#'she used the same word here that she did in another song!!!' she has 250 individual songs guys. there are only so many words

[blueskittlesart]

i love going on genius after taylor drops new music and looking at all the unreviewed annotations from the stupidest people alive

[seraphsurvival]

episode 1: 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙜

having completed all their challenges for week one it is time for the angels to face the music. with their votes in and team performances judged their final rankings decide who will continue on to become apart of 𝐒𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇. will your favourite angel soar high or will they fall from grace ?

* note that indented + italic text like this means it is confessional footage *

the iconic seraph intro music played as the cameras focused on the show hosts nova and yen.

“good evening everyone and welcome to...” nova began before yen joined in “seraph!” they chorused.

“this week was a tough first week for our angels.” yen began before looking over at nova who enthusiastically nodded along . “they had 2 challenges to complete: the iconic angel song and a group performance.”

“having to juggle solo performances and group work proved to be quite difficult for some of our angels. both groups had their share of mishaps...” behind nova clips of the angels in their confessionals in tears or looking stressed covered the screen further proving her statement.

“but despite all of this we saw some amazing performances.” nova grinned as she turned back to all the angels on the platform behind her.

“judges, what do you think of our angels this week? who stood out the most to you?” yen questioned turning all focus to the panel of judges.

“i thought this week was fun, we got to see a different side to the angels usual concepts,” hyuna spoke first , making sunmi and j-hope nod along with her. “i personally really enjoyed ricky’s performance, it was so fun to watch. her expressions made it that much more entertaining.”

the camera focused on ricky as she bowed at the praise. her features stretched out in a bright smile as chloe squeezed her hand beside her happy for her new best friend.

“i think mine was yuri’s performance of ‘GOTTA GO’. she surprised me in a good way. i was not expecting her to stand out the way she did but i’m glad she did. i’m proud of her.” sunmi answered.

on stage yuri visibly blushed as she repeatedly bowed. her soft ‘thank you’ making sunmi smile sweetly.

“hmmm all the angels were truly excelled this week ,” j-hope chuckled , resting his head on his hand. “none of the performances were boring. did some have room for growth in technique terms? of course, but pretty much everyone performed well.”

“yeah, yeah, yeah. who was your favourite?” hyuna jokingly pushed making everyone laugh.

“if i had to pick i think my favourite would be summer’s cover of ‘DARE’. her lines were clean and moves sharp. it was great to see her do a much darker concept. you can tell why she is where she is.”

summer nodded happily as a response to j-hope’s comments. she had always been a huge fan of BTS and it took everything within her not to fangirl hearing her idol praise her for her performance.

“what about the groups what did you think?” nova questioned once again.

the judges shared a look with each other before hyuna leaned into her mic, “honestly group one really surprised us this week. im really impressed with their performance of ‘FAKE LOVE’.” the idol leaned forward to be in her fellow judge’s line of sight. “j-hope, was it up to standard?”

“it was definitely up to standard they really destroyed the performance. i feel honoured truly.” he chuckled

the entirety of group one laughed at his comment. each of the angels thanking him in their own regard, their pride evident in their faces the entire time. in juxtaposition the camera pans to team two who’s faces look less than impressed with

“overall, i’d say everyone did great today, yes there is definitely room for improvement but and i don’t think i’d be wrong if i said all us judges are proud of every single one of the angels on a successful first week,” sunmi concluded. hyuna and j-hope hummed in agreement and nodded along to every word she said. she sent the angels a reassuring thumbs up to try soothe the obvious nerves of all the angels on stage.

incase you missed it !

[ WATCH SOLO PERFORMANCES — HERE ]

[ WATCH GROUP PERFORMANCES — HERE ]

the lights dimmed as the entire mood of the studio shifted.

“even though all our angels deserve to soar high sadly for one angel their wings will be cut.” nova spoke, her serious tone emphasizing the tension in the studio.

“before we show the results here’s a refresher on how voting works: you have been voting all week for your favourite angel and those votes contribute 50 points each. these points are added to the group points.” she looked over at yen to signal her to say her next lines.

“but today’s episode has a special twist,” yen turned to the camera with a pause. “two angels will be going home today.” behind the hosts the angels heads snapped up in panic. none of them were aware of the double elimination.

“the first will be the angel with the lowest rank from the losing team, and the other will be the angel with the lowest overall ranking, even if she’s part of the winning team she’ll leave the show today.”

the silence in the studio was deafening. none of the angels dared say a word as they waited in anticipation for the results. the angels stood in the groups as they linked hands to give each other support.

“without further ado, let’s see the results.” nova spoke directing everyone’s eyes to the screen where everyone’s rankings were plastered.

𝙎𝙀𝙍𝘼𝙋𝙃 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 𝙊𝙉𝙀 : 𝙁𝙄𝙉𝘼𝙇 𝙍𝘼𝙉𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂

* every member of group 1 gets 350 points for placing first and every member of group 2 gets 250 points for placing last *

BAEBI - 1450 ( @whileinvenus )

YURI - 1300 ( @cube-vivid )

SUMMER - 1150 ( @se4sonz )

MIMI - 900 ( @inter-stellar-jyp )

RICKY - 850 ( @unholiied )

HAEJU - 800 ( @hcney-moon )

CHLOE - 800 ( @chloekwon )

EDEN - 750 ( @inter-stellar-jyp )

JADE - 750 ( @nct-krown )

AME - 700 ( @triptychexe )

DAHLIA - 650 ( @d3adfl0wers )

JAY - 500 ( @dulcetgg )

yuri brought her hands to her mouth, frozen in shock.

“i was not expecting to make it another week honestly,” she spoke in disbelief. “after being outshined by ricky all week, i thought it was over but here i am!” she giggled covering her mouth to hide the broad smile taking over her features.

baebi hugged her excitedly. her smile not only reflecting her pride in yuri’s high rank but also her own first place rank. pushing aside her dissatisfaction with their team losing she still was proud of what they’d done.

the same positivity was not felt as dahlia and jade saw the score board. as their team came last they knew someone was in jeopardy of going home but neither of them would’ve guessed it would be dahlia.

frozen in shock jade turned to dahlia who’s hand had flown up to her mouth as her eyes welled up. jade made quick movement to comfort dahlia before she fully broke down.

“don’t let them see you cry you know this says nothing about your talent or potential.” she whispered into dahlia’s ear. the older girl nodded along with jade’s words as she took deep breaths. as much as she was balanced now it still didn’t feel fair.

“dahlia doesn’t deserve this. she is one of the most talented girls here.” jade folded her arms as she turned her head to the side. “i can’t believe dahlia is gone and voice crack ricky is in the top 5. it doesn’t feel right.”

on the other team the girls huddle in an excited hug at their teams first place ranking. their teams ranking is what saved ame that week and she knew it. she had the second lowest rank of her team aside from jay who unfortunately had the least votes that week overall.

“at least some people voted for me”, she spoke to the camera as she let out a sigh. “i’ll just have to work extra hard next week,” she nodded as she encourage herself, trying her best to maintain the smile on her face no matter what.

in contrast to the rest of the girls , jay couldn’t keep her facade up. despite the positive energy around her she couldn’t stop the silent sobs that left her. she didn’t want her journey to end so abruptly, she deserved to stay longer mimi hanged her tightly as she let the taller girl cry into her shoulder. her eyes glossed over along with jays as she knew she was going to miss her, jay was one of the girls she’d grown closest to besides eden.

“i’m obviously going to miss jay,” mimi spoke softly wiping away at her tears. “she’s so talented i’m so sad to see her go. this week didn’t showcase her charms to the fullest,” she shook her head sadly as she sniffled.

the two eliminated girls took a step forward standing center stage as the judges said their last words.

“dahlia, how are you feeling?” nova asked as her teammates lovingly rubbed her back.

taking a deep breath dahlia spoke into the mic that was handed to her. “i’m obviously disappointed. our group didn’t go as planned and i just feel like i didn’t get to fully showcase what i’m capable of.” she sniffles loudly towards the end as she tried her best to hold in her tears.

“dahlia, you’re a talented girl. it's sad because it really felt as if you didn’t know why you were here, i couldn’t feel your passion and you need that to sell a performance.” sunmi spoke her eyebrows furrowed and lips downturned.

dahlia nodded, a sad tight lipped smile on her features as she handed to mic back. she was so focused on the rest of the team not messing up as well as feeling cheated out of the roll of main vocalist played against her. and it was too late to try again all she could do is find the spark that once lit a flame of passion in her and try again outside the show.

“jay,” j-hope sighed as the tall girl bowed her head unable to even look at the judges. “it’s sad seeing you go,” he admitted with a pout. “but i think it’s because you just haven’t found your sparkle yet and i think that’s something you have to do outside of ‘seraph’. but don’t give up and keep up the good work , and I’m sure you’ll be the next big thing.” all jay could do was nod, even having been handed the mic she couldn’t speak a word.

the focus shifted from the bottom 2 girls to ame who although safe still looked as distraught as the other angels.

“ame, you were so close to the bottom this week,” hyuna pointed out to which ame nodded her face sullen and disappointed. “you got lucky tonight but don’t let your guard down,” she pointed at the girl, giving her a knowing look. “something needs to change or you’ll be the next to say goodbye.” she warned. ame nodded once again taking a respectful bow.

the cameras focused back on the two hosts as the girls regrouped behind them.

the two girls descended the platform. dahlia wrapped her arm around jay as she still sobbed uncontrollably. the two made their way off stage waving to the remaining angels before exiting the studio completely and making their way to the dorms to pack up their belongings.

“it’s always sad to see and angel take off, especially so early in the show,” yen sighed sadly. nova hummed in agreement,” but sadly that’s how the show goes.”

“but let’s not focus on only the negatives but some positives. ladies and gentlemen give it up for our remaining 10 angels!” nova cheered making the studio erupt in excited claps and cheers. “congratulations girls you’ve made the top 10 out of hundreds of applicants!” the girls cheered once again as their moods lifted a significant amount compared to the somber mood earlier.

“that’s it for this episode! stay tuned to see how the angels spread their wings and soar through weekly challenges and compete to be a part of the ultimate super group !” yen ran over her signature closing line once again, sharing a sweet smile with her cohost

“thanks to everyone who participated and we’ll see you next week !” nova chimed in mirroring yen’s bright smile.

“goodbye !” they chorused as the 2 hosts waved at the camera before it zoomed out to focus on everyone in the studio.

*results below ! *

[poetic-emptiness-fanfic]

Livin’ La Vida Loca (Echoes of the Past 15: Freebie!)

Finally it is finished! I had an irritating writing block, but I’m happy it’s over now. This fic sets during the plague, when Hande is apprenticing with Julian.

The name of this fic is from a song Livin’ La Vida Loca by Ricky Martin

Characters: Hande Kuura & Julian Devorak

Content warning: some profanities

Words: ~3 250

@arcana-echoes

It has been a long day at the clinic – lots of patients and lots of research. Julian is tired and he can see that his apprentice is as well. She tries to put on a brave face, but he can see that she's very tense – has she had any chance to relax? They have been working together for five months, but Julian has only seen Hande at work. He has learned that Hande is extremely conscientious, fast learner and she really cares for the patients. He has also found out, that like him, Hande loves reading and it is fun to discuss about different books during their lunch breaks. Julian has grown to like her, and even see her as his friend – the busy days feel less tiring with her around.

After locking the door behind the last patient, Julian turns to Hande and smiles at her, ”Well, that was a busy one. Great work – I can't even realise how I did manage before you tagged along!” Hande chuckles to Julian's praises and shrugs, ”Thanks, but it's not just me – you really are a spectacular doctor, believe it or not.” Julian blushes by the compliment, but Hande is too polite to point it out. She just pats her teacher's hardel and goes to change to her everyday clothes. While Julian is in the other room changing himself he ponders if he should ask Hande out. They are practically colleagues and they're also friends, so it wouldn't be inappropriate. He also has a feeling that Hande is quite lonely, with her family and friends in Karnassos.

”Hey, Hande?” Julian shouts to his apprentice so she could hear her, ”Would you mind if I took you somewhere? Erm, to let our hair down, so to speak?” The doctor hears only silence for a moment, before Hande's voice echoes from another room, ”No, I wouldn't mind, that sounds nice.” Julian lets out a relieved sigh and his lips twitch into a small smile, ”Great! I can offer you something to eat as a thank you, if you wish?” He hears Hande coming back to the office while she hums in affirmative. After Julian's done, he goes to the office and sees Hande opening her hair which is tied into a French twist. Her hair is pretty long, he notes, settling to the level of her waist. Stop gawking! That's inappropriate!

Hande turns to look at Julian, looking a little embarrassed, ”I don't want to keep the same hairstyle during my free time, otherwise I'd never let go of the work stuff. It probably sounds silly...” Julian gives Hande a friendly smile and shakes his head, ”No, it doesn't sound silly at all. It's good you have ways to avoid thinking about work during your free time.” Hande smiles back, separates her hair in two parts and starts to braid the other half. Julian is looking at her procedure and his curiosity takes over, ”Uhm, may I ask what are you going to do?” Hande glances at Julian before she turns back and continues braiding, ”I'm going to make two braids and pull them over my head, like a headband. Then no one gets the opportunity to try and pull my hair.” Julian seems to think for a moment and before he can reconsider he asks, ”Do you... Do you want me to braid the other half? It'd be faster that way.” Hande turns to face Julian, looking surprised, but also a little amused, her eyebrows raising. Before Hande can say anything Julian blurts, ”Uhm, I can braid... I have a little sister... I used to braid her hair sometimes.”

Hande's eyes widen for a little moment – she didn't expect to hear something like that. She recovers from her shock quickly and beckons Julian to come closer. Julian understands that Hande has accepted his offer and tentatively starts to braid her hair. It feels slippery and soft in his hands – completely different than Pasha's hair. ”Tell me about her. Your sister, I mean,” Hande asks silently after a moment of silence. Julian chuckles and starts to tell while braiding, ”Her name is Pasha. She's three years older than you and we grew up in Nevivon together...” He continues telling about his sister while they are working on Hande's hairstyle. Hande looks satisfied and compliments Julian's work which causes the poor doctor to blush again. When the duo is ready Julian dramatically offers his arm to Hande, who laughs and with an exaggerated curtsey takes it. ”Well, Doctor Devorak, show me the way!”

***

Hande looks curiously at the sign above her head: The Rowdy Raven. She has never been here before and she's curious to see it. The place seems to be a tavern, but it looks rather cozy when she peeks through the window. Still, she can't help feeling a little nervous – what if she ends up being too obviously out of place? Well, fortune favors the brave, as they say... Hande lets Julian lead her into the tavern. They're welcomed with loud laughter and music playing in the background – there's a band playing in a corner. That makes Hande feel herself more at home, if you could call a tavern a home.

The young woman looks around her. There are locals and people from abroad, all of them having a good time chatting or playing cards with each other. People who notice her and Julian entering turn to greet her teacher with joy on their faces. Hande tenses a little, because it is clear, that Julian is very popular person in here, and Hande is... Well, she's here for the first time in her life, although she's lived in Vesuvia for almost a year. Julian squeezes Hande with his arm reassuringly, ”I'd get us some food and drinks. Do you have any wishes?” Hande looks a little pensive, but she decides it's better to speak than stay silent. ”Uhm... Are there... Are there any non-alcoholic drinks? I'm a teetotaler...” she whispers uncertainly.

Julian freezes on the spot. Shit. Congratulations, you've fucked up and brought a teetotaler to a tavern.. You idiot... His faces turns red again and he sputters, ”I-I'm sorry! I didn't know that...” Hande notices Julian's panicking and hurries to assuring him, ”No, no, it's fine! I don't mind others drinking, well at least if they're not steaming... I've just never amused to drink alcohol myself... It isn't because of any belief, if that's any comfort...” Julian is surprised, how Hande is nervous about his reaction, and can't help but smile to her, ”No, you don't need to worry! I don't mind at all, and you're not obliged to explain your reasons, if you don't want to. There should be also some non-alcoholic drinks, so no harm done.” Hande smiles to him thankfully which makes Julian a little giddy. No, concentrate. Go and order your food and drinks!

Hande waits by a table when Julian gives their orders to a barkeeper. The young woman glances around, observing other patrons curiously, wondering where some of them might come from. Soon Julian comes back with their drinks. ”Barth said he'll bring the food soon,” he says, handing her a glass with lime green liquid in it. ”I hope you like this one, I wasn't quite sure what to get,” Julian says, looking a little embarrassed. Hande smiles at him reassuringly and takes a little sip from her drink. It's suitably sweet with citrus aroma – probably lemon and lime combined. ”This is so good! Dr. Devorak, how did you manage to choose a drink I like so much?” Hande asks sounding impressed, which makes the poor Julian to blush again. ”Well, erm... I wish I could say it was intuition, but... uhm... I remember how you once told me you like lemons so...” the man stammers. Now it's Hande's turn to get embarrassed; she doesn't blush visibly, but she can feel her cheeks burn. Julian remembers random things I've mentioned to him? ”You're way too good friend for me... I really am flattered, that you remember my ramblings.”

A little later Barth, the barkeeper, brings their meals in front of them and they eat in comfortable silence, sometimes asking or commenting something. Hande finds the tavern's atmosphere a little rowdy, but not hostile, and she feels more at ease. It's nice to spend time with Julian and see him outside of their work. Suddenly Hande's concentration turns to a discussion a few tables away. There are four men discussing in a foreign language which Hande recognises as Hjallean. She gets excited – she hasn't met any people from her mother's hometown for a long time. She apologises Julian and turns to face the men, ”Förlåt mig. Är ni från Hjalle?¹” The men turn to face Hande, looking positively surprised, ”Ja. Hur kan du tala hjalska, är du från där också?²” Hande smiles and answers, ”Jag föddes i Karnassos. Min mamma är från Hjalle, men hon tillhör Skogsfolket.³” The quintet continues their excited conversation. Julian smiles and watches how Hande speaks fluently in Hjallean, and listens when she finds out that the men are sailors and actually know her grandfather. Hande seems so happy to hear from her family that Julian can feel it, too. He also can't help, but to miss his own family a little.

A little later Julian also joins the conversation which causes the men and Hande to cheer in surprise. The group has a friendly conversation and orders drinks to each other, until the band starts to play a Hjallean folk song which causes the sailors and Hande to sing along. Julian can't help but notice how Hande's voice is clear and beautiful, echoing above hollering of the sailors. To be entirely honest, Julian is mesmerized my her voice – she sounds like a siren, without ill intent, of course. After the song had ended, the sailors cheer to Hande, who looks a little humbled after getting that much attention, but still has a small smile on her face. The band's leader shouts to their table, ”Since the miss sang so beautifully, you can decide our next song!” Hande glances at Julian with a confused expression on her face. Julian just smiles to her encouragingly and winks. Hande smirks and states, ”I will decide, but on one condition: I get to play it, too.”

The band leader looks curious, ”Can the miss play, as well?” Hande nods and answers, ”Yes, I can play the fiddle. I've had lessons since I was a little girl.” The other band members grin and the fiddler steps up, handing their instrument to Hande. She stands up and walks to the corner, inspecting the fiddle for a moment. After she's satisfied, she tunes the instrument and asks, ”Do you know this song?” Hande plays a little part as a sample and the band leader chuckles and agrees. The leader gives a mark about starting the song and Hande joins the band. Julian is awed: this woman doesn't have a single drop of alcohol in her, and she still is having the time of her life. Joyful, wonderful singer and player even – and she's never mentioned any of that to him. This fascinating combination of humbleness and showmanship. Julian watches how Hande's fingers move on the fiddle, how concentrated she is. The song is a little melancholic, but still eventful and fast. The world seems to disappear: there's only music and Hande.

The enchantment is broken when the song ends. Hande remembers where she is and is a little flabbergasted by her courage, but is happy that she played. She doesn't remember when was the last time she had this much fun – in Julian's company she feels at ease, like her old self is coming back to life after so many years. Hande turns to see Julian who is cheering and applauding to them with the others at the tavern. The band leader thanks her when she gives the fiddle back to its owner and returns to her companion. ”Wow... I didn't know you could sing or play!” Julian compliments when she sits down. Hande lowers her gaze for a moment, but soon looks up and shrugs, ”Well... You don't need singing or playing when you're trying to be a doctor's apprentice. To be honest, complimenting myself is really hard for me, and I got this temporary moment of courage. I haven't played in front of an audience for years.” Julian smiles to Hande and feels warmth inside of him – he isn't sure if it's because of alcohol or his company. Concentrate. She's your apprentice. Julian clears his throat and speaks again, ”Did you like it? Playing in front of an audience, I mean.” Hande seems pensive before she gives a hesitant answer, ”Yes.”

Before Julian can say or do anything else, one of the sailors cut in. ”You should be proud of yourself, you really did great back there! Was that a Forestian song? I recognised it, but I'm not sure.” Hande turns to face the sailors and nods, ”Yes. I was surprised the band knew it, but it was fun. Karnassian music is much more popular, so it's nice to hear Hjallean ones for a change.” The group continues their conversation, but Julian is mostly concentrated on Hande. When they are telling about their work to the sailors, Julian, now a little tipsy, tells in surprising excitement, ”Yes... But you know what? Hande here, she... She can do MAGIC!” Hande doesn't have time to react before the sailors gasp in excitement and plead her to show them. Julian now realises he might have screwed up and tries to come to her rescue, but Hande speaks after a little silence, ”Would you like to hear a story? I can illustrate it with magic.” The sailors and even Julian show their enthusiasm for the idea. One of the sailors suggest a scary story and Hande proceeds, telling a Karnassian story about a jinn who fell in love with a human, but in time the human went mad for being so close to the jinn.

Probably for the first time in his life, Julian is awed by seeing magic. The light figures dancing in the air while Hande tells the story such a fascinating way make Julian feel giddy, almost like a child again. Being with Hande here and how... radiant she is, it's nearly overwhelming. The story is indeed scary, but he can't help but smile at her, and his heart jumps when Hande gives him a little smile back with her sparkling eyes. Other patrons have also gathered around watching the spectacle and shower Hande with compliments after the story is over. The sailors try to ask her to tell another, but Hande chuckles, ”I'm sorry, guys, but magic can be very taxing and I don't want to exhaust myself after a long day.” The sailors groan in disappointment, but still pat Hande on her shoulders, buying her one more drink. Julian hasn't bought any more drinks, because he tries not to get steaming, like Hande had expressed earlier – he doesn't want to make Hande feel uncomfortable. The music is compelling and he'd like to ask Hande to dance, but isn't sure if it's appropriate.

After a short internal debate, his reason seems to leave him, when Hande turns to look at him. Julian hasn't noticed it before, but now Hande's eyes look so beautiful, almost like the deep, blue water. His body starts to move on its own: he reaches his hand towards Hande, palm up and his mouth opens before he can think of it, ”Oh, miss Kuura... Would you like to have a dance with me?” Hande watches Julian's hand and laughs goodheartedly to his dramatic request. Julian is pretty sure Hande's thinking is pretending, but he still feels a little nervous. Finally Hande decides to save her teacher, ”Yes, I'd like that. Though, I must warn you, I haven't danced for a long time. I might be quite rusty.” Julian just chuckles and reassures his apprentice by saying that she'll be fine. Hande smiles to Julian again and gives her hand to him.

Julian places his hand on Hande's waist chastely and leads her to dance. His apprentice is a little tense at first, probably because they're first time this close to each other and because she is nervous about her dancing skills. ”Just relax, I got you,” Julian whispers to Hande, smiling to her reassuringly. Hande takes a deep breath and nods, trying to smile back, although the final result is a little lopsided. The current song is quite fast, just perfect for Julian. He guides Hande who seems to trust him enough and let the music, rhythm and Julian lead her. After a moment she relaxes and the dance feels more natural. Julian enjoys being this close to Hande, seeing her feeling comfortable in his arms. She's so vibrant, so beautiful... I haven't noticed it before. Julian tries to shake off his thoughts and have a little conversation with his apprentice, complimenting her dancing and telling how nice the evening has been. Hande smiles to him which makes him feel weak in his knees. She enjoys my company, her laughter, so full of joy. It almost makes me forget the current situation...

The dance is enchanting and Julian wants the moment to never end. The band starts to play a different song, much more speedy than the last one. This causes Julian to get an idea. He faces Hande with a little smirk on his face. ”Hande, do you trust me?” he asks. Hande looks at Julian a little hesitant, but then lets out a little laugh, ”Yes, I do trust you, Julian. But please, don't kill me.” Hande's last remark causes Julian to bark a laughter and whisper into her ear, ”I wouldn't dream of it.” He tightens his grip of Hande and leads her to the outskirts of the dance floor. Hande only gets a little warning to brace herself, before Julian lifts her, so she's now standing on a chair, and he soon follows suit. Then he rises on a longer table, taking Hande with her. She lets out a surprised yelp, but recovers soon. ”Why, Julian, are you suggesting, that we'd dance on the table?” Hande whispers her question, and Julian can hear her mischievous tone. Oh gods, she's a treasure.

Julian's smirk gets wider and he twirls Hande around before starting to dance properly. The band speeds up and patrons cheer to the duo while some of them try to save their pints. None of the things on the table gets knocked – Hande lets Julian lead her and he's done this before so he is very confident with his partner. The Rowdy Raven is filled with music, cheering and Hande's and Julian's laughter. Suddenly Hande takes the charge and dips Julian in the middle of the table, making him grab Hande for his life. Now it's Hande's turn to smirk and she leans in to whisper to Julian, ”Thank you, Julian. I didn't realise I needed this.” Julian blushes, but manages to give Hande a bashful smile, when Hande lifts him up and they continue their dance. Julian forgets everyone else and just gaze at Hande mesmerized, feeling happy for the first time for gods know how long. This intelligent, warm-hearted and beautiful person is dancing with him, smiling at him.

Oh shit. I think I have a crush.  

TRANSLATIONS:

¹ ”Excuse me. Are you from Hjalle?

² ”Yes. How can you talk Hjallean, are you from there, too?”

³ ”I was born in Karnassos. My mom is from Hjalle, but she belongs to Forest people.”

My AO3

[juniorgman187]

Little Prince (Spencer Reid Drabble)

Summary: As Spencer’s condition worsens, he loses the fondest memories of his life. Renee must retell her little prince of the fondest memory they share - how they met.

Couple: Spencer Reid x Female Reader Category: PURE FLUFF Content Warning: allusions to Alzheimer’s Word Count: 1.5k

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

An elderly woman comes into her living room to find her husband on the couch staring absentmindedly. With a loving touch, she puts her hand on his shoulder as she slides into a spot next to him.

“Hello, Little Prince.”

The husband stares at her blankly, trying to place a memory of her. 

“Who are you?” He grouchily asks. 

“I’m your wife, dear.” 

His face showed scorn until she said those words. Now, he seemed almost sympathetic.

“How did we meet?”

50 YEARS AGO . . .

JJ and Will. Hotch and Beth. Morgan and Garcia. Rossi and Prentiss. 

Each pair slow dances underneath the fairy lights and starry night sky. Meanwhile, Reid stands on the sidelines, leaning against a table nursing a drink. He admires the newly married couple and his coworkers on the dance floor. Seeing JJ so happily married to Will is enough to snuff out the flame he had for her. For the first time, he could actually see himself without her. 

“Now I won’t tell Mommy and Daddy you had another cupcake, as long as you promise you won’t tell them I gave it to you.” 

Reid peels his eyes away from the beautiful bride to look at the source of the voice. It doesn’t take him long to find it’s a fellow guest talking to Henry. Reid doesn’t recognize her. But he’d never forget her - or that dress. 

After Henry pinky promises to never tell, he runs freely onto the dance floor and she draws back, hugging herself to keep warm. She watches him to make sure he gets to his parents safely, before walking to the sidelines. This is when she notices Spencer. 

“Oh, hey, I didn’t see you there. I don’t suppose we could keep that cupcake thing between us.” She jokes. 

Reid grins widely. “It’ll be our little secret.” 

The delivery of his statement is so subtly seductive that the woman is even more interested to keep talking to him. 

“Renee Perez.”

She extends her hand for a handshake, that surprisingly, Spencer accepts. 

“Spencer Reid.” 

Their handshake lingers a little longer than it should, so Renee pulls away first. 

“I recognize that name. You’re the doctor, right?” Spencer nods. “I’m a longtime friend of Will’s and Henry’s babysitter. I remember one time I couldn’t watch Henry and Will told me not to worry because a “Dr. Spencer Reid” could.”

Hearing that she’s a babysitter now makes sense as to why she was tending to him earlier. 

“So, Perez - is that Spanish or Filipino? ” He asks. 

“Both technically. My dad’s Mexican and my mom is Filipino.” 

Yet again, Spencer Reid’s educated guess is correct. No surprise there. 

“You know, Spain and the Philippines share a common history. In fact, the Philippines was part of the Spanish empire for three hundred years and was the sole Spanish colony in Asia. That’s why, if you notice, some Spanish and Filipino dialects have shared the same words and meanings, just different spellings. Additionally, Filipino last names are primarily Spanish. Santos, Reyes, or in your case, Perez.” He states matter-of-factly. Renee isn’t sure how to respond, so Spencer gingerly pivots from the topic. “So are you trilingual?”

“Polylingual actually. English is my first language, then I learned Tagalog because my mom was monolingual when I was younger, and then Spanish for my dad. But I was enrolled in French immersion for elementary and middle school.” 

This girl’s impressing Spencer by the minute. 

“Which one’s your favorite?”

Renee thinks about it for a while. “Mmm, French definitely French. It’s just so beautiful.” 

Secretly, Spencer wants to hear her speak French, because even just hearing her speak English - he’s enamored. And almost like she read his mind, Spencer’s wish is her command. “Le petit prince.” She says, out of the blue. 

Spencer knits his brows together. “Hmm?”

“Let petit prince.”

“Oh, The Little Prince. The French and English language versions were published in 1943, but the book didn’t appear in France until 1946. Did you know that book was actually translated into more than 250 languages?”

How adorable is he when he rambles nervously?

“I only brought it up because you actually remind me of him. Young and wise.” She adds.

This compliment makes Spencer’s heart accelerate. He even laughs a little because he is so giddy. 

“Have you read it?” She questions. 

Duh, of course, he has.

“My mom read it to me when I was younger. The English version, obviously.”

“Same here. But my mom read the French version. You should read it someday.”

Spencer makes a mental note to pick up the French version on his way home.

He slips out of his delightful trance when a breeze passes and makes her shiver.

“Oh, here. Take this.” Spencer shrugs off his blazer, and despite her protests not to, he drapes it around her. When she looks up at him through her eyelashes, Spencer looks back at her with a soulful gaze. 

There’s something in the air that surrounds them. They both feel it. 

Their moment is interrupted when they hear, “Spence! Ren!” It’s JJ yelling from the center of the dance floor, motioning for them to come over.  

Spencer takes one last sip of his drink and sets it on the table, before leaning forward away from the table. In one swift motion, he goes from standing next to Renee to standing in front of her. He extends his hand for her to take. 

“Shall we?”

She takes his hand eagerly. 

The last dance of the night is a slow one. The music changes and each couple pairs up again. Like a true gentleman, Spencer bows to her. “May I have this dance?”

Renee curtsies and pulls at the sides of her copper dress to imitate a princess. 

Timidly, Spencer takes her one hand and extends his arm and places the other hand high under her arm. But with no hesitation, Renee slides his hand down her back and onto its rightful place at her hip. She places her hand on his shoulder and surprisingly, Spencer leads. And he leads well. This catches her off guard. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

Spencer laughs at her question. “There’s a lot I can’t do.”

“Oh yeah, like what?”

“I, um, I can’t seem to find the right series of words to accurately explain how beautiful I think you are.”

It would be a gross understatement to say that Renee swooned at his words. She felt like her heart was glowing - like she was glowing. If Spencer Reid thought her to be beautiful, she was beautiful, because he’d never lie. 

No more words are shared throughout the dance, but there didn’t need to be. They said much in their silence. 

The song ends, and couples slowly begin to exit the gazebo. 

“Thank you, Little Prince.” She says, before shrugging Reid’s suit coat off of her. Spencer watches as the fabric cascades down her arms, revealing that dress he loves so much. Renee holds the jacket in front of her for him to take. When he grabs it, she gently places her hand on his chest and tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. Her token of appreciation leaves Spencer with a red lipstick stain. Renee’s hand lingers on Reid’s chest until she finally pulls away, leaving him to his own devices. 

Instinctively, he turns his head to peer behind him and finds Hotch, JJ, Prentiss, Garcia, Morgan, and Rossi all smiling and staring. It didn’t take an IQ of 187 to realize they’d watched the entire exchange between Renee and Reid unfold. But the look on all of their faces tells him exactly what he should do. Reid gets the message.

An uproar of cheers and encouragement comes from the team as they watch Reid chase after her. 

“Wait! Renee! Renee!” He fumbles through the crowd to reach her. He stumbles out the door and through the driveway, finally catching her at her car. She’s about to open the door when a hand shuts it back closed. She looks back in confusion, to see Spencer is the culprit of her closed door.

“Go out with me.” His voice is unwavering, despite his breathlessness. 

Nonchalantly, Renee replies, “Okay.” 

He knits his brows together. “Okay? That’s it? You’ll go out with me?”

“Yes,” She says with a little laugh. “Yeah, why not? I had a good time tonight.” 

Reid sighs in relief. “I did, too.” 

“So when should I expect to see you again? I only ask because the total amount of hours I’ve spent babysitting Henry is a pretty good indicator of how little free time you have. When aren’t you busy?”

Spencer ponders for a moment, scrunching his nose cutely. 

“What about right now?”

Renee laughs, unaware that he’s not joking. “Oh, you’re being serious?”

“I know the entire geography of D.C. so I know all the good places, and my memory guarantees we won’t get lost.” 

That’s all the convincing it took. “Alright. I’m in. But can you drive? My feet are killing me.” 

Reid runs to the passenger side of the door and opens it for her kindly, and jogs back to hop in the passenger seat.

“Cool car, by the way.” He adds. 

These are the last words they speak for a while until they’re in the heart of D.C.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 

[fantasyfandommaiden]

Rossi VS Regal (ML Counsellor AU)

Lila Rossi was beyond mad at this point. Her plans to get Marinette expelled had failed, and she had had to lie about yet ANOTHER condition that she had in order to not get into (too much) trouble, but when the STUPID school counsellor insists on talking to Lila and her mother about all the ‘trouble’ she is causing, Lila decides to deal with the neustants the same way she deals with all her problems… with a little bit of magic.

(Post Ladybug, also slight Ladybug Divergence)

~~~~~

[[MORE]]

Lila Rossi comes from a long line of magic users, dating back nearly two and a half centuries… Okay, maybe it wasn’t a long line considering some of the OTHER families, but still, 250 years worth of magic users wasn’t something to scoff at. Her family all specialised in matters of the mind and trickery, her mother was in fact in charge of altering the memory of non-magical people so that word didn’t get out about the magical community, and was top in the field. That was one of the reasons they had moved her from Italy, because some trouble makers were using the chaos of Hawkmoth’s akuma attacks to cause trouble and her Mama needed to alter the memories of some mortals so not to cause too much chaos.

Lila on the other hand was unnaturally charismatic, whatever words she spoke people would instantly believe her and wouldn’t bother fact checking… at least to a certain point. If she told a lie that someone else knew to be false without an ounce of doubt, then the spell would break and suspension would begin to set in (for example, if she stated that she was Ladybug’s best friend and Ladybug herself heard this, having never met the girl, the spell would break).

Marinette was one of those people who knew she was lying, and that made her a threat. So, Lila tried to sew doubt into her classmates, however that proved to be extremely hard to do, because as one of the classmates pointed out ‘Yeah, Marinette can be jealous sometimes, but she would NEVER be down right mean or bully someone!’ meaning that if she claimed Marinette was bullying her, there was a good chance that the spell would break and her hold on the class with it.

So, she had to be clever. Marinette didn’t get a lot of sleep? She didn’t have time to study and decided to cheat on the test. Lila had to escort her to the principal's office? Marinette had been so distraught that when Lila tried to comfort her, Marinette accidently pushed her down the stairs, hurting her knee badly. Her necklace went missing? Marinette was already known to have a history of stealing items from other classmates.

What she DIDN’T count on was Adrien Agreste all but threatening her to tell the truth… which she did begrudgingly. What she hadn't counted on was being told that her and her mother had to speak with the counsellor to ‘check up’ on Lila. Mlle Regal had been out of the country for a week to see her family and had only just returned, and she was not happy with what happened well she was away.

Lila had to deal with this quickly. Her mother had paused to speak with a teacher and Lila had told her Mama that she was going to go on ahead and let Mlle Regal that they were there.

She all but ran to the woman’s office, opening the door and walked into the office, her hands raised slightly as she began to cast her spell, using several complex hand gestures. She ignored the feeling that she shouldn’t do this, even though she felt her magic almost scream at her not to, she pushed that down. Her reputation was more important than her ‘conscious’. Before Mlle Regal could even speak a word, Lila had already began reciting her spell.

“You will tell my mother that there is nothing wrong, that what the principal asked us to speak about is someone else’s song. You will tell my mother that I am the ideal student and that there is nothing that I need to do to repent.” Lila finished the complex hand gesture as her eyes flashed a poisonous green colour. The hand gestures were needed in order to complete the spell, even if she sometimes felt ridiculous doing them, but with time and practice, eventually she should be able to do this sort of thing with just a twist of her wrist, or possibly even just blinking her eyes, but only powerful mages could do that.

She then sat down in one of the chairs, a victorious smile on her face, her and her mother would be out of here in five minutes tops.

Mlle Regal sat at her desk frozen for several moments as Signora Benigna Rossi appeared at the door way, but she did not enter the office. She stood there confused for a few moments as she looked towards Mlle Regal who looked right back at her. The red haired woman gave a small smile and a nod “Please, come on in Signora Rossi.” she said warmly. Benigna gave a small, almost uneasy smile as she entered as well, taking a seat beside her daughter. “I hope that you had no trouble finding my office, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.” Mlle Regal said, still smiling.

Lila’s mother gulped slightly, but smiled “Oh, no trouble at all Mlle, do you have other meetings?” she asked almost nervously which confused Lila. Mlle Regal wasn’t nearly as intimidating as other teachers, why be nervous?

“Oh no, I don’t have any other meetings, I just feel like this meeting will either be very short or very long, I have no preference really. Now that we are all here.” Mlle Regal’s eyes flashed a brilliant ember colour as the door slammed shut and locked, as well as the curtains closing so that no one on the outside could see. The woman leaned forward, elbows on her desk as she delicately placed her chin on top of her hands, looking at the two woman with a soft smile yet a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

Lila felt a chill go up her spin as she finally allowed herself to FEEL the room she was in, her blood run cold. There was so much magic here, it almost radiated in the air within the room; she had entered someone’s domain. No wonder her mother paused before entering, it was considered rude to enter without asking permission first! It also explained why her magic had told her not to, it hadn’t been her conscious… she had done not one but TWO misdeeds well in someone else's domain, the worst part? Mlle Regal seemed to be extremely powerful if the lack of hand gestures were any indication.

Mlle Regal smiled dangerously, almost in a feral way before saying in a sickly sweet voice “Lets talk.”

~~~~~

For almost a solid minute no one spoke. Lila was trying desperately to figure out how to make this turn out okay for her, well Carmine simply sat there, smiling that dangerous coy smile. It was finally Bengina who broke the silence.

“I had no idea that a magic user was placed in this school.” she said, giving a small smile, “I’m sorry, but the name ‘Regal’ doesn’t ring any bells for me. Your family isn’t from France, are they?” she asked, clearly trying to break the ice.

Carmine’s eyes flickered over to the woman, giving a small smile, “I’m not surprised you haven't heard of us, your originally from Italy. The Regal family is mostly based in England and North America, however, my mother was a Rosewood before she married my father.”

“Rosewood? As in Yarrow Rosewood?” Bengina asked curiously. Lila felt her sense of dread growing more and more as Mlle Regal nodded. Yarrow Rosewood was on the council here in France, and the Rosewood (from what Lila understood) were a VERY old magic family, dating back to the time of Merlin himself.

“Yes, he’s my uncle.” Mlle Regal said smiling, “We are very, VERY close.”

“Oh that’s wonderful! I just saw him this morning! Next time I see him, I'll be sure to tell him I’ve finally met you! He talks very highly of you, that is if your the one he refers to as his ‘Little Camilla’?” Bengina said with a warm smile. “He says you are a very talented magic user!”

Mlle Regal gave the woman a soft smile back “Yes, that would be me. And speaking of magic, can we discuss WHY Lila has been using hers well inside the school against her classmates and staff so they will believe her stories?” Mlle Regal asked ever so innocently.

Lila felt herself panic as Bengina looked at the woman with a confused expression “Mama, she’s exaggerating, I don’t abuse my magic-”

“Tinnitus in the left ear caused by a jet plane engine from when she saved Jagged Stone’s cat, arthritis in her wrist from volunteer work in Achu while with Prince Ali, being best friends with Ladybug herself, being away for SEVERAL months due to traveling abroad, and a medical condition that makes her lie about things uncontrollably.” Mlle Regal said, looking down at a clipboard that was on her desk before looking up at the two Rossi woman with a raised brow “This is just the big things of note, but there are others on this list from Lila’s teacher, as well as concerning students-”

“Mama, there’s this one girl, Marinette, who has been bullying me-” Lila began however a cold glare from Mlle Regal stopped her mid-sentence.

“Lila, I am only going to state this ONCE. Do not attempt to lie while you are within my domain.” Mlle Regal stated “This list was brought forward to me AFTER your attempt at getting Mlle Dupain Cheng expelled, which I have a feeling your magic also had something to do with it.”

“Now Mlle Regal, that is going a little far.” Bengina finally commented, looking at the woman. “Yes my daughter has a decent amount of magic, but she would never use it against her classmates unless it was for a good reason.”

Mlle Regal raised a single brow at the statement “Oh really?”

“Yes, and what is this about traveling to Achu? Lila and I haven’t left Paris since we arrived here.”

“Lila claims that the reason for her absences from school was due to her being in Achu doing volunteer work for the past several months.” Mlle Regal stated evenly.

Bengina’s eyes widened as she slowly turned to Lila, who shrank slightly at her mother’s glare. “... Mlle Regal, has the school been closed at all during akuma attacks?”

“The longest the school has ever been closed because of an akuma attack is a single day, Signoria Rossi. Chat Noir and Ladybug are usually able to handle any akuma within the first few hours of them appearing, I believe the longest it took them to take one down was roughly seven or eight hours.” Mlle Regal stated truthfully in a matter of fact tone.

Bengina stared down at her daughter “... You’ve been LYING to ME?!” she accused, her eyes narrow as Lila shrank in her seat. “You stated the school has been closed for months because Ladybug and Chat Noir were having difficulty doing their job! I was going to go to the council next week with a request to send in magic users to assist them!!!!”

“We wouldn’t be able to anyway.” Mlle Regal stated in a matter of fact tone, which caused both Italian’s to look at her confused. “The Miraculous are immune to our magic but we can still be affected by them. Even with a summoning spell we weren't able to summon the Butterfly Miraculous to use, nor do scrying spells work so we can’t pin-point his exact location.”

“What about anti-glamour spells, so at least we can find out who is really is?” Bengina asked with a raised brow.

“Hawkmoth has only ever showed his face in public twice to my knowledge, both times he disappeared too quickly for that sort of spell to be cast, and like I stated before, the Miraculous are immune to any spell casted.” Mlle Regal stated “However we are not here to discuss Hawkmoth, we are here to discuss your daughter’s abuse of magic, as well as her absence from school.”

Lila’s eyes widened as the attention was placed back on her. “I just wanted to make friends-” she began only to see her mother and Mlle Regal look at her with a look that stated ‘Do not lie.’

Lila dropped the act and rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair “It’s an inherited ability that anything I say seems believable to mortals. Whenever we moved I always tested it, if I am going to be an amazing magic one day, I need to practice. I’ve never done anything that caused someone harm.” she stated, looking at the two woman “Everyone claims to know a celebrity or two, I don’t see what the big deal is.”

“You know what Lila, you are completely right.” Mlle Regal stated, giving a warm smile surprising both Rossi women.

“I am?” “She is?”

“Yes. Magic, like any skill, needs to be practiced. And if its a sort of magic that you can’t fully control, I understand the feeling of needing to be ABLE to try and master it.” Mlle Regal said, still smiling warmly.

Lila blinked, before smirking. Looks like she was going to get away with it after all. Mlle Regal couldn’t exactly tell the school about her magic without breaking the law on it, and even IF her uncle was a council member, he only had so much pull and Lila doubted that he would bother with something so minor as a child lying about knowing celebrities.

“However.” Mlle Regal said, still smiling warmly “What about trying to get Marinette expelled?” she asked ever so sweetly, looking Lila dead in the eye. “Or trying to get the whole class to turn against her by claiming she stole your grandmother’s ‘priceless’ family heirloom?”

Mlle Regal placed her hands on her desk as she slowly stood up, her warm smile turning cold, than deadly, the very air in the room seeming to become denser.

“What about using your magic to manipulate the staff to jump from investigating straight to expulsion against a student? Or better yet, what about you coming into MY office, my DOMAIN, trying to cast a SPELL against ME to make me sweep everything under the rug so you can get away with all of the vile deeds you’ve done?!” Mlle Regal all but snarled at the girl, the air crackling with magic energy.

Lila sank further into her chair, trying despratly to get away. It seems that Lila had underestimated Mlle Regal in every way possible. Lila looked around the room anxiously, looking for the sign of an akuma to get out of this situation… but none showed.

Mlle Regal took a deep, slow controled breath, seeming to calm down as the buzz of magic slowly calmed down. She looked towards Bengina, who still looked stunned at everything that had just happened.

“Your daughter has broken one of the basic rules of any domain by trying to cast a spell against me, not to mention…” the red haired woman’s eyes narrowed at the girl “She has caused chaos while within the school with her magic against mortals.”

Bengina stayed silent for a long time, looking straight at Mlle Regal. “... whatever punishment you find fitting for this I will support.”

Mlle Regal raised a brow “... Even if I state that her punishment shall be the lose of her magic?”

Lila’s eyes widened with fear as she looked at her mother who simply nodded “Mama, you can’t be-“

“Lila, you broke domain and have been using magic against mortals. Your lucky that Mlle Regal hasn’t summoned a member of the council here yet.” Bengina hissed, glaring at her daughter.

Mlle Regal leaned back in her chair, closing her eyes deep in thought. “... I won’t take your daughters magic away. She is still young, I would hope that she still has time to learn… However, no ill deed can go unpunished…” she walked around her desk to stand in front of Lila, looking at her bracelet. “Give me your hand.”

Lila looked at her, almost glaring “Why-“

“Give me your hand or I WILL take your magic and summon the council.” Mlle Regal hissed, her eyes flashing an almost demonic yellow. Lila hestitantly held out her hand, Mlle Regal grabbed her wrist, her hand encompassing Lila’s woven bracelet. Her eyes turned from hazel to ember as she began to speak.

“From this day forward until you repent, every spell and incantation shall cost twice what is spent. Every lie that is whispered from your lips, shall make you feel pain from your toes to fingertips. And if you ever try to harm one of your peers because of jealousy or greed ever again, you shall find yourself at the mercy of the councilmen.”

Lila felt her bracelet get unbareably hot, it felt like someone had placed red hot iron shackles on her wrist. She tried to scream but no sound came out as Mlle Regal let go of her wrist with a cold expression on her face.

“What did you do?!” Lila hissed, glaring at the woman who looked back at her.

“Surely you were following along with my incantation.” Mlle Regal stated with a neutral tone. “But, I will simplify it for you. Until You repent for everything that you have done here and at your other schools, you will now find it incredibly difficult to do even the most basic of magic. Also, every time you lie you will feel pins and needles going through your entire body. Finally, if you EVER…. and I mean EVER, even AFTER you find yourself repeating for your crimes that you try and do something like you did to Mlle DupainCheng” Mlle Regal looked down at the girl with a cold expression, one that had never been seen before on the usually warm Counsellor “... you will be instantly teleported to the council, for them to decide your fate.”

Lila felt her heart stop as she stared in horror at the woman “... you…. you can’t do that!”

“I believe I just did.” Mlle Regal said evenly. “See that you learn your lesson Rossi… otherwise, the council will not be as forgiving as me.”

No one touched or messed with Mlle Regal’s students… No. One.

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

JINJER'S TATIANA SHMAYLUK: "I WILL GET REVENGE"

Go inside the Ukrainian metal group's new album 'Wallflowers'

Jinjer has teamed up with Revolver for a limited-edition bundle that includes the band's Summer cover story and a Wallflowers vinyl variant on 180g white wax. It's limited to only 300 copies — pick up yours now.

Tatiana Shmayluk wants revenge from beyond the grave.

As a woman fronting Ukraine's biggest metal band, she deals with endless bullshit. Comments. Snide remarks. Trolls. These dudes — and they are all dudes — might doubt her motivations. They might have something to say about her looks. Her clothes. Her uncompromising attitude. They might even attempt to throw shade on her high-flying vocal acrobatics or ferocious performances. But attempt is the key word here — in any and all cases.

Shmayluk is having none of it. If she can survive an upbringing in war-torn Ukraine, she can survive the haters. If she busted out of Eastern European obscurity to become an international star, the shit-talkers cannot touch her. If she can be held up as a role model by young women around the world, the power clowns cannot clown her.

Besides, there is post-mortem retribution to consider: "When I die, I will get their asses."

She says this with a laugh, perhaps because she understands that most of the people reading this won't believe it. But make no mistake: She means it.

Then again, undead reprisals won't be necessary. As it turns out, revenge is a dish best served with a heaping side of unmitigated success. Shmayluk fronts Jinjer, one of the premiere djent-prog bands on the planet. As of this writing, they have over 250 million cross-platform streams and views. They have nearly half a million monthly listeners on Spotify. Their 2017 live studio performance of "Pisces" — arguably their biggest song — has over 51 million views on YouTube.

Shmayluk and her bandmates — guitarist Roman Ibramkhalilov, bassist Eugene Abdukhanov and drummer Vladislav "Vladi" Ulasevich — somehow manage to combine metalcore, djent, prog, nu-metal and even R&B and reggae into a musical style all their own. Not bad for a group of young musicians from a conflict-ridden corner of the world that most Americans can't even point to on a map.

On the day Shmayluk and Abdukhanov speak with Revolver, Jinjer are in France recording their set for Hellfest's "Hellfest at Home" streaming event, which will replace the beloved annual metal festival — usually held in the sleepy French village of Clisson — with pre-recorded and contact-free sets from some of metal's heaviest and most popular bands. Such is life in what we hope are the waning days of the pandemic.

"Things with the pandemic are way worse in Ukraine than in the United States," Abdukhanov tells us. "Very few people have managed to get vaccinated. We are in line and waiting our turn. And because we haven't had the vaccine, we had to stay in quarantine here in France for seven days. We had to pay for this extra task just to be able to come here. It's a deep pain in the ass."

"In Ukraine, the shops will be open today but closed tomorrow," Shmayluk adds. "It's constantly on and off. But I didn't go sit in restaurants and things like this, anyway. I want to just be at home."

Both Shmayluk and Abdukhanov spent the early days of the COVID outbreak in Los Angeles. Jinjer were in Mexico when the remainder of their Latin American tour was cancelled, so Abdukhanov went to see his pregnant wife. Shmayluk went to visit her boyfriend, Alex Lopez of deathcore troupe Suicide Silence. She stayed for the remainder of her visa. "I was addicted to Amazon," she says. "Every day I ordered something. I got my first DSLR camera and some other photography equipment. Me and Alex got a huge fish tank — the Rolls-Royce of fish tanks. And then another tank. And another tank ..."

"Our American tour was supposed to start in April 2020, and it had not been cancelled yet," Abdukhanov explains. "We didn't know the situation fully, so we thought it might still happen — or part of it, maybe. So, it seemed reasonable to just stay in America. Of course, by the beginning of April the tour was cancelled, and it was clear that this thing would last very long."

The pandemic's enforced downtime did have a creative upside: Jinjer wrote and recorded their new album, Wallflowers. "For the first time in our whole career, we finally had time to write songs, practice them and go to the studio very well prepared," Abdukhanov says. This time around, drummer Ulasevich wrote the bulk of the material. Before he got started, the band collectively decided that they had to branch out from their last album, 2019's Macro.

"We knew for sure that we had to change the sound because we couldn't allow our album to sound the same," Abdukhanov offers. "All of us wanted some-thing new, and we had a very clear picture: We wanted the bass and guitars to be very aggressively distorted. Vlad, as always, had a very clear idea of how to change his drum sound and drum parts. As for the music, we never try to expect something from our new material. We just write music and let it flow. I think this will never change for us."

The result is somehow Jinjer's most aggressive and melancholy album to date. From the anguished, woozy groove of opener "Call Me a Symbol" and the dizzying, caustic metalcore of "Copycat" to the moody seesaw of "Vortex" and the airy, ominous dreamscape of the title track, Wallflowers is next-level Jinjer. "A lot of new elements are on this album," Abdukhanov confirms. "For people who are not familiar with our music, it can be complicated listening. But I think our fans are prepared for it. They got used to expecting what they don't expect."

At first, Shmayluk wanted to call the album As I Boil Ice, after Jinjer's new song of the same name. But the title didn't fit with the floral cover art they had already selected. They added an icicle to the image, but that didn't seem to help the situation. They ultimately decided on Wallflowers, which relates to both the artwork and Shmayluk's lyrics. "When I started writing lyrics, it was January 2021 and I was back in Kiev," she says. "Alex had come to visit, but it was time for him to fly back home to L.A. We had spent a lot of time together and now I had to learn to be alone. I didn't want to do anything socially oriented. I was just walking in circles in my apartment, making a huge hole in the floor."

Shmayluk's self-imposed isolation, underscored by the pandemic, set the stage for a more personal approach to her lyrics. At first, she started writing in Russian. Then she switched to English. "Vortex" was the first song she finished. "It's about a person who overthinks a lot," she explains. "Have you ever experienced that thing where you just cannot escape your thoughts? Your head becomes so heavy, like a ball of lead. It's about to explode. It can lead to depression, basically: You cannot stop, and you fall into it. That's the vortex."

As of this writing, "Vortex" is set to be the album's first single. The band has already filmed a video for the track. Shmayluk hopes the song can provide a kind of temporary support system for those who might need it. "Sometimes songs help me to overcome my emotional issues," she says. "Even with sad songs, they can make you feel you are not the only one who feels this way. It really eases your pain if you can find compassion to heal a sad heart."

Album closer "Mediator" is the result of an online personality test that Shmayluk took at the suggestion of a friend. "I'm always ready to do some psychology and self-analysis," she enthuses. "The result I got was 'mediator,' which has to do with compassionate, sensitive people. I feel this is basically another word for 'introvert' or 'wallflower' — it's all connected."

"But the song is about when I was younger," she adds. "I was an idealist. I wanted to see things as perfect and people as kind. But the reality is harsh. You grow up and you realize you still have a lot to learn — a lot of lessons that can't be taught in school. Life lessons."

The title track directly addresses the album's over-riding theme: Shmayluk's struggles as an introvert. "I've met a lot of people who have no idea what extraversion or introversion is," she says. "I explain it in this song so that hopefully people can relate. Introversion can be a problem for people who think that there's something wrong with them. If you are a wallflower in school, for example, people will mock you and bully you. When you grow up, you will realize you were just born this way."

"Society rejects people like her," Abdukhanov adds. "Society rejects people who stay inside. They think there's something wrong with these people because they are not part of a herd."

"That's true," Shmayluk says. "It's been hard for me to fit in with most people."

Which is probably why she feels so close to her bandmates in Jinjer. "They are my best friends and almost my only friends," she says. "It's really hard for me, as an introvert, to find new friends. Most people want an open book. They want you to just blah-blah-blah all the time. That's how they get information about you. But you have to read me if you want to know me, and most people are too lazy to do that."

"They want everything fast," Abdukhanov adds. "We live in a consumer society, and people are consumers even in relationships. In a way, you could say this album is like a manual for dealing with introverts."

"If you are patient with an introvert, you will discover the treasure," Shmayluk says. "You will have a friend for life. I think it takes a year or two to get to know me, and then dude ... you cannot shut me up!"

Abdukhanov knows Shmayluk better than most. They've been in Jinjer together for a decade. "Over the last 10 years, I think I saw her and talked to her more than anyone else," he says. "Because we're constantly on tour. We went through the nine circles of hell together. We played small clubs with only 10 people in front of us, and now we play huge stages for thousands of people around the world. This journey made us a family."

Of course, the haters are still out there. Lurking. Judging. Commenting. "I try not to read comments, but sometimes it is impossible not to see anything," Abdukhanov says. "I helped to manage some of our social media, and I cannot help but see some exchanges. But it doesn't hurt me much, fortunately."

"We are strong," Shmayluk says. "And I will get revenge."

[wordgirlappreciation]

Wordgirl Fanfic Recommendations Masterlist

Thanks for 250 followers, guys! I appreciate you all very much!

At long last, here it is! A full compilation of my personal favorite Wordgirl fics! All fics are complete and in English. Please don’t forget to reblog and review to support fanfiction writers!

Additionally, this blog will post and promote all fanfiction links submitted to it. 

Wordgirl & Doctor Two Brains 

Title: The Doctor Is In | Author: otempora16 | Words: 23k | Rated K+

Becky Botsford may be an alien, but she's never had any trouble living on Earth - until she's struck with a bizarre disease that no human doctor can cure. Only one person has studied Lexiconians enough to have any hope of saving her. Unfortunately, he's trapped deep within his own mind, under the control of a malevolent mouse...

This is the best Wordgirl fic I’ve ever read. It hits everything I wanted to see from this show--the bond between Wordgirl and Dr. Two Brains, Dr. Two Brains struggling against his own darkest impulses--coupled with fantastic writing and pacing. Everyone is in character while balancing a more sophisticated and darker tone. I’ve read this one at least five times. 

Title: Awake in the Night | Author: Laura Latts | Words: 10k | Rated: K+

Two-Brains is fighting with himself again. The results? He's losing. But how could Steven be coming back from the supposed dead? And how can Wordgirl help him win before the sun rises?

Absolutely heartbreaking fanfic centered around Wordgirl’s relationship with Steven as Dr. Two Brains attempts to stifle him. Steven can only take control at night, and attempts to build a machine to separate himself from Squeaky, only for Two Brains to wake up and stop him every time. It’s brilliantly written, very in-character, and it just might make you feel. 

Title: Much Abides | Author: otempora16 | Words: 3k | Rated K

Before she heads off to her first year of college, Wordgirl has a few loose ends to tie up. Oneshot. Sort-of sequel to "New and Subtle Shades."

Wordgirl’s last conversation with Two-Brains before leaving for college. Sweet and heartbreaking even if it could’ve gone a little deeper. Brief mentions of past Steven. As their last WG fic, it’s a nice send-off. 

Wordgirl/Tobey (or Tobecky)

Title: New and Subtle Shades | Author: otempora16 | Words: 6k | Rated K+

Growing up is hard, and growing up a superhero is harder. But amidst all the stress and struggle of her freshman year of high school, Wordgirl starts to realize that support, friendship, and fun can be found in the most unexpected of places. Oneshot, focusing on an older Wordgirl's relationships with her villains.

Once again, the otempora16′s dialogue is on point. This fic focuses on WG’s relationship with The Butcher, Leslie, Dr. Two Brains, Chuck, and finally Tobey. It’s incredibly sweet and charming, and shows Wordgirl and Tobey in the earliest stages of a relationship in an entirely believable way. Also featuring Dr. Two Brains as an overprotective father figure. 

Title: Green World | Author: otempora16 | Words: 3k | Rated K+

Becky Botsford's superhero duties have run her off her feet lately, and she knows she needs to crack down on schoolwork if she wants to finish junior year strong. But when warm summer breezes are blowing, the carnival is in town, and Tobey McCallister is standing outside her window ... well, some nights are just begging to be seized. 

A fun and delightful fic of Becky and Tobey having a good time. 

Title: From Good to Rotten | Author: Laura Latts | Words: 25k | Rated K+

After the amnesia ray, what if Two-Brains didn't forget everything? What if he was just waiting? Waiting for the perfect moment to get Wordgirl once and for all... 

Dr. Two Brains remembers Wordgirl’s secret identity from a previous episode where it was revealed, and uses a special ray to turn her evil and use her to do his bidding. Highly interesting, and written in the style of the show (with a narrator, defined words, and a similar style of humor). Features the rest of the villains saving Wordgirl from herself and Dr. Two Brains being a bit of a jerk.

Title: Something Hidden | Author: HibiscusAngel15 | Words: 137k | Rated K+

Tobey just can't shake the feeling that Becky is WordGirl, no matter how many times he's been wrong before. The only question is of how to prove it.

Nothing to add. Just a great fic. 

Title: Have You Seen My Robut? | Author: HibiscusAngel15 | Words: 3k | Rated K

Today was just not Tobey McCallister's day. After his latest robotic creation to help the city malfunctions and runs off on him, he's left with no choice but to work together with his nemesis WordGirl to find it. But how can the two even hope to work together, especially when she's a supervillain? An AU one-shot where Tobey and Becky's roles are reversed.

Interesting concept I’d love to see explored more. I’m always a sucker for Wordgirl as a villain, and Tobey as a hero was nice to see. Additionally, Wordgirl is the one with the crush on Tobey in this universe. I thought it stayed true to both characters and was well-written. 

Title: Saving Tobey | Author: Night_N_Gail | Words: 92k | Rated: Gen

“I’m telling you, WordGirl, that kid is a time bomb. You think he’s a menace NOW? Wait until he’s a teenager and his emotions are running wild. Wait until he’s an adult and he’s not afraid of his mother anymore. It won't be pretty, I can promise you that." -:- Post-series

Slowburn relationship with Tobey gradually going over to the good side. First part of a three part series by the same author. I have not read the sequels, so I can’t recommend them, but if you like “Saving Tobey” give them a try.

Dr. Two Brains/Lady Redundant Woman

Title: A Provocloniversary | Author: Unbalanced Enigma | Words: 3k | Rated: K+

A Dr. Two Brains and Lady Redundant Woman fluffy one-shot taking place at a villain convention. It works off the assumption that they've already been an item for awhile, six months to be precise. The doctor wants to celebrate the events, but awkward and silly interruptions ensue. This features a wide variety. Rated K for a little suggestive romancing.

This fic is really cute and well-written. The characterization is spot-on for everyone and has plenty of humor. I especially enjoyed Tobey getting back at Two-Brains for the events of Mousezilla. As someone who did ship Provoclone back in the day, this fic is a definite recommend. 

Dr. Two Brains, Squeaky, and Steven

Title: Descent Into Madness | Author: Laura Latts | Words: 1k | Rated: K+

No one really knew what happened. What he went through during the incident. What happened when Prof. Steven Boxleitner became Dr. Two-Brains?

An interesting exploration of the time between Steven’s “Oh no, this is going to sting” and him running into Becky and TJ. Short but dark and interesting.

Title: A Science Experiment Gone Horribly Wrong | Author: 3LNR | Words: 2k | Rated: K+

This fanfic is a detailed description of Steven's thoughts and feelings before, during, and after his fateful experiment. It includes Two Brains' and Squeaky's viewpoints as well. The day starts out very normally, but gradually becomes more creepy and intense as the story progresses. Rated K+ for somewhat disturbing but non-graphic content.

For a fic I wrote 6 years ago, I think it holds up pretty well. Give it a read if you’re a fan of Two Brains.

Title: When I Don’t Remember You | Author: 3LNR | Words: 3k | Rated K+

Dr. Two Brains goes on a mysterious trip to a place he had almost forgotten.

Another angsty fic I wrote six years ago, where Two Brains briefly reunites with Steven’s parents. It does not go well. Song title is inspired by the song of the same name from the series “Adventure Time”.

Title: Take Care of Them | Author: orphan_account | Words: 1k | Rated: Gen

After a stupid mistake, Two Brains and Steven have a heart to heart while Two Brains dies. (Squeaky dies too)

Sad fic in which Steven gets his freedom at the expense of Dr. Two Brains’ life. Short but memorable enough to earn a spot on the list.

Title: A Late Night Chat | Author: Donotquestionme | Words: 1-3k | Rated: Unknown

“Remember, whatever I say, don’t open this door until morning, got it?” The henchmen shuffled their feet anxiously. They never quite understood what went on behind that heavy, padlocked door, and they weren’t sure they wanted to. All they knew was that, every once in a while, their boss would lock himself in that room and, for the next few hours, muffled shouting could be heard coming from behind the door. Even stranger, sometimes they swore they could hear crying.

This might be the first WG fic I ever read, so it holds a special place in my heart. It was also written by someone with a fantastic ask blog that’s been on hiatus for years now (ask-dr-two-brains) who has a perfect grasp on the character. This fic is about the unanswerable question of whether Steven could bring himself to kill Two Brains if he had the chance to set himself free. I wish this person had written more, but it's fabulous nonetheless. 

[clevercatchphrase]

2020 Year Review~

2020. Pretty unique year, don’t you think? It’s the first year since 2002 to have only two different digits in it. After 2022, this won’t happen again until 2111. Yep. Absolutely nothing more interesting than that.

Anyway! It’s time I reflect on my 2020, look back on my yearly goals and rant about things that happened to me this year. I made a post like this last year, where I went over my 2019 goals and talked about what I accomplished and what I didn’t, and it’s only fitting I do the same again this year. Read more under the cut for a random stream of consciousness ramble!

So, first things first, let’s look at my 2019 goals;

Finish paying off that last student loan

Put more stuff on my redbubble

Illustrate my own fan fics

Sew at least one stuffed animal

Make an enamel pin

Read one new book a month

Write one page a day/Complete at least one new fan fic

Learn Python or C# for the game I want to make

Finish fully scripting Ghost Switch

Boost my patreon

 Paying Off My Last Student Loan: Going down the list, I am proud to say that I FINALLY paid off all my student loans! (and not a moment too soon. The last payment I made was literally days before the first quarantine rolled out). It took me roughly 4 years on my part-time paycheck to pay off all my loans, and once I finished, I had no money to my name (literally; I had less than 1k as emergency money in case of car troubles or health issues). Heck, I’m STILL living at home as a save up for a place of my own. Finally paying off all my student loans DID activate my secret 2020 new year’s resolution, which was to adopt a cat! I did this too, literally a week later! She is the best thing that’s happened to me this entire year and I love her so much and she is the snuggliest cuddle bug I’ve ever met. I’m so happy she’s in my life now~

Put More Stuff On My Redbubble: ah ha ha ha… I thought I did this, but then I went and checked, and it turns out-! I did not. I made art I intended to go on my redbubble, but haven’t put there yet. They are all drawings of some OCs from a game I want to make, but because I haven’t progressed on making the game this year, I never got around to putting more stuff related to it on my redbubble. At the time of writing, there are 7 days left in December, so I guess I could go and put it up on my redbubble right now, but without context on where the characters are from, there wouldn’t be much point, now would there?

 Illustrate My Own Fan Fics: Another goal that I was so stoked to actually do… and then just didn’t. Gee, I wonder why I couldn’t find the energy or motivation to do it this year? Truly a conundrum. (Hey, you know what? If Ghost Switch counts as a fan fiction in a visual form, then I am doing GREAT on this goal. 2.5 years in, 1 of ~4 arcs done, and still going steady~)

 Sew At Least One Stuffed Animal: Okay, I have a valid excuse for not doing this one. I even knew which stuffed animal I wanted to make, and had the pattern drawn out and everything, but I had no money for materials because I had just paid off my student loans. And then, by the time I did have enough money again, quarantine was in full effect and I couldn’t go out to the fabric store. I’m still trying my best to stay out of public places even if the rules are laxer now, because I don’t want to catch the plague even if everyone in my goddamn city thinks and acts like the problem is over already. Even if they’re all wearing masks, even if they’re staying 6 feet apart, I still don’t want to risk it. I will stay inside until health experts give the all clear, and when that day comes, then I will buy some fleece and make a plush.

 Make An Enamel Pin: I ACTUALLY DID THIS ONE. TWICE! Halfway through quarantine, I was feeling anxious and depressed about my job and how they were planning to have me work with the public despite climbing infection rates and positive covid cases. I didn’t quit then, but in a desperate move to try and become self-sufficient, I went to madebycooper and made two enamel pins based on some butterfly dragons I drew last year. They’re on my etsy store now! I even went out of my way to open a P.O. box just to start a small business! I haven’t sold a single pin yet, and I’m actually really nervous to sell my first because I don’t trust the efficiency of the postal system thanks to the actions of the GOP that really screwed them over this year! (If you would like to see my enamel pins, click here!)

 Read One Book A Month: I did this! With dragon books I bought a couple years back! In fact, I read FOURTEEN dragon books, and still have more books for next year to read! The 14 books I read this year were:

 The Hive Queen

The Poison Jungle

Wings Of Fire Legends: Dragonslayer

Dealing With Dragons

Searching For Dragons

Calling on Dragons

Talking to Dragons

The Bronze Dragon Codex

The Brass Dragon Codex

The Black Dragon Codex

The Red Dragon Codex

The Silver Dragon Codex

Dragon Strike, and

Hatching Magic

 To be honest, I had read The Red Dragon Codex years ago when it first came out, but completely forgotten what it was about. I remembered liking it, and I knew the reading level was on the lower side, but the whole dragon codex series was pretty good! So far, the Silver dragon codex was my favorite, and black dragon codex was probably the worst! Hatching Magic was also really slow and bad and had plot points that went nowhere, but the book was written in the 80s, so I don’t know what I expected. The Dealing with Dragons series was very charming and great for the most part, save for one line in the last book that really rubbed me the wrong way, and all the Wings of Fire Books go above and beyond in this third arc. The second legends book could be a little tighter, though (sky and wren are the best duo and I want a book solely about them, but I honest to god do not care about leaf and ivy’s stories.)

 Write one Page of any story every day/ complete at least one fic: I… did this? Okay, I kinda cheated near the end of the year. I was keeping up the one page a day thing for the first four months, but then the world went to shit and my schedule and habits got disrupted and I fell off my good track record. I completed 7 out of roughly 12 one-shots I had planned for this year (my goal WAS supposed to be one short a month, but… you know how it happens) I kept trying to catch up on this goal all year, but the days kept piling up…. Until November hit. I managed to write over 250 pages for Nanowrimo, and I consider this goal a win. 365 pages of fiction in total, which averages out to about one a day~. SHUT UP IT COUNTS.

 Learn Python or C# for the game I want to make: Another goal I didn’t have the mental energy to commit to this year. Truly a mystery to where all our willpower went in 2020.

 Fully Finish Scripting Ghost Switch: still haven’t done this one yet! The Snowdin arc is completely planned, but I just haven’t gotten around to getting the other areas. I’m not worried, though. I know all the major plot points I gotta hit, it’s just weaving them together in a way that flows nice is the final task. I’m not too worried though. I don’t expect to finish the Snowdin arc for another year and a half, at the bare minimum.

 And my last goal of 2020, Boost My Patreon. I did this at the beginning of the year, but then very intentionally stopped about a third of the way through. It didn’t sit right with me to tell you guys to donate to me when suddenly EVERYONE was financially strained from layoffs or being furloughed. I told my patrons the same, and if you ever need to stop donating to me to take care of yourself first, then by all means, please do. I would feel much better knowing you’re using your money to see yourself fed and housed instead of given to me (where it is pretty much only used to buy gas for my car, honestly)

 Welp! That was all my goals for 2020! I achieved 4 out of 10 goals plus 1 secret goal! Pretty much the same ratio as last year, but now this time I can blame all my failures on the pandemic! I don’t feel so bad about myself anymore~

 ON TO 2021!

 I have 11 goals for the new year, again some rolled over from this list, and some from even older years. They are, in no particular order;

 Read 12 new books (roughly 1 book a month)

Finish the first draft of 2019’s Nanowrimo project and rewrite it

Script TDV

Finish Scripting Ghost Switch

Build A Comic Buffer

Sew 1 Stuffed Animal

Finish 1 Song Comic

Make another Enamel Pin

Finish 2 short original comics (this one counts as 2 goals)

Finish the 5 remaining one-shot fics

 Now to go into depth on each one, more for my own sake, really. I want to know exactly what I have planned for each goal this year, and sometimes just looking at a short list doesn’t capture all the smaller details.

 1)Read 12 new books. Same as last year! I The only difference is I might not be able to make it all dragon-related books. (I try my hardest not to buy from amazon anymore, but half-price-books doesn’t always have the obscure stuff I’m looking for)

 2)Finish 2019’s nanowrimo project. If you read my 2019 year reflection, you’ll notice I said I wanted to do some original writing. And I did! The story I wrote for nanowrimo back then was a story I’ve been toying with since 2017, but it was only last year I finally got pen to paper. Now, you may find it odd that the keyword says “finish”. You may think, “but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do for nanowrimo?” and to that I say, WRONG! I wrote 50k words for nanowrimo, but the draft was only about halfway complete. I was kinda discouraged about what I had written last year, because I didn’t like how it was coming out, but I did manage to get it half done. Now it’s time for me to bite the bullet and just finish the thing so I can finally revise it and make it into something I DO like. (It’s still gonna be hella long, tho. That’s what I get for trying to write an epic fantasy, I guess.)

 3)Script TDV. TDV is the abbreviation of the game I want to make. I… still need to do so much for this project OTL… In addition to getting the story solidified, I still need to draw art and game assets, and learn how to code for it, both of which are no small task. I keep having some sort of new year’s goal related to this on my list, and every year I just don’t hit this one. Will 2021 be different?

 4)Finish Scripting Ghost Switch. (Or at the very least, get the waterfall arc completely written out). I have a plan to break this down into simpler steps, by focusing on just one arc for a month or two. Every major arc has 2 to 3 parts, broken up by flashbacks, and if I can just finish one section a month, then I should have the entire thing scripted by the end of the year. It’s not a difficult pace, but seeing if I stick with it will be the real challenge, as it is will all my goals it seems.

 5)Build a Comic Buffer: I’m actually working on this one right now! Since I paid off my last loan and got a new job this year, my current Patreon goals are kind of out of date. They had all been centered around me paying off that last loan, and working towards full-time employment, but those are both completed now! So instead, I would love to get to a place where my patrons could read pages at least a week ahead, and to do that, I need to build a buffer. And since I’m working 5 full days a week now, I can’t afford to fall behind. But you can’t fall behind if you constantly stay ahead! I would like to have… a 10 to 12 page buffer. That’s roughly 3 months’ worth of pages to always have on hand in case I get swamped with work, or something. Right now I currently have a buffer of 3, which will cover me for half a January, which is better than not having anything at all, but still not the best. (ultimately, I would love to have a buffer so big, I could queue them up for the whole year. Wouldn’t that be something?)

 6) Sew one stuffed animal: same as last year. ASSUMING the plague gets under control in 2021, I don’t expect to get to this goal until the summer at the earliest.

 7)Finish 1 song comic: I have 7 song comics planned. One is a gift, one possibly for wandersong, one is a collab that’s currently in the works, but I’m waiting on a friend to do their part before I can continue mine, 2 are UT related, and 2 (well, technically 3, but one is the collab) are KH related. It’s one of the UT ones that will probably get finished, if I’m being honest. It’s completely story boarded, and now I just need to ink and color it. I would like to get it done for UT’s 6th birthday, since I made a song comic on the fly for the anniversary this year, and it was fun, and I’d like to do it again! So, look forward to that next september~

 8) Make another enamel pin: I have a dolphin design I’d like to make because dolphins are cute, if not little murder machines. (need to save up some expendable income first, tho. THESE THINGS AIN’T CHEAP TO MAKE.)

 9 and 10) start and finish 2 original short comics: I’ve got some comic ideas I want to do, but I need to get them written out first. I don’t think either would be too long. Each maybe a couple “episode’s” length, if envisioned on a website like webtoons or tapas. They’d both be heavy in allegory, but not overly drawn out (hopefully)

 11)And lastly, Finish the 5 remaining one-shots I had planned for this year but never got around to. I’m going to try to write one every other month. Pure self-indulgent shipping fluff. If I finish these 5, then maybe I’ll ask other people for more prompts and ideas, which I’ve never done before. We’ll see how it goes~

 Also, Like last year, I’d like to look at everything that’s happened to me this year, though to be honest, I’m not sure how much I remember/how accurate it’ll be. God, I don’t even remember what January was like. Who was I back then? Who were we all back then? I guess I’ll start my yearly retrospective in march because, heh, god we ALL know what started happening in march.

 Firstly, I paid off my last student loan! Then a week later on March 18th, I drove half an hour out of my city to adopt a cat and I love her and it was the best day of this year for me. Spring break is just beginning this weekend, but the attendance at the zoo is shockingly low this year. Apparently, a lot of people watch the news, and they’re all taking precautions about social distancing. I wasn’t too disappointed. Fewer people at the zoo, the easier my job is for me. I was looking forward to getting some free overtime on spring break, since I’m broke after paying off that loan, and I’m a cat parent now and have a furry child to feed. Monday rolls around. My manager calls me and tells me that the zoo is going into lockdown until further notice. I worry for the birds I take care of, but understand it’s for everyone’s safety.

 For two months I sleep in and watch way too much YouTube. I join a couple writing discords. I have nightmares about my birds escaping their enclosure and I dreamed one of the security guards I really like at the zoo gets covid and has to go to the ER. I woke up really upset.

 I started and finished BBS for the first time. I also replayed and finished KH2 final mix for the first time. It had been about 5 years since I last played KH2 before my PS2 died, and it was like coming home~ I also finished tearaway, and played and beat Ryme for a second time (which I can’t remember if I did that last year, but it was a fun experience regardless)

 Mid-June, and I’m allowed to start going back to work, be it on reduced hours. The zoo is still closed to the public, but I’m loving it! I get to work with full-time keepers and do full-time keeper things. It’s so much fun not having to deal with the public. August starts to creep up and there’s a rumor that the zoo will be opening to the public again, which I’m not stoked about. I don’t want to go back to standing in one exhibit all day, talking to guests who don’t listen to the rules or to me. 2 of my younger coworkers (who had both only been there a couple of months) get chosen for full-time positions, while I get passed up which really pisses me off. My other 2 coworkers quit when they think we might be reopening because they cannot risk catching the virus due to at-risk family. I am now the last keeper in the interactive bird exhibit.

 I keep working, the zoo slowly opens, but with me as the only interpreter in our interactive bird exhibit, we can’t open because I can’t run the entire exhibit by myself. So my exhibit stays closed. September comes and goes, and then October starts. Now there is more serious talk of opening my exhibit before the end of the year because the zoo expects to bring in larger crowds for the Christmas lights event in November/December. I ask if I get hazard pay or health insurance since I’m doing full-time hours until they hire more staff. They say no.

 I immediately start searching for a new job feeling incredibly indignant/hurt/slighted/insulted/used/abused/ALL the negative feelings at my job. I had been there for 4 years, but never got a chance to work full time, while the two newest hires who had only been there 2 months both got moved up. I can’t help but feel they were holding one mistake I made two years ago against me and never wanted to give me a chance. (that, or they knew I was reliable when it came to showing up for work in such a volatile position that sees a lot of new faces, and they didn’t want to bother going through the process of hiring someone new) I don’t want to risk my life working around guests who don’t wash their hands and don’t properly distance. I don’t want to gamble with my health when they won’t offer me health insurance because I’m part time.

 Mid October, I get an interview for a full time job and get hired on the spot. I peace out at the zoo 2 weeks later, literally 3 days before they planned to open my exhibit to the public. It was a close call for me to escape before they opened to the public (and pettiness was only partially the reason I dipped out so close to opening). Sorry new hires who are now in charge of the bird feeding exhibit. I taught you the best I could in the short time I had. If the managers are struggling with what to do with one less person, I can’t say I feel bad. I can only hope they delayed opening/closed you down again for your own safety. You are not lightbulbs. I really hope the higher ups stop considering you as replaceable as one. Will I go back to the zoo to visit? Probably. But not for a year at least.

 I started my new job the very next day after I quit the zoo, and have been there ever since, (which isn’t that long yet, tbh. Christmas day was my 2 month anniversary). It’s full time, but it’s also a small business, and everyone’s hours this year have been on the short side due to the plague. I understand, though. They don’t want us to work if they can’t afford to pay us. Everyone is nice enough, though some people smoke and it’s hard to avoid them with how frequently we have to go in and out, and I really don’t want to get lung cancer, sorry not sorry, please and thank you. Also, with such a small team, gossip is certainly harder to go undetected, so it’s a relief knowing people don’t talk behind one another’s backs.

 I participated and beat my 4th nanowrimo in a row, I made TWO apple crisps on thanksgiving, and made baklava on Christmas and both of these recipes were my first time making them, and they both came out adequately! I voted the first day of early voting, and I did an art trade/collab with two of my friends for my birthday! (normally we would have done monthly “art days” where we get together and do art projects for fun because we’re adults and we can spend our time together however we want, but the plague said otherwise this year) We drew pokemon and it was fun! (hopefully I can show you all the results soon. At the time of writing, I’m still waiting for the last two colored parts to get back to me)

 I reached 100 pages on my undertale comic, and finish the first arc out of…! (im not sure. It’s either going to be 4 or 5, I haven’t decided yet)

 Over all, I managed to stay healthy as far as I know. I wasn’t as productive as I wanted to be this year, but then again, who was? (don’t answer that. I don’t need that kind of comparison in my life right now)

 Will 2021be any better? Honestly? I don’t think so. Not right away, at least. Just because a new year is about to start does not mean the slate is completely wiped clean. The change of the calendar year doesn’t magically make all our current problems disappear. Covid will still be here and cases will still climb when January starts. Small business will still be strained when the month rolls over, police will still go on murdering innocent civilians and getting away scot free, amazon and disney will still be monopolizing all consumer goods and media, and I can’t help but feel like there’s an impending shit show about to go down on inauguration day. I do hope things will get better, though. It’ll be arduous and unpleasant, but I do hope things will improve, because sometimes hoping is all you can do.

 Good night.

[savannahsdrabbles]

Ocean Song - Part Four

rating: PG summary: Marine biology student April O’Neil makes a startling discovery.

notes: 2.7k words. A03 link can be found here. Special thanks to @cloakedrabbitand @starfiretheninja for beta-reading! ALSO the first three chapters of this fic were basically written back in 2016 when I started the fic. So this chapter officially marks new content! :D 

He awakens, head spinning and shaking with disorientation for what feels like the hundredth time in the past 24 hours.

Had it only been only a day? It felt like much longer. Without being able to check the sun, he wasn’t sure how much time was actually passing between bouts of unconsciousness; all he knew was that he had done this several times before. The dead weight of his limbs, the sloshing feeling in his stomach, and the way that the ground spun beneath him had started to feel almost routine.

Blinking heavily, he shook his head and then immediately clapped a palm to his mouth as his stomach rolled in protest. No – he couldn’t be sick here; the thin layer of sand underneath him was not nearly deep enough to bury waste, and he didn’t think he could mentally handle the addition of another strong smell in this already overwhelming environment. Better to wait it out.

The turtle sighed, pressing his forehead into the sand and keeping a palm clamped to his mouth as he slowly took stock. He was laying on his side in the corner of the clear prison, shell to the rest of the room and limbs curled as close to his chest as possible. The metal-cold-hard-rope was still clamped onto one of his legs, forcing him to twist his hips awkwardly so as to remain in this position. The taste of blood lingered in his mouth, making him wonder if he had bitten his tongue the last time he had been dragged into unconsciousness. Or perhaps They had done something to him? All he knew was that everything hurt to varying degree, the worst of which being his head. It felt as if someone had pried open his skull and molded his brain between their palms.

Once he felt certain that the meager contents of his stomach would remain in place, the turtle slowly eased into a sitting position with one side of his body pressed against the clear wall. The surface felt cool and slick on his skin, causing him to shiver as he cast weary eyes around the room.

His prison was still dimly lit this time, which was a blessing in some ways. He vaguely remembered waking up one of the first times, when the room had been flooded with harsh lighting that hurt his eyes and made him want to bury his head in the sand. The sensations were confusing – the sand was unnaturally coarse on his skin, the light above him did not give off any warmth, and everything was just wrong wrong wrong wrong.

There had been Humans in the room at that point – tall ones in white pelts that stared at him and used Spoken Human Words that he wasn’t conscious enough to understand. They’d kept their distance at first, slowly moving back and forth through his hazy vision while every cell in his body screamed at him to run. He had been so tired and confused at that point that he just wanted to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but then several of the Humans suddenly stepped forward and opened the wall nearest to him.

His mind had jolted fully awake at that point, though his body remained motionless on the ground. He remembered wanting to back away, chest heaving with panicked desperation as he begged his limbs to move beneath him. The Humans moved quickly and spoke in low voices, almost as if trying to soothe him before one reached out and pressed his head into the sand. He remembered trying to scream as they turned his face away from them, but the only sound he could manage was a high-pitched whine. He gasped in pain as several sharp objects were shoved into his shoulder and thigh, but within seconds the Humans drew back clutching containers of red liquid – his blood.

They returned and repeated the process several other times after that – sometimes when he was awake but too delirious to do much but lean away and whimper. Other times, they waited until another round of gas stole him from consciousness and then crept in. He only knew that something had happened based on the dull ache that ran up and down both arms and the foul scent of Human clinging to his skin.

After the fourth or fifth time – or maybe it had been more? – he began to question whether this was it. Father had always warned him and Brothers to fear Humans, saying that they would likely be killed on sight if caught. Was that what was going to happen next? Was this how he was going to spend whatever was left of his life? Trapped in a small, cold box and being repeatedly gassed and poked and prodded by the creatures he had been raised to fear? And what of Small Brother – was he trapped elsewhere in this prison, undergoing the same fate?

The last thought made his stomach violently roll again.

A small, whining keel had clawed its way up his throat as he wrapped sore arms around himself and started to rock, the metal-cold-hard-rope digging at the skin of his ankle with each movement. Small Brother gone. Brave Brother and Strong Brother gone. Water gone. Gone gone gone alone gone.

“He needs to be back in the ocean!” Red Girl’s voice suddenly floated through his cloudy mind. Yes, that was it.

He’d been angry at first, when he awoke to find her staring back at him. He’d gone against instinct and years of teaching when he had first spotted her, clearly in distress and tangling with a squid that seemed intent to make her his meal. Even Small Brother, with his always-happy-to-help attitude hesitated at the sight of a Human in what they’d always considered to be a safe place. But she was so small and scared, and it only took a moment before they leapt into action.

Had she returned to gloat at his capture? Or to finish him off?

Either way, the fear and anger became too much and he had panicked. He remembered crying out in Family Tongue as he beat on the wall, crying in pain, crying for his brothers, crying for anything that could get him out of this wretched place.

What he hadn’t expected was the equally scared and concerned reaction he received. Rather than reach in and take more of his blood or gawk like the other Humans, Red Girl’s face had creased in worry and she had backed up with palms in the air. Fear scent radiated from her, and he found himself stunned into momentary silence. She had had the same expression when tangling in the squid’s limbs, being trapped and slowly suffocated. She saw him as a threat.

And so he’d taken a chance – a last ditch effort to communicate that this time he was the one in need of rescuing.

She and Boy Human had seemed to understand, talking excitedly between each other in rapid tones that he had to concentrate to decipher. But then the sleeping gas had come again, and when he next woke, the room was empty.

The turtle rubbed at his eyes and inhaled slowly, forcing his body to relax. How long ago had that been? There was no sun or moon here, so he wasn’t even sure how long he had been asleep this time. But they had said that they would help him get home, right? So they had to be coming back eventually.

At least now he knew that Small Brother was safe. The simple knowledge of this lifted weight off of his shoulders and made it easier to breathe. If he couldn’t find a way home, at least his family wouldn’t be losing two Brothers – they’d already had to deal with the loss of Father many moons before.

Voices from outside of his prison suddenly wove their way into his thoughts, and the turtle perked up. Was that them? Had Girl and Boy come back for him?

“Here here! You come back!” he clicked, excitement too great to bother translating into Spoken Human Words. Forcing himself to ignore the dizziness that still clouded his mind, he pulled himself to his knees and beat on the wall eagerly. Across the room, the door handle jiggled and he heard a beep. “You come back help Clever Brother help go back to ocean Home-”

Then the door swung open, and in stepped a red-furred human… but not Red Girl.

***

“It’s bigger than I thought.”

Dr. O’Neil nodded nervously, his eyes focusing first on the turtle and then back at the two solidly built men standing behind him. Between them and the wild animal in the room, he couldn’t help but feel more comfortable with the animal. Muscular arms peeked out from under t-shirts bearing “Oroku Inc.” nametags, signifying the men as “Anton” and “Ivan”. Across the room, the creature barked nervously, dropping to its rear end and scuttling to the far end of the glass containment. “Actually, that’s another interesting detail! Based on the blood tests that we ran, the specimen appears to have DNA most similar to that of a loggerhead turtle, which typically grow to be approximately three feet in length and between 250-300 pounds. Upon arrival, we measured him as being four foot ten inches and 219 pounds – which is significantly longer than most loggerheads, but not proportionally heavier. I would love to be there for the study and dissection – I’m assuming his bones are thinner in order to compensate for his length and allow easier navigation –”

The taller of the men – a lanky black character apparently named Anton - raised a hand to cut Kirby off as he began to speak. He spoke in cool, lilted English with a slight Japanese accent hiding behind his words. “Yes, I’m sure Dr. Stockman and the boss will be grateful to know that he was in such great hands. As I’m sure you can tell by our early arrival, they’re eagerly awaiting him back at the lab.”

Kirby nodded, blushing lightly. “Of course, my apologies. It’s just not every day you see a creature such as this – I’m sure that you understand. Our team has been buzzing since we discovered him out in the bay.”

“I’m sure,” Anton nodded again, though his half-lidded eyes betrayed a genuine lack of interest. Across the room, the turtle let out a shuddering breath. “Speaking of which, I assume that you recorded the coordinates where he was located?”

“Yes, of course.” The redheaded scientist turned a page on his clipboard and tapped it in affirmation. “All of our findings and details about the retrieval were transmitted earlier today, so Dr. Stockman should be able to access everything we know.”

“Excellent.” The laboratory assistants turned to each other, speaking in Japanese for a moment while Kirby awkwardly toyed at the edges of his paperwork and cursed his lacking language skills. When they turned back around, the shorter man spoke up in a thick Russian accent.

“Should he not be sedated? The boss said that there could be a risk of violence, and that he didn’t want to take any chances.”

“Yes, well, um,” Kirby glanced back down at his notes nervously. “We’ve attempted to keep him sedated throughout the day by administering doses of sevoflurane, but his body has been burning through the medication at an unprecedented rate. Until more is known about his biology, I’m extremely hesitant to consider administering such heavy doses – they could have adverse effects on liver function, cause neurotoxicity –”

“Relax, Dr. O’Neil,” Anton interrupted, a smirk tugging at his lips. “The good doctor sent us with a back up, just in case we ran into any issues. Care to illustrate, Ivan?”

Ivan grunted as he reached into his uniform pocket and withdrew a small, circular device that made Kirby gasp.

“Wait – is that a shock collar? I – well, I really don’t think that’s a good idea -”

  “It is… similar,” Ivan interjected. He was more hesitant as he spoke, taking several seconds to weigh his words before speaking them. With careful hands, he lifted a latch on the side of the collar and pressed to adjust its size. Once he seemed satisfied that the circumference was about as big around as the turtle’s neck, the man reached back into his pocket and retrieved a small egg-shaped remote, then simultaneously pressed a button on each piece. Several high-pitched beeps echoed through the room, followed by a low buzzing sound. “The boss had Dr. Stockman create this in order to induce temporary paralysis on larger creatures. As long as the device is activated, the wearer will remain conscious, but unable to move. It makes transportation much easier, as well as helps with certain studies. I shall show you.”

The two lab assistants stepped towards the cage in unison, eliciting another bark of fear from the turtle, and pulled open the door. The creature yelped as the men closed in, throwing out his arms in protest and letting out a warning snarl that sent chills down Kirby’s spine. Before he had a chance to advise them to retreat, both men stepped into the cage and then leapt back, Ivan shaking his hand and cursing in Japanese. “You little monster – he bit me!”

Anton surged forward, using one leg to brace himself and the other to deliver a swift kick to the center of the turtle’s plastron. The creature gasped, falling heavily back onto his carapace and stirring up a cloud of sand as Anton continued to firmly press into his chest. The turtle snarled in frustration, arms desperately alternating between tearing at the thick fabric of Anton’s pants and trying to keep Ivan’s reaching arms at bay. “Come on now, don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Gentlemen –!”

Before the turtle could do any serious damage, Ivan lunged forward and snapped the collar around their prey’s neck. The turtle let out a panicked yelp and bit down again, this time sinking gapped teeth into the nearest hand and locking his jaw.

“Yeaugh!” the Russian man bellowed and shook the injured arm in pain, causing the turtle’s head to whip violently back and forth but refusing to release his hold. “Anton – get it off of me!”

“Give me that –” the black man lunged forward and snatched the remote from his partner’s flailing hands. With one push of a button, the turtle suddenly went slack and dropped limply to the ground beneath them. His eyes remained wide open, darting around in confusion.

“Stupid beast,” Ivan growled and kicked at the turtle’s side, eliciting a yelp but nothing else. His hand was already oozing blood, which steadily dripped down onto the turtle’s motionless form. “I’ll make sure that they don’t give you anesthesia, just for that. Or maybe I can just take care of you myself on the way over – how do you like the taste of lead?”

“I doubt he has any idea what you’re saying,” Anton rolled his eyes, then turned to Kirby. “Where’s the loading cart that you brought him in with?”

“Now wait – hold on just one second,” the scientist shook his head, brows furrowed as took a step towards the men. “This is all wrong – I understand that you gentlemen have a job to do and I’m sure you’re lovely people, but as a biologist it is my responsibility to ensure that each and every creature we work with is treated with the utmost dignity and respect. As such, I can’t just let the two of you waltz in here and –”

Kirby suddenly felt something press against his chest and stopped short, his breath hitching in his throat.

“I don’t think you understand, Old Man,” Anton pressed the barrel of his gun forcefully into Kirby’s chest and growled. “Our boss wants this creature more than life itself and has already paid you more than you are worth for it, so we will continue to do with it exactly as we please. Now,” he jerked his head and Ivan roughly grabbed the paralyzed creature under its arms. “Are you going to help us get it into the van, or what?”

Next Chapter!

[jojosbizarreblog]

Let Down Your Crystal Walls

6 /// 7 /// 8

Chapter 7: Things Happen Three Floors Down

Song Inspiration: None

Kyogen didn’t know when she fell asleep, but she awoke to Kakyoin shaking her gently. “There’s a ship here,” he said. “We’re boarding it now. Don’t worry, it’s an actual ship with an actual crew this time.”

That was that, and now, the group was in Singapore. After a few days at sea, most of which was spent on a small lifeboat, Kyogen was glad to be able to stand on solid ground again. She was trying to adjust the focus of the Polaroid as she stood near Anne, who was sitting down on the curb. It was interrupted when a police officer blew a whistle at the group. 

“Hey, you!” He yelled. The group turned to look at him as he pointed to Polnareff. “I'm talking to you! You threw this trash, didn’t you? That’s a fine of five hundred Singapore dollars!”

The talk of money reminded Kyogen that she needed to exchange the currency to buy some stuff for the journey ahead. With Singapore being such a ‘modern’ country, hopefully, there would be a shop where she could get some fitting clothing for traveling around.

“In Singapore, the law says you will be fined for littering! Got it?”

Kyogen turned the Polaroid off and tucked it carefully back in her backpack. Even though she still didn’t know how it got into her room, something told her that it would be important. It seemed like a more advanced version of the cameras she had seen, not that she’s seen many. The pictures she took over the past few days were more vivid than she’d thought they would be, and it seemed more durable, able to withstand the messes that the crew had landed themself in. 

Kyogen scanned the area around her, trying to look for the trash that the policeman was getting worked up over… oh. She let out a small snicker as her eyes fell on Polnareff’s bag. Next to her, she could hear Avdol cut off a laugh. Now Kyogen knew what the man meant and she could barely keep the chuckles at bay as Polnareff got offended by the policeman’s words. The policeman quickly fixed his mistake as Polnareff got up into his face, backing away and raising his hands in defeat. Anne laughed raucously next to her and the others turned to the girl.

Anne’s laughter stopped and she averted eyes, pretending to gaze off at the ocean.

“What’s with the kid? She’s still following us,” Kyogen heard Polnareff say.

“Weren’t you going to see your father?” Joseph asked Anne.

“Why don’t you stop following us and get going?” Polnareff said.

“That’s a little harsh there, don’t you think?” Kakyoin asked him.

“Hmph, I have to meet up with him in five days,” Anne said. “I can go wherever I want. I’m not taking orders from you guys!”

Kyogen tilted her head. “I think you might fare better without us,” she told the girl. “Remember what I said on the boat. A lot of bad people want us dead, you’ve bear witness to many of it so far. However,” she sighed, “leaving you alone would be a bad idea also.” Kyogen left Anne with those words and joined the group discussing their plans for the girl.

“It’s dangerous to leave her alone, but it’s also dangerous to keep her with us,” Kyogen said. “Each choice could have a bad outcome that we can’t predict. But with us, we might be able to protect her.”

“Maybe she doesn’t have any money,” Kakyoin mused.

“Alright…” Joseph sighed. “I guess she can room together with one of us. Kyogen, since you’re closest to her, bring her with us.”

Kyogen nodded and walked back to Anne, who was glancing at them from the corner of her eyes. “You can come with us to the hotel today. Mr. Joestar said that you can room with someone.”

Anne jumped up. “Alright,” she said. “But I don’t want to room with that rude guy. He gives me a headache.”

Kyogen flinched slightly as Polnareff got angry.“You little brat!”

“Now, now Polnareff,” Avdol soothed. “Let’s not cause an unnecessary scene. We need to get going to the hotel. I’m sure all of us would appreciate being able to rest after the ordeal that we’ve all been through.” He shot her a sympathetic look that Kyogen didn’t know how to acknowledge. She tilted her head the slightest bit and moved her shoulders up an inch.

They followed Joseph as he headed to the nearest hotel, not that there was a shortage of any. Kyogen fell into step beside Jotaro and Noriaki as Anne went ahead to tag along with Joseph. 

“Tired, Wind?” Kakyoin asked her, shooting her a slight smile.

Kyogen shrugged, adjusting her ruined collar. She never got the time to switch out her shirt for a new one and was eagerly waiting until she could. She was grateful that Mr. Joestar had managed to heal the mottled bruise on her neck. A mix of tiredness and weariness swirled inside her but she didn’t want to admit that to the group for the fear of being seen as weak. Already, Kyogen knew that she was the one most likely to be attacked out of the group with her small stature. It was a good thing that she knew how to fight and defend herself with her weapons. Plus Sharpnote made a good bodyguard.

It wasn’t long before they reached the hotel, Joseph and Avdol going ahead to reserve rooms for the group as the rest of them hung around the lobby. Kyogen was tense as she scanned over the crowds of people around her and she could see Kakyoin and Jotaro doing the same. Polnareff was slightly away from the group, chatting up a storm with a lady. Anne was next to Jotaro, boredly scuffing the ground with her shoe.

“Does Polnareff ever bother to stop flirting with every woman he sees?” Kakyoin muttered as the lady suddenly upped and left.

“I don’t think he ever will,” Jotaro grunted, tilting his head forward to hide his face with his hat brim.

They didn’t need to wait much longer as Joseph and Avdol returned. The keys to four rooms dangled in his hands as he held them up along with four fingers on the other hand. “We'll have to pair up, but the rooms are on different floors. Avdol and I will be sharing a room so we can plan out our route.”

“I’m getting my own room,” Polnareff declared. He took a key from Joseph and turned to leave without looking back at the rest of them.

“Anne and I can stay together,” Kyogen volunteered. “Since we’re both girls, it’s less awkward that way. Plus I can easily defend Anne if trouble comes our way.”

Joseph scratched his head in thought. “Alright,” he said. “But I’m placing you guys in the room nearest to ours. That’ll be room…” he looked at the tags on the keys, “1212! Here you go, Wind.” The old man passed it to her and Kyogen took it from him with a quiet thanks.

Anne didn’t waste her time getting up, slipping into the elevator ahead of the group as the others began filling in. Kyogen ended up squeezed in the middle of Kakyoin and Jotaro in the back. She sighed and let her head thump softly against the cold wall, closing her eyes. The elevator music was some sort of jazzy tune, one no doubt one ripped off from some American artist. It reminded her of the tunes she’d hear blaring from the radios of the shops she passed when summer was in and her break allowed her to roam. Those old men certainly knew their music.

The elevator dinged and Kakyoin and Jotaro got off, Kakyoin tilting his head back to bid them goodbye as the teens headed to their rooms. Another short trip and the elevator stopped on the floor that was meant for her and Anne. The girl skipped merrily out of the elevator and Kyogen was about to trail after her but she was paused by Joseph calling her name. Turning to him with an inquisitive look on her face, Kyogen paused midway out of the doors.

“If you need something, just give the two of us a call with the hotel phone.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Take care. Be careful, Kyogen.”

Kyogen nearly jolted when she heard him say her name. “A-Alright Mr. Joestar.You two take care too. I’ll take care of Anne too so you guys won’t have to worry.” She winced as she realized that she was rambling a bit.

Both of the males in the elevator nodded. That was it as the elevator door closed between them. Kyogen looked at it forlornly before turning around and making her way down the halls to where Anne was waiting impatiently in front of their room.

“Jeez, what did you guys even have to talk about? That took forever!”

“Standard stuff,” Kyogen casually replied as she unlocked the door. She pushed it open for Anne, who bolted in and jumped onto the nearest bead.

“Oh man,” she groaned. “This has got to be the most comfortable bed ever. Are you guys rich or something?”

“I’m certainly not rich,” Kyogen muttered, slipping off her backpack and setting it down onto the small table by the window. She had roughly twenty-six thousand yen saved up. That was a little bit less than 250 American dollars based on what she overheard Joseph talk about.

“Anyways,” Anne drawled, sitting up. “You should probably change from that shirt. It looks pretty ruined to me. Plus I’m pretty sure some of the guys have been avoiding looking at you too much.”

Kyogen felt nausea and the onset of a headache coming up when she heard Anne remark about that. Of course, her tank top did a good job of covering the exposed skin where the button-up had torn away, but she didn’t want to be reminded of the events on that accursed ship. “Alright,” She grunted. “You still have your knife with you?” Anne patted her pocket and Kyogen nodded. She went to her bag to grab a pair of clothes and her old pair of salt-crusted ones. Washing them by hand today would allow them plenty of time to dry before the group had to leave. The original blouse she had worn at the start of the trip looked pitiful, various rips and gashes decorating the no longer white fabric. Kyogen dumped the other clothes onto the counter and picked up the crinkled shirt, turning to inspect it. She wrinkled her nose in distaste when she realized that it was almost beyond repair, save for the bow. Maybe she could make an improvised holder for her daggers that would allow them to hang by her hip. It would be much more efficient than leaving them shoved in with her stuff.

It wasn’t difficult to tidy up herself and her clothes, dunking them in clean water repeatedly before hanging them up in an out of the way corner. She exited the bathroom in a pair of loose pants and a sweater and Anne took her place in the bathroom. Kyogen fell back onto the bed and turned her head to look out of the window overlooking the city below. Half-lidded eyes scanned the passing cars and ant-like people that went on with their daily lives. It made her feel lonely, reminiscent of the days where she would watch people pass by from where she sat high up in a tree.

When the loneliness almost became overwhelming, sturdy knocking at the door drove her out of the spiral her thoughts were taking her in. Kyogen sat up and eyed the door warily, unsure if she should go see who it was or not. Another round of knocking and her decision was made for her as Sharpnote phased out from her body and walked to the doors. The Stand peeked out of the peephole before unlocking the door and pulling it open.

Jotaro and Kakyoin walked in and Kyogen relaxed. Even though she knew that Sharpnote wouldn’t lead her wrong, it was difficult to relax after the trials they’ve faced. Kyogen tilted her head to the side, too tired to retie her hair as the hair tie slipped off. Kakyoin and Jotaro made themselves at home on the chairs by the window near the bed she was on, the latter settling on it with a thump. Sharpnote phased away, job done.

“You look like shit,” Jotaro muttered to her in Japanese.

Kyogen scowled. “Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Kujo. Was that all you two visited me for?”

Kakyoin glanced between the two of them with an amused quirk to his lips. “Now, now. The two of us simply wanted to check up on you two. Plus, I thought that it’d be nice to get acquainted with each other since we’re all the same age.”

“Anne’s doing fine,” Kyogen said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on her anyways. She also has her pocket knife as a last resort if someone managed to get through Sharpnote and I.”

Even though the last part was extra information, Kyogen knew that the two would have asked her sooner or later, so better to tell them now.

Kakyoin nodded. “That’s a relief. What about you?”

Kyogen paused. She was at a loss of words, not expecting the redhead to ask about her. Shrugging, she replied, “I am fine.”

The hotel phone rang and they tensed. Jotaro was the first to react, standing up from the chair and walking over to answer it. “Hello?”

Kyogen couldn’t hear the exact words on the other end, but Joseph’s voice blasted over the receiver and Jotaro winced and pulled back from the phone. “Goddamnit—Jiji calm down so that I can understand what you’re saying. Stupid old man.” He muttered the last part as Joseph’s voice died down, allowing him to bring the phone back to his ears. Kyogen and Kakyoin shared a look with each other as a brief conversation passed between the two, Jotaro grunting and replying back to Joseph with one-word answers. The tall male paused and turned to them and asked, “Did you two ever leave a note or notify your parents or someone of your whereabouts?”

From the corner of her vision, she saw Noriaki stiffening, a quiet curse leaving his mouth. The redhead averted his eyes from Jotaro’s intense gaze and muttered. “Not exactly.”

Jotaro turned to her. “And you, Wind?”

“Didn’t need to,” Kyogen replied. It wasn’t as if she was someone well-known, save for being a topic of gossip.

Jotaro raised an eyebrow at that and turned back to the phone, repeating the information that they had told him. It wasn’t long before he turned back to Kakyoin and her and said, “Oi, Kakyoin. The old man said that you should call your folks and tell them something to ease their fears. As for you Wind, there’s got to be someone you can call.”

Kyogen tensed. “There’s no one,” she said stiffly. “Forget about it.”

“Fine,” Jotaro huffed as he handed over the phone to Kakyoin. “Hurry up and call your folks. Jiji will pay for it.”

Kakyoin nodded and after a quick dial, Japanese began to filter through the phone. Kyogen respectfully tuned it out to allow Kakyoin a bit of privacy. Jotaro settled back on the chair he was in and glanced at her. He didn’t say anything as Kakyoin spent the next five minutes frantically reassuring his parents. The shower turned off as Kakyoin finally set the phone back down with an exasperated sigh. “My folks are going to kill me,” he huffed.

They didn’t have a moment to say anything else as Anne opened the door and paused. “Why are you all here?” She asked.

“A check-up,” Kakyoin replied simply.

“Oh,” Anne said. She wandered back to her bed and flopped on it. “Don’t make too much noise then. I’m gonna take a nap.”

The phone rang again and Kakyoin picked it up this time. This time it was Avdol, sounding urgent as he talked to Noriaki. The redhead’s eyes widened. “Alright, we’ll come up right away.” He put the phone down and turned to them. “Mr. Joestar and Avdol received a call from Polnareff. Warning about an enemy Stand user. Avdol says he wants us to meet up with them and wait for Polnareff to arrive.”

Shit.

Kyogen glanced at Anne. “Should we leave her here?”

“I think that would be the best option. Bringing her with us might make it more difficult for her once we leave her.” Kakyoin mused.

“Can’t have her overhearing what we’re saying either.”

“What are you guys saying?” Anne asked.

“Nothing,” Kyogen said, opening her backpack and slipping a dagger into her waistband, pulling her sweater over the handle to obscure it. “We have to leave. I’ll be back in a bit. Be careful.”

“Uh-huh,” Anne replied.

Kyogen couldn’t help but share an exasperated look with Jotaro and Noriaki as they got up from the table. They left the room and Kyogen double-checked one last time to make sure the door was locked, then turned to follow after the males.

She was the first to reach the room that the two adults were staying in, Knocking on it before stepping back to await an answer. The door opened after a minute and Avdol invited the teens into the room. Kyogen nodded to the fortune-teller as she passed him, also greeting Joseph as she saw the old man at the table. They all settled down facing each other, Noriaki and Kyogen sitting separately on the beds, Jotaro leaning against the window, and Avdol and Joseph at the table.

“Polnareff says that he’ll be up as soon as possible,” Joseph said, taking a map out from his pocket. “But while we wait for him, Avdol and I will tell you guys about our plan. Tomorrow we will leave by train to Ko Chang, then by boat to Hainggyi Kyun, then Sittwe, Myanmar.”

“The methods of transport may vary, but those are the cities we plan to pass through,” Avdol stated. “We’ll move and rest accordingly. That way, we have fewer chances of being tracked.”

Kakyoin nodded. “What time will we leave tomorrow?” He asked.

“I say around four in the morning tomorrow. The earlier we leave, the more distance we cover.” Avdol said.

Kyogen leaned back in her chair. “That’s a good time. Not late enough for it to be crowded but not too early that we would stand out.”

“Ah, right!” Joseph exclaimed. “Kyogen, Noriaki, did you two get in contact with your parents?”

“I have. Thank you for allowing me to talk with my parents,” the redhead said, nodding graciously with a small smile on his face. 

“What about you, kiddo?” Joseph asked, turning to her.

“I didn’t need to,” Kyogen repeated.

“What do you mean you don’t need to? There has got to be someone you can phone to tell where you are.”

“Wind, leaving like this would surely raise some questions from your friends and family, would it not give them an ease of mind to say something?” Avdol pressed

Kyogen held back a sigh. “Mr. Joestar, Avdol-sama, with all due respect, I assure you that nobody would miss my absence back in Japan nor do I wish to call anyone.”

“Alright, kid…” Joseph said.

Avdol frowned. “If that is your final decision, then I will respect that.”

Kyogen didn’t get the chance to acknowledge that as the hotel door opened. The group tense and Kyogen’s hands were halfway to her dagger before a bloodied Polnareff stumbled into view. She uttered a surprised curse in Japanese as the French leaned against the nearest wall. Something told her that maybe the Stand user had already attacked.

“So...tired…” Polnareff groaned as he slowly slid down the side of the wall.

[bigprincess-energy]

Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree with Anyone Else but Me

Y’all on this site there is a beautiful, incredible, intelligent, talented, practically perfect in every way woman who runs the phenomenal blog @waitformereprise . She really does it all. Gifs? She makes them. Art? She draws that. Fics? She writes them. And she’s also like a professional lady???? Who is killing it????? I am in shock, I am in awe, I am inspired daily. She has been working real hard and I wanted to make her a lil treat of some Orphydice Fluff so here is this! I hope you enjoy it Anna!! 

---

For the most part, Eurydice adored her employment at Hermes Bar. During quiet lulls, Hermes would indulge her with a wild story from his younger days. When Persephone was in town, she would herself at home on her favorite bar stool and the duo would chat about anything and everything for hours at a time between Eurydice mixing drinks. Best of all, she could watch her poet hard at work. Nothing enamored the young girl more than watching his fingers tighten around a pencil as he crafted lyrics or the intricate dance they did each night as he played the lyre. Technically, he was playing for the patrons of the bar, but it always felt as though his songs were just for her. 

However, there was one element of the job she hated: inventory day. Of course, taking inventory was fundamental to the success of the bar, but there was nothing worse to Eurydice than being stuck counting inventory in the cellar. During the summer months, one might suffocate from the heat and humidity that trapped itself in the windowless space, while in the winter she would bundle up in her outer coat and a pair of gloves to avoid freezing. Not to mention, every time whoever was manning the bar used the sink it was guaranteed the pipes would drip.

Orpheus could easily sense that today was inventory day as he watched his wife drag out her normally concise morning routine. Eurydice was a clever one when it came to avoiding tasks she didn’t want to do, to the point of it being comedic. Often the couple left their breakfast dishes in the sink, but on inventory days she insisted it was incredibly important all the dishes be cleaned before they headed to work. Same went for laundry, each shirt and pair of trousers had to be pressed and folded, despite the fact that the next morning all the hard work would be undone in a rush to get ready. 

Eurydice’s newfound dedication to chores, of course, paled in comparison to her attempts to seduce Orpheus to skip work and spend the day in bed with her. There was nothing she wouldn’t try. Hot, heavy kisses along his neck and collarbone paired with her delicate fingers running along his chest first thing in the morning, earning her an additional five minutes. Next, she would try walking around in her undergarments, bringing him their morning tea to drink in bed rather than at the kitchen table as a traditional morning would have. Finally, when all else failed and the couple was nearly out the door she would grab her lover by his suspenders and pull him down to her, whispering pleases between kisses. As much as the poet longed to indulge her, his fingers always found their way around the doorknob, the first step to getting the couple to work. 

As much as she despised these days, there was one perk to inventory, Eurydice could drag Orpheus into the cellar with him for company and assistance. The two of them created little games to make the work more entertaining, from estimating how many bottles of wine they went through in the previous month to competing who could make a taller tower of toilet paper the fastest. Whoever lost the previous month would be on counting duty this month. Hermes would often pop his head down and find the couple in a fit of giggles. The elder god would simply roll his eyes and return to the bar. Orpheus would also hum songs as he counted, and every once and a while he would pull her into the center of the cellar, wrap his arms around her waist and dance to his tune under the dim lighting. 

Today, Eurydice crouched above the floor, rocking gently on her heels as she took stock of the remaining cocktail napkins. “200...250….300,” she mumbled to herself, attempting to avoid losing count. 

“‘Rydice,” her lover’s voice called out from several shelves away. “You want a snack?” 

“300!” She blurted out as a response, her mind hanging on to the number so she wouldn’t have to recount. “Uh- yeah, why not, what did you find?” Eurydice asked as she stuck a paper marker between the last set of recorded napkins. 

“Well, I don’t have 300 snacks, just one,” Orpheus laughed softly, striding over with an apple in hand. 

“Here, I hope it’s enough,” he smiled as he tossed the apple down to her. With grace, Eurydice caught it between her two hands and raised it to her mouth for a bite. The fruit was perfect, a crisp crunch followed by a subtle sweetness. Audibly, Eurydice’s stomach growled. 

“How long have we been down here?” She questioned, standing up and dusting off her lap before making her way over to Orpheus. 

“Couple of hours is my guess. Mister Hermes only came down once, but I’m almost done in the back. How much is left up here?” He asked as he bent down to take a bite of the apple. 

“Not much just - ah, ah, ah! This is my snack, did I say you could have some?” Eurydice teased, feigning defensiveness as she pulled her arm back so the apple was out of his reach. 

“May I have a bite of your apple?” He asked politely, his voice no louder than a whisper. With his wide, puppy dog hazel eyes and soft-spoken tone how could she say no to him? 

“Since you asked so nicely,” the young girl said with a smirk, handing the fruit over to her husband. “Did you know in Ancient Greece, if someone tossed an apple at you it was a confession of love?” She mused at him as he crunched. 

“Wait, Orpheus did you just confess your love for me? Aww, do you have a crush on me?” Eurydice teased, her nimble fingers taking the apple back from the blushing boy. 

“I-I’m your husband! Of course, I love you!!” Orpheus stammered, trying to figure out how and why she always managed to make him feel so bashful. Eurydice sank her teeth into the flesh of the fruit, eyes glinting wickedly. 

“Still, having a crush? That’s embarrassing,” she smirked as she shook her head slightly, expressing a falsified disgust. 

“You’re my wife, ‘Rydice. We, we’re married!” He exclaimed, his visible confusion of trying to understand her logic spurring her on further. 

“I just, it’s very sweet but I don’t know,” Eurydice said as she looked her poet over from head to toe. “You are very tall and gods, those hazel eyes are pretty,” she admired him, her hand coming up to cup his flushed cheek. Her eyes lingered there for a moment, lost in the beauty of him. 

“I write pretty songs too,” Orpheus responded, tilting his head into the curve of her palm. “About a very pretty girl.”

It was Eurydice’s turn to blush. Normally she was able to brush off Orpheus’ compliments as just Orpheus being his lovestruck, romantic self, but when she allowed his words to sink in, butterflies made a home in her stomach and fluttered their wings. 

“Sing for me?” The girl asked softly, pressing her body into his as she wrapped her arms around Orpheus’ neck. 

As his hands found their way to rest on her waist, Orpheus smiled lovingly down at his wife before beginning to sing. “La, la, la, la, la-“ 

His last note was cut off as Eurydice stood on her tiptoes so she could press her lips against his. “I guess I have a little bit of a crush on you too,” she admitted, grinning up at her husband before pulling him down into another kiss. The remaining inventory could wait, the count couldn’t change that much in 20 minutes.

[leggigoesabroad]

free rent living in my mind

Lyrical title, and all future lyrical blog titles from now until forever, will be from Taylor Swift’s LOVER which was released August 23rd and has already drastically improved my already great life.  It’s 18 songs of perfection and we aren’t worthy.  Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair have called it a career-capping masterpiece.  God this bitch just continues to show us that she’s the only person who ever matters and good lord I’d kill a man for her if she asked me to.

In the meantime, weeeeeeeeeee’re back!  Well, I am back, because I’m in Alaska and honestly that’s practically abroad.  It’s so far from everything except Canada and Russia and other parts of Alaska and life here is wild and so different and thus, Leggi has gone abroad again.  Currently sitting on my bed in my plush robe in my Veranda Suite, looking out into the seafoam green water of Endicott Arm and its little bits of glacier floating by.  Which I learned today were called “bergy bits,” isn’t that the most made up “technical term” you’ve ever heard?!  Someone was definitely sipping wine on a boat a while ago and saw some ice float by and said “lol look at those little iceberg pieces… those little…. ‘bergy bits!!!!!!!”

This journey begins a full week ago but I’ve literally been either gone all day, not had internet, or been too sleepy to even fathom blogging.  And yet I have so much to say and so much that I want to remember that I just MUST document it all, especially considering I’ll be back in June 2021 on a member trip with my company and two years is a long time to remember minutia.  I’m here on a site visit on the Seabourn Sojourn to experience the cruise firsthand, try out all of the shore excursions and visit tons of different vendors and partners, and make note of all details so I can answer all questions when we ultimately plan, sell, and execute this trip.  Or as I like to say, “someone’s gotta make sure it’s good enough, right?!”  One takeaway from this site visit is that it’s equal parts incredible and I’m pinching myself, and also at times I want to die and I’ve been close to full fledged panic attacks.  Don’t worry, we’ll get into all of it!! Probably in several different entries to keep attention span up.

We started by flying to Vancouver early Monday morning, August 19th.  After dropping bags at the hotel we immediately set off to do detailed site inspections of three hotels in the area (when we come back for the member trip we need a block of ~250 rooms so it’s no small feat) and then visited three different possible event venues for a welcome event the night our members arrive.  The first was called Grouse Mountain Resorts which is about a 20-minute drive to a gondola that takes you up to Grouse Mountain, a beautiful resort area overlooking all of Vancouver.  The area has so much to do once you’re up there – a ropes course, lumberjack show, bear sanctuary, massive chalet with dining options, etc.  We look for things that I never would have thought of or noticed before, especially when paying attention to the demographic of our members and also the realistic logistics of moving a group of about 450 people around.  Things like, “will members really want to come up the gondola after a long travel day and eat at the chalet, only to have to walk down a quarter mile path to do the lumberjack show? Which place will include tables and chairs so we don’t have to rent? What will keep their attention while also feeling special and unique to the area? How long is the walk from the bus to the gondola for people with mobility issues? What if someone wants to go back to the hotel early, how long will they have to wait? Will there be enough for kids to do?” On and on.  It’s pretty interesting, especially because I’m traveling with three people who have done tons of member trips and know exactly what works and what doesn’t.  Since I’ll be referencing them a lot, the three coworkers are Brooke (mostly in charge of the entire Once in a Lifetime Journeys team, travels over a third of the year doing site visits and member trips, not overly pleasant but I’m starting to wear her down), Ryan (other Journeys team member who will be Brooke’s co-manager on this cruise, we get along super well and he’s the one who encouraged me to apply for this Alaska trip, also fucking hilarious), and Nick (member services account manager like me who recently got promoted to be 50/50 for member services/journeys team and is my co-trip lead and also really great to be around.)  Brooke and Nick have done a bunch of member cruises before but it’s a first for me and Ryan so it’s been a good balance.  There’s also Yolanda, our Seabourn shore excursions expert/partner, who Nick and Brooke know well from previous cruises.  She’s originally from South Africa but lives in Holland and is honestly a goddamn nut.  Sometimes we love her deeply and sometimes we’re like YOLANDA WE CANNOT WITH YOU RIGHT NOW OH MY GODDDDDDDDDD.  More on that later as well. 

We spent Monday night in Vancouver doing the site inspections and then had a lovely, long dinner on the water with our Seabourn partners.  Wine like, FLOWED.  On Tuesday morning we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge to do a site inspection for that as a possibility as a daytime activity for members before boarding the ship. I remembered being there a loooong time ago on our Vancouver trip as a kid (I want to say… 1999?  Mom, keep me honest) and I thought “wow, the bridge looked so much bigger when I was a kid!  This is nothing now!” Famous last words.  Got about halfway across and started panicking and couldn’t look down and told myself to just put one foot in front of another until I made it across.  That was all well and good, until you get across and realize the only way back IS ALSO THE BRIDGE.  As Hilary said upon reflecting on it when I told the family this, “I remember thinking, ‘there’s no way that’s the only possible way back.”  Sure is, sure is.  Ultimately after visiting the Capilano area, Grouse Mountain, the Vancouver Aquarium, and Science World (my personal favorite but got hardcore nixed…) we think we’re going to try to rent out Capilano for the evening and include food and drink and guided tours all around the park as our welcome event, and then just give members the morning at leisure.  We’ll see, all of that work comes AFTER the site visit, and I can’t think about After the Site Visit right now because I’ll cry because this ship is now my home and I refuse to leave.

On Tuesday morning, we went on the ship early while they were still turning it over from the departing guests and getting ready for all of us to board later.  We did a full tour and got to see all the different categories of suites available, because it’ll be important for us to know all the details when advertising and selling the trip.  Let me just tell you, this ship is fuggin dope.  To me, it’s a perfect size – about 225 cabins (not including crew) so it’s big enough that it doesn’t feel like a small little boutique liner, but small enough that you don’t get any of the creepy mass Carnival cruise line heebie jeebies and feel trapped on a skyscraper at sea.  It’s been a week and I already feel like I know everyone.  I keep joking that I’m the mayor of the ship and honestly it’s not ALL in my head, I’m very popular around here.  You’ll notice that theme running throughout these blogs, so consider yourselves warned.  It also helps that we are among the youngest people on the ship, as you could have guessed – I’d say about 60% of the population is in their 60s or above, and the remainder are spready through 50s/40s/30s.  There’s literally ONE child aboard, a little 3-year old boy that we are all obsessed with.  He wears bowties and suits to the formal dinners and little nautical themed clothing all other times, and carries his slinkie around everywhere wanting to play.  Nick said at lunch today “he’s 100% my favorite person on the ship.”

We finally officially boarded the ship around 4 pm on Tuesday and it was honestly so exciting.  I felt like a celebrity, especially because the entire staff knows that we are here for a site visit and I think has probably been told to pay us special attention.  The captain, his officers, the maitre’d, the sommelier, the hotel manager, the hospitality director, the executive chef, the Alaskan Ventures director, the cruise director (Jan who we despise, more on her later), all have specially introduced themselves to us and have greeted us by name since the first day.  I know the crew and staff all have manifests before we board with our names and pictures, but I’m honestly still floored at how impressive their memories are.  On the first night, I ordered a double vodka soda with extra lime and a splash of cranberry juice from the head bartender.  Three nights later, I hadn’t seen him since, I walked in and he made that exact same drink for me and just put it in front of me.  What the fuck?!?! The captain’s staff captain passes by me daily and says “Ms. Rice, hope you had a lovely evening!” I was like “sorry who are you?!”  I always fancied myself good at names and faces and now I’ve learned that perhaps a decade of marijuana usage has turned me into a trash brained human who has no special skills anymore.  TBD.

We spent the next day at sea, which I’ll pick up in the next bloggy bit (inspiration drawn from bergy bits.)

[youremysputnik]

what I loved about DEH / Stagedooring DEH

awkward laugh - i don’t remember exactly when this was but i think it was right before only us? (I looked it up it’s during if i could tell her!!) zoe and evan are talking about something and taylor just turned away from mal toward the back of stage and went “hahaha” really awkwardly and i don’t know it was really funny

panic attack - during you will be found, evan drops his notecards and i know the different evans do this differently. taylor started repeating “sorry um... uh umm sorry uh” and then started breathing really hard and i was like “oh no i know what this is nonono” and he basically laid on the stage for a bit having a panic attack until he saw the tie. this moment really resonated with me because it was so real and i know much panic attacks suck

awkward hand touch - during the scene “you’re breaking up with me” when zoe tells evan she’s not breaking up with him, taylor was standing like two feet from mal and awkwardly stepped forward, touched her hands at her sides and went “thank you”, she then returned the gesture and went “don’t mention it” and they both laughed pretty hard it was so funny (i have seen the obc boot in a long time so i’m not sure if this happens all the time)

circle in ywbf - ok this was the moment when i really realized i was seeing this show. this is the moment in you will be found when they all turn around to face evan (toward the end of the song) and he’s in the middle and i don’t know it was so wholesome and loud and i loved it

good for you - during their solos and when heidi, jared, and alana are all singing together taylor would just stand there with his hands over his face looking at the person then they would start walking toward him and he would run

so big/so small looking at each other - i bawled during so big so small but it was specifically the part where heidi just held evan and they looked st each other and cried aHH

connor in sincerely me - it’s interesting to see how evan’s portrayal of connor changes how he is played. during sincerely me alex would run around the stage with huge energy and it’s interesting that that’s not really connor at all

sniffles - damn i thought everyone was exaggerating when they said you can hear everyone sobbing and sniffling. i think the small intimate space of the music box definitely helps that!

did you let go - ok i’m trying to avoid huge spoilers so hopefully you know this already but when this scene happened my friend basically was that new pikachu meme and went 🤭

taylors little evan ticks - I LOVE TAYLOR TRENSCH i noticed he wiped his hands on his pants a lot and rubbed his face and eyebrows! my friend (who’s not at all into theatre) even told me “it’s so cool how he does all the little ticks!”

taylor looking around - so we were sitting middle upper balcony but the music box is so small it still felt like we were right there, plus by sitting there we could see all the social media screens anyway whenever taylor would stand at the front of the stage for like a monologue or a song he would look around and even though we were so high up it felt like he could still see us and stare into our souls

waving through a window vs you will be found - i just,,,, love this show and how similar these two songs are in their structure and how different their situations are!!!

end of only us - i think i only put this because it’s funny knowing taylor and ben’s relationship and then watching the end of only us when evan and zoe kiss anyway next

words fail voice cracks - words fail has always been my favorite song and at the beginning of the song when evan is telling the murphy’s he was lying they look so heartbroken and taylor could barely get the first few lines out because he was crying and his voice was cracking and i sobbed he’s such a good actor

sobbing into mic during so big so small? - i put a ? because i couldn’t remember if it was so big so small but it definitely was at the end of that song i think either taylor’s mic was on and shouldn’t have been or he just usually doesn’t sob there but he let out a few audible sobs and again it really shows how great of an actor he is

michael crying during to break in a glove - i don’t remember ever hearing about this happening before but during to break in a glove michael could barely get some lyrics out because he was crying so hard ansjsnen i love this cast

awkward but touching hug after so big so small - the only reason i wrote awkward is because taylor’s arm was like weirdly squished between them and it around lisa but i couldn’t really come up with another word anyway they held that for a while and if was so cute

evan gets pushed—beginning of waving - ok this was really the moment i realized i was seeing dear evan hansen when alex pushed taylor and he slid and the lights changed and immediately started waving through a window i almost lost it there AND NOTHING SAD HAPPENED YET

sky’s jared NEEDS MORE APPRECIATION - ngl i was very sleep deprived when i wrote most of these notes but i agree sleep deprived christine! he was so funny!!!! please love him!! his laugh was awesome too!! rivaled will’s

MALLORY BECHTEL - her voice was so pretty and nice i love her so much!!!!! “she so cute!!” -my friend

monster that i knew - mallory paused for so long here and it was a really interesting i love her

zoom away bed zoom in table - this is like the first thing that happens, evan’s bed moves off and the murphy’s table comes on idk maybe i was a little sleep deprived but it was kinda funny to me. also ngl i forgot that jlt was still in the cast and that was a very pleasant surprise!!

evan? EVAN - taylor trensch is amazing. he yelled a lot and that’s something i didn’t really see from the clips of the other evan and i really liked it!

not all jazz - i think this was about the yelling again but also it’s such an iconic scene i’m so happy i got to see it

you want to say it again don’t you? very much so yes - sorry, i’m sorry. you say sorry a lot don’t you? yeah sorry.. i mean... you know what i mean. PRICELESS. taylor plays awkward so well sksjejdkenen

larry realizing and crying during ywbf - michael looking around at all the screens and starting to cry when he realizes he can’t deny connor’s death forever was such a good moment!!

jlt and michael hugging - this piggybacks on the last one since it’s basically the same moment but when jennifer hugged michael she was so far up on her tiptoes

social media voices - i don’t know why it caught me so off guard that the social media voices during ywbf were the same as the ones on the recording but it did? like idk i guess i’m just used to the cast recordings being better (?autotune) than actual shows but those voices literally being the exact same threw me off?

also last thing phoenix made a speech for bcefa, they were selling a bunch of things with the proceeds going to bcefa! they were selling the cast taylor wore that night for $500! so i took this picture during that speech because i’ve seen people film then so i’m assuming it’s allowed??? 😉

-

i’m going to put stagedooring on this post too since only two people stagedoored

* we stood for a long time but there wasn’t a lot of people at the stagedoor because i know my school had 250 people there and there were other groups that had to go.

* we were originally supposed to be back at 10:30 but they extended it to 11 so we were able to stay out later!

* i’m surprised some of my friends were willing to stand around but i think they knew this is what i really wanted to do!

* michael park came out first and i was at the very beginning so i was the first person he talked to! all i really did was thank him for such a great show! when he was signing someone else’s playbill i quickly yelled i loved tuck everlasting! not sure if he heard it or not, it kind of sounded like he said “i loved it too” but don’t quote me.

* then lisa brescia came out and we told her how much we loved the show and how thankful i am for them coming out and stagedooring even after such an emotional show and she was like “we do it for you guys!! you’re the reason we do this!!” i love her!!

* i heard later that she actually graduated from a school in my state and someone’s mom actually knew her!!

* i didn’t take selfies with anyone because i heard stage management was really strict but other people were

* honestly i was working myself up to talk to taylor and thank him for everything but then he didn’t come out. i’m going to be writing him another letter soon!

* we waited for a bit longer then the stage manager said there would be nobody else so we walked back :)

* then last night i got both of these notifications: :)))))) taylor liked my tweet and david korins (scenic director) commented on my instagram!!

[ibitchytimemachine]

A Glad Day

Lisalu

*I took the link out, someone was butt hurt that I provided a source - If you want to read the fic its pretty easy to find on the usual fan fiction sites.

I spent the past week reading this monster of a story. Just out of curiosity I copied and pasted the text into pages to see how long this thing is and it is 250 pages without formatting. That was not what I was expecting when I began the fic and saw there were only five chapters to it! Beware spoilers, my thoughts are below!

Ok first thing is first, this story was phenomenal! Each chapter could have been a story in itself, and the amount of plot and character development in even the most “inconsequential” of characters was astounding. Lisalu’s vision of Vegeta-sei was incredibly well rounded. It is obvious that this is something that 1. She does/did full time (a writer, teacher, English major something) and 2. this was a labor of love. I will not say that each chapter had a different writing style/feel to it, but definitely the third chapter forward had several writing styles in them, mostly because of the narration changes occurring. I loved the fact that you get the story from Vegeta and Bulma’s POV, and that the writing style changed between the two to show differences between narrators. It is nice to see how clouded Vegeta’s judgement is in the beginning of the story throughout the literary use of Vegeta as an unreliable narrator. I think it is safe to say that Bulma’s POV is damaged by her hate dungeon dragon, but it is nice to see the flip side of the coin. Lisalu was ingenious in how she slipped in seemingly fluffy  adjectives that were later explained through the differing POV’s. The first two chapters almost read like an epic poem, think Illiad/Oddesy, and I would like to imagine this was intentional because of the narrator being Vegeta. At this point in his life he still believes himself to be the savior of worlds, a hero to be worshiped and pleased. Untouchable and Godlike. After his first defeat with Jeice (BTW so glad this was not another Frieza story) the writing softens, showing how Vegeta is beginning to crack. Then again after Vegeta is tortured and brought back to Vegeta-sei, the writing style is changed yet again. The words that are picked give the feeling of timidity and unease. After Vegeta regains his memories the style is a nice blend between the two, symbolizing Vegeta’s broken self melding with his former arrogant self. I loved Vegeta’s POV because of the subtle changes Lisalu made to signify the narrator’s journey. Quite impressive writing on her part. As for Bulma’s POV, I thought it was a nice addition to show her views, and it was nice to her “in her own words” her feelings and motivations. I loved that nod to the fact that Bulma would 100 percent want her story and part of her to live on for the memory of her peoples and for her kids. However, I had some issues with the diary. First, I find it hard to believe that Bulma would want to give an account of her time at Vegeta-sei and not detail the cultural and political histories of her home world. During the story it was so important to her that the children were told legends and sang Madrani songs, so I can imagine that she would want to put some of that in her diary. Although, for plot device of getting her story to Vegeta I can completely let that slide. One other big issue I have with it is, if I am writing a diary, I would not write (or speak) the way Bulma chose to tell her story. I am not going to give the types of details that Bulma gave. I would probably use the damn this to let my feelings out into the void. So some of the believability was dampened for me in this aspect. I will argue with myself again and say that this narration issue begins when Bulma starts to break. At the beginning of the diary (when she is still with Raditz) the story telling is way more believable, and as the diary continues it becomes more detailed and almost like she is trying too hard to tell each aspect of her story. Perhaps this is a side effect of her own madness that is taking hold? I don't know, honestly, but this particular it was not as successful as it was with Vegeta for myself. 

Even the antagonists have incredibly plausible reasons for being bad. Shit Bulma creates weapons of mass destruction and you can’t blame her for her reasoning. This story is ultimately about shades of grey, not everything is black and white. No one in this story is a good person. No one is a bad person. They are like Bulma states several times just people. People with their own thoughts, feelings, agendas and lives. Jeice is a horrible monster for this story, he nukes whole planets, deploys what is a killer virus onto a whole galaxy (pretty much), takes survivors of the attacks and places them in torture chamber designed for the entertainment of others, yet I can’t say that what he did was inherently evil. Ok so he was a total ass and went way overboard, but he went completely mad with his wife being raped to death and his kid being killed in an equally terrible way. He went overboard and let the “hate dragon” take hold. He is not really evil, mentally unstable is more like it. His ACTIONS are pure unadulterated evil, but he is not. We see this throughout the story of how the narrator will paint people or races of people as total monsters, only to have them redeem themselves. Zarbon, befriends Bulma and pays with his life trying to protect her. His love for Scopa really drove him to the edge of madness when Scopa was killed, but his redeeming moments were all done out of love for his fallen lover. Horda, who is a “Red Demon”, the same race of people as Jeice, shows his distaste for the treatment of the Sayians, even though they are responsible for the brutal death of his daughter (Jeice’s mate). He even teaches Vegeta how to overcome the block of his Ki sickness (the side effect of the Virus). Granted he did not know Vegeta was Sayian, but this is yet another insight to how people are only good or bad through the eyes of whichever narrator is speaking. If I stretch a bit here, maybe LisaLu is trying to tell us something about our own prejudice's? I can say a lot about this fic, it can be taken at face value, it can be a tale of heroism and its faults, it can be a tale of rebirth and redemption and it can be a warning about racism and the effects of hate and prejudice. 

This is another tale I almost wish would have ended sadly. A huge part of me wanted the story to be over when Vegeta died in the Circus. It is plausible for Dende to have created and used the dragon balls to raise Vegeta, and ultimately these characters really fucking needed a break, so I can let it slide. This story is described as dark in its authors notes, and kami-dammit is it ever fucking dark. There are graphic descriptions of rape, mental illness (although you may not realize the illness as what it is), suicide, torture, war, violence, illness. This is not a story for the faint of heart. Although I do think this story says something about culture and society. I really think that while Lisalu wanted to write a story about a “What-if” Bulma was taken to Vegeta-sei, what he actually wrote was a story about hate. What hate does to your heart and soul. In the end of the story, Bulma has transformed into an angel who delivers the universe from hatred. She is the Jesus figure of this story. She had several moments when she was being broken down, and ultimately she “died” when her mind broke in MedCenter. She was resurrected through love of her Children. She became the savior by designing true protective gear for the galaxy and entrapping “evil” on Shakaji. Those who could not look past their own “hate dragons” were dammed, and judgement rang down on them from Bulma. She rescued those who were good hearted (notice, not pure hearted) and dammed those who let hate fester. 

This fucking story was amazing. The more I think about it, the more I see in it. I liked it while I was reading it, but it wasn't until I sat down and began thinking about what all I wanted to say that I realized just how fantastic this story truly was. I can honestly say I have not read another story quite up to the level of this in the world of fan fiction (and I have been reading fan fiction on and off since the late 1990′s). I am new to DB fandom, but I have to say that I am so impressed with the artists/creators in this fandom. It seems as though every day I am introduced to another stellar artist. 

With that being said shout out to @brinker-hadley for suggesting one of LisaLu’s fics. I found a website with a few more of hers that I will peruse a bit. But if there is a fic out there that any of you wonderful people think I need to read - let me know!

If you liked this review, after you check out this fic, head over to my A03 and check my stuff out too!

[ick25]

Rockman.EXE Episode 46 Review.

In Battle Network universe, curry takes YOU out!

Are you gonna explain how Regal gets Dr. Wily’s robot eye gene or something?

We begin the episode with one of my least favorite characters in this season demanding curry at the restaurant of my least favorite group of villaines. Count Elec is working while complaining about Rush and wondering if the WWW will ever come back. Suddenly, his PET starts to emit a sound with a bright red screen, and we see that the rest of the WWW members also have the same problem.

They are all gathered at the Maha ichiban, with Rush still waiting for his dang curry, trying to figure out what is going on. The PETs then slowly reveal an image of Dr. Wily.

Are we forgeting already that Madoi has sleeves?

After the title card we see that all PETs are connected to a tv where they find out that it is a video recording of Dr.Wily’s will. Wily tells them about a special chip where he engraved his intellect and where to find it.

All of this as the monitor shows the mod code for HP+250 for some reason.

After hearing this the WWW members are amazed and glad that they will finally return, but a certain dog hears them and escapes to alert our heroes.

Another way to make this character useful. I honestly don’t know why they don’t even question Rush, like they already know who he is and what he can do.

We cut to Netto who is happily skating while singing Aki’s cheezy song (very badly BTW) until he is surprised by Rush who suddenly appears in his way. Rush seems to be trying to tell him something, but Netto simple can’t understand him.

Why? She speaks bitch? XD (It’s not a bad word if I’m not using it as an insult)

In the next scene we see the Ex-WWW stealing a helicopter from a local airport by drowning the employees in curry. I also want to point out that Madoi and Count Elec are wearing those weird looking hats from when they were hand gliding in episode 31.

Custom hats for their hair styles?

Madoi reminds them that Gauss might also be interested in finding Wily’s brain chip, before we see him at his company with the family picture we saw in episode 30.

Meanwhile, in Yaito’s secret tree house base, Roll somehow translates what Rush said about the Wily chip, (ignore the weird spacing in the second panel) and for some reason they all think it’s THEIR job to stop them.

Rush demonstrates once again that he can cross between worlds to show them the map to the chip, and right after this, Yaito calls them from a entirely different art style and background just so we can get Yaito’s animation of getting into her private jet Batman style.

It just looks so weird going back and forth between art styles like that. Even the shading is different!

They find the island with no signs of the Ex-WWW anywhere, until Rockman totally jinx it because it turns out they were waiting for them to fly and shoot at them!

Rockman in forth panel: “I hate to be right all the time”

It’s been a while since the WWW tried to MURDER Netto! They literally shoot at them because they knew Netto and Rockman were there!

After blasting them out of the sky, the WWW land on the island were they find a waterfall that, of course, has a jack-in point next to it. This means the waterfall is fake because it dries up once they plug-in to reveal the chip.

Just plug-in, play Wily’s video and no more waterfall. Before they can take the chip though, one of Yaito’s drill cars bursts out of the ground. Yaito, Dekao and Tohru attempt to runaway with the chip only for the drill to stop working leaving them stuck there. Meanwhile, Netto is driving underground in a second drill car.

“Girl please, who’s the main character here? I can find the plot with my eyes closed.”

The loser squad try to defend the chip, in a very poorly way because Mahajarama ends up picking it up easily after Madoi drops it. Hinouken celebrates, but they are all interrupted by a blimp from Gauss that suddenly arrives before cutting to commercials.

We return from commercials with Gauss blasting the WWW helicopter with a laser from his airship.

Yeap, that happend.

Gauss reveals himself and immediately proceeds to insult Madoi.

I like how the camera switches to Madoi dissapearing and then going back to Gauss getting slapped by her. This is officially the second time Madoi slaps him.

Gauss reveals that he is interested in collecting Wily’s chip for his fan girl collection before Netto and Meiru finally burst out of the ground behind the blimp. Gauss then reveals a vital piece of information to eveyone.

Whaaaaa... I’m just kidding, we already knew that.

Turns out Gauss changed the family name to Magnets after their mother died and considers the Count a failure. He offers to take him back on his blimp in return for him handing over the Wily chip. The Count accepts shocking everyone, except for Mahajarama who has fate in him.

Then Meiru comes running at Yaito and the others telling them that Netto is on that ship too.

“Main character!”

Inside the airship, the Count refuses to hand over the chip and challenges Gauss to a Net Battle, but not just any Netbattle, one with the same rules used in his battle against Rockman back in episode 30. 

Were the subs done by the same guys from episode 38? WHAT THE HECK ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?!

Gauss accepts and we then see Netto hiding in a closet where Rockman tells him that he will disable the security so he can sneak around. The electric battle begins with Elecman and Magnetman rushing at eachother as we then cut to Rockman taking out the security Navis with his cutted buster shot.

I’m liking the lighting effects used in this episode.

Elecman attacks Magnetman with his Elec Sword, but the magnetic Navi blows him away. Magnetman attacks with his Mag balls, Elecman tries to avoid them but one of them eventually touches him causing the Count to get shocked by the battle machine.

So gay. 

Anyway, the Count shuts him up after he sends a lightning rod to Elecman to protect him from Magnetman’s attacks and returning the damage to him.

That’s not a real chip, but I don’t care.

Gauss gets angry and Magnetman manhandles Elecman.

This battle is intense! I am personally rooting for Elecman and the Count. I don’t have anything against gay people, I just happen to dislike Gauss, and his Navi Magnetman is very vicious. You can see how Elecman struggles in the battle just for the Count. That is Navi loyalty at its finest!

Meanwhile, we go back to the island where one of Yaito’s maids tells her that their rescue crew has arrived, they can now go get Netto from Gauss’s blimp. Speacking of Netto, we cut to Rockman now in the Heat Guts style burning more security Navis to disable what I guess is a motion sensor.

I think this is the first time we see burn marks left by the Heat Guts attack, it is suppouse to be a flamethrower after all.

Back to the battle, Elecman and Magnetman launch their attacks at the same time. The collission of their attacks for some reason means that both Gauss and the Count get electricuted. During this, a spark runs wild and starts a tiny fire somewhere in the blimp.

Netto finally arrives at the room where they are having their Net Battle and spots Wily’s chip in front of their family picture.

Just wanted to brag my good timing with this shot where Netto sees the Count before hiding.

Magnetman and Elecman are both tired, the fire in the airship starts to expand, the Navis decide to take the other one down with their fists resulting in a double log-out and both operators getting electricuted and falling over.

On the floor, they both talk about the past. Gauss even admits that their mother and him were worried about the Count before she passed away. 

This tender conversation is interrupted by an explotion caused by the growing fire, but there is another surprise for them, Netto attempting to sneak away with the Wily chip behind their backs.

You know, Netto, you could’ve taken advantage of the explotion to run away without them realizing it. 

Netto runs away and plugs out Rockman who was still burning security Navis in the cyberworld with Gauss and Count Elec right behind him.

Rockman deleting the security might have weakend the airships emergency protocals in case of a fire...Wooops. Either that or Gauss’s blimp was poorly designed.

Netto tries to escape from them by running to the roof only to be stopped by the fire.

.........

Only in the original version can you find an openly gay Gauss.

Netto threatens them by throwing the chip overboard, but another explotion causes him to lose balance.

The villains saved the hero?

Of course they did it because they thought he still had the chip. Luckily for Netto, he grabs on to a lose part of the blimp slowly tearing its side and leaving him hanging from it.

Gauss and Count Elec once again start to fight over the chip, and once again an explotion occures making them fall over with the chip sliding pass between them and finally falling off the ship.

LOL, there goes Wily’s brain.

The blimp is slowly falling with Netto getting closer to the water until something saves him from drowning or freezing to death.

Oh no, its the return of the Yaito Mako!

Netto is saved and the blimp ends up crashing into an iceberg while our heroes just watch the bad guys die.

Oh the Elec-Manity! Or Magnet-Manity? o-o

After this we see the Ex-WWW on a boat in front of the iceberg believing that their dear friend died. Of course this isn’t the case because the camera quickly shifts to the Count and Gauss bickering on a block of ice, ending the episode with both of them sneezing.

What do I think?

The beginning was pretty dumb. Netto and friends just trying to stop the Ex-WWW like it was their responsability. I mean, granted, Rockman is the hero that stops their evil plans, but they never got directly involve before. Fighting against the WWW Navis was because they were causing problems to them and the rest of the city, but their operators don’t stand a chance against a group of adults in real life. The cyberworld is where Rockman is superior and is able to stop them, that’s the Battle Network formula, giving kids an advantage over adults.

The best and most important part of the episode was the revelation of Gauss and Count Elec being brothers and the Net Battle between their Navis. If you saw the anime before playing the games like me, this was something we were waiting for after seeing the Count’s family picture in episode 30. The game was pretty vague about this, how were we suppoused to know that the Cout’s real name was Jack? They are never seen interacting with eachother in the games, Gauss’s introduction was the only time where this was mentioned. During the plane hijacking in BN2, Gauss reveals that he came from a very poor family and that his brother Jack was taken in by a wealthy family, making him bitter towards humanity and the reason why he joins Gospel. Here, they both come from a rich family but chose different paths, specially since the Count ran away from home a long time ago.

The reason why there was a mod code in Wily’s video was part of their publicity for BN3, by adding secret codes for the game in the anime. It is very plausible that we will see more secret codes hiding in some of the future episode.

[betweenthetimeandsound]

Three Minutes to Eternity: My ESC 250 (#120-111)

#120: Iveta Mukuchyan -- Lovewave (Armenia 2016)

“Without even a single warning I’m not who I was before A chain reaction with no returning Now watch me craving for more”

Lovewave is definitely experimental in more ways than one—not only in how the song builds up with the jet take off, but also with the mix of Armenian elements and artpop. A contemplation on the ecstasy of love and how much it opens up a person, the lyrics bring out the sensation too, in an unorthodox structure including a spoken word beginning and a lack of a proper chorus.

And then we have that staging—if we're judging these only on presentation, this is one of the, if not the, best ones ever. A mix of fire, camera angles (which actually makes it more enjoyable for the audience at home, as it adds to the sensation which the live audience wouldn't otherwise get) and holograms bring up the intensity with Iveta at the center—she owns the stage as an absolute showstopper.

Personal ranking: 3rd/42 Actual ranking: 7th/26 GF in Stockholm

#119: Gina G -- Ooh, Aah, Just a Little Bit (United Kingdom 1996)

“Like a child, but it's more than a phase Could act the angel, but it wouldn't be true”

When the eighth-place song does better commercially than the winner of its year, then things have gotten really wrong in Eurovision. By the 1996 contest, most of the songs were low-energy, with some New Age and/or Celtic influences in between. While it doesn't mean it was bad, it did mean it didn't configure well with the pop charts.

And Ooh, Aah, Just a Little Bit was that song; it stormed through the charts and got nominated for a Grammy for Best Dance Recording. While it's an ordinary dance track, it still induces a jolt of energy and it's just so bubbly and fun. The harp and strings, while very slight, add some nice touches to the song too. Sure, Gina misses a few notes here and there, but I was too busy dancing to notice it, as well as staring at that pretty dress (which was supposed to be for Cher, but it was scrapped!)

However, those vocals also cost the UK a bit, as they placed 3rd in the pre-qualifying round, but dropped to eighth on the night. Considering the state of Eurovision during the time, this might be the song that triggered the televote.

Personal ranking: 4th/23 Actual ranking: 8th/23 in Oslo

#118: Şebnem Paker - Beşinci Mevsim (Turkey 1996)

"Kapandı son kapım, vuruldum bilmeden, Sakın o sen misin giden, Soyundu dallarım, delindi gökyüzü, Kaçıncı sonbahar bugün,”

“My last door has closed, I have been hit without knowing, Are you leaving me My branches are naked, my sky is darker Which autumn is today?”

The opening lines, along with the violin solo, set the stage for this gloomy, melancholic song from Sebnem Paker (the first of two, actually!) I like the autumnal feeling of this, as if one could walk across a boulevard on an overcast day, thinking about what has gone wrong in a relationship. The accordion especially helps here; I keep thinking of a street scene in Paris here. I also like humming this on my spare time; it could work out as an "on hold" tone for the telephone. It's actually quite relaxing.

An interesting thing is despite getting a better result ten years earlier, Beşinci Mevsim scored more points for Turkey in the 100% jury era, with 59 points. And Sebnem would go on to improve on that the following year. While I do look highly on that one like others (and it will eventually come soon) I’d like to think of her first entry as an underrated masterpiece.

Personal ranking: 3rd/23 Actual ranking: 12th/23 in Oslo

#117: Danijela Martinovic -- Neka mi ne Svane (Croatia 1998)

“Neka mi ne svane Nek’ me nema, nek’ me ne bude Neka me bez tebe ne probude”

“May the dawn never rise May I disappear, may I cease to exist May I not wake up without you”

One eccentricity about 1998 is that it begins and ends on a similar note--they can't stop the dawn! Ne zori, zoro (#163) does so through a dim, melancholic note by going through the struggles of a man on the edge, whereas Neka mi ne svane does so through a dainty, yet no less sad, melody about loss.

The way Daniejla sings this line is a highlight with the song, as she vocalizes each syllable with her sweet voice. She mourns for a lost love, desiring for him to come back and refusing to live on. I also love the orchestration; it adds to the magical feel and creates a sense of grandeur. And with a single swipe of hand, one of the most effective gimmicks in Eurovision history as she removes her dark cloak to reveal a white gown.

Apparently, to some commenters, this is the best Balkan Ballad ever. While I find it really beautiful, considering none of Zejlko Joksimovic's compositions are on this list yet, it's doesn't hold much of a candle for what is too come.

Personal ranking: 3rd/25 Actual ranking: 5th/25 in Birmingham

Final Impressions on Croatia: A comment on all their entries describes Croatia at Eurovision as the "reverse of character development"; in the 1990s, they were quite strong, with a number of entries that could've won in their year. They had a good streak in the 2000s, though their last top-ten was in 2001, before basically torpedoing in the 2010s. It's quite sad to see a potential powerhouse withering like that.

But weren't those really good entries, really good? And if it weren't for the Slovak jury giving those points in Kvalificacija za Millstreet...

#116: Pierre Rapsat -- Judy et cie (Belgium 1976)

"Sous ton rimmel et tes bijoux Tu pries Sainte Marilyn Monroe D’être une poupée, un beau joujou Tout feu, tout flamme Enfin la femme”

“Under your mascara and jewelry, You pray to saint Marilyn Monroe To become a doll, a beautiful toy. All fire, all flames, A woman at last...”

Have you ever been one of those kids who was rejected from everything in school and had no friends? Reading the lyrics to “Judy et cie” reminds me of that, as everyone else was so cool with their friends and status, and Judy just wants to feel accepted . With my spin, it feels like it get dark at the end, because Judy becomes so desperate to get attention, she turns to either selling herself to others or doing drugs.

Combined with Pierre’s composition, it just works so well. Not unlike with Somewhere in Europe (#126), it feels like a Billy Joel song with its instrumentation and depth. Relistening to the orchestration, it really works in conveying the overall feeling. We feel that loneliness and hope for better things for Judy, though we know that won’t ever come to light for her.

Personal ranking: 1st/18 Actual ranking: 8th/18 in Den Haag

Final Impressions on 1976: 1976 feels like a filler year, and at the same time, it's quite good song-wise. The production feels a bit bland; we don't have anything interesting, though the changing stage was definitely a neat innovation. The songs are solid; the top two are among the highest-scoring songs by percentage, but there's a mix of boppy and dark. More of the sullen songs makes my top 250.

#115: Anna Maria Jopek -- Ale Jestem (Poland 1997)

“Trzeba żyć naprawdę, żeby oszukać czas, Trzeba żyć najpiękniej, żyje się tylko raz, Trzeba żyć w zachwycie: marzyć, kochać i śnić, Trzeba czas oszukać, żeby naprawdę żyć,”

“You must truly live, to fool the time, You must beautifully live, you live only once You must live in admiration: love, imagine and dream You must fool the time, to save true life”

Around 100 entries ago, I told you about Sama, one of Poland's most eccentric entries. And now we have another Polish entry here, though this is the end of their journey.

Watching Ale Jestem's live performance, one first is immersed into the orchestration, with the variant colors springs to life on the Point Theatre stage. The following three minutes remains folkloric but a bit delicate, the pre-chorus (shown in the lyrics) build up to quite the crescendos as it feels like dancing through a meadow of flowers. Anna Maria keeps up with the sweet vocals, and she has a bit of a mischievous gaze towards the audience!

Both poetic and strong, Ale Jestem relishes in one’s existence, while imploring us we have to make the most of what we’ve got. The instrumentation makes this the ultimate spring song; the strings add a wall of sound that pulls you in (if it's a bit "messy", it's because it's in 12/8 time, though it gets easy to adjust!). It inspires joy and life, and it’s just all kinds of beautiful.

Personal ranking: 7th/25 Actual ranking: 11th/25 in Dublin

#114: Evridiki -- Teriazoume (Cyprus 1992)

“Σου δίνω τα χείλη μου, και μέσα στην ύλη μου Με κάθε κύτταρο μου σε τυλίγω”

“I give you my lips, and into my existence With every cell of mine I wrap you”

Terry Wogan famously warned the audience that Evridiki's performance will "smolder your television set". While it may not have made your TV (or these days, laptop or phone) melt until it functions with a melted screen, Teriazoume is so sensual!

It definitely lit a spark in the dull 1992 field, which didn’t exactly translate to points, though it has won my heart. From the way Evridiki moves to the way the microphone stand shakes, you’re on a wire as she tries to seduce you. (I've actually spent quite a bit of time trying to learn the handography in the bridge) The strings also add to that feeling with their sudden starts and stops--at one point, the audience clapped before the song was over!

George Theopanous (the songwriter as well as the conductor) does a good job in using imagery in the lyrics to accompany the melody, and the result is akin to a strip tease with beautiful silk clothes and lacy underwear. And in my opinion, this has more sex appeal in two seconds than Fuego has in three minutes. You can't change my mind.

Personal ranking: 3rd/23 Actual ranking: 11th/23 in Malmo

#113: Monica Aspelund -- Lapponia (Finland 1977)

“Tuo neito noita on, hän luo voimalla kohtalon Hän vailla on seuraa ja lohduttamaton Ja siksi loihtii hän noituen, hän luo voimalla loitsujen Hän tavalla Seidan näin miehen kutsua saa”

“That girl is a witch, she creates with the power of destiny She’s without company and consolation And that’s why she conjures witching, she creates with the power of spells In the way of Seita she can beckon a man”

Apparently, Monica disowned the Finnish lyrics of Lapponia because they mentioned witches, which is a pity because it tells a fantastic story! (And in other linguistic fun, the song was meant to be performed in Swedish, but the language rule prevented Monica from doing so. It would take another thirteen years for a Finnish entry to be performed in Swedish. In addition, there was a Dutch version only used for a commercial)

The instrumental is bright and enjoyable despite the cold land of Lapponia, and Monica’s vocals sings clearly and with joy. The clapping is enough to get one up and going, and it nullifies the repetitiveness of the "nananas". And of course, her high note at the bridge absolutely nailed it!

Along with a solid result, Lapponia got Finland’s first top score (and only one until 2006--see #140 for that), but it certainly deserved more. (Why did It's Nice to Be in Love Again have to complete the top three?)

Personal ranking: 3rd/18 Actual ranking: 10th/18 in London

#112: Anna Vissi -- Everything (Greece 2006)

“I can hear my heart breaking as I open the door I can feel the tears on my face burn like fire...”

I've honestly wavered between this and another Greek personal runner-up for this one. Both of them are fantastic, but neither would've challenged my winners of their respective years. After watching both of their performances, I turned to my gut, and this lost out.

The contrast between Anna’s questioning of the relationship and desire to get back together plays well into the lyrics, even though they don’t necessarily stand out. That doesn’t compare with the music and Anna’s performance on the night, which was an intense experience. Compared to Mono i agapi (#239) twenty-four years earlier, Anna is a but rougher on the edges, but still gives her all on the stage.

Everything about her makes her look like a rock-star; the Jean-Paul Gaultier ensemble goes down as one of my all-time favorite performance outfits, and the crowd singing along is a highlight of the 2006 contest. The climax featured an awesome knee-drop at the end, and you could see how much vocal control she had. That’s how you do a minimally-staged performance!

Personal ranking: 2nd/37 Actual ranking: 9th/24 GF in Athens

#111: Boaz Maauda -- The Fire in Your Eyes (Israel 2008)

“נפשי מייחלת לתפילת הלב החם”

“My soul is longing for the warm heart's prayer”

Also known as the other good Israeli Eurovision entry from the 2000s, The Fire in Your Eyes stands out as one of the more serious, yet beautiful songs from the class of 2008, which goes up and down in terms of quality.

Who would've thought that Dana International could write such a song? It’s so beautiful, with good use of Eastern elements to add a sense of mysticism and melancholy to it. I also like the clear vocal lines from Boaz (albeit with a crack at the end); his talent show pedigree really shows here. And the staging was quite pretty, though the backing vocalists' dancing does feel a bit jarring compared to the minimalistic lighting.

Ultimately, the lyrics stand out the most to me. They're really sweet and calm, with a serenity in the longing. I like the added touches of Yemenite Hebrew in the introduction, which adds more substance to the song.

Personal ranking: 5th/43 Actual ranking: 9th/25 GF in Belgrade