#it was LITERALLY where yun lives

[kameyyy]

Yun I swear I'm not a stalker I just can do math sometimes (heavy on that sometimes) and know how to use a map on my phone </3

[starcrossedmusings]

Pretty Hands

Pairing: best friend!Yunho x f!reader WC: 3.2k Warnings: eventual smut, reader has a thing for Yunho's hands (who doesn't??), swearing, fingering, choking, a little bit of degradation (he compares her to a whore literally once), PRAISE so much praise, Yunho talks reader through it (you're welcome), pov is kinda all over the place just let it be, Yunho is absolutely WHIPPED for reader teehee, probably some other things that I missed (let me know)

Summary: You and Yunho have been friends for years, and you tell each other everything. He suddenly takes a much more vested interest in your love life when you can't stop mentioning your newest interest.

A/N: This is entirely self indulgent and also I just wanted to get something full posted. The Phantom fic is turning out to be much longer than I originally anticipated (and so did this one once I started writing it). Let me know what you think♡

Stepping into Yunho's apartment had always felt like coming home, and today was no exception. You take your shoes off in the tiled entryway and pad your way through the main living area, calling out to him as you walk.

"Yun? I'm here!"

His muffled response flows down from the end of the hall, "Bedroom!"

You make your way through the back hallway and enter his room, finding him exactly where you thought he would be, focused in on his computer. There's a selection of empty drink cans and snack wrappers scattered around his desk, which tells you that whatever he's currently building on Minecraft has probably occupied the majority of his day so far. He pauses the game and turns his chair to face you.

"Whats up?"

"Got bored at home and my roommate isn't even trying to muffle her pornstar moans for her new boy toy."

Yunho barks out a laugh, "Does she seriously sound--"

"Just like it Yun I can't make this shit up. I'm starting to think maybe they're recording themselves in there."

Yunho wiggles his eyebrows as he stretches his arms up and over his head, leaning back in his chair. "Well, if I ever see your living room on Pornhub I'll be sure to let you know"

You crinkle your nose. "Ew. I do NOT need to know that."

"Whatever, don't act like you haven't been talking to me for weeks about how horny you are. If I have to hear about your vibrator dying one more time I'm gonna buy you a new one myself."

"You try getting unintentionally edged three nights in a row with a full charge, it's some bullshit Yun. Besides, I'm allowed to complain about my dry spell."

Yunho scoffs, tone playful and lighthearted. "Dry spell? It's been what? Two months?"

"It's been three thank you very much." You move to sit on his bed.

"Well some of us haven't had sex in much longer."

"Oh, please, that girl that San was messing around with was all over you at his birthday party last month, don't tell me you didn't take that opportunity."

Yunho raises his eyebrows in shock, leaning forward in his chair. "Wait, really?"

"Oh my GOD Yun you are so oblivious. Yes really. She was all giggly and twirling her hair and shit. That's like...girl flirting basics."

"I am not oblivious, I am actually quite observant. I could tell you things about yourself you don't even know. I just have my sights set on someone and that someone is not her."

You shoot him an incredulous look and snort out a laugh, leaning back to lay down completely on his bed, legs dangling off the edge. "Sure Yun, whatever makes you feel better."

You hear Yunho stand from his chair and feel his weight shift onto the mattress. He appears in your vision, a challenging playful sparkle in his eyes as he peers down at you. "Okay, fine. I can tell that you're trying out a new perfume, you just went shopping because your leggings are a different brand than you usually wear, and I know that you washed your hair last night because you're wearing it all the way down today."

You do your best to ignore the way your stomach summersaults at his attention to detail about you and your routines. You roll onto your side and prop your head up on your elbow, matching his challenging gaze. "Okay Sherlock Holmes. What kind of underwear am I wearing then?"

Yunho pauses to consider before responding "a thong, probably black." You grin triumphantly and lean in just a bit closer.

"Wrong. I'm not wearing any. You lose!" You stick your tongue out playfully at him and he swats your shoulder, falling back onto his mattress.

"You set me up!"

"Face it Yun, I'm just better than you."

"Yeah yeah, whatever" Yunho pouts, voice hightening slightly from surprise. He can feel a slight redness creeping up his ears and prays his hair has grown long enough to cover it. 'I'm not wearing any.' He clears his throat. "So why go commando? You finally planning to seduce your new conquest?"

"He is not a new conquest, he doesn't even know I like him."

"He will once he knows you aren't wearing any underwear for him" Yunho jokes, smiling cheekily. You smack at his chest.

"I didn't want to do laundry last night, asshole. Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"You're one to talk" he mutters under his breath.

You sit up fully and reach for one of the pillows at the top of his bed, slamming it down on his face. "Jeong Yunho I swear to god!" On your second swing, he manages to catch the pillow with one hand and pry it from your grasp, but not before giving you an entirely unhelpful image of his long fingers gripping the plush material.

"What?? All I ever hear you talk about lately is how tall and handsome this dude is and how much his hands make you drool."

"You sound jealous."

"I'm not jealous, I'm pissed that I have to hear all about him and don't even get to know what the dude's name is."

"I told you, I'm gatekeeping this time. You run your mouth too much."

"I do not!"

"Do too."

"Ugh FINE whatever," Yunho chucks the pillow back towards you and you dodge it, leaving both pillows on one side of the headboard, "You're so agitating."

"You know you love me Yun. But just for the attitude," You adjust both pillows and shuffle your way back until you're leaned against both of them, "no pillow for you for tonights doomscrolling session."

He huffs a laugh and scoots up to meet you, pulling out his phone and settling in against the headboard.

An hour later you get up to go to the bathroom, and when you get back Yunho has stolen both of his pillows. You frown and cross your arms. "Hey, asshole, those were mine!"

"Yeah?" He taunts playfully, "Well they were mine to begin with, and my back is killing me. So deal." You roll your eyes and cross back over to the bed, crawling over the side you've been sitting on and curling yourself into Yunho's side to rest your head against his chest. You feel him tense slightly underneath you before he moves one of his arms around your shoulders to let you lay more comfortably.

"There's no way in hell I'm sitting up against that cold ass metal frame you call a headboard." You mutter as you begin scrolling. Yunho's chuckle rumbles through his chest and tickles your cheek. You both sit in silence for a while, content to scroll on your phones. Eventually, you turn to look up at him from his chest.

"I meant to ask how your new project has been going. Whatever you were building when I came in looked pretty intense." You can see the faint tinge of red trail up his ears and neck--a telltale sign that whatever you caught him building makes him embarrassed. You sit up, propping your weight on your elbow and placing a hand on his chest to shove him slightly. "Ooooo now you have to tell me what it is!"

"It's embarrassing..."

"Tell me tell me tell me tell me--"

"Okay fine, fuck. I'll tell you if you promise not to laugh--"

"I won't I swear!"

"Pinky promise?" He holds his pinky out to you, and you raise a hand from his chest. Before you can lace your pinky in his, he pulls his hand up above his head. "I'm serious, Y/N, if you laugh I'll have no choice but to tickle you to death."

He's definitely not stalling because he has to come up with a reply, because he certainly hasn't been building a treehouse for you in what he hopes will one day be a shared server. Yunho thinks to himself that he would rather die than let you find out.

You scoff, "I won't laugh...and even if I did I'm not ticklish so your threat is a moot point."

Yunho drops his hand down onto the mattress. "Bullshit."

"It's not. I don't have a ticklish bone in my body."

"Liar."

You shake your head, and Yunho takes the opportunity to gently press the pads of his fingers into the sides of your ribs. The sensation hits you almost immediately, and you feel the tight feeling in your chest as he begins tickling you. You squeal and thrash around in his grasp, trying desperately to get away from his assault.

"Yun stop it--"

"Not until you admit you're a liar!" You begin to giggle and manage to roll away from him, but Yunho is quick to follow. He swings a long leg over your hips and pins you beneath him, a single large hand trapping both of your wrists above your head while the other dances across your ribs. "Admit it," He sings out.

"Okay! Okay fine I'm a liar!" You gasp out between laughter. Yunho beams down at you and immediately stops tickling your sides, leaving you panting underneath him--

Oh fuck...you're panting underneath him.

He can almost feel the shift in the air as he stares down at you. He knows he should move, just roll off of you and make up some bullshit lie about what he was building. You like someone else, and he clearly wasn't getting out of the friend zone any time soon. He's just making a fool of himself...and yet he just can't bring himself to stop memorizing the way you look splayed out beneath his hips. Eventually he forces himself to stop staring at the way your chest rises and falls or the sliver of your tummy that's poking out from underneath your shirt that's riding up. He locks eyes with you.

Your voice comes out softer than he's ever heard you speak before. "Hey Yun?"

"Yeah?"

"You know that mystery guy I've been telling you about? The one with the pretty hands?"

A twinge of annoyance flairs in his stomach and he can't help but grumble out his reply. "Yeah?"

"I'll give you a hint. He's got me pinned to the mattress right now."

Yunho feels his heart drop deep into the pit of his stomach.

"Like...like right now he does?"

You laugh lightly. "Yeah, right now, Yun."

Yunho swallows thickly as his head starts spinning. He leans down much slower than he would have liked to, giving you plenty of time to take it back--to laugh at him and tell him you got him good. He feels like his whole body lights ablaze when you close the final gap between your lips, and suddenly he is kissing you.

In almost any circumstance that you had seen Yunho kissing someone, he was always fast-paced--hot and heavy petting in the corner of a darkened bar, dares in drunken party circles--which is why you were floored at the reverence he was kissing you with now. His mouth was steady and intense against yours, his hands roaming slowly across the expanse of your torso like he was memorizing the feel of something priceless. You gently pull your hands from his grasp and tangle them in his hair, pulling him closer and matching his intensity with your fervor. You feel his hands make their way to the lower hem of your shirt, and your skin erupts in goosebumps as you feel his fingers ghost along the sliver of skin there. He breaks the kiss and you feel his breath fan across your face as he pants. His hands gently make their way to rest just under your shirt, not quite pushing the fabric up. He locks eyes with you.

"Is this okay?"

You chuckle gently. "Yes, Yun, you can touch me. I want you to touch me." You watch his eyes darken and his hands start running up your torso, pulling your shirt up with them.

"Where do you want me to touch you, baby?"

You exhale heavily and arch your back into his touch. "Anywhere...everywhere...I don't care."

Yunho smirks and feels his ego inflate. "You don't care? Hmm..." He starts planting kisses along your jaw and down the side of your neck. Slow. Teasing. "If I remember correctly, you seemed pretty keen about having my hands in some specific places baby. Can you refresh my memory?"

The low whine that escapes your throat nearly sends him spiraling. "You know where...don't make me say it."

He does know, but there's nothing he wants to hear more right now than to hear you say it. He brings one hand up to your chest, cupping one of your boobs and squeezing gently as he continues peppering your neck with kisses. "Was it here? Or..." His hand trails back down and grips your hip possessively, "Here, maybe?" He hears you huff and feels your hand wrap around his wrist. You try to tug it up, and he chuckles softly but allows you to move his hand. He nips your earlobe and asks lowly, "Where do you need my hands baby?" He feels his cock twitch in his sweats when you wrap his fingers around your throat, guiding him to squeeze the sides gently. Your hands run down his chest and drop to your sides as he squeezes a little harder. "Fuck, look at you. So pretty with my hand around your neck."

You whine and buck your hips up, desperately looking for friction. Yunho coos as he looks down at you, wanting to have the image burned into his memory. He adjusts his position so he's sat on one side of you and brings his free hand to your thighs, squeezing the flesh there and watching the way you spread your legs for him. "Pretty girl, I need you to use your words. Spreading your legs like a whore isn't gonna get you what you want." He revels in the way you throw your head back onto the mattress and close your eyes, frustration evident already on your face.

"Need your fingers, Yun. Please."

Holy shit, he could combust right then and there. He smiles and traces his hands along the inside of your clothed thighs. "Good girl. So polite for me." He hooks his fingers in the waistband of your leggings and pulls them down and off, leaving you bare from the waist down. "Sit up for me baby. I want you between my legs."

Yunho sits on the edge of the mattress and allows you time to sit up, moving to sit in between his thighs. He hooks your legs over his, leaving you spread and completely at his mercy. A shiver runs down your spine as the pads of his fingers run across your thighs and you gasp as they brush against your core. He presses kisses into your neck and chuckles, "You're already soaking wet, what's got you all bothered hmm? I've barely touched you..." Yunho hums and teases your entrance with this middle finger. He can feel you clenching. "Do you like my hands that much baby? All it takes is a little choking and you're putty for me." He pushes two fingers inside, pumping slowly and curling back to find your sweet spot. He feels pride flare through his chest at the noise you make, a mix between a whine and a moan that eggs him on.

Your toes curl as Yunho almost immediately finds your g-spot. The pace he sets is almost perfect, and when he begins rubbing tight circles on your clit your eyes roll back into your head. The pleasure is a building wave, and it's all you can do to keep yourself remotely still as he continues pumping his thick fingers in and out. "Oh my god, Yun, please don't stop!" You clench helplessly around his fingers and let your head roll back to rest on his shoulder.

"Awe baby I'm not gonna stop. Not until I see how pretty you look cumming all over me. Will you do that for me, sweetheart?" he coos, bringing his other hand back up to your throat and squeezing lightly. "Will you cum all over my fingers? I bet you want to right? Wanna come on my fingers while I squeeze this pretty neck of yours?"

You whine and preen at his words and arch your back. Your legs begin to shake as Yunho's circling on your clit quickens pace just slightly, the thrusts of his fingers audible from the squelching between your thighs. Your breath quickens.

"My pretty girl, you're such a mess for me, aren't you? Can you hear how wet you are? All soaked for me? I bet your hands don't feel as good as mine hmm?"

You shake your head no violently, whining as he continues to talk lowly into your ear. Your orgasm builds quickly, and at this point you have no faith in your ability to speak coherently.

"No, they don't do they? I want you to show me how good my hands feel baby. Let go for me, sweetheart."

Your breath catches in your throat as you tip over the edge, and the feeling of your release washes over you. Your whole body jolts in his grasp as he continues pumping his fingers. You feel him squeeze your throat gently, just enough pressure to remind you that he's got you.

"Atta girl, look at you! Doing so good for me." You whine and buck your hips, orgasm still riding through your body. Yunho nips at your neck lightly and slows his pumping to a stop as you continue to shake. "That's it baby, just grind on them for me." The final aftershock of your orgasm finishes, and you go limp in his arms, leaning all of your weight back into his chest and breathing heavily.

Yunho pulls his fingers out and admires the mess you made on them before popping them into his mouth. He's still rock hard, and the taste of you on his fingers makes him twitch again. He'll definitely need your help with that later. He uses the hand around your neck to brush a stray hair from out of your face. "How are you feeling?"

You huff out a breathless laugh and turn your face to nuzzle into his neck. "How do you think I feel? That was...wow."

He can't help the goofy smile that crosses his face. "Oh really? Tell me more, I'd like a full report." He jokes, pulling the two of you down to snuggle on his bed. He grabs a throw blanket from your side and pulls it over the two of you and nearly melts when you curl closer to him, burying your face into his chest.

"Give me a few minutes to recover and I'll show you exactly how I'm feeling right now." Yunho rubs a hand up and down your back.

"I look forward to that."

"And then afterwards you're going to show me what you've been building."

Yunho chuckles and kisses the top of your head. No way in hell.

[kirinblueko]

I've debated for a couple of days about whether to say something because I don't want to be overly political on here, a place where I can just enjoy the things I love. However, I feel like this is a topic on which I have a pretty personal view on, so here I am.

A disclaimer, I want to make clear that I am not pointing fingers or anything. I just want to put my thoughts out there so people can perhaps see a different perspective. English is not my native language (obviously). I tried to make myself clear and be courteous, but sometimes my language skill fails me, so please be gentle and know I do not wish to offend anyone.

It's about people flocking to red note as a reaction toward the tiktok ban. I am happy for people who had their first genuine interaction with people behind the Chinese fire wall, it's always beautiful when people from different culture communicate and learn from each other. Hell that's the reason why I am on this website. But I also can't help feeling sick with concern at how people disregard information warfare and missed the point that the problem has never been the Chinese people but the CCP government.

I am a Taiwanese. If you know anything about Taiwan and China's complicated history, you can probably imagine I have FEELINGS toward China. It's strong, and it's NEGATIVE. (I am not trying to represent all Taiwanese. This is just my own feelings.) I am relatively young, but even in my limited time alive, I've personally witnessed how the Chinese government bullied and oppressed my country. There are active attacks toward us, and it has been for years, just not YET in the traditional military sense. The information warfare is as real as ever and we, in Taiwan, don't have the defense of the language barrier. China spent an unimaginable amount of money every year on information warfare against Taiwan. Spreading misinformation and propaganda, buying out internet accounts and influencers. Planting agents. Anything you can and can't imagine. They are smart and cunning.

There is no such thing as a private company in China. Look up what happened to Ma Yun. If the country wants to, they can take anything from you, even the company you founded. The CCP government can and WILL monitor and control the discussion happening on any social software/application that's run by a Chinese company. They WILL manipulate the algorithm for propaganda. That is not an empty threat. They literally built a firewall around China so Chinese people can't access the internet freely. You treat them with humanity and courtesy doesn't mean that you will get the same treatment from them. CCP does not abide by your law. We all want to live in an idealistic world where people are kind and honesty is the default. I want to live in that world, too. But reality is cruel and playing dirty will get you far ahead of people playing by the rules.

I wish people in the US (and any other country that do not have to worry about being invaded, really) can realize how privilege it is to be a citizen of a wealthy and stable country that never have to worry about losing your identity just because your huge and rich neighbor says you belong to them. How privilege it is to be able to think China is not a threat, the government overreacted. I envy them. I envy their confidence in their country's future, that it won't disappear when they wake up the next day. I envy that they can still count on international society recognizing them as citizens of a independent country without hesitation and reserve.

I will never use TikTok (not even the US version) and RedNote. I will not install anything that I know has any relation to Chinese companies. Because I am worried for myself, for my family, and for my country. It's the least I can do as a defense as a single, insignificant Taiwanese. Seeing people jumping in voluntarily, giving CCP access to your personal information, makes me extremely anxious. I sincerely hope that there won't come a day when this decision backfires.

[theoraeeken]

bucktommy / tevan prompt: drive, car/vehicle, hands

i literally cannot see the words "bucktommy" and "hands" and not instantly get weird about it so uh. sorry. if you're not into short, kinda horny oneshots. thank you for the prompt!!! <33

bucktommy / rated m / mild and implied sexual content / prompts open

-

Buck never gets out of the city, these days.

That's an over simplification, of course. Sometimes he does. Calls out of the city. Assists out of county. But it's been a long, long time since he made it out of LA for anything fun. And, this? This is fun.

The early evening has made a painting out of the North California landscape, streaming past them like so many brushstrokes. A sky in pink and lilac, trees tops in black shadow. Tommy, pretty as a picture, pretty as he always is with his hands on the wheel and his eyes forward.

Jesus, Buck has never wanted anyone so much in his life.

"You're staring."

"You're gorgeous."

Tommy huffs, but doesn't tear his eyes away from the road.

"You know I could watch you do this for hours."

"You have been watching me do this for hours," Tommy reminds him, mouth a sly smile, "Except for that powernap you took after lunch."

"You want me to take the wheel for a bit, babe?"

The same smile that always crossses Tommy's expression when Buck callshim babe appears. It's a soft little thing, but it's one of his favourite things in the world.

"Nah, there's only an hour left. Besides, I wouldn't want to deny you your favourite spectator sport."

It's true, it is. Maybe not in the way that Tommy thinks, maybe Tommy doesn't get it at all, actually. Buck likes to watch him. Watch him drive, watch him cook, watch him shave. Watch him nap on the couch after along shift, watch him comb his hair back before one. The confidence in his walk, the set of his shoulders, the surety of his hands.

His hands.

The same hands that are on the wheel that have pulled people out of burning buildings have washed Buck's hair in the shower. They've piloted helicopters, and cooked dinner for the two of them. They've patched up burns and lacerations and concussions in the field, and touched Buck the way no one else has ever quite managed.

Tommy flexes his hands, palms sure on the wheel.

Something stirs in Buck, a sense memory tucked into the joints of his wrists, the swirl of his fingerprints.

Buck stretches out in the passenger seat, a pleasant warmth settling at the base of his spine, a tingling in his gut, his fingertips, his legs.

There's a little sweat gathered in the fabric at Tommy's collar, where it's trickled down his neck. There's a drop of it tracing a faint red mark there, just under his hairline. Too faded to show any trace of what caused it, but Buck knows it was his teeth.

Buck runs a hand up his thigh absently.

"Evan," Tommy says warningly, but there's a touch of amusement in his tone, too.

"What?" he says innocently.

"You know what."

"Nope," he grins, "You look good."

"You look like a distraction."

"You can handle it."

"If I crash this car, and someone phones 911, you do realise neither one of us is ever going to live it down, right?"

He knows. He can practically see Chimney laughing his ass off already, hear Hen cackling. They gave him enough shit when a photo of Tommy appeared in his locker, a perfectly innocent picture of his boyfriend passed out cold on the couch in Buck's apartment, Jee-Yun beaming wildly into the camera after a day at a waterpark. Tommy's not wearing a shirt, because it got wet chasing Jee through a splash field. It's in Buck's locker because it's a great picture. No correlation.

"You flew a helicopter into a hurricane, I think you can manage the I5."

"You didn't have a hard on in the helicopter."

"That's what you think," Buck grins. He does now, easy and eager to go, like he's eighteen again, dick on a hairpin trigger.

"You didn't get enough this morning?" Tommy asks wryly.

This morning was slow and easy, still under the covers with the early morning light coming down on them like a blessing. Tommy's mouth on his stomach and his fingers inside of him, pulling an orgasm out of him like pulling on a loose thread - unravelling Buck into an incoherent mess.

"That was like eight hours ago-"

"It was maybe five, at an absolute push-"

"-and you just look so good sat there-"

"-I'm not doing anything!"

"-and I want you," Buck says, chest going warm at the way Tommy's mouth snaps shut and a blush starts spreading across his cheeks, "the way I always want you because you always look this good."

"We're gonna crash on the I5 and there's gonna be a pile up, and they're gonna check traffic cam footage and see that it's because I swerved into oncoming traffic, and when they ask me what happened, I'm gonna have to say it's because-"

"We're not going to crash, Tommy," Buck laughs.

"-because my boyfriend is insatiably horny," he interupts, louder, before glancing over at him. His eyes drop down to where Buck is rubbing himself through his sweats and he groans, a deep rumbling thing in his chest that makes Buck jerk helplessly in the seat, "and because he looks so good right now."

The satnav on the dash says there's still ninety minutes until they reach their destination, which is damn near an eternity. The thought of being confined in this car with Tommy, in a nice fitting t-shirt and shorts that have ridden up to expose a slither of inner thigh, for more than an hour feels impossible. Buck grinds into the heel of his palm, images of them pulled over at the side of the road, pressed together in the backseat of Tommy's old muscle car, or Buck bent over the hood, or leaning against the driver's side door with Tommy on his knees in front of him- They bomboard his imagination like firecrackers, every one of them vivid and alive like memories rather than fantasies.

Tommy's hand shoots out like a gunshot from the wheel to clasp his wrist.

He didn't realise how close he was to coming until his hand stopped moving.

"Jesus, Evan-" Tommy breaths out, his fingers like a vice, chest heaving, "You're trying to kill me."

"Whatta way to go though, huh?" Buck slurs. His hips are still twitching, even as he steps back from the precipice of orgasm. Everything is still so close, so hot, so intense. Tommy's jaw is so tight the muscle is jumping under the skin, but he lets go of Buck's wrist to lace their fingers together instead.

It's probably not the placating gesture Tommy wants it to be, not now that Buck's so worked up, not when it's Tommy's hands that have him writhing in the passenger seat of this car, Tommy's everything, really.

"Evan."

"What?"

"Quit it," he says firmly.

Buck grins, "Or what?"

"Or," Tommy says easily, "Every time I catch you, I'm adding an hour onto how long I'm making you wait when we get to the hotel."

That definitely doesn't have the desire affect, or it does. Buck can't tell over the wildfire that courses through him, caught between the desire to chase relief as soon as possible, and drag whatever game they've stumbled onto here out for as long as he can. Whatever shows on his face makes Tommy laugh, pull his hand back and put it back on the wheel.

-

(They make it to the hotel by the skin of their teeth, check in like a pair of maniacs on the run from the cops, then Tommy shows him just how serious he was about that three hour penalty by strapping his arms to the bed with his belt.)

-

(He only makes it two and a half.)

[gold-rhine]

like its literally insane how beat for beat this lantern rite goes into the same notes as natlan final act, but just does it well. the contrast is crazy-making. SPOILERS 2025 LANTERN RITE i guess

like. oh its a story about pyro girlie who had to lose her family very early and tragically, and then she came under huge amount of dire responsibility, but she didn't let it break her and she stayed positive and bright. she is now confronted with a critical situation where she has to do hard decision and be ready to die to save her country. she says goodbyes to her friends, trying to not let them know she's going to sacrifice herself, but they realise it and do everything to save her. in the end, she realizes her life isn't over, its too early for her to go, has heartfelt reunion with ghosts of her family and is saved by unified efforts of her friends, showing how much she's loved and wanted in the world of the living. (im joking, last part didnt happen to mavuika lol, i'll get to it)

but like you can actually see how liyue kids are ACTUALLY friends and how they like each other, they have palpable chemistry that is shown, instead of just like. flatly declared in natlan. hu tao pestering embarrassed yun jin into performing her silly cringe hilichurl song in operatic style has more character than mavuika had in all acts of natlan and her story quest COMBINED. and hu tao visiting friends to give them goodbye gifts under the guise of holiday tradition with half-jokey heartfelt well wishings is what i think natlan tried to do with ancient name thing, where characters like say why they like traveler. except in lantern rite it works because its personal and meaningful, and in natlan its just flashy anime poses and random cliches. "i love being traveler's friend!", "surely she comes from a good home!" like??? its fucking nothings that coworkers awkwardly say at the birthday party because they don't know you.

and suddenly in liyue they know that characters can have differences and STILL be respectful and well-intended, with hu tao and baizhu exchanging jabs about being archenemies, instead of entire cast being blandly okay yay all the time in natlan. hu tao's conversation with zhongli exploring her mental state before going into danger, bittersweet, but finally honest, just straight up doesnt have a parallel in natlan because they never give mavuika any fucking way to express herself. not to mention that hu tao has more conflict and complicated feelings about her lost family and grief than mavuika ever has with her sister where they talk about fucking nothing and just like politely nod at each other.

and the theme of unity actually works in liyue because it does have all other characters uniting to share hu tao's burden and save her, instead of capitano ex machina just showing up and solo taking her place bc he's here to hijack the narrative and make it about khaenriah instead of natlan. so natlan's theme about unity just never goes anywhere except of characters standing in the circle and yelling "for natlan!!", there is no tangible effort for this unity, nothing they have to overcome together. they just wait for everyone to awaken their ancient names, stand in a circle to power up mavuika, and then she solo finishes everything with carpet bombing. and then she solo beats up abyss boss. and then capitano makes it all about himself. like. much unity.

and even traveler being a descender isn't really used in natlan despite making a big deal out of it, her ability to challenge fate or whatever literally never actually comes up. meanwhile in liyue it is used within established lore reasons - not being connected to irminsul, BUT, very importantly, just being special descender would not be enough to save hu tao, its the fact that they are friends, they share a bond and care about each other, i.e. only by using the plum's branch traveler is able to connect and find hu tao.

[frollosversion]

Why is Hellfire (AND JUDGE CLAUDE FROLLO'S PERSONALITY) creepy in itself?

Take it from a Theater Major! Let's dive in his song breakdown!

In a musical, there are 3 types of songs. There are "establishing/new songs", an "I am song", and an "I want" song.

Establishing/new songs are made to— self explanatory— establish the existence of the set and the characters without getting much depth as it focuses on the build up of the world the characters are living in or what the center of that place is supposed to be.

Let's not stray too far. Let's use The Bells of Notre Dame. Clopin, as the narrator, elaborates that an object, or a phenomena is linked to the character but doesn't really say what the character's in depth wants, needs etc are included (Which is the Bells and the Cathedral herself). 'The bells of Notre Dame' is played at the first part of the film/musical to establish a backstory or a character's focal point and a glimpse of moral standpoint (Claude's backstory and the Existence of Quasimodo) and to establish the setting (Which is Paris 1482 + 1462 flashback). That's the establishing/new song. It is also used as breathers like Flight into Egypt.

Next is an "I want Song". "I want" songs are automatically given to the main characters so the audience can get a peek of the beliefs of these characters and resonate with them in a sense. This kind of song elaborates the purpose and goals they try to achieve.

Quasimodo's "Out There" is a very good example of an "I want" song. He sings about his dream/goal to go down the bell tower without any consequences— "Just to live one day out there" as he would quote (love you quasi). That's where he's at and that's what he wants. To feel like he belongs. (ALSO, GOD HELP THE OUTCASTS IS AN I WANT SONG)

Next is an "I am" song. Now, an "I am" song isn't directly given to villains/anti-heroes either. These can be used as a type of song to other characters. But in most cases, villains own these songs. Good example of an "I am" song is:

“Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast,

“Poor Unfortunate Souls” from The Little Mermaid,

“Mother Knows Best” from Rapunzel,

or “Be Prepared” from The Lion King.

All of these songs explain who they are not just on one fragment. But the entirety of it.

Villains use this to establish the dynamic and the power they are trying to uphold and "shove in" the viewer's faces to who they are.

Now, the problem (the situation, rather) in Hellfire, is Frollo gets an I WANT song instead of an I AM song. Again, An I WANT song is used for the protagonists— to allow us to see the goodness in their hearts and what they want best.

He tried to just do an I AM song, given that the first verse is literally

“Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man of my virtue I am justly proud.

Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than the common vulgar weak licentious crowd.”

He tries to convey that Hellfire is an I AM song but eventually slips into the lines like he wanted her bad. Like... BAD bad.

And now since Frollo got an I WANT song, we saw what he wanted, which is lusting on Esmeralda + his moral dilemma. AND WE DON'T REALLY WANT TO SEE THAT, DO WE?? (I do. hehe). We saw things that we didn't really want to see. In this instance, his "little trouble at the fireplace."

And it's disgusting and disturbing to see how twisted a person is when left repressed and pushed. Not to mention that he's being sacrilegious himself because he blames that it's the Most High's plan that he made the devil "so much stronger than the man.". It's creepy. I know. sighs.

He's given a divine intervention (film), when he said "Let her taste the fires of hell or else let her be mine and mine alone!" Which he straight up rejects even if he asked for the sign himself AND PROCEEDS TO SING AND FINISH THE WHOLE DAMN THING.

So yeah, he's creepy, hellfire is twisted as it is. You get the gist. Thanks for listening to me yap. Take notes in case you wanted to write a musical. Yun lang! Mwah. HAHAHAHAHA

[setmeatopthepyre]

Hey so I'm either delusional or onto something or both but the three calls in 08x06 kind of work perfectly as references to bucktommy's storyline as a past/present/future.

Past: Misdirects (07x04 throwback) Call 1: The mom in the urn. This scene was actually originally shot for 07x04 from what I can gather, and it fits perfectly in that episode's theme of misdirection. First, the audience (and the first responders) assume the actual live mother of the caller is being kidnapped. Misdirect: it's the dead mom's ashes in an urn. We then assume the husband is worried about losing his mom's ashes. Misdirect: it's actually the urn that's worth a ton of money.

This call fits right in with the other storylines that episode, most importantly the one that leads to Buck's bi awakening and Bucktommy's first kiss: Buck & the audience think Buck is jealous of Eddie spending more time with someone else, but it turns out to be Tommy's attention he's actually after. This is how they meet, this is their past.

Present: Spilling guts and breaking up (08x06) Call 2: The messy messy divorce. A married couple are fighting out a divorce in a lawyer's office. The husband keeps sneezing whenever he lies, causing him to pop his stitches and literally and figuratively spill his guts. The messy truth comes out, and despite this there's a touching moment where he lies that he never loved her. The wife and Buck have a one-on-one talk in which she tells Buck "He lied, he really did love me." and Buck says "I'm sure he did. Does." To which she replies, "Saying he didn't love me is the most beautiful lie he's ever told." It still ends in a messy split with hurt feelings.

Here we have a pretty clear reference to what's happening and is about to happen in this very episode between Buck and Tommy. The messy guts of both of their pasts pertaining to Abby have or will be spilled. The breakup takes both of them by surprise. To quote the lawyer(?) the husband in this scene was having an affair with: "One minute he was fine and the next was like a bomb went off." The audience goes through quite a similar journey. Where the scene opens with one lawyer saying that the process "doesn't have to be painful", we leave feeling absolutely eviscerated.

Future: Pushing away & lifting up (??x??) Call 3: The boy in the pipe. We have an older brother being annoyed by the fact that his younger brother constantly wants him to read to him. When the younger brother asks again, the older brother lashes out and tells him to go away. When he realizes his mistake, the younger brother has wedged himself into an exposed pipe in the yard, underground and in the muck where no one can reach him. When the 118 show up, it's determined that the only one who can pull the younger brother out, is the one who pushed him away and inadvertently caused him to be down there in the first place: the older brother.

So yes, this call is clearly set up to make Chimney realize how having another kid would mean Jee-yun has another person looking out for her and vice versa. However, the specific backstory/build-up of the older brother pushing the younger one away doesn't relate to Chim's situation at all. It does sound a lot like Buck & Tommy's break up, where both parties clearly love and care for each other (though in a different way than familial, clearly) but one still ended up pushing the other away - and, I assume, regretting it. This could be foreshadowing a future in which Buck is down in a dark place (heartbreak), with only one person who is exactly the right fit to save him: the very guy who put him there in the first place.

[wildehacked]

why are you acting like a grief storyline will be some new revolutionary thing? and not just another grief arc in a show that has already done a bunch of grief arcs?

So, I definitely never said a grief storyline would be revolutionary. That would be silly—you're right that in many ways grief is already central to the show! Bobby spends most of the show, but particularly seasons 1 and 2, grieving his family; we see Athena grieving her fiancé and also her marriage with Michael; we see Chim grieve Kevin and Eddie grieve Shannon and Maddie grieve Doug, Daniel, and the time she lost with Jee-Yun. Grief is in many ways central to what the show is about, and who the characters are to each other: I'd argue that the 118 wasn't the 118 until Bobby went to hold Chimney's hand after his fiancée left him and he was all alone, until Hen and Buck went to Bobby's apartment and caught him when he asked for help.

This is also a show where all the main characters have frequent near-death experiences, and thus far, all of them have magically miraculously lived. (I'm honestly 50/50 on whether Bobby's really dead, or whether they'll pull off another miracle escape.) But I will say that in a show where characters feeling love through grief is so central, and where the theme of characters demonstrating both love and service by helping others through the wilds of their grief, it really makes sense to me to eventually give everyone a shared grief.

Now, it seems like part of your complaint here is that grief has shown up in the show before, and you would rather see them do something new. That's fine—I'm not telling you what to like.

But grief IS a central theme of the show, and they're simply going to keep using it as a story telling tool, because that's...the story they've been telling for eight years now. Grief and love are central themes, and have been since the pilot—and we know that grief and love are the same thing, right? Right. If I had to sum up 911's thesis statement, it's that service to others, in the face of dangers both literal and psychological, is the ultimate form of love. (That sounds lofty, but jeez, that's just why we like stories about people who are going to help you. That's the thesis of most hospital dramas, too.) Killing off a main character is in service of that thesis, imo. Giving room for the other characters to choose service all over again—helping each other and others through their grief—is in service of that thesis. A grief arc is not new, and it's not original—it's a clear continuation of the story they've been telling. For me personally, I like stories about grief (I like stories about love), and I like stories about people helping each other. I like the story they're telling. I'm sorry if you don't.

[kassandrasdisciple]

Thoughts on:

The New Avatar Rumor

If you haven't heard Knight edge media has claimed to have seen the first 2 finalised storyboards for the Avatar tv show that'll follow the avatar after Korra.

Here's the link to their og article

There's also an article detailing a scene

Just in case any of this is actually true here's your chance to back out now, if your still here let's get into it.

The Kyoshi Parallel -

This post will mainly be me covering what jumped out to me from their two articles. The first thing that jumped out to me was how eerily similar the outline was to the Rise of Kyoshi novel. In RoK Kyoshi is a close candidate for being the Avatar, she's overlooked however, with Yun being chosen as he's a bending prodigy. Kyoshi struggles to survive as a maid/street rat, eventually being discovered as the avatar and thrust into the plot.

Our new avatar (possibly called Pavi) was also thought to be the avatar, passed over for her more adept sister, who's raised as a false avatar, and, whilst the imposter lives in luxury, Pavi struggles on the streets.

Obviously as more information comes out this correlation could strengthen or weaken. I don't mind it, and it could be a good "the Cycle repeats itself" otherwise it might be lazy recycling, time will tell.

Seven nations -

I..... hate this I think.

I love the fith nation and it's implications in RoK, and how it's spiritually lives on in Republic city, however 3 new nations?

I think it'll dilute the potents of what made the original great. The 4 elements are literally iconic, not just in Avatar but in, like, everything. History, alchemy, medicine, ect.

Avatar's cousin, The Dragon Prince, also tried using an expanded elemental system and I think it was weaker for it. Also what will set these 3 new nations apart? Will we have 3 new elements?

Now what could happen instead is that this is a post-apocalypse, and instead this is 7 new city states. THAT I don't hate. Infact it could be really interesting to see 7 last remnants of the Avatar world, after a massive disaster.

In that sense I think our survivors would be:

The Northen Water Tribe

The Southern Water Tribe

Republic City

Caldera City

Omashu

Ba Sing Se

The Southern Air Temple

I could also see any of the other temples, not just Aangs. Kyoshi island could also be a contender.

If this new world is just these last remnants that could be incredible.

Korra's feat -

Let it be said I hate power scaling fights. So the article saying this makes Korra the strongest seems weird. Secondly, this seems out of the scope of the Avatar world. I don't think Korra will actually rip apart the tectonic plates, more likely, a meteorite or such will threaten the world, and as she mitigates the damage it'll cause these new divides.

Twins -

Watch the DearFutureMe video on twin avatars for why it better not happen. Also if it turns out one is the Dark avatar I will chew my way through the floor until I land in the depths of hell.

If its neither of those I think it'll be a fun dynamic, similar to Zuko and Azula.

Hoverboards -

O H N O.

So, I've bitched about this to my friends constantly. I have always thought a third avatar show might be impossible. Aang's era is pre-industrial/industrial revolution and then Korra is the 1940~ plus a mech.

From this you get two meh options.

Either you kill Korra very young and aim for the 60s tech wise. That'll retroactively spoil LoK however. Otherwise you let Korra live and have it set roughly in the 2000's which just feels ... wrong.

This looks like we'll get the worst of both world, with 2000's era tech + future tech alla Kuvira's mech. Along with Korra dying tragically when the 7 nations disaster occurs.

I am hopeful that the disaster might create my pet theory. Where to avoid a Y2K avatar they create an apocalypse to reset the world.

Misc -

She's a girl and an amputee, that's cool, Avatar usually handles disabled and women characters well, I know they'll be discourse™ because diversity but that's only a problem if your a bigot sooooo.

Cat companion LETS GOOOOOOOOO can't wait to get plush of it.

Possible angsty teen airbender? Cool.

All in all I'm pessimistically excited, I want to hope it'll be great but I think that type of worship will just set you up to be disappointed. Either way, time will tell.

[actualalligator]

For the prompts please- 95- “I don’t know why I’m crying”

Thanks for the prompt, Kerry! Sorry for the delay~

The house was quiet when Eddie got home, something he found weird considering it was Friday night. He and Buck were off the whole weekend, and when Eddie left for his dental appointment, the plan had been pizza and video games. But the living room was empty.

He knocked on Chris' door before opening it. He was at his desk with his headphones on, but he noticed Eddie immediately.

"Hey, Dad," Chris said, pulling his headphones down.

"Hey, how was school?" Eddie asked.

Chris shrugged. "Fine." Which was about all Eddie got from his son about school these days.

"Where's Buck?" Eddie leaned against the doorframe.

"Laying down. Said he had a headache, but we'd order pizza when you got home," Chris replied. "He was really quiet on the way home."

Eddie nodded. "I'll go check on him, then we will sort dinner." He closed Chris' door when he pulled back and headed toward his and Buck's room.

The lights were off, but there was just enough coming in from the window that Eddie could see Buck curled up on the far side of the bed.

Eddie closed the door behind him and walked to the bed.

Buck didn't move. He made no acknowledgment that he'd even heard Eddie come in as Eddie climbed into the bed. Close up, he could see that Buck had Daddy Bear tucked up underneath his chin and cheek. Pain didn't usually send him sensory seeking in that way.

"Sweetheart," Eddie said softly, sliding his hand up Buck's waist.

Buck let out a shuddering breath.

"Baby, what's wrong?"

"I'm fine," Buck said. Only he sounded like he always did when he'd been crying, and his nose was all stuffed up.

Eddie settled behind him, wrapped his arm around Buck's middle. "We both know that's not true," he murmured. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I don't know why I'm crying." Buck's voice shook as he spoke. "My mom called after you left."

Eddie withheld the sigh he wanted to let out and instead started to rub Buck's chest. Margaret Buckley was on the top of his list of people he could happily never interact with again. But increasingly he also wanted to fight her.

"What did she want?" he asked.

"Guess Maddie mentioned I got hurt last month," Buck said. "So to tell me my job is too dangerous again. And that it's time I settled down."

Eddie pressed a kiss to Buck's shoulder. "You're a homeowner with a long-term partner raising a kid together. I think you're settled."

"Owning a home with someone you're not even married to, Evan?" Buck whispered.

Oh yeah. It was on sight for Margaret Buckley.

"That's not fair, sweetheart," Eddie said.

"I know it's not." Buck's voice faltered as he spoke, and he let out a little hiccuping sob. "Maddie and Chim weren't married when they bought their house. They literally got engaged in that house! But it's like there are different rules for me, the unwanted child."

Eddie swung his leg over top of Buck's and wrapped his arm more tightly around him. "Fuck her," he said. "That is their loss. You're wanted, sweetheart. I want you. I want Buck. I want Roo. Every little piece of you. Maddie wants you. Every member of our team wants you. Christopher wants you. Jee-Yun absolutely wants her Uncle Buck. You are so very wanted, I promise."

Buck drew in a shaky breath, then started to squirm until Eddie moved enough to let him roll over.

Eddie took Buck's face between both of his hands. "There's nobody in this world I want to be going through life with more than you. If they can't be happy for you and all you've accomplished, let them suffer in it."

Buck wrapped his hands around Eddie's wrists. "I promise I'm happy," he said. "I promise I don't think being with you in this house and raising our kid isn't enough."

Eddie stroked his thumb across Buck's cheek. "I didn't think otherwise. And I know I can't ever fully fill the hole your parents dug into you, but I'm always going to be here to hold you when it hurts."

Buck sniffed a few times and then closed his eyes. He took a deep breath in and slowly let it out before he opened them again. "I love you."

"I love you, sweetheart," Eddie replied. "Right up to the moon and back."

[geddyqueer]

⭐️!

with these are the days of miracle and wonder: i had to do, like, so much physical blocking to figure out who was where when the action was going down. i went to a kroger an hour away so i could stand in the frozen novelties aisle and take pictures, and then i used those pictures to recreate the aisle at home in my living room, and then i was moving so many chairs around to stand in for maddie/sonic/honey/the dairy manager/the woman holding up her cardigan to give everyone privacy. i pulled a couple old dead phones out of the drawer so that i could stage them around the area: this one was tommy's phone (open to the wikihow "how to deliver a baby" article), this one was sonic's phone (connected to dispatch and also the 118), this one was cardigan woman's phone (connected to maddie's ob-gyn) (not referenced was maddie's phone, which had dialed mrs lee, and was leaving a really long voicemail with all the action because mrs lee was busy putting jee-yun down for a nap when maddie called). literally the most active i have ever gotten in order to write a fic. i was on the ground sticking my hand in a chair to simulate the birthing process. I LOVE WRITING!

[lukkabloom]

Fun Facts abt the residents according to Ikevamp Radio (ヴァンなま) Part 1

Found a playlist of Ikevamp Radio that occurred multiple years ago so I decided to collect my findings about the residents in a list. I haven't seen anyone translate it or talk abt it so I decided to do it for a bit of fun. Anyways, here are episodes 1-3!!

Some quick things to note before:

Vincent/Aramaki Yoshihiko (Makki) is the MC, Sebas/Morishima Shuta (Morishi) is a guest (but he’s in every episode he might as well be the 2nd MC). They also have other people as guests in some episodes (other ikevamp VAs or others related to the game itself)

Episodes 1 & 2 occur before Ikevamp’s release

most of my findings are from a segment from the livestream where the residents (mainly Vincent and Sebas) talk to each other & ask each other questions about the lives while they spend some bonding time in the thermae. The segment's called "I love yu" which is a pun on "I love you" and yu (湯) which means "hot water" or "bath"

There are also other segments where the VAs draw based on a designated theme & the viewers vote on the best art (van Gogh's drawing section), and another one where the VAs read the summary of the game in their in-character voices (but the VAs interrupt and make it funnier & less romantic) called "Ikemen Vampire, a guidance for you" (I won't talk abt these sections much tho)

ALSO!! This is not a translation of the whole livestream, just bits and pieces of it. I don't have the time and energy to do that

Episode 1: feat. Leonardo's VA Tsuda Kenjiro

Question: Which historical figure/genius do you respect the most?

Napoleon: Oda Nobunaga

Mozart: Johann Sebastian Bach

Leonardo: Michelangelo (which I thought was interesting since real-life Leo and Michelangelo had some beef w each other)

Morishima (Sebas’s VA): Newton (bc of the apple & theory of universal gravitation), Edison

Tsuda (Leonardo’s VA): van Gogh

Aramaki (Vincent’s VA): Liu Bei, Zhao Yun (I think that's who he was talking abt? I'm not familiar much w/Chinese figures' names in jp---they're read differently in Eng)

The other VAs joke that Aramaki’s similar to Napo in the sense that they both admire soldiers/military commanders

Question: Favorite part of a woman’s body? (This sounds so wrong in both jp & eng)

Napoleon: from the neck to the shoulder, he's prob talking abt the shoulders to the neckline or vice versa（首から肩まで）

Mozart: voice (so he can understand what his partner’s thinking & feeling)

Leonardo: thighs (bc it’s soft & he likes lap pillows)

Tsuda said Leo’s a bit of a pampered/attention-seeking child (甘えん坊), and not an ore-sama (which he thought Leo would be), an unexpectedly cute reason considering how reliable Leo looks

Vincent gets a bit sad when he’s bathing alone

Leo can sing a song that he’s only heard once (as expected of a genius)

Sebas can be seen hanging the sheets outside from Vincent’s room

Leo’s unsatisfied that there’s only men in the mansion (this was before MC stumbled to the mansion)

Vincent doesn’t want women in the mansion bc he wouldn’t know how to act in front of them

Sebas thinks Leo is an expert in handling women, Leo is confused when he became one

Leo’s weak against Vincent’s pleas/suggestions (honestly who isn’t??)

Sebas thinks it’s impossible for a woman to stumble upon the mansion (foreshadowing)

Leo thinks that fate will play a trick on them, his mumbling confuses Vincent and Sebas (more foreshadowing)

Episode 2: feat. Jun, singer of Ikevamp theme song "Rouge"

Jun is a repairman who fixes things around the mansion… HE'S ALIVE IN THAT ERA???? (Idk if its canon)

He also sings “Rouge” while he works which means the song exists in the 20th century (again idk how much of this is canon)

Jun also sells milk in the mansion, acting as a different person as the repairman, although Sebas & Vincent are suspicious of him (he literally just enters the bath to sell milk to Vincent and Sebas lol)

Vincent and Sebas talk about MC, she has arrived @ the mansion

Vincent worries abt her since she is surrounded by vampires in an unfamiliar environment, but to Sebas, it looks like MC enjoys her life and is headstrong (aka Vincent is just nice to others, nothing new)

Vincent believes that Sebas is cool and can do anything, to which Sebas indirectly disagrees (he coughs)

Sebas is weak to Vincent’s innocent eyes (just like Leo from the previous episode, again, who isn't?)

Sebas breaks the 4th wall talking abt a popular romance game where you can fall in love w/vampire-turned historical figures

This is literally the beginning of how Sebas goes ooc (becomes weirder) throughout the series (is it even ooc if it’s basically approved by official??)

Sebas says that Theo is overprotective of Vincent, Vincent comments that he’s supposed to be the older one

they also introduce my fav segment (Can you tell me... your name?) where they have listeners vote on quotes they want the VAs to say, and they will say the line w/the listener’s names so it sounds like the VAs are speaking to them. Vincent's & the guest (if there is one) will have legit cool lines (like “(y/n), Don’t let go of me” or “(y/n), you’re the only one in my eyes”) but Sebas always has one funny line as one of his options (ex. “Hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” or “Do you want to fry one more sanma?”) and every single time the weird line gets voted and ITS FUNNY AS HECK

Also in the same segment the viewers will sometimes submit funny names for the VAs (especially Sebas) to say & it adds to the laughs

Ex. for Sebas’s “Hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” some viewers gave names of Anpanman characters (a children’s anime in Japan) so Sebas will literally say things like “Jam-ojisan, hey, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?”

There was also one whose name was Tako (octopus in japanese) so Sebas would say “Tako, do you wanna have a takoyaki party?” so he’s asking the octopus to have a takoyaki party where the octopus will be eaten (the irony as well as the dark underlying meaning behind it is very funny)

Also the way the other people are laughing while Sebas’s VA is trying to keep his cool is so hilarious

It’s predetermined and agreed upon the Ikevamp staff that Sebas (or Morishi) is willing to do/say weird things for the audience

This whole segment is a whole ride in and out of itself

Episode 3: feat. Leonardo’s VA Tsuda Kenjiro once again

Sebas once again breaks the 4th wall by referencing episode 1 of the show

Sebas teaches Leo the basics of manzai (a type of japanese comedy)

Leo says “Vannama” (the name of ikevamp radio) and “tendon” (the food and a manzai phrase)  in a weird accent further proving that he doesn’t understand Japanese (or maybe it's bc the two phrases are too specific idk)

Sebas tells Leo to ignore what he’s saying as he is saying metafictional expressions (メタ発言) basically how he is breaking the 4th wall, and Leo just accepts that as another one of Sebas’s quirks

Vincent comments that Leo’s very manly, Sebas further compliments him saying that Leo is a man amongst men

This episode has one of the funniest (imo) “Can you tell me… your name?” segments ever. Vincent and Leo’s VAs had amazing lines, but Sebas… oh gosh where do I even start. (ok Leo’s VA did say “Ushi (cow), wait for me by the bed,” and “Namamono (raw food), wait for me by the bed” & that was funny too but…)

One of the options for Sebas’s lines (and the one that was ultimately chosen to be said) was “Do you want to fry one more sanma (a type of seasonal fish eaten in fall)?” and the viewers got crazy with this one.

There were some legit names but most were for jokes, choosing names going along with the theme of fall foods and creatures (tuna, matsutake, karaage, grasshoppers, etc.)

There was “Akashiya, sanma mouipikki yaku?”(Akashiya, do you want to fry one more sanma?) which was the funniest one. Akashiya Sanma is a very famous Japanese comedian and it’s very genius of the viewer to connect the person with the food. I laughed straight for like 10 min when I first listened to this (I still laugh just remembering it. The double-entendre!!!)

Literally any episode with Tsuda is chaotic (this isn’t the last time where he shows up)

At the end of the episode, Vincent’s VA couldn’t stop laughing and messed up his lines multiple times (I don’t blame him everything is just so funny)

[twstgarden]

✦ ❝ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐏𝐄𝐓𝐀𝐋'𝐒 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 ❞

match-up bundle commission for @milkkyus

— a purchase of one carnation petal has arrived from our dearest customer. your romantic match has now been determined by the red carnation’s petal.

➻ a romance match-up bundle commission for twisted wonderland. bundle includes the main romantic match, voice lines with the main match and 4 other randomly picked characters, and a dormitory match for twisted wonderland. ➻ commissions are open, you may refer to this info post.

— TWISTED WONDERLAND — 

℘ your romantic match is…

━ 𝙟𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡 𝙫𝙞𝙥𝙚𝙧 ━

➻ the carnation petal has revealed your match, who appears to be the responsible and resourceful vice head of scarabia! his rather calm demeanour and supportive behaviour may suit well for your tastes.

➻ jamil is the type of individual you can warm up to, so you can count on being yourself around him and he would accept you as you are - no need for masks or second personalities.

➻ there is a fair balance between super romantic moments and regular "platonic" ones, almost like he's your soulmate - someone who is your greatest love and your best friend.

➻ he appreciates your gifts. whether it'd be handmade crochet items or annotated books, he'd accept them and treasure them like priceless items.

➻ he can be quite protective, but not to the extent that it harms or inconveniences you. he may be an overthinker at times and a worry wart - especially with kalim - but he has more trust in you and knows you can handle yourself in most cases.

➻ he would not verbally declare his affections like rook but he isn't too withdrawn either. he will remind you of his affection in ways such as cooking your favourite meals, especially after a long day, spending quality time with you, or even through acts of service.

➻ speaking of quality time, he loves spending time with you no matter what the activity may be - walking, gaming, listening to music, having desserts, or even just cuddling. as long as it's with you, then it's worth his time.

➻ overall, you would have a peaceful and heartwarming relationship - the kind where people say "goals" because of how good your chemistry is, in both romance and friendship.

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━ possible matches: ➻ silver (a wonderful and calm partner, might not have friendly banters though) ➻ vil schoenheit (a partner who can provide both support in emotional aspects and growth, will remind you of your worth and help build confidence) ➻ cater diamond (may act like literal besties with a spice of romance on the side)

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

℘ your soul belongs in…

❝ pomefiore ❞

➻ the dark mirror has sorted you to pomefiore, the dormitory founded on the unrelenting efforts of the fairest queen. students sorted to this dormitory are creative and generous, and they live by the philosophy that everything has the potential to be better.

➻ your drive to be the best version of yourself may suit you well for pomefiore. you may find like-minded individuals who wish to develop themselves further - better mindset, health, attitudes, and whatnot.

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℘ voice lines

【 jamil viper 】

► card selected: ssr dormitory uniform 寮服

❚❚ || home idle 4

↪ “yun tends to crochet every now and then, especially after our tasks for the day. i have tons of crocheted items in my room and they're all in perfect shape. i appreciate her skills.”

【 riddle rosehearts 】

► card selected: r masquerade dress マスカレードドレス

❚❚ || home tap 6

↪ “yun seems to be enjoying herself. well, there are many things to see and experience when travelling to another city, after all. oh, the masquerade party is also coming up.”

【 ruggie bucchi 】

► card selected: sr port wear ポート・ウェア

❚❚ || home tap 6

↪ “i was talking to jack when we were cleaning the docks and I saw yun walking by with jamil. shishishi, they must have been so indulged in their conversation to realise their afternoon walk brought them to the port of sage's island.”

【 kalim al-asim 】

► card selected: r halloween スケアリー・ドレス

❚❚ || home tap 6

↪ “i saw jamil staring at the desserts by the halloween feast and i thought he wanted some, so I went to grab a plate. it turns out that yun wanted the desserts and jamil was checking on the options. hehe, i think she should try them all, though.”

【 rook hunt 】

► card selected: sr lab wear 実験着

❚❚ || home tap 6

↪ “ah, when i was observing the other students, I spotted mademoiselle sitting on the bench by the apple tree in our courtyard. she was reading a fashion magazine while holding a sketchbook. such a creative lady, don't you think?”

© twstgarden 2024 || please do not steal, translate without my permission, or use this to train a.i.

[weishenmewwx]

Stars of Chaos 杀破狼

Volume 4

I finally finished Volume 4! It was great. I love Chang Geng and Gu Yun. And poor Shen Yi and awesome Chen QingXu.

I have a a bunch of little Interesting Cultural Tidbits; maybe two alternative translations; and two places where retaining the webnovel's paragraph breaks would have been very helpful. Here we go:

Yah, so -- they were not planning on visiting friends over the next few days while they were busy infiltrating the rebels; rather, they had, over the last few days, made some good friends and built relations strong enough to make "come over for dinner" seem like a reasonable next step.

No, Gu Yun is not about to eat an American Hamburger; rather, he says that he wants "车大的烧饼把拉车的活驴夹成火烧" which is, roughly, a northern Chinese flatbread sandwich (meat layered between two pieces of flatbread). Word-by-word, this "donkey burger the size of a horse cart is

车大的烧饼flatbread as big as a horse cart

把拉车的活驴 take the live donkey pulling the cart

夹成火烧 and put it in between, to make it into a hot sandwich.

Donkey burger!

Here, Fake Prince Yan is calling his companion, the Fake Xu Ling, "少东家 Young Master" because that's a polite way to refer to your boss's son (or any big boss's son?) when you are talking to him. In normal English, this would read like "Even you have gotten embroiled in this mess."

I think the grammatical tense on this might be off. He hasn't had his birthday yet, so I think it might read more smoothly as "...noodles on his birthday, and he would also have to publicly confess his errors in governance that day." ... 过个生日连碗面都没人给下，还要当着天下痛陈自己执政过错。

Three-headed and six-armed god of war! It's a Nezha reference. You all know Nezha, right? Nezha 哪吒 is my favorite god <3

“Fish in muddy waters" is 浑水摸鱼, which means "to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain" (www.mdbg.net)

This is one my favorite idioms: 瓜田李下， which is short for 瓜田不纳履，李下不整冠, which means "don't fix your shoes in a melon field; and don't adjust your hat/hair-crown in a plum orchard," which we can summarize as "Don't act suspicious."

top: 睁眼说瞎话 eyes open, speak blind words. Blatantly lie. It sounds really cool in Chinese.

bottom: “千金之子，坐不垂堂” I had to look this up. It's a saying from the Han Dynasty. The situation is that roof tiles would sometimes fall and hit anyone sitting below, so they discouraged rich kids from sitting under the eaves where the tiles could fall.

"... and behave yourself!" is a very good translation for the meaning of this sentence.

But it's so much cooler in Chinese: 不准作妖！ which means "don't be a 妖," and 妖 means (mbdg.net again) "goblin / witch / devil / bewitching / enchanting / monster / phantom / demon"

Here's another place where the translation is perfectly good, but 下毒手 is so much cooler. By itself,

毒 = poison, 手 = hand,

下毒手 = to attack murderously / to strike treacherously

You all know the idiom 螳螂捕蝉，黄雀在后, yah? Here comes mdbg.net again: "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (idiom, from Daoist classic Zhuangzi 莊子｜庄子); to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger."

把腰扭到胯上。 "...undulating his hips until they were level with this waist..." which I guess means that he was walking with a prominent sway to his hips?

This is the perfect translation for this idiom. The idiom, in Chinese, is 一朝被蛇咬，十年怕井绳 = (modified mdbg.net)  once bitten by a snake, scared for ten years at the sight of the rope used for drawing water out of the well.

大人有大人的道，小人有小人的路。

大人 here is (mdbg.net) "title of respect toward superiors"

小人， in contrast to 大人, means （mdbg.net) "person of low social status (old) / I, me (used to refer humbly to oneself) / nasty person / vile character"

I think it makes a little more sense if it reads "Lords and ministers have their bright open boulevards; small petty people have their own paths."

Never had Fang Qin 碰过这么硬的钉子 since the day he'd left his mother's womb.

碰钉子 literally means "hit nail"; figuratively, it means (mdbg.net) "to meet with a rebuff."

这么硬的钉子 = such a hard nail.

So 碰过这么硬的钉子 gives the image of Fang Qin running into a fence or something with a long, hard nail sticking out of it. :)

Pg 241. 侧耳过去听 just means "turned/leaned his ear (head) closer to listen (better)". No one was putting their ear on Gu Yun's lips here.

发作 means "to lose one's temper". I feel like "bite his head off" is a bit extreme for anyone to except of Prince Yan -- Prince Yan is too refined to bite anyone's head off.

In English, I feel like "what's the matter with you" is very confrontational and accusatory.

The Chinese here is 你到底怎么回事？, which I feel translates better as "What is actually going on with you?" or, more awkwardly, "What is the full situation of what is going on with you?"

This is so cute: "little bastard" is 兔崽子 which literally "bunny-rabbit child" and figuratively (mdbg.net) "brat / bastard". So...

Gu Yun: Which baby bunny was standing guard and ratted me out!?

Chang Geng: I am that baby bunny.

The "pawn" here is a not pejorative. 马前�� is "lackey / errand boy / lit. runner before a carriage" (mdbg.net).

In the online version I read, there is a paragraph break and a time frame here that really helps with understanding what's going on.

"....civil official who could barely ride a horse.

One year ago, survivors of the navy...."

"In less than a month..." (just showing that they have been there for a few weeks.)

"Silver tongue" in Chinese is 见人说人话、见鬼说鬼话的三寸不烂之舌。

见人说人话、See people, speak people language.

见鬼说鬼话 的 See monsters, speak monster language.

三寸不烂之舌。 three inches not <soft / rotten /worn out> tongue.

Cool way to say "silver tongue," yah?

I think the grammatical tense should be brought forward. The ship is falling apart right now, in book-time.

Another paragraph break that I feel should have been retained to show that we are moving from outside the temple, where we can see the flames, to inside the temple, where Chen QingXu is suffering from the smoke.

__________________________

And that's it! Volume 4. I love you, Chang Geng. You have my heart, Gu Yun!

Stars of Chaos - All Notes Links

My DanMei Literary Adventure Masterpost

[ac-liveblogs]

1. Ur right in that all Hutao’s friendships came out of nowhere. They need to build up to this kind of thing. Maybe be together onscreen before you name them in ur will lmao? I think Genshin needed a tighter cast. 16 characters max per region, but give the characters new kits, outfits, rarities, etc and market them on multiple banners, then have them star in multiple events to build up their relationship. They literally do this in Honkai.

It's especially odd, because if you've only been playing Genshin for the last two years or so... the characters Hu Tao interacted with most regularly are iirc Venti and Xiao (Lantern Rite and the poetry event) and then Zhongli, and kiiinda Chongyun and Xingqiu. There were better characters to choose!

If I understand correctly, Honkai has a much smaller cast and you're mostly rolling upgraded outfits/kits for them, so I imagine it's easier for them to manage them over multiple events. I do agree that I think Genshin would've benefited from a tighter cast with re-runs/new versions of older characters to tie into whatever new storyline they're pushing, not just for events but for the endless backlog of deadweight characters that seem to do nothing but slice of life shenanigans...

I like the FGO model - that doesn't necessarily assume you know a character OR introduces a new one and has you get to know them over the course of a much longer event so you. Give a shit. I recognise it's easier for FGO as functionally a visual novel, though.

It’s really sad because some of this quest was utterly stellar. Yunjin’s singing and dancing (even the in engine version with all the neat animations. Found out where all Lanyan’s culture rep went), the aesthetic design of Hutao crossing over (with the little sprouting higanbanas), the cutscene and music. I also liked how they interrogated Hutao’s detachment from life in a vacuum. She loves her ‘friends’ so she has to cut them off. She claims to be okay with dying and gives back the Rex coin (good luck charm that reminds her of her ‘friend’) but keeps rattan doll (literally a power of friendship tool designed to save her that should remind her of all her friends).

I don't rate it that high, but I agree that it's one of Liyue's better showings and it did a much better job of building up to Hu Tao's sacrifice than... most other attempted emotional scenes in Genshin, I think? Especially if you take all the emotional bits with her friends for granted lmao. Definitely one of the higher ranking events with a storyline that follows through all the way on what it tries to accomplish!

I keep thinking that if this had been a longer event with more time put into Hu Tao's relationships with everyone that chose to try and save her/show the effects of the crisis she's attempting to fix (..fgo style) it would've worked better for me but I recognise there was an attempt (restricted by the time able to be spent on these events)... man, I feel Genshin's format does it NO favours at all!

Yun Jin's musical scenes were definitely a highlight, particularly the second one (after the hilichurl song) and the visuals of Hu Tao crossing over were great. I can't take scenes seriously when they use the off-model NPCs though. Makes my brain shut off.

Like, nice show of internal conflict and a ‘go with the flow’ style character who could happily die at any point, yet takes every chance to live, but the effect falls flat when none of these guys are your friends. Oh, and then it turns out the adeptus were the ones who saved everyone and Hutao and Lanyan’s knowledge meant nothing. Ok.

I AM SO MAD ABOUT THE ADEPTUS THING LIKE. Can Liyue Harbour do NOTHING without Cloud Retainer peering over their shoulder???

[atamascolily]

Lily liveblogs: Thunderbolt Fantasy 4x10

This episode is full of fanservice in the best way possible, by which I mean, Gen Urobuchi et al. know what I want and serve it up with style.

Bo Yang Hou tries to convince the Dong Li prince to help deal with the GIANT FUCKING HOLE TO THE DEMON REALM, but no luck, so he's like, "fine, we'll deal with it ourselves" and pulls all the Hu Yin Shi out of an upcoming ceremony, to the prince's shock

meanwhile, Shang et. al find the lotus macguffin sword and it's literally an air purifier, lmao - cleansing the area around of it of miasma and bringing life back to the wasteland.

(they are TOTALLY using this to return Lang Wu Yao to human form + healing the broken world by the end, aren't they)

Juan Can Yun continues training with baby Shang and unintentionally inspires his sword style...

...until a timer goes off, and Shang's like, "Welp, it's been fun, master, gotta go" and takes a scrying mirror back to the Void Junction....

... where he's just going around and studying with sword masters throughout time and space???

...and there's an old guy there who doesn't speak who we've never met before???

WHAT????

WHAT???

I have so many questions, but this season is so compressed we may never find out anything more but also, wtf??? Baby Shang is just living in the Void Junction now, using it like the Wood Between Worlds in Narnia??

no wonder Shang is so tired, he was a shounen protagonist who aged out of his demographic without losing the protagonist part

elsewhere: Bo Yang Hou leads a caravan of Hu Yin Shi (Jun Po's men from S3) with a cart chock full of macguffins, lol

Meanwhile, Lang is still cooking in his cocoon, and a pack of hanjiao show up and devour Ansarto's corpse.

Ling Ya waxes philosophical about how death comes to us all, even demons, and why can't they just go home and be happy. Unfortunately, Lang continues the ongoing trend of not listening to Ling Ya's advice.

The hanjiao turn to their next victims, and Ling Ya protects Lang by transforming into a human and using magical strings to murder him.

HUMAN LING YA, HUMAN LING YA, THIS IS NOT A DRILL

he even gets a character poem!!! something something power of friendship something something murder is sexy

also his VA drops the comic relief voice and goes to "sexy demon" so, A+ choice there

Lin-as-Mantis snitches on Wasp and Spider and Locust was like, "lol, so over that"

also he calls "Mantis" out as a fake, but doesn't give a shit as long as he does his job, hahaha

Locust comes out in person and they're joined by Azi and Xing Hai to go meet the demon king

... it's an evil version of Lin, wearing an outfit very similar to his Takarazuka stage one with all the feathers, and a demonic version of his pipe

both Lin and Xing Hai look like they're going to faint but for drastically different reasons

roll credits

ASDLKGJFLKDGJDLFKJGLKDFJGLKDFJGLKFJGLFKGLKFJGLFKDJG I don't even know where to start with this one

okay, yeah, actually, I do: I stand by my assertion that we didn't need Shang and Lin's backstories, and I think this particular twist is a little too convenient, but also: demon king Lin in that costume is one hell of a compelling counter-argument and the reveal (complete with the "Lin trolls someone" theme) was exquisite, 10/10, no notes.

I showed Silver the Takarazuka oufit a while back and their reaction was, "this needs to be in the show", and here it is as a dark evil goth version, and it's glorious

THE PIPE DESIGN THO

It's even got little bones, like a spine!!

so like, yeah, I have questions, but also this show's got my number and I am willing to go along with it, hahaha

if Xing Hai ends up marrying the demon king once she gets over the initial shock, I will laugh so hard

when I said Lin might end up being the villain this was not what I meant, lol, but I'll take it

you can tell this season got compacted because the pacing is on steroids (any ONE of these revelations would have been enough for a single episode) but once again, every time I think I've seen it all and this show can't possibly top itself ever again, it proves me wrong, and I'm so here for it

okay, the season's almost over, so here are some predictions

it will probably end on a cliffhanger, with the demon gods awakening and the resumption of the War of Fading Dusk

Someone is going to summon the demon god with the seals; my money is on Lang Wu Yao, because he thinks it will help him defeat Azi. It'll probably work, but at the cost of consuming anything left of Lang's humanity and transforming him into a demon god to lead the others in the assault on the human realm, because irony

.... unless our heroes can stop him in time and pull him back from the brink???? I hope so, but there's too much ominous foreshadowing for me to say for certain.

no matter what happens, it's going to be a wild ride and I'm so here for it