#and then subsequent prizes* for the first for all separate characters

[fadewalking]

secretly i am playing a game with myself to see who will be the first to get smut from me this time around

[tellusd20]

Artwork by @hirodraga A campaign I started in June 2021 has finally concluded and this band of tomb robbers and grubby mercenaries archaeologists and brave adventurers have gone their separate ways at the end of their expedition. Starting from top left and then zig-zagging down to bottom right, here are their brief bios and character arc conclusions: Qiliq: orc ranger and party leader. Minor noble from the empire of Alamgir who got roped into a matter of family honor. His uncle, the patriarch of their family, had been disgraced and accused of cowardice. His uncle had subsequently undertaken an honor quest into a magical wasteland (the remnants of a collapsed civilization) with the promise of retrieving the crown of a long-dead tyrant as a trophy for the emperor. He disappeared instead, leaving Qiliq to both solve the mystery of his disappearance and to complete the quest. The party accomplished both objectives, recovering both his uncle's corpse and the crown. The tyrant's crown turned out to be a powerful, sentient magic item that began speaking to them in their dreams, preying on insecurities and tempting them into bargains. Almost all of them desired it for themselves, but in the end, Qiliq ended up possessing it. Instead of returning to Alamgir and presenting his emperor with a new prize, Qiliq turned to a conquistador path, using his newfound wealth from the expedition to hire more mercenaries and carve out his own bloody "kingdom" on the periphery of civilization.

Minerva: elven druid, common born retainer of a reactionary noble house in the elven empire of Melate. A spy inserted into the group to ensure that any elven artifacts recovered on the expedition were returned to their homeland. Over the course of the campaign, she made a bargain with the fey to betray her sponsors in favor of the empress for her own gain.

Minerva possessed the tyrant's crown when it was first obtained, but ended up trading it to Qiliq in exchange for a political marriage and a leadership position among the forces he intended to raise. She went on to conduct numerous atrocities in their conquest of a new 'kingdom'. Her player was aware that the lifespan difference between Qiliq and Minerva meant that the crown would pass back into her possession again within a few short decades, and she was fine with being patient.

Zerrus: tiefling warlock masquerading as a human sorcerer. A con artist, grifter, and criminal from Alamgir's lower classes, he misrepresented himself to acquire a spot on Qiliq's expedition and the opportunity to gain wealth, power, and most importantly, a way out of the country. During the course of the campaign, he somehow managed to keep his secrets. Zerrus liquidated his share of the expedition's treasure, purchased a townhome in the city of Aphursa (a bustling, Istanbul-style metropolis), and went on to invent the world's first multi-level marketing scheme.

Auden: human fighter, archaeologist from the kingdom of Talland. Marooned in the wasteland by the deaths of his prior party, Auden gratefully took the chance to join a new group after meeting them at a frontier outpost. Upon the conclusion of their adventure, Auden returned to his homeland and university, where he published numerous research papers on his findings. He became a highly sought subject matter expert on the wasteland; published tales of his adventures raised him to something of a minor celebrity and enabled him to found a profitable consulting service for other expeditions.

Aupo: orc, orthodox cleric from Alamgir's anti-magic Tathir religion. He signed up mostly to remove heretical and blasphemous artifacts from existence. His enthusiasm for the task often generated tension with the rest of the party, particularly when his hammer fell upon expensive relics. The crown never revealed its true nature to Aupo, and the rest of the party concealed the truth from him, knowing he would attempt to destroy it. He signed up with Qiliq's mercenary force, becoming a fanatical missionary in new lands.

Herwyg: human druid, archaeologist from the kingdom of Talland. Upon return to his homeland, he liquidated many of the mundane treasures but kept all the interesting pieces for his own collection. His research papers and artifact loans to museum exhibitions won him tenure and academic awards, as well as recognition from the royal government for his service to the kingdom's cultural prestige.

[agoraphobic-artist]

Kuro-Shit Haul (Late Sep.)

The merchandise shown in this post was all sourced from Japan and is related to the Public School Arc of the series.

Starting with the set of shikishi artboards produced by MOVIC.

I loved that the art shows each person in their representative formal attire for each house, as could be seen during the opening ceremony for the cricket tournament.

The character line-up is pretty much the same as with previous merch for this season: Sebastian and Ciel, followed by the P4 - and our bonus character of Soma.

Next up, a set from the musical rather than the anime.

The Secret of the Public School 2024 Musical were selling Enamel Keychains of the outfits and I absolutely fell in love with them!

(The only thing to keep in mind is that they are a magnet for dust and fingerprints!)

Again, the main six characters we have come to expect but with a bonus character of The Undertaker this time; not sure why he is in those clothes, especially as he doesn't have his mourning locket at this point in the story either but it still is a very nice piece of merchandise.

Next, is the 3rd Japanese release DVD for Season Four of the Kuro Anime.

We have Herman Greenhill and Gregory Violet gracing our outer case this time and the inner illustration is another landscape shot this time of the Thames River.

Included inside the case are:

Episodes 6, 7 and 8 on the Main Disc, A soundtrack Disc, Information booklet and mini pop-up illustration.

The Soundtrack disc is labelled Vol. 2; The Vol. 1 disc was included with the first boxed DVD.

As a side note, a full list of the 19 tracks can be found within the information guide.

Moving onto the guide, inside are a breakdown of the individual episodes, what appears to be an interview and a couple of promotional art pictures in the back.

And lastly, my favourite part of each DVD is the bonus mini Pop-up scene. This particular one is named "Afternoon Break".

Depicting the characters in the Swan Gazebo, Violet is sketching in the foreground, in the middle we have Ciel contemplating his next move.

... and in the background we can find Sebastian... in a tree...

The very last item, is a "Project-Black-Butler" Tea set!

The set includes a Boarding School Edition Cup and Saucer, manufactured by MOVIC in partnership with Aniplex.

Recently, Aniplex held an online lottery, in which the "A" Prizes were themed cups for each house and one relating to the Main characters.

If I had infinite Money and space, I would happily purchase and display all six, however I feel that this separate one encompasses all of the elements tastefully into one commemorative piece.

The teacups pattern begins with a cameo motif wrapped in striped ribbon, there are two fountain pens crafted into the design with a large font initialling the item as Black Butler.

Subsequently, as you work your way around the cup, each house is honoured by their respective flower bordered with more filigree.

The only thing worth mention, is that the gold sections are gritty, like a fine sandpaper to the touch and had left gold streaks on the inside of the box from production. As a decorative piece I am sure that this would cause no issue. However, if someone were handling this item excessively or using it to drink from I am not sure that the pattern would remain intact as it seems to be some sort of transfer as opposed to painted.

[tippenfunkaport]

Inspired by a recent poll, could you tell us a bit more about the software you use for writing and the advantages with it?

Thanks so much!

Can I keep this short is the question...

So, for anyone who didn’t see the post this is referring to, I mentioned on another post that the writing software I use is...

4TheWords for drafting (brainstorming, first draft, etc)

Scrivener for all subsequent stages (editing, formatting, etc)

ProWritingAid for a final look before I submit / post

Longer version (and, like, I could talk about this all day so feel free to ask follow ups but I will try to contain myself)

4TheWords is a fantasy RPG-ish writing game where the words you write defeat monsters, earn loot, complete quests, etc. I have been playing it for five years ish and the game-ification just works really well for my brain. Earning silly little prizes and moving the game plot along keeps me motivated to keep writing when otherwise I would be a useless slug so I do most of my early stage writing on there like drafting, brainstorming, journaling, etc. It is silly but I love it and it basically saved my writing life when I was in a huge slump so they have my undying devotion. The company is also the kind you feel very good about supporting and they are HUGELY queer friendly with a big yearly Pride event with many of the main in-game characters being queer and/or trans. (The closest the game has to main characters are a lesbian couple that just got married as part of the Valentine's Day event last month!)

It costs money but a) there is a 30 day free trial of you want to check it out and b) there is a community pool if you cannot afford the fee as well as frequent sales/deals. (If anyone wants to try it out, feel free to use my referral code when you sign up because then you’ll get some extra crystals and I can send you a welcome present of some loot! If the image link above is annoying, dm me and I will give you it via text for copy and paste.)

Scrivener is very robust writing software that I use for fiction, non-fiction and scriptwriting. I only rarely use it for first drafts (bc I use 4TW for that) but I do almost all my editing / rewriting / formatting / publishing in it. I have been using it for probably about a decade and am still finding new tools and features I didn’t realize it had. I absolutely swear by it. The learning curve can be steep but luckily it’s one of the most popular writing programs in the world so there are a TON of great tutorials out there. (My advice? Just watch a video of something like the top 5-10 features and then play around and look up stuff as you have questions instead of trying to do the whole long tutorial it comes with.)

Disclaimer that I only own the desktop version. There are mobile versions that are a separate purchase from the desktop version but I don't use them.

Biggest selling points of Scrivener to me are:

while many writing services have a monthly fee, Scrivener is purchased exactly once and you can use it for life on your laptop and desktop AND you can get 50% off that one time price with a NaNoWriMo winner code (this alone is enough to buy my loyalty for life)

it’s incredibly versatile for both plotting and publishing and works really for my writing process (which is, admittedly, chaotic and weird) and has near infinite customization. It's esp great for making story bibles, organizing research, and plotting out larger works with lots of cross references and chapters you need to rearrange

as a script writer, Scrivener only cost me a one time fee of $35 and includes all updates and bug fixes until the next major version (which happens like once a decade). FinalDraft is $250 and that only includes the current version (which changes about once a year) to do the same thing. That’s a no brainer to me.

ProWritingAid is editing software. Like Grammarly but MUCH more robust with a lot more reports you can run. It’s not replacement for a human editor (AI editing can only do so much) but I like it as a second pair of eyes before I post or submit something because it does catch a lot of the basics and makes me feel a little better about sending something out. There is a limited free version and the full version can be pricey if you pay the monthly fee but I bided my time until the lifetime subscription went on sale for 50% off and paid once and now I have it to use for life.

There. That was almost short, right?

[lidoshka]

I follow you on Deviant Art and I discovered my favorite Voltron fanfictions thanks to your fanarts. How did you find them? I loved, among the others, "Where the light doesn’t reach", "Eternal Night", Discordiansamba's ones and "Desideratum": do you have more suggestions? We could do an exchange of fanfiction reviews if you want. I like long, well-written stories with Keith as a main character, space worldbuilding and deep emotions. With the Galra Keith trope also.

 You started reading Voltron fics because of me? Really?! That’s really cool!

ヾ|*ﾟ∀ﾟ*|ﾉ

Ahh! Yeah, I totally agree, we need more fanfic recs… in the last few months I’ve been doing art for other fandoms, so I haven’t checked new fics, but I do have some I like here so I’ll start!

Now, I don’t think any of these fics is longer than Eternal Night, but they are still cool, I also added some info of what I remember from each fic:

cobbled glass by ShirosRedKnight (SweetFanfics) One of the first things Keith learns about himself is that he is different. AU where Keith was always part of the Blades of Marmora and the Paladin's of Voltron come looking for the Red Paladin.

[Keith is galra but looks human] [can’t remember any pairing]

It's A New Start Series by Darkscales In which Keith, raised Galra and forcibly drafted into Zarkon's army, escapes from the Empire and proceeds to steal (then subsequently become adopted by) the Red Lion.

[Keith is very galra] [can’t remember any pairing]

 your sharp and glorious thorn by arahir

To end the war they inherited, Keith marries the King he lead an army against

[Sheith] [mostly Keith POV] [Keith being galra but still human-looking]

 Collision Course by winterysomnium Keith gets adopted by the Galra empire rebellion, basically.

[Keith being galra but still human-looking]

 Secret of the Blood by exclamation AU version of season 2. When Keith and Shiro were thrown from the wormhole, they crashed by the Blade of Marmora headquarters and were captured. When the Blade reveal the secret of Keith's heritage, Keith must decide if he can trust these people... and if he can trust himself.

[Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 The Blade of Memory by exclamation (ß same author as previous one!) Kan has no memory of his life before he was found injured and adrift by the Blade of Marmora. When he comes across a slave that seems to be the same species as him, he decides to rescue him. But saving Matt broke a number of the Blade's rules and helping Matt further would mean going against Kolivan's orders.

[Keith angst…ish] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 hound by story_monger (is there any rec list that doesn’t include this one?? XD) Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there

[Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing] [Keith POV] [beign galra is not part of plot]

 baby, you're a dark star by Thesis When the Lions are separated from the castle, hurled out of the wormhole into distant corners of space, Pidge still finds Allura within an hour. Then Shiro, alone, injured, delirious, asking if they've found Keith yet. They force him into the healing pods and get back to searching. They find Lance, they find Hunk. But they don't find Keith for sixteen months. And now that they have, Shiro is starting to think - maybe he didn't want to be found.

[Sheith] [Keith is galra but looks human]

 Insomnia by GriffinRose They reunite after the Wormhole Incident all in one piece. Mostly. But some scars can't be seen. Keith can't sleep, no matter how hard he tries.

[mostly Keith POV] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it?]

 nothing can breathe in space by idrilka The truth is: what Keith wants or doesn’t want won’t bring Shiro back. The truth is: nothing can breathe in space. (Or: the story of how Keith and Shiro come together, come apart, and come together again.)

[Sheith] [Keith angst] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it?]

 The Heat Was Hot and the Ground Was Dry by justheretobreakthings A glimpse into Keith's year living in a shack in the desert.

[Keith POV] [Keith angst…ish] [has a Spotify list on the last chapter] [can’t remember any pairing]

 Small Heart, Made of Steel by inkfishie The fight with Zarkon, the battle with the Galra fleet, the crash; It came back in small measures. Keith finds himself stranded and alone.

[mostly Keith POV] [Keith angst] [survival stuff] [being galra is not part of plot]

 For Everything a Reason by flyingisland

In Keith's life, the only true absolute was that everyone would always leave in the end.

[Sheith] [very Keith angst] [Keith POV]

 these old bones by achievingelysium

He’s always been fascinated with dinosaurs. Keith isn’t entirely sure why—maybe it’s because their footprints are still here, even after so long. Maybe he’s hearing the echoes of history calling for him. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because he sees himself in those old bones. A Keith character study told in three parts.

[Keith angst…ish] [can’t remember any pairing] [being galra is not part of plot..or was it???]

 The Long Way Back by fio As a gladiator, and now Champion, Shiro has given up hope of ever returning to Earth. But when his captors deliver his 'prize'—an omega, a descendant of both Galran and Altean blood used by the Galra to breed with the strongest aliens they capture—he's offered a chance to escape. There's just one catch: Shiro has to get him pregnant to do it. [Sheith] [it’s 40k words] [smut but I can’t remember in which chapter] [Keith is very galra]

 The Faeries' Midwife by zjofierose the line between dream and nightmare, between asleep and awake, has always been a hazy one for Keith. Voltron makes it all that much worse.

[short] [Keith angst] [can’t remember any pairing]

 Sands and Stars by Neyasochi Keith’s no stranger to shit going sideways, but mistakenly assaulting and robbing a crown prince is definitely the peak misfortune of his considerable criminal career. Suddenly in the custody of the royal guard and slated for a swift and unceremonious execution, he figures his short life is over. Imminently. But then Prince Takashi offers him an alternative.

Part 1 of the Bond and Blade Series

[Sheith] [slow, slow burn] [mostly Keith POV] [Keith is galra but looks human] [It’s medieval!au-ish babe!]

 familiar voices and careful hands by bobtheacorn Keith hesitates, then lifts a hand to pat Hunk's arm. It's awkward returning the comforting gesture, but it seems to help Hunk calm down so Keith is glad that he does it. He keeps reaping the rewards of reaching out to the people he cares about, even if small things are the only ones he can manage right now, and he can't help feeling grateful.

[can’t remember any pairing] [team bonding] [keith angst…ish]

 i never meant (i only wanted) by ADyingFlower It's a lot farther to Arizona from Washington D.C. than he thought it would be. The sun beats down on his scalp and dark clothes as he travels the roads of national highways, occasionally trying to hitchhike when he could. Not often, though. His soles burn into his feet, but he doesn’t dare stop.

[Keith POV] [Keith angst] [being galra is not part of plot…or was it???]

+

Well, that’s my fav ones about Keith... I didn’t add any WIPS nor any of Discordiansambas’ cause you know those ones already, but just like you I also like long stories with lots of worldbuilding, angsty stories... I love stories where they explore what being a galra hybrid means to Keith!

[bopinion]

Book of the month / 2021 / 04 April

I love books. Even though I hardly read any. Because my library is more like a collection of tomes, coffee-table books, limited editions... in short: books in which not "only" the content counts, but also the editorial performance, the presentation, the curating of the topic - the book as a total work of art itself.

björk :archives. A retrospective

Klaus Biesenbach

Monograph / 2015 / Schirmer/Mosel Publishing House

Iceland, the land of geysers, the largest volcanic island on the planet. Home of the Icelandic pony with its exclusive gait of the tölt and the most active literary community in the world. Soccer mecca and most sparsely populated country in Europe. Icelandic names - for example the highest mountain Hvannadalshnúkur - are hardly pronounceable, although the alphabet does not even know many common letters such as C, W, Q and Z. There is a separate holiday for seafarers and a division of time into 3-hour periods starting at midnight. 16 German cities each have more inhabitants than all of Iceland, which has therefore its own dating app to prevent relatives who are biologically too close from mating. It's a fascinating country.

Given the size of the country, it's probably no wonder that Iceland's pop cultural influence internationally is rather limited. Despite the Nobel Prize for Literature winner Halldór Laxness, whose work I don't know, and the crime series The Valhalla Murderers, which I know thanks to Netflix. But wait - wasn't there something else? Yes, that's right, Iceland has a globally successful Gesamtkunstwerk named Björk. Her contributions to music, video, film, fashion and art have influenced a generation worldwide.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir, born in Reykjavík in 1965, has made a name for herself as a singer, music producer, composer, songwriter and actress with a broad interest in different types of music, including pop music, electronic music, trip-hop, alternative rock, jazz, folk music and classical music. To date, she has sold over 20 million albums worldwide. Certainly not only because of the seemingly endless variability of her compositions, but also because of her voice, which one can confidently call unmistakable. She causes goose bumps, whether you like her music or not.

Little Björk attended music school at the age of five and was taught singing, piano and flute, among other things, for ten years. One of the teachers sent a recording of her singing the song "I Love To Love" by Tina Charles to a radio station. The broadcast was heard and liked by an employee of the Icelandic record publisher Fálkinn and subsequently offered her a recording contract - when she was eleven years old. With the help of her stepfather, who played guitar, she recorded her first album. It contained various Icelandic children's songs and cover versions of popular titles, such as "Fool on the Hill" by the Beatles. The album became a great national success.

At 14, Björk formed the girl punk group Spit and Snot, the maximum contrast program to the children's songs. This was followed by the fusion jazz group Exodus, later Tappi Tíkarrass and Kukl (Icelandic for witchcraft), with whom she developed her signature vocal style. First foreign tours to England and West Berlin followed. Then in 1986 came the formation of the band Pukl, later renamed The Sugarcubes. The first single brought respectable success in England and USA, The Sugarcubes reached cult status. The first record deal with Elektra Records led to the album "Life's too good" in 1988, making them the first Icelandic band ever to become world famous.

The transformation into a total work of art began in 1992 at the latest with Björk's move to London. The first solo album, appropriately named "Debut," became the album of the year according to New Musical Express. Now even Madonna wanted to have a whole album written by Björk, but it remained with the title track "Bedtime Story", she remained true to herself and her love of experimentation. The New York based news magazine "Time" named her the "high priestess of art" and in 2015 put her on the list of the 100 most influential people on earth. She rounded off her visual extravaganza, that even her wardrobe was prominently featured in the major retrospective at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).

Schirmer/Mosel Verlag is an art book publisher in Munich founded in 1974 by Lothar Schirmer and the commercial artist Erik Mosel. Schirmer became friends with artists such as Cy Twombly and Joseph Beuys at a young age and began collecting their works. By buying and reselling art prints and drawings, he earned the start-up capital for his publishing house. With his publishing debut, he ensured the rediscovery of August Sander, a visual artist of the Weimar Republic. There were various publishing collaborations with the MoMA, and in 2015 there was also the retrospective mentioned above. And of course, in keeping with the protagonist, the publication had to become a work of art itself.

"björk :archives" comes in an elegant slipcase containing six parts: four booklets, a paperback and a folded catalogue raisonné poster with the covers of all Björk albums. A closer look is worthwhile: first there is a thematic introduction by the editor and exhibition curator at the MoMA, Klaus Biesenbach. Then an illustrated essay by Alex Ross, music critic of the New Yorker, which deals with Björk's creative dissolution of musical and aesthetic boundaries. Another by Nicola Dibben, professor of musicology at the University of Sheffield, on Björk's creativity and collaborations. And the collected e-mail correspondence similar to a pen pal relationship between Björk and American publicist, philosopher and literary scholar Timothy Morton.

The book itself, the centerpiece of the edition, is about Björk's seven major albums and the characters she created for them. Poetic texts by Icelandic author Sjón, with whom Björk has long collaborated, are joined by a veritable treasure trove of illustrations: Photos of live performances, stills from the music videos of masters like Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze, Björk in stunning costumes by designers like Hussein Chalayan or Alexander McQueen, and PR shots by star photographers like the duo Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin or provocateur Araki.

The design of the publication quotes music scores and comes from the renowned Parisian design studio M/M. It all adds up to an extraordinary visual masterpiece, a tribute to the magical world of Björk. And that at an hardly believable price of € 19.80. A reviewer on Amazon (no, you shouldn't shop there - support local businesses!) sums it up: "This is a collection of art, stories and references very well organized and assembled with care. The price does absolutely not represent how valuable this product is, I am positively surprised." Positively surprising - that could truly be Björk's mission statement.

Björk's music itself is so rich in pictorial statements that it doesn't really need any exuberantly creative videos to go with it. Therefore, according to Slant Magazine, her best video is her first, relatively simple one: "Big Time sensuality" from her "Debut" album purely shows her joy in music. Here's the link:

https://youtu.be/-wYmq2Vz5yM

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of James Garner who Died: July 19, 2014  in Los Angeles, California

Garner was born James Scott Bumgarner on April 7, 1928 in Denver, Oklahoma (now a part of Norman, Oklahoma). His parents were Weldon Warren Bumgarner, a widower, and Mildred Scott (Meek), who died five years after his birth. His older brothers were Jack Garner (1926–2011) and Charles Bumgarner (1924-1984), a school administrator. His family was Methodist. After their mother's death, Garner and his brothers were sent to live with relatives. Garner was reunited with his family in 1934, when Weldon remarried.

Garner's father remarried several times. Garner came to hate one of his stepmothers, Wilma, who beat all three boys (especially him). He said that his stepmother also punished him by forcing him to wear a dress in public. When he was 14 years old, he fought with her, knocking her down and choking her to keep her from killing him in retaliation. She left the family and never returned. His brother Jack later commented, "She was a damn no-good woman". Garner's last stepmother was Grace, whom he said he loved and called "Mama Grace", and felt that she was more of a mother to him than anyone else had been.

After the war, Garner joined his father in Los Angeles and enrolled at Hollywood High School, where he was voted the most popular student. A high school gym teacher recommended him for a job modeling Jantzen bathing suits. It paid well ($25 an hour), but in his first interview for the Archives of American Television, he said he hated modeling; he soon quit and returned to Norman. He played football and basketball at Norman High School, and competed on the track and golf teams. However, he dropped out in his senior year. In a 1976 Good Housekeeping magazine interview, he admitted, "I was a terrible student and I never actually graduated from high school, but I got my diploma in the Army."

Shortly after his father's marriage to Wilma broke up, his father moved to Los Angeles, leaving Garner and his brothers in Norman. After working at several jobs he disliked, Garner worked as a merchant mariner in the United States Merchant Marine at age 16 near the end of World War II. He liked the work and his shipmates, but he suffered from chronic seasickness.

Garner enlisted in the California Army National Guard, serving his first 7 months in California. He then went to Korea for 14 months, as a rifleman in the 5th Regimental Combat Team during the Korean War, then part of the 24th Infantry Division. He was wounded twice, first in the face and hand by shrapnel from a mortar round, and the second time in the buttocks from friendly fire from U.S. fighter jets as he dived into a foxhole. Garner received the Purple Heart in Korea for the first wound. He qualified for a second Purple Heart (eligibility requirement: "As the result of friendly fire while actively engaging the enemy"), but he did not actually receive it until 1983, 32 years after the event.

In 1954, Paul Gregory, a friend whom Garner had met while attending Hollywood High School, persuaded Garner to take a nonspeaking role in the Broadway production of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, where he was able to study Henry Fonda night after night. During the week of Garner's death, TCM broadcast most of his movies, introduced by Robert Osborne, who said that Fonda's gentle, sincere persona rubbed off on Garner, greatly to Garner's benefit.

Garner subsequently moved to television commercials and eventually to television roles. In 1955, Garner was considered for the lead role in the Western series Cheyenne, but that role went to Clint Walker because the casting director could not reach Garner in time (according to Garner's autobiography). Garner wound up playing an Army officer in the 1955 Cheyenne pilot titled "Mountain Fortress." His first film appearances were in The Girl He Left Behind and Toward the Unknown in 1956.

In 1957, he had a supporting role in the TV anthology series episode on Conflict entitled "Man from 1997," portraying Maureen (Gloria Talbott)'s brother "Red"; the show stars Jacques Sernas as Johnny Vlakos and Charlie Ruggles as elderly Mr. Boyne, a librarian from 1997, and involved a 1997 Almanac that was mistakenly left in the past by Boyne and found by Johnny in a bookstore. The series' producer Roy Huggins noted in his Archive of American Television interview that he subsequently cast Garner as the lead in Maverick due to his comedic facial expressions while playing scenes in "Man from 1997" that were not originally written to be comical. He changed his last name from Bumgarner to Garner after the studio had credited him as "James Garner" without permission. He then legally changed it upon the birth of his first child, when he decided she had too many names.

Nominated for 15 Emmy Awards during his television career, Garner received the award in 1977 as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series (The Rockford Files) and in 1987 as executive producer of Promise. For his contribution to the film and television industry, Garner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1990, he was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He was also inducted into the Television Hall of Fame that same year. In February 2005, he received the Screen Actors Guild's Lifetime Achievement Award. He was also nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role that year, for The Notebook. When Morgan Freeman won that prize for his work in Million Dollar Baby, Freeman led the audience in a sing-along of the original Maverick theme song, written by David Buttolph and Paul Francis Webster.

Garner was a strong Democratic Party supporter. From 1982, Garner gave at least $29,000 to Federal campaigns, of which over $24,000 was to Democratic Party candidates, including Dennis Kucinich (for Congress in 2002), Dick Gephardt, John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, and various Democratic committees and groups.

On August 28, 1963, Garner was one of several celebrities to join Martin Luther King Jr. in the "March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom". In his autobiography, Garner recalled sitting in the third row listening to King's "I Have a Dream" speech.

For his role in the 1985 CBS miniseries Space, the character's party affiliation was changed from Republican as in the book to reflect Garner's personal views. Garner said, "My wife would leave me if I played a Republican."

There was an effort by California Democratic party leaders, led by state Senator Herschel Rosenthal, to persuade Garner to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of California in the 1990 election. However, future United States Senator and former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein received the nomination instead, losing to Republican Pete Wilson in the election

Garner was married to Lois Josephine Fleischman Clarke, whom he met at a party in 1956. They married 14 days later on August 17, 1956. "We went to dinner every night for 14 nights. I was just absolutely nuts about her. I spent $77 on our honeymoon, and it about broke me." According to Garner, "Marriage is like the Army; everyone complains, but you'd be surprised at the large number of people who re-enlist." His wife was Jewish.

When Garner and Clarke married, her daughter Kim from a previous marriage was seven years old and recovering from polio. Garner had one daughter with Lois: Greta "Gigi" Garner. In an interview in Good Housekeeping with Garner, his wife, and two daughters, conducted at their home, and published in March 1976, Gigi's age was given as 18 and Kim's as 27.

In 1970, Garner and his wife briefly lived separately for three months. In late 1979, Garner again separated from his wife (around the time The Rockford Files stopped filming), splitting his time between living in Canada and "a rented house in the Valley". The two resumed living together in September 1981, and remained married for the rest of his life. Garner said that the separations were not caused by marital problems, instead stating that he simply needed to spend time alone in order to recover from the stress of acting. Garner died less than a month before their 58th wedding anniversary.

Garner's knees became a chronic problem during the filming of The Rockford Files in the 1970s, with "six or seven knee operations during that time". In 2000, he underwent knee replacement surgery for both of them.

On April 22, 1988, Garner had quintuple bypass heart surgery. Though he recovered rapidly, he was advised to stop smoking. Garner quit smoking 17 years later.

Garner underwent surgery on May 11, 2008, following a severe stroke he had suffered two days earlier. His prognosis was reported to be "very positive". Garner was a private and introverted man, according to family and friends, On July 19, 2014, police and rescue personnel were summoned to Garner's Los Angeles-area home, where they found the actor dead at the age of 86. He had suffered a "massive" heart attack caused by coronary artery disease. He had been in poor health since his stroke in 2008.

Longtime friends Tom Selleck (who worked with Garner on The Rockford Files), Sally Field (who worked with Garner in Murphy's Romance) and Clint Eastwood (who guest-starred with Garner on Maverick and starred in Space Cowboys) reflected on his death. Selleck said, "Jim was a mentor to me and a friend, and I will miss him." Field said, "My heart just broke. There are few people on this planet I have adored as much as Jimmy Garner. I cherish every moment I spent with him and relive them over and over in my head. He was a diamond." Eastwood said, "Garner opened the door for people like Steve McQueen and myself."

[fetch-d-popcorn]

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡

In this film, Chicago dough puncher Stacey (Vanessa Hudgens) is recuperating from her separation with some unacceptable fellow and making treats and cakes with old secondary school companion Kevin (Nick Sagar) and his little girl, Olivia (Alexa Adeosun), as Christmas draws near. Kevin subtly enters Stacey in a baking challenge, however, she says no when she's welcome to contend on the grounds that she's too unbending to even think about thinking about the abrupt change in plans. However, a bumping altercation with her ex drives her to make a splash, so she gets Kevin and Olivia and heads for contest central command in Belgravia. Very quickly, she runs into her precise twofold, Margaret (likewise Vanessa Hudgens), the duchess going to wed Belgravia's Prince Edward (Sam Palladio). The duchess seizes on the likeness as a chance for her to carry on with a couple of days as an ordinary young lady prior to settling down with the sovereign. She doesn't mind that she needs to wear T-shirts, influence an American intonation, or spend time with complete outsiders Kevin and Olivia. Stacey calculates a couple of days at the royal residence will be fun and consents to wear the conventional attire, pick up completing school stance, and put on a DIY British intonation, having been guaranteed that the ruler will be away during the switch. All around laid plans are overturned when the sovereign trenches his excursion to invest energy with his princess-to-be (really Stacey). The two fall head over heels, which is actually what occurs among Margaret and Kevin as she accepts average person living. Everything is uncovered when Margaret shows up at the prepare off to grant prizes and encounters her twofold before all.

The Princess Switch is a foamy diversion for families searching for idealist occasion admission. It's innocuous amusement in the shape of a Hallmark Channel film. Its subject could be printed inside a hello card: One's title is definitely less significant than what one's identity is. Its other comparatively shortsighted message is that individuals flash sincerely to various characteristics and attributes. Stacey's leader character feels unspontaneous and inflexible to her companion Kevin, while it appears to assume responsibility and minding to Edward. Kevin has never felt drawn to his secondary school companion Stacey yet falls frantically for the indistinguishable looking Margaret on the grounds that she appears to be all the more unique and brave. In this way, indeed, it takes various sorts.

Truly, I cherished these films. I'm actually truly adept at anticipating film plots and whenever Stacy first chanced upon Margaret, I in a split second realized how the film planned to cut off with respect to the friendships, however that wasn't the whole film. The whole film included two charming connections being framed, yet a steady challenge among Stacy and her chief adversary that elaborate harm, an entire redefinition of the jobs, and overall thought of the expression "princess," the experience of typical, ordinary exercises by the duchess as well as by the disconnected Edward, including some great rounds of Twister and simply unadulterated encounters with vagrants, a plan by the wicked steward to reveal what was really continuing, and a whole lot more! All the off-kilter, excellent, and heartfelt minutes this film had never neglected to keep a grin all over. I really adored this film and was so overjoyed to see a subsequent one had come out this year, despite the fact that I was confounded on how they could do a subsequent switch, which actually made the subsequent plot much more agreeable.

Eventually, I have nothing terrible to say about these films, other than Antonio obviously. The two of them put a new, one-of-a-kind turn on the "Parent Trap" figure of speech, with huge loads of jokes fit into both. I trust that in the wake of perusing this you would think about watching these motion pictures!

written by: HANNAH AGIR

[randombtsprincessa]

Bankshot

Author: Randombtsprincessa

Characters: Min Yoongi x Reader (2nd POV)

Words: 3.3k

Genre: Smut

Summary: Smut drabble for basketball player Yoongi because I’m weak. There’s a plot I swear.

Warning: Basketball player Yoongi, CUTE Yoongles, Giggly and blushing mess of Goongi because yeah, mentions of drunken sex, Yoongi is somewhat subby?, handjob, riding, fingering, protected sex.

A/N: This Yoongi is true to heart irl Yoongi. Fight me.

The senior league of BH basketball was one of the most prestigious, if not slightly overrated college competitions ever, in your opinion. It hosted a number of colleges, both big and small, challenging them into a championship that usually awarded the team with one giant trophy, a photo in the college and town newspaper and then…nada – except maybe something to add to a resume.

However, aside from your own apprehensions and less than pleasant thoughts on the subject, you dutifully went to support your team to each game, shouting and booing whenever necessary. It was a matter of pride, watching the red and white uniforms score a basket and the subsequent cheering.

You also went because if you didn’t, you would never hear the end of it from a certain Min Yoona. Not that she had any personal attachment to the game; it was more of a point of correlation. Her brother, Min Yoongi was the gem of the BH Basketball team and she always went to support her brother.

So, why did you have to go?

Well, because…

The team had won. Naturally, no one was very surprised. It was bound to happen, especially since the last ball had been passed to Yoongi and he had a perfect advantage.

Bank shot…his expertise…

You had dutifully sat next to Yoona as you watched her brother run across the gleaming wood, his shoes squeaking, adjusting his stance and then he was flying up. His powerful legs bent, lifting off and his arms shot straight forward, face intense as he, his team, the audience watched the ball sail, slicing through the air, missing an opponent’s fingers and slam into the backboard, before toppling right through the basket.

The crowd erupted.

Yoongi jumped again, his fist pumping in the air while his team swarmed around him. Hard slaps that echoed through the hall landed on his back and you politely followed Yoona, standing as she squealed loudly, bouncing in her boots.

“That was amazing, wasn’t it?” She asked later, leading you over to the after party, filled with the team and the opposition, celebrating together to show they had no hard feelings.

“Yeah, sure,” You spied a few members of the team hanging about, booze – duh – in their hands and some groupies – also, duh – hanging off of them.

“I can’t wait to see Yoongi, he was brilliant.” She squealed yet again and you turned a fond look at your friend. You slung an arm around her shoulder, squeezing slightly, “Let’s go find your brother.” You said, leading the way further in.

Once surrounded by the majority of the party, it wasn’t long before you and Yoona were separated. She was friends with a few other girls who (even though the maximum of them were old time conquests) were actually nice. You were on speaking terms with a few but you preferred hanging out with the team.

“Jungkook,” you called for the youngest, the only one unattached ironically – attention; his head swiveling in your direction. Baby teeth appeared in the front of his mouth as he gave you a beam. “Hey, I didn’t think you’d come.” He said.

“Yoona,” You explained and he nodded, taking a sip of his soda.

“She must be with Yoongi. Boy wouldn’t let any guy hover a mile near her.” He said, eyeing the crowd thoughtfully.

“What about you? Why aren’t you surrounded?” You asked.

He rolled his eyes. “Not all of us are like that, Y/N.” He confided, lowering his voice conspiratorially before looking at his glass. “I’m going to get another, you want one?”

He departed at the shake of your head, leaving you alone near the curtains as you pulled out your phone, scrolling through twitter and addressing a few social media notifications.

“And what are we doing alone?”

You had to flinch, looking about to see an uncomfortably familiar cheeky grin near about you. You looked back to the front quickly.

“Where’s your sister?” You asked instead.

He hummed, looking over the room before edging closer. “She’s about. I can’t keep an eye on her all the time.”

You scoffed. “Sure,”

Yoongi moved further into your private space. “She’s with Hoseok, Y/N. I left her in good hands and came to find you.” He dipped his head to your ear. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

You turned your head barely to look at him, placing a hand to push away. “You’re drunk, Min.”

He whined immediately. “Nope, haven’t touched a drink; don’t want you to give me that bullshit ‘drunk’ excuse again.”

You hissed, turning around to see if anybody heard him. “Can you be any louder?”

Yoongi gave you a glowing grin, sending your heart fluttering for a split second. “Of course I can,” he leaned in conspiratorially. “If I had my way, I’d be shouting about it.”

You stared at him critically for a long moment, long enough for one of his team members to yell over for him and with one last look at you and a ‘think about it’, he was gone.

You didn’t watch him leave, instead slumping against the wall, thinking back to how when you’d first been introduced to Min Yoongi, you’d never thought it would go like that.

Endearingly shy and adorable, Yoongi had been the only player on the team who hadn’t hit on you in the initial stages. He’d grinned genially when Yoona had introduced you two, shaking your hand, looking you over like brothers do their sister’s friends and that had been that.

Cut to the day of Yoona’s birthday party, all purple and pastels and you’d sorely been the only one who had found the sight of Yoongi is a purple cone hat hilarious instead of insulting to his manhood. You’d complimented him, squished his cheeks making him grip your wrists to pull away from your hands and he’d given you a look.

You were drunk, of course you were and maybe it was all in your head but Yoongi’s eyes had had that come hither darkness and soon enough the both of you were crashing through the doors of his bedroom, knocking more than a few things off their rightful places.

He’d pushed you onto the bed, tugged off your clothes and made you feel all sorts of way that even now had you pressing your thighs together, biting your lip and shifting gazes around. What was done in that bedroom could and should never reach his sister, just in case she blurted it out in front of their parents…or the entire college.

Of course, when you’d tried to make it out the room without disturbing a dozing Yoongi, he’d lifted his head, eyeing you concernedly. Concern that was ridiculous on his part; after all, you were just his younger sister’s friend.

So imagine your confusion and dawning awkwardness when Yoongi – slightly miffed from your stupid excuse of being too drunk to realize what you were doing with whom – had forwarded you a condition.

If he helped the team win three consecutive games, you’d agree to at least a date. You didn’t have to be a genius to know he meant a repeat of that night.

Maybe you were too drunk to realize your actions…because you agreed.

Or maybe it was the fact, that he was probably the best sex you’d ever had…

Or maybe Yoongi was cute…or whatever, you know…

Yoongi had won two games, each with the precise banks that he always used to his advantage. You had tried everything, hiding behind Yoona to publicly panicking.

Hiding behind Yoona was unsuccessful, seeing as Yoongi had casually spun a ball on his finger, whistling before yelling out a ‘Hey sis, hey there Y/N!”

You had cursed, avoiding Yoona’s questions about who you were hiding from because of course; it never occurred to her that it was Yoongi.

The next was when you’d hyperventilated and hid in the washrooms just after the second game, one where Yoongi, again lifted to the team shoulders had directly winked in your direction.

By god, he had scored another win tonight.

And he was going to collect the prize.

You stood to one side as the team filed out of the showers, steam following them along with mild chatter that usually is not associated with boys. A few glanced at you in passing, varying degrees of unbothered, mildly curious and blatant shock ranging through their faces as you sought the one you wanted.

Presently, Yoongi walked out as well, a simply white t-shirt covering his torso with jeans, a towel slung over his nape that he was rubbing his hair vigorously with.

“That’s bad for your scalp.” You noted drily, making him halt in his steps, his eyes roving over to yours.

“Y/N,” he frowned in confusion, looking about. “What are you doing here?”

You moved away from the wall towards him, “I wondered when you would collect your reward.” You crossed your arms across your chest.

“My reward,” his brow cleared, a giggle bubbling on his doll like lips. “You make me sound like some kid looking for candy.” He paused before reaching out, latching an arm around your waist and pulling you lightly to him. “Although; I do remember someone tasting better than candy,”

You bat at his chest, not pulling away however. “So, get on with it. I’m not going to wait forever.”

He let you go. “Patience, Y/N; It’s a date; I need to prepare something wow to impress you.” He pocketed his hands.

You tilted your head in acknowledgement before turning to walk away. You stopped near the corridor.

“You don’t need to go overboard to impress anyone Yoongi. Anybody would be lucky to date you.” You said, not looking at him and then vanishing from his sight.

Yoongi had seemed to have heard you. Within the week, you had a text from Yoongi, noting a date and time and a simple ‘dress casual’ for you to mull over. You had been careful to keep it from his sister, subtly asking him about what he had planned when all he did was just wink and ruffle his hair, acting too cute – a bit too cute.

So when you reached the lobby of your small apartment complex, his car already at the front, waiting for you; you were a little bit more that curious.

“I have something good planned, I promise.” He said, first thing, revving the engine and taking off, not uttering a word despite your best attempts.

“A…karaoke bar…?” You gave Yoongi your best side eye, watching his face flush crimson as he parked.

“Yep,” he replied, breezy even if the back of his neck probably burned. “I’m going to show you how it’s done. Prepare to bow down to a king.” He spread his arms in the cramped quarters of the front seat.

“I’m sure, cause’ I’ve never been to one of these.” You rolled your eyes, getting out after him.

You pressed Yoongi to the wall of your bedroom hallway, the small giggle that escaped him at the thud music to your ears; hands skimming over his torso while his lips returned to their place against yours. Your tongue slipped delicately past the seam, barely brushing inside as you drew a breathy moan from him.

This wasn’t in your plans. Bringing a man back to your place after the first date – no matter if you’ve already slept with him once – wasn’t something you partook in usually but this was a special occasion.

Yoongi’s eyes were screwed shut, a crowing sound escaping that doll like mouth as he hit a high note. The artist turned in their grave, weeping to their mothers but you smiled nonetheless, watching him with a hand covering it. You couldn’t let him see, he’d just be so smug.

Ok, so maybe Yoongi was cute.

Or maybe, you liked him as well…or whatever.

He finished the song with the grace of a Grammy winner, a flourish added to his bow while he eyed you wickedly as the scores counted.

He won – even with a singing voice that would’ve scared Lucifer – he was better than you. And that’s when you knew how the rest of your evening was about to go.

“Y/N, baby,” he whined, hands trying to grab at you as you left his mouth, your eyes drawing to where your hands were busy getting familiar with the map you’d traced once before. He allowed you to raise his shirt, warm palms against the cooler skin of his soft belly, the line of his sternum, the collarbones that were oh so sensitive and then off his head, landing in a pool at your feet.

You stepped back, lips dug in by teeth, looking at the sight Min Yoongi presented.

Newly bleached hair stood high, too pale skin painted delectable pink, soft bones visible in places. He was panting, his chest rising and falling quickly while his abs was tight in anticipation.

He was stunning and you swore you were going to make him yours.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked, hands fumbling with the steering of his car.

“You’re cute, that’s why,” You answered simply, watching him jerk in surprise before pouting.

“I’m not cute.”

There was a pause before you laughed. “Sure,” you stretched out a hand, a thumb swiping over his lips, parting them. “You are.”

Yoongi slowed the car, till it was sitting in a spot nearest the door – you wondered if it was subconscious. He looked at you, thumb still stroking over his skin with a vulnerability that had you cooing.

“Y/N,” he managed to breathe before you were reaching out for the key, turning off the engine and winking when he stuttered a little.

“Come with me.”

“What do you want Yoongi?” You queried, pressing against him again, everywhere. Your warmth seeped into him and he nearly buckled when you slipped out the button of his jeans.

“I…”

“Hmm?”

He trailed off completely, eyes wide and glazed. His jeans were soon slid off, leaving him to stand there in just his underwear, an almost painful looking bulge very obvious.

“Yoongi…do you want to go to the bedroom?” You prompted and all you got in reply was a whimper. You kissed the tip of his nose, intertwining your fingers to tug him to the door and through it, flinging it shut after his entry.

Your room was modest compared to his, no trophies or certificates decorating the walls and shelves but Yoongi didn’t seem to care about the room. His eyes were fixed solely on you as you led to the bed and with both hands on his shoulders, pressed him to sit.

“Y/N,” He muttered again.

“Yes, Yoongi,”

He shifted, squirming and you smoothed a hand across his head, tilting it up with a soft grip on his hair. “It hurts,” he said and you sighed at his adorable round face.

“Then let me help,” you sank down to the rug at the base of the bed, looking at the problem Yoongi was trying not to palm. “Do you want me to?”

“God yes,” Yoongi threw his head back. “I’ve wanted to do this again for so long, you have no idea.” He raised his hips, hands nearly ripping the underwear off of him. The glorious cock of Min Yoongi stood proud, curving just so at the very tip, head shiny from arousal and flushed deeply.

“Please help. Please touch me.” He whispered, prompting you to wrap a hand around him, right at the head, palm slicking in his lust as you ran over his skin, making the slide easier.

You awed at the image. Yoongi had his head still thrown back, throat working as he bit back groans, while a few slipped past, lewd and turning you on at the same time.

“Undress me, Yoongi.” You said and his eyes opened, meeting yours excitedly. He smiled when you gave a quick turn to your wrist in answer to the silent question and then his hands were on you, legs spreading further to accommodate both your movements.

Eagerly, he undid the halter tie of your top, letting it fall to bare your torso to him. He impatiently bent further to unzip the skirt, loose and blowy and you thanked your stars for the choice when it slid off easily, tossed in some unnamed corner of your room.

You returned to your task with gusto, feeling the atmosphere of the room, the tension seep into your skin, electrifying it as Yoongi wrapped a hand under your breast, flicking over your nipple. Another giggle escaped him, making you look up in confusion.

“What’s so funny?”

“This…just this; I’ve been dreaming about you naked with me ever since that night and like…wow, this is so much better when it’s sober.”

You rolled your eyes, stopping the hand job and getting to your feet. You towered over the man, his eyes once again looking up at you like you held every answer to his every question.

“Why don’t you get comfortable then? I want to ride you.” You said. Yoongi visibly gulped hands confident as he reached for the fabric of your panties, slipping them off your legs and almost reverently let them rest on the floor. He moved back till his legs were straight on the bed and you followed, crawling over to him before you reached into your nightstand for protection.

Throwing your knees on either side of him, your grabbed the headboard over his shoulders as he rolled the condom over his length and lined up with you, allowing you to sink on him, slowly, drawing out the torture for him as he let out – finally – a loud groan of pure pleasure. His eyes fell shut; mouth wide open and his body slumped, lying under you. His hands lay at your thighs, twitching once in a while as you rolled your hips.

Once again, the feeling of having Min Yoongi fill you blinded you. The stretch was perfection, the weight of him, each ridge and vein, everything was hand crafted to fit you. You cupped your own breasts, kneading them to accompany the spikes of pleasure that were supplied by the man below. You close your eyes, tweaking at the hardened buds and stroking over the sides of the sensitive flesh when you felt another hand right there.

Your labia parted, a thumb pressing hard to the nub of nerves that sparked another fire, even more intense. Your eyes flew open, to the man below you. His eyes were on you as well, watching with a hazy fire in his them as he bucked his hips to meet yours.

Slowly, taking all the incentive you could from his gaze, you began to move, your hips rising and crashing down on his.

A sheen of sweat soon collected on both of your bodies, tight coils of emotion knotting in your stomach, matching the harsh grasp he had on your hips, your ankles, wrists, wherever he managed to latch on you to anchor his own pleasure.

You didn’t know how long you continued your love making, exploding once on top of him, again with him next to you and another with his fingers buried deep inside your battered core, as his own bliss made him waddle to the bathroom to dispose of the evidence.

He returned quickly, joining you under the thick duvet with both arms wrapped around you.

“That was some date.” He sighed finally when the slam of a door outside made you both jump, the glow of intimacy jarred.

You waited as footsteps moved about, Yoongi pressed tight to your back and then…

“Y/N, are you in? Whose clothes…”

It was Yoona!

You turned to give Yoongi a shocked stare, his own blinking in contemplation as to how to handle the situation until it was too late because Yoona was quick to scream.

“OH MY GOD YOONGI!”

[gondorosi]

ASOIAF v/s GoT - Part 1: The  Disdain for Vulnerable Heroes

Book to screen adaptations are tricky as it is. Adapting high fantasy is even trickier as visual artistry quite often takes precedence over plot and characterization. It’s difficult to adequately portray complex morality, hard decisions and internal agony. Characters are often simplified and pared down to only a few most visually arresting characteristics (mighty king/queen, unbeatable warrior, mysterious magic person, wise-cracking smartass etc etc etc). Plotlines are reworked to make them non-controversial, consequences are ignored and the more difficult subplots are simply done away with. Such actions are common across adaptations, and GoT is no exception. 

The distancing of the show from the books started becoming significantly observable S5 onwards. At a certain pivotal point, the obvious heroic characters began to get pigeon-holed - the noble (Jon), the badass (Arya) and the conqueror (Dany). Crucial characters like Tyrion and Bran also began to lose all trappings of individual motives to dedicate themselves to a ‘greater cause’. Characters canonically unreliable and/or unfavourable such as Jorah, Sansa and Varys get painted in a far more positive light than they deserve. 

Of course, in Martin’s world the characters are far more layered and conflicted. And thus, to stick to the massively simplified (almost bastardized) show characterizations, D&D quite happily chunked off LARGE plot points essential to the main characters, in effect neutering everything that makes ASOIAF so fascinating to begin with.

Let’s first consider the two most obvious leader-heroes of the saga. Both Jon and Dany start out handicapped and subjugated in their own way, before quickly discovering that they have innate capabilities suppressed by their respective environments. Both of them find a role they are good at and use that role to accomplish something revolutionary. Both of them disregard the dangers posed by proponents of tradition and both of them are brought down or grievously hurt by those resistant to change. However, both of them are young. Both of them struggle with self-worth, purpose and identity. They’re two deeply traumatized young heroes who keep the truths of their hearts to themselves. However, the show begins to distance them from their vulnerability somewhere around the middle of its run. There’s a deliberate choice made to move away from complex characterization and focus only on heroics - whether its raining down fire from atop a dragon, or cleaving through enemies with a sword in hand. And while this makes for arresting and unforgettable visuals, you have to wonder why two such beautifully layered characters had to lose their tender facets to continue being badass heroes. 

Dany

No two ways about it - the show has done an exemplary job of building up Daenerys Targaryen the Queen and Conqueror (Season 8 exists only in the Upside Down). Her fiery nature, her courage and her incredible journey from a prized possession to a radical force commanding the very air around her. But before she earned all her titles, she was Dany - a quiet, observant and highly intelligent child who just just wanted to go home. The house with the red door is instrumental to Dany’s psyche as a person - and never mentioning it, or alluding to it takes away something vital from Dany’s story.

That was when they lived in Braavos, in the big house with the red door. Dany had her own room there, with a lemon tree outside her window. After Ser Willem had died, the servants had stolen what little money they had left, and soon after they had been put out of the big house. Dany had cried when the red door closed behind them forever.

All that Daenerys wanted back was the big house with the red door, the lemon tree outside her window, the childhood she had never known.

The red door features prominently in Dany’s thoughts, dreams and visions. To a young Dany, her name is as much a burden and a cage to her as the lack of a name is to Jon. He thirsts for the recognition and dignity of a true name, she dreams of the unfettered lightness of a life without the heavy legacy of her name.

It might sound contradictory, but for all that the show played up the power and near invincibility of the dragons, they skimmed over their ACTUAL importance to Dany’s entire Essos arc, and subsequently her identity. The show posits her as the Dragon Queen almost from the very beginning - whereas in the narrative of the books, it’s a realization she must come to after losing almost everything she’s fought for in Slaver’s Bay.

Remember who you are, Daenerys. The dragons know. Do you?

This line means much more in the context of Dany’s journey of self-realization than the show ever bothered to address. Through her entire arc Dany is struggling to place herself. She’s caught between the ‘Last Targaryen’ - the rightful ruler of Westeros set to take back the Throne stolen from her family by scheming enemies; and the Mother and Queen of the freed slaves of Slaver’s Bay who look to her to destroy a society which has progressed on the strength of broken bones of slaves. Beyond it all she is the Mother of Dragons - which brings all the boys to her yard. Dorne, fAegon, Victarion and Euron don’t give two hoots about the young girl who overturned the age old practice of slavery - they want her dragons. By the time she’s stumbling across the Dothraki Sea delirious, in pain and hallucinating, she knows not which of these three identities is who she truly is.

The door loomed before her, the red door, so close, so close, the hall was a blur around her, the cold receding behind. And now the stone was gone and she flew across the Dothraki sea, high and higher, the green rippling beneath, and all that lived and breathed fled in terror from the shadow of her wings.

That’s what the show misses. The crux of Daenerys Targaryen isn’t that she HAS dragons, it’s that she IS the dragon. The issue with this interpretation in the show is that to truly take Danerys being the last dragon to it’s intended narrative conclusion, you have to admit that her journey would not, and could not end with her becoming Queen of the 7K. The show turned her magic into a political prop which is entirely incongruous with the world-building elements established by Martin. ASOIAF’s magic doesn’t exist as a plaything and a tool for those desiring power. Magic exists to combat magic. Daenerys Targaryen is a conqueror, a queen and a rescuer but she is also more. (I could go on and on about Dany as the Last Dragon but that would be derailing the intent of this post.)

You are a queen, her bear said. In Westeros. “It is such a long way,” she complained. “I was tired, Jorah. I was weary of war. I wanted to rest, to laugh, to plant trees and see them grow. I am only a young girl.” 

This is not a Dany the show allows us to observe. The Daenerys Targaryen of the show is not allowed to be vulnerable or uncertain or crumble. She’s not allowed to question her purpose and path in the world. After all, how can the most powerful character in the show ever falter? This is where the show takes the easy way out of putting more emphasis on the visual extravaganza - dragons burning down ships and Emilia Clarke walking through flames unscathed are easy crowd pleasers. But these are also just surface level considerations of Dany’s power and importance. She isn’t who she is because she has dragons - she has her dragons because she is who she is. 

But a major point of contention is - who DOES she need to be? See, Dany has always known she’s ‘important’ - in the way political prisoners are important. In the beginning it’s only her family name which holds her value. Her gradual journey from being only symbolically important as a Targaryen, to owning her own narrative as herself is fraught with considerable internal turmoil. The identity Dany cherishes most is that of Mother. Choosing to free the slaves in Astapor and Yunkai is the first decision she takes as a player with power and resources, and this decision has NOTHING to do with her destiny as a Targaryen. You identify a hero by their choices - and it is in this moment, uninfluenced by magic, or a greater power, this young girl sees the horror in a long established custom and CHOOSES to fight it. I would anyway have been invested as Daenerys as a character - but that one action firmly placed her on a pedestal .

In spite of where her destiny may pull her she wants to retain her softer dreams, her yearning for an uncomplicated happiness. At the same time, she’s voluntarily taken on the burden of ruling in Mereen, despite the responsibility very clearly chaining her. At the end of ADWD, her fevered dreams seem to suggest that both her softness and her duty are pulling her away from her true destiny. Dany’s struggles with self revolve around choosing between her identities as the Dragon, the Mother and the Conqueror - I personally subscribe to the belief that Dany ‘finding herself’ would mean realising that her three identities are not separate, but feed into each other to create the Daenerys Targaryen she is meant to be.

The show puts the cart before the horse and ignores the reverberating impact of a piece of Old Valyria being reborn on the shores of the continent where the empire fell. Her trek through the Dothraki Sea once she escapes on Drogon’s back is such a crucial pivot point in her story - it is literally the point where the old Dany is being left behind for who she will ultimately need to become.

And saw her brother Rhaegar, mounted on a stallion as black as his armor. Fire glimmered red through the narrow eye slit of his helm. "The last dragon," Ser Jorah's voice whispered faintly. "The last, the last." Dany lifted his polished black visor. The face within was her own.

After that, for a long time, there was only the pain, the fire within her, and the whisperings of stars.

She woke to the taste of ashes.

The show does make it clear that Dany’s ultimate destiny lies in Westeros - but the Iron Throne can hardly be it. Why will the last dragon be so singularly focused on a crumbling monarchy? Unjustly attacked and exiled and now fighting to retake their ‘rightful’ place - that’s a traditional fantasy storyline and in a purely monarchical power struggle needs neither Dany’s magic nor her dragons. The Iron Throne is such a low bar - what Daenerys attempted in Slaver’s Bay is ten times more difficult and impressive. As of this point in the books Mereen is on the brink of absolute chaos and the situation is much, much more convoluted than the show made it out to be. The political uprising of Mereen was dealt with so laughably on the show - ‘Bring dragons, Burn shit’ doesn’t solve any problems whatsoever but let’s save that for the next part.

Painting Dany’s journey back to Westeros as simply an exiled royal returning to take back what’s theirs removed the poignancy in Dany looking for home in Westeros. There’s this sense of yearning in her desperately looking for a place to belong in a country that’s little more than a fable to her. She tried SO hard to make a home with the Dothraki and to find a place as the ruler of Mereen - but if there’s one takeaway from ADWD it’s that Dany’s fate doesn’t rest in Essos. I expect WoW to be a bloody reckoning, an agonizing choice between Dany’s duty and destiny. The new world order she’s established is far too new and fragile to sustain itself. As we see from Cleon’s ascent in Astapor, evil opportunists exists everywhere, regardless of societal class. To cement her order, Dany and her inner circle need to stay in Mereen for a lengthy period of time. But Westeros is calling - she has to choose. It’s nowhere near as easy as the three Yunkish Masters being the only figureheads, the Greyjoy siblings traipsing into the pyramids with the ships she needs, and alliances falling into her lap just so that D&D don’t need to put in any effort into creating plot and can simply throw spectacular CGI at us.

My point is - you don’t need a dragon (or three) to fight Cersei Lannister and a court jester on ADHD masquerading as Euron Greyjoy (not Pilou, its obvious the dude read the books and expected great things from his character). You do however need them to fulfil the prophecy passed down generations of Targaryens, beginning from Aegon the Conqueror. You do need the last living embodiment of the magic of Old Valyria to combat the foul, unholy magic wielded by the utterly terrifying Euron Greyjoy of the books. The reason Aegon began his conquest of Westeros is beyond mere ambition - and if we go by what Martin himself revealed about his intentions, the Others ARE the final War. We had only 2 episodes in S7 to show Daenerys understanding the gravity of the Night King (godawful mission beyond the Wall and polar bear wights aside) - and then arrives the wrecking ball of S8 with its ‘Northern Independence’ and ‘my Iron Throne’.

The trouble with legendary heroes is this - they save the world for everyone else. Dany defeats all other claimants to the Throne and takes back Dragonstone, King’s Landing and the Seven Kingdoms, as Viserys wanted, and she believes her duty to be. She and Jon lead the Last Alliance against the Great Other. Maybe they win and live happily ever after. Maybe they win, but only after losing everything they hold dear. And maybe they win, and only lose part of themselves. Does that end Dany’s story? Is a Kingdom and a reign what she’s been searching for? Dany’s story only ends when she finds herself in front of that red door again. 

Jon 

It’s an infuriating irony that despite portraying him as MUCH softer than in the books, Jon’s vulnerability is either non-existent in the show, or is turned into a weakness. Where does the show ever dwell on his deep seated issues with identity, duty and survivor’s guilt? Where does the show address the raw power of his love for Arya? And why does the show think that the progression of Hardhome, being fucking murdered AND resurrected, and then Rickon’s death in front of his eyes would NOT leave a lasting mental impact?

To its’ credit, the show did clearly indicate Catelyn’s hatred for Jon. What we didn’t see, and thus don’t have a ready reference for (in the show) is how Catelyn’s treatment affected Jon. In the books though, you can clearly suss out the emotional impact of the years of Jon’s childhood.

He reached the landing and stood for a long moment, afraid. Ghost nuzzled at his hand. He took courage from that. He straightened, and entered the room. 

He stood in the door for a moment, afraid to speak, afraid to come closer. The window was open. Below, a wolf howled. Ghost heard and lifted his head. 

This is at Bran’s bedside when he’s still deep in a coma, with no certainty of whether he will ever wake again. Jon’s leaving for the NW, and this may very well be the last time he ever sees Bran again. Jon loves his little brother with everything he has, yet the overbearing emotion at this moment is his fear of Catelyn Stark.

Keep in mind that every POV hides something or the other from the reader. Thoughts and feelings may seem disjointed as a critical memory which aligns the two is missing. In this case, Jon is actively NOT thinking of any particular incident. Yet his fear is all pervasive. It’s an uncovered wound and it hurts him. We may not know exactly what has happened between Jon and Catelyn in the 14 years leading up to this moment, but Jon’s fear of her is very real. This almost paralyzing fear of Catelyn placed against the overbearing love he feels for Bran at this moment makes this exchange stand out for several reasons, chief amongst which is that Catelyn has left an indelible mark on Jon’s psyche. 

Robb and Bran and Rickon were his father’s sons, and he loved them still, yet Jon knew that he had never truly been one of them. Catelyn Stark had seen to that. 

By the time the moon was full again, he would be back in Winterfell with his brothers. Your half-brothers, a voice inside reminded him. And Lady Stark, who will not welcome you. There was no place for him in Winterfell, no place in King’s Landing either. 

The fear lessens once he leaves the halls of Winterfell, and bitterness takes its place. Jon’s feelings about her are tinged with fury and resentment. He’s long past hoping for affection from her, but what still rankles and will never stop being a source of anger, is that she deliberately tried to sabotage his relationships with others who most definitely were his family. 

Jon’s thoughts make it obvious that he is painfully aware that he doesn’t belong. For an awareness this heavy to be so deeply etched into a young boy’s entire being, the message has to have been reinforced intensely over the entire duration of his life in Winterfell. That’s not compatible with the assumption that Catelyn was only cold and dismissive of him. We don’t see the instances in either Jon’s or Catelyn’s viewpoints in the books, but the inference is all but thrown at us. 

Jon’s growth as a person, a leader and a revolutionary is dependent on his time with the NW just as much as his time with the FF. The show cut out far too many important aspects of his time with the FF, but atleast that part of his journey was treated with more respect than his accomplishments as a man of the NW. (Let me not start on the absolute blasphemy to turn one of the most decisive characters in the entire saga into a dithering, uncertain, meek fool in S8.)

Unlike Dany, Jon has never been important. He has no name, no legacy to uphold, no shoes to step into. All he has are his natural abilities - his startlingly accurate powers of perception for someone so young, his capacity for taking feedback to change for the better and his razor sharp practical intelligence. The text seems to suggest that Jon was indirectly forced to downplay his abilities due to his status - besting Robb was just not done.

With her deep blue eyes and hard cold mouth, she looked a bit like Stannis. Iron, he thought, but brittle. She was looking at him the way she used to look at him at Winterfell, whenever he had bested Robb at swords or sums or most anything. Who are you? that look had always seemed to say. This is not your place. Why are you here? 

It’s at the Night’s Watch that Jon first starts to become someone more than Ned Stark’s bastard - in his OWN estimation. The world will continue to see only a bastard and Ned Stark’s shame, but its here that Jon learns to accept and move beyond it. It’s in the yard of the NW training yard that Jon receives his first harsh lesson about himself - he’s lording the privilege of his castle education over boys far less fortunate than him. It’s at the NW that he has the opportunity to use his abilities. It’s here that Jon finds his calling as the champion of the misfits, the ill-begotten, the unwanted and the reviled. He becomes the de-facto trainer of the boys Alliser Thorne deems beneath his dignity. He’s the one convincing Maester Aemon of Sam’s worth as his squire. And it’s at the NW that Jon first begins forming his opinion of the wars of the south - something which he will carry till the end. 

When dead men come hunting in the night, do you think it matters who sits the Iron Throne?

The staggering impact of his experience in the NW to his character is an essay in itself. For the purposes of this post, suffice to say that without the NW Jon would never have grown to the position to have an impact on the greater story. As of ADWD, the Wall under Jon’s leadership has become somewhat of a rallying ground - hosting a King, a highborn Northern lady looking for deliverance and support, as well as the center for revitalizing the Watch, rebuilding the Wall and rekindling hope in the North.

At some point after his resurrection in the show, Jon’s portrayal starts edging over into the ‘noble, sacrificial hero’ archetype. This wouldn’t necessarily have been a BAD thing – if this ‘goodness’ and ‘nobility’ didn’t come at the expense of Jon’s overall characterization.

His ‘goodness’ comes in the form of forgiving Sansa for keeping the Vale army secret and keeping her as his closest confidant. This so-called goodness of heart is rank naivete the sharply perceptive and observant book!Jon would have been stupefied at. Jon knows to judge people by their actions – and Sansa’s actions made it obvious that she’s playing her own game and considers her brothers’ lives expendable collateral. The Jon who understood the heaviness of the mantle of leadership well enough to cultivate distance from even his closest friends in the NW would NEVER have allowed Sansa so close.

The ‘honourable’ show!Jon allows his Lords and his sister to question and challenge him openly. The ‘noble’ King Jon has to explain himself before undertaking a journey to gain a potential ally - the only possible ally against a War the North seems unwilling to believe despite the reports of the dead having been around since S1. The honest son of Ned Stark cannot lie to his House’s greatest living enemy. Lord Commander Jon would sooner have jumped off from the top of the Wall than take these decisions. He’s aware of the nature of power and authority, and that more than holding a position its important to make those around you believe you hold power. Power can do great good - but it is also fickle. 

Despite the NK and the AoTD being turned into a cosmic farce in the last season, the show did quite a good job of building up the horror, menace and sense of doom in the previous seasons. Hardhome is prime example of why the show was once the pinnacle of television – and what Jon saw there, coupled with the utter failure of his mission to evacuate all the FF would have pushed Jon to the brink of insanity anyway. From what we know of Jon, he carries the deaths of his father, Robb, Bran, Rickon and Winterfell close to him. Compound the steadily growing pressure of that loss with the fact that he loses Grenn, Pyp and Ygritte in the same night. Three of the people most important to Jon but a loss he was never given the time to process as Stannis’s army arrives the very next day. He’s still carrying this heaviness when Hardhome happens, and Jon is exactly the kind of man to blame himself for the people he was unable to evacuate. Not to mention, this is the first time he sees the Night King RAISE the dead – this is the point where the true power of the enemy is fully revealed. That was existential horror at its most visceral and not a sight a man is likely to forget, least of all a man who’s trying his best to create the only resistance.

Let’s forego the changed circumstances of Jon’s murder in the show and consider the act as is – Jon does the right thing, knows he’s doing the right thing and is betrayed and murdered for it. He’s dead and then he’s not and while he’s still struggling with resurrection, betrayal and the memories of Hardhome, Sansa arrives and he’s in the middle of the quest to retake Winterfell. It’s traumatic experience upon traumatic experience, a never-ending series of emotional turmoil with no outlet or time to grieve. This is the only reason I see Jon’s actions at the Battle of Bastards being true to his mental condition in the show – having Rickon die right in front of him when his little brother was pretty much the only reason he was able to gather the mental strength for the campaign would have unhinged him to the point of that ridiculously suicidal move.

But see that’s the last time we see any strong emotion from Jon. He seemed mentally and emotionally exhausted in the Winds of Winter episode, and that’s understandable but only at THAT point. That kind of exhaustion sets in only once you’re done with your battles and Jon’s true battle was just beginning. It’s just never acknowledged – when in truth he would barely have a handle on his temper and would be obsessed with the NK to the point of delirium. We apparently can’t have a functional main hero with his emotions all over the place, gathering the strength to do what must be done while falling apart inside. Or if we DO show him as someone struggling with himself, it’s to paint him as someone too weak to see the truth. Someone too blinded by love who should never have been in charge in the first place. 

Heroes are strong, brave, just and honourable. They are powerful and commanding and inspiring. And at the very core of it all, heroes are human. Wish the show had remembered that.

[drwcn]

I can’t wait for more of your discordance au, I’m a sucker for angsty wangxian! I’m actually really curious about what’s going on with Lan Xichen the whole time he’s gone. Is he recovering for all that time or is there some political plot he needs to take care of? I saw that courtesan Meng Yao tag too which makes me even more intrigued 👀👀👀

Awww you guys >:) Thank you so much for the encouragement. 

Unfortunately, Xichen and Huaisang are not a pair. The hidden agenda of this fic is xiyao (lol sorrah), and I know people tend to feel either YAY or NAY about xiyao so I’ve totally separated the wangixan and xiyao part. You can read one without the other and it wouldn’t make much of a difference at all. At best Meng Yao is mentioned in end of the later wangxian parts once or twice. 

I love Xiyao because I think it’s full of possibilities. Obviously canon!xiyao is tragic and problematic af, but this is an au, so... I do ...what I...want? Meng Yao in this au is his own worst nightmare - a courtesan, and Zewu-jun is the handsome polite gentlemanly amnesiac he saves. 

Below cut are more reasons why Lan Qiren longs for the sweet release of an early qi deviation (arc synopsis of lan xichen & meng yao’s half of the story). 

Lan Xichen’s Arc: where politics turned deadly.

Well, just because Wen Ruohan isn’t a thing doesn’t meant the Yin Irons aren’t a thing. Is there political bullshit waiting to happen? Absolutely. Except our protagonists are proactive this time. 

For months, both Qinghe and Gusu have been getting reports of strange sightings along their Lanling borders. NMJ and LXC have been investigating, and they suspect that JGS may have had something to do with it. Prior to Lan Xichen’s disappearance, he was getting close to finding out the truth. 

What happened was this: 

Xue Yang (who will exist solely in other people’s narration) had killed the Changs and taken a piece of the Yin Iron. Upon capture, XXC and SL (both alive and well and doing their own thing) delivered him to the Chief Cultivator, thinking justice has been served. (Lol. no.). Once JGS got his hands on one of those, he began to plan world domination bad things with it and shit started acting fucky right away, eliciting the suspicion and subsequent investigations of the Lans and Nies. 

Jin Guangshan does wonder how his secrets are being leaked, but he doesn’t get to find out until the end. 

Lan Xichen, on his part, is fairly sure of what’s been causing the appearances of these so called “fierce corpses”. He knows about Lan Yi’s barrier in the Cold Cave, and suspects someone has gotten their hands on a piece of the Yin Iron. Both he and Nie Mingjue suspect Jin Guangshan, and have been quietly collecting proof. 

Jin Guangshan, not about to be defeated so easily, sets up a trap and ambushes Lan Xichen during one of his investigations. LXC was in “plain clothes” as part of the investigation, because it’s dumb to go around investigating dressed as the Sect Leader of Gusu Lan, but during the ambush, Lan Xichen loses Liebing and Shuoyue in the process.  The only thing he has on him is Shuoyue’s sheath when he is found by Meng Yao. 

When Lan Xichen wakes up, he doesn’t remember anything or who he is. He sees a pretty young man who introduces himself as Lianfang. Lan Xichen was wearing blue when he was found, so “Liangfang” calls hims A-Lan. 

Meng Yao’s tragic back story that’s actually tragic:

The bullshit - er, the story - as always, starts with Meng Yao getting kicked down the steps at Jinlintai by his Ho™ of a dad Jin Guangshan. In this universe, Jin Guangshan isn’t just a rich powerful Sect Leader, but also the Chief Cultivator. If anything, he has more reason than ever to make sure Meng Yao isn’t around to besmirch his good name (not that he has any good name to bismirch).

Claiming Meng Yao to be a liar, Jin Guangshan ordered his goons to have Meng Yao “taken care of”, but before that could happen, Madam Jin had come out to see what was the commotion. This was Zixuan’s birthday celebration after all, everything had to be perfect. 

What she saw certainly enraged her, but her husband was about to kill a boy, possibly his own son, spill blood on their son’s day of birth celebration. Such cosmic bad karma she couldn’t possibly accept. “You don’t have to kill him, you absolute buffoon, just make sure he never comes back here!” 

She meant buy his silence with money but Jin Guangshan had a more permanent solution.

Before the day’s out, Meng Yao was sold to a brothel, and was told “that’s where you belong”.  Once, perhaps, he had dreamed about gaining the love of his father, but no longer. Now he simply wants his father ruined and dismembered. 

But first he has to live. 

The madam of the brothel had a keen eye for “good merchandise”, and one good look at young Meng Yao with those big eyes, delicate frame and dimples and she knew she could make big bucks off of him. 

(And before anyone asks how old MY is here, the answer is: young. One of the many reasons why I would personally like to volunteer to stab JGS until it looks like he’s been cursed with the Thousand Holes Curse.) 

The first couple of years were decidedly grim for MY. He was kept away from customers (mercifully), but he was a brutally trained in the art of dance and music. They kept him fed enough to dance but not too much to “ruin his figure”. His instructors quickly found that the youth was a quick study and got up no matter how many times he was trampled on (literally and metaphorically). It was no secret that life was gruesome, but Meng Yao survived. Meng Yao made his debut. Meng Yao became famous.

The establishment where he made his debut renamed him Lianfang - to collect/gather fragrance - and so from then on, he became Lianfang-gongzi. Soon, his art (and other stuff) caught the eye of an obliging patron who purchased him from the madam. 

The patron, by all accounts, was a brute of man who had more appreciation for the liquor in his cup than the arts, but he was a cultivator, wealthy enough, connected to many other cultivator gentry familiues, and most importantly, led a subsidiary clan of the Chief Cultivator. As his prized courtesan and dancer, Meng Yao served at his whim, entertained at his parties and made happy his friends, all of whom were practicing cultivators or at the very least connected to the cultivation realm. 

Our evil gremlin would not be our evil gremlin if he didn’t make the best of every situation. Meng Yao quickly discovered that not only was he particularly talented at getting people to divulge information to him, but that men were significantly uninhibited after sex and alcohol. Armed with a sweet face, an eidetic memory, and a hate inside him that longed to see Jin Guangshan severed limp by limp, he began his revenge plot. 

(Here, I took inspiration from Nirvana in Fire’s character Princess Xuanji of the fallen Hua kingdom who was sold into servitude but established Hong’xiu’zhao, a spy network of girls/women who either worked as courtesans or secondary spouses of noblemen. Her goal was to create chaos and dissension within the royal court and government, like mites eating away at a large tree from within.) 

Meng Yao amassed an enormous amount of intels on gentry families and evidences of the many underhanded conducts of the Chief Cultivator himself. He did this through his own work and through the other women working in his network, all of whom have been wrongfully aggrieved in some way. He promised them that one day he would help them to freedom. 

For five years he’s been collecting secrets of gentry families, and had been stirring discord for three, weakening their cohesiveness, and using their growing animosity to weaken Jin Guangshan’s control on his subordinates. Naturally, Meng Yao heard about Xue Yang and the Yin Iron. It was also him who had been drawing attention to it for the other major sects. 

Meng Yao doesn’t know Lan Xichen is the Sect Master of Gusu Lan, but he has no interest in hurting a man from nowhere. “You can stay here with me until you are better. After that, I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to be on your way.”

Physically Lan Xichen recovered quickly, but when it was clear his memories wouldn’t be coming back, Meng Yao allowed him to stay. 

The rest, as they say, is history. 

~

Meng Yao has been Lianfang, been the famed courtesan, for longer than he cares to remember. He’s been had, used, and passed around by so many men that their faces are just blurried sillouettes in his memory. And yet, he’s never felt for a moment that he belonged to any of them, not even his patron, who possessed his contract and could resell him back to a lesser establishment and ruin him in a heartbeat. 

But when A-Lan held him in his eyes, warm and dark like a summer’s night, without judgement or expectations, only gentle sweetness and a fond regard, Meng Yao could almost pretend he was just A-Yao, the name whispered reverently by those soft lips. The hand that held his moved to stroke his cheek, almost shy, and Meng Yao realized with a fearful pang that if this man from nowhere with nothing were to ask, Meng Yao could most definitely become his. 

The thought scared him more than he was willing to admit. 

~

The message delivered by the pigeon was clear. Meng Yao crumbled the slip of paper in his hand, then set it aflame in the candlelight. 

The man who’s been living with him for the past four months, who he knew as A-Lan, who he trusted enough to take to bed, was the Sect Master of Gusu Lan: Lan Huan, Lan Xichen.

Zewu-jun.  

Everyone, even a non-cultivator such as himself, has heard of Gusu’s Wei Wuxian, Lan Xichen’s young widower, left alone after not even six months of marriage. 

But if even he wasn’t married, Lan Xichen could never accept him as he was, no matter now much his personal desire wanted him. 

His hands shook. He balled them into fists. 

Meng Yao should’ve known... he should’ve known it was too good to be true. 

No matter, he told himself. This too, is an opportunity, perhaps the only one I will ever have. I will use it to destroy Jin Guangshan once and for all. 

~

Lan Xichen made his way to the window, and gazed out into the courtyard where A-Yao was reading under the willow tree. 

You should go home, a voice inside him said. Go home to relief Wangji of his burden, to release Wuxian from his mourning. Go back to the seat of Sect Master and the responsibilities waiting for you. 

One more day, another voice fought back. Just one more day. 

He doesn’t leave for another month. 

[catbreeds2]

The Turkish Van Cat

He’s not a lot of a lap cat, however the Van shall be completely happy to cuddle subsequent to you and sleep in your mattress. See all Turkish Van traits beneath!

Turkish Van Cat Character Whilst you is likely to be drawn to the Van for his fascination with water, you will fall in love with the breed for his different qualities. 'Vans are energetic, agile, and clever. They're extraordinarily wholesome and, get together with folks swimmingly,' notes one Van proprietor. Chances are you'll want a number of months of figuring out to maintain up with them, nonetheless; Vans are well-known for his or her 'action-packed' temperament. They're talkative, demanding of consideration, and present nice gusto at dinnertime. Breeders additionally say that Vans are recognized for his or her attachment to their human companions, and generally that makes transferring a Van from one family to a different troublesome. They have an inclination to select one or two individuals within the family, normally those that take care of them initially, and bond with them ceaselessly.

Measurement Turkish Vans weigh 10 to 18 kilos at maturity.

Well being Each pedigreed cats and mixed-breed cats have various incidences of well being issues that could be genetic in nature. Turkish Vans are typically wholesome, though some have been reported to develop a type of coronary heart illness referred to as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In some breeds such because the Maine Coon, HCM is inherited, however that has not been confirmed within the Turkish Van.

Historical past

When the Ark arrived at Mount Ararat some 5,000 years in the past, Noah should have been a bit busy protecting the animals from stampeding of their eagerness to the touch dry land. Within the hustle and bustle, two white and crimson cats leaped into the water and swam ashore. When the flood receded, the cats set out for Lake Van, situated about 75 miles (121 km) to the south of Mount Ararat, the place they've lived ever since.

At the very least, that is one story concerning the look of the Turkish Van, a naturally occurring breed that has inhabited the Lake Van area of Turkey and the bordering areas of Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Russia for Heaven is aware of how lengthy. Additionally referred to as the 'Swimming Cat', the Van is understood for his fascination with water. The doubtless clarification for the Van's curiosity in swimming lies within the excessive temperatures in his native area. Since summer season temperatures attain nicely above 100?F (37.eight?C), the cats might have discovered to swim to outlive.

This additionally could clarify the event of the Van's distinctive 'water-repelling' coat. Most home cats hate getting moist, presumably as a result of they have to spend hours placing their fur again so as. The Turkish Van's cashmere-like coat is waterproof, permitting the cat to go dog-paddling and are available out comparatively dry.

Regardless of the motive for the cat's fondness of water, nobody is aware of for certain when the Turkish Vans arrived within the Lake Van area or the place they got here from. Native ornaments relationship way back to 5000 B.C. depict cats that look remarkably just like the Turkish Van. If that's the case, the Van might properly be one of many oldest current cat breeds.

Vans had been reportedly first delivered to Europe by troopers getting back from the Crusades a while between 1095 and 1272 A.D. Over the centuries the Vans had been transported all through the Jap continents by invaders, merchants, and explorers. The Vans have been known as by quite a lot of names: Jap Cat, Turkish, Ringtail Cat, Russian Longhair. Being cats, the Vans in all probability did not reply to any of them.

The fashionable and better-known historical past of the Van started in 1955 when British residents Laura Lushington and Sonia Halliday got two Van kittens whereas touring Turkey. Because the breed was not identified in Britain on the time, they determined to work with the cats and attempt to get them acknowledged by Britain's Governing Council of the Cat Fancy.

English breeder Lydia Russell was additionally instrumental in popularizing the breed in England and Europe and in serving to new breeders receive Turkish breeding inventory. At first the going was gradual. Acquiring Van cats meant quite a few journeys to Turkey, and the cats needed to cross by means of prolonged quarantine durations to enter England. However Vans had been discovered to breed true, and in 1969 the exhausting work paid off when the Turkish Van was given full pedigree standing by the GCCF.

The primary Van kittens arrived in America within the 1970s, nevertheless it was not till breeders Barbara and Jack Reark began working with the breed in 1983 that the Vans started to flourish in america. In 1985 TICA granted the Turkish Van Championship standing. The CFA accepted the breed for registration in 1988, and in Could 1993 the Van achieved Provisional standing with the CFA.

Till lately the Vans weren't formally acknowledged in Turkey though extremely prized as pets. Right now the Vans are being preserved by the Turkish Faculty of Agriculture in reference to the Ankara Zoo, the longtime breeder of the Angora. Vans are now not permitted to be exported from the nation and most of our present breeding inventory now comes from Europe.

Care The Turkish Van has a single coat with a silky texture. As a result of there’s no undercoat to trigger mats or tangles, it’s simple to groom with weekly combing or brushing with a slicker brush. It sheds little or no besides throughout spring and fall when previous coat is falling out or new coat is coming in. Older cats might have issue grooming themselves totally, so it may be a good suggestion to brush or comb them extra typically. The Turkish Van‘s coat is waterproof, so be glad that baths are not often obligatory.

Brush the tooth to stop periodontal illness. Each day dental hygiene is finest, however weekly brushing is best than nothing. Trim the nails each couple of weeks. Wipe the corners of the eyes with a comfortable, damp material to take away any discharge. Use a separate space of the material for every eye so that you don’t run the danger of spreading any an infection.

Verify the ears weekly. If they give the impression of being soiled, wipe them out with a cotton ball or comfortable damp material moistened with a 50-50 combination of cider vinegar and heat water. Keep away from utilizing cotton swabs, which may harm the inside of the ear.

Preserve the litter field spotlessly clear. Cats are very specific about toilet hygiene, and a clear litter field may even assist to maintain the lengthy coat clear.

It’s a good suggestion to maintain a Turkish Van as an indoor-only cat to guard him from ailments unfold by different cats, assaults by canine or coyotes, and the opposite risks that face cats who go outside, comparable to being hit by a automotive. Turkish Vans who go outdoor additionally run the chance of being stolen by somebody who want to have such a phenomenal cat with out paying for it.

Coat Coloration And Grooming You may assume that the Turkish Van is a white cat with patches of colour, however genetically you'll be improper. He's, actually, a coloured cat with very massive patches of white, a sample attributable to the piebald white recognizing gene. The result's a cat whose physique is generally white, with coloured markings on the top and tail. He may additionally have random spots of coloration on the physique and legs. One of these coloring is usually seen in different breeds and is called the Van sample.

Colours seen within the breed embrace crimson, cream, black, blue, tabby in crimson, cream, brown and blue, and numerous shades of tortoiseshell. Nostril leather-based is pink, as are paw pads, though they will generally have shade spots.

The Turkish Van has a broad, wedge-shaped head with a rounded muzzle, reasonably giant ears with barely rounded suggestions, and reasonably massive rounded eyes that may be blue, amber, or one among every coloration. As befits a cat who was shaped to outlive in a rugged panorama and local weather, he has a robust, highly effective physique with a broad chest and shoulders and lengthy, muscular legs. Males are a lot bigger and extra muscular than females.

Protecting the Turkish Van cozy is a smooth, semi-long single coat with feathering (longer hair) on the ears, legs, toes and stomach, a ruff across the neck, and a totally plumed tail. Kittens and younger adults have a much less developed coat than mature adults. The coat doesn’t obtain its full size till the cat is a minimum of two years outdated. In summer time the coat is brief, but it surely turns into considerably longer and thicker in winter.

It is a giant breed; they will take three to 5 years to succeed in their full measurement.

Kids And Different Pets The Van who has been nicely socialized is snug with youngsters, making him a good selection for households with energetic youngsters who will get pleasure from operating round with a teaser toy, throwing a ball for the cat to fetch, or educating tips. Supervise younger kids to ensure they pet the cat properly and don’t pull his fur or tail.

The Turkish Van is glad to stay with cat-friendly canine, too, so long as they acknowledge that he’s in cost. On the subject of cats, he prefers the corporate of his personal variety, however he'll settle for different cats, particularly if he's introduced up with them from kittenhood. In any case, introduce pets slowly and in managed circumstances to make sure that they study to get alongside collectively.

[jimmy865sblog-blog]

Extraordinary Producers

Extraordinary Producers, similar to incredible competitors, don't occur unintentionally. They are known to be incredibly focused a lot on the practices that will create the best outcomes. Their utilization of explicit practices, their assurance and their center is the thing that drives them from being normal to being excellent. Is it accurate to say that you are prepared to discover the stuff to be an incredible maker? Here are 11 things that all Great Producers share for all intents and purpose:

1. Extraordinary Producers don't find clients: they make them.

Similarly as there are acceptable makers and awful makers, there are acceptable clients and awful clients. The best makers have characterized the qualities and examples of good clients and look to work with those clients alone. They center time around exercises that will create extra pay. Terrible clients make issues and burn through significant time for everybody in the association. In the event that you have never done as such, plunk down and list 7 responses for the accompanying assertion: MY IDEAL CLIENT IS:

2. Extraordinary Producers fish in supplied lakes not open seas.

As incredible fishermen study to track down the best fishing openings and are continually tracking down the best gear or assets to find a prize winning fish, Great Producers choose what they need, instruct themselves on the businesses and connections they decide to work, and use the best apparatuses to achieve their objectives. Incredible makers seek after greatness in their insight into a characterized field and can give the best data and administration to their client base barbara fedida .

3. Extraordinary Producers lead a conventional client needs appraisal preceding making item proposals.

Again and again we see that makers center around what will get them the most cash-flow and not really what is best for the client. Pursuing the cash alone is a foolhardy methodology that will hurt your book of business in a brief timeframe. Extraordinary entertainers pose inquiries and listen eagerly to decide the character, needs and needs of the purchaser as opposed to making self centered, "cutout" proposals.

4. Extraordinary Producers teach instead of "sell"- they furnish their clients with enough data to settle on educated choices.

A Great Producer needs to talk on a level that the client can comprehend. Nobody likes to be "sold" however we all appreciate purchasing things and building relationship with individuals we like and feel good with. Incredible Producers discover what persuades their purchaser and presents data in a manner the purchaser can comprehend. Subsequent to directing a requirements evaluation, extraordinary entertainers look to adjust their program or administrations to that of the purchaser. On the off chance that it doesn't have all the earmarks of being a solid match, they consciously decrease to seek after things until a superior time for the two players.

5. Extraordinary Producers go past item to furnish their clients with worth, honesty and trust.

Pinnacle entertainers don't expect to realize what is imperative to the purchaser. They want to claim an alternate point of view by finding the necessities of the other first. None of us actually at any point purchases anything from anybody we don't care for or trust. Incredible Producers care about their standing. I say that the TRUE DEFINITION of BRANDING is the thing that others say about you when you leave the room. Do you dare to truly represent your qualities, and live with credibility? Would your collaborators say that you are an individual who creates confiding involved with others? In the event that the lone time you converse with your client is during a case or restoration, or the lone time you put time in your record chief is the point at which you need something then you don't comprehend this idea. The Best Producers offer more in benefit than they take in remuneration.

6. Incredible Producers are vigorously arranged inside the business and their local area.

Extraordinary makers are known as "connectors". They seek after relationship dependent on a drive to help others in accomplishing their goals. Do you have the character to genuinely serve others without anticipating anything consequently? Systems administration isn't tied in with keeping track of who's winning or requesting a return favor; it is tied in with being the individual that cares to help address the issues of clients, colleagues, companions, and at last you will discover, bountiful new business references. Appear to be excessively "cushy" of a methodology? Consider the alternative...when was the last time you met somebody who obviously had a plan to "get" something from you? Not an extraordinary inclination; like you were being utilized. Indeed, your cerebrum was shouting, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" "DO WHAT YOU CAN TO GET OUT OF THIS - QUICK, HURRY, HE'S LOOKING AWAY, RUN FOR THE EXIT!" Don't be that individual. There is a well-known adage, "in the event that you assist sufficient others with getting what they need, you will consistently have what you need."

7. Extraordinary Producers work only with the individuals who need to work with them.

Super entertainers encircle themselves with similar people who share information, understanding and worth in their connections. Recall that since you are prepared to sell doesn't mean the purchaser is prepared to purchase. Help yourself and your association out: discover rapidly whether you and the purchaser are a solid match. On the off chance that you have adjusted yourself to comprehend the necessities of the purchaser, posed inquiries and listened eagerly, you will know the appropriate response with assurance. Once in a while things are simply not intended to be, and you shouldn't burn through your experience with clients who would prefer not to or who aren't prepared to work with you.

8. Extraordinary Producers build up "rules of commitment"

A Great Producer regards the estimation of their client's time and similarly anticipates something very similar consequently. Super entertainers assemble common trust and regard in the selling cycle. How does the purchaser decide? Is the purchaser associated with a firm relationship with the occupant specialist or agent? Is it true that you are certain that the purchaser will head out in different directions with their present relationship and work with you all things being equal? Do you have an item that will genuinely acquire the best worth terms of value, item and administration? Makers who are not able to set up the standards of commitment have the most reduced hit proportions, from one side of the country to the other, no matter what.

9. Extraordinary Producers can distinguish an important chance versus one that is a misuse of assets.

Extraordinary Producers know their own capacities and restrictions. They center around their optimal client base, find their qualities through the readiness to chance learning new things, and take part in promising circumstances that will assist them with accomplishing their targets. Pinnacle entertainers size up the circumstance, pay attention to their gut feelings and gain proficiency with the language to leave with elegance and nobility.

10. Extraordinary Producers have a high A.Q.

Paul Stoltz (The Adversity Quotient) says not our I.Q. furthermore, not our passionate knowledge, but rather our capacity to recognize and beat difficulty is the NUMBER ONE FACTOR FOR SUCCESS. At the point when life gets intense, Great Producers forcefully look to beat incomprehensible conditions, debilitating news and negative input by understanding that "this also will pass" and don't let any person or thing impede their fantasies. Incredible Producers don't let society, "the economy" or the assessments of others influence their purpose for greatness.

11. Incredible Producers have an enthusiastic individual vision. [Those plans can incorporate a VISION, a BUSINESS PLAN, a MARKETING PLAN and formal GOALS.]

Having an enthusiastic individual vision gives you importance and reason to your interests. Indeed, even top entertainers stagger and fall behind, yet the most focused will gain from their mistakes, change their arrangements and keep on pushing ahead. They are driven by an energy to live their vision and defeat difficulty. Do YOU have a dream sufficiently incredible to call you through the torment of progress?

What number of these qualities depict above reflect what you are as of now progressing admirably? Is it accurate to say that you are continually attempting to accomplish greatness or have you permitted conditions, unremarkableness or outside impacts hinder your quest for being a top entertainer?

Understanding what creates a Great Producer can be significant, however it doesn't mystically transform you into a Great Producer. It isn't what we realize that is important, yet rather it is WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT WE KNOW that separates Good Producers from Great Producers.

Income WORK: Pick one territory you realize you need to chip away at and accomplish something else this week. Hazard to record what you need, and what you realize you need to do another way. At that point set a BY WHEN for yourself of when it will be begun, and when you will be more sure about your insight into the abilities, attributes and practices we have shared for the current month. You can likewise email me for tips and easy routes to turning into a Great Producer.

[youtiaoshutiao]

go go squid! eps 1-30 - thoughts

i’ve actually read the novel for this a few years ago as a teen and it was just alright in my estimation, it was cute overall and a fun read but i largely forgot about it in the past few years. checked out the drama out of curiosity as to how they’d adapt it. have watched up to ep 30 at this point and i’d say i’m rather ambivalent (though i’m still pretty engaged) so here’s some rambling about my thoughts about my watch so far.

Ngl, the first 7 eps were unbearable to watch imo. I have a super low tolerance for secondhand embarrassment when watching movies and dramas (which is why i can’t get behind some high school movies/dramas) and it was uttermost torture watching tongnian stalk her way (very incompetently too, i must add) to k&k’s resting quarters, even getting his identity wrong (despite being fully capable of baidu searching him given that she knew his full name + found out he was part of a famous team), intending to go to watch him the next day but not even thinking about buying tickets till she was actually at the event venue and then being all righteous about not buying tickets from scalpers... Worrying about causing a misunderstanding among gun’s trainees yet continually getting near him and hence causing a misunderstanding anyway... Though i knew that it was part of her character setup (high iq genius but nil experience in love?) but i couldn’t bear to watch all this unfold haha. Coupled with the very draggy endless flashback scenes and all the testosterone-pumped angst about solo (and now 30 eps in i’m very into Li Xian’s turn as han shangyan but my eyebrows were hurting watching him furrow his brow 24/7) i was almost prepared to quit but was told that everything would get better around ep 8.

And lo and behold... it did. As predicted, around ep 8/9 a switch flipped and i began to be more engaged and enjoy the drama more. I was trying to pinpoint what exactly changed my opinion and i think above all, it was the character of han shangyan that really captivated/held my interest. I started seeing gun not just as the typical 霸道总裁 trope that’s just meant to be confident and commanding and therefore hot but more as a very complex and well fleshed out human (more so than the novel i think, but i can’t really remember at this point as it’s been years, and anyway the novel is a pretty short book while this drama is considered quite long for a modern fluffy cdrama thus allowing more room for exploration).

I really appreciated seeing all the dualities to his character, e.g. his god-like status in his industry and being the idol of thousands and thousands of youth yet seeing how this celebrity status does not translate to being estimated highly by the people around him, and how it does feed into his ideas and perception of himself to a certain extent, though he is also adamant on doing what he deems right, not caring what people think. How he as a leader of k&k appears unflappable, in control, and is determined, eyes fixed on the prize; yet his softness and care for his boys and the elderly he employs and his past teammates shine through in quiet moments and little actions. He has lofty dreams and big goals and aspirations for the future of his team, yet he is also a man bogged down by tons of emotional baggage, stuck in ruts of nostalgia and guilt and unprocessed anger about the past and unable to let go of past enmities or relations. Even his small little quirks amuse/intrigue me, like his sucking on sweets whenever he’s bothered, like his weird obsession with that one Beyond song and playing it whenever he’s Brooding about his past (though it’s probably just the drama’s way of shilling Netease Music lol)

Reading Han Shangyan’s personality/character arc as such, I found myself very invested in what was happening to him/what he was doing/his interactions with the other characters in the story. Even the flashback scenes and SP team scenes that I found very droll initially and still do to a certain extent now held more of my interest as a gateway to understand HSY more. He’s definitely not a perfect character and is deeply flawed, but I appreciated that they portrayed him in such a manner as he definitely felt more real. (though when it came to how this comes into play with regards to his r/ship with Tong Nian, I had rather mixed feelings about it, which I’ll elaborate on further below)

Similarly, I also enjoyed the fleshing out of side characters like Mi Shaofei, Solo, Su Cheng, Xiao Ai etc. Mi Shaofei’s arc especially was very moving and wistful to me, seeing him have his dream of being a champion rekindled at the start of the drama and going back to be a competitive CTF athlete, yet having his age and his lack of practice cause him to not be in top form and doing badly, and eventually making the decision to retire. Seeing him express regret having quit together with Han Shangyan back in the day in a pique of anger and not having this arc resolve in a neat, fulfilling way - I really appreciated it and thought it illuminated quite a sobering reality that timing and circumstances may not always yield the best outcome, that actions from the past that you thought were the right thing to do may come back to haunt you, that you may regret your past actions, that you may have to close the door on certain things even if you really want it. And I really like Mi Shaofei’s personality as well, seeing how he has a good read on his friends’ temperaments and personalities and knows how to diffuse tense situations (especially when Han Shangyan is being prickly and abrasive), how he values the collective above himself, like being happy that SP team scores improved greatly even when the improvement came about due to his retirement. I’m glad that he now has a new path which he can work towards his original dream of being a champion, albeit in a different way that he had initially envisioned.

The main thing niggling at me/making me feel conflicted as I watch the drama is actually Tong Nian’s character/Tong Nian and HSY’s relationship. I don’t really know how to explain what exactly bothers me so much about this, but here’s a shoddy attempt:

In comparison to how well fleshed out Han Shang Yan’s character arc is, Tong Nian’s arc sadly feels very underwhelming in comparison, and I wish similar character development was afforded to her character. 30 episodes in, I literally know nothing about her inner thoughts, motivations, character etc that is not Gun-related gushing. And this is all the more a pity given that her character’s setup was so cool - being so smart and intelligent, being so advanced in a STEM field, also having such a successful online career out of her singing hobby - all these hint at such an interesting female lead, but ultimately feels like an empty shell of a person. There really is no scene where she exists independently, separate from Gun or Gun-related thoughts pervading her mind - e.g. even when she is pitching some cool project idea showcasing her computing skills to the police department, she’s hung up on Gun after breaking up with him; when she’s invigilating a class she’s still thinking about him; she’s coding some new game for him; she’s doing some debugging... but that’s because she’s devastated after he behaved in a shit way towards her; she’s at some tryouts to be the singer for the ctf theme song! she’s showcasing her singing! but somehow... the show still managed to make it all about how she’s heartbroken over him; she uploaded a new song! ... but it’s about how she’s in love with him...

The show tells me she has a life outside of her crush on Gun, but it doesn’t show it as such. Though I also understand that this is due to the drama being centered on esports and hence involving HSY more, and Tong Nian is an outsider to the esports scene and thus her own activities would not be featured as much. It is possible that should they have chosen to feature more about Tong Nian, it might have affected the cohesiveness and pacing and how tight the plot is. But but but... she is the female lead, after all?? I literally know more about Mi Shaofei than about Tong Nian, and he is a supporting character! And precisely because the show did such a good job of fleshing out HSY, whose job and aspiration and passion and friendship-related angst etc lend a lot of fodder to shape his character and that is totally unrelated to his romance with Tong Nian, Tong Nian’s character development seems really lacking in gravitas in comparison.

This sense of imbalance spills over to my perception of them as a couple. I definitely am not opposed to or feel squicked out by huge age gaps in principle, as long as there isn’t some power imbalance and no teenagers are involved. But something about the combination of Tong Nian being all about Han Shangyan (at least that’s how the drama portrayed it, even if it was unintentional) while Tong Nian is only one part of Han Shangyan’s life + Tong Nian’s almost worshipful sentiments towards Han Shangyan + the show’s tendency to highlight how much sleep or time she sacrifices to do stuff for him, on top of the huge age gap made me slightly uncomfortable...?

I think I felt it especially during the plot arc of the second break up. The events of this arc were standard asian drama angst fare - interference from well meaning but biased parent leading to melodramatic wallowing in angst and mean behaviour attempting to drive the other party away... If purely viewing this arc from the lens of character exploration, I think the (rather ridiculous) events in that arc like HSY promising Tong Nian’s mother to not bother Tong Nian anymore and all his subsequent shitty behaviour towards Tong Nian shed some light on HSY’s inner self abasement and 自卑感 and was fascinating in that regard. But then seeing how Tong Nian who definitely puts him on a pedestal just internalised all of that horrible behaviour and accepted it and even kept on excusing his actions or asking him if she had done something wrong or if he was mad at her about the cat (though i also was mad that she just got a pet as a gift without asking beforehand lolol) or if he wanted her to do anything... that was SO painful to watch. (Until he implied that he cheated on her, thankfully she drew a line at that!!) I felt like it was bordering on cold violence to some extent? Not that any part of the second break up was Tong Nian’s fault, but just the way the show portrayed Gun’s way of pushing Tong Nian away and Tong Nian’s subsequent response made it harder to just dismiss the entire saga as just pure asian drama typical noble idiocy angst and left a really bad taste in my mouth. And above all what made me quite exasperated was how in the end, HSY didn’t even apologise to Tong Nian about it, and even attempted (and was successful) to get back into her good graces by listing all the reasons why he should be pitied and hence activating Tong Nian’s ‘Han Shangyan is so pitiful and I love him and want to give him everything’ mode, and being so smug about it??

(I feel like I come off as being rather inconsistent here lolol, earlier gushing about how much I love HSY’s character and now ranting about him. I think I just feel very confused about what to feel when watching the drama, and partially I think it’s because the entire romantic plot and all the events of the drama... require some suspension of belief and are not really very cohesive or well plotted, in the sense that it doesn’t seem to flow organically together with the characters’ emotions and responses? i.e. the character’s emotions/motivations/thoughts don’t correspond to their subsequent actions and the other characters’ subsequent responses to said action doesn’t seem proportional at times. So at certain plot points like how HSY got back together with Tong Nian so easily I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel outraged or just take it in my stride?? I’m not sure if I’m making sense)

Oh, another thing that bothered me was this weird machoism (?? not sure how to explain it) that I sensed at some parts. An example off the top of my mind would be the entire sequence of HSY and Mi Shaofei going out together after Mi Shaofei announced his retirement, with Tong Nian and Yaya trailing at their heels. Once again, from a character development angle, I enjoyed the dialogues between MSF and HSY, between MSF and Yaya. But seeing MSF and HSY pass their coats to Yaya and Tong Nian then embarking on some bromantic tension-filled run together, while Yaya and Tong Nian are left hovering around waiting for them to return and holding their coats; or seeing MSF and HSY give each other Meaningful Looks and then downing a whole bowl of alcohol in some testosterone-fuelled display of Manly Sorrow and Solidarity as Tong Nian and Yaya watch from the sides, worried... Then having Tong Nian and Yaya each attempting to comfort their respective men... idk, i think coupled with the fact that the show is centred around esports, and most of the esports characters are male, and a larger proportion the main female characters we see are not directly involved and are more on the sidelines, it just gives off the sense of like, the men in this drama having their struggles, their aspirations, their sorrows be forefront and central in the plot, while the women are just there to fawn over them and support from the sidelines and tend to the guys’ emotional needs and baby them when they are being grown children. I’m definitely not explaining this well enough and I’m not sure if my impression is valid or I’m just being a hater or being subconsciously misogynistic and projecting or something lol. I’d love to hear what anyone thinks heh.

Thankfully, that part of the plot is over and now the romance part of the drama seems to be settled and the drama I’m assuming is gearing up towards winning the championships. This is promising haha because personally feel like the esports plotline is more captivating than the romance. I sense that now that Tong Nian/Gun are a properly established relationship and both are fully on board the dynamic might change a bit so I shall see how I feel about their relationship in the last quarter of the drama!

With regards to the cast, there was all round quite solid acting imo. I thought Li Xian seemed to be overdoing it with the frowning and grouchiness initially but I think it was alright after a few eps. His microexpressions and meaning-loaded gazes and quirked-lip-smiles are pretty affecting. I watched some interviews of him and he seems really different from Gun in real life so that’s quite impressive. Plus I love his slight slouchiness when portraying Gun in the more personal scenes where the facade of gruff boss!han shangyan disappears lolol. For all my problems with the way Tong Nian’s character was portrayed, Yang Zi does a great job in her role too. I think her crying scenes have always been on point and it was no different here. Special shoutout to the actors for Mi Shaofei, Solo and Xiao Ai, who portrayed their roles really well I think!

Lastly on a random note, I’m quite amused by how the soundtrack copiously borrows from the Suddenly This Summer soundtrack, but I’m not complaining because the OST is pretty evocative and whimsical and makes me hugely nostalgic for STS :)

[dnmeinster]

Sorting Through Kingdom Hearts III Part 1 - Your 7 Lights, My 13 Darknesses

Spoiler Warning

There was a very specific moment that the story of Kingdom Hearts went from complicated to convoluted.  It was in KH2, when King Mickey tells Sora of the villain they fought in the first game, "He wasn't really Ansem.  He just went around telling everybody that he was."  And it only got worse from there.

 And yet, for all its messiness, I love the series, the characters, and even the storyline.  Though it might seem nonsensical, there is usually some sort of logic to it all, however skewed.

Kingdom Hearts III has me scratching my head at a bunch of developments.  Ultimately, I enjoyed the game and might even write up my impressions at some point.  But for now, I merely want to write up what's confused me and try to sort through it.

We start with Master Xehanort and his scheme to reform the X-blade and gain control over Kingdom Hearts.  I'll let him explain:

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts.  But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the Chi-blade.  Warriors vied for that precious light, thus beginning the "Keyblade War." The violent clash shattered the Chi-blade into twenty pieces--seven of light, and thirteen of darkness.  And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again.  I once tried to create my own pure light and darkness to forge the Chi-blade, but the attempt ended in failure.  In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal.  I acted rashly.  I can admit that now."

Here, at the end of Dream Drop Distance, Xehanort recounts the plot of Birth by Sleep, where he separated Ventus into pure light (Ven) and pure darkness (Vanitas) before masterminding the events that led to their clash.  But their battle failed to successfully produce the Chi-blade, so Xehanort was forced to resort to Plan B, which was basically the events of KH1 and KH2.  But that didn't work out too well either, as Sora intervened to stop him.  So it was on to Plan C, or the clearly intended plot for KH3:

"I used the evil fairy to find seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness...However, I have not abandoned my ambitions--the seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness...All the pieces are destined to appear.  Your seven lights just like my thirteen darknesses, whose final clash will beget the prize I seek--the Chi-blade!"

At this point, Xehanort has Sora in his possession, and intends to use him as his thirteenth darkness:

"But first, the thirteen darknesses shall be united.  All the seats have been filled.  And now the last vessel shall bear my heart like the rest!"

But because of a last-minute intervention by Axel, Donald, and Goofy, Xehanort fails to unite his darknesses.

"We are out of time.  Neither the union of light nor darkness has been achieved, and we must all return to whence we came.  But, the gathering of the seven and thirteen is nigh.  Let us finish this at the fated place, once your lights and my darknesses have joined together."

So, if you're following this, Xehanort did not unite the 13 darknesses at the end of Dream Drop Distance, nor did Mickey/Sora unite their 7 lights.  That was to come in the sequel.

But what exactly does it mean to unite 13 darknesses?  Do they all have to bear Xehanort's heart in order to be considered darknesses?  Or is that purely an egotistical act?

Before we explore further, let's list out the 13 darknesses that our Xehanort gathers in KH3:

Master Xehanort

Young Master Xehanort (YMX)

Terranort

Ansem, Seeker of Darkness

Xemnas

Vanitas

Xigbar

Saix

Luxord

Marluxia

Larxene

Riku Replica

Xion

Benched:

Vexen

Demyx

For Number 1-5, they all already bear Xehanort's heart, as they are all a form of Xehanort, be it his original form, his younger self, his heartless, his nobody, or Terra possessed by him.  But what about Number 6-13?  Did they ever get turned into a Xehanort horcrux?  And what exactly happens to them when they do bear a piece of his heart?  Do they lose their individuality?

This was the first question that originally stumped me.  When Terra becomes possessed by Xehanort's heart, he's not really Terra anymore.  But that was a direct one-to-one transfer.  What about Xigbar?  We learn in Dream Drop Distance that he already bears a part of Xehanort's heart.

"Xigbar:  Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a very specific reason--round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind.  Translation--they were gonna turn all the members in Xehanort.

Sora:  Make more Xehanorts?  You tricked your friends to...But you--aren't you scared of just turning into someone else?

Xigbar: Me? I'm already half-Xehanort."

Two statements stand out:  "hook them up to Kingdom Hearts and then fill them with the exact same heart and mind" and "I'm already half-Xehanort."  First, by saying he's half-Xehanort, Xigbar implies that he retains part, or half, of his original self.  And he still displays much of the same characteristics that defined him in KH2 and BBS.  If he's only half Xenahort, then we can look to the first statement to understand why.  Xehanort did not fill him with the same heart and mind. He couldn't. He didn't have access to Kingdom Hearts.  So, instead, he resorted to putting a part of his heart into Xigbar.

There are a few instances in KH3 where it's less clear what is required to become one of the 13 darknesses, and they mostly involve Larxene.  This is where my confusion initially stemmed from.

Larxene reiterates multiple times that, although she has joined with the Real Organization XIII, she has no desire to bear Xehanort's heart.  Even when she meets her end, it sounds as if she has refused to become one of thirteen Xehanorts.

"I lost...to a bunch of losers!  ...But...could be worse.  Become that geezer's heart tank?  No thanks."

I originally took it to mean that she never accepts Xehanort's heart within her body.  However, this quote could also be interpreted as meaning that losing to Sora and friends was better than continuing to bear Xehanort's heart.  And, if you pay close attention to the initial battle in Scala ad Caleum, it becomes clear that she did indeed have Xehanort's heart within her.

 Take a look:

 That’s Larxene’s weapons on that enemy.  Why is that important?

"Once a seat of power for all keyblade wielders, here I and my other selves can be one...in Scala ad Caelum."

Those twelve enemies you face are Xehanort's twelve other selves, most likely the fragments of Xehanort's heart, returning to their Master after their bearers were defeated.  Each has a weapon of one of the darknesses, from Marluxia's scythe to Vanitas' keyblade and Luxord’s cards.  Which means that all 12 darknesses did indeed possess a piece of Xehanort's heart.

So, to state this as plainly as it can be stated, the 13 darknesses that Master Xehanort needed were indeed 13 Xehanorts, but Numbers 7-13 were only half-Xehanort; they bore a piece of his heart and not his mind.  Thus, they were able to act independently from Xehanort and were not his puppets.  This explains both their individuality continuing after becoming one of the darknesses and their subsequent betrayals.

One last bit of evidence of this is from the epilogue.  Even though Xigbar has been half-Xehanort, he still had his own agenda.

"Some time ago I had to cast my old form away.  Been through plenty more semblances since, but it’s still me underneath it all...I had a role to play.  And after all these years, it’s done."

So Xigbar aka Luxu could continue to work toward his own goals even after becoming half-Xehanort.  At this point it should be clear:  although Xehanort assembled the 13 darknesses and united them with his own heart, he was unable to supplant their personalities and personal motivations.  Was this because it was not a one-to-one transfer of his heart?  Or because he did not possess Kingdom Hearts to replace their hearts and minds?  It's probably both.

Moving on, we can now tackle the 7 Guardians of Light:

Sora

Riku

Kairi

Mickey

Axel

Aqua

Ven

 They all died.  And then they didn't.  And then there were even more guardians.

(8.) Lingering Will/Terra

(9.) Roxas

(10.) Xion??

Right now, we're only going to focus on 1-8.  And I'm leaving out Donald and Goofy because they're not Keyblade wielders.  But...wait. If the seven lights have to be Keyblade wielders, does that mean the 13 darknesses must be as well? Indeed, I would surmise that Xehanort needed to place a piece of his heart into all 13 darknesses in order to make them, shall we say, Keyblade-eligible. Thus, all involved in the clash to form the Chi-blade must have the heart of a Keyblade wielder.

When the Seven Guardians initially arrive at the Keyblade Graveyard, they are confronted by Terranort and a horde of Heartless.  And then they are all killed.  Why would Xehanort do this if he needs them to clash to create the blades?  We'll get to that.

Sora ends up in the Final World, which is some sort of purgatory/afterlife.  The rest of the guardians, their hearts and probably their bodies, are trapped in the realm of light.  Xehanort has dispatched a Heartless to collect their hearts and use them to complete the Chi-blade. Their hearts are their lights, and Xehanort is capable of staging a clash with his darknesses in order to obtain the ultimate Key.  But it won't be that easy for him.

Sora, held together by Kairi's belief in him, restores himself, returns the realm of light, rescues the guardians' hearts from the Heartless, and then...travels back in time to their initial arrival at the Keyblade Graveyard.  I'm not even gonna get into that right now.

Instead, let's talk about guardian number 8.  What's changed when Sora returns?  Well, Terra's Lingering Will shows up to confront Terranort.  Where did he come from?  Turns out there's an optional cutscene in the Final World where Sora has a discussion with Namine.

"While sifting through memories, I spoke to Terra, the Keyblade wielder you’ve been looking for.  He has a strong will, and it keeps him tethered to the realm of light.  I’ll try tracing that connection."

Namine is the reason that the seven guardians survive their second arrival at the Keyblade Graveyard, as none seem to remember their first, including Sora and Kairi.  Why is that exactly?  I'm thinking it has something to do with Kingdom Hearts' rules of time travel.

Since the seven guardians survive, they go on to clash with the 13 darknesses.  And each clash begets a piece of the Chi-blade.  Even though all of the darknesses are defeated, save one, the Chi-blade is formed, Kingdom Hearts is summoned, and Master Xehanort is on his way to victory.

Except Master Xehanort is also a portal.  A time and space portal.

What is it with this game and time travel?  We'll take a deep dive in Part 2.

[movieshubstuff]

Genuine Impressions of Stupid Movies

Motion pictures have gotten one of the most persuasive factors in present day society. From beginning new patterns to teaching the normal individuals, motion pictures without a doubt establish a connection on the overall population. Since the revelation of the absolute first film in quite a while, have become a visual documentation on occasions of human development. Discussing the motion pictures that are created for stimulation purposes, here is a statement, from the Pulitzer Prize champ film pundit Roger Ebert: 

"We live in a case of reality. Motion pictures are windows in its walls.They enable us to enter different personalities not just in feeling of relating to the characters, however by considering the to be from another's perspective." 

- Roger Ebert 

Roger once said that craftsmanship is the nearest that we could come to seeing how a more bizarre feels and motion pictures as an amalgum of sound and visual type of expressions, makes a mind boggling and complex type of workmanship. There is an irrefutable impact that films have in our manner of thinking. At the point when we leave a performance center subsequent to viewing a motion picture, we leave with the positive sort of musings relying on the motion picture we viewed. With our duties of day by day life we skirt through bunches of social and passionate viewpoints that keep us altruistic. We live in a world with so much hues and varieties of human viewpoints yet we neglect to perceive and appreciate, while occupied in our responsibilities. What's more, that is the place motion pictures are a sweet token of what we are and what we have. Give us a chance to take "Forrest Gump" for example that depicts the blamelessness of a person, with the soul to make something out of himself in spite of the considerable number of deficiencies. Or on the other hand the later one "Happythankyoumoreplease", which shows characters, the same as the ones in our neighborhood. The characters in the reel world are the same as those in our genuine world and the difficulties they face are only a variant of the ones we face. What's more, films assist us with understanding life through alternate points of view. Check over herehttps://123movieshub.eu

Give us a chance to take present day authentic period motion pictures and old great ones, they are a delineation of how things were in the ancient times. As customary individuals they will in general be a token of our legacy, a wellspring of memory and wistfulness. There are additionally motion pictures like "Edge Runner" which give us a look into how things could be later on, and there are ones that make us giggle and make some great memories. Instructing us, stimulating our entertaining unresolved issues us about the future occasions that could fall upon us, motion pictures have an unquestionable effect on our contemplations and activities. 

There is minimal terrible with each and every great 

Film as an innovation has developed from a straightforward quick moving assortment of pictures to an entangled industry. With the innovation's consistently developing fame, motion pictures have now become a basic piece of our day by day life. Be it in a well disposed visit among companions or the day by day news communicate, motion pictures are one of the topics of exchange. Essentially a type of amusement, films all in all is likewise recorded as a casual wellspring of training. Numerous individuals will in general gain from motion pictures more than some other proper source, despite the fact that that may appear to be an exaggeration. In numerous immature nations motion pictures and TV arrangement are utilized as the methods for instructing the populace for social change and bring a general change. There is no denying on a tremendous reach of motion pictures, this anyway could have a terrible impact, as few out of every odd film conveys the equivalent accommodating qualities. 

Motion pictures that fall under the class like chronicled show, verifiable war films and biopics are frequently censured for taking freedom with the recorded realities. They are blamed for bowing the story to perform occasions and make intriguing motion pictures. One of such films is "Pearl Harbor", which was discharged under a lot of analysis. With producers taking such freedom with the chronicled topics, it is both impolite and inexcusable. Because of such films simple spectators proceed to accept a fiction to be the reality, which is certainly not something worth being thankful for. Then again there are motion pictures that fall under activity and ghastliness classifications which are condemned for fierce substance. Executives like Quentin Tarantino in Hollywood and Anurag Kashyap in Bollywood have their separate explanation and sensible clarifications with respect to such substance. Regardless of their sensible clarifications there is no denying that the introduction to viciousness may cause character issue in kids and other open statistic. There exists legitimate procedures of recognizable proof and assigning class a motion picture experiences before its discharge to reduce such unfavorable impacts. Anyway their quality is just in the same class as the usage. 

Films are Stupid 

"The fact of the matter isn't to stay away from every single Stupid Movie, however to abstain from being a Stupid Moviegoer, It's a troublesome undertaking isolating the great Stupid Movies from the awful ones... " - Roger Ebert 

Frequently motion pictures are named as inept exercise in futility. The conclusion is right individually however we need to remember that there are truly a great many motion pictures speaking to a kind and there are various sorts. In spite of the fact that not every one of them merit our consideration but rather not every one of them merit our aloofness either. Accordingly, the obligation falls upon us to pick the motion picture that would merit the time. Truth be told the selection of motion pictures contrasts with every person. Furthermore, every classification of motion pictures is focused towards a particular sort of group of spectators. 

Each masterpiece is liable to one's own recognition and elucidation, motion pictures are the same. Much the same as any workmanship, every film will undoubtedly have its perspective and a motivation. Motion pictures are the most expressive among all types of expressions in that capacity it is equipped for covering a tremendous statistic with no predisposition of shading, age or district. This advantages the movie producers with the ability to intrigue the immense vulnerable populace with their thoughts. Be that as it may, it falls upon the watcher to pick the correct film. 

Interfacing with a film 

A motion picture without a positive bearing turns into a calamity, in that capacity the greater part of the occasions the chief decides a specific tone of the film subject. With legitimate co-appointment with his kindred associates chief proceeds to make a showstopper that reverberates with our life and attitude. This is the point at which we would be sucked into an alternate world inside and out. Also, that is the genuine fulfillment of viewing a film. Else it would turn into an inept exercise in futility. 

Anyway close to the subtleties in the generation of a films itself, there are numerous variables that influences its association with the crowd. One such case is "The Room" which discharged in 2003 as a free motion picture. The motion picture was composed, delivered and coordinated by Tommy Wiseau, who likewise acted in the film. The motion picture was totally butchered by the pundits while it did a decent business. There are likewise the DC films like "Suicide Squad" and "Equity League" which notwithstanding the basic slamming proceed to gather gobs of cash. The explanation there being the topic however wretched is of high repute to the devotees of DC funnies.