#i hope the addition is okay? it doesn't really answer your question at all lol

[secriden]

Ohhh, I love this explanation! This makes a lot of sense because Kant is such a practical character (vs Style's almost naivety in clinging to hope, as you pointed out), that it just makes sense that he'd rather Bison (and himself and Babe and Style) be safe apart from the men they have fallen in love with, then attempt to cling onto the tenuous happiness of being together. This also makes sense in light of Kant losing his parents presumably fairly young and, of all the characters(*), being subsequently introduced to the harsh realities of a life very much outside of his own control. Life has taught Kant the practicality of accepting when you can't change something, so its not worth trying.

(*) I'm not intending to downplaying the trauma of Fadel and Bison witnessing their own parents' murders, but they at least were groomed coerced indoctrinated trained into a life that gave them the semblance of control (see: Bison's expression of ecstasy in episode 1 when he knew he was going to murder the man he's currently hugging to his chest) while Kant got into a life of crime out of necessity and then very quickly seems to have fallen into a life under the manipulative thumb of a corrupt police captain.

I think the idea that his past crimes will always hang around his neck, threatening to pull him back in, to sully all of of his relationships (romantic entanglements, his friendship with Style, Babe's respect and trust, etc) is simply a little too much to bear.

Looooove this point. It puts into words something about the air of resentment that Kant has steadily been gaining as the series progresses. At the start of the series, he appears to be almost wilfully ignoring the severity of his situation; the way he searches out casual flings and feeds into Style's playful antics and pretends he has things under control. Even as he protests the Captain's continued manipulation, there's a sense that he was almost resigned to his lot, but in a way that feels like avoidance rather than acceptance -- like he knew he couldn't do anything and he didn't want to allow himself to acknowledge it because then he'd have to FEEL just how unfair it all was. But now that things are coming to a climax, and especially because his affection for Bison have been growing and becoming more and more entangled with his guilt over the manipulation and his worry for Babe and the complication of trying to keep Style from falling in love with a murderer (oops! too late!), its like it's all reaching a boiling point.

I think establishing the tone from the begining was a great call, and i've been trying to make a post about it but it's not coming along

But yes, I am quite happy to agree that this show isn't meant to be taken seriously in these aspects. You're right about them striking the balance very well from the get go, and I was one of the people most intrigued and excited by the intentionality of the cast explicitly being all please don't set up unreasonable expectations! this is a comedy! A COMEDY!!! before the series dropped. I liked how it made me feel like the cast and Jojo and the production team knew exactly the story they wanted to tell and moreover were intentionally setting it in the style and medium and genre they wanted.

But yeah, I'm a-okay with certain things not being fully explained because I'd far rather they take the time and space and funding to nail down the things they actually WANT to nail down (like the complexity of the emotional entanglements that all the characters were grappling with in Ep 6. That slow zoom and linger on Kant's eyes as they turn molten with dismay-longing-happiness-despair when Bison comes back. *clasps hands* Thank you, Jojo and First TwT <3)

Also, no pressure, but I'd love to read your further thoughts on this if you decide to make that post after all! <3 >w<

Ok, genuinely asking cuz I think I missed something??

So the captain is using Kant (and Style) to get evidence, not on Fadel and Bison, but specifically because they want whoever is behind them, right? That's the whole reason for this ruse to begin with.

So, like, okay he's still the police and they're pretty sure there's going to be an attempted murder, so they have to be there to try to prevent it. But if they actually arrested Fadel and Bison, their boss would probably go to ground and be impossible to find.

(Especially if the captain/police don't know about the dysfunctional psudo family relationship that Fadel and Bison have with Lilly.)

So, did Bison and Fadel only get away in episode 6 because they captain intentionally let them go? Is he still hoping to use Fadel and Bison to get to their boss? (Was the motherfucker just a hilariously dramatic act for show?)

If so, why does Kant think he's done? At first I thought it was because he thinks the brothers have been caught, but he tells Style, "You have to get over it. You can't ever get together with him. Move on." which suggests that Kant thinks Style has the opportunity to try (ie. he knows Fadel hasn't been arrested yet).

Clearly, Kant understands that Fadel and Bison's arrest is an inevitability, that it's only been delayed because they're not interested in taking out only the people on the field. So he should know that Fadel and Bison not being arrested means the ruse is very far from being done.

Maybe Kant means it like: I'm done, I can't do it anymore, my heart won't let me lie to Bison again. ;A;

But even so, at this point (the day after the botched shooting), Kant hasn't discovered anything more than what he gave to the captain when the captain refused to agree that Kant was done the previous day, so like... why does he think he's done???!?

I'm just feeling very confused as to what, exactly, the captain's plan is now... Cuz surely the police know that Fadel and Bison are going to be suspicious about the undercover police presence at the charity event. Which therefore puts their moles (Kant/Style) at risk of not only being discovered, but being fed false information. Is the captain so confident in Kant (and Style's) seduction that they think Bison and Fadel will come back with NO caution?

Or am I just taking it all too seriously and this is one of those "accept the suspension of disbelief" moments? Should I just assume the police people aren't actually that smart? This is, after all, a comedy.

[hawkinasock]

Hihi! I wanted to ask about your chimera!Yanqing AU (LOVE it btw omfg) if that’s okay if not that’s alright just ignore this lol.

Anyway I wanted to ask about the sequence of events between the emanator “my tummy hurts”-ing, getting their head chopped (I’m assuming that did come to pass), and Yanqing regenerating his way into an additional 6 limbs because I assume it didn’t happen right away (unless it did). Like, I imagine the whole regen process started during the “my tummy hurts” phase, but like did Yanqing burst through like some pimple the second there was an opening or was it a slow process?

Also side question/musing: what are your thoughts on Lan’s thought process on this? Or on Abundance!Yanqing in general? Do you think that they know? And if they do, do they just not care?

Hi there, anon!

Unfortunately, I didn't really have a detailed chronology of events prior to your ask... To confirm, yes, the emanator was successfully decapitated by Jing Yuan, after some time of chasing it down and fighting it. As for the time between that and the chimera's appearance, well, I did some brainstorming, and I eventually decided it would happen some time after the decapitation when, simply for the fact that I find a reveal similar to what happens in Dunmeshi more fun <3

Also I lost it at "my tummy hurts". That actually sent into orbit (my editor also loved the pimple simile too). That's basically what happened to the poor guy lmaoo. Stealing that.

But to be specific, he did just kinda sprout from the neck. Had there been no decapitation, he might have manifested in a slightly different form, which gives me leeway for a ton of other potential designs. By the time the emanator was killed, though, its body was disfigured and almost unrecognizable, as the human body inside was attempting to reform using another body that was very much NOT human, and just being completely fucked up from the inside out (mmm eldritch abominations my beloved).

I'll be honest... the aeons' reactions didn't ever occur to me. Since we still know so little about them currently, its hard to gauge how they'd feel, but considering they're omniscient enough to cast their gaze onto their pathstriders, then it's safe to say they'd probably notice.

It's actually a really good question though, considering Yanqing would be an abomination treading the path of the Hunt. We saw a similar scenario in 2.5 with Feixiao, where, despite spending years struggling with her ties to the borisin and the Abundance in general, Lan still cast their gaze onto her in the end in a moment that was very triumphant.

Feixiao and Abundance!Yanqing's situations aren't identical, but you can paint a parallel. If Lan is aware of Yanqing's existence, and it's possible assuming every pathstrider has, at one point, caught the attention of their respective aeons, maybe Lan would see it as a good thing, that even an Abomination can resonate with the Hunt and turn their back against their author.

Or maybe Yanqing's path was Lan's way of taking custody and getting one over on Yaoshi in their endless divorce arc. Who knows. If Lan doesn't actually view Yanqing in a positive light, then they may not see him as an important enough to justify them stepping in. They have emanator's to do that for them, after all, although we saw how well that went...

I hope that answered your questions. Feel free to hop into my ask box if you have any more <3

[thelazyhermits]

Any thoughts for the possibility of Yuu and Grandma Bucchi meeting?

Oh, absolutely! I want Yuu to meet Grandma Bucchi so bad since I love Ruggie and think his grandma will be cute like him but also super badass/awesome like Epel's grandma lol

Unfortunately, the chances of Ruggie getting a hometown event are pretty low, considering it's unlikely that there are hometown festivals, etc. where he grew up, and there's no way his family could afford to host anyone when they're just barely getting by as it is.

That's why I'm really hoping that Grandma Bucchi shows up in Book 7 at some point like Baul did cause that seems like our best chance to see her 🤞

Anyway, now it's time for me to stop babbling, so I can finally actually answer your question lol I put it all underneath the cut since I ended up writing a lot as per usual 😂

Okay, first off, I'd like to say that I think Grandma Bucchi isn't someone who's easy to impress/win over. You gotta earn her respect since she's gone through a lot over the years, and she won't get close to someone unless she's sure she can trust them.

She'd be especially like this when it comes to people associating with her grandson, although she trusts Ruggie's judgment since he's not the type who easily trusts people either, so whenever Ruggie starts talking positively about someone, she wouldn't immediately make unkind assumptions about them and would stay just wait to see how things play out before deciding how she should feel about whoever has caught Ruggie's interest.

Regarding Yuu, Grandma Bucchi first hears about her when Ruggie comes home for winter break 'cause Ruggie strikes me as the type who doesn't really talk about all the people at school when he's on the phone with his grandma. Instead, he focuses more on telling her that he's doing alright, eating well, etc. since he thinks that kinda info is more important.

Plus, he was totally worried that his grandma would tease him for spending so much time around a girl his age, which he had never really done before up until this point, and he really did not wanna deal with such an embarrassing conversation lol

However, the topic of Yuu can't be avoided when Ruggie gets home. That's because, in addition to bringing all that food from canon, Ruggie also has the Christmas present Yuu made for him, which he doesn't open until he gets home cause his hands were too full when she gave him his present right before he went home.

It's thanks to that Christmas present that Yuu makes a good first impression on Grandma Bucchi cause, in addition to making some cute hyena print socks for Ruggie, she also prepare lots of dishes/snacks and placed them in a magical bag, which she got from Sam, that has limitless storage.

Yuu made sure to prepare enough food that Ruggie could share with everyone back home cause she wanted to do something nice for all the little kids in his neighborhood, and she knew that Ruggie would share his food with everyone since that's how things work with hyena Beastman, which he had told her about in the past.

The fact that Yuu was thinking of not just Ruggie but everyone else back home impressed Grandma Bucchi, and she was even more impressed when she saw how well made the food and socks were since this is the kinda skill one develops after a lot of hard work, and Grandma Bucchi likes hard workers.

It's obvious that Yuu cares a lot about Ruggie, and Grandma Bucchi can tell her grandson has a soft spot for Yuu in return, although he tries to hide it from her. That's why Grandma Bucchi has Ruggie tell her all about Yuu cause she wants to hear all about this girl who has gotten close to her grandson recently.

Plus, as Ruggie feared, she also just wants to tease her grandson about him being so friendly with a girl, whom she says could potentially make a nice wife. Poor Ruggie lol 😂

Despite her teasing, Grandma Bucchi still has some reservations about Yuu, so she's not completely won over by this point. She still needs to meet Yuu and see her in person before she decides how she'll feel about her, although I think, even after that, it would still be a slow and steady development.

Regarding how exactly Yuu would meet Grandma Bucchi, since I can't see Ruggie getting a hometown event, I'm thinking the only way for them to meet is when Yuu is in Sunset Savanna working for Leona, like what was discussed in my Fairy Gala fic.

I could see Leona inviting Yuu to the Sunset Savanna during her first summer at TW since, even though they're still students by this point, they can still do some work during that time since a lot of work needs to be done to accomplish Leona's goals which won't be fulfilled quickly.

During that time, I could see Yuu paying Ruggie a visit, probably at his insistence so he can confirm Leona isn't running her ragged like he does to him lol And that would be when Yuu finally meets Grandma Bucchi.

This would also be when Yuu meets all the kids in the neighborhood who all love her cause of the stories they heard from Ruggie and most importantly the food she makes that Ruggie brings home for them lol

Overall, I'd say Yuu's first meeting with Grandma Bucchi goes well cause she's polite/respectful, and it's obvious how much Yuu cares about Ruggie.

Plus, Grandma Bucchi thinks you can learn a lot about a person from how they interact with children, and Yuu passed that test with flying colors cause she loves children and is really good with them, which is why the neighborhood kids became even more attached to her.

While this first meeting still isn't enough to completely win her over, Grandma Bucchi definitely thinks higher of Yuu than she does most people, so just as long as Yuu doesn't mess things up, which she won't cause she wants to earn Grandma Bucchi's respect/approval so she can continue being friends with Ruggie, things should continue to proceed positively between Ruggie's two favorite ladies ^^

[hale-powiyewe]

This comment had so many questions that were illuminating on building upon this world further beyond what I even planned on so thank you so much bestie for being so enthusiastic 😭💜💜💜💜 I'd like to please request that you redirect your amazing questions from now on to asks because I'd LOVE to answer them but the comment area is so limiting like this post right here!

1.) if Y!Ford had met O!Stan first he would definitely take longer to piece things together especially considering the O!Twins got here through a rift in space?? LOL but Y!Ford isn't stupid, one look at O!Stan through his binoculars he knew she was who she was. People often say that they took after their father so much, while this may be a coincidence where he met a relative from his dad's side, being in a perfect spying spot where the O!Ford also just happens to be while crying her heart out was just so obvious that Y!Ford is like : 😲😲😲 instead of : 🤯🤯🤯 LMAOAOAO

2.) I haven't really thought about addressing Constance crying in the comic much but you can definitely see her try to deflect and try to put her walls up in the next few installments as she fixes up her looks and tries the self deprecating jokes that she always uses on herself and Y!Ford clocks on that IMMEDIATELY no sad gilf sister on his watch!! 😾💥💥💥

- But I figured this Stan wouldn't be as dismissive as someone seeing her crying like Canon!Stan. She doesn't cry much especially in her grifter days because most of the bad people she's around would more likely take delight in her tears than compassion but she definitely isn't above using her feminine wiles against the public since people are more likely to feel pity for a girl/woman than if C!Stan would have tried this. So she's pretty comfortable in her femininity and doesn't try to reject it as much like when she was under Filbrick's roof but when she felt the stability of peace under Ford's cabin her tears became a private thing not something to use to dupe unsuspecting joggers or clerks nearby or the man that bought her for a night that had dacryphilia, no. Tears were to grieve, to mourn, and to FEEL especially with her headspace in the past with Ford's portal-ization she didn't want to let anyone see her cry because it felt like acknowledging that she was breaking apart. Sometimes she didn't even let HERSELF see her face crying in the mirror because she felt the need to fool even herself that she's okay and that she can fix this because if she gave up Ford would be gone forever because she didn't even TRY. She would bring him back even if it's the last thing she does!!

- And she did!! So tears weren't only to grieve anymore, it was used to feel joy! And being around Dipper and Mabel definitely helped with that especially after weirdmagedon where she's vulnerable and in a blank state people had to continue telling her that it was okay to let others know how she felt because how would others help otherwise so it ends up in being one big cuddle pile between all of them <333 🥰🥰🥰

The whole Pines gang chilling on the floor with the addition of Soos and Wendy in a cuddle pile watching some random soap opera Stan currently likes : 🥰🥰🥰🥰

Stan randomly : Holy shit I just remembered I snorted drugs off a camel's back in mexico???

The others : 😦😦😦😦????

So now they get these random bits of Stan's life and they're like a nuke bomb LMAO because Stan doesn't have the word moderation in her vocabulary and it's either she doesn't tell them anything at all or she's telling them everything in gruesome detail LMAOOOOOOO

But thanks again for this wonderful comment bestie!! I hope just me ranting isn't too much of a bore 😭💜💜💜

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

okay hiii!! I’ve actually never sent an anon message before but I just had so many questions abt the future of your series (which I’ve been reading since the early days btw and have loved every installation). very silent reader over here!!!

but I wanted to ask, if you’re able to share (and i sincerely hope no one’s asked this yet, if they have I’m sorry for the repeat!!) did you have plans yet for how you’re going to handle Daeron moving forward?

ofc he’s not in the show (yet? at all? who knows!!) but within your series you have reader babey take daeron as a ward on Dragonstone, which places him far closer to team black than he originally was in the books. so I was just wondering if you had any plans yet (that you’re able to share) about Daerons allegiance moving forward.

so these are just a few little questions I have, totes understand if you can’t answer them cause of spoilers: do you plan to have Daeron switch sides so that he stays true to his Green-allegiance in the books, or will you have him diverge from his book counterpart and swear fealty to Nyra? would Daeron go back to Alicent and the greens at any point so that he would be loyal to Aegon once Viserys kicks the can? does Tessarion exist within ur fic (sorry if it’s already been stated that she does and I’m just forgetting) and do you have plans for her?

also a lil more overall and totally understand if you can’t answer this but do you think your fic is going to have the dance end the same way as it does canonically (within the books at least)? and can we expect to see Babey fighting at all?

OKAY that’s a lot I’m sorry but questions have built up over so long of being a silent reader!!! love your work so much you truly are such an inspiration when it comes to writing, especially HotD writing!! Can’t wait to see where it goes!!!

-the biggest die hard Rhaenyra stan nonnie you will ever encounter

Hello, Rhaenyra Stan! It's so lovely to hear from you! I'm so thrilled you're reaching out, and I'm so happy you've been enjoying the fic!

To be quite honest, my plans concerning Daeron tend to fluctuate between him remaining a somewhat neutral party (think sending him to the Vale with the lil kids) or as a fully-fledged Blacks member. I think it'd add some really interesting additional conflict and a cool sub-plot in that Daeron has to war with his full-blood relatives in favour of his half-blood relatives. Tessarion does exist! She's mentioned in the third instalment, I wanna say.... Chapter 9? In the convo Reader has with Alicent on Driftmark just after the funeral.

I can't spoil the end of the fic, unfortunately, but I think the ending will be a just one for our principal character. That's all I'll really say there. And I do want to have Babey fighting given who she rides, but I'm still thinking through where exactly I want to place her in the grand scheme of things. I'm hesitant to have her replace anyone's role in any notable conflicts, but that also means I have to come up with some sort of sub-plot or deviation to give her a meaningful battle scene that doesn't detract from the original characters, but ALSO does justice to the Cannibal given his aggression and intimidation factor. To kill someone or not to kill someone? And who? Is it tides-turning? Hm. I'm not good with military planning, so I'll probs be bugging the audience with random questions at 4am on a Saturday about it, lol.

Thank you so much for this lovely ask, nonnie. I'm so grateful that you've been lurking for so long, and it's always amazing to me to see peeps enjoying this silly little brain fart of mine. I am pushing out updates slowly, but by the end of it all I hope it'll be a behemoth of swag I can come back to and think happy thoughts of. I hope it'll continue being enjoyable for you, too.

I hope I've answered these questions as satisfyingly as possible! Love ya!

[bieups]

This is a really good app for TOPIK prep, or for people who just want a daily study app! It’s called FunPik and is free on both iOS & android!

PROS:

Mock tests (reading section only) for both TOPIK I & II with a built-in timer

Daily challenges; perfect if you just want to do a few minutes of studying without wasting time deciding what & how to study

3 different games: identify a photo, choose the missing word in a sentence, and unscramble a sentence (honestly the timer on these can make it pretty difficult, but it's a good goal to work towards)

Explanations!!! When you check which questions you got wrong, there's a short explanation about why the correct answer is correct (seriously, why doesn't every TOPIK app have this?)

The youtube channel...okay, technically not part of the app itself, but it links to the 펀픽 channel where you can watch short lectures about how to answer different questions and other study tips. The focused lectures are a more recent addition, so I hope they'll be adding more videos in the future~

Analysis of your progress, including how well you do on different types of questions, an estimation of how close you are to your target level, and how you spend your time in the app

Gameification for motivation~ Get those coins and study streaks! The coins are used to buy "historical relics" which gives you a random photo & description of various landmarks and things around Korea. Adds a little bit of history & culture learning!

CONS

I wish it had a friends list to add to the game aspect and be more competitive/supportive. You can see a ranking list of all users, but I don't care about random strangers lol

The sentence games are too hard for me (not enough time to think, need to be able to immediately answer if you want to finish/do well) and there's no way to adjust the level or turn off the timer. I don't know if the game levels change if you set your target TOPIK level lower

No listening section ㅠㅠ

No writing, but that’s kinda understandable since it'd need a person to score your writing

Overall, I highly recommend checking it out! If you're preparing for the TOPIK and need the extra nudge to study a bit more every day, this app would be perfect. And even if you aren't planning to take the exam anytime soon, this would be a quick & easy way to study during your commute or before bed!

[beepboop358]

Hey <3 I hope you're doing great and that your midterms went well :)

I just had a question, since you're studying cinema (if I remember correctly?), do you have classes about movie analyses that help you to analyse movies & shows such as Stranger Things? What's your favourite thing to study?

And also, I had a question about camera angles and shots in ST, Idk if you study this kind of thing as well, but I thought I might as well ask.

- Do you think the way M!leven kisses are framed is intentionally uncomfortable? And if so, why is it?

Because I told my friend that I didn't like to watch Mlven kisses because something felt weird, and they told me it was only because I disliked Mlven, which is a fair answer XD but still, I wanted to ask you about your thoughts on Mlven shots. And ST shots in general. Like, comparing to Joyce/Bob, I feel like Mlven kiss scenes are awkward, but I can't say why in terms of techniques, so maybe you have more ideas?

I'm sorry if this is a weird ask aha

Anyway, have a good day/night <3

Hello bestie ♥️ Thank you! I hope you're doing great too <3!! Not a weird ask at all!

Yes! We have to take a few classes that focus just on how to analyze movies! Those classes are like the foundation for everything else, so they have to be taken first, during your first year of school, before you can move on to higher level classes cuz you gotta learn the basics and all the lingo first hehe 🙃 Those film analysis classes are packed full of information and cover a ton of stuff like shot types, camera angles, mise-en-scene (which is any kind of background detail like the sets, costumes, etc), editing styles, acting mannerisms, and then why its used and what it is supposed to convey to the audience. One time I wrote a 5 page essay for one of those classes on a 30 minute clip from a movie because there was just so much to talk about in it 😂

Okay enough of my blabbering LOL. To answer your question, I think a lot of why it feels so awkward is because of Millie & Finn's acting, because they're really good at their jobs, but I think the shots and angles used in those scenes, are picked to amplify the awkwardness.

Like in the opening season 3 kiss, the first time both Mike & El are shown in the frame, it's a Medium Close-up (MCU), because we see Mike and El from the chest up.

Close ups (of any kind) are usually only used when you want to emphasize something important, so their using a MCU here to emphasize the awkwardness of this kiss, which we see in Finn and Millie's performances. In addition to that, this shot type puts us pretty close to their faces, and makes us focus on their kissing, and how awkward it is LOL.

Now we gotta talk camera movement (and little more about shot types lol). Once the pan stops, and Mike is in frame, we can very slightly see the camera move in a little bit, towards their faces, and we get pretty close to a flat out Close Up (CU), which is just the character's head (but the shot changes before we get there). This kind of movement is called a dolly, different from a zoom in. Here the dolly movement is emphasizing everything about how awkward this kiss is. We just get closer to the couple, like too close, LOL, and all you can focus on is the awkwardness coming from Finn and Millie's performance, in addition to it just feeling awkward because the camera is so close to them kissing LOL.

The camera doesn't stop moving until Mike breaks the kiss, from the pan to the dolly in. So we kind of get this sense of something building, we're expecting something. We get that building sense while it pans over the stuff in El's room, and we get the "reveal" of Mike and EL kissing, but that sense keeps building as it moves forward closer into Mike & El's faces as they kiss, to amplify the awkwardness, but also gives us the sense of building towards a peak and the shot is about to change (and shots should typically reflect plot details/characters feelings), which is when Mike breaks away...*wink wink* LOL

During the end of the pan and the dolly in, we can see Mike take El's hands off this body. He doesn't want her to touch him, he's uncomfortable with it. His movement, plus the dolly in, add to that sense of building, that we are approaching a "peak". The camera movement here reflects Mike's "threshold" for kissing El, as the "peak" of the building effect the movement creates. He just can't do it anymore, because he's gay XD, so he breaks away and starts singing.

Then the camera movement is static (no movement) from there on out, and we just see a pretty standard shot reverse shot sequence, which is just cutting back and forth between 2 shots (like a 1,2,1,2,1,2 kind of pattern).

Both of these are over the shoulder (OTS) shots, but I don't think those contribute to the awkwardness here.

This was probably longer than you wanted, but thanks for the ask! I hope you're having a wonderful day!! 💜

[a-crepusculo]

Mia!!!!

How are you my friend?

I'm popping in for 2 reasons:

1. I really, really, really love that Five Senses Series. It was just so absolutely breathtaking. Though a sad ending it was still so extremely beautiful. You did so good. Be proud of it!!! I really cannot get it out of my mind.

2. What ever happened after Ethan got Marchia that bicycle to teach her to ride? Has she been riding since? How many incidents did she have? Is she a pro by now? I want details......hahaha.

Eeeeeek, Rose!

I'm doing quite well, thanks for asking! How about you? I hope you're doing well too, my dear!

Okay, first of all, I'm squealing again because knowing that you liked the Five Senses series????? AAAAHHHH my week is made 🥺 Seriously, your kind words mean EVERYTHING to me. Thank you so much, my darling!

When I published the first part of Five Senses, I was super anxious lol because I do think making a series is a big commitment. But I'm glad that I was able to finish it the way I wanted, and I'm also super happy to know that others enjoyed it 🥰

Second, lol I love that you're curious about my babies. I'm going to answer your questions one by one

What happened after Ethan got Marchia that bicycle to teach her to ride?

After that incident in the Bike Lesson fic, Ethan was afraid that Marchia would hurt herself again (like she always does lol). So, the next day, he immediately bought additional bicycle protection gear for her. I'm talking about helmets, protective knee caps, cycling shorts, cycling gloves, everything.

Has she been riding since?

Yes! She's getting better at it, although she doesn't use the bike as transportation to commute to work. She usually rides the bike on weekends, or whenever she has the time to go to the Boston Common with Ethan.

How many incidents did she have?

Roughly around ten to twelve small incidents. Nothing major, though, especially because Ethan was adamant that she should always use protective gears at all times.

If Ethan knows anything about his wife, then he knows that Marchia is prone to any kind of accident. But, Ethan can proudly say that her clumsiness has been kept to a minimum ever since they lived together.

Is she a pro by now?

No, not really lmao. But Ethan doesn't really worry about her falling down anymore, because she has learned to find her balance and quickly maneuver her bike in various conditions!

Aaaaah this was so much fun to answer!!! Thank you so much for indulging me, dearest Rose. I hope you'll have a great week ahead 🤍

[thosch3i]

Xiao Yuliang Interview [Eng Trans]

[Photo: XYL’s dog]

so remember this post? yeah well i wound up doing a mostly full translation of the entire 6 minute interview on twitter. some parts are paraphrased and a few details were skipped bc he sometimes repeated himself and there were one or two details i wasn’t 100% sure of, but other than that an eng transcript of the full interview is below the cut:

1. Introduce your role in "Ultimate Note"?

XYL: In Ultimate Note I play Zhang Qiling, Xiaoge.

2. What kind of impression does this character leave in your heart?

XYL: Before, I thought he was a really strong, and then a very cool, and then a very cold/detached person. But later, I finished reading the novel and read the script, and I felt like he's someone who lets your heart ache for him. The feeling he gives me--because once I was reading the script in a car, and I almost wanted to cry for him, because he's always searching for the things he's lost. And he's very strong, but he wasn't born strong; he also went through a lot, and he made himself strong. He can bleed, and he can get hurt; it's just that he doesn't say anything, and he doesn't show that he's in pain.

3. Talk about the initial pressure of receiving this role?

XYL: When I got this role, the pressure was really really big, but I also thought I was pretty lucky, because I'd played Zhang Qiling before, and I get to play him again, and I think that's pretty lucky. But the pressure is too big, on set right now, the pressure is very big.

4. Netizens were pretty satisfied with your performance; have you seen these comments?

XYL: When Sha Hai was airing, I saw their comments. Some of them approved, and I was happy, but others--like, saying some suggestions or opinions--I also looked at them. I also looked at the performances of other actors who played Zhang Qiling and comments on their performances. I used them as a reference, and I learned from the experiences/evaluations of others.

5. What was the greatest challenge of playing Zhang Qiling?

XYL: The biggest challenge is that there are too few lines. It's really hard to act! [Xiaoge] has some expressions where it's just, you can't make them too obvious or too "unrestrained" because his actions are also very restrained, but if you're too restrained then everyone just thinks you don't have any reactions. And the editors are also very hardworking, because they'll have 4 pages, and I won't have a single line, just reactions. The others will talk for 10 minutes, and I'll just be reacting. [Xiaoge] is a person with few/no words, but with his whole heart, he wants to go care for others...it's very difficult; this "no lines" is very difficult. Another thing is fight scenes are very difficult, and the weather is too hot.

6. What are some scenes that left the deepest impression on you?

XYL: Like when it's 3am, and we're running through a wild river, the water is all up to our waists, and we don't know what's underground. I was just afraid there were snakes, you know? Nothing we can do, just run. And there's also, because the filming location is at Xishuangbanna, there really are snakes. We've seen snakes etc on set, so we were afraid accidents would happen. Thankfully they didn't. And there was also when we were rubbing mud on our faces during the hot day. Actually, what we were rubbing was chocolate paste. When the chocolate on our faces dried, we spread on more, and it feels like you've become a "chocolate person", not a "mud person". I also tasted it--the BTS side clips recorded it; the taste is okay. [t/n: here is a link to that clip]

7. How did it feel working with the other actors in the crew?

XYL: Liu Yuning-laoshi [t/n: Hei Xiazi] is really nice. He doesn't have a temper, and he's a very calm and tranquil person. I think he's really nice. Xiao Xi [t/n: lit. “Little Xi”, nickname for Zeng Shunxi aka Wu Xie] is a little mischievous. Xiao Xi likes to stir up trouble on set and play around. In any case he plays around with Pangzi and me, but Liu Yuning-laoshi is more tranquil, not quite the same as [his character] in the show.

8. Before you posted a vlog caring for your pet on Weibo, why don't you introduce your pet?

XYL: My dog's name is a character I played once; my mom named him. Because we'd just finished filming that show, and then my mom got a dog, so she just called him my name in the show. Tell me, isn't that annoying? [t/n: drama was called 反骗天下/Fan Pian Tian Xia and his role was called 米若/Mi Ruo; his dog is apparently called 米诺/Mi Nuo.]

9. You've been an actor for awhile now; can you discuss what being an actor feels like?

XYL: Initially, before I became an actor, I thought, "Oh, cool". Everyday you're just, wow, holding weapons, cool! But now I think it's so hard. Especially while shooting this show, I got a sty for a month, and it's still not better even now. [t/n: you can definitely see the swelling under his eye in ep1] I think this sty is from accepting this role, or because of work. In any case, it's still not better. But it's no problem; thankfully, my hair can cover it. You also have to be careful of safety on set; real blades can slice open your hands. Once, I wasn't careful and cut my wrist, but thankfully the doctor's stitching skills were pretty good. When he was still stitching, I even said, "Doctor, you have to stitch it well, okay, I'm an actor, I use this hand to perform", and he said "Okay". After the stitches were done, he asked me, "Are you satisfied with the stitches?" The results were pretty good; it didn't really leave a scar.

10. Finally, promote this show to our fans.

XYL: You all have to watch our "Ultimate Note", because filming was really tough, and we've diligently tried to accomplish these three roles [t/n: the iron triangle, I’m assuming] and later on some of the the details of many of the books. I hope you will see similarities to the novel in some of the show's scenes.

and we are done! so yeah, i think his take on xiaoge’s character was the most important part, but some of the other stuff (listening to him complain about some things lmao) was kinda funny too. im still laughing about the whole ‘im an actor i need this hand to perform’ bit bc dude you literally sliced yourself open w a knife badly enough to need stitches but that’s your first priority???? glad you’re dedicated to your job though i guess but LOL

Quick question/answer:

1. What do you want to say to Zhang Qiling?

XYL: Xiaoge, you've worked hard.

2. Who from the show would you pick to go with you on an adventure?

XYL: I’ll choose...I'll choose Pangzi, because he'll definitely bring food. And he's fat, and he's pretty joyful, oh right, I can also bully him.

3. Describe the level of your cooking skills.

XYL: Cooking skills? The rank of instant noodles. Just boiling instant noodles, then adding the flavor packets, and then tomatoes, eggs...instant noodles.

4. If you're not restricted, what kind of role do you most want to play?

XYL: If I'm not restricted, then I want to play that guy who, in the morning, is just delivering takeout or is really well-behaved and wears glasses, that type, and then at night he pushes his hair back like this [xyl mimes pushing his hair back], and he starts to....different types...in any case, like split personalities, right, split personalities.

5. A sentence to describe your ideal life.

XYL: My family and I are healthy, and I have enough money to go live a normal life, eat/drink whatever I want, travel with my family, and just grow up slowly.

oh right additional note, in zsx's interview, when asked which character he'd take, he said xiaoge without hesitation. and the interviewer asked if he wanted to know who xiaoge picked and zsx was all "he didn't pick me did he...I'll be leaving now, thank you~" 😂

[imzadi-caskett-huddy]

House, M.D. Fanfic (7/?)

Thank you to everyone who has taken time to leave a note on my story. I hope you continue to enjoy my kind of rewrite and/or additions to certain episodes! As always, I don't own House. If I did, Lisa Edelstein would have gotten the respect she deserved contact wise for a season 8.

As stated in previous chapters, the story follows the big picture laid out on the show, but with my own take on things. This chapter picks back up with the show storyline in the beginning of season 3. I did use a bit of dialogue from the episode, but I definitely added and rewrote some stuff too. I also left out all the medical dialogue House spouted off at Cuddy's bedroom window because I'm not a medical professional and had no idea how to spell it or write it, lol.

Thanks to @love-hope-faith-feels-like-a-lie on Tumblr for reading my ideas and providing positive feedback! Anything in the way of feedback is always appreciated! Enjoy!

xxxxx

"Did you really ask out Dr. Cameron?" Cuddy asked when he stepped into her office.

"Would you have a problem if I did?"

She just looked at him incredulously. Was he serious? "Why would you think I would be okay with that?!"

"Why wouldn't you be?" he shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because you're already sleeping with me!" she hissed, careful to keep her voice down. The last thing she wanted was for anyone at the hospital to hear that they actually were sleeping together. She knew they were always fodder for the rumor mill, but she wasn't about to confirm it for them.

"Threesomes are sexy. And a lot of fun. You'd like it," he smirked, heading for the door since he figured that was all this conversation was about.

"House!"

"Relax. I asked her out to make a point. I'm not interested in sleeping with anyone else," he said opening the door.

"What if she'd said yes?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't have gone. You are a slave driver in the bedroom. You think I have time or energy for another one?" He grinned smugly before leaving.

xxxxx

"I can help him."

"That's it? That's your argument?"

"Seems like a good one." Why was helping someone suddenly not a good enough reason for Cuddy? Or Wilson? Or anyone else?

"If I thought for a second that you wanted to help him, you'd have carte blanche. You're doing this because it's...fun."

"Does nobody in this hospital have anything better to talk about than my motives? My motives have nothing to do with the case."

"Your motives have everything to do with your judgement."

"For the first time in years, I've got no opiods in my body, now you question my judgement? Is this still about asking Cameron out? Because I told you, that was to prove a point. Right now, jealousy has everything to do with your judgement."

"I'm not jealous of Cameron! House, 24 times a year you come storming into my office spouting that you can help someone, only you never say those words. You say something like, 'His pancreas is going to explode because his brain is on fire.' You come here with medicine, not with platitudes."

"I didn't want to bore you with the details."

"There are no details. You have a hunch. House, you don't use hunches. You always have reasons. This hospital doesn't exist for your whims. I'm sorry. As of 7AM tomorrow morning, I'm sending your patient home."

"I can help him!" he insisted.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I don't think you can. Because I don't think anything new is wrong with him. This is just you trying to make a puzzle out of something that isn't there."

He felt like he'd just been sucker punched in the gut. She didn't trust him on the medicine. She had never doubted him before. Sure, she'd said no plenty of times to procedures that were... questionable... she had argued with him when she didn't always agree with him. She'd never outright doubted him. That stung. And he couldn't help but wonder if the lack of pain in his leg, the lack of Vicodin in his system had caused him to see something that wasn't there.

xxxxx

"So yeah, his brain is on fire." He stood outside her bedroom window like a teenage boy hoping to sneak in.

She shook her head as she got him a towel, handing out to him once he climbed inside. "Next time use the front door."

"The guy will have sex with his wife again. He'll hug his kid again." He took the towel and began to wipe his face and neck.

"House, you have no proof. No scar tissue on the scans. This is some wild theory that came to you while sweating and running into the university pool."

"Fountain. And it all fits. Just inject him with cortisol. There is no risk if I'm wrong." He studied her reaction and knew she wasn't biting. "You're smiling. That's a bad sign."

She nodded. "You're high."

"I told you, I haven't had anything in three months. You've been with me most of that time. You know I haven't taken anything."

"This is as high as you get. A theory that ties your case up in a neat little bow, but you don't have a lick of substantiating proof."

"Your decision doesn't make any sense," he said, clearly frustrated. "There is no risk to a cortisol injection. If I'm wrong, big deal. He goes home a vegetable, like he already is. But if I'm right..."

"This is not about downsides or risk management. It is a big deal for you to understand the word no." She sighed softly. "I'm sorry, House."

He breathed deeply and released it slowly, moving to sit on her bed and toss his towel beside him. She frustrated him to no end, but she was right. He wouldn't admit it to her right then, but as his boss, she was right to tell him no. He really had nothing to go on. No medical reason other than it fit. He couldn't do this, couldn't be the great doctor he had been without the leg pain.

She moved to sit next to him, placing a hand lightly on his back. "Do you want to talk?" she offered.

"No."

"Do you want to stay?"

He thought about it for a moment. He didn't have his bike, and he didn't really feel like running home. "Yeah, it's late."

"You don't say," she offered a small smile, picking up the towel and dropping it into his lap. "Go shower and dry off. You're getting my bed wet. And you smell like a locker room." She gave him a gentle shove to his feet then.

He took his time on the shower, both cooling off and working through everything on his head. Did he really need the pain to be great at his job? Was he really so far off base that she didn't trust his ability anymore?

She was half asleep when he came out of her bathroom with a towel around his waist. "You've got some clothes in the top drawer," she murmured. "I washed the ones you left here, " she added, seemingly answering his question before he could even ask it.

He simply nodded and pulled them on, leaving his wet towel on the floor.

"If you want to get in this bed, the towel goes back in the bathroom." She didn't even have to open her eyes to see the towel on the floor.

He just looked at her for a moment before picking it up and tossing it toward the bathroom.

"In the hamper, House," she murmured.

Once again he just stared at her a moment. How the hell did she know without even opening her eyes? "The force is strong with you," he murmured, going to put the towel in the hamper so she would let him in bed.

[hurlumerlu]

When it comes to the entire hitman/police shenanigans, I'm inclined to believe it is not that deep. I feel like the show did a great job establishing that fact in the very first scene. <- (this isn't me being snide, I think establishing the tone from the begining was a great call, and i've been trying to make a post about it but it's not coming along)

When it comes to Kant though... I think he's simply lying to himself. But before we go to that, I'd say he's also trying to convince himself that Fadel & Bison won't come back. Style wants to see Fadel so bad, because - as has been pointed out, notably here - he is a very hopeful character who still believes that things will work out (he knows what genre he is in!!!). Kant wants to believe Bison won't come back, because that would mean Bison is safe from Kant, and that Kant doesn't have to continue actively breaking his own heart (and also that Kant is safe from Bison. lol). Hence his comment about "people having to save their own butts first": it doesn't matter that F&B love them, what matters is that they stay safe - away from S&K. I think he's also managed to convince himself that, as long as the captain is busy chasing them, he won't have work for Kant. I do not know how true that is, but it's not a totally unreasonable assumption.

Now, the lying to himself part: I believe Kant is doing exactly what he was doing at the start of the show: pretending he has any decisional power over whether or not he works for the captain. In the first episode, we saw him ignore a call - just like he did in ep6 - and then go to the captain anyway - just like he did in ep6. And he was saying the exact same kind of things, too: i'm done, my records are clean, this is [going to be] behind me. But the captain could easily reel him back in then, just as he can easily reel him back in with another job, and I'd argue that Kant already knew that then and that he knows it now - he just cannot face that truth. I think the idea that his past crimes will always hang around his neck, threatening to pull him back in, to sully all of of his relationships (romantic entanglements, his friendship with Style, Babe's respect and trust, etc) is simply a little too much to bear. So he doesn't look at it. He lets himself believe that this is the last job (just like last time was), that the captain will keep his word (unlike last time), that he just has to do this one more thing - it's never going to end, not until Babe is financially secure at least. But he has to believe it will. Because what else can he do?

(worth noting though that kant is chaffing more and more under the captain's yoke. he's already threatened to out the man for the way he uses him - i assume that's what he meant by "your bullshit" - and covertly asked Bison to run away with him. he's growing tired of the lies and I think that sooner or later they won't be enough to keep him docile)

Ok, genuinely asking cuz I think I missed something??

So the captain is using Kant (and Style) to get evidence, not on Fadel and Bison, but specifically because they want whoever is behind them, right? That's the whole reason for this ruse to begin with.

So, like, okay he's still the police and they're pretty sure there's going to be an attempted murder, so they have to be there to try to prevent it. But if they actually arrested Fadel and Bison, their boss would probably go to ground and be impossible to find.

(Especially if the captain/police don't know about the dysfunctional psudo family relationship that Fadel and Bison have with Lilly.)

So, did Bison and Fadel only get away in episode 6 because they captain intentionally let them go? Is he still hoping to use Fadel and Bison to get to their boss? (Was the motherfucker just a hilariously dramatic act for show?)

If so, why does Kant think he's done? At first I thought it was because he thinks the brothers have been caught, but he tells Style, "You have to get over it. You can't ever get together with him. Move on." which suggests that Kant thinks Style has the opportunity to try (ie. he knows Fadel hasn't been arrested yet).

Clearly, Kant understands that Fadel and Bison's arrest is an inevitability, that it's only been delayed because they're not interested in taking out only the people on the field. So he should know that Fadel and Bison not being arrested means the ruse is very far from being done.

Maybe Kant means it like: I'm done, I can't do it anymore, my heart won't let me lie to Bison again. ;A;

But even so, at this point (the day after the botched shooting), Kant hasn't discovered anything more than what he gave to the captain when the captain refused to agree that Kant was done the previous day, so like... why does he think he's done???!?

I'm just feeling very confused as to what, exactly, the captain's plan is now... Cuz surely the police know that Fadel and Bison are going to be suspicious about the undercover police presence at the charity event. Which therefore puts their moles (Kant/Style) at risk of not only being discovered, but being fed false information. Is the captain so confident in Kant (and Style's) seduction that they think Bison and Fadel will come back with NO caution?

Or am I just taking it all too seriously and this is one of those "accept the suspension of disbelief" moments? Should I just assume the police people aren't actually that smart? This is, after all, a comedy.