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ceiling-karasu · 3 months

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World-Building for My Squirrel and Hedgehog AUs: Flower Hill Area Specific

I could not find the motivation to write for The Rod That Blocks the Lightning this week, so I made these instead. Splitting it into three posts, because they are pretty large and a lot of information. I also cannot draw well, so I have

So, I think I have finally figured out how my AUs work a bit in context of the Squirrel and Hedgehog universe, or at least what I will use. This is subject to be changed as time goes on, but none of this should spoil anything I have written so far, or what I will write in the future.

Shout out to @sah-headcanons for listening to me ramble nonsensically about ideas for AUs for the past 3-4 years, and offering encouragement the whole time as I had revelations to actually write it out! Might have taken an offhand comment or two they made and turned them into entire massive plot ideas.

For one, the continents appear to be about the same as in the real world. I am assuming the flag colors represent the dominant culture or country in the region.

It is likely that Asia is more in the middle, but is blocked on the screen here. Some real life world maps have their own country in the middle to make it easier. It is safe to say that North and South Korea would be in the same shape and place.

As such, I think I can say that some of the same concepts will appear throughout all of my AUs. It does not necessarily mean they are taking place in the same timeline/AU, just that the areas, countries, and concepts are the same.

History of the area Around Flower Hill:

As with regular Korea, it used to be run by emperors, and had a strict caste system split up by species. Strong predators such as tigers were at the top, while weaker animals were towards the bottom. Most creatures lived in villages located according to their species or biological (food, sleep, hibernation) needs, and did not mingle with each other.

Within each caste, there were hierarchies depending on how useful the attributes of the family bloodline were. For instance, sheep that grew wool rapidly that could be used as clothing, as with domesticated sheep, were higher ranking than sheep who did not have fast growing wool, or wool that simply blew off (wild sheep). This would help explain the appearance of domestic sheep, pigs, and Korean Village dogs in the absence of humans. Plus why accusing individuals of being a lapdog or running dog is apparently a thing in universe.

Likewise, animals within a caste with a bloodline that allowed them to see colors better than others were also higher ranking, such as wolves seeing the color green, since they cannot in real life, and seeing green made them more effective in their tasks.

Eventually, the royal families were overthrown, as was the caste system some time later. Newfound trade allowed different species to move between areas and better survive, leading to populations forming alliances with each other based on what they needed and for protection, as well as larger villages and some cities.

However, even generations later, echos of the caste system still remain. Weasels and tigers still see themselves as being superior over mice, squirrels, rabbits, and other, smaller creatures, for instance. Inter caste system issues still occur, such as canines that have trouble seeing the color green seen as lesser than canines who can see green.

Descendants of the old royal families still exist, and while some are content with their lives, others seethe over the lost power their ancestors used to hold. Some wish to hold the values of their royal ancestors, whilst living within their means. These descendants can usually be identified by the possession of a royal or high ranking family munjang, which is useless to many, but still gives the wielder much respect.

I also have the headcanon (and we came up with these ideas separately) that Mulamgcho's family are descendants of royalty. Although it does not seem as if he wishes to reinstall an empire himself, as much as live comfortably and in power somewhere with his surviving family member(s).

Food and dietary habits are close to that of real world animals. Animals that eat meat subsist on seafood (non-sentient in this universe), small non-sentient birds, and insects. Cannibalism, even of the enemy, is seen as unclean and taboo, so bodies are disposed of as quickly as possible and thoroughly as possible to prevent temptation. Crematoriums are a booming business, although the wealthy may get personalized electrified coffins to dispose of their bodies in a more individual manner, if funerals are available, as seen when General Commander Jogjebi faked his death.

The split between South and North

I hold the idea that weasels and other obligate carnivores live in villages around the ocean and large lakes in the South. There, they are able to create fish farms for food. The south of the continent is great for fish farms, as long as they are properly managed, although agriculture is possible. Other inhabitants live towards the middle of the country, or labor for the weasels.

The North of the country is better for agriculture, and proper management has made it very profitable. Fish farming is possible, but given the coast would require considerable more effort. Smaller species, and those who were not obligate carnivores, also migrated up north to avoid the amassing weasels taking over the power vacuum from the royals. Silkworms also thrive in the Northern climate.

Weasel Empires:

Location and Geography: South Korean area. The weasels mostly live in villages around the coastline in small fishing kingdoms. Smaller weasel villages might live inland around larger lakes. Non weasel species, such as mice, also live inland in impoverished villages. But the villages are subject to being raided, with inhabitants being forcibly conscripted into the service of the weasels, when not taxed heavily.

Government: A central government dictatorship, but since the territories are scattered, the strongest weasel in the area leads.

Economy: most of the economy comes from fishing. There may be small areas of agriculture for species that work for the weasels. Wheat and rice farms exist for the purpose of making soju for export in some areas. Weasels levy large taxes against all non weasel villages, leading to very poor villages that struggle to survive and trade amongst themselves. Agriculture is looked down upon, so while farming could be viable, it is seen as for servants and lesser species.

Demographics: Mostly weasels and mice, some crows, anyone else they can force to join to their side.

Foreign relations and relations involving Flower Hill: The weasel policy is to fish farm in an area until there are not enough fish to sustain the current population. Then, they will create a new territories up or down the coast. However, severe mismanagement has led to a depletion in fish across the weasel villages throughout the nation. Flower Hill has coastlines, and therefore, fish. Which means more power and food to whoever takes over the area, which is also very rich in other resources. Also, forced labor for the fish farms, so they can rule over the area while they themselves relax. Many upstart weasels are promised fame and power if they occupy a region of Flower Hill, and the temptation of new servants to rule over. The mice are mostly just desperate to take over Flower Hill for the food, and to force the residents to work for them so they can taste a bit of power for once. Propaganda posters also promise mice and crows higher pay and higher ranks for joining the army, and the idea that they can treat the residents of conquered regions as their own servants.

Political Alliances: Wolf Unit and tiger kingdoms, and what would be the equivalent of Japan, in universe, that I have not gotten around to yet as I highly doubt they will play a part.

Traditional Clothing style (other than military gear): Much taken from the Japan equivalent, clothing is a Kimono covered by a Haori, although these are usually worn more by high class individuals.

Regular shirts and trousers are worn by lower and working classes. Villagers more towards the inner part of the country wear simple, traditional Hanbok.

Other: The idea of the weasels needing to stay on the coast works with a certain concept with the Kidnapped Scientists AU. It would be an interesting idea to have the scientists eventually work with the weasels by helping them conquer inland areas around Flower Hill, knowingly forcing the weasels to waste resources trying to get extra fish to the area before it goes bad, as well as having the army be stretched thin.

While the Weasel Country is allied with the equivalent of Japan, the country is not interested in helping the weasels take over another country due to pressure from the international community, and the fact that they see countries as too small for them to want to get involved.

Flower Hill:

Location and Geography: North Korea, although I assume the rabbit villages are China. Varies between coastal, woodlands, plains, lakes, rivers, and mountainous areas

Government: Stratocracy, where the government is headed by military chiefs. Villages may have their own chiefs, but they answer to the military in the end. Strangely, more and more village chiefs are becoming military chiefs...

Flower Hill also encourages education and sending intelligent individuals for prestigious universities to hopefully bring back new ideas and information that could help the economy and the government, although it is noticeable that almost everyone that goes seems to have an affiliation to the military as well...

Economy: For the most part, Flower Hill is an agricultural nation, with plenty of food to sustain the population. Fishing is also popular, and many countries like the local goby fish. Science and research allows for many discoveries and patents to be made in Flower Hill.

Honestly, I saw sah-headcanon's post asking about what carnivores eat, and wound up seeing if insects were a food eaten in Korea. What I found was that Beondegi (silkworm pupa) is a well known food in Korea, sold as street food and in convenience stores. Which has led to me deciding that Flower Hill has a massive silk and silkworm industry that takes up the bulk of the exports. Good for lots of food, and also for fancy clothing for themselves and other countries, which bolsters foreign relations.

They will import what they need from other countries.

Demographics: squirrels, hedgehogs, ducks, monkeys, pigs, sheep, deer, geese, bears. Originally, each species had their own specific jobs, such as squirrels being farmers, hedgehogs being military, ducks being the navy, monkeys being entertainers, and so on. But that was abolished a few generations ago, and the hedgehogs encourage other species to join in the military or try other careers.

Foreign relations: Flower Hill prefers to keep peaceful relations with other countries. Even though they are being invaded by the Weasel Unit, they will still invite weasel leaders to diplomatic events and festivals. However, dark secrets are hidden deep from the international eyes. Many countries enjoy the high quality silk that comes from the area.

Political Alliances: Jindo Dog Island, Chaand Hadia, Chambelli Koh

Traditional Clothing Style (not including military uniforms): Flower Hill citizens would wear intricately patterned chosŏn-ot, bolstered by their massive silkworm pupae industry. Otherwise, shirts and trousers for when they are working.

Other Countries/continents outside of the local area:

Tiger Empires: believe that they are of royal blood, and at the top of the old caste system, and will occasionally create small empires. Their disregard for other species usually results in their collapse. Tigers tend to be the main villains for many Korean cartoons, so it is an interesting concept.

White-Naped Crane Party:

Used to be the upper class clergy and preachers meant to keep the lower castes under control. Most of this group fully supports the return to the emperors and caste system. White-Naped Cranes in real life primarily live in the demilitarized zone of North Korea, but they do migrate to other areas before returning. Therefore, it is only natural to have them appear at some point.

Their migrations have them bring back strange, new ideas of subservience to emperors, and they cause each disruptions that Flower Hill considers revoking their traditional permits to come and go as they please. They also tend to be found within the territories of Tiger Empires.

Other Countries:

I don't think other countries outside of the immediate area will feature too much. For them, It's too much effort to get involved in that type of conflict for a country that is not a big superpower. I do hold that the Geneva Convention and international courts exist, but not because of World War reasons. Due to species restrictions, events like World Wars are not possible, but rules of warfare are, for decencies sake.

Travel and trade is still allowed into the area, and both the weasels and Flower Hill avoid angering citizens from other countries due to diplomatic reasons, which can lead into reporters poking their noses in there they don't belong...

Outside of Flower Hill, in more industrious countries, there are larger cities. Universities exist, and some are very prestigious. But, due to the lack of travel ability and certain species restrictions (climate and such), long distance and online classes are available and seen as valid.

#squirrel and hedgehog #Flower Hill #sah #SaH #lily bell in the thorn thicket #the rod that blocks the lightning #this is what I have so far #long post #flower hill #weasel unit #silkworms #Beondegi #munjang #world building #finally #gif of Kronk going 'it's all coming together'#sah-headcanons #info dump #feel free to ask questions as long as you are nice and polite

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wh6res · 4 years

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chase — renhyuck

“needy kitty. i can’t wait for purge night.”

tw bullying, violence, swearing, yandere themes, possessive themes, blood, weapons (a gun, a grenade), implied noncon, implied kidnapping, mentions of stalking

disc i dont condone this behavior

wc 5k

‏‏‎ ‎

29 hours before the annual purge

“hold her down—i said hold her down, idiot!”

putting everything into account, they saw you more like a glorified chew toy than an actual person.

they ruined your life simultaneously and it's ironic, that despite being sworn rivals, it seems you were their neutral ground—after one has had their own fun, you’re passed on to the other person so they can deliver that final, shattering blow that weakens your resolve.

it was meant to be that way because it had always been that way. you’re the unlucky loser that ignited the worse sides of both lee haechan and huang renjun.

they’re like oil and water; they don’t mix but with you, they found a compromise. stealing your lunch money, trashing your homework, quickies in between lectures. all of these should’ve been enough to give them a good power trip. but they’ve developed a hunger so severe that these past instances are but mere crumbs that hardly satisfy their cravings.

it was beyond exhausting, being caught in between two headstrong people that were unwilling to back down at any cost. their aggression and anger towards each other directly being channeled onto you as they shove and swing you around like some ragdoll.

you weren’t a bunch of kids, you knew that. you don’t cry and sob and say that it’s unfair, you hold your chin high and walk up to the guidance counselor’s office to report them for bullying. but you never should’ve underestimated the power of money and their respective families’ broad network of connections.

without a doubt, the empty promises for justice is what broke your heart the most. it breaks with every bruise, every tight grip, and every nasty name the people willingly turned a blind eye to.

it’s sad but it was a reality you taught yourself to get used to—the meek mouse learning how to evade the cats hot on her trail.

but you weren’t as lucky today.

“i am holding her down.”

a pair of lips comes in contact with your neck. its feathery and light at first until its biting down to mark you with his teeth. not too strong to draw blood, but enough to dent the surface of the skin.

haechan has an oral fixation. biting his lips. his nails. whenever you see him, he always has a lollipop on his mouth and if he doesn’t, he’s painting hickeys across your skin. you hated his oral fixation, especially when makeup and clothes proved useless to hide the marks he gives you.

“why run?” renjun asks you, slipping his fingers underneath your skirt as he kneels. “you know you have nowhere to hide in the campus.”

haechan snorts. “or anywhere else.”

it’s always the same thing. you go to school. you sit in your first period for thirty minutes until one of them shows up. then the other boy probably felt a gut instinct that he’s missing out on the fun. last time, it was an empty classroom in the abandoned left wing.

they like taking you there all the time, it was always dark, the blinds pulled and shut tight. not to mention it was incredibly dusty. but both male knew you’re afraid of the dark, exactly why it’s their favorite spot. but empty classrooms and supply closets are close seconds, too.

“you’re so pathetic. useless—only know how to whine like a fucking pornstar,” he quickly comments, feeling you arch against him when renjun’s tongue comes in contact with the pearl between your legs. “my cumdump.”

you feel a sharp exhale against your lower lips. you shudder. renjun clicks his tongue in annoyance. “can you shut up? you’re making my dick soft with all that talking.”

but haechan had ignored him completely, blissfully ignorant of the petite boy’s frustrations as he angles your head up to crash his lips onto yours. when he slightly pulls away, still playfully nibbling your bottom lip, what he said next made your blood run cold.

“needy kitty. i can’t wait for purge night.”‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

6 hours before the annual purge

the price to pay for protection started rising again this year and you, much like your neighbors, are in a sense of turmoil. jamming the doors with cabinets and nailing your windows with wood is hardly enough to satisfy the gnawing feeling in your stomach. much less when you didn’t even have a weapon to wield other than a wooden bat and a cheap taser you bought on sale.

“its not like anyone will be coming for you, right?” the little girl says, touching the randomest stuff in your apartment. her name was naeun and she never really liked pink and sparkles like most girls her age, maybe that’s why she took a liking to you.

her mom works a 9 to 5 and her grandma stays with her on occasion. but the old lady loved to sleep, naeun said, so she gets the chance to slip out and come knocking on your door. you tried shooing her out of your apartment countless times but she’s stubborn.

she reminds you of yourself.

“well, i hope no one does.” you joked, putting on a turtleneck.

naeun’s mom doesn't like you as much as it is, but if you yourself let naeun see the bruises on your skin? you’d hate yourself forever. “now, come on little missy, go back to your grandma. i need to head over to the bank to settle my protection fees.”

“but you just said no one is going to come for you anyway,” she whines stomping towards the door. “mom already settled ours yesterday becase grammy forced her to. mommy said it was just a waste of money because who’d bother to rob us anyway?”

a memory flashes in your head. two boys who’ve sandwiched you between them in the dark of a fucking supply closet at uni. wandering hands, labored whispers, curt giggles, one pair of lips trailing up your neck while the other up your inner thigh.

“needy kitty. i can’t wait for purge night.”

you needed that protection. that was no slip up because haechan never makes mistakes. if he wanted to make you feel like some animal on the run after catching a whiff of trouble then he sure is doing a good job.

“hey! i think you just went someplace else there,” naeun says, nudging your side irritably to get your attention again.

you try forcing out a chuckle but it doesn't work, still deeply peeved by a memory from last week replaying vividly in your mind. if they ever mean what they meant (which you know they do) then this is now more than just trying to get through the night—you have to survive, prepare, and pray neither of them finds you.

“i think your grandma’s right in doing what she did, naeun. with humans, you’ll never know.”

and just like that naeun went silent, bid you goodbye, and disappeared behind the apartment door.

the bank was a quick walk from your apartment. you hardly broke much sweat and you even managed to stop by the grocery store to make some last-minute runs. the store’s nearly empty, deserted of any human being as the seconds slowly but surely ticked away. it was only when you walked past aisle seven did you pause, the hairs on your back standing as a slow chill crawled up your spine.

you look over your shoulder.

no one’s there.

you swallow, quickly looking down your watch to check the time as you made your way to counter. 3 hours before the annual purge. you needed to get your ass moving. you just need to grab one more thing and you’ll best be on your way.

you practically ran towards the dairy section and just as you spin around, strawberry ice cream pint in your hands, you jump as he appears before you in thin air and you drop whatever you’re holding.

“such a skittish little kitten,” renjun clicks his tongue, bending down to retrieve the ice cream on the floor. “here you go.”

you couldn’t even stare at him in the eye. your hands shook but it wasn’t because of the cold desert. now you get it. it’s his eyes you felt on you earlier, ever intrusive and piercing as he watched you from afar. was he stalking you?

“i didn’t quite catch a thank you, kitty.”

how foolish of you to think he’ll let you duck away without at least speaking to him, hm?

“thank… thank you?”

renjun grins, satisfied with your stuttering as he raises a hand to ruffle your hair—he ignores how you flinched away from him—before walking away with one hand in his coat pocket, whistling an eerie tune that can haunt your nightmares way after purge night.

“see you later, kitten.”

if it wasn’t the whistling that set you on edge or that clear promise of your doom—it’s the pack of zip ties and duct tape in his hands.‏‏‎ ‎

you were watching a rerun of your favorite morning reality tv when it cuts to the dreaded blue screen showing the flag of korea.

this is not a test.

this is your emergency broadcast system announcing the commencement of the annual purge sanctioned by the south korean government.

weapons of class 4 and lower have been authorized for use during the purge. all other weapons are restricted.

commencing at the siren, any and all crime, including murder, will be legal for 12 continuous hours.

police, fire, and emergency medical services will be unavailable until tomorrow morning until 7 am when the purge concludes.

may god be with you all.

you’ll never get used to the blaring siren that echoes through the empty streets. you can feel the floor vibrating and it travels throughout your whole body as the dread starts sinking deep into your skin.

you’ve already double checked all your windows and the front door. activated the security system provided by the bank. and you’ve also already charged your taser and have hammered down nails into your wooden bat. fine. if they wanted to scare and bully you into a panicked frenzy, it did its job but fuck no will you go down without a fight.

you shut all the lights, the apartment basking in the moonlight glow brought by the translucent curtains as you make your way to your bedroom, nearest the emergency exit just in case they barge through your front door by force.

at first, nothing happened. it was peaceful. tranquil. you can hear a pin drop with how quiet it was. both inside and outside. you were almost tempted to cover your mouth in case you were breathing too loud.

it’s silent. until it wasn’t.

your phone rings. it’s there, vibrating on your desk and you make long strides until you’re face to face with a set of numbers on your screen. an unregistered contact. there’s a debate inside your head whether to answer it or not, fingers hovering between the red and green button… until it eventually lands on the green.

you put it up to your ear, hands sweating as you wait with bated breath for the person on the other end to speak.

“kitten?”

it’s renjun. you don’t answer.

“i can hear you breathing, you know. i can’t wait to see you. we’ll have so much fun together. it’s sad that i have to share with that imbecile but better half of you than nothing of you, right?” he laughs and you feel a rush of anger surge through you. yet, you don’t bother to give him the satisfaction of a reply.

“i can see you’re angry, little kitty. while it’s cute and hot… don’t be. turn that frown upside down for me, wouldn’t you?”

but the blinds are drawn he couldn’t have seen you—

“you’re never going to get me, you fucking bastard. i’m not scared of you,” you sure do hope he can’t hear the tremble in your voice. “whatever you plan on doing to me, you’ll fail.”

you walk back slowly, eyes darting everywhere to look for a camera they could’ve installed in your room. they have connections and the money to do it so you won’t put it past them.

“oh, my stupid kitty. how can we fail when we already got a head start?”

the floorboard behind you creaks and before you could turn around, someone slams your head against the desk. you hear a crack, whether it’s the screen of your laptop or your nose, you couldn’t tell. the person is agile and silent as he maneuvers you to the ground and seals your lips with duct tape.

“after all,” haechan giggles. “you can’t lock out what’s already inside, kitten.”

your phone lands somewhere near your head. renjun has already dropped the call and the line goes silent.

squirming, you glared at the person on top of you. is this how you’re gonna go? you can’t deny, even you yourself find this pathetic. the security alarms you bought, the nail-studded bat, your taser, everything was all for naught? just because you didn’t check under your bed to make sure no one was there?

how long was haechan waiting? when naeun was still here? when you went out to buy groceries?

you thought it would be fear you’ll be feeling as you get caught but the emotion isn’t present at all. instead, it’s white hot anger that overrides your system and forces you to act without thinking—and it just fucking saved your life.

haechan always saw you as a vulnerable, sad little human being who couldn’t do shit on her own. it’s easy to underestimate you and that’s his first mistake.

the second is rather foolish—not tying your legs up first. it’s all too easy to slam your forehead against his before jerking your leg up to knee him in the balls.

you can see the anger in his eyes clear as day as you made a run for it to the kitchen, having come up with another escape plan—because surely if you went down the emergency exit, haechan would’ve caught up easily with those long legs after he’s recovered from your assault.

your nose was probably bleeding and your head is in the early stages of a full blown migraine, at least you were able to function enough to wobble your way towards the trash chute situated near the stove. you had cursed that chute the first day you moved in here (who would put a trash chute next to a fucking stove) but the day has come for you to thank the gods that you have that in your house.

going for a swim in all your neighbors’ trash is disgusting and unplanned (plus, falling down maybe six floors to your doom) but you’ll choose that over lee haechan and huang renjun any day.

“don’t you dare fucking think about it!”

you flashed him the middle finger to tick him off. a petty retaliation for all the bullshit he and renjun put you through but it felt good nonetheless.

“catch me if you fuckers can.”

and you were falling down the trash chute.‏‏‎ ‎

okay, yeah—maybe you should’ve thought it through before hurling yourself six floors down only for some half-filled dumpster to catch you but at least you’re still alive, right? alive and free, mind you. but you don’t have time to celebrate.

it smelled awful and you swear your knees and elbows are bruised but you scramble to climb out and run away as fast as you can.

it was only haechan inside your apartment. no sign of renjun but he did see you somehow and you have no doubt it was a camera inside that room. you didn’t have much time to ponder for how long they were installed in your room. it’s the least of your worries at the moment.

you’re outside.

during purge night.

even if you did manage to escape it felt more like a win than a lose, forced out of your own apartment in nothing but shorts and a shirt—heck, you don’t even have shoes on!—it felt like they won. again.

if you’re not going to die in the hands of some other wacko, you’ll die of hypothermia. how nice.

you didn’t know where you were running to, the only thing you knew was you need to get the hell out of this neighborhood as fast as you can. you didn’t want to run in alleyways and risk getting stabbed for fun. maybe the sewer system… oh, right. you don’t have your phone on you and it’ll probably be pitch black down there.

you really, truly, genuinely didn’t want to run so out in the open but it was the best you can impulsively come up with.

when you feel like you’ve put a reasonable distance between you and the apartment, you stop, hands resting flat on your knees as you crouch to catch a breath. just as quick the adrenaline appeared as fast as it had disappeared. you feel the weight and tension crushing your legs, not to mention you’re really starting to feel that headache settle after headbutting haechan.

you almost collapse against the brick wall.

the last person you ever thought you’ll see jumps out from the corner of the alleyway and you almost broke their nose.

until you saw who it was.

“NAEUN?”

their apartment got raided, some buffy sickos who they had the misfortune of breaking into their house to purge. luckily they got away, but after getting attacked on the streets, naeun got separated after she ran for her life just like you did. you can’t help but feel sorry for the little girl, who experienced the full effect of this godforsaken holiday.

this is bad. you can’t leave her but it’s tough enough to have to fend for yourself. you’re not so sure whether you can protect another human being but you’ll have to try.

“did your mom or grandma tell you anything? anything at all?” you ask, crouching to her eye level. “you said your mom knew the way… where? what do you mean?”

“mom said they’re providing refuge on the other side of town but it’s a 30-minute drive. walking would take longer.”

shit. you didn’t want to risk it. you don’t have a car and you’d rather die right here right now than walk another step out in the streets—

“who’s ‘they’?”

“i don’t… i don’t know. she didn’t say.”

you licked your chapped lips. you can’t trust what she’s saying, not when you didn’t even know these people. it’s too risky, not to mention you’re already running from not one, but two people.

naeun sits next to you against the bricked wall of the alley, looking down at her lap. “i’m scared,” she admits. you hear a tremble in her voice. “are mom and grammy de—”

“no,” you cut her off, pulling her tiny body against yours. when you feel her fists clutching your jacket, you swear to protect this girl with your life. “no, they’re not. i’m sure they’re heading there now to the refuge center just like we are.”

her head pokes out, looking up towards you. “we’re going? i thought you didn’t want to.”

you shake your head, wiping her tears. “well, it’s the one way for you to meet your mom and grammy, right?”‏‏‎ ‎

walking down the streets during purge night—man, this has got to be the most ballsy thing you’ve ever done after that one time you spat at renjun in the eye. you managed to find a litter of bodies way into thirty minutes of walking and you nearly sent naeun flying onto the asphalt with how hard you pushed her back. she couldn’t see this mess, you’d be damned to allow a nine-year-old walk right into psychological trauma.

you pocket a gun—you didn’t have enough courage to fight with a knife. you wiped the blood off using your shirt before shoving them down onto the garter of your shorts. you didn’t bother to take their shoes, none of them would’ve fit you anyway and it’ll just slow you down.

“hey, are you alright? is that blood—”

“it’s not mine, naeun. come on, let’s get moving.”

for two hours you walked towards this mysterious refuge center on the other side of town and both you and naeun managed to evade death three times.

the first attack: a group of high schoolers with their uniforms on. there were three of them, about your height, and while you weren’t responsible for the blood on your shirt, you’re not so sure about their lot. they looked crazy, excited even, but sloppy in the way they flung their knives and bats around. their first purge, you assumed, so it was fairly easy to take them down. a bullet to the head worked like a charm. naeun didn’t say anything when you urged her out of her hiding place to flee the scene. three bullets left.

the second attack: it was a surprise, one that got you stabbed in the shin of your right leg. it was a drunkard with a knife, you could smell him as you walked past by his slumped form in the sidewalk. he wasn’t moving, so you thought he was dead and it was poor judgement on your part. it’s pathetic getting injured this way, you thought, but at least it was you who faced the consequences and not naeun. two bullets left.

the third attack: two men but deadlier than the girls and the drunk. you didn’t get to reason out with either of them, not when they drove their cadillac at 140 miles per hour and nearly ran you over. a chill crept up your spine when you saw the bloody, naked women strapped down onto the hood. victims. you didn’t engage in any form of combat, it’s impossible, so you took naeun in your arms and ran straight to the back alleys. number of bullets remain the same.

three lucky strikes.

three times you’ve cheated death.

but time is up and your luck has run out.

“beating up a girl? what a coward, if you ask me,” you say, spitting out a tooth after someone kneed you in the face. you were in no position to say such things when they’ve got you busted up and bloody, left eye swollen after one hard punch.

naeun is nowhere to be seen.

good.

who knows what these assholes could’ve done to her. you told her to run so she better fucking run and make sure she lives through this nightmare.

another kick flies to your ribs and you lie sprawled on the dirty pavement of an alleyway—what an uncool way to die but at least you’ll die with a clear conscience.

you passed by city hall a few minutes ago. surely, the refuge center is not too far from there. naeun will make it safe. she’ll make it.

“what’s that look on her face? is she dead?”

another one scoffs. “well… if they’re after her then she’s as good as dead.”

you blacked out. ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎

you hate the scent of disinfectant. it crawls up your nose and you hate how the stench is so strong you can taste it on your tongue. this isn’t heaven, not when you know you’re better off burning in hellfire.

unless you weren’t dead—your eyes shoot open, sitting up in haste as you clutch the thin blanket.

rows upon rows of the same cot you were lying on greets you. people injured, some standing, some sitting. there were people treating them, too, but they were in normal clothes so this can’t be a hospital. in fact, it looked like you’re in some warehouse, stacks of metal crates sealing off all entrances.

“it’s the refuge,” you whisper.

“you’re awake!” before you could even turn around, a body launches itself onto you and nearly makes the cot collapse. judging by the small frame and the pitchy voice—

“naeun, be careful!” her mother hisses but the girl in between your arms couldn’t care less. if she’d been an adult, she’d be squeezing the life out of you. when she pulls you closer, your healing ribs made a strike of pain surge through you.

you groan, bowing in the pain. distantly, you can hear the mother and daughter fighting and it was a banter you’ve never experienced with your own mom. it nearly made you tear up from the overwhelming wave of emotions you were feeling but all else disappears when a person tenderly grips your shoulder.

“thank you for taking care of my granddaughter.” the old lady was smiling appreciatively as she stared at you.

that was it. it could’ve been the happy ending to a gruesome and bloody storyline—it should’ve been, family of three reunites again and that was all thanks to you, right?

but even heroes have their own bad endings.

you heard the ticking of the grenade only seconds before it detonates. the other refugees didn’t even have the time to take cover as some closest to the sealed doors were sent flying so far back they crashed into the row of crates behind you.

you were severely injured, limping, ribs broken, and you only had one good eye to rely on—yet the first thing you thought of was protecting naeun. maybe the midget had a way of worming herself into your heart. but before you even push yourself off the cot, a figure emerges from the smoke.

petite and harmless, pretty as the tips of his hair grazed porcelain cheekbones. renjun’s eyes are as cold and calculating as can be and it’s the only thing that terrifies you to no end. when he opens his mouth, anger is hidden well underneath that calm tone.

“i’ll give you one minute to come here willingly.”

there’s no room for bargain, he needn’t when he knows you have absolutely nothing to offer him but yourself. he doesn’t finish his sentence but he trusts you’re smart enough to figure out the silent threat—come, or he’ll turn this place into a fucking bloodbath.

cornered and weak, defenseless. weird how they have a fixation for calling you ‘kitty’ when they’re the cats in this chase.

“naeun,” you whisper, trying to crane your neck to look for her in the filth of rocks and debris. please don’t be hurt.

you freeze when you feel a barrel pointing at your head. it was only there for seconds, haechan probably doesn’t have the guts to hurt you in any way permanently (unless it’s inflicted with his own hands and not through some other medium).

“ah, look. now we have matching black eyes,” he giggles like a madman, craning your neck up and the leather in his globes brings discomfort to your skin.

you see the way the other refugees looked at you—scum, dirt on their feet that brought about trouble in their lives. they were already badly hurt as it is and now, this happened? you don’t blame them.

not one man tried to stand up for you as haechan hauls you up and throws you down on renjun’s feet. your ribs were screaming and you’re cold and so, so afraid. with shaky fingers, you gestured towards the crowd. “just... please, don’t hurt them. they don’t have anything to do with this.”

renjun coos. such a cruel smirk for a pretty face. “aw, such an angel my darling is. always thinking of others instead of her own safety. funny because i don’t think you’ve ever done such a thing for me and haechan, though. i wonder why...”

the latter digs his heel in your injured legs and you scream as black starts to surround the corners of your vision. you tried to crane your neck back, pleading eyes wanting to look at the assaulter but renjun’s calloused hand is gripping your chin too tight.

“should we make a bargain, kitten?”

you stare deep into renjun’s eyes. he knows you don’t have anything left, he can see it in your glassy eyes, too wide and vulnerable. he’s doing this all for show, trying to make you even more desperate and self-aware of your eventual demise.

and you thought haechan was the only cunning one.

“what… what bargain?"

renjun practically gleams in pride. “i’ll let everyone walk free—even your precious little naeun—that’s her name, right? the little girl you’ve been protecting the whole night?—we’ll let her and everyone in this building walk away unharmed. that’s my bargain. you know how those work, right? now, you need to give me something i want.”

forcing you to offer yourself up to them.

what a brutal way to crush your pride.

choice wasn’t an option. if you don’t oblige and choose to run away on your own, they’ll kill them and still hunt you down. you gotta say, it was a tempting bargain that appealed to the sense of heroics in your heart. naturally, you have to choose where there is less blood shed. and as renjun lets go of your chin and lets you look over your shoulder to meet little naeun’s eyes, how she sobbed against her mother’s arms and shook her head and screamed…

“hurry, kitten. i don’t like to be kept waiting.”

you know what needs to be done.

“me. i’ll give you… me.”‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎

they stood playing a game of pool in the dead of night. it’s peaceful inside the estate while the city beyond rampaged and burned. they achieved their goal, had finally seen an end to a plan that had been set in motion for years. they’ve succeeded and the broken woman lying on the bed meters from the pool table is proof of their victory.

“don’t you just love it when an elaborate plan works like clockwork, injun?” he asks, voice like trickling honey as he hits number 9 with the cue ball.

the other, more petite male, rolls his eyes but doesn’t disagree. “oh, please, people like us always triumph, donghyuck. it’s nothing new. although i am surprised that little girl and her so-called “family” played along so well. almost had me fooled.”

“i agree. it's such a shame they had to go.”

‎

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@hoeartchoke @donghyukcore @stopknot @greenish-taro @zhongriot @lmaoskz @zephyr-abyss @anonymous-stuff @josuke8 @jaemotel @winwiniee @dundun-baby @nakamotocore @hcwurld @alaeddis @recs-for-later @jaehyunssslut

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#nct imagines #nct scenarios #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #renhyuck scenarios #renhyuck imagines #haechan imagines #renjun imagines #yandere haechan #yandere renjun #purge au #purge au nct dream #tw bullying #tw violence #tw purge au

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gamer-logic · 3 years

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Since my state, Georgia, is having the annual Peaches to Beaches event which is two days of statewide yard sales, I thought it would be interesting to show how America, the states, and any other countries wanting to participate both 1p and 2p would be during this event. So here you go!

Georgia is happily selling fresh produce like boiled peanuts and Vidalia onions and peach-based deserts. Her homemade peach cobbler and ice cream are to die for!

Antonio (Spain) also sells many fresh tomatoes, olives, and other vegetables. He doesn't understand why no one wants his Olive Juice though.

Hawaii and Alaska make a killing selling lemonade at their stand with a free complimentary handmade flower crown with every purchase. While using their sheer cuteness to attract everyone including one of those sweet biker gangs. It's really surreal to see a huge gang of buff, tattooed, tough-looking guys in leather wearing flower crowns and drinking lemonade. Allen's also there to supervise and ward of creep. Also, to provide people more 'incentive' to buy their lemonade.

Texas breaks out the Texas BBQ and is in a Barbecuing turf war with Jett (Australia). They draw huge crowds for the five-alarm chili as well and hold a competition who can eat the most without burning out their tongues and/or passing out.

Florida sells some of the weirdest stuff you'll ever see. "Want a full-scale model of a gator made entirely out of bottle caps? Only ten bucks! Want a portrait of Florida Man painted with orange juice? 15 bucks!"

Nevada also tries to sell weird and sketchy stuff to scam everyone. "This piece is the genuine article folks! One napkin gently used by Elvis Presley himself! Just 500 bucks! Also, gets into a haggling war with Lars (Netherlands). Somewhere Alfred's dad instincts go off and he reminds himself to ground Nevada.

California, Oregon, and Washington collaborate and California sells anything vegan or made with avocadoes and the autographs of Hollywood stars, Oregon sells his old tye-dyed shirts and records, they also made him sell his old groovy hippy bus from the sixties he'd never got rid of no one knew they had. Oregon can be a bit of a hoarder, so they had to tie him to a chair and gag him because he wouldn't surrender the bus without a fight. Washington also tries to sell and drink cups of coffee, but in the hot Southern heat, this doesn't end well.

Louisiana sells anything Cajun-style from frog legs to fresh gumbo, to beignets. Also has a full collection of Mardi Gras masks and shrunken voodoo heads on sale for two bucks a pop.

Gilbert (Prussia) gets tricked by Nevada and gets a ton of stupid things he doesn't need. Ludwig (Germany) tries unsuccessfully to keep him on a metaphorical leash.

Ludwig always checks the quality of things he sees and buys dog toys and supplies for Blackie, Berlitz, and Astor. Later, he actually buys a kiddie leash for Gilbert.

All the while Lutz (2p! Germany) is asleep in a lawn chair with his hat on his face after drinking like six cold beers from this really good booth. All the while, Klaus (2p! Prussia) finds an antique Teutonic Knights flag from a vendor whose family was from Germany.

Vash (Switzerland) buys antique guns from Alabama and Roderich (Austria) also checks out some of Tennessee's guitars. He's horrified upon seeing Alabama's banjo and washboard.

Mathew (Canada) and Emma (Belgium) combine their powers and tag team to sell the best pancakes and waffles on earth with genuine Canadian maple syrup.

New York sells tons of baseball memorabilia and collectibles. Allen, trying to save his bad-boy image, tries to be discreet when buying some while taking Hawaii and Alaska around to get something with their lemonade money. James also gets some hockey memorabilia with Michigan and Minnesota who also got snow cones.

Alaska and Hawaii see a giant deluxe dollhouse but are almost in tears when they don't have enough money. But they end up getting it for free because no one can resist their weaponized puppy dog eyes. Also, no one can resist a growling Allen. Using the leftover money, they buy cute little rainbow umbrella hats for everyone and have Allen wear one who begrudgingly accepts it.

James, walking by with an armful hockey gear and flannel shirts, bursts out laughing when he sees this. In revenge, Allen forces him to wear one too and help him carry the dollhouse, much to Hawaii and Alaska's delight! "I said go my way puck head!" "No, it's my way, you vegan loving hoser!" A passing Francis (France)' is in stylish horror when they also make him and a nonchalant Luis (2p! France), holding a case of vintage wines, wear them too. Hawaii and Alaska go around giving umbrella hats to everyone including a sleeping Lutz they pass by.

Loving (Romano) practically has to supervise Feliciano (Italy) and keep him from buying anything too stupid on impulse or get scammed. They still end up with stacks upon stacks of cookbooks, kitchen wear, and a Mona Lisa made entirely out of Macaroni. They also get umbrella hats.

Flavio (2p! Romano) browses through clothing racks to get ideas for his vintage line. Also checks out the handmade fabrics like quilts. "Such craftsmanship! This pattern is so unique and chic! I simply must have it! What's your price Bella?" The nice old woman selling the quilt just smiles, "Oh just about five dollars young man." "Perfect!" Flavio hands the quilts off to Andreas (2p! Spain) who's practically buried underneath the fabric. Luciano (2p! Italy) facepalms while holding a new knife set in its case. "Oooh! Look at those adorable hats I just have to have one." Cue three more umbrella hats and a humiliated Luciano. "Just kill me now..."

Katyusha (Ukraine), Elizaveta (Hungary), Lillie (Liechtenstein), Natalya, (Belarus), Katya( 2p! Ukraine) and Anastasia (2p! Belarus), and Michelle (Seychelles) explore with armfuls of clothes, new ribbons, and a gun case for Switzerland (Lillie), cast iron frying pans (Elizaveta, watch out Prussia!), farm tools (Katyusha), Jewelry and unmentionables (Katya), dresses (Anastasia), an assortment of switchblades (Natalya), and one of those singing fish on a plague (Michelle). It's definitely an interesting group.

Kiku (Japan) and Kuro (2p! Japan) find a nerd booth selling comics, manga, and Japanese weapons like katanas. Kuro test swings a blade and tries to slice the table so hard it breaks the blade, "Hmmm, not sharp enough for me, got anything else?" He throws it on the pile of broken blades he's already tested. Kiku stockpiles on limited-edition manga and he and the vendor end up getting into a huge, heated by Kiku standards, debate on who's waifu is best. Further down, Alfred reads every Marvel/DC comic while keeping an ear out on every state's location. He checks on Texas via his glasses and notices he's beating Australia in the chili contest. "That's my boy!"

Wisconsin wearing a cheese head sells anything cheese-based. He's got cheddar, goat cheese, string cheese, cheese spray, gorgonzola, grilled cheese, cheese curds, Mac n' Cheese, cheese sculptures of all world monuments, you name it he's got it! He also starts a war with Iowa's corn dishes and Idaho's potato dishes. They eventually end up flinging cheese, potatoes, and corn after they start dissing each other's foods. "Take this cheese brain!" "Nice aim, I-da-ho!" "I told you not to call me that!" "I'm gonna go children of the corn on y'all's behinds!" Poor Nebraska is stuck in the middle.

Alfred (America) hears the commotion and using his parent radar, immediately knows who it is and reminds himself to ground Iowa, Wisconsin, and Idaho later along with Nevada who, though still grounded for sure, makes him feel a little proud of since he managed to out haggle Netherlands.

New Mexico and Arizona also sell Native American handicrafts along with things like dreamcatchers and giant inflatable aliens. While Delaware, being the boring stick in the mud that he is, walks by with a framed and complete U.S. quarter collection from a vendor.

Kansas sells out of every sunflower she had courtesy of Ivan (Russia). Ivan and her the team up to buy out every sunflower seed from here to kingdom come. Viktor (2p! Russia) buys all the vodka he can find and a new shovel while Xiao (2p! China) tries giving people tattoos for 10 bucks a pop.

He tries to convince Yao (China) to get a hello kitty one to match the giant plushie he's holding, with the encouragement of Leon (Hong Kong) and Yong Soo (South Korea) who all collectively agree he needs to quit being such a grandpa. They also like calling him an antique-like the items on sale. " Aiyah! I'm not that old, aru!" "Yeah, you are Sensei." "Don't deny it! Da Ze!" Respect your elders!" "Tattoos originated in Korea da ze!" He totally is that old.

Oliver (2p! England) holds a bake sale and has people lined up for blocks to get some. Arthur (England), after having his scones shut down after it poisoned some unlucky squirrels, fries selling authentic magical items like unicorn hair or pixie dust. Everyone thinks he's a little crazy but he did sell a good bit of old magic books he needed to get out of his house, after making sure no one could actually use them of course.

The Nordics also went perusing for antique and handmade furniture when Mathias (Denmark) spots two full sets of Viking costumes and tries to get Lukas (Norway) to try them on with him. Lukas wasn't amused.

Berwald (Sweden) and Tino (Finland) also find a great handmade table to get after inspecting the workmanship and a full Lego set for Peter (Sealand), now if only Mathias would stop squealing like a little kid at the full piece lego death star. Emil (Iceland) keeps thinking he's the mature one until he spots a mini top hat and cane for Mr. Puffin.

In the end, everyone ends up wearing umbrella hats courtesy of Hawaii and Alaska, loving all the strange things they bought or counting the profits they made. Alfred (America) is proud of his kids and visits everyone one of their stands. He ends up looking pretty funny with an umbrella hat (HW, AK), a washboard, (AL),a picture of Florida Man, (FL), a balloon alien (NM, AZ), a tye dye shirt (CA, WA, OR), hockey stick shaped glasses (MN, MI), a giant stack of comics with a replica Thor hammer and Captain America shield on his back, all in a shopping cart (NV), and a giant turkey leg in his hand (Tx). Unsurprisingly, it was a tie between Oliver, Texas, and Australia for who earned the most with their food. Georgia just smiled as this was another great year for her state and people!

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abbydramarambles · 4 years

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The REAL Ending CLOY

This is my headcanon and you can’t tell me otherwise. The epilogue in Switzerland is set a few years after the events of that piano concert. They have already found a way to be together more permanently. To me the house doesn’t seem like a vacation house, it seems like a home home.

There is that photo of Se-ri on the bridge, not something one would frame for themselves. RJH definitely lives there. Check out the north Korean coffee kettle and other souvenirs as well. This is the sort of stuff one would have in their home.

The only thing holding RJH to North Korean is his parents, the fact that they could be killed if he were to defect. After they die, he has no reason to stay. We’ve already been shown that he is resourceful and would know exactly how to get out. Not to mention that everything in north Korean runs on money, if you have connections like Se-ri and RJH do....anything is possible. And to me these two people with all their power, well they would find a way.

Dan’s mother travels out of the country a lot as well for business. I think the 2 weeks is the longest trip Se-ri takes while RJH’s parents are alive. It’s not the only trip of the year. I doubt her employees would be saying “you’re going to Switzerland again??” if it was a once a year sort of deal they wouldn’t think she had a man. They even say “it’s lasting a while this time”. Come on who in the world would think it’s a relationship if their boss goes to switzerland for 2 weeks a year. It’s her favorite 2 weeks of the year because of it being uninterrupted time.

Well with her wealth and his determination, and connections via his family, I'm sure they'll find a way eventually, either it is his parents passing away (since it has been about 6 years between him going back to NK and the epilogue meetup), or him somehow getting a long term mentoring position at Switzerland. You’re telling me Dan’s mom a department store owner can swing to Europe anytime, and Se-ri who created a whole scholarship for her man can’t swing something in collaboration with Papa Ri?

I got the impression the student performing his song on stage was a full-time student in Switzerland. RJH is not studying abroad but is teaching NK scholarship winners. Seri has been traveling back and forth a lot but these two weeks are the longest continual time they have together.

When Seri first sees him in Switzerland she asks how dangerous his journey was, and he didn’t answer, just said he got on the wrong train but reached his destination. “Destination” implies a final location to me, not just a two-week stay. For two people who find it torturous to be apart for even a moment, destination would not have been thrown around like that. It could’ve taken his Dad some time to manage the politics to make a permanent teaching position with the National Symphony. He did see his son cry in the car after leaving her. That man is powerful, the 3rd most powerful man in North Korean. A political manipulation genius, a man always one step ahead of the others. He got his son and 5 people in and out of South Korea. You best believe he can make it happen. He’s not going to sit back and leave his only son living without his only dream. Plus RJH was never a flag waving patriotic North Korean anyway. He already expressed that he wanted to stay with SeRi in South Korea, have a child that looks just like her. It’s kdrama script writing 101 to not have your lead character mention a deep desire such as this one unless its foreshadowing or serves a larger purpose. And Park Ji Eun is no noob writer.

Let’s look at the way the show itself references fate and destiny. Regardless of how impossible it may seem, these two always managed to find each other again. Fate is pushing them together and is on their side. I don’t think fate wants them to meet 2 weeks a year. Fate didn’t make them meet in Switzerland, in North Korea, in South Korea, and in Switzerland again for 2 weeks a year for the rest of their lives. I can’t entertain that. A lot of people think that the epilogue on the hill and when she meets him for the first time again in Switzerland with the parachute are the same time frame. I don’t think so. I really do think the piano concert is the ending and the picnic is the epilogue. It’s years from then, when everything has been sorted about how to be together permanently and it’s a window in to happy every after. Just look at their body language and expressions in the last scene, they are totally at peace and seem to have gotten everything they wanted. Even the music radiates peace. Listen to the lyrics of Sigriswil that play as the camera pans out “wandering this strange night, won’t you be here by me? now I hold your hands, with you I’ll be alright...how does it feel, my friend? It’s been a long day and night” THEY ARE NO LONGER WANDERING ALONE THAT IS THE POINT. period. It was a “long day and night, but now I hold your hand” ... how does it finally feel to have your happy ever after....my friend. IT REEKS OF OPTIMISM and closure. In film making the atmosphere says everything about what is unsaid in the script.

You best believe he won’t leave a stone unturned to be with her, see her grow old and live in the house of dreams with their twins. Just the fact that he vocalized this thought in the show leads me to believe that it did indeed happen.

Believe in what the show is telling us to believe. What it’s showing us, not telling us even. That love will always find a way.

Cloy’s ending also reminds me of very heavily of (spoiler) that of “my love from the stars”. It was written by Park Ji-eun, the same writer as CLOY. So yes they are forced to be apart in that show too, but he finds his way back and each time they meet its for longer and longer and its implied that one day it will be forever. If an alien could find a wormhole to make it back to his love interest, north korea isn’t looking too bad. Same thing with her other star crossed lovers show “legend of the blue sea”. The mermaid finds him again against all odds and they live happily ever (plus a baby). Hey I’m just saying that the precedent has been set on how this seperation works through our writers own works. Having seen all of Park Ji Eun I know exactly how she structures her endings. It’s almost always the same. The mermaid made it back, the alien made it back...north korea is where we draw the line? They’re only apart for awhile till they figure it out, and they work hard to do so.

Whatever this image is from TVN left it unaired. They shot something they had to pull back. My crack theory brain says she looks a bit pregnant. Actually, that ain’t even a crack theory, I stand behind it. Son yejin is so slim, and judging by the material of the dress it just wouldn’t fall like that unless they were trying to make her look pregnant. Like LISTEN, just LISTEN to me. They put in the effort to get the actors in these outfits we have never seen before, they even gave seri flowers...whY?? There are no other purely promo shots that didn’t have footage attached. The only ones I can think of are the ones they took in front of a greenscreen for the photoframes inside their house. THIS WAS A REAL SCENE THAT WAS DELETED. South Korean dramas pre-film certain scenes (like the swiss ones) and live film the others to make slight changes to the storyline based on audience reaction. During airing there was quite a lot of political backlash a la north korea.

There are some stills TVN released that weren’t screencaps. But ALL of them were in outfits relating to scenes we have seen, such as this one. It just would make no sense for them to go out of there way to get this image on the jam packed expensive swiss schedule and not just do greenscreen in korea like they did for all the other promo material UNLESS it was a real scene.

So you want more evidence for plot points that indicated the original, unaired, together forever in Switzerland ending?

Let’s look at some details, at one point in Episode 14 when Jeong Hyeok's father is meeting with the bad guy Senior Colonel who tries to use photos of Jeong Hyeok in Korea as a bargaining chip, he says "You should retire quietly. Using your health as an excuse won't raise any suspicions." now whilst this may be a casual reference to him being old and that health issues are plausible, it's also possible Jeong Hyeok's father has had some long term illness they've not mentioned which would add to why it wouldn't raise suspicions.

The main reason I thought of this is it would sort of line up with some other details, in the finale when they're deciding whether to send them back or not, at the NIS briefing they mention how the North has requested keeping it quiet and confidential, they mention "They want the confidentiality term to be five years. They're being sensitive about it because one of them is a high-ranking officers son". Then if we fast forward toward the end when Se-ri is receiving the timed messages, a year passes after her birthday message from Jeong Hyeok, after that scene we see Jeong Hyeok having his farewell meal with the townspeople and preparing to leave after being accepted as a pianist for the National Symphony Orchestra, presumably around the same time as Se-ris birthday given that scene was right before. Se-ri then comes up with her Switzerland Music academy idea probably a few weeks or month or so after she read RJH's text about meeting and then it tells as it's one year later, Se-ri waits but doesn't meet him and returns home, her mum says "It breaks my heart to see you return in disappointment every time" which if that's a correct translation it means it's been more than once by this point. Add up this entire timeline....guess what it comes out to. FIVE YEARS. That’s how long it takes them to sort out a permanent solution for their problem.

When he chooses to defect it will be much easier for him considering he’s making trips to Switzerland already. All he would have to do is walk into a South Korean embassy in Zurich. They have an open door policy for North Koreans, he doesn’t even need to cross the DMZ again.

You want even MORE proof? Okay my friend, I’ll bite. Why are there photos of a couple with children?? Honestly come on I really don’t have to say more.

They had to leave the ending open. Due to the political situation, they couldn’t exactly show RJH, a North Korean, defecting. Pretty sure our buddy Kim Jong-un would not be chill with that. However ridiculous it is, the show had multiple attacks on it while it was running by political parties saying it violated the “national security act”.

The ending was clearly cleverly re-edited to be less explicit so the viewer can read between the lines but the show-runners can protect themselves from lawsuits and public sentiment regarding a sort of maybe illegal situation. If you believe they met for two weeks a year for the rest of their lives, you don’t know RiRi Ri-eally well ;)

#crash landing on you #cloy #yoon se ri #ri jung hyeok #ri jeong hyeok #hyun bin #son ye jin #kdrama #binjin #dooly #riri couple

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temporal-scribe · 4 years

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Hetalia Theory: A Brief Study of (Ancient) Korea

Aph Korea has been something that keeps going round in my mind. From what I can recall from Hima’s strip, he never exactly explicitly state what exactly aph Korea represents.

Canon-wise, we know that:

1) Aph Korea’s flag is S.Korea’s flag.

2) Korea and Japan apparently knew each other when both were kids. They look like kids in this painting at least... (this takes place at around 1300s or so... thus aph Korea's existence predate the recent separation)

And... actually that’s about it. :I

When I headcanon Ancient Korea, I tend to draw upon the HCs of kaylabow, ask-ancient-china and ask-north-korea. What wiki says about China-Korea history has it going something like this...

700 BCE- Earliest Chinese records of Gojoseon [Hetalian-brain-translator: first meeting between China and Gojoseon]

400 BCE- Capital shifted to Pyongyang

300 BCE- Jin arose in the South of the peninsula

108 BCE- Han China VS Gojoseon: Han China won and Gojoseon was split into 4 commandaries. [Hetalian-Brain-Translator: ... *unable to process* I have seen darker fics/headcanons depicting this as China VS Gojoseon resulting in the death of the latter.]

100 BCE- Fall of Gojoseon. Gojoseon more or less disintegrated by this point. Eventually, the 4 commandries set up by Han China were completely taken over by Goguryeo by 313CE. Baekje and Silla arose in the area that was Jin.

57 BCE to 669 CE- 3 Kingdoms of Korea period proper starting at roughly 300CE. Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla.

600CE-700CE- ... Many Goguryeo and Sui/Tang China conflicts (aka when Goguryeo and China fought a lot)

700 CE- Silla allied with Tang China successfully unified Korea against Goguryeo and Baekje-Japan alliance. Unified Silla is sometimes considered as the “first unified Korea” although there are disputes because there is still Balhae in the North. Thus, some consider the later Goryeo to be the “first unified Korea”. Much cultural import from China around this period. [Hetalian-brain-translator: I have seen HCs where aph Korea is Silla. Import of culture here, aka in hetalia-terms, probably the beginning of their brotherly relations. Otherwise, will happen in Goryeo’s time period]

892 CE- Later 3 Kingdoms of Korea. [Hetalian-Brain-Translator: Wait.... Did Goguryeo and Baekje revive or were they just staying in other people’s houses all this while...???]

918 CE- Goryeo. I suppose this is more or less stabilized. Probably most likely is aph Korea by this point if he wasn’t already Silla.

So... the various headcanons be like...

Version 1: Gojoseon+Jin ship [predessors/parental figures]--> Goguryeo/Baekje/Silla [descendants] --> eventually today’s Korea

Version 2: Gojoseon > Goguryeo > North Korea. Jin > Silla > South Korea. Not very sure how Baekje fits in here... I guess North and South lived together during Goryeo era(?) It looks like an evolution chain...

Version 3: Mama Gojoseon > Goguryeo/Silla/Baekje > Goguryeo eventually becomes North Korea, Silla becomes South Korea.

Version 4: There’s only ever 1 Korea. This is very unlikely imo, I can’t imagine Gojoseon calling China “aniki”. They may or may not dislike each other but it’s hard to imagine either of them acknowledging the other as “older brother’. Mostly because there aren’t records of formal cultural exchanges between the two. (aka currently the basis of some kind of familial relationship between personifications in Hetaverse) They traded though. Anyway, at least 1 predecessor feels more likely.

Basically, Gojoseon and Baekje die disappear in many timelines. :I I wish I can get a Korean’s take on this...

My personal HC is something along the line of, Gojoseon and Goguryeo are not Yong Soo and Yong Soo’s earliest form/name is Silla or Goryeo. And mainly everything is based on which one of them are likely to be ok with calling China aniki. :v Tbh, everything else is kinda vague...orz

End of my ramblings for now! Walloftext much. Orz. I wanna align everyone’s timelines at some point so that I have a reference while I art. uwu

#aph #hetalia #aph korea #aph asia week #aphasiaweek #Iamnotsureifthiscounts #henceIdidnot@#orz #aph ancient korea #gojoseon #hetalia headcanon #hetalia theory #aph gojoseon #aph silla #aph baekje #aph goguryeo #historical hetalia

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franie-lam · 4 years

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HW 1:App Ideas

This idea comes from a Korean drama I watched, but it would be really cool if there was an app where blind people can say something like “hey siri” or “hey alexa” what do you see and when they hold their phone up, the bot will tell you what it sees. for example, if a person was in front of you it will describe their features like “a young lady with long hair is in front of you”. The main goal is to help those who are becoming blind to have access to an outlet so that they can have another eye to see through sound from the phones or watches(like apple watch or something).

Another idea is to create a new design for the CUNY system. I personally found it very confusing at first and felt like there was too many things slammed onto a page. Perhaps if there was a new design it would make it easier for new students to transition into college or their system. The main goal is to make cuny first, blackboard, degreeworks, much easier and simple for students and teachers to use.

I was also thinking of an idea to help business owners find more sustainable options to purchase when they’re selling items at the store by linking them to sustainable wholesalers. For example, they can use paper bags instead of plastics. Selling metal straws? Using reusuable packages. (I’m not sure where I’m going with this, but it’s an idea) The main goal is to promote sustainable items and go green.

I think it would be really cool to create an app where people can easily resell their items at home instead of throwing it out. Having easy access to print out a shipping label and sending it to the post office. Or perhaps have an additional area where if you don’t want these items anymore you can donate it. So perhaps there will be different donating organizations that can. be a part of this app and when they do pick ups, people can easily click buttons to get an organization to pick up old clothes, toys, or maybe good condition furniture that people want to throw out. In addition to this, I was thinking, there can be an area where people can find out about donation sites or food pantries so if they want to go in person or ask someone to come that can work. My inspiration comes from the app Mercari and ebay. The main goal for this is to not waste items that can be purchased by someone else or for it to be donated to an organization that can help those in need.

This is another idea, and it’s to create a game design app to teach new languages. It would be cool if there are different themes to each language. So for example if we want to learn the Korean language, there would be a lot of drawings/animation/photos of the Korean culture as a background. And you level up by exploring a certain area in the Korea. For the beginning, it would be to teach the alphabet level. So perhaps theres an area to choose a character and enter the game at first. And then there’s “level 1 or world 1″ where you are given a bow and arrow (the character transitions to go back in time and wearing a traditional Korean outfit [hanbok]). the character could have a story line and trying to escape guards and in order to pass that round you have to use the bow and arrow and hit the correct Korean alphabet with the English sounds. The main goal for this is to teach people different cultures, language, and to have fun.

I remember seeing this thing on youtube where a guy created a chat or something or was it in New York?... I don’t remember but in Japan or South Korea girls/anyone feel unsafe when they’re going home. And so in that chat a group of people walk together with that person so that they feel more safe. I was thinking it would be cool if there was an app like that but I do have some red flags/questions of how do we know he/she/they are not a psychopath or can we trust this person? So, i’m not sure how to incorporate that. Perhaps have people take a mini test that gives red flags about someone if they are suitable for the role and decide whether they are allowed to walk someone home?? Not sure how to go about this idea.

Another idea is having drones send out packages? I’m not sure if it’s even possible yet but it would be so cool to build upon this idea. Some people may not feel safe delivering packages anymore so what if there were drones to help people send out packages. And I do think this may take away some jobs, but what if we had people working as backup in case something breaks down, emergency landings?? or maybe if someone stole the package. I’m not sure but it would be cool to create a design for this idea.

Additionally, there’s my idea of creating a design for flying cars. Maybe I’m thinking too ahead for our time. But it would be so cool if we one day have the capabilities to ride a flying car?? spaceship? I don’t know. But it would be cool if the design had a system so that it can tell passengers when a flying bus service is coming? or where they are at? and a map of where they can go. It would be nice if they can order online for a flying ticket?

I was also thinking about electric vehicles. And what if we had an app that indicates where all the electric chargers are? and have people pinpoint certain areas that they believe should have a charger to promote more uses or electric vehicles? Not sure, but just a random idea.

Perhaps an app that gives you daily doses of (pills?) happy thoughts? I was thinking of the issue of mental health and how important it is. Maybe have happy thoughts and have an area to listen to peaceful music? I was also thinking about incorporating horoscopes, but not sure if it will fit. Or maybe have an app that’s informative about mental health?? Make it an interaction app? Where people can find more about it ? Or maybe turn it into a game where you defeat monsters that are mental health issues?

Maybe have an app to inform about the injustices going on in their community and how to combat that as a whole community?? This relates to the BLM movements and I also feel like a lot of Asians have become targets and should be taken note by the community. Perhaps have a donation box to communities that need help?

What if there’s an app that allows you to easily rent out a space for your event? My idea is similar to airbnb but it’s targeted more for people who are looking to rent out a place for a party?? or maybe have people who coordinate parties find places easier. I’m not sure if they have anything like this, but I was thinking about it... Or perhaps rent our your car?? Maybe for those who bought a car or have several but don’t use it, they can let others rent their car??? I don’t know haha, I guess that would be similar to Uber but instead of having someone drive the car, you’re driving it.

Or maybe an app where you can specifically donate or sell your old books?? I know I have a lot of books that I don’t read and want to get rid of. So maybe if there’s something like that it can be used for a better purpose.

Maybe a travel app? A place for people to talk about the best places to visit or even have a tour guide so you don’t get lost. I was thinking a bit of an airbnb style mixed with bookings.com and yelp.

Perhaps have an app to help small businesses in the community? An app to search up what to order for food near you or locally. And for the businesses to deliver locally themselves so they get all the profit for the food/tips. I was thinking they can promote themselves for free and only if they want to be promoted more or be on the top list they can be charged a bit? I don’t know, just a thought. I guess this is basically an Ubereats idea, but rather than charging the businesses on the delivery fee, they don’t get that? And have the ability to do that for free??? Or maybe have something similar to Postmates but when it comes to employing people as a driver for delivery, they have to pass certain requirements and not be subcontractors? I think that’s the right term, but basically so that you make sure the driver isn’t a crazy person and so that they are paid equally? I’m not really sure how much drivers get paid but I think it’s not that much??? If we consider gas and everything and the fact that anyone can become your driver, I think there should be requirements.

Anyways, thank you for reading my random app ideas. All these are literally random thoughts and ideas I’m having. Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions.

#app ideas #random #thoughts

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migstheruler · 4 years

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PLaystation 5 Event

initially great, despite the horrible pre-orders ordeal.

On Sept. 16, 2020, Sony pulled back the curtain on another slew of details regarding the PS5.

1. The PlayStation 5 releases on November 12th, 2020 in Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United States (why these states, only Sony knows even though I think it’s because of their distinct market in each of these countries).

2. The PlayStation 5 releases everywhere else on November 19, 2020.

3. The PlayStation 5 launches at $399.99 for the digital edition and $499.99 for the disc-based edition.

*IF backward compatibility with the PS4 is important to you, I’d recommend the disc-based PS5. Sony execs have confirmed 99% of PS4 games are compatible with their new Flagship console.

The event also gave us a look into some new games coming to the PS5 for launch as well as games we can expect during the first year of the PlayStation 5’s life cycle. Honestly tho, I think some of those games indicating they were launching during 2021 is a lie. You mean to tell me you’re going to launch Horizon, God of War 2, Final Fantasy 16 all in one year…..really… If these games were dique going to launch in 2021, you would think they would have had at least a working demo or something, instead of a teaser trailer with the games logo…but I digress, I’ll touch on this later.

Below are a few games showed that caught my eye and I just had to write about them.

Overall, Sony’s PS5 presentation was a good one, with all the information we as consumers were asking for since June and 10/10 would watch again (I’ve seen the presentation 4 times already (twice to write this piece 😊)).

The presentations started with a trailer showing a slew of different games coming to the PlayStation five system, most games we covered in https://migstheruler.com/post/620830163010240512/ps5-reveal-event but just when you thought this was another trailer, boom!!!

Final Fantasy 16

A nice mix of old and new: as if the folks from Final Fantasy 11 and 12 made a 15 esque type game.

Shiva the ice goddess is back, and looking deadlier than ever throwing out chilly ice crystals sure to cause anyone level seven frostbite

Who´s a good boy? This little pup looks ready to be pet and given treats.

It looks like our trusty steeds the Chocobos are back, hopefully, they are more useful this time around )I’m looking at you final fantasy seven episode one)

Marlboros are looking as menacing as ever.

Final Fantasy 16 was pretty unexpected to be honest, especially given final fantasy seven episodes one releasing a few months ago. However, it’s a nice surprise to see Square Soft jk Square Enix working on a new Final Fantasy game, especially one that likes to expand upon the action RPG elements (Think kingdom hearts series or final fantasy 15 and even 7). Aesthetically, this is giving me hardcore fantasy elements with realism thrown in there.

Either way, what a great way to start off the presentation.

Spiderman Miles Morales:

Next up, Sony gives us a seven-minute look into Spiderman Miles Morales, which expands upon 2018’s PS4 Spiderman. Sony has said this is not a direct sequel but instead a look to further expand upon the world through the eyes of Miles Morales. The graphics and presentation of this game are sure to entice any spiderman man. The lighting coupled with Mile’s powers makes this game a visual PS5 treat.

Last time we saw Miles, he had just shown Peter Parker he too had powers to which Peter Parker joined him upon the ceiling, it was a bonding moment the two spider-men would have. Fast forward maybe a year (I’m not sure how much time has passed since the last spiderman game) we are thrusted into the shoes of Miles Morales.

“Mom I’m home” Can we take a moment to appreciate my man’s line up here, dam that shit looks crispy.

Walking through Harlem, music playing, and folks dancing Salsa in the street. I’m not going to lie, this made me cheese from ear to ear.

This is what I expect to encounter when I have to mediate between clients ready to rip each other apart in a gory fashion (above).

Okay, knowing how strong spiderman is, I fully expect the dude’s Jaw to be broken after this power punch.

I forgot to mention (above) Miles can turn Invisible and has access to electric powers (below) sure to spruce up and affect the way Miles plays. I can only imagine a focus less on gadgets and more of an emphasis on Miles’ powers.

Although I know this game stars a new spiderman aka Miles Morales, the developers sure are making sure we know we’re not playing with Peter Parker anymore.

“Insert obligatory spiderman being pulled from different directions trope here” I’m not even going to front; this image is pretty cool.

Lastly, how dope is this launch title? It is one of the first games I plan to beat on my PS5.

- I do want to say one thing regarding this title. I think it’s pretty great from a representation perspective to see a Black and Puerto Rican spiderman. Representation matters. I’m not Puerto Rican but am Latino and I do appreciate the flags littered throughout the trailer, folks dancing salsa and overall, Miles Morales as a character.

One gripe I have with this game unfortunately is Sony’s anti-consumer stance regarding those that purchased 2018’s Spiderman. Folks that purchase the Deluxe Spiderman Miles Morales edition for $79.99 get both Spiderman Miles Morales and a supped-up version of 2018’s spiderman for the PS5, yet Sony hasn’t extended an olive branch to those of us that supported their 2018 game (even making it one of their best sellers). IF you want to play Spiderman Miles Morales, you can cop it for a cool $49.99 which is dope but doesn’t include any type of upgrade for those of us with the PS4 version of spiderman. Honestly, as someone that doesn’t plan on playing the game again but it’s pretty anti-consumer to not even offer some type of benefit to those PS4 supporters. Here’s to hoping they offer some type of upgrade via a patch to the PS4 spiderman.

· Turns out the game will run natively better on the PS5 given the consoles superior power but for a truly next gen 2018 Spiderman experience, you gotta pay those $69.99 duckats.

Looks Like we’re going back to Hogwarts and I’m not talking about Fantastic Beasts or Harry Potter. We received our first look (aside from the leak that was released last year). In Hogwarts Legacy, we go back to the late 1800s to visit the Wizards of the Waverly place (I think I said this right, I’ve only seen the Harry Potter movies once all the way through). Either way, it looks like they managed to capture the magic of Hogwatz. The walls of Hogwarts look alive, books flying all over the place and magic spewing from cauldrons of unknown potions.

Our journey begins going back to Hogwarts with a cool looking Owl to boot.

The sorting hat is back babi, it seems like this is a create your own character adventure, where we as the player will get to customize our very own character, sure to get into whatever wizardly fun is to be found. Team Slytherin all day!! JK, I’m team Gryffindor babi. But really tho, I have no idea what school I’d be assigned too.

In both of these pictures, its quite remarkable the little details you see; the more you look, the more you see. Did you see the candles above, or the candlelight below

Looks like our boys are cooking up work in the kitchen aka cauldron. I’d also like to bring attention to the lighting, truly impressive. Time to eat some delicious grub with my fellow wizards!! (Below)

Looks like we’ll be facing a litany of different monsters and foes. I know with my Avada Kedavra, I’ll be blasting fools like the one below away.

Dam son, we fighting Dragons out here too, sheesh.

Looks like combat will be a big portion of gameplay as the video showed of a created character fighting some pretty large beasts.

Looks like we’ll be playing quidditch in this game, and I honestly can’t wait.

I sure do hope we’re able to feed these little cuties and pet them.

Looks like this game is open world, as the characters are seen flying on Griffins across the vista. They draw distances in this game are spectacular.

Hogwarts Legacy launches in 2021.

*JK Rowling has no involvement with this game and that’s a good thing given her recent problematic statements.

Demon Souls

Full disclosure, I bought demon souls for the PS3 back in the day but unfortunately, did not stick with the game. It was fun and I would proceed to play other From Software and souls genre games in the future such as Sekiro, Bloodborne and Nioh to name a few. But here we have Bluepoint games remaking the PS3 Cult Classic and precursor to the Souls Genre. I for one am super excited to jump back in and try my hand again at Demon Souls.

This place here is the game’s main hub that allows you to access other portions of the world map. IT’s nice to see it in all it’s HD Glory.

Our Player is borne anew: Rise from your grave!!! JK, this isn’t a Sega title.

The environments look super luscious and literal indistinguishable from concept art. The leaves, lighting, and armor are truly a beautiful sight to see. (Below)

Nothing like chilling by a bonfire, although if you’re new to the genre, every time you heal at these bon fires, all the enemies you spent tirelessly fighting repopulate.

Call me crazy but in the original, players from other games could leave each other messages written in blood, as a way to help each other out. It looks like this concept is making a comeback this time around.

Dragons are so hot right now…. (insert Zoolander Gif here)

If you have ever played a souls game, you know this is something you can expect to see even in your dreams. I remember going to bed thinking how an enemy boss had beaten me 13-times in a row, only to go to bed thinking and imaging different strategies on how I could kill the foe standing between me and the game's progress.

The gameplay looks faster than the original but the difficult elements remain prevalent. The player is seen mowing down enemies which seems a bit off given the extreme difficulty of the PS3 game. But this could be Bluepoint addressing the sometimes-outrageous difficulty by making it more appealing to casuals.

Launch Title!!!!

God of War Ragnarök:

Last time we saw our heroes, Kratos and Atreus were shacked up in their home when they receive a visit from a mysterious visitor brandishing what looks like Mjolnir on his waist. The game ended in a great cliff hanger and is sure to improve on the many aspects the PS4 game

Get the fuck out of here. Sony decided to drop a nuclear ton warhead on us with the teaser trailer of God of War Ragnarok, a sequel to the PS4’s God of War. Although they did not show any game play, they did manage to build the hype with the screen below:

And then to top off the trailer the list the following with a supposed 2021 release date which I think is highly unlikely but, we will see. Either way, “we must prepare”.

Sadly, when the presentation ended, pre-orders went live . We were told by Sony that we would have ample time to prepare to pre-order, nothing but the contrary occured. I was one of the unlucky folks who failed to obtain his PS5 preorder despite having the funds to do so. Here’s to hoping I’m able to secure a pre-order prior to the Nov 12 launch. I did manage to get a PS5 camera which is a must for me since I like to stream games online, it’s really quite addicting. Check out my channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiazQqSufhmIGo2a7odLOpQ?view_as=subscriber.

I do want to say one thing, I am very fortunate to have the things i’ve accumulated over the years. I know there are people in the world that lack even basic necessities. If you’re reading this, please donate to cause/fund or organization you beleive in. I know my life’s work is to improve the living conditions of everyone regardless of their creed and that keeps me plenty busy.

All images used in this piece were obtained from the source below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG0G44G6RI8

Credit: IGN

#ps5 #ps5 release #ps5 reveal #demonsouls #god of war ragnarok #spiderman mile morales #hogwarts legacy #final fantasy 16 #final fantasy xvi

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theliterarywolf · 5 years

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So... Let's talk about Hetalia. Controversies, Specifically.

Tagging @apply-force-too-begin since they’re the one who was interested.

Hetalia was one of my first big fandoms outside of 'The Big Three' anime (Naruto, Bleach, One Piece) and outside of video games (mostly whatever wee babby weeaboo me could get on the Gamecube).

And, you know what? It's a dumb, silly anime about stereotypes, poking fun at the absurdities of History, and one's relationships with clashing cultures. It's dumb... But, remember, we all need our daily thirty minutes of dumb. And some of the characters are cute.

And, you know what? Most of the most engaging aspects of the fandom were those who used the initial shallow splash of history that the anime gave them to actually research and make engaging, well-written, culturally-sensitive content.

Of course, I'm not going to ignore how... Over-the-top some members of the fandom have been. We've seen how, whenever recent political conflict or natural disaster have occurred, we have to remind younger members of the Hetalia fandom to not cutsiefy it with the Hetalia characters. Examples that come to mind are: when the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was surging up, kids kept trying to draw art of 'Russia just wants his big sister back~!', and the last major earthquake that hit Japan that had people making fanart of the Japan character which, while some was tasteful and was meant to bring awareness and donations for Disaster Relief, not... all of it was...

Hell, that’s not even bringing into account the last time I went to Anime Expo (way back during Hetalia’s hayday), I was walking around and saw a bunch of Russia and Baltic State cosplayers being interviewed by the news and the one dressed up in a USSR uniform was holding up a Communist flag and shouting ‘Whoo! SOVIET TAKEOVER!!’

However, one thing that I have noticed, while researching for this write-up, was this:

Most of the controversies and pieces of fandom-wank that have surrounded Hetalia and its fandom... Aside from one instance... Are the results of the Western-fandom and Western-localization of the anime via Funimation.

Aside from one... Most of the issues surrounding Hetalia are due to the West and not even the source media in of itself.

So, with that in mind, let's talk about the main controversies of both Hetalia and its fanbase.

Controversy 1 – The South Korea Controversy/Protests

As I recently answered a question about this, so I'll just pull that answer for this segment:

'To summarize it: there’s a Hetalia character meant to represent South Korea. As every Hetalia character has a gag related to them (America gorges himself on fast food and constantly proclaims himself to be the Hero, Italy is cowardly, Germany is constantly angry, China constantly builds Chinatowns wherever he goes and sells bootleg merchandise, etc), so did S. Korea.

His gag was calling all the other Asian countries ‘big brother’ as well as groping the chests of male characters (China and Japan mostly), proclaiming ‘these mountains belong to South Korea, da ze!’

Of course, people would draw pictures of S. Korea doing his thing but one day during a meeting between a bunch of South Korean politicians and representatives, someone brought out a piece of fanart that depicted S. Korea groping Japan’s chest with the latter looking embarrassed and what not.

They interpreted the character as being an offensive, lecherous stereotype that was somehow belittling S. Korea’s worth as a country.

There were a bunch of small protests until, finally, Himaruya Hidekazu (the creator of Hetalia) just decided to say “you know what? Fine! I’m not getting rid of the character but he’ll never appear in the anime adaptation, okay?!’

So… Yeah! Fun times…'

Magnitude of Controversy – MAJOR

Like... In what universe is 'this meme hurt my feewings, we need to take VALUABLE TIME DURING GOVERNMENT FORUMS to talk about it RATHER THAN OTHER PRESSING ISSUES' a good response? And the fact that people took to the streets to protest? Come on, guys! There's so much more to worry about in this world...

Controversy 2 – Emperor Heliogabalus and Himaruya's 'Transgender Erasure'

There was a section of time where Himaruya Hidekazu, rather than focusing on the nation characters of the series, made chapters and updates about certain historical figures. They were all done for laughs while interspersing various bits of trivia and facts about them.

One of these updates centered around the Roman emperor Heliogabalus (or 'Elagabalus'). And this is where certain portions of this hellsite got soooooo upset...

You see, Himaruya titled the update centered on Heliogabalus as 'The Emperor Who Tried to Live as a Woman... Even Though He Was Really a Guy'.

Almost immediately people were typing up callout posts about how 'transphobic' Himaruya was for the title and 'how dare he misgender my precious trans baby~!' or 'this just goes to show how ignorant Japanese people are to Western history' and so many more, all because Himaruya didn't use out-and-out female pronouns for Heliogabalus.

Now. Mm, two things!

One! This was during the time when Himaruya had an open blog where, not only did he post pictures and updates about where in the world he was traveling and what he was researching, but it also had an inbox that was open for people to send insight to him.

So, if people were really incensed by this, you would think that they would use such a means to let a creator know 'hey, this is kind of problematic; can you edit it to show this information', right?

Right?

NO ONE tried to inform Himaruya of their upset; they literally didn't want an answer, they just wanted to be upset!

But, here's the kicker: the guy that all of these people were stanning for? Emperor Heliogabalus?

WASN'T FUCKING TRANS!!

The real Heliogabalus was a sadistic little shit who was connivingly put on the throne by his mother via a bunch of espionage and assassinations... Who, as thanks, had his own mother murdered once he was emperor. Other wonderful exploits of this 'icon' that tumblr kids decided to stan was:

Getting politicians and countrymen drunk and then, while they were passed out, brought in lions to kill and eat them

Deciding 'fuck Jupiter, Helios is my husbando – We're all going to worship him now!'

Completely wrecking Rome's monetary system

Promising favors to his lovers (whom he called his 'husbands' despite not making anything official) that strictly contradicted favors to his other lovers

And just generally being a hot mess

So... why were tumblr children so insistent on him being a transgender woman?

You ready for this?

Okay.

Because he occaisionally dressed in women's clothing and called his male lovers his 'husbands'.

Yeah.

One of the earliest case of tumblr children trying to ruin someone's life because they didn't follow their headcanons.

Magnitude of Controversy – Honestly, this was just fandom-wank. But it was one of the earlier instances of fandom brats using serious terms (transphobia) to justify being upset at a creator not following their headcanons.

Controversy 3 – The Passover Photoshoot

…

I'm sorry, just...

Everytime I remember or have to go over this one, I have to stop and reflect; maybe grab a drink.

…

Okay.

So, pretty early into the Western reaches of the Hetalia fandom, a group of friends and Hetalia fans decided to meet up together at a mall for a cosplay photoshoot.

Okay. Cool. Fine.

They were all dressed up as their favorite characters from the series! Germany, Austria, Hungary, P-Prussia, Holy... Roman Empire...

Ahem. Okay. Cool. Fine.

So, they get to the mall and start taking pictures. But then someone in the group gets the amazing idea for everyone to do certain poses.

I... You know, why did I start this, I could have just not done thi--

Nazi salutes. You had a bunch of dumb kids dressed up as Germanic nations. Performing Nazi salutes and shouting 'Heil Hitler'.

Now, as bad as this was... you could have just drawn it out as shitty edgelord humor; we still have plenty of that going on today.

H-however. There were two factors that made this photoshoot 50 Shades of Tasteless.

Number one. This photoshoot took place during Passover.

And number two. The mall that this photoshoot took place at...

WAS JUST A HOP, SKIP, AND A JUMP FROM THE UNITED STATES HOLOCAUST MUSEUM!!!

This is the one, THE ONE, instance where, anytime someone talks about 'lol, young Hetalia fans are so cringey', this is what pops into my head.

Those of us older members of the fandom can never fucking forget this. Yeah, the perpetrators were called out; yeah, they learned their lessons, yeah it opened up a conversation about appropriate behavior in fandom. But this one event will always remain as the big 'Ooh, baby, nooooo! What are you doing?!' moment in the fandom.

Even moreso than what the current batch of hatedum is about.

Magnitude of Controversy – Huge. The South Korea controversy was discussed on a governmental scale, but the Passover Photoshoot is what remains as the biggest mark on the fandom.

Controversy 4 - FUCKING FUNIMATION!!

Okay, I...

This one is so infuriating because it’s the result of Funimation just not giving a DAMN.

So, Hetalia got popular enough to be localized! Yay... And it was going to be handled by Funimation. Yay... They do quality work... Sometimes.

*kicks the Black Butler dub into the sun*

So, they dubbed Hetalia. And, you know what? So many questionable decisions went into this fucking dub.

You have Vic Mignogna! You! *clap* Have! *clap* Vic! *clap* Mignogna! You could have easily put him as one of the Axis characters or the Allied characters and you...

Don’t use him...

Until three seasons down the line...

And then you have him as Greece.

A character who barely says anything.

... And this was WAY before the clusterfuck of KickVic, so they really had no excuse.

Oh, also! For China, who is a main character, maybe we should have an actual voice-actor?

Pssh! Fuck that shit, let’s just have some random chick from accounting voice him.

... They literally had some random-chick from accounting do an overly stereotypical Chinese accent and said ‘yeah, that’s fine; print!’

And she gave us such... wonderful line-reads as: during the Hetalia movie Paint It, White! --

“SUCK BALLS! I knew za fortune cookie today was bad ruck~!”

But as bad as the dub got sometimes (Oh God, I’m having war flashbacks of Russia...), the exchange from the dub that people constantly point to as ‘see! This show was antisemitic all along!’ were these:

Exchange 1 -

S. Italy/Romano - ‘Hey asshole, I have a surprise for you~!’

Germany - ‘What is it? Another Jew?’

And, you know what? As asinine and idiotic as that brief exchange was...

IT WASN’T IN THE ORIGINAL MATERIAL!

Funimation, in their infinite wisdom, wrote that in and thought ‘yeah, that’s fine; print!’

So, there goes another issue of ‘problem that only existed because of the idiocy of a Western presence’.

Magnitude of Controversy - Well, people are still talking about it, despite it literally being because of Funimation’s laziness, so...

'Controversy' 5 – The Civil War fanart

So, this segment will be short because it doesn't even need to exist. But, you may have noticed an upsurge in people hating on the series again; even going so far as to raid Discord servers for fans of the series with gore.

Hell, I even scrolled past one person doing a 'call to arms' for people to spam any server that has to do with Hetalia as a big 'gotcha'.

And you wanna know where this fandom-wank started?

Someone on tumblr re-posted an old piece of... questionable chibi fanart of Confederate!America and Union!America. Union!America is hiding a slave woman behind him while shouting at Confederate!America to 'Pick your own damn cotton!'

(deep breath... okay)

And, while the art in of itself is... not great, the fact that it is an old piece of fanart and that someone posted it onto tumblr for the 'lol, look at this cringe' lolz, is what rallied some people to start shitting on fans of the show and raiding servers.

There also may have been some drama over on picrew by some teenage LGBT user lashing out at the whole 'stop spamming Picrew with gay shit' sentiment and then some edgelord over on this hellsite screencapping their game and talking about 'lol, of course it would be a cringey Hetalian to post some dumb shit like this; get off the site, queer' but, honestly, this last one, while being the reason why people are acting dumber than usual, is the most inconsequential.

Magnitude of the Controversy – It would be minimal at best, especially compared to the other ones in this write-up, but like I said, it does have some trickling into the current hatedumb.

So, yeah, here was my little write-up/mini-dive into the madness. You guys can let me know if you want more insight or if you have any questions, and I love you and buh-bye!

#fandom-wank #fandom history

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jennifermccormick-blog1 · 5 years

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Bangladesh Football

At regular intervals, individuals of Bangladesh connect with themselves vigorously in the FIFA World Cup however Bangladesh is light years from it.This eagerness for the World Cup is proof theamount they love football.The energy is high to the point that they lift the national banners of their groups on housetops and take part in unpleasant contentions about their groups,similar to theyonce did during matches of nation's two archrivals - Abahani and Mohammedan.In any case, the individuals who once observed the best of Bangladesh football are presently woefully watchingthe most exceedingly awful of it.Present and previous players, authorities and fans all concur that nation's football has been is in this desperate state due to its imperfect structure, whichdepends on the clubswho work on gifts, in contrast to any created football countries.The Bangladesh clubs still keep up a novice (nonprofessional) approach with no future projects, including youth advancement,ground office, long haul concurrences with players, exercise center and others offices.During the 80s, 90s and mid 2000s, there would be football competitions outside Dhaka.Many top players of the timewere picked through such competitions.Also, with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), the game's overseeing body, apparently cheerful not to show any drive, to revers this there is little trust in thenation's football in notBack in the wonder days, how famous football in Bangladesh was for about 30 years from mid-1970s to mid 2000s may seem like a fantasy to theyouthful age, whoAlongside the club groups, the national football crew was likewise at the focal point of consideration of the football fans, who viewed their cherished side to battle neck-to-neckbefore goingdown to the present Asian goliaths - Japan, South Korea, Iran, China, and the then solid groups like Syria, Thailand, Burma [Myanmar], Bahrain, Oman in rivalries like Asian Cupqualifiers,The young men dressed in red and green had a savage challenge against India to set up the provincial amazingness.Presently however Bangladesh is even beaten by other South Asian minnowslike Bhutan and Nepal.Today, Mohammedan Abahani still play coordinates however can't draw swarm.Previously, hundreds or even a great many football fans would head out to Dhaka from different areas towatch

their group play.Kazi Salahuddin, Nowsheruzzaman, Monwar Hossain Nannu, Shamsul Alam Manju, Amalesh Sen, Badal Roy, Ashish Vadra, Abdus Salam Murshedy, Hafiz Uddin, Ashrafuddin Ahmed Chunnu, Wasim Iqbal, Sheik MohammadAslam, Monem Munna, and numerous others were at one time the commonly recognized names.Pakhi Sen and Corinthians skipper P Clark shake hand just before the match as ref Khaza Azmallooks on.They are the results of area football alliances and the school football competitions.Unfortunately, area football and school and school football is practically dead with scarcely any matches played inlocale and school-level over the most recent multi decade, compelling the pipelinesThis absence of skilled footballers drove Bangladesh to sit on its most exceedingly awful ever FIFA positioning.Be that asit may, nothing occurred over the most recent two years.Over the most recent 10 years, the BFF essentially centered around the purported proficient football association and the senior national footballcrew and spent a ton of cash on them.But then, the expert football association doesn't have a perpetual shape while the national football crew swallows rout in a steady progressionat the universal level.It has been a long cry from football intellectuals that the Federation must put resources into region level football to discover neighborhood abilities, train them and carrythem into thesquad as they do in other South Asian nations including India, Bhutan and Nepal.Panama's capability to FIFA World Cup has been talked about in football club all around.In1995, it was behind Bangladesh in FIFA positioning, at 150th while Bangladesh's position was 138th.Only 23 years down the line, the country of just 40 lakh individuals not just played6 Jul 2018 ... Every four years, people of Bangladesh engage themselves heavily in the FIFA World Cup though Bangladesh is light years away from it. Today, Mohammedan and Abahani still play matches but cannot draw crowd this enthusiasm for the world cup is evidence how much they love football. this is not a new-found passion though; rather a glorious past of football in bangladesh drives the football-loving people to be engaged in the greatest show on earth. the passion is so high that they hoist the national flags...

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fatgirlwritesscenarios · 6 years

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Hot Chocolate Kisses

((Wooooaaahhh...when was the last time I was here, ya’ll? None of you better say last year because I know that! Haha. How is everyone doing?! I hope the start to your new year was a fresh one. I’m having good thoughts for myself this new year and some New Year’s resolutions that actually seem attainable! Anyway, I’ve been working on this little cutie off and on for awhile and finally finished it, so I hope you enjoy it! Thank you to everyone who still follows me and reads my stories even though it’s been forever since I’ve updated any of them!))

Pairing: MinghaoxChubby-Black!Reader

Genre: Cute and fluffy

Word Count: 3,372

Summary: You like the hot chocolate from a certain cafe and Minghao is all too eager to join you on your outing. Vernon wants to tag along, but Jeonghan is having none of that shit because he and Joshua have been waiting for a confession between their favorite couple of their favorite real-life romantic drama and he’ll be damned if Vernon ruins that for them.

“Ah, Y/N, are you going somewhere?”

“I’m being a brat today. I want hot chocolate, but only from a specific café that’s further in the city. I think it’s like a block away from that Chinese restaurant that Jun and Minghao took us all to. Does anyone want to come with?”

“I’ll go! I can drive us!”

Joshua caught a chuckle before it made itself known, watching with Jeonghan and Jihoon as their resident cool cutie magically appeared in the living room of the dorms the minute your name was spoken and quite eagerly volunteered to accompany you on your outing. The smile you gave him radiated warmly and Joshua could only guess a blush was heating your cheeks from the way you patted one with the back of your fingers after Minghao asked you to wait for him and then ran into his room to get ready.

“Does anyone else want to go?” you asked, turning your attention to the three hyungs of the Vocal Unit with an inviting smile, “Jeonghan? Josh? Woozi?”

Jeonghan answered for them, waving his hand with a grin and saying, “We’re okay, Y/N. You have all the company you need with our cool cutie. Go enjoy yourself.”

You patted your cheeks again and smiled bashfully for reasons you never voiced but everyone knew of regardless, for they were the same reasons that Minghao was always so quick to respond to your name or the sound of your voice: Minghao had a crush on you and you had a crush on him, too.

Minghao’s signs that he was rather fond of you started manifesting not long after you and your performance group came to South Korea for a collaboration you were doing with Seventeen, though one could argue it started even before that. Your group had arrived two months ago, but for a full month before that, both groups had been in contact via phone or video call. During that time, Minghao had mentioned- more than once- how nice your voice sounded and how much he liked the way you spoke, a rather ‘funny’ grin on his face as he casually said this with the barest hint of a blush.

Meeting you face to face only solidified that fondness, intensified it to something more until every member of Seventeen and your performance group noticed a shift taking place

Joshua was the first one to notice and had been a faithful viewer of this cute and sweet drama he- like the dork he is- dubbed “Baobei: The Minghao and Y/N Love Story”.

“Where are you going, Y/N?” Vernon meandered into the living area, his face aglow with the blue of his phone screen.

“Do you remember that café next to the Chinese restaurant we all went to that one time?” you responded.

“Oh yeah, I love that café! I want to go, too!”

“No, you don’t,” Jeonghan intervened quickly.

Jeonghan was a faithful viewer, too, and quite eager for the love to finally bloom and flourish.

Vernon’s brow furrowed, “What? Come on, hyung.”

“You still have to finish your lyrics with Mingyu, don’t you?”

“We’ve been working on them all afternoon!”

The three older members chuckled at Vernon’s whining, but Jeonghan wouldn’t budge, “And you’ll be working on them all night if you stop now. Get it done now and you won’t have to worry about it at 3 AM like last time.”

Vernon pouted exaggeratedly, pulling a laugh from you as you went to comfort him with a hand on his shoulder; “Sorry, Vernon. Do you want me to bring something back for you?” you offered, smiling when his face brightened.

“Can you?” he asked just as Minghao came back into the living room.

“Ready. Thank you for waiting,” he said, fixing a black mouth mask to his face before moving to grab his coat from the front closet along with his scarf.

“No problem,” you answered, smiling up at Minghao a notch brighter than before, “Just text me what you want, Vernon, and I’ll bring it back, okay?”

“Thanks, noona!”

You waved your goodbye to those that were present and turned towards the door when Minghao casually grabbed the lapel of your coat and pulled you back; “Zip up. Zip up. It’s especially cold right now,” he said, sliding the zipper into place for you.

“Oh. Thank you.” You didn’t meet his eye, but smiled nonetheless and patted your cheeks before zipping your coat up further, “Ready?”

Minghao nodded and followed you to the door, “See you guys later!”

“You two be careful. Behave yourselves,” Jeonghan called, rising from his armchair to go into the kitchen.

“We know, hyung. We have fans everywhere, so we’ll be careful not to draw attention to ourselves.”

“That’s not what I was referring to, but okay,” he said cheekily, disappearing into the kitchen while you and Minghao stood in the entrance way just before the door, puzzled.

Joshua snickered and waved them off, “Have fun!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Nearly every radio station had Christmas music playing on loop, but you weren’t a fan of all the commercials. So Minghao handed over the AUX cord and let you plug your phone into your Spotify Christmas playlist. The car ride was relaxed and fun, you and Minghao giggling and dancing to the music as much as sitting and driving in a car would allow…but the atmosphere was…different.

Neither one of you spoke much and when you did, it wasn’t very loud like it normally would be. This was far from the first time you two had been alone together, numerous V-Lives and recorded performance rehearsals proof of that, so you weren’t uncomfortable around one another. And the atmosphere wasn’t ‘tense’. Just…different; like a simmer of change hanging in the air, corralling the both of you into a comfortably peaceful world that you didn’t want to disturb.

Minghao struggled to concentrate on driving, only wanting to stare at you as you sat beside him…because you seemed to be glowing. He could be disgustingly cheesy and say you were glowing like an angel, but…well, even if he did want to be that cheesy, it wouldn’t be accurate. You were glowing more like…Christmas. Lit up with a hundred bright colors was how you glowed, bringing warmth and wonder and magic into Minghao’s world.

You were already the prettiest person he had ever seen- brown skin like ground cocoa beans, the curliest hair that wrapped around any solid thing that played in it, and a round, chubby body perfect for hip-hugging jeans, body-con dresses and day-long cuddles. And you glowed…like Christmas. He wanted to stare at you all day.

“Speed bump!”

“Oh! Hang on!”

His arm shot out across your torso as he braced himself, Minghao unable to slow down fast enough or safe enough before the car was going over the speed bump roughly. He felt you lurch against his arm and bounce up, your head nearly hitting the roof.

“Whoo! Six Flags!” you joked with a laugh.

Minghao shook his head, his own laugh a little jilted and nervous, “Ah…Sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine! I didn’t hit my head or anything,” you answered.

“Are you sure?” He moved his arm away from your chest and rested his hand over yours, his palm big enough to cover from your wrist to your knuckles.

You paused for only a moment, your heart stuttering at the heat of his hand, but not wanting to embarrass him or make him stop, you spread your fingers enough for his own to fit in the hollows and tightened your hold afterward. “Yeah, I’m sure,” you said, watching his reaction carefully and grinning when he first looked down at your joined hands and then up at you.

His smile was bashful and obvious, even through his mouth mask, focusing back on the road with renewed confidence.

*~*~*~*~*

The vintage sign of your favorite cafe shined like a welcoming beacon from its place on the corner of the semi-busy street, Minghao giggling at the cute happy dance you did as he pulled around back to park in the parking lot. You were out of the car before he even turned it off, the man forever amused and even saying as such as he stepped out to find you bouncing on your toes near the trunk, waiting for him.

“I’m surprised you didn’t just run inside without me,” he teased, nudging you with his elbow.

“Trust me, I took time to seriously consider it,” you replied, scrunching your nose up at him before looping your arm through his, “But…I don’t want to go too far away from you.”

Minghao felt himself go breathless, but a smile remained ever prominent on his face, and ever obvious in the shrinking in of his eyes, as the two of you made your way from the frigid outdoors into the comforting warmth of the cafe. The baristas greeted you, the afternoon appearing to be rather slow since there was no one else in line and only a few tables were occupied.

“Hi! Welcome! What can I get started for you?” the barista asked, friendly smile in place.

“A large hot chocolate and a strawberry muffin for me!” you ordered, glancing at your companion, “Order something.”

“Hmmm…” Minghao took a moment to consider his options, “I’ll get a large hot chocolate, too, and a blueberry scone.”

“Two large hot chocolates, one strawberry muffin and one blueberry scone. Will that be all?”

“That’s it!”

“For here or to go?”

You looked at Minghao, who shrugged at you, “I wouldn’t mind taking it here.”

“For here.”

“You’re total is $16.50!”

“Y/N, there’s something on your shoes,” Minghao pointed down at your boots.

“What? Where?” Distracted, you inspected your footwear with a curious furrow of your brow, your debit card held between your fingers.

Minghao took the opportunity to give the Barista his debit card, the girl giggling as she ran it and handed it back just as you looked back at him, extending your card out.

“There was nothing on my-”

“Here’s your receipt and a number! We’ll bring your order to your table!”

“…You snake.”

Minghao laughed at the unamused glare you gave him, pinching your cheek and cooing in the process, “When you’re with me, you don’t pay for anything.”

“Really? And why is that?” you asked, quirking a brow as a little smirk tugged at the corner of your lips.

Minghao shrugged, “Because I said so.”

You were rendered speechless as the dancer took your hand in his and lead you over to a corner booth on the left side of the cafe, grateful for their choice in tinted windows that allowed for the patrons inside to enjoy the view, but kept them hidden from passersby on the outside. You slid into the booth first, closest to the window, and found your heart skipping a beat when Minghao slid in beside you. You both worked your arms out of your jackets, Minghao discarding his scarf and pushing up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows. You sat entranced by this simple action, having always enjoyed staring at his hands, even when they were doing nothing more than adjusting his sleeves.

“How is your throat feeling?”

“…Huh?” It took you a second longer to catch up with what Minghao was asking, quite embarrassed to be caught staring at his fingers as closely as you were, “Oh! My throat. Better, actually. A lot better.”

“Good. I was worried,” he admitted, brushing a finger underneath your chin, “I told you not to push yourself so hard. You’re so stubborn.”

In the past week, you had been nursing a swollen throat that made singing a very difficult task and although you had promised not only your group mates, but Minghao as well that you would take it easy and relax it for a while, you decided to push your luck in recording a song that you were excited for when you weren’t even half-way healed. The song came out beautiful and rough, just like you imagined, but at a cost.

“I had to take advantage of how my voice sounded while it was sore. The song came out great!” you defended yourself, “Besides, I don’t want to hear anything from you about being stubborn Mr. ‘I’m Fine, I’m Fine! I Just Tweaked It!’.”

A month before you strained your throat, Minghao had twisted his ankle pretty badly. Instead of following everyone’s advice to let it rest, he insisted it wasn’t that big of a deal, that he just ‘tweaked’ it, and continued to push himself far beyond exhaustion learning new choreography. Not long after, he severely sprained that same ankle and had to be on bed rest for the following two and a half weeks.

Minghao glared dully at you as you simply stared back, your temple resting on your propped up fist. The staring continued for only a few seconds more when he- the sly, sneaky thing that he is- slipped an arm around your back and tickled your side. You squeaked and attempted to squirm away, but found yourself with nowhere to run as he locked you against his side and continued his assault, his giggling melding with yours.

“Here’s your order!” the Barista suddenly appeared and interrupted the torture you were under.

“Thank you! Thank you! Oh god, thank you!” you gasped for air, remnants of your giggling slipping through your lips.

The Barista nodded and snickered herself before she took the number that Minghao was given and then skipped away back to the counter. Once you gained your breath back, and had been reassured Minghao wouldn’t try to attack again, you picked up your drink, blew into it a few times, and took a gratifying slip. The chocolaty splendor coated your tongue and warmed you beautifully from the inside out. You hummed happily and took another sip, wiggling in your seat.

Your companion, his mouth mask tucked under his chin so he, too, could enjoy his drink, smiled at you and tapped the back of his finger against your cheek; “You’re so cute when you do that,” he mused, earning a confused hum from you, “You know, when you…”

He wiggled in his seat and you nearly choked on your muffin giggling. Minghao laughed at you, eyes shimmering and crinkled, and you were about to say something when you noticed the two baristas at the counter glancing over in your direction every few seconds or so, giddy smiles on their faces as they waited in possible anticipation. Your smile slowly fell, wondering if perhaps they recognized you and were on their way to recognizing Minghao, too.

If so, then you two would have to make a quick escape because it would only take one picture posted to social media before the cafe would be swarmed with Seventeen fans.

“What is it?”

“No, no, don’t look.” You grabbed hold of Minghao’s shoulder to keep him from turning around and averted your gaze from the counter to your table, “I think the baristas recognize us. They’re looking over here a lot.”

“Oh…” Minghao sighed and fixed his mouth mask back in place, “Maybe we should start heading back?”

“I wonder if I can order Vernon’s drink before we do,” you mused, glancing back at the counter…and pausing.

The two females had gathered together on the side closest to you and Minghao, waving you down with wide, excited smiles before pointing above you. Your brows furrowed as you glanced up…and then felt very grateful that a blush wasn’t easily noticeable on your face.

“Y/N?” Minghao followed your gaze only to find himself face to face with a mistletoe, “…Oh.”

“It’s tradition!” the baristas echoed from the counter, giggling girlishly now and waiting expectantly.

“It’s already the middle of January. I can’t believe they still have this up,” he mumbled, laughing half-heartedly in an attempt to lighten the tense atmosphere and hide the thundering of his own heart.

When his gaze settled on you again, you looked every bit as shy and nervous as he felt: quick, embarrassed glances into his eyes, your bottom lip caught between your teeth, a single curl wrapped ‘round and ‘round and ‘round your finger as you fidgeted. If Minghao weren’t caught up in this embarrassing situation with you, he would have been teasing you.

As it was, though…

“It may be tradition, but we don’t have to follow it, Y/N. It’s okay,” he assured you, his eyes narrowing with his reassuring smile beneath his mask.

You finally worked up the courage to meet his eye, holding his gaze for extended seconds that felt like minutes…hours…an eternity. He couldn’t tell what you were thinking, only that you were coming to some final conclusion. He stiffened when your hand lifted up and your fingers, soft and gentle, curled into the top corner of his mouth mask. You pulled down carefully until it settled underneath his chin again, your fingers resting there, trembling.

Minghao didn’t know if he had taken a breath in the 60 seconds that had passed, but he felt lightheaded and his lungs were burning. His eyes never left yours, even though it became increasingly difficult to hold contact with how close you were drawing to him. Closer and closer until your breaths were mingling, until your nose bumped his…until your lips were slanting with his and colors were exploding behind his eyelids. He remembered to breathe at last, inhaling you and the chocolaty taste on your lips…and he never wanted to be anywhere else ever again.

The baristas might’ve squealed. They might’ve taken a million and one pictures, but literally nothing else held any importance except for you and this warm, chocolaty kiss. A smile curled your lips as you pulled back, your dark eyes glimmering and his own vision all fuzzy with adoration. He laughed breathlessly in the short space between your lips before his hand cupped your cheek and he was kissing you this time.

He was vaguely aware of a sharp squeal, but…he was sure it wasn’t important.

*~*~*~*

Stepping out of the cafe with Vernon’s drink held securely in your hands, you and Minghao bid your goodbyes to the baristas- ignoring their incessant giggling. Snow fell quietly around you, soft little flakes brushing your cheeks and landing in your hair. Minghao stood before you then, quiet and thoughtful, just staring at you like he’d been doing after the kiss you shared under the mistletoe. You gazed back, unabashed and only a little shy.

He chuckled quietly; “Just so we’re clear,” he started, unwinding his scarf from his neck, “That kiss meant more to me than some silly tradition.”

He draped the scarf around your neck, wrapping it around twice and melting when you snuggled into it, “I like you, Y/N. I have for a long time…I think I liked you before I Even met you, the minute I heard your voice over the phone.”

His cheeks were stained pink and you had a good feeling it was from more than the cold. A smile as sweet and bright as all the Christmas lights prettied your face, “I like you, too, Minghao. I’ve been wanting to tell you for a while, but…I was too chicken.”

In his elation, the dancer lowered his mouth mask, grabbed the edges of the scarf wrapped around you, and tugged you close for another tender kiss.

“You’re mine to take care of now,” he said as he pulled back, taking your hand in his and leading you to the car, “So I’m going to be taking extra care to make sure you don’t strain your voice like that again.”

“And I’m going to glue your ass to a chair the next time you ‘tweak’ your ankle,” you shot back, giving him a little half-smirk that dissolved into laughter when he pinched your side, Minghao resisting the urge to press you against the car and kiss you silly.

There would be time for that later…plenty of time to make up for.

#seventeen #seventeen imagines #seventeen scenarios #the8 #the8 imagines #the8 scenarios #minghao #minghao imagines #minghao scenarios #chubby-black reader #chubby-black reader imagines #chubby-black reader scenarios

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moonlit-seren · 5 years

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For Dispatch || Heo Hyunjoon

Summary: Dispatch reporters have always been well known for their diligence and persistence no matter the situation. So when y/n gets thrown a potentially dangerous lead to follow, she finds herself face to face with Seoul’s biggest mob boss and a savory Inkigayo sandwich.

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: This is my very first The Boyz fanfic, so I hope it’s alright. I feel like the Dispatch workers in the story were more like secret agents than reporters lol.

Credits to fall-out-bangtan for inspiring the plot~ <3

꧁Masterlist꧂

“Y/n L/n reporting for duty sir,” I stated, voice loud and proud as any reporter’s should be. My hands were planted firmly by my sides, with a clipboard wedged under one arm as I bowed to my superior respectfully.

“Yes, sit,” said my boss calmly, gesturing to the empty chair in front of his desk. I sat down, watching as he leaned forward so that his clasped hands rested on the polished wood.

A mischievous glint flickered in his eyes, sparkling brighter than it usually does when he finds a new story to cover.

Sangyeon had only been my boss for a couple of months, but our friendship had grown to the point where we could read each other like an open book.

And from what I could tell from his demeanor, I should be very, very concerned for my well being right now.

“So you know how I sent Sunwoo after that one fishy looking guy in the alley two days ago?” Asked Sangyeon, guilt flashing across his face at the harsh glare I sent him.

“Yes, and I distinctly remember seeing the handle of a knife on the person Sunwoo was pursuing, and advising you to call him off,” I replied coldly, not seeing the benefit of having risked the life of one of my coworkers just to follow a potential story.

Sangyeon dismissed my comment, waving it off as if it were nothing more than a bothersome fly. Both of us knew that Sunwoo was one of most diligent reporters at Dispatch, but I couldn’t help but worry about him.

“Don’t worry, he came back alive yesterday, with something that could completely blow our audience off of their feet,” exclaimed Sangyeon, eyes widening as he made overly excited hand gestures.

I rose an eyebrow at him, opening my mouth to ask what it was but he cut me to the chase. He slid a photo across the table, explaining that Sunwoo had taken it.

In the image was a blurry shot of three men. One had his hair dyed a dark orange, with soft doe eyes in contrast to a sharp gaze. The second had dark caramel colored hair, a slightly sturdier build than the first, and a cocky stance. But it was the third male who truly caught my attention.

He was a couple of centimeters shorter than the other two, but had beautifully striking fox eyes. Framing them was a curtain of sleek black bangs styled up in a quiff, giving him more of haughty, arrogant look.

Though his milky white skin didn’t appear to be marred with any tattoos, several piercing lined the cuffs of his ears including a dangling cross and he had on an long, expensive looking fur jacket. It didn’t take much to guess that the third person was the leader of the group, as he stood at a slightly larger distance from the other two.

“You’re ogling,” whispered Sangyeon, amused by how my eyes remained fixated on the gorgeous male.

I stuck my tongue out at him, crossing my arms defensively as a blush spread across the apples of my cheeks. “Whatever, I don’t believe that I came to your office to get teased.”

Sangyeon smiled knowingly, before shaking his head. Sinking back in his armchair, he launched into an animated explanation as he began to explain his findings.

“He’s probably the last person you’d want to date unless you want your head blown off,” started Sangyeon, causing you to raise your eyebrow once more. “I don’t recognize any of these people so I asked around the office and what do you know, Kevin came back with a report from last week saying that he had stumbled upon some underground meeting.”

“Apparently some sort of money exchange was made between the person he was following and another male with a black coat. Both were flanked with two companions. I think that the second party may have been these three,” Sangyeon pointed at the photo once more and you nodded along, unsure of what else to do.

“So you’re saying that this guy is some sort of gang leader?” I asked, pointing at guy who had caught my eye in the picture.

Sangyeon shrugged a little in a carefree response, taking a sip out of the beige mug on his desk before delving back into his story.

“Better actually. I went through our old records and that was when it hit me. I’m surprised I hadn’t recognized him right away,” Sangyeon continued, purposely pausing because he knew that the suspense was killing me on the inside.

“And?” I prompted, a little impatient as he intentionally reached over to straighten an already neat stack of papers resting on the corner of his desk.

“Several months ago, before I got promoted, our last boss sent me to go check out what was said to be a power switch ceremony. I managed to sneak in under the cover of a gang member and the CK was there,” narrated Sangyeon, pride swelling in his chest at the shocked expression on my face.

“CK? As in Seoul’s biggest mob boss in recorded history?” I asked, my eyes widening into large saucers. Anyone who has ever watched the news would know that CK was Seoul’s most notorious criminal in the entire city. Back in his day the police never stood a chance, always being a solid ten steps behind. In fact, he was a renowned criminal all over the world and not just in South Korea.

Sangyeon nodded in affirmation. “Well not anymore apparently. He stepped down and passed his power onto his son who appeared to be around four years younger than me. At that time the boy had his hair dyed a steel gray, which was why I didn’t recognize him at first… But that piercing gaze and cold brown eyes are unforgettable.”

The two pieces clicked together in my mind the moment Sangyeon finished his last sentence. My eyes drifting down to the photo once more at the three people conversing in it.

“He goes by the name Hwall, no one except those incredibly close to him know his real name. As for the other two, I remember seeing them at the ceremony too, so I’m assuming that they’ve grown up together,” said Sangyeon.

“Isn’t it a little curious that the current biggest mob boss didn’t even realize he was getting tagged by a news reporter?” I wondered aloud, curious as to how that ‘Hwall’ guy was still alive in the business he’s in when he couldn’t even notice he was being followed.

Sangyeon shrugged halfheartedly, “Who knows, maybe he did notice Sunwoo but let him follow him around. Just to let the word know that he was still out there and at large.”

I nodded, seeing the logic behind his guess. The net was probably the easiest way for one underworld leader to let his or her competition know of their presence.

After all, news spreads like fire on the internet and it’s far safer than coming out in the open waving an ‘I’m alive’ banner in front of all of your enemies.

“Alright, so now that I know the backstory, can you tell me why exactly you called me of all people rather than Sunwoo down here?” I asked, still a little confused over my presence here.

Sangyeon held up a finger, indicating that he wanted me to wait a second, as a sweet smile spreading over his face. My eyes narrowed, immediately recognizing his expression. He only ever used that smile when asking a difficult request, and more often than not, I always end up regretting agreeing to it.

“You see, not every news outlet gets such a rare chance to cover a giant story like this. If we get this scoop, Dispatch’s name will be known world wide and our division will become famous for obtaining it. It would be risky to send Sunwoo out again so we both agreed that you’d be the best one for this job,” explained Sangyeon, pulling out a file from his desk draw. From what I could see, it looked like it contained all the information we currently had on this particular case. “Besides, I only want you on the field for a day, there’s a slim chance that you’ll get caught.”

“I shouldn’t seen this coming,” I thought, sighing deeply. On one hand my cover could get blown and I could get killed, but on another… If my work gets recognized I could get a huge pay raise and never have to worry again next time I go binge in a expensively delicious dessert cafe. Besides… life isn’t worth living if you’re still knee deep in student loan debts.

Much to both of our surprises I agreed without much hesitation, reaching forward to take the file out of a gawking Sangyeon’s hands. “Sure, what do I have to lose?”

•

The fated day came a week later, with Sunwoo guiding me to the right place at the right time and hanging around to see if I could overhear or sneak a peek at anything.

“He’s going to a meeting with the leader of another gang from Jeju. They’ll be on the second floor of the Park Enterprise building, 2nd door to the right from the elevators. You should have a clear visual from the roof of the karaoke bar next door,” informed Sunwoo, before hanging up to let me do my thing.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself, pulling on a baby blue snapback and matching face mask. I slipped my phone into my bag before beginning the trek up the stairs of the building Sunwoo told me to go to.

The door to the roof was unlocked for whatever reason, but I wedged a small stone in the doorway to keep it cracked open just in case.

“Let’s get to work,” I thought, placing my bag onto the ground as I pulled out my binoculars to peer through the window of the room my target was supposed to be in.

The blinds were nearly pulled all the way down and at most I could only see a sliver of the ebony table in the center of the room.

The only windows to that particular room that were exposed were the ones facing the large office building across the street, which I’d have extreme difficulty sneaking into.

Spotting the horizontal flag poles lining the edge of the building, the corners of my lips slipped into a smirk and I pulled off my hat in order to tie my hair up into a ponytail.

“For Dispatch,” I whispered, bravely crawling onto one before dangling upside down on the pole. It extended above the sidewalk below, the building only being four floors up.

Bringing the binoculars up to my eyes, I sighed in content realizing that I could see perfectly into the room now.

There was a total of nine people in the room, three of which being Hwall and his ever present duo of right hand men.

I watched as the people conversed, unable to make out much from the silent conversion besides the words “money” and “guns”.

Sure enough, a few minutes later two silver briefcases were brought to the table containing whatever goods that were about to be exchanged.

A few distant yells disrupted my focus, as I pulled my binoculars away from my eyes and glanced down at the mini crowd that gathered below.

“Get down from there suicidal idiot!” Shouted a boy from the sidewalk, frantically gesturing his arms to signify that I should plant my feet back on a solid surface.

He appeared my age but other than that I couldn’t distinguish much from my vantage point besides a mop of dark blue hair partially hidden by a denim cap.

Similar cries erupted from around him as many concerned faces peered up at me from the ground.

I smiled at his concern, touching my pointer finger to my lips in a shushing gesture before bringing the binoculars back to my eyes. “For Dispatch.”

The meeting concluded as quickly as it began, only lasting for a mere ten minutes.

It seems that it’s dangerous for men like them to stay in one place for too long, especially in broad daylight where everyday businessmen rather than shifty drug dealers roamed the streets.

I finally climbed off the flagpole I had been dangling from, nearly toppling the moment my feet met the cement of the roof from the severe headrush I experienced.

Not wasting any time, I quickly gathered my belongings before running down the stairs of the building I was in.

The moment my feet hit the first step, I pulled my phone out again, speed dialing Sunwoo to ask if he knew where to go next.

“You know the beach where we went last month with Kevin and Sangyeon?” He asked, picking up nearly instantaneously.

I racked my brain projecting the memory in the forefront of my mind. Indeed we had gone to a public beach for a mini vacation and as expected, a series of embarrassing events occured under Sunwoo’s influence.

“How could I forget?” I snapped with a huff, climbing down the second fleet of stairs. “You intentionally pushed me into Kevin, hoping for some cliche k-drama moment!”

“Well it kind of worked,” Sunwoo mused, snickering at the angry tone I was using. Of course he was amused at the mortifying predicament he put me in.

I gasped, appalled at his statement. “We ended up falling on top of some poor kid’s sandcastle! You should’ve seen the little girl’s face, she looked like she was about to cry! And to this day Kevin still thinks I intentionally fell on him! Do you know how embarrassing it was? I can’t even talk to him nowadays!”

Sunwoo burst into a loud bout of laughter, accompanied by the sounds of a couple items getting knocked over. “Not my fault your love life is a joke.”

“Kim Sunwoo!” I exclaimed, feeling a deep sense of hurt at his jesting antics. A quiet ding resonated from my phone, signifying that it was at two percent. “Crap my phone is about to die.”

“Kidding, kidding. Anyways, I gave you an earpiece yesterday, you can just use that instead of your phone to talk to me later. Remember, go to that beach!”

“Alright, bye,” I hung up, tucking my phone away as I exited the building I was in.

Seeing as I arrived via one of the city’s commute buses, I looked around, quickly scanning my surroundings for a taxi of sorts.

Unfortunately, the only vehicle around was a small white cargo truck across the street and I realized with a sigh that it’d have to suffice.

“One hundred thousand won,” I offered, waving the bills in front of the truck driver. His beady eyes absentmindedly followed my hand, clearly itching to claim money as his own yet hesitating. “All I need is for you to drive me to Eurwangni Beach.”

“I don’t have any space in my truck to, there are only two seats and my coworker’s occupying the second,” he began, but I quickly cut him off with a simple shake of head.

“Don’t worry about that,” I replied, walking over to the flower shop beside us. Spotting the ladder propped up against the wall, I moved it so it was right beside the cargo truck before clambering onto the top of it.

“I’m going to get in trouble with the police,” sighed out the truck driver, taking the wad of cash out my hand as I leaned over the edge of the truck’s roof.

“Not if I have a seat belt,” I assured, pulling out a detached lap belt and a role of neon orange duck tape from my bag.

“Kids nowadays…”

I ignored his exasperated comment, taping the seat belt down before patting the roof of the truck to indicate that I was secure.

As requested, the driver drove to the aforementioned beach, which was a short drive from where I was in Incheon.

I’ve never actually visited Incheon before today, as the meeting I was just observing took place here. The Dispatch office I worked in was located in Seoul, a few blocks away from my apartment.

To be honest, the ride wasn’t unpleasant at all. The roads were fairly smooth and the luscious scenery on the way looked like it came straight out of a photocard.

Once we arrived, I hopped off the truck, allowing the soft sand to cushion my fall. Due to the sunny weather, the beach was already occupied by several different parties.

I went to go sit on one of the public use lounge chairs, sighing as my skin hit the shade of the large red beach umbrella.

Remembering Sunwoo’s words, I rummaged through my bag for the small device he had given me. There were only two buttons on it, one being call and the other being end call.

It must’ve been linked to the one in Sunwoo’s possession as there was no way for me to enter in a number, so I pressed the dial button before slipping the black earpiece in my ear.

“Sunwoo, is this really necessary?” I whispered, hearing him pick up after the second ring.

“No, but it makes it feel like we’re secret agents so why not?” Rang Sunwoo’s voice from the tiny device. “Besides, stop speaking. You’ll look stupid and suspicious talking to yourself. Not that you don’t already look stupid lounging on the beach alone.”

I glared as he chuckled, despite knowing that he couldn’t see me. It was like Sunwoo’s second nature to tease me for whatever miniscule reason he could find and if karma didn’t get him back one day then I would.

“Alright prick, now tell me what I’m doing lounging on a beach chair in eighty degree weather,” I demanded, taking my hat out of my bag to fan myself with it.

My efforts proved fruitless as it generated no more than a tiny gust of air from each swing, so I pulled it on instead in defeat.

I heard a few shuffling sounds from the other end of the line, waiting for a response from my coworker.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m getting there. And here I was thinking you’d appreciate an impromptu vacation” Sunwoo replied after a few seconds, taking a long drag of what I assumed to be coffee. I rolled my eyes, unafraid to do so in public as I had on a dark pair of sunglasses. “ According to our sources, Hwall is supposed to arrive in a few minutes with his two goons. Most likely taking a break from the whole criminal thing.”

“He literally just came out of a meeting-” I began, eyebrows furrowing in skepticism before being startled out of finishing my sentence.

“WHAAAAAAAHOOOOOO-” cried a frenzied, dark haired male are he charged into the ocean like a stampeding rhinoceros, eyes bulging and mouth stretched open into a wide smile before snapping shut right as the waves swallowed his body.

Shortly after yet another person charged after the first, kicking up fist fulls of dirt into the air as he clumsily dove head first into the glistening blue waters with a loud splash.

My eyes widened at the strange occurrence, still trying to comprehend the rare sight of men my age acting like eight year olds on a sugar high the moment they spot the ocean.

“Why do I even bother with them?” Asked a soft voice a few yards away from me, a third figure appearing from the same direction the other two came.

Curious, I turned my head to peer at the mysterious voice, jaw dropping as I took in the sight.

There, in all his glory, stood the very person I had been tasked to follow, his dark hair billowing in gentle waves like the ocean before him.

Having changed out of his suit, Hwall only had on a pair of swim shorts, forgoing a top and opting for a simple shark tooth necklace in its stead.

Cheeks darkening in a dangerous shade of red, I quickly averted my eyes before they drifted further than the pale skin of his collarbones, reaching up to tip my hat further done my face. “Oh my sweet california oranges.”

“What?” Asked Sunwoo, startling me out of my reverie. I had completely forgotten his presence, unknowingly relishing in the silence from his end. Dealing with him could be quite a handful at times, though I wouldn’t trade our friendship for the world.

“Nothing, I thought I saw a shark,” I responded casually, trying to play off the nervous titter in my voice. Much to my horror, my voice carried over the wind catching the attention of the fine specimen to my left.

Before Hwall had the chance to turn his head fully, I tilted my head downwards to better hide my face as I furtively pressed my phone against my right ear to pretend I was in the middle of a phone call.

“Was that shark hot? I can hear your blush from here y/n,” Sunwoo stated teasingly, making a loud kissing noise. I silently cursed at how well he knew me, realizing how transparent I must be considering how easily my friends could read my emotions.

“Shut up,” I whispered sharply, turning off the earpiece in my ear in annoyance. “Why do I even bother with you.”

Directing my gaze back on the ocean, I watched with mild interest as the two males continued to splash around, hyper aware of how Hwall hadn’t moved from his spot.

The moment I had spotted him the two dots connected together and I realized who exactly the two childlike strangers were. It was a little surprising, seeing two supposed mob members actually like normal teenagers if not younger.

“HYUNJAE,” shouted the tall male with dark orange hair. He had on a distinct look of disgust and betrayal as his companion had managed to nail him right in his face with a handful of water.

“Suck it up Younghoon,” Hyunjae replied, sticking out his tongue as he scrambled out of the range of his angered friend. He burst into a bout of strangled laughter, as Younghoon pounced on him bringing the both of them beneath the surface of the waves.

It was only then that Hwall shifted, strolling towards the ocean in a carefree manner. My eyes caught onto his movement, shifting to his back as he leisurely swam towards Hyunjae and Younghoon.

Much to my surprise, rather than splitting the playful fight, he laid down on Younghoon’s back as the latter was still attempting to throttle Hyunjae.

Younghoon gasped, swimming away in surprise which caused Hwall to roll back into the water.

Yet another water fight broke out as their laughter carried all the way to the beach, or rather, all the way to my ears.

I smiled unknowingly, finding the sight strangely endearing. For whatever reason, I had half expected the group to go shark hunting or some other dangerous activity when I heard they’d be coming. This was the last thing I expected in all honesty.

Seeing the trio like this made me feel a little more at ease, as if I were at less of a risk of dying due to following them, though it would still be a little early to make that assumption.

The next few hours continued on in a similar fashion until Hwall, Hyunjae, and Younghoon wore themselves out.

“I need food,” whined Hyunjae, collapsing on his back on a beach towel that I presumed was his.

Younghoon plopped down next to him, nodding a little as if to say ‘me too’.

Hwall glanced down at them, shaking his head in exasperation. “I’ll go buy something from the cafe down the street.”

He walked away to a chorus of thanks you’s, pulling on a shirt and a pair of sandals from the bag laying beside his two friends.

Inconspicuously gathering my own belongings, I waited for five minutes before leaving, already knowing which cafe he meant as there was only one within walking distance.

By the time I arrived, Hwall had already ordered and was situated at a table by one of the floor length windows that lined the shop. His head was resting on his palm, as he stared out through the glass only breaking out of his pensive trance when a waiter brought over his mug of coffee.

Not wanting to be caught staring, I walked towards the counter to order something to nibble on since I was already here.

But to my surprise, the male working the cashier flashed me a cheery smile as he slid a sandwich across the counter. “One Inkigayo sandwich right? It’s already been paid for, so enjoy!”

I didn’t have the chance to ask him if he had made a mistake as to who to give the sandwich to or even who paid for it, as he was already talking to the next customer in line.

Walking to the nearest empty table, which was coincidentally beside Hwall’s, I sat down and slowly peeled open the plastic wrap covering the sandwich.

A small beige notecard fell out of the wrapping, fluttering delicately on the table. I picked it up, flipping it over as the side that had been facing me was blank.

There, in messy black handwriting, was a short message that seemingly caused my heart to stop for a solid few seconds.

“I probably would’ve killed you by now if you weren’t so cute.”

My cheeks flared scarlet red, feeling absolutely mortified as I knew that it was foolish of me to think that someone of his profession wouldn’t notice that they’re being followed.

Dropping the card back on the table, my gaze nervously trailed forward, before stopping on Hwall who was already looking at me.

The afternoon sun cast a beautiful aura of light on his face, illuminating his features with an ethereal glow as he winked at me, the corners of his lips quirking up into a smirk.

“What’s up girl?”

#the boyz #hwall #hyunjoon #heo hyunjoon #fanfiction #imagine #oneshot #romance #fluff #the boyz hwall imagine #the boyz hwall oneshot #the boyz hwall fanfic

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poodlejoonas · 2 years

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🌸 If you get this, answer with 3 random facts about yourself and send it to the last 7 blogs in your notifications, anonymously or not 🌸

Okay I'm gonna finally get around to doing this one because I swear every single time I get asked anything about me, I just totally forget every fact of my existence ✨

(I'll start off with the short one) I talk about them all the time, but I have two very adorable bunnies. Their names are Dipper and Honey but we alternatively call them: baby boys, bunny boys, the buns, bnuuys, bread (when they loaf), and my personal favorite... little shit cannons.

Long ones under the read-more:

I'm studying for a second degree in my very first special interest. Like most kids, I cycled through a lot of passing (+/- a year) interests but the one thing that always stuck with me was my special interest in geography (physical, cultural, literally if it was about a country I probably already read about it). I used to read encyclopedias for hours in my room and that's how I was able to rattle off about national capitals and flags on cue. I also used to obsessively draw model flags that I would cut out of white paper and keep in a little box in my room. Now, I'm getting my second degree in political science with a focus on international security, peace, and conflict. I also collect model flags from every country I visit and now I have seven (China, Thailand, South Korea, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Switzerland). So, yeah, let your special interests run wild 💞

I spent this past summer in Bosnia and I had two major personal firsts: my first ever time in a mosh pit, and my first ever Pride march. The mosh pit one was fun because my friends and I had decided to go to an underground punk show. I was always curious about moshing so I jumped in a few times. The second time I'd gone in, I bumped into this one guy who looked like Freak on a Leash era Jonathan Davis and he knocked me over, and when the others realized I fell, they all jumped in to pull me back up before we started back again. I told my friends later that, "Dudes in mosh pits are interesting. If you're a little lady and you wanna get bumped around, they'll bump you around as much as you want, but the moment you fall, they magically remember all of their chivalry." About the march: it was Sarajevo's third ever Pride march and they had a record turnout. I had on a bi flag-patterned flower dress with pink fishnets and pink Doc knock-offs. I helped carry the huge trans flag banner and I had on headphones since they weren't playing any music, and all the MIW I was getting on my playlist really set the mood. Bosnia is still way more conservative than what I'm used to in the US (and I live in the rural south which says a lot), but we actually saw quite a few elderly women sitting by their apartment windows who were blowing us air kisses, which was really sweet. I honestly felt so refreshed being part of a huge real-life LGBT community for the first time and really feeling validated and welcomed.

#ask #personal #i swear trying to find something interesting about me is an uphill battle sometimes #an unstoppable force (my desire to talk about myself more) meets an immovable object #(the trauma of being bullied and feeling like no one ever wants to hear me talk about myself)

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howwelldoyouknowyourmoon · 3 years

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Disciplining the Mind – North Korean style

Sun Myung Moon was in North Korea from 1946-1950.

Ron Paquette spoke to one of Moon’s sons about indoctrination: “And I said in many ways it reminds me sometimes of the communist camps, and at that point he said: ‘Yeah I know,’ he said, ‘and Father learned that when he was in prison camp,’ and I kept trying to make the point that no, no, the way we bring in people, and the way we control people is kind of like the way this goes on in North Korean prison camps, and he kept saying ‘I know.’” from “Reverend Sun Myung Moon: Emperor of the Universe” TV special (Ron Paquette speaks at 23 minutes)

Review: “When the history of North Korea is discussed, the focus is usually on the division of the peninsula, the installation of a pro-Soviet regime, and the application of communism. But Charles K. Armstrong went far beyond this approach in this work.

Armstrong went through several aspects of North Korean society, touching upon even art, to show how the government’s authority and ideology touched upon every aspect of daily life and every imaginable segment of society. To his credit, he highlights the communists’ significant overturning of traditional Korean classes, as the communists placed the peasantry on top.

A sound work free of political bias which examines what the North Koreans did between August 14, 1945 and June 25, 1950, in their attempt to revolutionize their half of the peninsula.”

The North Korean Revolution, 1945–1950 By Charles K. Armstrong

Series: Studies of the Weatherhead East Asian Institute, Columbia University Paperback: 288 pages Publisher: Cornell University Press; 1 edition (February 19, 2004) ISBN-13: 978-0801489143

North Korea, despite a shattered economy and a populace suffering from widespread hunger, has outlived repeated forecasts of its imminent demise. Charles K. Armstrong contends that a major source of North Korea’s strength and resiliency, as well as of its flaws and shortcomings, lies in the poorly understood origins of its system of government. He examines the genesis of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) both as an important yet rarely studied example of a communist state and as part of modern Korean history.

North Korea is one of the last redoubts of “unreformed” Marxism-Leninism in the world. Yet it is not a Soviet satellite in the East European manner, nor is its government the result of a local revolution, as in Cuba and Vietnam. Instead, the DPRK represents a unique “indigenization” of Soviet Stalinism, Armstrong finds. The system that formed under the umbrella of the Soviet occupation quickly developed into a nationalist regime as programs initiated from above merged with distinctive local conditions. Armstrong’s account is based on long-classified documents captured by U.S. forces during the Korean War. This enormous archive of over 1.6 million pages provides unprecedented insight into the making of the Pyongyang regime and fuels the author’s argument that the North Korean state is likely to remain viable for some years to come.

pages 210-214

Disciplining the Mind In the North Korean surveillance regime, social discipline was ideally not something to be imposed by outside regulation and coercion. Discipline was to be internalized through self-examination and reform at the individual level, and “thought struggle“ leading to “thought uniﬁcation“ at the collective level, North Korean communism shared with its counterparts in China and Vietnam, as well as (with a different ideological content) prewar militarist Japan, a strong emphasis on drawing the wayward individual into political conformity through reeducation and reform rather than physical coercion and punishment. The most dramatic example of this was the public ritual of “‘self-criticism” (cha-a pi’p’an or chagi pip’an).

Originally a Soviet technique, self-criticism was used to a much greater degree by the North Koreans and Chinese, and became well-known in the West during the Korean War as part of communist “brainwashing.” It may be that in cultures deeply influenced by neo-Confucian notions of the innate goodness and spiritual malleability of human beings, all deviants are in theory capable of being reformed through self-reflection and reeducation. Self-criticism was the public expression of this reform, through which the genuinely repentant individual could be reintegrated into the community. Its quasi-religious nature has often been noted, although the public nature of self-criticism is much more like evangelical Protestant “testimony” than Catholic confession.

What the Korean communists called “thought unity“ (sasang t’ongi’l), or what the American observers in their characteristic fashion called “totally conditioned public opinion,” was a theme the state and every social organization in North Korea constantly stressed. This stress on ideological conformity derived not only from Soviet influences, but also was clearly resonant with the relentless “thought policing” of the late colonial period, albeit with a very different political content. The North Korean regime put enormous resources into propaganda, as we have seen in the previous chapter, both to encourage support for the regime as well as to uproot subversive ideas that might aid the Americans and the South Korea agents who were suspected behind every corner. Thought had to be free of all reactionary taint and politically pure. The undisciplined mind was a thing to be feared.

Disciplining the Body One final object of discipline stressed in the North Korean literature was the human body. Immediately Following the creation of the DPRK, there was a considerable emphasis on hygiene, sports, and physical purity. The individual had a duty to perfect his physical condition in order to strengthen the society and better serve the state. In particular, there was an emphasis on large, coordinated group sporting events, the precursors of the “mass games” that would in later years be a hallmark of North Korean entertainment for visiting foreign delegations. In North Korea of the 1940s, images abounded of parades of young athletes carrying flags, group calisthenics, and public drills celebrating holidays and events of all kinds. This too had a resonance not only with the Soviet Union and other communist societies, but also prewar Japan and, further aﬁeld, the mass-mobilizing states of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

The extent to which society was portrayed as an organic unit to which the individual contributed his entire physical and spiritual being, in which “all hearts beat as one” (to use a later North Korean phrase) was probably closest to Imperial Japan. But, as John Dower has pointed out, the Japanese government chose to portray such a rigid image of national unity precisely because many feared that the masses did not share in the virtues the state espoused. The state seemed to be attempting to create a sense of unity and political cohesion in part through the active involvement of the individual in public, physical displays of bodily conformity. These would not be the “docile bodies” that Foucault refers to, but “active bodies” moving in choreographed unity, sports reflecting the indivisible purpose of the nation in all areas of politics, economics, and culture.

The well-trained individual body was a synecdoche of, and a prerequisite for, a well-functioning body politic. Both had to be disciplined, strong, and determined. The inaugural issue of Inmin ch’eyuk (People’s Physical Education) in February 1949 proclaimed that physical training “will help realize complete national uniﬁcation and democratic development.” Physical education was the “firm foundation” of the people’s economic development and the defense of the Fatherland. Although there were already more than 60,000 members of 11,208 athletic groups in the North, there was still a need to “permeate physical education more broadly among the people,” to replace the antiquated Japanese physical education system, and to educate all people in the workplace, farm, and school to become good comrades. Everywhere the nation was supposed to walk in step, both literally and figuratively.

Internalizing Security After the creation of the Democratic People’s Republic in 1948, the North Korean documents show an increasing concern with external dangers to the nation and social discipline appears increasingly militarized. Although references to “reactionary elements” and “national traitors” within North Korea diminishes, criticism of reaction and national betrayal is increasingly focused on South Korea and talk of “defending the Fatherland” ( chogukk powi ) escalates. At the same time, there is a move away from the negative elimination of “bad elements” to the positive creation of “thought unity” within the party and local People’s Committees and the spiritual and physical training of individuals, all linked in turn to the defense of and integration into the state that represents the “national subject,” the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. There is, in short, an unbroken continuum from the internal discipline of the individual to the external defense of the nation.

Local counties and villages were linked to the national security/military complex through the Self-Defense Units ( chawidae ), supervised by the Procurator’s Office, which was in turn part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Self-policing institutions were a common feature of traditional Korean villages, but it was the Japanese colonial authorities who first linked these organizations effectively to the centralized police forces and the state.86 The North Korean state also drew on this system of local self-defense, but the social hierarchy was reversed: rather than being headed by the village elders, held in respect due to their age and perhaps a modicum of Confucian education, the local Self-Defense Units were run by local peasants who were generally both poor and young. In the village of Tongmyon in South P’yong’an, for example, most of the twenty Self-Defense Unit members employed in the local police substation were in their early thirties, all were poor peasants, and two were women.87

The responsibilities of the Self-Defense Units were broad, including the dissemination of state policy (including foreign policy), protection against “infiltration of reactionary elements,” and security from fire and theft.88 At the first meeting of the Tongmyon Self-Defense Unit in October 1949, the members promised to “work for the benefit and productivity of the local people,” to “expose and smash reactionaries and puppets and their helpers,” and above all to “overcome all difficulties and discipline ( hullyonhada )” themselves “for obedience to the demands of the state.”89

86. Likewise, the Japanese in Taiwan made effective use of the traditional Chinese baojia neighbohood family system of local security. See Chen, “Police and Community Control Systems,” 226.

87. RG 242, SA 2005, 4/36. “Personal History of Each Village Guard,” Tongmyon Police Sub-Station, 1949 (“top secret”)

88. RG 242, SA 2009, 8/58. Poster on responsibility and mission of Self-Defense Units, belonging to Cell Section, Kangwon Provincial Public Procurator’s Office, 4 November 1947.

89. RG 242, SA 2005, 4/36. “Record of the First Meeting of the Self-Defense Unit,” Tongmyon Police Sub-Station, 12 October 1949.

90. RG 242 contains a “handbook” on self-criticism, a translation of a 1927 Soviet document, which states that “self-criticism [ chagi pip’an ] is a method of promoting revolutionary consciousness of party members, cadres, and ordinary working-class.” RG 242, SA 2009. 7/32. Propaganda Section Chinnamp’o Korean Communist Party Committee, May 1946. Party members also circulated translations of Chinese articles on “Thought Guidance” by Mao, Liu Shaoqi, Zhu De, and others, indicating the mix of both Soviet and Chinese influences in postliberation North Korea. See RG 242, SA 2009, 6/73.

91. Prewar Japanese tenko (conversion) of “thought criminals” used techniques quite similar to later North Korean and Chinese “reeducation” See Mitchell, Thought Control, 127-47. As mentioned earlier, many Korean communists had themselves been objects of tenko campaigns during the colonial period.

92. For a brief description of self-criticisim in North Korea see Schramm and Riley, “Communication in the Sovietized State.” 764.

93. State Department, North Korea, 91.

94. John W. Dower, War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War (New York: Pantheon, 1986), 31. For an interpretation of North Korea as a “corporatist” organic state, see Bruce Cummings, “Corporatism in North Korea,” Journal of Korean Studies 3 (1983): 269-94.

95. Foucault, Discipline and Punish, trans. Alan Sheridan (New York: Vintage, 1979), 135-169.

96. RG 242, SA 2008, 10/122 Inmin Ch’eyuk 1, no. 1 (February 1949): 1.

Moon: “… you must know the knack of holding and possessing the listeners’ hearts. If there appears a crack in the man’s personality, you wedge in a chisel, and split the person apart.”

United States Congressional investigation of Moon’s organization

Politics and religion interwoven

The Resurrection of Rev Moon

#Sun Myung Moon #North Korea

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