like because of Hoon’s confidence.

“Celebrity my foot. The only good-looking about you is your smart brain. Drinks?” she repressed her giggle watching the younger guy pulled a long face, looking petulant. “Mango smoothies. Your treat” he trailed off to his seat before his sister could protest.

Wongeun nudged her, laughing heartily “I wonder where he got that attitude, he is a male version of you” she had a dissatisfied look on her face, and he couldn’t stop teasing her until she had enough. Seul ditched Wongeun and prepared Hoon’s drink as she was excited to hear the good news from him.

She prepared the drink with extra care and love knowing how things had changed between them. These days had been nothing but rainbows. Hoon opened up to her more, and they learned how to respect each other. That was more than enough to foster this relationship.

“Boo!” Hwasa came up behind her unannounced with hope to startle the girl, but only to get twisted on ears by Seul. “Ow, Ji Seul! You, horrible woman” she swatted her hand, rubbing her ears with a slight pout.

“That is what you get for fooling around like a kid. Why are you late today?” she pressed.

“There you go acting like a mom. I had to submit my final project. I will take over the night shift today, so you can head back early to meet your oppas” she was teasing Seul, wiggling her brows up and down.

Seul rolled her eyes at her “Meet my my oppas” she mirrored her making the latter to throw a nasty glare. “The only oppas that I approve is Jeon Jungkook, have you made up your mind yet?” Hwasa’s question paused her beating heart. It continued to pump not long after a little quicker and wilder than earlier. She was affected by it though she tried her best to get used to the fact that there were men lined up behind her.

Clearing her dry throat, she placed the drink on the tray along with a plate of brownies. She avoided her best friend wary glance, just when she thought Hwasa finally took her discomfort seriously, the girl spoke up again. “Lucky woman. You have Bangtan Sonyeondan wrapped around your little finger. You are basically living the dreams of every girl on planet” she pursed her lips.

“You don’t need to emphasize my small fingers. Gosh, if and only you know how hard it is to deal with those hormonal men” Hwasa choke up as her ears caught the last phrase clearly. She let out a high pitch squeal surprising everyone in the shop. Panickily, Seul covered her loud mouth with her hand hushing her down.

Hwasa was exaggerating her reaction which annoyed the hell out of her, “Oh my god, what do you mean by hormonal men? What did they do to you?” her voice was muffled underneath Seul’s palm. She pulled away her hand, glaring at her best friend signalling her to stop asking questions. To her dismay, questions after questions came from her without stop.

“Did you do it with any of the members?”

“If yes then who?”

“Goodness! Could it be Min Yoongi! I knew it since he is the most aggressive one!”

“Wait-Wait could it be Jeon Jungkook? He may be innocent, but I wonder what is hidden under those shirt”

Seul’s cheeks reddened like a ripe tomato as Hwasa continued to harass her mind with those wild imagination “Yah! It is not like what you think. Stop stop, I am getting dizzy. This is not working. Our conversation ends right now. Cover for me, I need to talk to Hoon” she shook her head and flee from the scene before her precious best friend explored another topic to annoy her.

Hwasa gawked in disbelief watching the girl disappeared from her sight without giving her any answers.

 --------------

“Guess what!” he clasped his hand, resting his elbows on the table. Seul scrutinized his face with a questionable look “You got dumped by a girl?” he reached out and flicked her forehead earning a nasty scowl from the girl.

Hoon frowned “No, you silly! Remember I went for an audition today?” he chortled excitedly.

“So, you got kicked out before you could even open your dirty mouth?” she joked.

Gasping dramatically, he placed a hand over his chest as if he just got shot by a bullet “Of course not meanie! I got in. Well, not officially as a trainee but I passed the first and second stage. Next month, I will be meeting them again for the final stage” Seul smiled fondly at her brother. He continued to share his story and his face lit up with a bright smile.

Just seeing the smile on his face was enough to keep her satisfied for the rest of her life. Hoon’s happiness meant the world to her. “Are you happy Hoon-ah?” he nodded without any hesitation.

“Then that is enough. As long as you are happy, I will always be with you. I promise..” she brightens her smile, grasping his hand in hers.

His large hand began stroking hers “Thank you nuna for having a faith in me. I will not waste this opportunity and make you and mother proud! Oh, by the time I become a big star like BTS, I am hiring you as my personal caretaker. You can quit your job at BTS” he cracked a silly grin.

“I am so not babysitting you Ji Hoon! Ew, that sounds torturous and hellish” she cringed at the thought.

“It is not that bad. I am your brother, so it is better to look after your own flesh rather than strangers. Wait, don’t tell me you are dating one of the members since you seem reluctant to leave them?” his eyes bore into hers, mentally judging his sister.

“Are you here to pick a fight? Don’t you dare to have those wicked ideas in your head. Now finish your drinks and brownies, I need to work” she whacked him on the back of his head making the latter to hiss in pain.

“What is that for?! I am stating the obvious! Just so you know I like someone dependable like Jin hyung or Namjoon hyung to look after a clumsy woman like you” rubbing his head, he pouted slightly.

Seul gritted his teeth “What is with everyone invading my personal life?! You and Hwasa need to mind your own business, my god. Give me a break will you!” she leaned back into the seat and squeezed her eyes.

She waggled at his direction, gesturing the innocent guy to leave “Don’t stay, you only bring more harm than good. I will pack your brownies and enjoy it at home instead. You’re giving me a major headache” she massaged her temples, groaning lowly.

“Yah you evil witch! I am still your customer. Should I report you to your manager?”

She rose out of her seat, shooting daggers at his way “You don’t even pay for your drinks. Get ready to leave, Ji Hoon-ssi” Hoon pursed his lips before muttering something just to annoy Seul again. “If you don’t want Jin hyung or Namjoon hyung. Yoongi hyung would suffice. He is a cool hyung.” she walloped his head again, cussing in her head.

“Ji Seul-ssi that is rude!”

“You deserve that”

 --------------

When the clock struck six, Seul’s shift ended and she was ready to meet the boys at their dorm. They spammed their group chat in the last two hours with tons of selfies and irrelevant messages just to get her attention. Scanning the messages briefly, she scoffed at their childishness and shoved her phone inside her sling bag.

She fixed her hair one last time before heading out, bidding farewell to her fellow colleagues. Wongeun who noticed her presence at the counter, stopped whatever he was doing and shifted his attention on her “Do you have to work again after this?” his eyes disappeared as he smiled.

“No, I am meeting my friend. Are you staying until the closing?” Wongeun pressed his lips, glancing at the round clock on the wall. “Seems like it. Our boss plans to pay a visit” her mouth agape in horror.

“Oppa! Why didn’t you tell me that our boss is coming? I can’t leave if he is planning to come. Would it be rude to leave since this is his first time visiting us?” out of habit, she chewed her nails and started to freak out.

Wongeun chuckled lightly “You are overreacting. That old man doesn’t even know who is working here, all he knows is the number of the employee. Don’t worry, your shift already ends. You don’t need to stay though. Enjoy your time with your friend” Seul stared at him suspiciously.

“But, what if he is not in a good mood and-“ the tall guy cut her off once again, chuckling softly. “That won’t happen, can you just leave peacefully and stop worrying about him” he said firmly.

Placing the dry dishes on the island, Hwasa nodded in agreement “We will handle him. Go and meet your oppas. They must be waiting!” Wongeun crossed his arms, gazing tenderly at Seul.

“Oppas? How many oppas that you have which isn’t me?” she let out a tired sigh, glaring at her best friend who had put her innocent façade. Sneaky woman.

“I am not going to have this talk again. Hwasa if I hear you spread another rumour about me, I will strangle you to death. It is a promise” she said, exchanging a hard stare with her. “I will see you guys tomorrow. Have fun meeting the boss. Take photos for me, bye!” she winked cheekily, making her way to the entrance.

Seul bumped into someone as she got close to the entrance and looked up into the stranger’s eyes. To her distaste, the stranger is not really a stranger at least to her. She remembered those eyes. Her mind and body froze suddenly. Every muscle in her body tightened as a flash of memories gushed in her mind. It was him.

She could tell his eyes flickered in amusement and confusion. He had aged since the last time she saw him. His face got thinner, there was an obvious wrinkled at the corner of his sharp eyes, but she remembered those cruel eyes. The evil eyes had thrusted into her iris causing her to squirm under his cold gaze.

Her face contorted in pain and disgust. She felt the need to escape from this place immediately, or else the horrible memories might come attacking her again. This time there’s no Jin’s kisses to save her.

His hands almost rested on her body but shield away before they could. He gazed at her with heavy eyes that gleamed darkly “It has been a long time” this man’s voice disgusted her and sent chills down her spine. How was it possible to meet him again after years?  

Seul clenched and unclenched her fists. Seul’s silent treatment caused him to frown in disapproval. He disliked her coldness and rudeness. “You never change, I can see..” he sneered with a smirk.

Fighting dizziness, she managed to get back her sense and walked pass the man avoiding his fiery gaze. The only thing matters right now was to escape from this evil man. She would not allow him to control her life or worse claiming her as his. Wongeun and Hwasa were left in daze as they watched her figure disappeared from their vicinity.

Realizing that he had been staring way too long at the older man, Wongeun gathered his thought and hurriedly welcoming the man, forcing a smile on his face “Good evening Sir” Hwasa eyes widened upon hearing the greetings. Her body automatically bended over into a deep bow mirroring Wongeun, showing respect to their employer.

The man moved his eyes down scrutinizing the young man before him as he finally straightened up “The young lady just now, is she one of the employee here?” his questions startled Wongeun.

“Yes, Sir! Ji Seul has been working here for two years. Please forgive her cold demeanour, she has no idea that you will be coming. And, she doesn’t know you are the owner” said Wongeun. He sounded like he’s pleading the old man to spare Seul’s life.

A small smirk edged the corners of his mouth “Interesting. Let’s get back to business. Bring out the annual report” he ordered.

 -------------------

7 Years Ago

Scanning the dark room, Seul squeezed the hot tears out in despair. She had tried to open the oak door using every ounce of her strength. Unfortunately, it came to no avail. There was no sign of Mr Kwon coming to mentally and physically tortured her today.

Every day was hell.

She suffered an intense psychological harassment, which drained her energy.

The cruel man would tie her up to the bedpost leaving her only in her undergarments. He would use different toys or equipment just to torture her. To see her body squirm and writhed under his touch was driving him up the walls. Even so, he had never go beyond the boundaries. As much as he wanted to take her in that manner, yet he had a better plan for the young girl.

He must make sure she’s ready to receive him.

He liked it raw and rough, so he cared of her ability to take him in fully one day.

And, that one day happened to be sooner than he thought.

He was satisfied with his work of art, Seul was not an easy girl but she handled the torture so well which made him even more eager to taste her.

Mr Kwon was not a normal paedophile but a sadist. He was sick in the head.

The sound of the door opening made her squirm in fear, she backed away, until her back hit the brick wall. She shuddered as she heard the faint footsteps approaching. Seul couldn’t feel her body anymore knowing what would happen to her in a minute.

The usual torture.

The usual pain.

She collected her knees to her chest, burying her face in her knees and started to bawl her eyes out. Screaming in her head, she wanted to push the old man away from her only with her powerful screaming. How she wished it worked that way?

The man kneeled in front of her, oddly he didn’t smell reek alcohol and tobacco. That was very unusual since she was used to his dirty scent. She could tell from few feet away with her eyes closed with a mere smell. This time around the person in front of her showed no sign of Mr Kwon’s signature smile and horrible breath.

“Hey..Are you alright?” at the sound of his voice, she lifted her head with an effort. Tilting her head confusedly, she stared at the individual in bafflement. He looked around his age with his cute bangs almost covering his eyes. For some reason, he gave away some kind of glowing aura that made her feel secured and safe.

The young boy spoke up once again garnering her attention “You are Seul right? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he reached out to touch her arms but watching her flinched and ducked away from his touch, he murmured a soft sorry.

“We have to get you out from here. Can you trust me?” she averted her gaze and shook her head like he expected.

He sighed softly “Look, Mr Kwon is my uncle. Yeah, I know I have a bastard uncle.  Hell, he is not even my real uncle but a week ago, I saw him brought you in. I thought he finally adopted a kid from the orphanage, but I was wrong. I..watched how he tortured you every day. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I planned to save you from this house. Trust me, I don’t like him either. If there is one person that you can trust in this house, then it is me. I will help you to escape” as soon as he began to talk of this, her lips trembled, and her tears began to fall.

“Seul.. please give me a chance. I can help you. I can help your mother and your brother. Your father won’t be able to bother you anymore”

Seul croaked “H-ow.. you find out about my family?” she shifted her gaze away from her afraid this was another way for the old man to fool her.

“Let’s just say. I.. pretty much spied on my uncle. I went through his office, I saw the contract that he made with your father. I knew about his money issues that he sold you in exchanged of freedom from his debt. I am sorry Seul that you have to suffer this way, but I am here to help. Trust me please. We don’t have much time..” he muttered desperately as he eyes darted at the door in case his evil uncled made an appearance there.

Seul bit her chapped lips, feeling remorseful at this sudden appearance of her knight and shining armour. She had nothing to lose anyway.

Reluctantly, she nodded weakly “Okay. Let’s go! He will be back in 10 minutes. I managed to distract him for a bit, so I can sneak in. Brace yourself this escape will be nasty” Seul blinked her eyes cluelessly watching him grabbing clothes from the closet.

He bended forwards and whispered “Can you stand?” she palmed the wall behind her for support as she pulled her strength to stand on her own feet. The latter flashed a quick smile and helped her to put the grey sweater on.

Reaching out to her hand, he interlaced their hand together. She flinched at the contact of their skin and looked up at him with a glint of hope. Their gaze locked, and he gave her an assuring smile “Let’s go Seul” Seul nodded obediently following his every step, exiting the dreadful room.

I will trust you. I will follow you. Seul chanted in her head encouraging herself to do this without regret.

 ------------------------------

Present Day

There was no text or call from Seul causing the boys to have cold feet. They had planned to watch movies together with Seul before they flew to Japan tomorrow. God knows when they will be able to meet her again once the tour starts.

Jimin had brilliantly suggested to have a movie marathon today and thankfully Seul didn’t have to serve her usual night shift.

8PM.

9PM.

12AM and there was no sign of Seul.

Tired of waiting, some of the boys ended up falling asleep on the couch whilst Jungkook stayed up waiting for her arrival.

He tried to reach her numerous times, yet it brought him straight to the voicemail. Yoongi sat up groggily and his eyes landed on Jungkook whom looking anxious at the corner “Any news from Seul?” his rough voice brought the maknae back to reality.

“Still can’t reach her” his lips emitted a heavy sigh.

Yoongi glanced at his phone “It is unusual for her to leave us hanging without a text. Don’t worry she will be fine gukkie, something must come up. Head to bed. It is late” he stretched a little, running his hand to his sore back.

Jungkook smiled meekly “Hyung, sleep in your room. I will clean this up and head to bed right after” he stood up from his seat with distressed face. Yoongi bid him a goodnight and went straight to his room though deep down inside he’s worried sick of Seul. The least that he could do was to be optimist about the whole thing. She is a strong lady, nothing would happen to her.

 Seul wandered aimlessly around the city dragging her soulless body to find peace. An escape from this awful reality is all she needed. Recollecting the memories back only to pain her even more and it reopened the wounds. She had somehow ended up in front of Bangtan’s apartment, with a single move she will be reunited with the seven sunshine.

It dawned on her, that she was in no place to burden them with her problems. They had enough things to deal in life. Her hand curled into a tight fist, as she turned her heels to leave the place right way.

This wasn’t right.

She shouldn’t come here.

She must go.

“Seul…I know you will come” she heard her name being called. Seul turned around to find the owner of the voice stood at the entrance handsomely in his oversized white tshirt. Just when she assumed her world was dark and loney, there were Jungkook presence radiating love and grace transported her to a higher place called, hope.

He closed their distant, looking at her confused “Seul.. Where were you? God, you are worrying us” Jungkook’s voice rang in her ears, weakened her knees. The young man noticed her puffy eyes, and his brows furrowed in concern.

Giving her no time to respond, he inquired “Have you been crying? What happened baby?” he reached his finger to caress her wet cheeks. Little did he know, his little action made her to cry her heart out again. This emotion is overpowering her. She couldn’t handle it.

His eyes rounded in sheer surprised, and like a reflex he wounded his arms around her tight, embracing the girl closely. “Baby, what is wrong” he whispered. Jungkook lower down to match his height with her, running his hand up and down on her back. He hummed softly to calm her down “I am here. It is alright” her body trembled due to the intensity.

Sera ran his finger to his chest, clutching onto his shirt listening to his beating heartbeat. They stayed like that for a while, embracing each other before Jungkook led her inside the apartment quietly. The couple reside in his room, while Jungkook went out to get a warm drink for Seul.

He came back few minutes a later with a cup of warm water which she gladly took and gulped it down in one shot. Jungkook chuckled lightly and place a gentle kiss on top of her head “Cute. Now mind telling me, what happened to you?” she looked down, feeling the sadness came creeping in again.

Jungkook took her small hands in his, as he stroked it affectionately “Look, I wont force you to tell me if you are not ready. But, I will always be here to listen to your worries. Tell me whenever you are ready. Don’t bear the pain alone, it is meant to be shared” he tucked the strand of hair behind her hears.

She looked sadly at him, and mumbled “Will you listen to me till the end? Will you promise me that you will never hate me?” the despair and sorrow in her eyes were evident making the latter to frown in his seat. Just what happened to her that she looked this soulless?

He pecked her lips, smiling genuinely “I promise I will listen to you till the end. It is impossible to hate you Seul, I am listening” he stroked her hair, admiring her feature. She took a deep breath before finally revealing the pain that she kept to herself for years. Seul spoke to no one about her dark past making Jungkook as the first outsider to know about it. Telling him this was not easy but seeing how Jungkook would listen attentively to her story, with unreadable expression, Seul mustered up her courage until she reached the end of it.

“I…am not the girl that you think I would be Jungkook”

There was a long pause and silence, a cold silence. Her stomach sank. Did Jungkook feel disgusted of her? Dread and fear saturated her sense.

“Scumbag..” he said it at last. “He’s a snobby old ratbag. How could he do that to a fifteen years old girl?! Fuck, if I get my hands on him. I will fucking kill him without mercy” all this time, she never heard Jungkook spouting some nasty remarks and it really scared her to see this side of him.

Seul embraced him out of fear, baffling the furious guy in process “I..dont want to be reminded with this memory. Now, that I met him again.. I am scared Jungkook.. I am scared” she buried her face in his shoulder, damping his shirt with her tears.

“I will protect you from him” he encircled one of his arm around her waist, holding her close to his body. “I vow to protect you, I won’t let him touch even a strand of your hair” his voice was soothing even the promises that he made convinced her that she had nothing to fear as long as Jungkook’s there for her.

“Thank you..” she rubbed her face in his shoulder, leaving a soft kiss on his shoulder blade. He sighed deeply, pulling away from the hug, resting his forehead against her “You have me. No matter what happen, I will never leave you in the dark, baby” he whispered romantically causing her face reddened.

Baby. She made a mental note that Jungkook had been calling her baby for the umpteenth time tonight.

He rubbed their nose together, smiling handsomely which melted her cold heart. Jungkook slowly smiled before leaning down to take her mouth in a soft kiss. It turned passionate as they let their emotions took over. He was ticked off that the old man ruined her life just to fulfil his rotten lust. His sense of responsibility towards Seul thickened. Security and love, that’s what he’s willing to provide for her.

They stopped moving and looked into each other’s eyes. He rubbed his nose up against hers, blowing wisps of hair from her eyes before he moved in again. Jungkook gave her waist a deep stroke and dropped his head forward, moving swiftly and capturing her bottom lips devouring her sweetness. This time the kisses were not slow, they were hard and hungry.

Their lips moved together, overlapping each other’s. He pushed her body lightly onto the soft mattress, as he hovered over her. Seul moaned into the kisses, pulling him closer to her desperate to feel his warmth all over her body again.

His hand roamed down to cup her bottoms, bringing her flush against him. They gasped softly, feeling their body burn up to the sensation. He inhaled her sweet scent and moved to kiss down her jaw as his hand sliding down to her throat, caressing the skin gently.

Jungkook trailed a string of kisses across her shoulder, and inched closer to her neck. Pressing a kiss to her neck, he brushed his lips down over her soft skin drinking in the sweet scent of her. She thought her heart exploded from this ministration.

Seul stroked his chest over the clothes, moving down to his obvious abs. His biceps flexed as she skimmed her hand beneath the shirt, rubbing his hard muscle in the most torturous way earning a low groan from the man. Warmth spread throughout her as he stripped her blouse away, pressing their heated body together.

He returned to love every inch of her skin.

Every tug of his mouth on her sensitive skin sent a sweet spike of pleasure in her.

Jungkook never thought being closed to a girl like this sent wild spiral of sensual magic through him. Watching how she wrecked with pleasure under him, made him wanted to love her all night.

He wanted to make her feel special.

He wanted her to himself.

He wanted her so desperately.

The darkness of the night was not the clean blackness but a thick darkness which swallowed the sound of their desperate grunts.

 This work belongs to  Chimswae © 2021. All Rights Reserved

Now that I played through the Phoenix Wright Trilogy, it is time to rate it! Graphics The graphics are painted backgrounds as well as hand drawn character models with different expressions/tiny animations. They are pleasing to look at and never feel out of place. For a game that released first on the GBA, they are surprisingly clean. I have no qualms with the graphics whatsoever. I love that, to this day, the character animations from the courtroom are used in animations where stuff gets debated. Sound and Music The music is fantastic, though I have to say, the one of the first title is the best and feels like the most iconic, especially the Objection theme, which is even used as part of the main menu theme for the trilogy.  The first title has a lot of songs that are so nice to listen too, the court theme, the objection theme, the cornered theme is godlike and even the music outside of the court is fun, especially the theme song for the easy go lucky characters, like Lotta Hart.  The other titles declined a bit, I think the music is a bit too somber and sounds too serious and the objection theme, while still remixing the first one, just doesn’t have the same impact.  The second title has a fantastic new theme for the Search Core situation, used for a villainous reveal, but the third title kinda ruined it by using it EVERYWHERE. I kid you not, that theme played like... a 50 times or so, while it only was used for a certain character in the second one.  The sound effects are fine. The blips of the text aren’t annoying and the way the text is sometimes written faster or slower got a good impression how fast or slow a person was talking.  I liked that some of the sound effects from court were sometimes used in the dialogues to convey certain emotions also. Gameplay The game is a mix of a visual novel and an adventure game, so prepare to do LOTS of reading. You basically go to an area, then murder happens and then you have to find your defendant and proof their innocent. There are two kinds of gameplay, the first is the investigation, where you go around and look at stuff and talk with witnesses and the police and such. That is the most classical for an adventure game. The second one are the trials, where you have to proof your client’s innocence. It generally is by getting a witness on the stand and having to find the contradictions in their testimony. You can press them to get more information or present evidence once you spotted a contradiction. That is like a really nice puzzle and it could be pretty hard to find a contradiction, but it was all the more satisfying, when you found it and the testimony crumbled in itself and the prosecutor had their damaged portray after a good counter.  I have a bit of problems with it though, because sometimes you are obliged to show a certain piece of evidence. Most of the time, several are allowed, but I had one case, where a crime photo very much proofed what I wanted to say, namely that the victim used his left hand to hold his coffee cup, but for some reason, the lip stain on the coffee cup was the only valid evidence. Huh... In the second and third title, the investigation part actually got spiced up by making Phoenix able to see when people hide secrets from him and then we need to gather evidence and get them to spill their secrets. It is similar to the court room, but with only two parties. I really liked that parts. The gameplay was pretty fun, for me at least, but it has a few weaknesses of course, which are the usual adventure game weaknesses. Once you know the solution to the puzzle, the replayability is gone. Story and Characters That is where the game shines. Like I said, the game is basically a visual novel. It has its own individual stories for each case as well as some over arching storyline, mostly centered around a certain case, the DL-6 in the first title and then about the Fey Family in the second and third title.  The cases are sometimes a bit crazy, but that is too expected, the whole series is very whacky and filled with jokes and humours, sometimes good and sometimes bad jokes. The stories are interesting to follow and I often wanted to find out the truth myself, see if my suspicisions were correct and if we could get the real murdered on the stand to make a confession.  It is the most interesting when the overall storylines are getting involved, like in the first title, the DL6-Incident was both for the fourth and the fifth case and seeing how it all came together and got solved completely, was amazing.  The characters are a bunch of regulars and a bunch of case specific. Our main characters are clearly Phoenix Wright, the defense attorney, we play as and Maya Fey, a spirit medium. We also get a few regular prosecutors, with Miles Edgeworth for the first title, Franziska von Karma for the second and Godot for the third title. They could be considered the “villains”, but in a sense, they only try to serve justice, even though all of them have pretty nasty personalities at first.  We also have Detective Gumshoe, a very unlucky homicide detective, Larry Butz, Phoenix’ creepy friend and Lotta Hart, a woman who can’t decide on a career, but loves making photos, and Pearl Fey, the little cousin of Maya. We also have Mia Fey, Maya’s big sister and Phoenix’ mentor, but she tragically died... but that isn’t too much of a problem, because Maya is a spirit medium and can channel her, so that she often helps Phoenix out. All of them, besides Larry, who I have some troubles with, are absolutely adorable, they are quirky, they have moments, they have character growth, they have certain speech patterns and I love them. What I especially like, Maya is kind of Phoenix’ assistant and in pretty much every other story, I would have expected for them to go the shipping route, but Maya and Phoenix, despite being shipped heavily by Pearl, never show any romantic energy in my book. They are more platonic, more like little sister and big brother. It may come from the fact, that Maya is the little sister of Mia Fey, Phoenix’ mentor, and he views her more as a little sister, but their platonic relationship truly touched me.  When it comes to shipping, Phoenix and Miles have more erotic energy between them that Phoenix and Maya could ever have! Especially in the first title! It doesn’t surprise me that they are a popular ship.  Pet Peeves  Ok, some gripes I have with this game are the ages of the characters! Like, we had a case where a 14 year old girl planned a fake kidnapping, good, everyone was super stoked about that, but then it turned out, her 18 year old sister was a police woman at that time. And at age 23, she was considered a police veteran. What?! We also had a doctor who was said to be 31 years old... he looked like he was 55!  Franziska is another offender... one of these japanese tropes of the “child genius”. She became a prosecutor at age 13 and only was 18 when Phoenix first met her. She is from germany and I am pretty sure it is downright illegal to be a legal prosecutor there when you are not of age, so... Then... we have the fact that this game so OBVIOUSLY is set in Japan, but the localization acts like it is set in America... Yes, America has a super traditional japanese village, Maya Fey is wearing traditional japanese clothing, we have a case centered around the Steel Samurai, typical japanese kids TV where an actor is wearing a full body suit and masks himself. I am actually surprised that when they were in super obvious japanese settings, that they actually talked about everything like it was japanese, and not made onigiri into donuts. But ok, I can forgive this, because it is so dumb and the original setting is more than obvious.  Larry! The guy turned out to be creepy! He first got introduced as Phoenix’ idiot friend with a weakness for hot woman, but getting used by them a whole lot, ok, that is still fine. But with each entry, guy turned more and more creepy, until he tried to hit on a married woman and said that he wanted to date Pearl. Pearl is a nine year old child, wtf, Larry?! He had some moments, but even the game acknowledged what a waste of space he is and made him the butt monkey. Which I can fully and totally understand.  Ok, that has been it! Overall, I enjoyed these games a lot! I would like to try and find the others in the series, but I don’t think I will be able to find them...

50 Questions: OC Interview

tagged by @alejandrocortez 😊

1. What's your name? "My real name?" *Smirks* "Ruvik, the name is Ruvik."

2. Give me your full name... "You always ask strangers such personal questions? My full name is Ruvik Damion Veill, don't dare use it against me."

3. Do you have a nickname? If yes, what is it and how did you come to have it? "No I don't really have one." Girl screaming from the background "yes he does, Gavin calls him Blondie. Cause of his hair!" "Iara, this is my interview!" *rolls eyes and turns back around* "yeah, so there is that one."

4. What species are you? (Human, werewolf, etc? Or are you an alien?) "Wait what?" *leans back in the chair* "I'm pretty sure that I'm a human, dare I ask? But what exactly is an alien?"

5. Where were you born? "In a cave." *snickers* "I was born on a ranch my family owned near a small town called Bellevue  in what at the time, was the Nebraska territory. My parent's moved the family and the animals down to Rhodes to be closer to my grandparents. That was where I grew up."

6. I see. And that would make your age...? "31"

7. Okay, now...are you a good guy, or a bad guy? *pauses with a light grin* "I don't think I'm the best one to judge my own character. Let's just say that I've done things that can be considered... unkind."

Part II: Tell Us More About Yourself...

8. How would you describe your personality? "Well Iara calls me grumpy all of the time, Gavin says I tend to spoil the fun and likens me to a sour boar. I tend to be realistic, and anytime I try to make a joke the women tend to slap me and the men ball their fists with insult. I mean if they can't get my humor it isn't my fault? Right? So I don't know how to really explain my personality much"

9. Would you say you're someone who can handle pressure? "I take things in stride, nothing much else I can do."

10. Do you like to read? *sighs and looks down* "I used to.. when I was younger I would read to my little sisters before bed." *lightly smiles* "I really haven't thought to pick up a book in years though." 11. Favorite color? "Blue"

12. Do you get along with others? "I try to be cordial when I need to be. But I really am not a people person."

13. Do you have any enemies? *snickers* "The better question should be, who isn't my enemy?"

14. How about friends? "I have a few individuals that I can trust, so yeah, I guess that might make them friends."

15. Are you patient? "According to my cousin Iara, heck no."

Part III: Hypothetically...

16. Suppose that you could become any creature you know of. What would you pick, and why? "Such an odd question?" *thinks for a second* "I think I would pick an eagle. Think about it what an eagle sees every day of their life? They get to see the world from above the chaos, and if they choose they can just fly away from everything. That's true freedom."

17. One of your enemies in question 13 just complimented you. Response? "Why?" *confused glance* "That seems an odd thing for any of them to do."

18. One of your friends in Question 14 just insulted you. Response? "I'll bet it was Gavin, that guy can be such a jerk."

19. If you could change anything about yourself... "Is that even possible? Well, I think I would like to stop being so straightforward. Sometimes I say things that I regret later."

20. About your home... "I no longer have a home, that was taken from me long ago."

Part IV: Now We Get Personal

21. What're your parents like? *takes deep breath* "They were amazing people. My mother was a hard woman when she had to be, but her heart was pure gold. She was born in a small village near the Carpathian mountains and came to this country when she was younger? I have no clue where exactly she was born but she would tell me it was very far away. She had this distinct accent, and people would treat her differently because of it, though she never let on that this bothered her. Me and my father knew better though. My father, now he was not as strict as my mother, and he did all he could to spend time with me. To teach me things that he said I needed to know and all that. He taught me how to shoot, to hunt." *pauses and laughs* "But the man could not catch a fish for the life of him. *takes another deep breath* If anything my parent's were good people, they had money and helped anyone that needed it. It's what brought the bad men to our door..."

22. Do you have any siblings? "Had." *hands clench into fists* "Viola and Lea were my younger sisters. Viola was 11 when she was taken and Lea had just turned 4, her birthday was a few days before the day she died. I don't really like to talk about them."

23. What's your occupation? "I tend to have many different trades. Mostly I take in wanted men and women for the money, not that I like working with the law after everything is said and done. But the job keeps me on my toes and it brings me good money."

24. I see, that's a good job to have. Do you like it? "Eh, it's okay. Has it's good and bad moments. Mostly just hate hearing the fools try to talk their way out of the situation."

25. Are you seeing/dating anyone? "I was a part of something, and to be honest I think she was more involved with what was going on than I was. In my defense, I had to keep her happy or her father was going to put a rope around my neck.” *circles finger around throat* “When she started playing that she owned me was when I had, had enough and I broke it off.  It was a rough break up and her father put a price on my head for it, but it wasn't going to last forever. Yeah, you know that question you asked me about enemies before this? Well, there you go." *coy grin*

26. Married/Engaged/Other? "Nope, I'm absolutely single at the moment. Iara keeps telling me to go find someone because I need a good woman to tone my attitude down a bit. I keep telling her that it's never going to happen."

27 If yes, how did you meet?

28. Tell us your biggest secret. "My baba, or my mother's mother was considered a znakharka, which is basically a healer in their old country. Although most around Rhodes called her a witch, which is why she left." *leans forward* "she taught me a few things before she went though."

29. Your worst fear? You don't have to answer this one if you don't want to. "To lose anymore of the people I care about. Which is probably why I try not to get too attached to very many people."

30. Favorite food? "Venison Stew, don't know why?"

30. Favorite drink? "Whiskey." *shrugs*

31. Tell us one thing you're the most proud of. "My little cousin Iara and how strong she has gotten. Honestly I don't know how she manages to pull through like she does. But if you're asking on my behalf, I ain't got much to be proud of myself."

32. Something embarrassing? You don't have to answer this one, either. "Pfft, I don't, there isn't... Let's move on." *shifts uncomfortably* Feminine voice from the background "Tell them about that time with the goat!" *Turns back to look at interviewer, eyes wide* "Nobody wants to hear about that Iara!"

33. If you didn't answer Questions 29 and/or 33, tell me why. "I don't think we should be ashamed of our fear, really."

34. Is that a good reason? "I think so."

Part VI: Closing

35. Are you satisfied with your life? "If you're asking me if I am I where I want to be, than no. Sometimes I just want to not have to worry about the world coming to strike me down, maybe if I were a better man that time would come."

36. Anything you feel like you have to do? It can be something long-term, like a bucket list, or something you need to do right now. "Find a place to call home for me, Gav, and Iara." 37. Any hobbies? "Not many, but I do like to play guitar. My grandfather was very good and he taught me."

38. Quick, you get one wish! What did you just wish for? It's alright, you can tell me... "I'd wish that night never happened."

39. How would you describe that wish? Good? Bad? Selfish? Selfless? Other? "Selfish, heck I dunno. Is it selfish to need to see the people you lost to feel whole again?"

40. Have you been honest with these questions? "Yeah, I guess. What, you calling me a liar?"

41. Your personal quote? "The devil will always need someone to blame."

42. Do you like change? "I can't get comfortable for the life of me, it doesn't matter whether I like it or not."

43. What's your most valued possession? *holds out a picture of a family* "This."

44. Anything else you feel like sharing? "Not really into sharing anything more. Something tells me I've already said too much."

50. Last question! How do you feel? "I feel like getting a bottle of whiskey and sitting under the stars, that's what I feel like."

I’m gonna tag @mileycyprus-hill 🤗

DEPUTY ROXANNE BAILEY (made using this template, edited to add/remove some stuff like body temperature who needs that)

BASIC INFORMATION

FULL NAME: roxanne bailey (no middle name~) PRONUNCIATION: rox-ann bay-lee MEANING: roxanne means “dawn/dawn of day” or “bright, radiant one” (which i did not know until right now!) REASONING: she was named after her father’s baby sister, who passed away when she was four years old (her father had been eight at the time). NICKNAME(S): roxie, rox, deputy/dep, rook/rookie (by the entire hope county sheriff’s department), “kid” (by dutch), shorty (by unexpected bff sharky boshaw, though he, along with most of her allies, tend to stick with “roxie”), brosenkrantz (by hurk jr, after a very intense debate over which of them was brosenkrantz and which was guildenstern), Various Terms Of Endearment from adelaide (but she calls everyone by those names so it doesn’t really count) re: the seeds and how they address her: • jacob’s taken to condescendingly calling her “precious”. as in, he did not take her seriously at first, so her attempts at bravado when they first met were greeted with a patronizing “aw, that’s cute. that’s just...precious.” so now he calls her ‘precious’ instead of ‘deputy’ half the time and she hate hate hates it.  • joseph has a way of saying her first name that somehow makes her feel like he’s the one that gave it to her, so she prefers him to use “deputy” as well. it makes her feel too exposed, otherwise.  • it doesn’t matter what john calls her; it always sounds like he’s playing with the name like it’s a toy she can’t get back from him.    • and faith asked during their first encounter if she could use ‘roxie’ for her “like we’re friends”, so even though that’s just her regular nickname, the way faith uses it always feels a little like a trap. or an invitation. roxie isn’t sure which is worse, especially since she isn’t entirely sure that it isn’t both.  

PREFERRED NAME(S): “just...anything but what the seeds call me. or the way they call me. ..you know what i mean.” BIRTH DATE: april 10, 1987  AGE: 31 (circa fc5 time, set in 2018) ZODIAC: aries GENDER: female PRONOUNS: she/her ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: biromantic SEXUAL ORIENTATION: bisexual NATIONALITY: american CURRENT LOCATION: hell hope county, montana LIVING CONDITIONS: UHHHHHH....currently not. awesome??? (”occasionally, i’ll find a house that hasn’t been riddled with bullet holes that i can rest in for a couple of hours? that’s fancy.”) often crashes either in fall’s end or nick rye’s house, but will catch a few hours of sleep at various locations that she’s helped liberate when she’s not in that area. nothing has become a sort of “home” for her yet, though. pretty much, as soon as she finds a place with a working shower she’ll plop down for a bit to recuperate and then moves on. likes to talk/joke about moving into the seed ranch now that it’s out of john’s hands, but also worries that if she does that he’ll harm hudson worse than he already has, out of revenge (so for now it’s just stops there to do laundry and shower and that’s probably pushing her luck enough).  TITLE(S):  junior dep-yoo-tee with the hope county sheriff’s department 

BACKGROUND

BIRTH PLACE: america  HOMETOWN: gunnison, colorado  SOCIAL CLASS: lower-middle class EDUCATION LEVEL: high school graduate; was attending columbia unversity on a scholarship (studying psychology), but didn’t complete her program  FATHER: jameson “jim” bailey -- owner of a local hardware store in gunnison MOTHER: elizabeth “liza” bailey (nee wright) -- high school art/music teacher SIBLING(S): none BIRTH ORDER: only child! CHILDREN: hahahaha no  PET(S): she grew up with a bunch of cats and no dogs, though she desperately wanted one. currently, her parents have four cats back home: ginger, roy, caesar, and bunny. in hope county, she has boomer (which is why she got so attached to him so quickly). there’s also cheeseburger and peaches, but they’re....not really pets, exactly (even if she pets them all the time)  OTHER IMPORTANT RELATIVES: lloyd bailey (paternal uncle, lives in missoula, montana), richard bailey (paternal grandfather, lives in flathead county, montana), sarah wright (maternal grandmother, lives in gunnison, colorado) PREVIOUS RELATIONSHIPS: michael lennon; ex-fiance. (he insisted on going by “len” which, now that she’s long out of that relationship, she jokes “should have been my first red flag that we weren’t going to last”. gets roasted pretty regularly by her friends in hope county over it after they find out: “your judgment’s been pretty good so far, but then again: you were gonna marry some dude who wanted people to call him len...so...”, etc)  ARRESTS?: nope! PRISON TIME?: ...not unless you could the literal cage that jacob’s kept her in~ DETAILED BACKGROUND:

• her father, jim, was born and raised in flathead county; he was the middle child, with an older brother and a younger sister, but lost his sister to an accident when she was four years old. he and his older brother became inseparable, and on his twenty-first birthday they set off on a roadtrip around the country, just to see what else was out there

• her mother was born out of wedlock to a woman who “found god” after she discovered that she was pregnant and was subsequently abandoned by her lover; liza wright never knew who her father was, as her mother refused to tell her, but she was assured that she was considered a gift, rather than a punishment.

•  jim and liza met when the brothers ventured through gunnison while on their trip; initially, it was lloyd who was interested in her, but jim’s soft-hearted demeanor was much more appealing in the face of his brother’s louder presence, and lloyd bowed out graciously. it quickly became a whirlwind romance, but liza called it off once he started talking about just staying in gunnison instead of completing his trip. jim told her he’d be back once he was done, but she didn’t believe him. she should have; he returned that fall, hoping she hadn’t moved on. she hadn’t. they resumed their romance, much to her mother’s displeasure, and were married the following spring (also to her mother’s displeasure)

• jim got work at the local hardware store, while liza began her career of teaching at the local high school. she’d planned on just teaching one subject, but due to a series of administrative mishaps she took on an additional role as the music teacher as well. within a year, though, she discovered that she was pregnant. they hadn’t planned on having kids so soon, but there was no helping it. jim ended up taking over the store, while liza worked until she couldn’t anymore. their daughter was born the next spring; they named her in honor of jim’s baby sister 

• roxanne was a healthy, happy baby, but her parents were finally beginning to come down from their whirlwind relationship, and began to worry about money more and more. they did their very best, and they loved their daughter, but roxanne grew up thinking that it was normal that her father was only around for dinner time at 6 pm, and that he was in bed by 8 o’clock. she grew up thinking that it was normal for mothers to stay up late into the night with work, so she’d need to put herself to bed from the earliest age she could. she grew up entertaining herself, but needing to be quiet about it, lest she wake her father, or interrupt her mother’s grading or lesson planning.

• she grew up lonely. roxanne has very vivid memories of sitting on the school steps, watching parents picking up their children one by one, and having to wait until well after everyone else had gone home before one of hers remembered to get her. she remembers being embarrassed as her teachers had to sit and wait with her, and she remembers being in third grade and deciding to try to just walk home on her own; naturally, she got lost, and was found crying on a corner by the sheriff. after he drove her home, arrangements were made for her grandmother to begin picking her up and keeping her at her house until one of her parents were done work

• sarah wright might have disapproved in her daughter’s choice of career, her choice of husband, and her choice in her granddaughter’s name (she had been hoping that liza would have at least given roxanne her name as a middle name!), but she wasn’t a cruel person, and she tried her best to make her home accommodating for her increasingly moody granddaughter. roxie would later go on to recall how her grandmother would refrain from bludgeoning her with “too much church talk”, but she would make comments such as “i’ve been praying for you lately, because i know you aren’t doing it for yourself”, and other such things that would sour her on faith in general, but she shrugs it off by adding “at least i wasn’t alone all the time”. it was her grandmother who suggested she try some sort of physical activity to get her frustrations out, and she enrolled her in dance lessons, which roxanne would stick with for much of her adolescence.

• by middle school, roxanne’s moodiness had given way to real, proper anger. she was angry at her father for always being at work instead of spending time with her. she was angry with her mother for prioritizing other people’s children over her own. she was angry with her teachers for innocent infractions, such as not realizing that casually suggesting that her parents could help her with her homework felt like the equivalent to open mockery to her. eventually, the anger turned into acting out, which eventually landed her in a chair opposite a children’s counselor; here, she’d actually begin to voice these issues, which delivered a much needed wake up call to her parents. they began to seek out ways to better balance their lives, and roxanne began to realize that she rather enjoyed being able to see where her anger was stemming from, and see where it was going. it was her first brush with understanding psychology, and that redirected her focus towards the subject once she hit high school.   

• speaking of which, things improved by the time she entered high school. it helped that she was now seeing her mother regularly in school, and she got a part time job as a waitress in the diner across the street from her father’s store so she could see him on his breaks, but beyond that she simply...had a place to put her energy now. more accurately: her goal was to get out of gunnison, and to study psychology. everything else seemed to fall into a strange, but welcome place in the background. her family began taking yearly trips to visit her uncle and grandparents in montana, where they would go hiking and camping, and her uncle would introduce her to bird watching. those trips became some of her fondest memories

 •  she worked her ass off in high school, academically-speaking, in order to have a shot at a scholarship. her mother’s position definitely helped her to at least get the audience she needed to apply for one, but roxie somehow, miraculously, managed to get one to her top school of choice mostly through her own merit. she left for columbia university, and while she was feeling wildly out of her depth there, she managed to attract a small bunch of (much more well-off) friends who saw her as a “project”. it wasn’t a flattering comparison, but by this point she had come to attach herself to anyone who actively appeared to choose her over others, and so she was inducted into their numbers and it shielded her from getting too in over her head, financially and emotionally 

• one member of that social circle was michael lennon, a bio-med student, son of a senator, asked that everyone just refer to him as “len”, who, for reasons she still doesn’t understand, decided that he needed to pursue her. he was far from her type, and she turned him down initially to focus on her classes, but that only increased his interest. despite herself, roxanne was flattered by the attention, even if he was self-important. eventually, they began dating, whereupon he introduced her to things like galas (which she hated), yachts (which she hated), and how to fly his own, personal, two-seater plane (ridiculous...but she kind of enjoyed that). eventually, he asked her to marry him, and, again, for reasons she still doesn’t understand, she accepted his proposal. (...it was because it was the ultimate “i choose you” display. that’s the reason, even if she doesn’t want to acknowledge that)  

• back home, her father’s struggles with money only increased, and her mother returned to throwing herself into her work at the school. it became the perfect storm needed for a man by the name of “cal jethrow” to waltz on in and offer jim help, only to turn around and con him out of everything. jim had thought that he was going to expand his business, and that could keep him afloat, but by the time that cal vanished (with his fakey-fake name), he was left with nothing. as soon as roxanne had all the details, she was already on a flight back home. her parents had told her not to return, but she ignored them. len had told her not to go, but she ignored him. her return home was bittersweet, but she was in a better position than any of them were to dig her heels in and try to help her parents back on their feet

• len told her that if she stayed, their engagement was off. with a detachment that really should have tipped her off to how little she actually loved him, roxie replied “then it’s off.” he then went on and told her to hold onto the ring “for when she came back around” (because he’s a jackass). she turned around and pawned it as soon as she got off the phone with him, so her father could keep the store running for the next month. with her life firmly turned on its head, she began looking for work that would help her help her parents, and found herself facing that same sheriff that had helped her all those years ago. she was trained up, and joined the ranks of the sheriff’s department as soon as possible.

• eventually, financial matters smoothed, somewhat, but issues between jim and liza only worsened. their relationship, which had never exactly been on anything other than shaky legs to begin with, had been strained to the point of fraying. they were forced to admit that they were struggling during another trip to montana, after jim’s mother’s passing, and roxie, attempting to keep her own anger in check, asked them what she could do to help beyond what she’d already done for them. they admitted that they were blaming themselves, and each other, for her returning home, so she suggested that she just stay in montana, with her uncle lloyd, for a while in order to give them space to figure their own shit out (direct quote). so, that’s what she did. 

• her uncle was (self-appointedly) tasked with helping her find a job in montana, initially in missoula, where he lived, but he heard from an old friend, earl whitehorse, out in hope county, that he was looking for a new deputy. lloyd and his niece debated the position, with him filling her in on hope county’s history, and the cult that was operating within it, framing it as nothing she couldn’t handle, given her psychology background.  “you think i can, what, deprogram people in a cult?” she asked.  “christ, no! you just won’t get scared from it, is all i’m sayin’! anyways, those seeds are keeping to themselves, so i hear. you probably won’t even see them very often. it’ll be breaking up barfights and handling domestics, just like you’re used to!”  she considered her uncle’s sales pitch. “alright,” she shrugged. “give your buddy a call. what’s the worst that can happen?”     

• freshly relocated to hope county, roxie found herself immediately taking a liking to sheriff whitehorse, as well a fellow deputies joey hudson and staci pratt. they welcomed her with genuine warmth, taking it upon themselves to give her rides to work, as well as good-natured hazing (referring to her exclusively as “rook” when it wasn’t just ‘rookie’, and teasing her when she decided to wear the nickname as a badge of honor, since she already was a bit of a dork as far as bird knowledge went). by the time us marshal cameron burke appeared, tasking them all to accompany him in his arrest of joseph seed, pratt and hudson had delivered her one last prank: they’d had her uniform shirt ordered with the name “rook” on it instead of “bailey”. roxie found it hilarious, but nancy, the dispatcher, assured her that she’d already placed a new order for a proper uniform shirt for her. roxie dramatically thanked her for being the only person to have her back. (*sad trombone noises*)

• on the way over to the compound, while on the helicopter, roxie was checking her phone for the briefest of refreshers on the project at eden’s gate. her mother attempted to call her, but she dismissed it, intending to call back later than night, after the arrest was done and they’d all gone home.

• and. well. ....here we are. (note: at the time that i’m writing this, roxie’s sitting just shy of full resistance points in all three territories, but she’s yet to confront any of the heralds in their final encounters yet. so, that’s where i’ll be imagining her at for the most part, because it’s a fun dynamic to be playing around with, in terms of her relationships with all the other characters)  

OCCUPATION & INCOME

PRIMARY SOURCE OF INCOME: does “deputy with the HCSD” even mean anything anymore? she isn’t exactly getting paid right now... SECONDARY SOURCE OF INCOME: ummm...selling pelts?  TERTIARY SOURCE(S) OF INCOME: UMMM....looting peggies? APPROXIMATE AMOUNT PER YEAR: $Who, cares, about, money, right, now. ?? CONTENT WITH THEIR JOB (OR LACK THERE OF)?: “...y’know...i think my job could be better these days...”  PAST JOB(S): waitress, deputy with the gunnison county sheriff department  SPENDING HABITS: she’s actually always been pretty frugal, but given her current situation she’s more willing to part with funds for the sake of better supplies (or clothing). mostly, her response has been “why are you making me pay for this when i’m helping--no. you know what? fine. just give me the keys to the helicopter.” (Capitalism Never Sleeps, roxanne)  MOST VALUABLE POSSESSION: a necklace with a gold wishbone pendant; her mother gave it to her when she was leaving for university, “for luck”. it has since absolutely gone missing thanks to the nightmare that is her current life in hope county, but she doesn’t know when she lost it. could have been when john had her in his bunker and he was prepping her for confession. could have been when she was being dragged into a cage at jacob’s behest. could have been while she was wandering around in some bliss-fueled hallucination. she doesn’t know, it does upset her, and, yes, she’s taking it as a sign that her luck’s running out.   

SKILLS & ABILITIES

PHYSICAL STRENGTH: 7/10 (she’s stronger than she looks and has decent enough upper arm strength to pull herself up ledges and ropes without struggling, but she’s also not going to win any brawls unless she ends up with an unexpected advantage) OFFENSE: 6/10 (knows how to fight, But Would Prefer Not To) DEFENSE: 8/10 (knows how to defend herself And Prefers That Very Much Actually) SPEED: 8/10 (outruns a lot of chosen in their helicopters. pisses them off. pisses the seeds off. feels good. ♥) INTELLIGENCE: 7/10 (she was a good student and has a good enough head on her shoulders, but generally isn’t too above average outside of her preferred interests) ACCURACY: depends on her condition 8/10 (generally, pretty good! she hates it!) AGILITY: 8/10 (can successfully walk in a straight line and run without tripping, can dance well, but has also slipped off a dock and fallen into the water while trying to be sneaky, so...) STAMINA: 5/10 (running on fumes most of the time these days, but still does just enough to keep going!) TEAMWORK: 9/10 (she prefers to work with others! the only times that she tries to go it alone is either if she thinks a situation is going to be too dangerous for them, or if she’s experienced something especially upsetting. she can quickly get called out of that funk by someone simply reaching out to her, however, so all in all she’s a really good team player) TALENTS: ignoring the practical skills she is honing during this ordeal (ie: picking locks), she has a stupid amount of knowledge about birds and how to get by in the woods, thanks to her uncle. she’s also a fairly skilled dancer (she was absolutely That Person who went out to clubs to actually just dance when she was in university), but generally just prefers to dance like an idiot to relieve stress. she’s a little bit crafty, too, thanks to her mother’s background in the arts, but her talents are limited to making non-fancy jewelry (though she will friendship bracelet the hell out of someone if given the chance)   SHORTCOMINGS: not so great with melee weapons/hand to hand sorts of situations and has been knocked on her ass too many times to count. she’s also not super wild on heights, so every time she needs to climb something high her heart’s firmly lodged in her throat.     LANGUAGE(S) SPOKEN: english is the only language she speaks fluently, alas DRIVE?: she’s a great driver! [footage not found] JUMP-STAR A CAR?: she can get it eventually, but definitely not on the first try. luckily, she travels with much more competent car-lifters :’) CHANGE A FLAT TIRE?: if she has to but there are so many abandoned vehicles everywhere is it really worth it when you can just take a new one?  RIDE A BICYCLE?: yes!  SWIM?: yep, and she’s had to do a lot of it lately, unfortunately. she’s always in need of dry socks :( PLAY AN INSTRUMENT?: her mom tried to get her into playing instruments when she was younger, and she can pluck away at guitars well enough, but she never stuck with anything long enough to get really good at it PLAY CHESS?: hahahahahahaha no. BRAID HAIR?: yeah, but she can’t remember the last time she’s braided anyone’s hair (including her own) TIE A TIE?: yep! PICK A LOCK?: heck yes that was the second or third perk i unlocked for her

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE & CHARACTERISTICS

FACE CLAIM: krysten ritter EYE COLOR: hazel  HAIR COLOR: black HAIR TYPE/STYLE: shoulder length, straight. ties it back when it’s hot out.  GLASSES/CONTACTS?: thankfully unneeded (though she will wear sunglasses if she finds a cool pair)  DOMINANT HAND: right handed HEIGHT: 5′9″ WEIGHT: 130 lbs BUILD: slight EXERCISE HABITS: running and hiding and climbing and crouching and swimming and absolutely none of it is done for fun :) SKIN TONE: fair TATTOOS: none yet PEIRCINGS: she has her ears pierced once in each ear, but nothing more fun than that MARKS/SCARS: she’s absolutely covered in scars across her torso/arms/back/legs these days (or, if they aren’t scars already, they’re definitely going to be once they’ve healed up properly!). by far her most concerning scar is the one on her neck that came from a wolf attack, uncomfortably close to a spot that’d have been pretty fatal if she’d been less fortunate. she’s also got a burn scar on her upper left arm thanks to being too close to sharky being sharky (she doesn’t blame him, though. honest accident!)     USUAL EXPRESSION: lately it’s been like this when it comes to seeing what an epic shitstorm she’s landed herself in, but prior to this she was much more relaxed and oftentimes open, if not downright playful, with others. that side still shines through when she’s with her friends in hope county, but it’s getting harder and harder to feel that way the worse and worse it gets. still, she’s trying to keep it together.  CLOTHING STYLE: currently she’s stomping around in a tank top, jeans, combat boots, and a hat on, but even before coming here she was always a pretty basic jeans/t-shirt type of person. doesn’t get too attached to clothing these days, because it always gets damaged if not literally torn off her JEWELRY: the aforementioned necklace that’s gone missing, as well as some larger rings that she’s found in abandoned houses throughout the county that she keeps on to add extra insult to any punch she might need to deliver.  ALLERGIES: n/a DIET: ironically, she eats fresher food now than she did before coming here. her current diet mostly consists of whatever gets hunted/fished up and whatever canned foods she finds in prepper stashes around the county, though now that the resistance has reclaimed a number of farms she’s been able to enjoy more variety. is gonna storm john’s bunker for a chocolate bar someday, though, seriously PHYSICAL AILMENTS: just...basically perpetually injured at this point. always at least a little Fucked Up 

PSYCHOLOGY

JUNG TYPE: i took three different tests to see and in two of them she got the “hero/champion” archetype, so that’s what she is (as much as it pains her) MBTI: ENFP ENNEAGRAM TYPE: six “the skeptic” MORAL ALIGNMENT: neutral good TEMPERAMENT: choleric ELEMENT: fire PRIMARY INTELLIGENCE TYPE: interpersonal/intrapersonal MENTAL CONDITIONS/DISORDERS: she was neglected for much of her early upbringing, and with that came issues involving anger and attachment. while she was in a much healthier place recently, some of those issues are resurfacing as she’s feeling more and more pressure from dealing with This Mess  SOCIABILITY: prior to all of this, roxanne was slow to engage with others, but quick to befriend and trust them if they showed her an equal level of enthusiasm towards her. that’s essentially still the case, and she certainly excels when she’s in groups of people, but she’s becoming obviously more withdrawn and jumpy, finding it hard to accept praise or to feel like others are being honest with her when they thank her. but she still thrives off of that validation, so she keeps herself surrounded by other people as often as possible.   EMOTIONAL STABILITY: L O L it’s all over the fucking place these days. she has a hard time controlling her anger, but on the flip side she’s also become even more fiercely affectionate and protective towards her friends. some days, she will swallow back every feeling she has, and the next she might end up crying over any little thing. her emotional state is kind of like sharky’s homemade, duct tape reinforced flamethrower: it’s holding together, but you’re always gonna be a little worried that it’s gonna blow up and take out everyone around it under the wrong circumstances.  OBSESSION(S): for the sake of keeping sane, she’s 100% thrown herself into collecting the comics and bobbleheads and whatnot that she comes across. sometimes, roxie and her team will search a house that contains nothing but a baseball card for her collection and still consider it a success COMPULSION(S): she’s compelled to...break every tv set she comes across that’s broadcasting something she doesn’t want to see on it :) PHOBIA(S): shockingly, she’s developed an extreme fear of drowning! wonder where that came from. ADDICTION(S): she’s addicted to validation and having people choose her (going all the way back to her childhood, where her parents often did not prioritize her over others, despite their best efforts). this really, really isn’t something that she acknowledges in herself, but it does explain her responses to the accolades the people of hope county throw at her: even though she absolutely doesn’t think she deserves it, it keeps her going. she tells herself it’s because she has to keep going for them, and that’s true(!), but there’s a part of her that is sated in having others validate her. unfortunately, that also subconsciously influences her responses to the focus the cult has on her as well.      DRUG USE: recreationally in her youth, but hasn’t done any for some time. (unless you count helping aaron kirby/tweak out once by being his guinea pig) ALCOHOL USE: occasionally; more so when stressed, though she tries to keep a clear head as often as possible. still, if it’s there, she’s gonna drink it. PRONE TO VIOLENCE?: ........guilty.

MANNERISMS

SPEECH STYLE: she’s fairly blunt, but surprisingly playful even now. keeping a sense of glibness to her responses, hopefully, masks just how poorly she’s coping with all of this. it isn’t all a front, though: she does genuinely speak with levity when she’s with her friends, enjoying being able to banter and joke with them, because they bring out the best in her. she used to be much more mouthy towards her enemies, until she saw firsthand how her allies were faring in their clutches. now, she saves those kinds of comments for just the right level of tension. there’s no sense in antagonizing them verbally when they’re in a better position to hurt her friends than she is to save them.

ACCENT: american QUIRKS: • even before coming to hope county, she was someone you could count on to always have gum on her person, and that’s especially true now. she’ll use pieces of gum as a peace offering/extending of an olive branch to people who don’t quite trust her, figuring that even the grumpiest of people can be won over thanks to the promise of fresh breath these days.  •  she also tends to “ask permission” of her animal companions before doing something dumb or reckless. if cheeseburger didn’t say no, then it’s fine, right? NERVOUS TICKS: fidgeting and picking at her hangnails  DRIVES/MOTIVATIONS: • from the beginning, her main drive was to understand herself, which fortunately branched out to understanding others. that’s how she came to understand and make peace with her parents, it’s what made her able to harness her own negative emotions (...usually), and it’s what made her think that she’d fare okay in hope county in the first place. she’s still trying to understand these people, as much as she is trying to survive them. •  she also, of course, wants a place to belong to. so much of what she grew up tolerating was in the name of being wanted and appreciated, and whenever she finds that it becomes dear to her, even if it isn’t necessarily a positive thing (ie: frickin’ len). thankfully, the friends she’s made here are quite happy to accept her into their numbers, so she doesn’t need to pull validation from elsewhere (even though...it’s out there, in some twisted form)  • also, revenge? vengeance? not a positive goal, but!! it’s in there, simmering! FEARS: she fears so much lately it’s easier to list what she isn’t scared of, but obviously the biggest one is failing everyone that’s counting on her. it’s dying here. it’s her own mind, thanks to jacob. it’s joseph. but also, it’s turkeys, because those assholes are bloodthirsty. POSITIVE TRAITS: roxie is loyal to a fault, and absolutely fails any attempt she makes to turn her back on someone that she could help. she’s genuinely affectionate with her friends, and enjoys having inside jokes and opportunities to be silly with the people who like having her around, which, all in all, makes her a really good friend. she grew up without many of those, so she tries to be better than what she started with.      NEGATIVE TRAITS: roxie’s prone to flashes of anger and tends to hold grudges because of it. it makes her somewhat vengeful (part of why she leaned toward law enforcement was because she liked to imagine taking down the guy who conned her dad), which can sometimes make her take risks she really shouldn’t. she has a stubborn streak that borders on foolishness at times, and that makes her unable to just walk away when it would be better for everyone involved. she also does not handle loneliness well at all.

also she’s been turned into a brainwashed attack dog whenever jacob plays his gd song SENSE OF HUMOR: her own brand of humor is pretty dry/sarcastic/it’s-a-defense-mechanism, but in the right company she’ll lean into being silly/absurd and goofing off a fair bit (traveling with sharky and hurk together really brings that side out the most often, though nick and adelaide can get that too. she at least tries to be more serious with grace and jess, but between the three of them she’s probably the most likely to goof off). roxie does find sharky and hurk’s nonsense genuinely hilarious about....85% of the time, and although adelaide’s style doesn’t match her own at all, it still cracks her up a lot of the time as well (in an incredulous way). DO THEY CURSE OFTEN?: only when stressed :) which :) i mean... :) :) :)

FAVORITES

ACTIVITY: dancing ♥ ANIMAL: birds (except turkeys. she knew true betrayal when a wild turkey first attacked her)  BEVERAGE: no one believes her when she says this, but it’s really just any herbal tea! COLOR: the kind of deep orange you associate with autumn FOOD: blueberries! she likes blueberry flavoured anything. (least favourite: peas) FLOWER:  peonies  (least favourite is.....bliss flowers. obviously. but also roses, because she associates them with cheap apologies) GEM: citrine HOLIDAY: halloween! (all about that fall aesthetic) MODE OF TRANSPORTATION: cars, though she’s getting less rammy with big fuckoff trucks in hope county :) (least favourite is probably the quad because she. tends to crash them.) MOVIE: the wizard of oz (least favourite: moulin rouge, entirely because of “el tango de roxanne”. or, more specifically, how it influenced people to say her name for like five years after the movie came out)  SCENERY: as shitty as her situation is, montana really is beautiful, and she appreciates a lot of the natural sights around when she’s moving from place to place SCENT: fresh laundry is always a good one, but she’ll be the first person to admit that a really nice cologne or perfume will turn her head quickly. it’s a weakness. (least favourite is....uh. the smell of burning bodies, which wasn’t something she’d ever expect to have firsthand experience with, but here we are.) SPORTS TEAM: “uh....go cougars?” WEATHER: the kind you get right before a storm is rolling in, though she’s also fond of a good ol’ thunderstorm as well. (least favourite is snowy anything. she does not enjoy winter) VACATION DESTINATION: ironically, it used to be camping in montana. now it’d be...literally anywhere but here.

ATTITUDES

GREATEST DREAM: being able to see her parents again GREATEST FEAR: “i just don’t want to die here.”  MOST AT EASE WHEN: she’s taken to setting some time aside for herself to play with boomer, or to lounge against cheeseburger when there’s some precious downtime. sometimes peaches will come lay across her lap then, too, and there’s something really reassuring about having these apex predators just relaxing with her, knowing that they’ll keep her safe.  also, the jukebox at the spread eagle often gets hijacked after really stressful days, and being able to dance for a bit without worrying about an airstrike or something interrupting does wonders for putting her at ease. sometimes, her friends will put the music on for her and force her to dance with them when she’s in an especially bad funk, and it’s hard to really stay up in her own head when she sees them go to that much trouble for her sake ♥ worth noting: most of this dancing is not, strictly speaking, good, but it is ridiculous and fun. (and that’s valid!) LEAST AT EASE WHEN: joseph seed is making very intense eye contact with her (which is the only way he seems to make eye contact with anybody, in his defense) WORST POSSIBLE THING THAT COULD HAPPEN: she literally can’t think of anything at this point that could make things worse for her, save a literal, actual apocalypse hahaha :( BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT: retaking the hope county jail and saving sheriff whitehorse. having him back has been the first real sense of normalcy to return to her life, and was the push she needed to press on towards trying to locate and rescue hudson and pratt.  BIGGEST REGRET: ...failing thus far to save either hudson or pratt. in joey’s case, roxie can sort of forgive herself, because she wasn’t in the absolute best position to be able to rescue her, but having been so close to her that she could see the tear tracks on her cheeks while john was wheeling her out of the room still weighs on roxie even now. she can’t stop to think about what she left hudson to deal with in there without feeling sick.  in staci’s case, the feelings of regret and guilt are even worse because they’d come so close to being able to escape jacob together, but it was never enough. pratt had saved her, and he was left behind to suffer for it. she’s taken to smashing every tv she comes across that’s looping that video of him being left to die.    MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: probably this moment when she first met hurk. it was a Class Act. BIGGEST SECRET: the seeds get to her. they’re in her head, she can’t shake certain things that each of them have said to her, and it all really boils down to the fact that a part of her -not even a part that she wants to recognize or acknowledge - thrills at the attention they have fixed on her. that part of her that yearns to be a priority is grateful, in a twisted way, that she’s apparently worth more than just a bullet in the head to them. that’s the part of her that’s keeping her skirting between territories, rather than just finishing it with the heralds one by one. roxie doesn’t accept that that’s what’s happening to her, but if she’d just stop to really think about it...she’d see that it’s true.   • despite the warnings, she can’t help but...wonder if maybe faith is actually sincere but has been manipulated. if maybe she could be reasoned with. she doubts it, but roxie has to admit that hearing faith’s accusatory “i thought you were different!” made her feel. well. bad. (roxie’s totally wrong about her, and she’s been warned against faith by loads of people, but. oops.)  •  she isn’t....not attracted to john. like. aesthetically. it’d be an absolutely terrible idea, she would hate herself if it happened, and she loudly rejected both sharky and adelaide’s observations on their dynamic, so she’s not even thinking about it, but. ...well, anyway. that’s one of those take-it-to-the-grave secrets so shh  •  out of all of them, despite what everyone else has done to her, the one that’s gotten to the her the most, the one that scares her the most, the one that’s seen through her the most, is joseph 

TOP PRIORITIES: “stay alive, save my team, save my friends, save the rest of the county, if i can. stay alive some more, finish this, then sleep, for a long, long time.” 

I have a LOT of catching up to do!

I was tagged to do the 57 facts thing by @fayts4 @tabbyrhsims4simblr and @midnightdevotions I think I got everybody if not you’ll have to forgive me my shoddy memory. But I have so many blogs to catch up on I am ready to cry!

1. Simblr is a secret thing for me, only my husband knows about it. Its my own guilty pleasure.

2. I recently became a parent and I am very much planning to have at least 1 more while there is still time!

3. I have done a lot of work on some really amazing stuff, none of which I can ever talk about due to secrecy agreements. 

4. I have a PhD in mathematics, so that proves I am super boring.

5. I tried my first cigarette at age 11, but didn’t touch it again till age 26 which was when I took it up, I would smoke anything from 0 to 10 cigs a day depending on the day I had. I quit cigs this year aged 32 in January. So hopefully didn’t do myself too much damage.

6. At age 29 I started smoking cigars on special occasions those are: my birthday, Christmas, New year, Valentines, and my wedding anniversary. Being the “badass” I am, I inhale every 5th drag for a little extra kick, even though you shouldn’t do that... I have not quit the cigars!

7. I have a younger brother and an older sister, I am the middle sibling.

8. I have only ever had 3 boyfriends in my life. And 1 “fancy man.”

9. I was engaged to be married to my second boyfriend, I basically twisted his arm into it because of my condition I was afraid I’d be some old woman called Ms instead of Mrs, he did not want to be married, not to me anyway. I should have realised that back then...

10. While I was engaged to boyfriend number 2 I had an affair which lasted about 8 months, it was with a colleague at work, and it was amazing! I don’t condone cheating, not in the least, but I realise, the sensible thing to do would have been to call off the engagement. 

11. I had giganstism (Acromegaly) as a child, I am 6 foot 7 inches tall bare foot. I do not like being this tall... not one bit. There are so many health issues that come with this, that it really isn’t worth it.

12. When I stopped growing, Acromegaly causes your face and hands and feet to carry on growing... I have size 14 feet. UK size. My hands are large enough that I can grip 4 tennis balls in one hand easily. 

13. I have no tattoos. I have never ever wanted a tattoo. I don’t actually like them very much.

14. I don’t have any piercings anywhere else beside my ears. I have 2 piercings in each ear.

15. I am a huge petrol head. I love cars and I will happily have a discussion with any man about them, or woman if she is so inclined!

16. Due to the facial changes caused by Acromegaly I decided to go and get cosmetic surgery in late 2017 to change my face back to a more softer look.

17. I love Star Trek. Captain Kirk is my favourite captain, he is the best. No discussion. If it wasn’t for Kirk there would be no Picard, no Sisko, no Janeway. None of those pretenders would be here!

18. I think Quentin Tarrantino and his films are vastly overrated and often incomprehensible and worst yet, non linear. 

19. I really dislike the taste of alcohol. The only drinks I get on well with are Guiness and Gin and tonics. Most others I don’t like. I hate wine.

20. I hated that stupid Pokemon Go craze!! The amount of people who walked into me in the street... That shit was dangerous.

21. My hair used to be naturally blonde, but in recent years its started to get darker, which is why I now use colouring to keep it where it was.

22. I should wear glasses to read, but I don’t bother.

23. While preggers I had gestational diabetes. Which was not fun at all.

24. I love swimming, but I hate the sea because I am afraid of whats in it. Sharks, jellyfish, all sorts of wonderful, yet horrid creatures designed to kill and maim!

25. When I was doing my PhD, somebody on my research team literally took about 80% of my thesis content and used it in their thesis. I had  no time to appeal or go through proper channels as I already had a job lined up, and was due to have my pituitary tumor removed, therefore, my only option was to redo 80% of my thesis. 

26. I am not religious (at least not in any organised way), however, I find the theory of how the universe came into being utterly laughable. A big bang... seriously?? If before the universe, there was nothing, where did the shit that exploded come from? Its bullshit. Truth is, nobody knows for sure, but we’re so desperate to know that scientists will happily invent theories to fit what few facts they have.

27. Despite not being religious, I firmly believe in existence after death. I say existence, not life, there is a difference. I have seen what would be colloquially referred to as a “ghost” when I was 13 years old.

28. I love the old pulp sci fi, things like Lost in Space, and voyage to the bottom of the sea

29. My favourite foods are pizzas. I cannot get enough of them! In particular just bog standard pepperoni

30. I suck at sports. Any sport, and I suck at it.

31. I often worry about things so much I lose my perspective, I cannot help but worry and it usually leads to a cascade of worry and I may make poor decisions. 

32. I am part German. I can speak German, to a fashion... its not very good as I rarely use it.

33. I have regular chiropractic care and I have to say its worth every penny. I feel better physically now than I have in years! As a bonus, the IBS I suffered with, since I have been seeing my chiropractor has actually cleared up! 

34. I am currently trying to complete something on my bucket list, I am attempting to watch EVERY John Wayne film.

35. I hated Star Wars the Last Jedi. Shit film!

36. I have a cuddly toy from I was a baby which I still have! (I don’t sleep with it of course)

37. I love inappropriate/dirty jokes.

38. I am, somewhat, anti-abortion. I understand there is a time and a place for everything however, but given birth control and access to morning after pills... 

39. I am not political, I loathe politicians. None of them have a clue what it is like to be in the real world. Also... why do we have Ministers of health who have never been a nurse or doctor? And so forth... doesn’t make sense!

40. I have been married 3 years now. 

41. I cannot bend over and touch my toes.

42. I recently took a woman to court and won! After she keyed (Scratched the car with a key) my Range Rover from bumper to bumper in the supermarket. 

43. I hate shopping. I find it so tedious and inconvenient. I honestly do not understand how other females can find this a pleasurable activity!

44. I have never tried any illegal drugs in my life.

45. Apparently I was late performing all my children milestones. Walking, talking and potty training. I took months longer than my siblings did.

46. I find it really hard to go to the toilet in a public toilet. It disturbs me.

47. I hate it when people tell me “You’re late.” As though I have no concept or track of time. I usually reply with “I was quite aware before you pointed it out.” I never apologise for being late, unless I know that my being late was definitely my fault.

48. I am often amused by simblr. Especially at all these “dramas” that pop up round here. Particularly over custom content and how it should never be uploaded by anybody but the creator or changed or whatever... did I mention how somebody took 80% of my PhD thesis and used it in their work? Oh yes. Point number 25.

49. If I go for ice cream, doesn’t matter where it is, I will always go for vanilla.

50. White chocolate is my favourite chocolate of all. So sweet and creamy...

51. I am allergic to penicillin.

52. I love superhero films. Particularly the Marvel ones. I think Marvel do better films than DC but DC do better animated films / television than Marvel do.

53. I think Nolan’s batman trilogy is overrated speaking of superhero films.

54. Speaking of films, only once ever have I walked out of the cinema. I remember I went to see Mr and Mrs Smith, and half way through I walked out. Have never seen the end of that film since.

55. My favourite Junk Food is bacon double cheeseburgers! 

56. Due to having acromegaly... every year... without fail... I have to go and get a camera up my ass! Yeah its great being tall(!)

57. I HATE pears. I mean hate them! I hate the texture of them in my mouth, I hate the feel of their skin, I hate EVERYTHING about pears. Even sat here typing this I get goosebumps. If I was trapped on a desert island where all there was to eat was Pears. I would starve to death!

I tag, @themoonglitch @rebelsoulsims @igglemouse and @flowers--girl  and @sparkiemonkey and @alittledaylight do this EPIC tag. If you think you can’t. or done it, or don’t want to cool. 

before sunrise and psychology

attempting to fit some of jesse and celine’s conversations from before sunrise into arthur aron’s question set for accelerating intimacy between 2 strangers. (remember how someone tried this out in real life, and wrote about it in the new york times?). i’ve put in some quotes that don’t don’t directly answer the prompts, but i think they hit at the heart of them anyway. before sunset version to follow eventually, hopefully.

Set I

1. Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?

2. Would you like to be famous? In what way?

3. Before making a telephone call, do you ever rehearse what you are going to say? Why?

4. What would constitute a “perfect” day for you?

5. When did you last sing to yourself? To someone else?

6. If you were able to live to the age of 90 and retain either the mind or body of a 30-year-old for the last 60 years of your life, which would you want?

7. Do you have a secret hunch about how you will die? Celine: I think I'm afraid of death 24 hours a day. I swear. I mean, that's why I'm in a train right now. I could have flown to Paris, but I'm too scared...When I'm in a plane, I can see it. I can see the explosion. I can see me falling through the clouds, and I'm so scared of those few seconds of consciousness before you're gonna die.

8. Name three things you and your partner appear to have in common.

9. For what in your life do you feel most grateful?

10. If you could change anything about the way you were raised, what would it be? Celine: But you know what, if your parents never really fully contradict you about anything, and like are basically nice, and supportive, it makes it even harder to officially complain. You know, even when they're wrong, it's this, it's this passive-aggressive shit, you know what I mean, it's...I hate it, I really hate it.

Jesse: Well, you know, despite all that kind of bullshit that comes along with it, I remember childhood as this, you know, this magical time.

11. Take four minutes and tell your partner your life story in as much detail as possible. Celine: You know, my parents never really spoke about the possibility of my falling in love, or getting married, or having children. Even as a little girl, they wanted me to think of a future career, as an interior designer or a lawyer or something. I’d say to my dad, “I want to be a writer,” and he’d say, “journalist.” I’d say I wanted to have a refuge for stray cats, and he’d say, “veterinarian.” I’d say I wanted to be an actress, and he’d say, “TV newscaster.” It was this constant conversion of my fanciful ambition into these practical, money-making ventures.

Jesse: I always had a pretty good bullshit detector when I was a kid. I always knew when they were lying to me, you know. By the time I was in high school, I was dead set on listening to what everybody thought I should be doing with my life, and just kind of doing just the opposite.

12. If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?

Set II

13. If a crystal ball could tell you the truth about yourself, your life, the future or anything else, what would you want to know?

14. Is there something that you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?

15. What is the greatest accomplishment of your life?

16. What do you value most in a friendship?

17. What is your most treasured memory? Jesse: My great-grandmother had just died, and my whole family had just visited them in Florida. I was about 3, 3 and a half years old. Anyway, I was in the backyard, playing, and my sister had just taught me how to take the garden hose, and do it in such a way that you could spray it into the sun, and you could make a rainbow. And so I was doing that, and through the mist I could see my grandmother. And she was just standing there, smiling at me. And then I held it there, for a long time, and I looked at her. And then finally, I let go of the nozzle, you know, and then I dropped the hose, and she disappeared. And so I went back inside, and I tell my parents, you know. And they sit me down give me big rap on how when people die you never see them again, and how I'd imagined it. But I knew what I'd seen. And I was just glad that I saw that.

18. What is your most terrible memory?

19. If you knew that in one year you would die suddenly, would you change anything about the way you are now living? Why? Celine: Everything is so finite. Jesse: But don’t you think that’s what makes our time and specific moments so important?

20. What does friendship mean to you?

21. What roles do love and affection play in your life? Celine: I think I can really fall in love when I know everything about someone. The way he’s going to part his hair, which shirt he’s going to wear that day, knowing the exact story he’d tell in a given situation.

Jesse: Love is a complex issue...I mean, yes, I had told somebody that I love them before, and I had meant it. Was it totally a totally unselfish, giving love? Was it a beautiful thing? Not really, you know.

22. Alternate sharing something you consider a positive characteristic of your partner. Share a total of five items. imaginary telephone conversation:

Céline: He has beautiful blue eyes, nice big lips, greasy hair, I love it. He's kind of tall, and a little clumsy. I like to feel his eyes on me when I look away. He kind of kisses like an adolescent, its so cute. Yeah, we kissed. It was so adorable. As the night went on, I began to like him more and more.

Jesse: You know how they say we're all each others' demons and angels? Well, she was literally a Botticelli angel. Just telling me that everything was gonna be okay...She was sitting next to this very weird couple who started fighting so she had to move. She sat right across the aisle from me. So we started to talk, and she didn't like me much at first. She's super smart, very passionate, um... and beautiful. And I was so unsure of myself. I thought everything I said sounded so stupid.

23. How close and warm is your family? Do you feel your childhood was happier than most other people’s? Celine: I really can't complain about anything. You know, [my parents] love me more than anything in the world, and I have been raised with all the freedom they had fought for. And yet for me now, it's another type of fight. We still have to deal with the same old shit, but we can't really know who, or you know, what the enemy is.

Jesse: Everybody’s parents fucked them up. Rich kids’ parents gave them too much. Poor kids’, not enough. You know, too much attention, not enough attention. They either left them or they stuck around and taught them the wrong things. I mean, my parents are just these two people who didn't like each other very much, who decided to get married and have a kid, and the try their best to be nice to me.

24. How do you feel about your relationship with your mother? Jesse: I remember my mother once. She told me, right in front of my father, they were having this big fight, that he didn't really want to have me, you know, that he was really pissed off when he found out that she was pregnant with me, you know, that I was this big mistake. And I think that really shaped the way I think. I always saw the world as this place where I really wasn't meant to be.

Céline: I think [I’m close with my grandmother] because I always... I always have this strange feeling that I am this very old woman laying down about to die. You know, that my life is just her memories, or something.

Set III

25. Make three true “we” statements each. For instance, “We are both in this room feeling ...”

26. Complete this sentence: “I wish I had someone with whom I could share ...” Celine: So often in my life, I have been with people or shared beautiful moments like traveling or staying up all night and watching the sunrise. And I knew those were special moments, but something was always wrong. I wish I’d been with someone else. I knew that what I was feeling, exactly what was so important to me, they didn’t understand. But I’m happy to be with you.

27. If you were going to become a close friend with your partner, please share what would be important for him or her to know. Celine: I told him the story about the woman that kills her ex-boyfriend, and stuff. He must be scared to death. He must be thinking I'm this manipulative, mean woman. I just hope he doesn't feel that way about me, because you know me, I'm the most harmless person. The only person I could really hurt is myself.

28. Tell your partner what you like about them; be very honest this time, saying things that you might not say to someone you’ve just met. see #22

29. Share with your partner an embarrassing moment in your life. Jesse, on his recent breakup: I didn’t want to see anybody I knew. I just wanted to be a ghost. Completely anonymous.

30. When did you last cry in front of another person? By yourself? not crying, but #29

31. Tell your partner something that you like about them already. Celine (telephone conversation): We were in the lounge car, and he began to talk about him as a little boy, seeing his great-grandmother’s ghost. I think that’s when I feel for him. Just the idea of this little boy with all those beautiful dreams. He trapped me.

32. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about? Céline: I... I kind of didn't really like this reaction back at the palm reader. You were like this rooster prick...You were like a little boy whining because all the attention wasn't focused on him.

33. If you were to die this evening with no opportunity to communicate with anyone, what would you most regret not having told someone? Why haven’t you told them yet? Jesse: If somebody gave me the choice right now of to never see you again or to marry you, I would marry you. And maybe that’s a lot of romantic bullshit, but people have gotten married for a lot less.

34. Your house, containing everything you own, catches fire. After saving your loved ones and pets, you have time to safely make a final dash to save any one item. What would it be? Why?

35. Of all the people in your family, whose death would you find most disturbing? Why? Celine: I used to think that if none of your family or friends knew you were dead, it was like not really being dead. People can invent the best and the worst for you.

[she discusses the death of her grandmother in Before Sunset]

36. Share a personal problem and ask your partner’s advice on how he or she might handle it. Also, ask your partner to reflect back to you how you seem to be feeling about the problem you have chosen.

ODDS

1: when you have cereal, do you have more milk than cereal or more cereal than milk?

About equal? I think it probably works out to being more cereal than milk volume-wise, but it’s not like I measure it?

3: what random objects do you use to bookmark your books?

I mostly don’t use random things as bookmarks, actually. I’m very rarely reading more than one book at a time, and I’ve got a leather bookmark I’ve had for probably 20 years by now that’s what I always use. If I’m reading something else and that bookmark is in use already, then generally whatever envelope or receipt is closest.

5: are you self-conscious of your smile?

Not particularly, unless I’ve been eating spinach recently.

7: do you name your plants?

I don’t have plants (but I don’t think I’d name them if I did have them).

9: do you like singing/humming to yourself?

All the damn time.

11: what's an inner joke you have with your friends?

“Neurons in party hats!”

13: what's something that made you smile today?

My cat dozing off next to me.

15: go google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

Honestly I got bored before I found one weird enough to be worth telling, so instead I present to you: DUDE, NO EDGE.

17: what color do you really want to dye your hair?

Purple! And conveniently, I’m a grown-ass adult, so I have actually been doing exactly that for well over a year now.

19: do you keep a journal? what do you write/draw/ in it?

Nope. I’ve tried on and off over the years, but mostly I get a few days/pages in and then get either super bored or super distracted, so I give up.

21: talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

I don’t honestly think I have a favorite bag. *shrugs*

23: what's your favorite thing to do on lazy days where you have 0 obligations?

INTERNET. FOREVER.

25: what's the weirdest place you've ever broken into?

That’s making the assumption that I’ve ever broken into a place, which as a matter of fact, I have not.

27: what's your favorite bubblegum flavor?

I don’t actually chew gum.

29: what's something really cute that one of your friends does and is totally endearing?

A couple of my friends have basically their own accent that they speak in, but mostly only to each other, and it’s really super cute.

31: what is your opinion of socks? do you like wearing weird socks? do you sleep with socks? do you confine yourself to white sock hell? really, just talk about socks.

TALL SOCK LIFE IS BEST LIFE. Y’all, I recently acquired a pair of rainbow thigh-high socks and they’re fucking awesome. I love patterns on socks in general, though I confine myself to white-cotton-sock hell when I’m working out.

33: what's your fave pastry?

ALL OF THEM. OMG, pastry is the goddamn best.

35: do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? do you use them often?

I love pretty pens and office supplies in general, but I very rarely actually use them.

37: do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

Clean, mostly so that I can actually find things and also not trip over anything (well, besides the cats) when I have to get up in the middle of the night to pee.

39: what color do you wear the most?

Purple or red, probably. I also wear a ton of black, but just because it goes with everything.

41: what's the last book you remember really, really loving?

Basically everything Tamora Pierce has ever written, really.

43: who was the last person you gazed at the stars with?

Hmm. Probably my bestie, E, if I had to guess. I don’t spend a lot of time stargazing.

45: do you trust your instincts a lot?

Sure.

47: what food do you think should be banned from the universe?

Jalapenos. I JUST WANT TO EAT GUACAMOLE WITHOUT BURNING MY FACE OFF GODFUCKINGDAMNIT.

49: do you like buying CDs and records? what was the last one you bought?

I haven’t bought a physical CD in YEARS. The most recent one was...probably one of Hank Green’s albums, and that would’ve been like 4 years ago. (Well, that’s the most recent on purpose one anyway. My ticket to Kesha’s tour this fall came with a copy of the album, so that’s the most recent CD I’ve *acquired*.)

51: think of a person. what song do you associate with them?

Within Temptation’s “Aquarius” for my husband.

53: have you ever watched the rocky horror picture show? heathers? beetlejuice? pulp fiction? what do you think of them?

I think Heathers is the only one of those I haven’t seen, but I’ve only seen each of the others once, and I don’t think I was particularly impressed by any of them.

55: what's the most dramatic thing you've ever done to prove a point?

I have absolutely no idea, tbh.

57: go listen to bohemian rhapsody. how did it make you feel? did you dramatically reenact the lyrics?

I genuinely don’t have the energy for Bohemian Rhapsody right now. Because it *requires* a full sing-along, and I’m just not capable of that today.

59: what's your favorite myth?

Hades and Persephone, probably.

61: what's the stupidest gift you've ever given? the stupidest one you've ever received?

I honestly can’t remember the stupidest gift I’ve given (unless you count the cringe-worthy ones I gave to crushes in high school, but we’re not talking about those). And as for stupidest I’ve received, it wasn’t *intended* to be a stupid gift, but a year or two ago I was given a Loki dress for Christmas or something and LIKE SERIOUSLY, YOU HAVE MERCH FOR LITERALLY ALL THE AVENGERS AND YOU GIVE ME FUCKING LOKI?

63: are you fussy about your books and music? do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

I’m pretty organized about them.

65: is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?

@the-wordbutler!

67: how do gloomy days where the sky is dark and the world is misty make you feel?

Tired

69: what are your favorite board games?

Mysterium, Dixit, Castle Panic, Discworld: Ankh-Morpork. And, while not technically a board game, CodeNames.

71: what's your favorite kind of tea?

I don’t drink tea

73: what are some of your worst habits?

Avoiding shit that makes me sad or uncomfortable even if I need to deal with it

75: tell us about your pets!

I have 2 cats! Girlcat is a calico who’s a little over 8 years old; we basically got her as a wedding present (a bridesmaid’s cat had kittens the day before our wedding, and she was like “hey you want one?” and we were like YES KITTY). She’s mostly antisocial except when I’m sitting at my desk and she’ll tap me on the arm to ask me for pettings. Boycat is an orange tabby who was a rescue, so we don’t know exactly old he is, but we’ve had him for 3 years and at the time they estimated he was about 10. He has exactly 0 teeth and is the most talkative cat I’ve ever met.

77: pink or yellow lemonade?

Both!

79: what's one of the cutest things someone has ever done for you?

Back when we were dating, in high school, hubby gave me a rose at school. There was another one on my car’s windshield at the end of the day, and he was waiting with the rest of the dozen on my porch when I got home. I think that was Valentine’s Day? But it may have been asking-me-to-prom, I don’t actually remember.

81: describe one of your friend's eyes using the most abstract imagery you can think of.

Hey, here’s a thing I really don’t have the brainpower for right now.

83: what's some of your favorite album art?

I honestly can’t think of any off the top of my head. Album art isn’t something I pay a lot of attention to most of the time.

85: do you read comics? what are your faves?

I wish I did, but I have a lot of trouble parsing them a lot of the time.

87: what are some movies you think everyone should watch at least once in their lives?

Wonder Woman! The first Harry Potter film. Um. I honestly don’t know.

89: are you close to your parents?

Reasonably, though less so now than I used to be.

91: where do you plan on traveling this year?

Gonna go visit my little sister in Ireland!

93: what's the hairstyle you wear the most?

It’s in a bob so honestly I don’t do anything with it ever, just try to make sure it’s clean and combed.

95: what are your plans for this weekend?

This weekend is almost over already, so let’s talk about the upcoming weekend! I’m finally going to see Last Jedi on Saturday with a group of friends, and then Sunday and Monday, @snarkasaurus and @vagabondsandconventgirls are coming over and we’re going to spend like 48 hours watching movies and eating gallons of spaghetti.

97: myer briggs type, zodiac sign, and hogwarts house?

IDGAF, Pisces, and Hufflepuff!

99: list some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

I answered this one already!

1-60 🤙🏼

1) Put your iTunes on shuffle. Give me the first 6 songs that pop up.

Hurry Up by Superfruit, I’m Not The Only One by Sam Smith, That’s What I Like by Bruno Mars, Woman by Harry Styles, HUMBLE by Kendrick Lamar

2) If you could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?

I already answered this question by Obama

3) Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 23, give me line 17.

There’s not book near me lol

4) What do you think about most?

My unnecessary universe of various characters I’ve created in a book/tv show that will never happen

5) Ever had a poem or song written about you?

No

6) Do you have any strange phobias?

Harriet Tubman when she’s old and that one thing at the Freedom Center

7) What's your religion?

Technically I’m Southern Baptist but also I don’t think about religion

8) If you are outside, what are you most likely doing?

Sitting, walking home or in the fall being a cross country stat #statsquad

9) Simple but extremely complex. Favorite band?

The 1975

10) What was the last lie you told?

That I wouldn’t look at my mom’s senior book...I did

11) Do you believe in karma?

Somewhat

12) What does your URL mean?

I’m small and a theatre kid

13) What is your greatest weakness; your greatest strength?

On team contracts I always but procrastination and communication but my strength is quality work and editing

14) Who is your celebrity crush?

Tom Holland a babe

15) How do you vent your anger?

I don’t vent I keep it all inside and it all eventually spills out somewhere.

16) Do you have a collection of anything?

My collection of embarrassing moments (it’s constantly growing)

17) Are you happy with the person you've become?

Kind of but I could always improve

18) What's a sound you hate; sound you love?

Hate- Styrofoam

Love- @youarenotapipe ‘s laugh

19) What's your biggest "what if"?

What if I die like damn that’ll be depressing

20) Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens?

Nah and nah

21) Stick your right arm out; what do you touch first? Do the same with your left arm.

I hit both sides of the coach

22) Smell the air. What do you smell?

Air...

23) What's the worst place you have ever been to?

My AP Calculus room

24) Most attractive singer/s of your opposite gender?

Troye Sivan,Jon Bellion

25) To you, what is the meaning of life?

To find happiness

26) Do you drive? If so, have you ever crashed?

Yes and I’ve almost crashed everytime I drive

27) What was the last movie you saw?

Coco and I am still emotional

28) What's the worst injury you've ever had?

When I dislocated my knee

29) Do you have any obsessions right now?

I’m obsessed with FALSETTOS

30) Ever had a rumor spread about you?

Yes lol

31) Do you tend to hold grudges against people who have done you wrong?

Tbh I’m still mad at people who wronged me in Kindergarten.

32) What is your astrological sign?

Scorpio

33) What's the last thing you purchased?

Chinese food :)

34) Love or lust?

Love

35) In a relationship?

No lol

36) How many relationships have you had?

I’d say 1/2 (We didn’t officially date but we were BASICALLY dating).

37) What is your secret weapon to get someone to like you?

People don’t like me lol

38) Where is your best friend?

At home most likely or work

39) What were you doing last night at 12 AM?

Watching vines and almost waking up my little sisters

40) Are you the kind of friend you would want to have as a friend?

I’d like to think so 

41) You are walking down the street on your way to work. There is a dog drowning in the canal on the side of the street. Your boss has told you if you are late one more time you get fired. What do you do?

Save the dog jokes on you I don’t have a job anymore

42) You are at the doctor’s office and she has just informed you that you have approximately one month to live. a) Do you tell anyone/everyone you are going to die? b) What do you do with your remaining days? c) Would you be afraid?

a)I’d tell people after a while

b)Get a dog,dye my hair, tell people I love them,binge watch Disney movies

c) YES

43) What's a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

Wild by Troye Sivan

44) In your opinion, what makes a great relationship?

Communication and compatibility 

45) How can I win your heart?

I don’t know just show me basic kindness and I’ll love you

46) Can insanity bring on more creativity?

Maybe

47) What is the single best decision you have made in your life so far?

To audition for Cinderalla

48) What would you want to be written on your tombstone?

“She tried I guess”

49) Give me the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "heart."

Love

50) Basic question; what's your favorite color/colors?

Purple and blue

51) What is your current desktop picture?

This student star thing because our school won’t let us change the background

52) If you could press a button and make anyone in the world instantaneously explodes, who would it be?

If I say Tr*mp will I go to jail (It’s a joke secret service don’t arrest me)

53) What would be a question you'd be afraid to tell the truth on?

Who do you like?

54) You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what's even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What is that power?

Flight 

55) You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?

One of the days of Cinderella

56) You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?

Um every single depressed moment

57) You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who would it be?

I wouldn’t I’m asexual

58) You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?

France or Senegal

59) Ever been on a plane?

Heck no

60) Give me your top 5 hottest celebrities.

-Tom Holland, Tom Holland, Tom Holland, Tom Holland, Tom Holland

Thanks Kate that was a hoot and a half. Happy New Year!

important facts & quotes from hidden oracle reread #4 part one

i cited everything from the hardback edition bc im a nerd 

- page one apollo is already making pop culture references (1)

- meg is such a badass oh my g od (14)

- riodan does such a beautiful way of explaining things in this novels. awe-inspiring. mind blowing. example: “Her eyes glinted darkly like a crow’s. (I can make that comparison because I invented crows.)” (14-15) wow. beautiful. 

- so i understand this series is going to be about Apollo’s redemption and ~~~~finding himself~~~~ or w\e but JESUS PLEASE RICK you can’t just say “She [Meg] reminded me of the strays my sister was always adopting: dogs, panthers, homeless maidens, small dragons.” (15) WITHOUT PROVIDING SEVERAL BOOKS AS EXAMPLE FOR SAID SENTENCE all i want is a book focused on artemis and her army of small dragons and lesbians dear gods please 

- omfg can you just imagine sally having to go over to Percy’s room and having to tell him that the greek god of the sun apollo was there to see him omfg. imagine the salt. imagine both of them just groaning. imagine.

-”If I had still been an immortal, I might have flirted with her [Sally Jackson] myself.” (30-31) l o l Sally is a middle aged married woman seven months pregnant and still bringing in the gods you go girl im proud of you

- Sally Jackson is one of the best characters in the entire series. citation: every riodan book ever even the non-pjo it’s a fact 

- i 10000% support the idea that percy gave apollo the led zeppelin shirt as a sneaky joke he’s so smart i love him so much

- “Percy laced his fingers. They were long and nimble.”(35) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

- He [Percy] would have made an excellent musician.” (35) f u ck 

- literally all percy wants is to “stay alive” long enough to go to college, meet his baby sister, and see his mom get her book published my heart is broken for this boy (35-36)

- the return of the seven layer dip fuck me up (40)

- jfc that poor Prius it’s been through so much (52-54)

- page 67 and Percy’s already made two comic book references he’s such a canon nerd 

- “Cops love me almost as much as teachers do.” god Percy Jackson what are you doing to me

- apollo tried to order a pizza to CHB and honestly same (73)

- g o d will solace jfc wow

- we’re to assume Will’s a skier (his Okemo Mountain jacket & skiers tan) (82) and now i have to write the inevitable fic that comes out of this fact

- Will’s mom was a alt.-country singer from Austin, Texas (83) which wow and honestly makes the fact will is a horrible singer 1000% better

- yellow daises grow year-round in the Apollo cabin, and it smells like fresh linens and dried sage. (83)

- kayla is aiming for the olympics and honestly im so proud already 

- fact: any and all solangelo interaction have me crying into my book 

- “Will put his hand on Nico’s shoulder, ‘Nico, we need to have another talk about your people skills.’” lol this implies that they’ve had this talk before and im dying to hear it

- the Hermes kids are big fans of Rocky Horror Picture Show (95) and now i have to write a seperate list of headcanons for this fact

- speaking of, Apollo used to cosplay as Rocky bc why not. (95-96)

- listen i know im solangelo trash BUT - “Will and Nico sat shoulder to shoulder, bantering good-naturedly. They were so cute together it made me feel desolate.” im destroyed (110)

- “but if I sit alone at my table, strange things happen.” “it’s a mood disorder” “i cant control it” stfu nico u nerd u just want to sit with your boyfriend im dead (110)

- Will nodded serenely. “It’s the strangest thing. Not that Nico would ever misuse his powers to get what he wants.” death to goody-two-shoes will solace 2k17

- off topic but CAN YOU JUST IMAGINE CHIRON THO. like. this happens and will and nico are just standing there. in front of him. telling him they have to sit together OR NICO WILL JUST HAPPEN TO PUT CRACKS INTO HIS CAMP. just imagine. him staring at them. sighing. deciding not to fight this one. agreeing & watching them giggle away bc they’re so SNEAKY & now they can EAT TOGETHER WOW 

-   lol when Meg was going to town on the hot dogs and “Julia and Alice watched her with a mixture of fascination and horror.” (111)

- “Will and Nico exchanged a look that might have meant, here we go.” (112) okay im sorry im just sO GONE FOR LITTLE MOMENTS LIKE THIS I JUST WANT NICO TO BE HAPPY AND COMFORTABLE IN HIS RELATIONSHIPS OKAY

- apollo refers to the seven as “the A-list” (112) same tho

- Jason, Piper, Coach Hedge, Mellie and baby Chuck are all in LA with Piper’s father like???? (113) THIS IS SOMETHING I NEED TO SEE? What’s the living arrangement? Is Jason living with Piper? OH GOD IS JASON LIVING WITH HEDGE AND MELLIE? DO THEY ALL LIVE IN SOME BIG PLACE PIPER’S DAD RENTED OUT???? do Piper and Jason babysit? do they have family dinners? how’s baby chuck doing??? how are they all adjusting to domestic life?? I NEED TO KNOW THIS IS ALL VERY IMPORTANT TO ME 

- lol nico’s just as pissed as eveRYONE IN THE FANDOM about Leo’s not-death and im living for it (113)

- also nico carries around Leo’s lil ‘IM ALIVE LOL’ letter\hologram\thing? like i get it was completely for the plot but?????? “i look at it whenever i want to get angry” (114) like ok nico u lil bean whatever u say u little emo shit

- apollo’s little ‘lol when u have a headache in olympus hephaestus just cracks open your skull and removes whatever brain god\dess u just birthed up lol it’s so much easier ugh’ (116) w h a t t h e f u c k 

- fact: harley is adorable no citation needed

- also you’re telling me chiron, basically as old as time itself tbh, doesn’t speak portuguese? k (120)

- “i am merely assessing how well paolo’s arms are functioning after surgery” (120) those are some big words william u nervous or something??

- “hmph” - nico di angelo, 2016 (120) 

- this isn’t really important but there’s a satyr named herbert and he’s my new favorite character sorry i dont make the rules (124)

- ok so there’s an unnamed random camper who mutters in Italian (127) and now i’ve got the BIGGEST headcanon that this random girl and Nico (omg maybe a few others????) meet a few times a month just to rant to each other in Italian so none of them get sloppy with the language and u g h im such a bitch for nico di angelo frienships

- “A boy in the crowd gasped, ‘she’s a communist!’” (127) i fucking hate this book omfg

i’ll do more later in order to mentally prepare myself for the dark prophecy but it’s 3 am and im tired  

4, 31, 44

asks for fanfic writers.

Well, I did number 4 over here, and number 31 over here, but!

44. do you write linear or do you write future scenes if you feel like it?

I prefer to write linearly, but it often doesn’t get to work out that way. I also outline things a lot, but not always linearly either, and I do a lot of early draft scenes before I even know where it’s going to fit into things because I have an idea and want to get it down right away quick.

Like, one example of this happening lately was a direct result of me trying to come up with a superhero team name that hasn’t been used already and getting so frustrated that I just went, “Okay, screw it, I’m not looking at this anymore tonight or I’ll just give up and name them The Fighting Mongooses — which isn’t even my joke to use, it’s an old Futurama joke.”

The scene idea that grew out of that is basically my three main mutant weirdos — Seb, Lucy, and Josie — trying to figure out a team name. It is pretty much entirely Lucy’s idea because all three of them are sorta vaguely related to the FBI’s department of mutant affairs, but Seb and Lucy are recently awakened mutants who are sort of on a trial run and not planning to stay with the FBI in an official capacity,

and Josie is stuck filling a few different roles for S.T.R.O.M.A (primarily that of media liaison and de facto team therapist) as a result of how they got recruited in the first place (which involved them accidentally getting on the wrong side of what they were allowed to do with the, “I’m a mutant but I really just want to live my life and not be a bother to anyone, superheroic shit sounds really stressful, let’s not” license, and getting caught, and being handed an offer that basically went, “Hey, come be on our team on a consultancy basis and we’ll make the censures all go away”)

—but none of them really likes working with S.T.R.O.M.A, for several reasons, and Lucy, bless her heart, thinks they should have a team and work together to be heroes.

This is a Thing that some super-powered people do, and teams are registered and licensed like mutants are in general — which isn’t actually sinister so much as tedious, like?

It’s a fair point that, when we’re talking about people who can breathe fire and shoot fricking laser beams out of their eyes and whatnot, then that is not really the same thing as the government trying to make people register on the basis of their race/ethnicity, religion, sexuality, etc. Like, yes, a lot of the rhetoric that can be pulled out in justification of this can be Bad, but we are talking about people who can exhale toxic gases, mind-control people, shoot freaking eye lasers, walk through walls, etc.

That’s all stuff that has legitimate, immediate potential to harm people, and a potential way to compromise — trying to keep everyone safer without infringing unfairly on the rights and civil liberties of mutants — is to treat it like getting a driver’s license. Like, acknowledge that most people didn’t ask for mutant superpowers and it’s not something that they can help (but it’s also a little more complicated than, “you have the mutant X gene so it’s mutant superpowers fun-time, whee”), don’t blame them (especially in the cases where really young kids have freak accidents with powers that no one suspected they had, and especially because there’s a tendency for that to happen in situations with kids who are being bullied or abused)

—but also acknowledge that these powers do have the potential to do a lot of harm, both to the people who have them and to others, and try to do whatever possible to make sure that resources are provided for mutants so that they can learn to control their powers and have the licensing laws in place to make sure that they get said resources. (This is obviously VERY ideal and it doesn’t usually work out so neatly because we’re talking about the U.S. government trying to do things, and there are so many factors — money,  institutionalized isms, public opinion, grassroots campaigns on all sides, fuckery in Congress or the different state and local legislatures, list goes on — that make this go other than as planned on paper. But in an ideal world, this is how it would play out.)

So, in this world, getting a mutant license can be done at the DMV or the local Secretary of State’s office (if you live in some place like Michigan where we’re a bunch of hipster fucks who refuse to just have a DMV), and there are some tests to go through, to prove that you’re not going to lose control of your powers in potentially lethal ways and make sure you know certain legal rules (e.g., “hey, we get it that you did not ask to have mind control powers, but using them to make someone have sex with you? That’s rape. Don’t do that, rape is wrong and you’ll go to prison”).

There are more tests to go through if you want to get the superhero license, but it’s still more comparable to getting a license to drive a motorcycle or a school bus than any of the other metaphors for registration that we’ve seen in different X-Men stories.

Some teams are even Big Deals and have corporate sponsorship and everything. Their members are basically celebrities (at least, the ones who are Big Deals on the level of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Iron Man, Ozymandias, or the old school Minutemen from Watchmen), and whether or not any of them are actually good at being superheroes anymore is a matter of some debate.

But in fairness, the smaller deal heroes affiliated with these teams are usually still doing the work, even if tools like Doctor Delphi pretty much have a few token acts of heroism, show up to NYC Pride every year, shoot commercials, and compulsively document their lives on Instagram, without doing any work that makes a meaningful difference at all.

Also, superhero comics and their related adaptations are still A Thing.

Like, I see where Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons were coming from by replacing the superhero comics with pirate comics — but I could also see people keeping superhero comics around even with irl mutant superheroes. You’d probably also see ex-heroes making memoir-style graphic novels, and not-that-thinly veiled versions of irl heroes showing up in the Batman or Hulk comics.

S.T.R.O.M.A has an entire sub-team whose primary job is going over comics, movies, YA lit, and all the rest to make sure that no one’s using, “lol fiction” to spill information that has a security clearance attached. They have a picture of Stan Lee on a dartboard because the sheer number of times they’ve had to investigate him is ridiculous. Their counterparts at MI6 have three filing cabinets just for JKR.

But Lucy is a really pumped up about this team idea, so she’s trying to get Seb (who is less than entirely jazzed about this concept but refuses to just let Lucy go do the thing on her own) and Josie (who has mixed feelings about the whole thing but is curious enough to come along for the ride) to help her come up with team names. Mostly, this involves the two of them shooting her ideas down as such:

Lucy: *suggests a name*

Seb: Marvel already has one of those.

Josie: Also, there are two real-life teams registered with that name and I think four different individual vigilantes.

Lucy: *suggests a different name*

Seb: DC got there first.

Josie: There aren’t any real world teams with that name, but it has been one of the most popular names independent vigilante names for five years running.

Lucy: *suggests, “The Crusaders”*

Seb: Ehhh, do we really want to invoke the Crusades? I mean, okay, the word sounds cool, but the Crusades were military campaigns of unlawful conquest and Islamophobic genocide. Ffs, did Sister Mary Ignatius stop teaching that in her history classes after I got forced out of St. Andrew’s or what?

Lucy: You actually paid attention in Sister Mary Ignatius’s history classes? Like, enough to remember them?

Seb: You didn’t?

Lucy: I had better things to do than give that old bat more than the bare minimum, Bastian. Like, y’know, extracurricular community college science classes because the science curriculum at St. Andrew’s was bullshit—

Josie: Let’s stay on topic. So, there’s already a fictional group that’s called the Crusaders, plus two real world teams, six indie vigilantes who call themselves. ‘the Crusader,’ and it’s also regularly found in weird compound names. I wish that I could bleach all memories of Captain Dick-Cheese Crusader from my mind, but alas, it doesn’t work that way.

And so on and so forth. Until they finally hit the point of Lucy going, “FINE. If you don’t like any of MY ideas, one of YOU suggest some already. jfc, you’re older than I am, why do I have to tell you both to be more proactive”

So, Seb suggests, “The Apostates” because it is the first word that comes to his mind aaaand…

Josie: While I am pleased to heard Seb suggest something first, there’s already a team registered by that name. They’re a bunch of alumni or former affiliates of Lehrer and Woodham who had various kinds of falling outs with the good Doctors, or had Yael and Elizabeth kick them off one of The Wardens or one of their other teams for some reason. Most of them are actually lovely people, but the one who calls himself Bocca Lupo is the woooooorst.

Seb: …Personal experience?

Josie: His civvies name is Danny Walker. He used to be a fashion photographer before he discovered his powers. He was my freshman year roommate at Pratt. We dated for a while in senior year—

Lucy: And he dumped you so now you’re bitter and being a pain in the ass about Seb’s suggestion because you’re still mad at him?

Josie: Oh, no. I dumped him. He wouldn’t stop acting like eating disorders are a joke after I told him that I have one to try and make him stop being like that to one of our classmates.

And then there was a bunch of backstory-expounding from Josie that tbh, isn’t going to end up in the full draft of this scene, ever, since it really needs to be spaced out more and woven into things a bit more naturally — but the endgame for the moment is still that any team names related to, “apostate” or, “apostasy” are vetoed in full because wow holy shit, Josie’s ex is a douchebag and that he’s one of the major players in the Brooklyn-based Apostates is really Not A Cool Thing

And I have no idea where this is going to fit into the story or when but

It’s a scene that I like and drafted out in my borderline-illegible longhand so I wouldn’t forget the idea

I forget how I wanted to wrap this post up, so

Uh…… *jazz hands*? yaaaaaay?

A vow of eternal relationship

A vow of eternal relationship A sermon for Trinity Episcopal Church, Baraboo, Wis. Easter V | Year A | May 14, 2017 Acts 7:55-60 | Psalm 31:1-5; 15-16 | I Peter 2:2-10 | John 14:1-14

The bride and groom wrote their own wedding vows.

Before I was ordained, I think was best man, groomsman, or usher in something like 18 weddings, and now that I'm ordained, I am in a lot more weddings. Many times, when I'm helping plan a wedding, the couple will have made decisions that I would not have made. Sometimes if I'm officiating I veto things that aren't in the prayer book or things that are in especially bad taste, but rarely do I have much personal angst about them.

But there is one practice that is guaranteed a veto from me as an officiant and that, if I attend the wedding as a guest, is guaranteed to make me get in the car snarling and sputtering to my wife about the indignity of the the thing, and it's when the couple writes their own wedding vows.

Some people do a good job writing their wedding vows, and my muttering on those occasions is more on the level of "cranky old man muttering about kids these days." Now, of course, even these vows don't have the same ring to them as "I take you to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until we are parted by death." But they do the job well enough.

On the other hand, some people seem to not care whether their vows match the solemnity of the occasion. At one wedding I know of, one of the parties pledged to the other that they would always make snacks. On another occasion, I heard someone vow that they would always tolerate their spouse's cold feet in bed. On the internet, I found some templates for writing non-traditional, humorous wedding vows. I looked and looked to see if these were actually a joke, but it seems that the website took them as entirely serious possibilities for use in actual weddings. "I promise to love you as much as I love my credit card and not hold your poor fashion sense against you." Here’s another one: “I promise to love you even when you refuse to let me watch football, to cherish you even when you blow one week’s salary on yet another handbag, and to understand even when you are mad at me because of something that happened in a dream.”[1]

The problem with vows like these is partly that the words don't match the occasion. But the other problem is that vows are serious business. Vows are hard to keep. I don't know about you, but making snacks feels a whole lot easier than saying, "I take you to be my husband, in sickness and in health to love and to cherish until we are parted by death." Marriage isn't easy. Being a mother or father isn’t easy. Being a faithful friend isn’t easy. As much as we don't like to think about it, being parted by death is in the future for all of us, and know that I want to see people make vows like people who know that one day they are going to die, because life is precious.

I.

That specter of death ending relationships hangs over our gospel passage this morning. Just prior to our reading, Jesus has told the disciples that he is going to leave them, and they think that means that he is about to die. Jesus tells them that they cannot follow him, and then Peter makes a vow: Why can't I follow you? I will die for you. Jesus looks at his badly-conceived vow sadly, and says, this very night you will deny that you even know me three times. You won't die for me. Before I die, you're going to leave me.

Darkness descends upon the room, and Jesus says: Do not let your hearts be troubled. How could their hearts not have been troubled? They've just invested three years in following Jesus around and he's telling them that all of this talk about him dying is actually going to happen. They had thought that Jesus was going to be the one to redeem Israel, the one who would overthrow the Romans, install a new Jewish government and help the people of Israel to once again be what God had called them to be for thousands of years. Instead, Jesus told them that he was about to go away. How could he go away if the mission wasn't done? How could he redeem Israel if all he was about to do was die?

He told them to believe in God and to believe also in him. He was asking them to trust that he was who he claimed to be, but all they could see were promises that he was not going to be able to keep. You can understand the gloom in the room; you can understand how their hearts being troubled might be an understatement.

Jesus said, "I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas replied and said to him, "Lord, we don't even know where you are going, so how is it possible that we could know the way?"

Jesus tells them, "I am the way, and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you know my Father also.” But the disciples still don't get it: Philip responds right away: Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied. It's not enough that you are the way, Philip says: show us the Father. Show us the Father working on behalf of Israel right in the midst of our present reality. That would be enough. Jesus being the way to the Father? Not enough.

II.

At a previous parish, I was helping a family plan a funeral once when I suggested that they use this reading this morning as the gospel reading at the funeral. Indeed, this is maybe the most common reading I suggest at funerals. The elderly sister of the woman who had died objected. "My sister was a woman who got along with everybody and was tolerant of everyone else's viewpoints," she said. "This passage makes it sound like only Christians go to heaven. It doesn't reflect what she believed."

The sister was right in seeing absolute claims in what Jesus was arguing. When Thomas asks him how to get where is going, Jesus responds by saying, "I am the way." Where was Jesus going? He was going to prepare a place for his disciples, and the way that he was going to get to that place was by dying. So when Jesus says that he is the way to the place where he is going, he means that he has conquered death, and the only way for Thomas, and for all of the disciples who follow after him, to conquer death is to trust that Jesus has already done so.

Jesus conquering death, and being the only one to conquer death, naturally brings up questions about other religions. But the thing is, a lot of mainline Protestants like us don't really believe that we need Jesus to conquer death. Instead of the God of the bible and the creeds, many people claim to be Christian but actually believe in something one scholar calls "moral therapeutic deism." The basic beliefs of moral therapeutic deism are that 1) God exists, created the world and watches over us 2) God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other, as taught by the Bible and most world religions 3) The central goal of life is to be happy and feel good about ourselves 4) God doesn't need to be particularly involved in our lives except when we need God to solve problems and 5) good people go to heaven when they die.

None of these adequately reflects Christian belief, and yet these ideas are everywhere. Look at the reaction when someone dies young: people talk about what a tragedy it is, but how they know that this loved one has gone on to a better place and is looking down on us. That sort of thing might make some of us feel good, but I think that it is a failure to take death seriously. If Jesus Christ was wrong about what he told his disciples in that upper room, if he is not the way through death to the presence of God on the other side, then death has won. That means that the only place our loved ones go when they die is to the bottom of the grave, and it means that life is pointless. The God of moral therapeutic deism is a spineless God who has no power over death; people who believe in that kind of God simply avoid death and fail to acknowledge its evil reality in our midst. We are beset by a human tendency to break things, including our relationships. We do not have the power within ourselves to make and keep vows to each other, and this so-called God who exists solely so that we feel good about ourselves does not give us the power over our tendency to break things. If we acknowledge the many ways that death surrounds us, and indeed is within us, then we need something else. 

III.

Jesus' saying that he is the way and the truth and the life is the great clue that in Jesus, death has been conquered. Jesus is about to go away to prepare a place for us - he is about to die and go to the other side of death. He promises the disciples, and all of us who follow after him, that he will go away to prepare a place for us, so that where he is, we may be also.

Lots of us have pictures of that place in our imaginations: gold streets, pearly gates. Some of us have read books where people claim to have visions of heaven and give us vivid description of what it’s like. But what this gospel reading gives is that heaven is heaven because we are with Jesus, in the presence of the Father, together with all of the other followers of Jesus who have been brought through death to the other side.

It's also clear that heaven is a temporary place - that where we will ultimately end up is back here, on this earth, resurrected from the dead in the same way that Jesus was. Our bodies, this world and all creation will be renewed to be the way that we were supposed to be from the garden of Eden on. Heaven will come to Earth and will transform it.

Jesus says that he is the way through death so that his disciples will take comfort. Even though he is about to go away from them, even though their expectations of what he is about are totally wrong, Jesus is promising to be in relationship with them forever. The emphasis is not on what happens to those people who do not put their trust in Jesus; the emphasis is on the promise that Jesus is making to the people who trust him to be the way through death to the other side, to be the truth that makes the world have a purpose, and to bring the life that brings about the renewal of all creation. Jesus is not making a claim that shuts people out; rather, he is making a promise of eternal relationship to all who will hear it.

 IV.

Jesus doesn’t get into a theological debate about what happens to non-Christians after they die. That is a mercy. What all of us who fear death need isn’t philosophical argument – what we need is the promise that we will never be alone. This reminds me of one other thing about self-written wedding vows: oftentimes, people will promise that they will love the other "through eternity". Like most vows, that is a promise that we cannot keep by ourselves but this one requires a lot more help than just honoring or cherishing our spouses. Promising that we will love someone "through eternity" means that we will continue our commitment to someone after we die, or after they die. We're literally promising that our love will be stronger than death.

This is not a promise that we are able to keep. This is a God who leaves the 99 mothers in church and  We do not have the power to love someone through eternity. It's even debatable whether we, under only our own power, can truly love someone for all of this life because of how pervasive our tendency to break relationships is. But if we promise someone that we are going to love them through eternity, we are writing a check we cannot cash. Thanks be to God, we know a Savior who makes love stronger than death.

All of this talk of death on Mother’s Day might leave some folks wondering what put the preacher in such a bad mood this week. But it is not so. Rather, on a day commemorating the special people who are our mothers and grandmothers, the ladies who have children or who yearn for them today, I cannot offer you the same kind of schmaltzy, cliched hope you can find in most Mother’s Day cards. I can only offer you the best hope I know: that the good ways in which you have formed children – your own and other peoples’ – have eternal significance, because Jesus Christ has promised to be our way through death, the healer of our biggest griefs, the restorer of our biggest losses.

This is a God who leaves the 99 mothers in church and goes to find the one woman who has just learned she cannot conceive. This is a God who desires abundant life for all of the families of the earth, for the widows and the widowers, for the ones who are single and who wish they weren’t. He has put Trinity Church in the midst of Baraboo so that no one would be without a family, so that no one would be alone. This is a God who takes people who are not related, who are different in every way, and makes out of them a family that cares for each other and for the people outside our church, so that our lives together might be the means for some to hear Jesus’ promise to be the Way for the very first time.

When, in the foolishness of young love, men and women pledge themselves to each other for eternity, they do it not realizing the impossibility of what they offer to the other. But thanks be to God through our Lord Jesus Christ, we have a Way who has vowed to offer himself to us in eternal relationship. We have a Truth who has come to Earth to make God’s purposes for the world known. We have a Life that is given to us as a gift freely given.  Amen.

 [1] http://tailoredfitphotography.com/ultimate-wedding-vow-guide-writing-wedding-vows-wedding-vow-templates/

Classicaloid 13 | Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga 1 | Masamune-kun’s Revenge 1 | Erased 2 - 5

My streaming site says this show is a reverse harem, and I laugh at it every time I see it.

Trout…? *LOLs, but…*

Well, that’s a piece of transformative fiction I wouldn’t like to write. (In case you don’t know it by my love of magical girls, I love transformations.)

“That bum. Is he planning to eat me?” – Never has a line about a man transformed into a fish made me laugh so hard…probably because I’ve seen a work where a woman gets transformed into an eel, but I’ve never seen man to fish fiction before…

How did fish!Schu get into the washing machine? They’ll probably answer that question anyway, but I wanted to ask it before I found out the answer. Update: They didn’t, but it’s pretty safe to assume he got there the same way fish!Schu got around to other bodies of water.

Of course they’d have a sign saying “Watch out for fire”, knowing Beethes.

Off model fish. Never though I’d complain about a fish’s eyes in animation. Also, isn’t it goldfish with limited mental capacity?

Salmo trutta is at least correct.

Never have I laughed so hard at an animated fish…

Eh? I never questioned what Schu would call Sousuke, but there you go. Also, Sousuke doesn’t know English.

Aw no. I see the clincher coming. Poor Schu.

Pencil frame? In the fish episode? Okay, who had enough budget for that? (incredulous)

I didn’t know that fish gyoza existed until now. I guess I should’ve known.

Hey wait a second. Black bass. Bass are a type of guitar. I see what you did there, Classicaloid staff and Fujita-kantoku. *nods approvingly*

*looks into the “predatory” part of bass* Oops. “Know that you can feed trout to selected sizes of bass.”

Meuniere is the only one I had to check up.

Why is Liszt only scolding the Piece of Junk (Sousuke)? I know she’s done it every other episode but she really has it out for him, doesn’t she?

What the-Okay, you know you’re on to some crazy antics when you have anthropomorphic fish. *still laughs crazily*

Wait, so Liszt is a lionfish. Guess I should’ve known.

Motz is a flying fish. Less predictable, but eh.

Cho-chan is an eel, specifically one found in volcanic vents at the bottom of the sea.

Holy fish, Batman! We found Nemo…er, Kanae.

Okay, I take some of my enjoyment of this ep back, thanks to you Beethes.

Sousuke is a sea snail. LOL.

I like limpets too, but pond snail…? Never heard of it. Sorry for my inaccuracy.

Japanese mystery snail? Now that’s mysterious. Aside from that, I’d never heard of an eel that lived in ponds…LOL, so my knowledge is adapted to sea life but not ponds. Okay then, I learnt something about myself today.

Thank you for your censor head, Beethes. Thank you so very much.

That’s kinda cute. Not only are there bubbles, but there’s the anthropomorphic fish versions of the group popping up (I presume in time to the music), with Sousuke and Kanae covering for Bach/Bada/Tchaiko.

(Masamune-kun’s Revenge 1)

There’s a passing resemblance to One Wish They Never Wanted to this show, so since this anime must’ve come before it, I’m here to compare.

I’m with the girl at 0:31 (Masamune’s sister).

His mum?!

I think the pun is that “Moleo” is also read “Shigeo”, but the middle character is “hair”…so there you have it. *makes Not Bad face but is otherwise not quite convinced by this show*

Wa-wa-wait! Standard practice is that you don’t use your OP in the first ep, isn’t it? You use the ED, but not the OP, and debut the OP and ED in their proper spots in ep 2. This is blasphemy!

OP title: Wagamama means “selfish”, so I think the OP title suits the show well.

Nope, not even hot guys can get away with drooling...not to me, no.

Shuri is best girl in this show.

What is with servant girl’s eyebrows? I swear, if they had another girl in that posse of Aki’s, we’d have a Mean Girls AU on our hands!

Adagaki Aki is the only name I’ll remember once I get out of here, I bet. Only a few times reading synopses of this show, and I already remembered it. I bet I won’t even remember the “Makabe” part of Masamune’s name.

Masamune needs a sign saying “Caution: Do Not Pass By. Dramatic Stare in Progress” or something.

Okay, I need that Mean Girls AU now.

Cat donut. I want one.

Well, if a girl looks around like that so many times, y’think she wouldn’t be hiding something?!

Basically, you turned your protagonist into a male version of a mean girl to upstage a mean girl?...Nice try, but no dice. It’s kinda cliched.

Hypoglycemia? Hmm. It’s not always associated with diabetes, but I tend to associate the two. Speaking of stomachs rumbling, I once sat a test with my stomach basically playing a symphony for the last half…yeah, not gonna think about it.

Then how did Masamune get a photo with Aki?

Oh. It’s nice that he’s keeping Tanabe-kun’s secret. (still not wholly convinced)

Okay: verdict time – it looks pretty, but that Kirito face ain’t doing it for me and neither are Yoshino’s eyebrows. The jokes tend to miss and I’ve got a potential plot hole on my hands. Overall…I could probably handle one more episode of it, and that’s what I’ll take for the sake of its potential.

…*sees “Elemetal World”* Okay, add “a lot of cliches” to the list too.

(Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga 1)

Hey, Blue Exorcist. Haven’t seen this since I marathoned the ending 5 episodes or so a few years back. I was wondering how they’d handle the anime-only ending, but they’ve just cut it off like nothing ever happened. It seems a situation much like Noragami, only Noragami’s anime-only ending is much better (IMHO, but YMMV).

…and yes, I’ve read enough of the manga to know this is called the “Impure King Part”, but I’m using the AnimeLab name for convenience. Also, what is up with the complicated kanji? It says “episode 1”, sure, but I didn’t know such complicated kanji existed for “Small Beginnings”. Update: Kyoto Impure King Arc. That’s a better way to explain it.

“Satoru”…haha. (At the time of typing, I was rewatching Erased. LOL)

Considering the name “Saburota” suggests he’s one of at least 3 children, that makes sense.

Celesta (from one of my stories “Next to Me”) is a Shura-type character. I should really take some cues from this Shura for Celesta going forward.

It feels weird seeing the Kyoto trio shrug off Rin’s friendliness now. Must be because I’ve been through this part of the woods once before. Plus did you see they’re on the Nozomi shinkansen? (It’s kinda like this MTR (city express MTR, Hong Kong) or a plane or something…) Someone bothered to translate the ticker to English, even.

Unwilling, LOL.

(Erased ep 2)

It was from this ep that I learnt the Japanese word for “palm (of the hand)”.

Apparently Re:Re got resurrected for Erased? Or am I wrong about this? Update: Yeah, I was wrong.

Mask Man I assme is Kamen Rider or Ultraman, but I dunno what Black is.

The type of backpack Satoru’s got is a randoseru and he had a recorder with it. There’s a manga out there called “Recorder and Randoseru”, IIRC.

Hanba-gu aren’t actually hamburgers. They’re hamburger patties, or to get technical, Hamburg patties.

Since I still haven’t been too badly damaged by a person’s death so far (but eventually I know I will), there’s an undercurrent of melancholy running through this show for me…

How does Erased get away with all these trademarks? Were they in the source material? Plus, I’ve never hear the term “chew the fat” until now. Huh.

The word “hope” is on the back wall lots and lots of times (presumably kids’ calligraphy work), if you didn’t know.

So. The kanji for “palm (of the hand)” that is there during the titlecard is read tenohira. Kinda long, but it’s an advanced kanji. I probably shouldn’t know it as it’s quite the advanced kanji, but hey, I get curious about these sorts of things…

I never understand why there’s occasionally urinal scenes in media. Is it to promote a sense of camaraderie in guys? *shrugs*

McGregor gloves are apparently the ones with all the fingers…? Not sure. Google-sensei wasn’t very definite on it.

I think Satoru goes “youkai” because he suspected his mum of being one there for a second.

The pink on the ground and the yellow of the house…it’s like a colour palette. Only, Kayo will go to danger and Satoru will go home to his house, that isn’t truly his house anymore.

By the way, I’ve liked both Sayuri songs that have been used for anime so far, even if they’re both EDS. When I heard Sayuri was doing the ED for Erased, I liked it even more. (Even still, I only use the name Erased out of convenience. I much prefer the name Boku Dake ga Inai Machi otherwise.)

(ep 3)

This Hamada…I only just finished watching Yuri!!! on Ice a few days back (as of time of typing), and now Hamada reminds me of Yurio.

Yuuki – he reminds me of my dad. My dad has a stuttering problem which makes him sound nervous on occasion. Come to think of it, I was thinking of unique ways to study at one point (I can get bored pretty easily though not to ADHD standards), and as a result made a “biology helper” (visual novel). I made the visual novel around a character who I called Satoru, based on what I learnt about the name for Erased. (Note: Satoru can mean “to perceive” or “to understand”.)

Speaking of visual novels, I think there should be a visual novel for this. An official one that stays faithful to the manga.

Not sure I’ve noticed it until now, but Yuuki has freckles…he looks like Renzou Shima (Blue Exorcist) to me for some reason…

The word for “birthmark” can also mean “bruise”.

Satou is different to Satoru, even if the names are one letter difference.

The bins said “5 – 4” in one shot and “5 の 4” in another. They mean the same thing though.

Is Satoru x Kayo technically a ship? Or not? I’d go “ick!” if Satoru still counted as being his normal age in this timeline, for ships’ sake.

(ep 4)

How can you tease a child about girlfriends when he’s barely old enough to fall in love? (Physically, that is.)

Liveman? Falcon? Okay, who decided on this background chatter?!

Okay…revelation time, before we go forward. Showa Genroku is criminally underrated by the masses, but good enough for an s2. Erased seems to have been more of a public praise while SGRS got it on the critics’ side, and while I consider myself to be more casual than critic, I side with the critics on this. (By the way, I tend to root for the underdog series and also have a critic’s sensibility for series, if you haven’t caught on to that yet. I’m a bit of a paradox in that sense.)

What happened to Satoru’s dad?

At least the “You’re pretty” went down like you’d expect kids to handle it…haha.

Welp, at least the sentence with “pole” (as in “North Pole”) did actually have the kanji for “pole” in it. If this were an English lesson though, the kid would’ve gotten an X. (Remember, O is the way to say “correct” on schoolwork in Japan.)

Uh…using my standard conversion, 5000 yen = $50. That’s a lot of sandwiches…

(ep 5)

Back to griping about CGI cars for me…

The Last Supper? Surely, the only meaning for that being there must be a symbolic one.

The manager is basically playing the role of Satoru here…awkwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaard.

Cafeteria? The kanji means that, but wouldn’t it be better to call it a “restaurant”?

ONE PUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNCH! Hahaha.

“Majin” can mean “demon god” with the right kanji.

The pencil frames make for a good contrast.