#and that boy was not giving revolutionary to me if I’m being honest

[strawberry-milkbunny]

Naruto is my Roman Empire and I’ve been reading MadaTobi fanfics so these r my Founders Thoughts that nobody asked for:

- Tobirama had a crush on Madara and it PISSED HIM OFF like they def had hate sex at one point LMAO

- they literally worked together ur rlly gonna tell me they didn’t have SOME moments of civility btwn them?? (lowkey that’s wild tho having to see ur brother’s murderer everyday at work-I like Tobi but I’m just sayin)

I WANT A WORKPLACE SITCOM WITH THE FOUNDERS SJSKKSKS:

- Tobi doing experiments and scaring the villagers

- Tobi teaming up with Madara to make Hashi do work

- Hashi making flowers w/government documents

- Mito sipping tea while encouraging Tobi to revive the dead

- everyone in the Tower side eying the sexual tension btwn Madara and Tobi and them never denying they’ve fucked before

- Toka cackling in the background

- Hikaku spraying water at Madara like a cat every time he throws a temper tantrum

- Kagami popping in to make sure his clan head doesn’t kill his teacher PERFECT SITCOM MATERIAL

- totally personal preference: Naruto should’ve had more BLOOD AND GORE. I wanna see the grittiness and horror the shinobi world actually is and how revolutionary Naruto as a character is by choosing peace over violence. The only time we get that is Obito vs Kiri nin, Uchiha Massacre, Wave Arc, Orochimaru…before it turns into DBZ fights

I’ve said this before: Sasuke was in a seinen Naruto was in a shounen

- the warring states is literally the perfect place for exhibiting the horrors of war and humanity. Bloodline thieves, child hunting squads, GIVE. IT. TO. ME. Madara and Hashirama experiencing all of this and wanting PEACE FOR THEIR YOUNGER BROTHERS UGHHH ROBBERY‼️‼️

SORRY TW IMPLIED SA !!:

I HC that bloodline thieves is prob why Madara wears gloves….being a YOUNG (he’s been on the battlefield since he was 8??) powerful, prodigy and future clan head of a famous kekkai genkai it makes sense why he doesn’t like skin-contact/sexual repression and repulsion. And why we don’t see female Uchiha shinobi (excluding misogyny) simply bc there’s such a high risk of SA in this era

Moving on:

- Tobi and Izuna were jealous of how their brothers were being taken away. It goes past the senju/uchiha rivalry like they were just kids and were plain jealous.

- Madara and hashirama def share 1 brain cell LOLLL. Like they’re besties for a reason, Madara acts likes he smarter but nah he’s as much of an idiot as Hashi is. They’re both dreamers let these boys live and skip rocks together!!! 😭😭

- let’s be honest: Tobi built the village. Mans was doing ALL the logistics and infrastructure

- tobirama is soooo second son/eldest daughter coded it’s not even funny. The SPARE, serious and emotionless bc he needed to always clean up after his siblings, DUTIFUL, prob has a praise kink etc.

- Madara is an eldest daughter who also prob has a praise kink and touch starved

- NONE of the founders r well adjusted like they went from spending everyday of their lives at war to tryin bring peace and start essentially a ninja-revolution (PLS GO TO THERAPY)

- madara was just the most open about it: being isolated and feared by his own clan BC he was powerful, trying advocate for the village and peace, all while grieving for his last brother…yeah it makes sense y he went crazy or at least wanted to leave (fuck Kishimoto for that Kaguya bs and fuck Zetsu)

- I don’t actually believe he was trying destroy the village idkkk. I think he was trying to do an SNS aka using fighting as a way to communicate with Hashirama and well…yIkEs

- tobirama is 1000% unadjusted: mans literally created a Justu to revive the dead. You cannot tell me that doesn’t REEK of desperation and loneliness. He’s lit rally the OG mad scientist

- hashirama rlly thought sealing the Bijuu and giving them to each village was a good idea….sir WHO TF GIVES NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO SHINOBI???!! 😳😳

- I think hashirama and naruto lowkey can be summed up as: a powerful idealist. Which is a very dangerous combination. Take that how you will especially considering how shinobi thrive off of violence….it kinda makes sense how we ended up with canon Naruto

- Madara has a god complex and knows it. Hashirama has a god-complex and doesn’t know it. (God of Shinobi title def got to him and understandable)

- the founders failed and they know it. But I also kinda love it?? They’re so flawed and human as leaders and you can see how their mistakes drag into Canon Naruto. It also makes me so sad knowing that Konoha was built to prevent child soldiers and give protection only for it to actually be WORSE (Kakashi ITACHI SANNIN ik for a fact it must’ve hurt Hashi to know ur own granddaughter left the village)

Uchiha are: love is the death of duty while the Senju are: duty is the death of love and neither of them will forgive each other for picking one over the other‼️‼️‼️

- proving this ^^ w/Hashirama’s weird af characterization: aka him being a loveable idiot but at the same time CONGRATULATING Itachi for killing his own clan for Konoha…. I feel like that rlly showed me how much of a war veteran/shinobi Hashirama actually is and how he will always pick duty

- we were ROBBED of baby Kagami/hokage Kagami 😤😤😤 I’m sorry Kagami should’ve been made Hokage it just makes sense personality wise and politically wise. The only way I could see him not take it is bc he needed to be a clan leader/placate the Uchiha/help Hikaku.

- I wanna see him process the loss of his clan leader, teacher, and eventually friends to a point where Danzo takes his eyes

- everyone on Team Tobirama had a crush on Kagami at one point

- one of my fav HC: Tobi and Madara co-parenting Kagami. There’s no way Madara didn’t check up on Kagami being taught by THE senju which makes his defection hit harder for Kagami 😭😭

- BABY SANNIN ‼️‼️‼️ Tsunade was old enough to meet and remember Hashirama it makes sense that Oro and Jiraiya meet the founders

- omg could u imagine being Edo Tensei Hashirama?? Ur granddaughter’s weird friend revives u using the Jutsu ur brother invented that you specifically FORBID 😭😭

- Hashi and Tobi staring at Orochimaru like “you look familiar???” IT HAS SO MUCH COMEDIC POTENTIAL

- Mito revolutionized female shinobi like she’s def the reason ppl realized that girls can fight (Senju Toka was an exception) STAN MITO 🙇‍♀️🙇‍♀️

- Mito pulled a Tsunade and mentally yeeted out of Konoha after Hashi and Tobi died. Bc the way we NEVER hear about her and Hiruzen interacting except for Kushina, even tho she’s literally RELATED to the other 2 hokages….ROBBED 😵‍💫

- I HC: she was dealing w/grief (the fall of Uzushio made it worse) and she was lowkey pushed out of the council by Danzo FUCK DANZO

- I love the idea of Mito wooing for Hashirama’s hand/politically smart Mito!! It was a political marriage that grew into love. There’s no way she DIDNT suspect an attack on Uzushio lik it’s literally an island w/Kiri as it’s neighbours….Konoha gets recognition and stability while Uzushio importantly gets mainland allies

- Mito tops btw she’s def pegged Hashi before 🫢

- if Madara or Hashi had sisters/born women they would’ve def had a marriage to solidify their alliance. This makes Japanese homophobia not make sense esp in the shinobi world bc their clans trusted each other w/o backup like marriage?? Idk I’m just kinda confused y it was never even brought up for an alliance…

*cue MadaTobi arranged marriage au 100k, enemies to lovers, slowburn*

- also to dude bros homophobia has no place in the Naruto world (and IRL BTW) outside of making heirs. They’re literally MERCENARIES You telling me Kakashi has never fucked another man for information before??? Pls be serious I’m begging y’all 🙃🙃🙃

- there’s def family drama amongst the senju!! Idk I feel like Hashirama and Tobirama have the relationship of: “they love each other but don’t like each other” which makes Madara’s inclusion even worse for the brothers’ relationship. Like they def always had each other’s backs but never actually felt like they understood each other.

- I wish more fanfics/canon covered the shinobi-civilian politics more (I love politics lol give me world-building kishimoto 😤)

- Civilians hold power. THEY have all the MONEY to pay shinobi

- I’ve rlly only seen 1 fanfic that involves the Fire Daimyo during the Warring States Era (Into the Wide Blue Yonder it’s a KakaSasu Time travel fic that actually ✨works✨ 12/10 recommend) but it’s true.

Wtf is the Fire Daimyo doing during this era??? Why is he being so placate about Senju/Uchiha war unless he just sees it as entertainment?? How have shinobi NOT fought against rich civilian politicians before?? (Introducing Maoism to the naruto world lol 🤔🤔)

- Kishimoto curse ur goldfish brain….

- the uchiha and senju were def broke in this era, LMAO especially the Uchiha and I mean resource wise. War is EXPENSIVE the Uchiha don’t have Hashirama and Mokutan, they couldn’t just grow food whenever they wanted. It makes total sense that they would agree to a ceasefire just to prevent STARVATION

- once again…. robbed in terms of seeing the aftermath and devastation of war and learning how to live in a morally grey, politically unstable, resource limited world which could’ve brought in the ultimate themes of peace and the cycle of violence, and the question of if violence and war is ever justified, but…..no ❤️

[jackienautism]

I’m kinda surprised that you don’t like Dylan? He seems to be such the fan fav I don’t think I ever actually seen anyone rank him so low on their list- what’s your opinions on his character?

yeaah i just didnt really vibe with him when i played, plus i got pretty annoyed seeing him everywhere before getting into the game (travis too but thats a whole nother thing). like good for all you guys for having fun but i just cant get into it

im gonna be honest about my opinions on him so if you reeaaaaally like dylan i recommend not reading. and i mean that genuinely

1.ive just. i immediately saw dylan as one of those like male characters that get super popular in a fandom bc he: is white.is a guy. is a brunette. is associated w/ a gay ship. and is fit under a "bad boy / mentally ill / misunderstood" trope. i truly and honestly dont care if someone likes these types of characters. as long as you're not a fucking freak, i dont give a shit what you do. its just such a prominent trend that should make you go HMMMMM fandom hates women and people of color! and basically im just sick of that trend! so seeing dylan also fit into it turned me super off lmao

2. in relation to his character, i think its fine, i guess, its nothing revolutionary. especially in regards to other supermassive characters.... i thought about this during work one day and like. emily has a similar character to dylan LOL and ive had this thought before but. dylan and emma are also very similar character wise! in terms of like. compensating ina very negative way due to insecurity! but you know whch characters get the most flack for being dicks? for being bitches? for being the worst? and you know who doesnt?

3. i also particularly hated the thing he did to abi during the camp fire scene. like. i dont care if you compensate by making jokes and shit, you're still an asshole. and so is emma. and so is emily. i dont understnad why dylan should get ANY different treatment. but anyway, that dare was absolutely targeted towards abi and nothing will change my mind on the matter. abi is very clearly on the outside of the group. hell, the entire time everyone (mainly kaitlyn and emma) makes comments about how incompetent abi is when it comes to dating anf shit. and so for dylan to ask what he did? it put her on the fucking spot and humiliated her. i dont care if he "saves" it if you dont interrupt as ryan, there's absolutely no way hes unaware of abi's standing social wise in the group. him asking HER that of all people is just shitty. he fucking knows what abi's answer is gonna be. and even though she never answers the question, the damage is already done.

and before anyone says anything, i know nick also was targeted in diff ways for being "incompetent" in this specific sense. which is another conversation im willing to have. but even so, rthe comment ryan still makes bout not letting that "prep aesthetic fool you"? and the way he kisses emma? he clearly has got some "game" or whatever the fuck. whereas abi doesn't really have any of those moments (except for kissing nick first, which is something kaitlyn ryan and dylan said she wouldnt do LOL). and speaking of kaitlyn? and in association, emma? what they did to abi is one of the things i hate most about them and what happens in game. its actually what made me begin to DISLIKE both of them when it happened. basically what im saying is, kaitlyn and emma arent exempt from this criticism just because i dont like dylan. and i also dont care if thats the "point" of truth or dare. it still makes all the characters involved fucking dicks. they know how abi is like, emma especially, so seeing them all pull this shit is just disheartening and sad.

and 4. i like being hastag different

[icebear4president]

This was just a small prompt that my friend and I came up with about if Alfred could ever meet his past self. I would place younger Alfred as post-Revolutionary War.

“You hate me.”

The room seemed to fall completely still after that, the words lingering in the air.

“I do,” Alfred agreed easily, smiling thinly. “But I never liked myself all that much in the first place.”

His younger self visibly flinched at the bluntness of his words. “Way to be brutal, man.”

“Honest,” Alfred corrected. “Honesty is not brutality.”

The boy frowned, looking unsure now. “I guess I just haven’t learned as much as you yet. I haven’t learned anything at all really,” he mused, the last sentence mostly to himself.

Alfred paused for a moment, carefully contemplating what he should say next. “I wouldn’t say that, not really. I just already had to survive what you’re going through now. I’m further ahead in the sewers in other words,” he said trying to lighten the mood, but the joke fell flat.

Scrunching up his nose in disgust, young Alfred scowled. “Why the sewers? What does that even mean?”

Alfred chuckled at the familiar childish expression, shaking his head in slight amusement. “There’s a lot of words not meant for a kid’s ear that could describe our lives a lot more accurately.”

Young Alfred seemed to close down on himself after that. The look of unease and uncertainty was all too clear on his face as he glared at the ground. “How did you make it then? What’s there to hope for if nothing changes in the future?”

Alfred closed his eyes, the all too familiar ache spreading across his chest, before taking a deep breath and opening them again.

“Surviving. Surviving no matter what it costs, because if I’m dead than I won’t get to make any kind of difference anymore.” He placed a hand on his younger self’s shoulder, wincing at the all too familiar weariness in his blue eyes. “I’d rather hope than give up. And when I stop choosing to hope, than life becomes pointless.”

“Hope for what?!“ his other self spat, suddenly looking so, so angry. “What is there left to hope for?! The only semblance of a family I ever had hates me, nobody takes me seriously, and I’m always so confused!”

His shoulders drooped in exhaustion after the outburst, the anger suddenly leaving him. “And I’m so alone,” he said, the last word nothing more than a whisper.

Alfred pressed his lips in a thin line, choosing his next words carefully. “Hope that you find a shiny penny on the street.”

“What?”

“Hope that you win a prize for guessing how many gumballs are in a jar,” Alfred continued, ignoring the confused stare. “Hope you make it to the next green light before it turns red. Hope you can wake up early enough in the morning to see the sunrise. Hope that you can see someone you love smile again.”

He backed up a bit from his younger self, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets. “You don’t need to understand life, or overcome every tragedy or throws at you have to hope. Even though it never really gets better you have to choose to hope. Even when there's nothing left you can choose to hope. Because if you have hope you can survive, because you're looking for the smallest thing to hold onto."

Young Alfred rubbed at his eye, trembling slightly. "And when you're all alone? When nobody's there?"

The question felt a lot like being punched in the gut. Alfred cleared his throat, blinking back the tears that threatened to escape. "You'll have to choose to hope for someone who chases all the gloom away for you.

The boy looked at him for a moment, contemplating the truth behind his words. "Or learn to chase the gloom away. That's what you did. You learned how to be okay."

And there was no way for Alfred to hold back the tears now. "No. I had to learn it's okay to not be okay. Being sad and upset doesn't make you a bad person. When you snap and lash out, it doesn't make you a irredeemable monster. It means you have a right to not be okay for now."

"For now?"

"For now." Alfred repeated, giving him a watery smile. "Because bad is inevitable, but that also means good is inevitable too. They can't exist in their extremes without each other."

The young boy in front of him choked out his next words, so quiet that Alfred had to lean in to hear them. "I never expected to still be here, you know. I was surprised to see you."

"I know." His voice broke. "I know. But we did it anyways."

“And it still worth it? Even without him?”

Alfred chuckled at that. Some things never changed after all. "Yeah, yeah it's worth it. We made it worth it."

[yetanothernarutoblog]

Disclaimer

[lonely-lost-soul]

Under the Floorboards pt. II

Pt. I, Pt. II, Pt. III

(Technoblade x reader)

Technoblade had told you to wait so that’s exactly what you planned on doing. You didn’t move from your spot by the door, even as Techno chased Tommy around his home. They were shouting the entire time arguing about things like whose house this was and how Tommy was a raccoon for stealing his stuff.

Eventually, the two settled down and all three of you sat by the fire, Techno stood awkwardly next to you before you patted the spot on the couch beside you. He looked relieved and sat by your side, Technoblade tentatively put a hand on your knee and squeezed it tenderly.

“I guess I owe you an explanation...for that thing.” He motioned to Tommy who made a baffled noise of protest, assumingly insulted by being referred to as a ‘thing.’

“Please.” You nodded at him and he looked at you with a downcast expression. Technoblade cleared his throat before taking a deep breath, he began to retell his tale for you. He started way back, like all the way back to when orphans killed his parents back. He talked about the voices and assured you that they never would tell him to hurt you, or anything of the sort. You frowned a little and reassured the half pigman that you didn’t assume that was the case and that you didn’t think any different of him because of the voices. If Tommy wasn’t in the room you think Techno might’ve gotten a little choked up, if his glassy eyes had anything to say about how he felt.

As he got deeper into the story he shared about the two fallings of L’manburg the first one under the dictatorship of a goatman named Schlatt, and the other due to their other ‘brother,’ Wilbur blowing it sky high. You were also informed Wilbur was still wandering the world as a ghost who was now dubbed Ghostbur.

Tommy would interrupt every so often and put his two sense into the story. Many of his interjections included how horrible your boyfriend was for betraying them so many times and how he only wanted chaos. He also made it very clear how utterly shocked he was that you’ve never heard of their country or it’s rich history.

Now, it was no shock to you that Technoblade hated the government. That was never a secret he tried to hide. He always made it very clear he had a distaste for them and their ideas, and overtime you couldn’t help but agree with him especially now, after hearing his story. Tommy seemed to grow increasingly uncomfortable as Technoblade talked about the festival; you watched the boy wither a little seeing how passionate Techno was about slaughtering all his friends. He talked a bit more in depth about Schlatts death, the ultimate betrayal by the revolutionary leader Wilbur, and how Technoblade was furious they would dare try to start a new form of government right in front of him. He looked like he had more to say about that part of the story but wasn’t to keen on sharing it with Tommy, you guessed he probably felt betrayed by the ones he considered friends. You would feel that way at least considering he was honest with them about his ideals from the very beginning of the war.

“Then I ran away to retire, and I met you.” Technoblade sighed, his shoulders sagging. “I never meant to...be with you romantically. A trade partner sure, I never thought I’d have the time for anything romantic. Didn’t even know I was capable but...god- I’m so glad I met you-“

“Simp!” Tommy shouted pointing an accusing finger at Techno who glared at him.

“Don’t you have a tower to build!”

“Is that permission I hear?” Tommy sang happily jumping up from his seat by the fire. Technoblade made an horrified face but you squeezed his hand that was on your knee. Almost as if to say let him go we need to talk, his eyes widened a little as he stared at you. He didn’t say anything as he watched Tommy run out the door with a wicked smile on his lips. Technoblade swallowed a little and grabbed your hand with both of his,

“He’s gonna ruin our real estate value Princess.” A wonky smile spread across his face as he did his best to crack a joke.

“As if we’d ever sell this place. It’s your retirement home old man.”

“Charming.”

You chuckled softly hiding a small smile behind your hand, and watched as a genuine one spread across his face as well. You lifted his callused knuckles to your lips and kissed them tenderly,

“Bubs…” Your voice was tender and adoring “I love you.” Techno’s entire face went cherry red, you both never uttered I love you’s before, you could tell he was having a crisis. You could only imagine what the voices were telling him to do or say.

Specifically: ‘SAY IT BACK, YOU’RE A SIMP, I LOVE YOU TOO, GOD THE CONFIDENCE,THAT’S SO HOT.’

Instead your lovely boyfriend went, “Ha. Cringe.”

The look you gave Technoblade was scathing. “Try again.” You growled your eyes narrowed into slits.

“I love you too. I mean obviously.” Technoblade cleared his throat pulling his hands away to awkwardly punch you in the shoulder. This time satisfied with his answer you moved forward and grabbed the chains of his cape pulling him close. You pressed your lips to his and he made a surprise noise before kissing you back, his hands fell on your lower back and he pulled you closer. You smiled into the kiss before pulling back and poking him on the nose, “oh also I was executed today.”

“YOU WERE WHAT!?” Technoblade flinched and shushed you with his finger.

“It’s okay, I’m alive see.” Your hand was placed on his chest in a matter of moments, you felt his heart beating steadily under your hand, “Technoblade never dies baby.~”

“I hate you. That ever happens again you call me. I’ll kill them for you.” You huffed holding his cheeks between your palms, he only nodded a love struck look falling across his face,

“You’re so cute when you talk about slaughtering our enemies.” He gave a chuckle brushing your hair behind your ear, your smile only widened. You kissed him again before you glanced out the window only to see Tommy trying to build the base of a cobblestone tower,

“So… Tommy huh? Is he staying with us?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah. I think so, he seems…lost and lonely.” You frowned, sadly biting your lower lip, “he’s my son now.” The face Technoblade made was priceless; it was a perfect mix of anger and disgust.

“Never say that in my presence ever again.”

“Fine, fine.” You turned to smile back at him, “anything else you need to share with me?” He looked thoughtful for a moment before standing on his own two feet, he held his hand out to you. You took it without hesitation and he pulled you too your feet, he kissed your cheek softly before grabbing a button out of his ender chest.

“First we have wrangle Tommy princess, think you can handle that?”

“Sure I can.” You smiled as you both walked outside, “HEY! Tommy come here for a minute!”

“Sure thing Ms Blade!” He shouted back loudly and Technoblade made a baffled sound that sounded like, ‘EHHH.’

“How come he listens to you!?”

“I guess he just likes me better.”

“Cringe.”

“Fuck off.” You scoffed as Tommy ran up to the both of you, “Techno has something else he’d like to share with us.” Tommy groaned loudly,

“Not more sharing.”

“It’s more like showing you something. You’re so ungrateful.” Technoblade hissed pulling Tommy along as you trailed a little ways behind them your sword bouncing on your hip. Eventually the three of you ended up in front of a stone wall, you and Tommy both looked a little confused.

“Bubs I love you but this is a wall.”

“BUBS.” Tommy wheezed and you shot him a look whacking him in the arm, as Technoblades face went bright red. “Sorry, sorry, sorry,” He cleared his throat “Do go on.”

Technoblade grumbled under his breath for a moment before clearing his throat and straightening his posture. His speech giving posture, is what you noticed. Tommy seemed to take it in an entirely different way though,

“You’re not gonna kill me are you?”

“What- no! Tommy if I was gonna kill you don’t you think I would’ve done it by now?” Techno scoffed placing the button on the wall, you tilted your head to the side curiously. He motioned to the button and Tommy looked at him hesitantly before pressing it, loud whirring was heard as the stone walls were pulled down from the mountain. You and Tommy’s jaws both dropped down onto the floor, Techno entered and grinned enthusiastically. “WELCOME HOME THESEUS!” He tossed his hands in the air with a dazzling flourish you ran inside the bunker and turned to smile at Tommy who was shrieking loudly behind you. Technoblade slung an arm around your waist and pulled you flush against him, he smiled down at you excitedly.

“This is going to be the start of a wonderful partnership.”

~~~

Thank you for reading! Lemme know your feedback and maybe I’ll do a pt. III??? 👀 Stay safe! ❤️

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 20: ORPHANS OF THE STORM (1921)

1. The Introduction

Hello, Citizens! Welcome to the new meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention. Unfortunately, I can’t be here in person today because I might have Covid and I’m not feeling well, but the power of technology is here to aid me!

Anyway, today is our 20th meeting, which makes it our second anniversary! Yay! To mark this, I present you a 1921 silent movie - “Orphans of the Storm”.

I found out about it on Wikipedia and then on IMDb, but I kept hearing stuff about it before. Nothing good, mind you, but I got curious regardless, as I usually do with infamous pieces of media. I found it on YouTube and it’s readily available there if you’re curious.

And oh boy, is this movie BAD. REALLY REALLY BAD. So bad, that this is going to be a rant, more so than a review. But hopefully it will still be informative and entertaining.

Grab some snacks, take a seat and let’s fucking go.

Citizen @stalinistqueens , this review is dedicated to you!

2. The Summary

This is the story of two orphaned sisters, Louise and Henriette, who got caught up in the events of the Revolution while staying in Paris.

Also, apparently it uses Frev as commentary on the dangers of Bolshevism and Socialism.... Okay then, let’s see how it turned out!

3. The Story

(Spoilers ahead!)

I have a lot of complaints here, chief of which is the fact that misery and trouble just keeps piling up on the sisters until it just becomes impossible to believe it!

You see, for me personally, storytelling is like baking a lemon cake. You need lemon juice (aka drama) but you also need sugar (aka happy moments) to balance it out. However, the movie is the equivalent of using an entire bottle of lemon juice with only a spoonful of sugar!

First Louise becomes blind after an illness and she and Henriette lose their parents, then Henriette is kidnapped by a marquis who lusts after her, then Louise is tricked and kidnapped by evil paupers who force her to beg, then Henriette is arrested and locked up... and so on and so forth.

Do you see what I mean, Citizens? All the misery just becomes too much after a while, to the point where I personally stopped believing it and stopped caring for the characters, which is the opposite of what a storyteller is supposed to achieve. I’m only an amateur writer but even I get that!

Aside from that, there ends up being too many characters and just too much stuff happening so, in my opinion, the movie can get really confusing and a lot of scenes just drag on for way too long.

Oh, and there’s also a standard saccharine happy ending that’s so cheesy and sweet it’s ridiculous, especially because it portrays the Thermidor and The Directory as good things and “true democracy triumphing over tyranny”. Yeah, true democracy my ass!

Oh, and the entire narrative is laced with propaganda like a cupcake with frosting! Take a look at this intro:

Honestly, no comments are needed here because all the comments I do have will have to be censored. Nothing like the tired old propaganda about “The Great Land of the Free” being shoved in the face...

That said, there are a few moments that I do like, like the tender scenes where Henriette cares for Louise and looks out for her. That’s the devotion I can appreciate! Still not enough to redeem the movie though.

4. The Characters

I don’t have much to say here. I don’t give a fuck about most of the characters, to be honest.

The sisters and Henriette’s love interest are too good, Robespierre is the stereotypical dictator, Danton is the hero who saves the day...

You get the idea. And they’re not even in the “so serious they become funny” category either! They’re just fucking boring and more plain than oatmeal with water!

And also the revolutionary men (except Danton and that love interest) are shown as one bloodthirsty crazy mob, while revolutionary women wear short skirts and act suggestively so they’re pretty much portrayed as promiscuous. Nothing new here.

5. The Acting

The acting here is...okay, I guess. I get that there’s only pantomime to work with so it is going to be a bit over-exaggerated, but the actors seemed to have gone overboard regardless.

I blame the director though, because usually this is out of control of the cast.

6. The Music

The music here is decent, and this is about the nicest thing that can be said about this shit. At least they didn’t fuck up this one aspect!

7. The Setting.

Here’s where I have to agree with Citizen @stalinistqueens . It looks pretty, but that’s about it. It’s like dog poop wrapped up in a nice gift box. All style and no substance. Or rather, a lot of truly awful substance that is impossible to watch.

8. The Conclusion

I get that this movie was made as propaganda and commentary on Bolshevism. Heck, this is why there’s a 1935 adaptation of Les Mis with Enjolras as the villain (no, I didn’t make it up). I get that they wouldn’t portray revolutionaries as the good guys.

But even then, the propaganda is extremely obnoxious and they just had to promote American supremacy in the bluntest and most obvious way possible. But, even with inaccuracies moved aside (because I don’t tackle them often), it’s just not worth your time if you ask me.

A melodramatic confusing story, a bunch of bland characters and only the pretty style to make up for it.

Citizen @stalinistqueens , you said that it’s surprising the creators even remembered that Frev happened in France and, considering how much propaganda and outright lies there are, I can only agree with you because that’s the best way to put it.

Anyway, with that, let us finish today’s meeting. Please stay tuned for updates and stay safe, okay?

Love,

- Citizen Green Pixel

[starkerscoop]

A Blessing in Disguise

I am very excited to announce that this fic now has a Russian translation! I posted this in October on my old blog, and in honor of having a translation recently written for it, I’ve decided to repost it onto this one!

ao3  

Russian translation   

content warnings: discussion of abortion, issues with body image and self-esteem, pregnancy, non-graphic birth

-

Two red lines stared back at him, the image burning itself into his brain. A sudden wave of dizziness washed over him and he stumbled to the ground, too dazed to catch himself. He couldn’t believe that this was happening.

He was pregnant.

He was pregnant, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it, too disoriented at the moment to really tell. He was in his mid-twenties; in his prime and at the perfect age to start making pups, according to society.

But Peter didn’t think he was ready. Of course, the Omega in him had yearned quietly for pups ever since he started going through puberty, but Peter’s priority had always been to make a name for himself in science. He wanted to get his PhD and go on to make revolutionary discoveries; to pave the way for all Omegas and prove that his secondary gender couldn’t hold him back. For years, he’d been competing with Alphas, constantly trying to prove his worth. He couldn’t let all of that go down the drain for a pup.

There was Tony to think about, too. Peter had no idea if he would want to be a father, and he was too terrified to imagine his reaction to the news. He toyed briefly with the idea of not telling him, but that thought was quickly pushed out of his brain.

Tony deserved to know, and Peter had to tell him soon; soon enough that he could still get an abortion, if that was what he wanted.

A knock on the bathroom door brought him out of his thoughts.

“Baby?” Tony mumbled tiredly, voice laced with the thickness of sleep. “Are you going to bed soon? You’ve been in there for a while.”

Peter stashed the cluster of pregnancy tests in the back of the cabinets below the sink. He would have to remember to get rid of those the next day, before Tony could find them. Another knock had him rushing to stand up and wash his face, clearing it of his silver tear tracks.

“Pete?” Tony called, louder now and with more concern, still waiting for a response. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Peter answered, unlocking the door and stepping out of the bathroom.

Tony hadn’t finished scanning him for signs of harm when his nose picked up on the distress radiating from Peter’s body. It was a bitter scent; one that itched at Tony’s instincts, making him want to replace it with something more cheerful at once.

“What’s wrong?” Tony pulled him into his warm embrace, rubbing his back in small circles that bunched up his shirt.

Peter was tired of living in fear. Even if he’d only known about his pregnancy for all of ten minutes, he didn’t want to keep it from Tony for any longer. They didn’t keep secrets. They worked hard to keep their relationship honest, and Peter wasn’t going to be the one to ruin that.

“I’m pregnant,” Peter blurted out.

Tony’s hands faltered but remained on his back, which Peter took as a good sign. He didn’t dare to look up at his face, keeping his own hidden in the crook of Tony's neck. After a few minutes of mutual silence, the older man’s hands resumed their movements.

“You’re pregnant,” Tony repeated. “Sweetheart, that’s - that’s amazing.”

“You want to keep it?” Peter questioned, voice void of any judgement.

Tony recoiled away from him. “Do you not want to keep it? It’s your choice, of course, I’ll pay for the expenses either way.”

“I don’t know what I want to do,” Peter admitted smally. “I don’t want to give up everything I’ve worked for to stay home and take care of a pup. I’ve spent my whole life trying to prove that Omegas are more than pup-making machines. And now I’m pregnant.”

“You don’t have to give anything up,” Tony said firmly. “You can keep studying for your PhD, and get a job after that. I’ll stay home with the pup.”

Peter finally looked up at him. “You’d be willing to do that? I know it’s not - traditional, for the Alpha to be the one at home.”

“Fuck traditional,” Tony declared. “That’s our whole motto, honey. We don’t have to be traditional. And frankly, being there for my pup is a lot more important to me than what others will think of it.”

Peter beamed and threw himself onto Tony, who caught him and stumbled back a few steps from the force.

They quickly learned that pregnancy was not fun. At all. Peter spent most of the days of his first trimester alternating between clutching a trash can and a toilet seat, heaving up the contents of his stomach. Tony was always by his side, smoothing his hair away from his sweaty forehead and making him meals he could tolerate.

The second trimester was a lot more enjoyable. Peter’s stomach had settled down, for the most part, and started forming into a baby bump. He and Tony had completely opposite reactions to that.

“I’m so fat now,” Peter wailed into his pillow. “My body is ruined. I’m going to look distorted forever.”

Tony was patient with him, though, hiding his own glee until Peter was in a better mood. He thought that pregnancy looked amazing on Peter; he was practically glowing with it.

“You’ll be back in shape in no time, honey,” Tony assured him. “You’re still gorgeous as ever.”

Even more exciting than watching the baby bump grow was finding out the sex of their pup. Peter held Tony’s hand as they waited, shivering at the cool gel slathered on his abdomen. Slower than the couple would’ve liked, the doctor turned the screen to them.

They were having a boy.

Both Tony and Peter cried that day. They invited their friends over to the penthouse and threw a small party, accepting all of the gifts their friends brought with big smiles.

The third trimester, and thus the birth of their pup, arrived a lot faster than they expected. Tony had been at a meeting when Peter’s water broke, the latter of whom was in too much pain to drive himself to the hospital, and hobbled over to the bathtub instead.

“Boss,” FRIDAY interrupted the shareholder speaking unapologetically, “Peter’s water broke and he is now in labor.”

Tony’s face paled in less than two seconds, and he was out of the meeting room in less than one. He instructed FRIDAY to call the doctor and raced into the elevator, urging his AI to take him up to the penthouse faster than was allowed.

He found Peter curled up in the tub with a pained expression, whimpering in between each contraction as it came and went. He crouched next to him and offered him his hand, grimacing at the strength with which he gripped it.

The doctor joined them twenty minutes later with a nurse at her heels, ushering Tony to the side to crouch in between Peter’s open legs.

Tony knew that Peter would pull through. His mate was strong, with a will that matched his own. That didn’t stop him from wincing at every cry that tumbled out of Peter’s lips, or wishing privately that he’d never gotten him pregnant, because that way he wouldn’t be in pain.

Six hours after Peter went into labor, his groans were silenced by the loud cry of his newborn, who had finally come out. He was dirty, looking more like an organ than a human being, but Tony didn’t get to look at him for very long. The nurse whisked the child away while the doctor finished up with Peter.

Tony stayed with Peter, running his fingers gently through his damp curls. “You did it, baby. I’m so proud of you. You did it.”

The nurse returned soon after, the baby now clean and looking considerably more like a human. The baby was handed to Peter, who held him with shaky arms and watched him breathe through bleary eyes.

“Skin on skin contact is important,” the nurse told them, draping a blanket over Peter’s naked chest and the baby.

They moved Peter to the master bedroom, which was where he would spend his recovery. The baby would be there, too, resting in an incubator once he was taken away from Peter.

“What do you want to name him?” Tony wondered, laying on the bed with Peter. He’d insisted on having the incubator placed on his side of the room, so that he could watch over both of the people that owned his heart. Peter hadn’t minded, had just smiled at Tony fondly and nodded.

Tony was glad. If he looked to the left, he saw the love of his life, relaxing after giving birth to the baby boy on Tony’s right. He wanted to keep them close forever.

“Benjamin Anthony Stark,” Peter told him. “After the most important men in my life.”

Tony swallowed harshly. He’d never imagined naming his child after himself, or having someone else want to do so. He didn’t think there was much to live up to. Peter clearly didn’t agree with that, and there was his proof.

“Ben,” Tony whispered to himself, gazing at their little boy.

It sounded perfect.

[hwari-ssi]

Floraison | 4

genre: fantasy/soulmate au

warnings: it kinda gets angsty, smut (in the future)

word count: 3.6k

pairings: ot7 x reader

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

A/N: omg omg aaaaa sorry for taking so long!! honestly, it wasn’t easy writing this one because of my insomnia. i just wrote whatever came to mind, so i hope you’ll understand (you can roast me) D: oh, and there’s a surprise at the end!! lol i hope y’all won’t hate it

Jeongguk really did end up sleeping beside you after all. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving you alone. He held your small frame against his lean body, your quiet breaths subtly tickling his neck like a feather.

He'd been awake for some time now, but didn't want to go outside yet. Not when you were fluffy and warm, all curled up tightly next to him. He glanced at your sleeping face, lips parted slightly and breathing softly.

It made a lot of sense why the three of them already felt so attached to you. How your senses calmed within seconds when Namjoon touched the crown of your head earlier. You were their mate. Once a soul finds their other half, it was impossible not to be away from them.

That's what he felt for the others, and now, you. He was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the bedroom door creaking slowly, a disheveled Taehyung peering in, still very much half asleep.

"Is our princess here?" The older asked, rubbing at his eyes which were red from fatigue. Jeongguk motioned for him to join in, wanting to stay until they had to leave the room for breakfast. The former ambled over to the bed, not hesitating to reach over and wrap his arms around you. Your scent hit him like a ton of bricks. Celestial and flowery—such a pleasant aroma.

The sudden movements brought you out of sleep, and you opened your eyes to see another stranger. Shaggy brown hair, strong eyebrows, sharp jaw, and what an adorable boxy smile he has.

"Hello, darling." His husky voice made you shiver, and the action wasn't missed by the two. Your cheeks flushed with pink, reddening even more when Taehyung brought his face closer. He held eye contact, but you couldn't do it so you turned to the other side, where Jeongguk happily opened his arms for you, caging you in when you scooted forward.

"Gguk?" His heart does a little flip at the nickname you gave him and smiles at the sight of the blush adorning your cheeks, realizing albeit too late at how you were practically attached to his hip. Had anyone else been that close, you would have felt your space was being invaded, but in this case, the faint smell of his cologne and his close proximity increased your pulse rate. Your arms were still around the boy, clinging to him like a koala, and you awkwardly clear your throat.

"Hey, no fair," Taehyung pressed his face into your hair and smiled when he heard you giggling. The three of you settled into a comfortable silence, Tae's breathing was fanning over neck, while the other's fingers danced on the small of your back, massaging the skin every now and then.

Their actions combined turned you putty in their grasp. You nuzzled your face into Jeongguk's neck, almost purring while you gave him the attention he'd been wanting to get from you all morning.

The men had smiles plastered on their faces as you continued to lavish his neck with affection. You may not know exactly what you were doing, but they did, and it made their hearts soar in happiness. You were claiming them, as your soulmates, and you were unaware of that. The feeling it gave brought you peace. At that moment, you understood each other perfectly. This is what you've always longed for. Tranquility. The stirrings of revolutionary ardour. A sort of freedom, if you will.

A gentle knock from the doorway brought the three of you from your daze."Breakfast is ready," Jin smiles at you lovingly. Taehyung almost wanted to protest, but he wouldn't want to keep you from eating. and so he forced himself up, pulled you with him and laughed at Jeongguk who was trying to fix his unkempt state.

The elder came over and took your hand, leading you out the room and down the stairs, into the dining hall. Everyone was already gathered around the table that was filled with scrumptious-looking food.

That's when the others took notice of your presence. You were indeed beautiful, just like how Jeongguk described you. Your gray eyes were what stood out to them the most. A tell-tale sign that you are one of the stars from above. Deep as the ocean, deep enough to fall in and drown, the windows to your soul were. With a simple glance, she could calm a torrid sea of heart ache. Longingly they looked at her, with the warmth of a hearth during Winter's Eve, deep in the forest wherein lovers would share the fire. Perfectly wonderful and endlessly enticing them, every blink a kiss to their soul. They almost melted at the sight.

"Jimin and Hoseok went a little overboard this time," Jin says with a chuckle. He led you to an empty chair that was next to Yoongi. He sent you a smirk, picking at your messy ponytail. "Fucking cute." You smiled shyly as he laughed softly at your reaction. Jimin took the seat alongside you and started placing food on your plate. You thanked him, and he gave you a pat on the head in response.

"These taste amazing," you said, as you happily munched on your baked cinnamon donuts. The cooking duo didn't know they were holding their breaths until they heard your affirmation.  They tried not to be obvious with their staring, but both of them wanted to see how you would react to their cuisine, making a mental note to make these again for you whenever.

You took a slug of your drink, all the while glancing at the sea of new people. To your right was Yoongi, features akin to origami. Sharp edges and angles. Cute button nose, and lips carved like a doll's. For an adorable face, he has such an intimidating glare. You turned to Jimin next, whose jawline was pronounced, lips full and pillowy, and has straight eyebrows. He regarded you with warmness, like a mother would tend to their child. and Lastly, Hoseok—the boy was sunshine personified. The brightness in his eyes reminded you of home. A heart-shaped mouth with a beauty mark placed just between the cupid's bow and vermillion border. He also has dimples like Namjoon's.

"So, darling, how did you meet the youngest of our bunch?" Taehyung asks, rousing you from your reverie. You were now aware that all of them were staring at you curiously, and it made you want to bury yourself inside a hole. You tried not to let the memories resurface, but his face flashed in your mind, making you drop your utensils. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Thank you for the hospitality, it was well received, but I should go."

"Sweet one—"

"No!" Your sudden outburst surprised them. "I should leave.. I don't want to cause you any trouble.." the stare shared between everyone went unnoticed by you. Jin carefully made his way towards your chair and knelt so he was eye-level with you. Your head was pointing on the floor, eyes downcast, and he took that as a sign you were feeling dejected. He tilted your chin up, only to see tears gathering in your eyes, making Tae feel bad.

"It's okay, little one. We won't hurt you. You can be honest with us." He spoke, sincerity filling your ears. You tried to tell if he was lying, but the way he was looking at you told you otherwise. Yoongi's hand smoothed your hair down, the motion quickly lulling you into a sense of security. You gathered your courage and responded in a meek voice, "I had a previous master, and it took me so long to realize he was treating me badly.."

The word master made bile rise in each of the men's throats. They can only imagine what horrors you went through. Stars, like you, are a kind of rare breed that is gifted by the star goddess. You harness multiple powers, one of which being pyrokinesis, the ability to command and emit fire at will. However, your inability to get a handle on your newfound gifts inevitably results in tragedy. When you turned a certain age, you emitted a burst of fire so immense that it destroyed a city block, killing your entire family and everyone else in the vicinity, having no other choice but to leave your home planet, Stellaris. That's when you turned to Asteria, asking the goddess for a new life and change of scenery. She was hesitant to send you somewhere far away, so she settled for earth, where your soulmates were. Except, you ended up in the wrong hands.

A hybrid smuggler, perhaps? breeds like you cost more than an arm and a leg. Maybe the power you possessed is what drew him in. He manipulated you, used you to fight against dangerous paranormal phenomena. You knew you had to get away—you weren't even supposed to meet him. The bastard took you against your will, threatening to send you back if you didn't listen. You lost the battle because of your naivety.

"Does anyone want dessert?" Jeongguk spoke up, trying to keep everyone's mood from lowering as they learned about your life history. "We won't give you back to him, Y/N," The elder states, eyes boring into yours with determination. You wanted to speak, but the words got caught in your throat. "You needn't worry, lovely. We will do no such thing." Jimin reached for your hand and held it to his chest. Still unable to find your voice, you settled with a small nod, making the boys smile from ear to ear.

"Here," Yoongi nudges your shoulder in a gentle manner as he positioned his fork close to your mouth. It had a piece of steak and nicely cut asparagus on it. "You need protein in order to stay strong, our pretty kitten." he says, almost stuttering as the pet name escapes his tongue without realizing it, it's glossed over though. 

You blushed, eyes turning into half-moons as your lips curved upward. "Thank you, yoonie." He'd get so soft after hearing you call him with a sweet endearment. Yoongi's gummy smile was showing, and you couldn't help the butterflies flittering inside your tummy after seeing him smile adorably. The man was usually pretty good at hiding his feelings but, somehow, he was horrible at doing that right now because you were currently in his radar.

"Alright. Since we're finished with dinner, why don't we clear the table?" Jin declared, while everyone lifted themselves from their seats. Taehyung piled most of the dirty dishes, placing them in the sink. You helped collect the cups and followed suit, watching Hoseok as he turned the faucet on with a sponge in hand. "Can I help?" You tugged on his sweater, your shy demeanor made him want to coo at you.

"Of course, little one. You can dry the dishes and Jeonggukie will put them away," The younger's ears perked at the mention of his name, reaching for a towel that was hanging on one of the kitchen cabinets and handed it you, caressing your cheek with his free hand in the process. The others observed the scene, tenderness painting their expressions. It seemed more evident that you fit in perfectly with every passing moment. You belonged here, with them.

"I'll be in my office. Got some digging to do," The elder mouthed at Yoongi, almost having trouble catching the words because he was deep in thought. Chances are, that son-of-a-bastard owner must be looking for you, but there was no way in hell they were going to give you back to him. Not if you didn't want to go willingly. The idea saddened him, because seeing how the younger ones had already taken such a liking to you, it made him feel protective.

"Would you like to watch a movie with us, Y/N-ie?" Jimin came up behind you and rested his chin on your shoulder as you dried the last bowl. Jeongguk takes the plate from your hands and presses a kiss to your temple.

"A movie? I've only ever seen one film though.." Hoseok beckons you over to him and holds out his hand. You let him guide you through the hallways, leading you back up the stairs and into a bathroom. Your eyes widened as you noticed it was huge and prettily decorated, you dare say it might even be bigger than your master's headquarters. He disappears for a hot minute to get something before stepping in, holding a pair of new sleepwear for you to use. You took the soft material from him, and smiled in thanks.

You eye at his arms, one pulling a rectangular, sheer-white cloth made of linen out of a cabinet, the other, a crystal bottle. he leans over the bathtub, turning the tap on and let water fill the tub before pouring the liquid. The sweet smell invaded your senses, automatically putting you in a good mood.

"You're all set. I put the clothes on the counter. We'll be waiting—" He turned his back to you, wanting to leave you to yourself but you cut him off when a whine left your lips. Immediately, he was by your side again, asking you what he possibly did wrong.

"Can't you stay, hobi? I don't want to be left alone.." You felt safe with him. His heart swells with pride. Although the idea of being with you in the same room, having nothing to cover your body made his heart race and face flush. He mentally slapped himself for thinking such vulgar thoughts. Now is not the time, you idiot, the voice in his head kept him in check, and he was grateful.

"I can help you wash your hair," He offered, high-fiving himself for not stuttering. "I'll wait outside. Just call for me, princess. okay?" You hummed in reply. You rid yourself of your dress, letting the fabric pool around your feet and stepped into the bathtub, submerging your body in the water and letting the warmth seep through your aching muscles, releasing all the tension.

You scrubbed at every part, making sure to remove the hidden grime found on your skin. Soon enough, your entire body was clean. Your natural glow was back. You reminded yourself to thank him later for making the water all sudsy because bubbles are always fun to play with."Hobi, I'm ready!" You folded your knees up to your chest just in time as Hoseok walks inside, not forgetting to shut the door behind him.

He sat at the edge of the tub, ready to lather your hair with shampoo when he sees the lines scattered across your back. The atmosphere turned gray. He stopped on his tracks. His gaze darkened. Of course he had to mask it—he didn't want to make you feel sad again, so he takes a deep breath, and decides to inform the others about this matter later. Your well-being was his first priority at present.

Silence fills the room as he massages the product on your beautiful locks. You didn't forget to thank him, mumbling as you relaxed at his touch. He looked at your small form sorrowfully, kept himself from asking for fear of you possibly running away. He only hopes that the time you'll open up to them will come in the twinkling of an eye.

"Everything's going to be fine now, sweetheart. We won't bring you back,"  you carefully maneuvered your body to his front, the water swishing around the tub at your movement. Your collarbones were showing, complexion looking a bit smooth, reminding him of rose-tinged ivory. You're looking better now, the pink in your cheeks much more visible compared to earlier.

"I can stay?" You bit your lower lip, shoulders shrinking. You wanted to stay here forever, but there was a strong likelihood they would change their minds. Because who would want someone broken? Someone like you?

"We all want you to stay, Y/N. Even if it means forever." Hoseok promises, running his forefinger along your jawline, tilting your head up so you were gazing into his dark orbs, slowly pulling you in like a vortex. "There's seven of us, baby doll. No matter what happens, We'll keep you safe." Why were these people so willing to help? It made you want to breakdown and cry, but you willed yourself not to."Okay, hobi." He smiled, kissing your forehead sweetly.

He pulled himself from the bathtub, the smile never leaving his face as he moved out of the room. You smiled in return as he shut the door, stretching your body in the water once more and stood, reaching for the towel, wrapping it around yourself. After getting dressed in the clothes your hobi got for you, you folded the dress and bundled it up in your arms before leaving the bathroom.

"I'll put those in the wash," Jin says as he ran into you, taking the clothes and continued his walk down the hall. You watch him disappear into another room further ahead and made your way to the living room. Upon entering, you found most of them gathered on the couch or seated on the floor, blankets covering their lower bodies.

You were glued to your spot, not quite sure where to sit. A few seconds later, The elder reappears and quietly takes your hand in his, leading you to an empty space beside Jeongguk and sat on the couch, ushering you to sit on the floor right in front of him, solving your little dilemma. You leaned back against his legs and he starts running his hands through your hair, smoothing out any tangled strands. To say you were content would be an understatement; you felt so at home. so peaceful. so cared for.

"Everyone ready?" Taehyung asks, a chorus of agreements resonating throughout the room. The boys settled into comfortable positions, while Jin's hands stayed on your locks, his nails subtly scratching your scalp. An hour later, the credits were finally rolling. Jin looked over to see both you and Jeongguk peacefully snoring, head resting on his shoulder as your quiet breaths lulled him into a deep slumber.

"We should move them, Jin. They'll wake with sore necks if we leave them be," Namjoon says, rising from his seat, gesturing at the others to clean up before lifting you from the ground. He makes his way into their shared bedroom, where four of the elders in the group sleep. He situates you on Yoongi's bed, placing an extra pillow under your head so you won't be uncomfortable whilst in dreamland.

"Sleep well, princess. You are safe here, with us." He caresses your cheek affectionately. "If he does find you, we won't let him take you."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ

"He what?" Yoongi slams his fists on the table, anger flashing over his features. He couldn't understand. He did not want to understand either. How heartless would a human have to be to actually inflict injuries upon such precious beings like you? Just across from him was where Namjoon and Jin were seated, the former tonguing at his cheek as he tried to control his raging emotions. He was fuming. On the other hand, Jin and the rest remained dead silent. The atmosphere thickens with visible tension, each of the men taken aback by the information as Hoseok relayed it.

"Shouldn't we report this to the peacemakers?" Jeongguk turns to his elders, eyes pleading for justice. But the younger knew they possibly couldn't let this matter fall into their hands. The uproar it would cause would surely put different worlds to engage in a war. Everyone knew not to mess with Asteria's children. Because to hurt them, would mean facing one's immediate death.

"We can't, young one." Jin reaches for the younger's hand, looking a little crestfallen. "Besides, I heard the bastard got beaten to a pulp by his own shields because they simply couldn't let him step over them anymore," The elder says bitterly.

"Serves that fucker right," Yoongi scoffs, smirking triumphantly. The man must be trying to escape from the consequences of his actions, he thinks to himself, leaning back against his chair, one leg crossing over the other. At least you can live a peaceful life now, without having to worry about anything or anyone else but yourself. That's what mattered to them the most.  

The soft padding of your feet down the stairs alerted the men that you have risen, your soft sobs reaching their ears as you were getting nearer. Namjoon didn't hesitate to meet you halfway, scooping you up into his arms and hugged you for the longest time. “Did you have a bad dream, sweetheart?” He wipes your tears away with his thumb, all the while placing lots of kisses on your forehead, nose, and temples.

He walks back to the dining room, refusing to place you back down on the floor, your face buried into his neck because you were too shy to face the others. Tears continue to fall from your eyes. You’re scared, the nightmares made you terrified. “Hey, it’s okay, baby girl,” Yoongi saunters over to your side and holds your face, brushing the tears on your cheeks and gives you another set of kisses on your eyelids, the rest joining in to surround you with worried looks. “It’s okay. We’re right here, princess. You’re alright. You have us. You're okay."

You cried on Namjoon's chest, sobs turning into sniffles after a period of time. You eventually fell back asleep, with them giving you all of their soft reassurances, and Namjoon's hand stroking your hair gently. You looked so vulnerable and so lovely that it made him want to shun you from the world. Oh, what a dangerous world earth was.

But the thing is, you didn’t know you were lucky to have seven, powerful gods disguised as humans, as your soulmates.

[defdaily]

JAY B Interview [HYPEBEAST]

From GOT7 to H1GHR MUSIC’s JAY B

On the 11th of May, it was announced that GOT7’s leader JAY B had joined H1GHR MUSIC. Ever since his time in JYPE, Jay B has been taking on the responsibility of writing lyrics and composing songs for albums, even participating as a producer. On Soundcloud, he has released 5 mixtapes under the name Def., showing his ambition as a solo musician in various instances. That’s why the fact that he did not join a KPOP entertainment company but instead joined H1GHR MUSIC is not a particularly surprising thing. However, it’s no lie that this will bring a huge change to his career as an artist. <HYPEBEAST> met with JAY B and had a talk about the reason he decided to move (to H1GHR MUSIC), his new single ‘Switch It Up’, his future activities as well as his ambition.

HYPEBEAST: You’re known for being on “team mint chocolate”. You even left comments about it on <HYPEBEAST>’s instagram page.

JAY B: I like the way the flavour is pungent yet wrapped up in chocolate. I don’t really like plain chocolate. I like it when something is added to it, such as chocolate milk or white chocolate, but when I had mint chocolate for the first time, it was really revolutionary. After that, I’ve been enjoying eating it.

HB: It’s still something that sparks a lot of debate. There are also a lot of products released aimed to spark controversy.

JAY B: There’s something I always say. If I am eating it well and I like it, I just hope that you won’t say things like “why would you eat that?” to me. If you’re enjoying your food and then someone next to you says that sort of thing, you’d lose your appetite, right? Just don’t say that kind of thing to someone who’s eating. Let’s love one another!

HB: Your group, GOT7, left JYP Entertainment after 7 years. How did you feel promoting without a company for the past few months?

JAY B: I feel the same now. It’s more fun. Personally, one of the reasons why I decided to leave JYP was because I wanted to take on more challenges. Maybe it’s because of that but the time I spent as a kind of freelancer felt really new. Even though I won’t be able to know everything about what kind of system I’ll be working in, I got to learn about it roughly and gained a more serious attitude regarding work. I also felt a sense of pride and that it was precious.

HB: Out of the ‘challenges’ you mentioned, your photo exhibition was one of them, right? We heard that you like taking pictures.

JAY B: Even this morning, I saw a pigeon spread only one side of its wings. I’ve never seen that before, so I wanted to take a picture of it, but in a short moment it sensed that I was there and flew away. I’m the kind of person who takes a lot of pictures of those little moments. In that way, I got to hold a photo exhibition too. Honestly, I was embarrassed to do the exhibition. I was just going to try to do it personally as a small thing with the pictures I took myself, but JYPE said “let’s do it even better”, and as we exchanged ideas, the scale got a bit larger.

HB: Is there a particular theme that you like when taking pictures?

JAY B: I’m the kind of person who comes up with (themes) as I take the pictures. As I am taking pictures of something, thoughts like “ah, it would be fun to hold exhibitions with this kind of pictures” come to mind. For my first exhibition, I took pictures revolving around the theme of ‘loneliness’, ‘living alone’, and ‘even if you are living alone, you need someone by your side’. It was mainly involving people/figures, but I actually prefer taking pictures of landscapes or larger compositions.

HB: In the past, you’ve said “I think my next album will be a product that includes the loneliness felt in life”. Is it related to your first photo exhibition <ALONE>?

JAY B: There’s no relation between the two. I wanted to work out all the feelings I had after being under a lot of pressure as I lived my life. Putting aside whether the album is good or not, I think it will be an album where I honestly share what I felt when I felt pressured. I don’t know whether or not it will be released, and if it does, I don’t know in what form it will be released in, but for now I’ve just made the album with this theme. It might sound boring, but it contains a lot of my honest thoughts.

HB: We don’t know when or how, but it will probably be released through H1GHR MUSIC now right? After your contract ended with JYP, you probably received offers from various places, why did you choose H1GHR MUSIC?

JAY B: I’m well aware of the fact that I was protected by the fence called JYP. But as I mentioned previously, I left JYP because I wanted to try and experience something on my own. I also had doubts regarding whether I was an artist who could bring in as much profit as the company wanted. I think that changing my image in order to earn a profit is something that I’ve done a lot in the past. After leaving the company, I received offers from multiple places, and some were really good companies too. However, the most important thing was that it had to be a company that I could exchange opinions and create with. I think H1GHR MUSIC matched up with that the best.

HB: As the field of your promotions change, it will probably come with some concerns as well.

JAY B: I’m the kind of person who worries a lot and is cautious. My own concerns aside, I was really worried about whether H1GHR MUSIC’s image would be damaged because I joined. I thought people might say that an idol joining would muddy the waters* (*ruin the label’s image). No matter if there’s a good or bad reaction, H1GHR MUSIC has already accomplished things, and I would be a new addition. On top of that, I’m not someone who is just starting to make music. I’m making a new image based on the one I already had. Even so, just this once, I wanted to make a decision that was for myself. That’s why I was even more cautious with each and every step.

HB: Is the title of your new single ’Switch It Up’ referring to the changes you are going through?

JAY B: When I came up with the title, I did think that it was possible to give it that sort of meaning. I wanted to express a basic love story while also including the meaning of switching up my life. However, Jay Park hyung gave me some advice, saying that rather than doing that, it might be better for me to naturally blend in what I’ve already been doing. Following that advice, even though the title itself carries the meaning of change, the lyrics are just about love.

HB: How was your first production at H1GHR MUSIC?

JAY B: I had a lot of concerns and was worried. After I made the decision to join H1GHR MUSIC, I told Jay hyung that I wanted to release a song or an album quickly. It just so happened Cha Cha Malone was back in Korea, so we aligned our schedules and produced songs together. Everything happened naturally. Jay hyung said that I shouldn’t go all out from the beginning, and that it’s more important to keep going steadily. I agree with that. I’m satisfied with the result too. I worry a lot so I’m the type to ask around for opinions, but everyone said it was good. But honestly, I’m not sure how the public will react to it. (laughs)

HB: Sokodomo’s feature was really impressive, how did he end up participating in the song?

JAY B: The funny thing is, it really came about naturally too. When I went to the studio, sokodomo was there and he asked if he could stay while we were working on our songs, so we said it was okay. As we worked on songs like that, after I finished up my recording, sokodomo suddenly went into the recording studio. I was wondering “what’s going on?”, but what sokodomo showed us was really good. Turns out, while I was recording, he came up with some ideas and asked if it was okay if he tried it out which I didn’t hear. But what sokodomo came up with was a style that I couldn’t express well. And so right there and then, I cautiously asked if he would be willing to feature in the song, and he agreed without hesitation. That part was so good that I even thought “I can’t be eaten by (overshadowed) sokodomo”. Haha.

HB: In the past, you were a B-boy, and even in GOT7 you received a lot of attention for your dancing. So we were wondering if we would get to see you dance to ’Switch It Up’.

JAY B: You’ll be able to see it through the live clip that will be released at the same time as the single. There are various elements in the live clip. First of all, I tried really hard to make it look cool. I sang live with sokodomo too. I think there’s a lot to see. The dance comes on at the very end. I thought that since I’m a performer, I should dance too. Honestly, at first when I listened to ‘Switch It Up’, I thought it would be kind of hard to dance to it. But even so, I have to dance. Other artists are cool too, but I think Chris Brown is really cool. He dances and sings at the same time really well. Because dance was my beginning, and I gained interest in singing later on and ended up working hard at it, I can’t let go of dance.

HB: Do you have any plans or ideas for the next album you’ll release through H1GHR MUSIC?

JAY B: I think that I have to move quickly. I’ll have to wait and see what I’ll end up with, but for now, I think it’s closer to a chill vibe. ‘Switch It Up’ was chill, but it still had a kind of energy to it. Rather than that, I think it will probably be the kind of music that is suitable to listen to while going for a drive. I want to show music that’s groovier and more sensual as much as possible. But I still don’t know. It’s possible that the company might say “let’s go for pop.” I want to create things together with the company, so I’m open to accommodating their opinions for a couple songs.

HB: You’re also promoting with the name Def. and not Jay B. Why did you come up with the name Def.?

JAY B: Actually, even in the early days of GOT7, I didn’t feel any attachment to the name JB. I felt really strongly that it was a name that someone else came up with. I’m more comfortable with people calling me by my birth name, Jaebeom, too. Of course, I like it now. I wanted to separate Jay B and Def., that’s why they are separated. When I was in JYP, I got permission to release my music on Soundcloud, but I couldn’t release albums separately. So I released all the music that I couldn’t release as JB through Def. For now, I decided I would make music that people could approach more comfortably under the name Jay B, and I would release things that are more to what I want to do through Def. I’m not sure how it will end up in the future though.

HB: Listening to the music under these two names, there is quite a difference. The music you release under the name Def. has more characteristics of the neo soul genre.

JAY B: When I made <1/? Vol. 1>, I liked trap soul, so it contains a lot of that kind of music. After that as well, it mostly is filled with songs that were the style that I liked at the time. If you listen to my mixtape, excluding the intro and outro, there are about 5 songs. While I prepared those songs, I also worked on 15 songs that would be for GOT7 albums at the same time, making about 20 songs at a time. I’d work on GOT7 songs from morning till late night and if I had time, I would then work on my mixtape. That’s why they are songs that I really cherish. People might wonder why I would work so hard, but I thought that as an idol, I have to do my job well so that I can gain autonomy within the company. That’s why I worked hard and pushed myself to my limits.

HB: When will we be able to hear your music as Def.?

JAY B: Firstly, I want to get my name as Jay B out there, and later on I want to use the name Def. again when I can do what I want. Things that are more unusual, alternative, and experimental.

HB: Hearing you talk, we can really feel the love you have for music. You also seem like a realistic person.

JAY B: It’s because I feel that if I stubbornly insist on doing what I want to do and it doesn’t turn out well, I’d get a rough reality check. I’m a cautious person, so if I persist only on what I want and then fail, I’d end up thinking that I just have no aptitude for music, and I thought that is more dangerous. If that happens, I’d feel sorry for the music that I like and I might even think that there was something wrong with the music or genres that I like. People might say that that’s “not real”, but it’s “real” to me. It’s just my way of living.

HB: You’re currently also in the crew ‘ØFFSHORE.’ What kind of crew is it?

JAY B: It’s a place where people who sell songs commercially and people who make their own music gather. It started with the purpose of people with the same interests making fun music together and releasing it. Offshore has the meaning of “shore/coast”. On the shore, there are lots of living things. There are times when the waves crash but also times when it’s calm. Just like my Def. character, I think it’s a place where I can freely include things I’ve never done before. It will carry on in the future too, but we won’t have any eye-catching activities. We’ll just go on calmly.

HB: As you share your stories, we’re getting curious about Jay B as a producer too. Will we be able to hear songs that you produce for other artists someday?

JAY B: When I was in JYP, I’ve sent out songs that the publisher said would not work for GOT7. There were also songs that were selected by other people but could not be used because of my name. Now, I don’t think there will be those sorts of limitations, so I want to try producing for other people too. I don’t have confidence in being responsible for someone or nurturing trainees, though. I’m still busy trying to feed myself. But even so, I’d like to try to produce just one song for someone else. I would have a sort of image about someone, right? An image that they themselves wouldn’t even know. I think the process of trying to bring that out would be fun. Of course, I’m focused on my music now, but it would be nice if I got the chance someday.

HB: Another GOT7 member, Yugyeom, joined AOMG. Fans can’t help but look forward to the reunion of your unit ‘Jus2’.

JAY B: Since Yugyeom is in AOMG, I think that if we talk to Jay hyung, it’s possible that we will release something as Jus2. Jus2 and JJ Project both include Jay B, but they are also units that are part of GOT7. I think that if we work hard at promoting them too, fans would feel a sense of security. I think that from now on is the time when both I, as well as GOT7, have to really do well.

HB: You mentioned that you wanted to release 1 GOT7 album a year.

JAY B: I don’t know whether it will work out, but we have to try and plan for it. I’ve mentioned multiple times that GOT7 has not disbanded. I believe that I should keep my word. Right now, everyone is actually busy working on their own things. Even so, we want to try and make one song for GOT7 a month, so that we can promote about once a year.

HB: You have a strong image as a great leader and hyung in GOT7. What would you like to show as JAY B in H1GHR MUSIC?

JAY B: I would like to hear people say “ah, I guess they did a good job bringing him in”. I hope that when people listen to ’Switch It Up’, they won’t think that “Jay Park made the wrong choice this time”. I think it would be nice if people thought that I was worth anticipating. Not that they brought in some strange kid. I don’t want to get cursed at. Haha.

HB: Do you have a final goal you want to achieve as an artist?

JAY B: I don’t. I just want to keep on steadily and quietly making music. To me, saying that you want to receive some sort of reward or that you want to become something is quite vague. I just hope that I can gain the drive to keep going on steadily and continue that cycle of creation. That’s all.

Translation by @mindellay x @defdaily

May contain slight inaccuracies.

[koolkat9]

HetaFamily Week 2021 Day 6

@hetafamilyweek

Prompt: Betrayal/Hurt Comfort

Family: France and Canada (+England)

Author's Note: This takes place following the Revolutionary War and is based off a World Stars strip where Canada is caring of a sick England. Also half of this was typed up on my phone and I didn't have access to the program I usually used to edit the Grammer and stuff so there may be some errors. I just got really busy these last two days so I have had to write it on the run lol. Enjoy!

He wasn’t getting any better. When India came over the other day, things seemed to be looking up, but after he tried to cheer England up by acting like America, he was sent back to square one. To say Canada was worried about the Brit’s condition would be an understatement. Could this be more than any of them thought? Could nations die from something like this? He regretted not thinking of asking India about this when he visited last. There was always the option of sending a letter, but he’d hate to bother the man even more. On the other hand, there was no one he could reach out to. Well...except for maybe one. 

He hadn’t spoken to Francis since he lost to England in 1763. It had been about two decades since then without so much as a letter. He had tried as soon as he learned to write, and even though England forbade him, Canada sent them out in secret. Despite all his hard work, the Frenchman never replied so he gave up on it after a few years. But now, it felt like his only option. 

‘He’s not going to reply,’ Canada thought to himself as he wrote out his plea for help. 

“He hates England, so why would he reply to this letter out of all of them,” he muttered to himself as he handed it over to the post office. He didn’t have that much hope for an answer, but it was better than nothing.

---

Canada was woken up the next morning by a knock at the door. With a sigh he got up, checked on England (still asleep) before heading downstairs. He was shocked to find Francis standing there, a small bag in hand and an awkward smile on his face. “Bonjour,” he greeted.

“Ah...y-yes...Bonjour. I-I wasn’t expecting-” 

“You invited me, did you not? Anyway, may I come in?”

“Ah..yes...Of course. Come in.”

After explaining the situation in more detail, Canada led France to England’s room. A sad look crossed the Frenchman’s eyes as he looked over the shaking man in front of him. “Well...You needn’t worry mon chou-”

“D-Don’t call me that,” Matthew said, cutting the man off. He used to love that nickname, but now all it brought was anger and feelings of betrayal. 

France’s grin fell, disappointment setting in. “Fine...He will be fine. Maybe sick for a little while, but our kind will not die as long as our nation, our people continue to exist and believe in us.”

“Thank God.”

Canada suppressed the urge to hug England so relieved to know he would be okay eventually. Time. That was all he needed. And maybe some tea and support. He could manage that. With that information, he felt a little silly for freaking out. Now he just had to deal with his ex-guardian who just up and left him.

“We should probably let him rest,” Francis suggested, already moving towards the door. Canada couldn’t help but follow.

“I could make us some tea, '' Matthew offered as they came upon the kitchen, “and I’ll bring it to you in the living room.”

“That sounds lovely Mathieu, thank you.”

He was probably being a little too nice considering his feelings and their history, but at the same time, he was polite to a fault. ‘He helped me, this is just to show my thanks,’ Canada told himself as he poured two mugs.

The politeness and hospitality began to fade as Canada entered the living room. France attempted to make small talk, asking how he had been, discussing the political climate, regular catch up topics for their kind. Canada tried to remain polite, but just found himself getting more and more frustrated until he muttered. "Maybe if you kept in touch, we wouldn't have to be doing all this catching up." 

“Ah.” Francis lowered his cup, his gaze falling in shame as he heard the words. “So that’s why.”

That was the final straw. Canada slammed his cup down on the table. “Is that all you have to say to that? Really?”

“Non...I...th-there’s nothing...I can’t make it any better. I…”

“An apology, and admittance that you were wrong. I don’t, maybe even just acknowledgement!”

"Oh Matthieu-" He went in for a hug. 

"DON'T TOUCH ME," Canada screamed, shoving France away. 

After overcoming his shock, France dropped his arms in defeat. Taking a breath he began. “I’m...I’m so sorry...God I thought I was a terrible father before but...That doesn’t matter now. I fucked up big time, I hurt you and I’m sorry. You were just a little boy and...no, excuses aren’t fair to you…I left with barely saying goodbye and never reached out to you. I tried telling myself it was for the best, that I was doing this for you, but really I was just selfish and a coward. It was too messy and I didn’t want to deal with it. But that wasn’t fair to you. I… No amount of apologies or any words for that matter feel like they would make up for all this. But still...I’m sorry.”

Canada was quiet for a moment, arms coming to wrap around himself. “Well...you were more honest than I expected," he finally said after a moment, "I’ll give you that. And...I appreciate the apology. It's everything I asked for so why…” His shoulders began to "Mathieu...It's okay. You can tell me, even if it's that you don’t want to see me again. I’ll respect it.”

“It still hurts…” Great, he was crying now. So much for being tough and putting his foot down. 

“That’s fair.”

“But...I don’t think I’m as angry anymore.”

A strained smile made its way onto France's face. “Thank you...Time...I think we need some time. Mend this relationship. We can at least try that hmm?”

“I guess.”

Another tense silence settled over them as Canada wrestled with his uneasiness and France reached for what to say next. Eventually the Frenchman came to the conclusion that he better just leave. "Maybe we need some space. That way you can sort all your feelings out." 

Unsure what to say, Canada nodded. As he helped France collect his things there was this familiar sadness and pain. Not like the kind he had been feeling these past decades, no. He hadn't felt like this since… 

"Don't go," Canada found himself blurting out right before France opened the front door. 

France froze. For a moment a familia fear creeped up on Canada. France was about to leave him a second time and although they promised to try and rebuild things between them, the young nation couldn't help but fear being abandoned again. He felt like crying until France turned around a warm smile on his face.

“Arthur will probably kill me if he becomes conscious enough but I’ll risk it.”

Matthew let out a light laugh and Francis swore he was going to cry, all the feelings from these past years threatening to flow over. But they were starting to heal and neither could ask for more.

[justanotherghostwriter]

The Festival: Part Two

I’d love to blame this short part two only coming after Zutara Week finished on my USB corrupting, but, let’s be honest, I was a few days behind even before that happened. May it still bring a short sprinkling of fluff to your day, though, dear reader. And it really is short! Basically a drabble, by my standards. For just about the first time ever I didn’t do transitions between scenes and just moved people without explaining how they got to the next place! Revolutionary. (I’m not sure I like it, but, boy, did it make writing quicker.)

Please also look at this amazing art by @pineapple-frenzy, who drew it for me not knowing I was thinking of this fic idea when I requested this picture.

The Festival: Part One (ZK Week day 1: Hair) || Part Two (ZK Week day 3: glowing)

Fic ingredients: Hit you round the head with obvious sun/moon metaphors; Pretty strong hints of Taang; Lao and Poppy still skating that lake of ableism; Kanna and Iroh being top tier matchmakers; Zuko and Katara being as subtle as a punch in the face about how they feel about each other; the author using a line of wannabe poetry she’s wanted to use for months.

~~~

The gradually increasing noise and atmosphere of festivity as the sun slowly set had a marked effect on the youngsters of their number. Even the Kyoshi Warriors, usually the epitome of poise and restraint, were seen scurrying between the houses that were hosting them, strewing flowers across the courtyard in their wake. Aang had promised Lao and Poppy – very rapidly – for almost five minutes straight that he’d take care of Toph and, although they hadn’t looked very convinced, they knew they couldn’t really argue with the Avatar, defeater of Phoenix Lord Ozai, that he couldn’t protect their daughter. Aang had tugged Toph out the front gate before they could change their minds or Toph could really get going on her rant about how she didn’t need protecting. Kanna had heard him hissing something about choosing her battles as he towed her outside.

Sokka and Suki left soon after, Suki leaving her girls with last minute instructions that they possibly didn’t even hear over the giggling. But it was more going through the motions than actually giving them instructions, and she soon left them to their fun as she walked out with Sokka, who was re-organising his shopping list out loud just in case things were more expensive than he anticipated, and he couldn’t buy everything. Kanna chuckled at her grandson and went to find Hakoda to laugh about it fondly, and that’s how she came across the only person not yet in a festive mood.

Despite everybody else lounging, talking, playing games and drinking around him, Fire Lord Zuko sat at a small table he’d claimed, surrounded by scrolls. The flowers Katara had put in his hair had mostly stayed in, but one or two were starting to droop comically across his forehead, and, even as Kanna watched, he swatted at them absently as though trying to be rid of a mosquito fly. Most of his attention, however, was firmly on the documents in front of him. At least he was still in informal robes, because his hunched over position didn’t look comfortable at all. Kanna glanced over at where Iroh was thoroughly schooling Pakku at Pai Sho, and then walked over, intending to quietly ask Iroh, in the first gap she got, whether there was any way they could get Zuko to stop working. She’d thought the kids complaining about it was just them being children, for once, but now she was starting to worry.

Before she could get the old general’s attention, however, the voice of her granddaughter cut through the silence from the outside courtyard.

“Zuko! You promised you’d come with me to the parade!”

The room’s occupants all swivelled their gazes to the Fire Lord, whose frown deepened even though his eyes didn’t leave the scroll clutched in his hands.

“We still have twenty minutes,” he yelled back.

“Eighteen, until it starts, and if we don’t get there well in advance, we won’t get a good view!”

“It’ll be fine, Katara.”

“Zuko!” There was a pause, and then the door to the courtyard opened and Katara marched in, scowling heavier than Zuko had been frowning. She marched up to the little table and then paused, cocking her hip and crossing her arms. Zuko didn’t look at her, but whether it was deliberate or whether he was simply that oblivious, Kanna couldn’t tell. One of the many flowers in Katara’s braided hair slipped out the braid and to the floor as she began tapping her foot. “Zuko. You promised.”

Zuko looked at her, then, frown deepening and then, inexplicably, softening. “Ten minutes, and we’ll go.”

“I want to be able to see,” Katara insisted. “You shouldn’t even be working today, anyway.”

The frown deepened again. “I can’t just ignore all of this!” he snapped. “It’s-“

“Yes,” Katara interrupted, zipping forward and grabbing Zuko’s wrist. “You can do exactly that. Come on, Jerkbender.”

Zuko spluttered and protested and scowled, but he also didn’t wrench his wrist free. In fact, the most he did was hastily throw the scroll onto the table as he let Katara tow him out the front door, flowers from their hair marking their trail outside.

~~~

Dusk had settled firmly around the packed streets by the time Kanna, Pakku, Iroh, Hakoda and Bato strolled toward the route the parade would take. Lanterns, many of them in special colours and with designs to represent all the nations, were being lit and hung outside vendor stalls and restaurants that were specially staying open for the night. Kanna asked Iroh, as they walked, whether he regretted closing the Jasmine Dragon on a night such as that, and Iroh reassured her that it would have been more trouble than it was worth to try and accommodate the festival hype after a long and full day of the regular customers. He wasn’t, after all, running the tea house to make a living or support a family, as so many other vendors and store owners were, and this gave him the luxury of relaxation with friends over working overtime.

As they got closer to the streets that the parade would go down, it became clear that many store owners would only open once the parade was over – and for good reason, as it seemed as though the entire Ba Sing Se was packed along the streets, jostling for a gap to be able to see the parade as it passed. Looking only at the flowers tucked into people’s hair and adorning their clothes, it was very difficult to tell which walk of life the people came from, and it was a sign of progress satisfying enough that Kanna found herself grinning as her group squeezed their way around, looking for their own opening. Iroh made them stop at a certain intersection, because he’d heard from some friends (“Your gossip network, you mean?” Pakku grumbled affectionately) that the parade would do extra stunts at that point due to the infrastructure. The old people used their age and sharp elbows to secure a place near enough the front, and then they got to chatting as the music from down the street started to swell louder and louder. Just when the first part of the parade came into sight, Bato started laughing.

“Look,” he said, but he wasn’t pointing at the parade.

Across the street, a little further up than their group, Katara rose above the sea of the crowd, obviously standing or sitting on something to get her extra height. Her face was flushed with a delighted pleasure that was, unfortunately, rare, flowers haphazard in her hair, grin wide enough to make her eyes crinkle. Some people shifted in front of her, and Hakoda started chuckling, too, as they realised that Katara was sitting atop Zuko’s shoulders, as though they were about to play another game of shoulder war. Patiently, the Fire Lord stood still, handing Katara handfuls of rice and petals to throw when the stalls came past. Kanna found herself watching her granddaughter and the Firebender almost as much as the parade antics, as it passed. When the promised special act came in, Katara leaned her elbow on Zuko’s head and put her cheek in her palm and watched with a rapt fascination that was mirrored on Zuko’s face, as well.

They looked, for once, like children, with dreams of fancy in their eyes as the lanterns made their skin glow a myriad of colours.

From the murky waters that were her childhood years, half-forgotten poetry stirred as Kanna watched Zuko give Katara a hand down, and then steady her almost absently as she landed. Katara was all wide smile and flushed cheeks and gesturing hands, and Zuko simply looked softly bemused. And then she grabbed his wrist – or was it his hand, actually? – and tugged him along towards the stalls, and he must have said something, because she looked over her shoulder at him and laughed, lantern light bouncing off her skin and the sparkle in her eyes and the remainder of the flowers in her hair. Zuko seemed to falter, if Kanna wasn’t mistaken, and the poetry bubbled up like a response to the image all of her group were rooted to the spot to watch.

“The moon and tide have this in common,” Kanna murmured. “They glow brightest when the sun shines on them.”

Katara changed direction, suddenly, tugging Zuko the other way, and he dug his heels in, frowning. The frown turned to an eye roll to accompany Katara’s hand waving and then, like a sunrise, the shyest, warmest smile crept over Zuko’s usually sharp face. He ducked his head while doing it, trying to creep under the lip of the world, but Katara pulled it out of him like the sea tossed the sun into the sky every morning, and cradled it to sleep every night. Then they were off again, lost to the people, fingers almost certainly entwined, and it felt like Kanna was waking from a sort of dream.

“I think, perhaps, Grand Lotus, it would be wise to have a Southern Water Tribe delegate at the Fire Nation palace for a while,” Kanna said, sagely.

“Given the increased pressure from the Northern Water Tribe as of late, I think it would be beneficial to have advisors that do not have a vested interest in some of the decisions that need to be made,” Iroh agreed, just as sagely. And then he glanced at Hakoda, whose face was impassive as he stared into middle distance. “Unless, of course, Chief Hakoda, you have objections?”

Hakoda frowned very deeply for a moment. “I was hoping things would get easier for her,” he murmured, the song of a father’s heartbreak in his words. He sighed. “I guess she is her mother’s daughter. And her grandmother’s,” he added, throwing Kanna a side eye that she elbowed him, for.

“My friend.” Bato clapped Hakoda on the shoulder. “You were absolutely beyond saving before Kya smiled even half that way at you. Have pity on the poor boy.”

Hakoda laughed again. “Oh, I do. I do.” He clapped Iroh on the shoulder. “I suppose, Iroh, it is time once again to scheme together.”

Iroh’s smile was small, but also very subtly sly. “The rivers of destiny shall run their course, no matter what obstacles are placed in their way.” Then his grin widened. “But it doesn’t hurt to remove a few old rocks in preparation for the water’s coming.”

In the distance, Katara rose above the crowd once again, sitting once more astride Zuko as though he were an ostrich horse, pointing at the lanterns and the stalls. He nearly tripped or ran into people, a few times, because he was too busy looking at her.

~~~

“Your plans need to end for now; they’re coming home,” Pakku warned them from the window.

They’d left the door and shutters open as the warm afternoon gave way to a light evening rain, and so all Kanna had to do was glance up as they nudged the scrolls out of sight to see her granddaughter and her Firebender return. Katara had one hand raised above their heads, diverting the falling water like an umbrella. Zuko held a flame in the hand furthest from Katara, lighting their way home. They were both dusty and tired and still smiling, ribbing each other verbally and with elbows as they jostled into the courtyard. Katara made sure Zuko was inside after her before she stopped her Waterbending, and they both greeted the crowd of people as though they weren’t brushing against each other as they walked. As though they weren’t both still glowing from the inside out.

And the group greeted them as though they didn’t notice. Like many hands cupping around a tentative ember, ready to shield it until it burst into its own flame.

[translationandbetrayals]

The Hidden Gem in our Buttholes

And the desire to be connected.

I know it sounds weird, but trust me on this one.

You might have heard about this anime, and you might have even watched it. If you did, that makes me happy, because not enough people talk about it. The anime in question is "Sarazanmai". 

"Sarazanmai" is a 2019 anime created by Kunihiko Ikuhara (which if you don't know, is famous for creating "Revolutionary Girl Utena"), and jointly produced by MAPPA and Lapin Track. (from Wikipedia)

The story follows three young boys that got turned into kappas by the prince of the Kappas, so they could fight against people's materialized desires and take the shirikodamas from their butts, which is both the desires and the souls in ball form.

Did you catch all of that? Cool.

Now, I could write about this anime for a good while, but I don't wanna make too long of a post, so I'll try to keep it on the essentials.

As I mentioned before, the director of this manga was none other than Ikuhara-san. If you don't know him, nor do you know about Utena, then allow me to enlighten you. "Revolutionary Girl Utena" is an anime with a good story, interesting characters and, most importantly, symbolism. Ikuhara-san's works are all full of visual (and maybe even auditive) symbolisms; of course, "Sarazanmai" is no exception.

Imma be honest with you, I can't possibly explain all of the symbolism, either because I already forgot them or they got lost in translation (a translation betrayal, if you would). If you're interested, I highly recommend you to watch this anime. Do it for your own good!

Now, what I love so much about this anime, is not just the weird plot, the symbolism or that Mamoru Miyano does the voice of the blond cop (but I do love all of those). What made me love this anime were the characters: they are so important to the story (and to each other). For an anime that only lasted about 11 to 12 episodes, they really knew how to get you involved with these characters. 

To give some context on the story, there were two sides to it: the fights for the shirikodamas and the daily life of the main characters. I'm going to focus on the latter.

SPOILER ALERT In Sarazanmai there were three main characters: Enta, Kazuki and Toi. (from left to right on the image above) At first, you don't really get what the story's about, but once you get it it's clear as day: they all have trouble connecting to people. Kazuki, the protagonist, wants to connect to his little brother, but can't do it by himself, so he disguises as an idol to make him happy. Enta really likes Kazuki, in many ways; they used to play soccer together, but one day Kazuki stopped and Enta doesn't know how to approach him anymore. Lastly, Toi is a delinquent, trying to survive with his big brother, but due to that style of life, they can't have a normal brother relationship, they grow distant.

In short, the three boys wanted to connect with someone, but couldn't for different reasons. (Side note: each episode's title says "I want to be connected, but..." and they were revealed at the end of the episode)

This anime makes such a good job in making you understand these characters, and not only the three main boys, but also the "villains", which are the cops. By the last episode, you get this feeling of everything coming together, everything being connected. 

Wrapping this up, I'll just say again that this anime is excellent, it has great characters, great animation too, funny scenes, the characters sing many times (love it btw), it also has heartful moments and a great finale.

Lastly, I'll once again recommend it. If it isn't clear enough that you should watch it: please watch it. "Sarazanmai" holds a special place in my heart and I don't think it'll ever leave it. SARAZANMAI!

"SARA...!" "SARA...!" "SARA...!" "SARAZANMAI!"

-Daniel Berger

[thespoonisvictory]

“Techno and Wilbur make Cave Better” Key Conversations

Hi, so I’m doing a big Pogtopida Wilbur analysis rn, mainly of this stream, and I basically decided to transcribe all major events, conversations, and quotes for the masses, to reference during said analysis. 

This was such a good stream to look at, and there’s some really interesting stuff to analyze, as Wilbur interacts with almost every portion of the story and develops his character in a really interesting way. I definitely recommend watching the stream if you want to understand Wilbur’s character, or at least read this. If you like to write meta, have fun with this oh boy.

Major quotes and full conversations are bolded for clarity, timestamps are added, and names are shortened when writing dialogue. If the character is not tagged Wilbur is the one speaking (W = Wilbur, TU = Tubbo, F = Fundy, S = Schlatt, and TO = Tommy). 

“Hey Techno. I’m in a better mood today. I’m in a better- do you know I’m- I’m over fucking losing Manburg y’know.” 11.08

“The revolution is coming. the only difference is I’m not gonna be sad while doing it. I’m gonna be happy, while revolting.” 11.20

“Hey Techno, do you wanna see how over Manburg I am, dude? How over L’Manburg I am? You ready for this? *reveals Pogtopia skin*” 11.25

“That filthy, dirty, coat. I didn’t wash it once, I’ll be honest with you, Technoblade.” 11.40

*Techno shows him the farm, Wilbur is concerned but a little frightened by the amount of time he’s spent on this lol*

“First, I think, I wanna make this place look nicer, cause I won’t be able to work in this cavern if it’s just like, if it’s natural generation, y’know?” 14.33

*they join vc with tubbo*

“Tubbo’s one of the few people I trust, Technoblade. Like, I’m still figuring you out right now, but, at the moment, Tubbo seems to be pretty on the ball. He seems pretty keen on the whole spying thing.” 16.13

“See the thing is, Tubster, can I call you Tubster? Cool, cool. See the thing is Tubbony, I need help, today. Tubbo, do you know anything about super smelters.” 16.53

*they meet up in Manburg to go to Pogtopia, Wilbur doesn’t feel safe coming too close*

“Tubbo. You’ve lost the revolutionary gear. I’m so proud of you man, I’m so proud of you. We’ve finally moved on. It’s the next part!” 19.32

*Wilbur is visibly upset by Tubbo wearing the suit, despite it being a “disguise” and him saying Schlatt’s name, however*

“I was sleeping last night, before I changed my clothes, and I thought to myself, I thought to myself Tubbo you’ve done so much for our great nation.”20.17

“Have you heard of the Sunk Cost Fallacy?” *Wilbur explains the fallacy* “So, in that logic, I think you are physically incapable of giving up. I think you’re physcially incapable of giving up L’manburg. Because you’ve put in so much effort! You’ve put in so much work, y’know. So that’s why...” 22.12

*Wilbur shows Tubbo Pogtopia*

“Pogtopia isn’t a nation, as much as Tommy seems to think it is. We’re a commune, now. Don’t call me Mr President anymore, Tubbo, you’ve gotta call me, uh, Wilbs... In the commune, we’re all equal, we’re all comrades. We’re all equal” 24.24

*Wilbur compares them to Russian revolutionaries*

“Except with this Russian revolution, we’re not all gonna die. And also the nation we’re gonna make afterwards will not fail.” (oh god I’m sad) 25.15

*they talk about the super smelter, wilbur and tubbo are wholesome :(*

W: “Welcome to the commune, welcome to Pogtopia. Now, I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking Wilbur- Wilbur-”

TU: “I think it looks lovely”

W: “oh,  see I thought you were gonna say ‘Wilbur Wilbur this looks like shit’, and I was gonna say ‘yes Tubbo, yes it does look shit’”

TU: “I mean, you obviously- I don’t think you’ve seem Manburg lately.”

Wilbur’s tone becomes serious, maybe angry “I haven’t seen Manburg lately. Why do you rub this in.”

TU: “What- no- I didn’t mean it like that-”

W: “No- I heard you man-”

TU: “No, it’s really gone quite in the opposite direction-”

Wilbur’s tone cheers up a bit. “Oh- it’s bad? It looks bad?

TU: “Yeah”

W: “Oh, that’s brilliant, that’s great news, Tubbo, thank you, I-, that means that when we go and fix it- let me show you...” 27.40

*Wilbur wants to add more people to Pogtopia, tells Techno to get more food*

*Wilbur talks about possibly exporting “Pogtopia Potatoes” to L’manburg, and poisoning them. This is never brought up again though and isn’t treated seriously*

“I wanna make sure it looks nice for when the gang gets on.” 31.35

*Schlatt joins the game, and joins vc. Wilbur is immediately panicked, telling him to make an alibi*

“How’s running L’man-Manburg going for you?” “It’s going great.” “Yeah, it’s a lovely place isn’t it, nice situation.” 34.30

*this continues a bit, Wilbur is very obviously not a big fan of this conversation. Schlatt talks about demolishing things. Wilbur’s tone is soft and somber*

W: “Oh- What are you demolishing.”

S: “The Elton John house.”

W: “Oh- that was-”

S: “I reckon we’ll take the rocket down as well, and maybe uh-”

W: “oh- ok”

S:“what is this thing, whad’you call this thing, Tubbo?”

T: “This is that cAHmrvan van”

W: *quietly* “the camARvan”

S: “The cAHmarvan?”

W: *quietly* “The camARvan” 

S: “That’s a stupid name, I reckon we put a big apartment building right over it.” 

*Wilbur moves away from his desk in shock, the conversation continues, Wilbur is shocked by the dress code being suits as Schlatt insults the revolutionary uniforms, leaves vc*

“Techno- I fucking hate him, Technoblade. He’s the fucking worst, you get it, you get it don’t you? He’s everything- he’s everything I cannot stand.” 37.32

*Wilbur talks about dismantling the oppressive government, and quotes Spongebob. They chat for bit, both misunderstanding anarchy dear god*

“One thing I really want to make sure of, cause as much as I’m still not entirely trustful of Tubbo, because he said it was a disguise... Tubbo said that he was wearing the suit as a disguise, right. Turns out that’s true. Turns out it’s the dresscode. So, Tubbo lied to me, which is not the best start for our political relationship, but y’know it’s cool, at least he’s actually online today, unlike- unlike one of my right hand men.”40.26

“Whilst I’m not entirely trustful of Tubbo, I would- still don’t wanna see him get hurt by Schlatt” 41.19

*Wilbur rejoins Schlatt’s vc. He’s still really bitter about being removed from Manburg. The whole Schlatt has diamonds in his furnace conversation happens. Schlatt asks where Niki lives, and Wilbur immediately leaves vc*

“Techno we need to get to the docks, this is your first mission under us, please comrade, please. armor. armor. We need to get to Manburg quickly, this isn’t a drill, this is first thing. We’re not gonna attack we’re just gonna watch, and then see what happens.”45.06

*Techno is mining, and Wilbur says he’ll get there on his own time before leaving. Wilbur arrives in Manburg and is disgusted by the apartment buildings, venturing in while Techno has no clue where Manburg is*

*Wilbur goes into Niki’s bakery*  “I think Schlatt’s just mugged Niki” 49.14

“Which is why I need you here, Technoblade. You’re kinda my last resort.”  50.00

*Wilbur looks over Manburg and watches Niki, Fundy, Schlatt, and Tubbo interact. They join Niki’s vc, Techno isn’t keeping hidden well and Wilbur is stressed. Wilbur is trying to balance both of them and making all the calls.*

W: “Niki I’ve gotta go, Niki I’ve gotta go, I promise- I- look- if- we’re in too much of a hot position right now to take in everyone from every sort of like person we need into our new cave. So you’re gonna have to hold out in Manburg a bit longer. Is that ok?”

N: “Of course. I will.”

W: “Mm k.”

N: “Take care, Wil.”

W: “Thank you.” 

W is obviously distraught at leaving her behind, but leaves vc. 55.05

Techno isn’t in vc, and Wilbur just softly goes “Comrade Technoblade? Is he- I’m on my own. I’m on my own.” 55.38

*Tommy joins the game and Techno joins vc* “I thought he was gone, no it’s Tommy. I didn’t think he’d be coming on, I didn’t think he’d- oh thank god!”

*they join vc with Tubbo Punz and Schlatt. Techno offers to “initiate order Kennedy” and Wilbur freaks out*

*Fundy joins vc*

S: “Fundy- Fundy- I y’know I wasn’t gonna do this so early into my reign, but I think you should have a promotion. I mean this is just such a good idea, this is just such a good idea.”

F: “You’re being very generous here Schlatt.”

W panics. “Don’t give him promotions, he’s too young, he doesn’t understand, he’s- he needs to learn more. No- he needs to learn more, I should know he’s my son.”

S: “I’m promoting him.”

F: “Wilbur, Imma need you to shut up for a second.”

W: “Don’t you speak like that to me, Fundy. Don’t forget where you came from,  Fundy.”

S: “What’s the relationship between you and Wilbur, Fundy?”

F: *sigh* “Wilbur, he’s just a founder, and I was born here, and nothing else. It’s literally everything there is to is to it.”

W, softly and sadly: “You know that’s not-”

Schlatt interrupts: “See, it’s so great to have natural-born citizens of Manburg, taking the country direction into their own hands. I mean, I really over this purple stripe, instead of that ugly blue one.”

*Wilbur has hand over his mouth in disbelief and sadness

F: “I must agree.”

*F and S continue to talk*

W, seemingly on the verge of tears: “I don’t know who you are anymore, Fundy, I don’t know who you are anymore.” he leaves the vc and joins Tommy. 

“I couldn’t be there anymore.”  1.01.36

*Immediately, Tommy tries to talk to him, while Wilbur is obviously angry and upset. Tommy is waiting for his command to burn down the flag.”

TO:“I’m stood here, by the flag with a flint and steel, Wilbur.”

W, panicked. “Tommy control yourself, control yourself, it’s not worth it.”

TO: “Do I take my shot?”

W: “Tommy do not take your shot.”

TO: “Wilbur he disrespected you!”

W, even more panicked: “He disrespected me, yes but we’ve talked about this Tommy. Tommy, if we cast the first stone-”

TO: “Wilbur, I wanna do it Wilbur.”

*now Tubbo shows up, holding a book*

W: “Tubbo, what is that book?”

TO: “I wanna do it!”

TU: “It’s, um, it’s nothing much, it’s not really anything worth worrying about.”

W, softly: “What is it. Why are you holding it.”

TU: “It’s- Schlatt has given me- It’s the papers Schlatt made me. Yeah, it’s what he, yeah.”

W: “Give it to me.”

TU: “Are you sure?”

TO at the same time: “Wilbur tell me now Fundy’s coming up. Do I light the fires of  victory, of independence?”

*W is reading the book MANBURG TO-DO*

TU: “Uh- I’m gonna need that back”

TO at the same time: I could do with a clear yes or no, this isn’t a- as much as silence is-

W interrupts, suddenly angry: “Tommy burn that place to the ground. Burn that place to the ground and try to as many people trapped in it as possible.”

TO laughs

TU: “I’m gonna need that book back- oh- oo.”

*W throws the book back*

TO: “Wilbur do I kill your son?”

W, no longer distracted: “Keep him alive, Tommy.”

TO: “Again- I could do, I’m actually-”

W: “Tommy, we’re comrades here.”

TO: “Wilbur, take one look at Manburg, cause it ain’t no more!”

W: “Tubbo, take me to Manburg.”

TU: “Ok.”

TO: “I could kill Schlatt and Big Q right now.”

W: “Keep them alive, we need them alive Tommy.”

TO: “Can I just shoot em once?”

W, exasperated: “If you want.”

TO: “Yeah, I did. It’s more of my own self fulfillment.”

W: *sighs* “We’ve cast the first stone. Our little ravine is now, it’s now in a difficult spot.” 1.03.30

*Wilbur meets Tubbo at Manburg and they head back to Pogtopia*

TO: “The flags gone, and your son is corrupt.”

W: “I know he is, and I don’t need reminding of that, Tommy.” 1.06.30

*Schlatt joins vc and tells Tommy to leave Manburg, and leaves again. Wilbur tells Tommy again not to burn down the forest, and is legitimately upset at the idea. He says it’s the thing they’re fighting against. Techno rejoins vc*

“Tommy, if you don’t fix the mistake you’ve made here, I don’t know if you’re the best fit for Pogtopia.” 1.10.46

*Wilbur asks Tubbo and Techno if they’ve checked the forest, but they’re both busy*

W: “Alright well I’ll go and looking for the fucking forest, I guess. I have to do everything around here.”

*Tubbo and Techno protest.*

W: “No no no, it’s fine you two are doing much harder work than I am.” 1.12.37

*Tubbo and Wilbur talk about how Quackity isn’t happy under Schlatt, how he’s protesting a lot of Schlatt’s measures.*

“He’s a man who I thought, really cared about his nation, but, hey y’know, I’ve been wrong before.” 1.13.55

*the conversation shifts to Fundy, and Wilbur recounts what Fundy said, clearly upset. Tubbo is shocked by this*

“It’s ok, it’s ok, y’know, cause, it’s fine! I- y’know, bonds are formed in blood, not family blood, the other blood, the blood where you stab shit. Yeah, that’s where bonds are formed.”1.14.55

*Tubbo, Techno, and Wilbur chat more, Schlatt joins vc for a bit. Tubbo and Wilbur keep up the bit that Tubbo is loyal to Schlatt until he leaves. Tubbo says explained his absence to Schlatt*

“Tubbo, you’re- see with Technoblade, right, I have no doubt that Technoblade is on my side, right. Cause with Technoblade, with Technoblade, right, I know that he wants blood, and he wants war. Cause that’s how Technoblade works y’know. He just wants to fight and he wants to kill bad guys, right. Yeah, look at him, he a little libertarian- little anarchist, right. So here’s what I’m saying, right: you however- little, I can’t tell if you’re cozying up to Schlatt to help spy, or if you’re cozying up to Schlatt because you quite like how he treats you. I mean look, Tubbo, I’ll be the first one to say it, I didn’t always treat you the best, on L’Manburg, and I know I didn’t, I- I- I was somewhat of a distant ruler- I pretty much only- don’t agree that fucking excitedly, man- look I wasn’t the best ruler I know I wasn’t. Well I think I was a good ruler, but I, I- Tubbo I don’t know if you are just prefering his rule over mine, and I feel like I gotta win you over.”

TU seems to disagree, but says ok.

TU: “Well I’m making this farm, I wouldn’t be putting in this much time if I wasn’t.”

W: No I know, I know, but that’s probably what’d you be saying to Schlatt as well if you were doing work for him.”

TU: “That is- that is very- yeah that is very true, actually.” 1.25.07

*Tubbo says his excuse is that he was pregnant in the name of being transparent. They discuss plans for the farm, and the stream ends*

Wilbur, raiding Niki: “Now, Niki is currently probably the last person who I know is on our side,, who I know is definitely on our side right now. And she, basically, is just sort of trapped in Manburg, cause I can’t get her out, cause we’ve got Tubbo out that’s fine, but I can’t get Niki out for a while. She’s being taxed and she’s being watched very closely by Schlatt. More closely than Tubbo, weirdly, and Schlatt is just being a horrible person to her as you know. So I’m gonna need you to go over there and I’m gonna need you to give her some love. “ <3 1.31.52

[friendlylocalwhumper]

retirement

“Adrian, how smart phones were developed. Your expert is Mrs. Langley.”

The class murmurs with jealousy as Adrian is assigned a teacher - not only is she fun and friendly, but she works in this same building. An easy assignment. Someone mutters about how he got an easy one because he’s the teacher’s nephew.

“Kristen, the politics of the nineties. You have a retired senator to interview for this one, isn’t that fun?”

The goody-two-shoes students make impressed, interested sounds, while the rest shift in their seats waiting to hear who they’ll be assigned.

“Okay, this next one will be a group of three, because the source always talks too much for one student to catch all the details.” She opens her mouth to continue, but already, kids are groaning.

“Not the one from-”

“Not the old-”

“Come on, Mrs.-”

She speaks over them, used to the complaints by now. “Sheela, Maxim, and Zach, you three have Quinn Mae. You’ll be interviewing them about-”

“The history of the magic community,” Recite the three named students in unison, one rolling their eyes, one slouching in their seat, and one clenching their jaw.

“Yes. That one’s just down the street, so I don’t want any excuses. A late assignment isn’t acceptable at this level. I want an essay from each of you. Mx. Mae will give you plenty to work with, so no copying.”

~

The retirement home is nice enough, all neat and studded with simple, pleasantly neutral furniture. The generic art on the walls gives an aura of charming, if manufactured peace. The deep ticking of a grandfather clock warms the lobby. A smiling lady at the front desk offers caramel candies to all who drag their feet past her.

None of it quite makes up for the walkers left lying around, or the smell of old people, or the tired sass of the caretakers walking around briskly. To a couple of teenagers, it’s the worst place in the world to be. Boring beyond measure, and the old ladies will grab you by the wrist to say something about how your hair looks, or what you’re wearing, or whether they think you’re their grandkid.

The receptionist informs the kids that the senior citizen they’re looking for is on this floor, with all the residents who don’t need supervision. “Quinn Mae is a feisty one,” She says with a fond smile. “They’re all mild-mannered, know all the right things to say, until suddenly your name tag is missing, and they’ll only give it back if you catch them with it. Smug little smile. Watch your wallets and phones, kids.”

Maxim is the only one who doesn’t smile politely at the advice and very adult-like oversharing. The three proceed into the lobby, briefly arguing about which hallway the receptionist said to go down.

“You three lost?” Says some old bag of bones on the lobby couch, wrinkly fingers wrapped around the edges of a newspaper. Thin wire-framed glasses sit low on a flat nose, hanging on for dear life. Dull white hair lies in limp curls on slender shoulders, big faded freckles spread across cheeks that have seen more sun than any other retiree that ambles past.

“No, sir,” Sheela says with bare-minimum politeness.

“Not sir,” Sasses the old person gently, folding their newspaper.

“Uh. Sorry, ma’am.”

“Not that either. Were you asking about Quinn Mae at the front desk?”

“Yeah. You know ‘em? What room’re they in?” Asks Maxim, stepping forward. His bushy eyebrows are cocked with frustration and slight amusement, as if anything the retiree says will be made fun of later.

The senior citizen gives a bare smile, a hint of a quirk to thin lips. “Room one-seven-three, young man.”

The students talk amongst themselves, eager to agree that that was the number the receptionist gave them and get away from this old person who will surely trap them in boring conversation if they linger. Off they go, down a hallway they were gravitating toward anyway, searching for room 173.

Five minutes later, they’re back, looking disgruntled. “Unless Quinn Mae’s disguised as an old lesbian couple, wrong room, old guy,” Grumbles bushy-brows.

“Not a guy,” Reminds the lobby couch-warmer. “Forgive me, you said Quinn Mae? That’ll be room one-twenty-six.”

Off they go again, the grumpy boy nudging at the girl who glances back at the retiree paging through a newspaper and pointedly not watching them go down a different hallway this time.

It’s ten minutes later, this time, that the kids return. One of the boys goes over to the front desk while Maxim and Sheela return to the old person on the couch.

“Okay. Try again, grandpa. Not one-seventy-three, not one-twenty-six. Quinn Mae. Where is Quinn Mae? We’re here from the high school, doing a school project. Old geezer probably talked about us coming, all excited, since nothing else happens here. Where’s Quinn Mae?”

Sheela’s looking at this person with white curls, wise brown eyes, and a slowly spreading, sly smile. She doesn’t join in as Maxim grills them for answers. The retiree looks over the disgruntled boy, then finally meets the girl’s eyes.

“You’re Mae, aren’t you?” She accuses.

Finally, that newspaper is folded and lowered. Quinn nods.

Just in time for them all to hear from across the lobby as the receptionist sighs and nods to the couch, informing Zach, “That’s Quinn Mae right there. They gave you the runaround, didn’t they?”

Maxim looks flustered, but Sheela speaks first. “Mr. Mae-”

“Mx. Mae, if you please.”

“Yeah. Sorry. Mx. Mae, we’re supposed to ask you about the history of the magic community.”

Quinn gives a soft, wobbly hum. They flip over the paper in their hands and run an age-softened finger over a line of text. “Young Man Found Beaten, Rescued. That’s what this article is titled. That sound odd to you?”

Sheela shakes her head. Maxim frowns.

“The article goes on to mention that the young man has magic. Mentioned, not announced as the clear reason he deserved to be beaten. When I was forty, this headline would’ve been, Warlock Found Alive, Scaring Citizens.” Approaching to listen, the other boy, Zach, winces at the word warlock. That word hasn’t been okay to use for years. “When I was your age, there wouldn’t have been a story printed in the paper about it at all.”

“Yeah. They were killed in the streets back then. No statistics on it ‘cause no one cared. We know all this,” Complains Maxim. “Times changed.”

Brown eyes scan across the teens before settling on the one who spoke. “You remind me of someone I used to know,” Replies Mae, looking wistful for a moment before they add, “Someone unintelligent. Times haven’t changed much if a person with magic is still beaten for being warlock scum, have they?”

“Language, Quinn,” Reminds one of the caregivers, pushing a cart of sheets and towels over to the service elevator.

“Oh, heavens, did I do it again? I’m sorry, Julie!” They offer her a kind, harmless smile until she’s out of sight. The teenagers catch a glimpse of the retiree rolling their eyes. “The younger ones don’t understand. I’ll forgive them for it, it’s what I fought for. The luxury to be ignorant without it costing lives.”

None of this aged-revolutionary talk impresses the kids. One of them even looked incensed by it. Quinn’s eyes, having wandered off to ponder their memories, lock onto the one who stands out from the group.

“What’s your name?”

“Maxim,” Says the one who reminds them of Major. They miss him, the old idiot. He used to cause so much trouble.

“Maxim. Do you have something you’d like to say?”

Glancing at his classmates, the young man shrugs one shoulder. “Nah. Just keep talking, we’ll get something we can use.”

“I’d love to help you all with your assignment. Your teacher informed me that you’ll fail this class if you don’t hand in an acceptable essay, each of you.” The newspaper has one corner folded back neatly that they play with slowly as they watch the three kids before them. “But I know someone who hates magic when I see them. If you want me to help someone like that to pass an advanced class, you’ll all have to do better than this. I don’t want to teach you about the history I lived through. I want each of you to study it on your own, come present what you learned to me, and show me that you have the base understanding to even believe what I’ll tell you.”

Maxim turns to leave, uninterested, ready to pay someone to write his essay for him. Zach looks anxious, mouth opening to make excuses and beg for Quinn to just tell them what they need to know to get their project done.

Sheela watches Quinn. Just stands there and waits, judging whether they’re being honest. Quinn leans back in the lobby’s couch and beams.

“You. I’ll tell you everything you want to know. The others, they have to hear it from you. I want you to retell my stories before you write anything down on paper.”

“I’d type it on my phone, no one uses paper for notes anymore,” She argues mildly.

“Fine. You’ll relay it by word of mouth, then take the notes on your phone. Do we have a deal, Miss…”

“Sheela. Yeah, that’s - we can do that. Right?”

Maxim sighs and turns back around, glaring but grumbling his agreement. Zach nods to show he accepts the terms as well.

“Wonderful,” Says Quinn, standing with all the aches of a senior citizen, but the glowing energy of someone about to do their favorite thing. “Let’s go out for a walk. We’ll start with the war and go from there.”

[bagadew]

The Great Ace Attorney Playthrough: The Adventure of the Unbreakable Speckled Band (Part 3a)

Last Time: I (Ryunosuke) and Susato finally managed to sneak into Nikolina’s cabin to look at Nikolina’s pet do some investigating. While the pet itself was gone, we did manage to take part in a singalong with Helock, and I (Eleanor) figured out the solution to the locked room mystery. Unfortunately in doing so, we were promptly discovered in Nikolina’s cabin (i.e. the one place we were told we weren't allowed to go).

I haven’t been about to play for a few days, so let’s just take a look at where we left off...

Ah yes, accused of murder and about to be discovered somewhere we were specifically told not to go.

Susato’s opened the door. You are a braver woman than I will ever be Susato.

Umm... would you belly us if we said that the sound of the alarm sent us into a blind panic, and we ran around like headless chickens until, quite by chance, we found ourselves in this cabin?

No... ok...

Can you believe that just last case I was accusing this man of murder? I don’t think I actually apologised for it back then, so I just want to say: I’m sorry Hosonaga, you are the best of us and I’m thrilled you’re here.

(Also my deductive senses are piss poor this game. I swear I don’t normally accuse beloved and recurring characters. I didn’t necessarily guess right, but I didn’t point at Gumshoe and Sebastian Debeste and confidently announce that I’d caught the killer.)

(Could the captain also be an innocent favourite?)

(Wait no, I can see Hosonaga’s face. I regret nothing)

Back to the case at hand, Hosonaga says that apparently the whole ‘WE’RE GOING TO CRASH INTO A SHIP’ thing was a false report. He seems to think that whoever sounded the alarm was mistaken due to the fog, but I’m not so sure.

As I see it, we have two options: either someone (and let’s be honest it was probably Herlock) rang the alarm and gave a false report because they wanted to see what would happen; or the killer pressed the alarm for reasons I haven’t worked out but are probably very important.

Ah... so she’s noticed the open case.

While this honestly has nothing to do with us, I’m not sure Nikolina will believe me due to the fact I (Ryunosuke) am the least convincing person in the world.

Wait a second, I didn’t think Hosonaga had told anyone he was undercover? True it could have happened while we were dicking around investigating with Herlock Sholmes and getting locked inside cabins, and Hosonaga doesn’t exactly fit this disguise... and also come to think of it we do keep slipping up and loudly calling him Inspector.

Actually, given Nikolina’s situation and general state of heightened anxiety, it would make sense if she either cottoned on, or for one of the real Sailors told her.

Anyways, everyone’s accusing me of murder, and saying they should throw him in the cell that’s apparently below deck. Honestly this is just part of the course for poor old Ryunosuke now

Yes Inspector! Save us!

But... you’ve just remembered you’re Satoru Hosonaga and you don’t give a damn?

Actually upon reflection, Hosonaga, you’ve done more than enough already.

Also, what with holding exactly 0 legal power here, and being up against people built like an oak and furnished with two working lungs, you physically can’t do anything anyway.

Ok lads, we’re on our own, but we can do this!

HERLOCK SHOLMES THE HIMBO DETECTIVE!!!

COME TO US IN OUR HOUR OF NEED!!!

Also I don’t even question the weird positions I find you in now.

Wait a minute! Hosonaga’s here too! Now I finally get to see these guys interact. Hosonaga this man has forensics coming out of his ears, once you get past the fact he’s stuck himself to the wall like a limpet I’m sure you’ll love him!

HE’S WEARING THE TIARA OVER HIS HAT!!!

This is amazing!

He says, while striking that pose

Apparently he was hanging on the hook because he wanted to see if the weight of twenty thousand roubles on his head would cause it to bend.

I mean, just look at him Ryunosuke. I’m not sure if he’s boxing the air or just doing a little dance.

(Oh yeah, it’s all coming together.)

They’re interacting, this is excellent!

Also Herlock seems to have been looking for Hosonaga... Herlock I swear to god if you accuse Hosonaga of being that Russian Revolutionary...

Damn Hosonaga!

Either you’re here to accuse someone else of being the Russian Revolutionary, or you think you’ve solved the case!

It’s Detective Dancing time baby!

Hmm, Nikolina seems kinda shocked by this. You know I hadn’t really considered her as a possibility due to the fact that she’s a tiny 15 year old, and Kazuma was a samurai lawyer, but that’s a surprising reaction.

I think my mistake might be thinking that whoever killed Kazuma physically hit him over the head with something, which would imply physical strength, but I suppose his killer could have dropped something from out of the vent or something and let gravity do the work.

The only problem with that is that the crime scene was clearly tampered with, so the person in question must have been in the room.

(Not to self, look up Russian idioms when we’re done here)

(Editor’s Note: It’s a real one!)

Hosonaga, sit back, relax, and prepare to have your mind blown!

(Ryunosuke, you’re embarrassing us in front of Hosonaga!)

(It’s ok though, I understand you’ve been drugged and therefor doing really well to have got this far.)

Has he figured it out!?!

Never mind, false alarm

Hosonaga’s rightly pointing out that we never discovered another entrance. Honestly I can’t wait to find out if the killer apparently squeezed in through the vent in the wall, or (better yet) if they climbed in through the speaker that’s gaping away at me in the background.

And the vent has it!

Don’t be surprised Hosonaga, didn’t you know that revolutionaries can revolutionise their bodies to get through even the smallest of gaps?!

Now see, normally I’d brush this off, but Nikolina’s reaction tells me that there’s at least some truth in it.

(To be honest though, I’m at a loss what it might be...)

Oh yeah, we never did work out what that was all about.

Even if I’m right about a snake or a tabby cat, that whistling still doesn’t fit.

Ok Herlock, hit me!

NOT LITERALLY!

(Wait no, I don’t think he went for me and that screaming doesn’t sound like Susato or Nikolina. So either Hosonaga or Strogenov then.)

A BABY!!!

Um... Herlock? I don’t know how to tell you this but that’s not a speckled snake...

Thanks Ryunosuke, I knew you had my back!

(Editor’s Note: It was about this point during my transferal and editing of screenshots that I realised I could probably just get them off of YouTube now. So I did and you can find the place I got them here.)

Herlock please don’t tell me this snake either was, or is, covered in snakeup (snake makeup)...

See, I’m not sure I believe that anymore Nikolina

I feel really bad though, unless Nikolina’s whole terrified fifteen year old thing is just an act, I can’t see this as being in any way premeditated, and I’m starting to feel like this whole thing might have been some tragic misunderstanding.

I mean lest have a look at what we know about Nikolina so far:

1) At just fifteen year of age, she was so genuinely scared for her life that she fled the ballet company.

2) Nikolina took her beloved pet with her because it was her only friend, and her highly tradable tiara with her because she realized she’d need money.

3) While we don’t know how exactly she got onboard this ship, at least two (thought probably more) of the sailors know who she is.

4) Beyond pawning the highly traceable tiara and then somehow get to America, Nikolina has literally no plan.

5) She’s genuinely convinced the ballet company are coming for her, and hasn’t been getting much sleep as a result.

All of this points to a kid who thinks with her heart rather than her head and doesn’t really understand how the world works. One who’s scared, sleep deprived and so insanely out of her depth that she keeps making stupid mistakes because she’s really bad at this.

If Kazuma went to investigate the ‘speckled band’ that was hanging from his vent, I’m begging to wonder if Nikolina might have healed him and dropped something heavy through the vent in order to stop her ‘attacker’.

But then the tampered crime scene comes back into play. I could perhaps imagine her frantically running next door and dragging the body away from the grate, but using Kazuma’s finger to write something in Russian. No.

So, going by Nikolina’s face while Herlock’s talking, it seems that Nikolina’s pet has got something to do with Kazuma’s death. If my theory is right then the snake over there can’t be Nikolina’s pet. Tabby cat theory is a go!!!

LETS GO LADS LETS GO!!!

YEAH BOY!!!

Wait, what’s that on the back of her hand there? It only flashed up for a second, but I bet it’s important.

(Editors note: I was focused on getting the ! and ? this time that I actually got a pretty good shot of the scratch on her hand. As this turned out to be a one in a milion shot apparently, this shot isn’t from YouTube)

Herlock, that snake doesn’t even have fangs!

Hello, what’s that? Could there be two snakes on board? A speckled one and a striped one.

Again Herlock, the snake is striped...

My ass it is.

Herlock, did you forget to pick up the autopsy report from Hosonaga? Kazuma wasn’t poisoned.

(Also, again, the snake has no fangs and I’m pretty sure it’s a constrictor)

So there is evidence here that ties the pet to the scene of the crime then (though I have no idea what)

Where???

Looks like there’s also some evidence here though. I feel like I might be able to get a better idea of what that might be if I could just get a look at that pet of Nikolina’s. And for once I’m not saying that because I want to see an animal.

Now see, in the real world snakes don’t have ears, so this wouldn’t work. But in the world of Ace Attorney who knows?

Yeah, this is the proper reaction.

Herlock, it’s a snake!

No Ryunosuke, don’t be taken in!!!

You’re all idiots!!!

My, how the turntables have turntabled!

As the sceptics of Ryunosuke and Hosonaga clap an cheer Herlock’s deductions it’s up to his number one fan Susato to stand up an say ‘this is bullshit Mr Sholmes’.

(But never like that, obviously)

Susato’s as into snakes (and maybe other herps) as I am and seems to keep a book on them in her sleeve library. Susato, you are amazing!

Herlock’s batting it away by saying that Nikolina could have used something else to entice the snake, but I feel like Susato’s got more coming.

“Do the developers of Ace Attorney know snaked don’t have ears?” I ask. 

“Not only do we know but it’s going to be a plot point” they reply!

I should never have doubted you guys!

Susato, are you going to tell him or should I?

Yeah...

Oh no! Look at his eyes!

We broke his heart and in return he’s coming for snakes!

(Ok I genuinely laughed out loud)

STOP, STOP, HE’S ALREADY DEAD!!!

Wow, Capcom’s really gone all out with the snake facts for this case!

(Herlock please, I’m sitting with my family, they’re starting to look at me funny because I’m laughing at my murder game)

W-we broke him!

OK, DANCE OF DEDUCTION 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO IS A GO!!!

(Also, I am digging Susato’s determined eyebrows)

Ok, so first things first, lets have a look at that thing on the back of her hand.

Looks like another point for the tabby cat theory!

Ok then, lets see what Nikolina was looking at then. It can’t be the Biff Sronkenof, unless he’s got the cat behind his back, so it must be something near him.

Wait a second... there’s a photograph behind this teapot...

Ryunosuke, Susato, Herlock, come over here for a second and look me in the eyes.

Was this picture always here, just out of my line of sight?

I’m not mad, I just want to know.

Good news: there’s a cat (hooray)

Bad news: it’s not a tabby cat, so my tabby tail theory lies in tatters upon the floor.

Lest just all take a moment to enjoy the phrase little kitten as it appears when I hover over the cat.

Also, hold up! That bell thing on its neck! That could be half of the mysterious pink thing found on the floor!

More importantly we have a name for the kitten: Darka!

Love you Darka!

So, Darka is a Russian Blue, which (if we couldn’t see it already) confirms that my tabby tail theory is now 6ft under.

I’ll tell you what does though, that thing in Nikolina’s pocket! I wonder if it’s some sort of tie or something Darka’s found to play with?

Better yet, it’s a cat toy! Something that’ll apparently not that big in Japan at the moment, going by Ryunosuke’s apparent confusion.

Doesn’t it just!

(Ryunosuke and I should hang out)

Ok so it seems that (probably due to being periodically locked in a trunk) Darka ate her food and then scratched Nikolina and climbed up the bell pull and through the vent to freedom. Then to try and get her back, Nikolina waved the cat toy through the vent, which was the ‘speckled band’ Kazuma saw.

I wonder if the whistling was her trying to get Darka’s attention?

Ok, now that that’s sorted out, it’s time to inform Herlock that Kazuma wasn’t poisoned.

(And maybe also that that snake doesn’t have fangs)

Don’t lie to us Herlock...

You know, I’m really not sure where this is going to be honest.

It feels like the evidence is leading us further and further away from how Kazuma was killed. I guess Darka could have jumped onto his head, but given how this case has been about snakes so far, I can’t buy that that could even make a dent in Kazuma’s neck, let alone kill him.

Like, I’ve spent my entire life around cats and I’ve been everything from a springboard to a landing pad. I might buy that my family’s largest cat could break my neck if he fell on me with a one in a million shot, but Darka’s a little kitten!

Anyways, lets have a look at Darka’s bell thing and hope that we’ll work this out somehow.

You know, I hadn’t thought of that, but it is a possibility. Landing on your head or the back of your neck can kill someone, but I’m not sure you could get a proper angle on a flat floor like this.

Perhaps if he hit the desk or something on the way down? But then again, I’m not sure how a little kitten could cause someone like Kazuma to fall over?

Perhaps if he tripped over it? That doesn’t seem very likely though, and it still doesn’t explain the writing on the floor.

Oh thank god, I’m not barking up the wrong tree with my worries.

Ok, so we’re focusing on the mark on the floor rather than the cat bell thing right now.

It seems like Herlock has a small forensics kit on him, and that’s what he used to analyse the shoe polish. Hosonaga, try and nab him on the way back, see if you can get a copy of his kit posted to you.

Right, lets have a look at what Nikolina’s hiding on her desk then. Maybe the other half of Darka’s bell?

Yes!

Oh Nikolina, please don’t try and pretend, we can see it on Darka in that photo you gave us.

But wait, if that is what killed Kazuma, who left the Russian writing? It still feels too premeditated to be Nikolina, and it definitely wasn’t Darka.

Well I guess we’re about to find out.

So, just after 1, Nikolina gave Darka some food. This means that she must have come onboard much earlier than I’d thought, which means that there’s now no explanation for the gap in the ships log.

Actually, I wonder if Strogenov came upon Kazuma, and fabricated things to protect Nikolina? He has been looking out for her, and he would be in the perfect position to both press the alarm, and know that it would cause the bolt to slide shut.

Yeah, that’s true. And she has been spending her time being periodically locked in a case.

Anyway the next bit we know. Darka scratched Nikolina and ran away, disappearing through the vent.

Meanwhile Nikolina, who has been listening for any signs of life coming from next door, comes to the conclusion that whoever’s there must be asleep and dangles the cat toy through the vent, and then, when that didn’t work, she tried whistling. Then, just as she decided to wait, she heard the sound of Kazuma tripping over Darka.

Hang about though... Kazuma’s diary says that the whistling came first. Did Nikolina just get the order wrong, or is she still not being entirely honest with us?

Hmm... that’s as may be, but Nikolina (or someone else) must have gone next door though. Otherwise how else did the bell get into Nikolina’s bin?

Nikolina says that she eventually lured Darka back through the vent, and that she didn’t tell anything what happened last night because she was too scared.

To be honest I’m only about 50% sure I believe her.

I’m also becoming more and more convinced Strogenov’s covering for her. If she did go next door I’d imagine he told her to not mention the fact.

Oh yeah, the snake!

Good catch Ryunosuke!

It’s Biffs friend!!!

Biff you’re alright!

(Wait a minute, was that mouse trap in the hall a way of getting food for him?)

Hosonaga: So when I break the rules I get shipped out to England and beaten to a pulp, but when Strogenov does it no one bats an eye!

Yes Hosonaga, because unfortunately life isn’t fare.

(Also Biff Strogenov hasn’t decided to shoot for a dead man’s position as my favourite character, so arguably you’ve got away with more)

Who’s he going to pick Ryunosuke? The captain? Please we’ve already established he’s the worst.

I knew it! I might not be good at guessing killers, but I can sure spot a snake related plot point!

I must say, despite framing me for murder to guard a fifteen year old, I’m really beginning to warm to Strogenov!

(Where’d my crown go? I know I had it a while ago because I put it smugly on my head the second the door bolted itself?)

Oh poor Herlock, you’ve had a really hard day haven’t you bud?

(And on that note, I’m going to have to go do some course work, I guess we’ll work out what’s up with the writing next time)

[nomoregoldfish]

I Promised You The Moon rant

Just binged it and this was from the episode by episode reaction/discussion with my partner in crime @glossyboy.

First of all, Oab stole the show, singlehandedly, which he's not supposed to. I don't think anyone expected it including himself. In the very top post when I searched his name on tumblr, he said this lol

But the truth is he played one hell of "villain" that required a very nuanced performance and he delivered it in a believable and graceful manner. Jai became the catalyst of the entire season and his rather complicated relationship with Teh was the highlight of part 2.

EP 1

From the very beginning it's clear that part 2 is very much a Teh's story rather than a balanced story about two young people's journey as a couple in the next chapter of their lives. It makes me uncomfortable they made Oh-aew clingy and pessimistic without giving him any character development.

The best part is probably the opening scene where they went paper-rock-scissors to decide who's gonna buy condoms. It felt authentic, the expectation, the hesitation, the mischievous act, all fits their characters well. Other times ep 1 was more like two adult kids playing house, literally in an empty giant ass upper middle class apartment.

EP 2

It's great that they poked the femininity vs. masculinity issue through Oh-aew, but stopped right there at the surface. Missed a perfect opportunity to go head-to-head with the controversial topic, start a debate, crush the stigma of femininity, bring something new, be a real game changer of the BL genre, and most importantly give Oh-aew some concrete character development. Part 1 showed us a gay character that's very comfortable with his sexuality and femininity, that's almost revolutionary in Asia, not as a comic relief but a leading role. Oh-aew questioned his own sexual identity once in that bra wearing scene, it's straight out of comfort zone, BOLD, and transgressive. So I expected more from part 2.

That's it? And they're already sophomores? Can't believe Oh-aew's character has been marginalized like this. It's pathetic.

But I love the brutally honest conversation at the end where Teh vented his rage and despair regarding his frustration of acting. He was acting like a dick because he's disappointed, and scared. Teh again was not afraid of showing vulnerability, making the reconciliation very realistic and touching.

EP 3

Dare I say I freaking love ep 3! The unresolved (partially sexual, but not entirely) tension between Teh and Jai was over the roof! And the built-up to their kiss was very authentic, which paled Teh and Oh-aew's much sidelined storyline, including the long anticipated sex scene (still can't believe it happened right after Jai explicitly instructed Teh to do it after the two spent a whole night bonding, like wow! Totally TRANSGRESSIVE and to some extent, kinky.) Teh looked up to the senior, idolized him, wanted to be good for him and make him proud, thirsted for the validation from him, which was mixed with affections. The workshop diary was a brilliant idea to let them open up to each other and eventually bring them close. This was what a meaningful arc of a story looked like. By contrast, there isn't a single moment between Oh-aew and Teh in part 2 that made me go "Damn it's soooooo hot!"

I know Jai/Teh wasn't the endgame but I appreciate the storyline so much. It's a very bold move considering it broke the over-glorified "one true love in one's life" fantasy of its target audience, mostly young cis women. The popular narrative of "you can only love one person through your life/one true love" in romance fictions/chick flicks was totally smashed. And it wasn't written just to stir up things between Teh and Oh-aew, it wasn't a silly fling. Instead, it's meaningful, complicated, natural, and realistic, delivered by nuanced and excellent acting from two young actors. It's hilarious that fans hate Jai with a passion and call him names.

And big news, Jai is bi?! Bravo! He's radiating bi vibes since his first appearance.

I kind of gave up at this point, the season wouldn't do Oh-aew any justice. Like my partner in crime pointed out, the costume design literally threw some "incongruous female fashion pieces" on Oh-aew, made him dye his hair red, without...making any actual point of his personality or his character development. Wardrobe was supposed to make a point in storytelling. Yes, PP wearing pink is cute, and? There's nothing else for Oh-aew. Unfortunately he's reduced to this sulky, crying, and wronged partner in a failing relationship.

EP 4

Oab again was killing it. The tension between Jai and Teh...from the rehearsal in front of Oh-aew to the dressing room pep talk, was incredibly intense and hot AF.

Was it a manipulative relationship after all? Oab was so good at conveying a character with many faces. Jai's a mentor to Teh, also a good friend, their relationship was genuine. He's also ambitious with his own goals, he used, challenged, provoked Teh in a way that benefited them both. It made sense the title of part 2, I Promised You The Moon, was from Jai's script. He promised Teh what the junior wanted the most, a bright future in acting. Teh's unconventional and unspoken feelings for Jai was the best part of the entire season in terms of creative writing, it's complicated, fragile, delicate and completely heartbreaking.

The after talk in the hallway was so well-written. It's funny (Teh joking about playwrights always write about their EXs is gold), intimate yet meticulously controlled, no one lashed out or wept. Both knew what they signed up for and Jai particularly made it clear about his motive and the purpose of the "special workshop" beforehand (or right away.) Yet it's no one's fault that Teh got carried away. He's younger, he's immature, he's more into it, it's totally natural. It's so romantic when Teh's singing karaoke in the bar with Oh-aew, yet he couldn't help but desperately staring at Jai on the floor, knowing he and the man who just turned him down were never gonna happen, they were done, but he's still madly attracted to him and his talent. He fancied Jai, at least the idea of Jai, a playwright, a director, someone knew him better than himself. That hurt beautifully.

EP 5

Teh/Oh-aew endgame at this point was pretty meaningless. Oh-aew as a leading character never got any solid character development over a span of four years. What happened between Jai and Teh wasn't just "cheating", though they surely made it look that way, like Teh's empty promise of "I won't see him again after the show ends". No matter how Oh-aew and Teh eventually reconciled, there's no emotional connection, no sparkle anymore between the couple.

But I knew for a fact they had to. Otherwise it's too much of a risk financially for the series. The creators had to take the easy way out like most traditional romances—one of the most contrived and formulaic trope where the male leading character made a mistake (usually cheating) and realized he's wrong, he deeply hurt the female leading character (Oh-aew was merely a girl substitute in part 2), then he completely changed for hell knew what reasons, started doing every nicest thing in the world to try to "win" the female character back. It has been feeding the emotionally-deprived cis female readers/audience who are frustrated with heterosexual relationship irl for decades. The formula that made romance outsell other genres of fictions combined in the 60s and 70s still sells today, under the name of boys' love. It's pathetic to see Oh-aew confess to Bas that he always "lost" to Teh. Love shouldn't be some kind of game or competition, there isn't winner or loser in love. Love is spontaneous. Oh-aew didn't lose because Teh developed feelings for someone else, and he didn't win when Teh begged him for reconciliation. People change, people move on.

And as predicted, they went for it. The ending was so absurd and tedious.

Overall, Jai's probably the hardest villain to play, he needed to be REALLY GOOD to be "the bad guy", to make his role conceivable. Oab absolutely nailed it with his talent and experience. He's not even my type or extremely good looking yet I'm 100% SOLD. I immediately re-watched the scene of him kissing Teh back hungrily at the end of ep 3 like I used to re-watch Teh/Oh-aew's steamy make out session at the end of episode 3 part 1. Coincidence?

I like some parts of both seasons for the same reason, each challenged and tried to break some outdated/contrived narratives in the BL genre. Part 1 took on the sexuality taboo by showing two same sex characters sexually attracted to each other, no more "I'm not into boys, I just happened to fall for someone of the same gender" or "pure love" bullshit. By staying true to the characters' sexuality and actually showing it with explicit, intense (and beautifully shot) scenes, the gay characters were normalized. They weren't just pure and innocent, no one was. And it created two of most unconventional gay characters in Asian pop culture, Oh-aew, a beautiful boy who's very comfortable with his own sexuality and femininity, not passive at all, taking initiative to pursue what he wanted; and Teh, a sensitive, caring and vulnerable boy who cried a lot, he's confused but also sweet and brave.

Part 2 tackled the "You can only love one person through your life" trope with a very nuanced story of "cheating". Yet neither carried out what they started. Part 1 fell short of a revolutionary piece that stayed true to "adolescent sexual turmoil", dismissing bisexuality and becoming a typical unrealistic BL fantasy in the end. And Part 2, ugh, forced a "happy ending" that almost no one digs. I understand it's extremely difficult and risky to disrupt the established norms of a genre. But sometimes being transgressive and progressive could be the same thing. A story, an artwork, has to challenge something in order to create something new and compelling.