#it might revive jobs in it it might get productions to use it again | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rallamajoop · 1 year

Text

Resident Evil 7 Ending Text

The ending sequence of RE7 features panning shots of a document containing various photos and text about the project that created Eveline. The text repeats every few paragraphs (often several times in the same image), but it does include some interesting details about Eveline that don't show up elsewhere in the game.

A few lines of the same text even show up again on the side of the Rose flasks in RE8 ‒ Recently deceased. Procedure is untested and early subjects were destroyed too quickly to collect definitive data ‒ and elsewhere, If injections are skipped for prolonged periods of time, the product will age rapidly... (If you have really good eyesight, you might even notice this snippet continues underneath the 'Stabilising Compounds' header.)

But the complete text from RE7 is much longer. I've stuck what I could patch together from the ending sequence under the cut.

The product is a bioweapons commodity created by the Bioweapons Division. It takes the form of a child (in this case a girl named Eveline) which can be purchased and raised to suit individual client needs. Its purpose is mind control — up to and including inducement to violence. Application can vary from political to military to economic destabilization. Method of inducement: chemical transference of psychotropic compounds via skin to skin contact between Product and Subject inducing a mentally suggestive state in the subject responsive only to the product. Known dangers: The Product is currently in the prototype stage and is both mentally and physically unstable requiring regular maintenance injections of stabilizing compounds. If the injections are skipped for prolonged periods of time the Product will age rapidly — 25 Xs faster than normal. Eventually the Product will become insane and a danger to all around it. No tests have been run on subjects depriving them of maintenance chemicals for more than 6 months as the situation became too dangerous for observation. The Product also affects its environment mutating plants and promoting the growth of a highly toxic psychotropic mold, the ingestion of which causes insanity and severe mutations in those who ingest it. There is some indication the use of the mold could revive the recently deceased. However, this has yet to be tested. Early subjects were destroyed much too quickly to collect definitive data on this. Product should ship with a minimum of two Handlers each with serum immunizing them to the Products mental control as well as Stabilizing Compounds. Handlers should be equipped with equipment tuned to Product's biochemisty. One of the Handlers should imprint on the Product as a close relative, either as a mother or as a father figure. This will aid in controlling during field operations. Product is ready for field testing which should be initiated as soon as possible. Suitable clients exist in the Americas, and one should be selected ASAP for test delivery.

Among the more interesting details is that bit about having a handler 'imprint on the Product as a close relative', which is made to sound like it's simply a part of transport procedure ‒ just another thing for handlers to be equipped with. I'd assumed the 'imprinting protocol' Mia refers to in the game meant she must have been involved with the project that created Eveline from early on, but this makes it sound like part of a pre-departure checklist. Could Mia have met Eveline and been 'imprinted' only shortly before they left?

Far creepier is the loud implication that the 'parental' bond of handler to 'Product' would 'aid in controlling during field operations'. Mia gets an awful rap around this fandom, but it's hard to imagine she'd be happy being shipped off as Eveline's permanent field-handler to some foreign government or terrorist organisation ‒ especially given how eager she is to be done with her "babysitting job." But once Eveline was past the 'prototype stage', that sounds like exactly what the Connections intended for handlers like her to do.

Then there's the bit about giving handlers a "serum immunizing them to the Products mental control," which could certainly explain how Mia was able to resist for so long, and is presumably the same agent the Connections supplied to Lucas (I wonder if Zoe ever got her hands on some?) Must be a different serum to the one that actually cures you of the mould, however, since Lucas pretty clearly isn't cured.

Also: There is some indication the use of the mold could revive the recently deceased. However, this has yet to be tested. Early subjects were destroyed much too quickly to collect definitive data on this. Yeah, I'd say that one's been pretty well tested by the end of RE7!

As for that part about Eveline aging 25x faster than normal if not regularly injected with the stabilising compound, the numbers add up surprisingly well! Eveline escaped in October 2014. By September 2016, when Lucas reports she's showing grey hairs, she'd have aged around 2x25=50 years, making her apparent age close to 60. By Ethan's arrival in July 2017, that's 2 years and 9 months, or almost 70 extra years of aging, for total of 80 years old.

Yeah, looks about right to me.

Getting back to RE8, what does it mean that some of this text was reused on the side of the Rose flask? All that stuff about rapid aging clearly applies to Eveline, but seems completely irrelevant to baby Rose.

Much like the RE7 ending, I don't think the text is meant as much more than a bit of convenient lorem ipsum-style filler material ‒ though the fact she's labeled EVE No. 3 is obviously a reference to the project that created Eveline (and yes, the same number appears on all four flasks ‒ it's not a flask number). Which raises the question: who were 1 and 2? Eveline's referred to as E-001, so could 2 be the other member of the E-series we see being killed in necrotoxin tests in the lab photos? Or was Eva 1 and Eveline 2, by Miranda's reckoning? Were these flasks previously used to hold the remains of a previous E-series member tagged E-003?

It's not like it's essential lore or anything, but it'd be interesting to know which version was on the mind of whoever created that asset all the same.

#Resident Evil 7 #Resident Evil Village #Eveline #Rosemary Winters #Mia Winters #RE assets #RE lore #meta

55 notes · View notes

tuttocenere · 11 months

Text

Opera videos that are 10/10 to me

Some recordings I've seen that I personally think are perfect and amazing, listed for your convenience, in chronological order. I have posted about most of these before and probably will again.

Händel, Giulio Cesare in Egitto (1724), Glyndebourne 2005

The opera: It's Julius Caesar in Egypt. Someone loses his head, Cleopatra seduces a guy, her brother is king but not very good at it. This opera is 4 hours long and a lot of stuff happens.

The video: Beautiful choreographies, strange meditations on British colonialism and gender, great costumes too. Lots of stage blood.

Notable singers: Danielle De Niese, Christophe Dumaux

Official link: Glyndebourne Encore, there's also a low res version on medici.tv, there's also a 2013 revival on Met on Demand.

Mozart, Don Giovanni (1787), Festival Aix-en-Provence 2017

The opera: The bad man gets punished. It's Don Juan.

The video: A minimalist, "Brechtian" production. The acting is excellent, the costumes and gestures are very effective, everyone involved is super hot. The camerawork is the best I've seen.

Notable singers: Nahuel di Pierro, Isabel Leonard

Official link: medici.tv, it used to be on Youtube but alas.

Rossini, Le Comte Ory (1828), Metropolitan Opera 2011

The opera: It's a fun farce about a youth who tries to seduce a countess and ends up in a threesome. Peak Rossini.

The video: A very Disney-esque production with simple sets and fairytale costumes, excellent acting, wonderful all around.

Notable singers: Juan Diego Florez, Diana Damrau, Michele Pertusi, Stephane Degout, Joyce DiDonato (yes, all of them)

Official link: Met Opera on Demand

Gounod, Faust (1859), Metropolitan Opera 2011

The opera: A very simplified version of Goethe's tragedy Faust, a scholar makes a deal with the devil, seduces a girl, then regrets it.

The video: Instead of a 16th century devil, the seducer here is 20th century science. Basically Faust is a scientist who works for the military, his work haunts him and kills everyone he loves. The video itself is serviceable, I just really like the concept.

Notable singers: Jonas Kaufmann, Rene Pape

Official link: Met Opera on Demand

Verdi, Don Carlos (1867), Paris 1996

The opera: Based on Schiller's tragedy Don Carlos, it's about a crown prince who is very bad at his job and in love triangles with literally every other character. Heart-rendingly sad. I love it.

The video: This is pure eye candy, everything is unbelievably aesthetic and well shot, the gestures are fantastic, there's a lot of stage blood at one point. Mildly 90s camp but in a good way.

Notable singers: Thomas Hampson, Roberto Alagna, Waltraud Meier

Official link: medici.tv

* Mostly based on whether I think the opera and production and video (and audio) are good. Very much my personal taste; I'm not an expert. I'm linking to official (paid) ways to watch them, all of them can also be found on the internet in various places, but the subtitle situation might be dire. Enjoy responsibly.

#giulio cesare #don giovanni #dg aix 2017 #le comte ory #gounod faust #verdi don c #recommending things #because people asked

18 notes · View notes

ticiie · 1 year

Text

week 1: the first time

prompt from the off-season winter sport fandom challange

characters: Marco Odermatt, Gino Odermatt (mentioned), Paddy Kälin

lenght: 667 words

author's note: as happy as I honestly am about the revival of the osws-prompts, I had a hard time coming up with something for week one. I had to bend and break the prompt in order to find the minimum ammount of inspiration and this is the result that has me apologizing already. Let's hope week 2 turns out easier and therefor better 🤞🏼

The friendly lady that had accompanied Marco through the highly confusing insides of the studio gave him a sign to walk through the corridor. The audience was pretty huge, a lot bigger than the last time he had been here. Marco gave them an awkward wave that only seemed to fire them up. Paddy, the host of tonight’s broadcast, just shrugged. He tried to say something but Marco couldn’t hear a word through the applause. Paddy pointed him to the table and Marco gladly took a seat. He had spotted his sister and one of his best mates sitting in the front row, Alina gave him a secret thumbs up and Marco tried not to laugh at her too much. The crowd eventually calmed down again so Paddy got to fulfil his job as anchor-man.

“Welcome back, thanks for taking your time!”

“Thanks for having me.”

The medals of the world championship were lying at the edge od the round table, close to the three crystal globes Marco had won this season. Paddy didn’t hesitate to use them as a hook to the interview:

“Let me summaries some statistics of your season: Two-time world champion, three-time globe winner, one of them being the overall globe, your second I may add, most points won in a single season on men’s side which got you tearing down a 23 year old record, and since yesterday: national champion in giant slalom. Congratulations.”

“Thank you very much.”

“It sounds a bit unbelievable but this is the first time you’ve won that title! Does it mean as much to you as the other victories?”

“Well, it’s certainly a great feeling to have it secured as well, especially since I can’t compete at the nationals every season, so it’s nice how it worked out this year alongside everything else. But it’s not comparable to winning Adelboden for example. It’s a bit more down to earth, less hectic.” Laughs came through the audience, Marco felt his shoulders relax. After that, the rest of the interview went by smoothly. At one point, Alina gestured Marco to sit up straighter and Marco had to bite his tongue in order not to burst into laughter. As they reached the end of Marco’s screen time, Paddy brought up the topic of vacations and time away from training. Marco chuckled. “It’s really not as much as people might think. I’ve got some more appointments and testing sessions scheduled and I’ll try to get a few weeks off before the first training camp starts again in June.”

“How does an athlete like you spend his vacation? Are you allowing yourself a week on a sunbed with a good book and no physical exercise or do you need to spend it actively? Taking sightseeing-tours, getting an adrenaline kick?” Paddy pointed over his shoulder to the big LED-screen where the production had pulled up a picture on which he and Gino were hanging overhead from a bungee rope. Again, the audience laughed, just like Marco.

“It really doesn’t matter what I do or where I go, you can always be sure to find Gino calling you on day two, complaining about him being bored and asking what the plan for the day is.”

The program was being shown live on national TV. Marco had forgotten to leave his phone in the dressing room so now he could feel it vibrating in his pocket after saying the thing about Gino. He knew that the text message probably didn’t contain the nicest expressions without having to read it and Marco might would have to make amends by getting Gino a year-supply of those disgusting frog-shaped candies that he loved so much. He had never understood his boyfriend’s obsession over those and they also didn’t taste like the soft drink they shared their name with but Marco knew it would make Gino happy and that was the least he could do after deliberately teasing him in front of a good quarter of the Swiss population.

#osws fandom challenge #osws #marco odermatt #gino caviezel #paddy kälin #ski alpin #rpf #fanfic #shoutout to wunderlichkind #and to niemernuet

8 notes · View notes

more-than-a-princess · 2 years

Text

Based on a few current threads that have revived an interest in my post neo world program/Post-Despair/Post-SDR2 verse, I'm reminded of a few angst headcanons (let's face it: this entire verse is angst. Mostly angst. Most of the time) about Sonia's thoughts, feelings, and actions where Gundham is concerned. Mostly these:

When he's still in a coma/in the pod, Sonia visits him daily. The first time, she'd brought a chair to set up beside his pod and every day after, no one had the courage to move it. The more she's able to remember her life, and especially her friendship with him, at Hope's Peak, the more she tries to bring things that aren't triggering regarding The Tragedy but things they shared. If she's up to eating (she isn't always: mostly for psychological reasons. Sonia possesses a lot of guilt over her actions, including feeling like she failed the one thing she was never supposed to fail at, and takes it out on herself), she might bring two servings of a snack they'd shared together at school and only eat one of them. She also combs through the library and pulls out novels and short stories she thinks he'd like: gothic literature mostly, and reads them aloud to him.

Not that he's likely to hear her or anything, but for Sonia, it's one of the few comforts she has in her day: reading to him, sharing with him, telling him about her day. Things she's too guilty or ashamed to admit to the other survivors, or things she doesn't trust with members of the Future Foundation.

Additionally, while he's still in his pod, Sonia takes it upon herself to see to the animals on the Jabberwock Island (formerly Usami's) Farm. Just like in the simulation, there's chickens and cows, but there's additional horses, goats, a few geese, a couple of pigs, and some barn cats (with the possibility of more barn cats). Sonia knows next to nothing about taking care of animals, but after seeing what supplies (and minimal care) the Future Foundation has left the Farm, she studies books from the island's library and gets a basic idea of feeding and cleaning (and milking the cows).

This does not mean she's got any expertise in regular cleaning products (for human home maintenance), but she can dish out fresh grain, hay, and other meals as needed, and throw out the old straw/add new straw. She's a bit better with the horses, as her family owned several back home and she's an experienced rider, and so she learned proper feeding and grooming techniques for them. There's also a few saddles, bridles, reins, blankets and pads, brushes and combs, and other riding equipment that Makoto had brought over from Novoselic, in case Sonia wants to use them (she does).

Mainly, Sonia sees it as looking after the animals until Gundham is revived, and can do a much better job than she ever could. Animal care and breeding had been his greatest passion, according to her: if she could help him find that again one day, it's worth a try.

In short: Sonia will always love him. She may not always be in love with him (that's depending on the thread/interaction/mun interested in writing that sort of ship), but she will always care for him.

#more-than-a-princess headcanons #(Resurgence of the An.gst Verse and I felt compelled to finally gather and post these HCs)#post neo world program verse

2 notes · View notes

yfyjhfyfyj · 1 year

Text

HOW TO CONVERT A ROOM TO A LUXURY ROOM.

In order to transform your regular room into a luxurious one, you need skilled workers who can deliver exceptional quality work. In case you are struggling to find an interior designer in Kerala for the job, there may be some challenges that you will have to overcome. Nonetheless, with the right team of workers, you can easily turn your ordinary space into a spectacular haven

If you're looking to add a touch of luxury to your bedroom, there are some easy steps that you can take

The idea of bringing the dead back to life refers to reviving items that are no longer in use and making them useful again. This concept is commonly used in the context of recycling and upcycling,

To change the background of a room with a polished surface, you need to replace the existing unpolished surface with a new polished one. This involves carefully selecting the appropriate flooring

Renovation

This one of the luxury rooms for example you will get by following the right instructions with the right mentor for designing the interior

We will also surely assist you in developing an embellishment

Light

The bright lights can be used to bring objects that are not visible to the naked eye

Expense

Adding this kind of luxurious items is gonna cost a lot of money

therefore we must reduce the cost of expense by minimizing the number of products to expand the space in the room and add more

Some of the factors that could save the amount of expense is through expanding the business into a vast area there are many ways to do that

So these are not the only things that will save, these are some of the factors

If you have a design or a designer who crafts this kind of wooden pieces into tables and other materials, they might be able to do them at less expensive compared to the expense of buying from a readymade shop

So it's like a kind of bonus when having saved some extra money than when you have a lot of rooms to turn into luxury and who is doing the project is following the same step would be able to make some change in the industry of luxury rooms and stand in the top among the designers

It's kind of an opportunity for designers to grow and become part of the business of the modern world where everyone is turning small rooms into luxury rooms without having to spend tons of money. This method would have a huge impact on the luxury world

Keeping the floor plain as it is will also help but keeping the room clean and cool would be better

Most of the luxury rooms are found in the luxurious hotels in the world like burj al arab those hotels charge 20 to 30 thousand dollars per night

Put some carpets on the floor (plain carpets) are more favorable

Luxury rooms need a lot of expense so there are multiple ways to reduce the expense

More about looking luxurious rather than making luxurious

*get yourself some beautiful curtains

To look beautiful and luxurious we need beautiful curtains

Tables and utensils need to look luxurious such as glass bottles, marble table

Adding some extra furniture to make the room luxurious would be better

Hanging some quotes on the walls but don't make them over decorated

Keep the room fresh at all cost

This requires maintenance such as vacuuming and cleaning the room for interior designing experience

Last and final “the smell”

Suppose a guest comes into the room and does not find the room pleasant he or she will not have a good opinion of the odour of the room

Having a beautiful and clean window with an amazing landscape

These are the major steps to keep the room luxurious

#interior #design

1 note · View note

alunclewe · 1 year

Photo

So I attended the @sequentialartistsworkshop Friday Night Workshop, hosted this time by E. Joy Mehr (@ejoymehr on Instagram), although I got there a bit late and missed the instructions and thought I might have to sit this one out, but they ended up repeating the instructions, so I could participate after all, though I had to kind of rush (again). The project this time was for participants to produce six-page “zines” (plus front and back covers) about... themselves. The front cover was just a title page; the first page was a general about page; on the second page we listed some of our interests; each of pages 3 through 5 expanded on one of these interests; page 6 was a “fun fact”; and the back cover had our contact info.

On the previous occasions I’ve attended these workshops, I’ve done my art digitally, but for a zine it seemed right to go ahead and do things the old-fashioned way. But since I hadn’t been expecting to use traditional media, I didn’t have any at hand, so I grabbed some pieces of paper from the printer and went looking for whatever other art supplies I could easily find, ending up with a technical pen and a box of old markers. (And not, unfortunately, any correction fluid, which I would have used, among other things, to fix my having mispositioned my pupils on the cover page; instead, I tried to hide the mistake by making my eyes half-closed. It does not look good.)

I’m afraid doing so much digital art has made me grow complacent; working digitally it’s easy to redo, resize, or reposition something, but with ink I have to be more careful to get it right the first time, especially when I’m going straight to ink and not penciling first. Hence, for instance, my arms being so horribly differently sized on the cover. Bleh.

Anyway, I know my handwriting is hard to read at the best of times, let alone when I was rushing this like I was, so in case anyone cares I’ll put the text of the “zine” behind a cut.

FRONT COVER:

ALL* ABOUT ALUN CLEWE

*SOME

PAGE 1:

ALUN CLEWE* is a cartoonist living in Los Angeles. He had several webcomics in the past, one of which he plans to revive in August and one next January.

He is way too wordy

*Not his real name**

**Yes, I use a pen name as a cartoonist. No, I don’t know why.

PAGE 2:

SOME OF MY INTERESTS:

Role-Playing Games

Writing Music

Writing Fiction

Acting/Filmmaking

Animation

Comics (obviously)

PAGE 3:

Role-Playing Games?

You know, like Dungeons & Dragons.

But there are others, like RuneQuest, Chronicles of Darkness, Symbaroum, and many others I’ve played/want to play.

I’m also working on my own RPGs, but... haven’t finished any yet.

PAGE 4:

ACTING

I’ve acted in a number of independent movies and webseries, although I use a screen name for that. (A different name than “Alun Clewe”—I don’t know what it is with me and pseudonyms.)

I have my own webseries that was put on hold with the pandemic, but that I want to start producing again soon.

PAGE 5:

COMICS

In addition to the aforementioned webcomics, I have participated in 24 Hour Comics Day every year since 2006.

For a while, I tried to do a 24 hour comic every 24 days and post a page a day, but I only kept that up for about a year.

You can see all my 24 hour comics at d24comic.com, but the site is very ugly and bare-bones and needs a lot of work. (This is the comic I plan to relaunch in January.)

(The other is called Soup, https://www.soupcomic.com)

↑ There’s nothing there now but will be in August

PAGE 6:

FUN FACT

As my day job, I work as a studio teacher—I work with child actors on film sets. (Whenever there’s a minor on a film set*, the production is required to have a certified studio teacher present.)

*Okay, there are exceptions, but they’re rarish.

BACK COVER:

CONTACT

My website is

https://alunclewe.com

(but it, like my 24-hour comic site, needs a lot of work.)

You can also find me on Tumblr at @alunclewe (alunclewe.tumblr.com)

and on Instagram as @alunclewe

#Sequential Artists Workshop #Comics Workshop #SAW Comics #sawcomics #Friday Night Comics #FridayNightComics #zine #comic

0 notes

lesbianhotch · 2 years

Text

quality control (a sugar daddy hotch fic)

hi my loves! back at it again with another fic!! i really really hope yall like this one, its a little different for me but im happy with the final product! notes: 18+, female reader, phone sex (?), sex toys, just a smidge- a sprinkling of d*ddy kink

Late night phone calls with Aaron have always been your favorite.

You used to talk for an hour or two, polite conversation until he excused himself for work and followed up by sending you money.

The talks happened much more often now, and for longer intervals, and after a while, Aaron felt that the money transferring was getting a little tedious.

Now he just lets you borrow his credit card.

You’re sitting on your bed, phone tucked between your ear and shoulder, as your hands are otherwise occupied with painting your toenails.

“What color have you gone with this time?”

“It’s a kind of, a pastel violet.” You dip the brush back into the bottle so you can turn it upside down to read the label. “Suits You Swell.”

“And what does that name have to do with the color purple?”

“Not a thing. But I don’t care. As long as it looks pretty.” You wiggle your toes for effect, and you find yourself satisfied with your at home late night pedicure. “I bought some other colors too, but I decided the purple was right for spring.”

Aaron hums. “I saw. Got my credit card bill today. You did some shopping?”

“I did. Just a few things I wanted.”

You can hear the squeak of Aaron’s chair, like he’s leaning back to relax. “Tell me. You know I like to hear how you’re treating yourself.”

You smile, setting the nail polish down on your bedside table. “Well, I got the polishes and I got a new skirt I had my eye on.”

“The one you saw in the window at Burberry?”

“Yes! I thought it’d be perfect for work, it’ll go great with that blouse you like.”

You can almost hear him smile over the phone. “The sleeveless one with the v-neck? Now how did you know that’s one of my favorites?”

“Just a hunch.”

As if you hadn’t caught him staring at your chest every time you wore it.

“What else did you get?”

“Oh, uh. That’s it I think.”

Aaron clicks his tongue. “No, I think I see something else here.”

You feel the blood drain out of your face as you realize exactly what purchase he must be seeing.

“That’s just- I needed to-”

The thing was, your favorite vibrator had finally kicked the bucket. Ole faithful had been with you through many lonely days and hard nights, and lets just say that since your relationship with Aaron began, you’d been making it work overtime.

Age and over use finally caught up to it last week, and you couldn’t revive it no matter how many fresh double A batteries you crammed into it.

You usually preferred your discreet websites, but you’re guessing Amazon didn’t value anonymity the way actual sex shops did.

You were desperate and horny and needed something now, not in 5 to 10 business days.

You were so caught up in the idea of being able to get off again as soon as possible that you forgot ‘Multi-Speed, Wireless, Power Wand Massager’ might show up on Aaron’s computer screen when he got his monthly bill.

You put your head between your knees, sighing.

“Aaron, I’m sorry, I am so embarrassed.”

“Don’t be. You know I don’t care what you buy.” You know he means it, and he says it so casually, like you aren’t talking about you purchasing sex toys with the money the federal government pays him. “However,” He takes a breath. “I do need to know if what you’re buying is worth the money.”

You sit up in a flash, spine straight as an arrow.

“If it’s….worth it?”

“Of course. I don’t want you spending Daddy’s money on something that doesn’t do the job.”

Oh, that bastard. He knows what he sounds like when he says that word, the way it makes you blush.

You shift against the bed sheets, trying to ignore the growing ache between your legs. “I uh. I haven’t gotten to use it yet.”

“Oh?”

“I was planning on using it for the first time tonight.”

You’d planned the perfect night for yourself. Off from work early, takeout from your favorite restaurant, a relaxing bubble bath followed by a DIY mani pedi, with the grand finale of breaking in your brand new toy.

You’d even set it out to charge before work.

“Are you still going to?”

“To what?”

“Use it tonight?”

Of course you are.

Even if the conversation ended because Aaron got called away to middle of nowhere Nebraska to hunt down a murderer, you’d still be spending the entire night thinking about him while you got yourself off.

“I want to.” There’s silence on his end, only the soft sound of him shifting in his chair. You realize after a moment that he’s giving you an out. You can hang up right now and he’ll forget he ever said anything.

You have to be the one to make the next move.

“Would you like to listen?”

Aaron sighs in relief. “I would, baby.”

You remove your bottoms in a flash, flimsy shorts that get tossed to the end of the bed without a second glance. Part of you is worried that if you take too much time, this living breathing fantasy of yours will come to an end.

You lean over and unplug the vibrator from its spot on your side table, pleased when the light on the bottom flashes green.

You settle back onto the pillows, and after a moment of consideration, place your phone on speaker and set it down right next to you.

Aaron’s voice is right in your ear, and you imagine what it’d be like if he was truly in bed next to you, talking to you with his voice warm and low, tired from a day of use.

“If at any point you don’t want to keep doing this, you tell me, okay?”

You nod, realizing a second later that he can’t see you. “Okay.” You swallow heavily, willing your nerves to settle. “What should I do?”

“I want you to tell me about what you bought. Describe it to me.”

You pass it from hand to hand gently, getting used to the weight of it.

“It’s silicone, so it’s soft. The wand fits in my hand and then there’s the, uh, the head of it. Round at the top.”

“Are there buttons?”

“Yes. One to turn it on and another to change the speed.”

“Let’s start at the beginning, and then we’ll try them all out ok? Daddy needs a thorough review.”

You feel lightheaded and you haven’t even touched yourself yet. It’s another shift in your relationship, and he’s not even in the damn room with you, instead he’s preparing you for the hottest phone call of your life.

Is this even phone sex? He’s hardly said anything dirty, and as far as you know he’s sitting in his office as stoic and put together as always. You’re certain he’s feeling something too by the way his voice has started to shift into something low and husky, but you also don’t think he’s the type to get off in his own office.

You decide you’re overthinking it, shaking yourself out of your brain fog and taking Aaron’s direction. You push the button and you can feel the soft rumble in your hand.

You rest the head over your underwear, just to get you started, ease you into it, and you hum softly.

“It’s nice. Not too strong, not too gentle.”

“How are you using it?”

“I started over my underwear. I’m sensitive, and I like to make it last.”

You hear Aaron let out a stuttered breath, like he’s trying not to groan.

“You need to get yourself wet?”

“Don’t need to, I already am,” you admit.

This time he does groan, and he doesn't try to hide it.

“Did I do that to you, baby? Get you wet just by talking to you?”

You nod curtly, moving the wand up and down over yourself over the cloth, pressing down a little more.

“Yeah you did. Aaron, can I try the next speed now?”

“Of course.”

You click the button, and it’s a nice upgrade, an extra jolt of speed that has you wiggling your hips.

“It’s faster, but st-still pretty gentle.”

“Can you take your underwear off now?”

You don’t bother responding, using your free hand to pull the panties down and off, throwing them to the side.

The vibrations feel even better against your bare skin, and you audibly moan this time, rubbing the head against your clit.

“God, that sounds so good. Gonna have me hard in my office sweetheart.”

The idea of Aaron, impeccably dressed in his pressed suit in his nice office chair, hard in his pants only serves to turn you on more. You’re so wet you can feel it on the sheets, and when you press the vibrator against your opening you sigh in satisfaction.

“I usually-“ You suck in a breath, moving your hand a bit faster. “I usually use my fingers. Or another toy.”

“Like what?” When you don’t answer right away, Aaron chuckles, and the sound makes heat coil in your belly. “Don’t be shy now. Tell me.”

All the things you’ve done so far tonight and this is what makes you blush down to your toes. “It’s nothing special. Just a regular dildo. Don’t want to use it tonight though.”

“Why not?”

Because deep down you know it won’t compare to what you could be having.

“It-it takes some time. And I don’t feel like wasting any.” You click the speed button again, and it's much stronger this time. There’s only 4 settings, so you’re not surprised that this one really ups the ante.

“Fuck that’s-that’s good.”

“How’s this setting? Better?”

“Faster, more intense.” You rock the soft head against your clit more steadily now, rolling your wrist in time with your hips. There’s wetness on your fingers, and you do your best to keep a good grip on the toy as you start to get lost in the feeling.

You had originally wanted this to last, but with Aaron talking you through this you’ve found yourself closer to the edge far quicker than you expected.

And really, who could blame you? It’s not every day the man you’ve been pining for since the day you met him finally seems to be reciprocating those feelings outright, and he happens to be doing so by guiding you through getting yourself off, all in the name of product quality control.

Aaron keeps talking in your ear, hushed tones that feel intimate, even with him so far away.

“I’m so happy I get to help you feel good sweetheart, so happy I get to hear the sounds you make, you sound so sweet baby.”

“Jesus- Aaron I need to cum, please.”

“Soon baby, soon. One more speed, we need to test it all, remember?”

You click the button over to the final setting, and the vibrator practically jumps in your hand. It’s exactly how you like it when you’re this worked up; fast and strong, and you make quick circles around your clit, back arching against the bed.

“God yes, yes that’s it, s’good.”

“Go ahead, let it happen. Let Daddy hear it.”

And you do. You throw your head back and whine and let the pleasure take over as your chest heaves and you see stars.

Overstimulation comes quickly, and you turn off the vibrator, leaving it stranded in between your spread legs. It takes a moment or two to come back down to earth, but when you do, you can’t help but let out a giggle.

“So um, was that a good customer review?”

“I’d say 5 stars.”

You laugh at that, full bodied and loud, and Aaron does too. You hear some shuffling on his end, followed by a grunt.

“Sorry. Needed to do some….adjusting.”

“What, no ‘afternoon delight’ for you?”

“More like an ‘evening delight’ at this point.” You smile and roll your eyes. “But no not for me. I’ll save that for when I’m somewhere a little more…private.”

You bite your lip at the thought of him at home, taking care of himself with you on his mind.

“Maybe I can give you a call? When you’re somewhere more private.”

There’s a moment of silence, as if Aaron’s surprised by your offering, but there’s a hint of a smile in his voice when he responds.

“I think I’d like that.”

You two start exchanging sweet goodbyes so Aaron can return to work, but before you disconnect he stops you.

“Oh sweetheart-“

“Yes?”

“Next time you want to buy anymore….toys. Please, don’t hesitate.”

taglist: @sadgirlml @arsonhotchner @needinghotch @jaspxr @angelfxllcm @shyhotch @ssamorganhotchner @ashhotchner @anlin2058

#WELL!!!! I HOPE YALL LIKE IT!!! <333 #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x female reader #.nsfw #my writing

558 notes · View notes

sohotthateveryonedied · 3 years

Note

Hiii!! I really love your tumblr posts and I'm pretty new to the Batfam (meaning I have only read fics and textposts about them, no comics) and I wanted to ask about the year Bruce/Batman gets "lost in time". I know general things of what the kids have been doing–Dick became batman and fired Tim from robin, giving it to Damian, everyone thinking Tim was crazy for believing Bruce was alive, (don't really know what Jason was up to though, was he still murderous towards Tim? Does the pit still affect him? Also I have no idea about Cass and Duke, were they introduced at this point??) Anyways, my real question was why was Bruce lost in time, what villain put him there? And how did he get out? And how long was he "dead"? Was Bruce in another reality or like just asleep the whole time? Oh! And how soon did this happen after Damian got introduced to the family–a couple months?

I'm so sorry this is so long, but I hope you answer and thank you!!

(I’m going to try and cover all my bases here by going into how exactly Bruce “died,” what went down during the Battle For the Cowl, what the Batkids did while Bruce was gone, and how Bruce came back. Hopefully it all makes sense?? We’ll see how it goes lmao.)

Part 1 - What Happened to Bruce:

So there was this event called Final Crisis (which I won’t go completely into since it would make this post a million times longer than it already is), but the bottom line is that Darkseid wants to overthrow reality and release his Anti-Life Equation, which would overthrow the whole planet and turn everyone into slaves. (If you’re interested in knowing more about the storyline, here’s a Reddit thread that explains it WAY better than I could.)

What I CAN tell you is that during his final confrontation with Darkseid, Bruce is hit by an Omega Beam and turned into a burnt chicken nugget killed. Poor guy.

Final Crisis #6

Clark and Diana bring the body back to the Batcave and break the news to the Batfamily. Batman #687 covers a good portion of the aftermath such as Bruce’s funeral, the Batfamily grieving, and Dick coming to terms with his new responsibility of becoming Batman.

Batman #687

Part 2 - Battle For the Cowl:

Musical chairs time, fellas! After word gets out that Batman is gone, Gotham erupts into chaos. Dick doesn’t want to take over the mantle, Tim needs Dick to take over the mantle, and Jason says “fuck it” and takes over the mantle himself because somebody around here has to. He becomes this murderous psychopathic Batman and starts taking out criminals with deadly force because someone’s gotta do the job, so it might as well be him.

Batman: Battle For the Cowl #1

(Okay honestly, this series had some pretty bad characterization overall, which sucks since it’s such an important storyline. Jason is portrayed as this violent psychopath, which...okay, he was kind of insane after the Pit and all, but not to this degree. Personally, I choose to owe the bad characterization to Bruce’s death because as much as Jason resents Bruce for all he’s done, he does still love him and losing him would be devastating, which would exacerbate his already fragile mental health. As for Damian, this happens roughly three years after his first appearance, so we can assume it’s been a few months since he first joined the family. He’s still relatively new at this point, so nobody knows how to write him yet. He ends up being depicted as if his main two personality traits are Bratty and Assassin-Child and that’s it. It’s all just a mess.)

Anyway, Tim tells Dick to become Batman and stop Jason’s reign of terror. Dick says no, so Tim follows Jason’s lead by saying “fuck it” and putting on the cowl himself. He goes to confront Jason, which ends in Jason beating the crap out of him (again) and leaving him for dead after Tim declines his offer to become Jason’s Robin. Dick goes to save Tim and ends up fighting Jason.

Battle For the Cowl #3

Dick wins, Jason disappears, Tim is fine, and Dick finally gets his head out of his ass and becomes Batman.

Part 3 - What Happens to Each Batkid While Bruce is “Dead”?:

Dick:

As I said, Dick becomes the new Batman a month after Bruce’s death. He’s got big shoes to fill, and it takes some time for him to get used to his new role. He and Damian end up flipping around the classic Batman and Robin dynamic, with Batman now as the fun counterpart to Robin’s edginess. Dick, Damian, and Alfred relocate to the penthouse above the Wayne Foundation building, operating out of a secret Bat-Bunker in the basement.

Batman #688

Jason:

After Battle For the Cowl, Jason is still batshit insane and determined to make Dick’s already stressful life even harder by becoming a supervillain with an ugly costume and an even uglier hairstyle. (I know it’s just because the artist sucked, but still. Jason is horrifying to look at during this time.) He mostly just gets on Dick’s nerves by running around Gotham with his new sidekick Scarlet and killing criminals as Batman and Robin wannabes. Eventually, Dick has Jason committed to Arkham Asylum and he hangs out there until Bruce returns.

Batman and Robin (2009) #5

Tim:

Tim...doesn’t do great after Bruce’s death, mentally. Dick makes Damian Robin, his reasoning being that Robin is more of a sidekick and he sees Tim as his equal. By making Damian Robin, Dick hopes that it will give him the stability he needs to keep him from straying back toward the “bad” side. (It’s the right move ultimately, although his execution was pretty messed up since he didn’t discuss it with Tim beforehand, but he’s allowed to make mistakes. Dick’s father just died and now he’s in charge of picking up the pieces of their broken family. It’s a lot to handle.)

Long story short, Tim has a breakdown, realizes that Bruce is alive, dons the Red Robin identity, and cuts ties with his family to travel the world in search of proof. It’s a rough time.

Red Robin #1

Damian:

Our little guy becomes Robin! So proud of him! As I explained earlier, Dick makes Damian his Robin with the assumption that it will keep him out of trouble, and he’s right on that account. He mentors Damian, teaching him how to channel his violent instincts into something productive, and it works! Slowly but surely, Damian makes the transition from bratty assassin to actual hero!

Batman and Robin (2009) #22

Cass:

Duke sadly was not introduced at this point in time, so he missed out on all the pandemonium. Cass, however, has been Batgirl for years by now, but she got kind of pushed aside by the writers after Bruce’s death. Bruce disappears shortly after adopting Cass, but once he was “dead,” the writers sort of moved Cass around for a while, not quite knowing what to do with her. First she was with the Outsiders. Then they got disbanded and Cass tried forming a new network of heroes to take over for Batman if needed. Then she helped out in said network during Battle for the Cowl, taking care of a newly ravaged Gotham. Then Cass gave the Batgirl mantle to Stephanie Brown after she became disillusioned with the role, thanks to the loss of her father and mentor. Then Cass picked up and moved to Hong Kong to “follow Bruce’s plans” by continuing whatever work he had set up for her there. It was all very vague and confusing, and Cass more or less got swept under the rug during this time. Thanks, writers.

Batgirl (2009) #1

Part 4 - How Bruce Came Back:

When the Blackest Night storyline happens, the Justice League realizes that the corpse buried under Bruce’s grave is apparently not the real one and that he’s actually alive out there somewhere! How wild is that! This is further proven by Dick after he places Bruce’s body in a Lazarus Pit to revive, which has the same result because it’s very clearly Not Bruce and they should have listened to Tim from the start.

Batman and Robin (2009) #9

Anyway, what actually happened is that the Omega Beams that Darkseid shot at Bruce didn’t kill him, but rather blasted him back through time to the prehistoric era with his memories wiped. The Omega Energy inside of Bruce ends up catapulting him through various time periods, which is all part of Darkseid’s plan. With each time-hop, Bruce builds up more Omega Energy in his body which, when he gets back to his original time period, will be unleashed and destroy everything.

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #5

It’s been a little under two years since Final Crisis, though in-universe it’s uncertain exactly how long Bruce has been “dead.” We can assume it’s been a year, give or take. The way he comes back is too scientific and complicated for me to understand, so uhhhh the bottom line is that Tim and a few Leaguers save Bruce at the Vanishing Point and the day is saved! Hooray!

Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne #6

(If you want to read about how it actually goes down, then I seriously recommend reading Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne. It’s only six issues, so it’s a quick read and it explains the situation far better than I ever could.)

Bruce eventually reunites with his family after spying on them for a period of time as Insider to see what has changed in his absence:

Bruce Wayne: The Road Home

After that, things quickly settle back into their new normal. Dick and Damian stay on as Batman and Robin. Bruce goes back to being Batman as well, with him handling Batman Incorporated business and Dick continuing as Gotham’s defender. Tim keeps the Red Robin outfit, Steph stays on as Batgirl, and Cass becomes Black Bat. Jason stays in Arkham for a while before filing an appeal to be moved to a regular prison. He kills 82 inmates in less than a week and gets transferred back to Arkham, which he promptly escapes from. It’s a ride, I tell ya.

Aaaaand that’s about it! I hope this answered all of your questions!

212 notes · View notes

damnhotmsimmons · 3 years

Text

Assuming the cm revival is still happening, here's a list of what I want in the revival and what would make it better:

Tara, Luke and Matt getting more screentime and decent characterization

No more Reid angst and unnecessary drama(*cough*15x06 & 15x10*cough*cough*)

Garcia being in the revival, whether she returns to the BAU or not, it would be nice to see what she’s up to whether it’s about her new job or date and relationship with Luke

Garvez, seeing the development of their relationship since the end of 15x10

Resolving the Garcia stalker storyline from 15x04, maybe Alexei Stanovich resurfaces and Garcia needs the BAU’s help to stop him. Maybe it’s also coincidental that he resurfaces the moment Garcia starts a relationship with Luke

Letting Paget go gray when playing Emily again. The crappy wig has got to go

Have the team struggle to adjust to Garcia’s departure, maybe a callback to 11x20 or 6x03 when Garcia walks past JJ and Morgan’s empty office. Maybe Emily, JJ or Reid walk past Garcia’s empty office, which was once filled with light and colors

Emily struggling to find a convenient replacement for Garcia, which is tough as Garcia is irreplaceable but the team are not able to complete cases without a technical analyst

Have a realistic timeskip, maybe a few years have passed since 15x10 and we see how much has changed since Garcia left and so much has changed

More friendship moments with the ladies(and yes, this also includes Tara)

More Luke and Tara friendship moments

Give Tara more to do, I mean she was the only one who didn’t have an episode in the final season and I felt that Aisha was underutilized in that season especially when she’s been on the show since season 11

Same thing also applies to Matt, sure he has gotten some focus in three episodes in the last season but he was still underutilized and characterization from cmbb was ignored. Kinda jarring especially when some of those writers came from cmbb

Assuming that the revival will continue and knowing that Daniel has commitments to another show, maybe give Matt a proper send-off, just don’t pull an NCIS. Leave it open ended incase he’s able to return

If they want to revisit past cases, maybe resolve the escaped prisoners storyline, the one with the Romani family in 4x13 or bring back the unsubs from Lo-Fi/Mayhem since we didn’t know much about them and their motives. The latter could also be beneficial for Tara, Luke and Matt since Tara can use her forensic psychology skills when it comes to profiling the unsubs, Luke being from the Bronx indicates that he has some familiarity with the streets in NY and Matt utilizing his tracking skills and connections

Since the revival will be on Paramount+, I’m hoping that means the revivial gets a decent budget. I’ve never seen any original series from Paramount+(CBS All Access then) but I notice from gifs and commercials that the quality of those shows look good and I’m hoping the same applies to the revival, which means better lighting and no more of that ugly yellow filter

I’m also hoping that means better quality in the writing, maybe get new writers that understand the characters and show well. Fire the writers who suggested Jeid

Better wardrobe, it seemed that the quality for the wardrobe aside from Garcia’s went downhill

Be more consistent and acknowledge the character’s ptsd. I hate how they have the characters act like things are suddenly alright after one episode

no more gross and creepy unsub like the guy seeing the goat man or cutting off faces like wtf?!

give the revival a tone similar to the early seasons. Use the early seasons as a reference

another episode like 15x04. Since the revival will focus on one case as opposed to the usual “case of the week” type, maybe there’s room for a breather episode, and we see the characters on their day off, a little break from whatever serious storyline

Let Rossi retire, honestly, he’s way out of his prime and it’s getting obvious that he’s too old to be going on the field especially when he got ambushed by Everett Lynch who is much younger than him. Honestly, the finale should have ended with Rossi retiring, especially as he’s been in the BAU since the beginning and it make sense that it ends with him leaving and moving on while the rest of the team move on without him

unpopular opinion, I think the show can last without Rossi/Joe

More Willifer moments and Katt moments. I’d also like to see Matt and Kristy taking care of baby Rose. I’d also suggest JJ and Matt bonding with their kids but that seems uncertain since depending on when the revival will be greenlit for production, there’s a chance that the kids grow out of their roles(JJ’s kids might not be that affected but Matt’s kids definitely will). Unless they either recast the kids(which isn’t uncommon for some shows) or have a timeskip which explains the kids being a bit older than in s15

Fix JJ’s character, I hate how the writers ruined her by making Jeid happen. AJ is a great actress and she cares about the character. Maybe have her interact with the newer team members, build up more of her friendship with Tara and Matt. I’m not sure how the writers can fix her characterization but I wished they push the whole Jeid storyline out and focus on her as a character

I’d love Hotch and Morgan to be mentioned or acknowledged, making it clear that the team still keeps in touch with them even though they’re no longer working for the BAU. Cameos would be nice but that depends on Shemar’s availability due to commitments to SWAT and the whole situation with Thomas during filming of s12

Guest appearances from other former characters would be nice but also unlikely since Gideon and Stephen are dead, Kate is mostly forgotten(plus Jennifer is on 9-1-1), and while Elle returning as an unsub would make an interesting storyline, it’s clear that Lola has no intentions on returning to CM(based on her IG stories)

seems like Blake, Jordan and possibly Seaver are the only likely candidates that have a better chance of returning as a guest but that depends on the actresses decisions and if the story allows it

Maybe learn from 15x05 since it was the highest rated episode, and has more ratings than the finale. Maybe the writers can learn from this and realized maybe they shouldn’t focus too much on Reid and Reid angst. There’s seven other characters, make the revival focus on all of them

An update of Reid’s personal life, if he and Max are still together, and no angst

Getting to see the new BAU Jet

More BAU family bonding moments, whether it’s them having drinks, eating dinner together or celebrating something like a Garvez engagement, Rossi’s retirement or Matt’s first book being published

Retaining the opening title sequence. It’s not CM without it

I know I might get my hopes up for this and be all disappointed if this post was all for nothing. Still, a girl can dream

Tagging: @illegalcerebral, @dreatine, @marvelfanlife, @jaqren, @yeoldespacebuns, @ropoto. Feel free to add anything incase I missed something

#spencer reid #jennifer jareau #emily prentiss #david rossi #penelope garcia #luke alvez #tara lewis #matt simmons #criminal minds

68 notes · View notes

canary3d-obsessed · 3 years

Text

Lost Tomb Reboot Lewks: Part 13

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for both seasons of The Lost Tomb Reboot and also vaguely for Daomu Biji in general

Look 66 belongs to Ah Ning, who has chosen, for this adaptation, to go with short hair, heavy makeup, and all-black clothes, but with a bit of a club vibe, rather than her more usual tactical vibe.

The short hair is a weird choice. The whole schtick with DMBJ adaptations is that you have to tell who's who by their costuming and styling, since the associated actors toss roles back and forth faster than Wu Xie and Xiao Ge on a date with Liu Sang.

Hot guy in a hoodie? Xiao Ge. Slightly dorky but ridiculously charismatic guy who dresses like Joey Ramone? Hei Yanjing. Man who's too old for fluffy bangs and puppy-dog eyes but is working the hell out of them anyway? Wu Xie. Ponytail, gun, and a whole bunch of disposable sidekicks? Ah Ning.

Ah Ning, Lost Tomb 1 version, with her signature ponytail & disregard for human life.

For this look, Ah Ning has gotten rid of her long hair, henchmen, weapons, and the part of her shirt that normally would cover her belly. This is an outfit that says "I am finally ready to fuck Wu Xie."

Unfortunately she decides to accessorize this outfit with a giant deadly snake.

This snake, unlike the equivalent snake in uhhhhhmmm a different DMBJ show that Ah Ning might theoretically die in, does not appear to be poisonous or have an unusual instant-kill-you ability. It just squeezes her a little bit, and the boys don't make any attempt to revive her, even though not-breathing is a super survivable condition, if it's corrected quickly.

This non-poisonous snake accessory is all about killing a woman so that men can feel manpain, and I am kind of offended that this version of Ah Ning went out like that, after being a badass in every other adaptation.

(more after the cut!)

The hypothetical other show where a version of this scene perhaps also happens does correct this, by having her talk about her acceptance of the risk of death, and by having the fucking snake be POISONOUS. I am not naming the show because where’s the fun in that? If you watch TLTR first, like I did, you get to be worried about Ah Ning in every other show she’s in, which is exhausting but also kind of fun. (I don’t mind women dying in fiction, as long as their deaths are an important part of their own stories, rather than just being important for the growth of the men around them.)

Thanks to poor accessory choices, Ah Ning and her snake necklace go the same route as Ye Piaopiao and No-Longer-Mute Chick; fortunately Xiao Ge didn't fall for Tattoo Artist Ah Tou or she'd be in the morgue with the rest of them.

Look 67 is young Wu Xie's jungle adventure outfit, featuring a bright white popover jacket with cream color sleeves from Scotch & Soda’s Club Nomade collection. Scotch & Soda have have thoughtfully printed their name on the string so that those of you who share Wu Xie's clothing tastes will know where to shop. You know who you are.

You would think highly visible bright white would be a bad choice for a jungle adventure, but apparently snakes in these parts are only attracted to goths.

Wu Xie is also wearing wired ear pods, which did not exist whenever this flashback supposedly happened, but if we're cool with sentient crustaceans and clams that can incapacitate a ruthless trained assassin (clams got legs!), we can be cool with ear pods.

The show conveys flashback-Wu-Xie's youth and naiveté by having him smile sweetly, not watch Ah Ning take her clothes off, and not attempt CPR after she gets lightly squeezed by a snake.

Looks 68 and 69 belong to Not Ah Ning, who is played by Liu Yuqi, who also plays Ah Ning. Her makeup is much softer and prettier as this character than as Ah Ning; this character’s job is to be pleasing to men, whereas Ah Ning’s job is to get male underlings killed on the regular, so I guess that makes sense.

This outfit is an amazing body-hugging soft green jumpsuit with raised quilty detailing on the arms and shoulders. Her jumpsuit perfectly matches the couch she's sprawled on, which is her subtle way of telling Jiang Zisuan that she is a nice comfy place to have a lie down.

She accessorizes this look with her usual soft wavy brown hair and a scattering of gold finger rings. I think she also accessorizes this with ass pads, because Ah Ning does not appear to be draggin’ this wagon in her scenes. I checked. For science.

When the first outfit doesn't work, she ditches the subtlety and goes for a Chanel-style suit in black, white, and red, with a with a black leather bustier underneath.

Unfortunately this is a wasted effort, because the Jiang Zisuan she tries this on is actually Wu Xie in disguise.

Wu Xie only likes girls if they are 1. secretly manipulating him while acting like a tiny adorable sidekick, 2. trying to kill him repeatedly while adventuring together, 3. planning to kill him as soon as the roads are clear but willing to bone in the meantime, or 4. are a skin effigy with a sentient crustacean in their head.

Sorry, Not Ah Ning; this was a good effort.

Look 70 features Wu Xie in a white thermal shirt, dark blue jeans, and fake facial hair. This is a good look for sitting with your not-quite girlfriend and wondering how you both managed to have romances with Bai Yu in parallel universes. (OP recently watched Love O2O, which is a trip for fans of DMBJ, Guardian, or feminism)

Fortunately Wu Xie doesn’t know that his second-favorite doctor/Zhan Rishan’s girlfriend also had a romance with Bai Yu or his mind would be entirely blown.

This is a soft, comfortable look, perfect for torturing someone, with help from your first-favorite doctor, by pretending to poison someone with nicotine, all so you can have a few moments of quality time with a cigarette before said doctor takes them away again.

Wu Xie's cigs are stored in a buttery-soft leather case that completely covers the brand name of the cigarettes, so apparently cdramas don’t go in for ciggy product placements.

Wo Xie wears this outfit with a silvery-metal watch with a black leather wrist strap. The watch appears to be round, and it probably tells time. (If you’re new to the Lewks series: I lack watch knowledge and that’s not likely to change.)

Wu Xie finally peels off his fake facial hair so we can see his pretty face again, only to replace the facial hair with an entire fake face. Fortunately, this face, belonging to actor Wu Lipeng, is also pretty.

Look 71 belongs to Wu Xie, initially (for this outfit) played by Wu Lipeng until his inevitable unmasking. So many actors have played Wu Xie, this whole disguise thing is barely worth blinking at. Wu Lipeng does a nice job changing his mannerisms to play Wu Xie, and this whole schtick eventually gives us Zhu Yilong's delightful performance as Wang Meng, so even though we eventually get way too much of not-Zhu-Yilong in the role, I’m good with it.

This outfit features black jeans, black tactical boots & gloves, and Ah Ning’s coin bracelet, although it’s mostly hard to see the bracelet. The outfit’s main feature is a possibly-leather jacket that’s been molded into a hideous and disturbing voronoi pattern.

This jacket is probably very expensive and took a lot of work to craft, but it makes him look like he’s wearing a Glad Force Flex garbage bag. I mean, I guess that's cool.

This outfit is good for several episodes worth of adventures, including getting tied up and being sassy...

...and underwater cave exploration, which is totally a thing that a person with critically damaged lungs can do.

This outfit is good for homoerotic wrestling...

...and also for heteroerotic wrestling.

This is also a good outfit for being gently cradled in the arms of your doctor, while you massage your throat in order to swallow what he's putting in your mouth.

The fingerless gloves are useful for helping Xiao Bai get out of not one, but two different situations in which she stepped on a trap without realizing it, requiring Wu Xie to get down on the ground and have a tense encounter with her foot.

Scenes like this are where costuming really makes a difference. In this shot, we we watch a stunt hand (Zhu Yilong has never had that long of a thumbnail in his life) hold a wire steady, while a stunt foot is pulled out from under it.

This shot includes a lot of visual texture and interest, from the hatch lines on the palm of the glove to the cross-striping of the boot lace. The complexity of this glove and this boot help to hold our attention when they’re in the frame, allowing the tension of the scene to build, instead of dissipating when the viewer runs out of things to look at.

Bonus Look 1

Carrying all that tragic baggage has given Jiang Zisuan spectacular arm muscles.

Bonus Look 2

Zhu Yilong with not-fake facial hair.

Daaaaaamn.

#the lost tomb reboot #reunion the sound of the providence #the lost tomb reboot spoilers #lost tomb lewks #spoilers #my gifs #canary3d-original #my stills #ah ning #wu xie #zhu yilong

83 notes · View notes

emptymasks · 3 years

Note

I’ve seen a lot about your thoughts on Elisabeth and Tanz der Vampire, and they’ve been really helpful getting into those musicals! But you have a huge list of other musicals that people can get into…

So I was wondering if you had any musicals you hadn’t mentioned in a while that you really like or would like to talk about??? (preferably something from your lists that has a blue heart please?)

Oh if only you knew how long the list of European musicals really is... I however have only seen 9 (if I counted right) and I have a lot more that I still need to watch. Oh also, I only put the blue hearts on any musicals that I was providing multiple links for so people could see which version I reccoment the most highly. If a musical only had one link and didn't have a blue heart it doesn't mean I didn't like it.

I've watched: Mozart das Musical, Elisabeth das Musical, Tanz der Vampire, 3 Musketiers, Mozart L'Opéra Rock, Dracula (the Graz production), Rebecca das Musical, Roméo et Juliette and Schikaneder.

If you enjoyed those two you're likely to enjoy Rebecca! It's written by the same composer/lyricist team as Elisabeth and Mozart (and same lyricist as Tanz der Vampire - though if you're listening to any German musical, original or translated, 90% of the time the lyrics will have been done by Michael Kunze that man is everywhere). The Stuttgart production has my favourite set design of any musical! Well... Actually probably. There are so many big set pieces it's insane, way more than I've seen in some Broadway and West End musicals. You can tell so much work went into it and the visual effects that I won't spoil if you don't know the plot but if you know the plot you know what I mean by the effects at the end are so good and I didn't expect them at all and I freaked out so much the first time I watched it. Jan Ammann as Maxim in the Stuttgart production is the best Maxim. No I won't take any argument. Other actors feel a bit one-dimensional to me, but the way Maxim acts at times comes from trauma and some actors and productions seem to forget that, but Jan really goes for it and his Maxim is a lot more sympathetic and I just want to give him a hug. Pia Douwes as Mrs Danvers, if you've seen her in Elisabeth what more do I need to say, she's amazing. A musical goddess. Her Danny is a bit more wild than some, but she kills it. My favourite video, which I put the blue heart next to, has understudy Christina Patten as Ich/I, but I adore her she's my favourite. She adds some spunk to Ich in act 2 and her voice is so pretty and aaaa. I just love these three actors together in these roles.

Roméo et Juliette is another favourite of mine! It's hard to choose which one to recommend, but it has to be the original 2000/2001 production because of the sweetness and chemistry and voices of Damien Sargue and Cecilia Cara as Romeo and Juliet. They're so pretty and work together so well. The only reason I say it's hard to pick is Mercutio. I adore him, but in the original production they cut out a song they had planned for him and he doesn't really do much at all? In the 2010 revival they gave him two more songs and you care about him so much more and John Eyzen plays such a good Mercutio. So I'd recommend the original but if you want to like Mercutio more, which you should he's amazing, I'd recommend watching at least clips of John's. It's an interesting musical because all productions are non-replica and also change around the order of songs, add or take away characters, all sorts. The Hungarian production is also very popular and I'm sure it's great, I just haven't' gotten around to watching it yet.

Mozart das Musical was the first non-English language musicals I watched so I have a fondness for it, but it's not my favourite. However, I do realise I have forgotten most of the songs and the few I've gone back and listened to are better than I remember.

Dracula isn't super popular and I understand why, I don't love the plot of the Dracula/Mina romance in it, however. I do love this musical because despite how I find the plot lacking, the songs are so good! At least, I love them. And the actors are all doing a great job. And it's one of the few Dracula adaptions to keep Quincy Morris so they get bonus points for that.

Mozart L'Opéra Rock and modern French musicals... This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they're often more like pop-rock operas now. So if you're not into musicals with that style of music it might not be for you, but I still enjoyed it even though I didn't think I would because of the style of music. Mozart and Salieri's chemistry is very good, Salieri's bisexual crisis song is iconic, actually all of Salieri's songs are iconic.

Schikaneder... eh. I didn't like it that much and I didn't really like any of the songs. There's no English subtitles, but someone sent me the entire English synopsis and I watched it with a German friend so I had double the help of understanding it. Doesn't mean others might not like it, just none of the songs stood out to me and I had no desire to listen to any of them again. It's by Steven Scharwz of Wicked fame and I love Wicked, but I didn't love this.

3 Musketiers!! God it's so underrated and not spoken about within the European musical fandom that I even forget about it and literally forgot to write about it earlier in this post. It's a Dutch musical (though did also have a German production) and it's really good!? Faces you might know are Pia Douwes as Milady de Winter, Stanley Burlseon as Cardinal Richeliu (Netherlands Der Tod in Elisabeth), Henk Poort as Athos (Netherlands Phantom and Jean Valjean). The dialgoue is funny, the songs are good, some of the set pieces have no right to exist in this tiny musical?? They made this giant boat and pelt the actors with rain just for one 5 minute song and then we never see the boat again? And while I recommend the Dutch one because Dutch musicals deserve more love and it has official English subtitles!! Official ones, not fanmade! I have the DVD and it comes with English subtitles (and Dutch and German subtitles) which is so nice. The German version is also good, good cast, Pia came back and Uwe Kroger as Richeliu and omg they rearranged the songs and the German arrangement of Nicht Aus Stein is insane and amazing and frankly iconic.

That's all of the ones I have watched. Next on my list to watch are Rudolf and Notre Dame de Paris, both of which I have listened to some songs from and already love (I've listened to way too much of Notre Dame de Paris and am so in love).

I want to start organising streams where I'll host the musical either by getting the video from Youtube or my own files and anyone who wants to join can come along and watch with us, chat with us if you want or just watch there's no pressure to chat. I thought about doing weekly streams? This would also make me finally watch some of the ones I've been meaning to for ages. But I keep wondering about time zones. I'm in the UK and would want to stream at about 11pm at the latest (11pm BST/GMT+1 as we’re in daylight savings at the moment, if the streams continue past the end of October which would be wild then I’ll make a note of the time change that would be to 11pm GMT), which I know can work for other UK and Europeans, but for any Americans would be in the afternoon. So, I wondered if doing it on a weekend would be better? Then it doesn't matter if it's in the afternoon? Maybe Saturday evenings then? It would either be Saturday evenings UK time or Friday evenings UK time. What do you guys think? If people are down then I'll make a separate post with a list of what we'll be watching each week and if anything happens to me that means I can't stream one week then everything will just get pushed back a week, but I don't see that as likely to happen. And I'll only be streaming those that have English subtitles, so don't worry about not being able to understand anything.

edit: am also open to 10pm bst if others want that, im just trying to think of what time works best for everyone so sorry if 11pm is a little late for europeans, i know 10pm could be a little early for americans. also in case it sounded like these are the only musicals i will be streaming, thats not so, ive got more than just the ones mentioned on this list!

(Tagging some people who I know are or might be interested in streams to see what you think of that plan: @sirona-art @ringwraith100 @tanz-der-trash @smilingwoland @the-weird-dane @witchgaye @ami-fidele @kisstheghouls @looking-4-happiness @ladysapphire928 @sloanedestler @tinywound @persephonaae @phoenixdewinter @uwucoffee @freshbloodandgothicism )

#european musicals #mozart das musical #3 musketiers #dracula the musical #retj #romeo et juliette #mozart l'opera rock #mozart l'opéra rock #musical theatre #musicals #broadway #musicaledit #rebecca das musical #rebecca the musical #answeredasks #non english language musicals

55 notes · View notes

incarnateirony · 3 years

Note

Hi! I don't know if you actually know this, and it may be a stupid question, but could a different show actually make Destiel go canon again, like we've been joking about? Would they be allowed to say 'Castiel and his human got married' (or something along those lines) given that WB still owns the characters? (I know Lucifer had a throwaway line about Cas, but this seems like a different situation.) Thank you :)

Never any promises in media, fam.

I'll break this down one last time.

WB owns the rights to the IP. Jensen somehow got license to use that IP, via Chaos Machine.

Chaos Machine replaces any "pop up" studio via the production company (WB). "Supernatural studios" as run by WB doesn't return. Just like when Walker ends, Stick To Your Guns dies with it. Jared might be able to get a job as a producer in a different situation like that (another CW show also with a hand-in from the WB for example)

Chaos Machine is its own independent agency in production, essentially bookending the way the team will be in control of the content.

We don't know really if Jensen has _license_ to use it in the purest terms of having purchased the property-- or more _lease_ to use it, since while Chaos Machine is independent, they have an exclusivity deal with the WB (are you guys starting to get a feeling Jensen didn't tell Jared a LOT for A LONG TIME about this, actually?) Meaning they'll only produce WB content. But that probably comes with a good chunk of money.

Chaos Machine's individual branding has been very LGBTQ oriented, and then we're hit with the presumingly straight concept of John and Mary as narrated by Dean. But here's the thing, depending on how they engage the WB it still might have been "No, we don't want that" at a few others. This is unclear. Jensen claims it's just the first one he wants to tell, so if we take that at face value, it's probably the first one he pitched, but gay shit or not he still probably had to have a pretty damn solid pitch to sell them on. But the fine details of how that handles along the way?

Investors. Chaos Machine is its own entity and therefore can have its own investors. Hence, for example, strong LGBTQ marketing trying to pull in LGBTQ corporate sponsors--or EXTREMELY rich people but it's mostly gonna be corporate rainbow capitalism to some extent--to invest in this and yet still announcing this John and Mary Spinoff.

Then Jared Padalecki throws a mantrum all over twitter because he wasn't invited to a story he has next to no relevance in, despite I'm sure Jensen having been previously considering ways to hook up cameos for the pals and the fans both.

Where that lands investor opinion, hard to say. But either way, if you think about it like the WB as a bankroller, sure, but also CM able to bankroll itself for the most part and not being heavily reliant on handouts from daddy company--daddy company gets a lot less say.

That's something Supernatural Studios never really had. They had... Robert Singer essentially signing them on to be a production company arm for years that pretty much singlehandedly floated their child network used to crank out content enough to get syndicated and/or digital to make residuals into eternity.

Yeah okay so now that we have that cleared up. If this blatant attempt to revive the dying CW actually arrives in time to save the network, which has a script commitment with them (wherein if they don't take it to order they pay a penalty, which they can't afford right now). This means it WILL get belched into our TVs, so what Jensen seems to do is make HIMSELF the middle man, but then raise his status up with investors to essentially counter-invest the WB and do what he wants within his reach. Whatever that looks like.

But beyond that, it goes

Writer > Production Studio > Network > Production Draft

Robbie Thompson is the announced writer so far. The studio is Chaos Machine. The network is CW

So Robbie > Jensen > CW > ...Jensen?

He gets to bookend influence as needed and if for any reason CW tinkers with the content or makes demands -- since he has his own rainbow capitalism investors -- and can take strong stand in early pass, and really breaks the line of daddy demands from WB, which just leaves Pedowitz shoving it out onto air eventually. They might tweak shit early on but then with Jensen recording narrating and probably directing on occasion, he can literally apply an art well learned from Robert Berens and Dick Speight (who, bet money, will be back eventually, adding to Team Heller), subterfuging it by passing it one way and taking liberty to change another way. Then the studio (Chaos Machine) will approve final product and then push it to Pedowitz, who now can't change it because we're at deadline. Yeah, he'll stop fighting if he has any that wasn't direct hand-in-influence from WB.

So where they go from there, chances? It seems to just be whatever Jensen chooses to do with it, as long as he plays a little business chess on occasion.

98 notes · View notes

rolandtowen · 3 years

Text

Prince Zuko was a harsh, entitled boy.

Firelord Zuko is a ruler who makes amends. - a study in the various side characters that Zuko came across in his banishment, and how he repays his past actions.

Read Chapter One on ao3 or under the cut! TW for referenced non-con and colonialism

[I believe @flamehotman and @flameomcfirey wanted to be tagged?]

Chapter One: Song

We will get there when we get there, don't you worry Feel bad about the things we do along the way But not really that bad We inhaled the frozen air Lord, send me a mechanic if I'm not beyond repair

- The Mountain Goats

It happened on a Tuesday afternoon.

Zuko was meeting with the agricultural council, a collection of both scholars and farmers, to discuss best practices for renewing the Fire Nations agricultural trade. For so many decades, the Fire Nation out-sourced its agriculture to land in the colonies and imported much of its food. But with the land being given back, the Fire Nation was either going to have to begin growing its own food again, or import their food at a fair price. The economic committee decided on Monday that reviving the Fire Nation farms would be far more cost effective - and of course, would create more jobs in the Fire Nation. With the war over, the number of soldiers that the military required had dropped dramatically, and there were many citizens without work. Zuko had instated severance benefits for unemployed soldiers - the ones not found guilty of war crimes of course, mostly the young recruits - but it couldn't last forever.

It was maddening. Every time Zuko unraveled one problem, he undoubtedly found or created another one. He was trying, really trying, to keep his people safe. But he also had a duty to the rest of the world. The nations that his lineage colonized, pillaged, and destroyed. He resists the urge to write to Aang, to ask him how he does it, how he balances all of the nations in every action he takes. But Aang is busy, all of his friends are, spread thin to the four corners of the world.

Uncle visits him occasionally, when the letters from staff concerned about Zuko's health pile up on his desk. One too many servants have found him, asleep at his desk, face down in treaty papers. But Uncle has his hands full. He already splits his time enough between the Jasmine Dragon and Ember Island, looking after Azula.

Azula.

She was improving, and that's really all Zuko can ask for. He sees her a couple of times a month, pours her a cup of tea, and they sit on the balcony of their vacation-house-turned-mental-retreat. Most of the time, they don't talk. Zuko won't push her; he remembers his silence in his first few months of being banished, how Uncle had to coax him to say anything at meals. Sometimes the only words he uttered in a day were in prayer before meditation. Zuko had thought to himself, speaking out got me into this mess: I'll never speak again.

He's not sure what words were exchanged between Azula and Ozai before he left her and went to burn down the Earth Kingdom, but he can guess it wasn't good. Few of his father's words were.

So they sit and drink their tea. Sometimes, on a good day, Zuko will fix up Azula's hair for her, and she'll reveal some bits of information that he files away for future examination. Something like, I saw Mom before you came with Master Katara. Or she'll double check her reality, asking, you let Ty Lee and Mai out of jail, right? and Zuko will say yes, her friends are safe, they should be visiting any day now.

As painful as seeing her may be, spending time with Azula is far preferable to sitting through an agricultural council meeting.

He looks down at the paper in front of him, a comprehensive budget list for all of the supplies needed to revitalize the Fire Nation's agricultural sphere. Dozens of machines that he's sure Sokka had a hand in inventing, hundreds of varieties of seeds that Omashu is generously selling to them, and -

Thousands of ostrich-horses.

"Councilor Yichen, can you elaborate on the number of animals in this budget? Certainly with the machines we'll provide, farmers will not need so many working livestock."

Councilor Yichen stands, giving a little bow in Zuko's direction. "Of course, Lord Zuko. While the machines will certainly boost productivity, we only have enough for one per farming village at this point. Each family needs at least one working animal, if not to plow the fields, then to transport goods. We decided on ostrich-horses on a recommendation from farmers in the Earth Kingdom colonies, who found them to be invaluable. An ostrich-horse is, in many ways, more valuable than a machine."

Zuko's stomach settles uncomfortably, but he isn't entirely sure why. "Thank you, Councilor. I understand now."

Yichen gives another little bow before he sits, and the rest of the meeting goes as planned, with the exception of a strange seed of unknown guilt now growing in Zuko's stomach.

"Uncle, do you remember when you made tea out of that poisonous plant?"

Uncle laughs, hands faltering as he pours Zuko a cup of jasmine tea. "I remember, Nephew. How could I ever forget?"

"Do you remember the girl who helped you?"

Uncle takes a sip of the warm tea. "Song. Her mother made the best roast duck." He looks at Zuko out of the corner of his eyes. "Why do you ask?"

Zuko looks out over the gardens. He's able to see the whole palace grounds from where they're seated on the second-floor balcony, watching the sun rise. As far as the eye can see, Zuko is upheld as a flawless ruler, his word taken as law. He's sick of it.

"I stole her ostrich-horse," he murmurs into his tea, taking a sip to calm his nerves. "I just remembered, in that agricultural meeting a few days ago. I - I never knew how essential those were to farmers, I just thought I was taking their ride." He turns to fully face his Uncle. "But I think I took a lot more than that."

Uncle meets his eyes with understanding. "And now you want to give it back."

"I know there's no way for me to fully apologize for how I acted in exile, but it feels like I have to try." The cup quivers a bit in his hands, and so his hands drop to his lap. "I'll need someone to watching over the Nation while I'm gone."

Uncle places one of his warm hands over Zuko's shaking ones. "I'm sure I can deal with your advisors for a few days." He squeezes his hand just slightly around Zuko's. "I'm proud to see that even in a few short months, your wisdom as a ruler is growing. Go, make your amends. The Nation will be here when you return." Uncle calls for Zuko's secretary and tells her to clear as much of the Firelord's schedule as she can for the next week. Their voices fade into the background as Zuko stares into his tea, wracking his brain to try and figure out how to track down just one girl in the entire Earth Kingdom. Sending scouts or soldiers from town to town is a recipe for disaster, and the Earth Kingdom villages have been traumatized enough. He supposes he could always call in a ride on his favorite air bison but - this feels like something he should do on his own.

If Song hates him, it might be hard for her to show it in front of the Avatar.

So he'll go alone. No friends, no royal guard. He'll come into Song's town the same way he came last time - defenseless. She can hate him if she wants, he'll give her that.

And he'll try to give back what he took from her.

He packs light, pulling an old tunic and boots from the back of his wardrobe. Though they've been thoroughly cleaned by the palace staff, the scent of campfires and smoke linger upon them. He grabs a cloak - the Earth Kingdom will be starting to chill at this time of year - and he slips out of the palace, using the servant's entrance to get onto the streets unseen.

Autumn comes quietly in the Earth Kingdom. The trees slowly lose their color, giving the last of their strength into vibrant leaves. Soldiers previously conscripted to fight in the war have either returned to their families or have gone to tend to the scorched earth where the Phoenix King made landfall. They clear the debris of fallen airships, making room for the earth to slowly restore herself.

Song envies those soldiers.

Their lives have changed with the ending of the war, but Song's life continues on, its mundane routine continuing over and over again. She cares for a small garden, crafts herbal remedies for her neighbors, and tries to make her mother comfortable. She curses the Spirits for their cruel sense of humor - her mother survives the greatest war ever seen, lives through the attempted invasion of her homeland, only to be struck down by frailty months after the end of it all. Hasn't she suffered enough? Song has whispered those words to the woods on her way to the well time and time again. Now, her body is just - stopping.

Her mother is dying and there's nothing she can do.

Song knows all living things have their time. And she's seen too many living beings go before their rightful time. But she never imagined her mother's time would be in a time of peace. Wasn't ending the war supposed to stop all this pain? Apparently not. She tries not to become bitter, knows that that's the last thing her mother would want for her, but - it hurts. And there's not a damn thing she can do about it.

The leaves from dying trees crackle under her feet.

She arrives at the well, alone. Her hometown is just barely beginning to wake up, rising from its slumber as mothers bring in dry clothes from the clotheslines and fathers begin to toil in the fields. Children run freely from street to street, with a joy that was forbidden during the Fire Nation's occupation. They're kicking at a ball, passing it from one pair of bare feet to another, and Song smiles at them. Someday, maybe.

She sets her water jug on the stone wall of the well and begins to lower the bucket before hearing the ball make impact and a man's voice grunt, "oof!". She spins rapidly around to see a young man, rear planted firmly in the dirt, one hand rubbing at his forehead while the other wipes at a watering eye. The group of children stand, frozen, and she gives them a look, and unspoken command to stay and apologize to the man they just hit with their ball.

"Here, take my hand," Song holds out her right hand, and the man takes it. When the young man meets her eyes, she almost drops him back in the dirt. He has those amber eyes, and she can just see under his loose hair - a burn scar. "Lee?!"

He stands, brushing dust from his cloak, and she catches the hints of red fabric that lie beneath. She recoils. He sighs. "Um, about that." Song sees his hands tremble against his cloak. "My name's not Lee - and I'm from the Fire Nation."

Song reacts as if she'd been slapped. She trips backwards, away from Not Lee, landing hard against the stone of the well. Her leg is aching, feels like its on fire all over again, looking into those amber eyes.

"How could you? I let you into my home." She braces her hands against the well, her leg threatening to give out at any moment. "Now it all makes sense, that you stole from me. That's all you ashmakers are good for." She spits, and it lands on his scarred cheek. "You take land that isn't yours, take women that aren't yours, you take lives!" Her leg finally collapses, and she sinks to the ground with her back against the well. Not Lee makes a move, and she throws her hands up. "Don't you touch me," she grits out, clutching at her leg. He stills, and she wraps her arms around herself, bringing her knees to her chest. "I pitied you, you know? I thought your mother must've been - I looked at your eyes and thought you were a victim like me, like my mother." Her whole body is trembling, but she doesn't care. "But I bet you know who your father is, I bet you're proud to have his eyes."

Not Lee mirrors her, curling in on himself, not even bothering to wipe his face clean. "I do know who my father is, but I'm not proud of him." He looks up to meet her eyes, and Song is struck by how young he looks. When she'd last seen him, he'd looked gaunt, malnourished, with sharp cheekbones. Now, his face had filled out and he looks - young? The scar makes him look older as well, but when you look on the opposite side of his face - all she can see is a kid, couldn't be older than a teenager.

And he was crying.

Stubborn as he is, Not Lee is resolutely ignoring the tears slowly falling from his eyes, but nevertheless - they fell. Song didn't expect that reaction. Tears are not what she expected from a Fire National. Anger, rage, violence - those are the things she's tasted at the hands of firebenders, but this? This is new.

"I'm sorry," Not Lee whispers, looking at his feet. "I came to apologize, I wanted to repay you for your kindness and return what I took. But I think I've overstayed my welcome." He scrubs at his face roughly with the heel of one hand. "But I am, truly sorry. I acted selfishly the last time I was in your home, and I took advantage of your compassion. And I understand that my nation has done even worse. I'm trying to make it better." He pulls his hair back with a band. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but I would like to purchase you a new ostrich-horse. And anything else you or your mother may require."

Without warning, Not Lee shifts from his seat position to a bowing one, kneeling with his head pressed to the dry earth. Song stares at him for a small eternity, before realizing that he's waiting, unmoving, for her response. For her judgement.

She lets out a small breath. "Okay," his eyes flick up to hers and her stomach twists. The way he bows is so precise - it must have been drilled into him hundreds of times before. Another thing she wouldn't have expected from a firebender. "Come to dinner."

He stands after she does and gives another slight bow. As they begin the walk back to Song's home, he offers to carry her water jug, and Song feels more weight than one lifted from her.

"What did you say your name was again, young man?" Mei pokes at Zuko's shoulder as she hobbles to the table.

"Mom, I'm sorry about her, she's getting older," Song sets a bowl of fragrant roast duck in front of him and Zuko feels his mouth begin to water.

"No, it's okay, I don't think I've actually properly introduced myself." He takes a quick sip of tea - bracing himself for whatever will happen next - and calmly sets the mug back down. "My name is Zuko," he begins slowly. "AndI'mkindoftheFirelord."

There's the sound of Song dropping a bowl in the kitchen, and Mei leans in a bit closer to Zuko.

"Sorry, dear, could you say that again? My ears aren't what they used to be."

Zuko opens his mouth to respond, but Song slowly enters the room, her eyes narrowed in on Zuko. "You said - you're the firelord?" He nods at her, waiting for her to swing a knife at him, kick him out of their home, call some earthbenders to rough him up -

Before his panic can start to set in, Song runs out the front door, slamming it behind her.

Zuko looks helplessly at Mei.

"Give her a moment." Mei brings her pair of chopsticks to her mouth. "Hmm, she still doesn't make it as well as I used to."

"What about you? Do you hate me?"

Mei sighs, putting her bowl down. "I'm too old for hate, dear. My time in this world is almost over. I can't spend it hating world rulers." She takes a sip of her tea. "But Song? She -" Mei sighs again. "She's been hurt deeply by the Fire Nation, in more ways than one. And it isn't just you. But for a long time, the monarchy has been the embodiment of everything terrible that's ever happened to her. And now you're here, standing in front of her."

Zuko nods. "I understand. And I am sorry, to you as well. I don't think I fully understood the reach of the war. I was always taught that the army acted with honor, that women and children were untouchable." He looks down at his folded hands. "I can see that was false."

"Unfortunately, you are correct." She reaches between them to refill Zuko's cup, then Song's, and hands them both to him. "Go to her. A bit of tea should help bring you some good favor."

The screen door opens and closes, and Zuko finds himself out on the porch. Song sits on the edge, absently massaging her leg, peering into the darkness of the forest.

"Can I join you?"

She shrugs, and he takes that as a yes. Handing over her tea, Zuko sits besides her and tries to find what she sees in the darkness.

For a few minutes, the only sounds are those of them drinking and crickets chirping. Then Song speaks.

"His name was Bao."

Treasured. Precious. Rare.

"That's a lovely name."

"What happened to him?" Song turns abruptly to look at him with shining eyes. "Did he...?"

Zuko shakes his head emphatically. "My Uncle and I traded him to a florist for safe passage to Ba Sing Se. The florist seemed like a good man."

"You went to Ba Sing Se?"

Zuko runs one hand down the back of his neck. "I might have conquered it, actually?"

Sing snorts. "That part I've heard about. You've lived an interesting life, Zuko."

"If by 'interesting' you mean messy, then yes." He sighs. "You had no reason to trust me. Why did you let me back into your home?"

Song laughs, tinged with bitterness. "My mother says I'm too trusting, too gullible." She swirls the dregs of her tea around the bottom of her cup. "But I think there's strength in being kind. And I really did want to forgive you. But you have to be ready."

"And do you think I am?"

She smiles softly at him. "For me, yes. But my guess is I'm not the only person you hurt in exile." She gulps down her remaining tea. "They may not be as forgiving as I am."

"I'm preparing myself for that possibility."

"Does it scare you?"

Zuko ponders it. "I think it does. The idea that I've hurt someone innocent so badly that they may never be able to move past it... that keeps me up at night."

Songs turns towards him, tucking her knees up to her chest. "We can't control how other people see us in this life. How they react to our actions is up to them - all that we can control is our response. You have to be ready to accept that someone may not be ready to forgive you, and you can't let that eat you up." She stares at him intently. "You have to confident that your own actions are enough. That they're good."

It's Zuko's turn to laugh sourly. "Easier said than done," his hand wanders to his scar. "Sometimes I'm still not sure if what I'm doing is right."

"You don't have to do it alone, you know," Song gives him an understanding look. "You need other people around you, Zuko, to remind you what's good."

He huffs, looking down at his hands, folded in his lap. "Do you want to be one of those people?"

"I think you have more than enough goodness surrounding you already. You just have to be confident enough to ask." She sighs, looking back out into the darkness. "Besides, I have to stay here with my mother. She doesn't have long."

"Are you sure there's nothing I can do? I could send my healers -"

She shakes her head, cutting him off midsentence. "It's her time." She begins to rub at her scars again. "I just didn't know how much it would hurt. We finally have some peace, and suddenly it's her time."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, not for this. It's due to you that she'll be able to die during peacetime." Her hands come to her eyes, wiping tears away before they can spill down her cheeks. "Her biggest fear was that she'd die and leave me alone to fend for myself during the war. You released her from that fear. Of course I forgive you, Zuko. My mother's no longer scared of dying because of you."

The two of them are silent for a long time, watching fireflies flicker off and on in the trees, listening to the crickets sing.

"I'm going to find Bao for you."

Song looks up in surprise. "You don't have to-"

"I want to, I'm sure he's still out there somewhere." Zuko rises from his seat. "If you ever need anything, anything, you write directly to me. I'll tell my staff that you're a priority."

"Are you leaving?" Song stands as well. "You could stay, if you want."

Zuko shakes his head silently. "I have to get back, and travelling by night is best for a Firelord who doesn't want his identity revealed," he smiles, his scarred skin relaxing into it. With that, he pulls his hair out of its topknot, grabs his pack and swords, and starts to disappear into the night.

"Firelord Zuko?" He stops and turns back at the sound of Song's voice. She makes the sign of the flame and bows. "Thank you, for everything." He bows back, lower than protocol dictates, but he doesn't care.

Three weeks pass, and the air has turned bitterly cold.

Song again makes her daily trip to the village well, with snow crunching under her feet instead of dead leaves. The soldiers have returned from their work in restoring fields for the season, and so the village feels alive when she steps into it. Despite the chill, children still run in the street, under the watchful eye of their mothers and fathers. Song feels a twinge of longing, but she tries to focus on the happiness she feels for the children instead. Song sets her water jug on the side of the well, breathing hot air into her palms to warm her hands after touching the freezing stone.

"Excuse me, miss, are you Song?" A voice comes from behind her, and she turns to see two men dressed in red tunics.

"I am," she replies, tucking her hands into the pockets of her hanbok. "And you are?"

They bow to her. "We come on behalf of Firelord Zuko, to deliver a gift." A third man rounds the corner with an ostrich-horse on a tether. "We found him at a desert settlement, he's been well taken care of, but if there's anything you need -"

They're cut off as Song runs to throw her arms around the neck of the ostrich-horse. "Bao!" She strokes his beak, looking into his eyes. "Do you remember me?"

Bao cocks his head to the side, pupils widening as he chirps softly, and then he lets out a loud whinny, pushing his head into Song's chest. He purrs, closing his eyes and relaxes against her.

"Sweet Bao, it's really me, you're really home," Song can feel her eyes dampening, but holds it together as one of the men hands her a bit of parchment.

"A note from the Firelord. He wanted us to remind you that you can write to him anytime you need anything."

Song nods. "And tell him I said 'thank-you' again." Bao whinnies loudly again, and she adds on, "Bao says 'thank-you' too."

"Of course, miss." With a synchronized bow, the men depart, and Song unrolls the parchment.

Song,

I've followed your advice and surrounded myself with good people. It helps.

Give my best to your mother - my Uncle still talks about her roast duck sometimes. I've established a fund specially for women and child victims of the war, inspired by some of what you and Mei shared with me. Write me if you feel like you or anyone in your village wants to apply for it.

And, thank you for trusting and forgiving me. I'll try to keep earning it.

May the Spirits continually bless you,

Zuko

She tucks the parchment into her pocket, fills her jug, and finds herself back in Bao's familiar saddle after more than a year. "Come on, Bao," she says as she takes the lead into her hands, guiding them back to the empty farmhouse.

"Let's go home."

[if you read through this whole thing, go drink some water! I'll know if u don't :) ]

21 notes · View notes