#i just had to post all these screenshots because look at their eyes!!!! they exude so much emotion huhuhu

[wrongcarwhy]

"If I really was kind, I wouldn't be here. In my head, I'm saying, 'You shouldn't be here. Go home.' When you went out to get the beer, I was like, 'Now is your chance, go home.' But it's all just in my head. My body won't move. I like being with you too much. I really like you a lot, Mr. Han. To the point where I wish everyone else in the world would just disappear and only the two of us would be left."

Call It Love (2023) Directed by Lee Kwang Young Screenplay by Kim Ga Eun

[flanneryculp]

hello!! i made a tb8 pinterest board if you’d like to check it out :) https://pin.it/2dGNdT9

THIS IS SO GOOD AND DETAILED, OH MY GOD?? going through your boards was an experience because sometimes you'd collect just the right quotes and pictures that would make me feel shrimp emotions and then you'd post a funny but very fitting meme in the same board and the whiplash is so real (in the best way. truly keeping up with the tonal style of tb8 lmao) i have Thoughts on every single section

halloween

so pretty! i especially like the picture that says one hundred thousand visceral human emotions, it reminds me of flan's monologue about adam losing his humanity and becoming just meat as she slaughtered him.

kate & adam

this isn't a dynamic i think about too often but this is so good!! rip kate, between garth and adam she's really had the worst luck with relationships hahah. honestly this made me think about how much he screwed her over, too, how upset kate was. i think it's really interesting how she acted at the end of the book, post-halloween. i've always wondered what she, in particular, thought about adam's death since he also broke her heart

flan & gabriel

awhh noo this hurt. the sweet handwritten messages, especially. also, i like the detail on how most of the pictures in the board, the guy was the one initiating and the girl was more passive. v fitting.

flan & adam

THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SECTIONS!! the way the blood and screenshots about obsession and kissing comes together is just perfect. the "i don't deserve to die" picture is SO them, i read it in their voices.

flan & kate

i was really glad to see a section for them here, because imo they are one of the most underrated dynamics in the book!! 😭😭 THE "ME AND THE BESTIE" one is SO accurate i've never even thought about that before. and the one where they're looking out at the mountain. also, kate with red hair is so real!! honestly the pictures in her boards were really fitting to how i pictured her in the books

flan and natasha

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO SAW FLAN/NATASHA AND JENNIFER/NEEDY PARALLELS!! i was watching jennifer's body for the first time around the same time i was reading tb8 for the first time and megan fox jennifer check permanently influenced how natasha looks in my mind.

THE LANA DEL REY LYRICS <3 <3 <3

in all of these pictures the theme i see really strongly is intimacy, the way they hold each other, laughing together. really accurate

the ones where they look out at the water hurt :( and the ones about mirror images

"i took care of that thing for you" and the shovel!!!!!!!

the devotion, the foreboding, the "anything you want, natasha"/"do something" energy from this board is fantastic.

flora habstat

she's so cute holding that pot!! i'd invite her to my dinner parties any day. also i do like the camera imagery associated with her. i'd never thought of that before, but it really fits considering she took The Picture, took pictures at the halloween party, and also was the one who got to be on tv.

adam state

the "peggy--satanic ritual victim" has all the right vibes--perfectly captured that late 90s tv energy. the bloodshot eyes, the bloodied shirt! perfect, perfect, perfect.

douglas wilde

loveeee all the black and white pictures here, really gets that film noir energy that douglas exudes. i love the "sorry girls, i'm gay" shirt--with that suit and vintage font! i would love to own that shirt irl lol. and the one with that guy entering the room, the one that's sort of blurry? so him. i can imagine him offering absinthe, for sure.

gabriel gallon

he is so sweet. THE PASTA TUMBLR SCREENSHOT is so real. and the flowers, awh :( i want to give him a hug

v___

the lucifer's daughter picture, yes!!! i adore the style you gave her, the vintage jewelry box and hotel room especially. so elegant

lily chandly

really love this interpretation of her, and the picture of crying :( also her hair looks so soft and neat here.

jennifer rose milton

she's so perfect!! i love how light and graceful everything is, definitely matches up with how i imagined her in the books. her perfect grades, the french crossword, so chic! i think jenn should get to throw rocks at people, as a treat.

kate gordon

surprised and delighted to see all the theater kid references in this! kate truly was born to play a starring role. love the touches of blue, and her freckles!!! <3 <3 the "you know what's wrong with me?" post just encapsulates her too.

natasha hyatt

the water/liquor bottle made me exhale aloud. and seeing marlene dietrich, all the books, yess! i also really like the bath one. the femme fatale of all time <3

flannery culp

flan's style is hard for me to get a clear mental picture of but this encapsulated it perfectly. I WANT HIM SO BADLY (I MIGHT BE LESBIAN) is possibly the most flan thing of all time. and the picture of "structure structure structure" with the static over it--!!!! how do you find these things? all the themes of anger and desperation. she is the most regular girl of all time <3

honestly this is one of my fave fanworks for tb8! thank you so much for sending this to me, i can't even imagine how long this must have taken. you seriously have an eye for this stuff. if you ever do more, tag me or send them to me! i love this so much <3

[plaidbooks]

Dating Pains

A/N: So! I was looking through some old files and found this Sonny Carisi x reader story I wrote in September that I had completely forgotten about! After reading through it, I figured “this is actually pretty good, I can post that” so here’s part one of four(?).

Tags: mentions of rape, mentions of murder, attempted drugging

Words: 3026

Taglist: @the-baby-bookworm @beccabarba @thatesqcrush @itsjustmyfantasyroom @stardust-fray @permanentlydizzy @infiniteoddball @ben-c-group-therapy @glowingmess @whimsicallymad @reading--mermaid @averyhotchner @mrsrafaelbarba @detective-giggles

You puckered your lips, painting them with the bright red lipstick that you loved. You smacked your lips a couple times, smiling at your own reflection. You were in comfortable jeans that hugged your ass perfectly, and a loose shirt, the sleeves draped around your upper arms rather than your shoulders, bright red and orange flowers on the black material. Your makeup was simple, neutral, except for the lipstick—but you couldn’t help yourself, you loved the color.

It was a first date, and you didn’t want to over-do it by over-dressing. Besides, it was a first date with this guy, and you were running out of cute, clean clothes. But it was your third “first date” in two weeks; your friends had set up a Tinder account for you and had been forcing you to go out on these dates. At first, you were reluctant, unwilling to stoop so low as to use an app to find love. But, after about a month of trying it the “old fashioned way,”—you at bars and clubs, striking out over and over again—you gave in to their insistence. Though, most of the guys on Tinder only wanted hookups, and you wanted something, well, more. You were looking for love, as cliché as that was, and that was something your friends loved to tease you about.

“You can wait around and find love whenever, but why pass up a chance to get laid?” one of your friends asked. You had blushed and tried to fumble through an excuse about why you didn’t want a hookup, why you wanted a real relationship. It wasn’t like you were necessarily against having a one-night stand, but it just wasn’t what you were looking for.

It took weeks and a lot of weeding through shitty profiles and messages until you found at least someone that seemed interesting. Your first date was alright; he seemed nice, polite but there just wasn’t a connection there. You both agreed that there shouldn’t be a second date. The second man was a real estate agent. He was once divorced, from his high school sweetheart, lived on Staten Island, had finished paying off his college debt, and was debating going back for a BS in Computer Science since that’s where the real money was. You knew all about his family life, too, because never once did he stop talking about himself. When he asked for a second date, you politely declined. Then again, and again, until you finally had to block him. If you didn’t already have this third “first date” set up, you would’ve given up on Tinder entirely.

Looking yourself over once more, you headed out the door and towards the bar that you were meeting the man at, nervous butterflies fluttering in your stomach. You had made sure you took screenshots of the man’s profile and messages, sent a picture of his profile picture to your friends, and told them where you were going. You were positive that serial killers didn’t use Tinder, but it was always better to be safe.

You made it to the bar and scanned the faces in the cramped space. Your date, Jerry, had said that he would be wearing a navy-blue polo shirt and black slacks, not that the dim lighting in the bar would help you tell the difference between the two colors. Your eyes did a full scan, not seeing anyone that looked familiar; maybe he was running late? Sure enough, you felt your phone vibrate, a message from Jerry saying that he was running behind and would be there in 5 minutes. Shrugging to yourself, you made your way to the bar, ordering a sprite and finding an open table. Being late wasn’t a deal-breaker for you, and at least he had messaged you.

You let your eyes wander through the crowd, people watching, and, if you were being honest with yourself, looking for anyone that looked attractive and hopefully alone…just in case this Jerry-guy didn’t work out. There were a couple of cute guys in the bar, but all of them seemed to be with someone, whether friends or with a girlfriend. Your eyes did settle on one man, though; he was tall, even when sitting, his hair carefully slicked back. In the dim bar lighting, it was impossible to tell if his hair was grey, blonde, or a light brown. He was in a blue, button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a black striped tie, and a suit jacket was on the back of his chair. He had a beer in his hand, his long fingers wrapped around the dark bottle, with his head thrown back in laughter at something that one of the two women he was with said. One of the women was older, with long brown hair, who exuded command, even though she was also chuckling. The other woman was younger, closer to your age, with blonde hair that was tied back, beer in her hand and obviously the one cracking the jokes.

You looked away as you saw someone approaching your table out of the corner of your eye, smiling as you saw that it was Jerry—at least he matched his profile picture. You stood, giving him a polite hug, before you both sat. A waitress came up and took Jerry’s order, in which he also insisted you got a drink, too, to help loosen you both up. Not wanting to appear rude, you agreed; one drink wouldn’t make you drunk.

It took you about 5 minutes to realize that Jerry was the same, if not worse, than your last date was. He was incredibly full of himself, talking about how women just “didn’t get him” and how he was only on Tinder because he was “too busy” to actually go out and meet people. You were about to excuse yourself to the bathroom, planning to have a friend come save you, when he got up himself to go. While he was gone, you seriously contemplated leaving, but you couldn’t—you weren’t that mean. But you did instantly forget about texting a friend for help. Instead, your eyes travelled back over to the cute man with the slicked-back hair. You were shocked when you saw his bright blue eyes watching you. He quickly turned away, as did you, your cheeks flushing hot. You were too afraid to look back over, your face still feeling warm…warmer than a normal blush. You were looking hard at the table in front of you when you noticed that it was moving. Confused, you put your hand out to rest on it; it definitely wasn’t moving, but now the room looked like it was moving, shifting, and you felt like your skin was on fire now.

You stood suddenly, and almost went right back down. There was no way you were drunk, so what the hell was happening? You took a couple of stuttering steps before you felt hands on you, an arm wrapping around your waist, a hand on your shoulder, helping you up.

“You okay, honey?” Jerry asked, his fake, honey-covered voice concerned.

Your mouth moved, but you couldn’t form words. It was becoming hard to keep your eyes open, and you felt sweat forming on your forehead. You vaguely noticed him guiding you towards the door, out of the bar. Suddenly, a shadow was looming over you. You looked up, squinting at the figure above you. All you saw was slicked-back hair, and bright blue eyes, full of concern and a quiet rage.

“Sorry, man. My girlfriend just had a few too many,” Jerry was saying, trying to laugh it off. Something clicked in your sluggish brain. This is wrong, you thought, but your body wasn’t reacting to your mind. Without knowing what you were doing, you reached towards the tall, lanky man in front of you, who was now speaking harshly to Jerry. But you couldn’t understand the words. Your mind was fading fast, darkness coming to meet you.

You gathered all the strength you had left, and whispered into the loud, over-packed bar, “help me,” before the darkness overtook you.

 **********************

You woke up in a soft bed, sheets pulled up to your chest, the soft whirring of machinery around you. You squinted against the harsh light as you opened your eyes, the fluorescent lights blinding you slightly. You groaned and pushed yourself up, your head pounding and your throat dry. You froze; you were obviously in the hospital, but you had no memory of getting there, or why you were there in the first place. You took mental stock of your body; besides a splitting headache, you felt fine. So why were you there?

“Oh, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” a soft voice asked. You looked over and saw a nurse coming into your room, clipboard in hand. She didn’t wait for you to answer as she started playing with the machinery you were hooked up to.

“I-I’m alright,” you rasped, throat completely dry. She wordlessly poured you a glass of water on your side table and handed it to you. You gratefully took a sip, wetting your throat. “Head hurts, though.”

The nurse nodded as she took the glass back. “That’s normal.”

You cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “Normal for what? Why am I here?”

The nurse seemed surprised for a moment before she realized. “Oh, of course you don’t remember. You were drugged last night; roofied.” Your heart sunk. You were roofied? How? You never left your drink unattended; how did someone sneak it in? And does that mean…? The nurse had continued talking, but you tuned out, mind and heart racing. She concluded with a little cup of pills for you to take, and now your heart really sunk. You knew that doctors gave women the morning after pill, as well as anti-STD pills after being assaulted. So, that must have happened to you, too, right? And you remembered none of it. Was it better that way?

“Are you alright, Ms. [Y/L/N]?” the nurse asked, looking at how you regarded the cup of pills. “It’s just eletriptan…for your headache?”

“Just—just headache pills?” you asked. The nurse smiled, nodding.

“Yes, just headache pills.” As she was heading out the door, she added, “oh! There were two SVU detectives here to see you. Can I let them in?”

Confused as to why two detectives wanted to talk to you, you nodded absentmindedly, taking the pills and downing them with a gulp of water. You had only a moment to think about it—SVU? Were you a Special Victim, even if you weren’t assaulted?—before they entered. The first detective that came in looked vaguely familiar; a young woman with her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. The second detective, though, made you pause. You had definitely seen him before, but you couldn’t place him. Tall, lanky, slicked-back, dirty blonde hair, and bright blue eyes that pierced into yours with some sort of…guilt? Pity? It was hard to tell what was there.

“Have we met before?” you blurted, unable to stop yourself. The expression in the man’s face intensified for the briefest moment before it was replaced with a cool professionalism.

“Uh, kinda,” the woman replied. “I’m Detective Rollins, and this is Detective Carisi. We met at the bar last night.” You thought about this, trying to will your still-aching mind to remember the events from the past night, but there was nothing there.

“Do you happen to remember anything from last night?” Carisi asked. “I mean, if you remember meeting us, maybe you remember more?”

You tried to go back through what you did remember from yesterday; getting lunch with friends, getting dressed for a date, putting on your favorite lipstick, then…nothing. Flashes of music and lights from the bar, but nothing more.

“I…don’t really remember much…. Do—do you know what happened to me? I—I remember leaving my house to meet a date, but then it’s all fuzzy—” you scrunched your eyes closed, trying to force your mind to work correctly.

“Hey, don’t hurt yourself. It’s normal to not remember after being roofied,” Rollins explained. “It may come back to you in the next couple days, and it may not. Do you remember who you were going on a date with?”

You sat for a moment before you remembered. “Oh! Where’s my phone? It was some dude on Tinder—I saved screenshots of his profile.” You found your purse on the side table next to you and dug until you found your phone. You ignored the texts and missed calls from your friends, probably freaking out since you haven’t contacted them yet, and pulled up the pictures. “I went on a date with Jerry last night,” you said, showing the pictures to the detectives.

“This is perfect, definitely enough for a warrant,” Carisi replied, smirking and giving you an impressed glance. You felt the blush crossing your cheeks and fidgeted uncomfortably. “Can you text me those pictures?”

You agreed and he gave you his number. You tried to ignore the fact that you now had his personal cell phone number as you sent the photos to him, your stomach flip-flopping.

“Is it alright if we talk to you in a couple days? See if you remember anything?” Rollins asked, already making her way to the door.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” you said, watching them leave. Carisi gave you a small smile before he made it to the door. “Wait!” you called out, making him stop. Carisi stood in the doorway, brow furrowed as he looked at you. “Can you please tell me what the hell happened last night? Even if you only found me somewhere—I just, I need to know something. Was I…was I attacked--?”

Carisi’s eyes filled with a sadness; he was obviously upset that you couldn’t remember anything. He turned to look out the door. “You go on to Barba’s, get the warrant. I’ll meet up with you,” he said to his partner before coming back into the room. He pulled over the visitor chair and sat down next to your bed.

“I’ll tell you all I know; I was at the bar with my Lieutenant and Rollins after work when I looked over and saw you sitting there with Jerry. Now, Jerry looked like a suspect from a case I was working a couple months back. So, I was keeping an eye on ya, just in case.” He paused for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed that he admitted watching you, but all you were feeling right now was appreciation that someone had your back. Thank god he was there, had noticed something. “When you stood up, I knew something was wrong; you were swaying and looking like you were about to pass out. I told my Lieu, and we were coming over to make sure you were alright when Jerry came back. He was trying to tell us you were drunk, and he was going take you home. Right then, you collapsed, asking for help. My Lieu arrested Jerry right there, and Rollins and I brought ya here. But we couldn’t hold him, and we couldn’t prove he was the one to drug you. But, with your screenshots, hopefully we can check his place, find roofies in his possession.”

You sat there, dumbfounded with how incredibly lucky you had been that three NYPD detectives were there when you were drugged, and how bad it could’ve ended for you if they weren’t.

“Thank you, so much, Detective Carisi,” you managed, trying to think of something else to say.

“Please, call me Sonny,” he replied, smiling. You felt yourself melting at that smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling, though, concern was still deep in his expression. Then, a thought struck you.

“That case you were working on a month ago, that Jerry matched the description for. What did he do?”

Sonny suddenly seemed uncomfortable, unwilling to talk, considering how lengthy of a description he just gave you from the previous night. That wasn’t a good sign.

“We, uh, we were investigatin’ a man who would roofie a woman, then rape her and leave her…dead body in her own bed. The only connection he had to the victims were that they used Tinder. But he would delete his account before we could find it. All we had was security footage and some eyewitness accounts of the man.”

Your heart started beating faster at the words “dead body.” If Jerry was indeed this man, then you almost died last night. You didn’t quite know how to process that.

You were staring at the bright white of your bedsheets when you heard Sonny ask, “[Y/N], are you alright?” He dipped his head down, trying to get in your line of sight. You snapped out of your thoughts, looking up to him.

“I—yeah, I just…I almost died?” your throat constricted on the last word. You felt hot tears in your eyes, and you blinked fast, trying to not let them fall. You really didn’t want to cry in front of this man, and not just because he was cute; you didn’t want to have a full breakdown in front of someone you didn’t know.

“Hey, it’s okay, you’re safe now. ‘Sides, we don’t know for sure if Jerry’s our guy, or just some predator. Either way, we’ll get him, I promise you.” Sonny gave you another heart melting smile, before he stood up. “You have my number if ya need to talk, okay? Don’t be afraid to shoot me a text.”

You smiled as he left, shutting the door softly behind him. You already wanted to text him, but to ask him out to coffee, not to help you through your shock. But you also didn’t think that that was very appropriate, asking an SVU detective out after he saved you from being assaulted. Besides, your mind was reeling from the past 24 hours. First thing’s first, better text all your friends and let them know you were alive and unharmed. And then you were definitely deleting Tinder.

[recurring-polynya]

Bleach Sword Beasts Arc Recap: Episode 256

I would not go so far as to claim that Bleach 256: Byakuya's Anger, Collapse of the Kuchiki Family is good, but it is dear to my heart, so I’m gonna review it. Also ~I can do screenshots agaaaaaain!~

Spoiler: At no point in this episode would I describe Byakuya as “angry”, and the Kuchiki family definitely does not collapse. Let’s carry on.

We open with a party for Squad 6 at Byakuya’s pad, with Renji and Rukia standing around, talking about what a mensch Byakuya is while Rukia stuffs her face with dango. This is my content. Then Renji’s squadmates haul him off because they are too nervous to talk to Byakuya by themselves. I screamed. I would watch a thousand hours of this.

As you might expect, Squad Six parties suck without Renji, so Rukia wanders off, complaining about how he left her in the lurch, when she hears a scream, and finds that the kitchen (?) is being attacked by some strange monsters.

In my continuing commitment to Squad 6/Kuchiki Manor minutia, we get to see some servants outfits! (attn: @kaickos​ ) Byakuya sure loves purple.

Rukia tries to fight the monsters, and realizes she’s not carrying her sword. Fortunately, Sode no Shirayuki and Senbonzakura show up to help out. Despite addressing each other formally, Sode no Shirayukia and Senbonzakura definitely exude a very strong have-made-out-at-a-boring-Kuchiki-party vibe. They immediately start trolling the hell out of Rukia until Byakuya shows up and narrows his eyes disapprovingly at them.

We skip to Squad 12, where Kurotsutchi explains the plot of the this arc: Apparently, while Muramasa was running around freeing zanpakutou, a lot of shitty Soul Reapers got killed by their own zanpakutou, who are now running around feral. Also, even if their shinigami was low-level, the so-called Sword Beasts have their full power capacity, i.e., as if they had achieved bankai. Sure. Whatever.

All I care about is the Squad 12 couch situation, which is dank. I feel like I’m gonna catch a disease just looking at these things. And jeez, the lighting. It’s important to note that Byakuya lets Rukia do all the talking in this scene. At first, I thought he might be sleeping with his eyes open again, but then my husband pointed out he was probably just holding his breath.

Enough of that! The Kuchiki sibs and their swords are strolling around town, the zanpakutou making big plans to kick names and take ass, while Byakuya searches for any excuse to be removed from this narrative.

If you read my fanfiction, you will know that I have a running gag of sorts where Renji is constantly shouting “Hey, Captain!” which Byakuya views as some sort of microagression (Renji never notices), and I stg, it happens at 9:16 of this episode: Renji jogs up yelling “TaiCHOOOOUUU!” in an extremely Renji way, and my heart literally exploded. Anyway, I’m pretty sure Byakuya secretly texted Renji like “plz show up with some sort of work excuse i cannot even with these two” and Renji delivered. Squad 6 ollies out, leaving Rukia to babysit these two drama queen zanpakutou.

You may think I am exaggerating, but Senbonzakura immediately suggests that they destroy some barracks to get the Sword Beasts’ attention. This plan is so stupid that Sode no Shirayuki’s suggestion that “maybe the Sword Beasts like parties” makes sense in comparison.

Ain’t no party like a Squad 10 party, because a Squad 10 party has comically oversized sake saucers. Are these some sort of real thing, or are they like when goofy TexMex places serve margaritas in hubcaps?

Captain Hitsugaya is McPissed about all of this. Rukia absolutely knows she got duped here, and makes some shame-faced excuses. Hitsugaya notes that he “received orders to let them do this” and I... have so many questions. Did Rukia have to submit a “party request”? Who approved this? Yamamoto??? I mean, if this were post-TYBWA, I can 100% see Kyouraku ordering Hitsugaya to throw a kegger.

Unsurprisingly, the plan does not work, and Senbonzakura gets black-out drunk. Rukia apologizes to Hitsugaya, who is like “it’s fine, my squad is all drunkards anyway.”

Sode no Shirayuki is extremely sorry at this point, because she sincerely thought this plan would work. So, just in case anyone out there thought Sode no Shirayuki has more brain cells than Zabimaru, you were wrong.

Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki have a nice talk about how Sode no Shirayuki feels like without Rukia, she is has no heart, she is just a weapon. She’s still feeling some residual guilt over the whole Muramasa incident. Rukia reassures her, over a moving montage of all their good times together stabbing shit. This idea is really interesting to me, actually-- that the shinigami provide their zanpakutou with purpose and direction, in return for the power they receive. I’ve sort of headcanoned this for a long time-- that zanpakutou are inherently selfish, caring mostly about the well-bearing of their shinigami, and must be driven by the shinigami toward accomplishing things. This was the whole reason Zangetsu didn’t want to give Ichigo the Final Getsuga when he was trying to defeat Aizen.

Anyhoo, Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki the Sword Beast shows up, and of course Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki defeat it with the power of friendship.

At the end of the episode, Rukia and Sode no Shirayuki debrief Kyouraku and Ukitake while Ukitake’s zanpakutou run around screaming in the background and I cannot emphasize enough how married these two fine gentlemen are.

That’s the end of the episode. I wonder if Rukia ever told Byakuya that his zanpakutou got blasted at a Squad 10 kegger.

[cryoculus]

Hello! I love the blog, was wondering of you can do a soulmate au for akaashi or bokuto? Maybe one about sharing the same tattoo? Thanks even if you reject!

» Word Count: 2,650 wordsCross-posted on AO3

This ask was sent literally a year ago, and I am so sorry for not filling this (and all the other requests dumped into my inbox) any sooner! This is part one for a reincarnation/soulmate AU for Bokuto because I’ve already done the matching tattoos one with Daichi, whoops. 

—

“And here we have the Crimson Dream, as depicted on a white canvas with red paint by none other than Sakurauchi Hide-san.”

Awed whispers resonated in your little tour group as your guide spared you a few minutes to observe the beautiful yet macabre painting among many others hung on the walls of the museum. Photographs and the like were strictly prohibited, and you’ve been giving your best friend, Kinuye, the cold shoulder when she opted not to tell you.

“What am I supposed to do with this, then?” you muttered, gesturing vaguely at the disposable camera hung around your neck. “You could’ve stopped me when I got it at the gift shop.”

Kinuye giggled, tucking a tuft of loose, brown hair behind her ear. “Well, for one, you looked so excited to document our first date in forever. What kind of friend would I be to take that away from you?”

You scoffed. “A practical one.”

“Hm. While you do have a point, you could always use that for other things, right?” She grinned, and dear god, you still rued the day the universe had decided that she would be the pretty friend. “Tetsurou will come pick us up a little later. Is there anywhere you’d like to go to next?”

Frowning, you asked, “This Tetsurou guy—he’s your boyfriend, right?”

She nodded gingerly. “Yup. Total sweetheart, I tell you. You’ll love him!”

You hummed in contemplation, wondering if you really will love the guy, as Kinuye had insisted. She’d started sending you photos of herself doing weird poses with her old Organic Chemistry professor only a few months ago. While he didn’t look like someone that would deliberately break your best friend’s heart, there was something off-putting about him that you couldn’t quite put your finger on.

It’s not because he was older, really. Dating older people was normal in college. It was more because you convinced yourself that you knew him from somewhere, but couldn’t recall how.

“Now, moving on to the next work of art…”

The two of you shuffled along as the tour guide prattled on about the origins behind the next piece over. As a painting major, your heart practically melted when Kinuye texted you the previous week, saying that she’d scored the two of you tickets for the new art museum that opened a few blocks from your university. It’s been the talk of your department for weeks, and the tickets had sold out on the first day of the pre-sale. You weren’t lucky enough to get your hands on them, yourself, but life had apparently decided that you shall also be bestowed with your pretty friend’s blessings.

“Hey, that one reminds me of the painting you have in your living room,” Kinuye whispered, pointing somewhere behind you. With one eyebrow raised, you craned your head to sneak a glance at what she was pertaining to—only to be met with the sight of a massive tapestry framed at the other side of the hall.

As most tapestries were, the fabric that depicted a vast, orange sky with spires of land jutting from the clouds was being displayed behind a stretch of conservation glass. A few visitors were standing in front of it, murmuring among themselves while sharing contemplative stares. There was even a golden plaque placed underneath, but you were too far away to read the inscription.

But Kinuye was right. It did look eerily similar to the twilight painting you once did for your scenery final.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, but did you get your reference off the Internet or did you see it with your own eyes?” your best friend wondered, genuine curiosity brimming in her gaze. “It practically looked like a screenshot, you know. One of my favorites for sure.”

“Is that your way of telling me that you didn’t like the portrait I gave you for your birthday?” You pouted.

Kinuye gasped, appalled at your accusation. “I adore every single piece you make, and you know it! It’s just that…there’s something about that painting in particular, you know? I remember you holing yourself up in your apartment for days just so you could finish it before finals week ended. Now, the fan art for your original is being displayed at a museum—”

“That tapestry is not fan art, Kinuye,” you said in-between chuckles as your gaze wandered back to the twilight sky just a few feet away. “I guess we just happened to witness the same thing.”

One side of her mouth quirked upward. “Eh? So you did see it with your own eyes. Where is it? Were you on a hiking trip? Is it back in Hokkaido? You’re going to take me there, right?”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair with playful exasperation. “You’re so demanding.”

“If some person made the effort to make a damn tapestry of the same scenery you painted for a final requirement, then it just means that it’s that amazing, right?” Kinuye folded her arms across her chest, declaring, “You will take me there.”

She was practically the first friend you’ve made when you moved to Tokyo, so of course you’d want to take Kinuye to places you knew she would like. But how were you supposed to bring her somewhere you’ve only seen in the plane of your dreams?

“I’ll think about it,” you told her, not really meaning the words.

“And that concludes our guided itinerary,” the guide up front said, almost sounding relieved. “You may now take a look at the rest of the artworks displayed in this wing on your own accord. But do refrain from going beyond as the other wings are still under construction. Thank you for visiting the Akaashi Museum for Fine Arts, and we do hope you’ll support the institution as time flows on.”

As time flows on. Those are some strange parting words.

Once your group dissolved into pairs and individuals, Kinuye seized your wrist so she could drag you off to the tapestry that she’d suddenly went crazy about. There were more people viewing the frame than earlier, but the two of you managed to get a decent spot, nonetheless. There, you could read the words etched onto the plaque much more clearly.

The Dawn of Our Ruinby Akaashi Keiji, 2014

“Says here that the guy who made this finished it on his third year of high school. So you’re the one who did the fan art after all, huh, (Name)-chan,” teased Kinuye as she carefully went over the rest of the details. “Oh, and he’s also the son of the museum’s director! Really runs in the family, huh?”

Her words, however, were a bit muted in your ears, given that your attention was ensnared by the artist’s interpretation of his own work.

“When heavenly fire swathes the clouds with reds and oranges, the rage of the gods cannot be fathomed by mortal minds. Those who oppose their justice will be struck down to the earth, where they will perish with their dying eyes transfixed on the fading daylight.”

You saw a beautiful sky at the dregs of twilight. Akaashi Keiji saw clouds on fire.

“You ladies seem pretty into that piece, huh?”

Startled, you whip your head back to face whoever addressed you and Kinuye so abruptly. There, a man who seemed no older than the two of you stood with his pockets shoved into his sleek black overcoat. He stood tall above the both of you, his grin blindingly bright. But the most peculiar thing about him, aside from his streaked, bouffant hair, was definitely the molten gold of his eyes—so mesmerizing that you’d almost forgotten he’d asked you a question.

“Y-Yes,” you stuttered. “I—”

“She painted something that looks exactly the same as this one!” Kinuye interrupted, patting your shoulder proudly. “She won’t tell me where it is, but she did promise to take me there someday.”

You shot her an incredulous look. “I did not make any promises, Kinuye.”

“I’m Yoshitaka Kiyune, and that’s (Surname) (Name),” she introduced. Your friend merely smiled at you like a Cheshire cat, before balking off at the stranger about your supposed skill with the canvas and brush. You could only shrink to the side when said stranger responded with the same extroverted eagerness that Kinuye practically exuded on the daily.

“Whoa! You got the highest mark for your version of this? I haven’t seen it, but I already know you deserve it,” he said, eyes glittering with awe. The wonder in his voice wasn’t staged. You’ve been on the receiving end of half-meant compliments all your life, and you could tell that his words were nothing but genuine.

Kinuye perked up from beside you. “Oh, if you don’t mind, can we ask for your name…?”

The golden-eyed man’s smile softened. “Koutarou. Bokuto Koutarou. I’m one of the curators for the museum.”

“You’re a curator?” you repeated, disbelief lining your features.

Bokuto hollered out loud, earning a few looks from the nearby visitors. “Ah, I get that a lot. I don’t look the part, but I know good pieces when I see them. I’m the one who’s in charge of this wing after all.”

You blinked at him, at a loss for words. “So, you know the person who made this, then?”

“Of course!” He nodded vigorously. “The Akaashis are a family friend of mine, and the dude who put this gigantic thing together is practically my best friend. Like hell I’ll leave out his best work to gather dust in their basement.”

“I see…” Your voice trailed off when your gaze latched back onto the tapestry. The details were breathtaking, each thread carefully placed where they could bring the depicted image to life. This close, you could see that, indeed, it wasn’t the sky that’s orange. The puffy white clouds were covered in a thin blanket of fire, as if the rage of the gods Akaashi had spoken of hasn’t boiled over yet.

“You know, I could sign your pieces up to be displayed on here, too.”

Your body reacted before your mind could even process the words. You felt your hands grow cold within a second, the chill spreading to the rest of your skin. Did you hear him right? Did the curator for the museum you thought you’d never be able to visit within the month just offer to display your art in the newly opened wing?

“You can refuse if you don’t want to though,” Bokuto supplied, a sheepish look twisting his face. “It’s just that I’m friends with Professor Konoha, and he’s been telling me about a certain student that had her own rendition of Akaashi’s Dawn, and that her pieces were, quote, out of this world.”

Feeling the heat of embarrassment creeping up on your face, you turned your head a little to the side. “K-Konoha-sensei is a little superfluous with his compliments sometimes…”

He shook his head. “Konoha is the most honest guy I know! When he’s playing favorites, that just means your stuff is worth something.” Bokuto then reached into his coat before handing you a small, rectangular card. He grinned once more, and you could feel your blush worsen by the second.

“If you’re interested, just give me a call, and we can talk about it over lunch! Or coffee. Or—I dunno. Whatever you’d like.” The look in his eyes was so hopeful, you thought it would be a crime to turn him down.

You gulped, studying his business card for a few seconds before keeping it inside your bag. “T-Thank you, Bokuto-san—”

“Oh, don’t be so formal with me.” He pouted. “Back then you told me—ah, I mean… I’d prefer it if my future clients didn’t address me so stiffly.”

“Alright…Bokuto.” You spoke his name carefully, feeling how the syllables fit in your tongue. “I’ll call you once I’ve made up my mind.”

The curator clapped his hands together, like a child promised with a toy. He just wouldn’t stop smiling, and you felt as though he won’t do so any time soon. Beside you, you could feel Kinuye giving you one of her Looks, and you weren’t sure if that was a good thing or not.

“Alright, thanks a lot, (Name)—uh, (Surname). You, too, Yoshitaka. It was nice meeting the two of you, but I’ll be going now,” he sighed wistfully, like he didn’t want to leave. “I have a meeting with the directors in a few minutes, and Keiji might just yell at me for being late. Again.”

You let out a soft laugh. “It’s okay, Bokuto. Thank you again for the opportunity.”

With a single nod of the head, Bokuto strode off to the restricted area of the museum, possibly where the offices were located. You were about to ask Kinuye what time her boyfriend would come pick the two of you up, but the Look she was sending your way only intensified once Bokuto was out of sight.

“He’s into you,” she spoke flatly. “He is so into you.”

Your eyes widened and you could feel yourself flush at her words. “W-What do you mean?”

“(Name), don’t act dense. You’ve had boyfriends in the past. I’m sure you can tell if a guy likes you or not.”

“He was just being nice!” you reasoned. “He’s friends with Konoha-sensei, so he must’ve seen some of my work. It’s purely professional—”

“With the way he was looking at you like you’re his next mistake?” Kinuye chuckled, patting your shoulder affectionately. “As if.”

Your bottom lip quivered with the itch to have the last word. “H-He’s older!”

“Tetsurou is a good six years older than me, and we’re doing mighty fine,” she argued with a smirk. “Come on, just admit that the pretty curator is into you and we can have lunch.”

“B-But—”

Your protest was interrupted by the sound of Kinuye’s ringtone, and she immediately fumbled around her bag for her phone. Her sea green eyes lit up when she checked the caller ID. “Just in time. Tetsurou’s already waiting for us out front.” Stuffing her phone back, she flashed you a faux-angelic smile. “(Name)-chan, you can continue wallowing in your denial later, but I would really prefer if you just owned up to it.”

“Whatever,” you sighed in defeat. “Let’s go. I’m starved.”

As the two of you made your way down the marble steps that led outside, you felt the sun practically glaring down on the both of you. Summer in Tokyo was excruciating in its own right, and you looked up to the sky just to give the big ball of fire a glare of your own.

However, in the distance, just a few buildings away, you spotted a bird—no, a creature in flight. It was too far away for you to decipher what it really was, but you could somehow make out the shape of massive wings jutting out from its back. Too big to be a bird, too alive to be a plane.

Remembering that you had a camera at your disposal, you raised it to your face so that one eye was posed on the viewfinder. It was one of those newer models that had a decent zoom in feature, but identity of the figure in the sky remained unknown when it promptly disappeared up into the heavens, high enough where no human could hope to reach.

“(Name)-chan, are you taking a picture of something?”

You let the camera fall, the strap straining against the back of your neck. Kinuye was looking at you expectantly from where she’s waiting beside an unfamiliar car.

Exhaling a deep breath, you shook your head. “No. Sorry,” you told her, before jogging down the rest of the steps.

[silverklar]

Okay, so I decided to contribute to appreciation week for @renewskamfrance with a favourite acting moment, and because I’m a little late to the party I’m sure this post will be a mess. Also, I can’t make gifs so I’ve just used crappy screenshots but bare with me!! 

Many posts talk about their favourite Eliott moments, and I agree with them all because Maxence really delivered. Even though most of them mention Le Premier (which is more than understandable) I haven’t seen anyone mention the clip before that, the Double Date one. But as it is one of my favourite moments of Eliott (or more a favourite of Maxence’s performances, perhaps) I wanted to mention it now.

First, this “double date” thing was bound to be a disaster from the get-go for obvious reasons that I won’t get into, and both Lucas and Eliott were apprehensive about the whole thing. Especially Eliott, who was like “bish what???” when Chloé suggested it, which is why at the beginning of the clip, we have an Eliott who looks like this:

There’s just something about him in this moment that gets to me. It’s as if he has this grey cloud over him whilst they are all together and he has to listen to Chloé talk (and honestly same). We all knew he would hate it when the plans were made, and god does he look like it. It’s incredible how much Maxence managed to portray here without even saying anything.

Then, we have The Moment where Chloé claims to be so mature because of her dating Lucas (which just... no), and Eliott’s reaction is this:

He’s like “ah HELL no, this guy is MY MAN YA HEAR!!!!! BACK OFF!!!!!” just by looking at him, which is so excellently done by our dear Maxence. It’s not just the eyes that are expressive, it’s EVERYTHING about him. He has perfected the way Eliott just exudes this craving for Lucas that he so powerfully wants to indulge in, but he just can’t yet, because things keep getting in the way of them. And if this look is not a personification of frustration (and obviously jealousy, too), I don’t know what is. It’s such a good acting moment of his.

Then, we have that glorious moment where Lucille is the best girlfriend of the year and announces to everyone that Eliott failed the bac, and Eliott is of course so thankful for that and sends her the most loving of gazes:

And then, he starts to fumble a little because the subject clearly makes him uncomfortable, and he looks down at the floor as if he’s trying to look for the words to say:

(this screenshot is terrible but if you watch the clip, you can see how LITTLE he wants to talk about this). He also responds to that whole thing by drinking more beer, and that’s when we get this again:

He’s so done with Lucille here that after he counters her with “don’t you think you’ve talked enough?” he actually huffs out a laugh as he continues to go off at her. And that’s horrible when you think about it. This is probably an argument they’ve had countless times, yet she hasn’t listened to him and keeps going there. He doesn’t know what else to do to make her stop. And that’s why Eliott looks like this when Lucille leaves the room because she’s hurt and upset by what he said:

And like this when Chloé follows her:

He knows that what he did was wrong, but in that moment he was so annoyed by Lucille and her controlling that he didn’t know what else to do. And I can definitely understand that, but it still breaks your heart. This was so well done by both Maxence and Lola, but Maxence especially is brilliant in this part. He conveys so many emotions in such a short amount of time. It’s incredible, really.

And THEN, finally, when the girls have left the room and Eliott explains to Lucas how he had wanted it to be just the two of them, the light in his eyes immediately starts to come back just by talking about it:

You see this??? It baffles me how Maxence can switch between all of these feelings by doing next to nothing. He becomes the feelings he’s supposed to emit. They’re not just “Eliott’s feelings”, they’re a part of Maxence. 

Then, at the end of the clip, he smiles the tiniest of smiles:

All because he knows that he’s going to get to be alone with Lucas!!! 

And not long after this moment (not taking into consideration the actual order they filmed), we got the happy, giddy, flirty, playful, yet so significant interaction between Eliott and Lucas in Le Premier. The first couple of seconds of that clip is just them laughing. If you think about it from Eliott’s perspective, that night evolved in such a wonderful way. He started out in a gloom, but the sun eventually found a way to shine through again with all of the power it had. Maxence really did that. And that’s such an accomplishment that my English vocabulary is failing me to describe it. It’s magnificent.

[yeppeojiwrites]

biggest fan pt. 1//kang yeosang

(he looks really good in this gif EEEE,,the gif kinda offsets the fic, whoops)

sasaeng au with girl group idol!reader and sasaeng!yeosang

this fic is not meant to be romantic or sweet or anything fluffy so please don’t take it that way. if you are in any way triggered by stalking, kidnapping, or any kind of violence, please do not read this. 

this in no way represents yeosang’s character or personality, this is only a work of fiction and is not meant to offend anyone

read with caution

tw: stalking, kidnapping, violence, panic attack

word count: 2,306 (i think this is my longest thus far)

You could say Kang Yeosang liked you a lot. 

He’s gone to almost every fansign, he has every piece of merchandise that has your name or face on it, and he has all of your group’s albums but only your version. He also may or may not have a shrine in one corner of his room decorated with photos of you and candles with your favorite scents and a water bottle that your lips have touched.

But if anyone asks him, he’s definitely not obsessed. 

He wasn’t always like this though. 

Yeosang was in his final year of high school when your group, Paradigm, debuted in late 2017. You immediately stuck out to him. From your debut music video alone, Yeosang has over 50 screenshots of your face, you dancing, or just posing. Your part in “Follow Me”, your group’s debut album title track, was his ringtone until your group’s first comeback five months later.

He showed up at your group’s third fansign, clutching your group’s album’s photobook to his chest and occasionally opening up to a page with your photo on it, staring at it lovingly. 

You were third from the end of the long set of tables, seated between your members Minhee, the eldest and the leader, and Emmy, the closest member to you in age. 

The time that it took to greet the other members seemed to drag on and on to Yeosang but as soon as he stood in front of you and you took his album to sign it and stared into his eyes, time stopped. 

“Who should I make this out to?” you asked. 

Yeosang gulped. “To my handsome Yeosang,” he said, his voice shaky. You smiled and nodded and wrote down your message.

‘To my handsome Yeosang, thank you for supporting us! Stay warm and healthy in this cold weather and come see us again!’

“Are you nervous?” you asked as you put down your Sharpie. “I saw you with my other members and you seemed a lot more comfortable.” you said. 

“A little bit,” he said scratching his neck nervously and putting his hand on the table. “I just don’t want to do anything embarrassing in front of you” he said. 

You reached out your hand to cover his. “Don’t be nervous, it’s just me!” you laughed. He laughed nervously, his cheeks a light pink because of your touch. 

“I’ll get you a gift next time,” he said, trying to change the subject. 

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to. You being here is a gift for me,” you smiled and squeezed his hand. The staff behind you motioned for him to move and you smiled and slid his album towards him. 

“It was nice meeting you, Yeosang! I’ll hope I’ll see you again!” you smiled and waved.

Yeosang felt his heart melt. 

You must have really liked him, you didn’t hold hands with the other fans. 

He made a promise to himself to come to another fansign to see you as he sat in front of Emmy.

It’s now February 2019, a bit after a year since Paradigm has debuted and you’re at your fourth fansign for your sixth comeback, “Late Night”, a more sensual concept compared to your last comeback, “Take U There”. 

As your group prepared to get in formation for the performance of “Late Night”, the group’s youngest member, Chaemi, nudged you slightly. 

“(Y/N), your sasaeng is back,” she whispered, slightly motioning to where Yeosang was in the crowd. 

“Chaemi, he isn’t a sasaeng. I’m just...his favorite member.” you defended him. 

“If you say so,” she shrugs before getting into her spot and kneeling in front of you, her arms crossed over her head. 

As Yeosang watched your group’s performance, his eyes never left your form once. He liked the way the tight blue velvet dress looked on you and liked your matching blue velvet choker decorated with a diamond heart and the fishnet tights that covered your thighs. 

He liked your smirks towards the audience and the confidence you exuded as you did your solo dance in the middle of the song. He subconsciously licked his lips when you reached down and touched your ankle before dragging your hand up your leg and lifting the edge of your dress slightly. 

Damn those safety shorts. 

He wanted to see more. He had to see more.

After your performance, the staff members set up the tables for the actual signing part of the fansign as you and your members messed around with each other on the side of the stage. When you were finally seated, you sat between Chaemi and Minami, the second oldest and your roomate, at the middle of the table.

“Ah (Y/N), I see your biggest fan is here,” Minami said. You looked over at her. 

“Yeah,” you said. 

“I saw him lick his lips when you lifted your dress up during your solo dance in ‘Late Night’” she said. 

“He did?” you questioned, pulling your dress down as low as possible. 

She nodded. “Be careful, (Y/N). I want you to be safe.” she said, squeezing your hand. You furrowed your eyebrows a bit and chewed at the inside of your cheek. 

Meanwhile from the audience, Yeosang was slightly upset. Why were you frowning? Could he help you feel better? Would he be able to make you happy again? 

Just like the first fansign, to Yeosang, it felt like meeting your other members took forever. He smiled and let them sign his album and nodded when they asked if he had eaten or if he was healthy but he was really focused on you. He wondered if one day he would just be able to meet and talk with you only. It was exhausting pretending like he cared for the other members. 

As Yeosang met with the members that were closer to you, you felt your heart rate increase. Sure, you have weird and creepy fans, every idol does, but Yeosang was by far the creepiest. 

You’ve seen him in places there’s no way he could have known you would be at like cafes and the convenience store near your group’s dorm and at parks. You knew that this happened way too often for it to be considered a coincidence. 

You were too scared to ever report him to the police because you didn’t want him to hurt you or your members or your manager so you never told anyone about what was happening. 

When he moved into the seat in front of Chaemi, you felt your hands shake. 

“(Y/N), are you okay?” the fan in front you asked, taking your shaking hand in hers. You nodded. 

“I just need some water,” you smiled uneasily, feeling Yeosang’s stare on your face. 

“All right,” she said, letting go of your hand. You opened the bottle and took a sip, taking deep breaths after. 

“(Y/N), are you sure you’re alright?” Minami asked, moving her attention from the fan in front of her, another regular, to you. You nodded, feeling your breath quicken a bit. She nodded and patted your thigh softly before leaning over to whisper in your ear. “It’ll be over soon, it’ll be okay.” she said. 

You nodded and turned back to the fan sitting in front of you. “Get lots of rest and don’t overwork yourself when you’re sick,” she said. She put both of her fists in the air, “(Y/N) fighting!” she said. You smiled weakly and nodded. 

She shifted over to the seat in front of Minami and Yeosang sat in front of you. He leaned forward a bit and stared into your eyes. You started breathing a lot faster and Yeosang leaned back in his chair, startled. 

“(Y/N), are you okay?” he asked. You stood up quickly from your chair, knocking it over. Your chest grew tighter by the second, causing you to reach up and place your hand over it, trying to slow your breathing but failing

Everyone paused to look over at you, their faces expressing a rainbow of emotion, from shock to concern to fear. 

“(Y/N)?” Yeosang stood up and tried to reach out to you. You started breathing even faster.

“(Y/N)!” Minami yelled as she stood up. You felt a wave of heat pass over your body as your knees buckled, causing you to fall to the floor. Yeosang’s face was the last thing you saw before your eyes closed.

Minami ran to you and cradled your head as Chaemi held your hand. “Someone help!” Minami yelled.  

You were diagnosed with anxiety a few days after you passed out. You were told to take a hiatus from the group so that you could take a mental break and wouldn’t be at risk to be triggered by Yeosang at a fansign.

Your psychiatrist is the only other person to know about Yeosang. She urged you to press charges or file a restraining order but you chose not to, in fear of what he might do or say. She agreed to keep quiet for now but said that as soon as anything else happened, she would report him herself. 

Your company gave you the option to go home to stay with your family or to stay with your group members at the dorm and you chose to stay at the dorm. It was lonely being at the dorm by yourself sometimes but your group members always made sure to keep you involved in group activities and meals. 

You occasionally showed up in VLives with your other group members, and posted photos of yourself and videos of your singing and practicing to your group’s social media accounts just to make sure that your fans knew that you’re doing okay. 

‘(y/n)-ah, get better soon! we miss you!’

‘(y/n), i hope you get well soon!’

‘(y/n), please make a playlist on spotify so we can listen to what you’re listening to!’

‘(y/n), take care of yourself!’

‘(y/n)-ah, you’re getting so skinny!! T_T please eat soon!!’

‘wow i can’t believe (y/n) invented self care, what a queen’

You smiled as you read the comments. “I’ll be back in no time! Just wait a little bit longer!” you said before ending the live. 

“It’s late and the girls still aren’t back yet.” you said to yourself while stretching. You looked over to the clock. “It’s 10:30 PM, hmm. I better get something to eat.” 

You got off of your couch and went into your room to find something to throw on so that you could walk to the convenience store and get instant noodles.

You texted your manager and Minhee about where you were going before grabbing your keys and exiting the dorm.  

The cool spring air met you as soon as you walked out of the building. You walked the single block to the convenience store and entered, smelling the familiar scent of coffee and plastic covered items.

“Oh (Y/N), you’re back!” the store owner, Byungchul, said from behind the counter, his round, aged face pulled into a grin.

You nodded. “How are you and your wife doing?” you asked, walking to the aisle with the noodles. 

“Miyoung and I are fine? How are you holding up?” he asked. 

“I’m fine. My members haven’t come home from practicing yet and I’m starving.” you said, deciding between spicy chicken noodles and beef flavored noodles.

“When are you going to start practicing again? Isn’t your group coming back soon?” he asked. 

“I’ll start back in a couple of weeks. Paradigm is actually preparing to debut a subunit with our youngest members, and since I’m the fourth oldest member, I won’t be in the unit. It works out.” you said as you walked to the counter with your beef flavored noodles. 

He nodded and rang up your order. “I’ll look forward to it!” he said before giving you an encouraging smile. 

You smiled back. “Thank you, I’ll tell the other members,” you said.

You walked over to the hot water dispenser and opened your noodles and put water in the container. As you sat down with your noodles and disposable chopsticks, you pulled out your phone and read texts and laughed at and retweeted funny tweets you saw onto your secret twitter account. When your noodles finally softened, you hastily broke apart the chopsticks and eagerly slurped the noodles, leaving none behind. 

You threw away your garbage and texted your manager and Minhee that you were about to head home. “See you next time, Byungchul. Good night.” you said, waving at him. He waved back. 

You walked out of the store, and started heading back to your dorm. You noticed a pair of drunk men walking towards you, so you decided to turn around and take the long way to the apartment. It didn’t have many streetlights so you walked as quickly as possible.

As you walked you heard footsteps behind you. You sped up and your heart dropped as you heard the steps speed up as well. You broke into a run but you tripped over a break in the sidewalk and fell. You scrambled to get up and run away but you were pulled into someone’s chest, their hand covering your mouth. You writhed in their arms and kicked at them, weakening them when your heel hit their crotch. 

You ran away as soon as they let go but your freedom was short lived. You felt a sharp pain in your neck and you reached up to feel what it was and felt a dart. Your steps faltered and you sank to your knees as your body fell weaker by the second. 

You heard the faraway sound of someone coming towards you and before your eyes closed you tried to look at your attacker and felt your blood run cold as your eyes met Yeosang’s, the last person you expected to see. 

i would have posted the second part with this part but i like to build suspense. also because i’m not done with it and i feel like the last part of the last sentence of this part is too,,,idk,,cliche or lazy (???) to try to put something after. like i feel like i took the easy way out of ending this part,,,idk,,,

i hope you enjoyed this and are looking forward to the next part!!

ellie out!

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 120

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 22 - “Super Surprising! Michiru and Kaoru’s Shocking Confession!!” Date watched: 11 May 2019 Original air date: 9 July 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/5PEq8nL Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Before we begin, would anyone like to go on a feels trip?

If you hear the sound of gross sobbing in the background while reading this review, don’t worry it’s just me. Michiru and Kaoru are talking with Gohyaan and Akudaikaan about their failure the previous episode. Akudaikaan loses his temper, lashing out at all in the room and reminding M and K with no uncertainty exactly what their purpose is. He warns them not to hinder his ambitions ever again and they hastily leave. While they stand on Gourd Rock to ruminate some, Gohyaan appears and taunts them some more about their closeness with Precure. He reminds them that if they defeat the heroines, all their problems will be solved.

The next day at school, Mai is quiet and ponderous because she believes the Kiryuus might be from Dark Fall, but she tries to dismiss this notion. The sisters show up and repeatedly flare up their powers, causing Flappi to scream at the burst in dark energy at inconvenient moments (like the middle of a test).

evil eyes: on

Saki and Mai try to talk to the fairies in the hallway, but the sisters appear and Mai hurries off. Saki tells Kaoru that Minori wants to hang out with her again, and asks Michiru to tutor her in math. Their faces soften and they both agree to these things. Then she invites them out to the Sky Tree after school. The sisters go outside and Kaoru reminds her sister that if they wait to defeat Precure, their frustrations might return, but Minori shows up before they can do anything. She is super excited to see Kaoru and explains that she and her mother are there on a delivery to the school, so they may as well go watch Saki’s practice.

a wild Minori appears

They head behind the school near the practice fields, and Mai walks out of the building, notices the three of them, and tucks away to see what’s going on. A stray softball is coming right at Minori’s head, and Kaoru quickly makes it disappear. Mai notices this but before she can say anything, Minori notices her and Saki comes up, asking about the ball. Michiru and Kaoru deny any knowledge, so Saki shrugs it off and invites all of her friends to the Sky Tree while Minori heads off to find her mother again. 

When they get there, she instructs all of them to squish themselves against the tree, and feel the calming and positive energy it exudes.

literal tree huggers

Michiru and Kaoru reminisce about the good times they’ve had in the land of greenery, as well as remembering the threat of Akudaikaan. (see the full video at the top) After questioning why she brought them here, Saki says that it’s where she met all of them, so it seems like a special place, and then continues “Do I really need a reason to invite my friends to the Sky Tree?” This surprises the sisters as they’ve never thought of themselves as friends before. They seem genuinely happy for a moment before they remember they’ve got a mission. They clench their fists and this causes Flappi and Choppi to go crazy, so Mai and Saki quickly excuse themselves to talk. Mai tries to explain to Saki that she thinks the siblings are from Dark Fall but the fairies keep interrupting, and Kaoru insists to Michiru that they have to do this. It’s clearly hard for both of them, but they insist to each other that they are proud warriors of Dark Fall, and they prepare their attack.

the absolute anguish

Saki and Mai feel the intense dark energy approaching them and transform before they can even learn who their opponent is.... and so the reveal is that much more dramatic. But the twins do show themselves this time, and there’s no turning back. Bloom is shocked, Egret is more dejected that her hunch was right.

and look at this gorgeous shot. (textless version in the gallery)

Bloom insists that they don’t have to fight, but the Kiryuus insist that they’re from different worlds, and their only purpose for existing is to destroy the Precures and enact Akudaikaan’s will, so they attack. Bloom and Egret block, but refuse to fight back, which angers Michiru and Kaoru. They exchange ideals with the cures, who maintain that they can still be friends, but the twins retaliate that, as all life comes to an end eventually, their vision of a world of ruin, with no life at all, is actually ideal. Egret retaliates by asking Kaoru why she saved Minori earlier that day, and both cures remind them of the nice things they’ve done and promised they’d continue to do, to prove that they’re not truly evil. Saki insists that they’re all friends before they’re warriors, either of peace or of Dark Fall, and she refuses to fight her friends. The speech seems to be working, you can see that Michiru and Kaoru are being swayed, but they are still too afraid of the consequences of failure and double down on their words, before leaping into the air and diving towards the Precures, as the scene freezes and the credits begin to play.

Here we are, at the emotional peak of the journey of Michiru and Kaoru. All the cards are out on the table and they have made the choice (under duress) to put aside their personal feelings and emotional attachments and fight Saki and Mai. I honestly think this hurts them more than the Precures, because deep down, they don’t want to do this, and as much as they try to bury their feelings, they can’t help but to bleed through. There’s a clear hesitation that wasn’t there when they debuted, and they barely hide their emotional attachments to Saki and Mai. They no longer call each other out for helping, making connections, and otherwise getting involved in the lives of the heroines. They hype themselves into fighting, and maintain that they have a responsibility to Akudaikaan even when it’s clear that this goal differs from their desires. They take pause at Saki and Mai’s rejections of their fate and insistence that they’re still friends. They don’t want to do this, but they feel like they have no choice.

Normally, Michiru wears the mask and puts on the act of being friendly to the humans but secretly dismissing them, while Kaoru is more straightforward about her feelings, good or bad. It’s because of this difference in personality that Kaoru is the first one to insist that they drop all pretenses at the Sky Tree and defeat Saki and Mai, while Michiru is initially reluctant (and borderline crying).

seeing them display this kind of emotion would have been unfathomable a few weeks ago

She knows their mission deep down, but she’s allowed her friendly persona to become part of her, and she doesn’t want to fight them. At the same time, Kaoru reminds her that there’s no choice. Regardless of their feelings, they will always be warriors of Dark Fall and that’s the duty they have to fulfill. I don’t want this to read as though Kaoru simply doesn’t care, though. Arguably, she cares even more, but because she doesn’t hide her true self as much as her sister, she is better equipped to see the options in front of them: they cannot keep dodging this matter, they have to confront Saki and Mai and admit that they’re from Dark Fall. If they don’t, Akudaikaan will destroy them himself. Neither of them thinks that their friends will be accepting of their identities, because they come from the side that has been trying to destroy them and everything they care about so how could they possibly remain friends? It’s kill or be killed, so Michiru and Kaoru choose to take a stand for their lives rather than their true principles. However, Bloom and Egret’s refusal to engage and fight back does start to sway them. Mai calls out their hypocrisy particularly well:

The villains are given pause by this, for a moment they falter and lower their guard. Mai has seen through their facade, and wants them to realize the truth they’re denying about themselves. It almost works, but when Saki calls them their “friends,” that triggers a response. That level of intimacy is still too uncomfortable to them, they won’t allow themselves to become close to anybody but each other, and this challenge to their core beliefs makes them retaliate. They reiterate that they were created, given life, for only one purpose: to serve Dark Fall. If they aren’t enacting Akudaikaan’s will, they are betraying that purpose, and don’t deserve to even exist at all.  So they fight back, out of fear and loyalty. The villains who fight against their own hearts, and the heroines who refuse to fight because of theirs. What will be the outcome of this clash of ideals? Find out in the next review.

There is one bit of symbolism involving Michiru and Kaoru that I only just realized this episode, and I am furious at myself for not catching it sooner, with how much I’ve talked about other symbolism involving them:

If you’re standing in the teacher’s position, Kaoru sits in the back left corner, Michiru in the seat ahead of her, Mai sits in the back right corner, and Saki sits in front of Mai. Their positions mirror each other, in much the same way as Michiru and Kaoru are mirrors of Saki and Mai. If I were to read further into it, Saki and Mai sit by the window (the light) while the Kiryuus are furthest from the sun’s light, representing their dark nature. I do not know if there’s some Japanese mythology, folklore, or superstition about what side of the room you sit on, beyond the obvious anime trope that the second-from-the-back on the left is the Main Character Seat so they can stare out the window.

Before I wrap up, have some truly sincere Michiru and Kaoru expressions:

The next review will either be tomorrow, or in a week. I want to do some comparing and contrasting with Kiriya’s arc in FWPC, but I don’t think I’ll have a lot of free time tomorrow to write, and as I mentioned, I’ll be on a road trip for a few days. Hopefully I’ll be able to jot something down, I want to wrap up the Kiryuu arc before the trip so I can start into the back half of the show when I return. We’ll see where the wind blows. Whenever the review comes, look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 Zekkouchou Nari!

Miracle Drop Count: 1

[nocompromise-noregrets]

No big rewrites, because I'm happy with all of them. But I'm thinking of doing some small edits to make the diversity of the characters clearer. Most of my facecasts are of the characters from the films, rather as placeholders, because I don't 'see' them in any detail in my mind when writing, and I don't have facecasts for anyone who isn't in the films because I genuinely don't know what they look like in that much detail. So I tend not to describe characters in much detail except for the occasional stray reference to hair or eye colour. But we all know that the films are distressingly white, and it's just not realistic to assume that everyone in Middle-Earth looked the same. A place like Dale, for example, clearly a trading hub, would have had inhabitants and visitors of many different backgrounds and appearances, and that would have carried over into Lake-town (and, to a certain small extent, can be seen in the extras in the movies, who are at least a little bit more diverse than in the LotR films), and then to Dale again after the battle. Ditto Rivendell - the Last Homely House East of the Sea would have had all manner of different people passing through and settling there, and Elrond and his family are canonically mixed-race (although I don't think that's what Tolkien meant, imho it's a very valid interpretation). I've seen discussion on this subject since I came back to the fandom, mostly focussed on fanart and the Silmarillion fandom, but fic and the LotR and Hobbit fandoms have just as much of an issue with this, perhaps more - most of the diverse fanart I see is for the Silm, probably because there are no film depictions of those characters except Elrond and Galadriel; the Hobbit and LotR fandoms seem to go more for depictions of the characters as they are in the films.

I thought about working more diverse descriptions into my writing when first returning to the fandom but was worried about inadvertently getting it wrong, being accidentally disrespectful or coming across as being performative, and was advised by a well-meaning friend, who is not in this fandom, that it wasn't up to me to try and make the Tolkien fandom more diverse and inclusive. But I've been thinking it over more and more, especially in the light of some recent very thoughtful and insightful posts by Tolkien fans of colour, and actually, if I, a white fan, am doing no more than reblogging diverse fanart when I see it, then I'm just as much part of the problem. It is up to me, so I've got some editing to do. It'll still be pretty subtle stuff, as long and fulsome physical descriptions of characters aren't my style, but hair colour, eye colour, skin colour, carefully described, can hopefully make it a little clearer to readers that not all of my characters are white. I'm only one little writer with a small readership, but every little helps.

For starters, I had a revelation a couple of months back that nobody exudes the chaotic energy of Maudie, Bard's wife, more than Paisley Billings of Tattoo Fixers, and if she's their Mam, the kids are not going to look like the Nesbitt girls and John Bell...

And Agnes, one of my OCs, daughter of Lake-Town's cobbler, who winds up a bereaved refugee in Dale and taken under Hilda's wing as her trusty lieutenant, is this young lady who we see in a few crowd shots in the films (she has another name, one that comes from her family who came to Lake-Town three generations ago, but nobody calls her by it any more, not after the dragon got her dad):

(terrible screenshot from youtube because I couldn't find her anywhere else)

And this glorious piece of art, for which I cannot find an artist credit anywhere (if anyone knows whose it is, please let me know so that I can credit them!) is more or less exactly how I see Elladan and Elrohir:

(and therefore also Arwen and Elrond...)

Those are just three (six), but there will be more. It doesn't make sense if everyone is white.

It's a little thing, in the grand scheme of it all, but it's still worth doing. The edits will take some time as I have a ludicrous amount of fic, but it'll get done.

JULY 20TH.

Are there any fics you’ve written that you’d wish you could rewrite? Why or why not?

(These will be in placement of our Wednesday Word Play & Weekend WIP games, so with that in mind, limit yourself to 10-15 minutes at MOST on these questions.)

[adelmortescryche]

Fic Writers Week - Day One

Almost missed out on participating in time, because I’ve been sick and out of touch with the actual date. But! I noticed that it was the 11/26 in time, and here I am, @ficwritersweek. (you’ve probably already heard it a whole lot, but. this is such a lovely idea.)

Day 1: Words of Validation

There’s always those comments that stick, the ones that help you push through a story or personal favorites that you just have to reread from time to time. Writers, this is the day to share some of those!

Since it’s day one and I’m a writer/creator alongside being a reader, I just wanted to give a shout out to all the wonderful people who choose to read and comment on my stuff! I wish I could just name everyone who’s commented or left a kudos on my fics, but that probably isn’t too feasible in terms of post length, eh. *wry grin*

I used to be better at responding to people immediately, but health reasons, both mental and physical, have made it harder for me to reply as quickly or as often as I used to. But the comments I’ve received have not only given me something to look forward to, but they also fill me with joy and delight, almost leaving me feeling euphoric, because they let me know that I’ve made other people happy. And have given them something to be excited about.

I’m hesitant to add actual screenshots or too many long-running excerpts from people’s comments, since I know not everyone is comfortable with what they say being aired in a relatively public setting like this, but let’s see how to show some appreciation anyway. I’ve given excerpts where I can, too.

Here’s a couple commenters and comments that stuck with me, over time. I don’t actually know if all of you are on tumblr, but if you (or anyone else who recognizes you) are here and happen to see this, hit me up so I can tag you properly? *winces* Sorry for how long this got, guys, I found it really difficult to control myself!

MidnightCharm18188, whose comment on He Says She Says made me almost ridiculously happy. The fic was written when I was a lot younger and a lot more confused about my own orientation, etc., so having someone show up and tell me it felt like a relatable and realistic description of asexuality made me very relieved. And made it easier to consider writing other asexual takes on characters, like Tsuna in Cloud!Tsuna, well after this fic was posted.

@typervoxilations (here’s hoping this is actually your tumblr, since I’ve only interacted with you on ao3) - she’s shown up on a bunch of my KHR fics and dear god, comments like hers make me happy to be a writer. Long, ramble-y, filled with lots of thoughts about the canon and how it relates to the fic, and seemingly ready to throw ideas back and forth any time. *grins* Bless you for whatever you’ve said to me till date, friend, even if we don’t talk as much as we used to!

@msleilei for what they said on my fic On Courting, and actually leaving a review on both ffnet and ao3. Angsty X27 really is rare these days, isn’t it. Or it used to be, at least. There were so many oddly fluffy X27 fics coming out around the time I posted this fic, so your comment made me laugh out loud. *grins*

Like...dude. I'm just sitting here, browsing through the list and I saw an angsty X27 and I'm like, that's rare nowadays so I'm curious and holy mother of god I didn't even stay for the X27, I'm mostly impressed with how you told their story and how you built the world... it's fucking amazing I mean seriously. Ugh. I can't even express myself properly

Hope for what they said on my fic On Courting, because it managed to capture so many thoughts I had in my head while writing the fic.

Therefore this story is in all honesty the very antipodal of what I loved about the series. It's raw in the most honest and inconceivable way whether it be about the workings of the mafia or in the portrayal of the emotional and mental damage experienced by the individuals all originating from the strain of the mafia. The story is intricate with layer upon layer in ways the manga never was, the characters are no more two dimensional than me or you, they exude complexity, unprecedented. So when I read it for the first time months ago, it left me utterly taken aback. It was everything I hadn't sought out in the manga, but I loved every single damn thing about this story. 

Friend, even if you never see this post, you made me happy to have posted that fic. Since it’s the first purely KHR fic I ever wrote.

Tripucchi, whose comments make me scream when they show up. Every damn time, seriously.

Witch of Perception, who’s left comments on even my weirder fics. Thank you for everything you’ve said, I grin rather happily whenever I see a comment from you pop up. Especially this one from Expectations, though, because it was one of those fics that I really hesitated to post. For obvious reasons, I think. And this comment made me happy to have bitten the bullet and posted it.

To be quite honest, I mostly read this because you wrote it. It wasn't something I'd have clicked on without some other incentive (in this case, it's that I know for a fact that I've loved everything I've read of yours, so I was practically guaranteed good writing), for all that I really like the idea of this OT3-- but man am I glad that I did.

I adored this Byakuran's characterization, and her relationship with this Tsuna. I love that sharp edge that you gave to this Tsuna, too, and the in-between conversations the two had, and what worldbuilding they gave. The Guardians' bickering and bantering was fun; I loved this Kikyou... and this Gokudera and Yamamoto. Basically everyone and everything. So, all in all I'm very glad you posted this. I feel like there isn't nearly enough of this pairing, and certainly not enough of this OT3. Thank you for the story, and I look forward to the other one.

asoftheart, who left me with this gem in Amber Heart, the first part of my Cloud!Tsuna series.

Okay so I finally got around to reading this and god was it perfect! The more of your KHR pieces I read the more delighted I become. I feel like I'm discovering Lys Ap Adin and Branch's works all over again!

Do I need any more reasons to want to squeak with joy about it? Do I? No, I don’t think I do. And yet the rest of your comment made me squeal loudly anyway.

Temper Tantrum and narue naru chan, for leaving comments on all my KHR fics, one after another, in what seemed like a single sitting. I was watching my inbox with wide eyes and a lot of glee, guys, thank you for blowing it up.

StarryNightSkyinaBottle, for their comment on It Takes Two.

This story absolutely enraptured me, I was giddy the whole way through. The flow dragged me along for the ride and the feeling of dread and of loneliness broke my heart. When it was revealed that it was HDW!Tsuna taking over the whole time, I wanted to shout to the rooftops (but i shan't, bc it's 6:47am and I don't want to wake anyone up). I had a bit of an inkling when "Self sabotage. It had to be." popped up, that part also broke my heart, but it definitely opened the doorway to figuring out the whole story and I love you for that.

I haven’t had the chance to respond to you on ao3 yet, but here I am saying that your comment captures so much of what I was trying to put across in the fic. Thank you.

aHostileRainbow, for their comment on Age as Fireflies at Dusk, because it made me cackle rather maniacally. With a whole lot of empathy, too, because THIS IS EXACTLY HOW I REACTED TO OTHER WRITERS I KNOW GETTING INTO THE YOI FANDOM DAMNIT.

What the fuck am I doing here I am not in this fandom at all but you wrote an amazing SAO crossover and now I'm hooked and I DO NOT HAVE TIME FOR ANOTHER FANDOM YOU TERRIBLY TALENTED PERSON. This is unfairly lovely.

bonehandledknife(lady winter)’s comment on c.02 of A Heart of Blades, which was a transcript of a real time chat they had with a friend while reading this chapter. I can’t even begin to describe how excited I was while reading this comment, seriously. I think I self-combusted with delight. And it’s sadly not in a format conducive to excerpts, and is probably too long to screenshot to share here. Friend, I suspect I might have scared you off with my exuberance, but know that the comments you left on this fic made me very happy.

hundredpercentwool’s comment on c.02 of A Heart of Blades.

...This image signals what the dynamics of their relationship will be like in the this AU, with Victor being Victor, but Yurri being more of a pillar of strength that Victor can lean on. I do think that they can or will be alternatively leaning on each other for their various weaknesses and personal demons. In Canon, Yuuri leaned on Victor more than the other way around and it was Victor descending to Yuuri from the heavens like some divine being to be his coach. But in this AU, it was more like Yuuri appearing to Victor in his numb despair, like a Muse appearing to an artist, and Victor really throwing himself after Yuuri because Yuuri seems to have some kind of secret strength about him that amazes Victor.

This is just an excerpt, but this comment helped me cotton onto something that I hadn’t actually noticed while writing the fic myself! Talk about comments that are inspirational and food for thought, whoof. Thank you so much, Elaine.

@onceabluemoonwrites, whose comments leave me with an unhealthily red face and a heart full of joy. How in the world am I supposed to give any excerpts of your comments, friend, you build them so well with fic-excerpts and gifs and reactions and- aaaah.

@voxofthevoid, for their comment on With War Drums Blazing. We didn’t actually know each other too well when you left this comment, D, so in retrospect I know exactly why you reacted this way to it. But I’d just been happy to get a comment that captured what I loved about the idea, back then. *grins*

I adore the altered dynamic here and am glad to hear it's high on your list on probable long fics. Yuuri as Death is a wonderful concept and his softer and sharper sides are wonderful representations.

Viktor, with that weird blend of efficiency and remorse, makes a fascinating character and it's amazing how much you've packed into these few thousand words.

And, obviously, @insanescriptist, who’s probably the singular cause of the majority of my weirder KHR fic ideas. Including the ones that I haven’t actually managed to finish writing and posting yet. I hope I’ve made obvious just how much fun I have throwing ideas back and forth with you, friend. SO much fun. I can’t even mention individual comments - I love them all. And they feel like a conversation, anyway, so it’s probably redundant to mention individual comments...

Again, thank you everyone who’s left me comments on my fics! Even if I haven’t mentioned you by name here, I read every comment I get. And they all make me squeal and flail in happiness. And make me run about telling everyone who’ll listen about the lovely words I’ve received. I mean, look at all you lovely people, taking the time to talk about why you like what you’ve read. You’re all so-

For all that my responses have slowed down because of ill health, as mentioned above, I hope to get back to all of you! Tumblr seems to be making me a bit more active and interactive, at the least, so there’s that. *awkward grin*

[book-o-scams]

Either 1. Do an analysis on the scene from A Fistful of Ed where Eddy sticks up for Edd. Starting from after Kevin leaves the scene to the end when the Ed's are sharing hotdogs. Or, if you don't wish to do an analysis (But, still think about doing an analysis) you can answer this question. What is your favorite thing about Eddy sticking up for Edd in a Fistful of Ed? *Look at the post on my page if you have any questions.

I love this scene SO MUCH!  I’m gonna do this under the cut, I don’t have time to comment on everything right now so I’ll add a few more comments after I get dinner.

These screenshots are from a folder I made forever ago labeled “Raw Eddy” because I LOVE the way Eddy’s rage from over the entire series finally boils over (pretty literally, the animators rev up his boiling outline to an extreme twitch before he erupts) and all that frustration turns out to be the group’s secret weapon against their biggest enemy at that time.

Ed clutching his heart is a thing that I keep noticing in the final stretch of the series and it does a good job repositioning Ed’s seemingly unhelpful nature to Ed just being too easily frightened by antagonists.  As Nazz clarifies in the movie, the Eds are all cowards and that’s a big reason they just accept defeat so often.

“HEY!!!”

I wonder if this is a reference to that angry point-up that Eddy did in ‘An Ed in the Bush’, which everyone took as this show’s version of the middle finger:

I really don’t have much to say about this scene after all the gushing I’ve done over the years.  I just appreciate how much you can read EVERYONE’s thoughts via their expressions as they process this scene.

Like, it interests me A LOT that May is now the one reacting the MOST like a Kanker in this moment, because it makes a good deal of sense since Lee and Marie are more interchangeably interested in Edd AND Eddy, but it really doesn’t come up much.  This may be the scene where I like Marie the most, too, because despite seeming like the hyper sister, Marie seems the least able to mask her fear when an Ed snaps.  Lee shows an interesting new shade here too, though, genuinely surprised but interested in seeing a respectable side of Eddy.

Tattoo this Eddy on my face

(sidebar: please do not break into my home and tattoo my face)

This Eddy too, GOD he’s drawn so well this whole damn episode.  Look at the arch of his mouth and how it’s already causing his eyes to bug out before the big eyeball gag.

And here’s that big eyeball gag!

Wow I never noticed that May needed to GRIP the ground to stay there.

Also note that only May manages to see every stage of this face.

ALL of those drawings just to say “HE’S HAD ENOUGH ALREADY!” Eddy is that scary, that animated, that completely outraged AND in-character, yet he isn’t even being mean!!  Everything he said in season 4 about being done with everything about the show (or his life, your call) finally gets put in action.  Edd acknowledges this afterward as a defiance of “a cliche show ending” and it’s hard not to feel the catharsis in the art, that after every trauma Eddy went through, he’s at least earned the right to get away with one big “FUCK YOU“ to the show itself, and yet it still manages to contain character growth, coming from a place of caring for his friends, that he manages to verbally express without being mushy.  This is a complete and utter triumph, and a testament to the show’s art style to boot!  PERFECT CAPPER TO THE PRE-FISTFUL WORLD.

It’s also just such a relief to think of how brief a time that was, that the Eds were pursued by the Kankers, if we are to believe the show follows one year June-October + winter specials + next summer movie.  Yet it’s also a little sad to think how quickly the Kankers changed the Eds’ personalities, when flashbacks suggest the characters had been more or less in a pleasant season 1 stasis for several years.

They are all visibly shaken.

“BEAT IT”

Marie surrenders and her eye darts between the scene’s current dominant figures.

Lee obeys, May ollies out, and Edd is pleased..

Then confused...

It takes a moment for this moment to sink in for Edd. Marie exits peacefully as well. Lee awkwardly hobbles away on her giant cast, reminding us what the Eds have gotten away with this week.

The surprise that this is really happening hits Edd.

This pout confounds me.. I think it’s meant to convey that Edd is really feeling the weight of this moment, but it reads a little more like he’s upset the Kankers are leaving, which is not how he acts for the rest of the scene.

I LOVE Marie looking back at them.  There’s a weird knowing feeling that this will lead to Marie dancing with Eddy instead of Edd in the episodes after this.

Finally, the focal point returns to just the Eds.

Edd immediately rejects any confusion that pout may have caused and blows a quick raspberry at the Kankers.

Ed gives Eddy the first round of compliments, and it feels good.  I don’t think it really matters the order in which he receives gratitude, but it does feel appropriate to have Ed be impressed first, since Ed has pretty much failed to acknowledge Eddy this whole story and also should realize by now that he can stop the Kankers from attacking his friends.  Imagine if this scene had followed the arc the story up until that point and portrayed Ed as the hero instead of Eddy?  It could have been fitting and sort of cute, maybe it would have turned Eddy a little nicer by witnessing it.. But with the hype created by The Best Day Edder marathon and the pressure created by the public acknowledgement that this would be the finale to a really infamously anti-Eds season, it feels so much more appropriate to separate this moment a bit and give Eddy a chance to show his softer side after being sidelining himself all day.

Cute

CUTE

Edd starts telling Eddy how touched he is by this act.

Eddy lowers his guard.

Eddy is MORE alarmed than Ed when Edd struggles to get up.

Eddy doing the most “this is as much concern as I think men are allowed to show” pose and expression...

Eddy raises his guard right back up.

But it’s okay, because Edd and Ed manage to exude cuteness from every frame for the rest of this thing, despite looking horribly injured.  In a weird way, I also really enjoy this episode beating the tar out of Ed and Edd and several kids, while Eddy just gets stepped on the gentlest way he’s ever been stepped on.

Edd puts a hand on his heart and praises Eddy’s “camaraderie,” the hardest word in the world for me to spell.

This pose...

hONESTLY THEY ARE SPOILING US

there’s even a wiener in his mouth

droop

Eddy trying to act like a tough guy still, does his best Popeye squint and tells Edd to “eat and shut up,“ but also gives Edd a friendly nudge on the chest and then eases into this oddly “exposed” expression.

P.S. this Edd is so cute too, haha

Ed asks for one and it makes Eddy get frilly for a second.

Eddy briefly seems to actually care about granting Ed’s wish.  This is also a cute Edd.

I HATE HOW EDD TURNS EDDY’S SKIN TONE FOR LIKE TWO FRAMES. Eddy’s face is humorously not-mean while he clearly know what he’s about to do.

Eddy wiseguys the sweetness out of the moment, but Ed’s still pleased.

Edd complains, however, and once again Eddy seems unhappy that he’s made things unsatisfying again.  This scene does a really good job summarizing Eddy’s struggle with being rightfully depressed but continuously misfiring it at his friends and regretting it.

Ta-Dah!  Eddy does his trick again and even does a silly gesture to lighten the mood.

Eddy looks a little embarrassed as he fetches his own hammerspace hotdog.  Edd graciously thanks him.  Ed’s circular chewing is very cute.

I wish there was a line, something less corny than “this is better than jawbreakers,” but still SOME way of internally comparing this scene to the Eds eating jawbreakers at the end of episode 1.  The general feeling I get from this ending, as an ending to the series, is that it doesn’t matter what they get at the end, as long as they enjoy something together.

As they all enjoy their dinner in such animated detail, Eddy double-checks that they’re all happy. Awww, he still wants to vocalize how much he’s trying to care.

Ed and Edd pose even cuter to express their joy and Eddy sighs “good,“ still clearly uncomfortable reveling after such a fit, but still relieved to have won something and been well-fed.

As the iris in/out closes on our redeemed little troll-man, he blurts out a little “jeez,” a similar undercutting beat to the previous series finale, with old man Eddy interrupting his friends’ laughter to complain about still wanting to be a kid.  However, as he continues chewing with the littlest bit of a grin, this episode manages to make it feel like false whining, Eddy needing to maintain his hardened cynical personality yet actually feeling satisfied for once.  I was so happy for him, and I’m so glad all the episodes afterward give him little victories as well.

[latestnews2018-blog]

There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than Joy Behar Embracing Socialism

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There Were Zero Things Better This Week Than Joy Behar Embracing Socialism

Welcome to Good Stuff, HuffPost’s weekly recommendation series devoted to the least bad things on and off the internet.  

The other morning on “The View,” we watched the seemingly eternal 1990s of our politics die in a heap next to Joy Behar’s coffee mug. It was something to see — morning TV chatting merrily about democratic socialism, Sunny Hostin reading the bullet points from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s platform, Joy Behar nodding along and smiling as if she were hearing the most sensible stuff in the world, Meghan McCain looking like the death mask of Marie Antoinette.

People had a lot of fun with McCain’s panicky reaction, and there are definitely pleasures to be had in the way she’s reduced to burbling about Venezuela and Margaret Thatcher. But pay attention to Behar, to the little shrugs, to the call-and-response with Hostin. Liberals have spent the better part of three decades building their program on the turf of the right, but here is Behar, in the soft heart of network TV liberalism, listening to a straightforward blueprint for a robust commonwealth and liking what she hears. No cringing. No nervous talk of the deficit. No crap appeal to the smallholding yeoman spirit of America as embodied in a low top marginal tax rate. Just a benediction: “Sounds like a really successful country.” ― Tommy Craggs

This American Soccer Star Rescuing A Young Fan From The Long Arm Of The Law

Grant Halverson/International Champions Cup via Getty Images

A young fan is stopped by security as he tries to talk to Christian Pulisic of Borussia Dortmund after an International Champions Cup game against Liverpool in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Sunday.

We didn’t get to see Christian Pulisic make his much-anticipated World Cup debut, but this week we got to see something infinitely more precious: the young Borussia Dortmund and U.S. Men’s National Team star rescuing a young fan from the arms of the authorities.

The boy had run up to Pulisic as he prepared for an on-pitch interview, apparently seeking an autograph. The star barely had time to react before security staff seized the kid and started carting him away. With speed and grace, Pulisic gave chase, extricated the boy and took a photo with his fan.

“I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.” – Captain Americapic.twitter.com/akAzzmuFhw

— Across the Pond (@ATPradio) July 24, 2018

If you think this “encourages bad behavior,” please keep it to yourself because I don’t care. All through the week, I would remember this moment and it would bring a tearful smile to my face: one bright spot in a relentlessly grim existence. ― Claire Fallon

“Godzilla: King of Monsters” Is Coming

I thought my favorite part of the “Godzilla: King of Monsters” trailer was going to be Godzilla shooting its minty fresh breath into the sky, or Kyle Chandler playing Millie Bobby Brown’s dad. I was so wrong.

Toward the end, Tywin Lannister himself (Charles Dance) shows up like he just rolled out of bed at Casterly Rock and says, “Long live the king.” This dude could’ve said, “Winter is coming,” and I wouldn’t be happier. I don’t know how this happened, and I don’t care. But if Godzilla is enough of a baller to make Tywin Lannister bend the knee and spew lines straight from “Game of Thrones,” all I gotta say is, “Long live the king.” ― Bill Bradley

This Week In Beautiful Male Friendships

“&IF MY BROTHER FALL YOU KNOW WHAT IMA DO 💁‍♂️” pic.twitter.com/ySmZnzX2z1

— ;🕊 (@GottahGogh) July 22, 2018

This has been on my mind all week. The tweet text, the photos and the spirit exuded by such a combination captures the true essence of friendship. This photographic evidence of love between friends signifies the importance of holding one another down — or up — when it’s required. I see this tweet and I wipe tears from my eyes. It pushes me to think about the people in my life who would do such physical labor for me. You gonna make sure I don’t fall, don’t drop my drink AND catch that twerk? ON YOUR WEDDING DAY??

Wow. I’ve just never seen such a solid friendship on the timeline before and I am deeply moved. God bless these men and their friendship. I pray they never argue or fall out. ― Julia Craven 

“Terrace House” Twitter

I’ve written before about “Terrace House,” the liltingly mesmerizing Japanese reality television show that now lives on Netflix. But this week, mere days before the most recent installment of “Terrace House: Opening New Doors” drops, I discovered that there are two Twitter accounts that exclusively post screenshots of “Terrace House” scenes devoid of context. And it turns out that “Terrace House” frozen in time may be even more profound and entertaining than “Terrace House” in action.

The world is burning and the only good thing is “Terrace House.” ― Emma Gray

All The Tributes To Jonathan Gold

Charley Gallay via Getty Images

The most wonderful thing I saw in the last week was the outpouring of appreciation for Jonathan Gold after he died on Saturday at the age of 57. Nationally, Gold will be remembered as one of the best to ever describe food’s many tastes and tingles, and the first food critic to win that most unreachable of honors: the Pulitzer Prize.

Those living within the city limits of Los Angeles will always appreciate Gold’s reviews of the city’s nooks and crannies as well. But what made Gold more than a food critic to the people of Los Angeles was that he showed the rest of the country what the city actually is. For as long as I’ve been alive, people not raised here have told people who were that they are any collection of words ― vapid, vain, superficial, uncultured, isolated and on and on. But Gold was our most lyrical defender. Los Angeles, he said, is not a collection of 4 million Paris Hiltons. It is diverse, enormous, multilayered, unique and, most of all, delicious.

Only in the last few years have people around the country started to catch on. That’s in no small part because of Gold, and it’s a more memorable achievement than any prize. ― Maxwell Strachan

My Friend Jen’s Role On “Orange Is the New Black”

Netflix

“Orange Is the New Black” is back for a sixth season, relocating to a maximum-security facility and triaging some of its umpteen-bajillion characters in the process. Old favorites had to go to make room for Alicia Hutton, a Boston felon played by none other than my dear pal Jen Keefe, the girlfriend of HuffPost’s deputy social media editor, Melissa Radzimski.

I remember when Jen was shooting the show earlier this year. She didn’t even complain about waking up before the sun had surfaced, and she raved about working with Laura Prepon, who directed the 11th episode. Jen (on the left in the photo) was worried her scenes would get cut, because what rising superstar doesn’t have horror stories about scenes getting cut? Lo and behold, there they are! In Episode 2, Jen calls Piper (Taylor Schilling) a meth head. In Episode 11, she’s a sidekick to Nicky (Natasha Lyonne). Go watch my friend Jen before she gets a big-shot Tinseltown agent and starts pondering the nature of fame in her Hollywood Hills compound! ― Matthew Jacobs

Whoever Set Betsy DeVos’ Yacht Adrift in Lake Erie

Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Cheers to the bold and brave who took one for the team and faced potential indictment for the unadulterated joy of causing harm to Betsy DeVos’ property. While teachers around the country are estimated to be paying up to $500 for school supplies out of their already meager salaries, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has at least 10 boats and two helicopters. Does that leave an icky feeling in your guts? Me, too. If only the boat had been along the coast and just floated out to sea. ― Anna Krakowsky

The ‘Sharp Objects’ Soundtrack

Jean-Marc Vallée got a lot of praise for the mixtape that was the “Big Little Lies” soundtrack. (Martha Wainright’s “Bloody Motherfucking Asshole”!) His new project, “Sharp Objects,” is steeped in carefully curated music, too. But Vallée preserves his show’s cinematic ether by seamlessly lacing the soundtrack into his scenes; Amy Adam’s character is constantly tuning the world out by blaring music on her headphones or in her car, while her stepfather, an eggheaded audiophile, is always tinkering with his record player. From Sylvan Esso to Engelbert Humperdinck to Led Zeppelin, the potpourri of hits is a part of Vallée’s dark universe. It all amounts to a gorgeous macrocosm almost as beautiful as Chris Messina’s sweaty little body. ― Katherine Brooks

The Amazing Interiors Of “Amazing Interiors”

Netflix is pumping up their home improvement TV game with another series, “Amazing Interiors,” which introduces us to eccentric homeowners whose seemingly ordinary spaces are full of design surprises. From a unique boat in London to a fallout shelter in an undisclosed location, this show, and its homes, are completely basic on the outside and utterly magical on the inside. Miss “Fixer Upper”? “Amazing Interiors” will surely be a new kind of addiction. ― Leigh Blickley

A Nice Little League Home Run

Generally speaking, I watch sports to see athletes do amazing things that neither I nor anyone else I know are capable of doing. That is not what happened in the Angels-White Sox game on Thursday when Andrelton Simmons hit a line drive to center field that should have been easy enough to field. Instead, the centerfielder whiffs, the ball rolls to the wall and Simmons is off to the races around first and then second base. As he heads toward third, White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson sails a throw over the catcher. Simmons jogged home for a nice Little League home run.

Every now and then, sports is fun, not because of the great moments but because watching talented people have momentary lapses of ability that turn them into the sort of baseball player I was as a child is funny as hell. ― Travis Waldron

A Heartbreaking Graphic Novel About Love And Grief

Amazon

This week, Vanity Fair’s Amanda Fortini published an epic profile of actor Michelle Williams (featuring a “delicious” cameo by HuffPost’s own Matt Jacobs). In it, Williams revealed she had secretly wed singer-songwriter Phil Elverum, also known as Mt. Eerie. Like Williams, Elverum lost a partner under devastating circumstances: His first wife, cartoonist and musician Geneviève Castrée, died of pancreatic cancer in 2016.

In the weeks leading up to her death, Castrée worked tirelessly on a graphic novel for her 2-year-old daughter called The Bubble. The tiny children’s book depicts Castrée and her daughter protected from the world by a bubble’s gentle membrane until it pops. Castrée died before the book ― a heartbreaking meditation on love, grief, memory and innocence lost ― was completed. It was recently published by Drawn & Quarterly. The Paris Review described it as “the saddest children’s book in the world.” After reading that VF article, it’s all I can think about. ― Priscilla Frank

These Puppet Show Reviews

My editor argues that I shouldn’t be on the culture team because I’m not engaged enough in “pop culture” — so here’s a 7-year-old series of articles that I think is funny.

Back in the heyday of The Brooklyn Paper, there was a column called “Dooley Noted” in which the self-described “foremost critic of puppetry and mime,” Thurston Dooley III, would attend “disastrous” children’s puppet shows in Brooklyn, New York, and then tear them to shreds in semi-regular reviews. From his article titled “The Wizard Of Blahs”:

Scholars say that the Golden Age of Puppetry — the mirth, the magic, the majesty — was in early 18th-century Vienna, a period when Austro-Hungarian craftsmen, artists, and musicians came together in an epic burst of collaboration and created something great.

It was an era when puppets became legends and puppeteers became gods. I mention those happy days as a way of introducing this mildly controversial thought: the Golden Age is dead.

The thought first occurred to me midway through the first act of Puppetworks’ disastrous production of “The Wizard of Oz” last week.

I know that local children’s show organizers were pissed about these reviews, because I worked at The Brooklyn Paper alongside Dooley at the time. I still don’t know his actual identity, but a lot of people believe him to be none other than the paper’s former editor, Gersh Kuntzman, who went on to work at the New York Daily News, Newsweek and now Streetsblog. ― Andy Campbell

Stickers!

Yumi Sakugawa is the goddess of illustrated self-care. I found out the other day she recently made a sticker pack to use in texts that features an adorably drawn person and a four-legged bat-squid-esque demon who meet for tea, inspired by a favorite section of her book Your Illustrated Guide to Becoming One With the Universe. Something about Sakugawa’s art feels so calming, so accessible and universal; its simplicity belies a deep understanding of human desire for connection. Now I can use her illustrations to convey my deep, twisty feels to everyone in my Contacts — or just send a teacup without context. At 99 cents, it’s an artist-supporting wallet-friendly win-win. In a tweet announcing the pack, the artist wrote, “Oh hi, been thinking a lot these days about shadow integration and loving your inner demons,” which really says it all. ― Jillian Capewell

Read last week’s Good Stuff.

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