#around the world in eighty days spoilers

[whenthegoldrays]

Wow it's very evident that Jules Verne is not a romance writer, but I still think it's cute that Aouda is the one who proposes to Phileas, and in the end I think they do make a really nice couple.

[oppositetfmu]

Compilation of memes I made on TikToks AI meme generator.

[lilacxquartz]

BEYOND HELLFIRE

true form sukuna x f!reader

plot: back when you were still alive, sukuna had once surrendered a lifetime of peace for you. when he had you incarnated for his return, however, it all went wrong — a/n: canon divergent culling games up ahead, this isn’t canon-compliant to make the story work, but still, major manga spoilers up ahead anyway!

summary: the incarnation was successful, but your memories didn’t retain. now, sukuna had to fight you, or did he?

chapter 2 of 4 < previous chapter • next chapter > • masterlist • on o3

Chapter 2. Present Day

Centuries later, when he was incarnated and then finally broken away from his initial vessel, Sukuna basked out in the open, retaining the glory of his fully awakened form. The world was truly at his disposal and he was eager to break it all apart and watch it burn.

The fights he found himself thrown into were either everlasting or not at all, but one thing remained clear—the casualties were devastating—if not cataclysmic. All of that came to a halt though, from the moment he finally saw you.

It was about time, he figured, as he was already growing bored from the drawl of the same fight without pause. The battlefield was littered with the bloodied remains of the opposing sorcerers who were foolish enough to brave an audience with him; the king of curses. No matter how much of a fight they all put up, they all bled out the same way regardless. Rinse, repeat. Ending their misery as if on clockwork.

At first, though, your appearance barely registered to him. You had to get a lot closer than it was safe for you to do so for him to lock onto the once familiar, stubborn glint present in your eyes. Your body was different, so Kenjaku must have brought you back as an incarnated soul. As soon as he recognised you, however, it was almost comedically clear. That all too familiar way you tilted your head off to the side in annoyance, your slightly crooked posture when you stood, the grimace in your face as you assessed the situation. It was all so… undeniably you.

Fuck. He could have sworn that he cycled through all of the fools that were otherwise thrown at him thus far—you were just next in line, huh? You stood there before him before breaking forward with a calm, measured stride in a vessel that didn’t even suit you. Sukuna found himself scoffing at the sight, his lips twitching to reveal an amused smile, feeling something odd form in the pit of his stomach. What was it? Hunger? Fondness? Or, maybe even, nostalgia? It was a familiar feeling that left a bittersweet taste in his mouth.

Sukuna stared at you intently, with his crimson stare boring into your form in an attempt to commit every detail to memory, unwilling to part with you again so soon. Eighty years back then. It lasted no more than a blink of an eye. Slipping through his fingers like honey. So sweet.

And yet, you didn’t look at him in that same way. Your eyes were stone cold in comparison, lacking that same recognition, replaced with clear indifference, and perhaps even something spiteful. He supposed that he did likely kill off a fair share of your allies, hell, you probably hated him. Sukuna’s smile widened at that fact. Hatred. What a strong emotion. He would have been lucky if he received anything beyond slight irritation back in the day. What an odd thing for him to focus on though, he thought, but then again, you were the only non-sorcerer that he ever found worth respecting, someone that he never had to tarnish with his touch.

For you to be thrown into the death pit as a soon-to-be-forgotten sorcerer was almost too insulting. It didn’t suit you.

Momentarily reminded of you now being a sorcerer in your incarnated form, Sukuna focused on your technique, next. Your ability seemed to stem from bandages infused with cursed energy, which he deemed to be quite fitting, given that your life-long craft was dedicated to reconstruction. He paid attention to how you bound them around minor wounds before whipping them harshly against the air, smoothing them into razor-sharp blades.

He remained standing in place as you advanced on his position, your stance wary but determined. Your bravery was nothing to applaud, not if your life could be so easily taken away, so he tutted a little as you prepared to take him on. Another foolish sorcerer, doomed to end their life within a matter of minutes—maybe even seconds—but no, he had something else planned. That didn’t mean that he wouldn’t toy with you though.

He wanted to tease you.

To toy with you.

“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Sukuna finally broke through the silence, shattering what little remained of your strained composure. “Or who you’re up against?”

You didn’t dare to reply, figuring that it would be wiser not to engage. You were admittedly very afraid. Your existence was sudden, and imposing, and now you had to fight with a whole flurry of broken memories making up your existence in a world that no longer made sense.

Sukuna all the while, found your doe-eyed look to be endearing, wondering what exactly must have been going through your mind as he towered in front of you. He looked down at you with an expression that didn’t betray any of his thoughts, leaving you to reel at the prospect of being struck down at any moment.

He was never one to take fights too seriously, though, that was the thing. At least not to opponents who never stood a chance. When a worthy opponent surfaced, he had the time of his life, but even with you, something felt different. Sukuna didn’t want to fight you, but he wanted to provoke you. So he’d lazily punch his hand forward to test the waters—letting you dance around him as he watched—his eyes lighting up as he watched the bandages snap in the air, never once letting you break his skin.

However, just like with everything else, he quickly grew bored.

You needed to step up—or he would.

“Is that it?” he taunted, “surely you’ve got more fight in you?”

Without hesitating the next time, you lashed out towards him as he intercepted you with an open stance, allowing himself to get caught with one ribbon of the gauze to snag onto his forearm, slicing open his skin. It stung in the same way a papercut would, the sensation barely noticeable, if at all.

Sukuna barked out a laugh. “Cute.”

Your eyes narrowed in response before you broke forward in attempted retaliation with your ribbons spiraling through the air as they snaked towards him. You were quick and given the unforgiving circumstances of the culling games, you likely had plenty of experience to boot, but it still wasn’t enough to face someone like him.

Sukuna easily managed to sidestep all of your incoming attacks, predicting anything you had in mind. You were very new to this, after all, no matter how much practice you got in, you were never meant for this kind of thing. He didn’t think this to insult you, of course, that was just the way of the world. Some were born with cursed energy and others weren’t. It was just a fact of life.

Though, you caught on to him avoiding all of your attacks, perhaps finally noticing that you were still alive. “You’re not going to fight back?”

Sukuna laughed a bit more heartily that time, tilting his head back as he crossed his arms. “Fight you? Do you truly wish for me to break you so badly?” he paused, the mouth on his abdomen cracking a wide smile to match the one above. “If you insist.”

He then without a single hint nor warning—tore forward, his speed faster than what you could keep up with—with a charged fist that hurtled towards your standing form. He withheld using cursed techniques for now, knowing that he had to reserve such energy for more dire threats that lurked just over the horizon. Such an impact sent you flying, flinging you far away, hitting the ground just up ahead, hard, with the pavement splitting upon the impact. For a moment, all you could was simply lie there, with the air completely gone from your lungs, choking on the sudden surging pain.

Sukuna otherwise tilted his head in mild disappointment, not expecting you to be subdued so soon.

He then stepped forward, his imposing build looming over you, as his eyes once ablaze with fiery rage, settled into something tranquil instead. His gaze crossed your face, taking note of how you were at the cusp of losing consciousness, confirming your pulse was still present before taking a step back.

“Makes sense,” he snorted to himself, deciding to move further into the battlefield away from where you lay, deciding to continue this when he had settled another matter, “you were never cut out for fighting.”

He could fix you up later with his reverse cursed technique if need be, but the rise and fall of your chest told him all that he had to know. You were alive. You would be fine.

Sukuna then took a step back, thinking back to the remainder of the enemies that remained. Suddenly, carrying out Kenjaku’s will seemed all the more motivating. He had you back. If he brought forward a target that made him seem like nothing more than a fly-head curse, then he could likely make a subtle exit to bide some time if need be. It didn’t quite matter to him that you didn’t remember him just yet—he would make you if he had to.

Sukuna after all, was sentimental, that much was clear when he considered Uraume and it was clear when he considered any such matters with you, too.

Tucking you away somewhere hidden for later retrieval, he adjusted his plans. Given the slight shift in energy, he determined that Kenjaku was likely down. That’s why the remaining brats in the city ruins likely looked as hopeful as they did. Poor them. They didn’t account for this whole plan being accounted for centuries, planned sooner before they could even comprehend. Sukuna knew the signal perfectly well if his ally was down, the issue beforehand being, that he was simply too selfish to finalise the plan. What irony it was that he was moving forward with the merger for equally selfish reasons in the end.

Sukuna next considered the possibility of Yuta. A familiar cursed energy could be detected from the sorcerer, so he determined that it was very likely that Rika had consumed Kenjaku and stolen his power. The will to carry out the plan, however, was tied to a binding vow, so in theory, if he called for Rika during a fight, then it was still possible to activate the condition needed to succeed.

The main issue was everyone else who stood in the way.

(But he had to try.)

This fight wasn’t about elimination for fun anymore, it was about seeing something through to the end—like you—before you dared to slip away without saying goodbye again.

Making his intentions abundantly clear, Sukuna beelined towards Yuta right away, the young sorcerer’s eyes flashed with realisation, with his grip tightening around the hilt of his weapon, hoping to slash away his advancing presence.

Sukuna however, had him figured out from the start. He moved behind him within a beat, aiming straight for the back of his neck, in an attempt to draw Rika out, and just as predicted, he found himself being pushed back by the emerging vengeful spirit. Her form churned into the open, materialising into overhead space above where the younger sorcerer stood, all the while Yuta quickly caught onto what Sukuna might have been trying to do.

In an attempted halt, Yuta cried out, “Rika, wait—”

However, it was too late. Rika wouldn’t stop if it meant that Yuta would potentially risk getting killed in the process. Sukuna smiled as he was met face to face with her, facing his palm upwards to meet her form with an extended punch laced with cursed energy burning from the cusp of his fists. Before anyone else, be it a bystander or any sort of backup could respond, Sukuna’s cursed energy shifted into something else—something suffocating—impossibly dense, as if the law of space and time was bending under the weight of his will.

With surging energy, he launched accumulated cursed energy to drive forward, drowning out Rika’s presence, and silencing all attempted attacks that she would otherwise attempt to dish out in retaliation. All Sukuna had to do was connect with a certain type of energy, activating exactly what Yuta had Rika consume to prevent the cataclysm of.

“Rika, please, fight it,” Yuta urged, only for her to slowly dissolve, letting the conditions activate and take its place, her body expanding rapidly as if threatening to explore.

Sukuna faded into the smoke as the merger seemed to successfully activate, not paying too much mind as something otherworldly branched out of the detonated mass, nor the rumble of the streets, with gravel rising, trembling in the air at the possibility of something irreversible rising from the aftermath.

None of it mattered anymore.

Not when he had you to watch the world end with him.

this is part 4 of lilac’s bite sized yandere nightmares

a/n part 2: set up the scene a bit to make him extra yan coded by the next chapter 🫶

[sheaymin]

know your enemy fallacy unlocked in my brain so ive played 10hrs of datv after snapping & the review isnt looking good. ive limited spoilers to just one minor one but look at thyne own risk my honest review thus far---

this game is optimized worse than early access bg3, whole environments just dont load or even unload as i run around sometimes stuff not loading for minutes at a time. i have collected loot from chests locked away clearly from places im not meant to be because the damn wall never loaded sooooooooo

dragon age 2: the sequel right down to varric clearly telling the story like he's written it already. this is not a benefit for me, thats a big negative

the prologue is incredibly disappointing after inquisition's MASTER CLASS in how to begin a game. i could literally play by play moment by moment go into why the prologue of inquisition is one of gamings best openings but haha its funny rook beat up people in bar because bad ass teehee

actually the writing overall has taken a step backwards, most quests are uncreatively predictable & the dialogue is flat & lacks any sort of life. its giving MMO quests.

the combat is fun but it doesnt work half the time with the game forgetting the mouse buttons or number buttons exist ive died twice solely because i couldnt actually attack bc the game didnt register i was clicking my mouse or pressing hotkey 1

custom character gets reset at random & i have to reload the game several times for the game to spawn the correct edited character

i would love to care about neve but its hard to give a shit when her voice actress doesnt give a shit about delivering her lines. bellana's actress over acts and thats fine considering her character but these two have scenes together and its soooooooooooo embarrassing to see which actor cared and who wanted a paycheck

actually it feels like 70% of the various cast of npcs are just flatly reading the script & its violently immersion breaking not to mention the game treats the player, the protag, AND the npcs like they are stupid. rook parroting information to a character who parrots it back is not effective or good writing thats just repeating the same words several times so the player doesnt forget, addled by this happens in scenes back to back multiple times about any major plot point which wastes time & paints me, the player, as too stupid to pay attention when i was told the first time

$80 for 40hrs of main story. youre joking. supposedly theres 60-80 overall if you 100% it but the main story can be beat in 40 flat. for eighty goddamn dollars.

so far this has been a mid tier triple a game with dragon age packaging, it took about 4hrs before i actually felt like i was playing a dragon age game vs a copycat styled game. over the shoulder camera sucks im so over this goddamn pov. it plays, looks, & feels like a sony ip in a bad way. god of war last of us resident evil ass controls camera and gameplay.

its jank, the animations glitch & ragdolling just happens, hair textures muck up, again my enVIORNENTS DISAPPEAR. despite running on ultra bc my rig can handle it the textures & some of the models are plain ps3 looking, not nice at all not a loading issue they are just poor assets.

corridor simulator. i sure love that we finally broke free of the curse origins put on da2 where we had repeat maps long hallways & got to never explore bc dai was more open world & while some of the maps were too big we have regressed to going in a straight line, limited exploration, & each widdle level gives you a chest as a pat on the head because we are playing a very pretty platformer :)c $80

why do i have health pots in boss battles, is this a zelda

companion ai is nonexistent & the tab to open the spell / ability menu to tell my companions to do their job is clunky & invasive & in previous games companion ai let the party fend for themselves just fine why does harding have to be told to heal me when any mage in origins 2 or inquisi just already knew because low health trigger

rook is just hawke again. 3 options for dialogue red purple green dont fix it if its not broke i guess but the inquisitor had more options AND the warden had tons of dialogue choices to really flesh out a character. multiple origins are nice but whats the point of these elaborate backgrounds that are constantly mentioned by both rook & npcs if i didnt get to see or play these events. it feels like im playing someone elses character or that rook isnt a player protag its just the character you play vs one you create

f to jump, not spacebar ???? thats not how video games work bioware even you know this because spacebar to jump is the default in inquisition you absolute morons

if you survived this far heres some positives, the first being that i heavily enjoy the legacy characters popping up to support various factions maevaris tilani the bad bitch that you are i gasped when she walked into frame & i could recognize her INSTANTLY which dai failed to do with its legacy cameos like teagan fiona hell even loghain and alistair are uhhhhh not great so im glad we took greater care in making these characters more identifiable

sorry, lucanis hot. im a stupid bitch who likes the crows leave me alone.

it is pretty, i will give it that its a pretty game. the artstyle is a hit or miss tho

i like when rook smiles its the same smile animation the inquisitor had in dai its very cute

transmog is cool ig

u can call solas an asshole within the first hour of the game and that makes up for negative number six bc its my review and i make the rules

im not having fun. like honestly im not. this game is disappointing but im at this point willing to finish the main story at least to get the lore and closure i want from this franchise. this game is this odd thing that doesnt fit in the series & is vastly different from its predecessors in what i see is a detriment. gaider and weeks are VERY different directors and have split this franchise in two for better or worse. while i love dai its not perfect and started the stray away from the formula leading into scary new territory but at least it felt like dragon age. veilguard just feels generic and boring as any EA or ubisoft title out there it feels like a product im aware im playing a product instead of a game. that hurts the most honestly

[al-mayriti]

END OF THE YEAR LIST

i swear i also did this in 2023 but i cannot find it for the life of me. anyways. i have very little memory so since 2022 i decided to make a list over on twitter of everything i do / watch / read etc during the year. and i wanted to have it over here as well just cause <3

so here's my 2024, you can also see everything in this thread here where you can find pics and such, i hope you enjoy it <3

BOOKS:

11/01. anthology of catullus (bilingual edition in latin and spanish by josé carlos fernández corte & juan antonio gonzález iglesias)

28/01. symposium by plato (spanish edition by juan david garcía bacca)

11/04. my uncle napoleon by iraj pezeshkzad (in spanish)

26/05. anthology of sappho (bilingual edition in ancient greek and spanish by aurora luque) [RE-READ]

03/06. the duke and i by julia quinn (in english)

23/06. the viscount who loved me by julia quinn (in english)

08/07. the invisible weevil, by mary karooro okurut (in english)

28/07. the old man and the sea, by ernest hemingway (in english)

16/08. treasure island, by robert louis stevenson (in english)

20/08. genio de oriente, by joaquín maría córdoba (in spanish)

23/08. around the world in eighty days, by jules verne (in spanish i think?)

30/08. jazz, by toni morrison (in spanish)

14/10. the communist manifesto, by karl marx and friedrich engels (in spanish)

18/11. the spoilers, by rex beach (in english)

TRIPS:

13-14/01. valència (spain)

16/03. bolzano / bolzen (italy)

30/03. innsbruck (austria)

11-14/04. london (uk)

27/04. mantova (italy)

04/05. padova (italy)

01/03-09/05. trento (italy) [idk if it counts as a trip as i was living there but whatever]

25-26/05. lisbon (portugal)

10-11/06. firenze - bologna - venezia (italy)

29-30/08. pisa (italy)

THEATRE PLAYS AND MUSICALS:

19/01. desencantadas, at teatro lara (madrid)

12/04. hadestown, at lyric theatre (london)

VIDEOGAMES:

29/01. pentiment (pc)

08/03. summer house (pc)

21/03. showrunner (pc)

10/05. influent (pc)

31/05. urbo (pc)

11/06. fantasy town regional manager (pc)

02/07. toem (pc)

03/07. planet zoo (pc)

13/07. persona 5 royal (ps4) [REPLAY]

29/07. forward escape the fold (pc)

21/09. inazuma eleven 2: firestorm (nds) [REPLAY]

01/10. sword of convallaria (pc)

31/10. anno 1800 (pc)

23/11. pokemon café remix (switch)

20/12. two point campus (pc)

TOP 5 MOST LISTENED TO SONGS PER MONTH:

JANUARY.

5. la edad que tengo by la paloma

4. the ballad of lucy gray baird by rachel zegler

3. when the party's over by paul thin

2. de charco en charco by samuraï ft. belén aguilera

mía (unplugged) by belén aguilera

FEBRUARY.

5. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

4. paenamorar by paula cendejas

3. enchanted by taylor swift

2. si quieres by cariño

quedará en nuestra mente by amaia

MARCH.

5. as it was by harry styles

4. la camarera by paul thin

3. i drove all night by cris b ft. álvaro mayo

2. can't catch me now by olivia rodrigo

la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

APRIL.

5. femininominon by chappell roan

4. felixità by svetlana

3. so american by olivia rodrigo

2. good luck, babe! by chappell roan

no m'estima + by mushkaa ft. julieta

MAY.

5. nunca te voy a olvidar by bechamel

4. dónde by paul thin

3. torna a casa by måneskin

2. muchas cosas by natalia lacunza

aquí by izaro ft. duda in the sky

JUNE.

5. l'amour de ma vie by billie eilish

4. hot to go! by chappell roan

3. all too well (10 minutes version) by taylor swift

2. who's afraid of little old me? by taylor swift

24 rosas by aitana

JULY.

5. but dady i love him by taylor swift

4. tu novio es subnormal by kalipotxo ft. nko, krivex

3. girl, so confusing by charli xcx

2. alondra by paul thin

x by paula cendejas

AUGUST.

5. girl, so confusing featuring lorde by charli xcx ft. lorde

4. villano antillano: bzrp music sessions, vol. 51 by bizarrap ft. villano antillano

3. alondra by paul thin

2. please please please by sabrina carpenter

new woman by lisa ft. rosalía

SEPTEMBER.

5. 96,000 from the in the heights original cast recording

4. ya no siento nada by blackpanda

3. in my bed by sabrina carpenter

2. cardigan by taylor swift

punto de partida by rocío jurado

OCTOBER.

5. misil by carolina durante

4. happier by olivia rodrigo

3. la_original.mp3 by emilia ft. tini

2. normal by carolina durante

people watching by conan gray

NOVEMBER.

5. cayetano by carolina durante

4. hamburguesas by carolina durante

3. 24 rosas by aitana

2. nuestro nombre by natalia lacunza

gente corriente by jordana b.

DECEMBER.

5. santos que yo te pinte by amaia

4. me gustabas así by burgas vandal ft. stivijoes, sick vaira

3. tengo un pensamiento by amaia

2. barbie de extrarradio by melendi

mazo raro by valentino

CONCERTS:

03/02. valeria castro in teatro circo price (madrid)

09/02. pipiolas in sala paqui (madrid)

25/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio da luz (lisbon)

29/05. taylor swift & paramore in estadio santiago bernabéu (madrid)

09/06. olivia rodrigo in unipol arena (bologna)

12/06. bruce springsteen in civitas metropolitano (madrid)

27/06. ot 2023 in wizink center (madrid)

03/11. jacob collier in wizink center (madrid)

MOVIES:

25/02. ballad of songbirds and snakes [REWATCH]

02/06. the eras tour

10/07. inside out 2 [CINEMA]

29/07. bottoms [REWATCH]

21/09. death in the nile (2022)

31/10. olivia rodrigo: guts world tour

24/11. the wizard of oz [REWATCH]

01/12. wicked [CINEMA]

TV SHOWS:

07/03. queen charlotte (2023)

10/03. the bear (2022) - FIRST SEASON

13/03. the bear (2023) - SECOND SEASON

25/03. heartstopper (2022) - FIRST SEASON

29/03. heartstopper (2023) - SECOND SEASON

13/05. paquita salas (2016) - FIRST SEASON [REWATCH]

20/05. paquita salas (2018) - SECOND SEASON [REWATCH]

30/05. paquita salas (2019) - THIRD SEASON [REWATCH]

12/06. abbott elementary (2023) - THIRD SEASON

16/06. bridgerton (2024) - THIRD SEASON

29/09. lucía en la telaraña (2021)

29/12. el ministerio del tiempo (2020) - FOURTH SEASON

[bb-sg]

1189 Days

Gojo x Reader angst story

This story does contain some anime spoilers if you haven't read the manga past the Shibuya Arc.

TW: Heavy angst, no comfort.

Summary: Gojo has been locked away in the box for 1189 days, and finally returns to you.

One thousand, one hundred and eighty-nine days. The sun has risen and set over a thousand times since he last saw you. There have been a thousand mornings that he hasn’t been able to wrap his arms around you while you lay next to him, begging you to stay with him for just a few more minutes. He has missed out on the opportunity to see you dancing around the house, playing music too loud while making dinner hundreds of times.

The second that he is free he goes to look for you, not wanting to go another minute without you. He starts by going to your shared apartment, only to find that someone new has moved in. All of your shared possessions are long gone. He asks the landlord about your whereabouts, only to find out you officially moved out about four months after he was locked away. Gojo’s heart sinks at the thought of you trying to keep up with the rent all on your own.

He reaches out to your friends and family, trying to find you, trying to see your beautiful face again. That’s how he came to find out that you had moved to a house on the outskirts of town. That’s how he came to be standing in your driveway looking into your home.

His stomach flipped and twisted with nerves, unsure how you would react to seeing him again. He had kept you a secret from his colleagues and family, trying to protect you from the jujutsu world. He wanted to keep you safe and have a small part of his life feel normal. Now it was going to be his downfall. He had no idea how he was going to explain his disappearance, but he was going to try. He had to. He had to get you back and have you back in his arms again.

Just as he was about to walk up the sidewalk and knock on your door, he saw you through the window. His heart skipped a beat when he saw your smiling face in what he guessed was your living room. You looked as gorgeous as he remembered, maybe even more beautiful as you matured. Your hair was longer and styled differently, your style of clothes had changed, and you look like you had lost weight. He cringed at the thought of you not eating, he always had to remind you to eat more. Was there anyone there to remind you and make sure you were taking care of yourself while he was gone?

He watched, careful to stay hidden behind a tree, building up the courage to approach you. He watched you laugh at something as you brought in some of your favorite snacks. You looked happy and relaxed, talking away to someone.

Then he sensed it. You weren’t alone in the house, there was a man with you. He watched another man walk up to you and wrap his arms around you.

No. No this couldn’t be happening. Gojo’s heart shattered as he watched the man lean down and place a kiss on your lips. The same lips Gojo had kissed a thousand times. He felt rage bubbling up inside him while he watched the man swoon over you, whispering something in your ear that made you throw your head back in laughter.

As he looked closer, he saw your ring finger sparkle, a shiny engagement ring resting on your hand.

Please God no. Gojo begged and pleaded to somehow make it not true. Was this just a nightmare?

Gojo felt overwhelmed with emotions. Anger, sadness, jealousy, envy, and pure rage. Not mad that you had moved on but angry that he had left you alone for so long. He bit his lip and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, concealing the prickle of tears building up in his eyes. He couldn’t blame you, of course, you would move on after he disappeared without a trace or word.

His legs were carrying him to your door before he could even think of what he would say to you. What could he say to you now? What would he do when you opened the door? He couldn’t stop himself from loudly banging on your front door, staring ahead, and trying not to look into your window.

“Coming!” You yelled from the other room. The sound of your voice made Gojo hold back more tears. He forgot how beautiful you sounded. Your voice, your laughter, and your moans were all music to his ears. He wondered if this would be the last time, he would get to hear you.

He froze in place as the door opened and he met your eyes. You gasped and covered your mouth with your diamond-clad hand in shock, eyes wide with disbelief. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to swoop you up and hold you tight. Being face to face with you broke him down, your eyes swelling up with tears, slowly spilling over and running down your cheek. He wanted to wipe the tears away, kiss your sadness away and take you back home to where you belonged. With him.

You made the first move, taking a step toward him and gently placing a hand on his cheek. The second he felt your skin touch his Gojo lost his composure. The dam holding back his tears finally broke when he felt your touch, the touch he had craved for the past three years. The same hand that had held his own and held him close for so many years. The same hand that now touched another man the same way it had touched him countless times. He gripped your hand and held it against him while the two of you cried in silence.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” He stammered, his voice breaking and uneven through his sobs. He would give anything to go back in time and undo what has been done. When he looked into your eyes, he saw the sadness that his absence created, he saw the worry, anger, and confusion. It made him hate himself.

It’s been eleven hundred days since you’ve seen his face, heard his voice, or breathed in his scent. Thirty-nine months have gone by with no answer to where he went, why he disappeared, or why you haven’t heard from him. Hundreds of unanswered calls and texts still live on your phone, never being read. You lost track of how many times you’ve bawled your eyes out, wondering what had happened. Did you do something wrong? Was it something you said that drove him away?

The first day you had made dinner at home, waiting patiently for him to get home from work. The two of you had planned a night together, watching your favorite shows while enjoying some of your favorite meals and snacks. You set everything up for a cozy night in, trying to make everything as relaxing as possible, knowing he would be coming home after a long day at work. You looked at the time and saw it was already ten minutes past the time the two of you had agreed to meet at home. At first, you shrugged it off, knowing Satoru was always late to everything.

As the dinner grew cold you began to worry. What if he had gotten in an accident? Your mind played out worst-case scenarios in your head, but you told yourself to stop overreacting. It was Toru, you had never seen him get some much as even a paper cut. He probably got caught up with his students or stopped by his favorite bakery, getting lost in some new sweets they had. Then it was midnight. The food you made had been packed up and put away for a while and you sat on the couch, clenching your phone waiting for something to signify he was okay. It never came. Each minute that passed you felt your stomach drop a little more, your anxiety making you pace around your living room, bile bubbling up in your throat.

The first week he disappeared was the worst. You waited up each night waiting for him, only sleeping when your body had finally given into exhaustion, and you passed out. You called his phone every hour but always got his voicemail. Fear and worry sewed into your bones so deep you couldn’t shake it, making you sick. After two days you went to the police station to file a missing persons report. The police did what they could, but it didn’t ease your mind. After going to the police station, you called the hospitals, checking to see if he had been admitted but turned up with nothing. You weren’t sure if that made you feel better or worse. Then you checked the jails, knowing Satoru’s big mouth could have got him in trouble. Still nothing, it was as if he vanished. His friends didn’t know where he was, and you had never met his family so that was already a dead end.

 After the third day, you were frantic. Your chest felt tight, you couldn’t take a deep breath, any time you tried you would start hyperventilating. You called around town again, hoping someone had seen your white-haired boyfriend somewhere. The apartment you shared was in shambles after you turned over everything you owned looking for some clues or answers. Maybe there would be something in his things to give you any idea where he might be. Who he might be with. You found a shirt he wore the day before he disappeared, and you clutched it to your chest and cried. The smell of him still lingered on the shirt and it made you ache. You remembered going to the store with him in that shirt, grabbing him by the collar to pull him out of the candy aisle. You thought of how handsome he looked in the shirt as he sat across from you at dinner, gently stroking your arm while you complained about your day. His beautiful blue eyes peering at you over his glasses as he looked you up and down adoringly. This was the same shirt that you had started an argument over because he threw it on the floor when you two got home instead of the hamper. Regret settled in your chest, seeping out of your pores. It all seemed so stupid now, so insignificant. Maybe he just left you. Maybe he was tired of how you nagged him or how moody you could be. Finally moving on from you and finding someone better. You wailed and buried your face into the shirt.

With Each day that passed you felt yourself growing more and more numb. Half the time you paced around your shared apartment, praying he would walk through the door with a goofy smile and a wild story. The other half the time you spent calling around, putting up posters, and checking with the police. After a couple of weeks, the cops determined it to be a cold case, preparing you for the worst outcome. They told you the likelihood that they would find him alive was slim. Your heart shattered, you left the police station and sat in your car for an hour. You cried and screamed at the top of your lungs, begging god to wake you up from this nightmare, to end this agony and suffering.

After a month, you noticed the posters you had put up started to come down or were replaced with something else. You continued to call around, but it was clear that there were no leads and everyone else seemed to give up hope or get annoyed with your incessant calls. You spent all your time in your apartment alone, just waiting. You lost your job weeks ago when your boss lost their patience waiting for you to come back to work. Not that you cared. The food in your fridge went bad, including the meal you had prepared for him, but you never cleaned it out or restocked it. You couldn’t bring yourself to clean, to eat, or to shower. Eventually, you just slept and waited for him.

The only thing that was bringing you any comfort was a photo of the two of you that you held close. You stared at the picture of you two smiling widely at the camera. You traced the shape of his smile and relived the moment over and over in your head. You pleaded with God to give you another opportunity to make more memories with him.  

Two months later your friends and family began to worry about you. When you didn’t return their calls or texts, they elected to drop by your apartment to check on you. After they found you, living in chaos, holding Gojo’s shirt while you slept on the couch they decided to intervene. Your best friend packed a bag for you to go stay with them, but you resisted. You screamed and yelled for them to leave your apartment because he could come back any minute. Any second he would come home to you. You just knew it. They dragged you out, kicking and screaming, telling you it was for your own good.

Time seemed to stop moving, day in and day out you laid around your friend's house. They tried to get you off the couch, but you refused, not wanting to experience life without the love of your life. Your friend put out food and water for you every day, but you barely touched it. You had already lost weight, but it didn’t matter to you. What was the point of going on now? Satoru was your world and your future. Now you couldn’t see any purpose to keep taking care of yourself if you didn’t have him in your life. 

Did he really abandon you?

After three months you became angry. How could he do this to you? After all the time you had spent together how could he just vanish without saying a word for months. You then received news that you were being evicted. You returned to Gojo o and your apartment to pack everything up. Going through his things it hit you, he wasn't coming back. After four months you began to accept that he wasn’t going to walk through that door again. You prayed that he was at least safe.

It took six months for you to start eating again and sleeping less. You humored your friends and got off the couch a few times to go out. You plastered on a smile, put on a mask and laughed at their jokes, all the while feeling numb inside. You began looking for a new job, trying to pretend like you were back to normal. You went through the motions everyday, carrying an empty shell of yourself around, fooling those around you. You felt nothing.

Then one day, while at your new job, you met a coworker who genuinely made you laugh for the first time in eight months. He sat next to you on your lunch breaks, bringing you extra food every day to make sure you are eating enough. It started as a casual work friendship, but you found yourself looking forward to seeing him each day. He was sweet and patient with you.  He didn't ask about what happened but reassured you that he would be there if you needed him.

Eventually, he started to need him. You confided in him while he helped you get back on your feet. He made you laugh and smile again, his bubbly personality winning you over and breaking down your walls. He almost reminded you of Gojo.

A work friendship developed into a relationship, starting out slowly. You found yourself wracked with guilt at first feeling like you were cheating on Gojo. That faded with time, so did the pain, the numbness, and the agony you felt over the past year. Although not a single day didn’t go by that you didn’t wonder where Gojo was. 

You learned to love again and be loved. You and your relationship flourished and grew stronger. After a year and a half your boyfriend had asked you to move in with him, then later on to marry him. You happily accepted his proposal, moving forward with him. 

Now, over three years later you are staring down the face of a ghost. Looking into the eyes that had haunted you for so long. Your chest tightened and a wave of sadness washed over you as you remembered the countless nights you waited for him. On the other hand, you felt a sense of relief, knowing that he was alive and well.

He looked broken and lost standing in front of you. You couldn't help. but reach out and comfort him, placing your hand on his cheek. His large hand covered yours while he cried.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” He choked out the words, barely audible over the two of you crying.

You pulled your hand back and ran into his arms, wrapping your arms around his neck. Gojo held tight against him like he was afraid you would evaporate into thin air.

He smelled just as you remembered, fresh like clean linens and lemon. It reminded you of your old apartment, your old life. You buried your face in his chest, not wanting to pull away from him just yet.

Gojo held you close, breathing you in like it would be his last breath, his last chance to touch you. He cradled your head against him as the memories of you came flooding back to him. Time stopped as he held you, praying for this moment to never end.

Like all good things, it came to an end as you pulled out of his arms. His eyes pleaded with you to stay just a little longer, but you heard the sound of your fiancé shuffling to the door.

“Honey, who is at the door?”

 Gojo released you as he heard your new lover approaching. The man walked around the corner to see what was taking you so long. You stepped back from Gojo and turned to your fiancé, wiping the tears from your face.

“Sorry, um this is-”

“An old friend,” Gojo interjected. He watched you turn back to him with red and swollen eyes. He had ruined your life once; he wasn’t going to do it again.

“I just wanted to stop by and say hi since I was back in town, but I should be going now.” He watched your fiancé approach the two of you, wrapping an arm around you protectively. He was happy to see you being cared for, being loved in his absence, even if it killed him inside. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and forced an innocent smile to spread across his face. His cerulean eyes drifted down to you, studying your face one more time.

“You seem happy. It was great to see you again. I should go though.” He said to you, holding himself back from touching you one last time.

You felt your chest tighten as Gojo looked you up and down. You knew the smile he wore was fake, you would be able to tell that from a mile away, you knew him too well to be fooled. You wanted answers, to know why he vanished, but you accepted that maybe this would be all the closure you got. It was enough to know he was safe.

He turned to walk away, his heart breaking with each step he took away from you. Away for good. 

“Please take care of yourself.” You called out to him as he turned his back to you, officially closing the book on this chapter in your lives.

He couldn’t bring himself to look back again, he knew if he did, he would run back to you. He would selfishly plead with you to leave with him, to go back to bed with him so he could wrap his arms around you and beg for just a few more minutes with you. 

You were happy, safe, and loved. That was going to have to be enough. For now. He wiped his face clean and pushed his glasses back in place before officially leaving you once again. 

Please give me feedback! I'm not sure how I feel about this :(

Please reblog to help me spread my work and keep tumblr alive. Likes, follows and comments are always appreciated.

Thanks for reading!!

[kyndaris]

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Our first proper day in Seoul had us running through the city using my highly advanced map-reading skills because Google Maps could not show even simple routes in and around the city except via public transport. This was due to the censorship laws of South Korea preventing the storage of map data on foreign server devices. As a consequence, Google cannot legally provide any real time navigation. Or so Google and Reddit tell me. Instead, locals rely on Naver and Kakao, but which do not always have English translations and thus tourists such as bleachpanda and myself are left fending for ourselves.

Still, after enjoying a ham and cheese 'Dagel' for breakfast at a local cafe, bleachpanda and I set out to Namsam Seoul Tower (or N Seoul Tower for short). Along the way, we stopped at the Namdaemun Market. There, we inspected the stalls to see what was on offer. Although we were both tempted to purchase souvenirs at this very first stop on our journey, we both resisted the urge.

We had, after all, not even properly seen the city!

Instead, bleachpanda and I purchased some egg tarts and a warm drink to drive away the wintry chill. While bleachpanda guzzled down her mocha, I was left disappointed by my 'choco latte,' which turned out to essentially be chocolate milk.

From Namdaemun Markets, we hiked towards Namsan Mountain, visiting a local 7-Eleven along the way to see if they shared any similarities to their counterparts in Japan or Australia (spoiler alert: they shared much more with their Asian cousins in Taiwan and Japan than those found out in the West).

Once at the start of the hiking trail up to Namsan, bleachpanda blanched at the prospect of climbing up to the tower. But with some gentle coaxing from me, she acquiesced. And so, we clambered up the mountain.

Bleachpanda, being the less fit of the two of us, required numerous stops to catch her breath. But these rests were also opportunities for us to take pictures of the scenery - capturing the early moments of spring peaking through as the snow began to melt.

By the way, did I mention there were love locks all around N Seoul Tower? Because that was a thing. As well as at the base of the mountain having a statue dedicated to the Comfort Women from the Second World War.

Still, it was aggravating to wait for her but it was the cross I had to bear as her travelling companion. Especially as we were nearing the tower and she vanished for nigh on eighty-four years because she ducked into a store to buy a fridge magnet.

At the tower, I purchased our entry tickets up and away we soared to the observation deck with a group of American tourists. Once at the observation deck, the entirety of Seoul was spread out before us. I used this chance to take copious amounts of pictures from this bird's eye view of the city:

Bleachpanda and I even bought a few souvenirs, including postcards. While I sent mine to a good friend (here known as redoubt on the internet), as he has a penchant of posting postcards to me when travelling overseas, bleachpanda sent one to her sister and another to her future self.

Once we had drunk our fill at the tower, we took the cable car back down to civilisation (bleachpanda's request) before heading to Deoksugung Palace. As I navigated our party towards our destination we refuelled at a Dunkin' Donuts before continuing onward.

Unfortunately, once we arrived at Deoksugung Palace, it was closed (this was due to the fact this palace is closed on Mondays. Why? I'm not sure. We would revisit it later). Disappointed, bleachpanda and I trekked instead to Gyeongbokgung Palace where we managed to catch a changing of the royal guard. During the performance, an explanation was provided regarding the process and of the outfits worn by the performers, which were based on 15th century Joseon dynasty clothing.

Fun fact, Gyeongbokgung was the main royal palace of the Joseon palace and was built in 1395. Additionally, everywhere we looked, there were people dressed in hanboks because they allowed free entry!

Alas, bleachpanda and I were dressed in our thick entry gear. And so, we had to buy tickets to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace. I also grabbed an audio gudie to provide some commentary of the historic site we were visiting, although I had to trade in my driver licence.

As we made our way through the Palace, I learned how the Palace served as the heart of the Joseon dynasty before it was razed to the ground when Japan invaded Korea back in 1592. This was later rebuilt in 1867. Within were several precincts and the living quarters for concubines and the royal family. Of interest to me was how there were separate palaces for the King and the Queen.

I also learned how during the Japanese occupation in the early 20th century, Gyeongbokgung was used for their own headquarters, with the Government-General Building being built after the Palace was levelled. After the conclusion of the Second World War, however, much of Gyeongbokgung has been restored.

After we had wandered through to all the major sites, bleachpanda and I exited out near the National Folk Museum of Korea. Eager to have my driver licence returned, we headed back to the entrance and exchanged the audio guide for my Australian identity document.

From the palace, we then headed to Bukchon Hanok village and finally nabbed a late lunch of pork cutlet - elsewise I might have keeled over. After we were both full, we took a gander around Bukchon, stopping by Bukchon Yukgyeong to snap an iconic view of the city of the buildings there and the city of Seoul splayed out before us.

Once we had snagged the picture, bleachpanda and I headed back to our hotel after a long day out in the city of Seoul. We stopped briefly at Jogyesa Buddhist temple before purchasing a few souvenirs and snacks.

So ended our first proper day in Seoul! Join me for the next few weeks as I regale you, dear reader, of our further adventures! For tomorrow is when we head into the DMZ (the last letter pronounced as Zed for all you Americans out there).

Looking back on our journey though, I'm a little sad I couldn't snag myself a hot CEO boyfriend after he hit me with his car. Still, there's always next time!

[sawtastic-sideblog]

I am so sorry to anon. I meant to save what I posted as a draft and it posted while I was taking a test. Anyway here's the finished one!

Contains spoilers for Downton Abbey season 3 and Adam is a LotR fan in this I jsut forgot to write it in.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Adam climbs, ready to see his beloved children. The last few days have been rough for him. He's had to follow a doctor that has been cheating on his wife. It's emotionally draining.

He fumbles the his keys and drops them to the floor with a loud clang! Adam curses under his breath as he bends to pick up his keys. He hears a door open to his right, revealing a short plump woman with green eyes that shimmer in the dim hallway lighting.

"Oh, Adam! I thought that was you! How are you, darlin'?"

"I'm good, Mrs. Ortega. How are you? And Mr. Ortega?"

"We're both good. We wanted to invite you over for dinner next weekend. My family is flying in, his family is driving up, and we're gonna have some friends over too."

"Oh, um, thank you, Ms. Ortega, but I don't know. I'm not big on crowds and in small spaces. Not really my scene."

"How 'bout I bring you a plate? My family is bringing the southern cuisine and Miguel's family is bringing the authentic Mexican cuisine. Abuelita is making tamales. My mama's making her chicken and dumplins and I'm making my blueberry pie you like so much."

"That sounds greats, Mrs. O. Thanks."

"It's not a problem dear. Oh and I think my daddy is bringing you some old camera equipment his daddy gave to him. He said somethin' about one of th first cameras ever made being passed through the generations. He likes you, son."

"Oh, wow, I couldn't accept that."

"You will. Daddy is very convincing. Especially in his old age."

"Eighty one isn't that old."

Mrs. Ortega laughs and turns to walk back into her apartment. Adam jams his key into the lock as his neighbor calls out to him.

"Give some love to Merry and Pippin for me?"

"Of course, I will. Goodnight, Mrs. Ortega."

"Goodnight, Adam."

Adam walks into his apartment and throws his keys in the bowl of the table by the door. He sets his bag down on the table as he toes off his shoes. He scans the open area of his apartment in the light from the standing lamp by the wall.

"Mer? Pip? Where are you?"

He makes his way into the kitchen and grabs a can and a bag of cat food. He turns around to pick up two ceramic food bowls. One blue with 'Merry' etched into it with white paint making the letters pop and the other is a matching green one with 'Pippin etched into the side. Birthday gifts from Mrs. Ortega. She always treats Adam, Merry, and Pippin like her own kids. The Ortegas never had children of their own but have nieces and nephews who come to visit sometimes. Mia, the thirteen year old daughter of Mrs. Ortega's sister, has taken an interest in photography. Everytime she visits, Adam gets a knock on his door. He's more than happy to talk with Mia, go on walks with her, her brothers, aunt, and uncle to take pictures of the world around them, and show her how to develop pictures in his home red room.

Adam turns back around to see a figure sniffing at the bag of food. A pair or yellow eyes look up at him expectantly. Adam smiles warmly.

"Hi, honey," he says as he walks to the counter and sets the bowls down. He holds his finger up and moves it towards a small pink nose. "Boop."

A small 'mrrrhp' is the response Adam gets before the cat headbutts Adam's hand, demanding to have attention. He happily obliges and scratches the cat's head.

"Hello, my little Merry-baby," Adam coos. Merry rubs against Adam's chest as he opens the can of food and halves it into the bowls. He adds some dry food with it. His cats will eat anything and, somehow, Mrs. Ortega has a lot of cat food and brings it to him. He doesn't complain. Free food for the cats.

Merry, the cat currently sitting on the counter watching as Adam walks towards the mat again, is an orange short-haired tabby. She has yellow eyes that are always full of mischief. She is two years old and is so full of energy. She loves to cuddle and always finds her a seat somewhere on or near Adam. She was sitting outside of the hospital one day as Adam was leaving. In his very drowsy, tired, and sick mind he decided to try to catch her and ran out into the middle of the road. He was almost hit by a bus, but a tall, blonde man pulled him out of the way. When Adam went to protest the man shut him down, grabbed the cat, shoved it into his arms, and told him to go home. Adam went back to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder a few months later and met the man again. A doctor by the name of Lawrence Gordon. Adam was smitten by him and asked for his number while under th influence of painkillers. Dr. Gordon laughed and asked about the cat.

Pippin, who is currently no where to be seen, is a short-haired tuxedo cat. He's nine years old and likes to lay around in the sun all day. He's still spry in his old age and is often found perched at the top of the cat tower. Yet, another gift from the Ortegas that was made by Mr. Ortega himself. He's been with Adam for a long time, since he was six months old. Adam found him in the dumpster behind a bar. He was trying to hook up with some girl who was so drunk she couldn't keep the contents of her stomach inside. Adam heard a small sound coming from the dumpster and peeked inside. He saw a plastic bag moving around. Curious and slightly drunk, Adam reaches for it. When he opensnit he finds a very small and malnourished cat. His yellow eyes wide in fear. Adam looks back at the woman and decides to call her a cab. He waits with her when her friends come out and gush over the kitten and thank him for the cab. Adam gets home and looks up how to take care of a kitten. He was terrified because he could hardly take care of himself.

"Food time, babies," Adam calls. Merry leaps off the counter and walks over to her bowl. The sound of old joints popping and the shaking of the cat tree from the cat atop of it stretching. Adam walks over to the wooden tower covered in soft fabric and puts a hand out. The old cat bumps Adam's hand with his head. Adam scoops him up and cradles him in his arms. He walks towards the untouched bowl of food as he peppers kisses all over Pippin's head. He gently places the old cat by his bowl and walk to his bedroom to change into his pajamas. His phone vibrates in his hand as he walks toward the living room.

"Hey, babe," Adam greets his friend.

"Adam, I've told you not to call me that."

"Aw, come on, Larry, everyone deserves to be called 'babe' every once in a while."

"Yes and I have a wife who calls me that," Lawrence counters. Despite the annoyance in his voice, Adam can hear a smile.

"Whaddya want, Larry? I gotta fix food and cuddle cats."

"Alison wanted to see if you wanted to go out for dinner tomorrow night."

"How about you guys come over. Diana loves the cats and the Ortega's are having a dinner party next week, so I was thinking about having them over for dinner before then. I won't feel bad if they bring me a plate after that," Adam jokes. He hears Lawrence chuckle before he continues. "I also have this recipe Zep from work sent me. Looks pretty good. And it comes from Zep. He's an amazing cook."

"I have to agree with you. Let me run it Alison."

"Let me talk to her. I'm very persuasive."

"Okay, hold on. I have to go find her," Lawrence laughs.

"Hey, babe," Alison's voice rings down the line. Pippin hops onto the couch and bumbles his way over to Adam, sitting beside him with paws on his thigh. Adam's hand immediately goes to Pippin's head and scratched behind his ear. The cat purrs in appreciation.

"Hi, Ali. Adam is on the phone to talk about dinner plans. You're on speaker, Adam."

"Hi, Adam."

"Hey, Alison. Lawrence said you wanted to have dinner together tomorrow night. I was thinking you guys could come over and, hi, Merry, I'll have the Ortegas over. Zep gave me a new recipe," Adam explains and greets his cat by petting her head.

"Sounds great. Six work for you?"

"Perfect. I'll let Mrs. O know."

"Need us to bring anything?"

"Just your dazzling smile and Larry's charming personality. Oh, and Diana. Can't forget her."

"They won't forget me!" A small voice yells indignantly. Adam laughs and grabs the remote from the coffee table. He reclines back and props his feet on the table. Merry walks down Adam's legs to the coffee table and just sits staring out at nothing on the other side of the room. Adam's hand finds Pippin's side and pats.

"Did your hear anything, dear?" Lawrence asks, amusement dripping off his words.

"No, did you?"

"Nope," Lawrence says.

"Adam! Tell mommy and daddy that I'm right here!"

"I think there's an intruder in your house, Larry."

"Me too. I'll go take a look."

"He's on the hunt," Alison says. Adam hears the grin in her voice and can imagine Lawrence stalking around the kitchen and living room of his house. He hears high pitched squeals and laughter coming from his phone. His eyes scan the rows of television shows and movies on his screen. He chooses his guilty pleasure show. 'Downton Abbey' has been his thing for years. He, Alison, Diana, and Mrs. Ortega often have watch parties. When he has a bad day, likes to cuddle up under a pile of blankets, eat his weight in pizza, and cuddle the cats. "Do you have food, Adam?"

"Yeah, I ordered pizza."

"Good. Just making sure you're eating. Lawrence told me about your bad day."

"Yeah, it has sucked, but I have my kittens to cheer me up."

"Have a better night."

"Thanks, Al. I appreciate you. and Larry. And the rugrat." "Goodnight, Adam. We love you." "Bye, Adam!" "Bye, Addy!"

Lawrence and Diana both shout at the same time. The corners of Adam's lips curl up at the use of his nickname Diana gave him. He bids them goodnight and hangs up. The doorbell rings and he stands up, much to Pippin's displeasure. Adam brings the pizza over to the coffee table and turns on the show. Hours later, Adam is still watching the show. Tears stream down his face as Tom Branson clings to Sybil.

"Please, don't leave me, Love," Tom begs.

"Don't leave him, Sybil," Adam whispers as he wipes tears away. Merry stretches from her spot in Adam's arms, her head in the crook of his neck and his arm cradling her like a baby. His other hand returns to Pippin's back. Pippin is laying in a loaf on Adam's thigh. He is facing the television, staring in the direction of it, almost like he is watching as Sybil's life fades and, once again, the Crawley family is thrown into the arms of grief.

"Fuck," Adam sobs, burying his face into Merry's side. Merry's paws finds Adam's head as she starts to chew on Adam's hair. She twists and turns and hops from Adam's arm onto the arm of the couch. He picks up Pippin and pulls his feet out form under him and onto the floor. The episode ends and Adam turns off the television.

"I think it's time for bed, kitterinos," Adam says as he stands and stretches. He wipes at his face as he goes though and turns off all the lights. He goes to brush his teeth, cats following him all the way. The orange rubs her face against his ankles.

"Meow," Pippin calls from the bedroom door.

"Ahh," Adam says back. Pippin responds with another meow and Adam responds with another lowercase scream. They go on like this until Adam goes into the bedroom.

Once in bed, Merry finds her way to the second pillow on the bed and curls up facing Adam. Pippin finds his rightful place on Adam's chest as Adam scrolls on Youtube to find a video to listen to as he goes to sleep. "Goodnight, my sweet boy. Goodnight, my sweet girlie. My pretty kitties."

He closes his eyes and runs his hands over Pippin's back. The old cat purrs and does the little paw thing that cats do over Adam's ribs. Merry presses her head against Adam's head. He smiles and reaches his free hand up to pet her. She spins in a circle and lays with her face on Adam's shoulder, one paw tucked under her and the other on Adam's shoulder. Adam angles his head towards Merry's back and lays his face on her hip.

He feels so loved by these two small creatures. They put all their trust in him and he puts his own happiness with them. The three of them are a family. They all love and trust each other. This is the most love Adam has felt in his life. He can say that these two make his life complete and he doesn't know what he'd do without them.

Adam is lulled to sleep by the sound of both of the cats purring and Shayne Topp's voice reading Reddit stories.

[iviarellereads]

Full TLT series to date thoughts on rereading Harrow the Ninth, chapters 1-5

A probably semi-regular weekly bonus to my reread blog, since sometimes you realize things on reread that just make you need to yell in a full spoiler space.

I love seeing all the ways Harrow's haunting affects her when she can't remember why. The sword, Wake's spirit, literally burning her. The Body, in all her loving glory, who she can remember… mostly, but not entirely why. My poor trauma baby sitting in the bed she made.

The moment where Harrow, or perhaps Gideon, thinks that John can see "the Body" but it's a trick of the eye still gets me though. What would John give to see Alecto? What would he do if he did? Well, I suppose say "good morning" given the end of Nona, but you know what I mean. It's only a matter of time until we find out at least.

And, of course, Alecto appearing with a sword. She understood, on some level, what she made herself for him. A cavalier. She loves him still. I think nobody can be all bad if Alecto loves them. (Which is why Nona's reaction to Ianthe delights me so.)

I don't think we got any confirmation that those five hundred or so people had made it to the Ninth ahead of Nona's finale, did we? Never thought about that discrepancy before, and definitely didn't notice it the only time I read Nona on release day.

I know a LOT of people in the fandom really hate John, think he's an irredeemable villain. And, I can't fault any of the reasons why they jump to that conclusion. Just look at his manipulation of Harrow in chapter 2, the self-effacing, "Nooo, don't kneel to me, if you knew the whole truth you'd probably hit me instead." Still… I want to believe this is going somewhere better than that.

"Number Six had better be dead, because Cyrus won't be coming back." Did the ultramassive black hole keep Cyrus's soul, in such a way that John couldn't retrieve it?

Alecto the spirit's voice, with the "uncanny echo" of other voices… I see so much of the setup for Nona this time around.

I'm still inordinately proud that I figured out the lobotomy and Gideon this early. I don't want to lead anyone too hard if I have first time readers in the posts… but it's COMPLETELY fair to start to make guesses when John stumbles over Harrow saying Ortus instead of Gideon. As soon as G1deon showed up I knew, not the entirety of Dios Apate Major obviously, but I definitely knew that "ORTUS" was who Gideon's mother was yelling at/for.

I'm sure the POV use in Harrow is significant at all times, but chapter 3 puts a wrench in all my theories about how and why. It's third-person, but not in the River-bubble, which is the only other time third-person is used in Harrow. I can't explain WHY this bothers me in the post or even draw too much attention to it but it does, in fact, bother me greatly now that I've noticed it.

I'm still mad in the fun way that Muir threw us such a red herring in "She was the eighty-seventh Nona of her House". The nerve! The cheek! Never stop! <3

The lengths to which Harrow went to avoid killing Gideon, to avoid a world without her in it. Every dang time, y'all. Gets me right in the feels. I am, however, rather annoyed at Gideon for seeing the letter, maybe seeing everything, and still believing Harrow wanted to be rid of her rather than that she couldn't bear to live without her. Oh, kids.

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #580

Top Ten Iron Man Suit-Up Moments in the MCU

Ah, back to the MCU; along with stuff to do with Transformers, this is absolutely my Top Ten comfort zone (memo to self: “Top Ten Comfort Zones”). And where would the MCU be without Iron Man? The lodestone of the entirely seventy-film, eighty-year saga (or something like that). Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Tony Stark really did set the tone for the entire endeavour though; he was the backbone of the franchise for about a decade, and provided it with some of its best and most iconic moments, right up until his heroic death in Endgame (spoiler alert).

Whilst a lot of what made Downey’s Stark so great was his delivery – his louche demeanour, his charming arrogance, his way with a nifty nickname (“Legolas”, “Manchurian Candidate”, “Lebowski”), so much of it also derived from how well various filmmakers displayed his signature superhero hook – that is to say, the Iron Man armour itself. Right from the off, Jon Favreau rooted the visual style of the first Iron Man in an attempt at something approaching down-to-Earth realism; from the gritty Middle East-set opening, with its War on Terror-evoking palette and action, through to the street-level action and boardroom shenanigans, it felt a world away from Tim Burton Gothic Gotham City or the hyper-colourful New York of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, and a lot closer to what Christopher Nolan was attempting at the same time over in his Dark Knight trilogy. And this extended to the portrayal of the suits; all whirring cogs and shifting pistons. Whilst we know arc reactors and repulsors and the things of fantasy, the armour itself still felt like something that could just about exist in the real world. I remember back in 2008 thinking the most out-there aspect of the whole film was the idea that Stark could have designed a sentient AI in the present day.

As the films ploughed on, barrelling into the wider MCU with aplomb, the scale, scope, and tone shifted somewhat. As soon as giant green rage monsters, space Vikings, and wizards became part of the MCU, Tony’s humble suits ran the risk of looking quaint. As such, new films explored new ways of dressing up Our Tone, giving him snazzier duds that he was able to pull on in new and exciting ways. And that’s what this list celebrates; not the various Iron Man armours themselves, but the really cool ways Tony gets dressed into them in different films. Because – again, right from the very start – one of the showpiece spectacle moments of most Iron Man appearances has been seeing him suit up for the first time in each movie, revelling in the way the armour wraps itself around Downey’s frame. It also helps to showcase the different styles and improvements he’s made over the years. And that’s what I’m ranking here. Just below.

One caveat: I’ve called this a “suit-up” list, but there are a couple of outliers here. Some are when he’s removing his suit; I think it still counts, because it’s seeing the different ways it goes on or comes off that I like (er, that sounds dodgy). And there’s at least one that’s technically not really a suit at all, but it’s something Iron Man-y that Iron Man wears, so I’m including it. What can I say? I love it three thousand.

The Briefcase Suit (Iron Man 2, 2010): after the first film had established the concept of Tony Sark putting on his shiny metal pyjamas, the second one naturally had to twist it and show it off in a new and exciting way. As an inventor, it helped to also show Stark’s ingenuity; as a comic adaptation, it would be cool to call back to something from the source. Hence the transportable suit-in-a-can, a briefcase that contains a lightweight easy-on version of the armour. It’s cool on a number of levels but for me the best bit is the way it goes on, unfolding accordion-like, pulled in two separate directions to activate the armour. It looks great, and this whole sequence is by a mile the best thing in the film.

One-Button Suit-Up (Captain America: Civil War, 2016): taking the ingenuity to heretofore unmatched heights is the suiting-up process in Stark’s private jet. Up till now the film has deliberately shied away from Iron Man, instead giving us Stark the negotiator, the politician. Now, finally, he suits up, pressing just one button on his chair, only for the mechanisms to spring forth and wrap around his finger, as he’s pulled backwards into the plane as parts of his armour are built up automatically around him. It’s an almost organic process and while it makes little practical sense it does look great.

Automatic Suit Removal (The Avengers, 2012): here we do have, to be honest, a suit-off process. Landing on the balcony-slash-runway of his sumptuous tower (full-tilt diva), a series of circular tracks rotate around him as mechanical arms grab and remove all the parts of his armour. It’s a streamlined version of the robot arms we’ve seen in the prior Iron Man movies, and the fact it takes place along walkway gives it an almost assembly-line feeling. The icing on the cake, though, is how nonchalant Stark is, never breaking his stride or slowing down as the machines do all the work.

Mark 42 (Iron Man 3, 2013): Stark’s travails with his new armour in this movie are a recurring gag. The new suit is – a bit like the robo-arms from earlier films – given a good deal of personality and there’s a lot of humour as the individual components rocket around and bounce off things as they try to find their mark on Stark. It’s a great, fun sequence that again shows off Stark’s inventiveness; and it’s paid off again and again, especially when he calls upon the armour to rescue him doesn’t go quite as well as he’d hoped. I also want to shout out the homemade jerry-rigged “suit” he builds out of the contents of a local B&Q, but as we don’t really have a “suit-up” moment for that I didn’t include it in the list.

The Nano Suit (Avengers: Infinity War, 2018): after praising the more down-to-Earth nature of some of the suits, here we go with something so outlandishly futuristic it borders on magical. It was fairly obvious Downey was leaving the franchise because really, where do you go from here? A nanotech Iron Man suit that almost bleeds itself over his body, generating weapons and shields organically. It’s a great effect, and the culmination of every bit of tech we’ve seen from him before. But it’s the first moment he puts it on that really rocks, when he tosses his glasses aside and seemingly tugs on the strings of his hoody to activate it. He is Iron Man.

The Watch (Captain America: Civil War): yeah, here we go again with something that can only charitably be referred to as “a suit”. But it’s just so damn cool, and again it’s another show of his ingenuity. Many references are made to him being a “civilian” in Civil War, only wearing his “Tom Ford” suit. But when the need arises, he taps a few commands into his watch and then sort of pulls it over his hand in one incredibly cool motion, creating one Iron Man glove. It allows him to off a few repulsor blasts and is robust enough to stop a bullet at point-blank range with seemingly no ill-effects.

Veronica (Avengers: Age of Ultron, 2015): the Hulkbuster armour is something from the comics so naturally everyone was clamouring to see it realised on-screen. Its use in Age of Ultron is great – the best bit of the film? Nah, that’s Hawkeye’s “the city is floating” speech – because of how it’s teased and how it unfolds. We know that “Veronica” (a nice play on Betty and Veronica) has been designed by Stark and Banner to control the Hulk just in case, which adds a good bit of tragedy to the proceedings. But launching from space, initially plonking great walls around the Jolly Green Giant, with some kind of Centurions-style wing-suit just about visible attaching itself to Iron Man in the background. And then the reveal: all the component parts fired from space, clicking into place around Stark’s existing armour, his squat round head flopping down over his tiny human head. And the fight begins, which is great; bonus “suit-up” points for replacement limbs flying in when Hulk trashes the existing ones.

Mid-Air Suit-Up (The Avengers): Stark’s nifty suit-removal system in his penthouse has already been singled out, but there’s another really cool moment in Avengers. Typically this scene is remembered, I’d say, for Stark’s “We have a Hulk” line to Loki, but his suit-up is great too. Slyly putting on some wristbands during his convo, he’s chucked out a window and mid-fall his new suit is fired to him, locking onto those fancy bracelets (still attempting some kind of just about plausible technology at this stage) and then folding itself around him like an uncomfortable-looking billion-dollar blanket.

Testing the Mark 2 (Iron Man, 2008): the iconic red-and-gold Iron Man armour is actually the third suit he wears in his debut film. And whilst it’s cool and all, it’s this, the first “real” suit-up moment, that I think set the stage for all that followed. Stark’s various automated arms and appliances piece the suit together around him, with lots of close-ups of screws being whirred into place and different flaps and hinges opening and closing. It’s an almost pornographic depiction of metal, a real petrolhead’s dream of the future. As I said before, the realism afforded this suit – its tactility and rigidity, its almost plausibility – gave the whole film and, really, the whole MCU a solid foundation.

House Party Protocol (Iron Man 3): well, where to start? The finale of Iron Man 3 might be another CG-heavy aerial battle, but conceptually it’s so damn fun. The running theme of a traumatised Stark building too many suits comes to a head as he unleashes all of them, running on autopilot, but available for him to jump into and out of at a moment’s notice as he battles the metal-melting Extremis-addled baddies. Cue a helter-skelter sequence of Stark leaping into one suit, ejecting just in time, losing (mechanical) limbs, getting picked up by another suit, et cetera. It’s hilarious and – that word again – ingenious and in culminates in a fantastic Mark 42 gag.

Shame I didn’t have room for Stark using the Mark 42 to save Pepper in Iron Man 3, but there’s only so much you can do. I think the various ways filmmakers have depicted these suit-up (and suit-down) moments over the years has been tremendous fun. Thus far, the “Iron Man-adjacent” characters we’ve met in Black Panther haven’t had anywhere near as cool a moment to shine. Hopefully the Ironheart show will give us a new contender.

Also, looking at the gif from Civil War again: where does the top of the glove come from? These films make no sense!

[whenthegoldrays]

Okay, review time for Around the World in 80 Days (2004)!

I actually really liked the setup and concept of this adaptation. Making Phileas an inventor, though being just the sort of change I'd expect from a Disney adaptation (minor eye roll), actually plays out quite nicely, taking him the logical extra step beyond an educated gentleman who knows about science, to being an actual scientist.

I admit the trailer misled me about how the wager came to be, and Passepartout starting a gossip chain and inspiring the wager in order to get out of England quickly was unexpectedly hilarious.

So our two heroes set off, landing first in Paris, France. My hopes are high, and so far I'm thinking this movie could end up being a solid 7.5/10.

And then I realize I spoke too soon.

Things quickly get annoyingly wacky. First Phileas meets the lady who will become his love interest — an aspiring French artiste (RIP Aouda).

After some action involving the Chinese gang trying to steal back what Passepartout stole (back) from the Bank of England, the trio set off in a hot air balloon and soon find themselves on a train that, after a time skip (and an admittedly hilarious scene involving Phileas and Mademoiselle Monique's — gasp! — uncovered ankles), stops in Istanbul.

And then, we are thrown into one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever been subjected to, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger (?!) and the traveling trio in a hot tub (?!?!)

Prince Schwarzenegger wants Monique as his seventh wife, Phileas saves her by threatening the prince's precious statue of himself, and they run. Time skip number two has us in India, and guess what? Inspector Fix is here too!

(Side note: the men discussing the robbery and deciding to send an arrest warrant for Fogg to India and one of the stuffed shirts going, "Thank God we own India!" is legitimately one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Thank you for your Very Subtle introduction to British colonialism, Disney.)

Fix is actually, legitimately, the most sad, broken husk of a man I have ever seen in my life. You could knock him over with a feather. How did this man get to be a police inspector in the first place? Your guess is as good as mine. But in this adaptation, he's a corrupt officer bought by the men of the Academy of Science to stop Fogg's journey. He actually somehow manages to get one (1) handcuff on Passepartout, only to promptly be used as his weapon to fight off the gang that's pursuing them.

Long Annoying Action Sequence, Phileas and Monique nearly kiss, and we're off once again!

We are now in China, in Passepartout's village (where we learn his real name is Lau Xing). Fogg, feeling rightfully betrayed when he finds out that Monique and Passepartout have been keeping the bank robbery secret from him and thereby putting his life in danger unnecessarily, storms off and decides to continue the journey on his own.

[insert Even Longer Annoying But Kind Of Plot-Relevant-This-Time (Though Not Enough To Make Me Want To Write About It) Action Sequence here]

Uhh... *checks notes* oh yes, Passepartout/Lau Xing accomplishes his mission of returning the sacred relic to his village, and then Fogg leaves China alone.

(Wow, one way or another, every adaptation has had Passepartout accidentally causing trouble for and then getting separated from Fogg between China and San Francisco!)

In San Francisco, Phileas has 19 days left to finish his journey. He's basically got the wager won — and then all his money gets stolen because he is A Literal Fool.

Passepartout and Monique catch up to him three days later, finding him failing spectacularly at being a beggar. Emotional Reunion, etc etc, and they cross America, meeting the Wright Brothers along the way (an actually really funny and good scene, featuring Owen Wilson!!)

And then it's time for Final Annoying And Probably Even Longer Action Sequence! This time featuring an unfinished Lady Liberty! Also featuring Scary But Cool Chinese Warlord Lady.

Maybe it's just because I already don't like long fight sequences, but these felt especially dragged out as they were so largely silly and exaggerated. I suppose it's a Disney movie, after all, but still. Not a fan of that.

And then, Phileas, Monique, and Passepartout board the ship Carmen (would it have killed them to call it Henrietta?) and, once the captain decides to go full speed ahead for the sake of Fogg's wager (which he's also bet some dollars on) and finishes up the coal, they resort to the classic practice of dismantling the ship and using the wood, but not to burn it for fuel! Instead they build a flying machine, the design of which Fogg somehow still remembers after briefly looking at Orville Wright's blueprints several days ago. (Also, there's a really weird... thing that I wouldn't call a joke involving the captain and an encounter with a shark that made me very uncomfortable once again.)

They fly into London (never mind that they would've had to go through Liverpool first), crash on the steps of the Science Academy, and the clock strikes twelve noon, indicating that they've lost the wager.

But then, in another painful reminder that this is a DISNEY MOVIE (!!), Phileas's rival, Lord Kelvin, starts ridiculously monologuing about how he sent assassins and other saboteurs after Fogg, and after a little girl states that the Queen will stop his evil plot, he begins to mock the Queen in the most cartoonish way possible, only to come to find that (of course) she's standing right behind him.

Kelvin is arrested, the Queen explains the International Date Line loophole, and Phileas and his companions rush up the stairs of the Royal Academy, winning the bet with over 23 hours to spare. He and Monique kiss, everyone cheers, and that's ✨the end✨

Honestly, this had the makings of a great campy adaptation and was incredibly funny at the beginning and other moments scattered throughout. The jade Buddha plot is actually compelling and General Fang is a cool villain that's on par with what I'd expect from Disney (in a good way this time). Unfortunately, this movie suffers a lot in translation. Fogg's romance with Monique is just... there? It feels incredibly rushed, with the actors not even having that much chemistry.

Speaking of rushed, I suppose we all knew that things had to be sped along to fit such a long narrative into a two-hour movie, but adding all those long action set pieces drained away a lot of the time that could've been spent building an actual bond between Phileas and Monique, or including anything found in the original book at all (RIP Inspector Fix, we hardly knew ye).

Also, Fogg is not very likable. I don't know what it is about him that just rubs me the wrong way. I think I'm officially placing him as my least favorite Phileas Fogg of all the ones I've watched.

And while, like I said, about half of the jokes and comedic moments land pretty well, the other half is just plain cringy and sometimes even painful to witness. At least those moments aren't dragged on for very long.

And what else to say about this film? I suppose it could be enjoyable enough if you're not familiar with the source material or show up with no particular expectations. But even then, one would more than likely notice the insane pace and lack of chemistry between the romantic leads. Jackie Chan is good though.

Despite a valiant effort, this movie lands, as expected, at the bottom of my ATWIED adaptation ranking, with a 5/10 rating.

Time to cleanse my palate with the David Niven version.

[tsilvy]

SO. Reflection time. Bear with me because this is long and rambly and spoilery for episode 5 of Around the world in 80 days.

All under the cut.

I can't believe they did that. I really, really can't believe it. I'd have bet money they would do the heroic run trope and save Fogg from the lash at the last second. But they didn't, and that's as clear a choice as I can think of. But I'll talk about that later.

First, do we all agree that this is the worst thing that could ever have happened to Fogg?

Just to put things into perspective, notice how Fogg comments as soon as the police starts searching him. "I've never been more humiliated in my life," he says. This was already out of his league at the very suspicion of theft. This is a man who is never touched nor seen by anyone. This is a man who is uncomfortable with hugs. But most importantly, a man whose rights have never been violated in his life.

The reason I am iterating this is I want everyone to understand the significance of what we've seen.

Because the fact is, this is not the most life-threatening event happened to Fogg during the journey. He's been on the verge of dying twice and a half. But the brutality, it's unheard of. A brutality he's ill-equipped to come to terms with. What we're seeing here is a monstrous imbalance of power, with Fogg on the wrong side of a scale he's known for the entirety of his life.

I cannot overstate what kind of humiliation that is to the psyche and self-esteem of someone who is already as withdrawn as he is. And the fact that it comes right after another tremendous blow to his dignity, not even 24 hours later.

Granted, he's seen a lot of things and listened to alternative facts and unlearned some of his biases already, but now you know, you just know, he's not going to come back home the same person he was before. He's been on the other side now. He's lost every single shred of privilege, he's lost control, in the single most brutal and irreversible way there is.

This is a choice they did, a statement: sometimes things go a bit wrong actually. And some things you just can't undo. To make an omelette you need to break some eggs, after all. They made a choice to leave an impression on him (and us) of his time in Hong Kong. Like, from now on Hong Kong is going to be code for a complete mess. It's a point of no return, if I ever saw one.

But there's another choice, another statement, that put into context with the other elements of this show marks the significance, the wrongness, of what we've seen.

The fact is, this is the opposite of all the things he's feared could have hurt him. This is not some """inferior culture""" robbing or kidnapping or killing him. This is not adversity in a wild, hostile environment. This is not one of the dangers he was warned about. In fact, it's the one he wasn't. This man was never warned about the structures, the people he should trust, turning on him (Bellamy included, but that’s for another post).

This is his pals, the English, his very pals, the 'masters of their trade', as Fogg puts it, those who were supposed to bring civilization to the world. It's the English who are hurting him, who are abusing their power, who are acting out barbaric practices and human rights violations, who are reveling in cruel impulses because they're removed enough from England the empire can't see it, or doesn't bother to.

Look at Fogg in that cell listening to the screams of the man being flogged before him, with tears in his eyes. Even just witnessing something like that, is too much.

THIS is the worst betrayal. The whole episode is about betrayal, but this is by far the worst. And it's yet another step of Fogg realizing the lies he's been told, this time experiencing it on his own skin. Because no, this wasn't at any point about Abigail exposing him, or Passepartout doing something very stupid that ultimately put Fogg in danger. This is about tiranny, injustice, the disregard of precisely those rights that protect the people from incidents and errors of the law like this one. Coated in a veneer of respectability.

Now I understand, this whole bit felt insidious, the vibes felt rancid, precisely because they were among the English. They were among power like never before, and that's what power does, the moment it can: it oppresses, it hurts, it cripples. They stopped being safe the moment they went to that party. Ah, the irony.

And I'm incredibly impressed with this show for pulling all that, for daring to go there, for crafting the single most gut-wrenching sequence of both a failure and a victory. And there's no celebration, mind you. No obligatory toast, not even a patching-up scene. Because we can't even begin to imagine how Fogg is feeling, and we shouldn't have to.

[sic-vita]

Around the World in 80 Days Ep 4 x David Tennant’s costume choices 

atwi80d gifs: 5/?

[snitling]

I watch Around the World in 80 Days for the plot, and I'm definitely not obsessed with David Tennant's beautifully fragile, birdlike shoulders, no sir. I'm not looking at the cut of his thick, dark hair at the back of his head, and the vulnerable, feminine way his back is exposed above his shirt holds no fascination for me whatsoever. I am a good Catholic girl.

[the-stolen-century]

I'm fervently hoping that in the 2nd season, Aouda will be Captain Nemo. That would explain why her role in Season 1 is so much smaller than in the book. And the actress is so cool, I think she would make an amazing Captain!

Please say they're doing Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, like Willy Fog 2

[preciousyorkshiregallifreyan]

Phileas Fogg in episode 8 of Around The World In 80 Days