#i knew it was same pose but when i went to rewatch.. he really said the same thing.. i love kingoh

[frida--y]

To all warriors... May the Shugods bless you!

[adrienneleclerc]

TikTok Gone Viral

Paring: charles Leclerc x Hispanic/Latina reader

Summary: Y/N used a specific TikTok audio and it goes VIRAL

Warning: spelling and grammatical errors

A/N: I had this audio in my head so like why not. It’s my version of making Y/N a “PR nightmare” as other fanfic authors put it

Y/N was scrolling through TikTok while Charles was washing dishes, as he should because she cooked, and came across a video of a girl using a Megan Thee Stallion song with the caption “ovulation week be like”. She thought it would be fun to use the same audio so she put her phone against the napkin stand they have in the counter and started recording.

I need *points to self* this pussy *points down* on his *points to Charles off screen* nose *points to her nose* I spread it, I spread it, I pose *random dancing*

However, she did not see Charles move into the frame as she danced because she had her head down and just posted it without looking back at it. She did caption it “needing my boyfriend a little too much lately” and just exited TikTok. Their relationship has always been private, no one really knew Charles was dating anyone after Alexandra and they’ve only been dating for a few months. At least it WAS private.

“What were you filming, Mon ange?” Charles asked.

“Just a silly little TikTok, muñeco, don’t pay mind to it.” Y/N said.

“Alright well I’m done with the dishes, you want to watch a movie?” Charles asked

“Can we watch ‘Nosotros Los Nobles’?” Y/N asked.

“Whatever you want, Mon ange.” Charles said.

“Get the chips.” Y/N said as she got up from where she was sitting to head to their bedroom for a blanket while Charles gets chips from the pantry. They both headed over to their couch, sat down, Y/N put the blanket over them, and Charles gave her the bag of chips and passed her the remote. “Okay, it’s has English subtitles, so I hope you find this movie funny.”

“I’m sure I will.” Charles said. Sadly, both fell asleep on the couch, charles was cuddling Y/N. However, with Charles’s phone charging in his bedroom, he missed multiple missed calls from the Ferrari media manager, Fred, Pierre, Arthur, and his other friends. Y/N also has missed calls from her friends

The next morning, Y/N woke up on top of Charles. She shook him awake.

“Muñeco, we fell asleep on the couch, get up.” Y/N said and Charles woke up.

“Mm, what time is it?” Charles asked.

“I Don’t know, my phone is charging in the room.” Y/N said, getting off the couch to get her phone.

“Can you get my phone too?” Charles asked.

“Sure thing, muñeco.” Y/N went to their bedroom and unplugged their phones and she was shocked to see how many missed calls both of them received. “Charles, you have so many missed calls, here.” Y/N handed him his phone.

“Thanks Mon ange.” Charles said. He unlocked his phone and called the media manager. “Hello?”

“Charles I’ve been trying to reach you yesterday, your girlfriend posted something on TikTok.” The media manager said and Charles was very confused.

“How do you know I have a girlfriend?” Charles asked and Y/N’s head popped up.

“What about me?” Y/N whispered asked and Charles made an “I don’t know” face.

“The whole world knows she your girlfriend because you’re in the background of her now VIRAL TikTok. I’ll talk to you later.” The media manager hung up and Charles looked at Y/N.

“Ma Belle, my beautiful beautiful girlfriend, what did you post on TikTok last night?” Charles asked. Y/N took out her phone to open up TikTok.

“Just a silly TikTok using a trendy audio…oh shit, I gained SOOO many followers.” Y/N laughed and Charles took her phone to click on her profile and see the video he posted. His eyes widened when he saw himself appear on screen. The video had 9.1 million likes, 60.7 thousand comments, 231.8 thousand saves, and 76.3 thousand shares. Y/N looked over his shoulder. “Oh that’s why the video went viral. Oh I’m so sorry, muñeco, I didn’t know you appeared, I didn’t rewatch the video before posting, are you in trouble?”

“I don’t think I’m in trouble but now I have to introduce you as my girlfriend.” Charles said. “We are no longer private, Mon ange.”

“Shit, I was doing so well without the hate comments.” Y/N pouted and Charles chuckled before kissing her.

“I hope you’re ready, Mon ange.” Charles said before he grabbed his phone to record a video. “Hello everyone, this is my girlfriend, Y/N. We have been dating for a few months. Say hello, Mon Chou.” Charles said, pointing the phone to Y/N.

“Hello” Y/N waved shyly. Charles pointed the phon back to him.

“We met at her job, she’s actually a bartender, it was after my break up with Alex, we talked, we hit it off, we started hanging out, and now we’re dating, not that it’s any of your business. But I like her a lot and we’re happy together.” Charles stopped the video and posted it on his Instagram.

“You really had to say I was a bartender?” Y/N asked.

“Well you are a bartender, mon coeur.” Charles said.

“Watch them say I’m only after your money.” Y/N said.

“But we both know that’s not true, your salary is pretty good AND you get tips. I am glad I don’t have to hide you anymore though, I can finally post pictures of us together.” Charles said, kissing her.

“Well I’m glad you’re happy. Do you have to go to maranello?” Y/N asked.

“Nope, you want to go out today? We could go on the yacht.” Charles suggested.

“Ooh, a picnic on the yacht?” Y/N asked,

“Yep.” Charles said.

“I’m gonna start cooking.” Y/N said already looking in the pantry to see if they have anything to make. Charles just looked at her with love in his eyes, now the whole world knows he has the cutest person as his girlfriend.

The End

Hope y’all liked it, I found this very fun to write. Also, is there a market for Logan Sargeant x Hispanic reader fanfics?

[winwinnns]

impress you (a) (s)

dancer! reader, dance teacher! yuta, hard dom yuta, sub reader (fem), degration, choking (kind of), exhibitionism? (they fuck in a dance studio) humiliation, minor spanking, mentions of edging, short aftercare

self indulgent. i love dancing and want to be apart of a group asap lol. maybe that’s sharing too much,,,,, anyways enjoy!

you took dance very seriously. it was an escape for you. you loved the way it felt after you’d spent so much time learning the moves and it finally paying off. you liked seeing how good you were, rewatching videos people had taken of you or watching yourself in the mirrors as you performed. you were pretty confident about your skills to say the least.

that was until the studio hired a new teacher. yuta nakamoto wore your confidence down. you had always been able to impress your teachers, but he never seemed happy with you. if you glanced in the wrong direction he’d tell you to be more focused. even if you enthralled yourself in a dance he’d tell you to be more passionate. he wasn’t like that to anyone else and that got on your nerves

you had started practicing at 7am, it was now 11 am. you weren’t satisfied with how it looked. you knew there needed to be absolutely no flaws in order to impress yuta.

“we should run it again” you suggest. your group members groaned.

your group leader sighed. “y/n i know how much this means to you but you need a break. we all do. even if it’s for 5 minutes will you come sit down with us?”

how could you take a break when it wasn’t perfect yet? you were focused now and you knew taking a break would shatter your determined state.

“you guys take a break. i’ll be fine.”

“but y/n-“

“i’ll be fine.” you said, walking over to the sound booth to restart the song.

you stared yourself down in the mirror, analyzing every single move. your love for dance was soon buried by your determination to please him. you’d practice at ungodly hours of the night to make sure you knew what you were doing.

whenever you went to your group members to complain about him, they always said the same thing.

“hes hard on you because he knows your good”

were you? you know you definitely used to be, but with yuta’s unrealistic expectations of you, you thought of yourself as just okay. an average dancer. that’s not what you wanted to be, but you accepted that you were.

the next day, the groups performed in front of each other. when it was your turn to perform, you were ready. you stood in your spot, waiting for the music to start playing. you felt yourself move fluidly, feeling the music in your bones. the beats bounced around your skull, you felt like a part of the song. you’d surely impress him this time. for once in a long time you felt good, your energy filling you with confidence. you felt like the best. you made eye contact with him and smirked, remembering all the times he grilled you about facial expressions. you had this in the bag.

the music stopped, you nailed your ending pose, looking at him again. the other dancers in the studio cheered for your group. you bowed politely and moved to the side, making room for the next group.

“okay. time for critiques. will the first group come to the middle of the room”

you weren’t nervous like you’d usually be. you knew you did good. you were ready to experience the feeling of impressing him, rewarding you for your hard work. you really did work hard. you took this more seriously then any other dance you’ve done with this group.

after complimenting your group members on their flow and energy, yuta turned to you.

“y/n, you need to work on your form. it was a little sloppy.”

sloppy?! you wanted to talk to him privately. how could he say that about you? you were doing so good you were sure of it. you really felt connected to the music. you knew for a fact your form was not sloppy.

after it was done, you went up to him. he was in a corner of the room, swiping at something on his phone.

“you never seem happy with me.”

he looked up from his phone.

“what?”

“every time i dance you always find something wrong with it. even if i do really good you never compliment anything. why?”

“because you’re not doing your best.”

you mouth hung open. what was he talking about? you have absolutely been doing your best. you were at the top of your game this week. you even reminded your partners of the moves you knew them so well. you had put all of your emotion into this performance and he still thought it wasn’t good enough.

“what do you mean? that was one of my better performances.”

“it was a good performance, but i know you can do better.”

do better? your all wasn’t enough for him. you wanted to punch him. that was your best. you knew it’d be hard to top it.

everyone had left the room, leaving you and yuta alone.

“your expectations are so fucking high. i know i came very close to being perfect this time. i worked my ass of. i put all of my free time into perfecting this and you have nothing good to say about it?”

you knew swearing unprofessional, and it wasn’t going to help anything. but you didn’t care. you were so pissed.

“y/n.”

“all i wanted to do was impress you. i did my absolute best. it feels like nothing i do is ever good enough for you.”

he ran his fingers through his hair. “god will you just shut up.”

“excuse me?”

you were taken aback. he did not just tell you to shut up. no fucking way. he moved closer to you, faces only inches apart.

“i said shut up.”

you could feel his breath fanning your face. he was really really hot. what. you thought to yourself. what the fuck is going on.

“holy shit” you whispered.

he smirked. “what”

you stared at his lips. they were really nice. you wanted to kiss him. what has gotten into you? you gulped. his finger went to trace your throat.

“got nothing to say now, huh baby?”

he called you baby. holy shit. it sounded so hot coming from him. you wanted him to say it again. you just looked at him, his eyes were dark with something unknown.

you kiss him experimentally, your lips molding together. his hand wraps around your throat. you squeak, loving how it feels.

he bites your bottom lip, making you whine. he pulls away.

“needy already?” he scoffed.

he brought his hands to your hips, pulling you closer.

“you know, i hate dealing with needy sluts.” he licked his lips. “but i’ll make an exception this time.”

he pushed his lips against yours. this kiss was rougher. you squeezed your thoughts together. just kissing him was making you feel good, you wondered what else he would do. you hoped he wouldn’t leave you high and dry.

“take this off.” he said against your lips. he tugged on your shirt. you took it off quickly, returning to his lips. he smirked

“eager aren’t we? you want me that bad?”

you nodded. you really needed him. you didn’t care how you just wanted him to touch you.

“say it.”

“i want you yuta.”

“take your pants off.”

you pushed your sweats down aggressively tossing them away from you

he rubbed you through your panties. you immediately ground down on his hand, moaning at the feeling. he hummed and focused on your clothed clit, rubbing hard.

he leaned you over the sound booth, tearing your panties down. he fingered you for what felt like 4 seconds before taking his cock out of his underwear. he rubbed the tip up and down your slit, chuckling when you begged for more.

“does it feel good?” he asks

you nod.

“then why would you want anything more?” he teased “what if i only do this. could you cum from it?”

you shake your head “no yuta please give me more!” you push yourself backward against his cock.

he tsked. “now baby you need to be patient. i’ll fuck you when i want to.”

you whined and pushed back more. he slapped your ass before rubbing the pain away.

“what did i say?”

he laced his fingers in your hair and pulled your head up.

“repeat what i said.”

you moaned. “be patient and you’ll fuck me when you want to.”

“if you knew what i said why did you disobey? you’re such a needy bitch.”

you moaned again. you loved it when he degraded you. you never thought you’d be into something like that. it made you feel so good.

suddenly he pushed into you. you gasped. he was larger than you were used to.

“fuck you’re so big!”

he smirked and slapped your ass.

“i know. can you take it?”

you knew he wasn’t really asking. your walls swallowed him up. he thrusted into you slowly.

“how does it feel? you like it when i fuck you like this, where anyone could walk in?”

“yes i love it! please fuck me harder!”

“mm what would your group members think if they walked in on this? seeing you so needy and taking my cock. you’re just a horny little slut aren’t you”

you moan and nod. he fucked you faster. you felt so pliable in his hands, his words making you impossibly wetter.

“you’re so lucky we aren’t at my place. i’d edge you so much for being an annoying little brat.”

he pounded into you chasing his release.

“rub your clit.” he ordered

you complied and moaned as soon as your fingers make contact with your clit, back arching. he grabbed your hips, nails leaving indents in your skin.

“fuck yuta.” you whined. you were close. “please don’t stop.”

he chuckled and pulled your head up by your hair. his lips latching onto your neck. he bit and sucked marks onto you, the feeling making you that much closer.

“i’m close!”

he hummed against you neck. “you gonna cum for me? show me how good my cock feels in your slutty pussy?”

you whined. “please please please don’t stop!”

“wasn’t planning on it baby.”

there it was again. baby. the name rang through your ears. it made you feel warm. you wanted him to call you that all the time. it was the last thing you needed to cum.

“fuck!”

you came on his cock. he thrusted into you faster before pulling out and releasing on your back. you both panted, catching your breaths.

“holy shit.” he said. “that was so hot baby”

he took off his shirt and used to to clean your back. he pulled you up and help you in his arms.

“you did really well.”

you flushed at his words, nuzzling into his chest.

“thank you.”

he rubbed your back for a little while before getting your clothes and handing them to you.

“we should do this again.” he suggests.

you nod furiously. “yes please.”

he chuckled. “oh, and i’ll try to go easier on you.”

with that he put on his hoodie and left, leaving you alone to put on your clothes. you felt some sort of satisfaction. you had pleased him. not in the way you were expecting, but it felt just as good.

[cellsshapedlikestars]

Are you excited about tonight and tomorrow bachelor finale? I heard that alums think that it will be the most dramatic finale in franchise history and it will rival all others. i don't believe it's going to blow every finale out of the water. LMAO. the alumni are being ridiculous. i AM excited to see claydough get dumped. and i'm not sorry about it. Like If I’m Rachel and Gabby and you slept w me to “test our sexual chemistry” and yet the one who wasn’t giving you any cookies is still the one you say want most? And ALWAYS wanted most as you took me to bed and screamed, ILY? Oh I’m cussing you out, but that’s just me.

IT BETTER BE DRAMATIC, ANON. I DESERVE IT.

(Unclear if any finale could beat Arie with how godawful uncomfortable it was. I have never been more on the edge of my seat during this show than that. Not in a good way though)

I've calmed down a bit since last week, though I'm still frustrated with the way everything went down. I want tonight to be dramatic but not frustrating, because after last week & Love Is Blind, I'm very over reality shows. I couldn't even watch the new regency-era based Bachelor knockoff that I was so excited about.

Also, I think my week last week didn't help how upset I got over the episode. It was a very stressful week and it honestly hasn't gotten better lol so I'm sort of dreading tonight. Like I'm already stressed & upset about personal things and now I have to watch THIS STUPID SHOW? And I have to do it all without my Bachelor bff because she's away on a work trip and I have to live text her what's happening while she's at a business dinner.

And so because I've had a week to think about it and I'm TRYING to be a bit more diplomatic, here's where I land regarding last week's episode:

1) yes, Susie probably should have brought up how important sex was to her, but also... is that solely on her? Why isn't it also up to Clayton to tell her how important sex is to him (in the opposite way, that he thinks sex is important to a relationship and so he wants to explore that with all of them, which is fine). Either way, it probably should have been brought up prior to the fantasy suites.

2) I wonder if Susie was prompted a lot by producers. Like maybe she wasn't THAT dead set against it until they got in her head. I wouldn't be surprised. I've also heard it posed that she didn't say anything as a sort of test to Clayton, which I hate the idea of because it really reinforces the manipulative woman stereotype, but... it also could be true (whether she was aware she was doing it or not)

3) I do NOT think Clayton was gaslighting her, which I do feel the need to bring up because when I posted the texts between my bach bff and I, she did use that word while we were both live reacting and very upset. I haven't rewatched the episode, but I don't think it actually applies. I still don't like how he responded, but I don't think it was gaslighting and I want to be clear on that because I think that word gets thrown around a lot. Same with "abusive".

4) I still sort of think he used the I love you's as a get out of jail free card. He said them so deliberately to all 3 women, even using some of the same language & phrasing to do it. With Rachel & Gabby, he turned around and yelled that he loved them as he walked away the next morning in like... the same exact way lol. And then his "I knew something like this would happen", he clearly understood that some of the women might not be ok with it, but thought "well I love them too, just a bit less than you" would get him out of it. Again, this is a theory and maybe not something he knowingly did, but... still

5) I sort of wish the conversation between Susie & Clayton hadn't been focused on the sex part. I don't even think that's the biggest deal breaker (though maybe it is for Susie). The fact is, he still told all 3 women that he loved them while knowing he could only pick one, knowing he HAD to break two of their hearts. And again, it was a decision he made, he did not blurt the words out. He made grand speeches.

6) no matter how this was handled and how it went down, it seems like Clayton and Susie don't have compatible views on some things and it's probably best they aren't together.

7) Still completely blindsided that it was apparently Susie? I swore it was Rachel.

8) there's no way Rachel or Gabby could get past this. Even if they're both totally fine with the sex stuff (which I think Gabby is), how do you get past him saying he loves all of you, but he loves the one that isn't you more? I don't think there's a way past it, tbh

9) Gabby for Bachelorette, please. PLEASE.

[mc-critical]

So I was rewatching some of MYK Season 2 and it had me thinking..do you notice the insane amount of parallels and overall similarities in character arcs between MYK’s Beyazied (Gulbahar’s son) and MY’s Mustafa (Mahi’s son?). Both had a sense of undying loyalty and love/respect to the respective sultans of their time while also meeting their demise at the sultan’s hands, both maintaining positive relationships with their half-siblings despite opposition from their enviornments, both being the only children of mothers who weren’t favorites but were extremely politically ambitious and skilled. Both being princes popular with the janissaries of their time and were seen as a looming threat towards the sultan’s power. I even feel like like Beyazied and Mustafa were similar in their disposition and sense of justice and morality. Tell me am I wrong here because I really can’t unsee it they feel so similar to me😭

Yes, MCK Bayezid and MC Mustafa share the same character archetype (hence why they have the parallels you mentioned), but that's the only thing they're similar in for me. The archetype is only a baseline for both of their characters - their development goes in a very different direction.

The thing that sets them apart the most from the start, is that Mustafa's strenghts and flaws are shaped more by sheer personality, while Bayezid is a character shaped more by curcumstance. That leaves room for more development for Bayezid where he eventually changes his stance on people around him, while despite of every hint of change, intrigue or word of advice, Mustafa's principles and beliefs stay the same.

Both Mustafa and Bayezid have a missing part of their lives that shapes their flaws, but that part is different in both of them. No matter how much support Bayezid seemingly had, he always missed his mother and wanted to see her face he's long forgotten, he wanted to see her all the more with each and every letter of hers. And once that chance presents itself, thanks to Murat, no less (good job, lad, good job, indeed....), he would surely want to see his back from exile mother in a good light, despite of all the wrongs she has done. That's why Gülbahar was Bayezid's blind spot. His love and respect for his mother goes beyond comforting her, defending her, hiding her mistakes and saving her from death, something that Mustafa would be also likely to do - with each event passing, Bayezid also begins to listen to her more and more, becomes convinced of her words that he's born in a middle of a war and sets himself even further against Murat and Kösem. Mustafa, on the other hand, has always been next to Mahidevran in every step of the way, with everyone around him avoiding their separation at all costs, hence he can be much more independent of her perspective. She can only go so far with opposing Mustafa's decisions, he always ends up choosing to do what he sees as right and just, even when his beliefs are challanged. He doesn't let his beliefs to be challanged by anyone. He doesn't want to let his beliefs to be challanged by anyone. He loves his mother deeply and he's also developed a need to protect her at all costs, but that need is based on his awareness of all she has experienced and to prevent her to suffer or worry ever again, not out of missing her whole self, which makes it a need outside of Mustafa's own predicament and decisions.

Mustafa wanting to keep his principles firm originates from his wish to prove himself to his father. Süleiman is Mustafa's blind spot. We see how much he wants to be next to him and have his attention even when he was little and since Mustafa was given a sense of purpose ever since then, too (while Bayezid has been living a life where he didn't yet see the dangers of the world in their fullest extent before Murat's complete downfall and before Gülbahar; he even mentioned to her that he didn't want the throne, even though he was constantly suspected of betraying Murat.), sure he would want to prove himself worthy and follow what SS (and Ibro and Mahi to an extent, too, but especially SS) has taught him when it came to ruling. (like when he chose justice instead of SS's order in E92, which, even though he disobeyed, wouldn't be right or just, since that person was slandered. Musti revealed that he acted like what SS has told him in the past, it being justice is most important.) Even when his father acted against him, Mustafa trusted him blindly, refusing to believe that a father could ever kill his son, even in close probability, no matter what everyone else around him said. (he wrote the letter when Cihangir told him of SS's words in E123, but Musti went to SS anyway, his trust being much stronger than his biggest inkling of suspicion.) He loved him too much, even when he slowly came to realize the growing wedge between them, never succumbing to the temptation to directly rebel against him. (except the kaftan situation, where his trust was directly put into question by a supposed action of his and even then Musti went to merely confront him and die as a warrior if it lead up to this, not kill him, and the trust became stronger than ever afterwards.) Bayezid, on the other hand, always sensed the danger Murat posed in some way, and he realized that no matter how much he proved his loyalty at first and refused drastic action at first, he would always keep suspecting him. Bayezid was allowed to see Murat in his biggest cruelty, at one point, Bayezid didn't see him as fit to rule anymore and was more than ready to dethrone him after an act too cruel by him in Bayezid's eyes. Even when he respected Murat, Bayezid didn't seem to want to prove his worth as much to him or to have gained his principles and beliefs by him and the bond between them wasn't as close, not for Bayezid. The cruelty of the world and Murat's own cruelty grew more and more, hence Bayezid became more open to criticize them and more ruthless, as a result of this. He strived to evade his wrath more than anything. And at one time, there was no turning back now between Murat and Bayezid, which also played a part in his execution.

The way Mustafa views Hürrem and the way Bayezid views Kösem are both very different, too. While I don't feel Mustafa completely hated Hürrem, per say and even in S04, he was rather done with her bullcrap than anything else, he had some resentment for her. He was aware that she played a part in Mahidevran's suffering and sensed that Hürrem giving birth hurts his mother. Still, he knew where the line was: he respected her position as a Sultana and the mother of his brothers, didn't blame her instinctively, didn't fault Cihangir for choosing his own mother in the kaftan sutuation and was willing to listen even in the peak of his resentment. (in E121, where he didn't believe that she wasn't behind the trap.) Bayezid had a more familial bond with Kösem, since she was like a mother to him when his real mother was missing. I feel he appreciated all the care she took for him and even loved her until a point. But once he turned against her, the mutual respect between them was gone completely, with him eventually discarding all she did for him and Kösem disowning him. His resentment for Kösem slowly grew through Gülbahar: the seeds were planted with the letters she was sending to him, which made Bayezid feel he didn't belong, opening a hole in his heart, and then Bayezid being open to listen to Gülbahar more and more with her setting him against both Murat and Kösem. Bayezid tied Kösem to Murat, while in truth, she acted outside of him. Bayezid eventually became convinced that Kösem was a danger. But while circumstances also helped, him standing "on the other side of the war" was bound to break them apart. Bayezid and Kösem already had different goals. The more he sided with Gülbahar's view, the more that cemented their rift. He fully stood against her once she confronted him about him hiding Gülbahar, that made him give up on her to the point he agreed to have her killed in the Eski Saray, since then it would be easier to take down Murat. Despite of Mahidevran's view and experiences, Mustafa's resentment of Hürrem grew because of her own actions: all her attempts to kill him are what made him embittered towards her to the point of him declaring that he won't have mercy on her and Rüstem. He views her actions separately from those of Süleiman- he's aware that she's trying to eliminate him with all her might and that she could maybe involve Süleiman in that, too, but still strives to see a bigger picture. All that is why his actions against her are more defensive than they're offensive and only go so far as to show her her place in some way, not to directly try to kill her, since he regards the feelings of his siblings, too. He sees her and Rüstem as a tandem in S04, but even then he would do actions more against Rüstem than against Hürrem.

I would say that Mustafa has a better relationship with his brothers than Bayezid. He truly loves them a lot and always considers what they have to say, no matter what, but his brothers themselves, even Selim, loved him, too, and never got in conflict with him, expect for the aftermath of him saving Selim from the janissaries, some side scenes with Mehmet when they made amends almost immediately or that one case where they both were little. And he indeed never stops caring about them. I wouldn't say the same for Bayezid, however. While he did share the same affection Mustafa had for his brothers at first, Kasim always had a strained relationship with him and it kept getting more and more strained by each day (even Ibrahim resented him at one point, too). And yes, truly, Bayezid did try to reach out for him many times, Kasim seeing Bayezid and Gülbahar's secret firsthand and the whole Kalika situation sealed things between them to the point of no return. He set himself against Kasim completely, turning out that Gülbahar succeeded to drive the wedge between them. (of course, Mahidevran also had this similar intent, but what I found interesting with her is that, E55 aside, she mostly tried to make Mustafa look at them merely as rivals and in E69 she did tell him that his love for them made her proud regardless; I'm preparing a whole post about comparing Gülbahar and Mahidevran I hope I'll finish some day ahahah) By deciding to take what's rightfully his, Bayezid disregarded his brothers, too. (I understand why he did, but still.) His perspective on them changed just like everything else.

I agree that both Mustafa and Bayezid have a sense of justice, but while Mustafa's justice is based more on morals, principles, nobility, familial bonds and "doing the right thing" in general, Bayezid's justice becomes more "warped". Bayezid sees many injustices done to him or his mother and no matter how much he held back from acting the way his supporters wanted him to, he comes to respond to the injustice with injustice, as well. Or worse yet, he already views the injustice as justice. He perceives leaving his previous, "purer" principles behind as what is right and since he's in a war, he's already ready to do "whatever it takes" to ascend the throne. It's like he restrained himself for too long while reality around him ensued. Mustafa was always aware of this reality, even if deep down inside, even when he was trying to deny it when it came to SS, yet he chose not to leave "his own self" behind. Despite of all the intrigues against him, he responded to the injustice with justice. He held onto this until the end. He held onto this in spite of every opposition or injustice. And yes, both of these approaches were to Mustafa and Bayezid's detriments, respectively, in their distinct circumstances.

Sure, both of Mustafa and Bayezid did "the right thing" prior to their executions (going to SS - choosing not to go to the persian şah as a way out). It was expected for Mustafa, due to his established character and flaws, but for Bayezid it has become the exception - I saw him as more irritated that Gülbahar and Sinan worked behind his back when he told them not to a while ago, but maybe when he didn't succeed to do what he attempted to get on the throne, he decided that he'd rather die, but not run. And his mother's safety was still his first priority, even in death. Even then he didn't exactly realize his mistake, rather that he would be executed for it, since he still acted high and mighty in front of Kösem. Mustafa wasn't really aware of why SS called him in the first place, he wasn't aware of the intrigue with the letter, he didn't know what went wrong, hence he didn't have a true reason to doubt all that, despite of the words of everyone else, so of course he approached the situation like he typically would. It was only Cihangir's words to him where the doubt appeared and he still didn't back down on his decision. Bayezid took a more immediate decision based on curcumstance (with one scene with him ruminating in his chambers), while Mustafa took the decision he usually would. They were both executed by their fathers, but due to different reasons and even before the executions and with their once same foundation as characters, both of them acted differently here.

Though no matter how different they turn out to be in hindsight for me, I still consider MCK Bayezid as a response to MC Mustafa anyway - what MC Mustafa would've been if he let curcumstance influence him and decided to act against his father. (I also did mention in your previous ask about Mustafa that the fandom does tend to view him as MCK Bayezid's exact copy sometimes, but that isn't quite true.) When the crippling realization that your parent could disregard you comes through and you decide not to stand by that and let your survival instinct kick in, after all. Anyhow, I find both of them very interesting to compare and contrast and I love both of their characters, so thanks for giving me the chance to delve into this topic at last. ^^

[huebris808]

Dr. Hofnarr’s Horrible, No-Good, Very Weird 15 Years Of Being Dead.

a tribute to fanon interpretations/character study(?) that was going to be a bonus chapter in a post-canon/au comedy fic im working on! might come back to expand on this when i do start posting it (or if mpn gives him more background story lore that i’ll have to work with aoAHGHOAUGH)

happy madness day! :o)

“Where should I begin… Perhaps at the very beginning? OH! Christoff and I first met years before our Nexus days! Back in our freshman years of college, to be precise! You know, I was actually a theater major before switching to- ... A-Aah, too far back. Much too far... Let’s start from the point where the notes I supplied to you ended then, shall we? After our dissension...”

.. “Good luck, old friend...” ..

The first years on the run from Nexus was stressful to say the least. Hofnarr and Christoff had split up to better their chances of survival. He knew the process would be grueling, having talked to Christoff almost every night about it to calm his nerves. While he played calm for the cameras, Hofnarr truly wished he could have held him close one last time. No communications. No physical contact. Day after day, month after month, nothing. He would be separated from his husband for a very long time…

It wasn’t all bad after a while. He had a comfortable new apartment, went under a new alias, and his questionable new job paid him enough to buy food. His apartment even had cable! He could watch marathons of Slaughter Time whenever he got home! In hindsight, he wondered if that had an effect on his mental state at the time...

Hofnarr had taken the last of his S3LF regulator with him, having shipped them out to an undisclosed location prior to dissension. Dissonance exposure did a number on him and his research team, leaving them to track their “normality” through daily blood tests and injections. While they met their fates early on, Hofnarr had gotten lucky. That is, until the doses began to run out.

Stressful as it was, he knew what he had to do. Hofnarr rushed back to what remained of the labs, knowing it had been abandoned by now. It was ironic, he and Christoff’s work, the work that was turned against them, was the one thing keeping him alive. For days, he worked to make more doses from the materials he brought with him. But there was only so much he could do with limited supplies… Hofnarr made many attempts to prolong the inevitable, lowering his dosage amount, injecting it weekly rather than daily, but he eventually ran dry. 

Refusing to turn to darker alternatives, he felt the only thing he could do at this point is record his final findings through video logs.

“It was… interesting revisiting the footage, to put it nicely. Christoff had actually kept the video files on a drive after he originally found all my things in the lab! I barely remembered what happened back then, so I rewatched them out of curiosity.”

On the first night, Hofnarr recorded a message for Christoff. One filled with sorrow, but also with gratitude. For the time that they spent together. How special he made him feel. All the memories they made together...

On the next, he recorded a log detailing his findings during Project Nexus. The effects of dissonance, the Other Place, what it did to him and his colleagues, everything and anything he could.

The next, he reported on the progression of his symptoms. Fever, brain fog, insomnia, joint pain. He felt like his organs were melting, his skin bursting at the seams.

The next night he saw something and remembered. Scars. The scars on his head. That week he was in the staff hospital. He thought it was a dream but the scars were there. Phobos. Director Phobos brought him somewhere that week. He knew he felt off when he woke up in the office that night. He knew something was off when Christoff asked him where he was. He thought he passed out from over-working. That bastard Phobos. Nausea was replaced with rage as he began to scream, his throat becoming raw. What did he put in him? What the hell did he put inside him!?

On the last recorded log, he was face-down on the ground. Groaning as his body occasionally convulsed. Until the video feed eventually cut off.

His body would lay there dormant, dead, for fifteen years. 

But to Hofnarr, he felt like he was dreaming.

.. “LET’S GIVE IT UP FOR OUR NEXT CONTESTANT!” ..

“Huh?” The doctor sat up and looked around, the area around him pitch black. Wasn’t he sleeping just a moment ago? He got up and took a step forward in the seemingly endless void. “H-Hello? Who’s out there?”

“AWW, DON’T BE SHY NOW! ESTEEMED AUDIENCE, A BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR GUEST; THE UNFORTUNATE DOCTOR HOFNARR!”

A light shined down on him from above. A crowd seemingly began to cheer all around him. He was in the center of what looked like a talk show set. Hofnarr awkwardly scratched the corner of his face. “‘Unfortunate’? W-What do you mean? W-Who are you?”

“FIGHT FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LATER!” The voice above him called out again. “AFTER ALL, IT’S…!” Hofnarr drowned out the noise while trying to think. It sounded familiar. Like it came from…

Hofnarr’s thoughts were cut short. He looked down at his torso. Terror set in as he recognized an entire stop sign had been lodged through his chest.

“DON’T GET COLD FEET NOW! THE SHOW’S ONLY JUST BEGUN!” 

The words echoed in Hofnarr’s mind as he frantically tried to pull it out, his vision growing muddled, his hands slipping with blood until…

He blinked.

No stage. No sound. No pain.

Nothing around except for a single white door in front of him.

He stood up again, cautiously reaching for the doorknob.

When he entered he seemed to be in a vintage styled home. It was a kitchen with checkerboard flooring, a table with two chairs, and cheerful music playing through a small radio. It smelled of pastry and medical equipment. Suddenly, there was a knock coming from the door. A familiar voice called from behind it.

“I’m home, dear.” “J-Jeb?!”

Hofnarr rushed towards the front door. Christoff wasn’t trapped here too, was he? “Jeb! W-where are we!? What is this place? What happened to-”

As he opened the door, the clapping returned.

His husband was there, briefcase in hand, his face replaced with a black hole dripping with an unknown inky substance.

He slowly began to back away as “Jeb” moved closer.

The applause, the laughter, was deafening.

Before he could question or run away, Hofnarr was hit by something. His vision blurred, but refocused to be face-to-face with something. It seemed to be a shadow of himself. He tried to run again, but was pinned down by his doppelganger. The clone raised a clawed hand above him and then...

Like waking from a nightmare, Hofnarr quickly sat up once again. He gasped for air, dripping with cold sweat.

Was this really happening? Was it finally over? Was he free?

And then the spotlight focused on him again.

“It… got very surreal. Despite fight after fight, death after painful death... I would suddenly be somewhere else! There was a gameshow, our old apartment, a cat cafe, a... strip club of sorts, a tea room filled with these small armless doodles I used to draw on my research notes trying to offer me snacks… One time there was a sort of singing contest, but I won’t bore you with the details of that one. But when I wasn’t in those places, I felt like I was fighting for my life. It felt like an eternity! And the strangest part of it all? It… it became addicting.”

At first, he felt as if Hofnarr used all of his energy, physical and emotional, to fight back. It reminded him too much of his escape from Nexus. But as time went on, he focused less on escaping and more on surviving. The more he fought, the more he began to lose himself. He was anticipating what sudden whiplash of combat would be thrown at him next. He chuckled at the thought of what excitement would be heading his way. He wanted more. The fights became too slow. Too predictable. Too boring. He began toying with whatever was thrown at him. Turning his shadowy hunters into the hunted. Why let his audience watch the same old fights all the time?

Suddenly, the fighting stopped.

Why? 

He was having fun, wasn’t he? He grew impatient.

“WHAT’S THE HOLD UP!” He yelled into the void, seething with anger. “AREN’T WE SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING? ISN’T THAT WHAT I’M HERE FOR?!”

He stomped his foot down, lodging something out of the ground.

The stop sign.

He looked over it curiously. How familiar…

Grabbing hold of it, quick flashes of memories appeared to him.

Nexus, the Science Tower, Phobos, the Other Place… 

A man with long hair standing next to...

Hofnarr… 

Who was that? Was that him?

No…

Only Tricky remained.

Footsteps echoed throughout the halls of the abandoned lab. Heels quickly clicking, cautiously stopping every so often. A lone Nexus Core agent entered through one of the doors.

Perfect timing.

“HAY! YOU THERE!!” A voice stuttered and glitched out, reverberating through the emptiness of the lab. The quickly soldier whipped their head around. “YEAH! YOU, STUPID. PLAY WITH ME!!”

“Who’s there?” The agent pointed their magnum towards the noise. “Show yourself!”

Gladly. The cackling figure emerged from the shadows, posing with a peace-sign, causing the agent to recoil. He grinned, slowly moving towards the cowering goon on the ground. They wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Who are you!?”

They couldn’t kill him.

“FIGHT FIRST. ASK QUESTIONS LATER! AFTER ALL…” 

CAN’T KILL CLOWN.

“IT’S MURDER TIME!”

..

“My body had been there, regenerating and repeating the enmeshment process for years. And by the time I woke up, I was a completely different person. I became a creature of unfiltered impulse… A personification of chaos itself.”

The room grew silent before Hofnarr spoke up again.

“I-Is it horrible to say it was… kind of cool?” He said with a nervous chuckle, twiddling his fingers.

2BDamned was quiet for a moment. They recalled the many times they had to stitch their comrades back together due to Clown Moments. They placed their head in their palms and let out a sigh.

“... You have the right to your own opinion.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BONUS: songs i was listening to on loop while working on this instead of doing my damned writing assignment. Enjoy

lady gaga ft. dorian electra - replay

vestik - tricky's vengeance ft. monocronic

[dreaminae]

We All Need The One Friend

Chapter 8

Hours rolled by as sunlight shifted to moonlight. Friendly competition soon became dangerous as personal tensions rose within the group.

"Rise of Batman!" One person guessed of Jordan's pose.

"Transformers!" A friend playfully argued.

Jordan changes poses in hopes that it might be easier to guess.

With time up, Jordan cracked up as everyone failed to guess his term.

"Okay, what even was that?" Simone giggled.

"Back to the future." Jordan responded in a 'duh' tone as if everyone should've known. "Greatest movie of all time!"

"I've never watched that movie in my life." Simone chuckled, "Plus, the greatest movie of all time is Parasite. Hello!"

"Jordan doesn't do subtitles." J.J laughed. "Like have you met my man?"

Everyone joined in the laughter, but Simone couldn't help but feel like it was strange that she hasn't known a small detail like that.

The game went on as Vanessa took the reigns.

"One word." One person shouted.

"A place. No no, a person." Another one added to list of clues.

"Uh, a painting.... a movie." Layla interjected.

"No, a plane. Wait, what?" One of them fumbled over when Vanessa switched stances.

"You're on a plane."

Giggling, Vanessa changed gestures again.

"Bald. You're bald. A bald eagle." J.J guessed.

"No, not an animal." Vanessa choked up.

"Aye, no cheating." Jordan chuckled as Vanessa spoke.

"C'mon guys." Vanessa encouraged, ignoring Jordan's rules. "You had a poster of him in your room when your ten." She spat out in Asher's direction.

"Samuel L. Jackson!" Asher shouted, jumping up as if he won the lottery.

Liv glanced between the two of them as if they grew two heads. It was stupid how one small detail held a bigger picture.

"Well, you don't get a point for that one." Simone scrutinized, gaining a careless shrug from Vanessa.

The game rolled on, leading to Spencer's turn.

Galloping his feet and twirling his arm, Spencer caused everyone to gather into fits of laughter.

"A cowboy," Jordan shouted first.

"The rodeo." Asher chuckled.

"Wild, wild west." Layla joined in, holding back her laughs.

Adding to his performance, Spencer shook his foot hysterically, while twirling his arm like a madman.

Finally catching on to his charade, Olivia thought back to the night she made Spencer rewatch all her favorite childhood movies. Quoting one of her favorite lines, Spencer had her in hysterics for half an hour. She could still remember him using her belt as a rope, shouting 'There's a snake in my boot'.

"Woody," Olivia muttered with a small smile.

"What?" Her brother asked curiously, not completely hearing her response.

"It's woody!" Olivia laughed, which Spencer replied to with a smirk.

They met each other eyes, before bursting out, "There's a snake in my boot!"

The entire group fell out laughing, excluding Layla.

Spencer returned to his seat grinning like an idiot, but couldn't help but to notice his girlfriend's harsh mood.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Layla nodded lightly. "Guess I am just tired." She muttered, not bothering to look in his direction.

Sensing there was more to it, Spencer left it alone, not wanting to cause a scene in front of his friends.

"Alright, I have the perfect game to play next," Vanessa announced, as she returned from the house with her bottle of booze. "Anyone up for a game of Never Have I Ever. The more you've done the more you drink."

Her announcement soured the mood as Spencer immediately shut down her idea. "Sorry, Ma." Spencer asserted firmly. "Ain't bo drinking happening this weekend."

His eyes flew to Olivia, followed by everyone else's. She rolled her eyes at their dramatics.

"Oh, please. Don't stay sober on my account." Olivia dryly encouraged. After all, this was the first time in weeks she'd been completely sober. With all of her friends within proximity this weekend, drinking wasn't an option for her.

Noting Liv's bitter tone towards her, Vanessa tried to ease the tension. "Sorry, Liv. I forget that you don't drink. That was so insensitive of me." She apologized, placing the booze on the ground.

"It's okay. It's not something I'd expected you to know, so.." Liv shrugged it off, dismissing the subject all together.

"No, liquor. Got it." Vanessa summed up, ignoring Liv's clear implied diss of Vanessa's newness to their group.

Asher rubbed Olivia's thigh, silently asking her to lighten up. Cocking up a brow, she gave him her iconic 'I could careless' glare.

"No drinks doesn't mean no turn-up." J.J cheered. "Introducing the burns of all burns -- jalapeno-infused pickle juice."

"What don't you have in that box man?" Spencer questioned, seriously wondering where J.J randoms items came from.

"Let the burns begin."

---------------------------

"Alright, never have I ever walked in on my parents doing it." Simone started the game off.

First victim up, Asher gulped down his first dose of the throat burning juice.

"Oh, God. Asher. No!" Olivia cringed.

"I don't wanna talk it." Asher chuckled at the memory. "RV trip...'08....super weird."

"Oh, you're gonna talk about it." Spencer and Jordan laughed together.

"Not the one to up to Sanoma. How could you not to me?" Vanessa asked playfully, catching Olivia's attention yet again.

Liv couldn't help but wonder just how much did Vanessa know about Asher, that she didn't.

"Cause I was scarred for life," Asher replied, oblivious to the questionable expression of Liv's face.

"Alright, my turn. Never have I ever bought 300 dollars shoes for my one night in Vegas." Simone teased Olivia's bad spending habits.

Tensing up, Liv looked everywhere besides at Layla.

"No cheating. Drink up, Liv." Simone laugh, unaware of the big secret she just revealed.

Layla's eyes narrowed in Liv's direction, fed up with the secrets.

Spencer gawked at his girlffriend, realizing that he and Liv might have to come clean sooner than expected.

"Alright, never have I ever said I love you just to get someone to hook up with me." Vanessa added to game.

All the boys drank besides Spencer.

"Yikes, that was a test that you all failed." Vanessa taunted, "Besides Spencer."

"My bro is a real one. When he says it, he means it." J.J admired, increasing the growing tension between Spencer and his love interest.

In Liv's case, her heart clenched at the mentally, replayed memory of Spencer professing his love for her. She yearned to have a chance just to tell him how she felt, despite the chance he no longer felt the same.

However, in Layla's case, all the times that Spencer claimed to love her we're burning in a flame of betrayal. Because despite that fact she had no solid evidence, that conveyed her worse thought she knew Spencer wasn't being truthful with her.

"You're a lucky one, Layla."

Layla's sneer went unheard by the majority of the group besides the two people who knew the jig was up.

Unaware of the conflicts brewing, J.J continued the game. His hand already pointing at his aimed victim.

"Never have I ever ran naked through a football field."

Admitting the embarrassing memory, Jordan gulped back his shot of pickle juice.

"Jordan! Tell me you didn't!" Simone teased.

"Okay. Okay. I did it. I run through the field, butt naked." Jordan chuckled. "What was it? Freshmen year?"

He and J.J chuckled laughed over the recollection.

"Varsity team stole all of our clothes, thanks to Ash -- over here --- acting like he owned the place during tryouts" Jordan recalled funnily.

"Cause I did." Asher cockily popped his collar. "It's called confidence."

"Confidence. Okay." Jordan playfully mocked. "Whatever you want to call it. Your dumbass stays getting us in trouble."

Asher nodded with a knowing smile. But Vanessa saw nothing funny about it.

"Wow." She gasped seriously. "Okay. Never have I ever crapped all over folks that we're supposed to be my friends."

The laughter stopped, and the smiles dropped in reaction to Vanessa switch up.

"Uh, Vanessa it's alright." Asher tried to jump in before she took things too far.

"It's just jokes." Jordan defended himself, not seeing the harm in messing around.

Vanessa's scornful expression was enough for Jordan to see that she couldn't disagree more.

Maybe it was her role as a protective sister that came into play. Perhaps, it was the jealously towards Vanessa knowing things about Asher that Liv didn't. Or maybe it was simply that Liv didn't feel Vanessa had any right to make presumed assumptions on any of the dynamics within their group when Vanessa barely knew any of them beyond a first-name basis.

Whatever it was, Vanessa's attempt to trash talk her twin was Olivia's last straw. And with that, she felt it was only right to return the favor.

"Hmm, well, Never have I ever spent the summer getting to somebody else's boyfriend a little too much." Liv snapped at Vanessa.

"Liv! What the hell!" Asher choked up, unable to believe that she publically humiliated Vanessa in that manner.

"Yo, Ash. Relax. Let's just play the game." Jordan instructed, trying to ease the tension he caused.

"You wanna play? Fine." Asher groaned. "Never have I ever cheated a concussion protocol to play in a game." He added spitefully.

"What is he talking about?" Simone inquired seriously, over the entire game. "You cheated your concussion protocol? How could you not tell me something like that?"

"You mean like you told me about Princeton?" Jordan asked, trying to guilt trip her right back.

"Wow!" Simone gasped in awe, tossing her blanket aside before storming off.

"Ah, babe, wait! I didn't mean it like that!" Jordan quibbled, following behind Simone. "Baby, wait. Sweetie!"

With the fun atmosphere ruined, the remainder of the group broke off to deal with their own problems.

-----------------------------

"Can you believe Liv?" Asher groaned, as he and Layla entered the kitchen.

"Not really. Find it hard to believe anyone with all the secrets that's been hidden." Layla replied harshly.

"What do you mean?" Asher asked, clueless.

"Simone's Never Have I Ever!" Layla responded in a duh tone. "When has Olivia ever gone to Vegas."

"Olivia wouldn't lie about going to Vegas. She has no reason to." Asher scoffed.

"You mean like she had no reason to lie about being in Mexico." Layla revealed.

"Liv came to Mexico? When?" Asher asked desperately. "She never told me."

"She went to Mexico to surprise her boyfriend." Layla groaned, annoyed that she had to be the one to tell him. "Only when she got there she saw you and random girl boo'd up." She gestured towards Vanessa as the brunette and J.J entered the room.

"Wait, you and Asher?" J.J asked heartbroken, catching the last part of Layla's statement. "Since when?"

"Where's Olivia now?" Asher requested to know, needing to hear all of this from her.

"I don't think that" Spencer began to suggest against going after Liv, but was interrupted by his girlfriend.

"She's down by bonfire," Layla interjected before her boyfriend could continue to shield his side piece from the mess they made.

Bypassing the other three teens, Asher went to find his girlfriend and demand some answers. Meanwhile, Vanessa and J.J left Spencer and Layla to handle their business in private.

------------------------------

[ladyc0312]

A Jikook Guide to RunBTS: 30-39

One general trend to point out that’s true pretty much all series long, but was particularly noticeable to me starting around these episodes - JK and JM end up next to each other an unusually high percentage of the time when the guys choose where they're standing / sitting. Like, I initially thought I was only noticing it because I was primed to notice KM stuff, so I started tracking some other random pairs for comparison, and there’s no contest. 

Also, this is when the show started really hitting its groove. I’d seen nearly all the Run episodes before going back and rewatching for this guide. There were some I rewatched at 1.5x speed and others I happily rewatched normally. There are many more of the later starting around here.

As usual, let me know if I’ve missed anything or should take another look at something!

Ep 30 "The Variety Show of Memories Part 1" 

(Ep: 4 / KM: 1)

The ones with dancing, games, sleepy Kookie, and the tomato song that will embed itself in your brain 

20:00 - JK picks Jimin for the quiz challenge without using honorifics. Jimin calls him out for it and JK jokes back, then actually apologizes.

BEHIND 5:47 - JK is the only one to clap when Jimin does a funny dance 

Ep 31 "The Variety Show of Memories Part 2" (Ep: 5 / KM: 0)

None. But seriously, guys, this episode is a must-watch regardless. 

Ep 32 "Take Care of Santa" (Ep: 3 / KM: 1)

The one where everyone runs around like crazy in Santa hats with pig balloons as J-Hope not-so-secretly tries to steal them

9:08 - Jimin spots JK hiding in a tunnel and crawls in to talk to him despite suspecting that he's the thief 

27:50 - Jimin asks JK for the balloon he opened up to make his voice high with helium gas. JK gives it to him and they both say goodbyes in high-pitched voices at 28:14

Ep 33 "BTS and Manito Part 1" (Ep: 5 / KM: 3)

The ones where the guys jump for pictures, cheat at puzzles, and give each other gifts

1:59 - Jimin laughs a little when he sees that he's chosen JK as his Manito 3:56 - Jimin asks "Jungkook, why are you so cute?" and for some reason the on-screen text emphasizes this by popping up under Jimin's face saying "Jimin finding Jungkook very cute" 10:01 - Jimin comments on how high JK jumped and the on-screen text continues to call him out by tagging him as "amazed by Jungkook's jumping skills" 11:06 - Jimin singles out JK for praise for another good photo (on-screen text: "so hilarious") 12:00 - Jimin tells JK that he wants to give him a point for his acting, but his shoulders didn't make it into the shot 14:10 - Jimin AGAIN compliments JK (maybe he felt bad because he judged him as not properly in the picture the prev round) and the on-screen text wants to make sure we know Jimin is "amazed" I really can't tell if whoever writes this stuff is onto Jimin or is just also in love with JK, but I find the constant commentary hilarious either way 16:06 - Jimin gets JK to try to coordinate photo-bombing RM's pic BEHIND 5:05 - When JK is taking pictures of the posed photos he finds funny, takes two of Jimin (and you can see he's zoomed in on Jimin's face in both) while laughing adorably

Ep 34 "BTS and Manito Part 2" (Ep: 5, KM: 3)

8:46 - JM & JK decide to work together as a team to solve the puzzle

11:54 and 14:46 - JK and JM playfully grab and shove each other a bit to get to the mic first

15:41 - After Jimin and JK get bingo at the same time, they high five and Jimin comments "there's something about us"

15:55 - Jimin has moved his chair so he's sitting super close to JK and has seems to have his hand on his back for an extended period of time

23:27 - When they say Jimin failed his manito mission to make finger hearts with JK, they do it together and pose cutely here. Then, JK reminds JM that he actually did it successfully when the main cameras weren't on them by talking with JK about how different people make finger hearts. Jimin shakes JK's hand in thanks for the validation. 

24:17 - It's quick, but you can see Jimin tapping JK to make a comment to him while the focus is on Jin.

25:53 - Jimin makes a comment about being a calico cat after JK has opened Jimin's manito gift and seen that it's a cat lamp. I mention it because I've seen some people connect that to "Serendipity" being a jikook thing, which I buy generally but, in this particular instance, Jimin had no way of knowing which member his present would end up going to.  BEHIND 2:38 - JK does a joking imitation of acting out a food and Jimin playfully slaps him on the arm 3:41 - The same thing happens again when JK makes another funny face

Ep 35 "Kimchi Battle" (Ep: 3, KM: 3)

The one where, as you’d expect from the title, BTS makes kimchi

1:12 - JK taps Jimin on the chest when they say he can call his mom for help 1:23 - JM has his arm around JK's shoulders for a while and then moves his hand down to his lower back at 1:38 11:24 - JM has JK smell something gross and is impressed when JK has no reaction 16:38 - JK goes over to taste and compliment JM's kimchi and gets scolded by Suga for having his back to the camera 18:03 - JM watches closely as JK mixes the kimchi and the others compliment his arms 18:21 - Jimin continues staring at said arms 19:21 - Still staring 20:19 - More staring as the others all compliment JK's arms again 21:16 - Guess who's still watching JK? This time JM looks particularly impressed when JK lifts a heavy container 21:38 - Even the on-screen text has noticed the staring at this point and captions this "looking sweetly at Jungkook" 23:23 - Jimin tells JK the kimchi won't taste good yet because it's too fresh and looks at him affectionately, then compliments how good it looks.  24:38 - JM compliment's JK's kimchi again. He really seems much more invested in JK's work than his own this ep BEHIND 0:44 - JK claps for the slate and JM hits himself over his heart right after, making JK (and no one else) laugh 5:52 - Jimin wipes the sweat off JK's neck as he works on mixing the kimchi. When Jin does the same for JK's forehead right after, Jimin says that they look like two brothers and it looks like Jin's hating what he's doing.

Ep 36 "Kimchi Wars" (Ep: 3, KM: 1)

The one where the above kimchi is used in a cooking competition 

None. JM and JK cooking together on the same team is cute, but everyone is cooking together, so there’s nothing uniquely jikook in the episode itself. BEHIND 5:10 - JK starts clapping a beat and JM joins in with his tongs and dances 6:35 - As JK films some of the food, someone (not quite sure who) comments that they've never seen any of JK's work except for when he went on vacation with Jimin

Ep 37 "BTS Marble Returns" (Ep: 1?, KM: 1)

The one in this set that I have absolutely no memory of 

5:41 - When JK loses and rolls around in annoyance, Jimin comments twice how cute he is

Ep 38 "Spin BTS" (Ep: 3 / KM: 3)

The one where they play a bunch of strange games while Suga is dressed as Chimmy  

2:33 - JK smiles at and compliments JM's penalty suggestion

4:47 - Before starting this game, JM said that he wasn’t good at games requiring strength. Here, JK points out twice that Jimin isn't being moved by the ropes 

5:42 - JK compliments Jimin at the game again, saying he's like a bull 

7:05 - Despite being on Jin's team, JM goes over to watch JK complete his puzzle

10:02 - After JHope identifies a sound as Jimin sneezing, JK says he was going to say that too and grabs Jimin's arm to ask him if he knew

11:33 - One second clip of an interaction that starts with JM putting his hand near JK's face, but it's cut off

21:30 - When other members are practicing imitating people, JK tells them to do Jimin next

BEHIND 5:50 - When asked to guess why Jimin made an upset noise, both Jimin and Jin guess (wrongly) that it had something to do with JK

Ep 39 "BTS Golden Bell Part 1" (Ep: 3, KM: 3)

The one in which JK learns that he far prefers being a competitor than an MC

1:14 - After JK announces that he's offering up his computer as the prize, Jimin turns around and gives him a quick side hug

1:29 - After they decide JK will be the MC and it's clear JK is nervous about it, Jimin starts fixing something on JK’s uniform and pats him on the shoulder while advising him how to deliver some of the words. He also seems to remind him to ring the bell at 2:24

2:52 - JK and JM stand super close when he asks him questions, to the point where the on-screen text asks "Must you stand so close?" at 3:05

3:50 - This may be reading too much into things, but Jimin's body language and the way he's not smiling like the rest of them made me wonder if he was annoyed about them taking the MC role away from JK...

7:55 - While celebrating his team's win, JK dances over to Jimin, who smiles and gives him a high-five even though the other members of Jimin's team are unhappy about losing

16:36 - When JK accidentally calls out his own name instead of someone to challenge, Jimin walks over and hugs him while laughing

BEHIND 0:56 - JK and JM joke around together 5:40 - Slightly different angle of the 16:36 moment above

[mysterylover123]

BNHA Rewatch: Episode 61 “Deku vs Kacchan Part 2″

 mysterylover123

O.T.P.

This is gonna get kinda emotional.

Deku is turning Kacchan’s fight proposal down. Dammit Deku! He’s being serious!

Hoo boy that Kacchan face. No light in his eyes. That realization, just…just bleeding through…hoo boy.

“If the way you admired him was correct, does that mean my way of thinking was wrong?” OMG ITS HAPPENING. HE’S REALIZING IT YA’LL.

The flashbacks to bb Deku and Kacchan the feels.

The white void, it’s just the two of them. 

That Deku line from the first episode. I’m transported right back, ya’ll. It’s that first love again, that same feeling I had when I first discovered this series all the way back in summer of last year.

So Deku starts by thinking too hard about what’s going on and immediately gets blasted.

“You think too much” hoo boy recently Mother’s Basement posted the analysis of this fight and pointed out that this is actually a flaw of Deku’s that he can learn to remedy by adopting some of Kacchan’s impulsiveness. Never has the phrase “you complete me” been more accurate.

This freaking animation. It’s so beautiful. OMG.

“Wait for me” OH MAN BB DEKU BB KACCHAN RUNNING I’M DEAD I AM DYING

Cause he loves ya you dope.

Cute overload

WHY WHY WHY hoo boy Kacchan flashbacks.

Dat little trip oh man. He’s so bummed Deku doesn’t wanna fight and Deku’s little kick actually knocked him down.

Ooh boy. Here it comes. The music went out

Hold his freaking hand some day dammit

Oh god I can’t watch this again I can’t I can’t

“why is to you became strong…while I - “ OH GOD HERE IT COMES HERE IT COMES

OH GOD. Slow clap. Okamoto and Chapin both deserve freaking awards for that performance. I mean holy shit. That voice acting. Those cracks. That hit. It makes me cry. I’m tearing up right now. Cause you see, this whole episode, it really rests on the ability of Bakugou’s Seiyuu and VA to pour everything into the performance. It’s not going to hit without both of them giving the vocal acting performance of a lifetime, and they both knocked it out of the freaking park. I actually love them both as his voice; I don’t have a preference for dub over sub, as regards their performances (not the dialogue translations), because both are incredible. Just. Slow clap. All of the awards, please.

Look at how Deku looks at him. He’s the best. He just…he cares, so much. I mean, you’d admittedly have to be a pretty heartless bastard not to feel a little compassionate after hearing that speech but still. Kacchan’s so fucking lucky he has Deku and he doesn’t even know it. I want one too.

He’s crying. Me too.

Kacchan no Kacchan no nononononono 

Oh god Deku you beautiful darling

“may not be any meaning” I DISAGREE THIS IS THE CULMINATION OF AN ENTIRE SERIES’ WORTH OF 100+ SYMBOLIC CHAPTERS DETAILING YOUR GROWTH FROM ANGRY YELLING RIVALS TO RIVALS WHO SUPPORT EACH OTHER DAMMIT IT’S EVERYTHING

“May not be any meaning in winning or losing” lol are you just saying that in hindsight, Future Deku, cause you know you lost?

Deku didn’t have to do this. He didn’t have to fight Kacchan or even let him know the truth.

And note, he didn’t accept until he realized there was someone he could save. Someone who needs saving, to be helped. And this is how to help him.

“The only one who can accept his feelings is me.” Ya’ll heard that haters? Say it a little louder for the people in the back, Deku. He’s got his heart.

And look who’s smiling again, eyes lighting up again, the minute Deku started fighting back?

“I couldn’t just completely reject him” Guess who also sad that about their fiery spiky blond spouse in BNHA? Kacchan’s dad in that omake about their marriage.

Their relationship was wrong, but now it’s right. 

They never talked about how they really felt. Communication is the cornerstone of a healthy relationship, folks. Go on. Talk about your feels. Your real feelings.

Of that was one hell of a hit.

That speedy recovery though. Deku is fast. 

Oh wow Kacchan hit it too

That smile. That smile OMG that is THE HOTTEST, by far, that Deku has ever looked in animation. And I don’t say that lightly.

The translation here is either “I’ve” or “you’ve” gotten stronger. Both fit fine, which is the crazy part. Deku could be either saying that he himself has improved, or complimenting Bakugou, which does admittedly make more sense with what he was saying before, while ‘I’ve’ fits his cocky grin here better. I want him to flash a cocky grin more. It suits him. (BTW The English Dub compromises between the two and says’ we’ve both’.

Katsuki assumes Deku has a plan. Always overestimating him.

“That’s what I hate about you” OMG HE FINALLY TELLS HIM HOW HE FEELS. “I can never tell what you’re thinking” Because ya know he’s so good at understanding how everyone else thinks and feels.

He’s always being mean to Deku. Deku has seen him at his very worst and yet still admires him. Maybe that’s scary, you know? Unconditional love is…kinda terrifying. But so, so beautiful. So he has to rationalize it that Deku is just looking down on him.

Wow Deku sure took you long enough! He’s been saying that since day 1!

“I wouldn’t want anything to do with them anymore” Deku there you go being empathetic and wonderful and perfect again. So understanding you darling, darling boy.

 “Along with the parts I hated about you, I saw all the amazing things you could do.” THAT’S ADMIRATION, FOLKS. ADMIRATION WITHOUT IDOLIZATION. Without hero-worship. Acknowledging the good and the bad. Seeing a person for who they really are and always, always seeing the best of them, even at their worst.

“MUCH CLOSER TO ME THAN ALL MIGHT” Do you hear him guys? The closest person to him, closer than All Might. Closer than his freaking #1 favorite hero. The dub version has “actually in my life”, which isn’t a bad idea either. Both are true. That is so powerful. The person who

Oh yeah and again how does Deku advance in power? How does he Go Beyond? KACCHAN. Full cowling, he found from him. OFA itself, he gained by saving him. And 8%.

THAT SMILE. “I thought you were amazing.” He loves you you idiot. 

He kept chasing after him. He’ll never stop. He won’t just give up.

He passed him. And Bakugo looks happy. Possibly because he wants Deku to do better. Possibly because it seems to be confirming his might-makes-right theory. Possibly both.

ANIMATION-GASM AGAIN. 

AHAHAHAHAHAH ITS THAT CUT ITS THAT CUT DEKU’S DANCING FEET

THE VOID AROUND THEM IT’S JUST YOU AND ME 

AND THE BLOCK OMG THIS IS BEAUTIFUL THIS IS THE MOST FREAKING BEAUTIFUL ANIMATION IVE EVER SEEN

I’m serious. They brought out all the stops for this one. Of course. they knew, they had to know, that this was it. The animation, too, had to be perfect, or else it wasn’t gonna come across. And it is. Even better, in my opinion, than the animation in the stuff that came before it. Bones you are incredible. 

Higher gear. Can anyone doubt that Katsuki is important to Deku’s journey after this?

“This is gross, so I can’t say it”.. “I love you?” A reactor I follow actually said that after that line. That’s how intense they are.

Anyway IMAGE OF VICTORY SPEECH. The Ep that keeps on giving. 

Kacchan is his image of victory. The other side of him. And he adopts some of his traits.

“The part of you I hate and yet” How much love can you have for a person when you can somehow still admire the darkest, meanest parts of them? I don’t have a very perfect definition of love but I think that’s probably a big part of it.

“my image of victory is of you” feels overload. Feels O.D. 

dat crane shot.

My one disappointment with this episode is that they used the US of Smash OST instead of the Katsuki and Izuku OST for this scene. CMON GUYS. SERIOUSLY. THE KATSUKI AND IZUKU THEME HAD TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN FOR THIS EPISODE AND THIS MOMENT ALONE. WHAT WERE YOU THINKING. 

“I have to beat you” the music the feels omg

Hahaha psych. Kacchan wins anyway. 

WOOF. Like OK this is in the manga, this positioning, but it’s only for one frame. In the anime it goes on for like, an uncomfortably long time, with the slow panting, and the close-ups on the twisting body parts, and…combined with the fact that all of Deku’s admiring girlfriends in this arc have also landed on top of him in a similar pose, and you can’t blame me for the fact that my mind went into rather…R-rated territory. 

Kacchan’s disappointed. He didn’t want Deku to lose. He wanted Deku to win.

That breaking  voice again. Don’t make me cry more dammit it’s too late.

ALL MIGHT! I need an MST3K style All Might commentary-reaction to this entire damn thing. Seriously Hori. If you ever do an extra, please make one that’s a serious of All Might panel reacting to this whole thing. I NEED THAT. 

Finishing each other’s sentences again.

“It’s too late” IT’S NEVER TOO LATE YOU CYNICAL PORCUPINE.

This is such a great moment of catharsis. Why Deku indeed? Well, you’re about to learn.

THAT LINE DELIVERY AGAIN. That Broken voice. Both voice actors are too good.

Deku’s legs though. WOWSA. A little detail I’ve noticed is that Kacchan has really buff, sexy arms and Deku has really buff, sexy legs. Because those are the body parts they use, while the reverse parts are more average.

“I’m weak too” You’re making me weak I can’t take it. His voice his voice that fucking voice

DEKU’S EYES. THEY’RE WELLING. 

HE’S GONNA CRY TOO.

I also need an All Might in my life. I kinda blame myself all the time for things outside of my control. Deku AND Kacchan both blamed themselves for what happened. For All Might’s end. And neither one was really responsible, but they’re just like that. I relate, painfully, to both of them. I have a Deku side and a Bakugo side - deep down, I think we all do. Maybe one more than the other, but that’s what you get when you create two characters who initially act as kind of…distilled embodiments of two sides of the super-hero coin. One all super with no hero, the other all hero with no super - at least, at the beginning.

THAT PIANO MUSIC IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR. IT’S ALL MIGHT’S FREAKING THEME YA’LL!

Ooh boy All Might’s BKDK Speech! Both of their teachers ship them, you guys. All Might AND Aizawa both give big, beautiful speeches about their compatibility. In case you somehow missed it. 

Being fixated on victory like you, young Bakugou…and wanting to save those in trouble, like you, young Midoriya…both of those feelings are necessary.” “You guys are perfect for each other”, says the reactor I mentioned earlier (who isn’t even a hardcore BKDK shipper, mind you, it’s just that it’s that obvious.) And it’s true. You need both. They want each other, they need each other, because they have what the other lacks. They complete each other.  

This is the shonen rival equivalent of having the couple in a rom-com confess at the end of act one instead of act three. It upsets all the cliches and is all the better for it. Though even the most hardcore, dedicated anime rivals, I don’t think have ever gone this married-couple with the ‘mutual respect’ and ‘making each other stronger’ thing.

WIN AND SAVE SAVE TO WIN. They look each other in the eyes.

Oh god not that voice again I’m dying. Don’t make me cry again Kacchan.  

“Don’t lose.” SUPPORTIVE KACCHAN I LOVE SUPPORTIVE KACCHAN.

“I’ll get stronger” CONFIDENT DEKU I LOVE CONFIDENT DEKU. 

“Of the students only you.” ONLY YOU. 

I put this moment really high on my list of Kacchan’s nicest moments, because it means a lot to me and to All Might. All Might acknowledges it. He’s a good secret keeper.

Oh and Deku thanks him too in the English Dub, BTW. Not the manga but nice dub touch. 

OMG he’s such a Tsundere.

He told him everything. HE KNOWS. The only one who knows. None of Deku’s other love interests do. And he has no interest in telling them. 

Kacchan asks why he told him. And I’ve got an answer, after obsessively rereading Chapter 11/rewatching Episode 8 a lot: BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU, YOU IDIOT. You were mad at him for lying about his quirk to you. You asked what was going on (loudly). You accused him of lying to you your whole life. So he told you the truth. Because he can lie to his mom, and he can lie to his friends and teachers and the entire freaking world. But he cannot lie to YOU. Because he loves you. Idiot baka. 

Oh and what’s that music playing there? Why does that sound familiar? YOU SAY RUN YOU SAY RUN YOU SAY RUN IT’S BACK. And you know? That’s I think because YSR symbolizes Deku’s heroic inspiration. The inspiration he both takes in and gives to others. And here, he’s both being inspired by Kacchan, and inspiring him at the same  time.

Now Kacchan is doing the same. “Chosen one” He knows. Deku is better. He’s gotta surpass him.

LOL THIS IS FUNNY. THEY SURE BICKER LIKE THEY’RE MARRIED.

This shot composition. Get it? ALL MIGHT’S THE THING BETWEEN ‘EM.

Oh and this. Yay some character development from Kacchan! Another nice moment of his in this ep. Three times! 

All Might Meta’s a bit about how Kacchan took responsibility and felt bad and does a Mom guilt trip on Dadzawa. They’re getting to be kinda married too now.  

“I went in pretty HARD”. OMG stop it you’re making me think bad things again. Just F*CK already.

Their first act as a married couple is to clean the house together. OMG domestic fluff. 

And now for the best Post-credits scene ever. 

Wow Uraraka ships it so bad. 

Oh and some Todobaku bonus! Aw I guess Bakugou just turned down his 3some offer. 

Ooh awkward silence. 

YAY! Though they did kinda wreck it by having Deku bring it up instead of Kacchan 

NOW THEY’RE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO TALK TO EACH OTHER LIKE HUMAN BEINGS.

Kacchan just praised me. Life is good.

Episode 61 is my favorite episode of my favorite show. I think it’s the best and will never be topped. Feels, left and right. It’s really just perfect. Funny, all 3 of the transcendent, best-of-the-best BNHA eps (This, 49 and 23) are basically just two characters fighting for 20 minutes. Nothing more or less. Yet they’re all so, so good. And this one is…I don’t even know how to put it into words. It’s a phenomenal tour-de-force of acting, visuals, animation, music, and of course, writing, all combining together to be just absolutely unsurpassable. Everything that makes this series good, boiled down to it’s essence. And yes, this did seal the deal for me with BKDK. I liked it before, but this made it a done deal. No going back. And I love it.

BEST GIRL OF THE EP: Uraraka for being so supportive.

RANKER: Top 5 Best Moments of This Episode: (it’s really more like a top 50)

5. Deku’s little Dance number

4. True Rivals at Last

3. True feelings at last

2. The Image of Victory Speech

1. “Why did I become...”

[8verity8]

The Roswell Triangle

A lot of people have posted their thoughts on the Alex/Michael/Maria triangle and I’m going to too. Mainly because my issues with it seem to differ from a lot of the ones I’ve seen already.

I’m totally plotting a bunch of post season 1 Malex fics atm, and these are the ideas that are shaping where I want to go with them....

Michael

I don’t think Michael’s doing anything wrong. He opened up to Alex after he came home, multiple times, and Alex walked away from him and told him it was over multiple times. And even the olive branch Alex extended was asking him if he and Michael could be friends, nothing more.

They both love each other and they both know that. But it hasn’t been enough in the past for a variety of reasons and while they both have issues, Michael’s predominant issue is abandonment... and Alex has already abandoned him severel times over the years. Can’t fault him for wanting to protect himself, especially if he’s going to try and be friends with Alex again (because the boy seriously can’t say no to Alex).

I genuinely believe he’s using Maria as a buffer against Alex, whether he’s conscious of it or not. I think he likes her, sure... but he doesn’t love her. I think Maria is the person that is easy, easy to be with and easy to walk away from. Love isn’t exactly a good thing to him, all love has ever brought him is pain. He doesn’t love her so Maria can’t hurt him.

Edit* I just had another thought. Alex was ready to die with Michael. The most important person in the world to him, the man he loves and he couldn’t convince Alex that he didn’t love him enough to make him leave. But now, he can “choose Maria” so that Alex stays out of harms way in the future. Michael is not only protecting himself emotionally, he’s trying to protect Alex physically from the dangers his life poses to him. I mean, it’s ridiculous and it won’t work... but who ever said people in love were rational.

The more I write the more I’m feeling bad for Maria and like she’s the one who is going to get the short end of the stick in this situation. I don’t see this ending well for her and frankly the true Maria DeLuca deserves better. On that note...

Maria

The initial drunken hookup... she’s totally in the clear. She didn’t know at this point that Michael and Alex had a thing... and it was a drunken hookup. (I honestly liked this part of the story and would have totally loved the angst and drama if that’s all it was. I’m totally here for the Michael & Maria bff’s train, especially with an awkward drunken hookup that nobody needs to mention ever again!)

In the wake of the aforementioned drunken hookup she was ashamed of sleeping with Michael and didn’t want anyone to know about it...before she knew about Alex. Alex didn’t want people to know (about their relationship) in order to protect Michael, Maria didn’t want people to know to protect herself.

She straight up told Alex that if she had known she would have never done that to him (girls a straight up fucking liar)

That bs convo with Liz about not be able to help who you fall in love with???? Fuck that shit! You can’t always help who you crush on, but putting yourself in a position to fall in love is a choice. Maria is NOT in love with Michael, she’s in lust with him and using whatever excuse she can to justify being a bad friend.

We didn’t actually leave off with those two kissing, we left off with her noticing Michael’s healed hand and having a bit of an internal freak out... so the producers could be blowing smoke up our asses with all this Maria/Michael stuff... she could end up freaking out about the whole Alien thing... and everybody else already knowing about it.

Also, those two had a literal decade to get their shit together and decide they liked each other while Alex was off in the military... and NOW is when they decide there might be something there... even though they’ve barely tolerated each other for a decade, a decade!!!! It’s not like they didn’t run in the same circles or anything. She literally ran the bar he hung out in all the time... for a decade!

*Side note: Please bring back the amazing, loving, “ride or die for her friends” Maria we all know and love. This supposed love triangle is really assassinating her character right now, no matter how they try and spin it.

Alex

The finale left me pissed off and hurting for Alex, but then I rewatched some of the earlier episodes and it really sank in that Alex has been the one pushing Michael away for months. (Lets keep in mind that quite a bit of time went by during those last few episodes.) Everyone was kind of left thinking Michael is the bad guy, but Alex is no saint... he’s been an ass to Michael a lot and definitely has some sins he needs to atone for.

Given his character I expect Alex to actually suck it up, hide the hurt and try to be friends with Michael like he said he wanted to regardless of what happens with Maria... but the Maria & Alex friendship is taking a major hit.

I still totally want some old army flame to sweep in and make Michael jealous as hell even though there’s nothing really going on, just because it kind of seems like Maria is a subconscious attempt to make Alex jealous and get him to notice him.

Go out with a whimper, my ass...

[sailor-cresselia]

Here! Have some Ex-Aid notes!

So, I started rewatching the last three episodes of Ex-Aid because  @aquabluejay and I have gotten to talking about a whole lot of assorted Ex-Aid meta and ideas lately. One of the things we talked about last night was trying to figure out how some of the final battle went down. SO I DID THAT. And went on a WHOLE LOT of tangents!

Summaries, thoughts, speculation, and theorizing for episodes 43, 44, and 45 of Kamen Rider Ex-Aid under the cut. Also includes mentions of the Mighty Action X novel, and some of the backstory involved.

-

Episode 43

Oh SHIT the bars on Kuroto’s cell can, in fact, zap him if he tries to reach between them! He was very carefully not touching them when begging to be let out. More fuel for “Parad should NOT be in a good enough state to use his level 99 form after being tied up”!

SO! Seeing everyone who had been hit by the Gemdeus virus before writhing in agony! IS REALLY PAINFUL TO WATCH GUYS! The first person we see this happen to is Kiriya – because here’s the thing.

Bugsters aren’t immune to Gamedeus naturally. … Can… like, could one regular bugster somehow infect another one? Is it just Gamedeus being super OP? Or, like, could there be a mixed strain that fucks up both Bugsters that result from it? Because the only cases we saw where someone had multiple strains were with the Collabos Bugsters, and with Chronicle. So… could two Bugsters get… sort of tangled up in each other’s code?

OH NO THAT WOULD BE MESSED UP. SAMMI WHY WOULD YOU COME UP WITH THIS YOU MONSTER.

-

! I should go back through at some point – it might not just be Emu and Parad who insist on calling him Cronus – Taiga just referred to him that way, too.

(skipped back a bit – Kuroto used his father’s full name to refer to him.)

And now I want to know… if you scan a Bugster normally, would their strain show up on the screen – wait, yes! It would! Because they scanned GRAPHITE in his human form, back early on!

Yup, Emu calls him Cronus, too.

FUCK YOU KUROTO “they haven’t earned the right” as if you didn’t make an action replay of your own after Emu made his.

Oh… huh. When Taiga – back on his self-sacrificing bullshit again – mentions ‘if only I had stopped the Bugsters in their tracks five years ago, this would never have happened’… Poppy is wringing her hands. And Parad – it’s subtle, and very blink-and-you’ll-miss-it, but he looks down, away from everyone else. Just a slight turn of the head, and diverting his gaze, but. That’s guilt right there.

(You feel the weight of your sins crawling down your back)

-

Nico – in the Cronus game area – boots up her Chronicle Gashat, and is immediately hit with the pain and static. But she’s still standing. She’s been hit time and time again by the virus, by all the strains, including Gamedeus, and she doesn’t go down.

I still wonder how this fight would have played out if Taiga hadn’t stopped her before she could suit up. She’d have lost, definitely… but I kind of want to see how she would have played it.

She doesn’t drop to her knees until taiga takes her gashat.

-

Hiiro explains what he’s finally realized – that Taiga has been fighting so that nobody else has to lose anything. Because he doesn’t have anything left to lose – until Nico. NOW he has something he absolutely has to protect.

Hiiro: “But now, he’s realized… his fate of putting his life on the line to protect something he doesn’t want to lose.”

We see Parad’s reaction to this.

Parad (mid-ground, Hiiro out-of-focus in the foreground): “His life…”

(cut to close up, Parad looking slightly down) “on the line…”

I’ve actually got something related to this in my current draft for ch. 3 of Press Start to Continue. Here, have a look:

“You know...” Parad begins, idly wrapping one of the cords on his jacket around his finger, “I didn’t get it, before – why you went to the lengths you did back then, as Proto-Snipe. Even as you were realizing that it was probably killing you. I still don’t really get how you were able to keep going, really. But now? Having seen you dealing with everyone, with having actually met you?” He smirks, meeting Taiga’s gaze. “You aren’t nearly as much of an asshole as you make yourself out to be, are you?”

When Emu says he doesn’t want to lose anyone… Parad buries his face in his collar, while Poppy looks… not scared, but sad. I think… I think she’d already realized what she and Parad might have to do.

I think she had already come up with the way to cure the patients with Gamedeus’s strain.

…

Oh. She definitely had.

I’d forgotten, I wrote this bit months ago, back in Event Flag XX, but I was so laser focused on Parad for that watch through, I wasn’t paying nearly enough attention to Poppy.

“Taiga goes to help. Hiiro goes to help. Emu goes to help. Parad and Poppy can only watch.”

Parad’s beating himself up, because he can’t help, because he doesn’t know what to do. Poppy hasn’t had The Line yet, but… she knows what the two of them can do to end Chronicle.

-

Oooo. I need to have Taiga give Emu the same speech Emu just gave him at some point down the line in ReUnited. (Emu… is going to have some difficulty coping in the time span after my adaptation of Another Ending and Kiriya’s revival.)

Emu: “You shouldn’t neglect your own health. Doctors have to take care of so many patients lives, after all. You can’t forget that. To save our patients, we doctors have the responsibility to live on.” He holds out Taiga’s coat to him. “Taiga. You’re a doctor, aren’t you?”

(beat)

Taiga: “That’s right.”

The sound effects and framing that Rider usually has signify someone finally taking the hand held out to them, accepting partnership?

Is used here for Taiga taking his white coat.

-

When they get the final blow on Cronus, it’s really nice.

The fireball from Hiiro’s ‘Taddle Critical Finish’ hits at the same time as Emu’s ‘Hyper Critical Sparking’ kick. The lag from Emu’s attack, of course, doesn’t set in until a bit after he lands, and it knocks Cronus backward – right into the cannons of ‘Taiga’s Bang Bang Critical Fire’.

TAIGA’S finisher is the one to shut down the Game Area.

Ohhhh man, the way Cronus moves after being knocked down is super unsettling. He’s flat on his back, a-posing on the ground, and when he sits up… he’s sort of just dragging his upper body up. His arms are still limp. Ick.

(Also, I kind of think Emu and Nico will never, ever admit it, but they were super pissed that they forgot about Bosses usually going all One Winged Angel.)

-

The design of the bugster mooks kills about half of the drama of them taking over people, but… I’m not okay with seeing all of these people just… almost removed like this. What’s worse is that I think Kiriya could tell what was happening before he went down.

FUCK.

-

Episode 44

:chuckles: I’m in danger.

Parad goes to try to fight, to help save the people infected. But Poppy… she grips her hands together.

“Wait!”

“There’s something only us Bugsters can do.”

-

When we get to Genm…

“Stop it.” a blue-gloved hand grabs him.

“You’re one bad Rider, aren’t you?” a red boot glows, propelling the two into the air.

“I’ve come to collect a sample from you, Ex-Aid! Now, let’s start the experiment, shall we?”

(ahahaha Katsuragi’s hard-on for Gorillamond)

(wAIT SHIT NO)

“I have three lives left.”

“Wait, are you... not Ex-Aid?”

“No! I’m NOT! People NEED to stop saying that! I am a G-”

“Sorry! My mistake! Bye!”

(Thanks, Katsuragi.)

-

Emu’s exhausted, and realizes he has the Doctor Mighty X Gashat. Poppy stops him before he can trigger it, though. It’s not possible to do this one at a time.

OH. Parad meets them on the roof – Emu was following Poppy, but Parad was already there. “Hey. What are you going to do?”

Poppy didn’t tell Parad her plan.

The thing is… while she’s saying that she’ll insert the gashat into herself, to disperse the cure to all the patients… Poppy doesn’t use the word die. She says she’ll disappear. She says that bugsters are a threat to patient’s lives, that they will need to be completely erased some day. The screen shows both her and Parad at that line. He looks away, as she says that that’s their fate. She hasn’t looked at anyone.

Emu’s breaking down – he doesn’t want to accept a fate where she has to die.

She still doesn’t say she’s going to die.

… I don’t think Poppy thought of herself as truly alive. She’s always acted like she did, but now…

Now I’m not so certain that she wasn’t faking that sureness.

Parad hasn’t said a word since he asked what she was going to do, even when Emu collapses.

“Sorry, Emu. … Thank you.”

-

… huh. She only physically appears to Kuroto. And it looks like… like she knew what she was doing when she did that. That maybe… just maybe, Poppy thought she might be able to ‘back herself up’ in him.

But only maybe.

-

On the roof.

Emu… he’s sitting, almost defeated, talking to Parad about Poppy.

“Bugsters also exist to let us have fun and make us smile, don’t they...?”

EMU is saying this to PARAD. To the Bugster he practically created, however subconsciously. To the Bugster who is the most direct threat to his own, personal, health.

To the Bugster who KNOWS what Poppy just did. And what he, himself, is about to do.

Who knows exactly what that means to Emu.

Once you have the novel backstory, you can never really ‘un’ have it.

So. With Mighty Novel X in mind, and Emu having, at eight years old, considered and attempted suicide…

That’s something Poppy doesn’t know about. The only people who could are Emu… and Parad.

Parad, who is high-key tied to Emu’s memories. Who is about to do the same thing Poppy did.

Who is about to make Emu witness two people committing suicide in one afternoon.

That’s what they did, after all.

-

!!! OOOO!!!

When he’s snapped for the final time, when Cronus is standing in front of the Riders, saying that he will ‘realize his dreams for all to see’, his eyes glow with that tell-tale Bugster light – but differently than usual. One eye is green, the other is white.

Not unlike the green-and-grey tinged veins that appeared on both him and Graphite when they directly infected themselves with Gamedeus’s strain.

-

The roof.

Parad takes the Doctor Mighty X gashat, saying that Poppy fought to the end to save everyone. After he picks it up…

“I am you, and you are me. You know what I’m trying to say, don’t you?”

Parad can’t bring himself to say it – that they both know full well what just happened, and what’s going to happen next.

(Also, y’know, there’s almost no way they could say… well, that ‘he was going to have to kill himself’ on-air, not in so many words. Not in this season, at least, but that didn’t exactly stop them from getting closer in Build, now did it?)

That was just the Excite translation, though. I’m using the OZC-Live encodes, so I have the RTA translation too… so let’s see how they phrased it.

“I’m you, and you’re me. You know already what I’m going to say, right?”

OH NO.

Oh, and INTERESTING.

Excite has Emu’s next few lines in the singular. “I won’t waste Poppy’s sacrifice. I’ll put an end to Rider Chronicle.”

RTA has them as a plural. “We can’t let her sacrifice go to waste. Let’s end Rider Chronicle.”

Either way… Emu leaves the roof first, with Parad still standing, the wind blowing his hair, and a serious expression on his face.

-

Emu goes to face off against Cronus Gamedeus, and transforms with the Mighty Action X gashat.

Into Level One.

Taiga: “You’ll die challenging him at that level!”

Nah, he won’t. He’s just doing what Poppy taught him to do. First phase of the operation: separate the bugster from the patient.

Technically speaking, there’s a person inside there. They just have to defeat the Bugster Union, first.

Kuroto’s the one to catch on and actually explain.

-

okay, the Chibi fight is effectively done…

and looks like @aquabluejay was right, Parad does run in while using Perfect Knockout to grab the sword before it can hit Emu.

Yelling in pain, from the white gashat in his driver, as both he and Cronus-Gamedeus start to glow blue. The same blue as Poppy did.

The thing is, after the 5 Chibi Rider Kicks… when the smoke starts to clear, and everyone lands, detransformed.

When Gamedeus – now a manageable size – is being grappled by Para-DX… and then by Parad, as his transformation breaks, the both of them grunting in pain.

That is when Emu realizes. Parad had had his back to Emu before. But now Emu can see Parad’s driver. And the Doctor Mighty X gashat that’s in it.

Excite translation: “Come die quietly with your fellow Bugster, Gamedeus.”

RTA translation: “We’re both Bugsters, so let’s end this together, Gamedeus.”

Gamedeus dissolves, and Parad falls to his knees, gasping in pain.

Excite: “I hope I’ve made up for what I’ve done, even a little...”

RTA: “I hope this makes up for my deeds, somewhat...”

Emu: “Parad…”

Excite: “It was only for a short time, but I really had the time of my life gaming with you.”

RTA: “It may have been a short time, but playing games with you… it was the best fun I’ve ever had.”

-

Episode 45

After Emu tries to take on Cronus, who’s just knocked everyone else out of their transformations, bare-handed…

Well, he didn’t really stand a chance, did he?

“DoReMiFa Beat and Perfect Knockout both died noble deaths, although it was all for naught. They were both lives with no commercial value.”

“You… don’t you dare speak of Poppy and Parad’s lives...”

Oh… OH!

Okay, so. So I figure Emu’s not exactly baseline human by the time the show starts, let alone after what he did to make the Mighty Brothers XX and Maximum Mighty X gashats. But! Here’s the thing!

The only people who could move in pause were those with either the abilities of Cronus, Gamedeus, or Hyper Muteki.

Emu doesn’t have any of those in the Pause here.

But what he does have, however small it may currently be, and even though he doesn’t know it…

Is the remnants of data from a Bugster who had just pumped himself full of the Gamedeus vaccine.

Cronus is back to all green – he’s just Cronus now, not a hybrid of the two. But… well, the vaccine is made from the strain, after all. It stands to reason that enough of it could have a similar effect against Pause, however minor.

And Emu’s been building his own levels for 16 years, same as – ugh, fine, I’ll use his name this time.

Emu and Masamune have been infected for 16 years. That has to have had side effects other than the obvious ‘use the driver or bugvisor without the compatibility surgery.’

Effects like Emu’s Gashat creation abilities, and Masamune’s Reset.

And it’s only for a moment, but Emu is able to move.

He moves, his eyes flashing red, long enough to punch the bugvisor hard enough to break it – but he freezes back up once Cronus goes flying.

Punching far harder than he should be able to under normal circumstances, even. Those devices are made to take a beating.

He’s done something like this before – he essentially force-shoved Kuroto off of himself, one time, before he found out he was infected, with his eyes flashing red, and a visual effect not unlike the waves of ‘force’ that show up sometimes when attacks land in any Rider show.

It was never confirmed whether that was actually Parad at work, because he did show up right after, but… who’s to say it wasn’t Emu himself?

The punch here? Was hard enough to break the bugvisor, and to knock Cronus – who, mind you, is in full armor, while Emu is in street clothes and battered, back through the air for multiple yards, and into the clock he uses to freeze time, shattering it.

There is no way Emu is pure human.

-

HAHAHA and then I forgot to write anything else after this through the end of the episode. Whoops~!

Soooo.

This wound up being eight pages long.

I really did just start this to find out what the order of events was in the ‘Parad’s sacrifice’ sequence, but. Uh. It kind of got away from me.

Eight pages away.

… I don’t even know what I was doing here anymore, but I just wrote eight pages, and I’m feel like talking about how we don’t really know how Bugsters work.

Like, in the press conference, Emu refers to Bugsters as ‘mostly data’, but in Another Ending, Poppy refers to them as being viruses.

I have so much to fix when ReUnited gets to Another Ending you guys.

And! Are Kiriya and Kuroto wearing actual clothes, or are they doing something like Poppy and her costume changes? Honestly, either one has possibilities.

I… kind of want them to be wearing actual clothes. I figure that if Parad or Poppy were to take off something, and set it aside, it would eventually sort of… phase out of where they left it, and back onto them. But. Say one of the guys took off their jacket, because they do both wear them, shortly after being brought back, and it disappeared. But didn’t show back up.

(And THAT is why Kiriya got the black jacket. The one he died in is very, very gone.)

… I should stop now, I’ve probably rambled enough. Enough for eight. Freaking. Pages.

[b-ap]

[181117] B.A.P Forever Tour in Philadelphia - Highlight of my Life

This was really one of the best concerts I’ve ever gone to. Despite being skeptical of JSJ from the beginning, I was still willing to risk it and buy the tickets. I was debating for a while to drop $400 or not for m&g but when you think about it, it was only $30 per photo with each of the boys (+ a hat, hoodie, and whistle) so that’s HELLA worth it.  So I dropped nearly $600 for this concert but for real it was SO worth it. I was even willing to go down by bus all by myself and possibly wandering the streets of philly late at night for it but luckily was able to catch a ride! 

These two BABYz gave out numbers from the very beginning like they marked down if you were plat or baby package and in the end JSJ and fans actually honored them! It was really great cuz we were able to leave the line to go to the bathroom or get food! BABYz around me were so nice and friendly too ;u; When it was time to go in to soundcheck and for the concert, we all actually got in order! It was REALLY nice like wow thank you philly babyz!! We were let in a little late for soundcheck cuz apparently bap was doing some kind of interview?? As for soundcheck, it was sooOOOoooOOO good!!! They kinda mixed up plat and baby but oh well whatever I still got like 3rd row so *^* WOOHOO! The stage was up really high and the venue was quite small, but philly crowd’s passion was explosive and powerful!! At the beginning of soundcheck Zelo kept like peeking out from the backstage door *^* they were ODing the fog machine so you could only see silhouettes at the door sometimes OTL. Daehyun was the first to come out! He came in this big puffer jacket and had earphones and and was smiling so cutely!! That wonderful wonderful kitty smile!! OH MY HEART PLEASE HAVE MERCY!! And then the others came out! <3 Zelo was wearing like PJ pants lmao the same one he wore in that IG pic of him in the truck, jongup was wearing leather (i think.....), himchan wore the tour hoodie, and youngjae wore a long coat. BUT YEAH the first song they did was TMJ and the crowd was hella LIT!!! Like everyone was singing their lungs out and jumping and being really really excited! We all started jamming out hardcore at the very first note of TMJ and I just knew it was about to be epic. BAP was sooo happy!! They really enjoyed it as well!  And then they did DWIF and omfg daehyun was soooo cute cuz we were so loud during the OH!! part that he was like :O!!!!! and gave us two thumbs up!! The others were really happy too!! And then Zelo was controlling the crowd with his hands LOL like he was making us go side to side like a wave and then jongup was doing this weird dance too lmaooo we hyped up each other so much! It was soo much fun ;A; too bad we couldn’t record but JSJ got a ( video )~!! Like just listen to BABYz singing along at the beginning!! ( dh shocked at 0:41, thumbs up at 0:51)

We had to go back outside again after the concert and that’s when the line got a little messy since now there was also GA peeps and the sidewalk is only so big to fit like 3 different lines. But it worked out in the end and we got in order!! AND YA GIRL GOT FCKN 2ND ROW HEEEEEEEEELLLL YEAHH!! I had a GREAT view!! There was actually quite a lot of space and like NO pushing!! (except this one bishhhh but whatever that’s another story -.- i’ll delete her from my memory) But wow pit was fCKN great like wow the fanchants!! The whistles!! NO PUSHING!! LIKE WHAT WOOOW I LOVE YOU (this was an all standing venue btw). When we were waiting for the concert to start, they played a bunch of their songs and everyone was scream-singing the lyrics (well more like trying to LOL we can’t korean) We had our own bap concert with an empty stage lmaooo 

AND AHHHH BAP WAS SOOOO GOOD AT FANSERVICE!!! Himchan noticed me like several times i fucking cRy!! He looked and waved at mee TWICE and like gestured to focus on zelo for recording and taking pics when it was his part AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Like last year he saw me struggling in pit (cuz that was HELL) and looked worried I CRY and he smiled at me too huuuhuuu himchan youre a fckn angel I LOVE YOU!!! I made a half heart at daehyun and hE FCKN COMPLETED IT I WAS ABOUT TO FCKN DIE RIGHT THEN AND THERE LIKE !!!!!!!!!!!! JOngup threw so many hearts and kisses at the crowd and youngjae blew so many kisses!! They were waving as much as possible to fans and daehyun, bless his heart, kept saying thank you!!thank you!! at any chance he could get!

During Q&A, bap spent the longest time arguing about harry potter houses pmsl and then yj was just like idk i never watched it (shame on you bro) and then himchan was like EXPECTRO PATRONUM!! (nerrRRRddddd). Jongup said he was fckn Dobby like bruH thats not even a house!!! YJ was like forget this!! and said, “PASS!!” Himchan said that he was Slytherin and then jongup said that Himchan would be fkcn Snape and did this dramatic coat sweeping straightening up his back thing LOL so himchan said Jongup would be a muggle pmsl Zelo did like a broom riding imitation??? irdk.... Next question was what was your favorite song that you’ve ever made. Jongup answered Photo and sang a little of it (so then where is the studio version biiSHHHhh) but lol BABYz were like SEXY CLAP!!!!!! Youngjae pulled out a question, looked at it and was like NOPE! and put it back pmsl! The next question was what tricks can Mochii do and then youngjae was frckn like body slamming zelo and jongup lmaooo. Zelo was sooooo cute he was telling the story of how Mochii bit in all in English!! He said how he was eating and was struggling to explain that Mochii was under the table so BABYz were helping him! He said that he dropped cheese and then Mochii went to eat it but Zelo tried to stop him. Mochii bit and and then Zelo was like “ooh! bloood! my dog is ...wildlife” but the way he said blood was soo cute like the oo in moon instead of “blud”  This sweet precious boy!! His English was so good!!!! The next question was to sing happy birthday to a BABY named Jenny (wow you LUCKY girl im sooo jelly omfg). So Zelo sings her hbd really dramatically lmao and they give her their sweaty towel and Zelo gave her a water bottle too!! They’re so sweet!!!!!!! 

During their other talk segment, Youngjae was like since our tour in america, philly has been the most passionate! So we all SCREAMED and cheered like crazy! Daehyun was like hold up!! AGAIN! and went to grab a phone. He made us all scream and cheer again so he could record it. The boys kept gesturing to scream louder and more and were totally enjoying the cheers! I hope we conveyed our love for them well enough!! Also Daehyun release that footage soon pls!!! He told us we did a good job screaming lmaoo! Youngjae kept making sounds for us to repeat lmao like ooOOoooo (idk how to describe it LOL) and then was like “maestro!” when trying to silence us with his fingers like a conductor LOL but we kept screaming things LOL someone was like “this is my first kpop concert!!” so youngjae was like “sounds good!” and gave a thumbs up. Jongup also did the conductor thing hahahah Daehyun promised to come back again next year and I REALLY REALLY hope that they do!!!! 

The solos were beyond amazing. Like rewatching youngjae and daehyun’s solos made me tear up like how do such beautiful voices exist in this world? Did I really hear those ethereal voices in real life? It was sooo mesmerizing and breathtaking! Youngjae’s gorgeous baritone voice singing that smooth ballad huuuhuuu my heEArt!!! Daehyun’s heartwrenchingly beautiful voice, song, and lyrics wow let me just lie down and drown in my tears rn bYE! DaeUp’s duet was so cool, Jongup’s TML was perfect as usual, Zelo’s solo was sinful oh my those hip and that peach *blushes* it was suuuper fun and Zelo enjoyed it a LOT too!!! He lifted up his shirt!! 

THEN IT WAS M&G TIME!!! They set up the background right in front of the stage. We lined up to go in and bap was standing like: jongup, youngjae, daehyun, himchan, zelo! It was plat individual photos first, then baby group + hi-touch, then plat group + hi-touch. BABYz really went for it!! Like a lot of us got hugs! We were able to watch the whole m&g but they didnt let us have our phones out ;A; (and I also had used up all 6.5 GB of space on my phone OTL) BAP were SOOOOOOOO sweet UGH we stan literal ANGELS!! They love BABYz so fricken much!! JSJ was sooo nice to allow a lot of fan interactions AHHHHHHHH BAP did a lot of cute poses and played around with BABYz! LEt mE TELL YOU THAT BAP IS SERIOUSLY SOOOO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL, HANDSOME, GORGEOUS, STUNNING, MESMERIZING, UP CLOSE HOW DID MY HEART EVEN SURVIVE?????? I GOT TO BEAR HUG EVERYONEEEE THEYRE ALL SO TALL AND IM HELLA SMOL SO THEY HAD TO SQUAT DOWN FOR ME HUUHUU THYE LIKE PATTED MY BACK DURING THE HUGS TOO AHHHHHH WE HAD A DECENT AMOUNT OF TIME WITH ALL OF THEM!!! I TOLD DAEHYUN I SAW HIM IN KOREA IN ASU AND HE WAS LIKE OOOOOH THANK YOU!!! CURSES TO MY TINY AF VOICE CUZ I DONT THINK THEY ALL EVEN REALLY HEARD WHAT I SAID SOMETIMES!!! I told Zelo he was too tall for me lmaooo I really wanna see how much he had to bend down for me! I seriously wished that my m&g was recorded but :((((((((((( After my m&g I legit squealed and hugged my friend lmao but the staff yelled at us for being too loud LMAO BUT GIRL WE JUST HUGGED FCKN KINGS LIKE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We tried to contain ourselves as much as possible LOL Daehyun said thank you out loud to a lot of BABYz after their m&g! Zelo kept dabbing at BABYz lmaooo a lot of them didnt notice tho cuz he would do it after they had already passed him HAHAHA when it was my hi-touch I dabbed at Zelo hahah and he dabbed back :D I wanted to get a group hug from them but i got too excited and FUCKING FORGOT to ask for a group hug *kicks myself* Now I wish I had written my name on a name tag (like “HI I’M JUNIE”) and hope they wouldve said “HI JUNIE”  but I didnt OTL 

I really wish I could relive the whole day. I wish I was able to record my m&g and got a group hug or them to say my name or I had said something more to them but it’s ok my heart is very very happy and I love bap soo much. My 7 year love for them continues and I will really love them forever. Let’s meet again soon, my loves! I’m looking forward to then~! 

[travllingbunny]

The 100 rewatch: 2x14 Bodyguard of Lies

A solid episode that focuses on a small number of character interactions and some action scenes and sets up the climax of the season, the two-part finale. I’ve only realized on this rewatch what is unusual about 2x14: half of the main characters don’t appear in it. There is no Abby or Kane, no Jasper, Monty or any of the Delinquents in Mount Weather, and no Lincoln, even though he’s somewhere around the camp of the joint Grounder/Arker army, which is one of the few locations this episode focuses on.

According to The 100 wiki, the title comes from a quote by Winston Churchill (dude really had a way with words, his various quotes have been used in the pop culture quite a bit): "In wartime, truth is so precious that she must often be attended by a bodyguard of lies." In other words, sorry peeps, but we leaders feel we need to lie to you and deceive you and we justify that by “It is war”. In this case, it’s Lexa and Clarke trying to hide the fact they knew about the bombing of Tondc and didn’t warn anyone, and dealing (in very different ways) the potential problem posed by Octavia figuring out what happened. This storyline is focused on the relationship between Clarke and Lexa, which undergoes some development including Lexa explicitly showing her romantic interest in Clarke for the first time, and between Clarke and Octavia, which has, unsurprisingly, seriously deteriorated. Meanwhile, Bellamy’s plot is about his attempts to disable the acid fog, which is crucial for the war against Mount Weather. Raven is helping Bellamy talking to him by radio, and also gets an opportunity for a new relationship and maybe also start moving on from Finn (or maybe not). And there’s some more movement in the B plot with Jaha’s and Murphy’s journey.

Rating: 9/10

I feel like this episode more or less encapsulates the main features of the overall dynamic between Clarke and Lexa: Lexa really wants Clarke, loves the idea of the two of them as natural born leaders who are just right for each other because they’re the same (in her mind) and tries to make Clarke more like herself (aka the type of leader she thinks is the best, ruthless and without “weaknesses” like compassion), but at the same time is torn between going for it and doing the “I’m the strong unemotional leader” thing; Clarke is drawn to/intrigued by Lexa, but not sure if she would like to pursue anything, and most of the time her mind is elsewhere, too distracted by thinking about the fates of her people – those she’s been doing everything for all this time – and above all, she needs Lexa’s support to save her people, but also has to spend most of her energy on getting Lexa to use less violent and murdery methods, and not do things such as kill Clarke’s friends. This time, the episode largely revolves around the issue of whether Octavia is going to tell people the truth about Tondc, which could result in the alliance falling apart (and I’m guessing that’s not just about the alliance between Arkers and Grounders – I doubt that leaders of other Grounder clans would be happy to know that Lexa let a bomb drop on them without warning them). Clarke’s solution was to try to convince Octavia not to say anything, while Lexa’s solution was to have her murdered by one of her bodyguards.

But that’s getting ahead. At the start of this episode, when we see Clarke and Lexa discussing the war, Clarke was, once again, pacing and loudly worrying about Bellamy, as she has been almost constantly since he went to Mount Weather. I already thought in 1x10 Lexa was noticing the way Clarke talks about Bellamy, but now the subtext has become text, as she starts questioning her about her feelings, trying to assess the competition:

Lexa: “You care about him”

Clarke: “I care about all of them.”

Lexa: “But you worry about him more.”

But Clarke is not ready to admit that – I’m not sure how much she’s even ready to face up that herself at this point, but she’s certainly not ready to admit that aloud to others, so she starts explaining it all by Bellamy’s importance to the survival of the entire group. (It’s kind of like when Bellamy is repeating “We need Clarke” in 3x02). I don’t think Lexa looks all that convinced, and I’m not sure that yet another one of Clarke’s constant speeches about how awesome Bellamy is, is helping convince her, or me. But it seems there’s a sizable portion of the audience who totally bought it and is convinced that there was absolutely nothing between Clarke and Bellamy other than work partnership feelings, and these really unsubtle hints to the contrary didn’t mean a thing.

Lexa replies by lecturing Clarke once again about leadership, telling her that she is born to be a leader just as she was, and that she could be an awesome leader who will be able to inspire people and ask them to die for her. It’s not surprising that this is how she thinks of leadership – she was treated all her life as someone who’s above mere mortals due to a special bloodline, had to fight and kill some other kids, and became an absolute ruler as a child, and I’m sure she thinks she’s doing something really good for Clarke when she’s telling her that they’re both special and above everyone else and that she needs to treat her “subjects” as expendable. Clarke is, fortunately, unimpressed.

Clarke’s and Octavia’s relationship becomes really strained at this point, to put it mildly, since Octavia makes it clear that she’s figured out the truth about Tondc, and tells Clarke exactly how she feels about it. Clarke is again on the defensive, as with Abby before, trying to explain her reasons – protecting Bellamy, winning the war - but obviously feeling guilty. Octavia doesn’t accept her reasons even after Clarke brings up Bellamy, pointing out the fact that Bellamy would never want that and would prefer to find another way – which I’m sure Clarke is well aware of, but she replies: “I couldn’t take that risk”. (In contrast to what she said in 2x09 when she told Bellamy he should go to Mount Weather, revoking her former objection based on the risk to his life: “I was being weak… It is worth the risk”.) Octavia is unimpressed, especially since Clarke kind of left her to die, tells her she doesn’t take her orders (which is the third time one of Clarke’s friends have told her that this season – after Bellamy and Raven), accuses Clarke of giving herself the right to decide who lives or dies, and as the ultimate insult/accusation, compares Clarke to the leadership on the Ark: “You’d fit right in the Council”. (The prospect of becoming just like the people she resented and who executed her father, is something that will haunt Clarke in season 4, too.) Octavia tells Clarke she won’t say anything because of winning the war, but that they’re done being friends.

As Octavia later finds out, she’s not the only one who’s figured out the truth: Indra has already been aware of it, but she’s OK with it and still loyal to the Commander, she has Lexa did what she had to do, blames only the Mountain Men for all the deaths, and she thinks “Lexa is a great commander because she’s ruthless.” Questionable whether that’s a trait of a good leader or not, but that’s one way to look at it. “That’s why we’re going to win this war”. Or not.

Clarke goes on to save Octavia’s life – without Octavia even knowing – when she realizes what’s going on and stops Lexa’s bodyguard from murdering Octavia, and then goes on to confront Lexa and convince her to stop trying to kill her, and that she guarantees for Octavia, because Octavia will not do anything to endanger her brother, because he is the most important thing to her in the world. (There is no bigger believer in the strength of the Blake sibling relationship than Clarke.) It’s kind of funny when Clarke tells Lexa: “You can’t kill everyone you don’t trust!” and Lexa replies “Actually, I can”.  But Clarke is really angry and also has been fed up with Lexa’s “Love is weakness” lectures, and maybe also because Lexa was questioning her about her feelings before, so she goes on the offensive and tells Lexa that she’s just pretending, mentions Gustus and Costia as examples that Lexa has feelings, and tells her that emotions are not a weakness, but that Lexa has feelings but is weak for trying to deny them. It’s good to see Clarke take an upper hand, though maybe the scene is a bit too on the nose, by making this visually explicit by Clarke getting into Lexa’s face and Lexa literally retreating and having her back against the wall.

Lexa feels calls out and has a vulnerable moment when she basically admits that she has feelings for Clarke, by replying that she didn’t let everyone die in the bombs: “Not everyone… not you.” Which seems to take Clarke aback. Now, I’m guessing this was supposed to mean “I would not have let you die” (though it’s exactly what she does in 2x15) – because it’s not like Lexa saved Clarke’s life there, Clarke was the one who warned her about the missile. But be that as it may, it is kind of messed up to imply “You are the one person not expendable to me, I can’t let you die, but that doesn’t apply to everyone else, like your friends and family”. I’ve said before that Lexa is Clarke’s “Shadow” character, and this fits right into that, because there’s a parallel to the way Clarke was protecting Bellamy but let his sister almost die – and this is something that she does consciously in 4x10/4x11.

The dialogue between Clarke and Lexa in this episode about what real strength is, and what life should be about, is really interesting, and Clarke has one of those memorable lines that get callbacks throughout the show: “Maybe life should be about more than just surviving. Don't we deserve better than that?”

Which prompts Lexa to make her decision in her “love – yes or no?” dilemma, and kiss Clarke for the first time. This kiss seems to have overshadowed everything else in the popular consciousness – probably because canon f/f romances on US network TV were still not that common in 2015? I’m pretty sure there were less uncommon on cable, and these days they’re not uncommon on CW, either, but this must have been a big thing at the time. What I like about this is the casual way that this scene revealed both Clarke’s bisexuality, and the fact that people in the universe of The 100 don’t have any kind of prejudice against same sex attraction/relationships and don’t even seem to put labels on people in terms of sexuality, just like they don’t seem to think in terms of race. (Of course, just because the characters don’t, doesn’t mean that the audience does not, which is what complicates the whole thing.)

Clarke is clearly surprised by the kiss, finds herself being into it and returns it for a moment, but then pulls away – but clearly none of it is in any way because of Lexa being a woman. She didn’t notice Lexa’s interest before because she was obviously distracted, and as she explains, she’s not ready for another relationship – with anyone – yet. Completely understandable – since she had to kill her ex-boyfriend (and probably first love) about a week before! It’s interesting that the music during the kiss was the kind of score indicating dramatic tension, rather than romance (unlike the music and lighting in 3x07).

But Clarke is not the only character who gets an opportunity to maybe move on a week after Finn’s death: the developing relationship between Raven and fellow mechanic Kyle Wick gets a lot of screentime in this episode. They did have good chemistry, and it’s obvious that this was meant to be a major romance for Raven (with how much screentime it got in this and 2x15/2x16) – but the fact that the actor playing Wick was such a jerk in real life ruined it all, so it’s all kind of weird to watch now, after the ship was dropped and Wick written out. The sex scene between them is one of the better ones in the show – and Raven’s disability is not ignored, but isn’t an obstacle, either (Wick mentions that the brace he designed would be easier to take off). However, when I think about the timeline, I have less sympathy for Wick regarding his disappointment that Raven is clearly having second thoughts after sex and doesn’t feel like having a real relationship. It’s been a week since she watched her ex-boyfriend die and less than a month since they broke up, and that was her only boyfriend that she had been with for years and known all her life! Dude, give her a break!

There isn’t much to say about Bellamy’s plot in this episode – as in much of season 2, he’s being the perfect action hero. Which makes season 2 the least interesting for him in terms of character development (and least controversial). Here, he apparently manages to disable the acid fog (or “the Veil” as the Mountain Men call it – what a euphemism!) following Raven’s and Wick’s advice, to the joy of Raven and Wick (who go on to hug and then impulsively have sex) and Clarke and Lexa and the whole army (who get pumped up for battle – Lexa especially looks pumped up to fight, which is weird considering that she does a 180 in the next episode). But – twist – of course it wasn’t that easy: Cage and Emerson had known that there’s an intruder for a while, and that was all a ploy to get the army to get close enough to Mount Weather so they could deploy the acid fog on them. Bellamy realizes that and has a big Die Hard style action scene, where he escapes several guards and disables the acid fog by blowing up the room, and somehow manages to escape through the vent. It looked like he was caught by the explosion and would at least get severely burned, so I’m not sure how he got out of it without any serious injuries, except for being protected by Plot Armor.

The Mountain Men at this point are in a pretty tough situation: Emerson tells Cage that they have nothing left to protect them from the army coming in, except the door. It certainly looks like our protagonists are at the verge of victory that’s going to be much easier than expected? Ha ha, of course not, this is The 100…

…

In in the completely separate B plot about Jaha’s party looking for the City of Light: the party keeps following Emori’s advice to go “north”, but they run into an unmarked minefield. Two people die in the mine explosion, so their little group is now just 4 people. (It started with 12 of them, but 6 people changed their minds in 2x12 and decided to go back to Camp Jaha. We never found out what happened to them.)

One of the casualties was a guy called Harris, who liked telling dark jokes such as “A Grouder and a Reaper walk into a bar…” and “A Grounder, an Arker and a Mountain man walk into a bar…” It didn’t take it long for people at Camp Jaha to turn the newest shocking revelations (cannibalism, the Mountain Men draining the Grounders and Arkers) into dark humor. He got blown up before he got to the punchline of the second one, but according to one of the executive producers, the punchline was the Mountain Men saying “Make theirs a double” after the Arker and the Mountain Man ordered drinks. I don’t normally pay much attention to behind-the-scenes stuff, since it’s not canon, but in this case, I’ll make an exception - it’s not like we’ll ever hear the rest of the joke on-screen. I like these kinds of in-universe jokes, you rarely hear any kind of humor on The 100, but it makes sense that people would try to cope with traumatic situations that way, it’s what people often do in real life.

They think for a moment they’ve reached the City of Light when they see glowing field. Jaha’s determination is unwavering and he finds a way through the minefield with others following in his footsteps, but the glowing field turns out to be a solar panel at the seaside. That doesn’t deter Jaha, but disappoints everyone else - but to everyone’s surprise, a drone appears when Murphy hits a panel with a rock, and directs them to a boat on the other side. (The drone was ALIE’s, of course, but minefield, like the panel, was probably there from before the nuclear apocalypse – protecting the way to the bunker? I’m not sure why ALIE would want a minefield there - she wants to entice people, not deter them from coming?)

Jaha, of course, insists they take it, and keeps talking about faith and the higher purpose, convinced that there had to be a reason he survived against all odds. Murphy plays the role of the mouthpiece of the audience when he has another good line: “I wonder, what level of crazy is too much for you? I’m just curious.” But they still all follow Jaha – partly because there’s not much they could do at this point, but there is also power in that kind of conviction: you may sound nuts, but at least you have a clear idea what you want, while everyone else is lost.

At this point, I really had no patience with Jaha, and I disliked him from season 1 – he really annoyed me with his refusal to ever question his actions. Instead of feeling guilty, like Kane, Jaha was always justifying everything he did. However, while I haven’t changed my views on him as a leader, on rewatch, I have more sympathy because I think I finally understand where it all comes from: he basically sacrificed his son for what he saw as the “greater good” and something he thought he had to do as a leader, and that that keeps haunting him and will as long as he’s alive, so he feels has nothing else to live for except to make some grand gesture that will save everyone. He feels he has to have a greater destiny, and he can’t question himself, or try to be live like a normal person, because then he’d feel that Wells’ death was for nothing.

Timeline: This episode probably takes place on the day after the previous episode.  

And this is how I calculated it has been around 7 days since Finn’s death: the end of 2x08 was at night; 2x09 lasted 2 days and ends again at night; there 2 days between the end of that episode and 2x11 (since it was said that’s how long Monty was missing after being taken and put in a cage); 2x12 started6 hours after the end of 2x11 and ended at night again – and we know it was 2 days since 2x10 (since Abby said Jaha had left two days ago), meaning it lasted1 day; 2x13 started almost immediately after 2x12, at night, lasted one day and ended the next night; 2x14 is presumably set on the day after. Which makes a week.

Body count: 

Two Arkers (Harris and Lily) in Jaha’s party, in the mine explosion; 

several Mount Weather guards (6 according to the wiki) blown up by Bellamy– which would mean there are 346 Mountain Men left.

[winedownwithcoffee]

DWTS Season 27 TRIO WEEK Trashy Thoughts

Whew this season is a cluster and I LOVE IT. Unpredictable my friends. Keeping us on our toes. I am going to make and insert my favorite gifs from each dance too

Opening: Cute little opener. Not much to say about it lol

JP & Cheryl+Melissa Rycroft: He got a ROUGH package, which is very interesting to me…Very interesting. I hate this dance. Everything about it. The music styling, all of it. He can move his hips. That is about it. This is a whole as mess. At least she added a couple of cha cha steps? But this is trash and I hate it. All of it.  A whole ass posing trash mess. I actually agreed with CAI for the first time, I canNOT connect with him. At all. 8-8-8 shoulda had a 7 IMO

Tinashe & Brandon+Amy Purdy: Amy & Tinashe should have had DIFFERENT colors. They straight up SAID the best dancers don’t last AND high scores don’t keep you there. WE ALLLLLLLLLLL should have seen it coming tbh. I honestly didn’t hate this dance, but Amy messed up a few points and also I hate Brandon’s facials something fierce… It was forgettable. Plain and simple.  9-8-9 would have said 8.5. It was fine but like I just don’t really remember it until now that I have rewatched it.

John & Emma+ Joey Fatone: I. LOVE. JOEY. I adore him. I adore her costuming. If her hair hadn’t gotten stuck it would have been amazing at the beginning. I actually REALLY enjoyed this dance. Like a lot. And the music was STUNNING. I didn’t expect to like John as much as I do this season. And I can’t with Joey’s makeup. KILLING me  lmaooooo I skipped through the judges because I am over it lol I liked it and him with the judges kills me. 7-7-7 and I agree

MALE.PRO.BUMPER. IS EVERYTHING MY THOT ASS NEEDED LAST NIGHT. WHEW GOD SHINED DOWN ON US LAST NIGHT LADIES. Though my hoe ass wishes they were shirtless. Also obviously Artem and Val don’t hate hate each other

Evanna & Keo+ Scarlett Brynne: I still don’t understand why these RANDOM ASS PEOPLE are in these fuckin trios man. Why?? I hate it. It’s crap and dumb. She kept up overall. Keo overdanced her again though. I watch him more than her sometimes because he is more dynamic. Scarlett missed steps. Also she kinda looks like Janel LOL. 8-8-8 and I concur. Also I couldn’t find any other giffable moment than this LMAO

Demarcus & Lindsay+ Rashad Jennings: Okay I KNEW this was going to happen with this dance. Okay the package was whew. That broken finger man gahhhhhh and he was so chill about it LOL that football mentality man. Okay as for the dance, I knew this was going to happen. Rashad is too good to go with Demarcus. It highlighted that Demarcus is the weaker dancer of the two. Rashad danced down to Demarcus’s level and Demarcus tried too hard to dance to Rashad’s level and it lost the intensity in my opinion. He doesn’t hit things like Rashad does and this made it apparent. It wasn’t a bad dance AT ALL but it highlighted the WRONG things. 7-7-8 I think that was about right

MLR & Sasha+Nastia Lukin: I am glad ya’ll enjoy her because I just don’t care one way or the other for he. Probably because she’s with Sasha and every time I see him I wanna hit him. The package was good though, she needed that. I think this dance suited MLR more because of alllllll of my issues with her the last three weeks. She still poses so much. There wasn’t as much trio as I would have preferred but that’s the first dance of hers I liked. 9-8-9 I’d have said 8

Milo & Witney+ Riker Lynch: I have been looking forward to this dance all week tbh. Riker should have won that season LOL I really really enjoy Milo. And I am glad to see Witney back to her old self. LMAO Witlash. Milo coming off a little cocky though. She almost fell twice though lol It was what I expected. I did love it. A lot. 10-9-10 and I agree

Joe & Jenna+Jordan Kimbrell: Okay. I have so many thoughts. WHY THE AF DID THEY PUT THIS RANDOM SHIT ON HERE?? Jordan is more charismatic than Joe tbh. Whew okay. Time to start the actual dance. Jenna looks stunning so there is that. I can’t stop laughing though. The minute they ripped the shirts off I lost it lmaooooo omg the “body grind “ was so Bad. Then gleb and Val came in and saved the shit out of it. Omg I can’t with this dance. I can’t quit laughing. And Val and gleb at the end. WHEW that was a fucking hot mess. But I cackled LMAO Jenna’s just like fuck it I give up LOL Bruno is me. This is a unique experience. I said 3 but yeah that sounds about right. And OMG stop I never saw alan and bobby booty popping omgggg

Alexis & Alan+Maddie Ziegler: AGAIN WHY TF IS THIS RANDOM ON MY SCREEN. Though they look like twins. Still don’t care about Alexis tbh. Don’t care at all. This dance wasn’t bad. She overdanced Alexis imo. And they didn’t dance together. Alexis has the same problem as demarcus this week. She is way too soft. But she seemed to enjoy this week the most so that’s good. But meh whatevs 8-8-9 also, see below the most WTF choreographed bit last night

Bobby & Sharna+Lindsey Sterling: I think they kinda got jipped getting cha cha with Lindsey. She’s not the most hip actiony person lol but they cute. Cute package. Really pushing about the dreams he’s living. This is 100% a  lipsync battle lmao he hit those hammer moves though. I just can’t stop smiling through this though. It was a whole ass blast dude. The cha cha was lacking but it was fun! 7-6-7 which I mean okay yeah

OKAY so my thoughts re: that elimination that none of you asked for but if you actually read this shit show then you will get. I am ONLY shocked about her going home last night because of the jeopardy last week. I am not shocked she went home early. She’s entirely forgettable when you have people like Bobby and Joe and Milo and Evy. The people that don’t really vote or don’t watch live or are just basic casual viewers continuously forget her. My flip phone loving, email incapable memaw forgot she was on until she started dancing. Mama asked what dance she did last week because she honestly couldn’t remember. That is Tinashe’s problem. She was a superb dancer but easily forgettable this season. I was only shocked because I thought that jeopardy would carry her another couple of weeks.

[kristallioness]

21 Questions about ATLA

I was tagged by @atypicalkataangist. Wow, thanks for including me in this quiz! I've seen others reblog a list of numbered questions similar to these, expecting to receive some asks that they could answer in return. But now I get to do them in one go.

1) Who's your favourite male character?

I'm unoriginal and gonna say it's Aang. Not only because of him being the main character, but also because he was the first boy in the show who I immediately started to like (Sokka was second, Zuko was third in the beginning since he was a villain and I grew to love him more and more along with his character development), the way he balances his carefree, childish personality with his more mature, responsible side, his back story and peaceful culture.. Most importantly, without him, there wouldn't be the second half of such a lovely couple like he and Katara are.

2) Who's your favourite female character?

Katara. She's not only my favourite female character, but favourite character of them all, right from the start and until the end. The moment I saw her I fell in love since she looked really pretty and she wore a braid, just like me. Seeing what a caring, motherly, fierce personality she had (like mine) only fuelled my love for her.

3) What's your favourite quote?

Since Katara's my favourite character, then my first choice would be: "I will never, ever turn my back on people who need me!" Because that's sort of who I am and what I'm like, too. It's almost like a motto that I live by without thinking about it twice. I'm self-sacrificing and try to help my friends whenever they need it and as much as I can. I just remembered another good one, a quote that affected me on a more personal level. I'm pretty sure that only 0.0000000001% of the fandom would choose this one: "I don't care what I look like. I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am." The best part is, this is something that Toph says to Katara after she's been made fun of for her appearance by a bunch of prissy Upper Ring Earth Kingdom girls. How did this affect me? I started crying when I first saw this scene. Why? Because this was something that I'd been struggling with for years. I'd been bullied for my appearance at school. It used to make me feel worthless, unlovable, alone, probably also the reason why I turned into such a quiet person who doesn't know how to be around real friends. Hearing a blind, tomboyish, badass earthbender say what I needed to hear all along made me understand that it's not true - my appearance does not define my worth or who I am inside.

4) What's your favourite fight?

I knew you answered Katara and Pakku's duel @atypicalkataangist (and that one came to my mind, too, since it is one of my favourites because of reasons), but since I recently rewatched "The Serpent's Pass", I'm gonna pick Aang and Katara beating up that huge serpent. That was some awesome bending teamwork there! I went through all of the episodes in my head, and I gotta say that I also really like the duel between Aang and Zuko in "Bato of the Water Tribe". And one of the first ones where Haru and his father Tyro, along with the rest of the earthbenders, fight their way to freedom in the prison. The ending of that episode always leaves me with such a powerful feeling.

5) What's your favourite episode?

The big finale, "Sozin's Comet, Part 4: Avatar Aang". I sobbed practically throughout the entire episode when I first saw it. The soundtrack playing in the end is so beautiful to listen to and it still brings tears to my eyes. This episode concludes everything the show set up in the most unexpected ways possible. I mean, did any of us foresee Zuko being crowned the new Fire Lord (after you watched the first episode)? Did our hearts break into a million pieces when Katara and Aang kissed and became a couple in the end? Enough said.

6) From which nation would you like to be?

I'm not sure whether this is cheating or not, but since the story of ATLA continues in the comics and during Korra's time, I'd really love to be from the United Republic of Nations. I just love how it's a nation of mixed cultures, I am in LOVE with Republic City (as well as its 1920's aesthetic) and the capital reminds me of my own (Tallinn is also near the sea, has a marvellous silhouette, 4 seasons). Or if not, then my choice would definitely be the Water Tribes. I've explained it pretty well under the description of this drawing of mine.

7) Which element would you like to be able to bend and why?

Easy, I'd pick water since my 2nd choice when applying for university 5 years ago was to become a doctor. I'd like to use my healing abilities to cure people and my graceful waterbending to battle bad guys like Katara!

8) Favourite animal in the Avatar Universe?

I'm probably unoriginal, but I'm torn between the sky bison or the dragons. Oh, and the ostrich horses!

9) Who would you like to be your teacher and why?

I'm thinking it could be either Katara, Aang or Zuko, in this exact order. Katara and Aang would both be really supportive and I consider Zuko to be really wise (remember what he said to Korra before departing? he learned so much throughout the years).

10) What was the saddest moment in the show?

I have an entire list of the scenes/moments that made me cry, let me check.. *reads* Which sad moment made me cry the most, I'mma pick that one.. Okay, I can't decide because there are a few, let me name them: * the ones that stand out the most are all 3 finales * when Katara thought that her mother was alive in the swamp * when Aang enters the Avatar State and wants to kill the sandbenders, but Katara doesn't run away and instead grabs his hand and pulls him back down into her embrace and they cry together * Iroh singing the lullaby to his deceased son on his birthday (my parents have always said that one of the worst things a parent can live through is the death of their own child, so when I saw this scene, I understood what they meant and started crying) * Jet's death * Aang unlocking his heart chakra * almost the entirety of "The Awakening" (because everything seemed so hopeless and going the wrong way, when Katara and Hakoda talked), seriously, this is the most depressing episode in my book and that's why I love it so much * Sokka talking to Toph about how he's forgotten what his mother looks like and Katara is the one who's taken her place * when the invasion fleet was defeated on the Day of Black Sun and Katara knelt down beside Aang to comfort him * Zuko and his uncle Iroh's reconciliation and his speech to Team Avatar before they departed

11) What was the most shocking moment in the show?

You answered the same way: Aang getting shot with lightning. It came out of nowhere. When I saw Katara's face full of hope I thought that now they were going to make it since Aang had the power to face the Dai Li as well as Zuko and Azula. In a split second, everything changed and took a turn for the worst.

12) What was the funniest moment in the show?

There are so many good jokes, how do you expect me to pick just one??? Okay, umm.. when Sokka tried to fight against the villagers who believed too much of Aunt Wu's fortunes with logic and rational thinking (I can relate to him, poor Sokka).. How Aang messed up and unintentionally made Katara upset by insulting her instead of giving her a compliment when they were lost in the caves. Or the time Sokka and Katara had to pose as Aang's parents to go to the principal's office after school.

13) What was the most unforgettable moment in the show?

Maybe the whole scene before Zuko's coronation starts, "Peace" playing in the background, we see friends and family reunited, happy, alive. We witness something few of us could've predicted: the last person we ever thought, who went through and learned so much, is crowned the new Fire Lord. It's such a victorious moment and never leaves me without emotion.

14) Which one is your favourite book?

I have a weird system concerning this. Book 1 was sort of like the start of their journey, the world was slowly being built and introduced to us. Book 2 became much more serious, the characters gained more depth and the stakes began to rise. When I thought it couldn't get any better, I was proven horribly wrong. Book 3 became far more emotional than I ever could've imagined. So it's like my love grew with each book, and I kind of love the last one the most for this reason.

15) Who had the greatest character development in the show?

Everybody developed so much, but I'd definitely say it was Zuko. At first, I didn't really care much about him. Just another villain trying to capture someone for his own personal gain, I figured. But that all changed when I saw his back story in "The Storm". I started to look at him from a completely different angle. I began to understand where he came from, why he was doing this. I saw how much he struggled, how many wrongs he committed. The climax was when he faced his own father and told him: "No! I've learned everything! And I've had to learn it on my own. Growing up, we were taught that the Fire Nation was the greatest civilization in history and somehow, the war was our way of sharing our greatness with the rest of the world. What an amazing lie that was! The people of the world are terrified by the Fire Nation! They don't see our greatness, they hate us! And we deserve it." This is what he learned by spending time as a refugee in the Earth Kingdom, by witnessing firsthand what his nation, what this war was doing to others. And he was determined to set things right by joining Aang and his friends, teaching him firebending and stopping his own homeland from going down this path.

16) What do you love most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

The story that Bryan and Michael came up with. I have NEVER cried so much, laughed at so many original jokes, heard such gorgeous instrumental music made by Jeremy Zuckerman, the raw emotion behind the voice actors.. every little bit is what makes this story and this series so amazing, fulfilling and perfect.

17) What do you hate most about Avatar: The Last Airbender?

I don't hate anything about the show per se, perhaps more about the way the fandom can act sometimes.

18) With which character do you identify most?

Like I answered in question 2, Katara. Her personality reflects mine the most, we share similar values in life, I love her family (Hakoda and Sokka) because they have such loving relationships with each other (Katara and Hakoda made me emotional several times, and they only had a few scenes together!).

19) Is Avatar: The Last Airbender your favourite cartoon/anime?

Ever since I discovered it, and I think it'll remain as my favourite cartoon for the rest of my life. Nothing can ever impact me as much as Avatar has.

20) Would you want to be the Avatar?

Thinking just how messed up our own world is right now, how my aggressive eastern neighbour has occupied parts of 2 independent countries, how helpless and angry I feel that I can't do anything about it - Y E S. I want to bring peace and balance back to our world, too. And if I had my own loving, supportive partner (like Aang) by my side, I'd do it again in a thousand lifetimes.

21) What's your favourite ship?

I personally ship everything that has been or is currently canon. My OTP is obviously Kataang, though I'm also one of the few friendly multishippers out here. Which means that I don't mind seeing beautiful stuff about Zutara either, for instance. (Seriously, you should check out my tag, there are so many lovely gifsets there, be it romantic or platonic.)

To sum up, thank you once more for tagging me! I'm not gonna tag anyone specific, but if any of you would like to do this, too, then go ahead! It was really fun to reflect back on why I love this show so much.

[killian-whump]

Once GTKY

No one tagged me that I know of. I just like answering questions and doing whatever the hell I want :) Also, I don’t know what this has to do with the Greater Kentucky Credit Union, but I’m here anyway.

Rules: Copy the bolded questions and answer them yourself! Don’t forget the specific question that was posed to you by the person who tagged you. (See “Individual question for the people you tag”). Then tag up to 7 people, one for each season. Or just, like, do whatever you want. - kw

Musical episode: Yay or nay?

Definitely yay! There were parts I liked more (Revenge, the opening Snowing number, the wedding number) than others (the Regina/Snowing duel song, Emma’s song, Zelena’s number (sorry)), but overall the whole thing was so much fun to watch and I wish there were, like, 20 more of them.

When did you start watching Once, and do you remember why?

4a for the Frozen arc. Not what you were expecting, eh? ;) I was a casual watcher from the pilot up through 3b, and my faves were Regina and Hook (yes, in that order ;)) but I started watching religiously for the Frozen arc, because Frozen actually holds a VERY dear place in my heart. Once I was in the habit of watching, I kept watching... and in the S5 hiatus, I went Hook-mad (can’t imagine why ;)) and re-watched everything. Later, I made this blog :)

What made watching Once worthwhile?

Colin O’Donoghue. Hook. All versions. Regina. Meeting you guys <3

First + Current Main Ships?

First ship... Hooked Queen, original recipe. I was so pissed that they were putting the sexy pirate with Emma instead of my favorite character. During my rewatch, I saw the charm of CS and started shipping it. But I’m a multi-shipper at heart. My main ship now is Hooked Queen, new recipe ;) I favor CS for Storybrooke Hook.

First + Current Favorite character?

Regina was my favorite. Honestly, I LOVED her and was “meh” about everyone else in S1, hence my only casual viewership and ultimate dislike for that season. One good character is not enough to get me watching a show :/ From S2 on, it was Regina and Hook. I added Zelena as a third fave in S3. Currently, my faves are Hook, Regina, Zelena in that order :)

Favorite arc (Why?)?

Underworld arc, for super top secret reasons.

Favorite plot twist?

Killian being a Dark One. I dunno, man, I just didn’t see it coming until it was coming, and I was absolutely making that shockedmonkey.gif face the whole scene.

Hardest death to watch?

Hook’s... umm... third death? Because the first two were obviously “non-sticky” deaths you knew he’d come back from, but DAMN that third one looked pretty fucking real and I legit thought he might be leaving the show. Then Emma said she was going into the Underworld to get him back and I was like, “Oh, okay. This might be excellent, actually.” And then it was.

This character should have gotten more time?

Hook. I mean, there will never be a time when you’ll ever hear me say, “Oh, there was just enough of Colin O’Donoghue in this” because I will ALWAYS wish there was more of him. Always. But I think they should’ve kept Hyde around as a “redeemed” villain. His backstory was begging for it, and watching him and the Evil Queen flounce around town was so delightful.

How do you summarize the show to your friends? (max. 3 sentences):

Silly fairytale show and fairytale people and fairytale stuff. Has that guy I like in it.

Favorite Once specific trope (think Memory Wipe, Family Trees, Glowing Walkey-Talkey Hearts, Head Achey Timelines…)

Heart-ripping. It looks so dramatic onscreen and is so ripe for whumpy fics and art, but at the same time, the bts reality of it is hilarious to me XD “Dig your fingers into his chest and then YANK your hand away really violently. Then hold still while a stage hand runs over and sneaks a rubbery heart into your hand. It’ll look all glowy and cool in the show, but it looks like a mis-shapen bouncy ball for now. Just go with it. Major drama. Annnnnnnnd action!”

Three quotes that mean a lot to you?

Honestly, I don’t think there’s a lot of quotes from the show that mean a lot to me. For some reason, I’m very fond of the “You’re impossible.” “And you love me for it.” exchange in 5x14. It seems to make its way into my fics a lot. Honestly, there’s more quotes of Colin’s that mean something to me. All the times he mentions how much he likes getting knocked out or how he’s not averse to Hook getting tied up... because I would be genuinely upset if I thought he would be uncomfortable with the subject of my blog, but I legitimately think he'd be okay with it - and that means a lot to me. It also means a LOT to me whenever I hear other actors talk about how kind Colin is and how great he is to work with. It warms my heart to know I’m supporting such a good guy. Also, there’s something Colin said at a convention about love itself being a spiritual thing to him and I can’t find it now and that makes me sad, but it really meant a lot to me that he feels that way, because it’s something I feel very strongly about. I’ve got it somewhere. I’ll probably find it 30 seconds after I post this.

Favourite funny scene?

Zelena hitting the Black Fairy with her car. Hands down.

Favorite Platonic Ship:

Captain Charming.

Favorite dish from Granny’s?

Hook. What? He’s a dish, and he lived in the B&B for awhile.

What part of the newly merged realms would you like to live in?

Storybrooke. Never underestimate indoor plumbing.

SherlockianWhovian’s Question: Favourite version of Hook?

Tortured Hook. Although as more traditional versions go, I have to admit I have a soft spot for Detective Rogers, because his sweet smiles and guileless muffinness just... I just wanna pull him to my bosom and love him.

I’m not gonna tag anybody, so just do this if you like answering questions and, you know, just wanna do it cos you feel like doing it :)