#and i am absolutely in love with his newly renovated cabin

[kelesaria]

Look who I finally found!  :D

I had exactly 6 soporifics to throw at him, and I managed to catch him with the very last one. Because of course. XD

I still haven’t run the trial and finished the MSQ, because work has been exhausting me too much to do more than Island chores and maybe one run through the new dungeon for gear. Which hasn’t given me what I need yet. >.< So DNC is still 1 ilvl short of getting in the trial. On a plus note, red mage is now his second best geared job, because of all the casting drops I’ve gotten. XD

Tomorrow is a day off, so I’m gonna run the dungeon ONE more time, and if it still refuses to give me a piece of aiming gear, he’ll have enough tomestones to buy something. So I WILL get it done tomorrow.

[fanfic-corner]

Bed Sharing

I created this list probably about a month or so ago, and I remember being so hopeful for the finale. I never dreamt we would get semi-canon Destiel, but I also never imagined the finale would be that disappointing. I will be posting a list of 15x20 fics, but for now, take this fluff and ignore your problems for a while.

Lock and Key by tricia_16 on AO3. (144,500 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bookstore Owner Castiel, Musician Dean Winchester, Friends to Lovers, Keeping Secrets, Mutual Pining, Flirting, Sexual Tension, Slow Burn, Smut, Virgin Castiel, Angry Sex, Dubious Content, Recreational Drug Use, Fluff, Dating, Song Lyrics, Sharing a Bed, Happy Ending.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: In a world where people get songs stuck in their heads whenever their soulmate is singing out loud, Castiel discovers that being soulmates with an aspiring singer/songwriter can be taxing, to say the least. Finding said soulmate, learning that he's the most attractive human being on the face of the earth, and then not being able to tell him he’s meant for you? It turns out that's even worse. Not having a soulmate is just the icing on the cake on an already crappy life, if you ask Dean. He wants to sell his songs, but he's terrified of singing them himself. He wants to be a mechanic, but he's stuck selling parts, instead. He wants to kiss the ever loving fuck out of Sam's girlfriend's boss, too, but the guy's holding out for his soulmate, which of course means Dean doesn't even have a shot....right?

Notes: The pure terror that struck me at the end of chapter one nearly made me dip out of this, but I stuck through it, and was 100% rewarded with the ending (I screamed. I think everyone is worried about me now).

Stand By Me by whelvenwings on AO3. (31,252 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Post-Apocalypse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Sharing a Bed, Slow Dancing, Smut, First Kiss, Canon-Typical Violence, Touch-Starved Dean, Love Confessions.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Dean Winchester has been alone for a long, long time. When he and Castiel happen to find each other - a couple of survivors in a world that’s been all but wiped clean - Dean’s looking for his brother; Castiel is looking for something to look for. They stick together, because neither of them much wants to be alone. They hate each other at first, of course. Dean hates Castiel for being weird and quiet and ironic and antagonistic and proud. Castiel hates Dean for being blunt and reckless and coarse, for drinking, for refusing to talk about how he feels and just pretending everything is fine. Most of all, they hate themselves and each other just for being alive. What right do they have to be alive? No one else seems to be. But against his own will, Dean starts to notice things about Castiel that he likes. Starts to hope that Castiel might like him, too. And together, they start to fight for a world where they're both alive - and that's a good thing.

Notes: I know I have recced this multiple times before but it is one of my all time favourite fics so I won’t apologise! It is so cute, and it has everything you could ask for in a fic.

Partnered by K_K_TiBal on AO3. (28,112 words).

Tags: Minor Donna/Jody, Minor Eileen/Sam, Detective Dean Winchester, Lieutenant Castiel, Undercover as Married, Suburbia, Drug Use, Sharing a Bed, Pining, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fake Marriage, Falling in Love, Love Confessions, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, Demisexual Castiel, Demiromantic Dean Winchester.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: Dean didn't think that his life as a detective could get much worse after Castiel was promoted to lieutenant. Castiel was a stickler for the rules, had no sense of humour, and never seemed to give Dean a break, even though they used to be partners. But then, despite all of their questionable history, the two are asked to go undercover on a case in the wealthy suburbs of California. . . as a married couple.

Notes: I am screaming, that was so f*cking cute! And the artwork was gorgeous, too. Also, now I ship Jody and Donna. Cas gave off such Holt vibes in this, I was convinced I accidentally started reading a Brooklyn Nine-Nine fic (do those exist?)

the cost of a thing by quiettewandering on AO3. (74,198 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fake Marriage, Human Castiel, Protective Dean Winchester, Touch-Starved Castiel, Mutual Pining, Jealous Dean Winchester, Slow Burn, Depressed Castiel, Fake/ Pretend Relationship, Sharing a Bed.

My Rating: 5 stars.

Description: 16 months ago, Cas became human. 12 months ago, Cas left the bunker and a broken-hearted Dean behind. Now they must work a case together, where married couples are dying mysterious deaths and the only way to earn the neighbors' trust is by pretending to be married. Slowly, Dean finds that he loves being in a relationship with Cas, fake or not, and Cas finds his loneliness retreating, despite the harsh reality looming right around the corner. As Dean and Cas navigate this fake, but all too real, relationship, can they find the monster that is on a mysteriously motivated killing spree before it’s too late?

Notes: So cute! My favourite trope! And, as an added bonus, the sharing of a bed. 

flowers in the backyard by justkeeponwriting on AO3. (34,710 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Homeless Castiel, Domestic Fluff, Sharing a Bed, Minor Character Death, References to Depression, Angst with a Happy Ending, Smut.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: After Uncle Bobby’s death, Dean goes to check up on the cabin that he’s inherited. Dean hasn’t been at the cabin for years, but he knows Bobby hasn’t renovated it in ages, so he isn’t very thrilled to be saddled with it. Upon arrival, he notices that unlike he expected, it’s not unoccupied, nor falling apart – instead, a stranger called Castiel has made it into his home.

Notes: This was such a relaxing and gentle read, I nearly fell asleep after I finished it! Cas & Dean’s tentative relationship was written absolutely beautifully, too.

What Happened In Vegas by Ltleflrt on AO3. (18,447 words).

Tags: Sam/Eileen, Alternate Universe - No Supernatural, Teacher Dean, Photographer Castiel, Las Vegas Wedding, Secret Relationship, Sharing a Bed, Switch Dean, Switch Castiel, Fluff.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: Long time friends Dean and Castiel are road tripping from Chicago to San Diego for Sam and Eileen’s wedding, and a pitstop in Las Vegas turns into drunken love confessions and a surprise marriage. Turns out the pining has been mutual this whole time, but now they’re finally together and on cloud-fucking-nine. Until they remember that this trip isn’t supposed to be about them. To avoid undermining Sam and Eileen’s important weekend, they decide to keep their new relationship status a secret. They’ll keep the heart eyes toned down and their hands to themselves, but the struggle is real.

Notes: Oh my lord, this was absolutely hilarious (especially that last piece of art - I totally lost it) and adorable. I can totally imagine Dean and Cas getting a cheesy Vegas wedding, and we can all dig Elvis (sorry).

Stories Are Made of Mistakes by wildhoneypie on AO3. (4,942 words).

Tags: Human Castiel, Diners, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Dean, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Slow Build, Case Fic, Domestic, Didn’t Know They Were Dating.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: In which Cas is human and doesn't understand basic concepts like: clothing, Mythbusters, moisturizer, and Greek food. Dean is...Dean and doesn't understand basic concepts like: boyfriends, language, how to tell your friend that he's a walking miracle, and when not to quip.

Notes: This was so cute and I live for human Cas. I also love the recurring ‘no fucking quipping’ joke in this, although the idea of Cas swearing broke me a bit!

Sharing the Rain Dog by almaasi on AO3. (19,837 words).

Tags: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternative Universe - Historical (1999), Fluff, Romance, No Angst, Accidental Dating, First Dates, Rain, Dogs, Pets, FBI Agent Castiel, Musician Dean, Singer Dean, Flustered Dean, Domestic Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Moving In Together, Living Together, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, Cuddling, Smut.

My Rating: 4 stars.

Description: When some asshole hits a dog with his car and drives off, the first two people on the scene are Dean and Castiel. Castiel's an FBI agent with a plane to catch, and he doesn't have time to take the dog to the vet. Dean's a musician, and he doesn't have the money. An agreement is reached: Dean goes, Castiel pays, and they'll exchange details and meet again to work things out. But who gets the dog? Sooner or later they're going to realise that having shared custody of one pitbull isn't ideal. She needs one home, not two. One stable, loving home...

Notes: Rain Dog was so cute, and so was flustered Dean! The hitting a dog joke is starting to get out of hand, though.

This Game We Play by destieldrabblesdaily on AO3. (1,195 words).

Tags: High School AU, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Bed Sharing.

My Rating: 3 stars.

Description: Dean and Castiel have been best friends since they were little, and sleepovers are a common event. They've always loved playing the game where they draw out letters on each others backs and try to guess what the other is writing. Even though sixteen seems to be a bit too old to still play the game, Castiel uses it as a chance to silently confess something that he's been wanting to share with Dean for a long time.

Notes: This was adorable. I am 100% here for Cas and Dean being childhood friends.

Minty Fresh Kisses by almaasi on AO3. (7,905 words).

Tags: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Motel Rooms, Teeth, Dean in Love, Human Castiel, First Kiss, Pancakes, Sharing a Bed, Fluff, Dean POV, One Shot.

My Rating: 3 stars.

Description: Dean teaches a newly-human Castiel how to brush his teeth properly. Things don't go according to plan – but for once, the unexpected development actually presents a more promising outcome.

Notes: This was so sweet, and Cas was so cute as a human! Also, I love fics where Sam is just done with the constant sexual tension, it always makes me laugh.

Wee Little Love Child by almaasi on AO3. (10,649 words).

Tags: Fluff, Romance, Kid Fic, Team Free Will, De-Aged Sam Winchester, Cursed Sam Winchester, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Sam Winchester ships Dean/Cas, Matchmaker Rowena, Parent Castiel, Parent Dean, Affectionate Dean, Love Confessions, First Kiss, Sharing a Bed, First Time, Friends to Lovers, Domestic Fluff.

My Rating: 3 stars.

Description: After being magically de-aged, little Sammy is under the impression that Dean and Cas are his parents. He wants to know if they're in love, but they can't (or won't) give a consistent answer. The thing is, they have to grant Sam's greatest wish in order to reverse the curse, but they can only do that as a pair. What does Sam want most? For Dean and Cas to express their true feelings. Aloud. To each other.

Notes: Aw, I love Rowena, and I am 100% here for her cursing Sam just to get Dean and Cas to stop being idiots and actually get together.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again: the fans are in control now. We control the Supernatural content we are getting, so please create the ending you would want to see. And, if anyone wants to talk or rant or suggest a fic, I am always here.

[jira-chii]

I watched Crazy Rich Asians with my Dad

And my sister. It’s actually been several weeks since the event now but I still want to write about it, because there was some personal significance in it for me, and also because, honestly, it was a fun movie.

Disclaimer: I’ve only seen the movie once, and as mentioned, that was a while ago now so apologies if my memory is a bit hazy. Also, I haven’t read the book.

So the story of how this came to be starts with dad seeing some commentary about the movie on Chinese TV or WeChat or wherever Asians get their info from these days. He thought Constance Wu looked a lot like an actress he was into when he was young so he wanted to watch it. Funnily enough, neither my youngest sister nor I had watched it yet and so we organised a bit of a family outing (though it was technically only half the family).

I really can’t remember the last time I was in a movie theatre with any one of my parents. It must have been way back in primary school (which is like, almost 20 years ago now). I remember dad taking us out to eat at the foodcourts before climbing the escalators all the way to the top of the shopping centre to get to the cinema. He would purchase the tickets on the spot though the line was never very long. We would always get popcorn because it was such a rare treat for us, even though we would never finish it.

Cut to today and I’ll pretty much have consumed half a large popcorn before the movie even starts (I swear the ads before the movie these days just get longer and longer). I am also a pretty frequent movie-goer, complete with a membership card. Poor dad must have had a bit of a shock when I just scanned my phone in the priority queue to get our tickets. Also that the shopping centre had been completely renovated since the last time he was there.

Admittedly though, some things do stay the same: the buttery smell of the popcorn, and the nostalgic, childlike excitement of wandering down the corridor to get to the cinemas.

Ok that’s enough self-indulgent reminiscing. Time for some analysis.

Overall I though the movie was pretty solid. It was simple with a straightforward plot, but its appeal for me was definitely it’s relatability. I think this movie has a little bit of something for everyone, whether East or West. Asians who don’t come from a traditional family background will likely relate to Rachel, while Asians who do will find the whole first half hilarious. Anyone who fits even just half the description of a Millennial will absolutely love the best friend Peik Lin. If you’ve fallen in love before, know someone who’s fallen in love, have a kid with a partner etc., there’s probably something for you in this movie. Even if you are none of the above, the sheer spectacle of the shit crazy rich Asians get up to should be enough to entertain.

Unfortunately I don’t think the story direction was as strong as the characters. The way I see it, there were a handful of really brilliant scenes, and then everything else was kind of meh (as in they weren’t bad, but they were just good. Standard).

Unsurprisingly, the scenes I enjoyed the most were ones that carried through thematic elements that were foreshadowed in the beginning (HSC kids call this ‘textual integrity’ btw). Surprisingly, my dad also enjoyed those scenes, although for slightly different reasons.

So as a tribute to that, in a slight twist on my usual formula, I am going to analyse my dad’s favourite scenes.

**Spoilers start here if it wasn’t obvious**

Big House

Rachel visits her friend from college Peik Lin, before going to Nick’s house. Peik Lin is an awesome, down to earth character, however her family is pretty over the top and the first instance we see this is in their huge house. It’s a mansion, complete with a friggin’ water fountain and even gold plating on the ceilings or something. Rachel definitely does not relate to this extravagance, which is exemplified when she mentions something dumb about the gold plating (I cant for the life of me remember exactly what she said but the idea is it made her look like a peasant).

However this is directly juxtaposed when they go to Nick’s, whose family owns so much land they can’t even find the house. There are also two threatening-looking foreign guards (which kind of borders on racism), but the exaggeration here is used to visually convey the fact Nick’s family is a pretty big deal.

Mahjong

This was definitely my favourite scene of the whole movie and I was very impressed with its execution. The brilliance of this scene lies in its visual storytelling. Case in point: dad could only understand half the script but was able to grasp the full meaning of the scene just by looking at how the game was played.

In this scene, Rachel has made up her mind to leave Nick on her own accord, however wants to make it clear to Eleanor it is not because she was bullied into it. The meeting spot is an area where a lot of elderly people gather to kill time by playing Mahjong, a far cry from the glamorous world we’ve seen for most of the movie.

However Eleanor knows how to play, because just like Rachel she was taught by her mother. This is a good reminder that Eleanor’s life was not always easy, and a key theme of respect and gratitude for the mother figure shines through.

As they play, Rachel explains her reason for leaving: if Nick is forced to choose between his girlfriend or his mother, he will be miserable. As they are talking we see Rachel pick up a tile. It is actually a winning tile for her, but she chooses to discard it. Eleanor then grabs it and wins. This was the part dad picked up on: in Mahjong speak it means “I let you win”, which is a beautiful complement to Rachel’s key message. If Nick ends up with a girl who Eleanor does approve of in the future, know that it was all possible because of the choice Rachel made today.

Game over, Rachel leaves with her mother, the back view of their walking figures leaving at once a powerfully supportive yet fragile image. 

One other thing I noticed about this scene is how it reflects the game of poker Rachel played in her lecture at the start of the film. She bluffed her way to victory there in order to teach her class about Game Theory. This works because no matter how hard the odds are stacked against her, she stands her ground and puts on a show of bravery: she may have lost the game, but she’s still in the battle.

Proposal

This scene was pretty predictable but the way it is constructed leads to a great pay-off. Nick catches Rachel as soon as she boards her plane back to America. They are in two different aisles and Nick talks while walking to maintain the same pace with Rachel.

He narrates the way he had planned to propose to her: on a secret beach with the beauty of the sunset in the background. It’s a super idealistic image and kind of reminds me of Lenny’s American Dream scene in Of Mice and Men. 

Of course, his speech is hilariously juxtaposed with the reality that they are on a plane and Nick has to get out of the way of other passengers, even stopping to help one with their luggage at one point.

The cramped economy cabin is also a sharp contrast to the luxurious First Class cabin they arrived in Singapore in. 

Nick jumps to Rachel’s aisle to get on one knee and finally propose to her. I appreciated the totally random woman squealing in the background while hugging Rachel’s mum but I appreciated even more that the ring Nick presents to her is Eleanor’s. The story of the ring is that it was custom-made by her husband because his mother wouldn’t give them hers because she disapproved of Eleanor. It is very obvious symbolism but incredibly satisfying nonetheless.

I appreciate this movie so much more than I normally would because of the opportunity it gave for me to have a proper conversation with my dad. Since I started working full-time, I’ve realised just how much I’ve taken these family moments for granted.

I really hope movies like this, which bridge the gap between East and West, and between parent and child, will become more mainstream in the future.