#There are many variations of this man but the untamed seems to be a live action adaptation so that's the image I chose

[every-character-ever-poll]

JIANG CHENG - The Untamed

PROPAGANDA:

Oh he is a bastard and i love him dearly. He has lost so much and he is so so sad and so so angry about it but he keeps moving on!!! he keeps going!!! and he raised his baby nephew - his only remaining family member when everyone else he'd ever loved died within like. 3 years - all by himself while rebuilding his sect alone with no helpfrom any other sects. Hes pissy and angry and shorttempered but he cares so much and he didn't deserve any of it. I love him so much.

[gusu-emilu]

raven sun: Ch 1/3, 4.6k

for @mdzsbingo prompts “rarepair, mission, hostile, paranoia”

Ship: Jiang Cheng / Wen Ning

Summary: Wen Ning becomes possessed by a vengeful spirit. Unfortunately, Jiang Cheng is the closest target.

Rated M, contains nonsexual but dubconny dom/sub elements in later chapters

Post-Canon

Angst and Eventual Hurt/Comfort

Antagonistic Uncles to Less Antagonistic Uncles

Dom Wen Ning

for those who saw the golden core reveal and said “needs more degradation”

Swordplay with Suibian (and all its implications)

Jiang Cheng’s plans for this night hunt did not include this much physical contact with the Ghost General.

His plans hadn't involved any physical contact with the Ghost General. Nor did they involve his right leg being immobilized by a blast of resentful energy from a tiny figurine, or limping out of a crumbling farmhouse with Wen Ning supporting him, arm around his waist. But most things don’t go the way Jiang Cheng wants them to.

As he and Wen Ning hobble out of the farmhouse, each step sending a jolt of pain up Jiang Cheng’s leg, the figurine releases a fiercer storm of resentful energy. As if angered by their attempt to escape, it kicks up dust and shards of wood that fly around them as the house collapses.

A beam crashes to the floor.

Wen Ning grabs Jiang Cheng by the shoulders and leaps forward. His jump is so powerful that it propels them through the doorway and into the forest a few dozen paces away. Jiang Cheng lands on his stomach, the wind knocked out of him, Wen Ning on top of him. They slide across the forest floor, turning up earth, until they crash sideways into a tree trunk.

Ears ringing, Jiang Cheng draws on his spiritual energy to restore his breath. He tries to stand, impatient to check how the juniors fared the attack, but he can only push up against Wen Ning without going anywhere.

Wen Ning seems to be shielding him with his body, a gesture which is thoroughly insulting.

“Get off me!” Jiang Cheng growls.

He lets his anger grow, feeds on the frustration of being trapped. He ignores the disturbing sliver of comfort that the weight of Wen Ning's body brings.

“Get off!”

The weight lifts.

Jiang Cheng sits up. “Where’s Jin Ling?”

“I’m not sure. Jin-zongzhu and the others escaped the house before us.”

“At least they got out,” Jiang Cheng says tersely.

At least one part of this night hunt is going according to plan: Jin Ling is safe.

And, he must admit, he’s been almost as concerned with keeping the other juniors safe, too. He’d taken the blow of resentful energy for Lan Sizhui, managed to shield him just in time. He’d be injured for nothing if the Lan boy doesn’t make it out of the night hunt alive.

He would’ve thought that perfect Hanguang-Jun’s perfect little child—the “most promising disciple of his generation”—would’ve been able to hold his own on a night hunt. But if Jiang Cheng must run around saving the boy…fine. He’ll do just that.

Jiang Cheng’s right leg is still locked, completely immobile. He makes it to his feet with difficulty, but quickly enough that Wen Ning doesn’t have the chance to help him. Thankfully. A few more overly attentive, patronizing gestures from the Ghost General, and Jiang Cheng might let Zidian demonstrate why Wen Ning ought to keep an appropriate distance.

Calling for his nephew, Jiang Cheng starts to make his way back toward the farmhouse, which is likely little more than ruins by now. He wonders if he’ll ever make it there to find out. He can barely manage to limp, dragging his leg behind him.

“Jiang-zongzhu, let me help—”

“Forget it. Just go ahead of me. See how the juniors are doing.”

Wen Ning just stares at him. When he isn’t ducking his head and looking at his feet, his black eyes have a soul-searching steadiness that is both chilling and disarmingly gentle. It makes Jiang Cheng want to crawl inside of himself.

“…Thank you,” Wen Ning says. “For…A-Yuan—”

“I didn’t do anything for ‘A-Yuan,’” Jiang Cheng snaps, refusing to look at Wen Ning any longer.

Wen Ning remains in place for a few moments. Then he turns and runs away, chains clinking behind him.

Last month, Jiang Cheng had to help him put those chains back on after they got knocked out of place by a demonic boar. A lovely experience for everyone.

By now, Jiang Cheng has figured out that Wen Ning keeps those chains on not just to use a weapon, but also as some strange form of comfort. Jiang Cheng doesn’t understand it. But for some reason, he just knows it’s true.

After so many night hunts, he’s developed a disturbing level of familiarity with Wen Ning’s habits and expressions. It crept up on him slowly, a few threads woven in at a time. Yet another thing that was not part of his plans.

Unfortunately, spending time in each other’s company seems unavoidable. They are both committed to protecting their nephews. If A-Ling must be friends with the Ghost General’s only living relative, Jiang Cheng will just have to grit his teeth and endure it.

At least it’s somewhat useful to know how Wen Ning fights, as it allows them to coordinate their protection of the juniors more easily. But it’s still unnerving to know the finer details, like the exact way Wen Ning likes his chains arranged, as if Jiang Cheng ever wanted to have so much knowledge about the man.

He doesn’t even care about Wen Ning.

And if he owes a debt to Wen Ning—owes a debt to protect what remains of Wen Ning’s family, too—that doesn’t affect his feelings at all.

Doesn’t even enter his thoughts…

* *  *

As willing as Wen Ning usually is to defer to others’ judgment, admitting when Jiang Wanyin is right pricks a nerve. Still, they do need to look after the juniors first, and Wen Ning can do that fastest on his own.

Wen Ning also feels a bit guilty leaving Jiang Wanyin behind while he’s wounded—especially when he’d taken that injury for A-Yuan. But there will be time to heal him later.

Maybe it's because he doesn’t have Jiejie anymore, maybe it's because he has A-Yuan to look after, but Wen Ning has become preoccupied with caretaking. Perhaps it’s for good reason. He has the ability to protect others, and he knows the lost medical techniques of the Dafan Wen. What better use for his unnatural existence than to help others? What better way to atone for the past?

He arrives back at the wreckage of the farmhouse, but it’s deserted. He returns to the forest to continue searching for the juniors.

“Wen-qianbei!” he hears from bushes in the forest near the wreckage.

“A-Yuan?”

The juniors nearly leap out of the forest.

“Wen-qianbei!” Jin Ling and Lan Jingyi excitedly call at the same time. They shoot somewhat surprised glares at each other, then hurry over along with A-Yuan and Ouyang Zizhen.

“We’ve been looking for you!” Lan Jingyi says.

“Yeah, we were really worried!” says Ouyang Zizhen.

A-Yuan puts a hand on Wen Ning’s shoulder. Fondness warms him as soon he meets A-Yuan’s gaze.

“Are you alright?” A-Yuan asks.

“Of course,” Wen Ning says, almost wanting to laugh with the relief that washes over him at seeing that everyone seems unharmed. “I’m always alright. I should be asking you.” 

The juniors all seem so happy to see him. Even Jin Ling is smiling. He still isn’t quite used to affection from them, especially not from Jin Ling.

“Is everyone okay? Any injuries?” Wen Ning asks.

He’s met with a cheerful chorus of various variations of “We’re fine.”

Except from Jin Ling, whose smile is fading. “Where’s my jiujiu?”

Wen Ning nods over his shoulder. “Close behind. But he needs help getting here.”

Jin Ling flies off to find him.

After Wen Ning has checked the other three juniors for injuries, they start inspecting the ruins of the farmhouse to search for the figurine. But Wen Ning hangs back, a feeling of dread churning inside his chest, clawing at him.

He’d already felt unusually anxious for this night hunt before embarking on it. Still, he’d been able to face it.

But he hadn’t expected the figurine’s spirit to be this powerful.

The rumors about the figurine had all been similar, and had seemed typical for a mid-level vengeful spirit. Recently, a new footpath was created to connect two villages that lay a two-day traveling distance apart, with the abandoned farmhouse as the midpoint. If a lone traveler spent the night in the farmhouse, nothing happened.

But if a group of travelers slept inside, one of them would become possessed. The possessed traveler would accuse their companions of horrible deeds and attempt to murder them all in the name of retribution.

After some research, it was discovered that the family that used to live in the farmhouse had always gotten into fierce arguments—and one day, they all killed each other inside the house. The sole witness was a small figurine of an immortal. The figurine soaked up all the family’s hatred and bloodlust until it developed its own spirit.

And developed an aptitude for possession.

It’s possible that the figurine had destroyed itself when the house collapsed, but unlikely. The juniors will have to dig it up and figure out how to pacify it.

Wen Ning watches from a distance while the juniors search through the ruins. Anxiety continues to churn inside him. It’s different from the nervous excitement he usually feels about night hunts, having never gone on a proper night hunt before his death. And it’s different from his typical parentlike worry for the juniors.

The juniors should be relatively safe confronting the spirit. They have high cultivation levels for their age, and they underwent spirit-calming rituals as infants. Their risk of possession is low.

But Wen Ning is the perfect conduit for possession. To approach a spirit this strong would be like holding a metal rod in a lightning storm.

The memory of fighting against Baxia’s saber spirit still hangs heavy over him. Almost as heavy as what happened in Qiongqi Path. Despite Wei Wuxian having taught him how to maintain some autonomy while in the clutches of resentful energy and spirits, he still has so little control over himself.

He can’t get near this spirit. He could put everyone at danger if he does.

“They’re back!” Ouyang Zizhen calls. The juniors run over to the edge of the forest.

Jiang Wanyin and Jin Ling emerge from the forest. Jiang Wanyin’s leg doesn’t look any better. He’s still dragging it along behind him, with Jin Ling supporting him the way Wen Ning had a few minutes ago.

“Jiang-zongzhu,” A-Yuan says with a small bow. “Thank you for—”

“What are you talking about? I did nothing. Get back to work,” Jiang Wanyin says before he can finish. “The spirit is in that wreckage somewhere. We should deal with it fast before something else happens.”

A-Yuan glances back at Wen Ning, looking a bit disappointed. Wen Ning just shakes his head.

“That means all of you,” Jiang Wanyin says to Jin Ling when his nephew doesn’t move from his side.

With a mix of concern and displeasure, Jin Ling helps Jiang Wanyin over to a tree he can hold for support, then joins the others. The four juniors make to leave, then stop and look over expectantly at Wen Ning when he doesn’t follow.

Wen Ning should help them search for the figurine. Should help them pacify such a dangerous spirit. But anxiety freezes him in place.

A-Yuan seems to notice his discomfort. He smiles and gives Wen Ning a tiny nod, making gratitude swell inside Wen Ning for how perceptive his nephew is.

A-Yuan steps forward. “Wen-qianbei, Jiang-zongzhu, we can complete the rest of the night hunt. Facing the spirit on our own would be valuable experience.”

“We are an ideal team,” Ouyang Zizhen adds.

“Yeah, we can hold our own!” Lan Jingyi chimes in. “The four of us even escaped the spirit’s attack way faster than you guys.”

Jiang Wanyin frowns. A-Yuan shoots a chastising glance at Jingyi.

“You’re right,” Wen Ning says, feeling a bit more relaxed. “You’re all capable enough to handle this. I’ll stay behind to heal Jiang-zongzhu. The two of us will be close by if you need help.”

The juniors head back toward the wreckage.

Jiang Wanyin side-eyes Wen Ning. “Why so eager to let them run off without you? Is the Ghost General scared of a doll?”

His words wouldn’t bother Wen Ning so much if they weren’t absolutely true. “They’re all capable cultivators, and Jin Ling is a sect leader. They’ll be fine without us. But you need to be healed.”

“Worry about them first. I’ll last until the spirit is dealt with—and that’ll happen a lot faster if you put yourself to work.”

“They’ll be safer if both of us are on our feet and ready to help if they call.”

Jiang Wanyin sighs. “Fine.”

He winces as Wen Ning helps him to the ground, his back propped against the tree. Wen Ning kneels beside his injured leg. He lifts Jiang Wanyin’s violet robes and trousers up to his mid-thigh, revealing a black wound traveling from his ankle up to just below his knee.

“It’s a curse mark,” Wen Ning says in disbelief.

The skin hit by the curse is blackened and swollen, the muscle tissue immobilized. Currents of resentful energy snake along the wound’s surface like a second set of veins outside the skin.

It looks just like the curse mark Wei Wuxian transferred to himself from Jin Ling, but worse. Now both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Wanyin have received curse marks to protect a boy that the other cares about.

Wen Ning can’t decide whether he finds that surprising or not. He knows that Jiang Wanyin cares fiercely about his family, but he also knows that he isn’t the best at following through on it. And he definitely didn’t know that Jiang Wanyin might care about any member of the Dafan Wen.

He looks up at Jiang Wanyin. “This curse mark won’t disappear until—"

“I know how curse marks work,” Jiang Wanyin snaps.

Wen Ning takes a deep breath and reminds himself that Jiang Wanyin received this wound while protecting A-Yuan. “The curse won’t disappear until the spirit’s grievances are resolved, but I can apply a charmed tourniquet to keep it from spreading up your leg.

“…Alright.”

Reaching into his qiankun sleeve of medical supplies, Wen Ning pulls out the tourniquet and begins tying it around Jiang Wanyin’s leg, just below his knee.

Jiang Wanyin tenses as he continues tying. He isn’t sure if it’s because Jiang Wanyin is in pain, or if he just feels uncomfortable with Wen Ning touching him. Probably both.

“Don’t you need a windlass to tie a tourniquet?” Jiang Wanyin asks. Remarkably, it sounds like a genuine question, not criticism.

“The purpose of this tourniquet isn’t to stop blood flow, and the charm is very effective, so it doesn’t need to be so tight. It actually needs to be a little loose so your qi can flow to the wound and suppress the curse mark.”

“Hm.”

Wen Ning could explain more. Could explain how the charm was cast, how the material of the tourniquet was chosen, how it’s designed to last for hours. He enjoyed learning details like this from Jiejie when he was young, and now he enjoys teaching them to A-Yuan. He rarely has the opportunity to share his knowledge with anyone else.

But the topic of medical operations hangs between him and Jiang Wanyin with an uncomfortable weight.

He tries to fill the silence anyway. “Even if the tourniquet did need to be tight, my arm strength is probably good enough to tie it without a windlass. Not that…not that that’s good medical practice—it’s really bad medical practice, actually—so I wouldn’t do that anyway—”

Jiang Wanyin scoffs and turns away. “Just hurry up.”

Wen Ning finishes tying the tourniquet. “Done. Wait—”

Jiang Wanyin tries to stand up. Wen Ning presses down on his shoulder to keep him in place, which earns him a perplexed glare.

Wen Ning doesn’t want to return to the wreckage just yet. Not when he doesn’t know what to do about his dangerous susceptibility to possession. And Jiang Wanyin is the last person he wants to explain that to.

Thankfully, he has a good reason to stall: Jiang Wanyin still needs more treatment.

“I have some herbs that might be able to weaken the curse,” Wen Ning suggests.

“Fine. After that, you’re coming with me to go solve whatever that doll’s grievances are.”

Wen Ning pulls out a satchel of herbs that, at one time, would've smelled sweet to him. He begins rubbing them on the curse mark as delicately as his clumsy hands can manage, while Jiang Wanyin quite obviously tries not to flinch from pain.

“You aren’t here to heal me,” Jiang Wanyin says suddenly.

Wen Ning looks up, expecting to see Jiang Wanyin scowling. What he sees instead is a surprisingly calm gaze of careful scrutiny.

“You’re scared of something.” Jiang Wanyin continues. He speaks slowly, like it’s a question he isn’t sure he should ask.

Somehow, over the course of these night hunts, Jiang Wanyin has learned to read him a bit too well.

* * *

“Well?” Jiang Cheng says. “Is there some other factor in this night hunt that I don’t know about?”

Wen Ning looks unnerved by the question, but he just continues applying the herbs, swirling them in small, gentle circles—almost caresses—with his fingers. It creates a steady stream of pain that makes Jiang Cheng grind his teeth, but Wen Ning’s touch is light enough that it doesn’t hurt more than necessary.

That alone is enough to eat at Jiang Cheng. That Wen Ning is this careful not to inflict undue pain on him—that Wen Ning is helping him at all—when the man has no reason to care about him. Has no reason to be gentle with him other than out of condescension.

But Wen Ning has let down the mask before. Let his thoughts flow freely. Although Jiang Cheng hates to admit it, Wen Ning has hurt him before.

Since then, Jiang Cheng has tried to drop the mask a second time, to get Wen Ning to reveal the spite he knows lies beneath it, but he can only catch mere glimpses.

He knows he’s hurt Wen Ning, too. Knows he deserves nothing.

Knows Wen Ning despises him.

It would just be nice if Wen Ning acted like it.

“If there’s a reason for you to be scared of something,” Jiang Cheng says, “I think I should be informed of it. Unless you’re implying that I’d be of no use even if I did know.”

Wen Ning's jaw tightens. “I’m scared of being possessed,” he says coldly, without looking up. “I’ve lost control in the past, and I don’t want to lose it again.”

The honest answer catches Jiang Cheng off guard.

Visions of how the Ghost General might have looked like at Qiongqi Path flash through his mind—visions of how he might have looked as he slaughtered dozens of cultivators, as he drenched his hands in Jin Zixuan's blood.

Anger seethes through his veins. But something else rises in him, too.

Something almost like…pity.

Wen Ning lifts Jiang Cheng’s leg slightly to rub the herbs on the underside of his calf. His touch is still agonizingly gentle.

“You seemed fine on every other night hunt,” Jiang Cheng says, unsure how to respond.

“This spirit is especially skilled at possession.”

“If you’re so worried about it, what would you do if the juniors called for us right now? Ignore them and keep hiding?”

Wen Ning pauses, resting his hand on Jiang Cheng’s knee. He stares at the ground, his shoulders hunched. “…I’d go help them.”

“And if you get possessed?”

“A-Yuan knows what to do if that happens.”

“And if ‘A-Yuan’ can’t do anything?”

Wen Ning looks up at him.

“Then you can strike me with Zidian.”

A chill runs down his spine.

He’s struck Wen Ning with Zidian three times before—all in the same night, the night Wen Ning struck him with truth in the form of a sword’s blade.

He would strike Wen Ning with Zidian again if he had to. He wouldn’t hesitate. He knows he wouldn’t.

The only problem is that—

“Zidian can only exorcise spirits from the living,” he says.

The spiritual weapon can’t easily incapacitate Wen Ning either. Normal fierce corpses can be taken out in one blow, but Wei Wuxian, in his infinite brilliance, made Wen Ning several times stronger. Zidian would have to nearly destroy Wen Ning to incapacitate him.

Not that Jiang Cheng would have…hesitations about that. Not if it came to protecting A-Ling.

At least, he tells himself he wouldn’t.

Wen Ning is silent for an uncomfortably long time.

“You’re skilled enough of a cultivator to stop me,” he finally replies.

Jiang Cheng ignores how that makes the tiniest bit of heat rise to his cheeks. Silence envelops them again, and Wen Ning resumes rubbing the herbs into the curse mark.

Jiang Cheng has seen Wen Ning heal the juniors on night hunts before, but he’s never needed to be treated by Wen Ning. It feels strange to depend on him.

The thought gives him an inexplicable urge to kick something. Maybe Wen Ning. Maybe himself. He holds himself back for the sake of sparing himself another leg injury.

“What’s Lan Sizhui’s method to stop you?”

“…It’s not necessary for you to know.”

“If there’s a risk of you losing control and harming my family again, I deserve to know how to prevent it.”

Wen Ning’s expression hardens.

That came out more accusatory than he intended.

As if he cares. As if he was ever able to meet gentleness with anything but a daggered tongue.

“Unless you don’t truly believe I’m capable enough to manage it? Unless that was a lie?” Jiang Cheng continues, his tone biting.

He’s already dug himself a ditch. Might as well look like he intended it. At least dealing with an angry Ghost General is less sickening than receiving his kindness.

Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes. “Or maybe you don’t believe I’m reliable enough?”

“I do believe in your capability,” Wen Ning says sharply. It sounds like an insult. “But this has nothing to do with you, Jiang Wanyin.”

Jiang Wanyin, not Jiang-zongzhu. He’s losing Wen Ning’s respect. Good to know. As if he ever had it.

“Nothing to do with me?”

“No. This is personal, and I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Personal?” Jiang Cheng leans forward, already regretting the words he’s about to say. “Do you think the death of my sister’s husband isn’t personal for me, too?”

Wen Ning rises to his feet. At this angle, he towers over Jiang Cheng. The smallest bit of fear flares up inside Jiang Cheng’s chest, making him angry at himself for feeling any fear at all.

“I’m sorry,” Wen Ning says, raising his voice. “I’ve been sorry for sixteen years.” He gestures down at Jiang Cheng’s leg. “I’ve done all I can for your wound.”

He walks off, sinking into the forest. Rage and guilt erupt inside Jiang Cheng, biting at him like wolves.

“Wen Ning!”

Feeling every last bit of dignity leave his body, he manages to stand up and limp after him, using his sword like a cane and dragging his cursed leg behind himself. A pit grows in his stomach as he continues calling for Wen Ning.

Wen Ning—the one to apologize and walk away from an argument, something Jiang Cheng could never do. Just like how Wen Ning was the one to save Jin Ling in Guanyin Temple, the one to protect Wei Wuxian until the end. Of course Wen Ning is everything Jiang Cheng couldn’t be. Can’t be.

“The juniors are still at the wreckage!” he yells once he’s deeper in the forest. “Are you such a coward that you’re just going to abandon them?

“They’d be in more danger if I’m nearby,” says a quiet voice overhead.

Wen Ning is sitting in a tree, not bothering to look down.

Jiang Cheng sighs. He’s found Wen Ning, and now what is he going to do? Say he was wrong? Grovel at the base of the tree?

Having spent most of his life picking up broken pieces, always cleaning up Wei Wuxian’s messes, he should be better at putting back together the things he breaks himself. Instead he always cuts himself on the shards.

He thinks of how Wen Ning saved his life once. Thinks of how much A-Jie liked Wen Ning. The pit in his stomach deepens.

“Back then, maybe you weren't able to stop it from happening. I don't know,” he says, painfully aware of how much he’s stumbling through this already.

No response.

“But you need to snap out of it. You fought against Baxia’s possession in Guanyin Temple."

Still no answer. He'd rather just shake Wen Ning out of the tree at this rate. He grits his teeth, shoves down his impatience, and forces himself to keep talking.

"Look, you could’ve killed Jin Ling. But you didn’t. This figurine spirit can’t be any stronger than Baxia. You can fight it.”

Wen Ning shifts slightly.

“If you give up on this night hunt and the juniors…if you give up on Lan Sizhui—”

That gets Wen Ning to look down at him. He resists the way his body wants to shrivel up under that critical gaze.

“You’ve gotten control back before.” Jiang Cheng swallows and turns his face away. “You could do it again.”

You’ve saved A-Ling plenty of times. I trust you with him, gets stuck in his throat.

Wen Ning still doesn’t speak. The restless silence of the forest is too uncomfortable for Jiang Cheng to keep his mouth shut.

“What you can’t be doing is giving up on protecting the juniors! If you’re not an ally on these night hunts, then I’ll have to consider you a—”

“If it came to it, I would still face the spirit.” Wen Ning’s voice is quiet. Tranquil.

Jiang Cheng scoffs. "Good."

Wen Ning leaps down from the tree, landing with a loud thud. It’s a wonder his legs don’t break with the way he always throws himself around, as if he doesn’t care about looking after his body. Jiang Cheng finds himself startled that he wants to tell Wen Ning to stop doing that.

“I should still keep my distance from the wreckage if I can,” Wen Ning says. “Thank you for…I’m…I’m surprised that you—"

“Well, then don’t be so damn surprised,” Jiang Cheng hurries to interrupt before he has to hear more of Wen Ning’s deadly honesty. “We’re going back to the edge of the forest now.”

Wen Ning doesn’t try to support Jiang Cheng while they walk back. He isn’t sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing, but he’s grateful for the space either way.

Just before they reach the last line of trees, a loud boom comes from the direction of the wreckage, followed by shouts from the juniors.

Jiang Cheng tries not to panic.

Even if things get messy, the juniors can handle themselves.

He forces himself to limp faster—

“Wen-qianbei!”

“Jiujiu!”

Fuck!

“Jin Ling!” Jiang Cheng calls.

He tries to run toward them, but he can only limp so fast. He unsheathes Sandu to fly instead.

Can’t fly.

The damn curse wound must be distorting his spiritual power—

He turns to Wen Ning. “Come on!—”

His stomach sinks.

Wen Ning is frozen in place, staring blankly ahead.

Jiang Cheng grabs him by the arm. It trembles beneath his hand. “Wen Ning! We need to move!”

“I...I…”

“Now!”

Wen Ning sinks to his knees.

The juniors' cries grow louder.

Fuck.

[unpopularwiththepopulace]

Katharine Hepburn and ‘The Philadelphia Story’

From pen, to stage, to film – and why it all mattered. 

Google any list along the lines of ‘Best Old Hollywood Films To Watch’, or ‘Best Classic Movies Of All Time’, or ‘Best Romcoms Ever’, and this film from 1940 is probably unfailingly on it. 

In short, it’s an incredibly well regarded entity and undoubtedly beloved by many. And it isn’t hard to understand why. It stars one of the world’s most well-regarded actresses, supported by some of Old-Hollywood’s most famous leading men in Cary Grant and James Stewart, and was directed by George Cukor as one of the most acclaimed directors in history. A recipe for success, surely.

And it’s a sum of more than just its parts. It’s a film you like to recommend to all of your friends who “don’t like old films” – countering instead, “Look look, they were funny back then! They said funny things! They had witty and clever banter! They got drunk! There’s crackling sexual tension! It’s not boring at all!” 

And it’s not.

It’s not boring at all. Watching this film in this day and age and not in the ‘40s for the first time, its brilliance is immediately apparent. Yes, it’s also apparent some of the ways in which today’s world differs from the 1940s, but it’s more than possible to be swept up in a wave of sparkling dialogue and the rapid build of a screwball comedy plot – completely enraptured. 

What’s not immediately apparent is the tumult of what was Katharine Hepburn herself was facing behind the scenes at the time when this film entered the world, and more broadly, why this film’s creation was so necessary in the first place.

By 1940, Katharine Hepburn needed something to save her.

Two Oscar nominations before this date and the other numerous such accolades since makes it easy to smooth over the fact things weren’t always plain sailing.

After her disastrously received turn in The Lake, she had not set foot on Broadway since 1934. Come 1937, she’d had four financially unsuccessful films in a row, culminating with Quality Street.

Holiday and Bringing up Baby, both with Cary Grant and both released in 1938, are praised and lauded now. But at the time, they both sank and failed to find her the foothold she was increasingly desperately needing.

Public opinion was only wavering further. Years of being unconventional were taking their toll. Challenging attitudes to the press, masculine behaviours and fashion senses, living with women, secretive and failed marriages, and ostensibly provocative political views were all snowballing behind her on top of the deteriorating critical acclaim. The time came where seldom was she referred to without the infamous "box-office poison" suffix.

Katharine knew there was work to be done.

Inviting playwright Phillip Barry to spend weeks with the Hepburn family at Fenwick, The Philadelphia Story in its first iteration as a Broadway play was born. Tracy Lord is as much Katharine Hepburn as much as Katharine Hepburn was Tracy Lord. Barry stitched a mould for Tracy out of the very fabric of Katharine and her life at Fenwick, sat on the jetty or observing the continual carousel of associates and relatives passing through the house. And Katharine didn’t just watch. “Make her like me,” she instructed Barry. “But make her all soft.”

He did. And it worked.

On the stage in New York as the play opened, she earned the reviews she’d so long sought after – Miss Hepburn had “at last found the joy she had always been seeking in the theatre.”

Success holding ground, she made her next shrewd action in purchasing the rights to the motion picture, with herself conditionally attached to the starring role. It was some fine advice from Howard Hughes, and one of the most important gifts he ever gave her. Well, what else are rich aviator beaus for?

Now film audiences all over the world, not just the privileged theatregoers of Broadway, needed to see this icy queen cut down to size.

Most literally, her opening scene watches her flattened horizontally to the floor while Grant as Dexter shoves her by the face through the doorway.

When Dexter confronts Tracy as his ex-wife to place the blame at her feet for the failure of their marriage, or when her father comes forth with further accusations of culpability, one might expect Katharine Hepburn to argue. To protest. To defend. To quip. Tracy Lord doesn’t. She cries.

No more the overt intimation of subversion and there being other ways to live. No more tomboyish wildness as in Little Women. No more masquerading as men as in Sylvia Scarlett. No more ruining her leading man’s life and work as in Bringing up Baby and being happy about it. No more rumours of the inclinations garnered by living with women and wearing trousers as in her own life. Here, she nestles herself comfortably into convention. Deferentially tempering that Hepburn fire and accepting her ‘mistakes’ head on, she slots into one of Hollywood’s most favoured neat endings – the comedy of remarriage and an acquiescence to loving her man.

She learns her lesson, Hollywood reasons. The New and Improved Kate.

Critical acclaim and another Oscar nomination? Why, but of course – nothing but the finest for our darling Katharine.

It seems upsetting to think of it like that and witness such a calculated and contrived humbling of our beloved untameable wildcat as we think of her now.

But we’ve had 80 years to settle into the ripples around the context of its creation and parse through the politics of its existence. What ever all of the surrounding paraphernalia may be, it does not negate any of the film's primary and immediate impacts.

Is it still markedly charming, clever, entertaining, funny, aesthetically wonderous and engaging to begin with? Arguably, yes.

There is no denying the wittiness of the dialogue. Regardless of what they were subliminally intended to make audiences at the time think, the endurance is shown by the fact the lines still have the capacity to make audiences today sit up, pay attention, and laugh. Even those who don’t ‘like’ classic films. The costumes are beautiful to behold. Her hungover hissing at the sunlight is one of the finest “Oh curse the follies and decisions of the night before!” sequences ever fixed into film. There's diversion too from all angles to sustain the variation and pace, with added moments of brilliance being provided by Ruth Hussey as Elizabeth and Virginia Wielder as crafty Dinah.

Ultimately, The Philadelphia Story holds up. It is still a remarkable film in its own right. But perhaps, it’s even more significant when considered in the context of its whole existence. 

[inkstaineddove]

At the Edge of the World

Ships: PruHun

Characters: Prussia, Hungary; mentioned Germany, Austria, Russia

Summary: Twenty years into their life behind the Iron Curtain, Hungary and Prussia try to keep their hopes for a better life and the memories of their loved ones alive.

Potsdam, 1973.

Gilbert was hard at work in the kitchen. Rolling meatballs, separating egg yolk from whites, adding a pinch of this or that spice as needed. A feeling of pride swelled up in him. While his masterpiece was yet to be finished, the act of creating was satisfying enough. He dipped his pinky into the gravy and licked it. Delicious.

“That’s disgusting, don’t do that.” Despite her complaints, Erzsébet grabbed his hand and took a taste for herself. “Not bad. It’s like you’re almost completely domesticated.”

“Not bad? Erzsi, you wound me. This is the best meal I’ve ever made and that’s all you can say on it?” He teasingly wagged a finger at her. “Marrying rich spoiled your tastes. I’m going to have to fix that.” He slid his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him. “And, I’ll have you know, I’m still wild. I’m still untamed.” As he spoke, he left a trail of slow and methodical kisses along her neck. His eyes caught sight of the timer. “Ah, shit. I should start boiling the potatoes.”

Everything about their lives had been different, if she bothered to think about it. She often did as it was impossible not to. Within a span of a few decades – an insignificant amount of time to their kind – everything had turned upside down. For her, she had been married then divorced and finding her own way then controlled by two different strains of evil. For him, he was the king of the world until the world turned to new leaders, leaders with the power to take from him what he’d so easily stolen from others.

She poured herself a glass of wine and him one of beer. They were practically living together now, not going more than a couple days between seeing each other. Their lives had become fully integrated, something she hadn’t noticed until it was complete. It was to the point now that, even when she was spending time with Feliks, Gilbert didn’t try to make any excuses to be away.

To her surprise, there was a kiss on her cheek. “What secrets are my cabinets telling you, Liebling? Anything good?” Gilbert chuckled good-naturedly. “You’ve been standing completely still for a minute. You’ve been doing that more often.”

Erzsébet didn’t want to delve into what all had been playing through her mind. At least, not now. “Can’t a woman have her secrets?” She smirked, an idea coming to mind. “Your cabinets were telling me they think you need to paint the room a different color.”

“Tell the cabinets they’re stupid if they think I can just go to the store and pick up paint.” He turned away, deciding to set the table instead. He smiled at the bouquet of tulips at the center. With Erzsébet sharing his home, she had brought more color into it and made it feel livelier with little touches like these. Not only that, but now his garden had greater variation than simply large shrub and slightly smaller shrub.

“You can’t? I thought you had all these connections.” She was angling for more information, like she always did when this topic arose. “How do you explain why your place has the heat on in winter and mine doesn’t?” She tried to keep her tone light, but she had been dying to know. She would be lying if she hadn’t snuck into his office to look for papers, but he managed to conceal everything that would’ve been of interest.

He gave her the response he always did: “Russia and I were friends before. I like to think he looks out for me more, that a part of him still remembers that.” He felt the weight of her gaze looming over him. Prussia’s hand hovered above the table, fork in hand. He sighed. Hungary had never heard him sound so exhausted. “Can’t a man have his secrets too?” Feeling guilty over the possibility of disappointing her again, he backtracked. “We can discuss it later. Let’s enjoy dinner first.”

They passed the meal in quiet, both preoccupied with their own thoughts. Gilbert’s mind was racing. How would he tell her? He knew how she felt about these people, how she never hesitated to denounce their actions. What would she think of him? What would happen to him if she ran out, ran and never returned?  Turning to Saxony was out of the question and Brandenburg, while Gilbert owed much to him, was not a comforting sort of man.

As if reading his mind, he felt the gentle brush of her foot against his ankle. Her eyes were brimming with reassuring affection. Surety and devotion surged through him. He reminded himself that he was being ridiculous, that whatever happened they would get through this. They had been through too much together for this to simply be the end.

While she cleaned the dishes, he refilled their glasses, not doubting their necessity for a moment. Once she was finished, he opened his mouth to speak. “Can we talk outside?” Erzsébet cut him off. He had told her many times that his house wasn’t bugged and, while she believed him, it made her more comfortable.

On the patio, she shifted around on the sofa until finding a satisfactory position. He lit a cigarette with shaky hands. Each year, it seemed his smoking got worse from Erzsébet’s perspective. She refrained from judgement. She was no better. Her drinking had increased exponentially as well, as she found refuge in her vice.

After a few moments of uneasy silence, Prussia cautiously began speaking. “Years ago, when this whole thing began, Ivan offered me a proposition. He knew I would get restless if I was stuck just doing the same bureaucratic horseshit as everyone else and claimed it would be a ‘waste of my talents.’ He told me all about the damned secret police, every fucking detail to make me a liability. Then, to try and get me excited, he promised me all these wonderful things. That I don’t have to worry about food, about gas and electric to my homes, that I won’t be wiretapped.” He shook his head, disgust written plainly on his face. “He said this was a gift for me, a testament to our friendship. What friendship is there when one friend strongarms the other into selling his soul?”

Erzsébet didn’t know what to say. All the words dried up in her mouth. That explained his secrecy. She nodded at him to continue, needing to hear more from him for her own peace of mind.

“I regret not pushing back more. I should’ve rejected the offer and dealt with the repercussions as they came, to try and pretend like I had principles.” There was that sigh again. Wearied and defeated, Atlas unable to support the world any longer. “I was so tired, Erzsi. What did pushing back against things do for me last time? All I had left was my conscience, no other acknowledgement from anyone that my actions mattered. I couldn’t keep my resolve for any longer. My only goal now is to take care of us both.” Craving nicotine, he took a long drag from his cigarette. “Please don’t think I’m a monster. I interfere when I can, but they keep me away from arrests. My sin is in training these brutes.”

When he’d finished, a stillness settled over them and throughout the garden. The only movement came from a light breeze rustling the leaves of the trees. Gilbert’s heart was racing as worst-case scenarios rushed through his mind. He braced himself, accepting a smack in the face before it could occur. He deserved it, he deserved nothing more than her full contempt. He began planning for a life without her, attempting to create a routine that would keep him as occupied as possible. The catastrophizing was in full swing.

“I feel like I should be more surprised than I am,” she mused. Her nail tapped lightly against her wine glass. She took a leisurely sip. “You had me believing it would all be worse than it is.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll help you pack.” He paused, only now processing what she had just said. “Wait, what?”

“I can see why you wouldn’t fight back. Even before the end of the world you’ve seemed so…done with everything. I’d like to say that I would have reacted differently, but I have my doubts. Who wouldn’t be resigned to whatever life threw at them next after dissolution? It’s a distasteful situation, but that’s how everything’s been since the thirties.” A few giggles escaped her at his reaction. “What’s with that shocked look on your face? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

He was currently doing gymnastics in his mind, trying to connect reality with his expectations. “You’re not leaving me? You can’t stand collaborationists! Why aren’t you screaming at me?”

She couldn’t suppress her laughter any longer. His overblown reaction was too much for her to handle. She clutched her stomach with one hand and wiped away a tear with the other. “Do you want me to yell at you?” Another laughing fit. Once calm, she took his hand in hers and kissed it. “You’re right, I loathe them with every fiber of my being. The ones who work in tandem with these creeps for power, they disgust me and I wash my hands of them. Those who are doing it to survive, because they had no other options? I understand they’re doing it out of desperation or as a last resort. I don’t hate the desperate, Gil, and I couldn’t hate you.”

The knot in Gilbert’s stomach began to dissipate. The worries that had been nagging at his mind began to be hushed. He buried his head in her shoulder, needing the closeness to keep himself composed. “Thank you.” The words were barely a whisper. “I was terrified you wouldn’t be able to stand me anymore. If I was without you I-I don’t know I’d do.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d expressed such a sentiment to her, but it was the first time Erzsébet believed it. Her grasp on him tightened when she felt her shoulder growing moist. She ran her fingers through his hair in an effort to be soothing. “Come on, there’s no reason to think about those things. You’re going to have to try harder to get rid of me.” She gently brought his face up to look at hers, a reassuring smile on her lips. “For better or worse, you’re stuck with me.”

Despite regaining his composure, he kept her pulled close to him. He needed the comfort physical proximity brought. To distract himself from the despairing thoughts swirling in his head, he began playing with the ends of her hair. His cigarette had been taken from him by Erzsébet, who now puffed on it herself. It repulsed her, but it was something to take the edge off as she’d run out of wine.

“You’re a good man, Gilbert.” Her voice appeared out of the dark. “You’re a better man than you think you are. I know you’ll never agree, but you’ve done things an evil man would never have done. Don’t be so quick to believe that you’re the villain.”

“This isn’t the fate a good person.”

“Would you say I’m evil? Or Katyusha or Feliks or Toris or any of the others?” He turned his head away. She knew his answer. “Exactly. You’re not a saint, but none of us are. None of us deserve what we’ve gotten here. Stop taking this as divine judgement when it’s nothing but mortal failings.”

The sound of crickets chirping filled the air. Erzsébet extinguished the cigarette at last before flicking it into the ashtray. She peered up, wanting to examine Gilbert and deduce what was happening in his mind. Normally, he was an easy person to read and one who whose emotions were clear as day. Only in affairs of the state was he usually so indecipherable. His eyes were straight ahead, his face a blank slate.

Eventually, he felt her gaze on him and looked down. He could sense her concern and forced a wide grin. “Don’t worry about me so much. I’m fine. I’m always fine.” He kissed her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin. “Nothing ever gets to me for long.” It sounded as if he were trying to reassure himself too.

The mood was too somber. For her own sanity, she would need to bring them to lighter spirits. “So, when you made this deal with the devil,” the look he shot her warned her to tread carefully. She blew him a kiss to let him know she was teasing. “Would it have killed you to make sure I was taken care of? Or was it all a rouse to have me spend autumn and winter here?”

“I did try to take care of you, but he wasn’t going for it. He said it was like him asking me to go easy on France. Which, really, how could you have me argue with that?” He patted her thigh. “Maybe next time don’t kill so many Russians.”

She shoved his hand off. “As if you’re one to talk! What a bastard, why does he think he’s so high and mighty?”

“Because he won the damn war! You’re acting like this is the worst thing he’s done to you!” Another cigarette was between his teeth as he spoke. While he fumbled with the lighter, she stole it from him. “Hey! That was my last one!”

“You’ll be fine without it. You reek of tobacco, I don’t want to smell it when I’m this close to you. Watch it!” A struggle ensued for the cigarette, resulting in them tumbling onto the porch deck. Erzsébet had successfully maintained her claim on it and, pinning Gilbert down, tossed it a couple meters out of reach. “Ha, I win again.”

Crossing his hands behind his head, he smirked up at her. “If this is what losing is, I don’t exactly mind.” He couldn’t help laughing when she smacked him in the chest. “What? I’m not allowed to enjoy myself? Do you want me to suffer more?”

She slid off him, moving to lay her head on his chest. “I’m starting to think you haven’t suffered enough.”

Gilbert’s mind began racing again. These past decades had been torturous. Even having Erzsébet by his side, it didn’t dissipate all the horrors they’d witnessed and been subjected to since being sacrificed to Russian ambitions. It was a testament to their endurance that they continued pushing on with whatever hope they deemed safe to maintain under this system. His thoughts drifted to those they’d left on the other side of the curtain. On the worst days, the memories of the family they’d left behind were the only fuel either of them had left. His belief in God had been squandered long ago, yet he still found himself habitually praying for their safety and to someday see them again.

“Neither of them would be able to handle this.” He didn’t feel the need to clarify. She would know who he was referring to. “Can you imagine Ludwig here? The kid would be a neurotic mess, too much of a control freak to take the passive role.”

“I wonder who he inherited that from.” She shook her head, imagining Ludwig in this sick performance of theirs. “He asks too many questions sometimes. You’d be taking so many beatings for him.” She paused, the memory of Ludwig as a child coming to her. His wide blue eyes, how precocious he was, the way he idolized the three of them. “On second thought, we both would be.”

His fingertips brushed along the small of her back. She could see the hints of a smile on the corner of his mouth. “We would have to trade off.” He chuckled, considering their remaining family. “Can’t forget Roddy either. He wouldn’t be able to stop running his mouth, demanding the respect of an aristocrat as if these people haven’t murdered them for the same.”

“Please, that’s simplifying it too much. We wouldn’t try to protect him the first time, thinking he would be able to handle it. He would be so battered, there would be no question in our minds what we would have to do.” She rolled her eyes. The scene was so vivid to her that, if she squinted, it would appear as reality. “At least with Ludwig he could be reasoned with. Roderich would be insulted if we ever suggested to him that he shut up to placate such barbarians.”

“I’d rather deal with obstinacy than Ludwig’s depressive angst. If you think I’m bad, wait till you see the kid in action. He’d have us all slitting our wrists in no time.” The mood shifted around Gilbert as his last conversation with Ludwig came to mind. “He was a mess before I had to leave. Kept repeating how it wasn’t fair that I received the worst of it, that he should be taking my place instead. Funny time for him to want play the hero, huh?” He laughed softly, but there was no humor to his joke. “I told him that it’s fine, that my purpose is to take care of him. What kind of-” he hesitated, always nervous to speak the word.

“You can say it. You’re with me.”

A loud exhale. “What kind of Vatti would I be if I sent him to the vultures? If our places were reversed, I wouldn’t forgive myself.” A morose smile settled on his lips. Looking at the stars reminded him that he wasn’t as far from Ludwig as it felt. “The best prisoners we get are from the West. According to them, he’s doing well for himself and staying out of trouble. If those two morons don’t blow us all to hell, I want to tell him I’m proud of him and the man he’s grown into.”

The whole time he spoke, Erzsébet had been listening intently. She squeezed him tightly when he finished. There was too much to say, her emotions were overwhelming. Nostalgia for their old life settled in. Even though their relationships had been incredibly complex and fraught for most of it, she longed for the past and how quaint it all seemed now. “How much longer do you think this will last?” What she wouldn’t give now to embrace Ludwig and Roderich, to tease them both about their idiosyncrasies and irritate them with her own. The past wasn’t perfect, but its blemishes made it all the more beautiful.

Gilbert mentally wrestled with her question. How much longer could this go on? He knew nothing lasted forever – his own quick ascendency and downfall served as a personal reminder – but the Soviet Union’s vice grip on the present felt impenetrable. “Roderich used to ask me the same thing about the Nazis and every time I would tell him it couldn’t be much longer. That it would be another year at most. Neither of us ever believed it, but it was a comforting lie.” He scowled, pessimism taking control. “How silly would it be to delude ourselves with the same thing? Is two years realistic enough or should it be three?”

“Two. I want to have hope, even if it’s false.” She was tracing shapes on his chest. She traced the silhouette of an eagle. “If we both rebelled, we might have a chance this time. We both know we’re stronger together. Besides, I’m sure your gun is bigger than Russia’s.”

Her euphemism awarded her a laugh, giving things the semblance of quasi-normalcy. “Clever.” He kissed the top of her head. “Don’t tempt me with a suicide mission. We should head inside. It’s getting late and my back is stiff.” He tried rising, but she refused to budge.

“It’s warm for October. We haven’t slept under the stars in years, not since when your first told me you love me. Could we tonight? While the weather is still nice?”

By no means did he want to. But when she stared at him with those gorgeous emerald eyes, with ardor that was reserved only for him, how could he deny her anything? Whenever she looked at him like that, he wouldn’t hesitate to gift her the world if it was what she desired. “Of course, Liebling, though I would like to grab my pillow.”

With the moon and the sky their only witnesses, it was the first night of peace they found in years.

[marshmallow-phd]

Innocent Intentions

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Supernatural, Wolf Au

Pairing: Tao x Reader

Summary: There was one thing you couldn’t stand in all your years at college: playboys. And the campus was riddled with them. So when Tao - a player with a particularly well-known reputation - inserts himself into your life, you come up with a plan to get rid of him, whether he makes your heart race or not. But the more he’s the around, the more you just might find there’s a hidden layer underneath all the rumors, including a secret you never could have guessed….

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I Final

**

You woke up sweating. It wasn’t the kind that soaked your pillowcase, but it was enough to dot your forehead and upper lip, making you slightly uncomfortable. A weight laid across your hips. It held you in place so you couldn’t move from the spot you were curled up in. Letting out a groan, you pressed your face into the pillow. You didn’t want to get up no matter how overheated you were getting.

A light pressure drifted across your face, tickling your skin and making you smile.

Finally, you opened your eyes, just by the smallest of fractions. Tao was beaming at you, his features the softest you’d ever witnessed them. And that was saying a lot since his whole face seemed to melt whenever he looked at you. It was odd and not something that you were used to. You didn’t even realize that it was possible, for someone’s face to conform like that. It made your heart flutter.

It was only then that you realized part of the reason you felt like you were in a sauna was because you and Tao were under the thick comforter. Warmth radiated off of Tao like a human space heater and you couldn’t take it anymore. You threw the comforter off both of you, giving you some fresh air to breathe.

“What’s wrong,” Tao frowned as you both sat up.

You pointed to your perspiring face. “I was dying under there.” Curious, you reached out and place the back of your hand against his forehead. It was warm to the point of concern. “Are you sick?”

Playfully laughing, Tao lowered your hand. “No. I just run warmer than most.”

“Why do people say that like its normal?” No one “runs a little warm”. Every human body ran at exactly ninety-eight-point-six degrees. If your internal temp was higher or lower than that, something was severely wrong.

“Well, if I’m sick, then you should take care of me.” Tackling you, Tao took you both back down onto the bed, trapping you in his arms and holding you close to him so you had no escape.

You were happy for his playful spirit to be back in full swing, but dwelling on that took your mind to the reason he was here in the first place. “Tao?”

“Hm?” He was barely paying attention to your voice, focusing more on burying his face in the crook of your neck.

“Are you better now? You know, with what happened to your brother?”

You felt the way every muscle in him stiffened in a second. He didn’t open his eyes too look at you, instead keeping them closed as he rested his forehead against your shoulder.

“It still hurts,” he whispered. His voice was so low you could almost sworn you were making it up in your head if you didn’t feel the wisps of his breath against your arm.

There was a long pause, the silence weighing down the air in the room. It was moments like this that you truly didn’t know what to do. You wanted to comfort him, but you weren’t sure of the best way to do that. Slowly, you began to reach out towards him to maybe pat his head or stroke his cheek, you weren’t really sure. But as soon as his eyes opened up, you dropped your hand back down, your heart leaping from the startle.

“I feel better with you, though,” Tao confessed. He lifted his head so his chin was now poking into your shoulder, but you didn’t dare move to a more comfortable position. “I always feel better with you.”

You were just stunned at the heartfelt admission. None of his words were sugar-coated or flourished. You’d heard enough from him by now to be able to tell the difference when he was being truly sincere.

What did you ever do to have this person drop into your life like this? In the beginning, you thought you were being punished, but the more you were able to get to know Tao, the more your viewpoint changed from punishment to gift that you didn’t feel like you deserved. It didn’t matter how much you snapped at him or tried to push him away, he came back to you like a boomerang you tried to throw away. And even when he got upset or acted in a way that normally would make you sever ties completely, you still accepted him back with open arms.

There was some sort of pull he had over you that couldn’t be explained. It grew stronger every time you saw him and you didn’t even bother to fight it anymore. Perhaps it was a little crazy, but you felt like Tao was the missing piece you’d been absentmindedly searching for your whole life. It was always there in the back of your mind, the longing for someone… not to complete you, but to be there. To be there when you were upset or had good news to share. To be your anchor when you felt like the world around you was falling apart. If you’d been allowed to pick this person out of a line up on your own, you would have skipped right over him. Funny how the universe could be, wasn’t it?

“Come on,” you patted his arm as you sat up. “Why don’t I make you some breakfast?” That was how you knew how to comfort. Make him something to eat. What was that popular phrase? The quickest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach? A very outdated term and one you would never speak out loud – not to mention you were no five-star chef – but food was a comfort, no matter who you were.

Tao’s face morphed into an expression of fear. He gulped. “What about your parents?”

You laughed. “They’re gone for the weekend. It’s their anniversary so they went away for a short vacation. They won’t be back until Tuesday night.”

Something shined in Tao’s eyes, making your stomach summersault. You ignored it, though, pretending to remain unaware as you slipped out of bed. You said nothing else as you left your bedroom. Behind you, you could hear Tao scrambling to untangle himself from the sheets and follow you down the stairs.

You paid him no attention as you took out the eggs from the fridge and heated up the pan, slicking it up with butter to make clean up a little easier. All the focus was on preparing the food. The only words you spoke to Tao were to ask him to put bread in the toaster and pour a couple glasses of juice to wash breakfast down with. After you’d plated the finished product and sat down at the table, the two of you ate in silence, just enjoying the unrushed quality time together. Your parents definitely wouldn’t be thrilled if they knew about Tao spending the night, but you figured that was a bridge you would cross if you ever actually came to it.

When the plates were clear of food once again, you took the dishes over to the sink and began rinsing the off. Tao came up behind you and encased his arms around your waist.

“I feel like I should be doing that,” he chuckled in your ear.

Deciding the dishes could wait, you put down the sponge in your hand, drying your fingers before turning around to face him. “It’s fine. You’re a guest here anyway. It wouldn’t be right for you to clean up my mess.”

“Guest or not, you shouldn’t have to do everything yourself.”

You rolled your eyes. “I’m a perfectly capable human being, Tao.”

He brought his hand up to your face to stroke your cheek with his thumb. “Yes, you are.”

Rolling your eyes, you wiggled out of his embrace and headed for the living room. You sat down on the couch, going about your normal Saturday morning routine. But before you could turn the TV on, Tao fell down beside you and shuffled you over into his lap. He didn’t respond to your weak protest, just going back to gently stroking your face as he stared down at you.

If there was ever a more perfect moment to finally kiss him, this was it. So, you waited, thinking that he would lean in first, like he had in the past. But he didn’t move. He just kept staring at you with those dark brown eyes as if trying to study your features for a future drawing. Your patience was wearing thin the longer the two of you just sat there. Why wasn’t he kissing you? Your eyes kept flickering down to his lips and your breathing was becoming shallower as your heart sped up. Were you not giving off the right signals? Was something being lost in translation?

Taking initiative was not your usual strong suit, but in this case, a strange determination egged on by a newfound bravery was building up inside. You were going to have to take what you wanted.

With slightly shaking fingers, you reached up and took ahold of the collar of Tao’s shirt. He looked startled at your sudden move, but you didn’t give him time to process it fully before you pressed your lips to his. The bravery you’d gathered quickly dissipated and you pulled back, your face feeling as warm as Tao’s had earlier. Clearing your throat, you released his shirt and even tried to lean back, but Tao’s arms prevented you from doing so. His shocked face didn’t do anything to help your nerves. Should you not have done that?

That worry soon melted away, however, as that signature smirk grew on his lips once more. Taking you by surprise, Tao pushed you down all the way into the couch cushions, leaving you no room for escape. Then he dived in for more.

By instinct, you followed his every move, wrapping your legs around his waist while your arms did the same around his neck to bring him as close to you as possible. With his variating pressure and little nips at your bottom lip here and there, this boy knew exactly what he was doing. And in the past that might have bothered you – in fact, his many escapades had indeed made you very insecure, but no thoughts of that nature came to you now. Because he was yours. From now on, he would only kiss you like this, hold you like this. Why you had ever resisted this connection, you’ll never know, but you were going to cling to him with a fierceness that no one could match.

One of Tao’s hands slid down from your hip to your thigh, squeezing it gently before pulling you in even closer. You didn’t even know how that was possible, the two of you were already molding into one.

You pulled by only the tiniest of fractions to get a fresh, lung-filling breath before continuing the kiss, but Tao apparently decided that was enough.

“(y/n)?”

Your lungs were working so hard to catch up and restore the lost oxygen supply that it took you a few breaths to answer. “Yes?”

Tao swallowed visibly. You’d never seen him so timid, so unsure before. “Can I- can I stay with you again tonight?”

The laugh that came out of you couldn’t be helped. You definitely hadn’t thought that far ahead and if you had, you figured he’d want to go check on his brother. “If that’s what you want,” you told him.

“No,” he tapped the end of your nose with a giggle of his own. “Only if you want me to.”

You chewed on the bottom of your lip, weighing your options. Not that there too many cons to this situation. More uninterrupted time with Tao sounded like heaven. You could get to know him more without worrying about a certain someone catching you. Right now was definitely not the time to accidentally reveal your relationship to your best friend yet. You weren’t sure when or how that conversation would take place, but you knew - now that things were getting even more serious - you would need to have it soon.

But you’d push that aside once again. That didn’t need to be immediately addressed. It could be put off another day.  

“I would like you to stay.”

Tao loved that answer, pulling you back in to continue the kiss, deeper this time and much more heated. You weren’t even sure how long the kiss lasted. You just wanted to keep going. Your heart was racing the whole time and you could feel Tao’s own beating through his shirt. They were in perfect sync and that just solidified your resolve even more.

**

Tao didn’t want to move from this spot. You were still fast asleep in the bed next to him, face smooth and content, while he was wide awake, enjoying every second he was able to just take in your features.

The weekend had simultaneously been one of the worst and the best of his life. Having a brother attacked by a faceless hunter to the point where he almost died was enough to cause him physical agony. But you let him stay with you, here in your bed where you comforted him and reassured him that it would be alright, even though you didn’t have the slightest clue as to what had happened. He never wanted to leave your side. The wolf egged him on, rambling about how easy it would be to steal you away to the farmhouse. You’d love it out there, surrounded by trees and nature, far from the noise and crowdedness of the city.

Sighing, Tao sat up, letting the sheet fall down into his lap as he ran a hand over his face. No, he couldn’t just snatch you up and run for the hills. It had to be your choice. And he wouldn’t be surprised if you took the same route as a majority of the mates, preferring to stay within the city limits, close to your family and the school. Besides, he still shared a room with Sehun and there was nowhere else for the youngest wolf to go. At least until the second house was finished and they weren’t supposed to break ground on that for another week or so.

Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. Scratch that. He was getting ahead of himself. You didn’t even know about wolves and mates yet. And he didn’t quite know how to go about telling you. That wasn’t something you just casually slipped into a conversation. Maybe he should ask Kris for some advice.

Tao snorted, a little too loudly. He watched you for a second to make sure he didn’t wake you up. The sun was just barely beginning to peek over the horizon outside and the two of you had stayed up talking much later into the night than he had intended; you needed your sleep.

Once he confirmed that you were still drifting away in dreamland, Tao turned back to his thoughts.

He really probably shouldn’t ask Kris for advice. His own situation with his mate had been a rollercoaster nightmare. Tao hadn’t liked Evie at first, because of it. But all he’d known was that she’d rejected Kris and that Kris was at risk of dying. Once he got the whole story, however, he was quick to apologize. This whole mate thing was much more complicated than he’d ever imagined. The fact that most of them grew up thinking that werewolves and monsters were just scary stories didn’t help.

There was one person, however, that Tao felt comfortable and confident enough to ask, though. He just hoped they were up for the talk.

Laying back down, Tao pretended to get a little more sleep until you were ready to get up for the day. He tried to act normal as you made breakfast for him once again down in the kitchen.

Never did he think he would actually enjoy the little domestic moments like this. He’d always scoffed at their simplicity, but now he understood the magic in these kinds of scenes. Whenever the others tried to explain it to him, he just couldn’t grasp how they could be in awe of such mundane events. But now he understood. Now he truly appreciated the finer moments in life like this. Spending time together in the kitchen wasn’t complicated or heated. He could just watch you without worry, take in your smile and memorize your laugh. The way the sun shined around you, creating this angelic glow just made you even more beautiful in his eyes. He was so lost in his thoughts that – while he could see that you were moving closer to him – his brain didn’t register that you were done cooking and were putting the plates down on the kitchen island for the two of you to enjoy.

“Tao?” You waved a hand in front of his face, making him jump back into the present.

Blinking several times, Tao looked up at you. “Yeah?”

You laughed at him, making smile. “What were you thinking about so hard?”

“You,” he answered honestly.

Pink dust exploded across your cheeks. You said nothing as you sat down, keeping your face hidden as you started on your meal.

This time when you were done, he helped you with the cleanup, drying the dishes and putting them away (with lots of direction from you since he had no clue what went where). After putting away the now shining pan, Tao leaned up against the counter, arms folded over his chest, and kept his gaze steady on you.

“What?” You looked down, inspecting yourself to try and find what he was staring at.

He motioned to you. “Come here.” You obliged, slowly making your way towards him until you were close enough for him to pull you in the rest of the way. He kissed you softly, drinking you in like his life depended on it. When he finally gave you back your breath, he whispered, “Thank you.”

You tilted your head to the side, confused. “For what?”

“For letting me do that whenever I want now,” he replied cheekily. You gave him a playful punch to the shoulder, just making him laugh harder.

For a while, he just held you as you laid your head against his chest. He rested his own cheek against your hair, the strands tickling at his nose. Your scent was now his favorite; a mix of a floral shampoo, pencil lead, and something else that was just undeniably unique to you alone. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t stay in this moment forever.

“I have to get back home,” he told you softly, immediately wishing he’d given himself a few more minutes before making that statement. In response, you buried your face in his chest, your own little form of protest. He patted your head, his heart aching from the thought of leaving you. He’d been able to spend over twenty-four hours straight with you and he hated the fact that he was the one ending it. “I need to go check on my brother.”

The excuse was more to get him moving than for you. Minseok had ten other wolves to look after him, not to mention Jiyeon and the other mates. The farmhouse would probably be much gloomier than here, but he still had to go.  

You blew a raspberry out of your lips before taking a step back. “Okay,” you sighed. “I understand. But I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Of course.”

You nodded and headed out of the kitchen to the laundry room where you’d washed his clothes the night before. Tao was feeling a bit uncomfortable considering all he was wearing was a pair of your father’s sweatpants, but you insisted he’d never know. Still, a sense of relief washed over him when you came back with his familiar shirt and jeans. He kissed your cheek before heading off to change privately, for your sake. The image of your embarrassed face when he’d taken his shirt off in front of you before bed last night would forever be burned into his memory.

You saw Tao to the door, a pout sported clearly on your lips. Unable to resist, Tao kissed it away.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised.

“Okay.” You placed your hand on the doorknob, but couldn’t bring yourself to turn it. This wasn’t goodbye forever and yet it felt like it for both of you. With sparkling eyes you looked up at him and smiled. “You know, I used to think that you were no good. But now… I know that’s exactly what you are: good.”

Tao let out a short, unbelieving laugh. Good? Could he really be described in that light? Sure, while he hadn’t killed anyone, he wasn’t an angel, either. But if you saw him that way, then there must be some redeeming qualities about him.

“You made me this way,” he confessed.

You shook your head. “I don’t think I’m that special.”

“You are the most special person in my life.”

All these words that were leaving your mouths felt so heavy and intimate, especially in a moment like this, but they needed to be said. You needed to know what you were to him.

“Alright there, tiger,” you chuckled, opening the door for him. “You should probably get going before you start spewing more nonsense.”

“You started it,” he reminded you. Stealing one last kiss, Tao made himself walk out that front door before he changed his mind. He heard the click the door behind him. Don’t look back, he ordered to himself. If he did, he’d be climbing up in your window again.

There was a spring in his step as he made his way down the driveway and to his car that was parked right outside your house. He hadn’t bothered to park down the block this time, his only thought that night being to get to you as quickly as possible. Twirling his keys in his hand, he jumped behind the driver’s seat and took off down the road.

Back at the farmhouse, most his brothers and his mates seemed to be around, discussing mundane things to occupy their time. Kun’s pack was there as well, stuffing the already full house even more. He caught a glimpse of Lyn sitting on the couch with Lanie. The two of them seemed to be getting along given the friendly nature of their body language. Tao only spared them one glance before heading up the stairs.

Just as he reached the second floor, Junmyeon, Kris, and Kun came out of Junmyeon’s bedroom.

“Is he okay?” Tao asked as soon as they realized he was there. When he’d called Jongdae last night, he’d been told that Minseok was on the mend and just needed more rest. He wasn’t even in as much pain as they’d predicted, probably due to the wolf’s tolerance being even higher than most.  

“He’s doing just fine,” Junmyeon reassured him with a smile. The expressions on all their faces told him that they’d just been discussing something serious.

Tao frowned. “What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry about that right now,” Kris ordered. “You’ll know in time, along with everyone else.”

That answer made Tao want growl at him, but he wasn’t in the elite alpha club and therefore had to wait for answers like the others. As much as he hated to admit it, Tao actually missed the days when it was just the three of them. Kris, Luhan, and him. At least then, Kris just told them everything outright instead of this “due time” bullshit. But being back here meant more than that so he’d just have to learn to deal with it.

Junmyeon motioned to Minseok’s door with his head. “You can go see him. Just a warning though: Jiyeon’s in there with him.”

Oh, goody. Tao doubted the oldest mate was going to be her normal chipper self right now.

The three alphas passed by and headed down the stairs, leaving Tao alone in the hallway. At first, he was excited to see Minseok, but now… well, he kind of wished you were here for him to cower behind while entering the bedroom.

As soon as the door was open and Tao began to stick his head inside, a pillow came flying at his face. Barely in time to avoid being hit, Tao ducked back out into the hallway.

“Jiyeon, did you really have to do that?”

At least Minseok was awake. And not the one who threw the pillow at him.

“Yes. It made me feel better.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” Tao whined as he risked entering the room a second time.

Jiyeon’s scowl eased slightly when she caught sight of him. “Oh, sorry, Tao. I thought maybe you were Junmyeon or Kris again.”

“I think you’ve gotten your point across with them,” Minseok mumbled. He was sitting up in the bed, leaning back against the headboard with a mountain of pillows behind him, which was a good sign. There was still a slight pained-look in his eye, but he was doing his best to cover it up. Turning to Tao, he managed a smile. “Where have you been? I think you’re the only one who hasn’t come to see me yet.”

“I, uh,” Tao scratched the back of his head, feeling just a tad bit guilty. “I was with (y/n).”

“Ah.” Minseok nodded in understanding.

“Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that.” Tao’s eyes flickered to Jiyeon for a second in a subtle attempt to ask for privacy.

Minseok seemed to get the message. “Jiyeon, can you get me a glass of water?”

His mate frowned. “You have one right there on the nightstand.” Minseok stared at her pointedly until she got the message. Rolling her eyes, Jiyeon headed for the hallway. “You know, you can just ask to talk to him alone. It’s not that hard.”

Minseok just laughed as she shut the door behind her. “So, what’s going on?”

Tao took the now empty seat by the bed, leaning forward on his elbows as he tried to articulate his worries. “I just… need some advice.”

“And you came to me? Wow.” Minseok grinned widely, truly appreciative to be thought of in that way. “Don’t you usually go to Kris for this sort of thing?”

“I do, but I didn’t think he’d have the best advice for what I need,” Tao admitted.

Minseok snickered until he winced in pain. “Ow. I should probably not do that.” After adjusting his position to something a little more comfortable, he said, “Okay. What’s going on?”

“I don’t….” Tao cleared his throat. He didn’t even know how to voice what he needed help with. It was a simple question, but he felt ridiculous asking it, because he was sure he already knew the answer. “I don’t know how to tell her everything.”

“You mean about us and being your mate?”

Tao nodded. “I mean, how do you even start that conversation? When do you start it?”

“There is no right answer,” Minseok shrugged. “We’ve all kind of done it a different way, some were forced into it, others had really crappy timing. Just make sure the two of you are alone and explain everything slowly, giving her one thing at a time.”

Leaning back in his chair, Tao gave out a huff. “That’s not exactly the magical answer I was hoping for.”

“Nothing about having a mate is easy.”

Yeah. That was a phrase Tao had heard a lot around here lately. Even after the truth came out and the couple was living happily ever after, it still didn’t get any easier. The mate’s instincts were still human based, still needing their space and independence while the wolf struggled to fight being by their side twenty-four-seven.

“When do you think I should tell her?” Tao asked, wanting to keep his mind on the present and not your possible future.

“That’s up to you,” Minseok replied annoyingly. “But if you’re already asking about telling her, than that might be a good sign.”

Well, at least that was somewhat of an answer. And Tao agreed with it. If he was beginning to agonize over it, then that was clear sign of where the two of you were in your relationship and it was only fair for him to tell you before going any further. You needed to know the truth, reason you were so special to him. And he had the perfect opportunity in front of him. Your parents weren’t supposed to be back until Tuesday, giving Tao time to tonight to prepare and then he could come over tomorrow and talk to you. His stomach was already churning with nervousness, but this was something he had to do. And who knows? Maybe he’d get lucky and you’d take him being a wolf fairly well.

He could hope, anyway.

“By the way,” Minseok smirked. “How’s Kris’ eye?”

Tao cocked his head to the side. “Kris’ eye? What are you talking about?” Then it dawned on him. “Please tell me Jiyeon punched him in the face.” Served him right for not telling her about Minseok getting hurt right away. Nothing was scarier than an angry mate.

Minseok shook his head. “No.”

“Oh.” Tao slumped in his chair, disappointed.

“She threw her cell phone at him and told him to see if it worked.”

Tao fell out of his chair, unable to control the laughter erupting from his lungs.

**

Tao waited anxiously in the courtyard for you. He’d made sure to get to the university early enough to not miss your arrival. Leaned up against a tree near the water fountain in the middle, he checked his watch every five seconds. Typically, you were at school a good half hour before class to give yourself time to go over your homework. Such a responsible student. But as the time ticked past that half hour mark and you still were nowhere to be seen, he began to worry.

Had you gotten sick again?

“Tao!”

He perked up at the sound of his name, but immediately deflated when he saw that it was Kendall stomping towards him. Pushing off the tree, he raised an eyebrow at the girl who hadn’t spoken to him since their date. He thought at first that maybe she was passing a message on to him for you, but then Tao remembered that you’d told him over the weekend that Kendall didn’t know about the two of you quite yet and you were worried about telling her. Tao had reassured you that if she was your friend, everything would be fine, but you insisted you weren’t ready yet.

“What’s up?” Tao asked.

Kendall scoffed. “You are such an asshole, you know that?”

What the hell? Tao looked around as if evidence of him being pranked would jump out at him. “What are you talking about?”

“Listen,” she hissed. “I knew what you were in the beginning. But my best friend? Are you insane?”

“Kendall,” Tao groaned. “Can you actually explain what you’re talking about, please?” He was simultaneously trying to be nice and keep an eye out for you.

“Don’t play dumb!” she snapped. “I saw you leave (y/n)’s house early yesterday morning! And don’t give me some lame excuse like homework, I saw you kiss her.”

Tao’s jaw dropped. The two of you were so busted.

[therealandrewcameron-blog]

Characters Names from Super Mario and their Origins

.

When I discovered that out I did two things. To begin with, I whipped out the message of mine (yes, I maintain it that real/nerdy that I continue to have a well used NES connected in the room) of mine and then made certain I can still beat the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I initiated down a rabbit hole of reading through Mario internet sites and Articles and Wikis. In the procedure, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the brands of a number of the key players in the Mario universe. Therefore, in honor of the video game which often changed the planet, here they are, given in handy 11-item list form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted to the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was just known as Jumpman. (Which also is actually the generic brand associated with that Michael Jordan dispersed leg Nike logo. Two of the most legendary icons ever before each have generic versions of themselves referred to as Jumpman. But just one has today reached the attempt of remaining extremely powerful that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache prior to filming a business and nobody had the balls to fix him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America crew shipped Jumpman to raise him right into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), an individual seen that he looked like their Seattle office building's landlord... a person called Mario Segale.

Mario Segale did not obtain a cent for turning out to be the namesake of probably the most prominent video game character ever, however, he most likely is not insanely concerned; in 1998 he sold his asphalt business for over $60 million. (Or 600,000 extra lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi actually has one of probably the weakest brand origins of all of the mario characters with names in the Mario universe (once again showing exactly why, for life that is real, he'd have a larger inferiority complicated compared to Frank Stallone, Abel or that 3rd Manning brother).

"Luigi" is merely the result of a team of Japanese men trying to consider an Italian brand to enhance "Mario." Why was the Italian name they went with? When they all moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza spot nearby to the Nintendo headquarters known as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone out of business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated model of the Japanese rap for the adversary turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me right here -- kuppa is the Japanese word for a Korean recipe called gukbap. Basically it's a cup of soup with cereal. From what I definitely inform it's absolutely unrelated to turtles, especially malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's author, Shigeru Miyamoto, said he was deciding between three distinct brands because of the high-speed of evil turtles, every one of that were called after Korean foods. (The other 2 were yukhoe and bibimbap.) And that means among two things: (one) Miyamoto likes Korean food and needed to give it a tribute or (two) Miyamoto thinks Koreans are evil and really should be jumped on.

Wario.

I sort of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the era where I was extremely awesome for cartoon y Nintendo games. (Me and the middle school buddies of mine have been into Genesis just. I was back on Nintendo within 4 years.)

Seems his name functions both in Japanese and english; I kinda assumed the English way but didn't know about the Japanese element. In English, he is an evil, bizarro marketplace mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to become a "W" and Wario is produced. The name likewise operates in Japanese, when it's the variety of Mario and "warui," which means "bad."

That's a pretty high quality scenario, since, as I covered thoroughly in the summary 11 Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, not every language distinction finesses back and also forth that smoothly.

Waluigi.

When I first seen "Waluigi" I assumed it was hilarious. While Wario became an all natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi sensed extremely comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- including a huge inside joke that somehow cleared every bureaucratic step and cracked the mainstream.

Well... in accordance with the Nintendo men and women, Waluigi is not only a gloriously lazy decision or an inside joke gone substantial. They *say* it's based on the Japanese phrase ijiwaru, which means that "bad guy."

I do not understand. I feel like we'd have to supply them much more than halfway to buy that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look as a mushroom (or perhaps toadstool) thanks to the massive mushroom hat of his. It is a great thing the games debuted before the entire generation realized the right way to earn penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's considered Kinopio, which is a mixture of the term for mushroom ("kinoko") and also the Japanese version of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those mix being something along the lines of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, the guys are labeled as kuribo, that results in "chestnut people." That makes sense because, ya know, if somebody asked you "what do chestnut people look like?" you'd almost certainly arrive at food roughly similar to these heroes.

Once they were shipped for the American version, the group stuck with their Italian initiative and called them Goombas... based off the Italian "goombah," which colloquially means something as "my fellow Italian friend." Furthermore, it type of evokes the photo of low-level mafia thugs without too many capabilities -- like people's younger brothers as well as cousins who they'd to work with or mother would yell at them. Which also is true for the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has nothing to do with this particular initial Japanese name. Right now there, he's considered Kyasarin, that typically results in "Catherine."

In the instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, where Birdo debuted, the persona explanation of his reads: "Birdo thinks he is a girl and additionally likes being named Birdetta."

What I do believe all this means? Nintendo shockingly decided to generate a character who battles with his gender identity and then called him Catherine. In the event it was a bit of time to go to America, they got cold feet so they decided at the very last minute to contact him Birdo, even though he's a dinosaur. (And do not give me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop paleontology line. Not buying that connection.) That way, we would just understand about his gender misunderstandings in case we look at the mechanical, and the Japanese were pretty sure Americans had been sometimes too lazy or perhaps illiterate to accomplish that en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When we all got introduced to the Princess, she was regarded as Princess Toadstool. I suppose this made good sense -- Mario was put in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be called Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding bluish bloods are usually naming the kids of theirs after the country.

No person appears to be sure the reason they went that guidance, nevertheless. In Japan, she was known as Princess Peach from day one. That title did not debut here until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari arrived on the scene for Super Nintendo. (By the manner -- have you ever played Yoshi's Safari? In an off-the-wall twist it is a first-person shooter, the only person in the entire Mario the historical past. It is like something like a country music superstar putting out a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there's simply no Bowser. He's simply referred to as the King Koopa (or similar variants, like Great Demon King Koopa). And so exactly where did Bowser come from?

During the import method, there was a concern that the American masses would not recognize how the small turtles and big bad man could certainly be called Koopa. So a marketing staff put together dozens of selections for a title, they liked Bowser the very best, and slapped it on him.

In Japan, he is still hardly ever called Bowser. Over here, the name of his has become extremely ubiquitous that he's even supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's most famous Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This's a more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off of King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly way of calling him an ass. That is right: His label is an useful variation of "Ass Ape."

Super Mario Bros. is a video recording game released for the family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. It shifted the gameplay far from its single-screen arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., in addition to instead showcased side scrolling platformer concentrations. Although not the very first game of the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is the most famous, along with launched various sequence staples, from power-ups, to timeless enemies like Goombas, on the basic concept of rescuing Princess Toadstool from King Koopa. As well as kicking off a complete series of Super Mario platformer online games, the untamed good results of Super Mario Bros. made popular the genre to be a whole, really helped revive the gaming sector once the 1983 video clip game crash, as well as was largely accountable for the original good results around the NES, with which it's included a launch name. Until eventually it had been finally surpassed by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the very best marketing videos game of all moment for nearly three years, with more than forty million copies sold outside of us.

[vegathebeast-blog]

Origins for Super Mario Characters Name

.

When I found that out I did two things. For starters, I whipped out my message (yes, I ensure that it stays that real/nerdy which I still have an old NES connected in my room) and then made positive I will be able to match the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I initiated down a rabbit hole of reading Mario internet sites and Wikis and Articles. In the process, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the brands of many of the major players in the Mario universe. So, in honor of the video game which often changed the globe, right here they're, provided in useful 11 item show form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted to the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was just called Jumpman. (Which additionally is the generic name regarding that Michael Jordan dispersed leg Nike logo. 2 of the most legendary icons actually each have generic versions of themselves known as Jumpman. But only one has nowadays reached a point of being so powerful that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache prior to filming a commercial and the balls were had by not one person to correct him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America staff shipped Jumpman to raise him into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), somebody seen that he looked just like their Seattle office building's landlord... a fellow known as Mario Segale.

Mario Segale did not obtain a cent for becoming the namesake of essentially the most well known video game character perhaps, although he most likely is not extremely concerned; in 1998 he sold his asphalt company for over $60 million. (Or 600,000 increased lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi actually has one of probably the weakest brand roots of all of the mario characters in the Mario universe (once again showing exactly why, in real life, he'd have a larger inferiority complex than Frank Stallone, Abel or even that 3rd Manning brother).

"Luigi" is merely the product of people of Japanese males working to consider an Italian name to complement "Mario." Why was the Italian label they went with? When they all moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza place nearby to the Nintendo headquarters referred to as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone out of business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated variation of the Japanese rap for the adversary turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me right here -- kuppa is the Japanese word for a Korean dish referred to as gukbap. Generally it's a cup of soup with rice. From what I surely inform it's completely not related to turtles, particularly malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, explained he was deciding between 3 names that are distinct because of the high-speed of evil turtles, all of which were called after Korean foods. (The other two were yukhoe and bibimbap.) And that means one of 2 things: (one) Miyamoto adores Korean food and was looking to give it a tribute or even (two) Miyamoto thinks Koreans are evil and should be jumped on.

Wario.

I sort of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the generation just where I was way too awesome for cartoon y Nintendo games. (Me and the middle school buddies of mine have been into Genesis just. I was back on Nintendo within four years.)

Turns out his title functions both in Japanese and english; I kinda assumed the English way but did not know about the Japanese element. In English, he is an evil, bizarro marketplace mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to be a "W" and Wario is created. The name also functions in Japanese, wherever it is a combination of Mario as well as "warui," that means "bad."

That's a very good scenario, since, as I covered thoroughly in the summary 11 Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, only a few language significant difference finesses back as well as forth so efficiently.

Waluigi.

When I initially seen "Waluigi" I believed it was hilarious. While Wario became a natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi felt extremely comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- like a huge inside joke that somehow cleared each and every bureaucratic stage and then cracked the mainstream.

Well... according to the Nintendo men and women, Waluigi isn't just a gloriously idle choice or maybe an inside joke also been substantial. They *say* it is dependant upon the Japanese phrase ijiwaru, which means "bad guy."

I don't know. I think that we would have to meet them more than halfway to pay for that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look as a mushroom (or toadstool) because of his giant mushroom hat. It's a good thing the games debuted before the whole model knew how you can generate penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's named Kinopio, which is certainly a blend of the word for mushroom ("kinoko") and also the Japanese version of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those blend being something around the collections of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, the men are referred to as kuribo, that means "chestnut people." That is sensible because, ya know, if somebody requested you "what do chestnut individuals seem to be like?" you would probably arrive at food roughly similar to the heroes.

Whenever they were imported for the American model, the group caught with the Italian initiative of theirs and also referred to as them Goombas... based off the Italian "goombah," that colloquially will mean something as "my fellow Italian friend." It also kind of evokes the picture of low level mafia criminals without too numerous capabilities -- like individuals younger brothers and cousins who they had to work with or maybe mother would yell at them. Which also is true for the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has nothing at all to do with this first Japanese title. Generally there, he's called Kyasarin, which regularly translates to "Catherine."

In the training manual for Super Mario Bros. two, where Birdo debuted, his character description reads: "Birdo thinks he's a female and additionally wants for being known as Birdetta."

What I do believe all of this means? Nintendo shockingly decided to create a character that battles with the gender identity of his and named him Catherine. When it was some time to show up to America, they got feet that are cold so they decided at the last minute to contact him Birdo, though he's a dinosaur. (And don't give me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop-paleontology collection. Not purchasing that connection.) In that way, we would only understand about his gender misunderstandings if we read the manual, and the Japanese have been fairly certain Americans were either too lazy or even illiterate to do so en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When we all got introduced on the Princess, she was regarded as Princess Toadstool. I assume this made good sense -- Mario was put in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be called Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding bluish bloods are always naming the children of theirs after the country.

No one seems to be sure the reason they went that direction, however. In Japan, she was regarded as Princess Peach from day one. The title did not debut here until 1993, when Yoshi's Safari arrived on the scene for Super Nintendo. (By the manner by which -- have you played Yoshi's Safari? In an unconventional twist it is a first-person shooter, the only one in the whole Mario times past. It's as the equivalent of a country music superstar creating a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there's simply no Bowser. He's simply known as the King Koopa (or comparable variants, like Great Demon King Koopa). And so where did Bowser come from?

During the import approach, there was a concern that the American masses wouldn't recognize how the little turtles and big bad man could certainly be known as Koopa. So a marketing team put together a large number of selections for a title, they liked Bowser the best, as well as slapped it on him.

In Japan, he is nevertheless hardly ever called Bowser. Around here, his name has become extremely ubiquitous that he is even supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's most famous Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This's a far more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off of King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly means of calling him an ass. That's right: His title is a valuable version of "Ass Ape."

Great Mario Bros. is a video recording game launched for the household Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System found 1985. It shifted the gameplay away from its single-screen arcade predecessor, Mario Bros., and rather showcased side-scrolling platformer concentrations. While not the first game on the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is really famous, along with introduced many set staples, from power ups, to classic adversaries like Goombas, on the basic idea of rescuing Princess Toadstool coming from King Koopa. As well as kicking above a whole series of Super Mario platformer video games, the untamed good results of Super Mario Bros. popularized the genre to be an entire, helped to revive the gaming market as soon as the 1983 video game crash, as well as was largely the cause of the initial results around the NES, with which it was actually bundled a launch name. Until finally it was ultimately surpassed by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the very best selling video game of all moment for nearly three years, with over 40 thousand duplicates offered internationally.

[annagurova-pazyuk-blog]

Secrets about Super Mario Names

.

When I discovered that out I did 2 things. For starters, I whipped out my copy (yes, I maintain it that real/nerdy which I still need a well used NES connected in my room) and then made certain I can still beat the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I launched down a rabbit hole of reading through Mario sites as well as Articles and Wikis. In the procedure, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the brands of a few of the key players in the Mario universe. So, in honor of the video game that changed the globe, here they're, presented in handy 11-item list form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted in the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was simply referred to as Jumpman. (Which also is actually the generic label associated with that Michael Jordan spread leg Nike logo. Two of the most renowned icons ever before equally have generic versions of themselves referred to as Jumpman. But merely one has today reached a point of simply being very powerful that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache prior to filming a business and the balls were had by nobody to correct him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America staff shipped Jumpman to elevate him right into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), someone discovered that he looked just like their Seattle office building's landlord... a person named Mario Segale.

Mario Segale did not get yourself a dime for becoming the namesake of likely the most famous video game character by chance, though he most likely isn't insanely concerned; in 1998 he sold his asphalt small business for over $60 million. (Or 600,000 extra lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi has one of probably the weakest name origins of all the nintendo mario characters in the Mario universe (once again displaying why, in life which is real, he would have a greater inferiority complicated than Frank Stallone, Abel or even that 3rd Manning brother).

"Luigi" is actually the product of people of Japanese males attempting to imagine an Italian name to complement "Mario." Why was the Italian label they went with? When they each moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza place nearest to the Nintendo headquarters referred to as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone from business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated variation of the Japanese name for the adversary turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me right here -- kuppa is the Japanese term for a Korean plate called gukbap. Essentially it is a cup of soup with cereal. From what I surely tell it's totally unrelated to turtles, above all malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's author, Shigeru Miyamoto, claimed he was deciding between three diverse labels due to the racing of evil turtles, each one of that were called after Korean foods. (The alternative two were yukhoe and bibimbap.) And that means among two things: (1) Miyamoto likes Korean foods and wanted to offer a tribute or perhaps (two) Miyamoto considers Koreans are evil and need to be jumped on.

Wario.

I sort of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the era exactly where I was too cool for cartoon-y Nintendo games. (Me and the middle school buddies of mine were into Genesis just. I was again on Nintendo within 4 years.)

Appears the label of his performs equally in Japanese and english; I kinda assumed the English manner but didn't know about the Japanese aspect. In English, he's an evil, bizarro community mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to become a "W" and also Wario is created. The name likewise functions in Japanese, wherever it's a combination of Mario and "warui," which implies "bad."

That is a pretty great scenario, since, as I covered thoroughly in the list 11 Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, not every language distinction finesses back and also forth that smoothly.

Waluigi.

When I first heard "Waluigi" I believed it was hilarious. While Wario became an all natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi sensed extremely comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- including a huge inside joke that somehow cleared each and every bureaucratic phase and cracked the mainstream.

Well... based on the Nintendo people, Waluigi is not just a gloriously lazy choice or maybe an inside joke also been huge. They *say* it's based upon the Japanese phrase ijiwaru, which means that "bad guy."

I do not know. I think that we'd have to meet them more than halfway to purchase that.

Toad.

Toad is designed to look like a mushroom (or maybe toadstool) thanks to his gigantic mushroom hat. It is a great thing the gaming systems debuted before the entire model understood how to make penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's called Kinopio, which is certainly a combination of the word for mushroom ("kinoko") as well as the Japanese version of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those combine to be something around the collections of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, these guys are also known as kuribo, that typically results in "chestnut people." That seems sensible because, ya know, if somebody requested you "what do chestnut folks are like?" you would probably arrive at something roughly like these heroes.

When they were shipped for the American version, the staff stuck with their Italian initiative and known as them Goombas... based off of the Italian "goombah," which colloquially signifies something as "my fellow Italian friend." It also sort of evokes the picture of low level mafia thugs without too numerous competencies -- such as individuals younger brothers and also cousins who they had to hire or perhaps mother would yell at them. That also goes for the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has absolutely nothing to do with this original Japanese name. There, he's named Kyasarin, that translates to "Catherine."

In the instruction manual for Super Mario Bros. 2, where Birdo debuted, his character explanation reads: "Birdo believes he's a female and additionally would like to become named Birdetta."

What I do think all of this means? Nintendo shockingly made the decision to create a character that battles with his gender identity and then called him Catherine. When it was time to show up to America, they got feet which are cold so they determined at the last minute to contact him Birdo, although he's a dinosaur. (And do not provide me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop paleontology line. Not buying that connection.) That way, we'd only know about his gender misunderstandings in case we have a look at manual, and the Japanese had been convinced Americans have been sometimes way too idle or even illiterate to accomplish that en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When everyone got released on the Princess, she was recognized as Princess Toadstool. I assume this made sense -- Mario was set in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be called Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding bluish bloods are always naming the young children of theirs after the country.

No one seems to be sure why they went the guidance, nevertheless. In Japan, she was recognized as Princess Peach from day one. The title didn't debut here before 1993, when Yoshi's Safari came out for Super Nintendo. (By the manner -- have you had Yoshi's Safari? In a bizarre twist it's a first-person shooter, the only one in the entire Mario the historical past. It's as the equivalent of a country music superstar putting out a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there's simply no Bowser. He's simply known as the King Koopa (or perhaps related variants, including Great Demon King Koopa). So just where did Bowser come from?

During the import process, there was a problem that the American crowd would not see how the seemingly insignificant turtles and big bad guy could both be named Koopa. So a marketing team developed a large number of options for a name, they liked Bowser the very best, and also slapped it on him.

In Japan, he is nonetheless hardly ever referred to as Bowser. Over here, his label is now extremely ubiquitous that he is even supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's most well known Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This's a more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off of King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly means of calling him an ass. That is right: His title is an useful model of "Ass Ape."

Super Mario Bros. is a video recording game introduced for the family Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System contained 1985. It shifted the gameplay far from the single-screen arcade predecessor of its, Mario Bros., and instead showcased side scrolling platformer quantities. Although not the first game of the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is probably the most iconic, along with launched many series staples, coming from power ups, to classic enemies as Goombas, to the standard idea of rescuing Princess Toadstool coming from King Koopa. Together with kicking raised a few inches off a complete compilation of Super Mario platformer video games, the untamed results of Super Mario Bros. made popular the genre as an entire, really helped revive the gaming market after the 1983 video game crash, and also was mainly responsible for the original results around the NES, with that it's included a launch name. Until eventually it was finally exceeded by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the most effective selling video game of all moment for almost 3 years, with more than forty thousand copies sold overseas.

[8thofmay-blog1]

Characters Names from Super Mario and the Origins of theirs

When I discovered that out I did 2 things. To begin with, I whipped out the copy of mine (yes, I ensure that it stays that real/nerdy which I still need an old NES connected in my room) and made confident I can still match the game at will. (I can. Childhood not wasted.)

Secondly, I initiated down a rabbit hole of reading through Mario sites as well as Wikis and Articles. In the process, I stumbled upon the etymologies of the labels of a number of the major players in the Mario universe. Therefore, in honor of the video game which often changed the planet, right here they're, presented in handy 11-item describe form.

Mario.

When Mario debuted in the arcade game "Donkey Kong", he was just referred to as Jumpman. (Which additionally happens to be the generic label associated with that Michael Jordan spread leg Nike logo. 2 of the most celebrated icons actually both have generic versions of themselves called Jumpman. But only one of them has now gotten to a point of remaining so impressive that he shaved himself a Hitler mustache before filming a commercial and the balls were had by not one person to fix him.)

In 1980, as the Nintendo of America staff shipped Jumpman to elevate him into a franchise-leading star (Hayden Christensen style), someone noticed that he looked like their Seattle office building's landlord... a person named Mario Segale.

Mario Segale didn't get yourself a cent for turning out to be the namesake of probably the most well known video game character by chance, although he most likely is not absurdly concerned; in 1998 he sold the asphalt small business of his for more than $60 million. (Or 600,000 increased lives.)

Luigi.

Luigi has among probably the weakest name origins of most of the all mario characters names in the Mario universe (once again showing exactly why, in life which is real, he would have a larger inferiority complex compared to Frank Stallone, Abel or that third Manning brother).

"Luigi" is actually the result of a team of Japanese men trying to think of an Italian name to complement "Mario." Why was that the Italian name they went with? When they each moved from Japan to Seattle, the pizza spot nearby to the Nintendo headquarters referred to as Mario & Luigi's. (It has since gone out of business.)

Koopa.

Koopa is a transliterated model of the Japanese rap for the enemy turtles, "Kuppa." Stick with me here -- kuppa is the Japanese word for a Korean plate referred to as gukbap. Basically it's a cup of soup with grain. From what I definitely explain to it is totally not related to turtles, especially malicious ones.

In an interview, Mario's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, explained he was deciding between three labels which are diverse due to the racing of evil turtles, every one of that happened to be named after Korean foods. (The other 2 were yukhoe and bibimbap.) Which means among two things: (1) Miyamoto loves Korean food and was looking to offer a tribute or (2) Miyamoto thinks Koreans are evil and must be jumped on.

Wario.

I kind of missed the debut of Wario -- he debuted in 1992, right around when I was hitting the age where I was too fantastic for cartoon-y Nintendo games. (Me and my middle school buddies were into Genesis just. I was back on Nintendo within four years.)

Seems his name operates equally in english and Japanese; I kinda assumed the English fashion but did not know about the Japanese aspect. In English, he's an evil, bizarro marketplace mirror image of Mario. The "M" turns to turn into a "W" and also Wario is born. The name likewise works in Japanese, when it's a mix of Mario as well as "warui," that indicates "bad."

That's a pretty great situation, since, as I covered extensively in the listing eleven Worst Japanese-To-English Translations In Nintendo History, don't assume all language significant difference finesses again and also forth quite smoothly.

Waluigi.

When I 1st heard "Waluigi" I believed it was hilarious. While Wario was obviously an all natural counterbalance to Mario, Waluigi sensed really comically shoehorned (just tacking the "wa" prefix before Luigi) -- including a giant inside joke that somehow cleared every single bureaucratic stage and cracked the mainstream.

Well... according to the Nintendo men and women, Waluigi is not just a gloriously idle decision or perhaps an inside joke become huge. They *say* it is based upon the Japanese term ijiwaru, meaning "bad guy."

I don't understand. I think that we would have to meet them more than halfway to pay for that.

Toad.

Toad is built to look as a mushroom (or toadstool) because of the gigantic mushroom hat of his. It's a great thing the games debuted before the whole version realized how to make penis jokes.

Anyway, in Japan, he's called Kinopio, which happens to be a mixture of the name for mushroom ("kinoko") and the Japanese variant of Pinocchio ("pinokio"). Those mix being something around the lines of "A Real Mushroom Boy."

Goomba.

In Japanese, these guys are termed as kuribo, which means "chestnut people." That makes sense because, ya know, if someone requested you "what do chestnut individuals are like?" you would probably get to food roughly like the figures.

Whenever they were shipped for the American version, the team tangled with their Italian initiative and called them Goombas... based off of the Italian "goombah," which colloquially means something like "my fellow Italian friend." It also type of evokes the picture of low level mafia hooligans without too many competencies -- like individuals younger brothers and also cousins who they had to retain the services of or perhaps mom would yell at them. That also is true for the Mario Bros. goombas.

Birdo.

Birdo has nothing at all to do with this first Japanese name. Generally there, he's considered Kyasarin, that means "Catherine."

In the training manual for Super Mario Bros. two, in which Birdo debuted, the character description of his reads: "Birdo thinks he is a girl and additionally likes to be called Birdetta."

What I do think all this means? Nintendo shockingly decided to develop a character who battles with the gender identity of his and referred to as him Catherine. When it was some time to go to America, they got feet which are cold so they determined at the last second to phone him Birdo, even though he's a dinosaur. (And do not provide me the "birds are descended from dinosaurs" pop paleontology line. Not shopping for that connection.) In that way, we'd just understand about the gender confusion of his if we read the mechanical, and the Japanese were fairly certain Americans have been sometimes too lazy or illiterate to do so en masse.

Princess Toadstool/Peach.

When we all got released on the Princess, she was regarded as Princess Toadstool. I assume this made perfect sense -- Mario was put in the Mushroom Kingdom, so why wouldn't its monarch be known as Princess Toadstool. Them inbreeding blue bloods are usually naming their children after the country.

No one seems to be sure the reason they went the direction, nevertheless. In Japan, she was known as Princess Peach from day one. That title did not debut here before 1993, when Yoshi's Safari arrived on the scene for Super Nintendo. (By the manner by which -- have you ever had Yoshi's Safari? In a bizarre twist it is a first-person shooter, the only person in the entire Mario history. It's like something like a country music superstar creating a weird rock album.)

Bowser.

In Japan, there's no Bowser. He is simply known as the King Koopa (or perhaps comparable variations, including Great Demon King Koopa). So exactly where did Bowser come from?

During the import method, there was an issue that the American crowd wouldn't understand how the little turtles and big bad fellow could certainly be called Koopa. So a marketing staff developed a large number of options for a name, they adored Bowser the very best, and slapped it on him.

In Japan, he's nonetheless hardly ever referred to as Bowser. Around here, his name is now very ubiquitous that he is actually supplanted Sha Na Na's Bowzer as America's many prominent Bowser.

Donkey Kong.

This is a more literal interpretation than you think. "Kong" is based off King Kong. "Donkey" is a family friendly means of calling him an ass. That's right: The name of his is an useful model of "Ass Ape."

Super Mario Bros. is a video game launched for the household Computer and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. It shifted the gameplay away from the single screen arcade predecessor of its, Mario Bros., along with rather showcased side scrolling platformer quantities. Although not the original game of the Mario franchise, Super Mario Bros. is very famous, and presented many series staples, from power-ups, to classic enemies like Goombas, to the standard premise of rescuing Princess Toadstool coming from King Koopa. As well as kicking raised a few inches off a complete number of Super Mario platformer games, the untamed good results of Super Mario Bros. popularized the genre as an entire, really helped revive the gaming sector after the 1983 footage game crash, as well as was largely responsible for the original good results of the NES, with that it was bundled up a launch title. Until finally it was eventually exceeded by Wii Sports, Super Mario Bros. was the top selling video game of all time for about three years, with more than 40 thousand copies offered worldwide.

[rosemaryrendon0-blog]

Make The Decision To become Pleased

The search of contentment has actually possibly inhabited the mind from man (and also lady) for centuries. Undoubtedly, consequently outside things and individuals are not going to make our company pleased in the longterm, as they constantly need to be switched out with something else. Some men persist animals in some cases, and no man, lady or even one, likes being actually obliged to create adjustments. You can create straightforward, but elegant main features through only grouping together many small bordered photos. No matter the circumstance or even conditions, our team get to choose whether our team want to rejoice and also invigorated, or even lethargic as well as awful. I create this a lead to see an episode or 2 throughout the week to give me an excellent laugh. Therefore this cause bingeing, makinged me delighted again like I was pulling the woollen over everyone's eyes given that I can eat each of the horrendous foods items" that I loved without really having to digest all of them. However, along with the improvement of technology, this's now easier compared to ever to make music all by yourself. Spanish words are actually filled with seductive expressions yet this set is straightforward as well as very meaningful. If they're certainly not, see to it you don't hurry right into relationship, as you might discover that there is actually someone else available that is actually indicated for you. If you are also searching for an option which would certainly deliver a brand-new period of enthusiasm back right into your life, see to it that you improve sex drive and also create your other half the happiest individual on the earth. I despised being actually a vacant vessel, and as I began going out with, I anticipated that exclusive an individual to follow along, load me up, as well as make me satisfied. When the Large Ben strikes 12 in the twelve o'clock at night, people party with family and friends in the homes or out on the streets. This is difficult to experience lonely once again once they make pals with on their own and are capable to be which they are actually. Create something special for your man a minimum of on the weekend break, when you possess enough time to invest along with each other. You may be considering an 80th birthday gathering for an evening owl that has even more electricity in comparison to the average teen. The delighted microorganisms can be inhaled or even absorbed with the skin while gardening. Nevertheless If our company began with a posture of certainly not enjoying and not possessing any confidence in our own selves or our abilities then this increase in money are going to not transform points around and also make our company pleased. Loneliness occasionally performs certainly not create a person any longer the unhappier, that occasionally offers you room to think making suggestions away from suitables, getting to know onesself a lot better, in several - techniques! One of the most ideal locations to obtain tips for an 80th birthday gathering is coming from the important invitee, himself. You may do points like sight and also install your documents and make adjustments to your plan - and also the good news is actually, this suggests no admin charges! They may certainly not begin by doing this, however I've resided in some untamed ones where team on other sloops must have choppers eliminate all of them for defective bone tissues and other numerous traits. If you carry out not feel like hanging out with your other half, see to it that you have this pill; that is going to not merely enhance sex drive, but will definitely make certain that you take pleasure in the second to the max. You are actually the reason I haven't shed my mind currently, you make me satisfied and also you were actually REGULARLY certainly there for me pass on. Men are very obstinate and also possess big vanities, so that is difficult for them to permit any individual to create all of them perform one thing. Advertising and marketing is vital, but the absolute most significant is the gigs you carry out, due to the fact that there is actually constantly someone in the audience that is arranging an event in the future and also require a really good performer. Somebody special will have a birthday and also you're trying to find merely the correct words to utilize for this pleased affair. You might likewise choose a music team that may participate in online traditional tunes in the course of the whole entire night for an extra innovative gathering. To add fuel to the fire, Koshka began to make the coughing noise that was his variation of a tummy laugh. Still, that doesn't imply you must permit your emotional states transmit everything you mention or carry out. That doesn't make any type of sense to refuse to visit a party along with him today considering that he failed to notice you obtained your haircut previously today. That's all-natural to feel happy when you experience definitely thrilling points in your relationship, your lifestyle, or your career. It's not constantly as easy as understanding exactly what you enjoy, then identifying techniques to make amount of money doing it. If you adore to clean vehicles, you could create a decent living by starting an auto washing service. When you will certainly obtain that one thing you are going to definitely be actually satisfied, exactly how lots of times did you prefer for something and you just recognized that. The secret below is to become knowledgeable about that void and afterwards pick the response that will make sure you are actually in control of your sensations and also activities. I may be satisfied due to my posture as well as certainly not depend on my situations. Inquire your youngsters, What can I do to make you believe adored?" You'll be stunned to hear exactly what children think. Be sure That He Isn't Simply Hearing Your Criticize Him: As an individual who has actually gotten on the opposite side of the discussion, I may tell you that when you listen to these phrases, this may seem like a strike as well as this can believe as if you must defend your own self. When you appreciate how your other half feels, he is actually bound to be more happy in the relationship, which in turn is going to make him pleased. Bear in mind: every person needs to have 12 caress a day, thus see to it to provide all the caress they need for an excellent sensation daily just before bed time. I understood specifically what this took to make me able to throw up, and also was actually making myself thus total to the point where I thought likeI was actually visiting throw up anyway. If you perform it in a method that praises their need to make you happy, male won't assume you're egocentric. Although, it might feel bizarre for a long time, but once you do it, that does not create you think so. This key phrase would certainly be actually the ideal one if you want to create your aficionado feel extremely necessary. Our close friends perform need to stockpile on calories making it through those long cold wintertime evenings. She is rather, she is actually an accomplished vocalist and professional dancer which she has actually had the ability to make a lot and also capitalize on of cash from, she is a famous personality she also possesses little ones. If you have any questions relating to wherever and how to use yellow pages personal uk; browse around here,, you can speak to us at the web-site. I would be actually over happy to do what I can easily to confirm to you my truthfulness on this concern. Much more than anything in a relationship, a female needs to feel appreciated to become pleased.

[universeinform-blog]

This Enterprise Software Unicorn Just Filed to Go Public

New Post has been published on https://universeinform.com/2017/03/15/this-enterprise-software-unicorn-just-filed-to-go-public/

This Enterprise Software Unicorn Just Filed to Go Public

Snap isn’t the most effective startup that thinks now is the time to move public. Corporation software program organization Okta officially filed for an IPO on Monday and plans to change on NASDAQ beneath the stock ticker “OKTA.”

Okta focuses on an identification management software program that facilitates groups maintain tune of which of their employees are gaining access to various apps and offerings. The startup is a member of Fortune’s Unicorn Listing of startups with stated valuations of over $1 billion. The business enterprise raised $seventy-five million in its most recent round of investment in Sep. 2015. Although identification management software program has long existed for IT directors, the upward thrust of cloud computing and diverse cloud software program services like Salesforce (CRM, -zero.12%) has made it tougher for companies to accurately tune of all that software and who’s using the diverse offerings. Get Facts Sheet, Fortune’s generation publication. Okta earned in $111.5 million in sales at some point of a 9-month term that ended on Oct. 31, 2016. That makes for a nearly 90% bounce in income from the $58.8 million it said in 2015 for the duration of the same term. However, the enterprise additionally reported a net loss of $65.three million throughout that 2016 nine-month duration, which was a 13.5% growth from the previous year.

Okta stated in its filings that its offerings were built on the pinnacle of Amazon’s (AMZN, -0.24%) cloud computing platform, Amazon Net offerings. businesses like Okta have essentially constructed cutting-edge-day variations of the identity management software program that paintings with numerous cloud apps and offerings and not just the software in an organization’s internal Records centers. Its closest competition areOneLogin and Ping identity, which non-public equity company Vista equity Companions said it would gather in June

Regions of Company in Leatherwork

Leatherwork as a subject of the visual arts has numerous viable organizations. Those corporations provide several career opportunities to many human beings within the Ghanaian community. College students of leatherwork with their practical expertise can set up their very own small-scale industries to cater for themselves and their families and more importantly even employ different humans. Those Areas of organizations in leatherwork do not require big capital for one to establish an Organization. In fact, a man or woman can begin the business right from his residence with a small table and a few hand gear and substances. Let us use this unit to highlight some of These Regions of businesses in leatherwork.

A number of the Regions of corporations in leatherwork are: 1. Tanning 2. Upholstering 3. Designing and making leather gadgets four . Buying and selling leather gadgets

Tanning-

This location of Organisation deals with the manufacturing of leather-based as a fabric. It’s far answerable for the processing of hides and skins into leather-based. The leather-based artist can set up his personal tannery as a Corporation in which he would perform. Putting in place a tannery even though pretty disturbing, generates quite a few income. The artist must assume seriously approximately the vicinity, capital, and hard workforce in view that Those factors will largely affect the success or failure of his tannery Corporation.

Upholstering–

This zone of leatherwork issues itself with the production of appropriate furnishes for houses, places of work, and more especially vehicles. It is a completely huge vicinity that offers numerous process avenues for leather-based craftsmen. They produce furniture, foot and arm rest, table mats, car seating, floral vases for decoration and so forth. With cautious making plans, this Business enterprise booms a number of profits for the leather craftsman.

Designing And Making Of leather items-

This region of Employer deals with the production of products in leather. It embraces its designing as well as actual productions of the gadgets. This duo-Corporation is large earnings generating mission. The leather craftsman may even pick out to perform in one among them for each of them guarantees economic prosperity.

The development in a generation has opened a brand new form of designing of merchandise in leather-based at the laptop using art software program programs along with CorelDraw, Adobe Photoshop, Rhino, etc. A leather-based craftsman who’s professional inside the use of any of those applications could make a residing from it. Before merchandise together with baggage, footwear, slippers, furniture and others are produced, the preliminary designs are made by experts in this location of Enterprise. The actual producers of this merchandise additionally earn loads of profits. There are even specialties inside the manufacturing of those objects inclusive of shoe manufacturers, bag producers, furniture manufacturers, belt producers etc.

Trading In leather items-

This factor of leatherwork offers employment to several humans whether or not or not they realize a good deal approximately leatherwork. They trade or provide leather-based merchandise on the market. Most of the leather investors sell the leather-based items locally, mainly in ‘warm’ or thriving market facilities within the united states of America whilst others export the leather-based products out of doors u . S . to earn overseas currencies.

To be powerful on this Corporation, the dealer in leatherwork must be versed in costing, pricing, and advertising. He has to be capable of recognizing which leather merchandise to sell, in which to promote them, a way to promote them and while to promote them. Armed with this information, he is set on the street to achievement on this Enterprise.

Unfastened Software program – Or Perhaps Now not

So, I, in the end, decided to splash out on some new Film Maker or Video Enhancing Software. Like the general public probably might I opted to do a niche of studies earlier than I devoted. I would as an alternative have right Unfastened Software program if I’m able to get it but I am also prepared to pay for it if required.

Everybody having gone thru this painful exercising earlier than will appreciate how time eating it’s far. First off you have to beware of all the ones helpful folk who creatively provide an explanation for how notable this or that Software program is – normally underneath a title inclusive of “Pinnacle Free Video Editors” or “First-class Unfastened Film Editing Programs” or comparable engaging titles which in the end turn out to be a bias write up and a referral link to the provider via their fee account URL.

From time to time it will become quite clear that the writer has No longer even bothered to download and use the Software program. Once they have used the Software program the prejudice is frequently continually toward their Satisfactory commission provider. This does not trouble me an excessive amount of.

What does trouble me is the blatant advertising of merchandise below the banner of “Loose Software program” that you either need to download to discover that 1/2 the functions do No longer work unless you choose the overall improve or After they mean “Loose” they have been regarding the 30-day trial.

Suffice to mention that all of us become downloading heaps of vain Software handiest to should uninstall all of it again. I have made an aware choice to no longer take a look at the Unfastened Software unless it comes via recommendation. It virtually isn’t really worth all of the hassle, deceit and damaged promises.

Legends of the Unicorn – Symbolism, and Meaning

Unicorn is one of the most popular mythical creatures that seem to exist in lots of subcultures. In the West, the unicorn is usually portrayed as a slim, white lovely horse with a spiraling horn on its forehead. Unicorns appear best to the pure at heart in step with a few legend, this is perhaps why so few folks have seen one. Although the behavior and appearance of the unicorn differ depending on the vicinity, it became normally considered untamable and wild Inside the Western world, even as Within the Orient it turned into gentle, peaceful, meek and stated to be the bringer of right good fortune.

Within the West the unicorn turned into first mentioned by way of a Greek physician and historian of Persia and India, Ctesias, in 398 BC. in step with him, unicorns lived in India. Ctesias described the creatures as “wild asses which can be as massive as a horse, or even larger. Their heads are dark red, they are our bodies are white and their eyes are deep blue. The horn on their brow is quite lengthy, approximately 1/2-a-meter lengthy”. The horn became additionally described as white at the base, dark brown or black In the middle and with a crimson, sharp tip. Humans believed that the horn possesses healing abilities. It became quite elegant amongst royalty and the Aristocracy Within the middle A while to personal and ingesting cup manufactured from the horn of unicorn since it was imagined to discover poison. The animal appears to be a combination of a Himalayan antelope, Indian rhinoceros, and the wild ass.

In China, their unicorn is called as Qilin or Chili/ Klein. The Chinese language unicorn seems as one of the 4 sacred beasts: Qilin, Phoenix, Dragon and the Tortoise. Qilin is likewise considered as a creature of extremely good energy and knowledge. Its look turned into usually considered a sign of right success. The Chinese language considers that Qilin can handiest appear at some point of the time while there is a sensible and type ruler or during the time when these tremendous leaders are about to die or being born.

In the West, a unicorn is an image of electricity, agility, patience, know-how, perseverance and playfulness. It also represents desire, purity, grace and love. even as in China, this sacred creature is an image of accurate luck, protection and wisdom.