#it was ✨foreshadowing✨ all along...

[egophiliac]

LET THE BOY HAVE AN EDUCATION

officially at the point where we're starting to see where it's all headed and I am just going NYEEHEEHEE in delight at it all. ahhh...next week can't come soon enough...

[rayroseu]

THE MAJESTIC EXCELLENCY HERSELF 😍😍😍😍💚💚💚💚 also maybe its just me but is it a reach to hope that an ACTUAL Disney villain can cameo in TWST?? 😆 You know like how Mickey randomly appears before us akjdkss

Also i find it interesting how Yuu immediately got up to go to the Maleficent Statue after concluding the dream as "Maleficent is being left out..." She reminded him of One Guy lol 😭 Also Yuu lore crumbs that theyre finally catching up that their dreams is related to the next overblot lol

ALSO AAAAAHHH SEBEKKKK 💚💚💚✨✨✨ I missed hearing his "human!!" FULLY VOICED✨✨✨ Haruki Ishiya san... thank you 😭💚💚💚

I love his attitude change LMFAO and Silver being the polite person he is insisting Sebek to apologize and Sebek just doesnt lol... SOBS... Also agree with Grim lol Diasomnia literally the most dramatic dorm lol

Also I find it so funny that "Malleus evil smile" expression is his Happiest Expression LMFOAOAOA He's thoroughly AMUSED by Yuu calling him Hornton in front of Sebek (of all people) without hesitance 😭😭

Ohhh Malleus loves chaos alright ✅✅✅💥💥 and his family and friends getting along...😭😭💕💕💕

Also the part where the npcs talked about him broke my heart aughh...

He's just talking with his classmates and everyone is already whispering how "he shouldn't be in this school he's going to curse everyone" (OKAY maybe theyre going to be right about that in a few more updates butksjdjs) But aaa knowing the fact he has superb hearing skills.... I like to imagine he's hearing these rumors while talking to Yuu and the knights but he's just ignoring the rumors since there's a few peopke who are treating him like a normal person right now 😭😭

I LOVE HOW THIS IMPLIES LILIA RELIES ON SILVER THE MOST TOO!!! He couldve asked Sebek or Malleus since theyre the people with no sleep problems... but nooo he insisted on Silver waking him up!! AUDGAUHS I thought he's a general who focuses on efficiency... 😭😭 He just wants Silver to wake him up... i know you lilia 🔍🔍🔍🤨🤨

I am in good pain... considering!! in Book 7!! Lilia repeatedly appears to be a reliance for Silver whenever he feels hopeless... I CANT. Lilia is just like more lowkey about how much he actually relies on his son 😭😭💚💚

ROOK BEING IN THE RUINS TOO IS SO FUNNY LFMAOOO THATS ONE OF MALLEUS' TOP INTERSHIP LIST??? ITS LILIA'S P.E VIGNETTE ALL OVER AGAIN LMFOAOAA HE'S GONNA HARASS MALLEUS DOWN IF THEYRE COWORKERS AHFHAHDHA

Imagine them in the ruins and finally Malleus has someone who is enthusiastic about ""boring facts about Gargoyles and Abandoned Ruins"" but its just... got to be THIS GUY Rook Hunt... who once tried to playfully harm Lilia lol

Malleus and Rook Duo is actually so funny though 😂😂 It still cracks me up that Malleus was once invited on Rooks Bday but he didnt attend cuz he's annoying to him and most notably Rook is not even hostile to him??? He just didnt attend bcs he hates his guts omg😭😭💥💥

This fact is so weird to me... What do you mean that some teeth just becomes an automatic RADIO under the right conditions????😭 Is this a foreshadow to Zigvolts Dentistry??? 😳⚡💚✨✨✨

Can a fae teeth play Elvis Presley just by opening their mouths...?? You know like Stitch acting as a phonograph... 😂

But I doubt??? They have radio towers at Briar Valley so it probably doesnt happen????? But It'd be pretty funny if Briar Valley radio just play bardcore music and one poor fae was "cursed" to have "magical radio teeth" playing bardcore everytime lol

My first thought was "Sebek!!!!✨✨✨" here actually 😭💚 Since he's the only freshman we're missing rn...

But I was surprised Yuu thought of Malleus??? That just further implies Yuu recognizes him as a friend that'll help them too 😭😭😭

Its just precious to think that someone finds Malleus reliable, he'll be so happy to assist Yuu if they're having trouble with anything just like how he enthusiastically offered to explain more about the Thorn Fairy since Yuu is curious about it...😭💖💞💖💗💕 I love them to BITS OMFG...

(I'm sad that Yuu is going home too but I'm ignoring that lol🚶‍♀️🚶‍♀️ Yuu is a self insert theyre supposed to speak MY language of staying with Mal-)

Its devastating that the freshmen are so hyped up to be working together THEY ARE NOT PROCESSING THE IMPLICATIONS OF YUU GOING HOME... 💔😂 if Yuu truly goes home, theres no reason for them to be gathering like this on the cafeteria anymore... 😭😭💔💔 Making myself sad that they'll buy an extra plate for them during lunch break and not even Grim touches that food... just to honor their friend😭😭😭

Wait so we know that the first night in "sleepover to discover Mickey" consists of Deuce and Ace as Grim and Yuu's companion...

Maybe the next nights (without Malleus' overblot interupption) consisted of Epel and Jack, and then possibly Ortho and Malleus??? (since Ortho is the one who suggested that therell be a fae)

Oh but Im going to cry if at Book 7's ending consisted of Yuu inviting Malleus for a sleepover at Ramshackle despite what happened... 😭😭😭 and and like the stars aligning appears once again but this time he's not at ruined Ramshackle missing his friend... He's at a peaceful sleepover with a friend group auGh... 😭😭😭💖💕💞💗💞💗

[bamsara]

Hello

I was wondering where in the time line of the galaxy days/ cryptids series does dib learn what the Pak Zim gave him actually does?

Also maybe we get to see stich (IZ or SL) in a Halloween costume next month. I miss stitch.

Major Spoilers for Paklet AU since this was drafted for the written story but the chapter it belongs to isn't finalized or published anywhere

AFTER Galaxy Days was supposed to be another installment which would have been the last/second to last depending on the length, which would have brought upon the Intergalactic War against the Irken Empire and when Zim would have given both Dib and Gaz their Paklets.

Dib gets, uh, stabbed. Just like he was with the ghoul. You know. Really bad. Right through the gut. Yep. The kind that kills a human very quickly.

I won't tell you who does it or how he gets skewered because that's a major plot thing there, but I need you to know that the incident with the ghoul that started all this is how ends too.

✨It was foreshadowing all along✨ Or history just repeats itself when you learn nothing about taking up out-of-league battles you're far too confident, or emotionally invested about.

However despite the obvious and what is surely a catastrophic injury, Dib does not die though! Weird! It's almost as if there was something uh, keeping that from happening. It is REALLY not normal to stay alive after you get mutilated like that, much less heal within hours without so much as a scar.

Not gonna go into detail, but he figures out that the weird 'friendship' bracelet that Zim promised was just a signifier of their truce that prevented his death, and he has to figure out the extent of it all on his own because Zim isn't exactly available for him to confront about it.

(Also I might draw something for Stitch tbh, either in a Moon costume or a Gir Onsie)

[10underoot2]

Here's a lovely, beautiful, little detail I loved in Episode 14 that I wish we saw more of throughout the show. BaekHong just teasing each other with their quirkiness and wittiness.

All those little scenes and dialogues were so beautiful and so important in letting me know and believe that yes this is why and how they fell in love. This is where they match in personalities. They see that part of each other. Cause life can be long as much as it is short, so god do you need a person who can make you smile, allow you to take yourself less seriously and just someone you can laugh with.

Here are a few examples I found in episode 14. If anyone knows more throughout the show that I'm missing please list them here!

1. Busman Confession

Haein: 'How did you even get into SNU?'

She was so real for this and it was so deserved. Also the way Hyunwoo starts teasing her immediately. She never wanted to tell him cause she knew he'd get cocky with her and of course he did. Love that lil laugh and teasing. Also I love how Haein keeps teasing him about his first love. She loves seeing him wound up.

2. Praying at the Church:

Haein: 'You're praying so much to get into heaven. Of course you'll need it if we want to meet in heaven.'

Hyunwoo: 'What makes you think you're going to heaven?'

They're both so mean and chaotic 😂 They're literally in church praying for Haein's fate and they decide to make these jokes. And I love how Hyunwoo doesn't hold back. He gives as good as he gets. I love the lightness foreshadowing the very dark and real reality they live in. This was so necessary and so well delivered. Like just subtly sprinkled.

3. Last Night at the Hospital before Haein's Surgery

Haein: 'You have nothing (complaints, times you were hurt in marriage secrets)?'

Hyunwoo: 'I'm trying to pick'

Making light of something that is very heavy and sad. It also shows the lighter side of Hyunwoo that I really appreciate when I get to see this in characters cause the people these characters are have to be multilayered. They can't be defined only by their capacity of love and sadness. Another example of this is Haein's really dark and dry sense of humour.

4. Episode 14 Epilougue

Haein: 'You used to tell me about the days you were in Law School? What was your secret to memorising so well?'

Hyunwoo cockily lies: 'I was just able to easily memorize anything I looked it.'

Haein: 'I'm serious did you gobble up the pages after memorising them?'

Hyunwoo: 'I'm not a goat.'

There literally hours away from her surgery. But look at him teasing her and making her smile. I love how Haein points out in an earlier episode 'as arrogant as you are you must Baek Hyunwoo' cause in front of her he flexes like no other but other than that he's just a humble man. So I love him never missing a chance to impress her. It's a very cute detail and I love seeing it strung along.

There are others as well. I think I saw a post by @havemercedes some time ago as well. I think this truly shines in episode 14 and I love this detail! ✨

[theknifeandsword]

Bryce Quinlan: The One True Heir of Dusk ✨⚔️

This is going to a loong post, so bear with me...

In HOFAS, it was revealed that the Prison Island is indeed the long lost Dusk Court and where the Starborn fae lived, ruled over by Theia, the High Queen of Prythian and the Starborn fae.

At the end of HOFAS we saw Bryce return the Mask and Truthteller to Nesta in Prythian and at the same time, she surprised Nesta, by also giving her the Starsword/Gwydion.

Because of this, many people believe this indicates Bryce's story is over, that she is rejecting her right over the Dusk Court and handing it to Nesta, who some say will go on to become the ruler of the Dusk Court in future books (some even say Nesta will pass on the Sword to Gwyn who'll wield it and rule Dusk with Azriel, as he has it's counterpart, Truthteller. But I'll come back to that theory another day).

While I very firmly, 100% believe that Nesta is integral to the future of the Dusk Court, I DON'T believe she is destined to rule it. I believe there's much more canon evidence in the books that shows Bryce Quinlan is the one true heir of the Dusk Court and will return to Prythian in future books.

Here's why Nesta's connection to dusk is undeniable but not as it's ruler:

She had the eight point star tattooed on her back along with Cassian, but it has since disappeared, whereas Bryce has it scarred permanently on her chest (exactly the same as Theia).

Nesta's power is that of silver flames, and she has shown no signs of being able to wield shadows or starlight, the two Starborn powers.

She was able to get through the wards in the prison due to her being "Made", not because she is the Starborn heir.

She was led to the prison to find the Harp. We don't know why or how yet, and although Nesta says it feels to her like the prison island is waiting for something to return, she doesn't feel it call to her in the way Bryce does.

Nesta is not linked to any dusk imagery, whereas Bryce is (Bryce smells of the first stars at nightfall, she is described as bearing dusk colours etc).

Nesta is able to use the Dread Trove that belonged to Theia because she is "Made", but struggles with the consequences of doing so (e.g. Azriel having to talk her out of wearing the mask) whereas Bryce can use them easily and with little effort (just like Theia).

Nesta warns Bryce in HOFAS about running from her fate and in HOFAS that's exactly what Bryce is doing - she hasn't yet come to terms with her fae side and despite saying constantly that Urd is guiding her...she is in denial about all the things that are trying to pull her towards her place as the Queen of the Starborn fae.

And here is Bryce's connection to dusk and the foreshadowing she will be it's ruler:

1. Only Bryce possesses Theia's starlight

The Starborn fae originally hailed from and resided in the Dusk Court and were born with one of two Starborn powers - the ability to control shadows (e.g. Cormac, Morven) or the ability to control starlight (e.g. Ruhn). Shadows and starlight come together to create Dusk, which is the time of day between night and day.

Very rarely, some are gifted with BOTH powers (e.g. Theia, Silene, Helena, and Bryce).

We learn from Aidas that Bryce was born, not just with the normal Starborn power of starlight, but the exact power and starlight of Theia, the previous High Queen of Prythian and the Starborn Fae. Bryce was born with one third of Theia's starlight reincarnated inside her:

“'I thought Theia’s light was forever extinguished.'

'So did I. I thought they’d made sure she and her power died on that last battlefield under Prince Pelias’s blade.' His eyes glowed with ancient rage. 'But Bryce Quinlan bears her light.'

'You can tell the difference between Bryce’s starlight and her brother’s?'

'I shall never forget the exact shine and hue of Theia’s light. It is still a song in my blood.'” - HOEAB 

We learn from the Silene hologram that Theia split her power into three, giving each of her daughters one third and keeping the last for herself, which died with her...before being reborn in Bryce.

Bryce finds and claims the second third form underneath the prison Island in Prythian where Silene hid it for the future heir:

"Like a small sun emerging from the stone itself, a ball of light burst from the floor. A star, twin to the one in Bryce’s chest. Her starlight at last awoke again, as if reaching with shining fingers for that star hovering inches away.

With trembling hands, Bryce guided the star to the one gleaming on her chest. Into her body.

White light erupted everywhere." - HOFAS

Finally, Bryce finds the third part of Theia's starlight, the part that belonged to Helena, locked away in the caves of Avallen:

"Light blasted up through the blades into her hands, her arms, her heart. Bryce could hear it through her feet, through the stone. The song of the land beneath her." - HOFAS

"She heard how Avallen had yielded it's joy, it's bright green lands and skies and flowers, so it might hold the power as it was bid, waiting all this time for someone to unleash it. To free it." - HOFAS

'"You're free,' Bryce whispered to Avallen, to the land and the pure inherent magic beneath it. 'Be free.'

And it was." - HOFAS

2. The Dusk Court chooses Bryce

In previous ACOTAR books, we learn that it is the land and it's magic that chooses it's ruler, no one else, and it will not choose another, until that ruler dies.

When Bryce is in the prison there's lots of evidence that shows that the land/magic chooses Bryce as it's ruler whilst she is there.

Once she claim's silene's power, we get this:

"Power, uncut and ancient, scorched through her veins. The hair on her head rose. Debris floated upward. She was everywhere and nowhere.She was the evening star and the last rays of colour before the dark." - HOFAS

She is able to sense the land and can feel the prisoners residing there:

"From far away, she could sense it, the things lurking within the mountain, her mountain." - HOFAS

The island calls to Bryce, telling her it has bene alone all this time, waiting for her:

"And in that moment, the mountain - the island - spoke to her."

"Alone, it was so alone - it had been waiting all this time. Cold and adrift in the thrashing gray sea. If she could reach out, if she could open her heart to it...it might sing again. Awaken. There was a beating, vibrant heart locked away, far beneath them. If she freed it, the land would rise from it's slumber, and such wonders would spring again from it's earth..." - HOFAS

And finally, Bryce is able to wield the land, just like the High Lords of the other courts are able to:

"Bryce lifted a hand, and spike after spike ruptured form the ground, blocking Nesta's advance."* HOFAS

"But at a mere thought from Bryce, stalactites and stalagmites formed, closing in on him, the room became a wolf, it's jaws snapping for the winged warrior-"

"The rock had moved for her, as it had for Silene." - HOFAS

"Bryce stomped her foot. Those spikes of stone stretched higher, blocking his way. Blue light flared from him, smashing through the stones."

"Bryce stomped her foot again, summoning more lethal spears of rock—but there were none left. Only a vast, gaping void." - HOFAS

Remember, Nesta has been to the prison before, to the exact place Bryce stands as the island speaks to her and where she claims Silene's part of Theia's starlight. And she is with Bryce at this exact moment in time. So if Nesta was meant to rule Dusk...why didn't she experience any of this instead of Bryce?

At no point does Nesta sense the land like Bryce, nor does it call or speak to her. Nesta doesn't find or claim Silene's power and she can't control the land, like Bryce can.

3. Only Bryce can wield the Knife and Sword FULLY

As far as I can decipher, people within the Maasverse fall into one of four categories when it comes to the Starborn:

Non-Starborn: Someone who has no Starborn ancestry.

Starborn descendent WITHOUT Starborn powers: Someone who does have Starborn ancestry but was not born with either of the Starborn powers.

Starborn descendent WITH Starborn powers: Someone who has both Starborn ancestry and one (or occasionally, but very rarely, both) of the Starborn powers.

Theia's Chosen Heir: The chosen female heir, born with Theia's exact starlight reincarnated inside her. There is only one heir and as far as we know, Bryce Quinlan is the one and only female fae to be born in 15000 years with Theia's exact power.

And this is what happens when any of those people attempt to wield the Starsword/Gwydion:

Non-Starborn: Unable to draw the sword from it's scabbard or use it in any way.

Starborn descendent WITHOUT Starborn powers: Unable to draw it from the scabbard or wield it in any way as they are deemed "unworthy" (e.g. Autumn King)

Starborn descendent WITH Starborn powers: Some of these fae are able to draw the sword from it's scabbard, but only if they are "worthy". They can activate and wield only some of it's powers (e.g. Ruhn). Some are only able to draw the sword but are unable to activate or wield it (e.g. Cormac).

Theia's Heir: There is only one heir (Bryce Quinlan) and she has been "chosen" to wield the Starsword/Gwydion to it's full potential. She is able to draw the draw from it's scabbard and deemed "worthy" enough to activate and wield it's powers to a further extent than anyone else.

"That Sword belongs to Theia's female heir," he snarled" - HOSAB

"Theia's power, when whole, is the only thing that can unite and activate the true power of those blades..." - HOFAS

In HOFAS, we see Bryce claim the sword:

"Nor had anything ever felt so right as when Bryce took the Starsword from him, a formal claiming, and weighed it in her hands." - HOFAS

And we see her able to call both the Starsword and Truthteller to her hands, something no one else can do:

"Bryce again reached out a hand, her will, toward Azriel. And as surely as the Starsword had done, Truth-Teller flew from his grip. He tried to grab it, but even his swift lunge wasn’t fast enough to stop it. To stop Bryce as the knife soared for her fingers.

The dagger’s hilt landed in her palm, cool and heavy." - HOFAS

And when Bryce is using both the Starsword and Truthteller she can produce a power that no one else is able to:

"Bryce threw her power into the Starsword, light ripping through the black blade, willing it to tear this fucking monster apart—

She willed it into Truth-Teller, and shadows flowed—

And where the two blades met, where Bryce’s light merged at their nexus, power met power.

Her ears hollowed out. Magic like lightning surged through her, from her. The chamber rippled, a muffled boom echoing through Bryce.

Her blood roared, a beast howling at the moon. She was vaguely aware of a glow, of radiating light that flowed through the Starsword, the dagger—" - HOFAS

4. SJM retracted saying her series are "standalones"

After the release of HOFAS, SJM declared that she was retracting her earlier statement that Crescent City and ACOTAR are standalone series and both she and Bloomsbury later said fans should need to read the Crescent City series in order to understand the story of ACOTAR 5 (her upcoming book)**.**

This suggests that Crescent City, the events within it and Bryce are going to be important enough to ACOTAR 5 that readers now need to know what happens in those books, and SJM plans to merge them further.

FUTURE BOOKS

So after all of this...what does it mean? Well we have seen the Dusk Court start to waken and choose Bryce as it's ruler and if we stick to SJM's lore, then it won't choose anyone else until she dies.

We have not yet had the fulfilment of the prophecy "When knife and sword are reunited, so shall our people be"...and with the Dusk Court and the Starsword/Gwydion all belonging to Bryce, only she can be the one to claim them.

I believe that Nesta WILL keep the sword for now and use it to discover what her connection is to the Dusk Court, but she will be unable to wield it fully. I think the prison island will begin to fail now that Bryce has started to wake it and Nesta will realise only Bryce is able to restore it and that they need Bryce to return to Prythian.

Also Bryce is very closely connected to the Pegasi (in Avallen, we see them start to return after Bryce wakes it) and in Norse mythology, the Valkyries ride pegasi into battle. With Nesta being a key part of the Valkyries, I predict we will see them move over to the Dusk Court with Nesta and eventually become Bryce's army, once she becomes ruler of the Dusk Court 😊

If you've made it to the end of this thesis post, you are a TROOPER and thank you so much for sticking with it! Let me know your thoughts! ✨🖤⚔️

[queerespresso]

🐶 Kant, I’m curious how his character will evolve. Love his big puppy energy

Kant does not remind me of Yok or Sand at all. While Yok was flirtatious, he leaned more into his feminine energy and deeply artistic side. While Sand was an indie music lover with a slight sad boy vibe.

Kant’s vibes are totally different for me. He’s incredibly confident. Like truly confident. I haven’t seen too much of his submissiveness yet but I think he will not be ashamed of it in the slightest. He likes what he likes and isn’t afraid to say that and go for it. When Bison kind of rejected him for his pick up lines, he swiftly switched gears and approached the communication differently. These traits are true confidence to me.

He almost has a f*ck boy energy to him. His desire to literally f*ck around (respect), be free without relationship ties, okay with being unaware of his ONS name, along with using a cache of pick up lines lead me here. I normally don’t get attached to f*ck boy/girl characters (nothing wrong with them just not a magnet for me). But Kant’s down bad, romantic mushy traits screams golden retriever which balances out the suaveness and swift pick up lines. That starry eyed, goofy smile is so so endearing. He 1000% has lost the plot and forgot his mission at times and that had me smiling all goofy with him. I think

his love for Bison will surprise him, maybe even scare him, but ultimately be something he craves. With Bison showing the sides of him that take care of Kant (bringing him food and the bedroom so far) I think Kant will feel safe (hah) and fall deeper.

Yes he is a tattoo artist and I do feel that art element but I feel he partially took up the trade as a desire to share and connect with people more than it was strictly to make art. I also think there were financial reasons behind it. The car theft could have been for adrenaline or the love of certain cars but it partially feels financially motivated to me as well. He seems very family oriented with holding onto his Dad’s car and being reluctant to part with it. He also is loyal and caring for his younger brother. To the extent he’ll take on jobs and clear his name for the sake of both of their futures.

My first impression was he took on the job to clear his criminal record. That’s not how I perceived that interaction though. He was threatened. There was no option other than gaining a criminal record back which isn’t really an option considering his circumstances. So knowing he’s being forced to do this, I hope that is explained well to Bison later. If I was Bison, and I found out that my bf was threatened into this, I’d be going after the cop. Miscommunication tropes stress me out so I see that coming.

♨️💭 I don’t know the full dynamic yet (sub/brat/dom/top/bottom/verse) so can’t talk too much on intimacy. But the first go around Kant was his confident self and encouraged Bison to join him. It felt like a power play. He had no qualms with Bison over him which feels like foreshadowing. Kant certainly likes breasts/chests and sucking 😂. I feel like his submission will come from that “I have to be the mature one in charge of every aspect of my life and want to give up control sometimes” place. Many with tattoos ( ✋ ) know that some get enjoyment out of the pain so there’s that as well. It takes a lot of trust to hand over your well being to a dominant so this will definitely potentially deepen Kant and Bison’s bond.

Caveat, I have large piece tattoos including a sleeve but don’t enjoy that specific pain myself so I know not everyone does. But I do have aesthetic desires, so I can see that being a motivator behind his tattoos as well. I feel like Kant is very aesthetically driven with his house, style, car and luxurious pieces. Even his initial interest with Bison was largely based on appearance…maybe some vibes too but it seemed like he was focused on what he saw and his comments followed suit. The man has taste ✨

[simp4konig]

König finding out that you are hard of hearing

Gender-neutral Reader

*Slow burn

Word count: ~4265

Always ignoring your Colonel, König takes it into his own hands to finally turn your attention on to him.

What he doesn't anticipate... is that you have actually been hard of hearing all along.

*‼️Mature themes**‼️ (mostly in the form of König's overly sexual[ised] fantasies and downright delusional thoughts of you). König is a MAJORRR pervert, and you're oblivious. 😋💅✨

I AM BACK!!!! 😳😳FROM THE *DEAD*!!!!! ☠️💀🧟‍♂️And ive fot a lil smth planned for you Ghost lovers ;)

*Many thanks to -—>@trepaika<;—-🤭💖✨💓💞🩷💕 for proofreading this !!😇😇 I had no energy whatsoever to read it afger typikg this out so i am so honoired that you took time out of your day/night to help mw out and it rlly means alot 🥹🥹💙💙🩵🫂💙🩵 you better do yoir fucking biologu work afterthis 😡😡

*Thabk you so much to @reyner-lee for this request!! 🥰💖💖💕 Initiallt, i was aiming for a "idiots in love" plot where König and reader are both oblivious😩😩😩 . .... made König veey mentally unstable and psosessive instead ☠️☠️💀, mb broski😇💁🏼‍♀️🧚✨🌟💫💕💞💞💕✨

no but seriouslh i didnt mean to mwke this so mature it was meant to be a FLUFFY(mayb a little bit angsty 😳) fic as ALWAYS😡😡 so im SO sorry for dekivering something COMPLETELY different to what u probs had in mindbc lets face it this is completely diffetent to whay i initially hwd in mind too LMAO😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

*Part of the KönigxKing series (drabbles with loose plot, no world-building just a collection of one-shots)

*Edited 14/10/2023 for typos

Tag List ♡ @simpforkonig ♡ @abysslovesyou ♡ @puff0o0 ☆ @rustic-guitar-notes ☆ @happy-mushrooms ♡ @reyner-lee ☆ @lotionlamp ♡ @trepaika

...

You couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when your hearing worsened.

As a soldier, heightened senses were something of a blessing, especially in high-pressure situations: a 20/20 vision, a gut feeling, or even just the ability to distinguish the most indistinguishable of sounds that others would miss was something of a life-saver.

Literally.

Hairs standing on end and goosebumps running down arms could alert a soldier — you — to an assassin sneaking behind them, hand with a knife glistening under reflected light in the dark, poised ready to slit their neck.

Instead, you could save yourself in the nick of time by executing them before they had the chance to do so.

Stealth on missions was a lifeline. To sneak in and out, to extract intel, evading all detection all the while, and to disappear when you hadn't even appeared on the enemy's radar in the first place made you breathe easier on the journey home.

The ability to hear footsteps in enclosed spaces and pinpoint the exact location of someone through a mis-step on a creaky floorboard or a squeaky door hinge was vital. Crucial. An important distinction between life or death, between success and failure.

Obviously, you were no super-soldier. In fact, your eyesight was below average — having to wear contact lenses specifically designed to be as discreet as possible so you weren't a walking lighthouse sending a signal to your postion always — and you could never separate the feelings of foreboding from the foreshadowing of what was to come, the fine line between imagination and intuition blurred.

However, hearing shuffling that others wouldn't, muffled footsteps upstairs that others couldn't, hushed voices around the corner that others would miss, gave you and your team the upper hand.

You weren't the best, but you proved damn useful, more useful than someone that could see in the dark or a person that had some omniscient sixth-sense.

At least your hearing used to be put to good use. Could have been put to good use.

Up to the point when a grenade blew off right beside you on a mission.

No time to realise, no time to react, and no time to recover from the shock, let alone alone to dive for cover, a blast flung you to the side, arms and legs flailing mid-air like a lifeless ragdoll. Time seemed to slow down, and for what felt like an eternity — mere seconds in reality — you were suspended in the air.

Body suddenly thudding on solid ground with a deep thump, you hit your head so hard against the pavement that you had thought you cracked your skull. Debris toppled over your stomach, dust making your eyes tear up and cough painfully, collapsed brick all around you.

You groaned in agony as an ear-splitting ringing inside your head nearly broke your forehead in two.

You couldn't raise your limbs, body limp and weighed down by what felt like a tonne, but could feel the thick waterfall of blood through the open wound on the side of your head; staining your uniform, streaming into your mouth, the metallic taste and smell on your tongue and in your nostrils.

Confusion, disorientation. Bewilderment.

Seeing double, figures running to and fro looked like a dozen, and panic stiffened you.

Desperate blinking eyes squinting to try and make sense of the scene before you, head spinning and unable to think clearly, struggling to lift the limbs that each weighed a tonne, all you did — all you could do — was lay there. Limp.

No one was nearby to help you, and your anxiety intensified: it was just you, and broken debris to keep you company, all noise muted aside from the high-pitched screeching.

Not much is clear from that incident after that. Memories are hazy and unclear.

All you remember are hands tapping your face, tugging your arm and willing your eyes to focus. Then, those same hands suddenly lugging you up by the scruff of your collar and slinging you over their shoulder. Finding yourself being lifted off by a helicopter, and ultimately passing out in the end.

Medics told you your ear drums were inverted, turned inside out from the force, and ear canal blocked by dust. Thankfully, all you required for the head injury were a few stitches, and you wouldn't suffer any brain damage.

Still, the news of becoming hearingly impaired made your world come crashing down.

Yes, you'd still be able to process sounds, they assured, but not as well as you used to.

An official diagnosis was made, and condolences were given to you, for there was nothing that could be done to fix your hearing. You were practically inoperable as the risk was too high, and you could go permanently deaf if the procedure was to go wrong.

You didn't reveal you having a hearing impairment to anyone — why should you, anyways? Things like this happened, and there were people in your faction that have had it worse.

Besides, it wasn't like you would be permanently deaf or anything, you reasoned, so the only thing to do was keep working.

Like you used to. All things considered you were a good shot, with good aim, with good spatial awareness and reaction times.

You could keep working, keep serving your country.

Yet you didn't work like you used to.

How intensely you stared at people, their face, eyes darting from theirs and their lips, was passed off as you being attentive.

No one would have considered that you were desperately trying to keep up with everyone else, and feeling like you were left behind. To fend for yourself as the world moved in triple speed, while you were still processing your new circumstances.

Of course, no one noticed the change.

And König, for one, sure didn't.

Completely enamored by you, he thought it foolish, really, to be so taken by a soldier, one below him in ranks and younger than him.

Yet, he admired you, was your secret admirer, and let his feelings blind him to what could have been so easy to see.

Well, to onlookers, his admiration for you was far from secret. In fact, it was obvious. Very obvious.

Initially, people joked that you were going to be reprimanded by the Colonel, taught a valuable lesson for some mishap you had committed, when you'd be pulled aside. Not a single one could have forseen König's behaviour towards you.

Stares, only strategically turning his head when you looked in his vague direction. An aura of threat, had it not been for the way his eyes sparkled. Held a particular glint that no one could pinpoint his intentions, and his needing to excuse himself to go to the restroom and not return for half an hour.

Walking behind you, guarding you at all times. Making sure he figuratively — and literally — had your back. A hand that would roam, explore, and push its limits, figuring out how low he would have to go before you broke, before you'd beg for more.

Demonstrating combat moves to you under the pretence that it would help fix your reaction times, all an excuse to be near you, to touch your mid-section and rest his hands on your body for seconds longer than necessary.

Touches that he would commit to memory, that would help him reach his climax behind closed doors at the thought of feeling your bare skin, and the feeling of your clothed body having to suffice.

No, none of it showed intent to humiliate you like they thought he would; rather, it was evident that their Colonel had taken a liking to you. Favoured you among the rest.

Obviously, no one saw the perverted nature behind your interactions, the side that König revelled in.

You always seemed to appreciate the gestures, albeit hesistantly, and would blush up to your ears and would flash him an uncertain yet award-winning smile, one that made blood rush up to his face and lower half as he wondered what other sorts of facial expressions you could be making, and whether that smile would stay if you saw his most intimate self.

However, you rarely paid him any attention afterwards. Would go on about your day, as if he wasn't even there.

Ignored him, as if he wasn't worth your time, or even your acknowledgment.

He'd attempt small-talk with you when you were on your own, trying all he could to find common ground, to keep you interested —or, butt in the conversation when someone else diverted your attention from what should have been on him — but, throughout it all, your facial expression was blank. Like you didn't even recognize him.

Eyebrows furrowed, wondering why your colleague stopped talking, you'd only come to realise that König existed when they'd nudge your side with their elbow, whispered frantically in your ear, and when you turned back around you'd jump up with seemingly exaggerated fright, blushing.

Stuttering and sputtering apologies to your superior with a bowed head, eyes avoiding his, König thought that there was a triumphant smirk that you were hiding, a strut as you walked, back turned as you flaunted your way out of the room in a mischievous manner.

Teasing, testing the waters to see how long you could go on without admitting that he was there next to you, to see how long König would last before he broke.

Oh, the things that you were doing to him.

Fury brewed in König, and he'd stew over your (his) one-sided interactions, your blatant ignorance of him, your complete disregard of him. Regarding him as not worth your time, and seemingly ignoring him with an air of superiority.

So imprudent, so rude, and such a daring little thing. So fucking naughty.

Contradicting urges of wanting to yank you by the collar into a passionate kiss in front of anyone and everyone and marking you as his in his private quarters became near impossible to contain. To put you in your place, and prove that you weren't all that that you made yourself out to be.

After all, brats like you had to be tamed, and König would not stand you demeaning his ego like that.

Reprimands from unsuspecting soldiers got harsher. Spitting at others in a rasping voice, barking commands loudly from the background. Drills became a living nightmare — everyone a target for König's relentless bullying. Sparring became relentless, and damn-near a deadly duel as he was unrelenting, remorseless.

König needed to release his pent-up frustration somehow.

König hated that his love was unreciprocated, and would be in a bad temper, stomping around the grounds looking for an inferior to abuse.

He loathed how you made him feel, yet loved what you made him feel, his feelings intensifying when you were in eyesight, and the knuckles of his fists turning white, shaking with rage as you frolicked off with some dummkopf, some piece of shit saukerl that didn't pay attention to you like he did, not considering the higher-ranking alternative.

Figuratively speaking: as, let's face it, König was the full package; and literally speaking, as he had a full package of his own to satisfy your every need, and would convert you to his lover in an instant.

You were an enigma. König couldn't read you at all, and was in internal turmoil.

Why couldn't he win you over? Were you really that high-maintenance, or playing hard to get?

You had to like him back. There was no way you weren't doing this on purpose.

Were you really that unbothered? Unbothered by his advances, not caring at all?

Or, were you really just proud, too full of yourself to pay respect to your superiors?

Really, König should have taught you a personal lesson if that had been the case, one so personal you'd learn to never disrespect him ever again, and be as respectful as a little darling as ever.

...Yet you? You couldn't have been more oblivious.

Sensing a presence in the background as you scrolled mindlessly on your phone, you only became vaguely aware of something off about König when you realised the intensity of a stranger's stare, bearing down on your neck.

Glare. König's glaring at you from afar, camouflaged in the corner by the shadow of the dimly-lit room, the few flickering light bulbs all the more unnerving.

Only in close proximity did you become aware of your Colonel, imposing even while sitting down, tall even with his being hunched over.

Accidentally meeting the eyes behind the veil draped over his face, he unapologetically took up as much space in the room as he could, back straightened to his full height and long legs wide spread apart in an act of dominance.

Those eyes pierced yours, and made you shiver, all intentions of small-talk drying in your throat and, in fear of becoming tongue-tied and losing your cool, you said nothing.

Why was he just... staring at you like that? Did you do something wrong?

It made you shudder, and you shivered, trying to shake off the ominous feeling.

Never in a million years would you have thought that König had any sexual romantic interest in you — if anything, with that grim expression you'd have thought he'd had a bone to pick with you.

He looked absolutely terrifying. A beast of a man, with penetrating eyes.

Unbeknownst to you, König was undressing you with those same eyes. Penetrating, yes, but imagining scenarios where he himself would he penetrating you.

He made himself so inviting, with the spot on his lap reserved as a seat especially for you, reclining on a chair with a head in his palm as he gazed at you in interest.

He even considered making a gesture with his hand, a beckoning finger signalling for you to "Come here", just to make it loud and clear that he was welcoming you, and wanted you exactly where he had positioned himself.

Until some soldier entered the room, saw you and hit you up, starting casual banter and exchanging sarcastic remarks, which made you laugh. The tension melting in your body, you allowed yourself to relax, and forgot about what was looming in the very same room.

To König, the man was flirting with you, and with the way you had a hand clasped over your mouth, practically swooning over the guy, it was solidified.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, he jolted upright, and the chair he was sat on was nearly flung backwards from his sudden action, a deafening screech echoing in the room.

Two pairs of eyes on him, he beckoned the man over to him:

"Come here. I have a duty for you, sergeant."

Only this time, he wasn't at all inviting, and even the man beside you knew he was in for it big time with how König's fury was seething.

"Toilettendienst, weil du ein Stück Scheiße bist."

Cackling, and a sly, venomous smile under his veil. "I'm sure you'll love it, seeing as you can't mind your own business."

Your encounters with König were terrifying, but you tried with all your might to keep them out of your mind. After all, you were still struggling to get by, so to be so on edge would only make matters for you worse.

Having people repeat what they said to you over and over again was passed off as bad signal or static over walkie-talkies, yet without being able to read their lips you were practically deaf and couldn't interpret the gargling, speech drowned by the feeling of your head being underwater.

However, you managed. Managed to keep afloat, somehow. Clung on to your life raft, despite the crashing waves of the tide that flung you from side to side.

And, lulled into a false sense of security, you were contracted for another mission.

Just like before, and on all the other missions before all the ones before your injury, all seemed to be going smoothly.

No sudden movements, no noises out of the ordinary. Nothing amiss.

Except, suffocating silence had shifted and pushed its weight down against you, swirling and following your movements as it had slowly tied a noose around you and your crew's necks, making it difficult to breathe.

But you shrugged it off. You rationalised your nerves as post-morbid jitters. No way was it a gut feeling.

It was unusual how well things were going, and was second-guessing yourself after not having had been deployed in ages.

Your guessing proved to be true, and it was a shame that you realised this too late.

Ambushed out of nowhere, bullets and blood were all that you saw; blasts and bangs were all that you heard.

No one escaped unscathed. Every single one of the operators had sustained some sort of injury, yours minor scratches compared to gaping bullet wounds, stabs in the abdomen, and broken bones.

Intense guilt plagued you for hours, days afterwards, and you were unable to look those colleagues in the eyes for days, weeks afterwards.

How could you let that happen?

Clawing up the ranks until you were finally trusted, finally deemed worthy, it shook you to your very core that you failed to forsee any of this. Failed your colleagues. Failed.

No one blamed you, because they didn't connect the dots that you were the common denominator behind both incidents, the one that catastrophically failed your allies.

König, seeing you in your most vulnerable state, pounced at the opportunity to finally confront you once and for all. To settle the doubts in his mind and come to a solid conclusion.

He wasted no time in hunting you down as you were walking, alone, a predatory look in his eyes.

At last, cornering you in a remote area where no one would interrupt, nor allow you weasle your little way out of it again:

"King."

You dropped your head, avoiding his gaze. Readying yourself for the severe scolding, being berated by König, you dropped your head, cowering below him.

"Before you say anything—" mumbling under your breath, "—I will admit this myself first."

"I... I messed up. Messed up completely on this mission. I'm— I'm so sorry for endangering your men, for nearly getting the entire crew killed. It was my fault."

König's eyes widened a little. This was the most you had ever said to him in one conversation. And you sounded so... sincere.

...Could he have had the wrong perception of you all along? Were you just... Timid? Shy? Maybe a little bit introverted even, and not one for socialising?

No, that couldn't have been right.

He needed to interrogate you, press you for information, put you under pressure. You'd break then, and he'd finally figure out the truth for himself.

"Ja," he spat shortly, voice unwavering and eyes betraying no emotions. "You did mess up. My men are all injured."

You were mortified when all you could interpret was harsh gibberish. None of the words made sense to you, and you couldn't differentiate any consonants from the syllables.

You breathed in deeply, feeling so foolish for thinking of asking this, and prepared yourself for the worst:

"Sorry, sir? Can you repeat that?"

König was the one to be bewildered this time. For a few agonisingly long moments, he needed to process what you had just said. Your request.

Finally, it sank in.

Oh, you were in for it now.

What did you mean "Sorry, sir?"?

You ignored him, have been ignoring him for all this time, and you had the gall to give him attitude?

Worst of all, to fail to pay attention when he is was scolding you?

No. König wasn't having it.

Both hands slammed against the wall above you, with such a force that even you could hear a deep crack of splintering brick.

With you trapped, he wasn't about to let you go until you learned your place.

"You're not going to say anything anything more, maus?" He leans in closer, steel-blue eyes betraying no emotion baring into yours. "Pip-squeak has lost its voice, has it? You really should learn manners."

Understanding "...going to say anything more, maus?... Pip-squeak... should learn manners" it was enough for you to understand what he was implying, and you were confused. In disbelief. Bewildered.

"S-sir, I—! "

Eyes wide, you shook your head vehemently, hands held up in protest. "—It's not like that at all! I swear!"

König quirked a brow, leaning in closer. Licked his lips inquisitively, curious to hear your defence.

"I've not... been ignoring you, sir. Never. I wouldn't ever do that..."

You trailed off, averting your gaze. "...Or, at least, consciously..."

You bit your lip. Shifting uncomfortably, your fingers fidgeted, fingernails digging into the palm of your hand. How were you going to explain this?

"Y-you see, I'm—"

Bracing yourself, you breathed in deeply.

"—I-I'm— I'm actually hard of hearing."

König blinked twice. It was his turn to be confused, and he pulled away a few inches, concentrating hard.

Seeing the blank look in his eyes, you immediately clarified:

"N-not deaf, obviously! — I suppose I can still hear, in a way — but my hearing is not good. I struggle to understand people."

A defeated sigh. "Communication is tough enough because I'm not good at reading lips yet, and..."

"...with you, it is — would — have been impossible, because of the—"

A weak gesture towards his face covering "—mask..."

An awkward pause.

"L-look sir, I'm sorry for ignoring you. Honestly, I never meant to. It's just I—"

"Never heard," König said, nodding faintly. "I understand."

He understood, alright. Understood what a moron he had been all this time.

God, what a fool he was.

All this time, concocting scenarios of finding a way to prove himself to you, of asserting his authority, of sexually frustrated evenings considering all the possibilities, all personality traits... was all one-sided pining.

Poor thing, you were just oblivious.

He couldn't blame you, and was kicking himself for viewing you as anything other than a pure soul.

If he had known this, known of your condition earlier, perhaps he wouldn't have been so frustrated, so confrontational.

Now, he had ruined all his chances with you by intimidating you out of nowhere.

God, he was such an idiot.

Embarrassed, and not knowing what to say, he sheepishly slid his hands off the wall.

Coughing twice, he cleared his voice, and projected his voice so it was clearer and louder:

"King."

You looked up, face showing shame and genuine guilt.

"Gut. Keep looking at me."

To your surprise, König's hand was reaching up to his veil, fingers hooking under the the hem.

In a prolongued but fluid movement, the fabric was pulled up, and, slowly, slowly, he revealed his face.

His white chin and stubbled jawline came into view first. Only slightly defined, not modelled after some Greek God, yet not lacking definition, either.

Then, thin lips, pale pink and pressed into a tight line.

A hooked nose, crooked likely from it being broken more than once before, neither long nor large nor flat. Perhaps slightly off-center.

Keeping the fabric in place, he would not raise it higher.

After a few seconds of silence, you saw how his Adam's apple moved when he gulped, his lips quivering as he breathed in deeply.

Even seeing the half of his face, he looked handsome to you.

"Well... is this better?"

Mouth moving to reveal white teeth, some misshappen and others crowded, it looked as if he had never worn braces before.

He swallowed thickly, then his hot breath fanned your face, mouth partly-open as he panted in increasing agitation.

Blue-gray eyes looked into yours, no longer domineering. Instead, pleading.

Wanting your affirmation, to be reassured that you would appreciate him partly presenting his identity to you, the most vulnerable part of him.

To be told that you truly did appreciate this gesture after all.

A smile tugged at your lips. "Yes. Much better, sir."

You were touched.

To think, that your commander, your Colonel, the big, beefy, burly man, the masked soldier of towering stature, would go out of his way to be sensitive. To be at the mercy of you.

It made you tear up a little. No one had ever gone out of their way to accommodate you like this, and it left you at a loss for words.

"Sir, I—"

"Nein. Call me König."

Cleared throat. "König, sir—"

A devillish smirk formed on his face, and he shook his head.

"Gott, such a sweet little thing," he cooed, purposefully slowing down his speech so you could interpret it on your own. "Will need to have you getting used to you saying my name, ja?"

Those steel blue eyes had melted. Were warm. Held a fondness in them that he hadn't had before — or, maybe they had, but you had never noticed it until now — either way, you felt at ease with him. With König.

One of your biggest mistakes.

"Thank you, König. Really. For being so patient."

Rubbing the back of your neck sheepishly, you shot him a bashful, lopsided grin.

"I'm sorry that you had to be patient in the first place! I wish I could make it up to you, König. I really do."

König's mind flashed with blasphemous images of you.

Images that he had visualised in vivid detail, when he had been longing for you, longing to have you around him.

He was almost regretting what he had on his mind, yet, he reasoned, it was only fair you gave him a reward.

For his patience.

The smirk on his face became broader. Serpentine.

"Don't you worry, meine liebe. I know of a way."

A cackle, sounding forced and a little too loud to be genuine.

"I'll make sure that you'll be loud enough so that even you can hear it for yourself."

...

Note: i promised yesterdag id get thus oit today ... 🥹Bit late cuz at the time im typimg this ntoe its 22:33 (gonna be later once i proofread this for the final time😫😫) Edit: its 23:25 and i have a test tmr hahaHHhahahahAHAHAHAHHAHAHAA 😍😍😍😍

Hope yoi guys like perverted König 🗿 i for one do 😇😇 (fyi, it was NOT MT INTENTION to write him in this wau I PROMISW😭😭😭😭😭it just sorta happened and i rolled witj it ☠️💀)

[bloopitynoot]

Reading SVSSS: Chapter 3

For those who don't know, I am reading SVSSS for the first time and sharing my thoughts!

If you have not read it, there will be spoilers! Consider this a warning.

Also- if you want to follow along, I am aiming to post updates daily. You can find all the posts in the tag bloopitynoot reads SVSSS. You can also check out the intro post for context on my read.

oh, that's good, he's (Shen Qingqiu/Shen Yuan) not dead p135

also not related to my read, but this time I am actually writing at my table (instead of cocooned in a blanket on my couch) so hopefully these note are easier to read (Read: I am trying to have neater handwriting for ✨aesthetic✨). All I need with my notes, book, and tea is a candle and i'd be living my ancient academic fantasy.

If anyone wants to know this chapter is accompanied by a white tea that tastes like loquats. It's my favourite nostalgic tea. My family used to travel south when I was small and my grandparent's house there had a loquat tree. I haven't had loquats in over a decade (canada lol) but this tea tastes jut like them.

Anyways! Back to SVSSS!

Give me patience: the amount of dislike I have anytime Ming Fan is present p135

oh dang, this boy can cook! p138

Re: this boy can cook- Bye LOL "Luo Binghe's excellent cooking skills were his foremost lady-killing technique." p138

boo, I am upset that the Abyss scenario still needs to happen (But I get it, of course it can't be that easy- we do need plot for this book) p139

I can't XD he really is falling into the plot/character of Protagonists Love Interest. First the congee cooking and no the "Poison cure" p142

WAIT. THE CURE FOR THE POSION. wut p143

RE: WAIT: I am crying LOL

But like could he 👀 "Like, he knew that the going at it with the protagonist could have cured the poison, but like he could do that! Could he? Ha ha ha ha..." p145

Not Liu Qingge over here thinking Shen Qingqiu is possessed (not really wrong though) p147

once again we have Ming Fan -> honestly I would not be surprised if he ended up the new villain/scum character role p148 there is nothing likeable about him

this line is killing me "Shen Qingqiu was astoundingly oblivious to the fact that, thanks to the divine wingman abilities of his useless teammate, Ming Fan, Luo BInghe's favor has again risen to a new high" p.150

Oh god, he's in Luo Binghe's dream world. I am so nervous for this. p. 152

Dang. Why so many deductions for failure -1000 is a LOT for him p154

okay but this dream subplot is feeding my theory that Shen Qingqiu is switching character roles from villain to Love Interest p155

Oh no :( not his childhood bullies p160

omg and now his mom's death p161

Shen Qingqiu has been taking a constant beating for 164 pages- how is he not dead p164

LOL Shen Qingqiu really said "i'm not paid enough for this emotional labour" p167

Also Shen Qingqiu "I finished my friendship performance; I can finally leave work now" p169 what a vibe

Even the Dream Demon Lord is over how much Luo Binghe talks about Shen Qingqiu (p172)

uuuugh the foreshadowing RE: if you don't learn the demon path and the seal breaks you are basically fucked p.173

You tell that demon, Luo Binghe! RE: "right now, you are discussing terms with me, and you are free to say anything...but if you harm Shizun, any agreement is void!" p177

LOL "Aura of Badassery" p177

Shen Qingqiu after a very bad no good series of days "pls I dont want to see you omg leave me alone I am v tired" p179 this guy can't catch a break

The dichotomy of Shen Yuan acting in this though. Outward: I definitely can handle this. Inward: I'm so fucking scared, I do not got this. Is so real p180

Shen Qingqiu "I want this kid to remain optimistic and feel positive with his heritage (so he does not turn evil and mass murder me and everyone else)"Luo Binghe "I am going to be the strongest of strong possible so that I can protect Shen Qingqiu" p182

Oh gods, not him asking him to move in with him (to basically have a servant but like Luo Binghe has just had his entire life changed) p185

okay so age check- suddenly he's 15??? I thought this kid was 14 like 3 days ago?? p186

Points to Shen Yuan though for noting that how Luo Binghe was being treated was child abuse. p188

YAY! He's going to train with Meng Mo (also it made me laugh at how pissed Meng Mo is about not having the teacher title) p190

That's all for this chapter!

next one aiming for tomorrow :D

[lacunafiction]

i saw that post you reblogged. what about the characters as ABBA songs? 😮

Hi Anon!

I hope you're doing well. 💚 Oh, this is a fun ask, and it fits with what I have planned for the character playlists. 👀 (I'm trying to pace updating them with what's available to read in TFS, though some songs do foreshadow or are meant to intrigue.) A few of these have deeper meanings than others, so I'd study them rather carefully.

B. Warrick: "Take a Chance on Me." 🧡

Take a chance on me (That's all I ask of you honey) Take a chance on me We can go dancing, we can go walking As long as we're together (As long as we're together)

This has a friends to lovers vibe (hope? uncertainty? yearning?); B wants you happy, but could they possibly be the one to do that? 🥺

S. Dorran: "People Need Love." 💙

People need hope, people need loving People need trust from a fellow man People need love to make a good living People need faith in a helping hand

People also need someone like S. Dorran in their lives, full stop.

R. Vener: "The Winner Takes It All" 🖤

I was in your arms Thinking I belonged there I figured it made sense, building me a fence Building me a home Thinking I'd be strong there But I was a fool playing by the rules

I can see R running to this track along with playing it in their room while their cat watches. The 'winning' aspect works with the childhood rivalry too.

J. Corvin: "SOS" 💚

So, when you're near me, darling, can't you hear me? S.O.S The love you gave me, nothing else can save me, S.O.S When you're gone, how can I even try to go on? When you're gone, though I try, how can I carry on?

Honestly, this fits a bit too painfully perfectly for young J. Corvin.

Mal: "Angeleyes" 💔 (Honestly, a lot of ABBA's songs could work for Mal like "Waterloo" and "Voulez-Vous".)

Look into his angeleyes, one look and you're hypnotised He'll take your heart and you must pay the price Look into his angeleyes, you'll think you're in paradise And one day you'll find out he wears a disguise

Before anyone is like: "Aelsa, you just made Mal more suspicious." Yes, but they're gorgeous, so it's okay. Also, this song is a bit of a misdirection; it'll make more sense when you learn more about them like on their special date in Book Two if you manage to unlock it. 🤫

Book One Launch Post💚 | TFS Patreon🌲

New TFS Patreon benefits, including spicy stories 🔥, monthly alpha content drops ✨, and more! Please check it out:here. If you enjoyed your time in Fernweh, please consider reviewing/rating it. 🥰

We're into RO excursions (date branches)! 👀 R. Verner's is released.

[lucky-clover-gazette]

prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 1

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

Across the courtyard, a couple of alaunt hounds came bounding down the stone stairs to throw themselves ecstatically at Laurent, who indulged one of them with a rub behind the ears, causing a spasm of jealousy in the other.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

the first thing laurent does in this book is pet a dog. i love him so much.

craft-wise, this foreshadows the shift in damen’s perception of laurent that occurs throughout book 2. his/our first impression of laurent in book 1 is him cruelly demeaning damen, almost like a dog, which is something we’re meant to hate. our first impression here is him affectionately indulging actual dogs who clearly know and love him. this might make the reader ask: why do these animals love laurent, when we understand him to be cruel? is our understanding incorrect, and/or incomplete?

context: in arles, the regent closely observes laurent’s attachments. he can and will destroy anything or anyone laurent cares about. but here, outside of arles, it makes sense that laurent would immediately feel more comfortable being affectionate.

laurent’s hot girl summer has officially begun ✨

Damen craned for a glimpse but, not being an owl, saw almost nothing.

The physician rummaged in the satchel and produced one of his endless ointments.

doesn’t this become a running gag? ointment reference #1

That was really too much. ‘It’s cosmetic?’

does damen take pride in his scars, and other physical indications of his experiences? that could be an interesting parallel to the cuffs throughout the series. or maybe he just knows he’s hot either way. or doesn’t want to be fussed over.

he is technically still laurent’s property—has laurent given any kind of indication that he finds the scars unattractive? or did paschal simply make that assumption, which laurent then went along with, knowing it would annoy damen?

The physician said, ‘I was told you would be difficult. Very well. The better it heals, the less your back will trouble you with stiffness, both now and later in life, so that you will be better able to swing a sword around, killing a great many people. I was told you would be responsive to that argument.’ ‘The Prince,’ said Damen.

paschal, sighing deeply as he commits laurent’s exact words to memory: i’m about to become the first homophobe in vere because these petty gay bitches can’t keep their nonsense to themselves

actually, new thing to count—every time a minor or secondary character has a valid reason to complain about damen and laurent’s lack of professionalism in the workplace. this is lamen hr complaint #1 (paschal).

But of course. All this tender care of his back, like soothing with a kiss the reddened cheek you have slapped.

great line.

connects to an ongoing theme: niceness vs. goodness. damen “sees through” laurent’s niceness, as it conflicts with laurent’s meanness that he personally has experienced. in the same way damen has a favorable bias towards kastor and the regent, he has an automatically unfavorable bias against laurent. which is totally fair, given the events of book 1! but this is a new book, and a new stage in damen’s overall series arc.

additional theme for books 2&3: tenderness. a wound is tender; it aches in need of soothing. but what soothes an ache? tender care. if nice is good and mean is bad, where does a concept like tenderness fit in? how exactly will we go from “all this tender care of his back, like soothing with a kiss the reddened cheek you have slapped” to “i think if i gave you my heart, you would treat it tenderly”?

Damen snorted. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’

a consistent damen behavior: the refusal to admit that he is helplessness, and/or experiencing circumstances beyond his control. i would call it toxic masculinity, but i don’t think it’s meant as gender commentary—it has more to do with being a prince and a king, worthy of the throne. toxic royalty, if you will.

‘If you served the King,’ said Damen, ‘how is it you now find yourself in the Prince’s household, and not his uncle’s?’ ‘Men find themselves in the places they put themselves,’ Paschal said, closing his satchel with a snap.

laurent of vere: the people’s prince ✨

also, interesting juxtaposition with previous dialogue about damen and paschal both being at marlas, on different sides of the battle. can we truly say that damen, at age 19, had put himself there? what does that suggest about his character and his kingdom?

‘Yes, of course,’ said Damen. Then stopped. Jord didn’t notice.

he needs acting classes from laurent

Damen said, ‘If you’re not going to tip your head back, why don’t we go find Paschal? He can give you a scented ointment.’

HA. ointment reference #2.

Damen thought of the ivory and gold casing that held a creature duplicitous, self-serving and untrustworthy. ‘You’re so loyal to him. Why is that?’

really nailing in the damen perspective subversion setup. also, the irony re: aimeric's loyalty!

Damen joined the work, where he was the only man to smell, expensively, of ointments and cinnamon.

ointment reference #3. he’s expensive.

‘Aimeric’s young. He says it won’t happen again,’ said Jord. It will happen again, and once the two factions in this camp start retaliating against one another your campaign is over, he didn’t say.

i love how we finally get to see damen in his element here, after experiencing The Horrors for 13 + prologue entire chapters in book 1

‘The Captain is in one of the horse stalls, up to his waist in the stableboy,’ said Jord. ‘The Prince has been waiting for him at the barracks. Actually . . . I was told to have you fetch him.’ ‘From the stables,’ said Damen. He stared at Jord in disbelief.

laurent wastes no time before assigning damen unpleasant tasks. does this count as an hr complaint? i mean it would be damen doing the complaining, am i counting charges they have against each other? no. they’d wreck the curve.

Inside, Govart was unambiguously fucking the stableboy against the far wall.

“unambiguously”

‘The Prince stays here often?’ The castellan mistook him to mean the keep, not the rooms. ‘Not often. He and his uncle came here a great deal together, in the year or two after Marlas. As he grew older, the Prince lost his taste for the runs here. He now comes only rarely to Chastillon.’

context: >:(

Laurent said, ‘I have saved you till last.’ Damen said, ‘You owe the stableboy a copper sol.’ ‘The stableboy should learn to demand payment before he bends over.’

“honey, i’m home!” sitcom entrance

‘Your virtue’s safe. It’s just water. Probably.’

somebody’s feeling playfulllll

Laurent placed the goblet carefully back on the table, and picked up the knife. It was a sharp knife, made for cutting meat. Damen felt his pulse quicken as Laurent came forward. Only a handful of nights ago, he had watched Laurent slit a man’s throat, spilling blood as red as the silk that covered this room’s bed. He felt shock as Laurent’s fingers touched his, pressing the hilt of the knife into his hand. Laurent took hold of Damen’s wrist below the gold cuff, firmed his grip, and drew the knife forward so that it was angled towards his own stomach. The tip of the blade pressed slightly into the dark blue of his prince’s garment. ‘You heard me tell Orlant to leave,’ said Laurent. Damen felt Laurent’s grip slide down his wrist to his fingers, and tighten. Laurent said, ‘I am not going to waste time on posturing and threats. Why don’t we clear up any uncertainty about your intentions?’

laurent explaining to damen that his behavior in arles was a bit in the most insane way possible

He was so infuriatingly sure of himself, proving a point. Damen felt desire come hard upon him: not wholly a desire for violence, but a desire to drive the knife into Laurent’s composure, to force him to show something other than cool indifference.

they’re so normal and well-adjusted

He said: ‘I’m sure there are house servants still awake. How do I know you won’t scream?’ ‘Do I seem like the type to scream?’ ‘I’m not going to use the knife,’ said Damen, ‘but if you’re willing to put it in my hand, you underestimate how much I want to.’ ‘No,’ said Laurent. ‘I know exactly what it is to want to kill a man, and to wait.’

“yes, and” “yes, and” “yes, and”

Laurent said, ‘When this campaign is over, I think—if you are a man and not a worm—you will attempt to gain retribution for what has happened to you. I expect it. On that day, we roll the dice and see how they fall. Until then, you serve me. Let me therefore make one thing above all clear to you: I expect your obedience. You are under my command. If you object to what you are told to do I will hear reasoned arguments in private, but if you disobey an order once it is made, I will send you back to the flogging post.’

this is their starting place for the book! “we hate each other, we owe each other nothing, we know that we are going to eventually attempt to kill each other—but for now, we are calling a truce and working together”

also. would laurent still love damen if he was a worm 🥺

Another pause, and then Laurent indicated once again to the chair. This time Damen followed his prompt and sat. Laurent took the chair opposite. Between them, unfurled on the table, was all the intricate detail of the map. ‘You said you knew the territory,’ Laurent said.

this is part of why i love damen and laurent so much as a pairing. they have interests and skills in common, and they make a genuinely good team. they’re intellectually compatible, in addition to sexually and romantically compatible.

[chainedupgirlsblog]

✎ Commentary of Ep 7 ~ The Loyal Pin (Thai GL-2024) - Part 1

This episode could easily be classified as the epitome of romance, but this series is so full of romance it’s hard for us single to keep up with it!

Nonetheless, this episode we have lots of gifts, romantic gesture, and lovely letters!

We knew it! It was only a dream—nightmare. Anil hasn’t left, yet.

Aren’t they cute? Pin doesn’t need medication she just needs to hug her Princess 😭

Clingy, aren’t we? AnilPin 🫵🏼

Pin demands to be fed and Anil takes on the challenge. But we knew she will and so did Pin, even if she acts surprised when Anil wiped her mouth…

Get it together you two!

Here, they “argue” about who love the other the most. Pin asks Anil to let her love her more only for this time and Anil accepts with none hesitation. She was not about to argue furthermore with her girl about that, nah-uh ☝🏼

Then we have this scene… HELP ME 😳

First, Pin states that she’s worried. Worried about all those suitors she heard are pursuing Anil. And then Anil gets back at her with a stronger—most worrisome statement…

“Hopefully, you won’t be married to Mr. Kuea when I return from England” And DAMN, is that some foreshadowing? Please say no. I refuse!

Pin immediately reassures her stating she already made herself clear to everyone (even if some annoying mister still doesn’t get the fucking hint) but she’s ✨taken✨. Thank you very much!

She even encourages Anil to do the same by offering to left her marks all over the Princess’ royal body. If that’s some sort of crime against the crown or the country that’s only for Anil to judge and she’s pretty much into it so…

The way they look at each other here should be criminalized! Stop it right now! (don’t you dare!)

“What are you waiting for” SHE SAID 🥴

Surely my death, that’s what Pin is waiting for cuz god damn… the way she looked at Anil got me gasping for air~

Then we have the night previous to Anil’s departure and it’s just so sweet. Pin confesses she’s not strong enough to see her princess off and Anil asks her to wait for her as she gently caresses her cheek and then kiss her on the forehead… They’re so soft and adorable please 🤧

The next morning Anil is convinced that Pin won’t see her off but guess what? She does!! Are we even surprised they’re gone for each other!

Pin find the strength and go see her girlfriend off. They both end up a complete mess of tears (me along with them) but at least they see each other one last time :(

Here, we have a beautiful analogy by Princess Pattamika about Anil being like the wind or something like that, I don’t remember right now but it’s beautiful and I agree, Anil's free spirit is definitely like the wind.

Here we also have Pin sending a pink flower petal to Anil and look! The petal made it to England faster than me 😭

Here we have Pranot spilling the beans on Anil’s business once again, please he’s on a mission or something, always gossiping about his bestie’s love life.

But hey! At least that made Big brother help Anil on this hard mission of dealing and rejecting so many suitors!!

Please, look at Anil’s face. She’s a menace!!

.

.

.

.

Finally I’m able to post episode 7’s commentary. Here’s Part 2

[oenothera5]

✨ people I wanna know better! ✨

Thank you for the tag, @raksh-writes !

Last Song? My memory is pretty jumbled today but I do remember hearing a Dwight Yoakam cover of the Grateful Dead's Truckin' this morning for the first time and absolutely loved it.

Favourite colour? Cool colors (green, blue, purple)

Currently watching? "Loki" Season 2 on Disney+ and "Imitation" on Viki Rakuten. Loki Season 2 is so well-written. I can tell that they plotted it all out ahead of time and seeded important things along the way. If users figure out the foreshadowing ahead of time, it's not a bad thing- it means you constructed it well.

Last movie? I was supposed to go see the Taylor Swift concert movie a few weeks ago but something came up and we had to cancel last minute. I am bummed out.

Sweet/spicy/savoury? Definitely spicy. I like all sorts of spicy things, but complex spicy things like a really good fresh salsa or a Thai curry or Korean fried chicken. I am not into things that are sheer pain though- you'll never find me trying a ghost pepper or anything.

Relationship status? Married

Current obsessions? The World Series just ended. My Diamondbacks lost, but I provided great entertainment to my coworkers this week as I begged every restaurant/venue we visited to put the game on. There's always next year!

Last thing you googled? "Seventeen Seventeenth Heaven Autograph Template." My BFF and I are trying to decode the signed albums she bought. We've identified two but some others are eluding us. Strangely, if you Google search that, you get calendars with the Virgin Mary on them

Selfie: I'm a very shy person but here is a funny sign I saw at the Starbucks this week. They are very much Swifties at my Starbucks.

Friends I wanna get to know better:

I will tag with no pressure, as always: @myevilmouse @minisugakoobies @seokjinger-ale @ele-millennial-weirdo @theyellowotter

[frizzle-mcshizzle]

the rest of the kotlc books i read summarized in the most unhinged way possible

part one

Lodestar: Sir Mommy Issues™️ is apart of the neverseen and blows. up. his. SCHOOL. the council make everyone go to prison school lesssons, btw y’all can blow up flesh and bone, what?!, oh nothing, girl blows up rock with mind, ✨Slumber Party✨ MARRIED PEOPLE 💕KISS💕 BECAUSE THEY LOVE AND FORGIVE EACH OTHER, daily check-in with double agent friend, he makes a poem about his bootie!!, they meet on a island?? and talk about stuff??? young man gets kidnapped and 🔥tortured🔥, the mirror that the girl was allergic to is actually a ✨secret portal✨, and it leads to another ✨secret portal✨,it takes them to a evil bad gut hideout (it’s empty btw), (they accidentally trap their friend in the secret wall hole), 13 year old is asked to attend peace talks because that’s where a child should be, this just in: having a peace talks on top of a underground prison is a horrible idea™️ who would have thought, the building collapses on top of everyone because foreshadowing, man who murdered his fiancé gets smooshed by a R O C K, the mentor guy gets stabbed and slowly bleeds out as his creation watches helplessly (this will definitely not effect her forever) oh no the bad guys have another bad guy!! oh know the girls human parents get kidnapped!! but her sister is ok!! she suddenly remembers who her sister is! THE END so much happens in this book what the hell

Nightfall: Human girl thinks elves names are weird, man drugs a group of children and takes them to a second location (his ex best friends apartment), the ex best friend fosters the human girl along with his “not legally” ex-wife, main character goes into zombie mode because her human parents are being tortured, strange lady takes children on a field trip with a man who’s just a blurry blob and not any character we knows older brother, 🎶young man, fight the ogre king, i say young man, rip that jewel, off, his, ear🎶 a princess becomes a body gaurd and immediately booby traps her charges bed, he’s supposed to be on bed rest because he got almost gutted by the Ogre king aka her dad, surprise girl can control 🔥FIRE🔥, secret message decoding, and technically not cousin kissing,they find the evil big brother™️ and he gets slammed into the walls by his sister, there’s a secret torture chamber under the under water city, parents are stuck inside fake 🔥fire🔥, they get the parents out, dad mid controls a psychopath AND a genetically modified murder creature that shouldn’t even exist (kinda like the main character but with less murder), girl decides to take on a murderer, without emotions, who’s been in jail for a millennia on her own and gets TOSSED THROUGH A MIRROR (A+ for effort baby girl), she’s completely shredded and to this day i don’t understand how they even found her body or how she found the evil lady, the human parents gets their minds wiped AGAIN (you will cry at what the mother says), evil big brother completely forgot who he is THE END

Flashback: Evil big brother who had his mind completely wiped is living at home again, because the council and his parents don’t think he’s evil anymore because he forgot all his memories, the younger siblings are NOT happy™️, the younger brother AKA the Burnette hot guy is EXTRA not happy™️, he works out in the desert doing hand stand push up that the main character definitely doesn’t find hot, OH NO! the bad guys attack with shadow powers!!!, the two guys the series keeps forgetting about save the day with a 🌈rainbow sword🌈 (and Explosives!!!🔥local children almost die for the eleventeth time, their in comas, their poor parents, girl wakes up, her arm is goopy and there’s a monster in her brain that is not a metaphor for PTSD, the boy is still in a coma, 🩷😊✨happy shadow thoughts✨😊🩷, girl says she misses the boy and he wakes up through the power of 💕love💕 (probably), they’re hospitalized for two months aka half the book, the blonde hot boy walks in on the Burnett hot guy had feeding the main character candy, he leaves like a sad puppy in the rain, they get out of the hospital, but the Burnett guy is still on crutches, ❤️boy x chandelier the love story for the ages❤️, main character gets not 1 not 2 but 4 new body guards, one is married to the princess, they hate each other, self-defense training and bodyguards shenanigans, the ballad of Bo and Ro is written, local horse girl almost gets kissed by a guy who’s basically royalty, the horse girls horse goes into labor and the horse girl teleports to her rescue, the bald girl from book one helps save the horse’s life with her mom and dad, a troll takes advantage of the fact that the baby horses need to be incubated and gets the horse girl make an alliance with the entire horse species without any other adult input, they take the babies to some hidden tower and create an illusion that will definitely protect them, surprise Evil brother is still evil, he release secret gmo murder troll newborns who wreck havoc, EVIL LADY GETS CRUSHED BY D O O R, little brother almost kills his brother not once but twice, one of those times he trapped him in a baby troll capsule, when it started to fill with goop. he. stopped. pressing. buttons. evil brother escapes definitely won’t be relevant later, evil mom lady threatens to kill the baby horses if he doesn’t get to steal a child, he agrees to be stolen, she knocks him out anyway, the baby horses are born and they are ok, then the horse girl goes to get her eugenics lists because that’s what you do when your friend is kidnapped.

[sydneyofalltrades]

Okay here is my post about my Ride the Cyclone ✨animation/animatic✨ ideas I’ve been formulating but never really posted bc I cannot draw for the life of me 🥲

@gay-little-axolotl read at your own risk (you’ll be here a while, trust me)

Karnak’s Dream of Life

Basically the exact same as in the show, headless body singing eerily, finding a little doll and popping off the head

there’s a shot of Karnak’s machine at the end of the song which snaps into Welcome…, which is just talk so we don’t need to animate that shit

Fall Faire Suite/Uranium Suite

Since I love them both, I’m writing their ideas both in the same category

When the kids start singing at the beginning of the song, all six of them are in the bandshell, Penny included

However, every time we think we actually get a good look at Penny, something coincidentally blocks her face, whether it be Mischa’s figure, Ocean’s arm, a quick shot of Ricky playing the tambourine, shit like that

The world is in full color while the kids are alive (I’ll explain why that’s important in a sec)

As Karnak explains how the kids got into the accident, we see them get into the coaster*, Ricky needing help from Mischa and Noel, and we see the ride function as normal

In Uranium Suite, you can hear Jane vocalizing ominously in the background, and that little warning sign is present in the way the kids are all a little tense

Once Karnak says “hurtling the children to their deaths,” the color is gone. The kids are drawn in white outlines and all there is is a black screen

During Fall Faire Suite, each kid goes back in color as they speak, only for it to disappear once they’re done

During the “sailing through space” bit, they’re back on the coaster, in slow motion as it falls, then quickly cuts to them in purgatory

“Empty streets of empty shops” has Ocean taking apart little buildings and Constance scooping up the pieces to make a mall

“Smart ones all packed up and went” has Noel dragging out a bunch of suitcases and Mischa labeling the abandoned houses for sale

Very few visuals of Penny are shown, like she disappeared without a trace

“Did we finally leave our town?” has them all in color for a second, then back to white.

Meet Jane Doe

Ocean whispers her line, Karnak says his, and BAM! Spotlight from nowhere

Foreshadowing TBOJD, Jane floats as she’s introduced, and touches ground once she speaks

As she speaks, flashes of the aftermath of the incident show up

“They found my body/not my head” has professionals finding the kids’ bodies, and flashlights looking for Penny’s head

“No parents came” actually has a little boy with a black cape running to the headless girl, screaming a name no one hears

“My life, an unsolved mystery” has pictures of Penny with the choir, her face always strategically covered

What the World Needs

Here we go with the solos!! Ocean’s in color in her song, along with everything she interacts with, the others are in black and white

Ocean wears a varsity jacket with her name in the back, along with a blue shirt that says “Vote for Ocean!” with her hair in a ponytail with a bandana

The others are dressed in “Vote Ocean” propaganda, but whenever Ocean herself insults them, they become newspaper clippings of the people she’s calling them (sandwich artist, security guard, Wal-Mart greeter)

“The move” has Ocean dancing in a club

“The shake” has an earthquake that is covered by a statue of her

“The headline maker” has a newspaper thrown on screen with a headline saying “World’s Greatest Woman!” and a snazzy picture of Ocean

During the second verse, as Ocean is berating Mischa, Constance, and Ricky, there’s a story book-esque animation of each of her interpretations of their lives, under smaller, less important articles

“And as we move through life” is a sliding shot of Ocean standing on top of the world, with the others tiny and insignificant

As the “zeros” bit happens, a big fat 0 is written over everyone’s newspaper picture, and Ocean rips up the paper as she just shoves the thought aside

For the climax, the world spins as Ocean stands on top of it, with the others just barely catching up to admire her and her glory

Final shot is EXACTLY like the 2016 promo shot, her on top of everyone in a human pyramid

Noel’s Lament (TW: drinking, smoking, mu*der, s//h)

Now Noel’s Lament was more fluid for me to think of. Noel himself and his reality is grey, but when he sings about Monique or from her perspective, the world is bright and alive

Noel doesn’t do the quick change, it’s a transition shot from his iconic pose to Monique in a similar stance

The “good girls call me the town bicycle” is Constance and Jane in their costumes (beauteous dresses of the time) whispering while Monique walks past

Claude is Ocean. I will not elaborate (psst she’s in a suit with the cutest low ponytail)

“Ten! Times! In! His! Back!” shows the stabbing, but cuts to Monique holding a cigarette innocently

“Never ending carnival” is a revolving shot of Monique’s hand holding booze, a cigarette, and another man’s hand

The accordion (piano if you’re a 2016 bootleg fan) solo has the little nischa dance, i literally cannot take that away

“I think I am in love with you” cuts to a close up of Monique’s eyes widening a little, whether in fear or in recollection, I’ll leave that up to you

“I give in to the fantasy” is like a little spicy cut, that’s all im saying

“for i sing sONGs” has people passing Monique by as she trips on the road scrounging up some loose change, and she moves into an empty alleyway

Time passes a little, and there are deep lines in Monique’s face and her eyes are heavy with lack of sleep

“In some rat infested Chinese dive” is just Monique smoking alone in an alleyway, pressing the hot cigarette to her arm to try and get a reaction

“Eight months later” is Noel telling the story, then the little gasp is a quick shot of Monique’s eyes filling with tears

We see her forced out of the house and she desperately drags herself through an alley

She’s slumped against a wall when Ricky as the priest approaches her

During the first “for I sing songs,” we see through Monique’s hazy eyes as she spots a bottle of booze and drags herself towards it

We see her drink it, and then her hand goes limp and the bottle shatters

In the real world, Noel’s now in costume, standing on that chair

During the climax, Noel’s singing face is projected over flashes of Monique’s life, her tragedy shown in clips and hastily sewn together

And finally, the song ends with Noel draped against the chair, the others surrounding him

Every Story’s Got a Lesson

Short and simple, but Ocean snaps about Noel’s song and Karnak deadpans

As Ocean says “No.. every story has a lesson!” she finds a grad cape and cap and throws it on

As she sings, a blackboard appears with the words of the song written in chalk

The others, also in capes and caps, whistle and sing along

Somehow Karnak gets a hat on his head too

This Song is Awesome

Unlike Ocean and Noel, since being a rapper isn’t Mischa’s dream or desire, he’s black and white while the others are in full color, along with the contents of his music video

You read that right. Music. Video.

Specifically a music video shot by a seven year old with a short attention span and edited by a bunch of preschoolers

Not that it’s bad, it’s just got focus on things that are irrelevant, the editing goes insane, there’s a brief moment where Jane is literally photoshopped into the sky (TBOJD ref hehe)

Mischa wears a black and gold tracksuit but since it’s black and white you wouldn’t really tell

The others are Mischa’s background dancers, wearing blue and white

Basically every single time Mischa says “awesome,” the word is like edited onto the screen like a history teacher’s presentation

There are really good shots tho, like Mischa driving a convertible to the Hard Rock Cafe with Noel and Ricky

Surprisingly there is a Learjet in the video, no one really knows how that got there

The girls are all fawning over him in the club and then he sees a girl wearing punkish clothes and a white flowy skirt and the music video falls apart

Talia

The second Mischa lays eyes on Talia, the color slightly blooms into the video and he walks over to her

Instead of a photo of her, he genuinely talks to her, and you can see the love and care he has for her

When the others come back, they’re not in a club anymore, they’re out in a garden in a traditional Ukrainian wedding

While the girls escort “Talia,” who’s now been replaced with Jane, the boys help Mischa get prepared

When Mischa and Jane finally do interact, instead of Jane’s doll face, it’s Talia’s big brown eyes and warm smile that greets Mischa

They dance together, happily in love, with the others singing cheerfully in the background

Then Talia is suddenly ripped away from Mischa as he falls, falls, falls from the rollercoaster

As he does, his phone, also falling, flashes a picture of Talia on the lock screen

Mischa’s now in normal clothes, staring at the picture, while the others just dance around him, it’s a whole vibe

Then it cuts to Mischa and Talia in a grainy video, Mischa picks Talia up, spins her around, and she kisses him

Space Age Bachelor Man

I have SO MANY ideas for this song so this is gonna be LONG!

Song starts with Ricky alone, a single spotlight illuminating him in black and white.

“Others from outer space” has a peculiar spacecraft arriving in front of Ricky

Once those claps start, you know it’s gonna be wild

The spacecraft opens and spills a light that makes Ricky come into color, and the boys, in Zolarian couture, alert Ricky of their duty

When Ricky arrives on Zolar, the girls, now space aliens with tails and cat ears, practically throw themselves into his arms

“The naughty/holy daughters of the realm” has a shot of Ricky being crowdsurfed (for lack of a better term) through a sea of cat ladies

Um before the guitar solo, Ricky kisses Cat!Ocean. I don’t make the rules

Now the.. that scene is kept covered for a reason, so naturally I’d also just use shadows to convey wtf is happening then

“Now there is a new challenge” has the boys worried in front of holographic screens showing K-9’s enemy fleet

“For they’re at war with K-9!” had Ricky bursting out with the wildest, sexiest, most glittery costume you could EVER expect and it is everything to me

Suddenly everyone’s holding a laser gun and that makes Ricky freak out

So instead of announcing war, he goes to a podium and explains his desire of peace, which is broadcast to K-9’s fleet (idk how, i just think it’s funny)

“And they listened/and they heard my message” is Ricky breaking the fourth wall, pausing the action Emperor’s New Groove style before going back to the scheduled programming

The rest of the song is basically then partying in the spacecraft as it sends Ricky back home to Earth

The Ballad of Jane Doe

Jane, in a plain white dress, is alone. And everything is black and white. Not a single sliver of color anywhere

Everyone else is in funeral wear, however they pay no attention to Jane, like she was never human to begin with

We see Jane play with the decapitated doll and a rollercoaster toy, watching as it went up, then fall out of the seat

Every so often a flash of color and the faintest hint of a life beyond Jane is shown, but it’s so brief there’s no way to actually see it

As Jane begs St. Peter to let her into heaven(?), Jane tries to look for a helping hand but no one assists

“Wont you tell me at last who I am?” has Jane reaching out, not just to the sky, but to the funeral goers who can’t seem to notice her

Then we cut to Ja/enny (flashes between perspectives) in the rollercoaster, and how she lost her head

As Jane starts flying, her pleads become angry, more scornful since no one is giving her answers, but she’s still getting only tiny flashes. Not even a face, just a feeling or an emotion

“Time eats all his children” is Jane standing ominously, slowly pointing out into the non-existent crowd

“A melody floats through the air” has her flying through the funeral, the others ignoring her as she desperately tries to find herself. Her name

She flies through the graves, her desperation becoming more and more apparent

There’s a flash of a baby, a little boy, a monkey puppet, a thermos

Then Jane stops in front of a freshly dug grave, and she knows it’s her own. But its headstone is unmarked

And she just cries as the funeral goers surround the tomb of the empty girl

The New Birthday Song

Also short and sweet

Everyone wears a birthday outfit and Jane has the cape and hat

As she stands in the middle of the circle, holding the cupcake, the others dance around her

Then Constance gently nudged her arm and gestures to the cupcake

(Jane tries to eat it but Constance blows it out first)

Jawbreaker & Sugar Cloud

Lumping them both bc of the themes

We see the accident through Constance’s eyes. See the way it rose, then suddenly fell

“My heart just welled up” is a shot of Constance’s eyes widening, her terrified face morphing gently into a smile

As this happens, the flashbacks of the mundane things Constance learned to love are shown over it. We see her going back to bed, hanging upside down, her brother, her friends

And she starts to laugh as the coaster falls. And tears spill from her eyes as she does

In the present, Constance, in white outlining, wipes away her tears and collects herself for Sugar Cloud

As the song begins, we see a little flashback of Constance as a little girl given her first jawbreaker. She’s excited, then starts slowly sucking away the layers and gets visibly disappointed

“At first it seems so sweet” shows some clips of Constance growing up, and then she just loses the sparkle in her eye and spring in her step

Then the song starts to pick up and color arrives, everywhere as Constance just siblings merrily

Constance and the others aren’t in the warehouse anymore, they’re in the skies of blue, pink, gold, and purple

Constance jumps through a gold, pink, and blue cloud and emerges with her outfit, a pink jacket over a gold top and blue flats. A pink top hat attached to a headband is on her head

Twirling a cane, Constance genuinely sings happily with the others as they dance and jump through the multicolored clouds

The recorder solo is as memorable as always, with the others hyping Connie on by dancing and cheering excitedly

With no guilt in her heart, Constance happily shouts from the top of the sugary puffs her love for everything in her life, and the others happily back her up

It’s Not a Game/It’s Just a Ride

At this point in time, everyone’s back in their normal uniforms, drawn in their white outlines

The portal’s light gives Jane color, as she’s the one the others picked

Before Jane goes through the portal, she hugs Constance and Ricky, then steps through

A slideshow of clips appear showing of Penny’s life, before and after LEGOLAND, and the others all cuddle together to watch

As the slideshow goes by, the others are overlayed above it, so we can see their expressions now that Penny was brought back

As Penny grows older, she’s closer to her brother, she gets married, has children, is happy

When the slideshow starts showing clips of Penny growing much older, a clip is shown of children pointing at a picture

Older Penny takes a look at it and smiles. “They were my friends,” she seems to say, gently holding the picture of her and the choir

As she dies, Karnak says his final line as Virgil cuts the power cable

As sparks fly and the kids huddle close, they learn they’re not five. They’re six

Penny had come back to the afterlife after her death and the six of them were alone, in their white outlines

“But it’s not a game, it’s not a game” has Ocean picking up pieces of their outfits. A “Vote Ocean” pin, a feather boa, and black and gold cap, a cat ear headband, a doll with no head, a headband with a hat

“It’s just a ride!” has the kids in their outfits actually riding the Cyclone in full color, passing the loop that ended their lives and finishing the ride

*Now that they finished the ride in the afterlife, they all get out of the rollercoaster and reminisce about life together

“We’re all just sailing through space” is the kids as they revolve through all their outfits of the show, while talking about their lives, and their death

“It’s just a ride” has them all holding hands and spinning around, wearing the outfits for their individual songs

Then they fall to the floor and smile as they’re all together again

“And the world will keep on spinning/With no ending or beginning” has flashes of their songs, Ocean’s victory pose, Noel’s dramatic end, Mischa stopping his video, the couple’s fateful kiss, Ricky and his cat warriors, Penny taking Jane’s place on her named grave, and Constance in sugary clouds

Now in their uniforms, the Saint Cassian Chamber Choir is just a group of friends, who are all together and happy in the afterlife forever

“I know this dream of life is never ending” cuts to a girl with French braids waking up on the ground. She stands up and sees the light of the sun

“It goes around and ‘round and ‘round again” shows six friends, bonded by fate and together through time

THIS IS PROBABLY MY LONGEST EVER POST BUT I LOVE IT SO HAHA

[halfbakedspuds]

Thanks to @honeybewrites for the tag

OC name origins tag

Rules: I want to know how you came up with your original character’s names and personalities. Are they based on people in your real life? Are they straight from your brain? Are they a mix of several people?

I'll do this for the Tempest Prince characters

Jason Haliday:

Jason's name- like his brother's- is steeped in Greek history and mythos, with Jason being one of the classical heroes of their mythology. Jason Haliday (called something different in that draft) compared himself to mythology Jason with all this supposedly important but seemingly useless stuff he kept having to go after, "Like chasing a goddamn fleece for whatever reason" and purposefully ignorimh the context of the original story. The scene isn't in the current draft, but the comparison led me to change his name to Jason.

His surname, 'Haliday', was originally 'Galloway', but somewhere I learnt that Halliday comes from the old English hæligdag, which is excellent foreshadowing for the book.

Alex Haliday:

Alex was always going to be this character's name, however I changed its long form from Alexandra to Alexander somewhere down the line (God knows why, 'cause I certainly don't remember).

The reason was always because of his involvement with the Allyrian Inquisition as one of their brightest strategic minds and best warriors, making his name a nod towards Alexander of Macedonia.

Michelle Haliday:

Michelle as a character was heavily inspired by my dad- whose name was Michael- and giving her a name similar to his is a sort of tribute.

Lifvinja Ravenscar:

Okay, I know of maybe two people who follow me that might know what I'm on about with this, but I'll try my best to explain.

Growing up, I had the box set of this one old-ass Afrikaans kids show called 'Liewe Heksie' (it's hard to translate without sounding strange, but somewhere along the lines of 'little beloved witch') which was about an... admittedly pathetic but endearing excuse of a witch named Livinia, and followed all the stuff she got up to.

Some part of me thought "Hey, wouldn't it be funny to take this all-powerful, immortal mage who used to be a Norse Viking like a thousand years ago and name her after this one character from a kids show?"

And thus, Livinia got swapped out for its Norse equivalent- Lifvinja- and Archmagos Lifvinja Ravenscar was named.

The surname 'Ravenscar' comes from how marriage works in the Hunter cities, where everyone in the relationship unanimously agrees on two words that they feel allude to something important to them, and those two are put together to create their new surname that's unique to them. In Lifvinja's case, she called her wife 'Hrafn' (Raven) as a joke when they first met and it just stuck, and the pair both had matching burn scars on their forearms from something important to their story that I can't disclose cause ✨spoilers✨.

Helga Ravenscar:

I'll be honest with you, she literally got her name from a newspaper comic called Hagar the Horrible.

We all struggle to figure out character names sometimes, and she was one of those characters.

Isaac Blackwell:

Isaac got his name cause I was playing Dead Space around the time I first created his character.

'Blackwell' is based on 'Blackthorn' from the Shadowhunter books, but it does serve a purpose of sorts to the story. However, ✨spoilers✨

Aten:

Aten is one of several Great Ones that appear in the story (A great one being an extra dimensional entity that is to a god as we are to bacteria) and he got his name from the full name for the Egyptian sun god, Aten-Ra.

I think I was reading Kane Chronicles when I came up with that one, not sure.

The story in universe is that he's a lot more compassionate toward humans than the rest of the 'Pantheon', and came down to the Egyptian old kingdom to help them through a famine. Them not really understanding wtf they were seeing culminated in them naming him after their sun god, and thus he now carries the name 'Aten' with a sort of pride.

Sanmaht:

Imma be perfectly honest here, this one was a keyboard smash with vowels added for pronouncability.

Leyendeach:

I got this from the game Pathfinder: Kingmaker, where the audio file for some early-game cantrips sounded to me like they ended in something that eventually, through many iterations, got turned into 'Leyendeach'

Ralye:

A corruption of R'lyeh, the name of the city where Cthulhu supposedly is in HP Lovecraft's stories; from the phrase "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl ftagn" (In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu lays dreaming).

No pressure tag for @orion-lacroix, @oh-no-another-idea, @illarian-rambling, @pb-dot and anyone else who wants in

[gloomyfilm]

A LOVE LETTER TO THIS IS US 🍋💌☁️

/for full ambiant experience click on the audio before continuing\

I still can't believe two summers ago I decided to give This Is Us a try, fell in love and binge-watched the whole 5 seasons available.

Every night, I would get to cooking in a very romanticized fashioned way à la Nancy Meyers main character, pour myself a nice fresh drink as people still enjoyed the warmth of the early evening hours.

By the time dinner was ready, world would accordantly settle for peacefulness as I made my way to the couch to get all cozy and snuggly.

Here would begin, the events I was truly not prepared for..

In just under 2 episodes, I was now finding myself unexpectedly and completely invested, all thanks to the writers for having done such a terrific job on the dialogues, cliffhangers and time traveling. For approximately the next two weeks following, my nights were paced up by This Is Us and driven by my own hunger to find out: what on earth happened to the Pearson family?

From the very first episode, --- which features one of the most beautiful closing scene I've seen on television along Labi Siffre's song "Watch Me" --- up to the last episode of season 1, emotions would come to the surface, hitting a specific spot within me...

By episode 14 from season 2 it was clear, if not clear then, that the tissu box would be kept close by for the remaining time of the entire series.

Imagine some stranger dropping on you some hard facts about life, death, society issues, love, mental health... to sum it up: YOURSELF.

precisely, accurately and totally out of the blue. 😃

As the seasons went on, I was admiring how the flashbacks and foreshadowing started to merge all together into one. It would only get all the more brilliant with each new episode I was discovering.

The show succeeded in giving its audience a range of life observations to think about. Therapy-wise, if you couldn't afford a therapist, This Is Us was there for you. I still rely on and appreciate many of the thoughtful and life inspiring excerpts.

Moreover, it delivered the people with a brand new music playlist. Yes, another key element to all this greatness is the symbiosis between the storylines and the soundtrack. Hold my Spotify, to this day I still listen to the score in my bed, to meditate, to get dreamy. I've also come to discover wonderful artists and can hardly detach their songs from the show as it gave their melodies a new sense of clarity and depth.

When having finished the fifth season, I was desperate for more but afraid to google the show and potentially find out it had been canceled.... which is NOT what happened of course because we're talking about thee show that has garnered over 17 million views in less than 3 days for its trailer alone. alright lovelies?

And so just like that, comfortable in my bed and all up to date, the sixth and finale season of This Is Us was premiered in early 2022.

Only couple of months after having cried an ocean over its past seasons, -- if reminder was needed --, I emotionally began this last chapter of what felt in some parts like my own life portrayed on screen. ✨hopes were high - tissu box storage ran low.✨

Season 6 would open to a flashbacks filled episode echoing Season 1, already preparing us for closure and ultimately heartbreaks. Eventually some people were a bit disappointed by the simplicity of the final episode, but the last minute or so really brought it all up for me. It was ending, right there before our very eyes and it was beautifully executed. The ultimate disappointment would have been to not experience any shivers, but that never happened, the show always got in my feelings in one way or another.

The empty boxes of kleenex that I've been sitting on can testify, your honor.

Last but not least, an aspect of the show that I've truly enjoyed is that all characters and actors were given dedicated moments to shine.

The chemistry between them was real, felt and seen both on and off the big screen and that's precious. I miss this cast.

This year, just a few weeks away from my birthday, there'll be no new Jack Pearson butt to be seen, no mothering singing Rebecca, no anxious Randall, no queen Beth, no indecisive Kevin, no self sabotaging Kate and oh do I miss them all. But I am so grateful for the people behind this project and their creative genius that bought us such a magnificent television program. I had low expectations, it now holds a special place in my heart like no other tv series.

This Is Us did not just narrate a story about some random family, it narrated life authentically at its worst and finest. With poetry and grace, it presented different storylines for each and every single one of us to identify, it offered us our very own reflection, and an opportunity to change, learn, heal or grow. This is the reason why so many of us worldwide described it as close to home,

because This Is Us.

🎂 And a very happy (late) birthday to our boo Milo Ventimiglia (08/07/1977) 💘